• BENEFITS

Relay For Life, American Cancer Society fundraising walk, Wells High School. 646-7011. 4 p.m. Saturday to 6 a.m. Sunday.

Pet and People Walk, benefits the Center for Grieving Children, Baxter Boulevard, Portland. cgcmaine.org. 9 a.m. registration; 10 a.m. walk kickoff; 11 a.m. Fun in the Park Saturday.

Pirate Rendezvous, with pirate landing, musicians, storytellers and more; fundraiser for Lincoln County Family Holiday Wishes; Schooner Landing, Damariscotta. Free. piraterendezvous.com. 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday.

American Diabetes Association Kennebunks Tour de Cure, cycling event, Kennebunk High School. $150 minimum in pledges. (888) 342-2383. 7 to 11 a.m. (depending on length of ride) Sunday.

 

• FAIRS/FESTIVALS

West Paris Old Home Days, annual festival with music, children’s activities, a parade, fireworks, book signings and more, Kingsbury Street, West Paris. Free. Friday and Saturday.

Margaretta Days Festival, celebrates the first naval battle of the American Revolution on June 12, 1775, with Colonial reenactors, food, games and more, University of Maine at Machias. 255-4402. 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday.

Maine Antique Power Show, with antique engines, a flea market, a raffle and a silent auction, Skowhegan State Fairgrounds. Free. Saturday.

Canoe Hullabaloo, with entertainment, canoe races for all skill levels, Native American exhibits and more, North Maine Street, Old Town. 827-8744. Saturday.

Kennebec Celebration of the Spring Running, with live music, Native American demonstrations, arts and crafts, a kayak expedition and more, Water and Bond streets, Augusta. kennebeccelebration.com. Saturday.

Family Fun Day, community fair with a parade, games, arts and crafts, food and more, Fort Williams Park, Cape Elizabeth. 767-9072. Begins at 10:30 a.m. Saturday.

Aviation Expo, with vintage and military aircraft, parachute team demos, Stealth Bomber fly-over and more, Portland International Jetport. Free. portlandjetport.org/node/72. 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday; 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Sunday.

Old Port Festival, with live music on six stages, children’s activities, open shops, food vendors and more, Old Port, Portland. Free. portlandmaine.com. 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday.

 

• SPECIAL EVENTS

FRIDAY

Monthly Art and Craft Sale, with T-shirts, prints, crocheted and knitted goods, herbal medicine, children’s clothes, music by Papadello and more, Local Sprouts Cooperative, Portland. Free admission. 899-3529. 4 to 8 p.m.

Michael Trautman, physical comedy, magic, juggling and illusions, Opera House at Boothbay Harbor. $5 to $15. 633-5159. 7:30 p.m.

Solar Show: “Extreme Planets,” learn how astronomers locate new worlds, University of Southern Maine (Southworth Planetarium), Portland. $5, $6. 780-4249. 7 p.m.

Solar Show: “Images of the Infinite 2011,” see the universe through the eyes of the Hubble space telescope, University of Southern Maine (Southworth Planetarium), Portland. $5, $6. 780-4249. 8:30 p.m.

 

SATURDAY

“Watch Your Language!”, live taping of quiz show, benefits WMPG’s Power Up! signal improvement campaign, Portland Public Library (Rines Auditorium). $5. wmpg.org. 2 to 4 p.m.

R&R Spinners, craft demonstrations, with blacksmith Tim Greene, Sabbathday Lake Shaker Village, New Gloucester. Free. 926-4597. 10 a.m.

Solar Show: “Eight Planets and Counting,” take a guided tour through the solar system with stops at the moon, the sun and every planet, University of Southern Maine (Southworth Planetarium), Portland. $4, $5. 780-4249. 3 p.m.

Falmouth Heritage Museum, grand opening with sheep shearing, Alpaca petting, wool spinning, herb gardening and special displays of 1800s cooking utensils and Baker’s Chocolate memorabilia, Falmouth Heritage Museum. Free. 761-9034. 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.

 

SUNDAY

Maine Media Workshops and College Annual Open House, with free portrait sessions, refreshments and campus tours, Maine Media Workshops, Rockport. Free. 236-258. 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.

 

MONDAY

Tour of Rockland Public Library and Historical Society, all ages, Rockland Public Library. Free. 594-0310. 10 a.m.

 

WEDNESDAY

Bloomsday Portland 2011: “Ulysses for Beginners,” humorous performance by the American Irish Repertory Ensemble, Bull Feeney’s, Portland. Free. maineirish.com. 7:30 p.m.

 

• FILMS

TODAY

“Salt of the Earth,” 1990 documentary about lobstermen, Stonington Opera House. 367-2788. 7 p.m.

“Joan of Arcadia” (2003), discussion with Bill Halpin and Saskia Huising follows screening, Rockland Public Library. Free. 594-0310. 6:30 p.m.

“Wretches & Jabberers” (2011), two men with autism embark on a global quest to change attitudes about disability and intelligence, co-presented by the Maine Autism Alliance; Space, Portland. $5, $7. space538.org. 7:30 p.m. Friday; 1 p.m. Saturday.

 

FRIDAY

“40 Days and 1001 Nights,” subtitled travel documentary about perceptions of the Islamic world, Bright Star World Dance, Portland. $10 to $15. 409-9540. 7 p.m.

 

SATURDAY

“How Rude!,” Maine-made documentary about a gourmet dinner party, Leavitt Theatre, Ogunquit. $10. mainefilmworks.com. 8 p.m.

 

TUESDAY

“Beverly Sills: Made in America,” musical retrospective of the career of “America’s queen of opera,” Lincoln Theater, Damariscotta. $20. 563-3424. 7:30 p.m.

 

WEDNESDAY

Teens Through Time, film series with teen-cenric viewpoint, Portland Public Library. Free. 871-1700. 2000s: “Mean Girls” (2004), 4:30 p.m.

 

• BOOKS/AUTHORS

TODAY

Martha Piscuskas, talk from the artist of “The Dearly Kept,” Ivan O. Davis Public Library, Liberty. Free. 592-2070. 7 p.m.

David Livingstone Smith, author of “Less than Human: Why We Demean, Enslave and Exterminate Others,” Longfellow Books, Portland. Free. 772-4045. 7 p.m.

 

FRIDAY

Douglas Kennedy, author of “The Moment,” Maine Coast Book Shop and Cafe, Damariscotta. Free. 563-3207. 6 p.m.

Publishing Party, for “The Road to Down Street: The History of North Bath, Maine” by Nancy Dearborn Lovetere, Bath City Hall. Free. cityofbath.com. 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.

Philip H. Woods, author of “Bath, Maine’s Charlie Morse: Ice King and Wall Street Scoundrel,” Owl and Turtle Bookshop, Camden. Free. 236-4769. 6 to 7:30 p.m.

 

SATURDAY

“As If” Stories, Maine actors read short stories by Maine authors, Aarhus Gallery, Belfast. $8/donation. aarhusgallery.com. 7 p.m.

Richard Russo, best-selling Maine author, fundraiser for Graves Library, Colony Hotel, Kennebunkport. $60, $75. 967-2778. 6:30 p.m. (cocktails and hors d’oeuvres, 5 to 8 p.m.)

 

MONDAY

Storytelling Circle, hosted by Deena Weinstein, Local Sprouts Cooperative, Portland. Free. 899-3529. 7 p.m.

 

WEDNESDAY

Melissa Coleman, author of “This Life is in Your Hands,” Freeport Community Library. Free. 865-3307. 6:30 p.m.

 

• PRO SPORTS

Portland Sea Dogs, Minor League Baseball, Hadlock Field, Portland. $7 to $9. portlandseadogs.com. Vs. Richmond, 7 p.m. today; Vs. Bowie, 7 p.m. Friday, 6 p.m. Saturday and 1 p.m. Sunday.

 

•

PARTICIPANT DANCE

Saturday Night Dance Party, Argentine tango lessons and dance party, American Ballroom Dance Academy, Portland. Call for cover: 671-7644. Lessons at 6 p.m., dance party 8 to 11 p.m. Saturday.

Spindleworks Contra Dance, with caller Chrissy Fowler and fiddler Hope Hoffman, Knights of Columbus Hall, Brunswick. Free. 725-8820. 10:30 a.m. to noon Wednesday.