Brooks Memorial Library hosts poet/artist/performer T. Namaya and his B4 Peace Team in October for a multifaceted exhibit, “A World Illuminated by Imagination,” to celebrate the library and the enchantment of books - and how both enrich our lives and communities.
The program announcement notes the exhibit “has several parts including Jazz Ku, a savant-grade fusion of painting and poetry, and the 100 Flowers of Peace poem, which is now translated into 105 languages.”
In connection with the exhibit, GRACE Cares is sponsoring a contest, “A World Illuminated by Imagination,” to celebrate the library and to ask, “How does the library illuminate one's imagination?”
Organizers say to “send the word or image answer to that question,” including “essays, poems, photos, drawings, etc.,” to [email protected] or GRACE Cares, 773 Guilford St., Brattleboro, VT 05301.
The only thing better than bacon is... more Bacon. That's the premise behind Latchis Arts' latest Movie by Donation on Saturday, Sept. 13, at 4 p.m., at the Latchis Theatre. Capping off the inaugural Brattleboro Baconfest: Bacon, Brews, and Blues, sponsored by WKVT and the Brattleboro Area Chamber of...
Higley Hill Road closed for construction WILMINGTON - Due to road construction work, Higley Hill Road will be closed to traffic from Stonebrook Road to Atherton Road from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Wednesday and Thursday, Sept. 10 and 11, and Monday and Tuesday, Sept. 15 and 16.
Join Dave Cohen at the Climate Change Café on Tuesday, Sept. 23, at 6:30 p.m. at Brooks Memorial Library to explore the difficulties we have in detecting how cars have altered our internal landscapes and transformed our worldviews. The event is free and open to all. Light refreshments will be available Cohen's event announcement says the session “will examine some of the ways in which car transportation fundamentally mediates our sensory experience of the ecological and social environments we inhabit,
Thank you to all who encouraged me to run in the primary election for representing Windham County in the State Senate, and for all who supported me in so many ways. The race allowed all of us, the candidates, to articulate our views on the issues that are so important to so many in all the towns in the county. I appreciated the opportunity to be part of the process.
As a board member of Write Action, I was of course grateful that the Commons published information about our annual Writing Contest. The article gave links to our site (www.writeaction.org) for those who might want to submit an entry, and shared other important details, including the theme (hope) and that the stories are to be no more 820 words long. However, there was one small - but, to my mind, vital - correction that needs to be made. The article...
Can you smell the bacon? Can you hear it sizzle? It's time for the inaugural Brattleboro Baconfest: Bacon, Blues, and Brews. The one-day bacon tasting event is set for Saturday, Sept. 13, from 10:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Guilford Fairgrounds. Admission is free. The day starts at 9 a.m. with a $5 bacon and eggs breakfast prepared by the Marina Restaurant. More than 20 vendors will serve up bacon-inspired cuisine. Brattleboro's Whetstone Station restaurant and brewery will be...
College news • Erica T. Reynolds of West Dover received a Juris Doctor degree from Western New England University in Springfield, Mass., on Aug. 15. • Emma Hallett of South Londonderry has been welcomed to Lehigh University in Bethlehem, Pa., as a member of the Class of 2018. • Anna Mary Gaskill of Brattleboro has been admitted to Colby-Sawyer College in New London, N.H., as a member of the Class of 2018. Gaskill is a nursing major. Transitions • Kellie...
Latchis Arts announces the 2014-2015 schedule for its live broadcast series, which includes the 2014-15 season of the Metropolitan Opera and new presentations of National Theatre Live and Bolshoi Ballet Only in Cinemas. Met Club Forever members pay $20 per opera this year ($200 for the season of 10 operas). General admission is $22, amounting to a $2 savings on ticket prices. Tickets for the National Theatre and the Bolshoi Ballet broadcasts are $20 each. Latchis Arts continues to expand...
Modern dance and creative movement classes for youth are on the schedule at Main Street Arts this fall. Vermont-based choreographer and performer Ashley Hensel-Browning leads the weekly classes beginning Thursday, Sept. 18. Creative movement for ages 3 through 5 meets from 3:30 to 4:15 p.m. for an introductory class to encourage exploration and a love of dance. Modern dance for ages 6 through 9 meets from 4:15 to 5 p.m. and will focus on improvisation, basic techniques, and body awareness.
Auditions for Vermont Theatre Company's “A Christmas Carol” run Sunday, Sept. 14, at 4 p.m., and Monday, Sept. 15, at 6 p.m., at Hooker-Dunham Theater, 139 Main St. Performances are Dec. 5-7, 12-14, and 19-21 at Hooker-Dunham Theater. Rehearsals are once or twice a week in October and become more intense in November. The director seeks nine to 15 actors, including two children to play smaller roles; teen and adult ensemble members to play several roles each and sing the...
Inspired by the lessons of Tropical Storm Irene's widespread devastation, it was two years ago last week that the Red Cross of Vermont and the New Hampshire Upper Valley kicked off its Local Disaster Shelter Initiative in Waterbury. The event was marked by the support of then-Irene Recovery Officer Sue Minter and Public Safety Commissioner Keith Flynn, who joined local officials and Waterbury residents. After volunteers completed a training session in Dover Sept. 4, the town became the 50th community...
Community College of Vermont (CCV) students in Brattleboro pursuing a degree in medical assisting now have access to a new scholarship. The Brattleboro Rotary Club Gateway Foundation has announced the establishment of the Jesse M. Corum IV Scholarship, honoring longtime Brattleboro Rotarian Jesse Corum. The recipient of the $2,500 award will be chosen based on academic achievement, financial need, and community service. Applicants must reside in Vermont and be enrolled in their second year of studies at CCV Brattleboro. The...
The Brattleboro Department of Public Works has closed Lower Green Street from Retting Place to High Street until further notice. According to the DPW, a stone retaining wall below lower Green Street is failing and the roadway is being closed for public safety. On Monday morning, a section of Harmony Parking Lot was closed so D&E Tree Service could remove trees on the bank between the Harmony Lot and Green Street. The parking lot was reopened later that day. The...
I taught a short fly-fishing lesson for a young man who had survived a bear attack in Alaska. The near-fatal encounter occurred in 2011 while he was on a hike deep in the back country. His group apparently surprised a large grizzly bear, which quickly attacked, crushing his skull and biting him in the arm, leg, and neck. The bear attacked several other members of the group, but everybody survived following an emergency air evacuation. I had just returned from...
Open Music Collective kicks off its fall semester the week of Sept. 24 with a vocals class, jazz ensembles, and the introduction of Carl Clements, OMC's newest year-round faculty member. Clements, who has worked in OMC's summer jazz intensive, took his Ph.D. in ethnomusicology at City University of New York, his M.F.A. in jazz performance at California Institute of the Arts, and his bachelor's in jazz composition and arranging from Berklee College of Music. A sax player for more than...
The Alzheimer's Association invites Brattleboro residents to participate in the Walk to End Alzheimer's, set for Sunday, Sept. 14, at the Brattleboro Retreat. Organizers say the Walk to End Alzheimer's is more than a walk: it's an experience for the 100 participants and 18 teams in Brattleboro who will learn about Alzheimer's disease and how to get involved with this critical cause, from advocacy opportunities and clinical trial enrollment to support programs and services. Walk participants also will join in...
A 19-year-old Dummerston man faces a charge of second-degree arson in connection with a Sept. 1 fire at the Dummerston Congregational Church. Dakota Thomas was arrested by Vermont State Police and appeared in Windham Superior Court in Brattleboro on Sept. 3. Judge Katherine Hayes released Thomas on conditions and ordered him to return to court Oct. 14 to answer to the charge. In his arrest report, Det. Sgt. Steven Otis of the Vermont State Police Fire Investigation Unit did not...
After more than a century, the Vermont Center for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing will close its doors by month's end. Efforts this year by the school and its Board of Trustees to save the center's many programs did not turn up revenue needed to support its seven buildings and 200-acre Austine School campus. Board of Trustees Chairman Thomas Sonneborn said approximately 40 employees - and more than 600 children and adults who receive services through either campus programs...
The Jamaica/Wardsboro Community Food Pantry is now open on the second Wednesday of each month, from 6:30 to 8 p.m. This is in addition to a long-established schedule of the last Wednesday of each month, from 6:30 to 8 p.m. Food Pantry Coodinator Elaine Beckwith said that the need to add a distribution day mid-month stemmed from “too many of our clients having difficulties making it through to the end of the month.” Clients on fixed or limited incomes are...
Music sung by the brave karaoke few filled The Root Social Justice Center, a home away from home for many local nonprofits. The Root celebrated its first birthday last Saturday with awards, cake, karaoke, dancing, and fundraising. A work collective by day and a community events space by night, The Root houses four businesses while providing community meeting spaces, available by donation. Four friends - Angela Berkfield, Alex Fischer, Shela Linton, and Mel Motel - launched the center last year...
On Sunday, Sept. 14, Sandglass Theater and Vermont Performance Lab present the first event of a two-week residency of Cry You One, a collaboration of New Orleans theater groups Mondo Bizarro and ArtSpot Productions. The residency, part of Sandglass' “Voices of Community” series, kicks off with the Jumbo Gumbo Combo at Next Stage Arts Project in Putney. The evening begins at 5:30 with a Louisiana gumbo supper prepared by the Sandglass board of directors under the tutelage of Scott Ainslie,
Art historian Tony Gengarelly will lead a tour of the exhibit he has curated at Brattleboro Museum & Art Center (BMAC), “A World Transformed: The Art of Jessica Park,” on Thursday, Sept. 18 at 7 p.m. The exhibit represents the largest collection yet assembled of original paintings by Park, whose visionary world of imagination and creativity has emerged from a combination of artistry and a lifelong struggle with autism. Admission is free for BMAC members and children 12 and younger,
Careful readers of these pages might recall a piece I wrote less than a year back. In that one, I railed against capitalism and, more pointedly, an insurance industry I likened to gambling for putting profit before health. A secondary target was the entire Western medical model that failed to deliver service at a price anyone could afford. I know it's like shooting ducks in a barrel - easy targets - but now that the blowback has come squarely on...
With great sadness, we learned that our friend and colleague Alan O. Dann - one of the founders of this newspaper, and a dear friend, ally, and adviser - died peacefully this past Sunday night at his home in Marlboro. We send our condolences to his widow, Deirdre Donaldson, and to the rest of his family. It is not an exaggeration to say that this newspaper would not exist today without the hard work and dedication of Alan Dann in...
“Prayers for Peace, Pairings, and the Passage of Time,” an exhibit of paintings and papercuts by Stu Copans, runs through Oct. 8 in gallery spaces at All Souls Church. Included are new works from Copans' ongoing “Shalom” series of papercuts, begun more than a dozen years ago. A few of his traditional black cuttings are accompanied by arrays incorporating small “shaloms” within a grid of abstract designs. These little “prayers for peace” represent the artist's response to the deteriorating situation...
Since the completion of the renovation of the reception area at the Wardsboro Public Library more than a year ago, the library's Artist of the Month program has grown to become a popular cultural attraction for the community. The open lobby area near the circulation desk, lit with halogen spotlights of the same type used in art galleries, is ideal for the exhibitions, which highlight the work of a different local artist each month. The featured artist for September is...
“Defense wins championships” is one of the oldest of football aphorisms, but a good defense can only do so much. The offense has to chip in and score some points too. Against Burlington last Friday night, the Brattleboro Colonels shut down the Seahorses' passing game. The Colonels sputtered on the other side of the ball, with minus-6 yards of total offense in the first half. Someone had to step up on offense for the Colonels in the second half, and...
In late May, I was hired to coordinate student activities at Tsinghua International School in Beijing, China. I gave notice then for my job at Youth Services, where I had worked for nearly five years, and prepared to move abroad for at least a year at the beginning of August. I had a signed contract to work in Beijing. A work permit was issued in the city, as well as a formal letter of invitation from Tsinghua, my school. But...
How do some historic buildings survive the wrecking ball while others get consigned to an early grave? In the view of author and urban planner Anne Satterthwaite, it is all a matter of timing. “People now don't realize how powerful the post-World War II desire for modernism was,” said Satterthwaite during a recent visit to Bellows Falls to check out the Opera House and Town Hall building on The Square. “Lots of places annihilated their downtowns.” It's a subject Satterthwaite,
The afternoon of Aug. 28, 2011, saw the rampaging, flood-swollen Williams River rip the Bartonsville Covered Bridge from its abutments and send it “sailing like an ark” (as a key eyewitness describes it) before it came to rest in a field downsteam. As a testament to covered-bridge craftsmanship, not even that rambunctious, wild ride down the river was enough to destroy it. The town-lattice bridge was found lying gracefully on its side in a field, in good-enough condition that rebuilding...
Acclaimed percussionist and marimbist Ayano Kataoka performs music by Vermont composer Stuart Saunders Smith at Brattleboro Museum & Art Center (BMAC) on Friday, Sept. 12, at 7:30 p.m. A discussion with the performer and composer follows. Kataoka and cellist Yo-Yo Ma perfored last season at the American Museum of Natural History in a world premiere of Bruce Adolphe's “Self Comes to Mind” for cello and two percussionists, based on a text by neuroscientist Antonio Damasio. The work featured interactive video...
Two local visual artists, Petria Mitchell and Jim Giddings, realized that while Brattleboro has long been an area with a lot of working artists, the town actually has few galleries dedicated to showcasing high-quality works of art. So they opened one. On Thursday, Sept. 18, from 5 to 8 p.m., Mitchell-Giddings Fine Arts celebrates its grand opening by featuring paintings by Giddings and Mitchell, Doug Trump, and Lauren Olitski; blown glass by Josh Bernbaum; photography by Chris Triebert; and monumental...