Chris Long from Natalie's Restaurant at the Camden Harbour Inn won the coveted title of 2013 Maine Lobster Chef of the Year at the Harvest on the Harbor, Aug 24^th in Portland, ME.  Congratulations  Chris and the owners of this amazing establishment, Oscar Verest and Raymond Brunyanszki. 

Camden Opera House was voted "Best of the Best" Playhouse for the 9^th consecutive year, and since inception of the award program, by The Herald Gazette. 

New England Boating Magazine did a feature story on Camden that appeared on the NESN cable network.  Did you miss it?  If so, you can watch it online now see it replayed November 19^th at 6PM. 

The Community Schools at Opportunity Farm and Camden (located at 79 Washington St), has changed their name to Wayfinder Schools to reflect their program growth throughout the state of Maine.  Learn more by visiting their website. 

The Camden Snow Bowl also has an e-newsletter.  If you're interested in receiving it, sign up for it now   

Camden Assistant Fire Chief Robert Stiehler was hit by a car while in a crosswalk on Main Street.  In addition to Assistant Fire Chief, he is also a self employed electrician but has been unable to work since the accident.  A benefit spaghetti dinner will be held on November 9^th from 5PM to 7PM at the Congregational Church located at 55 Elm Street.  

Final reports available! 

The final versions of the Riverwalk report and Public Landing report have been delivered and are available for you to view!  These reports provide you with a history, process, recommendations, and cost should we decide to pursue any aspect(s) of the projects.  Until now, a comprehensive report such as these had not been created so we did not have the information to make informed decisions about how to best proceed.  In an effort to be environmentally friendly and cost conscious, we are not producing hard copies of the report for distribution.  Instead, we have posted electronic versions of the report on the Town's website.

Megunticook River

Public Landing - current

Even though we had 4 community meetings with large turnouts (at times, over 100 attendees), there are still some questions and misconceptions circulating about the project.  A collection of Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) has been posted at the Town's website, and will also be at the Town office with the reports.  Please contact us if you have additional questions. 

What's next?  A presentation of the reports will be made to the Camden Select Board at their regularly scheduled, public meeting of Tuesday November 12^th beginning at 6:30PM.  At that meeting, the Selectmen will determine next steps. 

Maine Conservation Corps field team

After years of perseverance and diligence, the first section of a possible 2 � mile Camden Riverwalk is near completion.  Located at the former Apollo Tannery site at 116 Washington Street, crews comprised of Maine Conservation Corps, volunteers including Jackson Landscaping, and Town staff have been working on the creation of this pathway that runs parallel to the Megunticook River.  We anticipate it being completed soon and hope you will take the opportunity during our crisp fall season to enjoy this natural asset we have in Camden...and then just imagine the possibility of it traversing 2 � miles from Shirttail Point Park to Camden Harbor.

You can also read a longer article concerning this project by visiting the Pen BayPilot. 

Marketing grant funds

Marketing funds available

Jenn Dobransky from the Maine Centers for Women, Work, and Community announces a $400 mini-grant program available to small businesses to help with their marketing.  If you have a business in Knox, Lincoln, Sagadahoc, or Waldo with 4 employees or less, you're eligible to participate.  Deadline to sign up is November 8^th so be sure to email Jenn before then.  We're really hoping to have good representation from Camden this year, so don't delay, sign up today! 

Parking Ban in effect

From November to April

We want to kindly remind you that beginning November 1^st, sidewalks must be kept clear of objects in order to allow winter maintenance and plowing.  For example, downtown merchants with benches or planters will need to remove them.  In addition, parking on any street or public parking lot is limited to no more than 30 minutes during the times of 1:00AM and 5:00AM. 

You can read the full sections of these items in the Camden Police ordinance on the Town's website:  

page 82; 13.4 All Night Parking Prohibited

page 127; 4.4 Other Restrictions and Conditions 

Vote on November 5th

Voting will take place on Tuesday November 5^th from 8AM to 8PM at the Camden Public Safety building located on Washington Street.

Camden ballot items - The items being voted on include

• a $2 million municipal bond to support the redevelopment of the Ragged Mountain Recreation Area
• amendments to the zoning ordinance for the Business River (BR) district regarding residential and commercial use
• amendments to the zoning ordinance for defining and regulating temporary and non-temporary use of storage containers
• amendments to the Harbor and Waterways ordinance for housekeeping as well as substantial changes.

State referendum - There are 5 bond initiatives to be decided on by Maine voters.

We have provided additional information about all of these, on the Town's website.  Be sure to scroll down the page so you will see all information we've posted including a sample ballot for Camden, and a sample ballot for the state referendum. If you would like to learn more information about the statewide referendum, including details of how the bonds would be spent, the Secretary of State has created a Maine Citizen's Guide to the Referendum Election.

We encourage you to familiarize yourselves with all questions in advance of casting your vote so that you are confident in your decision making process.

Think Local, Shop Local, Buy Local

Register by Nov 4th! 

American Express is a founding partner of the widely known principle we refer to as "Think Local, Shop Local, Buy Local" by supporting Small Business Saturday on November 30^th.  Businesses accepting American Express as a form of payment are able to register and be promoted on a Small Business Saturday map that American Express will publicize with a special offer for your customers.  Businesses must sign up by November 4^th to participate.  Read more information about the program and how to register.  Special thanks to the Camden Downtown Business Group for bringing this program to our attention.   

1 year anniversary!

Would you believe that November will make 1 year since the Camden Newsletter was first created?  And you all have responded so favorably to it.  We mentioned in an earlier issue that our open rate for the newsletter and click rate on the articles is actually double (sometimes more) the industry average...but we couldn't help ourselves, so we had to mention it again!  Oh, by the way, you asked and we listened...you can now view past editions online.  

We want to keep the newsletter interesting and appealing to you but need to know what makes that happen.  Please take a few minutes and send us some quick thoughts.  Perhaps you like it the way it is and don't change a thing.  Or maybe you'd like to see more events listed or more information on Town services?  These are just some quick ideas, but what are yours?

Glinda, author Gregory Maguire, and Elphaba - from Wicked, the Musical

• David Dodson's 25^th annual fall concert will take place at the Camden Opera House on Sunday November 10^th at 7:30PM.  David writes great songs that run the gamut of American styles: folk, rock, blues, jazz, and country.  Buy your tickets early.
• The Wizard of Oz exhibit at Rockland's Farnsworth Museum has received great coverage and interest, including many related events and activities in the area.  On Nov 14th the Camden Public Library hosts John Fricke, author of "The Wonderful World of Oz: An Illustrated History of an American Classic", recently published by DownEast Books.  And don't forget that Gregory Maguire, author of the book that was the basis for the hit Broadway musical "Wicked", will be at the Camden Opera House, presented by the Camden Public Library.  Tickets are selling quickly so don't miss out this "wicked" exciting event!
• Hunger is a growing problem in Maine and across the nation.  200,000 Mainers including 1 in 4 children struggle with hunger.  On November 9^th beginning at 8AM, consider attending the John Street United Methodist Church's annual craft emporium with all proceeds benefiting the Camden Area Christian Food Pantry.  For more information, contact Jean Bubar by email or (207) 236-4829 

These are only a few of the many activities taking place in Camden.  For a full list of all activities, visit the Camden Opera House, Penobscot Bay Regional Chamber of Commerce and Camden Public Library.