Seven Days, February 8, 2023

ENERGY EFFICIENCY & DESIGN

True to its name, the Innovation Center of Vermont is a leader in energy efficiency. Energy Star has recognized its superior energy performance, naming it one of the most efficient buildings in the nation. Its exceptional use of geothermal energy and stateof-the-art technology allow for significant savings for its tenants. The Property is one of only three Energy Star certified office buildings in Burlington, VT. The Property earned a 98 (out of 100) Energy Star score in 2022 and has continued to achieve top ratings since 2009. Energy efficient features and building components are further detailed below:

• 220-kilowatt rooftop solar array, which allows employees who work in the building to credit the system’s output against their home electric bills.

Electric vehicle charging stations –Recently upgraded to allow for 17 additional charging stations. Thermal pane windows and energyefficient lighting operated by a Johnson Controls energy management system which controls lights with motion detectors and computer switches - All light switches have motion control shut-off switches.

• On-site geothermal well for “energy free” cooling year-round.

• Direct Digital Control (DDC) of air conditioners, lighting, compressors, and fan motors

• Ultra-efficient boilers for natural gas heat

• Complex computer sensing of temperature requirements based on outside air and humidity, eliminating temperature variations in individualized zones.

HEATING

In addition to the geothermal capability provided by the well, there are two steam boilers that provide heat in colder winter months. The boiler operates by natural gas with a backup provision for heating oil switchover, whichever is cheaper. There is an aboveground 2,000-gallon heating oil storage tank.

BACKUP GENERATOR & UPS

The Property features a 250 KW backup generator for uninterrupted connectivity with a UPS System. The system feeds 4 separate automatic transfer switches (ATS) in the building to provide backup power to life safety systems, phone switches, equipment, and air conditioning.

WELL

The site has a 300-foot, 8-inch geothermal well with capabilities of delivering 300 gallons per minute of 53 degree well water year-round. A second well head is capped but available to deliver additional geothermal capacity. A State NPDES discharge permit allows this water to be discharged into Lake Champlain via a storm water culvert 500 feet offshore.

ELECTRICITY

Electricity is provide d by Burlington Electric primary power feed to a 13.8KV transformer on site (owned by Burlington Electric). The feed is on an “automatic switch” at Burlington Electric with feeds from 2 grids/substations. Green Mountain Power (GMP) has an easement on site with a 40KV transmission line in

WEEK IN REVIEW

FEBRUARY 1-8, 2023

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COMPILED BY SASHA GOLDSTEIN & MATTHEW ROY

HOME AT LAST

The first residents of the Elmwood Avenue shelter pods will move in this week, Burlington city officials said on Monday.

They spoke in the shelter’s community center, located in the former parking lot at 51 Elmwood Avenue that has been remade into a fenced-off pod community. Workers applied finishing touches during a press conference.

All 35 residents will be living there by the end of the month, Mayor Miro Weinberger said. They will have a staggered orientation, with no more than five people moving in within a 48-hour period.

The Old North End facility — which is a low-barrier shelter, meaning there is no sobriety requirement — is part of Weinberger’s 10-point plan to ramp up housing production and end chronic homelessness by the end of 2024. The state’s homeless population has increased by 150 percent in the past two years.

Eighty people applied for one of the 35 beds. Applicants were accepted on a first-come, first-served basis, assuming they had no history of violence.

The pod community features 25 single units, ranging in size from 60 to 120 square feet, and five units that can accommodate two residents upon request. The modest prefabricated pods have one or two single beds, a mini fridge, heat, air conditioning and electricity. Residents will

share bathroom facilities and a central community space where meals are served.

The shelter is enacting a strict no-visitors rule. “We’re eager to welcome guests and provide them with a place that is safe and secure,” said Michael Monte, chief executive officer of the Champlain Housing Trust, which is overseeing daily operations at the site. “That’s the key motto for this particular community.”

Monte envisions most residents finding more permanent housing solutions within six to eight months of moving into a pod. To make that vision a reality, the city has employed five full-time staff members, including a liaison for community support. There are also two fulltime case managers to help residents navigate housing applications and a Parks, Recreation & Waterfront Department employee for facility maintenance. The private security company Chocolate Thunder will provide overnight security.

The facility was supposed to open last July, but plans were delayed when the city couldn’t find a partner to manage the project. A new start date was set for November, but construction issues further delayed the opening.

Read Rachel Hellman’s full story and keep up with developments at sevendaysvt.com.

HUNTER’S LUCK

Landis Menard’s social media pages are filled with images of his hunting and fishing conquests: seven-point bucks, turkeys and trout.

But his latest trophy can fit in his wallet. The Fairfield resident is the 2022 winner of the Vermont Fish & Wildlife Department’s lifetime hunting and fishing license lottery. That means the 25-yearold Vermonter won’t have to pay for the privilege anymore.

“My friends think I have a horseshoe hidden somewhere,” he joked.

Vermonters can pay $2 to enter the license lottery as many times as they

WATER WOES

The cold weather last weekend froze pipes around the region, including at the University of Vermont Medical Center. Plumbers, rejoice.

QUEEN OF CASH

U.S. Rep. Becca Balint (D-Vt.) was named to the House Budget Committee. Better sharpen that pencil…

FRAUD FIGHT

Imprisoned former Jay Peak Resort president Bill Stenger claimed that former governor Peter Shumlin helped cover up the EB-5 scandal, VTDigger.org reported. Shumlin denies it.

HARD TO GET

Vermont Attorney General Charity Clark released a top 10 list of scams reported to the state in 2022. No romance scams made the list this time…

That was, in degrees Fahrenheit, the temperature swing in Burlington from Saturday’s low of minus 15 to Sunday’s high of 39.

TOPFIVE

MOST POPULAR ITEMS ON SEVENDAYSVT.COM

1. “Alburgh Man Dies After Brawl at Middle School Basketball Game” by Alison Novak. Russell Giroux, 60, died after being involved in a fracas during a school basketball game.

2. “Burlington’s Amtrak Train Service Is Off to a Strong Start” by Anne Wallace Allen. Riders have embraced the Ethan Allen Express, which makes daily trips to New York City.

3. “Peter Edelmann Is Transforming an Essex Mall Into a Town Center and Vermont ‘Experience’” by Ken Picard. Arts, entertainment and dining are reinvigorating a shopping center.

4. “Burlington Landmark Henry’s Diner For Sale” by Melissa Pasanen. The diner, which opened on Bank Street in 1925, was listed at $275,000.

5. “Burlington Police Chief in Spotlight After Revelation of Private Patrols” by Courtney Lamdin & Kori Skillman. City councilors are questioning why the acting chief allowed offduty officers to moonlight at a condo complex amid a department staffing crisis.

tweet of the week

want. Menard said he gave it a shot after “just barely” noticing the lottery option at the bottom of his annual hunting permit application. He entered nine times; one of his tickets was pulled from among 18,782 entries, which raised about $37,500 for Fish & Wildlife.

Menard described himself as an avid outdoorsman. He shot his first deer when he was just 7 years old, and he mostly eats meat and fish that he’s caught himself.

Menard still lives and works on his family’s organic dairy farm in Fairfield, which he plans to take over one day. He does a lot of his hunting right on the farm, where his family also has a maple syrup operation.

While he enjoys the solitude of being

@NWSBurlington

Here’s a look at a pretty impressive steam devil on Lake Champlain captured by one of our meteorologists.

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alone in the woods, he said, he especially appreciates afternoons spent hunting with his father, brother or cousins. His favorite prey? White-tailed deer.

Menard typically spends $47 for his combined hunting and fishing license and an additional $170 for permits that allow him to carry an archer’s bow and hunt waterfowl. Those extra permits aren’t covered by the lifetime award, but if Menard lives a long and healthy life, he’ll save thousands of dollars on licensing fees.

Menard has no plans to leave Vermont, and his lottery win only cemented that resolution. As he put it, “I’ll be hunting forever.”

RACHEL HELLMAN

Landis Menard

RACHEL HELLMAN

Shelter pods in Burlington

SOMETHING OLD, SOMETHING NEW.

publisher & editor-in-chief Paula Routly

deputy publisher Cathy Resmer

AssociAte publishers Don Eggert, Colby Roberts

NEWS & POLITICS

editor Matthew Roy

deputy editor Sasha Goldstein

consulting editors Ken Ellingwood, Candace Page

stAff writers Derek Brouwer, Colin Flanders, Rachel Hellman, Courtney Lamdin, Kevin McCallum, Alison Novak, Anne Wallace Allen

ARTS & CULTURE

coeditors Dan Bolles, Carolyn Fox

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DESIGN

creAtive director Don Eggert

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SALES & MARKETING

director of sAles Colby Roberts

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ADMINISTRATION

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CONTRIBUTING WRITERS

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CONTRIBUTING ARTISTS

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FOUNDERS

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CHURCH ‘CLAPTRAP’

[Re “Burlington Allows Parish to Demolish Historic Cathedral,” January 11, online]:

In response to the idea that one possible repurposing of the cathedral building — in lieu of demolishing an architecturally and culturally important piece of Burlington’s history — could be its use as a theater, this was Monsignor Peter Routhier’s response:

“The plays that could be put on, the things that would be said would be so abhorrent to Catholic faith and tradition that it would be appalling. You just cannot have sordid events taking place where the celebration of the Eucharist was so central to that community.”

PROBLEMATIC PESTICIDES

[Re “Lawmakers Approve New Pesticide Rules for Vermont,” January 19]: While a few changes have been made to meet the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s requirements, the regulations do little to protect human health, other species or water quality. There is no mention of the relationship of pesticides to climate chaos, no provision for citizen appeal of pesticide permits, no language calling for pesticide reduction (part of Vermont statute since 1970 but repealed in 2021).

The regulations make no mention of pesticide contamination by per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS, or “forever toxins”), either by leaching from containers or by deliberate addition as unidentified ingredients by manufacturers to enhance efficacy of the pesticide. Only principal ingredients of a pesticide are identified on the label. The other ingredients may also be toxic but are considered by law to be “confidential business information.” Such laws protect chemical corporations but unjustly endanger us all.

Enter U.S. Sen. Cory Booker (D-N.J.) and Senate Bill S.3283, Protect America’s Children From Toxic Pesticides Act. Now in the Senate Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry Committee, that bill requires identification of all ingredients in a pesticide product.

What sanctimonious claptrap! For generations, Catholic clergy abused little boys and girls in so-called sacred spaces where the Eucharist was routinely celebrated, the sort of sordid and abhorrent behavior that has gotten the Catholic hierarchy into the fix they now find themselves, forced to close up community parish churches across the nation and sell off properties to keep litigants in multimillion-dollar lawsuits at bay. They have made business decisions — pure and simple — very much like those decisions Sears and Krispy Kreme made in shutting down underperforming franchises during their various fiscal crises.

Yet now Monsignor Routhier seems, genuinely or not, shocked at the idea of The Vagina Monologues — or, God forbid, Cats — being performed in a former cathedral converted to a playhouse. He has no shame, and that the whole room didn’t erupt into laughter when he did his best U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) impersonation and let this out is amazing to us. Perhaps irony is indeed no longer a thing.

Robert S. Devino & Pauline J. Kehoe BURLINGTON

U.S. Sen. Peter Welch (D-Vt.) now sits on the Senate Agriculture Committee. Please urge him to cosponsor and support this bill: 202-224-4242 or 800-642-3193.

Sylvia Knight BURLINGTON

Knight is a member of the VT Pesticide and Poison Action Network.

MULLIGAN, PLEASE

[Re “Amid a Housing Crises, Some Eye Golf Courses for Development,” January 25]: I am absolutely appalled that a state representative would be so cold as to put the desire for protecting golf courses over the needs of the state’s unhoused population. This is not what Vermont residents are about.

According to the Vermont Biz website, between 2012 and 2022, the homeless population increased from 1,160 to 2,780. This does not include offenders who have served their incarceration sentence minimums and are being held in prison for lack of housing.

Rep. Woodman Page (R-Newport) is blind to the needs of the state and its residents. Saving golf courses as green spaces for people to enjoy while walking past the homeless camped out there because they don’t have a roof over their head or any other place to go is not a proper use of the land.

I will concede that we do need to save some areas as green spaces, and maybe a compromise can be made to provide both green spaces and housing in the same locations. This would be fantastic, and it’s possible. Don’t approve H.15, which is now in committee in Montpelier and would only deter helping the unhoused and reformed offenders waiting for a place to call home.

Scott A. Lowe WINOOSKI

DESPAIR OVER DISREPAIR

[Re “From the Publisher: ‘Wellness’ Check: Burlington,” January 18]: I feel sad about the state of the YMCA building, too. Like a small number at the Y, I belonged to the group of folks who did not want to get a new building or, previous to that, move to the lakefront.

I worked in the reception area of the Y doing a variety of jobs for more than 20 years, including the laundry and seeking out the baskets for members, for which I do remember the extreme enthusiasm!

Even without any of the nostalgia attached to having spent time at the Y, I feel it should be of concern to those of us in town that it is an eyesore and that neglected buildings can become an attractive nuisance to vandals and a cause for possible accidents. It brings a sad pause to see the place now.

Susan Jenal BURLINGTON

BLAME US

In his December 28 cartoon, Tim Newcomb invokes biospheric collapse and proceeds to blame human population for the trauma our Earth is experiencing. I groaned when I read this, because it blames the victim.

Biospheric collapse is the result of poisons (CO2) being pumped into the atmosphere, mining, fossil carbon operations, logging, and the continued expansion of farm and orchard lands, destroying

CORRECTION

Last week’s story “Winner’s Row” misstated the value of the global market for rowing machines in 2021. It was $1.47 billion that year.

Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception

JOHN PHELAN/CREATIVE COMMONS

or replacing complex ecosystems with simple ones, and collapsing biodiversity. The stuff of which our stuff is made, and the energy by which it is made, is taken from these collapsing ecosystems to bring comfort to only the richest one-eighth of the world’s population.

But resting one-half of all consumption on one-eighth of the world’s population isn’t a population problem. It’s a consumption problem. Supposing that the economy must grow, supposing we can heap waste and abuse on nature without consequence, and supposing that nature is just a bundle of resources is the problem.

The biosphere is collapsing because we are destroying it on the altar of prosperity. The crowded masses now clamoring for first-world living standards didn’t create these problems.

Colonizers and imperialists from Europe, spreading across the globe in pursuit of wealth, and, today, “development” professionals preaching neoliberal dogma created the problem. Political leaders and our media preaching the gospel of growth and consumption, and our hunger for wealth, perpetuate the problem.

So we are to blame. Not population. Us. Consumers. Voters who won’t let their leaders lead us to low-consumption lives.

Stephen Marshall BURLINGTON

ATTITUDE ADJUSTMENT

[Re Feedback: “Second-Home Opinion,” December 28]: In response to Robert Perry’s concerns that those poor,

destitute second-home owners are being terribly put upon by paying for “Vermont education yet do not send their children to Vermont schools,” I say boo-hoo. Vermonters could afford to educate their kids if people like second-home owners, land speculators and their ilk didn’t parlay their wealth into an extra layer to their nest egg, making the people who live and work here scramble to pay inflated rents, property taxes and other general costs of living.

Nothing makes my heart ache more than seeing my fellow residents who have lived here for generations be led to think they have to kiss the feet of those “who drive the local economy” — i.e., some ungrateful SOBs who think they pay too much in taxes yet “get little in return.” Pity’s sake. Vermonters pay those same taxes when they eat out, visit stores and shops, and — God forbid! — ski those same slopes and tour the autumn splendor (if they can afford it). Vermonters literally drive the economy here most of the year.

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TAKE A VOW

Say “I do” to the Love & Marriage Issue

If you planned to get married in summer 2020, you probably either postponed your nuptials or said your vows before God and family on Zoom. Although the initial COVID-19 vaccine rollout created more favorable conditions for the following year, it wasn’t much better, wedding-wise. To host a wedding in summer 2021 was essentially to invite your closest friends and family to a super-spreader event. But at least they got to do the Electric Slide along with their PCR tests.

The wedding-industrial complex saw a rebound in 2022. But the backlog of anxious couples who’d been waiting two years to tie the knot made booking a venue, caterer or wedding band about as cutthroat as the bridesmaids’ battle to catch the bouquet.

Love LoveMarriage

couple. The Farringtons are one of four pairs of HIGH SCHOOL SWEETHEARTS who spoke with Sally Pollak about their lasting relationships (page 28).

While the pandemic bottleneck has begun to ease, anecdotal projections suggest that the 2023 wedding season will again be exceptionally busy. A wedding photographer friend recently told me that not only is he fielding more inquiries than usual, he’s also being booked for weddings on nontraditional days — Thursdays and Sundays, in particular.

It all adds up to more weddings to attend. That’s certainly the case for Seven Days events and ticketing manager Katie Hodges. By the end of this year, she will have attended 24 of the 27 weddings she’s been invited to since 2019 — and that doesn’t include her own, scheduled for this summer. In an essay, the self-described “semiprofessional wedding attendee” offers her list of “I DO’S” AND “I DON’TS” for nervous wedding guests (page 34).

Emily Howe and John O’Brien didn’t look far for a place to get married. They held their 2015 wedding on their Tunbridge sheep farm, and guests enjoyed the site so much that they encouraged the couple to rent it to others. LANDGOES FARM has become a popular — and affordable — barnchic wedding venue (page 32).

Weddings haven’t always been lavish affairs. When Diane and Frank Farrington got married in Randolph in 1953, four people attended the ceremony — including the

One key to a good relationship: good sex. At EARTH + SALT in Burlington (page 36), the pursuit of orgasm is the top priority. The shop’s curated array of products embraces sex-positive pleasure seekers of any gender identity, sexual orientation or kink proclivity who are at least age 18, and its owner emphasizes the value of openness and communication.

Looking for a sweeter Valentine’s Day gift than sex toys? Try the confections at DAILY CHOCOLATE in Vergennes. After 17 years in the Little City, the chocolatier is about to move to a bigger storefront right upstairs from its original location (page 42).

While you’re there, maybe you could pick up a box of chocolates for Lisa Fennimore and Nate Wright, the couple who co-own MARBLE VALLEY KITCHEN in Rutland. They’ve never sat down to a romantic Valentine’s Day dinner because they’re always busy working together on the big day — and they couldn’t be happier about that (page 44).

Fennimore and Wright, who are both chefs, are likely to get a kick out of MORGAN ENGLISH’S POEM “Never Give Your Love a Knife, Because” (page 39). We think you will, too.

NEWS+POLITICS 13

From the Deputy Publisher

Skip the VEGIs? Lawmakers question the

STUCK IN VERMONT

Online Thursday

FEATURES 28

Sweethearts Still

Four couples who got together in high school share their stories

Landgoes Is for Lovers

A Tunbridge sheep farm-turnedwedding venue blends the rustic with the elegant

For

42

Eva goes on an after-dark adventure, ice fishing for smelt on a frozen lake in Plymouth with Shawn Good, a fish biologist from Vermont Fish & Wildlife; Zachary McNaughton, who publishes educational fishing videos on YouTube; and McNaughton’s 6-year-old son, Fisher.

SUPPORTED BY:

MAGNIFICENT

THURSDAY 9-SUNDAY 12

Cruel and Unusual

Adirondack Regional eatre gives a classic play a gender-neutral update with 12 Angry Jurors at the Strand Center for the Arts in Plattsburgh, N.Y. Taking place entirely in one deliberation room, the drama follows the members of a jury as their seemingly open-and-shut case is complicated when questions arise and biases surface.

SEE CALENDAR LISTING ON PAGE 68

SATURDAY 11

String It On

Argentinean rising star Cecilia Zabala brings her signature blend of conservatory-trained guitar picking and global jazz- and folk-inspired musicality to Putney’s Next Stage Arts Project. She is joined onstage by Vermont cellist Eugene Friesen for a program that’s magically mesmerizing from start to finish.

SEE CALENDAR LISTING ON PAGE 69

SATURDAY 11

Burlington’s Hottest Club Is...

Hot Butter! In celebration of Valentine’s Day and in defiance of nationwide attacks on LGBTQ rights and spaces, Burlington’s Flynn Space transforms for one night only into a queer nightclub. Guests see the black box theater become a vibrant hangout spot and get funky on the dance floor to classic bops from DJ Craig Mitchell.

SEE CALENDAR LISTING ON PAGE 69

WEDNESDAY 15

FREE VERSE

Poet, Hampshire College assistant professor and Massachusetts Review editor Nathan McClain stops by the Vermont Studio Center in Johnson for a reading. McClain, author of the collections Scale and Previously Owned, writes in straightforward, insightful verse about family, racism, history and grief.

SEE CALENDAR LISTING ON PAGE 71

TUESDAY 14

Live, Laugh, Love

Valentine’s Day gets the Green Mountain State treatment at a screening of Vermont Is for Lovers at Catamount Arts Center in St. Johnsbury. is 1992 cult classic docudrama, shot on location in Tunbridge, follows a flatlander couple whose cold feet throw their wedding into chaos. Prosecco is available for purchase.

SEE CALENDAR LISTING ON PAGE 70

SATURDAY 11 & SUNDAY 12

Ski You ere

Skiers, music lovers and their canine friends are all invited to the return of Subaru WinterFest at Killington Resort. is free weekend event sees the slopes packed with tasty snacks, hot beverages, and live music from the Infamous Stringdusters and the Tenderbellies. Subaru owners get VIP gifts and other surprises.

SEE CALENDAR LISTING ON PAGE 68

ONGOING I Gotta Feeling

Whether you’re feeling the love this Valentine’s Day or embracing the angst, there will be something to relate to and enjoy at “All the Feels” at Burlington’s S.P.A.C.E. Gallery. is group show by local artists features works united by the strong emotion they exude, whether that be joy, humor or existential despair.

SEE GALLERY LISTING ON PAGE 54

Talk of the Town

Does the former Greater Burlington YMCA building on College Street, now covered in gra ti, look like a crime scene? Paula Routly likened it to one in her “From the Publisher” column on January 18.

“Once a symbol of a healthy community,” she wrote, “the building is now a glaring illustration of what ails Burlington.”

Judging by the overwhelming response the piece generated on Facebook, people have strong feelings about the former Y, though they’re split on what, if anything, it says about the state of the city.

According to Facebook, nearly 20,000 people “engaged” with Routly’s column there, by reading, liking, sharing or commenting on it. The only Seven Days piece that’s generated a bigger reaction on social media this year was a story about a car with a Vermont license plate that reads: “UNVAXXD.”

The Facebook post about Routly’s column has drawn nearly 700 comments. They’re mostly what you’d expect — people sounding o about crime; picking fights with each other; or blaming the mayor, Progressive city councilors or the building’s out-of-state owner. There are a few surprises, though. For starters, a number of commenters say they approve of the old Y’s new look.

“I love the gra ti,” wrote one. “I hope it stays, it’s colorful and interesting.”

“The gra ti on brick looks really cool,” wrote another. “If it’s not covering up an existing mural or signage, what’s the harm?”

Really? None of the emails or letters to the editor we received in response to the piece made this point. Maybe the Facebook post reached a di erent audience?

One woman was shocked to read Routly’s take in Seven Days, a newspaper she describes as “too liberal for my liking.” “I was relieved that someone at the helm of this paper, in particular, that rubs me the wrong way in practically every article, called out the crime called gra ti, the continuing negative consequences of homelessness and the overall [blight] that has taken over.”

More shocking, to me, are the moments of genuine human connection that sometimes happen in large, polarized comment threads like this one. A woman noted that her father ran the snack bar at the Y from 1955 to 1975. Someone replied: “When [someone] asks the question ‘What food brings you back to your youth’ I always answer the hot dog and cold chocolate milk from the YMCA.” He’d stopped there on his walks home from school in the ’60s.

The daughter of the snack bar guy responded, “So meaningful to hear this. Thank you.” She was touched. Aren’t we all?

Several commenters pointed out that the best symbol of what ails the city is the gaping hole in the center of downtown where the Burlington Town Center mall used to be. Indeed, “the Pit” is much larger and more prominent than the old Y.

It’s also finally seeing some action: The new, local owners were able to restart construction on the $200 million CityPlace Burlington project in November.

We can only hope the new owners of the former Y will soon make similar progress. That’s something we can all agree on.

Cathy Resmer

Publisher Paula Routly’s column will return next week.

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“I love the graffiti.”

“I was relieved that someone called out ... the overall [blight] that has taken over.”

Skip the VEGIs?

Lawmakers question the value of job-creating subsidies in a time of low unemployment

BY KEVIN MCCALLUM • kevin@sevendaysvt.com

South Burlington battery technology startup Resonant Link has shown an impressive capacity for raising cash to fuel its growth. The firm, founded by Dartmouth College grads in 2017, got an initial infusion from FreshTracks, a venture capital firm in Shelburne. Then, early last year, it raised $9.3 million from the Engine, a fund connected to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

The money has allowed the young company, which specializes in wireless battery chargers, to go on a hiring spree, nearly tripling in size last year from 18 to 45 people.

Another secret to its success: Vermont taxpayers. Resonant Link is the latest employer to tap into a state economic development program designed to reward companies for creating good jobs. Officials

at the Vermont Employment Growth Incentive program agreed last year to pay Resonant Link $941,000 over the next seven years if it creates and fills 30 new jobs.

“The VEGI program has been a big incentive to focus our hiring in Vermont,” said Grayson Zulauf, CEO and cofounder of Resonant Link, which employs people in other states, as well.

In light of Vermont’s low 2.6 percent unemployment rate, however, some lawmakers question whether the state should be urging companies to expand when many can’t fill the job openings they already have.

“Maybe this isn’t actually the right time for a program like this to be operating,” Rep. Emilie Kornheiser (D-Brattleboro) told colleagues last week.

Since it began in 2007, VEGI has spurred $1.1 billion in capital investments and created 8,812 new jobs that have generated $515 million in payroll, according to the program’s annual report.

The 48 beneficiaries have included some of the state’s marquee firms, including Dealer.com, Seventh Generation, Beta Technologies and Lawson’s Finest Liquids.

To achieve this economic growth, the state paid companies a total of $34 million. That’s a phenomenal return on investment, said Frank Cioffi, president of the Greater Burlington Industrial Corporation, a regional economic development

Pesticide-Tainted Cannabis Pulled From Shelves of Five Stores

BY SASHA GOLDSTEIN sasha@sevendaysvt.com

Vermont regulators have pulled several strains of cannabis flower off the shelves of five stores after the products tested positive for a banned pesticide.

The Vermont Cannabis Control Board first learned of the bad batch earlier this month, when a consumer complained of headaches and nausea after smoking weed grown by Holland Cannabis. Testing of the product turned up myclobutanil, the active ingredient found in Eagle 20EW fungicide, a legal product that is banned from use on cannabis in Vermont.

The fungicide is commonly used by growers in the illicit market, according to Cannabis Control Board chair James Pepper. Five different Holland Cannabis strains tested positive for myclobutanil, Pepper said.

The grower could lose his license and face fines.

“We’re in the midst of an investigation and getting the facts straight with the cultivator,” Pepper said.

Holland Cannabis was sold at Zenbarn Farms in Waterbury Center, the High Country Dispensary in Derby, the Green Man in St. Johnsbury, Lamoille County Cannabis Dispensary in Morrisville and Capital Cannabis in Montpelier.

How the tainted product made it onto the shelves is a question for regulators. Lab paperwork that Holland Cannabis provided the board came back “clean,” which could mean the results were falsified or the result of “some very selective sampling,” Pepper said.

Holland Cannabis is registered to Matthew Morin, who has a “tier 2” cultivator license. That allows him to grow 2,500 feet of cannabis canopy both indoors and out.

Morin’s attorney, Brice C. Simon, said his client has never used the pesticide in question and pointed to the clean tests Morin got back from an independent lab.

“We just don’t know if these are false positives or if there are other mix-ups or problems with the testing regime,” Simon said of the state’s results.

Asked about the person who reported getting sick after using Holland Cannabis, Simon said he didn’t have many details about the situation.

“I understand that there’s concern, and my client is also concerned and supports the board taking whatever action it needs to take to protect the public,” Simon added. “But there’s many other possible explanations for what’s happened here.”

Anyone who purchased Holland Cannabis should return it to the store where they bought it. ➆

TIM NEWCOMB

Balance of Power

Burlington voters will decide whether to create a new police oversight model

BY COURTNEY LAMDIN • courtney@sevendaysvt.com

Othat’s on the Town Meeting Day ballot.

Led by the council’s Democratic caucus, the body voted 6-5 to oppose a charter change that would create a new police oversight board. If the ballot item passed — and was then approved by the legislature and governor — the board’s members would have the power to investigate misconduct and discipline officers, including the chief of police.

Mayor Miro Weinberger told councilors that it’s “indefensible” to support the creation of a board that he said would strip away employee rights. Weinberger vetoed a similar measure that the council passed in 2020.

“Two years have passed, and there has been a reckoning with the public safety issues in this community,” he said. “There is a majority of this council that no longer is willing to support this language.”

The council’s four Progressives, who have advocated for more police oversight, and independent Councilor Ali Dieng (I-Ward 7) voted no on Monday.

Days before the council vote, Weinberger and more than a dozen community leaders gathered for a press conference where they urged voters to defeat the measure. The mayor’s chief of staff formed a political action commit tee to fight the oversight proposal, and Dem-endorsed city council candidates are campaigning against it.

Public safety has been a hotly contested issue since the Burlington City Council voted in June 2020 to shrink the police force through attrition, and the debate has intensified in recent months. But city residents haven’t had a chance to directly weigh in on the topic — until now. The ballot measure allows voters to decide a controversial matter by circumventing the council, which leans Democratic.

public forum that department scandals — including former chiefs who behaved badly on social media and recent revelations about off-duty officers getting paid

THIS WILL BE A HARD VICTORY, IF WE WIN THIS ONE.

COUNCILOR GENE BERGMAN

Second Vermonter Is Accused of Assaulting Police at January 6 Riot

BY DEREK BROUWER derek@sevendaysvt.com

A 41-year-old Vermont man was arrested last week for his involvement in the January 6, 2021, insurrectionist riot at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C. Federal prosecutors say William Arthur Nichols Jr., of Manchester, used a clear plastic shield to strike police officers during a scrum on the Capitol steps. He’s charged with assaulting an officer using a deadly weapon and seven other offenses related to his alleged actions on January 6.

Nichols worked his way to the front of the rioters and used the shield to “push and hit officers over the course of several hours,” prosecutors said.

Nichols is just the second Vermont resident to be charged in the sweeping federal investigation. Nicholas Languerand, formerly of Wolcott, is serving a 44-month prison sentence after pleading guilty to a similar assault charge.

A 12-page affidavit prepared by a Federal Bureau of Investigation agent describes how authorities used extensive video footage from the scene to identify Nichols. In one, someone being interviewed says, “I’m Arthur Nichols Jr. I’m from the Socialist Paradise of Vermont,” according to the affidavit.

Authorities say Nichols, wearing the same clothing, was caught on video confronting police. Images included in the affidavit show him hitting several officers with a clear, plastic shield at various points in time. When an officer tried to take back the shield, Nichols grabbed his arm and pushed him, the government alleges.

“The officer was screaming in pain from an injury he suffered during the above-described attack,” the FBI agent’s affidavit states. “At the same time, rioters can be heard chanting, ‘TRAITORS, TRAITORS,’ at the police officers.”

A man with the same name and age as Nichols pleaded guilty to aggravated domestic assault in Bennington County in 2012 after his mother broke her arm while trying to break up a fight that Nichols started.

While that Vermont criminal case was pending, court records state, Nichols at one point “fled to France,” where he unsuccessfully attempted to join the French Foreign Legion, a division of the French army that accepts foreign recruits and issues them new identities.

More than 950 people have been arrested so far for their actions during the Capitol riots, according to federal prosecutors. ➆

nonprofit that helps companies apply for VEGI grants.

Lawmakers and other state officials are nevertheless calling for an overhaul to make the process for awarding the incentive dollars fairer, simpler and more transparent. A bill aiming to do just that, H.10, has stirred robust debate in the Statehouse.

The bill would pause the VEGI program whenever the state unemployment rate drops below 5 percent. If December’s 2.6

thinks the competition it creates among companies is “not really something we necessarily want state government to get involved in.”

Economic development officials decry Marcotte and Kornheiser’s proposal, calling it shortsighted and a death knell for the state’s only real tool to encourage job growth.

“If the legislature passes that, they would be saying they don’t want economic incentives, essentially,” Cioffi said.

In a small state surrounded by states with larger economies and more aggressive business-attraction programs, killing

needed to pause the program when the job market is tight. Labor officials have testified that 4 percent unemployment is healthy for Vermont, and the bill could be amended to reflect that figure, he said.

While a VEGI “pause” provision makes sense, Marcotte said, he supports continuing incentives for businesses that make capital investments, such as new machinery to make them more efficient or competitive.

Lawmakers have a raft of other concerns about the program, however.

Rep. Emma Mulvaney-Stanak (P/DBurlington) questions whether the state

percent rate held and the bill passed, most new incentives would be immediately suspended.

Rep. Mike Marcotte (R-Coventry), chair of the House Committee on Commerce and Economic Development and the bill’s cosponsor, said when unemployment is high, creating jobs is a public service, but in better times that justification doesn’t hold.

Jobs created by the VEGI incentives are sometimes filled by people moving to Vermont. But in many cases, the positions are snapped up by Vermonters who quit another company, Marcotte said. That sets up a competitive dynamic between subsidized and unsubsidized businesses that he finds troubling.

“Is it right for us to use taxpayer dollars to cannibalize those workers from other businesses?” Marcotte said. “That’s the problem.”

Kornheiser, the bill’s other cosponsor, said she’s studied the VEGI program and

VEGI would be a terrible mistake, said Joan Goldstein, commissioner of the Department of Economic Development.

“If you’re going to get rid of it and you sit between New Hampshire and New York, that’s, like, suicidal,” Goldstein said.

It’s not just competition from immediate neighbors, according to Austin Davis, government affairs manager for the Lake Champlain Chamber. Vermont is competing with states around the nation.

“To say that we shouldn’t have some sort of incentive program is capitulation,” he said.

Kornheiser counters that Vermont’s economic incentives are so paltry that it’s a fool’s errand to try to match the enticements offered elsewhere.

“We’re never going to beat these other states at that game,” she said. “We need to play our own game.”

Though not wedded to the 5 percent unemployment figure in the draft bill, Marcotte thinks some mechanism is

should be paying incentives to firms not based in Vermont. There is plenty of evidence that locally based companies reinvest profits in their communities at a higher rate than those headquartered elsewhere, she said.

“If we’re going to use tax dollars on a program like this, we have to be super strategic about it,” she said.

Abbie Sherman, executive director of the Vermont Economic Progress Council, which oversees VEGI, responded that companies based elsewhere play an important role in the state’s economy. The council granted an award last year of up to $230,638 to a meat processing plant in Swanton owned by Plumrose USA, which is owned by a Colorado-based conglomerate, JBS Foods.

“Those jobs are important to Vermont. Those jobs are important to Swanton,” Sherman told lawmakers.

Just how many jobs the incentives create is a mystery. While the total awards

FILE: DON WHIPPLE news

to companies are made public, the details are not. This includes how much the jobs pay and whether they were ever filled and the award paid out.

Confidentiality rules prevent that information, as well as the detailed financial data that companies share to justify their incentives, from being made public. That means lawmakers and the public cannot understand the program’s efficacy, Kornheiser said.

Auditor Doug Hoffer, a longtime VEGI critic, thinks the lack of transparency makes it impossible to be sure that the state isn’t giving away tax dollars. He calls the idea that companies wouldn’t create the jobs without the grants a “myth.”

“Awarding grants to companies that would have created jobs without an incentive is a waste of precious taxpayer funds,” he told lawmakers in written remarks.

While that proprietary information is now confidential, H.10 would allow it to be shared with lawmakers and legislative analysts but not the general public.

The bill would also reorganize the Vermont Economic Progress Council. Instead of 11 voting members appointed by the governor, the council would be comprised of nine members, five of whom would be appointed by the governor and two each by House and Senate leaders.

The council would also be shifted from the Agency of Commerce and Community Development to the Department of Financial Regulation and would get legal counsel exclusively from the attorney general. The shift is an effort to separate the management of the program from the promotion of it, Kornheiser said.

Goldstein said she welcomes a healthy debate about the structure of the program, especially since it is due to sunset next year and needs reauthorization.

She’s proposing changes that attempt to address lawmakers’ concerns without rendering the program ineffective, including a simpler award formula. The current one is so complicated “no one can understand it,” she said.

“We have to hire an economist to run the model,” she told lawmakers. “That’s not really a good way to administer a program.”

In a 2020 audit, Hoffer’s office slammed the program for giving a $4.5 million incentive to a Silicon Valley firm, Marvell Technology, that purchased Essex Junction-based Avera Semiconductor for $650 million and promptly laid off 78 workers. Supporters, including Cioffi, said the grant was designed to keep Marvell from leaving the state altogether, a fear Hoffer said was unjustified.

Hoffer has argued that there is no concrete way to tell whether companies need the money Vermont dangles in front of them. The program only pays cash to companies that attest they wouldn’t be making the investment or creating the new jobs “but for the incentive,” the law reads. It’s one of the thorniest and longest-debated provisions of the program.

Sherman told lawmakers she closely scrutinizes claims that the jobs wouldn’t be created without the incentive. If a company is already advertising the jobs or has signed a lease on a new property, the company likely intends to move forward regardless of the incentive, she said. Companies must also provide detailed financial information demonstrating the need.

Under her proposed revamp, VEGI would be renamed Think Vermont Investment Program. It would offer a flat $5,000 incentive per job created and $7,500 for jobs created in areas with higher-than-average unemployment. There would be no pause button for periods of low unemployment. Financial information, including companies’ tax returns, could be made available to lawmakers but not the public. Additional details, such as how many jobs each company in the program actually creates, would be made public.

Zulauf, the head of Resonant Link, said a high-tech company such as his can hire people anywhere. The company has staff in California, Massachusetts and Switzerland, and it’s often easier to hire in major metropolitan areas and have people work remotely.

About half of Resonant Link’s workers live in Vermont now. The company wants as many of its employees as possible to benefit from the state’s quality of life and its culture of tech innovation, especially in the field of battery technology. The VEGI grant is helping make that happen, he said.

“VEGI has accelerated our growth and increased … the number of those people that are located in Vermont,” he said.

THE VEGI PROGRAM HAS BEEN A BIG INCENTIVE TO FOCUS OUR HIRING IN VERMONT.

GRAYSON ZULAUF

Strength in Numbers

New hospital union seeks to reset “livable wage” in Chittenden County

BY DEREK BROUWER • derek@sevendaysvt.com

University of Vermont Medical Center support staffers’ vote to unionize last month was one of the largest labor elections in state history. Yet the landmark organizing drive, waged by the 2,200 lowest-paid workers at the state’s health care behemoth, was easy to miss.

The technical professionals, nursing assistants and service workers, who together voted 1,120-181 to join AFT Vermont on January 27, didn’t publicly campaign ahead of the election. The magnitude of their win was lost in the news cycle; members of the state’s congressional delegation, who often leap over one another to signal their prounion sympathies, did little to herald the organizing victory, though union sources told Seven Days that U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) met privately with workers in December.

The under-the-radar campaign among hospital employees who had tried and failed to organize many times before reflects a new labor climate. Pandemicweary workers, toiling in understaffed workplaces only to see rising housing prices and inflation gobble up their earnings, want more.

Newly unionized workers are demanding $20 an hour, to be precise. Hospital support staff are the latest group to organize through AFT Vermont, which has doubled in size over the past five years and now represents roughly 8,700 workers. Many of these newly represented workers have been quietly securing pay floors of $20 an hour. But the hospital workers’ contract negotiations will be more closely watched: If they were able to set a $20 hourly minimum wage at the state’s largest private-sector employer, their contract would drive up wages elsewhere.

“It would reverberate around the state ... in terms of what other workers think is possible,” said Steve Howard, executive director of the Vermont State Employees’ Association, whose publicsector members do not have a similar pay guarantee.

The thousands of unionized employees AFT Vermont has added in recent years is notable in a state where only about 38,000 of 284,000 workers were represented by unions in 2022, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Seven Days was able to identify only one other election, a

lawmaker-enabled effort by independent home health workers in 2013, that was larger than the recent vote among hospital support staff. It allowed more than 7,500 workers to bargain with the state.

The hospital vote was also one of the larger private-sector election victories by a union anywhere in the country in recent years, according to Jonah Furman, who follows unions for the magazine Labor Notes. Nurses at UVM Medical Center unionized in 2002, but attempts to add support workers over the past two decades never garnered enough steam to reach a vote, even as other classes of hospital employees continued to organize. Most recently, 350 or so resident physicians voted last spring to join an affiliate of the Service Employees International Union.

The pandemic reenergized the movement among support staff. Like nurses, they worked the front lines during a health care emergency that was compounded by a staffing shortage. They were celebrated as “heroes” during lockdowns, licensed nursing assistant Jordan Bushway recalled, but the praise has yet to lead to much material relief.

“I think we all looked at each other at this time and just said, ‘Why are we not

being treated like the health care heroes that we were being quoted as? Why are we not treated as so?’” Bushway said.

Pay for licensed nursing assistants starts at $17.36 per hour and tops out at $26.01 per hour, plus benefits, according to UVM Medical Center. Bushway, who works in the Mother-Baby Unit, said she makes about $22 per hour after seven years at the hospital.

Bushway and others on the union organizing committee said in interviews that inadequate wages are exacerbating the staffing shortage that has plagued UVM Medical Center and hospitals nationwide. Jacob Berkowitz, who assigns employees to various inpatient units each night in his role as a staffing office specialist, said difficult working conditions and low pay have affected morale.

“It’s driving people out of the field,” he said.

The union drive began in early 2022 and eventually amassed an organizing committee of 70 or so employees who reflected the diversity of the sprawling workforce. In addition to hundreds of nursing assistants and clerical workers, the unit also includes patient attendants,

custodians, food service workers and others. It’s one of the more racially and ethnically diverse workforces in the state; organizers translated their campaign materials into languages spoken by the Nepali, Somali, Congolese and other immigrant communities represented on the hospital’s staff.

Their effort was aided by the Vermont Federation of Nurses & Health Professionals, which in its recent contract struck a deal with the hospital that limited how administrators could respond to future organizing drives. Both sides agreed not to “disparage” the other’s “motive or mission,” and management agreed not to hold so-called “captive audience meetings” with employees to urge them to vote no.

In a statement, UVM Medical Center president and COO Stephen Leffler said the hospital, which did not voluntarily recognize the union before the election, wanted to ensure that staff “had an opportunity to have their voices heard.”

“We believe the election administered on-site by the National Labor Relations Board met that goal, and expect to be in contact with the union soon to begin negotiating in good faith a collective bargaining agreement,” he wrote.

The election came at a time when the hospital has been pinched financially; increasing labor costs — particularly for a surge in temporary, traveling workers who were used to plug staffing shortfalls — were the biggest contributor to a $23 million operating loss at the hospital last year, officials have said.

Asked whether the employees’ anticipated demand for $20 per hour was reasonable, a hospital spokesperson said, “Our goal is to compensate our employees competitively.”

New union members are still fleshing out their list of requests, but those on the organizing committee said $20 reflects a more realistic minimum hourly wage in Chittenden County.

“They should be paying individuals livable wages where they can have a fulfilling life outside of the hospital,” said Natalie Cartier, 26, a pharmacy technician who lives in South Burlington.

The cost of living in the Burlington area has risen rapidly since 2018, when Sen. Sanders publicly criticized the hospital for paying some employees less than $15 per hour. Many Vermont employers raised

Jordan Bushway

COURTESY OF JORDAN BUSHWAY

wages during the pandemic to attract workers in a tight labor market, though the state minimum wage is still just $13.18 per hour.

In response to Sanders’ 2018 callout, which echoed the nurses’ union’s demand, UVM Medical Center officials said the hospital had to be careful when raising wages because of the pressure it would apply on other local businesses, Seven Days previously reported.

In Shelburne, the upscale elder community Wake Robin advertises a wage floor of $18.25 per hour, which it describes on its website as a way to support a “livable wage for all Vermonters” and enact its social values. Seven Days asked to interview one of the organization’s leaders about the effect of hospital wages on how it sets pay; the

EDUCATION

Alburgh Man Dies After Brawl at Middle School Basketball Game

BY ALISON NOVAK alison@sevendaysvt.com

Vermont State Police are investigating the death of a man who was involved in a brawl at a middle school basketball game last week at the Alburgh Community Education Center. Russell Giroux, 60, was pronounced dead at a hospital later that night.

In recent weeks, school sports have been in the spotlight due to allegations of offensive conduct, some of which has included racial epithets. Several matches have been canceled.

Gov. Phil Scott weighed in on Tuesday, issuing his latest call for civility.

organization responded with a statement through a public relations firm that said Wake Robin is “glad that we can offer the pay and benefits that we do.”

Raising the wage floor at Community Health Centers of Burlington, a federally funded group of clinics, emerged as the consensus top priority among the 168 support staff who formed a union last May, according to Brandon Lawson, a medical assistant there. Following months of negotiation, CHCB management agreed to a $20 hourly starting wage beginning in August 2023, along with increased time off.

Lawson, who was a member of the bargaining team, described the negotiations as “very amicable.” CHCB, which relies mostly on patient revenue and federal grants, has a tight budget, but “management was very clear with us that they want to do the best they can without sinking the organization financially.”

“Everyone wanted the same goals,” CHCB spokesperson Kim Anderson said. “It took a few months to figure out how to get there financially.”

To raise the wage floor, the union agreed to smaller raises for members on the higher end of the pay scale, Lawson said. But, he added, it made sense to concentrate the biggest pay increases for the people at the bottom. ➆

“The idea that a brawl would break out amongst adults, in front of their kids at a middle school basketball game, is just plain sad,” Scott said at his weekly press conference. “Our kids watch us every single day, and many of them want to be just like us. What message are we sending, what are we teaching them about how to handle disagreements, when this is what they see?”

The altercation occurred during a boys’ seventh- and eighth-grade basketball game between Alburgh and St. Albans City School. By the time state troopers arrived, the fight had ended. Giroux had already left and was driving home when he stopped and called first responders for help. He later died at a hospital.

The chief medical examiner’s office in Burlington has not yet determined the cause or manner of Giroux’s death.

Maple Run Unified School District superintendent Bill Kimball — whose school district includes St. Albans City School — extended condolences to Giroux’s family and friends.

“The tragic events that preceded Mr. Giroux’s death have caused our schools to evaluate school programs and community involvement,” Kimball wrote.

The Grand Isle Supervisory Union, which includes the Alburgh Community Education Center, announced last Thursday that no spectators will be allowed at basketball games for the remainder of the season.

“[W]e can not ignore the increase in spectator misconduct at school sporting events throughout Vermont, including in our gymnasiums,” read an announcement from school officials. ➆

THEY SHOULD BE PAYING INDIVIDUALS LIVABLE WAGES WHERE THEY CAN HAVE A FULFILLING LIFE OUTSIDE OF THE HOSPITAL.

NATALIE CARTIER

Precious Cargo

Amid a statewide school bus driver shortage, Jackie Terry rolls along. Confetti and prizes help.

BY ALISON NOVAK • alison@sevendaysvt.com

The sun is still half an hour from rising when Jackie Terry emerges from her split-level home in Vergennes and into the darkness of an early January morning. The thermometer registers 21 degrees. Dressed in black, save for neon green gloves and an aqua headband that holds back a sandy blond mane, Terry paces around the 40-foot school bus parked in her driveway, making sure nothing is “cracked, damaged or leaking” — just as she learned to do 15 years ago when she trained as a school bus driver for Bet-Cha Transit.

Windows, check. Lights, check. Tires, check. Mirrors, check.

As the clock nears 7:04 a.m. — the precise time she departs each day — Terry climbs into the bus and turns the key. A country song plays briefly through the speakers before Terry shuts it off, and the engine rumbles to life. She flips on the heat as she shifts her inspection inside the bus.

“I don’t want any little, cold kid-sicles,” Terry says.

Much of the recent news about school bus drivers has focused on the difficulty in recruiting and retaining them. In Vermont — where most school districts contract with private bus companies such as Bet-Cha, while others maintain their own fleets — the lack of drivers at times has forced schools to cancel morning and afternoon bus routes, athletic competitions, and field trips. The problem has even reached the halls of the Statehouse, where Rep. Dennis LaBounty (D-Lyndon), who drives a bus for Burke Town School, introduced a bill last month that seeks to ease the crunch by making it easier to get a commercial driver’s license with a bus driver endorsement.

The reasons for the driver shortage aren’t particularly hard to understand. The job requires extensive training, the pay is relatively low — Terry makes $25 an hour — and benefits are scarce. It is also challenging to manage a split schedule, with runs in the morning and afternoon and a void to fill in the middle.

All that may be true. But to spend an hour-and-a-half morning school run in Vergennes with Terry, one of more than 2,000 school bus drivers in the state, is to get a glimpse of someone who embraces this crucial but unglamorous work with a whole heart, playful energy and enough resolve to keep a busload of young passengers in line during the ride.

The first clue that Terry isn’t your typical driver is her bus itself. Every month, she redecorates the interior to reflect whatever holiday is near, scooping up inexpensive decorations and art supplies at discount stores and postholiday sales. Even on the last day of January, the bus is still decked out for New Year’s. Rows of faux lanterns, fashioned from paper cups and bedazzled with silver gems, line both sides of the bus. Foam snowflakes cling to the ceiling with magnets, along with fluorescent cutout numbers arranged to read “2023.”

A shiny garland above the emergency exit announces “Happy New Year.”

“At Halloween time, I put up ping-pong ball eyeballs,” Terry says, as she makes her way down the aisle, checking the seats and emergency-door alarm. For Valentine’s Day next week, she’ll string up confettifilled bags adorned with hearts, and the kids will get a chance to pull a ribbon to release the confetti and a trivia question.

Settling into the blanket-draped driver’s seat, Terry maneuvers left out of her

driveway and pulls into Vergennes Union High School to turn her bus around. She gestures at a maintenance worker she once went to school with and chuckles, recalling the time his snowplow crunched into the back of her parked bus.

As she prepares to turn left onto Monkton Road, she demonstrates a technique known as “rocking and rolling” that allows her to see around blind spots by shifting forward and back in her seat.

Terry looks at ease at the helm of the 26,000-pound vehicle, but that wasn’t always the case. A mother of five and grandmother of three, she decided to become a school bus driver after holding various jobs, including tending a cash register at an Ames department store and delivering pizza, which allowed her to work nights while her husband worked days.

She liked that her youngest child, a preschooler at the time, could accompany her on the bus route and that the schedule allowed her to be home with all of her kids

after school. She felt a bit daunted when she first got behind the wheel, but driving a bus is one of those things you learn by doing, after all. Now, she is seasoned enough that she’s worked as a trainer to prepare other drivers.

At her first stop, at 7:09 a.m., Terry watches three students shuffle down the snow-covered road, making a show of craning their necks right, then left, looking for cars or other hazards — just the way Terry taught them.

Terry is a self-described stickler for the rules: looking both ways for cars, crossing at least 10 feet in front of the bus, keeping feet out of the aisle. Parents are depending on her to keep their kids safe.

“Good job, guys,” Terry tells the kids as they file onto the bus.

“Bye, Mama!” she yells out to their mother, who responds with a big smile and a wave.

A dark-haired girl calls from a few seats back: “Miss Terry, guess what I had for breakfast?”

Jackie Terry inside her bus

“Let me guess — cookies?” Terry ventures.

“No. Spicy Doritos with cheese and frozen yogurt,” the girl reports. It is unclear if her answer is meant to prompt revulsion or a laugh. Terry goes with laughter.

“Yum, that sounds delicious,” she says. “Maybe I’ll try that tomorrow morning.”

As the bus chugs down Main Street, the sun comes up. Just like that, it’s daytime. Terry stops to let a young boy clamber aboard and calls to his grandmother, who’s outside shoveling snow.

“They finally fixed that line, huh?” she says, gesturing to a telephone wire.

The people Terry encounters on her route are also her neighbors. She grew up on a farm in Waltham, a jot of a town just outside Vergennes, and went to preschool in the basement of Bixby Memorial Free

THOUGH SHE NO LONGER HAS LITTLE ONES AT HOME, TERRY CONSIDERS THE 40-ODD KIDS SHE DRIVES EACH SCHOOL DAY A FAMILY OF SORTS.

Library, which she now passes on her bus route. She attended elementary and high school in Vergennes. So did her children, the youngest of whom graduated last year.

Though she no longer has little ones at home, she considers the 40-odd kids she drives each school day a family of sorts. Her motherly demeanor — loving but stern when it’s called for, which it is — has served her well as a bus driver. A week earlier, a kindergartner, grumpy because he wasn’t first in line to board, refused to sit down. Terry pulled over, put her hazard lights on and went back to talk to him. She said she understood that he was angry, that sometimes life could be hard, and then asked him to sit down, as she put it, “on his biscuits.” He complied.

She also has no tolerance for distracted drivers, such as the harried young mom the other day who passed the bus while its stop sign was out. Terry honked her horn, looked straight at the woman and mouthed, “Get off your cellphone.”

Despite having to scold people occasionally, Terry also seems to know how to have some fun. Pulling into Otter Creek Mobile Home Park, she gears down to avoid using her brakes on the snowy pavement, then stops to pick up a clutch of students.

“Miss Terry, when’s the next game?” one of them asks, settling into her seat.

Monthly games are a hallmark of Terry’s bus, but kids earn them only if they behave. Sometimes the contest is a simplified version of bingo. Other times it involves math. Often, it’s trivia, with ques tions related to — what else? — bus safety. Winners get some small trinket that Terry has picked up on sale — a plastic ring or a small container of bubbles or a paddleball.

Terry is a big believer in the power of positive reinforcement and gives out an “Awesome Award” at the end of each month to a student who has distinguished themself in some small but meaningful way.

Because this particular Tuesday morn ing is the last day of January, it’s time to announce a new winner. Terry pulls her microphone to her mouth as she nears Vergennes Union Elementary School.

“Now, this young lady was very honest. Someone lost something that was pretty important to them. Lucy found it and brought it to me,” Terry explains. The younger children in the front half of the bus follow along with unblinking eyes. “Honesty is very, very important. If you find something, just don’t put it in your pocket and walk out the door, because … you don’t know how much it means to someone else.”

Terry holds up a sparkly gift bag containing the mystery prize, which she promises to give Lucy during the afternoon ride home. The kids break into applause, and Terry offers a high-pitched hoot.

“Honesty is the best policy!” she crows.

As Terry pulls up to the elementary school around 7:45 a.m., the energized riders chat excitedly as they file out, a stream of cozy winter hats and colorful backpacks.

“Bye, guys. See you later,” Terry tells them. “Have a great day!”

After dropping off a smaller group of teenagers at the high school, Terry steers her bus home and backs it into the driveway, where it will stay until the start of her afternoon run, about six hours later. She used to fill the gap by driving preschoolers and taking a child from the local homeless shelter to a Head Start program, but those services were cut from the school budget. At $25 an hour, her normal earnings as a school bus driver amount to $100 a day. She hopes another midday route will open up soon. For now, she supplements her income by occasionally driving kids to and from field trips and sports competitions.

Before she heads indoors, Terry sends a text message to her dispatcher, Dee, to alert her that she’s done for the morning.

“310 clear,” she reports.

Then, as she does every morning, Terry adds a silly GIF to brighten Dee’s day. Today, it’s a Disney princess. ➆

to patrol a private condo complex — are evidence that “our municipal security forces are not under civilian control.”

There are plenty of people who feel similarly. Activists got about 1,770 signatures on a petition to land the police oversight item on this year’s ballot. The measure would create an “independent community control board” of between seven and nine people. Instead of appointing the members directly, as they do for other boards and commissions, the mayor and city council would choose community organizations to nominate representatives to a selection committee; members of that committee would vet applicants to serve on the board.

People with law enforcement experience would be barred from serving, but their family members could serve.

The board would receive complaints, hold disciplinary hearings and mete out punishment to officers found guilty of misconduct.

Proponents say the control board is designed to hear the most serious complaints — those for excessive force, abuse of authority, theft and other offenses, according to the proposal — though members could technically investigate any offense. The police chief could also discipline officers, but the board could overrule those decisions. The board would also hire the director of a new investigative office, whose staff could compel witnesses to testify during internal investigations, among other duties.

“What is on the table calls for accountability [and offers] ways of rebuilding trust with communities that have deep, historic — and rightfully so — distrust in policing systems,” said Tyler Pastorok, a Burlington resident who helped organize the petition drive.

Democratic leaders, however, “are choosing to receive it as an attack,” he said.

Opponents contend that the control board would scare off new recruits as the department is trying to rebuild. Officers should be judged by their peers, not a panel “specifically designed and oriented against our members,” the Burlington Police Officers’ Association wrote in a recent Facebook post.

The control board would “devastate an already struggling Agency and Union,” the post continues.

Union support for the proposal seems to be mixed. The American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees Local 1674, which represents more than 600 service providers at Howard Center, overwhelmingly voted in support of the measure at a recent board meeting. Meantime, Matthew MacNeil, an administrator at Howard Center, spoke out against it at the mayor’s press conference.

Joining him was Damion Gilbert, president of AFSCME Local 1343, which represents more than 200 city employees. Gilbert said the control board wouldn’t

afford due process to officers accused of misconduct. The proposal says officers could be suspended without pay for up to two weeks with no notice and must appeal to the Vermont Superior Court instead of filing a grievance.

“We’ve had this disciplinary process for 30 years now, and it’s worked,” Gilbert said.

Proponents say officers disciplined by the chief can appeal those decisions the way they do now. Pastorok says officers should have nothing to fear if they’re doing their jobs by the book.

James Lyall, executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Vermont, said he’s concerned about the “problematic narrative” that passing the control board would drive officers out of the city and make Burlington less safe.

“Voters should not be asked to make a false choice between public safety and police accountability,” Lyall said. “People can and should expect both.”

Advocates have also charged that Weinberger and his allies are spreading

misinformation about the proposal. For example, a press release from the mayor’s office says board members wouldn’t be required to live in Burlington when the ballot language is more nuanced: Only Burlington residents could serve, it says, but if they moved to another Chittenden County community, they could finish their term.

Weinberger has also said control board members couldn’t be removed if they abused their power. Councilor Bergman, a former assistant city attorney who helped draft the ballot language, said the city charter already includes a provision that a two-thirds majority of the council can vote to remove any “city officer or department head” who is “no longer effectively serving the city.” He argues that the language would apply to the control board.

Some people have compared the control board to the Police Civilian Oversight Board in Madison, Wis. Like in Burlington’s proposed model, that group strives to be racially diverse and include people with different life and work experiences. The board works in tandem with an “independent monitor” who can subpoena the police department, much like the investigative office envisioned in Burlington.

But while the Madison board can investigate officers, members can only recommend discipline. They can conduct an annual review of the chief’s performance but can’t fire the top cop in their city.

Councilor Ben Traverse (D-Ward 5) called Burlington’s control board “an untested, unprecedented experiment” much like the cop-cutting vote in 2020. He said Burlington can’t afford to experiment with public safety again.

“Democrats see value in exploring more police oversight and accountability,” he said, “but we actually want to take the time to look closer at those models in Madison, Wis., and in Chicago, Ill., to allow the public greater opportunity to

weigh in on this incredibly important issue.”

Bergman argues that Burlington could just be ahead of the curve. The Queen City’s first go at the control board in 2020 was vetted by the National Association for Civilian Oversight of Law Enforcement, the standard-bearer for oversight boards. One of the nonprofit’s directors told Burlington organizers at the time that the control board was a strong model and that other communities were “trying to get this level of authority.”

Weinberger offered another solution when he vetoed that proposal: giving more disciplinary authority to the city’s existing, civilian-led police commission, which can currently just advise the chief. “We must keep working on this issue with purpose and urgency,” the mayor said at the time.

But that work seems to have stalled. Weinberger has said the specter of the control board has kept the city from advancing an ordinance to bolster the commission’s power.

“With this hanging out there, we weren’t able to get anywhere with that conversation,” he said. “Following Town Meeting Day, if this ballot item is rejected … there will be a new ability for us to find consensus on what further changes are needed.”

Burlington politicos have less than a month to sway voters. Jane Knodell, a former Progressive city council president who is supporting the mayor’s new PAC, said the group will likely send mailers to “get the facts of this thing out there” and urge a “no” vote. She predicts that Progressive council candidates who support the control board will suffer at the polls.

Progressive leaders, meanwhile, point to the 1,770 people who signed the ballot petition as evidence of widespread community support for more oversight. But they also realize they’re up against an invigorated group of Dems with money to spend.

“When they want something,” Bergman said, “they know how to get it.” ➆

IF THIS BALLOT ITEM IS REJECTED … THERE WILL BE A NEW ABILITY FOR US TO FIND CONSENSUS ON WHAT FURTHER CHANGES ARE NEEDED.

MAYOR MIRO WEINBERGER

FEEDback

I think Perry needs to think rethink his precious Mad River Valley attitude and remember the plight of those who fix the roads, sell the booze, wait the tables and drive the ski buses.

Christopher Maloney WASHINGTON

MILK MONEY

Kevin McCallum’s article on dairy pricing [“Milk Check: Some Lawmakers Say Vermont Should Consider a Milk-Price Premium to Help Struggling Dairy Farmers,” January 18] is well written save for one crucial thing. McCallum explains that government-forced over-order pricing for milk would likely make Vermont’s value-added dairy products industry less competitive in national and world markets. But he has an enormous blind spot about the central question: Who is going to get hit with the higher prices?

If the state forced handlers to pay higher milk prices to farmers, the handlers would pass that price increase along to the retailers, who would mark it up to their customers.

This is another example of a popular but deplorable legislative game: Find a sneaky way for the government to benefit favored groups — in this case, all farmers, well-to-do and struggling alike — and send the bill on to consumers, who can’t figure out why they are paying more for dairy products.

This is the same deplorable game as the shamefully named Affordable Heat Act, which plays the same trick on families and businesses that heat with fuel oil, propane or natural gas, with the proceeds going to subsidize heat pumps and electric cars favored by the unaccountable Public Utility Commission.

I can remember when liberals objected to schemes to secretly transfer money

from consumers to favored special interests. Where are they now?

John McClaughry KIRBY

DRUG ‘DOUBLESPEAK’

In the January 11 Seven Days, echoes of George Orwell’s 1984 were intentionally or obliviously obvious in [“An Ounce of Prevention? Vermont Is Debating How to Leverage Its Opioid-Settlement Windfall to Address Spiraling Drug Problems”]. Within was an avalanche of ominous concerns on the opioid plague in Burlington. Valid, burgeoning and deadly. This article dribbled on to page 17, prognosticating “cautious optimism” of strategies to come to assuage the assault.

Enter Orwell and his visionary term “doublespeak.” For, on the very next page, after hundreds of words warning of drug inflation, an article titled “Weed Wish List” ponders the odd options of and bizarre benefits of more potent pot flowers and assorted “Far out, man!” gummy goodies.

This is doublespeak nonsense in newsprint. Consecutive concepts that pander to the open-minded but portend confusion that perpetuates tragedy.

In honesty, not all who toke up end up opioid addicts, but those who deal with the dazed and slow-dying will attest to a silent historical truth: Before most opioid users ever nodded out, they loved the buzz of a bowl of weed.

So what? Who cares? Orwell might nod in resigned discouragement were he to read the camouflaged confusion in these blurred messages.

If Seven Days is going to pontificate in doublespeak, maybe an editor could at least put a few pages between the babel. “Don’t do these drugs ... just do these.”

Rick Pacukonas SOUTH BURLINGTON

HYDROTHERAPY FOR ALL

As a fledgling host of a small Airbnb with an aim to make hydrotherapy accessible to our guests and, ideally, our community, we were psyched to see it featured on the front page of the Wellness Issue [January 18]! We were inspired by our rejuvenating visits to spas in the friendly territories to our north [“Steam Scene: Montréal’s Hydrothermal Spas Dole Out Hot and Humid Relaxation”]. I’d tried everything else in search of pain relief, and it’s made a world of difference for me.

That said, I think the article missed a huge opportunity to bring to light the normalcy and acceptance of different bodies and self-care that is inherent in the practice and so sadly lacking in our culture. For me, the photos amplified the sense of elitism that made my experience of the article doubly disappointing.

I appreciate the shout-out to communal hydrotherapy. I just wish the article took the angle that people of every shape, color and ability could have access to a communal wellspring of wellness if we invested in the infrastructure, took care of the natural ones we’re already blessed with and changed our relationship with ourselves. An inch of kindness and care can go a mile.

With respect and gratitude for all the work you do, Seven Days!

Jennifer Wasiura WEYBRIDGE

BALINT’S BAD BUSINESS

In your flattering profile of U.S. Rep. Becca Balint’s (D-Vt.) first days in office [“Ms. Balint Goes to Washington,” January 25],

there is but one passing reference to “more than $26,000 in campaign contributions from disgraced cryptocurrency mogul Sam Bankman-Fried.” An earlier headline proclaimed that Balint was donating a $2,900 SBF contribution to charity because “it just doesn’t feel right.”

I am flabbergasted that the Vermont media readily and repeatedly reports on these relatively minor miscues while totally squelching any reference to the $1.1 million contribution from SBF associate Nishad Singh that fueled Balint’s victory. We now know that a criminal enterprise was the true source of the money, laundered through the LGBTQ Victory Fund Federal PAC. When Balint’s opponent cried foul over this PAC support, Balint’s campaign manager accused her of homophobia.

Early reporting last June clearly established that the Balint campaign, using the “red box” ploy, helped engineer the windfall. This was never revisited in the media when the barrage of mailings and TV ads began in July and the Balint campaign was insisting that it was all out of its control. I often hear it said that Balint would have won anyway, but if the true source and circumstances of her PAC support were understood before the August primary, it certainly could have swayed 12 percent of the electorate.

Meanwhile, Rep. Balint has been appointed to the House Oversight and Accountability Committee and pledges to “not let democracy fail in my lifetime.” Ugh.

William Nowlan MORETOWN

MS. BALINT goes to WASHINGTON

lifelines

OBITUARIES

Robert Weber

SEPTEMBER 21, 1934-

JANUARY 24, 2023 JERICHO, VT.

On January 24, 2023, our dear friend Robert C. Weber, also known to many of us in Jericho/Richmond/ Underhill as “Bicycle Bob,” died unexpectedly at the age of 88. Bob was born in New York City on September 21, 1934, to Clara Schulz and Hugo Weber. Bob leaves many good friends in this country and around the world. He also leaves his beloved niece, Tracey Link, and her husband, Rene, of California; nephews, Scott Weber and Steve Weber; and nieces Sherri Dunne, Darlene Sutherland and Elizabeth Prescott. Bob was predeceased by his parents and by his brothers, Gene and Hugo.

Although Bob lived in Jericho for 12 years, he was a man of the world, having biked on many continents to look at birds, including countries in Africa, Central and South America, Mexico, Russia, Western and Eastern Europe, the Middle East, Australia and New Zealand, and throughout North America.

Although profoundly deaf, Bob loved music and had over 1,500 cassette tapes of every kind of music imaginable. Not only was his hearing a challenge, but Bob also developed severe sensitivities to some chemicals. He loved being in the fresh air, camping and biking, being free of the debilitating headaches he suffered with chemicals.

Bob read deeply and widely, retaining details which he could recall instantly. He also had a remarkable mathematical ability and could perform sophisticated computations in his head. He loved word games — in fact, all games — but language ones in particular.

Bob loved all sports — hockey at Norwich

OBITUARIES, VOWS, CELEBRATIONS

Candis PerraultKjelleren

DECEMBER 17, 1957FEBRUARY 2, 2023

SOUTH BURLINGTON, VT.

force of will and illimitable intuition, she developed clients in management consulting, financial services and consumer packaged goods.

and he was her proudest accomplishment.

University and all spectator sports — and had converted to being a Red Sox fan in later years. He played a vigorous racquetball game up until a few years ago. Bob had a remarkable ability to recall sports plays from several years back. He could remember who scored the third Norwich goal in a game that might have occurred four years ago, as well as who got the assist and which part of the net the puck went into!

Bob was a fierce advocate for the disenfranchised and the overlooked person, for children and those adults of pure hearts. He believed fiercely in social justice and equality. Bob lived simply and treaded gently on the Earth. Robert Weber was a good man whose death leaves many of us at a loss but also rejoicing in having had the good fortune to have spent time in his company.

Bob, our lovely friend … fly away.

Many thanks to the empathetic and highly skilled staff at the University of Vermont Medical Center Intensive Care Unit, especially Nurse Hannah, Dr. Wayne and Dr. Rohan.

Anyone wishing to make a gift of remembrance of Bob Weber may contribute to any cause that honors birds, animals, the natural world, and the poor and disenfranchised. He supported them all!

A gathering to remember Bob will be held to welcome back the birds this spring.

Candis Ann Perrault of South Burlington, Vt., and formerly of Charlotte, Vt., lived a remarkable life through her positive attitude, enthusiasm, faith, fearlessness and courage. Candis died with her heart full of joy and peace on February 2, 2023.

Candis was born prematurely on December 17, 1957, and placed in an incubator until she was adopted a month later as the daughter of Frank and Jan Perrault. She grew up in South Burlington, Vt., and graduated from South Burlington High School with the class of 1975. After high school, she pursued a double major in social work and psychology at the University of Vermont, where she graduated with dean’s list and Who’s Who in American Colleges and Universities honors in 1979. She received service and spirit awards in high school and college. Her passion for her community and pride in her schools never faltered. She could often be found attending UVM soccer and basketball games whenever they played at home.

Mark David Williamson

JANUARY 9, 1948FEBRUARY 4, 2023 CHARLOTTE, VT.

Mark David Williamson, 75, of Charlotte, Vt., passed away on the afternoon of Saturday, February 4, 2023, at the University of Vermont Medical Center, in the presence of his loved ones. He is survived by his wife, Gretchen, and his two children, Kyla (28) and Tyler (26), as well as many extended family members. Mark grew up in Bristol, Vt.,

At the age of 16, after a summer exchange program to Hamelin, Germany, Candis decided that she wanted to create an international life for herself. So, upon the successful completion of her undergraduate studies, Candis immersed herself in Up With People, a six-month performing arts/community service program where she lived, worked and became friends with people of diverse backgrounds from many countries while traveling throughout Mexico. is experience fueled her confidence in her abilities to be self-reliant, create meaningful relationships and empower others.

Candis trailblazed her way from Vermont to Fairfield County, Ct., in 1981. In 1982, she founded an executive search business. rough her

Candis moved back to Shelburne in 1992 with a desire to spend more time with her family and to give back to her community. She made several contributions to local organizations, joined a long-standing book group of friends and served as a cofounder of the Relay for Life of Chittenden County. She continued to carry this volunteer effort forward for four years while serving as a board member of the American Cancer Society.

e society created the Candis Perrault Research Grant in 1995 in honor of her leadership and spirit.

She married Don Kjelleren in 1997, and together they shared many outdoor interests and travel adventures to national parks in the United States and Latin America.

ey skied the Canadian, Craftsbury and Stowe Nordic ski marathons. Both participated in cycling tours in Europe, and Candis joined the Vermont Iowa Medalists for RAGBRAI before the birth of their beloved son, Hayden, in 1998. Candis actively supported Hayden throughout his upbringing,

Music was the passion of a lifetime for Candis. She sang and performed with Mystic Chorale of Boston, Middlebury College Community Chorus, Hinesburg Artist Series, Lake Champlain Waldorf School Community Chorus, All Souls Interfaith Gathering Choir, St. Catherine’s Folk Group, the Emergent Universe Oratorio premier concert, and Philadelphia Main Line Orchestra and Choir.

In remembrance of Candis, a small stone memorial has been placed in the Shelburne Cemetery, on which the words “SPIRIT LIVES” are inscribed. Her spirit continues to inspire all who knew her.

She is survived by her mother, Jan Perrault; brother, Kyle Perrault; son, Hayden Kjelleren; husband, Don Kjelleren; extended family members; and many loving friends.

Candis’ memorial service will take place at St. Catherine of Siena Catholic Church in Shelburne on February 11, 2023, 11 a.m. Lunch and remembrances will follow.

In lieu of flowers, please consider a donation to the American Cancer Society’s Relay for Life of Chittenden County.

with his many brothers and friends.

Mark graduated from Champlain Valley Union

High School in 1966 and the University of Vermont in 1984. He started his career at Fletcher Allen in 1973 and spent 43 years working as an OR nurse, spreading joy, laughter and kindness to everyone he touched. Mark valued relaxing days in his home at Cedar Beach, skiing at Sugarbush and spending summer days on Lake Champlain. Mark found great joy in cheering his children on through their many events and successes.

He will be dearly remembered and greatly missed. His legacy will live on in the

stories he told and the lives he affected. Those who knew him will carry with them the sound of his voice and the passion for life he always held and cherished. A funeral mass will be held on Friday, February 10, 2023, 2 p.m., at Our Lady of Mount Carmel in Charlotte, Vt., with a reception to follow at Backyard Bistro. In lieu of flowers, the family is requesting that donations be made to ree Peaks Medical Clinic at Sugarbush Mountain Resort. e full obituary can be found at gregorycremation.com.

lifelines

OBITUARIES

Marcia Jean Perry

DECEMBER 8, 1949-

JANUARY 18, 2023

STARKSBORO, VT.

Marcia Jean (Masterson) Perry died on Wednesday, January 18, 2023, at the age of 73, surrounded by loved ones at her home in Starksboro after a six-month struggle with pancreatic cancer.

Marcia was born on December 8, 1949, in Middlebury to Margery Louise (Bent) Masterson and Edward Charles Masterson. She spent her early life in Bristol and South Bristol, where her love for nature was instilled when her father, Ned, took the girls fishing, hiking and picnicking.

When the family moved to Brandon, Marcia began playing the clarinet in band and became involved with an active youth fellowship at the Methodist Church. She was also a hardworking and spirited employee at the Rexall Drugstore and Shapiro’s Department Store. She graduated from Otter Valley Union High School in 1967, attended Castleton State College, and lived briefly in Florida and Rhode Island before returning to Vermont in 1970, residing in Rutland and Shrewsbury. She was married for a short time to Robert Norton of Florida, with whom she had her son, Chad, in 1970. She worked for several years at the First Vermont Bank & Trust Company in Rutland, and in 1971 she met Peter Osterhoudt of Glens Falls, N.Y., and he soon joined her and Chad’s family. e three moved to Vershire in 1973 when she and Peter began working at the Vershire School, a private boarding school.

e Vershire School was founded on the concept that young teenagers undertaking a college prep curriculum could also benefit from a strong hands-on, experiential component. Faculty were given a great deal of freedom to develop programs and learning opportunities for students. Marcia thrived in

OBITUARIES, VOWS, CELEBRATIONS

travel companion and loving husband in a marriage that spanned almost 40 years.

ere, Marcia also met her two dear lifelong friends, Sheri Amsel and Sara Lyda.

Meals on Wheels driver, and at the Starksboro Community Food Shelf.

Todd Fisk

this environment, operating, with Peter, for several years, a Pioneer and Wilderness Summer Camp. eir program provided a camp-based focus on homesteading, gardening and building primitive living facilities, as well as a wilderness focus on backpacking, canoeing and climbing, both in remote areas in the Northeast and in the Canadian and Colorado Rockies. During the school year, Marcia helped lead monthslong, culturally immersive residences in Mexico and shorter excursions to Greece and to the Grand Canyon. At her home at the school, Marcia engaged in her own homesteading activities — gardening, keeping a milk cow and raising huskies.

During this time, Marcia completed her bachelor’s degree in biology and secondary education at Norwich University and then began her teaching career in biology, Spanish, English and music at Vershire. She eventually served the school as director of the academic summer school, director of studies and director of Judgment Ridge [Summer] Camp. In this period of her life, Marcia expanded her sense of adventure and opportunity, and she gained self-confidence and a strong sense of her own personal integrity and leadership capacities. She honed her pedagogical skills and discovered her innate compassion and talent for nurturing students with learning differences and personal challenges.

While at Vershire, Marcia met Tom Perry of Dover, Mass., an English teacher who became her best friend,

In 1984, Marcia taught at the Dwight-Englewood School in Englewood, N.J., then returned to Vermont to settle with Chad, and Tom, in Burlington. ere, Marcia worked as a Chapter One tutor with teenagers at St. Joseph’s Group Home, and in 1987 she and Tom welcomed a daughter, Caitlin, into their lives.

Also at this time, Marcia and Tom began their life in Starksboro, first at a tiny offgrid stone cabin half a mile up a four-wheel-drive road above the Huntington Valley, where they spent most of their free time. Later they purchased a partially converted dairy barn in the same part of Starksboro, which they spent the next 25 years transforming into their home. Marcia kept goats, chickens and geese, and she expanded her gardening and beekeeping hobbies. She embraced the nuances of country life and the ecosystems around her, and she had lively interactions with her flocks and herds in the barn each morning! She also loved birdwatching, reading, knitting and fiber arts, sitting on her porch, and connecting with loved ones on a long walk or around a dinner table.

Marcia’s teaching career continued to broaden over the course of her working life. She enjoyed lengthy tenures at the Pine Ridge School in Williston, the Lake Champlain Waldorf School in Shelburne, Rice Memorial High School in South Burlington, and the Stern Center for Language and Learning in Williston. She also taught at U-32 High School in Montpelier, at Vergennes Union High School and at Burlington’s Mansfield Hall. During the spring before she died, Marcia briefly became a substitute teacher in her local school district until her illness made that impossible. She also served her local community as Starksboro’s Green Up Day coordinator for 10 years, as a

Marcia loved to laugh, especially at the ironies in life, and believed that one may as well be dead without a sense of humor. She was a bit irreverent and a little rebellious, but she could also listen — really well, in fact. She was a supportive, perceptive mentor on whom many relied as a confidant and adviser. She raised her two children with openness, trust and respect, and she made her home inviting and comfortable — a space filled with beloved dogs and cats, houseplants, photos of her favorite people, and fresh flowers. Marcia’s supportive presence was the foundation for her close relationships with all, including every one of her nieces and nephews, making her a special and beloved aunt.

Marcia’s other real passions were traveling and exploring new places. She brought her children, husband and students on frequent road trips throughout the United States, Canada and Mexico. She enjoyed additional travels to Alaska, Europe, Japan and the Caribbean. She firmly believed in the power of “a change of scenery” to uplift one’s mood and change one’s perspective.

Marcia is survived by her husband, Tom Perry; her son, Chad Osterhoudt of Duxbury (Jodi Shippee); her daughter, Caitlin Perry of Pittsfield, Mass. (Victoria Arnoldi); and her sisters, Margo Masterson of Brandon, Margaret Fish of Maidstone (Robert Fish), Jennie Masterson of Brandon (Len Schmidt) and Josie Masterson-Glen of New Haven (William Glen); as well as numerous nieces, nephews, grandnieces and -nephews, cousins and friends.

A service celebrating Marcia’s life will be held later in the spring or summer at a location to be announced. If desired, to honor Marcia’s life, donations may be made to Addison County Home Health & Hospice or Starksboro First Response.

MARCH 2, 1967JANUARY 30, 2023 GAITHERSBURG, MD.

Todd William Fisk died on January 30, 2023, following an extended battle with cancer.

Todd was born on March 2, 1967, in Newport, Vt., to Judith and William Fisk. He grew up in South Burlington, Vt., along with his older sisters, Tracy and Kelli. He graduated from South Burlington High School in 1985 and from the University of Vermont in 1994. An avid cyclist, he could often be found riding his bike around town, eventually developing some very impressive calf muscles (of which he was understandably proud).

Todd was kind, funny, insightful and generous. One of his great skills was creating and maintaining deep friendships. He was an adventurer, constantly looking to step out of his comfort zone and try new experiences. As a young man, he jumped off cliffs, traveled to Morocco, worked at a ranch in Wyoming and hopped trains across the country with friends. Always a Vermonter at heart, he loved flannel and apple pies and annual apple picking. He was a master at baking pies, a ritual so important it almost bordered on religion for him.

Todd was creative, artistic and curious. He was always exploring art, music and films and excitedly sharing discoveries with friends. He was a connoisseur of movies; his desire to get involved in the film industry brought him from Vermont to Los Angeles in 1998. He spent a few years in California, working for Disney and UCLA and writing a couple of screenplays.

Todd had a deep interest in politics and social change; he spent much of his life striving to make a difference in the world. Prior to his move to California, he worked for Vermont Public Interest Research Group. When he left LA for Washington, D.C., in 2002, his professional focus became managing

technology and media projects in nonprofit and government agencies. Over the next 15 years, he served in a variety of roles in different U.S. Department of Education projects, in particular at FHI360 and AED.

But the most important roles in Todd’s life — the ones of which he was most proud — were those of husband and father. In 2012, he met and fell in love with Inga Lukaviciute. ey married in 2015 and welcomed their first son, Henry, in 2016. In 2019, Henry was joined by his brother, Lukas.

In the spring of 2019, Todd was diagnosed with rare spinal and brain cancer. He handled his diagnosis and multiple grueling treatments, both standard and experimental, with strength, humor, optimism and grace. He passed away peacefully at his home in Gaithersburg, Md., surrounded by his family. He was deeply loved and will be missed by his family, his many friends and anyone fortunate enough to know him.

He is survived by his wife, Inga Fisk, and sons Henry and Lukas Fisk; his mother, Judith (Lawson) Fisk; his father, William Fisk; and his sisters, Tracy Gallo and her husband, Shawn, and Kelli Scheibenhoffer and her husband, David.

Making sure Henry and Lukas would be taken care of was a priority for Todd. In lieu of flowers, donations to their education fund can be made either via Venmo to Inga Fisk @ingute or by check to Inga Fisk, 928 Beacon Square Ct., Apt. 137, Gaithersburg, MD 20878.

Robert Hall

OCTOBER 2, 1923JANUARY 30, 2023 SHELBURNE, VT.

Robert (Bob) Ayer Hall passed away peacefully in his home in Shelburne, Vt., surrounded by his loving family, on January 30, 2023. Bob was 99 years old.

He was born in St. Johnsbury, Vt., on October 2, 1923, and had resided in Shelburne for 56 years before his passing. Bob was happily married to his beloved wife, Fran, for 68 years until she was taken by cancer in September 2014. He is survived by his four children, Steve Hall, Deb Hall, Stu Hall and wife Holly Hall, and Rob Hall and wife Susan Hall; eight grandchildren, Jeffrey Robert Hall and wife Katharine Braun-Levine, Meredith Hall Ritter and husband Matthew Wilson Ritter, Jenna Ross and partner Joe Leo, Dan Ross, Carrie Hersey and husband Lucas Hersey, Heather Hall, Kelsey Hall, and William Hall; and five great-grandchildren, Joziah Robert Hall, Joelianny Sky Levine-Hall, Emily Cecilia Ritter, David Hersey and Melissa Hersey.

Bob grew up in Waterbury, Vt., and graduated from the University of Vermont with a BS in mechanical engineering. He was a U.S. Army veteran who served in the European theater during World War II as part of Battery B, 46th Field Artillery Battalion. He was awarded the European-AfricanMiddle Eastern Service Medal with two Bronze Stars, along with a WWII Victory Medal, American eater Ribbon and a Good Conduct Medal. He went on to work at General Electric in Schenectady, N.Y., and then in Burlington, Vt., for 31 years before retiring.

Bob was a family man and an avid hobbyist who had many interests and talents. He enjoyed hunting, fishing,

boating and playing cribbage — and for many years was a ham radio enthusiast and an active member of several regional and international ham radio communities and networks, including during his time serving as president of the Burlington Amateur Radio Club in the late ’60s. Bob also enjoyed listening to big band music and, in earlier days, dancing to it with Fran on Friday night outings with friends. As a young couple, they even danced on the deck of the steamboat Ticonderoga while it was active on Lake Champlain.

Frank Sinatra and Doris Day were two of their favorite singers. In their later years, Bob and Fran purchased an electric organ and enjoyed taking lessons and playing for family and friends at home.

Bob and Fran were frequent travelers who made two cross-country trips covering 48 states, traversing a southern route on their first cross-country trek and, a few years later, heading out via the northern U.S. states. ey enjoyed a vacation in Hawaii and numerous summer vacations on the coast of Maine. In between these trips, there was a lovely flow of visiting or receiving family to celebrate special life events.

Bob was a talented and enthusiastic photographer, starting at the age of 10 when he got his first camera. He set up a darkroom at his family home in St. Johnsbury and developed black-and-white prints. During high school, he

became the photographer for the yearbook and sports teams. While serving in the U.S. Army overseas during World War II, Bob used any free time he had to take photographs. As an employee at GE, he continued using his skills as a photographer and ventured into video production, helping to create some of the company’s earliest instructional videos for its employees. It goes without saying that his family has been well documented over the years with his photographs, and he has inspired many family members to follow his love for this great hobby. Before Bob’s vision became compromised, he enjoyed painting from photographs that he had taken of important places in his life.

Family meant the world to Bob, and this included the family pets: Cats, dogs and even parakeets were all considered special members. He was a devoted son, brother, husband, father, uncle, grandfather and great-grandfather, always generous with his time, energy and love.

Bob was truly a “gentle” man, and his attitude in life was always “the glass is half full,” which is probably one of the reasons he lived to 99. His wisdom helped him to live in the moment and have a grateful heart — a beautiful model for us all.

A celebration of life service will be held at 11 a.m. on Saturday, February 11, 2023, at All Saints Episcopal Church in South Burlington, Vt. It will be followed by a reception at the church. In lieu of flowers, please feel free to contribute to UVM Home Health & Hospice, 1110 Prim Rd., Colchester, VT 05446 (uvmhomehealth.org); Age Well: Meals on Wheels in Vermont, 875 Roosevelt Highway, Suite 210, Colchester, VT 05446 (agewellvt.org); or Humane Society of Chittenden County, 142 Kindness Ct., South Burlington, VT 05403 (hsccvt.org).

Sweethearts Still

Four couples who got together in high school share their love stories

BY SALLY POLLAK • sally@sevendaysvt.com

If humor and honesty are keys to a lasting relationship, it’s little wonder Frank and Diane Farrington are closing in on seven decades of marriage. Frank, who will turn 89 on February 20, was sweetly discreet about the couple’s Valentine’s Day traditions.

“Some of it,” Frank said, “I shouldn’t tell you.”

But the Farringtons shared other stories of their romance, which started when they were sweethearts at Randolph Union High School. They’re one of four Vermont couples who talked with Seven Days about getting together as teenagers — and staying together.

“I guess because it’s true love,” Frank said.

DIANE AND FRANK FARRINGTON

White River Junction (formerly Randolph)

Diane Ducharme was in 11th grade and Frank Farrington was a high school senior when they danced together at the Randolph Fish & Game Club. She was a top student in her class and a violinist; he liked farming, cars and taking care of animals. He made people laugh. Something clicked when they danced to “Tennessee Waltz” and other songs.

“I don’t know what she ever saw in me,” Frank said. “But I saw a pretty little girl.”

She was 18 and he was 19 when they were married on August 9, 1953, in Bethel. The small ceremony — just four people, including the couple — was followed by a “shindig” at her parents’ house in Randolph, Frank said. Friends and family made food and baked a cake.

The couple built a house on the farm where Frank grew up on rural Farrington Road in Randolph. They raised two sons and a daughter, and Frank and Diane each worked outside the home. He was the highway foreman in Randolph; Diane ran the front office in Randolph for a Connecticut-based business called Waterbury Companies.

At home, they divided chores. She shopped, cooked, canned and managed the household bills. He was an outdoorsman who gardened, took care of the land, and raised pigs, cows and chickens. The Farringtons cherished family vacations in the White Mountains of New Hampshire.

Love LoveMarriage

“We got along slicker than heck,” Frank said.

Seven years ago, Diane suffered a massive stroke that left her paralyzed on her right side and with limited speech. The outdoorsman came inside to stick close by his wife and care for her. Frank quickly learned to do all the things she had done in their marriage.

Two years ago, the Farringtons moved to an apartment at the Village at White River Junction, an assisted-living community. Every night, side by side and holding hands, they pray.

“Since we said ‘I do,’ we haven’t lost each other,” Frank said.

In August, they’ll celebrate 70 years of marriage.

DONNA AND DOUG KENYON Waitsfield

Donna Kenyon wore a simple white dress with a yellow ribbon around the bodice to her wedding in summer 1971. It was sewn by her mother and a friend. Doug Kenyon, the groom, was dressed in a rented tux. He was 18. She was 15 and needed permission from a probate judge to get married.

“I remember the judge asking me, ‘Do you think you are mature enough to have a marriage and raise a family?’” Donna, 67, recalled. “And I said, ‘Yes, I am.’”

After a church ceremony in Waterbury, the couple had a barbecue with friends and family on the lawn of her parents’ house in Moretown. Six months later — and one month after she turned 16 — Donna gave birth to their daughter Tricia.

“We finished growing up together,” Donna said of herself and Doug. “I don’t know that we really knew what love was back then. Now we are absolutely in love, and we have a lot of respect for each other.”

Together they raised three children,

Since we said “I do,” we haven’t lost each other.

FRANK FARRINGTON

The Farringtons on their wedding day, August 9, 1953

Diane and Frank Farrington

Doug and Donna Kenyon

JEB

WALLACE-BRODEUR

and they own and operate Kenyon’s Variety Store in Waitsfield.

Donna was in eighth grade when she met Doug through her older sister. She was drawn to his “James Dean personality,” she said, referring to the 1950s Rebel Without a Cause movie star. He wore a denim jacket with the sleeves cut off. Their first date was to the drive-in to see M*A*S*H*

Fifty years after his Dean-style teenagehood, Doug revealed a level of cool explaining the success of their union.

“I just say, ‘Yes, dear, that’s the way to do it,’” Doug, 69, said.

In the early years of their marriage, Doug milked cows on his family’s farm and drove a school bus after the morning milking. Donna was up at 4 a.m. to make doughnuts with lard she rendered from their pork. On his school bus run, Doug delivered the doughnuts to a local restaurant to bring in extra money.

Their children Nicholas and Kristy were born when Donna was in her early twenties. She sewed her kids’ school clothes or bought them with money earned from a summer roadside vegetable stand. She completed her high school diploma. Though Donna and Doug were

busy running the store — which until the pandemic was open seven days a week until 7 p.m. — the family always ate dinner together.

“We pride ourselves on eating dinner at the table, and we still do it,” Donna said. “I think that it brought us closer together.”

On December 8, 2021, Donna’s 66th birthday, the Kenyons’ son, Nicholas, died at age 43. In their grief, Donna and Doug hold each other, she said.

“We just love each other,” Donna said. “We get through.”

DAVID EDLESON AND TIM OWINGS

Lincoln

David Edleson was the new kid in town when he showed up at Chattooga High School in Summerville, Ga., in 1975 wearing sailor pants that buttoned in the front and a striped French fisherman’s T-shirt. The ninth grader caught classmate Tim Owings’ eye when he walked into their health sciences class.

“I knew from the moment I saw him that we were going to be best friends,” Owings said. “And he came and sat right next to me, and we’ve been together ever since.”

Edleson’s parents traveled for his father’s work, and they were sometimes away for a week or two. That gave the teenage boys living in “Marjorie Taylor Greene country,” as Edleson described the region — referring to Georgia’s ultraconservative U.S. representative —a chance to hang out together parent-free.

The teens watched “Saturday Night Live” together and went on a first date with another couple, two girls, to see Star

Wars. They became “really close friends with benefits,” Edleson said. Owens put it another way: “We would’ve had a baby, but…”

In college, Edleson and Owings lived in different states and saw each other during school vacations and summer break. When Edleson graduated a semester early from the College of William & Mary in Williamsburg, Va., he moved to Atlanta to live with Owings, who attended Georgia Tech. They threw themselves a big wedding party in December 1982 (though they couldn’t legally marry) and were officially joined in civil union and then marriage when the law allowed.

Edleson and Owings, now 61, live in Lincoln in a house they built. Edleson is the rabbi at Temple Sinai in South Burlington, where Owings — who converted to Judaism decades ago — is an active volunteer. Owings is also a hair stylist who works part time at a salon in Williston. They are compatibly unconcerned with housework, but Owings performs a thorough cleaning every Friday before the Sabbath.

Their partnership grew from friendship and was strengthened by joint decision making and shared experiences, such as living in Israel for three and a half years. But it was the AIDS epidemic in the 1980s, a health crisis both large-scale and

personal, that fully forged their commitment and attachment, Edleson suggested.

They were living in New York City at the height of the epidemic, where they were active in a gay synagogue and witness to repeated death. As their friends got sick and died, Edleson and Owings learned not to take for granted the important people in their lives, especially each other.

EMMA ADU-DAMOAH AND CHASE CORBIN

Burlington

By the time Chase Corbin texted Emma Adu-Damoah to ask her out, they’d been friends for about eight years. They knew each other through Adu-Damoah’s cousin, who was a close childhood friend of Corbin’s in Underhill.

Every so often, Corbin expressed his interest in Adu-Damoah to her cousin, but he wanted to be sure it was OK with his buddy if he asked her out. So one day Corbin checked. He recalled that his friend laughed and said that would definitely be OK.

“He knew that I was a good dude and would treat his cousin good,” said Corbin, a 2015 graduate of Mount Mansfield Union High School. “So I asked her out, and she was also really excited. She kind of had a crush on me back then.”

It was summer 2015, before Adu-Damoah’s senior year at Burlington High School, when Corbin texted her. He wrote something about hanging out together. Yes, she replied, she’d like to do that. But she clarified the language: “It’s a date,” she wrote. Ironically, Corbin’s text arrived just after Adu-Damoah had “announced to the universe” that she was done dating and through with men. “It was kind of divine that way,” she said.

Once they overcame the awkwardness of childhood friends on a first date — a “poorly planned” trip to a department store to smell candles, as Corbin described it — the two hit it off. A later walk at the Pinnacle in Burlington’s Ethan Allen Park, where Corbin carved their initials in a railing where other couples had done the same, was a more memorable occasion.

Corbin, 26, is a brewer at Burlington Beer and an electrician. Adu-Damoah, 25, is an artist and a bartender at Bluebird Barbecue. The Burlington couple, who’ve lived together since 2019 and aren’t married, support each other’s interests and enjoy time hanging out and chilling together, they said.

“I’ve been an artist my whole life, and Chase has been able to provide supplies and space to help me develop my skills that way,” Adu-Damoah said. (You can view her art on Instagram at e.a.d_arts.) She’s also creating a podcast, “Generation Soul Speak,” which she expects to release in the spring.

In turn, Adu-Damoah supports Corbin’s interest in brewing, which has developed from homebrewing into an occupation.

“It’s being on the same page and being able to be transparent about how you’re feeling,” she said. “And making adjustments to further prolong the relationship.” ➆

I knew from the moment I saw him that we were going to be best friends.

TIM OWINGS

Tim Owings and David Edleson in Egypt in 1985

Emma Adu-Damoah and Chase Corbin at the Burlington High School senior prom in 2016

Emma Adu-Damoah and Chase Corbin

DARIA BISHOP

Landgoes Is for Lovers

A Tunbridge sheep farm-turned-wedding venue blends the rustic with the elegant

BY KIRK KARDASHIAN

Even before Landgoes Farm became an official wedding venue in 2016, plenty of couples chose to get married there. High on a hill in Tunbridge, with open views of Mount Abraham to the west, Landgoes is the kind of setting where people naturally want to exchange vows and host a party, where the beauty of their love is matched by the beauty of the land and sky.

John O’Brien, a filmmaker (Vermont Is for Lovers, Man With a Plan, Nosey Parker) and Democratic state representative, was born on the farm in 1962 and has lived and farmed sheep there for most of his life. Emily Howe grew up about a mile away. They can’t remember when they first met each other — “At the dump or at a wedding,” Howe guessed — but when they decided to tie the knot, doing it at Landgoes was the obvious choice.

So, in August 2015, they cleaned out the big hay barn for the reception and held the ceremony outside on the lawn. The transformation from working farm to oneoff wedding venue was so spectacular that many of their guests suggested they host more weddings there.

O’Brien and Howe, who were barely breaking even with the farm business, liked the idea a lot. Howe posted their wedding photos on Facebook and invited inquiries from couples seeking a wedding venue. They hosted two weddings that year, as a proof of concept, and the farm has been booked solid ever since, hosting about a dozen weddings annually between Memorial Day and Indigenous Peoples’ Day.

The unique setting, of course, is part of the reason for their success, but Howe and O’Brien rely on their own savvy and sweat to make Landgoes a viable business. As a justice of the peace for many years, O’Brien had seen scores of weddings. So had Howe, as a wedding photographer.

“We both knew what works and doesn’t work — and what’s really memorable for people,” Howe said.

Their formula blends the charm of a working farm and a petting zoo with the simple elegance of a clean, rustic barn that can be dressed up to their guests’ desires. Gentle English Romney sheep graze on a pasture just beyond the wedding bower. A Scottish Highland cow is available to give her blessing to the wedding dress. A neighbor takes guests on horse-drawn wagon rides. There are

nature trails to explore, an adult tree house, lawn games, Adirondack chairs and a firepit.

“For a lot of our guests, it’s like a big reunion,” Howe said, “so we’ve made a lot of hangout spots where people can separate off and have mini reunions.”

While it would seem that having a wedding on a farm is a timeless tradition,

it’s also become quite trendy. Judy Risteff, owner and founder of the Vermont Wedding Association, has noticed five or six unused barns and farms purchased every year for the past few years and turned into wedding venues.

“As we begin 2023, ‘barn’ is still the buzzword for many couples,” Risteff said. “Farms are also becoming quite desirable,

as stepping back in time remains on the top of the list for so many couples.”

For Samantha and Chris Granger, what set Landgoes apart from other venues was its authenticity. The couple, who live in North Clarendon, looked at other farm-like destinations and came away disappointed.

“One had a barn with a chandelier, where no animals had ever been,” Samantha said. “Another was a real barn, but it was so used we couldn’t envision it being clean enough for a wedding.”

They were also, in no small part, drawn to the sincerity and friendliness of Howe and O’Brien. Her ancestors settled in Tunbridge in the 18th century; his father purchased the abandoned Landgoes property and home for $600 in 1940 and returned it to its farming roots. When the Grangers realized they couldn’t afford the high-end wedding of their dreams, they also found they had the choice to spend their hard-earned money with people they wanted to support.

“John and Emily just fit that,” Samantha said. “They’re such great people who work really hard, and they were also flexible and made us feel like family.”

Howe and O’Brien don’t compromise their authenticity by cashing in on it. They

Samantha Granger and a Scottish Highland cow

Langdoes Farm at night

COURTESY OF MYRA HUDSON PHOTOGRAPHY

COURTESY OF CHIP ALLEN

charge $3,900 for the use of their property and barn, which seats 200 people comfortably and has taken on many identities at weddings over the years, including Mexican cantina, enchanted forest and hunting lodge. According to O’Brien, that’s cheaper than renting a tent of a similar size — and the barn comes with tables, chairs and benches, which usually aren’t included in a tent rental.

They also handle all the coordination on the day of the wedding so that couples don’t need to worry about directing

learned of its price, they stopped their search.

“Weddings can get stupidly expensive fast,” McMeekin said. “Landgoes just felt like a very sweet, simple spot to gather our community.”

McMeekin’s sister was going to help the couple decorate the barn, but when she saw it, she said, “This place is stunning; we don’t need to do anything.”

McMeekin and Cieslik were married on a sunny day in early September last year. The ceremony took place in front of a sheep meadow, with the Green Mountains in the background. At some point during the vows, the sheep started making noises and frolicking around, and the wedding guests loved it. The reception was catered to great acclaim by Pim’s Thai Orchid, from Lebanon, N.H. There was dancing, toasts and a flash mob, fueled by peanut M&M’s, s’mores and ice cream cake.

their DJ, caterer and photographer. On wedding days, Howe and O’Brien are up at 5 a.m. and working until two the following morning. They acknowledge that their rates are on the low side and say that’s intentional.

“If we raise our prices, we’re going to price out the locals,” Howe said. “I feel like we’d still be booked, because we do get enough people from other states. But I don’t want to be a business in our town that people in our town can’t afford.”

Hannah McMeekin grew up in nearby Randolph and now lives in Yakima, Wash. She and her partner, Keally Cieslik, wanted to get married near McMeekin’s parents’ home and found Landgoes through a family friend. They were looking for an unpretentious, airy wedding venue; when they saw Landgoes and

O’Brien considers it an honor to be a part of these gatherings. Each is different from the next, but every single one is an intensely romantic moment that he and Howe get to bring to life. They’ve had their share of high-maintenance mothers of the bride and at least one near disaster when a caterer backed out at the last minute (saved by Big Fatty’s BBQ in White River Junction).

Over the past seven years as a wedding host, O’Brien has learned what augurs a good time. “The best ones are always when the couple is relaxed, and they’re not so worried that everything has to be perfect,” he said. “When your attitude is We are going to have a party, and we’re so in love — those are the great weddings.”

LANDGOES JUST FELT LIKE A VERY SWEET, SIMPLE SPOT TO GATHER OUR COMMUNITY.

HANNAH MCMEEKIN

John O’Brien and Emily Howe with their sons, Eli and Ira

For Poorer

I do’s and I don’ts from a semiprofessional wedding guest

BY KATIE HODGES • khodges@sevendaysvt.com

After I got engaged, my Instagram feed was suddenly filled with images of florals and lace, sparkling diamond bands, and teary brides touching up their makeup in the mirror. The brides looked flawless, but they all blended together. I wanted to be different but still feel like me. I wanted the romantic vows with a killer party without spending a cent. How on Earth does one accomplish all that?

In a fit of anxiety, I immediately started googling wedding planning tips. Checklists soon filled my screen from the Knot, Zola, Brides … you name it. It was overwhelming. I wondered where the hell I should start.

Then I remembered that I am an event planner, and I don’t need a random person telling me which vacuum is best and when to add it to my registry. Besides, I secretly had created a wedding planning spreadsheet for myself long before I got engaged. Detailed spreadsheets are any event planner’s drug of choice — the more tabs, the better. Now, I was overjoyed I could finally tell my fiancé the spreadsheet existed!

But I still struggled to begin planning because, admittedly, I am really sick of weddings. By the end of 2023, I will have attended 24 of the 27 weddings I’ve been invited to since 2019. Plus my own! At this point, I could do the brides’ hair and makeup, write anyone’s personalized vows, and recite the Mad Libs-style speech your family’s favorite priest will give.

I can’t remember a single piece of cake I’ve had, but I can remember whose dog was the cutest at the ceremony. (I’m looking at you, Annabelle.) I don’t remember

what fun facts you had on your personalized napkins in the bathrooms, but I do recall yelping, “Holy shit! How much did these cost?” before crumpling them up.

Speaking of costs, I love all the happy couples dearly, but my wallet doesn’t. The travel, hotels, showers, gifts and bachelorette parties really have added up. Looking at my measly savings account makes me wilt like a corsage on a hot summer day. My fiancé and I did the math, and we’ve spent around $10,000 dollars on other people’s weddings in the past few years.

How do I afford my own dream day when I have spent years of savings on everyone else’s? It’s tough to be excited about my wedding when those pretty decorations in my Etsy shopping cart will either put me in debt or make me feel guilty about the carbon footprints following me down the aisle.

But empty wallets aside, weddings can be really fun and meaningful. Fatherdaughter dances will always make me cry, even if I’m worried about stepping on my dad’s toes during mine. With a busy wedding season on the horizon — especially given all the couples who’ve waited through a pandemic to get hitched — it’s likely you have one or two weddings to attend yourself. The key to getting the most out of them as a guest is knowing how to navigate the sweaty dance floor, survive the open bar, and endure the cringey speeches and everything else that makes a wedding both heartwarming and harrowing. So, as a semiprofessional wedding attendee and soon-to-be bride, I offer my list of I Do’s and I Don’ts to get you through your next nuptials — or 10.

I DO’S

Do befriend those at your table and make a game out of timing the speeches. Stakes can be raised by each person throwing a dollar into the pot. Everyone guesses how long each speech will take. The person who guesses the closest time without going over takes all. Hint: The dad’s speech will either be the shortest or the longest. Choose wisely!

If you win, be sure to shower the bride in dolla dolla bills y’all during the one song that comes on when she forgets Grandma is watching and starts dancing a little too dirty with her new hubby.

Do start limbo at every single wedding you go to. It’s silly and fun! A true wedding guest professional should literally bend over backward to please the happy couple.

Do hit me up if you need a dress to wear to a wedding. Seriously, please take them from me. My closet cannot hold any more.

And do re-wear your own! You don’t need a new dress for each wedding. The only guest likely to remember you’ve worn that outfit before is you.

Do ask the event coordinator for scissors when your dress has three layers and you’re too hot dancing — you can cut off and throw away the inner two layers.

Do channel your inner MacGyver when something goes wrong. A bobby pin can fix a crooked corsage or a broken shoulder strap on a dress. A safety pin can be a good toothpick. And Lord, forgive me, but if you can’t find a pin, a piece of your own hair can sub for floss if that spinach in your teeth really won’t come out.

Do use the hand dryer in the bathroom when you spill on your satin dress and family photos are coming up.

Do indulge like it’s your last meal, especially during an open bar. Your hungover self will thank you tomorrow. Forget the calories! Give your body what it needs, whether that’s an extra glass of water or your fourth slice of Domino’s at 2 a.m.

Pro tip: Pack electrolyte powder in your purse and drink it throughout the reception.

Do get creative, especially if you’re giving a speech. Do the couple love Disney? Sing a song to them! See if the audience really can feel the love tonight! Does your brother dance like an inflatable tube man at a car dealership? Act it out!

Do twist and shout, cha-cha slide, electric slide and Macarena your way around the dance floor. Who cares if the DJ isn’t playing your genre of choice? Your dance moves deserve the spotlight.

Do grab the hand of the shy person tapping their toes on the outside of the dance circle and twirl ’em around. They might just break into the sweetest smile you’ve ever seen.

Do use props on the dance floor whenever available. These could be desserts, napkins, flowers, etc. Pro tip: The groom’s tie can be used for limbo, and rolled-up wedding programs make excellent microphones to yell into when “Mr. Brightside” comes on.

Do put your phone away to respect the photographer. Trust that they’ll do their job and get the winning shot, and you don’t need to lean into the aisle to get the firstkiss photo. There’s nothing worse than watching an intimate moment through someone else’s phone in your face.

COURTESY OF MICHAEL GALLITELLI

Do sign the guest book early before your intoxicated handwriting turns into an italicized mess.

I DON’TS

Don’t add up the money you spend at weddings. Trust me. It will give “for richer or for poorer” in the vows a whole new meaning — emphasis on poorer.

Don’t bother wearing shapewear, especially on a hot day, because you will get too hot in the un-air-conditioned church and throw it away in the church’s bathroom. (Sorry, Jesus. But if you had answered my prayers for a cool breeze, we wouldn’t have had this problem.)

Don’t be ashamed to go barefoot on the dance floor. Dirty feet are better than blistered feet!

Don’t try wearing magnetic fake eyelashes on a hot summer day. They will rotate 90 degrees on your face without you noticing, and when someone finally tells you, you’ll end up ripping them off and throwing them into the air like confetti.

Don’t get overly excited for limbo and cut the line, especially when children are involved and the photographer is looking.

(See photo.)

Don’t sing karaoke in a hotel elevator after being asked to stop singing karaoke in the lobby, because the manager will throw you out at 1 a.m.

Related: Don’t yawn and pretend to be asleep even though you’re fully dressed with a drink in hand when said manager arrives at the door to throw you out.

Don’t spend a ton of money on the wedding card. Buy a multipack of vaguely congratulatory cards, and you can use them for every birthday, engagement, wedding, retirement, divorce and breakup for the next 10 years of your life. ➆

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Katie Hodges is Seven Days’ events and ticketing manager. When she’s not attending weddings or preparing for her own, she’s competing at horse shows. The only thing she spends more money on than weddings is her pets.

Good Vibrations

Earth + Salt brings sex toys and positivity to Burlington

BY CAROLYN SHAPIRO

Adozen dildos line a shelf in Earth + Salt like neon pink and rainbow-colored soldiers waiting for marching orders. In this case, their duty is not to rain down destruction but to deliver sexual pleasure.

Nearby, a center table holds more than 20 vibrators, from the smooth green, leaf-like Wave to the multipronged Rabbit. There are suction toys for clitoral stimulation and masturbation sleeves with different interior textures to upgrade the habitual hand job.

Another shelf holds butt plugs — some quiver, some don’t — in an array of sizes. One has an “arm” that stretches across the perineum, the area between the anus and the scrotum or the vulva. Perineum play, it turns out, is a thing.

“We sold a lot of butt stuff for Valentine’s Day last year,” said Beth Hankes, who opened the Burlington store in August 2021 after eight months of selling sex toys online.

This brick-and-mortar erotica emporium is a unique retail entry in the Queen City. Although the Good Stuff store on Church Street sells a selection of sex toys, Earth + Salt makes the pursuit of orgasm its top priority. Its curated array of products embraces sex-positive pleasure seekers of all stripes — any gender identity, sexual

orientation or proclivity for kink — who are at least age 18.

Hankes, 37, has trained as a sex educator and emphasizes sexual wellness, safety, information, and accessibility for marginalized groups and people with disabilities. She approaches her business with a frankness that’s meant to make customers comfortable with carnality.

“No matter what you’re into, we’re going to hopefully be able to serve you in some way,” Hankes said on a recent evening, relaxing in a swayback chair in her shop.

Earth + Salt’s entrance is off an alley leading to the lower level of the Karma Bird House on Maple Street, but this isn’t some dimly lit dungeon down a dark corridor. Hankes’ space is bright and airy, with lush green plants and huge front windows. The exposed-brick walls hold artwork, including a framed poster depicting various vulvas. The shop’s bookshelf includes titles such as Becoming Cliterate: Why Orgasm Equality Matters — and How to Get It and Getting It: A Guide to Hot, Healthy Hookups and Shame-Free Sex

Earth + Salt has a section for BDSM (bondage, domination, submission and sadomasochism) and offers classes on safe role-play. Among the handcuffs and nipple clamps is a line of leather products by Fairfax-based Dark Desires Vermont, including sensuous woven floggers, slap straps and bundles of rope dyed in jewel tones.

One of the “clit suckers” that Earth + Salt carries is the popular Rose toy, a silky silicone red bud that went viral on

with which individuals can comfortably camouflage genitalia and breasts. Packers let someone without male anatomy have the sensory experience of a phallus. A mini stroker called a Shot Pocket gives someone with a clitoris the sensation of masturbating the way a person with a penis would.

“It’s another way to confirm your gender,” Hankes said. “Gender issues and concerns and feeling like you’re in the wrong body come up so much in sex.”

Abigail Western, 21, discovered Earth + Salt on a field trip with a positive-sexuality discussion group for University of Vermont students called the Good Stuff. She and her partner, 21-year-old Dina Retik, dropped by the shop on a January evening to check out the Rose as a replacement for her Satisfyer Pro 2 suction toy, which has 13 intensity settings. It gave out over winter break, Western said.

“As a queer couple, it’s nice to come to such an inclusive place [and] get to ask our questions, with no judgment,” Retik said.

The couple also visited the Good Stuff store downtown, but Earth + Salt appealed to them more with “queer stuff everywhere” in an “accessible space,” Western said. “Just being comfortable in an environment when you’re exploring new things is a good plus.”

Not all customers know exactly what they want when they come to Earth + Salt. Many start out baffled by the options, employee Nico Walton said. They might not be familiar with the newer products or even with the differences among dildos, vibrators and suction toys.

“A lot of the time, when you talk about sex, we’re kind of talking around it, and this is a place that you have to get into the nitty-gritty,” Walton said. “I’m surprised by how much people trust us to tell us their most vulnerable aspects and ... to listen to that and give them the help that they’re looking for.”

Walton and Hankes will walk newcomers around the store and gently prod them for information: What type of touch do they prefer? Do they like more pressure, more intensity? Does tapping or stroking work better for them? What about penetration? Using this approach, Hankes recently helped a customer in her fifties buy her first vibrator.

TikTok last year. The suction sensation, using air pressure to excite, only hit the sex toy scene about a decade ago, Hankes said.

“They say it’s supposed to be like oral sex,” she explained. “It’s not quite like oral sex.”

The shop offers a selection of gaffs, tuckers and binders — undergarments

“Not everyone has words for what they like,” Hankes said. “We need to be really warm and welcoming so that people know they can say the things that they struggle to say. And most people do fantastic with it. Even the nervous folks find their way with it. It’s just taking the time with people and letting them know it’s OK and that we’re not going to be surprised by anything they have to say.”

Hankes grew up in Pennsylvania and studied art history and studio art at Mount

NO MATTER WHAT YOU’RE INTO, WE’RE GOING TO HOPEFULLY BE ABLE TO SERVE YOU IN SOME WAY.

BETH HANKES

Holyoke College in Massachusetts; one of her professors there, who is about 30 years older, later became her partner. Around five years ago, Hankes said, she found herself with an urge to explore erotic encounters outside her relationship and sought out a sex therapist. She wanted to sleep with an ex-boyfriend without estranging her partner. At the same time, health problems prevented her from connecting with her sexuality, raising her awareness of the importance of finding harmony between passion and the body.

Her partner supported her in every way, Hankes said: “I think we both knew we had something so special, we wanted to do what we could to maintain the relationship.”

Hankes was ready to make a career change, as well. After working for six years in finance and business operations for a big health care company in Boston, she’d grown antsy to resurrect the creativity and sensuality she’d experienced with her art.

For her job, Hankes often traveled to Burlington. In early 2019, she did a two-week artist residency at Vermont Studio Center in Johnson. Later that year, during a trip to the city, she and her partner headed out in search of a sex toy shop before dinner at Revolution Kitchen. They found no place that combined the quality of products and the welcoming, cheery atmosphere that Hankes envisioned.

She decided to fill that void.

In the throes of the pandemic in 2020, while Hankes and her partner looked for a place to live in Burlington, she took a remote business course through the locally based Center for Women & Enterprise. She built a website and learned the ins and outs of the sex products business. The three major wholesalers in the

Love LoveMarriage

industry, she discovered, carried a whopping 20,000 to 40,000 items — many of them cheap and poorly constructed.

“I can actually curate everything to be body-safe and OK to use, because there’s plenty of products out there you should actually not be using,” Hankes said. “Products made of a jelly, as a jelly texture — those are body-toxic. They offgas toxins, which is not great.”

Lubricants are another concern. “Some of them have glycerin in it, which can cause yeast infections,” she said. “And they have a lot of preservatives in them, which can cause irritation. So the amount of potentially hazardous things you could encounter is actually kind of high.”

Hankes also looks for tasteful packaging that isn’t silly or grotesquely pornographic. In most categories, Earth + Salt carries products in a range of prices. The Wave vibrator costs $29, while an app-controllable couples vibrator called the Chorus runs $190. Dildos cost from $20 to about $70. Pulsating butt plugs are priced around $60. A sleek, stainless steel Pure Wand arouses the G-spot for $120 and comes in a beautiful box lined in fuchsia satin.

Hankes named the shop Earth + Salt to evoke the landscape and the fundamental features of sexual contact: a little bit dirty, a little bit sweaty. The name also suggests the openness and ease that she aims to invite with her business.

“I wanted it to be that place where — if you feel bad about yourself, if you have a struggle, if your sex is mostly happening in sweatpants — you feel comfortable here,” Hankes said. “You’re going to feel confident and comfortable asking questions you need to ask.” ➆

Love LoveMarriage

Never Give Your Love a Knife, Because

it will cut your love in two I was told by someone who’d know, someone who did give a pocketknife to their love. The best present I ever got— a gift certificate to fly a falcon and I never redeemed it, just let it hover in my mental map. An idea is all I need and my god, my love wins at being my love, hands tied, hands down, and really took the prize with this falconry. He knows I’d throw a diamond like a penny just to make a wish, some fleeting shimmer in my brain, a silhouette of a dream, and how a gift can be a weight, a tether. A valid gift is: a bike horn, a pineapple, a pinecone, a box of Jujubes, and I tell you I’ve been lucky not to be wooed with flowers. God knows no one wants flowers in a world like this, a world with feathers.

MORGAN ENGLISH

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Morgan English is a poet, critic and MFA candidate in the Bennington Writing Seminars. She lives in Brattleboro.

From Field to Classroom

Work outdoors and earn college credit with Vermont Youth Conservation Corps

When Ashley McGrann applied for a summer job with the Vermont Youth Conservation Corps’ Food and Farm program last year, she knew she’d be getting paid to clean and pack veggies and lead a crew of young people. But once she started, the 25-year-old was surprised to learn that her work could also translate into college credit.

A new partnership with the Community College of Vermont allows VYCC Crew Leaders to earn up to 12 college credit hours for the work they do on the organization’s Farm or Conservation crews in addition to their wages. The nonprofit also provides coaching and administrative support to set them up for success.

For McGrann, this was an exciting perk. She’d always aspired to go to college but had no idea how she’d get there. In January, thanks to the boost she got from VYCC, she started her first year at Northern Vermont University.

“I don’t think I would be coming to college — and I definitely wouldn’t be going to college in Vermont — without the credits and help from VYCC,” McGrann said.

As VYCC staffs up for summer 2023, hiring people 15 and older, it’s letting potential Crew Leaders know about that 12-credit educational option — one of many unique benefits the VYCC experience provides. Others include help with identifying student loan options, access to career coaching and sometimes housing.

Conservation Crew Leaders often camp with their crews while working in the woods; VYCC provides all equipment. Some Farm Crew Leaders,

like McGrann, are also able to live on the farm.

“The VYCC experience is transformational for so many Crew Members and Leaders,” said Leah Mital, VYCC’s Executive Director. “For some, it reinforces the path they are pursuing, and for others, it shows them new paths for work, service and how they want to live.”

GROWING SKILLS

VYCC is part of a national network of nonprofit service organizations that trace their roots to the New Deal-era Civilian Conservation Corps. This federal program put Americans to work during the Great Depression building campsites and trails and planting trees, but it’s evolved over the years. The current National Association of Service and Conservation Corps, founded in 1985, includes more than 150 locally run organizations like VYCC that offer jobs and training.

VYCC operates programs spring through fall: Conservation crews work on projects that take place on public lands across the state, looking after water quality, forest health, state park construction and sustainable trails. McGrann worked as a Crew Leader on the Food and Farm Program, which

Ashley McGrann behind the root washer

Cam Farwell and Ashley in the wash station prepping potatoes to plant

VYCC crew working on a stone staircase

I DEFINITELY WOULDN’T BE GOING TO COLLEGE IN VERMONT WITHOUT THE CREDITS AND HELP FROM VYCC.

Ashley McGrann

Ashley apple picking

combines sustainable agriculture and food security.

She was assigned the role of Postharvest Project Lead. Throughout the season, which lasts from March to October, McGrann oversaw all the washing, packing and quality control of the food that they grew on the farm.

“I was basically the food safety police,” she explained.

Every week, she also packed the Health Care Share, which is a program that connects families managing food insecurity with fresh, local food through their health care provider. The harvest includes fresh beans, cucumbers, squash and tomatoes; all of them are also available at the VYCC farmstand on its Richmond property.

Vermonters who travel Interstate 89 will recognize the barn where McGrann worked every day. Known as the West Monitor Barn, the large red-painted structure overlooks Route 2 on the way from Burlington to Bolton Valley Ski Resort.

Farming is in McGrann’s blood. She grew up in eastern Kentucky on a very small vegetable farm. After graduating from high school, McGrann began traveling around the country and working with many different conservation corps. Her lifestyle was hectic.

“I was living in tents and moving weekly,” she said. She applied to VYCC looking for more stability and a return to her roots.

“Coming to the farm was like coming back to my childhood,” she said. “I got to live in the farmhouse and sleep in the same bed every night. That had a huge impact on me.”

While she enjoyed working on the farm, she didn’t see agriculture in her future, which is why VYCC’s college credit benefit was such a welcome opportunity for her.

MAKING THE GRADE

McGrann first heard about the college credit program from VYCC Chief Program Officer Daniel Schmidt, who met with Crew Leaders last summer to share the news. Schmidt’s role is all about member experience. It’s his job to think about how Crew Members can translate the skills they learn outdoors into future careers.

He said forming the curriculum with CCV didn’t take too much additional work — the experience at VYCC already translated well to credits. “We worked with CCV to create a curriculum based on our existing Crew Leader training and the learning that happens throughout the season. We

FAST FACTS

• Open positions: VYCC is currently hiring for all positions for the 2023 season. From trails to food and farm, you’ll work together and learn a lot.

• Tuition benefit: The tuition program is for Crew Leaders only, who can earn up to 12 credit hours through CCV.

• Where to apply: vycc.org/apply

• Application deadline: Applications are accepted on a rolling basis. See website for position options and deadlines.

do the evaluations, then CCV does the paperwork.”

At the end of the season, students can either go to a state university or get those credits transferred out of state. Whether or not the Crew Leader immediately wants to go to college, they still get the credits for working with VYCC, and those credits can be accessed anytime.

Students are evaluated on skills

including effective communication, confl ict management and their ability to work in a professional environment.

“At VYCC, a big part of what we do is learning. This is not a job where we expect people to come in and have all the skills and knowledge, like how to build a trail,” Schmidt said, adding that VYCC provides young people with the tools to learn skills. “Then we pay them to learn those skills, which is a unique thing. They get paid to learn.”

TAKING THE NEXT STEP

After hearing about this opportunity, McGrann was one of the first to express her interest. VYCC’s Alumni Manager met with her biweekly to help her fill out college applications and showed her how to apply for scholarships.

McGrann’s experience illustrates VYCC’s commitment to helping its Corps Members and alumni continue their work and figure out what comes next. Alumni Managers will review how they convey their time at VYCC on a résumé, share job postings, and connect them with potential employers and other alums working in their fields of interest.

“Out of all the conservation corps I’ve worked for, none of them supported me in the way VYCC did,” McGrann said. “The staff are fully invested in you and your future.”

In addition to the credit hours McGrann earned, she also qualified for in-state tuition to study environmental science with a focus on ornithology. She’s specifically interested in bird migration patterns and how they correlate with the weather. Even if she doesn’t see herself on a farm in the future, McGrann’s experiences have taught her that being outside is her passion.

After her first few weeks of classes, McGrann said it’s been an adjustment going from living and working outdoors to being in an academic setting, which she hasn’t experienced since high school. But she’s really enjoying this new phase of her life.

“I feel like my life has aligned to this moment,” she said. “This is exactly where and when I’m supposed to be, and I couldn’t have accomplished that without VYCC.” 

Ashley McGrann at Northern Vermont University

KEVIN GODDARD

Vergennes Valentine

With a move into a new space, Daily Chocolate keeps making the Little City a little sweeter

BY JORDAN BARRY • jbarry@sevendaysvt.com

Every town has a spot — it could be a village green or a scenic river bend — to which locals and visitors alike gravitate for a moment of sweet relief. In Vergennes, it’s the halfblock stretch of Green Street that hosts two purveyors of literal sweets: lu•lu and Daily Chocolate.

Lu•lu’s giant ice cream cone sign and front door on Main Street are an obvious draw, even in winter. If you head out through the shop’s yellow-and-blue side door and cross the street, Daily Chocolate is just one building down. The small-batch chocolate shop has been tucked in the basement of 7 Green Street for nearly 17 years. Many people still don’t know it exists.

But that’s about to change. After the Valentine’s Day rush, owner Dawn Wagner will bring Daily Chocolate into a new era — and up to street level.

“We’re only moving eight feet up, but we’ll have more visibility,” Wagner, 45, said. “You’ll be able to see what we’re doing.”

Namely, visitors will have a view of Wagner and her small team creating handcrafted treats such as pistachio-green chile bark, lemon-lavender white chocolate, black rum caramels, peanut butter fingers and honey sponge toffee. Right now, Daily Chocolate’s shelves are stocked with heartshaped boxes, pops and pieces for Valentine’s Day shopping. Or anti-Valentine’s Day shopping, if you opt for the black Love You to Death box, emblazoned with hugging skeletons and anatomical hearts.

Everything is made on-site, currently in the back section of the open-plan basement. The cozy space has original timbers

and exposed stone walls in its front retail area, but those features aren’t food-safe, so they limit where Wagner and her team can produce chocolate.

Chocolatiers have worked around the basement’s quirks since Florey Mahoney

and Chris White founded Daily Chocolate in 2006. They were the first tenants of the circa-1800 building’s dirt-floor basement, which was renovated in 2005, Wagner said. Jen Roberts and Judd Markowski purchased the business in 2009.

After more than four years of working for the second set of owners, Wagner bought Daily Chocolate in December 2020. She immediately launched an e-commerce website, where customers can order customized boxes.

Wagner has shipped chocolate to Oregon, South Carolina and Alaska, though she can’t explain how those customers found her. She also increased the business’ wholesale accounts, which are mostly in Vermont and across the lake in New York.

With Daily Chocolate growing, Wagner

jumped on the building’s street-level unit as soon as One Credit Union announced it would move down the street.

“My initial thought was: I have to do both,” Wagner said, referring to the basement and the upstairs space. “Financially, that was too big a leap to take.”

But then she learned that the mainfloor unit also includes a third of the second story, so she gave up her current space. That second-floor bonus area will become storage, an office and a break room for Daily Chocolate’s employees — who range in number from three to 10, depending on the season.

Roberts and Markowski are now Wagner’s contractors; they’re transforming the former bank into a slightly bigger, defi-

Sweets from Daily Chocolate

PHOTOS: CALEB KENNA

Daily Chocolate owner Dawn Wagner

SIDEdishes

Maudite Poutine to Close Poutinerie but Expand Guest Chef Program

After less than a year in operation, Burlington’s MAUDITE POUTINE will close its poutine restaurant at 156 North Winooski Avenue at the end of February to refocus on mobile operations, said JOE and LEAH COLLIER, part of the founder-owner sibling team of three. The business, which started as a food cart in 2016, will still use the Old North End restaurant kitchen to prep food for its three trailers.

After a two-month break in March and April, the Colliers said, they will restructure and expand the TINY COMMUNITY KITCHEN part of their operation, which hosts local food entrepreneurs who offer pop-up meals at the small restaurant. Menus have ranged from Southern-style fried chicken to Iraqi food; upcoming February events include BETZY’S LATIN FLAVORS, EMPRESS LEVI SOUL FOOD and MAS COMIDA.

Poutine sales at the restaurant “kinda flatlined about six months ago,” acknowledged Joe, 36. Meanwhile, interest in pop-ups has remained high.

Leah, 39, said that by giving up

Maudite’s Thursday-through-Saturday hours, the Colliers can concentrate on their busy mobile business and offer a robust, predictable pop-up schedule with more opportunities for local cooks and chefs.

Details of the Tiny Community Kitchen expansion remain to be determined, but Leah said one possibility is for the restaurant to be open regular evening hours, Thursday through Monday, with a rotating roster of food vendors. Maudite could still fill any empty dates with a small poutine menu.

Such a schedule would offer more consistency to the public, too.

“A lot of the feedback we got over this experiment over the last six to eight months was that, because there’s so much going on and so many moving parts, people had trouble deciphering what was happening there,” Joe said of the restaurant. “We’d really like to be a little bit clearer with what people can expect.”

Melissa Pasanen

New Owners for McKee’s Pub & Grill in Winooski

MCKEE’S PUB & GRILL has been a Winooski staple for 35 years. As of January 1, it has new owners: RYAN JOHNSTON and his aunt JAMIE LACOURSE bought the bar at 19 East Allen Street from LANCE MCKEE, who still owns PAPA MCKEE’S PIZZERIA in Richmond in his “semiretirement,” Johnston said.

Johnston started working for the McKee family in 2001; he has owned MCKEE’S ISLAND PUB & PIZZA in South Hero since 2016.

“We didn’t buy McKee’s [Pub &

Grill] to change the world,” he said. “We bought McKee’s because it’s part of our life. We grew up there, and we want to keep the vibe.”

McKee’s food favorites, such as the turkey club and corned-beef Reuben, aren’t going anywhere, but expect to see new items on the menu, including pizza. Next week, Johnston will start renovating the kitchen of his South Hero

From left: Michael, Joe and Leah Collier of Maudite Poutine

Culinary Couple

Chefs copilot Marble Valley Kitchen in Rutland

STORY & PHOTOS BY MELISSA PASANEN • pasanen@sevendaysvt.com

Valentine’s Day is special for Lisa Fennimore and Nate Wright — but not because the couple has ever sat down together for a romantic meal on February 14. The chefs, who co-own Rutland deli and catering business Marble Valley Kitchen, met on Valentine’s Day 2006, when Wright hired Fennimore to work for him at a now-closed Ludlow spa resort.

In some ways, Fennimore mused, their professional relationship needs more tending than the personal one. Empathy helps. “When I start to get grumpy, Nate hands me a cookie,” she said.

nitely brighter shop. Instead of brick and stone, the walls are bright white and a deep turquoise that matches Daily Chocolate’s new logo. The new shop is more modern but still warm and welcoming — and it does have a few exposed timbers.

her theatrical pursuits — often as a side hustle, whether she was making favors for friends’ weddings or working for a chocolatier between shows.

They quickly became good friends. Both were married at the time, though Fennimore, now 45, admitted that she felt a spark. “He’s a handsome devil,” she said with a laugh, “but he was my boss.”

INFO

After a year, Wright, now 46, moved on to a new job, and the pair stayed loosely in touch on social media. In 2020, about a year after they reconnected in person, Wright, his teenage son and their dog moved into the Brandon home where Fennimore lived with her then-5-yearold son and two cats. Coincidentally, that day was also Valentine’s Day.

Wright generally specializes on the savory side, making soups such as chunky clam chowder ($6.95); curing corned beef in-house for the grilled Reuben ($10.95); and whipping up maple-walnut-basil mayo for the Marble Valley Melt ($10.95), which is stacked with turkey, smoked Gouda and apple.

Marble Valley Kitchen Deli & Catering, 22 Killington Ave., Rutland, 747-7488, marblevalleykitchen.com

“We had a snowstorm, and you guys just never left,” Fennimore recalled.

The following month, the country went into pandemic lockdown, and Wright’s college-age daughter joined them. “That’s one hell of a way to cement a family,” Fennimore joked as the couple chatted in their small deli after the lunch rush.

They opened the Marble Valley Kitchen deli last year on February 23, “a week late,” Wright said, rueful at having missed the opportunity to mark a third milestone on Valentine’s Day.

In the building that formerly housed the Killington Avenue Deli, the pair prepares sandwiches, soups, salads, baked goods, and heat-and-eat meals, on top of the catering Wright previously offered from their licensed home kitchen in Proctor.

For the new deli, Fennimore left her job as a high school culinary arts instructor, and the couple became partners in life and business. Or, as Wright put it, “copilots of our little kitchen spaceship.”

Fennimore does most of the baking, including daily quiches such as caramelized onion and mushroom ($5.95 per slice), oatmeal chocolate chip cookies with a whisper of cinnamon ($1), and chocolate cupcakes topped with chocolate marshmallow fluff frosting ($2). The pair share the salad station, tossing greens, bacon, hard-cooked egg, roasted red peppers, tomatoes, black olives and avocado for hearty Cobb salads ($8.95).

Wright and Fennimore admitted that personal time is scarce. “The blessing and the curse is that we get up together, go to work together, go home together,” Fennimore said.

“We’re trying hard to say [sometimes], ‘Tonight’s date night; we’re not talking business,’” Wright said.

As long as they are chefs, Fennimore and Wright will probably never enjoy a special February 14 dinner, though they do intend to get to Burlington’s A Single Pebble for a long-postponed celebratory date night at some point.

This Valentine’s Day, they’ll be busy cooking preordered meals ($60 for two) featuring teriyaki steak tips, chile-lime shrimp skewers, twice-baked potatoes, asparagus, and a dessert of chocolate mousse or a strawberryfrosted lemon cupcake.

Even if they end up with leftovers, “We try it so many times to make sure it’s good,” Wright said, “we don’t really want to eat it after that.” ➆

Because the walls of the space are fully finished, the chocolate-making equipment can go right up against them. The production team will gain 24 feet of countertop space, and customers will be able to stand directly in front of a glass partition for a close-up view of the action.

“We call it our sushi bar,” Wagner said. “It’s like a chef’s table.”

Wagner is naturally drawn to the notion of chocolate prep as performance. In the mid-1990s, while studying theater and sculpture at the University of Vermont, she got a job at Lake Champlain Chocolates’ retail shop on Church Street.

The Burlington chocolate biz was in the midst of an expansion, moving to its longtime factory and current flagship store at 750 Pine Street. Wagner often worked there, too, between classes, rehearsals and performances. She started pitching in on production — dipping strawberries, making handmade truffles and, in a nod to her dual degree, molding chocolate into sculptural displays.

She leaned into the performance aspect of leading factory tours and demonstrations, with encouragement from Lake Champlain Chocolates’ director of retail operations, Gary Coffey.

“Gary always told me, ‘It’s theater, theater, theater!’” Wagner said. “That stuck with me.”

Wagner eventually moved to New York City to pursue a career as a stage manager on and off Broadway. For decades, chocolate intertwined with

In 2016, she and her husband, actor Jeremy Holm, moved back to Vermont. They settled in Vergennes, where Wagner had lived for her last two years of high school. Their oldest daughter was about to start school, and “we were ready to shape-shift a little bit,” Wagner said.

She knew that might mean taking a step away from her theater career. As a union member, she can take only certain jobs in Vermont, most of them during the summer — not ideal for a young family.

Wagner had always dreamed of having a chocolate shop of her own. But Vergennes already had Daily Chocolate, and Markowski’s brother was one of her best friends growing up. Opening a competing shop would have been “aggressive and mean,” Wagner said with a laugh. Instead, she worked at Daily Chocolate seasonally, then full time.

Chocolate “ticks the box” that theater used to occupy in her life, Wagner said: “They’re both mysterious and magical, and they leave you asking questions, wanting to know answers and looking differently at things.”

She’s maintained her connections to the New York theater community, which can come in handy. After Wagner recently sent treats to the cast of The Music Man revival on Broadway, its star, Sutton Foster, showcased a Daily Chocolate box on her Instagram story.

“She opened it, and there were none left,” Wagner said. “She ordered again the next week.”

Daily Chocolate’s style has always been a bit rustic, with a focus on fruit- and nut-studded barks and hand-cut pieces.

Lisa Fennimore and Nate Wright

Dawn Wagner handcrafting chocolates

Oatmeal chocolate chip cookie

Vergennes Valentine « P.42

Window décor at Marble Valley Kitchen

The base comes from California’s Guittard Chocolate, which sources Fair Trade- and Rainforest Alliance-certified beans from small farms, grower co-ops and farmer organizations. It’s soy-free, and Daily Chocolate doesn’t use white sugar, corn syrup, or artificial flavors or colors. Local ingredients include Monument Farms Dairy products, Cabot Creamery butter, whiskey and rum.

As Daily Chocolate grows, Wagner is drawing on her experience with the specialized equipment at Lake Champlain Chocolates to increase the efficiency of her operation, albeit on a much smaller scale. She recently purchased a tabletop enrobing line, which encases caramels and other fillings in chocolate. She’d love to get an additional tempering machine so that the primarily dark chocolate shop could expand its milk chocolate offerings.

Chocolate’s toffee — both the honey sponge and the more traditional English version, which she uses in her ice cream.

“I will always request the largest piece that they have,” Mack said. “For my birthday, Dawn made me a toffee ‘cake’ the size of my face.”

Daily Chocolate will have extended open hours through Valentine’s Day, then close from Thursday, February 16, through Monday, February 20, to make its move upstairs. Wagner had initially hoped to move by the end of January, but she opted instead to wait until after Valentine’s Day, one of the busiest chocolate holidays of the year. Nothing is lined up to take over the basement location yet, she said, so she has some flexibility.

IT MAKES THE WHOLE CITY FEEL REALLY VIBRANT.

LAURA MACK

“We’re always going to be smallbatch,” Wagner said, even as the team works toward consistency and uniformity.

Wagner hasn’t broken hearts by swapping out any longtime favorite products; she’s only eighty-sixed two, which she’d rather not name. One of her additions is already making a buzz: honey sponge toffee enrobed in 72 percent dark chocolate.

Wanting to make a version of the crunchy, aerated toffee popular in Australia and the UK, Wagner found a recipe in Daily Chocolate’s “ratty old folder of secrets,” she said. It’s the first product in the shop to use honey from Wagner’s own hives, which she keeps at a friend’s home near Button Bay.

Lu•lu owner Laura Mack described herself as a “big sucker” for Daily

When Vergennes fixture 3 Squares Café moved a block north in 2016, “they had a chaircarrying party, and a line of townspeople walked up the street with furniture,” Wagner recalled. She’d like to do the same thing, but finding people to ferry the shop’s 400-pound granite chocolate-making tables would be a little more of an ask.

“It’s like a six-person piece of stone,” she said.

As Daily Chocolate gains a streetlevel presence, some might regard it as competing with lu•lu, its close neighbor in the little city of Vergennes. But neither Mack nor Wagner sees it that way.

“It makes the whole city feel really vibrant,” Mack said. “A balanced diet is a cone in one hand and a chocolate in the other. We complement each other, and complements never compete.” ➆

Daily Chocolate in Vergennes

KITCHEN CRAFTS

Carving a Niche North Branch Nature Center hosts a forest-to-spoon workshop

STORY & PHOTOS BY MELISSA PASANEN • pasanen@sevendaysvt.com

What I gained from the January 29 Snow Season “Spooning” workshop at Montpelier’s North Branch Nature Center: 1) hands-on education in which trees yield softer wood receptive to the efforts of neophyte carvers, and 2) slightly more confidence when using hatchets and other digit-threatening tools.

What I did not gain: a hand-carved wooden spoon.

Ken Benton, the nature center’s director of education, foreshadowed that possibility during his introduction, cautioning, “Don’t expect to come away with a perfectly finished spoon.”

The knowledgeable and extremely patient workshop leader reminded participants that the five-hour event was the kitchen-utensil version of a farm-to-fork meal, in which diners follow their food from source to plate.

Many spoon-carving workshops start with a prefinished block of wood — called a “blank” — in a rough spoon shape. This forest-to-spoon session entailed venturing out among the trees, harvesting raw material, hacking small logs down to size and then carving them into spoons.

“We could start with a spoon blank,” Benton said, “but then you wouldn’t know how we got to that point.”

Crafting an ostensibly simple spoon began to seem as magical and unobtainable as Rumpelstiltskin spinning gold from straw.

“I’ll never look at a hand-carved wooden spoon the same way again,” agreed Rebecca Hill, 66, of Montpelier. She had signed up in search of a relaxing hobby but admitted that Benton’s overview struck her as “a bit daunting.” Hill reflected that she shouldn’t have been surprised: “We’re starting with a piece of a tree and making it into this beautiful, smooth, usable object.”

Under softly falling snowflakes, Benton guided the group into the trees, explaining how to identify species and gather the best carving wood. He always harvests from downed limbs or trees that need pruning. “I go with what nature gives me,” he said.

We carried logs of black willow, basswood and butternut to our chopping blocks. Everyone picked up hatchets with varying degrees of confidence — zero, in my case.

Students, who had paid $50 for the workshop, ranged in age from thirties to seventies and hailed from as far as Wheelock. Tom Shughrue, 61, had recently retired to Websterville from Dallas. He was looking for something to do over the “very long winter,” he said.

Marissa Gerdes, 33, and Luke Spencer, 31, relocated five months ago from Ohio to Barre, where Spencer landed a teaching job. The couple are cultivating a tradition of doing something crafty together to celebrate their birthdays.

Gerdes said she was feeling nervous, “having never touched a hatchet before.” I commiserated.

More experienced participants included state Sen. Andrew Perchlik, 54, of Marshfield and Celina Landry, 36, of Barre. Both were eager to learn about different woods and how to optimize wood grain when carving.

Wood chips and curls piled up as spoons progressed under hatchets and bow saws, then fixed-blade woodcarving knives, drawknives, bent gouges and spokeshaves.

Some of us had more success than others. No one lost a digit, though a few fingers had minor misadventures. “I have a spoon!” celebrated Lee Youngman, 60, of Orange, adding wryly, “…that is covered in my own blood.”

I avoided bleeding, but my “spoon” better resembled a misshapen spatula.

“What did your first spoon look like?” Youngman asked Benton.

“Firewood,” Benton responded, giving me hope that, if I kept at it, I might someday stir a pot with a spoon of my own making.

INFO

North Branch Nature Center will offer its next spoon-carving workshop in fall 2023; learn more at northbranchnaturecenter.org. Check spoonderlust.com for similar upcoming offerings in White River Junction, Randolph and Bethel.

Ken Benton outlining a spoon

From left: Russell Ruff, Andrea Z-Covey and Rebecca Hill working on shave horses

Rebecca Hill (left) working with guidance from Ken Benton

Three phases of a wooden spoon

Participants at the North Branch Nature Center spoon-carving workshop

restaurant to expand its capacity and add a new pizza oven. He’ll move his current pizza oven to Winooski and add a full lineup of regular and gluten-free pizza, pasta, soups, subs, salads, and baked goods.

McKee’s new owners plan to expand late-night hours for industry folks and bring back live music, including DJs, bands, karaoke and open mic nights. Starting this week, the Winooski pub will host trivia with Top Hat Entertainment on Monday nights — a popular offering in the islands, Johnston said.

Lacourse introduced Johnston to what they call “the mothership” when Johnston was a teen; they’d go to the Winooski pub together to hear Irish

music or an Elvis impersonator on Sunday afternoons. Lacourse’s father, Ronald “Pete” Lacourse, was once mayor of Winooski and dreamed of having a restaurant, Johnston said.

“I’m so proud that Jamie and I get to do this together,” he said. “We’re excited to give back to the little city that’s given us so much.”

Jordan Barry

Putnam’s vine/yard Opens in White River Junction

In 2021, when KELSEY RUSH returned to her native Upper Valley after living and working for six years in California’s Silicon Valley, she decided to pursue “a passion project,” she said. In December, Rush, 40, opened PUTNAM’S VINE/YARD in the White River Junction rail yard location at 188 South Main Street that previously housed the Engine Room.

Rush named the new venture after her New England Putnam family roots, which date back to the Puritans. She designed the plant-filled indoor/outdoor space to mimic the vineyard drinking experiences of the California wine country.

Her global wine list will change monthly, sourcing from many female winemakers. The current menu includes a dry Riesling from Forge Cellars on New York’s Seneca Lake, SHELBURNE VINEYARDS’ marquette and Carol Shelton Wines’ Wild Thing

zinfandel from Sonoma County, Calif., plus wines from South Africa, France, Italy and Argentina.

Putnam’s vine/yard offers wine education sessions, tasting flights and “Satur-yay” mimosa flights. The venue also serves coffee, tea and cold drinks. A limited food menu includes a “picnic box” of cheeses, charcuterie, pickled vegetables, fruit and crackers, as well as smaller sweet or salty snack boxes. Guests are encouraged to bring in food from local restaurants, for which the team will recommend appropriate pairings. On Saturdays, Putnam’s hosts local food vendors with offerings from bagels to doughnuts to tamales.

Putnam’s also sells plants and offers horticulture and self-improvement workshops. “This was maybe a bit of a crazy idea,” Rush admitted, “but I like an adventure.”

10 WINGS $15 / 20 FOR $26

Sauces: BBQ, Maple Habanero, Chili Thai or Buffalo Style

Choice of: Ranch or Blue Cheese

YAM WEDGES - $20

Large order of yam wedges served with a sun-dried tomato mayo

PHILLY CHEESESTEAK - $22

Shaved ribeye, caramelized onion, sauteed mushroom, aged cheddar & horseradish cream

From left: Ryan Johnston, Lance McKee and Jamie Lacourse

Putnam’s vine/yard

BOOKS

There may be no experience better suited to reminding us of the importance of friendship than moving across the country during a pandemic. That’s what Sheila Liming did when she joined the Division of Communication & Creative Media at Champlain College. The experience informed her latest book, Hanging Out: The Radical Power of Killing Time , which is part memoir, part research project and part manifesto on the importance of spending casual, unproductive time with other people.

In her two previous books, Liming established herself as a writer and academic who thinks deeply about spaces, both physical and abstract, and how they shape human perceptions, ambitions and social interactions. Office investigated how working in an office has changed over time, while What a Library Means to a Woman: Edith Wharton & the Will to Collect Books explored book collecting as a way to build a sense of self and a persona. Hanging Out is an obvious continuation of that work, divided into chapters that corral the massive array of human sociability into distinct sites and categories, such as “Hanging Out on the Job” and “Dinner Parties as Hanging Out.”

These chapters often defy expectations. Beginning to read “Hanging Out on TV,” I expected an analysis of the depiction of parties and social groups on the small screen, as in sitcoms. Instead, Liming writes about her own experiences being on TV when her friend became a Food Network star and started filming staged gatherings for a reality show, creating a simulacrum of her actual life and friendships. Liming chronicles how the women’s real-life friendship faded in the light of their e orts to portray it on-screen.

This is just one of many interesting anecdotes Liming uses to demonstrate her theories. In these pages we find her working at an ultra-remote bar, taking backpacking trips and climbing a glacier.

Other chapters discuss the dark side

Party Lines

Book review: Hanging Out: e Radical Power of Killing Time, Sheila Liming

BY MARGARET GRAYSON

of hanging out — the dangers of meeting predatory men at academic conferences or getting drunk with perfect strangers. But my favorite chapter is a celebratory one: “Jamming as Hanging Out,” Liming’s love letter to musical jam sessions.

A longtime player and teacher of the accordion, tin whistle and bagpipes, Liming played in multiple bands while living in Pittsburgh. Jamming feels like a topic that she’s been waiting years to

FROM HANGING OUT: THE RADICAL POWER OF KILLING TIME

I got to thinking about how friendship and hanging out alike require stamina. Sometimes, we have to let things be long and loose in order for them to pass through a crucial point of conflict and then get good again. The problem, though, comes from how the pace of modern living conditions us for the opposite, for rapid-fire

rhapsodize about in print, and her enthusiasm for it is contagious. Sure, she acknowledges “the guy downstairs” — anyone who feels inconvenienced or annoyed by the presence of loud music where they believe it should not be. But this does little to quell the force of her ode to jamming.

Liming suggests that hanging out might serve as a form of resistance to hustle culture, with its constant pressure to rack up concrete achievements. Writing about

experiences and instantaneous judgments. Enthusiasm and ardor get kindled quickly, but so do dislike and dismissal. As a result, we make a habit of turning away from all the things and people and encounters that bother, confuse, or tax us. We abandon them, comforting ourselves with excuses about how they’re not worth our time anyway. We swivel our attention elsewhere, setting our sights on new, temporary targets. And then, seconds or minutes later, we go and do it all again.

starting a band in winter 2009, in the midst of the Great Recession, she o ers a mission statement that feels deeply relevant to life in 2023. “We felt ourselves to be living in a sort of generational ditch that no amount of talent or success could break us out of,” she writes, “so we concentrated on having fun together, instead.”

Hence the jam, or the experience of casual, improvisational music making, which serves “to hold a space open for the exploration of that kind of chaotic convergence, to listen and see if the things that feel at first like mistakes might, in the end, light the way toward new opportunities.”

While Liming does champion traditional forms of sociability, she is not some idealized social butterfly determined to Emily Post us all into the perfect soirée attendees. She writes of parties that sound exhausting, of dinner-party guests who still owe her money, and even of attending a party and realizing that the host didn’t like her. Given that she’s never had an account on Facebook, where invitations are now frequently delivered, she notes that there have been plenty of parties she wasn’t invited to in the first place.

But despite her Facebook stance, Liming isn’t anti-internet; she is, like many writers, active on Twitter. In a chapter on the internet, she acknowledges that online interaction provides a safe space to socialize and a sense of control over one’s surroundings that can be di cult to find in the modern world, and that those advantages were especially vital during the pandemic lockdowns. But she also argues that there’s a form of euphoria people can’t achieve online — one that comes from spending time outside one’s comfort zone, sharing challenges and handling conflict with others.

Hanging Out is rife with references to

Sheila Liming

MUSEUMS

Shelburne Museum Hires

Curator of Native American Art

BY SALLY POLLAK • sally@sevendaysvt.com

Victoria Sunnergren was in Santa Fe, N.M., last August, attending the centennial of the Santa Fe Indian Market — the world’s largest juried Native American art show — when she got a phone call from an 802 area code. It was Shelburne Museum, offering her a job in its curatorial department as the inaugural associate curator of Native American art.

In October, Sunnergren joined the staff in that role. A 29-year-old art historian, she’s completing her dissertation at the University of Delaware. Sunnergren will guide the museum’s interpretation and exhibition of Native American art. In this effort, she’ll work with Indigenous community members and consultants to “understand our collection better and determine what kind of exhibits and displays we should be doing in the future,” Sunnergren told Seven Days

Her first curatorial project is an exhibit of Pueblo pottery that will open in the summer. “Built From the Earth: Pueblo Pottery From the Anthony and Teressa Perry Collection” features 25 pieces of pottery from New Mexico that date back to the second half of the 19th century and the early 20th century. The items are on loan to the museum from the collection of the late Tony Perry, a Vermont restaurateur who ran the Perry Restaurant Group.

Shelburne Museum’s collection of Native American art precedes the 1947 founding of the museum, director Thomas Denenberg said. The year before Electra Havemeyer Webb began the museum, she purchased the contents of artist Louis Comfort Tiffany’s so-called “Indian Room” from his Long Island, N.Y., estate. The original plan for the museum called for a Native American gallery in the southwest corner of the campus that was never built, Denenberg said.

In addition to the Tlingit baskets acquired from Tiffany, the museum’s collection of Native American material includes beadwork, textiles and carved pieces. The items were removed from display and put in storage in the 1990s, when museum officials determined that their exhibition could be “culturally insensitive,” Denenberg said.

In recent years, the museum researched its collection of Native American art — which Denenberg termed

“important” — in consultation with a national advisory council and a group of scholars. Following the research, Denenberg said he advised the board that the museum should transfer the collection to another museum or establish a program for the interpretation and exhibition of the material.

The museum opted for the latter choice and received funding from the New York City-based Henry Luce Foundation. While the initial funding for

Sunnergren’s position is from the foundation, the museum is committed to the new curatorship and will seek to endow the position, Denenberg said.

“Once Victoria knows the collection, we will be organizing exhibitions and partnering with other museums and Indigenous people moving forward,” he said.

Sunnergren was born in England and raised in Florida, where she earned her undergraduate degree at Florida State University. She was in New Mexico researching her dissertation on gender and Pueblo pottery before she accepted the Shelburne Museum position.

“I’m delighted to be working with this team,” Sunnergren said. “Everyone’s so welcoming and so curious about the work I’m doing — and so eager to work together on this project.” ➆

Victoria Sunnergren

CLASSICAL MUSIC

Three’s Company

Aconcerto usually features a single soloist — say, a violinist or a pianist — playing with an orchestra. So what was Ludwig van Beethoven thinking when he made a piano trio the soloist in his 1804 Triple Concerto for Violin, Cello and Piano in C Major? The logistics are mind-boggling: The piece creates a musical conversation between a sizable orchestra and three solo instruments that can also play in three di erent duet combinations and as a chamber group.

Beethoven solved the puzzle by making “the symphony part like the fourth instrument,” said Lou Kosma, music director and principal conductor of Vermont Philharmonic. The venerable Montpelier community orchestra, which turned 64 this year, will feature the Triple Concerto at its winter concerts this weekend at the Elley-Long Music Center in Colchester and the Barre Opera House. The soloists are the recently formed but impressive Champlain Trio, composed of pianist Hiromi Fukuda, violinist Letitia Quante and cellist Emily Taubl.

The program, titled “Stars of Winter: Celebrating Vermont Talent,” also features Burlington High School senior Laura Zhou-Hackett, the 2023 Jon Borowicz Memorial Student Music Scholarship winner, playing a movement of Felix

Nevertheless, Taubl said, “I’ve really fallen in love with the piece over the last five months. It’s always sliding in and out of the soloists’ and the orchestra’s parts. The orchestra has these beautiful, long, lyrical melodies that overlap with the soloists. But sometimes it’s really spare; he paces the experience so it doesn’t just overwhelm. It’s an amazing piece.”

The trio’s musicians all have ties to the Juilliard School in New York City. Taubl and Quante both attended its precollege division as high schoolers. Fukuda earned her doctorate in musical arts at Juilliard and is now a sta pianist there.

Fukuda also teaches piano at Amherst College in Massachusetts. Locally, she performs and teaches as an artist-faculty member at the Green Mountain Chamber Music Festival, a summertime strings program that takes place at Saint Michael’s College in Colchester.

Taubl, who earned a graduate diploma in cello performance from New England Conservatory in Boston, is principal cellist of the Springfield Symphony in Massachusetts and teaches at the University of Vermont. She founded and runs the Conservatory Audition Workshop, a summertime program on the St. Mike’s campus that offers cellists guidance on auditioning for music conservatories.

Mendelssohn’s

Piano Concerto No. 1 in G Minor; Aaron Copland’s An Outdoor Overture; and Richard Strauss’ Serenade in E-flat Major for 13 wind instruments.

Kosma has been directing Vermont Philharmonic for 23 years. When the orchestra’s concertmaster, Quante, formed Champlain Trio with Fukuda and Taubl three years ago, Kosma saw his chance to present a work that hasn’t been heard in the Green Mountain State since the Kalichstein-Laredo-Robinson Trio performed it with the Vermont Symphony Orchestra in Manchester in 1999.

it requires setting up three soloists, one with a concert grand piano, alongside the conductor, all in front of a large orchestra. Performing the Triple Concerto on the Barre Opera House’s small stage will be a challenge, Taubl noted.

“It feels almost like putting on a little opera: It’s got so many characters and moving parts, and it’s really a spectacle to see,” Taubl said.

IT’S NOT BROODING BEETHOVEN.

“I knew [Champlain Trio] is top-notch, and you need that” for the Triple Concerto, said Kosma, a double bassist who played in the Metropolitan Opera orchestra in New York City for 36 years. “It was most important that we got the OK from Emily,” he added, “because one of the hardest parts is the cello.”

Taubl said the trio was “thrilled” to be asked. “It really is a bucket-list piece for any piano trio, and so rarely is there an opportunity for us to play it,” she said.

The work is rarely programmed because

The work is also fairly unique. No other composer attempted a concerto for piano trio and orchestra until the 20th century; recent examples on a still-sparse list include a 1995 concerto for piano trio and orchestra by Ellen Taa e Zwilich and a 2010 one by former Vermonter Nico Muhly.

Beethoven wrote his Triple Concerto for his 16-year-old student, Archduke Rudolf of Austria, making the piano part commensurately doable. The cello part is challenging because it’s written in an unusually high register — the better to be heard over the orchestra — and because the instrument opens each movement, Taubl said. (Interestingly, Beethoven never wrote a cello concerto.)

Quante is well-known in Burlington as a VSO violinist and a founding member of the VSO’s Jukebox Quartet. She earned her bachelor’s in musical arts at the Peabody Institute of Johns Hopkins University, a conservatory in Maryland.

Vermont Philharmonic’s 65 musicians have every level of training, but, crucially, they are all volunteers, Kosma pointed out. The conductor, who lives in Teaneck, N.J., declared, “They’re wonderful to work with. I wouldn’t be driving 300 miles each way if it wasn’t worth it.”

Kosma describes the Triple Concerto as “a joyous piece. It’s not brooding Beethoven.”

“I’m really looking forward to this,” he added. “I’ve been fussy with it. It has to be the best we can play and for the person who never heard the music at all. [Met Opera orchestra conductor James] Levine used to say, ‘I don’t care if you’ve played 450 Aidas; you need to play it for the person who never heard it.’ This concert is for the person who hasn’t heard it.” ➆

INFO

Vermont Philharmonic performs “Stars of Winter: Celebrating Vermont Talent” on Saturday, February 11, 7:30 p.m., at ElleyLong Music Center in Colchester; and on Sunday, February 12, 2 p.m., at Barre Opera House. $5-20. vermontphilharmonic.com, champlaintrio.com

Champlain Trio

COURTESY OF EMIR HOROZOVIC

Vermont International Film Festival Executive Director to Step Down

BY SALLY POLLAK • sally@sevendaysvt.com

Orly Yadin, executive director of the Vermont International Film Festival, will step down from that position at the end of June, the organization announced last Thursday. Yadin, a former board member, has been its executive director since 2012. As she prepares to leave, Yadin said she’s pleased that the organization is in a “solid position.”

“I’m very happy with where we have come, and I feel it’s time for some new voices to be heard,” Yadin, 73, told Seven Days “It’s always good to leave when people still want you to stay.”

VTIFF was founded in 1985 at Marlboro College in southern Vermont and is now based in Burlington. Under Yadin’s leadership, it has increased its annual budget to about $300,000 and grown to include year-round programming, monthly screenings and three film festivals. In total, the organization presents about 100 films a year to Vermont audiences, Yadin said.

VTIFF’s next event is the Global Roots Film Festival, running February 16 through 19 at the Main Street Landing Performing Arts Center in Burlington.

Yadin moved to Burlington 20 years ago from London, where she was a film producer. When she became executive director of VTIFF, it “was in danger of shutting down” due to precarious finances, according to a press release from the organization. As its leader, she

“rebuilt and expanded its programs and community support to become a vibrant participant in Vermont’s cultural life,” Arnie Malina, VTIFF board president, said in the release.

Yadin will help with the transition to a new executive director and serve as acting program director for October’s Vermont International Film Festival. She hopes to remain involved with the organization in other capacities, as well, after she completes her tenure as executive director, she said.

In particular, Yadin is interested in focusing on the Made Here Film Festival, a juried springtime fest that screens works by filmmakers from New England and Québec. The festival is presented in partnership with Vermont Public and cosponsored by Maine Public Television. Yadin also wishes to help VTIFF establish a film house or film center — a place that would not compete with commercial cinemas, she said, but would exist “for people to come to speak and hang out.”

The search for Yadin’s replacement is “an opportunity for the VTIFF Board to rethink its organization’s staffing needs and its programming and educational thrust,” treasurer Holly Cluse said in the release. ➆

INFO

What are the numbers showing about Vermont’s new Amtrak service between Burlington and New York City?

Party Lines «

Learn more at vtiff.org. works of literature and film — which makes sense, given that Liming has a PhD in literary and cultural studies. While she draws on a wide variety of writers and influences, I still found myself skimming those sections, eager to return to her storytelling about her own experiences. I also wished that she had included more of the voices of her friends and colleagues, who teach her about various ways of hanging out and whose perspectives might have felt more lively than textual analysis.

In the end, Liming suggests, a reclamation of hanging out will include a reclamation of time away from labor, of public spaces dedicated to contented loitering, and of the awkwardness and adaptation

that come with constantly bumping up against other human lives.

In the book’s conclusion, for example, she describes getting into an argument with a friend in a bar. It would’ve been easier, she writes, for either of them to give up on the conversation, leave the bar and avoid the discomfort. Instead, they dedicated hours to working through the disagreement and ended up finding common ground, strengthening their relationship in the process. Drawing on experiences like that one, Liming’s book melds anecdote and analysis to uphold hanging out as a messy and vital tradition. ➆

INFO

Hanging Out: The Radical Power of Killing

Time by Sheila Liming, Melville House, 256 pages. $27.99.

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Orly Yadin

“Every time we turn our heads the other way when we see the law flouted, when we tolerate what we know to be wrong, when we close our eyes and ears to the corrupt because we are too busy or too frightened, when we fail to speak up and speak out, we strike a blow against freedom and decency and justice.”

ROBERT F. KENNEDY

Art Ambassador

Barre honors Sue Higby for 20 years of leadership at Studio Place Arts

For more than 18 years, Indiana sculptor Rob Millard-Mendez has entered his mixed-media assemblages in shows at Studio Place Arts in Barre. And every time, he has sent the work in pieces, entrusting the meticulous assembly to executive director Sue Higby. An especially complicated one with many miniature parts was aptly titled “Not for Sissies,” she recalled.

“I’ve got bragging rights to having assembled more than 40 of Rob’s sculptures, all shipped from his studio in Evansville, Ind.,” Higby said. “Sometimes he sends 10 to 14 pages of handwritten instructions with drawings. It’s a terrific challenge.”

It seems there’s nothing Higby likes more than a challenge, and she faced a big one — make that lots of big ones — when she took the director’s reins of Studio Place Arts in 2003. According to a vivid description from artist Janet Van Fleet — a cofounder of the arts center who maintains a studio on its third floor — Higby faced “a burnt-out historic building filled with pigeon crap and vermin and ignored for four-plus years,” not to mention “no money and no donors and no members and no programs. No reputation!”

BY PAMELA POLSTON • ppolston@sevendaysvt.com

A Michigan native, Higby, 62, had a previous career in environmental policy in Washington, D.C., then moved to Vermont — “a treasure of a spot,” she said — for entirely different opportunities. In the early, floundering years of SPA, Higby volunteered, then joined the board, then stepped in as interim director.

“I thought, I’ll rebuild relationships, build up the bank account. I knew it would take a while,” she said.

She would go on to steer SPA through aggressive fundraising, a costly renovation and a period when the city’s Main Street redevelopment project cut off access to the building’s front door — and through local and national economic downturns, as well as a global pandemic.

Higby has no regrets. If she’s handy putting things together, she has also passionately held myriad things together for the nonprofit arts organization and the 1885 building in which it now thrives. One day a week she has help from current administrative associate Athena Petra Tasiopoulos, and Higby credits a gallery committee that “brainstorms ideas.” But much of her work has been done almost single-handedly.

On Tuesday, February 7, Higby received some well-deserved official accolades. In a ceremony before the Barre City Council, Rep. Peter Anthony (D-Barre) enumerated her contributions in a House resolution. “During her tenure in this position, SPA has grown to become a regional cultural organization of great distinction,” it begins.

The proclamation acknowledges Higby’s curation of an annual stone-arts exhibit, which centers local granite carvers and Barre’s cultural history, and 18 retrospective shows for accomplished elder Vermont artists. It also touts the establishment of year-round themed exhibitions, educational programs for adults and children, synergetic relationships with other Vermont organizations, and the creation and oversight of an Art Stroll map guiding visitors to “Barre’s stone assets” — that is, the many granite sculptures old and new along the Main Street corridor.

“Susan Higby has been a tireless advocate for the arts, supporting many other arts start-ups in the state by sharing her expertise in development and best practices for arts organizations,” the proclamation concludes.

At the same event on Tuesday, Barre Mayor Jake Hemmerick handed Higby a key to the city. That honor, though only symbolic, might be especially sweet: In 2018, Higby, then a city councilor, ran for mayor herself, losing to fellow councilor Lucas Herring. About the current mayor, Higby said, “He’s one of my neighbors, and I feel he’s doing a wonderful job.” In a phone call, Hemmerick returned the compliment, calling Higby “a dynamic leader.”

Though Higby hasn’t run for public office again — so far — she hasn’t eschewed municipal engagement. She has served on the Civic Center Committee for nine years, previously as chair and currently as vice chair. The group succeeded in persuading the Norwich University School of Engineering to choose Barre Auditorium, or AUD, as a senior project. This semester, a group of students and faculty will analyze the 1939 structure and consider functional improvements that would enable expanded usage.

In addition, Higby noted, “I am pleased to say that the AUD was recently named a recipient of a major earmark via Sen. Sanders’ office — around $3.5 million.”

Sue Higby

It’s hard to fathom how Higby has the bandwidth for any endeavors outside SPA. The accomplishments lauded in the House resolution only hit the highlights of her work for and at the gallery. They didn’t include, for example, navigating that arduous renovation and multiple floods in the basement, or expanding the exhibitions program from the main floor to the second- and third-floor hallways, as well as to auxiliary downtown locations including AR Market and Espresso Bueno.

“Sue quickly saw that the other public spaces could be very useful for exhibi-

arts in general. If we were writing [her] job description, it would include curator, program manager, landlord, facilities director, cheerleader. She’s willing to do whatever it takes to make SPA successful.”

Van Fleet put it this way: “You have to have a vision and some chops to start from zero and accelerate. Sue is always spinning new ideas and has the energy to see them through.”

A person needs all these qualities to be a tireless ambassador for the city, and history, of Barre, as well as a fierce advocate for artists. Millard-Mendez feels that

tion,” Van Fleet said. “The additional SPA galleries and remote spaces are for solo and small group shows, which allows more opportunities to show work. It’s another example of Sue’s efforts to support artists.”

Higby even invented another gallery within SPA by acquiring and repurposing an old phone booth. Cheekily dubbed Quick Change Gallery (think Superman), it accommodates minuscule exhibitions.

Renting studio space has been key to both supporting artists and bringing in revenue for the organization. SPA accommodates 14 individual and shared artist studios, as well as a small room for its annual artist-in-residence — another Higby initiative.

For the past eight years, Matthew Monk has been one of those renters. After teaching for 20 years at the Rhode Island School of Design, the North Carolina native moved even farther north to become academic dean of the Vermont College of Fine Arts in Montpelier. In his third-floor studio at SPA, he works on mixed-media collages informed by his training in graphic design.

“I really love it,” Monk said of the space. “Sue is just amazing, so dedicated to SPA and to the artists, to local arts and

even from Indiana, and his admiration goes beyond Higby’s adroit assemblage. An artist who has exhibited in numerous venues nationally and internationally, he declared Higby “the kindest, most helpful, most professional person I have worked with.”

Higby said one of her proudest accomplishments at SPA is the Freedom of Expression Policy she wrote in 2004. She believes it might be the only such statement in a Vermont arts venue. “It gives artists the freedom to make what they want to make,” she said. “When I have a new donor visit, that’s the first thing I show them.” In fact, the policy is posted near the gallery’s front entrance.

“I come out of a research background, where freedom of inquiry is essential,” Higby continued. “[At SPA,] we have taken work that was banned at certain Burlington galleries. We have artists who are making really interesting work and deserve to show it.”

In 2003, did she imagine she’d still be at SPA 20 years later?

“No, I had no idea!” Higby said with a hearty guffaw. “My parents asked me why I stay with this. The reward you feel is always related to the significant challenge in front of you. I didn’t think I would find something this hard in Vermont, but I did. It’s been very exciting.” ➆

Sue Higby with a successfully assembled Rob Millard-Mendez sculpture

NEW THIS WEEK

burlington

‘CO-CREATED: THE ARTIST IN THE AGE OF INTELLIGENT MACHINES’: Interactive projects that examine how artists are engaging with the rapidly changing field of artificial intelligence and its uniquely collaborative character. SARAH STEFANA SMITH: “Willful Matters,” photographic and sculptural black-and-white abstractions that explore ideas of Blackness and boundlessness by the contemporary artist and scholar. Reception: Friday February 10, 5-7 p.m. February 10-May 6. Info, 865-7166. BCA Center in Burlington.

barre/montpelier

NITYA BRIGHENTI: “Side Streams in Art,” portraits, landscapes and cityscapes by the Italian painter living in Barre. February 13-March 27. Info, 479-0896. Espresso Bueno in Barre.

manchester/bennington

SPRING SOLO EXHIBITIONS: Artworks by Domenica Brockman, Janet Cathey, Priscilla Heine, Rose Klebes, Lorna Ritz, Elise Robinson, Angela Sillars, Courtney Stock, Gregg Wapner, Susan Wilson and Chloe Wilwerding. Reception: Saturday, February 11, 2-4 p.m. February 11-May 7. Info, 362-1405. Southern Vermont Arts Center in Manchester.

ART EVENTS

‘ARTISTS IN THE ARCHIVES: BEYOND

HUMANS’: A webinar presented by the Henry Sheldon Museum’s Stewart-Swift Research Center in which collage artists consider what nonhuman elements shape our communities. Register at henrysheldonmuseum.org. Online, Wednesday, February 8. Free. Info, 388-2117.

OPEN STUDIO: Make art alongside other artists, socialize, get feedback and try out new mediums. No experience required; art supplies provided. Hosted by the Howard Center Arts Collective, whose members have experience with mental health and/ or substance-use challenges. ONE Arts Center, Burlington, Monday, February 13, 12:30-2:30 p.m. Free. Info, artscollective@howardcenter.org.

OPEN STUDIOS AT SPA: Meet resident artists to see what they’re creating, and explore current exhibits on all three floors. Studio Place Arts, Barre, Saturday, February 11, 1:30-3:30 p.m. Free. Info, 479-7069.

ONGOING SHOWS

burlington

‘ALL THE FEELS’: A group exhibition of works that project joy, angst and/or humor by local artists. Through March 25. Info, 578-2512. The S.P.A.C.E. Gallery in Burlington.

‘ART / TEXT / CONTEXT’: An exhibition of art objects that prominently feature words, images, symbols and gestural or abstract marks, and that considers their power to prompt critical reflection or spur social action. JOSEF ALBERS: “Formulation: Articulation,” featuring studies by the late German American artist (1888-1976) that show how perception of color is affected by the environments in which it is viewed.

SHANTA LEE: “Dark Goddess: An Exploration of the Sacred Feminine,” large-scale black-and-white photographs that encouraging inquiry beyond the limited roles to which society assigns women. Reception: Wednesday, February 8, 5:30-7 p.m. Through May 20. Info, 656-0750. Fleming Museum of Art, University of Vermont, in Burlington.

ART AT THE HOSPITAL: Acrylic paintings by Matt Larson and Julio Desmont (Main Street Connector, ACC 3); photographic giclées by Jeffrey Pascoe (McClure 4 & EP2 Healing Garden); photographs by Sharon Radtke (EP2); and oil paintings by Judy

‘¡Printing the Revolution! The Rise and Impact of Chicano Graphics, 1965 to Now’

A vibrant and socially relevant exhibition has arrived at the Hood Museum of Art at Dartmouth College in Hanover, N.H. The traveling show from the Smithsonian American Art Museum in Washington, D.C., consists of 119 artworks by some 74 artists of Mexican descent and “allied artists active in Chicanx networks,” according to a museum description.

Like other activists in the 1960s, Chicano artists became involved in movements of the time — among them civil rights, anti-war, feminist and LGBTQ+ causes. Their aesthetic expressions in artwork, particularly printmaking, developed along with a broadening cultural and political consciousness as Mexican Americans. “More than reflect the need for social change,” explains the museum, “the works in this exhibition revise and celebrate notions of Chicanx identity.”

A current and very noisy

political faction seems bent on erasing the experiences and contributions of nonwhite Americans from the nation’s history. The Hood Museum has pointedly adopted an opposite approach in recent years. Bringing this exhibition, notes Hood curator Michael Hartman, “reflects our dedication to telling a broader, more diverse and inclusive history of American art.”

Screen prints dominate the artworks in the collection, but “¡Printing the Revolution!” also includes installation, digital and augmented-reality formats. And though the works foreground social issues, they get their messages across in a variety of lively visual modes — including satire, pop art, appropriation and portraiture — and printmaking techniques. In short, this is American art history.

“¡Printing the Revolution!” is on view through June 11. A reception is Thursday, February 16, 6:15 to 7:15 p.m.

“Justice for Our Lives” by Oree Originol

“RIFA, from the Méchicano 1977 Calendario” by Leonard Castellanos

PHOTOS COURTESY OF HOOD MUSEUM/SMITHSONIAN AMERICAN ART MUSEUM

Hawkins (BCC). Curated by Burlington City Arts. Through May 31. Info, 865-7296. University of Vermont Medical Center in Burlington.

ART AT THE MALTEX: Paintings by Pievy Polyte, Shannon O’Connell, Nancy Chapman and Ashley MacWalters and photography by Brian Drourr and Robert Fahey. Through April 8. Info, 865-7296. The Maltex Building in Burlington.

‘BLACK FREEDOM, BLACK MADONNA & THE BLACK CHILD OF HOPE’: Designed by Raphaella Brice and created by Brice and Josie Bunnell, this mural installed for Burlington’s 2022 Juneteenth celebration features a Haitian-inspired image of liberation. Through June 18. Info, 865-7166. ‘VOICES OF ST. JOSEPH’S ORPHANAGE’: An exhibition that tells the stories of former residents of the Catholic-run institution (1854-1974) and their accomplishments. A project of the St. Joseph’s Orphanage Restorative Inquiry and Vermont Folklife Center. Through February 18. Info, 863-3403. Fletcher Free Library in Burlington.

‘CONNECTIONS’: Howard Center Arts Collective presents an art installation of painted mailboxes and mosaics, inviting viewers to reflect on the benefits of old-fashioned mail delivery and to consider whether mailboxes have become relics of the past. Through July 31. Info, artscollective@ howardcenter.org. Howard Center in Burlington.

‘LARGE WORKS’: A group exhibition of works measuring between two and six feet by artists of all ages working in all mediums. Through March 10. Info, spacegalleryvt@gmail.com. The Soda Plant in Burlington.

‘RIP: RELATIONSHIPS IN PROGRESS’: An exhibit in a variety of mediums by 14 area artists. Through March 26. Info, hello@thekarmabirdhouse.com.

Karma Bird House Gallery in Burlington.

chittenden county

‘ABENAKI CONTRIBUTIONS TO THE VERMONT COMMUNITY’: A series of murals designed by Scott Silverstein in consultation with Abenaki artists Lisa Ainsworth Plourde and Vera Longtoe Sheehan and members of Richmond Racial Equity; the 10 panels celebrate the Abenaki origins of practices still important to Vermont culture. Through May 31. Info, radiate.art.space@gmail.com. Richmond Town Hall.

ART AT THE AIRPORT: Oil paintings of cows by Stephanie Bush and hand-cut paper scenes from the natural world by Adrienne Ginter. Skywalk corridor. Through March 15. Info, 865-7296. Burlington International Airport in South Burlington.

BRECCA LOH & KRISTINA PENTEK: Abstracted landscape paintings and color photographs, respectively. Curated by Burlington City Arts.

Through February 14. Info, 865-7296. JC WAYNE: “Oracle of Future Beauty,” eco-friendly palette-knife paintings and other mediums that express stories of unseen and seen energies in the natural world. Through February 28. Info, poartryproject@gmail. com. Pierson Library in Shelburne.

ERICKSON RICHARD: “Markings,” original and edited photographs by the SMC art student. Reception: Thursday, February 9, 6-7 p.m. Through February 15. Info, bcollier@smcvt.edu. McCarthy Art Gallery, Saint Michael’s College, in Colchester.

MARVIN FISHMAN: A retrospective of 2D and 3D work by the Charlotte artist. Through March 14. Info, gallery@southburlingtonvt.gov. South Burlington Public Art Gallery.

‘OUR COLLECTION: ELECTRA HAVEMEYER

WEBB, EDITH HALPERT AND FOLK ART’: A virtual exhibition that celebrates the friendship between the museum founder and her longtime art dealer, featuring archival photographs and ephemera, a voice recording from Halpert, and quotations pulled from the women’s extensive correspondences. Through February 9. Info, 985-3346. Shelburne Museum.

‘WELCOME BLANKET’: A collection of quilted, crocheted and knitted blankets handmade by community members to be gifted to new American neighbors. Immigration stories and welcoming messages from the makers are also on display.

Through February 26. Info, 355-9937. Heritage Winooski Mill Museum.

barre/montpelier

CAMERON DAVIS: “Poetic Ecologies,” paintings based on an ecological, scientific and spiritual narrative to reveal relationships that transform life. Through March 31. Info, 279-5558. Vermont Supreme Court Gallery in Montpelier.

DARCIE L. TREDWELL: “Cherries, Roses and Other Loves,” paintings and mixed media by the Barre artist and author of a book by the same title. Artist talk: Wednesday, February 8, 2-3 p.m. Through February 25. Info, 249-5228. Kellogg-Hubbard Library in Montpelier.

HEIDI COMJEAN: Playful, nature-inspired folk art. Through February 9. Info, 225-6232. Filling Station in Middlesex.

JAY HUDSON: “Winter in the Northeast Kingdom,” oil and acrylic paintings of landscapes and inhabitants of the region by the Glover artist. i Through March 31. Info, 223-2328. Vermont Natural Resources Council in Montpelier.

JONI CLEMONS & TERRY J. ALLEN: New mixedmedia assemblages and porcelain tableware, respectively. Through February 14. Info, 456-8770.

Adamant Co-op.

‘WHIR, CLANK, BEEP’: Artworks and assemblages by more than 30 artists that explore simple, complex and fantastic machines. KENNY HARRIS: “Envisivivarium,” a site-specific installation that presents the universality of mythology through illustrative, sculptural and theatrical experiences.

VERMONT SURFACE DESIGN ASSOCIATION:

“Transformation: Material, Environment, Us,” fiber artwork by Sarah Ashe, Cari Clement, Judy Dales, Rosalind Daniels, Jennifer Davey, Elizabeth Fram, Eve Jacobs-Carnahan, Marya Lowe, Kris McDermet, Jane Quimby, Heather Ritchie, Leslie Roth, Dianne Shullenberger, Fern Strong, Sharon Webster and Betsy Wing . Through March 4. Free. Info, 479-7069.

Studio Place Arts in Barre.

‘LET’S COLLAGE ABOUT IT!’: An exhibition of works in varied mediums by Kris Bierfelt, Liz Buchanan, Anne Cummings, Holly Hauser and Cariah Rosberg. Through April 8. Info, 207-373-8099. Center for Arts and Learning in Montpelier.

PATTY CORCORAN & MASON YOUNG: “Shared Spaces,” multimedia landscape paintings and abstract wood sculptures, respectively. Through March 24. Info, 262-6035. T.W. Wood Gallery in Montpelier.

PHILLIP ROBERTSON & ED EPSTEIN: Relief prints and charcoal drawings, respectively, by the Vermont artists. Through February 28. Info, 229-6206. North Branch Nature Center in Montpelier.

SHOW 53: An exhibition of artworks by gallery members Elizabeth Nelson, James Secor, Ned Richardson, Diane Sophrin, Kate Fetherston. Glen Coburn Hutcheson, Cheryl Betz, Sam Thurston, Marjorie Kramer, Kathy Stark, Melora Kennedy, Anne Cogbill Rose, Hasso Ewing, Richard Moore, Delia Robinson and Chip Haggerty. Through February 26. Info, 552-0877. The Front in Montpelier.

SUSAN CALZA: “Our Demons Are Translucent,” large-scale, mixed-media drawings created over 10 years, influenced by the artist’s travels in Nepal. Through March 25. Info, 224-6827. Susan Calza Gallery in Montpelier.

WAYA USDI: Digital art, pen and ink and painting. Through February 13. Info, 479-0896. Espresso Bueno in Barre.

stowe/smuggs

ESPERANZA CORTÉS: Sculptures, paintings and installations by the Colombian-born artist, whose work considers social and historical narratives, colonialism and the politics of erasure and exclusion. Through April 8. Info, 253-8358. The Current in Stowe.

‘HOME AND HOW WE MAKE IT’: An exhibition of 30 miniature rooms, as well as woodworking, textiles

and paintings that define, visually and conceptually, what home means. Reception: Thursday, February 23, 5:30-7:30 p.m. Through June 1. Info, 888-1261. River Arts in Morrisville.

KATHY BLACK: “Expanding Universe, Collapsing Time,” paintings that incorporate landscape, still life, maps and writing to explore our changing understanding of the universe. Through March 8. Info, 635-2727. Red Mill Gallery, Vermont Studio Center, in Johnson.

MEG MCDEVITT: “Iterations,” a solo show of drawings, sculptures and textiles by the Vermont artist and educator. Artist talk: Sunday, February 19, 11 a.m.noon Through March 11. Info, 646-519-1781. Minema Gallery in Johnson.

ROSS CONNELLY: “Protest,” black-and-white photos from demonstrations in Washington, D.C., 1967 through 1969. Through February 10. Info, 635-1469. Julian Scott Memorial Gallery, Northern Vermont University, in Johnson.

SCOTT LENHARDT: An exhibition of graphic designs for Burton Snowboards created since 1994 by the Vermont native. Through October 31. Info, 253-9911. Vermont Ski and Snowboard Museum in Stowe.

mad river valley/waterbury

KIMBERLY HARGIS: “Close to Home: Photography

From a 30-Mile Radius,” images from the natural world and human community around Thetford. Through March 31. Info, 244-7801. Axel’s Frame Shop & Gallery in Waterbury.

MIREILLE CLAPP: A retrospective of artworks by the late artist and mechanical/industrial engineer, featuring mixed-media wall sculptures and freestanding abstract pieces of welded metals. Through March 25. Info, 496-6682. Mad River Valley Arts Gallery in Waitsfield.

middlebury area

FROBERTAN (FRAN BULL AND ROBERT BLACK):

“We’re All at a Party Called Life on Earth,” a carnivalesque art installation of painted sculptures that celebrates humanity, harmony and diversity. Through February 18. Info, 382-9222. Jackson Gallery, Town Hall Theater, in Middlebury.

KATIE RUNDE: Oil portraits of musicians by the Vermont artist. Alive!: Friday, February 10, 5:30-7 p.m., an evening of art, discussion and live music by the artist’s band, Rundefunk. Through February 15. Info, 989-7419. Edgewater Gallery on the Green in Middlebury.

‘MAGENTA’: More than 50 local artists contribute works in this vibrant hue in a variety of mediums. Through March 11. Info, 989-7225. Sparrow Art Supply in Middlebury.

‘PORTALS’: Photographs that feature an architectural element — a gate, doorway, window, mirror or tunnel — that frames, isolates or adds a new dimension to the image. Through February 24. Info, photos@photoplacegallery.com. PhotoPlace Gallery in Middlebury.

SARA KATZ: “Inner Landscapes,” new abstract paintings that explore botanical forms. Through February 28. Info, 458-0098. Edgewater Gallery at the Falls in Middlebury.

rutland/killington

MEMBERS’ EXHIBIT: Works in a variety of mediums fill the mansion in themed galleries: “Resolutions,” “Frozen” and “Breathe Deep.” Through March 3. Info, 775-0356. Chaffee Art Center in Rutland.

TOMÁSIO: “Abstractions of a Metaphorical World,” energetic acrylic paintings by the Vermont artist also known as Thomas Hacker. Through March 11. Info, 800639-8521. Castleton University Bank Gallery in Rutland.

upper valley

ABRAHAM DUNNE: “Finds on a Hartland Farm,” relics compiled by the Sharon Academy first-year student. Through March 31. Info, info@mainstreetmuseum. org. Main Street Museum in White River Junction.

CALL TO ARTISTS

2024 SOLO EXHIBITION PROPOSALS: AVA’s exhibition committee of artists, art curators and art professionals seek proposals for solo shows from artists with strong connections to New Hampshire, Vermont and the greater New England region. Details at avagallery.org. Deadline: March 31. AVA Gallery and Art Center, Lebanon, N.H. $50. Info, 603-448-3117.

ART IN THE PARK: The Chaffee Art Center in Rutland invites applications for the 2023 festivals featuring fine artists, craft persons and specialty foods. Show dates are August 12 and 13 and October 7 and 8 in Main Street Park. Application at chaffeeartcenter.org. Online. Through April 1. Info, artinthepark@chaffeeartcenter.org.

‘BOTANICAL’: PhotoPlace Gallery is looking for images created in the landscape, garden or studio that capture the spirit and character of plants, as well as our intimate connection to the plant world. All capture methods and processes are welcome. Juror: Lee Anne White. Details and application at photoplacegallery.com. Deadline: February 13. Online. $39 for first five images; $6 for each additional image. Info, photos@photoplacegallery.com.

CELEBRATING THE MISSISQUOI

WATERSHED: The Missisquoi River Basin Association’s 2023 art contest theme is: what the river means to you or the community and the importance of water quality, stream-side tree plantings and a healthy watershed. All mediums accepted. Entry groups: grades 1-3, grades 4-6, grades 8-12, and adult. Details and application at mrbavt.com. Deadline: March 10. Online. Info, corrina@mrbavt.com.

CREATION GRANTS AVAILABLE: The Vermont Arts Council is accepting applications for this annual grant, which supports artists in creating new work. Grant funds may be used to compensate artists for time spent creating new work, to purchase materials, or to rent equipment or space for the process. New this year: the People’s Choice Creation Grant. Find info and application form for both at vermontartscouncil. org. Deadline: April 3. Online. Info, 402-4614.

CREATIVE SECTOR GRANTS, ROUND 2: Awards of up to $200,000 are available to creative sector organizations and businesses, including sole proprietors that can demonstrate economic harm caused by or exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic. Funding amounts are based on 2019 operating revenue and can be used for any regular operating expenses, such as payroll and

JOHN R. KILLACKY: “Flux/Flow/Elegies,” an intermedia installation featuring three video pieces: a premiere of one inspired by the Fluxus movement of the 1960s; a collaboration with choreographer Eiko Otake speaking to the artists’ dead mothers; and an abstract work with tears. Reception: Saturday, February 11, 7-8:30 p.m. Through February 28. Info, 295-6688. Junction Arts & Media in White River Junction.

JUNE GUTMAN: “(Un)reality on Five Milligrams,” paintings by the Montréal-born artist that address her psychiatric treatment. Through February 25. Info, 347-264-4808. Kishka Gallery & Library in White River Junction.

KATIE ROBERTS: Artworks in a variety of mediums by the nature artist, who is inspired by plants, animals and weather. Through February 28. Info, 359-5000. Vermont Institute of Natural Science in Quechee.

northeast kingdom

‘COMING CLEAN’: An exhibition that considers bathing practices throughout time and across cultures, including religious immersion and ritual purification, bathing as health cure, methods of washing in extreme environments, and much more. All kinds of bathing and scrubbing implements are on display. Through April 30. Info, 626-4409. The Museum of Everyday Life in Glover.

benefits, utilities, rent and insurance. Details and application at vermontartscouncil.org. Deadline: February 28. Online. Info, 402-4409.

CVRAN 2023 MARCH ARTS MARATHON:

The Central Vermont Refugee Action Network invites artists to commit to a daily creative practice making paintings, sculptures, photographs, drawings, fabric art or other art. The artists’ sponsors receive daily copies of the artwork. Funds raised helps CVRAN assist 19 asylum seekers and nine Afghan refugees with housing, living expenses and legal fees. Sign up at cvvran.org. Online. Through February 28. Free. Info, nicolamorris@mac.com.

DIANE GABRIEL VISUAL ARTIST AWARD:

Burlington City Arts announces the opening of the application period for this annual award provided by the family of the late Burlington artist (1947-2017). The awardee receives a prize valued at $2,500, with their work showcased via BCA promotion and social media. Details and application at burlingtoncityarts.org. Deadline: March 17. Online. Info, jobrien@burlingtoncityarts.org.

‘HOW YOU SEE IT’: The gallery is hosting a fundraiser for the Boys & Girls Club of Vergennes and are accepting submissions for an exhibit of work from artists under the age of 18. Each artist can submit up to three pieces of either 8 by 10 inches or 12 by 16 inches in size. Rolling submission through February 17; drop off at the gallery. Northern Daughters, Vergennes. Free. Info, 877-2173.

‘ONE + ONE IS MORE THAN TWO’: This show is about multiple artworks by an artist that relate to each other as a group, in some cases using repetition of pattern, form, shape, color and comparative imagery. Show dates: May 10 to June 24. Deadline: March 25. Details at studioplacearts.com. Studio Place Arts, Barre. $10; free for SPA members. Info, submissions.studioplacearts@gmail.com.

PAINT-BY-NUMBER COW: Purchase a paint-bynumber cow kit and submit your version to the museum for an upcoming exhibition. Instructions at mainstreetmuseum.org. Deadline: April 15. Main Street Museum, White River Junction. Info, info@ mainstreetmuseum.org.

POEM CITY 2023: Submit original poetry to the Kellogg-Hubbard Library’s celebration of National Poetry Month in Montpelier. Chosen poems will be displayed in downtown business windows in April. You must be a Vermonter, and the poem must be 24 lines or less. Details and application at kellogghubbardlibrary.org. Deadline: February 14. Online. Free. Info, info@kellogghubbard.org.

OPEN AIR GALLERY: Outdoor sculptures by 14 area artists line a 1.8-mile trail open to cross-country skiers and snowshoers. Through March 26. Free. Info, 533-2000. Highland Center for the Arts in Greensboro.

VICTORIA MATHEISEN: Recent landscape paintings in oil. Through March 8. Info, 525-3366. Parker Pie in West Glover.

‘WINTER BLOSSOMS’: Floral art by Benjamin Barnes, Sachiko Yashida Zahler and Robert Chapla. Through February 25. Info, 748-0158. Northeast Kingdom Artisans Guild Backroom Gallery in St. Johnsbury.

‘WONDER OF LIGHT’: A group exhibit of works depicting the use of light by 25 artists. Through March 1. Info, melmelts@yahoo.com. The Satellite Gallery in Lyndonville.

brattleboro/okemo valley

‘WE FEEL OUR WAY THROUGH WHEN WE DON’T KNOW’: A group exhibition of works by Mariel Capanna, Oscar Rene Cornejo, Cheeny CelebradoRoyer, Vessna Scheff, Gerald Euhon Sheffield II and Lachell Workman, guest-curated by Michael Jevon Demps, that address themes of community, memory, dissonance, displacement, intimacy and loss. Through February 12. ALISON MORITSUGU: “Moons and Internment Stones,” watercolor paintings of rocks gathered by the artist’s grandfather

RFQ FOR STOWE STREET ALLEY:

Revitalizing Waterbury and a host of volunteers have been working for more than a year to reclaim and transform an alley that is central to Waterbury’s historic downtown district. The committee is looking for artists to create a medallion and a gateway to the alley; deadlines are April 1 and March 15, respectively. Details at revitalizingwaterbury.org. Online. Free. Info, karen@revitalizingwaterbury.org.

SEEKING NEW ARTIST MEMBERS: Become an exhibiting member of the Brandon Artists Guild; show at the gallery year-round, and participate in group and solo exhibitions. Judging criteria include originality, impact, clarity, craftsmanship, consistency of style and quality, presentation and marketability. Apply at brandonartistsguild.org. Deadline: February 26. Online. Free. Info, 247-4956.

‘SPARK!’: The Birds of Vermont Museum’s 2023 art show seeks works that tell the story of your spark as it relates to birds, birding, conservation, science, art, love or something else. Up to three works of art in almost any media, by new or returning artists of any age, may be submitted. Details at birdsofvermont.org.

Deadline: March 20. Online. Info, museum@ birdsofvermont.org.

VERMONT STUDENT WILDLIFE ART

CONTEST: The second annual contest and exhibition is open to all Vermont students in grades 7-12. The top 40 entries will be exhibited at the Highland Center for the Arts in Greensboro; 10 of those will be awarded cash prizes. Details and application at vtwildlifeeducationfund.org.

Deadline: March 17. Online.

VERMONT WATERCOLOR SOCIETY:

Members are invited to submit works on the theme of “Emergence” for a juried spring exhibition at the Emile A. Gruppe Gallery. Nonmembers may join the association and submit, as well. Details and entry form at vtwatercolor.org.

Deadline: February 28. Online. Info, 673-8087.

WRIF EMERGING FILMMAKERS: In March, the 18th White River Indie Film festival will precede feature films with selected shorts. All self-identifying emerging filmmakers who are residents of Vermont, New Hampshire, Maine or Québec are eligible to submit. Those selected will be notified of screening date/time prior to the festival. Three will be awarded cash prizes. Details and submission form at uvjam.org. Deadline: March 4. Online. Free. Info, 295-6688.

while he was imprisoned at the Santa Fe Internment Camp during World War II paired with oil paintings of the moon. Through February 12. JUDITH KLAUSNER: “(De)composed,” sculptures of objects usually considered ruined, meticulously crafted from a child’s modeling medium, expressing a reevaluation of the under-appreciated. Through March 4. MADGE

EVERS: “The New Herbarium,” works on paper using mushroom spores and plant matter as artistic mediums. Through February 12. OASA DUVERNEY: “Black Power Wave,” a window installation of drawings by the Brooklyn artist, inspired by images of Chinese Fu dogs, the cross and the Yoruba deity Èsù. Through May 6. RENATE ALLER: “The Space Between Memory and Expectation,” an immersive installation of large-format photographs of mountains, glaciers, trees, ocean and other natural landscapes, plus an assemblage of lichen-covered rocks from the West Brattleboro home of artists Wolf Kahn and Emily Mason. Through February 12. Info, 257-0124. Brattleboro Museum & Art Center.

‘HEROES & VILLAINS’: Artwork by Clare Adams, Thomasin Alyxander, Debi A. Barton, Jean Cannon, Len Emery, Mindy Fisher, Corinne Greenhalgh, Gregory Damien Grinnell, Su Lin Mangan, Charles Norris-Brown, Gretchen Seifert and Linda Udd. Through March 4. Info, 289-0104. ‘IN AWE, COEXISTENCE AND MINDFULNESS OF LIFE’: An exhibition of paintings by Vermont artists Judy

STOWE/SMUGGS SHOWS « P.55

Hawkins, Carol Keiser and MC Noyes. Through February 11. Info, artinfo@canalstreetartgallery.com. Canal Street Art Gallery in Bellows Falls.

JAMES MULLEN: “Luminous Edge,” 72 vignette paintings from the artist’s “Pilgrim” series that investigate iconic sites of the 19th-century American landscape. Through March 3. Info, 387-6249. Michael S. Currier Center, Putney School.

‘SNOW SHOW’: Paintings in a winter theme by eight artists in the Hall collection. Through February 26. Info, info@hallartfoundation.org. Hall Art Foundation in Reading.

manchester/bennington

GAIL WINBURY: “The Girl Who Drew Memories,” large-scale abstract paintings and collage. Through February 25. Info, 367-1311. Southern Vermont Arts Center in Manchester.

randolph/royalton

‘CREATIVE COLLABORATION: THE ART OF DEBORAH AND MICHAEL SACKS’: Printmaking and

photography by the married artists. Artists’ talk: Sunday, February 19, 2 p.m. Through March 19. Info, 889-9404. Tunbridge Public Library.

‘FEMMEZINE’: An exhibition of zines celebrating femme identity and DIY spirit by artists near and far. Through March 4. Info, 728-9878. Chandler Center for the Arts in Randolph.

online

‘ACTION FIGURES: OBJECTS IN MOTION’: A virtual exhibition from the Shelburne Museum that explores the theme of movement and action in art. Through April 30. Free. ‘RIGHT UNDER

YOUR NOSE’: The Shelburne Museum presents children’s printed textiles from the collection of J.J. Murphy and Nancy Mladenoff, featuring 21 playful, colorful handkerchiefs with motifs including insects, alphabets, circus clowns, shadow puppets, the solar system and a lumberjack beaver. Through May 13. Info, 985-3346. Online.

outside vermont

NELSON HENRICKS: Immersive video installations by the Montréal artist in which visual and sound editing create a musical dynamic, and which explore subjects from the history of art and culture. Through April 10. Info, 514-847-6226. Montréal Museum of Contemporary Art.

‘¡PRINTING THE REVOLUTION! THE RISE AND IMPACT OF CHICANO GRAPHICS, 1965 TO NOW’: A Smithsonian American Art Museum traveling exhibition featuring 119 artworks by more than 74 artists of Mexican descent and allied artists active in Chicanx networks. Reception: Thursday, February 16, 6:15–7:15 p.m. Through June 11. Info, 603-6462808. PARK DAE SUNG: “Ink Reimagined,” 23 ink paintings, some on view for the first time in the U.S., by the renowned Korean artist; curated by Sunglim Kim, Dartmouth College associate professor of art history. Through March 19. Info, 603-646-3661. Hood Museum, Dartmouth College in Hanover, N.H.

‘SEEING LOUD: BASQUIAT AND MUSIC’: The first large-scale multimedia exhibition devoted to the

role of music in the work of the innovative American artist Jean-Michel Basquiat, organized in collaboration with the Philharmonie de Paris museum. Through February 19. Info, 514-285-2000. ‘VIEWS OF WITHIN: PICTURING THE SPACES WE INHABIT’: More than 60 paintings, photographs, prints, installations and textile works from the museum’s collection that present one or more evocations of interior space. Through June 30. Info, 514-235-2044. Montréal Museum of Fine Arts.

‘UNCONDITIONAL’: A group exhibition about dogs and other beloved pets. Through February 11. 15TH ANNUAL HIGH SCHOOL EXHIBITION: Ceramics, drawing, mixed media, painting, photography, sculpture and wearable art by students from 14 schools in Vermont and New Hampshire. Awards chosen by Matt Neckers of Eden, Vt. Through February 10. Info, 603-448-3117. AVA Gallery and Art Center in Lebanon, N.H. ➆

SUNDbites

News and views on the local music + nightlife scene

BY CHRIS FARNSWORTH

We’ll Always Have Burlington

For all the idiosyncratic charms of our local music scene, the specter of loss always lingers nearby. We know that Burlington — and, indeed, the Vermont music scene in general — is a small pond. So it comes as no huge surprise when a musician ships o for a bigger market.

If there was one departure I saw coming, it was that of FRANCESCA BLANCHARD. Aside from her prodigious talent, the singer-songwriter has always exhibited a wanderlust in her music that seemed to foreshadow her leaving

Eye on the Scene

Last week’s live music highlights from photographer Luke Awtry

Burlington one day. That day came at the end of December, when, after a sold-out farewell (for now) show at the Winooski United Methodist Church, she picked up stakes and drove west to California.

“You can make art from anywhere,” Blanchard said by phone from an apartment she is subletting in Los Angeles. “And the most important thing to me is community. So why am I here? Why even move? I’m having a lot of these moments right now; I’m already so homesick.”

SIGNALS AT SOUNDTOYS PRESENTS SAM PREKOP, JANUARY 27: Luke Awtry: “ ings are happening! As I hoped, the post-quarantine music scene in Burlington has bounced back, and with vigor. Autumn Records owner GREG DAVIS curates a series at Soundtoys called Signals and last week flew in SAM PREKOP to perform. A small crowd gathered and sat transfixed as Prekop coaxed sounds from his modular synthesizer rig for well over an hour. Maybe you couldn’t hear an actual pin drop over the wash of bleeps, bloops and swoons coming from his devices, but if you did, it probably wouldn’t have seemed out of place at all.”

After weeks of wondering whether she made the right move, she said, she’s pared her motive down to a pretty simple one: She needed a change of scene. During the pandemic, Blanchard felt she lost a lot of her music-making momentum.

“Out here, you can assume everyone you see is working on five screenplays at all times,” she said with a laugh. “It’s a little ridiculous, but I like how it normalizes an artistic process that, back home in Vermont, I’d have never allowed myself

the time to engage in. I’ve just needed to regrease the wheels, and for some reason, I was struggling to do that in Vermont.”

So o she went, feeling a strange sort of grief as she drove farther and farther away from the Green Mountains.

In the months leading to her departure, Blanchard said, she fell even more deeply in love with the Burlington music community that she planned soon to leave. As that heaviness set in, she began to feel the need to write a sort of Dear John letter.

So Blanchard went to FUTURE FIELDS studios in downtown Burlington. There, in a quick and dirty two-hour session, she and producer DAN ROME recorded a cover of CHRIS ISAAK’s “Wicked Game,” one of Blanchard’s favorite tunes ever. Featuring her hushed, brokenhearted vocal over sparse acoustic guitar and a ghostly piano track, the recording encapsulates a lot of her feelings about her move.

“It just feels so metaphorical to record one of the most stunning love songs ever and release it on Valentine’s Day,” Blanchard said. “When I would sing that chorus, I couldn’t shake this feeling that I was leaving something behind that I truly, deeply love. I don’t want to break up with Vermont.”

As I reminded her over the phone, the good news is that she doesn’t have to. Burlington’s music scene may be accustomed to our best going out into the world, but we’re equally used to welcoming them back.

Blanchard knows that. “The common denominator in Burlington’s music scene has always been musicians supporting each other,” she asserted. “I know some musicians leave the scene and disappear, but that’s not something I’m ever going to do.”

“Wicked Game” hits streaming sites on February 14.

On the Air

Where to tune in to Vermont music this week:

“EXPOSURE,” Wednesday, February 8, 6 p.m., on 90.1 FM WRUV: Americana act DANNY & THE PARTS play live in studio.

“ROCKET SHOP,” Wednesday, February 8, 8 p.m., on 105.9 FM the Radiator: Folk duo CRICKET BLUE play live in studio.

“THE SOUNDS OF BURLINGTON,” ursday, February 9, 9 p.m., at wbkm.org: Host TIM LEWIS plays the best of local music.

“ALL THE TRADITIONS,” Sunday, February 12, 7 p.m., on Vermont Public: Host ROBERT RESNIK plays an assortment of folk music with a focus on Vermont artists.

Francesca Blanchard

COURTESY OF PATRICK MCCORMACK

On the Beat

North Bennington trio VERBOTEN release their debut single, “Wonderland,” on Friday, February 10. The indie project is fronted by recent Vermont arrival FOSTER POWELL, who left Massachusetts in 2021 to hole up during the pandemic and write the material that will appear on the group’s forthcoming EP, Strange Rehab Ch. 2

“I was looking in these songs for something to hang onto,” Powell wrote in a press release for the single. “I think that’s often when I write the best songs — when there’s a visceral need for something that feels permanent.”

Check out the track at verbotenmusicband.bandcamp.com.

MICHAEL J. MERENDA JR. and RUTH UNGAR of upstate New York folk-rock band the MAMMALS will swing by Ripton Community Co ee House on Saturday, February 11, for an intimate performance as a duo. Going by MIKE + RUTHY, the married couple blend the timeless traditions of folk, Americana and country music with songs reflecting their environmental concerns and political activism.

Sharing a single microphone and surrounded by guitars, a fiddle, a banjo, a ukulele and a stool full of harmonicas, the two musicians are set to run through more than two decades’ worth of material. The sold-out show kicks o at 7:30 p.m.; access a live stream by donation at rcch.org.

Singer-songwriter SEAN KEHOE has already put out a trio of singles

from his forthcoming debut album, Dig. Released in January, Kehoe’s “Lunch” and “802 Daydream” feature performances from guitarist NICK WOOD (GANG OF THIEVES), drummer DAN RYAN (MADAILA) and bassist ZACH GREGORY (LUSH HONEY), all of whom also appear on the full-length record. “Bright Believers” is also now streaming on Spotify.

The full album drops on February 17. On Friday, February 10, Kehoe will perform at Orlando’s Bar & Lounge in Burlington supporting neo-soul act Lush Honey.

Following months of acclaim for his 2022 album GUMBO, rapper and DJ FATTIE B has released Rewarmed Second Servings: The GUMBO Remixes Featuring remixed tracks by a host of Vermont producers, including PRO KNOWS MUSIC, NAT WOODARD, LONE NEXUS and ILLU, the record continues Fattie’s streak of bringing together artists from all over the scene. Each producer was handpicked by Fattie to tweak some of GUMBO’s tracks. The process produced a few surprises, such as the discovery of a forgotten vocal track from an old friend, TOMMY WHEELER.

Wheeler, who died in 2021, was a DJ who organized the Pop Rap Dance Party at Burlington’s Half Lounge for years. While making the remix for the track “Call Mister Martin,” Fattie found a verse Wheeler had recorded before his death.

“It’s crazy that we have the time capsule of his voice on a song that’s about death and passing,” Fattie remarked. “Another weird example of how this GUMBO project is connecting the universe on so many weird levels.” ➆

Listening In

(Spotify mix of local jams)

Band of Killers

1. Dutch Experts, "BOUND BY THIS"

2. Konflik, El Da Sensei, "SHINE"

3. THUS LOVE, "PUT ON DOG"

4. Cooked, "HANGMAN"

5. King Tuff, "HOW I LOVE"

6. DARI BAY, "WALK ON DOWN"

7. 35th Parallel, "TANAGRA"

CLUB DATES music+nightlife

live music

WED.8

Bluegrass & BBQ (bluegrass) at Four Quarters Brewing, Winooski, 6:30 p.m. Free.

bOOb (jam) at Nectar’s, Burlington, 8 p.m. $10.

Jazz Night with Ray Vega (jazz) at Hotel Vermont, Burlington, 8:30 p.m. Free.

Jazz Sessions with Randal Pierce (jazz open mic) at the 126, Burlington, 8:30 p.m. Free.

Live Jazz (jazz) at Leunig’s Bistro & Café, Burlington, 6:30 p.m. Free.

Wednesday Night Dead (Grateful Dead covers) at Zenbarn, Waterbury Center, 7 p.m. $5.

THU.9

Alex Stewart Quartet and Special Guests (jazz) at the 126, Burlington, 9 p.m. Free.

Brett Hughes (country) at Hugo’s Bar and Grill, Montpelier, 7 p.m.

Free.

Donna under (rock) at CharlieO’s World Famous, Montpelier, 8 p.m. Free.

Flipturn, Hotel Fiction (indie) at Club Metronome, Burlington, 8 p.m. $10.

Goldman & Hammack (folk) at Black Flannel Brewing & Distilling, Essex, 6 p.m. Free.

Grace Palmer and Socializing for Introverts (rock) at Red Square, Burlington, 6 p.m. Free.

Greg Freeman, Wren Kitz, Rockin’ Worms (indie) at Radio Bean, Burlington, 8:30 p.m. $10/$15.

Jeff Salisbury Blues Band (blues) at On Tap Bar & Grill, Essex Junction, 6 p.m. Free.

Paul Asbell Trio (jazz) at Foam Brewers, Burlington, 7 p.m. Free.

Peter Schmeeckle (singersongwriter) at Filling Station, Middlesex, 6 p.m. Free.

Purple: A Tribute To Prince (tribute) at Pickle Barrel Nightclub, Killington, 8 p.m. $15/$20.

FRI.10

Amber deLaurentis (jazz) at Bleu Northeast Kitchen, Burlington, 7:30 p.m. Free.

e Breanna Elaine Band (acoustic) at Brandon Town Hall, 7:30 p.m. $18.

Chris Peterman Quartet (jazz) at Foam Brewers, Burlington, 8 p.m. Free.

Cozy (funk, soul) at On Tap Bar & Grill, Essex Junction, 9 p.m. Free.

Crash the Party (covers) at Pickle Barrel Nightclub, Killington, 8 p.m. Free.

Dan Parks with Mark Steffenhagen (acoustic) at the Tap Room at Switchback Brewing, Burlington, 5 p.m. Free.

Danny & e Parts (Americana) at Hotel Vermont, Burlington, 4 p.m. Free.

Second Helping

Find the most up-to-date info on live music, DJs, comedy and more at sevendaysvt.com/music. If you’re a talent booker or artist planning live entertainment at a bar, nightclub, café, restaurant, brewery or coffee shop, send event details to music@sevendaysvt.com or submit the info using our form at sevendaysvt.com/postevent.

After a health scare sent him to the hospital in 2021, rapper and DJ FATTIE B found a fire had been lit inside him. A legend in the Burlington hip-hop scene from his turns in Belizbeha and Eye Oh You, Fattie reached out to a host of fellow rappers, producers and musicians to record GUMBO

The sprawling record features guest performances from a wide cross section of Vermont artists, such as DWIGHT + NICOLE, BOB WAGNER, CRAIG MITCHELL and MISTER BURNS, many of whom will join Fattie onstage this Saturday, February 11, at the Double E Performance Center in Essex, to celebrate the album. As do proceeds from GUMBO, ticket sales from the show will benefit the Boston Children’s Hospital.

Please contact event organizers about vaccination and mask requirements.

Claudine Langille (folk) at Taps Tavern, Poultney, 6 p.m. Free.

Crash the Party (covers) at Pickle Barrel Nightclub, Killington, 9 p.m. Free.

Dub Apocalypse (reggae) at Zenbarn, Waterbury Center, 8 p.m.

Donation.

Garcia Peoples, Blackwater (jam) at Nectar’s, Burlington, 8 p.m. $10.

GIFT, Hoover (psych rock) at Foam Brewers, Burlington, 7 p.m. $5.

GUMBO Album Release

Bash (hip-hop) at Double E Performance Center’s T-Rex eater, Essex Junction, 6 p.m. $12.

In the Pocket (jazz) at Bleu Northeast Kitchen, Burlington, 7:30 p.m. Free.

Jerborn & Axe (acoustic) at 1st Republic Brewing, Essex Junction, 6 p.m. Free.

Jesse Taylor Band, Julia & the Nightcaps, Sabrina Comellas (indie rock) at Radio Bean, Burlington, 6:30 p.m. $5/$10.

Joe’s Big Band (jazz) at St. John’s Club, Burlington, 7 p.m. $10.

Left Eye Jump (blues) at Red Square, Burlington, 2 p.m. Free.

Maple Run Band, Delta Sweet Band (Americana) at Monkey House, Winooski, 8 p.m. $10/$15.

No More Blue Tomorrows (altrock) at Red Square, Burlington, 7 p.m. Free.

e Rough Suspects (rock) at On Tap Bar & Grill, Essex Junction, 9 p.m. Free.

Second Wind (acoustic) at the Den at Harry’s Hardware, Cabot, 6 p.m. Free.

e Smokey Newfield Project (folk) at Jericho Café & Tavern, 6 p.m. Free.

Suga Mama and the Mama’s Boys (r&b, soul) at Radio Bean, Burlington, 9:30 p.m. $10/$15.

MON.13

Fever Dolls, the Tenderbellies (indie) at Foam Brewers, Burlington, 7 p.m. $10.

Matt Hagen’s Hearts, Darts and Daggers (singer-songwriter) at the 126, Burlington, 9 p.m. Free. Samia, Tommy Lefroy (indie) at Higher Ground Ballroom, South Burlington, 8 p.m. $22/$25.

TUE.14

Alex’s Galactic Jams of Space (jazz) at Monkey House, Winooski, 6 p.m. Free. Bluegrass Jam (bluegrass) at Taps Tavern, Poultney, 7 p.m. Free. Grateful Tuesdays (tribute) at Nectar’s, Burlington, 6:30 p.m. $20.

Honky Tonk Tuesday featuring Pony Hustle (country) at Radio Bean, Burlington, 9 p.m. $10. Julia & the Nightcaps (folk) at Lawson’s Finest Liquids, Waitsfield, 5 p.m. Free.

Kahil El’Zabar’s Legendary Ethnic Heritage Ensemble (Afro-jazz) at Radio Bean, Burlington, 6:30 p.m. $15/$18.

WED.15

Bluegrass & BBQ (bluegrass) at Four Quarters Brewing, Winooski, 6:30 p.m. Free.

Fresh Pressed Wednesday featuring Spiders for Breakfast, Will Paquin, Small Talk (indie) at Radio Bean, Burlington, 9 p.m. $5/$10.

Jazz Night with Ray Vega (jazz) at Hotel Vermont, Burlington, 8:30 p.m. Free.

Jazz Sessions with Randal Pierce (jazz open mic) at the 126, Burlington, 8:30 p.m. Free.

Live Jazz (jazz) at Leunig’s Bistro & Café, Burlington, 6:30 p.m. Free. PEAK (jam) at Nectar’s, Burlington, 8 p.m. Free.

Wednesday Night Dead (Grateful Dead covers) at Zenbarn, Waterbury Center, 7 p.m. $5.

djs

Danny James & Es-K, DJ Ricepilaf (electronic) at Radio Bean, Burlington, 8:30 p.m. $10/$15.

Dave Mitchell’s Blues Revue (blues) at Red Square, Burlington, 2 p.m. Free.

Hammock and Goldman (folk) at Whammy Bar, Calais, 7 p.m. Free.

Jake Whitesell Trio (jazz) at Hugo’s Bar and Grill, Montpelier, 7 p.m. Free.

Kris Delmhorst (Americana) at Zenbarn, Waterbury Center, 8 p.m. $15.

e Lloyd Tyler Band (folk rock) at 14th Star Brewing, St. Albans, 6 p.m. Free.

Lush Honey, Sean Kehoe Band (rock, soul) at Orlando’s Bar & Lounge, Burlington, 9 p.m. Free.

Maple & Hanson (rock) at On Tap Bar & Grill, Essex Junction, 5 p.m. Free.

Mike Schwaner (rock) at Taps Tavern, Poultney, 6 p.m. Free.

No More Blue Tomorrows (altrock) at Charlie-O’s World Famous, Montpelier, 9:30 p.m. Free.

No Showers on Vacation, No Lemon (indie rock) at Nectar’s, Burlington, 8 p.m. $10.

e People Bar (rock) at Monopole, Plattsburgh, N.Y., 10 p.m. Free.

Rustie Bus, the Steppes (rock fusion) at the Underground, Randolph, 7:30 p.m. $15.

Shinola (folk) at Stone Corral, Richmond, 7 p.m. Free.

Super Stash Bros (pop) at Red Square, Burlington, 7 p.m. Free.

Supernatural, Lawless (rock) at the Old Post, South Burlington, 8 p.m. Free.

Wendigo (jazz fusion) at Radio Bean, Burlington, 7 p.m. $5/$10. Whiskey & Wine (covers) at On Tap Bar & Grill, Essex Junction, 5 p.m. Free.

Winter Jam Presents Devin Bradford and Twist of Fate (folk) at City Limits Night Club, Vergennes, 9:30 p.m. Free.

SAT.11

Afterhours featuring the Rock Brothers (rock) at Monopole, Plattsburgh, N.Y., 10 p.m. Free. Bearded Belligerents (metal covers) at Gusto’s, Barre, 9 p.m. Free.

e Brothers Miller (folk) at Whammy Bar, Calais, 7 p.m. Free.

Timothy Quigley & Friends (jazz) at Hugo’s Bar and Grill, Montpelier, 7 p.m. Free.

Vallory Falls, We Are Here!, 40 Lashes, e Apollos (punk, rock) at Charlie-O’s World Famous, Montpelier, 9:30 p.m. Free.

Zack Dupont and Matt DeLuca (singer-songwriter) at Stone Corral, Richmond, 7 p.m. Free.

SUN.12

e Rough & Tumble, High Tea, Decatur Creek (Americana) at Stage 33 Live, Bellows Falls, 3 p.m. $15/$20.

Sunday Brunch Tunes (singersongwriter) at Hotel Vermont, Burlington, 10 a.m.

THU.9

DJ Chaston (DJ) at Red Square Blue Room, Burlington, 11 p.m. Free.

DJ Two Sev (DJ) at Red Square, Burlington, midnight. Free.

Mi Yard Reggae Night with DJ Big Dog (reggae and dancehall) at Nectar’s, Burlington, 9:30 p.m. Free.

Molly Mood (DJ) at Red Square, Burlington, 10 p.m. Free.

Vinyl Night with Ken (DJ) at Taps Tavern, Poultney, 6 p.m. Free.

FRI.10

DJ Craig Mitchell (DJ) at Red Square Blue Room, Burlington, 9:30 p.m. Free.

Listen to Chris Farnsworth read his article about GUMBO at sevendaysvt.com/aloud.

SAT.11 // GUMBO ALBUM RELEASE BASH [HIP-HOP]

FILE: LUKE AWTRY

DJ Dakota (DJ) at Club Metronome, Burlington, 10 p.m.

$5.

DJ Dance Party (DJ) at the Depot, St. Albans, 9 p.m. $5.

DJ Kata (DJ) at Red Square, Burlington, 10 p.m. Free.

DJ LaFountaine (DJ) at Gusto’s, Barre, 9 p.m. Free.

DJ Taka (DJ) at Light Club Lamp Shop, Burlington, 11 p.m. $10/$15.

SAT.11

DJ A-Ra$ (DJ) at Red Square, Burlington, midnight. Free.

DJ Raul (DJ) at Red Square Blue Room, Burlington, 6 p.m. Free.

DJ Taka (DJ) at Light Club Lamp Shop, Burlington, 11 p.m. $10/$15.

Matt Payne (DJ) at Red Square Blue Room, Burlington, 10 p.m. Free.

Molly Mood (DJ) at Red Square, Burlington, 10 p.m. Free.

Y2K Pop: 2000’s Pop Dance Party with D Jay Baron (DJ) at Club Metronome, Burlington, 10 p.m. $5.

MON.13

Mo’ Monday with DJs Craig Mitchell and Fattie B (DJ) at Monkey House, Winooski, 7 p.m. Free.

TUE.14

Local Dork (DJ) at Foam Brewers, Burlington, 6 p.m. Free.

open mics & jams

WED.8

Irish Sessions (Celtic, open mic) at Light Club Lamp Shop, Burlington, 6 p.m. Free.

Open Mic (open mic) at Monopole, Plattsburgh, N.Y., 10 p.m. Free.

Open Mic with JD Tolstoi (open mic) at Taps Tavern, Poultney, 7 p.m. Free.

THU.9

Open Mic (open mic) at Whammy Bar, Calais, 6:30 p.m. Free.

Open Mic (open mic) at Orlando’s Bar & Lounge, Burlington, 8:30 p.m. Free.

Open Mic Night (open mic) at Parker Pie, West Glover, 6:30 p.m. Free.

SUN.12

Open Mic Night with Justin (open mic) at Charlie-O’s World Famous, Montpelier, 7:30 p.m.

WED.15

Irish Sessions (Celtic, open mic) at Light Club Lamp Shop, Burlington, 6 p.m. Free.

Lit Club (poetry open mic) at Light Club Lamp Shop, Burlington, 6:30 p.m. Free.

Open Mic (open mic) at Monopole, Plattsburgh, N.Y., 10 p.m. Free.

Open Mic with JD Tolstoi (open mic) at Taps Tavern, Poultney, 7 p.m. Free.

comedy

WED.8

Standup Comedy Open Mic (comedy open mic) at Vermont Comedy Club, Burlington, 8:30 p.m.

THU.9

Mothra! A Storytelling/ Improv Comedy Show (comedy) at Vermont Comedy Club, Burlington, 8 p.m. Free.

FRI.10

Dana Gould (comedy) at Vermont Comedy Club, Burlington, 7 & 9 p.m. $25.

SAT.11

Dana Gould (comedy) at Vermont Comedy Club, Burlington, 7 & 9 p.m. $25.

Good Clean Fun (comedy) at Vermont Comedy Club, Burlington, 4:30 p.m. $5/$10.

World Gone Crazy Comedy Band (comedy) at Catamount ArtPort, St. Johnsbury, 7 p.m. $25.

TUE.14

Comedy Open Mic (comedy) at the 126, Burlington, 7 p.m. Free.

WED.15

Standup Comedy Open Mic (comedy open mic) at Vermont Comedy Club, Burlington, 8:30 p.m.

trivia, karaoke, etc.

WED.8

Nerd Nite Trivia (trivia) at Citizen Cider, Burlington, 6:30-9 p.m. Free.

Trivia Night (trivia) at Stone Corral, Richmond, 7 p.m. Free. Wednesday Trivia Night (trivia) at Alfie’s Wild Ride, Stowe, 7 p.m. Free.

THU.9

Karaoke Night (karaoke) at Zenbarn, Waterbury Center, 7 p.m. Free.

Trivia & Nachos (trivia) at Four Quarters Brewing, Winooski, 6 p.m. Free.

Trivia Night (trivia) at McGillicuddy’s Five Corners, Essex Junction, 6:30 p.m. Free.

Trivia Thursday (trivia) at Spanked Puppy Pub, Colchester, 7 p.m. Free.

FRI.10

Karaoke Night (karaoke) at Babes Bar, Bethel, 7 p.m. Free.

MON.13

Trivia with Brain (trivia) at Charlie-O’s World Famous, Montpelier, 8 p.m. Free.

TUE.14

Karaoke with DJ Party Bear (karaoke) at Charlie-O’s World Famous, Montpelier, 9:30 p.m. Free.

Trivia Night (trivia) at the Depot, St. Albans, 7 p.m. Free.

Tuesday Night Trivia (trivia) at Vermont Comedy Club, Burlington, 7 p.m. Free.

WED.15

Barrel Room Trivia (trivia) at Black Flannel Brewing & Distilling, Essex, 5:30 p.m. Free.

Nerd Nite Trivia (trivia) at Citizen Cider, Burlington, 6:30-9 p.m. Free.

Trivia Night (trivia) at Stone Corral, Richmond, 7 p.m. Free. ➆

FRI.11 // DANA GOULD [COMEDY]

REVIEW this

King Tu , Smalltown Stardust

(SUB POP, CASSETTE, CD, DIGITAL, VINYL)

When Kyle Thomas, aka King Tu , left his hometown of Brattleboro in 2011 to board a Greyhound bus bound for Los Angeles, it wasn’t exactly a triumphant departure.

“The truth is I never really wanted to leave my little town in Vermont,” Thomas said in a press release for his new album, Smalltown Stardust. He knew he needed to seek out greener pastures to pursue his dream of a music career, but that didn’t stop him from crying on the bus as he rode west.

“In some alternate dimension there’s a version of me still living there,” he continued. “But alas, in this here dimension, I’m nothing but a townie without a town.”

In the intervening decade, Thomas has realized his dream. A collection of hardrocking records and stints in bands with Dinosaur Jr.’s J Mascis and songwriter Ty Segall have established his reputation as a garage-rock guru of sorts, even as he began to distance himself from that sound with 2018’s The Other. That record found Thomas asking big questions and contemplating death, giving the songs a dark undertone.

On Smalltown Stardust, Thomas sounds like a man who has made peace with those questions and is ready to share what he’s learned. Along the way, he continues to pull on the edges of his sound, moving even further from the sonic shores on which he started, ironically while dwelling on his past and his formative years in Brattleboro.

Gone is the grungy persona of a leatherclad rocker. In its place, Thomas and Tu have melded into some combination of a folk-rock hermit and a hedge wizard, as if Gandalf took a pound of mushrooms and a Gibson SG into the woods to make an indie rock banger.

“Love Letter to Plants” kicks o the record with a vamping synth reminiscent of fellow Vermont expat Caroline Rose’s “Jeannie Becomes a Mom.” The keys are balanced precariously against a clockworklike beat while Thomas waxes philosophic about his garden. “I just want to dance and write love letters to plants / And I don’t need anything else in my life,” he sings, the a rmation introducing an album as intrigued by the natural world

as any pagan rite. You can all but hear the songwriter retreating from the world — a Homer-Simpson-disappearing-into-thehedge meme come true — as memories of growing up in a greener world dominate his songwriting.

Smalltown Stardust was coproduced by singer-songwriter Sasami, aka Sasami Ashworth, who also cowrote much of the material and layers harmony vocals all over the record. Ashworth and Thomas share a house in Mount Washington in LA, along with singer-songwriter Meg Du y, aka Hand Habits. The musicians have collaborated on each of their most recent respective records, starting with Du y’s Fun House in 2021, followed by Sasami’s Squeeze in 2022 and culminating in Thomas’ new LP.

Ashworth comes in strong on “How I Love,” a mid-tempo rocker that recalls ’70s-era George Harrison, down to Thomas’ tastefully sparse stabs of guitar. Her voice elevates the song, blending with Thomas’ vocal as his spiritual yearning takes center stage.

The album isn’t exactly Thomas’ version of Slow Train Coming, where Bob Dylan famously reinvented himself as a bornagain Christian, but there’s no escaping the sense of spiritual curiosity prevalent in the songs. In particular, Thomas’ desire to commune with nature is irrepressible.

“A Meditation” shows just how deeply rooted that longing is. A brief recording of an 8-year-old Thomas captures him

instructing the listener to “take a really deep breath just to let all our soul out, and let’s be spiritual with this.” It’s more than proof that Thomas has been on a quest for higher meaning since he was a precocious kid traipsing through the woods of southern Vermont. It’s an audio snapshot, a “picture” Thomas has kept all these years for a reason, as if he knew that one day he would need a signpost to guide him back to a truth he knew as a child.

Those childhood memories populate Smalltown Stardust from start to finish. From name-checking Interstate 91 (which runs right through Brattleboro) in the title track to “Rock River,” in which Thomas sings, “Those days are gone and we can’t rewind / ’Cause people grow and places change / But my love for you will never fade away.” It’s more than simple nostalgia; it’s a songwriter yearning for the simplicity of a youth spent in nature.

As the snarling guitars of previous albums have receded in his work, Thomas has ushered in a new sonic palette, full of cellos and violins, sun-kissed harmonies, and even hints of pop music. Tracks such as “The Bandits of Blue Sky,” which edges into Electric Light Orchestra territory, and the almost ecclesiastic “The Wheel” are the best markers for his growth.

In the end, Smalltown Stardust is a record looking back to halcyon days, all while celebrating the future Thomas found after boarding that fateful Greyhound all those years ago.

The album is now streaming on all major services and is available at local record stores. Thomas returns to his old stomping grounds on March 25 for a show at the Stone Church in Brattleboro.

CHRIS FARNSWORTH

Kyle omas, aka King Tuff

on screen

Written and directed by Sarah Polley ( Away From Her ), Women Talking is one of those movies that get a lot of attention from critics and not a lot from audiences. Potential viewers who are instantly put o by the subject matter — the aftermath of years of rape and sexual abuse — should know that the film doesn’t depict those acts on-screen.

Rather, Women Talking is exactly what the title suggests: a sort of talky courtroom drama without a defendant, in which a group of illiterate but articulate women argue over how best to exercise the modest amount of control they have over their lives. Nominated for Oscars for Best Picture and Best Adapted Screenplay, it’s playing at Merrill’s Roxy Cinemas as of press time.

The deal

Women Talking ★★★★ REVIEW

For years, the women and girls of the Colony have su ered nighttime assaults that their male elders attribute to demons, ghosts or “wild female imagination.” Then the women catch one of their attackers and force him to name the others. The men of the Colony go to the city to bail out the arrested rapists, ordering the women to forgive the culprits upon their return so that the life of the community may continue as before.

Left alone, the women have two days to decide what to do next: forgive and forget, “stay and fight,” or leave the Colony and face excommunication and possible damnation. They hold a council in the barn, enlisting schoolteacher August (Ben Whishaw), a man who stayed behind, to take the minutes for them.

Will you like it?

Polley deliberately presents Women

Talking as a story with minimal context. The women wear skirts and bonnets, and the images of haylofts and cornfields have a dreamy, desaturated lyricism that (ironically) suggests an idealized past. Yet we eventually learn the action takes place in the 21st century. Opening text describes the story as “an act of female imagination.”

But it doesn’t specify that the source is Miriam Toews’ novel, also called Women Talking, which was inspired by real events that took place in an isolated Mennonite colony in Bolivia.

This vagueness gives the story more

allegorical weight than perhaps it should need to bear. Viewers unaware of the reallife inspiration have criticized Women Talking for presenting a debate among a group of white, Christian women as if it were universal. Clearly, these women don’t represent all women. But their conflict, couched in Toews’ and Polley’s elegant, slightly stagy dialogue, is undeniably resonant. And the uniformly powerful performances allow each character to embody both a believable individual and a heightened archetype in a way that is reminiscent of classical drama.

It’s tough to pick a favorite in this seamless ensemble, which is perhaps why none of the actors ended up nominated for an Oscar. The central conflict erupts between Salome (Claire Foy) and Mariche (Jessie Buckley), mothers of children who have also been victims. Both are consumed with rage, but Salome wants to fight and transform the Colony from within, while the bitter Mariche rejects any possibility of positive change.

Ona (Rooney Mara), a single woman pregnant with her attacker’s child, is the idealist of the group, waxing eloquent about a world of equity and harmony. The elders (Judith Ivey and Sheila McCarthy) provide whimsy, moderation and

perspective. The teens (Kate Hallett and Liv McNeil) roll their eyes and disrupt the proceedings with their restless antics. But we know from Hallett’s voice-over narration that they are listening — because the future being decided here will belong to them.

These “women talking” differ from many women of 2023 in obvious ways: Illiterate, offline and unable to locate themselves on a map, they face terrifying uncertainty outside the homestead. Yet the dilemmas they face are familiar: How do you reconcile your love for some men with your hatred of a system that gives all men far too much power? How do you express anger when you believe in peace? How do you talk about things for which you’ve never been given the words? How much can you forgive before your sense of self begins to erode? When is it worth it to take a leap in the dark?

These days, it may seem naïve to suggest that talking could resolve any of these questions. The debates in Women Talking are nothing like the circular ones we have on social media, however, because they depend on the women’s lifelong, faceto-face knowledge of one another and their faith in the possibility of a community that embraces everyone. Maybe that’s

exactly why we should listen to what they have to say.

MARGOT HARRISON margot@sevendaysvt.com

IF YOU LIKE THIS, TRY...

SHE SAID (2022; Peacock, rentable): is drama about the two New York Times reporters who meticulously gathered the evidence of Harvey Weinstein’s misconduct is also about women talking — and persuading other women to talk on the record.

STORIES WE TELL (2012; Freevee, Kanopy, YouTube TV): In this highly personal documentary, Polley explores the power of storytelling to shape our memories, a theme that returns in Women Talking.

“UNDER THE BANNER OF HEAVEN” (2022; Hulu): If you’re put off by the dearth of men in Women Talking, why not explore how an insular religious patriarchy goes wrong from their point of view? While this miniseries has been criticized for its portrayal of the Church of Latter-day Saints, it offers a compellingly lurid story of how people come to accept abuse and even murder in the name of authority.

Members of an insular religious community face choices about their future in Polley’s compelling ensemble drama.

COURTESY OF MICHAEL GIBSON/ORION RELEASING

NEW IN THEATERS

ALL QUIET ON THE WESTERN FRONT: Nine Oscar nominations went to this new adaptation of the classic German anti-war novel from director Edward Berger, starring Felix Kammerer and Albrecht Schuch. (148 min, R. Savoy)

MAGIC MIKE’S LAST DANCE: Channing Tatum reprises his role as a stripper in the final film of Steven Soderbergh’s comedy-drama trilogy, with Salma Hayek as a socialite who brings Mike to London for a job. (112 min, R. Majestic)

THE SON: In cowriter-director Florian Zeller’s sequel to The Father, Hugh Jackman plays a man trying to repair the wounds of his own childhood by bonding with his depressed teenage son. With Vanessa Kirby and Laura Dern. (123 min, PG-13. Savoy)

CURRENTLY PLAYING

80 FOR BRADYHH1/2 Sally Field, Jane Fonda, Rita Moreno and Lily Tomlin play four friends determined to meet Tom Brady at the Super Bowl in this sports comedy. (98 min, PG-13. Bijou, Capitol, Essex, Majestic, Palace, Roxy, Welden)

ALL THE BEAUTY AND THE BLOODSHEDHHHH1/2 Laura Poitras’ acclaimed documentary profiles artist Nan Goldin, from her underground beginnings to her recent activism against major art donors the Sackler family. (122 min, NR. Savoy)

THE AMAZING MAURICEHH1/2 A clever cat (voice of Hugh Laurie), a young piper (Himesh Patel) and a band of rats plot to scam an unsuspecting town in this animation. (93 min, PG. Bijou, Capitol, Essex, Majestic, Marquis, Palace, Star)

AVATAR: THE WAY OF WATERHHH1/2 Director James Cameron returns to Pandora for this sequel in which Jake Sully (Sam Worthington) and his family face a new threat. (192 min, PG-13. Capitol, Essex, Majestic, Palace, Roxy, Stowe)

EOHHHH1/2 This Oscar nominee from director Jerzy Skolimowski explores modern Europe from the point of view of a donkey. With Sandra Drzymalska and Isabelle Huppert. (86 min, NR. Savoy)

EVERYTHING EVERYWHERE ALL AT ONCEHHHHH

Michelle Yeoh plays a woman who travels the multiverse to save the world in this surreal adventure comedy. (139 min, R. Palace, Roxy; reviewed 4/13/22)

THE FABELMANSHHHH A teen in midcentury Arizona sets out to become a filmmaker in Steven Spielberg’s acclaimed autobiographical drama, starring Michelle Williams and Gabriel LaBelle. (151 min, PG-13. Big Picture, Majestic, Palace, Savoy; reviewed 12/14/22)

INFINITY POOLHHH1/2 A couple’s seaside vacation turns into a surreal nightmare in the latest horror flick from Brandon Cronenberg, starring Alexander Skarsgård, Mia Goth and Cleopatra Coleman. (117 min, R. Majestic, Roxy; reviewed 2/1)

KNOCK AT THE CABINHHH M. Night Shyamalan directed this adaptation of Paul Tremblay’s horror novel about a vacationing family who encounter an apocalypse cult. (100 min, R. Bijou, Essex, Majestic, Marquis, Palace, Paramount, Roxy, Star, Welden)

LIVINGHHHH Bill Nighy received an Oscar nomination for his performance as a civil servant in 1950s England who changes his life after receiving disturbing news. (102 min, PG-13. Catamount, Savoy)

A MAN CALLED OTTOHH1/2 In the American adaptation of Fredrik Backman’s bestseller, Tom Hanks plays a widower in need of a new lease on life. (126 min, PG-13. Capitol, Essex, Majestic, Palace, Stowe, Welden)

M3GANHHH1/2 A robotics engineer (Allison Williams) makes the bad decision to introduce her young niece to her new lifelike creation in this viral horror flick. (102 min, PG-13. Essex, Majestic, Star)

MISSINGHHH1/2 Storm Reid plays a girl who must use digital sleuthing to find her mom (Nia Long) in this thriller. (111 min, PG-13. Big Picture, Majestic, Palace, Stowe)

PATHAAN: An Indian spy (Shah Rukh Khan) defends his homeland in this action thriller from director Siddharth Anand. (146 min, NR. Majestic)

PLANEHHH Gerard Butler plays a pilot who makes a successful crash landing only to find more trouble on the ground in this action thriller from Jean-François Richet. (107 min, R. Bijou, Essex, Majestic)

PUSS IN BOOTS: THE LAST WISHHHHH Antonio Banderas again voices the titular cool cat in this animated adventure in which Puss seeks to restore his nine lives. (100 min, PG. Capitol, Essex, Majestic, Palace, Paramount, Star)

THE WHALEHHH Brendan Fraser plays an obese, shut-in English teacher at a critical life juncture in this drama directed by Darren Aronofksky. (117 min, R. Catamount [ends Thu], Roxy, Savoy; reviewed 1/18)

WOMEN TALKINGHHHH In Sarah Polley’s Oscarnominated adaptation of Miriam Toews’ novel, a group of isolated Mennonite women decides how to react to a pattern of assaults. The stellar ensemble includes Claire Foy, Jessie Buckley and Rooney Mara. (104 min, PG-13. Roxy; reviewed 2/8)

OLDER FILMS AND SPECIAL SCREENINGS

GASLIGHT (Catamount, Wed 8 only)

RED TAILS (Catamount, Wed 15 only)

TITANIC 25TH ANNIVERSARY (3D) (Essex, Star)

VERMONT IS FOR LOVERS (Catamount, Tue only)

THE WOMAN KING (Playhouse)

OPEN THEATERS

(* = upcoming schedule for theater was not available at press time)

BIG PICTURE THEATER: 48 Carroll Rd., Waitsfield, 496-8994, bigpicturetheater.info

*BIJOU CINEPLEX 4: 107 Portland St., Morrisville, 888-3293, bijou4.com

CAPITOL SHOWPLACE: 93 State St., Montpelier, 229-0343, fgbtheaters.com

CATAMOUNT ARTS: 115 Eastern Ave., St. Johnsbury, 748-2600, catamountarts.org

ESSEX CINEMAS & T-REX THEATER: 21 Essex Way, Suite 300, Essex, 879-6543, essexcinemas.com

*MAJESTIC 10: 190 Boxwood St., Williston, 878-2010, majestic10.com

MARQUIS THEATER: 65 Main St., Middlebury, 388-4841, middleburymarquis.com

*MERRILL’S ROXY CINEMAS: 222 College St., Burlington, 864-3456, merrilltheatres.net

*PALACE 9 CINEMAS: 10 Fayette Dr., South Burlington, 864-5610, palace9.com

PARAMOUNT TWIN CINEMA: 241 N. Main St., Barre, 479-9621, fgbtheaters.com

PLAYHOUSE MOVIE THEATRE: 11 S. Main St., Randolph, 728-4012, playhouseflicks.com

SAVOY THEATER: 26 Main St., Montpelier, 2290598, savoytheater.com

STAR THEATRE: 17 Eastern Ave., St. Johnsbury, 748-9511, stjaytheatre.com

*STOWE CINEMA 3PLEX: 454 Mountain Rd., Stowe, 253-4678, stowecinema.com

WELDEN THEATRE: 104 N. Main St., St. Albans, 527-7888, weldentheatre.com

Note: These capsule descriptions are not intended as reviews. Star ratings come from Metacritic unless we reviewed the film (noted at the end of the description). Find reviews written by Seven Days critic Margot Harrison at sevendaysvt.com/ onscreen-reviews.

PLEASE CONTACT EVENT ORGANIZERS ABOUT VACCINATION AND MASK REQUIREMENTS.

FEBRUARY 8-15, 2023

WED.8 agriculture

SEED SWAP & ABENAKI

PRESENTER CAROL

MCGRANAGHAN: Gardeners trade non-GMO seeds, then learn about traditional Indigenous ways of honoring plants. ADA accessible. South Burlington Public Library & City Hall, 5-7 p.m. Free. Info, 846-4140.

business

QUEEN CITY BUSINESS

NETWORKING

INTERNATIONAL GROUP: Local professionals make crucial contacts at a weekly chapter meeting. Burlington City Arts, 11:15 a.m.-1 p.m. Free. Info, 829-5066.

climate crisis

THE IMPACT OF CLIMATE CHANGE ON VERMONT: Elected officials and organizers update listeners on current legislative initiatives regarding climate change. Presented by League of Women Voters of Vermont and Kellogg-Hubbard Library.

7-8:30 p.m. Free; preregister. Info, raderca2015@gmail.com.

community

CURRENT EVENTS: Neighbors have an informal discussion about what’s in the news.

Dorothy Alling Memorial Library, Williston, 10:30 a.m.noon. Free. Info, 878-4918.

crafts

GREEN MOUNTAIN CHAPTER OF THE EMBROIDERER’S

GUILD OF AMERICA: Anyone with an interest in the needle arts is welcome to bring a project to this monthly meeting.

Holy Family Parish Hall, Essex Junction, 9:30 a.m.-1 p.m. Free. Info, gmc.vt.ega@gmail. com.

dance

NATIONAL CHOREOGRAPHY MONTH CHALLENGE: Vermont

Dance Alliance hosts a virtual check-in for those who attempted to create choreo every day in January.

Attendance at two gatherings required to participate in February 10 showcase.

7:30-8:45 p.m. Free; preregister. Info, alxcbb@ gmail.com.

environment

UPSTREAM–DOWNSTREAM: A RIVER RESILIENCE PANEL

DISCUSSION: RESCHEDULED.

North Branch Nature Center celebrates Vermont’s waterways with a discussion with aquatic experts. 7-8:30 p.m. Free. Info, 229-6206. etc.

LIFE STORIES WE LOVE

TO TELL: Prompts from group leader Maryellen Crangle inspire true tales, told either off the cuff or read from prewritten scripts. Presented by Dorothy Alling Memorial Library. 2-3:30 p.m. Free; preregister; limited space. Info, 878-4918.

film

See what’s playing at local theaters in the On Screen section.

‘AMAZON ADVENTURE 3D’: Viewers experience 19thcentury explorer Henry Bates’ journey through the Amazon rainforest. Northfield Savings Bank 3D Theater: A National

LIST YOUR UPCOMING EVENT HERE FOR FREE!

All submissions must be received by Thursday at noon for consideration in the following Wednesday’s newspaper. Find our convenient form and guidelines at sevendaysvt.com/postevent

Listings and spotlights are written by Emily Hamilton Seven Days edits for space and style. Depending on cost and other factors, classes and workshops may be listed in either the calendar or the classes section. Class organizers may be asked to purchase a class listing.

Learn more about highlighted listings in the Magnificent 7 on page 11.

Geographic Experience, ECHO Leahy Center for Lake Champlain, Burlington, noon, 2 & 4 p.m. $3-5 plus regular admission, $14.50-18; admission free for members and kids 2 and under. Info, 864-1848.

‘THE BIG SLEEP’: A 1946 film noir with a plot so convoluted that even its creators didn’t know who the murderer was offers side-splitting fun. Jaquith Public Library, Marshfield, 7 p.m. Free. Info, 426-3581.

‘GASLIGHT’: A woman’s husband manipulates her into believing she’s losing her mind in this classic 1946 psychological thriller. Catamount Arts Center, St. Johnsbury, 6 p.m. Free. Info, 748-2600.

‘MYSTERIES OF THE UNSEEN

WORLD 3D’: Sparkling graphics take viewers on a mindbending journey into phenomena that are too slow, too fast or too small to be seen by the naked eye. Northfield Savings Bank 3D Theater: A National Geographic Experience, ECHO Leahy Center for Lake Champlain, Burlington, 11 a.m., 1 & 3 p.m. $3-5 plus regular admission, $14.50-18; admission free for members and kids 2 and under. Info, 864-1848.

NXT ROCKUMENTARY FILM

SERIES: ‘ALMOST FAMOUS’: This 2000 film about the heyday of classic rock is next in this screening series from Next Stage Arts and Next Chapter Records. Next Stage Arts Project, Putney, 7 p.m. $10 suggested donation. Info, 387-0102.

‘SEA MONSTERS 3D’: An adventurous dolichorhynchops travels through the most dangerous oceans in history, encountering plesiosaurs, giant turtles and

FIND MORE LOCAL EVENTS IN THIS ISSUE AND ONLINE:

art

Find visual art exhibits and events in the Art section and at sevendaysvt.com/art.

film

See what’s playing at theaters in the On Screen section.

music + nightlife

Find club dates at local venues in the Music + Nightlife section online at sevendaysvt.com/music.

= ONLINE EVENT

the deadly mosasaur along the way. Northfield Savings Bank 3D Theater: A National Geographic Experience, ECHO Leahy Center for Lake Champlain, Burlington, 11:30 a.m., 1:30 & 3:30 p.m. $3-5 plus regular admission, $14.50-18; admission free for members and kids 2 and under. Info, 864-1848.

‘WINGS OVER WATER 3D’: Sandhill cranes, yellow warblers and mallard ducks make their lives along rivers, lakes and wetlands. Northfield Savings Bank 3D

Theater: A National Geographic Experience, ECHO Leahy Center for Lake Champlain, Burlington, 10:30 a.m., 12:30, 2:30 & 4:30 p.m. $3-5 plus regular admission, $14.50-18; admission free for members and kids 2 and under. Info, 864-1848.

games

BOARD GAME NIGHT: Lovers of tabletop fun play classic games and new designer offerings. Waterbury Public Library, 6-8 p.m. Free. Info, 244-7036.

WINTER TRIVIA CHAMPIONSHIP ROUND!: RESCHEDULED. The best of the best test their knowledge of Green Mountain State history, geography, nature and more. Courtesy of the Vermont Historical Society. 7-8 p.m. $5-10; preregister. Info, 479-8500.

health & fitness

CHAIR YOGA: Waterbury Public Library instructor Diana Whitney leads at-home participants in gentle stretches supported by seats. 10 a.m. Free. Info, 244-7036.

COMMUNITY YOGA CLASS —

ALL LEVELS: Yogis of all abilities find peace and community in a cozy, candlelit scene. Wise Pines, Woodstock, 5:30-6:45 p.m. Free; donations accepted; preregister; limited space. Info, 432-3126.

holidays

POP-UP CARDS WITH ARTIST ELLEN BRESLER: Romantics make three-dimensional cards for Valentine’s Day. Jaquith Public Library, Marshfield, 4:30-6 p.m. Free. Info, 426-3581.

language

IRISH LANGUAGE CLASS: Celticcurious students learn to speak an Ghaeilge in a supportive group. Fletcher Free Library, Burlington, 11 a.m.-1 p.m. Free. Info, 863-3403.

lgbtq

MOMENTUM MONTHLY VIRTUAL SOCIAL HOUR: LGBTQ folks ages 55 and up gather to make new friends and connect with old ones. Presented by Pride Center of Vermont. 6-7 p.m. Free. Info, eeka@pridecentervt.org.

music

ZACH NUGENT UNCORKED: The sought-after guitarist plays a weekly loft show featuring live music, storytelling and special guests. Shelburne Vineyard, 6-9 p.m. Free. Info, 985-8222.

outdoors

SMUGGS 55+ SKI CLUB: Seniors who love to ski, snowboard and snowshoe hit the slopes after coffee and pastries. Smugglers’ Notch Resort, Jeffersonville, 9 a.m.-noon. $30 for annual membership. Info, president@ smuggs55plus.com.

SPENCER CRISPE: A ninth-generation Vermonter shares stories from his journey to climbing the state’s 500 highest mountains. Brooks Memorial Library, Brattleboro, 7-8 p.m. Free. Info, gmc@greenmountainclub.org.

sports

GREEN MOUNTAIN TABLE

TENNIS CLUB: Ping-Pong players swing their paddles in singles and doubles matches. Rutland Area Christian School, 7-9 p.m. Free for first two sessions; $30 annual membership. Info, 247-5913.

MICHELOB ULTRA SKI BUM RACE

SERIES: Teams of amateur skiers and snowboarders test their skills and speed at one of 10 downhill bouts. Killington Resort, 10 a.m.-2 p.m. $60; $250 per team. Info, events@killington.com.

tech

RECORDING AUDIO: Attendees learn the ins and outs of capturing sound in the field, from microphones to booms to dealing with potential pitfalls on location. RETN & VCAM Media Factory, Burlington, 2-4 p.m. Free; donations accepted; preregister. Info, 651-9692.

theater

‘’BOV WATER’: Dartmouth College alum Celeste Jennings weaves together the stirring stories of four generations of Black women in a new play. Barrette Center for the Arts, White River Junction, 11 a.m. & 7:30 p.m. $17.75-67.75. Info, 296-7000.

words

ANDREW AYDIN: The coauthor of John Lewis’ March Trilogy and the new book Run describes his writing process and his memories of the civil rights icon. House Chamber, Vermont Statehouse, Montpelier, 7:30 p.m. Free. Info, jpelletier@vermonthumanities. org.

CATHERINE DRAKE: A young woman leaves her depressing Boston job and finds herself — and love — in the Green Mountains in this author’s debut novel, The Treehouse on Dog River Road. Dorothy Alling Memorial Library, Williston, 6:30-7:30 p.m. Free. Info, 878-4918.

FFL BOOK CLUB: ‘THE LINCOLN HIGHWAY’: Fletcher Free Library patrons break down Amor Towles’ high-stakes historical road trip novel. Fletcher Free Library, Burlington, 6:30-8 p.m. Free; preregister. Info, bshatara@ burlingtonvt.gov.

HANNA LELIV, LADA

KOLOMIYETS, DARYNA GLADUN & VERONIKA YADUKHA: Four of Dartmouth College’s visiting Ukrainian writers and translators discuss and read from their work.

Norwich Bookstore, 7 p.m. Free. Info, 649-1114.

POETRY POTLUCK: Wordsmiths and readers bring a dish and a poem (their own or others’) to share. Whirligig Brewing, St. Johnsbury, 7-9 p.m. Free. Info, acampbell@catamountarts.org.

THU.9 activism

VOICES FROM THE FRONT:

STRUCTURAL RACISM & POLICING: Five family members who have lost loved ones to police violence discuss the racial disparities in Vermont’s legal system. Livestream available. Pavilion Building, Montpelier, 6-7:30 p.m. Free. Info, sgomory@acluvt.org.

business

VERMONT WOMENPRENEURS

BIZ BUZZ MEETUP: Local female business owners meet and chat over coffee. Vermont Comedy Club, Burlington, 10-11:15 a.m. Free. Info, info@vtwomenpreneurs.com.

community

AGE WELL INFORMATION

TABLE: A representative of the senior wellness organization explains the resources available to Vermonters over 60. Dorothy Alling Memorial Library, Williston, noon-2 p.m. Free. Info, 878-4918.

crafts

KNIT FOR YOUR NEIGHBORS: Yarnsmiths create hats and scarves to be donated to the South Burlington Food Shelf. All supplies provided. ADA accessible. South Burlington Public Library & City Hall, 3-6 p.m. Free. Info, 846-4140.

KNITTING GROUP: Knitters of all experience levels get together to spin yarns. Latham Library, Thetford, 7 p.m. Free. Info, 785-4361.

film

See what’s playing at local theaters in the On Screen section.

‘AMAZON ADVENTURE 3D’: See WED.8.

‘MYSTERIES OF THE UNSEEN WORLD 3D’: See WED.8.

‘SEA MONSTERS 3D’: See WED.8.

‘WINGS OVER WATER 3D’: See WED.8.

food & drink

FAMILY MEAL: THE WORLD OF DUMPLINGS: Adventure Dinner serves up the next installment in an intimate series of three-course meals, with wine and cocktails available for purchase. Soapbox Arts, Burlington, 5:30-9 p.m. $75; preregister; limited space. Info, 248-224-7539.

OLD NORTH END COMMUNITY

DINNER: A vegetarian holiday meal precedes the Neighborhood Planning Assembly meeting. O.N.E. Community Center, Burlington, 5:30-6:30 p.m. Free; donations accepted. Info, 598-3139.

FAMI LY FU N

Check out these family-friendly events for parents, caregivers and kids of all ages.

Plan ahead at sevendaysvt.com/family-fun

• Post your event at sevendaysvt.com/postevent.

WED.8

SERVICES FOR CHILDREN WHO ARE BLIND OR VISUALLY

IMPAIRED: Caregivers learn what resources are available for kids of all ages from the Vermont Association for the Blind & Visually Impaired. Presented by Vermont Family Network. 10-11 a.m. Free; preregister. Info, 876-5315.

burlington

BABYTIME: Librarians bring out books, rhymes and songs specially selected for young ones. Pre-walkers and younger. Fletcher Free Library, Burlington, 11-11:30 a.m. Free. Info, 863-3403.

CRAFTERNOON: Crafts take over the Teen Space, from origami to stickers to fireworks in a jar. Ages 11 through 18. Fletcher Free Library, Burlington, 4-5 p.m. Free. Info, 540-2546.

POKÉDEX SCAVENGER HUNT:

Throughout the month of February, Pokémon catchers of all ages search for the creatures hiding throughout the library. Winners, announced in March, receive prizes. Fletcher Free Library, Burlington. Free. Info, 540-2546.

SAT PREP WITH WALKER TUTORING: Tutors Addison and Jacob help high school students get ready for the big exam at monthly sessions. Fletcher Free Library, Burlington, 4-6 p.m. Free. Info, 863-3403.

STEAM SPACE: Kids explore science, technology, engineering, art and math activities. Ages 5 through 11. Fletcher Free Library, Burlington, 5-6:30 p.m. Free. Info, 863-3403.

chittenden county

AFTERSCHOOL MOVIE: ‘THE SECRET

LIFE OF PETS’: Dogs, cats and bunnies go about their business while their humans are at work in this PG-rated animated romp. Dorothy Alling Memorial Library, Williston, 2-4 p.m. Free. Info, 878-4918.

BABYTIME: Teeny-tiny library patrons enjoy a gentle, slow story time featuring songs, rhymes and lap play. South Burlington Public Library & City Hall, 10:30 a.m. Free. Info, 846-4140.

LEGO BUILDERS: Elementary-age imagineers explore, create and participate in challenges. Ages 8 and up, or ages 6 and up with an adult helper. ADA accessible. South Burlington Public Library & City Hall, 3-4:30 p.m. Free. Info, 846-4140.

MOVIE MATINEE: Film lovers have a family-friendly afternoon at this screening of an animated favorite. Brownell Library, Essex Junction, 3-4:45 p.m. Free. Info, 878-6956.

PLAY TIME: Little ones build with blocks and read together. Ages 1 through 4. Brownell Library, Essex Junction, 1010:45 a.m. Free. Info, 878-6956.

Ready, Teddy, Go!

If your child’s favorite stuffed animal has been feeling a little cooped up lately, they can get a dose of adventure at Fletcher Free Library’s Stuffie Sleepover night. It starts with a pajama party on Saturday, where kids enjoy a special craft and story time, then tuck in and say sweet dreams to their plushie pals. What will they do all night? Will they play pranks on the librarians? What books will they read? Kids find out when they pick them up on Sunday and watch a photo slideshow of the stuffies’ overnight antics. Ages 3 and up.

STUFFIE SLEEPOVER

Saturday, February 11, 5-6 p.m., and Sunday, February 12, noon-1 p.m., at Fletcher Free Library in Burlington. Free; preregister; limited space. Info, 863-3403, fletcherfree.org.

TEEN BOOK TO MOVIE DISCUSSION: Bookworms face off against film buffs during a discussion following a screening of an adapted film. BYO lunch. Ages 12 through 18. Milton Public Library, 3:30-6:30 p.m. Free; preregister. Info, 893-4644.

barre/montpelier

CHESS CLUB: Kids of all skill levels get one-on-one lessons and play each other in between. Ages 6 and up. KelloggHubbard Library, Montpelier, 3:30-5 p.m. Free. Info, 223-3338.

CRAFTERNOON - VALENTINE THEMED!: Makers of all ages create cards and other gifts for the special folks in their lives. Bethany United Church of Christ, Montpelier, 1-4 p.m. Donations. Info, 223-2424.

mad river valley/ waterbury

LEGO CHALLENGE CLUB: Kids engage in a fun-filled hour of building, then leave their creations on display in the library all month long. Ages 6 through 8. Waterbury Public Library, 3-4 p.m. Free; preregister. Info, 244-7036.

upper valley

PEABODY AFTERSCHOOL FUN FOR GRADES 1-4: Students make friends over crafts and story time. George Peabody Library, Post Mills, 3:30-4:30 p.m. Free. Info, 333-9724.

THU.9 burlington

POKÉDEX SCAVENGER HUNT: See WED.8.

chittenden county

COOL CHEMISTRY WITH REBECCA

RUPP: The biochemist leads an afternoon of experiments for mad scientists in grades 4 through 8. South Burlington Public Library & City Hall, 3:30-5 p.m. Free; preregister; limited space. Info, nliuzzi@southburlingtonvt.gov.

FAMILY MATH PLAY TIME: 3- through 5-year-olds get a head start on numbers and logical thinking alongside their parents and caregivers. ADA accessible. South Burlington Public Library & City Hall, 5:30-6:45 p.m. Free; preregister. Info, sbplinfo@southburlingtonvt.gov.

LEGO TIME: Builders in kindergarten through fourth grade enjoy an afternoon of imagination and play. Dorothy Alling Memorial Library, Williston, 3-4 p.m. Free. Info, 878-4918.

PRESCHOOL MUSIC WITH LINDA

BASSICK: The singer and storyteller extraordinaire leads little ones in indoor music and movement. Birth through age 5. Dorothy Alling Memorial Library, Williston, 10:30-11 a.m. Free. Info, 878-4918.

PRESCHOOL PLAYTIME: Pre-K patrons play and socialize after music time. Dorothy Alling Memorial Library, Williston, 11-11:30 a.m. Free. Info, 878-4918.

PRESCHOOL STORY TIME: Books, songs, rhymes, sign language lessons and math

activities make for well-educated youngsters. Brownell Library, Essex Junction, 10-10:30 a.m. Free. Info, 878-6956.

READ TO SAMMY: The Therapy Dogs of Vermont emissary is super excited to hear kids of all ages practice their reading. Brownell Library, Essex Junction, 4-4:30 p.m. Free. Info, 878-6956.

barre/montpelier

CRAFTERNOON - VALENTINE THEMED!: See WED.8.

FUSE BEAD CRAFTERNOONS: Youngsters make pictures out of colorful, meltable doodads. Ages 8 and up. Kellogg-Hubbard Library, Montpelier, 3:30-5 p.m. Free. Info, 223-3338.

PRESCHOOL STORY TIME: Energetic youngsters join Miss Meliss for stories, songs and lots of silliness. KelloggHubbard Library, Montpelier, 10:30 a.m. Free. Info, 223-3338.

stowe/smuggs

WEE ONES PLAY TIME: Caregivers bring kiddos 3 and younger to a new sensory learning experience each week. Morristown Centennial Library, Morrisville, 10 a.m. Free. Info, 888-3853.

mad river valley/ waterbury

PRESCHOOL PLAY & READ: Outdoor activities, stories and songs get 3- and 4-year-olds engaged. Waterbury Public Library, 10:30 a.m. Free. Info, 244-7036.

northeast kingdom

VALENTINE’S CRAFT DAY: Kids 5 and up make cute crafts for their friends, family

members or classmates. St. Johnsbury Athenaeum, 3-4 p.m. Free. Info, 745-1391.

FRI.10

burlington

POKÉDEX SCAVENGER HUNT: See WED.8.

chittenden county

DUNGEONS & DRAGONS: Imaginative players in grades 5 and up exercise their problem-solving skills in battles and adventures. Brownell Library, Essex Junction, 6-8 p.m. Free. Info, 878-6956.

KIDS’ MOVIES IN THE AUDITORIUM: Little film buffs congregate in the library’s Katie O’Brien Activity Room for a screening of a G-rated movie. See southburlingtonlibrary. org for each week’s title. ADA accessible. South Burlington Public Library & City Hall, 1-3 p.m. Free. Info, 846-4140.

barre/montpelier

CRAFTERNOON - VALENTINE THEMED!: See WED.8.

WINTER STORY TIME & PLAYGROUP: Participants ages 6 and under hear stories, sing songs and eat tasty treats between outdoor activities. Jaquith Public Library, Marshfield, 10:30 a.m. Free. Info, 426-3581.

upper valley

STORY TIME: Preschoolers take part in stories, songs and silliness. Latham Library, Thetford, 11 a.m. Free. Info, 785-4361.

© ELENA VYASELEVA DREAMSTIME

WPP COMMUNITY DINNER: Local chef Alganesh Michael cooks a delicious Ethiopian and Eritrean meal for pickup. Presented by Winooski Partnership for Prevention. O’Brien Community Center, Winooski, 5:30-7 p.m. Free; preregister; limited space. Info, 655-4565.

holidays

VALENTINE’S BAKING WITH THE PIE GUY: SUNKEN CHOCOLATE CAKE: Gary Stuard demonstrates how to make a fudgey dessert to impress that special someone. Presented by City Market, Onion River Co-op. 5:30-7 p.m. Free; preregister. Info, info@citymarket.coop.

politics

THOUGHT CLUB: Artists and activists convene to engage with Burlington‘s rich tradition of radical thought and envision its future. Democracy Creative, Burlington, 6-7:30 p.m. Free. Info, tevan@democracycreative.com.

tech

TECH SKILLS: UNDERSTANDING

SMARTPHONES: Technology for Tomorrow experts teach newbies all about apps and touch screens. Virtual option available. ADA accessible. South Burlington Public Library & City Hall, 2-3:30 p.m. Free; preregister. Info, 846-4140.

theater

‘12 ANGRY JURORS’: A seemingly open-and-shut case is complicated when questions arise and biases surface in this classic play presented by Adirondack Regional Theatre. Strand Center for the Arts, Plattsburgh, N.Y., 7:30 p.m. $15-20. Info, 518-563-1604, ext. 105.

‘’BOV WATER’: See WED.8, 2 & 7:30 p.m.

words

LIVE POETRY AT THE FRONT:

NATE INGHAM + CA CONRAD: Two local poets read from their work. The Front, Montpelier, 6:30-8 p.m. Free. Info, 505-5596.

MORNING BOOK GROUP: Readers start the day off right with a lively discussion of The Vanishing Half by Brit Bennett. ADA accessible. Virtual option available. South Burlington Public Library & City Hall, 10:30-11:30 a.m. Free. Info, 846-4140.

NO PRESSURE BOOK GROUP: There are no rules and no assignments in this virtual book club, at which readers discuss old favorites, current obsessions and recent recommendations. Presented by Waterbury Public Library. 7-8 p.m. Free. Info, 244-7036.

PETER ORNER: The Pushcart Prize-winning local author speaks on the legacy of the late New England writer Howard Frank Mosher. Norwich Bookstore, 7 p.m. Free. Info, 649-1114.

FRI.10 dance

NACHMO VIRTUAL SHOWCASE 2023: Local participants in National Choreography Month show off what they worked on in January. Presented by Vermont Dance Alliance. 7 p.m. $10-20. Info, info@ vermontdance.org.

film

See what’s playing at local theaters in the On Screen section.

‘AMAZON ADVENTURE 3D’: See WED.8.

‘MYSTERIES OF THE UNSEEN WORLD 3D’: See WED.8.

‘SEA MONSTERS 3D’: See WED.8.

‘WINGS OVER WATER 3D’: See WED.8.

health & fitness

ARTHRITIS FOUNDATION

EXERCISE PROGRAM: Those in need of an easy-on-the-joints workout experience an hour of calming, low-impact movement. Waterbury Public Library, 10:30-11:30 a.m. Free; preregister. Info, 244-7036.

GUIDED MEDITATION

ONLINE: Dorothy Alling Memorial Library invites attendees to relax on their lunch breaks and reconnect with their bodies. Noon-12:30 p.m. Free; preregister. Info, programs@ damlvt.org.

holidays

GALENTINE’S DAY CELEBRATION

TO BENEFIT WOMENSAFE: A pierogi dinner, Adventure Dinner pop-up bar and vendor fair full

State of the Art

Vermont Public listeners who have been loving the “Homegoings” series from the “Brave Little State” podcast are in for a treat: a live show, hosted by journalist and musician Myra Flynn and featuring some of the contributors to the series’ conversations on Black art, grief and resilience. This exuberant evening features discussions with and performances by Burlington storyteller and CEO of All Heart Inspirations Ferene Paris Meyer (pictured); spoken-word poet and teaching artist Rajnii Eddins; soul-folk singersongwriter and practicing witch DonnCherie; groove-rock singer and producer Senayit Tomlinson; and painter and musician Liza Phillip.

HOMEGOINGS: A LIVE PERFORMANCE

Saturday, February 11, 7 p.m., at Spruce Peak Performing Arts Center, Stowe Mountain Resort. $10-20. Info, events@vermontpublic.org, sprucepeakarts.org.

of women-owned businesses all raise money towards ending intimate partner violence. Kennedy Brothers Building, Vergennes, 5:30-8:30 p.m. $20; preregister. Info, 248-224-7539.

MY CHUBBY VALENTINE: A SHOWCASE OF FAT DRAG AND BURLESQUE: Katniss Everqueer and Emoji Nightmare host an evening of tantalizingly zaftig performers. Monkey House, Winooski, 8 p.m. $15-20. Info, 655-4563.

WINE & CHOCOLATE WEEKEND:

MYRA FLYNN: Winers and diners enjoy an expanded tasting menu while the soulful songstress croons the nights away. Shelburne Vineyard, 7-9:30 p.m. $20-25. Info, 985-8222.

lgbtq

OUT IN BRADFORD: LGTBQ folks and allies make new friends at a casual, tea-fueled hangout. Vittles House of Brews, Bradford, 5-9 p.m. Free. Info, connect@vittles espresso.com.

outdoors

OWL PROWL: Hikers snowshoe through the forest searching for nocturnal neighbors. BYO flashlights or headlamps. Vermont Institute of Natural Science, Quechee, 5:30-7 p.m. $11.5013.50; preregister; limited space. Info, 359-5000.

theater

‘12 ANGRY JURORS’: See THU.9. ‘’BOV WATER’: See WED.8, 7:30 p.m.

‘RED, WHITE AND BLACKLISTED’: Donny Osman stars in this drama based on the life and letters of Dalton Trumbo, a screenwriter who was renowned until his banishment from Hollywood during the Red Scare. Plainfield Town Hall Opera House, 7-9 p.m. $20 suggested donation. Info, 498-3173.

Champlain Club, Burlington, 8 p.m. $5. Info, 864-8382.

fairs & festivals

SUBARU WINTERFEST: Skiers, music lovers and their canine friends enjoy a day of food, drink and live music by the Infamous Stringdusters and the Tenderbellies. Killington Resort, 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Free. Info, 800-734-9435.

film

See what’s playing at local theaters in the On Screen section.

‘AMAZON ADVENTURE 3D’: See WED.8.

BLACK IS BEAUTIFUL FILM

SERIES: ‘MY BROTHER’S

WEDDING’: Rajnii Eddins hosts a screening of this 1983 tragicomedy about love and class conflict in a Los Angeles Black community. Fletcher Free Library, Burlington, 3-5 p.m. Free. Info, 863-3403.

‘MYSTERIES OF THE UNSEEN WORLD 3D’: See WED.8.

‘THE QUARRY PROJECT’: A 40-minute film captures last summer’s sold-out, site-specific dance theater performance at Wells Lamson quarry. Q&A follows. Film House, Main Street Landing Performing Arts Center, Burlington, 4-6 p.m. $5 suggested donation. Info, 864-7999.

‘SEA MONSTERS 3D’: See WED.8.

‘THE SUMMER OF WALTER HACKS’: Faced with a tragedy, an 11-year-old boy must grow up fast in George Woodward and Gerianne Smart’s 1950s comingof-age drama. Brookside Primary School, Waterbury, 6:30 p.m. $7. Info, 244-6150.

‘WINGS OVER WATER 3D’: See WED.8.

WOODSTOCK VERMONT FILM

SERIES: ‘HALLELUJAH: LEONARD COHEN, A JOURNEY, A SONG’: A definitive documentary explores the legendary songwriter’s life through the lens of his most beloved work. Town Hall Theater, Middlebury, 3 p.m. $12-15. Info, 457-2355.

food & drink

words

ART AND AUTHOR NIGHT:

DAN CHODORKOFF: A local writer reads from his new novel, Sugaring Down, while patrons browse paintings. Jaquith Public Library, Marshfield, 6-8 p.m. Free. Info, 426-3581.

FRIENDS OF THE RUTLAND FREE LIBRARY BOOK SALE: Bibliophiles browse thousands of gently used page-turners, CDs, DVDs and puzzles, with proceeds benefiting library programs and collections. Rutland Free Library, 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Free. Info, 773-1860.

SAT.11 dance

SWING DANCE: All-star DJs back a night of dancing with big band bops. Bring clean shoes. Beginners’ lesson, 7:30 p.m.

ONLY CANNOLI POP-UP: Between beers, patrons pick up tasty treats for their Super Bowl parties, such as brats, cannoli chips and cheese dip. The Tap Room at Switchback Brewing, Burlington, noon-4 p.m. $50. Info, 651-4114.

games

BOARD GAME BRUNCH: The Friendly Tabletop Gamers of Essex and Beyond host a morning gameplay session for teens and adults. ADA accessible. South Burlington Public Library & City Hall, 9:30 a.m.2:30 p.m. Free. Info, 846-4140.

CHESS CLUB: Players of all ages and abilities face off and learn new strategies. ADA accessible. South Burlington Public Library & City Hall, 11 a.m.-2 p.m. Free. Info, 846-4140.

PUZZLE SWAP: Folks of all ages looking for a new challenge trade their old puzzles. Brownell Library, Essex Junction, 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Free. Info, 878-6955.

holidays

HEART STUDIO AT AO GLASS: Visitors try their hand at glassblowing by making a small gift for their Valentines, or get a premade one custom engraved. AO Glass, Burlington, 11 a.m.-3 p.m. Free. Info, hello@aoglass.com.

NOT YOUR AVERAGE DATE

NIGHT: Couples and friends embark on a Valentine’s Day scavenger hunt featuring prompts such as “Find a book that describes your partner.” Bridgeside Books, Waterbury, 6-8 p.m. $14. Info, 244-1441.

VALENTINE’S ARTIST MARKET

AND BEER SALE: Locals treat their loved ones (or themselves) to brewery tours, growlers to go, shawarma by Sabah’s House Catering and gifts from local vendors. 12-22 North Street, Burlington, noon-4 p.m. Free. Info, fullbarrelcoop@gmail.com.

VALENTINE’S TEA PARTY: Locals bring their loved ones to a sweet sip and snack session. Latham Library, Thetford, 11 a.m.-noon. Free. Info, 785-4361.

language

FRENCH CONVERSATION FOR

ALL: Native French speaker Romain Feuillette leads an informal discussion group. All ages and abilities welcome. Dorothy Alling Memorial Library, Williston, 10:30-11:30 a.m. Free; preregister; limited space. Info, 878-4918.

lgbtq

HOT BUTTER: For one night only, the Flynn’s black box theater transforms into the Queen City’s hottest LGBTQ club, emceed by DJ Craig Mitchell. Flynn Space, Burlington, 8 p.m. $5. Info, 863-5966.

music

CECILIA ZABALA & EUGENE

FRIESEN: An Argentinean rising star teams up with a Vermont cellist for a night of ethereal tunes. Next Stage Arts Project, Putney, 7:30 p.m. $20-24. Info, 387-0102.

HOMEGOINGS: A LIVE

PERFORMANCE: Some of the artists of color featured on Vermont Public’s podcast “Brave Little State” make art at a soulful evening hosted by Myra Flynn. Virtual option available. See calendar spotlight. Spruce Peak Performing Arts Center, Stowe Mountain Resort, 7 p.m. $10-20. Info, events@vermontpublic.org.

LC JAZZ WINTER THAW:

Audience members dust off their dancing shoes for a performance from the local big band. Donations benefit the ensemble’s scholarship fund for Vermont high schoolers. Vergennes Opera House, 7:30 p.m. Free; donations accepted; cash bar. Info, 877-6737.

MIKE + RUTHY: Artistry and authenticity meet fiery fiddle and banjo riffs when these two members of the Mammals perform as a duo. Burnham Hall, Lincoln, 7:30-10 p.m. $15-25. Info, 388-9782.

‘STARS OF WINTER’: Burlington High School senior Laura Zhou-Hackett and other local virtuosos solo at a spectacular classical show. Elley-Long Music Center, Saint Michael’s College, Colchester, 7:30 p.m. $5-20. Info, pansygirl113@aol.com.

outdoors

AUDUBON BRANDON BIRDSEED

SALE: Locals buy snacks for their feathered friends and get their questions answered by Rutland County Audubon experts. Blue Seal, Brandon, 9 a.m.-2 p.m. Free. Info, birding@rutlandcounty audubon.org.

MANAGING FORESTS FOR THE BIRDS AT THE WESTFORD TOWN

LANDS: Chittenden county forester Ethan Tapper talks about forests and the birds that call them home during a winter walk through the woods. Westford Elementary School, 1-3 p.m. Free; preregister. Info, 434-3068.

WILDLIFE TRACKING CLUB: Naturalists teach trackers of all ages how to distinguish the snowy paw prints of coyotes, foxes, minks and more. North Branch Nature Center, Montpelier, 10-11:30 a.m. Free; donations accepted. Info, 229-6206.

seminars

STANDUP COMEDY WORKSHOP: Aspiring jokesters learn the basics from local comedian Denise McCarty, then have the opportunity to perform in a low-stress environment. Waterbury Public Library, 10 a.m.-noon. Free; preregister. Info, 244-7036.

theater

‘12 ANGRY JURORS’: See THU.9.

‘’BOV WATER’: See WED.8, 2 & 7:30 p.m.

‘RED, WHITE AND BLACKLISTED’: See FRI.10.

words

FRIENDS OF THE RUTLAND FREE

LIBRARY BOOK SALE: See FRI.10, 10 a.m.-2 p.m.

FOMO?

Find even more local events in this newspaper and online: art

Find visual art exhibits and events in the Art section and at sevendaysvt.com/art.

film

See what’s playing at theaters in the On Screen section.

music + nightlife

Find club dates at local venues in the Music + Nightlife section online at sevendaysvt.com/ music.

Learn more about highlighted listings in the Magnificent 7 on page 11.

POETRY EXPERIENCE: Local wordsmith Rajnii Eddins hosts a supportive writing and sharing circle for poets of all ages.

Fletcher Free Library, Burlington, 1-3 p.m. Free. Info, 863-3403.

SUN.12

dance

INTERNATIONAL FOLK

DANCING: Instructors teach traditional dances from around the world at this monthly shindig. Brownell Library, Essex Junction, 3-5:30 p.m. Free. Info, dance@ together.net.

etc.

HEALING ARTS DAY:

FUNDRAISER FOR ZIMBABWE: Live music, meditative dance and healing sound baths benefit local artist Arantha Farrow’s upcoming philanthropic trip to her father’s community. See calendar spotlight. Railyard Apothecary, Burlington, 9 a.m.-8 p.m. $26-100; preregister. Info, 415-632-2731.

fairs & festivals

SUBARU WINTERFEST: See SAT.11.

film

See what’s playing at local theaters in the On Screen section.

‘AMAZON ADVENTURE 3D’: See WED.8.

‘MYSTERIES OF THE UNSEEN WORLD 3D’: See WED.8.

‘SEA MONSTERS 3D’: See WED.8. ‘WINGS OVER WATER 3D’: See WED.8.

WOODSTOCK VERMONT FILM SERIES: ‘HALLELUJAH: LEONARD COHEN, A JOURNEY, A SONG’: See SAT.11.

food & drink

KNIGHTS OF COLUMBUS

DEGOESBRIAND COUNCIL 279

PANCAKE BREAKFAST: Hungry locals pile their plates with flapjacks, scrambled eggs, bacon, sausage and Vermont maple syrup. Cathedral of St. Joseph, Burlington, 9-11:30 a.m. $10-25. Info, 862-5109.

WINTER FARMERS MARKET: Shoppers sip a local beer while browsing local bites at this wintertime hub for local growers, bakers and crafters. Four Quarters Brewing, Winooski, noon-3 p.m. Free. Info, 391-9120.

health & fitness

KARUNA COMMUNITY

MEDITATION: A YEAR TO LIVE

(FULLY): Participants practice keeping joy, generosity and gratitude at the forefront of their minds. Jenna’s House, Johnson, 10-11:15 a.m. Free; donations accepted. Info, mollyzapp@live.com.

holidays

HEALTHY VALENTINE’S DAY DESSERTS: Nutritional therapist Lili Hanft demonstrates how to make

= ONLINE EVENT SUN.12 » P.70

SUN.12 « P.69

sweet treats with no gluten or refined sugar. Presented by City Market, Onion River Co-op. 10-11:30 a.m. Free; preregister. Info, info@citymarket.coop.

lgbtq

MIKE’S FAREWELL PARTY:

Community members celebrate a longtime PCVT employee over refreshments. Pride Center of Vermont, Burlington, 4-6 p.m. Free; preregister. Info, info@ pridecentervt.org.

music

FACULTY SCHOLARSHIP

CONCERT: The Music Program’s talented faculty come together for a fun afternoon of jazz and classical music. University of Vermont Recital Hall, Burlington, 2 p.m. $5 suggested donation. Info, 656-3040.

FELLOW PYNINS: The award-winning Oregon folk duo lets loose its keen harmonies. Whallonsburg Grange Hall, N.Y., 4-6 p.m. $5-15. Info, 518-963-7777.

‘STARS OF WINTER’: See SAT.11, Barre Opera House, 2 p.m. $5-20. Info, 476-8188.

outdoors

SAFETY IN THE BACKCOUNTRY: Slope denizens learn how to stay safe and prepared for anything when the trails get snowy. Peacham Congregational Church, 1-5 p.m. Free; preregister. Info, 592-3216.

sports

FROZEN ONION: Visitors demo fat bikes and ski shoes on the snowy slopes. North Branch Park, Montpelier, 10 a.m.-3 p.m. Free. Info, 225-6736.

theater

‘12 ANGRY JURORS’: See THU.9, 2 p.m.

‘’BOV WATER’: See WED.8, 5 p.m.

‘RED, WHITE AND BLACKLISTED’: See FRI.10, 4-6 p.m.

FOMO?

Find even more local events in this newspaper and online: art

Find visual art exhibits and events in the Art section and at sevendaysvt.com/art.

film

See what’s playing at theaters in the On Screen section.

music + nightlife

Find club dates at local venues in the Music + Nightlife section online at sevendaysvt.com/ music.

Learn more about highlighted listings in the Magnificent 7 on page 11.

MON.13 crafts

FIBER ARTS FREE-FOR-ALL: Makers make friends while working on their knitting, sewing, felting and beyond. Artistree Community Arts Center Theatre & Gallery, South Pomfret, 6-8 p.m. Free. Info, theknittinkittenvt@gmail.com.

KNIT FOR YOUR NEIGHBORS: See THU.9.

QUILTING TOGETHER: Needle workers bring their current projects to a crafty hang. ADA accessible. South Burlington Public Library & City Hall, 5:30-7 p.m. Free. Info, 846-4140. etc.

SMALL TALK ANTIDOTE // DIALOGIC CIRCLES: Life coach Maris Harmon facilitates biweekly virtual philosophical discussions designed around collective support. 6-7:30 p.m. $10; preregister. Info, maris. harmon@gmail.com.

film

See what’s playing at local theaters in the On Screen section.

‘AMAZON ADVENTURE 3D’: See WED.8.

‘MYSTERIES OF THE UNSEEN WORLD 3D’: See WED.8.

‘SEA MONSTERS 3D’: See WED.8. ‘WINGS OVER WATER 3D’: See WED.8.

games

PUZZLE SWAP: See SAT.11, 9 a.m.-8 p.m.

health & fitness

ADVANCED TAI CHI: Experienced movers build strength, improve balance and reduce stress. Holley Hall, Bristol, 11 a.m.-noon. Free; donations accepted. Info, jerry@ skyrivertaichi.com.

LONG-FORM SUN 73: Beginners and experienced practitioners learn how tai chi can help with arthritis, mental clarity and range of motion. Holley Hall, Bristol, 11 a.m.-noon. Free; donations accepted. Info, wirlselizabeth@ gmail.com.

YANG 24: This simplified tai chi method is perfect for beginners looking to build strength and balance. Congregational Church of Middlebury, 3:30-5:30 p.m. Free; donations accepted. Info, wirlselizabeth@gmail.com.

language

ENGLISH CONVERSATION CIRCLE: Locals learning English as a second language gather in the Digital Lab to build vocabulary and make friends. ADA accessible. South Burlington Public Library & City Hall, noon-1 p.m. Free. Info, 846-4140.

politics

ADDISON COUNTY LEGISLATIVE

BREAKFAST: Addison County Economic Development Corporation members and neighbors meet up with local lawmakers over bacon. St. Peter’s

SUN.

Bon Voyage

When Vermont artist and entrepreneur Arantha Farrow (pictured) made plans to reconnect with her father, who was deported to Zimbabwe due to a minor cannabis possession charge when she was young, she knew she also wanted to bring food and seeds to his community, which was hit hard by the COVID-19 pandemic. Thus, Healing Arts Day was born: a fundraiser featuring a full day of joyful programming, including ecstatic dance, participatory a cappella singing, live music, healing elixirs and a restorative sound bath.

HEALING ARTS DAY: FUNDRAISER FOR ZIMBABWE

Catholic Church, Vergennes, 7-8:45 a.m. Cost of food and drink. Info, 388-7953.

words

ADDISON COUNTY WRITERS

COMPANY: Poets, playwrights, novelists and memoirists of every experience level meet weekly for an MFA-style workshop. Swift House Inn, Middlebury, 6-8 p.m. Free. Info, jay@zigzaglitmag.org.

ALL OUR BLACK VOICES: Toussaint St. Negritude hosts an open mic where people of all ethnicities can read their favorite poems by Black writers. Kellogg-Hubbard Library, Montpelier, 6:30-7:30 p.m. Free. Info, 223-3338.

TUE.14

business

CEDRR MIXER: Chamber & Economic Development of the Rutland Region members and friends eat, drink and win prizes at a catered shindig. Stafford

Technical Center, Rutland, 5-7 p.m. Free. Info, 773-2747.

community

CURRENT EVENTS

DISCUSSION GROUP: Brownell Library hosts a virtual roundtable for neighbors to pause and reflect on the news cycle. 10-11:30 a.m. Free. Info, 878-6955.

dance

SWING DANCING: Local Lindy hoppers and jitterbuggers convene at Vermont Swings’ weekly boogie-down. Bring clean shoes. Beginner lessons, 6:30 p.m. Champlain Club, Burlington, 7:309 p.m. $5. Info, 864-8382.

film

See what’s playing at local theaters in the On Screen section.

‘AMAZON ADVENTURE 3D’: See WED.8.

MAKING MAGIC WITH COMPOSITION AND LIGHTING: Aspiring auteurs learn how lighting and camera movements can tell a story. RETN & VCAM Media Factory, Burlington, 3-5 p.m. Free;

FILE:

language

donations accepted; preregister. Info, 651-9692.

‘MOULIN ROUGE’: Come what may, this high-octane melodrama starring Nicole Kidman and Ewan McGregor as star-crossed lovers will be a romantic classic until the end of time. Film House, Main Street Landing Performing Arts Center, Burlington, 7 p.m. Free. Info, mariah@mainstreetlanding. com.

‘MYSTERIES OF THE UNSEEN

WORLD 3D’: See WED.8.

‘SEA MONSTERS 3D’: See WED.8. ‘WINGS OVER WATER 3D’: See WED.8.

games

PUZZLE SWAP: See SAT.11, 9 a.m.6:30 p.m.

holidays

VALENTINE’S DAY APHRODISIAC

DINNER: Adventure Dinner dishes out desire-stirring courses such as oysters, cocktails and chocolate dessert — plus gift bags from Earth + Salt. Soapbox Arts, Burlington, 6-9:30 p.m. $185; preregister; limited space. Info, 248-224-7539.

VALENTINE’S DAY SKATING

PARTY: Locals hit the ice and sip hot cocoa under the golden dome. Skates available to borrow. Vermont Statehouse lawn, Montpelier, 4-7 p.m. Free. Info, 223-9604.

‘VERMONT IS FOR LOVERS’: A New York couple’s Vermont wedding gets thrown into chaos in this Valentine’s Day-appropriate classic. Catamount Arts Center, St. Johnsbury, 7:30 p.m. Free. Info, 748-2600.

WINE & CHOCOLATE WEEKEND:

CRICKET BLUE: Sweet indie rock strains and a tasting menu of wine, macarons, cheese and other treats make for a very special Valentine’s Day show. Shelburne Vineyard, 6:30-8:30 p.m. Free. Info, 985-8222.

JEB

FRENCH CONVERSATION GROUP: Francophones and Frenchlanguage learners meet pour parler la belle langue. Fletcher Free Library, Burlington, 5-6:30 p.m. Free. Info, 863-3403.

SOCIAL HOUR: The Alliance Française of the Lake Champlain Region hosts a rendez-vous over Zoom. 5:30-6:30 p.m. Free; preregister. Info, ellen.sholk@gmail.com.

seminars

FINDING HOUSING:

Champlain Valley Office of Economic Opportunity teaches prospective tenants how to overcome barriers, look for housing and build a positive relationship with a landlord. 1-2 p.m. Free. Info, 660-3455, ext. 205.

talks

NEPHI CRAIGH: The founder of the Native American Culinary Association examines how Indigenous practices create more ethical foodways. Presented by the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute. 11 a.m.-noon. $10; preregister. Info, 656-5817.

tech

TECH HELP IN FRANÇAIS, SWAHILI AND LINGALA: Fluent speakers answer questions about phones, laptops, e-readers and more in group sessions. Presented by South Burlington Public Library. 5-6 p.m. Free. Info, 846-4140.

words

MARJORIE RYERSON: The awardwinning local writer launches her new book of poems, The Views From Mount Hunger. One Main Tap & Grill, Randolph, 7-9:30 p.m. Free; preregister. Info, 565-8037. POETRY GROUP: A supportive verse-writing workshop welcomes those who would like feedback on their work or who are just happy to listen. ADA accessible. South Burlington Public Library & City Hall, 11 a.m.-noon. Free. Info, 846-4140.

WED.15 business

QUEEN CITY BUSINESS NETWORKING INTERNATIONAL GROUP: See WED.8.

UNDERSTANDING SEARCH

ENGINE OPTIMIZATION: Business owners learn how to track and improve their rankings on Google. Presented by Mercy Connections. noon-1 p.m. Free; preregister. Info, 846-7081.

film

See what’s playing at local theaters in the On Screen section.

360º VIDEOMAKING: Student cinematographers learn how to shoot wraparound footage and edit using an iPad. RETN & VCAM Media Factory, Burlington, 2-4 p.m. Free; donations accepted; preregister. Info, 651-9692.

‘AMAZON ADVENTURE 3D’: See WED.8.

ARCHITECTURE + DESIGN FILM

SERIES: ‘DAVID HOCKNEY AT THE ROYAL ACADEMY OF ARTS’: The renowned nonagenarian artist puts together two new exhibits in London in this bold, intimate documentary. Virtual option available. Burlington City Hall Auditorium, 6-7:30 p.m. Free. Info, 865-7166.

‘MYSTERIES OF THE UNSEEN WORLD 3D’: See WED.8.

‘RED TAILS’: The true story of the Tuskegee Airmen becomes an action-packed adventure in this drama starring Cuba Gooding Jr. Discussion follows. Catamount Arts Center, St. Johnsbury, 6 p.m. Free. Info, 748-2600.

‘SEA MONSTERS 3D’: See WED.8.

‘WINGS OVER WATER 3D’: See WED.8.

food & drink

COOK THE BOOK: Home chefs make a recipe from Soup Club: 80

Cozy Recipes for Creative PlantBased Soups and Stews to Share by Caroline Wright and share the dish at a potluck. Dorothy Alling Memorial Library, Williston, noon1 p.m. Free. Info, 878-4918.

games

PUZZLE SWAP: See SAT.11, 9 a.m.-8 p.m.

PUZZLE SWAP: Folks of all ages looking for a new challenge trade their old puzzles, accompanied by a picture and stored in a resealable bag. ADA accessible. South Burlington Public Library

FAMI LY FU N

northeast kingdom

ACORN CLUB STORY TIME: Kids 5 and under play, sing, hear stories and take home a fun activity. St. Johnsbury Athenaeum, 10-11 a.m. Free; preregister; limited space. Info, 745-1391.

SAT.11 burlington

FAMILY PLAYSHOP: Kids from birth through age 5 learn and play at this school readiness program. Fletcher Free Library, Burlington, 10-11:30 a.m. Free. Info, 863-3403.

FLYNNZONE KIDS HOUR: THE MOTT

TWINS: Two musical sisters get little music lovers ages 3 through 5 shaking tambourines and banging drums. The Flynn, Burlington, 10 a.m. Free. Info, 863-5966.

POKÉDEX SCAVENGER HUNT: See WED.8.

STUFFIE SLEEPOVER: Kiddos drop their plushy friends off at the library on Saturday, then pick them up the next day and learn what they got up to overnight. Ages 3 and up. See calendar spotlight. Fletcher Free Library, Burlington, 5-6 p.m. Free; preregister; limited space. Info, 863-3403.

VERMONT BRAIN BEE: High schoolers work their mental muscles during an annual neuroscience competition. University of Vermont Robert Larner College of Medicine, Burlington, 8:30 a.m.-2:30 p.m. Free; preregister. Info, 388-2720.

chittenden county

ART LAB: LET THE MUSIC MOVE YOU: Artists of all ages pick up a listening device at the youth desk and paint along to the music. Brownell Library, Essex Junction, 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Free. Info, 878-6956.

FRENCH STORY TIME: Kids of all ages listen and learn to native speaker Romain Feuillette raconte une histoire. Dorothy Alling Memorial Library, Williston, 10:1510:45 a.m. Free. Info, 878-4918.

RUG CONCERT: Vermont Youth Orchestra enthralls its youngest concertgoers with

& City Hall, 2:30-5 p.m. Free. Info, 846-4140.

health & fitness

CHAIR YOGA: See WED.8.

COMMUNITY YOGA CLASS — ALL LEVELS: See WED.8.

language

IRISH LANGUAGE CLASS: See WED.8.

SPANISH CONVERSATION: Fluent and beginner speakers brush up on their español with a discussion led by a Spanish teacher. Presented by Dorothy Alling Memorial Library. 5-6 p.m. Free; preregister. Info, programs@damlvt.org.

an interactive hour of music and meet and greets. Elley-Long Music Center, Saint Michael’s College, Colchester, 11 a.m. Free; preregister; limited space. Info, 655-5030.

SATURDAY STORIES: Kiddos start the weekend off right with stories and songs. Ages 3 through 7. Brownell Library, Essex Junction, 10:30-11 a.m. Free. Info, 878-6956.

stowe/smuggs

MUSICAL STORY TIME: Song, dance and other tuneful activities supplement picture books for kids 2 through 5. Morristown Centennial Library, Morrisville, 11 a.m. Free. Info, 888-3853.

middlebury area

FAMILY SNOWSHOE SCAVENGER

HUNT: Snowshoes are provided and no experience is necessary at this exploratory, all-ages adventure. Chipman Hill, Middlebury, 9:30 a.m.-1:30 p.m. $5-8; free for kids 13 and under; preregister. Info, info@maltvt.org.

northeast kingdom

ONE-OF-A-KIND VALENTINES: Artists of all ages drop in to color and collage creative cards. Catamount Arts Center, St. Johnsbury, 11 a.m.-1 p.m. Free. Info, 748-2600.

SATURDAY CREATIVE FAMILIES

INITIATIVE: ‘TIME OUT’: The Rural Arts Collaborative leads artsy activities for creative kids ages 6 through 12 while parents socialize over tea and coffee on the second floor. Grass Roots Art and Community Effort, Hardwick, 10-11:30 a.m. Free. Info, info@ruralartsvt.org.

brattleboro/okemo valley

WINTER SUNSHINE SERIES: One-ofa-kind family puppet shows let the sunshine in at each of these weekly performances. Sandglass Theater, Putney, 11 a.m. & 2 p.m. $7.50-9; $30 for series pass. Info, info@sandglasstheater.org.

SUN.12 burlington

D&D WITH DUNGEON MASTER ANDREW: Warlocks and warriors battle dastardly foes in a Dungeons & Dragons adventure. Ages 9 and up. Fletcher Free Library, Burlington, noon-4 p.m. Free; preregister. Info, 863-3403.

lgbtq

THRIVE QTPOC MOVIE

NIGHT: Each month, Pride Center of Vermont virtually screens a movie centered on queer and trans people of color. 6:30 p.m. Free; preregister. Info, thrive@pridecentervt.org.

music

KEB’ MO’: The Grammy Awardwinning roots musician draws on country, soul and blues to craft his tapestry of tunes. Paramount Theatre, Rutland, 7:30 p.m. $4070. Info, 775-0903.

ZACH NUGENT UNCORKED: See WED.8.

outdoors

NATURALIST JOURNEYS 2023:

LUCAS PRICE: A Dartmouth

DAD GUILD: Fathers (and parents of all genders) and their kids ages 5 and under drop in for playtime and connection. Fletcher Free Library, Burlington, 3:30-5 p.m. Free. Info, 863-3403.

GENDER CREATIVE KIDS: Trans and gender nonconforming kiddos under 13 enjoy fun, supportive group activities while their parents and caregivers chat. Outright Vermont, Burlington, 2-4 p.m. Free; preregister. Info, 865-9677.

POKÉDEX SCAVENGER HUNT: See WED.8.

SENSORY-FRIENDLY SUNDAY: Folks of all ages with sensory processing differences have the museum to themselves, with adjusted lights and sounds and trusty sensory backpacks. ECHO Leahy Center for Lake Champlain, Burlington, 9-10 a.m. Free; preregister. Info, kvonderlinn@ echovermont.org.

STUFFIE SLEEPOVER: See SAT.11, noon-1 p.m.

barre/montpelier

DANCE, SING AND JUMP AROUND: Movers and shakers of all ages learn line dances and singing games set to joyful live music. Capital City Grange, Berlin, 3-4:30 p.m. $5 suggested donation; free for kids. Info, 223-1509.

MON.13

KIDS IN THE KITCHEN: Chefs in training and their caretakers make crepes and chocolate-dipped fruit with a trained dietitian. Presented by Dorothy Alling Memorial Library and Brownell Library. 4-5 p.m. Free; preregister. Info, 878-4918.

burlington

POKÉDEX SCAVENGER HUNT: See WED.8.

STORIES WITH SHANNON: Bookworms ages 2 through 5 enjoy fun-filled reading time. Fletcher Free Library, Burlington, 11-11:30 a.m. Free. Info, 863-3403.

chittenden county

ART LAB: LET THE MUSIC MOVE YOU: See SAT.11, 9 a.m.-8 p.m.

PJ STORY TIME: Little listeners cozy up for nighttime stories and crafts. Dorothy Alling Memorial Library, Williston, 5:30-6 p.m. Free. Info, 878-4918.

barre/montpelier

CRAFTERNOON - VALENTINE THEMED!: See WED.8.

College researcher chews on the causes and consequences of the spread of deer ticks throughout North America. North Branch Nature Center, Montpelier, 6:308 p.m. Free; preregister. Info, 229-6206.

SMUGGS 55+ SKI CLUB: See WED.8.

sports

GREEN MOUNTAIN TABLE TENNIS CLUB: See WED.8.

MICHELOB ULTRA SKI BUM RACE SERIES: See WED.8.

talks

WINTER SPEAKER SERIES:

JANE WILLIAMSON: The former executive director of the Rokeby Museum takes listeners on a deep dive into the history of

northeast kingdom

ACORN CLUB STORY TIME: See FRI.10, 2-2:30 p.m.

TUE.14

burlington

‘HEARTSTOPPER’ PARTY: Fans of the graphic novel series and TV show meet new friends, eat Valentine’s Day snacks, and craft key chains and bookmarks. Ages 11 through 18. Fletcher Free Library, Burlington, 6-7 p.m. Free. Info, 540-2546.

POKÉDEX SCAVENGER HUNT: See WED.8.

SING-ALONG WITH LINDA BASSICK: Babies, toddlers and preschoolers sing, dance and wiggle along with Linda. Fletcher Free Library, Burlington, 11-11:30 a.m. Free. Info, 863-3403.

chittenden county

ART LAB: LET THE MUSIC MOVE YOU: See SAT.11, 9 a.m.-6:30 p.m.

CRAFTYTOWN!: From painting and printmaking to collage and sculpture, creative kids explore different projects and mediums. Ages 8 and up, or ages 6 and up with an adult helper. ADA accessible. South Burlington Public Library & City Hall, 3-4:30 p.m. Free. Info, 846-4140.

PLAYGROUP & FAMILY SUPPORT: Families with children under age 5 play and connect with others in the community. Winooski Memorial Library, 10-11 a.m. Free. Info, 655-6424.

PRESCHOOL STORY TIME: Little ones enjoy a cozy session of reading, rhyming and singing. Birth through age 5. Dorothy Alling Memorial Library, Williston, 10:30-11 a.m. Free. Info, 878-4918.

TODDLERTIME: Kids ages 1 through 3 and their caregivers join Miss Alyssa for a lively session of stories, singing and wiggling. South Burlington Public Library & City Hall, 9:15 & 10:30 a.m. Free. Info, 846-4140.

barre/montpelier

CRAFTERNOON - VALENTINE THEMED!: See WED.8.

PRESCHOOL STORY TIME: See THU.9.

mad river valley/ waterbury

HOMESCHOOL COMPUTER CLUB: Home students learn everything from basic tech techniques to graphic design in this monthly class. Waterbury Public Library, 11:30 a.m. Free. Info, 244-7036.

Black Vermonters. Presented by the Vermont Historical Society. noon-1 p.m. Free; preregister. Info, 479-8500.

words

NATHAN MCCLAIN: A poet and Hampshire College instructor reads from his collections Previously Owned and Scale Red Mill Gallery, Vermont Studio Center, Johnson, 7-8 p.m. Free. Info, 635-2727.

SHANTA LEE GANDER: The local writer introduces listeners to Lucy Terry Prince, Vermont activist and author of the oldest known poem written by an enslaved Black American. Dorothy Alling Memorial Library, Williston, 6:307:30 p.m. Free. Info, 878-4918. ➆

HOMESCHOOL RED CLOVER BOOK: Home-taught elementary students read and discuss a new nominee over lunch. Waterbury Public Library, 11:30 a.m.12:30 p.m. Free. Info, 244-7036.

northeast kingdom

RED CLOVER BOOK CLUB: Readers ages 6 through 10 discuss a book and do an art activity each week. Siblings welcome. St. Johnsbury Athenaeum, 1:30 p.m. Free. Info, 745-1391.

WED.15 burlington

BABYTIME: See WED.8.

CRAFTERNOON: See WED.8. POKÉDEX SCAVENGER HUNT: See WED.8.

STEAM SPACE: See WED.8.

chittenden county

AFTERSCHOOL ACTIVITY: STEAM FUN: Little engineers and artists gather for some afternoon excitement. Dorothy Alling Memorial Library, Williston, 2-3 p.m. Free. Info, 878-4918.

ART LAB: LET THE MUSIC MOVE YOU: See SAT.11, 9 a.m.-8 p.m.

BABYTIME: See WED.8.

COMICS CLUB!: Graphic novel and manga fans in third through sixth grades meet to discuss current reads and do fun activities together. Hosted by Brownell Library. Essex Teen Center, Essex Junction, 2:30-3:30 p.m. Free. Info, 878-6956.

LEGO BUILDERS: See WED.8. PLAY TIME: See WED.8.

barre/montpelier

CHESS CLUB: See WED.8.

mad river valley/ waterbury

TEEN ART CLUB: Crafty young’uns ages 12 through 18 construct paper jellyfish lanterns to bring underwater ambience to their bedrooms. Waterbury Public Library, 6-7:30 p.m. Free. Info, 244-7036.

upper valley

PEABODY AFTERSCHOOL FUN FOR GRADES 1-4: See WED.8. K

THE FOLLOWING CLASS LISTINGS ARE PAID ADVERTISEMENTS. ANNOUNCE YOUR CLASS FOR AS LITTLE AS $16.75/WEEK (INCLUDES SIX PHOTOS AND UNLIMITED DESCRIPTION ONLINE). SUBMIT YOUR CLASS AD AT SEVENDAYSVT.COM/POSTCLASS.

art

DAVIS STUDIO ART CLASSES:

Discover your happy place in one of our weekly classes. Making art boosts emotional well-being and brings joy to your life, especially when you connect with other art enthusiasts. Select the ongoing program that’s right for you. Now enrolling youths and adults for classes in drawing, painting and fused glass. Location: Davis Studio, 916 Shelburne Rd., S. Burlington. Info: 425-2700, davisstudiovt.com.

business

HIGH-PERFORMANCE BUILDING

COURSE: The Sustainable Energy Outreach Network (SEON) will deliver its acclaimed course Basics of High-Performance Building, taught by Chris West, one of Vermont’s thought leaders on high-performance building. This is a foundation course on the science of how a building performs. For years our builders have worked hard to follow best practices and energy code requirements in new construction and renovation, but they were all-toorarely exposed to the science of how a building performs. Building Science is now considered essential learning in workforce development in the residential building industry. Mar. 8 & 15, 3:45-7:45 p.m. Location: Center for Technology Essex, 2 Educational Dr., Essex. Info: Guy Payne, 376-9262, guy@buildingscience. org, buildingscience.org/buildingscience-winter-spring-2023class-schedule.

craft

CHAIR MAKING, SPOONS, BASKETS!: Learn the fundamentals of Windsor or ladder-back chair making in a weeklong workshop! A variety of workshops are on the schedule from Mar. to Oct., many featuring guest instructors coming in to teach related skills such as spoon carving and basket weaving. Open to all skill levels. Mar.-Oct. All tools & materials provided. Location: Chairmaker’s Workshop, Charlotte. Info: Eric Cannizzaro, 360-528-1952, ericcannizzaro. com.

culinary

‘THE BASICS’ CAKE DECORATING

CLASS: In this workshop, learn the basics of filling and crumbcoating a cake, getting nice

empowerment

smooth edges, and some rosette piping. You’ll go home with some great new techniques and a sixinch cake that serves 12. You can select your flavor in the questionnaire section. Thu., Mar. 9, 6 p.m.

Cost: $85. Location: Red Poppy Cakery, Waterbury. Info: 203-4000700, sevendaystickets.com.

CAKE JAR WORKSHOP: In this workshop, we will learn how to make a delicious vanilla sponge cake and creatively layer our jars with fun frostings/fillings to each baker’s preference! Each baker will take home six jars and the recipes to make them at home. Recipe can be gluten-free. Tue., Feb. 21, 6 p.m.

Cost: $40. Location: Red Poppy Cakery, Waterbury. Info: 203-4000700, sevendaystickets.com.

FOCACCIA ART WORKSHOP: In this workshop, you will tackle making focaccia bread dough and decorate it your own way with various herbs, veggies and cheeses. You’ll go home with an eight-inch-square pan of focaccia art and the recipe to make it again on your own at home.

Tue., Feb. 28, 6 p.m. Cost: $45. Location: Red Poppy Cakery Waterbury. Info: 203-400-0700, sevendaystickets.com.

NEW YEAR, MORE YOU!: This nine-week group yoga therapy program combines movement, mindfulness and community connection to support you in living the life you desire. Connect powerfully to who you are within and develop skills and practices for bringing all of you to your life in 2023. No yoga experience necessary. All are welcome! Sun. nights, Feb. 26-Apr. 23, 5-7 p.m., w/ a special 5-hour retreat on Sun., Mar. 26. Cost: $450/entire 9-week program. A sliding scale is avail. for those who need it.

Location: OGGI BE, online. Info: Christine Badalamenti Smith, 391-9731, christine@oggibe.com, oggibe.com.

Generator GENERATOR is a combination of artist studios, classroom, and business incubator at the intersection of art, science, and technology. We provide tools, expertise, education, and opportunity – to enable all members of our community to create, collaborate, and make their ideas a reality.

MARK MAKING WITH METAL: Marriage of Metals workshop: Create a pair of earrings out of sterling silver sheet and brass wire using a mark-making exercise to find lines and shapes to use in your design, then use the marriage of metals: the process of soldering contrasting metals together and hammering until two metals become one. Sat., Feb. 25-Sun., Feb. 26, 9 a.m.-3 p.m. Cost: $165/incl. materials. Location: Generator, 40 Sears Ln., Burlington. Info: 540-0761, education@generatorvt.com, generatorvt.com/classesevents/#!event/2023/2/25/ mark-making-with-metalmarriage-of-metals-work shop.

PIERCE, SIFT, FIRE: ENAMELED PENDANT WORKSHOP: Learn the process of fusing powdered glass to metal using torch-firing. First, we will design and saw a copper pendant, then apply several layers of enamel on both sides of the pendant to add color. The result is a smooth, colored surface. The pendant can be worn using cotton cord. Sat., Mar. 4-Sun., Mar. 5, 9 a.m.-3 p.m. Cost: $175/incl. materials. Location: Generator, 40 Sears Ln., Burlington. Info: 5400761, education@generatorvt. com, generatorvt.com/classesevents/#!event/2023/3/4/piercesift-fire-enameled-pendantworkshop.

language

throws, pinning techniques and the growth of internal power. The circular movements emphasize blending rather than blocking.

Visitors should watch a class before joining. Beginners’ classes 5 days/week. Membership rates incl. unlimited classes. Contact us for info about membership rates for adults, youths & families.

Location: Aikido of Champlain Valley, 257 Pine St., Burlington. Info: Benjamin Pincus, 951-8900, bpincus@burlingtonaikido.org, burlingtonaikido.org.

GMMAC INCLUSIVE MARTIAL

ARTS: Green Mountain Martial Arts

Collaborative offers martial arts that will strengthen your body and your mind. We foster a collaborative community for a diverse range of individuals. Our practices include Muay Thai, Brazilian jiu jitsu, Filipino and Thai combat arts. First class is always free! Membership, drop-in or private training available. See our website for rates.

Location: Green Mountain Martial Arts Collaborative, 274 N. Winooski Ave. #3, Burlington. Info: 316-8896, info@greenmountainmartialarts. com, greenmountainmartialarts. com.

music

DJEMBE & TAIKO DRUMMING: JOIN US!: New classes (outdoors mask optional/masks indoors).

Taiko Tue. and Wed.; Djembe Wed.; Kids & Parents Tue. and Wed. Conga classes by request! Schedule/register online. Location: Taiko Space, 208 Flynn Ave., Suite 3G, Burlington. Info: 999-4255, spaton55@gmail.com, burlingtontaiko.org.

well-being

VIRTUAL BAKING WORKSHOP: CINNAMON ROLLS: You will receive an ingredient list, list of supply needs and the Zoom class info via email five to seven days prior to the event or within 24 hours of your purchase. If for some reason that email does not come through, please reach out to janina@redpoppycakery.net prior to the class time. Sat., Feb. 18, 9 a.m. Cost: $25. Location: Red Poppy Cakery, online. Info: 203400-0700, sevendaystickets.com.

OUTDOOR EQUIPMENT & CLOTHING REPAIR WORKSHOP: We’ll help you patch a hole, fix a finicky zipper, replace a busted buckle and more! Bring some gear that needs a little TLC, and we’ll help you breathe new life into it. We can’t guarantee everything is fixable, but we’ll help you learn to give it your best shot! Sun., Feb. 26, 1-3 p.m. Cost: $75/incl. materials. Location: Generator, 40 Sears Ln., Burlington. Info: 5400761, education@generatorvt. com, generatorvt.com/classesevents/#!event/2023/2/26/ outdoor-equipment-clothingrepair-workshop.

FRENCH CLASSES: Join us for online and in-person adult French classes this spring. Our 12-week session starts on Mar. 6 and offers classes for participants at all levels. Please go to the website or email us for more information. Location: Alliance Française. Info: education@aflcr.org, aflcr.org. SPANISH CLASSES FOR ALL AGES: Premier native-speaking Spanish professor Maigualida Rak is giving fun, interactive online lessons to improve comprehension and pronunciation and to achieve fluency. Audiovisual material is used. “I feel proud to say that my students have significantly improved their Spanish with my teaching approach.” — Maigualida Rak. Location: online. Info: 881-0931, spanishtutor. vtfla@gmail.com, facebook.com/ spanishonlinevt.

martial arts

AIKIDO: THE POWER OF HARMONY: Discover the dynamic, flowing martial art of aikido. Learn how to relax under pressure and cultivate core power, aerobic fitness and resiliency. Aikido techniques emphasize

VERMONT BRAZILIAN JIU-JITSU: We offer a legitimate Brazilian jiu-jitsu training program for men, women and children in a friendly, safe and positive environment. Julio Cesar “Foca” Fernandez Nunes; CBJJP and IBJJF seventh-degree Carlson

Gracie Sr. Coral Belt-certified instructor; teaching in Vermont, born and raised in Copacabana, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil! A two-time world masters champion, fivetime Brazilian jiu-jitsu national champion, three-time Rio de Janeiro state champion and Gracie Challenge champion.

Accept no limitations! 1st class is free. Location: Vermont Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, 55 Leroy Rd., Williston. Info: 598-2839, julio@bjjusa.com, vermontbjj.com.

9-DAY WELL-BEING RESET: Return to the integrity of your well-being in just one hour a day! If you’re feeling pain, sluggish, bloated or unsettled, the reset can help you recalibrate your wellness by shifting daily habits of body and mind. Choice of daily self-paced, in-person or virtual lessons that include yoga and Ayurveda practices, Q&A support, workbook, and a private wellness consultation. Email for the registration link. About 1 hour/day w/ virtual, in-person & self-paced attendance options. Cost: $97/9-day hybrid or virtual program. Location: Vergennes Movement, 179 Main St., 2nd Floor, Vergennes. Info: Elevate You Well, Sarah L. Frederiksen, 870-6272, sarah@elevateyouwell.com, elevateyouwell.com.

women

EMPOWERING THE JOYFUL

FEMININE: This workshop supports a rite of passage for women of all ages to unearth and embody their youthful feminine energy within. By reawakening the youthful feminine, we empower ourselves to step into conscious maturity in a more authentic way. Using movement, meditation, breath work, Ayurveda, discussion and contemplation, we remember the spirit and spark of our youth and find healing where needed.

Feb. 12, 3-5:30 p.m. for 2.5-hour workshop. Location: Vergennes Movement, 179 Main St., 2nd Floor, Vergennes. Info: Second Nature Parenting + Elevate You Well, Sarah L. Frederiksen, 8706272, sarah@elevateyouwell.com, elevateyouwell.com.

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Humane Society

Chango

AGE/SEX: 4-year-old neutered male

ARRIVAL DATE: November 2, 2022

SUMMARY: Originally from the Caribbean island of Grenada, Chango found that moving to Vermont was life-changing! He can be independent, but he can also be very cuddly, playful, goofy and comfortable with the people he knows best. He is looking for a lowkey, non-roommate living situation where he’s able to relax and feel comfortable. If you have a lot of people coming and going, Chango isn’t the right fit. What he can offer you is loyal and cuddly companionship! He also looks darn cute in a sweater. Come visit him at HSCC if you think he could be your new best friend!

CATS/DOGS/KIDS: Chango needs a home without other dogs and without children. He has no known history with cats.

Visit the Humane Society of Chittenden County at 142 Kindness Court, South Burlington, Tuesday through Friday from 1 to 5 p.m. or Saturday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Call 862-0135 or visit hsccvt.org for more info.

DID YOU KNOW?

February is National Spay/Neuter Awareness Month! Spaying and neutering is critical to keeping pets healthy and happy and reducing the homeless pet population. Have a dog or cat that needs to be spayed or neutered? Check out HSCC’s low-cost Community Pet Clinic at hsccvt.org/community-pet-clinic

Sponsored by:

NO SCAMS, ALL LOCAL, POSTINGS DAILY

CLASSIFIEDS

on the road

CARS/TRUCKS

DONATE YOUR CAR FOR KIDS

Fast, free pickup. Running or not. 24-hour response. Maximum tax donation. Help fi nd missing kids! Call 877-266-0681. (AAN CAN)

housing HOUSEMATES

SPACIOUS NNE HOME

TO SHARE

Share a spacious New North End home w/ woman in her 70s who

enjoys reading & PBS. Seeking dog-friendly female housemate to cook a few meals/week & help w/ reminders. $200/mo. Private BA; shared common areas. Interview, refs., background check req. EHO. Call 863-5625 or see homesharevermont. org for application.

OFFICE/ COMMERCIAL

OFFICE IN THE SOUTH END

Amazing space in Burlington arts district. Separate offi ce in a suite w/ shared reception area, kitchenette & Wi-Fi. $700/mo. Info: hello@essential carechiropractic.com or 802-540-1143.

OFFICE/RETAIL SPACE AT MAIN STREET LANDING on Burlington’s waterfront. Beautiful, healthy, affordable spaces for your business. Visit mainstreetlanding.com & click on space avail. Melinda, 864-7999.

housing ads: $25 (25 words) legals: 52¢/word buy this stuff: free online

SPACE AVAIL. AT CAMP

MEADE

2 lovely renovated spaces avail. 1,635 sq.ft. w/ new display windows, $2,400/mo. 647-sq. ft. space is $1,600/ mo. Both are great for the next artist, creative, maker or shop owner looking to grow & contribute to the vibrant community of Middlesex. Contact info@campmeade.today or call 802-496-2108.

ser vices

EDUCATION

BILLING TRAINING

FROM HOME

Career training: medical billing. CTI Career Training allows students to earn a degree from home & be ready to work in mos. Call 866-2435931. (AAN CAN)

COMPUTER CAREER TRAINING

Career training: computer IT. CTI Career Training allows students to earn a degree from home & be ready to work in mos. Call 888-2811442. (AAN CAN)

FINANCIAL/LEGAL

CREDIT CARD DEBT

RELIEF!

Reduce payment by up to 50%. Get 1 low affordable payment/mo. Reduce interest. Stop calls. Free no-obligation consultation. Call 1-855761-1456. (AAN CAN)

HEALTH/ WELLNESS

CASH FOR CANCER PATIENTS

Diagnosed w/ lung cancer? You may qualify for a substantial cash

EQUAL HOUSING OPPORTUNITY

All real estate advertising in this newspaper is subject to the Federal Fair Housing Act of 1968 and similar Vermont statutes which make it illegal to advertise any preference, limitations, or discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, national origin, sexual orientation, age, marital status, handicap, presence of minor children in the family or receipt of public assistance, or an intention to make any such preference, limitation or a discrimination. The newspaper will not knowingly accept any advertising for real estate, which is in violation of the

law. Our readers are hereby informed that all dwellings advertised in this newspaper are available on an equal opportunity basis. Any home seeker who feels he or she has encountered discrimination should contact:

HUD Office of Fair Housing 10 Causeway St., Boston, MA 02222-1092 (617) 565-5309

— OR —

Vermont Human Rights Commission 14-16 Baldwin St. Montpelier, VT 05633-0633

1-800-416-2010 hrc@vermont.gov

services: $12 (25 words)

fsbos: $45 (2 weeks, 30 words, photo) jobs: michelle@sevendaysvt.com, 865-1020 x121

award, even w/ smoking history. Call 1-888-3760595. (AAN CAN)

PSYCHIC COUNSELING

Psychic counseling, channeling w/ Bernice Kelman, Underhill. 40+ years’ experience. Also energy healing, chakra balancing, Reiki, rebirthing, other lives, classes & more. 802-899-3542, kelman.b@juno.com.

HOME/GARDEN

BATH & SHOWER UPDATES

In as little as 1 day! Affordable prices. No payments for 18 mos. Lifetime warranty & professional installs. Senior & military discounts avail. Call 1-866-370-2939. (AAN CAN)

BUY A PORTABLE BUILDING

Buy your portable building direct from the manufacturer. Custom storage buildings to cabins to greenhouses. 10x16’ storage building is $4,646. Call Adirondack Backyards for more information, 518-481-4195.

COVERED HOME REPAIRS

Don’t pay for covered home repairs again! American Residential Warranty covers all major systems & appliances. 30-day risk-free/$100 off popular plans. Call 855-731-4403. (AAN CAN)

GUTTER GUARD INSTALLATIONS

Gutter guards & replacement gutters. Never clean your gutters again! Affordable, professionally installed gutter guards protect your gutters & home from debris & leaves forever. For a quote, call 844-499-0277. (AAN CAN)

INTERIOR PAINTING SERVICE

South Burlington-based painter seeking interior projects. Quality work, insured w/ solid refs. On the web at vtpainting company.com or call Tim at 802-373-7223.

TIMBER FRAMES & BEYOND!

Specializing in homes, barns, saunas & pergolas. Warmth, fi ne craftsmanship & solidity are hallmarks of the structures we curate. Contact yeomanjoineryvt @gmail.com or call 208-946-3463.

MOVING/HAULING

LONG-DISTANCE MOVING

Licensed & insured, full-service, nationwide movers. Call now to get a free, instant price quote on your next move. 1-866-590-6549. (AAN CAN)

print deadline: Mondays at 3:30 p.m. post ads online 24/7 at: sevendaysvt.com/classifieds questions? classifieds@sevendaysvt.com

865-1020 x115

MISCELLANEOUS

DISH TV $64.99

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APPLIANCES/ TOOLS/PARTS

BCI WALK-IN TUBS

BCI walk-in tubs are now on sale. Be 1 of the 1st 50 callers & save $1,500. Call 844-514-0123 for a free in-home consultation.

$64.99 for 190 channels + $14.95 high-speed internet. Free installation, Smart HD DVR incl., free voice remote. Some restrictions apply.

1-866-566-1815. (AAN CAN)

MALE ENHANCEMENT

PILLS

Bundled network of Viagra, Cialis & Levitra alternative products for a 50-pills-for-$99 promotion. Call 888531-1192. (AAN CAN)

SPECTRUM INTERNET

AS LOW AS $29.99

Call to see if you qualify for ACP & free internet. No credit check. Call now! 833-955-0905. (AAN CAN)

SWITCH TO DIRECTV

By switching to DIRECTV, you can receive a $100 Visa gift card! Get more channels for less money. Restrictions apply. Call now! 877-693-0625. (AAN CAN)

DIFFICULTY THIS WEEK: ★★★

Fill the grid using the numbers 1-6, only once in each row and column. e numbers in each heavily outlined “cage” must combine to produce the target number in the top corner, using the mathematical operation indicated. A one-box cage should be filled in with the target number in the top corner. A number can be repeated within a cage as long as it is not the same row or column.

63 4

52 67

WANT MORE PUZZLES?

Try these online news games from Seven Days at sevendaysvt.com/games.

Put

DIFFICULTY THIS WEEK: ★★★

Place a number in the empty boxes in such a way that each row across, each column down and each 9-box square contains all of the numbers one to nine. e same numbers cannot be repeated in a row or column.

ANSWERS ON P.78

★ = MODERATE ★ ★ = CHALLENGING ★ ★ ★ = HOO, BOY!

ALLOW TO BE ADDED

ANSWERS ON P.78 »

Guess today’s 5-letter word. Hint: It’s in the news!

CALCOKU BY JOSH REYNOLDS

SUDOKU BY JOSH REYNOLDS

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PETS

GOLDENDOODLE PUPPIES

Beautiful, friendly & health guaranteed, CKC registered, standard goldendoodle puppies. Low-shedding, sweet family-friendly puppies. Parents are health & genetic tested, clear, have excellent dispositions & conformation. Puppies come w/ 1st shots, vet exam, registration papers, parent’s pedigrees & info packet.

We’re selective about who our puppies go to, just as you should be selective about who you buy your puppy from.

$1,200. Visit lewiscreek goldendoodles.com or call 802-324-2761. Serious inquiries only.

SCHNOODLE PUPS

Ready to go, familyraised, well socialized. Vet-checked, guaranteed, all shots. All pure white & looking for their “furever” homes. Call 802-595-5345 to set up a time to pick out your pup.

WANT TO BUY

MEN’S WATCHES WANTED

Men’s sport watches wanted. Rolex, Breitling, Omega, Patek Philippe, Here, Daytona, GMT, Submariner & Speedmaster. Paying cash for qualifi ed watches. Call 888-3201052. (AAN CAN)

music INSTRUCTION

GUITAR INSTRUCTION

Berklee graduate w/30 years’ teaching experience offers lessons in guitar, music theory, music technology, ear training. Individualized, step-by-step approach. All ages, styles, levels. Rick Belford, 864-7195, rickbelford.com.

Legal Notices

ACT 250 NOTICE MINOR APPLICATION 4C033113C 10 V.S.A. §§ 6001 - 6111

Application 4C0331-13C from Burlington International Airport, 1200 Airport Drive #1, South Burlington, VT 05403 was received on January 24, 2023 and deemed complete on January 31, 2023.

e project is generally described as extending Taxiway G and constructing a new South Apron at the Burlington International Airport (BTV). e project is located at 1200 Airport Drive in South Burlington, Vermont. is application can be viewed online by visiting the Act 250 Database: (https://anrweb.vt.gov/ANR/Act250/Details. aspx?Num=4C0331-13C).

No hearing will be held and a permit will be issued unless, on or before February 24, 2023, a party notifi es the District 4 Commission in writing of an issue requiring a hearing, or the Commission sets the matter for a hearing on its own motion. Any person as defi ned in 10 V.S.A. § 6085(c)(1) may request a hearing. Any hearing request must be in writing, must state the criteria or sub-criteria at issue, why a hearing is required, and what additional evidence will be presented at the hearing. Any hearing request by an adjoining property owner or other person eligible for party status under 10 V.S.A. § 6085(c)(1)(E) must include a petition for party status under the Act 250 Rules. To request party status and a hearing, fill out the Party Status Petition Form on the Board’s website: https://nrb. vermont.gov/documents/party-statuspetition-form, and email it to the District 4 Offi ce at: NRB.Act250Essex@vermont.gov. Findings of Fact and Conclusions of Law may not be prepared unless the Commission holds a public hearing.

For more information contact Stephanie H. Monaghan at the address or telephone number below.

Dated this February 1, 2023.

By:/s/ Stephanie H. Monaghan Stephanie H. Monaghan District Coordinator

PUZZLE ANSWERS

FROM P.77

111 West Street Essex Junction, VT 05452 802-261-1944

stephanie.monaghan@vermont.gov

PLACE AN AFFORDABLE NOTICE AT: SEVENDAYSVT.COM/LEGAL-NOTICES OR CALL 802-865-1020, EXT. 142.

Dated this February 3, 2023.

By: _/s/ Kaitlin Hayes

Kaitlin Hayes

District Coordinator

ACT 250 NOTICE MINOR APPLICATION 4C0799-4

10 V.S.A. §§ 6001 - 6111

Application 4C0799-4 from LITMAC ENTERPRISES, LLC, Attn: Michael Litwhiler, 239 Park Road, South Burlington, VT 05403-5612 was received on January 20, 2023 and deemed complete on February 3, 2023. e project is generally described as the development of one single family dwelling unit and associated infrastructure located on a previously subdivided parcel (Lot 2 created in 4C0799-3) in the Neighborhood at Grey’s Meadow (the Project). e Project is located at 61 Grey Meadow Drive in Burlington, Vermont. is application can be viewed online by visiting the Act 250 Database: (https://anrweb.vt.gov/ ANR/Act250/Details.aspx?Num=4C0799- 4).

No hearing will be held, and a permit will be issued unless, on or before February 24, 2023, a party notifi es the District 4 Commission in writing of an issue requiring a hearing, or the Commission sets the matter for a hearing on its own motion. Any person as defi ned in 10 V.S.A. § 6085(c) (1) may request a hearing. Any hearing request must be in writing, must state the criteria or sub-criteria at issue, why a hearing is required, and what additional evidence will be presented at the hearing. Any hearing request by an adjoining property owner or other person eligible for party status under 10 V.S.A. § 6085(c)(1)(E) must include a petition for party status under the Act 250 Rules. To request party status and a hearing, fill out the Party Status Petition Form on the Board’s website: https://nrb.vermont.gov/documents/ party-status- petition-form, and email it to the District 4 Offi ce at: NRB.Act250Essex@vermont. gov. Findings of Fact and Conclusions of Law may not be prepared unless the Commission holds a public hearing.

For more information contact Kaitlin Hayes at the address or telephone number below.

111 West Street Essex Junction, VT 05452 (802) 622-4084

kaitlin.hayes@vermont.gov

ACT 250 NOTICE MINOR APPLICATION 4C1145-3

10 V.S.A. §§ 6001 - 6111

Application 4C1145-3 from Vermont Youth Conservation Corps, Inc., 1949 E. Main Street, Richmond, VT 05477 was received on January 20, 2023 and deemed complete on January 31, 2023. e project is generally described as the restoration, maintenance and stabilization of the East Monitor Barn which includes foundation, timber, retaining wall, siding, and roofi ng repairs. e project is located at 1949 East Main Street in Richmond, Vermont. is application can be viewed online by visiting the Act 250 Database: (https://anrweb.vt.gov/ANR/Act250/Details. aspx?Num=4C1145-3).

No hearing will be held, and a permit will be issued unless, on or before February 20, 2023, a party notifi es the District 4 Commission in writing of an issue requiring a hearing, or the Commission sets the matter for a hearing on its own motion. Any person as defi ned in 10 V.S.A. § 6085(c) (1) may request a hearing. Any hearing request must be in writing, must state the criteria or sub-criteria at issue, why a hearing is required, and what additional evidence will be presented at the hearing. Any hearing request by an adjoining property owner or other person eligible for party status under 10 V.S.A. § 6085(c)(1)(E) must include a petition for party status under the Act 250 Rules. To request party status and a hearing, fill out the Party Status Petition Form on the Board’s website: https://nrb.vermont.gov/documents/ party-status- petition-form, and email it to the District 4 Offi ce at: NRB.Act250Essex@vermont. gov. Findings of Fact and Conclusions of Law may not be prepared unless the Commission holds a public hearing.

For more information contact Stephanie H. Monaghan at the address or telephone number below.

Dated this January 31, 2023.

FROM P.77

By:/s/Stephanie H. Monaghan

Stephanie H. Monaghan District Coordinator 111 West Street Essex Junction, VT 05452 802-261-1944

Stephanie.Monaghan@vermont.gov

ADVERTISEMENT FOR BIDS: TOWN OF COLCHESTER 2023 CAPITAL PAVING PROGRAM e Town is requesting separate sealed BIDS for the 2023 Capital Paving Program for the resurfacing of 11 roadways, and generally includes the placement of approximately 5,579 tons of bituminous concrete pavement, cold planing (or milling), painted line striping, traffi c control, and associated items. is program also includes the resurfacing of the Burnham Memorial Library driveway and parking areas (approximately 3,012 square yard area), which will consist of night work (8PM to 8AM). e specifi c locations of paving are included in Appendix A of the Contract & Bidding Documents.

Bids will be received by: Lea Sanguinetti, Assistant Town Engineer, Town of Colchester, 781 Blakely Road, Colchester, VT 05446 until 2:00 pm on Friday, March 10, 2023 and then at said offi ce publicly opened and read aloud.

Each BID must be accompanied by a certifi ed check payable to the OWNER for fi ve percent (5%) of the total amount of the BID. A BID bond may be used in lieu of a certifi ed check. e CONTRACT DOCUMENTS are available in electronic format upon request. Please contact Lea Sanguinetti at lsanguinetti@colchestervt.gov or 802-264-5635.

A Performance BOND and a Payment BOND each

in an amount equal to one hundred percent (100%) of the contract price will be required. (40 CFR §31.36(h))

A non-mandatory pre-bid conference for prospective bidders will be held via Zoom Meeting/ Conference Call at 2:00 pm on Wednesday, February 22, 2023. Please contact Lea Sanguinetti for information on how to participate. Questions regarding the Bid are due by end of day on Wednesday, March 1, 2023 . All bidders must notify Lea Sanguinetti of their intent to bid so they can be placed on a Bidders List to receive any issued addenda or other pertinent information. Please notify the Town if email is not an acceptable method for receiving information and provide alternate means of contact.

For the complete Bid & Contract Documents, please visit the Town website at: https://www. colchestervt.gov/bids.aspx

ESSEX TOWN PLANNING COMMISSION

AGENDA/PUBLIC HEARING

FEBRUARY 23, 2023-6:00 P.M.

IN PERSON OR VIA ZOOM

81 MAIN ST., ESSEX JCT., VT

• Zoom link: https://www.essexvt.org/1043/

Join-Zoom-Meeting-Essex-PC

• Call (audio only): 1-888-788-0099 [ Meeting ID: 923 7777 6158 # I Passcode: 426269

• Public wifi is available at the Essex municipal offices, libraries, and hotspots listed here: https :// publicservice. vermont. gov/ content/public-wifihotspots-vermont

1. Public Comments

2. Consent Agenda: Site Amendment: UVM Medical Center, LLC: Proposed 1,710 s.f., 3-sided addition to facility at 2 Essex Way, MXD-PUD (Bl) & B-DC Districts. Parcel ID 2091006001.

3. PRELIMINARY PLAN: Alan French-Proposed 9-unit residential subdivision, 60 Colonel Page Road, Rl Zone. Parcel ID: 2010071000.

4. Town Plan Update

5. Minutes: 02/09/23

6. Other Business: DRB Update; ArcGIS Urban Grant Update

MOUNT MANSFIELD UNIFIED UNION SCHOOL DISTRICT (MMUUSD) REQUEST FOR PROPOSALSSUMMER EDUCATION CAMP

Your company/program is invited to submit a competitive proposal for a Summer Education Camp to serve students who require COVID Recovery Learning Services.

Issue Date: February 3rd, 2023

Responses Due By: March 3rd, 2023

Response must be submitted electronically, you can find the full RFP at https://www.mmuusd.org/ district_home/rfps

Please confirm our receipt of your submission immediately through the contact shown below:

Proposals, Correspondence and Questions should be sent to:

Andrew Jones, MMUUSD Assistant Superintendent andrew.jones@mmuusd.org 802-434-2938

PROPOSED STATE RULES

By law, public notice of proposed rules must be given by publication in newspapers of record. The purpose of these notices is to give the public a chance to respond to the proposals. The public notices for administrative rules are now also available online at https://secure.vermont.gov/ SOS/rules/ . The law requires an agency to hold a public hearing on a proposed rule, if requested to do so in writing by 25 persons or an association having at least 25 members.

To make special arrangements for individuals with disabilities or special needs please call or write the contact person listed below as soon as possible. To obtain further information concerning any scheduled hearing(s), obtain copies of proposed rule(s) or submit comments regarding proposed rule(s), please call or write the contact person listed below. You may also submit comments in writing to the Legislative Committee on Administrative Rules, State House, Montpelier, Vermont 05602 (802-828-2231).

STep Ahead Recognition System (STARS) Rules.

Vermont Proposed Rule: 23P002

AGENCY: Agency of Human Services, Department for Children and Families

CONCISE SUMMARY: The State of Vermont's child care Quality Recognition and Improvement System (QRIS) is called STep Ahead Recognition System or STARS. The system is informed by the unique culture and identity of quality practices in Vermont’s early childhood and afterschool programs and offers equitable opportunities for programs and providers to engage in the improvement system. QRIS are designed to recognize provider strengths, to support family choice, and to improve children’s experiences in early childhood and afterschool programs. One goal of QRIS is to support early childhood and afterschool programs in fostering healthy development and preparing young children for future learning and life success. The proposed rule replaces the graduated point system and arenas with levels and content areas. The proposed rule also provides the Department with flexibility to update content areas based on evidence and research within the field.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION, CONTACT: Leslie Bergeron, Agency of Human Services, Department for Children and Families, Child Development Division 280 State Drive, NOB 1 North, Waterbury, VT 05671 Tel: 802-760- 9282 Email: leslie. bergeron@vermont.gov URL: https://dcf.vermont. gov/cdd/laws-rules.

FOR COPIES: Johanna Vaczy, Agency of Human Services, Department for Children and Families, Child Development Division 280 State Drive, NOB

1 North, Waterbury, VT 05671 Tel: 802-904-3161 Email: johanna.vaczy@vermont.gov.

REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS CONSTRUCTION MANAGEMENT SERVICES

Lamoille Housing Partnership (LHP) and Lamoille Community House (LCH) request Construction Management firms to submit proposals for renovations to one building and creation of a permanent, year-round shelter space in Hyde Park, VT. Qualified applicants will have comparable experience and a bonding capacity of at least $2MM. To obtain a proposal response form and specific project information, contact Sue Cobb of RBIC at scobb@ redbirdconsulting.net. Response forms must be submitted and received by February 24, 2023 at 4:00 p.m. Davis Bacon residential wages may apply. Minority-owned, women-owned, Section 3 businesses and locally-owned businesses are strongly encouraged to apply.

STATE OF VERMONT SUPERIOR COURT PROBATE DIVISION CHITTENDEN UNIT DOCKET NO.: 22-PR-07182

In re ESTATE of Georgina Carrera

NOTICE TO CREDITORS

To the creditors of: Georgina Carrera, late of Essex, Vermont

I have been appointed to administer this estate. All creditors having claims against the decedent or the estate must present their claims in writing within four (4) months of the date of the first publication of this notice. The claim must be presented to me at the address listed below with a copy sent to the Court. The claim may be barred forever if it is not presented within the four (4) month period.

Dated: January 31, 2023

Signature of Fiduciary: /s/ Nicholas Carrera-Skorstad

Executor/Administrator: Nicholas CarreraSkorstad, c/o Law Office of Colleen Conti 8 Valleys Edge Jericho, Vermont 05465, cococonti@aol.com, (802) 660-3173

Name of Publication: Seven Days

Publication Date: 2/8/2023

Name of Probate Court: Vermont Superior Court, Chittenden Unit, Probate Division Address of Probate Court: 175 Main Street, Burlington VT 05401

STATE OF VERMONT SUPERIOR COURT PROBATE DIVISION ORLEANS UNIT DOCKET NO.: 22-PR-07767

In re ESTATE of Douglas Parker NOTICE TO CREDITORS

To the creditors of: Douglas Parker, late of Newport Center, Vermont

I have been appointed to administer this estate. All creditors having claims against the decedent or the estate must present their claims in writing within four (4) months of the date of the first publication of this notice. The claim must be presented to me at the address listed below with a copy sent to the Court. The claim may be barred forever if it is not presented within the four (4) month period.

Dated: January 30, 2023

Signature of Fiduciary: /s/ Kathryn Huckett

Executor/Administrator : Kathryn Huckett, 2534 Upper Road, Plainfield, VT 05667, huckettk@gmail. com (571) 205-1847

Name of Publication: Seven Days

Publication Date: 2/8/2023

Name of Probate Court: Vermont Superior Court Orleans Unit

Address of Probate Court: 247 Main Street, Newport VT 05855

SUPERIOR COURT OF ARIZONA IN COCHISE COUNTY

In the matter of:

Aaliyah Heather Gaboriault Riley Spencer Gaboriault

Case #: SV202300002

NOTICE OF INITIAL HEARING ON PETITION FOR TERMINATION OF PARENT-CHILD RELATIONSHIP

Notice is hereby given that the Petitioner: Gentilissa L Thibodeau has filed a Petition for Termination of Parent-Child Relationship with the Juvenile Department of the Superior Court in Cochise County regarding the above-named child or children and: Matthew Thomas Gaboriault.

An initial hearing has been set to consider the petition:

Date: May 10, 2023

Time 11:00

Before: Hon. Terry Bannon

At the Cochise County Superior Court (Juvenile Department) located at: 100 Colonia De Salud, Division Six, Sierra Vista AZ 85635

VERMONT SELF STORAGE

THE CONTENTS OF STORAGE UNIT 03-00415, located at Winter Sport Lane, Williston VT, 05495 will be sold on or about the 16th of February 2023 to satisfy the debt of Carey Eastman. Any person claiming a right to the goods may pay the amount claimed due and reasonable expenses before the sale, in which case the sale may not occur.

Support Groups

A CIRCLE OF PARENTS FOR MOTHERS OF COLOR

Please join our parent-led online support group designed to share our questions, concerns & struggles, as well as our resources & successes!

Contribute to our discussion of the unique but shared experience of parenting. We will be meeting weekly on Wed., 10-11 a.m. For more info or to register, please contact Heather at hniquette@pcavt.org, 802-498-0607, pcavt.org/ family-support-programs.

A CIRCLE OF PARENTS FOR SINGLE MOTHERS

Please join our parent-led online support group designed to share our questions, concerns & struggles, as well as our resources & successes!

Contribute to our discussion of the unique but shared experience of parenting. We will be meeting weekly on Fri., 10-11 a.m. For more info or to register, please contact Heather at hniquette@pcavt.org, 802-498-0607, pcavt.org/ family-support-programs.

A CIRCLE OF PARENTS W/ LGBTQ+ CHILDREN

Please join our parent-led online support group designed to share our questions, concerns & struggles, as well as our resources & successes! Contribute to our discussion of the unique but shared experience of parenting. We will be meeting weekly on Mon., 10-11 a.m. For more info or to register, please contact Heather at hniquette@pcavt.org, 802-498-0607, pcavt.org/ family-support-programs.

AL-ANON

For families & friends of alcoholics. Phone meetings, electronic meetings (Zoom) & an Al-Anon blog are avail. online at the Al-Anon website. For meeting info, go to vermontalanonalateen.org or call 866-972-5266.

ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS

Do you have a drinking problem? AA meeting sites are now open, & online meetings are also available. Call our hotline at 802-864-1212 or check for in-person or online meetings at burlingtonaa.org.

ALL ARTISTS SUPPORT GROUP

Are you a frustrated artist? Have you longed for a space to “play” & work? Let’s get together & see what we can do about this! Text (anytime) or call 802-777-6100.

ALZHEIMER’S ASSOCIATION SUPPORT GROUPS

Support groups meet to provide assistance & info on Alzheimer’s disease & related dementias. They emphasize shared experiences, emotional support & coping techniques in care for a person living w/ Alzheimer’s or a related dementia. Meetings are free & open to the public. Families, caregivers & friends may attend. Please call in advance to confirm the date & time. The Williston Caregiver Support Group meets in person on the 2nd Tue. of every mo., 5-6:30 p.m., at the Dorothy Alling Memorial Library in Williston; this meeting also has a virtual option at the same time; contact support group facilitators Molly at dugan@cathedralsquare. org or Mindy at moondog@burlingtontelecom.net.

The Middlebury Support Group for Individuals w/ Early Stage Dementia meets the 4th Tue. of each mo., 3 p.m., at the Residence at Otter Creek, 350 Lodge Rd., Middlebury; contact Daniel Hamilton, dhamilton@ residenceottercreek.com or 802-989-0097. The Shelburne Support Group for Individuals w/ Early Stage Dementia meets the 1st Mon. of every mo., 2-3 p.m., at the Residence at Shelburne Bay, 185 Pine Haven Shores, Shelburne; contact support group facilitator Lydia Raymond, lraymond@residenceshelburnebay. com. The Telephone Support Group meets the 2nd Tue. monthly, 4-5:30 p.m. Prereg. is req. (to receive dial-in codes for toll-free call). Please dial the Alzheimer’s Association’s 24-7 Helpline, 800-272-3900, for more info. For questions or additional support group listings, call 800-272-3900.

ARE YOU HAVING PROBLEMS W/ DEBT?

Do you spend more than you earn? Get help at Debtor’s Anonymous & Business Debtor’s Anonymous. Wed., 6:30-7:30 p.m., Methodist Church in the Rainbow Room at Buell & S. Winooski, Burlington. Contact Jennifer, 917-568-6390.

BABY BUMPS SUPPORT GROUP FOR MOTHERS & PREGNANT WOMEN

Pregnancy can be a wonderful time of your life. But it can also be a time of stress often compounded by hormonal swings. If you are a pregnant woman, or have recently given birth & feel you need some help w/ managing emotional bumps in the road that can come w/ motherhood, please come to this free support group led by an experienced pediatric registered nurse. Held on the 2nd & 4th Tue. of every mo., 5:30-6:30 p.m. at the Birthing Center, Northwestern Medical Center, St. Albans. Info: Rhonda Desrochers, Franklin County Home Health Agency, 527-7531.

BETTER BREATHERS CLUB

American Lung Association support group for people w/ breathing issues, their loved ones or caregivers. Meets on the 1st Mon. of every mo., 11 a.m.-noon at the Godnick Center, 1 Deer St., Rutland. For more info call 802-776-5508.

BRAIN INJURY SUPPORT GROUP

Vermont Center for Independent Living offers virtual monthly meetings, held on the 3rd Wed. of every mo., 1-2:30 p.m. The support group will offer valuable resources & info about brain injury. It will be a place to share experiences in a safe, secure & confidential environment. To join, email Linda Meleady at lindam@vcil.org & ask to be put on the TBI mailing list. Info: 800-639-1522.

BRAIN INJURY ASSOCIATION OF VERMONT

Montpelier daytime support group meets on the 3rd Thu. of every mo., at the Unitarian Church ramp entrance, 1:30-2:30 p.m. St. Johnsbury support group meets on the 3rd Wed. of every mo., at the Grace United Methodist Church, 36 Central St., 1-2:30 p.m. Colchester evening support group meets on the 1st Wed. of every mo., at the Fanny Allen Hospital in the Board Room Conference Room, 5:30-7:30 p.m. White River Jct. meets on the 2nd Fri. of every mo., at Bugbee Senior Center from 3-4:30 p.m. Call our helpline at 877-856-1772.

CANCER

SUPPORT GROUP

The Champlain Valley Prostate Cancer Support Group will be held every 2nd Tue. of the mo., 6-7:45 p.m. via conference call. Newly diagnosed? Prostate cancer reoccurrence? General discussion & sharing among survivors & those beginning or rejoining the battle. Info, Mary L. Guyette RN, MS, ACNS-BC, 274-4990, vmary@aol.com.

CELEBRATE RECOVERY

Overcome any hurt, habit or hang-up in your life w/ this confidential 12-step, Christ-centered recovery program. We offer multiple support groups for both men & women, such as chemical dependency, codependency, sexual addiction & pornography, food issues, & overcoming abuse. All 18+ are welcome; sorry, no childcare. Doors open at 6:30 p.m.; we begin at 7 p.m. Essex Alliance Church, 37 Old Stage Rd., Essex Junction. Info: recovery@essexalliance.org, 878-8213.

CELEBRATE RECOVERY

Celebrate Recovery meetings are for anyone struggling w/ hurt, habits & hang-ups, which include everyone in some way. We welcome everyone at Cornerstone Church in Milton, which meets every Fri. from 7-9 p.m. We’d love to have you join us & discover how your life can start to change. Info: 893-0530, julie@mccartycreations.com.

CENTRAL VERMONT CELIAC SUPPORT GROUP

Last Thu. of every mo., 7:30 p.m. in Montpelier. Please contact Lisa Mase for location: lisa@ harmonizecookery.com.

CEREBRAL PALSY GUIDANCE

Cerebral Palsy Guidance is a very comprehensive informational website broadly covering the topic of cerebral palsy & associated medical conditions. Its mission is to provide the best possible info to parents of children living w/ the complex condition of cerebral palsy. cerebralpalsyguidance.com/ cerebral-palsy.

CONTACT CLASSIFIEDS@SEVENDAYSVT.COM OR 802-865-1020 X115 TO UPDATE YOUR SUPPORT GROUP

CODEPENDENTS ANONYMOUS

CoDA is a 12-step fellowship for people whose common purpose is to develop healthy & fulfilling relationships. By actively working the program of Codependents Anonymous, we can realize a new joy, acceptance & serenity in our lives. Meets Sun. at noon at the Turning Point Center, 179 S. Winooski Ave., Suite 301, Burlington. Tom, 238-3587, coda.org.

DECLUTTERERS’ SUPPORT GROUP

Are you ready to make improvements but find it overwhelming? Maybe 2 or 3 of us can get together to help each other simplify. 989-3234, 425-3612.

DISCOVER THE POWER OF CHOICE!

SMART Recovery welcomes anyone, including family & friends, affected by any kind of substance or activity addiction. It is a science-based program that encourages abstinence. Specially trained volunteer facilitators provide leadership. Sun. at 5 p.m. The meeting has moved to Zoom: smartrecovery.zoom.us/j/92925275515. Volunteer facilitator: Bert, 399-8754. You can learn more at smartrecovery.org.

DOMESTIC VIOLENCE SUPPORT

Steps to End Domestic Violence offers a weekly drop-in support group for female-identified survivors of intimate partner violence, including individuals who are experiencing or have been affected by domestic violence. The support group offers a safe, confidential place for survivors to connect w/ others, to heal & to recover. In support group, participants talk through their experiences & hear stories from others who have experienced abuse in their relationships. Support group is also a resource for those who are unsure of their next step, even if it involves remaining in their current relationship. Tue., 6:30-8 p.m. Childcare is provided. Info: 658-1996.

EMPLOYMENT-SEEKERS SUPPORT GROUP

Frustrated w/ the job search or w/ your job? You are not alone. Come check out this supportive circle. Wed. at 3 p.m., Pathways Vermont Community Center, 279 N. Winooski Ave., Burlington. Info: Abby Levinsohn, 777-8602.

FAMILY & FRIENDS OF THOSE EXPERIENCING

MENTAL HEALTH CRISIS

This support group is a dedicated meeting for family, friends & community members who are supporting a loved one through a mental health crisis. Mental health crisis might include extreme states, psychosis, depression, anxiety & other types of distress. The group is a confidential space where family & friends can discuss shared experiences & receive support in an environment free of judgment & stigma w/ a trained facilitator. Wed., 7-8:30 p.m. Downtown Burlington. Info: Jess Horner, LICSW, 866-218-8586.

FAMILY RESTORED: SUPPORT GROUP FOR FRIENDS & FAMILIES OF ADDICTS & ALCOHOLICS

Wed., 6:30-8 p.m., Holy Family/St. Lawrence Parish, 4 Prospect St., Essex Junction. For further info, please visit thefamilyrestored.org or contact Lindsay Duford at 781-960-3965 or 12lindsaymarie@gmail.com.

FCA FAMILY SUPPORT GROUP

Families Coping w/ Addiction (FCA) is an open community peer support group for adults (18+) struggling w/ the drug or alcohol addiction of a loved one. FCA is not 12-step-based but provides a forum for those living the family experience, in which to develop personal coping skills & to draw strength from one another. Our group meets every Wed., 5:30-6:30 p.m., live in person in the conference room at the Turning Point Center of Chittenden County (179 S. Winooski Avenue, Burlington), &/or via our parallel Zoom session to accommodate those who cannot attend in person. The Zoom link can be found on the Turning Point Center website (turningpointcentervt.org) using the “Family Support” tab (click on “What We Offer”). Any questions, please send by email to thdaub1@ gmail.com.

FIERCELY FLAT VT

A breast cancer support group for those who’ve had mastectomies. We are a casual online meeting group found on Facebook at Fiercely Flat VT. Info: stacy.m.burnett@gmail.com.

FOOD ADDICTS IN RECOVERY ANONYMOUS (FA)

Are you having trouble controlling the way you eat? FA is a free 12-step recovery program for anyone suffering from food obsession, overeating, under-eating or bulimia. Local meetings are held twice a wk.: Mon., 4-5:30 p.m., at the Unitarian Universalist Church, Norwich, Vt.; & Wed., 6:30-8 p.m., at Hanover Friends Meeting House, Hanover, N.H. For more info & a list of additional meetings throughout the U.S. & the world, call 603-6301495 or visit foodaddicts.org.

G.R.A.S.P. (GRIEF RECOVERY AFTER A SUBSTANCE PASSING)

Are you a family member who has lost a loved one to addiction? Find support, peer-led support group. Meets once a mo. on Mon. in Burlington. Please call for date & location. RSVP mkeasler3@ gmail.com or call 310-3301 (message says Optimum Health, but this is a private number).

GRIEF & LOSS SUPPORT GROUP

Sharing your sadness, finding your joy. Please join us as we learn more about our own grief & explore the things that can help us to heal. There is great power in sharing our experiences w/ others who know the pain of the loss of a loved one & healing is possible through the sharing. BAYADA Hospice’s local bereavement support coordinator will facilitate our weekly group through discussion & activities. Everyone from the community is welcome. 1st & last Wed. of every mo. at 4 p.m. via Zoom. To register, please contact bereavement program coordinator Max Crystal, mcrystal@ bayada.com or 802-448-1610.

GRIEF SUPPORT GROUPS

Meet every 2nd Mon., 6-7:30 p.m., & every 3rd Wed. from 10-11:30 a.m., at Central Vermont Home Health & Hospice in Berlin. The group is open to the public & free of charge. More info: Diana Moore, 224-2241.

HEARING VOICES SUPPORT GROUP

This Hearing Voices Group seeks to find understanding of voice-hearing experiences as real lived experiences that may happen to anyone at anytime. We choose to share experiences, support & empathy. We validate anyone’s experience & stories about their experience as their own, as being an honest & accurate representation of their experience, & as being acceptable exactly as they are. Tue., 2-3 p.m. Pathways Vermont Community Center, 279 N. Winooski Ave., Burlington. Info: 802-777-8602, abby@pathwaysvermont.org.

HELLENBACH CANCER SUPPORT

Call to verify meeting place. Info, 388-6107. People living w/ cancer & their caretakers convene for support.

INTERSTITIAL CYSTITIS/PAINFUL BLADDER SUPPORT GROUP

Interstitial cystitis (IC) & painful bladder syndrome can result in recurring pelvic pain, pressure or discomfort in the bladder/pelvic region & urinary frequency/urgency. These are often misdiagnosed & mistreated as a chronic bladder infection. If you have been diagnosed or have these symptoms, you are not alone. For Vermontbased support group, email bladderpainvt@gmail. com or call 899-4151 for more info.

KINDRED CONNECTIONS PROGRAM OFFERED FOR CHITTENDEN COUNTY CANCER SURVIVORS

The Kindred Connections program provides peer support for all those touched by cancer. Cancer patients, as well as caregivers, are provided w/ a mentor who has been through the cancer experience & knows what it’s like to go through it. In addition to sensitive listening, Kindred Connections provides practical help such as rides to doctors’ offices & meal deliveries. The program has people who have experienced a wide variety

of cancers. For further info, please contact info@ vcsn.net.

KINSHIP CAREGIVER SUPPORT GROUP

A support group for grandparents who are raising their grandchildren. Led by a trained representative & facilitator. Meets on the 2nd Tue. of every mo., 6:30-7:45 p.m., at Milton Public Library. Free. For more info, call 802-893-4644 or email library@miltonvt.gov. Facebook.com/ events/561452568022928.

LGBTQ SURVIVORS OF VIOLENCE

The SafeSpace Anti-Violence Program at Pride Center of Vermont offers peer-led support groups for survivors of relationship, dating, emotional &/ or hate-violence. These groups give survivors a safe & supportive environment to tell their stories, share info, & offer & receive support. Support groups also provide survivors an opportunity to gain info on how to better cope w/ feelings & experiences that surface because of the trauma they have experienced. Please call SafeSpace at 863-0003 if you are interested in joining.

LIVING THROUGH LOSS

Gifford Medical Center is announcing the restart of its grief support group, Living Through Loss. The program is sponsored by the Gifford Volunteer Chaplaincy Program & will meet weekly on Fri., 11 a.m.-12:30 p.m., in Gifford’s Chun Chapel. Meetings will be facilitated by the Rev. Timothy Eberhardt, spiritual care coordinator, & Emily Pizzale MSW, LICSW, a Gifford social worker. Anyone who has experienced a significant loss over the last year or so is warmly invited to attend & should enter through the hospital’s main entrance wearing a mask on the way to the chapel. Meetings will be based on the belief that, while each of us is on a unique journey in life, we all need a safe place to pause, to tell our stories &, especially as we grieve, to receive the support & strength we need to continue along the way.

MARIJUANA ANONYMOUS

Do you have a problem w/ marijuana? MA is a free 12-step program where addicts help other addicts get & stay clean. Ongoing Wed., 7 p.m., at Turning Point Center, 179 S. Winooski, Suite 301, Burlington. 861-3150.

MYELOMA SUPPORT GROUP

Area Myeloma Survivors, Families & Caregivers have come together to form a Multiple Myeloma Support Group. We provide emotional support, resources about treatment options, coping strategies & a support network by participating in the group experience w/ people who have been through similar situations. 3rd Tue. of every mo., 5-6 p.m., at the New Hope Lodge on East Ave. in Burlington. Info: Kay Cromie, 655-9136, kgcromey@aol.com.

NAMI CONNECTION PEER SUPPORT GROUP MEETINGS

Weekly virtual meetings. If you have questions about a group in your area, please contact the National Alliance on Mental Illness of Vermont, program@namivt.org or 800-639-6480.

Connection groups are peer recovery support group programs for adults living w/ mental health challenges.

NAMI FAMILY SUPPORT GROUP

Weekly virtual & in-person meetings. ASL interpreters available upon request. If you have questions about a group in your area, please contact the National Alliance on Mental Illness of Vermont, info@namivt.org or 800-639-6480.

Family Support Group meetings are for family & friends of individuals living w/ mental illness. If you have questions about a group in your area, please contact the National Alliance on Mental Illness of Vermont, info@namivt.org or 800-639-6480.

NARCONON SUNCOAST DRUG & ALCOHOL REHABILITATION & EDUCATION

Narconon reminds families that overdoses due to an elephant tranquilizer known as Carfentanil have been on the rise in nearly every community nationwide. Carfentanil is a synthetic opioid

painkiller 100 times more powerful than fentanyl & 1,000 times stronger than heroin. A tiny grain of it is enough to be fatal. To learn more about carfentanil abuse & how to help your loved one, visit narconon-suncoast.org/drug-abuse/ parents-get-help.html. Addiction screenings: Narconon can help you take steps to overcome addiction in your family. Call today for a no-cost screening or referral: 1-877-841-5509.

NARCOTICS ANONYMOUS is a group of recovering addicts who live without the use of drugs. It costs nothing to join. The only requirement for membership is a desire to stop using. Info, 862-4516 or cvana.org. Held in Burlington, Barre & St. Johnsbury.

NARCANON BURLINGTON GROUP

Group meets every Mon. at 7 p.m., at the Turning Point Center, 179 S. Winooski Ave., Suite 301, Burlington. The only requirement for membership is that there be a problem of addiction in a relative or friend. Info: Amanda H. 338-8106.

NEW (& EXPECTING) MAMAS & PAPAS! EVERY PRIMARY CAREGIVER TO A BABY!

The Children’s Room invites you to join our weekly drop-in support group. Come unwind & discuss your experiences & questions around infant care & development, self-care & postpartum healing, & community resources for families w/ babies. Tea & snacks provided. Thu., 11 a.m.-12:30 p.m. Bring your babies! (Newborn through crawling stage.) Located in Thatcher Brook Primary School, 47 Stowe St., childrensroomonline.org. Contact childrensroom@wwsu.org or 244-5605.

NORTHWEST VERMONT CANCER PRAYER & SUPPORT NETWORK

A meeting of cancer patients, survivors & family members intended to comfort & support those who are currently suffering from the disease. 2nd Thu. of every mo., 6-7:30 p.m., St. Paul’s United Methodist Church, 11 Church St., St. Albans. Info: stpaulum@myfairpoint.net. 2nd Wed. of every mo., 6-7:30 p.m., Winooski United Methodist Church, 24 W. Allen St., Winooski. Info: hovermann4@comcast.net.

OPEN EARS, OPEN MINDS

A mutual support circle that focuses on connection & self-exploration. Fri. at 1 p.m., Pathways Vermont Community Center, 279 N. Winooski Ave., Burlington. Info: Abby Levinsohn, 777-8602.

OVEREATERS ANONYMOUS (OA)

A 12-step program for people who identify as overeaters, compulsive eaters, food addicts, anorexics, bulimics, etc. No matter what your problem w/ food, we have a solution! All are welcome, meetings are open, & there are no dues or fees. See oavermont.org/meeting-list for the current meeting list, meeting format & more; or call 802-863-2655 anytime!

PONDERING GENDER & SEXUALITY

Pondering Gender & Sexuality is a twice-monthly facilitated mutual support group for folks of any identity (whether fully formed or a work in progress) who want to engage in meaningful conversations about gender, sexuality & sexual orientation, &/or the coming-out process. Discussions can range from the personal to the philosophical & beyond as we work together to create a compassionate, safe & courageous space to explore our experiences. The group will be held on the 2nd Sun. & 4th Tue. of every mo., 1-2:30 p.m., either virtually or at Pride Center of Vermont. Email pgs@pridecentervt.org for more info or w/ questions!

POTATO INTOLERANCE SUPPORT GROUP

Anyone coping w/ potato intolerance & interested in joining a support group, contact Jerry Fox, 48 Saybrook Rd., Essex Junction, VT 05452.

QUEER CARE GROUP

This support group is for adult family members & caregivers of queer &/or questioning youth. It is held on the 2nd Mon. of every mo., 6:30-8 p.m., at Outright Vermont, 241 N. Winooski Ave. This

group is for adults only. For more info, email info@ outrightvt.org.

READY TO BE TOBACCO-FREE GROUPS

Join a free 4-5-week group workshop facilitated by our coaches, who are certified in tobacco treatment. We meet in a friendly, relaxed & virtual atmosphere. You may qualify for a free limited supply of nicotine replacement therapy. Info: Call 802-847-7333 or email quittobaccoclass@uvmhealth.org to get signed up, or visit myhealthyvt.org to learn more about upcoming workshops!

RECOVERING FROM RELIGION

Meets on the 2nd Tue. of every mo., 6-8 p.m., at Brownell Public Library, 6 Lincoln St., Essex Junction, unless there’s inclement weather or the date falls on a holiday. Attendees can remain anonymous if they so choose & are not required to tell their story if they do not wish to, but everyone will be welcome to do so. The primary focus of a Recovering From Religion support group is to provide ongoing & personal support to individuals as they let go of their religious beliefs. This transitional period is an ongoing process that can result in a range of emotions, as well as a ripple effect of consequences throughout an individual’s life. As such, the support meetings are safe & anonymous places to express these doubts, fears & experiences without biased feedback or proselytizing. We are here to help each other through this journey. Free.

SCLERODERMA FOUNDATION NEW ENGLAND

Support group meeting held on the 4th Tue. of every mo., 6:30-8:30 p.m., Williston Police Station. Info, Blythe Leonard, 878-0732.

SEX & LOVE ADDICTS ANONYMOUS

12-step recovery group. Do you have a problem w/ sex or relationships? We can help. Shawn, 660-2645. Visit slaafws.org or saa-recovery.org for meetings near you.

SEX ADDICTS ANONYMOUS, MONTPELIER

Do you have a problem w/ compulsive sexual behavior? A 12-step program has helped us. SAA Montpelier meets twice weekly at 6 p.m: Mon. virtual meeting, details at saatalk.info; Thu. faceto-face at Bethany Church, Montpelier, details at saa-recovery.org. Contact saa.vtrecovery@gmail. com or call 802-322-3701.

SEXUAL VIOLENCE SUPPORT

HOPE Works offers free support groups to women, men & teens who are survivors of sexual violence. Groups are avail. for survivors at any stage of the healing process. Intake for all support groups is ongoing. If you are interested in learning more or would like to schedule an intake to become a group member, please call our office at 864-0555, ext. 19, or email our victim advocate at advocate@ sover.net.

STUTTERING SUPPORT GROUPS

If you’re a person who stutters, you are not alone! Adults, teens & school-age kids who stutter, & their families are welcome to join 1 of our 3 free National Stuttering Association (NSA) stuttering support groups at UVM (join by Zoom or in person). Adults: 5:30-6:30 p.m., 1st & 3rd Tue. monthly; teens (ages 13-17): 5:30-6:30 p.m., 2nd Thu. monthly; school-age children (ages 8-12) & parents (meeting separately): 4:15-5:15 p.m., 2nd Thu. monthly. Pomeroy Hall (489 Main St., UVM campus). Info: nsachapters.org/burlington, burlingtonstutters@gmail.com, 656-0250. Go, Team Stuttering!

SUICIDE SURVIVORS SUPPORT GROUP

For those who have lost a friend or loved one through suicide. 6:30-8 p.m., on the 3rd Tue. of every mo. Maple Leaf Clinic, 167 N. Main St., Wallingford, 446-3577.

SUICIDE HOTLINES IN VT

Brattleboro, 257-7989; Montpelier (Washington County Mental Health Emergency Services), 2290591; Randolph (Clara Martin Center Emergency Service), 800-639-6360.

SUPPORT GROUP FOR WOMEN who have experienced intimate partner abuse, facilitated by Circle (Washington Co. only). Please call 877-543-9498 for more info.

SURVIVORS OF SUICIDE

If you have lost someone to suicide & wish to have a safe place to talk, share & spend a little time w/ others who have had a similar experience, join us on the 3rd Thu. of every mo., 7-9 p.m., at the Faith Lighthouse Church, Route 105, Newport (105 Alderbrook). Please call before attending. Info: Mary Butler, 744-6284.

SURVIVORS OF SUICIDE:

S. BURLINGTON

This group is for people experiencing the impact of the loss of a loved one to suicide. 1st Wed. of each mo., 6-7:30 p.m., at the Comfort Inn & Suites, 3 Dorset St., Burlington. Info: Heather Schleupner, 301-514-2445, raysoflifeyoga@gmail.com.

TOPS

Take Off Pounds Sensibly chapter meeting. Hedding United Methodist Church, Washington St., Barre. Wed., 5:15-6:15 p.m. For info, call David at 371-8929.

TRANS & GENDER-NONCONFORMING SUPPORT GROUP

As trans & GNC people in the world, we experience many things that are unique to our identities. For that reason, the Transgender Program hosts a support group for our community on the 1st & 3rd Wed. of every mo., 6:30-8 p.m., either virtually or at Pride Center of Vermont. The Trans & GNC Support group is for Vermonters at all stages of their gender journey to come together to socialize, discuss issues that are coming up in their lives & build community. We welcome anyone whose identity falls under the trans, GNC, intersex & nonbinary umbrellas, & folks questioning their gender identity. Email safespace@pridecentervt. org w/ any questions, comments or accessibility concerns.

TRANSGENDER EXTENDED FAMILY SUPPORT

We are people w/ adult loved ones who are transgender or gender-nonconforming. We meet to support each other & to learn more about issues & concerns. Our sessions are supportive, informal & confidential. Meetings are held at 5:30 p.m., the 2nd Thu. of each mo., via Zoom. Not sure if you’re ready for a meeting? We also offer 1-on-1 support. For more info, email rex@pridecentervt. org or call 802-318-4746.

VEGGIE SUPPORT GROUP

Want to feel supported on your vegetarian/vegan journey? Want more info on healthy veggie diets? Want to share & socialize at veggie potlucks & more in the greater Burlington area? This is your opportunity to join w/ other like-minded folks. veggy4life@gmail.com, 658-4991.

WOMEN’S CANCER SUPPORT GROUP

FAHC. Led by Deb Clark, RN. Every 1st & 3rd Tue., 5-6:30 p.m. Call Kathy McBeth, 847-5715.

ATTENTION RECRUITERS:

YOUR TRUSTED LOCAL SOURCE. JOBS.SEVENDAYSVT.COM

VT Public Health

Association

Hiring Part-time ED. See website at vtpha.org/VtPHA-Executive-Director for more details.

LINE COOK

(Full-time opportunities. Come grow with us!)

Cra Beer Delivery Driver (F/T)

Ensure the timely delivery of goods to predetermined customers on specific routes, review orders prior to delivery, load and unload trucks, & provide exceptional customer service. Driving experience preferred.

Packaging Line Operator (F/T)

Round out our Packaging Team by kegging and canning fresh beer.

Dental Hygienist

Part Time

We have several exciting opportunities available!

Drop-In Center Youth Coach St Albans, Part Time

Family Preservation Specialist

Development O cer Development Coordinator

Multicultural Youth Program Coordinator

Mental Health Counselor

Drop-In Center Youth Coach

spectrumvt.org/ job-opportunities

The Line Cook is responsible for the preparation of nutritious, high quality meals in a high volume environment. External candidates are eligible for a one-time signing bonus of $4,000. How we support our team: Preferred schedule; evening shifts end by 8:30pm; every other weekend o ; higher pay for evening/weekend shifts (option to work all weekends to earn more); tuition reimbursement to support education and advancement; great benefits — including health insurance, retirement savings, counseling services and wellness; opportunities for career advancement within the organization; paid sick time, holidays and vacation. Learn more and apply: uvmhealthnetworkcareers.org/linecook_sevendays

NORTHEASTERN VERMONT REGIONAL HOSPITAL

is seeking

Registered Nurses

Seeking Registered Nurses for a variety of departments and shifts! NVRH RNs enjoy shared governance, a competitive salary and numerous opportunities for growth. Come be part of a healthcare team offering excellent services within your community. New grads welcome!

NVRH offers excellent benefits, including student loan repayment, generous paid time off, health/ dental/vision, 401k with company match, and more!

APPLY TODAY AT NVRH.ORG/CAREERS

The Dental Hygienist will provide dental hygiene services to the organization’s Dental patients and preventive services in education to our patients of record. Responsible for working with residents and sta dentists in detailing treatment plans in patient charts and working with the dentists in coaching the patients in Oral Health while undergoing treatment in our clinic.

Qualifications:

• Graduate of a US or Canadian dental hygiene program with Associate or Bachelor degree in Dental Hygiene.

• CPR certification and Vermont licensure is a prerequisite for employment.

Senior Accountant

$73,000 - $80,000

Excellent Benefits Package

Colchester’s Finance Department seeks an analytical and collaborative accounting professional with excellent accuracy and attention-to-detail to join its team. The Senior Accountant provides high-level accounting functions for the Town, including payroll, auditing, billing, AP oversight, grant and general ledger reconciliation and various reporting. Successful applicants will have a bachelor’s degree in Accounting, Finance or related field, and at least five years of progressively responsible accounting experience. Experience in municipal government or with governmental accounting preferred.

If you’re looking for a positive and rewarding team-oriented work environment, we want to hear from you! To view a complete job description, and to apply online for consideration please visit: colchestervt.gov/321/Human-Resources

The Town of Colchester is an E.O.E. Position open until filled.

Marvell Semiconductor, Inc. in Burlington, VT seeks:

STAFF ENGINEER (E826)

Perform hardware validation, characterize circuit performance, drive problem resolution. Telecommuting is permitted.

To apply, please send resume to: Marvell Semiconductor, Inc. Attn. HR 1.2.519, 5488 Marvell Ln., Santa Clara, CA 95054 or Opportunities@marvell.com

Please refer to job code E826 and this posting. E.O.E.

PER-DIEM DISPATCH SWITCHBOARD OPERATOR

The Public Safety/Fire & Rescue Departments at Saint Michael’s College are inviting applications for a Per-Diem Dispatch Switchboard Operator to dispatch radio calls and operate the College switchboard. The successful candidate will be responsible for answering all incoming calls and directing calls to the appropriate party quickly, accurately, and professionally. This role receives all emergency calls for SMC campus and the surrounding community. Dispatch, switchboard, emergency services experience desirable, but we will provide training for a motivated and dependable person with demonstrated aptitude. The per diem Dispatch Switchboard Operator works a minimum of 16 hours/month, year-round.

For a complete job description, benefits information, and to apply online, please visit: bit.ly/SMCF23PDD.

Human Resources Manager

OPERATIONS SUPPORT

True North Wilderness Program is seeking Operations Support people. The ideal candidate is an adaptable team player with a positive attitude who is willing to work both indoors and outdoors performing a variety of tasks associated with the logistics of running our program. Tasks including food packing and rationing, gear outfitting, transportation and facilities maintenance. Candidates must be willing to work weekends and occasional evenings.

A clean and valid driver’s license is required. Competitive salary and comprehensive benefits offered. Benefits include health, dental, vision and accident insurance, an employee assistance program, a Wellness Fund, student loan repayment reimbursement, and a SIMPLE IRA.

Please apply at: truenorthwilderness.com

EXPERIENCED COOK

Experienced Cook needed for Shrine on Lake Champlain in beautiful northwestern Vermont.

Saint Anne’s Shrine in Isle La Motte, Vermont is seeking a creative individual to prepare meals for retreat groups of varying sizes with an average of 30-40 guests, as well as a few special events per year.

Compensation is competitive and includes health and dental insurance, 403b retirement plan, life insurance and paid time off.

Candidate will collaborate with the Administrator to create and execute menus for our retreat guests and the public. This position is responsible for ordering and shopping for food and supplies; tracking inventory; running a cost-effective and clean kitchen; following all state health regulations and maintaining all required sanitation and equipment logs.

Apply via QR code or contact Sandy at 802-928-3362 or skinney@sse.org for more information or an application.

PROJECT MANAGER

Affordable Housing Design/Construction

Evernorth is a nonprofit organization that provides affordable housing and community investments in Maine, New Hampshire, and Vermont. We have an exciting opportunity for a construction Project Manager to join our real estate development team in Vermont. This position manages all aspects of design development and construction for our affordable housing projects from predevelopment through construction completion. The successful candidate will be an excellent communicator, team builder and problem solver with strong experience in construction project management & commitment to our mission. We believe in equal access to affordable housing and economic opportunities; the power of partnerships based on integrity, respect, and teamwork; and a collaborative workplace with professional, skilled, and dedicated staff. To apply, go to bit.ly/EvernorthPM

Evernorth is an Equal Opportunity Employer

DEMAND RESPONSE PROGRAM MANAGER

As the Demand Response Program Manager, you’ll be responsible for the management of the three programs: Paratransit, Non-Emergency Medical Transportation [NEMT], and Elderly & Disabled [E&D]. This includes aiding in the management of the volunteer driver program, in accordance with the NEMT contract with the Vermont Department of Health Access (DVHA)

Requirements include an Associate’s degree in Accounting or Finance, or other relevant fields of study; equivalent experience may be substituted; at least three (3) years in a managementlevel position is required.

Apply online today at RideGMT.com/careers.

APPLY ONLINE AT MIDDLEBURY.COOP

Seeking experienced HR professional to support over 100 employees i n an engaged workplace culture w hile elevating diversity, equity & inclusion.

Case Administrator/ Intake Clerk U.S. District Court

The United States District Court is seeking a qualified individual with excellent analytical, clerical, operational and computer skills capable of functioning in a dynamic, team-oriented environment. The duty station is Burlington, Vermont. Full federal benefits apply.

Complete job description and formal application requirements are found in the official Position Announcement available from court locations in Burlington and Rutland and the court’s web site: www.vtd.uscourts.gov

E.O.E.

Homeless Services Coordinator

HOPE seeks a team member to work with persons experiencing homelessness, particularly those with high housing barriers. Work with individuals, according to their own wishes, to identify housing barriers, obtain needed resources, and to support them while they remain unhoused. Must be patient, non-judgmental, familiar with area resources, have reliable transportation and experience in working with the target clientele.

Full or part-time. HOPE provides a supportive, team-oriented work environment. Compensation includes competitive salary, platinum medical and dental insurance (30 hour week threshold), life insurance, paid holidays and combined time off, and matched retirement savings.

Send resumes to receptionist@hope-vt.org or mail to: Personnel, HOPE, 282 Boardman Street, Suite 1A, Middlebury, Vermont 05753.

Deputy State’s Attorney Positions

The Vermont Department of State’s Attorneys and Sheriffs is hiring full-time Deputy State’s Attorneys in Rutland County (Rutland) and Washington County (Barre), plus limited-service Deputy State’s Attorneys positions in locations around Vermont. A DSA represents the State’s Attorney’s Office in prosecuting criminal and certain civil offenses.

Minimum Qualifications: J.D. degree and admission to the Vermont Bar, or a candidate who has passed the VT bar exam by reading the law. A candidate pending bar results or admission to the Vermont bar may be considered.

For a complete list of openings and full job descriptions, go to prosecutors.vermont.gov/job-opportunities

Positions open until filled. Inquiries can be made by emailing sas.jobs@vermont.gov.

SEEKING SOCIAL JUSTICE CHANGE AGENTS

The Community College of Vermont has launched its Corrections Post-Secondary Education Initiative (CPSEI), a federally funded program working to provide educational opportunities to incarcerated Vermonters and staff at the Department of Corrections. We are looking for dynamic, mission-driven people who want their work to make a positive difference in Vermont and for Vermonters. Please apply today!

We are hiring for the following positions:

SENIOR STAFF ASSISTANT (Corrections Post-Secondary Education Initiative)

COORDINATOR(S) OF STUDENT ADVISING (Corrections Post-Secondary Education Initiative)

Benefits for full-time staff include 14 paid holidays, plus vacation, medical, and personal time, automatic retirement contribution, and tuition waiver at any Vermont State College for staff and their dependents (eligible dependents may apply waiver to UVM). Visit ccv.edu/about/employment/ staff-positions/ to learn more.

CCV values individual differences that can be engaged in the service of learning. Diverse experiences from people of varied backgrounds inform and enrich our community. CCV strongly encourages applications from historically marginalized and underrepresented populations. CCV is an Equal Opportunity Employer, in compliance with ADA requirements, and will make reasonable accommodations for the known disability of an otherwise qualified applicant.

Municipal Services Manager

The Media Factory is looking for a motivated professional with a passion for community media to join the team as our Municipal Services Manager. They work closely with leadership staff to provide high-quality video production services to the Media Factory’s Government and Education partners. They directly supervise and schedule the field production staff and take the lead in training this staff. If you enjoy working collaboratively with colleagues and community members, have strong leadership & supervisory skills, possess strong writing skills, are a great problem solver, and have a minimum of five years video production and editing experience, we want to hear from you. The Media Factory offers a comprehensive benefits package and generous paid time off. Compensation range: $46,000 - $48,000. Visit mediafactory.org/careersinternships to apply.

Minifactory (cafe & grocery) homes V Smiley Preserves (jam company) in downtown Bristol, Vermont. This hybrid restaurant, grocery & production model hums with daily activity. 16 Main St (our location) has operated continuously as a bakery/cafe for over 4 decades.

We serve coffee, manufacture and sell our preserves in house while serving an all-day-style menu. Biscuits w/ Ham & Peach Tomato Jam, 24 Hour Yogurt w/ Braised Greens and Crispy Lentils, Radicchio w/ Honey Creme Fraiche & Lemon, Chickpea Pancakes w/ Herby Urfa Biber Chicken.

We are currently hiring:

• BEVERAGE & HOSPITALITY LEAD

- Quality control on our espresso & brewed coffee program

- Lead service & hospitality in a community focused cafe

- Bartend & train FOH staff

Bristol, Vermont is located in Addison County. The area is agricultural and adjacent to the mountain communities of Lincoln and Starksboro. We are a 40 minute drive to Burlington, 25 minutes to Middlebury.

V Smiley Preserves and Minifactory are queer owned/run. Full descriptions & application details: vsmileypreserves.com/jobs

CAMP COUNSELOR

Camp Counselors have one of the most eclectic job descriptions— everything involved with getting campers through the day-to-day routine of camp. In any given day you could be a song leader, a bedtime storyteller, a shoulder to cry on, a mediator, or a lawn game player. Counselors are the foundation in creating a sense of community with a small group of campers. They also work in a specific activity area, planning (with help from the Activity Area Head) and leading adventurous, experiential, and often silly activities. Most counselors also go out on a wilderness trip during the summer. Applicants need to be responsible, able to balance being a friend and an adult, be a good listener and love the idea of spending a summer in the woods hanging out with kids.

Apply online: bit.ly/ FandWFcampcounselor

Office Admin

Seeking office admin for small arts gallery, 3-days/15 hours per week. Collaborative, friendly, skilled with office computer systems and social media, organized. Salary commensurate with skills. Send resumes to: busyknit@yahoo.com

Tourism Specialist

Part time, per diem: $16.25/hr

The Williston I-89 Welcome Centers are looking to hire part-time and/or per diem employees with great customer service skills. Duties will include some custodial tasks and physical tasks including snow removal. Must be able to lift up to 50 pounds. Hours of operation are 7am to 7pm. You must be able to work weekends & some holidays. To apply or learn more about the position, email nicole@vermont.org

Are you a marketing whiz that wants to help make a di erence in Vermont?

We are seeking a Brand and Marketing O cer to increase awareness and strengthen the brand of the Community Foundation to make a greater impact in Vermont. e ideal candidate will bring stellar skills in branding, digital marketing, advertising, content development, and social media.

WHY NOT HAVE A JOB YOU LOVE?

Plus, have a benefit package that includes 29 paid days off in the first year, a comprehensive health insurance plan with your premium as low as $13 per month, up to $6,000 to go towards medical deductibles and copays, a retirement match, and so much more.

And that’s on top of working at one of the “Best Places to Work in Vermont” for four years running.

ELMORE STORE OPERATOR

The Elmore Community Trust (ECT) is seeking motivated and committed individuals to operate the historic Elmore Store in beautiful Elmore, Vermont starting May 1st, 2023.

Perched on the shores of Lake Elmore, the store is one of the only commercial businesses and the primary central meeting place in town. The Elmore Store is a beloved and vital part of the community, housing the Post O ce, a pizza maker, two residential rental units, and providing a variety of goods and services to residents and travelers alike. In recent years it has also hosted numerous successful community and music events which have contributed tremendously to our rural town.

For more details about this opportunity, please visit: elmorecommunitytrust.org/ operator

If this sounds like a good t for you, visit vermontcf.org/careers for complete job description and instructions for applying.

Litigation Legal Assistant

Gravel & Shea PC, a law firm in downtown Burlington, Vermont is looking for a legal assistant for our litigation practice group. The ideal candidate will have experience working as a legal assistant, extensive knowledge of Microsoft Office programs, and experience with editing and formatting documents, experience with Juris software a plus. In addition, this position requires a strong work ethic, eagerness to learn and acquire new skills, and excellent typing skills. Communication skills are a must, as Gravel & Shea legal assistants work as a team with paralegals, lawyers and other legal assistants. Minimum qualifications include an Associate’s degree or a minimum of three years of experience as a legal assistant.

We offer a competitive salary and benefits package including health insurance, 401(k) and Profit Sharing. Please e-mail cover letter, résumé and references to: fmiller@gravelshea.com

Gravel & Shea PC is an Equal Opportunity Employer www.gravelshea.com

Become a Direct Support Professional ($19-$20 per hour) at an award-winning agency serving Vermonters with intellectual disabilities and make a career making a difference. Apply today at ccs-vt.org/current-openings/.

OFFICE CLERK

Downs Rachlin Martin PLLC – one of Northern New England’s largest law firms – has an opportunity for the ideal candidate to join our team in the position of temporary office clerk in our Burlington, Vermont office.

This six-month temporary position will provide clerical support in both our Intellectual Property and Business Law Groups. Qualified candidates will possess a knowledge of Microsoft Office 10, be able to learn new software quickly, work collaboratively with Legal Administrative Assistants, Paralegals and Attorneys and have a minimum of three years clerical (or comparable) experience. The ideal candidate will be organized, detail oriented with a professional demeanor and excellent communication skills. While we are primarily seeking candidates that possess these qualifications, we are committed to providing the training necessary for the right candidate with professional services experience to be a successful addition to our team.

If you are a proven professional with these skills, we would like to hear from you.

Details and to apply: drm.com/careers/

Right People. Right Business. RIGHT JOB FOR YOU!

Rhino is hiring like crazy to meet the summer demand for all our delicious products and we need you to join us! If you are hired in an hourly role for our Production, Distribution, Maintenance and Sanitation Teams, Rhino will pay YOU $2,000 on your 6-month anniversary!

Check out our website for all our job listings, which include:

Production 3rd shift, $18.50/hr.

Sanitation 2nd shift, $18/hr.

Maintenance Techs 1st & 3rd shifts, $20-$35/hr DOE

Earn some “Dough” at Rhino Foods!

Please see more on these openings on our career page at rhinofoods.com/about-rhino-foods/jobs-and-careers

*Rhino Foods does run sex offender checks on all employees

Guest Service Associate

The Award-Winning Hampton

Inn in Saint Albans is seeking a guest service associate to join our exceptional team. This position requires attention to detail and computer literacy, as well as excellent communication and problem-solving skills. Previous hotel front desk experience preferred, but not required. This is a full-time position that includes the following benefits:

• Health/Dental/Vision

• Travel Discounts

• Use of On-site Facilities

• Complimentary Parking

Contact us for additional employment opportunities. Please forward a resume and letter of interest to maureen.brown@hilton.com

Join a growing team at an innovative, nationally-recognized organization charged with creating affordable housing, building community, preserving historic assets, and conserving our lands.

Housing Stewardship Coordinator

Evaluate, monitor, and support the long-term sustainability of housing developments across the state. Bring your excellent analytical, communication, and problem-solving skills and assist the network of non-profit organizations creating housing for Vermonters and revitalizing our communities.

Clean Water Program Director

Are you knowledgeable and passionate about clean water, agriculture and land conservation? The Clean Water Program Director works with state and local partners on water quality projects in the Memphremagog Basin to achieve Vermont's clean water goals.

VHCB offers an excellent benefit package and is an Equal Opportunity Employer. Candidates from diverse backgrounds are strongly encouraged to apply. To read position descriptions and apply, visit vhcb.org/about-us/jobs. Positions will remain open until filled.

Customer Service Representative

For details and to apply: bit.ly/3HwzIS7

The Vermont Farm Show, Inc., invites interested parties to respond to its request for proposals for a Farm Show Manager. The Vermont Farm Show, Inc., a notfor-profit 501(c)(5) agricultural organization incorporated in the state of Vermont, is known for its signature event, the Vermont Farm Show, which provides agricultural organizations and agriculturalists of all kinds the opportunity to gather, conduct meetings, visit vendors, and promote the agricultural interests of the state. The Farm Show Manager is responsible for the overall planning, production & closeout of Farm Show. For more information and to apply, visit vtfarmshow.com

Planning and Zoning Director

The Town of Waterbury seeks to hire a Planning & Zoning Director. The successful candidate will be responsible for the leadership and management of the Planning and Zoning Department and is a critical part of the Town leadership team. The primary role of the Director is to manage and implement community programs related to municipal comprehensive planning, economic development, land development including zoning and subdivision, transportation planning, housing, land conservation, and historic preservation.

The Director oversees the administration and enforcement of the Town of Waterbury’s zoning and subdivision bylaws.  Experience with floodplain management and a demonstrated ability to review and write zoning by-laws is desired. This is a full-time, exempt position.  The anticipated starting salary is between $70,000 and $80,000 with a comprehensive benefit package.

For compete job description: waterburyvt.com/departments/ finance. Send resume & cover letter by Monday, February 27th to Thomas Leitz, Municipal Manager: tleitz@waterburyvt.com

Waterbury is an Equal Opportunity Employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, disability status, protected veteran status or any other characteristic protected by law.

Senior Care Manager/ Community Liaison

Established non-medical Homecare company is seeking a proven leader to support continued growth in the region. Ideal candidate will be experienced in recruiting and team building as well as building relationships with referral sources and clients. Must possess excellent communication and customer service skills along with a desire to improve the life of our Seniors. BS or equivalent required and 3-5 years experience in homecare or related field preferred. Full-time position with benefits. Salary $4570k depending upon experience. Email resume to: homecarepa12@gmail.com

VERMONT FARM SHOW MANAGER

General Assembly

Human Resources Assistant

The Legislative support offices are currently hiring. The nonpartisan offices are an interesting, challenging, and exciting place to work. You will be part of a highly professional and collegial team that is proud of, and enthusiastic about, the mission of the state legislature.

To apply, please go to 'Career Opportunities' at legislature.vermont.gov.

Join Our Auto Auction Team

We want you to work with us at our bustling auto auction in Williston!

OPEN POSITIONS:

• Friday & Saturday Auto Auction Staff: Want to make a quick buck in your free time? We’re looking for multiple part-time auction day staff. Our needs range from computer savvy auction clerks to car enthusiast auction assistants - a huge plus if you can drive stick! Free coffee & snacks!

Hours average 7AM-1PM at a competitive flat rate.

Thomas Hirchak Company is an at will employer. See details at: THCAuction.com

WANT TO APPLY?

Email Us: Eric@THCAuction.com or drop by our auto office today at 298 James Brown Dr., Williston 802-878-9200 or 800-474-6132

Communication & Volunteer Coordinator

Our free health clinic seeks motivated self-starter to spearhead ODC communications and volunteer program @ 20 hours/week. Responsibilities include internal and external communications including website, social media and newsletter management; ability to work with volunteers, volunteer outreach and onboarding, and coordination of special events. Excellent communication, computer and organization skills required. Bachelor’s degree or equivalent experience and Spanish language skills desired. The ODC offers competitive pay and great work environment.

Please submit resume, cover letter & 3 references by 2/28/23 to ODC’s Executive Director, Heidi Sulis: hsulis@opendoormidd.org www.opendoormidd.org

FULL-TIME BAKER

We’re looking for an individual who enjoys work that exercises both body and mind and is interested in pursuing the craft of baking at our bakery in Middlesex. Professional food experience is required.

We are well-known for our traditional breads and pastries. We are passionate about responsibly sourcing the best ingredients and creating a workplace culture that enables you to be the best baker you can be.

We offer great pay and a benefits package that is virtually unheard of in the food business.

If you are interested, please contact Sabrina Ripley: sabrina@redhenbaking.com

Camp Counselor

The Montshire Museum of Science seeks individuals who are passionate about science and science education to serve as a Camp Counselor. The Montshire Museum of Science is renowned throughout the region for its summer camp experience and is seeking our next cohort of Camp Counselors to join our Education team and help develop and lead camp programs with other camp staff. We will be offering camps for campers in 3 age groups, from grades 1-6. Employment is full-time / seasonal from mid-June through mid-August. This opportunity is open to new high school graduates (ages 18+), college students, and other educators.

Visit montshire.org/about/joinour-team/seasonal-opportunities for application instructions and complete job description.

Assistant Director of Philanthropic Engagement, UVM Cancer Center

Support our mission to reduce the burden of cancer in Vermont, northeastern New York, and across northern New England.

Working in collaboration with the Cancer Center’s Executive Director of Philanthropy, the Assistant Director of Philanthropic Engagement will develop and implement donor-centered programs that increase support for the Cancer Center by engaging patients, family, donors, and community members. They will also work to identify and cultivate individual donors at the leadership annual giving level. We are looking for candidates who have a deep desire and ability to communicate with others, exceptional people skills, and excellent analytical skills. Experience in community engagement and fundraising is preferred.

Executive Assistant to the President & CEO and Coordinator of Executive Operations

We’re seeking a high-performing, detail-oriented, and self-motivated professional to serve as the Executive Assistant to the President & CEO and Coordinator of Executive Operations. In support of the Foundation’s mission, this individual will provide a diverse range of coordination and administrative support to advance the objectives of the President & CEO and the Executive Operations unit.

This position requires outstanding organizational, problem-solving, and decision-making skills with the ability to prioritize and manage multiple ongoing tasks. The ideal candidate will have a demonstrated ability to foster positive relationships with colleagues, and a clear understanding of what it means to support organizational leaders to help them achieve institutional objectives.

Please visit our website for complete position descriptions and application instructions: UVMFoundation.org/Careers

ABOUT THE UVM FOUNDATION: The mission of the UVM Foundation is to secure and manage private support for the benefit of the University of Vermont. Our Vision is to foster relationships with alumni and donors that maximize their personal and philanthropic investment in the University, toward the realization of the University's aspiration to remain among the nation's premier small research institutions. The UVM Foundation is committed to diversity and building an inclusive environment for people of all backgrounds and ages. We especially encourage members of traditionally underrepresented communities to apply, including women, people of color, LGBTQ people, and people with disabilities. The UVM Foundation has established a hybrid work policy that allows for a combination of on- and off-site work.

Assistant Dean of Community Life

Goddard College seeks an Assistant Dean of Community Life to oversee and provide strategic direction for Community Life and Student Services. This position provides a unique and exciting opportunity to rethink how learning communities are built both on campus and in virtual spaces and develop and implement systems to support student success. The Assistant Dean for Community Life works closely with the Academic Affairs team and faculty to support the learning objectives of our students and leads the Community Life team in providing services to students in our low residency model. The Assistant Dean for Community Life also serves as the college’s Title IX officer and works to educate and support the students, faculty, and staff regarding their rights and responsibilities under Title IX. This position is based on our beautiful main campus in Plainfield, VT-a fi een minute drive from Montpelier, a one hour drive from Burlington, a 2.5 hour drive from Montreal, Quebec, 3 hours from Boston, MA, and 5 hours from Quebec or New York cities.

Key qualifications include a master’s degree in counseling, education, higher education administration, legal or paralegal studies, conflict management, student affairs, sociology, or a related field. Ability to engage with those of other cultures and backgrounds and commitment to the principles of social justice which are at the center of Goddard’s pedagogy and curriculum are required for this position.

To review the position description and apply for the position, please go to the college website: goddard.edu/about-goddard/ employment-opportunities/

Education & Outreach Stewards

Seeking enthusiastic stewards to assist with watershedrelated education & outreach activities around the Lake Champlain basin and at ECHO. More information: neiwpcc. org/about-us/careers/ To apply: send a cover letter & resume to jobs@neiwpcc.org

OFFICE MANAGER / PARALEGAL CANNABIS LAW FIRM

Vermont’s premiere cannabis law firm is seeking an office manager / paralegal to support our 3 attorney firm.  Prior law firm experience preferred, but not required. We will train the right person. This is an in-person position at our office in Williston. Please reply with resume and cover-letter: andrew@ vermontcannabissolutions. com

Vice President of Communications Vice President of Business Development

www.CommunityHeartandSoul.org

Now that you know who we are, what we do, and our passion for small cities and towns across America, read on if this stirs you. Founded by Lyman Orton, who built his family’s business, The Vermont Country Store, into an enduring retail organization, Community Heart and Soul is a resident-driven process that engages the entire population of a town in identifying what they love most about their community, what future they want for it, and how to achieve it. Practiced in over 100 towns across America, we are expanding our program to include hundreds of new communities.

If you are a strong leader with business experience, an entrepreneurial hands-on approach, and have a passion to expand Community Heart and Soul across America, write to our President, Mark Sherman, with your background and what you can do to bring Heart & Soul to vastly more small cities and towns. Needless to say, you must be a convincing public speaker, writer, effective manager, and have the desire and ability to evangelize Community Heart & Soul effectively to small cities and towns so they will want to invest in it for their own benefit.

Both VP positions will be based at our office in Shelburne, Vermont. To learn more about each position and submit your cover letter and resume, visit communityheartandsoul.org/careers/

Lane Press prints, binds, and mails high-quality magazines for publishers nationwide. We’re widely known for our cra smanship, and we’re looking for dedicated, collaborative, and friendly employees to join our team. Apply today!

WE HAVE IMMEDIATE NEEDS FOR:

Postal Liaison

Work with our publishing customers to get their magazines delivered across the country using the most efficient and cost-effective methods. Collaborate with our mail data specialists. Requires working knowledge of postal so ware and regulations, and USPS online tools.

Pay rate: Commensurate with experience

General Maintenance Technician, 3rd Shi

Maintain, troubleshoot, and repair controls, mechanical and electrical aspects of manufacturing equipment, and facility systems. Basic plumbing and carpentry skills desired.

Shi : 11pm-7am

Pay rate: Commensurate with experience

Bindery Production Crew, 1st & 3rd Shi s Available

Work on our bindery production line, performing tasks to complete magazine binding and prepare finished magazines for shipping. This is a fun, fast-paced, and active role – your shi will go by quickly!

Shi s: 7am-3pm (Mon-Fri), 11pm-7am (Sun-Thr)

Pay rate: $18-$19.80/hour

Pressroom Trainees, 3rd Shi

Learn to perform technical, manual, and machine tasks in our pressroom. Assist in the setup, maintenance, and operation of web presses, as well as stacker and roll-stand units.

Shi : 11pm-7am (Sun-Thr)

Pay rate: $19.80/hour

Lane offers competitive wages and comprehensive benefits to all full-time employees. Learn more & apply: careers.lanepress.com.

Lane Press is an Equal Opportunity Employer.

“Seven Days sales rep Michelle Brown is amazing! She’s extremely responsive, and I always feel so taken care of. I can only imagine how many job connections she has facilitated for local companies in the 20 years she has been doing this.”

CAROLYN ZELLER Intervale Center, Burlington

Assistant Town Clerk & Treasurer

The Town of Hinesburg is seeking an individual to serve as the Assistant Town Clerk and Treasurer. This position provides administrative, technical and clerical support to the Town Clerk & Treasurer. This position is responsible for maintaining town records, processing and recording documents, issuing licenses, assisting with elections, property tax administration and water & sewer billing and administration. Ideal candidates will be self-motivated, demonstrate a high degree of trustworthiness, attention to detail, customer service skills and the ability to safeguard confidential information.

This is a full-time position with a starting pay rate of $21.50 - $23.50 depending upon qualifications. Benefits include: health, dental and disability insurance; paid time off; pension plan; and 13 paid holidays.

To apply, submit a cover letter & resume to Todd Odit, Town Manager: todit@hinesburg.org

A job description is located under “employment” at hinesburg.org. Applications will be accepted through February 17, 2023.

The Town of Hinesburg is an affirmative action/equal opportunity employer and is committed to diversity, equity and inclusion in hiring to create a diverse workforce within the community.

History Teacher

Short-term Substitute

Rock Point School

seeks a short-term high school History substitute, March 6April 13. As a small, supportive boarding and day school, we are seeking someone who can:

• Teach 9-12 grade history

• Connect with students and accommodate different learning styles

• Collaborate w/teaching team

Join our vibrant and welcoming school on Lake Champlain in Burlington!

bit.ly/RPShistorySub

PRODUCT DESIGNER

Turtle Fur is seeking a well-organized, creative, and enthusiastic designer to join our team. This individual is responsible for assisting the team with the technical aspects of designing and development of products within existing and future product lines, as well as creating original designs. This role will be collaborating in all phases of the design process from initial concepts to production. This person will have a creative approach, experience in and knowledge of design methodology, construction, and manufacturing.

This role is hybrid remote based out of our Morrisville office. Apply online: bit.ly/TurtleFurDesigner

TOWN MANAGER

The Town Manager is appointed by and reports to the five-member Town Selectboard. The Town Manager is the government’s Chief Executive Officer and appoints and oversees the administrative and operating staff. The Town Manager’s responsibilities include:

• Supervising the administration of the Town of Brandon’s affairs;

• To see that the ordinances of the Town and the laws of the state are enforced;

• To develop, maintain and improve key stakeholder relationships within and outside the community;

• To sign all contracts, deeds, or leases that the Selectboard may authorize and make recommendations to the Selectboard concerning affairs of the Town as they seem appropriate and desirable;

• To keep the Selectboard advised of the financial conditions and current and future needs of the Town;

• To prepare and submit to the Selectboard the annual budget estimate;

• To prepare and submit to the Selectboard reports as required by that body

• Starting salary for the position is $80,000 to $100,000 depending upon qualifications and experience.

If you are interested in applying for this position, please send a resume and letter of interest to: Select Board Vice Chair, Tracy Wyman, Town Office 49 Center Street Brandon, VT 05733

DEADLINE FOR SUBMISSIONS IS: MONDAY, FEBRUARY 13, 2023

ZONING DIVISION ADMINISTRATOR

This position is responsible for providing administrative and clerical support to the Permitting & Inspections Department. In addition, this person in this role is responsible for providing data input and reporting on a variety of permit system information.

Our ideal candidate will hold an Associate’s Degree and 5 years of experience in customer service and/or office management/administration capacity is required. Additional experience may be substituted for a degree requirement on a two-for-one year basis.

We are looking for someone who is able to thrive in a complex, detail-oriented office environment that features many repetitive tasks and deadlines.

It is vital for the person is this role to be customer service oriented and be professional and respectful in their interactions with co-workers, members of the public, and elected officials, in person, by telephone and through email.

The City of Burlington is an equal opportunity employer. We encourage applicants who can contribute to our growing diversity. We offer a comprehensive benefits package and offer an hourly rate ranging between $24.28 - $27.05.

To learn more about the requirements for this position and to apply online: bit.ly/BTVzoningAdmin

Community Arts Openings

Come work in a former convent and Catholic school - turned community arts hub in Montpelier! Support two of Montpelier's legacy arts organizations and local working artists.

FACILITIES COORDINATOR

CAL's Facilities Coordinator is primarily responsible for the care and maintenance of the 46 Barre Street building and grounds. They will be the resident “expert” of the property and its needs. They ensure that routine maintenance and special projects are completed on schedule and within budget.

BOOKKEEPER

CAL's Bookkeeper is primarily responsible for the care and maintenance of CAL’s financial activity and records. They ensure that routine transactions and reports are completed accurately and presented on time. They will act as support for other financial activities like 990 tax prep and business projections. This position includes some office admin support, but is primarily focused on bookkeeping.

These positions are budgeted for 10 hours per week at $18 – $20 per hour and report to CAL’s Executive Director. Positions are open until filled. Find out more and apply: cal-vt.org/jobs/

The Center for Arts and Learning is a Vermont-registered nonprofit and is an equal opportunity employer. We do not discriminate on the basis of sex, race, gender or other protected class. We welcome all interested applicants.

THE TOWN OF BRANDON IS LOOKING FOR A TOWN MANAGER!

MEMBERSHIP & ADMINISTRATIVE COORDINATOR

Join the team at Vermont League of Cities and Towns and together we will serve and strengthen local government! VLCT seeks a professional, organized, efficient, and computer-savvy Membership and Administrative Coordinator.  One of your primary first tasks will be to help us launch our new association management system to improve our membership services and experience. Our members – officials with towns and cities and partner organizations - need your help accessing VLCT services using a new web-portal.  Your work will include supporting membership services, managing the front end of the association management system, and supporting VLCT’s affiliate group relationships. In addition, our executive team and Board needs your administrative support to keep it and the organization humming along. There’s plenty of room to grow in our 50+ person non-profit!

Our successful candidate will have top notch customer service and organizational skills, which are critical for this position. They will be a motivated self-starter, who takes direction well, but can creatively problem solve when direction is not provided.  They will be an ultra-efficient organizer and implementer who can complete projects independently, as well as being part of a team. They will report to the Director of Operations. They will enjoy a hybrid, Monday-Friday schedule that allows up to two days of telework a week.

Requirements:

• College course work or other certificate and 5+ years’ experience as an executive level assistant is required.

• Experience and proficiency working with a customer relationship management (CRM) or association management system (AMS) or similar system, and/or client/ customer database management is preferred.

• Proficiency in Windows-based environment with Microsoft Office Suite products is required.

• A four-year college degree and experience working in member, nonprofit, or municipal organization is preferred.

• Possession and maintenance of a valid driver’s license in good standing is required.

VLCT offers an excellent total compensation package including: 100% employer-paid health insurance premium, participation in Vermont’s municipal retirement system, 13 paid holidays, paid vacation and sick time, a convenient downtown Montpelier location, free parking, a trusted reputation, and great colleagues!

To apply, please visit vlct.org/careers. You will be asked to submit your resume, cover letter and three professional references along with your online application. Salary range is commensurate with experience. Application deadline is Monday, February 13. Resumes will be reviewed as they are received. Position open until filled. E.O.E.

Custodians

Saint Michael's College is seeking applications from dependable and efficient workers to fill custodial positions.

THE SHIFT IS MONDAY – FRIDAY, 5:00 AM - 1:30 PM

Successful candidates will join a team that cleans College buildings, including dormitories, restrooms, offices, and classrooms. Training will be provided for the right candidate. Benefits include health, dental, vision, employer-paid life and disability insurance, voluntary life, critical illness and accident insurance options, parental leave, flexible spending accounts (healthcare and dependent care), 401(k), generous paid time off, paid holidays, employee and dependent tuition benefits, employee and family assistance program, well-being programs and opportunities, discounted gym membership, paid volunteer time, use of the athletic facilities and the library, and countless opportunities to attend presentations, lectures, and other campus activities.

For a complete job description, benefits information, and to apply online, please visit: https://bit.ly/SMCFTCMF

THE SHIFT IS SUNDAY 6:30AM-2:30PM + MONDAY-THURSDAY 5:00AM-1:30PM.

Successful candidates will join a team which cleans College buildings including dormitories, restrooms, offices, and classrooms. Training will be provided for the right candidate. Benefits include health, dental, vision, employer-paid life and disability insurance, voluntary life, critical illness and accident insurance options, parental leave, flexible spending accounts (healthcare and dependent care), 401(k), generous paid time off, paid holidays, employee and dependent tuition benefits, employee and family assistance program, well-being programs and opportunities, discounted gym membership, paid volunteer time, use of the athletic facilities and the library, and countless opportunities to attend presentations, lectures, and other campus activities.

For a complete job description, benefits information, and to apply online, please visit: https://bit.ly/SMCS-TC

Employment Case Manager

The Jump On Board for Success (JOBS) case manager position is responsible for providing flexible and participant-centered case management services for teens and young adults. The case manager helps program participants develop the skills needed to live independently while focusing on employment and education goals. The position is ideal for someone with strong communication skills, knowledge of adolescent development, and an understanding of Vermont’s education, vocational training, and human services systems. Applicants must have a bachelor’s degree, and preference will be given to those with experience working with individuals with emotional or behavioral disabilities.

LRC is a team-oriented, non-profit organization based in Hyde Park. Consider joining the LRC team if you’re interested in a workplace that promotes employee well-being and is known for its inclusive and collaborative work environment. The hourly pay rate is between $21.33 and $22.44. A uniquely generous benefits policy provides $12,000 annually for each employee to pay for the benefits they need, such as: medical, dental, vision, and supplemental insurance, and retirement. Additional benefits include 27 paid days off and 17 paid holidays, pre-tax dependent care deductions, paid family medical leave, an annual training stipend, and life insurance.

To be considered for this position, applicants are asked to send a cover letter highlighting their relevant skills and experiences, and a resume, to: info@lrcvt.org

Applications will be accepted until position is filled. LRC is an E.O.E.

Corporate Law Legal Assistant

We are seeking a legal assistant for our corporate practice group. The legal assistant will serve an integral role on a collegial team that works on business formation and governance, business acquisitions, and a variety of other business transactions and legal matters. Great communication skills are a must, as Gravel & Shea legal assistants work as a team with paralegals, lawyers, and other legal assistants, and directly interface with clients.

The ideal candidate will have the following experience:

· Prior work as a legal assistant

· Extensive knowledge of Microsoft Office programs

· Experience with editing and formatting documents

· Strong work ethic

· Eagerness to learn and acquire new skills

· Excellent typing skills

Experience with Juris software is also a plus. Minimum qualifications include an Associate’s degree or three years or more of experience as a legal assistant.

We offer a competitive salary and benefits package including health insurance, 401(k), paid parental leave, and profit sharing. Interested applicants should apply online at: gravelshea.com/careers.

ACCOUNTING SPECIALIST/BOOKKEEPER

KORE Solutions, a division of KORE Power and a leader in energy solutions, is growing! We have an immediate opening for an experienced Accounting Specialist/Bookkeeper at our Waterbury facility to join the finance department. Responsibilities include accounts payable, accounts receivable, preparing journal entries, analysis, account reconciliation, and assisting with audits & the monthly closing process. Our primary goal is to be a sustainable business that is helping to reduce the carbon footprint and therefore contributing to a better world for future generations to inherit. But equally important is our goal of creating a collaborative and progressive work environment - one where employees are dedicated to making the company successful and can do so without sacrificing family relationships or personal well-being.

At KORE, we offer our employees competitive wages and outstanding benefits in a casual but professional work environment. We are a growing company with a dedicated team supporting one another based on open communication and collaboration.

To apply, please send a cover letter and resume to koresolutionsjobs@korepower.com

apply

part

PCC is hiring for multiple positions: Business Analyst, eRx Application Specialist, Client Advocate, & two System Administrators

For more details regarding each position: pcc.com/careers/.

We offer unique benefits such as AAA, cellphone, internet, 401(k), low-cost health insurance premiums, and more.

Please email a cover letter & resume to jobs@pcc.com with specific job title in the subject line.

WHERE YOU AND YOUR WORK MATTER

When you work for the State of Vermont, you and your work matter. A career with the State puts you on a rich and rewarding professional path. You’ll find jobs in dozens of fields – not to mention an outstanding total compensation package.

CORRECTIONS PROGRAM SERVICES CHIEF CLINICAL SPECIALIST WATERBURY

This position has the primary responsibility for the implementation of cognitive behavioral and life skill interventions. Services are both recommended and required for individuals under the supervision and/or incarcerated populations, particularly for those with convictions of felony interpersonal violence. This role acts as a peer member of a multi-disciplinary central team and is responsible for program development in both the Probation and Parole field offices and four Correctional Facilities. For more information, contact Kim Bushey at kim.bushey@vermont.gov. Department: Corrections. Location: Waterbury. Status: Full Time. Job Id #46087. Application Deadline: February 12, 2023.

COMMUNITY

BANKERS

BUILDERS | MAKERS | DOERS

Building Bright Futures PARTNERSHIP COORDINATOR

ABOUT THE POSITION

The Partnership Coordinator will focus on systems improvement and policy development utilizing BBF’s data, research, and network of regional, state, public and private stakeholders. They will support the planning, convening, and communication at all levels of the 450+ person BBF Network. The Partnership Coordinator will bring organization and a creative use of technology and virtual convening tools to support BBF’s ability to monitor and respond to emerging statewide needs using data and evidence to inform decision-making.

Key responsibilities will be to:

• Support the development and implementation of a functional, manageable tech system that promotes communication and utilization across the BBF Network

• Developing communications that increase awareness of BBF’s mission, impact, and key issues

• Support leadership in the planning, implementation, and reporting for the Preschool Development Grant.

• The Partnership Coordinator position is full-time with a competitive salary and flexible work schedule. This is a grantfunded limited service position through 12/31/25.

Compensation and Benefits:

• Salary range of $40,000-$43,500 annually. Benefits include generous paid time off, healthcare insurance, dental insurance, and retirement.

Desired Expertise:

• Excellent verbal and written communication skills

There is no better time to join our Team! Northfield Savings Bank, founded in 1867, is the largest banking institution headquartered in Vermont. We are committed to providing a welcoming work environment for all. Are you looking to start or continue a career in the finance industry? Consider joining our team as a Community Banker! To see all our available positions, please visit www.NSBVT. com/careers/open-positions.

JOB RESPONSIBILITIES & REQUIREMENTS

This frontline position is crucial in creating a positive, welcoming and inclusive experience for NSB customers. The successful candidate will have exceptional customer service and communication skills.

The Community Banker will be responsible for receiving and processing customers’ financial transactions as well as opening and maintaining customer accounts and services. We are looking for someone who can develop and maintain relationships with our valued customers, protect bank and customer information, and uphold customer confidentiality. A high school diploma, general education degree (GED), or equivalent is required.

If you have customer service, previous cash handling, or banking experience we encourage you to apply!

OPPORTUNITY FOR GROWTH

NSB has training opportunities to engage employees and assist with professional development within our company. The average years of service for an NSB employee is 9! If you’re looking for a career in an environment that promotes growth, join our team!

WHAT NSB CAN OFFER YOU

Competitive compensation based on experience. Well-rounded benefits package. Profit-Sharing opportunity. Excellent 401(k) matching retirement program. Commitment to professional development. Opportunities to volunteer and support our communities. Work-Life balance! We understand the importance of having evenings and weekends with our friends, families, and the communities we serve!

Please send an NSB Application & your resume in confidence to: Careers@nsbvt.com or Northfield Savings Bank | Human Resources PO Box 7180, Barre, VT 05641 Equal Opportunity Employer/Member FDIC

• Experience with technology that supports collaborative and virtual work, including Wordpress, Facebook, Constant Contact, Google Suite, Microsoft Office Suite, Slack, and Zoom

• Experience communicating to/with diverse stakeholders

• Bachelor’s degree in communications, information technology, business, community development, public policy, or a related field preferred (or 5 years’ equivalent experience)

• Candidates should be very flexible and self-motivated, and be able to work independently, take initiative, and exercise selfdirected problem-solving.

Candidates are encouraged to consult the Building Bright Futures website to acquaint themselves with our organization, please also see the full job description at buildingbrightfutures.org

P ROJECT MANAGER

VLJP seeks a full time Project Manager to expand and grow our statewide network and model for multi-lingual, multicultural, public health messaging on topics aff ecting Vermonters who speak languages other than English. Video production of messages on public and mental health topics, content distribution, community network development, administrative and data collection tasks. Understanding and knowledge of refugee and immigrant community desirable.

Pay Range: 22-24 $/hour based on experience + great benefits. vtlanguagejustice.org/comework-for-us for more detailed job description.

Join Our Team!

Office Manager

Senator Peter Welch

Senator Peter Welch seeks a highly-motivated, detailoriented individual to serve as Office Manager for his Vermont office. This position manages the administrative functions of the office, administrative staff, and is responsible for compliance with Senate policies and procedures.

Applicants should be able to work in a fast-paced environment, possess strong written and oral communication skills, and work effectively on a collaborative team. Apply online: bit.ly/ PeterWelchOfficeMgr

This office is an equal opportunity employer & does not discriminate on the basis of race, sex, color, age, religion, national origin, sexual orientation, gender identity, or disability.

One of Vermont’s Best Places to Work in 2022, Champlain Housing Trust is a socially responsible employer offering an inclusive, friendly work environment and competitive pay commensurate with experience. Our excellent benefit package includes a generous health insurance plan, three weeks of paid vacation, 14 paid holidays, sick leave, 403(b) retirement plan with employer contribution after one year, disability and life insurance and more.

We are currently looking for talented people to fill the following roles:

PROPERTY MANAGER

MAINTENANCE TECHNICIAN

ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR OF LENDING

CUSTODIAN

ADMINISTRATIVE ASSISTANT/FRONT DESK

For additional details regarding these positions and to apply, please visit our career page: getahome.org/about/careers

Equal Opportunity Employer - CHT is committed to a diverse workplace and highly encourages women, persons with disabilities, Section 3 low income residents, and people from diverse racial, ethnic and cultural backgrounds to apply.

WE ARE HIRING! CYCLE WISE

CUSTOMER SERVICE with Parts/Accessory experience

We are a customer service oriented powersport dealership with Ducati, Triumph, Suzuki, Zero and CFMOTO. We are seeking an outgoing, enthusiastic person for our growing Powersports Parts Department. Applicant must have a love for powersports in all forms. This position requires the ability to multi task, provide excellent customer service and communicate effectively with customers and staff members.

We are deeply passionate about our customers, their motorcycles and the community in which they ride. This position requires constant learning and training to develop the skills and knowledge needed to adequately assist our clients with their needs. A thirst for knowledge and willingness to apply what you learn is crucial to building your client base within the dealership family.

SALES SPECIALIST

Are you Passionate about Powersports? If you have previous sales experience & enjoy helping people, let’s talk!

Cyclewise / Ducati / Triumph Vermont is Vermont’s fastest-growing Premium Powersports dealership. We are looking for an enthusiastic person with strong communication skills to join our sales team. This full-time, five-day work week Sales Specialist position consists of answering phone calls, greeting customers, and helping them through the sales process. Additional responsibilities include product presentations and demo rides. You will work with the sales manager to help provide a smooth finance process and exceptional buying experience.

Prior sales experience is preferred but we will train the right person. We offer a comprehensive benefits package.

Community Connections Coordinator

The Town of Essex Community Justice Center (ECJC) is recruiting for a full time Community Connections Coordinator.

The person in this position works with individuals who have been incarcerated and are returning to their community, or who are living in the community and are at risk of re-offending or re-incarceration. The primary responsibilities of this position include:

• Providing support to people reentering their communities from incarceration

• Co-coordination & staffing of the Circles of Support & Accountability Program (CoSA) in Chittenden County

• Recruiting, training, and supporting volunteers for the CoSA program

• Possible involvement in community conflict assistance as well as outreach to victims of crime

The Community Connections Coordinator position requires a flexible schedule allowing for some evening/weekend hours. Training, education, course work and/or lived experience in the areas of substance abuse, mental health, domestic and sexual violence, trauma, poverty, crime, and other challenges is desirable as well as knowledge of local resources. The ideal candidate will be passionate about social/racial/economic justice and restorative approaches to crime and conflict. Strong computer, data tracking, communication, and phone skills are desired.

The Essex Community Justice Center is committed to equity, and inclusion, recognizing and respecting that diverse perspectives and experiences are valuable to our team and essential to our public service. BIPOC, individuals with disabilities, LGBTQ+ applicants, and people from other underrepresented groups, are encouraged to apply. Applicants with a criminal record need to be at least one year past the completion of their supervision/ sentence in order to be considered.

The minimum starting salary for this position will be $22 per hour. This position is open until filled and applications can be submitted online at: essexvt.bamboohr.com/careers. An application will not be considered unless it is accompanied by a cover letter and three references.

Full job description: docs.google.com/document/d/1e4E-VWU7rRB5jzjM37gAwKQALddqq5eo/edit

The Town of Essex is an equal opportunity employer.

Boat Launch Stewards

Vermont & New York

Spend summer 2023 by the water! Seeking multiple stewards to engage boaters, inspect watercraft, and deliver informational messages about invasive species on Lake Champlain. More information: neiwpcc. org/about-us/careers/ To apply: send a cover letter & resume to jobs@neiwpcc.org

Carpenters Wanted! Needed Immediately!

Finish Carpenters, Carpenters and Carpenters Helpers. Good Pay, Full Time and Long Term! Chittenden County. Call Mike at 802-343-0089

MILTON TOWN SCHOOL DISTRICT is seeking highly qualified candidates to fill the following support sta openings.

SCHOOL BOARD SECRETARY

Milton Town School District seeks a dynamic, detail-oriented, and mindful School Board Secretary. We are looking for a qualified candidate to prepare for the publication of the MTSD Board of Trustee meeting agendas, packets, and accurate minutes of regular and special School Board meetings. A candidate with experience with Microsoft Excel and Google Suite and website tool navigation familiarity. The position requires attending evening meetings scheduled twice a month, not including special meetings, which usually equate to 4-6 additional annual meetings. The position hours range from 25 - 40 hours per month (6-10 hours per week). Wages depend on experience.

BUILDING MAINTENANCE

Milton Town School District seeks a qualified candidate to maintain all district buildings, Equipment, and grounds in a safe, clean, e cient, and healthy manner. Recognizes that the quality of the maintenance program is the first measure the public applies to the school. Carries out maintenance functions according to job orders, including Carpentry, roof repair, window repair, and other similar construction functions. Performs Carpentry on furniture, fixtures, doors, existing structures, new construction, and other duties. This is a full-time, year-round position, 8hrs a day, 5 days a week. Min. The hourly rate with no experience or degree is $15.65

With an associate's degree and no experience, the rate will be $16.15. The hourly rate would be more depending on experience and degrees. For a copy of the job description, contact HR by email.

Submit all application materials that include your cover letter, resume, and three letters of reference electronically via SchoolSpring.com for teaching positions; all support sta positions may submit via Schoolspring.com or mail/fax to the address below.

Milton Town School District, Terry Mazza, HR Director 12 Bradley St., Milton, VT 05468

802-893-5304 FAX: 802-893-3020

Email: tmazza@mymtsd-vt.org

RAPID REHOUSING SPECIALIST

Are you interested in a job that helps your community and makes a difference in people’s lives every day? Consider joining Burlington Housing Authority (BHA) in Burlington, VT. We’re seeking candidates to continue BHA’s success in promoting innovative solutions that address housing instability challenges facing our diverse population of low-income families and individuals.

Currently, we’re looking for a full time (40 hours per week) Rapid Rehousing Specialist in our Housing Retention and Services department. This position provides assistance to community members who are without housing and have barriers to locating and securing housing in the community. This grant funded position works closely with our Rental Assistance department and Chittenden County Coordinated Entry and is a part of a skilled team that focuses on assessment, intervention, and service coordination of at-risk households.

Bachelor’s degree in Human Services or related field and three years of experience working with home-based service provision to diverse populations is required. The ideal candidate should be highly organized with strong written and verbal communication skills and positively contribute to a collaborative team. A valid driver’s license and reliable transportation is preferred.

BHA serves a diverse population of tenants and partners with a variety of community agencies. To most effectively carry out our vision of delivering safe and affordable housing to all, we are committed to cultivating a staff that reflects varied lived experiences, viewpoints, and educational histories. Therefore, we strongly encourage candidates from diverse racial, ethnic, and cultural backgrounds, persons with disabilities, LGBTQ individuals, and women to apply. Multilingualism is a plus!

BHA offers a competitive salary, commensurate with qualifications and experience, and a sign on bonus of $2,000!

Our robust benefit package includes premium medical insurance with a health reimbursement account, dental, vision, short and long term disability, 10% employer funded retirement plan, 457 retirement plan, accident insurance, life insurance, cancer and critical illness insurance.

We provide a generous time off policy including 12 days of paid time off and 12 days of sick time in the first year. In addition to the paid time off, BHA recognizes 13 (paid) holidays. Interested in this career opportunity? Send a cover letter and resume to: humanresources@burlingtonhousing.org

Human Resources - Burlington Housing Authority 65 Main Street, Suite 101 Burlington, VT 05401 https://burlingtonhousing.org, BHA is an Equal Opportunity Employer

At Fab-Tech, we set the industry standard for manufacturing safe and reliable corrosive fume exhaust duct systems. Our PermaShield Pipe (PSP) is recognized worldwide as the premier solution for corrosive and hazardous fume exhaust needs. We are laser focused on safety and committed to providing our customers with the best, safest, most environmentally responsible products in the industry.

We proudly employ an exceptional team of over 170 hardworking, quality-focused people right here in Colchester, VT. We greatly value our employees and understand that providing the highest quality products and services starts with people who feel welcomed, safe, happy and professionally challenged. COME JOIN OUR TEAM!

MANUFACTURING ENGINEER

As the Manufacturing Engineer, you will play a key role in the development of new equipment, processes, and implementation of those investments in our manufacturing environment. In addition to working with our product engineering team, this position collaborates closely with our manufacturing, safety, and continuous improvement teams. The goal of the manufacturing engineer will be to implement safety and efficiencies to our manufacturing process.

EHS (ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH & SAFETY) SPECIALIST

As the EHS Specialist, you will implement and coordinate environmental/safety programs to protect the safety of our employees, reduce risk and liability for the corporation, and minimize impacts to the environment. You will do this by ensuring all regulatory requirements that impact the business are met, create and facilitate employee safety trainings, perform incident investigations, generate health and safety assessment reports, and lead the safety committee. You will be a great communicator and coach to employees on safety standards and enforcing procedures. You are a positive person who has a passion for safety and people, and you adjust well in a growing, changing manufacturing environment.

TIG WELDERS (1ST & 2ND SHIFTS AVAILABLE)

Sign-on Bonus for qualified candidates!

The primary responsibilities of this position include performing GTAW and GMAW in a manner that ensures the production of our high quality line of PSP® products.

• Set up the work area, select and verify the material for production, and meet the daily welding production and quality demands of the Weld Shop.

• Weld the following in different positions and on different gauges: stainless steel and black iron. Occasionally expected to weld other materials.

• Troubleshoot the welding equipment.

• Comply with health, safety, (including OSHA), and environmental procedures, and ensure the cleanliness of the area.

• Comply with established production philosophies designed to increase production, safety and/or quality; e.g., Lean Manufacturing, 5s and TWI methodologies.

• Continue to learn & expand one’s capacity within this job by increasing knowledge and skill base.

• Perform various other assignments per Department Lead’s direction.

For more detail about each position or to apply go to fabtechinc.com and CLICK CAREERS.

WHAT WE CAN OFFER YOU! Competitive Compensation, Bonus Program, Comprehensive Health Care including Health Savings Account company contribution, 401(k) Plan with Match, Life, AD&D, Short

Engaging minds that change the world

Seeking a position with a quality employer? Consider The University of Vermont, a stimulating and diverse workplace. We offer a comprehensive benefit package including tuition remission for on-going, full-time positions.

Senior Construction Administrator - Planning Design & Construction - #S4112PO - The University of Vermont (UVM) is looking for a Senior Construction Administrator to serve as the university representative for a variety of capital facilities projects. The Sr. Construction Administrator will oversee projects that range from new buildings, renovations, and remodels to system infrastructure and site improvements. The ideal candidate will be able to coordinate university user groups, design consultants, and construction personnel to plan and execute construction projects. They will also be able to effectively develop and manage project budgets, expenditures, and financial forecasts.

Bachelor’s degree in engineering or architecture or nine years of experience working as a construction project manager for capital projects valued at $25 million or more required. Solid knowledge of commissioning phase activities, building mechanical, electrical, and plumbing systems, controls and building management systems required. Working knowledge of applicable software applications, effective organizational skills, and ability to lead and manage a team required *Online job posting contains further position and minimum qualification details.

For further information on this position and others currently available, or to apply online, please visit www.uvmjobs.com Applicants must apply for positions electronically. Paper resumes are not accepted. Open positions are updated daily. Please call 802-656-3150 or email employment@uvm.edu for technical support with the online application. The University of Vermont is an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action Employer.

fun stuff

“Hey! A ‘thank you’ would be nice!”

CALCOKU & SUDOKU (P.77) CROSSWORD (P.77)

JEN SORENSEN

HARRY BLISS

JULIANNA BRAZILL

AQUARIUS

(JAN. 20-FEB. 18)

To get the most out of upcoming opportunities for intimacy, intensify your attunement to and reverence for your emotions. Why? As quick and clever as your mind can be, sometimes it neglects to thoroughly check in with your heart. And I want your heart to be wildly available when you get ripe chances to open up and deepen your alliances. Study these words from psychologist Carl Jung: “We should not pretend to understand the world only by the intellect; we apprehend it just as much by feeling. Therefore, the judgment of the intellect is, at best, only the half of truth, and must, if it be honest, also come to an understanding of its inadequacy.”

ARIES (Mar. 21-Apr. 19): During my quest for advice that might be helpful to your love life, I plucked these words of wisdom from author Sam Kean: “Books about relationship talk about how to ‘get’ the love you need, how to ‘keep’ love, and so on. But the right question to ask is, ‘How do I become a more loving human being?’” In other words, Aries, here’s a prime way to enhance your love life: Be less focused on what others can give you and more focused on what you can give to others. Amazingly, that’s likely to bring you all the love you want.

TAURUS (Apr. 20-May 20): You have the potential to become even more skilled at the arts of kissing and cuddling and boinking than you already are. How? Here are some possibilities. 1) Explore fun experiments that will transcend your reliable old approaches to kissing and cuddling and boinking. 2) Read books to open your mind. I like Margot Anand’s The New Art of Sexual Ecstasy. 3) Ask your partner(s) to teach you everything about what turns them on. 4) Invite your subconscious mind to give you dreams at night that involve kissing and cuddling and boinking. 5) Ask your lover(s) to laugh and play and joke as you kiss and cuddle and boink.

GEMINI (May 21-Jun. 20): You are an Italian wolf searching for food in the Apennine Mountains. You’re a red-crowned crane nesting in a wetland in the Eastern Hokkaido region of Japan. You’re an olive tree thriving in a salt marsh in southern France, and you’re a painted turtle basking in a pool of sunlight on a beach adjoining Lake Michigan. And much, much more. What I’m trying to tell you, Gemini, is that your capacity to empathize is extra strong right now. Your smart heart should be so curious and open that you will naturally feel an instinctual bond with many life forms, including a wide array of interesting humans. If you’re brave, you will allow your mind to expand to experience telepathic powers. You will have an unprecedented knack for connecting with simpatico souls.

CANCER (Jun. 21-Jul. 22): My Cancerian friend Juma says, “We have two choices at all times: creation or destruction. Love creates and everything else destroys.” Do you agree? She’s not just talking about romantic love, but rather love in all forms, from the urge to help a friend to the longing to seek justice for the dispossessed to the compassion we feel for our descendants. During the next three weeks, your assignment is to explore every nuance of love as you experiment with the following hypothesis: To create the most interesting and creative life for yourself, put love at the heart of everything you do.

LEO (Jul. 23-Aug. 22): I hope you get ample chances to enjoy deep soul kisses in the coming weeks. Not just perfunctory lip-to-

lip smooches and pecks on the cheeks, but full-on intimate, sensual exchanges. Why do I recommend this? How could the planetary positions be interpreted to encourage a specific expression of romantic feeling? I’ll tell you, Leo: The heavenly omens suggest you will benefit from exploring the frontiers of wild affection. You need the extra sweet, intensely personal communion that comes best from the uninhibited mouth-to-mouth form of tender sharing. Here’s what Leo poet Diane di Prima said: “There are as many kinds of kisses as there are people on earth, as there are permutations and combinations of those people. No two people kiss alike — no two people fuck alike — but somehow the kiss is more personal, more individualized than the fuck.”

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sep. 22): Borrowing the words of poet Oriah from her book The Dance: Moving to the Deep Rhythms of Your Life, I’ve prepared a love note for you to use as your own this Valentine season. Feel free to give these words to the person whose destiny needs to be woven more closely together with yours. Oriah writes, “Don’t tell me how wonderful things will be someday. Show me you can risk being at peace with the way things are right now. Show me how you follow your deepest desires, spiraling down into the ache within the ache. Take me to the places on the earth that teach you how to dance, the places where you can risk letting the world break your heart.”

LIBRA (Sep. 23-Oct. 22): Libran author

Walter Lippman wrote, “The emotion of love is not self-sustaining; it endures only when lovers love many things together, and not merely each other.” That’s great advice for you during the coming months. I suggest that you and your allies — not just your romantic partners, but also your close companions — come up with collaborative projects that inspire you to love many things together. Have fun exploring and researching subjects that excite and awaken and enrich both of you.

SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): Scorpio writer

Paul Valéry wrote, “It would be impossible to love anyone or anything one knew completely. Love is directed towards what lies hidden in its object.” My challenge to you, Scorpio, is to

test this hypothesis. Do what you can to gain more in-depth knowledge of the people and animals and things you love. Uncover at least some of what’s hidden. All the while, monitor yourself to determine how your research affects your affection and care. Contrary to what Valéry said, I’m guessing this will enhance and exalt your love.

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): In his book Unapologetically You, motivational speaker Steve Maraboli writes, “I find the best way to love someone is not to change them, but instead, help them reveal the greatest version of themselves.” That’s always good advice, but I believe it should be your inspirational axiom in the coming weeks. More than ever, you now have the potential to forever transform your approach to relationships. You can shift away from wanting your allies to be different from what they are and make a strong push to love them just as they are.

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): I analyzed the astrological omens. Then I scoured the internet, browsed through 22 books of love poetry and summoned memories of my best experiences of intimacy. These exhaustive efforts inspired me to find the words of wisdom that are most important for you to hear right now. They are from poet Rainer Maria Rilke (translated by Stephen Mitchell): “For one human being to love another human being: that is perhaps the most difficult task that has been entrusted to us, the ultimate task, the final test and proof, the work for which all other work is merely preparation.”

PISCES (Feb. 19-Mar. 20): “In love there are no vacations. Love has to be lived fully with its boredom and all that.” Author and filmmaker Marguerite Duras made that observation, and now I convey it to you — just in time for a phase of your astrological cycle when boredom and apathy could and should evolve into renewed interest and revitalized passion. But there is a caveat: If you want the interest and passion to rise and surge, you will have to face the boredom and apathy; you must accept them as genuine aspects of your relationship; you will have to cultivate an amused tolerance of them. Only then will they burst in full glory into renewed interest and revitalized passion.

supported by:

Eva Sollberger’s

Eva goes on an after-dark adventure, ice fishing for smelt on a frozen lake in Plymouth with Shawn Good, a fish biologist from Vermont Fish & Wildlife; Zachary McNaughton, who publishes educational fishing videos on YouTube; and McNaughton's 6-yearold son, Fisher.

CHECK OUT ROB BREZSNY’S EXPANDED WEEKLY AUDIO HOROSCOPES & DAILY TEXT MESSAGE HOROSCOPES: REALASTROLOGY.COM OR 1-877-873-4888.

WOMEN seeking...

NEK, ADVENTUROUS, INTELLIGENT, WELL-ROUNDED

Looking for a kind, self-confident guy with whom to explore our worlds. A nice mix of homebody and adventurous spirit would be ideal. Travel near and far, time spent on the water, a social life. Traveling into Québec is always interesting. French speakers welcome. Call now for a free set of Ginsu knives! Stemtostern, 74, seeking: M, l

TRAVEL PARTNER

I would like to have a partner to do fun things with outdoors and indoors. I enjoy exploring, good food, travel, talking, laughing.

Rendeveuz, 54, seeking: M, NC, l

HAPPILY MARRIED, HAVING SOME FUN

I’m just looking for low-drama physical fun, and my husband is delighted to watch, participate or just know that I’m out having a good time. The_Lemon_ Song, 41, seeking: M, TM, Q, NC, NBP, l

FIRST, LET’S TALK

A devoted VPR listener. Love gardening, almost all music, museums, movies, theater, flea markets, trips to nowhere and travel. I don’t need someone to “complete” me or support me, just someone to talk to, hold hands, share adventures. I am short and round — not sloppy fat, but definitely plump. I love to laugh and sing, preferably with others — hence this endeavor.

ZanninVT, 73, seeking: M, l

WANT TO RESPOND?

You read Seven Days, these people read Seven Days — you already have at least one thing in common!

All the action is online. Create an account or login to browse more than 2,000 singles with profiles including photos, habits, desires, views and more. It’s free to place your own profile online.

l See photos of this person online.

W = Women

M = Men

TW = Trans women

TM = Trans men

Q = Genderqueer people

NBP = Nonbinary people

NC = Gender nonconformists

Cp = Couples

Gp = Groups

EYE-TO-EYE IN ALL

Love to cook, garden, travel, write, photograph, cross-country ski, hike, bike, watch movies, read, walk my dogs. Wish to share all that with a kind, grounded, warm and self-reflective man who can communicate — key to a strong relationship. I’m still working part time in private practice. I’m looking for a healthy, long-term, monogamous relationship. RumiLove, 73, seeking: M, l

FIRST-TIMER HERE

I am outgoing, inquisitive and independent. I am a lover of good conversation, good drinks and long walks on the beach. Laughter is a priority. My humor is some mix of nerdy and sarcastic. I enjoy downtime at home but also have a healthy sense of adventure that extends to my interests in food, travel and the outdoors. PrincessDi, 44, seeking: M, l

FUN, FUNNY AND FIT

Attractive, athletic woman interested in casual dating/connections. Kids are getting older, and work is winding down. Looking for new adventures. Love to travel, see new places, experience new things. Never bored or boring. I enjoy music, dancing, yoga, weight lifting and soccer. Not a fan of drama. If you are healthy, fit, nice, funny and easy on the eyes, reach out. Yolo50 50, seeking: M

HONEST, RESPECTFUL, PLANNER, CARING, THOUGHTFUL

I am a worker, a giver of my time, sincere, honest. I hide nothing. Very up-front and open. I like going places, traveling, beaches. I haven’t biked in a couple of years but enjoy biking. I like to eat healthy, but everything in moderation. I get tired of just staying at home! Give me an email. Would like to email/message. Respect2020, 47 seeking: M, l

FUN, KIND AND LOVING

Recently I relocated to Vermont and am looking for someone to enjoy Vermont life with. I’ve been divorced/single long enough to know myself and enjoy my own company. I would like to be in a longterm, healthy, monogamous relationship. So let’s be friends first and see where it goes! CoachKaty7, 53 seeking: M, l

RIDING THE ROLLER COASTER OF LIFE

Kind and caring, crazy busy, lonely when I have downtime. Looking for a likeminded person to spend that downtime with. moomail 49, seeking: M, l

MONTRÉAL WIFE IN OPEN RELATIONSHIP

Longtime married, very attractive, in open relationship. Desire playmate in Burlington area. I like confident, experienced, athletic, smart, welleducated, charming men. I am not looking to develop a relationship. Would like a regular playmate who is very discreet. My wonderful husband may be around for first meet, so need to be comfortable with that. He does not participate. MontrealWife 54, seeking: M, l

ARTSY NATURE LOVER

Looking for a man who loves Vermont, is grounded and enjoys meaningful conversations. Youthful, educated, community-minded, endlessly curious, I love to dance, make music, watch indie and foreign films, attend live performances of all kinds, and laugh with friends. I’m in the woods daily to walk the dog, hike, snowshoe, ski, meditate. You? NEKdancerdrummer, 61, seeking: M, l

I NEED LOVE

I am proud of myself, honestly. I treat others the way I want to be treated, and I need a man who is going to love me and give me joy. elizabethlove, 28, seeking: M, l MELLOW, CREATIVE OLD HIPPIE

I love myself. Happy with my own company and in a crowd of people. I have many good friends and hobbies. The last time I remember being bored, I was 9! I consider it a really good day when I have learned something new and had a good laugh. Full-blown Libran. Prefer cultured, educated company. Versatility is a must. Zenbabe 61, seeking: M, l

INTUITIVE, CARING, LOVE BEING OUTSIDE

I am a passionate, fit, caring, downto-earth woman looking to share adventures. I love to be active — hiking, skiing, running, yoga. I love to travel, as I am fascinated by the different ways people live their lives. I hope to have honest, interesting, authentic conversations where we really get to know each other. Let’s meet for coffee or a drink! lovemountains 57, seeking: M, l

ENERGETIC, CREATIVE, HONEST, INDEPENDENT

I am a combination of outdoorswoman, ballroom dancer and retired application developer. Hardworking, honest, funloving, romantic. Family is important to me. I have a log cabin in the NEK that I love. Hoping to find someone to laugh, learn and explore with. Friends first. College grad, Caucasian. Cabingirl, 66, seeking: M, l

MEN seeking...

ALWAYS FUN, OCCASIONALLY FUNNY

I’m very active, healthy and fit looking to create new connections with likeminded women or couples. I’m happily married to an amazing, sexy human. She loves to hear about my adventures. Want to get an early morning ski?

An afternoon fat bike ride? A quick glass of wine? Let’s make it happen! BoatsPedalsBeers, 43, seeking: W, l

ADVENTUROUS SPONTANEOUS/DOM

Looking for someone fun and adventurous who isn’t afraid to try new things. claballero 42, seeking: W

JUST STAYING BUSY

Active, hardworking, but like to take a moment and enjoy some of the finer things in life. Hemlock 54, seeking: W, l

HOPE I am seeking someone who wants companionship. I enjoy face-to-face conversations. ICY 54, seeking: W, l

LIFE LOVER, ADVENTUROUS, GENTLEMAN, DANCER, POSITIVE

I embrace life and love as one thing and truly enjoy the presence of positive, passionate people. I’ve lived globally, sailed the world, adventured in many ways on many paths in this life. Love to dance, make music, cook, travel and experience cultures. Open and welcoming, warm and real. Seeking a fun connection that exquisitely moves us and vibes just right. FunMerman, 49 seeking: W, l

LOW-KEY, QUIET, SHY GUY

Endless cloudy days are getting me a bit down. I hope to meet somebody who could likewise use some companionship, romantic or not, to help spark some new light, energy, excitement. Ideally you love getting outside in nature, are easygoing, open-hearted and -minded. I’m willing to get out of my comfort zone or happy to kick back with a movie. Let’s give it a try. EatRideSleep 46, seeking: W, l

RELAXED, ACTIVE BACKWOODS GENTLEMAN

I like to hike, bike, canoe, cross-country ski, etc. I meditate, do yoga, hunt and fish. I enjoy the backwoods. I’ve got a couple young kids. We float down the mighty Winooski and go skating in Montréal. Looking for a lady with a good laugh who is comfortable with herself. Let’s meet for tea or coffee. canoeman, 57, seeking: W, l

LOOKING FOR A FRIEND

I would like to find a female friend. I would like to make her dinner. If she hikes, that would fine. I hope she enjoys movies and going out for a drink. alphaboy50 52, seeking: W

MAINER LOVES BURLINGTON

I live in a gorgeous section of Maine, but I would like having someone with whom to explore Burlington. I can reciprocate, offering hospitality here if we click. First filter: being articulate and interested in others. Second, a sense of humor. Just had a major life loss. Don’t know my direction yet, but I do crave a lady’s companionship again. rumavephil 70, seeking: W, l

KIND, AUTHENTIC LOVER OF LIFE!

I am looking for a partner who has done the work required to be in a healthy and loving relationship. I now know what I want and what I don’t in my next relationship. I am a blast to hang out with. I am positive, fit, energetic, authentic, romantic, loving! I am looking for someone with similar attributes!

Unexpecteddeviant, 50, seeking: W, l

FRIENDLY, CARING, SILLY, ACTIVE

I love running, camping, music and animals. I’m passionate about exploring the outdoors, vegetarian cooking and building community. Interested in making friends or going on a date. veggielover9, 23, seeking: W, l

INTUITIVE, MUSICIAN, GARDENER

Lifetime lover of ice hockey. I love all the creatures of the Earth, but cats especially. Seeking someone who is kind and healthy. Guitarboy 63, seeking: W, l

HEART AND SOUL CONNECTION

I am a professional in private practice for many years who also loves music (listening and performing) and spiritual growth. I am looking for someone who is warm, is self-reflective, has a passion for life and has her own interests that are important to her. Someone who wants to know me and wants to be known. 1992 70 seeking: W, l

ACTIVE SENIOR VERMONTER

I prefer to have face-to-face and eye-to-eye conversations. A lot can be determined with body language. Grampiedating, 75, seeking: W, l

WILL YOU HELP SHOVEL SNOW?

Just joking. Because of global warming, there’s probably not going to be a whole lot more snow. However, I am looking for honesty, communication, integrity, good times and a woman willing to put forth the effort. TV addicts need not apply. dswlino, 67, seeking: W, l

OLD-FASHIONED MALE FEMALE

Looking for a women who enjoys honesty, hiking, cooking together, weekend travel, gardening, snowshoeing, skinny-dipping, voting, Saturday night movies, dressing up or dressing down or undressing, enjoying sunsets or rises, full moons, natural hiking, motorcycle travel, holding hands, 420, older rock and roll. Still crazy for fun. Stillkrazy60 61, seeking: W, l

NONBINARY PEOPLE seeking...

REALIST WHO IS OPEN-MINDED

I’m an honest, down-to-earth person who has been through a lot in life and is looking for companionship since I’m new to the area. I’m not like most people in that I feel people are afraid to talk to me. I don’t go out of my way to make friends. I wait for them to come to me. BreBri2022 37 seeking: M, W, Cp

COUPLES seeking...

LOOKING FOR COUPLE

Mature male 58-y/o and female 55y/o. Happily married couple looking for our first time exploring our sexual fantasies by adding a male, female and/ or couple for our sexual exploration. If you are not comfortable with a BBW plus-size woman or a man with extra padding, then please move on.

2Exploring 55, seeking: M, W, Cp

SNOW AND SUN EQUAL FUN

Borders and boundaries are sexy. We’re pretty cute. We like to have fun, and we bet you do, too. Happily married couple (W, 35; M, 45), open-minded and looking to explore. Love playing outdoors. Looking to meet a couple, man or woman for fun and adventure. Ideal meetup is a cottage in the mountains with great food and lots of great wine.

SnownSun 46, seeking: Cp, l

LOVERS OF LIFE

We are a 40s couple, M/F, looking for adventurous encounters with openminded, respectful M/F or couples. Looking to enjoy sexy encounters, FWBs, short term or long term. sunshines 42, seeking: M, W, Q, Cp

I’M YOUR PERSON

Welcome, everyone. Looking for some good people. Love to make some new friends. Looking for the right woman to share my fantasies with. Lovetohavefunnn 41, seeking: W, l LOOKING FOR OUR MAN!

Ideally hoping for a throuple/FWB situation. Us: established M/F couple. DD-free. (She: 44, straight BBW; he: 46, bi MWM). Drinks, 420-friendly, fires, get outside, music, Netflix and chill, always horny. You: DD-free, clean, masculine bi male (30ish to 50ish) who works and knows how to enjoy life! A little rough/hard (top, real man, etc.) with a compassionate heart and a bit of a snuggler. Connection is key. Let’s chat and get to know each other, then play! ginganddaddy 46, seeking: M

YIf you’ve been spied, go online to contact your admirer!

dating.sevendaysvt.com

MUDDY WATERS SMILE

I saw you when I walked in around 4:30. You were sitting by the window in a multicolored crocheted hat. I had my hair in two pigtails, and you smiled at me on your way to the bathroom. You look really thoughtful and introspective. I’d love to get to know you more. When: Friday, February 3, 2023. Where: Muddy Waters. You: Man. Me: Woman. #915705

OLD POST BLONDE, BAD BAND

We spoke briefly as you and your friend were about to leave. I asked you about talking in a place more conducive to conversation. Here’s another invite to talk. Interested? I could try and catch up with you again at Old Post but would rather see you elsewhere — dinner or drinks? I know your name; it starts with an M. When: Monday, January 30, 2023. Where: e Old Post. You: Woman. Me: Man. #915704

TOMGIRL EMPLOYEE

You were working the register. You had a really warm and beautiful energy. I ordered a half avocado toast, but you gave me a full. ank you! If you’re interested in connecting further, I’d love to. Either way, thank you for the extra food and good vibes. When: Monday, January 30, 2023. Where: Tomgirl Kitchen. You: Woman. Me: Man. #915703

BRIGHT-EYED, ENERGETIC SUNFLOWER

You give me the goosebumps. Your eyes are light like water, but your mind is strong and driven — like a freight train. I can’t see myself anywhere else but with you. Why don’t we share some red grenadine? Down by the black, muddy river, perhaps. I hope you see me here, and I hope you see me today. When: Saturday, January 28, 2023. Where: close by, but I’d love to say “in my arms.” You: Woman. Me: Man. #915702

CROSS-COUNTRY SKIER IN HUBBARD PARK

We crossed paths while skiing and chatted for a bit while I was waiting for my friend to catch up to me. I enjoyed talking with you! Care to meet up for a ski together? When: Friday, January 27, 2023. Where: Hubbard Park. You: Man. Me: Woman. #915701

BEAUTIFUL SERVER AT DENNY’S

You waited on us today. You said to enjoy a pancake bite for you, and when I offered you one, you said, “No, thank you, I’m watching my figure.” You don’t need to. We made eye contact several times and smiled. When I left, I handed you the tip personally. Message me. I’d love to share next time.

When: Wednesday, January 25, 2023.

Where: Denny’s, South Burlington.

You: Woman. Me: Man. #915699

TRADER JOE’S CASHIER QUEER

You: working at Trader Joe’s, shaggy haircut with brown, blond and purple. Me: buying almond butter, pink hair, wearing post-dance class sweats. You rang up my groceries and asked about my pink dye. I tried to play it cool, but when you said I had a nice laugh, I couldn’t meet your eye. Let’s bleach each other’s hair sometime? When: Tuesday, January 24, 2023. Where: Trader Joe’s.

You: Genderqueer. Me: Woman. #915698

BELLA’S BARTOK AT ZENBARN

You wore a jean jacket. I wore a derby and the eye. We chatted after the show around the fire, and on our way to leave you told me your name. I regret not giving you my phone number.

I’d love to reconnect sometime.

When: ursday, December 29, 2022. Where: Zenbarn, Waterbury.

You: Woman. Me: Man. #915697

REVERENDAsk

A COURAGEOUS WOMEN

I spy a beautiful lady with a terrible partner. I didn’t ask for help; we stopped talking. My heart is broken, but I’m proud of you for leaving a relationship you weren’t happy in. I wish I communicated my pain with you. Could we try counseling? I’m so sorry for the pain I caused you! I threw it all away! When: Friday, January 20, 2023. Where: our home. You: Woman. Me: Man. #915696

COSTCO TEDDY BEAR

I think you’re adorable, and I wish I had said something! We only got to smile twice but made eye contact several times. Put on your blinker to turn right! If this is you, please reply. I am a 5’4 woman, black beanie and black jacket. You are my type of man. Gray hair, blue jeans. Noon. When: Sunday, January 22, 2023. Where: Costco, Colchester. You: Man. Me: Woman. #915695 BLUE EYES AND BEANIE

Cutie I met in the bathroom. You followed me and my friends to the next bar. I hesitated in the kitchen and deeply regret it. Meet me back at Ruggs for tequila and Fernet on me? When: Tuesday, December 27, 2022. Where: T. Rugg’s. You: Woman. Me: Woman. #915693

BEST-DRESSED WOMAN AT TRADER JOE’S

You: black nylons, black miniskirt, white faux fox, raven black hair, dog-bone barrettes, goth willowy beauty. Me: starstruck professor. I said you win the award for best dressed at Trader Joe’s, and we laughed. In a word: stunning. Another word: ravenous. I will exhaust the thesaurus with you. Let’s get a drink. We will discuss your wardrobe. When: Tuesday, January 17, 2023. Where: Trader Joe’s. You: Woman. Me: Man. #915692

NORTH CAROLINA TO NORTH COUNTRY

I ran into you on South Union Street, and you commented on my North Carolina plates. It was so nice meeting you! I thought you were so friendly! I wished I would’ve asked you for your number at the time, but I was too shy. Would you like to get coffee sometime? When: Monday, January 9, 2023. Where: South Union. You: Man. Me: Woman. #915691

De Lone Lee H t,

MATHEW ON HINGE

Hey, Mathew, we had been talking and were going to meet up soon. I didn’t disappear — I can’t access my account! Reach me through here?! Cheers! When: Wednesday, January 11, 2023. Where: online. You: Man. Me: Woman. #915694

RE: I WISH...

He left that phone dangling off the hook / en slowly turned around and gave it one last look / en he just walked away. / He aimed his truck toward that Wyoming line / With a little luck he could still get there in time / And in that Cheyenne wind he could still hear her... When: Monday, January 9, 2023. Where: on the road. You: Woman. Me: Man. #915690

MARGARITA CUTIE

AT OLIVE GARDEN

I was eating lunch and playing the trivia game. You walked up and ordered a margarita and joined in on my game and had a good convo. Wanted to give you my number but missed my chance. Trivia night sometime? You said your name is Hannah. When: ursday, December 29, 2022. Where: Olive Garden. You: Woman. Me: Man. #915688

OIL CHANGE CUTIE

I’d like the chance to continue the conversation. Seems bizarre to think this will work, but you were beyond cute, so maybe the universe could give me another chance. When: Saturday, December 31, 2022. Where: Oil n Go. You: Man. Me: Man. #915683

TARA FROM MATCH.COM

One day I saw your profile. Meditation was important to you. I went on a trip intending to respond when I returned, but by then you were gone. I just consulted the tarot and drew the Two of Cups. Could that be us? When: Monday, December 12, 2022. Where: match. com. You: Woman. Me: Man. #915686

PRESTON POND TRAIL BEFORE SUNSET

You: hiking a race against the sunset with your dog, some kind of husky mix? You have beautiful blue eyes. Me: wearing a yellow coat and pink neck warmer, hiking with my grumpy dog. Yours wouldn’t come when you called, so I just picked mine up to avoid the encounter. I’d love to look into those eyes again. When: Sunday, January 8, 2023. Where: Preston Pond Trail. You: Man. Me: Woman. #915689

e origin of Valentine’s Day is a little fuzzy. It’s thought to have started out as a fifth-century pope’s replacement for the Roman festival of Lupercalia, a celebration of spring that featured a lottery to pair off men and women. e festivities involved sacrificing goats and dogs and slapping women with the bloody hides. Luckily, some traditions don’t stick.

e commercialized extravaganza started to snowball when Hallmark began mass-producing valentine cards in the early 1900s. Now, billions of dollars are spent on flowers, cards, candy and other tokens of affection every year. With all that hullabaloo, it’s no wonder a lot of people feel left out on Valentine’s Day. Fortunately, it’s a made-up holiday, and you can make it whatever you want.

Valentine’s Day doesn’t have to be all about coupled-up,

HIGHER GROUND NYE MISSED OPPORTUNITY

You: cute guy with a killer smile and sharp button-up by the side bar at Dead Set NYE. You said you’d get me a drink after the set break. Me: decked out in a glitter shirt and glow ears. Secondguessed myself but totally interested. Buy me that drink? When: Saturday, December 31, 2022. Where: Higher Ground. You: Man. Me: Woman. #915684

NATURALS NATURAL BEAUTY

NEWPORT

Saw you at NNM on a crisp December afternoon. You were wearing a pink sweater and purchasing mac and cheese. In hindsight, I should have diverted you from the checkout line to restore our connection. If you see this, I would love to take you out into the community. Let’s be social together; otherwise it would be an injustice. When: Wednesday, December 28, 2022. Where: Newport.

You: Woman. Me: Man. #915682

CUTE BLONDE AT THE AIRPORT

Seeing you made my 5 a.m. flight that much better! We locked eyes at precheck while I was talking with friends. You: dark sweatshirt, green leggings, a gorgeous face and beautiful blond hair. I was wearing a funky cardigan and an orange hat. Coffee when you’re back in town? When: Wednesday, December 28, 2022. Where: BTV airport.

You: Woman. Me: Man. #915681

I SEE WOMEN IN TOWN

I recall what they were wearing, mostly their boots. I’m wondering, are they tomboys like me? I also notice their eyes. I turn around to look at them, as well. Mostly I see them walking or hiking. I notice their kindness and a willingness to engage in a conversations. Being a Buddhist, kindness is important. When: Wednesday, August 10, 2022. Where: Montpelier. You: Woman. Me: Woman. #915680

BUFFALO MOUNTAIN MARKET CUTIE

We walked from separate sides of the parking lot but met up at the door. You held it open for me, and it made my day. Sometimes it’s just those simple gestures and moments in time. Your gentle eyes and sweet face were exactly what I needed. Happy Winter Solstice. When: Tuesday, December 13, 2022. Where: Hardwick. You: Man. Me: Woman. #915679

romantic love. Look at it as a day to celebrate love of all sorts. Get together with friends or family to celebrate Palentine’s Day. Go out on the town or host a little soirée at your house. Tell the important people in your life that you love them. Send or give cards if you feel like it, but a simple text or phone call can also do the trick. Bring cookies or candy to work. Got a pet? Give them extra snuggles and treats. Expressions of love don’t have to be grand gestures.

Don’t forget to be your own valentine and show yourself some love — whatever that means to you. Treat yourself to a facial or a mani-pedi. Take a bath and listen to your favorite music. Do something for yourself that feels a little bit indulgent — just because.

You don’t need a romantic partner to be happy on a holiday, or any day at all. And, please, don’t wait for a holiday to show love to the people you care about — including yourself!

Good luck and

bless,

What’s your problem?

God

The Rev

De Rev end, I used to really love Valentine’s Day when I had a partner to share it with. I’ve been single for a while, and now I hate it. How can I avoid getting depressed when everybody else seems happy?

Lone Lee H t (WOMAN, 28)

Irreverent counsel on life’s conundrums

Man of letters/amateur artist seeks companionship of thoughtful, considerate woman, mid-50s to low 70s. Share fine cinema, literature, classical music and discussions concerning spiritual/ metaphysical subjects. I’m healthy, 71, creative, curious, a good listener, appreciate the feminine soul and mysteries of existence. #1638

I’m a 70-y/o GWM seeking a 60-plus male for some fun. I’m fit and drug- and diseasefree, looking for the same. Discreet fun only. Send stats and contact number. I’m in the Barre/Montpelier area. #1637

Young-looking, attractive, strongly principled woman, 66, seeks man, 50 to 78, for companionship. Treat man with empathy, kindness, love and respect, and expect the same in return. Enjoy the arts (except dance), cooking, reading, quiet chats, walks, television. Phone number, please. #1636

I’m a 71-y/o man looking for a special lady, 71 or younger. It is exciting to meet you here. I live in beautiful Chittenden County. I’m 5’10, 150 pounds, an Earth sign, a dragon, a happy camper and a gardener. We will enjoy family, friends, domestic bliss, Mother Nature and expression. Love, thank you, love. #1633

HOW TO REPLY TO THESE LOVE LE ERS:

Seal your reply — including your preferred contact info — inside an envelope. Write your pen pal’s box number on the outside of that envelope and place it inside another envelope with payment. Responses for Love Letters must begin with the #L box number.

MAIL TO: Seven Days Love Letters

P.O. Box 1164, Burlington, VT 05402

PAYMENT: $5/response. Include cash or check (made out to “Seven Days”) in the outer envelope. To send unlimited replies for only $15/month, call us at 802-865-1020, ext. 161 for a membership (credit accepted).

PUBLISH YOUR MESSAGE ON THIS PAGE!

Submit your FREE message at sevendaysvt.com/loveletters or use the handy form at right.

We’ll publish as many messages as we can in the Love Letters section above.

Interested readers will send you letters in the mail. No internet required!

ISO “gingandaddy, 46, seeking M.” Did you find your man? Nontech-connected guy would like to discuss possible connection. #1635

I’m a GWM in his 60s, 5’8, 150 pounds. Seeking a male for fun. I am open-minded and live alone. Can host. Please leave your phone number. #1634

I’m a young-looking, 65-y/o male seeking a female over 45 who likes cattle ranching, working together, auctions and gardening. Must be active, fit, good-looking, financially secure, healthy and a good cook. No smokers or drugs. #1632

60s bi white male seeks older guys for relaxing, M-to-M fun in the NEK. Regular guys being yourself. Soft or hard is less important than attitude. #1631

Gentle, affable, fit, humorous, principled, educated man (67) seeks tender alluring woman (52 to 66) who relishes a life of organic gardening, animals, hiking, biking, Scrabble and pillow talk. Land conservation and off-grid living are also interests of mine. #1630

I’m a 47-y/o male seeking a male for some fun. I’m attractive, fit and drug/disease-free; have perfect hygiene; and am looking for the same. Discreet fun only. Let’s watch each other cum and help each other out. Send stats with contact number. #1629

Int net-Free Dating!

72-y/o male seeks similar qualities as my own in a woman. Kind, tender, loving, empathetic, fun, homebody, somewhat liberal, intelligent. I’m healthy, fit, thin and considered attractive. Cozy home in the country. Financially secure. Phone or email, please. #1627

I’m a 66-y/o woman seeking a 60-plus male. Not married, no children. I’m a loving, kind, talented, educated nonsmoker. Honest and love to cook and bake and share joyrides. Looking for a serious friendship. Chittenden County. Phone number, please. #1626

I’m a female, 71, single (W), seeking a male, 65 to 75 (W). Would like a quiet dinner, movie or just coffee. Central Vermont. Need a friend to get through the winter, etc. Please write a note or send a phone number. #1625

I’m a GWM 59-y/o. Mostly a bottom seeking to take care of the needs of a top. Very attentive and willing to please. Rutland area. Phone/text. #1624

Describe yourself and who you’re looking for in 40 words below:

(OR, ATTACH A SEPARATE PIECE OF PAPER.)

I’m a AGE + GENDER (OPTIONAL) seeking a AGE + GENDER (OPTIONAL)

I’m a male seeking a loving companion of any gender. I’m a nonsmoker with a concentration on health. I’m an educated, honest, kind and calm baby boomer with a love for gardening. Time is precious. Open to the right person. #1622

I’m a 57-y/o woman. Not married, no children. I stay as healthy as I can. Educated, mostly by deep life experience. Need a dedicated relationship with a man who understands me and treats our unit as No. 1. Need to live in the country. Calm, gardens, sounds of nature, sunset. Please be honest, thoughtful and kind. Be able to relate well to others and be well liked. Phone number, please. #1620

I’m a 70-y/o WF seeking a 70-plus WM. (#1604, I’m interested.) Was widowed 10 years ago and am lonely and seeking a companion. I love being outdoors and seeing birds and animals. Car travel is fun for me. #1618

Required confidential info:

NAME

ADDRESS

ADDRESS (MORE)

CITY/STATE ZIP PHONE

MAIL TO: SEVEN DAYS LOVE LETTERS • PO BOX 1164, BURLINGTON, VT 05402 OPTIONAL WEB FORM: SEVENDAYSVT.COM/LOVELETTERS HELP: 802-865-1020, EXT. 161, LOVELETTERS@SEVENDAYSVT.COM

THIS FORM IS FOR LOVE LETTERS ONLY. Messages for the Personals and I-Spy sections must be submitted online at dating.sevendaysvt.com.

The Breanna Elaine Band Album Release Show

FRI., FEB. 10

BRANDON TOWN HALL, BRANDON

Rustie Bus with The Steppes

FRI., FEB. 10

THE UNDERGROUND, RANDOLPH

Valentine’s Artist Market & Beer Sale

SAT., FEB. 11

1 FULL BARREL CO-OP, BURLINGTON

Colombian Cooking Date Night: Empanadas, Yuca Frita & More

SAT., FEB. 11

RICHMOND COMMUNITY KITCHEN, RICHMOND

Joe’s Big Band

SAT., FEB. 11

ST. JOHN’S CLUB, BURLINGTON

Healing Arts Day: Fundraiser for Zimbabwe

SUN., FEB. 12

RAILYARD APOTHECARY, BURLINGTON

After School Drawing Club with Rachel Mirus

MON., FEB. 13

GRANGE HALL CULTURAL CENTER, WATERBURY

Facing Change:

Life’s Transitions and Transformations

WED., FEB. 15

ONLINE

Virtual Baking Workshop: Cinnamon Rolls

SAT., FEB. 18

ONLINE

Trumbo: Red, White, & Blacklisted

FEB. 17, 18, 19

GRANGE HALL CULTURAL CENTER, WATERBURY

After School Drawing Club with Rachel Mirus

MON., FEB. 20

GRANGE HALL CULTURAL CENTER, WATERBURY

Old Spokes Home WTFNB Bike

Mechanics 101 Winter 6-Part Series

FEB. 21-MAR. 28

OLD SPOKES HOME, BURLINGTON

2023 Mardi Gras Party

TUE., FEB. 21 HOTEL VERMONT, BURLINGTON

Cake Jar Workshop

TUE., FEB. 21 RED POPPY CAKERY, WATERBURY

Open Memorial: Remembering in Community

FRI., FEB. 24 ONLINE

Ethiopian and Eritrean Cuisine Takeout

SAT., FEB. 25

O.N.E. COMMUNITY CENTER, BURLINGTON

Yoga Nidra in the Salt Cave

SUN., FEB. 26

PURPLE SAGE, ESSEX

The Quarry Project Film

SUN., FEB. 26

GRANGE HALL CULTURAL

Irish Song Tune-Up

Focaccia