Art on the Big Screen in Willimantic

Call it a projection project. Willimantic has joined its cool counterpart cities in Europe and Asia serving as an urban canvas for art projected onto the sides of downtown buildings in a kickoff to The Screen Project. This initial show, called Love in a Cold Climate, after the 1949 novel by Nancy Mitford who took the phrase from George Orwell, is up from sunset to midnight every night through Monday, Feb. 21.

June Bisantz, who’s known for putting art in public places, such as billboards, buses and street signs, has teamed with new media artist Harrison Judd and an array of others to literally shine the light on five buildings in downtown Willimantic. Visuals by artists from here to New York and Texas will play in a video loop at varying times at each of four sites. The Willimantic Public Library will highlight pages from the book Love in a Cold Climate, an idea akin to Bisantz’s “Turning Pages” project on the same site a year ago that served as a Screen Project pilot.

Architectural canvases involved in the outdoor exhibit include the library, Cafémantic’s store windows illuminated from inside, the 796 Main St. building’s west wall, the old Nassif’s building front wall and 750 Main St. store windows. The art celebrates the New England winter, the season of love and Willimantic’s recent chocolate festival.

Artists include Bisantz, who teaches digital art and design at Eastern Connecticut State University and also records and produces jazz CDs; Judd, a Connecticut-born artist whose clients have included the NFL, the New Haven Symphony, state and national political campaigns and Maurice Sendak; photographer and videographer Sev Coursen of Austin, TX; Flash Rosenberg, cartoonist, photographer and artist in residence at the New York Public Library; professors of art at several Connecticut colleges; and digital art students in the Design Group from ESCU.

The Screen Project is a global partner of StreamingMuseum.org, based in New York City and collecting public and cyber space works from seven continents. For a map of the sites, visit thescreenproject.com. A reception for the event will be tonight, Feb. 17, from 6 to 8 at Cafémantic.

You Get a Line and I’ll Get a Hole

You call raking the ice off the roof embracing winter? Then you need to get into your The North Face gear this Saturday, Feb. 19, and enter the Ice-Fishing Derby at Winter Fest 2011 at Sun Valley Resort in Stafford Springs. Drop a line through a hole in the ice and go for the most Cabela-stocked trout you can catch in six hours, a trophy, cash prize or gift card. The $10 entrance fee for kids includes a free pole, courtesy of Cabela’s. The adult fee is $20. Other attractions include ice skating ($2 a person), snowmobile rides, a bonfire on the beach, a crafts show, music, hot cocoa and food. All proceeds from the 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. festival go to the Channel 3 Kids Camp in Andover. Sponsors are Cabela’s, Trantolo & Trantolo and Sun Valley. General admission is free. Sun Valley is off of Route 190 at 51 Old Springfield Road. For information, visit: www.channel3kidscamp.org.

In Praise of the African American Spirit

Three choruses come together to celebrate the vocal music traditions of the African American community in two Black History Month concerts this weekend in Hartford and Vernon. The Vernon Chorale, Hartford Chorale Chamber Singers and Legacy of Spiritual Singers will each present a few pieces before taking the stage together to raise the roof. Concerts are Saturday, Feb. 19, at 7 p.m. at Metropolitan AME Zion Church in Hartford, and Sunday, Feb. 20, at 4 p.m. at First Congregational Church of Vernon. Gospel and spiritual arrangements of pieces such as “Ezekiel Saw the Wheel” and “Lift Every Voice and Sing” will be featured. Ingrid Faniel, director of the Legacy singers, and Ehren Brown, director of both Vernon and the chamber singers, will share the podium duties.

This annual concert can draw crowds, so arrive a bit early. Metropolitan AME is at 2084 Main St. in the north end of Hartford. The Vernon church is at 695 Tolland Turnpike, off I-84 exit 66 in the center of Vernon. A suggested donation of $8 for students and seniors and $10 for adults will be welcomed. A pre-concert talk will be given by accompanist Kathleen Bartkowski 15 minutes before curtain.

Who’s the Funniest in the Land?

Fifty regional comics will compete for the title “Funniest Comic in New England” and, oh yeah, $7,500 in cash and prizes this weekend and next at the Cabaret Theatre at Mohegan Sun.

"It was a natural progression, growing this competition from two very successful Funniest Comic in Connecticut Contests and expanding the playing field to include comics from Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Vermont, New Hampshire and Maine," said Brad Axelrod from Treehouse Comedy Productions, the organizer.

Comics in two divisions – Professional Comedians and Newcomers – will be judged by comedy industry insiders, agents, bookers and managers from talent agencies and companies across the country. Connecticut professionals appearing include Mike Jacobs of Hartford, Geri Wulle of Manchester, Vinnie Pagano of New Britain, Marlena Rodriguez of West Hartford, Darren Rivera of New Haven, Angel Rentes of Hartford and Tracy Tedesco of Bristol.

Shows are at 8 p.m. and 10:15 p.m. for each date, and single price tickets range from $17.50 to $25, depending on the event, with two-show packages available. For information, visit  http://www.treehousecomedy.com/. Show attendees must be 21 years old or accompanied by a parent or legal guardian.

A Quartet with Personality

The members of the world-renowned Takács Quartet are often described as four distinct musical personalities. Their real personalities aren’t bad either, engaging audiences around the world with the great string quartets. 

Jorgensen will host the Grammy-winning ensemble as they play a program of Haydn, Bartók and Schubert on Thursday, Feb. 17, at 7:30 p.m. Michael Lankester, former music director of the Hartford Symphony Orchestra, will provide his insights in a free concert talk at 6:45 p.m.

Gramophone magazine says this quartet’s playing makes “you believe that there’s no other possible way the music should go.” As for those personalities, Emma Promfret of the London Times offered this quick who’s who: “There’s the serious one, Edward Dusinberre, first violin, who leads the music and the conversation. The joker: Károly Schranz, second violin, and the pithy one: András Fejér, cello. … Finally, there’s the gushy one, Geraldine Walther, viola.” Schranz and Fejér are the remaining founding members, who formed the group in 1975 with two other Hungarian classmates while they were students at the Franz Liszt Academy in Budapest.

Takács (pronounced TAW-kawsh) has made numerous award-winning recordings on the Decca and Hyperion labels. For tickets, priced at $28 and $30, with some discounts available, call 860-486-4226 or visit Jorgensen.uconn.edu.

Wax Gushy over Your Favorite Celeb

You may not be able to cough up the price to see Bon Jovi live at a casino but you can manage the free access to his wax being, at the Madame Tussauds exhibit in the Shops Concourse at Mohegan Sun Saturday, Feb. 19, through Saturday, Feb. 26. Cozy up to the likes, or rather the likenesses, of Derek Jeter, Jackie Onassis or a rock legend of your choosing. Go ahead, be cheeky and drag your camera out for a quick shot without paying any royalties.

Hours are noon to 7 p.m. except for the last day, when it closes at 5 p.m. For information, visit: http://www.mohegansun.com/entertainment/schedule-of-events.html?featureid=da62586e.