Main Street Bucksport's mission is to build a more vibrant and sustainable downtown by engaging community members, local leaders, and visitors, supporting entrepreneurship, and celebrating downtown assets. We are a network community of the Maine Downtown Center and affiliated with the Main Street National Program.
For centuries, the Bucksport Bay Area has called to visitors from near and far, enticing them to visit — and often, to stay. This small town with a big bay — and an excellent town dock for those sailing or cruising in — surrounded by several smaller towns and acres of forest, many of them with public trails as well as many lakes and ponds that are open for swimming, picnicking, canoing, kayaking and equipped with public boat launches. For those looking for a break on a long car ride, Main Street Bucksport offers plenty of easy parking so you can stretch your legs while you walk to explore all the shops and restaurants.
The mission of Main Street Bucksport is to promote a vibrant downtown Bucksport by supporting existing businesses, attracting new businesses, and supporting cultural arts events that bring people downtown. We are a network community of the Maine Downtown Center and affiliated with the Main Street National Program.
Main Street Bucksport (MSB) formed in the fall of 2014 shortly after the announcement of the closure of the Verso paper mill. We are a group of all volunteer Board members comprised of local business owners and citizens who are committed to the revitalization of downtown. In today’s changing economy, many people can choose to live wherever they want; the decision isn’t necessarily tied to a physical work location. Instead, both working people and retirees are drawn to creative communities that are friendly and welcoming and have unique, locally owned businesses and events that cannot be found elsewhere. Bucksport has already made great strides in meeting these goals and we believe that the Main Street program can help move the community even further by using nationally proven methods to revitalize and improve the downtown area.
Read Main Street Bucksport three-year strategic plan here. We welcome your feedback on this plan, or on any other aspect of our work, at any time.
Main Street Bucksport’s by-laws
Ron Russell, President
Robin McCarthy, Vice President
John Paul LaLonde, Treasurer
David Doane
Andy Lacher
Richard Rosen
Rich Rotella (ex officio)
Brook Ewing Minner, Executive Director
2020
2019
2018 (MSB Board met every other month from Jan. through May)
2017
2016 (please note that Main Street Bucksport was not incorporated until October 2016; some meeting minutes prior to that date are not available.)
2015
Main Street Bucksport operates on a calendar fiscal year. We are a non-profit 501c3 organization with one part-time employee and a volunteer Board of Directors who oversee fiscal management and the work of the Executive Director. In the spirit of transparency, we invite you to review our annual budgets. These budgets are also submitted to the Town Council during our annual funding request in the spring and are made publicly available on the Town’s website. Budgets from previous years show actual end of year figures. The current year budget is the one approved by the Board and serves as our guiding financial document. MSB received 501c3 status late in 2016 so official budgets are not available prior to 2017.
The 6th annual Bucksport Arts Festival takes place August 7 & 8, 2020 on the beautiful Bucksport Waterfront Walkway. Applications are now being accepted for interested artists and can be obtained by contacting Brook at brook@mainstreetbucksport.org. Online applications will be available soon. Learn more at the Festival’s Facebook page, Learn More
Main Street Bucksport is the community partner bringing the annual Bridge the Gap Race to downtown Bucksport in collaboration with Crow Athletics. All race information and registration can be found at Bridge the Gap Web site.
Main Street Bucksport and World Ocean Observatory bring you the 5th annual International Maritime Film Festival, a weekend-long documentary film festival celebrating all things ocean. All festival information, including how to submit your film, can be found HERE