• BENEFITS
TODAY
A Night for Breast Cancer Awareness, with Exposed Clothing, performance by Dray Senior, beer pong, line dancing, karaoke and DJ B-set; Club Texas, Auburn. 784-7785. Today (call for time).
SATURDAY
“Dance in Time,” music by The Bob Charest Band, dinner and live auction, benefits St. Mary’s Regional Medical Center; Royal Oak Room, Lewiston. $100. 755-3366. www.stmarysmaine.com. 6 p.m.
Green Light Studio Silent Auction, benefits the creation of a family scholarship and visiting performer fund; Green Light Studio, Portland. 899-1900. www.greenlight-studio.com. 5 to 7 p.m.
Dinner Dance, support local veterans while enjoying a tropical-themed event; music by The Visitors; VFW Post 9335, Sanford. $15; $25 for couples. 892-5333. 5:30 to 11 p.m.
Camp-A-Thon, with stone soup, speakers, live music, readings and performances, benefits homeless teens; Chapman Park, Rockland. Free. 594-5077. 5 to 9 p.m.
Bowling for Waban, benefits Camp Waban; Bowl-A-Rama, Sanford. 324-7955. 8 a.m. to noon.
Spring Craft Fair, 30 crafters and artisans, plus raffles, benefits a senior class trip; Jordan Small Middle School, Raymond. Free admission. 655-4743. 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Delia’s Dance, dancing, raffles and a silent auction; benefits the Epilepsy Foundation of Massachusetts, Rhode Island, New Hampshire and Maine; 21-plus; Rochambeau Club, Biddeford. $12; $20 for two. 283-3833. 7 p.m. to midnight.
SUNDAY
Fashion Show with comedian Bob Marley, benefits South Portland High School Project Graduation; South Portland High School. $15; $10 for students. 767-2489. 2 p.m.
Empty Bowls Turn-A-Thon, wooden bowls made on site by members of Southern Maine Woodturners with proceeds from sales to benefit Good Shepherd Food Bank; Rockler Woodworking and Hardware, South Portland. 761-4402. 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday; 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday.
WEDNESDAY
Dine Around the World, food and wine tasting, auction and music, Portland Pirates and author Linda Greenlaw; benefits Gary’s House; Holiday Inn by the Bay, Portland. $40. www.garyshouse.org. 6 p.m.
• SPECIAL EVENTS
TODAY
Bath Blarney Days, talks, music, contests and more; various locations, Bath. 442-7291. www.visitbath.com.
“Mockingbirds,” presentation by wildlife biologist Ron Joseph, Bangor Public Library. Free. 947-8336. 4 p.m.
Celtic Cosmology, University of Southern Maine (Southworth Planetarium), Portland. Free. 780-4249. “Mythology of the Celts,” lecture by Jane Raeburn, 6 p.m.
FRIDAY
Little Lake Stewards Series, environmentally themed stories, activities and crafts for pre-schoolers, Sebago Lake Ecology Center, Standish. Free. 774-5961. “Plants and Their Parts,” 10 a.m. to noon.
Spring Fishing Expo with fishing celebrities, demonstrations, lessons, clinics, book signings and children’s activities, L.L. Bean Retail Store, Freeport. Free. www.llbean.com. 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Friday to Sunday.
Popcorn, Music, Scrapping and Stamping with Tara Travis, Stamp with Tara Studio, Saco. $10; reservation required. 590-8631. 7 to 10 p.m.
Burlesque-a-Pades, classic burlesque with the Pontani Sisters, Pulse Ballroom Dance Studio, Westbrook. $20 in advance; $25 day of show. 358-9711. www.actionpackedevents.com. 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday.
Solar Shows, University of Southern Maine (Southworth Planetarium), Portland, $4 to $6. 780-4249. www.usm.maine.edu/planet. “Extreme Planets and Two Pieces of Glass,” 7 p.m. Friday; “Eight Planets and Counting,” 3 p.m. Saturday; “Two Pieces of Glass,” 3 p.m. Sunday. Through March 27.
“JFK and the Unspeakable: Why He Died and Why it Matters,” video talk with James Douglass, Frontier Cafe, Cinema & Gallery, Brunswick. $5. 725-7675. 7 p.m.
SATURDAY
St. Patrick’s Day Concert of Celtic Music, followed by traditional corned beef and cabbage dinner, Christ Church, Kennebunk. $8 per event; $15 for both; $5 for children ($8 for both). 985-8759. 4 p.m. concert; 5:30 p.m. dinner.
Grand Opening Celebration, ribbon cutting followed by an open house/tour, hot corn chowder and sweets; Washburn-Norlands Living History Center, Livermore. Free. 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.
SUNDAY
That’s Entertainment Skating Show, Skating Club of Brunswick event with guests Melissa Gregory and Denis Petukhov (Olympic ice dancers and cast members of “Skating with the Stars”), Watson Arena, Bowdoin College, Brunswick. $10 at door. scofbrunswick.net/default.aspx. 4 p.m.
“Winter Delivery,” exhibit of horse-drawn vehicles as an oil delivery wagon, school bus sleigh, and city and country sleighs, Skyline Farm, North Yarmouth. Free/donation. www.skylinefarm.org. 1 to 4 p.m. Sunday. Through March 27.
MONDAY
Knitting Group, Local Sprouts Cooperative, Portland. Free/donation. localsproutscooperative.com. 6:30 p.m.
Pecha Kucha Night Vol. 5, 10 artists and innovators show their work, Frontier Cafe, Cinema & Gallery, Brunswick. $5; free for Five Rivers members. 798-6964. www.fiveriversartsalliance.org. 6 p.m.
• FILMS
TODAY
“The Secret of Roan Inish” (1995), Rockland Public Library. Free. 594-0310. 6:30 p.m.
FRIDAY
Ocean Videos, for all ages, Marine Environmental Research Institute, Blue Hill. $3. 374-2135. “The Fellowship of the Whale,” 7 p.m. Friday. Through March 25.
WEDNESDAY
“Teens through Time,” film series with teen-cenric viewpoint, Portland Public Library. Free. 871-1700. 1970s: “Over the Edge” (1979), 4:30 p.m. Wednesday.
• BOOKS/AUTHORS
TODAY
“A Conversation in Writing” with Susan Conley and Lily King, Space, Portland. Free. www.space538.org. 7:30 p.m. (doors at 7).
Chats with Champions: Kate Braestup, “Beginner’s Grace,” followed by book signing, Skidompha Library, Damariscotta. Free. 563-5513. www.skidompha.org. 10 a.m.
Lillian Nayder, talk by the author of “The Other Dickens: The Life of Catherine Hogarth” followed by book signing, Meeting House, New Gloucester. 846-2408. 7 p.m.
Elizabeth DeWolfe, author of “Domestic Broils,” Sanford-Springvale Historical Museum, Sanford. Free. 324-2797. 7 p.m.
FRIDAY
Amy Wood, author of “Life Your Way: Refresh Your Approach to Success and Breathe Easier in a Fast-paced World’;” signed copies will be available; First Parish Unitarian Universalist Church, Kennebunk. Free. 985-3700. 7 p.m.
SATURDAY
“Pros(e) in Belfast,” Maine Writers and Publishers Alliance seminar, Belfast Free Library. $30 to $70. 228-8263. www.mainewriters.org. “Writing from the Copy Editor’s Perspective” with Stephen Abbott and “The Proposal” with Jaed Coffin, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Tricia Shapiro, author of “Mountain Justice — Homegrown Resistance to Mountaintop Removal For the Future of Us All,” Gulf of Maine Books, Brunswick. Free. 729-5083. 3 p.m.
Benefit Book Sale for Big Brothers Big Sisters of Southern Maine, Woodfords Club, Portland. 773-5437, Ext. 50. 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday and Sunday.
SUNDAY
Richard Crossley, “The Crossley ID Guide,” book signing, Freeport Wild Bird Supply. Free. freeportwildbirdsupply.com. 4 p.m.
MONDAY
Ben Sprague, author of “Buy, Hold, Sell: A Disciplined Guide to Investment Success,” Harrison Village Library. Free. 583-2970. 5:30 p.m.
TUESDAY
Dr. Allan Teel, author of “Alone and Invisible: Averting Disaster in Aging America,” Bangor Public Library. Free. 947-8336. 11 a.m.
Michelle Souliere, author and illustrator of “Strange Maine: True Tales from the Pine Tree State,” Lithgow Public Library, Augusta. Free. 6:30 p.m.
WEDNESDAY
“Lost Villages of Flagstaff Lake” with authors Kenny Wing and Alan Burnell, Farmington Public Library. Free. 778-4312. 7 p.m.
• PRO SPORTS
FRIDAY and SUNDAY
Maine Red Claws, NBA Development League basketball game, Portland Exposition Building, Portland. $5 to $30, 210-6655. Vs. Texas, 7 p.m. Friday; 1 p.m. Sunday.
TUESDAY
Portland Pirates, AHL hockey team, Cumberland County Civic Center, Portland. $11 to $17. 207-828-4665. www.portlandpirates.com. Vs. Worcester, 11 a.m. Tuesday.
• PARTICIPANT DANCE
FRIDAY
Swing Dance with Maine Swingin’ DJs; partner not needed, beginners welcome; Deering Grange, Portland. $8. 653-5012. 8 to 9 p.m. lesson; 9 p.m. to midnight dance.
Ballroom Dancing, Maplewood Dance Center, Portland. $10. 878-0584. 7 to 11 p.m.
SATURDAY
Contradance, Town Hall, Bowdoinham. $9. 666-3090. 8 to 11 p.m. (beginner’s lesson at 7:30 p.m.) Saturday.
Ballroom Dancing, Maplewood Dance Center, Portland. $10. 878-0584. 7 to 11 p.m.
Saturday Night Dance Party, American Ballroom Dance Academy, Portland. Call for cover: 879-5761. Argentine tango lesson at 6 p.m.; group lesson at 7 p.m.; dance party 8 to 11 p.m. Saturday.
SUNDAY
International Folk Dance, learn dances from the Balkans, Israel, France, Greece and around the world, Portland New Church. $5; $3 children. 318-7108. Lessons 7 to 8 p.m.; dance party 8 to 9 p.m.
WEDNESDAY
Ballroom Dancing, Maplewood Dance Center, Portland. $10. 878-0584. 7 to 11 p.m.
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