After Dark at All Saints-A Sure Cure for Winter Blues

Creating a stained glass sailboat at After Dark at All Saints.
Creating a stained glass sailboat at After Dark at All Saints.

The wind is blowing cold from the north on the Outer Banks, the days are shorter, but with After Dark at All Saints there is plenty to do in the upcoming weeks.

A wonderful community service from All Saints Episcopal Church in Southern Shores, After Dark is a one month plus celebration of the joy of learning. Not the learning in dry textbooks from school days. No this is the real stuff, the things people really care about.

A Small Sample of Classes

Want to know how to create stained glass? There are two classes offered.

Curious about beekeeping? There’s a class. And a class on the history of beer, surf fishing, yoga, mahjong. With almost 90 classes scheduled between the end of January and the first week of March there are plenty of choices.

After Dark began as a community outreach effort n 2010. A few years earlier an annex had been added and church members felt it needed to highlight the congregation’s commitment to the community.

That first year there were 32 classes. That quickly doubled and in 2018 it has almost tripled.

What is perhaps most remarkable is the fees collected from the classes have all gone to Outer Banks organizations—fulfilling the original vision off giving back to the community.

Generally the class size is limited to 20, and unfortunately the more popular classes fill up very quickly. Some of the cooking classes are already filled, but there are still some great opportunities learn a skill or gain some knowledge.

All Saints Episcopal Church Registration Information.

Each class registration costs $23 per student.  For young people under 18, the cost is $12 per student.  Some classes may have additional, per-student fees to cover necessary supplies.  All class details are listed on this site.  No refunds will be offered unless the class is canceled by the instructor. 

Registration Now in Progress

8:00 am to 4:00 pm Monday – Friday

Call – 252-261–6674 

or come to the All Saints Church Office at 40 Pintail Trail

Southern Shores, NC  27949

Schedule

Surf & Sounds-Better Than Advertised

Katie Hyun, Elizabeth Vonderheide, Jacob Fowler and Luke Fleming performing Debussy's String Quartet in G Minor at the Duck Amphitheater.
Katie Hyun, Elizabeth Vonderheide, Jacob Fowler and Luke Fleming performing Debussy’s String Quartet in G Minor at the Duck Amphitheater.

Better than advertised … that is the only way to describe the Surf and Sounds Chamber Music that the Don and Catharine Bryan Cultural Series brought to the Outer Banks this year.

Tuesday night’s performance at All Saints Episcopal Church in Southern Shores was absolutely amazing. And then the musicians equaled that with their outdoor presentation at the Duck Amphitheater last night.

Jacob Fowler—cello, Luke Fleming—viola, Elizabeth Vonderheide—violin and Katie Hyun—violin are musicians at the absolute top of their game. Tuesday night’s performance also included Amanda Halstead on piano, which allowed the performers to take on music with a little more orchestral sound.

The performance at the Duck Amphitheater was a traditional string quartet—and it may have been nice if the piano could have been there as well, but moving a concert grand to an outdoor stage doesn’t seem like a good plan.

Nonetheless, the music was sublime leading with a classic Haydn composition, his String Quartet in G Major. They came back with a Debussy piece, String Quartet in G Minor, that challenged the musicians and the audience.

The Tuesday night performance spanned the 400 years, from Mozart to Paul Schoenfield, modern American composer. His Cafe Music written in 1985 was a revelation and a delight to hear.

There are two more concerts scheduled: tonight (Thursday) at the Blue Point in Duck and Friday evening at the Dare County Arts Council Gallery in Manteo.

#joelambjr

Chamber Music Comes to Outer Banks

JLconcert

Here’s just about a perfect way to end the summer on a high note—the Don and Catharine Bryan Cultural Series is bringing chamber music to four locations on the Outer Banks.

Looking at the professional experiences of the musicians, these are incredibly accomplished artists with very strong performance backgrounds. The concerts are free, and what is particularly nice about this series are how perfect the settings are for chamber music.

It will be interesting to see how the Blue Point sets up the restaurant to accommodate the musicians, but no matter what it will be great music with amazing food.

Although all of the venues should be excellent for chamber music—with the Blue Point caveat included—one evening in particular may really be worth considering. The Wednesday concert at the Town of Duck Amphitheater is an outdoor setting that is beautiful. Set in a slight bowl, the sound should be perfect and, although now weather forecast is faultless, right now conditions appear ideal for an outdoor concert.

Surf and Sounds Chamber Music Series-Venue Schedule

All Saints Episcopal Church, Southern Shores

Tues August 23, 7:00 p.m.

Town of Duck Amphitheater,  Duck

Wed. August 24, 7:00 p.m.

Blue Point, Duck

Thursday August 25 – 6:00 p.m.

Dare County Arts Council, Manteo

Friday August 26, 7:00 p.m.