Thursday's Jive

Good evening, it's Thursday, July 5th. This is the Jive at Five, our daily community calendar and rundown of nighttime programming here on 88.1 FM WESU Middletown. By day, WESU offers talk radio from NPR and Pacifica, as well as independent and local public affairs sources. Weeknights and weekends our student and community volunteers bring you the best in free-form programming.

I'm JCherry producer and host of VOICE of the CITY,Tuesday from 8-9PM, Showcasing live and local music, arts, and culture., Thanx for tuning in! 

Our sincere thanks to those who helped bring our spring pledge drive to a successful close. thanks also for your patience over the past week while our FM broadcast was down after our antenna was struck by lightning. We are back on air on a temporary antenna while we work to repair our regular antenna ASAP.

Now, here’s a look at some the entertainment and cultural offering in our region this week.

On Thursday, the Buttonwood Tree in Middletown brings you Bob Gotta’s long standing acoustic open Mic. The Story City Troupe returns to the Buttonwood Tree stage Friday. NEAR and Far Storytellers with Jim Harriman and Carolyn are in the house Saturday afternoon.www.buttonwood.org

At the Russell Library in Middletown on Friday, there’s Coloring for all ages on Friday afternoon and The 501st CT Garrison, a group of Star Wars costumers, visits the library Saturday morning. The library sponsors the Summer Meal Service for kids Mon through Fri at 1 pm. www.russelllibrary.org

Up in Hartford at Black-Eyed Sally’s, Thursday it’s Liviu’s Invitational. On Friday they’ve got Cruz Machine with Ashly Cruz, and on Saturday it’s harmonica and more with Johnny Marino & Blueshead. http://www.blackeyedsallys.com/   

In New Haven, on Thursday, Cafe Nine presents The Dive Crew, and Røy.  The Nine’s Weekly Wind Down Happy Hour spotlight is on TRAVIS MOODY (performing SOLO) this week. Friday’s late show brings you The Wagon Riders, Stefanie Austin and the Palomino Club, and more. Cage nine’s Saturday afternoon Jazz Jam Session is with Mike Coppola and Friends. Saturday Night’s main event features This Criminal Soul, Reality Bomb, and Insano Vision. The Café Nine Sunday Buzz Matinee ffeatures Glenn Roth, Cullen Gray, and Amber Russell, followed by the late show with Robert Gordon and Bloodshot Bill. http://www.cafenine.com/

Riverfront Recapture sponsors a weekly contemporary dance class, Dance Current, Tuesdays at 6 pm at the Great River Park in East Hartford at 6 pm.

The Pratt Street Patio Lunchtime Music Series continues Thursday at noon with this week’s featured artist, That Virginia. On Friday, they’ve got a Salsa Social from 5 to 7 pm.

 www.hartford.com/events/ can provide further info on these events and more!

Wesleyan RJ Julia Bookstore in Middletown, hosts Mike Stanton, author of “Unbeaten: Rocky Marciano’s Fight for Perfection in a Crooked World,” Thursday at 7 pm. Check out the website for kids’ events all week, including a Where’s Waldo? Scavenger Hunt, next Monday. www.wesleyanrjjulia.com

Cherry Street Station in Wallingford brings you The Sindicate, Tarah Who?, Lolita, and Darn It All, on Thursday. On Friday, at Cherry Street, you can catch Chuggernaut, Black River Union, Downward Spiral, and Imbroglio. Cherry Street’s first Annual Heavy Folk Fest is this Saturday featuring Wilderun, Winter’s Wake, Perennial Quest, and more. www.facebook.com/CherryStreetStation/

The Middletown Recreation Division sponsors a contemplative nature walk Saturday at 10 am at the Nature Gardens along Randolph Road. E-mail Beth@HealingNatureCT.com for details.

The Middlesex Music Academy hosts its monthly Four Chord Fiesta Saturday at 4 pm at their Main St Middletown location for an open jam with songs that contain no more than four chords. www.facebook.com/CityArtsOffice/

The Middletown Fireworks Festival happens Saturday from 5 to 10 pm with food, music, and fun for the whole family along Middletown’s bank of CT River. There will be performances by Jeff McQuillan, singer/songwriter Janina, Alexander Norlund, the Middletown High School Jazz Ensemble, and Gospel/soul artist Jerome Anderson.  The Okwy Osadebe Highlife Band performs Nigerian Pop Music, and there’s salsa and dance by the award-winning Latin band, Mikata. The evening winds up with live music from the Middletown Symphonic Band. Fireworks start around 9:30 pm, and there are food vendors and free parking. Rain date is Sunday, July 8. Links to the full schedule at www.facebook.com/CityArtsOffice/

Other fireworks options across our region this week include fireworks Saturday brings many opportunities to enjoy fireworks in Guilford, Wallingford, Manchester and Newington.

On Sunday, you can head to Waterbury or Enfield for fireworks displays. 

Now, here's a rundown of cinema off the beaten track in Central Connecticut:

Through Thursday Hartford’s Real Art Ways continues “Breath,” a coming of age story based in remote Australia. “Five Seasons: The Gardens of Piet Oudolf,” a documentary of the artist/designer runs through July 8th. Through July 12th the Real Art Ways afternoon movie is “First Reformed,” a thriller about a middle-aged pastor’s crisis of faith.  On Friday they open “On the Seventh Day,” a documentary about undocumented immigrants in Brooklyn, and “Damsel,” a Western tragicomedy. There’s a preview screening on Sunday of The Beatles’s classic, “Yellow Submarine,” in celebration of the 50th anniversary of its release. Check the website for details and screening times at www.realartways.org

Trinity College’s Cinestudio in Hartford continues the run of “On Chesil Beach,” a British drama about marriage in the 1960’s, through Thursday. On Friday they open “Filmworker,” a documentary about Leon Vitali and Stanley Kubrick. Check the website for offerings and times. http://www.cinestudio.org/

Here's the rundown of tonight’s lineup in our Summer program here on WESU 88.1 FM Middletown:”

Right after the jive at Five  stick around for Homegrown with Robbie DeRosa playing Connecticut connected artists treating listeners to pre-release material and in studio interviews with artists, and information about live shows in the area.

At 6:30, its Imagine with Karen Stein offering 90 minutes of Peace through music.

from 8:00-9:30pm  you can enjoy Evening Jazz with Bill Denert offering a broad range of swing, bebop and experimental sounds with a sprinkling of new releases, where "Hearing is the best experience"

at 9:30 Crispix with Chris features indie rock to folk to electronic and more, Chris picks whatever he’s feeling each week to share with you.

from 11-midnight Precious Metal with MC Monster Deconstructs ideas within metal culture. New, hot, and classic metal songs along with news from the metal community.

from midnight-2am Noize in the Attic with Greg Schmitt is Where Your Past Comes Back To Haunt You. Serving Connecticut it’s hard rock fix of classic Heavy Metal as well as the latest from the genre!

from 2-4am its All Mixed Up  from Pacifica for 2 hrs of great free form music connected to the week’s events.

at 4am its BBC World Report offering International news coverage fand we kick off each weekday at 5am with Morning Edition from NPR

Once again, our sincere thanks goes out to those who helped bring our spring pledge drive to a successful close. thanks also for your patience over the past week while our FM broadcast was down after our antenna was struck by lightning. We are back on air on a temporary antenna while we work to repair our regular antenna ASAP.

That's all for today's Jive at Five. Join us weekdays at 4:55 for a daily rundown of area happenings a rundown of evening programming on WESU Middletown!

Thanks for listening. Now stay tuned for Homegrown with Rob DeRosa up next.