Midcoast Literacy is holding its seventh annual Readers Theater performance on Saturday, Oct. 24, 1 to 3:30 p.m., at Morse High School Auditorium, 826 Shipbuilder Drive, Bath.

Maine Craft Weekend, held on Oct. 3 and 4, features hundreds of participating artists and locations hosting open studios, workshops, pop-up markets, exhibitions, fairs, artist talks, special events, and activities, according to Maine Crafts Association, in a news release.  The weekend allows visitors to have a tailor-made experience, making it easy to explore nearby studios or create a weekend road trip

Driving by the Opera House, you may have observed a burst of color along the back wall of the parking lot. Artist Dan Neilsen of Bayville and Hopkinton, New Hampshire began work on the wall, once the foundation of the Strand Theater, in July after it was smoothed out by Marden Construction.

His colorful imagery incorporates music and the Boothbay Harbor region history in acrylics and mosaic and porcelain tile after several months of design work early this year.

Le Café Français, a local French conversation group, resumes its lively in-person meetings on Oct. 5. Our discussions include a variety of themes, from French culture and news, useful expressions for travel and beyond, recipes and cooking experiences plus songs and topics of mutual interest. Our meetings offer participants a “mini French immersion” experience twice monthly.

Dark Sky Maine is celebrating Dark Sky Week across the state this week, highlighting Maine’s extraordinary night-sky heritage and the growing movement to protect it for generations to come.

Take Two is a series from movie buffs Isabelle Curtis and Fritz Freudenberger to review entertainment options in the region. In honor of the late, great Dolly Parton, we picked the 1980 workplace comedy “9 to 5." This classic was directed by Colin Higgins, and stars Jane Fonda, Dolly Parton and Lily Tomlin. It is available to stream or rent online. 

The 23rd annual Pemaquid Oyster Festival returns to Mine Oyster Restaurant in downtown Boothbay Harbor on Sunday, Sept. 27 (11 a.m.-6 p.m.). The festival features freshly-shucked oysters from 10 Damariscotta River farms, live music, an oyster-shucking contest, a silent auction and an exhibition tent.

On Saturday, Sept. 5, at 10 a.m., the bay doors of the East Boothbay Fire Station were open for a different kind of gathering. Over 45 community members—spanning multiple generations—came together to celebrate the rich history of the building that, for over a century, served as the East Boothbay School. Organized as a collaborative effort with speakers from the Boothbay Historical Society, the Boothbay Fire Department, and the Boothbay Lions Club, the morning was filled with shared memories, local heritage, and a deep appreciation for a cornerstone of the village.

Gleason Fine Art at 31 Townsend Ave. in Boothbay Harbor announces its September show: “Michael Vermette: The Monhegan Series,” which opens Friday, Sept. 18 with a reception from 5-7 p.m., runs through Oct. 27.

Lincoln Theater is continuing the celebration of its 150th anniversary by inviting the community to take part in a very special online silent auction, featuring an eclectic collection of experiences, gifts, and treasures donated by businesses, artists, organizations, and friends throughout the Midcoast.

The community will have two weeks to browse the offerings, with bidding opening Sept. 21 - Oct. 4. All bids will help support Lincoln Theater as it raises funds toward capital projects, preserving Lincoln Theater for the next 150 years!

Through Sept. 26, Carousel Music Theater is staging “Flashback to Murder,” a musical comedy whodunnit set in the disco-vibed world of 1975, flashing back to a 1955 high school reunion where the prom queen’s unsolved murder takes center stage. Willing participants from the audience (the heart throb, the lunch lady, the lab partner, Coach Bob and others) join a host of high school-archetype characters: the nerd, the head cheerleader, the hedonist, the science wiz, the greaser and, of course, the class snob—a know-it-all, mean girl, prom queen who everyone has a motive to murder.

The creative team of author and poet Susan Schadler and artists Lynne and John M.T. Seitzer recently released “Growing Wild: Four seasons of New England and Native Plants and Their Creatures.” Lynne and John’s artwork and Susan’s accompanying poetry make this book both an enchanting and informative read.

This is their second collaboration. You may remember their first endeavor, “come walk in the FYNBOS with me,” printed in 2018, took readers to Africa’s southern tip, the 500-mile stretch known as the fynbos.

Join Sean Fleming and his eight-piece Ragtime Orchestra for the "Real Ragtime Concert," a collection of classic, early 20th century Rag tunes, on Sunday, Sept. 13 at 3 p.m. at the Second Congregational Church in Newcastle.

This September, Spruce Point Inn, at 88 Grandview Drive in Boothbay Harbor, will celebrate the connection between artists and the Maine coast with Art Week, Sept. 14–20, bringing together Massachusetts painter Jody Regan and Maine artist Michael Vermette for a week of painting, instruction and art history.

Set against the waters and landscapes of Boothbay Harbor, the program offers guests the opportunity to spend time with working artists and participate in hands-on creative experiences, while several events throughout the week are open to the public.

After years as a graphic designer in the corporate world and having an extremely successful craftsman business in Maine, John Otterbein pivoted and began painting whatever he felt like creating having only himself to answer to. He’s a fine painter and his small watercolors could hold up on a wall next to Winslow Homer but he’s been pulled in another direction.