Issue #511
FOMAG hosts annual Memorial Day weekend concert, cookout
Friends of Music at Guilford, now in its 53rd season, is hosting its 11th Spring Concert & Holiday Cookout in the Organ Barn on Sunday, May 26 at 3 p.m.
The concert includes an opening set by the Guilford Chamber Singers and a solo recital by Christopher Lewis of South Londonderry on the circa-1897 tracker organ.
10 Windham County artists participate in Paradise City Arts Festival
Northampton artist-run show marks 25th anniversary
Windham County artists will partipate in the Paradise City Arts Festival, which will enter its 25th year as a cultural, creative, and culinary destination on Memorial Day weekend, May 25–27, at the Three County Fairgrounds in Northampton, Mass. Participating artists include Julia Brandis of Westminster (stained-glass lamps and panels),
For Democrats, an underwhelming legislative session
John Walters, a Statehouse reporter and political columnist in Montpelier, says that for Democrats, the 2019 session has been ‘much more difficult and much less rewarding than it should have been, compared to expectations’
With the Vermont Legislature days away from adjournment for the year, John Walters, a reporter for Seven Days and the alternative weekly newspaper's political columnist, joined me on May 16 to discuss the big bills awaiting approval by the Legislature this week, their last week of the session. We...
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Marlboro College graduates class of 2019
On May 12, the Marlboro College community celebrated the college's latest graduates with a ceremony in Persons Auditorium. Degrees were conferred upon 49 graduates, including 26 undergraduates and 23 graduate students, who were applauded for their plans of concentration, capstone projects, and many other accomplishments. “One of the great joys of living and working at Marlboro is to witness our students live their passions, learn new skills, and grow into engaged citizens,” said President Kevin Quigley in his remarks. “Like...
In Stile Moderno mixes folk and early music in Brattleboro performance
Boston-based early music ensemble In Stile Moderno returns to Brattleboro on Friday, May 24, at 8 p.m., for the final concert of its 2018-2019 season, with “La Vesuviana: Tracing the Sources of Neapolitan Folk Music,” a concert that blends the rhythms of Italian folk music with 17th-century works. Inspired by the connections between the living tradition of Southern Italian folk music and early music from the same region, the ensemble's founders, Brattleboro native Nathaniel Cox (cornetto and theorbo) and Agnes...
Planet Zydeco and Top of The Hill Grill team up at Next Stage
Next Stage Arts Project, 15 Kimball Hill, presents Zydeco & Gumbo at the Next Stage Café on Saturday, May 25. Food will be sold and served by Top of The Hill Grill beginning at 6 p.m., and the band starts at 7 p.m. Admission is $10 suggested donation. Tickets are available in advance at nextstagearts.org or at the door. Next Stage also offers a beer and wine cash bar, and there will be a dance floor. For the past 14...
Juno Orchestra presents ‘Discoveries’
Juno Orchestra, in residence at the Brattleboro Music Center, will perform two concerts to open the month of June. Entitled “Discoveries,” the four works on the June program are likely new to most concertgoers - “even the two pieces composed over 200 years ago,” Music Director Zon Eastes said in a news release. Performances are set for Saturday, June 1, at 7:30 p.m. and Sunday, June 2, at 4 p.m. at the Brattleboro Music Center. Juno Orchestra, closing out its...
Around the Towns
WSESU offers publicly-funded Pre-K education with private partners BRATTLEBORO - Windham Southeast Supervisory Union announces that the towns of Brattleboro, Dummerston, Guilford, Putney, and Vernon will offer funding for 10 hours per week of Pre-Kindergarten education for 3-5 year olds in private preschools that contract with their local school districts. The Pre-K education is designed to provide young children with developmentally appropriate early learning experiences based on Vermont's Early Learning Standards. In the 2018-19 school year, 245 children in the...
Slow Living Summit to focus on ‘Future of Women in Food Entrepreneurship’
The ninth annual Slow Living Summit will take place in Brattleboro on Thursday, June 6, and Friday, June 7. Presented by Strolling of the Heifers and Windham Grows, the Summit's focus is “The Future of Women in Food Entrepreneurship” and its goal is to bring together diverse entrepreneurs in the farm and food industries, providing the tools, resources, and mentorship they need to grow socially responsible businesses. “We invite and hope that people from all communities can join us for...
Plants, quilts, crafts, and more raise funds for Athens Brick Meetinghouse
The Athens Brick Meetinghouse Committee, in conjunction with the Athens Historic Preservation Society, will host a series of events at the 1817 Brick Meetinghouse. The first event is a spring open house on Saturday, May 25, featuring the second annual Plant & Bake Sale with help from the newly formed Athens Garden Club. This event will run from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m., and the Meetinghouse will be open for tours. Next is a Quilt Show & Craft Fair on...
Milestones
College news • Chad Bernard of Jacksonville, a nursing major and member of the Class of 2021, was named to the Dean's List for the spring 2019 semester at Colby-Sawyer College in New London, N.H. • Tuckerman Wunderle of Bellows Falls, a Writing, Literature & Publishing major, has been named to the Dean's List for the spring 2019 semester at Emerson College in Boston. School news • 3 Generations Collaboration has engaged Chelsea Wright to serve as outreach intern, in...
Improv comedy, theater, and dance blend in SoBo Studio’s ‘Channel the Change’
Local dance and art space SoBo Studio, located in Suite 346 of the Cotton Mill, is hosting a one-night-only “artistic explosion” of improv comedy, dance, and theater. The show, “Change the Channel/Channel the Change,” takes place Sunday, May 26, at 7 p.m. Proceeds will benefit SoBo's scholarship program to give the gift of dance to those who need it most. According to a news release, the Change the Channel/Channel the Change Collective, a project of SoBo Studio, “uses comedy as...
Increased enforcement of seat belt laws is planned for holiday weekend
As the Memorial Day holiday approaches, the Windham County Sheriff's Department is reminding all drivers of the importance of seat belt use. According to a news release, this annual campaign is part of the U.S. Department of Transportation's National Highway Traffic Safety Administration's “Click It or Ticket” high-visibility enforcement effort that runs from May 20 to June 2. “We cannot overstate the importance of wearing a seat belt,” the Sheriff's Department wrote. “It's the law, but it's more than that:
Water flowing underground
On May 30, Brattleboro's wastewater treatment plant will join other facilities statewide to host a public open house. Attendance is free, and Vermonters of all ages are invited for a first-hand introduction to the science, high-tech, and human dedication that protect the public health and keep Vermont's rivers and lakes clean. The event is part of Water Quality Day, proclaimed every year since 2014 by Governors Shumlin and Scott to honor Vermont's drinking water and wastewater systems and the professional...
Sandglass bids farewell to ‘D-Generation‘ with final performances
After seven years of touring, Sandglass Theater bids farewell to its award-winning show, D-Generation: An Exaltation of Larks, on May 24 and 25, at 7:30 p.m., at the New England Youth Theatre in Brattleboro. “From playful story circles to dark private terror, from lyrical inner visions to demanding confrontation, from the reflections of caregivers to the fragmented memories of residents of care facilities, D-Generation evokes a complex world of people living with dementia,” according to a news release. D-Generation: An...
Gelfan paintings on display
The paintings of Carrie Gelfan of Westminster will be on display at Main Street Arts through June 28 in a show featuring her work from the past 10 years. An opening reception will be held Thursday, May 23, from 5:30 to 7 p.m. Gelfan describes her work as figurative, with many portraits and groupings of friends and family members, some from life and some from old photos. “I paint because I like to create and make things,” she said in...
Brattleboro water main project complete
Emergency replacement of a Main Street main serving the town's drinking water, fire hydrants, and sprinkler systems was completed last week ahead of the project's deadline. Public Works Director Steve Barrett said he was pleased with Zaluzny Construction's work and noted that residents might see a few cosmetic pieces being finished this week. The Vernon-based firm replaced 300-feet of an 8-inch water main with new 12-inch pipe and repaired a section of damaged sidewalk along the east side of Main...
Quilt raffle benefits library group
Each year, the Friends of the Wardsboro Library sponsors a raffle to benefit the support of the Gloria Danforth Memorial Building, the home of the Wardsboro Public Library. This year's prize for “The Best Raffle Ever” is a one-of-a-kind 37 1/2 inch by 37 1/2 inch wall hanging titled “Simply Vermont,” depicting the icons of Vermont. It was designed, pieced, and quilted by Wardsboro fiber artist Christy Foote-Smith. Foote-Smith is currently focused on art quilts. She and her husband, Bob,
A wild talk
Bestselling author Cheryl Strayed will speak at the Latchis Theatre on Tuesday, June 25, at 7:30 p.m., in celebration of Brattleboro Area Hospice's 40th anniversary. A Wild Life: Growing Through Life's Challenges is an evening of inspiration, wisdom, and storytelling with Strayed, author of the New York Times bestselling memoir Wild: From Lost to Found on the Pacific Crest Trail, a book that inspired Oprah Winfrey to revive the tremendously popular Oprah's Book Club and Reese Witherspoon to bring Wild...
Kudos for music program
I attended an amazing concert recently at Leland & Gray and want to thank Rene Bernard and Jim Pecsok for their hard work in bringing the music program back to life. The students appear to respect these two leaders and put their hearts into their performances. Kudos to those students who have gone on to participate in the Vermont All State Music Festival and the trip to Six Flags Music Festival, where they brought home four trophies. I also want...
Postal food drive: a huge success
The Stamp Out Hunger Food Drive was a huge success this year in Brattleboro, Guilford, Vernon, Dummerston, Putney, and beyond. Postal customers donated over 8,000 pounds of food in our region, a 70-percent increase over last year! Members of the National Association of Letter Carriers hold this national drive each year on the second Saturday in May, and the collected non-perishables stay local to each participating community across the United States. Our sharp increase in donations was in no small...
Why don’t presidential candidates decide on ticket sooner?
A perhaps dumb question: Why don't some candidates for president thrash out and let us know now who their vice president would be? Doing so could have several advantages, including: • In a race where winning is imperative, a running mate with the right background and from the right state could be key. • Where a candidate's youth or age were a concern, or their experience on an important front were limited, the right vice-president candidate could be reassuring. So...
Conscientious driving takes little effort
As recently as this morning, I have again reminded myself to state my thoughts on this subject. Awaiting traffic at a stop sign on a side street near the Oak Grove School, a newer model pickup truck traveling on Clark Avenue passed in front of me. As I proceeded to take a right-hand turn, the truck just stopped in front of a house right there on that corner, no advance warning, no turn signal, and gratefully, no accident occurred. In...
Climate change: an opportunity by our country and military to expand influence
I think that politicians who pretend to have a plan for a cleaner, greener planet, while simultaneously shoveling money at our agency of death and destruction, the Pentagon (which failed its first-ever audit last year, miserably) are selling us a monstrous lie. The Center for Climate and Security has published a paper, “A Responsibility to Prepare,” in which they talk about the eagerness of many countries for a melted Arctic region. According to the report, “Arctic ice is receding, opening...
Women were given a sacred gift to choose
I was watching the news at work, and I had to look away. I felt physically sick as I heard about one state after another. I think I cried, vented for a long time and, at the depths of my soul, I was legitimately terrified for our country and how quickly women are no longer allowed to make an extremely personal and sensitive (often complex, intuitive, and very private, sacred) decision about their lives, their bodies, and their futures. Recent...
Spring finally arrives; more sun than showers expected
Good day to you, fine people of southeastern Vermont! We have finally turned the corner in terms of spring temperatures, which is most welcome. Could we dip here and there? Yes, we could, but generally speaking, I believe we're leaving behind the dominance of cooler high temps (i.e., highs in the 40s and 50s) that characterized much of April into the first half of May. For Wednesday and Thursday, we should enjoy high pressure with sunshine and seasonably mild temperatures.
Brattleboro firefighters honor their own
A theme of service and going above and beyond the call of duty permeated a ceremony to honor town firefighters. Members of the Brattleboro Fire Department gathered with staff and families on May 19 for its every-two-years awards ceremony, the first to be held in the renovated Central Fire Station on Elliot Street. The department presented a new Citizen's Award this year, honoring D.J. Bell, an employee of Tri-Park, who used his backhoe to help fire personnel evacuate the Mountain...
AIDS Walk honors longtime supporter
Lynn Martin remembers when, seeking a job after raising two sons and a daughter nearly three decades ago, she arrived at the state Department of Employment and Training with a question. “I had a bachelor of arts in education and a master's in creative writing,” she recalls. “What kind of training could they give me?” Enough to report that the government considered her a displaced housewife entitled to a stipend to work at a participating employer for six months. “Do...
With rainy spring, teams scramble to make up games
We've had way too many gray and soggy days since mid-April, and that has raised havoc with the high school spring sports schedule, with a compressed schedule for all the local teams struggling to make up the events that got rained out. The Brattleboro track & field team saw its signature home meet, the Fenn Relays, get washed out last month. The make-up event took place on May 17, and instead of the normal dozen or so schools that would...
Professor presents illustrated lecture on philosophy of art
Champlain College professor of philosophy David Mills presents an illustrated lecture titled “What is Art?” at the Brattleboro Museum & Art Center on Thursday, May 30, at 7 p.m. The lecture is free and open to the public. By imagining art history as an ongoing conversation, Mills explores ways of encountering art as more than just subjective preference. This highly visual presentation provides new ways to interact with what we find in museums and galleries. Mills' conceptual framework will help...
Area studios will take part in this weekend’s Open Studio Tour
The Vermont Craft Council's annual Spring Open Studio Weekend takes place this weekend, May 25 and 26. Participating studios will be open to the public from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. each day, with many sites offering demonstrations as well as the opportunity to purchase art and talk to the professional artists who made it. Prior to or after the event, please call studios ahead of time before visiting. During May, visitors to the Vermont Welcome Center on Interstate 91...
Green Mountain Power offers rebates for electric bike purchases
The electric bicycle as a serious mode of transportation is getting a big boost in Vermont and so are Brattleboro's bike shops. Green Mountain Power has developed a related rebate program for its customers. At participating Vermont bike shops, customers can get a $200 rebate on an electric bike, electric cargo bike, or an installed electric-assist conversion kit. In addition, GMP has teamed up with VBike, the state's e-bike advocacy organization based in Brattleboro, to help its customers with VBike's...
Stop. For. School. Buses.
I am thankful we have the school bus drivers we have. Every day they get up in the morning and come to work, always smiling, for the most part. (I mean, it's early-morning hours, and not everyone has had their coffee yet, right?) However, they go out to their buses and - kind of like Santa Claus at Christmas - they have a list and they check it twice to make sure the buses are in working order. By the...
Easy rentals raise complicated issues
As the morning sun struggled to break through sleepy rain clouds on Monday, more than 200 hosts of vacation homes, Airbnb sites, and other such properties from across Vermont gathered for the state's first Short-Term Rental Summit. The crowd at the Latchis Theatre milled in small groups, sipped coffee, ate breakfast, and swapped stories of operating their rentals in an ever-changing environment - one populated with guests, changing regulations, concerned neighbors, a “sharing economy,” and Vermont's own affordable housing shortage.