The event, which starts at 6 p.m., aims to capture the tradition of New Orleans at Mardi Gras season, with Cajun cuisine, spirits and music.
“ Mardi Gras means ‘ Fat Tuesday,’” a release from the center states. “However, this holiday has a much wider historical and international appeal beyond the Francophone diaspora. Traditionally, Mardi Gras is the last decadent or ‘fat’ feast before the fasting that often accompanies the season of Lent.”
“Chef Edmond, ‘directeur des andouilles et des cornichons’ at the Franco Center, has a … meal planned of traditional New Orleans cuisine, including Crab Gumbo, Jumbalaya, New Orleans Ratatouille, Andouilles with Onions and Peppers, Truffled Bourbon Mashed Sweet Potatoes and a King and Queen Cake,” the release continues. “ There will be ample amounts of classic New Orleans libations, like the legendary Hurricane, to help you forget the impending fast.”
The Blues Buzzards, led by veteran guitarist Earl Bigelow of Bath, will provide music designed to stir souls and make feet stomp. The Blues Buzzards is an eightpiece blues-rock band with a three-man horn section.
Advance tickets cost $20. Call 6892000 or visit francocenter.org.
String quartet concert series continues
PORTLAND — The Boston Public Quartet will perform at 2 p.m. Sunday at Woodfords Congregational Church, 202 Woodfords St.
The concert represents the third program in this year’s Portland String Quartet Concert Series.
The Boston Public Quartet will perform Mozart’s String Quartet in E- flat Major, Brahms’ String Quartet No. 3 in B- flat Major and a 2009 composition by Daniel Sedgwick titled “Themes and Variations for String Quartet.”
Daniel Sedgwick and members of the quartet will discuss Sedgwick’s composition at the pre-concert talk.
For more information, contact the LARK Society of Chamber Music at 761-1522, lark@larksociety.org or www.larksociety.org.
Academy hosts vacation rock camp
PORTLAND — The Maine Academy of Music will host a rock camp from Monday through Feb. 24 at the Breakwater
School, 856 Brighton Ave.
Sessions will meet from 10 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. The camp is open to young musicians age 10 and older.
“ This week- long crash course in modern music covers songwriting, recording and tips on how to start a band — everything it takes to get out of the garage and into the studio or on stage,” a release from the academy states.
The fee to attend is $300. To register, call 899-3433 or visit www.maineacademyofmodernmusic.org/camps.
Cathedral hosts Tuesday jazz show
PORTLAND — Port City Jazz will perform a musical celebration of Mardi Gras at 7 p.m. Tuesday at the Cathedral Church of St. Luke, 143 State St.
Led by trumpeter and vocalist Carl Bradford, the band will perform such jazz standards as “Bill Bailey,” “As Time Goes By and “ Basin Street Blues.”
The group will play a few sacred jazz selections but the focus will be on secular favorites.
The suggested donation for the concert is $10 for adults or $5 for students and seniors. Children younger than 12 years old will be admitted free.
For more information, call 772-5434.
PSO, Bennett plan tribute to Goodman
PORTLAND —Clarinetist Dave Bennett, described as “Benny Goodman reincarnated” is scheduled to perform with the Portland Symphony Orchestra for a PSO Pops! concert at 7:30 p.m. Feb. 25 and 2:30 p.m. Feb. 26 in Merrill Auditorium on Myrtle Street.
The tribute to Goodman will feature Bennett performing such swing-era classics as “ Moonglow,” “ I’ve Got Rhythm,” “ Stompin’ at the Savoy” and “ Sing, Sing, Sing.”
Teresa Cheung is scheduled to serve as guest conductor.
Ticket prices range from $70 to $20. Tickets are available through PortTIX.com, by calling 842-0800 or at the box office at 20 Myrtle St. All ticket prices include a $2 Merrill Restoration Fee.
Party, reading, talk mark poet’s 205th
PORTLAND — The Maine Historical Society will mark Henry Wadsworth Longfellow’s 205th birthday with programs on Feb. 25.
The annual Longfellow birthday party will be held at 10 a. m. The party includes readings of Longfellow poems by Maine Public Broadcasting Network’s Irwin Gratz, a reading of “ Paul Revere’s Ride” by former state Rep. Herb Adams, craft activities and birthday cake.
At 1 p. m., Charles Kaufmann, artistic director of the Longfellow Chorus, will present an illustrated lecture titled “Longfellow and Bull: The Poet and the Virtuoso,” which will explore the poet’s friendship with Norwegian violinist Ole Bull (1810-1880). Bull performed for kings, queens and presidents, and his colorful temperament inspired artists, writers and poets around the world.
Programs are free and open to the public. They will be held at Maine Historical Society, 489 Congress St.
Rossini Club brings music to cathedral
PORTLAND — The Portland Rossini Club will post a public concert at 3 p.m. Feb. 26 in the Cathedral Church of St. Luke, 143 State St.
The program features tenor Norman Whiteside and pianist Anne Whiteside performing selections from Ralph Vaughan Williams’ “Songs of Travel;” cellist Barbara Graustein with pianist Leah Neuschiller performing Brahms Sonata Opus 38; and pianist Eric Peppe performing Beethoven Sonata Opus 110.
The performers will be available to meet with audience members after the concert.
Suggested donation is $10 for adults or $5 for seniors. Students will be admitted free.
Additional parking is located off Park Street in the cathedral’s parking lot.
For more information, call 797-8318 or visit www.rossiniclub.org.
Film fest celebrates undernose hair
PORTLAND — No Umbrella Media, organizers of New England’s largest mustache pageant, announce plans to host the first International Moustache Film Festival in 2012.
The festival will be held immediately before the fifth annual Stache Pag on March 30 at Port City Music Hall, 504 Congress St.
The film festival will begin at 7: 30 p. m. The mustache pageant will start at 10 p.m.
The festival is open to all film makers. Films must be eight minutes or less in duration.
The winner will be chosen and receive a cash prize. The film selection committee must receive all film submissions by March 24.
Dr. Lou Jacobs, director of The New England Bureau of The American Mustache Institute, will host the film festival.
“ This is an important moment in mustache history,” Jacobs said in a release. “Never has there been a film festival dedicated to the unique art of filming the mustached male (or female). The American Mustache Institute would like to congratulate the IMFF for its efforts to preserve the mustached arts.”
“Silly as this may sound, the festival is quite serious,” the release continues. “The beneficiaries of the festival and fifth annual Stache Pag will be Northeast Historic Film, MENSK and Mystache Fights Cancer.”
Some of the many film categories will be: Best Foreign Mustache Film, Best Growth Story, Best Collection of Mustaches in One Film and Best Fake Mustache Movie.
For more information, visit www.stachefilmfest.com.
The American Mustache Institute has been “protecting the rights of, and fighting discrimination against mustached Americans, by promoting the growth, care, and culture of the mustache,” the release states. Its website is AmericanMustacheInstitute.org.
Credit union contest seeks young musicians
PORTLAND — Young & Free Maine from Maine’s credit unions aims to combine music and money to connect with Maine’s Gen Y talent, according to a release from the Maine Credit Union League.
Young & Free Maine officially launched its first Sound- Off Music Competition, which is open through March 5 to all Maine musicians ages 18 to 25.
The contest is open to individuals or groups.
Sound Off entrants must be between 18 and 25 years old. In the case of bands, at least one member must be within that age range.
Entrants will submit an audio or video recording of themselves singing or performing original music to a special page on the Young & Free Maine website, YoungFreeMaine.com.
From March 7 to March 16, the public will vote to choose a winner. The winning band or individual will receive a $1,000 gift certificate to Main Street Studio to be used for a recording session. The winner also will be invited to perform live at the 2012 KahBang festival, which is scheduled to run from Aug. 4 to Aug. 9.
The winner will be announced on March 19 at YoungFreeMaine.com.
MAMM SLAM extends entry deadline
PORTLAND — The Maine Academy of Modern Music extended the deadline to register for MAMM SLAM until Feb. 29.
The MAMM SLAM provides a forum in which high school bands can compete for a $1,000 prize, recording time, radio play, gigs and professional marketing direction.
Bands have until Feb. 29th to register at www.mainetoday.com/mammslam.
The competition, which showcases songwriting, musicianship and stage presence, starts with preliminary rounds at The Big Easy on March 24 and 25. Finals will be held April 28.
Walsh to discuss her book in Portland
PORTLAND — Maine author Barbara Walsh will discuss her new book, “August Gale,” at 2 p. m. March 4 at the Maine Irish Heritage Center, at the corner of Gray and State streets.
The book derives from conversations Walsh had with her father about his childhood pain.
“In the process, she takes us on two heartrending odysseys: one into a deadly Newfoundland hurricane and the lives of schooner fishermen who relied on God and the wind to carry them home; the other, into a squall stirred by a man with many secrets: a grandfather who remained a mystery until long after his death,” a release about the book talk states. “Together, she and her father journey to Newfoundland to learn about the 1935 storm, and along the way her dad begins to talk about the man he cannot forgive. As she recreates the scenes of the violent hurricane and a small boy’s tender past, she holds onto a hidden desire: to heal her father and redeem the grandfather she has never met.”
Walsh’s lecture is co-sponsored by the Maine Maritime Museum and the Maine Irish Heritage Center. Copies of the books will be available for sale and signing by the author.
For more information, email www.maineirish.com or call 780-0118.
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