Visitor's Guide 2018

Greater Portland’s Do-Not-Miss Top 10 Winter List

The Greater Portland region supports an active nightlife including a vibrant theatre and performing arts scene that brings national headliners to state-of-the-art venues. World-class museums offer escapes into fine art, science, and history on par with other major urban areas and minor league professional basketball, ice hockey, and arena football present tomorrow’s all-stars at family-friendly affordability. If you’re not sure where to start, get things rolling with a tour. All year long you can get a custom introduction to the region, taste your way through town on several foodie tours, have Maine Brew Bus drive you to drink (locally) at many of the area’s craft breweries, or indulge in educational tours from anything from food and wine to history—or both. And dinner reservations are the easiest thing to make during a season with far less visitors. Undoubtedly Portland has a high number of restaurants per capita and they’re almost all open through the quiet season, making this a fabulous time to eat your way through town. Maine Restaurant Week, in early March, is dedicated to having food enthusiasts try them all! Eateries at all price points around the state offer specially priced multi-course menus for what is actually closer to a two-week span. So don’t let winter get you down—just

PORTLAND BEER WEEK / NOV 4-10 Lots of events to immerse yourself in our extensive craft brewing scene.

HOLIDAY TREE LIGHTING / NOV 23 Start the holiday season with entertainment and merriment in Portland’s Monument Square. MERRY MADNESS / DEC 6 With your official wine glass, head into Portland’s streets for a festive night of shopping. MAGIC OF CHRISTMAS /DEC 14-15, 21-23 Portland Symphony Orchestra’s popular holiday show at Merrill Auditorium. SPARKLE + NORTHERN LIGHTS Freeport’s festivals of classic holiday fun keep town merry throughout December. WINTERFEST / JAN, ‘19 South Portland’s and Scarborough’s family fun days with ice skating, wagon rides, contests, and more. GARDENS AGLOW / NOV 15 - DEC 31 The largest light show in Maine transforms the Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens in Boothbay into a fairyland.

FEB FEST / ALL FEB, ‘19 A moveable feast of art and culture throughout Freeport.

FLAVORS OF FREEPORT / FEB 15-17, ‘19 Local culinary adventure featuring tastings, demonstrations, competitions, dinners.

show up and we’ll show you how to turn the Quiet Season into a rollicking good time! PHOTOS, FROM CLOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFT: COURTESY PINELAND FARMS; VISIT FREEPORT; MICHAEL LEONARD

RESTAURANT WEEK / MAR 1-11, ‘19 Celebrate the best in Maine dining with specially-priced, multi-course menus.

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