Welcome to the second annual Big Freakin’ July 4 edition of GO. Inside this issue, you’ll find plenty of activities to enjoy the Independence Day holiday in Maine, from fireworks and parades to free outdoor concerts, patriotic films and quirky art exhibits. You’ll even finds tips on preparing lobster on the grill for your family cookout.
If you’re craving something different to do this year, or are simply searching for activities before and after the community fireworks display, you can find that too, if you know where to look. Here are some ideas:
• The Ogunquit Playhouse continues its 78th year with an homage to the 1967 Summer of Love in San Francisco, titled, aptly enough, “Summer of Love.” Every year, the Playhouse brings in a well-known name to showcase a summer production, and “Summer of Love” features Michele Lee of the 1979-93 TV show “Knots Landing.” Make a day of it and enjoy Ogunquit’s picturesque scenery, shops and dining establishments. For tickets and show times, visit ogunquitplayhouse.org.
• Think you’ve got what it takes to impress Steven, J.Lo and Randy? See if the public agrees with a test run at Beach Idol, presented at 8:30 p.m. Monday at Inn on the Blues in York Beach. Tip: Don’t flip off the judges if you lose. (This means you, Jessica Cunningham.) Go to innontheblues.com for details.
• Prep yourself for the final installment in the Harry Potter film franchise, opening July 15, by watching the previous seven films at the Leura Eastman Performing Arts Center in Fryeburg. The series begins with “The Sorcerer’s Stone” at 7:30 p.m. Friday. This a great opportunity to see the films on the big screen one last time, and it’s cheap too: $3 for adults and just $2 for kids. Go to fryeburgacademy.org/pac for the full schedule.
• Remember the scene in “America: The Story of Us” when a Colonial standing on a rock read the Declaration of Independence to the masses as they all cheered and waved their muskets? You can experience that live (sans the muskets) on Sunday, when the Colonial Pemaquid Historic Site in New Harbor presents its annual reading of the Declaration by a living history interpreter, accompanied by commentary. The free event starts at 2 p.m.; call 677-2423 for details.
• Used to be, goths had few places to congregate beyond dank basements, graveyards and Bauhaus concerts. Now they’ve got a night of their own, every week — in a dank basement. Plague, presented by Gothic Maine, allows goths to get their gloom on for 5 bucks from 9:30 p.m. to 1 a.m. Fridays at the Asylum nightclub in Portland. To honor the Fourth, Gothic Maine is also hosting the Dark Follies (think goth bellydancers, fire jugglers and drummers) in Monument Square at 8 p.m. Friday.
• If you’ve only experienced Portland’s First Friday Art Walk in the winter, you haven’t truly experienced it in all its glory. Summertime is when First Friday really gets hopping, with street musicians, performance artists and regular folks in wild costumes congregating around and inside open galleries and museums. Be sure to check out the new John Marin exhibit at the Portland Museum of Art (it’s free during First Friday), and live mannequins at the O2 Salon on Congress Street. First Friday runs 5 to 8 p.m., and it’s all free.
Deputy Managing Editor Rod Harmon may be contacted at 791-6450 or at:
rharmon@pressherald.com
Send questions/comments to the editors.
