Abbe Offers Free Admission, Sponsored by Machias Savings Bank

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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.”



Matt Horton, Cinnamon Catlin-Legutko and Abbe Director of Development, Hannah Whalen

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.