The Christmas spirit suffuses the arts and entertainment calendar as we move into mid-December. This week’s top shows employ three very different Christmas angles. Lyric Music Theater opened a radiant production of “Irving Berlin’s White Christmas” last weekend in South Portland. This is the Broadway remake of the celebrated Hollywood blockbuster from 1954, and it’s […]

Fairs & Festivals Festival of Greens, 9 a.m.-4 p.m. Dec. 1; 10 a.m.-2 p.m. Dec. 2, Winter Street Center, 880 Washington St., Bath. Decorating and gift items, plants, ornaments, vintage items, refreshments. Night Tree, 9 a.m.-2 p.m. on the hour Dec. 1 & 8, Wolfe’s Neck Farm, Freeport. Reading of Eve Bunting’s book “Night Tree,” with cocoa […]

Greater Portland Auditions “The Mousetrap,” Lyric Music Theater, 176 Sawyer St., South Portland, 6:30 p.m. Dec. 2 & 3, www.lyricmusictheater.org. Exhibits “Home: Reflections on Place,” exhibit created by New Mainers, Portland Public Library, 5 Monument Way, to Dec. 22. “If I Had Known,” Margo Halverson, USM Glickman Library, 314 Forest Ave., Portland, to Jan. 27. “IXNOS,” MECA, 522 Congress […]

With Thanksgiving behind us, it’s time for jingle bells and the Christmas countdown in the performing arts. This week’s picks of the tix include two events with Christmas themes plus two that don’t. My favorite annual Christmas concert is performed the first weekend in December of each year by ChoralArt. “Christmas in the Cathedral” is […]

Greater Portland Auditions “Alice in Wonderland,” Fiddlehead Art and Science Center, 25 Shaker Road, Gray, Nov. 29-Dec. 21, ages 4-16 needed, details at http://fiddleheadcenter.org/childrens-theater.html. “The Mousetrap,” Lyric Music Theater, 176 Sawyer St., South Portland, 6:30 p.m. Dec. 2 & 3, www.lyricmusictheater.org. Exhibits “Home: Reflections on Place,” exhibit created by New Mainers, Portland Public Library, 5 Monument Way, to Dec. […]

The month-long lead-up to Christmas in Southern Maine’s performing arts community begins this weekend, as always led by Maine State Ballet’s production of “The Nutcracker,” which opens Friday and continues through Dec. 9 in Portland. Continuing with Christmas, the University of Southern Maine School of Music’s annual “Joyous Sounds for a Festive Season” concert takes […]

Greater Portland Auditions “Alice in Wonderland,” Fiddlehead Art and Science Center, 25 Shaker Road, Gray, Nov. 29-Dec. 21, ages 4-16 needed, details at http://fiddleheadcenter.org/childrens-theater.html. Exhibits “Home: Reflections on Place,” exhibit created by New Mainers, Portland Public Library, 5 Monument Way, to Dec. 22. “If I Had Known,” Margo Halverson, USM Glickman Library, 314 Forest Ave., Portland, to Jan. 27. “IXNOS,” MECA, […]

Festivals & Fairs Saturday 11/17 Village Christmas Fair, 8:30 a.m.-2:30 p.m., Cumberland Congregational Church, 282 Main St. Crafts, raffle, wreaths, books, White Elephant, lobster stew and lobster rolls. Holly Days Fair, 9 a.m.-2 p.m., United Church of Christ, 267 Falmouth Road. Children’s activities, crafts, vintage, boutique fashions, jewelry, book nook, lobster stew, cookie walk, greens, silent auction. Santa, 10 […]