Three days. We have three days to revel in this weekend. (To those, like my boss, who have the extreme displeasure of working on Monday, I say: So sorry. How awful. Better you than me.) The rest of us can pack one more day of weekend-y relaxation. It’s going to be a busy weekend, after all, with the Portland Brew Fest and the Camden Windjammer Festival for starters. There’s some free cardboard craftiness on the East End on Saturday, and free boat rides and races (a lobster roll dinner) at the water. And remember, while summer technically meanders on for a few more weeks, we all know that Labor Day is summer’s death knell. So use Monday to squeeze out every last drop of summer, because you’ll be back to wearing pants and socks (socks!) before you know it. On that note, the weekend!

For the weekend of Aug. 30-Sept 1, 2013

1. Meet brewers, drink beer (and cider and mead)

Press Herald file photo

Portland Brew Festival

5:30-9 pm Friday; noon-4 pm and 5:30-9pm Saturday | $35 | Portland Company Complex, Portland | www.portlandbrewfestival.com
There will be beer. And cider and mead. Over 100 varieties. Plusdemonstrations and beer pairings and signature glasses. It’s not every day we’re blessed with more than 35 brewers from Maine and New England under one convenient roof.

2. More beer, plus comedy

Portland Summer Brew-HaHa 2 at Rising Tide

8 pm Friday | $8 at the door | Rising Tide Brewery, Portland | www.facebook.com
The first Brew Ha-Ha was a success, so they’re doing another. The $8 at the door earns you a beer and an evening of comedy from Portland Comedy Co-op. There will be more beer for sale, should you want it, and plenty of jokes, jokes, jokes.

3. Admire the magnificent fleet

Press Herald file photo

Camden Windjammer Festival

Friday-Sunday | Camden waterfront | www.camdenwindjammerfestival.org
A host of gorgeous boats manuever into Camden Harbor on Friday, and festival festivities continue all weekend long. Bid on dinners aboard one of the fleet, and catch a talent show by schooner crews in Harbor Park followed by fireworks over the harbor. You can even watch brave souls tip over into the water during the lobster crate race. Plus a Build-A-Boat contest, displays of maritime activities and history, Chowder Challenge, Sea Dog Show, pirates, and tours of the windjammers.

4. Create with cardboard

shutterstock.com

Pop-Up Playscape

Noon-6 pm Saturday | Free | Eastern Prom, Portland | blog.kitetails.org
Remember when you were a kid and you turned a cardboard box into a spaceship/pirate ship/castle/rocket-launching pony? That was fun. And just because you now have a mortgage and wash your own pants doesn’t mean you can’t do it again. Kids and grownups are invited to play with cardboard during the Pop-Up Playscape on the Eastern Prom. A ton of recycled materials – like cardboard boxes, old books, tubes, fabrics and more – will be on hand to create with. For FREE.

5. Get in a boat, play Twister (not at the same time)

Maine Island Trail Association event graphic

Maine Island Trail Association’s 25th Anniversary Celebration

10 am-9 pm Saturday | Free activities/$30 for dinner party | Portland Yacht Services Complex, Portland | www.mita.org/25
Happy anniversary, MITA! In honor of the big 25, the Maine Island Trail Association is hosting a day of free waterfront activities like boat rides, boat races, and kayak demos, as well as with Leave No Trace workshops for kids and adults. They’ll have games of Casco Bay Twister and an Island Photobooth, too. Then at 6:30 pm they’ll start up the 25th Anniversary Dinner and Party with lobster rolls, Maine Island Trail Ale, and live music.

6. Squeeze summer for all she’s worth!

A collage!

Exploit Labor Day

Maine summer bucket list: Do this stuff now (before summer ends!)
Go find a rope swing, a swimming, a beach. Bury someone in the sand. Take a plunge. Eat pier fries. Squeeze in that last bit of summer while you still can. Sure, summer technically goes on for a few more weeks, but emotionally, we all know it’s over.