SO MUCH GOOD STUFF, UPPER VALLEY!
Friday, Aug. 21
Fair season continues with the Cornish Fair. Gates open Friday morning at 7, the art show and 4H horse show start up at 9, and from then on it’s three days of horse and oxen and antique tractor pulls, livestock judging, magicians, circus performers, live music, fair food, and all the trimmings. Runs until 7 pm Sunday.
Fledge Fest in Tunbridge. Each summer, the folks at Fledgling Farmstead throw a music, food, and arts festival on the farm. A portion of the proceeds go to the farmer emergency fund run by NOFA-VT and to Fledgling’s own CSA cost-share program. There are ongoing games and art installations, a whole set of musicians, a contra dance, food trucks, Saturday workshops, and more. Gates open 3 pm Friday, runs through Saturday.
Pentangle closes out its summertime Music By The River series with Jay Nash. The Vermont-based singer-songwriter goes in for introspective folk, Americana, and roots music. “I suspect that the universe has some particular resonant frequencies and I believe that is truth that we are all looking for. Just as it exists in the physical world, I think that we can find that resonance in melody, harmony, rhythm and poetry,” he writes. 6 pm in Woodstock’s East End Park, or Town Hall Theatre in case of rain.
The Old Church Theater in Bradford, VT opens its summer youth production of HOW THE WEST WAS DUN….or Left High and Dry in Low Humidity Chasm. Young performers from six area towns mount an Old West melodrama “in a way that Hollywood never did. Come *prepared to laugh, sigh, sing, applaud, boo and hiss!” Fridays and Saturdays at 7 pm, Sundays at 2 pm this weekend and next, at the Bradford Academy on Main St.
Bassist NIcholas Browne in Strafford. “The upright bass/Double Bass in its full glory,” writes Annemieke McLane. “A program filled with contrasts, moods, music by J. S. Bach, Koussevitzky, Bottesini and... a world premiere of the Sonata for Double Bass and Piano by Browne.” With McLane at the piano. 7pm at the United Church of Strafford, 230 Justin Morrill Memorial Highway. Donations at the door. No link.
The Record Company at Lebanon Opera House. The blues-rock trio is on a “Give It Back to You 10th Anniversary Tour” and brings its blend of “the soul of Delta blues with the power of classic rock” to the LOH stage at 7:30 pm Friday.
Valley Improv at Bradford VT’s Electric Universe. The community art and music studio at 9 Barton Street, founded by artist and musician Steve Lornitzo, hosts the Upper Valley’s madcap improv troupe for the first time. 7:30 pm.
Saturday
13th Annual Pedal Power to the People Gravel Ride in Tunbidge for Royalton Community Radio. It’s a fundraiser for the community-powered radio station: Three different routes of 10, 18, or 30 miles, standalone or in conjunction with FledgeFest. “Your community radio station is asking for a sliding donation of $50-$75 that will cover your ride and free admission to FledgeFest.” Walk-up registration available starting at 8 am; rides start at 213 Bicknell Hill Road in Tunbridge. Here’s Michael Coughlin Jr.’s preview in the Valley News.
Garden Day in Woodstock, hosted by the Woodstock Foundation. As they write, “Explore three stunning gardens across Woodstock during this special community celebration. Discover the shared story of Billings Farm & Museum, the Marsh-Billings-Rockefeller National Historical Park, and the Woodstock Inn & Resort’s Kelly Way Gardens,” with garden tours, tastings, live music, family activities, programs, and more. 10 am to 5 pm. Free admission to Billings for VT & NH residents, others are free to all.
Fairy Festival at VINS. As they write, “Discover the forest through hands-on play, and celebrate creativity with the art form that is fairy houses. Build for fun, or enter in our Fairy House Building Contest for the chance to win prizes. Be sure to hit the trails on a fairy hunt for the chance to explore and learn about the forest around you.” Plus a bubble lab, wand making, and a chance to meet a mycologist. 10 am to 5 pm.
Celebration of Life for Jim Vanier in Lebanon. Speakers, a bagpipe tribute, and more to honor the longtime coordinator of the Carter Community Building’s youth drop-in center. 10 am to 2 pm in Colburn Park. Expect a crowd.
Photographer Jill Levine with In Passing in Corinth. Levine’s two-day exhibition at Towle Hill Studio “brings together photographs of people, landscape, and place, connected by a sense of transience and quiet observation,” she writes. She’ll be on hand both days to talk about the work. 28 Center Road, noon-6 Saturday, noon-3 Sunday.
At the Norwich Bookstore, Rob Mullen with Boreal Wilderland. Wildlife artist Mullen’s new book is “part art book, part environmental exploration, [and] takes readers deep into the vast boreal forest that stretches across North America, Europe, and Asia. Featuring stunning artwork, scientific insight, and stories from the field, the book highlights one of the planet's largest and most important ecosystems.” 2 pm.
“Art of Place,” an artist talk with Phil Godenschwager at the Chandler in Randolph. The artist, sculptor, and stained glass designer (including at the Chandler and the animated clock tower for the FAO Schwarz flagship store in NYC) will give an inside look at his creative process, tell the stories behind key works, and discuss the through-lines in his varied career. 4 pm.
Beg, Steal, or Borrow at Star Mountain in Sharon. Seven Stars Arts hosts the five-piece bluegrass band (Jeremy Sicely, guitar & vocals; Geoff Goodhue, mandolin & vocals; Roland Clark, violin; Fran Forim, bass & vocals, and Luke Auiremmo, banjo & vocals) outdoors. 6 pm at 139 Star Mountain Rd in Sharon, in the barn if it rains.
Photographer Ian Clark at Norwich’s Beaver Meadow Chapel with “An Uncommon Look at the Common Loon.” As you know if you follow Daybreak, Clark is adept at following and documenting loons as they go about their lives here in their northern range. He’ll be showing photos and talking about what he’s observed. 7 pm at 1672 Beaver Meadow Road in W. Norwich. No link, call Donna Wheeler at 802.649.1626 with questions.
Contra dance hosted by Upper Valley Music Center in Norwich. It’s an extravaganza with admission by donation to UVMC’s tuition assistance program. Callers include Upper Valley contra veterans David Millstone, Nils Fredland, Kevin Donohue, and Erin Smith, while Amy Englesberg (piano), Annie McDougall (fiddle), and Rose Powell (guitar) provide the music. 7:30-10:30 pm in Tracy Hall, all dances taught.
Sunday
In Newbury, VT, Court Street Arts’ Uncommon Jam. Local eats, a craft brew garden, and an afternoon of music from guitarist Nobby Reed and the Nobby Reed Project; longstanding Upper Valley fiddler (and banjo, mandolin, and cello player) Patrick Ross; and high-energy dance band The Party Crashers. 1-6 pm on the Newbury Common.
The Villalobos Brothers at Saint-Gaudens in Cornish. The national historical park’s summer concert series continues with the groundbreaking trio of classically trained fiddlers and their blend of traditional son huasteco with jazz improvisation and classical virtuosity. Concert at 2 pm, preceded at 1 pm in the visitors center by Dartmouth history prof Ernesto Mercado-Montero with “The Port of Veracruz, Model of the Global World.”
Burger Night at Flying Dog Farm in Tunbridge. Music by High Drive (Beth Telford and Justin Park), beer by Brocklebank, ice cream by Kiss the Cow, and, of course, burgers, salads, and more by Flying Dog Farm. 4-7 pm.
Organ Choral Masterworks at the Enfield Shaker Museum’s Mary Keane Chapel. the chapel’s Summer Chorale, under the direction of organist and conductor/
director Henry Danaher, presents works including Messe Solennelle by Louis Viere, motets by Maurice Durufle, and sacred songs by Brahms, Sweelinck, and the Shakers. With 35 singers and choral directors from around the Upper Valley: “It’s my artistic statement for the year,” says Danaher. 4 pm.
Loch Lyme Lodge’s Sunday Summer Soirée with music by Susan Brison and Friends. Brison (vocals, keyboard), along with Chris Billiau (guitar) and Peter Concilio (bass) perform a mix of folk, blues, bossa, and jazz standards. Food from Fresco Catering. 5:30-7 pm.
A Homage to Dylan's Blood on the Tracks at the Briggs Opera House in WRJ. Pat Halpin, who created last year’s sold-out tribute to Springsteen’s Nebraska, brings together Ali T, Brooks Hubbard, Bow Thayer, Krishna Guthrie, Nick Charyk, and Jim Yeager for an evening of Bob Dylan’s songs and a narrative about “how Dylan, going through an impending divorce, captures the emotions that are deeply personal, yet universal.” Tickets were going fast, but there are still some left. 7 pm.
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