Thompson’s Point Portland after dark W i n t e r g u i d e 2 0 1 8 3 3 meaghan maurice When the days are blink-and-you’ll-miss-it short and the wind knifes up Con- gress Street, even the most hedonistic Friday night excursion is tinged with an urgency to stay warm. For those of us who have chosen to abstain from absti- nence during the month of January–isn’t the post-holidays period hard enough without quitting alcohol?–why not fight the freeze with the help of some of Portland’s perfectly positioned fireplaces? Whether you’re draped beside some merry hearth or pressed close to the grate of an outdoor fire pit, the irresistible urge to gaze into the dancing flames seems to enrapture some caveman corner of the brain. Allow your more primal instincts to take over and seek out some heat this wintertime with Portland’s best fires. And for the daring there are opportunities to embrace the season and enjoy the ice in style with rinks, ice bars, and ice luges galore. It’s that time of year again, a time when the call of the cold compels you to dust off By Sarah Moore &Ice Deep in the dark heart of Maine’s winter, local bars and restaurants entice us with extremes–blazing hearths and outdoor fire pits. Come a little closer.