5 Things To Do This Weekend, Dec. 23-25: Closed for the holidays

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This will be an unsurprisingly abbreviated edition of your weekly 5 Things roundup, as Saturday and Sunday will be occupied with Christmas Eve and Day, Hannukah begins on Saturday as well, everything is closed, and there’s a good chance you’re enjoying yourself with friends and family…

… but Friday night is free! So what’s good that night? Let’s take a look.

1. Bangor. Friday night at Paddy Murphy’s local bar band institution Magnetic North plays its LAST SHOW EVER, so it’s bound to be a wild and wacky time. At Nocturnem Drafthaus it’s vinyl night, at the Sea Dog it’s Friday Night Fire with an assortment of local musicians, and at the Central Gallery there’s the rescheduled show from local rockers Marathon Man, Livid Orange and Bad Island.

2. In Portland on Friday night, Phish cover band Shut Down Brown plays with Jon King at Port City Music Hall; it’s throwback hip hop night at Empire with DJ KTF; and songwriter Libby Thompson is at One Longfellow Square; and at Portland House of Music, funk powerhouse Model Airplane celebrates the lost legends of 2016, from Bowie and Prince to Sharon Jones and Phife Dawg.

3. For kids — and parents, you know they are itching for something to do! — there are a couple of fun movie screenings, including a FREE showing of “The Polar Express” every night at Hollywood Cinemas in Bangor at 9 p.m., starting Saturday and through the following Sunday. “Zootopia” will be screened at the Grand Theatre in Ellsworth at 1 p.m. all next week; and of course, for older kids (I saw it, it’s definitely for ages 10 and up), there’s always “Star Wars: Rogue One,” in theaters everywhere. There’s also a few remaining holiday shows, like the Riff and Hal Hallelujah Experience, a song and comedy revue at 7 p.m. Friday at the Unity College Center for the Performing Arts.

4. Guys, I’m at a loss. I think that’s pretty much it. Do you have more? Post them in the comments. I hope you all have a lovely holiday weekend, and you get what you want. See you next week, when I give you the full low down on New Year’s Eve events, and we can kiss this garbage fire year goodbye!

5. There is no five. Happy holidays!

Emily Burnham

About Emily Burnham

Emily Burnham is a Maine native, UMaine graduate, proud Bangorian and a writer for the Bangor Daily News, where she's worked since 2004. She reports on everything from local bands to local food to all the cool things going on in the Greater Bangor area. In her quest for stories, she's seen countless concerts and plays, been lobster fishing, interviewed celebrities, hung out with water buffalo and played in a ukulele orchestra. She's interested in everything that happens in Maine.