Events at this location

Our ballroom transforms into a jazz sanctuary with Vardan Ovsepian and his unforgettable Spiderweb Project:

“Vardan Ovsepian’s Spiderweb Project emphasizes the choices and actions we make, sending vibrations through the wider web, affecting others, and shaping our own reality. What you weave today becomes the foundation for your life tomorrow.”

Ovsepian blends classical refinement with fearless jazz improvisation, weaving melodies that ripple outward like a living web. The artist is joined by Vinicius Gomes (guitar), Joshua Davis (bass), and Austin McMahon (drums).

Peter Erskine writes, “Vardan brings his own sound and ingredients… I have never heard any musician quite like him in terms of harmonic awareness and melodic power. I suspect that he will prove to be quite a sensation…”

Presented by Mechanics’ Hall, the Armenian Cultural Association of Maine, & the Portland Conservatory of Music.

LEARN MORE & GET TICKETS HERE

Thursday, April 2 at 7:00 PM (doors 6:30 PM). $15 for Mechanics’ Hall Members, $20 for general admission. There is a $5 surcharge on the day of the show. No one turned away for lack of funds.

Yeehaw! Community icon Robyn Nicole (yep, of Queer Makers’ Market fame) is taking over the Hall with three drop-in line-dancing sessions. You’re absolutely invited for zero pressure, maximum silliness, and a sweet little reset with new friends.

This line dance class is geared toward absolute beginners in line dance, people who haven’t danced since they were six, and people who are nervous to dance now that they are adults. Participants need no prior dance education or special attire, just an open mind and a willingness to be gentle with themselves while they learn something new. This class is open to all ages and abilities (listener discretion may be advised based on some music choices).

LEARN MORE & GET TICKETS HERE

$7 member, $10 general admission

No one turned away for lack of funds at the door

Join us in the 2nd Floor Library at Mechanics’ Hall on Thursday, April 9 from 6:00 – 7:30 PM. We look forward to seeing you there!

Our Annual Meeting is a celebration of Mechanics’ Hall for members, featuring updates, crafting, and the chance to mingle (and, of course, check out some great books)!

LEARN MORE & REGISTER HERE

POETS, MUSICIANS, ARTISTS, CRAFTERS, JAMMERS, DANCERS, MAKERS, INNOVATORS OF ALL AGES & CREATIVE VARIATIONS . . .

Join us for an evening of experimenting & on-the-spot creation. Share what you’re working on or about your creative process and be in sweet community with inspiring local creatives.

Hosted By Marco Soulo + Signature MiMi

3rd Wednesdays of the month, 6:00 – 9:00 PM. No registration required,

Learn more and sign up for an open mic slot here.

Dancing Home explores themes of heritage, belonging, displacement, and resilience through the lens of dance. At the heart of this program is Kareem Roustom’s ḥawwāsh, commissioned by Palaver in 2024.

Inspired by the ḥawwāsh, or lead dancer of a traditional dabke dance, this piece features fluid rotating leadership and virtuosic solos for every instrument. This program also features Argentinian tango, Syrian folk melodies, Croatian round dances, and custom arrangements by Palaver musicians Maya French and Lysander Jaffe. Dancing Home celebrates social dance as a meeting place for tradition and innovation, and a vehicle for building resilience, joy, and trust.

LEARN MORE & GET TICKETS HERE

$15 member, $20 general admission, $35 reserved seating. There is a $5 surcharge on the day of the show.

In celebration of National Library Week’s theme of Find Your Joy, the Mechanics’ Hall library will be open late.

If you’re not able to visit the library during our regular operating hours, this is your chance to lounge amongst fellow readers and bask in the collection of books. Join us for light snacks, tea, and more:

• Find your voice and read aloud a poem or passage from one of your favorite books.
• There will be raffle giveaways! Stop by for a chance to win gift certificates to local businesses, books, needlework, and a handmade quilted pillow!
• Find a book from the Maker’s collection to read about a new craft or delve further into one you already practice. Bring your project to work on if you like.
• Find some joy from a book in our collection of Portland and Maine history, biographies, fiction and non-fiction. Or bring your own book to read.
• Bring a friend or two and select from our board games to challenge each other with Scrabble, cribbage or cards.
• Work on a crossword puzzle while sipping tea and relaxing in the library. We’ll supply some puzzles to challenge you.
• If you’re a new member drop in and pick up your library card.

LEARN MORE & REGISTER HERE

Registration is encouraged, but not required. Free to the public.

Start your day with a morning figure drawing session in the sunlit grand ballroom of Mechanics’ Hall.

Enjoy live music while savoring [free] tea, snacks, and Tandem coffee. Bring your materials, or borrow from our supplies. Violinist Essi will play music for us.

Whether you’re a seasoned artist or a beginner, embrace the joy of drawing a live model in a vibrant community. All are welcome.

LEARN MORE & REGISTER HERE

The drawing session begins at 11:00 AM, and doors open at 10:45 AM.

Tickets are on a sliding scale; please pay what you can afford. No one turned away for lack of funds.

A cozy concert in a library ft original music by singer-songwriter Katherine Perkins with her band of Maine musicians

Join us at Mechanic’s Hall for a dynamic evening of original music by Bar Harbor-based singer/songwriter Katherine Perkins.

Somewhere at the fringes of Americana and Indie Roots music, there are glimmers of early Bonnie Raitt and Lucinda Williams in Perkins’ songwriting, glances of Aldous Harding and Laura Marling, and a little Tom Waits in his smoky barroom years.

The band, made up of seasoned Maine musicians –– Rebecca Lasaponaro, drums; Jonathan Henderson, bass; Ryan Blotnick, guitar; Danny Fisher-Lochhead, alto sax –– grounds the music with deep, rich grooves and lush instrumentation.

LEARN MORE & GET TICKETS HERE

ABOUT THE SERIES

Inspired by a certain well-known desk-based concert series, the Mechanics’ Hall Tiny Circulation Desk brings the same stripped-down, close-up energy, with more library cards and fewer office supplies.

Equal parts cozy hangout and low-key listening room, this weeknight series transforms the Mechanics’ Hall Library into one of Portland’s most intimate and unexpected music venues.

Filmed by the Portland Media Center, each concert feels like a live demo, a secret show, and a community gathering all at once. Tea and libations provided.

Join the Maine College of Art & Design’s Student Life, Animation & Game Art Department, and Mechanics’ Hall for the Third Annual Animation & Film Festival!

Guests will watch the submissions, participate in live-voting, and applaud the award winners! Featuring original submissions from Maine College of Art & Design students from across the College and including 2D and 3D animation, experimental live-action, animatics, stop motion animation, video game playthroughs, and more!

Films will be judged by a jury of MECA&D alums in a variety of categories. Audience members will also have an opportunity to vote for their favorite film with the People’s Choice Award!

LEARN MORE & REGISTER HERE

$5 for students and $15 for general admission

Start your morning with a workout and incredible live music in a soaring 19th century Ballroom

Join Mechanics’ Hall and Club Pilates for a truly special Pilates event.

Move through a beautiful mat Pilates class while a live pianist performs on a baby grand, creating an atmosphere that is both energizing and serene.

Surrounded by the historic charm of this iconic space, you’ll enjoy natural light pouring into the grand ballroom as music fills the room and guides your movement. This unique experience blends the strength and flow of Pilates with the elegance of live performance.

Have you ever worked out to live music? Now is your chance!

Whether you’re a seasoned Pilates lover or simply looking for a memorable wellness experience, this class offers the perfect combination of movement, music, and atmosphere.

LEARN MORE & GET TICKETS HERE

$20 member, $25 general admission

A monthly gathering in our library to discuss books and big ideas. This May, we’re reading “The Vanishing Half” by Brit Bennett.

The Mechanics’ Hall Book Discussion group meets to chat about books by exceptional thinkers and artists.

Everyone is welcome, and ongoing attendance is not required. The group is free for Mechanics’ Hall Members.

Curious about the group but not a Mechanics’ Hall member? You’re invited to stop by! If you like what you hear, consider becoming a member.

LEARN MORE & REGISTER HERE

Yeehaw! Community icon Robyn Nicole (yep, of Queer Makers’ Market fame) is taking over the Hall with three drop-in line-dancing sessions. You’re absolutely invited for zero pressure, maximum silliness, and a sweet little reset with new friends.

This line dance class is geared toward absolute beginners in line dance, people who haven’t danced since they were six, and people who are nervous to dance now that they are adults. Participants need no prior dance education or special attire, just an open mind and a willingness to be gentle with themselves while they learn something new. This class is open to all ages and abilities (listener discretion may be advised based on some music choices).

LEARN MORE & GET TICKETS HERE

$7 member, $10 general admission

No one turned away for lack of funds at the door

Dancer/choreographer/community organizer Jay Carlon and composer/sound artist/vocalist Micaela Tobin bring people together in their iterative performance practice known as TALAGA. This intimate and relaxed gathering combines performance, conversation, and food in the spirit of sharing and learning about unique cultural perspectives and lived experiences. Each iteration of TALAGA is tailored to our present moment and is a platform for the collaborating artists’ research and respective practices of experimental movement, music, and decolonization. The most recent recipient of the Ellis-Beauregard Foundation’s Choreographer Award, Carlon’s work facilitates shared healing and the exploration of post-colonial identity, ancestry, and the complex queer and Filipinx experience in relationship to site and space.

LEARN MORE & GET TICKETS HERE

All Roads Portland is a two-day festival & showcase of national and Maine music talent across multiple independent venues in and around Portland’s Arts District. All Roads’ mission is to provide local artists the opportunity to connect with first-class touring talent on their home turf, while celebrating the independent stages of Portland, Maine.

LEARN MORE HERE

All Roads Portland is a two-day festival & showcase of national and Maine music talent across multiple independent venues in and around Portland’s Arts District. All Roads’ mission is to provide local artists the opportunity to connect with first-class touring talent on their home turf, while celebrating the independent stages of Portland, Maine.

LEARN MORE HERE

POETS, MUSICIANS, ARTISTS, CRAFTERS, JAMMERS, DANCERS, MAKERS, INNOVATORS OF ALL AGES & CREATIVE VARIATIONS . . .

Join us for an evening of experimenting & on-the-spot creation. Share what you’re working on or about your creative process and be in sweet community with inspiring local creatives.

Hosted By Marco Soulo + Signature MiMi

3rd Wednesdays of the month, 6:00 – 9:00 PM. No registration required,

Learn more and sign up for an open mic slot here.

Montreal-based artist Thanya Iyer is an enigmatic songwriter whose sparkling, experimental pop music embraces mindfulness, aesthetic beauty, and the interconnectedness of all things.

For this special show in the Mechanics’ Hall Library, she brings songs from her new album TIDE/TIED and new unreleased works in a genre-bending performance that is a sonic embrace of transformation and collective care.

With washes of jazz-inflected pop and ensemble ambience courtesy of Pompey’s adventurous multi-instrumentalism on guitar and clarinet, and the celestial harp, flute, and voice of Emilie Kahn, Thanya Iyer builds a layered musical world that Pitchfork described as “a lucid daydream that’s constantly melting at its edges and hailed by the New York Times as “a haven of wellness.”

Portland-based artist Kafari will open the evening with a short set. Kafari explores the worlds of piano, beats, and rhythm bones with ethereal music that brings you to a dream state.

LEARN MORE & GET TICKETS HERE

$20 member, $25 general admission, no one turned away for lack of funds at the door. $5 surcharge on the day of the show.

Join little house dance for their 7th Creation Lab! Each Lab brings a different energy and a unique cohort of movers and artists together. Through daily class, improvisation labs, repertoire, and movement prompts, spend the week engaging in different components of the little house creative process and arrive somewhere new. Over the course of the week, participants build a movement score together and offer an open studio sharing on the final day that is open to the public.

LEARN MORE & SIGN UP HERE

Yeehaw! Community icon Robyn Nicole (yep, of Queer Makers’ Market fame) is taking over the Hall with three drop-in line-dancing sessions. You’re absolutely invited for zero pressure, maximum silliness, and a sweet little reset with new friends.

This line dance class is geared toward absolute beginners in line dance, people who haven’t danced since they were six, and people who are nervous to dance now that they are adults. Participants need no prior dance education or special attire, just an open mind and a willingness to be gentle with themselves while they learn something new. This class is open to all ages and abilities (listener discretion may be advised based on some music choices).

LEARN MORE & GET TICKETS HERE

$7 member, $10 general admission

No one turned away for lack of funds at the door

Choro Louco performs the enormously appealing Brazilian music genre known as choro. The band was formed in 2013 by a group of accomplished musicians who have all established themselves as virtuosos in other genres – ranging from classical music and jazz, to Celtic, klezmer, and Middle Eastern music. They love sharing their enthusiasm for this wonderful music genre.

The band members are Carl Dimow (guitar, flute, bass flute), Nicole Rabata (flute), David Newsam (7-string guitar, mandolin) and Eric LaPerna (pandeiro, bongos).

Choro originated in Brazil in the early 20th century. Its beautiful melodies, complex harmonies, and syncopated rhythms combine elements from many styles of music: European folk and classical; ragtime; jazz; Latin; and African music – creating a mix that is uniquely Brazilian and has wide appeal. Choro is experiencing a resurgence of popularity, both in Brazil and with bands throughout the world.

LEARN MORE & GET TICKETS HERE

$20 member, $25 general admission, no one turned away for lack of funds at the door

Split My Soul is a riveting dance-theater production that explores the conflict and integration between seven complex characters: The People’s Jester, Lady Martyre, Fizzy Head, Mystery Man, Twisted Mistress, The Kid, and Your Inevitable Death.

These characters work with and against one another, exposing their inner stories and perils as they navigate locally crafted set pieces such as stairs, textural walls, and a plethora of ropes.

Set to an original score by renowned composer Michael Wall, Split My Soul provides a cathartic visual and sonic experience to unpack mental health challenges and scenarios.

Steil believes the theatrical embodiment of internal characters and archetypes can help heal relationships, build empathy for the attributes and tendencies of ourselves and others, and shift perspectives towards the people and stories of our lives.

LEARN MORE & GET TICKETS HERE

$20 member, $25 general admission, $35 reserved seating. There is a $5 surcharge on the day of the show. 

POETS, MUSICIANS, ARTISTS, CRAFTERS, JAMMERS, DANCERS, MAKERS, INNOVATORS OF ALL AGES & CREATIVE VARIATIONS . . .

Join us for an evening of experimenting & on-the-spot creation. Share what you’re working on or about your creative process and be in sweet community with inspiring local creatives.

Hosted By Marco Soulo + Signature MiMi

3rd Wednesdays of the month, 6:00 – 9:00 PM. No registration required,

Learn more and sign up for an open mic slot here.