DANCE - FINE ARTS - MUSIC - THEATER - WRITING

ARTBITS by Richard B. Harper


VOLUME 22 * * All Arts News On the Web * * July 26, 2018

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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BIG MUSIC WEEKS

FRANKLIN COUNTY--The Big Music Weeks of Summer continue as some of our friends play multiple gigs. Summer Sounds celebrates 28 years of concerts in Highgate. There are shows in Enosburg Falls, Grand Isle, Highgate, Milton, Montgomery, Morrisville, North Hero, Sheldon, South Hero, St. Albans City and Town, Stowe, and Swanton.


JAZZING UP HIGHGATE

HIGHGATE--Chevalier Drilling Company, Inc., the All Arts Council, and the Town of Highgate continue 28 years of Summer Sounds concerts at home in Highgate with Doctor Jazz and the Dixie Six on Sunday evening at 7 p.m.
      Here's the Doctor Jazz recipe: take sweet horns, blend a tailgate slide trombone, mix in some clarinet, plunk in a banjo, sprinkle lightly with 88 keys, and pour it all into a delicate tuba. Now beat it soundly on drums, whistles, and kazoos. Doctor Jazz delivers jazz wrapped with the with the labels of Louis Armstrong, Jelly Roll Morton, and Fats Waller. Their recipe is Dixieland jazz and it's cooking in Highgate. "Guar-an-teed."
      Come early! The St. Paul's Methodist Church ChiRho Fellowship will hit the spot with the Summer Sounds Social on our summer night of music.
      The Summer Sounds concerts are sponsored by the Town of Highgate and the All Arts Council, and underwritten by Chevalier Drilling Co. Inc, Desorcie's Market, Drummac Septic Service, La Quinta Inn and Suites of St. Albans, O. C. McCuin and Sons, and Ray's Extrusion Dies and Tubing.
      The community based All Arts Council brings the performing arts to northwestern Vermont. The concerts are always on Sunday evenings, always at 7 p.m., always in Highgate Municipal Park, and always free. Bring a blanket or a lawn chair for the outdoor family music and festivities. The rain site is the Highgate United Methodist Church. Click here for more info.


IT'S MORE THAN OK!

ENOSBURG--The Opera House at Enosburg Falls begins a four day run of Oklahoma! this evening. Shows are at 7 p.m. Thursday, Friday, and Saturday with a matinee Sunday at 2 p.m.
      The first musical written by Rodgers and Hammerstein, the show is set in farm country in the Oklahoma Territory in 1906. It tells the story of farm girl Laurey Williams and her courtship by two rival suitors, cowboy Curly McLain and the sinister and frightening farmhand Jud Fry and the romance of cowboy Will Parker and his flirtatious fiancee, Ado Annie.
      Admission is $15 for adults and $12 for students and seniors. Tickets are available at The Mighty Oak in Enosburg or Find them on Facebook for more info. Call the House (802.933.6171) or click here for more info.


IN JIG TIME

EAST FAIRFIELD--The 26th annual Jig in the Valley kicks off rain or shine on the Green on Sunday beginning at noon for eight hours of music, dancing, and fun.
      The line up will add up to a diverse musical day with Dale and Darcy, Dana and Sue Robinson, Rusty Bucket, Nobby Reed Project, The Oleo Romeo Big-Ass Variety Show (with special guests George Lewis, Phil Rolleston, Patrick Gabbert, Brian Curry, Joe Moore, and Al Zanzler), Conscious Roots, and more.
      In addition to the music, the Fairfield Community Center and the Meeting House on the Green will have kids' activities all day, a parade with Black Creek Adventure Camp, great finds at the flea market and auction, the Humble Art Auction, raffles galore, and special surprises, all for this major annual fundraiser for the Fairfield Community Center. There will be homemade, wood-fired pizza, grilled chicken, burgers, hotdogs, and fresh side salads, and Deb's Famous Pie Table.
      Bring your blanket, your lawn chair, your dancing shoes, and your well-behaved dogs (on a leash, please) to celebrate summer, the community, and life. Admission is just $10 per person or $25 for a family. Proceeds go to supporting the Fairfield Community Center's many programs. Call 802.827.6626 or click here for more info or to volunteer.


ART FOR THE WALLS

MONTGOMERY--Michael Domina and Red Barn Studio host Fun with Watercolor for three days starting today and continuing through Saturday at 9 a.m. - 3 p.m.
      Mr. Domina will teach a step by step process for creating a project using watercolors. No drawing skills are needed. Bring some supplies if you have them. The studio has watercolor and acrylic paintings by Mr. Domina and guest artists.
      Each class is $50 each day. Find them on Facebook for more info.


ART ON THE WALLS

ST ALBANS--The Northwestern Medical Center Gallery hosts writer-photographer (yours truly) Richard B. Harper in a solo show beginning Wednesday. I am exhibiting familiar sights and waterscapes here in Franklin County as well as several shot in the Florida Keys.


IN THE SAC

SWANTON--The Swanton Arts Council hosts the Artisan Jewelry Show on the Swanton Green and in the Swanton Methodist Church during Swanton's ninth annual Car Show on Saturday, 9 a.m. - 2 p.m. This is the SAC's first handmade jewelry craft show; it features local artists and artisans.
      Email for more info.


ON STAGE LIVE

Thursday-Saturday
ST. ALBANS--Twiggs presents the blues and funky jazz of Greenbush tonight, the acoustic trio AmerikanaBlue on Friday, and the contemporary folk of Winooski's Waves of Adrenaline on Saturday. Shows begin at 7 p.m.
      Call 802.524.1405 or click here for more info.


Friday
MILTON--Arrowhead Golf Course hosts Carol Ann Jones with Will Patton for the Friday Night Live Music and Buffet on Friday at 6:30 p.m. The pork loin roast buffet starts around 7 p.m. Both run until 9 p.m.
      The buffet costs $11 per person ($5 for each child). You don't have to be a member; the public is welcome. Be sure to come early, usually around 6, to get a good seat.


ST. ALBANS--Music, Brews & BBQ presents the Blue Rock Boys in the Biergarten at Mill River Brewing on Friday at 7 p.m.


Saturday
ST. ALBANS TOWN--The 14th Star Home Grown Music Festival takes over the St. Albans Bay Park on Saturday from 3 - 9 p.m.
      The inaugural free all-day outdoor family event features some of the most talented local musicians and bands who have played the Taproom Stage including Gypsy Wind, Bethany Conner, Chris & Erica, Troy Millette, Shake, and more, all fueled by 14th Star.
      Admission is free. Find them on Facebook for more info.


SWANTON--The ninth annual Swanton Car Show features the Nobby Reed Project on the Village Green Bandstand on Saturday at 6 p.m.


Saturday-Sunday
MONTGOMERY--It's a double header at The INN this weekend.
      First up is the CEA Dance and Dessert on Saturday at 7pm. Ballet dancers Elisa Toro Franky and Luke Tucker will come up from NYC to dance the night away. Admission is $20. Call The INN (802-326-4391) for reservations so they know how many desserts to prepare.
      Then on Sunday the monthly Celebration of Expressive Arts continues at the INN at 7 p.m. The event officially includes everything but dancing, but there is always hope. Come early for dinner; service begins at 5 p.m. This month John Nicholls is the featured musician, Two Old Broads Who Take Pictures is the featured artist, and Adam Hall is the featured writer.
      Mr. Hall, author of The Winooski, brings his "locally sourced organic Vermont satire" to the CEA as "Christopher Johnson, Head of the South Canadian Historical Society" as he shares a brief history and give a cultural tour of South Canada and its neighboring Vermont towns.


Sunday
GRAND ISLE--Island Arts and Preservation Trust of Vermont presents Chordination, Root 7, and the Green Mountain Chorus in the first A Capella Lollapalooza at the Grand Isle Lake House on Sunday with picnicking at 5:30 p.m. and show at 6:30 p.m.
      The first concert of its kind in Vermont features three of Vermont's top a capella groups with contemporary to traditional barbershop singing. The singers are sharing their time and talent to support the Island Arts creative arts youth scholarship fund.
      Admission is $20 in advance and $25 at the gate. Youth, 12 and under, are free. Tickets are available at Hackett's Orchard and the Green Frog in South Hero, the Alburgh Public Library, The Back Chamber in North Hero, and the Isle La Motte Country Store. The venue is handicapped accessible.


HIGHGATE--Summer Sounds continues the 28th summer of music with the return of Doctor Jazz in the Highgate Municipal Park on Sunday at 7 p.m. Chevalier Drilling Company, Inc., presents this evening of Dixieland jazz and it's cooking in Highgate. "Guar-an-teed."


Tuesday
SOUTH HERO--Carol Ann Jones hosts Music in the Meadow at the Blue Paddle Bistro on Tuesday at 6:30 p.m. Ms. Jones will perform and then hold an Open Mic ever Tuesday, weather permitting, through the summer.
      There are tables and chairs outside but it can get pretty busy, so bring your own chair or blanket or come early to get a table or chairs. Email to sign up.


ENOSBURG FALLS--The Enosburg Town Band plays a weekly free summer concert in Lincoln Park on Tuesday at 7 p.m.
      Bring a chair or a blanket to enjoy an hour long concert under the stars under the direction of Alisa Martin. Performances will continue on Tuesday evenings through August 21.


STOWE--The Stowe Performing Arts Gazebo Concerts present the Will Patton Ensemble in the gazebo on the lawn of the Helen Day Art Center and Stowe Free Library on Tuesday at 6 p.m.
      The Gazebo Concerts are free; no tickets are required. Contributions are accepted and greatly appreciated.


Wednesday
      Wednesday is the busy new Big Music Night with at least six regular events each week.


ST. ALBANS--Cozy O'Donnell continues the Downtown Summer Concert Series in the E.A. Loomis Bandshell in Taylor Park on Wednesday at 5:30 p.m. 14th Star Brewing and the Traveling Canteen serve food and drink at all of this year's Summer Concert Series events.
      Admission is free.


MORRISVILLE--The Wednesday Night Live summer music series continues with the Michele Fay Band and Ballet Wolcott in Oxbow Riverfront Park on Wednesday at 5:30 p.m. There will be a rotating mix of food vendors every week, from American barbecue to Nepalese staples.


ST. ALBANS--The Bayside Pavilion hosts the Starline Rhythm Boys in a regular summer Wednesday gig at 6 p.m.
      Call 802.524.0909 or click here for more info.


NORTH HERO--The North Hero House presents Carol Ann Jones with Will Patton on the pier on Wednesday at 6 p.m.


ST. ALBANS--Sean Jarvis hosts Open Mic Night at Durty Nelly's Irish Pub on Wednesday starting at 6:30 p.m. Show off your talent; everyone is welcome to grab the mic and perform any Wednesday evening on the Tavern side.


SWANTON--The Citizens Concert Band plays a free concert on the Village Green on Wednesday at 7 p.m.
      The rain site is Holy Trinity Episcopal Church.


SHELDON--Every Wednesday the Abbey throws a Beach Party with music, drink specials, and prizes, after the Volleyball, starting about 8:30 p.m.


ON THE BOOKSHELF

      ArtBits features a quick weekly peek at library events in and around Franklin County. That popular feature has a page of its own at the Franklin County Bookshelf here on the AAC site at AllArtsCouncil.org/books. We also take an occasional peek at the bookshelf or night stand of the folks you know in and around Franklin County. Those reviews can be found on the ArtBits Bookshelf.


Good News!

There are so many events around the region that we miss some of them.
Be sure to check these calendars for what's happening near you ...
All Arts Council of Franklin County
Cambridge Arts Council
Franklin County Regional
Chamber of Commerce
Island Arts
St Albans Community Arts
Swanton Arts Council
Young Tradition Vermont


SUPPORT LIVE ARTS IN YOUR TOWN!


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