9 fun things to do this Thanksgiving weekend

Can you believe it's already Thanksgiving? 

September flew by in a flurry of fun events, and although many summer venues have closed, there's still plenty to do on P.E.I. The first Christmas craft fair on the Island is just a couple of weeks away!

Here are a few suggestions to keep you entertained this October long weekend — enjoy! 

1. Open art studios 

Art studios across P.E.I. are opening their doors and welcoming visitors to meet the makers in an event that began Friday and continues Saturday.

There will be live demonstrations and hands-on activities to participate in, as well as an online contest.

A full list of participating artists at artisanpei.com or on the event's Facebook page. 

2. The Barra MacNeils at Harbourfront

The Barra MacNeils are on tour in support of their latest album On the Bright Side, and will be at the Harbourfront Theatre in Summerside on Friday.

The five MacNeil siblings — Lucy, Boyd, Stewart, Kyle and Sheumas — combine on a vast array of instruments including accordion, guitar, piano, fiddle, bodhran, mandolin, banjo, Celtic harp and tin whistle. 

The show starts at 7:30 p.m. Tickets are $48 each and can be purchased here. 

3. Nathan Condon concert

Friends of the late musician are coming together Friday night for the Nathan Condon Memorial Concert for Suicide Prevention.

The concert will feature Kelley Mooney along with Devon Broome, Dave Wigmore, fiddler Cynthia MacLeod, stepdancing by Samantha MacKay, and more with host Rev. Andrew Richardson.

It's scheduled for 7 p.m. Friday at Trinity United Church on Spring Street in Summerside. Proceeds will go to Lennon Recovery House, a mental health and addictions facility planned for Rustico, P.E.I. Admission is by donation with a suggested minimum donation of $10.

4. Classical piano concert

Sarah Hagen presents Happy Birthday Scarlatti and Saint-Saëns and Liszt and Bizet! a program of classical piano celebrating composers born in October, held in the gorgeous acoustics at St. Paul's Church in Charlottetown. 

Hagen's website promises a highlight of this program will be Bizet's Songs from the Rhine River. 

The performance Friday night starts at 7:30 and will be 75 minutes long without intermission. Admission is pay what you will at the door.

5. Free French movies

There are free French-language movies from Quebec being offered in four communities across P.E.I. this weekend, thanks to La Tournée Québec Cinéma with La Fédération culturelle de l'Île-du-Prince-Édouard.

The screenings are designed to give francophone and francophile Islanders a chance to see four of the year's best feature films. 

Screenings already happened in Souris on Thursday, and continue Friday in Charlottetown with the award-winning Les Rois Mongols by Luc Picard at 7 p.m. at the Carrefour de l'Isle-Saint-Jean. 

Sunday in Summerside kids and adults can enjoy a family screening of Nelly Et Simon: Mission Yéti at 1 p.m. as well as another screening of Les Rois Mongols at 7 p.m. at the Centre Belle-Alliance. 

Monday in Abrams Village there's a screening of C'est Le Cœur Qui Meurt En Dernier by Alexis Durand-Brault at 1 p.m. at the Coopérative Le Chez-Nous.

For the schedule and more visit quebeccinema.ca or La Fédération's Facebook page. 

6. Pumpkin weigh off

Saturday at Veseys Seeds in York, take in the 25th annual Giant Pumpkin Weigh Off from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

There's free registration this year, and entries will be accepted from 8:30 to 10:30 a.m. The weigh off begins at noon with field pumpkins, then giant squash and finally the giant pumpkins. There are prizes, including for biggest giant squash, best-looking pumpkin as well as best first-time grower. 

There's a barbecue, free hay rides and other kids' activities. More on Facebook.

7. Nathan Wiley at the Trailside

Nathan Wiley from Summerside plays The Trailside in Mount Stewart, P.E.I., Saturday night.

Wiley is a three-time East Coast Music Award winner and has four albums under his belt, from 2002's debut Bottom Dollar Baby to 2015's Bandits. 

Tickets are $23 and can be purchased here. More on the event's Facebook page.

8. Take in some art

P.E.I artist Jenni Zelin's new solo show Well Read: Literature Transformed opened Wednesday at The Guild in Charlottetown and runs until Oct. 14. Her art pays tribute to literature and great artists and includes pieces in acrylic, ink, felt, clay, ceramics, found materials and comic strip art.

Some of the art will also be auctioned off silently, with proceeds going to support free programming at the Confederation Centre Public Library.

The show contains some mature content, and parental guidance is recommended for those 13 and under. Hours are 12 to 5 daily except Thanksgiving Day, when the venue is closed. 

Across the street at the Confederation Centre, Wafaa Bilal: 168:01 opens Saturday and runs until Jan. 6. The show presents a library of 1,000 blank white books — representing both the loss of culture in Iraq during its history (in 2003, the College of Fine Arts at the University of Baghdad lost their entire library from looters), as well as a platform for its rebirth, according to the Centre's website.

The artist also presents a series of photographs that depict media images of the destruction of cultural spaces caused by the Iraq War and evoke the power of loss. Open this Saturday and Sunday 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., closed Monday and Tuesday, reopening Wednesday through Saturday 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.

The MacNaught History Centre and Archives in Summerside is bringing back its Sixty Days of Fame art shows. The new season launches with Simply Images by Sue Campbell of Summerside, a collection of acetate film images mounted on silver backgrounds. Hours are Tuesday through Saturday 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. 

9. Dodgeball

Sunday, Dodgeball PEI and the Charlottetown Teen Zone hold The Dance Macabre Dodgeball Tournament from 9:30 a.m. to 4 p.m.

It's a fun tournament open to all ages. Costumes are encouraged, and there will be prizes. 

Registration is $20 per person with all funds going to the Charlottetown Teen Zone's Haunted House. Register as an individual, as a pair or a team. More on the event's Facebook page. 

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