It’s a most wonderful — and busy — time of year in central Maine, with a jam packed events calendar to prove it.
‘A Christmas Carol: Every Man Has the Power to Do Good’
Lights Up Production’s community theater is scheduled to stage “A Christmas Carol: Every Mano Has the Power to Do Good” at 7 p.m. Friday and Saturday at Skowhegan Opera House, 225 Water St., Skowhegan.
The play is an adaptation by James Hutchison and is directed by Jeralyn Shattuck.
In this expanded adaptation, Ebenezer Scrooge is more than a miser — he’s a man shaped by grief, fear and forgotten love. Alongside familiar faces like Bob Cratchit and Tiny Tim, audiences will meet Old Fezziwig, Scrooge’s cheerful mentor; his warm-hearted nephew Fred; and Belle — the love of Scrooge’s life.
When long-lost letters from his sister Fan resurface, they awaken memories that even the Ghosts of Christmas Past, Present and Yet to Come cannot ignore.
As Scrooge journeys through the shadows of his youth, the warmth of the present, and the uncertainty of what lies ahead, he’s challenged to rediscover the kindness he once knew — and the power he still holds to change.
Tickets cost $10 for adults, $5 for ages 5-12 and seniors, and is free for young children; lightsupskowhegan.org.
Hanukkah Mexicana
Chocolate Church Main Stage is where you can see Hanakkah Mexicana at 6 p.m. Saturday at 804 Washington St., Bath.
This culinary and musical event celebrates the intersection of Jewish and Mexican cultures. Listen to musical performances by local klezmer band The Casco Bay Tummlers and the all-female mariachi band of Veronica Roblés while enjoying eats inspired by “Sabor Judío: The Jewish Mexican Cookbook.”
The bands will also play together in an inspired fusion of Klezmer & Mariachi — Kleziachi. In this musical interlude, authors Ilan Stavans and Margaret Boyle will share stories and poems from “Sabor Judío.”
For more information, visit chocolatechurcharts.org.
A Motown Christmas with Pat Colwell & The Soul Sensations
Check out A Motown Christmas with Pat Colwell & The Soul Sensations at 7:30 p.m. Saturday at Johnson Hall Opera House, 280 Water St., Gardiner.
The band plans to celebrate with soulful versions of classic carols by the Temptations, Booker T. and the MG’s, the Supremes, Otis Redding and Aretha Franklin. This show features arrangements of “Silver Bells,” “Rudolph,” “The Christmas Song,” “Frosty,” “Merry Christmas Baby” and “Hey Skinny Santa,” to name just a few.
It evens features a song Pat Colwell co-wrote with Bonehead brother, Bob Colwell — “Rocking With The Blues (and My Baby On Christmas Eve)”.
Tickets cost $27.24; johnsonhall.org.
ShineOnCass Blue Christmas
ShineOnCass Blue Christmas is planned to begin at 4 p.m. Sunday at Oakland Waterfront Park, Willey Point Road, Oakland.
The event is an evening to support one another in acknowledging loss, remembering loved ones, and Shine a Light on Winter Solstice. Every year, hundreds gather to share music, blue lights, kindness and hope.
There will be music, speakers and a reading of submitted names of loved ones’ lost and the lighting of memorial blue candles.
Admission is free.
Auditions: ‘Things My Mother Taught Me’
Gaslight Theater plans to hold auditions for “Things My Mother Taught Me” at 2 p.m. Sunday and 6 p.m. Monday at Hallowell City Hall, 1 Winthrop St., Hallowell.
The play is written by Katherine DiSavino and will be directed by Linda Duarte.
Performances are scheduled at the same location at various times Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays from Feb. 13-22, 2026.
The cast will include parts for: Olivia (late 20s), Karen (her mother), Carter (her father), Gabe (late 20s), Lydia (his mother), Wyatt (his father) and Max (male or female, late 50s building super).
The comedy play is about a young couple, Olivia and Gabe, who move to Chicago for a new life but the move into their first apartment is complicated when their parents arrive to help with the move. The small apartment is filled with the love, laughter and worries of both sets of parents, who have different ideas about how Olivia and Gabe should live their lives.
The play centers on themes of family, love, generational differences, and the chaos of starting a new life while being influenced by the older generation’s wisdom and worry.
For more information, visit gaslighttheater.org or call 207-626-3698.