MIDDLETOWN, Calif. – The Middletown Art Center invites the public to the opening reception of “A New Story” on Saturday, Sept. 15, from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m.

This poignant art exhibit commemorates the 2015 and subsequent wildfires.

The opening reception will have a compelling art exhibit along with music and spoken word performances by local musicians and poets. The event is free with a no host wine and beer bar onsite.

“A New Story” is an opportunity for the community to come together to share the broad range of emotions brought on by wildfires and the continual process of recovery.

“The arts have helped us heal and cope with these traumatic and challenging experiences as a community. Together we can enjoy images, music, and words from local artists and rejoice in being here,” said MAC Director Lisa Kaplan. “We encourage everyone to join us this year to commemorate this milestone event, wherever you are with your personal wildfire experience.”

Half of the 60 artist members and nine of ten board members of MAC lost their homes, studios, artwork, and/or place of employment in the Valley fire.

We all know friends and neighbors who have left the area and others who recently completed or are in the process of rebuilding. People are returning to the area and new neighbors are arriving.

MAC continues the important work of weaving the arts into the fabric of our community to provide a voice in inspiring and uplifting ways.

MAC is located at 21456 Highway 175, at the junction of Highway 29 in central Middletown. “A New Story” will be on view through Oct. 28.

Gallery hours are Thursdays, 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.; Fridays, 11 a.m. to 6 p.m.; Saturdays, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.; Sundays, 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.; or by appointment at 707-809-8118.

MAC/EcoArts of Lake County is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization dedicated to providing access to the arts in Lake County, CA since 2005. All donations to MAC and EcoArts are tax-deductible.

To learn more about Middletown Art Center and learn how you can become a part of the growing Lake County arts scene, and help support and sustain its arts and educational programming, please visit www.middletownartcenter.org or call 707-809-8118.

KELSEYVILLE, Calif. – Veteran songwriter, acclaimed musician and storyteller Jack Williams will be in concert at the Fore Family Winery Tasting Room on Saturday, Sept. 15, presented by the Universalist Unitarian Community of Lake County.

The music starts at 7 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 15, at The Fore Family Winery Tasting Room located at 3920 Main St. in Kelseyville.

Also on the bill will be local jazz guitar-bass duo Harry Lyons and Rick McCann.

Wine and snacks will be available.

Tickets are $15 and may be purchased at Watershed Books, online at www.uuclc.org , or at the door.

Music legends Peter Yarrow (Peter, Paul, & Mary) and Tom Paxton lauded Williams as “the best guitar player I’ve ever heard” and “one of my (Paxton) all-time favorite pickers.”

It is no cliché’ to say that his music defies genre labeling, as his style has evolved from a lifetime of musical involvement ranging from beatnik trumpeter and folk revivalist banjo player to country, rock and R & B electric and steel-guitar player and chamber music composer.

Williams spends the majority of his time touring the US, playing major music festivals and venues, which have included The Newport Folk Festival and Chicago’s Folkstage, hosted by Rich Warren of NPR’s nationally syndicated show, ‘The Midnight Special.’

Of him, Warren says, “his artistry... is nothing short of amazing. Dazzling picking, expressive voice, unique and interesting songs. He is a showman in the best sense of the word and just wowed our audience. I think they would have followed him anywhere."

From a recent performance at a popular Birmingham concert venue, Moonlight on the Mountain, proprietor Keith Harrelson said, “Jack is a fearless singer, inventive storyteller, forceful-yet-delicate guitarist, and holds near-legendary status as a modern-times troubadour … precisely what kept him relevant to at least three generations of loyal fans."

Though sometimes thought of as a ‘singer-songwriter’, audiences should not expect a night of quiet introspective ballads. Williams is known for his entertaining and high energy performances.

He often concludes his shows with a unique finale, a medley of songs and stories that span the varied styles and voices of his musical past, keeping audiences enthralled from start to finish. This show will feature songs from the new record.

More about the artist can be found at www.jackwilliamsmusic.com.

UPPER LAKE, Calif. – Lake County Wine Studio is presenting monthly art classes with wine, co-hosted with artist Anna Sabalone.

The September wine and art session with Sabalone will feature alligators created in ink and watercolors.

The class will take place from 1:30 to 4 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 16.

The class fee of $40 covers all of the provided art supplies needed along with step-by-step guidance and a glass of Lake County wine.

Reservations are required for each month's class as participation is limited to 12 people.

Sabalone was born and raised in Lake County. She has been involved in the Lake County arts council since her teen years.

She attended the University of California, Santa Barbara and the University of Leeds, England for her undergraduate degree in English, history and anthropology.

She earned her teaching credential and Master’s of Education from UCSB and has been teaching art, English, history and academic decathlon at Upper Lake High School since 2008.

For class schedule, reservations and additional information, contact Susan Feiler at 707-293-8752.

LCWS is both a gallery for display of arts and a tasting room, wine bar and retail shop for the fine wines of Lake County. Artists’ shows are held on a monthly basis with art and wine receptions held the first Friday and subsequent Saturday of each month.

The gallery is located at 9505 Main St. in Upper Lake.

For more information call 707-275-8030.

LAKEPORT, Calif. - In partnership with The Time Bank of Thrive Lake County, Spotlight On Productions has scheduled a benefit concert on Saturday, Sept. 15, to help with Lake County fire recovery.

From 7 to 10 p.m., the 10-piece band "The Funky Godfather" plans to funk it up at the Soper Reese Theatre with the best of James Brown, and a little bit of Aretha.

Some band members played the Spring Sulphur Fire Benefit in April: Terrie Odabi, who will appear as "The Funky Diva," Anthony Paule on guitar, Tony "Macaroni" Lufrano on keyboards and the nimble drummer D'Mar, who gets a kick by taking his sticks out to the crowd.

Joining them will be Cubby Ingram as "The Funky Godfather," Endre "ET" T'Arczy on bass, Jon Otis on congas, Armen Boyd on sax, John Gove on trumpet and Steve Stanley on trombone.

Proceeds will be sent to North Coast Opportunities to deliver to Hope City, the local project of the disaster relief agency Hope Crisis Response Network. One hundred percent of donations will be used to purchase building supplies.

Hope City volunteer teams have been rebuilding Lake County homes without adequate insurance coverage since the Valley fire. They also helped distribute food and supplies during the Mendocino Complex fires. For more information visit www.hcrn.info .

Bring cash or checks for the raffle and silent auction. Auction items include gravel or rock and cement from Clearlake Lava; wine from Hawk & Horse Vineyards; gift certificates from Tire Pros in Clearlake and TurboTech Computers and Juicy's Pizza in Lakeport; handmade crafts by One Earth Studios, Tina's Jewels, Butterflies, and Creative Homeworkz; and gift items from community members.

Donations of wine from Cache Creek Vineyards and Don Angel Cellars, and beer from Lagunitas will be for sale. Soda, spring water and flavored sparkling water donated by Crystal Geyser will also be sold. Desserts will include cookies made by community members, fruit and nuts.

All seats must be reserved, and the dance floor will be waiting to be filled. Tickets are available now at www.soperreesetheatre.com, or Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. at The Travel Center, 1265 S. Main St., Lakeport, telephone 707-263-3095.

Contact Tina Lewis if you would like table seating as a sponsor by emailing This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or calling 707-278-7126. Event updates are on Facebook at Lake County Fire Recovery Benefits.

To celebrate the end of summer, here is a sonnet full of explosions by Maryann Corbett, who lives in Minnesota. It's from her book Street View, published by Able Muse Press.

State Fair Fireworks, Labor Day

Look up: blazing chrysanthemums in rose
shriek into bloom above the Tilt-a-Whirls,
hang for a blink, then die in smoky swirls.
They scream revolt at what the body knows:
all revels end. We clap and sigh. Then, no—
another rose! another peony! break,
flame, roar, as though by roaring they might make
the rides whirl in perpetuum. As though
we need not finally, wearily turn, to plow
back through the crush of bodies, the lank air,
two buses that inch us, sweating, across town.
As though we were not dropped in silence there
to trudge the last blocks home, the streetlamps low,
the crickets counting summer's seconds down.

American Life in Poetry does not accept unsolicited manuscripts. It is made possible by The Poetry Foundation, publisher of Poetry magazine. It is also supported by the Department of English at the University of Nebraska, Lincoln. Poem copyright ©2017 by Maryann Corbett, "State Fair Fireworks, Labor Day," from Street View, (Able Muse Press, 2017). Poem reprinted by permission of Maryann Corbett and the publisher. Introduction copyright ©2018 by The Poetry Foundation. The introduction’s author, Ted Kooser, served as United States Poet Laureate Consultant in Poetry to the Library of Congress from 2004-2006.

‘CARTER’ ON WGN AMERICA

The end of summer turns out to be the graveyard for the release of new movies. Nothing major looks to be on the horizon until after Labor Day. Cable networks try to fill the void with new series and WGN America brings us the Canadian series “Carter.”

Jerry O’Connell stars in the titular role as a Hollywood TV star by the name of Harley Carter who plays a fictional detective in the television crime procedural “Call Carter,” in which his screen name is Charlie Carter.

Harley’s career goes on hiatus after an embarrassing moment on the red carpet is caught on tape by one of those tabloid entertainment TV shows. He retreats to his hometown in Canada where people mostly call him Charlie and pester him for help to solve crimes.

One of his childhood friends, Sam (Sydney Poitier Heartsong), is on the police force in the town of Bishop, a small community that seemingly has a lot of crime for which Harley offers unsolicited advice based on his fictional sleuthing.

Another old friend, Dave (Kristian Bruun), runs a coffee truck, which makes him the caricature of the informant who knows what’s happening on the streets. Witty and sarcastic, Dave enjoys needling Harley because of some old lingering grudge.

Much to her annoyance, Sam starts to find that Harley’s goofball theories about the criminal acts of suspects are not so far off the mark. Of course, the competitive relationship between these two old friends becomes a bit flirtatious on a personal level.

Hardly past the first episode, the premise of “Carter” started to remind me of other shows, including the Canadian procedural, “Private Eyes,” which stars Jason Priestley as a pro hockey player who hooks up with an attractive partner to go into the detective business.

Not that there was anything inherent wrong about Priestley’s turn, but Jerry O’Connell slips very comfortably into his quirky role of the amateur detective who operates solely on the basis of intuition gleaned from a hit TV series.

Once Harley proves his worth and as ridiculous as it sounds, the town’s mayor wants to make him a “consulting detective.” Well, you can imagine how distasteful this proposal is to the chief of police who constantly threatens to lock up Harley for meddling at crime scenes.

Granted, “Carter” may not be great television destined to run for years. Yet, Jerry O’Connell’s character exudes boyish charm that makes the show a pleasant diversion.

LIFETIME CABLE’S FALL LINEUP OF TV FILMS

Lifetime has plans for an ambitious fall schedule of original movies that drop under the realm of a parent’s worst nightmare, tackling topics like mental health, suicide and teen domestic dating violence.

The TV films start off with “The Bad Seed,” which reinvents the iconic 1956 psychological horror film. Rob Lowe stars as a single father who seems to have everything under control, until a tragedy takes place at his daughter Emma’s (Mckenna Grace) school.

The father is forced to question everything he thought he knew about his beloved child, but slowly begins to question whether Emma’s exemplary behavior is a façade. Patty McCormack, who had the child’s role in the original film, stars as the psychiatrist who treats Emma.

“No One Would Tell,” a remake of a 1996 TV movie, explores the physical and emotional abuse in teen relationships. Shannen Doherty’s Laura is the single mom to Sarah (Matreya Scarrwener), who dates the charismatic Rob (Callan Porter).

When Sarah goes missing, Laura must fight for justice for Sarah when it turns out Rob has a dark, possessive side and has to be brought to trial presided over by a powerful judge (Mira Sorvino).

Inspired by a true story, “Conrad and Michelle: If Words Could Kill” reveals the tragic tale of Conrad Roy (Austin P. McKenzie), who was encouraged to commit suicide via text messages from his girlfriend, Michelle Carter (Bella Thorne).

Michelle and Conrad, two troubled souls, had a toxic relationship of dependency shared mainly by text messages. After encouraging the suicidal Conrad to take his life, Michelle ends up on trial and convicted of manslaughter for using words that result in tragedy.

“Believe Me: The Lisa McVey Story” is the true story of Lisa McVey (Katie Douglas) who was abducted and able to escape her captor only to have police and family question the validity of her claims.

Only a veteran detective finds credence in the details of Lisa’s story and his subsequent investigation brings about the realization that her abductor is the notorious serial killer that the Tampa police are hotly pursuing.

The dark, psychological drama “The Girl in the Bathtub” is inspired by the true story of Julia Law (Caitlin Stasey), a young paralegal who was found dead in the bathtub of her boss, a prominent Philadelphia attorney (Jason Patric).

The investigation of her death gets complicated by the fact that the boss was just of one of her three lovers, thereby raising questions about whether any of them may have had a motive to kill her.

Tim Riley writes film and television reviews for Lake County News.