Bath-Brunswick-Topsham Chamber launches Eat, Play, Stay voting March 9

The Bath‑Brunswick‑Topsham Regional Chamber of Commerce is running its annual local nomination-and-vote drive for the Eat, Play, Stay guide, asking residents to nominate and vote for their favorite businesses, attractions and venues; the poll launches March 9. Materials announcing the drive repeat the chamber’s call for local participation but do not attach full voting mechanics in the available text.

A chamber column referenced in the release is cut off in the available materials: "The column from the chamber explains how voting w" — the fragment indicates procedural instructions were published elsewhere but the step-by-step voting explanation is not present in the packet of documents provided. The available notices include no URL, ballot format, category list, eligibility rules, or deadline for nominations and voting, and the March 9 launch date is presented without a year.

Production credits for the Eat Play Stay guide are explicit. Eat Play Stay is produced by Bath-Brunswick Regional Chamber and RFB Advertising LLC. Publisher is named as Randy Bell; editors are Cory King and Anthony Jamison; advertising contact is listed as Cory King with the email executivedirector@midcoastmaine.com and the address 8 Venture Avenue, Brunswick, Maine 04011. Design and graphics credit go to NVDesigns, Nicole Vanorse, and the cover photo is credited to Andrew Estey. The guide carries a copyright line reading "Copyright 2024. All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or part without written permission is prohibited." An advertising acknowledgement in the materials is truncated: "This guide is made possible by the participation of the advertisers. We off er them our thanks and ask you to consider them fi rst when [...]"

The guide’s sample listings provide concrete local examples that the vote is expected to influence. The Sea Dog Brewing Company entry lists the business at "1 Bowdoin Mill Island Topsham, ME" and notes it is "Located on the Androscoggin River in what used to be the home of Pejepscot Paper Company." The Sea Dog listing adds that "Sea Dog Brewing offers a wide selection of their own beer, along with a full bar and menu. During the summer months, sit on the large, covered deck, overlooking the mighty Androscoggin." The guide is presented under the masthead "EAT PLAY STAY GUIDE 2024" and includes a "16 TOP 10 • REASONS TO LIVE HERE" section that begins a "WALKABLE DOWNTOWNS" item naming Bath, Brunswick, and Wiscasset and noting Brunswick's "vast array of cuisines" and "the downtown mall and gazebo (that plays home to numerous [...]" — that sentence is truncated in the supplied text.

The guide also carries visitor-service copy with local color. It reproduces the classic Maine line "'You can't get there from here' (though it comes out as 'You caaan't get they-uh from here-uh')." The copy goes on: "Well, that’s simply not the case in the Bath-Brunswick-Midcoast region. No matter where you come from or where you’re going, we can help get you there, or here!" The guide provides a practical contact for travel questions: the Bath-Brunswick Regional Chamber office at (207) 725-8797.

One notable inconsistency in the materials is the chamber name. The announcement uses "Bath‑Brunswick‑Topsham Regional Chamber of Commerce" in one place and the guide credits use "Bath-Brunswick Regional Chamber" in another. The available packet does not resolve whether Topsham is included in the chamber’s formal name. The March 9 poll will determine which Bath, Brunswick and Topsham-area businesses, attractions and venues are highlighted in the Eat Play Stay Guide 2024, but key operational details on how residents will nominate and vote were not supplied in the materials provided.