Download the schedule of events.
Visitors will enjoy festive events and activities throughout the weekend. In celebration of their 100th anniversary, L.L.Bean lights up the skies with a Musical Holiday Light Show featuring music and choreographed colored lights with a different show each hour, five times a night, on the hour from 6-10pm on the L.L.Bean campus. Once the Talking Tree on Main Street is brought to life, children delight in asking the Tree questions and hearing the unique responses. Jump on to a horse drawn carriage for a tour of the village starting in front of the L.L.Bean Flagship Store on Main Street. Children can play in the Crooked Playhouse Village and the whole family will enjoy taking photos in front of whimsical backdrops at L.L.Bean.
In addition to ongoing events, the weekend is studded with highlights. On Friday, December 7, the Sparkle Parade of Lights, sponsored by L.L.Bean and Coffee by Design takes to the streets at 6pm with floats, music, costumed characters, and more. Watch for Santa as he arrives on his holiday Yacht and brings the famous talking Christmas tree to life! Enjoy free hot cocoa courtesy of the Applewood Inn and Girl Scout Troop 1976! (Route starts at Mallet & Main St, proceeds South on Main St. and ends at Grove St.) Later, enjoy the Sounds of the Season with the Midcoast Symphony Strings at the L.L.Bean Flagship Store from 6-8pm.
Saturday, December 8 is filled with events sure to inspire your holiday spirit. Come to shop and have fun with the whole family. The lineup includes:
9am – 9pm – Holiday Pop-Up Lounge and YES Art Works Sale at Frosty’s Donuts
11am – 3pm – Children’s Book Signings. L.L.Bean Flagship Store
Dahlov Ipcar, 10-12
John Ford, 10 – 1
Lynn Plourde, 11 – 2
11:30am & 2pm – Holiday Caroling by the Choral Art Society on the L.L.Bean campus
Noon to 8:30pm – FREE Holiday Movie Marathon at Freeport Factory Stage – 5 Depot St. Please bring a can of food or a dollar or two to donate to Freeport Community Services Food Pantry. Sponsored by Ben & Jerry’s Ice Cream and Bath Savings Institution.
Show times:
12pm – The Polar Express
1:55pm – The Grinch Who Stole Christmas
2:30pm – The Muppet Christmas Carol
4:05pm – A Charlie Brown Christmas
4:45pm – Elf
7pm – Bad Santa (This event is for adults 18 and older.)
2pm & 3pm –Enjoy a FREE reading of the Polar Express aboard Amtrak’s Downeaster (at the Train Platform, 23 Depot Street). Attendees will enjoy free hot cocoa and peppermint sticks while enjoying this Christmas classic! Psst – Santa loves to ride the train – keep an eye out for a guest appearance. Seating is limited. Please bring a can of food or a dollar or two to donate to Freeport Community Services Food Pantry. Sponsored by the Hilton Garden Inn and Hampton Inn
2pm – Holiday Ornaments with Julie Yeo. Children can create delightful ornaments with a Maine artist. L.L.Bean Flagship Store, Children’s Department
2pm to 3pm – The worldwide Tuba Christmas Concert celebrates those who play, teach, and compose music for instruments in the tuba family. Find it at the Freeport Performing Arts Center on Holbrook Street.
On Sunday, December 9 the weekend continues with a variety of family-friendly events. At 1pm, enjoy an old classic in a new way with the Odd Company’s presentation of A Christmas Carol. The shortened version is performed by Maine’s premier physical comedy actors and filled with lively music and entertainment. Then, from 2pm to 4pm, get your list ready and stop by for a visit with Santa at Wilbur’s of Maine Candy Shoppe at 174 Main Street.
Sparkle Weekend is presented by FreeportUSA and generously supported by member businesses, including these sponsors: L.L.Bean, Coffee by Design, Davey Tree, Bath Savings Institution, Amtrak Downeaster, the Hilton Garden Inn, the Hampton Inn, Linda Bean’s Maine Kitchen, Ben & Jerry’s, Freeport Village Station, Brown Goldsmith, and Tommy Hilfiger, Freeport Performing Arts Center.
Find Freeport in the Yankee Magazine Best of New England 2011 issue
