Golden opportunities: Happy anniversary to Castle Hill, an art auction and Wequassett's jazz fest is back
The Truro Center for the Arts at Castle Hill is celebrating its golden anniversary and throwing a party Saturday in the midst of a roster of summer events.
The community is invited to join the festivities for free for a 50th-anniversary “GalaBash,” which will take place from 6:30 to 10 p.m. Saturday at Edgewood Farm, the heart of the organization’s recent expansion, at 3 Edgewood Way in Truro. A $50 donation to mark the big anniversary gets you a Castle Hill wine tumbler and wine, with donations of any size welcome.
The night will include dancing to music by Chandler Travis and the Philharmonic band and Steve Morgan and the Kingfish, food by Cosmos Catering, drinks, a look at the outdoor Sculpture Invitational exhibit and potential viewing of David Bee’s 12-minute film about the long history of Castle Hill. There will also be a chance to look around at Edgewood Farm, an artists’ residency campus set up next to the Cape Cod National Seashore and conservation land.
Pre-registration is requested at https://www.castlehill.org/special-events/galabash. Buses will be available at Castle Hill (10 Meetinghouse Road) and Ballston Beach to take guests to Edgewood Farm. (There’s not enough parking there.) More information: https://www.castlehill.org.
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The Truro arts center has served a single purpose for the past 50 years, according to press material on the gala: “To create an inclusive and supportive arts community by providing a wide range of artistic experiences to students at all levels of ability.” The faculty is artists and writers, and Castle Hill offers workshops, lectures, exhibitions, performances, special events and artist residencies.
The celebration will honor Executive Artistic Director Cherie Mittenthal, who is marking her 20th year at Castle Hill; Anna Poor, an instructor, local artist and Castle Hill board member; and the Jackson Family, longtime supporters who include founder Ella Jackson, board members and recently deceased supporter Robert Jackson.
If you can’t get to the party, though, there are more chances to visit and/or support Castle Hill. Here are some upcoming events, with tickets and more information on these and more at https://www.castlehill.org:
► Poet Reginald Dwayne Betts will give a reading at 6 p.m. Tuesday, July 26 at Edgewood Farm. Betts is a poet, lawyer, 2021 MacArthur Fellow and executive director of Freedom Reads, a not-for-profit organization aimed at changing access to literature in prisons through the installation of Freedom Libraries across the country. For more than 20 years, Betts has used his poetry and essays to explore the world of prisons and the effects of violence and incarceration on American society, including turning his “Felon” collection into a solo theater show. Tickets: $30.
► Award-winning food author Mark Bittman and master smoker David Grayson will return to Castle Hill for a “Get Roasted & Smoked BBQ” fundraiser billed as “a feast for herbivores and carnivores” from 6:30 to 9:30 p.m. Thursday, July 28 at Pamet Harbor Yacht and Tennis Club, 7 Yacht Club Road. On the menu: Wellfleet Oysters, Ballston Brisket and Ryder Ribs, with food from Provincetown-based Cosmos Catering available for vegetarian guests. A limited number of tickets are available at $250 per person.
Bittman is author of 20 books, including the “How to Cook Everything” series, “Food Matters” and the New York Times No. 1 “VB6: Eat Vegan Before 6:00.” He wrote for the New York Times for more than 20 years and was lead food writer for its Sunday Magazine; and has starred in four television series, including Showtime’s Emmy Award-winning “Years of Living Dangerously.”
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Grayson has worked on Wall Street, but has also been barbecuing meats for more than 15 years, has attended barbecue schools throughout the United States and is a certified barbecue judge and a member of the Kansas City and New England barbecue societies.
► The Mosquito Story Slam will be an evening of storytelling from 4 to 6 p.m. Friday, July 29 at Sam’s Stage, Castle Hill’s outdoor venue at Edgewood Farm. Ten storytellers will have the opportunity to tell short, true stories based on the theme “Accidents Can Happen!” Storytellers will include students from Castle Hill’s The Art and Craft of Live Storytelling workshop, as well as audience participants. Storyteller sign-up starts at 3:30 p.m. at the door. Tickets: $20.
► An “Oysters and Opera” fundraiser will take place at 6 p.m. Tuesday, Aug. 2 at the home of Terry Kahn and Lesley Silvester. Attendees can eat local oysters, courtesy of Lucky Lips Oysters with Jason Weisman, and listen to music by performers from the New York Opera Society: soprano Colleen Daly, pianist Danielle Deswart Hahn, baritone Jarrod Lee and tenor Vale Rideout. Tickets: $125.
Museum to hold art auction and party
The Cape Cod Museum of Art will bring back its in-person live annual art auction and gala with the theme of “Cosmic Confetti” at 5 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 6. But make your plans now: Tickets, $175 or $2,000 for an eight-person Galaxy Table, must be purchased by Wednesday, July 20.
The museum at 60 Hope Lane, Dennis will be decorated with brightly colored lanterns and artwork for the event, named for artist Doug Johnson’s painting of the same name from the museum’s permanent collection. There will be hors d'oeuvres, cocktails and dinner; and a silent and live auction featuring art by artists from the recent as well as experiences and more for the fundraiser.
Attire is “Cape Cod Dressy.” Reservation and information: https://www.ccmoa.org/auction-2022; 508-385-4477.
Listen to jazz under the stars
Wequassett Resort and Golf Club is in its 18th year of a twice-weekly summer Cape Cod Jazz Festival, which offers music free to the public as well as guests on a canopied terrace and lawn overlooking Pleasant Bay.
Shows are at 8:30 p.m. Tuesdays and Wednesdays in July and August at the resort at 2173 Head of the Bay Road (Route 28), Harwich. Performers are both regional and of national renown, with both returning and new talent playing jazz, rock, R&B, country, Latin and soul. Cocktails, beverages and “light bites” are available to buy during the show, or the resort has three restaurants for a full meal, with seating at twenty-eight Atlantic featuring a prix-fixe menu with reserved seating for the show.
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The lineup: July 19, Funktapuss, playing funk, soul and R&B classic covers; July 20, singer/songwriter Todd Carey, July 26, Bosch, playing Latin-Cuban music; July 27, The All Star Band featuring Ray Greene, a singer-instrumentalist who recently toured with Santana; Aug. 2, trumpeter/singer Benny Benack; Aug. 3, Nashville-based singer-songwriter Tony Lucca; Aug. 9, local “rockabilly with a splash of soul” favorites Sarah Swain and the Oh Boys; and Aug. 10, Broadway and TV star Megan Hilty
On Aug. 16, bluesman James Montgomery; Aug. 17, Mary C and the Stellars, offering a mix “of rock and soul, highlighted with a blend of pop, blues and a touch of funk”; Aug. 23, Whiskey Heart, a roots rock Americana band; Aug. 24, Grace Kelly, a jazz singer-saxophonist-songwriter-composer and bandleader; Aug. 30, pop/jazz/blues vocalist and multi-instrumentalist Suede; and Aug. 31, dance/party band The Allnighters.
More information: https://wequassett.com/experience/cape-cod-jazz-festival/.
Contact Kathi Scrizzi Driscoll at kdriscoll@capecodonline.com. Follow on Twitter: @KathiSDCCT.
This article originally appeared on Cape Cod Times: Cape Cod arts: Castle Hill 50th birthday, auction, Wequassett music
