A FINE WEEKEND AHEAD, UPPER VALLEY!
Friday
At the Enfield Shaker Museum, the Enfield Public Library hosts “African American Soldiers and Sailors of New Hampshire During the American Revolution.” Glenn Knoblock—an independent scholar and main military contributor to Harvard and Oxford University's African American National Biography—on the role of both free and enslaved African Americans in state militias, Continental Army units, the Navy, and on privately armed ships. Among other things, he’ll talk about how and why they enlisted, service on the battlefields, treatment after the war, and more. 6 pm.
Lebanon Opera House has two Pride events set for Friday evening. First up is the fifth annual Pride Party in the Park, across the street in Colburn Park, with a resource and artisan fair, plus activities, games, crafts, food, music, and more! That’s from 6-8:30 pm. Then, at 8:30 inside LOH itself, it’s a Pride Dance Party with DJ Rekha and special guest Lal Batti. NYC-based DJ Rekha is a producer, curator, educator, and founder of Basement Bhangra, “one of NYC’s longest-running club nights (1997-2017).” Drag artist Lal Batti, meanwhile, is “the Brooklyn-based Bollywood traffic‑stopper your mother warned you about and your father secretly follows on Instagram.”
Hair at Pentangle Arts. It’s Community Movie Night, with Miloš Forman’s 1979 film adaptation of the famed Broadway musical, in which a Vietnam War draftee discovers other things to do on his way to the induction center. TedX Woodstock is sponsoring it in honor of its keynote speaker this year, Twyla Tharp, who choreographed the film’s dance scenes. In Woodstock’s Town Hall Theater, lobby 6:30, film at 7.
Classicopia kicks off a weekend of “CLAVIOPIA”. It’s music for clarinet, violin, and piano, with Antonello DiMatteo, principal clarinetist of the Philadelphia Ballet; violinist Irina Rostomashvilli from the Republic of Georgia; and Artistic Director/pianist Daniel Weiser. They will perform works by Paul Schoenfield, Peter Schickele (aka PDQ Bach), Dmitri Shostakovich, Waldemar von Baussnern, plus Klezmer Wedding by Srul Irving Glick. Friday at 7 pm at the WRJ home of Andrew Bauman, Saturday at 4 pm with Court Street Arts in Haverhill’s Alumni Hall, and Sunday at 2 pm in the First Congregational Church of Lebanon.
Saturday
It’s Vermont Days in VT, with free access to day-use areas of state parks and to state historic sites. Open to Vermonters and visitors alike, both Saturday and Sunday. It’s also Free Fishing Day in VT on Saturday, with permission to fish in Vermont for the day without a license. Link takes you to details and parks/sites to visit.
Remarkable Reptile Day at VINS. Crafts, games, jewelry-making, presentations on reptile myth-busting, reptiles of the world, reptiles of New England… Oh, and reptiles. 10 am to 5 pm.
Norwich Historical Society’s House and Garden Tour. This year’s self-guided tour includes one house interior and five gardens in the village and along the river. “Wander through the gardens and enjoy the many plantings and vistas that create the settings for the homes.” Music and refreshments along the way. Runs 10 am to 3 pm, get tickets at the NHS on Main Street or online.
At the Norman Williams Public Library in Woodstock, it’s World Wide Knit in Public Day. A celebration of yarn, knitting, and creativity hosted by the library’s knitting regulars. Turns out, the library says, it’s the largest knitter-run event in the world, so you’ll be joining knitters in Germany, Sweden, South Africa, France, Ireland, China, Australia, and elsewhere when you sit down with your yarn and needles from 1-3 pm.
In Charlestown, NH, the community theater group River Theater debuts its production of Charlotte’s Web. With a twist: the play will be performed at four different locations around Fort No. 4 in Charlestown. Saturday at 2 and 6 pm, Sunday at 2 pm, and again next Saturday and Sunday at 2 pm.
The Country Dance & Song Society honors David Millstone. If you’re not already signed up, you’ll need to get on the waitlist: Their afternoon- and evening-long Lifetime Achievement Award dance at Tracy Hall in Norwich to honor the veteran caller, teacher, historian, and all-around champion of country dance has reached capacity. But here’s a form where you can either join the waitlist or leave Millstone a congratulatory message.
Pizza Night at Crossmolina Farm in West Corinth. This week’s music comes from Flagship Romance, the alt-folk duo of singers-songwriters Shawn Fisher and Jordyn Jackson. Food at 5, music at 6, and you’ll need to make a reservation.
Thetford Arthouse Cinema screens La bête humaine. Jean Renoir adapts Emile Zola in this 1938 film about obsession, betrayal, and murder involving a psychologically disordered train engineer played by the great Jean Gabin, femme fatale Simone Simon, and her murderously jealous stationmaster husband in an unhinged love triangle. 7 pm in the Martha Rich Theater at Thetford Academy.
Davey Davis and the Cabal Breakers at Plainfield Village Town Hall. Among other things, Windsor’s Davis will be performing his original song “Maxfield Parrish Blue” as part of this benefit concert to help with the upkeep of the Maxfield Parrish Stage Set in town hall. The Cabal Breakers include Plainfield’s Pooh Sprague and accomplished local musicians Ted Mortimor, Sandy Alexander, Tim Augustinowicz, Jim Pitman, and Davis. At 7:30 pm. (Also, second Sundays from June 14 to Oct. 10-11, from 1-5 pm, you can tour the theater and the Maxfield Parrish set).
Sunday
If you happen to be thinking of going to or through Hanover, it’s Dartmouth commencement. Guests will no doubt start arriving early, academic procession starts off at 9 am, and the ceremony on the Dartmouth green is at 9:30. This year’s speaker is actor, comedian, and Dartmouth grad Rachel Dratch.
It’s the annual WhistleStop Pride in Claremont. It’s a celebration at the Amtrak station as the southbound Vermonter (eventually) comes through. “The community will gather at the station for the noon arrival to decorate the station and wave flags so those on the train can see we’re a welcoming community.” Organizers add, “We do not board the train.” 11:30 am. It kicks off a week of Pride events in Claremont.
Sunday bluegrass brunch at River Roost Brewery in WRJ. Ninja Wizard’s going to have this going from noon to 2 pm every Sunday through the summer, with fiddler Jakob Breitbach, banjoist Steve Hennig, Kit Creeger on guitar, and this Sunday, Jes Raymond joining in.
Sensible Shoes and the Illustrious Subs at Silo Distillery in Windsor. Barbara Blaisdell, Joey Spampinato (NRBQ), Tim Utt, Kami Lyle, and Jerome Deupree for Music & Marys, 2-4 pm.
Writers Catherine Tudish and Sidney Tilghman read from their works in Corinth. Tudish, who lives in Corinth, will read from A Thousand Souls, her new collection of interwoven stories about the fictional village of Neptune, VT. Tilghman, a writer and farmer, will read from a work in progress. At the Meadow Meeting House, 3 pm.
Wrensong at the Beaver Meadow Union Chapel in Norwich. The Upper Valley choral ensemble presents its spring concert, "Sing Joyfully: Songs of Love, Devotion, and the Return of Spring," with a cappella Renaissance music on the themes of birds, springtime, and love, along with some contemporary takes on the same themes. 3 pm Sunday and then at 7 pm next Wednesday at the First Universalist Church of Barnard.
At Artistree in S. Pomfret, a milonga with Tango Norte. Tango lesson starts up at 4 pm, taught by Phil Ciotti, and dance gets underway at 5 pm. Music by the Tango Norte trio: Bob Merrill on piano, Peter Concilio on bass, and Thal Aylward on violin.
The Porch Brothers, joined by Cam’s Crew, and Nathan and Lori Margolis at the Root Schoolhouse in Norwich. A host of local musicians from Norwich, Bradford, Ryegate, and Wilder. “You’ll hear some eclectic bluesy, folksy Americana, some classic rock hits, maybe an “on the road” song or two and who knows what else!” 4 pm, 987 Union Village Road.
Burger Night at Flying Dog Farm in Tunbridge. Grass-fed beef or a sweet potato veggie burger, salad greens from Luna Bleu, sterling views up the First Branch Valley, and music from High Drive—Beth Telford and Justin Park and their Cape Breton repertoire. Runs from 4-7 pm.
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