Santa Claus and his lobster elves arrive in Kennebunkport. Photo by Bob Dennis.
38th Annual Christmas Prelude
Through Dec. 15. Various locations, Kennebunkport. christmasprelude.com
Kennebunkport is closing in on four decades of celebrating the Christmas season with 11 days of holiday-themed activities and events which you can peruse in their entirety on the Christmas Prelude website. This weekend’s festivities include the tree-lighting ceremony in Dock Square at 5:30 p.m. Friday, featuring Christmas caroling with the Kennebunk High School Chamber Choir. You can also catch the Cape Porpoise Lobster Trap Lighting in Porpoise Square at 7 p.m. and caroling with The Church on the Cape Choir. On Saturday, there’s the 14th annual Hat Parade at 3 p.m. led by Patriot Fife and Drum Duo, which marches through Dock Square and over the bridge. On Sunday, you can see Santa arrive by lobster boat at The Boathouse Waterfront Hotel & Restaurant on Ocean Avenue. Way to crush Christmas, Kennebunkport!
Barroom Messiah is a free and festive gathering at Blue in Portland on Saturday afternoon. SFerdon/Shutterstock.com
5th annual Barroom Messiah
2 p.m. Saturday. Blue, 650A Congress St., Portland, free. portcityblue.com
Way back in 1741, George Frideric Handel composed his legendary Messiah, and here’s a chance for you to sing some of it in public. Barroom Messiah is a small Portland group that’s dedicated to taking Baroque music out of the concert hall and into public places, like Blue. They’ll provide the soloists and a string quartet, you just need your vocal cords, as you get ready to lose yourself in the refrain. Bring along a copy of Messiah (Part 1) or get a handout, but be ready to belt out several hallelujahs.
A spirited scene from the 2017 Santacon. Photo by Amy Paradysz
Portland Santacon
4 p.m. to 1 a.m. Saturday. Old Port locations, free to participate, 21-plus. On Facebook.
Last year, Portland Santacon featured cocktail-loving revelers dressed as Santa, Mrs. Clause, Rudolph, the Abominable Snowman, the Leg Lamp from “A Christmas Story,” Uncle Eddie from “Christmas Vacation” and several other seasonal characters. Santacon is a pub crawl/flash mob around Portland’s Old Port that hits four locations and also supports a good cause. Donations will be collected for Through These Doors, which serves victims and survivors of domestic violence in Cumberland County. Keep a close eye on the Facebook event page as specific location details will be revealed in the coming days. What we can tell you is that a group photo will happen at the Monument Square Christmas tree at about 7:30 p.m., then it’s back to the crawl. Yule be sorry if you miss this!
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