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Pretty well, as the Star Trek franchise has proved since the original TV show’s first episode aired on Sept. 8, 1966. Norwich Public Library is inviting devotees and casual fans alike to a party Friday night celebrating Star Trek’s half-century grip on popular culture.
The gathering begins at 6 with Plainfield resident Steve Kelley talking about collecting Star Trek merchandise. The library has been displaying some of Kelley’s collection in the foyer, along with memorabilia belonging to Technical Services Librarian Nancy Fontaine, who attended a Star Trek convention in New York last week, and to the family of library volunteer Linda Gray.
“It’s a really great exhibit,” library Director Lucinda Walker said last week. “It’s part of a month of programming we’ve been doing surrounding the anniversary. It all sort of grew out of an organic interest on the part of our staff and volunteers.”
The library is encouraging partygoers to wear costumes on the Star Trek theme. At 7, Trek-related treats will be served, and there will be a trivia contest and the awarding of prizes. The evening will close with Hartford-based filmmaker Matt Bucy talking about Star Trek Continues, the web series for which he’s been director of photography for several years.
“We’ve done seven episodes and three vignettes,” Bucy wrote during an exchange of emails last week. “Episode 8 is in the can and we’ve got three more episodes being shot in the next six months before we wrap up.”
Bucy added that the goal of the series “is to bridge the gap between the original series,” which ran on NBC from 1966 and 1968, “and the first movie,” the 1979 production starring the original TV cast.
In the web series, Canadian actor Christopher Doohan plays the Enterprise’s chief of engineering, Montgomery “Scottie” Scott, the character his father James Doohan originated in the TV series and in the first series of feature films. In 2013, the junior Doohan plays an unnamed member of the Enterprise crew in Star Trek: Into Darkness, the second in the new series of movies.
At the end of the party, Bucy said, “We’re playing one episode in its entirety and then doing Q and A.”
Jillian Hinchliffe, the NPL’s community services librarian, has watched the build-up to the party with fascination, saying this week that “I loved the TV spinoff Star Trek:Voyager in high school, but a lot of this is new to me.”
From 6 to 9 on Friday night, Norwich Public Library celebrates the 50th anniversary of Star Trek with a party that includes treats related to the sci-fi TV and movie series, a trivia contest, prizes and presentations about the cultural impact of the series. For more information, visit norwichlibrary.org/events-calendar or call 802-649-1184.
The 2016-2017 season opens at Dartmouth College’s Hopkins Center on Wednesday night and next Thursday night, with street-dance pioneer Reggie “Regg Roc” Gray leading 15 fellow performers into the Moore Theater in Hanover to stage “FLEXN.” The show, which Gray directs with theater artist Peter Sellars, mixes the Brooklyn-born flex style of dance with visual storytelling and social commentary. Each performance starts at 7. For tickets ($17 to $50) and more information, visit hop.dartmouth.edu or call 603-646-2422. The ensemble also will stage a free demonstration of its art and acrobatics on Tuesday afternoon at 5, in the Hop Garage space next to the Courtyard Cafe.
Pariah Beat plays roots rock from 5 to 11 Saturday night, roughly the mid-point of the Main Street Museum’s weekend-long Bizarre Bazaar in White River Junction. The music includes a BYOB barbecue. On Sunday, museum founder David Fairbanks Ford will give a lecture on the Great Salisbury Train Wreck of 1901 at 6, leading into a 6:30 screening and discussion of director Robert Altman’s movie Buffalo Bill and the Indians, or Sitting Bull’s History Lesson. To learn more, visit mainstreetmuseum.org.
On the theme of “A Poor Lonesome Cowboy,” pianist Annemieke McLane and baritone Peter Schoenaker perform Don Quixote songs by Jacques Ibert, opera arias and Broadway songs at the ArtisTree Community Arts Center in South Pomfret on Friday night at 7:30. While admission is free, donations are welcome.
Americana singer-songwriter Iris DeMent opens the season at Chandler Music Hall in Randolph on Saturday night at 7:30, before she heads west for the rest of her fall tour. For tickets ($10 to $35) and more information, visit chandler-arts.org or call 802-728-6464.
The a capella ensemble Wrensong sings Renaissance-era works of William Byrd, Orlando di Lasso, Thomas Morley, Giovanni Palestrina, Henry Purcell and other composers at the Stafford Town House on Sunday afternoon at 5. Donations, suggested at $10, go toward maintenance of the Town House.
Juneberry Music and the Upper Valley Music Center are inviting aspiring singers to a series of classes next week to sharpen their vocal abilities. On Sunday at the music center in Lebanon, there will be a class in developing choral skills at 2:15 p.m., followed at 3:30 by a gathering of the Juneberry Community Chorus. And on Monday morning at the First Congregational Church in Thetford, the choral skills class starts at 9 and the chorus gathering at 10:15.
The chorus and the music center also will hold a course in vocal exploration at the First Congregational Church in Thetford, with a session on Sept 16 at 4 p.m. and one on Sept. 17 at 10 a.m.
For more information on all classes, call 603-448-1642, email info@uvmusic.org or visit juneberrymusic.com or uvmusic.org.
Tuesday is the deadline to order advance tickets for the Casablanca Night party that Newport’s Library Arts Center will throw in the historic hangar at Parlin Field in Newport on Sept. 17. The nine-piece Murphy’s Blues band will set the rhythm for dancing during the party, for which the arts center is decorating the hangar in the style of Rick’s Cafe Americain in the movie Casablanca. The festivities, which include a catered dinner and drinks, begins at 5 p.m. For tickets ($50), visit the arts center in person or libraryartscenter.org/Casablanca.
The Squids will rock the Lyme Inn next Thursday night from 6:30 to 9:30.
The Moving Spirit Dancers and the Valley Singers will collaborate Sept. 17 and 18 on performances of composer Sarah Saul’s new oratorio, The First Seven Days: A Creation Story for Our Times. Joined by puppeteer Wayne Thompson and a children’s chorus, the ensembles stage the multi-media production at the Universalist Church in Barnard on the 17th at 4 p.m. and at the North Universalist Chapel in Woodstock on the 18th at 4 p.m.
The Blue Rooster Band and Buzzkill Abby will perform a “Political Diversity” concert at the East Thetford Pavilion on Sept. 17 from 7 to 10 p.m. Doors open at 6:30. Admission is $10. For more information and to RSVP, visit the pavilion page on Facebook.
The deadline is Sept. 30 for teams of aspiring filmmakers to register for Community Access TV’s annual Halloween-o-Thon contest to write, shoot and edit a five-minute film on a seasonal theme. The top-rated films will be screened at Dartmouth College’s Loew Auditorium in Hanover on Oct. 30. To register and learn more, email info@catv8.org or call 802-295-6688.
In preparation for their holiday concerts on Dec. 3 and 4 in Woodstock, the Freelance Family Singers begin weekly rehearsals at Woodstock’s First Congregational Church on Sept. 20 at 7 p.m. All ages are welcome. While the participation fees are $10 to $15, scholarships are available.
Vermont singer-composer Anais Mitchell will perform at the Skinny Pancake in Hanover on Sept. 29. Admission is $15, plus a handling fee. To reserve tickets and learn more, visit skinnypancake.com/location/hanover-nh-3/ or call 603-277-9115.
On Sept. 16, the Old Church Theater in Bradford will open a two-weekend run of the Michael McKeever comedy 37 Postcards, which explores a young man’s disorientation at unexpected changes in his hometown upon his return from years of travel. Performances are scheduled for Sept. 16, 17, 23 and 24 at 7:30 p.m. and for Sept. 18 and 25 at 4 p.m. For tickets ($6 to $12) and information, visit oldchurchtheater.org or call 802-222-3322.
Steven Spensley plays fiddle and guitar at Colburn Park in Lebanon from 4 to 7 this afternoon, during the Lebanon Farmers’ Market. Next Thursday afternoon, Grantham’s Mike Cressey takes the microphone for a set of folk, rock and blues.
Stockbridge, Vt., troubadour Bow Thayer serenades the Feast and Field Market in Barnard with a dose of Americana tonight from 5:30 to 7:30. Next Thursday night brings Francesca Blanchard to the former Clark farm for an acoustic set of indie folk.
The Bradford indie-rock duo of Don and Jenn Sinclair plays at the Stone Arch Bakery in Lebanon on Saturday from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.
Next up in the Summer Street Music Series in Bradford, The Drumatics join Chickweed for a session blending folk, jazz, Latin rhythms and blues on Saturday night. The house concert starts at 6:30, at 30 Summer St. Chickweed also will give a workshop on Latin-style hand-drumming at 3.
The Upper Valley Music Center Chamber Orchestra is looking for violinists and viola players for the coming season of performances. The next weekly rehearsal takes place at 7 on Wednesday night at Lebanon Middle School, in preparation for a Nov. 20 concert featuring Brahms’ Variations on a Theme of Haydn and Beethoven’s Symphony No. 8. While there will be no auditions, the Wednesday rehearsal serves as a free introduction for aspiring newcomers. The participation fee is $50 for the coming year. To learn more, call Ruth at 802-785-4247 or conductor Dave Wysocki at 802-299-8144.
Guitarist Ed Eastridge and saxophonist Michael Parker share the stage at the Canoe Club in Hanover at 6:30 tonight and Wednesday night. Following them to the microphone over the coming week with shows from 6:30 to 9:30 are jazz guitarist Steve Ellis on Friday, pianist Randall Mullen on Saturday, jazz singer Rowley Hazard on Sunday, pianist Bob Lucier on Tuesday and pianist William Ogmundson on Wednesday. And on Monday night between 5:30 and 8:30, Marko the Magician performs his weekly sleight-of-hand.
The Stringfield Springers pull into Windsor Station tonight at 7 for a set of fiddle music. Following them to the venue over the coming week will be Riddim Vigil with a dose of reggae on Friday night at 9:30, Jester Jigs on Saturday night at 10 and the acoustic duo Fromo on Tuesday night at 6.
Bluesman Arthur James appears at Bentley’s restaurant in Woodstock tonight at 8, followed next Thursday night at 8 by Brian Warren and Mike Gareau.
The Friday night lineup at the Upper Valley’s Salt hill Pubs features singer-songwriter Jim Hollis in Lebanon, Turner Round with a set of rock in Hanover and Jester Jigs in Newport. Stepping to the microphone on Saturday night are Wanda and the Sound Junkies in Newport, singer-songwriter Wayne Canney in Hanover and The Conniption Fits in Lebanon. All shows start at 9.
Singer Linda Boudreault and guitarist Ted Mortimer perform at the tavern at Jesse’s in Hanover on Friday night starting at 5.
Friday night at 8, at Skunk Hollow Tavern in Hartland Four Corners, the Frydaddy trio of Carlos Ocasio, Thal Aylward and Bill Craig set the rhythm for dancing.
Royalton singer-songwriter Alison “AliT” Turner joins Soulfix at Crossroads Bar and Grille in South Royalton on Friday night at 9.
Bow Thayer performs his weekly set of Americana at the Skinny Pancake in Hanover on Wednesday night starting at 7:30.
The Boho Cafe in White River Junction stages an open mic tonight at 7.
Ramunto’s Brick & Brew Pizza in Bridgewater hosts an open mic starting at 7:30 p.m. on Thursdays. Participants get a free large cheese pizza.
String players of all ages and abilities are welcome at the weekly acoustic jam session at South Royalton’s BALE Commons on Friday night from 6:30 to 10.
Joe Stallsmith leads a weekly hootenanny of Americana, folk and bluegrass at Salt hill Pub in Hanover on Monday nights at 6.
Kerry Rosenthal hosts the monthly acoustic-jam session at the ArtisTree Community Arts Center in South Pomfret on Tuesday night from 7 to 9. Singers as well as instrumentalists are welcome. While admission is free, donations are appreciated. For more information, visit artistreevt.org.
Bradford’s Colatina Exit holds an open mic on Tuesdays at 8 p.m.
The Seven Barrel Brewery in West Lebanon runs an open mic on Tuesday nights at 8.
Jim Yeager hosts an open mic at Hartland’s Skunk Hollow Tavern, at 7:30 on Wednesday nights.
David Corriveau can be reached at dcorriveau@vnews.com and at 603-727-3304.