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We'll help you plan your best summer yet with our annual roundup of can't miss events! Plus we've got a Face the Music interview with vocal powerhouse Josh Groban who is performing in Portland on 6/24. And as always, we'll help you have a terrific weekend with our hand-picked selection of events. Have fun out there!
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Aimsel Ponti
Aimsel Ponti is a Content Producer at MaineToday.com and a music writer for MaineToday.com and the Portland Press Herald. She has been obsessed with - and inspired by - music since she listened to Monkees records borrowed from the town library when she was six years old. She bought her first Rolling Stones record at a flea market when she was in 7th grade and discovered David Bowie a year later. She's a HUGE fan of the local music scene and covers it along with national musical happenings in her "Face the Music" column and with artist interviews that appear in print in the Portland Press Herald and online at Mainetoday.com. You'll also find her out and about absorbing live music like a sponge and roaming around local record shops and flea markets. Aimsel is also the host of Music from 207 on 98.9 WCLZ and appears monthly on the News Center Maine TV show “207” to talk about...music of course.
Posted: February 18, 2019
OOB Winter Carnival, ‘Plaza Suite’ and Natural History Exhibition: 9 things to do in Maine this weekend
Written by: Aimsel Ponti
Spidey
7 p.m. Thursday. Grand Ballroom at the Grand Summit Hotel, Sunday River, 15 South Ridge Road, $10, $5 kids ages 5 to 12, 4 and under free. sundayriver.com
Hypnotist, mentalist and magician Spidey appears at Sunday River this evening. Spidey has toured in the Caribbean, Canada and U.S. and was a finalist in three TV competition shows including "Canada's Got Talent." Spidey is also a YouTube sensation, with millions of views from around the globe. Expect the unexpected and be sure to arrive with an open mind. Purchase tickets at any of the hotel's front desks, the South Ridge Welcome Center or on the day of the show at the Grand Ballroom entrance during the hour leading up to performance.
Photo courtesy of Spidey
OOB365 Winter Carnival
4 to 8 p.m. Friday, 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday. Old Orchard Beach, free. On Facebook
You down with OOB? (Yeah, you know me!). We all know that Old Orchard Beach knows how to do summer, but it's no slouch when it comes to winter either. The OOB365 Winter Carnival features a Friday night sledding party on the man-made Old Orchard Street mega snow hill and the wintry mix of merriment continues on Saturday with more sledding along with pony rides, marshmallow toasting, hot cocoa, kettle corn, cotton candy and an endless supply of February smiles.
Press Herald photo by Derek Davis
Neil Simon's 'Plaza Suite'
7:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday, 2 p.m. Sunday. The Annex at Chocolate Church Arts Center, 804 Washington St., Bath, $12 in advance, $15 at the door. chocolatechurcharts.org
Catch a gem of a Neil Simon comedy that tells the tale of three individual stories about relationship woes that all happen in suite 719 of the New York City's Plaza Hotel. "Plaza Suite" introduces you to the characters of Sam and Karen Nash who can't agree on how to celebrate their anniversary or even how many years they've been married, along with womanizing movie producer Jesse Kiplinger, and Ray and Norma, who are sent into a tailspin when their daughter Mimsey gets cold feet before her wedding and locks herself in the suite's bathroom. Simon wrote the play back in 1968, but the laughs translate to modern times under the direction of Mort Achter.
Photo by Dave Mention
Winter Shelter Building
9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday. Carter Field, Eastern Promenade, Portland, $5 to $15 donations accepted, scholarships available. On Facebook
Rewild Maine is all about learning to survive and truly thrive without the support of modern amenities. With that in mind, the nonprofit wants to teach you what to do in the event of a cold-weather wilderness emergency, and if you show up at Portland's Eastern Prom on Saturday, you can learn the basics of winter survival, specifically how to build a snow cave, organize priorities and start a fire on the fly. Bring a shovel and a snack if you can, but there will be some available, along with hot tea. You never know when you might end up in a situation where these skills could save your life. Here's a chance to learn them in a fun and supportive environment.
Gargonia/Shutterstock.com
'Balancing Act 2' Poetry Reading
3 p.m. Saturday. Gulf of Maine Books, 134 Maine St., Brunswick, (207) 729-5083.
Spend part of your Saturday listening to Littoral Book poets read some of their works. Littoral Books launched as a radical feminist press back in 1975 and returned to the spotlight with the publication of "Balancing Act 2," an anthology of women's poetry. At the Gulf of Maine Books gathering ,you'll hear readings from poets Kara Douglas, Kathleen Sullivan, Jeanne Bamforth, Anna Turner, Rachel Ouellette, Patricia Fuchs and Susan Landry. "Balancing Act 2" came no less than 43 years after the first volume and includes 118 poems from 50 Maine writers. Gulf of Maine books keeps the anthology in stock and chances are excellent the poets on hand will be happy to sign a copy for you.
Margarita_V/Shutterstock.com
Natural History Exhibition
10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. Brick South at Thompson's Point, 8 Thompson's Point, Portland, $14, under 3 free. fare.whitelabeltickets.com
The Foundation for Animal Rescue and Education and Little Ray's Nature Centers invite you to an educational and fun exhibit where you can see a sloth, armadillo, porcupine, lizards, snakes, tarantulas, amphibians, tortoises, bunnies, ferrets and other wild and wonderful creatures. In fact, there will be more than 30 live animal exhibits along with two rotating 30-minute interactive programs on reptiles and mammals. You'll also find staff out and about with animals you can interact with. Did we mention the sloth? Say it with us: adorbs!
Dezignor/Shutterstock.com
Mechanic's Hall 160th Anniversary
1 to 3 p.m. Saturday. Maine Charitable Mechanic Association, 519 Congress St., Portland, free, donations welcome. On Facebook
Mechanic's Hall has been standing proudly on Portland's Congress street since 1859 and there's a 160th anniversary party to mark the occasion. The afternoon event will have the hall decked out in decorations, and the Maine Charitable Mechanic Association president will kick off the commemoration. Lifetime member Herb Adams will share highlights of the MCMA's history, and light refreshments will be served. There will also be a reading of the original 15 dedication toasts and you can take a historian-led tour of the storied hall.
Press Herald photo by John Patriquin
Live Oscars Stream
7:30 p.m. Sunday. Strand Theatre, 345 Main St., Rockland, free. rocklandstrand.com
It's one of the biggest nights of the year for movie lovers, and here's a chance to gather with a whole bunch of them as you watch the 91st Annual Academy Awards ceremony live on the huge screen at The Strand. You can even be part of the action by filling out an Oscars ballot in the Strand lobby anytime before winners start to get announced. Correct predictions will be entered into a drawing for a 10-movie pass card. Ballots are online now at the Strand's site, or you can fill one out when you get there. If you're 21 or older, you can head up to the Strand balcony bar for a special Oscar night bubbly cocktail. Competition for Best Picture is stiff this year with heavy hitters including "Black Panther," "A Star is Born" and "Bohemian Rhapsody." The Strand will stay open until the last acceptance speech is gven, so maybe pack a toothbrush!
Rami Malek. Featureflash Photo Agency/Shutterstock.com
Stand Up Science
7 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 26. One Longfellow Square, 181 State St., Portland, $16 in advance, $20 day of show. onelongfellowsquare.com
Shane Mauss and the Here We Are podcast present a hilarious show called "Stand Up Science" during which Mauss and his clever friends will crack you up and teach you a thing or two. You'll hear individually from Mauss, associate professor of psychology Longua Peterson, senior research scientist at Bigelow Laboratory for Ocean Studies Ben Twining and comic Ken Reid. The show wraps up with all four of them on stage for an interactive discussion and audience Q&A.
Image courtesy of Shane Mauss
