40 | belfast bay & beyond 2010
plenty of aircraft, but many people don't know
it exists, because the airport doesn't cater to
commercial airlines due to the short runway.
However, Belfast Municipal Airport is a great
spot to land a private plane or a small personal
aircraft. Mack Point in Searsport is a major
marine intermodal cargo terminal serving the
needs of shippers moving products into and
out of Maine, and its on-site rail yard provides
service to both the U.S. and Canada.
Bank of America is a major employer in the
area with a call center in a state-of-the-art facil-
ity created by MBNA in the mid-1990s. New
to the area is athenahealth, providing many job
opportunities as another one of Waldo County's
leading employers. With about130 employees,
athenahealth is getting the kind of workers they
need. "We [Belfast] provide people who know
how to work," says town manager Joe Slocum.
"We have great workers with fantastic work
ethics."
Even though Waldo County has these and
other large businesses, it has a fair share of smaller
businesses, too. Hamilton Marine in Searsport
started out as a small family business and now
has stores located in Searsport, Portland, and
Rockland. Marshall Wharf Brewing Company
is one of Belfast's newer businesses, and has
introduced a beer-tasting room--perfect for
those hot summer days. And countless tributes
to the entrepreneurial spirit are everywhere--in
the form of retail stores, restaurants, B&Bs, art
galleries, and fishing vessels.
Arts And Culture
There's no shortage of arts in the area. There
are dozens of galleries with a variety of subject
material, methods, and moods. "The gallery
scene is very popular," says Kevin Johnson, who
works at Penobscot Bay Maritime Museum.
"We have contemporary work and there's also
more traditional art to be found."
Downtown hosts a series of Friday Night
Art Walks from July to December. Artists open
their galleries until 8 p.m. and are available
to talk about their art. Local artists also help
"design" the downtown each year through
a project called Eco-Motion started by Giff
Jamison of Waterfall Arts, where sculptures are
created by local artists. "This year there was a
bicycle theme," Jamison says. "The sculptures
were made out of recycled parts, which added
a message of sustainability."
In summer, music is also a key part of life
in downtown Belfast, with performances from
steel drum bands to jazz to contra music. Street
performers such as dancers and mimes add to
the festive mix.
Poetry, too, is a large aspect of the artistic
community. Each year for the Belfast Poetry
Festival, a poet is matched with an artist and
the pair works together to create a work of art.
PHO
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