SO MUCH GOOD STUFF, UPPER VALLEY!
Friday
AVA Gallery opening reception for Greg Gorman’s show, “Abstracting the Landscape: In Search of the Essence”. During a trip to Tuscany, the Lyme Center artist was so taken by the geometric forms he saw in the landscape that set to work trying to offer “a new way of seeing the familiar” through abstraction. Reception from 5-7 pm (and a talk by Gorman on Saturday, March 21).
The Upper Valley in sound at Dartmouth. Every year, narrative audio expert Sophie Crane teaches a podcasting class at Dartmouth in which she sends her students out to find and produce stories about the Upper Valley. Friday at 6 pm in the Wren Room of Sanborn House, they’ll put on a live show of their work. You can get a sense, all at once, of the creativity and hard work that goes into their pieces, some of which will eventually run in Daybreak. No link.
The Anonymous Coffeehouse is back, with Celtic Night. Given the approach of St. Patrick’s Day, the coffeehouse presents a themed evening, starting at 7:30 pm with the Upper Valley’s Footworks (Jon Brillhart on pennywhistle, son Jake on fiddle, and daughter Tory on rhythm guitar and vocals) and their focus on Cape Breton music; at 8 pm, The Poor Cousins (Naomi Morse and Emmet McGowan) take the stage with a taste of their show “The Arc of Irish Music” (you can see the whole thing Saturday in Chester, VT); and at 9 pm, it’s the NEK quintet Fifth Business. At the First Congregational Church of Lebanon.
Super Bug at Sawtooth Kitchen. The Hillsborough, NH-based "progressive punk-funk with a sprinkle of hip-hop" band takes the stage at 9 pm, with plenty of original tunes.
Saturday
It’s Maple Day at King Arthur in Norwich, with savings on maple products, plenty of food for sale, and especially, a maple syrup tasting with the small producers who make up the Bethel-based Vermont Maple Farmers Collective beginning at 10 a.m.
And it’s Astronomy Day at the Montshire. The museum’s annual celebration will bring in astronomers and planetary scientists who research “those things that are literally out of this world. Throughout the day there will be opportunities to participate in hands-on activities like building rockets and mini solar systems, understand what astronomers are studying, and observing the sun (safely!) through telescopes.” Starts at 10 am.
And it’s closing weekend at Whaleback… Saturday’s a dual mogul challenge open to all ages and skill levels, plus music from Populace from 2-5 pm. Sunday is the annual St Patrick’s Day Pond Skim and season celebration, with food drinks, and Brooks Hubbard offering up the tunes from noon to 3. Pond opens at 10 am.
Family Forest Frolic in the Hartford Town Forest. It’s a chance to explore the world of maple trees and “mapling” in Vermont, led by nature-based youth educator Skylar Claud. Pre-registration is required: email [email protected]. Meet at 10 am at the Town Forest Trailhead Parking Area on Reservoir Rd.
Matt Brown Fine Art in Lyme hosts the second of its discussion-oriented “Gatherings at the Gallery”: Artist Sketchbooks. “A sharing of artist sketchbooks by the artists who use them! Imagine a gathering that delves into the joys, motivations, and challenges of keeping visual diaries and sketchbooks,” the gallery writes. If you’ve got one, you’re welcome to bring it. 1 pm.
Celtic music workshop with Kalos at Upper Valley Music Center. The ace traditional music trio of Ryan McKasson (violin, viola), Eric McDonald (guitar, mandolin) and Jeremiah McLane (accordion, piano) will teach a tune “and navigate this space together through arrangement. We will start with instruction on melody and backing, and then join together for discussion and arranging.” All instruments welcome. 1 pm.
Upper Valley Baroque with J.S. Bach’s Easter Oratorio and Magnificat. With Filippo Ciabatti conducting, the orchestra and chorus present two Upper Valley concerts of a “sonic journey through rich orchestral timbres, contemplative arias, and intense polyphony lead[ing] to celebratory strains of joy.” Saturday at 3 pm at the Chandler Center for the Arts in Randolph, Sunday at 3 pm at Lebanon Opera House.
Billings Farm’s Woodstock Film Series screens Every Little Thing. Sally Aitken’s 2024 documentary follows author and wildlife rehabilitator Terry Masear on her mission to save every injured hummingbird in Los Angeles. “Amidst the city’s chaos, Terry tends to her fragile, feathered patients with extraordinary care,” Billings writes—and the birds themselves become an equal focus of the film. 3 pm Saturday and Sunday.
Contra dance at Tracy Hall in Norwich. With Adina Gordon calling and Missing Lynx (fiddler and mandolinist Oliver Scanlon and Alex Fortier on keys) setting the beat. Intro session at 7:15 pm, dancing starts at 7:30.
Sunday
The Etna Library and Hanover Conservancy host a bilingual scavenger hunt. Explore the King Bird Sanctuary with a Spanish-English scavenger hunt, followed by a pinecone birdfeeder crafting session and hot cocoa at the library. 10:30 am.
The Upper Valley Circus Collective hosts an “open gym” day. It’s a chance to try something you may never have done before—or learn a new circus skill. There’ll be aerials (lyra, fabric, trapeze, rope and maybe even aerial pole) and chances to learn juggling, clowning, acrobatics and handstands, all in 30-minute rotations. 8-12-year-olds are 10 am to 12:15, 13-17 from 12:45-3 pm, and 18+ from 3-5:15 pm at Northern Lights Gym, 94 Olcott Dr. in WRJ.
Strafford’s Cabin Fever University is in full swing, and Sunday, it’s Table Top Board Games for Beginners. Led by Christa Wurm, it’s for people 18 and older to learn from neighborhood gamers “who are experienced, patient, and fun to be around. We’ll explore limited-resource, deck-building, and collaborative games, among others.” 1-4 pm at the Newton School in S. Strafford. At the link, you’ll find the schedule for upcoming classes, from the botany of Strafford to floral arranging to pasta making.
O’Jizo and Matt & Shannon Heaton at Artistree. O’Jizo is a Tokyo-based Irish band, with Kozo Toyota on flute, guitarist Koji Nagao, and Hirofumi Nakamura on bouzouki and accordion; the Boston-based Heatons are not only widely regarded as players of Irish music, but also as the creators of Virtual Guided Sessions, which bring people from all over the world together online to learn and play Irish music. In the Hayloft at 3 pm.
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Written and published by Rob Gurwitt
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