The South Portland King Tide Party [09/08/18]

The 2017 King Tide Party [12/05/17]

The King Tide Party,

Gulf of Maine Research Institute and

Friends of Casco Bay ...

hosted a 2017 King Tide Party on December 5th, 2017.

Events happened throughout the day to mark the last King Tide of 2017 and to provide opportunities to learn more about the impacts of sea level change in Maine and beyond.

The tide was predicted to rise to 11.82 feet at 11:45am; it reached 12:03 feet. As sea level rises, King Tides will become the norm. To call attention to this, events were scheduled throughout the day, and the public was invited to observe and interact with the rising tides.

Click here for a full list of the events.

Photo Credits: Cathy MacNeill, Damir Porobic, Marty Pottenger and King Tide Party

The Chebeague Island King Tide Party [11/15/16]

The Chebeague Island King Tide Party took place on November 15th, 2016 at Bennett's Cove. Living Cold performed a cold water swim to greet King Tide, and island residents gathered to watch and tell stories about the cove and memorable tidal events.

KTParty members used flotsam and jetsam to create sculptural arrangements and sampled water from a fresh water pond adjacent to the beach to test for salinity. The water tested fresh with no evidence of saltwater intrusion.

Those present witnessed a large marine transport vessel ease its way into the cove precisely at the peak of the tide, which occurred at 11:56 a.m. The landing craft halted briefly at the water's edge to load a cement truck for delivery back to the mainland.

Photo Credits: Chebeague Island Photographer Cathy MacNeill, Living Cold and King Tide Party.

KTP PROCLAMATION:

Read at the October 28th, 2016 King Tide Party

TO ALL TO WHOM ARE PRESENT – GREETINGS!

WHEREAS the King Tide regularly inundates this site near 2 Somerset Street

WHEREAS the King Tide offers a glimpse of what the future will hold

WHEREAS the inundation consists of brackish water that is corrosive

WHEREAS increased awareness of this site will trigger consideration of environmental issues that impact city planning and community development

WHEREAS naming the site will work to educate the public about its ecological significance

WHEREAS citizens of Portland have a right to open engagement in shaping public environments

NOW, THEREFORE, We, the King Tide Party, do hereby proclaim that 2 Somerset Street be named Somerset Lagoon.

ACROSS THE CITY AND STATE we urge all citizens to support an awareness of the impact of King Tides, to identify and name sites of inundation and work together on how best to address tidal flooding issues.

IN TESTIMONY WHEREOF, we have here unto proclaimed this site Somerset Lagoon.

An observation of the October, 2014 King Tide took place at MoonTide Garden, an installation created by artists Mags Harries and Lajos Hedér on Portland, Maine's waterfront . The King Tide, which peaked at approximately 12:09 p.m. at 11:39 feet, was met with a mix of art and science activities. The event was presented by the King Tide Party in collaboration with the University of Southern Maine (USM) and the Gulf of Maine King Tides Project, which also hosted a photo contest held in three states and two Canadian provinces.

Giant King Tide and MoonTide puppets greeted audience members who were invited to participate in Sending and ReSEAving, a ritual guided by KTP actors. Student participation was organized through the USM Art Department. Class projects included organizing a King Tide Ride event for cyclists and placing blue surveying flags on the grounds near MoonTide Garden to mark a projected 3' water line based on the highest annual tide (HAT) for 2014.

Photo Credits - Liz Bieber and USM College of Arts Humanities and Social Sciences

While the French were celebrating Bastille Day, Portland had the opportunity to participate in the King Tide Bring Your Own Chair Party, which took place at midnight on July 14, 2014 near the intersection of Marginal Way and Cove Street. Community members were invited to sit and watch the rising tides, street theater written by Megan Grumbling, puppetry by Blainor McGough and trailers of flood movies in a temporary outdoor cinema (U-Haul Truck). They also listened to King Tide interviews by Caroline Losneck and interacted with the sculptural intervention, Observation Shack by Christopher Byron and Kelly Rioux. Additional activities included Walking the Line, a GPS recording of the of the water’s edge.Fireworks took place at 12:36 a.m. to celebrate the arrival of the King Tide, which peaked at 12:023 feet.

The event was hosted by the King Tide Party and University of Southern Maine in cooperation with the East Bayside Neighborhood Organization, The Resilience Hub, Zero Station and U-Haul.

Photo Credits: Liz Bieber

In 2013 there were seven tides with a predicted height of 11.6 feet or above in Portland. The last of these occurred at 11:22 a.m. on December 4th. A Portland King Tide event was organized jointly by University of Southern Maine and Maine College of Art (MECA) faculty and students. It took place on December 4th.

The East Bayside King Tide Party began at Zero Station Gallery with opening remarks by Edward Gleason, Director of the USM Planetarium. It then proceeded to Cove Street/Marginal Way where participants observed and interacted with the tidal waters that came up through storm drains to flood the location. The party was organized in cooperation with Zero Station, the East Bayside Neighborhood Organization and the Resilience Hub + Portland Permaculture.

MECA faculty and students created a Pop-Up-Shop on Commercial Street near the Portland waterfront, where they distributed King Tide memorabilia.

Photo Credits: USM College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences