The season of festivals continues in Annapolis, with bluegrass music at Sandy Point State Park and home improvement at The Byzantium all weekend. Other top events through Oct. 5 include new theater, the Annapolis Symphony Orchestra season opener, an artists’ roundtable and a chance to buy a book while supporting literacy efforts.
Curtain up
8 p.m. Friday through Oct. 29
Compass Rose Theater opens its season with “Sylvia,” a comedy about a man who adopts a dog (played by an actress) and the conflict that sparks with his wife. Performances take place in the third-floor theater at Maryland Hall on Friday and Saturday nights, with a 2 p.m. Sunday matinee. $25-$55, plus taxes and fees.
Holocaust Requiem
7:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday
The Annapolis Symphony Orchestra opens its 62nd season at Maryland Hall with the U.S. premiere of Boris Pigovat’s “Holocaust Requiem,” a performance marking 82 years since Nazis massacred 33,771 Jewish people at the Babyn Yar ravine in Kyiv, Ukraine. Featuring Baltimore Symphony Orchestra’s Peter Minkler as solo violist, the piece is one of several planned for “Music to Remember,” part of the Masterworks series. The two shows also include Venezuelan pianist Gabriela Montero performing Edvard Grieg’s Piano Concerto. $33.50 to $91, with discounted student tickets available.
Buy a book
10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday
Support the Anne Arundel County Literacy Council by buying a book during the annual fair at Westfield Annapolis in the community room and courtyard near the county library. Hardbacks are $2 and paperbacks are $1. A council tote bag — stuff it with all the books you can carry — is available for $20. Free admission.
Owning a home
10 a.m.-6 p.m. Saturday, noon to 5 p.m. Sunday
Home contractors of all stripes will have displays set up at The Byzantium for the Annapolis Home Owners Expo. The two-day show will include talks and presentations on smart homes, home inspections, the real estate market and more. Free admission.
Bluegrass by the bay
11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Saturday, 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Sunday
The Annapolis Baygrass Music Festival will bring 14 progressive bluegrass bands to two stages at Sandy Point State Park, with headliners Yonder Mountain String Band, Railroad Earth and Keller & The Keels on Saturday, and Melvin Seals and JGB closing the show on Sunday. The festival features food, crafts, beer and wine. Ten percent of proceeds go to support partners working on environmental and mental health issues. A pre-concert show is set for Friday starting at 7:30 p.m. at Vibe nightclub. Two-day, general admission tickets are $170, plus taxes and fees. VIP, one-day and kids tickets are available. The Friday show is $15 plus taxes and fees.
Exhibit closing
11 a.m. to 1 p.m.
Catch a conversation among five of the artists who contributed works to “The Radical Voice of Blackness Speaks of Resistance and Joy” on the exhibit’s closing day at Banneker-Douglass Museum. Free, but registration is requested.
Musical legacy
7:30 p.m. Sunday
If you’ve forgotten Gino Vannelli, it’s OK. Me too. But take a listen to “I Just Wanna Stop,” his 1978 single. It hit No. 4 on the Billboard Hot 100 list, making it his best-known song. Despite that brief flash, the Canadian singer has explored pop, jazz and more in a decadeslong career that continues to sell tickets. Sunday’s show at Maryland Hall was two-thirds sold out by midweek. Catch the final stop on his fall tour at Maryland Hall as part of the Rams Head Presents series. $65-$110, plus taxes and fees.
