PUTNEY-Oak Meadow, a pioneering distance-learning school and homeschool curriculum provider, is celebrating its 50th Anniversary on Sunday, June 1, from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. at Retreat Farm in Brattleboro.
The community-oriented celebration is open to all and will feature family-friendly activities, guided nature hikes, live music, and reflections on Oak Meadow's journey and global legacy.
Oak Meadow began in 1975 when educator Lawrence Williams sought permission from the California Department of Education to homeschool his children. Told he needed a teaching credential, he instead started a private school rooted in his deep respect for developmental stages, creativity, and hands-on learning.
Fifty years later, Oak Meadow remains a family-owned company that continues as both a private distance-learning school serving more than 400 students worldwide and a provider of secular homeschool curriculum, shipping more than 100,000 items annually to 37 countries.
PUTNEY-Next Stage Arts, 15 Kimball Hill, presents "Art Array," a solo exhibition of work by Vermont-based painter Ricky McEachern, opening with a reception and artist talk on Thursday, May 29, from 6 to 8 p.m. This event is free. A recent transplant from Boston with deep New England roots,
Hands-on magic workshop at Putney Library PUTNEY - Join visiting artist Phina Pipia at Putney Public Library on Thursday, May 22, at 6:30 p.m., for a magic workshop. This workshop is appropriate for ages 6 and up. Pipia will be performing their solo puppet show, Ha Ha Da Vinci,
BRATTLEBORO-Vermont Adult Learning (VAL) is pleased to announce the recent relocation of its Windham County Learning Center to 113 Technology Drive. After five years on Putney Road, this move will allow VAL's Windham County team to expand services and accommodate the growing number of students seeking educational and career advancement opportunities. The new office is conveniently located near Hannaford Supermarket and accessible via the Moover bus line. Key features of the new location are ground-level accessibility and a dedicated computer...
BRATTLEBORO-The Vermont Jazz Center (VJC) and the Latchis Theatre are teaming up to present the world premiere of Soul and Science: The Music of Kenny Werner, a film by Newfane filmmaker Robert Fritz, on Saturday, May 24, at 7:30 p.m. This documentary examines what event organizers called in a news release "the genius and artistry of legendary" jazz pianist and composer, Kenny Werner. Through interviews and filmed performance sequences, the work is an exploration of the 50-year career of a...
BRATTLEBORO-What's the secret ingredient that connects the bass line of the Temptations' "My Girl" to Brazilian choro music? Come to ByWay Books, 399 Canal St., on Wednesday, May 28, from 7 to 8:30 p.m. to celebrate the launch of Rhythm: Pattern in Time by Julian Gerstin to find out. Brattleboro musician and teacher Gerstin "writes with a flair for unpacking musical sound in plain language," organizers wrote in a news release. "Whether you're a practiced musician or an avid listener,
BELLOWS FALLS-Canal Street Art Gallery, 23 Canal St., presents solo shows by Kathleen Kathan and Marianne Shaugnessy. Both exhibitions are open through July 13. Kathan, based in Acworth, New Hampshire, uses oil paint and realism to express the importance to the artist of rural backyard agriculture and wildlife. Kathan's paintings of agricultural life, such as "Three Jerseys Grazing" and "Heifers On Summer Pasture," show the landscape and domesticated animals who live on it. In artworks "In from The Sea" and...
BRATTLEBORO-Families and caregivers of children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) in Windham County have a new resource in SYNC (Supporting Your Neurodiverse Child) - a community-driven initiative hosted by The Root Social Justice Center in collaboration with Early Education Services, Early Childhood Special Education of the Windham Southeast Supervisory Union (WSESU), and the Springfield Area Parent Child Center. SYNC provides connection, education, and much-needed emotional support to families who too often feel isolated while navigating the complexities of raising a...
PUTNEY-This summer, Sandglass Theater, 17 Kimball Hill, presents a series of appearances by artists working in interdisciplinary performance techniques, all of which are somehow related to puppet theater. This series celebrates the crossroads and the connection between puppetry and other art forms, such as clowning, magic, and music. The first performance in the series is Ha Ha da Vinci: Illusion, Music, and Theater by Phina Pipia on Saturday, May 24, at 7 p.m. "A tuba lights the way, beds make...
Windham County Prevention Partnership (WCPP), is offering free digital movie screenings of the acclaimed documentary Screenagers: Elementary Edition. This screening will be available for viewing until May 31. Screenagers is a trilogy of award-winning documentaries created by Dr. Delaney Ruston, a physician, filmmaker, and expert on the effects of technology on youth. This special edition is aimed at parents, educators, and caring adults, specifically those of kindergarten through fifth-grade youth and their families, and provides valuable insights into the challenges...
MARLBORO-Local chef and musician Jesse Lepkoff and harpsichordist John McKean will present a gourmet buffet and candlelit concert at Thrush Hill Stage, 314 Upper Houghton Rd., on Saturday, May 24. The buffet will be served at 5:30 p.m., and the candlelight concert will commence at 7 p.m. Lepkoff is a Culinary Institute of America graduate. The buffet will include hors d'oeuvres and desserts and will be substantial enough to be a whole meal. Menu items will include duck liver pâté,
WILMINGTON-The Windham Philharmonic returns to Wilmington for a concert at St. Mary's in the Mountains, at 13 East Main St., on Saturday, May 24, at 7 p.m. Organizers said that last year's concert at St. Mary's attracted a standing-room-only crowd and was very warmly received. "The audience particularly appreciated the commentary and humor with which Maestro Hugh Keelan introduced each musical work," they said. This year, the Windham Philharmonic in collaboration with Red Door Concerts of Wilmington presents music of...
PUTNEY-The Bandwagon Summer Series launches its 2025 season with an evening of global music featuring Afrofunk ensemble Shokazoba and East African fusion group Zikina on Saturday, May 24, at 6 p.m. at the scenic Putney Inn Field. Shokazoba, an award-winning ensemble born out of a tribute to Fela Kuti, is known for its brass section, lyrics, and grooves. Their self-described "New World Funk" blends Afrobeat, jazz, and funk "to deliver high-energy music that moves bodies and minds alike," said organizers...
BRATTLEBORO-Center for Solace, formerly known as Brattleboro Area Hospice, has created new support groups specifically for caregivers of individuals with dementia. These groups aim to provide much-needed support and fellowship for those caring for loved ones affected by this challenging condition. "Caring for someone with dementia is often a demanding experience, which can lead to feelings of isolation and stress," organizers said in a news release. "Center for Solace support groups offer a nurturing environment where caregivers can share their...
Obituaries • Edna (Tracy) Bemis, 93, of Jacksonville. Died peacefully at her home on May 9, 2025. Edna was born at home on Boyd Hill Road in Wilmington on Sept. 15, 1931, to Edgar and Ruby (Green) Tracy. Edna walked cross-lots to the Dix Schoolhouse with her brothers, who would escort her through the pasture and past the cattle she dreaded. Her family moved to Shearer Hill Road and she went to Wilmington Central School for a short while before...
BRATTLEBORO-Vermont ensemble Cameo Baroque will offer a benefit concert at Centre Congregational Church, 193 Main St., on Friday, May 23, at 7 p.m. Cameo Baroque is dedicated to performing some lesser-known masterworks of the Baroque era on period instruments. Beth Hilgartner (recorders and voice), Laurie Rabut (viola da gamba), Leslie Stroud (flauto traverso) and Ernie Drown (harpsichord) will present Handel and His Rivals, featuring instrumental and vocal works by Handel, Giovanni Battista Bononcini, Thomas Augustine Arne, John Frederick Lampe, and...
GUILFORD-The Brattleboro Union High School Jazz Band will perform in a free outdoor concert hosted by the Christ Church Guilford Society on the lawn of Christ Church, Route 5 in Algiers Village, on Thursday, May 29, at 6 p.m. Concertgoers are invited to bring a blanket or chair to listen to the music under the direction of Alex Brady. Light refreshments will be served. The Christ Church Guilford Society Inc., is a federally recognized 501(c)(3) nonprofit. Its all-volunteer board is...
SOUTH NEWFANE-The South Newfane Community Association (SNCA) hosts Williamsville-based music duo Bard Owl for a concert and raptor food drive to benefit Fred Homer's raptor rescue work on Saturday, May 24, at 5 p.m. at the historic South Newfane Schoolhouse, 387 Dover Rd. "Our neighbor, Fred Homer of Williamsville, has been certified to rescue raptors for 40 years - rehabbing hawks with broken wings, feeding fledglings separated from their flocks, and caring for a beautiful blind-in-one-eye barred owl named Stella,"
BRATTLEBORO-On Friday, May 23, and Saturday, May 24, spectators can step right up and meet the rising stars of circus at the New England Center for Circus Arts (NECCA). NECCA's ProTrack is a full-time, three-year professional circus program designed to create circus performers ready for the world stage. The ProTrack Year 2 students will debut in a dynamic performance featuring solo acts, group pieces, and collaborations. "This show celebrates their hard work, passion, and growth as they take their first...
BRATTLEBORO-• Franklin Chrisco of Brattleboro, co-owner of True North Granola, is a vendor: "We've been a part of BAFM for 18 years. The community is the main thing that works. All these folks are independent. They are creative and thoughtful and care about each other. Our market is a juried market so the quality is high. It's a lab for us. We started with one product and now we have 20. Our first product, Go Nuts, with almonds, pecans, pistachios,
BRATTLEBORO-David Hogg (of Parkland, Florida fame) has been making waves as vice chair of the National Democratic Party. Like many of us, he's noticed that his party has long underperformed relative to the popularity of its purported positions. One might have expected Dems to have indulged in some serious soul searching long before this moment of crisis. Unfortunately, the powers that have kept our Congress in check for most of my lifetime, making sure that issues relating human and environmental...
BRATTLEBORO-An open letter to the Brattleboro town manager: "Pride goeth before the fall." -Proverbs 16:18. The real elephant in the room when discussing the Brattleboro FY26 budget is emergency medical services. The decision in 2023 to terminate the services of Rescue Inc. was financially disastrous and continues to be. Rescue has again this year given the town administration and Selectboard a letter outlining what it would cost the town to use its services. The town has refused to release the...
-It's never easy for a team to win back-to-back championships. For the Brattleboro Unified basketball team, following up last year's state title with another championship was going to be tough. As head coach Tyler Boone pointed out when the season began, every team was going to be coming at the Bears with their best effort to beat the champ. The Bears made it through the regular season undefeated and had no problem defeating Twin Valley, 73-43, in the first round...
BRATTLEBORO-Rite Aid expects to close or sell off all five of its Vermont locations, including one on Canal Street, as the struggling national pharmacy chain goes through bankruptcy proceedings. In court filings, the company has said it plans to wind down operations at the more than 1,200 drugstores it operates nationwide in the coming months. Other locations include Bethel, Randolph, Springfield, and Windsor. According to court documents, Rite Aid is actively trying to auction off rather than immediately shutter many...
BRATTLEBORO-Gutting the arts is unquestionably the wrong way to stimulate the economy. According to the website of the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA), in 2024 "Arts and Cultural Industries Grew at Twice the Rate of the U.S. Economy, Adding $1.2 Trillion." So when the Trump administration announced its desire to close the NEA as well as the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) and then started to cut funding and pull grants, its actions plunged a cold knife directly...
BOSTON, MASS.-Nancy Braus reminded me again of a moment I have never forgotten. I was in my first semester in graduate school at Brandeis University participating in a small, impromptu discussion including the dean, a couple faculty members, and approximately 10 students, all of us with a deep commitment to social justice. The dean again asserted the message that was being repeated often to all of us green social justice warriors: "We are not training activists, we are training future...
BRATTLEBORO-I have been watching the hearings on school transformation and funding in the Legislature (H.454) since January, and I recognize and appreciate Rep. Emilie Kornheiser's efforts to make sure as much reality and detail as possible would be considered. I also applaud the work she has done to assure that the public dollars spent on increasing access to housing most benefit the people who need the housing. The goal of the work on schools and funding has been to stabilize...
BRATTLEBORO-Danielle Miller expresses her gratitude that "the grownups are back in power" and that Democrats are angry. The Trump administration's guiding and stated principles are revenge and retribution. I see nothing mature there. Nothing Mr. Trump did in his first four years and in this current administration is life-affirming or even progress. Please tell us what has his administration accomplished other than chaos, destruction, grift, or suffering on an untold scale? Kevin O'Keefe Brattleboro This letter to the editor was...
BRATTLEBORO-Under a gigantic maple tree at the site of an old mink farm along the banks of Whetstone Brook, delegates from the Vermont Legislature representing Brattleboro gathered to present a resolution congratulating the Brattleboro Area Farmers' Market (BAFM) on its 50th anniversary on Saturday. Sens. Wendy Harrison and Nader Hashim and Reps. Mollie Burke and Emilie Kornheiser were on hand for the festivities and commemoration of BAFM hitting its half-century milestone in 2024. They all co-sponsored the resolution, along with...
BRATTLEBORO-When I first heard of the horrific terrorist attacks on the music festival and peaceful bridge-building kibbutz communities on the Israel-Gaza border on Oct. 7, 2023, my gut reaction was the same as Malcolm X's upon learning of the assassination of John F. Kennedy: "The chickens have come home to roost." Malcolm X meant that the consequences of actions, especially harmful ones, eventually come back to haunt the perpetrator. Specifically, he was suggesting that violence and oppression inflicted by the...
BRATTLEBORO-The current state-sponsored denial of all food, water, medical supplies, and humanitarian assistance to the people of Gaza is not a "war." Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is attempting to force the will of his government on the Palestinian people through suffering and starvation. This is a brutal tactic used throughout history, and it is why we have the Geneva Conventions. Netanyahu's policies are hugely divisive and widely condemned in his own country. And yet these policies continue for his...
BRATTLEBORO-I am deeply disturbed by this letter by a group of local Jews who call themselves The Shalom Alliance. "We know that many people in our community are passionate about political issues, including those related to Israel and Palestine," they write. "The local Jewish community asks that, especially in this moment, we all take extra care to express political views without unintentionally fueling antisemitism or being insensitive to Jewish neighbors." As a confirmed non-believer, born to very non-believing, Jewish parents,
BRATTLEBORO-I wish so much I had a photo or recording of what I and a few young people walking behind me witnessed on the evening of May 7 at approximately 8 p.m. a few blocks from where we had just exited a talk on nonviolence at the Brooks Memorial Library. As I was at the front of the small group, assuming the larger audience had lagged behind, I was shocked to see a young white woman, light blond hair, on...
BRATTLEBORO-Six months after the Selectboard put the brakes on free Sunday parking, plans are in motion to bring it back and to make other changes within the new parking system, which could result in "a better process for tourists, residents, and people coming downtown to shop," according to Highway and Maintenance Superintendent Darren Pacheco. The board met May 6 with Pacheco and Assistant Police Chief Jeremy Evans, whose department is now overseeing the parking system, to hear how things have...
BRATTLEBORO-The budget passed by the Brattleboro Selectboard that will be voted on at Representative Town Meeting on Tuesday, May 27 includes reducing the position of the sustainability coordinator from full-time to part-time (25 hours per week without benefits), which is projected to save the town about $37,000. As a member of the town's Energy Committee who works with the sustainability coordinator, I believe this very shortsighted decision will end up not saving the town money after all and instead make...
The writer is the retired chairman of the Wantastiquet-Monadnock Trail Coalition. CHESTERFIELD, N.H.-Although Jason Cooper made a great case for the importance of the island connected by the two bridges connecting Brattleboro and Hinsdale, the scope of its potential is even greater than he described. The Wantastiquet-Monadnock Trail, connecting Mt. Monadnock with the island, greatly expands the potential scope of the project of bridge development. In addition to the island as a location for a boat ramp to bring folks...
MARLBORO-On the morning of the first Saturday in May, dancers came together off a main road in the quiet Vermont town of Marlboro. The dancers of all genders and ages were clad in bright red and white. Some outfits involved vests, while others featured suspenders. As more dancers arrived, the sound of jingling - bells on the dancers' shins - grew fuller. "I would grab a seat while the grabbing is good, unless you want to sit on a log,"
BRATTLEBORO-Director Shannon Ward sits with me in the lobby of the New England Youth Theatre (NEYT) within walls covered in documents of its 25-year past. Photos, posters, ephemera: It's eye candy for a theater lover. As junior company members bounce through the front doors, Ward adeptly fields my questions and myriad others from enthused young actors in The Hobbit, opening at NEYT on Friday, May 30. Assisted by Rebecca Waxman, Ward brings the well-loved Hobbit to life as the "unlikeliest...
WHITINGHAM-The federal government has ended a settlement - which was intended to address and prevent future cases of racial harassment at Twin Valley School District - just over a year early, according to a recent letter the U.S. Department of Justice sent to the supervisory union. The department pointed to the school district's compliance with the settlement terms by improving policies and practices. But a leader of the Vermont Human Rights Commission expressed concerns about the decision's potential connection to...