Music, art, books, a movie & an Italian feast: Top 14 things to do on Cape Cod Aug. 26-Sept. 1
There's a lot of music (mostly outdoors) and art to enjoy this week, from the national Seashore to the shores of Falmouth. Plus there are eating and book events and more to be part of.
Music choices include the annual Cape Symphony's outdoor concert at the Cape Cod National Seashore, a Beatles tribute in South Yarmouth, jazz vocalist Donna Byrne and her quartet in Falmouth, a program celebrating vocalist Julia Nixon in Wellfleet, Jenifer Jackson playing her original tunes in Dennis, and fiddler Rose Clancy and her band playing a benefit concert in Chatham.
All types of art will be on view, including large-scale work and cyanotypes in Provincetown. A Falmouth market combines art, music and books.
Other highlights include a La Tavola Italian meal in Mashpee; a Provincetown filmmaker's award-winning movie having its Cape debut; book talks; and a talk on the history of the Provincetown railroad. Take a look:
Orchestra offers Symphony at the Seashore
The Cape Symphony will perform its annual outdoor concert, which has become a summer tradition, Friday at the Cape Cod National Seashore, with help from the National Park Service and the Seashore's Friends group. Pre-concert activities for kids and parents will be offered. The Symphony will be joined by award-winning cabaret singer Dawn Derow performing "Olde Cape Cod,” by Patti Page, “How About You?” and “Over the Rainbow,” among other songs. The program will also include a Disney medley; a multimedia tribute to the National Parks and the Seashore; a tribute to the armed forces and veterans; and “Wampanoag: Stories for All Time” by Native American composer Tonya Wind Singer, a piece that highlights traditional Wampanoag rhythms. Mark Faherty, science coordinator at Mass Audubon’s Wellfleet Bay Wildlife Sanctuary, will join conductor Jung-Ho Pak on stage to talk about the relationship between bird songs and music.
When: 7 p.m., Friday, Aug. 26 (rain date Saturday, Aug. 27)
Where: Salt Pond Visitor Center Amphitheater, 50 Nauset Road, Eastham.
Admission: Free; no food or drink will be available for purchase but there are bottle filling stations for water. No pets are allowed at the venue.
Information: https://www.capesymphony.org/orchestra/2022-23-season/summer-2022/710-symphony-at-the-seashore
Celebrate La Tavola 2022
The Mashpee Chamber of Commerce will present the 15th annual La Tavola, the Italian Feast, on Friday, offering an evening of Italian food, drink and music for 400 dinner guests. They will be treated to a five-course Italian feast catered by Villaggio Ristorante and serenaded by Italian tenor Aaron Caruso. Accompanying Caruso will be accordionist Corey Pesaturo, and several young artists from Steeple Street Music Academy will also perform. All proceeds benefit the Mashpee Chamber Scholarship Fund and #ShopMashpee campaigns.
When: 5:30 p.m., Friday, Aug. 26
Where: 64 Steeple St., Mashpee
Admission: $75
Information: https://mashpeechamber.com/events/la-tavola/
Listen to Studio Two's Beatles tribute
Beatles tribute band Studio Two will perform a concert Saturday at the Cultural Center of Cape Cod that will focus on what members describe as the Beatles' most exciting and energetic period: the early years of 1962-66. Studio Two, composed of alumni of Berklee College of Music in Boston, will choose from a catalog of No. 1 hit songs from the Beatles' club and touring performances.
When: 7:30 p.m., Saturday, Aug. 27
Where: Cultural Center of Cape Cod, 307 Old Main St., South Yarmouth
Admission: $30
Information: https://www.cultural-center.org/events-main
Provincetown Commons presents “How Far Is the World”
Provincetown Commons is presenting the art exhibition, “How Far is the World: Assemblages and Constructions,” by Kurt Reynolds and hosting an opening reception with the artist this week, an artist talk in September and a closing reception in October. Co-curated by Pete Hocking, “How Far Is the World,” is Reynolds' first large-scale exhibition in Provincetown. Featured prominently will be themes of Provincetown’s maritime history, its "promise and peril," its people and its beauty. Reynolds work is described as expressing concerns that include social, political, personal and environmental. Before relocating to Provincetown in 2014, Reynolds lived in Boston but is best known for a body of work that chronicles the earlier days of the HIV/AIDS epidemic that was widely exhibited.
When: 4 p.m., Saturday, Aug. 27 (opening reception); 8:30 a.m.- 5 p.m., Tuesday, Aug. 23 through Sunday, Oct. 2 (exhibition hours)
Where: The Commons, 46 Bradford St., Provincetown
Admission: Free
Information: https://www.provincetowncommons.org/commons-events/kurt-reynolds; https://kurtreynoldsart.net.
AMP Gallery to screen short film “Just a Broadway Baby: Mary Ellen Ashley”
Patrick Riviere’s award-winning documentary short film, “Just a Broadway Baby: Mary Ellen Ashley,” will get its Cape and Islands premiere Saturday at AMP: Art Market Provincetown. The film follows the career and life of Mary Ellen Ashley (formerly Mary Ellen Glass), who made her Broadway debut at age 7. This is the first film for Riviere, a performer, playwright, arts educator and arts administrator who lives in Provincetown. His film's accolades include being named “Best Picture” at its world premiere at The Oregon Documentary Film Festival in January, named “Best Documentary Short” at Chain NYC Film Festival, winning “Best Documentary Short” and “People’s Choice” awards at Upstate New York Film Festival and being chosen “Outstanding Short Documentary” at The Art of Brooklyn Film Festival. In addition, the Theatre on Film and Tape Archive at the New York Public Library for the Performing Arts has chosen the film to become a part of its permanent archive.
When: 7:30 p.m., Saturday, Aug. 27
Where: AMP, 432 Commercial St., Provincetown
Admission: Free
Information: http://www.artmarketprovincetown.com/happenings/
Donna Byrne Quartet to play in Falmouth
Cape Cod jazz vocalist Donna Byrne will perform under the tent at Highfield Hall & Gardens in a show co-sponsored by Falmouth Jazz. Over her three-decade career, Byrne has performed at top venues, including Scullers Jazz Club in Boston, Blues Alley in Washington, D.C., and the Blue Note in New York. She has eight solo CDs and has recorded with top jazz artists such as Bucky Pizzarelli, Harry Allen, Dave McKenna and Herb Pomeroy. She recently opened for Tony Bennett at the Royal Albert Hall in London. Byrne will be accompanied by her quartet: Tim Ray on piano, Marshall Wood on bass, and Steve Langone on drums.
When: 4– 6 p.m. Sunday, Aug. 28
Where: Highfield Hall & Gardens, 56 Highfield Drive, Falmouth
Admission: $40 for members; $50 for non-members.
Information: https://highfieldhallandgardens.org/
A concert to celebrate end of summer
Acoustic guitarist and vocalist Jenifer Jackson will perform an "End of August" concert as part of the Music & More Summer Concert Series outdoors at the Cape Cod Museum of Art in Dennis. She will perform with accordion player Sonny Barbato for a program of Jackson's original songs that span in style from Bossanova to folk to bolero to pop, drawn from her 30-year recording career. Vocalist Julian Jackson will join them for classic jazz standards and country duets.
When: 4:30-5:30 p.m. Sunday, Aug. 28
Where: Cape Cod Museum of Art, 60 Hope Lane, Dennis (outdoors in the tent in the sculpture garden, indoors if it rains; chairs provided, picnics welcome)
Admission: $20, $17 for members
Information: https://www.ccmoa.org/
Author talks and signs debut novel
Titcomb’s Bookshop will host Barnstable author Janis Robinson Daly for a signing of her debut novel "The Unlocked Path," out Aug. 25. Those who cannot attend in person may order a signed copy to be picked up or shipped. The book is set in 1897 Philadelphia and centers on an educated, career-minded, independent woman.
When: 2 p.m. Tuesday, Aug. 30
Where: Titcomb's Bookshop, 432 Route 6A, East Sandwich
Admission: Free
Information: https://www.titcombsbookshop.com/event/janis-daly-unlocked-path
Author Dunn to discuss book about Bound Brook Island
Eastham Library will host a night of local history and poetry focused on Wellfleet’s Bound Brook Island, its land and people, its past and present. Author Sharon Dunn will sign and sell her book, "An Island in Time," following her presentation. The book spans the island’s creation 16,000 years ago and ends in the 21st century, with its summer people, its artists and intellectuals, and a look at its future in a warming world. Dunn, a poet and nonfiction writer, has published a memoir “Under a Dark Eye: A Family Story,” as well as two books of poems, “Refugees in the Garden” and “My Brother & I.”
When: 6 p.m. Tuesday, Aug. 30
Where: Eastham Public Library, 190 Samoset Road
Admission: Free
Information: https://easthamlibrary.libcal.com/event/9352909
Program to celebrate Julia Nixon
Wellfleet Preservation Hall will host a celebration of vocalist Julia Nixon, who died in 2021, featuring Dave Ylvsaker and Nikko Atiim (Nixon) in concert. The duo will perform a set of songs inspired by Nixon's work while sharing personal stories and anecdotes about the musical artist. The three musicians performed as an ensemble to sold-out audiences at the Hall almost every summer for several years, featuring a wide repertoire ranging from classic standards to contemporary R&B.
When: 5 p.m. Tuesday, Aug. 30
Where: Wellfleet Preservation Hall, 335 Main St.
Admission: $20; $12 for children 13 and under
Information: https://www.wellfleetpreservationhall.org/
Falmouth ArtMarket to feature musician, author and artists
In the last of the weekly summer markets, Falmouth ArtMarket will feature local arts and crafts for sale, along with music by award-winning composer/musician/theater artist/writer/educator Mwalim (Morgan James Peters), a founding member of the GroovaLottos band; and a book booth featuring local author Sandra Faxon. Her book, “Oh! Did You Know That…” features her cut-paper collages and watercolors of sea animals; Faxon also sells her prints of her collages and watercolors at the ArtMarket. Another artist at the ArtMarket will be Debra Rogers of Cape Cod Booty, who makes fine jewelry from North Atlantic whelk shells. The Falmouth ArtMarket is a project of the Falmouth Cultural Council and helps to raise funds to be granted to local individuals and arts organizations for projects in the arts, humanities and interpretive sciences.
When: 11 a.m.- 5 p.m., Thursday, Sept. 1 for arts and crafts; 11 a.m. – 2 p.m. (book booth); 2 p.m.- 4 p.m. (musical performance)
Where: Falmouth Marina Park, 180 Scranton Ave.
Admission: Free
Information: https://falmouthartmarket.com/
Explore the history of the Provincetown Railroad
Provincetown Conservation Trust will present a talk on “The History of the Provincetown Railroad” with author Jane Weissman at its annual meeting and “Green” Party that is open to the public. The “Green” Party aims to raise awareness about conservation for fragile Provincetown eco-systems, protecting it for future generations and expanding accessibility to these areas for residents and visitors. Weissman's talk will focus on the railroad’s importance to Provincetown’s history, and where one can find evidence of the railroad today within the Old Colony Nature Pathway conservation area. The Trust will also give a presentation on the year's accomplishments and upcoming priorities. There will be information on how to become involved in preserving and protecting Provincetown.
When: 5 p.m.- 7 p.m., Thursday, Sept. 1
Where: Provincetown Commons, 46 Bradford St.
Admission: Free, donations encouraged; registration required
Information: https://www.provincetownconservationtrust.org/events/2022greenparty
Artists show cyanotype inspiration in 'Out of the Blue' exhibit
The Provincetown Art Association and Museum will open a three-month exhibition, “Out of the Blue,” curated by Michelle Law, and featuring Midge Battelle, Rebecca Bruyn and Amy Heller. There will be an opening reception and artist talk. The title refers to what is described as the brilliant and rarely achieved Prussian blue color indicative of cyanotype photography. This mid-19th-century process was first developed by Sir John Herschel, Anna Atkins first published her botanical studies in the 1840s using cyanotype and now the three artists in the exhibit work with this method of photography as a launching point. They combine cyanotypes with a variety of methods and materials such as digital images, fabric, sculpture, photographs, light boxes, motors, iPhoneography and more.
When: 6 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 1 (artist talk and lecture); 6 p.m., Friday, Sept. 2 (opening reception); 11 a.m.- 5 p.m., Friday, Aug. 26 to Sunday, Nov. 13 (exhibition hours)
Where: Provincetown Art Association and Museum, 460 Commercial St.
Admission: $15 museum admission
Information: https://paam.org/event/now-on-view-out-of-the-blue-cyanotypes-by-midge-battelle-rebecca-bruyn-and-amy-heller/
Rose Clancy and band to play benefit concert
The Chatham Ecumenical Council Helping Prevent Homelessness (CECH) will host a benefit concert featuring fiddler Rose Clancy and The Clancy Band. CECH provides financial assistance and other services to people in the community who are struggling with housing issues due to economic difficulties, medical hardships, or loss of employment. Clancy is a Celtic musician born into a musical family, including father Eugene, from County Armagh, and began performing early in her life with her family’s music group.
When: 7:30 p.m., Thursday, Sept. 1
Where: St. Christopher’s Episcopal Church, 625 Main St., Chatham
Admission: $20
Information: https://m.bpt.me/event/5489875
To have your event considered for a future Best Bet, contact CapeWeek Editor Kathi Scrizzi Driscoll at bestbets@capecodonline.com or kdriscoll@capecodonline.com at least two weeks in advance of the event.
This article originally appeared on Cape Cod Times: Cape Cod things to do: Concerts, a movie, books, an Italian feast, art
