Syrup Festival
SAVE THE DATE: SUNDAY, MARCH 29, 2020
Shelburne Falls, MA
11th ANNUAL ONE SWEET PERFORMING ARTS FESTIVAL
SYRUP 2020 will feature another delicious potpourri of world class performance for all ages, syrup tasting, free Real Pickles and more!
Below you will see what happened in 2019 . . . Stay tuned. Registration is now open for Piti Youth Troupe's session leading up to SYRUP. MORE HERE.
This year, Piti Theatre Company's much loved sweet event will enjoy the flexibility of two stages and a working kitchen at Shelburne Buckland Community Center, 53 Main Street, Shelburne Falls.
Join us on Saturday, March 9 from 11 - 2:30 for a Pancake Brunch-Party!
Enjoy pancakes with a wide selection of local maple syrup served by a very special costumed waitstaff (Piti's Youth Troupe). Syrup makers represented include Sunrise Farms, Berkshire Sweet Gold, Gould's and Shoestring Farm. Sunrise Farms will have organic bulk syrup and maple sugar available so bring your containers!
NOON: Carrie Ferguson will perform some songs from our new album, Greatest Bits, Vol. 1.
2:30pm: Piti Theatre's family-friendly musical "Olde Coleraine" will return to our region after a three year hiatus. Olde Coleraine is a musical inspired by research inspired by research of Colrain at the dawn of the industrial revolution between 1870 - 1906. The production features a cast of young actors, Piti Theatre artists and local performers.
3:30: Award-winning Alex the Jester will perform his internationally acclaimed border-blurring gibberish-inspired clown performance for all ages.
Buy Your Tickets Today!
Tickets for March 9: $12 for adults; $10 students/seniors, $5 for children age 12 and under. Cash or check at the door. One tickets lets you see either or both performances (Olde Coleraine & Alex the Jester). Alex's workshop is $15. Register for the workshop by emailing info@ptco.org. There is no entrance fee for the Pancake Party from 11 - 2:30!
Or call 1-800-838-3006Check out a couple of tracks from "Olde Coleraine" off Piti's first album
Buckland's own Janice Sorensen reacts to previous festivals and offers a preview of our 8th Annual Festival.
Alex the Jester is offering his one-hour workshop Primal Talk: Non-Verbal Stuff Made Fun! immediately after his performance.
Less than half of a conversation’s meaning is conveyed by the words alone. But it takes a good stage clown to take this from theory into a rewarding practice. This light hearted workshop gets you working your power of facial expression, gesture and tone of voice leading to fewer misunderstandings. It’s great for public presentations but is also invaluable in one-on-one situations like correcting behavior or making a good first impression.
Alex Feldman is an "accidental expert" in non-verbal communication. He has entertained people wordlessly in theaters around the world including Mexico, France, Italy, Belgium, Russia, Japan, China, Singapore and Siberia.
Alex the Jester has appeared on Showtime, America’s Got Talent, at Just for Laughs in Montreal, and off-Broadway in New York. While most comedy engages the language center of our brain, Alex’s visual humor, sight gags, and light-hearted music bypasses the head altogether and goes straight to the heart.
Workshop is for teens and adults.
Workshop fee: $10 for reservations received by 3/8, $15 on March 9.
Reserve your spot by emailing info@ptco.org
Events a Glance
Saturday, March 9
Shelburne-Buckland Community Center
53 Main Street, Shelburne Falls
11:00am: Pancake Brunch-Party starts featuring Piti's Youth Troupe, Carrie Ferguson, Raffle, syrup-tasting and more! (Free admission, reasonably priced organic buckwheat pancakes until 2:30 pm)
12:00pm: Carrie Ferguson plays selections from "Greatest Bits, Vol 1". Click here to hear & download the new album! (free performance, no ticket required)
2:30: Piti Theatre's "Olde Coleraine"
3:30: Alex the Jester
4:45 - 5:45: Alex the Jester leads Primal Talk: Non-Verbal Stuff Made Fun! for teens and adults inspired by his years of travel around the world and training in physical comedy. No performance experience required. You will learn communication tools applicable for teachers, managers, social workers, parents, etc.
Sunday, March 10 is our SNOW DATE. In case of a storm on Saturday, the whole Saturday schedule will happen on Sunday, March 10th.
" . . . Syrup—subtitled One Sweet Performing Arts Festival—reflects the interests and variety embodied in Mirin and Richard's Piti Theatre Company. Their work embraces kids and adults, theater and movement . . ."
- Chris Rohmann, Valley Advocate. Read the 2012 feature HERE
Saturday, March 23
The Barn
31 Water Street, Shelburne Falls
Tell them you saw it when! Piti Theatre's Jonathan Mirin, clown-dancer Narieka Masla, pianist Laura Josephs and vocalist Christian Schwedbler share their works-in-progress. And yes, there will be syrup tasting between each and every artist!
March 23rd is a free event recommended for ages 15+ Reservations strongly suggested because The Barn is an intimate venue.
Reserve by emailing: info@ptco.org.
2 – 2:30 pm: Meet the artists, syrup tasting
2:30 – 3 pm: Narieka Masla's "Learning to Tango". A red nose clown piece about the courage it takes to learn something new.
3 pm – 3:45 pm: Jonathan Mirin's "Canary in the Goldmine." A comedic, autobiographical performance about his wife developing a mysterious illness which turns out to be electro-sensitivity.
3:45 – 4:15 pm: Meet the artists, syrup tasting, informal Q&A with MA EMF leaders
4:15 – 4:45 pm: Christian Schwedbler sings selections from Mendelssohn, Vaughan Williams, Ravel and Ives accompanied by Laura Josephs.
Contact us about Sponsorship and Raffle Prize Donation Opportunities!
Want to volunteer? Contact us or call 413-339-4569
Thank You Sponsors!
Angels
Producers
Directors
Artisan Beverage Cooperative
Baker's Pharmacy
Better World Auto Club
Coldwell Banker Upton-Massamont Realtor
Community Yoga
Molly Cantor Pottery
Hampshire Colon Hydrotherapy
Hearty Eats
Real Pickles
Mo's Fudge Factor
Northeast Solar
Actors
Avery's General Store
Blackmer Insurance
Giovanni's Red Rose Motel
Trolley Stop Antiques
Door & Raffle Prizes
RAFFLE GRAND PRIZE: 2 Boston Red Sox Tix
+
Davenport Mobil
Goulds’ Sugar House
Shaw's Sugarhouse
Mo's Fudge Factor: maple candy + raw honey
Funders
This program is supported in part by grants from the Buckland and Shelburne Cultural Councils, local agencies which are supported by the Massachusetts Cultural Council, a state agency. This program is also supported by the Mass Cultural Council's Festivals Program.
The original production of Olde Coleraine was funded in part by Mass Humanities, which receives support from the Massachusetts Cultural Council and is an affiliate of the National Endowment for the Humanities.
Special Thanks to the Franklin County Chamber of Commerce and Greater Shelburne Falls Area Business Association