Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has filed enough signatures to appear on Maine’s presidential ballot this November.

The Maine Secretary of State’s Office confirmed Monday evening that Kennedy — an environmental attorney and well-known anti-vaccination activist — had gathered more than 4,800 signatures from registered voters. As an independent, Kennedy had until Aug. 1 to file between 4,000 and 5,000 signatures in order to qualify for the fall ballot.

Kennedy is running as an independent after dropping an initial bidto challenge President Biden in the Democratic primary. According to his campaign, Kennedy has collected enough signatures for ballot access in 34 states and has qualified in more than a dozen. And while his campaign is widely viewed as a longshot, election observers say his presence on ballots across the country could impact the race.

“We’re proud that Mainers’ voices are being heard,” Kennedy campaign Maine state director James Donahue said in a statement. “We collected signatures from nearly all of our 500 municipalities, highlighting the enormous support for Kennedy in Maine.”

Kennedy is part of an American political dynasty, as the son of the late Robert F. Kennedy and the nephew of President John F. Kennedy. But RFK Jr. is arguably best known for leading one of the nation’s largest and most vocal anti-vaccination organizations, Children’s Health Defense.

Public health groups and vaccination advocates have accused Kennedy of spreading misinformation on vaccine safety, particularly during the COVID-19 pandemic. His controversial views could make help him to pick up support among vaccine skeptics and Republican or libertarian voters.

Kennedy was polling 4% in a recent survey of Maine voters, which was conducted by the University of New Hampshire Survey Center after Biden’s withdrawal from the race. The poll showed 48% of respondents said they would vote for Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris while 40% supported former Republican President Donald Trump.

People swim near the pier at Old Orchard Beach on July 16. Derek Davis/Staff Photographer

Dangerous rip currents are expected along the Maine coast on Monday, according to a warning issued by the National Weather Service.

The coastal hazard message says there is a high risk of dangerous rip currents from 8 a.m. Monday through the evening in York, Cumberland, Sagadahoc, Lincoln and Knox counties.

“Rip currents can sweep even the best swimmers away from shore into deeper water,” the weather service statement said.

Lifeguards at some of the most popular swimming beaches in Maine have been on high alert this summer as more swimmers are being pulled into rip currents and need to be rescued. A series of high-water storms battered the shoreline last winter and reshaped the surf zone, creating a new system of largely invisible underwater troughs and sandbars.

Old Orchard Beach lifeguards have been especially busy rescuing swimmers caught in a newly formed rip current near the pier and others who step into a deep 6-foot trough formed between sandbars.

The Old Orchard Beach Fire Department posted a weather alert on Facebook about the dangerous rip currents expected Monday. Lifeguards will be on the beach from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. The surf rescue captain may change the beach flag status to yellow to warn of a moderate hazard or red to close the beach to swimming after they have assessed local conditions, officials said.

The weather service is advising people to swim near a lifeguard. If they are caught in a rip current, swimmers should relax and float instead of trying to swim against the current. If they’re able, they can swim in the direction following the shoreline. If the swimmer cannot escape, they should face the shore and yell or wave for help, according to the weather service.

The weather service also issued a small craft advisory for 4 to 7 foot seas in coastal waters from Port Clyde to the Merrimack River in Massachusetts. That advisory is in affect until 6 a.m. Tuesday.

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Sayad Moudachirou brought his daughters to see Circus Smirkus last year, figuring it would be a fun family thing to do.

It was. But he also left the show with a couple aspiring circus performers on his hands.

“As soon as the show ended, they wanted to enroll in circus camp. They appreciated that all the performers are still kids, and that makes it so relatable,” said Moudachirou of Scarborough.

Circus Smirkus will be back in Maine for more than a dozen shows under the big top this summer. The Maine tour begins with four shows at Cumberland Fairgrounds on Aug. 5 and 6.  There will also be four shows at Rockin’ Horse Stables in in Kennebunkport on Aug. 8-9 and five shows at Fryeburg Fairgrounds on Aug. 11-13.

Moudachirou will be there with his daughters, Maya, 9 and Shoshana, 7. Both are interested in taking classes at their local neighborhood circus school, The Gym Dandies Circus School of Maine. Last year, when Moudachirou and his family saw Circus Smirkus, the show was at Payson Park in Portland. But this year, the presenter of the Portland-area shows, Portland Ovations, picked the Cumberland Fairgrounds to provide more parking and a better site for the giant tent, which holds 750 people.

Circus Smirkus features performers between 10 and 18 years old. Photo by Justin Miel

Circus Smirkus is a traveling advertisement for the new generation of circuses, focused on young, skilled performers who take classes and study things like juggling, acrobatics or unicycling. The days when circuses were known largely for lion tamers and elephant riders are gone.

Circus Smirkus was founded in 1987, as an arts and education organization, training performers, offering camps and classes, and putting on family shows. It’s based in Vermont.

The performers are between 10 and 18 years old, and this year’s tour theme is “The Imaginarium,” a magical toy shop that comes to life with performers taking the roles of tumbling teddy bears, high-flying marionettes or a jumpy Jack-in-the-Box.

One of the performers coming to Maine is Cora Williams, 18, of Ithaca, New York, in her third summer season with the circus. She took lessons at a circus school near her home, then studied at a circus school in Montreal.

Circus Smirkus, based in Vermont, is a circus for kids by kids. Photo by Justin Miel

She remembers seeing traditional circuses as a kid, including Ringling Bros. and Big Apple Circus. But when she first saw Circus Smirkus, she realized entertaining people under the big top was something she could do sooner, rather than later.

Williams said she loves the fact that when she does a show, she could be inspiring the next generation of circus performers.

“The nice thing is this is a show for kids by kids, but we don’t dumb it down. I love it when the kids (in the audience) come and talk to us,” said Williams. “We have lots of little kids who come up to us. That’s how I got into it. We teach them some tricks, and we get lots of hugs.”

Williams says it took her three or four months to learn unicycle tricks. She can do spins and pirouettes and “wheel walking,” where it seems as if the cycle’s one wheel is walking, one step at a time. She’s also an acrobat, standing on others’ shoulders and being flipped and tossed through the air.

Because she’s 18, Williams is “graduating” from Smirkus. She’s excited to be part of a “new generation reimagining what circus is” without animals and without limits. She says that young performers go on to careers using their circus skills in a variety of places and fields, including with touring circuses, as part of cruise ship shows, or in companies that put on shows for businesses.

Circus Smirkus is coming to Maine this month. Photo by Justin Miel

Moudachirou said his is one of about five Scarborough families he knows that are going to the show this year. Some went last year, and some heard from others about how engaging the performances are for kids.

He said that, as a parent, he’s glad to see groups like Circus Smirkus and The Gym Dandies offering a fun activity and a chance to learn a skill, besides the traditional offerings of sports or music lessons for kids. He also thinks that from what he’s seen so far at Circus Smirkus, the performers learn more than just juggling or acrobatics.

“For me, as a parent, it was great to see the performers taking ownership of what they were doing. It goes beyond performing; it’s almost about leadership,” Moudachirou said of the show he saw last year. “They were going into the crowd and talking to people, sharing their excitement.”

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