Abbe Museum and Machias Savings Bank Partner on Free Admission Program

Machias Savings Bank Branch Manager Matt Horton presents Abbe Museum President and CEO Cinnamon Catlin-Legutko with a check in support of the Abbe's free admission program

The Abbe Museum will continue to offer free admission during select months in 2017, thanks to the generosity of Machias Savings Bank. Admission will be free February 2 - April 30 and November 1 - December 22, 2017.

"This year, Machias Savings Bank and the Abbe Museum celebrate 26 years as partners," said Branch Manager, Matt Horton. "We are pleased to commemorate this partnership by once again sponsoring the Abbe's free admission program, which offers an opportunity for more visitors to see the Museum's exceptional exhibits, projects, and programs."

As Maine’s first and only Smithsonian Affiliate, the Abbe’s free admission program aligns nicely with the Smithsonian’s goal of being easily accessible to the public, and it helps raise the Abbe’s statewide visibility as the only museum dedicated solely to sharing the story of the Wabanaki Nations. 

The Abbe staff is currently designing and installing two new exhibits, Twisted Path IV: Vital Signs and the 2017 Waponahki Student Art Show, both of which will open in April. In addition, the Museum’s new core exhibit, People of the First Light, is open and offers visitors a wide variety of content and perspectives around more than 12,000 years of history, conflict, adaptation, and survival in the Wabanaki homeland.

“Thanks to Machias Savings Bank, the Abbe’s statewide visibility continues to grow in the off-season through this free admission program, drawing more repeat Maine visitors every year,” said Abbe Museum President and CEO Cinnamon Catlin-Legutko. “Since close to 80% of our visitors come from more than 120 miles away, and are typically one-time visitors, the free admission program has catered to Maine residents, which is an audience we’ve been trying to engage with more often since we opened our downtown location back in 2001.”

The Abbe is currently open Thursdays through Saturdays, 10 am to 4 pm, through April 30, 2017. From May 1 through October 31, 2017, the Museum will be open seven days a week. The Abbe’s Acadia National Park location at Sieur de Monts Spring will be open seven days a week from mid-May to mid-October. Please visit abbemuseum.org for more details. 

Abbe Museum Free Admission Program to Continue in 2016

Machias Savings Bank Branch Manager Matt Horton presents Abbe Museum President and CEO Cinnamon Catlin-Legutko with a check in support of the Abbe's free admission program.

The Abbe Museum will continue to offer free admission in 2016, thanks to the generosity of Machias Savings Bank. Admission will be free on select days throughout the summer and fall, as well as from November through December.

“For the past 24 years, Machias Savings Bank has been an incredibly generous supporter of the Abbe Museum,” said Abbe President and CEO, Cinnamon Catlin-Legutko. “Thanks to their support, our free admission program during the 2015 winter months made a substantial impact on the Maine community. Not only did our visitor numbers dramatically increase—from approximately 900 in 2014 to 1,100 in 2015—we also received verbal and written comments from guests about how pleased they were to be able to visit the Museum for free during the quieter months.”

As Maine’s first and only Smithsonian Affiliate, the Abbe’s free admission program aligns nicely with the Smithsonian’s goal of being easily accessible to the public, and it helps raise the Abbe’s statewide visibility as the only museum dedicated solely to sharing the story of the Wabanaki Nations. In 2016, the Abbe will be open free to the public on the following dates:

• Opening day (May 1)
• Memorial Day (May 30)
• July 4th 
• Labor Day (September 5)
• Indigenous Peoples’ Day (October 10)
• Winter of 2016 (Thursdays-Saturdays in November and December)

The Abbe anticipates a lot more traffic in 2016 due in part to the opening of their new core exhibit and it being Acadia’s centennial year. Offering free admission on key dates will give visitors something the Museum has never actually done before: free admittance on high profile, popular holidays.

“We at Machias Savings Bank are once again honored to partner with the Abbe Museum to offer free admission to all that the Museum has to offer,” said Branch Manager, Matt Horton. "And especially with the installation of the new core exhibit, People of the First Light, I encourage everyone to take the time and visit.”

The Abbe is currently closed through the end of April 2016 while its new core exhibit is designed and installed in the Museum’s main gallery. The exhibit, People of the First Light, is the first large-scale permanent exhibit of its kind for the Abbe.

Free Admission!

Abbe Museum and Machias Savings Bank Partner to Offer Free Admission

The Abbe Museum is currently offering free admission during the 2015 winter months, thanks to the generosity of Machias Savings Bank. Admission will be free February 5, 2015 through April, and then again in November and December.

“This is a perfect example of why we love our community partners,” said Cinnamon Catlin-Legutko, Abbe Museum’s president and CEO. “Machias Savings Bank has been supporting the Abbe Museum since 1991, and we truly value this partnership, which has been critical to ensuring that we can fulfill our mission as an important cultural and educational resource for Hancock County and the State of Maine.”

Thanks to Machias Savings Bank’s support, for the first time in the Abbe’s 12 year history in downtown Bar Harbor, free admission was offered during the 2014 winter months. The impact of this program was palpable: the Museum experienced a marked increase in visitors from within the state of Maine over the course of 2014. In February 2011, the Abbe had 86 visitors from throughout Maine, while in February 2014, the Abbe had over 170 visitors from around Maine, a 97% increase.

“We at Machias Savings Bank are once again honored to help the Abbe Museum provide admission free access to all that the Museum has to offer,” said Branch Manager, Matt Horton. "I got a sneak peek at the Museum’s new exhibit, Coming Home, and even in its installation phase, it’s really impressive. I encourage everyone to take the time and visit the Abbe.”

The free admission program helps raise the Abbe’s statewide visibility as the only museum dedicated solely to sharing the story of the Wabanaki Nations. As Maine’s first and only Smithsonian Affiliate, the Abbe believes that free admission in the winter aligns nicely with the Smithsonian’s goal of being easily accessible to the public.

The Abbe is currently closed until February 5, 2015. Winter hours are Thursday through Saturday, 10 am to 4 pm.

Abbe Offers Free Admission, Sponsored by Machias Savings Bank

Breaking News! The Abbe Museum will be offering free admission half of the year beginning this February.

The museum, which is celebrating its 86th year on Mount Desert Island, has a long-standing commitment to serving the local community, with much of the museum’s educational programs offered free of any additional charge after museum admission, and this year the Abbe is taking that commitment even further.

“The decision to offer free admission from November through April was a natural one,” explains Abbe President and CEO, Cinnamon Catlin-Legutko. “We really have two audiences here at the museum. During the summer and fall, we serve a large number of tourists as visitors pour onto the island from around the country and the world, via car, bus and cruise ship. During the winter and spring, the local people, who are often too busy working in the summer, come back to the museum for film events, exhibit openings and other educational programs.. In recent years we have really been focusing on how to deepen our connection to the year-round community, both on Mount Desert Island and beyond, and we feel that free admission during the quieter months is a really good way to do so.”

The first year of free admission is made possible through the support of Machias Savings Bank. “Machias Savings Bank is very pleased to be able to support this effort,” said Bar Harbor Branch Manager, Matt Horton. “The Abbe does so much to help bring awareness about the Wabanaki Nations to the general public. It is an incredible resource to have right here in our own backyard and we are happy to be part of making it even more accessible for the local community and all of Maine.”

The Abbe is currently closed for the month of January, as they take down last year’s feature exhibit, Wabanaki Guides and install the new feature exhibit, Twisted Path III, Questions of Balance.When the museum reopens on February 6, the doors will open to that new feature exhibit and admission will be free for all. Free admission begins February 6 through the end of April, and begins again November 1.