1. Wild Blueberry Festival
City: Machias, ME
Category: Annual Events & Festivals
Telephone: (207) 255-6665
Address: Centre St. Church
Description: Chances are, if you’ve ever munched on a blueberry, it came from Washington County, Maine. The most Down East county Down East, Washington produces 85 percent of the world’s blueberry crop, and every year in mid-August the region salutes that fact with the Maine Wild Blueberry Festival in Machias. A weekend-long immersion in all things berry, the fruity fair is the highlight of summer in the small town of Machias, and most of the events revolve around its stunning Centre Street Congregational Church. The community promises “an old-fashioned country good time,” and it delivers, with a children’s parade, a fish fry, a locally produced musical, an arts and crafts show, a pancake breakfast, a road race, bands and music, and many, many a blueberry. These blue guests of honor show up at the breakfast, at the pie-eating and cooking contests, on a quilt, and even at the post office, in the form of a blueberry letter cancellation.
2. University Of Maine At Machias
City: Machias, ME
Category: Relocation
Telephone: (207) 255-1200
Address: 9 O’Brien Ave.
Description: The easternmost college in the nation, UMM is a small school in a small town way Down East. The campus covers about 43 acres in Machias, a beautiful and historic Washington County community hard by the shores of Machias Bay. Of the 1,260 students, 60 percent are women. The school likes to bill the fact that it has a level of attention comparable to the good private schools—the student-to-faculty ratio is 14:1; average class size is 16—but with all the resources of the University of Maine system. It’s a nice combination, and the setting is stunning if you can handle remoteness.
3. Blue Bird Ranch
City: Machias, ME
Category: Restaurants
Telephone: (207) 255-3351
Address: 78 Main St.
Description: With its bright blue metal roof and Coca-Cola sign, you’d guess this Main Street eatery was a Down East family-style favorite and you’d be right. Not much about this place is unexpected—seafood, steaks, salas, a bar—but it will pleasantly fill you up.
4. Helen’S Restaurant
City: Machias, ME
Category: Restaurants
Telephone: (207) 255-8423
Address: 28 E. Main St.
Description: This family favorite has become legendary Down East for its pies—try the blueberry. The fare is best described as “Maine seafood dinery” and consists of a lot of fried fish, stews (excellent), and the usual assortment of burgers and dogs. But what you really want is a piece of pie. Open from 6 a.m. to 8:30 p.m. daily year-round.
5. Whole Life Natural Market
City: Machias, ME
Category: Restaurants
Telephone: (207) 255-8855
Address: 4 Colonial Way
Description: This funky co-op is exactly the sort of thing a small Down East college town needs. You’ve got your natural and gourmet products, your supplements, your bulk items, and a neat little counter where you can pick up a garden burger, garden salad, or tofu, hummus, or vegetarian wrap. Very nice in a seafood-and-potatoes town like Machias.
6. Machias Bay Chamber Concerts
City: Machias, ME
Category: Shopping
Telephone: (207) 255-4249
Address: 7 Centre St.
Description: Founded in 1970, this outfit could not ask for a more attractive venue for its excellent classical series, six concerts in July and early August. The church, with its soaring spires and riverside location, is a stunner, and the range of acts—from the Vermeer Quartet to the Los Angeles Guitar Quartet—is impressive as well.
7. Burnham Tavern
City: Machias, ME
Category: Tours & Attractions
Telephone: (207) 255-6930
Address: Route 192
Description: When rebels were looking for a place to plot their attacks on the British during the Revolutionary War, they settled down for a pint at this tavern, built in 1770. It’s the oldest building Down East and is still furnished much the way it was during its heyday in the 1770s. After the war’s fateful first naval battle, the injured were treated here. Open Monday through Friday from 9:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. from mid-June through late September.