Actress Appearance: Chase Masterson

Actress Chase Masterson, who appeared in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine and Robin Hood: Men in Tights, will hold a question-and-answer session and autograph signing at the Robin Hood Springtime Festival in Guilford, CT on opening weekend, April 23rd and 24th. Visit http://www.ctfaire.com/spring/ for more information.

Summer Game ‘n Grill

The Green Mountain Gamers will be hosting their “Summer Game ‘n Grill” game day and picnic in Norwich, VT on June 18th. Bring a game to share! Learn more at http://www.greenmountaingamers.com/green-mountain-game-days/summer-game-n-grill/.

Space Opera

The North Cambridge Family Opera Company of Cambridge, MA will be presenting “Space Opera”, a musical version of a well-known story involving farmboys, princesses, droids, and a heavy-breathing villain:

This light-hearted galactic odyssey by Cambridge composer David Bass is based on a familiar science fiction tale of heroes and villains, robots and aliens, unlikely adventures and supernatural nonsense. Space Opera is non-stop singing and non-stop action in two acts and features lyrical music in a variety of popular and classical styles that will appeal to audiences of all ages. Presented by an inter-generational cast in English with side titles. Read the synopsis and listen to the music.

Performances will take place April 2nd and 9th at 2:00pm and 7:00pm, and April 3rd and 10th at 1:00pm and 5:30pm. Learn more and hear samples of the music at http://www.familyopera.org/.

[Tip via Boston Events Insider]

What’s Coming Up in April

Here’s what’s on the calendar so far for April:

Connecticut:
April 23, 24, and 30: Robin Hood Springtime Festival

Maine:
April 28: Author Appearance: Catherynne M. Valente

Massachusetts:
April 1: BACK TO THE FUTURE: The Video Game Orchestra
April 16: Author Appearance: Catherynne M. Valente
April 22-24: Anime Boston
April 30-May 1: Boston Comic Con 2011

New Hampshire:
April 8: Final Admission Deadline for Odyssey Writing Workshop
April 9-10: EconoCon 14
April 28–May 1: Aeternitas 2011 (Harry Potter convention)

New Jersey:
April 29-May 2: Costume-Con

New York:
April 15-17: I-Con

Author Appearance: Catherynne M. Valente

Author Catherynne M. Valente is on tour to present her new novel, Deathless. She has two appearances scheduled in New England:

• April 16, 6:00pm at Pandemonium Books and Games in Cambridge, MA
• April 28, 7:00pm at Longfellow Books in Portland, ME (this event was not listed on the bookstore’s website when I checked it, but it is listed on Catherynne’s blog)

New Hampshire Renaissance Faire

The New Hampshire Renaissance Faire will be held May 14th-15th and 21st-22nd, 2011 in Kingston, NH. You can learn more at http://www.nhrenfaire.com/.

Winslowshire Renaissance Festival

The Winslowshire Renaissance Festival is an annual fundraiser to benefit the animals at the Winslow Farm Animal Sanctuary in Norton, MA. This year’s event will be held June 25th and 26th, 2011. Learn more at http://www.winslowshire.com/.

Robin Hood Springtime Festival

The Connecticut Renaissance Faire will kick off the 2011 ren faire season with its Robin Hood Springtime Festival in Guilford, CT. The fairgrounds will be open April 23, 24, and 30 and May 1, 6, 7, 8, 14, 15, 21, and 22. Visit http://www.ctfaire.com/spring/ for more information.

UPDATE: Actress Chase Masterson, who appeared in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine and Robin Hood: Men in Tights, will hold a question-and-answer session and autograph signing on opening weekend, April 23rd and 24th.

BACK TO THE FUTURE: The Video Game Orchestra

The Berklee College of Music in Boston, MA, will present “BACK TO THE FUTURE: Two Generations of Film & Video Game Composers, with Alan Silvestri, Yasunori Mitsuda, Wataru Hokoyama & Lucas Vidal Featuring the Video Game Orchestra” at Symphony Hall on April 1st at 8:30pm.

Berklee College of Music’s Film Scoring Department, students, alumni, and staff present an evening of music from celebrated movies and video games. With Boston’s historic Symphony Hall as the setting, the concert features the Video Game Orchestra, directed by guitarist Shota Nakama and conducted by Yohei Sato.

Special guest conductors include Grammy winner and Oscar nominee Alan Silvestri, Emmy winner Daniel Carlin (Berklee’s Chair of Film Scoring), Golden Knight winner Lucas Vidal, composer for the popular video game Chrono Trigger Yasunori Mitsuda, and video game composer Wataru Hokoyama, whose credits include AFRIKA and Resident Evil. The concert also features a performance by the 90-member world-pop group, Rhythm of the Universe.

The program features acclaimed music from popular film, television, and video games by Berklee-affiliated artists Silvestri, Howard Shore, Georges Delerue, Alf Clausen, Wataru Hokoyama, Yasunori Mitsuda, Lucas Vidal, and others. Additional featured performers include talented musicians from the Berklee community, such as composer/conductor Keith Murray, conductor Simone Scazzocchio.

Find out more at http://www.bso.org/bso/mods/perf_detail.jsp?pid=prod3890054

International Steampunk City

UPDATE: This event has a new URL.

Earlier I posted about this year’s Steampunk Festival at the Charles River Museum of Industry and Innovation in Waltham, MA; however, so much more information has come out that I’m re-listing the event, because it’s 110% more awesome than before! The event has been renamed “International Steampunk City” and it will take place in various locations around the entire city of Waltham the weekend of May 6th-8th. You may encounter Victorian dancers, high-wheel bicyclers, time travelers, steam engines, mad scientists, musicians, antiques, and far more at a variety of locations across the city. Some events will be free to the public; others will require the purchase of a button to enter. All proceeds go to benefit the museum, which is still recovering from last year’s flooding.

To learn more visit http://www.internationalsteampunkcitywaltham.org/ and http://www.crmi.org/.