w i n t e r g u i d e 2 0 1 9 1 5 Clockwise from top left: Tabitha Banard photography, Courtesy of MECA, Adobe stock, Harper Tabitha Barnard is the winner of the Fujifilm 2018 Young Tal- ent Award. Today, Barnard is the Photography Media Technician at MECA, where she graduated in 2016. This spring, she’ll showcase pieces from her series Cult of Womanhood at New York’s Aperture Gallery. The oldest of four girls, she’s heavily inspired by her “fe- male-dominant family. As a young woman, I watched while girls changed from children to objects sexual- ized by older men. My pho- tographs explore religion and the community I created with my sisters…” Family Circle A Mainer’s letters home inspired a histori- cal exhibit in Vladivostok. Eleanor Pray was born in Berwick in 1868. She married Fred- erick Pray at 26. The couple moved to Vladi- vostok, a seaport near the Chinese/North Korean border. In over 3,000 letters written to family, Eleanor describes a sophisticated lifestyle entwined with Russia’s elite. “Staff at the Arseniev Museum have suggested that the popularity of the Pray letters stems from the rare glimpse they provide into daily life in East Russia over a century ago,” Nina Mau- rer of the Old Berwick Historical Society says. “The letters reveal the working lives, aspirations, and attitudes of a middle class that has been largely forgotten.” Lewiston biographer Mark Griffin takes us to Hol- lywood with All That Heaven Allows, an intimate look into the life of film star Rock Hudson. Griffin’s first bio was A Hundred or More Hidden Things: The Life and Films of Vincent Minnelli. From National Shower With a Friend Day to National Drink Wine Day, you have plenty to look forward to this winter. But for sheer yummi- ness, don’s miss National Blueberry Pancake Day on January 28. Celebrate at the Maine Diner in Wells with blueberry pancake specials from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. Pro- ceeds will go towards the charity Cure Sanfilippo Syn- drome, a disease often called Childhood Alzheimer’s. Pillow Talk Breakfast Blues T a b i t h a Barnard