Since 1992
Print and digital marketing
SOUTH PARIS — The Paris Hill Music Festival will begin its first year of concerts Thursday, Aug. 10, at 7 p.m. at the First Baptist Church of Paris, 500 Paris Hill Road, featuring a hometown favorite — Schooner Fare. This beloved group started with a humble beginning but now has a national and international following.
Schooner Fare has won unanimous critical praise for captivating harmonies and winning stage presence. In addition to its numerous original songs with both contemporary and traditional themes, the band members also write and performs topical songs, country ballads and maritime masterpieces, making the name synonymous with the “Down East” style.
Consummate entertainers, their energetic concerts are laced with a Maine brand of universal humor. Combining their talents on six-string guitars, twelve-string guitars and banjos, Schooner Fare’s distinctive vocal and instrumental arrangements have been hailed by such folk music icons as the Kingston Trio, the Limeliters, the Chad Mitchell Trio, the Clancy Brothers, Tommy Makem and Tom Paxton.
Schooner Fare’s many recordings receive radio play on four continents and world-wide on satellite radio. The original songs of Schooner Fare’s Chuck and Steve Romanoff continue to be recorded and performed by other artists in the U.S., Canada, Britain, Ireland and Australia.
Tickets for the performance are selling fast at $25 per person. They may be purchased in South Paris at the Paris Hill Country Club and Bolster’s Decorating in Market Square, and at Books-n-Things on Main Street in Norway. Tickets may also be purchased via phone by calling 207-743-9390.
Other performers will include the DaPonte String Quartet performing classical music Friday, Aug. 11, at 7 p.m. ($20 per person). Noel Paul Stookey — founding member of the musical trio Peter, Paul and Mary — will perform Saturday, Aug. 12, at 7 p.m., ($30 per person). Chris Humphrey Jazz Quartet will close the festival Sunday, Aug. 13, at 3 p.m. ($20 per person).
There will be a Music Expo Saturday at The Common on Paris Hill, next door to the church. There will be food and fair vendors, many of whom will be specializing in music offers. Throughout the day, there will be an ongoing list of stage performers sharing their music from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. These performances will be free to the public. Please bring a comfortable chair. There will be a tent to help with those who need shade. There is free parking and no entry fee to our guests. Come and enjoy a free day of musical entertainment.
This festival is a non-profit event. Proceeds from the festival-sponsored events will go to future festivals, student music scholarships and the renovation and maintenance of the historic church building of the First Baptist Church of Paris, dating back to 1838 with an authentic Paul Revere bell.
Food and fair vendors are still being enlisted. For more information about becoming a vendor or about the festival itself, contact Mary Beth Caffey at 207-754-7970 or mbcaffey@gmail.com.
