There are some stories that despite the universality of their themes still have a strong attachment to New England. “Charlotte’s Web” certainly falls under that heading.
E.B. White wrote his celebrated children’s book after relocation to a Maine saltwater farm from Manhattan. Because of his association with The New Yorker magazine, people don’t always think of him as a New England writer.
A dramatic adaptation of “Charlotte’s Web” goes up this weekend at perhaps the most self-consciously Yankee venue in the Upper Valley, The Fort at No. 4 in Charlestown.
The Charlestown-based River Theater Co., is making “Charlotte’s Web” its fourth production at the fort with performances at 2 p.m. and 6 p.m. on June 13, 14 and 20, and a closing performance at 2 p.m. on June 21.
Longtime theater professional Heidi Fagan directs the community theater production, which moves to sets in four different locations around the fort. Tickets are $30 and proceeds benefit the River Theater and the Fort. There’s a package deal on the Fort’s website, fortat4.org, where you’ll also find more information about the production and other events.
Screen role
Remember when Bonnie Arnold was running Silver Screen, her long-lived screen printing shop, out of the Tip Top Media Arts Building? Dropping in and seeing what she was working on was always a fun time.
Bonnie moved on from Silver Screen some years ago now, and the space has been vacant recently. Two Rivers Printmaking Studio announced on Tuesday plans to annex it, the first physical expansion in the studio’s 25-year history.
The larger footprint will enable the studio to double the capacity of its educational programming, expand studio hours for members and expand into screen printing, which takes a lot of space. There’s also a plan in the works to partner with AVA Gallery and Art Center in Lebanon to offer classes through AVA.
This new endeavor carries a cost: Two Rivers has raised $100,000 toward a goal of $150,000, which would pay for the relocation of additional etching presses, the purchase of screen printing gear and installation of new utility sinks, a new garage door and a ventilation system. To donate to that effort and to see what else Two Rivers is up to, go to tworiversprintmaking.org.
The plan is for the new space to open in September.
I looked in the Valley News archive at newspapers.com and discovered that Two Rivers once held a screen printing workshop at Silver Screen, back in 2007. By then, Arnold had been running the shop for nearly 20 years. It seems fitting that that space will go back to its roots and teach people how to make screen prints.
Pride party
Lebanon Opera House celebrates on Friday with its Pride Party in the Park from 6 to 8:30 p.m. in Colburn Park. The event features music, games, activities, crafts and resources for the LGBTQIA+ community and their supporters.
The party continues in the Opera House at 8, with DJs spinning into the night, concluding with a set from DJ Rekha, of New York’s Basement Bhangra fame, starting around 9:30. The Pride Party is free; tickets to the DJ sets are $25 and are available through lebanonoperahouse.org or at 603-448-0400.
Spring flowers
Art in Bloom, an exhibition that’s part botanical and part art, runs this weekend in New London’s Whipple Hall.
The show, organized by the New London-based Center for the Arts, features work by gardeners, florists and garden centers along with work by local artists. It’s on view from 2-5 p.m. on Friday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturday and noon to 4 on Sunday.
Admission to the show is free, but there are some ticketed events and few workshops associated with the show. For more information go to centerfortheartsnh.org.
Is this thing real?
Northern Stage, the White River Junction-based theater company, is holding a yard sale from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Saturday, June 13. Available at the sale will be props, costumes, furniture, office supplies and, that ever-expandable word, “more.” Just because you have a lot of real estate doesn’t mean you don’t need to free up storage space, I guess. The company will accept cash and cards, it said in announcing the sale.
Looking ahead
Tickets are available for the annual Jenny Brook Bluegrass Festival at the Tunbridge Fairgrounds from June 25-28. For information about the lineup and tickets, go to jennybrookbluegrass.com.
