The OPF. Where people come by the tens of thousands to buy local art, drink, listen to music, ride…read morerides, eat a corn dog or funnel cake... you know the typical festival happenings. For some reason, although it's no one's fault, the OPF seems to have the rainiest or hottest weather of the summer. I think the June in Maine is always a toss up. The highlight of this event is vast amount of local artisans and craftsman who sell their homemade items. I also like the kickoff event of the Shoestring Theater Puppet show at 11 am. Going early may be the best time to grab some freebies and some handcut fries... You beat the heat and the intense crowds. This year I took a LYFT ride down... ProTip. For me, this festival is OK. The prices are high, the streets are packed, parking is a s**t show, and by the end there are many highly intoxicated twenty-somethings. Maybe this would have been my jam back in the day, but unless I'm working downtown, I'm probably not going to go.

Old Port Fest is a staple event in Portland come June. In reading a variety of other reviews,…read morepeople have reflected on how it can get incredibly busy and crowded, and it certainly can, however, I appreciate what the Old Port Festival offers Portland. The Old Port Festival includes a variety of local artists, food trucks, and entertainers, so the fact that the Old Port Festival is highlighting what locals have to offer, then I am okay with the mass amounts of people that are out and about on this day. Along with the various offerings and music at Old Port Festival, there are also some restaurants with drink deals, or bars that get busy, but again, it's highlighting what Portland has to offer. I typically spend my time during the Old Port Festival at the Porthole where they also highlight local talent to play music, and they have a great outdoor deck to enjoy the weather. Overall, I appreciate what the Old Port Festival offers Portland, and I will be a supporter every year.

The Axe Pit was SO fun…read more The people working were very helpful in giving pointers on form and throwing to ensure you were safe and landed some bullseyes! I also liked the projection games-- they had a good range to choose from and they projected right onto the wooden targets. The bar/lounge was awesome too! They have a bunch of local spirits and cans to choose from and the drinks we had were very good. Overall a really fun and relaxed vibe, I'll definitely be back.

We're in town for a funeral and were looking forward to spending some time with family who are home…read morefrom the military. We made a point to plan responsibly, including having designated drivers, especially since there's a bar on location. We started the evening with a beer and lobster rolls elsewhere, then arrived at your establishment around 2000 hrs. We paid $25 per person, per hour, and ordered four drinks for our group of four. About 20 minutes later, we attempted to order another round and were told we were cut off. We respect management's right to make those decisions -- no issue there. However, what didn't sit right was that the group next to us, who appeared far more impaired, was then offered "last call" by the same manager who told us the bar was closed. That inconsistency is hard to ignore. We're more than capable of paying for a full night out, but when a group of civil servants -- including military family -- comes in to unwind responsibly and is treated this way, it's disappointing. We wish your business the best, but we won't be returning. We'll also be sharing this experience with others so they can make informed decisions when visiting from out of town. Again, thank you for your service.... And your axes are junk!

Great games and stuff for kids and cheap, also have drinks and snacks woukd definitely recommendread more

25c. Shoot em, skill, and sports games. All old school analog technology! Available food and…read morebeer, friendly staff. The perfect arcade!

Great time at Market on the Harbor. I got lucky and got a complimentary ticket to this event. So…read moremuch great food and awesome wine and beer, Black cherry soda from Eli's was so refreshing. Coffee by Design always great, wicked whoopies gave out a great little gift bag. Izzy was there from Izzy's cheesecake, the pumpkin one was my favorite. So much good food all set up in 2 huge tents, was well organized and had a good flow. Really clever revamp of the fortune cookie by Shuckie a cook that looks like a scallop shell with a message inside. I head the moose sliders were really tasty. So much fun.

This kind of event usually makes me really happy. The opportunity for the public to meet, greet,…read moretaste and connect with local chefs and makers is a wonderful thing. Last year, there was a looong line to get in leaving a whole bunch of people standing in the pouring rain, I was excited to return this year, figuring the entry process would have been tweaked and streamlined... This year, I was once again lucky enough to get a complimentary ticket to this event. It was a warm and sunny morning, no rain AND I got there early so there was little to no line. Curiously, there was also no sign or indication whatsoever that this event was taking place from the street. Anyway, as we waited, several event staffers came around checking ID's and placing wristbands. About 10 minutes before the 11am start, a woman came out to make an announcement. She whistled very loudly and let the crowd know that we needed to be in 2x2 lines for entry, otherwise we would be slowing everything down. She kind of "apologized" for her intense tone by saying she was just a "loud" person etc... It was actually kind of awful, it felt like the people waiting in line (most of whom had bought tickets), were a bunch of unruly teenagers pushing to get into the school dance for the free pizza. NOT a great way to welcome the paying public into an event. Once inside, it was easy to shake the entry experience and interact with the vendors. Some highlights: Sip of Europe-Delicious merengue/marshmallow cookies Black Tie Catering-A chicken cone and mini apple pie tacos! Linda Kate caterers-Excellent clam chowder and brownies Springdale Farm-Carrot cake cream cheese-bought a big one to take home! Leonardos-Smoked gouda pizza!!! Seacoast coffee-Thank you! The vendors were delightful and excited to share their offerings, and on that note, there was one other problem. The live music was WAY too loud! I am a person who is generally fine with loud music, but this was so loud that it was impossible to have a conversation with the vendors, which is the whole reason that people come to this event. I am a big supporter of local music and am in no way suggesting that this band was not talented or picking good songs. Often musicians on the stage can't tell how far their sound levels travel, if there is live music at all of the Harvest on the Harbor events, maybe hire a sound person? Your clients and performers will thank you! Bravo to all of the chefs and food innovators in this town! It is a gift to this city and state to have so much creative talent working to bring quality, local food to the people!

Classic in every way. They do allow well behaved dogs, and yes you can tail gate. Some people had…read moregreat set ups! There is a snack bar with a small menu. Fresh popcorn is available, and a good selection of frozen ice cream treats. Gate opens at 7:30p so you hang out until dark when the movie starts. Absolutely love this place. Friendly staff.

Once again had a fantastic time visiting our local drive-in. So glad that Maine has a handful of…read moredrive-ins still open. It's such a unique experience that I believe everyone needs to visit at some point in their life. Growing up I visited numerous drive-ins with the family and loved it. Pride's Corner is cash only including ticket purchases at the entrance and their vastly stocked concessions stand. You can buy tickets online which I recommend to make the entrance process as quick as possible. You pay per car with a price of $20 up to 2 people and only $30 for a car up til 5 with any additional being 5 per. Try and find a deal this good for a movie theater! Which mind you here that includes typically two movies, so even better! For this particular re-review my wife and I visited to see Toy Story 5, great movie! The second movie was The Mandalorian and Grogu (we did end up leaving rather than sticking around). Round up your family and/or friends for a cheap movie night under the stars!

My wife and I came to Live At Madrid's for our first event here and were impressed. It was for a…read moreconcert and despite not being the headliner we came for a local pop-punk band called Broadwing. Besides them it also featured another local Portland band called Turner (they did a fantastic cover of Zombie by The Cranberries). Then the headliner happened to a be a New York based band currently on their 10th anniversary tour called Keep Flying. Upon entering they have a great amount of space for the venue size with a large bar area as well as a handful of tables. Staff who checked our tickets and the bartenders were friendly. Speaking of the bar I would say I was actually surprised and thought the drink prices were pretty good for an event venue. My wife and I both got a gin based cocktail with mixer (shoutout to locally made Goldie's Gin by Portland Distilling Company). I had with cranberry juice and my wife with lemonade and it came to just $26. I honestly expected it to be more from an event venue. Was great to enjoy our drinks at a table and sit down before the show started. The overall setup of the venue was done well and we got to be up close to the bands which was fantastic. Didn't feel overwhelmingly crowded and acoustics sounded good so no complaints. Can't wait to check out more events/concerts at this venue! Support local music as well as local venues!

Went to an event here the other night and was super impressed! The bar is large with lots of room…read moreto grab a drink. The inside is nice and open and great for networking. They have different areas you can go to as well. The appetizers were amazing as well. Overall a great new addition to the event space in Portland with live music as well!

What a happy "accident"! We were in Freeport to pick up a…read morecouple of things and saw the Maine Oyster Festival was happening just outside of the toy store we were in. The way they have the ticketing process set up is great in that you only have to worry about money when buying the tickets. Each ticket is $3 and each oyster is 1 ticket. The unfortunate part about this system is if the place you want to try runs out...you have a $3 ticket that you may have to "settle" for using elsewhere. They had fun festival swag as well - tshirts and bags etc. Each booth had such friendly staff. Engaging and happy to talk about their product, their company and their history. Kind of like a beer festival. We were there on Saturday and by 3ish, there were a couple of booths that had run out or were running out, so get there early. They also had other vendor booths! They had Ruby on the Hill - delicious baked breads! Sweet Monkey Business - Best Shortbread cookies in Maine, IMHO, Kimchi and Empanada Club. There were not a lot of booths selling beverages - which made it tough because it was hot and pretty much fully sun exposed in the festival area. Thank goodness we found the boyscout booth! It's a smaller area, so not a ton of walking. It's all standing - no seating options. There were plenty of port-a-potty options as well. Fun festival for Oyster fans for sure!

The Maine Oyster Festival takes place in the parking lot of Freeport LLBean. It was a blast…read more trying the oysters. You buy tickets for $3 each. Each oyster is one ticket. I tried 9 different oysters and found that the Butterfield Seafare were the best. They give you plenty of condiments and it is not too much walking. The staff from each farm were eager to educate me on their oysters. The whole mood was upbeat and happy even with the rain.

The Northstar Cafe has a relaxed, local, organic, and musical atmosphere. You can find delicious…read moreorganic sandwiches there, bowls of health, and all the coffee and tea you could ever want. Sometimes I feel a bit intimidated by the extreme social awareness of the place, but I still love it. They have a great concert series too, if you enjoy accoustic sets, folk music, and female singer-songwriters. I recommend it.