SO MUCH GOOD STUFF, UPPER VALLEY!
Friday
One note: Because of Friday’s weather, double-check to make sure your event’s still on before heading out the door. Valley Improv at Artistree has been postponed until April, and Patti Casey/Colin McCaffrey/Eric O’Hara at Seven Stars Arts has been cancelled.
Tom Pirozzoli at the Howe Library in Hanover. The guitarist and singer-songwriter (and painter) will perform a free concert in the library’s New Books area at 3:30 pm.
An Upper Valley Welcome Wagon one-year-anniversary celebration at the Main Street Museum. The effort to connect newcomers and longtime locals has gotten a new lease on life thanks to the Green Mountain Economic Development Corporation, and it’ll be marking the milestone with food, a fire pit, and piano music by David Fairbanks Ford—plus a raffle to benefit SHARe of VT/NH. 5-8 pm.
Dartmouth hosts Pete Buttigieg. The former US transportation secretary and potential 2028 presidential candidate will be talking with Dartmouth political scientists John Carey and Herschel Nachlis as well as College Democrats director Lucia Vitali as part of the Rockefeller Center’s "Law and Democracy: The United States at 250" series. Tix are all gone for the in-person event in Spaulding Auditorium, but there are still a few left for the livestream. 5 pm.
Hop Film screens The Testament of Ann Lee. Amanda Seyfried plays the founder of the Shaker movement and “fierce advocate for a more equitable and utopian society” in Mona Fastvold’s unlikely 2025 musical. Discussion follows with Mary Ann Haagen, visiting scholar in Dartmouth’s music department and at the Enfield Shaker Museum, and Michael O'Connor, curator at the Enfield Shaker Museum. 7 pm in the Loew Auditorium, tix may be gone, but call 603.646.2422 to double-check.
At the Chandler in Randolph, “Heartless: A Tribute to Heart”. It’s a heck of a tribute double bill, actually, because the opener is Nothingsafe: An Alice in Chains Experience. And Heartless is actually a tribute to Ann Wilson, channeled by lead vocalist Jasmine White: “Straight On”, “Magic Man”, "Barracuda”, and “Crazy on You”… 7 pm.
Dartmouth’s theater department debuts Legacy of Light. Directed by Sarah Elizabeth Wansley, Karen Zacarías’ play jumps themes (motherhood, cosmology, scientific discovery) and eras (18th century France, contemporary US) in what is both a drama and a comedy. In the Hop’s Daryl Roth Studio Theater Friday at 7:30 pm, Saturday 3:00 and 7:30 pm, then next week Thursday-Saturday. Talk after this Saturday’s 3 pm performance by Dartmouth astrophysicist Burcin Mutlu-Pakdil.
The Conniption Fits at Sawtooth Kitchen. The hard-rocking, party-making trio of frontman and guitarist Stevens Blanchard, bassist Jamie Hosley, and drummer Titien Tolbert and their covers of ‘80s, ‘90s, and contemporary songs. 9:30 pm.
Saturday
It’s time again for the VerShare Snowshoe-a-thon. The annual fundraiser supports VerShare’s Community Summer Camp and the music/arts program at Westshire Elementary School. There are ¼-mile, 1-mile, or 3-mile snowshoe loops (with s’mores at the top of the last one), plus a chili/soup lunch provided by the Mountain School and ice skating. Snowshoes available to borrow with pre-registration. 9:30am–1:30pm at the Vershire Town Center (27 Vershire Center Road).
Snow sculptures at the Montshire. “Igloo Build is canceled due to low snowpack and poor building conditions,” they write, “but join us for carving snow sculptures instead! Together we will create a winter sculpture...” 10:30 am.
Curds and Curling at the Highland Center for the Arts. Okay, so it’s a drive up to Greensboro, but where else are you going to see this? “A wheel of Jasper Hill cheddar as the curling stone! Sweep your way to victory in Vermont’s twist on this classic sport, or cheer on the action as competitors vie for the ultimate prize: the coveted Golden Cheese Award.” Plus mac-and-cheese, raclette, cheese tasting, and a puppet show. Things get throwing and sweeping at 11 am.
Need a woodwind or brass instrument tune-up? Or wondering what it’ll take to get it back into fine musical shape. Upper Valley Music Center’s first instrument tune-up workshop is Saturday, 1-3 pm at UVMC. With instructor Faith Goodness on hand to help you figure out how to get your instrument in playable condition again, and Ellis Music technicians available to make recommendations.
Hop Film’s Exhibition on Screen screens Caravaggio. “Featuring masterpiece after masterpiece and interviews with experts from around the world, Caravaggio immerses audiences in the hidden narratives of the artist's life, piecing together clues embedded within his incredible art.” 2 pm in the Loew Auditorium.
Art opening and reception for Marcia Hammond at the Tunbridge General Store. As they write, “Hammond is a renowned Vermont-based textile and fine artist known for her vibrant, handwoven chenille garments, hand-painted silk scarves and landscape/still-life oil and watercolor paintings. A fourth-generation designer, she ‘paints with fibers,’ blending traditional weaving with modern artistry.” 3-5 pm.
In Barnard, BarnArts’ Masquerade Jazz and Funk Winter Music Carnival. It’s the 14th annual version of the Barnard Town Hall party and masquerade ball, with the Michael Zsoldos Quartet leading things off, then the Dartmouth Jazz Quintet playing standards from bebop on, then headliners Zikina, blending East African musical traditions and instruments with rock and jazz. Plus an “expansive” taco bar, create-your-own-mask table, and photo booth. 5:30-9:30 pm.
One Battle After Another at the Hop. Paul Thomas Anderson's action thriller about a group of ex-revolutionaries on a rescue mission is second only to Sinners for its clutch of Oscar nominations this year. Stars Leonardo DiCaprio, Benicio del Toro, Sean Penn and Regina Hall. 7 pm in Spaulding.
Sunday
In Quechee, Letters from Anne & Martin. The two-person performance pairs the words of Anne Frank in her diary and of Martin Luther King Jr. in his “Letters from Birmingham Jail”, “highlighting their shared themes of hope, resistance, and the fight for justice.” The performance, organized by NYC resident and Quechee Club member Kent Hikida, features Julie Sandler and Andrew Tejada, and will be followed by a Q&A moderated by the Anne Frank Center’s Deb Radloff. Noon at the Quechee Club in the main dining room. To register for in-person or Zoom, email [email protected]
Dartmouth College Glee Club. Conducted by Filippo Ciabatti, with Annemieke McLane at the piano, with works announced from the stage. 2 pm, Rollins Chapel.
Hop Film screes The Spies Among Us. Gabriel Silverman and Jamie Coughlin Silverman’s 2025 documentary follows Peter Keup, an East German dancer and dance instructor who’d been held by the Stasi, learned in his 50s that his brother had been a Stasi informant. He became a historian chronicling the secret police’s activities and place in East German life—and began interviewing former Stasi officials and agents… followed by the Silvermans. The filmmakers will be on hand for a discussion afterward. 4 pm in the Loew Auditorium.
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