Highly recommend Maine Media Workshops + College of Rockport, mid-coast Maine for quality of…read morefaculty, staff, students, on-site housing, location near Rockport Harbor, layout of campus, & even delicious food. You will work hard, learn lots, and love learning, too. Superb energy. Both my IRL classes were one-week intensive Summer Program non-fiction WRITING workshops, plus an excellent online workshop during worst of pandemic. Rating: Ten stars out of five! Note: I am a Writer & am reviewing only writing Workshops I attended, on campus & virtual.

Film directing intensives are mostly just chit chat. No real hands on experience unless you fight…read morehard to wrangle a camera and get someone to help you edit your scene. They don't leave enough time in the day for all filmmakers to work. Staff is almost impossible to reach. Also not interested in being reached. Place doesn't even have a printer for students to use. Instructors are great, but their hands are tied. Most equipment is reserved for cinematography students. Trust me. This place ain't what it used to be. Not even close. Can blame some things on the pandemic, but not everything. Also, campus food is VERY expensive (tastes terrible) and not available after hours 6pm. They have Lobster dinners once a week that you have to pay top dollar for. If you want to learn how to make films, I suggest not trekking all the way here to do it. Save the cash.

The Center for Furniture Craftsmanship was founded in 1974 by Peter Korn. It offers a variety of…read morecourses, from ones lasting 9 months to shorter ones lasting a couple of months to summer courses lasting a couple of weeks. The minimum age of students is 17. I doubt there's a maximum. If you go to their website you will learn more information than I can give here. We learned about the Center's existence yesterday when we observed a blue highway marking sign. We missed the much larger sign beside/behind it, although we saw it today when we pulled in. We parked in front of the office and gallery space and walked in. We were greeted by Peter Korn, who told us about the current exhibit and offered us a tour of a workshop after we took in the exhibit. See my review for the Messler Gallery for more about the show. We walked down the stairs and across a gravel path to the workshop area. We walked through the work space, where people were working on chairs. We had mentioned living near Walnut Creek CA and were introduced to a student who came from there as well as to one of the instructors and a coupe of other students. Peter showed us where the wood is stored for the Center, hardwoods and sheets. It was very impressive. He offered to take us over to another space, more of a co-working space where students can experiment w/ new techniques, etc. We wanted to, but felt I had reached the end of my capacity for walking on unlevel surfaces, so we reluctantly passed on the opportunity. Alan and I marveled that after all the years we've been coming to this area this was the first time we had discovered the Center. We were glad we did and appreciated Peter taking the time to give us the tour.

This was one of the few things to do in Rockland on a quiet Monday. Be warned, if you arrive off…read moreseason most stores, shops, and even restaurants will likely be closed but the museum is worth a visit regardless. I can appreciate the efforts of this museum and their commitment to sharing art. We received passes from our hotel nearby and walked over. The building itself is beautiful and the interior is bright and open. They had about four exhibits the day we arrived, each one perfectly described and appointed. I would visit again if I ever had the opportunity. I have a feeling there is a lot in store for this museum!

A stunning setting for terrific exhibitions by artists with Maine roots or connections. It's like…read morea taste of NYC's Whitney or the Boston ICA in Rockland. The modern, light-filled galleries designed by NYC-based architect Toshiko Mori (who has a place on North Haven), offer a bright counterpoint to the dark brick-and-wood interiors of older buildings nearby.

As we were driving north to the place we are staying in Rockport our attention was caught by a…read moresmall blue highway marker reading The Center for Furniture Craftsmanship. Interestingly, we completely overlooked the large, beautiful sign next to it. I repeated the name to myself several times as we were driving so I would remember it and when we reached the place and set up the computer I looked it up. We decided to visit Messler Gallery, which is the Center's display space, today. As we walked in we were greeted by Peter Korn, the Center's director. They're having a show of student work which ends May 31. They have four exhibits a year. This particular show is of the work of students who are completing their 9 month residential training program. The students, men and women, come from all over. Several are from Camden but one man came from Hawaii, another from Walnut Creek, California, near to where we live. Others come from Florida, Minnesota and New Jersey. We walked through the show and were enthralled by the beauty and craftsmanship on display. Some standing pieces, some wall hung. There was a lovely whiskey cabinet. There were benches and tables, even a couple of lamps. The designs were interesting and unusual, the finishes smooth and refined. There were no chairs, because chairs are the students' final project. After we had admired the work in the gallery we checked in w/ Peter, who offered us a tour of one of the workshops. See my review of the Center for Furniture Craftsmanship for more details.

I was here during the Shop Hop in Oct and loved it. The ladies working there were very nice and…read morehelpfull. I will be returning when I return to Maine.

It is very disorganized and the place has a horrible smell that just followed me home sorry.read more

Great school and courses, and excellent instructors! Beautiful setting in Brooklin ME, right on…read moreEggemoggin Reach

I saw this in the listings and even though i have no personal experience with the school i needed…read moreto comment since it has always been part of a fantasy of my sister and i. When driving to one of our favorite beaches down-east we always passed the Wooden Boat School. Sometimes we would stop since it is located near a beautiful inlet that you could only imagine if you have been to this part of Maine. It always got us thinking about what it would be like to go to a wooden boat school. What kind of degree does one walk away with? A BBS (Bachelors in the Boat Sciences)? Maybe one day we will go, and if we do we can help you build a boat.

My autistic son just made it through his freshman year and let me tell you... never has he has such…read morea wonderful experience. We moved from a southern state where his disabilities were not accepted very well even by school staff. This was our last hope for a good school who could not only educate him, but accept him as a person. He is now a part of the unified basketball team, he cooks, he cleans, he does it all! The staff are amazing and the principal greats all the kids & staff at the front door every morning. The ladies in the front office are the nicest people I have ever met and everyone welcomes you with open arms. This is such a safe place for my children I couldn't be happier.

Down East is run by expert birder and naturalist Michael Good. It was my good fortune to have him…read morerecommended to me on a recent trip to Mount Desert Island. His infectious enthusiasm helped create a memorable day with lots of great sightings. I'm an experienced birder but would not have known the best places to look for the migrating warblers and other songbirds I came to see. Michael took us right to the hot spots, all the while explaining all about the local ecology and geologic history. He wowed us with his incredible ability to hear and identify every bird song near or far, all the while instructing me and my novice-birder husband on what to watch or listen for. Friendly and personable, Michael would be a great guide for birders at any level of experience, or for anyone (including families with kids) wanting their trip to Acadia to be enriched by a deeper look into the natural history of the area.

Excellent experience! Michael Good expanded our knowledge ten-fold in a four-hour morning. He…read moreadapts the experience to all levels of birders. We will always remember our day on Mt Desert Island with Michael. We highly recommend.