• BENEFITS

Empty Bowls and Fine Arts Showcase, eat soup from a hand-crafted bowl which you keep while listening to performances, benefits local food pantries; Sacopee Valley Middle School, Hiram. $5. 625-2450. 5 to 7:30 p.m. today.

“The Faces of Our Neighbors,” festival, marketplace and documentary film, “Climate Refugees,” to support Haiti; Waynflete School, Portland. Donation; dinner available by reservation. 774-5721. 5 to 6:45 p.m. (film at 7 p.m.) today.

Mousam Mush Human Dogsled Race, benefits Goodall Memorial and Springvale Public Libraries; Gowen Park, Sanford. $50 to participate; free to watch. www.springvalelibrary.org. 11 a.m. Saturday. 

• FAIRS/FESTIVALS

Winterfest, parades, rides, food and more, various locations, Millinocket. www.katahdinmaine.com. Various times Friday and Saturday.

Sno-Fest, chili/chowder cookoff, snowmobile runs, bonfire and more, Moosehead Lake. www.moosheadriders.org. Various times Friday, Saturday and Tuesday. Through Feb. 25.

Moosehead Lake Chocolate Festival, sample chocolate desserts, Masonic Hall, Greenville. 695-2702. 1 p.m. Sunday.

Winter Family Fun Day, outdoor games, snowshoeing, maple sugar tapping, nature walks, winter survival demos, animal tracking and bonfires, Fort McClary State Park, Kittery Point. $1.50 for ages 12 to 64; free for all others. Lunch included. 384-5160. 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Wednesday. 

• SPECIAL EVENTS

TODAY

Black History Month event, Bates College (Benjamin Mays Center), Lewiston. Free. 207-786-8376. “On the March,” Freedom Riders history and impact, 4:30 p.m. 

FRIDAY

Little Lake Stewards Series, environmentally-themed stories, activities and crafts for pre-schoolers, Sebago Lake Ecology Center, Standish. “Incredible Insects,” 10 a.m. to noon.

Camden Conference, annual conference about world issues with international speakers, Camden Opera House. $235. www.camdenconference.org. Various times Friday to Sunday. 

SATURDAY

Healthy Foods, Whole Foods Market, Portland. Free. 774-7711. Gluten-free day with lecture at 9:30 a.m.; gluten-free samples, 10:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.; beer tasting, 2:30 to 4:30 p.m.

Maine Home, Remodeling and Garden Show, with vendors and celebrity chefs, Cumberland County Civic Center, Portland. $8; $6 for seniors; $5 for ages 6 to 16; free for children under 6. www.homegardenflowershow.com. 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday; 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday.

Laser Fest, laser shows, some with rock music, University of Southern Maine (Southworth Planetarium), Portland. $5. 780-4249. Various times Saturday to Wednesday. Through Feb. 27.

Bacchanalian Ball with music and dancing; chocolate buffet; home-brewed mead, wine and beer tasting; and a live auction; 21-plus, Veterans of Foreign Wars Hall, Hampden. $5/donation. www.emppa.org. 7 to 10 p.m.

Four Season Wedding Show, vendors, prizes and planning information, French’s Point, Stockton Springs. Free; reservations requested. 567-3650. 2 to 6 p.m. Saturday.

Jackson Gillman, mime, actor, songsmith and storyteller, Maine State Museum, Augusta. Free. mainestatemuseum.org. 11 a.m.

Model Railroad and Doll House Show, Whitefield Lions Club presentation, Augusta Armory. $4; free for children under 12; $9 per family. 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. 

SUNDAY

“Explore India!” children’s event with music, dances, food tasting, hindi calligraphy, henna, forehead art and rangoli sand painting, Children’s Museum and Theatre of Maine, Portland. $9; free for children under 18 months. www.kitetails.org. 1 to 3:30 p.m.

Wedding Expo, more than 50 vendors, York Harbor Inn and Stage Neck Inn, York Harbor. Free. www.seacoastdenimanddiamonds.com. 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.

“Winter Delivery,” exhibit of horse-drawn vehicles as an oil delivery wagon, school bus sleigh, and city and country sleighs, Skyline Farm, North Yarmouth. Free/donation. www.skylinefarm.org. 1 to 4 p.m.

TUESDAY

George Washington Birthday Celebration for children, with crafts, games and refreshments, Bangor Public Library. Free. 947-8336. 11 a.m.

Snow Splash Book Bash, outdoor activities and readings with children’s book authors and illustrators, Pineland Farms, New Gloucester. Free. www.downeast.com/snowsplash. 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. 

WEDNESDAY

Craft Day, variety of crafts available for all ages, Abbe Museum, Bar Harbor. Free. www.abbemuseum.org. 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

1930s Game Day for children, play games popular with children in the 1930s, costumes encouraged, Bangor Public Library. Free. 947-8336. 11 a.m.

Balloon Twisting, for ages 9 and older with magician Conjuring Carroll, Gardiner Public Library. Free; pre-registration required. 582-3312. 3 p.m. 

FILMS

TODAY

ICA Film and Video screenings, Maine College of Art (Institute of Contemporary Art), Portland. “Making Out with Myself,” 6 p.m.

Film and Discussion Series, Rockland Public Library. Free. “Joseph Campbell and the Power of Myth: Love and the Goddess” (1988), 6:30 p.m.

“An Island” (1996), documentary following the Danish band Efterklang, Bangor Public Library. Free. 947-8336. 5:30 p.m.

“Israeli Society through the Lens of Film,” Colby College (Lovejoy Building), Waterville. Free. www.colby.edu. “My Father, My Lord” (2007), 7 p.m.

Random Movie Night, series in the Teen Lounge, Portland Public Library. www.portlandlibrary.com. 3:30 to 6 p.m. 

SATURDAY

“Casablanca” (1943), movie screening followed by big band performance by the Portland Jazz Orchestra, State Theatre, Portland. $10 to $20. www.statetheatreportland.com. 7 p.m.

“Down to the Sea in Film,” nautical movie series, Maine Maritime Museum, Bath. $5 to $25. www.MaineMaritimeMuseum.org. “The Crimson Pirate” (1952), 6:30 p.m.

Saturday Afternoon Movies, series of films from the 1930s, Bangor Public Library. Free. 947-8336. 2 p.m. 

SUNDAY

“Genius Within: The Inner Life of Glenn Gould,” 2009 documentary about the pianist followed by a discussion with members of the Portland String Quartet, benefits the LARK Society for Chamber Music; Portland Public Library. $40. www.larksociety.org. 2 p.m. 

TUESDAY

“Blue Vinyl,” 2002 documentary about the vinyl siding industry and possible health concerns, Jacobs Chiropractic Acupuncture Center, Portland. Free; reservations recommended. 774-6251. 6:30 p.m. 

WEDNESDAY

“Teens through Time,” film series with teen-cenric viewpoint, Portland Public Library. Free. 1960s: “A Hard Day’s Night,” 4:30 p.m.

• BOOKS/AUTHORS

TODAY

Lois Brown, author of “Pauline Elizabeth Hopkins: Black Daughter of the Revolution,” Maine Historical Society, Portland. Free. 774-1822. 7 p.m. 

SATURDAY

Chris Van Dusen, author and illustrator of “Learning to Ski with Mr. Magee,” Gulf of Maine Books, Brunswick. Free. 729-5083. 3 p.m.

Amy Wood, “Life Your Way,” book signing and reading, Kennebooks, Kennebunk. Seating is limited; reservations recommended. 967-8282. 1 p.m. 

SUNDAY

Longfellow Days: Poets in the Community, poetry readings as part of Longfellow Days events, Curtis Memorial Library, Brunswick. Free. 729-4439. With Marcia Brown, Annie Finch and Helene McGlauflin, 1 p.m. 

WEDNESDAY

Brown Bag Lecture with Amy Wood, “Life Your Way,” Portland Public Library. Free; bring your own lunch. 871-1710. Noon to 1 p.m.

Book launch party for Hannah Holmes’ “Quirk: Brain Science Makes Sense of Your Peculiar Personality,” Nonesuch Books, South Portland. nonesuchbooks.com. 7 p.m. 

• PARTICIPANT DANCE

Swing Dance, partner not needed, beginners welcome; Deering Grange, Portland. 653-5012. With Maine Swingin’ DJs ($8), 8 to 9 p.m. lesson, 9 p.m. to midnight dancing Friday.

Contradance, College of the Atlantic (Gates Center), Bar Harbor. $6; free for children. 288-5015. With the Big Moose Band, 7:30 p.m. lesson, 8 p.m. dance Friday.

Ballroom dancing, Maplewood Dance Center, Portland. 878-0584. 7 to 11 p.m. Friday and Wednesday; 7:30 to 11 p.m. Saturday.

Contradance, Town Hall, Bowdoinham, $9. 666-3090. 8 to 11 p.m. (beginner’s lession at 7:30 p.m.) Saturday.

Saturday Night Dance Party, American Ballroom Dance Academy, Portland. Argentine tango lesson at 6 p.m., group lesson 7 p.m., dance party 8 to 11 p.m. Saturday. 

• PRO SPORTS

Portland Pirates, AHL hockey team, Cumberland County Civic Center, Portland. $11 to $17. 207-828-4665. www.portlandpirates.com. Vs. Hartford, 1 p.m. Monday.