REGION — By the time you’re reading this, spring will have sprung. 

What follows is a roundup of arts and leisure events happening this weekend (there are a lot!) and—to keep you happy when temps drop again—a reminder of the joys of summer. 

It’ll be here soon. In the meantime, enjoy  spring. Both outdoors in nature and not. You can do both. Promise.

State of the art

Start in Narrowsburg, NY, with three exhibits—two at the Delaware Valley Arts Alliance (DVAA) and one at TESS Mainstreet.

The DVAA will host an opening reception for sculptors Cadence Giersbach and Warren Pardi beginning at 4 p.m. on Saturday, March 23. Both have exhibitions which will be on view until late April.

Giersbach, from New York City but now a Cochecton, NY resident, offers an array of paper pulp sculptures inspired by spring colors in “Anxious Nature,” on display in the Alliance Gallery. 

Giersbach’s artistic journey, a DVAA spokesperson said, is deeply rooted in her experiences as a gardener; the textures and emotions of the natural landscape are translated into striking work.

Giersbach has exhibited in the Brooklyn Museum of Art and the Museo Rufino Tamayo in Mexico City, MX. 

She’ll hold an artist’s talk at the DVAA on Saturday, April 13.

Warren Pardi, of Barryville, NY, presents “The Curvilinear Form” in the Loft Gallery at the DVAA. The work is described as “a collection of sculptural furniture and objects full of bends, twists and turns… a celebration of nature’s elegance.”

Pardi has exhibited since the 1970s, garnering recognition for his exploration of organic forms and his construction methods. 

The furniture sculptures are inspired by the art nouveau tradition and the natural sciences, and incorporate diverse wood species as well as techniques such as bent wood lamination and vacuum forming. 

Pardi’s designs have been recognized by, for example, the Sands Point Museum and the American Craft Council. 

He will hold an artist’s talk on Saturday, April 20. 

The exhibits will close on Sunday, April 28.

The DVAA is located at 37 Main St., and you can learn more at www.delawarevalleyartsalliance.org.

On the same day, head over to TESS Mainstreet. The gallery has announced the third in a series of artist pop-ups, to run concurrently with the DVAA exhibits. The latest features the abstract paintings of Mark Partridge, and you can check it out at the opening reception on Saturday, March 23 from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m.

“My compositions,” said Partridge, “are characterized by a colorful abstractive juxtaposition of elements, figures, shapes and marks, rendered in a vibrant color palette. I am rarely guided by visual references but instead by the spontaneity of the moment, sensory memory and flickers of memoir.”

The pop-up show will run through Sunday, April 28 at TESS, 15 Main St.

Learn more on Facebook at Tess Mainstreet.

Next up: Pennsylvania.

Start with the ARTery Gallery in Milford, where the staff announced a new exhibit titled “Celebrating the Arts.”

The show is an open-juried six-week event to showcase regional artists. 

The member-run cooperative gallery, now entering its 27th year, periodically invites non-member artists to share its space in Foresters Hall. In past years, this exhibit has displayed around 75 pieces from artists living in the tri-state region, with mediums ranging from metal or clay to wood, from wall art to photography, collage, oil, watercolor or pastels.

The exhibit will close on Sunday, April 28.

The gallery is located at 210 Broad St. 

Learn more at www.arterygallerymilford.com or call 570/409-1234.

In Wayne County, over at the Wayne County Arts Alliance’s new gallery (959 Main St.), you’ll find two exhibits on display until April 14.

“In Print” features print artists Nancy Palubniak and Monique Milleson and highlights their use of block print, lino print, engravings and monoprints.

“Line of Sight” is a members’ exhibition. The artists’ submissions are based on the concept of the line as the essential element in their artwork. 

Interpretations of the theme include fiber and fine art glass, digital photography and works on paper.

Learn more at www.waynecountyartsalliance.org.

The songs of spring

And then there’s music. Pedro Boregaard, musician and jewelry designer (and much more) will perform at the Arts Nest in Lake Huntington, NY, on Saturday, March 23 from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m.

Doors open at 5 p.m. Tickets cost $20 each, and you can purchase them at www.myrivertickets.com/events/arts-nest-pedro-boregaard -3-23-2024. 

The Arts Nest describes Boregaard as “well known in the area for his magnificent jewelry creations, but not known for his secret talent as a singer/songwriter.” Read up on him before the performance in Eva Bednar’s River Reporter story, www.riverreporter.com/stories/stepping-on-stage,111218.

Then you can visit Port Jervis, NY. There the Four Seasons Chorale will present Cantate: Sing! at 3 p.m. on Sunday, March 24 at First Presbyterian Church.

The chorale, under the direction of Kathy Brink and accompanied by Seth Riehl, will include music from a variety of styles including madrigal, spiritual and contemporary and will feature the work of poets Sara Teasdale and Langston Hughes. This year’s theme celebrates all the occasions and reasons that people sing. 

The chorale’s special guest for this concert is Marc Von Em. Von Em’s original music is a mix of bluesy rock, folk, funk—and more recently early jazz and swing. Lately, a publicist notes, he has been incorporating piano, saxophone and upright bass into his live shows to elevate his sound. 

Admission is free. A decentralization grant helped fund the performance, but donations are welcome. 

The concert will take place in the church sanctuary, which is handicapped-accessible. 

The church is located at 60 Sussex St.

For more information, call Kathy Brink at 570/430-1755.

The music of summer

The Shandelee Music Festival (SMF) and the Weekend of Chamber Music (WCM) are giving us a glimpse into the warm, sunny future of summer and its music. 

Up in Livingston Manor, NY, the SMF will launch its concerts for the 31st season. The SMF is known for presenting internationally renowned classical artists from around the world.

This year, the Sunset Concert Series opens on Tuesday, August 13 with an Evening of Chamber Music by the Con Brio Quartet, which will perform string quartets by Philip Glass, Mozart and Dvorak. 

Katherine Lerner Lee will headline an Evening of Voice on Thursday, August 15, performing opera, art song, chamber and contemporary music.

Saturday, August 17 will feature an Evening of Chamber Music with the Peter Sulski Trio. The trio will perform music by Haydn, Mozart and Brahms.

Then the Evening of Chamber Music returns on Tuesday, August 20 with a performance by Dan Urness on trumpet and Paul Staroba on piano.

Friday, August 23 offers an Evening of Jazz with singer/songwriter Amanda Brecker and the Amanda Brecker Duo.

The final concert in the SMF’s lineup will be held on Saturday, August 24. The final Evening of Jazz features the multi-Grammy and multi–Latin Grammy award-winning duo of pianist/singer/composer/arranger Eliane Elias and Marc Johnson.

All performances in the Sunset Concert Series begin at 8 p.m. Concerts at the Sunset Concert Pavilion are indoors and climate-controlled.

The venue, located at 442 J. Young Rd., is fully accessible. 

Regular tickets cost $35; for SMF members tickets cost $30; and students aged 17 and under—or with valid college I.D.—the cost is $10. Advanced reservations are required. Visit Shandelee.org or call 845/439-3277. 

The Weekend of Chamber Music is also celebrating its 31st season. This year, the theme is “Become Music.”

“2024 brings a summer of reckoning with, indulging in, and celebrating our planet, its beauty and fragility, and our fraught relationship to it,” a spokesperson for the WCM said. “We’ll share in music that conjures a sense of place, of environment, and of the mystery and majesty of the natural world.”

You’ll hear the soundscapes of John Luther Adams (“Our title for the summer is a pun on his orchestral masterwork, Become Ocean,” the WCM added), as well as the music of Carter, Debussy, Faure, Mozart and much more.

Pre-concert talks will add depth, and you’ll find open workshops and discussions with the WCM guest composer too.

7: 30 p.m. on Thursday, July 18, at Lulu’s Social Club in Jeffersonville: “MusicTalks: Become Breath” with guest artist Carol Wincenc. 

7 p.m. on Friday, July 19 at Catskill Art Space in Livingston Manor, NY: An open rehearsal with WCM artists and a discussion of the works to be performed in the concert the following day.

8 p.m. on Saturday, July 20 at Catskill Art Space: “Water, Land, Life,” with a pre-concert chat at 7 p.m. that evening. 

4 p.m. on Sunday, July 21 at the Liberty Museum and Arts Center in Liberty, NY: “We Love Liberty!” In that performance, WCM artists will share solos, duos and trios either previously written or composed in the moment. 

7:30 p.m. on Thursday, July 25 at the Catskill Art Space: “MusicTalks: Hearing Nanook.” Two piano works by John Luther Adams will be performed, book-ending an all-improvised score for the classic movie “Nanook of the North.” 

At 7 p.m. on Friday, July 26 at the Eddie Adams Barn in Jeffersonville: An open rehearsal will offer discussion of the works of Weston, Mozart and Carter.

8 p.m. on Saturday, July 27 at Lulu’s Social Club: “Become Music” visits three works “rooted in the earth,” the WCM said. The performance features Trevor Weston’s celebration of land, legacy and culture, titled “Juba”; the Hunt quartet of Mozart, “brimming with joy and rocking every 18th century musical code for the rustic and pastoral”; and the 1st quartet of Elliott Carter, music composed in the Southwest desert. 

A pre-concert chat will be held at 7 p.m.

For more info on the artists, the music, tickets and more, visit www.wcmconcerts.org. 

Missing a venue?

Pencil in a reminder to check our Hello Summer magazine (coming out Memorial Day weekend) for artists performing at:

Harmony in the Woods, 19 Imagination Way, Hawley, PA. A series of summer concerts are planned for 2024. To learn more, visit www.harmonyinthewoods.org/. 

The Roots & Rhythm concert, Saturday, June 15 in downtown Honesdale, PA. Visit www.honesdalerootsandrhythm.com/. 

The Wildflower Concert Series at the Dorflinger-Suydam Wildlife Sanctuary in Hawley, PA. Visit www.dorflinger.org/wildflower-music-festival-landing-page/. 

When it comes to art, don’t forget displays both current and in the future at the Barryville Area Arts Association, the Catskill Art Space and Nonneta and Friends Creative. There’s theatre, now and forever, in Hurleyville and Forestburgh—and NaCL in Highland Lake. 

So much to do. Make the time. You can enjoy spring—and summer—both indoors and out.