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Bowdoin College students Liz Perot (left) and Emma Fasullo (right) volunteered to paint an Adirondack chair that will be set up in downtown Brunswick for the summer. Courtesy Brunswick Downtown Association
Bowdoin College student Elizabeth Walsh volunteered to paint a chair. Brunswick Downtown Association

The Brunswick Downtown Association’s “Have A Seat” installation returns this summer after a successful run last year.

The association purchased 31 Adirondack chairs from the Maine State Prison Showroom in Thomaston. The chairs are sponsored by local businesses and organizations and painted into works of art by volunteers. The end results will line Maine Street throughout the summer, offering passers-by a chance to take a load off and admire downtown.

“It adds so much practical space,” association Executive Director Debora King said. “One of the reasons we did it again was we heard over and over how much people enjoyed it last year.”

King said the association was inspired to start the installation last year by board member Robert Biggs, the former executive director of Saco Main Street who organized a similar campaign in that city. Thirty-five chairs were auctioned off last year, raising $10,000 for the association. This year’s chairs will also be auctioned off in September.

Two chairs sponsored by Bowdoin College. Courtesy Brunswick Downtown Association

The association this year partnered with Bowdoin College’s Joseph McKeen Center for the Common Good; senior Peyton Tran, a McKeen Center special projects assistant, recruited more than 10 student volunteers who painted seven chairs.

Chair sponsors include Bowdoin College, Maine State Music Theatre, Portland Pie Co., Flaherty Realty, Edward Jones, Saint John’s Catholic School and the Curtis Memorial Library.

“We encourage people to get out and take advantage of the great seating spots on Maine Street,” King said.

Jason Claffey is a reporter covering the Brunswick and Bath area for The Times Record. He graduated from Boston University with a communications degree and started his journalism career in 2005 in the...

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