Maine Center for Creativity

The Maine Center for Creativity held its second biennial fundraiser gala in November at the Holiday Inn by the Bay in Portland, ME. This year the honorees were Patrick Dempsey, and the Jackson Lab. They were selected for the Creative Industries Award for their innovative approach to bringing comfort, care, and a cure to cancer patients.  

The evening began downstairs with entertainment in the form of experiments and contraptions built by the Eepybird duo. One of these machines pictured below could shoot 36 paper airplanes at once! Transformit provided rows of Tremolo walls to create gallery spaces within the large room where attendees could try the different activities including sticky note slinkys, air cannons, and magnetic motors. 

On the way to the ballroom, a new Transformit product was introduced; The Gothic Archway. A Gothic Arch is made up of two Lyrics turned on end and clamped together at the apex and held in place with puck feet.  We laid out three of these arches in a staggered procession that resembled the shell at the Sydney Opera House. Upon entering the ballroom, the attendees were treated to an ever-changing color display lit form behind the Riffs, Trills, Arabesques, Grace Notes, and Sea Fans. Vingnettes on either end of the room were created by internally lit Tangos. Eepybird and a jazz band called Skosh provided theaterical and musical performances during dinner.  

After dinner the President and CEO of Jackson Lab, Edison T. Liu, M.D., accepted the award and spoke about the creative atmosphere in the Bar Harbor lab. The lab breeds and experiments with generations of mice in the quest to cure cancer. Patrick Dempsey then took the stage, accepted his award, and talked about the Patrick Dempsey Center for Cancer Hope & Healing which is situated in a revitalized mill in Lewiston. Through active fundraising and the Dempsey Challenge, they are able to offer free care to everyone who comes there.