Community Calendar

Contra is a community folk dance with partners in long lines. The caller teaches the dances as you go. Join us for a gender-free contra dance, March 21, 4-7 PM (beginner lesson at 3:45). Unitarian Universalist Society East, Meeting Room, 153 Vernon Street West, Manchester, CT. There are no "ladies" or "gents" in a gender-free contra dance, and you don't need to be an expert dancer.
Calling by Rich Sbardella with music by Mickey Koth and John Kalinowski on fiddle and digital accordion.
Admission $15, students $5, under 12 free. All are welcome!
Sponsored by the UUSE Music Committee. For more information, contact Meghan MacRae (meghan.e.macrae@gmail.com) or Jane Osborn (janeosb3@gmail.com).

Flora & Fromage Deux is the second iteration of an immersive, art-forward evening that brings together botanical installations, inspired visual art, locally sourced boutique cheeses, live music, and high design. The event is intentionally intimate and experiential, highlighting regional artists, makers, and agricultural producers while activating a beautiful Franklin County venue in a new and thoughtful way.

The evening will feature:
- Botanical installations and sculptural “moments” created throughout the space
- A curated selection of cheeses sourced from regional creameries and prepared by Wheelhouse Catering
- Participating botanically inspired visual artists and vendors
- Live jazz earlier in the evening, followed by DJ sets to close
- A botanical photo booth designed in collaboration with local creatives
- Interactive performance art throughout the night
- Aerial silks performances
- A botanically themed marketplace and tea lounge
- Multi-camera interactive light design
**And MUCH MORE!**

This event sold out last year, so get your tickets now! This is sure to be a night you will not soon forget!·

Part dance party, part bonfire, part rewilding ritual, MudBall is an all-outdoor, high-energy celebration of movement, music, and mischief. After dancing your boots off, the day culminates in JoyFire—a collective act of letting go. Bring a stick (or two, or ten), write your wishes, worries, or wildest dreams, and watch them burn together. It’s a release. A renewal. A ridiculously good time.
Events include:
Glam Tent with playful makeup
Dance competitions
Crowning of the Queen and King of the dance floor
Spring Equinox ball drop
Community mural-making
Food trucks
Come for the dancing. Stay for the fire. Leave lighter, wilder, and more connected than when you arrived.

A tournament-style game of musical chairs with live string orchestra—when you’re out, you join the orchestra. Accessible, approachable, and silly, our family programs have been called “the ideal orchestra concert for young children.”Be there or be chair! This event is best suited for school-aged children. Coffee provided.

Pause adulting and start playing with this tournament-style game of musical chairs accompanied by a string orchestra. If you lose your seat, grab an instrument and become a part of the band. Be there or be chair! Bar Drinks and snacks are available for purchase.

Come celebrate West African Music and Dance with Drummers and Dancers of Wofa in collaboration with Ghanaian gyil/kuar duo Valerie Naranjo and Barry Olsen! Wofa is the West African Drum and Dance Ensemble at the Pioneer Valley Performing Arts Charter School directed by Alpha Kabisko Kaba. They will share the stage with Visiting Artist Valerie Naranjo of SNL and Barry Olsen of The Lion King.

Naranjo’s career has broken boundaries of genre and gender to help redefine the way percussionists engage with their communities. She has created a space for percussionists that is more inclusive to everyone, especially women. “She broke a gender barrier by being the first woman to perform on gyil (African marimba) and to become (with Barry) a first-place prize winner in Ghana’s Kobine Festival of Traditional Music,” says Dr. Patrick Roulet. "She has incorporated musical instruments and styles from around the world into pop, classical, rock, and folk traditions, which have influenced our entire field. "

"Her contributions to music and percussion are boundary breaking, crossing, and uniting,” says Dr. Roger Braun. “From the popular music of the Saturday Night Live band, to the New York musical theater scene, to the gyil music of Ghana, to her impact as a world music educator, her influence is profound.” Barry (trombone, piano, percussion) and Valerie (marimba, gyli, voice, percussion) have shared their artistry with renowned musicians like Philip Glass, Paul Simon and David Burne. You can catch them on rare occasions playing their own music in their group Mandara, their home for original compositions.