Events celebrating the 125th anniversary of South Portland are upcoming in the community.
National Night Out is scheduled for Aug. 1 and an event run by the South Portland Police Department and the Parks and Recreation Department with other community service partners to create a free and fun night of events for the community is planned.
The event will include basketball with members of the South Portland Police and Fire departments, live music from the Maine Marimba Ensemble, a free picnic dinner and ice cream, touch-a-truck, yard games, a K-9 demo at 7:45 p.m., an outdoor showing of the film “Sing 2” at sunset around 8 p.m., and more.
The event begins at 6 p.m. at Redbank Community Center Outdoor Fields and Gazebo at 95 MacArthur Circle W.
The event is partnered with the Chamber of Commerce, The Locker Project, Wayside Food Programs, The Opportunity Alliance, and Neighborhood Resource Hub.
On Aug. 12 is Art in the Park at Mill Creek Park. This event is the 42nd annual South Portland Art in the Park Show and Sale. The event will feature 170 artists, kids activities being run with the South Portland Public Library and Portland Museum of Art, food trucks, and live music. Art from local South Portland students will be featured in the Student Art tent.
The event includes a contest for artists who are signed up to participate (the amount of artists is filled, though the waitlist can still be applied for). Art in the Park will also award a $1000 scholarship to a student graduating from South Portland High School.
The event is from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. at Mill Creek Park, and is free to the public. For more information, visit artintheparkmaine.com.
On Sept. 6 is the Bug Light Car Show. Over 200 car enthusiasts will be bringing in their vehicles for attendees to view. The public is open to bring their own vehicle and/or browse the others. Music will be playing and food trucks will be present at the event.
Further events will occur later in the year, with more information still upcoming.
In 1898, South Portland became a city through a charter. South Portland, at the time, was formally a part of Cape Elizabeth rather than Portland. South Portland separated from Cape Elizabeth in 1895 in a dispute over drinking water. The history of the community goes back even further, with both communities once being part of Falmouth, Massachusetts, which today is Portland.
The South Portland area was colonized about 1630 and began as a residential farming-based village. Going back further, Maine was originally inhabited by Algonquian-speaking Wabanaki peoples, such as the Passamaquoddy, Maliseet, Penobscot, Mi’kmaq, Androscoggin, and Kennebec.
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