“Longfellow Days 2025,” Bowdoin College, Brunswick

Feb. 19, Wednesday, 5pm, “L.L. Bean-Fly Tying Series,” join L.L. Bean’s fly-tying experts and learn how to tie some of the most effective flies for both salt and freshwater. Each night we offer a Beginner Class from 5-6:30pm followed by an Intermediate Class from 7-8:30pm. Please do not sign up for both. No experience necessary. All materials provided, free, L.L. Bean, 95 Main Street, Freeport.  FMI: 1-877-755-2326, llbean.com.

Feb. 20, Thursday, 2pm, “Sled Dogs Throughout History- A Talk by Pat Sullivan,” Pat Sullivan of the Museum of Maritime Pets in Rockland will review the origins and various types of sled dogs, in conjunction with the museum’s month-long exhibit on the same subject. The Museum of Maritime Pets, located at 75 Mechanic Street in Rockland, researches and documents the lives of seafaring animals from ancient times until the present, Rockland Public Library, 80 Union Street, Rockland.  FMI:  207-594-0310, rocklandmaine.gov.

Feb. 21, Friday, 7pm, “Denny Breau,” Denny first draws in the audience with a finely arranged melody and then slides effortlessly into scorching fingerwork that sets ears aflame. The lighting fast guitar lines that seem almost humanly impossible to accomplish are balanced with those that have a quiet intimacy and wrap tenderly around his carefully crafted songs. He mixes genres with ease — folk, Delta blues, country and jazz — “creating a totally accessible musical mélange that captivates as it entertains,” according to Lucky Clark writing for the Kennebec (Maine) Journal, $30/door, $25+/online, $15/student, Cadenza, 5 Depot Street, Freeport.  FMI:  207-831-4311, cadenzafreeport.com.

Feb. 21, Friday, 7:30pm, “Longfellow Days 2025:  Poetry with Taylor Mali,” Taylor Mali, nationally recognized spoken word poet, returns to Bowdoin from which he graduated in 1987. Mali will perform an evening of poetry with three current Bowdoin student poets – King Weatherspoon, Chayma Charifi and Kaitlin Weiss – as the opening act.  This legacy of poetry is part of the 2025 tribute to the Class of 1825, which included poet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow and author Nathaniel Hawthorne, Studzinski Recital Hall, Bowdoin College, 255 Maine Street, Brunswick.  FMI:  207-319-6940, www.brunswickdowntown.org.

Feb. 22, Saturday, 7pm, “The Philadelphia Story,” staged and costumed reading, smash Broadway comedy, about an eventful wedding weekend at the estate of a wealthy American family, inspired an Oscar-winning film and the hit musical High Society.  Cast includes: Laura Houck, Michael Amico, Jim Reitz, Dagney Ernest, Cory Burns, Joseph Cote, Beverly Scott, Jennifer Hodgson, Scott Anthony Smith, and Paul Hodgson, who also directs, produced by Everyman Repertory Theatre, $15, Pascal Hall, 86 Pascal Avenue, Rockport.  FMI: 207-236-0173, www.everymanrep.org.

Feb. 22, Saturday, 7:30pm, “Longfellow Day: Tribute to Class of 1825: An Evening of Music and Poetry,” Longfellow’s poetry set to music and voice, featuring compositions by Paul Sullivan, Stuart Gillespie, Ann MacDonald Diers, Jud Caswell, and Scott Woodruff. Performed by the combined Bowdoin Chamber Choir with chorus members from area community choirs. Directed by Stuart Gillespie and Will Bristol. In addition, spoken word poet, Taylor Mali will perform in tribute to the Class of 1825! And Brunswick community members will participate in readings of the poems orchestrated, Studzinski Recital Hall, Bowdoin College, 255 Maine Street, Brunswick.  FMI:  207-319-6940, www.brunswickdowntown.org.