Posts by Hannah Daly
Youth Playwriting Festival brings Maine kids’ ideas to life onstage
Youth Playwriting Festival brings Maine kids’ ideas to life onstage

A favorite pastime for some children is writing plays, often gathering their parents in the living room for theatrical performances or directing their friends in the newest skit at recess. On Saturday and Sunday, the stage got a little bigger for eight Maine children as they saw their plays performed at the Children’s Museum & Theatre of Maine.

The Youth Playwriting Festival showcased eight stories — four each day — written by children under 17, whose play topics ranged from normalizing the experience of occupational therapy to imagining a unicorn sleepover party.

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Portland Press HeraldHannah DalyYouth Playwriting Festival, Maddy's Theatre
Imagination Ball gives Children’s Museum a financial and emotional boost
Imagination Ball gives Children’s Museum a financial and emotional boost

Having covered nonprofit fundraisers weekly for the past 13 years, I have seen hundreds of auctions where ordinary people raise their hands — and their bid numbers — to protect the organizations and initiatives that matter to them. Never is that impulse stronger than when they feel that something they love, like the Children’s Museum & Theater of Maine, is threatened.

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Portland Press HeraldHannah DalyNews
Maine nonprofits try to navigate funding cuts, unclear rules and an uncertain future
Maine nonprofits try to navigate funding cuts, unclear rules and an uncertain future

The staff at Victoria Mansion in Portland found out about the loss of federal funding in degrees.

First came the news that President Donald Trump had signed an executive order declaring the Institute of Museum and Library Services, the primary federal support for libraries and museums nationwide, was “unnecessary.” Then the entire staff of the federal agency was placed on a 90-day leave.

Finally, Timothy Brosnihan, executive director of the mansion, got a short email last week saying the organization’s grant from the IMLS “is no longer consistent with the agency’s priorities and no longer serves the interest of the United States and the IMLS Program.”

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Portland Press HeraldHannah DalyIMLS
2025 Governor’s Conference for Tourism keeps business owners optimistic about summer season
2025 Governor’s Conference for Tourism keeps business owners optimistic about summer season

BANGOR, Maine (WABI) - Over 300 stakeholders gathered at the Cross Center in Bangor for the 2025 Governor’s Conference on Tourism.

Gov. Janet Mills surprised business leaders in the state at the conference with a speech.

“Hopefully, we’ll be successful in attracting high numbers of tourists from all countries including Canada to the state of Maine because we want them here,” said Mills.

Small businesses in Maine account for 99.2% of operations.

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WABI 5Hannah DalyIMLS, Tourism
Maine Children’s Museum loses federal grant funding
Maine Children’s Museum loses federal grant funding

The Children’s Museum & Theatre of Maine has been notified that a three-year, $224,143 grant from the federal Institute of Museum and Library Services has been cancelled.

The Institute's Museums for America funding was awarded in August 2024 to support programming that the museum says, “brings children and families together to learn about community, culture and belonging” and included a focus on the history and culture of the Wabanaki nations. 

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MaineBizHannah DalyIMLS, Grant
On New Year's Eve, party like a Mainer
On New Year's Eve, party like a Mainer

Mainers party just a little differently than the rest of the world on New Year’s Eve.

Instead of dropping a ball from a big building in a big city, we drop a wild blueberry from a church bell tower in Kennebunk. Instead of making everyone stay up to the stroke of midnight, we hold some New Year’s celebrations in the afternoon or early evening, so kids and early risers can get to bed on time.

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Portland Press HeraldHannah DalyNews, New Year's Eve
Regaining Ground: 3 Powerful Examples of Successful Brownfields Projects
Regaining Ground: 3 Powerful Examples of Successful Brownfields Projects

On return trips from her old college stomping grounds of Boston, Nancy Martin, business programs manager for the City of Portland, Maine, knows she is home when the Children’s Museum & Theatre of Maine (CMTM) comes into view. It is arguably the most prominent venue in a development known as Thompson’s Point, which stands out right off Interstate 295. The peninsula setting symbolizes the natural amenities Maine possesses, while the ground below is a prime example of Portland’s desire to maintain its beauty inside and out.

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Community PlaymakerHannah DalyThompson's Point
Children collaborate on "Portrait of Community" mural
Children collaborate on "Portrait of Community" mural

Assembled on a teal cardboard wall is a wide range of children’s artwork: doodles of multiple orange cats, crayon-drawn self-portraits, Acadia National Park depicted in markers, a drawing of a cup of boba tea. While the works vary in style and content, they come together in the mural to create a portrait of the children of the Portland area.

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Portland Press HeraldHannah DalyLisa DiFranza, Artist in Residence, MakerSpace
Statewide Beautiful Blackbird Children's Book Festival kicks off this weekend with theatrical debut
Statewide Beautiful Blackbird Children's Book Festival kicks off this weekend with theatrical debut

The Beautiful Blackbird Children's Book Festival (BBCBF) kicks off Saturday with a variety of events for families to celebrate Black culture in Maine and beyond. The statewide festival was founded in 2019 and was created to honor the award-winning picture book "Beautiful Blackbird" by Ashley Bryan. This year, the Children's Museum & Theatre of Maine is turning the book into an interactive theater production for children ages five and under. The play debuts Saturday at the museum, which is also offering $1 admission to the museum and $1 tickets to the show.

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News Center MaineHannah DalyBeautiful Blackbird, Beautiful Blackbird Children's Book Festival, Maddy's Theatre, Theatre
Children's Museum and Theatre art auction returns to benefit Community Fund
Children's Museum and Theatre art auction returns to benefit Community Fund

The Children’s Museum and Theatre of Maine will showcase an array of works by local artists at a 21-plus event complete with food and cocktails, both a live and silent art auction, featuring music and comedy. The proceeds will all go toward its Community Fund, which supports kids and families who face barriers in accessing the facility.

This will be the museum’s second Flying Colors Art Auction Benefit and will be held from 6 to 10 p.m. Friday, May 10.

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ForecasterHannah DalyEvents, News
Young Maine playwrights invited to submit original scripts for 2024 Youth Play Festival
Young Maine playwrights invited to submit original scripts for 2024 Youth Play Festival

The Children's Museum & Theatre of Maine announces an opportunity for budding playwrights aged 17 and under to submit their original plays to the upcoming Youth Play Festival on June 1 and 2, 2024. The festival, which kicks off the 101st children’s theatre season, aims to ignite a passion for theatre and nurture the imaginative talents of young writers.

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Penobscot Bay PilotHannah DalyNews, Maddy's Theatre, Youth Play Festival