Past Programs and Events

Sunday, December 14 2025
1:30–3:30 PM

Please join hosts Anna Wrobel and Jim Donnelly for a cozy winter afternoon of poetry, prose, and song at the Maine Jewish Museum.

Our featured poets, Alice Persons and Kevin Sweeney, will share a joint reading, followed by an Open Poetry Hour.

Sunday, December 7 2025
2:00 pm – 3:30 pm

Come celebrate Hanukkah as we officially welcome a beautiful new menorah to our sculpture garden — inspired by the beloved story Zlateh the Goat and hand-carved by Downeast artist Aaron Margolis. Kids will enjoy a cozy storytime, Hanukkah crafts, games, and tasty treats, while families soak up the holiday lights and garden magic.

Thank you to our co-sponsor

Saturday, December 6 2025
6:00 pm

Hockey, history, and a heaping dose of Maine spirit — let’s go, Mariners!

Join the Maine Jewish Museum as we cheer on the Maine Mariners when they face off against the Adirondack Thunder. We’ll be posted up at our very own MJM table, handing out exclusive Museum swag (a little something to remember the night by) and soaking in all that chilly, rink-side energy.

Sunday, November 30, 2025
4:00 pm – 5:00 pm

Dr. Aaron Rosen, Executive Director of The Clemente Course in the Humanities and Founder/Director of the Parsonage Gallery, will be in the Fineberg Room to discuss the current exhibition he guest curated, Up/Rooted. He will be joined by two of the six exhibiting artists, Rosalba Breazeale and Aaron Margolis. Copies of Dr. Rosen’s new book, Spiritual Traces: Reflections and Conversations on Contemporary Art, will be available for purchase and author signing.

Thursday, November 20 & Friday, November 21

Back by popular demand!

We’re hosting a TWO-DAY JEWELRY POP-UP SALE on Thursday, November 20 and Friday, November 21 from noon-4 pm, featuring jewelers Lisa Gent, Laura Givertz, and Marilyn Pritikin.

We’ll stay open after museum hours on Thursday, Nov. 20 from 5-7 pm for a fun Jewelry Happy Hour.

Can’t make it or need a second look? Visit us on Friday, Nov. 21 from 2-4 pm for an Afternoon Tea & Jewelry Party. Both events will be catered by our own Executive Director and chef extraordinaire Dawn LaRochelle!

Sunday, November 16 2025
2:00 pm – 3:30 pm

The MJM + Hadassah + Rimon Book Group is a collaboration between the Maine Jewish Museum, Portland Hadassah, and Rimon — the Portland Jewish Women’s Group. We meet once a month, offer separate in-person and online sessions, and always welcome new participants. Lively discourse and warm camaraderie with fellow bookworms is always guaranteed.

In November, we will discuss Sarah Tuttle-Singer’s memoir, Jerusalem Drawn and Quartered. On a night in 1999 when the author was barely 18, she was stoned by Palestinian kids just outside of the gates to the Old City of Jerusalem. In the years that followed, she was terrified to explore the ancient city she loved. But, sick of living in fear, she has now chosen to live within the Old City’s walls, right at the heart of the four quarters: Christian, Muslim, Armenian, and Jewish.