1. Ogunquit Wooden Toy
City: Ogunquit, ME
Category: Shopping
Telephone: (207) 646-3718
Address: 19 Chestnut Rd.
Description: Could there be a more appropriate name for a wooden toy builder than William John Woods? Or a better street than Chestnut for him to locate his studio? That’s where you’ll find Woods and his Ogunquit Wooden Toy, which features all manner of playthings crafted from maple and walnut and cherry. There are cars and helicopters, tractors and boats, all curvaceous and colorful. (Woods incorporates plantation-grown redheart, purple-heart, and cocobolo for contrast.) Each toy is finished with walnut oil and buffed with beeswax to give it a soft feel. In this day of plastic everything, these wooden toys are a delightful throwback any kid could love.
2. Swamp John’S
City: Ogunquit, ME
Category: Shopping
Telephone: (207) 646-9414
Address: Perkins Cove
Description: Fine art, blown glass, and jewelry are the stuff here, and much of it is impressive. Graceful glass roses, wrought-iron candleholders and statuary, beach glass jewelry, a blue heron desk light of granite and steel—the place is filled with goods by artisans who make use of natural resources in whimsical and arty ways.
3. Booth Theater
City: Ogunquit, ME
Category: Shopping
Telephone: (207) 646-8142
Address: Beach St.
Description: Based in Worcester, Massachusetts, this theater troupe is in residence at the Betty Doon Motel in summer and stages old standbys one after another from July through September.
4. John Lane’S Ogunquit Playhouse
City: Ogunquit, ME
Category: Shopping
Telephone: (207) 646-5511
Address: U.S. Route 1
Description: The star power that this professional theater has seen since it opened in the 1930s is staggering. The playhouse is often referred to as “America’s foremost summer theater,” and “Broadway at the Beach,” and it fits the bill. Shows run Monday through Friday at 8 p.m. and Saturday at 8:30 p.m. from late June through Labor Day. On Wednesdays and Thursdays there are matinees at 2:30 p.m.
5. Ogunquit Performing Arts
City: Ogunquit, ME
Category: Shopping
Telephone: (207) 646-6170
Address: School St.
Description: This local promoter presents a chamber music fest every June with name acts at the Barn Gallery and other venues, and it also sponsors film series, dance performances, and a variety of cultural events throughout the year.
6. Jonathan’S
City: Ogunquit, ME
Category: Shopping
Telephone: (207) 646-4777
Address: 92 Bourne Lane
Description: How does Jonathan West manage to do it? He consistently books name acts of national repute for his small restaurant in Ogunquit, making it one of the best places to see a show north of Boston. Most are small combos, often folk or blues, but they could be anyone from protopunk troubadour Jonathan Richman to Arlo Guthrie to Cheryl Wheeler to Tom Rush. The current lineup is available on the Web.
7. Cuckle-Button Farm Gallery
City: Ogunquit, ME
Category: Shopping
Telephone: (207) 646-1700
Address: Thompson Green
Description: Despite its cutesy-sounding name, this art showplace is the real deal. Just up the road from Perkins Cove, you’ll find paintings by the likes of Charles Woodbury, John Neill, Ann Gallop, Henry Strater, and others who’ve made names for themselves in the once-famous art colony here.
8. The Barn Gallery
City: Ogunquit, ME
Category: Shopping
Telephone: (207) 646-8400
Address: Shore Rd. and Bourne Lane
Description: Ogunquit is a Maine art hot spot, and this gallery is among the reasons why. The Ogunquit Arts Association got its start back in the 1920s, when the fishing village was enjoying its heyday as a nationally known art colony, and the group reinvented itself in the late 1990s and renamed its showplace the Barn Gallery. It remains a first-class exhibition space and one of the best places around to see works by area artists. The gallery regularly schedules classes, workshops, and educational programs.
9. Leavitt Theatre
City: Ogunquit, ME
Category: Shopping
Telephone: (207) 646-3123
Address: 40 Main St.
Description: One of the finer old downtown theaters in the state, the Leavitt has been an Ogunquit institution since 1923. First-run movies are screened nightly at 7 and 9 p.m. on a rotating schedule, unlike most cinemas. Check the listings carefully. Open May to October.