Portland’s Umbrella Cover Museum turns 30
Nancy 3. Hoffman, founder of The Umbrella Cover Museum on Peaks Island, with her accordion, in 2021. (Ben McCanna/Staff Photographer)
Nancy 3. Hoffman thinks her Umbrella Cover Museum has survived and thrived all these years because “people love and need whimsy and surprise.”
The walls and ceiling of the small space on Peaks Island are covered with the little sock-like sleeves that come with new umbrellas. Most people throw them away or lose them, but Hoffman has collected more than 2,500. She entertains visitors by playing her accordion and recounting stories about how each little lost cover found its home with her. The whimsy is evident.
The Umbrella Cover Museum on Peaks Island is celebrating its 30th anniversary. (Ben McCanna/Press Herald file photo)
The biggest surprise might be that her museum has remained open for 30 years, charming and attracting visitors from around the world. The tiny museum’s longevity and legacy will be celebrated Thursday with a 30th anniversary gala.
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There’ll be two gatherings, a family-friendly one from 4-5:30 p.m. with kids’ activities and one from 7-8:30 p.m. with a wine reception. Both will feature a 7-minute documentary film called “Uncovered! The Umbrella Cover Museum,” by Old Orchard Beach-based filmmaker Jim Hoppin. Both gatherings will be at the New Brackett Church, 25 Church Ave., on Peaks Island. Attendees are asked to make a donation to the museum.
Hoffman grew up in Ohio and has had a home on Peaks Island for more than 40 years. She’s performed around the world as a musician and worked as a director of musical theater and cabaret shows. She changed her middle initial to 3 because she considered it more interesting and amusing than a letter.
Her museum started when she found a few umbrella covers in the bottom of a closet and became curious, wondering where they came from and what other people do with their covers. Soon she was collecting them and opened her museum in her kitchen in 1996. Each umbrella cover comes with a story of how it got there. Hoffman says her museum is both a storytelling project and a “celebration of the mundane.”
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Hoffman and the museum have been featured on the PBS TV series “States of America,” The Weather Channel and in the quirky travel publication Atlas Obscura. In 2012, the museum was bestowed the Guinness World Record for largest collection of umbrella covers.
The documentary film to be screened Thursday shows Hoffman talking and singing about the museum, and interacting with visitors. She asks people what they did with their umbrella covers, and most have no clue. She shows off interesting covers, like ones on umbrellas given out “free” by Lexus or BMW to anyone who bought their cars.
She puts on a believable French accent to talk about some covers with artwork by famous painters. She tells some visitors that “the petting zoo is open” and lets them touch the fabric of various covers.
The Umbrella Cover Museum on Peaks Island earned a Guinness World Record for the biggest collection of umbrella covers. ((Ben McCanna/Staff Photographer)
Hoppin was on Peaks Island a few years ago visiting his parents when he stepped into the museum for the first time. It didn’t take long for him to realize Hoffman and her 2,500 umbrella covers from 76 countries would probably make an interesting film, with an accordion music soundtrack.
Hoppin mainly produces fundraising specials for PBS, so making “Uncovered” was a fun change. The documentary may be entered into film festivals, but for now the only place see the Umbrella Cover Museum’s story is on Peaks Island, where it all began.
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Ray Routhier has written about pop culture, movies, TV, music and lifestyle trends for the Portland Press Herald since 1993. He is continually fascinated with stories that show the unique character of. More by Ray Routhier
