Tara McDonough and Marie Stewart Harmon from You Should Smile More. Photo by Mical Hutson
You Should Smile More
7 p.m. Friday. Meetinghouse Arts, 40 Main St., Freeport, $15, $5 kids. eventbrite.com
Meetinghouse Arts invites you to kick back and enjoy an evening of entertainment from the all-female improv group You Should Smile More. It will be hard not to at this show that combines stand-up and improv, inspired by life as the ladies experience it. You Should Smile More will be joined by comic Julie Nye, who will also do her best to properly crack you up. Grab tickets and get your funny bone ready.
Scene from the 2018 Polar Dip held by the Natural Resources Council of Maine. Photo by Gregory Rec
Polar Bear Dip & Dash
11 a.m. Saturday. Southern Maine Community College, Fort Road, South Portland, $65. nrcm.salsalabs.org/dipdash
Want to raise money for a worthy cause while also launching yourself into the ocean or running a chilly 5K race? Of course you do! Register for the 15th annual Natural Resources Council of Maine Polar Bear Dip & Dash and know that you’ll be helping to support its climate work. You’ll make your way from Willard Beach into the mighty Atlantic for the dip, and the dash is a loop from the SMCC campus to Bug Light Park. Costumes are encouraged.
Hypnotist Richard Barker. Photo courtesy of Sanford Performing Arts Center
Hypnotist Richard Barker
7 p.m. Saturday. Sanford Performing Arts Center, 100 Alumni Blvd., Sanford $23, $32. sanfordpac.org
You’ll feel anything but sleepy while you enjoy a New Year’s Eve performance by hypnotist Richard Barker. Heck, you might even be a participant. Barker has been putting on spellbinding and hilarious shows for more than two decades in almost 40 countries. He’s also appeared on TV a whole bunch, including spots on “The Late Late Show with James Corden,” “The Today Show” and “Entertainment Tonight.” Be ready to be amazed!
The view from Two Lights State Park in Cape Elizabeth. Photo by Aimsel Ponti
First Day Sunrise Celebration and Hike
6:30 a.m. Sunday. Two Lights State Park, 7 Tower Drive, Cape Elizabeth, free. maine.gov
Spend part of the first few hours of 2023 out in the elements at Two Lights State Park in Cape Elizabeth. Bundle up, bring chairs and hot beverages, and enjoy the first sunrise of the year. Stick around after the sun rises at 7:15 a.m. to join a guided walk where you’ll learn how plants and animals survive the cold weather. It’s a 3/4-mile loop, and you’ll meet at High Head rose garden to start. Other First Day hikes are happening at Lily Bay State Park, Wolfe’s Neck State Park, Holbrook Island Sanctuary State Park and Popham Beach State Park.
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