We’re always on the lookout for something new, fun and different to add a touch of personality to each of our 18 luxurious rooms at the Inn. We’re especially proud to introduce you to four new members of our family, our Ocean Explorers, one of whom will appear on the pillows of our guest beds each night.

Each of these adorable ocean explorers can be found thriving in the beautiful Maine waters, right outside our doors. We had them custom made for the Inn and hope that you will enjoy them as much as we do. So far, many people have told us that they are very cute, and we’ve even had guests ask to purchase all four to complete the set. We haven’t seen any posted on Facebook or Ebay, so we can’t claim collector’s status just yet!

We thought you might like to know a little bit about each one of our new friends.

Our Ocean Explorers

About the Maine Crab
The cute yellow crab you see in this picture is a friendly version of the seafood delicacy that Maine has become famous for. The crab is a shy creature, often found hiding in seaweed and under rocks at the shore. Maine’s Peekytoe crab is particularly sweet and is widely considered the preferred crabmeat for chefs.

The Seal
There is something about a seal swimming through a harbor, it’s head bobbing in the waves as it floats along, or diving under the waves and resurfacing several feet away, that makes people stop whatever they are doing to just watch.

There are five species of seals that visit the Gulf of Maine: hooded seals, harp seals, grey seals, ringed seals and harbor seals. Harbor seals, found in Maine year-round, often migrate south for the winter. They return in the spring and the mothers give birth. Please remember, if you should see a seal on the beach, please don’t touch it. It might just be waiting for its mother to return. You can call the Marine Animal Lifeline at (207) 851-6625 and report the seal; a rescue team will be sent out.

The Whale
Whale watching in Camden is fun, educational and a perfect summer activity. One way to spot the occasional minke or finback whale found commonly in Maine is aboard the Windjammer Schooner Surprise. We offer several sailing packages and are happy to make arrangements during your stay with us.

About the Maine Lobster
Although our Lobster is cuddly and cute, most lobsters are not. Did you know that lobsters in Maine used to be fed to prisoners and used to mulch gardens? Today they are a culinary delicacy and many of our guests order the lobster tasting menu at Natalie’s (only available in the summer and fall). If you’d like to learn more about Maine Lobster, we offer Lobster Cruises, either a two hour cruise on a lobster boat or a lobster boat ride and a stop on an island with – what else – a lobster picnic!

We hope you’ve enjoyed learning about our Ocean Explorers and that you get to meet one of ours in person soon.

September is one of the most beautiful months to visit Maine, with cool nights, sunny days, clear blue skies and the scent of Fall in the air. We look forward to September with great anticipation, in part because September in Camden is bustling with activity during Windjammer Days, held annually Labor Day Weekend. It’s a great opportunity to see the Camden Harbor filled with glorious windjammers and to learn about Camden’s maritime heritage. Just a few of the fun events include a Lobster Crate Race, Lobster Hauling, Boat Building, Knot Tying and other demonstrations. Some of the Schooners on display in the harbor date from as far back as the late 1800s, providing a rare glimpse into the past.

The Schooner Olad

We are offering a special Windjammer Days Package and have made reservations (securing the remaining seats for this sold out event) for our guests on the Schooner Olad during the Sail Parade, held on September 5. Imagine sailing in to the harbor as part of a fleet of boats, it’s an occasion you’ll never forget.

This unique package includes a 2 night stay in one of our luxurious chambers or suites and an a la carte Champagne breakfast every morning in the restaurant or in your room. Also as part of this package guests will delight in a five course “fireworks” tasting dinner on Friday evening, including a Champagne toast and chocolate dipped strawberries to enjoy during the firework display visible clearly from our (heated) porch.

September is also a great month to enjoy lobster – many soft shell lobsters are available, making this a particularly sweet and tasty time of year for this culinary delicacy. We offer a five course lobster tasting menu nightly, consider joining us at Natalie’s for a second night to enjoy this special treat for seafood lovers, available only in the summer and fall.

We hope to see you this September!

The “Rachel Ray of Taiwan,” Sammeh Choi, has been visiting the Midcoast area for the past month, spending time with her daughter, artist Hanji Chang, a resident of Lincolnville. Sammeh is known in Taiwan for her cooking show, “Temple of the Mountain Taste” on the Buddha Compassion TV station, where she teaches traditional Korean vegetarian cuisine.

Recently we were fortunate enough to be able to host a dinner planned and prepared under the direction of Sammeh. It was quite a change for our French trained kitchen and took days of preparation while we hunted down the ingredients and tested the dishes (which we especially enjoyed!).

Our Executive Chef Lawrence Klang, sharing a moment with Sammeh before dessert is served.

Guests knew they were in for a special evening, lions greeted them at the top of the stairs and beautiful paper lanterns, made by Sammeh herself, decorated all of the tables.

A lion to greet the dinner guests

Everyone feasted on dishes that are perhaps impossible to otherwise find in Maine. The evening began with passed Korean BBQ chicken, tofu egg rolls and pearl meatballs, steamed minced pork rolled in sweet rice. Plenty of oohs and aahs filled the room as people enjoyed the appetizers.

Other dishes included Korean Sushi and warm Steamed Shrimp Meatball in Cucumber, a Tea Egg, served wrapped in a banana leaf, plum tea with a Chinese date in the bottom, and bulgogi, which provided everyone with an opportunity to use their hands as they wrapped the bulgogi, daikon kimchee and traditional kimchee.

The dining room burst into well-deserved applause when Sammeh stepped out of the kitchen just before dessert. We were all surprised to learn that when she goes out to eat she enjoys McDonald’s and Kentucky Fried Chicken! Her love of finer food was apparent to all present and she actually thanked everyone for coming and providing her with the opportunity to cook for the group. We all hope she returns again soon and we are already looking forward to another feast, perhaps an entirely vegetarian Korean dinner, based on her cooking show in Taiwan.

For dessert, we served sweet red bean soup and sweet green bean dumpling steamed in pine needles with a small glass of Wu long tea. Everyone left feeling content, lingering in the doorway to talk to one another about their interests in Chinese and Korean food, the food they had sampled that evening, and meals they had enjoyed in other far parts of the world.

If you’d like to know about our special dinners and events in advance, follow us on Facebook.

It’s a good thing we had rolled out the red carpet earlier this summer for our Natalie’s World Party* because we would have needed it last night for our first Hollywood Party celebrating the launch of Tess Gerritsen’s TV show Rizzoli & Isles, now airing on TNT.

Fans around the globe know her medical thrillers; her books have been translated into 37 languages, and more than 20 million copies have been sold around the world. Last night’s party, hosted by Tess and held at our beautiful Camden Harbour Inn, was incredibly fun and exciting. For one night Camden Maine felt like Hollywood. Sparkling dresses, red carpet, delicious hors d’oeuvres and signature cocktails combined with breathtaking views over Camden harbor. Voices were loud and the room was filled with laughter as everyone gathered to wish Tess well. VIP’s, friends, neighbors and relatives from all over Maine and well beyond including the UK and Asia gathered at Natalie’s restaurant to celebrate this momentous occasion.

Following the party Tess and approximately 500 of her closest friends went to the Camden Opera House to watch the first episode of what we are sure will become a huge hit.

We were thrilled to have Tess here and were part of making history, because with 7.6 million viewers the show was the best-viewed cable, commercial supported pilot ever. So we are looking forward to hosting an Emmy’s party when the show is nominated! The show is aired Monday at 10pm Easter Time for more information visit TNT

Chandler Burr

Camden Windjammer Festival has come to an end and with the beautiful Schooners leaving the harbor; summer is slowly coming to an end. Weather in Camden Maine is still amazing and it looks like it will stay that way for a while. Perhaps it is even the best time to visit mid coast Maine. At Camden Harbour Inn we stay busy, we have several spectacular events lined up for the fall and winter starting with Maine Fare next weekend. Our Executive Chef Lawrence Klang will be joining Sam Hayward at the Camden Yacht Club for a culinary event on Friday September 11 and on Saturday we host a ‘Scent Dinner’ at Natalie’s at Camden Harbour Inn. Together with New York Time perfume critic, best selling author, but most of all dear friend Chandler Burr, Lawrence will create an eight course sensory meal, exploring how scent and flavor work together in food and in perfume as Chandler Burr hosts the “Scent Dinner”. This scent dinner was specially created for Maine Fare and enhances the flavors and scents found throughout Maine, prepared with local ingredients. Also on Saturday our chef can be found on the stage of the Maine Faire Market, where he will demonstrate some ‘tricks and trades’ of our renowned kitchen. The demonstration starts at 2pm. More to come soon, in the mean while please visit our website frequently for updates and special packages. For instance we have a great package available for the Maine Fare weekend including the scent dinner, click here for more information
Warm ‘late summer’ greetings from all of us at Camden Harbour Inn and Natalie’s

Time flies when you are having fun. It is almost two weeks ago when we had the Natalie’s World Red Carpet Premiere. Close to 400 guests and members of the press attended this wonderful soiree, which was also used to launch our amazing affordable culinary trips to Thailand for January 2010. We would like to thank Easterly Wine, Central Distributors, Pine State Trading Co, Cellardoor Vineyards, Sysco, Native Maine, Jesse’s Fish Market and GBritt PR for helping us making this an unforgettable event. While the restaurant and inn have been sold out almost every evening and summer is finally here, we already are thinking what fun events we will have coming winter. Check our website if you would like to join us to Thailand or for other great ‘culinary’ events we have planned. Or click here if you would like to see the pictures of our Red Carpet Premiere. Enjoy the nice weather and make sure to visit us and spend some time on our heated and partly covered porches with the best view over Camden harbor and mount Battie.  Greetings, Raymond Brunyanszki owner