Women Artists Think Globally, Act Locally

In its fourth year, SWAN Day, a festival of women musicians, artists and performers, will energize the East Hartford Community Cultural Center on Saturday night, March 26, from 6 to 11 p.m. In the local celebration of a worldwide movement to promote female artists, area women will perform in an array of musical styles as individuals or in seven bands selected from more than 100 entries.

Mini galleries of art will be on display and performances will include even a burlesque act. Well, the Web site does call the event “more Lollapalooza than Lilith Fair and not a place reserved for just women.” 

Bands are She Eats Planets, The Grimm Generation, SisterFunk, Canyon, The And Band, Waking Elliot and Jennifer Hill and Co. Hill, who was Hartford Advocate’s Grand Band Slam Best Female Vocalist winner of 2009, is the organizer of the Connecticut event.

SWAN stands for Supporting Women Artists Now. Admission to the festival is $12. Food and drink will be available. The cultural center is at 50 Chapman Place, East Hartford. For more information, visit www.womenarts.org or the SWAN DAY CT page on Facebook, call Hill at 860-794-3869 or e-mail her at ladyblueproductions@gmail.com.

Puppet Museum Reopens In Free Gala – No Strings

The Ballard Institute and Museum of Puppetry at UConn will kick off two new exhibits dedicated to namesake Frank Ballard in a reopening gala Sunday, March 27, from 4 to 6 p.m.

The exhibit “An Odyssey of a Life in Puppetry” traces Ballard’s career as a director, designer and teacher and includes rare video footage from his works. The display features puppets and sets from productions such as Two By Two, H.M.S. Pinafore, The Magic Flute and Peer Gynt.

“Roots and Branches” explores Ballard’s myriad influences in puppetry, from the ‘30s traveling shows of Romain and Ellen Proctor to Jim Henson, and includes his fascination with toy operas and global puppet traditions, including Japanese rod puppets and Chinese shadow-theater.

Guests will be feted with museum tours, refreshments and a program of Gilbert and Sullivan songs, performed by members of the UConn Music Department’s Opera Studio. Normal museum hours are noon to 5 p.m., Friday through Sunday.

The museum, which owns more than 2,500 puppets and related pieces from the world over, is at 6 Bourne Place on the UConn Depot Campus in Storrs. For information, visit Ballard Institute and Museum of Puppetry or call 860-486-0339.

Note to puppet fans: The University of Connecticut will host the International Puppetry Conference April 1-3. For information, visit: International Puppetry Conference.

Russian “R&J”: Pas de Tragedie

The Russian National Ballet Theatre will resurrect Tchaikovsky’s version of Romeo and Juliet, the classic Shakespearean story of love nipped in the bud, on the Jorgensen stage Thursday, March 31, at 7:30 p.m. Critics have dubbed the company, directed by the legendary Bolshoi principal dancer Elena Radchenko, “the real thing.” It was formed in Moscow during the Perestroika period in the late 1980s and populated by talent from the upper echelons of Soviet dance academies and troupes.

In addition to the sad tale of lovers from rival Italian clans, bad communication and horrific outcomes, the troupe will dance Mikhail Fokine’s masterwork Chopiniana, celebrating the genius of Frederic Chopin in a thematic piece based on a young man’s dream. It’s a dance repertoire staple.

Tickets are $25-30, with some discounts. For information, call 860-486-4226 or visit Jorgensen at UConn.

Don’t Touch the Cheese

In celebration of the new “Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Rodrick Rules” movie coming out this Friday, Somers Library is holding a Wimpy Kid party for third- through fifth-graders Thursday afternoon, March 24.

A party highlight will be the “Cheese Touch” game. Fans of Jeff Kinney’s Wimpy Kid books and the 2010 film will recall that a slice of cheese was embedded in the school playground pavement for several seasons and believed to carry its own cootie-like repellent to anyone who touched it. It’s up to you kids to be brave enough to see what this game is all about.

Partygoers will also enjoy a snack, make a craft and compete for prizes. The free event is 4:15-5 p.m. March 24. Sign up by calling 860-763-3501.

Silent Film, Live Music

For once Buster Keaton won't be left in silence. A screening of the silent film classic, “The General,” starring Keaton, will feature original music composed and played by well-known Manchester pianist and organist Karen Krinjak on Friday, March 25, at Cheney Hall. Krinjak, pianist for Little Theatre of Manchester and choral director of the local Salvation Army choir, majored in piano and organ at the New England Conservatory in Boston and taught in Andover and Manchester schools.

The film starts at 7 p.m. Friday. Refreshments will be available. Suggested donation is $10. For information, call 860-647-9824 or visit cheneyhall.org. 

You Are Feeling Sleepy … and Giggly

Witness the power of hypnosis and humor at a Comedy Hypnotist Show Friday, March 25, at Rockville High School in Vernon. The high school Class of 2013 presents the show by Steve Wronker at 7 p.m. in the auditorium. For information call 860-870-6050 or visit rockvillehighschool.org. The comedy show is open to all.