Friends Of The Animal Shelter movie fundraiser

FOTAS will present a virtual premiere of Magnolia Film Production’s “Stray,” a heartwarming story of stray dogs and human compassion, running through Saturday, April 10. Through the eyes of three stray dogs (Zeytin, Nazar and Kartal) wandering the streets of Istanbul, “Stray” explores what it means to live as a being without status or security. Tickets are $12; $5 of each ticket sale will go to support FOTAS programs for Jackson County Animal Shelter animals. To purchase tickets, see fotas.org/stray. Ticket-holders will receive an email reminder with a link to begin watching online via a web browser. Once you click “Watch Now,” you’ll have unlimited access for 72 hours. For questions and further information, call 541-774-6651.

Rhythm of the Dance

The Craterian Theatre presents a virtual performance, “Rhythm of Dance,” available for streaming through Wednesday, March 31. This livestream event was recorded in front of a live audience before the pandemic began and features The National Dance Company of Ireland. The award-winning dancers and musicians deliver a high-energy production that merges the history of the Irish Celts with the present. Virtual tickets are $20. See craterian.org or call 541-779-3000.

Chamber Music Northwest concert: Goldmund Quartet

The Chamber Music Northwest will present a concert premiere featuring European sensation Goldmund Quartet. The show will premiere at 7 p.m. Saturday, March 20, via livestream on CMNW.org. This concert was recorded at the library of the historic Polling Abbey in Bavaria, Germany. The quartet will perform dramatic chamber works written by Puccini, Strauss and Schubert on their historic set of Stradivari instruments once owned by the great virtuoso Niccolò Paganini. The concert will be available to be streamed through Saturday, March 27. In connection with this concert, CMNW will host a live and free musical conversation with lecturer Michael Parloff at 6 p.m. Tuesday, March 16. Parloff will investigate the circumstances that influenced Puccini’s “Chrysanthemums” and Schubert’s “Death and the Maiden,” hosted by CMNW Co-Artistic Director Soovin Kim. Tickets for the concert are $20, admission to the musical conversation is free. To purchase tickets and for further information, see cmnw.org/concerts-tickets/2020-21-season.

Brain Books Discussion Group

The adult reading group will meet from 3 to 5 p.m. the fourth Tuesday of each month via Zoom. On Tuesday, March 23, the book to be discussed will be “The Color of Law: A Forgotten History of How our Government Segregated America” by Richard Rothstein. To register, see jcls.libcal.com or for more info call 541-774-8679.

Teen Trivia

Teens can join in a live game of general knowledge trivia using Zoom and the Kahoot platform at 4 p.m. the fourth Wednesday of every month (March 24). Log into the Zoom meeting to see the questions and respond on the Kahoot app or website. You don’t need an account to play, just the app and the game PIN, which we will be provided during the Zoom meeting. This quiz will contain 70 questions on a variety of subjects, and the winner will get to choose a free book. To register, see jcls.libcal.com or for more info call 541-774-8679.

Ashland Independent Film Festival Preview Night

The Ashland Independent Film Festival will announce its 2021 “Double Feature” festival schedule at its virtual Festival Preview Night at 7 p.m. Wednesday, March 24. Artistic Director Richard Herskowitz’s will give a livestream annual guided tour through the program, followed by a discussion with AIFF’s team of programmers about the selection process, and viewing tips. For further details see ashlandfilm.org. See story, Page 3.

Mighty Medford Improvers

The local comedy improvisational group will host a free improvisational comedy practice from 6:30 to 8 p.m. Thursdays (March 25), via Zoom. All levels of experience are welcome. Sessions are facilitated by Thomas Hartmann, who trained with Second City Chicago. For more information and to attend, email forinfoman44@gmail.com.

Gypsy Soul

Folk, soul and roots duo Cilette Swann and Roman Morykit will perform a special livestream concert in honor of Swann’s birthday, as part of their ongoing “Front Row with Gypsy Soul” series at6 p.m. Saturday, March 27. A pre-show will start at 5:45 p.m. with the debut of two new music videos, “Ordinary World” and “Firedance,” plus a showing of an older lyric video for “Talk To Me.” The duo will perform a mix of originals and covers during the hour/hour and a half-long show. The concert is available to be livestreamed via Facebook, YouTube, Twitch, Instagram and on the Gypsy Soul website (see gypsysoul.com). The show is a “pay-what-you-want” basis. One there, you will find a “virtual tip jar,” where you can use PayPal or a credit card to start the show. A portion of the donations will be used to support those affected by COVID-19 and the West Coast fires. You do not have to sign up for anything unless you would like to be sent a reminder for the concert or you’d like to be part of the chat/comments during the concert. Gypsy Soul is making plans to return to the stage in the fall of 2021, Swann said.

Southern Oregon Climate Action Now

The climate action group will host a free general meeting via Zoom at 6 p.m. Tuesday, March 30. Cecilia Estolano, CEO and founder of Estolano Advisors, Asma Mahdi, policy director of Better World Group, and authors of the December 2020 “State of Oregon Climate Equity Blueprint” will discuss climate equity and how to infuse social equity into the fabric of climate policy advocacy. To register for the virtual meeting, or for more information, see socan.eco.

Historic Jacksonville Virtual Tour

Three text-based virtual tours of Jacksonville’s historic past, “Walk Through Jacksonville History,” “Beekman Bank Nuggets,” and “Mrs. Beekman Invites You to Call,” can be viewed at historicjacksonville.org. New material is added weekly. For further information, call 541-245-3650 or email at info@historicjacksonville.org.

Books at Noon

This readers’ group discusses various books and offer suggestions for new reads at noon the first Tuesday (April 6) of each month, via Zoom. To register, see jcls.libcal.com or for more info call 541-535-7090.

Eagle Point Friends Book Club

Discuss suggested books with this reader’s group at 2 p.m. the first Tuesday of every month, via Zoom. The book to be discussed on Tuesday, April 6, will be “The Radium Girls: The Dark Story of America’s Shining Women ” by Kate Moore. To register and reserve a copy of the book of the month, see jcls.libcal.com or call 541-826-3313.

Oregon Center for the Arts at Southern Oregon University: ‘Never Saw Another Butterfly’

The OCA at SOU Music faculty — Madeline Abel-Kerns, Rhett Bender, and Brian Kerns — will present “I Never Saw Another Butterfly” by Lori Laitman, a collection of poems sung with accompaniment, at 12:30 p.m. Friday, April 9, via livestream. “I Never Saw Another Butterfly” is a collection of poems written by children from the Terezin Concentration Camp. To access the livestream, see the Oregon Center for the Arts YouTube channel at YouTube.com/OregonCenterfortheArts. Admission is free; no registration required. For further details, see oca.sou.edu.

William Shakespeare international panel discussion

The Shakespeare Oxford Fellowship will host a virtual international panel discussion on the true identity of William Shakespeare, “The Shakespeare Attribution: Information, Misinformation and Changing Opinions,” from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday, April 10, via Zoom. Speakers will include Shakespeare scholar Prof. Roger Stritmatter of Coppin State University; Prof. Michael Dudley of the University of Winnipeg; independent scholar Kevin Gilvary from the United Kingdom, author of the recent volume, “Shakespeare’s Fictional Lives”; James A. Warren, biographer of John Thomas Looney, who first proposed the 17th Earl of Oxford, Edward de Vere, as the author in 1920; American attorney Dorothea Dickerman; and independent scholar Julia Cleve from the UK who boasts an MA from the University of Oxford. The panel will be hosted by Boston filmmaker and scholar Cheryl Eagan-Donovan, and co-hosted by Ashland resident Dr. Earl Showerman, who has published widely on Shakespeare’s extensive medical knowledge as well as his familiarity with Greek theatre. Admission is free; registration is required. For further details and to register, see ShakespeareOxfordFellowship.org.

Once Upon a Song

Children can join local fairy tale character group Once Upon a Song for a virtual storytime at noon Sunday, April 11, via Facebook Live. The “princess” group will sing, tell stories and offer a Q-and-A session. Admission is $3.99. See onceuponasongllc.com, find Once Upon a Song on Facebook or call 415-306-3288.

Ashland Independent Film Festival

The 20th Ashland Independent Film Festival will present a hybrid “double feature” festival, featuring both virtual and in-person events. The celebration kicks off with approximately 100 new independent feature and short films, accompanied by film conversations, panels and parties, running online for two weeks from April 15-29. The second part of the festival, which will run June 24-28, will include outdoor screenings, live music, art exhibits, performances and more. Along with the festival’s traditional emphases on the subjects of activism and the arts, there will be a special focus on the theme “Rising From the Ashes,” in recognition of Southern Oregon’s emergence following catastrophic wildfires. Tickets for events and films range in price from free to $10. For further information, see ashlandfilm.org or call 541-488-3823.