FALMOUTH — For many, hearing just a few bars of “The Nutcracker” conjures up nostalgic memories of the first time they heard Tchaikovsky’s enchanting music and saw the magical ballet. For many of the dancers in the Maine State Ballet Company, who have grown up performing annually in the ballet, they’re making memories now that […]

Greater Portland Auditions, Call for Art Call for Artists, Freeport High School Holiday Art and Craft fair, Dec. 11 and Dec. 12, table rentals for both days, $20, contact kimberlymedsker@gmail.com.  Cape Elizabeth Arts Commission is accepting grant proposals from Cape Elizabeth artists or art organizations to fund projects that promote excellence and diversity in the […]

The best thing about “Stonewall Kitchen Winter Celebrations: Special Recipes for Family and Friends” by Stonewall Kitchen co-founders Jim Stott and Jonathan King with Maine food author Kathy Gunst (Chronicle Books 2009. $19.95) – other than the Stott photographs showing you how the finished dishes should look, and the 50 no-fail, updated holiday recipes – […]

Coming up on the last full week of the “regular” arts and entertainment season – noting that the month-long torrent of Christmas-oriented performances starts on Thanksgiving weekend – let’s highlight three fine events for music aficionados. Arlo Guthrie, son of America’s famous mid-20th-century folk singer and scion of this country’s long tradition of folk music, will appear […]

FREEPORT — Coastal Studies for Girls, a new semester-long residential marine and environmental sciences program for sophomores in high school, plans to open on Wolfe’s Neck Road in Freeport in February with 15 students. As a “friends-raiser,” the innovative science school is hosting a series of weekend open houses featuring an exhibition of “Maine Women: […]

Greater Portland Auditions, Call for Art Call for Artists, Freeport High School Holiday Art and Craft fair, Dec. 11 and Dec. 12, table rentals for both days, $20, contact kimberlymedsker@gmail.com.  Cape Elizabeth Arts Commission is accepting grant proposals from Cape Elizabeth artists or art organizations to fund projects that promote excellence and diversity in the […]

SCARBOROUGH — Haunting strains of traditional Indian music will fill the Winslow Homer Auditorium at Scarborough High School on Saturday, Nov. 14,  when a seasoned performer and teacher of Carnatic (south Indian classical) music teams up with some of his students to perform “Eastern Melodies.” The Eastern Cultural Heritage Organization will sponsor Vittal Ramamurthy, of […]

An award-winning sommelier will visit Cape Elizabeth’s Inn by the Sea in December to impart some of his wine knowledge to diners. Master Sommelier Joseph Spellman is teaming up with Sea Glass Chef Mitchell Kaldrovich for an educational dinner. Kaldrovich will discuss each dish, while Spellman will talk about the selected wine pairings.  Spellman is […]

Greater Portland Auditions, Call for Art Call for Artists, Freeport High School Holiday Art and Craft fair, Dec. 11 and Dec. 12, table rentals for both days, $20, contact kimberlymedsker@gmail.com.  Art Call, for Long Island Dodwell Gallery upcoming exhibit, “Say Trees!” seeking artwork using trees or with trees as subject, exhibit to begin late November, […]

Franz Joseph Haydn’s “The Creation” is a massive choral and orchestral work that’s seldom performed in smaller cities such as Portland, mostly because of the size and cost of the project. So it’s especially notable that the University of Southern Maine School of Music is presenting Haydn’s masterpiece in Merrill Auditorium this Friday. It’s a […]