Featured Events in Douglas in March 2025 (May Updated)

About the BookPerfect for readers of Liz Moore and S.A. Cosby, as well as fans of FargoandMare of Easttown,THE SAVAGE, NOBLE DEATH OF BABS DIONNE centers on a matriarchal crime family in Waterville, Maine helmed by Babs Dionne, a steely aging widow and proud Franco-American whose cast-iron grip over Little Canada’s drug syndicate is put in jeopardy when her youngest daughter is found dead. Gritty, epic, and often darkly funny, Currie’s first entrée into crime – and the first in a planned series exploring the generations of Dionne women in Waterville – has all the qualities of a dynamic, suspenseful page-turner and everything Currie’s longtime fans have loved about his work: acerbic, gorgeously written, genre-blurring, and in the end, somehow life-affirming. The result is at once an ambitious crime epic and a poignant drama about identity, retribution, intergenerational struggle, and above all, family: a literary thriller with love and community thrumming at the center of its bruised, beating heart. We’ve already received incredible early praise from Richard Russo, Chris Pavone, and Ivy Pochoda and are positioning this one of Putnam’s tentpole titles of spring 2025. About the AuthorRon Currie is the award-winning author of five novels. He has won the New York Public Library’s Young Lions Award, the Addison M. Metcalf Award, the Alex Award, and the Pushcart Prize. His books have been translated into fifteen languages, and his short fiction and nonfiction have received recognition in Best American anthologies. As a screenwriter he worked most recently on the Apple TV+ series Extrapolations and has developed projects with AMC Studios, Amblin Television, and ITV America. He lives in Portland, Maine, and teaches in the University of Southern Maine Stonecoast MFA program. Information Source: Watermark Books & Café | eventbrite

Welcome to The Armageddon Sideshow! Come one, come all to witness the most mind-blowing spectacle in town! Join us at Wicket Hall @ The Strathcona Hotel for a night of jaw-dropping performances and unbelievable feats. Prepare to be amazed by mesmerizing illusions, incredible dancers, and mind-blowing musical performances. This is not your average sideshow - it's an experience like no other. Don't miss out on the chance to see the extraordinary up close and personal. Grab your tickets now and join us for a night of prizes, dancing, magic, and more!!!! More info @ https://www.facebook.com/share/12EnjgqSfcP/ Information Source: Laughing Skull Entertainment | eventbrite

About the BookBaseball has long been synonymous with Kansas. Go back to the late 1800s and the birth of Walter Johnson and George Sweatt, Humboldt kids who played baseball at the highest level but in different leagues due to racism. Learn about the sixteen-year-old signed by the Kansas City Athletics, who left the University of Kansas campus to play his first game at Municipal Stadium the next day. Read about pioneers in the game named Joyce, Katie and Alex, determined and talented women who are part of our national pastime. Author Michael Travis shares his love for the game, rounding the bases from its beginnings in Wichita with League 42 to the Major Leagues. About the AuthorMichael’s love for baseball began in 1967, during a hot August night at his family’s lakeside cabin. He listened to Ned Martin and Ken Coleman narrate a Red Sox win at Fenway Park. Yaz, third in the league in batting at .321 and second in homers with twenty-eight, nailed Kansas City A’s Mike Hershberger, who tried to score from second on a single. The Sox were just two games behind Chicago in the standings after the 5–3 win. Was the impossible just a dream? Michael’s childhood in Andover, Massachusetts, was loaded with baseball memories, the pomp and circumstance of opening day in the Little League season, the drama linked to a roll of the dice while playing Strat-O-Matic baseball, the daily consumption of the Boston Globe baseball news and the endless summer days of playing wiffle ball with his childhood buddy Charlie. Michael’s days of playing ball are in the past, but the deep connection to the game is ever-present, whether he is at a ballgame at Eck Stadium or turning pages of Shoeless Joe, a 1982 classic by W.P. Kinsella. Michael’s better half in life, Ivy, is in pursuit of her master’s mental health PA degree while helping those in need as a charge nurse. Michael and Ivy spend idle time enjoying their grown daughters, Katie and Meg, as well as their son-in-law, Chris, and their three grandchildren, all angels, Jude, Luna and Jonah. Of course, one cannot forget that Maci, their goldendoodle, is the queen of their castle in Lawrence, Kansas. Baseball in Kansas is Michael’s second book to be published. He pursued his love of Kansas craft breweries and their communities and stories in his first book, Celebrating Kansas Breweries: People, Places & Stories, published in 2022. Michael’s love for the great game of baseball, the thrill of unearthing stories that need to see the sunshine and the joy of writing have come together in his first baseball book. Stay tuned for his next journey around the bases! Information Source: Watermark Books & Café | eventbrite

𝗙𝗶𝗻𝗱 𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗠𝗮𝗸𝗲𝘀 𝗬𝗼𝘂 𝗙𝘂𝗻𝗻𝘆 Come and explore what makes you funny workshop hosted by Marny Godden. This workshop isn't about putting on face paint, big floppy shoes and joining the circus. Neither is it about crafting witty punchlines and clever ideas. This is about exploring what it is that makes you uniquely funny, from the inside out. We may be relying on what we think is funny about us but getting no laughs. Through clowning we come to realise that what's funny about us comes out of the moment, not from any preconceived ideas. Sometimes we have an impulse to say or do something but a little voice inside our head stops us. Don't do that, you'll look stupid. But in doing so we lose our childlike sense of play. Clowning is the antidote to this. You'll be encouraged to follow your impulses and embrace being as stupid as possible! This is where you lose yourself and find yourself... and have fun in the process. In this workshop you'll be guided through a series of fun games and exercises using your body, voice and imagination. They are all designed to unlock your natural ability to make people laugh. There is no one like you. Only you hold the key to what is funny about you and I'm here to help you find it. 𝗪𝗵𝗼 𝗶𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗪𝗼𝗿𝗸𝘀𝗵𝗼𝗽 𝗳𝗼𝗿? 💜 Anyone curious to explore the tools and techniques of clowning and comedy, be that someone brand new to the world clowning, or someone looking to deepen into their craft. 💜 Anyone interested in creating more fun and laughter in their everyday lives, relationships and work. 💜 Anyone looking to tap into their creativity in a friendly community of like-minded people. 💜 No previous experience with clowning is necessary. You don't need to be a performer or artist to take part in this workshop. 💜 Anyone and everyone is welcome. All you need is a willingness to play. Age 18+ Spaces will be limited to 20 people max. 𝗦𝗲𝗰𝘂𝗿𝗲 𝗬𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗣𝗹𝗮𝗰𝗲 Email marnybg@yahoo.co.uk to reserve your place now. £50 for this workshop. ***Early Bird Offer*** Sign up by 25th/Feb/2025 and get your place at the discounted rate of £30 (saving £20)Simply use the code CLOWNDAY at the checkout If you have any questions, let me know - marnybg@yahoo.co.uk 𝗔𝗯𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗸𝘀𝗵𝗼𝗽 𝗵𝗼𝘀𝘁 My name's Marny. I've been making comedic theatre for the past 10 years. I truly believe the power clowning has to bring creativity, joy and confidence to people's lives. I love sharing the gift of clowning with people who are curious to explore it - from total beginners to professional performers and everyone in between. Feedback from previous workshop participants Marny has a rare gift of being able to reconnect us with the divine, abandoning all pretence and letting the natural energy flow through us in the most beautiful, hilarious way. She's brilliant at gently taking us out of our heads, away from our egos, and back to silly. (Bobbie Upton) “It was my first time clowning. I learnt so much and really appreciated how well Marny built up the exercises and instilled a sense of care and learning throughout the day. Can't wait for the next one!” (Benjamin MacShane) Marny created such a warm and supportive atmosphere in the room, I felt totally at ease Marny led the best workshop EVER! I even brought my Mum. it was a unique and highly entertaining day. Don't miss the next one! (Anna Tierny) A great day of playful and creative fun with a supportive and accomplished performer/ facilitator. If I were in town, I'd definitely go to the next one. Highly recommend! (Lynn) “Marny's gentle but expert style of leading helps everyone to discover what it is about them that is funny and engaging. She helps you to connect with people without pretence, and without a script of any kind. The workshop was relaxed and hilarious, people were rolling around the floor laughing.”(Gerry Carroll) For someone like me who’s never done Clown before, Marny created such a safe space and support that entices people to dig deep within themselves whilst having fun at the same time. Irresistible! (Michael Jempeji) Information Source: Marny Godden | eventbrite

About the BookFrom the New York Times bestselling author of Red Rabbit comes a supernatural horror where ghosts and ghouls are the least of a witch’s problems in nineteenth-century New England. Something wicked is going on in the village of Ascension. A mother wasting away from cancer is suddenly up and about. A boy trampled by a milk cart walks away from the accident. A hanged man can still speak, broken neck and all. The dead are not dying. When Rabbit and Sadie Grace accompany their friend Rose to Ascension to help take care of her ailing cousin, they immediately notice that their new house, Bethany Hall, is occupied by dozens of ghosts. And something is waiting for them in the attic. The villagers of Ascension are unwelcoming and wary of their weird visitors. As the three women attempt to find out what’s happening in the town, they must be careful not to be found out. But a much larger—and more dangerous—force is galloping straight for them… About the AuthorALEX GRECIAN is the New York Times bestselling author of Red Rabbit, The Yard, The Black Country, The Devil’s Workshop, The Harvest Man, Lost and Gone Forever, and The Saint of Wolves and Butchers, as well as the critically acclaimed graphic novels Proof and Rasputin, and the novellas The Blue Girl and One Eye Open. He lives in the Midwest with his wife, his son, their dog, and a tarantula named Rosie. Information Source: Watermark Books & Café | eventbrite

About the BookThe Antidote opens on Black Sunday, as a historic dust storm ravages the fictional town of Uz, Nebraska. But Uz is already collapsing—not just under the weight of the Great Depression and the dust bowl drought but beneath its own violent histories. The Antidote follows a “Prairie Witch,” whose body serves as a bank vault for peoples’ memories and secrets; a Polish wheat farmer who learns how quickly a hoarded blessing can become a curse; his orphan niece, a basketball star and witch’s apprentice in furious flight from her grief; a voluble scarecrow; and a New Deal photographer whose time-traveling camera threatens to reveal both the town’s secrets and its fate. Russell's novel is above all a reckoning with a nation’s forgetting—enacting the settler amnesia and willful omissions passed down from generation to generation, and unearthing not only horrors but shimmering possibilities. The Antidote echoes with urgent warnings for our own climate emergency, challenging readers with a vision of what might have been—and what still could be. About the AuthorKAREN RUSSELL is the author of five books of fiction, including the New York Times bestsellers Swamplandia! and Vampires in the Lemon Grove. She is a MacArthur Fellow, recipient of a Guggenheim Fellowship, and a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize. She has received two National Magazine Awards for Fiction, the Shirley Jackson Award, the 2023 Bottari Lattes Grinzane prize, the 2024 Mary McCarthy Award, and was selected for the National Book Foundation's 5 under 35 prize and The New Yorker's 20 under 40 list (She is now decisively over 40). She has taught literature and creative writing at the Iowa Writers' Workshop, the University of California-Irvine, Williams College, Columbia University, and Bryn Mawr College, and was the Endowed Chair of Texas State’s MFA program. She serves on the board of Street Books, a mobile-library for people living outdoors. Born and raised in Miami, Florida, she now lives in Portland, Oregon with her husband, son, and daughter. Information Source: Watermark Books & Café | eventbrite

JUNO Award winning guitarist and singer Alpha Yaya Diallo, from Guinea in West Africa, is one of the hottest acts on the current world music scene. Now based in Vancouver, Canada, he’s earned a matchless reputation internationally for the excellence of his musicianship and the excitement of his live shows. Diallo is a uniquely multi-talented artist. His dexterous acoustic and electric guitar-playing, with its fluid melodic lines and compelling grooves, places him in the front ranks of African axemen. In addition, he is a skilled and experienced performer on a variety of percussion instruments, and on the balafon (traditional wooden xylphone). To complete the abundance of riches Diallo writes his own compositions, and sings with a supple and beautifully modulated voice. By successfully uniting the traditional and the contemporary, Diallo has carved a niche for himself beside such West African luminaries as Salif Keita, Baaba Maal, Youssou N’Dour, and Ismael Lo. Always seeking new territories to explore while at the same time respecting his roots, Alpha Yaya Diallo is one of the most inspired and inspirational world music artists performing anywhere, this is guaranteed to be an incredible evening of world music you don't want to miss! It's also a celebration, launch of Alpha's new CD! www.alphayayadiallo.com Information Source: Beacon Ridge Productions | eventbrite

Judy Collins has inspired audiences with sublime vocals, boldly vulnerable songwriting, personal life triumphs, and a firm commitment to social activism. In the 1960s, she evoked both the idealism and steely determination of a generation united against social and environmental injustices. Five decades later, her luminescent presence shines brightly as new generations bask in the glow of her iconic 55-album body of work, and heed inspiration from her spiritual discipline to thrive in the music industry for half a century. The award-winning singer-songwriter is esteemed for her imaginative interpretations of traditional and contemporary folk standards and her own poetically poignant original compositions. Her stunning rendition of Joni Mitchell's “Both Sides Now” from her landmark 1967 album, Wildflowers, has been entered into the Grammy Hall of Fame. Judy’s dreamy and sweetly intimate version of “Send in the Clowns,” a ballad written by Stephen Sondheim for the Broadway musical A Little Night Music, won Song of the Year” at the 1975 Grammy Awards. She’s garnered several top-ten hits gold- and platinum-selling albums. Recently, contemporary and classic artists such as Rufus Wainwright, Shawn Colvin, Dolly Parton, Joan Baez, and Leonard Cohen honored her legacy with the album Born to the Breed: A Tribute to Judy Collins. Judy began her impressive music career at 13 as a piano prodigy dazzling audiences performing Mozart's “Concerto for Two Pianos,” but the hard luck tales and rugged sensitivity of folk revival music by artists such as Woody Guthrie and Pete Seeger seduced her away from a life as a concert pianist. Her path pointed to a lifelong love affair with the guitar and pursuit of emotional truth in lyrics. The focus and regimented practice of classical music, however, would be a source of strength to her inner core as she navigated the highs and lows of the music business. In 1961, she released her masterful debut, A Maid of Constant Sorrow, which featured interpretative works of social poets of the time such as Bob Dylan, Phil Ochs, and Tom Paxton. This began a wonderfully fertile thirty-five-year creative relationship with Jac Holzman and Elektra Records. Around this time Judy became a tastemaker within the thriving Greenwich Village folk community and brought other singer-songwriters to a wider audience, including poet/musician Leonard Cohen – and musicians Joni Mitchell and Randy Newman. Throughout the 60s, 70s, 80s, 90s, and up to the present, she has remained a vital artist, enriching her catalog with critically acclaimed albums while balancing a robust touring schedule. Prolific as ever, Judy recorded a DVD special Judy Collins: A Love Letter To Stephen Sondheim, in her hometown of Denver, CO. Along with the Greely Philharmonic Orchestra, Judy dazzled the audience with Sondheim’s beautiful songs and her lovely, radiant voice. DVD and CD companion will be released in early 2017. Judy also released a collaborative album in June 2016, Silver Skies Blue, with writing partner, Ari Hest. Silver Skies Blue has been GRAMMY nominated for BEST FOLK ALBUM in 2017, this is the first GRAMMY nomination for Collins in over 40 years. In 2012, she released the CD/DVD Judy Collins Live At The Metropolitan Museum Of Art which aired on PBS. This special television program was nominated for a New York Emmy and won a Bronze Medal at the 2013 New York Festival International Television & Film Awards. Based on its success, in 2014 she filmed another spectacular show in Ireland at Dromoland Castle. Live In Ireland was released in 2014. This program also won a Bronze Medal at the 2014 New York Festival International Television & Film Awards and the program will broadcast on PBS in 2014 and 2015. Judy’s most recent collaboration with her as a singer-songwriter is the 2019 album Winter Stories, including critically-acclaimed Norwegian folk artist Jonas Fjeld, and masterful bluegrass band Chatham County Line.Winter Stories, is a collection of classics, new tunes, and a few surprises, featuring spirited lead vocal turns, breathtaking duets, and Judy’s stunning harmony singing. Judy has also authored several books, including the powerful and inspiring, Sanity & Grace and her extraordinary memoir, Sweet Judy Blue Eyes: My Life in Music. For her most recent title to be released in 2017, Cravings, she provides a no-holds barred account of her harrowing struggle with compulsive overeating, and the journey that led her to a solution. Alternating between chapters on her life and those of the many diet gurus she has encountered along the way (Atkins, Jean Nidtech of Weight Watchers, Andrew Weil, to name a few), Cravings is the culmination of Judy's genuine desire to share what she's learned—so that no one has follow her heart-rending path to recovery. In addition, she remains a social activist, representing UNICEF and numerous other causes. She is the director (along with Jill Godmillow) of an Academy Award-nominated film about Antonia Brico – PORTRAIT OF A WOMAN, the first woman to conduct major symphonies around the world–and Judy's classical piano teacher when she was young. Judy Collins is as creatively vigorous as ever, writing, touring worldwide, and nurturing fresh talent. She is a modern-day Renaissance woman who is a filmmaker, record label head, musical mentor, and an in-demand keynote speaker for mental health and suicide prevention. She continues to create music of hope and healing that lights up the world and speaks to the heart. Visit Judy's website: https://www.judycollins.com Doors open at 6:45 pm Information Source: Beacon Ridge Productions | eventbrite

Intuitive Movers Club: Pole Fitness Come join us for a fun and empowering Pole Fitness class at The Fitness Hangout in Godalming! If you've been nervous to go to a Pole class on your own then come and try in a safe and supportive environment. We will be doing a 75 minute beginner friendly class and no previous experience is required. Followed by a chance to chat, mingle and connect with your fellow movers. See you there! Information Source: Tally Rye | eventbrite

Judy Collins has inspired audiences with sublime vocals, boldly vulnerable songwriting, personal life triumphs, and a firm commitment to social activism. In the 1960s, she evoked both the idealism and steely determination of a generation united against social and environmental injustices. Five decades later, her luminescent presence shines brightly as new generations bask in the glow of her iconic 55-album body of work, and heed inspiration from her spiritual discipline to thrive in the music industry for half a century. The award-winning singer-songwriter is esteemed for her imaginative interpretations of traditional and contemporary folk standards and her own poetically poignant original compositions. Her stunning rendition of Joni Mitchell's “Both Sides Now” from her landmark 1967 album, Wildflowers, has been entered into the Grammy Hall of Fame. Judy’s dreamy and sweetly intimate version of “Send in the Clowns,” a ballad written by Stephen Sondheim for the Broadway musical A Little Night Music, won Song of the Year” at the 1975 Grammy Awards. She’s garnered several top-ten hits gold- and platinum-selling albums. Recently, contemporary and classic artists such as Rufus Wainwright, Shawn Colvin, Dolly Parton, Joan Baez, and Leonard Cohen honored her legacy with the album Born to the Breed: A Tribute to Judy Collins. Judy began her impressive music career at 13 as a piano prodigy dazzling audiences performing Mozart's “Concerto for Two Pianos,” but the hard luck tales and rugged sensitivity of folk revival music by artists such as Woody Guthrie and Pete Seeger seduced her away from a life as a concert pianist. Her path pointed to a lifelong love affair with the guitar and pursuit of emotional truth in lyrics. The focus and regimented practice of classical music, however, would be a source of strength to her inner core as she navigated the highs and lows of the music business. In 1961, she released her masterful debut, A Maid of Constant Sorrow, which featured interpretative works of social poets of the time such as Bob Dylan, Phil Ochs, and Tom Paxton. This began a wonderfully fertile thirty-five-year creative relationship with Jac Holzman and Elektra Records. Around this time Judy became a tastemaker within the thriving Greenwich Village folk community and brought other singer-songwriters to a wider audience, including poet/musician Leonard Cohen – and musicians Joni Mitchell and Randy Newman. Throughout the 60s, 70s, 80s, 90s, and up to the present, she has remained a vital artist, enriching her catalog with critically acclaimed albums while balancing a robust touring schedule. Prolific as ever, Judy recorded a DVD special Judy Collins: A Love Letter To Stephen Sondheim, in her hometown of Denver, CO. Along with the Greely Philharmonic Orchestra, Judy dazzled the audience with Sondheim’s beautiful songs and her lovely, radiant voice. DVD and CD companion will be released in early 2017. Judy also released a collaborative album in June 2016, Silver Skies Blue, with writing partner, Ari Hest. Silver Skies Blue has been GRAMMY nominated for BEST FOLK ALBUM in 2017, this is the first GRAMMY nomination for Collins in over 40 years. In 2012, she released the CD/DVD Judy Collins Live At The Metropolitan Museum Of Art which aired on PBS. This special television program was nominated for a New York Emmy and won a Bronze Medal at the 2013 New York Festival International Television & Film Awards. Based on its success, in 2014 she filmed another spectacular show in Ireland at Dromoland Castle. Live In Ireland was released in 2014. This program also won a Bronze Medal at the 2014 New York Festival International Television & Film Awards and the program will broadcast on PBS in 2014 and 2015. Judy’s most recent collaboration with her as a singer-songwriter is the 2019 album Winter Stories, including critically-acclaimed Norwegian folk artist Jonas Fjeld, and masterful bluegrass band Chatham County Line.Winter Stories, is a collection of classics, new tunes, and a few surprises, featuring spirited lead vocal turns, breathtaking duets, and Judy’s stunning harmony singing. Judy has also authored several books, including the powerful and inspiring, Sanity & Grace and her extraordinary memoir, Sweet Judy Blue Eyes: My Life in Music. For her most recent title to be released in 2017, Cravings, she provides a no-holds barred account of her harrowing struggle with compulsive overeating, and the journey that led her to a solution. Alternating between chapters on her life and those of the many diet gurus she has encountered along the way (Atkins, Jean Nidtech of Weight Watchers, Andrew Weil, to name a few), Cravings is the culmination of Judy's genuine desire to share what she's learned—so that no one has follow her heart-rending path to recovery. In addition, she remains a social activist, representing UNICEF and numerous other causes. She is the director (along with Jill Godmillow) of an Academy Award-nominated film about Antonia Brico – PORTRAIT OF A WOMAN, the first woman to conduct major symphonies around the world–and Judy's classical piano teacher when she was young. Judy Collins is as creatively vigorous as ever, writing, touring worldwide, and nurturing fresh talent. She is a modern-day Renaissance woman who is a filmmaker, record label head, musical mentor, and an in-demand keynote speaker for mental health and suicide prevention. She continues to create music of hope and healing that lights up the world and speaks to the heart. Visit Judy's website: https://www.judycollins.com Doors open at 6:45 pm Information Source: Beacon Ridge Productions | eventbrite