Susanna Gellert, executive artistic director of Weston Theater Company, recently announced the 87th season of Vermont's oldest, award-winning professional theater.
“This year's shows sing with the magic of Weston, a magic that brings people together and invites us to share the wonder and excitement that have been the hallmark of Weston Theater Company for over 85 years,” Gellert said in a news release. “These are stories full of heart, generosity, and substance. It's a vibrant and varied lineup that we cannot wait to share with our audience.”
The season begins with the free Weston Young Company production of You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown, based on Charles M. Schulz's “Peanuts” comic strip, with music, book, and lyrics by Clark Gesner.
Follow the life of America's most loveable loser and his friends as they navigate the ups and downs of childhood with memorable songs that bring this beloved comic strip to life.
College news • The following local students were honored for academic achievement in the fall 2022 semester at Champlain College in Burlington: Ashley Bolton of South Londonderry and Zachary Condon of Whitingham were named to the President's List, and Hailee Mattson of Dummerston, Mark Hunnewell of South Londonderry, Janelle...
Gordon Clark and his Vermont Comedy All-Stars return for a night of stand-up comedy at Next Stage Arts on Friday, March 31, at 7:30 p.m., Next Stage, 15 Kimball Hill. Featured performers will include several contest-winning and touring comedians most often seen in the Burlington area. “We've got to...
Acclaimed pysanky artist and instructor Jenny Santa Maria leads a hands-on workshop on the traditional Ukrainian folk art of egg decoration on Saturday, April 1, at 11 a.m. and 2 p.m., at the Brattleboro Museum & Art Center (BMAC). In the two-hour workshop, Santa Maria will describe the history and traditions surrounding pysanky, demonstrate decorating techniques, and lead participants in making their own eggs. This workshop is for adults and teens (ages 13 and up). The fee of $55 ($45...
Does the United States still believe in the separation between church and state? This is one of the big questions making big waves in Vermont right now. In 2022, the U.S. Supreme Court's Carson v. Makin decision required states with voucher systems to offer them to religious schools as well as to secular ones. Vermont education often depends on vouchers because this small state has a limited number of schools. Some towns do not have a high school. Some of...
When I hear that the sap is running, I'm happy indeed. Warm days above freezing and cold nights below, mean the sap run is upon us, and it can't come a moment too soon. March in Vermont brings every type of weather possible, with little bursts of perfect early spring. The technique of boiling the sap from sugar maple trees was first developed by the indigenous peoples of our Northeast and Canada. It certainly is an important component in the...
Recently, the union of the Brattleboro Firefighters issued a letter expressing its support for a town-operated ambulance service. Although we deeply appreciate the work of our firefighters in protecting us from fire and responding quickly to emergency medical events in town, we regret the timing of this endorsement by the union. Few citizens in town have read the full AP Triton report, which describes four options for an ambulance service. There has been no public meeting other than AP Triton's...
The current housing situation in Vermont is an absolute joke. The overall vacancy availability in the state has dropped to as low as 0.5% in recent months. How did we let this happen? There are several factors involved. They mainly stem from out-of-staters' panic-buying properties in the early stages of the pandemic, only to decide they don't need them after all. They've become Airbnb rentals. So now there are many, many, many rooms or houses that you can rent or...
It seems public support for the legal right to abortion has again reached a new high within the U.S. On Feb. 23, the Public Religion Research Institute published its latest findings showing that support for abortion access has for years been rising steadily in all 50 states, with nearly two-thirds (64%) of Americans now saying abortion should be legal in most or all circumstances. In our own state, of course, support is much higher. In November, a whopping 77% of...
Leslie Sullivan Sachs: When I can plant. * * * Martin Langeveld: When people stop complaining about the crazy winter we are having, and start complaining about the crazy spring we are having. * * * Tim Johnson Arsenault: When the snow finally melts off my lawn. * * * Mark French: When you can swim in the Rock River and there is no more ice. * * * John Stevens: For me, it's all about the smell. * *
Brattleboro-based singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, composer, and performing artist Bethanie Yeakle will play a rare solo show on March 26 at 7 p.m. at Stage 33 Live, 33 Bridge Street. This will be an extended mixed acoustic and electric set; some alone, some with bassist/guitarist Matt Sharff siding, and some with Sharff plus drummer Garth Tichy. There will be no opener, so plan on a timely arrival. Bethanie's powerful and ethereal performances have graced the Falcon Ridge Folk Festival, The Guthrie...
Annual soup fest benefits Historical Society of Windham County NEWFANE - The Historical Society of Windham County's seventh annual Soup Fest and Silent Auction will be held on Sunday, March 26, at the NewBrook Fire Station on Route 30. The event will help raise funds for the Society's West River Railroad Museum and the Windham County Museum. You won't have to ride the “36 Miles of Trouble” to sample homemade soups from Brattleboro to South Londonderry. These restaurants and restaurateurs...
The Landmark Trust USA (LTUSA) invites the community to experience the value of historic preservation - of buildings and cultural heritage - firsthand this April through two free educational events. “Place-based educational programming is an important part of our work. We can't wait to welcome our neighbors to experience the charm of The Sugarhouse for themselves and explore Vermont's cultural heritage with us,” LTUSA Executive Director Susan McMahon said in a news release. On Sat., April 1, from 11 a.m.
On Saturday, March 25, at 7 p.m., the UMass Percussion Ensemble returns to the Brattleboro Museum & Art Center (BMAC) to perform in the Wolf Kahn & Emily Mason Gallery. Admission is free for BMAC members and youth 18 and under, and $5 for all others. Purchase tickets at brattleboromuseum.org, at the door, or call 802-257-0124, ext. 101. The ensemble, made up of graduate and undergraduate percussion students at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst, will play works for a...
Senior Solutions seeks volunteers for their Home Visitor programs, which help older adults age in place with dignity and independence and fit the needs of the older individuals in our community. Some of the programs offered by Senior Solutions include: – Friendly Visitor program connects volunteers of any age with people who will benefit from companionship. They do things with their recipient a friend might do, including having a cup of coffee and chatting, playing cards, going out to lunch,
On Sunday, March 26, from 2:30 to 4:30 p.m., Andy Davis will present a program of his original songs written in his traditional and participatory style at Guilford Community Church, 38 Church Drive. He invites the public to come prepared to both listen and to join in on the choruses. Each song is drawn from local history, American history, personal experience and heartfelt memory. Davis accompanies his songs on accordion and piano and will be joined by his family and...
It was the biggest March snowstorms in Vermont in many years and, after leaving anywhere from a few inches in downtown Brattleboro to a few feet in the higher elevations of Windham County, it took days for life to return to normal. Elevation had a great deal to do with how much snow that Windham County towns received in the nor'easter that hit the area from March 13-15, which left many people without power for days. According to the National...
The Vermont Basketball Coaches Association (VBCA) hosted the annual Senior-All-Star games on March 18 at Champlain Valley Union High School, with three of the four South All-Star teams notching victories. In the Division III-IV girls' game, the South survived a late rally by the North All-Stars for a 53-51 victory. Hannah Greenwood of Leland & Gray and Riley Paul of Green Mountain were on the South team. Paul scored six points. The South also pulled out a close one in...
In 2018, the president at the time was perpetuating stigma and causing fear, blaming mass shootings on people with mental health challenges. At the time, I was a teacher and mental health advocate, and I asked to speak at Putney's March for our Lives rally. I addressed the crowd of 400 Vermonters, speaking about an issue close to my heart. In my talk - “Guns and Mental Illness: It's Not What You Think” - I raised concerns about the extraordinarily...
In the summer of 1905, a young woman might have been spied clambering up and over the many flat terraces along the West River where it joins the Connecticut, in the area known today as the Retreat Meadows. Each terrace represents a former position of the West River; she was working out that history as a test of a new theory on the formation of such terraces. What Elizabeth Florette Fisher was doing was most unusual. Field geologists were few...
First of all, let me say my opinion is based on experience in EMS, albeit years ago. I was a volunteer and full time employee of Rescue Inc. for almost 14 years through the 1970s and early '80s. More importantly, I am a citizen of Brattleboro and have to live with the decisions of our local officials, whether I like them (the decisions) or not. We were informed by town officials that the Fire Department in conjunction with Golden Cross...
Recently, The Commons has published several stories about our community's robust welcoming of refugees and asylum seekers. Thank you! Unfortunately, if the “asylum transit ban” currently proposed by the Biden administration had been in force for the past five years, fewer than a quarter of the asylum seekers currently supported by the Community Asylum Seekers Project (CASP) in southern Vermont today would be here. They would likely be stuck in one of the countries they passed through on their way...
Having been elected recently to serve on the Brattleboro Selectboard, I'd like to update your readers on one of the concerns that led me to run. With regard to emergency medical services in Brattleboro, I asked: What happened in the process of reaching a new agreement, and what have we learned from it? The response to my question has often been that Selectboard members and the town administration can't talk about it because of the separation agreement reached with the...
Three central areas of focus are taking shape as a result of community participation in Our Future Putney, a three-part process of facilitated discussions about the future of the town. Visioning meetings were held in November, December, and January, facilitated by the Vermont Council on Rural Development (VCRD), to engage community members, brainstorm ideas for the future, and identify top priorities for Putney. Three areas for action emerged: revitalizing the downtown, developing a community center, and developing housing solutions. Task...
The Windham Southeast School District's sexual abuse investigation is in process of “moving […] into the next phase,” School Board Chair Kelly Young told participants on March 20. Young did not, however, explain what that means. Or when it might happen. Noting the investigation remains ongoing, Young said attorney Aimee Goddard of Annis & Goddard/Southern Vermont Law, “continues to gather information and interview individuals” and is “in process of moving the investigation into the next phase” and, “at some point,
One of Brattleboro's well-known local bands, The Gaslight Tinkers, returns to the Stone Church on Friday, March 24 to help locals and tourists alike kick off the spring season with a dance party. As described on the venue's website, the group's sound ranges “from traditional old time to heavy folk to finger ripping bluegrass.” The band's lineup includes band members Peter Siegel on guitar, mandolin, and vocals; Garrett Sawyer on bass; I-shea on vocals and percussion; and Joe Fitzpatrick on...