I’ve lived in downtown Portland for three years and somehow had never been to Mackworth Island.

I finally went this week, and honestly, I don’t know what took me so long.

Right before you get there, you drive past these adorable little cottages that are landscaped to the nines, then cross this bridge where it feels like you’re basically driving on top of the water. A minute later you’re walking under pines and oaks with Casco Bay flashing through the trees. Dogs are running around, someone is inevitably building a tiny house out of bark and sticks in the fairy village, and Portland is sitting right across the water.

It’s so close, but it really doesn’t feel like it.

Which is funny, because in 1863 the water was basically the whole reason Mackworth was useful.

The Civil War was in its third year, the federal government had started drafting men into the Union Army, and plenty of them were trying to get out. Men who had been drafted or enlisted as substitutes were kept at camps before being sent off to join the army.

Portland moved its camp to Mackworth Island, where it was a lot harder just to walk away.

One soldier passing through at the time even wrote that the camp had been moved to “Mackies Island” specifically because escaping from there would be harder.

Naturally, they tried anyway.

In August of 1863, eight men got into the water and tried to swim from Mackworth to the mainland.

Only five made it to shore.

That was the part I kept thinking about while I was out there.

Walk the southern side of Mackworth and look across the water. The mainland feels really close. Close enough that you can totally imagine one of them standing there, looking across, and thinking, “Yeah, I can make that.”

Eventually Mackworth became a completely different kind of place.

James Phinney Baxter, who would go on to serve six terms as mayor of Portland, bought Mackworth Island in 1885 and made it his family’s summer home.

His son Percival inherited the island. and if that name sounds familiar, it should. He is the same Baxter who spent decades buying up land around Katahdin and giving it to the state to create Baxter State Park.

He eventually did something similar with Mackworth, giving the island to the State of Maine and making sure it would stay protected and open to the public.

For a little while, the island was chosen because it was hard to leave.

Now we cross the causeway because we want to get in.

There is this really short stretch of the year when the Portland Farmers’ Market has basically everything at once.

And we are in it right now.

If you walk through Deering Oaks this week, you still have tomatoes, corn, peppers, eggplant, raspberries and melons everywhere. But then you also start seeing apples and winter squash show up at the same time.

It is kind of the perfect overlap between summer and fall.

And honestly, it might be the easiest time all year to cook in Maine because you really do not have to do that much.

Most of the time I’m looking for the best places to eat around Portland, but for the next few weeks, some of the best food in the city might actually be coming out of your own kitchen.

Start with the tomatoes. They are expensive. I bought three heirloom tomatoes and it cost me $20, but the second we bit into one, we completely understood why. They were incredible.

Get the one that looks the best, even if it is a little weird or ugly. Take it home, put it on good bread with mayo and flaky salt, and you are basically done.

Same with the corn. Same with the peppers. Same with the raspberries.

This is also the time of year when I would actually ask the farmers what they think is best.

Just ask, “What should I be eating right now?”

They know what had a good year, what came in early, what is especially sweet, and what is probably going to be gone soon.

Then just build dinner around whatever they tell you.

That is one of the things I really love about living here. You actually notice the seasons through the food, which is something growing up in the South never really taught me.

And right now, for a little bit, all of that is still here while fall is starting to show up too.

So if you have been meaning to go to the farmers market, this is probably the time.

And seriously, buy the tomatoes.

Also, if you make something really good, send it to me. I spend all week trying to find the best food in Portland, and for the next few weeks I have a feeling some of it might be in your house.

🐶 Fenway – 2 yrs
A big personality with major league energy. Fenway loves walks, toys, adventures, and being right in the middle of whatever you’re doing. He’s looking for an active home that wants a very enthusiastic sidekick.

🐱 Vesper – 4 yrs
Sweet, spicy, and extremely entertaining. Vesper loves toys, scratchers, and keeping busy, but she also knows exactly when she’s had enough. She’s looking for a cat-savvy home where she can be the one and only queen.

🐱 Tuppence – 10 yrs
A sweet older lady who just needs a little time to feel safe. Tuppence may be shy at first, but in a calm home, she’s the kind of cat you can easily imagine quietly becoming your favorite little roommate.

If the link doesn’t open anymore, it means they’ve already been adopted!

D.R.I. w/ Endure, Words That Burn, Pigboat @ Geno's Rock Club | 6 pm | 🎟️ $20

Maine Middle Eastern Ensemble @ Blue | 7 pm | 🎟️ $10

Birthday Flowdown Throwdown: Come Get Funky @ Flask Lounge | 7 pm | 🎟️ $5

Borrowed Light @ Cove Street Arts | 10 am | Free

Movies On the Monument @ Monument Square | 7 pm | Free

Yonder Mountain String Band @ Live at Madrid's | 7 pm | 🎟️ $20

Jackie Greene @ One Longfellow Square | 8 pm | 🎟️ $30

Darksoft, Cigarettes for Breakfast, Crystal Canyon @ SPACE | 7:30 pm | 🎟️ $15

Tara Cannistraci @ Empire Comedy Club | 7 pm | 🎟️

An Enemy of the People - PTF @ Blossom ArtsLab | 7:30 pm | 🎟️ $30

First Friday Art Walk @ Downtown Portland | 5 pm | Free

New England Art Book Fair @ SPACE | 5 pm | Free

Portland Yacht Rock Festival @ Aura | 8 pm | 🎟️ $35

Funkationland @ One Longfellow Square | 8 pm | 🎟️ $30

Steamy Nights: Annual Benefit for The Hill Arts @ The Hill Arts | 7:30 pm | 🎟️ $30

The Maine Stage: Burlesque, Drag & Flow @ Mayo Street Arts | 7:30 pm | 🎟️ $22

Portland Ballet @ Congress Square Park | 6 pm | Free

Portland Farmers' Market @ Deering Oaks Park | 7 am | Free

Sierra Ferrell @ Thompson's Point | 7 pm | 🎟️ $51

New England Art Book Fair @ SPACE | 11 am | Free

Xander Nelson Album Release @ Live at Madrid's | 7 pm | 🎟️ $15

PMA Films: Blazing Saddles @ Portland Museum of Art | 12 pm | 🎟️ $10

Perfect Giddimani Presents: Burnhard Spliffington & Friends @ Bayside Bowl | 8 pm | 🎟️ $20

Adega Pop-Up @ Lambs| 5 pm | Free

An Enemy of the People - PTF (Closing Performance) @ Blossom ArtsLab | 5 pm | 🎟️ $30

Hearts of Pine vs. Westchester SC @ Fitzpatrick Stadium | 6 pm | 🎟️ $63

An Evening With Daniel Donato's Cosmic Country @ Portland House of Music | 8 pm | 🎟️ $40

Sunflower Fest @ Pumpkin Valley Farm ( Dayton, Maine) | 1 pm | 🎟️ $15

Star Family Singers + Jetties + Emily Irving @ Blue | 7 pm | 🎟️ $10

Until next week,
— Jake Newman