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performing arts
This region’s rugged beauty and wide collection of outdoor pursuits are well-matched by the collection of performing arts events that take place throughout the year from modern and avante garde dance and equity theater to juggling in a converted barn.
While visiting here, be sure to catch a show at any of the notable theaters producing world-class productions and original works. Stop by South Paris’ Celebration Barn Theater, offering vaudeville-style entertainment and immersive theater workshops for those looking to hone their skills, or buy a show ticket for Deertrees Theatre and Cultural Center in Harrison, presenting over 40 unique productions a year in their exquisite Adirondack-style theater created by renowned theater architect Harrison G. Wiseman.
Can't miss performances
Bates dance festival
The Bates Dance Festival is dedicated to offering a transformative dance experience to all who participate. Situated in Lewiston, it hosts an international roster of artists in a collaborative and joyful community. The Festival rigorously trains established and emerging dance artists through workshops and community-oriented programs and advances the field by supporting new work.
From local youth to global professionals, the Festival convenes to create, perform, and witness vibrant and vital dance works.
Various Venues, Lewiston
celebration barn theater
Located in South Paris, Celebration Barn offers workshops and residencies for physical theater artists to hone their craft and develop their body of work.
Each year, Celebration Barn presents a series of live theatrical productions in South Paris. These shows give visitors and local audiences the opportunity to experience the magic of live performance and to celebrate artists, both established and emerging, who share their work with the public in our intimate, historic venue.
Stock Farm Road, South Paris
the public theater
Voted Maine’s “BEST THEATRE” by Down East Magazine seven years in a row, The Public Theatre, located in downtown Lewiston, brings you the most exciting contemporary plays from Broadway and beyond featuring the finest professional actors from New York to Los Angeles.
Whether you’re seeing a rollicking comedy or a searing drama, we promise you a good story, well told. A cornerstone in the cultural life of Lewiston/Auburn, each season The Public Theatre produces six to eight productions.
31 Maple Street, Lewiston
more performance venues
ways to adventure
Eat and Drink
Dining
There are great places to eat around every turn. You’ll find exactly what you’re craving; whether it’s iconic Maine lobster with drawn butter or an espresso coupled with a chocolate croissant
Arts and Culture
Museums
The cities and towns in Maine’s Lakes and Mountains, places of discovery, are home to an eclectic collection of art, cultural, science, and living history museums.
Eat and Drink
Beer Trail
With hundreds (maybe thousands) of miles of hiking, biking, and ski trails and just as many watering holes, Maine’s Lakes and Mountains has welcomed the national craft beer love affair with open arms.
arts and culture
performing arts
Discover a collection of performing arts events that take place throughout the year, from modern and avante-garde dance and equity theater to juggling in a converted barn.
Things to Do
Events
Maine’s Lakes and Mountains is filled with events year-round. Food festivals, concerts and dance, hot air balloons and tough mudders, are all here to delight and enthrall visitors.
Nature and Wildlife
birding
The forests, fields, and wetlands of Maine’s Lakes and Mountains are the ideal setting to experience the thrill of birdwatching. Many highly coveted species can be found in the area’s boreal forests, including woodpeckers and Bicknell’s Thrush.
Plan Your Trip
Maine’s Lakes and Mountains offers a variety of resources to help you plan your next visit, including an annual visitor’s guide, stand alone map, and the new Adventure Guide App.
Visitor's Guide
Our Free Visitor's Guide will help inspire your next adventure along our mountain trails, lakes, scenic byways, bustling towns and more.
Map of the Region
Companion to the Visitor Guide, our dual-sided planning map will help you find your way to adventure in every season throughout the region.
Adventure Guide App
The App will point the way to all kinds of adventures, experiences and destinations in Maine’s Lakes and Mountains with GPS location maps and alerts.