There will be a sidewalk sale in downtown Belfast on Saturday, June 1, 10 am-2 pm. 30+ retailers will be offering deep discounts as they look to move inventory and make room for the new. Most participating businesses will offer sales both inside their store and on the sidewalk. The current list includes:

• Alder and Vine
• All About Games
• AMBIANCE: Deep discounts outside
• Belfast Clay Studio: Up to 40% off on pottery and 10% off course enrollment on select classes
• Brambles: Storewide discounts and up to 75% off on select items
• City Drawers: 10% off storewide, deeper discounts outside
• Colburn Shoe Store
• Coyote Moon: 25%-50% off outside items
• Conklin's Maine Mercantile
• County Copy and Print Center: Art and office supplies
• EPOCH
• Fiddlehead Artisan Supply: 10% off storewide as well as deeper discounts
• The Good Table
• Harbor Artisans: Select artisans outside with an array of items and sales
• Heavenly Bean Bags
• Heavenly Yarns: 20% off storewide
• Home Supply Center: Storewide 10%-20% off, deeper discounts as well
• Katwalk: Up to 75% off sidewalk items
• MM Julz Christmas Shoppe: 10% off storewide, 50% off outside items
• Macleod Furniture
• Man on Main: 10% off storewide as well as deeper discounts
• Old Professor's Bookshop: 20% off storewide
• Old School ME
• Out on a Whimsey Toys: 50%-75% off sidewalk items
• Parent Gallery
• Quench Metalworks: 50%-75% off sidewalk items
• The Blue Alpaca Ranch and Store
• The Green Store: 10%-20% discounts storewide and more outside
• The Meadow of Blue Hill and Belfast: 20% off storewide and 75% off sidewalk items
• The Purple Baboon
• The Sail Locker: 50%-75% off sidewalk items
• TUSK: 10% off storewide
• Village Wear: 20% off sidewalk items
• Vinolio: 10% storewide and deeper 20%-50% discounts outside
• Yo Mamma's: 20% off most store items

For more information, visit Our Town Belfast's Sidewalk Sale page.

The Maine Fiber Frolic is happening this weekend (June 1-2) at the Windsor Fairgrounds. If you haven't experienced this celebration of fiber, we encourage you to feel the love there!

This month, we have been busy ordering and putting new yarn on our shelves -- and starting new shop models.

Apex, a fingering weight blend of superwash merino, silk and yak, is a new yarn we put on our shelves in March. After creating an exclusive pattern for Fiber of Maine subscribers, Sand Island Cowl, it is now available to see at the shop or purchase online.

	Sand Island Cowl knit in Apex's Pink Granite (click to zoom)

Karen Grover of Seven Sisters dyed the beautiful Pink Granite (the colorway of our model) which became the inspiration for this cowl. The pattern is just repeated throughout ... the result is elegant and the yarn so scrumptious!

The Maine Yarn Cruise has just begun and we have the zippered project bags and passports for you! (This is a shop hop, not a cruise on the ocean.)

This fun event is a good opportunity to explore the great state of Maine and visit a yarn shop at the same time. You can read more information about it in our May newsletter, or find them on Facebook.

	Helen's WIP -- a mystery shawl knit-along (click to zoom)

A notable difference in this year's Maine Yarn Cruise is the inclusion of a mystery shawl knit-along! Helen (at the shop) was never interested in a mystery knit-along before because she has felt that if a pattern was difficult or confusing, a project photo is helpful. However, she guesses that this mystery knit-along is going to be straightforward because the Maine Cruisers have a range of knitting skills, and so she was excited to try it.

And after finishing the first clue in the Yarn Cruise packet, Helen says so far her hunch is right!

We wanted to let you know about a unique getaway in October -- it is not too soon to plan this retreat!

Spend a glorious October weekend in Maine on a remote lake surrounded by vibrant colors and glistening blue water. Explore the brilliance of the Maine woods in autumn. Let Maine guide Nancy Zane take you on a quiet paddle in the waters of Pocomoonshine or perhaps hike the water's edge.  

When the temperatures drop and the sun sets, relax by the fire with a hot drink and learn to knit with fiber artist and shepherd Denise Sawyer, of Fernwood Fiber Studio. (If you already knit, you are welcome too!) Spending time in nature and connecting on a deeper level has a way of igniting your creative self.

Fiber of Maine visited Fernwood Fiber Studio last year, and wrote about it on our blog.

You can read more about this retreat by visiting North Star Adventures' Knitting Retreat page.

On Wednesday, June 12, 11 am-12:30 pm, Linda Cortright will give a free presentation at Penobscot Shores, 10 Shoreland Dr., Belfast, as part of their Enrichment Series.

As editor and publisher of Wild Fibers Magazine, Cortright has interviewed extraordinary people, had her share of nomadic adventures and spent a lot of time chasing sheep!
 
For the past 15 years. Cortright has traveled the world from Alaska to Afghanistan to explore all aspects of the natural fiber industry. Through exquisite photos and fascinating stories, she will share what she has learned and experienced in her travels.

To register, phone 207-338-2332.

A quilting group that makes quilts for personal use, hospice, Bags of Love and other charities meets every first and third Thursday at St. Francis of Assisi Church in Belfast. For more information, email friendshipsamplerptqg@gmail.com or phone 207-907-9144.

The new MCC Chorale will present "I See. I Saw." on Friday, May 31 at 7 pm at the Unitarian Universalist Church of Belfast; on Saturday, June 1 at 2 pm at the Rockland Congregational Church; and on Sunday, June 2 at 4 pm at the First Congregational Church of Camden.

The Midcoast Community Chorus will present "Spheres" on Sunday, June 16 at 7 pm, at Strom Auditorium, Camden Hills Regional High School.

General Admission $15, Reserved Seating $25 and $30, available at The Green Store in Belfast.

On Friday, May 31 and Saturday, June 1 the 6th Annual Belfast Ukulele Festival, hosted by Midcoast Ukes, will take place in two venues. On Friday night, 6-8:30 pm, at Searsport Shores Oceanfront Camping, enjoy a potluck supper and guided uke jams. On Saturday, 9:30 am-5:30 pm, at the Boathouse and Steamboat Landing in Belfast, there will be an all-day festival with performances, workshops, and headline artist Lil Rev. And on Saturday night, there will be a contra dance in the Main Tent at 6:30 pm, sponsored by Belfast Flying Shoes.

For more information, visit Midcoast Ukes' Festival News page.

Join Belfast Flying Shoes on Friday, June 7, for an evening of contra dancing at American Legion Post #43, 143 Church St. in Belfast. The evening begins at 6:30 pm with a community dance called by Chrissy Fowler. The contra dance begins at 8 pm.

This month's caller is David Smukler. David is an engaging caller and teacher who presents a wide variety of dances, including old chestnuts and freshly minted dances. Along with contras and English dances, his programs can include squares, singing calls, triplets, mixers and more.

Sharing the stage with David will be Boston-based contra dance band Anadama, who root their sound in the traditions of New England, Ireland and Quebec. As the trio say: "It is dynamic, earthy music, all -- from sweetly rolling jigs to breathless, freewheeling reels -- played with vigor and honesty, and dance at its heart."

Sound by Glen Loper.

For more information, phone 207-338-0979, email belfastflyingshoes@gmail.com, visit Belfast Flying Shoes or find them on Facebook.

Local Color Gallery (open every day at 135 High St. in Belfast) is pleased to be adding Marjorie Arnett, Tanya Harsch, and Leslie Moore to their selection of artists.

Marjorie Arnett paints with oils on stretched canvas. She thins, pours, pushes and sands oil paint until the surface reflects layers of a nonrepresentational composition or one that is subtle in suggesting reality. She wants the viewer to be drawn in by bold strokes that slowly move toward the story told by quiet areas of the composition.

Leslie Moore is a printmaker, a pen-and-ink artist, and an animal lover. She uses one block to print multiple colors, carving a bit more out of the block between each color. It's called kamikaze printmaking, because the block is carved down to almost nothing by the end of the print run.

Tanya Harsch studied classical drawing and painting at both the Florence Academy in Florence, Italy, and the Ravenswood Atelier, in Chicago, Ill. She works in oils on linen or panel, and her work can be found in private collections around the world.

In our last newsletter, we encouraged you to subscribe to Belfast Chamber News, the Belfast Area Chamber of Commerce's weekly email newsletter, which lists area events.

If you would rather not receive a weekly email, you may just want to add a bookmark to Our Town Belfast's calendar of events. There are so many great events going on this summer, you do not want to miss out on them!