Bar Harbor's Village Green has long served as the town's heart and soul, and for well over a century it has been an outdoor gathering place where friends and strangers, politicians and protesters, veterans and artisans, musicians and magicians, lovers and thinkers, doers and doters have come together to express their opinions, show their wares, sing their songs, and play their games. Historic, timeless, and inspiring, it offers a place to connect with others, collect thoughts, and get one's bearings, while continually refreshing itself with each new season, every new event, and each new person who wanders beneath its leafy shade. In 2012, the Village Green was recognized as one of the top ten Great Public Spaces in America by the American Planners Association, and its cozy, intimate spaces and features include the bandstand, the stone bench, the Italian fountain, the water trough, the town clock, beautiful trees, flowering shrubs, and colorful blossoms.