June 18, 2009

Heading toward the big day for Dad

So get a jump on this weekend by rising and shining early on Friday for outside yoga and movement arts with The Awake Collective. The yoga goes on every morning until Aug. 31 (7 am on weekdays, 9 am on weekends) and classes are offered by donation. Meet at the Eastern Prom/Quebec Street to get your inner yogi going.

With any luck, up early will also mean out of work early so you can get to Freeport Cheese & Wine for the monthly wine tasting. Stroll the streets of the shopping mecca, taste some wine from 3:30-7:30 pm, and then stroll some more.

Since you're in Freeport anyway, head over to VENUE. Playing a free of charge show at 7 pm will be Anni Clark and Tony Simmons. Strause & Co. takes the stage at 8:30. If you want to stay it'll cost you $5.

Another option at 7 pm is the reading and signing by author Nicole Chaison at Longfellow Books. The Passion of the Hausfrau was a big hit at Portland Stage Company a few months ago and now the book is ready for Chaison's adoring Portland public. Friday's reading will surely be good for a few chuckles. Listen in for free.

Saturday's the day to show your pride - or to at least support others when they do. The parade celebrating gay pride begins at 12:30 pm at Monument Square and will make its way down Congress and High streets and on to Park Avenue and Deering Oaks Park. If you line up to see the parade go by you'll definitely get an eyeful. Down at Deering Oaks is the Pride Festival from 1-5 pm with free live entertainment. There will also be plenty of food (not free) and vendors.

If you'd rather hang on the East End how about checking out the St. Lawrence Arts Center's big yard sale. It runs from 10 am-3 pm (Sunday, too) and you'll find art, clothes, costumes, toys, books, games and "knick-knacks up the wazoo." There's bound to be something to buy that keeps you on budget - but if not you'll still have fun pawing through the treasures.

Back in Freeport again, there's art on view at the Wolfe's Neck Art Fest at Wolfe's Neck Farm. Artists will exhibit in many different mediums, there will be demos, food, music and hand-crafted products for sale. Admission is free and the fest runs from 9 am-4 pm.

Should the sun shine today, you may feel like heading for the beach. And if you're going near the water, why not get a chance to look out over the water. It's the first of the Saturday open houses (which run through Oct. 10) at Spring Point Lighthouse in SoPo. Between 11 am-3 pm you can tour the country's only publicly accessible caisson-style lighthouse and check out the awesome views of Portland Harbor. Plan to donate $5.

And finally for today you can learn about Stonehenge under the stars. Sun, clouds, rain - it doesn't matter 'cause you'll be in USM's Southworth Planetarium's Star Dome Theater. On the eve of the Summer Solstice, Prof. Patrick Peoples guides you through a tour of Stonehenge, built more than 4,500 years ago. Meet Peoples at 7 pm, before the show starts at 7:30. Admission is by donation.

Hopefully you'll find a good chunk of time to spend with Dad on Sunday, either watching the Sox game, BBQing or slugging down a few beers. Maybe all three at once. A couple other ideas for him include participating the the Sea Dogs Father's Day 5K at Hadlock Field or heading for Scarborough Downs where Dad's Day admission is free.

You don't have to run to get in on the fun this morning at Hadlock. The Maine Thunder Spirits Kids' Taiko Ensemble will give a pre-race performance and then drum running into the finish line. You can both listen and cheer for free, and there's bound to be someone you know in the race. The kids' run starts at 8:30 am and the big kids go off at 9:15.

At The Downs, racing starts at 1:30 pm. All dads get a Scarborough Downs drink koozie while they last, and if you dare to blow the budget on this special occasion you can treat Pops to the trackside chicken BBQ for $7.95. It's pricey, I know, but the old guy's worth it.