Art-making, theater, live music, and conversation are among the top options for your weekend itinerary. Here are some highlights.
ArtPM Challenge 2021
The 12th annual installment of the ArtPM Challenge is on! Participants must create an original piece of visual art, started and completed during the month of February. Finished pieces will be featured in a giant group exhibit in March at the Buoy gallery in Kittery. Last year’s ArtPM resulted in works by more than 350 artists (pictured above). It’s a great way to stay creative during the depths of winter. For more information, click here.
‘Next to Normal’ at the Rep
The theme of the Seacoast Repertory Theatre’s 2021 season is “recovery.” On stage in Portsmouth through March 20 is the pop-rock musical “Next to Normal,” winner of three Tony Awards and the Pulitzer Prize for Drama. Show times this weekend are Friday at 8 p.m., Saturday at 2 and 8 p.m., and Sunday at 2 and 7:30 p.m. The show overlaps with the Rep’s productions of “The Fantasticks” and “Stokely & Martin / Neveah’s Brother.”
3S presents The Besnard Lakes
Canadian indie-rock group The Besnard Lakes will perform a series of live-streamed shows over the next three months, with a portion of proceeds benefiting 3S Artspace in Portsmouth. Part one is available Friday at 7 p.m. Each ticket purchase includes a 48-hour on-demand viewing period following the initial broadcast. The support is critical for 3S, which can’t host in-person shows this winter due to the pandemic. Learn more here.
Elinor Williams Hooker Tea Talks
The theme of the 2021 Elinor Williams Hooker Tea Talks is “Claiming Our Place: Blacks in ‘White Spaces.'” The Black Heritage Trail of New Hampshire’s series kicks off on Sunday at 2 p.m. with a discussion titled “Racism, Land & The American Farming Landscape.” A panel will investigate the enormous land loss experienced by black farmers over the last century, and share how some of that land is being reclaimed. Learn more here.
UNH Faculty Concert Series
David Newsam will lead a tribute to the great jazz guitarists of the 20th century on Sunday at 2 p.m. Presented by the University of New Hampshire’s Department of Music Faculty Concert Series, the performance will be live-streamed from Johnson Theatre in Durham. Newsam will be backed by other jazz faculty members as they play the music of Joe Pass, Kenny Burrell, Wes Montgomery, Grant Green, and others. Learn more here.
See the full calendar for more local events.