IT’S A HECK OF A WEEKEND, UPPER VALLEY!
Friday
For starters, Bookstock kicks off Friday, with a weekend of author events, master classes, a used book sale, a sidewalk sale, book art, and more. The Norman Williams Public Library’s rare and vintage book sale and Artistree’s UNBOUND XIV exhibition both start up at 10 am, while the used-book tent sale on the green starts at 1 pm. Friday’s also got workshops and a sold-out opening night conversation with VT Book Award finalists. Full schedule, plus everything on Saturday and Sunday, at the link.
Meanwhile, the Post Mills Airport hosts this year’s Experimental Balloon and Airship Association gathering. A chance to check out all the creativity that goes into ballooning and other ways of getting off the ground. Balloon launches will obviously depend on the weather, but launch times will be at about 6 pm Friday and Saturday, and 6 am Saturday and Sunday. Caring Communities Preschool in Post Mills will be serving food Friday and Saturday evenings, and there’ll be live music Saturday evening.
JAM’s 48-Hour Film Slam powers up at 6 pm. We’ll just quote them: “Alright ya’ hooligans, you know the sitch! Make a movie in 48 hours starting at 6:00 PM on May 15 with prompts that will be announced at kick off and finish it by 6:00 PM on May 17.” Teams have those 48 hours to write, shoot, edit, and export an original short film under 7 minutes. Screening at 7 pm Sunday.
Oliver! at Rivendell Academy. The musical based on Dickens’s novel about an orphaned boy who escapes the workhouse, finds his way in London's criminal underworld under the guidance of Fagin and the Artful Dodger, and has to deal with the brutal Bill Sikes. Opens today (Thursday) at 6:30 pm. Friday at 6:30 pm (preceded by a spaghetti dinner), Saturday at 2 pm.
Cabaret at Thetford Academy. Staged by the Thetford Academy Performing Arts Department, the return to the 1930s Kit Kat Club in Berlin “examines the rise of political extremism, the fragility of democracy, and the tensions of a society on the brink of profound change, making its story as relevant today as it was in history.” 7 pm Friday, 2 pm and 7 pm Saturday, 3 pm Sunday.
Hop Film screens The Mastermind. In Kelly Reichardt’s 2025 film, it’s the ‘70s, and Josh O'Connor plays a part-time carpenter and former art student in a sleepy Massachusetts town, where he decides to recruit a pair of unreliable partners to rob the local museum. He has no plans beyond that, and the film follows him as he drifts through the tumult of the era. 7 pm in the Loew.
Cinderella—the ballet—at Lebanon Opera House. The LA-based World Ballet Company “brings the beloved fairy tale to life with 40 international dancers, over 150 radiant costumes, and breathtaking sets.” 7 pm. As of earlier today, there were just a handful of seats left.
Karaoke Bandstand at the Main Street Museum in WRJ. It’s your last chance until September to throw whatever song you like at live band led by Jakob Breitbach. Starts at 8 pm, signups begin at 7:30 pm (though you can also sign up and request your song any time here).
The Conniption Fits at Sawtooth Kitchen in Hanover. 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 pm.
Saturday
Naturalist Ted Levin and ornithologist Tom Sherry lead a spring migratory bird walk in the Hartford Town Forest. Two extremely knowledgeable experts to help you listen and watch. Bring boots and binoculars (if you have them), and no dogs. 5 am, meet at the town forest trailhead on Reservoir Road. Directions at the link.
Upper Valley Music Center’s Sing & Play Festival in downtown Lebanon. The annual two-day celebration of making music starts up at 9:30 am with a student ensemble recital at the First Congregational Church of Lebanon. There’ll be more recitals, a busking tent outside Lucky’s, singalongs, a jazz jam, a trad jam, the Big SING! with hundreds of your fellow Upper Valleyites out on the lawn in front of the church, a family dance, a harpers circle on Sunday, and more. Times and details at the link.
Paper shredding and electronics recycling event in Woodstock. Organized by Sustainable Woodstock, Shred-Ex will turn your massive pile of sensitive documents into tiny scraps, while Good Point Recycling collects televisions, computers, monitors, printers, and more for recycling and/or re-use. Suggested donations of $5 for a box of docs or piece of electronics. 10 am to 1 pm in the Woodstock Union parking lot, 100 Amsden Way.
The Bernice A. Ray Free Throw Challenge. Backed by Positive Tracks, twin 7th-graders Jacob and Jesse Gitajn have set out to raise funds to improve a place they’ve grown up with and care about: the basketball courts at Hanover’s Bernice A. Ray School. As they write, “These courts are where kids gather after school, on weekends, and all summer long. They’re a place to play, connect, and build confidence. But right now, the hoops are in rough shape with torn nets, unstable rims, and loose backboards…” The challenge runs from noon to 3 on Saturday. More details at the link.
Pentangle Arts screens Spike Lee’s BlacKkKlansman. “Inspired by true events, Ron Stallworth, an African-American Colorado police officer, successfully infiltrates the local branch of the Ku Klux Klan with the help of a white Jewish colleague, Flip Zimmerman.” Followed by a discussion with Oscar-winning co-writer Kevin Willmott and VT-based filmmaker and actor DeWanda Wise. Lobby at 6, screening at 6:30.
“Music for a Home of Hope” at the Norwich Congregational Church. It’s a benefit concert for Tysea Children's Home in Jacmel, Haiti featuring Judy Wild, Margaret Gilmore, Henry Danaher, Emma Caffrey, Ayumi Shimokawa, and Jeanne Roiningen. They'll be performing favorite pieces by Beethoven, Handel, Gluck, Schubert, & Piazzola. 7 pm, suggested donations at the door.
The Chandler in Randolph hosts The Next Generation. It’s an annual showcase of up-and-coming classical talent from VT and NH, with a series of soloists and a culminating piece by a UVMC ensemble. Works by Chopin, Bruch, Schubert, Grieg, Ogmundsen, and others. 7 pm, no charge but donations gratefully accepted.
Singer Terry Barber with Mercury: A Tribute to Queen’s Lead Singer at Lebanon Opera House. Barber, a former member of the Grammy-winning group Chanticleer and now a touring artist, has teamed up with a band to perform Queen classics and perform not just Freddie Mercury’s songs, but tell stories about his life. 7 pm.
At the Claremont Opera House: “Draw the Line—a Tribute to Aerosmith”. The Boston-based band is “the only officially endorsed Aerosmith tribute band, renowned for delivering an authentic and high-octane experience that captures the soul of America’s Greatest Rock ‘n’ Roll Band.” 7:30 pm.
Sunday
It’s BarnArts’s Race Around the Lake, the annual run around Silver Lake in Barnard to support the group’s youth programming, visiting artists’ visits to Upper Valley schools, and more. 10K Run sets out at 10:30 am, 5K Run/Walk starts up at 11 am.
Youth birding outing at Dewey Mills Pond in Quechee, led by Kyle Jones and Erica Faughnan. The monthly outings, organized by Jones, Faughnan, and Chris Rimmer, are up and running again, geared toward kids ages 8-12. There's an active eagles nest at the pond, and spring migration is under way, with warblers arriving and a decent possibility of spotting Baltimore Orioles, Rose-breasted Grosbeaks, and more. 8 to 9 am, with an optional second hour for anyone who wants to keep going. Sign up in advance at the link.
Woodstock’s North Chapel continues its Chamber Concert Series. Amy Galluzzo (violin and viola) and Carol Ou (cello), both of whom teach at the New England Conservatory in Boston, will perform “Rhapsodies and Reflections,” with pieces by Mozart, Bartók, Kodály, and others. They both teach at the New England Conservatory of Music and perform internationally. 2 pm.
David Feurzeig and Play Every Town pull into the Tunbridge Church. This is concert #99 in the UVM prof and pianist’s bid to bring attention to the climate. He’ll be playing Sunday with locals Isabelle Weed, Nan Frost, and Rudi Ruddell. Voluntary donations benefit the Tunbridge Conservation Commission. 3 pm.
Upper Valley Community Band spring concert. It’s a packed program that ranges from concert band classics like American Overture for Band to music from the movie La La Land to more unusual pieces like the medieval-inspired Danceries by Kenneth Hesketh. The Mascoma Valley Regional High School Jazz Band opens. 3 pm at Mascoma Valley HS.
Guitarist Lyle Brewer at Artistree. The Boston-based guitarist, who both performs solo and has appeared with groups like Lake Street Dive and the Barr Brothers, brings his jazz, classical, folk, and blues-influenced tunes to the Hayloft at 4 pm.
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