Compass A&E

There are two things we know for certain about Thanksgiving dinner.

One is that there is usually a lot of food, and aids to digestion can be helpful.

The Salisbury Association will offer a free concert of traditional Christmas music and carols on Saturday, Dec. 4, from 5 to 6 p.m. at the Congregational Church in Salisbury, Conn.

Just because it’s Thanksgiving, that doesn’t mean everything you do has to have a holiday theme. For something completely different, think about going to the En Vogue concert in Kingston, N.Y., on Saturday, Dec. 4, at 8 p.m. hosted by the Bardavon at the UPAC.

You don’t have to love choral music or even classical music — or even Christmas — to love G.F. Handel’s “Messiah.” I would count myself as fairly uneducated when it comes to the glories of great music but even for me, “The Messiah” is a delight to listen to.

Autumn is a time when I think of the color orange,not only because of the falling leaves and not only because I associate the fall and winter months with eating citrus fruit but also because it is now hunting season and it’s important to wear orange if you’re out in the woods.

The Tristate region has plenty of actual apple orchards, some of them private and others open to the public for Pick-Your-Own or Buy a Bushel.

There are also back yards with one or two apple trees that are glorious to look at in spring, when they blossom, and delicious in late summer and early autumn, when they produce fruit.

With supply chain interruptions delaying shipment of mass market products, this is an outstanding year to shop local whenever possible for holiday gifts.

Actor/author/playwright Mark St. Germain will read excerpts from his new book, “Walking Evil: How Man’s Best Friend Became Man’s Worst Enemy,” about a pet adoption that went very, very wrong.