Outdoor things to do this weekend

If you don’t plan on playing outdoors this weekend, shame on you. A bunch of outdoor events are going on, and the weather looks like it’s going to be pretty nice (sunny, a bit chillier than now and with a chance of showers on Saturday). To help you make a good decision about how you spend your time this weekend, I’m going to make a few suggestions.

1. Embrace a starlit event at the Maine Starlight Festival or Acadia Night Sky Festival. If you’ve got a date this weekend to go to the movies, scratch that. Go gaze at the cosmos at a star party on the beach or on the top of Cadillac Mountain instead. Trust me. And for families, many of the festival events are family-friendly, and a lot of activities are aimed towards children. Check out this blog with an extensive list of events: http://actoutwithaislinn.bangordailynews.com/2012/09/12/recreation/maine-starlight-festival-an-astronomical-weekend-of-events/

Photo by Aislinn Sarnacki. A razorbill flies over Petit Manan island, a national wildlife refuge and the home of Maine’s second tallest lighthouse, on June 6, 2012.

2. Explore one of Maine’s many lighthouses. These historic landmarks, perched on the rocky coastline, are both fascinating and romantic. And many of these lighthouses will be open for visitors on Saturday because it’s Open Lighthouse Day! So say it rains on Saturday … go check out a lighthouse! It’ll be fun, anyway. Here’s a link with a list of participating lighthouses: http://www.visitmaine.com/attractions/sightseeing_tours/lighthouse/lighthouse-day/  

Photo by Aislinn Sarnacki. Mount Katahdin as seen from Chimney Pond on Aug. 14, 2011. Katahdin is the end of the Appalachian Trail.

3. Check out the Trails End Festival in Millinocket, Sept. 14-16, because this year “it’s gonna be bigger!” according to their website. Consider attending if you want to learn about the AT, you support thru-hikers, you enjoy local musicians, you like chili (chili cook off), you get excited about parades, you’re interested in tracking animals, you want to try a moonlight kayak, you participate in pub crawls or you want to go canoeing on the beautiful Millinocket Stream. Yeah. All these things are happening at this festival. You’ll be busy. Check out the schedule of activities at http://www.trailsendfestival.org/.

And those are just a few ideas. Really, there’s a lot going on. Get outside and enjoy the end of summer weather with the family, friends, a date or just go alone and meet some people in your community!

 

Aislinn Sarnacki

About Aislinn Sarnacki

Aislinn is a Bangor Daily News reporter for the Outdoors pages, focusing on outdoor recreation and Maine wildlife. Visit her main blog at actoutwithaislinn.bangordailynews.com.