CHELSEA — If you’re looking for a socially distanced activity this weekend, consider driving along the Chelsea Barn Quilt Trail.
Since 2017, residents have been creating barn quilts — large, colorful, scenes painted on pieces of plywood — to display outside their homes and other places throughout Chelsea.
“The Barn Quilt Trail was about engaging people who would not typically be involved with the arts, something that’s accessible to everybody,” said Carrie Caouette-De Lallo, a Chelsea resident and artist who co-founded the project with her daughter, Sarah. “It’s just mind blowing how enthusiastic people have been.”
Now there are more than 90 such barn quilts throughout the First Branch Valley. A map of the sites can be downloaded at chelseavt-arts.com/the-barn-quilt-project. There is also a video tour on the website.
“It’s such a simple thing and I think it speaks to the importance of making art accessible for people because I think it can be intimidating,” Caouette-De Lallo said. “I think it can be something the average person says ‘I’m not an artist, but I have an idea.’”
Another socially distanced activity to try out this weekend is a new StoryWalk in downtown Norwich featuring the picture book Around America to Win the Vote: Two Suffragists, a Kitten, and 10,000 Miles, written by Mara Rockliff and illustrated by Hadley Hooper.
It is being hosted by the Norwich Bookstore and Norwich Historical Society as a way to honor the Suffrage Movement. Pages from the book will be spread out on panels leading from the bookstore and across Elm Street to the historical society. It will be up through Nov. 7.
“In the past we’ve done local authors,” said Liz Bernard, co-owner of the Norwich Bookstore. “The impetus for this one was the subject rather than who the author is.”
The Norwich Public Library will provide materials for the children to create yard signs to encourage voting. Supplies can be requested by emailing nplchildrensdept@gmail.com. When the sign is complete, it can be dropped off at the historical society by Nov. 1. The signs will be displayed around town on Election Day.
“It really is a family activity,” Bernard said.
Here’s a look at other Upper-Valley based events that are taking place over the next few days.
■In “Digital News Literacy 101,” Hartland Public Library staff will share tools and tips for finding reliable online information. Program takes place from 4:30-5:30 p.m. on Zoom. Register at hartlandlibraryvt.org/calendar.
■Efficiency Vermont’s Becca White and COVER Home Repair’s Bill Neukomm will discuss home weatherization options during an online workshop from 5:30-6:30 p.m. on Zoom as part of Sustainable Woodstock’s Green Drinks gathering. Visit sustainablewoodstock.org for link.
■The Tiny Necessary Theater festival at Northern Stage kicks off with It’s Fine, I’m Fine, a one-woman show written and performed by Stephanie Everett, directed by Carol Dunne and choreographed by Beatrice Capote, from 2-3:30 p.m. and 7:30-9 p.m. Performances also take place on Friday and Saturday from 7:30-9 p.m. and 2-3:30 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday. Tickets cost $19-$45 (students $19, EBT cardholders, $5) and can be purchased at northernstage.org/tnt. A performance of the play can be streamed for $15.
■Farnum Hill Ciders’ Steve Wood will give an online talk titled “History of US Cider Industry: Talk and Tasting” at 7 p.m. as part of the Enfield Shaker Museum’s “All at Home: A Taste of History” lecture and food tasting series. Tickets cost $15 and are available at shakermuseum.org/event/all-at-home-a-taste-of-history.
■Watch Awake, a Dream from Standing Rock, a documentary about the massive peaceful resistance led by the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe to the Dakota Access Pipeline, from now through Oct. 28. Sponsored by Sustainable Woodstock. $10 donation requested. Register at awake-standing-rock.eventbrite.com.
■Begin streaming River City Drumbeat — a documentary about an after-school drum corps in Louisville, Kentucky — and The Dark Divide — a film about a butterfly expert searching for a new species — which are both available through the Hop’s Film on Demand program. It costs $5-$8 to stream and will be available through Oct. 28. Visit hop.dartmouth.edu for more information.
■Liz Burdette will teach an in-person and virtual Zumba class from 8:30-9:30 a.m. In-person class limited to eight participants and offered via livestream. Pre-registration is required at hanoverrec.com. No drop-ins. $8 for in-person, $5 for livestream.
■Learn about the old buildings from the 1890s and early 1900s that were built to house people who worked at the paper mill that used to exist on the Connecticut River in Wilder during a walk from 1-3 p.m. led by Vital Communities’ Valley Quest Coordinator Sandy Gmur and Joy Black, a member of the Hartford Historical Society. Register at hartfordvt.myrec.com.
■Meredith Rivlin, education manager at Cedar Circle Farm and Education Center (225 Pavillion Road, East Thetford) will teach a workshop from 10-11:30 a.m. and 1-2:30 p.m. on how to make Fire Cider, a spicy vinegar concoction that helps kick a cold to the curb. Group size is limited to 10 participants. For ages 15 and up. Register at cedarcirclefarm.org. $25.
■Stop by the Monster Mash Craft Fair from 10 a.m.-4 p.m. at A Sacred Place (970 Route 118, Canaan). The event includes handcrafts, jewelry, herbal items, fiber arts, essential oils, candles and blacksmith arts. Prizes for best costume, raffles, trick-or-treating for kids and food concessions. Masks required. evenmoregardens@gmail.com.
■Join members of the Upper Valley Land Trust for a workday from 10 a.m.-noon at the Morey Mountain Conservation Area (Lake Morey Road, East Side of Lake Morey, Fairlee). The event will require lifting and carrying of heavy trail digging tools for some participants, 1-3 miles of hiking, and up to 500 feet of elevation change. To reserve your spot on the volunteer crew, email Paul.Blazevich@UVLT.org.
■Stop by the First Universalist Society of Hartland (8 Brownsville Road) from 4:30-6:30 p.m. for a drive-thru turkey supper that includes roast turkey with gravy, stuffing, mashed potatoes, squash, coleslaw, pickles, cranberry sauce and apple crisp. No preorders. $12, exact change preferred. office@hartlanduu.org or 802 738-0102.
■Author Jason Smiley will discuss the Eddy family, of Chittenden, Vt., who claimed to be spirit mediums during the late 1800s from 2-3 p.m. during a Zoom program hosted by the Woodstock History Center. Visit woodstockhistorycenter.org for link to the program.
■BarnArts Center for the Arts will present an outdoor staging of It Can’t Happen Here — adapted from Sinclair Lewis’ 1935 novel about a dictator elected president of the U.S. — from 2-3:30 p.m. at Lyman Point Park (167 Maple St., White River Junction). The show will be dedicated to cast member Jeff Tolbert, who passed away last week. Get tickets at barnarts.org. $5-$25.
■Musicians Emily Musty Zanleoni, GeNreal and DJ Sean will perform in a program titled “Accelerating Change: House Concert” beginning at 8 p.m. The event is being co-sponsored by Music to Life, Upper Valley Music Center and North Country Community Radio. For more information and to register, visit accelerator.musictolife.org.
Editor’s note: Submit Upper Valley-based events to the Valley News at calendar.vnews.com.
Liz Sauchelli can be reached at esauchelli@vnews.com or 603-727-3221.
