DANCE - FINE ARTS - MUSIC - THEATER - WRITING

ARTBITS by Richard B. Harper


VOLUME 16 * * All Arts News On the Web * * October 25, 2012

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.


      Stop in for live music and more at the Fairfax Music Sessions at the Foothills Bakery in Fairfax most Saturday afternoons at 1 p.m., at various restaurants around Franklin County throughout the week, at the Bayside in St Albans Town most Sunday afternoons, and the Cambridge CoffeeHouses at 7 p.m. on the first and third Wednesday of every month.
     These gatherings bring new opportunities, gossip, "show-and-tell" and occasional workshops. The booked performances and acoustic Open Mike Nights feature music, readings, and more from the best new artists in Vermont.

      Find links to these events and more in our Spotlight!

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A ROSE BY ANY OTHER NAME

      A caper might be a Flinders rose in your Chicken Piccata but in St. Albans it's a show!
      Cardiac Capers opened with bargain night last night in the BFA Performing Arts Center and continues its run with four performances over four nights, tonight through Saturday, at 7:30 p.m. each night.
      The theme is Capers Got Talent. "It's kind of a spoof of the TV show," Director Helene Biggie said, "with great numbers and funny stuff and short skits instead of the commercials."
      Written, produced, directed, and performed entirely by local talent, Cardiac Capers is the biennial hospital auxiliary fund-raising variety show with singing, dancing, and other performances by about 70 docs, medical staff, and community volunteers. "We have a bigger cast than the last couple of shows with quite a few new people," Ms. Biggie said.
      The entire production runs on local talent only.
      "We have a great raffle again," Ms. Biggie said, reminding us this is a fun raiser for the NMC Auxiliary. Mike Biggie is raffle chair. Raffle tickets will be sold at the show. Volunteers will also sell Roses for a Star as a fund-raiser.
      Patron tickets cost $20 each and may still be available. This special entitles you to a seat in one of the front rows where you (probably) will not get wet. Admission is $10 per person, a price that has held for more than a decade. General admission tickets are available at Food City, Hannaford Supermarket, the NMC Nursing Administration Office, St. Albans Free Library, Swanton Rexall Drugs, and at the door.
      "I heard there is a big crowd coming Saturday night and we certainly have something for everyone," Ms. Biggie said.


THE THEATER BECKONS

ENOSBURG--"I don't drink … socially."
      Count Dracula at the Opera House at Enosburg Falls sucks in the audience starting tonight through Saturday with a special performance on Tuesday, all at 7 p.m.
      The three-act play follows the attempts of psychologist Arthur Seward, groom-to-be Jonathan Harker and vampire enthusiast Heinrich van Helsing to stop Dracula from taking Harker's fiancee, the young Mina Murray, as his hellish bride next Wednesday (October 31) night. The cast includes Robert Willey, Rachael Sherman, Katherine Gates, Justin Gates, Anthony Modugno, Latimer Hoke, Lucas Ouellette, Sean Culligan and Sam Caswell. Bryant J. Reynolds directs.
      Black cloaks and fangs encouraged.
      Admission is $10 for adults or $7 for students and seniors. Tickets are available at Better Planet, Enosburg Pharmacy, the Franklin County Chamber, Merchants Bank, and Precious Things. Call the box office (802.933.6171) or email for more info.


JOHNSON--The Dibden Center for the Arts presents The Diary of Anne Frank beginning on Wednesday at 1 p.m. and continuing next Thursday - Saturday, November 1 - 3.
      The play is a one-act stage adaptation of the Diary of a Young Girl, the Dutch language diary kept by Anne Frank while her family was in hiding during the Nazi occupation. Ms. Frank died of typhus in the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp. The diary has been published in more than 60 languages.
      The play features JSC theater students directed by Russell Longtin.
      Tickets are available at the box office two hours before each scheduled event. Call 802.635.1476 or email with reservation requests.


ON STAGE LIVE

ST. ALBANS--Chow Bella presents Comedy for a Cause this evening at 7 p.m. 90 minutes of stand up comedy with four of Vermont's best regional comedians, the show will benefit and introduce the Franklin County Regional Chamber of Commerce.
      Colin Ryan of A Stand Up Life produces the show.
      Admission is $15. There are just 70 tickets available. Call 802.524.1405, email, or click here for more info.


ST. ALBANS--It's Roctoberfest as Backstreet presents the Justice Halloween show with Scott Belisle on bass and backup vocals; Todd Dunn, lead and rhythm guitar; Gary Greeno, lead vocals; Mike Stella, drums; and Scott Guptill, rhythm guitar and backup vocals all on Friday at 9 p.m.
      This year is a themed Rockstar and Superhero show with prizes for best costume and plenty of free swag. $5 cover and "all the music and mayhem you could ask for."


BURLINGTON--Contois Auditorium and Young Tradition Vermont presents Finest Kind with Pete Sutherland, Deb Flanders, John Dunlop, Laura Markowitz, Sarah Blair and Oliver Scanlon in a "Get Out of Debt" benefit for the Champlain Valley Folk Festival on Saturday at 7 p.m.
      The renowned Canadian vocal trio will be joined by some of Vermont's own finest in selections from the Flanders Ballad Collection featured on Deb's new CD, The Female Highwayman. Robert Resnik will emcee.
      This concert is expected to retire a $40,000 deficit and restore the CVFF to solvency. The concert will also feature an instrument raffle and CD sale. Admission is $20.


OCTOBER-NOVEMBER ART DEADLINES

YOUNG & EMERGING (October 27)--All New England artists 18-30 years old working in any two-dimensional media. The 2013 show has a size restriction: no piece of work framed larger than 32x40 inches. Entry fee. Click here for guidelines.


VOLUNTEERS IN ACTION PHOTO CONTEST (November 6)--The 12th annual contest captures families, youth, and site managers engaging in volunteer work on public lands. Awards include a camping prize pack, cash, and merchandise prizes. Entry fee. Click here for more info and contest rules.


WRITER'S DIGEST COMPETITIONS--The Popular Fiction Competition (October 31) has six genres with six winners: romance, thriller, crime, horror, science-fiction, and young adult, and will accept entries in one or all. Cash prizes and entry fee.
      The Short Short Story Competition (November 15) has a 1,500 word limit as well as cash prizes and entry fee.
      Click here for more info.


EMERGING ARTISTS 2013 (November 30)--The 21st annual competition offers gallery exhibition, $1,000 cash award and $2,400 in publication awards devoted to the discovery, introduction and promotion of emerging artists. It is open to all artists working in any media. Entry fee. Click here for more info.


CLICK HERE: ART SITE OF THE WEEK

     National Novel Writing Month begins one week from today. NaNoWriMo is run by a "tiny but mighty nonprofit" called the Office of Letters and Light. At the NaNoWriMo site you can write a novel, track your progress, get pep talks and support, meet fellow writers online and in person. The group will post step-by-step instructions on how to scramble and upload your 50,000 word novel starting in mid-November.


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.


SUPPORT LIVE ARTS IN YOUR TOWN!


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      This article was originally published in the St Albans Messenger and other traditional print media. It is Copyright © 2012 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.