Jazz Vespers celebrates the inspiration of Jazz, Blues, and Swing music. Wednesday January 2, 2013 will feature special guest Bobby Spellman on trumpet, with the house band of Lark Madden, Tomas Havrda, Susan Creamer, and Andy Brewster. The service will also feature reading selections. Please join us as we begin the New Year with music and time for reflection.

WHAT: Jazz Vespers
WHEN: Wednesday, January 2 at 8:00pm
WHERE: The First Religious Society, 26 Pleasant Street, Newburyport
COST: Free and open to the public

Zach Field will present a percussion and meditation session at The First Religious Society, 26 Pleasant Street in Newburyport.  Zach has been the director and proprietor of the successful percussion studio, Zach Field Drum Studios, at the Tannery in Newburyport for more than a decade. Currently, he employs six professional percussionists and offers a variety of lessons and classes. Zach graduated from the University of Massachusetts in Lowell with a Bachelor’s degree in music performance.  He has taught percussion in the Pentucket Regional School District as well as at Salem State and is a guest lecturer at UMass Lowell.  At present, in addition to running his studio, he performs with several local drum groups.  In 2010 he began ‘The Gong Meditation Project’ as a means of helping himself and others find ways to escape from the everyday stresses of life. After years of attempting silent meditation, he found that playing soothing pitched gongs enhanced the meditation process by helping distract the mind and encouraging a relaxed state.  His service, entitled “Gong Meditation and Relaxation,” will provide a brief history of his own journey into using gongs and will offer some meditation tips. He will then invite the congregation to engage in a twenty-minute gong meditation.

WHAT:  Percussion Meditation Service
WHEN:  Sunday, December 30 at 10:30am
WHERE:  The First Religious Society, 26 Pleasant Street, Newburyport
COST:  Free and open to the public

Tickets are now on sale for the YWCA Greater Newburyport’s 2013 Martin Luther King, Jr. Breakfast.  This year’s event will be held on January 21, 2013 at Newburyport City Hall.  Registration and continental breakfast will begin at 8:00 am.  The program will begin at 8:30.  Tickets are $25 ($20 for senior citizens.)  Thanks to the generous donations of sponsors and community members, High School students attend the breakfast for free.  Advance tickets can be purchased at the YWCA 13 Market Street until Friday January 18^th at noon.  Tickets will be available at the door.

“Racism is a thing of the past” and “events like this perpetuate issues that no longer exist.”  “There is no racism here.”  These, and similar comments, were expressed by high school students at last year’s Martin Luther King Jr. Breakfast.  At some level, maybe these comments can be excused.  After all, the civil rights movement is taught in history classes.  The civil rights act was signed into law by President Johnson in 1964, almost 50 years ago.  In contrast, in 2008, the United States elected its first African American president.  After the election, there was even talk of a “post racial America”.  But is it really true? That still unfinished conversation about the current reality of racism has helped the students on our planning committee shape the planning for this year’s event.

Our guest presenter at this year’s breakfast will be Jamele Adams, Associate Dean of Student Life at Brandeis University.  Jamele oversees the departments of Student Activities and Community Service, as well as the Intercultural Center and the Chaplaincy. He works with campus groups to promote and enhance opportunities to celebrate diversity at Brandeis. In addition, he oversees the Community Prejudice Response Task Force.  Known as Harlym 125, Adams was a frequent and highly regarded figure in competitions in New York and beyond. Since coming to Brandeis, he has become a part of the Boston area poetry scene and joined a team of poets who have won numerous competitions regionally and nationally.   This promises to be an engaging and meaningful program for all.

For more information, go to www.ywcanewburyport.org or call 978-465-9922.

Lush Guitar textures and soaring cello melodies by candlelight are on the program December 21 as the FINCH Coffeehouse welcomes Ken Bonfield and Kristen Miller for their Soulful Strings Holiday Concert.

Bonfield and Miller performed their program of holiday treats for the ears last December to joy-filled audiences around New England, and return to Newburyport for a second season with some old and new music.

Bonfield, an American Fingerstyle guitarist, is known for his hummable melodies, humorous stories, dry wit, and his inventive use of alternate tunings. For this holiday concert he’ll use themes found in Celtic, American Folk, Delta Blues, and Jazz, as he performs traditional and original seasonal music. Bonfield will also perform, on his new Carruth Harp Guitar, several arrangements of songs from his successful holiday album “WinterNight.” Endowed an extra 5 sub-bass strings, the harp guitar covers a symphonic range from the lowest bass note to the highest note on a violin. Bonfield is one of only a handful of guitarists who tour nationally with a harp guitar.

“We are overjoyed to bring our holiday concert to Newburyport,” says Miller, a classically trained cellist who has been pushing the boundaries of the instrument for the past eight years with her rich, multilayered trademark style. “The sound of cello and guitar together is truly inspirational. I’m surprised there hasn’t been more music written for that combination!” A leading-edge composer, she plugs her antique Parisian cello into a digital phrase recorder and effects pedals to stack layers of percussive and buttery cello sound. Billboard’s Bobby Borg calls her music “romantically, hauntingly, charmingly brilliant.”  Miller will perform soul-stirring instrumental pieces from her repertoire, and especially from her fourth CD, Winter Loves Company, critically acclaimed holiday collaboration with composer/producer Tom Eaton. Bonfield and Miller will also perform several pieces together.

Both musicians enjoy national careers, and have each seen their CD’s become instant holiday classics. They return to the road this December to perform their Soulful Strings concert around New England.

What: Soulful Strings Concert
Where:  FINCH Coffeehouse at the UU Newburyport, 26 Pleasant St, Newburyport
When: Friday December 21, at 8 p.m. (doors open at 7)
Tickets: $15

Greater Newburyport Chamber of Commerce and Industry

Happy Holidays from the Greater Newburyport Chamber of Commerce and Industry! I hope this finds you all well and getting into the holiday spirit! The Chamber has been very busy over the past few weeks. We have welcomed Santa and Mrs. Claus to help light the Christmas tree, had a terrific first Invitation Night and had two very busy weekends of Santa’s Workshop!

Not to worry if you have missed any of our holiday happenings. We have more in store for you this coming weekend.

• Holiday Invitation Night – Friday, December 14
• Santa’s Workshop – Saturdays and Sundays, December  1 – 23

If you are looking more things to do this weekend you have come to the right place! Check out the following events going on in and around greater Newburyport this weekend. Looking for more or perhaps more information about the greater Newburyport area? Well it’s just one click away www.newburyportchamber.org

• December 13 – Newburyport Art Association 2012 Holiday Show and Sale
• December 14 – Whittier’s Birthday Christmas Luncheon
• December 15   - Solstice Song at the Actor’s Studio
• December 16 – A Christmas Carol Panto at the Firehouse

For more information on these events and other events listed on our website:

And as always there are so many options for those that may want to shop, dine, rest, stroll, bike, sing, dance, visit and explore. For a complete list of chamber members go to our business directory.

And as always, don’t’ forget to follow us on Facebook and LinkedIn. So get out there and enjoy all that the greater Newburyport area has to offer.

For more information just go to www.newburyportchamber.org. Have a wonderful weekend and enjoy the greater Newburyport area!

“He’s right behind you!”The Firehouse and TITO team up to present A Christmas Carol Panto.

Bah humbug boys and girls!  Now that Little Red and Will Scarlett have fixed up everything in Sure-Wouldn’t Forest, they’re off on another adventure for the holidays, with figgy-pudding, smoking-bishop and ghosts that’ll scare the Dickens out of you (“They’re right behind you!”).  When the Sheriff is confronted by three spirits in the night will he stop being such a Scrooge?  Can Robin get over not playing the biggest role in the play?

Find out when the Firehouse Center for the Arts teams up with Theater in the Open to present A Christmas Carol Panto: Little Red and Robin Green at the Firehouse (Market Square, Newburyport) Friday – Sun, December 14-23.  The curtain goes up Fri-Sat at 8p and Sat-Sun at 3p. Tickets are on sale now ($15 Adults ~ $13 Members/ Students/Seniors) and may be purchased at the Box Office (Wed-Sun, 12N-5P) or online at www.firehouse.org.

Popular throughout the UK and closely associated with the Christmas season, pantomime is a comical, musical
play that features lots of cross-dressing, animals, coarse humor, and audience participation.   Even the Beatles (Lennon, Starr, Harrison, McCartney) starred in their own pantomime show in London in 1964; and the beloved Charlie Chaplin played the front end of a horse, a favorite animal character of panto, in the Hippodrome Theatre in Stockport (UK).

Panto is a perfect holiday tradition for families to enjoy.  Mother Goose stories and other time-honored children’s tales

are often the foundation upon which classic British panto performances are built, but the fun is in no way limited to the younger set. Audience members of all ages are to be found, and it is customary for performances to encourage participation by one and all. Hence the “He’s right behind you!” phrase that has become the tag line for all things panto as the audience desperately tries to warn the players of the dangers that lurk just out of their sight!

Inspired by Roman plays, productions through the centuries have relied upon a stock collection of characters and situations. In days of yore, characters featured Punchinello (from whence originates Punch of Punch and Judy fame), and the classic clown Harlequin, made recognizable to most by the colorful costume with oversized diamonds. Today, it is customary to find a principle boy (often played by a woman), animals, and a smattering of double entendres which make for an entertaining time for the adults as well as the little people in your group.

Now TITO creates its own take on the panto fun with A Christmas Carol Panto: Little Red and Robin Green. Directed by Edward Speck and written by Edward Speck and Beth Randall, this production has a cast of 45 ranging in age from 38- to 8-years old.  Starring Edward Speck as Robin Hood, Beth Randall as Sheriff/Scrooge, Aisha Chodat as Little Red, Justin Turner as Big Bad Wolf, Lily MacLeod as Will Scarlet, Tristan Horan as Little John, Spencer Redgate as Will Stutely, Kelley Knight as Deputy Bumps, Rachel Ameen as Officer Slap, and Abigail Langsner as Titania (all Newburyport). The Merry Men, Ensemble, and Christmas Spirits will be played by adults and children from Newburyport, Amesbury, Haverhill, Byfield, Bradford, South Hampton, NH, and Kingston, NH. This will be Tito’s 8th production of a Christmas Carol.

Don’t miss the fun of Panto this holiday season at the Firehouse!

Calendar Listing
WHAT:         A Christmas Carol Panto: Little Red and Robin Green
WHEN:        Fri – Sat, December 14-15 and 21-22 at 8p & Sat – Sun, December 15-16 and 22-23 at 3p
WHERE:     Firehouse Center for the Arts, Market Square, Newburyport, MA
TICKETS:  $15 Adults • $13 Members/Seniors/ Students.  For more info please call the Box Office at 978/462-7336 or visit online at www.firehouse.org

About The Firehouse Center for the Arts- The Firehouse Center for the Arts is member-based organization located on the waterfront in Newburyport, with a 195-seat theater.  The Firehouse offers “arts inspired experiences” including film, dance, theatre, concerts, children’s programming, a new works festival, and an art gallery which exhibits works by local and international artists. The Firehouse is handicap accessible.

A Firehouse favorite returns for the holidays

 We all know how easy it can be to get caught up in the hustle and bustle of the season. There are gifts to buy, gifts to wrap, parties to give, parties to attend.  Why not take a break from your holiday shopping on Saturday, December 15 at 11AM and come over to the Firehouse Center for the Arts at Market Square in Newburyport for a little old-fashioned Holiday Sing-Along and spend a little quality time with your family.  Tickets are $3 and may be purchased through the Box Office at 978/462-7336.

The Youth Choir from the Immaculate Conception Church (Newburyport), directed by Donna Postle, will be there to lead everyone in singing some well-loved carols, with music provided by John Metrano on piano.  Our favorite elf, Terry Blanchard, will once again read ‘Twas the Night Before Christmas while wearing his famous stocking cap knit exclusively for this annual presentation by the North Pole’s very talented Mrs. Elf.  After the children listen to the classic tale, it will be time to grab your camera and head for the lobby to meet Santa. A little treat for each child is included in the ticket price.

Plan early to attend as this very popular holiday tradition always sells out.  Your children will thank you for it!

Calendar Listing
WHAT:    Holiday Sing-Along
WHEN:    Saturday, December 15 at 11 AM
WHERE:  Firehouse Center for the Arts, Market Square, Newburyport, MA
TICKETS:  $3 and are available at the Box Office or by calling 978/462-7336.

About The Firehouse Center for the Arts- The Firehouse Center for the Arts is member-based organization located on the waterfront at Market Square, Newburyport, MA with a 195-seat theater.  The Firehouse offers “arts inspired experiences” including film, dance, theatre, concerts, children’s programming, a new works festival, and an art gallery which exhibits works by local and international artists. The Firehouse is handicap accessible.

Artist Sandy Farrier will exhibit his work at the Firehouse Center

Newburyport artist Sandy Farrier has a passion for design and the theater.  What better way to combine his loves than to create theater posters?  The twist is this:  the posters he creates are for plays that have not yet been written.

The Firehouse Center for the Arts will host Posters for Plays Not Yet Written, an exhibit of Farrier’s work from January 9 through February 10 in the lobby gallery of the historic Market Square theater in Newburyport.  The gallery is open during regular Box Office hours Wednesday – Sundays from 12N – 5P. This event is free and open to the public.

A thespian himself, Farrier is no stranger to the stage.   As a frequent performer on the Firehouse stage (New Works Festival, Random Acts, Funny Money) and other New England venues, Farrier knows the ins-and-outs of the dramatic world. Maybe that is what fuels his imagination for churning out play ideas — knowing how something might fit as a staged production.

The posters are beautiful and definitely pieces of art that would enhance any space.  Perhaps it is the strength of the imagery — the fact that the art touches an emotional chord — that makes them so effective at pulling a viewer in and making one wonder about the play…the point, after all, of a theater poster! No matter that the plays have not yet been produced.

Alan Huisman, Development Editor at Heinemann Educational Books in Portsmouth, NH writes “There are theatre posters, and then there are theatre posters. The worst examples are utilitarian handbills, providing the ‘who-what-when-where’ and perhaps an innocuous, almost always arbitrary, illustration. They’re passed by, ignored; don’t get people in the seats who wouldn’t have been sitting in them anyway. The best are pieces of art in and of themselves, delivering an arresting visual manifestation of the essence of the play while also conveying the logistical information clearly but simply and unobtrusively. Sandy’s are decidedly in the latter category, deserving of permanent display, suitable for framing. .. His posters make you want to see THIS play, find your way to THAT theatre, get there ON TIME, and take your seat.”

As in the proverbial chicken and egg question, it is hard to say, even for the artist himself, what comes first:  the seeds for a play idea or the imagery.  “This work bridges three interests of mine: design, photography and theater. A poster concept, or, as creative types refer to it, “the way in,” can come from any of those starting points, and often the final design is informed by all three. Shown here are a few of the over 50 different posters from this series. One of these days I need to write the plays to go with them” says Farrier.

Calendar Listing
WHAT:   Posters for Plays Not Yet Written, Digital Prints Exhibition by Sandy Farrier
WHEN:   January 9 – February 10, 2013
WHERE:    Firehouse Center for the Arts, Market Square, Newburyport, MA
TICKETS:  This event is free and open to the public and may be viewed during regular Box Office hours (Wed –Sun, 12N-5P).  For more info please call 978/462-7336 or visit online at www.firehouse.org

About the artist- Sandy Farrier was born in New Haven, CT, grew up in Westford, MA and Biddeford Pool, ME, and lived in Vermont, Manhattan and Seattle before moving to Newburyport in 2004. His design career has spanned four decades, and includes brief experiments at being a cartoonist, an architect, a filmmaker, a ski bum, and a fly fishing guide. Throughout most of his adult life, design has been both a passion and a profession, though, when pressed on the subject, Sandy will admit to still wondering what he’ll be doing when he grows up. Moving “back East” in 2004 led to two life-altering developments: first, his involvement in higher education at MIT and Endicott College, and, second, his new and growing passion for theater. When not serving as the Chair of the Visual Communications Dept. in The School of Visual and Performing Arts at Endicott College, he is often busy studying acting, running lines for his next theater performance, or working on his next poster. Sandy has one child, two grandchildren, and lives in Newburyport with the lovely and talented Karen Chandler.

About The Firehouse Center for the Arts- The Firehouse Center for the Arts is a member-based 501©3 non-profit organization located on the waterfront in Newburyport, with a 195-seat theater.  The Firehouse offers “arts inspired experiences” including film, dance, theatre, concerts, children’s programming, a new works festival, and an art gallery which exhibits works by local and regional artists. The Firehouse is handicap accessible. Visit www.firehouse.org to learn more.

In the autumn of 2001, Gordon Przybyla and Dylan Metrano decided to stage an unorthodox art show in their hometown of Newburyport, Massachusetts. The concept was simple: they asked all the artists (and some non-artists) that they knew to contribute fifty pieces of art to be given away anonymously in December. Some artists gave us fifty unique pieces, others made prints or photocopies. The artists gathered over pizza at the end of November and stamped “FREE ART” on over 1000 pieces of artwork. They made some sturdy boxes, and labeled them “FREE ART: TAKE ONE”, and filled them with the art. On December 1st, they hung the boxes up around downtown Newburyport in various stores and public places, where they were picked through and emptied out over the course of the holiday season.

It was great to be able to give away so much art at a time of year when there is such a focus on commercialism. Much of the art was unsigned, anonymous. There was no explanation of the show on the boxes, no websites for more information. The artists wouldn’t know who ended up with their art. The people who took the art wouldn’t know who made it. It was a pure act of creation and giving.

The following year, they decided to stage the Free Art Show again. And again the next year. Now in it’s twelfth year, we have seen little variance from the original concept. At one point, they lowered the number of pieces artists had to contribute from fifty to thirty, to try to encourage more people to participate. And over the years, they added more cities where the boxes would be hung. Portsmouth, NH; Portland, ME; Biddeford, ME; and Brooklyn, NY have all seen the spray-painted cardboard FREE ART boxes. Scores of artists have contributed. Many participate each year, and there are always some new faces.

In November, 2010, Burst & Bloom Press published a book, Free Art: Take One, compiling an assortment of artwork from 2001 to 2009, presented anonymously, in the spirit of the Free Art Show.

The Free Art Show 2012 is up now in Newburyport at Caffe Di Siena, The Firehouse Center for the Arts, Joppa Fine Foods and The Dance Place in the Tannery, and Ganesh Imports, as well as Ganesh Imports in Portsmouth, NH. This year there are also boxes at Engine in Biddeford, ME and Waterfall Arts in Belfast, ME.

Contributing artists this year include Bonnie Jean Malcolm, Christopher Holt, Derek Laplante, Dylan Metrano, Elizabeth Personeni, Eric Smith, Erika Marquardt, Gordon Przybyla, Kevin (Darkman) Ormsby, Mandy Sabine, Rob Napier, Trev Stair, Mia Thurlow, Susan Kapuscinski Gaylord, Charlie Russel, Olivia Clove, Larry Nile, and Morgan Mead.
There is a Free Art Facebook page at facebook.com/freeartshow.

Arts organization looking for work from 12 artists for the 2013-14 schedule of solo exhibitions.

The next round of Artists’ Proposals for solo-shows in the Firehouse Gallery (located in the lobby at the theater building on Market Square, Newburyport) will be accepted March 11 – April 30, 2013. The 2013 round of proposals will be for 12 monthly shows from October 2013 – September 2014. A proposal consists of 10-20 digital images on CD, representing work that would be in the show; artist’s statement; Artist’s bio or a CV; and $20 fee (check or money order accepted, made out to Firehouse Center for the Arts).

The proposal package should be mailed to: Firehouse Center for the Arts, Gallery Director, Market Square, Newburyport, MA 01950

Proposals can also be hand-delivered to the Firehouse Box Office in the Firehouse Center for the Arts located at Market Square in downtown Newburyport. The Box Office is open Wednesday- Sunday, noon to 5 PM.

A visual arts panel, composed of Firehouse Board members and the Gallery Director, reviews the proposals in September. The panel looks for a body of work that can produce a coherent show in the Firehouse space and they seek to program a variety of mediums and styles in the 12-month Gallery year. The review panel is not a jury. Scheduling occurs in May and all artists who submit proposals are notified no later than June 15 as to whether their proposal has been selected. The complete 12-month schedule is announced in June.

For application forms, gallery specs and other information please visit www.firehouse.org/L3-shows-artgallery.html

About The Firehouse Center for the Arts- The Firehouse Center for the Arts is a member-based 501©3 non-profit organization located on the waterfront in Newburyport, with a 195-seat theater. The Firehouse offers “arts inspired experiences” including film, dance, theatre, concerts, children’s programming, a new works festival, and an art gallery which exhibits works by local and regional artists. The Firehouse is handicap accessible. Visit www.firehouse.org to learn more.