1. Sunshine, lollipops and rainbows, all weekend, people! It’s shaping up to be a gorgeous few days with lots of fun things to do, so let’s get right into it. It’s LGBT Pride week here in Bangor, and while there’s been fun stuff all week, Friday night brings an art show at 58 Main in downtown Bangor, and the pride drag show at 9 p.m. at Eastport Hall out at the UMA-Bangor campus. Also on Friday night, the first River City Cinema Pickering Square outdoor screening is set for sundown, with the romantic comedy classic “Pillow Talk,” and starting at 7 p.m., there’s a triple bill of rock with Def Leppard, REO Speedwagon and Tesla at the Darling’s Waterfront Pavilion. Later that night, enjoy either Between Dead Stations at Paddy Murphy’s, Shawn Mercer at Nocturnem Drafthaus, or the Mainely Country Band up at the Boomhouse in Old Town. On Saturday, pride continues with the pride parade at 11 a.m., the pride festival from noon to 4 p.m. in West Market Square, and dancing and fun at both Nocturnem and Paddy’s all evening long. Also on Saturday are two roller derby matches, with Bangor Roller Derby taking on the Moonshine Maidens at 3 p.m. at Skehan Recreation Center in Hampden, and Central Maine Roller Derby hosting the Northwood Knockouts and the Bay State Brawlers starting at 5 p.m. at the Cross Insurance Center. In the evening, rockers Los Lonely Boys are at the Gracie Theatre at Husson University, local rockers They Called Me Legion and Buddusky are at the Central Gallery, the Juke Rockets Blues Band is at Nocturnem, Chris Ross and the North are at the Downunder Club at Seasons Restaurant, and Stesha Cano is at the Sea Dog. On Sunday, intimate music venue 58 Main in downtown hosts a special record release from folk duo The Lowest Pair at 7 p.m.

2. There are four fantastically diverse shows in Portland Friday night, all of which are equally worth your time. The State Theatre hosts metal bands Sleep and Windhand, Portland House of Music hosts two excellent local rock and soul acts with Armies (pictured above) and Zach Jones, the Space Gallery hosts experimental composer Jimmy Do Right and the Pop Go Boom, with opening act Woodpainting, and One Longfellow Square hosts the charming throwback act Miss Tess and the Talkbacks. On Saturday, guitarist Tommy Emmanuel and Richard Smith are at the State Theatre, roots acts Delta Rae and Jocelyn and Christ Arndt are at Port City Music Hall, Muddy Ruckus plays a CD release show with Tigerman Woah at Portland House of Music, there’s a triple bill of punk rock at Bayside Bowl with Nuclear Bootz, Beggers and Bumbling Woohas, there’s songwriter Justin Nozuka at One Longfellow, and at St. Lawrence Arts, there’s Magic 8 Ball, a Bob Dylan tribute show celebrating the legend’s 75th birthday.

3. For your coastal round up, let’s start on Friday on the midcoast, when The Pinwheel Brothers perform at Rock City Coffee in Rockland. On Saturday, rockers Tune Squad are at the Speakeasy, also in Rockland, and singer Lindsay Mower is at Rock City. On Sunday, relax with some reggae with Ezra Rugg at Three Tides in Belfast. Meanwhile, in and around Mt. Desert Island, on Friday Portland indie folk duo Snaex is at the Lompoc, folk duo Haze & Dacey are at the Thirsty Whale, and Celtic fiddler Gus LaCasse is at Coda Restaurant. On Saturday, the Lompoc hosts a showcase from Portland record label Pretty Purgatory.

CMCA photo by Jim Dugan

4. It’s truly an incredible weekend for the arts in Maine. Where to start? Portland this week and weekend hosts the fifth annual PortFringe, a dazzling array of alternative and independent theatre and comedy in locations all over town, including Portland Stage, Empire, Geno’s Rock Club and more. In Bangor on Saturday, it’s R.B. Hall Day, a yearly celebration of Maine’s many community bands, featuring a free day-long concert at Peakes Auditorium at Bangor High School. Out in western Maine, Saturday is also the day for Kingfield Pops, where the Bangor Symphony Orchestra pairs with Maine acts including the Mallett Brothers Band, David Mallett, the Fogcutters Big Band and the Ghost of Paul Revere. On Sunday, there’s the public grand opening of the brand new Center for Maine Contemporary Art in Rockland, set for 2 p.m., and in Bar Harbor, the fourth annual Acadia Trad Fest kicks off at 7 p.m. at College of the Atlantic, with a showcase of Celtic and traditional musicians.

5. It’s also an incredible weekend for food in Maine. There’s an embarrassment of tasty riches Friday and Saturday at the annual Greek Festival at Holy Trinity Church in Portland — look at this list of delicious Greek treats. I want all of that. It’s also peak strawberry season here in Maine, which means there are several different Strawberry Festivals this weekend, including South Berwick, Corinth, Stillwater and likely others. And on Saturday, Dover-Foxcroft hosts its annual Whoopie Pie Festival, a hotly anticipated day of every type of whoopie pie imaginable. So much yum.