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| (photo by Jeffrey Stevensen) |
Staff Columnist
KENNEBUNKPORT – The home of
celebrated Maine author Kenneth Roberts will be open for public view starting
Saturday, June 23, at this year’s Designer Show House sponsored by the
Kennebunkport Historical Society.
Roberts, who was born in
December 1885 in Kennebunk and died in Kennebunkport in July 1951, built Rocky
Pastures in 1938. It has never before been open to the public.
The house will be open for
tours through July 12. It is a major fund-raiser for the historical society.
This is the first show house
sponsored by the society and is “a big undertaking” for the group, according to
Susan Edwards, the society’s executive director.
The estate will be open
Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday from 10:30 a.m. to 4 p.m.,
Wednesday from noon to 7 p.m. and Sunday from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. It will be
closed July 4.
Tickets are available at the
Kennebunkport Historical Society or online at designersshowhouse.org. The cost
is $20 per person.
Designers taking part in the
show house have been assigned one of the twelve rooms or a portion of the
grounds to decorate. The designers come from throughout New England.
The eighteen
firms include Aisthesis, All About Kitchens and Baths, Anniebell’s, Coastal
Organizing, Dan Viehmann Landscaping, Days Gone By Interiors, Fiore Interiors,
Frank Hodge Interiors, Interiors with Provenance, Krista Stokes, Paula Rossouw,
Snug Harbor Farm, Spaces, TJ’s at the Sign of the Goose, Well Dressed
Interiors, Wright Interiors, and King’s Wharfe.
“Some are
paying tribute to Kenneth Roberts,” Edwards said. As an example, in the living
room there will be “a collection of books” that Roberts had in his own library,
including those he authored. “There is a very period feel.”
Roberts built the estate in
1938 after writing “Arundel,”
“Rabble In Arms,” and “Northwest Passage.”
The latter book was the story
of Roger’s Rangers and was made into an MGM motion picture in 1940 starring
Spencer Tracy, Robert Young and Walter Brennan.
“Kenneth Roberts was an
intensely private man,” Edwards said in a prepared release. “This is a very
rare opportunity for the public to see this historic home and to enjoy the
stunning work of these designers.”
Rocky Pastures burned in 1976
and was “rebuilt but not actually as Kenneth Roberts built it,” Edwards said,
but in the same footprint as the original structure.
The show house activities
begin with an Opening Night Soiree Saturday (June 22) under a tent on the
estate grounds from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. The event will be catered by Kitchen
Chicks with entertainment provided by the Chris Humphrey Trio.
Shuttle transportation will
be provided from the Consolidated School in Kennebunkport. Tickets are $60 for
Kennebunkport Historical Society members and $75 for non-members and are
available at the Historical Society at 25 North Street, Kennebunkport,
207-967-2751.
Other activities scheduled
include a Lunch & Learn Series at noon on three separate dates.
On Monday, June 25, Joyce
Butler, historian, archivist/curator, and writer, will explore the colorful
personality of Roberts and chronicle his life in her presentation on Kenneth
Roberts: The Man at The Colony
Hotel.
On Monday, July 2, food
historian and writer Sandy Oliver, will highlight Roberts’ interest in food in
her presentation about Kenneth Roberts’ Chapter on Food in His Trending Into
Maine, also held at The Colony
Hotel.
The final Lunch & Learn
will be held at the Nonantum Resort with etiquette specialist Andrea Pastore
providing thoughtful and useful solutions to various etiquette situations in
Navigating a Place Setting.
The $45 ticket for each
session includes admission to the Show House, lunch, and the speaking event.
Tickets are available at the Historical Society.
