Portland, Maine will be to lighthouses as NYC was to cows.

Lighthouses on Parade

shirin

Outstanding! Can hardly wait, it will be a great time next year. It will give me something extra to look forward to on our annual trip to Maine!

Did you notice Harbour Lights is a sponsor?

http://www.thebigparade.com/lighthouses/sponsors.php

Fantastic!! I can hardly wait till they add pictures of these lighthouses to the site!! I wonder how many other places in the country do this type of fundraiser? NYC had it cows, Portland, ME will have its lighthouses and Lake Charles, LA has its gators. I spent a whole Sunday shootin' gators - with a camera, of course. It was great fun - some of these artists are very imaginative. Check out:

http://www.gatorsonthegeaux.com

Eskilady

This is a Rochester area company that is producing the "Lighthouses On Parade." Last year when Nancy Younger was here for a club meeting I took her around to see some of our "Horses" that were close to her hotel. http://www.thebigparade.com/hop/
I think out of the 150 horses I only missed seeing like 10 of them. My favorite one was http://www.thebigparade.com/hop/gallery.php?action=view&id=10

As soon as we heard that they were going to be doing lighthouses, I e-mailed Nancy to let them know that Portland would be doing lighthouses next year. We will also be having an "Animal Scramble" next year...it's fun to see them and amazing how what the artists create. When we were in Portland, they were advertising for the lighthouses in the newspapers already.

Patty

Looks like the cows are still on the move. They are in Las Vegas and San Antonio. New Zealand and Australia are up for next year. Cows on Parade

I stumbled upton the cows in NYC by accident. A friend from home was visiting and we kept seeing these things everywhere from Central Park to Grand Central Station. It took us awhile to figure out what was going on but we managed to find someone who knew what was going on.

I've also seen other cities have simliar events. Somewhere in Maine they had lobsters and Balitmore had fish. I don't think these were run by the same company but the idea was the same. Either way they were still fun to see.

I'm looking forward to the lighthouses. Guess I know where I'll be heading for vacation time next year.

shirin

D.C. just had the Party Animals this past summer. I got out to photograph about 1/2 of them. Lighthouses are a good idea. Can't wait to see how they turn out.

If any of you get to Norfolk, they have Mermaids.

Joyce

Mermaids on Parade

I hadn't heard about this one before.

shirin

And Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin has, what else? STUREGON during Fishtival Weekend at the end of the summer. I'll see if I can find a link to add.

Gary

Found another parade...

Pigs on Parade

Now here is one I would have loved to have seen...

Turtles on Tour

And Lakeland Flordia currently has swans around their lakes. Mom filled me in on this one.

shirin

Here is some info on the lighthouse from the ALF website

Lighthouses on Parade

shirin

Belfast, Maine had Bearfeast this past summer. There is a website, but no pictures. Sorry.

From the pictures the Lighthouses that will be displayed in Portland area next summer, I can say that I'm looking forward to getting up to that area and see some of them. MIght even be interested in getting one for the yard when they go up for auction. Looks like they would make an interesting display wherever they may be.

Bert

Latest on Lighthouse Parade

Lighthouses on Parade Book to be released May 1

The spectacular "Lighthouses on Parade Book" will be available May 1. The beautiful book, the only of its kind ever published, is available for $30 plus shipping from Lighthouse Depot (1-800-758-1444 - ask for item # 31874). The book has information on every one of the "Lighthouses on Parade" lighthouses, the artist who painted it, why the design was chosen, and some historical information on some of Maine's lighthouses with vintage photos. Sales of the book benefit the American Lighthouse Foundation.

The historical part of the book was written by Tim Harrison, president of the American Lighthouse Foundation, editor of Lighthouse Digest Magazine and a partner at Lighthouse Depot. He will be happy to autograph the books for you, but you will need to request his autograph when ordering the book.

If you are a Harbour Lights collector you will surely want a copy of this book and take it to every Harbour Lights events and have the Harbour Lights page autographed by Bill and Nancy Younger and or their daughter Kim Andrews of Harbour Lights. This very well could be the most unique and unusual Harbour Lights collectible in you collection.

Only a limited number of copies of this book have been printed and once they are sold out, no more will ever be available.

The Parade website has been updated with pictures of the featured lighthouses and the map to where each lighthouse is located.

I walk by several of these lighthouses every day on my way to work. They're very nice!!

How about some photos, Bill?

If I make it to the LI Regional this Fall, I hope to shoot up to Maine afterwards to view lighthouses. Will these Lighthouses On Parade still be there then?

The website says that they will be sold at auction on Sept 1st, John...

I'll be heading up that way June 8th. I'll be sure to post some photos when I come back.

Too bad the LI Regional wasn't closer to the date of the Parade. I think it would be fun to have a bunch of wackos hunting down the lights in Portland.

Seeing the "list" of "parades" above, I decided to add one more. In NJ in fall, 2001, we had a Horseplay in the Hills event where there were 50 different decorated horses in the Somerset Hills area. It was TONS of fun to go out to photograph 47 of them (1 was stolen and 2 we couldn't find).

Seagirt,will you be heading out to the parade of lighthouses in the NJ area this year?

Chicago also had cows.
I saw the Belfast, Maine bears when they were on parade and I have pictures SOMEWHERE------
Rockland, Maine had the lobsters.
Hope to get up this year to see the lighthouses.

I received the Lighthouses on Parade book as a birthday present from my parents. They did a great job and I'm now looking forward to my trip even more.

Here is an article about the Atlantic City version:

http://www.pressofatlanticcity.com/news/lifestyle/052703M27LIGHTHOUSE.html

you name it, and someone will put it on parade. Shirin, where is the lighthouse on parade book available? I'm assuming Lighthouse Depot will carry it, but will any normal book channels carry it as well?

Taken from the Parade website:

Get your copy of the Hannaford's "Lighthouses on Parade" book available at participating Hannafords, businesses within the Portland Downtown District, Walden Books and online at www.lighthousedepot.com and www.portlandmaine.com

Received the following email today :


Vandals have struck six of the lighthouses of Lighthouses on Parade. All the attacks were against lighthouses on display in the Portland area.

The vandals left flyers saying that they disapprove of using the 10-foot tall artistically designed lighthouses as public art encouraging others to vandalize them. In fact one flyer requested that people should steal a police car and run the lighthouses over. Another flyer indicated disgust of taxpayer money being used for the lighthouses.

Obviously no taxpayer money was used.

This could severally hurt the auction for these lighthouses that will raise money for the Maine charities. One of the lighthouse vandalized was from the Center for Grieving Children - children who lost a parent to cancer. The stars with the names were ripped off the lighthouse. How disgusting can people get.

Profits from the sales of the book, Lighthouses on Parade will benefit the American Lighthouse Foundation. If the loss is to great from the auction, we may want to consider giving up our money for lighthouse restoration from the sales of the book to the charities. Time will tell. The lighthouses will now be repaired as best they can, so we'll see what happens.

Hopefully police will find the morons.

Lets pray that this does not continue.

That's all for this report.

Tim Harrison
www.LighthouseFoundation.org

Henry and I spent the better part of today doing a small part of the Parade of Lighthouses in southeastern Maine. We are only one and one-half hour's drive from Wells and the Lighthouse Depot. Stopped there first to buy their exclusive piece made by HL of the Portland Observatory tower, as one branch of my family came from Portland back in the 1700 and 1800's and would have seen that tower each day.

At the Depot we saw two of the 10 ft.tall fiber glass lighthouses, including the one sponsored by HL with King Kong sitting on the top. There were two others in the Wells area.

The big official Maine State Information center is on I-95 as you approach the toll section of the turnpike, NOT right at the NH-ME border. This area is confusing, as there are separate exits numbers for the beginning of the FREE part of I-95 in ME. Then the turnpike starts and those same exit numbers are used over again. Just so you don't get off at a wrong exit number.

This is a fantastic info center and has literature to pick up by the hundreds. Unfortunately the commercial lighthouse map and booklet they once sold, they are no longer allowed to sell. But do ask them for any info they have on lights and they will give you several pieces of literature. However, today they did NOT have a single thing about the Parade of Lights, one BIG snafu, as many people were asking about it. I reported this to the Lighthouse Depot, as they co-sponsor it, and hopefully that oversight will be rectified by tomorrow or so.

The Lighthouse Depot DID have a free fold-over type newspaper that had a map, list of sponsors for each lighthouse, the town it was in, and a street name. There were 67 listed towers, with most of them being in Portland. The southern most town to have them was Wells, then Kennebunk, and Saco where we ran out of time in our CHALLENGE to find them.

The map leaves a lot to be desired, as the printing of the street names is in gold and tiniest of tiny type size, which did not print up clear enough to read in most cases. I suggest you buy a Maine map that has separate maps for the towns. Or the big Maine Gazeteer book and make sure it is the one with city maps at the end.

The list gave streets, but at least in Saco, where several lighthouses were listed for Main street, they did not tell you that there is a south and a north Main street, and that wasted a lot of time in our search. Go to the north end of town for some of these Main Street lights. Neither does the map tell you which route number goes along with the word Main Street. We thought it would naturally be Rt. 1, but ended up on Rt. 9 also for a Main St/ designation. Saco is a very confusing city, as many streets converge with 4 or 5 spokes at one point. The river makes streets go off at angles. So there is no real grid pattern.

Why bother with Saco then? Because it has three FANTASTIC Parade lighthouses. Without seeing those in Portland, I will bet that at least one of these would be voted the "best" artwork or the most innovative, if such a vote were to be taken.

On the list, the name of the sponsor does not necessarily mean that the lighthouse will be on view next to that business. Example was looking in Saco for the one sponsored by Fleet Bank. Never did find the bank, but accidentally stumbled on the lighthouse on Middle Street on display in the courtyard of a HUGE retirement complex. Mark this one down as it is the one I call the BEST for artwork: it had, if not all, then most of the Maine lighthouses individually painted in beautiful and supreme detail onto this 10 foot tower. It was surrounded by a circle of beautiful flowers. We talked to the gardener and he told us that the tower was actually painted in a room inside of this retirement complex, where people could watch the artist at work. Do NOT miss this one !!!

Camera equipment: come equipped with a camera that can do some close-up photography; or a telephoto that will allow you to stand back but still fill your frame with just a small part of the artwork, to complement the over-all view of the tower. A flash may be handy, as on a sunny day, part of any tower will be on a shady side yet might have a nice scene painted on it. Or as today, it got very dim in bad weather, and the flash will perk up the colors. If using a flash, try not to aim it and the camera straight on at the tower, as some towers have a glossy finish and you will get a hotspot glare back in your lens from the flash's reflection. Try aiming the flash, at least, if it is an off-camera flash, at an angle to the tower.

Unfortunately I don't think there were any photographers on the committee, as there does not seem to be any guidelines for placing these beautiful towers so that there is a nice uncluttered background for them. One placed at the sponsoring Hannaford store in Wells, competed with their rows of metal grocery carts outdoors within a foot of the tower, and cars parking in front of it in the fire lane. Another one s. of Kennebunk was placed so that the photo would have to include a big sign in the scene. A little more thought should have gone into placement so that tourists could walk away with a really nice photo.

There is no way you will be able to see all of these lights in one day, nor probably even two days. A lot of time is taken in just trying to find them, hence your need for a very detailed map; and in finding a place to park for those which are located on busy city streets.

I would suggest your looking at the website which now has photos of each light, and clicking on the enlarged view and try to see which ones would interest you most for photos. If you order that book from the Depot, the pictures I saw in it today were beautiful and would give you the best way to judge your choices for viewing if time is a factor. I wish I could have seen the one that looks like a coffee pot, spout and handle and all.

When you do look over your route, DO include Saco for the three very unique ones. Look at the webpage and click onto "page 2" for the lights sponsored by Fleet; and by General Dynamics. Fleet has the one with all the individual paintings of the ME real lighthouses. General Dynamics site has a tower sitting on an open-bed trailer filled with granite rocks and some bright lobster buoys. The base of the tower has some painted buoys, so the two flow nicely into each other for continuity. There is a nice marine scene painted around the tower.

Click onto page 4 of the lights on the webpage and look for the one sponsored by Biddeford and Saco Savings. This one is downtown right on the sidewalk and is quite unique and my second favorite. The tower shows a female artist with paintbrush raised, painting in the feathers on a flying seagull, with a background accent of Cape Porpoise Light out on the island. The lantern top is open and contains a glowing halogen light. The "shingling" of the tower roof and lower sides is created by hundreds and hundreds of pennies glued to overlap. For detailed and maritime subject matter, these 3 would be ideal.

We saw others that looked like a beehive; sporting letters of a company logo; children climbing a ladder; titles of books; many posters, but none came close in beauty to the three in Saco that I have described.

The flyer I picked up today mentioned the auction for a bit later in Sept. But I think they will all be transported to one location for auction bidding, so I would get up to see them before the end of August; and/or call/email the contact at Hannaford and try to pin down the dates when these towers will be removed from the various towns they now sit in.

If you hope to go to Maine in the summer and especially on a weekend, make an advance motel reservation NOW. You usually can't find a motel just by driving along the coast on a weekend without a reservation. This is still early in the season, and the Sat. tourist traffic was heavy already today.

Have fun watching these mini lighthouses spark everyone's interest.

KTF, Barb

Here's Harbour Lights "Cape Ape" lighthouse. Could this be the ONLY lighthouse with a website URL on it?

http://www.thebigparade.com/lighthouses/photos.php?id=14

Nine NELL members gathered this Saturday at noon to start our Maine Weekend. We met up at the Lighthouse Depot to kick off the weekend with 2 days of chasing the Lighthouses on Parade. The Cape Ape Lighthouse greets you as you enter the Depot.



Before entering the Depot you also get to see the Undercover Lighthouse.




The group then spent the remainder of Saturday and Sunday hunting down as many lights as possible. We managed to hit 46 lights in the time we spent driving all over the Portland area. We had minor issues with a few wrong turns, one close call on an accident but tons of fun!

One fun spot was the light at Haven's Candies where we got to enjoy chocolate lighthouse pops.


A favorite of the group was the Blue Willow Teapot light.



I have many more photos which I will be uploading soon. Check out my photo album. Lighthouses on Parade