The Weekender, Oct. 4-6: Leaves change, and lots of other stuff changes too!

via GIPHY

Hello readers! So, an important note before we get into all the good stuff happening this weekend. This week’s post will be the last one to be posted on this blog, Culture Shock. Starting next week (Oct. 10, to be exact), the Weekender will be posted on the Bangor Daily News’ main site. If you want a handy-dandy landing page to access all future Weekender posts, bookmark this link, which will go live next week, and have at it. Culture Shock and all its old posts will continue to live on this blog for the time being, but eventually, they will be folded into the main BDN site as well — so if you’re looking for one of my old album reviews or another old post, that’s where they’ll be. Also new is the fact that the Weekender will now feature a selection of events more curated toward folks living in eastern and midcoast Maine. Even more events, actually! Cool!

OK, now that that’s out of the way, what’s good in the hood this weekend? In Bangor on Friday, there’s the final Downtown Bangor Art Walk of the season, and at the Bangor Arts Exchange, there’s the annual kickoff celebration for ARTober, the city of Bangor’s month of the arts, featuring an array of local performers. In bars and clubs downtown that night, check out Bill Barnes Jazz at Nocturnem Draft Haus, OneSixtyOne all weekend at the Penobscot Pourhouse, Him & Her at the Sea Dog, or funk band Low Talker at Paddy Murphy’s. In Orono on Friday, jazz musicians Bruce Barth and Anat Cohen play at Minsky Hall on the UMaine campus, while local favorites the Napper Tandies play at the Mill Street location of Black Bear Brewing, and out in Hermon, “American Idol” season nine winner Lee DeWyze plays at Morgan Hill. On Saturday in Bangor, Heartless, a Heart and Led Zeppelin tribute band, plays at the Downunder Club at Seasons, and the Bald Mountain Boys play at Paddy’s. On Sunday, the Bangor Symphony Orchestra kicks off its 124th season at 3 p.m. at the Collins Center for the Arts.

In Hancock County, Bar Harbor hosts its final art walk of the season on Friday, and it’s also Maine Craft Weekend in Ellsworth, with vendors and workshops in locations all over town, and live music at Fogtown Brewing on both Friday and Saturday night with Shirt Tail Kin (for more info on Maine Craft Weekend stuff all across the state, visit the website). Also on Friday night, at the Grand Theatre in Ellsworth, the community production of “The Music Man” opens and runs for three weekends, and Bar Harbor, Celtic band Talisk plays at the Criterion Theatre. On Sunday, blues legend Robert Cray is at the Criterion, and Maine folk trio GoldenOak plays at the Brooklin Inn in Brooklin.

On the Midcoast, roots songwriter Iris Dement plays at the Strand Theatre in Rockland on Friday night, and acoustic duo Hurry Down Sunshine is at Rock City Coffee, while the monthly Flying Shoes Contradance is at the Legion Hall in Belfast. On Saturday, during the day, the Fall Harbor Arts and Books Festival takes over downtown Camden, while in the evening, Drive-By Todd plays at Thresher’s Brewing in Thomaston, songwriter Will Brown is at Rock City Coffee, and the Glenn Jenkins Ragtime Review performs at the Camden Opera House.

ORRINGTON, MAINE — 09/24/2019 — Maple leaves are changing color in the early fall.
Gabor Degre | BDN

We’re really into the meat of fall with this weekend, so here are some great events to celebrate the days of crisp air and colorful leaves. In the town of Bradley, the Maine Forest and Logging Museum (Leonard’s Mills) hosts its annual Living History Days, where on Saturday and Sunday you can ride on a horse-drawn wagon, press some cider, eat some beanhole beans, try your hand at blacksmithing and even ride on a steam-powered engine. There’s also the Downtown Belfast Fall Festival, which is set for Saturday and will feature vendors and activities all over downtown Belfast. A bit further afield, the annual Freeport Fall Festival is set for Friday through Sunday in downtown Freeport, with loads of live music, food and activities for all ages.

In movie theaters this weekend, the highly anticipated new film “Joker” hits screens nationwide. On TV, Netflix has two cult-favorite premieres on Friday, with the filthy animated comedy “Big Mouth” and the period drama “Peaky Blinders” both starting up new seasons. On Sunday, yet another season of “The Walking Dead” starts on AMC, and the final season of “Mr. Robot” premieres on USA, now that Rami Malek is a big shot Oscar-winning actor and he’s too good for basic cable (I kid).

Emily Burnham

About Emily Burnham

Emily Burnham is a Maine native, UMaine graduate, proud Bangorian and a writer for the Bangor Daily News, where she's worked since 2004. She reports on everything from local bands to local food to all the cool things going on in the Greater Bangor area. In her quest for stories, she's seen countless concerts and plays, been lobster fishing, interviewed celebrities, hung out with water buffalo and played in a ukulele orchestra. She's interested in everything that happens in Maine.