Old-time radio

Local banjo master Mac Benford returns to WVBR’s “Bound for Glory” for a concert with Marie Burns and Upsouth, Nov. 6 in the Anabel Taylor Café. Admission is free for all ages.

Now in its 50th season on the air with host Phil Shapiro, M.A. ’69, the live folk music program broadcasts from the café 8-11 p.m. Sundays on WVBR-FM 93.5 in Ithaca and streams online at wvbr.com.

Since the 1960s Benford has kept old-time Appalachian music traditions alive in groups including the legendary Highwoods String Band, branching into blues, bluegrass and western swing with the Backwoods Band and Woodshed All-stars. For this show, Benford reunites with frequent duo partner Marie Burns and Upsouth, a rocking dance band with Sally Freund, John Hoffman and Randi Berkman.

Coming up on “Bound for Glory”: Ithaca favorites Richie Stearns and Rosie Newton, Nov. 13; eclectic folk duo Small Potatoes, Nov. 20; and singer-songwriters Cliff Eberhardt and Louise Mosrie, Dec. 4.

‘Sonic Sea’

The Cornell Lab of Ornithology sponsors a free Cornell Cinema screening of the documentary “Sonic Sea,” Nov. 7 at 7 p.m. in Willard Straight Theatre. The screening will be followed by a Q&A with Cornell researcher Christopher Clark, who is featured in the film.

Provided

The Cornell Lab of Ornithology presents a free screening Nov. 7 of the documentary “Sonic Sea,” about man-made noise pollution's effects on marine life.

The film is about protecting marine life from the destructive effects of man-made oceanic noise pollution. Whales are among many species for which sound is essential to survival. Clark, a senior scientist in the Department of Neurobiology and Behavior, is the I.P. Johnson Director of the Bioacoustics Research Program at the Lab of Ornithology.

For more information, email cornellbirds@cornell.edu or call 800-843-2473.

Searching for history

Cornell Cinema welcomes independent filmmakers from China for free screenings of documentary films they made as part of The Memory Project, Nov. 8-9 in Willard Straight Theatre.

Chinese food will be served between films each night and the guest filmmakers will be on hand to discuss their work. The series is cosponsored with the Department of Performing and Media Arts.

Founded by Wu Wenguang in 2010, The Memory Project encourages young amateur filmmakers to explore and investigate the hidden histories of their home villages. Their earnest, curious work unravels stories of politics, of their families and themselves.

The Nov. 8 program features “No Land,” with Zhang Ping, at 5 p.m.; and “A True Believer,” with Liu Xiaolei, at 7:15 p.m.

On Nov. 9, Zhang Mengqi presents “Self-Portrait: Dying at 47 KM” at 5 p.m., and Wu presents his film “Investigating My Father” at 7:15 p.m.

Poetry as visual art

Literary critic Mary Jacobus, professor of English and women’s studies at Cornell from 1980 to 2000, gives a Chats in the Stacks talk on the place where poetry and the artist’s canvas meet, Nov. 8 at 4:30 p.m. in 107 Olin Library.

Jacobus shares insights on the artist Cy Twombly’s inspirations in her new book “Reading Cy Twombly.” In his abstract paintings and drawings, Twombly scrawled handwritten words and phrases that named or quoted such poets as Sappho, Homer, Virgil and Rilke, allowing us to have a conversation with the artist’s imagination.

Jacobus is professor emerita of English at the University of Cambridge, and returned to Cornell in 2011-12 as the M.H. Abrams Distinguished Visiting Professor.

Chats in the Stacks book talks are free and open to the public, with refreshments served. Books will be available for purchase and signing.

Health and happiness

Older adults are able to maintain high levels of well-being, despite often facing health problems and personal losses, because they can regulate their emotions more effectively than younger adults.

Associate professor of human development Corinna Loeckenhoff will highlight recent scientific advances showing the profound effects of emotion on physical health, in a Chats in the Stacks talk on the new book “Emotion, Aging and Health,” Nov. 9 at 4 p.m. in 160 Mann Library. Light refreshments are provided and the talk is free and open to the public.

Loeckenhoff and associate professor Anthony D. Ong coedited the book, with chapters by leading researchers in the field exploring the reciprocal relations between aging and emotion, ways to promote mental and physical health across the lifespan, and the role of culture and motivation in shaping emotional experience.

‘After Orlando’

"After Orlando," staged readings of 10 short plays written in response to the June 12 Pulse Nightclub shooting in Orlando, Florida, will be held Nov. 9-10 at 7:30 p.m. in downtown Ithaca and on campus.

The Nov. 9 performance will be at Sacred Root Kava Bar, 103 S. Geneva St. and the Nov. 10 performance in the Film Forum of the Schwartz Center for the Performing Arts. Both are free and open to the public.

“After Orlando” is an international theater action involving more than 70 playwrights and 40 venues across the United States and United Kingdom. Supported in part by the Latina/o Studies Program and Department of Performing and Media Arts at Cornell, the Ithaca readings are co-presented by Civic Ensemble, ¡Cultura! Ithaca and Teatrotaller, in association with Missing Bolts Productions and NoPassport Theatre Alliance and Press.

MFA reading series

New graduate student writers at Cornell are presenting their poetry and fiction in a series of events at Buffalo Street Books. The Fall 2016 First-Year MFA Reading Series continues Nov. 10 at 5 p.m., with poet Emily Rosello Mercurio and fiction writer Hema Surendranathan reading selections from their work.

Presented by the Department of English Creative Writing Program, the readings are free and open to the public.

The fall series at the downtown Ithaca bookstore concludes Nov. 17 at 5 p.m. with fiction by Shakarean Hutchinson and Peter Gilbert and poetry by Carl Moon.

Social venture training

Learn practical tools and concepts for building a social venture at the 5th Annual Finger Lakes Social Entrepreneurship Institute, Nov. 11-13. This year’s theme is “Creating Healthy and Vibrant Communities.” Registration ends Nov. 4.

The institute features hands-on workshops, speakers, and coaching and mentorship from experienced social entrepreneurs and innovators with ventures that are financially sound and have social impact. Register online. The student rate is $100 for the event, with full and partial scholarships available.

Participants will receive a certificate of completion from the Center for Transformative Action. For more information, email Anke Wessels at akw7@cornell.edu. The institute is cosponsored by the Center for Transformative Action, Entrepreneurship at Cornell, the Engaged Student Leadership Initiative and the Park Foundation.