Event Planner's Guide 2018

CAST A WIDE NET

Our Region Within a 15-mile radius of Maine’s largest metropolitan hub, you’ll find a variety of landscapes and towns to explore. Both surrounding and within Portland, parks and preserves allow access to the tranquil natural beauty Maine is renowned for. Your attendees can enjoy a stroll on a sandy beach or a team-building canoe trip through a salt marsh in Scarborough. Westbrook’s Performing Arts Center is a state-of-the-art venue, minutes from downtown Portland in a burgeoning arts and tech riverfront town. Grab an authentic lobster roll and photograph renowned Portland Head Light while watching surf crash upon Cape Elizabeth’s rocky coast. The state’s largest retail center is located in South Portland, near the airport and several hotel and conference centers. Freeport entices travelers to find fabulous outlet bargains, but your group can also experience active adventures with L.L.Bean’s Outdoor Discovery School. Portland is perched on a peninsula, jutting out into island- studded Casco Bay. In Portland, older architecture blends gracefully with the new as you stroll along the working water- front or the cobblestone streets of the Old Port section of town. Portland is easy to navigate by foot, taxi or bus. Small parks and squares dot the landscape, offering comfortable respite for urban explorers. Intriguing shops and cozy coffee and tea houses beckon to passersby. Harbor cruises, historic buildings, and galleries nestle along the waterfront. On a stroll through the Old Port, one of the country’s more successful warehouse revitalization efforts, you’ll hear the squall of gulls and the low moan of bell buoys as you watch fishermen unloading their daily catch. Portland’s waterfront is still very much a working port, an integral part of the local economy. Underlying the latest tech, fashion, and culinary scene is a natural authenticity and a deep sense of continuity. With sophisticated style and artistic sensibilities, Greater Portland is never-the-less unpretentious and welcoming. WELCOME TO GREATER PORTLAND BOTH REFINED AND RELAXED

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