Pre-Performance Lecture

Piano Masterclass with Henry Kramer

Join Cape Elizabeth native and internationally award winning pianist Henry Kramer for a morning masterclass with students in the Osher School of Music piano program. ABOUT HENRY KRAMER Praised by The Cleveland Classical Review for his “astonishingly confident technique” and The New York Times for “thrilling [and] triumphant” performances, pianist Henry Kramer is developing a reputation as … Read more

An Intro to the Celtic All-Stars

Guest speakers Ed Pearlman and Laura Scott have worked professionally as performers, organizers, and journalists with most of the “All-Stars”—some of the top Scottish, Irish, and Canadian performers working today. In this lively pre-performance talk, we will learn more about the artists on the evening’s program, exploring their history and virtuosity with fiddle, bagpipes, banjo, Gaelic song, and traditional … Read more

Drag Storytime – May 17

Join Portland Ovations and local Drag Queens for an hour of stories and art! Glamorous expert storytellers use the art of drag to read books and lead craft projects at local bookstores, libraries, and community centers around Portland. This fun, fabulous literary experience fosters learning and play, encouraging children and their caregivers to celebrate all … Read more

Drag Storytime – April 18

Join Portland Ovations and local Drag Queens for an hour of stories and art! Glamorous expert storytellers use the art of drag to read books and lead craft projects at local bookstores, libraries, and community centers around Portland. This fun, fabulous literary experience fosters learning and play, encouraging children and their caregivers to celebrate all … Read more

Drag Storytime – February 14

Join Portland Ovations and local Drag Queens for an hour of stories and art! Glamorous expert storytellers use the art of drag to read books and lead craft projects at local bookstores, libraries, and community centers around Portland. This fun, fabulous literary experience fosters learning and play, encouraging children and their caregivers to celebrate all … Read more

Wild Wild East: Musical Roots & Routes

The 1947 Partition of India and Pakistan marked a bloody end to the British Raj, displacing nearly 15 million people and fundamentally reshaping musical cultures of South Asia and its diasporas. Join ethnomusicologist Dr. Aruna Kharod to explore how cultural legacies of Partition and South Asian musical features inspire the border- and genre-defying aesthetics of Sunny Jain’s Wild … Read more

Wild Wild Western Book Club – “How Much of These Hills is Gold”

ABOUT THE BOOK CLUB Westerns may bring to mind cacti, shoot-outs, and spurs…but there’s so much more to it! Join Portland Public Library, Portland Ovations, and Back Cove Books as we read and discuss three very different westerns. Discover what’s in a western and see how this timeless genre continues to evolve. Part 1 is 12/16/25. We will discuss True … Read more

Wild Wild Western Book Club – “God’s Country”

ABOUT THE BOOK CLUB Westerns may bring to mind cacti, shoot-outs, and spurs…but there’s so much more to it! Join Portland Public Library, Portland Ovations, and Back Cove Books as we read and discuss three very different westerns. Discover what’s in a western and see how this timeless genre continues to evolve. Part 1 is 12/16/25. We will discuss True … Read more

Wild Wild Western Book Club – “True Grit”

ABOUT THE BOOK CLUB Westerns may bring to mind cacti, shoot-outs, and spurs…but there’s so much more to it! Join Portland Public Library, Portland Ovations, and Back Cove Books as we read and discuss three very different westerns. Discover what’s in a western and see how this timeless genre continues to evolve. Part 1 is 12/16/25. We will discuss True … Read more

Shadow Puppetry Workshop with Manual Cinema

Manual Cinema combines handmade shadow puppetry, cinematic techniques, and innovative sound and music to create immersive stories for stage and screen. Using vintage overhead projectors, multiple screens, puppets, actors, live feed cameras, multi-channel sound design, and live music, Manual Cinema transforms the experience of attending the cinema and imbues it with liveness, ingenuity, and theatricality. … Read more