April 16, 2009

Heading for a holiday weekend of cheap (& free) music

And there's plenty more music to take advantage of tonight as you gear up for your long Patriot's Day weekend. After your dose of Ani, head back into the city for the Acoustic Medley Happy Hour with Chris Keenan at Slainte. He'll be playing Irish, folk, blues and bluegrass tunes that will go perfectly with your beverage of choice. The music is free, the brews are not.

There's also music to be had in Brunswick tonight as Lynn Deeves plays the Side Door Coffeehouse at 9 pm. The local songstress will share her folk and blues songs and it costs just $5 to join her.

And if you're not in the mood for music tonight, don't forget that Portland Museum of Art offers free admission on Fridays and the Biennial is currently on view.

Start off Saturday by doing something for yourself. If you've been itching for some physical activity, if you want to work up a sweat and feel the burn, head over to Turf's on Warren Avenue in Portland for Big Boot Camp from 8-9:30 am. The cost is just $5 to get in on this huge workout opportunity from Core Solutions in Westbrook.

If you're still able to walk after your workout, head to the Old Port and trot in to Bull Moose in Portland for Record Store Day. Get autographs from Disturbed (playing tonight at CCCC) at noon or listen to locals This Way at 5 pm. Events are going on at every Bull Moose in Maine, including shows by Highway Jackson (2 pm) in North Windham and Jerks of Grass (4 pm) in Brunswick.

If you do choose to take in the free tunes in Brunswick, there are also a pair of art openings you can hit up while you're there. "Diminished Objects," sculpture by Duncan Hewitt is up at Icon Contemporary Art (19 Mason St.), and there's a reception from 4-6 pm. Over at the Peary-MacMillan Artic Museum at Bowdoin College, "Northward Over the Great Ice: Robert E. Peary and the Quest for the North Pole" is up in celebration of the 100th anniversary of Adm. Peary's expedition. The museum is open from 10 am-5 pm today and admission is free.

On Sunday, choose between EpicMan and Legends of the Sky.

But first things first: Let's spread some love. Plenty of athletic types will be hoofing their way through the annual Patriot's Day 5-Miler in Portland today. The race starts at noon and the runners would love to see and hear you cheering them on.

Then its on to Will Thomas and Seth Bradbury, the two Epic-ally admirable/crazy-out-of-their-minds guys participating in a carbon-zero journey to the finish line of the Boston Marathon, should be arriving by kayak at RiRa at 3:45 pm to party with supporters. At 5 pm they're off on their bikes to Portsmouth and then Hopkinton, where they'll be among the crowd at the start of Monday's marathon. Have a drink with them at the RiRa bash that starts at 3 pm and help out Big Brothers, Big Sisters while you're sipping.

If you'd prefer to look skyward today, get yourself to Southworth Planetarium at USM for the 4 pm full dome laser show. You'll learn about Perseus and Andromeda and even get a music laser show for your 5 bucks.

Since this Monday's still technically the weekend for some folks (including we who slave away for Switch/MaineToday.com), I'm giving you your start of the week options in this blog.

The weather's been getting better and better, so maybe you want to spend some time outside today. You're in luck if you don't mind driving to Freeport. L.L. Bean is hosting its Spring Sports Expo all day today with demos, clinics and seminars - and there'll all free.

A weekday holiday is also a great time to do some people-watching. Grab yourself a latte and a seat on any park bench in the city and see who you spy going by. You will definitely be entertained.

But don't be caught sitting outside by yourself between 11 am and 2 pm. That's when the Boston Marathon and the Boston Red Sox game will both be going on. If you're a true sports fan you'll want to belly up to a bar (for a Diet Coke of course - it's still early) and catch both events on TV. Great places to do that are Rivalries, where there are TVs galore, and Bruno's, where the folks are always friendly. Both spots open at 11:30 am.