7th Annual SYRUP: One Sweet Performing Arts Festival

Featuring award-winning “The Snowflake Man” by Puppetkabob & “Olde Coleraine” by Piti Theatre Company and Friends. Once again Piti Theatre Company presents a delicious potpourri of theater, puppetry, music, syrup-tasting, horse and cart rides, maple sweets and . . . free pickles. This year’s headliner is Puppetkabob’s Sarah Frechette with The Snowflake Man, inspired by William “Snowflake” Bentley, a farmer-scientist who attracted world attention when he became the first person to photograph a single snow crystal in 1920’s VT. The Snowflake Man was the recipient of the 2011 Union Internationale de la Marionette’s Citation of Excellence – the highest honor in puppetry. The Festival is opportunely timed – March 20 is World Day of Theatre for Children and Young People and March 19 – 20 is Maple Weekend in Massachusetts!

Sunday, March 20 at Memorial Hall
1:00 p.m.: Costumed horse and cart rides along the Deerfield River begin from Memorial Hall.
2:00 p.m.: Piti Theatre’s Olde Coleraine: A Musical Hilltown History. A one room schoolhouse, the Griswoldville Mill, the Coleraine-Shelburne Falls Trolley, and even the opening celebration of Memorial Hall in Shelburne Falls will come to life as we live the years from 1869 to 1898 through the eyes of a group of children. Piti’s Shelburne Falls Youth Troupe, Ballet Renversé, and award-winning Northampton singer-songwriter Carrie Ferguson join Piti Theatre in this world premiere inspired by local history. Olde Coleraine will be followed by a Q&A with Hampshire College Professor of History Susan Tracy, who began researching the area in 2014 to help Piti create the show, and playwright/Artistic Director Jonathan Mirin.
Intermission from 3 to 3:45 p.m featuring syrup-tasting, horse and cart rides, complimentary Real Pickles, a raffle, baked goods and syrup-themed treats around the village.
3:45 – 4:00 p.m.: Carrie Ferguson, Pre-CD release party. Ferguson will play a selection of her and Piti Theatre Company’s greatest hits from their 4 year collaboration honored by a grant from Club Passim and to be released on CD later this spring.
4:00 p.m: Puppetkabob’s Sarah Frechette will perform The Snowflake Man inspired by Wilson “Snowflake” Bentley, the self-educated farmer and scientist who attracted world attention when he became the first person to photograph a single snow crystal. The show swings audiences into the historic 1920s through creative story-telling, intricately designed Czech-style marionettes and a striking pop-up book of watercolor scenery. “The Snowflake Man” combines art, science and a little-known piece of American history to magical effect. It received the – the highest honor in puppetry.
4:45 p.m.: Pop-up Puppet Workshop by Puppetkabob. Children and their adults are invited to bring their own snowy story to life in this workshop led by Sarah Frechette. Using simple art materials, participants will learn how to create their own paper puppets and table-top scenery inspired by the colorful pop-up book art of The Snowflake Man. Register at www.ptco.org/syrup

6:00 p.m.: Free bonus event: “Love Letters from Maud”. East Charlemont native Diantha Wholey and her daughter Martha narrate their film about Shelburne Falls Trolley No. 10 and Diantha’s grandmother’s romance. Diantha grew up on her grandfather’s farm where the trolley also resided during her childhood. Her grandfather saved the trolley – which may just have had something to do with his courtship of his wife-to-be Maud while enjoying the trolley’s views of the North River.