Conference
Bird on a Wire

More like lots of birds. Novice and experienced birders alike can look for any number of species, ranging from American bittern to yellow-bellied flycatcher to arctic terns, on the field trips that make up much of the American Birding Association's annual conference, held this year June 19 - 25 at the Bangor Civic Center. Besides the boat rides and treks through woods and along rocky coastline, the conference includes a young birder track and a number of programs and workshops. $175-$620 for the conference; individual field trip and workshop passes run $35-$110. 800-850-2473. www.americanbirding.org

Festival
Wooden Ships On the Water

It's a sure sign of summer when you see the tall ships, sails snapping in the breeze, round the bend into Boothbay Harbor for the annual Windjammer Days Festival on June 27 & 28. This is an excellent opportunity to take a quick tour of, or even a ride on, one of these magnificent wooden boats. But it's not all schooners all the time; organizers also put on harborside concerts, fireworks, and a parade. 207-633-2353. www.boothbayharbor.com

Exhibition
Monster Mash

Is Bigfoot real? What about the Abominable Snowman? And is it possible, as a Glasgow researcher recently posited, that the Loch Ness Monster was nothing more than a circus elephant taking a swim, viewed from afar? Such burning questions are the domain of cryptozoology, the quest for unknown, rumored, or hidden animals. With Cryptozoology: Out of Time Place Scale, the Bates Museum of Art tackles this arcane topic, aiming, organizers say, "to explore a pursuit where the disciplines of science and art share a mutual focal point." June 24 - Oct. 7. Free. 75 Russell St., Lewiston. 207-786-6158. www.bates.edu/museum.xml

Before making plans to attend any of these events, call ahead to confirm, since dates and times may be subject to change. To submit event listings to Down East, address an email to

online@downeast.com

MUSIC AND DANCE

Blistered Fingers Family Bluegrass Music Festival

Blistered Fingers, White Mountain Bluegrass, Smokey Greene, and the Carolina Rebels are just a few of the acts whose fingers will burn up the grass. June 15 - 18. $10-$55. Silver Spur Riding Club, Route 104, Sidney. 207-873-6539. www.blisteredfingers.com

Bowdoin International Music Festival

The Friday evening MusicFest series features the Aeolian Chamber Players, the Ying and Cassatt string quartets, distinguished guest artists, and members of the festival faculty in performances held each week during the festival at 8 p.m. at Crooker Theatre, Brunswick High School. $30. The Wednesday evening Upbeat!, at 7:30 p.m. at Crooker Theatre, is a faculty concert series that presents a mixture of contemporary and traditional works in a casual setting. $5-$20. June 24 - Aug. 5. 207-373-1400. www.summermusic.org/concerts.htm

Brubeck Choral Festival / Brubeck Brothers Quartet

Bay Chamber Concerts' first annual choral festival will present Dave Brubeck's moving choral tribute, "Earth is Our Mother," a work for choir and jazz ensemble with narration provided by Native American storyteller Allen Sockabasin. June 3, 7:30 p.m. $8-$30. Camden Opera House, 29 Elm St. 207-236-2823. www.baychamberconcerts.org

Celebrating the Life of Duke Ellington

Val Mollineaux, who met Duke Ellington three times, will present the music and images of The Duke. June 9 at 8 p.m. $12. St. Lawrence Arts & Community Center, 76 Congress St., Portland. 207-775-5568. www.stlawrencearts.org

I Love A Piano: The Songs of Irving Berlin

An evening of unforgettable music in this brand new musical salute to Irving Berlin, whose creativity spanned sixty years and two world wars. June 13 - July 1. $23-$33. 53 Old Post Rd., Arundel. 207-985-5552. www.arundelbarnplayhouse.com

Kneisel Hall Festival Concerts

On Friday evenings and Sunday afternoons, classical music students and faculty from some of the finest musical institutions in the world delight Blue Hill audiences with Kneisel Hall's summertime concert series. June 23 - Aug. 20. $20-$30. Blue Hill. 207-374-2203. www.kneisel.org

THEATER

Beehive, The '60s Musical

A high-energy musical that looks back at the decade of change that was the sixties: from girl bands to talented female performers including Patti LaBelle and the Bluebells, The Chiffons, Connie Francis, Lesley Gore, Tina Turner, Aretha Franklin, and Janis Joplin. June 19 - July 8. $36-$46. Ogunquit Playhouse, 10 Main St. 207-646-5511. www.ogunquitplayhouse.org

Cassandra Project

Acorn's annual new festival of women performers returns with a dynamic series of new works by local artists. May 31 - June 4. $TBA. St. Lawrence Arts & Community Center, 76 Congress St., Portland. 207-775-5568. www.stlawrencearts.org

The Diary of Anne Frank

Anne Frank's brave story still resonates, especially in a world of wars, dictators, oppression, and human genocide. June 2 - 11. $13-$15. Community Little Theater, 30 Academy St., Auburn. 207-783-0958.

House of the Seven Gables

Hawthorne's Gothic tale of the Pyncheon family, witchcraft, curses, and, of course, an old haunted mansion. June 8 - 17. $14-$25. Lakewood Theater, 76 Theater Rd., Skowhegan. 207-474-7176. www.lakewoodtheater.org

Jake's Women

Neil Simon's hilarious foray into the world of modern relationships. Jake, a novelist who is more successful with fiction than with life, faces a marital crisis by daydreaming about the women in his life. June 15 - 24. Call for ticket prices. Gaslight Theater, 1 Winthrop St., Hallowell. 207-626-3698. www.gaslighttheater.org

Rounding Third

Two mismatched men end up coaching the same Little League team. May 26 - June 4. $12. Waterville Opera House, 93 Main St., Waterville. 207-873-7000. www.operahouse.com

The Skin of our Teeth

An absurdist comedy with elements of the dramatic. June 8 - 25. $7-$15. The Belfast Maskers, 43 Front St. 207-338-9668. www.belfastmaskerstheater.com

South Pacific

Ensign Nellie Forbush and Emile de Becque once more experience tropical love. June 7 - 24. $33-$47. The Maine State Music Theatre, 22 Elm Street, Brunswick. 207-725-8769. www.msmt.org

You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown

Based on the comic strip Peanuts by Charles M. Schulz. June 30 - July 9. $10-$16. Camden Opera House, 29 Elm St. 207-236-7963. www.camdenoperahouse.com

ART MUSEUMS

Center for Maine Contemporary Art

Skowhegan at Sixty. In recognition of the sixtieth anniversary of the renowned Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture, CMCA will feature nineteen Maine student participants since 1996, including Astrid Bowlby, Danica Phelps, Andrea Sulzer, William Pope.L, and Aaron Stephan. June 3 - July 23. $5. 162 Russell Ave., Rockport. 207-236-2875. www.artsmaine.org

Colby College Museum of Art

Bill Ingham. Seattle-born artist and Colby College alumnus William Ingham, '66, is known for his fusion of bicoastal influences and loose Abstract Expressionist painting. Rich in color and sweeping movement and drawing inspiration from the Pacific Northwest, Ingham's paintings are at once both dreamlike and organic. Through July 9. Free. 5600 Mayflower Hill Dr., Waterville. 207-872-3228. www.colby.edu/museum

Farnsworth Art Museum & Wyeth Center

Touch the Sky: Jamien Morehouse's Liberty Banners. For two decades Jamien Morehouse (1951-1999) created and sold her vibrant banners made from fabric collage, quilting, and appliqué through her company Liberty Banners. Through June 18. u Andrew Wyeth: Selections. Works drawn from the Wyeth Study Center Collection, including several completed within the past few years in addition to some of Wyeth's best-known works. Through Oct. 15. u N.C. Wyeth: Artist and Illustrator. Illustrations and paintings by Newell Convers Wyeth dating from 1911 to the early 1940s. Through Oct. 15. u James Wyeth: Portrait of an Artist. Considered one of the most significant and accomplished representational artists of the twentieth century, James Browning Wyeth puts his own unique spin on realism. This mid-career assessment of his work will provide an unparalleled opportunity to examine his work in the larger context of American art. Through Oct. 15. u Winslow Homer: A Collector's Passion. The little-known but superb collection of American art at the Arkell Museum in Canajoharie, New York, includes a number of exemplary works by Homer in both watercolor and oils. June 25 - Sept. 17. $8-$10. 16 Museum St., Rockland. 207-596-6457. www.farnsworthmuseum.org

Institute of Contemporary Art at Maine College of Art

From Baja to Bar Harbor: Transnational Contemporary Art presents new large-scale video and installation works by three emerging artists working in different corners of North America. The exhibition features work by Sam van Aken of Bangor, Michele O'Marah of Los Angeles, and Julio Morales of San Francisco. June 7 - July 30. Free. ICA at MECA, 522 Congress St., Portland. 207-879-5742, ext. 229. www.meca.edu/GalleriesExhi bitions/ICA/Overview.aspx#2

Portland Museum of Art

In Our Time: The World as Seen by Magnum Photographers celebrates fifty years of Magnum Photos, Inc., one of the world's most renowned photographic agencies. This exhibition looks at the work of some of the most revered documentary photographers. Through June 11. u Treasures from Olana: Landscapes by Frederic Edwin Church. Church, one of America's most popular nineteenth-century Hudson River School landscape painters, made important contributions to the history of art in this country. This exhibition of eighteen of the most exquisite oils, watercolors, and drawings from Church's own collection highlights his accomplishments in a variety of media. May 20 - Sept. 10. u The Quiet Landscapes of William B. Post: Pictorial Photography in Maine. Post helped make the case for photography as a fine art at the turn of the twentieth century. He excelled at photographing the rural landscape of Maine near his home in Fryeburg — fields at harvest time, apple trees in blossom, and, most notably, water lilies and snow. As a member of the Photo-Secession, an avant-garde group of photographers, he helped establish the Pictorialist style first championed by Alfred Stieglitz. June 3 - Aug. 27. $2-$8. 7 Congress Square, Portland. 207-775-6148. www.portlandmuseum.org

OTHER MUSEUMS

Abbe Museum

Made of Thunder, Made of Glass: Native American Beadwork. In the early 1800s, Native women of northeastern North America created a new art form: delicate, intricately beaded hats and purses. In this exhibition the museum explores the principal symbols and images present in the beadwork. Through Nov. 18. $2-$6. 26 Mount Desert St., Bar Harbor. 207-288-3519. www.abbemuseum.org

Maine Historical Society Museum

A Riot of Words: Broadsides and Ballads, Posters and Proclamations. This exhibit, from the museum's collection of nearly a thousand broadsides and posters from about 1700 to the 1940s, illustrates the way Maine people used this ephemeral media to communicate news, political views, commercial opportunities, and moral values. Through June 11. $2-$4. 489 Congress St., Portland. 207-774-1822. www.mainehistory.org

Maine State Museum

Profiles of His Time: The Silhouette Portraits by Galen Jerome Brewer. Fifty of the silhouettes created in the mid-nineteenth century by Brewer, a Maine farmer who created likenesses of his family, friends, and a variety of people he met in his travels. Through Aug. 31. u Rugs All Marked Out. The exhibit features some of the metal stencil plates created by Edward Sands Frost of Biddeford around 1870 and used for the next thirty years by E. S. Frost and Company to produce printed patterns on burlap, ready to be worked into hooked rugs. The exhibit traces the 135-year history of the plates, which were used to produce the first commercially manufactured hooked rug patterns. Through Dec. 31. Free-$2. 230 State St., Augusta. 207-287-2301. www.state.me.us/museum/

Owls Head Transportation Museum

Convertible Meet & Antique Aeroplane Show. This event will feature the great classics of the forties, fifties, and sixties, as well as contemporary convertibles. Owners of any year or make convertible are invited to exhibit. June 25. $6-$8. Route 73, Owls Head. 207-594-4418. www.ohtm.org

Penobscot Marine Museum

Barbara Francis, a Penobscot traditional basket maker, demonstrates how brown ash baskets are created. June 3 & June 17, 1 - 4 p.m. u Eric Jergenson, a teacher of sailing at Maine Maritime Academy, teaches visitors to tie decorative sailors' knots such as monkeys' fists and Turks' heads. June 10 from 2 - 4 p.m. $3-$8. U.S. Highway 1 and Church St., Searsport. 207-548-2529. www.penobscotmarinemuseum.org

Portland Harbor Museum

Harbor Forts: A Look Behind the Walls. Exploring life within the forts in and around Portland Harbor, the exhibit demonstrates that, as the military establishment focused on protecting the harbor, soldiers, and other individuals who lived and worked within the forts succeeded in creating communities. Through Nov. 26. Free-$4. Fort Road, South Portland. 207-799-6337. www.portlandharbormuseum.org

Tate House Museum

Setting a Fine Table: Dining in Colonial Maine celebrates dining and entertainment at the height of colonial Portland's prosperity, 1755-1775. Dinner, desserts, tea, and punch will be among the entertainments highlighted with fine imported glass, porcelain, and pottery from the eighteenth century. June 15 - Oct. 15. $2-$7. 1270 Westbrook St., Portland. 207-774-6177. www.tatehouse.org

FAIRS AND FESTIVALS

Acadian Festival

Head to the heart of the St. John River Valley (see page 52) for this fair celebrating the culture of Maine's own Cajuns. June 29 - July 2. Free. Madawaska. 207-728-7000. www.townofmadawaska.com

Gardiner Arts Festival

Downtown Gardiner comes alive with a juried art show featuring more than forty Maine artists and artisans and music in the park. June 17 from 10 a.m.- 9 p.m. Free. 207-582-3100. www.gardinermainst.org

La Kermesse

A carnival-like weekend celebrating Franco-American entertainment, food, and heritage in Biddeford. June 22 - 25. Free. 207-283-1889.

Old Port Festival

Maine's biggest one-day festival takes over downtown Portland. June 4 from 11 a.m. - 5 p.m. Free. 207-772-6828. www.portlandmaine.com

SPECIAL EVENTS

Bath House and Garden Show

This tour includes nine homes and gardens in Bath plus tours of the Hyde School, the Plant Memorial Home, and the Donnell House. June 17 from 10:30 a.m. - 3 p.m. $15-$25. 207-443-2174. www.sagadahocpreservation.org

Buxton Garden Club's Garden Tour

A tour of eight gardens. June 24 from 9 a.m. - 4 p.m. $10-$15. 207-929-8283.

Crafts at the Playhouse

A juried craft show featuring more than sixty artisans, live music, food, and free parking. June 24 - 25. Ogunquit Playhouse. Free. 207-646-2402. www.ogunquitplayhouse.org

Fryeburg Area Rotary Club's Antique Auto Show

Vintage car show. June 19 from 10 a.m. - 2 p.m. Fryeburg Fairgrounds. 207-647-7008. www.fryeburgarearotary.org

Garden Club of Wiscasset Garden Tour

Proceeds provide scholarships for environmental science college work. June 29 from 10 a.m. - 4 p.m. $5-$18. 207-443-5712.

Historic New England Open House

Tours of six Maine properties — Sayward-Wheeler House in York Harbor; Sarah Orne Jewett House and Hamilton House in South Berwick; Marrett House in Standish; and the Castle Tucker House and Nickels-Sortwell House in Wiscasset — are designed to bring their history alive. June 3 from 11 a.m. - 5 p.m. Free. 207-384-2454. www.historicnewengland.org

Legacy of the Arts

A community-wide celebration of art and culture in Bar Harbor. June 18 - 25. 207-288-5103. www.barharbormaine.com/legacy.html

Maine Audubon

Maine Audubon has loads of events scheduled for June. Here is just a sampling (visit the group's Web site to learn about more). Seabirds of Matinicus Rock. June 2, 9 a.m.- 4 p.m. $45-$50. Kayaking the Presumpscot River. June 10, 8:30 a.m. - 12:30 p.m. $55-$70. Ancient Trees and Historic Parks of Portland. June 13, 4 - 7 p.m. $10-$20. Introduction to Fly-fishing at Claybrook Mountain Lodge. June 16 at 7 p.m., June 18 at 1 p.m. $245-$265. 207-781-2330. www.maineaudubon.org

Maine Canoe Symposium

Moose Pond becomes a paddler's paradise. Enjoy lessons, demonstrations, slide presentations, and on-the-water fun. All ages and levels welcome. June 9 - 11. $40-$80. Camp Winona on Moose Pond, Bridgton. 207-892-3121. www.mainecanoesymposium.org

Maine Fiber Frolic

A celebration of fiber animals and the fiber arts: spinning, weaving, dyeing, felting, and rug hooking. June 10 & 11 from 10 a.m. - 4 p.m. Free. Windsor Fairgrounds, Route 32. 207-935-4075. www.fiberfrolic.com

Maine Iris Show

The Maine Iris Society sponsors its forty-sixth annual show with hundreds of colorful blossoms, flower arrangements, and awards. June 10 from 2 - 6 p.m. Auburn Middle School, 38 Fulcon Dr. Free. 207-946-5417. www.irisgarden.org

Moose Mainea

A full month of family-oriented activities including the Tour de Moose Bike Races, the Moosehead Fly-casting Championship, and the Moosehead Rowing Regatta, plus moose safaris, craft fairs, a parade, and educational exhibits. Through June 17. Free. Greenville. 207-695-2702. www.mooseheadlake.org

Portland Book, Print, and Paper Show

Books galore at this show sponsored by the Maine Antiquarian Booksellers Association and the Maine Historical Society. June 18 from 10 a.m. - 3:30 p.m. $5. Portland Exposition Building, 239 Park Ave. 207-874-8200. www.bookfairs.com/portland.html

Summer Wildlife Days

Fly tying and fly-casting with Trout Unlimited, June 3. Meet Maine cartoonist-artist-author Tom Merriam for personalized wildlife cartoons and buttons, June 10. Join Dick Bernier for informative information about the white-tailed deer, June 17. Maine wildlife rehabilitators from ReMaine WILD explain what to do if you find a baby robin, raccoon, or injured animal, June 24. All free. Maine Wildlife Park, Route 26, Gray. 207-657-4977. www.mainewildlifepark.com

Trek Across Maine

Trek Across Maine (see page 62) is a three-day, 180-mile bicycling adventure from Sunday River Ski Resort in Bethel to Rockland with overnight stops at the University of Maine in Farmington and Colby College in Waterville. The trek helps to raise funds for the American Lung Association of Maine. June 16 - 18. 207-622-6394. www.mainelung.org