Anthony C. Wood author, Northshire Books, Jan 5

Learn how New York City created a mechanism to save its cherished landmarks when preservationist and historian Anthony C. Wood presents his new book Preserving New York: Winning the Right to Protect a City’s Landmarks. A book for everyone who knows and loves the city, Preserving New York tells the story of the people and places, the buildings and the battles, and the politics that led to the creation in 1965 of the landmarks law. Wood introduces us to the men and women who fought for the law from 1913 to 1965, and to some of the city’s greatest architectural treasures that were demolished because there was no law in place to protect them. Anthony Wood is the founder and chair of the New York Preservation Archive Project, and has been intimately involved in preserving New York City for almost three decades.

Free! Saturday, January 5, 7 pm. Northshire Books, 4869 Main Street Manchester Center, Vermont, 800-437-3700.

Yellowstone Cutthroat Trout lecture, Williams College, Jan 4

Yellowstone Cutthroat Trout in the Wyoming Wilderness
Environmental Studies Log Lunch presentation by Garry Sanders ‘02, Graduate Research Assistant at Grand Valley State University. Student-prepared vegetarian lunch is $3.50. All members of Williams and the wider community are welcome.

12:00 p.m. – 1:00 p.m., The Log at Williams College, Spring Street. Reservations must be made by the Wednesday preceding each talk: 413-597-2346 or szepka@williams.edu.

Winter Cooking Class and Wine Tasting, Pangaea, Jan 6

Winter Cooking Class and Wine Tasting Series features “The five ‘Mother Sauces:’ Square one for flavor,” with Will Bissonette, 3-5 p.m. Cost: $35; reservation required.

Pangaea Restaurant, 1 & 3 Main St, North Bennington, Vt. Info 802-442-7171.

Boar’s Head and Yule Log Festival, First Congregational Church, Jan 5 & 6

The fourth annual Boar’s Head and Yule Log Festival, when the Middle Ages come to merry life at the Meetinghouse of First Congregational Church in Manchester. More than one hundred community members, of all ages, will perform a modern recreation of a 12th century pageant that celebrates the Epiphany—the end of the traditional Twelve Days of Christmas, when the three wise men arrived in Bethlehem to worship the infant Jesus.

 

The first half of the pageant is the stately Boar’s Head procession, in which the king and queen are presented with a yule log, symbolizing the rekindling of love, and a bristly boar’s head on a platter festooned with holly—yes, it’s real—symbolizing the triumph of Christ over Satan. The procession includes elaborately costumed cooks, hunters, beefeaters, pages, sprites, banner carriers, flower bearers, dancers, court royalty, jesters, and jugglers. The second half recounts the birth of Christ and the journey, guided by a star, of the biblical wise men. The festival includes plenty of music, by the chancel choir and the audience, and a reception with the cast following the performance. Light “medieval” fare will be served.

 

This year’s festival is Saturday, January 5 at 7:30 p.m. (all tickets $10) and Sunday, January 6 at 3 p.m. (adults $10, children 12 and under free). This popular event is always crowded, so advance tickets are recommended. Tickets will be available at First Congregational Church (across the street from the Equinox Resort on Route 7A), at the Northshire Bookstore (in downtown Manchester), and at the door on the day of the festival (if it’s not sold out).

Pandaemonium film, The Clark, Jan 5

“A Green and Pleasant Land” film series: Pandaemonium
January 5: Catch a free screening of Pandaemonium (2000, 125 min., rated PG-13) at 2 pm at the Clark. Julien Temple follows his famous film on the Sex Pistols with another look at a group of radical British bards. This revisionist romp through Romanticism stars Linus Roache as Coleridge and John Hannah as Wordsworth, from their passionate youthful friendship to their estranged maturity.

Marvel at the beauty of the British landscape so well represented by Constable, Turner, Gainsborough, and other Manton Collection masterpieces during the A Green and Pleasant Land: Literature and Landscape in Pastoral Britain film series.

The Clark, 225 South Street, Williamstown, MA. www.clarkart.edu, 413-458-2303.