Looking ahead at the Stowe scene and beyond

Capital City Concerts

Individual tickets and discounted season subscription tickets go on sale Friday, Aug. 20, for Capital City Concerts, beginning its 11th season of unique world-class chamber music in downtown Montpelier. The lineup:

Sept. 11: Beethoven + Arnowitt VII, pianist Michael Arnowitt; "Hammerklavier" sonata.

Nov. 20: "Horn of Plenty," Metropolitan Opera principal horn Julie Landsman.

Feb. 19: Paris Piano Trio.

March 26: Best of the Big Apple, six members of the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra and Orpheus Chamber Orchestra.

April 16: Borromeo String Quartet with flutist Karen Kevra, "Beethoven and Splashes of the Exotic."

Concerts are Saturdays at 7:30 p.m. at the Unitarian Church of Montpelier, 130 Main St. Tickets are at Bear Pond Books in Montpelier and online: www.capitalcityconcerts.org. Tickets will also be available at the door while supplies last.

Natalie MacMaster

Another ticket bargain: Stowe Performing Arts is extending the advance sale deadline for tickets for Natalie MacMaster concert until Wednesday, Aug. 25, at 5 p.m. Until then, tickets are $25 for adults; after that, they're $30. Tickets are available at the Stowe Visitor Center on Main Street by cash, check, or credit card; the Pizza Joint on Moscow Road by cash or check only; or at www.StoweArts.com by credit card only. Tickets for ages 5 to 17 are $10; children under age 5 get in for free.

MacMaster, a popular and talented Cape Breton fiddler and stepdancer, will perform at the Trapp Family Lodge Concert Meadow on Sunday, Aug. 29, at 6 p.m. as part of the Music in the Meadow concert series. Information: www.StoweArts.com.

Artist reception

A reception for Mark Tougias, a well-known regional landscape artist, will be held Saturday, Aug. 28, from 5 to 7 p.m. at Green Mountain Fine Art Gallery, 64 S. Main St., Stowe.

His new oil paintings will be on display through Sunday, Oct. 31, along with works by 30 other regional professional artists. The gallery is open daily from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. and closed Tuesday. Information: 253-1818, www.greenmountainfineart.com.

Career help

The Community College of Vermont is offering a career readiness certificate, a free program for improving job skills and employability. Learn more at an open house on Wednesday, Sept. 1, at 10 a.m., 2 p.m., or 5:30 p.m. at 197 Harrell St., Morrisville. Information: 888-4258.

Waterbury comedy

The second annual Waterbury Comedy Festival will be held Sunday, Sept. 5, with shows at 1 p.m., 3:30 p.m., and 7 p.m. at Hope Davey Field in Waterbury Center.

Each show features different performers guaranteed to tickle your ribs: Tom Murphy, Fred Garbo, Willem Lange, Tomas Kubinek, Randy Judkins, and Waldo and Woodhead. All shows feature surprise and unexpected turns, and falls, in full-body comedy. The festival helps raise money for the Youth Service Bureau.

Admission is $15 for adults, $10 for seniors, $25 for a family of four plus $5 for each extra child. Admission includes entrance to all three comedy shows and all the family activities on Hope Davey Field and at Murphy's Barn, including car, air and fabric art; rolling globes; juggling lessons; unicycles; and strolling entertainment. There will be food vendors, gifts, and prizes. Information: Tom Murphy, 244-5008, murphclown.com.

West African music

West African dance and drum classes, with teachers from Guinea, will be held on the first and third Tuesdays of every month beginning Sept. 7 at the Middlesex Town Hall. Djembe drum class is from 5:30 to 6:30 p.m. (rentals available); dance from 6:30 to 8 p.m. Information on fees and other class dates through October: 223-3311; www.jehkulu.org.

Osher lectures

The fall lecture series sponsored by the Lamoille Valley Osher Lifelong Learning Institute, which is linked to the University of Vermont, runs Sept. 15 to Nov. 10 on Wednesdays at 1:30 p.m. at Town and Country Resort, 876 Mountain Road, Stowe, except for Sept. 29, when the event is at River Arts, 74 Pleasant St., Morrisville.

Here's the "clip and save" list:

Sept. 15: Current realities in the Middle East and in America, with Haviland Smith, a retired CIA station chief.

Sept. 22: Forests and Vermont forestry: an overview, with forester Michael Snyder.

Sept. 29: Helene Lang performs as Agatha Christie; free (sponsored by Vermont Humanities Council) at River Arts, Morrisville.

Oct. 6: Bruckner: cathedrals in sound, with Professor William Cotte.

Oct. 14: From Whistler to Warhol, with art historian and artist Bob Manning.

Oct. 20: Dirty tricks: media manipulation during elections, with Professor Traci Griffith.

Oct. 27: Chance and design in religion and science, with Professor William Mann.

Nov. 3: Celebrating Vermont's local food movement, with Deborah S. Shapiro.

Nov. 10: The Unknown Rockwell; free, sponsored by Stowe Free Library; featuring James A. Edgarton, an author and Rockwell neighbor and model.

Semester membership in Osher is $30; send checks payable to UVM to George Merwin, 38 Gilchrist, Stowe, VT 05672. Single lectures are $5 at the door. Information: Millie Marron, 253-9011.

Harvest festival

The Children's Room is holding its 20th annual Barn Dance and Fall Harvest Festival on Sunday, Sept. 12, from 3 to 6:30 p.m. at the Beard Barn, Barnes Hill Road, Waterbury Center. Look for the signs.

Enjoy family fun activities, live music, and hayrides. Pack a dinner and blanket; desserts and healthy snacks will be provided. A family ticket is $20. Information: 244-5605.

E-mail news and notes by Friday at 5 p.m. to community@stowereporter.com, or mail to P.O. Box 489, Stowe 05672.