Mary Johnson Photo
Joker
Spring is stalled, but the arts are thriving. Exhibits are blooming like daffodils and music is in the air. Looking for some laughs? Look no further that than Comedy Night for Joker, a fundraiser for Branford’s own K‑9, who needs a bullet-proof vest.
Restaurant of the Week: Kampai Japanese Restaurant
At Kampai, the more the merrier. The restaurant combines culinary performance with authentic Japanese cuisine. For the uninitiated, you’re ushered into a large room with several hibachi tables where you take your seat. Strangers become friends as you sip an umbrella’ed drink and watch your food prepared in front of you. Watching your meal evolve is as much fun as eating it! Kampai is located at 869 West Main St. Visit http://www.kampaijapaneserestaurantct.com.
New Solo Show by Stony Creek Artist Laura Barr
Stony Creek artist Laura Barr presents her first solo show at Kehler Liddell Gallery, 873 Whalley Ave., New Haven. Her exhibition “Paintings + Drawings,” featuring familiar locations along the shoreline, will be on exhibit through Sunday, April 24.
The exhibit explores color, transparency, reflection and the material qualities of light in still life and landscape. Often working in series, her vivid images invite the viewer to investigate the engaging variations in particular environments.
Barr received a BA in Art History from Tufts University and a BFA from the School of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. She also attended Tyler School of Art in Rome, Italy. In additional to painting and drawing, she is the principal of Barr Design, Graphic Communications. She is a new member of the Shoreline Arts Trail. In addition to being a member of Kehler Liddell Gallery, she is a member of the New Haven Paint & Clay Club, serves on the board of the Arts Council of Greater New Haven, and chairs the Art Committee for the Keyes Gallery, Willoughby Wallace Memorial Library. Her work has been shown in galleries in the Northeast and is in many private collections, and can be seen on her website at www.laurabarrart.com.
Barr’s “Paintings + Drawings” shares space with “Wishful Thinking,” an exhibit of photography by Penrhyn E. Cook. The exhibit is free and open to the public. For more information, visit www.kehlerliddell.com, or call 203 – 389-9555.
Explorations: Photographs by Roslyn Meyer
Willoughby Wallace Library, 146 Thimble Islands Road, hosts an exhibit of photography by Roslyn Meyer, beginning with an opening reception from 2 to 4 p.m. The exhibit will run through April 27.
Meyer says her first love was landscapes – wild, untouched places, the breathtaking beauty of the natural world. She is also intrigued by reflections, the way surface and substance interact in an image. She was then drawn into the lives and being of people and animals.
For more information on Meyer, visit www.roslynmeyerphotos.smugmug.com.
April 8 to 10
Gallery Hop for Veterans
The weekend event will begin with a kick-off at the Branford Art Center 1229 Main St. Branford, Friday evening April 8, with a talk by Laura Spinelli, director of Giant Steps Art Therapy program for veterans, followed by a reception. Local veterans will show and sell their artwork in a silent auction. Proceeds will go to the individual veterans who created the art. Yvonne Gordon-Moser and Meg Giannotti of Artfish42 have spearheaded the Gallery Hop for Veterans taking place on April 9 and 10; 100 percent of the monies collected will go to the VA “Giant Steps” Program for materials needed by the veterans.
The galleries involved in the Gallery Hop are the Branford Art Center of Branford, the Bird Nest Gallery, and Salon Suites of Guilford; Maple and Main of Chester; Cindy Stevens Fine Art of Clinton; and the Clinton Art Gallery. In addition, there’s Artfish42 in Milford, the Firehouse Gallery of Milford, the Davis Gallery of Orange, and the E Street Gallery of Derby.
Gordon-Moser of the Branford Art Center and Giannotti of Artfish42 in Milford have joined forces with several art galleries across the shoreline to raise funds and awareness for veterans who use art as a means of healing and enjoyment.
Ted Aub a local veteran’s advocate, will be collecting veterans’ artwork, which will be displayed at each of the galleries. Each gallery will host a weekend long opening with refreshments, from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. on both Saturday and Sunday, and the artist/veterans will also be at the gallery openings from 1 to 3 p.m.
Passports with maps and the participating galleries locations will be available for purchase for $20. Each passport comes with five chances to win a piece of art or gift valued at least $50. A grand prize for those who complete the Hop by visiting each gallery over the weekend worth $200 will be raffled. Different items will be located at each of the galleries.
Saturday, April 9
Orchestra New England
Orchestra New England will perform Mahler Symphony No. 9 at 7:30 p.m. at United Church on the Green, New Haven. James Sinclair leads a modern reorchestration of Mahler’s 1909 last completed symphony, at once a memory of his youth and a foreboding of his all-too-soon death in 1911.
Reserved seating is $35; general admission is $20; and students are $5. Purchase online http://orchestranewengland.tix.com/Event.aspx?EventCode=783145, or call 203 – 777-4690.
Stacy Phillips and His Bluegrass Characters
Branford Folk Music Society will present Grammy Award winning musician Stacy Phillips, who will be joined by a select group of pickers for a night of “folk music in overdrive.” The concert will take place at the First Congregational Church, 1009 Main St. at 8 p.m. Admission is $15 for nonmembers, $12 for members, and $5 for children 12 and under.
Phillips, a New Haven fixture who has performed on the Branford Folk stage many times, is an internationally renowned fiddler and Dobro player who received a Grammy and International Bluegrass Music award in 1995.
Sunday, April 10
A Conversation with Kate Walbert and Amy Bloom
In Celebration of National Library Week 2016 authors Amy Bloom and Kate Walbert will speak at Willoughby Wallace Memorial Library at 4 p.m. Professor Mark Schenker of Yale will moderate A Conversation with Kate and Amy.
Walbert is the author of novels and short stories. Her most recent novel The Sunken Cathedral was published in 2015. Amy Bloom is the author of three novels, three collections of short stories, a children’s book and a collection of essays. Her most recent novel, Lucky Us, was published in 2014.
Comedy Night for Joker
The Exchange Club of Branford will hold a K‑9 Bullet-Proof Vest Fundraiser, beginning at 6 p.m. at Bill Miller’s Castle, 834 East Main St. The event will be hosted by comedian Vincent McElhone.
Bullet-proof vests for dogs can cost from $1,400 to $2,200.
Tickets are $35 in advance, $40 at the door, and include dinner buffet and the comedy show. For more information, call 203 – 901-7982 or email [email protected].
Monday, April 11 to Friday, April 15
Win 20 Pounds of Lobster!
Thimble Islands Lobsterbakes is sponsoring its “Spring Tryouts” and the 5th annual drawing for 20 pounds of lobster. Enter the drawing via their Facebook page – “Lobsterbakes 20-pound drawing” and leave a message saying “Pick Me!” The winner will be notified through Facebook on Monday, April 18.
The lobster will be delivered free live or steamed within a 20-mile radius. The retail value of the lobster is $240 and the value may be applied toward any other lobster event.
Saturday, April 16
New Haven Ballet “Sneak Peek” Rehearsal
The award-winning New Haven Ballet, with studios in New Haven and Branford, will present its annual spring show at the Shubert Theater on May 21.
Branford Arts & Culture Alliance members are invited for a “sneak peek” at New Haven Ballet Branford Studios, 9 Business Park Drive, on Saturday, April 16, at 2:30 p.m. to see New Haven Ballet’s talented, young Company and Apprentice Company dancers rehearsing classical works choreographed and staged by Artistic Director, Lisa Sanborn, including Le Corsaire and La Fille Mal Gardée, a new neoclassical ballet featuring violist, Dan Stone, playing Bach’s Suite 1 in G Major, which is choreographed by former NYCB dancer and founder/director of Tom Gold Dance, Tom Gold, and an exciting contemporary work, choreographed by former Miami City Ballet principal dancer and NHB faculty member, Jeremy Cox.
For reservations, email Eunice Lasala, [email protected].
Sunday, April 17
Teacups & Catwalk
“Downton Abbey” is off the air, but you can still have a spot of tea, scrumptious finger foods and sweets and catch up on the latest spring fashions at Branford Compassion Club’s “Teacups & Catwalk,” a spring tea and fashion show benefit from 2 to 4 p.m. at the Pine Orchard Yacht & Country Club.
Donna Urso, manager of Saybrook Country Barn, is the fashion coordinator for the event, which includes a silent auction (cash and checks only) and raffle. BCC members and supporters will serve as models.
Tickets for the traditional tea are $45 and are available by email at [email protected].
Inside Emily Dickinson: Her Poetry & Her Life
This inspiring biographical portrait is based on the letters, life stories and poems of Emily Dickinson. Sponsored by the Friends of Blackstone Library, the presentation will take place at the Blackstone Library, 785 Main St., from 2 to 3:30 p.m. It combines performance with interactive workshop activities. In the course of the show, Ginger Grace, who created and performs the presentation, reaches out to the audience for ideas, words and phrases, and with their input, new poems are created. The spirit of Emily Dickinson is celebrated not only with her story – filled with heart and humor – but with the immediate creativity taking place in the room!
Registration required. Go to http://www.blackstone.lioninc.org/events/placeholder-for-inside-emily-dickinson‑2/ to register.
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