cultural center

It's about community.
It's about culture.
It's about time!

The Mission of the Newport Cultural Center, home of the Public Library, and the Historical Society & Museum, is to enhance the cultural life of its patrons through access to educational, historical and recreational resources, as well as to preserve Newport's heritage.

The Newport Cultural Center will provide:

. A climate controlled environment to help preserve the library's collection and historically valuable objects

.  Access to people of all ages and physical abilities

.  Public meeting room for community use

.  A cozy, cheerful children's section

.  Genealogical research room

.  Bright, comfortable reading areas

. Eight station computer center

. An artifact work shop area

.  Spacious arts and crafts room for children

.  A vault for vital public records

. The Newport Cultural Center will meet ADA compliance standards including accessible restrooms and an elevator to the lower level.

Fund-raising Campaign Chairs

mike, mary ellen, goody
Mike Crosby, Mary Ellen Tardy, Goody Gilman

The Advisory Board

Paula Scott
Gwen Emery
Don Emery
Maxine Pare
Richard Parlee
Barbara Brown
Phil Brown
Polly Michaud
John Michaud

Campaign Committee

Goody Gilman, Honorary Chair
Mike Crosby, Co-Chair
Mary Ellen Tardy, Co-Chair
Alan Campbell
Kelley Carter
Dick Stone
Dan Gerry
Cliff Vining

The Building Committee

Don Emery, Chair
Eileen Bemis
Gwen Emery
Ronald Hopkins
Leona McCartin
Linda Miller
Roland Petersen
Dick Stone

exterior view
(rendition of finished project)

      Click for the Show              Click the photo to see the progress
show

directors
Goody Gilman, Gwen Emery and Don Emery breaking the ground! yea!

groundbreakers

NEWPORT CULTURAL CENTER LAUNCHES GROUNDBREAKING CAMPAIGN!!!

You can still be a part of Newport history and join the "Groundbreakers Club". Your name will be prominently and permanently recognized within the Cultural Center!

To obtain a form to join the Groundbreakers Club you may download most recent
newsletter in PDF format or call 368-4410. speakers 2 landers group

A Pledge from Away

A former resident of Corinna and a graduate of Nokomis, Class of 1972, has pledged to the Newport Cultural Center. Captain Rick Wesley and his wife Dianne, who now reside in Savanah, Georgia, read about NCC on the town of Newport website. He contacted the town office and made a pledge of $10,000, naming a bench in the landscaping.

In speaking with Captain Wesley, he stated how he believed this project to be an exceptional endeavor, not just for Newport, but for all the surrounding communities. He also expressed his desire to do something for his home state, especially for the local community which had been so much a part of his life.

We are thankful for his gift and for the fact that this website is reaching far beyond Newport's borders.


NCC interior

THE NEWPORT CULTURAL CENTER BUILDING PROJECT:
$1.1 M+ RAISED SO FAR


Olivia McAnirlin presents
the Newport Cultural Center with $507.

On Friday, October 6th , Olivia McAnirlin, a sixth grade student at Sebasticook Valley Middle School, presented Gwen Emery with a gift of $507.00 dollars to be put toward the Newport Cultural Center's Capital Campaign. Olivia spent her summer vacation embarking on a personal read-a-thon in which she read over 30 books with a minimum of 150 pages each. She asked friends, family members and the Gannett Foundation to sponsor her for the amount of books read. By the time school had started, she had raised a total of $507.00.

Giving to her community by raising money for the Newport Cultural Center has become as important to Olivia as reading. In 2002, while in the fourth grade, Olivia had also given up her summer vacation for the sake of books, raising $120.00 for the Newport Cultural Center. On Wednesday, October 11th, the Newport Cultural Center Board of Directors presented Olivia with the "Cultured Kids Award" in recognition of her outstanding community service.


book buddy group

The Erbs and the "Book Buddy" Program

On Friday, September 26th, Cindi Fredette's first grade class and Lisa Sawyer's third grade class went to the Newport Public Library as part of their "Book Buddy" program. Once there, the children were given $500.00 by Ray and Tina Erb of Newport Metals who wanted to do something that would help school children with books and reading programs. The children, in turn, gave the donation to the Newport Cultural Center in order to build a better library.

The "Book Buddy" program is designed to facilitate first and third graders reading together, as well as working together on crafts and activities. According to Mrs. Fredette "This not only fosters friendships in and outside of school, but also fosters reading and a love of learning for the children." This program and others like it will be promoted by the Newport Cultural Center which has as part of its mission to "enhance the cultural life of it's patrons through access to educational, historical and recreational resources"

FIRST ANNUAL
NEWPORT CULTURAL CENTER
5K RUN / WALK and 1 M FUN RUN

 Newport Cultural Center 5K
Newport Cultural Center 5K
boy scouts

Boy Scout Troop 63 gives $10,000.00 to Newport Cultural Center

Scouts in Boy Scout Troop #63 recently took part in an awards ceremony at Newport during which they made a gift to the Newport Cultural Center in the amount of $10,000.00. Eagle Scout Dustin Kokotovich, presented the check to the Paula Scott, Secretary of the Advisory Board.

After individual awards were given to the Scouts, the Troop made a presentation to representatives from the NCC Advisory Board, Building Committee, and Community Committee. According to Michael Cuskelly, Sr. District Executive of the Penquis District, Katahdin Area Council, "Scouting teaches to always give back to the community and this is how we do that. But it's not just what we do, it's what we build. We buildcharacter that will last these boys throughout their lives. The facilities we have are the mechanisms to make it happen."

February Newsletter available as PDF (for Adobe Reader)

dean homstead

BUDS SHOP 'N SAVE GIVES $10,000
The Newport Cultural Center has received a check for $10,000.00 from Bud's Shop n Save, Newport branch, naming the large storage area in the lower level. "This is an incredible opportunity for Newport and we are happy to be on board."stated owner Dean Homstead (shown in photo on right).

Upon receiving the check, Mike Crosby (in photo on left), Co-Chair of the Capital Campaign committee stated "We appreciate the very generous gift of $10,000.00 from Dean Homstead and Bud's Shop'n Save. Every gift to our worthy project is appreciated. These large capital donations especially give us all a boost and the courage to press on toward our August goal of breaking ground."

For information on naming gifts, please contact the town office at 368-4410.

January Newsletter available as PDF (for Adobe Reader)

The campaign to build the Newport Cultural Center, represents a major collaborative effort between the Public Library and Historical Society.

In 1993 the Library Board of Trustees recognized that space limitations were hampering the library's ability to serve patrons and fulfill it's mission. The Trustees determined that making renovations to the existing library or building an addition would not be feasible.

Several facts underscore the critical need for increased space the Newport Cultural Center will provide. Both the library and historical society have outgrown their current facilities. The Newport Public Library (built in 1955) at 800 square feet, can be described as tiny.

The Historical Society Museum with 1,000 square feet of display space, is not able to display all the pieces in its collection. Neither facility can provide access to their collections to people of all ages and abilities. There is no available space for programs, classes, workshops or events.

Their respective facilities are not compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). They are not climate controlled, and thus both the library's and the historical society's collections are at risk of being lost.

The construction of theNewport Cultural Center will strengthen both organizations, preserve their collections, and provide greater access to books, reference materials, computers, the internet, historic artifacts, genealogical records and public spaces.

The Newport Cultural Center's innovative design blends the collections of the library with artifacts and objects of the Newport Historical Society collection.

The Newport Cultural Center will be a comfortable, bright facility where one will want to pause to reflect on the rich heritage of this 190 year-old community at the crossroads of Central Maine.

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fish weir

Newport's Native American heritage will be featured in a new permanent display at the Center.

In 1992 an ancient Native American fish weir (a submerged wooden fish trap) was discovered in Sebasticook Lake. The weir is at least 5,800 years old, pre-dating the pyramids of ancient Egypt, making it the oldest dated fish weir in North America.

The Fish Weir display, designed by Maine State Archaeologist Dr. Arthur Spiess, will provide the public's only access to what is certainly the most historically significant artifact representing Newport's Native American Heritage.

The Campaign

The $1.4 million campaign to build the 14,000 square foot New England-style
Newport Cultural Center is an extraordinary endeavor for our entire community. When completed, the Newport Cultural Center will be a facility enjoyed by every generation - preschoolers to our senior citizens.

For more information, call write or e-mail:
Newport Cultural Center Capital Campaign
23 Water Street Newport, ME 04953
207-368-4410

Jim Ricker, Town Manager