STONINGTON — Join Opera House Arts outdoors at the Stonington Ball Field on Wednesday, Aug. 3 at 6 p.m. for a contra dance with Don Roy Fiddlers and Bill Olson. This dynamic and seasoned group of professional musicians is a favorite band on the Maine contra dance scene. This “Live! For $5” event is fun for the whole family. For more information and to purchase tickets visit operahousearts.org.
The Don Roy Ensemble features Don Roy, Cindy Roy, and Jay Young on fiddle, piano, and bass respectively. Delivering polished, tight, pulsating sets, this trio exemplifies the driving beat of traditional music. The Don Roy Ensemble has played at Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, appeared with Garrison Keillor, and performed on two occasions at the Kennedy Center.
A champion fiddler with depth in many styles of fiddling, Don Roy hails from roots deep in the Maritimes and Quebec. Roy’s musical passion lies with the French Canadian tradition followed closely by Celtic music. Roy has received Fellowship awards from the state of Maine in 1994 and 2001 for excellence in traditional music. His CD Thanks for the Lift earned a nomination for the National Heritage Award. To learn more about Don Roy visit: donroyonline.com
For more than 20 years, Bill Olson has been calling, playing, and writing dances. He loves traveling around the country and experiencing the regional differences that exist in the artform very loosely referred to as “contradancing.” Bill enjoys meeting dancers, musicians, and callers and learning new dances and tunes, as well as making new friends. To learn more about Bill Olson visit: billolsondance.com
Live! For $5 is an annual series of live performances, available to all for a ticket price of only $5. The series features a wide variety of performances for intergenerational audiences and participants. Live! For $5 is made possible by the generous support of the W. F. Whitman Family Foundation, in honor of Maia Aprahamian, with additional support from the Margaret E. Burnham Charitable Trust.
Opera House Arts, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, was founded in 1999 to restore the 1912 Stonington Opera House, on the National Register of Historic Places, to its original role as a performance venue and a community gathering space. We offer a year-round schedule of professional theater, music, film, dance, educational programs, community events, and more. Performances take place in multiple venues, including the Stonington Opera House, the restored Burnt Cove Church Community Center, and at site-specific locations across Deer Isle and Stonington, Maine. Opera House Arts’ programs serve all of Hancock County’s winter and summer residents and visitors, with a special emphasis on the residents of Deer Isle and the Blue Hill Peninsula.
