Maine Minutiae : Apples, Harvests and Other Stuff

It's been a while since we've done a list of festivals and goings on in Maine. As the second weekend of October 2010 approaches, I found a list of things to do for the remainder of the month. something good is bound to be near you, so let's get down to bidness:

• The Fryeburg Fair  continues through Sunday with pig scrambles, flower shows, livestock shows and, of course, plenty of food. Click the link at the start of this paragraph for a list of all the daily activities. While you're in Fryeburg be sure, be sure to stop by and see Arthur and Mary Ellen at the Bears and More booth, where you can choose a bear or another loveable pet and lots clothes and accessories to make your bear unique to you. Watch Arthur fill the bear with cushy goodness at "The Filling Station" and you'll have a snuggle buddy for years to come! Be sure to tell Arthur and Mary Ellen you read about them on Three States Plus One.
• Acadia Oktoberfest and Food Festival is my kind of community get-together. Going on through Sunday, beer, wine and cheese headline this weekend in Acadia, but there are about a million other things to do, so you are bound to  find something that trips your trigger. 
• Homecoming Weekend at Sugar Loaf goes on through Sunday the 10th. They've lined up an impressive list of events at this year's Homecoming Weekend, including a sunrise canoe trip Saturday morning at 5:45 and an auction to benefit the Western Maine Center for Children. Get lots more info at the link.
• Farmington Apple Festival - The Apple Festival runs from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the Fairbanks School Neighborhood Association, on Route 4 two miles north of downtown Farmington. A celebration of everything apple! Apple Pressing, crafters, apple/fall novelties, food sale, luncheon, apples for sale, kid's corner. For info phone (207) 778-3808 or 778-4272. (copied and pasted from maine.info) 

If your weekend schedule is already filled up with things to do, click here to see more community events scheduled for later this month throughout the state of Maine.

Country Music Month: The Texas Connection - TNT

TNT

The town of  Seminole, Texas is the birthplace of two of the biggest Country Music stars of the '70s and '80s - Larry Gatlin and one of my all time favorites, Tanya Denise Tucker. Tanya Tucker (TNT) exploded onto the Country Music scene in 1972 at the age of thirteen with a song that remains a Country Classic today, Delta Dawn. Her way beyond her years vocals and style belied the fact that she was still barely a teenager. Over the years Tanya churned out hit after hit after hit on the Country Charts and as she grew up cultivated a sex kitten image that garnered a lot of notice from Country Music fans. In the vernacular, she was hot! That sexy, party girl persona was more than just an act, Tanya was, shall we say, an "independent" young lady, a lady Outlaw. Songs like Texas When I Die did nothing to disprove her images. Some of her songs did, however, show a softer side to this rowdy girl. Songs like Two Sparrows in a Hurricane (my favorite TNT song) were tender ballads of love, dedication and perseverance that tell a story of young love growing into a lifetime of commitment and devotion between a man and woman. Tanya could be rowdy and raunchy one minute, then tender and retrospective the next.

Here's a short list of Tanya's hits that I think are her best songs, in no particular order:

• Love Me Like You Used To - A damn good song of a love that's lost its spark and Tanya's plea to her lover to rekindle the romance.
• Lizzie and the Rainman - I really like this song because it reminds me of Neil Diamond's Brother Love's Traveling Salvation Show. Good story in the song.
• What's Your Mama's Name? - Pretty heavy subject in the song. Just remember she was only 15 when she sang it.

Looking back, it's very difficult to believe that it's been almost forty years since that little thirteen year old girl sang about Delta Dawn. Wikipedia has a pretty good bio on Tanya if you want to delve into the details. If you'd rather take a trip back in time to catch some of Tanya's hits, YouTube has a great channel with some of TNT's best songs.

Tanya Denise Tucker, Lady Outlaw. And a damned fine performer.