Monhegan Abundance

It is easy to get caught up in the day to day of life and forget to acknowledge and show gratitude for the abundance.

Next week September 30- October 2, Monhegan Island will be celebrating abundance. The abundance of the sea, the land, and the community.

The celebration is centered around Trap Day, the start of the lobster season on Monhegan.

The fun starts on September 30th. At 10 am there will be a fermented foods workshop presented by Tara Hire of Monhegan Wellness. She will demonstrate how to make several fermented foods, speak to their health benefits and provide a tasting.  At 1 pm Fiore olive oil & vinegar and Breakwater Vineyards will provide a joint tasting of their products both of which are local to the Mid-coast area. At 3:30 pm Elise Richer will be at the Monhegan Memorial Library selling and signing her cookbook, Always In Season.

The workshops will be held at the Monhegan Wellness studio, take a left at the Church (up Horn’s Hill past the Novelty), go to the top of the hill and make a left towards the meadow, there is a lovely little sign pointing the way.

September 30th is also the last day the Monhegan Historical and Cultural Museum will be open for the season, celebrate the abundance of history and culture that Monhegan has to offer and the community that takes the time to conserve the history by visiting the museum from 1:30-3:30 pm.

Breakfast (7:45 am) and Dinner (6:30 pm) at the Trailing Yew will highlight fermented foods on their menu.

Come a little early to dinner and participate in a friendly game of horse shoes. The games will commence around 5:30 pm each day.

Fermented Carrots
Fermented Carrots

 

October 1 is Trap Day, the day gets started at dawn, boats get loaded with traps, captains and sternmen pace around anxious to start, but no one starts until all of the captains are ready to go. The captains chatter on their radios to one another and once everyone is ready, they take off to their favorite fishing spots. You can observe the activity from Fish Beach, Swim Beach or  near the Island Inn. The boats come into the dock several times each to get loaded up with traps before taking off again to set.

At 1 pm on the first, Elise Richer, author of Always In Seasonwill be joining us at the Monhegan Wellness studio for a cooking demonstration and tasting. She will prepare several dishes from her cookbook and you will get to taste them. Tara Hire, of Monhegan Wellness, will also be demonstrating how to cook a lobster and pick it clean.

Breakfast (7:45 am) and Dinner (6:30 pm) at the Trailing Yew will highlight the lobster caught that day and other seafood.

5:30 pm: Horseshoes at the Trailing Yew

Getting ready to set traps
Getting ready to set traps

On October 2nd the festivities highlight the Island Farm Project, Monhegan Brewing Co. and local artists and crafters. At 10 am Sue Jenkins will lead us on a tour of the Island Farm Project. You will learn about small plot farming and Permaculture. You will also have the opportunity to harvest your own pumpkin. From 2-4 pm all of the artist studios and galleries as well as Winter Works will be open allowing you the time to visit all of the studios in one day. At 5 pm, Mary Weber will give a tour and tasting of the Monhegan Brewing Co. She will speak to the challenges of having a brewery 12 miles out to sea, how she learned the trade and give a tasting of all of the beers on tap. Each participant will leave with a commemorative glass.

Breakfast (7:45 am) and Dinner (6:30 pm) at the Trailing Yew will highlight Monhegan Brewing Co. beer and squash harvested by the Island Farm Project.

5:30 pm: Horsehoes at the Trailing Yew

All of the meals at the Trailing Yew will be made from foods as locally sourced as possible. Before dinner each evening there will be a horseshoe tournament so arrive early and socialize.
IMG_4621_2 Tara Hire of Monhegan Wellness will be offering yoga from 8 am to9 am Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday.

The Monhegan Historical and Cultural Museum closes on September 30th, the curator is looking for volunteers to help clean up the buildings on October 2nd. Please be in touch with Tara Hire or Jenn Pye at 207-596-7003 to sign up to volunteer.

Join the Monhegan Island community in celebrating the abundance of our island, September 30-October 2.