FRIDAY, JULY 8
Mayo Street Arts, 10 Mayo St., Portland, is holding the First Annual East Bayside Neighborhood Organization Talent Show, including drumming from Taiko Maine Dojo, break dancing, live music and more. Locally made baked goods will be sold. 7:30 p.m., Tix: $5, all ages. Visit mayostreetarts.org or call 650-9649 for more information.
USM’s Southworth Planetarium, 70 Falmouth St., Portland, presents Extreme Planets: examine the cutting-edge topic of exo-planets, planets in orbit around other stars at 7 p.m., and Fires in the Sky: a show about the birth and death of stars at 8:30 p.m. Tix are $6 for adults, $5 for children, students and seniors. Call 780-4249 or visit usm.maine.edu/planet for details.
SATURDAY, JULY 9
L.L. Bean Food Festival located in Discovery Park, L.L. Bean, 95 Main St., Freeport. Starting at 11 a.m. a tour of Freeport’s finest food vendors offer their wares for $10 (proceeds benefit Freeport Community Services) and Adam Waxman will provide musical accompaniment. Events later in the day include a Battle of the Local Chefs and a Whoopie Pie Eating Contest. Direct inquiries to 887-755-2326 or llbean.com/summer.
USM’s Southworth Planetarium, 70 Falmouth St., Portland, presents Rusty Rocket’s Last Blast: join Rusty Rocket and his band of rocket rookies as they travel through the planets at 3 p.m. Tix are $5 for adults, $4 for children, students and seniors. Call 780-4249 or visit usm.maine.edu/planet for details.
SUNDAY, JULY 10
East End Artists Open Studio Tour features artists of Portland’s East End opening their working studios to the public for a free, self-guided tour. Maps of the Open Studios will be available from 10-4 at 81 Congress St., Portland and in participating artists’ studios. Direct questions to 233-7273 or visit SEAportland.org.
MONDAY, JULY 11
The MFA Summer Visiting Artist Lecture Series at MECA’s Osher Hall, 522 Congress St., Portland, features Sina Najafi, editor of Cabinet Magazine. 6:30 p.m., free to the public, all ages. For more information call 699-5030 or visit meca.edu/mfa.
TUESDAY, JULY 12
The Portland Public Library Summer Documentary Series in the Rines Auditorium, Main Library, 5 Monument Square, Portland, presents Mugabe and the White African, the story of one “white African” who stands up to Zimbabwe’s de facto dictator Robert Mugabe’s “land reform” program aimed at driving whites from the country through violence and intimidation. 5:30 p.m., free of charge, all ages. call 871-1700 or visit portlandlibrary.com for more details.
FRIDAY, JULY 15
The Bates Dance Festival takes place at Bates College’s Schaeffer Theatre, 305 College St., Lewiston. Camille A. Brown’s passionate dances tell stories of historical moments and ordinary lives through a mixture of contemporary and African dance styles. Second night Saturday, July 16. 8 p.m., $24 for general public, $12 for students and seniors. all ages. Call 786-6161 or visit batestickets.com.
Portland Museum of Art, 7 Congress Sq., Portland, presents Gallery Talks, a unique perspective on Will Barnet at 100 by Carol Patterson. 6 p.m., free with museum admission, all ages. Also offered Saturday, July 16 at 1 p.m. Call 775-6148 or visit portlandmuseum.org for more information.
USM’s Southworth Planetarium, 70 Falmouth St., Portland, presents Eight Planets and Counting: a revamped solar system show that takes us to the Sun, planets, Moon, asteroids, trans-Neptunian objects, and more at 7 p.m., and Black Holes: an exciting show about one of the most fascinating celestial objects at 8:30 p.m. Tix are $6 for adults, $5 for children, students and seniors. Call 780-4249 or visit usm.maine.edu/planet for details.
SATURDAY, JULY 16
USM’s Southworth Planetarium, 70 Falmouth St., Portland, presents Eight Planets and Counting: a revamped solar system show that takes us to the Sun, planets, Moon, asteroids, trans-Neptunian objects, and more at 3 p.m. Tix are $5 for adults, $4 for children, students and seniors. Call 780-4249 or visit usm.maine.edu/planet for details.
MONDAY, JULY 18
The MFA Summer Visiting Artist Lecture Series at MECA’s Osher Hall, 522 Congress St., Portland, features Anne West, writer, theorist and independent curator who teaches in the graduate program at RISD. 6:30 p.m., free to the public, all ages. For more information call 699-5030 or visit meca.edu/mfa.
TUESDAY, JULY 19
The Portland Public Library Summer Documentary Series in the Rines Auditorium, Main Library, 5 Monument Square, Portland, presents The Oath, filmed in Yemen and Guantanamo Bay, the film interweaves the stories of Abu Jandal, Osama bin Laden’s former bodyguard, and Salim Hamdan, a prisoner at Guantanamo facing war crimes charges. 5:30 p.m., free of charge, all ages. call 871-1700 or visit portlandlibrary.com for more details.
FRIDAY, JULY 22
Portland Museum of Art, 7 Congress Sq., Portland, presents Gallery Talks, a unique perspective on Paths to Seguinland: The Personal and the Professional by Linda Roberts. 6 p.m., free with museum admission, all ages. Also offered Saturday, July 23 at 1 p.m. by Sy Epstein. Call 775-6148 or visit portlandmuseum.org for more information.
USM’s Southworth Planetarium, 70 Falmouth St., Portland, presents Images of Infinite 2011: see the Universe through the lenses of the Hubble Space Telescope at 7 p.m., and Extreme Planets: we examine the cutting-edge topic of exo-planets, planets in orbit around other stars at 8:30 p.m. Tix are $6 for adults, $5 for children, students and seniors. Call 780-4249 or visit usm.maine.edu/planet for details.
Yourspace: Open Studio is an event hosted by the Portland Museum of Art, 7 Congress Sq., Portland, featuring six local high school students undertaking an intensive art-making program. 5 p.m., free admission, all ages. Call 775-6148 or visit portlandmuseum.org for more information.
SATURDAY, JULY 23
USM’s Southworth Planetarium, 70 Falmouth St., Portland, presents Dinosaurs: journey to the Mesozoic Era and discover the many types of dinosaurs that one roamed our planet at 3 p.m. Tix are $5 for adults, $4 for children, students and seniors. Call 780-4249 or visit usm.maine.edu/planet for details.
Living with History is a lecture by Bob Keyes, Arts Writer for The Portland Press Herald/Maine Sunday Telegram, on Maine artist John Marin. The lecture is presented by the Portland Museum of Art, 7 Congress Sq., Portland.11 a.m., free with museum admission, all ages. Call 775-6148 or visit portlandmuseum.org for more information.
MONDAY, JULY 25
The MFA Summer Visiting Artist Lecture Series at MECA’s Osher Hall, 522 Congress St., Portland, features Lee Boroson, whose airy sculptures give viewers the chance to experience the ineffable impossibilities of the world. 6:30 p.m., free to the public, all ages. For more information call 699-5030 or visit meca.edu/mfa.
TUESDAY, JULY 26
The Portland Public Library Summer Documentary Series in the Rines Auditorium, Main Library, 5 Monument Square, Portland, presents POV Short Cuts, a one-hour collection of documentary shorts by established and emerging filmmakers. 5:30 p.m., free of charge, all ages. call 871-1700 or visit portlandlibrary.com for more details.
WEDNESDAY, JULY 27
The Artist’s Home and Studio as Romance and Archive is a lecture by Dr. Wanda M. Corn on the creative process, the artistic impulse, and the nature of inspiration. Presented by the Portland Museum of Art, 7 Congress Sq., Portland. 6 p.m., Tix: $10-$15, all ages. Call 775-6148 or visit portlandmuseum.org for more information.
FRIDAY, JULY 29
USM’s Southworth Planetarium, 70 Falmouth St., Portland, presents Black Holes: an exciting show about one of the most fascinating celestial objects at 7 p.m., and Eight Planets and Counting: a revamped solar system show that takes us to the Sun, planets, Moon, asteroids, trans-Neptunian objects, and more at 8:30 p.m. Tix are $6 for adults, $5 for children, students and seniors. Call 780-4249 or visit usm.maine.edu/planet for details
Portland Museum of Art, 7 Congress Sq., Portland, presents Gallery Talks, a unique perspective on John Marin: Modernism at Midcentury by Judy Cutler. 6 p.m., free with museum admission, all ages. Also offered Saturday, July 30 at 1 p.m. by Kristen Larsson-Turley. Call 775-6148 or visit portlandmuseum.org for more information.
SATURDAY, JULY 30
USM’s Southworth Planetarium, 70 Falmouth St., Portland, presents Rusty Rocket’s Last Blast: join Rusty Rocket and his band of rocket rookies as they travel through the planets at 3 p.m. Tix are $5 for adults, $4 for children, students and seniors. Call 780-4249 or visit usm.maine.edu/planet for details.