UMaine to host Maine Statehood and Bicentennial Conference May 30–June 1
The University of Maine will host the Maine Statehood and Bicentennial Conference May 30–June 1.
The conference will feature a series of events, panels, presentations and concerts celebrating the unique history of Maine, its peoples, culture, politics, art and music.
Registration for the conference is online. The registration fee for the general public is $60. University of Maine System faculty, staff and students may register for free. In conjunction with the conference, UMaine also will host the Maine History Festival 2:30–4:30 p.m. May 31 at the Collins Center for the Arts.
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Students and community organizations from around the state will gather at the festival to share their research and public programs about any aspect of Maine history, society and culture.
The Maine History Festival is co-hosted by the Osher Map Library at the University of Southern Maine and the Maine Folklife Center at UMaine in partnership with National History Day in Maine and the Maine Historical Society.The conference keynote event featuring Pulitzer Prize-winning historians Alan Taylor and Laurel Thatcher Ulrich will take place at 5 p.m. May 31, immediately following the festival.
The Maine History Festival, which includes a reception, and the keynote are free and open to the public. Attendees do not need to register in advance.
Funding for the conference is provided by the Morton-Kelly Charitable Trust and Maine Humanities Council, as well as UMaine’s Clement and Linda McGillicuddy Humanities Center and President’s Office. Many UMaine departments and programs are institutional partners, and other contributors include the University of Maine at Machias, University of Maine at Fort Kent, University of Maine at Augusta, University of Maine at Farmington, Maine State Museum, and Margaret Chase Smith Library.
The conference is one of several events across the state to mark Maine’s bicentennial. The state’s 200th birthday is March 15, 2020.
More about the Maine Statehood and Bicentennial Conference, including a complete schedule, is online. For additional information, email Liam Riordan, riordan@maine.edu. For more about the Maine History Festival, email Libby Bischof, elizabeth.bischof@maine.edu.
Contact: Alan Berry, 581.1955