David Guildford

1 month ago | newscentermaine.com | David Guildford

THOMASTON, Maine — The term "influencer" hasn't been around that long. But, check social media, and they are everywhere. Companies want people to see their products, so they work with popular accounts to get them eyeballs. This can seem like big-city business, but there are some Mainers who have cracked the code. In postcard-worthy Thomaston—nestled between the Midcoast outposts of Damariscotta and Rockland—32-year-old Spencer Ross has settled into a nifty little career running his own dentistry.

1 month ago | newscentermaine.com | David Guildford

CUMBERLAND, Maine — Horse trailers filed into the Cumberland Fairgrounds on a drizzly Friday in May - a sign that summer is returning. Harness racing is synonymous with Maine. The standardbred horses involved are much smaller than the thoroughbreds of Kentucky; and while the creaky stands would likely fill during the Cumberland fair in late September, they were empty that afternoon - save for a few folks sipping coffee in a corner.

1 month ago | newscentermaine.com | David Guildford

NEWCASTLE, Maine — In an old church in downtown Newcastle, a choir meets once a week for most of the year - though there's no talk of church. On a rainy Tuesday in late April, Beth Preston grinned as her throng assembled - 65 members strong - at the pulpit. Some left walkers near the pews, but they had plenty of energy to give to their weekly performance.

1 month ago | newscentermaine.com | David Guildford

GARDINER, Maine — Talent comes in many forms, and something doesn't need to hang in a museum for you to know it's special. In early April, I opened my inbox and saw an email from a Keegan Companion. He introduced himself as a 24-year-old from Bath and said he worked with a unique art medium. "I can make anything you can think of out of pipe cleaners," he wrote. I was intrigued. We exchanged replies, and he told me about the place that fosters his creativity: Spindleworks.

2 months ago | newscentermaine.com | David Guildford

WESTBROOK, Maine — In downtown Westbrook this month, passersby were treated to an unannounced light show. Vertical Harvest, one of the city's most noticeable tenants, had sprung to life through its near-endless vaulted glass windows, as its leadership prepared to begin work at a farm the likes of which Mainers had never seen before. In fact, most Americans have never seen anything like Vertical Harvest.