Leave it to Beaver
Thursday 22
Science and history make dam good bedfellows in award-winning writer Leila Philip‘s Beaverland: How One Weird Rodent Made America, which launches in paperback at Norwich Bookstore. From the colonization of North America through the secretive modern fur trade, Philip traces the outsize influence that these furry architects have had on U.S. society.
Strike a Harpsichord
Thursday 22
The wildly imaginative chamber group Le Consort take audiences on a musical journey across baroque Europe at Middlebury College’s Robison Concert Hall. This invigorating program features works from Italy, England, Germany and France and incorporates two different settings of “La Folia,” one of the most recognizable melodies in European history.
Fairy Tales
Friday 23 & Saturday 24
Cofounded by Sir Patrick Stewart in 1975, Actors From the London Stage has been turning the Shakespeare game on its head for almost 50 years. At the UVM Lane Series at Burlington’s University of Vermont Recital Hall, the troupe’s five actors present their utterly unique staging of A Midsummer Night’s Dream, breaking the form down to its bare essentials with minimal props, multiple roles and bold self-direction.
Play Your Cards Right
Saturday 24
Audiences lose their heads (in a good way) at the Queen of Hearts Drag Ball, hosted by Bellows Falls Pride at the Moose Lodge. Guests are encouraged to come dressed in their Wonderland best to this stacked show featuring Rhedd Rhumm, Anita Cocktail, Jack Rose and Moxxie Hart.
Words in the Woods
Saturday 24
Inspired by StoryWalks at libraries across the state, the Stark Mountain Foundation holds its sixth annual StorySki at Mad River Glen in Waitsfield. Little readers (and their caregivers) with lift tickets enjoy Ten on the Sled by Kim Norman and Liza Woodruff page by page as they slide through the woods. Kids 12 and under get hot cocoa and a stuffed animal while supplies last.
Thrills and Chills
Sunday 25
On and around the snowy trails at Burlington’s Intervale Center, Wintervale promises a day of wintry, wonderful fun for all ages. Locals take advantage of free ski and snowshoe demos, guided wildlife tracking, maple-themed activities and treats, a friendly chili cooking competition, and a hot chocolate-fueled dance party.
Now and Zen
Ongoing
Art lovers meditate on “K Is for Koan, T Is for Tone,” a solo show by Erika Lawlor-Schmidt at Studio Place Arts in Barre. These prints, drawings and collages play with the Zen Buddhist concept of “koan,” as in a paradoxical question, and “tone,” as in the timbre of sound or the quality of color.
This article appears in Feb 21-27, 2024.
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