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The Spire Center for Performing Arts will launch a new series, “Sunday Serenades,” on Sunday, May 25, at 3 p.m., with a performance by Cassandre McKinley. Among other things, the Boston-based McKinley is a singer, composer, producer, educator, and vocal coach, with five solo albums under her belt. She will perform jazz standards and cabaret-style songs with her band. To get a taste of McKinley’s rich vocals, check out the video of her singing “You Don’t Know Me,” on the Spire’s website.
The Serenades series will run on select Sunday afternoons throughout the year. Marketing director Dot McDonough said it “will make us more accessible to audiences that might not be able to make a nighttime show.”
Bob Hollis, the Spire’s president, agrees.
“After Covid,” he said, “more and more people – some a little older – were not as comfortable going out at nighttime.”
Hollis said the series is also part of the Spire’s interest in expanding its offerings to provide more afternoon music along the lines of big band, jazz standards, Broadway, and even small classical ensembles.
Hollis said Sunday afternoons were “a natural” for these types of shows.
The series has other shows scheduled for the coming months. Sinatra fans will savor the big band sounds on Sunday, June 22, at a show titled “The Best is Yet to Come: A Swingin’ Affair’s Tribute to Sinatra.”
For something unique, there will be a crossover performance featuring three classical musicians, on Sunday, June 29, called “Echoes of Fusion: Betancourt, Foss, & Ambroszewski.”
And, Hollis said, people will enjoy the Broadway-style tunes of “CelloVoci,” featuring Branden & James – a duo he first heard in Naples, Florida – with singer Effie Passero, on Sunday, July 27.
Tickets for McKinley’s show are $35.50 and $39, and you can get them here.
Monday, May 19
The Plymouth Area League of Women Voters will host a forum called “The Power of Local Journalism: A Conversation,” on Monday, May 19, from 6 to 8:15 p.m., in the Fehlow Meeting Room at of the Plymouth Public Library, 132 South St. The speakers will be Mark Pothier, editor of the Plymouth Independent, and Barbara Roessner, founding editor of the New Bedford Light. Tom Redburn, a retired New York Times economics editor and founding Independent board member, will moderate. There will be a social hour from 6 to 7 p.m. with light refreshments, and people can write questions on notecards for the speakers. The event will be recorded by The Local Seen (PACTV) and available on the league’s website.
“The Way, My Way,” a film by Bill Bennett based on his best-selling book about his 800-kilometer trek through Spain on the Camino de Santiago pilgrimage route, is showing at 7:30 p.m. at Plimoth Cinema in Plimoth Patuxet Museums, 137 Warren Ave. “Lilly,” a drama starring Patricia Clarkson about working-class hero, Lilly Ledbetter, screens at 4:30 p.m. The hard-working Alabama tire factory supervisor has to fight to get the pay she deserves and takes it all the way to the Supreme Court. “Secret Mall Apartment,” a documentary about how eight Rhode Island artists created a secret apartment in the Providence Place mall, continues at 4:30 and 7 p.m. All of the films will continue through Thursday, May 22. Tickets are $12.50, $11 with a club card, $10 for seniors or members, and $8.50 for seniors with a club card.
Tuesday, May 20
Habitat for Humanity of Greater Plymouth will host an information session at the Plymouth Public Library, 132 South St., at 7 p.m. The nonprofit, which provides affordable housing for low-income households in the region, is accepting applications from income-qualified residents who want to own an affordable three-bedroom home in Manomet. Construction will begin this spring. Attendance is not required but is encouraged. The application deadline is Monday, June 2, at 4 p.m. Applications can be dropped off at the Habitat office or ReStore,160 North Main St., Carver, or mailed to HFHGP, PO Box 346, Carver, MA, 02330. Applications are available at local libraries, or you can download one here.
Plymouth Public Library, 132 South St., will present a virtual show at 6 p.m., “Going to Extremes: A Travel Journalist’s Tour of the Globe’s Most Adventurous Outposts,” with Peter Mandel. A nationally known adventure travel journalist for the Boston Globe, the Washington Post, National Geographic, and the Los Angeles Times, Mandel finds his stories and photos in the world’s far corners, including Antarctica, India, Egypt, Patagonia, the fjords of Norway, the mountains of Japan, and the deserts of Africa. He’ll show slides of his most extreme travel experiences and talk about how travel turns to prose. Registration is required for this virtual program, and you can do so here.
Thursday, May 22
Kathleen Parks, fiddler, singer, and songwriter, will perform as part of the Spire Lobby Series at 7:30 p.m., with doors opening at 6:30 p.m. Parks has performed with Twisted Pine and Kat & Brad. Her music includes pop, folk, jazz, and Celtic traditionals. She released a solo album in 2024 with original songs and covers inspired by music legends such as John Hartford and Carole King. Tickets are $15 and you can buy them here.
Friday, May 23
Andrew Lewis and Margaret Ferri will present “Songs and Stories of the American Songwriters: 1960-1975” in the Fehlow Meeting Roomat the Plymouth Public Library, 132 South St., from 2 to 3 p.m. Enjoy nostalgic music from the most influential songwriters of that period, including James Taylor, Paul Simon, Bob Dylan, Joni Mitchell, and Judy Collins. Registration is encouraged, and you can do so here.
Linda Lancaster will speak on “Energy Upgrades: Or How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love Heat Pumps,” from 6 to 8:30 p.m. at the Center Hill Preserve, 158 Center Hill Road. Lancaster, who recently retired from MIT, will speak about the process behind recent energy upgrades at Southeastern Massachusetts Pine Barrens Alliance’s (SEMPBA) Community Conservation Center at the preserve. The presentation will highlight improvements, including new windows, updated lighting, and deck refurbishment, but will focus mainly on the challenges and decision-making involved in replacing outdated oil burners with high-efficiency heat pumps. There will be a Q&A and social hour following the talk. The cost to attend is $10, with proceeds benefiting SEMPBA. You can get tickets here.
Toronto-based Bywater Call will perform at the Spire at 8 p.m. with doors opening at 7 p.m. The seven-piece Southern soul- roots-rock band features Meghan Parnell on vocals, Dave Barnes on guitar, Bruce McCarthy on drums, Mike Meusel on bass, John Kervin on keyboard, Stephen Dyte on trumpet, and Julian Nalli on tenor sax. Bywater is a UK Blues Award nominee for International Blues Artist of the Year. Tickets are $25.20 and $28, and you can buy them here.
Saturday, May 24
The public is welcome to take part in a “Chalk, Talk, Walk on Grace Trail” at the Plymouth Seaside Grace Trail, 235 Water St. off the Nelson Memorial Park parking lot. Grace Trail creator Anne Jolles said there will be colored chalk available at each boulder site for each question, so walkers and artists can share their answers with the world. It’s a daylong event.
Sustainable Plymouth invites climate-concerned citizens to join in an “Hour of Action” from 4 to 5 p.m. at the Plymouth Public Library, 132 South St. The group aims to get up to speed on a timely climate policy issue, learn how to impact it this month, and then act.
Plimoth Patuxet Museums’ Annual Spring Heirloom Plant Sale will take place in its parking lot, 137 Warren Ave., from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. There will be more than 100 types of heirloom plants to choose from, including herbs, vegetables, and flowers that are grown in the museums’ 17th-Century English Village. Staff will be on hand to answer questions about the plants, and there will be a pop-up retail shop. The sale is free to enter, and will continue on Sunday, May 25.
Tab Benoit will perform at the Spire at 8 p.m., with doors opening at 7 p.m. With more than 30 years in the roots music world, the Grammy-nominated singer/songwriter is also an environmental advocate whose voice has been compared with Otis Redding’s. Benoit recently completed a new album, “I Hear Thunder.” Chalia Volt’s “One-Woman Band” will also be featured. She channels southern blues with her voice, a guitar, and foot drums. Tickets are $71.50 and $79, and are available here.
Sunday, May 25
Cassandre McKinley kicks off the Spire’s “Sunday Serenades” series with a performance at 3 p.m., with doors opening at 2 p.m. Tickets are $35.50 and $39, and available here. See the lead item in this column for more information.
Wednesday, May 28
Kids eight and older can take part in a Zen Garden Craft from 4 to 4:45 p.m. in the Craft Room at the Plymouth Public Library, 132 South St. Using a shoebox top and sand, participants can create a serene, calming space making patterns in the sand. Registration is required, and you can do so here.
The trustees of Pilgrim Hall Museum, 75 Court St., will host a ceremonial send off at 8 a.m. for the Quadricentennial Guernsey Falcon cannon, which has occupied the museum’s lobby for five years. The cannon was a gift from members of the Ancient & Honorable Artillery Company of Massachusetts (chartered 1638) and the Honourable Artillery Company of London (chartered 1537) to honor Plymouth’s 400th anniversary in the spring of 2000. The pandemic put a hold on the cannon’s installation on Burial Hill for five years. The public is invited to enjoy coffee and pastries as the cannon leaves the museum and makes its way to Burial Hill. The official dedication will be held on Saturday, May 31. For more information on the send-off, contact Donna Curtin at director@pilgrimhall.org.
Thursday, May 29
Cheryl Jones returns to the Plymouth Public Library, 132 South St., to present a session titled “The Power of Stillness: Cultivating Clarity, Resilience, and Wellbeing” at 2 p.m. in the Fehlow Meeting Room. Among other tools, learn practical techniques to slow down, quiet the mind, and embrace stillness. This immersive experience is designed for individuals of all backgrounds and levels – whether new to mindfulness or looking to deepen your practice.
Wear comfortable clothing, and bring a journal and a water bottle. Registration is required, and you can register here.
Friday, May 30
The Busted Jug Band will perform at the Spire at 8 p.m., with doors opening at 7 p.m. The band reflects the street bands of the early 20th Century, featuring kazoos, washboard, mandolin, banjo-uke, washtub bass, harmonica, accordion, jug, rhythm bones, national guitar, slide whistle and bicycle horns. Band members wear top hats and derbies and play the music of Black jug bands and string bands of Memphis and Mississippi, as well as music made by small swing bands and vocal groups of New Orleans and the urban north. Tickets are $29.20 and $32, and you can get them here.
Saturday, May 31
The official dedication of the Quadricentennial Guernsey Falcon cannonwill take place, starting at 10 a.m. on the Town Hall Green, 26 Court Street, and proceeding to Burial Hill for the unveiling ceremonies. For more information on the official dedication, contact Casey Kennedy, Town of Plymouth communications coordinator, at ckennedy@plymouth-ma.gov.
Reiki Master Brittany O’Leary will provide stress relief from 10:15 to 11: 15 a.m. in the Dr. Richard M. Shiff Garden at the Plymouth Public Library, 132 South St., leading participants through a gentle and restorative group session. There will be chairs available, so yoga mats are not required, but comfortable clothing is recommended. Reiki does not involve actual touch, but “is based on the idea that an unseen life force energy flows through us and is what causes us to be alive.” This event is for those age 15 and older. Registration is required, and you can do so here.
To complete “Grace Trail Month,” join Anne Jolles for a guided Grace Trail walk from 7 to 8 p.m. Meet at 6:45 at the beginning of Grace Trail at the Nelson Park parking lot, 235 Water St. and walk and talk together, ending up at an inspirational point overlooking the harbor. This event is free and you can just show up, weather permitting. Contact Jolles at anne@gracetrail.com for more information.