Play chess on Saturdays in downtown Portland. Goami/Shutterstock.com

Check Mates! Chess
9 a.m. to noon Saturdays through October. Congress Square Park, Congress and High Street, Portland, free. congressqquarepark.org
You don’t need to have Bobby Fischer level skills to enjoy a good game of chess. Check Mates! is a casual community chess club open to players of all ages and experience levels. They’ve got several weighted, tournament-style chess sets to use so you don’t need to buy one from a pawn shop. Bring a friend to play with or challenge someone you don’t know to a friendly game. The Check Mates! are a fun bunch, so you won’t end up between a rook and a hard place.

Attendees to the Maine Native American Summer Market at Shaker Village are encouraged to learn and participate in traditional Wabanaki dance and song led by the Burnurwurbskek Singers and dancers from the Penobscot Nation. Photo courtesy of United Society of Shakers

Maine Native American Summer Market
10 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Saturday. Sabbathday Lake Shaker Village, 707 Shaker Road, New Gloucester, free admission. maineshakers.com
Shake a tail feather over to Sabbadathday Lake Shaker Village for its 11th annual Maine Native American Summer Market. You’ll find an array of museum-quality crafts made by Wabanaki artists, and more than 40 members of the Penobscot, Passamaquoddy, Micmac and Maliseet tribes will demonstrate traditional Wabanaki art forms, including basketmaking, stone carving and bark etching. There will also be performances by the Burnurwurbskek singers and dancers from the Penobscot Nation.

A trio of happy and stylish pugs at a previous Pet Rock in the Park event. Photo courtesy of Pet Rock in the Park

Pet Rock in The Park
11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday. Deering Oaks Park, Portland, free. On Facebook.
Pet Rock in the Park celebrates its ninth year of raising funds in a fun way for the Animal Cancer Foundation. Presented by Portland Veterinary Emergency and Specialty Care along with Rewind 100.9, Pet Rock in the Park is a pet-friendly afternoon of live music from Pink Houses, Under the Covers and The Substitutes. You’ll also find several food trucks parked, and you can visit with people and pets from area animal rescues and shelters, shop for pet products and services and buy raffle tickets for some great prizes.


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