Creative & Artistic – Page 3

Fukushima Youth Sinfonietta at Symphony Hall

The fifth anniversary of the horrifying earthquake and tsunami that struck Japan and inflicted catastrophic damage to the nuclear power plant in Fukushima was just a few weeks ago. However, even though the disaster itself is now long in the past, the effects of the tragedy are still apparent throughout the island nation. In fact, there are a number of people who are only just returning to their homes now to find that the road to recovery has just begun. Fortunately, people have an incredible ability to come together when times are at their darkest, and one such group of talented young people came together shortly after these tragic events took place in Japan.

This group, which is known as the Fukushima Youth Sinfonietta, is comprised of over fifty students from four high schools in Fukushima. These students asked a group of professional musicians to help them form an orchestra in order to find solace and hope for themselves and others in an extremely difficult time. This talented group of performers is now demonstrating their skill to the world, and it just so happens that they are performing at the Boston Symphony Hall this weekend. As a result, if you are a fan of music and/or you want to show your support for the people of Japan, you may want to check out this group of gifted young musicians on Sunday at 8:00 P.M. For more information on the Fukushima Youth Sinfonietta’s performance at Symphony Hall and/or to order tickets, please visit the Boston Symphony Hall website or the Japan Society of Boston’s website.

Photo credit: wisegie via Visualhunt / CC BY

Lunar New Year Redux

Did you completely miss out on the Lunar New Year festivities earlier this month? Are you looking for a way to celebrate the Year of the Monkey or are you just looking for an excuse to celebrate something. Well, if you are, you’re in luck because the festivities haven’t ended yet. In fact, the Chinese Folk Art Workshop is hosting a Chinese New Year Celebration at the Villa Victoria Center for the Arts tomorrow (Saturday, February 20, 2016) from 4:30 P.M. to 6:00 P.M. This event will allow you to see a group of talented dancers in colorful costumes performing a series of traditional Chinese dances that incorporate elements of Chinese mythology and philosophy. For more information on the Chinese New Year Celebration at the Villa Victoria Center for the Arts, which has a suggested donation of $7.00, please visit the Inquilinos Boricuas En Acción (IBA) Boston Event page.

Photo credit: EpicFireworks via Visual Hunt / CC BY

Lunar New Year Weekend Festival

Last week, I talked about the annual Salem’s So Sweet Festival, and I have to admit that sometimes I just don’t understand people. The event, which was supposed to be a fun way for people to explore the city and see some magnificent works of frozen art, was marred by the actions of a small group of young mischief-makers who thought it would be fun to ransack some of the ice sculptures. Now, don’t get me wrong, I can understand, especially at a young age, the desire to reach out and break something when you’ve had a rough day and/or you’re feeling more than a little mischievous. However, there must be a better way to channel these impulses than destroying other people’s hard work and potentially earning yourself jail time and/or a hefty fine in the process. In fact, I would have to imagine that some of these individuals are probably thinking that they would like a do-over on this one because trying to explain to a judge or jury why you destroyed three ice sculptures valued at approximately $325 each seems like the complete opposite of fun to me.

Of course, actual do-overs are not usually an option in life, but there may be a way for you to “reset” your year in a figurative sense. You see, it just so happens that this past Monday was the Lunar New Year, so if you’re looking for a way to celebrate the occasion and start the year fresh, you may want to head over to the Peabody Essex Museum in Salem. This is because the Peabody Essex Museum (PEM) is hosting their Lunar New Year Weekend Festival from 10:00 A.M. to 4:00 P.M. tomorrow (Saturday, February 13, 2016.) This event will allow you and your family to design your own Chinese lantern, watch a number of dancing performances (including lion dances and ribbon dances), listen to music played on traditional Chinese instruments, and more. For more information on the Lunar New Year Weekend Festival at the PEM, please visit the Peabody Essex Museum’s Event Calendar.

Photo credit: aotaro via VisualHunt / CC BY

Edgar Allan Poe: Master of the Macabre

I’ve been reading a lot of H.P. Lovecraft lately, and one of the things that has stood out to me most about Lovecraft’s writing is just how much inspiration he derived from the works of Edgar Allan Poe. In fact, even though Lovecraft typically wrote about supernatural horror instead of the more worldly horror that is seen in most of Poe’s works, it is clear that Lovecraft had a profound admiration for Poe. This admiration is clear in Lovecraft’s writing not only because Lovecraft attempted to mimic Poe’s style in a number of his stories but also because Lovecraft made references to Poe and his macabre style regularly throughout his works. However, in order to truly appreciate the effect that Poe had on Lovecraft, you have to understand the power of Poe’s stories, and if you’re looking for a way to truly experience the power of Poe, you will definitely want to head over to Gore Place in Waltham on Saturday.

This is because Gore Place is hosting Edgar Allan Poe: Master of the Macabre at 2:00 and 3:30 P.M. on Saturday, January 23, 2016. This event, which is primarily intended for horror fans over the age of 15, will allow you to experience Poe’s “Masque of the Red Death” and several of Poe’s other works as if the literary scholar reading them was actually Poe himself. Best of all, you can get tickets to the event for half price ($7.50 instead of $15 a person for nonmembers) by ordering your tickets on the Goldstar Events website. For more information on Edgar Allan Poe: Master of the Macabre, please visit the Goldstar Events website or the Gore Place website.

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Entertaining Your Kids Before the Big Game

If you’re a sports fan living anywhere in New England, there’s a very good chance that you already have plans tomorrow afternoon. In fact, if you’re a football fan, you’re probably already well aware that it’s that fine time of year again when the hopes and dreams of devoted fans everywhere can be realized or dashed in a few fleeting moments. Now, I am, of course, talking about the playoffs because every game could be the last game of the season for your team. However, if your kids are not football fans and/or you’re desperately looking for a way to entertain your kids before the Patriots game tomorrow (perhaps in the hope that they will actually let you sit and enjoy the game), the Coolidge Corner Theatre may have exactly what you’re looking for.

This is because the Coolidge Corner Theatre is hosting a special event entitled “Fantastic Journeys: Animated Shorts from Children’s Film Festival Seattle 2015” from 10:30 A.M. to approximately 11:45 A.M. tomorrow (Saturday, January 16, 2016). This event, which is intended primarily for younger children, will give you and your kids the opportunity to watch 11 animated short films from the Children’s Film Festival in Seattle. These films, which range from 2 to 12 minutes long, come from all around the world, and include animated shorts from countries such as Canada, France, Germany, Japan, Russia, the United States, and more. For more information on Fantastic Journeys and/or or to order tickets for the event, please visit the Coolidge Corner Theatre website.

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The Snowflake Festival: Embrace the Winter!

Winter may have gotten off to a late start, but it appears that the colder weather has finally arrived. In fact, this past Christmas was certainly one of the warmest Christmases that I can remember, but the warmth of the holiday season now appears to be past (both figuratively and literally.) Now, I will admit that it’s certainly not as cold as it could be (as it’s been somewhere in the 30s or 40s), but it’s certainly not the 60 to 70 degrees that it had been for months in the Northeast. As a result, if you’re not quite ready for the winter to arrive in force, you may be looking for something to ease your way into the spirit of the season. Fortunately, if that is indeed the case, the Brookline Arts Center may have exactly what you’re looking for.

This is because the Brookline Arts Center is hosting their annual Snowflake Festival from 12:00 P.M. to 4:00 P.M. tomorrow (Saturday, January 9, 2016.) This festival will allow you and your family to watch a number of artistic demonstrations, participate in two free workshops, and help the center create a community art project that will be donated to a local charity. The two free workshops at the festival include a bangle-making workshop that will teach you to make your own copper and brass bracelets and a Monoprint Workshop that will show you how to use printmaking and oil painting to create a truly original piece of art. For more information on the Snowflake Festival, please visit the Brookline Arts Center’s Events page.

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Edgar Allan Poe Rises Again

If you have been having a long interval of horrible sanity and you haven’t had a chance to get into the Halloween spirit just yet, you’re in luck because The Scarlet Letter Press has the perfect opportunity for you to peer deep into the darkness. In fact, The Scarlet Letter Press is hosting An Evening with Edgar Allan Poe tomorrow night (Saturday, October 17, 2015) from 5:45 PM to 7:00 P.M. This event will give you the opportunity to experience a dramatic reading of Edgar Allan Poe’s “The Raven” and “A Tell Tale Heart”.

Each of these stories will be read by an actor, but the tale will be told as if the actor was the author himself, which, combined with the eerie ambience of Whynott’s Wands (located at 127 Essex Street in Salem), will make the stories even creepier. Even creepier still is the fact that some believe that “A Tell Tale Heart” is actually based on a real event that occurred in Salem in the 1800s, so you will never find a better place to hear the tale than here. Best of all, you will receive a special gift if you attend, so you will remember the occasion for evermore. For more information on An Evening with Edgar Allan Poe and/or to order tickets for the event, please visit The Scarlet Letter Press’ website or call The Scarlet Letter Press at 978-741-1850.

Photo credit: vidalia_11 / Foter / CC BY

Halloween: Resting in World Peace

The Witch City’s Annual Halloween Parade was last night, and this year’s theme was world peace. Now, I have admit when I first heard about the theme for this year, I thought that “world peace” is certainly a noble goal and something that everyone dreams of achieving (well, almost everyone, world peace would probably be the worst nightmare of some of the arms dealers out there), but it is sort of a strange theme for a Halloween parade. I mean Halloween is typically a time for people to embrace their darker sides and dress-up as villains, monsters, and every creature that goes bump in the night. However, this got me to thinking, and I realized that most of the villains that frighten us from fallen angels to zombies all, in their own dark and twisted way, seem to have the singular goal of creating world peace themselves. The only difference is that they want to do it by removing humanity from the Earth. As a result, I’ve decided that world peace is actually the perfect theme for Halloween, and if you’re looking for a way to get into the Halloween spirit before the zombies rise from their graves and make us all rest in world peace, I highly recommend you check out the lanterns at Pioneer Village.

The Second Annual Lanterns in the Village Event, which is scheduled to take place from 6:30 to 8:30 PM tomorrow (Saturday, October 3, 2015) at Pioneer’s Village, is a charity event for Collins Middle School in Salem, MA. This event will allow you and your family to hear spooky stories as you see over 100 Jack ‘O Lanterns carved by local Girl Scouts, Boy Scouts, and other similar organizations. Best of all, all of the proceeds from the event will go to helping the students of Collins Middle School. For more information on the Lanterns in the Village Event, which is $4 for children 10 and under, $6 for adults, and $15 for families of four or more, please visit the Haunted Happenings Online Guide or pick up a print copy of the Haunted Happenings guide in downtown Salem.

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International Talk Like a Pirate Day 2015

Arr ye mateys! To’morrow be a fine day indeed. For that magical occasion in which every lad and lass can speak like a scurvy dog is finally upon us! Now, what be this magical time I speak of? Well, it be International Talk Like A Pirate Day of course, which means if ye seek to go on account (or, in plainer speak, seek to become a pirate) fer a day, thar be no better day than this day. However, in th’ interest ‘o not scaring off them who not appreciate th’ tongue of less reputable men and women, th’ remainder ‘o ‘tis missive will be in a more common tongue (or, in other words, standard English.)

Now, the first thing that every pirate needs to know is how to use a sword, but what do you do if sword fighting is not in your skillset? Well, fear not, for if your sword skills could use some work, the Boston Fencing Club has the perfect way for you to sharpen your abilities. This is because the Boston Fencing Club is offering free fencing sessions from 9:00 A.M. to 12:00 P.M. tomorrow (Saturday, September 19, 2015.) These sessions will teach you the basics of Olympic fencing, including how to thrust and parry. For more information on the Free Fencing Sessions at the Boston Fencing Club, please visit the Boston Fencing Club website, e-mail info@bostonfencingclub.org, or call 781-891-0119.

Once your sword skills are in order, you can then move on to speaking like a pirate. However, if you’re not quite sure how to talk like a scurvy dog or you are in need of some new pirate phases, here are five websites that you should definitely check out:

1. The International Talk Like A Pirate Day Website is filled with information about how to be a better pirate, including an explanation of why it is important to talk like a pirate and how you can actually do it.

2. The Pirate Translator on the Post Like a Pirate website is an excellent tool if you’re trying to figure out the pirate equivalent of everyday words.

3. Google and Facebook both have features that will allow you to change some of their menus into pirate speak. This can be an excellent way to get your brain into a pirate-talking mindset, and you can do it simply by going to the language settings in Google or Facebook and choosing the “pirate” option.

4. Another great option if you’re looking for a pirate translator is the Online Pirate Translator on Pirate Monkeyness. This translator is very similar to the pirate translator on the Post Like a Pirate website, but it has a much larger vocabulary.

5. If you’re really trying to get your pirate speak just right, you should definitely check out the How to Talk Like a Pirate Guide on WikiHow. This step-by-step guide will teach you a series of tricks that you can use to make sure that you’re talking like a real pirate in no time.

Photo credit: Dr Stephen Dann / Foter / CC BY-SA

Game On This Weekend!

My brother’s birthday is actually this weekend, so I decided that this week’s post should be about something that he truly enjoys. In fact, if you’ve ever had the opportunity to meet my brother, you probably wouldn’t have a lot of trouble figuring out what today’s post is about. However, since there’s a pretty good chance that you haven’t actually met him, I should probably just say that today’s post is about gaming. And, if you’re looking for an opportunity to indulge in some video games, board games, and card games this weekend, there are a couple of events in the Boston area that you will definitely want to check out.

First, if you’re a Minecraft fan or you really want to learn the basics of creating video game mods in Java, the Minecraft Modding Workshop at Parts and Crafts in Somerville may be the event for you. This is because the Minecraft Modding Workshop, which is scheduled to take place from 10:00 A.M. to 12:00 P.M. every Saturday for the next four weeks is designed to teach you how to use Java to program your very own Minecraft mod. This four-week series will teach you to how to write and rewrite Java source code to create mods with new blocks, items, recipes, and more. For more information on the Minecraft Modding Workshop and/or to register for the event, which is $80 for the entire four-week series, please visit the Parts and Crafts website or the Parts and Crafts Registration Page.

Please Note: You do not need to know Java to take part in the Minecraft Modding Workshop, but some knowledge of computer programming and the ability to read and type are required.

Secondly, if you’re looking for the next great game that no one’s ever heard of, you should definitely head over to the MIT Johnson Athletic Center tomorrow. This is because the MIT Johnson Athletic Center is hosting the Fourth Annual Boston Festival of Indie Games from 10:00 A.M. to 8:00 P.M. on Saturday, September 12, 2015. This event will give you the opportunity to see and/or try out over 45 new tabletop games and over 55 new video games all from independent developers. The festival will also give you the opportunity to see a live musical performance by the Videri String Quartet (who are known for their video game-oriented musical arrangements), a keynote speech by Susan Gold (creator of the Global Game Jam), and an awards ceremony. For more information on the Boston Festival of Indie Games or Boston FIG for short, please visit the Boston FIG website.

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