SO MUCH GOOD STUFF, UPPER VALLEY!
Friday
Guitarist Peter Neri at the Howe Library. The musician and Royalton Community Radio host plays acoustic guitar with an astounding array of influences. 3:30 pm in the New Books Area.
Music for Good: Kommuna Lux at the Church of Christ at Dartmouth College. The Ukrainian ensemble is being sponsored by the Hanover and Lebanon Rotary clubs and the Dartmouth Ukrainian Alliance in a free benefit concert for Common Man for Ukraine, a humanitarian initiative of the Plymouth, NH Rotary Foundation. The music of Odessa, with its blend of klezmer, Balkan, and Ukrainian roots. 4 pm.
Yang Yi with “A Celebration of Classical Chinese Poetry and Music” at Dartmouth. A contemporary folk music pioneer in China, as well as a music educator, Yang will play traditional Chinese instruments and perform works by some of China’s greatest classical poets as well as ancient ballads. 5:30 pm in Filene Auditorium.
The Grand Illusion at the Thetford Arthouse Cinema. TAC closes out its 2026 season with Jean Renoir’s 1937 masterpiece. As organizer Art Kahn writes, “A poem to days past when a shared code of military honor between European powers existed, it’s not so much a war film but a rumination between two high-minded German and French officers on the code of honor.” 7 pm in the Martha Rich Theater at Thetford Academy.
Hop Film screens El Norte. Gregory Nava’s classic 1983 film about two young Guatemalans, a brother and sister named Rosa and Enrique, who make the long trek from a village in Guatemala, through Mexico, to Los Angeles—which, the Hop writes, “soon proves to be gilded rather than gold.” 7 pm in the Loew.
The Anonymous Coffeehouse is back. Things kick off at 7:30 pm with the father-son duo of David and Nathan Gusakov, who play Appalachian, gypsy jazz, and klezmer as Last Train to Zinkov; at 8 pm, acoustic guitarist Dan Pallotta takes the stage; and at 9, the NH-based Lion Sisters—Josi and Lilly—blend folk and bluegrass with Irish fiddle and vintage country. At the First Congregational Church of Lebanon.
Noli Timere at the Hop. Large-scale fiber artist Janet Echelman and choreographer Rebecca Lazier have created a full-on spectacle, with dancers suspended in Echelman’s nets above the Moore Theater stage as they explore courage, trust, love, and the environment. Here’s Marion Umpleby’s Daybreak writeup. Friday at 7:30 pm (almost sold out) and Saturday at 2 pm (more tix still available).
Saturday
5K Cider Donut Dash at Billings Farm. “Walk or run through mowed paths and scenic pastures dappled in the oranges, reds, and yellows of foliage season. Participants can enjoy live music along the route and celebrate at the finish line with a cider donut and apple cider.” Registration at 8 am, race at 9.
Vermont North By Hand annual open studio tour. Artists and craftspeople in Bradford, Corinth, Fairlee, Newbury, Thetford, Topsham, and West Fairlee VT open their studios both Saturday and Sunday this weekend, 10 am to 5 pm. You’ll find details and a tour map at the link.
Expert-only group mountain bike ride in Haverhill. The Upper Valley Stewardship Center in Pike NH leads this “burly, expert-only mtb undertaking of two of our region’s most prized summits: Blueberry Mtn (2662’) and our property summit, Iron Mtn (2052’)…[on]a combination of road, railbed and trail.” Leaves from the center at 10 am.
A chance to get up close with the nets from Noli Timere. It’s a Hop family workshop: “A single pull of twine sends force rippling across the entire structure, transforming its shape in real time. Through demonstration and dialogue, discover how dancers stand, fly and adapt within constantly shifting nets.” 10 am, Moore Theater, tix going fast.
Two days of cardboard costume-making at the Montshire. They’ve got the tools (including new tabletop cardboard cutting machines) and the cardboard, and coincidentally, Halloween is right around the corner. Saturday and Sunday, 10:30 am to 3:30 pm.
Oktoberfest at Whaleback. With live music by Brooks Hubbard, a lineup of breweries, and plenty of food on hand at the mountain. Plus flannel. 11 am to 4 pm.
Oktoberfest 5K run and celebration at Brookfield Old Town Hall. The race is around the village pond, and afterward the Old Town Hall hosts food, music, drinks and games. The run sets off at 11 am, party at noon.
Choreographers Rebecca Lazier and Rebecca Stenn on the creation of Noli Timere. The Hop hosts the work’s creator, Lazier, and Dartmouth Dance Ensemble Choreographer-in Residence Stenn for a pre-show conversation about how the work came to be. 1 pm in the Morris Recital Hall.
Harpist Áine Minogue in Barnard. The Irish harpist, singer, and composer has been BarnArts’ fall Global Music Residency artist this week, and Saturday at 4 pm at the First Universalist Church & Society of Barnard gives her culminating performance.
The Berklee Jazz Cats at the Chosen Vale Performance Center in Enfield. The trio of pianist Tim Kelly, saxophonist Dino Govoni, and drummer Jim Lattini help the Shaker Museum’s performance venue get its season under way with their own spin on the music of Miles Davis, Dave Brubeck, John Coltrane, Bill Evans, Charlie Parker, Chick Corea, Herbie Hancock and others. 7 pm.
Singer-songwriter showcase at Court Street Arts in Haverhill. Musicians, comedians, storytellers, and poets from Woodstock, Lyndonville, Bath, Orford, Lebanon, and elsewhere take the stage. 7 pm in Alumni Hall.
Hop Film with The National Theatre in HD’s The Misanthrope. Sandra Oh stars in this 21st century adaptation of Molière’s 17th century social satire and human drama. “Heroic in all it is trying to say about the way we live, how we might live differently and escape the toxicity of the digital world,” The Guardian wrote back in June. 7 pm in the Loew Auditorium.
Contra dance in Norwich’s Tracy Hall. Veteran caller, musician, and choral director Nils Fredland at the mic, and contra performers Tad Dreis (guitar) and Perin Ellsworth-Osanya (fiddle) with the music. Intro session at 7:15 pm, dancing begins at 7:30.
The Yonder Mountain String Band at Lebanon Opera House. The Grammy-nominated Colorado quintet “continues to set the tone for a new way forward in acoustic music. Recognized as pioneers of the ‘jamgrass’ movement, Yonder is hailed for its blend of progressive bluegrass, extended improvisational jams, and fiery rock energy,” LOH writes. 7:30 pm.
Pentangle Arts’ Fur Ball in Woodstock. The annual fundraiser for the Lucy Mackenzie Humane Society features the American Vinyl All-Star Band, led by Skunk Baxter of Steely Dan and The Doobie Brothers, and Scott Underwood of Train. 8 pm in the Woodstock Town Hall Theatre.
Sunday
Pumpkin Festival at Cedar Circle Farm. Lots of food from a variety of vendors, live music by the Well Kept Men and Whipple Hillbillies, horse-drawn wagon rides, pumpkin picking, kids’ activities, and more. 10 am to 3 pm.
Heirloom Apple Day at Scott Farm Orchard in Dummerston, VT. If you make the trek to Naulakha, the Rudyard Kipling estate in Dummerston for their once-a-year open house, Scott Farm is another Landmark Trust USA property. John Bunker, heirloom apple expert and co-founder of Fedco Trees, and Maine historian Todd Little-Siebold, plus lots of tastings and…surprise!…heirloom apples. 10 am to 5 pm, free.
Enfield 250th Patriotic Sing at the Enfield Shaker Museum. An afternoon of patriotic American classics to sing along to or just listen to, with organist Peter Krasinski accompanying. 4 pm in the Mary Keane Chapel.
Bess O’Brien’s Every Day, Big and Small at Billings Farm. The NEK-based documentary filmmaker has been screening her latest around the state. It jumps off from the ‘23-’24 floods to “remind us that actually every day across Vermont folks lift each other up, cross cultural divides, create places where people can learn, grow and share a sense of belonging with each other.” 7 pm
Randy Feltface and “Gimmick” at Lebanon Opera House. Heath McIvor’s purple Australian puppet comedian, whom you may have seen on Netflix or YouTube, “has spent his career denying the accusation that he is nothing more than a gimmick. Now it’s time to own it.” Recommended for ages 18 and older. 7:30 pm.
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