DANCE - FINE ARTS - MUSIC - THEATER - WRITING

ARTBITS by Richard B. Harper


VOLUME 18 * * All Arts News On the Web * * January 9, 2014

STUFF YOU SHOULDN'T MISS

      ArtBits always features a calendar of the goings on of Franklin County artists. Check out these events around Franklin County. Each issue includes the entire text of our weekly newspaper column.


     Franklin County's arts and music gatherings bring new opportunities, gossip, "show-and-tell" and occasional workshops. There are also booked and acoustic Open Mic Nights that feature music, readings, and more from the best new artists in Vermont.

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ON STAGE LIVE

GROTON, VT--Brown's Market Bistro presents Carol Ann Jones this evening at 7 p.m. The neighborhood bistro/cafe features farm to table fare and live music most Thursday evenings.


COVENTRY, VT--Parker Pie Wings presents the Nobby Reed Project on Friday at 9 p.m. The restaurant is located on the Newport State Airport. They offer live music most Wednesday and Friday nights.
      Admission is by $5 cover, at the door.


CLICK HERE: ART SITE OF THE WEEK

      Book illustrator, author, and teaching artist for "kids of all ages" Christine Mix of Weston was born in Dayton, Ohio, and studied painting, sculpture, photography, cinematography, and theater arts. Her first children's illustration, Spike & Wordo's Magical Wish. gave her Spike the Dragon, a niche in art and her future. Her site includes a welcome, her books, a bio, galleries of her work, a blog, educational programs, a store, and contact info.


LOOKING FORWARD

      2014 will be another busy year in the arts with concerts, exhibits, recitals, and shows from dozens of organizations. This column has info about the Major Independent Presenters. We covered upcoming All Arts Council and Opera House events plus the Four Franklin County Festivals and Town Band plans last week.

2014 WITH OUR ARTISTS
      The Artist in Residence Gallery spotlights different artists in month-long exhibitions starting with a free meet-the-artists reception (with refreshments) on the first Sunday of these winter months. 45 Franklin County and surrounding area artists are members of the co-operative gallery.
      The Northern Vermont Artist Association has the famous June Juried Show at the Visions Of Vermont Gallery, and several other venues including an online gallery. Click here for more details.
      The Northwestern Medical Center has a solo exhibit for one area artist each month.
      The Rotary Home Expo will have exhibits and featured artists all around the Collins Perley in March.
      The Village Frame Shoppe & Gallery will have Fred Swan visits, local and regional Fine Art exhibits, and more. The annual Sappy Art Show coincides with the Maple Festival. Their events calendar will come out later in January. Click here for more info.
      Look for other shows from the Bishop Street Artists, the St. Albans Arts Council, and more.

2014 WITH OTHER PRESENTERS
      The AAC helps promote many other Franklin County presenters and individual artists. Our regularly updated online calendar is found at calendar.AllArtsCouncil.org. Email calendar@AllArtsCouncil.org or find us on Facebook to add events.
      The Art in Bloom Festival has a new venue; they will bring a day of music, a gazillion exhibits, and plenty of food to the recreation fields and path, and the pavilion across from BFA Fairfax on July 26. Call 802.849.6588 or email for more info.
      Bay Day will celebrate on July 6 this year with continuous entertainment and family activities all day plus a Summer Sounds concert and fireworks to cap this Independence Day blowout.
      Island Arts has brought arts activities to Grand Isle County for 30 years. This year they will have wide ranging concerts, theater performances, and craft fairs for children and adults including the Island Arts Academy, summer concerts with the Vermont Jazz Ensemble, Rick & the Ramblers, and the Citizens Concert Band, and a Tai Chi / Chi Gong workshop in April. The group needs Island Arts Academy Instructors with a "particular passion ... to share with others." Any activity/hobby from visual arts, music, dance, photography, to theater is fair game. Click here for more info.
      County-wide, our public Libraries have a slew of plans including readings, lunchtime concerts, art shows, and kids' performers. The A. A. Brown Library has been awarded a "Vermont Reads" grant. The Vermont Reads title for 2014 is P.J. Palacio's best-selling, inspiring story about the power and importance of kindness, Wonder.
      The eclectic Music at Grace series at Grace Church in Sheldon will offer exceptional performers to Franklin County for several concerts this summer and fall including the 13th annual Farewell Reunion concert, a perennial favorite, which kicks off the series on May 23. Click here for more info.
      Northwest Access TV and the St. Albans Recreation Department will offer more courses free of charge as well as concerts and arts programming.
      Restaurants in and beyond Franklin County have our art on the walls and music in the halls. Twiggs will continue to feature artists and exceptional music several nights each week. The Abbey, Bayside, On Tap at the Lincoln Inn, One Federal, and Overstreet all have a regular roster of Franklin County musicians.
      The St. Albans Historical Museum will have a lineup of performances, exhibits, and educational programs in the third-floor Bliss auditorium. Click here in the Spring for more info.
      School art shows should include FNESU's annual Art Gala and the annual FCSU Art Show. The shows bring together hundreds of two and three dimensional pieces in schools and halls around the County.
      The Vermont Youth Orchestra programs include three orchestras, three ensembles, and two choruses. They teach and showcase over 500 students of all levels of musical ability from Vermont, NY, and New Hampshire. The VYO Winter Concert takes place this month. Click here for more info.
      Young Tradition-Vermont has already held reunion concerts at FlynnSpace and Spruce Peak. Young Tradition and Fiddleheads have a lineup planned that starts with a Celtic Winter Gathering and the Summit School Winter Festival the same weekend; the Cambridge Arts Council's WinterFest; Young Tradition Showcase, the Burlington Irish Heritage Festival; opening for the Bluegrass Gospel Project; the Touring Group in Northumberland and Scotland; Young Tradition Weekend; Trad Camp; the Valley Stage Music Festival and more. Several Fiddleheads Sessions will include master classes. The Young Tradition Weekend features players, singers and dancers from Franklin County and many other places and all the events, no matter where in Vermont, bring in performers we don't often get to see here. Click here for more info.


FRANKLIN COUNTY BOOKSHELF

      ArtBits features a quick weekly peek at the bookshelf or night stand of the folks you know in and around Franklin County. That popular feature has a page of its own at the Franklin County Bookshelf here on the AAC site.


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      This article was originally published in the St Albans Messenger and other traditional print media. It is Copyright © 2014 by Richard B. Harper. All rights reserved. Archival material is provided as-is. Links are not necessarily maintained (if a link in this article fails, try Google.com or your favorite search engine).
      Thanks to recent misuse of copyright material on the Internet by individuals and archival firms alike, we emphasize that your rights to this article are limited to viewing it and printing it for personal use only. You must receive explicit permission from the All Arts Council and the author before reprinting or redistributing this article in any medium.