• BENEFITS

The Biddeford Career Firefighters’ annual “Night of Laughs” comedy show, $10 suggested, benefits causes including Adopt a Family, MDA, Toys for Tots and Biddeford YMCA. Biddeford Middle School Performing Arts Center, 335 Hill St. 7 p.m. and 9 p.m. Saturday.

Additional Photos

Sandra Bullock in “Gravity,” which was nominated for the best picture Oscar. “Gravity” is the York Public Library’s Winter Film Series offering on Sunday. Warner Bros. Pictures

Benefit Gala for Portland Youth Dance, featuring auctions, live music, DJ and dancing, cocktails, desserts and more, $30 to $35 in advance, $40 at door. Avant Dance & Event Center, 865 Spring St., Westbrook. portlandyouthdance.com. 7 p.m. Saturday.

Johnny Appleseed Day Dinner. $100 per person. Savory Maine Organic Restaurant. www.morrisfarm.org. 5:30 p.m. Tuesday.

• BOOKS & AUTHORS

Sashi Kaufman book launch party, author of “The Other Way Around,” Longfellow Books, Monument Square, Portland. www.longfellowbooks.com. 7 p.m. Thursday.

Tuesday Book Club, all are welcome, Camden Public Library. www.librarycamden.org/news. 1 to 3 p.m. Tuesday.

Reading Group of the Camden Philosophical Society, discussion on Wittgenstein’s “On Certainty.” For information on readings email info@philosophyedge.com. All welcome. Camden Public Library. www.librarycamden.org. 4 to 6 p.m. Tuesday.

Peter Korn, Maine craftsman and author of “Why We Make Things and Why it Matters: The Education of a Craftsman.” Free. Camden Public Library, 55 Main St. www.camden.lib.me.us. 7 p.m. Tuesday.

Katherine Britton, author of “Little Island” Portland Public Library, Rines Auditorium, 5 Monument Square. www.portlandlibrary.com. Noon Wednesday.

“The Trolley Parks of Maine,” take a free virtual journey to historic trolley parks with author Amber Tatnall. Free. Freeport Community Library, 10 Library Drive. www.freeportlibrary.com. 7 to 8 p.m. Wednesday.

• DANCE

Salsa Dancing with DJ Baulio, Latin, merengue, salsa, reggaeton, bachata and Latin hits. Dance lessons included, $5, 21-plus. Pearl Lounge, 444 Fore St., Portland. pearloldport.com. 8 p.m. Thursday and March 13.

Folk Dance Brunswick, $8, $5 seniors and students. People Plus, 35 Union St., Brunswick. www.peopleplusmaine.org. 6:30 p.m. Friday.

Contradance, music by Jim Joseph and Friends, Bill Olson calling. Bring clean shoes and water. $10, $7 seniors and students. Topsham Grange, 47 Pleasant St. deffa.org. Family dance at 6 p.m., finger food potluck at 7 p.m., beginner lesson at 7:30 p.m., dance at 8 p.m. Saturday.

Wednesday Night Stomp Swing Dance, beginners swing lesson at 7 p.m., music at 7:30 p.m., $5 to $10 suggested. Acoustic Artisans, 594 Congress St., 2nd floor, Portland. acousticartisans.com. 7-9:30 p.m. Wednesday.

• FILM

Camden International Film Festival presents documentary “Shored Up,” which asks tough questions about our coastal communities and our relationship to the land. The screening will be followed by a Q&A with filmmakers led by film festival executive director Ben Fowlie. Free. Unity Center for the Performing Arts, 42 Depot St., Unity. www.uccpa.unity.edu. 7 p.m. Thursday.

“Free Birds” family film, York Public Library, 15 Long Sands Road. www.york.lib.me.us. Free. 6:30-8:30 p.m. Saturday.

Winter Film Series, “Gravity,” York Public Library, 15 Long Sands Road. www.york.lib.me.us. Free. 3-5 p.m. Sunday.

• FOOD AND DRINK

Celebrating Local Foods dinner, cooked by Jonah Fertig’s class. $8 for adults, $5 for kids, free for kids 6 and under. The New School, 38 York St., Kennebunk. 5-7 p.m. Friday.

Two Fat Cats Bakery Wedding Open House, try cakes and cookies, and run your ideas by great cake decorators. Free. Two Fat Cats Bakery, 47 India St., Portland. 3-5 p.m. Sunday.

Signature Cocktail and Dessert Event, celebrates the individuality behind Maine’s master cocktail shakers and dessert makers, as part of Maine Restaurant Week. Sip and taste your way through the entries and cast votes for your favorites. $50. Prime Mercedes Benz, 137 U.S. Route 1, Scarborough. www.mainerestaurantweek.com/events. 5:30 p.m. Sunday.

Portland Trails, 50 cents for every pizza sold will be donated. Meet your friends and co-workers and support trails, local eating and good fun. Flatbread Company, 72 Commercial St., Portland. 5-9 p.m. Tuesday.

• HOME & GARDEN

Angela Adams First Friday, drinks and snacks at store, enter raffle for a free Portland Tote. Angela Adams, 273 Congress St., Portland. 5:30-8 p.m. Friday.

• FOR KIDS

Planetarium show: Ice Worlds, $3 per person, free for UM students with MaineCard. Maynard F. Jordan Planetarium, University of Maine, 5781 Wingate Hall, Orono. www.GalaxyMaine.com. 7 p.m. Friday.

Shoestring Theater’s “Alice in Wonderland,” funky, twisted, irreverent adaptation performed in three episodes with puppets, actors and musicians, $10, $5 for 12 and under. Mayo Street Arts, 10 Mayo St., Portland. mayostreetarts.org. 7 p.m. Friday, 11 a.m. Saturday.

InSPire Creativity, children will learn about book layout and be encouraged to use their imaginations to write, illustrate and build their own book to take home. Free. Lewiston Public Library, 200 Lisbon St., Lewiston. 9 a.m. Saturday.

Saturday Craft Morning, come make flower necklaces and listen to a story welcoming Lady Spring. For children under 7 and their parents, $5 per child. Merriconeag Waldorf School’s Early Childhood Center, 60 Desert Road, Freeport. www.merriconeag.org. 9:30-11 a.m. Saturday.

Planetarium Show: Our Sky Family, $3 per person, free for UM students with MaineCard. Maynard F. Jordan Planetarium, University of Maine, 5781 Wingate Hall, Orono. www.GalaxyMaine.com. 2-3 p.m. Sunday.

Community Brain Fair and open ice skating, celebrate brain awareness with fun activities and ice skating. Free and open to the public. Harold Alfond Forum, University of New England, 630 Pool Road, Biddeford. www.une.edu/research/cen/outreach. 4-7 p.m. Wednesday.

• OUTDOORS

Cardboard Box Derby, 50 percent of the sliding surface must be uncoated cardboard, the rest may be duct tape, no spraying any kind of substance, no wood, plastic of metal may be used, helmets are required. Prizes awarded in several categories. Pre-registration required. $20. Camden Snow Bowl, 20 Barnestown Road. winter.camdensnowbowl.com. 2 p.m. Saturday.

Coyote – America’s Songdog, with conservation biologist Geri Vistein. Free. Belfast Free Library, 106 High St. www.belfastgardenclub.org. 6:30 p.m. Tuesday.

• PETS

Adoptable dogs at Rescues on the Runway, Maine Mall, 364 Maine Mall Road, South Portland. 2-5 p.m. Saturday.

• SPECIAL EVENTS

Hypnotist Marshal Manlove, volunteers are taken on a fantastic journey through their minds, $15, 21-plus. Italian Heritage Center, 40 Westland Ave., Portland. www.italianheritagecenter.com. 7 p.m. Saturday.

Speakeasy, experience the ambience of the 1920s with secret passwords and special cocktails at this 21-plus fundraising event, $18 in advance, $20 at the door. The Theater Project, 14 School St., Brunswick. www.theaterproject.com. 8-11 p.m. Saturday.

Bath Antiques Show, more than 40 dealers, $4. Bath Middle School, 6 Old Brunswick Road, Bath. www.bathantiquesshows.com. 10 a.m. Sunday.

Port Veritas Performance Poetry, $3 suggested donation, Bull Feeney’s, 375 Fore St., Portland. www.portveritas.com. 7:30-10 p.m. Tuesday.

• LECTURES AND WORKSHOPS

Why We Make Things and Why It Matters: The Education of a Craftsman, presentation by Peter Korn, director of Center for Furniture Craftsmanship. Books available for purchase/signing. Camden Public Library. www.librarycamden.org. 7-8:30 p.m. Tuesday.

Jewelry making class, make a beautiful bead necklace or bracelet, taught by Linda LaCroix of Beads on the Kennebec. Nominal fee for beads. Kits sold at event. Lithgow Public Library, 45 Winthrop St., Augusta. www.lithgow.lib.me.us. 6-7:30 p.m. Tuesday.

The Lesser-Known Peru, Greg Dorr slide talk on 35-day trek through the mountains of Peru. Camden Public Library. www.librarycamden.org. 7-8:30 p.m. March 13.

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