
Comic Jaren George performing at the 2022 Portland Maine Comedy Festival. Photo by Greg Baker, courtesy of Portland Maine Comedy Festival
Portland Maine Comedy Festival
Thursday through Sunday. Several Portland venues, $30 single day pass, $75 for festival, $10 to $20 for individual performances. portlandmainecomedy.com
The Portland Maine Comedy Festival will provide plenty of chances to laugh over four days. The schedule features standup showcases, sketch and improv comedy, nine open-mic shows and sets from five regional and touring headliner comics. You’ll giggle your way around Portland with shows at Free Street Restaurant, Hi-Fidelity Brewing, The Hill Arts, Rising Tide Brewery, Three of Strong, Apres, Definitive Brewing, Coals Bayside and Aura. Another terrific twist is that this year’s festival is shining a light on comics from historically underrepresented backgrounds, with specialty showcases for BIPOC, female, queer and over 50-year-old comics.

Chelsea Handler at the 29th Annual Critics Choice Awards in Santa Monica, California, on Jan. 14, 2024. Kathy Hutchins/Shutterstock.com
Chelsea Handler
8 p.m. Friday. Merrill Auditorium, 20 Myrtle St., Portland, $54.50 to $185. porttix.com
Comic Chelsea Handler is bringing her Little Big B*tch show to Portland, and tickets are going fast. As the longtime host of “Chelsea Lately” and author of several New York Times bestselling books, Handler knows her way around comedy like few others. With a razor-sharp wit and a refusal to sugar-coat anything, Handler will take you on a hilarious ride that you had best buckle up for.

Scene from a previous year of the Laudholm Nature Crafts Festival. Photo by Kyle Dubay
Laudholm Nature Crafts Festival
10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. Wells Reserve at Laudholm, 342 Laudholm Farm Road, Wells. wellsreserve.org
The 36th annual Laudholm Nature Crafts Festival is a two-day juried show where you’ll find more than a 140 artists and craftspeople from all over New England. Shop for ceramics, jewelry, metalworks, baskets, fine-art photography and much more. There will also be live music and food, all on the gorgeous grounds of the Wells Reserve.
HenryFest
11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday. Skyline Farm, 95 The Lane, North Yarmouth, $30 in advance, $35 at the gate, $10 for ages 12-18, free for under 12. 317main.org/henryfest-2024
317 Main Community Music Center is celebrating 20 years of teaching music at its annual HenryFest event. Held at Skyline Farm, the day features live performances by Pan Fried Steel, Flight 317, House of Hamill, 317 Maine House Band with special guest Julia Gagnon, Kenny & Amanda Smith and former Ghost of Paul Revere singer Griffin William Sherry. There will also be music and craft workshops, face painting, an instrument discovery tent, lawn games and free massages. Shop for Maine-made crafts from several vendors and enjoy fare from four food trucks and libations from the Maine Beer Co.
This story was updated today to remove an event that has passed
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