In-Person Classes Return to Castle Hill
Following its success with virtual classes this summer, Truro Center for the Arts at Castle Hill is reintroducing in-person instruction, starting in August. Classes will be held outside, either at Castle Hill’s main campus at 10 Meetinghouse Road, or at the spacious Edgewood Farm on Edgewood Way, off Route 6. They will be limited to seven students, with masks required and social distancing.
Twelve classes will be offered, including sketchbook drawing and writing with Nick Flynn and Mark Adams, photography with Robert Johnson, “Making Pictures” with Pete Hocking, hand building with Chris Watt, pastels with Rob DuToit, and plein air landscape with Cammie Watson. Visit castlehill.org for dates and times. Classes cost between $280 and $490.
What James Balla Sees in Provincetown
Artist James Balla, who has run the Albert Merola Gallery in Provincetown along with its namesake for three decades, is having a show there, “What I see when you’re not here,” from Friday, July 17, through Aug. 5 at 424 Commercial St.
The work on view is a series of pencil drawings of things seen around Provincetown during the winter and spring, “when the crowds are gone, when people are not here, except the locals, and we have time to make note of the small things, or the personal things, or the simple reading of a book or watching of a film,” Balla writes in the announcement for the exhibit.
The gallery is open noon to 5 p.m. on Wednesday through Sunday, and by appointment (508-487-4424).
Virtual Reading of The Great Believers
East End Books Ptown is hosting a virtual book reading and discussion on Friday, July 17, at 5 p.m., with Rebecca Makkai, author of The Great Believers. The novel was one of the New York Times’s top 10 picks for 2018.
The Great Believers tells two intertwining stories. The first is about the director of a Chicago art gallery in the ’80s who loses countless friends to the AIDS epidemic. He becomes close to the younger sister of one of those friends, and the second story tells of her journey, 30 years later, to reconnect with her estranged daughter, who has joined a cult.
To register for this free Zoom event, or order a signed copy, visit eastendbooksptown.com.
Miss Richfield Sprinkles ‘Sunshine’ at Pilgrim House
Miss Richfield 1981 is back in Provincetown, and ready to replace your Covid blues with a full spectrum of living color. She will be performing in “Sunshine, Lollipops, and Rainbows,” something she is calling her “outdoor parking lot show.” And indeed, it will take place outdoors at Pilgrim House, 336 Commercial St. in Provincetown, with social distancing, on Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday nights at 9 p.m. through Sept. 12.
Miss Richfield, a Provincetown favorite, has been doing virtual editions of “Bingo Bonanza” and “Trivia Shack,” but this is her first in-person show here since last year. Ticket holders (at $35 a pop) are seated first come, first served, and early shows have been selling out, so visit pilgrimhouseptown.com in advance to ensure yourself a good spot.
Del Deos at Berta Walker Gallery
The Berta Walker Gallery at 206 Bradford St. in Provincetown is celebrating “Provincetown 400” with a season full of artists who are new to its roster. But included in the show that opens on Saturday, July 18, and runs through Aug. 8, will be two ever-talented stalwarts of the Provincetown art colony, painter Salvatore Del Deo and his son, Romolo, a sculptor. (Also in the show are works by the late Elspeth Halvorsen and by painter Laura Shabott, who will be profiled in next week’s Independent.)
During the Covid-19 crisis, the gallery will be open by appointment only (go to bertawalkergallery.com) from noon to 4 p.m. on Wednesday through Saturday.
Classical Musicians Step Up to the Virtual Mic
Open mics aren’t only for pop musicians. Open Mic Classical, which usually hosts events at First Parish Brewster Unitarian Universalist Church, has gone virtual. Classical musicians hoping to share their talent can participate in an informal Zoom concert, during which audience members can give feedback and ask questions.
Founded by clarinetist Monika Veress Woods and sculptor Bob Marcus, Open Mic Classical meets on the third Sunday of the month. On Sunday, July 19, at 3 p.m., it will feature the Tiberius String Quartet, an internationally acclaimed quartet from Transylvania. To register, visit openmicclassical.org.
Wellfleet Preservation Hall Launches Doc Days
Wellfleet Preservation Hall is presenting the first of its virtual Doc Days Film Series from Friday, July 17, through July 31. The opening title is a premiere: the documentary Flannery, about Flannery O’Connor, author of the novel Wise Blood and numerous short stories with a perversely ironic and morally complex view of midcentury Southern life. The movie was the first winner of the Library of Congress Lavine/Ken Burns Prize (for $200,000), given to independent filmmakers telling stories of American history.
For $10, you can rent the film for 72 hours and stream it at home. Go to wellfleetpreservationhall.org for details.
Mike Wright and Paul Kelly at Alden Gallery
The Alden Gallery at 423 Commercial St. in Provincetown will present new work by sculptor Mike Wright and painter Paul Kelly in a two-person show opening Friday, July 17, and on view through July 30.
Both artists have lived and worked in Provincetown for decades. Wright uses found painted wood for her modernist sculptures, and Kelly paints Provincetown landscapes from unusual (and sometimes imaginary) vantage points.
The gallery is open noon to 5 p.m. daily during the Covid-19 crisis, and masks are required.
