Music
• Long Time Courting at Stone Church Arts: The Boston based all-girl band LongTime Courting will deliver their high energy traditional music from Ireland and beyond on Friday, Jan. 14, at 7:30 p.m. at Immanuel Episcopal Church, 20 Church St., Bellows Falls.
Take four individually accomplished traditional musicians and singers with fresh attitudes. Combine them, and you have the rich, soaring four-part vocal arrangements and high energy Irish jigs and reels that are Long Time Courting.
Bringing together the talents of Sarah Blair on fiddle/vocals, Liz Simmons on guitar/vocals, Shannon Heaton on flute/vocals, and Ariel Friedman on cello/vocals, this Boston-based band shares a love of traditional Irish and American music as well as contemporary material. They bring elements of these various genres to their traditional repertoire in a way that is seamlessly innovative and fun. To learn more about Long Time Courting, go to www.longtimecourting.com.
Advance tickets are $17 for adults, $13 for seniors and children under 12. At the door, it's $20 and $15, respectively. Tickets are available at Village Square Booksellers in Bellows Falls, Toadstool Bookshop in Keene, N.H., Brattleboro Books, Misty Valley Books (Chester), and at www.brattleborotix.com. For more information, call 802-463-3100.
• Green Zone at Inferno: The funky trio Green Zone will host a dance party at Inferno on Elliott Street in Brattleboro on Friday, Jan. 14, from 8:30 p.m. to midnight.
Green Zone plays a mixture of funk, ska, rock, and reggae, and features Johnny Yuma on drums and vocals, Ben Mitchell on guitar and vocals, and Mark Crowther on bass and vocals. There is no cover charge.
• Music of Light at Mahalo: On Saturday, Jan. 15, at 7 p.m. at Mahalo Art Center, the sound healing temple in West Brattleboro, Luz Elena Morey will perform her originals and multi-cultural songs in a special double bill with veteran singer/songwriter Damaris Bernhard.
Accompanied by guitar, drum and tamboura, Luz Elena's music has been described as being earthy, emotional, angelic and luminous. Damaris has a humble, finely tuned, direct and personal style. Damaris plays guitar, claw-hammer banjo and harmonium. Both musicians will share from their own stories in ways that resonate with the shared universal journeys as we carry our lights so carefully during these dark times.
The concert is a fundraiser for Mahalo. Admission is $15 and light refreshments will be served. Visit MahaloArtCenter.com for more information, or call 802-254-1310.
• Sabine, Crowell at Hooker-Dunham: Twilight Music presents a twin bill of two of Vermont's premier contemporary folk and Americana singer/songwriters, Clayton Sabine and Jen Crowell, at Hooker-Dunham Theater & Gallery in Brattleboro on Saturday, Jan. 15, at 7:30 p,m.
With vocals that have been described as “powerful and intimate,” and lyrics rich with wit and pathos, Sabine has performed roots-based folk music for a decade as a solo act, front man of his original folk-rock quintet and as a member of the vocal harmony trio Relative Strangers. Guitarist Aaron Chesley will accompany him for this concert.
Crowell's broad vocal range and acoustic guitar create an ethereal experience - her lyrics and music mix roots of bluegrass and folk with haunting phrasing and modern melodies to create more than the sum of the parts. Her latest CD, Cold Front, showcases her broad musical range and has been compared stylistically to work by Natalie Merchant and The Cowboy Junkies. She is a former vocalist with Grace Potter and the Nocturnals.
Tickets for the show are $12, $10 for students and seniors. For reservations and information, call 802-254-9276. For more information, visit www.claytonsabine.com, www.myspace.com/jencrowellandthewoodsvehicle and www.hookerdunham.org.
• Chris Kleeman in Grafton: The Old Tavern at Grafton welcomes the Chris Kleeman Band, a blues rock band, as part of the inn's music series, on Sunday, Jan. 16.
The show will be held at Phelps Barn, the inn's pub, at 3 p.m. Tickets are $10 or, if guests have dinner at the inn that evening, the concert is free.
Kleeman is a master blues singer and guitarist. The Old Tavern show will be an unplugged show; Kleeman will team with musicians Bobby G. and Brian Hobbs on drums, bass and harmonica.
Dinner will be served in The Old Tavern restaurant from 6-9 p.m. or guests can dine in Phelps Barn from their Pub Menu from 5-9 p.m. Updated details on the Concert Series can be found at www.oldtavern.com.
• Celllo-bration: On Friday, Jan. 21, at the Bellows Falls Opera House and Sunday, Jan. 23, at the Latchis Theatre in Brattleboro, the Windham Orchestra will pay tribute to renowned cellist David Wells. The program entitled “Cello-bration” will feature an all-star cast of cellists with connections to Southern Vermont performing a potpourri of works for cello(s) and orchestra.
A musician of great distinction and accomplishment, and winner of both the American Artists and Harold Bauer Awards, Wells is best known for his mastery of the Bach Suites for unaccompanied cello, and for his much-lauded performances with orchestras around the world.
Wells has been a professor of Cello and Chamber Music at Manhattan School of Music, New England Conservatory, and Hartt School of Music. He is a native of East Chicago, Ind., and has been living in Putney, Vermont for more than four decades where he co-founded the Yellow Barn Music Festival with his wife, pianist Janet Wells.
The Windham Orchestra's “Cello-bration” tribute, directed by Hugh Keelan, will feature guest cellists Zon Eastes, Timothy Merton, Eugene Friesen, and Judith Serkin; as well as Joan Esch, Michael Finckel, Pedro Pereira, and Sabine Rhyne. David Wells himself will also grace the stage.
Tickets are $15, $7 for students and seniors, and are available in advance at the Brattleboro Music Center, by phone at 802-257-4523, online at www.bmcvt.org, and at Village Square Bookstore in Bellows Falls. For more information about the Windham Orchestra, www.windhamorchestra.org.
Poetry
• POETRY Alive! call for submissions: The Kellogg Hubbard Library in Montpelier will reprise POETRY Alive! for 2011 with a text display and expanded programming for National Poetry Month.
This year's focus is “Vermont Poets: Past, Present, and Future.” If you are a Vermonter who would like to submit your work for consideration, the deadline is Feb. 1.
Send 1-3 poems as MS Word attachments, or in body of e-mail, to Rachel Senechal at [email protected] poem must be no longer than 26 lines. Include in your e-mail your name and city/town of residence. Those who sent poems for the 2010 display are asked include different pieces.
By sending your work to POETRY Alive! 2011, it may use any poem in the text display, in promotional materials, and associated online, print and other media avenues.
In 2010, POETRY Alive! brought together poems by Vermonters into a walkable anthology of contemporary Vermont poetry in Montpelier, as a celebration of National Poetry Month. This year, they will expand on this and include more readings and other related poetry programming.
POETRY Alive! 2011 is supported by The Vermont Humanities Council and is a joint project of The Kellogg Hubbard Library and Montpelier Alive.
Books
• The Ski Diva comes to Bartleby's: Wendy Clinch, creator of the website, theskidiva.com, and author of the Ski Diva mysteries, is coming to Wilmington for an in-store event at Bartleby's Books on Saturday, Jan. 15, from 3–5 p.m.
Clinch will be promoting her second book in the series, Fade to White, answering any questions readers have about the books. She spent 25 years in the advertising industry before moving to Vermont, launching her blog and writing her first mystery, which was published last year. The ski diva mysteries, which also includes Double Black, are set in Vermont.
If customers are unable to make the event and would like to purchase a signed copy, either place an order at www.bartlebysvt.com asking for a signed copy in the notes field or call Bartleby's Books at 802-464-5425.
• Brooks Memorial Library events: Join Author Deborah Clearman as she reads from her new novel, Todos Santos, on Wednesday, Jan. 19, at 7 p.m. (snow date, Jan. 20).
Clearman's love of Guatemala and Mayan culture is prevalent throughout Todos Santos. Since her first visit to Guatemala in the late 1970s, she's been many times, recently living there for over a year. Now, between visits back to Central America, Deborah lives in New York and works as Program Director for NY Writers Coalition, a nonprofit organization that offers creative writing workshops to people traditionally deprived of voice in our society.
On Jan. 26 at 7 p.m., Sylvie Weil discusses her memoir, At Home with Andre and Simone Weil. She tells the story of her renowned mathematician father, who was imprisoned for his refusal to serve in the military, and her famous philosopher aunt who died from starvation as a result of her beliefs.
Master knitter, spinner, and fiber blogger Jenny Bakriges will host a discussion on her new book, Spinning Around - Spinning, Dyeing & Knitting the Classics on Jan. 27 at 7 p.m.
Bakriges worked for years to compile her book. Imagine seeing something you'd like to knit, then having sufficient knowledge and skill to decide which breed of sheep would produce the most suitable fleece for the project, what type of spin and ply will enhance that fleece, and what colors you would like the final garment to be. The book has detailed instructions to take a project from sheep to finished garment.
All three events will be held in the Brooks Memorial Library meeting room. Contact Jerry Carbone at 802-254-5290, ext. 101, or [email protected] for more information.
Performing arts
• MSA offers theater improv classes: Main Street Arts in Saxtons River is offering a series of theater improv classes for adults and teens four Saturdays in January.
Sam Osheroff and Kris Danford will lead the series from 10:30 a.m. to noon Jan. 8, 15, 22, and 29. Tuition for the series is $35 for members and $50 for non-members. The class is a series of theater games, exercises and structured play designed to get in touch with each participant's impulsive, playful side. It will hone those skills that come from responding in the moment based on instinct, which is at the core of acting.
Further information is available by contacting at Main Street Arts at 802-869-2960, [email protected], or www.MainStreetArts.org.
Visual arts
• Nature drawing workshop for teens and adults: The Nature Museum at Grafton and Main Street Arts have teamed up to offer a drawing course for teens and adults.
The course will take place on Saturday, Jan. 22, 1-5 p.m., at Main Street Arts, 35 Main St., in Saxtons River. Minimum class size is six and requires pre-registration by Jan. 18 by calling the Museum at 802-843-2111. The course is $20 for museum or MSA members and $28 for non-members.
The nature drawing course is designed for amateurs who want to practice and hone their drawing skills and for beginners who want to learn the basics of a skill that could become a lifetime hobby or profession. The class will include drawing from field specimens, items from Nature Museum collections, and photographs. The instructor is Betsy Bennett Stacey.
Participants should bring a favorite journal, drawing pad, and writing utensil if available; otherwise materials will be provided.