• BENEFITS

Central Africa Vision Annual Banquet, entertainment by African music performers Vessels of Praise with the IFC Choir and Rwandan dancers; benefits the African Children’s Promise program; Italian Heritage Center, Portland. Free/donation. 712-0008. 5:30 to 8:30 p.m. Friday.

Eighth Annual Auction, items include trips, parties, massages, paintings and more, First Parish Unitarian Universalist Church, Kennebunk. Free admission. 985-3700. 6:30 p.m. Saturday.

First Annual Mr. Maine Challenge, young men ages 13 to 24 compete in public speaking, talent and wear-your-own-style contest; benefits Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals; Taste of Maine Restaurant, Woolwich. $15. 729-6341. 3 to 5 p.m. Sunday.

Good Wine for a Good Cause, tastings from more than 25 wineries for ages 21-plus; benefits the Cancer Community Center; Port City Music Hall, Portland. $25 in advance; $30 day of event. cancercommunitycenter.org. 6 to 8 p.m. Monday.

Telling Room’s “Glitterati,” literary ball with auctions, music, food and writers Richard Blanco, Richard Russo, Kate Braestrup and others; benefits the Telling Room’s free writing programs; Masonic Temple, Portland. $50 to $75; $25 for VIP reception. tellingroom.org/glitterati. VIP reception 5:30 to 6 p.m.; literary ball 6 to 10 p.m. March 28.

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• FAIRS/FESTIVALS

Maine Maple Sunday 30th Anniversary, demonstrations, maple syrup samples, pancake breakfasts, tours and activities at various locations throughout Maine. Various prices. Lists of participating sugar houses at mainemapleproducers.com and getrealmaine.com. Saturday and Sunday.

Mostly Puppets Festival, featuring Shana Barry’s “The Fofers,” Mayo Street Arts, Portland. $8; $4 for children. mayostreetarts.org. 2 p.m. Sunday; festival runs through April 28.

• SPECIAL EVENTS

THURSDAY

Edible Exhibition, dinners for eight to 20 people with an assortment of traditional dishes relating to current art exhibit, Museum of African Culture, Portland. $50. 871-7188. 6 p.m.

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32nd Annual Gym Dandies Community Performance, 150 unicyclists, jugglers and performers, Scarborough High School Alumni Gymnasium. $5; $4 for seniors; $3 for children. gymdandies.org. 6:30 p.m. Thursday and Friday.

SATURDAY

Soda Shoppe Drag & Talent Show, musical numbers from ’50s and early ’60s, First Universalist Church of Auburn. $10. auburnuu.org. 7 p.m.

Holistic Mystic Fair, psychic mediums, massage, vendors and more, Le Club Calumet, Augusta. $5 admission; individual services priced separately. 446-7868. 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Opera DVD Screenings, Mozart’s “Don Giovanni,” Kennebunk Free Library. Free. 985-2173. 1 p.m.

The Old House Trade Show, how-to workshops, discussion sessions and more than 40 exhibitors from throughout New England, Holiday Inn by the Bay, Portland. $12. portlandlandmarks.org. 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday; 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday.

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SUNDAY

Harlem Globetrotters, Cumberland County Civic Center, Portland. $16 to $81. theciviccenter.com. 2 p.m.

Antique Paper Show, more than 40 exhibitors, Fireside Inn, Portland. $4. 749-1717. 8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.

Sacred Harp Singing, participatory event, potluck after singing, home of Corrone and Ruth Ann Bryant, Damariscotta. Free; bring dish for potluck. 563-6083. 2 to 5 p.m.

MARCH 28

“Voices of the Sea: The Poetry and Song of Maine’s Fishermen and Those Who Work on the Water,” poetry reading presented by the Maine Maritime Museum, DiMillo’s Floating Restaurant, Portland. $12 for museum members; $15 for non-members. mainemaritimemuseum.org. 6:30 p.m. March 28.

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• FILMS

“The Big Picture: Rethinking Dyslexia” (2012), documentary presented by the Maine International Dyslexia Association, Prince Memorial Library, Cumberland Center. Free. 829-2215. 6 p.m. Thursday.

“Fukushima Never Again” (2012), documentary about 2011 nuclear disaster followed by discussion, Rockland Public Library. Free. 594-0310. 6:30 p.m. Thursday.

“Witness for the Prosecution” (1957), courtroom drama directed by Billy Wilder, Patten Free Library, Bath. Free. patten.lib.me.us. 6:30 p.m. Tuesday.

“Informant” (2012), documentary about radical activist turned FBI informant Brandon Darby, with filmmaker Jamie Meltzer, Space Gallery, Portland. $7. space538.org. 7:30 p.m. Tuesday.

“A Spindle in Motion,” animated shorts produced by Spindleworks Art Center and SpinOff Studios with a screening of the documentary film “Wretches and Jabberers,” The Frontier, Brunswick. $5 to $10/donation. explorefrontier.com. 11:30 a.m. (animated shorts only); 2 and 7 p.m. Wednesday.

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“In the Garden of Sounds” (2009), documentary about the relationship between mind, body and sound; post-screening discussion with Bill Halpin and Saskia Huising; Rockland Public Library. Free. 594-0310. 6:30 p.m. March 28.

“Who Does She Think She Is?” (2008), documentary about five women who refuse to choose between being a mother and being an artist, University of Maine (Hutchinson Center), Belfast. Free. belfastcreativecoalition.org. 7 p.m. March 28.

• BOOKS/AUTHORS

THURSDAY

Carla Maria Verdino-Sullwold, author of “The Whaler’s Bride,” Curtis Memorial Library, Brunswick. Free. curtislibrary.com. 7 p.m.

Jeremiah Conway, author of “The Alchemy of Teaching,” University of Southern Maine (bookstore), Portland. Free. 780-4072. 5:30 p.m.

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FRIDAY

Tom Allen, former U.S. congressman and author of “Dangerous Convictions: What’s Really Wrong with the U.S. Congress,” Falmouth Memorial Library. Free. falmouth.lib.me.us. Noon Friday.

Poetry Reading, with Ellen W. Richards and Tom Lyford, Harlow Gallery, Hallowell. $3. harlowgallery.org. 7 p.m.

SATURDAY

Michael Erard and Nataly Kelly, authors of “Polyglots and Translators: Stories from Around the World,” Delorme Map Co., Yarmouth. Free. 846-7100. 11 a.m.

Josh Pahigian, author of “Strangers on the Beach,” Thomas Memorial Library, Cape Elizabeth. Free. thomasmemoriallibrary.org. 2 p.m.

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SUNDAY

Eleanor Morse, author of “White Dog Fell from the Sky,” Parker Pavillion, WCHP Lecture Hall, University of New England, Portland. 221-4375. 2 p.m.

MONDAY

William David Barry, author of “Maine: The Wilder Half of New England,” Freeport Community Library. Free. 865-3307. 7 p.m.

TUESDAY

W. Jeffrey Bolster, author of “The Mortal Sea: Fishing the Atlantic in the Age of Sail,” York Public Library. Free. www.york.lib.me.us. 7 p.m.

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WEDNESDAY

Ron Currie Jr., author of “Flimsy Little Plastic Miracles,” Bates College (Edmund S. Muskie Archives), Lewiston. 786-6256. 7:30 p.m.

MARCH 28

Kathryn Miles, author of “All Standing: The Remarkable Story of the Jeanie Johnston, the Legendary Irish Famine Ship,” Lithgow Public Library, Augusta. www.lithgow.lib.me.us. 6:30 p.m.

James Scott, author of “Seeing Like a State: How Certain Schemes to Improve the Human Condition Have Failed,” Ketchum Library (University of New England), Biddeford. 602-2804. 2:30 p.m.

• SPORTS

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Portland Pirates, AHL affiliate of the NHL Phoenix Coyotes, Cumberland County Civic Center, Portland. $16 to $20. portlandpirates.com. Vs. St. John’s, 7 p.m. Friday and Saturday; Vs. Providence, 7 p.m. Wednesday.

Maine Red Claws, NBA Development League affiliate of the Boston Celtics, Portland Exposition Building. $6 to $30. www.nba.com/dleague/maine. Vs. Erie, 7 p.m. March 28.

• PARTICIPANT DANCE

23nd Annual DownEast Country Dance Festival, celebration of traditional dance and music, Mt. Ararat Middle School, Topsham. Price not given. deffa.org. 7:30 p.m. to midnight Friday; 10 a.m. to midnight Saturday.

Scottish Country Dancing, new dancers welcome, no experience necessary, Community House, Kennebunkport. Donations at door. 839-8637. 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. Sunday.


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