Art/Food: Gary Hamel, Osteria Chiara, Still North, and Sip and Knit at Artistree
If you mill around the art world in the Upper Valley, chances are more than even that someone will mention longtime local artist Gary Hamel. Even here on Artful. In what turned out to be a popular post on Artful two years ago (click here) about lawyers turned artists, Coralea Wennberg described her abrupt change of profession like this: “I took a wonderful water color class taught by Gary Hamel and decided that if I wanted to become a “real” painter I’d have to paint full time.”
By now you know that Gary recently suffered a house fire that destroyed his home. Among the possibilities for helping him is an upcoming event at the Enfield Shaker Museum (check the Museum’s Facebook page for more information):
Join us for an uplifting evening at the Enfield Shaker Museum on January 16th at 6:00 to support the incredibly talented Gary Hamel. Light refreshments and cocktails will be available. Gary Hamel is a highly acclaimed New Hampshire artist celebrated for his breathtaking paintings and assemblages crafted from found objects. . . . Gary has a stunning collection of paintings for viewing and sale. Paintings are on display and can be purchased at the museum.
If you’ve been to Osteria Chiara in the past, you know that they serve (sporadically, but still) the best Northern Italian food in the Upper Valley. On Saturday, January 31 at 6:00 PM, Osteria Chiara invites you to the Thetford Community Center (3923 Route 113, Thetford Center, VT) for an intimate fundraising dinner and concert benefiting a new creative collaboration initiated by internationally renowned West African musicians Mamadou Diabaté and Balla Kouyaté, now working together in the Upper Valley.
Once he gets out of the kitchen, Steve is likely to join in on conga drums. It’s a BYOB; tickets for a four-course dinner and concert start at $125 per person. For more information or to reserve your seat (reservations are required), contact Steve at ferraris.steve@gmail.com. Here’s a link to Mamadou Diabaté playing one of the featured musical instruments, the balafon.
And now, a sixth birthday for Still North Books and Bar in Hanover, NH: Remember when the Dartmouth Bookstore was destination shopping on Hanover’s Main Street and the gut-wrenching ache when it disappeared? Allie Levy to the rescue. She founded Still North Books and Bar (same location, entry around the corner) and nursed it through years of the pandemic. The café there serves, among other things, specialty coffee drinks—the best cortado I have personally found in the UV. Stop by, purchase a book and raise a mug to celebrate this gem of a bookstore.
Artistree is promising a positively cozy evening with a showing of the film Pride and Prejudice and knitting at The Grange Theater on January 16 at 6:00 pm. Bring the needles, yarn, a current project, other crafts welcome. Could it be any more British? Yes it could. “Complimentary selection of fine teas and sweet treats - BRING YOUR FAVORITE TEA MUG!” Click here for further information and tickets.
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And in case you are wondering . . . Susan B. Apel shuttered a lifelong career as a law professor to continue an interest (since kindergarten) in writing. Her freelance business, The Next Word, includes literary and feature writing; her work has appeared in a variety of lit mags and other publications including Art New England, The Woven Tale Press, The Arts Fuse, Next Avenue, and Persimmon Tree. She connects with her neighbors through Artful, her blog about arts and culture in the Upper Valley. She’s in love with the written word.