Essex County Arts Council Out and About

Essex County Arts Council Arts Administrator Susan Hughes covers the wonderful variety of holiday concerts this year in this Out and About column.

Celebrate the Holiday Season!

After two years, it’s way past time to celebrate the season with a holiday concert!
You can find some wonderful holiday celebrations throughout December.

December 17
Enjoy barbershop harmonies? The Champlain Chorus of Sweet Adelines and the Cumberland Bay Barbershoppers will join forces on Sunday, December 17th at 2 pm for a great program of holiday favorites in barbershop style. They will perform at the First Baptist Church on Oak Street in Plattsburgh. Admission is free, with good-will donations accepted.

December 17 & 18
The Keeseville-Peru Ecumenical Chorus will present their holiday program on Saturday, December 17th at 7:30 pm at St. John’s Church in Keeseville, and again on Sunday, December 18th at 7:30 pm at St. Augustine’s Church in Peru. Admission is free, with good-will donations accepted at the door.

December 21
Piano By Nature will present “Ancient Rhythms,” a concert honoring the solstice at 7 pm at the Hand House in Elizabethtown, featuring the talents of composer/trumpeter/synthesist Taylor Haskins and his son, Felix Haskins. More information and tickets are HERE. Reservations are required.

December 22
The Pleasant Valley Chorale will lead An Evening Community Caroling at the Deer’s Head Inn in Elizabethtown, NY, beginning at 7 pm. Don’t miss this delightful opportunity to sing all of your favorite carols, and enjoy some holiday favorites performed by the Chorale. Come early and enjoy an amazing meal. Reservations strongly suggested. Visit HERE.

Whallonsburg Grange Hall and Depot Theatre Academy to present A CHRISTMAS CAROL

The Whallonsburg Grange Hall and the Depot Theatre Academy are pleased to present a return to a holiday tradition with a performance of A Christmas Carol: A Radio Play, on December 18, 2022, with live music and refreshments beginning at 2 pm and the reading performance at 3 pm.

Based upon the novel by Charles Dickens, this performance will be a radio play reading complete with live sound effects, featuring local artists, professional actors, and directed by Broadway actor and Depot Theatre alum Jonathan Hadley.

Admission to the event is free and open to the public, and donations will be gratefully accepted to benefit the BackPack Program.

“The Depot is pleased to collaborate yet again with our partners at the Whallonsburg Grange, and for a great cause,” said Kim Rielly, Depot Theatre executive director. “The Grange hosts our summer Academy outreach and education program, and we hope to make this winter celebration an annual event, too!”

The BackPack Program currently serves nearly 7,000 students in 241 schools across 22 counties in New York. Administered locally by Essex County Adirondack Community Action Programs (ACAP), the BackPack Program helps alleviate child hunger by discreetly providing hungry children with backpacks full of nutritious and easy-to-prepare food on Friday afternoons so they have food to eat throughout the weekend.

Visit HERE for info on the Whallonsburg Grange Hall or HERE for the Depot Theatre.

Enjoy a North Country dance memory

LET IT SNOW… LET IT SNOW… LET IT SNOW…
Choreographer Rebecca Kelly’s several versions of the Snow Ensemble divertissement were continuously performed for 20+ years by the North Country Ballet Youth Ensemble (NCBE) in Lake Placid and Plattsburgh!

Visit HERE to see the 2018 “Snow” performance.

Learn more about Rebecca Kelly Ballet HERE.

22nd Annual Members Exhibition

Friday, December 16, 5 pm though
Saturday, January 28, 7 pm.

Join us for our 22nd Annual Members Exhibition while we celebrate the talent of our Artist Members!

Opening reception is Friday, December 16th, 5-8 pm.

For more information on these exhibitions, upcoming events, concerts, or classes happening at The Strand Center for the Arts, please call 518-563-1604 or visit HERE.

The Strand Center for the Arts, 23 Brinkerhoff St., Plattsburgh,

OTTG Coffee House Cabaret

Presented by Our Town Theatre Group

Saturday, December 17, 2022, 7 – 9 pm

OTTG is hosting a FREE coffee house type evening featuring community members reading stories, poems, small scenes, and musicians both solo and duo and trio. All ages are welcome. It’s OTTG’s way of giving back to the community for their support of OTTG—a potpourri of local talent!

Cookies & punch will be provided.

Tannery Pond Community Center, 228 Main Street, North Creek

Local History Groups Join with Fort Ticonderoga for Programs Commemorating Henry Knox’s Artillery March

The Lake George Battlefield Park Alliance and the Warren County Historical Society are joining
with Fort Ticonderoga to present an evening program on Monday, December 19 devoted to
Henry Knox and the movement he led of over 60 tons of artillery equipment from Ticonderoga
to Boston during the brutal winter of 1775-76.

The program will be held at the Holiday Inn Lake
George, 2223 Canada Street (Route 9) beginning at 7 pm.

The event is free to the public. Those planning to attend are encouraged to register at the following email address for important notifications in case of inclement weather: info@lakegeorgebattlefield.org.

The Lake George Battlefield Park Alliance

Warren County Historical Society