One of the 26 fiberglass sturgeon statues appears to be leaping Thursday in front of the Downtown Diner at 204 Water St. in Augusta. The art projects were commissioned last year by the Augusta Downtown Alliance. They have been reinstalled after spending the winter in storage. Joe Phelan/Kennebec Journal
AUGUSTA — The return of the decorated sturgeon statues to downtown Augusta means the summer’s slate of activities is about to get underway.
Michael Hall, executive director of the Augusta Downtown Alliance. Contributed photo
More than two dozen fiberglass sturgeon have been reinstalled on Water Street and their bases are being decorated with flowers, according to Michael Hall, executive director of the Augusta Downtown Alliance.
“It’s a big hit, as always,” Hall said.
While the sturgeon art is a recent addition to downtown Augusta, the summer slate of events is not. This year, along with continuing favorites, including the Wednesday Concert Series that runs from June to August, the Independence Day Parade on July 4 and the Kennebec River Brewfest on Aug. 5, a couple of new events are on the list.
Coming up in June, the Maine Moose Lottery comes to Mill Park. On Saturday, June 10, between 1,000 and 2,000 people are expected to be on hand at 2 p.m., when the drawing for moose permits will take place, according to Mark Latti, director of communications for the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries & Wildlife.
In addition to the lottery drawing, demonstrations, children’s activities, music and food vendors will be happening between 10 a.m. and 6 p.m.
On June 16 and 17, the Colonial Theater is presenting a Silent Movie Festival to celebrate the theater’s legacy as the site of premieres a century or more ago of many silent films made in Maine and featuring Maine actors.
Kathi Wall, executive director of the Colonial Theater at 139 Water St., said there is a resurgence in the popularity of silent film as an art form across the United States, particularly in California.
While moviemaking is now centered on the West Coast, the industry was more dispersed in its infancy.
“At one point in time, Augusta was a very busy commercial arts and cultural center, which is an important thing to keep in mind,” Wall said. “To be able to honor some of those people, places and things that occurred at that time is an important piece of our history.”
Many films — some as short as 15 minutes — featured local actors and actresses, but one notable talent emerged from that period. Wall said Mary Astor, who later won an Oscar for best supporting actress in “The Great Lie” and starred in “The Maltese Falcon,” traveled to Maine when she was 15 to appear in several locally produced movies.
“She had derogatory things to say about getting into the Kennebec River in the cold spring water,” Wall said, noting at that time, stunt doubles did not exist and actors and actresses did it all.
Tickets are now on sale for the film festival, which begins at noon both days.
One of the 26 fiberglass sturgeon statues, this one painted by Lori Miller, appears to be leaping Thursday in front of the Olde Federal Building at 295 Water St. in downtown Augusta. The art projects were commissioned last year by the Augusta Downtown Alliance. They have been reinstalled after spending the winter in storage. Joe Phelan/Kennebec Journal
Among the other events in July, the Ironman 70.3 returns to downtown Augusta, drawing triathletes from around the country to Augusta for the July 30 competition.
The events are designed to bring people to downtown Augusta at a time when parking is temporarily in short supply. Construction projects are now underway to replace the Rines Hill bridge, one of the main southern access routes to downtown Augusta, and at the Dickman Parking Garage, limiting parking for the summer.
Hall said an ad hoc committee has been formed to look for alternatives for parking, but solutions have yet to be identified.
The parking situation is expected to ease by the first week in August, when the parking garage project is scheduled to conclude.
When it is done, Hall said, additional parking will be available on the upper level.
As for the sturgeon, Hall said they will not be in the same places as last year, so he is updating the online map.
The Augusta Downtown Alliance won a grant from T-Mobile, which the organization used to fund the program, including commissioning the creation of the fiberglass fish to be painted by local organizations.
Sturgeon were chosen because the Kennebec River is home to two species, the endangered shortnose sturgeon and the Atlantic sturgeon. Every year during late spring and summer, Atlantic sturgeon in the river can be seen launching themselves into the air and belly flopping back into the water.
Eventually, Hall said, the fiberglass sturgeon will be auctioned off to raise money for a future art installation in downtown Augusta.
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