Center Stage

Before making plans to attend any of these events, call ahead to confirm, since dates and times may be subject to change.

Museums

Portland Museum of Art
The PMA's blockbuster this summer comes courtesy of Rockwell Kent, who landed on Monhegan 100 years ago. The enchanted island hasn't been the same since; instead it's become the Artist's Island, a rocky outpost with a bunch of studios and even more aspiring Kents. Rockwell Kent: The Mythic and the Modern runs through October 16.Neil Welliver: Water and Sky. On April 5, 2005, the Maine art world lost one of its most important and enigmatic figures. For more than forty years, Neil Welliver created dramatic paintings, watercolors, and prints in and around his home and studio near Lincolnville. This exhibition pulls together approximately twenty works from the major periods of his career, drawing upon the permanent collection of the Portland Museum of Art as well as several private collections. September 3 through November. 7 Congress Square, Portland. 207-775-6148. www.portlandmuseum.org [1]

Farnsworth Art Museum & Wyeth Center
Andrew Wyeth wasn't always a Maine master. In his younger days he was still trying to make a name for himself and was simply a talented understudy to his father. That's one of the things you'll discover during Andrew Wyeth: Early Watercolors, which runs through September 18.

American painter, sculptor, printmaker, and Colby College icon, Alex Katz is one of the most important American artists of his time, and his impressive body of work constitutes a unique take on modern realism. See for yourself, through October 16.

Maine Women — Living on the Land: A Photographic Installation by Lauren Shaw profiles ten Mainers who live close to the earth. Through November 13.

Frederick Lynch: A Retrospective Exhibition. A highly respected artist and revered teacher, Frederick Lynch [Down East, August 2003], has lived and worked in Maine for more than thirty years, building a reputation as one of the leading abstract painters in the region. Not everyone can paint in a style that incorporates elements of Cubism, hard-edge Abstraction, Pop Art, and Minimalism, but Lynch manages to blend all these into a unique style that's his own. October 30 through February 15, 2006. Rockland. 207-596-6457. www.farnsworthmuseum.org [2]

Ogunquit Museum of Art
Memories of World War II: Photographs from the Associated Press Archives includes more than 120 black and white photographs loaned from the Associated Press Archives. Among the photographs are the famous Pulitzer Prize-winning photo of Marines raising an American flag on Mount Suribachi; the attack on Pearl Harbor; the D-Day landing; and a sailor kissing a woman in Times Square on VJ Day. August 29 through October 15. 543 Shore Road, Ogunquit. 207-646-4909. www.ogunquitmuseum.org [3]

Bates Museum of Art
The Olivia and Ellwood Straub Collection was created by Bates in 1991 to collect works with environmental themes — but in fourteen years it's never been seen as a whole. The Environment of Landscape: Works from the Olivia and Ellwood Straub Collection is the great unveiling of the result — a selection of landscape work by such talents as Joel Babb, Dozier Bell, Ann Lofquist, Joseph Haroutunian, and James Linehan. Impressive stuff. Through October 1.

Tired of Hartley? Had enough Homer? Off the Coast: A Landscape Chronology explores innovations in contemporary Maine landscape art. Where once the Pine Tree State was defined by mostly male artists who glorified it with picturesque archetypes, today a growing and diversifying number of resident artists, such as the photographers Jocelyn Lee, Elke Morris, and Scott Peterman, are changing how people from away perceive Maine. Through May 30, 2006.

Robert Indiana: The Hartley Elegies. Robert Indiana is a great admirer of Marsden Hartley, the Lewiston native and famed American modernist, and in the early 1990s he created an homage to him: The Hartley Elegies. The imagery in these ten large-scale prints is drawn from Hartley's 1914-15 German Officer paintings, created after the death of the young soldier Karl von Freyburg, a devastating event in Hartley's life. In his distinctive style, Indiana unites military insignia and geometric forms with references to Maine, America, war, and historical events to create a series of symbolic portraits. October 1 through December 17. 75 Russell Street, Lewiston. 207-786-6158. www.bates.edu/museum.xml [4]

Colby College Museum of Art
Alex Katz: Collages. The museum's collection of work by Alex Katz is one of its defining features, and it includes examples from the artist's early years, when he studied at Skowhegan, through his more mature work, which he continues to produce in his New York studio and during his summers in Lincolnville. Through September 18.

Terry Winters: Prints & Sequences. Terry Winters has continually explored issues of series and continuity in his art, evidenced in his early prints to his most recent works in print media. Through November 6. 5600 Mayflower Hill Drive, Waterville. 207-872-3228. www.colby.edu/museum [5]

University of Maine Museum of Art
Ansel Adams: Celebration of Genius. If only Ansel Adams had spent more time photographing Maine, one can only imagine what the master photographer could have come up with. More than 100 images by the man who is arguably the world's most famous photographer comprise this exhibition, including Adams' lush early photographs of Yosemite, many of his most famous images, portraits, still lifes, and abstracts, as well as a portfolio of rarely seen parmelien prints. The exhibition was organized by the George Eastman House from the 200 Ansel Adams works in its collection. Norumbega Hall, 40 Harlow Street, Bangor. Through October 8. 207-561-3350. www.umma.umaine.edu [6]

Center for Maine Contemporary Art
Boxers and Ballerinas, photographs by John Goodman taken over twenty-five years, explores the extreme physical discipline required of both the pugilist and the dancer. Through October 1.

Water looks at the importance of H20 on the Earth and its inhabitants in diverse mediums. Through October 1.

Work of the Hand. More than fifty Maine artisans were invited to participate in the Rockport gallery's sixteenth annual exhibition, and their beautiful, functional works in fiber, clay, wood, glass, and metal are presented for sale, order, or commission. October 8 through 16.

Gideon Bok: Recent Work. New paintings by the winner of CMCA's 2004 Biennial Juried Exhibition. October 22 through December 17.

Nancy Romines Walters: Some Families and the Ties that Bind. Drawings and sculptural installations in various media examine filial connections. October 22 through December 17.

Underexposed. A group show by emerging and mid-career photographers whose work deserves more visibility. October 22 through December 17. 162 Russell Avenue, Rockport. 207-236-2875. www.artsmaine.org [7]

Saco Museum
Simple Gifts: The Alfred Shakers 1793 to 1931. The ascetic world of the Shakers remains an endless source of fascination for Mainers and Maine visitors. The state was once home to several colonies of the millenarian sect, and this exhibit provides a rare opportunity to see items from the group in Alfred. The show encompasses all aspects of community life including its famous furniture, industries, and religion. Many of the items in the exhibit have never been displayed outside the Sabbathday Lake community, which holds the largest number of Alfred Shaker material anywhere — and is the only active Shaker community in the world. Through October 30. 371 Main Street, Saco. 207-283-3861. www.sacomuseum.org [8]

Owls Head Transportation Museum
Vintage Motorcycle Meet & Antique Aeroplane Show. Hundreds of Harleys and Hendersons, Nortons and Triumphs, Enfields and Ariels, flat heads and pan heads, and antiques of all makes and models will assemble at the museum for iron horse lovers to peruse. More than 200 vintage motorcycles and 500 modern bikes in all will rally for this weekend super show. A great opportunity to indulge your inner Easy Rider. September 4.

Made in the USA Car Meet & Antique Aeroplane Show. FoMoCo, GM, Dodge, Studebaker, and Rambler . . . the list of great American automobiles and automakers goes on and on. See the best and brightest among them on September 18.

Foreign Auto Festival & Antique Aeroplane Show. Enjoy oompah and polka music as you stroll among more than 200 foreign cars, ranging from the exotic to the eccentric from Alfa Romeos to Volkswagen buses and Beetles, Jaguars and Rolls Royces, MGs and Triumphs, BMWs and Mercedes, the great Italian sports cars, antique Saabs and Volvos, and antique Japanese autos. 207-594-4418. www.ohtm.org [9]

Portland Harbor Museum
The location of the Portland Harbor Museum alone would be reason enough to visit: the small museum sits right on Casco Bay at Spring Point, with easy access to the Spring Point Ledge Light and the Spring Point Shoreline Walkway. But the museum's collection is worthy in its own right, and it frequently hosts interesting exhibits like those up now: Old Salts and New Directions: Portland Harbor and the People who Make It Work; and Snow Squall: The Journey of an American Clipper Ship. South Portland. 207-799-6337. www.portlandharbormuseum.org [10]

Penobscot Marine Museum
George Waymouth made quite an impact on the Maine coast. The English explorer landed at what is now Thomaston, poked around, and brought five natives back with him to England for show and tell. That was 400 years ago, and the Penobscot Marine Museum — Maine's oldest maritime museum — is celebrating the anniversary with extensive displays highlighting Waymouth's voyage, the Native American civilization that was here when he arrived, and the importance of his voyage to the future English colonization of North America. Searsport. 207-548-2529 ext. 200. www.penobscotmarinemuseum.org [11]

Fairs and Festivals

Windsor Fair
August 28 through September 5. The Windsor Fair is a late summer staple in the capital area, a country fair famed for its large midway, animal pulling events, and especially its harness racing. 207-549-5249. www.windsorfair.com [12]

Blue Hill Fair
September 1 to 5. Always scheduled for Labor Day weekend, the Blue Hill Fair is always a good time and always draws large crowds for its traditional country fair-type amusements. People turn out in droves for the sheep-dog trials, pig racing, country-rock shows, and swirling midway. 207-374-3701. www.bluehillfair.com [13]

Fall Festival of Crafts
September 10. This is the United Maine Craftmen's fourth annual autumnal showcase, featuring 150 exhibitors selling their handcrafted products at Smiling Hill Farm, Route 22, Westbrook. 207-621-2818. www.unitedmainecraftsmen.com [14]

Bald and Ragged Mountains Festival
September 10 from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Camden's Snow Bowl is one of Maine's finest community ski areas because it's truly about community. And that's evident in this celebration of the Bowl's mountains, which features chair-lift rides, unique races for both athletes and families, music, food, and a silent auction. Coordinated by Coastal Mountains Land Trust and the town of Camden's Ragged Mountain Recreation Area. 207-236-7091. www.coastalmountains.org [15]

Blacksmith's Round-up
September 10. Swing a hammer and join the New England Blacksmiths for some fancy forging. Get trained by a master blacksmith — watch your thumb — and then see the demonstrations in the yard. Leonard's Mills, Bradley. 207-581-2871. www.leonardsmills.com [16]

Laudholm Nature Crafts Festival
September 10 & 11. Now a tradition in Wells, the Laudholm Nature Crafts Fest is a juried show — eighty-five crafters passed muster this year — with a two-day festival wrapped around it. Music, food, and environmental education round out the event, which takes place at the spectacular Wells Reserve at Laudholm Farm. Proceeds from the volunteer-run crafts festival are contributed to Laudholm Trust. 207 646-4521. www.laudholm.org/crafts_info.htm [17]

Maine Salmon Festival
September 10 & 11. Eastport has a lot to thank the salmon for, and this is when the picturesque city does so. A huge event in the small Moose Island burg, the Salmon Fest brings all sorts of people home for music, arts and crafts, and great salmon dinners. 207-853-4644. www.eastportme.net [18]

Rockland HarborFest — Jazz and Arts Festival
September 17 & 18. Rockland has had such luck with its blues festival that a jazz festival just seems natural. Cool jazz, food vendors, arts and crafts, activities for children, and more bring the swing to the "Lobster Capital of the World." Grab a lawn chair and blankets (no coolers or pets) and sit on the lawns of Harbor Park and enjoy. Maine's historic windjammers will be celebrating Rockland's maritime heritage and will be offering tours and daytrips. On September 18 there will be a Jazz Brunch Cruise from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. aboard the M/V Monhegan. Cruise Rockland Harbor, enjoying a live jazz band, and taste some of the area's finest signature dishes from local restaurants. 207-596-0376 or 800-562-2529. www.therealmaine.com [19]
Common Ground Country Fair
September 23 to 25. The Common Ground Fair is like Christmas for many Mainers (and people from away, too) — the highlight of the year. Maine Organic Farmers and Gardeners Association turns Unity into the place to be for anyone into the Good Life. Plus music, organic foods, farming, crafts, social-action, and plain old socializing. Gates open at 9 a.m. each day. 207-568-4142. www.mofga.org [20]

Cumberland Fair
September 25 through October 1. Held at the fairgrounds in Cumberland, just fifteen minutes from downtown Portland, the Cumberland Fair is still very much a country fair. Yeah, Cumberland is looking fairly suburban these days, and there are all the midway rides and junk food and bands the modern kids want. But the livestock events, craft shows, pumpkin contests, lumber cutting, blacksmith demonstrations, and harness racing remind you that the fair is 134 years old. 207-829-5531. www.cumberlandfair.com [21]

Fryeburg Fair
October 2 to 9. This is the largest fair in Maine, and it couldn't come at a better time — at the peak of foliage season in the White Mountains. A Maine tradition as colorful as the leaves, the fair dominates the town of Fryeburg with a Ferris wheel, racetrack, and agricultural displays so extensive that fairgoers can spend days touring the exhibits without seeing them all. 207-935-3268. www.fryeburgfair.com [22]

Windfall Fair and Apple Festival
October 8 from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Celebrate the harvest season on the grounds of Merryspring Nature Park in Camden. Activities include old-fashioned cider pressing, a pie-baking contest, live music, animals, wildlife exhibits, self-guided displays about native trees, heirloom apple varieties, mushrooms, and other natural treasures. Admission is free. 207-236-2239. www.merryspring.org [23]

Maine Cheese and Wine Festival
October 15. It's easy being cheesy at this annual dairy extravaganza. The Maine cheese fest always features a tasting of Maine's premium cheeses — there are more fine cheesemakers in the state than you might think — and seminars about Maine cheesemaking, plus demonstrations of how to make fresh and delicious products with Maine's abundant and high-quality milk. And now, with wine! This year, Maine's vintners join the festivities, highlighting their growing industry and products, as well as offering advice on the proper pairing of wine and cheese. Samoset Resort in Rockport. 207-785-4431 or 207-236-9591. www.mainecheeseguild.org [24]

Music and Dance

Boubacar Traore
September 24 at 8 p.m. Legendary Malian bluesman Boubacar Traore has been compared to legendary American bluesman Robert Johnson, which is about the highest praise a blues player can get. And if it's anything close to the truth, this is a show not to be missed, especially in a venue as intimate as the Center for Cultural Exchange, Portland. 207-761-1545. www.centerforculturalexchange.org [25]

USM School of Music
September 30 at 8 p.m. The Faculty Concert Series begins with Stolen Jewels: An Evening of French Treasures. Thomas Parchman, clarinet; Ardith Keef, bassoon; Alison Hale, flute; and Chris Lewis, piano, and then on October 28, The French Connection: songs of Debussy, Fauré, Ravel, Piaf, Brel, and others. Corthell Concert Hall on the Gorham campus. The USM Concert Band plays on September 30 at 1 p.m., with Peter Martin conducting. And for homecoming there's an old-fashioned band at the Brooks Student Center, Gorham campus, free. On October 1, Ronald F. Cole Annual Alumni Series: Michael McGinnis with his NYC-based group The Four Bags. Find out more about all of these events at 207-780-5555. www.usm.maine.edu/music [26]

Portland Symphony Orchestra
October 11 at 7:30 p.m. From grandmothers to Goth kids, you'll be able to talk the whole family into attending performances by the Portland Symphony Orchestra this autumn. The symphony's Classical Tuesdays get under way with Sallinen's Solemn Overture, Beethoven's Piano Concerto No. 1, and Strauss' Ein Heldenleben. Then on October 23 at 2:30 p.m. The Classical Planets features Haydn's Symphony No. 43, "Mercury," Brahms' Clarinet Sonata Op. 120, and Mozart's Symphony No. 41, "Jupiter." Your niece with the black lipstick will want to attend Halloween Pops on October 29 at 8 p.m. and October 30 at 2:30 p.m., when the PSO plays some of the more ghoulish works for orchestra that includes Saint-Sa?ns' Danse Macabre and Mussorgsky's Night on Bald Mountain. Portland, Merrill Auditorium. 207-773-6128. www.portlandsymphony.com [27]

Martha Graham Dance Company
October 17 at 7:30 p.m. The Martha Graham Dance Company has leapt and twirled its way across the globe since its founding in 1926. Pyramids of Egypt? Yep, done that. Acropolis in Athens? Check. Paris Opera House? Indeed. Carnegie Hall? But of course. The oldest and most celebrated contemporary dance company in America stops by Merrill Auditorium thanks to PCA Great Performances. Portland. 207-842-0800. www.pcagreatperf.com [28]

Gordon Lightfoot
October 21 at 8 p.m. Most people know Canadian folkie Gordon Lightfoot for his epic "Wreck Of The Edmund Fitzgerald," but he had so many hits ("Sundown," "Early Morning Rain," "If You Could Read My Mind") that he practically owned the early seventies. Find out why even post-punk bands like the Flaming Lips sing his praises. Portland's Merrill Auditorium. 207-842-0800, or 207-842-0812. www.portlandevents.com/Merrill.htm [29]

Yuri Yunakov with Ivo Papasov
October 23 at 7:30 p.m. What exactly is Bulgarian bebop? Show up for the Balkan folk dance workshop in the afternoon and at the concert later that night and you'll be able to bop till you drop. Center for Cultural Exchange, Portland. 207-761-1545. www.centerforculturalexchange.org [25]

Kalichstein-Laredo-Robinson Trio
October 26 at 7:30 p.m. Despite having a name that's a mouthful, the Kalichstein-Laredo-Robinson Trio has won accolades from high places. The New York Times called the combo: "One of the best-blended, most sensitive and intelligent piano trios in the world today." Since making their debut as the Kalichstein-Laredo-Robinson Trio at the White House for President Carter's Inauguration in January 1977, pianist Joseph Kalichstein, violinist Jaime Laredo, and cellist Sharon Robinson have set the standard for performance of the piano trio for twenty-eight consecutive seasons. In December 2001, Musical America named the Kalichstein-Laredo-Robinson Trio, the Ensemble of the Year for 2002. PCA Great Performances, Portland's Merrill Auditorium. 207-842-0800. www.pcagreatperf.com [28]

Wynton Marsalis
October 26 at 7:30 p.m. What more to say about Wynton Marsalis? He even gets lauded by the likes of UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan, who called him the "Messenger of Peace." The nine-time Grammy Award-winning jazz legend, Marsalis and his seven-piece ensemble will perform works from his latest album "The Magic Hour" at the Camden Opera House, a hall small enough that you can practically sit in his lap. Following the concert, Marsalis will attend a Gala Soiree that Bay Chamber Concerts is offering at the Center for Maine Contemporary Art in Rockport. 207-236-2823 or 888-707-2770. www.baychamberconcerts.org [30]

Halloween Silent Film Night
October 28 at 7:30 p.m. As the Phantom of the Opera knows, there's nothing quite like pipe organs for creating spooky music. Join the Friends of the Kotzschmar Organ's silent film night and costume party for a bit of a fright. Merrill Auditorium, Portland. 207-883-9525. www.foko.org [31]

Theater

Nunsensations! The Nunsense Vegas Revue
August 22 through September 10. Talked into performing a show in Vegas to raise money for their school, the Little Sisters of Hoboken decide its time for a little T and A — that's talent and attitude! Ogunquit Playhouse. 207-646-5511. www.ogunquitplayhouse.org [32]

Pete 'n' Keely
August 23 through September 3. Pete and Keely are America's Swinging Sweethearts, and their musical numbers relive the bumpy ride that got them where they are today — divorced. Arundel Barn Playhouse. 207-985-5552. www.arundelbarnplayhouse.com [33]

Henrietta the Eighth
August 25 through September 1. Busy running for election in a local campaign, widow Claire Sutton leaves her three teenage daughters and their rambunctious friends in the care of her personal secretary. But will the secretary survive the politico's enfants terribles? Lakewood Theatre, Skowhegan. 207-474-7176. www.lakewoodtheater.org [34]

Dinner with Friends
September 1 to 3 and September 8 to 10. No this isn't a spin-off of the long-running sitcom; this is the winner of a 2000 Pulitzer Prize for drama, full of life, warmth, laughs, and wisdom that follows the intimate friendship and marriage of two couples across a dozen years. Gaslight Theater, Hallowell. 207-626-3698. www.gaslighttheater.org [35]

Sight Unseen
September 1 to 4. Deertrees Theatre is really an amazing cultural resource in the Sebago Lake area, bringing to the stage a caliber of plays not usually seen in the summertime. Sight Unseen is such a drama by Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright David Margulies, winning him an Obie in 1992 to add to his collection of honors. An artist visits a former lover in England upon the opening of his first overseas show, and the glories and trials of romance commence. Deertrees Theatre & Cultural Center, Harrison. 207-583-6747. www.deertreestheatre.org [36]

Confessions of a Dirty Blonde
September 8 to 17. Lillian Lamour, a Mae West-like sex siren who is coming out of retirement for a one-night tribute at Carnegie Hall, has been bitten on her bum by a lion, but, the show must go on! Lakewood Theatre, Skowhegan. 207-474-7176. www.lakewoodtheater.org [34]

Moon of the Scarlet Plums
September 19 at 7:30 p.m. The story of Sioux hero Crazy Horse takes a Japanese twist in this drama by Theatre Yugen of San Francisco. Guest performers from Tokyo and the American Indian Dance Theatre help tell the story of a young Native American who searches to find his identity and his own spiritual vision in contemporary times through the powerful ritual of Japanese Noh theater. Presented by Northeast Cultural Coop. Green Acre Baha'i School, Eliot. 603-673-8470. www.NortheastCulturalCoop.org [37]

Picasso at the Lapin Agile
September 21 through October 2. Albert Einstein and Pablo Picasso meet in a bar, right. . . . Well, that's the premise for Steve Martin's (yes, that Steve Martin) first play for the stage. It's fast and loose with fact, fame, and fortune, as these two geniuses muse on the century's achievements. He really is a wild and crazy guy. Bangor Opera House. Penobscot Theatre Company. 207-942-3333. http://ptc.maineguide.com [38]

A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum
September 22 through October 2. The Theater at Monmouth promises people will be talking about this show — a hysterical, historical comedy whose source material comes from Rome's best-known playwright, Titus Maccius Plautus — for years to come. See for yourself. The Theater At Monmouth. 207-933-9999. www.theateratmonmouth.org [39]

Oliver
September 23 through October 9. Please can we have some more, sir? Another helping of Oliver, that is. This Tony Award-winning musical was first presented in London in 1962; based on Oliver Twist, it has those marvelous Dickens characters: Fagin, Nancy, Artful Dodger, Mr. Bumble, and of course, Oliver and all the boys. The Portland Players. 207-799-7337. www.portlandplayers.org [40]

Into the Woods
September 30 through October 9. An ambivalent Cinderella? A blood-thirsty Little Red Riding Hood? Prince Charming with a roving eye? A witch . . . who raps? Fractured fairy tales by James Lapine and Stephen Sondheim at the Waterville Opera House. 207-873-7000. www.operahouse.com [41]

Miss Saigon
October 7 at 8 p.m. & October 8 at 2 and 8 p.m. Days before the evacuation of Saigon in 1975, an American GI falls in love with a stripper. Now what? One of the longest-running shows in Broadway history comes to Portland thanks to PCA Great Performances. Portland's Merrill Auditorium. 207-842-0800. www.pcagreatperf.com [28]

Deathtrap
October 14 to 23. Sidney Bruhl is a celebrated writer of Broadway thrillers suffering through writer's block. When a student mails him a script to die for, he gets the killer idea to claim it as his own. Broadway's longest running mystery-thriller is filled with razor sharp wit and hair-raising twists. Lewiston-Auburn's Public Theatre. 207-782-3200. www.thepublictheatre.org [42]

Special Events

Colonial Costume Exhibit
Celebrate the 250th anniversary of the Tate House with itchy woolens. You don't actually have to wear antique clothes, but you can see exactly what your counterpart might have worn in the eighteenth century while you explore the only pre-Revolutionary building in Portland that's open to the public. Through the generosity of Maine Historical Society, the Brick Store Museum, the Pejepscot Historical Society, and the Saco Museum, rare eighteenth-century clothing can be viewed in period settings at the Tate House, through September 30. 1270 Westbrook Street, Portland. 207-774-6177. www.tatehouse.org [43]

Spectacular Maine Auction
August 24 to 26. The auctioneers of James D. Julia Auctions see some fine wares during the course of a year — art, folk art, silver, American and European furniture and accessories — and they save much of the best of it for their end of summer auction spectacular. Samoset Resort, Rockland. 207-453-7125. www.juliaauctions.com [44]

Antiques Coastal Maine Show
August 31. A rustic setting of three large tents, a small one, and two levels of a barn is the venue for this antique bazaar at the Round Top Center for the Arts. 9:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. Admission is $7. Round Top Center for the Arts, Business Route 1, Damariscotta. 207-882-7908.

Windjammer Weekend
September 2 to 4. Sea, sails, and salts. Stare out at the harbor during this nautical shindig and you might imagine yourself in Camden more than a century ago. The fun includes music, nautical workshops, lobster-crate races, a schooner bum talent show, and fireworks. Camden. 207-236-4404. www.windjammerweekend.com [45]

Capriccio 2005
September 5 to 17. The arts festivals in most communities last a weekend, tops, and some have a hard time sustaining themselves that long. But Ogunquit is an artsy place, and its town-wide festival of the arts — called Capriccio — includes music, concerts, live theater, poetry readings, and a fashion show spread across a couple of weeks. Sponsored by Ogunquit Performing Arts. 207-646-6170. www.ogunquit.org [46]

Great State of Maine Airshow
September 10 & 11. Better get to the air show while you can because who knows how long its host, the Brunswick Naval Air Station, will even be around. The largest air show in northern New England features the Blue Angels performing more than a dozen military and civilian aerobatic acts. Gates open at 8 a.m. on both days. Admission and parking are free. 207-921-2000. www.greatstateofmaineairshow.com [47]

Downeast Woodcarving & Wildlife Art Show and Sale
September 10 & 11. You might expect the hundreds of carved loons, fish, ducks, and decoys, flowers, wildlife paintings, and photography you'll find at this annual event. But Santas? Santas? Artists from all over New England and Canada participate in the show, which is sponsored by the Maine Wood Carvers Association. And many seem to have a soft spot for Saint Nick. Catherine McAuley High School, 631 Stevens Avenue, Portland. 207-729-5838.

Maine Antiques Dealers Association Antiques Show
September 17 & 18. Seventy-three of New England's finest antique dealers offer their wares in Portland's air-conditioned Racket and Fitness Center. Saturday 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., and Sunday 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. The Racket and Fitness Center, 2445 Congress Street, Portland. 207-563-3897.

Ogunquit Antique Show and Sale
September 17 & 18. With the summertime crowds gone, it's the ideal time to wander into the resort town of Ogunquit. And with Wells, one of the centers of Maine antiquing, just up the road, you know it's gonna be good. Sponsored by the community for the benefit of the Historical Society of Wells and Ogunquit. S.J. Dunaway Center, Ogunquit. Saturday 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Sunday 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. 207-646-4775.

United Society of Shakers
September 24, and October 1 & 8. Visiting Sabbathday Lake is always an intriguing experience, and an apple tour and pick your own at Shaker Village just enhances the appeal. You might even be able to buy a beautiful — but simply designed — basket to put your fruit in. New Gloucester, Maine. 207-926-4597. www.shaker.lib.me.us [48]

Chowdah Challenge
October 1 from 11 a.m. to 2:30 p.m., rain or shine. Usually when people are talking clams in Freeport it's the kind you carry in your wallet and has something to do with outlet shopping. During this annual event, however, they mean the actual bivalves. Vote for the best clam, seafood, and fish chowder in Freeport. Other activities include a flea market sponsored by the Freeport Rotary, live entertainment, face painting, and raffle sales. Town Hall parking lot on Main Street, Freeport. 207-865-3985.

Black Frame Art Show & Sale
September 30 & October 1. Here's your chance to spend those art dollars you've been saving. (The living room wall is looking very bare, isn't it?) This event features 250 works by fifty of Maine's best professional artists, so many that it's being hosted in three galleries simultaneously. Each piece will measure ten inches square and be priced at just $200, with artists generously donating half that to the Bayside Neighborhood Association. Portland. 207-415-0769.

Living History Days
October 1 & 2. Enjoy life in a 1790s Colonial village, because cold's coming and it won't be so much fun to be a pioneer in a couple of months. October in Bradley, though, is glorious, as you'll find if you take a bateau or wagon ride, make homemade cedar shakes, and drink some fresh-pressed cider at this get-together. Seems like old times. Admission is $7 for adults and $2 for children two to twelve. Leonard's Mills, Bradley. 207-581-2871. www.leonardsmills.com [16]

Belfast Poetry Festival
October 7 to 9. This is serious stuff, this poetry fest. Some of the best-known poets from Maine and New England, including Pulitzer-Prize winner Charles Simic, state of Maine poet laureate Baron Wormser, Henri Cole, Anne Marie Macari, Elizabeth Tibbetts, and three Canadian poets. University of Maine's Hutchinson Center in Belfast. 207-942-2771. www.festivo.org [49]

Peninsula Potters Sale and Studio-Gallery Tour
October 7 to 10. Welcome to the epicenter of pottery and crafts in Maine. This four-day self-guided tour of nineteen studios and galleries in Blue Hill, Brooksville, Deer Isle, Sedgwick, Stonington, and Sunset will show you just what sort of impact the Haystack Mountain School of Crafts in Deer Isle has had on the area. 207-348-2267.

Upcountry Artists' Art and Craft Show
October 8 from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and October 9 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sugarloaf USA does a fine job of attracting visitors in the off-season. Here's another reason to head to Carrabassett Valley — a sale that features paintings, photography, fine furniture, baskets, pottery, jewelry, stained glass, and fabric items. Sugarloaf Mountain Base Lodge. 207-778-4764.

North American Wife Carrying Championships
October 8 & 9. You have to hope she's the light one. Part of the Fall Festival Weekend in Bethel, this now-notorious contest pits couple against couple on an obstacle course complete with water hazard as they haul their loved ones to the finish line. That threshold you're traditionally supposed to carry her over — it just got a lot wider. 207-824-3000. www.sundayriver.com [50]