America’s Big Band: Early in March, I chatted with Cathy Sherrill, the executive director of The Opera House at Boothbay Harbor, for “Artsbeat.” A large part of our conversation consisted of talking about all the cool upcoming shows at the opera house.

An IDEAL art show: Damariscotta’s Rising Tide Co-op has been on a roll of late with art shows in its cafe featuring art by local students, starting with the Great Salt Bay Community School exhibit that I wrote about in this column in January.

Good music, good food, and good company, part two: Two weeks ago, I wrote this column about the grand time I had in the fine little town of Boothbay Harbor while talking music with Cathy Sherrill, the executive director of The Opera House at Boothbay Harbor, over lunch at Baker’s Way.

A day at the opera: Back in late December, I wrote in this column about all the arts-related venues and events I planned to check out in 2019. Among the resolutions I listed for the new year, I said, “I resolve to take in at least one Met opera broadcast at Lincoln Theater in Damariscotta.”

Good music, good food, and good company: These three things are true about me: I love music, I love Vietnamese food, and I love meeting new and interesting people (especially over lunch).

Creativity from coast to coast to coast: Last month, when I went to view the Great Salt Bay Community School art show in the cafe at Rising Tide Co-op in Damariscotta (see “Lincoln County Artsbeat,” Jan. 12), I ran into an abstract painter named Jaap Eduard Helder.

Healing art: Many locals know Newcastle musician and empathic healer Emily Sabino for the free Sonic Uplift healing events she offers and for her membership in the musical duo The Flying Seeds, along with her husband, Lenin Sabino.

Celebrating the human form: The third annual “What’s Nude in Boothbay Harbor?” art show will open on Valentine’s Day, Thursday, Feb. 14 at the Boothbay Region Art Foundation in Boothbay Harbor.

Meeting Ruth Knowles: “There is a wonderful 90-year-old lady named Ruth Knowles who lives at The Lincoln Home and has written a children’s story about a family of snow shovels … intended for 3- to 4-year-olds,” wrote Damariscotta wildlife artist Julie Babb to me in a recent email.

Tirdy Works’ wild ride: Hanging out with Mary Winchenbach – Somerville’s now widely famous “moose-poop lady” – is something akin to what I imagine it must have been like to spend time with the late comedian Robin Williams, known for his rapid-fire delivery of ad-libbed comedic lines.