Revels North, an arts nonprofit that celebrates and performs traditional music from around the world, has had a tough go since the coronavirus pandemic.

In 2020, Revels canceled its annual midwinter performance, and since then has had to work hard to get its footing. Last year, the Midwinter Revels were canceled as the organization tried to stabilize its budget and rebuild its programs.

The organization now seems to have steadied itself with a return to education programs that have built up its numbers, Executive Director Julia Hautaniemi said in an interview. The Midwinter Revels will return this December, she said.

“We revived quite a lot in 2024, and have a very busy year planned for 2025,” Hautaniemi, who has performed with Revels since 2017 and served as its leader since September 2022, said in a phone interview.

Revels North’s new steadiness stems in part from its establishment of a stable location, the Revels North Center for the Traditional Arts, at 2 Mascoma St., in Lebanon, just off Colburn Park.

Education programs picked up last year to the point where Revels Kids, a troupe of 14, performed in December as part of the Woodstock Wassail weekend. A concert by Windborne, a vocal harmony ensemble, sold out last fall, and a “pub sing,” an informal music session held at Revels North, drew 50 people, Hautaniemi said.

New education programs in singing, contradancing and clogging will return in the spring. A May celebration is in the works for Colburn Park, and auditions for the Midwinter Revels are planned for June.

Revels North is one of nine national chapters of the original Revels organization, which first performed what was then called The Christmas Revels, in the Boston area, in 1971. The first new chapter was founded in Hanover in 1974. While Revels is based on ancient Anglo-Saxon traditions, its chapters are paying closer attention to a wider range of solstice traditions, Hautaniemi said.

“We’re really striving, nationwide as an organization to bring in other cultures from around the world,” she said.

The post-pandemic recovery is ongoing. Fundraising is beginning to pick up, though finding and securing grant funding remains a challenge. Hautaniemi sees new energy as new people discover Revels. Performing the Midwinter Revels in Lebanon Opera House in December will be a shot in the arm, in terms of both audience and revenue.

“Like every arts organization, it’s been a struggle and we have been nervous,” Hautaniemi said. But this year, “I feel like we’re going to see a big outpouring of people” for Revels programs.

Murals in Newport

The Library Arts Center, in Newport, N.H., has put out a call to artists for a new set of murals, a public art feature for which the town is becoming known. Korn Alley, off Main Street, will be the site of 12 to 15 new murals. Artists have until Jan. 15 to apply. Go to libraryartscenter.org for more information.

Free film

Lebanon Opera House kicks off its free “Come as You Art” Film Series with an unusual 10 a.m. Saturday free screening of “Encanto.” This is the sing-along version, with the song lyrics on the screen, and the opera house is calling this a “sensory-friendly screening” designed to allow neurodiverse people to enjoy the film, with lights in the theater turned slightly up and the sound turned slightly down. “Audience members are welcome to dance, walk, shout, and SING!” (As of Wednesday afternoon, the opera house was suggesting that people call the box office to reserve seats at 603-448-0400.)

The screening also starts a winter season that includes performances from Americana music hero Dom Flemons (Feb. 15), comedian Maria Bamford (March 7) and, coming right up, a screening of “Rocky Horror Picture Show” with a live cast (Jan. 25). For more information, go to lebanonoperahouse.org.

Bookstock is back

Like the Midwinter Revels, last year’s Bookstock literary festival was canceled. It returns this year May 16 to 18 with a streamlined format.

As a foretaste of the festival, Bookstock is hosting a conversation between celebrated author Lisa Genova and neuroscientist and fiction writer Melodie Winawer at 6:45 p.m. on Jan. 17 in Woodstock’s Town Hall Theatre.

Genova is the author of “Still Alice,” a book about a woman’s descent into early-onset Alzheimer’s disease. Her new novel, “More or Less Maddy,” about a young woman diagnosed with bipolar disorder, comes out this month, a few days before she comes to Woodstock. Winawer, who lives in Woodstock, is an associate professor of neuroscience at Columbia University and the author of two novels. Their conversation will be followed by a Q&A and book signing. The event is free, but tickets are required. Reserve a seat through Bookstock at bookstockvt.org or Pentangle Arts at pentanglearts.org.

In addition, Pentangle and Bookstock co-host a screening at 7:30 p.m. on Jan. 16 of “Still Alice,” the film of Genova’s book, starring Julianne Moore. Tickets are $10.

Alex Hanson can be reached at ahanson@vnews.com or 603-727-3207.