Rogue hive storms Congress Street
It's not every day that you see a giant swarm of BEES in downtown Portland – but that's precisely what happened last Thursday!
To the surprise of pedestrians along Congress Street, thousands of bees were seen (and heard!) swarming in and around a METRO bus shelter. While some onlookers fled in terror, others watched in awe as the "bee tornado" swirled above the sidewalk.
As luck would have it, our very own downtown police cadet,
Katie Bertin
, was patrolling the area on foot. Upon assessing this most unusual situation, Cadet Bertin exhibited quick thinking by calling in reinforcements: namely, the
Maine State Beekeepers Association
. Within minutes, beekeepers
Peter Doria
and
Phil Gaven
of
The Honey Exchange
arrived at the scene and began safely collecting the bees. Crisis averted. Bees rescued. Zero stings!
Our hats off to the "Swarm Team" for saving the day – and to Cadet Bertin, who keeps our downtown safe in ways she never would have imagined! #unBEElievable
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Shopping for the greater good
When small businesses team up to create positive change in our community, it's a beautiful thing. Earlier this month,
Portland Downtown
and
Bangor Savings Bank
were delighted to present
LearningWorks
with proceeds from our most recent
Shop For A Cause Day
. The event – held Saturday, June 8th – brought together 20 downtown merchants
for
a common goal: to raise money and awareness for LearningWorks' incredible array of educational programs for children, adults, and families.
Our thanks to WMTW Channel 8 for covering our check presentation (see the story
here
) and
thank
you to our participating merchants including:
Coffee By Design
,
Cool As A Moose
,
Edgecomb Potters
,
The Fish & Bone
,
Folia Jewelry
,
LeRoux Kitchen
,
Liberty Graphics
,
Lisa-Marie's Made in Maine
,
Maine Craft Portland
,
Maine Duck Tours
,
Market Square Jewelers
,
Mexicali Blues
,
Old Port Spirits & Cigars
,
Portmanteau
,
Se Vende
,
The Sock Shack
,
Something's Fishy
,
Treehouse Toys
,
Uncommon Paws
, and
Vena's Fizz House
.
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Meet Adam MacDonald
A Q & A with our Marketing Director
How long have you worked for Portland Downtown?
September will mark four years!
What makes the Portland Downtown mission meaningful to you?
Keeping our downtown "clean, safe, and vibrant" truly takes a village, and I love the way our organization collaborates in creative ways with so many community partners. Most recently, I was happy to see our
summer beautification projects
add color & life to city streets. Looking ahead, I'm excited about a multimodal transportation marketing campaign that we'll be rolling out in the fall. At the core of all we do is a sincere and passionate drive to make downtown a better place for everyone – and I'm proud to be a part of it.
What makes your job fun?
I've always said that I have the best job because I get to help people love downtown even more than they already do! Whether it's through feel-good events like
Downtown Worker Appreciation Day
or fun photos on our
Instagram
(not to mention enewsletters like this one!) I get to "surprise and delight" our friends & fans with all things Portland Downtown. I also have the best colleagues in the world! When we're not hard at work, we keep things extra fun with staff potlucks, hallway pow-wows, and epic rounds of Scrabble with
this
office-friendly magnetic board.
What are some of your favorite hotspots downtown?
With so many amazing options, my favorite places seem to change weekly! As far as Food + Drink goes, I'm having a love affair with anything served on "Dutch Crunch" bread at
Dutch's
; the fun-to-share vegetarian sampler at
Asmara
; and pretty much any of the creative and beautifully presented cocktails at The Jewel Box. I'm also currently obsessed with the "Celebrated Cheeseburger" at
Floods
. Suffice it say: it's a gamechanger.
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