Seven Days, August 16, 2023

What are you doing for Hunger Action Month? HELP THE

VERMONT FOODBANK FIGHT HUNGER!

Saturday, September 23, 2023, at the State House Lawn in Montpelier

Join us for the Point to Point, powered by VSECU, the largest fundraiser each year for the Vermont Foodbank. There will be rides from 10 to 110 miles, plus music, food, and fun and games for everyone at the State House Lawn on Saturday, September 23. Every $100 we raise means 115 meals for Vermont families.

Sign up today to have fun and make a difference for Hunger Action Month. Every dollar counts!

FUN IN THE DARK WITH FRIENDS

“ OUR BANK KNOWS WHAT WE NEED TODAY AND WHAT WE’LL NEED DOWN THE ROAD.”

— Shane Wright, Owner

GREEN’S DAY

Supporters of former Burlington diversity director Tyeastia Green converged on city hall Monday to condemn a report that alleged Green and her staff had mismanaged finances of the city’s annual Juneteenth celebration.

Activists gathered in Burlington City Hall Park ahead of the council meeting. ey demanded that Mayor Miro Weinberger apologize to Green — the former and firstever director of Burlington’s Racial Equity, Inclusion and Belonging Office — and Casey “Jersey” Ellerby, a former event planner for the department. Both women are Black. e report, released last week, found no evidence of fraud but alleges “mismanagement or carelessness” leading up to the 2022 Juneteenth celebration, which was held after Green left her job with the city. e 2021 event that she helmed was widely lauded as a success. e 18-page document includes recommendations to improve financial oversight.

Councilors referred the report to a subcommittee to consider how it affected Green, Ellerby and their families. at committee will consider revamping policies to combat discrimination. Activists charged that bias drove Weinberger’s decision to audit Green’s former office and that the report was defamatory.

“If you shift her color, if you shift her tone, if you shift her gender, she would not be on blast here right now,” Ferene Paris Meyer, a friend of Green’s, said at the rally.

In a statement, Green defended her work and said the meeting’s discourse showed that Burlington values having “a safe, thriving, vibrant community where all our contributions and talents are respected.”

SCYTHE SEASON

Green left Burlington in March 2022 for a similar position in her hometown of Minneapolis. A year later, after learning that Minneapolis officials were questioning Green’s management of an event there, Burlington hired local law firm Sheehey Furlong & Behm to review Juneteenth expenses. Green overspent her budget in Minneapolis, and attendance was lower than expected, according to news coverage.

e Burlington report says that before Green left Burlington, she said she’d secured as much as $300,000 in private donations for Juneteenth 2022. Green, however, said she had only expressed a hope to raise that much. In the end, donors gave just over $100,000 for the event; the city covered a $131,000 shortfall.

Neither Green nor Ellerby had seen the report when the city released it last ursday, though the mayor’s office had already sent it to councilors and the media. at rankled Green and Ellerby supporters.

On Monday night, Councilor Zoraya Hightower (P-Ward 1), one of two Black women on the council, charged that Weinberger did this as a calculated move.

“He silenced the voice of Tyeastia, the voice of Jersey, my voice, to ensure there would be a narrative that Tyeastia was somehow the cause of any mistakes made in 2022,” Hightower said.

Weinberger didn’t speak during Monday night’s meeting, but his office has previously defended the report as necessary due diligence.

Read Courtney Lamdin’s full coverage at sevendaysvt.com.

emoji that BUZZ BOMBS

Mosquitoes in Alburgh and Vergennes tested positive for West Nile virus, o cials said. And the buggers are bitin’ hard this year.

NOT DELIVERED

O cials in Grand Isle are asking Vermont’s congressional delegation for help with mail delays. Bring back the Pony Express!

UNHEALTHY HIKES

The state’s two largest insurers, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Vermont and MVP Health Care, will raise rates by double digits. Yippee.

BUGGING OUT

Vermont o cials said the invasive elm zigzag sawfly has been detected in the state for the first time. Watch out for these very hungry caterpillars.

$12.7 M

As of Monday, that’s how much money FEMA had awarded to flood-impacted Vermonters through its Individuals and Households Program.

TOPFIVE

MOST POPULAR ITEMS ON SEVENDAYSVT.COM

1. “Attention Burlington! Walgreens Has Automated Security Messages for You” by Courtney Lamdin. An automated sentinel outside the downtown store loudly warns that the area is under surveillance.

2. “New Version of the Kitchen Table to Open in Richmond” by Melissa Pasanen. A restaurant with a familiar name, the Kitchen Table, will open September 6 in the historic brick building vacated by Vermont Fine.

3. “A Member of a Famous NFL Family Keeps Blind Ponies, Arthritic Horses and a Goat Hotel in Vermont” by Ken Picard. A 20-acre farm in Stowe that’s a haven for animals has an unlikely benefactor.

4. “Locals Pick the Best of Vermont: Seven Daysies 2023” by Seven Days staff. Our readers picked their favorite restaurants, shops, farms and fitness studios.

5. “Environmentalists Raise a Stink Over a Proposed Gas Pipeline to a Dairy Farm” by Kevin McCallum. is story appears on page 14 of this issue.

post of the week

@BenMyNBC5

Summer 2023 in Vermont...

e morning sun beat down as Antoine Waithe sharpened his scythe. He knelt in the grass, carefully handling the tool, used for cutting grass. Its long, handsome curved blade caught the light.

It was a hot ursday in August, and the Addison County Fair & Field Days, an annual celebration of rural life, was in full swing.

e quintessential country fair, which ran from August 8 to 12 in Vergennes, had everything from a demolition derby to an arm-wrestling competition. It also featured one of

only two hand-mowing competitions in the country.

Tucked behind the antique equipment demo area and rows of corn was an inconspicuous field of tall grass where the morning’s contest would take place. A flock of competitors practiced swinging their scythes — first wielded around 5000 BC — on a practice field.  ere was no entry fee nor a cash prize. People participated for the joy of hand mowing.

Divided by age and gender, competitors were judged by the width of their swath, the “evenness of their stubble,” and the speed at which they moved through either a 15- or 25foot field. Scores were calculated by

averaging the numbers in those three categories.

Among the brigade of scorekeepers was Michaela Stickney, who runs a free “scythe school” in Huntington and co-organizes the event. She was impressed by the 30-person turnout this year, which included a striking number of women, gender-fluid individuals and young people.

“A lot of people connect to the earth in this way,” Stickney said. “It’s poetic. It’s meditative.”

For Autumn McCarthy, who competed in a long yellow dress and sandals, hand mowing is not just a way to cut grass but also a grounding practice.

“Autumn over there is doing a really, really nice job mowing,” announcer and organizer Judd Markowski called out as she swung back and forth, her body following the extended line of her wooden scythe in a rhythmic pattern. Her face narrowed in focus. “Very even stubble, very even parallel lines and a nice windrow,” Markowski said.

At the conclusion of her turn, McCarthy caught her breath and stopped to ponder what exactly about hand mowing she found so cathartic. e windrow ruffled in the breeze. “It’s really quiet,” McCarthy said, finally. “It’s a quiet feeling in my body.”

RACHEL HELLMAN

Autumn McCarthy competing in the handmowing competition

RACHEL HELLMAN

COURTNEY LAMDIN

Tyeastia Green (center) with supporters Kiah Morris and Ferene Paris Meyer

KEEP IT CLASSY.

publisher & editor-in-chief

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NEWS & POLITICS

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ARTS & CULTURE

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FUELS AND FLOODS DON’T MIX

[Re “Vermont Officials Warn: Stay Out of Rivers, Floodwaters,” July 12, online]: During the July flood, I watched and smelled thousands of gallons of basement water drain from downtown buildings that were polluted with fossil fuels from heating sources. All of this water will eventually end up in our rivers and lakes. Getting fossil fuels out of flood zones and replaced by cleaner sources is critical as Vermont rebuilds. The clean heat standard that the Vermont legislature just passed strives to help Vermont businesses and homes get off dirty fossil fuel heating sources [“Lawmakers Override Scott to Make the Clean Heat Bill Law,” May 11, online]. The inundation of these fossil fuel-based heating systems provides an opportunity to upgrade to cleaner sources as we rebuild, while also reducing the carbon pollution that contributed to the climate chaos that caused so much damage.

Joslyn Wilschek MONTPELIER

VIEW FROM A JEW

[Re Feedback: “Adieu, Québec,” July 12]: I really object to Kenneth Saxe’s recent letter about his experience living in Québec. I am an 81-year-old Jewish Québecer — born in Québec, as were my parents. I practice law in Québec and have for 56 years. I have construction companies in Québec and real estate operations in Vermont.

I have never found any prejudice or lack of respect from my francophone associates or competitors.

If you know anything about people, you would know that all the French Canadians want is a heritage and culture similar to what the Jewish people want in Israel. For example: the respect that the French Canadians showed when Michael Penner, a Jew, was named the chair of the board of Hydro-Québec.

I could name more instances when the Jewish people have been respected and revered, such as the millions that Québec has recently given to the new Holocaust center and Jewish General Hospital.

It is people like you who are not tolerant and don’t understand the pride that an ethnic group feels about

its heritage and culture. I bet you probably think that Florida, with its politics, is paradise.

Bill Mauer WESTMOUNT, QUÉBEC

CASH FOR CANNABIS OPS

I read your news articles about the efforts to provide help for families, farmers and other businesses affected by the recent catastrophic flooding — and how cannabis farmers and retailers are not eligible [“Flower Outage: With No Federal Lifeline, Cannabis Businesses Count Their Flood Losses,” July 26]. Is there a way that individuals wanting to send a monetary donation can make sure it goes to a struggling cannabis farmer? Is there any organization or group of organizations specifically raising funds to benefit impacted cannabis farmers and cannabis establishments in need?

Perhaps you could provide this information in a future issue of Seven Days?

Margo Howland WHITE RIVER JUNCTION

Editor’s note: Two groups are raising money specifically for flood-damaged cannabis businesses: the Cannabis Retailers Association of Vermont (crvt.org) and the Vermont Growers Association (vermontgrowers.org). Some money raised from a festival hosted by the retailers association on September 15 and 16 in Cabot will also go to cannabis businesses.

THE REAL ‘EMBARRASSMENT’

In his letter to the editor [Feedback: “A Dark Place,” July 19] addressing “Vermont’s Relapse” [June 14], Galen Cassidy Peria said the current state of Burlington “is an embarrassment to the city of Burlington and the state of Vermont.”

Apologies that he feels so uncomfortable while he is seasonally working here and that Burlington no longer resembles the fond memories of his past. Imagine how the people who live here all the time feel, knowing that humans are suffering from addiction that stems from so many issues, including generational poverty and abuse — sexual, physical, verbal, emotional, neglect or all the above.

Vermont has the third-highest rate of homelessness in the country per capita, second to Washington, D.C., and California, and pandemic housing came to a screeching halt in June.

Growing up in rural Vermont decades ago, I saw that the issues surrounding addiction mainly circled around alcohol and cocaine, but these have evolved into

a beast that is seemingly impossible for people to conquer, and so many try.

We’re a small state. Consequently, issues will present as more concentrated in our largest town, especially with the rate of unhoused people here. But rest assured, this is happening state- and countrywide. You may not have it thrown in your face at the local transit center where you find yourself, but it’s there.

Whatever the issues may be, the abovementioned and more, the embarrassment is that Burlington and the rest of the country are becoming a place of the haves and the have-nots.

Meghan Brooks BURLINGTON

CENTERPOINT IS ESSENTIAL

I was dismayed to learn of the upcoming closure of Centerpoint Adolescent Treatment Services [“Classes Dismissed? An Organization That Both Educates and Counsels Teens Is Poised to Close,” July 5]. With rising rates of teen depression, anxiety and substance use nationwide, access to quality services is critical. As a physician, I have worked with many families struggling to meet the needs of their children in this epidemic. As a parent, I have also experienced this issue firsthand.

Centerpoint understands this challenge. From Amanda at the intake desk, who regularly fields phone calls from families in crisis with warmth and understanding, to the quality counselors who help adolescents be heard and understood, they are a lifeline for many families and individuals in our community.

Budgets matter, but our youths are our future, and we must step up for them in their time of need. I believe that our health care system has lost its moral compass. As a society, we value technology and profit over human connection. We need to step back and look at the bigger picture regarding budgeting of resources.

I am glad that our legislators held a town hall meeting about youth mental FEEDBACK »

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After the flood at Stormy Acres Farms in Johnson

Join

Immerse yourself in a world of vibrant blooms, shady trees, and lush greenery at Vermont’s garden centers, greenhouses, and farms. Seek out a chance to win prizes during this event now through October 31st!

Begin your garden-hopping journey during the Vermont Blooms Passport Event sponsored by the Vermont Nursery & Landscape Association and remember Fall is for planting!

NEWS+POLITICS 14

Cow Power

Environmentalists raise a stink over a proposed gas pipeline to a manure digester in Berkshire

Vermont to Hold a ‘Green Up Day’ for Flood Debris

The Therapist Is Out

A clinical social worker surrendered his license after clients reported inappropriate behavior

UVM Announces Plan to Build Housing for 540 Students

STUCK IN VERMONT

Emergency Eats Provides Meals to Flood-Impacted Vermonters

Beach Bummed

Floods and hot weather have spawned more algae blooms in Burlington Bay

FEATURES 26

Happy Days Burlington High School class of 1953 holds “final” reunion

ARTS+CULTURE 42

FOOD+ DRINK 34

Food for All

A Single Pebble sous chef works overtime to build free meals program

The Godfather of All Sandwiches

In July, Eva Sollberger’s 2022 video about mud season in East Barnard — “Stuck in Vermont” episode 662 — won first place in the multimedia category at the national Association of Alternative Newsmedia awards, presented at the AAN convention in Dallas, Texas. “Excellent piece. e storytelling, photography and editing make this story suitable for a PBS special,” the judge said. Watch it at sevendaysvt.com.

Beyond Therapy

Comedian Sam Morril talks crowd work, shrinks and scaling his art Movie Mania

Ninth annual Middlebury New Filmmakers Festival features themes of perseverance

Murder, She Wrote eater review: Ms. Holmes & Ms. Watson — Apt. 2B, Dorset eatre Festival

All-Star Vermont Musicians Band Together for Flood Relief

The Art of Recovery After the flood, Vermont Studio Center goes back to the drawing board

The Gospel According to Breeze

Breeze’s new LP, Ja’lani Skye, is a triumph for the entire Street Religion crew

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MAGNIFICENT

MUST SEE, MUST DO THIS WEEK

THURSDAY 17-SUNDAY 20

Is Not at Strange?

Feminist theater troupe Foul Contending Rebels takes on Much Ado About Nothing, Shakespeare’s beloved rom-com about love, misunderstandings and the sublime pleasure of insulting the person you have a crush on. is utterly modern, tarotthemed production plays at Burlington’s Off Center for the Dramatic Arts. Tickets are on a sliding scale, and the 2 p.m. show on Saturday is free.

SEE CALENDAR LISTING ON PAGE 66

FRIDAY 18

Lights, Camera, Love

Vidhi Salla, of the popular Brattleboro radio show “Vidhi’s Bollywood Jukebox,” hosts a screening of Last Film Show, India’s entry into the 95th Academy Awards, at Epsilon Spires. Director Pan Nalin’s semi-autobiographical Gujarati-language drama follows a young boy in a remote village who falls in love with filmmaking. Chai and other Indian refreshments are served.

SEE CALENDAR LISTING ON PAGE 66

SUNDAY 20

Pluck Stops Here

Catamount Arts’ Levitt AMP St. Johnsbury Music Series winds toward summer’s end with a free show from banjoist Taylor Ashton. e Canadianborn singer-songwriter brings beloved covers and originals from his brand-new album, Stranger to the Feeling, to Dog Mountain for a canine-friendly evening of clawhammer riffs and picnicking pleasure.

SEE CALENDAR LISTING ON PAGE 68

SUNDAY 20

FLOWER POWER

A free yoga class takes over the fields at Woodstock’s Billings Farm & Museum on Sunflower Sunday. Instructor Carly Pizzani leads a mindful flow out in the sunshine, followed by a morning teatime. Afterward, attendees can explore the Sunflower House, the farm’s blooming labyrinth of more than 100 varieties of blossoms.

SEE CALENDAR LISTING ON PAGE 68

SATURDAY 19

Hump Day

Locals mark the end of summer with Under the Hump, a musical throwdown at Camel’s Hump Nordic Ski Area in Huntington.

Acclaimed Korean American blues troubadour Nat Myers and Appalachian folk songwriter Logan Halstead headline the festivities. Proceeds benefit local flood relief, Richmond Mountain Rescue and trail maintenance.

SEE CALENDAR LISTING ON PAGE 67

COURTESY OF WASSERMAN COURTESY OF WOODSTOCK INN & RESORT

MONDAY

21

Found in Translation

Undeterred by the flooding at its Johnson campus, Vermont Studio Center hosts Translation in Action, a virtual conversation between Haitian poet Jean D’Amérique and translator Conor Bracken. e two read from and discuss their recent collaboration, the English translation of D’Amérique’s collection No Way in the Skin Without is Bloody Embrace.

SEE CALENDAR LISTING ON PAGE 69

ONGOING

Cows Come Home

Burlington’s Frog Hollow Vermont Craft Gallery hosts “Amazing Graze,” a new solo show by iconic local artist Woody Jackson. His renowned Holsteins — perhaps most famous for their appearances on Ben & Jerry’s pints — feature heavily in these bold watercolor landscapes.

SEE GALLERY LISTING ON PAGE 52

BROWSE THE FULL CALENDAR, ART SHOWS, AND MUSIC+NIGHTLIFE LISTINGS AT SEVENDAYSVT.COM.

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TODAY. Learn more at VermontCTE.com

Camp Song

Summer camp is not for everyone. Even before cellphones and surveillance apps for helicopter parents, people generally fell into two groups: those who loved and grew from the experience of leaving home to spend a few weeks in nature, away from their nuclear families, and those who either hated summer camp or never went.

I’m on Team No. 1. Despite a lifelong aversion to group sports and mandated fun, from age 12 to 17, I spent a month each summer deep in the Adirondacks, hiking, canoeing and singing songs. We swam naked in mountain streams and drank cold, clean water from them. It rained a lot, the mosquitoes ate us alive, and the food was awful, but I was as happy as I’ve ever been at Hawkeye Trail Camps, on the west shore of Silver Lake. I liked meeting kids from other parts of the country and being guided by college-age counselors who were compassionate and cool.

Camp lets you take risks and fail without shame, away from watchful, controlling parents. It’s the ideal place to figure out who the heck you are — one reason why we’re still surrounded by sleepaway camps here in Vermont, many of which are now wrapping up their sessions. One of them, Hancock’s Camp Killooleet, just made the New York Times I would have become a counselor at my camp, and kept going every year, if the director hadn’t died, unexpectedly, between the summers of 1977 and 1978. Pre-internet, the bad news traveled slowly, and I missed her memorial service and any opportunity to connect with old bunkmates. While I was at Middlebury College — selected in part for its view of the Adirondacks — the lakefront property got divvied up. Older alums, who predated me, bought the usable buildings and, over time, a number of adjacent properties.

One of them was Linda Hormes, the camp’s longtime music counselor; I’ll never forget how she played the entire score of West Side Story on a tinny upright piano while we rehearsed and performed the show. After retiring in 2008, she started to spend May to October on Silver Lake. She also formed a Yahoo Group — social media at its best — to reconnect former campers and counselors. After 30 years, people started to resurface whose names I’d last seen carved into wooden rafters.

In June 2020, mid-pandemic, some of those folks organized a Zoom reunion, during which dozens of camp lovers took turns sharing memories and words to explain what Hawkeye meant to them. The takeaway: It changed all of us, for the better, in myriad ways. In that time of isolation, the call was a powerful bonding experience.

Last weekend my calendar was jammed — part of

an end-of-summer phenomenon my friend John O’Brien coined “Augustitis.” Among the competing events: a 90th birthday party, at Silver Lake, for the mother of my former bunkmate, Xanthe Berry. Traveling from Galway, Ireland; Bristol, England; and Berkeley, Calif., the entire Berry family would converge at the Hawkeye house her brother Michael owns.

Only 60 miles separate my home and camp, but they take two hours to travel. My partner, Tim, and I took the Charlotte-Essex ferry across Lake Champlain on Saturday afternoon and, guided by the clear, sparkling Ausable River, drove along the northern edge of the Adirondack Park to camp. Boreal and desolate, the landscape is wilder than anything I’ve ever seen in Vermont. We saw multiple deer, wild turkeys, falling-down houses being reclaimed by nature. Just before our destination, we passed the former camp entrance, and I felt a twinge of the excitement I had when I used to come for a month.

This time, though, I’d only stay for a few hours. No one at the party would run down the hill to jump in the lake or square-dance under the stars. Linda was there. After the traditional “Happy Birthday” song, I nudged her to start up some of the alternative tunes that we used to serenade those with the good fortune of turning a year older at camp.

All these decades later, most of us still know them by heart.

Paula Routly

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AFTER 30 YEARS, PEOPLE STARTED TO RESURFACE WHOSE NAMES I’D LAST SEEN CARVED INTO WOODEN RAFTERS.

Paula Routly with cabinmates and cool counselors in the mid-1970s

Cow Power

Environmentalists raise a stink over a proposed gas pipeline to a manure digester in Berkshire

BY KEVIN MCCALLUM • kevin@sevendaysvt.com

The last time Vermont’s sole natural gas utility sought to significantly expand its service area, it set o a firestorm. Vermont Gas Systems’ push to build a 41-mile pipeline to Middlebury fueled climate protests against “fracked gas” and spawned multiple lawsuits.

VGS is now proposing a more modest pipeline project in Franklin County that has attracted little public attention or outcry from environmental groups.

Until now.

A small but influential band of critics is pushing to block the proposed eightmile pipeline between Enosburg Falls and a biogas project in Berkshire, at the largest dairy farm in the state. A Michigan company, Novilla RNG, wants to build a 2.5-million-gallon manure digester at Pleasant Valley Farms.

The system would collect the waste from the farm’s nearly 6,000 cows, heat it to around 100 degrees in a 92-foot-tall tank and capture the resulting methane.

The gas, referred to as biogas or renewable natural gas, would then be injected into the VGS system, which serves about 56,000 customers in northwest Vermont with natural gas that comes mostly from western Canada.

The Public Utility Commission is taking testimony on the project through the end of this month and could issue a permit this fall.

The majority of that testimony so far has been from o cials at Novilla RNG, VGS and the farm’s owners, detailing the project’s goals, technical specifications and economic benefits.

Last Friday, however, the Conservation Law Foundation of Vermont delivered a broadside against the project, declaring it a false climate solution and asking regulators to reject it.

Elena Mihaly, director of CLF Vermont, said the project “makes no economic or environmental sense.”

“Projects like this one generate as much polluting methane as possible, lock farms into industrial dairying, and saddle Vermonters with the bill for expensive, unnecessary gas infrastructure,” she said in a press release.

In its filing, the group calls the claimed reductions in greenhouse gas emissions “insignificant and illusory” and argues that there are more cost-e ective ways

Vermont to Hold a ‘Green Up Day’ for Flood Debris

BY KEVIN MCCALLUM kevin@sevendaysvt.com

Vermont will hold a statewide cleanup day to encourage volunteers to pick up the trash and debris that was left behind by last month’s flood.

Modeled after the state’s annual Green Up Day, the new effort, dubbed Flood Recovery Clean Up Day, will take place on Saturday, August 26.

e idea is to tap into the state’s spirit of volunteerism to help clean up roadsides, rivers, parks and other public spaces hit hard by flooding, and to spruce up the state in advance of the fall foliage tourist season, officials said.

e day is meant to “keep Vermont the clean and beautiful place we know and love, as we welcome visitors to support our economy and communities,” Gov. Phil Scott said during a press conference on Tuesday at the 802 Subaru dealership in Berlin.  Subaru of New England is underwriting the event and has pledged $250,000 toward flood cleanup and recovery efforts. Of that, $100,000 will go toward the cleanup day, with another $100,000 for the removal of damaged mobile homes.

Vermont’s mobile home communities were hit hard by the flooding, including the 32-unit Berlin Mobile Home Park, which was inundated by the Stevens Branch of the Winooski River. Federal disaster aid does not cover the removal of damaged mobile homes, which “adds insult to injury” for flood victims, Scott said. e funds will help bridge that gap, he said. Approximately 52 families in four mobile home parks have lost everything, according to state housing officials.

e remaining $50,000 of the “incredibly generous” donation will go toward the Vermont Strong license plate fund, which supports businesses impacted by the flooding, Scott said. e state has already helped remove 5,700 tons of debris from communities affected by the flooding, with more to go, the governor said.

Towns, cities and volunteers interested in participating in the event should reach out to Green Up Vermont or visit greenupvermont.org. ➆

KEVIN MCCALLUM

Gov. Phil Scott

TIM NEWCOMB

The Therapist Is Out

BY COLIN FLANDERS • colin@sevendaysvt.com

Awell-respected therapist who has worked with trauma victims for decades in Vermont has surrendered his license after two women came forward with evidence that he pursued inappropriate relationships with them.

Bob Wolford, a clinical social worker who retired from the Howard Center in 2017 after nearly 30 years, met the two women through the Center for Trauma Recovery in Essex, where he ran a group therapy program. He later transitioned their care to his private practice, which is where the alleged behavior occurred.

One of the women, Emily MacKenzie of Waitsfield, told Seven Days that she had been attending virtual therapy sessions with Wolford for only a few weeks last

Wolford encouraged that woman to keep quiet about the relationship, according to investigators at Vermont Secretary of State’s Office of Professional Regulation, which received separate complaints earlier this year. Investigators interviewed the women at length and summarized their findings in a charging document that accuses Wolford of six counts of professional misconduct.

Rather than contest the charges, Wolford, 73, voluntarily surrendered his license last week. He did not admit wrongdoing, but he acknowledged the state has evidence that may prove the professional misconduct allegations.

Reached last Friday, Wolford said he had resigned from the Center for Trauma Recovery and had closed his private practice. He said “not all” of the allegations were true but declined to elaborate,

year when he started to send her unsolicited presents, for example, paying for her to have a massage. She said he also routinely said he loved her, wanted to hold her and thought of her as his adopted daughter.

The comments continued even after MacKenzie — who was in therapy in part to deal with childhood trauma — expressed discomfort, and she said she eventually felt as if she were being “groomed.”

The other woman, who was in therapy as a condition of her probation, declined to be interviewed but gave a close friend permission to speak with Seven Days on her behalf. The friend said Wolford began making sexual advances in the winter, leading to a brief romantic relationship that has severely damaged the woman’s mental health.

adding only that he chose not to fight the charges “because of the trauma” it would have caused the women.

Wolford was hired at the Howard Center in 1987 to oversee all of the mental health agency’s correctional programs. He spent years working inside the state’s only women’s prison, the Chittenden Regional Correctional Facility, where he developed a social skills program and held groups for serious and violent offenders.

He’s worked closely with people addicted to drugs and alcohol and is credited with helping launch treatment programs meant to help people who commit crimes because of mental illnesses or substance-use disorders stay out of prison. He’s also taught social work

2015, THE TURNING POINT CENTER OF CHITTENDEN COUNTY GAVE WOLFORD A LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD FOR HIS LONG SUPPORT OF PEOPLE BATTLING ADDICTIONS.

UVM Announces Plan to Build Housing for 540 Students

BY KATIE FUTTERMAN kfutterman@sevendaysvt.com

to meet the state’s emission-reduction requirements.

Large farms should be required to reduce the waste and emissions they produce in the first place, not encouraged to maximize it, the group argued.

Approving such projects only rewards polluting farms with investment while making it harder for smaller farms that use more sustainable practices to survive, the foundation claims.

They argue that options such as electric heat pumps are cleaner, more coste ective and far better for the climate.

“Our goal is to really end the greenwashing of large-scale [renewable natural gas] projects like this,” Mihaly said.

Less than 3 percent of the gas that VGS sells today is renewable, but the utility hopes to increase that to 20 percent by 2030.

These farms, including Pleasant Valley, are managing massive amounts of animal waste.

Pleasant Valley, which is close to the Canadian border, stores 61 million gallons of liquid manure in 19 ponds on its properties. Its cows generate four times as much waste as a city the size of Burlington, according to Conservation Law Foundation’s 25 pages of comments on the project.

e University of Vermont announced plans on Monday to build housing for 540 undergrads near Centennial Woods in Burlington.

“We’re delighted,” said Ron Lumbra, chair of UVM’s board of trustees, after it approved a resolution to move forward on the project. “We’re sensitive to the challenge in Burlington of housing and take seriously the opportunity for us to do our part to help.”

e complex, Catamount Woods, will be on the southern edge of Centennial Woods on property that UVM currently leases to the DoubleTree by Hilton hotel for parking. e university plans to break ground in early 2024 and house its first students there in fall 2025.

Details of the complex are not yet public, but it will have apartment-style living, a feature that should entice the juniors and seniors for whom it’s being built, according to Lumbra.

e university has partnered with AAM 15 Management to complete the approximately $100 million project.

e residential complex is one feature of a concerted effort by the university to alleviate the local housing crunch. e board began pressing the administration for housing solutions about a year and a half ago. Since then, the school has committed more than $50 million to help catalyze projects, Lumbra said.

Construction has already begun on Catamount Run, which is set to house UVM graduate students and employees in South Burlington.

e school is also eager for the Burlington City Council to approve the rezoning of its Trinity Campus, where it proposed a multibuilding development to add 400 undergraduate beds, according to Richard Cate, UVM’s chief financial officer. e city, though, is seeking assurances from the university that it wouldn’t use the extra dorms to increase enrollment, which could further shrink Burlington’s housing supply.

Further, regulators should not allow VGS to expand an overwhelmingly fossil fuel-based system when the need for rapid decarbonization grows more urgent by the day, Mihaly told Days. This summer’s disastrous flooding in Vermont and pervasive wildfire smoke from Canada have brought climate change “right up in our faces” in a way that has Vermonters demanding real climate solutions, Mihaly said.

“Building a new gas infrastructure in 2023 is probably an even harder pill for Vermonters to swallow than it was in 2017,” she said.

It’s unclear whether the group’s objections will fire up climate activists or hold much sway with utility regulators. The commission has been supportive of the company’s drive to access fuel sources other than “fossil” gas. The commission signed off on a manure and food-scrap digester that began operating at the Goodrich Farm in Salisbury in 2021 and provides gas through a new six-mile pipe to VGS and Middlebury College. And last year regulators backed VGS’ plan to purchase gas from New York State’s largest landfill — Seneca Meadows, east of Rochester.

“We’re excited about this project,” said Tom Murray, VGS’ vice president of decarbonization technology. “It’s going to bring more [renewable natural gas] into our system. It’s going to help out farmers, [and] it has enormous climate benefits.”

One of the chief criticisms of renewable natural gas projects is that they are expensive and represent a small percentage of the total gas market. Nevertheless, utilities tend to heavily market the projects in what opponents say amounts to greenwashing.

They argue that the tiny renewable-gas volumes contribute to the illusion that natural gas is a climate-friendly fuel when, in fact, despite having lower emissions than coal or heating oil, it remains a major driver of climate change.

The Berkshire project alone may represent a small percentage of VGS’ total supply, said Mark Hill, Novilla RNG’s co-CEO. But the same could be said of solar projects in the 1990s, which, thanks to sustained investment, have helped dramatically reduce the carbon emissions from the electricity sector.

Because of their multiple benefits, renewable natural gas projects are rapidly gaining acceptance across the nation and political spectrum, Hill said. The Pleasant Valley Farms project is his company’s fifth in three years, and he said Novilla RNG expects to add about a dozen more in the next two years.

Such projects benefit farmers and the environment, reduce the need for fuel imports, and are financially viable due to growing renewable-energy credit markets, Hill said.

“We as a country and Vermont as a state continue to use natural gas, and the majority of it does come from fossil fuels, but that is changing,” he said.

Methane is a potent greenhouse gas that has about 28 times more heattrapping power than carbon dioxide over a 100-year period. It accounts for about 12 percent of all emissions in the United States. Much of that comes from the digestive systems of livestock but also from stored manure.

When dairy cows are confined to barns year-round, their manure doesn’t land in a pasture where, in the presence of sunlight and oxygen, it breaks down and its carbon returns to the soil. Instead, manure is flushed into huge lagoons where it decomposes and, because there is little or no oxygen, huge volumes of methane are generated and rise into the atmosphere.

Narrow margins in Vermont’s dairy industry have forced the march toward fewer, larger farms. With the trend come environmental concerns; larger farms mean more manure lagoons — and more methane.

Between 2012 and 2022, the number of dairies with more than 700 cows doubled.

Amanda St. Pierre, who co-owns the farm with her husband, Mark, and sons Bradley and Jamie, declined an interview request or farm visit. In an email, she said they spent a year exploring the solutions to replacing their aging, undersized digester and picked Novilla RNG to help.

“Ultimately this project will enable our farm to continue to provide jobs, and economic benefits to our area of Vermont,” she wrote. “It creates an efficient and e ective upgraded digester system which can help our farm achieve goals in reducing the carbon footprint.”

Novilla’s Hill said it’s vital to capture the methane these farms produce and put it to good use. The digester will be able to annually produce enough biogas to heat about 1,400 homes.

The project would prevent the existing methane from rising directly into the atmosphere. It would be burned as fuel and displace a comparable amount of fossil-fuel gas, Hill said.

According to filings, Pleasant Valley Farms already has a smaller digester that was approved in 2006 to collect methane and burn it to generate electricity, often referred to as the Cow Power program. But the farm’s population of milking cows has grown from 2,000 then to more than 4,000 today, and not all the manure can be processed through the existing digester.

Under the proposed project, the farm would stop burning methane to generate power and would instead sell it to VGS, which would build the pipeline. The company estimates that it could hook up an additional 50 homes and businesses along the route, likely switching people from higher-cost, higher-carbon propane and fuel oil, Murray said.

Because the project would prevent methane emissions and take the place of fossil fuel use, the renewable natural gas generated by the digester would be not merely carbon-neutral but also carbonnegative, Hill said.

That means a blend of 25 percent renewable gas and 75 percent natural gas can be considered carbon-neutral, Hill said.

That’s just garbage, Mihaly said.

Biofuels may have a benefit in specific industries that can’t easily be electrified, but continuing to use fossil fuels to heat homes and business when electric solutions are readily available makes no sense, she said.

“If a company uses [renewable natural gas] to justify the ongoing use of large quantities of fossil fuels, it is pushing a false climate solution,” she said.

CLF isn’t the only critic of the proposal.

James Dumont, the Bristol attorney who fought the pipeline expansion into Addison County, said he doesn’t trust VGS to build another pipeline through sensitive habitats, given the shortcuts it took on the previous project.

These included failing to get a licensed engineer to sign off on the construction plans, digging the pipeline too shallow in places and not installing features required to protect wetlands.

FOOD

Emergency Eats Provides Meals to Flood-Impacted Vermonters

BY ALISON NOVAK alison@sevendaysvt.com

A pandemic-era program that provided prepared meals to foodinsecure Vermonters and boosted local restaurants’ bottom lines is being reincarnated in flood-impacted parts of the state.

Vermont Emergency Eats, a 30-day program that launched on August 7, is a smaller-scale version of Vermont Everyone Eats, a $49 million, federally funded initiative that paid hundreds of local restaurants to make millions of meals for those who needed food assistance during the pandemic. Restaurants were paid $10 per meal and required to use at least 10 percent local ingredients, so area farmers and food producers also benefited.

“Will history repeat itself?” he asked.

Murray said the pipeline to Berkshire would be a much smaller, four-inch-wide, low-pressure distribution line, a far cry from the high-pressure transmission line the utility built to Middlebury.

Academic research is also calling such projects into question. Last year, the Center for Agriculture and Food Systems at Vermont Law & Graduate School published a study called “Rethinking Manure Biogas.”

The paper, which the Conservation Law Foundation cites in its comments, argues that investing in farm biogas systems will serve to perpetuate the production of methane instead of eliminating it.

“Renewability does not necessarily mean that a fuel is sustainable or climate friendly,” the report found.

Kevin Jones, director of the Institute for Energy and the Environment at Vermont Law & Graduate School, said he has seen no evidence that renewable natural gas projects such as the one proposed will help decarbonize the gas industry quickly or completely enough to meet the state’s emission goals.

“I share the concern that CLF and others have that this is really an attempt by industry to distract us from the reality that we need to transition away from these fuels expeditiously,” he said. ➆

Southeastern Vermont Community Action, an anti-poverty agency that serves Windham and Windsor counties, is using its experience administering Everyone Eats to get the new iteration of the program up and running, program coordinator Amanda Witman said.

When Everyone Eats wound down in early spring, Witman said, she and others on a state Mass Feeding Task Force began talking about how the program could be used as a model for future emergencies.

“Then an actual disaster struck,” Witman said. “We hadn’t thought we would have to run it quite so soon.”

The program will serve up to 3,000 restaurant meals a day to Vermonters who live in one of the nine counties included in the federal disaster declaration and who have lost access to food due to flooding. That includes people whose homes have been damaged or who are experiencing utility disruptions, those who have lost jobs, and those who have lost access to home-delivered or congregant meals.

Just as with Everyone Eats, restaurants will be paid $10 per meal. Meals will be handed out at central distribution sites or, in some cases, at the restaurants themselves with a paper or electronic voucher.

Meals will be distributed through September 5, but an extension might be considered if there is still need in some communities, Witman said. ➆

For more information about qualification criteria and where to find meals, visit vtemergencyeats.org.

BUILDING A NEW GAS INFRASTRUCTURE IN 2023 IS PROBABLY AN EVEN HARDER PILL FOR VERMONTERS TO SWALLOW THAN IT WAS IN 2017.

ELENA MIHALY

The Therapist Is Out « P.15

at Champlain College. In a statement last week, the college said it had never received any complaints about him and that he was not scheduled to teach any courses this fall.

In 2015, the Turning Point Center of Chittenden County gave Wolford a lifetime achievement award for his long support of people battling addictions.

In November 2021, Wolford was hired as a psychotherapist at the Center for Trauma Recovery. The center, owned by Jackie and Charlie Corbally, opened that fall with a wide range of therapeutic offerings, including a five-day-a-week outpatient program meant for women in need of intensive treatment.

MacKenzie, 36, enrolled in that program in March 2022 after realizing that weekly therapy wasn’t enough for her. Every weekday for nearly a month, she attended three-hour-long virtual group sessions, which included a behavioral therapy skills class run by Wolford.

MacKenzie was informed that she would be assigned an individual counselor who would conduct one-on-one sessions to complement the group work. She was initially told it would be someone else, she said, but at the last minute learned from the center’s owner that Wolford had “taken an interest” in working with her. Soon after, he began texting her to set up their sessions.

MacKenzie’s first few weeks at the center were helpful, she said, especially the class taught by Wolford. But in late April, he left for a monthlong vacation in Mexico and the group “went to hell” from there, MacKenzie said. Five of her fellow clients quit.

After MacKenzie voiced frustration about how the group was going, Wolford encouraged her to switch over to his private practice, she said.

Wolford began to say he loved her around that same period. He delivered the comment in such an offhand way the first time that MacKenzie almost didn’t notice at first. When the words finally hit her, she felt deeply uncomfortable. “But I was so desperate for someone to tell me that they loved me, I didn’t care,” she said. “I looked past it.”

Wolford would offer to come to Waitsfield and spend time with her whenever she was struggling. Their only plan if she were to find herself in a serious crisis was to contact him. When she reflected in sessions on difficult moments, he would often say, “Why didn’t you call me?”

She told Seven Days that Wolford insisted on calling her his “adopted” daughter and would describe “fantasies”

he had about teaching her to ride a bike or introducing her to his own children. MacKenzie had become estranged from her family after Christmas in 2021. Wolford’s gifts and his comments about her “adoption” made her very uncomfortable, she said, and yet he seemed to be the only person in her life who cared enough to want to have that type of relationship with her.

MacKenzie’s boyfriend at the time warned her that Wolford’s behavior sounded unethical. But she found ways to rationalize it. Maybe this is just how trauma therapy works, she told herself. Maybe it is a little more personal. Maybe it has to be more personal.

“When you’ve gone through trauma, you’re vulnerable and you’re malleable, and you know better than to bite the hand that feeds you,” she said. “What Bob was handing me on a silver platter was just too delicious to turn away.”

Last Christmas, she said, he sent her flowers. She had already received a number of other gifts from him by that

point, but most seemed at least somewhat related to mental health: art supplies, essential oils, therapy workbooks.

This gift felt different. “There was no wiggle room,” she said. “It was just wrong.”

She sought advice from a former therapist, and the therapist said she was obligated to report Wolford to the state.

Investigators with the Office of Professional Regulation contacted MacKenzie and spent three hours at her house in January, interviewing her, photographing the gifts and reviewing messages from Wolford.

MacKenzie, meanwhile, emailed members of her former therapy group to see whether others had had similar experiences with Wolford. One woman sent back screenshots showing that he had given her gifts, too. MacKenzie later heard from investigators that an official complaint had been filed about a third woman.

That woman, whom MacKenzie does not know, also met Wolford through the trauma center and also noticed a shift in his demeanor after switching to his private practice.

And she, too, began receiving unsolicited gifts last summer, including flowers that also arrived on Christmas. Wolford told her one day that, even though he knew it would be crossing a boundary, he wanted to make love to her, according to charging documents.

The charging documents describe how Wolford’s behavior escalated from there:

In January, the two began meeting in person. During one such meeting, Wolford remarked on the “tightness” of his pants, a comment that, according to investigators, the woman took to mean he was getting an erection. Another meeting ended with Wolford walking the woman to her car and kissing her. Their sessions became largely romantic in nature from there, the woman told investigators.

“There was lots of touching over clothing and lots of kissing,” she told investigators, adding that she would sometimes go to Wolford’s home and he would sometimes come to hers. Wolford also allegedly touched her beneath her clothing, the charging documents say.

Emily MacKenzie

Investigators found a number of explicit messages that Wolford sent the woman describing his desire to have sex with her, though it does not appear they ever did.

When Wolford learned he was under investigation for his conduct with MacKenzie, he confided in the other woman about it — and at one point, investigators allege, the therapist told his client he was thinking about killing himself.

In February, the woman told Wolford that she was “really messed up” by their relationship and wanted to end it. At about the same time, the woman called a friend, Taya Mahony, seeking help.

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Mahony, who recalled the incident to Seven Days , went to the woman’s house and found her distraught but unwilling to say why. Eventually, the woman admitted she was afraid of getting in trouble with her probation officer because she was having a romantic relationship with Wolford.

The woman called Wolford on speakerphone, and Mahony recorded the call.

“I was like, ‘Enough is enough,’” Mahony said of Wolford. “I don’t care how supposedly respected you are. These are the most vulnerable people — they’re in court diversion, they’re in recovery from substance abuse, they’re people who’ve been sexually abused, and he was taking advantage of them. It just made me sick.”

Seven Days listened to a recording of the call, during which the woman can be heard telling Wolford that she wants an attorney present at their future sessions. She said she did not know whether Wolford planned to turn her in. “I would never do that,” Wolford said. “I would worry about you turning me in.”

Wolford continued to serve as the woman’s therapist during this time, state investigators wrote, “in part to address the significant mental health issues that her sexual relationship with him had caused her.”

In late February, the woman cut off communication with Wolford.

Soon after, she mentioned the relationship to her parole officer and another therapist, according to Mahony, who figured that would be enough to spark an investigation,

since both professions are required to report apparent misconduct. By late April, however, Wolford was still listed on the Center for Trauma Recovery’s website. So late one night, Mahony sent a complaint to the state.

By June, the Office of Professional Regulation deemed the separate allegations against Wolford serious enough to warrant an emergency suspension of his license.

It is unclear whether the Center for Trauma Recovery plans to perform any reviews in the wake of the allegations against one of its former therapists. Last Friday, co-owner Jackie Corbally

health recently and was sorry I couldn’t attend. While I’m sure Northeastern Family Institute and Howard Center will do their best to provide some of the services that Centerpoint has offered, it is disheartening to see a creative beacon being dismantled.

I believe that we need to create a working group including members from schools, counseling services, medical providers, politicians and adolescents to brainstorm and push for meaningful change.

I’m in. Any takers?

CAPTAIN BLACHLY

Anne Knott BURLINGTON

What a wonderful article about Bill Blachly and Ann O’Brien [“Well Played: At 99, Bill Blachly Looks Back on 40 Years of Unadilla Theatre,” July 12]! Thank you so much!

COMPLAINTS

Who can complain in Burlington, lucky folks that we are, given the rest of the world — as close as Montpelier and Barre. Flooded stores, oh my Bear Pond Books, everybody’s favorite — (Their fans came to rescue it, in droves).

refused to say whether Wolford ever worked there. Informed that he was still listed on the website as a senior clinician, Corbally finally offered, “If there was a person here by the name of Bob Wolford, they are no longer employed with us.” Twenty minutes later, Wolford’s name had disappeared from the website.

Wolford’s two former patients say they are still grappling with the aftermath of his conduct. Mahony said her friend’s life has been “completely disrupted,” to the point that she can barely function.

MacKenzie’s depression has been so severe that she does not get out of bed most days. She tries to use the coping skills she learned from Wolford, but the reminder of him sends her into a panic. She’s on edge when she logs into sessions with her new therapist, wary of being taken advantage of.

She hopes her decision to speak out will help other women do the same. But while she is glad to know Wolford can’t practice anymore, she can’t help but feel that he got off lightly. The loss of his license “does not provide those of us who have already been harmed with any justice or feelings of wholeness,” she said.

“He used his license and his position of power to mess with our minds and capitalize off of our trauma,” she said. “And the fact that all he has to do now is stop practicing, when he’s in his early seventies anyway?”

“It’s really shaken my sense of justice in the world.”

I thought I might add that Bill owned a 31-foot catamaran named Ibis that he lived on and sailed throughout the Bahamas for many, many years. In fact, he would give “free” one-week cruising charters, with him as captain, on his boat for a “contribution” to Unadilla Theatre. That’s one way he helped to keep the theater alive financially for several years.

This is how I know Bill and Ann, as I lived for many years aboard my own boat and met them often in the Bahamas. It was always a memorable time, as one might well imagine about Bill. Once you have met him, you never forget him.

Marsha Fraser BRIDGEWATER CORNERS

SAME OLD, SAME OLD

I enjoyed your article on restaurant owners who garden [“Growing Their Own: Vermont Restaurateurs Add Vegetable Production to Their Long To-Do Lists,” July 26]. Back in 1970, when my husband, Steve, and I opened our first restaurant in East Montpelier, we had a big garden on the property that supplied vegetables and flowers for the restaurant. We also foraged for fiddle-necks, mushrooms, berries, etc. Over the next 20 years or so, we owned and operated several successful restaurants in central Vermont and continued to garden and forage for them. We also used locally sourced products when we could. Back then, nobody talked about farm-to-table, so we didn’t think it was anything unusual. It was just our way of life. I never expected it to become such a big deal.

Judith C. Jones ENGLEWOOD, FL

But other places, so much mud and water, now toxic, no rescue worked. Roads heaved. Porches fell off. Roofs collapsed. Take heart from all the book lovers who flocked and piled and washed and cleaned stacks of books— saved covers to know what to reorder... a book lovers’ haven, Bear Pond, about to celebrate 50 years. Now threatened.

What about the cows and chickens and corn fields plump juicy kernels, cobs with silk, ready for the picking! So good! Now gone.

Vermont’s farms, ready plush greens, tomatoes nearly ripe. Now ruined, and the frightened animals, grasschewing animals with no grass for them, not to mention the sweltering unspeakable shade-less scorching in America’s south, midwest, west. Europe too, hot Florence, hot Rome, hot Milan, always hot Naples, now burning Greece and the unnamed in Africa — oh my — they always suffer the most.

Oceans ninety-six degrees, who can stand it?

Not the orcas or whales or sea lions, nor small fish they lunch on; people aren’t all the planet boasts and hosts.

The magnificent birds and leopards, the swimmers, leapers, flyers — it’s people who challenge and damage and bedevil it all.

No complaints, though, from us who’re doing the damage Relentlessly. Cry though we may, it’s happening.

Where’s the salvation, the action, the caring, the fix?

Buff Lindau BURLINGTON

I WAS SO DESPERATE FOR SOMEONE TO TELL ME THAT THEY LOVED ME, I DIDN’T CARE. I LOOKED PAST IT.

EMILY MACKENZIE

Beach Bummed

Floods and hot weather have spawned more algae blooms in Burlington Bay

STORY & PHOTO BY COURTNEY LAMDIN • courtney@sevendaysvt.com

Alec Kaeding motored his utility vehicle along the shoreline at Burlington’s North Beach one afternoon last week, squinting through polarized sunglasses at the quietly lapping water.

Kaeding, the city’s beach manager, was hunting for signs of cyanobacteria blooms, potentially toxic slicks of blue-green slime that can paint the near-shore water of Burlington Bay on summer days. On this day, a bright spot in an otherwise rainy week, the conditions were ripe for blooms — and for disappointment. Should cyanobacteria show up, Kaeding would have to tell everyone to get out of the water.

“It’s always a day when everybody’s here,” he lamented, waving at kids splashing in the waves. “I feel horrible because I’m the beach manager: I want to see people at the beach and just enjoying themselves.”

Kaeding has had to get used to delivering bad news. As of this week, Burlington’s five beaches have been closed a combined 40 times this summer due to cyanobacteria blooms — 10 more than the entire 2022 season and four times the number back in 2019.

Cyanobacteria, also known as bluegreen algae, are fed by an excess of the nutrient phosphorus that runs into waterways from roads and farmland. They flourish on hot, sunny days in calm lakes, ponds and shallow waters.

The bacteria sometimes contain toxins that can sicken people and animals. In 1999, a dog died after ingesting the algae in Lake Champlain, prompting Vermont to start tracking the blooms. At least two other dogs have since been poisoned by the bacteria.

Last month’s flooding inundated Lake Champlain with a year’s worth of phosphorus runoff. If temperatures stay warm, Burlington beachgoers may need to find other ways to cool down this summer.

“All the pieces are there for this to be a bad year for blooms and beach closures,” said Oliver Pierson, lakes and ponds program manager at the Vermont Department of Environmental Conservation. “We’re in a wait-and-see mode, but we’re on edge.”

Cyanobacteria blooms are a tricky adversary. They’re shape-shifters, for one. The blue-green algae can first appear as tiny granules on the water’s surface, then morph into a dense, paint-like sheen. And

BURLINGTON BEACH CLOSURES

Swimming spots elsewhere have arguably had it worse. For the past three weeks, beaches in St. Albans Bay have had blooms every day, according to reports from the nonprofit Lake Champlain Committee. Missisquoi Bay, which has shallower, more stagnant water than Burlington, has also been hit hard this year.

Pierson, the state lakes and ponds manager, said the trend will likely continue. Excess phosphorus is like an all-you-can-eat buffet for cyanobacteria, and, with waters now calmer, sunlight can penetrate and encourage the bacteria to multiply. Warm weather is also an accelerant, and summer isn’t yet over in this year of record-breaking heat.

In Burlington, city workers inspect beaches several times a day and perform water tests when they spot a bloom. The state says the city must wait until the following day to test again to determine whether the blue-green scum is gone and the beach can reopen. Such caution is warranted: Touching toxic blooms or swallowing contaminated water can cause skin and throat irritation or vomiting. But because you can’t tell whether a bloom is dangerous just by looking at it, the best and only option is to ban swimming until the algae goes away.

Burlingtonians have lost a lot of beach time as a result. By Seven Days’ unscientific count, the Queen City has had about 45 good beach days, or those with no rain or just trace amounts, from Memorial Day through Tuesday. At least one beach was closed on nearly a quarter of those days, including a six-day stretch around the Fourth of July, when temperatures averaged 88 degrees.

“If we get some hot, sunny days and soils can dry out and become less prone to flooding, that’s our best-case scenario,” Pierson said. “If that leads to better conditions for blooms, so be it.”

Lori Fisher, executive director of the Lake Champlain Committee, worries that this year’s perfect cyanobacteria storm will spill over into next season. Certain types of the bacteria can survive the winter by settling into the sediment, she said, and the colonies may reemerge in the calm, shallow waters of public beaches.

Fisher’s organization is helping swimmers identify potential danger. Its website displays photos of blue-green algae blooms alongside pictures of similar-looking but harmless conditions, such as swaths of pollen on the water’s surface or patches of duckweed, a buoyant aquatic plant. Fisher also encourages people to report suspected blooms and check the cyanobacteria tracker before going in the water. Her words to swim by? “When in doubt, stay out.”

their spread is unpredictable: If one beach has a bloom, one a mile away may not.

The Vermont Department of Health publishes a cyanobacteria bloom tracker for water bodies around the state, updated with real-time reports from more than 100 volunteers, but it doesn’t indicate whether a swimming spot is closed. Beachgoers have to consult individual town and city websites for that information, and some monitoring programs are more robust than others.

Historic flooding came soon after. Rivers overflowed and washed a heavy load of nutrient-laden silt into Lake Champlain. A Burlington city sewer pipe in the Winooski River broke, too, spilling untreated sewage for several days. On the plus side: The sediment blocked the light that cyanobacteria need to grow. But the muddy reprieve didn’t last long. On July 19, just over a week after the flood, an algae bloom closed Texaco Beach in the New North End. By the next day, the four remaining beaches had blooms.

Back at North Beach last week, swimmers were all in. Satisfied they were safe, beach manager Kaeding finished his shoreline patrol and zipped up the Burlington bike path in his electric cart. In the cargo bed was a bright red sign proclaiming, in all caps, “Beach closed due to cyanobacteria.”

On that particular day, Kaeding wouldn’t have to use it. He pulled over at the city dog park and walked to the large granite steps that lead down to the lake — not a beach but a spot where canines and their people can take a quick dip.

The water was algae-free.

“Nice and clear,” Kaeding said. “Just like we like it.” ➆

ALL THE PIECES ARE THERE FOR THIS TO BE A BAD YEAR FOR BLOOMS AND BEACH CLOSURES.

OLIVER PIERSON

Burlington beach manager Alec Kaeding looking for blue-green algae

SOURCE: BURLINGTON PARKS, RECREATION AND WATERFRONT

Award-Winning News

Seven Days took home four first-place awards at the July Association of Alternative Newsmedia convention in Dallas, tying for the most wins with the Chicago Reader and the Willamette Week of Portland, Ore. We’re proud and grateful. Thanks, AAN! And thanks to our readers and advertisers for making our local journalism possible.

1ST PLACE WINNERS

RIGHT-WING EXTREMISM COVERAGE

“Capitol Offense: Nicholas Languerand’s Quest for ‘Belonging’ Led Him to QAnon, the Insurrection — and Now Prison” by Derek Brouwer and Colin Flanders

Judge’s comment: “Far more than a highly nuanced and deeply reported profile (which it is), “Capitol O ense” also deftly captures the many shades of gray that make the events of January 6 so hard to reconcile across the political spectrum, not only for those on the ideological fringes but at many points in between. The result is one of the best examples of journalists capturing a confusing, contradictory, and often inscrutable period of our nation’s history and reflecting it back to the reader with something that is all too rare these days — clarity and a measured degree of compassion that allows us to better understand Nicholas Languerand, and others like him, without needing to agree with him.

Derek Brouwer and Colin Flanders display mastery of their subject and an economy of language that lends this piece a quiet confidence that easily places it at the top of its category. Outstanding work by all involved.”

MULTIMEDIA

“How Not to Get Stuck in the Mud in East Barnard with John Leavitt and e Crier” a “Stuck in Vermont” video by Eva

Sollberger

Judge’s comment: “Excellent piece. The storytelling, photography and editing make this story suitable for a PBS special … The squishy mud photography makes me feel like I was right there with you.”

COVER DESIGN

Diane Sullivan, Harry Bliss, Rick Veitch, Luke Awtry

Judge’s comment:

“From the standpoint of what a cover should do (engage readers, draw attention, highlight key content, be consistent across issues while providing di erent material), this [entry] has it all. The talents of so many artists, photographers, designers and writers are on display here, a symphony of delight that compelled readers to look inside.”

FEATURE STORY

“Flower Powerhouse: Melinda Moulton Has Blended Business Savvy and a Hippie Ethos to Transform Burlington” by Ken Picard

Judge’s comment:

“A beautifully written and thoroughly reported story that held my interest from beginning to end. Not only did it capture how one woman transformed a town, but it showed you her heart and soul, too.”

Sally Patrick Johnson

APRIL 6, 1929-AUGUST 5, 2023 SHELBURNE, VT.

Sally Patrick Johnson died peacefully at the Wake Robin Life Plan Community on August 5, 2023, with her family by her side.

Sally was born in Burlington, Vt., on April 6, 1929, the daughter of Jane Howe and Robert Fleming Patrick. She attended Burlington Junior High and then the Dana Hall School in Wellesley, Mass., and graduated in 1947.

After graduating in 1951 from Northwestern University in Evanston, Ill., with a BS in sociology, she moved to Seattle, Wash., and married fellow Northwestern student James H. Johnson of Oklahoma City. ey restored two houseboats in Seattle, and their son, Stephen Patrick Johnson, was born there in 1952.

Blaine Davis

APRIL 19, 1952-AUGUST 9, 2023

ALBANY, VT.

Blaine Gregory Davis, age 71, passed away peacefully on August 9, 2023, at North Country Hospital, surrounded by his loving family and closest friends.

A memorial service will be held on Saturday, August 19, 2023, 11 a.m., at the Albany Village Cemetery, 439 Main St., Albany, VT. Directly following, friends and family are invited to gather for light refreshments at the Albany United Methodist Church, 906 Main St.

Later, Sally moved to New York City, where she worked with book publishers Prentice Hall and MacMillan and went on to publish three anthologies with Harper & Row. She was married to literary agent Max Gartenberg before moving to

the town she loved for a lifetime, Essex, N.Y.

In Essex, she restored 11 old houses, all with great professional help. In 2009, she was recognized for this work by the Essex Community Heritage Organization (ECHO) and the Essex County Adirondack Garden Club. She was a member of the Town of Essex Planning Board for 17 years, the Essex County Planning Board, and the Essex County Soil and Water District Board, and she was on the boards of ECHO and the Adirondack Land Trust. In 1988, she founded the Kelsey Trust, which continues to support the environment, education, health, and children and families at risk in the Champlain Valley.

In 1999, while continuing to live in Essex, she became a part-time resident of Wake Robin, where she was a vigorous participant in the annual tag sale. She was very fond

of the staff in the Linden Health Center, where she spent her final years, and they were fond of her.

Sally is survived and treasured by her son, Stephen, and his wife, Paula Doherty Johnson; her grandson Patrick and his wife, Shelsey Weinstein Johnson; her grandson Samuel and his wife, Perry Blank; her granddaughter, Susannah; her great-granddaughters, Winifred and Fern, daughters of Patrick and Shelsey; her sister, Harriet (Happy) Patrick, and brotherin-law, Richard Cunningham, of Charlotte; and much-loved nephews, cousins and their families.

A memorial service will be held in Essex, N.Y., in the fall. Contributions in Sally’s memory may be made to Patient Choices Vermont (P.O. Box 671, Shelburne, VT 05482); any chapter of Planned Parenthood; or any worthy charity.

Barnett; and his wife’s parents, Shorty (Martin) and Betty Murphy.

He is preceded in death by his parents, Dr. Everett Davis and Isabelle Louise Davis (née Farrar) of Newport, Vt.; his brother and sister-in-law Terry and Jane Davis; his brother-in-law Bruce

Blaine is survived by his wife, Mary Davis (née Murphy), and dog Molly; his two sons, Jared Davis and partner Tracy Gooley, and Ethan Davis and partner Lindsay Martin; his grandson, Murphy Davis; his brother Richard Davis; his nephew Jonathan Davis, wife Lindsay Davis, and their two children, Elijah and Asa; his niece, Jessica Trevits, husband Adam Trevits, and their two children, Nick and Connor; his sister-in-law Ann Barnett and her late husband, Bruce Barnett; his nephew Brad Barnett, wife Robin Barnett, and their two

children, Brooke and Morgan; his brother-in-law Michael Murphy, wife Deborah Murphy, and their children: Kate Murphy and Ryan Butler, Tracy and Dennis Roberts, Kris and Steve Ellis, and extended family; his esteemed former colleagues at U.S. Customs and Border Patrol; his fellow veterans of the United States Air Force; his fraternity of Shriners and Masons; and many beloved friends and family.

Memorial contributions in Blaine Davis’ memory may be made to the Shriners Hospitals for Children.

Read Blaine’s full obituary and share your memories and condolences by visiting awrfh.com.

11 → 13, 17 → 20

August 2023

The biggest hot air balloon festival in Canada

Over 80 balloons, including 14 special shapes

1 weekend left to live the music and activities!

Rides, inflatable games, animations and more!

11 → 13, 17 → 20

August 2023

Come see your favorite artist at the biggest hot air balloon festival in Canada

Tickets on sale now !

Night Glows, rides, inflatable games, animations and more ! Only 25 minutes from Montreal

Pass or Fail?

Newly branded Vermont State University needs more students — but its enrollment is declining

BY ANNE WALLACE ALLEN • anne@sevendaysvt.com

AJuly tour for prospective students at Vermont State University’s Lyndon campus drew precisely one: Trinitie Simonds — and she already had been accepted at the school. The Lyndonville teen and her father were outnumbered by employees of the state colleges system on hand to answer her questions.

And that wasn’t the only sparsely attended July tour on the campuses of the 6-week-old Vermont State University, which is made up of former state colleges in Lyndon, Johnson, Randolph and Castleton. The next day, an introduction to the Johnson campus drew six potential students. A tour of the Randolph campus on August 5 had three. A parent in the latter group commented that she’d seen several tours with about two

dozen people just days before at the much larger University of Vermont.

The low turnout is a troubling bellwether for the university, which, with the Community College of Vermont, makes up the Vermont State Colleges System. With budgets in the red, years of enrollment decline, underused buildings and recent crises to overcome, the university needs a surge of students if it’s going to survive with all of its campuses intact.

Yet figures from early August show a steep decline in enrollment for the fall term: nearly 20 percent fewer students than the 5,400 served last year by the campuses that make up the new university.

The shortage of students highlights the

dire state of the school’s finances. This year, the state colleges system expects to run a $17 million deficit on an operating budget of $134 million. That shortfall will be made up by an infusion of additional funds that began arriving from the state in 2021. But that aid is temporary and scheduled to drop sharply over the next three years. Administrators must find millions in spending cuts and new revenue — primarily by attracting new students — to get the system in the black before the extra state aid runs out.

There are those who doubt that every campus can be saved, including a former chancellor of the state colleges system, who called for closing some of the campuses

three years ago. Gov. Phil Scott recently raised a similar possibility if the money problems aren’t solved.

“It’s not going to be an easy process,” said Sen. Jane Kitchel (D-Caledonia), who, as chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee, has watched the state colleges struggle to gain solvency. “It’s going to take some strong leadership.”

In the face of these challenges, Vermont State University’s interim president, Mike Smith, projects resolute faith in the system’s ability to survive and thrive.

He notes that pandemic lockdowns are receding into history and believes that more traditional-age students will venture back to campuses. He is counting on a bright future for online and hybrid learning — and for early college programs that bring high

Visitors preparing to tour Vermont State University in Randolph

BENJAMIN DEFLORIO

MERGER HISTORY Vermont State Colleges System

schoolers to campus, the only area of strong enrollment growth at the university this year.

Further, he said, he expects the colleges to find millions in savings by increasing class sizes, reducing duplication of services and adding seats in popular career-oriented programs such as nursing.

Eager to assure would-be applicants that all is well, Smith struck an upbeat note, saying, “I’m confident that if we have a strategic plan, with targets along the way for admissions, that we can find the money.”

STUDY LOCAL

The former state colleges go back a long way. Castleton’s roots date to a primary school founded in 1787 and a 19th-century medical college. Most of the campuses started as teachers’ colleges, or “normal” schools, designed to serve a rural population. They evolved through the years to meet the needs of Vermont’s changing economy, broadening their 20th-century o erings to include liberal arts education. In the early 1960s, they joined a newly created Vermont State Colleges System.

The schools have always served a role distinct from that of UVM, a large research-based institution with higher tuition. In addition to producing teachers, the colleges traditionally provided technical and agricultural training, mostly to Vermont students — many the first in their families to attend college — who sought career-focused majors and wanted to stay close to home.

That remains true in many cases. Chris Bachand, father of Trinitie Simonds, the student on the Lyndon tour, said of his daughter’s choice of that campus: “A lot of it has to do with class size and proximity to home, and a slow exposure to the great big world out there, as opposed to throwing her to the wolves.”

Vermont State University’s challenge is that there are simply fewer high school graduates seeking a four-year, on-campus education. The problem begins with the state’s birth rate, which started to decline in the 1990s. The number of college-age Vermonters is still falling. By 2030, there will be 20 percent fewer 15- to 19-year-olds than there were in 2010, the state projects. The numbers for the rest of northern New England and the rural Northeast aren’t much di erent.

While educators and policy makers in the past urged Vermonters to acquire some kind of postsecondary education, the reality is that most jobs in the state — threequarters of them, according to the Vermont Futures Project, an economic research group — don’t require a college degree.

College is sometimes promoted as a default option for teens who don’t have a post-high school plan, said Mary Anne Sheahan, executive director of the business-sponsored Vermont Talent Pipeline. “Now we have all these college-educated people who are working in Lowe’s and Starbucks because they can’t find a job at

THEY HAVE AN EXPANDED INFRASTRUCTURE THAT THEY CAN’T AFFORD, AND THEY’RE EITHER GOING TO HAVE TO LEASE PART OF THAT OUT, FIND OUT WAYS TO PROFIT OR MAKE MONEY OFF OF THAT, OR CLOSE SOME CAMPUSES.

GOV. PHIL SCOTT

Trinitie Simonds (left) on a tour of Vermont State University’s Lyndon campus with her father, Chris Bachand

JOSH KUCKENS

Vermont State University’s Castleton campus

CALEB KENNA

their level in what they want to do,” she said.

These strains already have contributed to the closing of half a dozen private liberal arts schools in Vermont, most recently Marlboro College and Green Mountain College in Poultney.

For that reason, some adults now recommend that teens explore the trades through internships, apprenticeships and on-the-job training programs. Young people who do choose higher education aren’t all looking for a traditional on-campus experience.

“When we go out and promote college, people sometimes look at us as if, You’re just marketing to me,” Marti Kingsley said. She’s a counselor in the Northeast Kingdom for the Vermont Student Assistance Corporation, a nonprofit that administers financial aid. “[They say], ‘I can’t go into debt. My friend has done this, and their life has been ruined.’”

These trends — along with the pandemic — helped drive down enrollment by a third at Lyndon and Johnson between 2018 and 2022. At Vermont Technical College, the number of students dropped by 11 percent. Among the residential campuses, only Castleton saw an increase, of 6 percent. In contrast, the Community College of Vermont, where many students study part time while working, saw gains of 4 percent.

BETTER CALL MIKE

On top of changing demographics and aspirations, the state colleges system — and its new university incarnation — have suffered public relations disasters in this decade that have damaged confidence in the system.

In spring 2020, then-chancellor Jeb

Spaulding responded to the state colleges’ financial crisis by recommending that the system close three of its four residential campuses, in Lyndon, Johnson and Randolph.

An outcry ensued. That plan was shelved, and Spaulding resigned.

Lawmakers responded with a powerful financial boost: a pledge of $200 million in temporary assistance to help keep the system afloat while it reorganized to solve its money problems. In 2021, they raised the colleges’ annual appropriation from $30 million to about $48 million now.

Meanwhile, a 2020 report from the legislature’s Select Committee on the Future of Public Higher Education in Vermont called for urgent — and possibly painful — action to reduce costs and make the colleges more affordable to Vermonters.

“It is no longer possible for this can to be kicked further down the road,” the report stated.

Vermont had the highest public college tuition in the nation, the report said — and historically low state support that has forced the schools to rely on tuition more than their peers do. It also said the college

campuses were underused and had about $55 million in deferred maintenance needs.

In response, the state colleges system last year announced consolidation of its campuses into the new Vermont State University and hired a president, Parwinder Grewal, to lead it. He had previously guided a public college reorganization in Texas and seemed to be an ideal choice to head up the merger.

In February, Grewal announced the state system’s libraries would ditch their books and go all digital. Outraged staff, students and alumni protested so loudly that the spectacle earned national attention. They came down hard on the board of trustees and administrators, painting them as outof-touch bureaucrats with inflated pay.

Chancellor Sophie Zdatny’s $238,000 annual salary came up repeatedly in student protests, public meetings and social media discussions.

Some Vermont lawmakers protested the library plan, too, and sought to stop it. In April, Grewal resigned.

The board asked Smith to serve as interim president. A former U.S. Navy SEAL and later a secretary of administration

under Vermont governor Jim Douglas, Smith long ago earned the title of “fixer” for stepping in at troubled institutions. Among other short-time assignments, he led Burlington College in the final months before it closed. One of the first things he did as interim president of Vermont State University was to rescind the library decision. Smith, who is 69, does not plan to stay long; he says he is firmly committed to retiring in November. While the board searches for a permanent successor, it is seeking a second interim president, who will become the university’s third leader in less than a year.

ENROLLMENT FRONT AND CENTER

Smith acknowledges that the shrinking number of high school graduates makes it more difficult to attract students. He blames publicity about the library proposal for some of the enrollment decline. A simultaneous plan to downgrade the system’s sports teams didn’t help, either. And simply changing the names of three schools to create VTSU, he said, was going to cause some confusion.

I’M CONFIDENT THAT IF WE HAVE A STRATEGIC PLAN, WITH TARGETS ALONG THE WAY FOR ADMISSIONS, THAT WE CAN FIND THE MONEY.

MIKE SMITH

Vermont State University interim president Mike Smith

ANNE WALLACE ALLEN

A tour at Vermont State University’s Johnson campus

JOSH KUCKENS

A tour at Vermont State University’s Randolph campus

BENJAMIN DEFLORIO

“Whenever you do a name change — or a brand change, as I call it — it’s bound to be a distraction,” he said.

The continuing decline in student numbers is the biggest threat to the system’s bottom line. Tuition, fees, and room and board provide about 35 percent of the budget. Reversing that decline is the new university’s top priority.

To try to attract more students, VTSU cut its base tuition about 15 percent this year to just under $10,000 for in-state students and just under $20,000 for others. Before the merger, annual tuition at Castleton was about $13,000; at NVU, about $11,000.

VTSU is also expanding its online ads and college fair attendance into new

areas, including Pennsylvania and metro Washington, D.C. With keen competition for students, it’s looking for more ways to interest people who have gone straight from school to the workforce.

Simonds, the student who toured Lyndon, is an example. She graduated from high school in 2021 and worked in retail before deciding to go to college. Her parents live in Lyndonville, and her mom attended Lyndon. Simonds feels safe there after a rocky experience with remote learning during the pandemic, her father said.

Asked for details of other ways the system will attract students, Smith said, as he often does, that VTSU is still working on its strategic plan.

“We have to do a better job of talking to young people and their parents about the importance of higher ed,” Smith said.

Smith, a first-generation college student himself, sees hybrid and remote learning as critical to making newly merged academic programs available to students at all of the university’s campuses. But that’s not an answer for everyone. While many students prefer the convenience of learning online, others say it’s more di cult.

“Online doesn’t work for so many people,” said Kingsley, of VSAC. “Students will come to me saying they can’t do online work. It’s not structured enough; they’re not disciplined enough yet. They get behind from the beginning, and they can’t ever really catch up.”

VTSU has not set a goal for the size of its student body. “What we are doing is looking for incremental growth,” said Maurice Ouimet, vice president for admissions and enrollment services, in early August. “We have a lot of programs that are underenrolled, and students don’t know what these programs are. We need to do a better job of getting that information out.”

THE TRANSFORMATION

VTSU administrators say the individual campuses won’t lose their character in the merger.

With a strong studio arts program and two art galleries, the former Johnson State College hosts courses for an array of degrees in liberal arts and sciences. The

hilly green campus sports several outdoor art installations. Science students work with their professors on regional research, which they say gives them a chance for intensive lab work they wouldn’t get at a larger school.

The smaller Lyndon campus has a strong broadcast journalism program that includes News7, an on-campus news studio that covers 14 towns on social media and a college website.

“Today you cannot turn on a radio or television station in Vermont or New England without finding a Lyndon graduate at the microphone, looking into a camera, running a camera, or engineering the equipment necessary to provide communication,” senator Joe Benning (R-Caledonia) wrote in an open letter to Gov. Phil Scott in 2020, after Spaulding’s proposal to close the Lyndon campus.

Lyndon also draws students to its outdoor education program, music industry major, and well-regarded atmospheric science — or weather and climate change — program, which has been reduced in recent years. Smith made a point of saying he plans to rebuild the meteorology o erings.

That program, and Lyndon’s relatively low sticker price, led Bobby Saba, a Mansfield, Mass., native, to choose Lyndon. Saba, who graduated last year, now specializes in tornado research as he works toward a master’s degree at the University of Oklahoma.

“You say the word Lyndon, and everyone is like, ‘Do you know so-and-so?’” said Saba, 24, of the meteorology field. He added that the broadcast program had also attracted him to the school.

“The hands-on experience I got at the on-campus news station was unmatched,” Saba said. “Even in my junior year, I was getting job o ers and I didn’t even have a degree yet.”

Castleton has the university’s largest residential population and o ers the most typical college experience. Its alumni, students, faculty and sta raised the largest outcry earlier this year after Grewal’s announcement about removing the library books.

Castleton’s curricula includes political science, nursing, and media and communications, as well as a resort and hospitality management program that o ers students opportunities to gain professional experience at Killington Resort.

And the former Vermont Technical College o ers an array of career-focused programs, including dental hygiene, forestry and pilot training, in Randolph and at its small campus in Williston.

Signs of rivalry between the campuses emerge when members of the Castleton community talk about the future of the

VERMONT STATE COLLEGES SYSTEM

COMMUNITY COLLEGE OF VERMONT

VERMONT TECHNICAL COLLEGE

LYNDON JOHNSON CASTLETON

ENROLLMENT Vermont State Colleges System

JOSH KUCKENS

Trinitie Simonds touring Vermont State University’s Lyndon campus with her father, Chris Bachand

Source: Vermont State Colleges System

CCV IS HAVING A MOMENT

The Community College of Vermont is independent of Vermont State University, but as part of the state colleges system, CCV’s $31 million budget — and its fate —is closely tied to its sister university.

And the nonresidential school is one bright spot in the student enrollment picture. CCV’s registrations were up 13 percent in August over the year before, according to Katie Mobley, CCV’s dean of enrollment and community relations.

CCV is enjoying this boost thanks in part to a new interest in job-focused training. It’s also offering an array of new programs that help Vermonters attend tuition-free — such as the 2-year-old 802 Opportunity Grant, which offers no-cost tuition to Vermonters with a family income of $75,000 or less.

With few buildings of its own, CCV also has the flexibility to start or trim courses as needed as the economy changes. Right now, the nursing and respiratory therapy programs are growing, with help from a federal grant and money from UVM. CCV offers classes in 12 locations, many of them in rented classrooms.

All CCV faculty work part time, too.

“If all of a sudden we have a rush of 100 more students saying they want to take network administration, we can quickly pivot and hire more faculty in that area,” Mobley said.

Many CCV programs, such as the ones that offer prerequisites for nursing, are designed to help prepare students for nursing programs elsewhere.

“If you start at CCV, I can show you how you’re going to finish a degree in four years at VTSU or UVM,” Mobley said. “We map it out for you.”

At $840 per class, CCV is a relative bargain. And a program that’s new this fall, Vermont Tuition Advantage, halves that price for students pursuing associate’s degrees or certificates in high-demand areas, such as early childhood education, accounting and cybersecurity.

“We are a single fiscal entity,” Mobley said. “If VTSU is not successful, that would mean CCV would no longer be successful. We are very entwined in their future.” ➆

system as a whole. Some faculty and staff say privately that the merger will drain money from the stronger Castleton, which, with more students in dorms, has a more traditional and cohesive college identity. Many believe Castleton wasn’t the campus in trouble premerger.

“Lyndon and Johnson are failing. Enrollment is down, and revenue is plummeting,” said Jonathan Spiro, a former Castleton president who served as a teacher and dean in his 20 years at the school. Castleton, however, “was actually in decent shape before the merger and is now in crisis,” he said.

Not everyone at the school feels that way. Political science professor Rich Clark said the biggest threat he sees to the campus where he has taught for 12 years is not the merger but the new remote learning options. Communicating by camera and microphone detracts from the classroom experience, Clark said, and he’d much rather get to know his students in person.

That said, he plans to stick around.

“I’ve decided to dig in and make things better, not skedaddle,” said Clark, a former nontraditional student who earned his PhD in his thirties. “I just really like teaching, and I love my students.”

ACCOUNTING 101

Each VTSU campus is beautiful in its own way, offering a small-scale glimpse of the graceful greens and majestic structures that have come to define higher education for generations of Americans. They’re used in summer for camps and conferences; Johnson’s campus sheltered an array of emergency services after the July floods devastated the small town.

But the campuses cost a lot to maintain. An estimated two-thirds of the indoor space isn’t used, including two dorms at Johnson that stand empty during the school year.

On a recent visit to Vermont Technical College, a visitor took a wrong turn in search of the restroom and encountered a hallway full of dusty, vacant offices, their doors open. A bathroom sink had been repaired with duct tape.

Sharron Scott, the system’s chief financial and operating officer, said the Randolph campus has given priority to investments in its manufacturing, engineering and computer science programs.

“Every dollar goes into operating these incredibly expensive programs, so some stuff does get shortchanged,” she acknowledged.

There are savings to be found in those buildings. The system has commissioned a master planning process to determine the best way to manage what it has — including selling off property to raise some cash. VTSU sold one of its radio station licenses to Vermont Public for $80,000 and plans to sell more. And in early August, it struck a deal

to sell about 35 acres of land on the Lyndon campus for about $315,000 to the Vermont National Guard.

Smith is also looking for savings through reorganizing academic programs. A student who wants to major in print journalism — available at Johnson and Castleton — will be able to do that at any campus through a combination of in-person classes and remote learning. The meteorology program that was established in Lyndon will be available to students in Castleton.

“There is a lot of redundancy in the system,” said Sheahan, of the Vermont Talent Pipeline, a Burlington-area business group. “They are becoming much more efficient.”

Administrators have been relying on attrition to reduce faculty and staff numbers, and it’s working. Eighty-five members of the faculty and staff left the schools that make up VTSU in the past year. Sixty-five were hired in that time; faculty and staff employment is currently 618 system-wide.

Years of state underfunding and uncertainty about the future made staff dread updates about the transformation to Vermont State University, because they often contained information about newly vacated positions that wouldn’t be filled, MacArthur Stine said. He resigned from his position as director of technical services at

the Castleton campus on July 1 to take a job with AFT Vermont, a union that represents higher ed and health care workers.

“It’s like a constant cortisol bath,” Stine said of the stress. “There’s too much work and not enough people.”

Many professors, alumni and students say the state should pony up more money to support the system. But the annual state appropriation seems unlikely to rise much more anytime soon. Lawmakers say the system has to find a way to survive without more state support; the infusions of extra cash will be gone in a few years.

“We have seen a number of colleges actually go out of business here in Vermont because of enrollment, so at what point is the cost justifiable?” asked Sen. Kitchel, whose district includes Lyndon.

Senate President Pro Tempore Phil Baruth (D/P-Chittenden-Central) hopes to put some of the revenue from Vermont’s new cannabis businesses to work helping the state colleges.

“The university has done amazing work reducing their structural deficit,” he said of the system’s cost-saving efforts so far. Baruth is an English professor at UVM and a former chair of the Vermont Senate Education Committee. Now he sits on the select committee that’s studying VTSU. “I’m

Vermont State University’s Castleton campus

confident the system is going to strengthen as it goes forward,” he said. “There should be an ongoing funding source in addition to the base appropriation.”

GLIMPSE OF THE FUTURE

A campus tour at Vermont State UniversityRandolph started out quietly on August 5. Three prospective students and a handful of parents listened to a presentation about the newly merged university. Then tour guide Lauryn Strahan, an architectural and building technology major from Texas, led the group around the grounds.

As the visitors passed the school’s $7 million advanced manufacturing facility,

WE’RE VOTING FOR TEAM JOHNSON.

the owner of a 3D printing company called QUEL Imaging in White River Junction, who was touring the college with his two nephews and other family members.

Others on the tour were visiting alone, including a prospective nursing student from outside New York City and a newly hired professor of diesel mechanics named Ron Wold who had come to learn a little about his new workplace.

The technology can be used for a huge range of applications, LaRochelle said later — such as Wold’s diesel mechanics.

A sixth-grade STEM teacher whose family belongs to a ski club in Pittsford, Deffenbaugh said she was impressed with the manufacturing capabilities in Randolph and the school’s ties to local businesses. Her son, she said, was excited about the idea of a long-standing program that allows students to use college manufacturing equipment to build their own skis and snowboards.

But she worried that the Randolph campus, where just 226 students lived last year, wouldn’t suit him.

“He’s graduating from a high school class of 500,” she said. “I think this is too small an environment for him.”

With so many variables at play, it’s difficult to predict what lies ahead for VTSU. Seven Days put a question about the system’s future to Gov. Scott in June. He said the system can’t survive as it is now.

“They have an expanded infrastructure that they can’t afford, and they’re either going to have to lease part of that out, find out ways to profit or make money off of that, or close some campuses; it comes down to that,” Scott said. “That’s a decision they have to make on their own.”

One bright spot for VTSU’s enrollment has been the so-called early college program, which pays tuition for motivated high school seniors to earn high school and college credits at the same time. Enrollment in the program rose 25 percent this year at VTSU. Ouimet declined to release this semester’s enrollment numbers for specific campuses.

Paxton Getty, 17, of Alburgh, is leaving high school early to live in a dorm at Johnson and study environmental science through the program. He plans to spend four years at Johnson, which his mother also attended, before heading on to graduate school out of state.

Paxton said he was looking forward to living in the dorm.

“This feels like walking through an area of peace,” he said of Johnson’s green campus, a welcoming space with well-tended buildings scaled to the size of the student population.

they perked up. A few asked if they could stop to learn more. Conversations started to flow.

“Does everybody see this?” said Eva Deffenbaugh, a teacher from Basking Ridge, N.J., as she looked through the windows at the commercial 3D printing equipment in the advanced manufacturing lab.

The facility, paid for by a U.S. Department of Defense grant, offers sophisticated capabilities. The lab gives local businesses the chance to create prototypes — and find new graduates to employ.

“It provides opportunities for small companies to rethink how you’re doing manufacturing,” said Ethan LaRochelle,

“If he wanted to make a custom part instead of ordering it or waiting for someone to machine it, he could get the design file and load it onto the printer and make something here,” LaRochelle said.

Administrators would love to drum up more of that excitement throughout the system.

Deffenbaugh and her 16-year-old son Tristan visited UVM and Champlain College before VTSU-Randolph. Tristan wants to study math and engineering. His mother said four students from her son’s high school in central New Jersey are headed to UVM this year. She’s not surprised.

“Burlington is a really cute campus town, cuter than many others,” she said.

Paxton recently had lunch with his mom, Heather, in the Johnson dining hall at a packed event for early college students. The two said Johnson has educated their family for generations. Heather added that she had heard about the system’s financial problems but was confident they’d be worked out.

Her love for the school runs deep. Because Johnson provides a lot of support to nontraditional students, Paxton’s sister was able to live on campus while studying there as a single parent a few years ago.

“I don’t know of a lot of other places where you’d be able to do that as a single mom,” Heather said. “We’re voting for Team Johnson.”

A tour at Vermont State University’s Randolph campus

BENJAMIN DEFLORIO

Cafeteria at Vermont State University’s Johnson campus

JOSH KUCKENS

Happy Days

Burlington High School class of 1953 holds “final” reunion

BY MARY ANN LICKTEIG • maryann@sevendaysvt.com

The Burlington High School class of 1953 met at Vermont National Country Club earlier this month for its 70th — and final, organizers said — class reunion.

Working on the reunion committee has been a joy, Diana Carlisle told 17 classmates and their guests after the luncheon plates had been cleared, the cookies passed and the co ee poured. The events have been fun, she continued. “But the time has come where ... our treasury is depleted, and so are we.”

The committee members, like their classmates, are in their late eighties. It’s time to retire, resign, call it what you will, Carlisle said. “We’re not going to do any more organized reunions. But…”

And therein lies the spirit of the class of ’53. But, Carlisle continued, some classes manage to get together every year or so informally; they announce a date and a place, and anyone who is interested shows up.

Staying connected seems dictated by the laws of gravity for these classmates. They’ve been meeting regularly since 230 of them — 224 seniors and six postgraduates — filed into Memorial Auditorium on a Tuesday in June to receive their diplomas 70 years ago. Reunions, which used to come at five- and 10-year intervals, have been annual for the past three years. “Because when we had our 60th, we said, ‘We’d better not take a chance,’” Carlisle said.

They have met at the Windjammer in South Burlington and the Hampton Inn, McGillicuddy’s on the Green and the Marina at Marble Island, all in Colchester. They have cruised Lake Champlain; toured their old school building, which now houses Edmunds Middle School; and met in Stowe for a two-day reunion many remember fondly.

“My husband used to enjoy our class reunions more than his own,” Barb Lavallee Ryan said. “He was from Barre.”

For their 25th, in 1978, John Adams brought straw hats that said “BHS Class of ’53” on the bands. He and his wife flew in from Boston that year, and when he got to the airport with a box full of hats, an airline employee told him he’d have to pay freight. Adams couldn’t a ord freight — “I had just started a new business,” he said. He and his wife couldn’t even a ord to spend the night in Burlington; they were going to fly home the same day.

BACKTOSCHOOL

So he distributed the hats to fellow passengers to wear. When the plane landed in Burlington, o filed a whole lot of people saluting the BHS class of ’53. Adams reassembled the box, collected the hats and took them to the reunion.

For their 50th, 104 class members came from nearly 20 states. They raised about $2,000 by auctioning items they had made to each other. They used the proceeds to send $100 checks annually to the Edmunds Middle School library and to buy the school a podium equipped with a microphone and a light.

This month, for their 70th, most of the attendees were locals, but Mary Louise Kolk Blanchard drove from Maine and Susan Wakefield Cochran traveled from Maryland. Adams, 89, whom classmates call “the glue,” was all set to come from Massachusetts to emcee when he had two heart

attacks three weeks before the reunion. “I’m better now,” he said the day before, though, he added, he wasn’t up for the trip.

Burlington School District personnel don’t play any role in reunions, so there’s no way to compare the frequency with which di erent classes hold them. It seems fair to say, however, that this class has remained

unusually close. Adams keeps a database with contact information for everyone he can find. He has a list of classmates who have died — 112 as of this month — and he acknowledges that there are still others whom the class lost track of years ago.

In the 144-page spiral-bound book that Rhoda Rosenberg Beningson compiled for

I THINK WE APPRECIATE EACH OTHER AS WE AGE.

DIANA CARLISLE

e Burlington High School class of 1953’s 70th reunion

Diana Carlisle with a Burlington High School class of 1953 photo at the 70th reunion

DARIA BISHOP DARIA BISHOP

the 50th reunion, she included two pages titled “Our Missing Classmates.” They are pictured there as they appeared in their senior yearbook, pure potential wrapped in smooth skin. Only their names are listed, but the unwritten message is clear: We haven’t forgotten you

Membership in the BHS class of ’53 has been a through line in many lives. Most of the class came together in seventh grade, but three attendees at the 70th reunion started kindergarten together. Beningson has a photo of them from that year: Lorna Dean Brown, David Jenkins and herself, sitting in a row on a step, wearing snowsuits.

Born during the Great Depression and young children during World War II, the classmates remember blackouts during the war. Beningson’s dad was an air raid warden whose job it was to ensure that people pulled their shades and turned off their lights. Carlisle’s dad was a pilot, and Sylvia Wright Corbin’s mother was a plane spotter. Corbin remembers going along to the tower in Ethan Allen Park when her mother was on duty.

At the end of their ninth-grade year, the United States entered the Korean War. Richard Lavallee, a member of the class, volunteered for service and got a letter telling him where to report for training the day he graduated. The war ended six weeks later, but Lavallee spent 15 months in Korea as part of the Korea Military Advisory Group.

Despite those sobering aspects of the era, “I’ve always said we grew up in the best of times,” Ryan said.

The class of ’53 was aware of current events: Miss Akins’ history students interviewed people in town about what the United Nations should do regarding Korea. But members still made time for “silly high school things,” Carlisle said. Put Carlisle, Beningson and Joan Bugbee Boardman around a dining room table scattered with old photos, scrapbooks and a yearbook — which was where they gathered the week before their 70th reunion — and the stories flow.

Every year, the class posed on the school steps for a photo. Lined up 35 to 40 students wide and seven or eight rows deep, they had to stand still as the camera moved from left to right to capture them. “Hold it, hold it, hold it,” photographer L.L. McAllister would say. One year, Adams stood at the end of a row on the left-hand side, then ran behind the group and popped up on the right to appear in the photo twice.

Once students got their prints, they passed them around to collect signatures on the back. They used the word “swell” a lot. “Best of luck to a swell kid!” “To a swell neighbor for 13 years.” “To a swell pal.” “Will we ever forget M. Verbist’s classes!!?” “Let’s hope we both get through our geometry.”

Beningson shuffled through snapshots.

“This was the troublemakers,” she said of one photo. Boardman leaned over for a look: “I’m in there, and so are you.”

“We were the good girls, really,” Beningson said. “The only time I got in trouble,” she continued, was when the University of Vermont held one of its annual jazz concerts. “And there was a fabulous jazz band coming to Memorial Auditorium. And seven of us … cut school, zoomed across the street to Memorial Auditorium and sat where no one would see us. And we’re listening to the band, and all of a sudden — I don’t know who it was — one of the kids [said,] ‘Oh, there’s Dutch.’ That was our principal [Holland L. Smith].”

The others thought it was a joke.

“So we all go, ‘Hey, Dutch!’ It was Dutch,” Beningson said. “He was writing down our names, and he called our parents.”

It’s not like they were out smoking.

“We probably did that, too,” Boardman said.

“We smoked Pall Malls in my bathroom upstairs and blew the smoke out the window,” Beningson said, though she protected the identity of her partner in the haze.

A little square photo shows two boys

pretending to mix cocktails at her father’s living room bar while a third holds a bottle to his lips. “I had a lot of parties,” Beningson said. But the boys in the photo really were pretending, she noted. “They weren’t allowed to drink. There’s no question about it; my father was listening.”

Boys were allowed to come to Beningson’s parties, she said, but if one showed up to take her on a date, her father would call him a hoodlum and send him away.

Carlisle’s parents required her dates to come into the house to say hello to them, and then her parents would tell them to have a nice time. “My mother called every boy that came ‘Larry’ so she wouldn’t goof up.”

Edmunds High produced an outstanding band in the early 1950s. So many students played instruments that they had to audition to get in. On a band trip to Boston, the girls arrived wearing dresses, heels and hats. “I got pictures to prove it,” Beningson said. “Here’s me with a feather in my cap.”

The football team went 6-1 their senior year, tying the team’s two best records during coach Milton “Buck” Hard’s 31 years at the school. Their senior year was

his last before he retired. That winter, Hard led the basketball team to the state championship. Five starters played four tournament games without a sub and were dubbed the Iron Men.

Two of those Iron Men — Jenkins and Art Lambert — attended the 70th reunion. The 50th reunion book — and the 60th edition that followed — include mini biographies submitted by classmates. Common themes include:

• Family: “Our three children and their spouses have blessed us with 4 grandchildren who have further blessed us with 6 great grandchildren.”

• Travel: “Alaska and Hawaii and a ski trip to southern France…”

• Joint replacement: “titanium”

• General health: “Sally is slowly losing her eyesight … Paul was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease … I am still very healthy but I have lousy teeth.”

• Heartache: “My husband, Bob, died of Pancreatic Cancer in 2005”; “Sadly I lost my wonderful husband, Edwin, in 2010”; “Hal died suddenly seven years ago”; “our oldest son, James died of a stroke at 27 years of age.”

They express gratitude and encouragement. The people who endured geometry together now face life’s hardest tests. “I wouldn’t call it therapeutic,” Carlisle said of the reunions, but it helps to know that others are dealing with sorrows, too, “and [to] say, ‘Well, if they can do it, I can do it. If I can do it, they can do it.’”

Carlisle’s husband died six years ago. “Every one of us … is going through losses and changes,” she said. “And so maybe that’s, in a way, a good reason why we get together.”

The 70th reunion lasted three hours. Most people lingered until the end, by which time the group had selected the first Tuesday of August as the day to meet for lunch next year. Sue Gurney Day and Brown volunteered to be point persons.

“I think we appreciate each other as we age,” Carlisle said. “We appreciate those times; we appreciate remembering them and sort of being in that moment for an hour or two.”

Joan Bugbee Boardman’s baton twirling days are over. She can’t even remember a teacher named Verbist, much less recall those unforgettable classes. Members of the reunion committee have died, but the others have carried on. Boardman helped plan the 70th reunion, and she showed up there in white pants, polished toenails and flowered sandals.

“Don’t give up Bug!” the late Marilyn Falby Stetson wrote on the back of Boardman’s class picture all those years ago. “Never forget old BHS.” ➆

Clockwise from top left: Rhoda Rosenberg, Martha Abell, Eleanor Feen, Diana Danforth, Judy Ramsden, Joan Bugbee and Joanne Aldrich

From left: John Duff, Paul Scheer and John Adams mugging for the camera

PHOTOS COURTESY OF JOAN BUGBEE BOARDMAN

Food for All

A Single Pebble sous chef works overtime to build free meals program

BY MELISSA PASANEN • pasanen@sevendaysvt.com

On a recent Monday afternoon, Luke Brown, a line cook at Burlington restaurant A Single Pebble, slashed the skins of dozens of drumsticks. Meanwhile, fellow line cook Ben Redington parcooked the chicken in huge stockpots.

After Redington skimmed the liquid in one pot, Single Pebble sous chef Nick Gambill poured in local beer, dark and light soy sauces, and Chinese cooking wine to finish the braise. He added fresh sliced ginger, chopped scallions and a generous amount of rock sugar.

“That’s too much sugar,” Redington, 23, said, ribbing his colleague.

“No, it’s not,” Gambill, 22, shot back. Pithy banter, deftly wielded cleavers and Asian ingredients are commonplace in A Single Pebble’s Bank Street kitchen, where the culinary team churns out customer favorites such as mock eel, dry fried green beans and red oil dumplings. But the three professional chefs weren’t on the job as they prepared the chicken. They were volunteering a few blocks away at the Salvation Army of Greater Burlington, where free hot meals are served five nights a week to everyone who shows up.

Brown, Redington and Hen Joyner, a bartender at nearby Restaurant Poco, had answered Gambill’s weekly call to help with his Burlington Free Meals Program, which provides regular Monday meals.

It was the pandemic summer of 2020 when Gambill resolved to deploy his skills to feed people regardless of their ability to pay. Since then, the skinny, scragglybearded young man has pulled together volunteers and resources to serve more than 1,375 free meals in Burlington. He has cooked for the Salvation Army, the Food Not Cops base on Hungerford Terrace and the low-barrier shelter operated by ANEW Place in the former Champlain Inn.

A tireless kitchen brigade of one, Gambill has magnetized supporters ranging from an elder of hip-hop to wellconnected Burlington chefs to the chef and cofounder of the People’s Kitchen,

a collaborative food-access nonprofit in Philadelphia. He has walked 50 pounds of groceries from the Old North End to the Salvation Army and collaborated on a farming pilot project in Braintree, driving two hours round trip to check the plants on a rare day o . He has used his vacation time to volunteer at the People’s Kitchen and spent several thousand dollars out of his own pocket to supplement donated staples with specialty items.

Passionate about restaurants, Gambill believes it is their responsibility to help feed everyone. The food he cooks at his job “is only going to a select few people. It’s behind this huge price wall,” Gambill said. When he cooks for free, “There are no

Nick Gambill (left) and Ben Redington

PHOTOS: JAMES BUCK

Braised Chinese chicken, rice and salad prepared by Burlington Free Meals Program volunteers

SIDEdishes

SERVING UP FOOD NEWS

Magic Chopsticks to Open in Burlington

Almost five years have passed since Champlain College announced that a ramen shop would occupy a corner spot on the ground level of its student apartment building at 194 St. Paul Street in Burlington. Several weeks ago, signs on the windows promised that MAGIC CHOPSTICKS was “coming soon.”

KAM “KEN” CHEUNG, who is managing the restaurant for its Connecticut owner, said the noodle bar will open this month. It will serve several types of traditional Asian noodle dishes, including “crossing the bridge” rice noodle soup from the Yunnan province of China, Lanzhou ramen in beef and seafood broth, and Vietnamese pho. For variety, the menu will also include Cajun dishes with pickyour-own seafood and sauces, Cheung said.

Behind the counter, an array of colorful flavorings will go into bubble milk tea, or boba tea, a sweetened beverage filled with tapioca balls. Magic Chopsticks will offer frozen yogurt, too.

Owner MICHAEL CHENG operated several Asian Bistro hibachi restaurants (unrelated to the Williston and Winooski businesses of the same name) in Connecticut, all of which have closed except one, Cheung said.

Cheng will cook at Magic Chopsticks at first, then turn over the kitchen to Cheung’s wife, MEI. The Cheungs plan to move to Burlington from Brooklyn. “He makes very good noodle broth” using a slow-cook process with pork and beef bones, Cheung said of the owner.

In late 2018, Champlain College officials projected the noodle shop would open early the following year. Cheung blamed the delay on the 2020 pandemic outbreak.

Magic Chopsticks will operate daily from 11:30 a.m. to 9 p.m., catering to the college students upstairs as well as tourists and locals, Cheung said: “That makes this a good spot — a good local population.”

Carolyn Shapiro

Hinesburg Restaurant Owner Opens Maple Café in Vergennes

CLAUDIA AMPARO, owner of PARKSIDE CAFÉ in Hinesburg, has expanded to Vergennes with the late-June launch of MAPLE CAFÉ. The new restaurant is open 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. daily in the Kennedy Brothers building at 11 Main Street. It duplicates the menu of breakfast and lunch sandwiches, tacos, burgers, pastries, and gluten-free empanadas of Amparo’s original Hinesburg café, which she bought in late 2020.

Amparo, 40, moved with her family to Vermont from the Bronx in 2016. Two years later, she launched BABA’S TACOS food truck, which remains in operation and caters mostly private events, she said.

Amparo started another food business, VERMONT BANANA BREAD, in February 2023. She ships freshly baked banana bread direct to customers and sells it at her cafés and through LANTMAN’S MARKET in Hinesburg. The busy entrepreneur and mother of four hopes to expand retail distribution of the banana bread “when I get more time,” she said.

Maple Café came about after the owner of the Kennedy Brothers building approached Amparo to see if she was interested in the vacant café space that was

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Kam “Ken” Cheung

CAROLYN SHAPIRO

walls between what you create and people being nourished by it.”

“Nick has his own crate of ingredients in our kitchen,” said Felisha Davis, pastor and administrator of the Burlington Salvation Army. “He doesn’t just want to provide food; he wants to provide good food.”

Among the supporters of Gambill’s efforts is Burlington chef Frank Pace, co-owner of August First and the Zero Gravity Beer Hall food operation. “All his extra energy is going toward this,” Pace said. “Most kids that age are not doing that.”

The young chef expressed his frustration that more restaurant owners don’t see the obligation and pitch in. The profit from a single bottle of wine sold at a number of high-end local restaurants could fund many meals, Gambill said. With the bluntness — and, some might say, naïveté — of youth, he added, “I don’t have patience for people telling me these kinds of restaurants can’t help … It’s about priorities.”

Growing up, Gambill found a home in such restaurants. School never brought out the best in him, but the kitchen did. As a Montpelier High School student, he worked his way up from the dish station at the now-shuttered Kismet. He relished the fast pace, the continual challenges and the deep bonds forged in the kitchen.

After graduating at 17, Gambill moved to New York City for a restaurant job he secured through a Kismet connection, but he was “essentially fired” after a month, he said, when his weekly shifts were slashed to one. Rather than slinking home, the teenager printed out 40 copies of his résumé and hand-delivered them to restaurants citywide. He cooked for four months at a now-closed Greenwich Village spot before returning to Montpelier to save money for school.

In summer 2019, Gambill moved to Burlington to attend the University of Vermont. He got a job at A Single Pebble, where he started by learning cleaver skills and quickly graduated to the wok.

Even before the pandemic forced his college classes online, Gambill found that his academic experience paled compared with his on-the-job learning. “ Maybe this is a better fit than Intro to Poetry,” he recalled thinking.

A Single Pebble chef-owner Chiuho Sampson said that, during his four years of working there, she has watched Gambill grow from “a very shy, really young kid” into a confident and accomplished chef. “I’ve never met a young cook who has such

HE’S PUTTING GOOD OUT THERE.

for the restaurant. Others, such as golden salted egg yolk prawns, made it to the menu.

It does not surprise Sampson that Gambill has achieved so much with his Burlington Free Meals Program. “He’s so passionate about feeding people,” she said.

Sampson has supported him with food donations, advice and use of the restaurant kitchen. But sometimes, as with his menu ideas, Gambill needs a reality check. For example, Sampson said, he asked to use the Single Pebble food truck to serve free meals, which raised liability and staffing concerns. “It sounds great,” Sampson told him, “but it’s not that simple.”

supported by the Federal Emergency Management Agency. Gambill said he may receive some emergency dollars in the wake of the July floods, but he needs steady support.

In April, Gambill earned fiscal sponsorship from the Burlington-based nonprofit Peace & Justice Center, which enables him to apply for grants and receive taxdeductible donations. He has been working on staging a benefit concert this fall featuring Memphis-based Patrick Houston, aka Project Pat, a hip-hop artist who was recently included in a New York Times list of 50 influential rappers.

Gambill hopes the concert will net $10,000. “That’s a lot when you have nothing,” he said.

The chef, who is also a musician, initially approached Houston on Instagram to ask him to contribute a verse to a song. Houston agreed and soon became a supporter of Gambill’s volunteer project. A framed photo of the artist wearing a Burlington Free Meals Program T-shirt hangs in the Single Pebble kitchen.

Houston has a faith-based nonprofit called the Go Foundation. “A lot of people think ministry is church. But Nick’s got a ministry helping people by feeding them,” Houston said in a phone interview. “I mess with Nick because he’s real … He’s putting good out there.”

At the Salvation Army on August 7, Gambill and his volunteer crew served 51 plates and to-go containers of beerbraised Chinese chicken, rice and salad with ginger-soy dressing. Asked why he came to cook on his day off, Single Pebble line cook Brown said, “I just thought it was cool that literally one person decided they were gonna make food for people in need of food. There’s no budget, and now we’re just cooking.”

passion for learning, so inquisitive like he is,” Sampson said.

In summer 2021, she recalled, Gambill came to her and said he thought he’d learned everything he could from A Single Pebble and wanted to go learn elsewhere. She challenged his assertion but said, “Sure, go for it.” Gambill spent that summer splitting weeks between A Single Pebble and Hen of the Wood in Burlington before returning to work for Sampson full time.

Her sous chef frequently texts her on the two days the restaurant is closed with ideas for new dishes, Sampson said. Some, such as a technique-intensive recipe for wok-caramelized sugared apples that Gambill mastered after much practice, were a hit at a staff meal but not practical

Between his Single Pebble job and the Burlington Free Meals Program, Gambill said he’s putting in at least 70 hours a week. He’s found it impossible to tease apart work and his volunteer labor. “I bring it with me into everything I do,” he said.

This summer, Gambill partnered with Jericho farmer and artist Luis Yat to raise a trial plot of vegetables in Braintree in a field offered by a generous landowner. Farming is yet another ball to juggle, but “We’re trying to create something that’s self-sufficient,” Gambill said.

Attaining his goals of expansion and self-sufficiency means finding financial resources. For seven months in 2022, the Burlington Free Meals Program received funding from Vermont Everyone Eats,

Mark Flynn, a Salvation Army meals regular who described himself as a member of the homeless community, said he was thankful for the “fantastic” food. Flynn’s friend, Sean, who declined to share his full name, said he appreciated the time volunteers spend cooking.

“These little sparks of generosity are a beacon in the darkness,” Sean said.

After the dinner rush, Gambill reflected on how ending a shift at the Burlington Free Meals Program feels different from ending one at his job.

After a busy night at the restaurant, he said, “I try to forget about all the stress, the anxiety, the pressure.” By contrast, he said, “The pressure here — I’m trying to carry it with me, to carry this responsibility with me.” ➆

INFO

Learn more on Instagram: @btvfreemealsprogram.

PATRICK HOUSTON, AKA PROJECT PAT

From left: Luis Yat, José Chavajay and Nick Gambill at the Burlington Free Meals Program trial vegetable plot in Braintree

MELISSA PASANEN

JAMES BUCK

Nick Gambill

GOOD TO-GO

The Godfather of All Sandwiches

In Waitsfield, Mehuron’s makes deli offerings you can’t refuse

BY CANDICE WHITE

Mehuron’s Supermarket deli manager

Patrick Garvin grins widely when describing his classic Italian sub of capicola, salami, pepperoni, provolone, olives and hot peppers. “Luca Brasi sleeps with the fishes,” he explains. Named for the character in Francis Ford Coppola’s 1972 film

The Godfather , the Luca Brasi sandwich transports your senses to the narrow streets of Sicily.

That‘s a long way from Waitsfield, where Mehuron’s has been the town grocer since 1941. Elmer Mehuron first opened the doors on Bridge Street, selling everything from groceries to ammunition — and serving as the local slaughterhouse. Today, Bruce Hyde, the stepson of Elmer’s grandson Tom, runs the store, located about half a mile down Route 100 at the corner of the Village Square Shopping Center.

Another of the deli’s sandwiches, the #33, references a famous personality from closer to home: Boston Celtics basketball player Larry Bird. The combo of turkey,

bacon and cheddar with pickled red onions, avocado and chipotle mayonnaise causes a delightful explosion of smoky, salty sweetness in the mouth. Garvin, a career chef who hails from Massachusetts, wanted to pay homage to his roots and have some fun calling out the main ingredient — turkey. (Bird, get it?)

Mehuron’s is beloved for many reasons. Beyond the deli offerings that earned it a spot in our seasonal series on great sandwiches to power summer adventures, the market has tip-top sourcing: hyperlocal and high quality. Gaylord Farm, Hartshorn’s Farm, von Trapp Farmstead, Red Hen Baking and other local producers are represented on its shelves. And shopping there feels familiar: If you’ve been, you’ll most likely recognize the petite woman stocking the vegetables, the friendly crew cashing you out at the register or the guys working the deli counter.

Hyde is a Harwood Union High School graduate and Vermont state running champion who attended Cornell University’s Nolan School of Hotel Administration. Beginning in 2018, he expanded the deli and installed a commercial kitchen — under Garvin’s direction — that drastically reduces Mehuron’s food waste by putting the excess to creative use.

But back to those guys at the deli counter: An eight-man crew makes magic behind that glass case of organic turkey sides, smoked hams and cheese blocks. The Luca Brasi ($6.99 small/$9.99 large, which goes for all specialty sandwiches) is the perfect big sammy for kicking back on a sofa and watching The Godfather — or tucking into a backpack for later consumption atop Camel’s Hump.

The Banh Mehuron is another sandwich with a deserved reputation. A take on bánh mì, it contains marinated organic tofu, housemade pâté, Sriracha mayonnaise, fresh cilantro, pickled daikon radish, carrot and jalapeño. You can substitute local pork belly for tofu, but I found no reason to change a single ingredient.

Other sandwich highlights include housemade jalapeño hot peppers, pâtés, tapenades and pickled vegetables. In addition to daily specials, the hardworking deli crew makes internationally themed take-home meals, from Mexican (Tuesdays) to Asian (Thursdays) to tuna poke (Wednesdays and Saturdays).

No longer a slaughterhouse, today’s Mehuron’s is more likely to slay your next summer adventure, whether it’s a hike, mountain bike ride or swim. Just learn from Luca Brasi and stay away from the fishes. ➆

INFO

Mehuron’s Supermarket, 5121 Main St., Waitsfield, 496-3700, mehurons.com

Patrick Garvin with the #33 sandwich at Mehuron’s Market in Waitsfield

Banh Mehuron

PHOTOS: JEB WALLACE-BRODEUR

most recently occupied by Live Young Kitchen, she said. She welcomed the opportunity to “come to a new town, meet more people and expand” her business. “This is the American dream,” she said. “We have to take it and work it.”

Amparo said her businesses rely on a team of 11 full-time employees, six of whom she provides with housing. “No housing, no business,” she said.

Melissa Pasanen

Ganley-Roper, who grew up in the Middlebury area, said Lost Lantern’s Vergennes move represents a “full Addison Country 360” and the Kennedy Brothers space is a perfect fit. “We have a full, vibrant business nationally, and we were looking for a place in Vermont,” Ganley-Roper said. “I want to put down roots here.”

The roughly 3,600-square-foot space was formerly occupied by SHACKSBURY CIDER, which moved in 2020 to a 45,000-square-foot building at 75 Meigs Road, behind Kennedy Brothers. Shacksbury closed its tasting room in the Kennedy Brothers space in March 2020 due to the pandemic. Company cofounder COLIN DAVIS said he and his business partner, DAVID DOLGINOW, hope to open a new tasting room in their current location this fall.

Lost Lantern Whiskey Bottler Finds New Home in Vergennes With Tasting Room Plans

In 2020, NORA GANLEY-ROPER and her husband, ADAM POLONSKI, launched the independent whiskey bottler LOST LANTERN, using space at VILLAGE GARAGE DISTILLERY in Bennington to blend and bottle whiskey sourced from craft distilleries around the U.S. This month, the couple, who live in Ferrisburgh, have moved all of their barrels to a dedicated blending and bottling facility in the Kennedy Brothers building at 11 Main Street in Vergennes. They hope to open a tasting room in September, Ganley-Roper said.

Lost Lantern follows what Ganley-Roper described as the Scottish tradition of curating and blending whiskey distilled by others. “We never plan to be a distiller,” she said.

The company’s growth has been fueled by $1 million from investors, including Shelburne-based FreshTracks Capital. Its single-malt, bourbon and rye whiskeys sell for $70 to $160.

Entrées and Exits: Flavors of India Replaces Irrawaddy in Essex Junction; Pica-Pica Filipino Cuisine Closes in St. Johnsbury

On July 31, FLAVORS OF INDIA opened at 10 Railroad Avenue in Essex Junction in the space most recently occupied by Irrawaddy. That restaurant’s owner, HTUN SEIN text that inadequate staffing obliged him to close Irrawaddy. Sein offered dishes from his native Burma, as well as a Nepali menu, from November 2021 until earlier this summer. Its replacement is owned by DILEEP SHARMA and serves North Indian food, said Flavors of India’s manager, who declined to provide his full name.

After almost seven years, Pica-Pica Filipino Cuisine in St. Johnsbury closed on August 12. “Maintaining reliable skilled staffing is an issue for us,” especially when students return to school in the fall, owner GEORGE SALES explained by email. He loved bringing the dishes of his native Philippines to Vermont, Sales said, but running the restaurant with too few employees and an unreliable supply chain was exhausting.

Claudia Amparo

Dishes at Pica-Pica Filipino Cuisine

Some of the whiskeys bottled by Lost Lantern

Infused With Invention

Wild Hart Distillery’s new tasting room offers cocktails and atmosphere

BY CAROLYN SHAPIRO

e Wild Hart Distillery tasting room may not quite capture the vibe of an urban jazz club, but its sophisticated cocktails would befit any vanguard lounge.

In a Shelburne industrial park behind Fiddlehead Brewing and Folino’s pizzeria, the distillery has a cordoned-off area at the entrance where small round tables and a pair of velvet love seats create a cozy nook. On a late afternoon when I visited, patrons were as likely to walk out the rear sliding-glass doors to relax in an Adirondack chair or play cornhole in the grass.

e bar dominates a smaller, darkened room to the side, where bench seating across one wall evokes late nights and clandestine rendezvous. On Fridays and Saturdays starting at 7 p.m., Wild Hart jazzes things up with live music on inside or outside stages. is week will bring Phil Cohen’s indie folk on Friday, August 18, and rock and soul from Danny & the Parts on Saturday, August 19.

Distillery co-owner Craig Stevens cofounded Wild Hart in 2017 and added the cocktail bar and events this spring, giving Shelburne a much-needed spot just to sit and enjoy a mixed drink. e tasting room’s sixpage cocktail menu also provides a showcase for Wild Hart’s vodka, signature gins and rum.

“ ere is no better way to experience the spirits,” Stevens said, referring to both

the cocktails and the atmosphere. “We’re giving [people] what they want, which is the experiential part of it.”

Bartender and mixing guru Mena Boyah created the catalog of concoctions, including the drinks’ names and colorful descriptions.

e Chai Mojito, for example, is “the intersection of Bad Bunny & Bollywood.”

Boyah divided the list into sections by style — Refreshing, Bitter, Bright, Tropical. Nonalcoholic Placebos include a bubbly Cherry Bomb and a mojito without the rum. Visitors also can order straight-up pours from Wild Hart’s lineup, including Burning Embers vodka, Pear and Ginger gin, and Corn Whiskey.

e Refreshing category appealed most to me, since I lean toward fruity and dry. I went for the Happy Gilmore ($11), with a base of Wild Hart vodka blended with Assam-rose tea and housemade lemon cordial.

Boyah cold-brews the tea, he said, then soaks rose petals in it at room temperature for 24 hours, giving the drink a deep-pink hue. He adds a spritz of rose water to bring out the floral notes just enough to stand up to the alcohol and tops the drink with a dehydrated lime slice. e result was citrusy and plenty refreshing.

Another enticing mix among Boyah’s favorites is the C.R.E.A.M. ($15), or Coconut Rules Everything Around Me, from the Tropical section. It combines Wild Hart Chai Spiced Rum washed in coconut fat with Special Reserve rum, crème of coconut, pineapple and nutmeg.

e tasting room is open ursday and Friday starting at 3 p.m. and Saturday starting at noon. On ursdays, Wild Hart offers a selection of eight “neighbor” cocktails, each for $8. Customers can order from a rotating selection of small bites such as misubi (sushi made with canned Spam), tacos or handmade doughnuts, Stevens said. e cocktail menu will change seasonally.

Wild Hart’s infused spirits not only add nuance when customers drink them neat but also allow for easy mixing at home, with flavors built in. A good tonic over the Blood Orange gin needs little more than a squeeze of lime, Stevens said.

“We’re trying to help elevate cocktails and make [them] relevant to people’s lives,” he said. e tasting room takes that creative process to another level. “People shouldn’t have to go to Burlington to get a nice cocktail,” Boyah said.

Or, for that matter, to a jazz club in a big city. ➆

INFO

Wild Hart Distillery, 26 Sage Court, Shelburne, 922-1520, wildhartdistillery.com

Mena Boyah making a cocktail

Craig Stevens in the Wild Hart Distillery tasting room

9th Planet (left) and C.R.E.A.M. (Coconut Rules Everything Around Me)

PHOTOS: DARIA BISHOP

City of Essex Junction Construction Projects

Visit Essex Junction

Road Closed Begins: June 16, 2023

Ends: September 1, 2023

Main Street Waterline

Relocation Project

Begins: June/July 2023

Looking for a great place to shop or grab a bite to eat while construction is going on? Look no further than our open and welcoming businesses! Take a stroll through our charming streets or immerse yourself in the City’s many restaurants and shops. No matter your interests, Essex Junction has something to offer.

Ends: November 2023

SHOP DINE EXPLORE

TALK TO A MORTGAGE EXPERT. TALK TO A NEIGHBOR.

Beyond Therapy

BY JORDAN

Comedian Sam Morril will likely joke about anything: abortion, pedophiles, dating apps, the Holocaust, Karens, watching porn — and that’s just in his 2022 Netflix special, “Sam Morril: Same Time Tomorrow.” Delivered with a liquid nitrogen-cooled deadpan, a gravelly voice and mischievously cocked eyebrows, Morril’s quips are as graphic as they are hilarious.

COMEDY

But a potty mouth and a gutter brain aren’t what gets the New York-born comic’s audiences doubled over in laughter. It’s that Morril’s sharp observations are anchored in irrefutable truths.

Not just a comedian, Morril hosted the late show “People Talking Sports* (*And Other Stu )” for two seasons. In the first episode, he assured his audience it would not be a typical sportscast but more like when “you’re at a bar, and someone comes over to you, and they’re drunk and they’re annoying you.”

Speaking of sauce, Morril currently cohosts the podcast “We Might Be Drunk” with fellow comedian Mark Normand. The two recently launched a beverage venture of their own, Bodega Cat Whiskey, named for the furry friends New Yorkers often encounter at their local corner store.

Morril brings “The Class Act” tour to South Burlington’s Higher Ground Ballroom on Saturday, August 19. Seven Days caught up with him in advance by phone.

You’ve performed here before, and I understand that one time there was an … incident.

Oh, yeah. You never know what’s going to happen in Vermont. You might get a massage from a white woman with dreadlocks; you might get attacked by a dude with a pint glass.

I’m sure Seven Days readers would love to hear about that.

Years ago, I got attacked by a guy in a bar. He was hammered. I was having a drink after a set. A comic friend of mine, Carmen Lagala, was opening the show. She’s from Vermont. So she said, “Let’s go to this bar right here.” We were with a couple other comics.

And a guy just walks over, and he goes, “University of Vermont?” And I said no. And he goes, “Master’s degree?” and I said, “You’re getting colder.” And he didn’t like that. And he just goes, “I’m gonna beat the crap out of all of you.” But he’s just looking at me. And I was like, Well, this doesn’t seem good. And I kind of just ignored him. As I turned around, he smashed a pint glass on my head.

It was a whole incident. He went for a cop’s gun, apparently, afterward. They

Comedian Sam Morril talks crowd work, shrinks and scaling his act

ADAMS

Sam Morril

didn’t shoot him because of his white privilege, I guess. I don’t know. Turns out he was a therapist, too. That was fun. Was this pre-pandemic? Yeah.

Well, the bad news is that it’s kinda gotten worse around here since then. I’ve been back. They’re giving out fentanyl like it’s Pez.

Make sure to hold on to your keys and wallet!

We’ll be safe. Beautiful downtown area there, so we’ll just go to that good Turkish spot I like.

A lot of times, therapy or problems with yourself — which is what jokes are, right? — you’re trying to work things out. And your jokes are, too. You’re trying to connect dots.

Has your therapist ever seen you perform?

Yeah. He sat behind my mom at one show. And I was like, “Did she not like this particular joke?” And he goes, “I don’t think she liked that one.” That’s great. Freud would have a field day with that shit.

I think that’s a setup right there. “My therapist is sitting behind my mom at a show…”

Yeah, exactly.

As you transition from smaller venues to bigger ones and national tours, what do you lose or leave behind? Anything you miss?

Yeah, of course. One thing is, when you’re not selling tickets, you’re hungry. Or you’re failing, right? You’re either drowning or you’re like, I need to sink or swim. So smaller shows also offer more repetition. You can make more changes.

Gold

Platinum

Sativa- Lemon Pound Cake, Clementine

Hybrid- Cereal Milk, Mac 11, Gary Payton

Indica- Black Diamond, Oreoz, Candy Rain, Banana Mac

Sativa- Blue Dream, Super Lemon Haze

Hybrid- Chimera, FruitBowl, Gas Pedal, Mac #42, Kings OG

Indica- Pink Bubba, BlueBerry, Rockstar, Permanent Marker, Blue God

Silver

Sativa- Strawberry Cough, McFly

Hybrid- PushPop, Electric GDP, Pink OG, Oreo Cakez

Indica- Pink Kush, MacRib, Pink Wagyu, Ice cream Cake, Ice Cream Cake #4, Death Bubba, The Widow

I wonder how writers like yourself don’t just poke holes in everything you come up with. The entire internet is basically people telling each other they’re stupid and wrong. How does that not creep into your process? You mean, how do I get over the self-hatred?

Yeah, sure.

You know, it’s tough. It’s very hard to write something that actually makes the act, or I would have more jokes. For it to make the act, it’s really gotta go through a lot. The point I’m at now with this new hour — you know, when I’m starting fresh; I have no material after I burn a special — I’ll throw anything at the wall. But, at this point, the set is working, so for a new joke to make it in takes a lot. It’s gotta kill.

You talk a lot about going to therapy. Does seeing a therapist help your act? Yeah, I think therapy can help your comedy because, you know, we’re working through original thoughts. I think some comedians make the mistake that their act is their therapy. And whenever I hear someone say that, I’m like, “I think you’re confused.” It’s usually an overindulgent comedian who is just like, “Had a fucking hard day today.” You need more than that. Therapy can be a tool for your act, for sure. Because the job is to be in your head and to think.

You get the green light to go into theaters because you’re adding shows in clubs. But once you kind of have the hour, you’re not making the changes you were in the developing stages.

There are a ton of clips of you online doing crowd work. Is that something you look forward to, or does it just keep happening?

I wouldn’t say I look forward to it. I prefer to do the show. But I’m gonna get heckled. It’s gonna happen. If I want to do crowd work organically, then I don’t mind it. The heckles can get annoying sometimes because I kind of want to do it on my terms, right? I like breaking up a set with a little crowd work.

But my sets are pretty dense. I do a lot of quick jokes. And there’s a rhythm to it. So I like to mix it up. I think that’s good for the show. And I like to, you know, riff on the city that I’m in and make the show feel kind of special for whatever city I’m in. So, yeah, I look forward to it a little bit, but nothing is better than a new bit. ➆

This interview was edited and condensed for clarity and length.

Sam Morril performs on Saturday, August 19, 7:30 p.m., at the Higher Ground Ballroom in South Burlington. $35/$39. 18+. Seated. highergroundmusic.com

IT’S VERY HARD TO WRITE SOMETHING THAT ACTUALLY MAKES THE ACT, OR I WOULD HAVE MORE JOKES.

SAM MORRIL

Movie Mania

Ninth annual Middlebury New Filmmakers Festival features themes of perseverance

BY HANNAH FEUER • hfeuer@sevendaysvt.com

Move over, Barbenheimer: A double feature has nothing on this year’s Middlebury New Filmmakers Festival, screening 118 films over the course of five days. The fest was founded in 2015 to showcase the work of first- and secondtime filmmakers, with winners of its juried competition receiving awards. Highlighting themes of perseverance and resilience, this year’s selection of features and shorts will be shown Wednesday through Sunday, August 23 to 27, across six screens that include Town Hall Theater, Marquis Theatre and venues at Middlebury College.

The festival’s opening night kicks off with Dusty & Stones, a documentary about two country singers from the African Kingdom of Eswatini (formerly Swaziland) who are determined to make a name for themselves. Inspired by country music broadcast on the Swazi national radio station, the duo puts an African flair on the music of the American South. When they’re nominated to compete in a battle of the bands in Texas, the singers travel to the U.S. intent on winning big. Director Jesse Rudoy, one of a record-high 82 filmmakers in attendance at the festival, will participate in a Q&A following the film.

Wednesday and Sunday will mark the festival’s inaugural student film

showcases, along with a new $1,000 prize for best student short. This year’s student winner, Incisor, explores a tense dentist appointment between a father and son, partly based on director Jinho Myung’s experiences with his own dentist father.

With a roughly $4,000 budget, Myung made use of friends and family as actors and the office of his father’s friend from dental school as a set. A rising senior at New York University, Myung plans to use the prize money to fund his next short film.

Ben Silberfarb, director of the documentary Whitman Brook, winner of best Vermont film at this year’s Middlebury New Filmmakers Festival

A still from With Peter Bradley

“It feels very surreal,” Myung said. “This is the first sign of hope that [my] filmmaking could come close to sustaining itself [financially].”

Taking home the prize for best Vermont film is the documentary Whitman Brook , screening on Thursday. Filmed over two years, the movie follows a couple seeking to revitalize an abandoned apple orchard in Quechee, exploring grief and the passage of time in the process.

Director Ben Silberfarb, who runs a small film production company in the Upper Valley, said he targeted his work to local film festivals because the documentary “speaks to an aesthetic that New Englanders understand.”

“Vermont is so rich with stories, and to get those stories told to Vermonters or the region is a challenge,” Silberfarb said. “Local film festivals and regional film festivals are your voice to getting that story out there.”

Other documentaries include “Philly D.A.,” a series chronicling the activism of progressive civil rights attorney turned Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner, and With Peter Bradley , a biographical film depicting Bradley’s life as a Black abstract artist and pioneer in his field whose work deserves greater recognition. Both screenings will be followed by conversations with the films’ directors.

Moving into the weekend, director and Princeton University professor Su Friedrich will discuss her experimental films Sink or Swim, a semi-autobiographical tale told in 26 short stories corresponding to letters of the alphabet; and Today, a collage of documentary footage symbolizing what it means to live in the moment.

“Part of what we want to do as a film series is explore not only the different genres in cinema but who is taking that work to the outer edge and really finding new ways of expression,” festival artistic director Jay Craven said. “Su is really in the forefront of that movement of filmmakers.”

Two-time winner of the Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay

Alexander Payne will speak about directing Nebraska — a 2013 drama about the journey of an alcoholic father and his son to collect a sweepstakes prize — and About

Schmidt, a 2002 comedy-drama in which Jack Nicholson plays a recently retired man traveling to his daughter’s wedding soon after his wife’s death.

Rather than show another film of his own, Payne will then highlight what he sees as an underappreciated movie, Raising Victor Vargas, a 2002 coming-of-age film about a cocky teenager trying to win over a girl.

“He’s really a prestigious director and somebody who hasn’t been all that dependent on studio backing,” festival producer Lloyd Komesar said of Payne. “He’s very much in the indie tradition.”

The festival will conclude with Maggie Moore(s), followed by a discussion with director John Slattery, who played Roger Sterling Jr. in “Mad Men.” Inspired by true events, the narrative film tells the story of the police investigation that ensues after two women with the same name are murdered days apart.

Slattery will speak strictly about his experience directing, not acting, due to his participation in the Hollywood actors’ strike. The actors’ union SAG-AFTRA is prohibiting those on strike from promoting their work, a blow to some larger film festivals that rely on celebrity attendance and marketing prowess to boost their numbers.

By contrast, with an abundance of small, independent films, the Middlebury festival will proceed largely unaffected, Komesar said. He expects about 600 people to attend this year, a number that has been growing as the festival bounces back from the pandemic.

“A lot of larger festivals seem to have been hampered because they rely on a great deal of star power,” Komesar said. “For us, we’ve always been a little more homegrown. We have a very engaged community.”

Komesar and Craven encourage people to stop by the festival for any amount of time, with walk-up tickets to individual blocks of films available for $14 — though they note that festivalgoers see an average of five movies each.

Looks like Barbenheimer may have been only a warm-up. ➆

Middlebury New Filmmakers Festival, Wednesday, August 23,

Murder, She Wrote

Playwright Kate Hamill’s comedy

Ms. Holmes & Ms. Watson — Apt.

2B includes the chummy tagline

“Cheerfully desecrating the stories of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.” The intent is clearly to bring cheer, and the production at Dorset Theatre Festival saws hard at the humor. The verbal wit is excellent. But the show uses excess to make up for a lack of structure and is ultimately more slapdash than comic.

Hamill is well known for her popular ri s on Jane Austen’s Sense and Sensibility and Pride and Prejudice . Her core technique in those plays is adding ultratheatrical stunts to staid period pieces. In Holmes & Watson, she’s made the characters female and transported them in time from foggy Victorian London, 1890s, to somber COVID-19-vaccinated London, 2021. In the Sherlock Holmes stories, a gentlemanly decorum prevails, but the detective often uses physical stunts and disguises to trick his suspects. Hamill spies an opportunity for stage hijinks.

The play gives director Aneesha Kudtarkar multiple comic avenues to pursue, from snappy dialogue that works quite well, to physical comedy that sometimes delights but often overwhelms the story with sheer surfeit, to stage magic that Dorset hasn’t made magical enough.

Still, the volume of funny stu is its own gag — triple casting, a gender flip, silly scene changes, accents, poses, lots of motion, oddball set dressings, witty lines, running jokes, sly references to venerated

mysteries. Linking it together is irreverence toward an oft-spoofed detective deity, but the direction relies on too much huing and pu ng in search of the next laugh. Stuck bouncing o the hoariest Holmes clichés, the play never becomes a comedy with a force of its own.

Moriarty (Michael Frederic) opens the show, warning the audience that our interest in mysteries reflects a hope for tidy conclusions in which everything happens for a reason. What if our complacent yearning for answers must yield to a chaotic

Norich, simply doesn’t belong inside this broad, scattershot comedy.

The misfit roommates banter, yielding a good number of laughs but no particular connection. Enter eager Inspector Lestrade (Frederic again), straight from Scotland Yard, asking the famous Holmes for help on a case. Holmes tugs Watson along, and the three survey a murder scene where the grisly is merrily goofy.

Holmes is an overwound clock, rattling o what’s beneath her magnifying glass too fast for us to hear and spouting random

The gender switch trumpeted in the title doesn’t lead to anything, either. A contemporary female Holmes might see the world di erently from her Victorian male counterpart, and the Holmes-Watson pairing could explore either female friendship or same-sex attraction. But Hamill’s feminist take gets no further than a modern appreciation for sex workers and a casual acceptance of revenge porn without a moral stance on it.

The performances sustain the show’s overheated engine. Frederic and Fernandez careen through multiple characters. Frederic’s Lestrade is great fun to underestimate, and his Moriarty lives under a raised eyebrow and perfect sneer.

Fernandez excels as Irene Adler, the one woman Conan Doyle created who bested Holmes and here gets quite the upper hand. A deliciously hot and wonderfully comic sexual magnetism arises between Irene and Sherlock, built from Fernandez’s killer take-me-now stares and Haider’s helpless return gazes.

Haider is best when at rest and thinking, but Kudtarkar and Hamill unfortunately never give Holmes much time o from babbling and scampering. Her motion is usually action for action’s sake, and the result is more mannerism than character.

With quiet wit, Norich handles the job of foil to the restless Holmes. Watson alone gets to step outside the play, always to humorous e ect. She’s the one tipping over the three-card monte table of Holmes’ idiosyncrasies.

Scenic designer Sarah Karl makes Sherlock’s flat a room of patched plaster walls with a cool curio cabinet and a frat house’s mess of food wrappers. Holmes’ iconoclasm seems to extend to never billing her a uent clients. The space transforms for different scenes, sometimes enjoyably, but Dorset’s usual tech tours de force are missing.

worldview? Great premise, but instead of a modernist vision of truth’s relativity, what we get is hazy playwriting.

Dr. Joan Watson (Nessa Norich) herself is the first mystery. She’s come from America looking for a cheap London apartment, and Mrs. Hudson (Francesca Fernandez, in the first of multiple roles) has a second bedroom to let. Hudson warns Watson that the tenant sharing the parlor, Sherlock Holmes, is eccentric, which here takes the form of listening to Russian symphonies at high volume and brandishing a fencing foil.

Watson wants nothing to do with her, but Holmes (Sara Haider) becomes invasively curious: Why is Watson here, and what’s giving her panic attacks? That question lingers through the play, and the answer, though quite well performed by

observations garnished with self-satisfaction. She solves the mystery by eliciting a confession that erupts like an inflatable life raft. Anything to keep the story moving. Some of the moves are great fun, such as Holmes and Watson whipping into disguise and just as quickly charging into slapstick. The production keeps surprising, but too many of the surprises are silly outbursts that lead nowhere.

Conan Doyle’s Holmes used cocaine and morphine; Hamill’s likes a cannabis buzz. The original detective had the intellectual courage to entertain the improbable; this modern version doesn’t find anything unlikely. The differences between the canonical Holmes and Hamill’s version are amusing to notice, but the update doesn’t fully cohere into a character.

It was the clever dialogue that had the audience at last Friday’s preview laughing hardest. The play never goes further than its mission statement: “Let’s make fun of Sherlock Holmes.” In this case, the fun is often easy exaggeration zipping by, giving us little time to do our own deducing. As soon as we do, we realize the play isn’t an insightful homage but a catalog of stage bits. The verbal humor hits; the stage blood misses. ➆

INFO

Ms. Holmes & Ms. Watson – Apt. 2B, by Kate Hamill, directed by Aneesha Kudtarkar, produced by Dorset eatre Festival. rough August 26: Wednesdays through Saturdays, 7:30 p.m.; and Wednesdays, Saturdays and Sundays, 2 p.m., at Dorset Playhouse. $53. dorsettheatrefestival.org

THE PLAY NEVER GOES FURTHER THAN ITS MISSION STATEMENT: “LET’S MAKE FUN OF SHERLOCK HOLMES.”

From left: Michael Frederic, Sara Haider (standing), Francesca Fernandez and Nessa Norich in Ms. Holmes & Ms. Watson — Apt. 2B

MUSIC

All-Star Vermont Musicians Band Together for Flood Relief

BY CHRIS FARNSWORTH • farnsworth@sevendaysvt.com

Vermont music all-stars are coming together to aid local farmers affected by the July floods. And they’re paying tribute to the music of Bob Dylan while they’re at it.

On Thursday, September 7, the Flynn Main Stage in Burlington hosts Hug Your Farmer: Hard Rain, spearheaded by guitarist Bob Wagner (Kat Wright, Dark Side of the Mountain). Wagner leads a local supergroup dubbed the Hug Your Farmer Band, which includes bassist Mike Gordon (Phish), keyboardist Ray Paczkowski (Trey Anastasio Band), soul duo Dwight + Nicole, singersongwriter Kat Wright, drummer Steve Hadeka (Matthew Mercury), composer Matt LaRocca (Vermont Symphony Orchestra) and many others.

The Hug Your Farmer series has been raising money for Vermont farmers since marketing and design agency Select Design launched it in 2010. Burlington musician Rich Price, part of the Select team that conceived the series, will play the Flynn show with his band, the Sweet Remains.

The series’ inaugural concert, at South Burlington’s Higher Ground Ballroom, was a similarly star-studded benefit for Pete’s Greens following a devastating fire at the Craftsbury farm. Subsequent editions of the series have featured Grace Potter, Guster’s Ryan Miller, Jon Fishman and Page McConnell of Phish, and Dave Matthews.

Wagner, Price and Flynn director of programming Matt Rogers organized next month’s concert.

Taking inspiration from Dylan’s classic track “A Hard Rain’s A-Gonna Fall,”

the Hug Your Farmer band will perform a selection of Dylan songs over the course of the evening. Wagner, who has recently led all-star lineups for birthday shows at Higher Ground and a tribute to Bill Withers at the Backside 405 summer series in Burlington, knows just how effective this crew of musicians can be.

“Having led the band on these shows in the past, I know the musical impact it delivers is palpable for both the audience and the performers,” Wagner wrote in an email. “There’s a real feeling of being in the room together and, not to state the obvious, but this is clearly a time for folks to come together and help each other out.”

All net proceeds from the benefit will go to the Vermont Community Foundation’s VT Flood Response and Recovery Fund 2023. The nonprofit has already directed more than $1 million in funds to Vermonters impacted by the July floods. Wagner also revealed that the Flynn event has a donor match for up to $100,000.

“If we raise $20K, we’ll actually raise $40K. If we raise $50K, we actually raise $100K,” Wagner wrote. “That kind of match will go a long way in terms of helping out farms who have lost crops, infrastructure and equipment due to flooding.” ➆

Hug Your Farmer: Hard Rain, Thursday, September 7, 7:30 p.m., at the Flynn Main Stage in Burlington. $35-55. flynnvt.org

Bob Wagner

The Art of Recovery

After the flood, Vermont Studio Center goes back to the drawing board

BY CAROLYN SHAPIRO

number of residents. Some of the remaining studios, for example, needed updating to address leaks and accessibility, Sullivan said. “We have absolutely zero bu er for the current size of residency, let alone when we expand,” she said.

During a meeting in the Red Mill last week, architects and engineers who’ve worked with the center for years discussed new flood-zone models and sites that could be raised above potential water levels.

The VSC campus has flooded in the past but usually upstream along the Gihon River, sta said, doing minimal damage in basements. Looking back 50 years, they couldn’t remember another flood that submerged the Wolf Kahn Barn, which sits about 200 feet from the river.

The July 10 deluge stemmed from the Lamoille River, which runs southwest of Johnson and intersects there with the Gihon, turning the peaceful spur into a soaking pipeline.

“The water was up to the windows,” Corp said. “It rose so much quicker than anyone expected.”

Since the flood, state historic preservation o cials have given VSC permission to demolish the Wolf Kahn Barn, which was built in 1950 and once served as the town garage. That will require relocating its eight studios, four on the lower level that flooded and four upstairs.

Fo r the past 39 years, Vermont Studio Center has been a sanctuary for creatives. Visual artists and writers from around the world have flocked to the Johnson campus for monthlong residencies that foster both intense, solitary work and the supportive conviviality of peers.

For artists ensconced in VSC’s private studios, the flow of the nearby Gihon River normally provides a soothing soundtrack. But on July 10, amid torrential rains, the Gihon abandoned its composure and surged over VSC property and throughout downtown Johnson.

The water rose 20 feet beneath the Pearl Street bridge and poured into the 80-year-old Red Mill, the heart of VSC’s campus. The former gristmill’s lower level,

which extends over the swirling river, housed the resident lounge and other common areas. Those were destroyed. The flood also soaked about a third of the more than 1,200 prints in the center’s art library, which held archives of work donated by alumni.

Trevor Corp, a Wolcott artist and VSC’s buildings and grounds manager, maintained a studio in the Wolf Kahn Barn for nine years. Floodwaters submerged four feet of the building’s ground floor, ruining his supplies and about 45 paintings, Corp said. Three resident artists’ spaces were also decimated.

When he entered his studio after the water receded, “things were upside down and inside out and in every direction,” Corp said.

VSC leaders had been deep into designing a new master plan for the campus, including the renovation of several old buildings, when the flood upended their priorities. They shifted to immediate damage mitigation, such as restoring heating systems and other utilities in saturated basements. Next, they’ll need to rethink where artists should live, work and gather and how to ensure those places can withstand the threats of future disasters.

“We don’t want to just rebuild and then be flooded again in 10 years,” said Hope Sullivan, who became the studio center’s executive director two months before the flooding.

The ongoing renovation plans are intended to set up the center for the long term, particularly as it increases its

The art library will move, too. Vermont Arts Council restoration experts rushed in to help salvage as many works on paper as possible, showing VSC sta how to dry, clean and re-flatten the prints in layers.

“We’ve got a long path ahead to restore those prints,” Sullivan observed. “But at least we got them dried.”

The most pressing challenge for the center’s leadership is figuring out where to relocate crucial common areas, including a business center with high-end digital printers, rooms for private Zoom meetings and a yoga space.

“This is the heart of the residencies, the place where people came together,” Sullivan said, standing in the Red Mill’s gutted lower level.

For now, the resident lounge occupies a makeshift location — not ideal, Sullivan

WE DON’T WANT TO JUST REBUILD AND THEN BE FLOODED AGAIN IN 10 YEARS.

HOPE SULLIVAN

Hope Sullivan near the Vermont Studio Center’s Red Mill Building

PHOTOS: KEVIN GODDARD

said — in the corner of the upstairs dining hall. It holds two sofas, side chairs and a coffee table donated by Stowe Living. Kate Carpenter, owner of the home goods and interior design store, delivered the furniture personally after her staff helped with flood cleanup.

“The communal space there is so central and so critical to the experience,” said Janie Cohen, a Burlington textile artist who has attended VSC residencies. “The interactions are so important.”

VSC was founded in 1984 by artists Jon Gregg; his partner, Louise von Weise; and Fred Osborne. As the program grew to accept more residents, so did its campus, which now encompasses 20 buildings.

Today, numerous sources cite the center as the largest artist residency program in the country. Before the COVID-19 pandemic, VSC welcomed as many as 55 artists at a time, selected

through a jury process, for monthlong stays. More than 600 creators arrived in Johnson each year, including state residents who came for the annual Vermont Week.

Cohen, the retired longtime director of the Fleming Museum of Art at the University of Vermont, attended Vermont Week twice to work on her art and twice for writing. The time the center offers “out of your normal routine” is invaluable to artists, she said.

“It’s being taken care of, having three meals a day that are so good and so healthy and so fantastic,” Cohen said. “And then it’s being among artists. However many hats you wear in your regular life, you are an artist when you are there.”

In the past, two artists shared each room and bathroom in the center’s living quarters. When COVID-19 hit, the center closed its campus for almost two years and adapted most of the lodgings to single occupancy. It added new ventilation systems and brought older buildings into modern code compliance. Artist talks via Zoom and other virtual events filled the time until the campus reopened in February 2022.

Residencies have dropped to about 30 artists at any one time, though VSC continues to create more space. When it returns to full capacity, the campus will host 42 people at a time, Sullivan said. Through the center’s partnership with nearby Vermont State UniversityJohnson, master of fine arts students can pursue their degrees through residencies. That relationship has stagnated in

Damaged artwork

Harlan Mack, sculpture program manager, pointing to the high-water line on the bottom floor of the Red Mill Building

‘Tossed: Art From Discarded, Found and Repurposed Materials’

e staggering amount of detritus in the modern world provides boundless opportunities to make unique works of art. So the prosaic title “Tossed: Art From Discarded, Found and Repurposed Materials” doesn’t reveal much. Nor does it prepare visitors for the range and ingenuity of creations in the exhibition now at the Middlebury College Museum of Art.

“Tossed” is a relatively modest show with only 18 pieces, and its spacious arrangement, designed by curator Ken Pohlman, makes it comfortable to navigate. “You can find your own space with an object,” he said.

at’s particularly necessary with the large-scale “Hovor,” by Ghanaian sculptor El Anatsui. On loan from the Hood Museum of Art at Dartmouth College, the tapestry of crumpled liquor bottle caps and copper wire measures 240 by 216 inches. ough delivered flat and rolled up like a carpet, according to Pohlman, it is meant to be draped in irregular folds. Against a gray wall, the multicolored “Hovor” shimmers and seems to undulate. As a museum description notes, the piece “echoes the structure of Ashanti ceremonial cloth weavings.”

e artist, now nearing 80, has been employing metal refuse for decades, and his stunning artworks are collected in museums internationally. Within them, Anatsui embeds a statement about the effects of colonialism and globalization. In April, Time magazine included Anatsui among the 100 most influential people of 2023.

Born almost 40 years later in Benin, Romuald Hazoumè also merges African tradition with contemporary reality. His wall-hung “No Man’s Land” mimics Yoruban wooden masks, but its “face” is a plastic gasoline container. e protruding handle and spout suggest nose and mouth, respectively. Red and black plastic beads are draped over the “head,” and a brush at the top represents hair.

is faux mask is witty, but its reference is harrowing. “Hazoumè’s use of these jugs references the widespread and dangerous practice of Beninese smugglers,” reads the

description. ey fill the containers with cheap Nigerian fuel and illegally transport it across the border to Benin on bicycles and motorcycles.

“No Man’s Land” is one of 13 pieces in the exhibit purchased by or gifted to the museum. Most of the others are by American artists who in various engaging ways mingle traditional art forms with evidence of environmental and cultural devastation.

New York City-based Duke Riley transforms plastic he finds washed up on the shoreline with “scrimshaw,” à la the carvings on bones and teeth by 19th-century sailors. His wryly titled “No. 382 of the Poly S. Tyrene Memorial Maritime Museum” was formerly a Shell engine oil container. Riley painted the jug a yellowed white, then adorned it with a black line illustration. Despite its delicacy, the drawing makes clear who is responsible for this single-use plastic item.

barbed wire, perched on a tall steel pole. Markowski typically uses discarded metal from industrial and agricultural sources. Museum director Richard Saunders suggested including a Vermont artist, Pohlman said, “and I immediately thought of Eben. I loved his elephant at the airport.” ( e 10-foot-tall “Gravity” was briefly in residence at Burlington International Airport

in 2016.)

It was Saunders, too, who invited Pohlman to curate an exhibit before his retirement in December. Pohlman has been with the museum since 1986, designing exhibitions and, every few years, teaching an exhibition-design class. Both men liked the idea of a show devoted to artworks using found materials.

Khalil

Khalil Chishtee’s dramatic installation of three human figures — and telephones — is crafted from plastic bags and underscores the notion that “today’s trends are tomorrow’s trash,” as the wall text reads. Titled “24/7,” it stands adjacent to a winged cherub made from a discarded military jacket by Ruby Chishti. e Pakistani-born couple now live in Brooklyn.

“Tossed” includes just one Vermont artist, Panton metal sculptor Eben Markowski. “Owl” — on loan from Jess and Alex Crothers — is a raptor made of rusted

Pohlman, who lives in Lincoln, said the Anatsui was his inspiration, but in selecting other artists, “I just looked for interesting work with an engaging backstory, art that is part of the social experience,” he said.

“ is is a show where older cultures are coming together in modern work,” Pohlman continued. “I hope people will come for the pure enjoyment, seeing what creative people can do with the most ordinary things.”

“Tossed” is on view through December 10. Learn more at middlebury.edu/museum.

PAMELA POLSTON

Clockwise from top left: “No. 382 of the Poly S. Tyrene Memorial Maritime Museum” by Duke Riley; “Wandering” by Ruby Chishti; “Owl” by Eben Markowski

“Hovor” by El Anatsui

NEW THIS WEEK

burlington

PETER & NATHANIEL JOSLIN: “Kindred,” works in different mediums by the father and son artists. Opening reception: Wednesday, August 23, 5-8 p.m. August 23-September 1. Info, 363-5497. new new art studio in Burlington.

ROSA LEFF: “Blown Away,” familiar scenes of urban life in intricately cut paper. Reception: Friday, August 18, 5:30-8 p.m. August 18-September 30. Info, 324-0014. Soapbox Arts in Burlington.

chittenden county

TOM WATERS: “Reaching New Heights,” Vermont landscape paintings. Reception: Sunday, August 20, 1-3 p.m. August 17-September 24. Info, 899-3211. Emile A. Gruppe Gallery in Jericho.

stowe/smuggs

SAMANTHA M. ECKERT: “The Color of the Sky Is Pink,” new sculpture and installation. Closing reception and artist’s talk: Thursday, September 28, 3 p.m. August 22-September 28. Info, 635-1469. Julian Scott Memorial Gallery, Vermont State University, in Johnson.

middlebury area

MARGARET GERDING: “Capturing the Moments,” new paintings featuring coastal scenes and rural Vermont. August 19-September 26. Info, 989-7419. Edgewater Gallery on the Green in Middlebury.

northeast kingdom

TODD DEPERNO: “Beef Quirky,” graphically stylized paintings depicting the obvious. Meet-the-artist party: Friday, August 18, 5-7 p.m. August 18-September 6. Info, 229-8317. The Satellite Gallery in Lyndonville.

brattleboro/okemo valley

KIM GRALL & KATHLEEN ZIMMERMAN: “One Artist Bound to Earth,” mixed-media encaustics on paper, birch bark and gourds; and “Solo Spotlight,” serigraph and intaglio prints, respectively. Reception: Friday, August 18, 5-7 p.m. August 18-October 14. Info, 289-0104. Canal Street Art Gallery in Bellows Falls.

PHOTOGRAPHY: FOUR PERSPECTIVES: An exhibition of images in different styles and subject matter by Al Karevy, Davida Carta, Joshua Farr and Vaune Trachtman, members of the Vermont Center for Photography in Brattleboro. Reception: Sunday, August 27, 3-5 p.m. August 19-November 12. Info, 451-0053. Next Stage Arts Project in Putney.

randolph/royalton

TANYA LIBBY: Detailed paintings from nature. Reception: Saturday, August 19, 3-5 p.m. August 18-October 14. Info, 889-3525. The Tunbridge General Store Gallery.

outside vermont

LINDA ROESCH: “A Lifetime of Unfinished Discovery,” paintings in ink and watercolor by the local artist. Reception: Friday, August 18, 5-7 p.m. August 18-September 23. Info, 603-448-3117. AVA Gallery and Art Center in Lebanon, N.H.

ART EVENTS

AMAZING MAKERS: AARON YORK: The internationally known Wabenaki artist and educator discusses what defines Wabenaki arts and culture and how the nonverbal language of material culture can help us cross racial divides and political boundaries. Cold Hollow Sculpture Park, Enosburg Falls, Saturday, August 19, 2 p.m. Free. Info, 512-333-2119.

ARTIST TALK: JACQUELINE SURDELL:

Vermont Studio Center presents a virtual talk with the Chicago-based fiber artist. Register for Zoom link at vermontstudiocenter.org. Online, Wednesday, August 16, 7:30-8:30 p.m. Info, 635-2727.

BTV MARKET: An outdoor market featuring wares by local artists, makers, bakers and more, accompanied by live music and lawn games.

Burlington City Hall Park, Saturday, August 19, 11 a.m.-3 p.m. Info, 865-7166.

CURRENTLY SPEAKING: KELLEY DI DIO: The associate professor at the University of Vermont presents “Taking Monuments Off Their Pedestals,” regarding the call to dismantle certain public artworks in recent years and the consideration of what purpose monuments have, what histories are conveyed and who gets to choose them. The Current, Stowe, Thursday, August 17, 5-6:30 p.m. $10 suggested donation. Info, 253-8358.

‘THE GANG AT THE MOULIN ROUGE’: Educator and artist Sydelle Gansl discusses the life of French painter Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec and explores the seven elements of art: line, shape, space, value, form, texture and color. Chaffee Art Center, Rutland, Tuesday, August 22, 6-7:30 p.m. Donations. Info, 775-0356.

‘IN OUR WORDS, IN OUR COMMUNITY’: A touring public arts and humanities exhibit that amplifies the voices of Vermonters experiencing homelessness, food insecurity and economic challenges, created by Vermont Folklife and photographer Macaulay Lerman in partnership with the Champlain Valley Office of Economic Opportunity. Swanton Village Park, Sunday, August 20, 10 a.m.-2 p.m. Info, 388-4964.

MEET THE ARTIST NIGHT: MIKE MAYONE: The artist talks about his oil and acrylic realist paintings of Vermont and New England. Brandon Artists Guild, Friday, August 18, 7-8:30 p.m. Free. Info, 247-4956.

THE NOMADIC PHOTO ARK: Photographer Monica Jane Frissell and audio recorder and editor Adam Scher bring the nationally touring “Portrait of Us” project to town to photograph and record members of the community. If interested in participating, contact project director Martha Elmes at nomadicphotoark@gmail.com. The mobile studio is parked in front of White Market, Lyndonville. Through August 31. Info, 229-8317.

OPEN STUDIO: Draw, collage, paint, move, write and explore the expressive arts however you please during this drop-in period. Available in studio and via Zoom. Most materials are available in the studio. All are welcome; no art experience necessary. Expressive Arts Burlington, Thursday, August 17, 12:30-2:30 p.m. Donations. Info, info@ expressiveartsburlington.com.

STONE BENCH PROJECT: The Carving Studio and Sculpture Center dedicates a functional stone artwork created by seven teen sculptors under the instruction of Nora Valdez. The team included Anya Brostek, Jackson and Mackenzie Graham, Pema Kerins, Milo Piovano-Marcotte, Emily Sunderland, and Liam Wolff. Northwood Park, Rutland, Saturday, August 19, noon. Info, 438-2097.

TAPE ART INSTALLATION: Rhode Island artists Michael Townsend and Leah Smith create a mural with colored tape on the front of the museum and invite the public to participate in two sessions. Brattleboro Museum & Art Center, Wednesday, August 16, through Friday, August 18, 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Info, 257-0124.

VISITING ARTIST TALK: JACQUELINE

SURDELL: The Chicago-born artist discusses her textile-based work. Register for Zoom link to attend. Online, Wednesday, August 16, 7:30-8:30 p.m. Free. Info, 635-2727.

WONDERARTS ART TENT: Pop-up art workshops. Hardwick Farmers Market, Friday. August 18, 3-5 p.m. Free. Info, 533-9370.

Sunday,

The Legendary Count Basie Orchestra

ONGOING SHOWS burlington

‘ABENAKI: FIRST PEOPLE EXHIBITION’: The council and members of Alnôbaiwi (in the Abenaki way) and the museum open a new exhibition featuring the Abenaki Year, the seasonal calendar of people who lived in the area for more than 8,000 years before Europeans arrived, as well as works by contemporary Abenaki artisans and a replica of a 19th-century Abenaki village. Through October 31. Info, 865-4556. Ethan Allen Homestead in Burlington.

ANDRE BEAULIEU: Hyperrealist acrylic and oil paintings. Through August 31. Info, 338-7441. Thirty-odd in Burlington.

ART AT THE HOSPITAL: Oil paintings by Louise Arnold and Jean Gerber and photographs by Mike Sipe (Main Street Connector, ACC 3); photographs on metal by Brian Drourr (McClure 4 ); acrylics and mixed-media painting by Linda Blackerby (Breast Care Center) and Colleen Murphy (EP2). Curated by Burlington City Arts. Through September 30. Info, 865-7296. University of Vermont Medical Center in Burlington.

‘OUTSTANDING: CONTEMPORARY SELF-TAUGHT

ART’: Drawings, paintings and 3D works by area artists Larry Bissonette, Denver Ferguson, June Gutman, Chip Haggerty, Liza Phillip, Pamela Smith, Thomas Stetson and Kalin Thomas. HYUNSUK

ERICKSON: “Thingumabob Society,” multicolored, towering, playful sculptures that suggest sprouting seeds or family groupings. Through September 17.

Info, 865-7166. BCA Center in Burlington.

‘ON THE AIR’: An exhibition that reflects the influence of media, film, radio, pop culture and TV, presented by Media Factory and SEABA. Through August 27. Info, curation@seaba.com. RETN & VCAM Media Factory in Burlington.

PIEVY POLYTE: Paintings by the Haitian artist, coffee farmer and founder of Peak Macaya Coffee. Curated by Burlington City Arts. Through August 31. Info, 865-7296. Burlington City Hall.

RENEE GREENLEE: “Blue Alchemy,” an exploration of the Lake Champlain watershed in 10 cyanotypes on silk banners. Through August 28. Info, greenlee.renee@gmail.com. Fletcher Free Library in Burlington.

VERMONT PHOTOGRAPHERS CLUB: A group exhibition of established and emerging local photographers, including Ali Kaukas, Abbey Meaker, Corey Hendrickson, Daniel Brooks, Daniel Cardon, Daniel Schechner, Nathanael Asaro, Shem Roose, Zack Pollakoff and more. Co-presented with Bauschaus VT. Through September 7. Info, 233-2943. Safe and Sound Gallery in Burlington.

WOODY JACKSON: “Amazing Graze,” new large-scale watercolor landscapes of Vermont. Through August 31. Info, 863-6458. Frog Hollow Vermont Craft Gallery in Burlington.

‘XOXO: AN EXHIBIT ABOUT LOVE & FORGIVENESS’: An interactive exhibition that provides children and caregivers the opportunity to think about and explore feelings through activities designed to help them understand, appreciate and express their emotions. Through September 4. Info, 864-1848. ECHO Leahy Center for Lake Champlain in Burlington.

chittenden county

ART AT THE AIRPORT: Acrylic abstract paintings by Matt Larson and acrylic floral paintings by Sandra Berbeco, curated by Burlington City Arts. Through September 30. Info, 865-7296. Patrick Leahy Burlington International Airport in South Burlington.

‘BUILT FROM THE EARTH’: An exhibition of masterful Pueblo pottery from the Anthony and Teressa Perry Collection of Native American art. ‘OBJECT/S OF

CALL TO ARTISTS

ART/CRAFT FESTIVAL: MAG is accepting up to 100 vendors for the third annual Art & Stroll festival on September 16. There will also be food trucks, live music, kids’ activities and more. Register at miltonartistsguildstore. com. Milton Artists’ Guild Art Center & Gallery. Through August 30. $30-50 members; $80 nonmembers. Info, 891-2014.

ARTIST DEVELOPMENT GRANTS & FLOOD RELIEF FUNDING: The Vermont Arts Council offers grants that can fund activities to enhance mastery of a skill or support an artist’s business or the creation of new work. Separate grants are available to artists who have been significantly and adversely affected by the recent flooding. The latter will be offered until funds are exhausted. Details at vermontartscouncil.org. Online. Through September 26. Info, 402-4602.

ARTIST MEMBER SHOW: Artist-members of Stone Valley Arts may submit up to five pieces of work in any medium for an exhibit October 14 through December 10. Must be ready to hang or be displayed appropriately. A link to the entry form will be sent via email to registered artist members. Deadline: August 31. Stone Valley Arts, Poultney. Info, stonevalleyartscenter@ gmail.com.

THE BRIGHT IDEAS PROJECT: If you’re an artist, musician, creator or small business with a big idea, propose it to Highlight, Burlington’s official New Year’s Eve celebration. Highlight crowdsources brilliant concepts for events from the community and funds selected projects up to $8,000 . Learn more at highlight. community. Deadline: August 27. Free. Info, hello@highlight.community.

‘CYCLES’: The nonprofit organization invites artists to submit work for an upcoming touring exhibition that interprets the theme in any way. Artists with disabilities are encouraged to apply. Email for more info. Deadline: September 22. Inclusive Arts Vermont, Essex Junction. Info, exhibitions@inclusiveartsvermont.org.

‘MACRO/MICRO’: Sparrow Art Supply in Middlebury invites artists to dive into the realm of size and scale with monumental masterpieces and tiny miniatures. Alternatively, this theme can be approached in the subject matter. All mediums will be considered. Details and application at sparrowartsupply.com.

Deadline: September 3. Online. Free to enter; $10 if accepted. Info, 989-7225.

‘MY DOG AND THE WOLF’: Radiate Arts Space is sponsoring an unjuried art exhibit about the dog-wolf connection: about people and their dogs, humans’ role in the domestication of the wolf, and why and how it has resulted in such a variety of breeds. Workshops October and

PLAY’: An interactive exploration of the creative processes of American toy designers Cas Holman and Karen Hewitt. ‘POP UP’: An exhibition of contemporary inflated sculptures inside and outside the museum featuring three artists and artist teams from the field of pneumatic sculpture: Claire Ashley, Pneuhaus and Tamar Ettun. (Outdoor sculptures not on view on days with excessive wind.) STEPHEN

HUNECK: “Pet Friendly,” an exhibition of hand-carved and painted furniture, sculptures, relief paintings, bronze sculptures and more by the late Vermont artist. Reception: Thursday, September 7, 5:30-7:30 p.m.; members only, preregistration required. Through October 22. Info, 985-3346. Shelburne Museum.

November, celebration in December. Richmond Free Library. Through November 1. Info, mauie@ gmavt.net.

THE PEOPLE’S ART SHOW: Montgomery Center for the Arts is seeking submissions to a non-juried, uncensored exhibition celebrating all forms of creativity, diversity and imagination. Submissions must be ready to hang. More info and registration at bit. ly/3Q7d1IM. Deadline: September 17. Online. Free. Info, montgomerycenterarts@gmail.com.

PUBLIC ART OPPORTUNITIES: Burlington City Arts has issued two requests for qualifications: Artists can apply to create new work for Burlington International Airport’s recently updated terminal and/or for the CityPlace Streetscape Project. Details and application at burlingtoncityarts.org. Deadline: September 22. Online. Info, 865-7166.

‘PUPPETS’: Create a film seven minutes or shorter according to the month’s theme, “Puppets.” Interpretations can be loose. Films will screen in competition on September 2 at 7 p.m. Winner chooses the theme for next month. Submit your film via Google Drive to mothershipmonthlyfilmfest@gmail.com. Deadline: August 31. MothershipVT, Burlington. Free.

VAULTS RESIDENCY PROGRAM: The South End Arts + Business Association and Unsworth Properties on Howard Street in Burlington provides one local artist a private studio, free of charge, for a year in order to create a new body of work or further their creative practice. Apply at seaba.com. Deadline: August 20. Online. Info, 859-9222.

‘WHO ARE WE? PIECES OF THE IDENTITY

PUZZLE’: November is a time for reflection and introspection. The gallery is seeking artwork depicting your take on identity, whether personal or as a people. All mediums accepted. Deliver work on or before Wednesday, November 8. Register at melmelts@yahoo.com. The Satellite Gallery, Lyndonville. $20. Info, 229-8317.

YOUTH PHOTO CONTEST & FAIR: In-Sight Photography is hosting a competition for youth ages 11 to 18 who live within an hour of Brattleboro. Contestants are invited to submit one image in each of the following categories: Analog Film, Artistic, People, Places, the New England Experience. Submitted photos will be exhibited in In-Sight’s gallery this fall. Three winning images in each category will be awarded prizes by a jury. Deadline: August 20. Details at insightphotography.org. Online. Info, 251-9960.

DAVID SMITH: “Chasing Light,” oil paintings of vividly patterned land and water. Through September 2. Info, 985-3848. Furchgott Sourdiffe Gallery in Shelburne.

JENNIFER ASHLINE: An installation of landscape, floral and figurative works. Through September 24. Info, 662-4877. Salt & Bubbles Wine Bar and Market in Essex Junction.

‘LET THE LIGHT IN’: New paintings by Vermont artists Liz Hawkes deNiord, Joy Huckins-Noss, Jill Madden and Julia Purinton, curated by Essex High School student Xandra Ford. Through October 19. Info, gallery@southburlingtonvt.gov. South Burlington Public Art Gallery.

MATT LARSON & NANCY CHAPMAN: Nature-inspired abstract paintings. Curated by Burlington City Arts. Through October 17. Info, 865-7296. Pierson Library in Shelburne.

PATRICIA DUTCHBURN: Whimsical acrylic paintings by the self-taught artist. Through August 31. Info, 846-4140. South Burlington Public Library Art Wall.

‘SPARK: FUELING A LOVE OF BIRDS’: An exhibition of works by more than 60 artists and writers expressing avian admiration. Through October 31. Info, 434-2167. Birds of Vermont Museum in Huntington.

barre/montpelier

AUGUST GROUP SHOW: Artworks in a variety of mediums by established and new member artists. Through August 31. Info, 552-0877. The Front in Montpelier.

‘ELEMENTS OF SHELTER’: Original works in wood, metal and glass by Yestermorrow faculty members Thea Alvin, Meg Reinhold, Nick Pattis, Anna Fluri, Sophia Mickelson and Johno Landsman, in conjunction with the Waitsfield design/build school. Through May 31, 2025. Info, 828-3291. Vermont Arts Council Sculpture Garden in Montpelier.

ELINOR RANDALL: “Deep Impressions,” a survey of the master printmaker’s work 1954 to 2013. Curated by NNEMoCA. Second-floor gallery and Quick Change Gallery. Through October 18.

KARMIMADEEBORA MCMILLAN: “Totems, Walking Sticks and Spirit Sticks,” vibrant patterned sculptural paintings that express a historical context of spirituality, tradition and folklore. Third-floor gallery. Through August 18. Info, 479-7069. Studio Place Arts in Barre.

ERICKSON DÍAZ-CORTÉS AND FIONA MCTEIGUE:

Two solo exhibitions: “By Myself With You,” featuring painterly colored drawings of domestic scenes; and “Rock Paper Scissor,” stream-of-consciousness graphite drawings of daily life, respectively. Through September 15. Info, hexumgallery@gmail.com. Hexum Gallery in Montpelier.

‘INSIDE OUT: INCARCERATION’: A traveling exhibition of artworks by imprisoned artists that explore the intersections of trauma, addiction, incarceration and reentry. A collaboration of Artists in the WV Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation and Goddard College’s Reentry Advocates program. Through September 22. Info, 262-6035. T.W. Wood Gallery in Montpelier.

‘KOLAJ’: Various styles of collage art by Vermont artists Anne Cummings, Liz Buchanan, Kris Bierfelt, Madeline Halsey, Holly Hauser, Cariah Rosberg and Heather Stearns. Info, jcquinn@ymail.com. Grist Mill Studios in East Calais.

PATTY MERIAM: “The Longest Branch,” oil paintings that explore trees and human connections by the Barre-based artist and conservator. Reception: Saturday, August 19, 3-5 p.m. Through September 14. Info, 229-6206. North Branch Nature Center in Montpelier.

PREYA HOLLAND: Nature and landscape photography inspired by the beauty of Vermont and New England. Through September 30. Info, 479-0896. Espresso Bueno in Barre.

stowe/smuggs

‘NATURE’S PLAYGROUND’: An exhibition of 2D artworks that depict activities in the New England landscape. Through September 3. ‘THE CREATIVE PROCESS’: An exhibition of works by 40 artists as well as their reference photos, test strips, sketches or other supportive materials. Through September 3. LEGACY COLLECTION: A showcase exhibition of paintings by gallery regulars as well as some newcomers. Through December 23. Info, 644-5100. Bryan Memorial Gallery in Jeffersonville.

F/7 EXHIBITION: “Reflecting on Reflections,” photographs by the central Vermont artist group: Elliot Burg, Lisa Dimondstein, Julie Parker, Sandy Shenk, Ron Spring and Annie Tiberio. Through August 18. Info, 888-1261. River Arts in Morrisville.

JOE CHIRCHIRILLO: Recent sculptures by the southern Vermont-based artist and curator of the North Bennington Outdoor Sculpture Show. Through September 20. Info, 635-2727. Red Mill Gallery, Vermont Studio Center, in Johnson.

‘A PLACE OF MEMORY’: An exhibition that questions public representation and how cultures and countries define their past through monuments, memorials and sculptural objects, featuring indoor and outdoor artwork by Woody De Othello, Nicholas Galanin, Vanessa German, Deborah Kass and Nyugen E. Smith. Through October 21. Info, 253-8358. The Current in Stowe.

ROSEMARY D’ELIA: “Finding Away,” an exhibition of works from an artist’s residency in France. Through August 27. Info, 644-8183. Visions of Vermont in Jeffersonville.

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.

‘TINY FIREWORKS’: Small works on canvas, panel, paper and wood by 14 Vermont-based and affiliated female-identifying artists: Athena Petra Tasiopoulos, Andrea Pearlman, Abigail Synnestvedt, Marjorie Kramer, Tamara Malkin Stuart, Lynne Reed, Louise Von Weiss, Annie Pearlman, Kathy Stark, Marie LePré Grabon, Lois Eby, Wiley Garcia, Mollie Douthit and Arista Alanis. Through September 16. Info, 646-5191781. Minema Gallery in Johnson.

mad river valley/waterbury

‘ART IS CANDY’: An exhibition in the brand-new venue features works by Will Patlove, Steve Budington, Athena Tasiopoulos, Will Gebhard and Frank Tamasi. Through August 18. Info, 355-5440. The Phoenix in Waterbury.

BENJAMIN ALESHIRE: “Cyanotypical,” blueprint photographic portraits on fabric. Through August 18. Info, joseph@waterburystudios.com. Waterbury Studios.

BIG RED BARN ART SHOW: The 25th anniversary exhibition of fine crafts, paintings, sculpture, glass, pottery, fabric arts and photography by nearly 40 area artists. Through September 3. Red Barn Galleries, Lareau Farm, in Waitsfield.

DENIS VERSWEYVELD: “Still Life,” sculpture, paintings and drawings by the Vermont artist. Through September 30. Info, 244-7801. Axel’s Frame Shop & Gallery in Waterbury.

‘THE MAD CONTEMPORARY’: An exhibition of cartoon artworks by more than a dozen Vermont artists. Through September 14. Info, 496-6682. Mad River Valley Arts Gallery in Waitsfield.

‘NOR’EASTER’: Contemporary abstract paintings by Terry Ekasala, Craig Stockwell and Rick Harlow. Through September 4. Info, 583-5832. The Bundy Modern in Waitsfield.

middlebury area

‘ARTISTS IN THE ARCHIVES: UNSEEN NEIGHBORS: COMMUNITY, HISTORY & COLLAGE’: Digital and analog collages by 23 artists from seven countries that reflect on the idea of community in the 21st century. Through August 26. ‘STELLAR STITCHING:

19TH CENTURY VERMONT SAMPLERS’: An exhibition

of needlework samplers made by young girls in the 19th-century that depict alphabets, numerals and decorative elements. Through January 13. ‘VARIETY

SEW: A SAMPLING OF TEXTILE TOOLS AND DEVICES’: Sewing machines, spinning wheels and myriad sewing paraphernalia from the permanent collection. Through September 30. Info, 388-2117. Henry Sheldon Museum of Vermont History in Middlebury.

BONNIE BAIRD: “Weathering,” a solo exhibit of land- and skyscape paintings by the Vermont artist and farmer. Through September 15. Info, 877-2173. Northern Daughters in Vergennes.

‘FACES & PLACES’: An exhibition of figurative and landscape artwork by 60 artists that celebrates the comforts of home and family as well as faraway people and destinations. Through September 2. Info, 989-7225. Sparrow Art Supply in Middlebury.

MIKAEL OWUNNA: “Infinite Essence,” photography that portrays Blackness as the divine, cosmic origin from which all existence blooms. Through August 19. Info, 443-5526. Davis Family Library, Middlebury College.

PHILIP FREY: “Rejoicing in Color,” a solo exhibition of paintings. Through September 5. Info, 458-0098. Edgewater Gallery at the Falls in Middlebury.

STEVEN & KYLE QUERREY: “The Aegean,” photographs taken on the islands of Hydra and Poros, Greece, by the local artists. Through September 14. Info, info@littleseed.coffee. Little Seed Coffee Roasters in Middlebury.

‘TOSSED’: Nearly 20 works that make use of found, discarded or repurposed materials, curated by museum exhibition designer Ken Pohlman. Through December 10. Info, 443-5007. Middlebury College Museum of Art.

rutland/killington

‘THE ART OF THE CREATIVE PROCESS’: An exhibition of sculpture, photography, painting, fabric art and illustration by Kerry Fulani, John Lehet, Amy Mosher, Judith Reilly and Ashley Wolff, respectively, as well as works by Vermont lighting design company Hubbardton Forge. Through October 8. Info, 468-2711. Stone Valley Arts in Poultney.

BANNERS ON BRIDGE STREET: Colorful double-sided banners painted with repurposed house paint by nine local artists decorate the street. Through October 15. Info, 496-3639. Waitsfield Village Bridge. BILL RAMAGE: “Jackson, Warhol & Johns: The Triumvirate of Transition,” the third of three installations addressing a culture transformed over the span of three artists’ lives. Through September 2. Info, 282-5361. B&G Gallery in Rutland.

‘BROOM ART’: The inaugural exhibition in the new gallery features paintings and sculpture made with brooms by artists Warren Kimble, Sandy Mayo and Fran Bull. Through October 31. Info, 558-0874. Conant Square Gallery in Brandon.

FRAN BULL & PETER WALLIS: “Mythic and Quotidian,” painted papier-mâché sculpture and works on paper from the series “We’re All at a Party Called Life on Earth!” (with Robert Black), and mixedmedia paintings based on memory and dreams, respectively. Also included are shadow boxes Wallis created in collaboration with other artists. Through August 18. Info, 775-0356. Chaffee Art Center in Rutland.

NEW MEMBERS EXHIBITION: Fused-glass work by Garrett Sadler, wood crafts by Guy Rossi, landscape

RUTLAND/KILLINGTON SHOWS » P.54

paintings by Brian Hewitt, pastel paintings of animals and nature by Lynn Austin, and sculpture and realist paintings by Liza Myers. Through October 31. Info, 247-4956. Brandon Artists Guild.

champlain islands/northwest

A CHAIR AFFAIR: Adirondack chairs decorated by local artists and displayed along Main Street will be auctioned on August 19 to benefit the Church Street Group, a local charity dedicated to preserving architectural treasures in downtown St. Albans. Through August 19. Info, a.young@stalbansvt.com. Downtown St. Albans.

‘HEARTFELT VESSELS FOR PEACE: A SHOW OF CLAY’: Unique pieces by artisans from Across the Grain Pottery Studio in South Hero. Includes silent auction to benefit UNICEF and the Vermont Community Foundation’s Flood Response and Recovery Fund. Through September 15. Info, 734-7448. Grand Isle Art Works.

TINA & TODD LOGAN: Acrylic paintings and 3D works, respectively, by the married artists. Through October 1. Info, 308-4230. Off the Rails at One Federal in St. Albans.

upper valley

‘BOLD BOTANICALS’: Nearly 20 area artists show artworks that celebrate the blooming season. Through August 26. Info, 295-4567. Long River Gallery in White River Junction.

‘COW’: An exhibition of dozens of bovine artworks based on the same paint-by-number kit, executed in a huge variety of unusual mediums and submitted by participants from around the world. Closing reception: Friday, August 18, 5-8 p.m. Through August 31. Info, 369-5722. Main Street Museum in White River Junction.

KATE REEVES: “Watercolors Plus,” 29 original paintings, some of which use plant material as stencils. Through August 31. Info, watercolorkatevt@gmail. com. Quechee Inn at Marshland Farm.

‘MANY ARTISTS, ONE MODEL’: An exhibition of images dedicated to the late artist and model Penny Bennett by Vickie Herzberg, Sue Schiller, Rachel Gross, Sheri Hancock, Stephen Plume, Michael Shafer, Bartlett Leber and others. Through August 25. Info, 295-5901. Two Rivers Printmaking Studio in White River Junction.

northeast kingdom

ANN YOUNG: Figurative paintings by the Vermont artist. Through September 30. Info, oliveylin1@gmail. com. 3rd Floor Gallery in Hardwick.

ANNA YAKUBOVSKAYA: “Sightseeing in Silk & Paper,” watercolor paintings. Through August 19. Info, 7480158. Northeast Kingdom Artisans Guild Backroom Gallery in St. Johnsbury.

‘BEES ON PEAS & OTHER OBSERVATIONS IN THE GARDEN’: A group exhibition of artworks featuring all things garden-related. Through September 9. Info, 334-1966. MAC Center for the Arts Gallery in Newport.

JERRICA GAUDREAU: “Beautiful Life,” mixed-media wall pieces. Through August 16. Info, 525-3366.

Parker Pie in West Glover.

‘WHAT GOES AROUND, COMES AROUND’: An exhibition of objects that explores the practical, spiritual and ecstatic human relationship to wheels and what they enable. Through May 31. Info, 626-4409. The Museum of Everyday Life in Glover.

brattleboro/okemo valley

5TH ANNUAL VERMONT SUMMER GROUP SHOW: Works by 26 local artists in a variety of mediums. Through September 2. LEN EMERY: An exhibition of aerial, journalistic and fine art photography by the latest member of the gallery’s Working Artist Program. Through September 29. Info, 289-0104. Canal Street Art Gallery in Bellows Falls.

‘GLASSTASTIC’: Glass creatures dreamed up by children in grades K-6, brought to 3D life by glass artists, and situated in a habitat designed by Cynthia Parker-Houghton. ‘PRIDE 1983’: Photographs, artifacts and audio recordings that explore the origins and legacy of Burlington’s first Pride celebration. A production of the Pride Center of Vermont and Vermont Folklife, curated by Margaret Tamulonis.

ALEX EGAN: “Drawing Room,” a series of paintings that make up an imaginary house. ANINA MAJOR:

“I Land Therefore I Am,” ceramic sculptures and other objects that explore self and place, belonging and identity, by the Bahamas-born artist. AURORA

ROBSON: “Human Nature Walk,” an immersive site-specific installation inspired by the natural forms of the Connecticut River and fashioned from plastic debris intercepted from the waste stream. Visitors are invited to contribute clean plastic bottle caps in designated sections of the installation.

American abstract artist’s work, featuring shaped canvases from the 1970s to large-scale paintings in his last years. SUSAN ROTHENBERG: Nearly 30 figurative, gestural paintings by the late American artist from throughout her career. Weekends only; reservation required. Through November 26. Info, info@hallartfoundation.org. Hall Art Foundation in Reading.

JOHN R. KILLACKY: “Flux,” an exhibition of objects from a wordless, process-based video inspired by scores, propositions and performative actions of Fluxus-era artists; cinematography by Justin Bunnell, editing by C. Alec Kozlowski and sound composition by Sean Clute. Through August 30. Info, 257-7898. CX Silver Gallery in Brattleboro.

MARY ZOMPETTI: “The Lost Garden,” black-andwhite photographs created by leaving film exposed to the elements over periods of time. Through August 27. Info, 251-6051. Vermont Center for Photography in Brattleboro.

manchester/bennington

‘THE RED DRESS’: A touring project, conceived by British artist Kirstie Macleod, that provides an artistic platform for women around the world, many of whom are vulnerable and live in poverty, to tell their personal stories through embroidery.

BARBARA ISHIKURA & SAM FIELDS: “Frippery, Finery, Frills: Works in Conversation,” an exhibition of paintings and mixed-media sculptures, respectively, that explore intimacy in women’s lives. Through September 24. Info, 362-1405. Southern Vermont Arts Center in Manchester.

‘FOR THE LOVE OF VERMONT: THE LYMAN ORTON COLLECTION’: More than 200 works of art that capture Vermont’s unique character, people, traditions and landscape prior to the 1970s from the collection of the Vermont Country Store proprietor. Also displayed at Bennington Museum. Through November 5. Info, 362-1405. Yester House Galleries, Southern Vermont Arts Center, in Manchester.

‘A HISTORY OF BENNINGTON’: An exhibition of artifacts that invites viewers to examine how history informs and affects our lives. Through December 31.

artist, aka Daniel Matthews. Through September 30. Info, 889-9404. Tunbridge Public Library.

LINDA BLACKERBY & BETTE ANN LIBBY: Abstract paintings and mixed-media mosaic works, respectively. Through October 1. Info, 279-5048. ART, etc. in Randolph.

‘NO PLACE LIKE HERE: PHOTOGRAPHS FROM VERMONT, PAST AND PRESENT’: Vermont photographs, 1978-98 by Peter Moriarty, main gallery; and Farm Security Administration photographs of Vermont 1936-43, center gallery. Reception: Saturday, August 26, 2-5 p.m. Through October 29. Info, 767-9670. BigTown Gallery in Rochester.

‘TIDY CRIMES OF PERSONHOOD’: Drawings, paintings, prints and collages that imagine femme futures and document the experiences of navigating gender as trans and nonconforming individuals, featuring Caleb Yono, Joey Tatlock, Jordan Turk and Sofia Morena. Zoom talk with artist-scholar Che Gosset: Wednesday, August 16, 6 p.m. Through August 18. Info, 728-9878. Chandler Center for the Arts in Randolph.

outside vermont

CHARLET DAVENPORT, SABRINA B. FADIAL & CORALEA WENNBERG: The artists present “Drawing From Life,” “Material – Process – System –Knowledge” and “Plant Stories,” respectively. Through August 26. Info, 603-448-3117. AVA Gallery and Art Center in Lebanon, N.H.

‘PORTABLE UNIVERSE: THOUGHT AND SPLENDOUR OF INDIGENOUS COLOMBIA’: Nearly 400 artworks, including jewelry, masks, effigies, textiles and more, dating from about 1500 BC to the present. Through October 1. DEMPSEY BOB: “Wolves,” a retrospective of totem poles, sculptures and masks by the Canadian master carver. Through September 10. Info, 514-285-2000. Montréal Museum of Fine Arts.

‘FAITH’: An exhibition of 50 landscapes, still lifes and figurative spanning five decades by Harold Weston, accompanied by writing from his wife, Faith Borton Weston, and archival photographs. Curated by Charlotte-based Rebecca Foster. Through September 3. Info, 914-309-7095. Keene Arts, N.Y.

RICHARD GOMBAR & ELIZABETH RICKETSON: Nature-based paintings by the local artists. Through August 19. Info, 457-3500. Artistree Community Arts Center Theatre & Gallery in South Pomfret.

VERMONT WATERCOLOR SOCIETY: Twenty paintings by a dozen member-artists of the Connecticut River chapter. Through August 31. Info, watercolorkatevt@ gmail.com. Norwich Public Library.

The Art of Recovery « P.49

“Being part of the regional landscape for arts and writing is an important part of the mission,” she said.

Sullivan is the third executive director since Gregg stepped away from leadership in 2015. She relocated from Massachusetts to Stowe to become the executive director of Spruce Peak Performing Arts Center in 2017, but even then, she had her eye on VSC, she said. When the director’s job opened up earlier this year, she jumped.

Despite its global reputation, VSC

HANNAH MORRIS: “Movable Objects,” narrative multimedia paintings in the gallery’s front windows.

‘FOR THE LOVE OF VERMONT: THE LYMAN ORTON COLLECTION’: More than 200 pieces of art, primarily from the 1920s to 1960, acquired by the founder of the Vermont Country Store. Simultaneously exhibited at the Southern Vermont Art Center in Manchester. Through November 5. Info, 447-1571. Bennington Museum.

LELA JAACKS: Outdoor abstract sculptures by the Vermont artist. ROBERLEY BELL: “Where Things Set,” an installation of distinct but related sculptures and drawings. Through October 9. Info, 257-0124. Brattleboro Museum & Art Center.

ANDY WARHOL: “Small Is Beautiful,” 100 of the artist’s smaller-format paintings, from the Hall collection. RON GORCHOV: A 50-year survey of the

doesn’t seek out publicity — and that’s by design, Sullivan said.

“For years it was a protective mechanism, to really protect the experience of the residents,” she said. Artists typically live under the pressure of delivering work and putting it and themselves on display, Sullivan explained. “This organization is all about nurturing artists and writers, nurturing a creative spirit, the translation of spirit into form, whatever form they want.”

Sullivan sees her current role as elevating the public face of VSC as she solicits

NORTH BENNINGTON OUTDOOR SCULPTURE SHOW: An outdoor exhibition featuring 77 sculptures by 59 artists, curated by Joe Chirchirillo. Through November 12. Info, nbossvt@gmail.com. Various Bennington locations.

randolph/royalton

ASTRO DAN DAN: “Manufactured Phonies,” a show of prints and paintings by the Hanover, N.H.-based

‘HOMECOMING: DOMESTICITY AND KINSHIP IN GLOBAL AFRICAN ART’: More than 75 works drawn from the museum’s collection of African and African diaspora art that emphasize the role of women artists and feminine aesthetics. Exhibition tour: Wednesday, August 23, 12:30-1:30 p.m., with curator Alexandra M. Thomas. Through May 25. KENT MONKMAN: “The Great Mystery,” four new paintings by the Cree artist along with five works in the museum’s collection that inspired them, by Hannes Beckmann, T.C. Cannon, Cyrus Edwin Dallin, Mark Rothko and Fritz Scholder. Through December 9. Info, 603-646-2808. Hood Museum, Dartmouth College, in Hanover, N.H. ➆ recent years, Sullivan said, and she hopes to restore the cohort to 10 students a year.

funding for post-flood rebuilding costs and the remaining 25 percent of a $2.55 million long-term campus project. More than 450 people have donated since the flood, covering half of the estimated $500,000 restoration price tag. State disaster-relief funds will cover no more than three buildings, Sullivan said.

The flood has had a silver lining, she said, in that it has opened up new reasons for her to connect with VSC alumni and new ways of “communicating who we are and what we need without jeopardizing the experience.”

In the studios that flooded, some of the artists’ work floated on old doors, which they had set across sawhorses to use as tables. That work suffered minimal damage, said Corp, who helped to retrieve the materials. VSC paid $50,000 to cover residents’ ruined supplies, but the value of the destroyed artwork is difficult to determine, Sullivan said.

As Corp put it, “Any artist puts their heart and soul into what they make.” ➆

GET 1/2 OFF TUITION IN OVER 20 CCV PROGRAMS

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music+nightlife

Burlington waterfront. The fest featured artists such as the AVETT BROTHERS, GUSTER, JACKSON BROWNE and NATHANIEL RATELIFF & THE NIGHT SWEATS over the years, but it hasn’t been staged since 2019.

When asked if Grand Point North will return, Potter couldn’t hide a look of dismay, even behind her wide sunglasses.

“I fucking hope so,” she said. “The truth is, I can’t get the fest o the ground again by myself. And if I bring in outside investors and sponsors … you end up with people trying to figure out what they can take from the community, as opposed to what they can contribute.”

SUNDbites

News and views on the local music + nightlife scene

BY CHRIS FARNSWORTH

On the (Mother) Road Again

As she took a sip from her latte, the latesummer sun reflecting o the sunglasses that partially obscured her face, GRACE POTTER cracked a wry smile.

“I made an album that, to me, is very much a sort of ‘Thank you, world,’” the Vermont-born singer-songwriter said as she gazed toward the verdant trees surrounding us at Camp Meade in Middlesex. “But it’s easy to mistake ‘thank you’ for ‘fuck you’ — especially when you shout it from a speeding car.”

The car metaphor is no accident. The Waitsfield native is currently bicoastal, living with her husband, record producer ERIC VALENTINE, and their child in Topanga, Calif., as well as spending time at a farm in Fayston that she recently purchased. Two summers ago, riding a wave of depression and anxiety stemming from a miscarriage and feeling trapped after a winter in Vermont, Potter flew back to Topanga. Then she reversed course and spent weeks driving east on the famed Route 66, writing much of the material that would make up her new album, Mother Road

“I’m 40 now, which means I’ve spent over half of my life on the road,” Potter said. With a résumé that includes seven albums, multiple Grammy nominations, collaborations with everyone from country star KENNY CHESNEY to indie rock royalty the FLAMING LIPS and songs written for Disney, it’s easy to understand why Potter might want

to take stock as she moves into a new phase of her career.

“It’s a really convenient age to stop believing in time,” she said, laughing.

“But as humans, it’s natural we change as we learn.

“I’ve always had a partition between my politics and my songwriting, and that’s still there to some degree,” she continued.

“But the best way I can describe these new songs is ‘unapologetic.’ It’s the first record I’ve made where I use bad language. Because, and I say this with love for all, I don’t give a fuck what people think about it anymore.”

Potter’s newfound rawness, particularly in relation to Mother Road, has, funnily enough, caused her own mother some concern. Peggy Potter has read things the singer has said in the press and expressed to her daughter that she worries she is “not OK.”

“I used to be so scared to talk about politics, cities and infrastructures, arts programming, state funding, lawsuits and divorces … basically, all the things that I’ve now been through or am dealing with in my life,” Grace Potter said. “So I keep telling her that, actually, I’m more than OK because I’m being honest.”

Titling her record after a line in John Steinbeck’s The Grapes of Wrath, Potter uses the narrative of Mother Road to make it clear she’s driving to heal herself. When she sings the line “Wherever I’m headed / Mama, don’t let it be down” on

the title track, it’s both a plea to the road to deliver her somewhere better and a rallying cry for the rest of the trip.

As she strove to document how her sense of adulthood was changing, Potter said, she ironically found herself connecting to her 9-year-old self, a kid who once ran away from home in the middle of the winter, wearing a bathing suit and sneakers, in search of better snacks.

“When you’re a girl and you’re just 9, you’re so daring,” Potter said. “Society hasn’t imposed fear and boundaries yet. That’s what I’m trying to get back to, a little. But that includes not having a fear of speaking the truth.”

For Potter, that drive has manifested itself in more ways than songwriting. She recently cohosted town meetings with Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) in White River Junction and South Burlington. The talks dealt with getting resources to Vermont’s artists, a subject near and dear to Potter’s heart.

“It’s a great reality check for me,” Potter said. “I’d get so worked up ahead of time, thinking about our little issue, and then I’d ask Bernie how he’s doing, and he’d reply, ‘I’m doing fine when the world isn’t burning down.’ So it’s important to keep context.”

Potter has firsthand experience of how di cult it is to fund the arts in Vermont. She launched the Grand Point North music festival in 2011 on the

Though she hopes she’ll eventually find the right partners to launch the festival again, Potter doesn’t think she or Grand Point North should be held up as some sort of totem for Vermont musicians.

“I don’t have an interest in planting a flag and saying, ‘I am a Vermonter,’” Potter said. “I am a Vermonter, of course. But using that as some sort of badge of honor or identity just feels reductive to me at this point. And I know that’s what my mom is so afraid of me saying.”

She took a final sip of her latte and lowered her shades, giving me a knowing, almost mischievous look.

“Look, I’m not trying to o end anyone when I say that sometimes I don’t feel like I belong anywhere,” she said. “Vermont taught me that you have to maintain connectivity for art and for life. But it also taught me that sometimes you just have to say, ‘Fuck it. This is how I feel.’”

Mother Road drops on August 18 on all streaming services.

Listening In

(Spotify mix of local jams)

1. “LADY VAGABOND” by Grace Potter

2. “DECENT” by Yung Breeze, D.FRENCH, Raw Deff

3. “STORMS ARE ON THE OCEAN” by Eric George

4. “OUR WORLD” by Mikahely

5. “DAB LAB” by Workingmans Army

6. “GESTATION” by Burial Woods

7. “COLORADO” by Hayley Jane Scan to listen sevendaysvt. com/playlist

Grace Potter

COURTESY OF GRACE POTTER

On the Beat

LAURA HEABERLIN, one half of the Vermont folk duo CRICKET BLUE, appears on a new track from singer-songwriter HANK MIDNIGHT. “River Song” reunites Midnight and Heaberlin, who met while attending Middlebury College. Midnight is based in Paris these days, and he and Heaberlin haven’t seen each other in years, but they made the transatlantic collaboration work.

Midnight wrote the piece and recruited Heaberlin to write the harmony arrangement. The result is a gorgeously chilled-out track, with the two vocalists’ voices weaving expertly. Between YouTube and Spotify, the song has amassed more than 10,000 streams. You can also check it out at hankmidnight.bandcamp.com.

The collaboration between the VERMONT SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA and the MIDDLEBURY NEW FILMMAKERS FESTIVAL continues as the fest enters its ninth year. Since 2016, the VSO has done live performances of the scores of selected films screened at the festival.

This year’s selections, the short films “Born Under Punches,” directed by GAOYANG GANJIN, and the animated “The

Social Chameleon,” directed by ALEX ROSS, will be screened on Friday, August 25, at Wilson Hall in the McCullough Student Center at Middlebury College.

“During the performance, a VSO chamber orchestra will showcase the beautiful music that makes these films so compelling,” VSO artistic adviser and project conductor MATT LAROCCA wrote in the event’s press release.

Eye on the Scene

Last week’s live music highlights from photographer Luke Awtry

JESSE TAYLOR AT VENETIAN COCKTAIL & SODA LOUNGE, BURLINGTON, AUGUST 12: A gentle rain fell on Saturday, quickening my pace. So I definitely would’ve made it to the start of JESSE TAYLOR’s set had I not gotten distracted. As I neared the Soda Plant parking lot, I spotted a full rainbow with a faint double above it, perfectly framing Decker Towers, Vermont’s tallest building, in its aura. It seemed like a harbinger — the rare glimpse of a double rainbow leading me right to what I thought was an equally rare solo set by Taylor. As it turned out, this was her third this week! After a few familiar covers and some light Q&A banter — and no, I do not think 4 NON BLONDES “What’s Up?” is overplayed; I still love that song — Taylor moved on to playing some of her originals. As the last chord of “80° in October” rang out and she sang the line “Can you hear me?” the answer was clear, even in this stripped-down and much quieter version of the Jesse Taylor Band. Can we hear you? Yes, we can. And we love it all, any way you wanna play it.

“The combination of live music performance overlaid on the screening of these beautiful, creative short films is truly memorable and a singular element of the Middlebury New Filmmakers Festival,” festival producer LLOYD KOMESAR wrote.

For tickets and more information, visit vso.org. And for a preview of the fest, turn to page 44. ➆

On the Air

Where to tune in to Vermont music this week:

“WAVE CAVE RADIO SHOW,” Wednesday, August 16, 2 p.m., on 105.9 the Radiator: DJS FLYWLKER and GINGERVITUS spin the best of local and nonlocal hip-hop.

“ROCKET SHOP RADIO HOUR,” Wednesday, August 16, 8 p.m., on 105.9 the Radiator: Host TOM PROCTOR plays local music.

“THE SOUNDS OF BURLINGTON,” Thursday, August 17, 9 p.m., at wbkm.org: Host TIM LEWIS plays selections of local music.

“CULTURAL BUNKER,” Friday, August 18, 7 p.m., on 90.1 WRUV: Host MELO GRANT plays local and nonlocal hip-hop.

“ACOUSTIC HARMONY,” Saturday, August 19, 4 p.m., on 91.1 WGDR: Host MARK MICHAELIS plays folk and Americana music with an emphasis on Vermont artists.

“LOCAL MUSIC SPOTLIGHT,” Sunday, August 20, 6:45 p.m., on 104.7 WNCS the Point: The station plays new music from Vermont artists.

“ALL THE TRADITIONS,” Sunday, August 20, 7 p.m., on Vermont Public: Host ROBERT RESNIK plays an assortment of folk music with a focus on Vermont artists.

Cricket Blue

COURTESY OF MONIKA RIVARD

CLUB DATES

live music

WED.16

Back Porch Revival (folk) at American Flatbread Burlington Hearth, 5:30 p.m. Free.

Bluegrass & BBQ (bluegrass) at Four Quarters Brewing, Winooski, 6:30 p.m. Free.

David Karl Roberts (singersongwriter) at Blue Paddle Bistro, South Hero, 5:30 p.m. Free.

The High Breaks (surf rock) at Vermont Pub & Brewery, Burlington, 6 p.m. Free.

Jazz Jam Sessions with

Randal Pierce (jazz) at the 126, Burlington, 9 p.m. Free.

Jazz Night with Ray Vega (jazz) at Hotel Vermont, Burlington, 8:30 p.m. Free.

Kind Hearted Strangers (rock) at Nectar’s, Burlington, 9 p.m. Free.

Lazy Bird (jam) at Red Square, Burlington, 8 p.m. Free.

Live Jazz (jazz) at Leunig’s Bistro & Café, Burlington, 6:30 p.m. Free.

The Middle Ages (hip-hop) at Radio Bean, Burlington, 7:30 p.m. $5/$10.

MONSTERWATCH, Spoon Benders, Dog Lips, Greaseface (punk) at Radio Bean, Burlington, 9 p.m. $10/$11.

Some Kind of Nightmare, Doom Service, Ghastly Sound (metal) at Despacito, Burlington, 6 p.m. $10.

Wednesday Night Dead (Grateful Dead covers) at Zenbarn, Waterbury Center, 7 p.m. $5. Wet, Lucy (indie) at Higher Ground Showcase Lounge, South Burlington, 8 p.m. $22/$25.

Willverine (electronic) at the Wallflower Collective, Burlington, 7:30 p.m. Free.

THU.17

Acoustic Nomads (folk) at Zenbarn, Waterbury Center, 7 p.m. $12/$15.

AliT (singer-songwriter) at Filling Station, Middlesex, 6 p.m. Free.

Burning Monk (Rage Against the Machine tribute) at Lost Nation Brewing, Morrisville, 9 p.m. $10.

CombustOmatics (rock) at Black Flannel Brewing & Distilling, Essex, 6 p.m. Free.

Dan Ryan Express (jazz) at Foam Brewers, Burlington, 7 p.m. Free.

Duke Aeroplane (rock) at the Venetian Cocktail & Soda Lounge, Burlington, 8 p.m. Free.

Grace Palmer and Socializing for Introverts (rock) at Red Square, Burlington, 6 p.m. Free.

Jazz with Alex Stewart and Friends (jazz) at the 126, Burlington, 8:30 p.m.

John Lackard Blues Duo (blues) at Vermont Pub & Brewery, Burlington, 6 p.m. Free.

Creature Feature

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.

Jerborn (covers) at On Tap Bar & Grill, Essex Junction, 5 p.m. Free.

Joe Capps (jazz) at Bleu Northeast Kitchen, Burlington, 7 p.m. Free.

John Daly Trio (singersongwriter) at Jericho Café & Tavern, 7 p.m. Free.

The Laddie’s (covers) at Whammy Bar, Calais, 7 p.m. Free.

Left Eye Jump (blues) at Red Square, Burlington, 2 p.m. Free. No Fun Haus, Earthworm (indie) at Foam Brewers, Burlington, 9 p.m. Free.

Phil Henry (folk) at Taps Tavern, Poultney, 6 p.m. Free.

Rough Suspects (rock) at Red Square, Burlington, 7 p.m. Free. Tropa Magica (psych rock) at Monkey House, Winooski, 8 p.m. $13/$15.

SUN.20

Antara (folk) at the Tap Room at Switchback Brewing, Burlington, 2 p.m. Free.

Chris & Erica (acoustic) at 14th Star Brewing, St. Albans, 3 p.m. Free.

John Lackard Blues Duo (blues) at Vermont Pub & Brewery, Burlington, 1 p.m. Free.

Peter Rowan & Friends (bluegrass) at Zenbarn, Waterbury Center, 7 p.m. $40/$45.

East Los Angeles duo TROPA MAGICA take traditional Colombian folk music, called cumbia, and cut it with powerful, punk-leaning alt-rock, along with a strong dose of the psychedelic. Consisting of brothers David and Rene Pacheco, Tropa Magica have released several full-length records, including 2022’s Tropa Magica III, which shows off the siblings’ more raw, lo-fi side. With songs appearing in the Netflix show “Gentefied” as well as in comedian Felipe Esparza’s “Bad Decisions” comedy special, and having released their own mobile video game, the two are slowly pushing out of the underground. Presented by Waking Windows, Tropa Magica hit the Monkey House in Winooski on Saturday, August 19.

Kirkland the Band (indie rock) at 1st Republic Brewing, Essex, 6 p.m. Free.

Lloyd Tyler Band (acoustic) at Blue Paddle Bistro, South Hero, 5:30 p.m. Free.

Siberian Summer, Rebecca Ryzkalczyk, Fuzzy Bones, Jon Ehrens (indie rock) at Radio Bean, Burlington, 9 p.m. $8/$10.

Stefani Capizzi (soul, folk) at American Flatbread Stowe, 6 p.m. Free.

Third Shift (covers) at On Tap Bar & Grill, Essex Junction, 6 p.m. Free.

Warped Floors (punk covers) at Orlando’s Bar & Lounge, Burlington, 7:30 p.m. Free.

Woody & Sunshine (jam) at Red Square, Burlington, 6 p.m. Free.

FRI.18

Beg Steal or Borrow (bluegrass) at Nectar’s, Burlington, 8 p.m. $15.

Christie Woods-Lucas (folk) at Stone’s Throw, Waterbury, 7 p.m. Free.

Daily Deadly’s (rock) at Monopole, Plattsburgh, N.Y., 10 p.m. Free.

Danny & the Parts (Americana) at Foam Brewers, Burlington, 7 p.m. Free.

Dave Mitchell’s Blues Revue (blues) at Red Square, Burlington, 2 p.m. Free.

Dave O (singer-songwriter) at Stone’s Throw, Richmond, 7 p.m. Free.

George Nostrand (folk) at Taps Tavern, Poultney, 6 p.m. Free.

Jack Hanson (jazz) at the Venetian Cocktail & Soda Lounge, Burlington, 8 p.m. Free.

Justice 3 (rock) at the Old Post, South Burlington, 7 p.m. Free. Kippincoe with Kip de Moll (folk) at 1st Republic Brewing, Essex, 6 p.m. Free.

Lazer Dad ('90s covers) at Zenbarn, Waterbury Center, 9 p.m. $10/$12.

Mama Tried (bluegrass, folk) at 14th Star Brewing, St. Albans, 6 p.m. Free.

Mark Abair Unplugged (covers) at On Tap Bar & Grill, Essex Junction, 5 p.m. Free.

Mei Semones, Raavi, Lily Seabird (indie) at Radio Bean, Burlington, 9 p.m. $12/$15.

Midnight Spaghetti (funk) at Red Square, Burlington, 7 p.m. Free.

Morgan Wade, Nate Fredrick and the Wholesome Boys (country) at Higher Ground Ballroom, South Burlington, 7 p.m. $25/$29.

Paul Asbell (jazz) at Bleu Northeast Kitchen, Burlington, 7 p.m. Free.

Phil Cohen (folk) at Wild Hart Distillery and Tasting Room, Shelburne, 7 p.m. Free.

The Rough Suspects (covers) at On Tap Bar & Grill, Essex Junction, 9 p.m.

Shanty Rats (sea shanties) at Whammy Bar, Calais, 7 p.m. Free. Smokey Newfield Project (jazz) at Jericho Café & Tavern, 7 p.m. Free.

Tom Pearo (ambient) at Hotel Vermont, Burlington, 4 p.m. Free.

SAT.19

Alive & Pickin’ (bluegrass) at 1st Republic Brewing, Essex, 6 p.m. Free.

Alternate Take (jazz) at Radio Bean, Burlington, 7:30 p.m. $10/$15.

Astrocat, Lungbuster (punk) at Despacito, Burlington, 8 p.m. $5.

Citizen Cider’s Battle of the Bands (battle of the bands) at Citizen Cider, Burlington, 1 p.m. Free.

Cozy (funk) at On Tap Bar & Grill, Essex Junction, 9 p.m. Free.

Danny & the Parts (Americana) at Wild Hart Distillery and Tasting Room, Shelburne, 7 p.m. Free.

Drunk Off Diesel (metal) at Monopole, Plattsburgh, N.Y., 10 p.m. Free.

FABO, Charlie Mayne, ZO OUT$IDE, We$ (hip-hop) at Radio Bean, Burlington, 9:30 p.m. $10/$15.

Fretbenders (Americana) at the Den at Harry’s Hardware, Cabot, 7 p.m. Free.

Red River North (country) at Lawson’s Finest Liquids, Waitsfield, 3 p.m. Free.

Soul & Soda (funk) at Red Square, Burlington, 7 p.m. Free.

The Storm Windows (folk) at Foam Brewers, Burlington, 1 p.m. Free.

Sunday Brunch Tunes (singersongwriter) at Hotel Vermont, Burlington, 10 a.m.

Tournesol (jazz) at Blue Paddle Bistro, South Hero, 5:30 p.m. Free. Vermont Rises with 8084, Jamie Lee Thurston, Chad Hollister Band (benefit) at Higher Ground Ballroom, South Burlington, 4 p.m. $25/$35.

Wallflower Fest with Black Pistol Fire, Ron Gallo, Zach Person, Shane Guerrette, Boy Deluxe, Willverine (indie rock) at the Wallflower Collective, Burlington, 3 p.m. $40.

TUE.22

Big Easy Tuesdays with Back Porch Revival (jazz) at the 126, Burlington, 8 p.m. Free. Bluegrass Jam (bluegrass) at Taps Tavern, Poultney, 7 p.m. Free. Ratland, Tennis Courts (indie) at Radio Bean, Burlington, 7 p.m. $5/$10.

The Steppes (rock) at Lawson’s Finest Liquids, Waitsfield, 5 p.m. Free.

WED.23

Andriana & the Bananas (indie pop) at American Flatbread Burlington Hearth, 5:30 p.m. Free.

SAT.19 // TROPA MAGICA [PSYCH ROCK]

COURTESY OF CLARISSA REYES

Bluegrass & BBQ (bluegrass) at Four Quarters Brewing, Winooski, 6:30 p.m. Free.

George Murtie (folk) at Blue Paddle Bistro, South Hero, 5:30 p.m. Free.

Jazz Jam Sessions with Randal Pierce (jazz) at the 126, Burlington, 9 p.m. Free.

Jazz Night with Ray Vega (jazz) at Hotel Vermont, Burlington, 8:30 p.m. Free.

Lazy Bird (jam) at Red Square, Burlington, 8 p.m. Free.

Live Jazz (jazz) at Leunig’s Bistro & Café, Burlington, 6:30 p.m. Free.

Residual Groove (jam) at Nectar’s, Burlington, 9 p.m. Free.

Wednesday Night Dead (Grateful Dead covers) at Zenbarn, Waterbury Center, 7 p.m. $5.

Willverine (electronic) at the Wallflower Collective, Burlington, 7:30 p.m. Free.

Your Neighbors, Point Blank Society, tip/toe (hip-hop) at Higher Ground Showcase Lounge, South Burlington, 7:30 p.m. $18/$22.

djs

WED.16

DJ CRE8 (DJ) at Red Square, Burlington, 11:30 p.m. Free.

THU.17

DJ Chaston (DJ) at Red Square Blue Room, Burlington, 10 p.m. Free.

DJ JP Black (DJ) at Red Square, Burlington, 9 p.m. Free.

DJ Two Sev (DJ) at Red Square, Burlington, 11 p.m. Free.

Mi Yard Reggae Night with DJ Big Dog (reggae and dancehall) at Nectar’s, Burlington, 9:30 p.m. Free.

Vinyl Night with Ken (DJ) at Taps Tavern, Poultney, 6 p.m. Free.

FRI.18

DJ Craig Mitchell (DJ) at Red Square Blue Room, Burlington, 9 p.m. Free.

DJ Kata (DJ) at Red Square, Burlington, 10 p.m. Free.

DJ Taka (DJ) at Light Club Lamp Shop, Burlington, 11 p.m. $10/$15.

Move B*tch: 2000s Hip Hop Night with DJ Svpply (DJ) at Club Metronome, Burlington, 10 p.m. $5.

SAT.19

Blanchface (DJ) at Manhattan

Pizza & Pub, Burlington, 10 p.m. Free.

DJ A-Ra$ (DJ) at Red Square, Burlington, midnight. Free.

DJ J Fier (DJ) at Nectar’s, Burlington, 10 p.m. $5.

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.

Silent Disco to Benefit

Conscious Homestead (DJ) at the Alchemist (Stowe Brewery & Visitor Center), 7 p.m. $30.

MON.21

Memery (DJ) at Red Square, Burlington, 10 p.m. Free.

open mics & jams

WED.16

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 Danny Lang (open mic) at Taps Tavern, Poultney, 7 p.m. Free.

THU.17

Open Mic (open mic) at Whammy Bar, Calais, 7 p.m. Free.

Open Mic (open mic) at Orlando’s Bar & Lounge, Burlington, 8:30 p.m. Free.

MON.21

Open Mic (open mic) at Stone Corral, Richmond, 7 p.m. Free.

Open Mic Night (open mic) at Despacito, Burlington, 7 p.m. Free.

TUE.22

Venetian Open Mic (open mic) at the Venetian Cocktail & Soda Lounge, Burlington, 7 p.m. Free.

WED.23

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 Danny Lang (open mic) at Taps Tavern, Poultney, 7 p.m. Free.

comedy

WED.16

Ghosted! (comedy) at Vermont Comedy Club, Burlington, 7:30 p.m. $10.

Standup Comedy Open Mic (comedy open mic) at Vermont Comedy Club, Burlington, 8:30 p.m.

THU.17

Comedy Wolf (comedy) at Radio Bean, Burlington, 7:30 p.m. $5/$10. Jason Cheny (comedy) at Vermont Comedy Club, Burlington, 7:30 & 9:30 p.m. $25.

FRI.18

Trae Crowder (comedy) at Vermont Comedy Club, Burlington, 7:30 & 9:30 p.m. $30.

SAT.19

Sam Morril (comedy) at Higher Ground Ballroom, South Burlington, 6:30 p.m. $35/$39.

Trae Crowder (comedy) at Vermont Comedy Club, Burlington, 7:30 & 9:30 p.m. $30.

MON.21

Comedy Open Mic (comedy open mic) at the 126, Burlington, 7 p.m. Free.

WED.23

Girl God (comedy) at Vermont Comedy Club, Burlington, 6:30 p.m. $25.

Standup Comedy Open Mic (comedy open mic) at Vermont Comedy Club, Burlington, 8:30 p.m.

trivia, karaoke, etc.

WED.16

4Qs Trivia Night (trivia) at Four Quarters Brewing, Winooski, 6 p.m. Free.

Trivia Night (trivia) at Stone Corral, Richmond, 7 p.m. Free.

Venetian Trivia Night (trivia) at the Venetian Cocktail & Soda Lounge, Burlington, 6 p.m. Free.

THU.17

Karaoke Night (karaoke) at Zenbarn, Waterbury Center, 7 p.m. Free.

Trivia (trivia) at Highland Lodge, Greensboro, 7 p.m. Free.

Trivia Night (trivia) at McGillicuddy’s Five Corners, Essex Junction, 6:30 p.m. Free.

Trivia Night (trivia) at Nectar’s, Burlington, 6:30 p.m. Free.

Trivia Thursday (trivia) at Spanked Puppy Pub, Colchester, 7 p.m. Free.

SUN.20

Venetian Karaoke (karaoke) at the Venetian Cocktail & Soda Lounge, Burlington, 7 p.m. Free.

MON.21

Trivia Monday with Top Hat Entertainment (trivia) at McKee’s Pub & Grill, Winooski, 7-9 p.m. Free.

Trivia with Craig Mitchell (trivia) at Monkey House, Winooski, 7 p.m. Free.

TUE.22

Karaoke with Motorcade (karaoke) at Manhattan Pizza & Pub, Burlington, 9 p.m. Free.

Taproom Trivia (trivia) at 14th Star Brewing, St. Albans, 6:30 p.m. Free.

Trivia Night (trivia) at the Depot, St. Albans, 7 p.m. Free.

Trivia Tuesday (trivia) at On Tap Bar & Grill, Essex Junction, 7 p.m. Free.

Tuesday Trivia (trivia) at Vermont Comedy Club, Burlington, 7 p.m. Free.

WED.23

4Qs Trivia Night (trivia) at Four Quarters Brewing, Winooski, 6 p.m. Free.

Trivia Night (trivia) at Stone Corral, Richmond, 7 p.m. Free.

Venetian Trivia Night (trivia) at the Venetian Cocktail & Soda Lounge, Burlington, 6 p.m. Free. ➆

The Gospel According to Breeze

Yung Breeze’s new LP, Ja’lani Skye, is a triumph for the entire Street Religion crew

BY JUSTIN BOLAND

It was 3 p.m. on a Friday, and Yung Breeze was about to explode. Also known as Chris Brown (seriously), the 29-year-old Brattleboro rapper, producer and self-described “floor general” behind the prolific Street Religion crew is always a hyperactive ball of energy. But on this particular afternoon, he was gearing up for the release of his new solo album, Ja’lani Skye, a labor of love years in the making. Oh, and he was preparing to celebrate his birthday. On tap: a weekendlong party in the boonies, complete with a pig roast, a sound system and a packed lineup of local hip-hop performances.

So the man, whose personality is outsize even in dull moments, was understandably wound up.

I had come to his back porch ostensibly to talk about the new record, which marks a career high point. But throughout our conversation, Breeze emphasized that his team’s success is inseparable from his own. “It’s family first,” he told me. “Street Religion works because these are real, deep, personal bonds. And not just personal bonds that I have with these people — it’s bonds they have with each other.”

Street Religion is a sprawling collective of rappers, singers, producers and other local hip-hop artists who help produce and promote one another’s work. The core team took form in 2010 with videographer Samuel Martin, who works under the name Sammy Chan TV; R&B singer (and Breeze’s cousin) Jun Fargo; and rapper Reginald “RG” Dessasure, who died in 2021 at age 27. That loss features prominently on Breeze’s latest LP, a raw wound he’s still trying to process. “I couldn’t even look at the mic for a while there,” he said.

The team has expanded considerably over the years and now includes New Hampshire MC Raw Deff, unpredictable St. Albans artist D.FRENCH and the gleefully profane hardcore rapper Shorty Bang. All three have dropped outstanding solo projects this year. While Breeze is grateful for their newfound success, he’s already thinking 10 steps ahead.

His hands flying as he talked, Breeze outlined a packed schedule of future releases: a group compilation project, albums with Jun Fargo and D.FRENCH, a new installment in his Golden Era mixtape series. He also emphasized the role of rappers Kasidon and YM, both recent

additions to the squad and promising talents in their own right.

The advantage of having a roster that’s constantly working is that there’s always new music ready to go. This teamwork approach to quality control — along with friendly competition among artists — makes for a fertile creative environment.

“We constantly battle to see who is more versatile,” D.FRENCH said of Breeze. “He is a hell of a recording artist, and watching him track verses and hooks live motivates you to step up your game.”

studio. “During the pandemic, we all stuck close to each other, and we stayed close to the music,” he said.

Although Breeze has been a mentor to many artists and engineers in Vermont’s growing hip-hop scene, his own engineering chops are largely self-taught.

IT’S FAMILY FIRST.

“I made it into my own personal video game,” he said. “I just wanted to learn everything about everything, you know? I got into making beats because I had to. I couldn’t rely on anyone else to re-create the sounds I heard in my head.”

He’s open, even eager, to work more with producers outside his crew, such as Burlington legend Nastee and Danville producer SKYWISE. While many Vermont rappers who operate outside Chittenden County view the BTV scene with contempt, he bears the Queen City no ill will, he said, viewing its artists as contemporaries rather than competition.

Besides, he’s looking at a much bigger picture: the dawning of a larger, more connected New England regional circuit.

“We don’t need to be fighting over the same food anymore; we can be out here paving new roads,” he said, citing his recent show with Burlington artist Charlie Mayne at Jewel Music Venue in Manchester, N.H., as an example.

He also pointed to the growth of the weekly Rap Nights that have long been a fixture in Manchester and Portland, Maine. Starting in September, Nastee and DJ Kanga will hold down the Vermont edition every Friday in the basement of downtown Burlington bar Drink. To Breeze, this is just the beginning of something bigger.

“We don’t need to keep doing north versus south, old school versus new school,” he said. Citing local success stories Jarv, 99 Neighbors and North Ave Jax, he described this moment as one of unprecedented opportunity for Vermont hip-hop. He also recognizes that he can’t do it all.

Ja’lani Skye showcases a master at work. Over the album’s 50-minute running time, Breeze displays a staggering vocal range, from a cartoonish high rasp to a laid-back growl. He even hits some showstopping high notes on “Please Forgive Me.”

He is equally proficient with his pen game, delivering high-concept songwriting and cinematically detailed storytelling with a tsunami of flow patterns and rapidfire cadences.

Making music has been a way of life for almost as long as Breeze can remember. Growing up bouncing between Massachusetts and Vermont, he started writing and recording himself with GarageBand at 13. “And really, to this day, that’s pretty much all I do,” he said.

The chaos of the coronavirus era changed almost nothing for Breeze. He was, as always, on lockdown in his home

It’s no surprise, then, that Breeze is a driven perfectionist in the mold of Kanye West or Dr. Dre. He said he was still working on final mixes for Ja’lani Skye the week before it dropped.

Which brings us to his role as “floor general” — a basketball term for point guards who run the offense, seeing the plays before they happen and getting the ball into the right hands. Breeze is quick to point out that much of Street Religion’s output happens organically, but his passion is connecting artists and carefully assembling the perfect ingredients for every song. Back when record labels still cared about artist development, he would have been a perfect A&R man.

Breeze loves his team, but he has a deep affection for his league, too. Keenly aware of the larger Vermont hip-hop ecosystem, he is full of ideas for collaborations.

“It’s not up to me,” he said with a sigh, rubbing his chin. “And it sucks, because I want it so bad. I wish I could just make the calls on what needs to happen, keeping the north side and the south side working together to make this whole region pop. The egos have gotta dissolve!”

That sentiment might seem to contrast strangely with his God complex persona on the mic, but Breeze insisted it ain’t so. “I don’t really have an ego like that. I just like to make great music, mind my business and take care of my kids. What I love is the music. This shit is the only thing that I know how to do!”

And with that, it was time for him to get back to his daughter — who is also, not coincidentally, named Ja’lani Skye. As the man said, family first. ➆

Ja’lani Skye by Yung Breeze is available on all major streaming platforms.

Yung Breeze (center) performing at the Upper Valley Hip-Hop Showcase in 2017

COURTESY OF VALLEY NEWS /JOVELLE TAMAYO

on screen

Summer is the time for fun and frothy watches, right? I’m not very good at the whole “fun and frothy” thing, but I gave it a try by catching Prime Video’s adaptation of Casey McQuiston’s best-selling novel Red, White & Royal Blue. Directed and cowritten by Matthew López, this gay rom-com plays out on the stage of international relations.

The deal

Red, White & Royal Blue ★★★ REVIEW

Alex Claremont-Diaz (Taylor Zakhar Perez), son of the first female president of the United States (Uma Thurman), isn’t happy about attending the royal wedding of England’s Prince Philip (Thomas Flynn). The royals are incorrigible snobs, he has decided after a previous encounter with Philip’s younger brother, Prince Henry (Nicholas Galitzine), whom Alex now can’t resist provoking with snarky banter. Henry responds with cold hauteur, and the prince and the First Son end up in a ti that sends the royal wedding cake crashing to the floor.

To repair the damage of “Cakegate,” Alex and Henry must undergo a press junket that forces them into proximity. As they get to know each other better, they embark on a transatlantic text flirtation that quickly becomes something more. But Henry is still closeted to the British nation — and to his grandfather, the king (Stephen Fry) — while Alex’s mom is embroiled in a delicate reelection campaign. Can they be public about their love without hurting their loved ones — or causing an international incident?

Will you like it?

It’s about time we saw more romantic comedies that give LGBTQ couples their own witty exchanges, contrived misunderstandings and happy endings. Last year’s Fire Island, cleverly modeled on Pride and Prejudice, showed it can be done.

So I went into Red, White & Royal Blue ready to suspend my disbelief and enjoy this unlikely celebrity romance. Sure, we know Alex and Henry are going to topple the giant cake as soon as the giant cake appears. We know they’ll overcome their hostile first impressions and find love, and every twist and turn will be predictable. But is it too much to ask that they share

some moments of believable, unforced chemistry first?

Everything in Red, White & Royal Blue is big and shiny and broad and loud. Sometimes it reminded me of a stage production: There’s a scene in a co ee shop with such token set dressing that it barely looks like a co ee shop, and another scene in which Perez and Thurman shout at each other as if both playing to the rafters. At other times, it reminded me of one of those disturbing AI-generated “movie trailers” that people post on social media and tout as the wave of the future.

The leads have no physical flaws, but they also have few natural moments. Perez is constantly telegraphing earnestness and a ection with dewy eyes and fluttering lashes. Galitzine is more restrained, as befi ts his sti -upper-lip character, but rarely do we get any hints that Henry has an inner life.

Alex and Henry do approach something like a real conversation in an early scene in which they take refuge in a closet from a possible terrorist attack (the forcedproximity trope again!). But most of their interactions are orchestrated set pieces that don’t allow chemistry to blossom.

The actors who make the best impressions here are those who push the campier aspects of their roles to the limit, such as

Sarah Shahi as the president’s formidable aide. Only Clifton Collins Jr., in a small role as Alex’s dad, manages to win over the audience with subtlety.

The actors aren’t helped by the screenplay, which reads like a cross between a Disney movie and a self-consciously “woke” Tumblr feed. Even as they go from one lavish gala to the next, Alex and Henry profess their disgust at the displays of wealth and their sympathy with the marginalized. Yet the character who seems most concerned about keeping Alex true to his working-class roots is a bitter ex with malicious plans for the couple. Issues of culture clash, assimilation and the nature of power are reverently invoked but never really addressed.

To its credit, Red, White & Royal Blue has a sex scene, which puts it in semigroundbreaking territory for something that feels like a Hallmark product. While Fire Island lives up to its name with bacchanalian sequences that might upset your older relatives, this movie is about as tame as an R-rated gay romance can be.

There’s a certain integrity in the balance López strikes here, stanning hard for wholesome, monogamous romance while refusing to hide the role of sex in such a relationship. Some viewers will find the movie swoony and uplifting, and more

power to them. But if you need a little more human grit and wit in your rom-coms, look elsewhere.

MARGOT HARRISON margot@sevendaysvt.com

IF YOU LIKE THIS, TRY...

BROS (2022; Prime Video, rentable): Neighbors director Nicholas Stoller’s gay rom-com flopped in theaters last year, causing much hand-wringing about whether mass audiences were ready for such material. Now could be a good time to catch it if you missed it the first time around, as I did.

“YOUNG ROYALS” (two seasons, 2021 to present; Netfl ix): England isn’t the only country with crowned heads — or fictional gay romances involving them! In this teen-oriented Swedish series, a prince finds love with another boy at boarding school.

HAPPIEST SEASON (2020; Hulu): e first Hallmark-style movie to feature an LGBTQ couple could be this pleasant, holiday cheer-saturated romcom in which Kristen Stewart plays a woman who plans to propose to her girlfriend during their first visit to the latter’s family.

Couples don’t get much higher-profile than these two in the fluffy adaptation of a best-selling rom-com novel.

NEW IN THEATERS

BLUE BEETLE: An alien scarab transforms a teenager (Xolo Maridueña) into a superhero in this action adventure with a comic-book history that goes back to 1939. With Bruna Marquezine and Susan Sarandon. Angel Manuel Soto directed. (127 min, PG-13. Big Picture, Essex, Majestic, Palace, Paramount, Star, Sunset, Welden)

OMG 2: A simple man takes on the educational system after his son is thrown out of school in this Hindi comedy-drama from director Amit Rai. (156 min, NR. Majestic)

STRAYS: Will Ferrell and Jamie Foxx voice candid canines in this not-for-kids comedy about a dog who seeks vengeance on the owner who abandoned him.

Josh Greenbaum (Barb and Star Go to Vista Del Mar) directed. (93 min, R. Essex, Majestic, Palace, Sunset)

CURRENTLY PLAYING

BARBIEHHHH Margot Robbie plays the Mattel toy as she experiences her first-ever existential crisis. With Ryan Gosling and America Ferrera.

Greta Gerwig directed. (114 min, PG-13. Bijou, Essex, Majestic, Marquis, Palace, Paramount, Roxy, Star, Stowe, Sunset, Welden; reviewed 7/26)

HAUNTED MANSIONHH1/2 In Disney’s horrorcomedy based on its theme park ride, a single mom (Rosario Dawson) assembles a motley team of specialists to help her exorcise her new home.

Justin Simien directed. (122 min, PG-13. Majestic)

JULESHHH E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial for a different generation? Ben Kingsley plays a man who befriends an alien he finds in his backyard in this drama from Marc Turtletaub. With Harriet Sansom Harris and Jane Curtin. (90 min, PG-13. Palace)

THE LAST VOYAGE OF THE DEMETERHH1/2

Remember the unlucky ship the title character sailed on in Bram Stoker’s Dracula? This horror flick tells its story. With Corey Hawkins and Aisling Franciosi. (188 min, R. Essex, Majestic, Palace)

MEG 2: THE TRENCHHH Erstwhile experimentalist Ben Wheatley directed this sequel to the summer hit in which Jason Statham aids deep-sea researchers as they battle various menaces, including prehistoric sharks. (116 min, PG-13. Bijou, Essex, Majestic, Palace, Roxy, Star, Stowe, Sunset)

MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE — DEAD RECKONING PART

ONEHHHH Tom Cruise returns as secret agent Ethan Hunt in the seventh installment of the action franchise. (163 min, PG-13. Palace)

NO HARD FEELINGSHHH A down-on-her-luck woman (Jennifer Lawrence) is hired by a 19-yearold’s parents to bring him out of his shell before college in this comedy. (103 min, R. Sunset)

OPPENHEIMERHHHHH Director Christopher Nolan tells the story of the man (Cillian Murphy) who played a key role in creating the atomic bomb. With Emily Blunt, Matt Damon and Robert Downey Jr. (180 min, R. Big Picture, Bijou, Essex, Majestic, Marquis, Palace, Playhouse, Roxy, Star, Stowe, Sunset, Welden; reviewed 8/2)

SHORTCOMINGSHHH1/2 A young filmmaker in the Bay Area struggles to figure out what he wants from a relationship in this comedy directed by Randall Park and written by cartoonist Adrian Tomine. (92 min, R. Roxy)

SOUND OF FREEDOMHH1/2 Jim Caviezel stars in this action thriller based on the life of Tim Ballard, a former federal agent who founded an organization to fight human trafficking. (135 min, PG-13. Palace)

TALK TO MEHHH1/2 A group of friends learns that using an embalmed hand to conjure spirits is a very bad idea in this horror thriller from Australia. Danny and Michael Philippou directed. (94 min, R. Majestic, Roxy, Sunset; reviewed 8/8)

TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES: MUTANT

MAYHEMHHH1/2 Cowriter Seth Rogen and directors Jeff Rowe and Kyler Spears reboot the comic-based series about four crime-fighting brothers raised in the New York sewers for this animated adventure. (99 min, PG. Bethel, Bijou, Essex, Majestic, Palace, Paramount, Roxy, Sunset, Welden)

THEATER CAMPHHH1/2 A staff of thespians must make an unusual alliance to save their beloved summer retreat in this comedy directed by Molly Gordon and Nick Lieberman, starring Ben Platt. (92 min, PG-13. Roxy)

OLDER FILMS AND SPECIAL SCREENINGS

ASTEROID CITY (Bethel)

THE FARM BOY (Playhouse, Sun only)

FATHOM’S BIG SCREEN CLASSICS: ENTER THE DRAGON 50TH ANNIVERSARY (Essex, Wed 16 only)

GKIDS PRESENTS STUDIO GHIBLI FEST 2023: PORCO ROSSO (Essex, Sun & Tue only);

THE WIND RISES 10TH ANNIVERSARY (Essex, Mon & Wed 23 only)

RIFFTRAX LIVE: RAD (Essex, Thu only)

THE SUMMER OF WALTER HACKS (Playhouse, Mon only)

OPEN THEATERS

The Capitol Showplace, Catamount Arts and Savoy Theater are currently closed until further notice. (* = upcoming schedule for theater was not available at press time)

BETHEL DRIVE-IN: 36 Bethel Dr., Bethel, 728-3740, betheldrivein.com

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, 229-0598, savoytheater.com

STAR THEATRE: 17 Eastern Ave., St. Johnsbury, 748-9511, stjaytheatre.com

*STOWE CINEMA 3PLEX: 454 Mountain Rd., Stowe, 253-4678, stowecinema.com

SUNSET DRIVE-IN: 155 Porters Point Rd., Colchester, 862-1800, sunsetdrivein.com

WELDEN THEATRE: 104 N. Main St., St. Albans, 527-7888, weldentheatre.com

Vermont Tech Jam is an annual career and tech expo that showcases some of Vermont’s most innovative companies. The popular event attracts hundreds of job seekers, career changers, tech professionals, college students, enthusiasts and anyone eager to learn from and connect with Vermont companies.

KEYNOTE PRESENTATION

Lab-grown meat in Vermont?

Vermont loves its farms and its farmers. Will it also embrace meat that’s been grown in a lab? The USDA recently approved the production and sale of “cell-cultivated chicken.” What kinds of challenges and opportunities does no-slaughter meat present? Dr. Rachael Floreani and Irfan Tahir, two Vermont-based pioneers in the rapidly evolving field of cellular agriculture, explore those questions in a keynote conversation, moderated by Seven Days’ deputy publisher Cathy Resmer.

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem

AUGUST 16-23, 2023

WED.16

agriculture

FARMER OLYMPICS: Growers from across the state show off their agricultural aptitude in a cornucopia of physical and cerebral challenges. Smokey House Center, Danby, 4-8 p.m. Free; preregister. Info, 434-7153.

business

QUEEN CITY BUSINESS

NETWORKING

INTERNATIONAL GROUP: Savvy businesspeople make crucial contacts at a weekly chapter meeting. Burlington City Arts, 11:15 a.m.-1 p.m. Free. Info, 829-5066.

crafts

YARN CRAFTERS GROUP: A drop-in meetup welcomes knitters, crocheters, spinners, weavers and beyond. BYO snacks and drinks. Must Love Yarn, Shelburne, 5-7 p.m. Free. Info, 448-3780.

environment

UNDER THE ARCTIC: DIGGING INTO PERMAFROST: A special exhibition focuses on climate education and environmental sustainability. Montshire Museum of Science, Norwich, 10 a.m.-5 p.m. $17-20; free for members and kids under 2. Info, 649-2200.

film

See what’s playing at local theaters in the On Screen section.

‘JOURNEY TO SPACE 3D’: Sparkling graphics and vibrant interviews take viewers on a journey alongside NASA astronauts as they prepare for stranger-than-sciencefiction space travel. 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.

‘MYSTERIES OF THE UNSEEN WORLD 3D’: Stunning footage takes viewers on a mind-bending 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, 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.

STOWE JEWISH FILM FESTIVAL: ‘THAT ORCHESTRA WITH THE BROKEN INSTRUMENTS’: Musicians of many ethnicities play a concert entirely on busted violins and horns in this uplifting 2021 Israeli documentary. Phantom Theater, Edgcomb Barn, Warren, 7-9 p.m. $10-15. Info, 253-1800.

‘WILD AFRICA 3D’: Viewers are plunged into the magical vistas of the continent’s deserts, jungles and savannahs. 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.

‘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

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.

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.

food & drink

COOK THE BOOK: Home chefs make a recipe from The Art of Tea: Recipes and Rituals by Jordan Marxer and share the dish at a special tea time. Dorothy Alling Memorial Library, Williston, 2-3 p.m. Free. Info, 878-4918.

TRUCKS, TAPS & TUNES: Locals enjoy craft brews, local food and live music at this weekly, family-friendly lawn party. Essex Experience, 5-8 p.m. Free. Info, info@essexexperience.com.

games

MAH-JONGG OPEN PLAY: Weekly sessions of an age-old game promote critical thinking and friendly competition. Manchester Community Library, Manchester Center, 12:30-3:30 p.m. Free. Info, 362-2607.

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.

SEATED & STANDING YOGA: Beginners are welcome to grow their strength and flexibility at this supportive class. Manchester Community Library, Manchester Center, 9-10 a.m. Free. Info, 549-4574.

language

BEGINNER IRISH LANGUAGE CLASS: Celtic-curious students learn to speak an Ghaeilge in a supportive group. Fletcher Free Library,

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

Burlington, noon-1 p.m. Free. Info, 863-3403.

ELL CLASSES: ENGLISH FOR BEGINNERS & INTERMEDIATE STUDENTS: Learners of all abilities practice written and spoken English with trained instructors. Presented by Fletcher Free Library. 6:30-8 p.m. Free; preregister. Info, bshatara@ burlingtonvt.gov.

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.

montréal

‘AURA’: An immersive light show and soundscape highlights the rich history and stunning architecture of the Québec church. Notre-Dame Basilica of Montréal, 6 & 8 p.m. $18-32; free for kids 5 and under. Info, 866-842-2925.

ITALFESTMTL: Locals and visitors celebrate the beauty and diversity of Italian culture in Canada through music, arts, food and folklore in Montréal’s Little Italy. Various Montréal locations. Free. Info, 514-279-6357.

music

A2VT: West African hip-hop beats from the Burlington band get feet moving. Martha Pellerin & Andy Shapiro Memorial Bandstand, Middlesex, 6:30 p.m. Free. Info, 272-4920.

CRAFTSBURY CHAMBER

PLAYERS: A chat with one of the musicians precedes a program of masterworks and lesser-known gems. Elley-Long Music Center, Saint Michael’s College, Colchester, 7:30 p.m. $10-25; free for kids under 12. Info, 800-639-3443.

SUMMER CONCERT SERIES:

ANEKEN RIVER: The Burlingtonborn singer bridges the boundaries between punk, pop and folk. Burlington City Hall Park, 12:301:30 p.m. Free. Info, 865-7166.

ZACH NUGENT UNCORKED: The sought-after guitarist plays a weekly loft show featuring live music, storytelling and special guests. Shelburne Vineyard, 6-8:45 p.m. Free. Info, 985-8222.

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.

theater

‘MS. HOLMES & MS. WATSON — APT. 2B’: Acclaimed playwright Kate Hamill remixes and genderbends Arthur Conan Doyle’s stories into a female-driven, gut-busting, action-packed romp. Dorset Playhouse, 2 & 7:30 p.m. $51. Info, 867-2223.

‘SINGIN’ IN THE RAIN’: Romantic songs and rollicking tap numbers distinguish this enduring classic of the stage and screen. Weston

Theater at Walker Farm, 2 & 7:30 p.m. $25-69. Info, 824-5288.

words

BREAD LOAF WRITERS’

CONFERENCE: Readings and lectures by the likes of Jennifer Finney Boylan, Tomás Q. Morín and Tiphanie Yanique are open to the public every day of this storied colloquium. Bread Loaf Campus, Ripton, 8:15 p.m. Free. Info, 443-5286.

THU.17 business

AUGUST MIXER: Franklin County Regional Chamber of Commerce members eat local treats while raising funds for United Way’s flood relief fund. Vermont Federal Credit Union, St. Albans, 5:307:30 p.m. $5-8; preregister. Info, 524-2444.

HIRING2DAYVT VIRTUAL

JOB FAIR: Job seekers get a chance to meet with employers from around the state, thanks to the Vermont Department of Labor. 11 a.m.-noon. Free. Info, 828-4000.

crafts

KNIT FOR YOUR NEIGHBOR: Fiber artists knit hats and scarves to donate to the South Burlington Food Shelf. Yarn, needles, looms and crochet hooks provided. South Burlington Public Library & City Hall, noon-3 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.

environment

UNDER THE ARCTIC: DIGGING INTO PERMAFROST: See WED.16. etc.

PIZZA BY THE POND: A woodfired oven warms pies made of local ingredients while local musicians regale diners. Blueberry Hill Inn, Goshen, 5-8 p.m. $22-35; free for kids 5 and under; preregister; limited space. Info, 247-6735.

fairs & festivals

SUMMERVALE: Locavores fête farms and farmers at a weekly festival centered on food, music, community and conservation. Intervale Center, Burlington, 5:308 p.m. Free. Info, 660-0440.

film

See what’s playing at local theaters in the On Screen section.

GRANITE LECTURE AND FILM

SERIES: GRANITE INDUSTRY

PROMOTIONAL VIDEOS: Three advertisements created by the Barre Granite Association and the Rock of Ages Corporation between the 1980s and the 2000s spark discussion. Vermont Granite Museum, Barre, 6-7 p.m. Free. Info, 249-3897.

‘JOURNEY TO SPACE 3D’: See WED.16.

‘MYSTERIES OF THE UNSEEN WORLD 3D’: See WED.16. ‘WILD AFRICA 3D’: See WED.16. ‘WINGS OVER WATER 3D’: See WED.16.

food & drink

ARE YOU THIRSTY, NEIGHBOR?:

A special discount cocktail menu sparks conversations and connections over cribbage and cards. Wild Hart Distillery, Shelburne, 3-8 p.m. Free. Info, info@wildhartdistillery. com.

BARK & BREW: Humans chat over local food and beer while their pups play in the fenced yard. Proceeds benefit animal shelter programs. Humane Society of Chittenden County, South Burlington, 5:30-7:30 p.m. $20. Info, 862-0135.

VERGENNES FARMERS MARKET:

Local foods and crafts, live music, and hot eats spice up Thursday afternoons. Vergennes City Park, 3-6:30 p.m. Free. Info, 233-9180.

games

THE CHECK MATES: Chess players of all ages face off at this intergenerational weekly meetup. Manchester Community Library, Manchester Center, 3:30-4:30 p.m. Free. Info, 549-4574.

DUPLICATE BRIDGE: A lively group plays a classic, tricky game with an extra wrinkle. Waterbury Public Library, 12:30-4:30 p.m. Free. Info, 244-7223.

health & fitness

MONTHLY SOCIAL BIKE RIDES: Cyclists over 50 connect on an AARP-guided trek, followed by a cool-down at a nearby bar or restaurant. BYO bike. Oakledge Park, Burlington, 6-7 p.m. Free. Info, 951-1302.

MPOX & COVID-19 VACCINE CLINIC: Walk-in or preregistered guests get their shots. Pride Center of Vermont, Burlington, 2-4 p.m. Free. Info, glam@pridecentervt.org.

SIMPLIFIED TAI CHI FOR SENIORS: Eighteen easy poses help with stress reduction, fall prevention and ease of movement. Manchester Community Library, Manchester Center, 3:15-4 p.m. Donations. Info, 362-2607.

TAI CHI THURSDAYS: Experienced instructor Rich Marantz teaches the first section of the Yang-style tai chi sequence. Manchester Community Library, Manchester Center, 5:30-6:30 p.m. Free; preregister. Info, 645-1960.

language

COME TO OUR OPEN HOUSE: Current and prospective students of the language of love meet teachers and learn about fall classes over refreshments. Alliance Française of the Lake Champlain Region, Burlington, 5-7 p.m. Free. Info, info@aflcr.org.

montréal

‘AURA’: See WED.16.

ITALFESTMTL: See WED.16.

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.16 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.

IMAGINATION STATION: Giant Jenga, Hula-Hoops and jump ropes entertain shoppers of all ages in between stops. Church Street Marketplace, Burlington, 11 a.m.-2 p.m. Free. Info, 863-1648.

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.

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

AUNT BELLA’S HATS TEA PARTY: Tea, treats, lawn games and a delightful display of vintage hats give grown-ups and kids a reason to dress in their Sunday best. Dorothy Alling Memorial Library, Williston, 2-3 p.m. Free; preregister; limited space. Info, 878-4918.

GOOD CITIZEN: ‘THE SOCIAL DILEMMA’: Families take in this 2020 documentary about the negative impact of Silicon Valley policies on social media. Dorothy Alling Memorial Library, Williston, 5:30-7 p.m. Free. Info, 878-4918.

LEGO BUILDERS: Aspiring architects enjoy an afternoon of imagination and play. South Burlington Public Library & City Hall, 3-4:30 p.m. Free. Info, 846-4140.

manchester/ bennington

MCL FILM CLUB: Teen auteurs learn how to bring stories to life on camera. Manchester Community Library, Manchester Center, 3:30-5 p.m. Free. Info, 362-2607.

NEW MOMS’ GROUP: Local doula Kimberleigh Weiss-Lewitt facilitates a community-building weekly meetup for mothers who are new to parenting or the area. Manchester Community Library, Manchester Center, 9-10 a.m. Free. Info, 549-4574.

THU.17 burlington

D.I.Y. COSPLAY WORKSHOP: Teens and tweens learn the art of geeky costume creation at biweekly classes. Fletcher Free Library, Burlington, 3-4 p.m. Free; preregister. Info, 540-2546.

IMAGINATION STATION: See WED.16.

upper valley

STORY TIME: Preschoolers take part in tales, tunes and playtime. Latham Library, Thetford, 11 a.m. Free. Info, 785-4361.

manchester/ bennington

YOUNG ADULT DUNGEONS & DRAGONS: Teens battle beasts with swords and spell books in this campaign designed to accommodate both drop-in and recurring players. Ages 12 through 16. Manchester Community Library, Manchester Center, 2-4 p.m. Free; preregister. Info, 549-4574.

SAT.19 burlington

FACE PAINTING AND CARICATURES: Little Artsy Faces and Marc Hughes Illustrations paint faces in more ways than one at the corner of Bank and Church streets. Church Street Marketplace, Burlington, 11 a.m.-1 p.m. Free. Info, 863-1648.

The Heroine’s Journey

Make chocolate, not war. The Town Hall Theater Young Company presents George Bernard Shaw’s classic comedy Arms and the Man with an all-female cast and plenty of humorous jabs at traditional gender norms. These talented young thespians, all between the ages of 12 and 22, tell the story of Raina, a woman engaged to a hero of the Serbo-Bulgarian War in the late 19th century, who is surprised to find herself falling instead for an anti-war soldier who keeps chocolates in his ammunition bag instead of bullets. Audience members of all ages enjoy the play’s compelling characters and funny, fast-paced dialogue.

‘ARMS AND THE MAN’

Thursday, August 17, and Friday, August 18, 7 p.m., at Town Hall Theater in Middlebury. $12-27. Info, 382-9222, townhalltheater.org.

MOVIE NIGHTS AT THE FRAME: ‘INSIDE OUT’: Amy Poehler and Bill Hader lend their voices to this animated adventure about a young girl whose emotions have a life of their own. Picnic baskets from Adventure Dinner available for purchase. BYO blankets or lawn chairs. Moran Frame, Burlington, 6-11 p.m. Free. Info, 863-3403.

chittenden county

AUGUST POP-UP PROGRAMS: Kids ages 8 and up, or 6 and up with an adult, enjoy a different project every day. Check southburlingtonlibrary.org for daily activities. South Burlington Public Library & City Hall, 3-4 p.m. Free. Info, 846-4140.

FAIRY & GNOME JARS: Little ones make sparkly homes for magical imaginary friends. Dorothy Alling Memorial Library, Williston, 5-5:45 p.m. Free; preregister; limited space. 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.

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.

middlebury area

‘ARMS AND THE MAN’: The Town Hall Theater Young Company puts on George Bernard Shaw’s satire of heroism with an all-female cast. See calendar spotlight. Town Hall Theater, Middlebury, 7 p.m. $12-27. Info, 382-9222.

northeast kingdom

‘THE PERILS OF MR. PUNCH, EPISODE NO. 73’: Punch and Judy plow through a melodrama of puny proportions in this funny bone-tickling puppet show by Modern Times Theater. York Street Meeting House, Lyndon, 2 & 7 p.m. $810. Info, 748-2600.

FREE MINI CONCERTS FROM CRAFTSBURY CHAMBER PLAYERS:

Little music lovers learn about great composers, listen to live tunes and get

hands-on time with the instruments. Greensboro United Church of Christ, 2-3 p.m. Free. Info, 800-639-3443.

FRI.18 burlington

SENSORY FRIENDLY HOUR: Folks of all ages with sensory processing differences have the youth area to themselves.

Fletcher Free Library, Burlington, 9-10 a.m. Free; preregister. Info, 863-3403.

SPLASH DANCE: DJs spin the decks by the fountain as kids party the day away. Burlington City Hall Park, 4 p.m. Free. Info, 865-7554.

chittenden county

AUGUST POP-UP PROGRAMS: See THU.17, 10-11 a.m.

SENSORY FRIENDLY FRIDAYS: Folks of all ages with sensory processing differences have the museum to themselves, with adjusted lights and sounds and various adaptive resources available. Shelburne Museum, 8:30-10 a.m. Free; preregister. Info, 985-3346.

middlebury area

‘ARMS AND THE MAN’: See THU.17.

LEGO TIME AT THE NNE: Kids ages 4 through 11 build blocky creations at the library’s new location. Fletcher Free Library New North End Branch, Burlington, 11 a.m.-noon. Free. Info, 863-3403.

chittenden county

802 REPTILES: Handy herpetologist

Kevin Clarkson shows and tells about his live python friends. South Burlington Public Library & City Hall, 10-11 a.m. Free. Info, 846-4140.

HIKE LIKE AN ECOLOGIST WITH BOB ZANIO: A Vermont Fish & Wildlife expert leads an off-road adventure through the Colchester Bog Natural Area. Waterproof shoes recommended. Airport Park, Colchester, 10-11:30 a.m. Free. Info, 863-3403.

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.

upper valley

FAIRY FESTIVAL & HOUSE BUILDING CONTEST: Pixies and pucks of all ages compete to build the most whimsical tiny homes in the forest. Crafts, face painting and animal activities round out the day. Vermont Institute of Natural Science, Quechee, 10 a.m.-5 p.m. $10 plus regular admission, $16-19; free for members and kids under 4. Info, 359-5000.

manchester/ bennington

INCREASING ACCESS TO LITERACY

AND HELPING ALL CHILDREN BECOME CONFIDENT READERS: Local parents share ideas on how to improve the reading education for all, including neurodivergent students. Manchester Community Library, Manchester Center, noon-2 p.m. Free. Info, 362-2607.

NOTORIOUS RPG: Kids 10 through 14 create characters and play a collaborative adventure game similar to Dungeons & Dragons. Manchester Community Library, Manchester

music

ACUTE INFLECTIONS: A jazz power couple shows off the chops that have made them rising stars in the rhythm-and-blues world. Main Street Landing Performing Arts Center, Burlington, 7:30-9 p.m. $20. Info, 212-729-8372.

BARNARTS FEAST & FIELD MUSIC

SERIES: FABIOLA MÉNDEZ: Farmfresh foods and classical Puerto Rican guitar picking are on the menu at a pastoral party. Fable Farm, Barnard, 5:30-8:30 p.m. $525. Info, music@barnarts.org.

CENTRAL VERMONT CHAMBER

MUSIC FESTIVAL: Bach cello suites, Pete Sutherland tributes and Brahms string sextets characterize the classical concert series’ 31st season. See cvcmf.org for full schedule. Various central Vermont locations, 7 p.m. Prices vary. Info, 728-9878.

CRAFTSBURY CHAMBER

PLAYERS: See WED.16. Hardwick Town House, 7:30 p.m. $10-25; free for kids under 12.

JAZZ AT THE LANTERN: MARTY

FOGEL QUARTET: e local band serenades diners over charcuterie and bruschetta at this intimate dinner concert. e Brass Lantern Inn, Stowe, 6:30-8 p.m. $35-45. Info, 253-2229.

LOVE, KELLY END OF SUMMER

JAM: Local acts and rising hiphop stars including Bktherula, North Ave Jax, Landon Cube and more bring the house down. Burlington City Hall Auditorium, 8-10:30 p.m. $30-35. Info, 578-9846.

PARKAPALOOZA: KERUBO: e beloved local singer stops by this family-friendly outdoor concert series, also featuring a 100-foot Slip ’N Slide. Hubbard Park, Montpelier, 5:30 p.m. Free. Info, 225-8699.

THROWDOWN THURSDAYS: Sugarbush hosts weekly summer shindigs featuring live tunes, doubles cornhole tournaments and disc golf competitions. Lincoln Peak Vineyard, New Haven, 5-8 p.m. Free. Info, 552-4007.

THURSDAYS BY THE LAKE: THE

OUTCROPS: Equally at ease with rock and R&B, the local band delivers the music Vermonters crave. Union Station, Burlington, 5:30-7:30 p.m. Free. Info, 540-3018.

TROY MILLETTE: Heartfelt original country-rock songs carry through the air, courtesy of the Fairfax musician. Shelburne Vineyard, 6-8:30 p.m. Free. Info, 985-8222.

outdoors

ROV SHIPWRECK TOUR: Explorers take a boat to the wreck of the Champlain II and peer into the depths using a remotely operated robot. Lake Champlain Maritime Museum, Vergennes, 10 a.m.noon. $25-40; preregister. Info, 475-2022.

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.

seminars

FINDING YOUR BALANCE: New England Federal Credit Union experts impart life lessons on practicing physical, social and financial wellness. Noon-1 p.m. Free; preregister. Info, 764-6940.

sports

VERMONT TIRE & SERVICE

NIGHT: e racetrack’s 2023 season continues with a nail-biting competition for double the prize. under Road Speedbowl, Barre, 7-10 p.m. $5-30; free for kids under 6. Info, info@thunder roadvt.com.

tech

BIKE REPAIR NIGHT: Old Spokes Home gives cyclists some tips and tricks, and Generator members show off recycled accessories. Generator, Burlington, 5-7 p.m. Free; preregister. Info, 540-0761.

TECH AND TEXTILES: Crafters work on their knitting or crocheting while discussing questions such as how to set up a new tablet or what cryptocurrency even is. George Peabody Library, Post Mills, 1-5 p.m. Free. Info, 333-9724.

theater

‘THE FANTASTICKS’: A young couple faces a plethora of obstacles to their happiness — their feuding fathers, a mysterious bandit and a fake kidnapping — in this surreal classic musical. Depot eatre, Westport, N.Y., 5 p.m. $25-40. Info, 518-962-4449.

‘MS. HOLMES & MS. WATSON — APT. 2B’: See WED.16, 7:30 p.m.

‘MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING’: Shakespeare’s classic romantic comedy gets an irresistible refresh in this production from Foul Contending Rebels. Off Center for the Dramatic Arts, Burlington, 7 p.m. $10-40; free at 2 p.m. on August 19. Info, foulcontending rebels@gmail.com.

‘ON GOLDEN POND’: Ernest ompson’s classic play portrays the often funny, often tearjerking trials and tribulations of a family on vacation in Maine. QuarryWorks eater, Adamant, 7:30-10 p.m. Free; preregister. Info, 229-6978.

‘SINGIN’ IN THE RAIN’: See WED.16, 2 & 7:30 p.m.

TENFEST 2023: A LIGHTBULB

MOMENT: e Vermont

Playwrights Circle serves up a smorgasbord of 10-minute oneacts at this bite-size festival, now in its 16th year. Ages 13 and up. Valley Players eater, Waitsfield, 7 p.m. $12-14. Info, 583-1674.

‘WALLY’S CAFÉ’: A man buys a restaurant on the wrong side of the road to Las Vegas in this gagpacked, three-character comedy from the Middlebury Community Players. Vergennes Opera House,

STARTS AUG. 19 | MUSIC

7:30 p.m. $10; cash or check only. Info, 377-3540.

words

BREAD LOAF WRITERS’

CONFERENCE: See WED.16, 9 a.m., 4:15 & 8:15 p.m.

INQUISITIVE READERS BOOK CLUB: Bookworms dig into a new horizon-expanding tome each month. St. Johnsbury Athenaeum, 6-7 p.m. Free; preregister. Info, henningsmh@ yahoo.com.

FRI.18

agriculture

OPEN GARDEN DAYS: Owners Sally and Tobi chat horticulture with visitors exploring their lush grounds. Von Trapp Greenhouse, Waitsfield, 9 a.m.-4 p.m. $1010.50; free for kids under 18. Info, vontrappgreenhouse@gmail.com.

crafts

SCRAPBOOKING GROUP: Cutters and pasters make new friends at a weekly club. Manchester Community Library, Manchester Center, 10 a.m.-noon. Free. Info, 549-4574.

environment

UNDER THE ARCTIC: DIGGING INTO PERMAFROST: See WED.16.

These Violin Delights

Music lovers flock to Saint Michael’s College and All Souls Interfaith Gathering for the Lake Champlain Chamber Music Festival. is year’s nine-day program features plenty to tune into: returning favorites such as violinist Soovin Kim and pianist Gloria Chien (pictured); a New York City-themed concert featuring acclaimed pianist Clayton Stephenson playing the music of George Gershwin and Leonard Bernstein; a chance to watch as the 2023 graduates of the festival’s Young Composers Seminar hear and record their pieces for the first time; and multiple concerts dedicated to Vienna and the composers who called the city home.

LAKE CHAMPLAIN CHAMBER MUSIC FESTIVAL

Opens Saturday, August 19, at various Chittenden County locations. See website for full schedule and additional dates. $25-225 for grand festival pass; prices vary for individual events. Info, 846-2175, lccmf.org.

music

ANDERSON BROTHERS: On clarinet and saxophone, two virtuoso bros celebrate the music of Duke Ellington. Phantom eater, Edgcomb Barn, Warren, 8 p.m. $20. Info, 496-5997.

BANDWAGON SUMMER SERIES:

ARMO: A New York Afrobeat outfit remixes classic and contemporary tunes with an upbeat, energetic sound. Retreat Farm, Brattleboro, 6-8 p.m. $20-25; free for kids under 12. Info, 451-0053.

CENTRAL VERMONT CHAMBER

MUSIC FESTIVAL: See THU.17.

FABIOLA MÉNDEZ: e cuatro guitarist teams up with BarnArts for a free workshop on traditional Puerto Rican music. Silver Lake State Park, Barnard, 2 p.m. Free. Info, 234-1645.

JORGE GARCIA HERRANZ: e accomplished pianist plays Spanish selections with his trademark verve. Island Arts, North Hero, 7-8:30 p.m. $25; free for kids under 18. Info, 372-8889.

SUMMER 2023 CARILLON SERIES: Each week, a new musician plays a heavenly program on the historic bell organ. Mead Memorial Chapel, Middlebury College, 6-7 p.m. Free. Info, 443-3168.

SUMMER CONCERT SERIES: MIGMAR TSERING: e Tibetan American troubadour plays folk tunes on the dranyen lute. Burlington City Hall Park, 12:301:30 p.m. Free. Info, 865-7166.

etc.

PIZZA BY THE POND: See THU.17.

film

See what’s playing at local theaters in the On Screen section.

‘JOURNEY TO SPACE 3D’: See WED.16.

‘LAST FILM SHOW’: Radio host Vidhi Salla introduces this 2021 Gujarati-language drama about a boy in a remote Indian village who becomes obsessed with filmmaking. Chai and other refreshments served. Epsilon Spires, Brattleboro, 7:30-10 p.m. $12. Info, 380-6957.

‘MYSTERIES OF THE UNSEEN WORLD 3D’: See WED.16.

‘THE TEN COMMANDMENTS’: Accompanist Jeff Rapsis improvises a live score to this 1923 silent adaptation of the story of Moses on the occasion of its 100th anniversary. Brandon Town Hall, 7 p.m. Free; donations accepted. Info, brandontownhallfriends@ gmail.com.

‘WILD AFRICA 3D’: See WED.16. ‘WINGS OVER WATER 3D’: See WED.16.

food & drink

BURGER NIGHT: Live music soundtracks a family-friendly meal of grass-fed burgers and seasonal sides. Bread & Butter Farm, Shelburne, 4-8:30 p.m. $1235. Info, 985-9200.

RICHMOND FARMERS MARKET: Vendors present a diverse selection of locally produced foods and crafts as picnickers enjoy music from a different local band each week. Richmond Town Park, 3-6:30 p.m. Free. Info, rfmmanager@ gmail.com.

SOUTH END GET DOWN: Food trucks dish out mouthwatering meals and libations. Live DJs and outdoor entertainment add to the fun. 377 Pine St., Burlington, 5-9 p.m. Cost of food and drink. Info, getdown@orleansevents.com.

games

MAH-JONGG: Tile traders of all experience levels gather for a game. Dorothy Alling Memorial Library, Williston, 1-3 p.m. Free. Info, 878-4918.

health & fitness

MPOX & COVID-19 VACCINE

CLINIC: See THU.17. Turning Point Center, Burlington, 10 a.m.-noon.

montréal

‘AURA’: See WED.16.

ITALFESTMTL: See WED.16.

LASSO MONTRÉAL: Canada has country music, too! Participants in this two-day hoedown don cowboy hats and kick up their heels to celebrate rural life on Île Saint-Hélène. Parc Jean-Drapeau, Montréal, 2-11 p.m. $135-255; $230-600 for weekend pass. Info, 877-668-8269.

VA-ET-VIENT: e Francophone fiddlers lead a warmhearted night of music and sing-alongs. Shelburne Vineyard, 5-7 p.m. Free. Info, 985-8222.

WORCESTER SUMMER CONCERT SERIES: Live music plus food from the Grub Wagon make for a super summer evening. e Landing VT, Worcester, 6:30 p.m. Free. Info, events.thelandingvt@gmail.com.

sports

FRIDAY NIGHT DINGHY RACING: Skippers with previous sailing knowledge celebrate the end of the week with some nautical competition. Bring or borrow a boat. Community Sailing Center, Burlington, 6 p.m. Free. Info, 864-2499.

LAST MILE: 5K RUN AND WALK: Bighearted cardio buffs walk and run to raise money for Gifford’s end-of-life care programs. Gifford Medical Center, Randolph, 6 p.m. $25. Info, 728-7000.

tech

MORNING TECH HELP: Experts answer questions about phones, laptops, e-readers and more in one-on-one sessions. ADA accessible. South Burlington Public Library & City Hall, 10 a.m.-noon. Free; preregister. Info, 846-4140.

theater

CIRCUS SMIRKUS BIG TOP TOUR: ‘A MIDSUMMER NIGHT’S CIRCUS’: Young performers ages 11 through 18 pull off daring and dazzling acts in this acrobatic adaptation of Shakespeare’s most magical comedy. Circus Smirkus Barn,

Greensboro, 6-8 p.m. $20-35. Info, boxoffice@smirkus.org.

‘THE FANTASTICKS’: DEPOT

THEATRE: See THU.17, 7:30 p.m.

‘THE FANTASTICKS’: Vermont

Actors’ Repertory Theatre presents this allegorical 1960 musical about two feuding fathers and their children who fall in love.

West Rutland Town Hall Theater, 7:30 p.m. $25-30. Info, 775-0903.

‘MS. HOLMES & MS. WATSON —

APT. 2B’: See WED.16, 7:30 p.m.

‘MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING’: See THU.17.

‘ON GOLDEN POND’: See THU.17.

‘SINGIN’ IN THE RAIN’: See WED.16, 7:30 p.m.

TENFEST 2023: A LIGHTBULB

MOMENT: See THU.17.

‘WALLY’S CAFÉ’: See THU.17.

words

BREAD LOAF WRITERS’

CONFERENCE: See WED.16, 9 a.m., 4:15 & 8:15 p.m.

SAT.19

agriculture

OPEN GARDEN DAYS: See FRI.18.

dance

MIDSOMMAR (WITHOUT THE MURDERS) DANCE PARTY:

Glorious DJ spins some supernaturally spectacular hits and deep cuts at this exhilarating evening. Highland Center for the Arts, Greensboro, 7 p.m. $5-10. Info, 533-2000.

MONTPELIER CONTRA DANCE:

To live tunes and gender-neutral calling by Adina Gordan, dancers balance, shadow and do-si-do the night away. KN95 or 3-ply surgical masks required. Capital City Grange, Berlin, beginners’ lesson, 7:40 p.m.; dance, 8-11 p.m. $5-20. Info, 225-8921.

environment

UNDER THE ARCTIC: DIGGING INTO PERMAFROST: See WED.16. etc.

NEW MOON SACRED SISTERS

CIRCLE: Women gather for meditation and magic at the start of a new lunar cycle. Oakledge Park, Burlington, 7-9 p.m. $20-40; preregister; limited space. Info, 399-1619.

‘UNCERTAIN WINDS’ / ‘NOTHING

FROM NOTHING’: M.C. DeBelina and Michael Bodel debut two new interdisciplinary, multimedia performances. Phantom Theater, Edgcomb Barn, Warren, 8 p.m. $20. Info, 496-5997.

fairs & festivals

OXBOW MUSIC FESTIVAL: An eclectic lineup of musicians, including Dogs in a Pile and the Seth Yacovone Band, energizes revelers. Switchback Brewing beer and food trucks keep spirits high. Sandiwood Farm, Wolcott, 3-11 p.m. $30-40. Info, nickdenoia@ hotmail.com.

SONIC CIRCUS MUSIC FESTIVAL: Local vendors and local indie acts, including Marc Ribot’s

Ceramic Dog, Amir Ziv and Electric Wire, feature at this family-friendly fest. 552 Higley Hill Rd., Marlboro, noon-11:30 p.m. $50; $100 for family pass. Info, 365-1828.

UNDER THE HUMP: Nat Myers and Logan Halstead headline this benefit bash for flood relief, Richmond Mountain Rescue and trail maintenance. Camel’s Hump Nordic Ski Area, Huntington, 5-9:30 p.m. $20; preregister. Info, 735-5490.

film

See what’s playing at local theaters in the On Screen section.

‘JOURNEY TO SPACE 3D’: See WED.16.

‘MYSTERIES OF THE UNSEEN WORLD 3D’: See WED.16.

‘WILD AFRICA 3D’: See WED.16.

‘WINGS OVER WATER 3D’: See WED.16.

food & drink

BURLINGTON FARMERS

MARKET: Dozens of stands overflow with seasonal produce, flowers, artisanal wares and prepared foods. 345 Pine St., Burlington, 9 a.m.-2 p.m. Free. Info, 560-5904.

CAPITAL CITY FARMERS MARKET: Meats and cheeses join farm-fresh produce, baked goods, locally made arts and crafts, and live music. Vermont College of Fine Arts, Montpelier, 9 a.m.-1 p.m. Free. Info, montpelierfarmersmarket@ gmail.com.

CHAMPLAIN VALLEY DINNER

TRAIN: Travelers savor a threecourse meal and scenic landscape views during a three-hour trip in a kitchen car. Ages 5 and up. Union Station, Burlington, 5-8 p.m. $99-148.50; preregister. Info, 800-707-3530.

NORTHWEST FARMERS

MARKET: Locavores stock up on produce, preserves, baked goods, and arts and crafts from over 50 vendors. Taylor Park, St. Albans, 9 a.m.-2 p.m. Free. Info, 242-2729.

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

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.

ST. JOHNSBURY FARMERS

MARKET: Growers and crafters gather weekly at booths centered on local eats. Pearl St. & Eastern Ave., St. Johnsbury, 9 a.m.-1 p.m. Free. Info, cfmamanager@gmail. com.

games

BEGINNER DUNGEONS & DRAGONS: Waterbury

Public Library game master Evan Hoffman gathers novices and veterans alike for an afternoon of virtual adventuring. Teens and adults welcome. Noon-4 p.m. Free. Info, 244-7036.

BOARD GAME BRUNCH: The Friendly Tabletop Gamers of Essex and Beyond host a morning game-play session for anyone 18 and up. 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.

health & fitness

MENTAL ILLNESS & RECOVERY

WORKSHOP: NAMI Vermont leads a workshop for those interested in learning more about mental health and treatment. Lunch not provided; there will be a break. Maclure Library, Pittsford, 9 a.m.-4:30 p.m. Free. Info, 876-7949.

montréal

‘AURA’: See WED.16, 7 & 9 p.m.

ITALFESTMTL: See WED.16.

LASSO MONTRÉAL: See FRI.18.

music

CENTRAL VERMONT CHAMBER

MUSIC FESTIVAL: See THU.17, 7:30 p.m.

LAKE CHAMPLAIN CHAMBER

MUSIC FESTIVAL: Master classes, performances and talks by musicians tantalize the ears of classical listeners. See lccmf. org for full schedule. See calendar spotlight. Various Chittenden County locations, 10 a.m. & 2 p.m. $25-225 for grand festival pass; prices vary for individual events. Info, 846-2175.

MIKAHELY: The Malagasy musician astounds on the guitar and the bamboo valiha. Shelburne Vineyard, 7-9 p.m. $10. Info, 985-8222.

TWILIGHT SERIES: NIGHT

PROTOCOL: The Burlington synthwave outfit honors the ‘80s with powerful bass lines and cutting-edge electronic melodies. Stefani Capizzi opens. Burlington City Hall Park, 6:30-9:30 p.m. Free. Info, 865-7166.

outdoors

GMC HIKE ON LONG TRAIL DAY: BUTLER LODGE: A moderately difficult trek takes hikers up to a log cabin and back. Butler Lodge Trailhead, Underhill, 8 a.m.-3 p.m. Free; preregister; limited space. Info, 899-9982.

WANT

sports

EMPTY ARMS VERMONT 5K RUN & WALK: Runners and walkers enjoy a scenic, lakeside route at this family-friendly race benefiting support for those who have experienced pregnancy and infant loss. Oakledge Park, Burlington, 10 a.m.-noon. $10-25; preregister. Info, 232-2512.

LAST MILE: MOTORCYCLE RIDE: Bighearted bikers ride 92 miles through the mountains to raise money for Gifford’s end-of-life care programs. Gifford Medical Center, Randolph, 10 a.m. $50-75. Info, 728-7000.

theater

CIRCUS SMIRKUS BIG TOP TOUR:

‘A MIDSUMMER NIGHT’S CIRCUS’: See FRI.18, 1-3 & 6-8 p.m.

‘THE FANTASTICKS’:VERMONT ACTORS’ REPERTORY THEATRE: See FRI.18.

‘THE FANTASTICKS’: DEPOT

THEATRE: See THU.17, 7:30 p.m.

‘IDIOTS OF THE WORLD UNITED AGAINST THE IDIOT SYSTEM’: Sideshows, spectacle, live music and feats of derring-do meet the moment at hand. Bread and Puppet Theater, Glover, 3-4 p.m. $10. Info, 525-3031.

‘MS. HOLMES & MS. WATSON — APT. 2B’: See WED.16.

‘MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING’: See THU.17, 2 & 7 p.m.

‘ON GOLDEN POND’: See THU.17, 2-4:30 & 7:30-10 p.m.

‘SINGIN’ IN THE RAIN’: See WED.16.

TENFEST 2023: A LIGHTBULB

MOMENT: See THU.17, 7 p.m.

‘WALLY’S CAFÉ’: See THU.17.

words

AMBER ROBERTS: The local author signs her Burlington-set romance novel, Text Appeal Customers get 20 percent off all romance novels. Phoenix Books, Rutland, 1-3 p.m. Free. Info, 855-8078.

BREAD LOAF WRITERS’

CONFERENCE: See WED.16, 9 a.m., 4:15 & 8:15 p.m.

WRITERS’ WERTFREI: Authors both fledgling and published gather to share their work in a judgment-free environment. Virtual option available. Waterbury Public Library, 10 a.m.noon. Free; preregister. Info, judi@ waterburypubliclibrary.com.

SUN.20

climate crisis

BUILDING AN INCLUSIVE

CLIMATE MOVEMENT: Sunrun

CEO Mary Powell, Environmental Grantmakers Association CEO Tamara Toles O’Laughlin and Scott Weinhold of the State Department keynote this two-day conference presented by the Vermont Council on World Affairs. Hula, Burlington, 5:30-7 p.m. $25-150; preregister by August 16. Info, elizabeth@vcwa.org.

Sun and Games

Burlington’s Fletcher Free Library affirms that nature is for everyone at Summer Community Day. The festivities kick off with a keynote by Middlebury College professor of environmental studies Dr. Carolyn Finney (pictured), who discusses race and the environment from a Black perspective. Then the party moves to Oakledge Park, where attendees can choose from any number of accessible, inclusive activities: bird-watching with Black birder Debbie Archer, standup paddleboarding with Outdoor Afro and Outdoor Gear Exchange, and e-bike demos with Unlikely Riders and Local Motion.

CAROLYN FINNEY & SUMMER COMMUNITY DAY

Sunday, August 20, 11 a.m., at Fletcher Free Library, and noon-4 p.m., at Oakledge Park in Burlington. Free. Info, 863-3403, fletcherfree.org.

CAROLYN FINNEY: The author’s keynote address, “The Here and Now: Being Black, Dreaming Green and Playing the Long Game,” kicks off Summer Community Day. See calendar spotlight. Fletcher Free Library, Burlington, 11 a.m.-noon. Free. Info, 863-3403.

crafts

YARN CRAFTERS GROUP: See WED.16, 1-3 p.m.

dance

‘THE GREAT FUGUE CIRCUS’: The Kompass Quartet performs Ludwig van Beethoven’s Grosse Fugue alongside compelling choreography. Bread and Puppet Theater, Glover, 4:15 p.m. Free. Info, 525-3031.

environment

BEN KILHAM: A renowned black bear researcher explains the misunderstood animals’ social patterns, from altruism to matrilineal hierarchies. Highland Center for the Arts, Greensboro, 3 p.m. Free. Info, 533-2000.

UNDER THE ARCTIC: DIGGING INTO PERMAFROST: See WED.16.

etc.

‘UNCERTAIN WINDS’ / ‘NOTHING FROM NOTHING’: See SAT.19.

film

See what’s playing at local theaters in the On Screen section.

‘JOURNEY TO SPACE 3D’: See WED.16.

‘MYSTERIES OF THE UNSEEN WORLD 3D’: See WED.16. ‘WILD AFRICA 3D’: See WED.16. ‘WINGS OVER WATER 3D’: See WED.16.

food & drink

STOWE FARMERS MARKET: An appetizing assortment of fresh veggies, meats, milk, berries, herbs, beverages and crafts tempts shoppers. 2043 Mountain Rd., Stowe, 10:30 a.m.-3 p.m. Free. Info, stowefarmersmarket@gmail. com.

SUNDAY FUNDAY: Food and drinks are on tap when attendees gather outside for games. 1st Republic Brewing, Essex, noon-5 p.m. Free. Info, 857-5318.

WINOOSKI FARMERS MARKET: Families shop for fresh produce,

honey, meats, coffee and prepared foods from more seasonal vendors at an outdoor marketplace. Winooski Falls Way, 10 a.m.2 p.m. Free. Info, 655-6410.

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.

SUNFLOWER SUNDAY: Locals embrace their inner flower child with a morning of yoga and mindful strolls around the blooming fields. Billings Farm & Museum, Woodstock, 9-9:45 a.m. Free; donations accepted; preregister. Info, 457-2355.

montréal

ITALFESTMTL: See WED.16.

music

LAKE CHAMPLAIN CHAMBER

MUSIC FESTIVAL: See SAT.19, 2:15 & 3 p.m.

LEVITT AMP ST. JOHNSBURY

MUSIC SERIES: TAYLOR ASHTON: The folk-pop banjo player packs

avoidance. 2-4 p.m. Free. Info, 339-364-1609.

ECOLOGICAL RESTORATION FOR THE PINE STREET BARGE CANAL: Nature lovers remove non-native species to boost a local ecosystem in need. BYO work gloves and dress for sun protection and insect avoidance. 10 a.m.-2 p.m. Free. Info, 339-364-1609.

GMC HIKE: STOWE PINNACLE TO MOUNT HUNGER: The Skyline Trail connects two peaks on this advanced-level trek led by the Green Mountain Club. Stowe Pinnacle Trail, 8 a.m.-3 p.m. Free; preregister; limited space. Info, 899-9982.

SUMMER COMMUNITY DAY:

Locals, especially from historically disadvantaged communities, enjoy the outdoors and try out birding, paddleboarding, e-biking and beyond. See calendar spotlight. Oakledge Park, Burlington, noon-4 p.m. Free. Info, 863-3403.

SUMMER NATURE ROMP: Nature center staff guide a wildly fun outing with a new theme each week, from tracking and birding to plant identification and nature journaling. All ages. North Branch Nature Center, Montpelier, 10 a.m.-noon. Free. Info, 229-6206.

sports

CODY CHEVROLET-CADILLAC

NIGHT: The Triple Crown Series enters its final championship round, with 100 laps deciding the winner. Thunder Road Speedbowl, Barre, 7-10 p.m. $5-30; free for kids under 6. Info, info@thunderroadvt.com.

theater

‘THE FANTASTICKS’: VERMONT ACTORS REPERTORY THEATRE’: See FRI.18, 2 p.m.

‘THE FANTASTICKS’: DEPOT THEATRE: See THU.17, 3 p.m.

a punch with hits from his brand-new album, Stranger to the Feeling. Dog Mountain, St. Johnsbury, 5-7 p.m. Free. Info, 748-2600.

SUNDAY CLASSICAL: ECLECTICA

STRING QUARTET: Four Vermont Symphony Orchestra musicians take listeners on a musical journey outside of the classical mainstream. Burlington City Hall Park, 10-11 a.m. Free. Info, 865-7166.

VERMONT JAZZ ENSEMBLE: The big band gets picnickers swing dancing out on the lawn. Island Arts, North Hero, 6:30-8 p.m. $25; for kids under 18. Info, 372-8889.

WESTFORD SUMMER CONCERT

SERIES: LES DEAD RINGERS: Original songs and covers of artists such as Django Reinhardt and Duke Ellington keep outdoor concertgoers grooving. Westford Common, 6:30-8 p.m. Free; donations accepted. Info, 363-0930.

outdoors

COMMUNITY SCIENCE FOR THE PINE STREET BARGE CANAL: Amateur ecologists practice identifying local species on this guided jaunt. Dress for wet conditions, sun protection and insect

THE MOTHER DIRT CIRCUS & PAGEANT: Bread & Puppet Theater presents a new, familyfriendly program full of political commentary and live brass tunes. Bread and Puppet Theater, Glover, 3 p.m. $10. Info, 525-3031.

‘MS. HOLMES & MS. WATSON — APT. 2B’: See WED.16, 2 p.m.

‘MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING’: See THU.17, 2 p.m.

‘ON GOLDEN POND’: See THU.17, 2-4:30 p.m.

‘SINGIN’ IN THE RAIN’: See WED.16, 3 p.m.

TENFEST 2023: A LIGHTBULB

MOMENT: See THU.17, 2-4 p.m.

‘WALLY’S CAFÉ’: See THU.17, 2 p.m.

words

BREAD LOAF WRITERS’

CONFERENCE: See WED.16. 9 a.m., 4:15 & 8:15 p.m.

OPEN MIC POETRY: Resident poet Bianca Amira Zanella welcomes writers and listeners of all stripes to an artful afternoon of readings. Phoenix Books, Rutland, 2 p.m. Free. Info, 855-8078.

WRITING HISTORIC FICTION: Local author Angela Moody shares insights on how writers can conjure bygone eras. Ethan Allen Homestead Museum,

Burlington, 2-3:15 p.m. Free. Info, 865-4556.

MON.21

climate crisis

BUILDING AN INCLUSIVE CLIMATE MOVEMENT: See SUN.20, 8:15 a.m.-6 p.m.

crafts KNIT WITS: Fiber-working friends get together to make progress on their quilts, knitwear and needlework. Manchester Community Library, Manchester Center, 3-4:30 p.m. Free. Info, 362-2607.

environment

UNDER THE ARCTIC: DIGGING INTO PERMAFROST: See WED.16.

film

See what’s playing at local theaters in the On Screen section.

‘JOURNEY TO SPACE 3D’: See WED.16.

‘MYSTERIES OF THE UNSEEN

WORLD 3D’: See WED.16.

‘WILD AFRICA 3D’: See WED.16.

‘WINGS OVER WATER 3D’: See WED.16.

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.

LAUGHTER YOGA: Spontaneous, joyful movement and breath promote physical and emotional health. Pathways Vermont, Burlington, 2-3 p.m. Free. Info, chrisn@pathwaysvermont.org.

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

TRANSLATION IN ACTION: Haitian poet Jean D’Amérique and translator Conor Bracken discuss their collaboration on D’Amérique’s collection No Way in the Skin Without This Bloody Embrace. Presented by Vermont Studio Center. 5-6 p.m. Free; preregister. Info, 635-2727. MON.21 » P.70

MON.21 « P.69

montréal

‘AURA’: See WED.16.

music

CASPIAN MONDAY MUSIC: ‘THE SERENITY AND VIRTUOSITY OF HAYDN AND MOZART’: Superstar string players join forces for a night of impressive orchestral works. Highland Center for the Arts, Greensboro, 7 p.m. $10-23; free for kids under 18; cash bar. Info, 533-2000.

LAKE CHAMPLAIN CHAMBER

MUSIC FESTIVAL: See SAT.19, 9:30 & 11 a.m.

OUTER SOUNDS: Greg Davis and TURNmusic bring together musicians to explore the intersections of jazz, electronic, ambient, improvised and avant-garde sounds. The Phoenix, Waterbury, 7:30-9 p.m. $10. Info, 578-5028.

VERGENNES CITY BAND

CONCERT: An all-volunteer community ensemble makes music on the green all summer long. Vergennes City Park, 7-8 p.m. Free. Info, vergennescityband@ gmail.com.

sports

WARRIORS SOAR GOLF CLASSIC: 18 holes of fun support sailing, fishing, baseball and other sport services for disabled veterans. Champlain Country Club, Swanton, 8 a.m.-5 p.m. $150. Info, 316-1962.

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.

BREAD LOAF WRITERS’

CONFERENCE: See WED.16, 11 a.m., 4:15 & 8:15 p.m.

TUE.22

agriculture

MUSIC WHILE YOU PICK: Live tunes from local bands keep spirits high as locavores harvest fresh blueberries. Owl’s Head Blueberry Farm, Richmond, 5-8 p.m. Minimum purchase of two quarts per adult; $7 per quart. Info, 434-3387.

community

CURRENT EVENTS

DISCUSSION GROUP: Brownell Library holds a virtual roundtable for neighbors to pause and reflect on the news cycle. 10-11:30 a.m. Free. Info, 878-6955.

crafts

WONDERARTS OUTSIDE: Crafters work with their hands in a variety of pop-up art workshops. Craftsbury Community Greenspace, 6-8 p.m. Free. Info, 533-9370.

dance

MORRIS & MORE: Dancers of all abilities learn how to step, clog and even sword fight their way through medieval folk dances of all kinds. Revels North, Lebanon, N.H., 6 p.m. Pay what you can. Info, 603-558-7894.

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.

environment

UNDER THE ARCTIC: DIGGING INTO PERMAFROST: See WED.16. etc.

CROSSING THE RIVER: Attendees at this mini retreat learn how to adapt to and accept change. First Congregational Church, Burlington, 6-8:30 p.m. Free. Info, 860-1936.

OPEN MIC NIGHT: Local thespian Garret White hosts poets, singers, comedians and musicians of all stripes in the garden. Waterbury Public Library, 6-8 p.m. Free. Info, 244-7036.

film

See what’s playing at local theaters in the On Screen section.

‘JOURNEY TO SPACE 3D’: See WED.16.

‘MYSTERIES OF THE UNSEEN WORLD 3D’: See WED.16.

‘THE SEEDS OF VANDANA SHIVA’: Sustainable Woodstock virtually screens this documentary about an environmental activist who stood up to Monsanto. Free; preregister. Info, 457-2911.

‘WILD AFRICA 3D’: See WED.16. ‘WINGS OVER WATER 3D’: See WED.16.

food & drink

FOOD TRUCK POP-UP: A diverse selection of cuisines rolls up as people enjoy live music and games. Three Rivers Path Trailhead Pavilion, Lamoille Valley Rail Trail, St. Johnsbury, 4:30-7:30 p.m. Free. Info, 748-8575.

Burlington, 2-3 p.m. Free; preregister. Info, 540-2546.

upper valley

Center, 1-2 p.m. Free; preregister. Info, 362-2607.

STEAM SATURDAY: Little ones play around with foundational science and art fun. Manchester Community Library, Manchester Center, 11 a.m.-noon. Free. Info, 362-2607.

SUMMER READING WRAP PARTY

— FAMILY FUN DAY: A day of festivities, including live music, crafts and ice cream, closes out the dog days. Manchester Community Library, Manchester Center, 10 a.m.-7 p.m. Free. Info, 362-2607.

SUN.20 burlington

ALL AGES COSPLAY CONTEST: Costume makers compete in youth, teen, adult and family categories at this fun fandom fest. Fletcher Free Library,

BAG TO SCHOOL SALE: Sales of used clothes for all ages benefit the North End Food Pantry. Odd Fellows Hall, Burlington, 11 a.m.-3 p.m. $1 per item; $5 per bag. Info, oddfellowsbtv@gmail. com.

brattleboro/okemo valley

HOT JAM PUPPET SLAM: This inaugural family-friendly fest features dazzling feats of puppetry by performers from all over New England. New England Center for Circus Arts, Brattleboro, 4-9 p.m. Donations; $10-50 for final show. Info, 254-9780.

MON.21 burlington

IMAGINATION STATION: See WED.16.

chittenden county

AUGUST POP-UP PROGRAMS: See THU.17, 1-2 p.m.

NORTHFIELD FARMERS MARKET: A gathering place for local farmers, producers and artisans offers fresh produce, crafts and locally prepared foods. Depot Square, Northfield, 3-6 p.m. Free. Info, 485-8586.

OLD NORTH END FARMERS MARKET: Fresh local produce, bread, honey and prepared food bring good vibes to the Queen City’s melting pot. Dewey Park, Burlington, 3-6:30 p.m. Free. Info, 355-3910.

health & fitness

THE 8 BROCADES: Librarian Judi Byron leads students in the ancient Chinese practice of Ba Duan Jin qigong. Waterbury Public Library, 10 a.m. Free; preregister. Info, judi@waterburypubliclibrary. com.

TAI CHI TUESDAY: Patrons get an easy, informal introduction to this ancient movement practice that supports balance and strength. Manchester Community Library, Manchester Center, 9-10:15 a.m. Free; donations accepted. Info, 362-2607.

language

ENGLISH LANGUAGE LEARNERS: Instructor Andrea Thulin helps non-native speakers build their vocabulary and conversation skills. Manchester Community Library, Manchester Center, 5:307 p.m. Free. Info, 549-4574. PAUSE-CAFÉ FRENCH

CONVERSATION: Francophones and French-language learners meet pour parler la belle langue Burlington Bay Market & Café, 5-7 p.m. Free. Info, 343-5493.

montréal

‘AURA’: See WED.16.

READ WITH DASHER: The certified therapy dog is super excited to hear beginning readers practice their diction. George Peabody Library, Post Mills, 2-3 p.m. Free. Info, 333-9724.

TUE.22

chittenden county

AUGUST POP-UP PROGRAMS: See THU.17, 10-11 a.m. & 3-4 p.m.

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.

barre/montpelier

PRESCHOOL STORY TIME: See THU.17.

manchester/

MUTEK: This six-day showcase experiments with digital art in multiple forms: musical and audiovisual performances; interactive and immersive installations; and virtual, augmented and mixed reality works. Various Montréal locations, 6:30-11 p.m. $20.15-37.07; $98.28295.04 for festival passes. Info, 514-871-8646.

music

BLACKLIST FEATURING SENAYIT: An Afro-punk, neo-soul outfit incorporates influences as wideranging as Radiohead and Ma Rainey. Legion Field, Johnson, 6-8:30 p.m. Free. Info, 730-2943.

COMMUNITY SINGERS: A weekly choral meetup welcomes all singers to raise their voices along to traditional (and not-so-traditional) songs. Revels North, Lebanon, N.H., 7:30 p.m. Pay what you can. Info, 603-558-7894.

LAKE CHAMPLAIN CHAMBER

MUSIC FESTIVAL: See SAT.19, noon & 4 p.m.

SING TO CONNECT SAMPLE

SESSIONS: Students explore singing for joy and healing, not technical perfection or performance. Heineberg Senior Center, Burlington, 11:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m. Free. Info, juneberrymusic@gmail. com.

tech

CELLPHONE SUPPORT: Locals receive one-on-one mobile device help from a library volunteer.

Fletcher Free Library, Burlington, 5:30-7 p.m. Free; limited space. Info, 863-3403.

DROP-IN TECH HELP: Experts answer questions about phones, laptops, e-readers and more in one-on-one sessions. ADA accessible. South Burlington Public

bennington

STORY TIME: Youth librarian Carrie leads little tykes in stories and songs centered on a new theme every week. Birth through age 5. Manchester Community Library, Manchester Center, 10:30-11:30 a.m. Free. Info, 362-2607.

WED.23 burlington

BABYTIME: See WED.16.

GIRLS TRY HOCKEY FOR FREE: Girls and nonbinary kids ages 5 through 14 try a new sport using borrowed equipment or their own. Gordon H. Paquette Ice Arena, Burlington, 5:30-6:30 p.m. Free; preregister. Info, bethcolalella@ yahoo.com.

IMAGINATION STATION: See WED.16.

STEAM SPACE: See WED.16.

STORIES WITH SHANNON: See WED.16.

chittenden county

AUGUST POP-UP PROGRAMS: See THU.17, 10:30-11 a.m.

GOOD CITIZEN: RUNNING FOR OFFICE

GAME NIGHT: State Representative Angela Arsenault answers questions

Library & City Hall, 5-6:30 p.m. Free. Info, 846-4140.

words

BREAD LOAF WRITERS’

CONFERENCE: See WED.16, 9 a.m., 4:15 & 8:15 p.m.

BROWN BAG BOOK CLUB: Readers digest Fifty Words for Rain by Asha Lemmie over lunch. Dorothy Alling Memorial Library, Williston, 12:30-1:30 p.m. Free. Info, 878-4918.

BURLINGTON LITERATURE

GROUP DISCUSSION:

ANNIE ERNAUX: Readers analyze three of the Nobel Prize-winning author’s novels over three weeks. 6:30-8 p.m. Free. Info, info@ nereadersandwriters.com.

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.23 business

QUEEN CITY BUSINESS

NETWORKING INTERNATIONAL GROUP: See WED.16.

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

FIBER GATHERING: See WED.16.

about the campaign trail and elections over board games. Dorothy Alling Memorial Library, Williston, 5-6 p.m. Free. Info, 878-4918.

LEGO BUILDERS: See WED.16. barre/montpelier

CHESS CLUB: See WED.16. 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 9 through 11. Waterbury Public Library, 3-4 p.m. Free; preregister. Info, 244-7036.

upper valley

PENNY CARNIVAL: All games and goodies cost only one cent each at this family-friendly fair featuring raffles, book sales and ugliest penny contests. George Peabody Library, Post Mills, 3-5 p.m. Free. Info, 333-9724.

manchester/ bennington

MCL FILM CLUB: See WED.16. NEW MOMS’ GROUP: See WED.16. K

environment

UNDER THE ARCTIC: DIGGING INTO PERMAFROST: See WED.16.

fairs & festivals

CALEDONIA COUNTY FAIR: Vermont’s oldest agricultural fair features rides, live music and entertainment, livestock events, demolition derbies, fair food, and more. Mountain View Park, Lyndonville, 9 a.m.-10 p.m. $1220; free for kids under 36 inches. Info, 427-4404.

film

See what’s playing at local theaters in the On Screen section.

‘JOURNEY TO SPACE 3D’: See WED.16.

MIDDLEBURY NEW FILMMAKERS

FESTIVAL: It’s a film fanatic’s paradise when more than 125 features, high-profile panelists and lively festivities roll into town. See middfilmfest.org for full schedule. Various Middlebury locations, 11:30 a.m.-11 p.m. $1460; $125 for festival pass. Info, 382-9222.

‘MYSTERIES OF THE UNSEEN WORLD 3D’: See WED.16.

‘THE SEEDS OF VANDANA SHIVA’: See TUE.22.

‘WILD AFRICA 3D’: See WED.16.

‘WINGS OVER WATER 3D’: See WED.16.

games MAH-JONGG OPEN PLAY: See WED.16.

health & fitness

CHAIR YOGA: See WED.16.

SEATED & STANDING YOGA: See WED.16.

language BEGINNER IRISH LANGUAGE

CLASS: See WED.16.

ELL CLASSES: ENGLISH FOR BEGINNERS & INTERMEDIATE STUDENTS: See WED.16.

montréal

‘AURA’: See WED.16. MUTEK: See TUE.22, 5 p.m.-midnight.

music

KOMPASS QUARTET: An interactive performance by the

acclaimed ensemble features works for a string foursome through the centuries. South Burlington Public Library & City Hall, 1-2 p.m. Free. Info, 846-4140. LAKE CHAMPLAIN CHAMBER

MUSIC FESTIVAL: See SAT.19, 1, 3 & 5 p.m.

SUMMER CONCERT SERIES: CRICKET BLUE: The folk duo brings an intimate, textured, melodic hour of music to town. Burlington City Hall Park, 12:301:30 p.m. Free. Info, 865-7166.

ZACH NUGENT UNCORKED: See WED.16.

seminars

CALM, COOL AND INVESTED — STAYING ON TRACK: A New England Federal

Credit Union webinar imparts lessons on financial planning even through ups and downs in the market. Noon-1 p.m. Free; preregister. Info, 764-6940.

sports

GREEN MOUNTAIN TABLE

TENNIS CLUB: See WED.16.

theater

‘HAMLET’: Shakespeare in the Woods presents the Bard’s timeless tale of revenge in this lavish and diverse outdoor performance. Hunter Park, Manchester Center, 7:30 p.m. $12-20. Info, shakespeare inthewoodsvt@gmail.com.

‘MS. HOLMES & MS. WATSON — APT. 2B’: See WED.16.

words

BANNED BOOKS TOUR: Lt. Gov. David Zuckerman hosts a reading featuring stories that have faced conservative backlash across the country. Phoenix Books, Rutland, 6 p.m. Free. Info, 828-2226.

BREAD LOAF WRITERS’

CONFERENCE: See WED.16, 9 a.m., 4:15 & 8:15 p.m.

EMILY BERNARD: The best-selling author and University of Vermont professor talks about her writing process and the inspiration behind her next book. Worthen Library, South Hero, 6:30 p.m. Free. Info, 372-6209. ➆

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

FIGURE DRAWING NIGHT!:

Please join us for an evening of figure drawing at Soapbox Arts in the Soda Plant, hosted by Ana Koehler of Devotion. ere will be a live nude model in short and long poses. Bring your own drawing supplies. Please, no wet supplies such as inks or paints. All drawing levels welcome. Ages 18+ only. Mon., Aug. 21, 6 p.m.

Cost: $20. Location: Soapbox Arts at the Soda Plant, 266 Pine St., Suite 119, Burlington. Info: 617-290-5405, sevendaystickets. com.

culinary

UNICORN CAKE DECORATING

CLASS: In this workshop, you will pick your flavor and decorate your very own six-slice version to take home. Children must be supervised. Gluten-free, vegan, or both are available for the cake kits. Please disclose all allergies in the ticket registration. Note that we are not an allergen-free facility. Sun., Aug. 20, 4 p.m. Cost: $10/$65. Location: Red Poppy Cakery, 1 Elm St., Waterbury Village Historic District. Info: 203400-0700, sevendaystickets.com.

design/build

TINY HOUSE WORKSHOP: A crew of beginners will help instructor Peter King frame and sheath a 16-by-24-foot tiny house in Bristol. Plenty of hands-on experience. Tools provided; safety glasses required. On-site camping available. Aug. 19-20. Cost: $300/workshop. Info: Peter King, 802-933-6103, vermonttinyhouses.com.

gardening

KIDS POLLINATOR ADVENTURE & BEESWAX CANDLE MAKING: is garden adventure will include a lesson on pollinators, a scavenger hunt to see pollinators around the nursery and beeswax candle making. All materials will be provided, and each child will go home with a pollinator information sheet as well as their handmade candles. Tue., Aug. 22, 10:30 a.m. Cost: $18. Location: Horsford Gardens & Nursery, 2111 Greenbush Rd., Charlotte. Info: 802-425-8211, sevendaystickets.com.

PLANTING 101: BALLED & BURLAPPED: Join Tucker, our delivery team manager, for a lesson on planting balled and burlapped trees. From planning to installing, learn each step involved with a healthy planting. ere will be a demonstration as well as time to answer any questions you may have. Sun., Aug. 20, 10 a.m. Location: Horsford Gardens & Nursery, 2111 Greenbush Rd., Charlotte. Info: 802-425-2811, sevendaystickets.com.

language

ALLIANCE FRANÇAISE FALL

CLASSES: Join us for online and in-person adult French classes this fall. Our 11-week session starts on September 18 and offers classes for participants at all levels. Please go to our website to read about all of our offerings, or contact Micheline for more information. Begins Sep. 18. Location: Online and at Alliance Française, 43 King St., Burlington. Info: education@ aflcr.org, aflcr.org.

martial arts

AIKIDO: THE POWER OF HARMONY: Discover the dynamic, flowing martial art of aikido. Relax under pressure and cultivate core power, aerobic fitness and resiliency. Aikido emphasizes throws, joint locks and internal power. Circular movements teach how to blend with the attack. We offer inclusive classes and a safe space for all. Visitors should watch a class before joining. Beginners’ classes 4 days a 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, 802-951-8900, bpincus@ burlingtonaikido.org, burlingtonaikido.org.

shamanism

APPRENTICESHIP IN SHAMANISM: Rare opportunity to apprentice locally in a shamanic tradition. Receive personal healing, learn to create your own Mesa, cultivate a relationship with the unseen world and discover your personal guide(s) who will help you “re-member” your new path of expanding possibilities. Weekend-long sessions: Sep. 15-17; Dec. 8-10; Feb.

16-18, 2024; Apr. 26-28, 2024; Aug. 23-25, 2024. Location: Heart of the Healer, St. Albans. Info: omas Mock, 802-3694331, thomas.mock1444@gmail. com, heartofthehealer.org.

sports

SWIM LESSONS AT UVM: e Vermont Swim School offers both youth and adult swimmers the opportunity to learn and develop aquatic skills in a nurturing and friendly environment. Lessons take place in the University of Vermont Athletic/ Recreation Complex in the Forbush Natatorium. Both group and private lessons are offered. Sunday a.m. Location: Forbush Natatorium at UVM, 97 Spear St., Burlington. Info: 802-6563070, campus.recreation@ uvm.edu, uvmcampusrec.com/ sports/2017/7/5/lesson-types. aspx.

well-being

VISION CAMP VIRTUAL: Did you know that I have decided to cover everyone’s ticket to Vision Camp Virtual on August 19? Yes, you read that right! I have decided to cover every general admission ticket. ere is no cost to you. Mark your calendar and go right now and secure your seat! Sat., Aug. 19, noon. Location: Online. Info: 919-2929305, sevendaystickets.com.

yoga

AYURVEDIC INTEGRATION

PROGRAM: Learn to integrate Ayurveda as lifestyle medicine that can prevent or reverse chronic disease; increase energy; promote longevity; and reduce stress, anxiety and depression. Specialized seasonal and daily Ayurvedic routines, holistic nutrition, stress-reduction techniques, and self-care will be taught. Sat. & Sun. 9 a.m.-4 p.m. 2023: Oct. 14-15, Nov. 4-5, Dec. 2-3; 2024: Jan. 6-7, Feb. 3-4, Mar. 9-10, Apr. 6-7, May 4-5, Jun. 8-9, Jul. 13-14. Cost: $2,895/200hour program. Location: e Ayurvedic Center of Vermont, 34 Oak Hill Rd., Williston. Info: Allison Morse, 802-872-8898, info@ayurvedavermont.com, ayurvedavermont.com.

FARM SERIES YOGA IN THE FLOWERS: Roots & Tides is back at the Snaps and Sunflowers gardens to practice among the blooms. All levels welcome. Choose a spot next to your favorite flowers and reconnect with the earth and your surroundings. We do have a covered area in the case of rain, but we’ll contact you in the event of foreseen severe weather. u., Aug. 17. Cost: $15-30. Location: Snaps and Sunflowers, Irish Settlement Rd., Cambridge. Info: 802-735-3328, sevendaystickets.com.

Make a Di erence — Take the Challenge!

Vermont kids are pitching in to help flooded towns recover by completing activities for the Good Citizen Challenge. This summer civics project includes 25 activities K-8 students can do to learn about and improve their communities.

On Friday, July 21, in Morrisville, a group of young residents who’ve been working on the Challenge through the Morristown Centennial Library held a bake sale to benefit the Johnson Public Library (Activity 14: Organize Support).

The flood hit Morrisville, too, but the damage was worse in nearby Johnson; the library’s entire collection has been removed until its building dries out.

Morrisville librarians Maggie Cleary and Cari Varner organized the fundraiser, posting about it on the town’s Front Porch Forum. Community members including the local bridge group saw the post and donated money and baked goods. The kids made treats and lemonade.

They spent an hour setting up their table and crafting colorful signs. Many drivers honked in support as they passed or pulled over to make donations. In one hour, the kids raised $539 for the cause. Amelia Rossiter, 12, helped sta the tent and accept donations. Her own house was una ected by the flood, “but we definitely know people who weren’t as fortunate,” she said. “Being able to help in any way we can is really nice.”

Everyone who completes the Good Citizen Challenge by doing five activities in a row on the scorecard is entered to win prizes, including a free trip for two to Washington, D.C.

Download the scorecard and enter by September 4 at goodcitizenvt.com.

Challenge Organizers

The Evslin Family Foundation

knowledge can’t be handed down the gene pool. It has to be learned.” — Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O’Connor

Back row, from left: Amelia Rossiter, Annie Robens, Silvia Earlandt, Blaze Robens, Sevi Bickersta ; Front row: Magnolia Zebrowski, Elias Burke, Rain Bickersta

Humane Society of Chittenden

Samantha

AGE/SEX: 12-year-old spayed female

ARRIVAL DATE: July 5, 2023

SUMMARY: Senior sweetie Samantha came our way when her previous owner was moving and couldn’t take her along. She’s a lovely girl who’s ready for her next bed to nap on. She loves saying hello to visitors in the lobby and getting her little head rubbed! Samantha would love to find a calm, quiet home where she can enjoy her golden years.

DOGS/CATS/KIDS: Samantha has lived with another cat before and may do well with others. Due to potential stress for Samantha, we are looking for a home without dogs. She hasn’t been around kids but may do well with older kids who understand that she is a senior girl. 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?

August is National Immunization Awareness Month! Routine vaccinations are essential to protecting your pets from preventable diseases. Keep your pets happy and healthy by making sure they are up-to-date on vaccines such as rabies and distemper.

Sponsored by:

County

Fur-ever

Seven Days Pet Memorials

Obi

• 2008-2022

I’m One With the Food. e Food Is With Me. Wherever you went, you made all the friends. e best family dog, the best office dog, the best dorm dog. You were the best companion and knew exactly what each of us needed at any given moment. Your only weakness was food. Dubbed “Sir Eats A Lot” by your office friends, there wasn’t any food you wouldn’t eat (except spinach), which kept everyone entertained. You are missed every day.

– It’s time to eat! Love, Mom, Dad and your sisters Vic & Katie

Herbie • 1972-1983

Herbie the Love Bug

Herbie,

When we first laid eyes on each other at the Humane Society (thanks to Monica), I think we both knew we had found our best friend. I haven’t seen you here on Earth for about 40 years, but I think of you often and I’m certain we’ll be together again one day. Until then, I’ll hold you in my heart and know that you’re watching over me. ank you for everything you taught me about love.

Always, Diane

Arlo Brown • 2008-2022

Bro

Replaced Sister, Best Two Years Ever

Arlo’s sis Eva was with us for 12 years. Beautiful black lab. A year after heartache, Arlo her brother was offered to us at 12 with liver issues but good vet support. He had the best two years on Blueberry Lake. He bounced from yurt to camper to house, visiting his tribe. Each were mutual best friends. Arlo was amazing, the happiest dog ever. He got a cancer sore on his mouth and spent two weeks at the beach with four fur friends a month before. He swam in the lake at 6 a.m. It was heaven on Earth that morning, then he flew. LOVE you two forever. XO

– Love, your Blueberry Lake tribe

All sizes include a photo and your tribute. Short $30, Medium $50, Long $95

Print deadline: ursdays at 5 p.m. | Questions? petmemorials@sevendaysvt.com

Duke • 2009-2022

Sloppy-Kiss Expert

Duke became part of our family at four weeks old. He grew to be 120 pounds and was the best boi. He loved stuffies, rides in the car, ice cream, music and hanging with mom. He passed just before his 13th birthday, and we miss him every day.

Jasper • 2009-2023

Handsome Earth Dog

ank you for being our sweet, wise, steadfast and loving companion. We took you everywhere, and you loved it. You enjoyed our young grandchildren, and you let them love you. You will always be in our hearts. ank you, dear Jasper.

Tay

– Love, Linda and Richard

Be e • 2008-2023

She Would Sleep Under Our

Bed

Belle was a rescue dog when we adopted her. She enriched our lives, and we miss her every day. Barks to greet visitors. Eager for walks. Loyal. Lovable. Escape artist. – Love, Betsy and Jeff

Cabot • 2012-2023 We Hate to Say Goodbye

Adopted in 2014 and named as an ode to her parents’ meeting place, Cabot will always be remembered as our “24-month aged cheddar.” Always preferring to be in the company of humans, her paw prints are left on the hearts of those she met, the paths she walked and the many peaks summited. She was happiest at her final home in Underhill, spending her days frolicking in the flowers, searching for “wild kibble,” snuggling in her pink blanket, resting at the woodstove, begging for waffles and following her baby sister around. From the first moment we met you, we fell in love. ank you for all you gave to us. Always and forever.

– Mom, Dad and Baby Sister

• 1987-1999

Always in My Heart

Taffy girl has left us. She was — a friend often said — a person in a dog suit. Smarter than most senior managers, more manipulative than most southern belles. Silky and tough, sweet and demanding, a wanderer who loved sitting on a warm lap more than roaming wide spaces. She was a great companion.

e last few months have been difficult. But this morning, it got too hard for her to fight any more. People said I would recognize when it happened, and it is truly unmistakable.

I will never forget her. I expect to meet her again.

In January, I’ll take her ashes to Colorado to scatter them on a peak above the Big ompson, where she encountered snow for the first time, running with her nose beneath its surface, then stopping to look back at me with a grin of delight at such a wonderful creation. Ha! It takes one to know one.

Susan

Share the story of your special friend. TO SUBMIT A PET MEMORIAL, please visit sevendaysvt.com/ petmemorials or scan the QR code.

Your beloved pet was a part of the family. Explain how and why in a Seven Days pet memorial. Share your animal’s photo and a written remembrance in the Fur-ever Loved section of the newspaper and online. It’s an affordable way to acknowledge and celebrate the nonhuman companions in our lives.

– Love, Mom, Haley and Meghan

CLASSIFIEDS

on the road

RECREATIONAL VEHICLES

2008 KEYSTONE 5TH WHEEL RV

Exceptional condition, new toilet & septic tank. Refrigerator, queen mattress & on-demand hot water new in 2020. Anxious to sell; make an offer! Contact Sylvia or Andy at 352-250-1232.

MOTORCYCLES

2018 DUCATI SCRAMBLER 1100 Excellent condition.

2,465 miles. Black. Ton of aftermarket parts, incl. seat, mirrors, folding clutch/brake levers, MIVV exhaust & axle sliders. See online ad for more info.

$8,900. Contact Bill at 802-752-7080.

housing FOR RENT

1-BR APT. IN BURLINGTON 800-sq.ft., ground-fl oor apt. near high school. Great views, ceramic tile fl oors, W/D shared w/ other tenant. On bus route & bike path. Off-street parking. Pets considered. Defi nitely NS! $1,100/mo. incl. utils. Avail. immed. Shown by appt only: 802-862-7602, morton. bostock@gmail.com.

2 RENTALS ON FAMILY ESTATE 3-BR/3.5-BA house in Benson, $3,000. 1-BR/1-BA large 4-room cottage, $1,400. 20-30 min. from Middlebury/ Castleton areas. W/D, parking. Contact xyacht332@gmail.com.

2-BR IN ESSEX 2-BR, 1-BA in great location at Lang Farm.

CLASSIFIEDS KEY

appt. appointment

apt. apartment

BA bathroom

BR bedroom

DR dining room

DW dishwasher

HDWD hardwood

HW hot water

LR living room

NS no smoking

OBO or best offer

refs. references

sec. dep. security deposit

W/D washer & dryer

housing ads: $25 (25 words) legals: 52¢/word buy this stuff: free online

$1,750/mo. incl. all utils. except cable. Credit check req. Call 802-316 1210

BURLINGTON Burlington Hill Section, furnished, single room, on bus line. No cooking. No pets. Linens furnished. Utils. incl. Call 802-862-2389.

SPACIOUS 2-STORY

APT.

Newly remodeled, 2-BR, 1.5-BA, study, large living space opens to garden. Hill Section. 1 parking space. No dogs. Owner next door. 1-year lease, $3,000/mo. Avail. now. Contact Eleanor at 802-734-2014 or elanahan@burlington telecom.net.

HOUSEMATES

BOOK LOVER IN SUDBURY

Share a home in Sudbury w/ an avid reader in her 60s who enjoys volunteering & classical music. $500/mo. + sharing companionship & outdoor chores. Must be cat-friendly! NS.

Private BA. Contact 802-863-5625 or home sharevermont.org for application. Interview, refs., background checks req. EHO.

ROOM FOR RENT

Room for rent, private BA. In Essex Jct. on bus line, 3 miles from hospital. $1,000/mo. All utils. incl. Contact homebase130@gmail. com w/ phone number to reach you.

CENTRAL VT. HOMESHARE

Share a cozy, rural home in Worcester surrounded by orchard, blueberries & gardens. Seeking help w/ gardens & housekeeping. Shared BA, pets considered. $600/mo. Contact 802-863-5625 or homesharevermont. org for application. Interview, refs., background checks req. EHO.

services: $12 (25 words) fsbos: $45 (2 weeks, 30 words, photo) jobs: michelle@sevendaysvt.com, 865-1020 x121

OFFICE/ COMMERCIAL

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.

ser vices

AUTO

PROFESSIONAL SAFE

DRIVER

Avail. Mon. through u., 10 a.m.-3 p.m., fl exible. $25/hour, 1099 needed. Lightweight (no taxi or CDL.) Prefer Chittenden County. Call “hurry up!” at 802-489-5562.

CUSTOM VAN CONVERSIONS

Ozzie Vans is a female& queer-owned van conversion company located near Westford. We specialize in bohominimalistic design! Visit ozzievans.com or @ozzievans on Instagram for more info. Call 802-637-9033 or email info@ozzievans. com.

CLOTHING ALTERATIONS

ALTERATION/SEWING

PROJECTS

Do you have that special item of clothing that needs to be altered or repaired so you can start wearing it again? Call now: 802-302-9491.

ELDER CARE

FIND SENIOR LIVING

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

print deadline: Mondays at 3:30 p.m. post ads online 24/7 at: sevendaysvt.com/classifieds questions? classifieds@sevendaysvt.com

1-866-370-2939. (AAN CAN)

COVERED HOME REPAIRS

SAT. AUG 19 @ 9AM

Over 350+ Lots of Firearms From Private Collections Highlights Include Winchesters, Colts, Rugers, and Fine Double Shotguns.

BID LIVE OR ONLINE

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ESTATE ITEMS & ANTIQUE FARM EQUIPMENT

Thursday, August 24 @ 10AM

100+ Lots of Estate Items and Antique Farm Equipment. Including: Vintage Advertising, Boxes, Vermont Ephemera, Chests, Sleigh Lot. PLUS: Antique Horse or Cow Treadmill, Nourse Mason & Co. Corn Husker, Honda HS928 Snow Blower, DR Trimmer Mower, and more!

THCAuction.com

APPEAL FOR SOCIAL SECURITY

Denied Social Security disability? Appeal! If you’re 50+, filed SSD & were denied, our attorneys can help. Win or pay nothing. Strong recent work history needed. Call 1-877-311-1416 to contact Steppacher Law Offi ces LLC. Principal offi ce: 224 Adams Ave., Scranton, PA 18503. (AAN CAN)

HEALTH/ WELLNESS

My Caring Plan has helped thousands of families fi nd senior living. Our trusted, local advisers help fi nd solutions to your unique needs at no cost to you. Call 866-386-9005. (AAN CAN)

FINANCIAL/LEGAL

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CASH FOR CANCER PATIENTS

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DISCOVER OXYGEN THERAPY

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NEVER CLEAN YOUR GUTTERS AGAIN!

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PAINTING & CARPENTRY

We do a little of everything from painting to carpentry to remodeling. We have refs. & are insured. Please call Jay at 802-373-001 today to set up an estimate.

SECURE YOUR HOME

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PERFECT MASSAGE FOR MEN

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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.

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Lifetime warranty & professional installs. Senior & military discounts avail. Call

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artwork, tools, bike. urs. through Sun., Aug. 17-20, 8 a.m.-5 p.m. 743 Bay Rd., Shelburne. Contact 802-371-7782 or emcshane489@gmail. com.

MISCELLANEOUS

BCI WALK-IN TUBS

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DISH TV $64.99

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FURNITURE

TWIN HOSPITAL BED PACKAGE

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GARAGE/ESTATE SALES

BRIDPORT TOWN-WIDE

SALES

Sat. & Sun., Aug. 19 & 20, 9 a.m.-4 p.m. Maps avail. at sales sites on sale dates & at Pratt’s Store on Aug. 16.

MOVING SALE!

Collectibles, furniture, rugs, kitchenware, dishes, sheets, towels, tablecloths, sports equipment, electronics,

music

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GUITAR INSTRUCTION

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GUITAR LESSONS

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CALCOKU BY JOSH REYNOLDS

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.

SUDOKU BY JOSH REYNOLDS

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!

WANT MORE PUZZLES?

Try these online news games from Seven Days at sevendaysvt.com/games.

NEW

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Guess today’s 5-letter word. Hint: It’s in the news!

Legal Notices

VERMONT SUPERIOR COURT CIVIL DIVISION

CASE NO. 23-CV-03306

Notice of hearing

Breezy Acres Cooperative, Inc. v. John Bailey

This is to notify you to appear at the Court named above in connection with the above-named case on:

DATE: August 29, 2023 TIME: 11:30 AM DURATION: 15 Minutes

HEARING RE: Abandoned Mobile Home

A hearing on Breezy Acres Cooperative, Inc.’s Verified Complaint to declare abandoned the mobile home of John Bailey located at the Breezy Acres Mobile Home Park, at 158 Fourth Street in Colchester, Vermont to authorize the sale of the mobile home at a public auction to be held within 15 days of judgment is set for August 29, 2023 @11:30AM.

“YOU MAY ATTEND THIS HEARING IN PERSON AT THE COURTHOUSE OR REMOTELY. See attached instructions for remote appearance.”

Electronically signed Wednesday, August 2, 2023 pursuant to V.R.E.F. 9(d)

Nancy L. Bean

Judicial Assistant – Chittenden Civil Division Vermont Superior Court 175 Main Street Burlington, Vermont 05401

Any individual with a disability requiring assistance accessing the services, programs, and/or activities at the Courthouse should contact the Clerk’s office at the above address for further assistance.

VERMONT SUPERIOR COURT

Superior Court Civil Division Chittenden Unit

Docket No: 23-CV-03306

In Re: Abandoned Mobile Home

Of John Bailey

Verified Complaint

NOW COMES Breezy Acres Cooperative, Inc. (hereafter “Plaintiff”) by and through

counsel Steven J. Kantor, and hereby makes this complaint:

1. Plaintiff, with a principal business located in Colchester, County of Chittenden, State of Vermont, is the record owner of a mobile home park known as Breezy Acres Mobile Home Park, located in the Town of Colchester, Vermont.

2. Defendant John Bailey (deceased) is the record owner of a certain mobile home in the Park, described as a 1976 Skyline, 14x70, Serial Number 2015534-J and located at 158 4 th Street in Breezy Acres Park in Colchester, Vermont.

3. Defendant Bailey’s last known mailing address is 158 4 th Street in Colchester, Vermont.

4. Defendant leased a lot in Breezy Acres Mobile Home Park under the terms of a written uniform Mobile Home Lot Lease. He passed away on October 24, 2022 and no one has resided at the mobile home since that time.

5. The last known resident at the mobile home was Mr. Bailey.

6. Upon information and belief, surviving family members have abandoned interest in the mobile home. No petition to open a probate estate has been filed for John Bailey per the Chittenden Probate Division.

7. There are no liens or encumbrances of record with respect to the mobile home.

7. Mobile home lot rent has not been paid since December 2022 and continues to accrue at the rate of $519.00 per month. Rent and other charges due to Breezy Acres Cooperative, Inc. as of July 18, 2023 total $4,902.00. Court costs and attorney’s fees incurred by Breezy Acres Cooperative continue to accrue. No security deposit for this mobile home is held by the Park Owner.

8. Plaintiff sent written notice to the Town Clerk of the Town of Colchester on June 9, 2023 of Plaintiff’s intent to commence this action. No taxes are reported to be delinquent.

9. Charles Bolton is a person disinterested in the mobile home or mobile home park who is able to sell the mobile home at a public auction.

WHEREFORE, Plaintiff respectfully requests that the Honorable Court enter an order as follows:

1. declaring that the mobile home has been abandoned; and

2. approving the sale of the mobile home at a public

auction to be held within 15 days of the date of judgment, pursuant to 10 V.S.A. §6249(h); and 3. granting judgment in favor of Plaintiff and against the mobile home for past due and unpaid rent and other charges through the date of judgment, together with Plaintiff’s court costs, publication and mailing costs, and Plaintiff’s counsel fees incurred in connection with this matter, pursuant to 10 V.S.A. 6249(h)(7)(B).

[Signature page to follow]

DATED AT Burlington, this 31st day of July, 2023.

BREEZY ACRES COOPERATIVE, INC.

/s/ Steven J. Kantor Steven J. Kantor, Esq. Doremus Kantor & Zullo 346 Shelburne Road, Suite 603 P.O. Box 445 Burlington, VT 05402-0445 (802) 863-9603 Attorney for Breezy Acres Cooperative, Inc.

DATED AT South Burlington, Vermont this 31 day of July, 2023.

/s/ Scott Michaud Duly Authorized Agent of Breezy Acres Cooperative, Inc.

State Of Vermont Chittenden County, Ss. At Williston, Chittenden VT in said County and State, this 31 day of July, 2023, personally appeared Scott Michaud, Duly Authorized Agent of Breezy Acres Cooperative, Inc., and he/she/they swore to the truth of the foregoing.

Before me,

/s/ Melanie Rodney Notary Public

Print Name: Melanie Rodney Commission Expires: 1/31/2025 Commission No.: 157.0010388

CITY OF BURLINGTON

In the Year Two Thousand Twenty-three A Regulation in Relation to Burlington Code Of Ordinances Chapter 20, Motor Vehicles And Traffic — Article III Section 20-80, Limited Violation

Forgiveness

Sponsor(s): Department of Public Works

Action: Approved Date: 2/15/2023

Attestation of Adoption:

Phillip Peterson, PE

Public Works Engineer, Technical Services

Published: 08/16/23

Effective: 09/06/23

It is hereby Ordained by the Public Works Commission of the City of Burlington as follows: That Chapter 20, Motor Vehicles and Traffic, Article I. In General, of the Code of Ordinances of the City of Burlington is hereby amended as follows: Chapter 20. MOTOR VEHICLES AND TRAFFIC Articles I—II. As written.

Articles III. As written.

20-53 – 20-66 As written.

20-67. Waiver of issuance of process in a trial; voluntary payment of penalty; appeal.

(a)-(b) As written.

(c) Any person whose vehicle has been ticketed, other than for a first violation of Section 2066 55 (a)(11) or 20- 87 66(b)(2) in a twelve (12) month period, may appeal the propriety and/or legality of the ticket by submitting to the city grand juror in writing within thirty (30) days a short and plain statement of his or her objections. The city grand juror shall review the objections and notify the appellant of his/her findings in writing. Any appeal of a first violation of Section 20- 66 55 (a) (11) or 20- 87 66(b)(2) in a twelve (12) month period shall be made pursuant to the procedure outlined in Section 20-80.

(d) As written.

20-68 – 20-79 As written.

20-80. Limited violation forgiveness.

(a) Within thirty (30) days of a first violation in a twelve (12) month period , any person whose vehicle has been ticketed pursuant to Section 20- 66 55 (a) (11) or 20- 87 66(b)(2) may appeal and request violation forgiveness for such violation by providing a written attestation to the parking services manager that such violation request is their first within the preceding twelve (12) month period.

(b) Upon confirming that the violation on appeal request for forgiveness is for a violation of Section 20- 66 55 (a)(11) or 20- 87 66(b)(2) and the first request by the for the appellant within the preceding twelve (12) months, the parking services manager or his or her their representative shall administratively void the violation.

(c) If upon review as outlined in subsection (b) of this section, the parking services manager or his or her their representative determines the violation is not eligible for administrative voiding, the appeal shall be forwarded to the city grand juror and shall be processed in accordance with the procedure outlined in Section 20-67(c).

20-81—20-82. As written.

Articles IV—VI. As written.

* Material stricken out deleted.

** Material underlined added. (Reg. of 10-20-21(a), eff. 12-22-21) 2/15/2023

ACT 250 NOTICE MINOR APPLICATION 4C0677-1C 10 V.S.A. §§ 6001 – 6111

Application 4C0677-1C from Almartin Volvo, c/o Stacey Thibaud, 85 Executive Drive, Shelburne, VT 05482 and Bruce & Susan Thibaud, 85 Executive Drive, Shelburne, VT 05482 was received on June 29, 2023 and deemed complete on August 3, 2023. The project is generally described as a reduction

AN AFFORDABLE NOTICE AT: SEVENDAYSVT.COM/LEGAL-NOTICES OR CALL 802-865-1020, EXT. 142.

in scope of the approved improvements under 4C0677-1B. e project includes an open canopy instead of a building addition, no changes to the parking area/driveway on the southern side of the existing building, and no new display pods in the front yard. e project is located on Lot 2 of the Shelburne Meadows Business Park at 85 Executive Drive in Shelburne, Vermont. is application can be viewed online by visiting the Act 250 Database: (https://anrweb.vt.gov/ANR/Act250/Details. aspx?Num=4C0677-1C).

No hearing will be held and a permit will be issued unless, on or before September 6, 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-petitionform, 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 August 9, 2023.

By:Stephanie H. Monaghan District Coordinator

111 West Street Essex Junction, VT 05452

802-261-1944

stephanie.monaghan@vermont.gov

NOTICE OF APPLICATION TO BROWNFIELDS REUSE AND ENVIRONMENTAL LIABILITY LIMITATIONS ACT PROGRAM

Please take notice that the Burlington Public Works Department whose mailing address is 645 Pine Street, Burlington, Vermont 05401, is applying to the Vermont Brownfi elds Reuse and Environmental Liability Limitations Program(10 V.S.A §6641 et seq.) in connection with the redevelopment of property known as 195-201 Flynn Avenue in the City of Burlington, Vermont.

A copy of the application, which contains a preliminary environmental assessment and a description of the proposed redevelopment project is available for public review at the City of Burlington, Vermont Clerk Treasurers Offi ce and at the Vermont Department of Environmental Conservation Offi ces in Montpelier.

Comments concerning the application and/or the above referenced documents may be directed to Kristi Herzer at (802)461-6918 or at kristi.herzer@ vermont.gov.

Comments may also be submitted by mail to the Vermont Department of Environmental Conservation, Waste Management Division, 1 National Life Drive,-Davis 1, Montpelier, VT 05620; attention: Kristi Herzer.

STATE OF VERMONT SUPERIOR COURT PROBATE DIVISION CHITTENDEN UNIT DOCKET NO.23-PR-03853

In re ESTATE of Esther Aikey

NOTICE TO CREDITORS

To the creditors of: Esther Aikey., late of Colchester, 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 fi rst publication of this notice. e claim must be presented to me at the address listed below with a copy sent to the

Court. e claim may be barred forever if it is not presented within the four (4) month period.

Dated: August 9 2023

Signature of Fiduciary: /s/ Julie Archacki

Executor/Administrator: Julie Archacki, 358 CLAY POINT ROAD Colchester, VT 05446 AIKEY56@AOL.COM 802-363-8919

Name of Publication: Seven Days

Publication Date: 8/16/2023

Name of Probate Court: State of VermontChittenden Probate Division

Address of Probate Court: PO Box 511, 175 Main Street Burlington, VT 05402

CITY OF BURLINGTON

In the Year Two ousand Twenty-three A Regulation in Relation to Rules and Regulations of the Traffi c Commission—Section 7. No parking areas.

Sponsor(s): Public Works Commission

Action: Approved

Date: 7/26/2023

Attestation of Adoption:

Phillip Peterson, PE

Public Works Engineer, Technical Services

Published: 08/16/23

Effective: 09/06/23

SUMMARY: e Vermont Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) has prepared a draft permit renewal for a hazardous waste storage facility, owned and operated by University of University of Vermont and State Agricultural College (UVM), located at 667 Spear Street, Burlington. e facility is owned by UVM and has been operated as a hazardous waste storage facility since June 12, 1991.

e DEC has reviewed the permit application submitted by UVM and determined that no adverse impact on human health and the environment will result from hazardous waste storage operations conducted at the UVM facility if the requirements of the Vermont Hazardous Waste Management Regulations and the draft permit are followed.

PUBLIC COMMENTS: Any interested person may submit written or oral comments on the draft permit. Copies of the draft permit and supporting documentation are available for public review and comment; please fi nd them on the DEC website or contact the Waste Management and Prevention Division of DEC to request a paper copy or to make an appointment to review the draft permit at the Permitting Agency’s offi ce in Montpelier. https://dec.vermont.gov/waste-management/ hazardous/permit-facilities

Written comments on the draft permit can be submitted to the DEC through September 28, 2023.

PUBLIC HEARING: A public hearing will be held on September 21, 2023 at 5 pm at the Waterman Building, Room 338, 85 S Prospect Street, University of Vermont Campus, Burlington, Vermont. e purpose of this meeting is to discuss the basis and content of the draft permit. All comments received during the public hearing will be considered in the preparation of the fi nal facility permit. To make special arrangements for individuals with disabilities, please contact Michael Nucci at (802) 522-0287 as soon as possible.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: All public comments, requests for copies of the draft permit and questions should be directed to:

Michael Nucci, Permit Administrator Waste Management & Prevention Division

1 National Life Drive, Davis 1 Montpelier Vermont 05620-3704 802-522-0287

Michael.nucci@vermont.gov

NORTHSTAR SELF STORAGE WILL BE HAVING A PUBLIC AND ONLINE SALE/AUCTION FOR THE FOLLOWING STORAGE UNITS ON AUGUST 31, 2023, AT 9:00 AM

Northstar Self Storage will be having a public and online sale/auction on August 31, 2023, at 3477 Richville Rd, Manchester Center, VT 05255 (Unit 50), 681 Rockingham Road, Rockingham, VT 05101 (Unit R55) and at 1124 Charlestown Road, Springfi eld, VT 05156 (Units S56, S83) and online at www.storagetreasures.com at 9:00 am in accordance with VT Title 9 Commerce and Trade Chapter 098: Storage Units 3905. Enforcement of

It is hereby Ordained by the Public Works Commission of the City of Burlington as follows: at Appendix C, Rule and Regulations of the Traffi c Commission, Section 7, No parking areas of the Code of Ordinances of the City of Burlington is hereby amended as follows:

7 No parking areas. No person shall park any vehicle at any time in the following locations:

(1)-(98) As written.

(99) Reserved On either side of Batchelder Street. (100)-(581) As written.

** Material stricken out deleted.

*** Material underlined added.

/hm: BCO Appx.C, Section 7 7/26/2023

CITY OF BURLINGTON

In the Year Two ousand Twenty-three A Regulation in Relation to Rules and Regulations of the Traffi c Commission—12-1 No parking except vehicles loading or unloading.

Sponsor(s): Public Works Commission

Action: Approved

Date: 7/26/2023

Attestation of Adoption:

Phillip Peterson, PE Public Works Engineer, Technical Services

Published: 08/16/23

Effective: 09/06/23

It is hereby Ordained by the Public Works Commission of the City of Burlington as follows:

at Appendix C, Rule and Regulations of the Traffi c Commission, 12-1 No parking except vehicles loading or unloading of the Code of Ordinances of the City of Burlington is hereby amended as follows:

12-1 No parking except vehicles loading or unloading.

No person shall park a vehicle at the following locations unless engaged in loading or unloading the vehicle:

(1)-(17) As written.

(18) On the north side of Bank Street for approximately forty (40) feet east of Pine Street between the hours of 8:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m., for a maximum time limit of thirty (30) minutes. (19)-(52) As written.

** Material stricken out deleted.

*** Material underlined added.

/hm: BCO Appx.C, Section 12-1 7/26/2023

CITY OF BURLINGTON

In the Year Two ousand Twenty-three A Regulation in Relation to Rules and Regulations of the Traffi c Commission—7A Accessible spaces designated.

Sponsor(s): Public Works Commission

Action: Approved

Date: 7/26/2023

Attestation of Adoption:

Phillip Peterson, PE

Public Works Engineer, Technical Services

Published: 08/16/23

Effective: 09/06/23

Legal Notices

It is hereby Ordained by the Public Works Commission of the City of Burlington as follows:

That Appendix C, Rule and Regulations of the Traffic Commission, 7A Accessible spaces designated of the Code of Ordinances of the City of Burlington is hereby amended as follows:

7A Accessible spaces designated.

No person shall park any vehicle at any time in the following location, except automobiles displaying special handicapped license plates issued pursuant to 18 V.S.A. § 1325 , or any amendment or renumbering thereof:

(1)-(157) As written.

(158) On the north side of North Street in the first space east of 530 North Street. Reserved (159)-(173) As written.

** Material stricken out deleted.

*** Material underlined added.

/hm: BCO Appx.C, Section 7A 7/26/2023

CITY OF BURLINGTON

In the Year Two Thousand Twenty-three A Regulation in Relation to Rules and Regulations of the Traffic Commission—Section 5 One-way streets designated, Section 7 No Parking Areas, Section 12-1 No parking except vehicles loading or unloading

Sponsor(s): Public Works Commission

Action: Approved

Date: 7/26/2023

Attestation of Adoption:

Phillip Peterson, PE Public Works Engineer, Technical

Published: 08/16/23

Effective: 09/06/23

Services

It is hereby Ordained by the Public Works Commission of the City of Burlington as follows:

That Appendix C, Rule and Regulations of the Traffic Commission, Section 5 One-way streets designated, 7 No Parking Areas, Section 12-1 No Parking except vehicles loading or unloading, of the Code of Ordinances of the City of Burlington is hereby amended as follows:

Section 5 One-way streets designated. The following streets are hereby designated as one-way streets, and all traffic and travel thereon, except pedestrians, shall pass in the directions indicated and not otherwise:

(1)–(42) As written.

(43) South Champlain, southerly from Main Street to King Street.

(44) South Champlain, northerly from Main Street to College Street.

Section 7 No Parking.

No person shall park any vehicle at any time in the following locations:

(2)–(134) As written.

(135) On the east side of South Champlain Street within 50 feet of the driveway leading to 144 South Champlain Street. Reserved.

(136)–(584) As written.

Section 12-1 No Parking except vehicles loading or unloading.

No person shall park a vehicle at the following locations unless engaged in loading or unloading the vehicle:

(1)–(53) As written.

(54) On the west side of South Champlain Street

in the first two spaces south of Main Street, for a maximum time limit of thirty (30) minutes.

** Material stricken out deleted.

*** Material underlined added.

TD: BCO Appx.C, 5, 7, 12-1

7/26/2023

CITY OF BURLINGTON

In the Year Two Thousand Twenty-three A Regulation in Relation to Rules and Regulations of the Traffic Commission—Section 7. No-parking areas

Sponsor(s): Public Works Commission

Action: Approved

Date: 7/26/2023

Attestation of Adoption:

Phillip Peterson, PE

Public Works Engineer, Technical Services

Published: 08/16/23

Effective: 09/06/23

It is hereby Ordained by the Public Works Commission of the City of Burlington as follows:

That Appendix C, Rule and Regulations of the Traffic Commission, Section 7, No-parking areas, of the Code of Ordinances of the City of Burlington is hereby amended as follows:

Section 7: No-parking areas

No person shall park any vehicle at any time in the following locations:

(1) - (401) As written.

(402) On the south side of Chase Street beginning at Barrett Street and extending south 272 feet. (403) – (581) As written.

(582) On the south side of Chase Street beginning at Colchester Avenue extending north 341 feet. (583) On the north side of Chase Street, beginning 293 feet north of Colchester Avenue and extending north 280 feet.

** Material stricken out deleted.

*** Material underlined added.

/hm: BCO Appx.C, Section 7 7/26/2023

CITY OF BURLINGTON

In the Year Two Thousand Twenty-three A Regulation in Relation to Rules and Regulations of the Traffic Commission—Section 7. No parking areas.

Sponsor(s): Public Works Commission

Action: Approved

Date: 7/26/2023

Attestation of Adoption:

Phillip Peterson, PE

Public Works Engineer, Technical Services

Published: 08/16/23

Effective: 09/06/23

It is hereby Ordained by the Public Works Commission of the City of Burlington as follows:

That Appendix C, Rule and Regulations of the Traffic Commission, Section 7, No parking areas, of the Code of Ordinances of the City of Burlington is hereby amended as follows:

Section 7 No parking areas.

No person shall park any vehicle at any time in the following locations:

(1)-(583) As written.

(584) On the east side of St. Paul Street between the driveways for 309 St. Paul Street and 315 St. Paul Street.

** Material stricken out deleted.

*** Material underlined added.

BCO Appx.C, Section 7 7/26/22

ATTENTION RECRUITERS:

POST YOUR JOBS AT: JOBS.SEVENDAYSVT.COM/POST-A-JOB

PRINT DEADLINE: NOON ON MONDAYS (INCLUDING HOLIDAYS) FOR RATES & INFO: MICHELLE BROWN, 802-865-1020 X121, MICHELLE@SEVENDAYSVT.COM

YOUR TRUSTED LOCAL SOURCE. JOBS.SEVENDAYSVT.COM

Part 2 and The Homestead Preschool & Infant/Toddler School

Immediate openings on a wide variety of positions. From counselors, to assistant directors, to coordinators, to classroom teachers, we have something for everyone. Starting salary range is from $17.00-$24.00 an hour, with up to a $500 sign-on bonus, depending on schedule. We pride ourselves on having a very inclusive and fun work environment. We've nearly doubled in size in the past year and are trying our hardest to keep up with this growth. Come join this fun, dynamic group of individuals.

Apply Today: part2kids.com or part2preschool.com

Join

ReStore Director

MAKE A

MAKE A DIFFERENCE IN YOUR COMMUNITY!

IN YOUR COMMUNITY!

Open positions around the state serving with non-profit organizations

EVENT OPERATIONS MANAGER

Full-time

BAR/CONCESSIONS SERVICE

Part-time, Flexible

HOUSE MANAGER

Do you have a passion and drive to apply your talents to make a difference? Green Mountain Habitat for Humanity is looking for a ReStore Director to oversee operations in Williston, Milton, and Swanton

landstewardship

environmental education

Open positions around the state serving with non-profit organizations.

Part-time, Flexible

CUSTOMER SERVICE – BOX OFFICE

The ReStores are nonprofit donation centers and resale stores that accept donated items and sell them to the public to raise money for affordable home building Responsibilities include cultivating a successful management team, implementing business strategy, financial management, overseeing store operations, and resource development

LAND

homeless assistance

MAKE A DIFFERENCE IN YOUR COMMUNITY!

homebuyer education

STEWARDSHIP ENVIRONMENTAL EDUCATION

HOMELESS ASSISTANCE

Open positions around the state serving with non-profit organizations

Apply now!

Part-time, Flexible, Union For complete job descriptions and to apply, visit our website: flynnvt.org/About-Us/Employment-and-InternshipOpportunities Email materials to: HResources@flynnvt.org No phone calls, please. E.O.E.

Successful candidates will have 5-7 years of responsible and ethical leadership in multi-store or senior-level management Candidates from diverse backgrounds are encouraged to apply Position open until filled

Service Term:

landstewardship

environmental education

HOMEBUYER EDUCATION

September 12, 2022August 11, 2023

JOIN OUR TEAM!

homeless assistance

homebuyer education

Service term:

vhcb.org/americorps

Paragraph 3

Visit our website for full job description and details on how to apply. vermonthabitat.org/employment 4t-GreenMtnHabitatDIRECTOR081623

Apply now!

September 11, 2023 –August 9, 2024

Service Term:

vhcb.org/americorps

For 11 months of service, you’ll receive:

Shared Living Provider

September 12, 2022 -

August 11, 2023

You can also apply online via our website at shipvds.com or email Tom Knox directly at tknox@shipvds.com.

(802) 862-7662

•$25,500 livingallowance

For 11 months of service, you’ll receive:

vhcb.org/americorps

•$6,495 education award

•Health insurance

DELIVERY DRIVERS WANTED

• $26,000 living allowance

For 11 months of service, you’ll receive:

• $300 monthly housing allowance

•Training opportunities

•Leadership development

•$25,500 livingallowance

•$6,495 education award

• $6,895 Education Award

Howard Center is seeking a Shared Living Provider for a 32-year-old male who is independent, responsive, respectful and enjoys writing. The location would be preferably in Burlington, near a bus line. This individual will need assistance and supervision in developing social skills and relationships as he is integrating into the community. No children in the household but pets are ok. A generous taxfree stipend, room and board are available.

We are currently accepting applications for both part time and full time positions. We have several different shifts available.

• Health insurance

•Health insurance

• Training opportunities

•Training opportunities

• Leadership development

•Leadership development

Serious expression of interest only. Please email Michael Bustamantes: michaelb@howardcenter.org or call at 802-404-7811

howardcenter.org • 802-488-6500

You can also apply online via our website at shipvds.com or email Tom Knox directly at tknox@shipvds.com

82

ATTENTION RECRUITERS:

AUGUST 16-23, 2023

Hayward Tyler, a leading manufacturer of industrial pumps & motors in Colchester, is seeking candidates to fill the following positions:

IT SUPPORT SPECIALIST

haywardtyler.com/job_listing/it-support-specialist

We offer a competitive salary and excellent benefits package. If you meet our requirements and are interested in an exciting opportunity, please forward your resume and salary requirements to:

Hayward Tyler, Inc. – Attn: HR Department 480 Roosevelt Highway , PO Box 680, Colchester, VT 05446

Email: Careers@haywardtyler.com E.O.E.

Experienced Residential Carpenter

Silver Maple Construction is seeking a full-time, benefits-eligible Carpenter focused on high-level customer service and the execution of exceptional quality work. Here at Silver Maple, we want everyone to feel valued and do the work that inspires you while maintaining a work-life balance better than many others in this field.

• Competitive Weekly Pay (based on experience)

• 7 Paid Holidays

• 401(k) Retirement Plan

• Medical, Dental and Vision Benefits

• 15 daysPaid Time Off

To learn more, please visit silvermapleconstruction.com (select JOBS) and/or send resume and market rate proposal to hr@silvermapleconstruction.com

AFTERSCHOOL EDUCATOR

School’s Out in South Burlington is seeking qualified individuals to work with children at one of our after-school programs for this school year. Our programs operate out of the South Burlington School District and serve children between the ages of 5 and 13. The hours are 2:00 - 5:45 pm Monday through Friday.

Only available a few days a week? Not a problem. We can be flexible with scheduling!

Job duties: include planning daily activities, participating in activities and assisting with supervision of children.

Requirements: Experience working with large groups of children in an educational or recreational setting is prefered. Candidates must have the maturity, enthusiasm and commitment needed to work with children.

Interested candidates, please forward resume, contact information, and days you are available to ipero@sbschools.net

FOOD SERVICE WORKER

Full-time, Part-time and Per-Diem Opportunities available for Food Service Workers. We’re happy to o er a new hourly wage starting at $16.30/ hour. Shift di erentials up to $6.15 per hour.

Learn More & Apply: uvmhealthnetworkcareers.org/ food-service_sevendays

Land Acquisition Specialist

Looking for your next adventure?

Join us as our Land Acquisition Specialist. We are seeking candidates who can:

• Create thriving connections between land and communities

• Manage the acquisition and transfer of lands VLT owns, with a focus on gifts of land

• Communicate and collaborate across teams to advance shared goals

Learn more and apply at vlt.org/employment. The position will remain open until 9/11/23. The annual starting salary is $62,844, plus a cafeteria allowance of $23,600 to pay for health care and other benefits.

The Vermont Land Trust is an Equal Opportunity Employer. We honor and invite people of all backgrounds and life experiences to apply.

Director of Communications

Are you a bold, creative thinker interested in leveraging your skills and experience to tell the story of a violence-free Vermont? The Vermont Network Against Domestic and Sexual Violence is seeking an imaginative and detail-oriented person who is passionate about ending gender-based violence to be our Communications Director. Our ideal candidate is an impeccable writer who is excited about creating, developing and executing multi-channel communications efforts including web, video, social media, email and print. The Vermont Network is an amazing place to work – we prioritize the wellbeing of our staff, take our culture seriously, think big and orient toward what is possible. Minimum of 3-5 years’ communications experience. For more information and the full job description, visit our website at vtnetwork.org

Submit cover letter and resume to Sarah Robinson, Deputy Director, at sarahkr@vtnetwork.org. Deadline for applications: September 6th.

Delivery Driver/Sales Non-CDL

We are looking for a part time delivery driver for a small family business specializing in fresh fish and shellfish. Must have a clean driving record and be able to lift 50lbs.

Driver routes range from Upper Valley (89/91 intersection) to greater Burlington area Tuesday/Thursday. Hours are typically 10-7 with option for 1-7 shift. Excellent job for people with part time schedules. Fun job, good pay, good people.

Check us out at WoodMountainFish.Com for more information!

The Beer Guy: Craft Beer Delivery Driver

The Beer Guy, LLC, is a Vermont-based wholesale beverage distribution company that sells & delivers the finest & freshest products to accounts in retail, restaurant & bar locations throughout VT. We have an exciting opportunity available to join our team as a Craft Beer Delivery Driver. In this role, you'll ensure the timely delivery of goods to predetermined customers on specific routes, load and unload trucks, and provide exceptional customer service. Driving experience preferred, but willing to train!

To learn more and apply, please visit: lawsonsfinest.com/ about-us/careers

Educator Preparation Program Support

UVM, College of Education & Social Services, Department of Education, is seeking a 10-month, full-time, nonexempt staff member to support our teacher educator programs & faculty.

For more information and to apply visit uvm.jobs posting #S4568PO.

Assistant Director, Alumni-Student Mentoring & Engagement

Manage daily operations for alumni-student mentorship & engagement at Midd2Midd as our Assistant Director, Alumni-Student Mentoring and Engagement.

Lead programs and outreach for 9K members, contribute to best-in-class career development initiatives, engage alumni and students in a suite of mentoring, networking, and experiential learning offerings supporting professional development and career exploration.

This is a full time, benefits eligible, salaried position with a hiring range of $53,035 - $66,320 per annually.

See full Job description and apply online today: apply.workable.com/middleburycollege/j/588FE7BFFD/

RESIDENT MANAGER BISHOP PLACE

Burlington Housing Authority (BHA), in Burlington Vermont is seeking a Resident Manager for our Bishop Place apartment building community located at 10 North Champlain St in Burlington, Vermont. Our Resident Managers are on call after BHA regular business hours to attend to various resident requests, any site-based emergency, light maintenance, community room cleaning duties, and other duties as assigned. Resident Managers must live on-site and in exchange for being on call, the Resident Manager is given a free apartment with utilities included, as well as a monthly telecommunications stipend.

Candidates must meet the physical requirements of the position including moving in different positions to accomplish tasks, ascending or descending stairs, adjusting or moving objects up to 50 pounds, and repeating motions that may include the wrists, hands, and fingers. This position also works in outdoor weather conditions.

The Resident Manager schedule includes regular check ins and updates with the Property Manger each week, and other meetings and communication as needed. Basic computer skills, with the ability to use Word and email effectively, as well as ability to communicate through text messaging is required.

BHA serves a diverse population of residents and works with various local agencies and partners. To carry out our vision most effectively of delivering safe and affordable housing to all, we are committed to cultivating a staff that reflects varied lived experiences, viewpoints, and educational backgrounds. 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.

If you’re interested in this opportunity, please send a resume or letter of interest to: humanresources@burlingtonhousing.org.

Burlington Housing Authority - Human Resources

65 Main St, Suite 101, Burlington, VT 05401

Burlington Housing Authority is an Equal Opportunity Employer

To

JOIN OUR TEAM!

SHARED LIVING PROVIDER

Looking for a Shared Living Provider (SLP) for a 56-year-old male with intellectual disability and medical needs.

The client is an outgoing, social individual who takes pride in building long-term connections. Client enjoys going out in the community and has Howard Center staff for community access. He enjoys listening to Rock music from the 60s-80s. He also enjoys reading private eye novels, Western Fiction books and is big into writing his own private eye stories. The client currently has a job and will need support to continue to work because this is important for his independence.

It is important that the client’s room be on the first floor due to limited mobility with stairs. Client has supervision needs by the SLP while in the home. He enjoys conversation with people in general, does well with routine, and benefits from having an understanding and/ or reasoning for having expectations and responsibilities within the home. Relationship building is very important to him as well as feeling respected as an adult. Support is needed with medical appointments and personal care. The ideal SLP will be someone with no kids. Tax Free Stipend: $41,938 per year. Must pass driving and criminal background checks.

Please contact Anisha Neupane at 802-288-0447 if you would like to know more about this Shared Living Provider opportunity.

Sports Exchange Coordinator - For International NGO

PH International is seeking a full-time Program Manager for the Sports for Social Change Program (SSC). Through the SSC Program, PH will coordinate reciprocal international sports exchanges and manage a small grants program to support innovative participant initiatives. The program will include both in-person and virtual exchange components that will engage coaches and sports administrators from around the world and the United States with a specific focus on the empowerment of women and those with disabilities. Diverse applicants, particularly those with lived experience in the program’s inclusion themes, are encouraged to apply. PH is an equal opportunity employer.

PH International (Project Harmony, Inc.) is an international non-profit with 35 years of experience focusing on civic engagement, cross-cultural learning, and increased opportunities in the digital age. The U.S. headquarter office is located in Waitsfield, VT with field offices in Armenia, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Republic of Georgia, Moldova, and Montenegro with projects implemented in ten additional countries.

Job description and to apply: www.ph-int.org/vacancies/ Application deadline: August 25, 2023.

ZONING ADMINISTRATOR

Town of East Montpelier, VT

The Town of East Montpelier is seeking an organized, collaborative, and diplomatic candidate to serve as our Zoning Administrator. The Zoning Administrator is responsible for compliance with all applicable zoning and subdivision regulations, facilitation of and support for long-range land use planning, supporting the Planning Commission and Development Review Board, and serving as the Town’s E-911 coordinator. A bachelor’s degree in planning, public administration, natural resources, engineering, legal studies or similarly applicable discipline is required, a master’s degree is preferred. Candidates should also have a minimum of three years’ experience in local government planning or administration, or equivalent experience in business or government.

Follow this link for more information, including a job description: eastmontpeliervt.org/zoning-administrator-job-opening/

This is a flexible, part-time position (average of 24 hours per week); pay is commensurate with knowledge and experience; generous benefit package. Town residency is not required. Job posting will remain open until the position is filled.

For consideration, submit a cover letter, resume detailing work history, and names of three references by 5:00 p.m., Thursday, August 31, 2023, to the Town Administrator at manager@eastmontpeliervt.org. Equal Opportunity Employer.

Business Manager

Village of Jacksonville Electric Company

The Village of Jacksonville Electric Company, located in Jacksonville, Vermont is seeking a Business Manager to join our team. This position will oversee all daily operations for the Village of Jacksonville and work closely with the Board of Trustees in carrying out the operational duties, and all activities that ensure the Village is meeting Federal and State regulations.

Essential functions include but are not limited to:

• Directly interacts with the Board of Trustees to inform and advise on all regulatory, financial and operational matters impacting the Village.

• Creates agenda, prepares materials and attends the Village of Jacksonville Board of Trustees meetings.

• Manages Village staff.

• Manages compliance with Public Utility Commission electric regulations.

• Monitors department purchases and approves as applicable.

• Approve all payroll, accounts payable and journal entries.

• Ensure fiscal integrity of the Village through effective financial management.

• Coordinate with the Board of Trustees to submit annual operating, capital and forecasted fiveyear budget.

• Monitor Federal and State agencies for availability of grant money for projects directly relating to Village of Jacksonville municipality.

• Work closely with the Vermont Public Power Supply Authority (VPPSA) on rate cases, regulatory reporting, power supply and other activities as applicable.

Qualifications require: knowledge of municipal electrical systems, five years of experience in managing or supervisory roles and Bachelor’s degree with a major field of emphasis in business administration, engineering, or similar field of expertise, or equivalent related experience.

Please send resume and salary requirements to: Vermont Public Power Supply Authority PO Box 126, Waterbury Ctr., VT 05677

Attn: Amy Parah, or email aparah@vppsa.com with the subject Business Manager, J’ville.

This position will be open until filled.

See the full job description on our website: vppsa.com or at whitinghamvt.org

Do you want to help build homes, community, and hope in Northwest Vermont? Join our team! We're looking for:

Assistant Store Manager, Production Supervisor, PT Floor Supervisor, Truck Drivers & Assistants, ReStore Associates

Visit our website for full job descriptions and details on how to apply Positions open until filled

vermonthabitat.org/employment

Hey!

Do you love...

...playing with kids

...spending time in nature

...teaching about social justice?

We’ve got the job for you!

The Schoolhouse Learning Center in South Burlington seeks preschool and afterschool teachers for our nature- and play-based program. Candidates should enjoy spending a lot of time outdoors in all weather, hiking, exploring, and teaching children about the natural world, as well as supporting a social-justice focused curriculum.

Learn from a fantastic team of experienced teachers, in a progressive school with a long track record of success.

Find out more and apply: www.theschoolhousevt.org/ employment

802-658-4164

Part- time Golf Greenskeepers Stowe Country Club

Looking for a second job or want to earn some extra money while staying active and spending time outdoors on a beautiful course? Come join the SCC family.

Stowe Country Club is looking for Greenskeepers to help maintain the Golf grounds. We are specifically looking for someone to mow the greens in the morning. Schedule is very flexible to fit your needs but ideally 6:00-9:30am Mon-Thurs and 5:30-9:00am Fri-Sun.

Play as hard as you work: Benefits include SCC golf membership, complimentary & discounted stays at Hyatt hotels worldwide and on resort discounts at Spa and Restaurant outlets at The Lodge and Club at Spruce Peak.

We build connections, celebrate success and create inclusive environments, together. Apply now at SprucePeak.com/Careers or email katie.hopkins@destinationhotels.com if you are interested! Proud diversity advocates and E.O.E.

Vermont Tent Company is currently accepting applications for the following positions for immediate employment.

Full time, part time and weekend hours available for each position. Pay rates vary by position with minimum starting wage ranging from $20-$23/ hour depending on job skills and experience. We also offer retention and referral bonuses.

Entry Level or Senior Transportation Planner or Engineer

Chittenden County Regional Planning Commission (CCRPC) is seeking to hire a fulltime entry level or senior transportation planner or engineer to assist, in part, with Transit Oriented Development Planning in Northwest Vermont, a RAISE Grant awarded to the CCRPC in 2022, and other transportation projects in the region.

Planners at CCRPC work on a variety of projects in a diverse set of topic areas. Our transportation program is closely coordinated with land use planning while addressing other topics such as resilience of the system, climate change, and equity. Justice, equity, diversity, and inclusion must be incorporated in all work.

The individual selected must be a self-starter, able to work independently to actively manage projects; has extensive knowledge of the transportation planning and/or engineering field; is proficient in managing consultant contracts including developing scopes of work and budgets, verifying expected performance and deliverables; and has experience working with municipalities, partner agencies and organizations. A valid driver’s license is required. The salary is dependent upon qualifications within the ranges of $52,000-$78,000 for Transportation Planner or Engineer and $67,600-$93,600 for Senior Transportation Planner or Engineer.

The CCRPC believes a diverse and culturally proficient staff are essential to creating an environment free of inequities. Accordingly, the CCRPC seeks to provide our membership and community with services enhanced by the professional contributions of culturally competent representatives of different races, socioeconomic backgrounds, ethnicity, gender, gender expression, physical ability, age, and sexual orientation. Successful candidates must be committed to working effectively with diverse community populations and expected to strengthen such a capacity if hired. CCRPC is an Equal Opportunity Employer.

CCRPC is the regional planning agency for the Burlington VT region. Our offices are in downtown Winooski along the river in a great walking environment with a variety of restaurants, services, and businesses. The workplace is friendly and flexible.

Please send a letter of interest and resume (with references and contact information) in one PDF to Charlie Baker, Executive Director at: cbaker@ccrpcvt.org. We will begin reviewing resumes as soon as August 23rd. This position will remain open until filled. More information can be found at ccrpcvt.org/about-us/news/jobs

Residential Program Manager

Why not have a job you love?

Job of the week - Residential Program Manger

Coordinate residential and community supports for a considerate, resourceful, wheelchair-using man with a budding talent for photography. The ideal candidate will enjoy working in a team-oriented position, have strong clinical skills, and demonstrated leadership. Salary is $48,300 plus $1,000 sign on bonus at six months. Benefit package includes 29 paid days off in the first year, comprehensive health insurance plan with premium as low as $13 per month, up to $6,400 to go towards medical deductibles and copays, retirement match, generous sign on bonus and so much more. And that’s on top of working at one of the “Best Places to Work in Vermont” for five years running.

*Great jobs in management ($49,000 annual), and direct support ($20-$21/hr) at an award-winning agency serving Vermonters with intellectual disabilities: ccs-vt.org/current-openings/

Send resume to staff@ccs-vt.org. Make a career making a difference and apply today!

CO-RESIDENT MANAGER DECKER TOWERS

Burlington Housing Authority (BHA) in Burlington, VT is seeking a Co-Resident Manager for our 160-unit apartment building community located at 230 St. Paul Street in Burlington. Our Resident Managers are on call after BHA regular business hours to attend to various resident requests, any site-based emergency, light maintenance, community room cleaning duties, and other duties as assigned. Resident Managers must live on-site and are given a free apartment with utilities included, as well as a monthly telecommunications stipend.

Candidates must meet the physical requirements of the position including moving in different positions to accomplish tasks, ascending or descending stairs, adjusting or moving objects up to 50 pounds, and repeating motions that may include the wrists, hands, and fingers. This position also works in outdoor weather conditions.

The Resident Manager schedule includes regular check ins and updates with the Property Manger each week, and other meetings and communication as needed. Basic computer skills, with the ability to use Word and email effectively, as well as ability to communicate through text messaging is required.

BHA serves a diverse population of residents and works with various local agencies and partners. To carry out our vision most effectively of delivering safe and affordable housing to all, we are committed to cultivating a staff that reflects varied lived experiences, viewpoints, and educational backgrounds. 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.

Please send a letter of interest to: humanresources@burlingtonhousing.org

Burlington Housing Authority - Human Resources

65 Main St, Suite 101, Burlington, VT 05401

Burlington Housing Authority is an Equal Opportunity Employer

PSYCHOTHERAPIST

The Vermont Center for Anxiety Care (VCAC), a private psychotherapy practice on the Burlington waterfront, has an opening for a psychotherapist (M.A., MSW, or Ph.D) with family, child and/or adult therapy experience. Can be licensed or post-degree intern. Clinical supervision towards licensure provided as needed. VCAC is a collaborative group with holistic approach and multiple specialties. Visit web site: vtcenterforanxietycare.com

Send resume and cover letter describing professional interests and goals to Paul Foxman, Ph.D., 86 Lake Street, Burlington, VT 05401 or email: paulfoxman@aol.com

Director of Marketing & Development

Turning Point Center of Chittenden County

This leadership position is responsible for building broad-based philanthropic support for the organization, growing a program for planned, corporate, and foundation gifts, managing grants, and handling all marketing, social media, website updates, and other communications projects. The Director of Marketing & Development reports directly to the Executive Director and partners with them to orchestrate the messaging, reputation, and fiscal responsibility for the Turning Point Center of Chittenden County.

More information: turningpointcentervt.org/ about-us/careers

Outreach & Enrollment SERVICE COORDINATOR

Supportive Services for Veteran Families (SSVF) at the University of Vermont is looking for an Outreach and Enrollment Service Coordinator (OESC) to serve Northern Vermont and Clinton County, NY. The OESC will conduct outreach, education, and provide marketing materials to local communities to assist in identifying potential Veteran referrals and educate local communities on the SSVF Program. The OESC will meet with Veterans in the community and/or home to conduct enrollment verification meetings to gather the necessary documentation needed to verify the Veteran’s enrollment into the SSVF program. The OESC will also assist in connecting Veterans with local, state, and federal resources to address any immediate needs and provide ongoing support with SSI/ SSDI Outreach, Access, and Recovery (SOAR) services and SSA benefit applications, if needed. A driver’s license and background check are required. This is a bargaining unit position.

Applicants need to apply through the UVM Jobs website: uvmjobs.com. Posting Number: S4470PO

The University of Vermont is an Equal Opportunity/ Affirmative Action Employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, protected veteran status, or any category legally protected by federal or state law.

DENTAL ASSISTANT

Middlebury Pediatric Dentistry is looking for a dental assistant to join our team. Help us take care of Vermont kids’ oral health! Competitive salary. Four day work week. Benefits include health insurance, 2 weeks’ paid vacation, and licensure and CE. Please send your resume to: frontdesk@middleburypediatricdentistry.com

INTERNAL MEDICINE PHYSICIAN (MD/DO)

Kingdom Internal Medicine (KIM) is currently seeking a highly qualified Internal Medicine Physician (MD/DO) to join their exceptional outpatient clinical practice. At KIM, which is a certified Rural Health Center, you will have the opportunity to work alongside a supportive team of experienced providers and staff in an encouraging and collaborative environment. KIM is an adult primary care practice committed to providing comprehensive primary and preventive care, as well as care coordination and on-site behavioral health services to patients aged 19 years and older. It is owned by Northeastern Vermont Regional Hospital (NVRH), a 25-bed critical access hospital.

At NVRH, we value our employees and offer competitive wages and a robust benefits package, including relocation assistance, student loan repayment, continuing medical education (CME), generous paid time off, complimentary gym membership, affordable health/dental/vision plan choices, a 401k plan with company match, and more.

APPLY TODAY AT NVRH.ORG/CAREERS

TOWN ADMINISTRATOR OPENING

The Town of Westford, Vermont is seeking its next Town Administrator for an immediate opening. The perfect candidate will be an energetic, organized, and personable professional who is committed to maintaining our traditions of community and transparent good governance, while also championing our efforts to bring more modern, more accessible, and more efficient services to our townspeople.

Under the direction of the Selectboard, this position is responsible for effectively administering the functions of both town government and the town office. This role will frequently also include oversight and implementation of special projects intended to advance the town in meaningful and sustainable ways.

Westford will consider any combination of education and experience that will lead to successful performance in this role. The Town’s goal is to hire the candidate who is best able to fulfill the objectives of the position. We, therefore, encourage people with non-traditional, transferable skill sets to apply, even if the candidate believes they do not meet 100% of the qualification criteria listed in the job description.

Please review the complete job advertisement at jobs.sevendaysvt.com. If you would like to be considered for this opportunity, please email a cover letter & resume, in confidence, to selectboard@westfordvt.us

The Town of Westford is an equal opportunity employer.

Green Mountain Conc ert Serv ic es NOW HIRING Scheduling Coordinator

Do you want to be part of a close-knit, dynamic team and help to schedule events, concerts, and more? The Scheduling Coordinator at GMCS helps make events happen, and no day is the same!

GMCS is the leading local provider of security across Vermont and New England.

FULL-TIME HOUSING ADVOCATES

Do you want to make a meaningful impact in our community?

The Champlain Valley Office of Economic Opportunity (CVOEO) has exciting opportunities for you to make a meaningful impact in our community by joining our team to provide housing advocacy services at the Champlain Inn Emergency Shelter in Burlington, Vermont. CVOEO’s Champlain Inn will be a 24/7 low-barrier shelter for up to 40 individuals experiencing homelessness. The Champlain Inn will offer temporary shelter, housing advocacy, educational opportunities and daily meals in a community setting with the goal of assisting people to find permanent housing.

CVOEO is looking for full-time Housing Advocates for all three shifts – Day, Evening & Over-Night - Monday through Friday and part-time Housing Advocates for all three shifts on the weekend. Our Housing Advocates will provide a client-centered, trauma-informed support for emergency housing guests and others experiencing homelessness with the ultimate goal of empowering individuals to access safe, sustainable housing. Our Housing Advocates work with clients to secure housing and access essential benefits, and refer people to employment, medical, mental health and substance use disorder services and will work with an array of community partners to help clients access options for housing and social services. Addressing barriers to housing and working with our partner agencies to address those barriers is a crucial aspect of this role. Our Housing Advocates work in partnership with clients to promote a sense of community.

We are seeking candidates with relevant human services experience; effective verbal and written communication skills; demonstrated commitment to valuing diversity and contributing to an inclusive working and learning environment; be of high integrity and character as a representative of CVOEO and the people and communities we serve.

When you come to work for CVOEO you’re getting so much more than a paycheck! We offer a great working environment and an excellent benefit package including medical, dental and vision insurance, paid holidays, generous paid time off, a retirement plan and discounted gym membership. Interested in working with us? To apply, please visit cvoeo.org/careers to submit a cover letter and resume. We embrace the diversity of our community and staff. CVOEO is interested in candidates who can contribute to our diversity. Applicants are encouraged to include in their cover letter information about how they will further this goal. Review of applications begins immediately and will continue until suitable applicants are found. We’re one of the Best Places to Work in Vermont! Join us to find out why!

Orchard Help

Come join our multi-talented Yates Family Orchard team this fall for apple season! Seeking positions for apple picking, cider making, kitchen production and our busy farm and creamee stand. Visit: YatesFamilyOrchard.com

DENTAL HYGIENIST

We are looking for a parttime dental hygienist to work with us Friday mornings during the school year in our family oriented general practice in Burlington. Apply at: lavoiedental@lavoiedental.com

Seasonal Employment

Hiring weekday and weekend orchard store staff, apple picking crew, pick your own crew & weekend farmers market staff. Serious inquiries only! shelburneorchards@gmail.com

Program Director & Associate Program Director

Champlain Inn Emergency Shelter in Burlington

We’re Growing! Do you want to make a meaningful impact in our community?

The Champlain Valley Office of Economic Opportunity (CVOEO) has exciting opportunities for you to make a meaningful impact in our community by joining our leadership team to serve as our Program Director and Associate Program Director at the Champlain Inn Emergency Shelter in Burlington, Vermont. CVOEO’s Champlain Inn will be a 24/7 low-barrier shelter for up to 40 individuals experiencing homelessness. The Champlain Inn will offer temporary shelter, housing advocacy, educational opportunities and daily meals in a community setting with the goal of assisting people to find permanent housing.

Become a part of our Leadership team! Our Community Action Network seeks full-time motivated leadership professionals with a passion for our mission for the following positions:

Champlain Inn Program Director, working closely with the Director of CVOEO’s Community Action Network and the Executive Director, will oversee and supervise the work of Advocates assisting individuals who are experiencing homelessness to find or maintain suitable housing, including advocating for clients with local social service agencies, landlords and funding sources. The Program Director will oversee all aspects of shelter operations and services; educate and advocate at the local and state level to improve services and housing for people experiencing homelessness and maintain and report on data. Bachelor’s degree in a relevant human services discipline with proven progressive leadership experience. In addition, candidates must have five-seven years of experience in supervision of staff, fiscal management and administration.

Champlain Inn Associate Program Director, reporting to the Program Director, will assist in overseeing the operations of the Champlain Inn and supervise the work of Housing Advocates, Interns, Volunteers and special projects. Provide leadership and direction in the absence of the Director. Assist individuals who are experiencing homelessness to find or maintain suitable housing, including advocating for clients with local social service agencies organizations, landlords and funding sources. Bachelor’s degree in a relevant human services discipline with proven progressive leadership experience. In addition, candidates must have strong supervisory, management and training skills.

When you come to work for CVOEO you’re getting so much more than a paycheck! We offer a great working environment and an excellent benefit package including medical, dental and vision insurance, paid holidays, generous paid time off, a retirement plan and discounted gym membership.

Interested in working with us? To apply please visit cvoeo.org/careers to submit a cover letter and resume. We embrace the diversity of our community and staff. CVOEO is interested in candidates who can contribute to our diversity. Applicants are encouraged to include in their cover letter information about how they will further this goal. Review of applications begins immediately and will continue until suitable applicants are found. We’re one of the Best Places to Work in Vermont! Join us to find out why!

Town Administrator

Join our friendly, collaborative team in beautiful Lincoln, VT, as our first Town Administrator. Salary commensurate with experience. For more information & a complete job description go to: bit.ly/LincolnVTtownAdmin

Administrative Assistant

Are you looking for part-time work in a friendly, small office? The Town of Lincoln is seeking a part-time Administrative Assistant. For more information and a full job description go to: bit.ly/LincolnVTadminAsst

Highway Maintenance Worker

Do you like to work outdoors? Have basic mechanical skills? Have a CDL or the ability to get one? Enjoy knowing a job was well done? You may be the person we're looking for. The Town of Lincoln is hiring a FT, year-round highway maintenance worker. Competitive wages and benefits. For more information and a full job description go to: bit.ly/LincolnVThighway

The Roots Farm Market is Hiring!

We are a farmer-owned market featuring locally sourced and organic produce, grocery, and gift items, as well as farm-totable prepared food items from our in-house kitchen. We are currently hiring for multiple positions:

STORE TEAM MEMBER/ CASHIER ($16-$18 per hour depending on experience)

EXPERIENCED KITCHEN TEAM MEMBER ($17-$20 per hour depending on experience)

DISHWASHER/PREP COOK ($16/hour)

Ideal candidates will bring enthusiasm and energy to the position and should be able to work independently and as a team. Knowledge and passion for organic local food a plus. Full job details on our website: therootsfarmmarket.com

Veterinary Receptionist/ Patient Care Coordinator Qi Veterinary Clinic

We’re looking for someone who is:

• Passionate

• A strong communicator in person, via email and phone

• Loves animals and the people who care for them

This is a full-time position consisting of four 10 hour shifts per week. Pay range is $18-$25 and includes the following benefits:

• 40 hours paid personal/sick time per year

• 80 hours paid vacation time/year

• 52 hours paid major Holidays per year

• $2600 contribution towards healthcare premium per year

• Simple IRA with matching up to 3%

• Staff Lunches 2-3 times/week

Serious applicants must submit a resume, include a cover letter telling us why you're the right person for us and 3 references. One reference must be from a direct supervisor. Send resumes: therese@Qivet.com

Passionate about technology and making a di erence?

We are seeking an Information Technology Manager to collaborate on strategy & lead tactical components of I.T. to support our day-to-day work, and also work closely with other sta to build a 5-year technology roadmap that includes a data strategy. e ideal candidate will have a degree in or related to computer science, 3-5 years experience, and strong analytical and project management skills.

If this sounds like a good t for you, visit vermontcf.org/careers for complete job descriptions and instructions for applying.

Executive Assistant

Job includes photography, research and customer service. Both in office and local driving to appointments/tasks. Must be enthusiastic, efficient, enjoy meeting and working with the public and have a good driving record. Friendly working environment. Company vehicle provided. Please send your resume to info@nancyjenkins.com

FAMILY SELF SUFFICIENCY COORDINATOR

Seven Days

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.

Community Health Worker I/II - Extension - Migrant Health & Education - #S4573PO & #S4578PO - The University of Vermont Extension’s Migrant Health Programs is recruiting two Community Health Workers. The incumbents must be bilingual in English and Spanish and should possess a strong understanding of the population to be served either because of prior work, relationship in/to the community and/or other life experience. Cultural agility is required. Position may be .80 to 1.0 FTE based on assigned territory and experience level.

The Community Health Worker will assist in coordinating and implementing community-based outreach activities, initiatives, and programs that contribute to health equity within designated immigrant communities. Improve quality of life at an individual, household and population level by acting as a liaison, cultural broker, educator, advocate, navigator, and interpreter between individuals and communitybased organizations to promote health, reduce disparities, and improve service delivery. Coordinate clinical outreach efforts and collaborate with local health and social service organizations to assist them in addressing systemic barriers to health and social services.

The positions function with minimal daily supervision, while working in collaboration with a statewide migrant health team to fulfil programmatic objectives. Applicants must demonstrate the ability to effectively and independently plan, organize, and coordinate access to health and social services. Strong interpersonal and communication skills required with experience and capacity to work with diverse audiences. Proficient computer and multimedia skills essential. Must be willing to travel and work a flexible schedule which at times will include evenings and weekends. Work is often completed in the field, with an assigned office location in South Burlington, Morrisville, St. Albans, Middlebury, Berlin, or Springfield.

The University is especially interested in candidates who can contribute to the diversity and excellence of the institution. Applicants are encouraged to include in their cover letter information about how they will further this goal.

For further information on these positions 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.

Issue: 8/16

Due: 8/14 by 11am

Size: 3.83” x 7”

Burlington Housing Authority (BHA) in Burlington, VT is seeking a coordinator for its Family Self Sufficiency (FSS) program. FSS is an employment incentive program designed to support and encourage Section 8 Housing Choice Voucher program participants to move towards economic self-sufficiency.

Cost: $570.35 (with 1 week online)

The program also provides case management services in ways that are designed to help clients achieve goals in six main categories: Employment, Education, Financial Literacy, Housing, Childcare, and Health/Wellness. This is a benefit eligible position working 36 to 40 hours per week.

Candidates should have two years’ prior experience in social services, as well as case management experience. Experience in relevant focus areas and/or the HUD Family Self Sufficiency Program preferred. A successful candidate must have strong interpersonal and computer skills.

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. 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, Burlington Housing Authority recognizes 13 (paid) holidays and 2 (paid) floating cultural 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

ATTENTION RECRUITERS:

PROPERTY MANAGER

Burlington Housing Authority (BHA) in Burlington, VT is seeking an Assistant Property Manager to serve as a critical member of our property management team. This position is responsible for assisting the team of Property Managers in the day to day operations of BHA’s property portfolio.

The Assistant Property Manager will assist with leasing apartments, move in and move outs, maintaining accurate tenant files and assist with tenant complaints, collection of rents, lease violations, property inspections, vacant unit checks, delivery of resident notices and certifications, and other duties related to property management.

Candidates must have a high school degree or equivalent. Prior experience with property management, customer service, and/or working with the public is preferred. Knowledge of HUD, LIHTC, and the affordable housing industry is preferred. Valid driver’s license, along with reliable transportation and vehicle insurance is required to fill carry out the duties of this position.

Must possess outstanding organizational skills, strong written and verbal communication skills, as well as the ability to handle multiple projects simultaneously and follow through on all tasks. Must be adept at fostering positive and collaborative relationships with staff, residents, vendors and community agencies alike and have a patient and compassionate approach to working with the most vulnerable populations.

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!

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 and 2 (paid) floating cultural holidays.

If you are interested in this career opportunity, please send a cover letter and resume to: humanresources@burlingtonhousing.org

Or mail to: Human Resources, Burlington Housing Authority, 65 Main Street, Suite 101, Burlington, VT 05401

Burlington Housing Authority is an Equal Opportunity Employer

Strength and Conditioning Fellow

The Athletic Department at Saint Michael’s College invites applications for the Strength and Conditioning Fellow position. This position works under the guidance and supervision of the Director of Sports Medicine and Performance to support a comprehensive strength and conditioning program for the College’s 21-sport varsity athletics program. The Strength and Conditioning Fellow also provides educational opportunities and programs for the College’s 400+ varsity student-athletes and coaches. This fellowship provides coaching and mentorship with hands-on training, industry exposure, and networking opportunities, specifically with women coaches and leaders. As such, the Strength and Conditioning Fellow will be offered funding to attend at least two professional development opportunities, such as relevant coaching association conferences and women’s coaching networking events. For a complete job description, benefits information, and to apply online, please visit: bit.ly/SMCSACF

CONSERVATION PROGRAM ASSISTANT

Have administrative skills and experience? Join the State’s climate resiliency efforts to expand climate smart practices on Vermont’s farms and forests!

The Vermont Association of Conservation Districts (VACD) seeks qualified applicants for two full-time CONSERVATION PROGRAM ASSISTANT positions. These positions support the work of the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) by providing organizational assistance to NRCS staff in order to support and advance assistance programs offered by USDA and NRCS to Vermont’s farm and forest landowners. One position will be located at the Middlebury, VT NRCS Field Office and the other in the Brattleboro, VT NRCS Field Office. The Program Assistant (PA) will work in conjunction with NRCS Field Office staff to implement USDA Farm Bill conservation programs and will be responsible for accurate documentation and tracking of applications, contracts, and financial records utilizing customized software and for maintaining ongoing communications with customers.

Excellent verbal, written, computer, and customer service skills required. Ideal candidate will have demonstrated administrative skills and experience supporting organizational operations, and will be well organized and able to work independently with accurate attention to detail. An Associate Degree is required. A Bachelor’s degree with an interest in conservation is preferred. Starting salary is $18.06 per hour and includes yearly salary advances, health benefits, an employer contribution 401K plan & a generous sick, holiday & vacation leave package. Visit vacd.org for detailed job description. Send resume, cover letter indicating desired location, and contact information for three references by August 22nd to: Amanda Harris at amanda.harris@vacd.org or to VACD, PO Box 889, Montpelier, VT 05601.

Equal Opportunity Employer

Veterinary Technician

Do you want to work in a practice where you are trained well, appreciated, and not burned out all the time? We believe it’s possible to have a great culture where the team feels like a family and provides excellent patient care, great customer service, and runs a good business at the same time. The Affectionately Cats Hospital in Williston, VT is the only feline only hospital in Vermont and since we are privately owned, we have had the opportunity to build a hospital that all of us want to come to work at every day.

We are looking for an experienced, certified technician to join our team. We offer market competitive pay and benefits. There are no evenings or long weekend shifts, but your schedule will include some weekends. Apply at: leah@affectionatelycats.com

Communications Coordinator

Full description & to apply: generatorvt.com/jobs

Medical Assistant or Nurse

Outpatient small Cardiology practice in South Burlington. Flexible job. Duties include rooming patients, vital signs and EKG. Resumes to: cvca6312@comcast.net

BUILDING OPERATIONS TECHNICIAN

Burlington Housing Authority (BHA) in Burlington, VT seeks a full time Building Operations Technician to join our dedicated team. This position performs general maintenance work in BHA owned and managed properties. This includes building exteriors, common areas, apartments, building systems, fixtures, and grounds. Our Building Operations Techs are required to participate in the oncall rotation, which covers night and weekend emergencies.

Qualified candidates should have a minimum of two years of work in general building maintenance or building trades. The ideal candidate would have a demonstrated proficiency in building trades including carpentry, electrical, painting, plumbing, grounds keeping, and snow removal.

Training & Coaching Specialist

Develop and support the integration of the voices of people most impacted by the system of child welfare/youth justice. Work with a team of colleagues to improve the system’s understanding of and response to families and communities in need of support from government systems.

Develop, coordinate, and implement externally focused, comprehensive training program for Vermont Department for Children and Families (DCF) personnel and community partners in collaboration with child protection and youth justice stakeholders and the Child Welfare Training Partnership (CWTP) team. Participate in assessment of learning needs, curriculum development and evaluation, utilizing a variety of media. Provide consultation and coaching services to staff and community partners. Represent the CWTP at meetings and forums.

Minimum Qualifications

(or equivalent combination of education and experience):

• Bachelor’s degree in social work or comparable professional and/or life experience that has been impacted by involvement with child welfare, child protection, youth justice systems, or related systems of oppression.

• Experience designing training materials and/or teaching/training.

• Demonstrated ability to manage multiple deadlines.

• Effective written and verbal communication skills.

• Working knowledge of word processing, and knowledge of and comfort with different technology & online learning navigation.

• Skill in utilizing spreadsheets, internet, & email communication.

Apply online: uvmjobs.com/postings/65069

Technicians must have a valid state motor vehicle operator license at all times. The physical activities for this position include squatting, ascending and descending ladders, scaffolding, and stairs, working in small or confined spaces, twisting and lifting up to 100 pounds, often repeating motions with wrists, fingers, and hands. This position works in all environmental conditions.

Technicians must be detail oriented, efficient, be able to work within time sensitive parameters, and able to work independently, as well as part of a team. Having strong interpersonal skills and being sensitive to the needs of the elderly, disabled, and very low-income households is a must.

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. 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 and offers 2 additional paid floating holidays.

If you are interested in this career opportunity, please submit a resume and cover letter to humanresources@burlingtonhousing.org

Burlington Housing Authority - Human Resources 65 Main St, Suite 101 Burlington, VT 05401

Burlington Housing Authority is an Equal Opportunity Employer

START YOUR CAREER WITH US

BURLINGTON POLICE DEPARTMENT IS HIRING!

Police Officer Police Officer

$72,248 - $79,693

$15,000 bonus for new recruits and laterals. Up to $400 of Wellness Incentives. Health and Pension Benefits.

4-10 Hours Shifts with weekends off every other Shift differential for evening, midnight and Annual bonus for Associates, Bachelors, and

Community Service Officer Community Service Officer

$24.29 - $27.05

Hourly

This position is responsible to perform a variety of fieldwork in support of basic police operation and functions. (Non-sworn position).

Performs shift work in a rotation of days, evenings, and nights, including weekends. Performs a variety of routine technical, administrative work in support of law enforcement activities. High school diploma or equivalent. Must be eighteen (18) years of age.

Must be twenty-one (21) years of age by date

month (3 days off in a row). weekends. Masters degree. of hire.

CARES Team Clinician

• Paid Training

• Wellness Incentives

$65,014.76-$72,507.82

CARES Team Clinician

Full-Time

$65,014.76-$72,507.82

Full-Time

· Provides real-time response for mental health and addiction behaviors and symptoms.

· Work with medical professionals.

 Provides real-time response for mental health and addiction behaviors and symptoms.

 Work with medical professionals.

· Master’s Degree in Social Work OR 3 years of related experience.

 Master’s Degree in Social Work OR 3 years of related experience.

o o Paid Training Wellness Incentives

CARES Team Clinician Supervisor

• Full Benefits

• Great Schedule

o Full Benefits

CARES Team Clinician Supervisor

$79,737.70-$88,984.16

Full-Time

$79,737.70-$88,984.16

Full-Time

 Supervises the clinical half of a team comprised of clinicians and medical professionals.

· Supervises the clinical half of a team comprised of clinicians and medical professionals.

· Responsible for coordinating all aspects of clinical care.

 Responsible for coordinating all aspects of clinical care.

· Master’s Degree in Social Work OR 5 years of related experience.

 Master’s Degree in Social Work OR 5 years of related experience.

Community Engagement & Order Fulfillment Specialist

Pay Range: $30,000-$45,000 or $15-$22 per hour

Hours: Part Time (with potential for full time)

Note: Myti is a startup. The amount of work we will have for this position depends on how many orders we receive per week so your hours may fluctuate.

Myti is a community-driven online shopping platform that allows you to search for items by proximity and purchase products from independent retail businesses. Our communitydriven delivery system brings orders to your doorstep. In this position you will focus on picking up items from our partner shops, packaging orders, and delivering orders to buyers.

This position will follow our three intentions:

• Keep money in local communities everywhere

• Increase opportunities for the fundamental personal interactions we all crave

• Provide the data we collect to strengthen local economies everywhere

This is an in-person position based in Burlington, VT.

Special Requirements

• A valid driver’s license is required. The incumbent must be able to operate a motor vehicle.

• A clean driving record. A formal background check will be carried out for finalist candidates.

To apply, please see full description and instructions at: myti.com/careers

Burlington Housing Authority (BHA)

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 to continue BHA’s success in promoting innovative solutions that address housing instability challenges facing our diverse population of low-income families and individuals.

We’re currently expanding our team of professionals in the Housing Retention and Services department Here are three full time (40 hours per week) positions available:

HOUSING RETENTION SPECIALIST – COMMUNITY OUTREACH

Aids community members who are experiencing homelessness and need support navigating housing systems and locating and securing housing in the Chittenden County community. The Housing Retention Specialist – Community Outreach works collaboratively with community service agencies and providers in addition to Chittenden County Coordinated Entry, BHA Section 8, and Property Management.

HOUSING RETENTION SERVICES – SITE BASED

Responsible for supporting those who have mental health and substance use challenges and/or who have moved from homelessness to Bobbin Mill, Wharf Lane, and other BHA properties. The position works closely with property management and other site-based staff to identify challenges and respond with appropriate direct service and coordination of community services, with a goal of eviction prevention and facilitating a healthy tenancy.

OFFENDER RE-ENTRY HOUSING SPECIALIST

Provides support to men and women under the VT Department of Corrections supervision from prison back to Chittenden County. The ORHS focuses on high-risk men and women who are being released from jail and graduating transitional housing programs and in need of permanent housing. The ORHS provides intensive retention and eviction prevention services and works collaboratively with the Burlington Probation and Parole Office. Additionally, the ORHS works with various case workers, Re-Entry staff and the Administrative Staff from the VT Department of Corrections and the broad network of COSA staff as necessary throughout Chittenden County.

Find more info about these career opportunities at burlingtonhousing.org.

*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!

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 and 2 (paid) floating cultural 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

ATTENTION RECRUITERS:

Budtender/ Cannabis Educator

JOIN THE MAGIC MANN FAMILY!

Overview: This individual is responsible for assisting all customers and patrons in an outgoing and friendly manner in making their educated purchases in strict accordance with the Vermont Cannabis Control Board, Vermont State Regulations and Magic Mann’s Organizational Policies. He/she/they will ensure that product information and qualities are accurate, and that excellent and patient customer service standards are met.

Key Duties and Responsibilities:

• Conducting transactions and processing payments for Purchases

• Weighing of any flower products

• Proper packaging, including cash, credit card, check, or debit card transactions

• Verifying IDs prior to sales transaction - to ensure that only 21+ years or older are purchasing

• Knowledge of Cannabis

• Ability to provide customers with necessary product knowledge

• Strains, Effects, Terpenes

• Ability to recommend proper products for customers based off of information given to you

• Ability to communicate with all customer types in proper conversation for their transaction

• Warm, comfortable and inviting environment

• Refilling necessary product in selling station when necessary following Magic Mann Policies

Employment Requirements:

• Must have a valid Driver's License or Non-Driver Identification Card

• Must be 21+ years

• Must be willing to obtain Budtender Training Certificate, Background checks, ID Verification training by the State of Vermont

• Friendly, Outgoing, Passionate

• Punctual and Reliable

• Meticulous and organized

• Compliance-minded

• Must be able to work both Morning and Evening Shifts

• Stand for prolonged periods of time

• Customer Service Skills

• 2-5 years prior experience in Customer Service and Sales of a retail like environment

• Effective Communication Skills

• Confidence to handle customers of all types in person and on the phone when necessary

• Cannabis Knowledge

• Passion behind your work

• Strains, Genetics, Edibles

• Vermont State Rules and Regulations

• Cannabis Control Board Rules and Regulations

• Completion of a Cannabis Training Program (These are in the development by Vermont based Cannabis Business)

• Continual attendance to all In-House trainings applicable to the position

• Ability to uphold Non-Disclosure Agreements

• Must be able to pass Federal Background Check

Employee Benefits:

• Employee Discount

• Paid Time Off

• Continuous In-House top of the line Cannabis Knowledge Training

• Holiday Bonus Apply online: magicmann.com/careers

Magic Mann is an Equal Opportunity Employer.

Full Time or Part Time

Part Time

Early Childhood

AV Support

Mechanic/ Truck Driver

Land & Trails Steward

Do you want to make a difference for the environment, get outside, connect with the local community, and interact with volunteers who are passionate about the natural world? Stowe Land Trust is hiring for a Land and Trails Steward to oversee trail maintenance, volunteer and school outreach, and more. Visit stowelandtrust.org for position description and information on how to apply.

Shelburne Highway Department

Shelburne’s Highway Department has an immediate opening for a full-time Mechanic/Truck Driver. This position is responsible for the maintenance of all Town vehicles and other machinery and equipment. The successful candidate will also operate trucks and other equipment, in addition to plowing snow.

A high school diploma or equivalent and five years of experience; CDL or the ability to obtain a CDL; Vermont State Vehicle Inspection License; and background check are required. A full job description is available at shelburnevt.org/237/Human-Resources. Salary range $28-$30/hr., generous benefit package, vacation and sick time, and paid holidays.

Submit resume or application to Susan Cannizzaro at scannizzaro@shelburnevt.org. E.O.E.

•Collision Parts Coordinator

•Collision Repair Technician

Key Collision believes that our people are the most important part of our team, and we focus on our team members first. Our success in each area of our business is only attainable by having a culture-oriented, well-trained team of professionals who are focused on exceeding customer expectations.

Benefits:

• Sign-on Bonus, 401K Plan + Match

• Medical, Dental & Vision Insurance

• Paid time off and vacation

• Short/Long Term Disability/Flex/Life, Growth opportunities

Send resume to: cbarringer@keycollision.com

More details: keycollisioncenter.com/locations/burlington

“I just wanted to pass along the praise from my HR manager, who was overjoyed with how many solid applicants we received from our postings on Seven Days Jobs. Everyone we hired for these seasonal positions was very friendly, hardworking and cared about the success of our holiday season. is year in particular we used Seven Days as our main form of advertising, and we were highly rewarded for this strategy.

Dakin Farm advertises with Seven Days as a way to reach candidates and food lovers in our community. We appreciate that the newspaper is free and widely distributed. As a local family-run business, we also love how Seven Days shares incredible stories from Vermonters.

Our account executive, Michelle Brown, has been wonderful to work with. e whole sales team is very helpful and great at sending reminders about upcoming promotional opportunities without being too pushy. ey truly care about the success of their customers!

I greatly appreciate the support from the team and would recommend advertising with Seven Days to any local company.”

CAROLYN CUTTING Marketing Manager, Dakin Farm

Now hear this!

Seven Days is recording select stories from the weekly newspaper for your listening pleasure.

How does it work?

1 2 3

Go to sevendaysvt.com/aloud and click on the article you want to hear.

When the article loads, scroll down past the first photo and find the prompt to “Hear this article read aloud.”

Press play! You can pause at any time, skip ahead, rewind and change the speaking speed to suit your needs.

This Stud Has Just One Job,

and He’s the GOAT 8 MINS.

A Seven Days Canine Staffer Samples New Offerings from Vermont Dog Bakeries 10 MINS.

Dam Scary: Intense Storms Push Vermont’s Aging Structures to the Brink 23 MINS.

In a Mobile Home Park Devastated by Flood, Shock, Sadness and Frustration Take Hold 17 MINS.

Way to Say: French Words and Phrases You Should Know Before Visiting Québec 9 MINS.

A Lincoln Carpenter Landed a Plumb Position Rebuilding NotreDame Cathedral in Paris 12 MINS.

A Superfan’s Pilgrimage to the Places That Inspired Canadian Author Louise Penny 10 MINS.

Vermont’s Relapse: Efforts to Address Opioid Addiction Were Starting to Work. Then Potent New Street Drugs Arrived. 32 MINS.

Seeing Is Believing: In ‘The Undertow,’ Journalist Jeff Sharlet Takes Readers Into the Trump Fever Swamps 26 MINS.

Start listening at: sevendaysvt.com/aloud

Then, tell us what you think: aloud@sevendaysvt.com

WHILE YOU WORK ON THE ROAD

fun stuff

CALCOKU & SUDOKU (P.77) CROSSWORD (P.77)

JEN SORENSEN

fun stuff

“How did you? When did you? Get back here!”

KRISTEN SHULL

JULIANNA BRAZILL

HARRY BLISS

LEO

(JUL. 23-AUG. 22)

Unless you are French, chances are you have never heard of SaintJohn Perse (1887-1975). He was a renowned diplomat for the French government and a poet who won the Nobel Prize in Literature. Now he’s virtually unknown outside of his home country. Can we draw lessons for your use, Leo? Well, I suspect that in the coming months, you may very well come into greater prominence and wield more clout. But it’s crucial for the long-term health of your soul that, during this building time, you are in service to nurturing your soul as much as your ego. The worldly power and pride you achieve will ultimately fade like Perse’s. But the spiritual growth you accomplish will endure forever.

ARIES (Mar. 21-Apr. 19): The Lincoln Calibration Sphere 1 is a hollow globe of aluminum launched into Earth orbit in 1965. Fifty-eight years later, it continues to circle the planet — and is still doing the job it was designed to do. It enables ground-based radar devices to perform necessary calibrations. I propose we celebrate and honor the faithfulness of this magic sphere. May it serve as an inspiring symbol for you in the coming months. More than ever before, you have the potential to do what you were made to do — and with excep-

tional steadiness and potency. I hope you will be a pillar of inspiring stability for those you care about.

TAURUS (Apr. 20-May 20): “Live as though you’re living a second time and as though the first time you lived, you did it wrong, and now you’re trying to do things right.” Holocaust survivor and author Viktor Frankl offered this advice. I wouldn’t want to adhere to such a demanding practice every day of my life. But I think it can be an especially worthwhile exercise for you in the coming weeks. You will have a substantial capacity to learn from your past; to prevent mediocre histories from repeating themselves; to escape the ruts of your habit mind and instigate fresh trends.

GEMINI (May 21-Jun. 20): Gemini author Jamie Zafron wrote an article titled “To Anyone Who Thinks They’re Falling Behind in Life.” She says, “Sometimes you need two more years of life experience before you can make your masterpiece into something that will feel real and true and raw. Sometimes you’re not falling in love because whatever you need to know about yourself is only knowable through solitude. Sometimes you haven’t met your next collaborator. Sometimes your sadness encircles you because, one day, it will be the opus upon which you build your life.” This is excellent advice for you in the coming months, dear Gemini. You’ll be in a phase of incubation, preparing the way for your Next Big Thing. Honor the gritty, unspectacular work you have ahead! It will pay off.

CANCER (Jun. 21-Jul. 22): You’re entering a phase when you will generate maximum luck if you favor what’s short and sweet instead of what’s long and complicated. You will attract the resources you need if you identify what they are with crisp precision and do not indulge in fuzzy indecision. The world will conspire in your favor to the degree that you avoid equivocating. So please say precisely what you mean! Be a beacon of clear, relaxed focus!

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sep. 22): “Life is not so bad if you have plenty of luck, a good physique, and not too much imagination.” Virgo author Christopher Isherwood said that. I’m offering

his thought because I believe life will be spectacularly not bad for you in the coming weeks — whether or not you have a good physique. In fact, I’m guessing life will be downright enjoyable, creative and fruitful. In part, that’s because you will be the beneficiary of a stream of luck. And in part, your gentle triumphs and graceful productiveness will unfold because you will be exceptionally imaginative.

LIBRA (Sep. 23-Oct. 22): “You know how crazy love can make you,” Mary D. Esselman and Elizabeth Ash Vélez write in their book Love Poems for Real Life. “On any given day, you’re insanely happy, maniacally miserable, kooky with contentment, or bonkers with boredom — and that’s in a good relationship.” They add, “You have to be a little nuts to commit yourself, body and soul, to one other person — one wonderful, goofy, fallible person — in the hope that happily-ever-after really does exist.” The authors make good points, but their view of togetherness will be less than fully applicable to you in the coming months. I suspect life will bring you boons as you focus your intelligence on creating well-grounded, nourishing, nonmelodramatic bonds with trustworthy allies.

SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): “I don’t adopt anyone’s ideas — I have my own.” So proclaimed Scorpio author Ivan Turgenev (18181883). Really, Ivan? Were you never influenced by someone else’s concepts, principles, art or opinions? The fact is that all of us live in a world created and shaped by the ideas of others. We should celebrate that wondrous privilege! We should be pleased we don’t have to produce everything from scratch under our own power. As for you Scorpios reading this oracle, I urge you to be the anti-Turgenev in the coming weeks. Rejoice at how interconnected you are — and take full advantage of it. Treasure the teachings that have made you who you are. Sing your gratitude for those who have forged the world you love to live in. You now have the power to be an extraordinary networker.

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): The Tibetan term lenchak is often translated as “karmic debt.” It refers to the unconscious conditioning and bad old habits that attract us to people we would be better off not engaging. I

Eva

will be bold and declare that sometime soon, you will have fully paid off a lenchak that has caused you relationship problems. Congrats! You are almost free of a long-running delusion. You don’t actually need an influence you thought you needed.

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): If you’re like many of us, you have a set bathing routine. In the shower or bath, you start your cleansing process with one particular action, such as washing your face, and go on to other tasks in the same sequence every time. Some people live most of their lives this way: following well-established patterns in all they do. I’m not criticizing that approach, though it doesn’t work for me. I need more unpredictability and variety. Anyway, Capricorn, I suspect that in the coming weeks, you will benefit from trying my practice. Have fun creating variations on your standard patterns. Enjoy being a novelty freak with the daily details.

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): In July 1812, composer Ludwig van Beethoven wrote a 10page love letter to a woman he called “My Angel” and “Immortal Beloved.” He never sent it, and scholars are still unsure of the addressee’s identity. The message included lines like “you — my everything, my happiness … my solace — my everything” and “forever thine, forever mine, forever us.” I hope you will soon have sound reasons for composing your own version of an “Immortal Beloved” letter. According to my astrological analysis, it’s time for your tender passion to fully bloom. If there’s not a specific person who warrants such a message, write it to an imaginary lover.

PISCES (Feb. 19-Mar. 20): At age 32, artist Peter Milton realized the colors he thought he used in his paintings were different from what his viewers saw. He got his eyes tested and discovered he had color blindness. For example, what he regarded as gray with a hint of yellow, others perceived as green. Shocked, he launched an unexpected adjustment. For the next 40 years, all his paintings were black and white only. They made him famous and have been exhibited in major museums. I love how he capitalized on an apparent disability and made it his strength. I invite you to consider a comparable move in the coming months.

In July, Eva Sollberger's 2022 video about mud season in East Barnard — "Stuck in Vermont" episode 662 — won first place in the multimedia category at the national Association of Alternative Newsmedia awards, presented at the AAN convention in Dallas, Texas. "Excellent piece. e storytelling, photography and editing make this story suitable for a PBS special," the judge said. Watch it at sevendaysvt.com.

supported by:

CHECK OUT ROB BREZSNY’S EXPANDED WEEKLY AUDIO HOROSCOPES & DAILY TEXT MESSAGE HOROSCOPES: REALASTROLOGY.COM OR 1-877-873-4888.

Sollberger’s

WOMEN seeking...

OPTIMISTIC, DRIVEN, BUBBLY BABE Smiles, affectionate, h ardworking, passionate, emotionally intelligent. Wants to find the love of her life. You: good head on your shoulders, know what you want, motivated, emotionally intelligent and want a future with a really cute girl with a pretty smile. An affinity for old farmhouses will get you extra brownie points! Battlebeautyfarmhouse, 33, seeking: M, l

ADVENTUROUS, ENJOY LIFE, SUNSHINE

I am energetic, love to try new things, adventures, short trips, dress well. I have a cat for company, live simply, low maintenance, bilingual. Seeking someone who likes to explore Vermont, Québec. A great cook would be a plus. Funny, good conversationalist, conservative in politics, but I will respect your political choices, a bit old school, a gentleman. Luvtosmile, 78, seeking: M

WIDOW STARTING OVER

I’m as happy sitting on the deck with you, having a beverage of choice, as I would be going to a five-star restaurant. I work from home for the same health care provider for over 40 years and plan to retire in the next 18 months. I own my home in the country. I’m 5’6, a few extra pounds. Short light brown hair with blond highlights. LilyMae23, 63, seeking: M, l

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W = Women

M = Men

TW = Trans women

TM = Trans men

Q = Genderqueer people

NBP = Nonbinary people

NC = Gender nonconformists

Cp = Couples

Gp = Groups

LIFE IS GOOD

Nice lady seeking wonderful guy.

CookiesandCream, 65, seeking: M, l

CRUNCHY, BISEXUAL

Funny, open-minded, worldly, direct woman looking for a woman to hang out with, friends with benefits, hook up. Highly sexual and looking for same in a woman. No couples, no men. JATCASUAL, 41 seeking: W

QUIRKY HOMESTEADIN’

SWAMP HAG

Just your run-of-the-mill hermitess growing and cooking loads of food.

I’m a cynical leftist who loves the Earth and all the critters. I’d love to meet someone with similar ideals and goals to join me on the homestead.

I’m goofy, serious, quiet and loud. I have a yarn and seed addiction. Let’s go for a walk! VTHomesteader, 42 seeking: M, W, TM, TW, Q, NC, NBP, l

HEADY, HUMOROUS AND UNIQUE

I am a slim, colorful, delightful, attractive woman who is world traveled, educated, bright, humorous, serious and articulate. I seek someone savvy, open and stimulating with depth who enjoys discussions on a wide array of worldly, emotional and philosophical subjects.

I like those who are confident and emotionally available to be in a serious, rich and fun committed relationship!

alphaomegafire 60 seeking: W, l

INDEPENDENT, WELL-GROUNDED, HAPPY

Me: I like to row boats, swim, bike, play piano/violin. CrossFit keeps me flexible and strong. Winters are in Colorado, where I shovel snow, ski, swim in hot springs. You: comfortable discussing life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness; can at least tread water; passionate about music and the arts. If you’re a beer lover, I’ll take my Scotch neat. Farfarer, 75 seeking: M, l

SOME KIND OF WONDERFUL

Fierce femme with a tender heart seeks someone sweet as baklava whose eyes I can fall into. Interests include doubleshot espresso, watching the rain fall from my front porch and discovering beauty in all forms. Must have curiosity, a heart of gold and be willing to shower me in adoration. tamaracktrees 24 seeking: M, W, TM, TW, Q, NC, NBP

REAL MEETS REAL

Shy at the start but getting along easily with time. I am that countryside lifestyle. I have a good sense of humor. I have so much passion for humans. All I seek in a man is loyalty. paused, 37 seeking: M, l

GENUINE, PROGRESSIVE, SMART WOMAN

Back in Vermont after moving to San Francisco in 1980, a dream of mine since high school in southern Vermont, where I grew up and learned to love the beauty of Vermont. The land conservation nonprofit I work for allowed me to work remotely after many years there, so I could relocate to live near my brother and keep working. VTtaketwo 66, seeking: M, l

NOT DEAD YET

I considered myself a high-heels, makeupat-all-times city girl until I moved to Vermont 12 years ago. I never even owned a car, and all my Boston/New York friends wondered how I would survive. Well, not only did I survive, but I learned how to fish in a lake year-round and even how to shoot a gun. CLC, 77 seeking: M, l

SUNSHINE AND WANDERLUST

Seeking fun-loving, easygoing people for friendship and maybe more. Wonderful weather these days. Who’s up for enjoying it? CarolinaGirl 35 seeking: M, TM, Q, NC, NBP, l

ACTIVE WATER AND MOUNTAIN PERSON

Do you ever not want to go alone? Traveling is something I want to do with someone. I go to music events and theater in Vermont and beyond. I love to dance. I don’t mind my alone time at home. I’ve been single for 15 years. Hopefully you are fun, happy, active and loving. Time4Me2 65 seeking: M, l

BRIGHT, INQUISITIVE ADVENTURER

Life is an adventure that is constantly throwing twists and turns that must be navigated with agility, flexibility and humor. I’m looking for a man who wants to join me in the adventure. Avid gardener, cook, hike, bike, scuba, rock climb. Lots of interests and willing to try new things, too. Let’s get out and play. More fun/ laughter. MIDWESTGRL 67 seeking: M, l

LOOKING FOR MY OTHER HALF

I’m fun, laid-back and kind. I’m looking for a long-term relationship with someone who is looking for the same. I own my home, have a job and pay my bills. I’m looking for a true connection. WifeyMaterial 39, seeking: M, l

READY TO MEET VINTAGE GENTLEMAN

Happy and healthy 84-y/o woman looking for a gentleman to share exploring Vermont, ethnic restaurants, walks in the woods, bagels and coffee. ANNYLOUIE, 84, seeking: M

MEN seeking...

SILLY, KIND, HONEST

About me: completed some college at UVM. Entrepreneur. 5’11. Dad bod. White (AF). Love basketball, making songs, funny shows/vids. Pros: sense of humor, caring, athletic, creative. Cons: dad bod (a pro for some?), too cool for school. What I’m looking for: someone who has two eyes, breathes and is OK with me hogging blankets, hopefully. Hoop 24 seeking: W, l

ZEN KAYAKING PANTHEIST

Lavender moon appears and vanishes / behind half-clothed autumn birches / follows me down this rocky ridge... / its light and shadows / spooling across the trail, / drawing me ever forward / ephemeral as a wind-blown butterfly... My beliefs align with Celtic and Aboriginal cultures. I spend much time outdoors. My body reflects this, weathering like primitivo grapes into a rustic wine with oaky aftertastes. Rodkakov, 71, seeking: W, l

LOVE AND BE LOVED Taurus. Life is precious and short, so I want to use it, not lose it. Chemistry means a lot to me. Beauty in body, mind, spirit. Want to feel the vibe. Like reading, art, eating out, hiking, tenting, physical activities, listening to music, movies, aquariums. Open to new experiences, learning new tricks and old magic. All about the journey, wherever the destination leads. Worldwalker 54, seeking: W

100 PERCENT HONEST

Hi. I’m a down-to-earth guy who enjoys life. Would like to find a woman to do that with.

TheDimplesRDeep 53, seeking: W, l

OLD-SCHOOL PUNK

Hmm, honest, huh? Well, here you go. I like punk, oi, ska, metal, reggae, etc. When I have time, I color, play video games, write, Legos, take road trips and small walks. I have a medical condition and learning disability. I never know what to say here. If you want to know more, just ask over a beer or hot chocolate. Anthonyc81 42, seeking: W, l

EARNEST, INTELLIGENT, DOWN-TO-EARTH

I want to find a rustic woman — intelligent, kind, earthy, maybe educated, maybe artsy and God-centered — and start a family. I’ve never been married. No kids. Want kids. I love people, nature, the simple things. I grew up in Vermont and wouldn’t trade it for any other place on Earth. 1thdegodo, 53 seeking: W, l

CALL ME CAPTAIN JACK

I have superior social skills and “mechanical ability” and knowledge of the Caribbean. I’m a hardworking captain, mate and crew member. Any task that I can’t complete, I can find someone who can. workingcaptain 41, seeking: M, W, Cp, l

ACTIVE, OLD-SCHOOL GUY

I am an energetic guy who enjoys the simple things in life, like fishing on the lake, church suppers, fairs, bingo, bluegrass and polka festivals, short-term travel, going out to eat now and then, or just relaxing at home. Looking for a compatible gal with similar interests to enjoy life with and to spoil and love. FISHGUY 80, seeking: W, l

COMPASSIONATE, ENERGETIC LIFE LUST, 63 YEARS YOUNG

Well-traveled, engaging, spontaneous, stable gentleman looking for a fun relationship. Being generally fit and active and having a passion for skiing are musts. Independent financially, as am I. Kindness, honesty, passion for life are musts. I work four intense days and have three days to play. Love all water sports, hiking, camping, long walks, holding hands, cooking, music and dreaming. stevdate1959 63, seeking: W

MELLOW, CARING LISTENER

I am in my mid-70s. I am looking for a friend first and possibly more. I will treat you with kindness and compassion. Soccer 70 seeking: W, l

FUN TIMES TO BE HAD

Looking for a woman for fun times, laughter and enjoying good times. Casual date and each other’s fruits. Discreet is a must. Pictures available upon request.

Free2beme 49, seeking: W, Cp, Gp

WIDOWER, 81, SEEKS ATHLETIC WIDOW

Hi. Recent widower, 81, seeks near-age widow as equal partner/companion for multi-hour (though slower) hiking, bicycling, cross-country skiing and more. Please be grad school educated, well read and informed, financially independent, fit, and love gardening, healthy eating, music and, most of all, a deep, loving relationship with a new partner. Anyone still out there?

AthleticWidowerAt81, 81 seeking: W, l

EASYGOING FREE SPIRIT

I’m waiting for my best friend and partner. Maybe marriage one day, or maybe not. My kids are grown up and moving away. Would like to go south for winter months. Aquaholic, 46, seeking: W, l

NERDY LEFTIST GIRL-DAD WITH ADHD

Already have a princess; looking for a queen. Funny in good company, but my humor can sometimes be dry, deadpan or dark. I run, train and teach martial arts, and I’m very much in the geopolitical loop. Also, the planet’s dying, so I take that pretty seriously. Hoping to start a permaculture homestead with another loving and open-minded lifelong learner. Tommy1988, 35, seeking: W, NC, NBP, l

FINDING PEACE IN VERMONT

If you like the outdoors, being healthy and you see 65 as young, we would probably get along. Vermont is stunning. I love rail trails. Maybe it is because you just can’t get lost on them! Or can you? Bicycles and hiking, wooden-bat summer baseball, and quiet days on the motorcycle. This would be me. Never forget ice cream! Vermont_Dreaming, 60, seeking: W, l

TRANS WOMEN seeking...

HONESTY, COMMON SENSE A MUST 53-y/o single trans woman. Have a few pounds around the center. LOL. I’m finally ready to meet someone who will not be embarrassed to be seen in public with me. Love to get dolled up for someone. I’m easygoing. My ideal person would be female. Interesting to kinky. Do you think you could be my dominant other? Shygurl 53, seeking: TW, l

RECENTLY RELOCATED, ADVENTUROUS, FREE SPIRIT

I’m a gorgeous, white, 100 percent passable trans lady who is 57 and could pass as 30 — yes, 30! I long for love, laughter and romance, along with loving nature. I want a man who’s all man, rugged, handsome, well built but prefers a woman like myself. It’s as simple as that. We meet, fall in love and live happily ever after. Sammijo, 57, seeking: M, l

NONBINARY PEOPLE seeking...

OPEN-MINDED YOUNG ELDER

I often enjoy exploring my internal and external world. I am a curious human being who heals and grows through creativity. I value sleep, beauty, nature, emotion, safety, peace and water. I am looking to meet nonjudgmental people who know themselves well and want to learn more. divingintodestiny 37, seeking: W, TM, TW, Q, NC, NBP

COUPLES seeking...

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

EXPLORING THREESOMES AND FOURSOMES

We are an older and wiser couple discovering that our sexuality is amazingly hot! Our interest is another male for threesomes or a couple. We’d like to go slowly, massage you with a happy ending. She’d love to be massaged with a happy ending or a dozen. Would you be interested in exploring sexuality with a hot older couple? DandNformen, 66 seeking: M, TM, NC, Cp, l

If you’ve been spied, go online to contact your admirer!

dating.sevendaysvt.com

MONTPELIER FARMERS MARKET

TAKE ME FOR A RIDE?

You were driving a two-tone blue/cream ’70s Chevy truck in the evening. I was behind you in a boring-ass car. Your fumes were intoxicating. All I could see was a baseball cap. If you take me for a ride, I’ll take you for a... When: Friday, August 11, 2023. Where: Route 2. You: Man. Me: Woman. #915820

OLDER MAN AT HANNAFORD, RUTLAND

Around 4:30 p.m., I was in the produce department and I saw you walk in. You were white, older, balding, wearing shorts, a graphic T-shirt and flip-flops. You have a nice butt/hot package. Would love to invite you over for cocktails! I was the one wearing short shorts, flipflops. I’m 50, masculine and enjoy older white mature men. When: Saturday, August 5, 2023. Where: Hannaford, Rutland. You: Man. Me: Man. #915819

HUBBARD PATHS

Serious eye contact! Let’s connect! When: Saturday, August 5, 2023. Where: Hubbard, Montpelier. You: Woman. Me: Man. #915818

SEXY ART MAN

You: big, hairy muscle man with white tank. Your drawing was beautiful. Emotional but understated and classic. I feel like I understand you. I borrowed your eraser. I’m a 28-y/o woman, brown hair, hazel eyes. I also saw you at target, and I smiled. Come back to class. Maybe I’ll even model sometime if you want a preview. When: Tuesday, June 13, 2023. Where: Kestrel Coffee. You: Man. Me: Woman. #915816

DOG WEARING SUNGLASSES

Saw ’em. Dog wearing sunglasses. at’s a cool dog. Feel free to reach out. When: Friday, August 4, 2023. Where: dog park. You: Group. Me: Man. #915809

You: black dress with flannel shirt, 40ish, driving a beautiful black VW Bug convertible. Me: tall, dark and handsome. Gave you a big smile. Would love to take a long ride in that sweet Bug! When: Saturday, August 5, 2023. Where: Montpelier farmers market. You: Woman. Me: Man. #915811

HIGH PRIESTESS

I was at the rite you held in the woods of Mansfield. I was there when the moon ascended into the heavens, our souls freed from our corporeal forms to become one in the night. Praise Lugh Ildánach the harvest this fall will be a blessed one. Anyhow, we should get a cup of coffee sometime. You’re really pretty. When: Tuesday, August 1, 2023. Where: Mount Mansfield.

You: Woman. Me: Man. #915810

SHUCKING CLAMS

You were shucking clams by the dock when I said, “Hey there, Daddy-o, what say ye give one of them thar clams?” and you said “If you get any closer, I won’t be responsible for my actions.” Anyways, what’s it like being the most enrapturing lass in all the land? Drop me a line sometime. Johnny Cool. When: ursday, August 3, 2023. Where: Burlington shore. You: Woman. Me: Man. #915808

WEDDING, SUNDAY, JULY 30, SPIRIT OF ETHAN ALLEN

If you are the couple who married aboard the Spirit of Ethan Allen’s noon tour, my aunt took a lovely photo from the upper deck we’d like you to have. One of the party wore a white sun hat. Tell me something else notable about that person to confirm ID, and I’ll send it off. And congrats! When: Sunday, July 30, 2023. Where: Spirit of Ethan Allen daily cruise. You: Group. Me: Woman. #915803

REVEREND Ask

De Rev end,

My therapist suggested that my partner and I should not have sex after he called me by his ex’s name and that we should wait until we resolved why he did that. I was traumatized when he called me by her name. It was right after we were discussing wedding plans. Ugh! He said it was a mistake, but I’m having a hard time with it.

Nadya H

(WOMAN, 63)

BRAVO ZULU

You greeted us as we were leaving at night. Something about that has me still thinking about you! Please reach out if you’re interested in getting acquainted! When: Saturday, August 5, 2023. Where: Bravo Zulu. You: Man. Me: Woman. #915812

FOREVER YOUR KNIGHT

Dani, since you came into my life, all the clouds have disappeared. All I can see ahead for us is pure love and happiness. So many destinations to travel, photos and memories to be made. Hurry home, my queen! When: Tuesday, March 22, 2022. Where: in my dreams. You: Woman. Me: Gender nonconformist. #915802

ALLIE FROM BUMBLE

You stood out to me, and I told you. We matched and rematched, then you disappeared. When may I take you to dinner? When: Tuesday, July 25, 2023. Where: Bumble.

You: Woman. Me: Man. #915801

HOMEGOODS, SATURDAY, 7/22

I was standing behind you in line wearing a black Harley-Davidson T-shirt and sporting a ponytail. You have the most beautiful, angel-like complexion. Was I staring? Unfortunately, that was the same time we heard over the intercom, “Cashier #3.” And away you went. Never to be seen again? I hope not! When: Saturday, July 22, 2023. Where: HomeGoods.

You: Woman. Me: Man. #915800

WILLISTON BIKE PATH, MAGICAL SMILE

Between the ball fields and the church, 7 p.m.-ish. Me: tall man on rollerblades. You: pretty, slender woman with long lavender hair, sunglasses, walking your dog. As we passed each other, your smile was brighter than the sunset shining in your eyes. I’d love to know the woman behind that smile. Care to meet? When: ursday, July 20, 2023. Where: Williston bike path.

You: Woman. Me: Man. #915799

COMMUTER ON THE BIKE PATH oughtful guy riding to work from near Airport Park to downtown. We talked on the bridge and had a nice chat about the state of the city. Interested in riding together again? When: Wednesday, July 19, 2023. Where: bike path.

You: Man. Me: Woman. #915798

De Nadya H ,

I am certainly not a therapist, so I don’t want to contradict what yours has told you. However, you did ask for my advice, so I’ll give you my two cents. Do with it what you will.

While I’m sure that having someone else’s name called out in the heat of passion was quite a shocker, maybe there’s a simple explanation. It’s possible that talking about wedding plans stirred up some old memories for your fiancé. Perhaps he was thinking about how happy he was to be with you instead of her and accidentally blurted out her name. Brains are weird. Sometimes there’s no telling why they do what they do.

INTREPID LANDSCAPERS

WAITING IN LINE

We were both getting supplies. You had grasses, flowers; I had rocks, dirt. We talked about Seattle (the Chill!) and many other things. I think the folks ahead of us took a long time, but I didn’t mind. You gave off such a nice warm vibe that I kicked myself for not asking if I could give you my number. When: Saturday, July 22, 2023. Where: Home Depot. You: Woman. Me: Man. #915797

SCHMETTERLING WINE SHOP

HOTTIE

You: serving up sensuous wine and station recommendations with our tasting! I was getting biodynamic vibes — are you interested in skin contact with a bubbly blonde? When: Saturday, July 22, 2023. Where: Middlebury. You: Man. Me: Woman. #915796

HEY, NEIGHBOR

I was running an errand when you stopped me to chat about getting rid of your bed. When I came back around, you were tending to plants in between hits of your vape. I’d love to get together and listen to you talk for hours about anything and everything. When: Saturday, July 22, 2023. Where: at the five-way intersection in the North End. You: Woman. Me: Man. #915795

LOST HAM

You left a ham in my garden on my porch camera. It was a bone-in ham. I don’t know if you put it my azaleas as a prank or perhaps to get my attention, but color me intrigued. If you are interested, I’ll be in City Hall Park on ursdays at 4 p.m., drinking water from a gallon jug at the steps. When: Tuesday, July 18, 2023. Where: South Burlington. You: Woman. Me: Man. #915794

ISABELLA, TWICE ENCOUNTERED

First, helping you over a Williston counter. Second, mutually appreciative doubletake greetings shared at a big South Burlington hardware store. As you are the most startlingly elegant woman I’ve encountered in years, I promised myself on that second moment that should a third occur, I’d immediately ask you to dinner. If we can, however, let’s not leave that possibility to chance. When: Tuesday, June 20, 2023. Where: Lowe’s. You: Woman. Me: Man. #915793

CEREAL EATER

You were eating a bowl of corn flakes. When I asked you where you got them, you told me to scram, but for the second we made eye contact I could see our future together in your eyes. Us growing old together, the whole nine yards. What do you say: Will you give us a chance? When: Tuesday, July 18, 2023. Where: Pomeroy Park. You: Man. Me: Man. #915792

SPARKS AT TAKA

We met at 1:30 a.m. in Lamp Shop. You told me you liked the songs I had sung earlier that night. We danced a few songs together, fun and hot and sloppy. Our eye contact was enchanting. You and your buddies left right at 2. I didn’t get your name, much less your number. Maybe you’ll see this and respond? When: Saturday, July 15, 2023. Where: Radio Bean. You: Woman. Me: Man. #915791

CHARLOTTE RUNNER DODGING A BIKE

Hi. You were running south on Lake Road. I was on my bike and had just turned onto Lake from Converse Bay Road. Because I was checking my speedometer, I think I spooked you a bit, and you stepped off into the grass. Two things to say about that: 1) I’m sorry. Totally my fault. 2) You are beautiful. When: Wednesday, July 12, 2023. Where: Charlotte.

You: Woman. Me: Man. #915790

THE CANTEEN, TWO TALL BRUNETTES

We exchanged cordial and friendly hellos, and I asked you about the wondrouslooking strawberry sundae in your hand. You and your friend shared it and were quite pleased afterward. You stated you were swimming upstream of Waitsfield. My friend and I were riding and then swimming at Blueberry Lake. Do you live in the Valley? When: Friday, July 7, 2023. Where: the Canteen, Waitsfield. You: Woman. Me: Man. #915789

BIRD-WATCHER

I saw you from across the park spying on me with your binoculars and thought it was charming. I spotted a thrush by my bench but hoped you had your eye on something else. If that’s true, we should meet sometime. I left before you walked over because all the pollen caused horrible congestion. When I returned, you had left. When: Saturday, June 24, 2023. Where: Waterfront Park. You: Man. Me: Man. #915788

It seems that if you love this guy enough to marry him, you should trust him when he says it was a mistake. If this is the only time it’s happened, there’s no reason to believe otherwise, is there?

If you stop being intimate altogether, it may cause a bigger rift. Talking about the situation is absolutely necessary, but stop stewing on it. Actions speak louder than words. I bet he was just as mortified as you were and it will never happen a second time. e best way to move on from this unfortunate incident may be to get back in the saddle and try, try again.

Good luck and God bless, The Rev end

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Irreverent counsel on life’s conundrums

I’m a woman, 79 y/o, seeking a man, 65 to 70 y/o. I am looking for someone who likes to travel and stay at home. Like to play games of all sorts. Very friendly and want to meet new friends.

#L1688

To that lustful woman who read 50 Shades but never got to play. SWM, 38, dangerously attractive. #L1689

Dragonfly, hummingbird / warm winds, butterfly, / sun in bright sky, sun inside, / Iris, tigerlily, / Bright flowers in summer sun, / Dreams that fly, Come back in spring, / Lalee, lalee, lalee, liii. / Grown up boy for similar girl.

#L1686

58-y/o SW. Humbled, thoughtful. Hoping for a safe, kind, honest relationship with a man. Calm in nature, love for nature. Morning coffees, long walks, talks, sunsets, art, music, dance, friends, family, laughs! Willing to see and resolve suffering. Unconditional love and support find me at home. Phone number, please. #L1680

Man, early 70s. Still grieving from two-plus years ago, but moving on. Funny, engaging, storyteller, listener. Interesting life (so far!). Greater MontpelierBarre area. Looking for a woman friend: have fun, eat out, do stuff. Maybe more, but maybe not. Companionship. #L1687

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I’m a SWM, 38, attractive, pierced nipples, friendly tattoos, purple and blue hair and goatee. No booze, no drugs. Looking for a kindred spirit, female, 18 to 58.

#L1685

Need an heir? Too busy on that career? Let’s meet on that.

#L1684

I’m a working man, 33, seeking a working woman, 25 to 33, to get to know and possibly build a life together. Born in Vermont to European family. Nonsmoking; no drugs. #L1683

I’m an older guy with a high libido looking to meet a woman with similar interests to hopefully develop a LTR. My interests are country living, travel, human-powered sports, music, art, gardening, etc. I’m secure and happy; very fit and healthy; a financially secure large-property owner; a curious, free-spirited adventurer; a singer and musician; a connoisseur of peace and quiet. 420-cool, friendly, compassionate, experienced and well endowed. You are your own beautiful self with a lust for life. Willing to travel for the right gal. Ability to sing, slender and body hair a plus. #LL1677

I’m a man, 72, seeking a woman, 45 to 70. Looking for a friend to go to dinner, movie, walking. I am fit for my age and seek the same in a woman. Phone number, please. #L1681

Int net-Free Dating!

73-y/o male by myself with a nice country home on an interesting property in the central part of the state. Have very good financial security. Very healthy and trim. Enjoy home time, exploring out and about or traveling away. Would like to meet a fun-loving girlie-girl who might develop into a genuine connection. Have no children and both feet on the ground. Would enjoy seeing a good woman and maybe possible partner who likes to dress well and be a friend. Send me your phone number or a note and way to respond. #LL1671

Seeking kinky individuals. Deviant desires? Yes, please! Only raunchiness needed. Have perverted tales? Hot confessions? Anything goes! No judgment. I only want your forbidden fantasies. Openminded. I dare you to shock me. Replies upon request. #LL1676

GM bottom looking for NSA fun or possibly FWB. Look for top men 40 to 60ish. Race unimportant. Married is fine, too; discretion assured. Phone/ text. #L1667

Describe yourself and who you’re looking for in 40 words below: (OR, ATTACH A SEPARATE PIECE OF PAPER.)

I’m a

seeking a

I’m a 60-y/o male seeking new friends for a massage swap. Northern central Vermont. Your story gets mine. Beginners welcome. #LL1672

I’m a 72-y/o M seeking a woman 70s-80s. I would love to experience sensuality with a mature woman in her 70s and 80s. Phone # please. #LL1674

Cerulean, rose, verdant, crimson, hearts, blood, hands, souls, faces, satin, rock, warm, faith, freedom, time, eyes, know, waterlines, embraces, changes, earth, sky, grow, balance, groove. Man for woman. #LL1675

I’m a man seeking a woman. Very passionate, sexual and loyal man. Honest, loving, treat-youlike-a-lady guy seeking special woman, 35 to 60ish. No drugs or drunks. Must be honest and supportive emotionally. #LL1678

Sensual older couple enjoying life. Snowbirds (Florida), welltraveled, fit and fun. Seeking to meet others curious about alternative modes of sexuality. Meet up in BTV for a glass of wine and chat? #LL1670

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Two-Day Retreat with Lama Rod Owens

WED., AUG. 16

BURLINGTON QUAKER MEETING HOUSE, BURLINGTON

Facing Change:

Life’s Transitions and Transformations

WED., AUG. 16

ONLINE

Farm Series Yoga in the Flowers

THU., AUG. 17

SNAPS AND SUNFLOWERS, CAMBRIDGE

Paul Asbell

THU., AUG. 17

ISHAM FAMILY FARM, WILLISTON

Queen City Ghostwalk Darkness Falls Tour

THU., AUG. 17

COURTHOUSE PLAZA, BURLINGTON

Live in the Gardens Music Series with Forest Station

FRI., AUG. 18

SNAPS AND SUNFLOWERS, CAMBRIDGE

Anderson Brothers play Duke Ellington

FRI., AUG. 18

PHANTOM THEATER, WARREN

Queen City Ghostwalk Ghosts & Legends of Lake Champlain Tour

FRI., AUG. 18

UNION STATION, BURLINGTON

Vision Camp Virtual

SAT., AUG. 19

ONLINE

Film Screening: Where the Rivers Flow North

SAT., AUG. 19

TOWN OFFICES AND COMMUNITY CENTER, FERRISBURGH

Nothing from Nothing and Uncertain Winds

SAT., AUG. 19

PHANTOM THEATER, EDGCOMB BARN

Cirque de Fuego presents: Late Summer Fire eater!

SAT., AUG. 19

JERICHO CENTER, JERICHO

Bikes & Brews

SUN., AUG. 20

MAVERICK MARKET AT 110, BURLINGTON

Vermontijuana Farm Tour

SUN., AUG. 20

TOWN COMMON, IRASBURG

Unicorn Cake Decorating Class

SUN., AUG. 20

RED POPPY CAKERY, WATERBURY

Nothing from Nothing and Uncertain Winds

SUN., AUG. 20

PHANTOM THEATER, WARREN

Figure Drawing Night

MON., AUG. 21

SOAPBOX ARTS, BURLINGTON

Kids Pollinator Adventure & Beeswax Candle Making

TUE., AUG. 22

HORSFORD GARDENS & NURSERY, CHARLOTTE

How ey Built It: South End Get Down Brothers

TUE., AUG. 22

VENETIAN SODA LOUNGE, BURLINGTON

“ e Basics” Cake Decorating Class

TUE., AUG. 22

RED POPPY CAKERY, WATERBURY