Culture

West Brattleboro, Vt. — The gallery at All Souls Church UU is showing a new series by local artist Kay Curtis through the end of June. The eight drypoint monoprints, with multiple layers of colored pencil and crayon, each have a specific theme in the series entitled “Queen Anne’s Lace: The Circle Comes Around.” A set of eight smaller experimental prints, created before the “Queen Anne’s Lace” series was launched, as well as a large jazz-themed painting, are also on display. The public is invited to an artist’s reception on Saturday, May 6, from 2:00 to 4:00 p.m., hosted by the All Souls Arts Committee.
 
Kay’s distinctive whimsical style is used in these works to tell the story of life, a rather grand undertaking whose inspiration came to her spontaneously. The artist believes that key events in her life are serendipitously aligned with the subject matter.

We at Guilford Center Stage are particularly proud to be presenting a play by a Guilford playwright, Michael Nethercott, this coming weekend at Broad Brook Grange.  When we chose the work, we had little idea how powerful the setting — the French Resistance in World War II — would be in 2017!  Those of us fortunate to be attending rehearsals are seeing a skillful playwright/director at work, with a company of 11 wonderful actors.

When I first moved to Southern Vermont in 1976 (Weathersfield) I quickly became involved in contra dancing and the rich and inviting culture of live music that fueled dance floors in church halls, granges, town halls and rural dance barns.  It doesn’t take much for me to remember those nights at Palmer’s Dance Barn in Unity, the Acworth and Dublin town halls, Chelsea House, Green Street School and many others. 

The Friends of Brooks Memorial Library are holding a raffle for a 14×17 framed photo print by James Sneddon from the New York Times Photo Collection. Generously donated by Mary Ide, it is valued at $250. Tickets are $1 each, and will be on sale at the circulation desk at Brooks Library, where the print may be also be seen in person. The drawing will be held July 5th at 7pm!

Dear Library Community,

On Friday and Saturday, April 28th and 29th Sandglass Theater will present the first full work-in-progress showing of Babylon at Next Stage Arts Project at 7:30pm, with an additional fundraising event for the Vermont Refugee Resettlement Program on Friday after the show. Babylon is a piece about refugees: their journeys, traumas, and challenges to resettlement. Performed by puppets and actors with moving panoramas, known as crankies and with choral singing. Sandglass has been developing this piece for nearly two years, and will begin touring in Autumn of 2017.