Christmas at Nickels-Sortwell House
WISCASSET — The historic Nickels-Sortwell House will be decorated for a 19th century Christmas from Dec. 7-9 as part of Wiscasset’s annual Holiday Marketfest.

The first floor of the Federal-style mansion will be decorated for the holidays, and the Lincoln County Historical Association and Garden Club of Wiscasset will transform a formal parlor into the setting for a family Christmas. Architectural details in each room include carved moldings and grand fireplaces custom-made 200 years ago by local carpenters for Captain Nickels’ showplace.

Guides will be on hand with stories of the house and the families who lived there while visitors can walk freely through the first floor. Admission is $5 for Wiscasset residents and $10 non-residents.

After touring the house, stop in the original kitchen for a warm drink and snack, then walk a few steps down Federal Street to visit the Nickels-Sortwell House Barn and see the Wiscasset Fire Society’s 1804 fire truck.

Nickels-Sortwell House, at 121 Main St., was completed in 1807 as the trophy house of shipping magnate Captain William Nickels at the height of Wiscasset’s fortunes as a thriving seaport. After Nickels’ death in 1815, the house was run as a hotel until it was purchased in 1899 by successful industrialist and former mayor of Cambridge, Mass., Alvin Sortwell as a summer home for his large and active family.

Sortwell’s wife Gertrude and daughter Frances restored the house over the years, decorating and furnishing it in the Colonial Revival style. The Sortwell family enjoyed the mansion as a private home and family gathering place until 1956, when it was given to Historic New England.

For more information, visit historicnewengland.org.

Studio Theatre presents 6th annual Twisted Christmas
BATH — Studio Bath calls Twisted Christmas a festive evening full of stress-busting, mood-lifting unpredictable comic relief for grownups. It will present the 6th annual production of its holiday event at 8 p.m. on Friday, Dec. 14 and Saturday, Dec. 15. The shows will be at the Winter Street Center in Bath.

Admission is $15 per person.

The show includes music, comedy, dance, improv, audience participation and classic Christmas themes with a twist.

Master of Ceremonies Tamara Lilly is excited about this year’s lineup.

“We have fantastic talent returning with the improv troupe, musical guests and Resurgence Dance company, as well as new acts including performers from Bath Swing Dance and Josephina Gasca’s advanced belly dancers,” Lilly said. “I really love the anything goes spirit of the evening. Last year we even had audience members playing piano and juggling!”

For more information, contact Tamara Lilly at 837.5743 or tamara.b.lilly@gmail.com or visit studiotheatreofbath.com.

Damariscotta book store open often through holidays
DAMARISCOTTA — The Skidompha Secondhand Book Shop in downtown Damariscotta has announced that it will be open on Sundays from now until the end of December.

The shop is usually only open on Sundays in the summer, but thanks to a generous volunteer shopkeeper, the store will be open from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Sundays through Dec. 30.

Rosie Bensen, co-manager of the shop, said it’ll be open until 6 p.m. on Christmas Eve and will otherwise follow its regular schedule with no winter break. Regular shop hours are from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Saturday, except on Thursday, when it is open until 6 p.m.

The shop is staffed entirely by volunteers, all items are donated and all proceeds benefit the collection and programs of the Skidompha Public Library.

For more information, visit skidomphabookshop.org or call 563-7807.

Art for the holidays at Gleason
BOOTHBAY HARBOR — Gleason Fine Art’s Art for the Holidays show  runs through Wednesday, Jan. 2. A Christmas tree has been decorated by several of the gallery’s artists.

For his ornaments, Southport summer resident Ed Parker has carved and painted two pieces with his characteristic folky nautical themes. Lani Havens has made a series of blocks collaged with delicate red, orange and pink poppies, and Maine realist Janice Anthony has created a tiny double-sided painting of yellow and orange lilies.

Folk artist Jeff Barrett’s carvings have been purchased by collectors ranging from those with surnames like Rockefeller and Marcus — one half of Neiman-Marcus — to tourists just back from visiting the Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens. For the gallery’s tree, Barrett has netted us an entire school of his “happy fish.”

Besides the tree ornaments that are arriving daily, the gallery’s showrooms have been hung with a bounty of seasonal paintings by Mitch and Kathleen Billis, Kevin Beers and Tom Curry.

East Boothbay summer resident, and newly minted Gleason artist, Don Demers, has given the gallery several new oils, and Roger Dale Brown, who joined the Gleason roster this year, is represented by several snow-covered paintings of Maine coastal villages and harbors.

The gallery also has a new batch of George Pearlman’s porcelain jars, vases and pots in cobalt and emerald green; rings, necklaces and bracelets by former gallery manager Christine Peters; and a selection of Moroccan rugs from Diana Kerr and Kathleen Jones.

For more information, call 633-6849, email info@gleasonfineart.com or visit gleasonfineart.com.

 

Tapestry Singers weave together vocal and instrumental music and dance
NEWCASTLE — This year’s Tapestry Singers holiday performance will feature songs with harp, marimba, guitar, woodwinds and piano accompaniment.

The concerts take place on 7:30 p.m. on Saturday, Dec. 15, and 4 p.m. on Sunday, Dec. 16 p.m. at St. Patrick’s Church.

This year, the first half of the concert consists of a collection of 11 Spanish and Catalán carols and lullabies arranged by composer Conrad Susa. Coincidently, local Spanish teacher Lourdes Von Vogt, a native of Barcelona, joined the group in the fall, and members were able to avail themselves of her help in learning authentic pronunciation. The carols and lullabies are arranged for marimba, harp and guitar accompaniment.

Nathaniel Hackworth, of the University of Maine and the winner of the Midcoast Symphony Orchestra’s inaugural concerto competition, joined Tapestry to play the marimba, while Suki Flanagan is on harp and Dave Martin is on guitar. Later in the program, keyboardist Sean Fleming and woodwind player Marcus Hutchins will also accompany the chorus on many songs.

The concert ends with the Tapestry Singers’ tradition of surrounding the audience while holding candles and performing “Silent Night.”

Tickets are $15 for adults and free for students.

The Tapestry Singers of Maine is a group of approximately 60 auditioned singers ranging in age from high school to retirement. They rehearse on Monday evenings throughout the school year at Lincoln Academy in Newcastle.

For more information, visit tapestrysingersmaine.org.

Winter warmer and silent auction fundraiser for Harpswell Coastal Academy
BRUNSWICK — Flight Deck Brewing is hosting a silent auction fundraiser to benefit Harpswell Coastal Academy beginning at 5 p.m. on Wednesday, Dec. 12.

The funds raised will help launch new student projects and activities.

The event is free and open to the public.