This is the weekend to trump all weekends. There are snow sports of every variety, over-the-top costumes, air rifles, toboggans, ice bars and cardboard box races. There are horses, hockey and turkey bowling. Whatever your winter weekend fantasy is, I bet you can find it between February 5 and 8.
For the weekend of Feb. 5-8, 2015
Courtesy photo
Red Molly
8 p.m. Friday, The Stone Mountain Arts Center, 695 Dugway Road, Brownfield. $25. stonemountainartscenter.com.
Hear three stellar voices become one with gorgeous harmonies, dobro, guitar and bass. Red Molly plays songs ranging from folk roots, to bluegrrass with some honky tonk and ballads throw in the mix.
This is the talented Anna Weidel of Germany when she competes in the youth women’s 6 kilometer sprint at the IBU Youth/Junior World Championships Biathlon at the Nordic Heritage Center in Presque Isle in February 2014. You could look as expert as she is. Gabe Souza/Portland Press Herald file photo
Liberal Cup Biathlon
Races start at 10 a.m. Sunday, Hidden Valley Nature Center, 131 Egypt Road, Jefferson. $25. hvnc.org/biathlon-2/
Not a great cross-country skier? That’s okay! Never shot an air rifle? No problem! This annual biathlon is open to skiers and shooters of all levels – novice included. (There’s even gear you can borrow and you’ll go through a gun safety session before heading out). Categories for novice, intermediate and advanced skiers – and afterwards enjoy beer and hot toddies.
One of the competing teams at the 2014 Toboggan Championships. Claire Jeffers/mainetoday.com
U.S. National Toboggan Championships
Friday-Sunday | Camden Snow Bowl | camdensnowbowl.com
Competitors in the U.S. National Toboggan Championships will find out first hand what it’s like to rumble down the 400-foot-long chute and coast out onto a frozen pond. First-timers might focus on their costuming (a cape and a pair of underpants are a surefire hit) and hitting the finish line without losing knuckle flesh to the unforgiving wooden chute walls. But spectators will have quite the time, too. Food, bonfires, races, and festivities.
Run up, sled down. Press Herald file photo
Snowman Adventure Race
10 a.m. Sunday, East End Hill, Portland. $40 per team ($30 for junior duo). snowmanadventure.com
The Snowman Adventure Race is a two-person relay combining running, biking and downhill sledding. One teammate heads out first for a half-mile bike ride around Back Cove, the second takes on a 2.25-mile run around the East End. Each leg of the race is begun with a hearty run up the East End hill and a return sled down. And both teammates sled together to the finish. Men’s, women’s, co-ed and adult-child teams.
Press Herald file photo
Biddeford WinterFest
Friday-Sunday, various locations in Biddeford. Free. heartofbiddeford.org
Don’t miss the human dog sled biathlon, followed by a snowball throwing contest (based on distance, not accuracy) Friday night, Feb. 6. Also find sleigh rides, pony rides, free ice skating and more throughout the weekend.
ALSO: Check out the Winter Carnival at Run of the Mill on Feb. 7. There will be an ice bar outside with signature cocktails and beer from Run of the Mill and Sam Adams. There will also be a live band outside (and heaters, too, to fend off the chill. Even still, dress warmly). And the cool thing? Ice shots: shots in little glasses made of ice. FMI: www.facebook.com
Dashing through the snow! Press Herald file photo
Sleigh Day
Noon to 3 p.m. Saturday, Skyline Farm, 95 The Lane, North Yarmouth. $9 per person or $25 per family. skylinefarm.org
Dashing through the snow, in a one horse open sleigh…that might actually have more than one horse pulling it. Sleigh Day at Skyline Farm is a chance to take in the beautiful wintry scenery and get a sleigh ride. There will also be horse and driver demos, dog-sledding demos, and a guided snowshoe or cross-coubtry ski at 2 pm.
2014 BANFF Festival poster
Banff Mountain Film Festival
7 p.m. Sunday and Monday, State Theatre, 609 Congress St., Portland. $17 in advance, $20 day of show. www.statetheatreportland.com
The Banff Mountain Film Festival features a collection of the most inspiring and thought-provoking action, environmental and adventure mountain films, including “Happy Winter,” about gratitude in the mountains; “Touch,” a flying tour of Greece and France; and “Arctic Swell, about surfing at the ends of the earth.
Fiona Harrell, 3, gets a ride on the ice from her mom, Jennifer Harrell, of Cape Elizabeth, as they play at the annual South Portland Winterfest at the Wainwright Farms Recreation Complex in 2014. Press Herald file photo
WinterFest South Portland
4 to 8:30 pm. Friday and noon to 8:30 p.m. Saturday, Mill Creek Park and Wainwright Recreation Complex, South Portland. Free. southportland.org
On Friday, head to Mill Creek Park for ice skating and a glow-in-the-darnk chuck-a-puck contest, ice carving demo and music. Saturday starts with pancakes, followed by hockey clinics, wagon rides, snow sculpture contests, snow shoeing, ice skating, pond hockey, food trucks and turkey bowling at Wainwright Recreation Complex.
Auburn Winter Festival
Feb. 6-8 | Various locations, Auburn | Many activities free, some require a fee | www.auburnmaine.gov
Sledding, snowmobile rides, skiing, snowboarding, snowshoeing, skating, ice sculptures, torchlight parade, music and more.
Brass Club Speakeasy graphic
The Brass Club Speakeasy
7 to 10 p.m. Saturday, Seal Cove Auto Musuem, Seal Cove. $35. www.sealcoveautomuseum.org/events/speakeasy2015.php
No password needed for this speakeasy, but there will be a 12-piece swing band, specialty cocktail, prohibition-era beers, blackjack tables and belly dancer performance..
Jeff Browne, right, of the Winslow- based Cioppa team, battles for possession of puck with a Portland area player during the Maine Pond Hockey Classic on China Lake in 2013. David Leaming/Morning Sentinel file photo
Maine Pond Hockey Classic
Friday-Sunday, Snow Pond Center for the Arts (Messalonskee Lake), Sidney.
There will be hockey. Six divisions worth, in fact. But at the Maine Pond Hockey Classic, there will also be polar dipping, cornhole, hockey puck curling, a beer garden, fire pits and skating competitions.
Kingfield Winter Artwalks
5 to 8 p.m. Friday, downtown Kingfield. Free. https://www.facebook.com/KingfieldArtWalk?ref=hl
Durig the Winter Artwalks in Kingfield, art lovers don’t always walk from gallery to gallery. They take a horse drawn sleigh. Local galleries, museums, businesses and restaurants will be open for the monthly event, and many will have light refreshments in addition to local art, music and poetry readings. The ArtWalk is free.
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Art to Heart: Valentine Printmaking Workshop
10 a.m. to noon Saturday, Colby College Museum of Art, Waterville. Free. www.colby.edu/museum/2014/12/11/art-to-heart-valentine-printmaking-workshop-2/
The best valentines are the ones you make yourself. Learn about printmaking and design your own stamps to print your personlized valentines.