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1 week ago | 
thebollard.com | Chris Busby |Jessie Banhazl |Sara Hogan
Meeting Max Schubel of Opus One Opus One was a small, independent record label founded in 1966 with a focus on contemporary classical music, a focus that by its very nature would present challenges. At its peak in the late ’70s, the label’s catalog approached 200 LP titles, and Opus One continued into the digital age the following decade with about 20 releases on CD. A surprise connected to the label was its business address in the hinterland hamlet of Greenville, Maine.
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1 week ago | 
thebollard.com | Chris Busby |Jessie Banhazl |Sara Hogan |Dan Zarin
photos/Troy R. BennettThe invisible artistry of Mark Turner, Portland’s kindest cook A long time ago, in a little Italian village far away from Casco Bay, there lived a boy named Pasquale who was enchanted by the magic of Hollywood movies. He’d sneak away from home or skip school to go to the cinema in Caserta, the capital city. His father, Giuseppe, and several other workmen from the settlement of Garzano lived across the ocean 10 months of every year, building roads in Maine.
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1 week ago | 
thebollard.com | Chris Busby |Jessie Banhazl |Sara Hogan
photo/Jessie BanhazlName: Rosie BordenAge: 29Home state: ConnecticutBar of choice: The Bearded Lady’s Jewel Box Professions: Barista, Pop StarRegular Since: 2016Drink of choice: Morphos Pet NatAt The Bearded Lady’s Jewel Box, a kaleidoscope of lights, billowing curtains, the herbal scents of craft cocktails and a kitschy, rococo mural behind the bar combine to create an ethereal atmosphere unique in Portland’s bar scene.
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1 month ago | 
thebollard.com | Elizabeth Peavey |Jessie Banhazl |Sara Hogan |Chris Busby
Joe Soley in his Old Port corner store a few years ago. photo/John DuncanJoe Soley enters the That’s My Dump! Hall of Fame “The root disease that afflicts the world at the present day is the supremacy of the commercial point of view. … The commercial mind is neither benevolent nor malevolent — as little as science is. It seems at times to be beneficent; at other times it seems to be almost fiendish — as in the case of the atrocities perpetrated on the Congo.
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1 month ago | 
thebollard.com | Elizabeth Peavey |Chris Busby |Jessie Banhazl |Sara Hogan
photo/Jessie BanhazlWard McGovernAge: 66Hometown: Brooklyn, NYBar of Choice: Sacred Profane, BiddefordDrink of Choice: Dark LagerIt’s hard for a craft brewery to stand out in Maine, but that hasn’t been a problem for Sacred Profane. Since opening in Biddeford in 2022, the beer company has made a name for itself with its delicious Czech-inspired light and dark lagers, and the quality service and unpretentious atmosphere at its “tankpubs” in Biddeford and on Thompson’s Point in Portland.
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1 month ago | 
thebollard.com | Al Diamon |Samuel James |Jessie Banhazl |Sara Hogan
Border CrossingI’m standing on the side of the road, talking with my neighbor Chester (not his real name) about the porcupine that had been in that very spot for several days but is now gone. “Smelled it before you saw it,” he says. A period of silence follows. I’ve learned not to rush these conversations. They’re fragile things, and one wrong word or move can shatter them. We both gaze at the greasy smudge where the critter met its fate.
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Jan 5, 2025 | 
thebollard.com | Jessie Banhazl |Sara Hogan
photo/Jessie Banhazl Erin Abraham (a.k.a. Kitty Caboose), Lily Abraham-Jellis Ages: 40, 8 Homestate: Vermont Bar of choice: Austin Street Brewery, Fox St. Drinks of choice: Double IPAs, Honest Kids Goodness Grapeness Grape Fruit Juice Austin Street Brewery opened its first tasting room 10 years ago on Industrial Way, out in Portland’s Riverton neighborhood, and it was much like the other craft beer tasting rooms clustered there: a modestly sized, lightly decorated drinking space sectioned off...
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Dec 8, 2024 | 
thebollard.com | Jessie Banhazl |Sara Hogan |Al Diamon |Chris Busby
photo/Jessie BanhazlLayne WitherellAge: 79Hometown: Los Angeles, CABar of choice: Blue Portland Maine (BPM)Drink of choice: Whatever wine is featured in Layne’s Wine Gig Originally opened in 2005 as a jazz lounge named Liquid Blue, the downtown Portland bar and music venue Blue Portland Maine (BPM) has grown increasingly eclectic, adding roots music, salsa dancing, indie rock, poetry and comedy to its offerings over the decades.
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Nov 11, 2024 | 
thebollard.com | Jessie Banhazl |Sara Hogan
photo/Jessie BanhazlJoel ThetfordAge: 50Hometown: Fort Worth, TexasBar of choice: Geno’s Rock ClubDrink of choice: Coors BanquetKnown for hosting punk rock and metal shows, Geno’s Rock Club in downtown Portland has been in business since 1983 and operating at its current Congress Street location since 2005. Limerick, Maine-native Kitty Taylor purchased the bar from its namesake’s son, Geno Jr., a.k.a. J.R., during the pandemic in 2020 and has gradually been renovating the space.
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Oct 13, 2024 | 
thebollard.com | Jessie Banhazl |Sara Hogan
photo/Jessie BanhazlKim and Tom Howard Ages: 46, 53 Hometown: Brooklyn, New YorkBar of Choice: Portland ZooDrinks of Choice: Margarita (Kim), Coors (Tom)At the foot (or maybe the ankle) of steep Fox Street on Portland’s East End you’ll find the Portland Zoo, an unassuming, European-style beer garden that draws service-industry workers, soccer fans (casual and hardcore), young families, friendly dogs and the occasional tourist.
