For the second year in a row, the Arts Council of Windham County will create a regional celebration of the arts, this year with an emphasis on performing arts.
ARTstravanza, on Friday and Saturday, May 5 and 6, will let the region “experience the fabulous variety of performance art our community wants to share with you,” writes Arts Council President Shanta Lee Gander.
As part of the celebration, on Sunday, May 7, artists from Vermont, New Hampshire, and Massachusetts will gather in Keene, N.H. for the first Artist Congress for Creative Change-Making, a free event to explore the question “How might we - as artists, art lovers, and creatives - collaborate to make change?”
On Sunday, May 7, the Artist Congress for Creative Change-Making takes place in Keene, N.H. at the Colonial Theater, from 12:30 to 3:30 p.m. The event is free.
Lately, people have been holding doors for me. In just one day, three did so: a woman who works in the same building as I do; a man at the bank who even instructed his young son to “be polite” and hold the second door; and even an elderly...
In the middle of my village's quarter-mile-long Main Street stands an imitation Catholic church - imitation, in my eyes, because its street-facing colored windows are plastic, and, to me, a secular Jew with a passion for architecture, the word “Catholic” has always meant buildings of impressive stability reaching upward...
Building on five years of success with weeklong “pre-college” summer programs for high school students, Marlboro College will offer a new, redesigned schedule including the option for college credit. The college is offering eight weeklong courses in July on a range of topics, and all of them will include workshops on preparing for college and on community engagement. “Many other colleges run summer programs for high school students, but ours provide a unique combination of experiential learning and substantial college...
The 95-voice River Singers, led by Mary Cay Brass, are celebrating their 25th anniversary of singing together with a spring concert on Saturday, May 13, at 7:30 p.m., at the White Church. Special guest conductor Dr. Kathy Bullock, from Berea College in Kentucky, will lead the choir in a set of rousing, poignant songs from the African-American spirituals and gospel traditions. Over the years, The River Singers have been fortunate to host choirs and teachers from many musical traditions. Among...
It's biking weather again, and more kids are biking on the streets and around local neighborhoods. Because using bike lights is an important way to help keep kids safe, on May 12 and 13, lawyers from the Vermont Association for Justice will give away bicycle headlights and taillights to hundreds of Vermont kids. The Vermont Association for Justice is a nonprofit association of Vermont trial lawyers, dedicated to promoting public safety and protecting the legal rights of Vermonters. Members of...
As it should be, there is an overriding concern for safety issues as the marijuana legalization snail bill creeps through the byzantine loops of the legislature - so much so that the safety issues are secure, but the legalization bill is in danger of dying until further notice. Yet, just a stone's throw away from Montpelier, we are witnessing the nation of Canada in the process of legalizing marijuana. Note that I said “nation,” not “province” or “state.” It makes...
Luskin offers lessons from the Long Trail DUMMERSTON - The Dummerston Conservation Commission presents a special program with Newfane resident and writer Deborah Lee Luskin, who will talk about her 2016 through-hike of the Long Trail, the oldest recreational footpath in the U.S., on Thursday, May 4, at 7 p.m., at the Learning Collaborative on Route 5. Between Aug. 15 and Sept. 8 last year, Luskin and a friend walked from Massachusetts to Canada. They had both just turned 60...
On March 21, between 200 and 250 people rallied and marched in downtown Brattleboro to demand the release of three members of Justicia Migrante/Migrant Justice detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) the week before and the end to ICE targeting of human rights organizers. Community members at the demonstration added their names to petitions to free Alex Carrillo, Enrique (Kike) Balcazar, and Zully Palacios as well as to petitions to support the passing of Vermont's Racial Justice Reform bills...
Obituaries • Joanne L. Aleksiewicz, 87, of Cottonwood, Ariz., formerly of Brattleboro. Died peacefully at Cottonwood Village on Thursday, April 13. She was born in Barre on Aug. 2, 1929 to Philip and Irene (Fournier) LaPerle. The oldest of nine children, she was raised on a farm in Walden Heights before moving to the family dairy farm in Randolph Center. She moved to Brattleboro in 1947 to attend the Thompson School of Nursing, where she graduated as an LPN in...
Eye of the Song: Visual Art by Musicians is on display until May 20 at the Michael S. Currier Center Gallery at The Putney School. This multimedia exhibition celebrates visual work created by artists better known for their music. These musician/artists are revered for their work in musical genres ranging from “old-time” rock and jazz to folk-punk and Czech bluegrass. Many had extensive formal training in photography, painting, sculpture, drawing, or print-making before finding themselves in prominent musical careers. Some...
At only 31, Lyle Brewer is as accomplished as many musicians twice his age. A sought-after guitarist for both studio and live work in his adopted home town of Boston, Brewer has released several albums of his own, the most recent of which, Juno, was chosen Best Local Album by The Boston Globe in 2015. He performs at the Windham Ballroom at Popolo on Sunday, May 7. According to a news release, his music is entirely instrumental “but in a...
The town may soon unload a Taylor Road property it has owned since 2002, putting it back on the tax rolls. At the April 12 regular Selectboard meeting, Town Manager Cynthia Stoddard told Board members she received an inquiry from an abutting neighbor interested in purchasing the 2.3-acre parcel. Stoddard researched the proper way to transfer town-owned tax-sale property. From a local real estate agent, she learned $24,500 is a fair list price. Lawrence Slason, the town attorney, told her...
May is National Mental Health Awareness Month, and the National Alliance on Mental Illness of Vermont joins the nation in bringing the issue of mental health to the forefront. According to the group, one in five Vermonters will experience a mental health condition in their life, and one in 25 adults lives with serious mental illness such as schizophrenia, major depression, or bipolar disorder. Half of all lifetime mental health conditions begin by age 14 and 75 percent by age...
The Green Street School community is gearing up for our fifth annual 5K Tulip Trot on Saturday, May 13. This exciting event is a great opportunity for our students and the greater Brattleboro community to come together and participate in a 5K fun run/walk to benefit our students. The event, along with a half-mile Sprout Run for younger children, starts and ends at Green Street School. Registration will begin at 8:30 a.m., with the Sprout Run scheduled for 9 a.m.
Elena & Boo of the Demolition String Band will kick off the Jamaica Town Hall Music Series on May 6. The New York City-based nationally touring act will share their blend of bluegrass, country, roots, and Americana music in a show that starts at 7 p.m. Tickets are $10 at the door. Fueled by a shared passion for country, rock 'n roll, bluegrass, and mountain music, Elena Skye and Boo Reiners have led their Demolition String Band for almost two...
Thank you, Brattleboro! Thank you for supporting the “We Celebrate Democracy/Civil Rights For All” street banner now flying over Main Street in Brattleboro. Thank you for supporting the very sweet Candlelight Vigil For Democracy at Pliny Park in Brattleboro, which 50 some people attended last Sunday. Thanks to 80 donors, including 25 Brattleboro businesses, who contributed $1,710. Overfunding of $93 will be donated to Brattleboro Area Hospice. Thanks to Ann Brush of Starksboro for making our beautiful banner. Thanks to...
Members of the National Association of Letter Carriers are once again gearing up to deliver the largest one-day food drive in the U.S. - the 25th annual Stamp Out Hunger Food Drive. On Saturday, May 13, letter carriers and their food drive partners, including members of the National Rural Letter Carriers' Association, will pick up donated food as they deliver mail - and make sure that it gets to a local food shelf. Traditionally held on the second Saturday in...
The Vermont Jazz Center will present Billy Childs, one of the leading pianists, composers, and arrangers of this era, on Saturday, May 6, at 8 p.m. He will perform with his quartet including saxophonist Dayna Stephens, bassist Hans Glawischnig, and drummer Ari Hoenig, according to a news release. Childs has earned 13 Grammy nominations and four Grammy awards. He is also the recipient of Chamber Music America's Composer's Grant, a Doris Duke Performing Artist Award, a Guggenheim Fellowship, and a...
Giants, fairy tales, and an octopus' garden will be among the themes explored during an imaginative weeklong summer music program for children. Camp Allegretto, presented July 10-14 by the Brattleboro Music Center for kids ages 5 to 8, will include singing, storytelling, dancing and movement, and a related art project, instructor Kim Wallach says in a news release. “Daily themes will unite a story, some through the songs and games, and in some way, the art project,” says Wallach, who...
The Brattleboro Safe Streets Project, in collaboration with the Town of Brattleboro, will host the second annual Safer Streets Forum on Thursday, May 11, at the Green Street School Library from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. This is an opportunity for anyone interested in bicycle and pedestrian safety issues to hear from town officials about the improvements that have been made in town during the past year and projects that are planned for the years ahead. Brattleboro Town Manager Peter Elwell...
I attended the April 6 Vermont Public Service Board hearing on the sale of Vermont Yankee to NorthStar. Everyone agreed on the desire to clean up and decommission the site of Vermont Yankee as quickly as possible. Although the NorthStar plan was addressed in detail by CEO Scott State, some attendees did not accept the explanations about how the work will be done, how clean it must be, who pays, and - especially - whether the decommissioning trust fund will...
This year marks 47 years for Vermont's unique Green Up Day tradition. Always the first Saturday in May, the event will bring volunteers statewide to the town roads in their communities on May 6 to tackle trash and litter along roadsides, in public spaces, natural landscapes and waterways. Vermont was the first state in the nation to designate one special day for cleaning the entire state. Many thanks to the hardworking state employees at the Agency of Transportation who clean...
Vermont's regulatory system works best when it expertly and promptly considers a project's economic benefits and environmental impacts. I have confidence the Vermont Public Service Board will act in this fine tradition in NorthStar's proposed decommissioning of Vermont Yankee. In this spirit, I am concerned by two significant misunderstandings in a recent Conservation Law Foundation op-ed about the NorthStar plan. The author claims “the money on hand is not sufficient to complete the task soon.” She also states that NorthStar...
Mitchell Giddings Fine Arts, 183 Main St., presents “Before Words,” an exhibition of steel sculptures by Torin Porter. An opening reception will take place Thursday, May 4, at 5 p.m. An artist talk is set for Saturday, June 10, from 5-7 p.m. According to a news release, “Porter's playful, stylized figures suggest the communicative power of sculptural art before language and logic come into play.” In “Before Words,” Porter pays tribute to the most intimate of conversations that take place...
A combined show of artists Gil Perry and Charles Norris-Brown, entitled “Distant Thunder,” will be up at Main Street Arts in Saxtons River through June 16. Perry, of Springfield, Vt., will show selections from his work in landscape oils and from graphite fantasy drawings. His paintings reflect his interest in capturing the variations of light in nature. “For the past 27 years, I have been working in the landscape tradition of painting in the open air, exploring new ways to...
Brother Sun, an acoustic folk trio noted for warm vocal harmonies, skillful guitar playing, and stirring originals will perform at the stone church at 20 Church St. in Bellows Falls at 7:30 pm on Friday, May 5. The band, composed of Greg Greenway of Boston, Pat Wictor of New York, and Joe Jencks of Chicago, has released three CDs and performed at festivals such as Falcon Ridge, Kerrville, Old Songs, and Vancouver Island. Fusing folk, Americana, blues, pop, jazz, rock,
Good day to you, residents of the windy hamlets of southeastern Vermont! While all the rain and moisture has been good for long-term drought mitigation, I bet more than one gardener or farmer has been crying uncle recently. Such cries are slated to continue by the end of this week, and possibly well into next week. For Wednesday, we should experience westerly winds gusting over 30 mph at times. A trough of lower pressures aloft will move through our region,
The sentiments expressed in this letter, although sounding reasonable, are not, nor are they accurate. The water is public for fishing only (from boats with a valid fishing license), according to Vermont statute, and swimming is not allowed from boat access areas. The land surrounding the lake is privately owned. Membership is restricted by the Marlboro Park Association bylaws, which are subject to state approval. The number of members are restricted in part to preserve water quality. The beaches are...
Judge Karen Russell Carroll took the oath of office Wednesday to the Vermont Supreme Court, marking the first time the state's highest court has had a majority of female justices. Chief Justice Paul Reiber praised Carroll for her ability to relate to people - and for being a Red Sox fan. Gov. Phil Scott, who nominated Carroll, said the veteran trial court judge possesses the qualities he required: character, competence, commitment, and chemistry. Scott said he wanted to make clear...
The pending closure of a Bellows Falls medical products company means lost jobs and tax revenue for the region. Vermed's reported departure also represents a black eye for the Windham County Economic Development Program: Just two years ago, the company received $200,000 from that fund as part of an incentive package to grow in Vermont. Officials are smarting from the blow, since the economic development program is fueled by a Vermont Yankee shutdown settlement and is supposed to help the...
I have faced hate here in Vermont many times. It is here. I know a time when a town in Vermont would have never been okay with this kind of banner - “Hate Does Not Grow Well in the Rocky Soil of Vermont” - on its street. The banner has given me hope and pride for the positive change happening in my home. I read this letter, and it took away a bit of that loving feeling I had. I...
Memories of long ago: walking the road from Packer Corners to Johnson Pasture and the people there. Great description of the communes of the day and, of course, dogs in general and Barf Barf's story in particular. Thanks.
As a legislator, I live in two worlds - my hometown of Vernon, and the Statehouse in Montpelier. Although separated by two hours of interstate driving, Vernon and the Statehouse have priorities in common these days. Both hope to see clean, prosperous economic development of the Vermont Yankee site, as soon as possible. Vernon needs replacement tax revenue and the jobs of a new, major industrial employer. Montpelier desires the potential revenue to fund state spending. And both expect an...
Nothing like taking a positive and turning it into a negative. First, I'd like to point out a quote from a wonderful 8-year-old boy: “It doesn't say that hate doesn't grow; it says it doesn't grow well.” Even at age 8, he knew that the banner was a good thing. It has been making a lot of folks feel really good about the steps they are taking in their community. Instead of criticizing, maybe try reaching out to the group...
I went to Windham College in Putney from 1968 through 1972, so I recognize the types described here, some more clueless than others. Thanks for bringing back the memories. I have recently been feeling the same frustration with the government as I did back then. I hope that similarly minded people can find a more effective way to really change things this time.
Thanks for an excellent profile, and thanks to Bill McKibben for his powerful thought leadership and inspiring activism on this most important of issues. I'm active on this issue in part today because of McKibben's original New Yorker articles, which made an indelible impression. We are all in his debt.
Always the first Saturday in May, Green Up Day this year is Saturday, May 6. On this day, volunteers come together to clean up litter from roadsides and public spaces to help keep Vermont green and clean. While Vermont's Interstates and state highways, some 2,707 miles, are cleaned each spring by Vermont's Agency of Transportation, Green Up Day efforts focus on town roads - 13,086 miles of them, according to a news release. Green Up Day is Vermont's largest all-volunteer,
Elayne Clift rightly laments “the fear of having a catastrophic health crisis, worrying about climate change, deregulation, deportations, the return to banking practices that brought this country to its knees, global instability, the possibility of war, rising hate crimes, the silencing of media, and much more.” But she very wrongly characterizes them as uniquely “Trumpian.” All of these “stressors” have been steadily growing since Ronald Reagan and Bill Clinton remade their respective parties to pursue neoliberal austerity at home and...
Recent events brought the West Dummerston Volunteer Fire Department closer to getting a new fire station in Dummerston Center. In the first few days of April, department members removed the equipment from the old station to prepare for the building's demolition. Less than two weeks later, the old firehouse was gone, and blasting began on the rock ledge behind the site to make way for the new station. Last August, townspeople voted to raise $175,000 in taxes for the much-needed...
Gov. Phil Scott has been in public office for more than 16 years, including six as lieutenant governor. Until May 1, however, he had never been to the Brattleboro Retreat. Scott and Retreat administrators spent part of the chilly spring morning touring the hospital's sprawling campus, talking about addiction and mental health services while visiting with staff and patients. With Scott finishing up the fourth month of his first term as governor, his Retreat stop was more of a relationship-building...
On Wednesday, May 10, and Thursday, May 11, Brattleboro and Putney will host the Labyrinth for America walk. Clive Johnson, an interfaith minister and writer from England, along with Sadelle Wiltshire, a Veriditas Certified Labyrinth Facilitator, spoke about the nature of the event they started, its history, and clarified misconceptions. Participants at these walks, they said, are welcome to walk the Baltic-designed path for symbolic, healing, and/or individualized purposes. Its utility is diverse and can be determined by participants to...
We held the Vakaros Strong Fundraiser on April 1 and 2 for our co-worker and friend, Lindsey Vakaros, and her two small children, Julianna, 9, and Preston, 2, who recently lost Steven Vakaros, their husband and father, suddenly. We were supposed to do the entire event on that Saturday but Mother Nature got in the way. We did the first leg of our event Saturday and the second on Sunday. The first was inside our hair salon on Saturday (our...
The Pansy Festival will be held at Singing River Farm in Rockingham on Saturday, May 6, from noon to 3 p.m. This free community celebration of spring will happen rain or shine, because pansies love both. An Earth Day Teach-In will also be part of the festival this year. “Just as pansies are deeply rooted in the soil, so farms must be rooted in community,” said Laurel Green, who owns the farm hosting the festival along with Steve Crofter. “We...
The midpoint of the high school track & field season is always marked by the Weiser/Howard Weight Relays in Bellows Falls and the Fenn Relays in Brattleboro. The BF meet consists of field events only, while the Fenn Relays are strictly track, and the host schools both did well this year, The Bellows Falls teams placed first and third, respectively, in the eight-team Weiser/Howard Relays at Hadley Field on April 27. Shane Clark cleared the bar at 10 feet, 6...
Confluence gallery in Readsboro will open its second season on May 6 with a show of portraiture. The show, titled Exploring Portraiture, is curated by gallery manager John Walker. The show explores four different artists' take on the general idea of making and using portraits in art, and includes a broad range of materials and intentions. Explaining his choice of opening the season with a portrait show, Walker said in a news release, “We get large amounts of information from...
The anti-homeless sentiment in this town is repulsive. People describe our town and our state as progressive, but then you walk by a business that serves $18 salads which puts out a class-ist sandwich board (“Will make kebabs for $ - anything helps. God bless.” and “Trying to make a living by working hard. Anything helps. God bless.”) as a marketing gimmick, right across from where the “Hate Does Not Grow Well in the Rocky Soil of Vermont” banner once...
118 Elliot Gallery will present an exhibition of work by Ralph DeAnna, which will be on view from May 5-19. The opening reception is on Friday, May 5, from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m. Gallery hours otherwise are Thursday to Sunday, 2 to 6 p.m. and by appointment. “Ralph DeAnna, A Reflective Eye” is the first one-man show at 118 Elliot Gallery. “DeAnna is that rare painter,” gallery director and curator, Lisa Mendelsund said, “who is a portraitist and storyteller with...
Newcomers, fan favorites, and veteran singer/songwriters have lined up to light the stage at this year's Roots on the River Festival, to be held Friday, June 9, through Sunday, June 11. The 18th annual event will feature the return of popular headliner Hayes Carll on Saturday night, flanked by an eclectic mix of musical entertainment throughout the weekend of Southern Vermont's premiere music festival. “We are thrilled to have Hayes return to the Roots stage,” Ray Massucco, Vermont Festivals LLC...
First Baptist Church may have a new owner, but its pastor and its advisory board said last week that the church is still very much alive. Last December, the church entered into a purchase and sale agreement for the historic Main Street church with Bob Johnson, founder of Brattleboro-based Omega Optical. Johnson plans to turn the church into a performance and conference space and has begun some renovation work. But Johnson also agreed with First Baptist to allow it to...
A small fire in an outdoor pizza oven wouldn't ordinarily warrant a three-alarm response. But when that pizza oven is attached to a downtown business block, caution is needed. There were no injuries and no serious damage reported on April 27 after a pizza oven caught fire in a shed behind Echo Restaurant & Lounge at 73 Main St. According to the Brattleboro Fire Department, Central Dispatch received a call at 8:29 a.m., reporting that smoke was seen coming from...
The gallery at All Souls Unitarian Universalist Church, 29 South St., is showing a new series by local artist Kay Curtis through the end of June. The eight drypoint monoprints, with multiple layers of colored pencil and crayon, each have a specific theme in the series entitled Queen Anne's Lace: The Circle Comes Around. The public is invited to an artist's reception on Saturday, May 6, from 2 to 4 p.m., hosted by the All Souls Arts Committee. Kay's distinctive,
How long does it take to build a new bridge? When it connects two states across a body of water, includes a railroad grade crossing and a hazardous waste site, and involves one of Brattleboro's least-favorite intersections, it could take 40 years. And they haven't even started construction. Earlier this year, officials with the New Hampshire Department of Transportation began convening meetings to address replacing the two Route 119 bridges that cross the Connecticut River and connect Brattleboro to Hinsdale.
Award-winning writer Michael Nethercott is thoughtful amid the buzz and rush of The Works Bakery Cafe in Brattleboro. “In a lot of my writing, I'm drawn to history,” he said. “Maybe because history is frozen in amber, it's very easy to observe and understand.” Nethercott's full-length play, Our Enemy's Cup opens the Guilford Center Stage's third theater season on Friday, May 5. The season officially opened in April with a square dance. The dance, with The Falltown String Band, from...