SO MUCH GOOD STUFF, UPPER VALLEY!
And first…
The LISTEN All Things Winter Event has started at the Lebanon, Canaan, and WRJ Thrift Stores. Shop cozy coats, sports gear, and other seasonal must-haves until they’re gone! And starting November 14th, the Holiday Event will bring even more magic, like festive decor, attire, and gifts. Every purchase supports neighbors through food, fuel, and housing assistance. Shop local. Make a difference.
Friday
Amazingly enough, holiday markets are already starting up. There are holiday bazaars this weekend in Cornish and Plainfield, and more on the way next weekend. The Valley News’s Liz Sauchelli rounds up some of the action for the next few weeks, as things start to heat up.
At Seven Stars Arts in Sharon, Spencer Lewis & Pappy Biondo, with Eric Graham. As Seven Stars writes, “Lewis’ introspective, old-time, grass-tinged songs are driven by his inimitable cross-flat-picking guitar style and Pappy Biondo’s epic banjo riffs,” while Lewis picks up the fiddle for Biondi’s guitar pieces. Graham, on fretless bass, accompanies both. 7 pm.
In Woodstock, Frisson with Peter and the Wolf. Hosted by Pentangle Arts, the nine-piece NYC-based touring chamber ensemble will be at the Woodstock Town Hall Theatre with a new arrangement of Prokofiev’s classic by composer Peter Lurye. 7 pm.
Hop Film screens The Roses. Olivia Colman and Benedict Cumberbatch star in Jay Roach’s 2025 reimagining of the 1989 film The War of the Roses, with “a tinderbox of fierce competition and hidden resentment.” 7 pm in the Loew Auditorium.
The Trumbull Hall Troupe’s Matilda the Musical at the Lebanon Opera House. It’s the troupe’s take on the Tony-winning musical that “revels in the anarchy of childhood, the power of imagination, and the inspiring story of a girl who dreams of a better life,” with over 40 young participants from around the Upper Valley. 7 pm Friday and Saturday, 3 pm Sunday.
At Artistree’s Grange Theater in S. Pomfret, an interactive Wizard of Oz. “Inspired by The Sphere of Las Vegas,” they write, “we are presenting an interactive showing of The Wizard of Oz—a night where the classic film comes to life in unexpected and delightful ways.” Costumes encouraged, as is singing along. 7 pm.
Tallywacker—both the movie and the band—at JAM in WRJ. First, a screening of Brendan Boogie’s “rock and roll buddy comedy about 2 bandmates whose relationship gets tested when one of them gets a gig touring with a major rock star.” Then the band itself: Jeremy Dubs and Chris Goodwin. 7:30 pm.
Jeremiah Tall at Sawtooth Kitchen in Hanover. The Bucks County, PA-based one-man folk and Americana band picks up his banjo, tambourine, and more at 9 pm.
Saturday
A Wetlands and Forests Bird Walk in Lyme with the Upper Valley Land Trust and Audubon Vermont. UVLT’s Holly Henderson and Fen Levy-O’Malley of Audubon Vermont will lead the walk focused on both birds and land at Lyme Hill Conservation Area. Meet at 8 am at the Lower Grant Brook trailhead on River Rd.
Old growth forest walk at the Mount Sunapee Reservation. Led by John Donovan of the Hanover Conservation Commission, John Magee of the Newbury Conservation Commission, and wildlife biologist and NatGeo fellow Ronan Donovan, it will explore the 250+ year-old red spruce and beech trees on the flanks of the mountain. Be at the Mount Sunapee parking lot by 10, you’ll carpool from there. It’s a “fairly steep” 2 mile hike uphill, then back; you’ll want boots, warm clothing, possibly rain gear…
Hop Film screens Seven Samurai. Yep, the three-hour classic by Akira Kurosawa. Starring a Toshirô Mifune, it’s a “feast for the senses with expert orchestration of swords, men, horses, rain and mud; dynamic and striking cinematography, and a phenomenal cast that gives three dimensionality to every character,” the Hop writes. 2 pm in the Loew Auditorium.
Gesine Bullock-Prado with My Harvest Kitchen at the Norwich Bookstore. The pastry chef, author, and baking instructor’s new book is both filled with recipes and a chronicle of her transition from city life in Los Angeles to "half-assed homesteader" in Vermont. 3 pm.
In Woodstock, Mountain Bike Vermont and the 13th Annual Green Mountain Showdown bike culture film fest and variety show. Local mountain biking video shorts, slideshows and spoken word pieces, all celebrating mountain bike culture. Proceeds go to the the Vermont Mountain Bike Association’s trail grants program. In the Woodstock Town Hall Theatre, lobby/drinks at 6 pm, show starts up at 7 pm.
Paul Winter and “This Glorious Earth” at the Church of Christ at Dartmouth College. Part of a series of events focused on old forests and wildlands, the concert will be “a journey through Paul Winter's ‘World of Living Music,’ featuring Paul's soprano sax and renowned cellist Eugene Friesen, along with the voices of Whale, Wolf, and Wood Thrush, and other members of what Paul calls ‘the greater symphony of the Earth.’” 7 pm, not many tix left.
At the Chandler in Randolph, Leroy Preston & The Unknown Blues Band. Preston’s a native of Strafford, but he made his name farther west, as one of the founders of the great western swing band Asleep at the Wheel and as a songwriter for people like Rosanne Cash, k.d. Lang, Southside Johnny & the Asbury Jukes, and Los Lobos. He’ll be joined by Unknown Blues Band veterans Paul Asbell, Chas Eller, Clyde Stats, and drummer Jeff Salisbury, along with saxophonist Michael Zsoldos and local western swing vocalist Taryn Noelle. 7 pm.
The Anonymous Coffeehouse on a Saturday. Things get going with singer and storyteller Tom Pirozzoli at 7:30 pm, followed at 8 by Burlington-based folk singer/songwriter Grace Palmer, and at 9 by baritone vocalist and multi-instrumental Cuchulain. As usual, lots of food to dive into in the back of the First Congregational Church of Lebanon.
Contra dance at Tracy Hall in Norwich. With Burlington-based contra caller Luke Donforth and music by Montpelier’s The Turning Stile: The Turning Stile features fiddler Joanne Garton and multi-instrumentalist Aaron Marcus. Intro/refresher at 7:15, dancing starts up at 7:30 pm.
Dartmouth’s Coast Jazz Orchestra at the Hopkins Center. Under the direction of Taylor Ho Bynum, they’ll be performing the music of Billy Strayhorn, Bill Dixon, Bill Cole, Bill Lowe and Joseph Daley, with special guests Bill Cole on didgeridoo and double reeds, Bill Lowe on bass trombone and tuba, and cellist Daniel Lin. 7:30 pm in the Daryl Roth Studio Theater.
At the Claremont Opera House, The Brit Pack: The Ultimate British Music Experience. Formed by Brits in NYC, they cover the Beatles, the Stones, Bowie, Queen, the Police, and a whole lot more. 7:30 pm.
Sunday
Upper Valley Baroque presents Unknown Measures. The early-music ensemble—Susanna Ogata, baroque violin; Phoebe Carrai, baroque cello; Clara Abel, baroque cello; Dani Zanuttini-Frank, lute; and Ben Katz, harpsichord—presents a newly discovered cello sonata by Alessandro Scarlatti, a Domenico Gabrielli (father of the baroque cello repertoire) sonata, and other “gems” of the Italian baroque. Saturday’s concert in Hanover is sold out. Sunday’s still has tix: 2 pm in Woodstock’s North Chapel.
At the Hanover Inn, “Books, Bites & Gesine: A Delicious Evening for the Howe”. Gesine Bullock-Prado, her new book, “a sampling of one of her delicious recipes,” and “a special conversation with Gesine and her partner about life, baking, and latest creations.” It’s all a fundraiser for Hanover’s Howe Library. 5 pm Sunday.
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