Entertainment highlights over the long Memorial Day Weekend include live music, festivals, parades, and more. Here are some details.
Cursed on Earth at WSCA
Local folk outfit Cursed on Earth will share its first full-length studio album, “Volume II,” during a vinyl release party at WSCA Portsmouth Community Radio on Saturday, May 25. Following an opening set from fellow Seacoast folksters Two Tined Fork, Cursed will take the Button Factory Stage to perform some of their 10 new songs. The show takes place from 7-10 p.m.; tickets are $7-$10. Copies of the record will be available for purchase and autographs. Learn more here.
Wentworth-Coolidge Lilac Fest
Lilac season officially begins on Saturday, May 25, when the Wentworth-Coolidge Mansion in Portsmouth hosts its annual Lilac Festival. There will be free tours of the historic mansion, guided walks on the Little Harbor Trail, a new Plein Air Painting Exhibit featuring several artists, a silent auction, and a scavenger hunt for kids. And, of course, the lilacs will be in bloom and available for purchase. It all takes place from 10 a.m.-2 p.m. For more information, click here.
Portsmouth Memorial Day 5K
The 22nd annual Memorial Day 5K takes off from Cisco Brewers at Pease Tradeport in Portsmouth on Sunday, May 26, at 11 a.m. Presented by Runner’s Alley, the event typically attracts about 2,000 runners and walkers who enjoy a fast, flat course, a post-race feast, and free beer. There will also be live music and a kids fun run. All proceeds go to the Krempels Center, a nonprofit that supports people with brain injuries. For more information, click here.
Origami Ghosts at Book & Bar
Seattle-based anti-folk trio Origami Ghosts is in the midst of a massive North American tour in support of their forthcoming album, “Healthy Travel Potions.” One of the three-dozen or so stops on that tour is at Portsmouth Book and Bar on Sunday, May 26, from 8-11 p.m., when they’ll share some of their punky pop tunes. Joining them for the occasion are local acts Almanac Mountain and No Rotation. The door charge is $5. For more information, click here.
Memorial Day Parades
Portsmouth’s Memorial Day commemorations begin with a laying of flowers in Prescott Park on Friday, May 24, at 10 a.m. The city holds its annual Memorial Day Parade on Monday, May 27, leaving from the Parrott Avenue parking lot at 1 p.m. and concluding with a ceremony at South Street Cemetery. Across the bridge, Kittery’s Memorial Day Parade is on Saturday, May 25, at 9 a.m., starting at the old fire station and ending at the Orchard Grove Cemetery.
For a complete calendar of local events, click here.