Tour the Cape with a song, try the best food of spring, explore serial killers over brunch
If you are out and about on Cape Cod this week, especially this weekend, don't be surprised if you hear music.
Both instrumental and choral music events are happening all over the peninsula in concerts that are celebrating spring as well as anniversaries of local choirs.
There will also be chamber music from the Pernambuco Chamber Ensemble, named for the rainforest wood from which the group's bows are made. It is a bow-making tradition that has endured for more than 250 years, but is now in danger from shrinking rainforest lands.
In other Best Bets for this week, the Dennis Chamber of Commerce welcomes runners and walkers to its May 5K Race on Saturday. A portion of the proceeds will go to WE CAN, a group that helps Cape women.
If you are a fan of true-crime writers Casey Sherman and Dave Wedge, you will have a chance to chat with them at the Pelham House Resort's first Books & Brunch event Sunday. The authors and podcast hosts will talk about several of their books, including "Hunting Whitey" and "Boston Strong."
Run for a cause with the Dennis Chamber of Commerce 5K for WE CAN.
The Dennis Chamber of Commerce invites all runners and walkers to “exercise their community support” Saturday, May 6, to raise money for WE CAN, a Cape Cod nonprofit empowering women. The May 5K Road Race kicks off at 10 a.m. with a new route that begins and finishes at Mayflower Beach, 2 Dunes Road in Dennis.
The first 100 entrants will receive a free race t-shirt. Medals will be awarded to the top male and female finishers in six categories. Register online at dennischamber.com. An after-party for all participants will be held at Chapin’s Bayside Restaurant, 85 Taunton Ave., Dennis.
Try a beer with jalapeno, poblano and serrano peppers in time for Cinco de Mayo.
For a limited time, Cape Cod Beer in Hyannis is serving a blonde ale conditioned with spicy peppers.
“It is HOT HOT this year with jalapeños, poblanos, habaneros and serranoes,” says the company’s announcement.
The caliente offering is available at the brewery on draft and in howlers/growlers to take home.
Watch a one-woman play, as ‘The Playground’ swings into Truro.
How much of yourself would you sacrifice to live “a life of luxury among New York City’s upper class?”
That question is at the center of Jim Dalglish’s award-winning “The Playground.” The staged reading of the one-woman play with voices will be held at 2 p.m. Saturday, May 6, at Truro Public Library, 7 Standish Way, North Truro. Cape-based actress Anna Botsford will play the woman whose life changes when her husband takes a job at a hedge fund. "The Playground" has been awarded second place for the 2022 Kaplan Prize and is a finalist in the Waterworks Festival sponsored by Live Arts Theatre in Charlottesville, Virginia. Admission is free.
Learn about the birth of abstract art at the Woods Hole Film Festival.
Woods Hole Film Festival continues Saturday, May 6, with a screening of Lasse Hallström’s biopic “HILMA,” an exploration of the life of Hilma af Klint, who was credited, after her death, with being a founder of abstract art.
Swedish director Hallström is known for directing most of the band Abba’s music videos as well as “My Life as a Dog,” “Cider House Rules” and “What’s Eating Gilbert Grape?”
The screening begins at 7 p.m. at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution’s Redfield Auditorium, 45 Water St., Woods Hole. Doors open at 6:30 p.m. Tickets are $16 ($12 for festival members and $10 for students and military members). Tickets are on sale in advance via at www.woodsholefilmfestival.org and at the door.
Before the film, ticket holders are invited to Masterson Made at 89 Water St. in Woods Hole for apple cider and charcuterie from 5:30 to 6:30 p.m. Ticket holders also receive a discount on meals at the Captain Kidd Bar & Restaurant prior to the screening. Reservations required.
Chat with Casey Sherman and Dave Wedge at Pelham House's first book brunch.
True crime-writing duo Casey Sherman and Dave Wedge will lead a conversation about several of their nonfiction books, including "Hunting Whitey" and "Boston Strong," during Pelham House Resort’s first Brunch and Books event at 11 a.m. Sunday, May 7.
The resort's culinary team will present a sprawling buffet brunch of dishes including brioche French toast, heirloom beet salad and house-made pastries. Following the presentation, guests will be able to purchase books from local bookstore Brewster Books for Sherman and Wedge to sign. Tickets, at $40, may be purchased through Eventbrite. Sherman and Wedge also run the podcast, "Saints, Sinners and Serial Killers."
Pernambuco Ensemble celebrates 250 years of music-making with a Falmouth concert.
The Pernambuco Chamber Ensemble will be in concert at 3 p.m. Sunday, May 7, at the Unitarian Universalist meetinghouse, 840 Sandwich Road in East Falmouth.
“The group took on their name in 2019 to highlight the Brazilian wood that is used to make stringed instrument bows. Pernambuco bows have enhanced the performance of stringed music for over 250 years. Now, however, the Pernambuco trees are endangered by urban and agricultural development that has cut the Brazilian rainforest to just seven percent of its original area,” concert organizers wrote in an announcement about the group.
Members of Pernambuco Chamber Ensemble include violinist Shirie Leng, violist Jessica Baum, cellist Judith Glixon, bassist and vocalist Michael Goldring, and pianist Daniel Goodman.
The ensemble will present works for strings, piano and voice by Rebecca Clarke, Erwin Schulhoff, Gabriel Fauré and Maurice Ravel. The group will feature a performance of Ravel’s “Mother Goose Suite.”
Admission is free, with “donations gratefully accepted.” For more info, email Michael Goldring at goldring1223@gmail.com
Attend the Cape's first jazz piano summit.
In a first for the Cape, there will be a jazz piano summit featuring Fred Boyle from South Yarmouth, Matt Hutchinson from Barnstable and Paul McWilliams from Plymouth. Organized by Bart Weisman and presented by the Cultural Center of Cape Cod, the summit begins at 3 p.m. Sunday, May 7. All three pianists will perform jazz individually and together accompanied by Ron Ormsby on bass and Weisman on drums. Tickets, at $25, are available at www.cultural-center.org or by calling 508-394-7100. Cultural Center of Cape Cod is located at 307 Old Main St., South Yarmouth.
This Amazing Grace Cape Cod event includes boating, a climbing wall and outdoor games.
Amazing Grace Cape Cod is hosting its 10th anniversary with a celebration and open house from 1 to 5 p.m. Sunday, May 7, at Camp Burgess, 75 Stowe Road, Sandwich.
“The day celebrates our work to break the cycle of family incarceration and (help) the children affected by incarceration, typically six times more likely to go to prison than their peers,” organizers wrote in an announcement of the event.
Activities include boating and swimming at the waterfront, a climbing wall, outdoor games, food, a visit from the Cotuit Center’s Art Bus, and a video montage about the group created by three teenage members.
Organizers hope to welcome a dozen children and a dozen mentors 18 and older for Amazing Grace’s August 20-25 session at Camp Burgess. Application forms and more information: http://amazinggracecapecod.org.
Eastern Massachusetts chorus groups collaborate for 40th anniversary.
Cape Cod Chorale (CCC) and Choral Art Society of the South Shore (CAS), two of eastern Massachusetts’ community choral ensembles, join forces this spring in honor of CCC’s 40th anniversary season in concert, performing “Mozart and Two Mendelssohns.”
The concert will be held at 4 p.m. Sunday, May 7, at Mashpee High School, 500 Old Barnstable Road. A day earlier, on May 6, there will be a 4 p.m. performance at Scituate Center for the Performing Arts, 606 Chief Justice Cushing Highway (Route 3A).
The combined choral ensemble is conducted by Danica A. Buckley, who conducts both choral groups. The concerts will feature professional vocal soloists Susan Consoli, soprano, Alexandra Dietrich, mezzo-soprano, Ethan Depuy, tenor, and Dana Whiteside, baritone, in addition to 110 voices and a full orchestra.
Scituate performance tickets are available at the door and at choralartsociety.org, and Mashpee performance tickets are available at the Cape Cod Chorale website. Tickets are $25 for adults and free for students 18 and younger. The chorale groups also participate in the Card to Culture Program, offering a $12.50 ticket to those with a WIC or Connector Care card.
Learn to cook and eat spring’s treasures, from wild mushrooms to fiddlehead ferns.
Over the next three weeks, students in chef Joe Sizynski’s cooking classes in the Creative Arts Center of the Cultural Center of Cape Cod will taste white asparagus from the Landes region of France, wild ramps from Tennessee and Ohio, wild mushrooms from the Pacific Northwest, spring lamb from Colorado along with fiddlehead ferns, morels and more. The first class is from 6 to 8 p.m. Tuesday, May 9. $75/$65 for members. Register at www.cultural-center.org or call 508-394-7100. The Cultural Center is located at 307 Old Main St. in South Yarmouth.
Coffee and Mother Earth: Planting 101 with Priscilla Husband
Presented by the Cultural Center of Cape Cod from 10-11 a.m. Tuesday, May 9, is a discussion on the best way to plant perennials, shrubs and trees including soil and fertilizing tips. The cost is $16/$14 for members. Register at www.cultural-center.org or call 508-394-7100.
Watercolor painting demo
Artist Ann Hart will demonstrate watercolor painting at 10 a.m. Wednesday, May 10, at the Creative Arts Center, 154 Crowell Road, Chatham. The demo is free, but attendees are asked to bring nonperishable food items for donation to the Family Pantry of Cape Cod. The demo is made possible by a grant from the Women’s Club of Chatham. Refreshments will be served. Call 508-945-3583 for reservations and more info.
Cape Cod Chorale rehearses Broadway benefit
Cape Cod Chorale starts rehearsals for its June concert on Monday, May 8. The group rehearses from 7-9 p.m. each Monday at First Church Sandwich, 136 Main St., Sandwich. The chorus is conducted by Artistic Director Danica A. Buckley, accompanied by pianist Cathy Bonnett.
The fundraising concert provides money for a scholarship for a music student and part of the concert proceeds will go to the Family Table Collaborative, which has provided, organizers said, 94,000 meals.
For those interested in singing, Cape Cod Chorale is non-auditioned, but the director may assist with vocal placement, and you do have to be able to carry a tune and learn and hold a part.
For more information, contact membership director Alison McMurry at alisonsinging@gmail.com.
This article originally appeared on Cape Cod Times: Cape things to do May 5-12: 5K for WE CAN, try a spicy beer, concerts
