A Bigger Night for MOFF in Ellsworth
For the Maine Outdoor Film Festival’s third year in Ellsworth, we wanted an evening where people could gather, eat, explore local organizations and experience outdoor storytelling all in one place. Moving the event from the Franklin Street Parklet to Knowlton Park gave that vision room to grow.
On Wednesday, August 26, the park’s natural slope became an outdoor theater. Food vendors lined the edge of the event, community organizations connected with attendees and families continued enjoying the playground as people settled in for the films. With beautiful weather and one very bright moon overhead, the setting could not have felt more fitting.
Guests enjoyed food from Flanders Bay Barbecue, Downtown Charcuterie and The Blue Chill, along with popcorn and concessions from The Grand. Frenchman Bay Conservancy, Volta Climbing and Fitness, the Oceanarium and Education Center, Maine Outdoor School and the Ellsworth Public Library joined us to offer even more ways for attendees to explore, learn and engage throughout the evening.
Before the films began, Kary from Volta Climbing and Fitness and Thomasina from Frenchman Bay Conservancy shared a few words about their work and connection to the outdoors. We then drew three raffle winners, all of whom were present to receive their prizes.
The raffle raised funds to support our free community programming, with a portion going to the Grayson Mote Memorial Scholarship at Ellsworth High School. We are grateful to everyone who purchased tickets and helped us honor Grayson’s adventurous spirit through an event centered around so many of the things he loved.
The evening also included the first public showing of something we have been quietly working on over the past several months. Before the festival program began, we shared our new organization story video, created with No Umbrella Media. The video brings together the people, places and work that shape our impact throughout Ellsworth. We cannot wait to share it more widely in the near future, but those gathered at Knowlton Park received the very first look.
More than 100 people joined us throughout the evening, and the feedback we heard was overwhelmingly positive. People loved the park, the food, the films and the opportunity to experience a familiar public space in a new way.
The films that followed were adventurous, thoughtful and beautifully made. We cannot thank the Maine Outdoor Film Festival and No Umbrella Media team enough for helping us bring this experience back to Ellsworth.
We are also deeply grateful to the City of Ellsworth, Volta Climbing and Fitness, Frenchman Bay Conservancy, every participating organization and vendor, our volunteers and everyone who joined us.
We left Knowlton Park feeling incredibly proud of what this event became and excited about its potential to continue growing. It was a beautiful night for Ellsworth, and we truly could not have asked for a better one.