Eclectic weekend: masts and Mardi Gras, sculptures, ceramics and acoustics

    “If nautical nonsense be something you wish,” it can be found this weekend at the New Castle Sailing Clubs 21st Annual Regatta for the March of Dimes.  If not, “flop” on over to the Delaware Art Museum for the newest exhibit, or stop at The Grand and see Grammy-winning Bryan Adams perform unplugged.

A regatta in New Castle

    The 21st Annual March of Dimes Charity Regatta is set to delight and excite sailors in New Castle on Saturday.  Spectators who don’t have their sea-legs will still find fun at the New Orleans-themed “Mardi Gras in July" after-party.
    The New Castle Sailing Club-sponsored sailboat races start at 10:30 a.m. on July 12 at the club's sailhouse in New Castle. The racing is open to all classes of non-keeled sailboats, 22 feet and under, for a $25 entry fee.  Spectators can watch the racing from the shoreline near Battery Park.
    Depending on the wind and weather, three to five races will be run, said Chris Hamilton, New Castle Sailing Clubs co-chair.  The races will also use a “Portsmouth handicap,” which allows different sized boats to compete fairly by modifying finish times.
    The Mardi Gras party is $15. Proceeds from the party and race go to the March of Dimes.  Tickets for either event can be paid in cash on event day or by check to the "March of Dimes, Delaware Chapter" and mailed to New Castle Sailing Club, Charity Regatta, P.O. Box 46, New Castle, Delaware 19720.
    More information is available by calling Norm Yoerg at 633-6778.


Gifted:  Recent Additions to DAM Collection

    Since the Delaware Art Museum reopened in June 2005 following extensive renovations, a number of works of art have been donated to the expanded institution. Thirty of those donations make up the museum's newest exhibit, “Gifted: Recent Additions to the Permanent Collection.”
    Opening July 12 to November 9, the paintings, prints, photographs, sculptures and ceramics include works from the Dorothy and Herbert Vogel collection.
    The Delaware Art Museum has acquired most of its permanent collection through gifts.
    “The Museum’s collection has been shaped by the interests of its donors,” said Dennis Lawson, public relations manager for the museum, “including Samuel and Mary R. Bancroft, collectors of Pre-Raphaelite art, and Helen Farr Sloan, the widow of American painter and illustrator John Sloan.”
    The Delaware Art Museum recently received 50 works of art from the Dorothy and Herbert Vogel collection as part of the program “Fifty Works for Fifty States,” that was launched by the Vogels and the National Gallery of Art.  This program is distributing 2,500 works from the Vogels’ collection throughout the nation, with 50 works going to a selected museum in each state.
    “Gifted” offers 10 works from that collection, including pieces by Lynda Benglis and Edda Renouf, and all 50 will go on display as part of an exhibition planned for 2009, said Lawson.  For more information, call 571-9590 or visit www.delart.org.
 

Bryan Adams performs songs from new solo album

    Bryan Adams visits The Grand Opera House during his national summer tour promoting his latest album “11.”
    Adams performs a “special solo acoustic performance” at the Grand on July 17 at 8 p.m.  The album “11” is Adams’ 11th original release and appropriately features 11 songs.
    Adams’ first album, self-titled, debuted in 1980 and 11 is his first original album in four years, following 2004’s “Room Service.”
    The acoustic album was recorded in hotel rooms and backstage concert venues throughout Europe over the past two years.
    In between these two records, the Canadian-born, Grammy-winning singer/songwriter has sold more than 65 million albums worldwide, garnered 21 top ten hits and earned nominations for three Academy Awards and five Golden Globes.
    Tickets for Adams appearance at The Grand are $37, available at the box office at 800-37-GRAND or by visiting www.ticketsatthegrand.org.