Sea Dogs’ Eddinson Paulino is home safe after Hartford catcher Braxton Fulford bobbles the ball. Ben McCanna/Staff Photographer

Portland Sea Dogs vs. Binghamton Rumble Ponies
6 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday and 1 p.m. Sunday. Hadlock Field, Portland, $15 to $40. portlandseadogs.com
This is the final week of the Portland Sea Dogs’ regular season. That means one more week of seventh-inning stretches, Sea Dog biscuits, Slugger dance routines and root, root, rooting for the home team. The final stint of games has the Dogs battling the Binghamton Rumble Ponies. Every game counts as the Sea Dogs are in the hunt for a playoff spot, so be sure to cheer extra loud.

Maya Williams, Portland’s new poet laureate, at the Portland Public Library. Brianna Soukup/Staff Photographer

Celebrating Portland Poet Laureate Maya Williams
5:30 p.m. Friday. Portland Public Library, 5 Monument Square. portlandlibrary.com
Maya Williams just ended their three-year stint as Portland’s poet laureate. Gather at Portland Public Library on Friday for a celebration of their poetry, which will include readings and reflections. The public will also be treated to the unveiling of a poetic art installation. Williams will be signing copies of their book “Judas & Suicide” (Game Over Books, 2023) and “Refused a Second Date” (Harbor Editions, 2023). Limited supplies of both books will be available for free.

The Baltimore-based Alex & Olmsted puppet theater will perform “Marooned! A Space Comedy” during Puppets in Portland. Photo courtesy of Alex and Olmsted

Puppets in Portland
Friday through Sept. 22. Several Portland venues, including Mayo Street Arts and the Children’s Museum & Theatre of Maine, pay-what-you-can to $20. puppetsinportland.org
For 10 days, the world of puppets and puppetry takes center stage in Portland. In fact, it will take over eight stages around the city. Puppets in Portland features puppeteers from around the world, and what you’ll see incorporates films, shadows, actors, masks and marionettes. The festival also includes workshops like An Exploration in Marionettes with Madison J. Cripps and Never Bored at Home Workshop for Families with Puzzle Théâtre.

Portland municipal organist James Kennerley plays the Kotzschmar organ at Merrill Auditorium. Brianna Soukup/Staff Photographer

Cosmic Kotzschmar
7 p.m. Saturday. Merrill Auditorium, 20 Myrtle St., Portland, $33 or pay-what-you-choose. porttix.com
For an out-of-this-world evening, head to Merrill Auditorium to hear Portland municipal organist James Kennerley pull out all the stops during the Cosmic Kotzschmar show. The program includes a recently transcribed version of “The Planets,” written in the 1910s by composer Gustav Holst, and the Interstellar Suite by Hans Zimmer. The most recognizable music of the night is from John Williams, the composer behind the legendary music from “Star Wars.” Projections of outer space images will be paired with the music.

Rainbow Kitten Surprise. Photo by Jimmy Fontaine Photo by Jimmy Fontaine

Rainbow Kitten Surprise
7 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 17. Thompson’s Point, Portland, $56 in advance, $66 day of show, $116 VIP, free for ages 3 and under. statetheatreportland.com
The outdoor concert season at Thompson’s Point winds down on a vibrant, multi-genre, indie-rock note with a show from Rainbow Kitten Surprise. The band released its fourth album, “Love Hate Music Box,” earlier this year. The album slaps with pop, hip-hop, electronic and rock elements. It should prove to be a raver by the Fore River with tracks like “LOL,” “Lucky” and “Superstar.”

John Hodgman. Photo courtesy of John Hodgman

Maine Voices Live with John Hodgman
7 p.m. Tuesday, Sept 17. One Longfellow Square, 181 State St., Portland, $10. pressherald.com
Here’s an opportunity to be in the audience while Press Herald staff writer Ray Routhier interviews writer, comedian, actor and part-time Mainer John Hodgman. The Maine Voices Live conversation will explore Hodgman’s career as an author of books like “Vacationland,” as an actor with roles in the FX show “Married” and HBO’s “Bored to Death” and as a comedian with his own Netflix comedy special. He’s also the host of the “Judge John Hodgman” podcast.