Weekend Events: Rabelais Book Sale & Maple’s Grand Opening

Here are a couple additional items for this weekend’s event calendar:

  • Wine Maniac Book SigningLayne Witherell will be at Rabelais today, 3 – 4:30 pm to sign copies of his book Wine Maniac: Life in the Wine Biz.
  • 2nd Annual Sidewalk Book Sale – Rabelais is holding their annual sidewalk book sale on Sunday, 11 – 3 pm. Hundreds of books will be priced at $1, $3 or $5 and all other books are 10% off. For bookish food fans this is a must-attend event.
  • Maple’s Grand OpeningMaple’s Organics is having a Grand Opening at their new location in South Portland on Sunday, 1 – 5 pm. According to the press release, “There will be live music, prizes and fun for the kids, and plenty of gelato samples going around.”

A Pair of Festivals

Today’s Food & Dining section in the Portland Press Herald includes a feature article about the Greek Festival,

Maria Economos held court at the stove in the parish hall of Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Church, a pan of hot canola oil awaiting her next piece of delicate pastry dough.

“You’ve got to have the knack, and I do,” insisted the 87-year-old Economos as she surveyed the kitchen table behind her and fastidiously hand-picked the next square of dough to fry. “I’ve been doing this since I was 13 years old.”

and an article about the Vegetarian and Vegan Food Festival which is also taking place this weekend.

“There are plenty of opportunities for people to get their feet wet if they’re thinking about a plant-based diet,” said Beth Gallie, the co-chair of this year’s event. “One thing that makes us happy is people who come who aren’t vegetarians but who want to add meatless meals to their diet.”

Now in its sixth year, the free festival serves up oodles of food samples, a roster of speakers and a host of vegetarian-focused organizations.

Greek Heritage Festival

The Tuesday Portland Daily Sun includes a pair of articles about the Greek Heritage Festival that kicks off on Thursday this week.

There were dozens of mothers and daughters in the kitchen at Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Church this past week: measuring out flour, stuffing dates and sprinkling confectioner’s sugar. The recipes that once fed families of ten have been scaled up to feed ten thousand. Going into its 28th year, the Greek Food Festival is three days of Hellenic hospitality under a big top tent at the corner of Pleasant Street and Park Street, just around the corner from the art museum.

A Very Busy Week of Events

Monday — the Monday Farmers Market is taking place in Monument Square.
Tuesday — Susan Hecht from FG. Scheider & Sohn will be at Novare Res for “an evening of stellar wheat beer and radish peeling”.
Wednesday — the midweek Farmers Market is taking place in Monument Square and a Wine Wise class at The Wine Bar.
Thursday — opening day of the Greek Heritage Festival, Vignola’s Escape to Spain tasting of 25 Spanish wines, wine tastings at Browne Trading and Black Cherry Provisions, the monthly Thursday Night Throwdown latte art competition at Bard Coffee, a wine and cheese tasting at the Public Market House and a summer beer showcase at The Great Lost Bear.
Friday — the second day of the Greek Heritage Festival, a showing of the movie Beer Wars and a Spanish wine tasting at Rosemont Market on Brighton Ave.
Saturday — the weekend Farmers Market is taking place in Deering Oaks Park, the last day of the Greek Heritage Festival, a wine tasting at Scarborough Wine Outlet, the annual StrawberryFest in Cape Elizabeth, the 2nd Annual LobsterFest and the 6th Annual Vegetarian Food Festival.
Sunday — the 5th Annual Taste of the Nation and a Wine Wise program in Portland Harbor aboard the Casablanca.
For more information on these and other upcoming food happenings in the area, visit the event calendar.
If you are holding a food event this week that’s not listed above, publicize it by adding it as a comment to this post.

This Week's Events

Monday — the Monday Farmers Market is taking place in Monument Square.
Tuesday — a French Wine Dinner at Bar Lola.
Wednesday — the midweek Farmers Market is taking place in Monument Square and there will be a wine tasting at Old Port Wine Merchants, a beer tasting at the West End Deli, and a Wine Wise class at The Wine Bar.
Thursday — Rabelais is hosting a book signing with “artisanal food rock stars” Frank Falcinelli and Frank Castronovo, Leavitt & Sons is holding a wine tasting and there will be an Allagash beer showcase at The Great Lost Bear.
Saturday — the weekend Farmers Market is taking place in Deering Oaks Park, and bartender John Myers is leading a Historic Portland walking tour with “multiple stops for adult refreshment” along the way.
Sunday — both Evangeline and Five Fifty-Five are serving Father’s Day beer dinners.
For more information on these and other upcoming food happenings in the area, visit the event calendar.
If you are holding a food event this week that’s not listed above, publicize it by adding it as a comment to this post.

This Week’s Events

Monday — the Monday Farmers Market is taking place in Monument Square.

Tuesday — a French Wine Dinner at Bar Lola.

Wednesday — the midweek Farmers Market is taking place in Monument Square and there will be a wine tasting at Old Port Wine Merchants, a beer tasting at the West End Deli, and a Wine Wise class at The Wine Bar.

Thursday — Rabelais is hosting a book signing with “artisanal food rock stars” Frank Falcinelli and Frank Castronovo, Leavitt & Sons is holding a wine tasting and there will be an Allagash beer showcase at The Great Lost Bear.

Saturday — the weekend Farmers Market is taking place in Deering Oaks Park, and bartender John Myers is leading a Historic Portland walking tour with “multiple stops for adult refreshment” along the way.

Sunday — both Evangeline and Five Fifty-Five are serving Father’s Day beer dinners.

For more information on these and other upcoming food happenings in the area, visit the event calendar.

If you are holding a food event this week that’s not listed above, publicize it by adding it as a comment to this post.

This Week's Events

Monday — the Monday Farmers Market is taking place in Monument Square.
Wednesday — the midweek Farmers Market is taking place in Monument Square and there will be a wine tasting at RSVP.
Thursday — Jerry Knecht from North Atlantic Seafood will give a lecture titled The Meaning of Sustainable: Seafood Business for the 21st Century as part of the GMRI Sea State 5.0 lecture series.
Friday — a tasting of Portuguese wines is taking place at Rosemont on Congress Street.
Saturday — the Bayside World Market and Fair; the weekend Farmers Market is taking place in Deering Oaks Park; a tasting of Portuguese wines is taking place at Rosemont on Brighton.
Sunday — the 37th Annual Old Port Festival; a group of Portland chefs will be at Rippling Waters Farm for the The Gourmet Garden Crawl.
For more information on these and other upcoming food happenings in the area, visit the event calendar.
If you are holding a food event this week that’s not listed above, publicize it by adding it as a comment to this post.

This Week’s Events

Monday — the Monday Farmers Market is taking place in Monument Square.

Wednesday — the midweek Farmers Market is taking place in Monument Square and there will be a wine tasting at RSVP.

Thursday — Jerry Knecht from North Atlantic Seafood will give a lecture titled The Meaning of Sustainable: Seafood Business for the 21st Century as part of the GMRI Sea State 5.0 lecture series.

Friday — a tasting of Portuguese wines is taking place at Rosemont on Congress Street.

Saturday — the Bayside World Market and Fair; the weekend Farmers Market is taking place in Deering Oaks Park; a tasting of Portuguese wines is taking place at Rosemont on Brighton.

Sunday — the 37th Annual Old Port Festival; a group of Portland chefs will be at Rippling Waters Farm for the The Gourmet Garden Crawl.

For more information on these and other upcoming food happenings in the area, visit the event calendar.

If you are holding a food event this week that’s not listed above, publicize it by adding it as a comment to this post.