The Fourth of July falls on Thursday this year, and festivities include fireworks on Portland's Eastern Promenade. In this photo, which ran in the Portland Press Herald on July 4, 1938, several kids are making their own Independence Day fun with a giant firecracker on Reynolds Street in South Portland. Pictured left to right are Francis Malia, Barbara Wilson, Ruth Malia, Thomas Davis, Marian Larochelle and Gardiner Williams.
The last day of school is always a joyous occasion, when kids can celebrate the start of summer camp, family trips and beach days. In this photo, published in the Press Herald on June 23, 1954, kids in Portland mark the last day of school with a frolic in the Lincoln Park fountain by the corner of Congress and Franklin streets.
The 40th annual Greek Festival starts Thursday at Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Church on Pleasant Street in Portland. The festival is a huge celebration of Greek music, culture and especially food. In this photo, published in the Press Herald on Sept. 14, 1988, Harriet Routses and Konstantine Kapothansis prepare loukoumades (fried dough). The sweet treats are still a festival staple.
The first Portland Pride parade was in 1987, and it has grown every year since. Here, the late Frannie Peabody waves to the crowd in a Portland Pride parade photo that was taken on June 19, 1999. Peabody was known and loved for her leadership during the HIV/AIDS epidemic and helped to establish the first AIDS hotline in Maine in 1985. She co-founded the Peabody House in 1995. It was the first assisted living facility in Maine for people in the advanced stages of HIV. A year after her death at the age of 98 in 2001, the Frannie Peabody Center was opened and still provides HIV/AIDS services and programs in southern Maine. This year's Pride parade steps off at 1 p.m. Saturday from Monument Square, proceeds down Congress Street to Congress Square Park, down High Street to Park Avenue and ends at Deering Oaks Park where there will be a festival from 1 to 5 p.m.
The Old Port Festival, which drew thousands of people to downtown Portland, ran for 46 years, until 2019, and featured food, crafts, music and various forms of entertainment. Here, the Old Port Festival parade heads down Exchange Street in a photo that was published on June 22, 1978, in the Maine Sunday Telegram. Although the Old Port Festival is no more, the Resurgam Festival Music and Arts Festival emerged in its place and is happening Sunday at Ocean Gateway and surrounding areas and parks in Portland.
The first day of June is on Saturday and it's time to hit the beach, including East End Beach in Portland. East End Beach is part of the Eastern Promenade area which was designed in 1905 by the Olmsted Brothers landscape firm. Here's a photo of East End Beach that was published in the Portland Press Herald on July 17, 1953. The tracks of the Maine Narrow Gauge Railroad, built in the late 1800s, are visible.
With Memorial Day coming up on Monday, we look back at a photo from the Evening Express of a 1938 ceremony held in honor of the holiday in Portland's Monument Square. Military and patriotic groups surrounded the Soldiers' and Sailors' Monument for an observance that drew a crowd of more than 20,000 spectators.
Buds are opening and flowers are blooming all over the state, which means it's plant sale season in Maine. Here's a photo that ran in the Portland Press Herald on April 18, 1938, of pedestrians walking across State Street, toward Pine Street in downtown Portland. Two of them are carrying lily plants.
With the arrival of May, gardening season is in full bloom. Here's a photo that ran in the Portland Press Herald on June 5, 1962, of several Girl Scouts at the Simon Hamlin School in South Portland. From left: Susan Bowie, Karyn Hawkes, Mrs. Clarence H. Lane, Beth Shepard and Betty Connolly.
This photo published in the Evening Express on Aug. 7, 1979, shows the Portland Farmers Market when it was held in the "Golden Triangle," which was the triangular block flanked by Federal Street, Middle Street and Temple Street, after all the buildings had been demolished before the construction of One City Center in 1985.
Red's Dairy Freeze at 167 Cottage Road in South Portland opened for the season on March 9. The ice cream stand was previously called the Tastee Freeze. Leonard "Red" Bolling opened the shop in 1952. Photo published in the Evening Express on July 17, 1990.
The Portland Sea Dogs kick off their 30th season Friday. This is what Hadlock Field looked like three decades ago, long before the Green Monster wall and outfield bleachers were added. Photo published in the Portland Press Herald on April 19, 1994.
Bob Fernald, Diane Horvat and Dan Jolicoeur enjoying a game of hacky sack at the corner of Middle Street and Temple Street (Lobsterman Park) in Portland. The Temple Street garage can be seen in background. Photo published in the Portland Press Herald on May 4, 1989.
Lenny Smith, a member of the sales staff at Videoport, holding a stack of VHS tapes. The popular movie rental business opened in 1987 and was known for its massive amount of foreign films and a section called Incredibly Strange Films. Streaming services and rising costs led to the closing of Videoport in 2015, marking the end of an era for its loyal following. Photo published in the Maine Sunday Telegram, on November 7, 1993. Portland Public Library Special Collections & Archives
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