Seven Days, December 4, 2019 by Seven Days

THAT’S FISHY Salmon poacher busted PAGE 12

WORSE FOR CARE Staffing woes at senior homes PAGE 16

WELL VERSED V ERM ONT ’S INDEP E NDE NT V OIC E DECEMBER 4-11, 2019 VOL.25 NO.11 SEVENDAYSVT.COM

Meet Vermont’s new poet laureate PAGE 22

GRAND CENTRAL

Guarded Secrets

Steinway piano showroom opens

PAGE 40

ont’s sole women’s prison

Claims of sexual misconduct, drug use and retaliation plague Verm

BY PAUL HEINTZ , PAGE 30

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WEEK IN REVIEW NOVEMBER 27-DECEMBER 4, 2019 COMPILED BY SASHA GOLDSTEIN, MATTHEW ROY & ANDREA SUOZZO

SKI WIZ

Mikaela Shiffrin continued her dominance in Vermont, schussing to slalom victory in the World Cup at Killington. Not snowing down.

ON THE NOSE

FARMWORKERS’ FEAR Migrant Justice is protesting the apprehension of Luis Ulloa, a 21-year-old Franklin County resident who is facing deportation after the vehicle in which he was traveling was stopped on Interstate 89. The farmworker advocacy group charges that Chittenden County Sheriff’s Deputy Jeffry Turner violated his department’s policy on fair and impartial policing when he pulled over a vehicle for speeding on November 22 and asked the passengers for IDs. When Ulloa presented a Mexican passport, the deputy photographed the document, contacted U.S. Border Patrol agents and prevented the vehicle from leaving until they arrived, Migrant Justice leaders contend. Ulloa was taken to a New Hampshire detention center used by Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Migrant Justice said he is being held without bail pending deportation proceedings. None of the three other occupants in the vehicle was detained. The driver, who is Ulloa’s cousin, got a warning for speeding and a ticket for not having a license. In a written statement, Chittenden County Sheriff Kevin McLaughlin said a preliminary probe showed that Turner

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OUT FOR BLOOD

Kit Lender, a Vermont company that rents ski apparel, pitched its business plan on the TV show “Shark Tank.” The investors, unfortunately, didn’t bite.

ON DEADLINE

Three Vermont newsrooms won grants to hire journalists to bolster reporting in underserved parts of the state. The more, the merrier!

That’s how much Vermont got in a settlement from a South Carolina insurer that sold inadequate and unapproved health insurance policies to students at 10 Vermont colleges.

TOPFIVE

MOST POPULAR ITEMS ON SEVENDAYSVT.COM

1. “Worse for Care: When Elder Homes Stumble, Frail Vermonters Get Hurt” by Derek Brouwer, Emily Corwin and Andrea Suozzo. Records reveal troubling patterns of inadequate staffing and care have led to indignities, injuries and deaths in Vermont eldercare homes. 2. “Café Mamajuana Brings Dominican Flavors to Burlington” by Jordan Barry. Maria LaraBregatta cooks up Dominican cuisine through pop-ups and catering — and, if all goes well, a permanent restaurant next spring. 3. “Games and Retro Comfort Food at Burlington’s Boardroom Café” by Sally Pollak. At this new café, visitors can play more than 500 board games while enjoying food and drink. 4. “Getting to the Bottom of 1860 Schooner ‘Sarah Ellen’ in Lake Champlain” by Ken Picard. In October two scuba divers descended 300 feet to get a firsthand look at a historic shipwreck. 5. “A Redo of Burlington’s Winooski Avenue Could Cut 121 Parking Spots” by Courtney Lamdin. The city recently released plans to redesign one of the downtown’s busiest thoroughfares.

tweet of the week @SheaFitz2525 A deer tied to the top of a Toyota Corolla might be the most Vermont thing I’ve ever seen FOLLOW US ON TWITTER @SEVENDAYSVT OUR TWEEPLE: SEVENDAYSVT.COM/TWITTER

WHAT’S WEIRD IN VERMONT SASHA GOLDSTEIN

Top of Church Street

followed protocol. McLaughlin explained that Turner believed that “he had a reasonable suspicion, based on a totality of the circumstances, that there had been a violation of federal criminal laws by some of the occupants.” The state-sanctioned fair and impartial policing policy says that officers should not facilitate the detention of anyone suspected to be undocumented or “prolong” stops to allow federal authorities to investigate immigration matters. Will Lambek, a Migrant Justice organizer, said the sheriff’s findings are “not borne out by the facts.” McLaughlin’s statement doesn’t specify what federal crimes Turner suspected the passengers of committing. It also doesn’t say why Turner inquired about Ulloa’s immigration status in the first place. Migrant Justice said Ulloa has worked on Vermont and New York dairy farms for the last four years, sending money home to his mother and siblings in Mexico. About 50 protesters turned up at the sheriff’s headquarters in South Burlington on Tuesday, demanding justice and accountability. Read Colin Flanders’ full story at sevendaysvt.com.

COLIN FLANDERS

Migrant Justice protest

Officials have closed parts of the UVM Medical Center’s Fanny Allen campus because of a mysterious odor that sickened workers. Better to air on the side of caution.

$1.8 million

UN-SILENT NIGHT Leah Gimbutas is already sick of Christmas music. That’s because Gimbutas, who lives on Burlington’s Church Street Marketplace, got an all-night holiday serenade back on November 15. She called the marketplace office “literally the second they opened the next day,” the Champlain College student said. “I was like, ‘This is torture. I’m not dealing with this again!’” The music usually turns off at 9 p.m. Ron Redmond, who stepped down earlier this week from his post as executive director of the marketplace, said a software update was

to blame for Gimbutas’ tossing and turning all holy night. Each holiday season for the last 25 years, the marketplace has hung speakers on lampposts and played seasonal music during the day and into the evening, according to Redmond. The city also decks the pedestrian mall with bows, garlands and lights to get shoppers in the spirit. Last Friday, Santa Claus arrived for the lighting of a giant Christmas tree at the top of Church Street. To a pedestrian strolling down the avenue, the tunes aren’t especially loud. But Gimbutas said she awoke at 3 a.m. to music and couldn’t get back to sleep. Each time the music swelled, she’d bolt upright. “It was all I could hear,” Gimbutas said.

“I yelled at the windows. I was going so insane.” It could have been worse, she acknowledged. “It was classical, a lot of orchestral music,” Gimbutas said. “It wasn’t Mariah Carey screaming outside my window.” Redmond apologized to her the morning after and promised to reset the timer. As 9 p.m. approached that night, she waited to see if her wish had been granted. “I felt like I was hallucinating it,” Gimbutas said. “Is there music?” There wasn’t, and she crashed — hard — while visions of sugarplums danced in her head. SASHA GOLDSTEIN

SEVEN DAYS DECEMBER 4-11, 2019

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SEVEN DAYS DECEMBER 4-11, 2019 11/19/15 11:03 AM

FEEDback READER REACTION TO RECENT ARTICLES

TALKING TECH

Thanks to Kevin McCallum for bringing to light challenges we are having in the tech sector [“Hire Anxiety,” November 6]. As a tech entrepreneur, I am worried about the erosion of a once-vibrant base of industry tech “incubators” — small and large tech companies that were established and growing and gave people a start in the industry, benefits and the ability to make a difference through their work. When I started Draker Labs, my team benefited from the events and mentorship given by thriving tech companies. There definitely are some new shining stars, as noted in the article, but not as many as there used to be, and the corporate base with budget is eroding. Companies in renewable energy, such as Northern Power Systems and Draker Labs, employed hundreds over time in Burlington at good wages and are now completely gone. Gone, too, are the paychecks, taxes, sponsorships, mentors, friends, knowledge base, craft beer consumers and, eventually, key talent. Not to be all doom and gloom here, just hoping for a broader discussion on how to attract and retain tech in Burlington now that the assumed No. 1 barrier to tech growth, housing, has been lowered. I propose adopting a data-driven approach to guide the proper approach to stabilizing the tech base. How about some kind of key performance indicator on the BTVStat Dashboard for tech impact? I know the organizations quoted in the article have numbers; it was just confusing how they all add up when planning for Burlington’s future. AJ Rossman

BURLINGTON

‘JARVIS MADE A CHOICE’

I was disappointed in the decision to screen Vaxxed II at Merrill’s Roxy Cinemas [Off Message: “One Night Only — Controversial Anti-Vax Film Screens at the Roxy,” November 8]. I was just as disappointed in owner Merrill Jarvis III’s unwillingness to stand behind that decision. Owning a movie theater does not bind one by a code to screen every film sent their way. Yes, “There’s always somebody that has something against something” is a technically accurate statement, but it is meaningless.

Art is the pursuit of truth and selfexpression. It is vague and messy and human. Propaganda is the bastardization of art, the manipulation of art’s emotional impact to con spectators into believing falsehoods. Vaxxed II is propaganda. If propaganda has a home in art-house cinema, I’ll pass. Give me superheroes and live-action remakes. They may say nothing, but I’ll take that over a theater that endorses trash under the pretense of being fair and balanced. Jarvis attempts to pass the buck in his statement. It’s not his role to judge right from wrong, as if we teach that skill to every child on Earth to prepare him or her for a judgeship. Judging right from wrong is so fundamental that the inability to do so is the only way to be found not legally responsible for your actions. That’s not what happened here. Jarvis made a choice. He decided that it was right to screen a misleading film on a controversial topic in support of a dangerous and factually inaccurate viewpoint. He just doesn’t want to have to back that choice up. Dan Jones

BURLINGTON

WAY TO GO, WELCH

[Re Off Message: “As Impeachment Hearings Wrap, Welch Says Trump ‘Betrayed’ Oath of Office,” November 23]: “When economic power became concentrated in a few hands, then political power flowed to those possessors and away from the citizens, ultimately resulting in an oligarchy or tyranny.” The words of John Adams, America’s second president, were in my mind as I listened to U.S. Rep. Peter Welch’s concise questioning of witnesses in the impeachment hearings against President Donald Trump. The threat to our democracy echoes earlier attempts by oligarchs and monarchs to derail our self-government. The efforts by Russian President Vladimir Putin, Trump and numerous billionaires to distribute false and divisive narratives are an echo of what the U.S. has suffered since our Declaration of Independence. Although at times we have fallen woefully short of fulfilling our dreams — of giving all people a say in our destiny — our hope for all people to be equal before the law and to have the right to “life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness” has been a beacon of promise for oppressed people across the globe. We need to do our part to resist this slide toward feudalistic oligarchy by strengthening voting rights, a free press, and tax policies that help the middle and working classes. Thank goodness for our

WEEK IN REVIEW

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Jewelry & Gifts civil servants. As Rep. Welch pointed out: “They don’t seek the limelight but are extraordinarily professional and competent, and they’re very brave in a matterof-fact way.” This push to despotic rule is not new — only some of its tricks are.

Burlington? This would assist passengers who live on the western side of the state to travel to Montréal without traveling a great distance to board the train. This would complement the expanded service of the Vermonter to Montréal.

Mark Klinedinst

Ronald Butterfield

ESSEX JUNCTION

NOT SUCH A BAD SONG…

[Re “No Accounting for Taste,” November 27]: I admire the spunk of those who gather annually to celebrate bad pop songs, but I must take exception to the inclusion of Richard Harris’ “MacArthur Park.” Sloppy and sentimental as it is, it was recorded at a time when I needed a little sloppy sentimentalism to get by. And it was written by Jimmy Webb, one of my favorite composers. So there. Brian Harwood

SOUTH BURLINGTON

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[Re “Park or Ride,” November 27]: Listing in this article what the reporter obviously thinks are high menu prices at Pizzeria Ida is unfair to the pizza establishment. Courtney Lamdin does not cite prices for any of the menu items at other establishments mentioned in the article. Furthermore, this article is not a food review, and citing the cost of menu items at Pizzeria Ida has absolutely nothing to do with the content or theme of the article.

FOR THE PERFECT DRESS!

Dan Cohen

BURLINGTON

NEXT STOP: MONTRÉAL?

[Re “Runaway Train?” November 13]: Has anyone considered sending this train to Montréal after dropping its passengers in

CORRECTION

The final quote in last week’s cover story, “Worse for Care,” was misattributed. It was Alice Ruffner who recounted the conversation in which Marilyn Kelly said she was looking forward to meeting her great-granddaughter.

SAY SOMETHING! Seven Days wants to publish your rants and raves. Your feedback must... • be 250 words or fewer; • respond to Seven Days content; • include your full name, town and a daytime phone number. Seven Days reserves the right to edit for accuracy, length and readability. Your submission options include: • sevendaysvt.com/feedback • feedback@sevendaysvt.com • Seven Days, P.O. Box 1164, Burlington, VT 05402-1164

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SEVEN DAYS DECEMBER 4-11, 2019

11/21/19 12:08 PM

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Burlington does NEW YEAR’S CELEBRATION 2020

25 Saturday at 8 pm

this year, create memorable experiences

Stand Up, Sit Down...

FEBRUARY 1 Saturday 8 pm|doors 7 pm

Green Mountain Cabaret

8 Saturday at 10 am Lobby | Free Family Saturdays

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DECEMBER

8 Saturday at 8 pm

DBR & TURNmusic

6 Friday at 7 pm

A Christmas Carol

9 Sunday at 7 pm

MOMIX

6 Friday at 8 pm

Stand Up, Sit Down, & Laugh 7 Saturday at 10 am Lobby | Free Family Saturdays

Sabouyouma

Béla Fleck & the Flecktones 7 Saturday at 8 pm | doors 7 pm

Green Mountain Cabaret

21-22 Sat 4 & 6 pm & Sun 1 & 3 pm

Flynn Show Choir

23 Monday at 7:30 pm

Fiddler on the Roof 31 Tuesday at 7:30 pm

Burlington Does Broadway

21 Friday at 8 pm

Masters of Illusion

Stand Up, Sit Down...

Bryan Blanchette

14 Sat 8 pm|doors 7 pm

Green Mountain Cabaret 15 Sunday at 3 pm

Peking Acrobats

16 Thursday at 7:30 pm

William Shatner The Wrath of Khan

22 Wednesday at 7:30 pm

We Shall Overcome 23 Thursday at 7:30 pm

Gabriela Montero

17 Tuesday at 7 pm

19 Thursday at 7:30 pm Russian National Ballet

Sleeping Beauty

20-21 Fri 8 pm & Sat 3 & 8 pm

Broadway’s Next Hit Musical 23 Monday at 6 pm

The Snowy Day & Other Stories

SHOP IN DECEMBER & EARN

LCCMF: The Westerlies 15-16 Wed-Thurs at 6 pm

Wild Kratts Live 2.0 17 Friday at 8 pm

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Sara Juli: Burnt-Out Wife 23 Thursday at 6 pm

Peppa Pig Live! 24 Friday at 8 pm

Stand Up, Sit Down... 25 Saturday 8 pm|doors 7 pm

Green Mountain Cabaret 29 Wednesday at 7:30 pm

Improvised Shakespeare

8-9 Wednesday-Thursday

Dance Party with DJ

12 Sunday at 2 pm

3 Tuesday at 7:30 pm

Flip Fabrique: Blizzard

11 Saturday at 10 am Lobby | Free Family Saturdays

Young Traditions Vermont

Renée Fleming

Finding Neverland

DANFORM DOLLARS REWARDS

11 Saturday at 10 am Lobby | Free Family Saturdays

MARCH

JANUARY Waitress

Green Mountain Cabaret

20-22 Thurs-Sat at 7 pm Actors from the London Stage

29 Saturday at 8 pm

17 Tuesday at 7:30 pm

4 Saturday 8 pm|doors 7 pm

17-18 Fri-Sat at 8 pm

Alicia Olatuja

Malpaso Dance Co.

Daniel Bernard Roumain

SFJAZZ Collective

14 Friday at 6 & 8:30 pm

29 Saturday at 8 pm

13 Friday at 8 pm

3 Friday at 6 & 8:30 pm

Charles Lloyd & the Marvels with Lucinda Williams

The Tempest

7 Saturday at 8 pm

APRIL

30 Thursday at 6 & 8:30 pm

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Improvised Shakespeare 2 Saturday at 7:30 pm

VSO w/ DBR

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SEVEN DAYS DECEMBER 4-11, 2019

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contents

LOOKING FORWARD

fresh

DECEMBER 4-11, 2019 VOL.25 NO.11 38

Game wardens net alleged fish thief after all-night stakeouts at state hatchery

Feds Would Expand Use of Drugs Criticized in Vermont Eldercare Lawsuit

BY MOLLY WALSH

BY DEREK BROUWER

NEWS & POLITICS 12

Poached Salmon

Four Quarters Brewing Plans to Move Into Bigger Winooski Digs

Nothing to See Here

St. Albans leaders shrug at suggestion that police chief knew about assault earlier than he said BY COLIN FLANDERS

Tax-Free Shop for Military Members to Close December 13 BY KEVIN MCCALLUM

FEATURES 30

Vermont Poet Laureate Mary Ruefle Wants to Mail You a Letter

BY CHELSEA EDGAR

COLUMNS + REVIEWS

Guarded Secrets

26 43 69 73 78 84 93

Crime: Claims of sexual misconduct, drug use and retaliation plague Vermont’s sole women’s prison

Bumper Crop BY PAMELA POLSTON

Lit Mag Mount Island Launches New Prize for Rural Poets of Color

The Hat’s Rebuke

Essay: A profligate holiday shopper’s Christmas Carol BY CHELSEA EDGAR

BY PAMELA POLSTON

11 21 42 50 64 68 78 84 88 92 C1

Rich Traditions

Food: Baking experts teach Christmas breads at a Fairfax workshop BY MELISSA PASANEN

Organizing Chaos

Food: Grilling the Chef: Joey Buttendorf brings new energy to Community Kitchen Academy

BY DEREK BROUWER

BY JORDAN BARRY

available while supplies last

SECTIONS

Business: A new Steinway piano showroom opens in North Ferrisburgh

Worse for Care: Low pay, tough work and turnover bedevil Vermont’s eldercare workforce

DEC 4 - DEC 17

WTF Side Dishes FOOD Soundbites MUSIC Album Reviews Art Review Movie Reviews Ask the Reverend ADVICE

Playing by Ear

BY MARGARET GRAYSON

Little Help

BY PAUL HEINTZ

ARTS NEWS

BY MOLLY WALSH

The Magnificent 7 Life Lines Food + Drink Calendar Classes Music + Nightlife Art Movies Fun Stuff Personals Classifieds + Puzzles

First Pick

reg. $2.19 ea

5.99

Music: Banjo virtuoso Béla Fleck reflects on 30 years with the Flecktones

ea VERMONT SALUMI

BY JORDAN ADAMS

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Organic Navel Oranges

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THAT’S FISHY Salmon poacher busted PAGE 12

WORSE FOR CARE Staffing woes at senior homes PAGE 16

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the

MAGNIFICENT

FRIDAY 6-SUNDAY 8

Globe-Trotting Longing for faraway destinations? Travel no farther than the Champlain Valley Exposition in Essex Junction for sights, sounds and flavors from around the world. The 27th annual Vermont International Festival celebrates global cultures with three days of diverse musical, culinary, shopping and entertainment offerings. Latin American music by Vermont band Sabor 2.0 propels Saturday’s after-hours Winter Party.

MUST SEE, MUST DO THIS WEEK

SEE CALENDAR LISTING ON PAGE 55

COMPI L E D BY K RI ST E N RAVIN

THURSDAY 5

Let There Be Light

THURSDAY 5

LEADING MAN Fans who didn’t get enough of Andrew Scott as the Priest in the BBC program “Fleabag” can see the Irish actor in National Theatre Live’s Present Laughter. Performed at London’s Old Vic and broadcast to screens around the world — including in South Burlington and St. Johnsbury — Nöel Coward’s comedy follows fictional actor Garry Essendine, played by Scott, through a dizzying identity crisis. SEE CALENDAR LISTING ON PAGE 54

A homegrown balsam from Calais will serve as the state’s official holiday tree. Locals join Gov. Phil Scott for the Tree Lighting Ceremony in front of the Vermont Statehouse in Montpelier, where choral music sets a festive mood. The seasonal celebration continues with cookies and hot cider at the Vermont History Museum. SEE CALENDAR LISTING ON PAGE 54

THURSDAY 5

Swing Time In 2018, gypsy-jazz and swing band Squirrel Nut Zippers released Beasts of Burgundy, their first album in 18 years. Front person Jimbo Mathus leads a fresh lineup at the Strand Center Theatre in Plattsburgh, N.Y., where the band plays selections from its 1998 album Christmas Caravan, as well as original tunes new and old. SEE CALENDAR LISTING ON PAGE 54

SATURDAY 7

String Theory Banjo legend Béla Fleck first assembled his group the Flecktones for a 1988 performance on the PBS program “The Lonesome Pine Specials.” More than 30 years later, the original lineup reconvenes for an anniversary tour. Jordan Adams chats with Fleck ahead of the progressive bluegrass and jazz band’s concert on Burlington’s Flynn MainStage. SEE INTERVIEW ON PAGE 68

SUNDAY 8

From the Heart Earlier this year, Seven Days launched All Our Hearts, an online memorial project documenting the lives of individuals who have died of opioid-use disorder. Speaking at the All Our Hearts Reception, project participants reveal how sharing their stories has affected their lives. Members of the public gather at Burlington’s Generator to listen and learn about efforts to reduce stigma. SEE CALENDAR LISTING ON PAGE 59

FRIDAY 6

Now On View “Art transforms by connecting to our past and inspiring us to discover and create,” reads the T.W. Wood Gallery’s website. The Montpelier art center brings history into the present by revealing a restored 1900 painting by Hudson River School artist Worthington Whittredge. Patrons of the arts attend the unveiling, where the work is shown for the first time in decades. SEE SPOTLIGHT ON PAGE 80

SEVEN DAYS DECEMBER 4-11, 2019

news

MORE INSIDE

CAMP JOHNSON STORE TO CLOSE PAGE 14

DEVELOPMENT

WORSE FOR CARE, PART TWO PAGE 16

FEDS WANT TO LOOSEN NURSING HOME REGS PAGE 18

Four Quarters Brewing Plans to Move Into Bigger Winooski Digs B Y M OLLY WA LSH

Game wardens Dana Joyal, Carl Wedin and Robert Currier

Poached Salmon

Game wardens net alleged fish thief after all-night stakeouts at state hatchery S T O RY & PHO TO S B Y MOLLY WAL SH

ive law enforcement agents surrounded a split-level ranch in Winooski at 1:19 p.m. on November 8. Protected by bulletproof vests and Glock semiautomatic pistols, they pounded on the front door of the Cedar Street home. No one answered, but the officers had a warrant, so they entered an unlocked back door and roused their surprised suspect, 42-year-old Justin Cianchetta, from a nap. Minutes later, they found the contraband they were looking for: five containers of salmon filets in the freezer and another two in the refrigerator, according to court papers. The bust was for poaching — but not the kind done in a skillet. The officers, all game wardens, cited Cianchetta for taking fish illegally from a no-fishing section of Hatchery Brook in Grand Isle, 12

SEVEN DAYS DECEMBER 4-11, 2019

where salmon from Lake Champlain migrate every fall to spawn. Cianchetta admitted to poaching the prized Salmo salar, and he isn’t the first angler to succumb to temptation at the spot, said Lt. Carl Wedin, the game warden who supervised the investigation and expanded on details available in court documents during an interview with Seven Days. While anglers can legally fish for salmon 1,100 feet away in Lake Champlain, Cianchetta allegedly netted them from a protected pool not far from where they were raised at the Ed Weed Fish Culture Station. The big, leaping fish can literally be scooped up by the handful — and some people can’t resist doing just that.

“They are trophy-size fish, anywhere from five to eight pounds probably. Not only is it fun to catch big fish, it’s more meat to eat,” Wedin explained during an interview last week. Cianchetta could not be reached for comment, and no one answered the door at his home l a s t F r i d a y. He ’s been cited to appear on December 19 at Vermont Superior Court in North Hero on two counts of taking fish illegally. If convicted, Cianchetta faces up to $466 in fines, $100 in restitution, and potential revocation of his license to hunt, fish and trap in Vermont for one year. The last of those punishments, for an

LAW ENFORCEMENT

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Four Quarters Brewing, a growing craft beer company that started up in 2014, plans to relocate and open a taproom with capacity for up to 200 people in a former bank building at 70 Main Street in Winooski. Four Quarters is preparing to boost production from the current 1,000 barrels a year to 10 times that over the next five years. The increased output required a move from its current, smaller quarters a few blocks away. “Our distributors want a lot more beer from us,” explained Brian Eckert, founder and co-owner of Four Quarters. The taproom will serve grilled-cheese sandwiches and pizza and periodically host live music. A garage-style door will be constructed on one wall that opens onto the former KeyBank drive-through area in the summer. It will have “a big patio and a deck and lots of seating out there and a couple fire pits and Adirondack chairs,” Eckert said. A small grain elevator will be constructed next to the building. Many of Four Quarters’ customers are beer tourists, and the new brew operation will help bring still more of them to the city, Eckert predicted. “We’re hoping we can kind of help Winooski by putting it on the map as a destination place,” he said. Barring an appeal of his zoning permit, Eckert said, he hopes to start the renovation later this month. It will take about six months. The brewery was founded on West Canal Street. It’s outgrown the space and can offer only limited taproom hours. The company will keep that property for storage or other purposes for now, Eckert said. Four Quarters previewed 70 Main Street by operating a temporary beer garden in the bank drive-through area over the summer. Eckert said he first considered a move to the corner in 2016. At the time, Burlington development company Redstone was proposing to construct a mixed-use building and performing arts venue there called the Strand. Four Quarters considered leasing one of the spaces in that project, Eckert said, but the venue never materialized. Eckert continued to talk with Redstone, and the current plan gradually fell into place. Redstone owns the property and is leasing it to Four Quarters. Vermont has a growing number of breweries, but there’s room for more, Eckert opined. “This beer tourism is for real, and people like to go to a lot of the breweries, not just one,” he said. “There’s room. Quality ... prevails.” Contact: molly@sevendaysvt.com

Nothing to See Here

St. Albans leaders shrug at suggestion that police chief knew about assault earlier than he said COLIN FLANDERS

BY COL IN F L ANDERS

Jason Lawton (right) with his attorney, Rebecca Otey

LAW ENFORCEMENT

aced with contradictory narratives about when their police chief learned that one of his officers had punched a handcuffed woman in the face in March, St. Albans city leaders say they have no plans to figure out who’s telling the truth. Chief Gary Taylor has maintained that he didn’t know sergeant Jason Lawton had slugged Highgate resident Amy Connelly until the American Civil Liberties Union of Vermont requested footage of the incident in late May. Taylor said he then opened an internal investigation and referred the case to the Vermont State Police two months later. Lawton was arraigned on a charge of simple assault last month. That prompted the release of a criminal affidavit showing that corporal Paul Morits, who recently retired, told state police investigators in August that he alerted Taylor to the footage the day after the incident. City officials have responded to the discrepancy with a collective shrug of their shoulders. “It’s very hard for me to justify what would be a very embarrassing thing for the city and the city council over this one person coming forward,” Michael McCarthy, a city councilor and state representative, said of opening an investigation. Councilor Jim Pelkey, a former lawyer who now manages the Franklin County

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Civil Court, suggested that Connelly herself could find out — by suing. Other officials deferred to city manager Dominic Cloud, saying the council should not get involved with personnel matters, even under exceptional circumstances. “Where do you draw the line?” asked Mayor Tim Smith. “If you think this is an exception, what does the next person think? How many of these conversations will we get into on a weekly basis?” If the buck stops with Cloud, an investigation is unlikely, because the manager has been attacking Morits’ credibility. “Paul [Morits] in the department was a shit-stirrer,” said Cloud, launching the first volley in what has become a smear campaign. In several recent phone interviews, Cloud described the 16-year cop as an Eeyore — Winnie-the-Pooh’s gloomy donkey friend — who “fails to inspire the confidence of others” and has “never been happy with anything.” Cloud also accused his former employee of previously “cry[ing] wolf,” though he couldn’t provide any specific examples. He questioned why Morits didn’t raise a red flag sooner, saying that if anyone deserves to be investigated, it’s Morits. “He had all kinds of access to me, the mayor and the city council,” Cloud said. NOTHING TO SEE HERE

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MILITARY

Tax-Free Shop for Military Members to Close December 13 BY K E VI N MC C A L L UM KEVIN MCCALLUM

Sgt. Karl King shopping Tuesday

The base exchange at Camp Johnson isn’t the most convenient place for Bill Keogh to shop for booze. The retired army guardsman and former Burlington city councilor has to drive from his South End home up Interstate 89 to Colchester, pass through base security, and then navigate his way to a nondescript structure at the end of Veterans Road. It’s a little out of the way, but old habits die hard. “I save myself $10 on a bottle of bourbon. It probably costs me $3 in gas,” quipped the 89-year-old Keogh as he trekked to the little trading post for what may be the last time. The exchange at Camp Johnson is closing for good on December 13, the likely victim of dwindling sales and increased competition from online and local retailers. “I’m sad to see it go, truthfully. I wish they could have kept it going,” said Sgt. Karl King, a logistics specialist with the Vermont Army National Guard, as he perused the whiskey-heavy alcohol aisle. King lives in Randolph but stays on base during the week, so he regularly frequents the exchange — which is about the size of a double-wide trailer — for snacks, toiletries or alcohol. “It’s convenient for people who don’t want the hassle of going off-base,” King said. Only active or retired military personnel can shop at the exchange, and the goods are sold tax-free. King wasn’t willing to say prices at the store were always rock bottom. Keogh, however, is convinced he’s getting a great deal on his booze. His go-to brand is Military Special Kentucky straight bourbon whiskey, a liter of which he picked up Tuesday for $13.99. “That’s $10 cheaper than the Jim Beam!” he declared.

SEVEN DAYS DECEMBER 4-11, 2019

Over the years, Keogh said, he’s bought all kinds of things at the exchange, including a lawn mower and a television. On Tuesday, he also picked up a couple boxes of antacid and a phone carrying case. The prices are not only good, but exchanges give back to the bases they serve, another reason Keogh said he has continued to shop there long after leaving active service. The exchange is run by the Texas-based Army & Air Force Exchange Service, which operates 4,000 stores on military bases in 34 nations around the globe. “We are sad to see the exchange close on Camp Johnson. It was a great resource to have nearby to purchase military gear, clothing or a quick snack,” Vermont Army National Guard spokesperson Nathan Rivard said in a statement. Rivard referred questions about the closure decision to the exchange service, which did $8.7 billion in sales during 2018. Representatives did not respond to questions about the decision. Rivard said profits from the operation — $1,335 in 2018 — have long funded family and holiday events for local members of the guard. But King noted that, unlike larger bases or those in more remote areas, the Camp Johnson exchange has plenty of competition. There’s a Cumberland Farms near the main base entrance, a Costco to the west and a Big Lots down the street, he noted. Keogh said he can imagine that the exchange faces tough times, especially with so many online shopping options. Even the exchange service itself has an online presence. Nevertheless, Keogh said, the closure is a shame. “It’s a benefit to people, whether it makes a profit or not,” he said. m Contact: kevin@sevendaysvt.com

avid angler, may be the harshest of all. On his Facebook page, where he describes himself as a former pastry chef at Junior’s restaurant, Cianchetta can be seen posing proudly with an array of large fish. Game wardens sleuthed the very same Facebook page for clues that helped them snare Cianchetta, according to filings they made to successfully secure a search warrant from Judge Howard E. VanBenthuysen. This particular fish tale began in October, when scores of lake salmon started converging on the brook near the Grand Isle hatchery, which is operated by the Vermont Fish & Wildlife Department. “You come here in October, and you would see fish everywhere,” hatchery manager Kevin Kelsey said during an interview at the site, noting the observation deck that accommodates onlookers who come to watch the annual migration, which usually lasts through early November. But his workers soon started noticing spear and hook marks on the arriving fish. Those are indications — which they see almost every year — that poachers are literally wading into the pool where the silvery, black-speckled salmon gather, according to Kelsey. Fishing is illegal along the brook that flows from the fish culture station under West Shore Road and into Lake Champlain just north of the Grand Isle ferry dock. Three large signs warn that the spawning waters are “CLOSED TO FISHING.” Salmon have keen homing instincts, which drive them to lay their eggs in the same waterways where their own lives began. The ones from Ed Weed may travel hundreds of miles through rivers and the lake to find their way back to Hatchery Brook to lay their eggs, according to Kelsey. “They are an incredible animal,” he said. Kelsey pointed to a fish trap in the brook. During the migration, salmon swim into them. The fish are then loaded into a tank on a truck for the short drive to the hatchery across the road, where workers sedate the pregnant female fish and gently squeeze the eggs from their vents. They put the eggs in trays of purified water and then add milt, or sperm, that has been stripped from the male salmon. After 18 months, when the fertilized eggs have grown into adolescent smolts, they are released into Hatchery Brook and other local waterways. Last year, the hatchery raised about 145,000 landlocked Atlantic salmon as part of a restoration effort that dates back to 1972. At that time, the local fish had all but disappeared as a result of overfishing and degraded river conditions. Today the salmon population is considered healthy,

and fishing the species is allowed yearround, including in competitions. The largest salmon caught in Vermont, which measured 12 pounds, 10.4 ounces, came from Lake Champlain in 1994, according to the state Fish & Wildlife Department. Poaching near the hatchery during the salmon migration undermines the restoration effort and the sport-fishing it supports on the lake. But even anglers who understand and support the hatchery’s mission sometimes break the rules, Kelsey observed. “Big fish in a concentrated area does funny things to people,” he said. “It brings out some pretty bad behavior.” The migration coincides with bow hunting season for deer, when game wardens are usually too busy for illegal fishing investigations, Wedin said. This year, however, things were relatively slow for the wardens. So when staff at the hatchery called to report the poaching, Wedin decided to organize a crackdown. He assigned a half-dozen wardens to do overnight surveillance at Hatchery Brook. They staked out the waterway for six nights, two officers per shift, at hidden positions they declined to share with a reporter. They also reviewed photos from hidden cameras placed at the site by staff at the hatchery. Shortly after 5 a.m. on November 5, game wardens Jeremy Schmid and Josh Hungerford were on stakeout duty. They observed a man sitting in a 2000 Dodge

Neon at the parking lot near Hatchery Brook, according to court papers. The man got out of the car, put on fishing waders and proceeded to fish in Lake Champlain, near the mouth of the brook. He had a video camera, possibly a GoPro, strapped to his chest, Schmid wrote in a search warrant affidavit. Although the man was fishing in a legal spot, the two wardens ran the license plate on the Dodge Neon KE VIN KELS E Y before departing. It was registered to Cianchetta. The next day, November 6, Schmid spoke with Ben Rooks, fish culture engineer and deputy game warden, who advised that the hidden camera had captured several pictures of a person illegally taking fish from Hatchery Brook. These included a photo taken between 7:27 and 7:47 a.m. the previous morning — shortly after the other wardens had left Kevin Kelsey at Hatchery Brook the scene.

BIG FISH IN A CONCENTRATED AREA

DOES FUNNY THINGS TO PEOPLE.

According to the affidavit, Rooks also had pictures of a man wearing similar waders taking fish illegally from the brook around 3:10 a.m. on October 23. Schmid then searched Cianchetta’s Facebook page and found a November 5 post showing a photo of him with a fish in the early morning hours, wearing a video camera and waders similar to the ones in the hidden-camera photos. Based on these facts, Schmid wrote, there was “probable cause to believe that Cianchetta was taking fish in closed Hatchery Brook” and probable cause for a search warrant. Judge VanBenthuysen granted the warrant on November 8, and that same day five game wardens, including Wedin and Schmid, descended on Cianchetta’s Cedar Street residence. According to Wedin, Cianchetta was “more cooperative than a lot of the people we deal with.” He admitted to poaching the fish in the brook because “they weren’t biting in the lake,” Wedin said. Cianchetta has not been arraigned, and he has not entered a plea. Grand Isle County State’s Attorney Douglas DiSabito justified the sting.

“The legislature deems this activity illegal,” he said. “The statutes, we take them all seriously. Whether it’s poaching a fish or driving under the influence or shooting big game out of season, we take it very seriously.” There has been at least one other poaching case in recent years at Hatchery Brook, he noted. In 2015, former Grand Isle Selectboard member Ron Bushway was charged with taking fish illegally from the brook and giving false reports to law enforcement. Bushway was convicted on the charges and ordered to pay more than $2,000 in fines. It’s unclear what will happen in the Cianchetta case. But the fish won’t be served up anytime soon. The salmon that the game wardens confiscated is being stored in an evidence freezer at the Vermont State Police barracks in Williston. Does that constitute a happy ending? “Depends who you ask,” Wedin said. “Probably the defendant wouldn’t say that.” Fishing is supposed to be a sport, he added: “If you do it by the rules, it remains a sport … Where you cheat, then it’s not.” m Contact: molly@sevendaysvt.com

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SEVEN DAYS DECEMBER 4-11, 2019

12/2/19 11:53 AM

news

LITTLE HELP

ike many Vermont eldercare homes, EastView at Middlebury was struggling to keep enough ’round-theclock staff in early 2015. The nonprofit’s 34 elderly residents were falling down more often as a result, a confidential complainant alleged February 3 of that year to Vermont’s Department of Disabilities, Aging and Independent Living. The home was interviewing caregiver candidates almost daily and leaning on temp agencies to cover gaps, state records show. Jessica Badger, a 30-year-old caregiver, was working there at the time. She had pleaded guilty January 26 to forging a check and received a deferred sentence. Badger continued to care for seniors at EastView after that, despite a state rule that bars eldercare facilities from employing anyone convicted of theft-related crimes. By July, the son of a 91-year-old EastView resident had spotted dozens of fraudulent charges on his mother’s credit card, court records show. Authorities confronted Badger that August at the Williston Walmart, where she’d been using the card to buy pet food and T-shirts. She was arrested and charged with exploiting a vulnerable adult, a felony. Regardless, Badger was able to land new positions at other eldercare homes. She would go on to steal thousands of dollars from another elderly charge. Caregiving is a people business, and the quality of care seniors receive, whether at home, in residential settings or at nursing facilities, depends on the people providing it. Personal care aides must be trained and attentive. Nurses and nursing assistants

About This Series

To report and write the Worse for Care series, Seven Days and Vermont Public Radio joined forces to analyze five and a half years’ worth of state inspection reports and complaints involving Vermont’s 133 residential care and assisted living facilities. Seven Days data editor Andrea Suozzo created the Vermont Eldercare Navigator, a searchable online database that details what state inspectors found at these homes. It’s available at sevendaysvt.com.

SEVEN DAYS DECEMBER 4-11, 2019

Low pay, tough work and turnover bedevil Vermont’s eldercare workforce S T ORI E S BY D E RE K BROU W E R

must be knowledgeable. Managers must be diligent. But low pay, difficult working conditions and a state workforce shortage have combined to make it tough for eldercare homes across Vermont to employ enough qualified people. As a result, residents are put at greater risk of accidents, injury and exploitation. A Seven Days and Vermont Public Radio investigation found dozens of instances in which residents at state-regulated homes have been harmed or mistreated by staff who were poorly trained, overwhelmed or made terrible decisions.

THE WORKFORCE SHORTAGE WE ARE FACING ACROSS LONG-TERM CARE IN VERMONT

IS RAPIDLY APPROACHING CRISIS LEVELS. RU B Y B AK E R

Particularly ill-suited staffers have diverted drugs, stolen residents’ money and assaulted them. One caregiver, working alone at the tiny Waterford Group Home, beat a cognitively impaired resident with a hairbrush hard enough that bristle-shaped marks were visible on the resident’s body the following day, according to a 2016 state inspection report. Waterford fired the caregiver and reported the incident to state officials. Another, at Brookwood Residential Care Home in North Springfield, was found to have thrown briefs at an incontinent resident and yelled for a second resident to “get the fuck up!” after a fall. The “bad apple” was fired and reported to the state, owner Jen Silva said. Facilities are required to screen prospective employees through background and elder-abuse registry checks. But 43 homes have been caught without them, including the nonprofit Lincoln House in Barre, which was cited in 2014, 2016 and 2018. The home’s executive administrator, Brenda Scalabrini, told Seven Days that

she hadn’t run the checks “in a timely manner” when the 27-bed home faced urgent staffing shortages — which occurs when even one employee leaves. Scalabrini said she’s worked 12-hour days for 12 days straight just to keep the kitchen going. “It’s hard to get good help,” she said. “I think long and hard before I fire someone, and I think long and hard before I hire someone.” Caregivers are in high demand as more Vermonters reach old age; the state’s population is on pace to become one of the very oldest in the country. There aren’t nearly enough people who want to care for the elderly. Vermont is forecast to add 220 personal care aide positions annually through 2026, according to state Department of Labor estimates; the occupation will surpass cashier as the most common job. Residential care settings and nursing homes will need to add 300 registered nurses over the next decade, according to estimates in a 2017 state-commissioned report on health care workforce demands. “The workforce shortage we are facing across long-term care in Vermont is rapidly approaching crisis levels,” said Ruby Baker, executive director of the advocacy group Community of Vermont Elders. Nurses must oversee the care at most licensed residential settings, but much of the direct service falls to assistants or unlicensed aides. A supervising nurse isn’t necessarily always on-site. These caregiving jobs are demanding, with long hours and low pay: Personal care aides earn average hourly wages of just over $13, according to state labor data. A recent survey of 45 long-term care homes by the industry’s trade organization, the Vermont Health Care Association, revealed extremely high employee turnover. More than half of unlicensed caregivers leave their jobs each year. “They are not paid a livable wage,” former DAIL commissioner Susan Wehry said, noting that caregiving jobs often fall to women and people of color who must work second or third jobs to get by. “Nobody can work three jobs and not be stressed, irritable, frustrated with people under their care who are difficult,” she said.

Looking for info about a specific home?

Find the Vermont Eldercare Navigator at eldercare.sevendaysvt.com.

Got a story to share?

Tell us what’s happening at your eldercare home at eldercare@ sevendaysvt.com.

Have a complaint about an eldercare home? Alert state regulators at ahs.dailscintake@vermont.gov.

Want to report elder abuse?

In an emergency, call 911. You can also reach Adult Protective Services at aps@ vermont.gov or by calling 1-800-5641612 or by visiting dail.vermont.gov.

Audio stories are available at vpr.org. Nor do caregivers always receive the training that eldercare homes are required to provide. More than half of the 133 facilities have been cited since 2014 because their employees didn’t complete statemandated training, the news organizations’ analysis found. Many of those have been cited multiple times. More than 20 have been caught operating with dangerously few caregivers on duty. Pillsbury Manor South, in South Burlington, once relied on a new caregiver who hadn’t finished orientation to conduct nighttime safety checks for an entire wing of the 64-resident building, state inspectors found. A routine 11 p.m. safety check for a 95-year-old resident wasn’t done. At 1:50 a.m., the staffer discovered that the woman had gotten her head wedged between her mattress and a bed railing, state inspectors learned. The medical examiner determined that the woman had suffocated to death. The 2016 incident, which occurred before Pillsbury was sold to a Texas private equity fund, led to a $230,000 wrongful death settlement with the woman’s family, according to court records.

PAYING UP

Vermont’s aging labor pool and the cost of getting professional licenses contribute to the workforce shortage, according to a draft report by a legislature-commissioned task force on health care services. A lobbyist for the Vermont Health Care Association, which represents eldercare facilities, led the subcommittee that drafted the report. Eldercare homes that participate

JAMES BUCK

Malinga Mukunda

A New American Finds Purpose, and ‘Family,’ in Caregiving After 12 years in caregiving, Malinga Mukunda still works long days. The Burlington resident starts most mornings at Community Health Centers, where she acts as a health coach for refugees, before switching into scrubs for her full-time job in the memory care unit at the Converse Home, an assisted living facility in Burlington. Her shift ends at 11 p.m. In addition to her work as a licensed nursing assistant, Mukunda, 40, is taking a class at the Community College of Vermont and raising four children, ages 6 to 16, with her husband. Her grueling schedule is common among workers in the low-paying eldercare industry. Unlike so many of them, however, Mukunda hasn’t burned out. That’s because, for her, caregiving is filled with purpose: a way to give back, a chance to pursue a dream deferred and an opportunity to form relationships with the seniors under her watch. Mukunda grew up in Bukavu, a city on the M AL IN GA eastern edge of what was then Zaire, now the Democratic Republic of Congo. The area became the front line when regional conflicts in central Africa erupted into protracted, brutal war in 1996. A teenager at the time, Mukunda said she came home from buying school supplies to find her family missing. She fled to Tanzania and lived there for several years until her boyfriend, now her husband, managed to track her down. With their young daughter, they arrived in Vermont as refugees in 2005. Mukunda began taking English classes, gave birth to a son, and went to counselors to process the trauma of losing her father, brother and other family members to war. She also resolved to pursue a childhood goal. “Back home, when I was young, I used to tell my dad, ‘I want to be a nurse.’ That was my dream,” she said. The eldercare industry offered an entry point. Mukunda read a newspaper ad for a Burlington nursing home that said it would help new hires obtain nursing assistant licenses. She recalled wearing clothes with African patterns to her interview and said she got the job after demonstrating to the interviewer that she could speak and read English. In fact, Mukunda is fluent in four languages. New Americans have helped fill the demand for caregivers in Vermont’s eldercare homes. The field provides newcomers to the

Vermont job market with reliable access to continued employment at a “decent” wage, said Jacob Bogre, executive director of the Association of Africans Living in Vermont, a social services agency for immigrants. AALV-VT has trained 137 people to become caregivers since 2011 through a state-funded workforce development program, he said. The nursing home environment was foreign to Mukunda, but caregiving wasn’t. “In Africa, we take care of our elders at home,” she said. Mukunda said she experienced the struggles of short staffing, watching over as many as 14 nursing home residents by herself and working double shifts when other caregivers called in sick. The quality of care at the facility suffered as a result. “You have to take care of [the] staff, too,” she said. After taking a few months off in 2009 to give birth to her third child, Mukunda got a job in the state-regulated residential care industry. The Converse Home, a nonprofit facility, assigned her to its 16-bed memory care unit for seniors with dementia. She started at $11 or $12 an hour. Mukunda preferred the smaller setting and found that she was well suited to the challenges of caring for people with dementia. In addition to grooming and administering medication, Mukunda began finding ways to connect with her charges. She read the Bible in French to a Québécois resident. She helped others pick M UKUN DA out attractive outfits in their closets, which could in turn provide the self-esteem boost they needed to participate in shared dining and activities. To work in an eldercare home, “you have to have a big heart,” she said. Mukunda also thinks of it as a way of “giving back” for the support she received as a refugee. She’s stayed at the Converse Home for a decade, turning down offers to move elsewhere. During the first nine years, her hourly wage increased to about $16, though a recent raise bumped it to $19, she said. She’s taking classes on the side so she can become a licensed practical nurse. The residents are why she’s stuck around, Mukunda said. She has cared for many during their final months of life, an often painful but intimate experience. She recalled one resident who told Mukunda she knew her death was imminent. At home the following weekend, Mukunda said, she worried that the resident would die without her by her side. She didn’t, and Mukunda was able to hold the woman’s hand and feed her one final time — watermelon, the woman’s favorite food — on the day she died. “I have lost so many people in my family,” Mukunda said. “I always feel like Converse Home is a family for me now.” m

Back home, when I was young, I used to tell my dad, “I want to be a nurse.” That was my dream.

in state Medicaid programs can be constrained financially by the daily rates the state pays for care. The base rate of $42.25 per resident doesn’t cover the actual cost of care. The rate “is still not enough to maintain the kind of staffing that they need to and want to,” DAIL Commissioner Monica Hutt said. Bradford Oasis, an 11-bed residential care home, was financially foundering when Teresa Hemingway agreed to take over management in 2018 from her aunt, who owns the facility, Hemingway said. Inspectors had visited a dozen times in the previous three years, citing more than 60 problems and issuing a rare fine. Hemingway said Bradford Oasis’ struggles were rooted in its finances, which were tied to Medicaid reimbursements. She cut employees’ hourly wages from $15 to $13 and said she paid herself the state minimum wage in order to balance the books. “It’s been rough to get us to this point here,” she said, adding that she’s written to state officials about the home’s predicament. “They wonder why little homes like this are closing. It’s because we don’t have the funding.” In addition to cutting wages, Hemingway said, she’s begun taking on residents with higher needs. Seniors eligible for nursing homes can instead opt to live in a residential care home through the state’s Choices for Care program. Bradford Oasis gets an extra $55 to $70 per day for each participating resident. The home must provide them with additional services, but Hemingway said it pencils out more favorably. At the other end of the industry spectrum, Massachusetts-based LCB Senior Living uses a variety of incentives to attract and keep caregivers at its three privatepay homes in Chittenden and Addison counties, spokesperson Ted Doyle said. Its facilities, the Residences at Shelburne Bay, Quarry Hill and Otter Creek, together house more than 300 seniors at rents that can approach $10,000 per month. The company offers $2,000 sign-on bonuses to unlicensed caregivers and an educational assistance program for those who want to pursue professional licensure. “One of the advantages we can offer is the opportunity for a career,” Doyle said. Turnover is still high, he said, but the company can call substitute workers from one of its other homes to fill in. He declined to disclose starting wages for caregivers.

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Until 2015, Vermont eldercare facilities had to request a waiver from DAIL to employ anyone with a criminal record. Since then, regulators have let managers make those calls, licensing chief Pam Cota said. That may be one reason why Badger, the EastView at Middlebury caregiver, was able to get another caregiving job after she was charged with stealing from an EastView resident. (Asked about Badger, EastView wrote in an email that it “acted immediately, followed regulatory protocol, notified appropriate agencies, and followed legal requirements of the State of Vermont.”) State records indicate that Badger began working at Living Well Residence, the Bristol location of the nonprofit Living Well Group, in August 2015, just weeks after her arrest for the stolen credit card. It’s not clear when the nonprofit learned of her criminal charges, including her May 2016 conviction in the EastView case, but at some point it did, according to inspection reports. Regardless, Badger transferred to Living Well’s Burlington facility, Ethan Allen Residence, in January 2017. The following

Feds Would Expand Use of Drugs Criticized in Vermont Eldercare Lawsuit The administration of President Donald Trump is seeking to curtail nursing home regulations, including those that limit the use of antipsychotic drugs in dementia patients. NPR reported Saturday that the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, which regulates nursing homes, is proposing a slate of rules that would save operators a collective $600 million annually. The proposal is the latest way the Trump administration is working to loosen strict federal oversight of the industry. CMS has already reduced the fines paid by homes that violate rules. The practice of using certain antipsychotic drugs to medicate elders with dementia has been widely criticized because it can hasten cognitive decline. Last week, Seven Days and Vermont Public Radio reported allegations by Vermont women that their late mother, Marilyn Kelly, had been quietly drugged with daily doses of Haldol, a powerful and sedating medication, in a residential care home in Marilyn Kelly Rutland. Marilyn’s daughter, June, said she was initially unaware that Our House Too was giving her mother Haldol. Family members who arrived to visit found her in a stupor, they said. “There was no discussion about putting Mom on Haldol,” June alleged. “There was no discussion about the implications of what Haldol would do to our loved one.” A co-owner of the home declined to comment. In court filings in a suit related to Marilyn’s treatment, the home has denied that it administered the medication inappropriately. Residential care homes such as Our House Too and assisted living facilities are regulated by states, and the Trump proposal would not immediately affect the 133 such facilities in Vermont. But it could change practices at 40 nursing homes in the state. Eldercare advocates have criticized the proposal. It would extend the amount of time for which doctors could prescribe antipsychotic drugs to nursing home residents between examinations, NPR reported.

Be a

summer, a resident reported $7,200 missing from her purse. The home’s manager told police she suspected Badger because the caregiver had recently posted pictures online from a trip to Jay Peak with her family. Badger was making just $12 an hour, according to a police affidavit. Badger admitted to buying an $800 weekend trip with her kids but said she’d used the rest of the stolen money to pay overdue bills, police said. She was convicted last year. In a statement, current Living Well Group administrator Mark Tapper declined to comment on Badger’s case, which predated his management. He wrote that the organization today has “robust” systems to vet all employees, including yearly background checks. State inspectors returned to Ethan Allen Residence this past July. They cited the home for having too few caregivers on the night shift; those who were on duty weren’t logging resident checks. The facility’s response? It was interviewing for additional help. Contact: derek@sevendaysvt.com Emily Corwin of Vermont Public Radio contributed reporting, and Andrea Suozzo contributed data reporting.

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“To drop this bomb on your way out the door — frankly, it’s a cowardly action that isn’t credible.” “[He’s] the one who said he knew and didn’t do anything,” Cloud added, disregarding that Morits says he did let Taylor know. Morits has dealt with heat from the bosses before: The former corporal previously served as the union representative for St. Albans’ officers and said he remained involved in labor matters even after leaving the post. The role often pitted him against the bosses, he said, especially Taylor. “If I see something wrong, I’m going to bring it to someone’s attention. [The chief ] didn’t like that,” Morits said. After retiring on November 15, Morits joined the Franklin County Sheriff ’s Office as a deputy. But while he was still on the St. Albans force, Morits said in a sworn statement that he saw several officers watching video of the altercation when he arrived for his shift the morning after it happened. He said he told the chief later that day that he should watch the video. Taylor denied that conversation ever took place. Morits said he’s been taken aback by city officials’ reaction to what he told the state police investigators who probed the allegations against Lawton. “I’m pretty upset about the way they’re treating me,” he said. “I just tried to do the right thing.” The response from city leaders has come as no surprise to resident Elaine Robtoy, who witnessed the council’s deference to Taylor during an August meeting. Robtoy showed up fully prepared to grill the top cop about the Lawton case. But Mayor Smith cut her off after several questions and told her the venue wasn’t appropriate for an “interrogation.” The experience left her with little faith that her elected officials want to know the truth. “They just want everything to go away,” she told Seven Days. The local prosecutor isn’t interested, either. Franklin County State’s Attorney Jim Hughes said he would be worried “if there were any real suspicions” that Taylor lied. But while it would be “nice to know” exactly when the chief found out about the Connelly incident, Hughes said he doesn’t believe the timing is that “consequential” — nor does he see how an investigation would turn up anything new. After all, he said, it’s not like someone hasn’t already looked into it.

TIMELINE OF EVENTS MARCH 14: Amy Connelly is arrested

after a drunken dispute at a St. Albans bar. Later that evening, sergeant Jason Lawton punches her in the face inside a holding cell at the city’s police station. MAY 23: The American Civil Liberties Union of Vermont requests department footage of the altercation. AUGUST 5: Seven Days breaks the story

and publishes the footage. St. Albans Police Chief Gary Taylor tells the paper he was unaware of the punch until the ACLU’s request and says he opened an internal investigation in early June, firing Lawton a month later. NOVEMBER 14: Lawton is arrested by

the Vermont State Police and cited for simple assault. NOVEMBER 18: A police affidavit becomes public, showing that corporal Paul Morits told investigators he alerted the chief about the incident the day after it happened.

Who, exactly, Seven Days asked, was he talking about? “That’s a good question,” Hughes replied, without further explanation. Either way, “there is nothing but one officer saying that he mentioned something,” and that’s not enough evidence, Hughes said. The prosecutor still plans to use Lawton as a witness in pending criminal cases, despite the officer’s own ongoing criminal case, he said. The prosecutor said he would feel comfortable using Morits as a witness, too — even though defense attorneys could point out that authorities aren’t treating his statement as credible. “I don’t think that that will happen,” Hughes said. “But it’s fair game if somebody wants to do it.” Hughes also confirmed plans to prosecute the assault charge against Connelly for allegedly kicking Lawton in the shin — because it’s alleged to have happened seconds before he slugged her — in addition to her disorderly conduct and unlawful mischief charges from an earlier bar incident. Meantime, Hughes has been notably uninvolved with Lawton’s case since

it first made headlines in August. The prosecutor told Seven Days that he had removed himself from the case early on because of a conflict of interest, explaining that he had a “professional relationship” with Lawton and “felt like it was a little too close,” which is why the Attorney General’s Office picked it up. But Attorney General T.J. Donovan contradicted that claim last month, when he told reporters that he believed Hughes had declined to prosecute the case. Charity Clark, Donovan’s chief of staff, said last week that the AG’s Office stands by the statement, noting that prosecutors have seen none of the paperwork usually filed when a prosecutor has a conflict. Hughes later said he talked to state police investigators about his conflict. Given Hughes’ indifference about Taylor’s timeline, the next logical choice to investigate would be Donovan. But the AG has shied away from such probes before, declining to investigate whether the Bennington Police Department appropriately handled former lawmaker Kiah Morris’ claims that she’d been racially harassed. In that case, Donovan urged the town to hire an outside investigator. Citing its ongoing criminal case against Lawton, the AG’s Office declined to comment on the matter. Taylor has accepted some responsibility for how long he says it took him to find out about the Connelly incident, though he has deflected much of the blame toward a “flawed” policy that he said relied too heavily on supervisors to self-report when they used force. The policy required that a frontline supervisor review each report. The policy’s flaw, Taylor told the council in August, was that it allowed Lawton to sign off on his own report and evade detection. The department has since implemented a new policy that requires command-level administrators to review all use-of-force cases within 48 hours, Taylor said. The changes, which went into effect in late June, also require that any misconduct be reported directly to the chief, he said. Using the public records law, Seven Days obtained data logs for the department’s body cameras. They show that Lawton uploaded the footage on the night of the incident and watched it twice the next morning: once at 5:23 a.m. and again at 5:47 a.m. That jibes with Morits’ statement to investigators that he saw several officers watching the video in Lawton’s office when he arrived for his 6 a.m. shift. The only other person to view the footage that day was Cpl. Trevor Sargent, the department’s use-of-force instructor,

according to the data logs. Cloud, the city manager, said Sargent did not notify command staff because he knew that Lawton, his superior, was filing a report about the incident. Lawton, through his attorney, declined to comment for this story. Seven Days also requested “response to resistance” reports dating back to January. The department withheld Lawton’s report on punching Connelly on the grounds that it’s part of an ongoing criminal matter. But a review of 17 other such reports shows that the Connelly incident was not the only time Lawton used force this year. Acting as a supervisor, Lawton signed off on two other incidents involving his own actions as cop, including one in which he reported using a “jaw hook” escort and a “body check” takedown on a 47-year-old woman. The sergeant was also accused of becoming physical with someone while investigating a domestic dispute in April, two weeks after the now infamous punch, according to a civilian complaint filed with the department. “We had words. I pointed, he ordered me not to point my finger at him and [told me to] leave the room of the house I own,” said the complainant, whose name is redacted. “He actually put his hands on me.” It doesn’t appear that Lawton ever filed a “response to resistance” form about the encounter, nor is it clear whether he faced any discipline; a handwritten note at the bottom of the report says, “Multiple meetings with chief and LTs along with several phone calls.” But Lawton remained on duty for another two months. Now that he’s out of the picture, city leaders say they are focused on improving the department. They say Taylor remains a vital part of those efforts. “Lawton didn’t reflect the values of this organization,” said Cloud. “Chief Taylor does.” Any lingering questions about the chief’s timeline will continue to threaten the department’s standing, however, because it erodes the public’s trust in the police force, said Jay Diaz, the ACLU of Vermont staff attorney who first requested the Connelly footage. That’s why, Diaz said, it’s in the best interest of both the city and its residents to investigate when Taylor found out. Robtoy agrees. She said she hopes other citizens will call on their public officials to hold Taylor accountable. “If you can’t trust him, who can you trust?” she asked. m Contact: colin@sevendaysvt.com

lifelines OBITUARY

Ralph Rogosch

1950-2019 ENOSBURG, VT. Ralph Egon Rogosch died unexpectedly of natural causes at his home around October 26, 2019. Ralph was born on July 12, 1950, in Lynbrook, Long Island, N.Y., to Lisa and Egon Rogosch. He is survived by two cousins, Catherine Barisic and Ellen Leinhard. He graduated from East Rockaway High School with the class of ‘68, a spirited and close-knit group that still keeps in touch through their reunions every five years. Voted “most excitable” in his yearbook, Ralph played on his high school football team. It was a serious knee injury from football that kept him from joining up and going off to serve in Vietnam like several of his classmates. Instead, he went to Cortland College in upstate New York. After his freshman year, he took off to see the country, spending time in Oklahoma and California before coming back east.

OBITUARIES, VOWS, CELEBRATIONS

According to legend, he had decided to go back west to Colorado when he stopped off in Vermont to visit a friend ... and never left. Starting off as a farmhand at the George Kane Farm, Ralph gave everyone a smile by doing his yoga in the aisle after chores were done. He began a logging career with his first workhorse, Chico, who taught him how to get logs moving. Later, purchasing a second horse, Tonnerre, allowed him to work at sugaring as well, gathering the old-fashioned way with a team and buckets. Ralph graduated to tractor and winch, and then finally to a skidder, but he never lost the ability to do the careful job in the woods that logging with horses had taught him. Ralph had many interests and was a lifelong learner. When he got his own place on Enosburg Mountain Road in 2009, he went to work to create an organic garden enriched with carefully made compost and planted according to the biodynamic principles he had learned from the Flack Farm. He would often trade his beets, turnips, greens and giant kohlrabis for some of the wonderful goodies at the Montgomery farmers market. He was an avid reader, a regular at the Montgomery Library book-to-movie group, a spirited political debater who could play the devil’s advocate — a “Bernie socialist” at heart who could always see the other side, as well. He loved to cook and loved music of all kinds. Nothing pleased him more than going to local concerts, especially when he got a chance to dance.

He cared about conservation and was a member of Vermont Coverts and Cold Hollow to Canada, among others. He studied religions, was disciplined about yoga and meditating, and tried very much to live as a true Christian. Because he lost friends in a war that was based on deceit and a faulty foreign policy, Ralph felt strong support for both veterans and for peace. He was a member of the Enosburg Peace Vigil and attended many anti-war demonstrations over the years. His struggle with arthritis led to both hip and knee joint replacements. His gratitude for the Medicare/ disability coverage that saw him through these difficulties led him to work for a Medicare-for-all health care system that would make good health care available to everyone. Ralph was someone who was content to work alone, who loved the beauty of the woods and the natural world around him, and who went for long walks often. But he was tremendously social, too — any shopping day was an excuse to stop and visit many friends — and he also enjoyed working with many friends over the years. He and his girlfriend, Nancy Wilson, were happy in recent years to become members of the United Church of Bakersfield, with Pastor Devon Thomas. As some have put it, “Ralph was one of Enosburg’s great characters” and a “big personality.” He will be greatly missed by many friends. There will be a service for Ralph at the United Church of Bakersfield and Fairfield on January 18 at noon, with a reception following.

BIRTH ANNOUNCEMENTS On November 23, 2019, at Porter Medical Center, Kaitlyn (Bedell) Rooney and Patrick Rooney welcomed a girl, Alice Yvette Rooney.

On November 28, 2019, at Porter Medical Center, Sheerya (Shivers) Berg and James Berg welcomed a girl, Meira Hava Berg.

Want to memorialize a loved one in Seven Days? Post your remembrance online and in print at sevendaysvt.com/lifelines. Or contact us at lifelines@sevendaysvt.com or 865-1020, ext. 10. SEVEN DAYS DECEMBER 4-11, 2019

Vermont Poet Laureate Mary Ruefle Wants to Mail You a Letter B Y C HELSEA ED GA R

SEVEN DAYS: Many of your poems revolve around a specific, even minute, image. In “How We Met,” from Dunce, you describe a buffet spread featuring a little man carved out of a radish, sitting on a swing made from radishes. What was it about that radish guy that spoke to you? MARY RUEFLE: I love miniature things. If you put me at a buffet, I’m going to pay attention to the little man made out of a radish. Would you, or does that strike you as something only a weirdo would do? SD: No! That’s precisely the kind of thing that brings me joy. In a 2016 interview with the Paris Review, you said that you “don’t have any ideas when you write a poem.” Could you explain what you meant by that? MR: The germ is a line, a bit of language or an image. That doesn’t mean my poems don’t have ideas or intentions when they’re finished, but I’m clueless about what they are when they begin. The line of language puts pressure in my head; it’s like having to pee. But where that line of language comes from is a mystery to me. I don’t know how it got lodged there. In many ways, I’m just a conduit to a certain kind of energy. 22

SEVEN DAYS DECEMBER 4-11, 2019

COURTESY OF HANNAH ENSOR

ARY RUEFLE, who became Vermont’s ninth poet laureate in October, does not own a computer. The contact page of her website features a graphic of a birdbath-like vessel labeled “The Unknown,” along with this tantalizing bit of text: “The only way to contact me is by contacting my press, Wave Books, or by running into someone I know personally on the street.” This wry, sphinxlike posture is very Ruefle, who, in addition to being a poet, is an erasure artist — someone who removes words from found texts, leaving koan-like fragments on the page. Ruefle, 67, has lived in Bennington since she graduated from Bennington College in 1974, but her literary output has achieved national and international acclaim. Her numerous awards include a Guggenheim Fellowship, a National Endowment for the Arts Fellowship and a Whiting Award; for 23 years, she taught in the MFA program at VERMONT COLLEGE OF FINE ARTS. Ruefle is the author of 17 volumes of poetry and prose, plus a comic book, Go Home and Go to Bed, and A Little White Shadow, a collection of her erasures. Her most recent book of poems, Dunce, published in September, was long-listed for the 2019 National Book Awards. In the New York Times review of Dunce, Elisa Gabbert describes Ruefle’s ability to capture a universe of experience on a diorama scale: “The ostensible occasions of Ruefle’s poems are minor: not the funeral, but the bath. They record small moments with sweeping scope, moments in which the speed of thought seems to outpace real time.” Seven Days recently caught up with Ruefle by phone to discuss her love of letter correspondence, the parallels between writing and peeing, and the endangered American attention span.

POETRY

So many writers save every little piece of paper, but I’m a neatnik. My husband is also a poet, and he saves everything. We only have enough room for one pack rat and one getter-ridder-ofer. SD: I’m reluctant to throw things out, because some irrational part of me fears that I won’t ever have an idea again. MR: [Gasps.] Chelsea, Chelsea, Chelsea! You will have an idea again! You have to trust yourself. SD: I do trust myself, but it’s this scarcity mentality — like someone who keeps a ton of soup in the pantry, just in case. MR: I have that mentality about food, because my parents grew up during the Depression. And paper and mail supplies. I haven’t run out of stamps in my whole life.

Mary Ruefle

IF YOU ASKED ME TO EMAIL YOU A POEM,

I COULDN’T, BECAUSE I’M NOT HOOKED UP. MARY R UE F L E

SD: Does the peeing analogy apply to your writing process? MR: Sometimes, a first draft will come all at once; others come in pieces. I consciously tinker in the act of revision, but the origins of the poem are unconscious. It’s possible to write while you’re walking, driving, even sleeping — sometimes you wake up, and the line has been given to you in a dream. But when I’m ready to commit to paper, I need absolute quiet and solitude. I write by hand on paper, and then I type the poem on a typewriter, and then I pay someone to put it into their computer. If you asked me to email you a poem, I couldn’t, because I’m not hooked up. SD: Do you have boxes of handwritten drafts stacked somewhere in your house? MR: No. I throw them out, and that horrifies people.

SD: What’s the biggest difference to you between email writing and letter writing? MR: For me, emails are not writing. There’s a different quality of time. You think faster; you take shortcuts. And then you read it on a screen; how boring is that? Here’s what I want to do as poet laureate: I want to make Xerox copies of poems that I love and put them in envelopes and randomly mail them to a thousand Vermonters. A lot of people think that’s a dumb idea, because some people won’t be interested. But that’s OK, because other people will, and it would make their day. SD: I think that’s a fantastic idea. As poet laureate, do you have any official duties? MR: Not really. Some people like to run around the state, but that’s not my style. I don’t like to leave home. I’ve been living in Bennington since I came to attend Bennington College in March 1971. I grew up in a military family that moved every few years, and by the time I got to Bennington, I was so tired of moving. SD: What’s your ideal ratio of solitude to human interaction? MR: I’m an extrovert who doesn’t like leaving her house. I like small towns. I have five friends whom I see once or twice a month, and that feels like enough. I’ve lived in Vermont so long that I’m no longer interested in cities. They’re stimulating, but as soon as I arrive, I go through a kind of culture shock. I’m walking around with big eyes, and I can see how haywire American consumerism is when I’m in a city in ways that would be hard to see if you lived there. SD: Some people feel like they need human interaction to fuel their work, or they end up rattling around in their own head and not getting any new ideas. MR: That’s true. I suppose my work is based on rattling around in my own head — take it or leave it, it doesn’t bother me. Maybe I’m not interested in your trip around VERMONT POET LAUREATE

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BUMPER CROP Montpelier artist ROB HITZIG has been making bumper stickers since 2013. Not the kind that announce a motorist’s preference for president, that there’s a “baby on board,” or that “My other car is a broom.” No, his stickers are patterns of vibrant colors, lacking any text or obvious import. Hitzig, 55, has frequently exhibited his polished and painted wood sculptures around Vermont and beyond, and has been honored in South End Art Hop juried exhibitions. His aesthetic is decidedly abstract, which carries over into his bumper stickers. He releases new sticker designs — an average of nine per year — in small batches; the newest sticker, his 50th, came in an edition of 25. He gives them away to anyone who wants one and promises — on the honor system — to put it on their vehicle. His ultimate, lofty goal is to give away 300 million. “There are 330 million residents in this country, and I figure if I can give stickers to 90 percent of them, that would be good,” Hitzig says. What about those who don’t have cars — children, people in prison? “Well, kids under 12 probably have bicycles,” he suggests. “There are people in prison who will get out of

ART

prison. And prisoners for life could, I don’t know, put one on their bed?” It’s hard to tell whether he’s kidding. Either way, Hitzig’s primary goal “is not to change minds but to open minds,” he writes in a recent email. Though he gives away first-time stickers — and even covers postage and tax — Hitzig charges $10 per sticker for second requests. Over the past three years, he says, he’s brought in slightly more money than he’s spent on this venture. A company in Chicago produces his stickers — “high quality in small batches,” he notes. When designing new stickers, Hitzig says, he thinks about “colors and shapes that are a little bit odd and confusing. I hope it causes reflection or thought. “I don’t consider them ‘good design,’” he continues. “I just want people to think, What is that? What does it mean? People are often surprised that it has no meaning. And if it doesn’t make sense, it leads to questions. It’s doing what art does, but in an unexpected place.”

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INFO Learn more about Rob Hitzig’s art and bumper stickers at roberthitzig.com.

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Rob Hitzig

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Lit Mag Mount Island Launches New Prize for Rural Poets of Color B Y PAMEL A PO LSTO N

Vermont Poet Laureate « P.22

the world. I’m not lonely when I’m alone. Many people are, and they suffer terribly. SD: What about when you were growing up and moving around constantly? There must have been some lonely moments. MR: Oh, yes, I’ve been lonely, and it’s 24

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WORDS

Shanta Lee Gander

THE COMPETITION AIMS TO ENSURE THAT

ITS NAMESAKE IS NOT FORGOTTEN. Major Jackson

Painting of Lucy Terry Prince by Louise Minks

COURTESY OF MOUNT ISLAND

rattleboro-based Mount Island, founded by DESMOND PEEPLES, is a literary magazine devoted to the voices of rural LGBTQ and people of color. This week, the online quarterly began accepting submissions for a new poetry prize that honors a “voice” from the past: that of Lucy Terry Prince, who is considered the first known African American poet in English literature. Open to poets of color who are currently in, or from, a rural place, the competition aims not only to recognize underrepresented contemporary writers but to ensure that its namesake is not forgotten. Poet and University of Vermont professor MAJOR JACKSON — a multiple prize winner himself — will serve as judge. Lucy Terry (1730-1821) was born in West Africa and brought to Rhode Island as a slave; when she was 5, her owner allowed her to be baptized as a Christian, a faith to which she devoted herself thereafter. In 1756, Abijah Prince bought Terry’s freedom and married her. The couple later moved to Vermont and owned land in Guilford, says SHANTA LEE GANDER, managing and nonfiction editor of Mount Island. Lucy Prince was highly respected as an orator and successfully petitioned for protection from the governor when white neighbors threatened her family. She was the first woman to argue a land case before the U.S. Supreme Court. And her three-hour address to the trustees of Williams College was remembered for its eloquence, though she failed to gain her son’s admission to the school. Prince’s verbal skill extended to artistic expression. Her only extant poem, a ballad titled “Bars Fight,” chronicles a deadly attack by Native Americans on two white families in 1746; it was transmitted solely by oral recitation until it was published in 1855. Gander, 41, says she obtained a book about the Princes several years ago and was “embarrassed” not to have heard of them. Reading it was a revelation, she says, bringing to her attention not only an uncommonly gifted colonial-era African American woman, but also issues of black land ownership. And she wonders what else may have disappeared in Prince’s — and Vermont’s — history: “Might there be other things — is something hiding out there somewhere?” Like Prince, Gander is a woman of bold skills: writer, editor, performer, marketer, community leader, photographer. Born in Hartford, Conn., she studied women, gender

and sexuality as an undergraduate at Trinity College and went on to earn an MBA at the University of Hartford. Since moving to Brattleboro, Gander has served on the selectboard, as head of the ARTS COUNCIL OF WINDHAM COUNTY and in other leadership roles. She’s now enrolled in the creative nonfiction master’s program at the VERMONT COLLEGE OF FINE ARTS. Gander says Peeples approached her to help with Mount Island. She’s now focused on “distributing [prize] information far and wide.” Competition submissions opened this week and extend through February 15. “Then

terribly painful. But when I was lonely as a child, I would read a book and think, Somebody else is lonely, too. I was encountering human minds that felt and thought the way mine did. SD: Do you feel like technology has compromised our ability to focus deeply enough to absorb, say, a Russian novel? MR: The attention span of the average American should be on the extinction

Desmond and I will sift through them, pick the top 25 and hand it over to Major,” Gander says. Results will be announced in May. The grand-prize winner will receive $500, publication in Mount Island’s 2020 print anthology and an opportunity to participate in a panel discussion next fall about race, art and rural life. “I’ve always been involved in and passionate about the arts,” Gander says. “Now I’m really passionate about spreading the word about Lucy Terry Prince.” m Contact: pamela@sevendaysvt.com

INFO Learn more about Mount Island and the Lucy Terry Prince Prize at mountisland.com.

list. I was recently on a four-hour flight, and the entire time, the young man sitting next to me was browsing to see what he wanted to watch. He’d watch five minutes of a movie, then switch to another. I kept waiting to see what he would choose, but for four hours, he never chose anything.

young people out there who read, who pay attention. It’s a secret society, and it’s never going to die out. m

SD: Does that inattentiveness make you fear for the future of poetry? MR: No, no, no. There’s a whole tribe of

INFO

This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity and length. Contact: chelsea@sevendaysvt.com

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WHISKEY TANGO FOXTROT BY KEN PICARD

Why Are Travelers to Canada Asked to ‘Declare’ All Cannabis Products?

SEVEN DAYS DECEMBER 4-11, 2019

JOHN JAMES

rivers heading north from Vermont into Canada may have noticed that, just as they’re about to cross the international border, signs in English and French announce, “Attention! All cannabis products must be declared.” What exactly does it mean to “declare” that one is entering Canada with a cannabis product, and what are the ramifications for doing so? Are ganja-toting travelers required to pay a Canadian import duty the way they would on, say, a carton of cigarettes, a case of Scotch or a truckload of American plywood? Does the Canada Border Services Agency require that marijuana be inspected like other agricultural products such as cut flowers, fruit trees and animal semen? Or are these signs a surreptitious way for Canadian authorities to stump the stoners, effectively weeding out motorists who are too high to keep quiet about their contraband cannabis? WTF — or, as our francophone friends in Québec might say, C’est quoi ce bordel? At first blush, one might assume that crossing from Vermont into Québec with a spliff or a bag of bud wouldn’t be an issue. After all, Vermont and Canada both legalized the possession, use and transport of cannabis in 2018. Canada’s Cannabis Act granted all 10 provinces and three territories the authority to set their own rules regarding when and where the green stuff can be consumed and sold. For simplicity’s sake, this column discusses primarily Canada-wide laws and the provincial laws of Québec. First, the most fundamental question: Is it ever legal to enter Canada with weed? Nope, not even if you’re traveling from one of five U.S. border states where recreational, adult-use pot is also legal: Alaska, Washington, Maine, Michigan and Vermont. Tim Fair is an attorney and partner with Vermont Cannabis Solutions in Burlington. Occasionally he represents clients who’ve run afoul of U.S. or Canadian marijuana importation laws. Contrary to popular misconception, he explained, declaring one’s skunky stash to border agents, whether American or Canadian, is essentially an invitation to make your life miserable. And, to add insult to perjury — if said traveler gets caught lying to border agents about possessing marijuana — failure to disclose one’s dope is considered a crime in itself.

Sign at the Canadian border

As for possible legal repercussions, Fair continued, they can run the gamut, from a minor inconvenience to a lifelong hassle. “You could be declared inadmissible [that day]. You could be banned for life. Or you could be arrested and charged. That will depend on the agent you are encountering, as well as the quantity of cannabis,” he explained. “If you’re talking about a single joint, you probably won’t be arrested, but I doubt you’ll be getting over the border anytime soon.” Another potential ramification: The Canadians and Americans may also revoke any trusted-traveler program you participate in, such as NEXUS, which gives prescreened travelers expedited processing when crossing the border. It’s also not legal to enter Canada transporting medical marijuana, even when said traveler possesses a stateissued medical marijuana registry card. And it’s not just cannabis products containing altered state-inducing levels of tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) that will get travelers in Dutch with the Canucks. Products with cannabidiol (CBD), a

nonpsychoactive cannabinoid, are also banned. Indeed, even if you declare your CBDinfused gummy bears, dog treats, face masks or suppositories, Canadian border agents will confiscate them anyway and probably won’t let you in. There’s also a good chance, Fair noted, that they’ll pull you aside and have you park in the “notso-fun spot” for a more thorough inspection of yourself, your fellow travelers and your vehicle. Once inside Canada, however, the rules mellow considerably. As long as you don’t violate Canada’s maximum possession law by carrying more than 30 grams in public — for U.S. tokers hazy on the metric system, that’s roughly an ounce — you should be just fine. Provided, that is, you don’t get caught buzzed behind the wheel. Whether it’s booze, herb or other intoxicants, Canada has a strict zero-tolerance policy for impaired motorists. If cannabis is at all detectable in a driver’s saliva, he or she faces a serious fine, possible jail time and a lifetime ban from the country. Also, as of January 1, 2020, the legal age to possess,

purchase and consume the sticky stuff in Québec goes from 18 to 21. So, where do American cannabis consumers find legal weed north of the border? Unlike Vermont, Québec has established a regulated market via the government-owned Société québécoise du cannabis, which has a monopoly on the sale of all recreational weed within the province. And now that Canada’s chronic shortage has subsided, according to a November 1 story in Marijuana Business Daily, the SQDC has opened at least 12 cannabis dispensaries and expects to have 20 fully operational by year’s end. But don’t bother going online to browse the merchandise in advance, at least from a U.S.-based computer; the SQDC website doesn’t work outside of Canada. Why? Because Québécois dispensaries also sell their products online. Pretty dank, eh? m Contact: ken@sevendaysvt.com

INFO Got a Vermont head-scratcher that has you stumped? Ask us! wtf@sevendaysvt.com.

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Guarded Secrets

ont’s sole women’s prison

Claims of sexual misconduct, drug use and retaliation plague Verm

BY PAUL HEINTZ

s an officer at the Chittenden Regional Correctional Facility, Daniel Zorzi’s job has been to guard and protect the 140 women incarcerated at the South Burlington prison. But for more than six years, according to colleagues and inmates, he has routinely used cocaine and other stimulants while on duty. “You would see it in his nose. You would see it in his behavior,” said Mike Bruno, a former corrections officer who now serves as a New Hampshire State Police trooper. “It was so obvious, but nobody seemed to care.” Zorzi’s behavior has become more erratic and his drug use more evident the longer he’s worked for the Vermont Department of Corrections, according to Bruno and five other current and former officers. Two of them said Zorzi stole crack cocaine seized from an inmate — and returned to the unit, as one put it, “so high it wasn’t even funny.” According to inmate Jennifer Caplin, he twice attempted to buy cocaine from her while she was on probation. All six of the current and former guards said they reported Zorzi’s suspected drug use to superiors — including, in some cases, to prison superintendents — but he continued climbing the ranks. During a 2018 ceremony at a Montpelier hotel, Vermont’s secretary of human services and commissioner of corrections named him shift supervisor of the year. This October, Zorzi’s world came crashing down. When a longtime inmate filed a particularly inflammatory complaint, the department suspended him and the

Got a tip about the Vermont Department of Corrections? Send it our way. We’ll keep your identity confidential. prisons@sevendaysvt.com 802-222-0363

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SEVEN DAYS DECEMBER 4-11, 2019

Paul Heintz, c/o Seven Days 255 S. Champlain St., Ste. 5 Burlington, VT 05401

Vermont State Police launched an investigation. In the complaint, inmate Penny Powers said that while she was out of jail in July, Zorzi had taken her and another woman to a Colchester camp to engage in drug use and sex. Both were under DOC supervision at the time. “We got high from 10:30 at night ’til 5:30 in the morning,” Powers, who returned to prison in September, told Seven Days. “He pretty much fed my addiction.” Corrections Commissioner Mike Touchette said he could not comment on the allegations, but he said that Zorzi had been placed on paid administrative leave. Vermont State Police spokesperson Adam Silverman confirmed this week that the agency is investigating. “Because the case remains open, we are unable to comment further,” he said. Reached by phone, Zorzi declined to comment. Officers and inmates alike say that the crimes Powers alleged are hardly uncommon at Vermont’s only prison for women. In recent years, they say, guards have sexually assaulted inmates, harassed female employees, and pursued sexual relationships with women who have left the prison but remain on furlough, probation or parole — and, therefore, under DOC supervision. “It’s an epidemic at this facility,” said one longtime officer who claims to have faced retaliation for speaking out against it. “The [officers] lie, have sex with inmates, assault people and have each other’s backs to ensure that nobody finds out,” said Melissa Gaboury, who was released from the prison last week. “They also retaliate against any inmate for speaking about anything.” A Seven Days investigation turned up credible allegations of sexual harassment or assault against more than a dozen officers who have worked at the Chittenden Regional since it became a women’s prison in August 2011. Though the state appears to have investigated many of them, the findings of such probes remain confidential unless an officer is charged with a crime. Corrections officials refused to discuss the status of any accused officers. Alleged victims told the newspaper that, in some cases, they declined to report sexual relationships with guards — because they either did not expect officials to take action or feared retaliation. When confronted by prison officials about her self-described “romantic relationship” with a female guard, one inmate chose to lie about it, she told Seven Days. “I was like, ‘I don’t know what you’re talking about,’ because anything that you speak against this place, they will retaliate against you,” she said. “I was scared of that.” The same woman said she later became involved with a male guard who would

illicitly bring her lip balm, then cigarettes and then Suboxone, which is used to treat opioid addiction. She would kiss him, bare her breasts and touch his penis, she said. The officer threatened to punish her if she broke off the relationship, the inmate said, but she was more concerned about prison authorities catching on to it. “They’re very scary and intimidating,” she said. “So I didn’t really say much to them, either.” Officers who spoke to Seven Days described a similar fear of retribution. They claimed that prison leaders would ignore their complaints in order to protect friends — including Zorzi — and punish guards who raised concerns. “Staff

Human Resources provided Seven Days, only one employee of Chittenden Regional has been terminated for sexual misconduct with or harassment of an inmate since 2011. Another reached a confidential “stipulated agreement” with the state, which could range from minor discipline to resignation. Brittany Sweet, a former corrections officer who sued the state for sexual harassment in 2017, said she believes the department is more interested in making problems go away than solving them. “In my time at Chittenden, there were many officers that were under investigation for sexual misconduct with inmates.

William Savaria

Christopher Rich

Someone in that position who’s a prison guard should have integrity. D O R O TH Y P R O VE NZANO

jokingly call it ‘the department of corruption,’” said the guard who described facing retaliation. “The biggest problem with DOC is nobody’s ever held accountable for anything they do wrong,” Bruno said. “They get promoted. They get moved to another facility. It’s an old boys’ club.” The federal Prison Rape Elimination Act requires all correctional facilities to publicly report how many allegations of sexual misconduct they receive each year. Since 2011, inmates at the South Burlington prison have made 55 such complaints against staff members, according to records provided by DOC. Seven of those were substantiated by state investigators. Seventeen were unsubstantiated, meaning that officials could not determine what happened. Twenty-nine were deemed unfounded, and two remain under investigation. Few of those complaints appear to have prompted disciplinary measures. According to records the state Department of

They were allowed to resign, and then they faced no further criminal investigation,” she said. “The state doesn’t want to report this because it makes them look bad that it’s happening, so they just sweep it under the rug.” According to Bruno, “If they’re suspicious of you, they give you the opportunity to resign.” Touchette disputes that assertion. Whenever an inmate alleges sexual misconduct against a staff member, he said, the Department of Human Resources investigates, and the case is referred to the Vermont State Police. But Touchette also acknowledged that when an accused officer leaves state employ, the internal investigation comes to an end. “When you’re an employee of the Vermont Department of Corrections, you, by virtue of your position, have authority over persons in our care,” the commissioner said. “That authority can be used, whether it’s used intentionally or not, to coerce an individual and to engage in

behaviors that are sexualized. There is zero tolerance for that.” Federal and state law prohibits corrections employees from having sexual relations with the 1,460 people incarcerated in Vermont prisons or with the roughly 5,000 people on probation, parole or furlough. DOC rules further forbid actions that may “give the appearance of an improper relationship between an employee and an offender,” including “hugging, kissing, hand-holding and unofficial correspondence.” Several current and former inmates, however, described officers pursuing them after they left Chittenden Regional but while they remained under DOC supervision. Gaboury, 28, has been in and out of state prison since she was 16 years old. She showed Seven Days lewd Facebook messages two DOC staffers allegedly sent her while she was under supervision. In one July and August 2017 exchange, a Chittenden Regional officer solicited photographs of Gaboury and sought to meet up with her for a late-night sexual rendezvous. “I try to imagine your legs wrapped around my head and your bug bouncing off my nose,” he wrote. When the officer apparently showed up near her St. Albans apartment just after 1 a.m., he wrote, “Are you up?” Eight minutes later, he wrote, “Hey, I’m in st albans.” Fourteen minutes after that, he wrote, “Hey.” In an October 2017 exchange, Gaboury’s former probation officer told her that he was “horn[y] and drunk and want[ed] to pound some pussy.” The man, who was still working for DOC, asked if Gaboury was home alone, queried her sexual preferences and told her he wanted to “take advantage” of her. “I’m drunk and just want to have raw sex,” he wrote, adding later, “Melissa tell me to stop. I should not be talking like this with you. Do you want me to pull on your nipples?” Neither man still works for the state, and neither could be reached for comment. According to Gaboury, the incidents contributed to her fear of Vermont’s corrections system and her deteriorating mental health. She said she had attempted suicide many times. “I need help. Everybody in DOC needs help,” Gaboury said. “They do nothing but abuse and beat down already hurting, abused people and show them no other way.”

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Guarded Secrets « P.31

This is tough work, and it’s not for everybody.

‘CRIMINALS WITH A BADGE’

C O R R EC T I O N S C O M M I S S I O N ER M I K E T O U C HET T E

SEVEN DAYS DECEMBER 4-11, 2019

LUKE AWTRY

PAU L

“Not much to brag about here,” Touchette said last week as he walked through a pair of security doors into the heart of Chittenden Regional. “It’s antiquated.” The low-slung building sits on a compact lot near the busy intersection of Interstate 189 and Route 7. Its red brick façade and green roof would not stand out were it not for the coils of razor wire adorning a chainlink exterior fence. Inside the medium-security facility, Touchette and prison superintendent Theresa Stone navigated its drab concrete corridors to House 1. The cellblock features two- and four-bed cells surrounding a common area where half a dozen prisoners knitted, sifted through paperwork and tackled a jigsaw puzzle. Mike When a reporter asked Touchette about the duties of a DOC employee manning a guard post in the corner of the day room, Touchette interrupted: “Don’t use ‘guard.’ Use ‘corrections officer.’ They do so much more than just checking the doors.” As he walked from one housing unit to the next, past a cramped visiting room and law library, Touchette expressed a desire for a new women’s prison with more space and natural light — and less noise. The current facility, he said, is “not trauma-informed, and it’s not gender-informed.” Built in the early 1970s as a juvenile detention center, Chittenden Regional is one of the oldest buildings in the state prison system — and it shows. Soon after women prisoners were moved to the South Burlington facility in 2011, a group of local nonprofits documented the presence of worms and drain flies in the showers, inadequate heating and cooling systems, and a dearth of toilets. In a report released last month, Vermont Interfaith Action described a “depressing, hopeless atmosphere” within the prison. “Despite monetary investments and the efforts of many DOC staff members, this facility is simply unfit,” said Karen Tronsgard-Scott, executive director of the Vermont Network Against Domestic and Sexual Violence. Aging infrastructure isn’t the only problem plaguing the women’s prison and the rest of the state corrections system. The 1,000-person department suffers from high leadership turnover and low staffing numbers. In the past six years, DOC has had three commissioners and Chittenden Regional has had four superintendents. “The department is constantly mired in

investigations and personnel issues,” said Dave Bellini, a veteran corrections employee who serves as president of the Vermont State Employees’ Association. “It has the lowest morale in state government.” According to Touchette, 50 of the department’s 600 corrections officer positions are currently vacant. In South Burlington, according to Stone, 17 of the prison’s 83 officer positions are unfilled. “This is tough work, and it’s not for everybody,” the commissioner said. Low staffing has contributed to a department-wide overtime budget that is $7.5 million and growing, according to Touchette. Officers are often required to work extra shifts in order to keep prisons open and safely staffed. “The workforce is exhausted,” Bellini said. The department’s inability to recruit and retain employees has contributed to the prevalence of sexual misconduct and drug use at Chittenden Regional, according to Bruno, the New Hampshire state trooper. Though their counterparts in other states must take entrance exams and meet certain physical requirements, Vermont officers need only graduate from high school or obtain a GED. They must undergo a five-year background check and seek a waiver from the commissioner if they’ve been convicted of a crime, but they do not have to pass drug tests. “There’s no standards, so it kind of just invites everybody in,” Bruno said. In at least one case, that included an officer with a history of sexual harassment. According to records maintained by

the Secretary of State’s Office of Professional Regulation, Swanton nurse Thomas DiSalvo agreed to a formal reprimand from the Board of Nursing in January 2012. In a signed consent order, DiSalvo admitted to subjecting women under his supervision to “persistent, crude sexual commentary” and, at least twice, “unwanted sexualized touching.” The next year, according to state records, he was hired as a guard at the women’s prison. In 2018, while still serving as an officer at Chittenden Regional, DiSalvo was charged with sexually assaulting a juvenile and committing other lewd and lascivious acts with a child. Reached this week, DiSalvo said he was not guilty of the crimes. He said he had been fired for refusing to cooperate with an internal investigation. According to the officer who claimed to have faced retaliation, DOC “attracts garbage” because its standards for guards are so low. He said that many of his colleagues use marijuana, cocaine or barbiturates. “Some of these guys are just criminals with a badge,” he said.

DEATH OF A PROSECUTION

Not long after Megan Webbley died of an overdose in September, her father penned a heartrending obituary about her 31 years of life — nearly half of which had been clouded by opioid-use disorder. Edwin Webbley described the joy his daughter had felt in the presence of her own four children, and he castigated the state Department for Children and Families as “the punisher of addicted mothers, the separator of families and the arbiter of children’s futures.” When a mother loses custody of her children, he concluded, “desperation sets

in, even with the brightest and most determined of mothers — and Megan Angelina Webbley was that bright and determined mother … with a fatal disease and a dearth of treatment options.” The obituary, published in Seven Days, instantly went viral, prompting People magazine, the New York Post and the Daily Mail to retell Webbley’s story. Left unmentioned in her father’s remembrance were other dark chapters in Webbley’s life, including her experience as a victim of sex trafficking and the assault she allegedly suffered at the hands of a state corrections officer. “She would always tell me the truth when she was in a good place,” said Webbley’s mother, Dorothy Provenzano, who agreed to share her daughter’s story with Seven Days. “Sometimes I didn’t want to hear it all.” Among the people with whom Webbley had allegedly exchanged sex for money was Christopher Rich. The two had known each other since attending Essex High School together; at the time, Edwin Webbley was assistant principal. Rich later told police that he and Megan Webbley had crossed paths over the years at several of his workplaces: a hospital, the Howard Center and, finally, Chittenden Regional. “Rich stated he also had professional interactions with M.W. while she was at the correctional facility but they would not discuss their intimate life while there,” Detective Cassandra Ellison of the Chittenden Unit for Special Investigations wrote in court papers. Caplin, the Chittenden Regional inmate whom Zorzi allegedly asked for drugs, was Webbley’s cellmate at the prison in 2018, when Rich was hired as a corrections officer. “I remember when Rich first came into House 1, Megan told me and the room that

Donate a car…Change a life! he was a client of hers in the past,” Caplin recalled. “So that was quite interesting to hear.” Webbley wasn’t the only woman in the building whom Rich had allegedly paid for sex. The inmate who told Seven Days about her relationships with a female and a male guard said that, before her detention, Rich had been a client of hers. “Once I came here and saw him, I was like, ‘Whoa,’ and ‘Shit,’” she said. “Let me tell you what: He definitely treated me like a cocksucker and was so proud to have that authority over me.” Rich, through his attorney, declined to comment. In February 2019, after Webbley left prison and rehab, she received a Facebook message from Rich. “Near Burlington?” he asked her, according to copies of the correspondence she shared with police. “In town?” Webbley, who had been staying with her father in Middlebury, agreed to meet the corrections officer at his ex-girlfriend’s vacant apartment in Burlington’s New North End. “Do you like it rough?” he asked her when she arrived and they entered the bedroom, according to an account she gave police. She said she did not respond. As they engaged in consensual kissing on the bed, Rich punched Webbley in the face, she told the cops, causing her to cry. She asked him to stop, she said, but he would not. As she tried to leave, Rich detained and sexually assaulted her, she alleged. The next day, Webbley told her mom what had happened. “He not only raped her, but he beat her up,” Provenzano said. “She sold herself for drugs on a number of occasions, but this was not that. This was sexual abuse. She made that clear to me.” Concerned about her welfare and drug use, Provenzano asked the Middlebury Police Department to check on her daughter and suggested that they arrest her on outstanding warrants, according to court papers. As soon as Webbley was in police custody, she reported the alleged assault. Two weeks later, officers confronted Rich outside the South Burlington prison. He admitted to a sexual relationship with Webbley and said he had given her money to “help her out,” but he denied that he had paid for sex or assaulted her. “She’s lying,” he told the cops. The next day, they charged him with sexual assault, simple assault and soliciting prostitution. He pleaded not guilty. According to her father, Webbley was terrified of returning to Chittenden Regional. “She was scared the other guards were gonna take it out on her because she ratted [Rich] out,” Edwin Webbley said. In fact, said inmate Mandy Conte,

fellow prisoners gave Megan Webbley the most grief. “People were giving her a hard time on that, asking, ‘How can you rape a prostitute?’” said Conte, who became Webbley’s cellmate. “She was very upset about it. She was very emotional about it. She felt ashamed. She was really embarrassed.” Meanwhile, Rich’s legal troubles mounted. Barely a week after his arrest, according to Detective Ellison, the corrections officer uploaded explicit videos and photographs of an ex-girlfriend to a public pornography website. The titles of the videos, at least some of which were allegedly taken without consent, revealed her first name, profession and workplace. In June, authorities charged Rich with two counts of disclosing sexually explicit images without consent and one count of voyeurism. He again pleaded not guilty. That case is still pending, but the one involving Webbley is not. Last week, Deputy Chittenden County State’s Attorney Dana DiSano dropped the assault and prostitution charges. “The victim, M.W., is now deceased and the State can no longer successfully prosecute this case,” she wrote in a court filing. Edwin Webbley said he was deeply disappointed by that outcome. He believes the alleged assault prompted his daughter’s return to drugs and may have hastened her death. Provenzano, too, remains outraged that a corrections officer may have punched and raped her daughter. “Someone in that position who’s a prison guard should have integrity,” she said. “That’s just despicable.”

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‘IT JUST MAKES ME SICK’

Including Rich and DiSalvo, at least five former Chittenden Regional officers have been charged with sexual misconduct since 2011. Few have served time. In 2012, authorities charged Richard Gallow, then a 44-year-old Enosburgh resident, with sexually assaulting an inmate at the women’s prison. Two juries failed to reach a verdict. When prosecutors sought to try the corrections officer a third time, the alleged victim refused to testify — forcing prosecutors to drop the charges. “Without the victim in the case, there is no case,” Attorney General T.J. Donovan, who was then serving as Chittenden County state’s attorney, told the Burlington Free Press. In 2014, a federal grand jury indicted officer Tracy Holliman, a 50-year-old South Burlington resident, on charges that he had sex with two federal detainees at the South Burlington prison. Prosecutors dismissed GUARDED SECRETS

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the original charges after Holliman pleaded not guilty to obstruction of justice for deleting emails in which he admitted to the crimes. He was sentenced to five months in jail. Also in 2014, authorities charged corrections officer William Savaria III, a 29-year-old Iraq War veteran from Fairfax, with sexual exploitation of an inmate. The 18-year-old prisoner said that Savaria had plied her with lace underwear and asked her to dance around her cell in it. Weeks later, she told an investigator, he put his hand down her pants and penetrated TZ IN her. After she was released from UL HE A Chittenden Regional, but while she was still under DOC supervision, Savaria came to her home and had sex with her. The officer admitted to the latter event but denied engaging in sexual activity at the prison. At a March 2016 trial, his lawyer questioned the inmate’s credibility and wondered why she had not immediately reported the allegation. Savaria was acquitted. Later that year, prosecutors filed two new charges involving two other inmates who made similar allegations against Savaria. The second accuser said that, for three months, the officer had repeatedly touched her breasts and penetrated her vagina with his fingers. Asked whether she felt she could turn him down, the inmate told investigators, “I feel like if I said no, there would be consequences.” The third accuser said that Savaria had kissed her, penetrated her with a finger and exposed his penis to her. Both women said that while he patrolled the prison’s exterior, he would stare through the windows of their cells and make faces at them. Savaria denied the allegations and, a year later, prosecutors dropped the charges. It’s not clear why. Both lawyers who handled the cases have since left the Chittenden County State’s Attorney’s Office. Sarah George, who succeeded Donovan as the county’s top prosecutor, said she could not determine why the charges were dropped. Savaria told Seven Days he voluntarily resigned from the prison in January 2015 but otherwise declined to comment. In September 2017, two weeks after George’s office asked the court to dismiss the charges related to the second alleged victim, that woman died of an apparent overdose. She was 28 years old. Later that year, Savaria’s third accuser sued the state, alleging that the prison’s leaders had negligently retained, trained SEVEN DAYS DECEMBER 4-11, 2019

LUKE AWTRY

Theresa Stone

and supervised him — and violated her federal civil rights. The state settled the case in May 2018 and, according to DOC general counsel Emily Carr, paid the inmate $40,000. A year later, the third accuser also died of an overdose. She was 29 years old. “I’m so angry,” her mother told Seven Days, referring to Savaria as a molester and to DOC prisons as corrupt. “My kid’s been gone seven months, and I bawl every day. It just makes me sick.”

NO WOMAN’S LAND

When Sweet, the former corrections officer, went to work at Chittenden Regional in December 2013, she was shocked to learn how fellow female guards were treated. “It’s horrible. A girl comes in, and it’s like fresh meat. All the guys are after her,” she said. “If you have a sexual relationship with a staff member, you’re a slut. But if you don’t have a sexual relationship with a staff member, you’re a stuck-up bitch.” She added, “It’s no wonder there are no females who work there.” According to Stone, the Chittenden Regional superintendent, only 15 of 66 officers working at the women’s prison are women. They are responsible for all pat-downs and strip searches conducted at the facility. “I know what it’s like to be the only female on and to have to do all that,” said Stone, who got her start as an officer. Records provided by the Department

of Human Resources show that South Burlington prison staffers have made at least 13 complaints of sexual misconduct or harassment against their colleagues since the summer of 2011. One complaint resulted in a resignation, two led to stipulated agreements, one prompted a written reprimand and three resulted in supervisory feedback. Six of the claims were unsubstantiated, the department’s records show. Current and former officers described two incidents in recent years in which male guards shared sexually explicit images of female guards. In one case, a male officer allegedly uploaded photos he’d taken of a female officer to a revenge porn website. Sweet and Bruno both said they had seen the images. “Every time you went into the locker room, someone was looking at her tits,” Sweet said. Both the male and female officer were eventually promoted and continue to work for DOC. “The joke in Corrections [is,] they call this promotion plan ‘Fuck up, move up,’” Sweet said. In the other case, a male officer allegedly shared sexually explicit photos of a female officer with other guards and was disciplined for doing so. A year later, the female guard died by suicide, though it’s unclear what role — if any — the incident played in her death. The woman’s mother told Seven Days she was not aware of the harassment her daughter had faced at the prison. In her 2017 lawsuit, first reported by the Burlington Free Press, Sweet alleged that after she rebuffed advances by a

supervisor, he made derogatory statements about her physical appearance to their colleagues and told them he would “like to fuck anything but her face.” When she complained to an official about his remarks, he was assigned to be her direct supervisor. According to Sweet’s lawsuit, the Department of Human Resources “substantiated” her allegations but left the supervisor in his position and ordered her to “respect the chain of command.” The supervisor told Seven Days that most of Sweet’s allegations were not true. In a separate incident cited in the lawsuit, Sweet walked into a room used for strip searches and found a male officer sitting on a counter and a female inmate bending over the counter, facing him. When Sweet reported the incident, superintendent Edward Adams led her to the room and asked her to reenact the scene with another staffer. Adams photographed the reenactment, prompting Sweet to feel “objectified and demoralized,” she said. The next year, DOC named Adams manager of the year. He later became superintendent of Southern State Correctional Facility in Springfield but was dismissed from the post for unspecified reasons in 2018. Sweet and an unnamed co-plaintiff, who alleged other incidents of sexual harassment, ultimately won an $85,000 settlement from the state. But according to Sweet, the lawsuit did not result in the change she sought. “It was just like, ‘Give them money and get them out of here,’” she said. “Nobody

OPEN HOUSAYE was held accountable — and I was just like, ‘That sucks.’” Sweet was transferred to DOC’s probation and parole office in Morrisville, but she soon encountered harassment there, too. Within weeks, she said, a coworker told her, “I really like your skirt. It would be really easy for me to pull it up over your ass, bend you over the desk and fuck you right there.” Sweet provided Seven Days with contemporaneous email correspondence in which she described the incident — and other alleged acts of harassment — to a supervisor. Another former DOC employee who witnessed some of the alleged harassment said the man remarked on the physical appearance of women “many times a day.” “Any day he was in the office, he was most likely making some type of crude comment about a woman — whether she worked there or she was an offender,” the former DOC employee said. The alleged harasser declined to comment. MAN DY “The culture of DOC — and it’s not just Chittenden. It’s systemic, statewide. It’s the entire fucking State of Vermont,” Sweet said. “These people operate like they’re untouchable. They’re fucking God, and they do whatever they want.”

of a joke” among inmates and staff, Caplin said. One night in House 1, she said, “He had white residue all around his nostril, and it was running down to his upper lip.” According to Caplin, she led him to an area out of range of the facility’s security cameras and told him he had cocaine all over his face. He wiped it off and thanked her, she said. Others described similar scenes. Sweet recalled officers and inmates alike telling Zorzi he had white powder in his nose. “If you’re doing so many drugs — you’re so messed up — that you don’t remember to check your face at work at a correctional facility, you are so damn high,” she said. “You could tell,” said former inmate Amber Monty. “He was always zinging — like, speeding out, off the wall.” During another break from prison in the spring of 2016, Caplin started hanging out with a former officer, who, like her, was using drugs heavily at the time. Over Memorial Day weekend, he asked Caplin if she could help him find an eighth of an ounce CONTE of cocaine for a party of corrections officers that Zorzi was throwing at his home near the Stowe-Waterbury Center line. According to Caplin, she met the former officer and Zorzi at Get Yours, the Waterbury Center adult novelty store known at the time as Good Stuff. The men gave her $250, and she said she would return soon with the coke. “But I didn’t come back,” she recalled. “I took the money and left and never got him the [drugs]. My luck and my karma, I went to jail three days later.” Sure enough, Caplin said, Zorzi was standing in the booking area when she arrived at Chittenden Regional. “He saw a ghost when I came in,” she said. “Now it’s on a whole new level of, ‘Oh, fuck.’” According to Caplin, Zorzi later used his authority as a supervisor to recommend tough sanctions when she faced disciplinary proceedings. “I’m positive Zorzi was using [his power] against me for his personal vendetta,” she said. “One hundred percent.”

It’s like they’re preying on women who they see are weak and vulnerable, and they use that for their own benefit. They don’t realize how much their behavior impacts us.

‘YOU COULD TELL’

Caplin, one of Webbley’s former cellmates, met Officer Zorzi during a stint at Chittenden Regional soon after it became a women’s prison. Both had grown up in Montpelier, attended the same high school and had plenty of friends in common. “We were flirty, and he would come to my room and tell me to come out, and we would hang out through the night and just chat,” Caplin recalled. In 2012, after she left prison but while she was still on probation, Caplin ran into Zorzi at a bar in Barre, she said. They hung out, drank, made out in a bathroom and exchanged phone numbers. Later that night, she said, Zorzi called her and asked if she could obtain cocaine for him. According to Caplin, she blew him off. By the time she returned to prison in 2013, Zorzi’s drug use had become “kind

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The biggest problem with DOC is, nobody’s ever held accountable for anything they do wrong. MIK E BR UNO

LUKE AWTRY

According to the officers who spoke with Seven Days, Zorzi also retaliated against his peers — particularly when they DO YOU: Want to hibernate? complained about his alleged drug use. Feel fatigued and down? “He’d start targeting them,” one former Change your sleeping and eating habits? officer said, adding that he reported Zorzi You may be eligible to participate in a to two superintendents and two assistant research study on seasonal affective disorder (SAD). Diagnostic assessment superintendents — to no effect. and treatment consisting of a light “Basically, management didn’t want therapy box or cognitive-behavioral to hear it,” said Bruno, the New Hamp“talk” therapy will be offered at no charge. shire state trooper. “They would make up Eligible participants will be compensated up to $530 for completing study-related excuses for it. They would cover for him.” questionnaires and interviews. According to two officers, prison officials told them it was possible Zorzi had an Volunteers, 18 or over, please call 802-656-9890 or visit unspecified disability — an explanation our website at uvm.edu/~sadstudy the guards found implausible. Neither Touchette nor Stone would comment on whether they received complaints about Zorzi. Every The guard’s former colleagues We d s - F r i described several specific instances of 5-9pm alleged drug use. One officer said he personally witnessed Zorzi using powder cocaine, crack cocaine and Ritalin at parties. Another said he walked in on Zorzi snorting something at his desk. A third officer said that after he confiscated three or four grams of crack from an inmate, his supervisor, Zorzi, told him it wasn’t enough to weigh or photograph — and absconded with the evidence. Bruno, who was also on duty that night, barriobakeryvt.com/pizza said the officer described the incident to TA K E O U T ! him at the time. (802) 863-8278 Another night, according to Bruno, Student Zorzi showed up in booking “ecstatic” and Discounts “tweaking” and searching high and low for & Drink something. “There’s a painting of a donkey Specials! I’m trying to find,” he explained, according to Bruno. “He was high off his ass,” according to the officer who claimed to have been 12v-barrio120419.indd 1 12/2/19 2:42 PM retaliated against. He described Zorzi as “incoherent,” with his arms flailing like a ragdoll. “I don’t know what the hell he put in his body, but he was wired.” When his colleagues asked if they could help, according to the second guard, Zorzi said, “Nah, I’m looking for a donkey.” Zorzi’s bosses apparently saw him differently than the officers and inmates. In 2018, then-superintendent Cheryl Elovirta and assistant superintendent Jen Sprafke nominated him for the “supervisor of the year” award. During his two years in that position, they wrote in a nominating letter, “he has experienced a plethora of situations and challenges that he has met with professionalism, enthusiasm, decisiveness and clarity — all marks of a great leader.” Powers, the inmate who described the alleged night of sex and drugs, had a darker impression of Zorzi. After returning to prison in September, she told Seven Days,

the shift supervisor threatened her to stay quiet about it. “He would walk by me and say, ‘Don’t forget,’” Powers said. “If looks could kill, I would’ve been dead the first time.” In October, Powers said, she reported the alleged incident to the facility’s security chief and then to prison social workers and, finally, the state police. Zorzi was put on leave. According to Powers, she and the second woman involved helped the officer obtain more than $1,000 worth of crack on the July night in question. She said the second woman, also under DOC supervision, had sex with Zorzi multiple times. Near the end of the night, Powers said, the officer demanded “some kind of assurances” that she would not report him — in the form of oral sex. Powers said she plans to file a lawsuit against DOC later this week. Seven Days has not been able to independently verify her claims.

The state police appear to have interviewed several people who may have knowledge about their veracity — including Powers and Caplin. Authorities won’t, however, be able to interview the woman who allegedly joined Powers for the Colchester party. That person, according to Powers, was Megan Webbley.

A CYCLE OF ABUSE

Every year, 200,000 people are sexually abused in American correctional facilities, according to Just Detention International, an advocacy group that works to eliminate prison rape. “The fact of the matter is, sexual abuse is rampant in facilities across the country,” said Just Detention spokesperson Jesse Lerner-Kinglake. “But it’s not inevitable.”

Prisons that are well run, have highly trained staff and provide safe reporting procedures are not prone to sexual misconduct, he said. Lerner-Kinglake called the allegations involving Chittenden Regional “outrageous” and said he was particularly alarmed that even officers felt that their complaints were ignored. “If it’s so hard for a staff member to come forward and report abuse, imagine how it is for inmates there,” he said. Rep. Alice Emmons (D-Springfield), who chairs the House Committee on Corrections and Institutions, said she had not heard such complaints out of Chittenden Regional, but she pledged to probe the matter when the legislature reconvenes in January. “If something is going on, it should be addressed,” she said. “And if it’s not going on, then we need to clear the air.” Emmons’ committee will likely spend considerable time this winter pondering the fate of the women’s prison. Seemingly everyone involved in Vermont corrections policy — from inmate advocacy groups to the leadership of DOC — agrees that Chittenden Regional should be closed. But there’s little consensus over what comes next. Gov. Phil Scott’s administration has proposed building a new corrections campus to replace the South Burlington prison and Swanton’s Northwest State Correctional Facility. Advocacy groups such as the American Civil Liberties Union of Vermont, meanwhile, have argued that the state should concentrate on reducing the number of incarcerated Vermonters before building new prisons. According to Tronsgard-Scott of the Vermont Network Against Domestic and Sexual Violence, the state needs to address a system that simply “moves women in and out and in and out of the facility.” Most inmates at Chittenden Regional suffer from addiction and poverty, she said, and as many as 80 percent of them were victims of sexual violence before they were incarcerated. Conte, one of Webbley’s roommates, said she understands why some of her fellow inmates have engaged in sexual relations with those charged with guarding them. “I struggled with addiction, as well. I feel like I’ve been in situations where I felt like I didn’t have options,” she said. “People should be aware of what these girls go through, and the blame shouldn’t be placed on them.” It’s the guards who should be held accountable, she argued. “It’s like they’re preying on women who they see are weak and vulnerable, and they use that for their own benefit,” Conte said. “They don’t realize how much their behavior impacts us.” Contact: paul@sevendaysvt.com

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The Hat’s Rebuke A profligate holiday shopper’s Christmas Carol BY C H E L S E A E D GAR

SEVEN DAYS DECEMBER 4-11, 2019

tried me on. Your hair was good that day, and when you looked in the full-length mirror you saw someone with poise, someone who could blithely slap a muffinshaped object on her head and saunter out the door like, “Why, yes, looking whimsically out of touch is my personal brand.” “I will not be seen with you in that,” your girlfriend informed you. “Yeah, OK,” you scoffed, recalling — but not bringing up, because you’re not an asshole! — the time she mocked you for spending an exorbitant amount of money on a pair of heeled combat boots. Which she then proceeded to borrow so many times that you suggested she sublease them. Which caused a minor row. You bought me for the nonrefundable sale price of $40, which seemed a reasonable sum for the fleeting gratification of your most implacable desires. And then, as soon as you inserted your card into the chip reader, an ugly, sinking feeling took hold and you almost blurted out to the cashier, “No! I take it back!” But that would have been inconsistent with your new vibey-hat persona, so you stood there and smiled while the receipt printed and the ticker tape inside your skull flashed: “¡Yikes!” That’s the problem with buying things: They become yours, divested of their infinite aspirational potential and reduced to a number on a slip of paper. A number that corresponds to a certain number of minutes or hours of your labor, raised to the power of the more consequential things to which you might have applied that capital, multiplied by the human and environmental toll of producing that item. For the cost of a tank of gas, or your share of the weekly grocery budget, or one-fifth of your monthly student-loan bill, or the unquantifiable value of having more as opposed to less money in your checking account, you got an ocher tamo’-shanter. Wow. Partly out of self-flagellation, partly because you were still curious about how this thing between us would play in real life, you wore me for the rest of the afternoon. Everything was sort of fine until you went into the bathroom and saw yourself

ESSAY

ello, old friend. It’s been a long time since you groped around in my corner of the winter clothes crate. I know you were hoping I might be your favorite pair of running gloves, but — surprise! — it’s me, the tamo’-shanter with whom you had a brief but torrid dalliance three years ago. Before you cast me into the Goodwill donation bag and go back to pretending that we never happened, I’d like to say a few words as a public service to you and all future tam-o’-shanters that might fall victim to your promiscuous ways. It’s that festive time again, the season of bedecking your archways with boughs of holly, and of abandoning the pursuit of consequential truths — for instance, “Is it morally defensible to reproduce in the face of ecological collapse?” — in favor of more manageable ones, such as “Does this tam-o’-shanter make me look like Rooney Mara in Carol?” I know that you blame our relationship on the 2015 Todd Haynes movie that contained algorithmically perfect proportions of holiday cheer, Cate Blanchett in gloves and a plaid, pom-pomgarnished hat of mysterious genus. After the first of the three — three! — times you saw Carol,, you feverishly googled “rooney mara hat carol,” which led you to discover the glorious word “tam-o’-shanter,” which then bounced around in your brain like a gnome on a pogo stick. Maybe, just maybe, if I could only find the right tam, you thought, a stunning older woman will float into my life on a cloud of Hermès and buy me martinis.. (You weren’t alone in this line of thinking; globally, the number of tam-o’-shanters purchased by lesbians surged after the film’s release.) We met around this time of year at the Madewell in Hanover, where nut-milkadjacent women between the ages of 21 and 34 adorn themselves in boxy crop tops and jeans high-waisted enough to double as corsets. Your girlfriend trailed you at a ceremonial distance, wearing the pained expression of someone watching a YouTube video of a house cat being mauled by a feral hog. For a moment, you pawed at a cashmere turtleneck you already knew you wouldn’t buy for your mom, you cheap bitch. Then you spotted me on top of one

of those creepy faceless head mannequins. You turned to your girlfriend and uttered the words I ached to hear: “Look! It’s my favorite shade of ocher!” You should probably be condemned to some special circle of hell for saying that, along with people who go to “Budapest” and come back from “Budapesht.” The truth is that you have a very complex relationship with ocher: It began in your sophomore year of college with a girl we’ll call Anna, who volunteered at the organic garden on campus and occasionally wore Carhartt overalls to class. You couldn’t

figure out whether you wanted to be her or make out with her, but, in any case, that particular shade of Carhartt babyshit brown suddenly took on an ethereal quality. (Tragically, it took three more years for you to realize that you had, indeed, wanted to make out with her. But that was no longer actionable, because you had graduated and moved to Philadelphia.) Anyway, because I am the precise shade of your unfulfilled yearning and vaguely reminiscent of the tam-o’-shanter Rooney Mara wore in Carol, you picked me up and

in the mirror and thought, Oh God, I’m wearing a fucking tam-o’-shanter. Also, no one had remarked on the fact that you were wearing a tam-o’-shanter, which you interpreted to mean that either you were someone who would obviously in the mirror and thought, Oh God, I’m wear a tam-o’-shanter or someone who wearing a fucking tam-o’-shanter. looked terrible in a tam-o’-shanter, and Also, no one had remarked on the fact you weren’t sure which was worse. By the that you were wearing a tam-o’-shanter, end of the day, when you still hadn’t gotten which you interpreted to mean that either a text from Cate Blanchett, you decided you were someone who would obviously that we were done. wear a tam-o’-shanter or someone who I’d like to note that this behavior is part looked terrible in a tam-o’-shanter, and of an obviously toxic pattern: All year long, you weren’t sure which was worse. By the you make judicious financial decisions, end of the day, when you still hadn’t gotten and then “White Christmas” comes on the a text from Cate Blanchett, you decided radio and rewires your mental circuitry that we were done. I’d like to note that this behavior is part of an obviously toxic pattern: All year long, you make judicious financial decisions, and then “White Christmas” comes on the radio and rewires your mental circuitry

into wanton acquisition mode. This makes you feel guilty, and then sulk into the New Year with a long list of things you’d like to improve about yourself, which really makes you insufferable. into wanton acquisition mode. This makes you feel guilty, and then sulk into the New Year with a long list of things you’d like to improve about yourself, which really makes you insufferable.

a couple times and realized that you looked like the treasurer of a coven. A year later, you found a vintage black faux-fur coat that seemed cheerfully Edward Gorey in the dressing room, then became disturbingly Edward Gorey when you a couple times and realized that you looked wore it later to the grocery like the treasurer of a coven. A year later, store. You haven’t been you found a vintage black faux-fur coat that able to look at it since. seemed cheerfully Edward Gorey in the This holiday season, dressing room, then became disturbingly you’ve so far managed to Edward Gorey when you avoid channeling your wore it later to the grocery deranged alter egos in the store. You haven’t been form of impulsive clothing purchases, but able to look at it since. I’d like to point out that, last week, you spent This holiday season, $4.99, plus tax, on essential-oil-infused pine you’ve so far managed to cones from Trader Joe’s. Then you realized avoid channeling your deranged alter egos in the form of impulsive clothing purchases, but I’d like to point out that, last week, you spent $4.99, plus tax, on essential-oil-infused pine cones from Trader Joe’s. Then you realized

BY THE END OF THE DAY, WHEN YOU STILL HADN’T GOTTEN A TEXT FROM CATE BLANCHETT,

YOU DECIDED THAT WE WERE DONE.

BY THE END OF THE DAY, WHEN YOU STILL HADN’T GOTTEN A TEXT FROM CATE BLANCHETT,

In December 2016, the ankle-length black suede skirt with that weird chevron waistband seemed like a cute enough reason to blow $50 at a thrift shop, until you wore it

YOU DECIDED THAT WE WERE DONE.

In December 2016, the ankle-length black suede skirt with that weird chevron waistband seemed like a cute enough reason to blow $50 at a thrift shop, until you wore it

This holiday season,

that you didn’t have a seasonally appropriate vessel in which to display them, so you went to Target and bought a wicker basket for $19.99. In total, you spent approximately $27, plus an eighth of a tank of gas, plus your monthly quota of self-respect, just to have that you didn’t have a seasonally appropriscented pine cones in your apartment. ate vessel in which to display them, so you Then you ordered a bunch of beeswent to Target and bought a wicker basket wax food-storage wrap on Amazon as a for $19.99. In total, you spent approximately present for your girlfriend, and now you $27, plus an eighth of a tank of gas, plus your think you’re basically Greta Thunberg. monthly quota of self-respect, just to have I’m ashamed to admit that I ever allowed scented pine cones in your apartment. myself to have a crush on you. Then you ordered a bunch of beesReally, you’re the worst. But also, wax food-storage wrap on Amazon as a call me? m present for your girlfriend, and now you think you’re basically Greta Thunberg. Contact: chelsea@sevendaysvt.com I’m ashamed to admit that I ever allowed myself to have a crush on you. Really, you’re the worst. But also, call me? m Contact: chelsea@sevendaysvt.com

Give a meal. Give hope. November 1 through December 31, look for the Helps Fight Hunger card tower at your neighborhood Hannaford store. Purchase a $5 or $10 Hannaford Helps Fight Hunger card to donate directly to the Vermont Foodbank. Every dollar provides

10 meals to neighbors in need.

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SEVEN DAYS DECEMBER 4-11, 2019

11/13/19 11:29 AM

CALEB KENNA

Emily and Justin Rose

Playing by Ear A new Steinway piano showroom opens in North Ferrisburgh

roomful of pianos takes up an inordinate amount of oxygen. Not literally — although pianos do tend to be picky about humidity and altitude — but in terms of impact: Every piano has a distinct presence, and a roomful of them demands air, attention and reverence. In North Ferrisburgh, Justin and Emily Rose have assembled a shining baker’s dozen of them, in hopes of establishing Vermont’s foremost piano outpost. Both Roses have been tuning and tinkering with pianos for years; they actually met through the Piano Technicians Guild. Emily has been playing piano since childhood. Justin, though primarily a double bass player, readily acknowledges the piano as the “king of instruments.” The couple had been reconditioning and selling pianos “casually” — as casually as one can sell an instrument that weighs up to 1,200 pounds. But, starting this month, they’ll begin selling Boston and Essex models, which are designed by piano giant Steinway & Sons. The Piano 40

SEVEN DAYS DECEMBER 4-11, 2019

Gallery will be one of few places in the state where residents can buy a new piano. “There’s a lot of people that play and have an interest in pianos,” Justin said of Vermont. “Steinway, they kind of want to have a toehold up here.” The building that houses their showroom was built in the 1940s as an IGA country store. Next door, the Roses and their 1-year-old son reside in an 1880s farmhouse; out back, even more pianos are stored in the barn. The homestead is set on a hillside with a seasonal stream running through it — all in all, a picturesque location in which to set up a shop full of instruments. Inside the showroom during a reporter’s visit, Justin hovered over the open lid of a vintage Steinway grand piano and described the different elements of the instrument. When any of the 88 keys is depressed, a felt-covered hammer strikes a string, which reverberates against the soundboard, a large wooden plate that lies flat in a grand piano and stands vertically in an upright piano.

BY MAR GAR E T GR AY S O N

Though large in diameter, this system doesn’t take up the majority of the instrument’s casing — most of the rest of the piano comprises beams and bracing. An average of 170 pounds of force pull on each string, with 20 tons of pulling force in the entire instrument. If it weren’t constructed sturdily and reinforced at every possible juncture, a piano’s natural inclination would be to collapse upon itself. Older pianos, Emily said, have sometimes warped under the pull of their own strings. For such a marvel of engineering, pianos are remarkably temperamental. The Roses describe piano tuning almost like a negotiation with the instrument — dozens of tiny adjustments to make the piano not only sound perfect but stay in tune. Though both Roses can tune by ear, they often utilize digital tuners to speed up the process. “You could literally tune a piano every day,” Justin said with a chuckle. A concert

BUSINESS

piano, for example, is often tuned before sound check, after sound check and sometimes even during intermission. A piano goes out of tune when it’s moved to a new location or played particularly hard, or when it experiences a change in temperature or humidity. It also happens gradually over time due to wear on the piano’s materials. “If it’s really flat, you basically have to tune it twice just to get it to stay,” Emily said. “Because it wants to go back where it was. So you have to manipulate it.” “They can be stubborn,” Justin agreed. “That’s why we like the new ones, because they’re fairly compliant.” Tom Cleary, who teaches jazz piano and improvisation at the University of Vermont, has hired Justin to tune his personal piano three times per year for many years. He said the Roses also tune all the UVM practice pianos, which number around 20, twice per year. “It’s kind of like servicing a fleet of rental cars that range from Chevy to Cadillac,” Cleary said. “You have to be familiar

with how to do the best possible upgrade in the shortest amount of time. Maybe it’s like running an emergency room, as well … It’s not like doing the same thing to every piano; every one has a different ailment. “It really is like being a physician,” Cleary continued, “and knowing not only what a piano needs but what it can withstand and what its owner can afford.” “There’s also a real cerebral element to it, too,” Emily said, in reference to the math, physics and music theory that go into tuning. “There’s no end to the things you can learn.” Though Emily and Justin were both tuning and servicing pianos before they became a couple and married, they said their pairing only helps their business prospects, because they can cover for each other and share clients when necessary. The showroom isn’t their only new venture together — they’re also expecting their second son in February. The showroom and their restored farmhouse are just a few steps apart, which makes it easier to balance childrearing and running a small business. The Roses also replace and adjust parts on pianos old and new. Their shop is full of partially disassembled antique

instruments; inside the cases or under New York City-based Steinway & the keys they’ve found everything from Sons has been making pianos since a 1907 Indian Head penny to a lizard 1853 and holds more than 130 patents skeleton. related to the instrument’s design. A Though Vermont has plenty of skilled Steinway grand, which many consider piano tuners and technithe gold standard in the market, contains more cians, multiple piano shops have closed around the state than 12,000 parts and can in recent years. Hansen & cost $75,000 to $175,000 Son Pianos in Shelburne new. But the company also closed a year before the 2014 designs pianos that are manufactured by outside death of its patriarch, Ole Hansen. He’d been in the partners at a lower cost — piano business in Vermont the Boston and Essex lines, for 45 years. In White River which run from $6,000 for Junction, Frederick Johnupright pianos to $50,000 son Pianos lost co-owner for grands. These are the Dale Howe in 2016, and instruments the Roses will just a few months later the sell, but they’ll also be able entire shop — containing to assist any Vermonter about 100 pianos — burned who wants to buy the highdown when a coiled extenend version. TO M C L E ARY sion cord connected to “The piano world is space heaters got too hot. different than a lot of other The Roses’ path toward a Stein- retail, because in a lot of other retail you way dealership began with becoming can buy things online,” said Anthony certified technicians, meaning they Gilroy, Steinway’s senior director of completed company trainings and marketing. “Pianos are very different are officially authorized to service because people want to select them, Steinways. they want to try them out; they want

IT’S NOT LIKE DOING THE SAME THING TO EVERY PIANO.

EVERY ONE HAS A DIFFERENT AILMENT.

Community

to actually play the piano, because they have different characteristics.” A piano, which arrives by tractortrailer without its legs attached, also can’t be assembled by the average homeowner. A technician is required to set it up, tune it and make sure it’s ready to play. “It’s important for us to have representation in as many different areas of the country as possible … while some other retailers are kind of downsizing,” Gilroy said. “We can’t really afford to do that.” Cleary said he was excited for the new showroom. “They’ve really filled a vacant spot that was a real need,” he said of the Roses. “It’s kind of a wonderland, a candy store for somebody like me. Every time I go there, I just don’t want to leave.” m Contact: margaret@sevendaysvt.com

INFO The Piano Gallery Opening Celebration, Saturday, December 7, and Sunday, December 8, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., at 453 Old Hollow Road in North Ferrisburgh. vermontpianogallery.com

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SEVEN DAYS DECEMBER 4-11, 2019

12/2/19 2:26 PM

food+drink

Rich Traditions Baking experts teach Christmas breads at a Fairfax workshop B Y M E L I SSA PASANEN

pair of centuries-old European Christmas baking traditions waltzed gracefully with each other around a Fairfax bakery on a chilly November Sunday. Evocative and festive aromas of candied citrus, macerating dried fruit and warm spices hung in the air as two expert bakers guided workshop participants through

the intricacies of making German stollen and Italian panettone. “Both are iconic holiday breads in different parts of Europe,” said Brot Bakehouse School and Kitchen owner and host instructor Heike Meyer. “These are luxury breads,” added guest instructor Jeremy Gulley, head pastry chef at Red Hen Baking in

Middlesex. “You know what I call panettone? The Italian stollen. You know what I call stollen? The German panettone.” The classic butter-rich, fruit-studded breads take time, know-how and attention at just the right moments. The six-hour, in-depth, hands-on workshop was not designed for the casual baker.

“We really want to teach people some substance,” Meyer said. Among the six participants, several were serious home bakers. Hien Le of Kirkland, Wash., even shared her aspiration to leave her day job and become a professional baker. RICH TRADITIONS

» P.44 GLENN RUSSELL

Student-made stollen fresh from the oven at Brot Bakehouse School and Kitchen

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Stowe at Sea JEFF’S MAINE SEAFOOD EXPANDS SOUTH

A restaurant that was established a generation ago in St. Albans will launch a second location this month in Stowe when JEFF’S AT STOWE opens in the Grey Fox Inn at 990 Mountain Road, general manager ANNA WALSH said. The seafood restaurant will share ownership and much of its menu with JEFF’S MAINE SEAFOOD, which was founded 30 years ago on North Main Street in St. Albans. Owner KATIE WALSH, who is Anna’s aunt, was a longtime server and bartender at Jeff’s before

she bought the business four years ago. “We’re hoping to open as soon as possible,” Anna Walsh told Seven Days on Monday. “There’s an appetite for seafood in Stowe.” Jeff’s at Stowe will serve dinner Thursday through Monday. On weekends, it will serve breakfast and follow its predecessor in the location, the Dutch Pancake Café, in offering sweet and savory Dutch pancakes, Walsh said. The chef, JAMES LEWIS, has worked at seasonal resorts and other dining establishments in the Adirondacks, most recently at Winton’s 1898 Tavern at Westport Golf in Westport, N.Y. “I’m COURTESY OF JEFF'S MAINE SEAFOOD

finding that Vermont has more of a foundation for food that’s farm-to-table,” Lewis said. The dinner menu will highlight seafood and steaks, but Jeff’s will also offer several pasta dishes. Starters will include Prince Edward Island mussels and shrimp cocktail; main dishes will range from pecan-crusted salmon to fried scallops to filet mignon to lobster mac and cheese. The restaurant has a full bar and seating in both the dining room and a lounge area. Walsh, formerly the general manager of the SKINNY PANCAKE’s Burlington International Airport location, said Jeff’s could open as soon as the second week of December.

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Ready for the ’20s PROHIBITION-STYLE SPEAKEASY OPENS IN ST. ALBANS

TWIGGS — AN AMERICAN

GASTROPUB owner TOM

MURPHY; LOUDON GRANGER COURTESY OF THE CLOTHIER

The bar at the Clothier

- ON DISPLAY AY IN DECEMBER A

Sally Pollak

The 1920s were the era of the speakeasy. In St. Albans, it looks like the 2020s will be, too. The CLOTHIER is a new cocktail lounge from Haddock with cheddar grits at Jeff’s Maine Seafood

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joins as the bar’s general manager. Like any good speakeasy, it’s shrouded in mystery. The space next to Twiggs was recently vacated by CATALYST COFFEE BAR and RED HOUSE SWEETS (both of which moved around the corner onto Lake Street). Now the storefront appears to be a clothing store with

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» P.45

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SEVEN DAYS DECEMBER 4-11, 2019

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On the other end of the spectrum was Amanda Rohdenburg of Burlington, who had come with a friend. She had never baked bread at home, “not even a little,” she admitted with a laugh. “I’m just in it for the snacks.” Throughout the day, Meyer (team stollen) and Gulley (team panettone) passed a virtual baton back and forth according to the needs of each bread. About an hour into the workshop, Meyer politely asked Gulley, “Can we move from Italy to Germany? I don’t need too long.” The panettone Gulley was demonstrating was slower and more finicky than Meyer’s stollen. He was baking with natural leavening while she was using packaged yeast. Either bread can be made with natural leavening, a rising agent that includes wild yeasts and bacteria. It is often known by its French name, levain, or called sourdough starter, even when the resulting bread does not have the tang of a San Francisco sourdough. “Yeast is like rocket fuel for your bread,” Gulley explained. “Levain is more like riding on a snail.” Even if made with the same rising agent, the two holiday breads bake up very differently based on various factors. Panettone has a lighter, airier texture; stollen is heavier and denser. Meyer, a native of Berlin, Germany, who moved to Vermont with her husband in 2008, has both a personal and professional relationship with stollen, whereas Gulley’s connection to panettone is purely work related. Red Hen bakes and sells about 115 large and 400 small panettones from midNovember to Christmas each year. They are only available at the Middlesex bakery. For Meyer, 51, the annual tradition goes back to childhood. “I’m completely immersed in stollen,” she said. “I grew up with it.” During a bakery job she held as a teenager, it was Meyer’s responsibility to pick off any burnt raisins after the stollen had been baked to a burnished mahogany. “We had a very strict boss, very oldschool,” she recalled. “If the bread came out not right, he would slap you.” On the plus side, she became really good at picking off blackened raisins, as she demonstrated deftly during the workshop. “And it really instilled my sense for good ingredients,” Meyer added. Each day on that job, she dipped “hundreds and hundreds” of loaves into melted organic butter from grass-fed cows to seal the bread for curing up to several weeks. Curing develops flavor. “I wouldn’t 44

SEVEN DAYS DECEMBER 4-11, 2019

PHOTOS: GLENN RUSSELL

Rich Traditions « P.42

Heike Meyer (left) helping students prepare loaves of stollen

even think of cutting into stollen before one week,” Meyer said. “It is delicious the next day, but the same stollen put away for four weeks has much better flavor.” Thankfully, there was no slapping during the Sunday workshop, just plentiful encouragement and good ingredients in a sweet little bakehouse in the woods. Meyer had been working in New York City as a producer for German public radio and television when she and her husband, Jens, decided to move to Vermont. “I really wanted to do food, and we knew Vermont had a community that was very active in food,” she recalled. Specifically, she added, “I wanted to do something with bread. I just loved bread. I was always committed to bread.” The baker started selling naturally leavened, whole-grain breads and pastries at the Westford farmers market in 2010 under the name BeeSting Bakery. Customers asked if she taught, so she decided to try. After a few years of juggling classes and production baking for retail stores, she realized, “If I really want to do this right, I have to focus on the school.” Meyer said she thrives on “the pure joy of baking bread, of creating and baking for and with people … That’s why the school is so perfect. You get together and bake.” Brot now offers educational workshops most weekends May through December with a growing roster of guest RICH TRADITIONS

» P.49

Amanda Rohdenburg shaping dough

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Side Dishes « P.43 elaborately decorated window displays. The clothes are just a façade, albeit a historically appropriate one; the building was home to G.P. Twigg’s clothing store more than a century ago in the town’s railroad days. Patrons enter the store and make their way through 1930s-era butler doors into a changing room, where they pull a candlestick to open the bar entrance. “We put 250 people through there on Saturday night during our soft opening, and nobody could figure it out,” Murphy said. Once they get inside, customers can expect classic cocktails to fit the Prohibition-era theme, as well as variations highlighting Vermont spirits. Granger plans to change the cocktail menu with the seasons. “It’s a modern take on that 1920s feel,” he said. Murphy credits general manager Granger, who started working at Twiggs when he was 16, with doing most of the work to make the speakeasy a reality,

including design, menu development and social media. “Tom and I sat down and wanted to do something for St. Albans,” Granger said. “We’re proud of how the town has grown, and this felt like a great way to pay homage to the past of the building and give something back to the community.” The speakeasy is connected to the Twiggs kitchen, and Murphy said the team is developing a small menu meant for sharing that will be distinct from the offerings at Twiggs. The Clothier had its grand opening on Tuesday, December 3, in conjunction with the town’s Festival of Trees. The lounge boasts a baby grand piano, poker table, chess, pool and darts, and the partners hope to encourage patrons to socialize and connect there. A sign at the entrance reads, “You’re stepping back in time, put your phone away and connect with people like it’s 1920.” Jordan Barry

CONNECT Follow us for the latest food gossip! On Twitter: Sally Pollak: @vtpollak. On Instagram: Seven Days: @7deatsvt; Jordan Barry: @jordankbarry.

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Vision for Vittles UVM, NORWICH RECEIVE GRANT TO BOOST LOCAL FOOD PROCESSING

11/14/19 2:49 PM

NORTHEAST SEAFOOD

The University of Vermont, Norwich University, SODEXO and their affiliated partners will receive a $250,000 grant designed to strengthen regional food systems by putting more local food on campus menus, the Henry P. Kendall Foundation announced on Monday. The recipients are among six teams of institutions to be awarded the foundation’s New England Food Vision Prize. The money will be used for “state-of-the-art” food processing equipment for regional food processors, according to the foundation’s press release. “The new equipment will allow the food processors to buy and prepare much more locally grown produce than they do currently and sell it to a variety of institutions.” The schools’ grant partners are DartmouthHitchcock medical center, UVM Medical Center, the VERMONT FOOD VENTURE CENTER in Hardwick and the Pioneer Valley Growers Association in South Deerfield, Mass.

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SEVEN DAYS DECEMBER 4-11, 2019

12/2/19 2:19 PM

Chef Joey Buttendorf teaching at the Community Kitchen Academy

JOEY BUTTENDORF POSITION: Senior chef instructor LOCATION: Community Kitchen Academy at Capstone Community Action, Barre AGE: 49

Organizing Chaos

CUISINE TYPE: Contemporary global, or

“everything!” EDUCATION: New England Culinary Institute EXPERIENCE: Currently consulting as

executive chef for the Black Lantern Inn in Montgomery. Has been owner-operator of Gigi’s Deli, Bakery and Catering in Stowe; executive chef at Jay Peak Resort; chef instructor and chef of student advancement at NECI; and trainer at Sandals Resorts in the Caribbean. WHAT’S ON THE MENU? 15,000 pounds

Chef Joey Buttendorf brings new energy to Community Kitchen Academy B Y JOR D AN BAR RY

hef Joey Buttendorf didn’t expect to find herself in another teaching job. But when she started working as senior chef instructor at Barre’s Community Kitchen Academy in September, she had a feeling she’d be doing more than she had before. “This job has a lot of meaning,” Buttendorf said. Since 2009, Community Kitchen Academy has trained underemployed and unemployed Vermonters for careers in the food service industry. Run by the Vermont Foodbank, the statewide program has a Burlington branch in partnership with Feeding Chittenden; in Barre, where “Chef Joey” teaches, it’s in partnership with Capstone Community Action.

For 12 consecutive weeks, students learn how to work in a high-volume production kitchen through hands-on instruction and academic work, which translates to nine college-level credits for qualifying graduates. Since 2009, more than 190 students have graduated from Community Kitchen Academy and gone to work in restaurants around the state, the academy reported. Buttendorf said those include the Trapp Family Lodge, Sodexo and Stoweflake Mountain Resort & Spa. Buttendorf ’s culinary experience, which includes cooking for 15 years in the industry before enrolling at NECI, has taken her all over the state and even to the Caribbean. But it was a NECI connection

that brought her to this job; former Community Kitchen Academy chef David Eyler was also an alum. “NECI catapulted me into teaching and understanding food,” Buttendorf said. Now, she’ll rely on her network of NECI colleagues around the state to help find jobs for the newly minted culinary professionals she’s teaching. Thanksgiving week, Buttendorf and her students made maple nut, pumpkin and apple pies to sell as a fundraiser, donating one pie to the Foodbank for every pie they sold. It was an early test of teamwork for the students and a lesson in giving back to the community. Buttendorf talked with Seven Days about

SEVEN DAYS: What drew you to your new job? JOEY BUTTENDORF: It’s working with people to help them better their lives and situations, and I get to do that through my passion for teaching. Working with resource food was a draw, too. That’s a huge challenge for a chef: To take food that’s coming in a box that may not be perfect and make it perfect is really hard to

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Organizing Chaos « P.46 do. To do it with 10 people who have never cooked before is even more of a challenge. SD: How is Community Kitchen Academy different from other places you’ve taught? JB: The program is very mission-driven. You’re helping people; you’re utilizing food from the Foodbank; you’re teaching them classical culinary skills that they need to be able to obtain a job. You’re also teaching them how to be confident, how to interview, how to look somebody in the eye and shake their hand, and how to keep their head up during the day. They learn work ethic. They learn critical thinking skills. They learn all the things they need to be able to work in any kitchen. At the end of the 12 weeks, the students go to local restaurants for a week of work experience. There’s a 92 percent job placement [rate] for the students from there. I would never send any one of these students to an environment that is going to be too hostile or where the chef is going to fly off the handle. I will hand-select where every student goes as much as I possibly can. SD: When you start teaching someone how to cook, what’s lesson No. 1? JB: Yes, Chef. [Laughing] I know it sounds weird and hierarchical, but if you knew everything, you wouldn’t be in my kitchen in the first place. That, I think, is the hardest transition for people to make: to just shut up and learn. I teach them about mise en place. Are you ready to be here? Mental mise en place, physical mise en place, spiritual mise en place.

Really, the first things I’m teaching students at CKA are: Do you have your uniform on right? How to show up on time, how to be punctual and why that matters. And then stocks and sauces are the first thing. Knife skills, safety, equipment — all the basics. Understanding my students’ attention span is huge. I had to learn how to teach them.

teacher, it’s impossible not to get excited. But I think it’s really about inspiring all the way around so that they actually are excited to get up today, and they might not have been three weeks ago. That makes me really happy.

SD: Is gardening part of the curriculum? JB: I garden like mad! I live in Montgomery, on 25 acres on a mountain. I have SD: What are your favorite dishes to teach? raised beds at home, and I’m also part of JB: This is my first time, so this is where the community garden in Montgomery. this program gets It just got wrecked tricky. I can’t say, “I in the flooding, but want to cook lasamy mom and I do gna with you.” I that together, and have to wait to see we love it. Gardenwhat comes in on ing is so important my dock. to cooking, because Our kitchen is you have to do it to able to purchase J O E Y BUT TE ND O R F understand where a few staples, but food comes from. most of the food we teach our students Yesterday in class I said to my students, with comes from the Foodbank. Some- “I’m putting a garden out back, and I don’t times farmers will show up and say, care what anybody says.” It’s important for “Hey, do you want five Hubbard squash me to help students connect all the dots. that weigh 100 pounds?” That happened When you know who grew your carrot, this week, and my students walked in it gives you that much more passion for and went, “What are those things?” the carrot. They’d never seen a Hubbard squash. You’ve got to be connected to life. If What I can do is make all the stocks, you don’t go out and garden, you don’t make all the five mother sauces. I can make know what an earthworm looks like. I sure I have those ingredients here. I’m a think it’s important to have everybody well-rounded chef: I bake pies; I make understand that we all can be connected. roast beef; I do it all. I love to braise dishes Culinary [work] has taught me a lot and teach them how to cook sauces. Those about religion, a lot about geography, a are my favorite things. lot about the world, a lot about global warming, overpopulation, agriculture, sustainable agriculture. Without cookSD: Are those the things students get excited about, too? ing, I probably wouldn’t have [learned] JB: They will. If you have an excited all that.

IF YOU HAVE AN EXCITED TEACHER,

IT’S IMPOSSIBLE NOT TO GET EXCITED.

SD: Before you went to culinary school, you studied classical music. Do you see connections between the two? JB: I was a classical music theory major at Johnson State College — never finished. I played piano, guitar and clarinet. But I cooked my way through school, and one day I told my dad, “I can’t do this anymore. I’m going to cook.” I think I turned my artistic ability into food. I see connections between reading and writing classical music and expediting a line all the time. You have to organize chaos. When you read four parts of music, you have to divvy up your brain into four different places, right? When you are expediting a line and you have four stations, it’s the same kind of thing. SD: If you weren’t a chef, what would you do? JB: I’d be a rally car driver. I love cars, and I’d need to do something high-energy that keeps my adrenaline going, because cooking really does that. I also love music, but … I learned that I love music too much to be a musician. Cooking is the only occupation I can think of that uses all five senses all the time. We’re touching, tasting, seeing, hearing, feeling food. It’s kind of wild. m This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity and length. Contact: jbarry@sevendaysvt.com

INFO Learn more about Community Kitchen Academy at vtfoodbank.org and capstonevt.org.

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SEVEN DAYS DECEMBER 4-11, 2019

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food+drink Rich Traditions « P.44 instructors such as Gulley — who has also taught at the renowned King Arthur Flour Baking School in Norwich — and nationally known bakers, including James Beard Foundation award winner Sarah Owens and highly regarded blogger Maurizio Leo. On some summer and fall weekends, Meyer opens her Fairfax bakery for limited bread sales. Breads are also available seasonally at a local farmstand and on the menu at Misery Loves Co. in Winooski. Brot stollen, along with lebkuchen and zimtsterne Christmas cookies, are sold direct and through City Market, Onion River Co-op during the holiday season. HEIKE January through April, Meyer takes a break to travel and learn. This year, she attended a three-day stollen course at the German National Bakers Academy. It covered 25 different recipes, even a vegan version made with olive oil that she included in the Sunday workshop. Christmas breads have long been a tradition in Europe, Meyer explained to the group. But since the season was also a time of fasting, bakers were not permitted to use butter, only oil. “It was to keep you down to earth, so you would concentrate on more important things,” she said. In 1491, in response to a specific request from the region around what is now the German town of Dresden, the pope penned the famous “butter letter.” It permitted bakers to pay for the right to use butter; that revenue then funded church construction. The most renowned stollen, known as Dresdner Christstollen, can be baked only in that city and must meet very strict recipe specifications. Even though Meyer follows the Dresden recipe, because the loaves are baked in Vermont, they must be called premium stollen. She also described the outdoor Dresden Christmas market, where all 100-plus official Dresdner Christstollen bakers set up their stands. “On a cold day, you go to your favorite stollen baker, buy a slice and get some gluhwein, hot mulled wine,” she said. “The Italians, they stay in all cozy and eat their panettone with a glass of red wine.” For either bread, Meyer said, “This is a once-in-the-year special treat. You want to use the best ingredients: the best butter, the best fruits, the highest-quality liquor [to soak the fruits].” Meyer candies all of her own citrus. “It just brings so much flavor to it,” she said,

handing around a small bowl for tasting. She also grinds her stollen spice mix fresh from whole spices. It includes cardamom, mace, allspice, cloves, star anise, cinnamon, coriander, nutmeg, ginger and vanilla seeds. Everyone carefully sniffed a sample. “It’s like a gourmet version of the pumpkin spice latte,” joked workshop participant David Chen of Shelburne. “You can play around with it at home,” Meyer said, encouraging everyone to make their own unique spice mix. Baking bread, however, does not allow for too much playing around, until you’re a seasoned baker. “This isn’t rocket science. It’s more experience than anything,” Gulley said, before admitting that even he has failMEY E R ures sometimes. “I screwed it up royally this week,” he said ruefully, noting that his first trial run of panettone suffered from room-temperature challenges. Both instructors agreed that using a scale and a thermometer is essential for success. “As many variables as you can take out of your baking, the better,” Gulley said. Precision, though, must be balanced with less scientific insights. At many points during the workshop, the instructors urged the students to touch, smell and even taste the doughs. “Baking is about feeling,” Meyer said. Everybody left the workshop with a sheaf of instructions and information, their own loaves of stollen, a small container of starter, and a formed panettone to bake the next morning after a final rise. Earlier in the day, Meghan Butler of South Burlington explained that she had come to learn about panettone, which is a Christmas tradition for her Peruvian boyfriend and his family. Interestingly, the holiday bread traveled with Italian immigrants to South America. “They stay up late and eat it at midnight,” Butler explained. “We bought 10 of them last year, and I’m taking this class so I can find out if I can make them, or eliminate that possibility.” After the workshop, how did she feel? A little overwhelmed by the complexity, Butler admitted, “but I will probably try it.” m

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SEVEN DAYS DECEMBER 4-11, 2019

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their minds and bodies. Barre Area Senior Center, 1-3 p.m. Donations; preregister. Info, 479-9512.

CENSUS 2020 RECRUITING & INFORMATION CENTER: Job seekers learn about temporary federal part- and full-time positions as clerks, recruiters, IT specialists and managers in Chittenden County. Fletcher Free Library, Burlington, 5:30-7 p.m. Free. Info,jeanne.l.zimmer man@2020census.gov.

‘TAKING FLIGHT’: In a lightly produced showing, dancers interpret experimental works by emerging Middlebury College choreographers. Dance Theatre, Mahaney Arts Center, Middlebury College, 5 p.m. Free. Info, 443-3168.

community

COLCHESTER AVE.: BIKEWAYS, PARKING & INTERSECTION SAFETY: Community members voice issues and concerns related to a study of the local roadway. McClure Conference Room, University of Vermont Medical Center, Burlington, 6:30-8:30 p.m. Free. Info, 865-1794.

crafts

CRAFT SALE: MOONLIGHT MADNESS: A dozen vendors purvey jewelry, ornaments, health and wellness products, and more. Brandon Congregational Church, 4-8 p.m. Free. Info, 779-7909. FIBER RIOT!: Creative types get hooked on knitting, crocheting, spinning and more at an informal weekly gathering. Mad River Fiber Arts & Mill, Waitsfield, 5-7:30 p.m. Free. Info, 496-7746. KNITTER’S GROUP: Crafters share their latest projects and get help with challenging patterns. All skill levels are welcome. South Burlington Community Library, University Mall, 6:30-8 p.m. Free. Info, 846-4140.

dance

SQUARE DANCING: Swing your partner! Dancers forge friendships while exercising

etc.

CHITTENDEN COUNTY STAMP CLUB MEETING: First-class collectibles provide a glimpse into the postal past at this monthly gathering. Williston Fire Station, 6:30 p.m. Free. Info, 660-4817.

film

See what’s playing at local theaters in the movies section. ‘EARTH FLIGHT 3D’: Revolutionary aerial techniques and state-of-the-art 3D cameras take viewers on a journey across the world on the wings of birds. 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, $11.50-14.50; admission free for members and kids 2 and under. Info, 864-1848. ‘INCREDIBLE PREDATORS 3D’: Advanced filming techniques expose the planet’s top hunters on land, under the sea and in the air. 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, $11.50-14.50; admission free for members

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 SUBMISSION FORM AND GUIDELINES AT SEVENDAYSVT.COM/POSTEVENT. LISTINGS AND SPOTLIGHTS ARE WRITTEN BY KRISTEN RAVIN AND DAN BOLLES. 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. WHEN APPROPRIATE, CLASS ORGANIZERS MAY BE ASKED TO PURCHASE A CLASS LISTING.

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SEVEN DAYS DECEMBER 4-11, 2019

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and kids 2 and under. Info, 864-1848. MOVIE: Snacks are provided at a showing of a popular film. Call for title. Dorothy Alling Memorial Library, Williston, 5:30 p.m. Free. Info, 878-4918. ‘SPACE JUNK 3D’: A growing ring of orbiting debris is at the center of an out-of-thisworld film showing natural and man-made collisions. 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, $11.50-14.50; admission free for members and kids 2 and under. Info, 864-1848. ‘TINY GIANTS 3D’: An immersive film reveals the astonishing lives of the smallest of animals — think chipmunks and grasshopper mice. Northfield Savings Bank 3D Theater: A National Geographic Experience, ECHO Leahy Center for Lake Champlain, Burlington, 11:30 a.m., 1:30 & 3:30 p.m. $3-5 plus regular admission, $11.50-14.50; admission free for members and kids 2 and under. Info, 864-1848.

games

BRIDGE CLUB: Players have fun with the popular card game. Burlington Bridge Club, Williston, 9:15 a.m. & 1:30 p.m. $6. Info, 872-5722.

Unexpected guests during the holidays can be unsettling. Now imagine that said guests are three ghosts forcing you to face your past mistakes, present misery and future fate. That’s what Ebenezer Scrooge endured one haunting night in Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol. The Nebraska Theatre Caravan comes to the Flynn MainStage for the 36th year with Dickens’ 1843 tale of miserly Mr. Scrooge and the trio of apparitions that help him find the true meaning of Christmas. Adapted for the stage by Charles Jones, the music-filled production features 23 cast members carrying out the classic yuletide story against Broadway-style scenery.

‘A CHRISTMAS CAROL’ Friday, December 6, 7 p.m., at Flynn MainStage in Burlington. $25-62. Info, 863-5966, flynntix.org.

Love for the Library What better way to attract supporters to a library fundraiser than by booking a celebrated author? Lit lovers line up to fête young-adult fiction writer Kekla Magoon at the Kellogg-Hubbard Library’s 14th annual fundraiser: An Evening at the Library. Recently in the spotlight as a finalist for the 2019 Vermont Book Award, Magoon is the author of more than a dozen titles, including the middle-grade novel The Season of Styx Malone, about a friendship between two sheltered brothers and an intriguing new neighbor. Patrons applaud the NAACP Image Award-winning wordsmith at a reception with wine, hors d’oeuvres and a silent auction.

AN EVENING AT THE LIBRARY Saturday, December 7, 6:30 p.m., at Kellogg-Hubbard Library in Montpelier. $60. Info, rysenechal@ kellogghubbard.org, kellogghubbard.org.

MAH JONGG IN BARRE: Fun, friendship and conversation flow as players manipulate tiles. Barre Area Senior Center, 10 a.m. Free. Info, 479-9512.

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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 local theaters in the movies section and at sevendayst.com/movies.

music + nightlife Find club dates at local venues in the music + nightlife section and at sevendaysvt.com/music. All family-oriented events are now published in Kids VT, our free parenting monthly. Look for it on newsstands and check out the online calendar at kidsvt.com.

DEC.7 | WORDS

DEC.6 | HOLIDAYS

DEC.7 | FILM

Life Changes “In general, since I started school, little by little, I went further and further away from my place.” These are the words of Khongoroo, the subject of Middlebury filmmaker Sas Carey’s new documentary, Transition. The film, officially released next year, focuses on 27-yearold Khongoroo as she reconciles her upbringing as a nomadic reindeer herder in Mongolia’s remote East Taiga with her new life as a physician in the country’s capital, Ulaanbaatar. “I think I gained a lot and lost a lot,” Khongoroo says in the movie’s trailer. A reception with Carey paves the way for this special prerelease screening.

‘TRANSITION’ Saturday, December 7, 8 p.m., at Town Hall Theater in Middlebury. $22. Info, 382-9222, townhalltheater.org.

A SOL LA DEC.7 | MUSIC

f you’ve seen the 2004 Academy Award-winning Civil War drama Cold Mountain, you’ve heard musician Tim Eriksen. Drawing on his deep knowledge of musical traditions, the singer and multi-instrumentalist lent his chops to the film’s Americana soundtrack. A player of banjo, fiddle, guitar and bajo sexto — a Mexican 12-string acoustic bass — Eriksen has served as front person for groups such as folk-noise band Cordelia’s Dad, shape-note quartet Northampton Harmony, and Bosnian folk and pop band Zabe i Babe. The Americana master brings his powerful interpretations of ballads, shape-note hymns and dance tunes to a Green Mountain State concert.

COURTESY OF JO CHATTMAN

TIM ERIKSEN Saturday, December 7, 7 p.m., at River Arts in Morrisville. $15. Info, 888-1261, riverartsvt.org.

SEVEN DAYS DECEMBER 4-11, 2019

Making a Difference IN THE LIFE OF A CHILD

NFI Vermont, Inc. is currently seeking therapeutic respite providers and foster parents to provide a structured, well-supervised nurturing home for children ages 6 - 18. Teach socially appropriate behavior in a family setting, promote situations that enhance self-esteem and positive life choices and encourage constructive problem solving. Full-Time therapeutic foster parents receive a tax-free stipend of $1950 per month, a team of professionals and 24-hour support system. For more information please call Jodie Clarke at 802-363-7578 or jodieclarke@nafi.com

NFI Vermont, Inc., 30 Airport Road, So. Burlingtone

GIVEthe Gift of

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health & fitness

SEEKING THERAPEUTIC FOSTER PARENTS & RESPITE PROVIDERS FOR VERMONT YOUTH

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FITNESS

ALL-LEVELS ACROYOGA CLASS: The mindfulness and breath of yoga meet the playful aspects of acrobatics in a partner practice. No partners or experience required. Sangha Studio — Pine, Burlington, 7-8 p.m. Donations. Info, 798-2651. CHAIR YOGA: Whether experiencing balance issues or recovering from illness or injury, health-conscious community members drop in for a weekly low-stress class. Waterbury Public Library, 10:15-11:15 a.m. Free. Info, 244-7036. CONNECTIONS FOR CHANGE: COMMUNITY-SUPPORTED ADDICTION RECOVERY: Folks come together for dinner and informal conversation with Barre-area treatment providers. Childcare is available. Good Shepherd Episcopal Church, Barre, 6:15-7:30 p.m. Free. Info, 476-3929. RESILIENCE FLOW: Individuals affected by traumatic brain injuries engage in a gentle yoga practice. Sangha Studio — Pine, Burlington, 3:30-4:30 p.m. Donations. Info, 448-4262. YOGA4CANCER: Meant for anyone affected by the illness, this class aims to help participants manage treatment side effects and recovery. Sangha Studio — North, Burlington, noon-1 p.m. Donations. Info, 448-4262.

holidays

COTS TREE SALE: Fresh, local balsams find new homes. Proceeds benefit the Committee on Temporary Shelter. City Market, Onion River Co-op, downtown Burlington. $40 per tree. Info, 861-9700.

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DECORATING FOR THE HOLIDAY OPEN HOUSE & LUNCHEON: Locals lend a hand with adorning the Milton Historical Society in preparation for a community event. Milton Historical Society, 7 p.m. Free. Info, 893-1604. HOLIDAY COMMUNITY DINNER & ANNUAL MEETING: Friends and neighbors feast alongside Winooski Partnership for Prevention representatives. O’Brien Community Center, Winooski, 5:30-7 p.m. Free; preregister for childcare. Info, 655-4565. ‘LOVE ACTUALLY’: Hugh Grand and Emma Thompson star in this 2003 romantic comedy centered on eight couples and their interrelated stories leading up to Christmas. Catamount Arts Center, St. Johnsbury, 7 p.m. Free. Info, 748-2600. ST. ALBANS FESTIVAL OF TREES: Movies, live entertainment, breakfast with Santa, a treelighting ceremony and more set the holiday season in motion. See vtfestivaloftrees.com for details. Various St. Albans locations. Prices vary. Info, vtfestivaloftrees@gmail.com.

language

BEGINNER & INTERMEDIATE/ ADVANCED ENGLISH LANGUAGE CLASSES: Learners take communication to the next level. Fletcher Free Library, Burlington, 6:30-8 p.m. Free. Info, 865-7211. GERMAN CONVERSATION GROUP: Community members practice conversing auf Deutsch. Fletcher Free Library, Burlington, 6:30-8 p.m. Free. Info, 865-7211. LUNCH IN A FOREIGN LANGUAGE: SPANISH: ¡Hola! Language lovers perfect their fluency. Kellogg-Hubbard Library, Montpelier, noon-1 p.m. Free. Info, 223-3338.

lgbtq

LUNCH WITH BOI CHAPLAIN: Those questioning, seeking or needing spiritual friendship drop in for a chat with minister in training Danielle. Pride Center of Vermont, Burlington, noon-1 p.m. Free. Info, 860-7812. SHAPE NOTES BOOK DISCUSSION: Readers cover Jennifer Finney Boylan’s She’s Not There: A Life in Two Genders as part of a programming series focused on stories from the transgender community. Fletcher Free Library, Burlington, 6:30-8 p.m. Free. Info, 863-3403.

music

Find club dates in the music section. ACABELLAS: An all-women ensemble serves up a lively a cappella performance. McCarthy Arts Center, Saint Michael’s College, Colchester, 6 p.m. Free. Info, 654-2000. CONTEMPORARY MUSIC ENSEMBLES: Fingers snap and toes tap along with tunes played by student musicians. Dibden Center for the Arts, Northern Vermont University-Johnson, 7 p.m. $5; free for NVU students. Info, 635-1408.

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 local theaters in the movies section and at sevendayst.com/movies.

music + comedy Find club dates at local venues in the music + nightlife section and at sevendaysvt.com/music. All family-oriented events are now published in Kids VT, our free parenting monthly. Look for it on newsstands and check out the online calendar at kidsvt.com. Learn more about highlighted listings in the Magnificent 7 on page 11.

OLD NORTH END NEIGHBORHOOD BAND TEEN MUSIC JAM: Be they accomplished or beginner musicians, young players find harmony in the traditional music of Burlington’s past and present immigrant groups. Boys & Girls Club, Burlington, 6-7:30 p.m. Free. Info, 881-8500. SONG CIRCLE: Singers and musicians congregate for an acoustic session of popular folk tunes. Godnick Adult Center, Rutland, 7:15-9:15 p.m. Donations. Info, 775-1182. STUDENT PERFORMANCE RECITAL: In solos and duets, students breathe life into the music of Charlie Parker, Cole Porter, Thelonious Monk, Antonio Carlos Jobim and others. University of Vermont Recital Hall, Burlington, 7:30 p.m. Free. Info, 656-3040.

seminars

REAL ESTATE INVESTING WORKSHOPS: Local professionals provide resources and up-to-date information when sharing their experiences with investment properties. Preferred Properties, Williston, 6-7:15 p.m. Free. Info, 862-9106.

talks

BRANDON DEL POZO: Burlington’s police chief looks at how citizens and law enforcement can work together in “Policing and Community in Vermont.” Kellogg-Hubbard Library, Montpelier, 7-8:30 p.m. Free. Info, 223-3338. ERICA HEILMAN: “Making ‘Rumble Strip’ in My Closet” reveals the podcast host’s interview process and stories from behind the scenes. Norwich Congregational Church, 7 p.m. Free. Info, 649-1184. LESLEY-ANN GIDDINGS: The Middlebury College assistant professor expounds upon acid rock drainage at Ely Copper Mine in Vershire. Room 207, Bentley Hall, Northern Vermont University-Johnson, 4 p.m. Free. Info, les.kanat@northern vermont.edu. MARK BREEN: Heard on Vermont Public Radio’s “Eye on the Sky” forecast, the meteorologist shares his expertise in “Vermont’s Climate: Past, Present and Future.” Goodrich Memorial Library, Newport, 7 p.m. Free. Info, 334-7902. MATT GARCIA: The Dartmouth College professor considers the series of border crossings required for the production and consumption of food. Brownell Library, Essex Junction, 7 p.m. Free. Info, 878-6955. MITCHELL S. JACKSON: Inspired by Martin Luther King Jr.’s 1967 speech “The Other America,” the author reflects on his childhood in a poor, black community in Portland, Ore. Rutland Free Library, 7 p.m. Free. Info, 773-1860. VENERABLE LOSANG TENDAR: Hosted by the Milarepa Center, the Buddhist monk from the Netherlands discusses “Maitreya

the gift of grooming

LIST YOUR EVENT FOR FREE AT SEVENDAYSVT.COM/POSTEVENT

Pure Land Project — The Next Step for Nalanda Monastery.” Snacks and drinks are provided. The Space on Main, Bradford, 6:30-8:30 p.m. Donations. Info, 633-4136.

tech

TECH HELP WITH CLIF: Electronics novices develop skill sets applicable to smartphones, tablets and other gadgets. Brownell Library, Essex Junction, noon & 1 p.m. Free; preregister. Info, 878-6955. TECH SUPPORT: Need an email account? Want to enjoy ebooks? Bring your phone, tablet or laptop to a weekly help session. St. Johnsbury Athenaeum, 3-5 p.m. Free. Info, 748-8291.

theater

‘THE SOUND OF MUSIC’: The hills are alive in Northern Stage’s production of Rodgers & Hammerstein’s classic tale of a nun who became a singing nanny in pre-World War II Austria. Byrne Theater, Barrette Center for the Arts, White River Junction, 11 a.m. & 7:30 p.m. $3469. Info, 296-7000.

words

ALISON BECHDEL: Fans of the genre are drawn to “Graphic Novels to Watch Out For,” a lecture by the author of the 2006 graphic memoir Fun Home: A Family Tragicomedy. Wilson Hall, McCullough Student Center, Middlebury College, 7 p.m. Free. Info, 388-4095. LIFTING SHAKESPEARE OFF THE PAGE: Fans of the Bard access their own powerful voices by reading, reciting and performing works by William Shakespeare. Author Peter Gould leads this interactive workshop. St. Johnsbury Athenaeum, 7 p.m. Free. Info, 748-8291. WRITING CIRCLE: Words pour out when participants explore creative expression in a lowpressure environment. The Pathways Vermont Community Center, Burlington, 4-5 p.m. Free. Info, 888-492-8218, ext. 303.

THU.5 bazaars

BAKED BEADS JEWELRY & SCARF SALE: Fashionistas scoop up baubles, garments and more at low prices. Holiday Inn, South Burlington, 10 a.m.-7 p.m. Free. Info, 496-2440.

business

LEARN HOW TO SELL AT THE BURLINGTON & WINOOSKI FARMERS MARKET & BCA SUMMER ARTISTS MARKET: Purveyors learn what it takes to successfully sell at local seasonal markets in a class covering everything from fees to start-up considerations to lessons learned from market managers. BCA Center, Burlington, 2-4 p.m. Free; preregister. Info, 860-1417, ext. 116.

cannabis

‘CONVERSATION ABOUT CANNABIS: LESSONS FROM OUR NEIGHBORS’: Hosted by the Office of the Vermont Attorney General, a panel discussion delves into lessons learned from Massachusetts and Maine as the states prepared for legal consumer cannabis. Burlington City Hall Auditorium, 5:30-7:30 p.m. Free. Info, 828-3171.

community

CENSUS 2020 RECRUITING & INFORMATION CENTER: See WED.4, 10:30 a.m.-noon. WILLISTON’S ENERGY PLAN: Locals learn about the proposed energy plan for the town of Williston. Questions are welcome. Dorothy Alling Memorial Library, Williston, 7 p.m. Free. Info, 878-4918.

dance

DANCE COMPANY OF MIDDLEBURY: IN-PROGRESS SHOWING: Dance devotees view an original evening-length work to be performed and toured in January. Dance Theatre, Mahaney Arts Center, Middlebury College, 5 p.m. Free. Info, 443-3168. FLIP FABRIQUE: In Blizzard: Taking the Stage by Storm, the Canadian cirque troupe celebrates winter’s thrills and chills with juggling, acrobatics and live music. Moore Theater, Hopkins Center for the Arts, Dartmouth College, Hanover, N.H., 7:30 p.m. $12-40. Info, 603-646-2422.

etc.

LA LECHE LEAGUE MEETING: Nursing mothers share breastfeeding tips and resources. Essex Free Library, 6:30-8 p.m. Free. Info, lllessexvt@gmail.com. QUEEN CITY BICYCLE CLUB MONTHLY RIDE: Folks who identify as women, trans, femme and nonbinary empower one another on a group excursion complete with glitter and a giant boom box. A drink ticket awaits each rider at Zero Gravity Craft Brewery. Old Spokes Home, Burlington, 6-8 p.m. Free. Info, christine.tyler@gmail.com. STUDENT TALENT SHOW: Pupils showcase their talents in music, comedy and dance. Alexander Twilight Theatre, Northern Vermont University-Lyndon, 7 p.m. $3-5. Info, 626-6413.

film

See what’s playing at local theaters in the movies section. ‘EARTH FLIGHT 3D’: See WED.4. ‘INCREDIBLE PREDATORS 3D’: See WED.4. SIGHT & SOUND II SCREENING: Artists showcase work produced in a Department of Film and Media Culture class. Dana Auditorium, Sunderland Language Center, Middlebury College, 7 p.m. Free. Info, 443-3168. ‘SPACE JUNK 3D’: See WED.4. ‘THRASHER ROAD’: Shot on location from California to Vermont,

an award-winning feature film tells the story of a pregnant woman on a cross-country trip with her estranged father. Filmmaker Samantha Davidson Green and actors Allison Fay Brown and Michelle Carlson attend. Merrill’s Roxy Cinemas, Burlington, 7:15 p.m. $10. Info, 864-4742. ‘TINY GIANTS 3D’: See WED.4.

Dec. 13 - Barre Dec. 14 - Burlington Dec. 15 - Rutland

food & drink

COMMUNITY LUNCH: Gardengrown fare makes for a delicious and nutritious midday meal. The Pathways Vermont Community Center, Burlington, 1-2 p.m. Free. Info, 888-492-8218, ext. 309. MOLLY FRANCIS & TAWNYA KIERNAN: Foodies drop in for free samples from Banoffi & Such and Bee the Change. Kiss the Cook, Middlebury, 5-8 p.m. Free. Info, 349-8803.

<ME NSROOMV T. COM> 106 MAIN ST. 802. 864. 2088 LADIES INVITED

Dec. 17 - Warren Dec. 18 - S. Pomfret Dec. 19 - Stowe Dec. 20 - Newport Dec. 21 - Grafton Dec. 22 - Manchester

SPEAKEASY REPEAL DAY PARTY: A throwback bash boasts drink specials, jazz music, a themed cocktail menu, and dominoes and cribbage. Stonecutter Spirits Highball Social, Burlington, 4-10 p.m. Free. Info, 540-3000.

games

CHITTENDEN COUNTY CHESS CLUB: Checkmate! Strategic thinkers make calculated moves as they vie for their opponents’ kings. Shaw’s, Shelburne Rd., South Burlington, 7-9:30 p.m. Free. Info, 863-5403.

gift certificates available

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presents AT BURLINGTON December

1ST QUALITY SAMPLES & OVERSTOCK CRIBBAGE: Friends connect over Untitled-41 1 11/27/19 11:22 AM SAT 7 a fun-spirited card game. Barre 2:00Area Senior Center, 10:30 a.m. 3:30PM Free. Info, 479-9512. LET’S AXE BREAST CANCER: Teams aim for the target in an axe-throwing tournament benefitting the American Cancer Society in Vermont. Burly Axe Throwing, Burlington, 6-9 p.m. $100 per team of four; limited space. Info, 872-6325.

health & fitness

JEWELRY SCARF &

SALE

ACUPUNCTURE TALK SERIES: In the third of a four-part series, Christina Ducharme describes healing from traumatic injuries with acupuncture and Chinese medicine. Jaquith Public Library, Marshfield, 6:30 p.m. Free. Info, 426-3581.

THU.5

Signing and meet-and-greet with delicious free samples. A gorgeous collection of balanced meals, packed with flavor, All About Dinner is a great gift that will entice busy cooks back into their kitchens.

Meet the author of these best selling true, funny actionpacked Vermont warden stories. Have Megan personalize a copy for the hunter or wildlife-watcher in your life!

AT ESSEX December

CHAIR YOGA: Comfortable clothing is recommended for this class focused on balance, breath, flexibility and meditation. Barre Area Senior Center, 1-2 p.m. Free. Info, 479-9512.

COMMUNITY MINDFULNESS: A 20-minute guided practice

MOLLY STEVENS: ALL ABOUT DINNER

SUN 8 MEGAN PRICE: 1-4PM VERMONT WILD

ARTHRITIS FOUNDATION EXERCISE PROGRAM: Seniors rise and shine with an exercise program meant to increase bone density and muscle strength. Barre Area Senior Center, 8:309:45 a.m. Free. Info, 479-9512.

CHAIR YOGA WITH SANGHA STUDIO: Supported poses promote health and wellbeing. Champlain Senior Center, Burlington, 10:30-11:30 a.m. Free. Info, 448-4262.

11/28/16 3:13 PM

SAT 14 PAUL LAUD: 2-4PM THE HOUSE THAT SANTA (ALMOST) MISSED

Cash Check Visa Mastercard ... A Vermont company since 1991

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Book signing and meet-and-greet featuring a heartwarming holiday story for young and old.

191 Bank Street, Downtown Burlington • 802.448.3350 2 Carmichael Street, Essex • 802.872.7111 www.phoenixbooks.biz SEVEN DAYS DECEMBER 4-11, 2019

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Drink Good Tea Heal Your Soul

Heal The Planet

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with Andrea O’Connor alleviates stress and tension. Tea and a discussion follow. Winooski Senior Center, 5:30-6:30 p.m. Free. Info, 233-1161. FALLS PREVENTION TAI CHI I & II: Students improve their ability to stay steady on their feet. Barre Area Senior Center, 3:45-4:45 p.m. Free; preregister. Info, 479-9512.

Loose Leaf Teas

Vegan & Gluten Free Meals

Artisan Teaware

80 Church Street, Burlington 6H-dobratea110619.indd 1

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SEED CLINIC: Small magnetic beads taped to acupressure points offer support for those experiencing difficult or stressful times. Vermont Center for Integrative Herbalism, Montpelier, 6:30-8 p.m. Donations. Info, clinicseed@ gmail.com. YANG-STYLE TAI CHI: Slow, graceful, expansive movements promote wide-ranging health and fitness benefits. Wright House, Harrington Village, Shelburne, 4-5:30 p.m. Free. Info, 735-5467. YOGA: A Sangha Studio instructor guides students who are in recovery toward achieving inner tranquility. Turning Point Center, Burlington, 5-6 p.m. Free. Info, 448-4262.

PRESENTS

holidays

MIDD NIGHT STROLL: Pop-ups, tastings, promotions and dining specials make community members merry. Various downtown Middlebury locations, 5-8 p.m. Free. Info, 377-1752. A SPIRITED EVENING: Craft cocktails in hand, gift-givers view items from more than 20 women artisans and makers. Caledonia Spirits, Montpelier, 5-8 p.m. Free. Info, 472-8000. THE SQUIRREL NUT ZIPPERS HOLIDAY CARAVAN!: Jazz and swing stylings spice up holiday hits and classics. Bella’s Bartok open. Strand Center Theatre, Plattsburgh, N.Y., 7:30 p.m. $3540. Info, 518-563-1604, ext. 105.

NEXT WE EK!

ST. ALBANS FESTIVAL OF TREES: See WED.4.

MI DDLE B U RY

TREE LIGHTING CEREMONY: Vermonters join Gov. Phil Scott to fête the holiday season in the capital city. Cookies and hot cider at the Vermont History Museum follow. Vermont Statehouse lawn, Montpelier, 4:30-5 p.m. Free. Info, 828-0749.

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O F F E R S TO T HESE R ESOR TS + M OR E

FRENCH CONVERSATION: Speakers improve their linguistic dexterity in the Romantic tongue. Bradford Public Library, 4 p.m. Free. Info, 222-4536.

music

Find club dates in the music section.

GET TICKETS! IT’S TRADITION!

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ANITA MACDONALD, BEN MILLER & ZAKK CORMIER: The trio blends Scottish Lowland pipes with Cape Breton fiddle and Gaelic song and step dance. Burlington Violin Shop, 6-8:30 p.m. $20; preregister; limited space. Info, mark.sustic@gmail. com.

BROADWAY SING-ALONG: Musical theater mavens lift their voices in popular show tunes. The Dutch Deli, Winooski, 6-8 p.m. Free. Info, 655-5003. JAZZ GUITAR ENSEMBLE & LATIN JAZZ ENSEMBLE: Student musicians interpret works by Charles Mingus, Dizzy Gillespie and others. University of Vermont Recital Hall, Burlington, 7:30 p.m. Free. Info, 656-3040. JAZZ SHOWCASE: Middlebury College singers and instrumentalists join forces in a celebration of the genre. Lower Lobby, Mahaney Arts Center, Middlebury College, 7:30 p.m. Free. Info, 443-3168. TRADITIONAL A CAPELLA SINGING: Katie Trautz, Rachel Rudi and Heidi Wilson perform shape-note hymns, Appalachian ballads and traditional Swedish songs in three-part harmony. Funds raised benefit the Central Vermont Refugee Action Network. Christ Episcopal Church, Montpelier, noon-12:45 p.m. Donations; BYO lunch. Info, 223-3631. VERMONT PHILHARMONIC ORCHESTRA & CHORUS REHEARSALS: Experienced singers and players prepare for annual recitals of Handel’s Messiah. Montpelier St. Augustine’s Catholic Church, 7:15 p.m. Free. Info, vpchorus@vermont philharmonic.org.

outdoors

SLOW & EASY HIKING: Walkers enjoy the sights, sounds and smells of the forest while moving at a gentle pace. Ilene Elliott leads this public Barre Area Senior Center outing. Barre Town Forest, Websterville, 10:10 a.m. Free; preregister. Info, 479-9512.

talks

DAVID BOOK: The speaker portrays Abel Morrill Sr., an early settler of Cabot, in a historical talk in which he recounts the trials Morrill’s family faced in the years surrounding the Civil War. Richmond Free Library, 1:30 p.m. Free. Info, janevossler@gmail. com.

the Old Vic in London and shown on screen. Palace 9 Cinemas, South Burlington, 2 & 7 p.m. $18. Info, 863-5966. Catamount Arts Center, St. Johnsbury, 7 p.m. $1625. Info, 748-2600. ‘THE SOUND OF MUSIC’: See WED.4, 2 & 7:30 p.m.

words

SAM BRAKELEY: The scribe reads from Skiing With Henry Knox: A Personal Journey Along Vermont’s Catamount Trail, his memoir about traversing a route once traveled by a young American Revolutionary soldier. Essex Free Library, 6:30-7:30 p.m. Free. Info, 879-0313.

FRI.6

bazaars

BAKED BEADS JEWELRY & SCARF SALE: See THU.5.

conferences

STATEWIDE JEWISH TEEN RETREAT: YOUTH ACTIVISM AS JEWISH IDENTITY: Through games, theater and conversation, youngsters explore identity and social justice. ReTribe Hostel, Underhill. $50; preregister; limited space. Info, 603-387-8697.

dance

BALLROOM & LATIN DANCING: Singles, couples and beginners are welcome to join in a dance social featuring waltz, tango and more. Williston Jazzercise Fitness Center, 8-9:30 p.m. $10. Info, 862-2269. ECSTATIC DANCE VERMONT: Inspired by the 5Rhythms dance practice, attendees move, groove, release and open their hearts to life in a safe and sacred space. Christ Episcopal Church, Montpelier, 7-9 p.m. $10. Info, fearnessence@gmail.com.

FOMO? Find even more local events in this newspaper and online:

‘IMPEACHMENT 101: HOW IT WORKS AND ITS IMPACT ON AMERICAN POLITICS’: Students and faculty members demystify the ongoing impeachment inquiry into President Donald Trump, as well as its possible short- and long-term effects. Alumni Conference Room, Angell College Center, SUNY Plattsburgh, N.Y., 5:15 p.m. Free. Info, 518-564-5831.

art

VENERABLE LOSANG TENDAR: Ordained in 2002, the Netherlands-born monk recounts how he came to find his path in “Life as a Buddhist Monk.” St. Johnsbury Athenaeum, 7-9 p.m. Free. Info, 633-4136.

Find club dates at local venues in the music + nightlife section and at sevendaysvt.com/music.

theater

NATIONAL THEATRE LIVE: ‘PRESENT LAUGHTER’: Andrew Scott, who played the Priest in “Fleabag,” stars in Nöel Coward’s comedy about an actor beset by an identity crisis. Performed at

Find visual art exhibits and events in the art section and at sevendaysvt.com/art.

film See what’s playing at local theaters in the movies section and at sevendayst.com/movies.

music + comedy

All family-oriented events are now published in Kids VT, our free parenting monthly. Look for it on newsstands and check out the online calendar at kidsvt.com. Learn more about highlighted listings in the Magnificent 7 on page 11.

FIND FUTURE DATES + UPDATES AT SEVENDAYSVT.COM/EVENTS

ENGLISH COUNTRY DANCE: Val Medve lead adults and teens in steps popular in the time of Jane Austen. Elley-Long Music Center, Saint Michael’s College, Colchester, 7-9:30 p.m. $10-20; free for ages 35 and under. Info, 881-9732. FLIP FABRIQUE: See THU.5. MOVEMENT & MEDIA SHOWING: Students of artist in residence Tori Lawrence integrate analog and digital media into movement compositions. Dance Theatre, Mahaney Arts Center, Middlebury College, 3 p.m. Free. Info, 443-3168.

etc.

CIRCUS ARTS TRAINING JAM: Daring individuals perfect skills ranging from juggling to tight-rope walking with CAMP Burlington members. Aikido of Champlain Valley, Burlington, 6:30-9 p.m. Donations. Info, burlingtoncamp@gmail.com. LIVE AUCTION & ANNUAL REPORT FUNDRAISING PARTY: Burlington theater artist Phinn Sonin serves as auctioneer and entertainer during a lively bidding war benefiting the Vermont Dance Alliance. Light Club Lamp Shop, Burlington, 7-9 p.m. Donations. Info, info@vermont dance.org.

fairs & festivals

VERMONT INTERNATIONAL FESTIVAL: A showcase of arts, crafts, food, dance and musical performances celebrates cultures from around the world. Champlain Valley Exposition, Essex Junction, 5 p.m. $5-25. Info, 863-6713.

film

See what’s playing at local theaters in the movies section. ‘THE BIGGEST LITTLE FARM’: Released in 2018, this documentary film follows a couple working to develop a sustainable farm outside of Los Angeles. Mary’s Restaurant, Bristol, 6:30-9 p.m. Free. Info, 453-2432. ‘EARTH FLIGHT 3D’: See WED.4. ‘INCREDIBLE PREDATORS 3D’: See WED.4. ‘SPACE JUNK 3D’: See WED.4. ‘TINY GIANTS 3D’: See WED.4.

food & drink

MOLLY STEVENS: Home cooks meet and snag autographs from the James Beard Award-winning author of All About Dinner: Simple Meals, Expert Advice. Bear Pond Books, Montpelier, 5-7 p.m. Free. Info, 229-0774. PUBLIC CUPPING: Coffee connoisseurs and beginners alike explore the flavor notes and aromas of the roaster’s current offerings and new releases. Brio Coffeeworks, Burlington, noon-1 p.m. Free. Info, 777-6641.

games

BRIDGE CLUB: See WED.4, 9:15 a.m. DUNGEONS & DRAGONS: Imaginative teens and adults exercise their problem-solving

skills in battles and adventures. Arrive early for help with character design. Brownell Library, Essex Junction, 6:30-8:30 p.m. Free. Info, 878-6955.

health & fitness

CHAIR TAI CHI: Those who have difficulty standing increase their flexibility and upper body strength. Twin Valley Senior Center, East Montpelier, 2:30-3 p.m. Free. Info, 223-3322. CHAIR YOGA: Students with limited mobility limber up with modified poses. Sangha Studio — North, Burlington, 3:30-4:30 p.m. Donations. Info, 448-4262. GONG MEDITATION: Sonic vibrations lead to healing and deep relaxation. Yoga Roots, Williston, 7:30-8:30 p.m. $18. Info, 318-6050. MEDITATION PROGRAM: Stress, be gone! Students in this bimonthly gathering unlock a sense of calm through breath work and balancing chakras. Dorothy Alling Memorial Library, Williston, noon-1 p.m. Free. Info, 878-4918. YANG 24 TAI CHI: Students get an introduction to a slow, continuous movement exercise that builds balance and strength. Twin Valley Senior Center, East Montpelier, 2-2:30 p.m. Free. Info, 223-3322.

holidays

THE BOSTON CAMERATA: The acclaimed early music ensemble delights listeners with its holiday program “Puer Natus Est,” which includes songs of the Nativity in Latin, Old French, Saxon and medieval English. The UVM Catamount Singers make a guest appearance. University of Vermont Recital Hall, Burlington, 7:30 p.m. $10-40. Info, 656-3131. ‘A CHRISTMAS CAROL’: Nebraska Theatre Caravan brings to life Charles Dickens’ haunted holiday classic about a miser who, with the help of a trio of ghosts, discovers the true meaning of Christmas. See calendar spotlight. Flynn MainStage, Burlington, 7 p.m. $25-62. Info, 863-5966. CHRISTMAS MUSIC NIGHT: Songs, readings and refreshments put community members in the holiday spirit. United Reformed Church, New Haven, 7 p.m. Free. Info, 877-2486. ESSEX COMMUNITY TREE LIGHTING & SING-ALONG: The illumination of boughs gives way to refreshments at Essex Elementary School. Town Green, Essex Junction, 6:15 p.m. Free. Info, 878-1354. HOLIDAY BEER & CHOCOLATE PAIRING: Lake Champlain Chocolates and Switchback Brewing join forces to present a self-guided gustatory extravaganza. The Tap Room at Switchback Brewing Co., Burlington, 11 a.m.-8 p.m. $12. Info, 651-4114. HOLIDAY BOOK SALE: Attendees browse a huge selection of graphic novels, children’s books, art books and prose novels.

FALL 2019

Post Office Building, Center for Cartoon Studies, White River Junction, 5:30-8 p.m. Free. Info, 295-3319. HOLIDAY HUMBUG HOLIDAY MAKER’S MARKET: Those looking to support local makers mix, mingle and shop amid live music and refreshments. Generator, Burlington, 5-9 p.m. Free. Info, 540-0761.

Tuesday, December 10

‘KRAMPUSNACHT’: The dark companion of St. Nicholas himself presides over a theatrical presentation of short stories, folktales and lesserknown Christmas traditions. Spice Performing Arts Studio, Rochester, 7:30 p.m. $10-15; limited space. Info, 767-4800. MINI HOLIDAY MARKET: The sounds of Christmas records ring through the air as gift givers browse goods from local vendors and sip sweet drinks from a hot chocolate bar. Hotel Vermont, Burlington, 5-8 p.m. Free. Info, 651-0080. NORTH COUNTRY CHORUS: Accompanied by a 10-piece chamber ensemble, 80 singers perform Handel’s Messiah in their 72nd holiday concert. South Church Hall, St. Johnsbury, 7 p.m. $6-18; free for students. Info, president@northcountrychorus. org. PEACHAM CORNER GUILD HOLIDAY SHOP: Small antiques, handcrafted gifts, specialty foods and Christmas decorations beckon buyers. Peacham Corner Guild, 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Free. Info, 592-3332.

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6:00-7:30 PM

STEM CELL THERAPIES: HYPE AND HOPE DANIEL WEISS, M.D., Ph.D. PROFESSOR OF MEDICINE Carpenter Auditorium, Given Building Larner College of Medicine, University of Vermont Learn more about Community Medical School at www.UVMHealth.org/MedCenterCMS or call (802)847-2886

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ST. ALBANS FESTIVAL OF TREES: See WED.4. ‘STAR WARS’ HOLIDAY PARTY: Costumes are welcome at a themed get-together featuring a movie screening and food and drink specials. Bring a chair for $1 off your first pint. Groennfell Meadery, St. Albans, party begins, 5 p.m.; movie, 7 p.m. Free. Info, 497-2345. A TRADITIONAL CHRISTMAS IN STOWE: Santa and Mrs. Claus join in the fun during three days of preholiday festivities including wagon rides, caroling and a lantern parade. Various Stowe locations, 10 a.m.-3 p.m. Free. Info, 253-7321. VERMONT PHILHARMONIC ORCHESTRA & CHORUS: A spirited performance of Handel’s Messiah transports audience members to the height of the baroque period. Montpelier St. Augustine’s Catholic Church, 7:30 p.m. $5-20. Info, vpchorus@ vermontphilharmonic.org.

music

Find club dates in the music section. CONCERT BAND & WORLDS OF MUSIC ENSEMBLE: African, Asian, Australian, European and Latin American influences thread through a diverse musical program. Dibden Center for the Arts, Northern Vermont University-Johnson, 7 p.m. $5. Info, 635-1219. FRI.6

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Burlington, Williston & Lebanon, NH (802)660-3500 • www.gardeners.com/store Space is limited and pre-registration is required.

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seminars

GENEALOGY: Using their memories, the internet and a library card, folks work with Carl Williams to record their own family history. Barre Area Senior Center, noon1:30 p.m. Donations; preregister. Info, 479-9512.

talks

HELENE LANGEVIN: The director of the National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health at the National Institutes of Health considers “Whole Person Health.” Davis Auditorium, Medical Education Center Pavilion, University of Vermont Medical Center, Burlington, noon-1 p.m. Free. Info, 656-9266. VENERABLE LOSANG TENDAR: See WED.4, Montpelier City Hall.

theater

ALL-COMPANY SHOWCASE: Vermont Stage’s inaugural class of emergent and senior company members wow audience members with scenes, songs and dances. Main Street Landing Performing Arts Center, Burlington, 7:30 p.m. $10-15. Info, 862-1497. ‘BROADWAY DIRECT: CELEBRATING THE MUSIC & TALENT OF JERRY HERMAN’:

Veteran performer Bill Carmichael leads a lineup of talented thespians in an evening of popular tunes. Vergennes Opera House, 7:30 p.m. $5-18. Info, 877-6737. ‘JESUS CHRIST SUPERSTAR’: Jesus’ final weeks are recounted though the eyes of his infamous betrayer, Judas, in this production of Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice’s blockbuster Broadway musical. Royall Tyler Theatre, University of Vermont, Burlington, 7:30 p.m. $10-30. Info, 656-3131.

SAT.7 bazaars

BAKED BEADS JEWELRY & SCARF SALE: See THU.5, 10 a.m.-5 p.m.

community

CENSUS 2020 RECRUITING & INFORMATION CENTER: See WED.4, 11 a.m.-12:30 p.m.

conferences

‘THE SOUND OF MUSIC’: See WED.4, 7:30 p.m.

STATEWIDE JEWISH TEEN RETREAT: YOUTH ACTIVISM AS JEWISH IDENTITY: See FRI.6.

words

dance

BOOK SALE: Bibliophiles browse thousands of gently used pageturners, CDs, DVDs and puzzles. Rutland Free Library, 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Free. Info, 773-1860. FRIDAY NIGHT READING SERIES: Faculty members Justin Bigos and Ariel Francisco and visiting writers Chris Campanioni and Kristina Marie Darling excerpt original works. Café Anna, Vermont College of Fine Arts, Montpelier, 5:30 p.m. Free. Info, 866-934-8232. WRITER’S BLOCK: Scribes bring essays, short stories, one-act plays and poems to be critiqued by a supportive audience. Barre Area Senior Center, 10-11:30 a.m. Free; preregister. Info, 479-9512.

FLIP FABRIQUE: See THU.5, 2 & 7:30 p.m. GREEN MOUNTAIN CABARET: The local burlesque company brings “sass, class and astronomically talented New England performers” to the stage in this bodypositive variety show. FlynnSpace, Burlington, 8 p.m. $20-30. Info, 863-5966. SWING TIME!: Partygoers move and shake to the sounds of the 17-piece band Green Mountain Swing. Grange Hall Cultural Center, Waterbury Center, 7:30 p.m. $20. Info, 244-4168.

environment

ARE YOU READY FOR ... THE FOOD WASTE BAN? & OTHER

TRASHY QUESTIONS: Experts elucidate home composting ahead of the ban on food scraps in landfills beginning July 1, 2020. Capital City Grange, Berlin, 5-6 p.m. Free. Info, 225-8921.

etc.

FOMO?

QUEEN CITY BALL: Clad in blacktie attire, attendees enjoy drinks and desserts, bid in an all-jewelry silent auction, and boogie to live music by the Grippo Funk Band at this second-annual gala for the Ronald McDonald House Charities of Burlington. Burlington City Hall Auditorium, 7 p.m. $125. Info, 862-4943.

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 local theaters in the movies section and at sevendayst.com/movies.

LEGAL CLINIC: Attorneys offer complimentary consultations on a first-come, first-served basis. 274 N. Winooski Ave., Burlington, 10 a.m.-noon. Free. Info, 383-2118.

STUNT KITE FLIERS & ARCHERY HOBBYISTS MEETING: Open to beginning and experienced hobbyists alike, a weekly gathering allows folks to share information and suggestions for equipment, sporting locations and more. Presto Music Store, South Burlington, 10 a.m.-noon. Free. Info, 658-0030. WATERBURY WINTERFEST SILENT AUCTION: Participating businesses such as Stowe Street Emporium and Bridgeside Books display a variety of goods and services up for bidding. Downtown Waterbury, 11 a.m.-3 p.m. Free. Info, 233-0576. WINOOSKI TRAIN SHOW: All aboard! Model train enthusiasts gather for this expo sponsored by the Champlain Valley chapter of the National Railway Historical

Society. Winooski Educational Center, 10 a.m.-3 p.m. $1-5; free for kids under 6. Info, 999-7695.

fairs & festivals

VERMONT INTERNATIONAL FESTIVAL: See FRI.6, 10 a.m.

film

See what’s playing at local theaters in the movies section. ‘THE BIGGEST LITTLE FARM’: See FRI.6, Billings Farm & Museum, Woodstock, 3 & 5:30 p.m. $6-11. Info, 457-2355. ‘EARTH FLIGHT 3D’: See WED.4. ‘INCREDIBLE PREDATORS 3D’: See WED.4. ‘SPACE JUNK 3D’: See WED.4. ‘TINY GIANTS 3D’: See WED.4. ‘TRANSITION’: Award-winning filmmaker and Middlebury resident Sas Carey presents a pre-release screening of her new documentary about a Mongolian woman who, after being raised as a reindeer herder, becomes a medical doctor. See calendar spotlight. Town Hall Theater, Middlebury, reception, 7 p.m.; screening, 8 p.m. $22. Info, 382-9222. ‘THE VALLEY OF GWANGI’: Shown on 16mm reel-to-reel film, this 1969 action flick follows a cowboy seeking to turn a living allosaurus into a circus attraction. Newman Center, Plattsburgh, N.Y., 7 p.m.

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SEVEN DAYS DECEMBER 4-11, 2019

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LIST YOUR EVENT FOR FREE AT SEVENDAYSVT.COM/POSTEVENT

Donations. Info, serious_61@ yahoo.com.

noon-4 p.m. $15-20. Info, 226 7744.

food & drink

MOLLY STEVENS: See FRI.6, Phoenix Books, Burlington, 2-3:30 p.m. Free. Info, 448-3350.

BURLINGTON WINTER FARMERS MARKET: More than 30 stands overflow with seasonal produce, prepared foods and artisan wares. Davis Center, University of Vermont, Burlington, 10 a.m.-2 p.m. Free. Info, burlingtonfarmers market.org@gmail.com. CAPITAL CITY WINTER FARMERS MARKET: Meats, cheeses, crafts and more change hands at an off-season celebration of locally grown food. Caledonia Spirits, Montpelier, 10 a.m.-2 p.m. Free. Info, 279-7293. CHOCOLATE TASTING: Candy fanatics get an education on a variety of sweets made on-site. Rabble-Rouser Chocolate & Craft Co., Middlesex, 11 a.m.-5 p.m. Free. Info, 229-2090. COSMIC WINES: Cheers! National and international winemakers and importers uncork bottles at an epic tasting. AO Glass, Burlington, 2-4 & 6-8 p.m. $45; preregister; limited space. Info, 865-2368. INNDULGENCE TOUR: Nearly a dozen country inns invite foodies to taste their way through the Okemo Valley, sampling savory pies, homemade soups and decadent chocolate cake. Various southern Vermont locations,

PANCAKE BREAKFAST & SILENT AUCTION: Stacks of flapjacks give way to bidding on donated crafts, gifts and services. Sustainability Academy, Lawrence Barnes School, Burlington, 8:30-11:30 a.m. $4-20; free for kids 2 and under. Info, garciakc@gmail.com.

health & fitness

INTRO TO STUDIO CYCLING: Beginners hop in the saddle for a 20- to 30-minute ride with an instructor demonstrating each position. Alpenglow Fitness, Montpelier, 10-10:45 a.m. Free. Info, 279-0077. NEWBIE NOON HOT YOGA: First-timers feel the heat as they get their stretch on in a (very) warm environment. Hot Yoga Burlington, noon. Free; preregister. Info, 999-9963.

holidays

BELLA VOCE WOMEN’S CHORUS OF VERMONT: Joined by special guests the Champlain Consort, members of this all-women vocal ensemble hit all the right notes in “’Tis the Season.” McCarthy Arts Center, Saint Michael’s College, Colchester, 7:30-9:30 p.m. $17-20. Info, 999-8881.

CHRISTMAS AT THE FARM: Families celebrate the holidays 19th-century-style with ornament making, baked treats and period activities. Billings Farm & Museum, Woodstock, 10 a.m.-4 p.m. $4-16; free for members and kids 2 and under. Info, 457-2355. CHRISTMAS TREE SALE: Eyecatching evergreens make for a festive fundraiser for All Breed Rescue. Santa Claus is on hand from 1-4 p.m. each day. All Breed Rescue, Williston, 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Free. Info, 489-5889. COMMUNITY HOLIDAY VARIETY SHOW: Local performers step into the spotlight for a home-grown talent showcase. Chandler Center for the Arts, Randolph, 7 p.m. Free. Info, 728-9878. ESSEX HOLIDAY FAIR: Vendors and crafters offer plenty of gift ideas at this benefit for Relay for Life Team Sunflowers. Santa Claus is on hand from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Essex High School, 10 a.m.-3 p.m. Free. Info, michelle@ vermontjewelrycreations.com. FESTIVAL OF TREES: As bids rise, so do holiday spirits at this annual auction offering vacation getaways, gift certificates, home furnishings and more. Paramount Theatre, Rutland, cash bar, 5:30 p.m.; auction, 6:45 p.m. $10. Info, 775-0903. GINGERBREAD FESTIVAL: More than 90 edible houses are on

display at this fun-filled event featuring handmade gifts and kids’ activities. Tracy Hall, Norwich, 10 a.m.-3 p.m. $5-10. Info, 649-3268. HOLIDAY BAZAAR: Handmade crafts and food items complement attic treasures such as books and jewelry. Soup and sandwiches are available for purchase from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. First Unitarian Universalist Society of Burlington, 9 a.m.-2 p.m. Free. Info, deborahragionevt@gmail. com. HOLIDAY BEER & CHOCOLATE PAIRING: See FRI.6. HOLIDAY COOKBOOK SALE: Home chefs find fresh inspiration for meal preparation. Richmond Free Library, 9 a.m.-3 p.m. Free. Info, 434-3036. HOLIDAY CRAFT FAIR: Gift givers get their hands on books, housewares, white elephant items and more. The Manor, Morrisville, 9:30 a.m.-3 p.m. Free. Info, 888-8700. HOLIDAY FAIR: Customers grab gifts for everyone on their lists — think books, toys, baked goods and uniquely decorated wreathes. Lunch is available from 11:30 a.m.-1 p.m. Unitarian Church of Montpelier, 9 a.m.-2 p.m. Free. Info, 225-6373. HOLIDAY OPEN HOUSE IN MIDDLEBURY: Carols played on an 1831 piano set a festive mood for a raffle, art viewing, an electric

train and other activities. Henry Sheldon Museum of Vermont History, Middlebury, 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Donations. Info, 388-2117.

Arts, Greensboro, 7 p.m. $15-30. Info, 533-2000.

HOLIDAY OPEN HOUSE IN MILTON: Story time and a visit with Santa pave the way for an all-ages ornament workshop. Milton Public Library, story time, 10 a.m.; visit with Santa, 10:45 a.m.-12:30 p.m.; workshop, 2-3 p.m. Free. Info, 893-4644.

RICHMOND HOLIDAY MARKET: Santa makes an appearance as folks take horse-drawn wagon rides through town and check out specialty items from more than 60 artisans. Various Richmond locations, 9 a.m.-3 p.m. Free. Info, 434-4483.

HOME FOR THE HOLIDAYS: What better way to embrace the spirit of the season in the Capital City than by taking a downtown wagon ride, decorating cookies and visiting Jolly Old St. Nick? Wagon rides depart from the corner of State and Elm Streets from 10 a.m.-4 p.m. The Garage Cultural Center, Montpelier, 10 a.m.-noon. Free. Info, 223-9604. ‘HOW THE GRINCH STOLE CHRISTMAS’: You’re a mean one, Mr. Grinch! A perennially popular picture puts smiles on viewers’ faces. Strand Center Theatre, Plattsburgh, N.Y., 7:30 p.m. Free. Info, 518-563-1604, ext. 105. ‘KRAMPUSNACHT’: See FRI.6. NORTH COUNTRY CHORUS: See FRI.6, First Congregational Church, Haverhill, N.H., 4 p.m. ‘THE NUTCRACKER’: Ballet Wolcott’s Youth Company, students and community members dance to Tchaikovsky’s classic score. Highland Center for the

PEACHAM CORNER GUILD HOLIDAY SHOP: See FRI.6.

ST. ALBANS FESTIVAL OF TREES: See WED.4. A TRADITIONAL CHRISTMAS IN STOWE: See FRI.6. VERGENNES HOLIDAY STROLL: The Little City celebrates the season in a big way with a craft fair, breakfast with Santa, live music and more. Various Vergennes locations, 8 a.m.-7:30 p.m. Free. Info, 877-1163. VERMONT CHORAL UNION: In “Love and Peace This Christmas,” the a cappella ensemble gives voice to sacred and secular texts highlighting human affection and the great mystery of the incarnation. First Congregational Church, St. Albans, 7:30-9 p.m. $15-40. Info, 238-9848. VISIT WITH SANTA CLAUS: St. Nick welcomes families to a Bridgewater Volunteer Fire Department fundraiser complete with gingerbread cookie SAT.7

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Help Build Community One Story at a Time. J O I N U S AT T H E

All Our Hearts Reception Sunday, December 8, 4-5:30 p.m. Free, Generator, Burlington

Seven Days’ All Our Hearts project helps families memorialize loved ones lost to opioid-use disorder. Hear from All Our Hearts participants about how speaking out has affected their lives, and learn how they’re working to end the opioid crisis. Take home a handcrafted heart stone imprinted with allourhearts.com to help spread awareness and reduce the stigma of opioid-use disorder.

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SEVEN DAYS DECEMBER 4-11, 2019

12/3/19 6:45 PM

A NEW FEATURE FILM STARRING MARK RUFFALO, ANNE HATHAWAY, AND TIM ROBBINS

TUESDAY, 12/10 @ 6PM

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calendar SAT.7

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decorating. Ramunto’s Brick & Brew Pizza, Bridgewater, 2-6 p.m. $5 per family. Info, 672-1120. WINTER HOLIDAY PARTY: Cookie decorating and festive music pave the way for a family singalong and story. Dorothy Alling Memorial Library, Williston, 10:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m. Free. Info, 878-4918. WONDERARTS HOLIDAY MARKET: Local art, crafts and body-care products from dozens of vendors catch shoppers’ eyes. Craftsbury Academy, 9 a.m.-3 p.m. Free. Info, 533-9370.

language

BIBLIO CAFÉ: A conversation group helps Francophones maintain their language skills. North Hero Public Library, 10:30-11:30 a.m. Free. Info, 372-5458.

lgbtq

PRIDE YOGA: LGBTQ individuals and allies hit the mat for a stretching session suited to all levels. Sangha Studio — Pine, Burlington, 5-6 p.m. Donations. Info, 448-4262.

music

Find club dates in the music section.

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“CCV is a place that meets students where they are in life’s journey.”

BELA FLECK & THE FLECKTONES: The pioneering banjo player reconvenes the original lineup of his Grammy Award-winning band. Facemelting progressive jazz-grass ensues. Flynn MainStage, Burlington, 8 p.m. $25-65. Info, 863-5966. CATAMOUNT ARTS BLUEGRASS NIGHT: Hot Pickin’ Party and Bob Amos & Catamount Crossing are the featured performers during an evening chock-full of traditional tunes. Masonic Hall, Catamount Arts Center, St. Johnsbury, 7 p.m. Donations. Info, 748-2600.

Marie Frietze

CHAD HOLLISTER BAND: Heartfelt lyrics propel catchy pop-rock tunes from the 2017 album Stop the World. Dibden Center for the Arts, Northern Vermont University-Johnson, 7 p.m. $10. Info, 635-1388.

Student Advisor CCV-Winooski

Talk with Marie today! 802-654-0505 • CCV.EDU/STAFF

1 Abenaki Way, Winooski 58

SEVEN DAYS DECEMBER 4-11, 2019

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BEETHOVEN’S BIRTHDAY BASH: Cellist Emily Taubl bands together with Lake Champlain Chamber Music Festival coartistic directors Soovin Kim and Gloria Chien to honor the anniversary of the German composer’s birth. University of Vermont Recital Hall, Burlington, 7:30-9:30 p.m. $5-30. Info, 863-5966.

12/2/19 4:11 PM

GYPSY REEL: The longtime local band taps into Celtic traditions for a high-energy concert. Brandon Music, 7:30 p.m. $20; $45 includes dinner; preregister; BYOB. Info, 247-4295. MARK TOLSTRUP BAND: An open mic paves the way for traditional and original songs melding blues, folk, ragtime and jazz with Mississippi Delta blues. Ripton Community House, 7:30 p.m. $10-15; preregister for open mic. Info, 388-9782.

MUSIC FACTORY: Students from David Feurzeig’s composition and advanced composition classes wow audience members with new works. University of Vermont Recital Hall, Burlington, 2:30 p.m. Free. Info, 656-3040.

Addison County in search of nocturnal predators. North Branch Nature Center, Montpelier, 3-9 p.m. $25-30; preregister; limited space. Info, 229-6206.

SABOR 2.0 & FRIENDS: Energy runs high at a winter party featuring international performers and live music and dance at the Vermont International Festival. Champlain Valley Exposition, Essex Junction, 8 p.m. $12. Info, 238-4074.

GREEN MOUNTAIN OPEN TABLE TENNIS TOURNAMENT: Quick reflexes are the name of the game when participants paddle Ping-Pong balls back and forth at this bi-annual competition. Rutland Area Christian School, 9 a.m. $10. Info, 247-5913.

sports

SATURDAY KARAOKE: Amateur singers belt out their favorite tunes. Burlington VFW Post, 7:30-10:30 p.m. Free. Info, 864-6532.

PUBLIC SKATING: Active bodies coast across the ice. Plattsburgh State Fieldhouse, N.Y., 1-2:30 p.m. $2-3; additional cost for rentals. Info, 518-564-4270.

SHOWROOM OPENING EVENT: Live music fills the air as instrumentalists view a range of new grand and upright pianos. The Piano Gallery, North Ferrisburgh, 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Free. Info, 539-2017.

tech

THETFORD CHAMBER SINGERS: The vocal ensemble lifts spirits with a diverse concert reflecting on the theme of hope. United Church of Strafford, 7:30-9:30 p.m. $8-15. Info, 870-6362. TIM ERIKSEN: The ethnomusicologist transforms American tradition with his interpretations of ballads, love songs, shapenote gospel and dance tunes from New England and Southern Appalachia. See calendar spotlight. River Arts, Morrisville, 7 p.m. $15. Info, 888-1261. VERMONT FIDDLE ORCHESTRA: Joined by featured soloist Peter Macfarlane, the bow-and-string ensemble gives its winter concert. Montpelier City Hall, 7 p.m. Donations. Info, 229-4191. VOCAL RECITAL: Students of affiliate artists Carol Christensen and Susanne Peck round out the semester with an evening of songs and arias. Robison Hall, Mahaney Arts Center, Middlebury College, 7:30 p.m. Free. Info, 443-3168.

outdoors

BIRD MONITORING WALK IN BURLINGTON: Ornithology enthusiasts join members of the Green Mountain Club Burlington section on an easy hike in search of winter birds. Contact trip leader for details. Ethan Allen Homestead, Burlington. Free; preregister. Info, jstyson17@ gmail.com. BIRD MONITORING WALK IN RUTLAND: New birders and members of the Rutland County Audubon Society flock together to seek feathered friends on a 3.7mile loop. Meet at the boardwalk on Marble St., West Rutland Marsh, 8-10:30 a.m. Free. Info, birding@ rutlandcountyaudubon.org. WINTER FOREST ECOLOGY WALK: Chittenden County forester Ethan Tapper leads an educational woodland excursion focused on forest management. Ethan Allen Homestead, Burlington, 1-3 p.m. Free; limited space. Info, 861-9753. WINTER OWL PROWL: Whoo’s out there? Folks travel to

GOOGLE DRIVE: Folks who are familiar with using the internet get dialed in to the basics of Google Chrome, Gmail and Google Docs. Fletcher Free Library, Burlington, 10:30 a.m.-noon. Free; preregister. Info, 865-7217.

theater

ALL-COMPANY SHOWCASE: See FRI.6, 2 & 7:30 p.m. ‘JESUS CHRIST SUPERSTAR’: See FRI.6, 2 & 7:30 p.m. THE METROPOLITAN OPERA LIVE IN HD: ‘THE MAGIC FLUTE’: An on-screen showing of Mozart’s whimsical masterpiece dazzles opera devotees. Catamount Arts Center, St. Johnsbury, 12:55 p.m. $16-25. Info, 748-2600. ‘THE SOUND OF MUSIC’: See WED.4, 2 & 7:30 p.m. VERMONT FAMILY THEATRE MAINSTAGE PRODUCTIONS’ ‘THE SOUND OF MUSIC’: Northeast Kingdom actors Steve Gonyaw and Tiffany Quinn star as Captain Von Trapp and Maria in the beloved musical featuring songs such as “Climb Ev’ry Mountain” and “Do-Re-Mi.” Orleans Municipal Building, 7-9:15 p.m. $10-15. Info, vtfamilytheatre@ gmail.com.

words

BOOK & MEDIA SALE: Lovers of the written word bag bargain titles. Ilsley Public Library, Middlebury, 11 a.m.-2:30 p.m. Free. Info, 388-4095. BOOK SALE: See FRI.6, 10 a.m.-2 p.m. AN EVENING AT THE LIBRARY: Fiction fans fête Kekla Magoon, the nationally renowned Vermont wordsmith behind The Season of Styx Malone at a shindig replete with hors d’oeuvres, wine and a silent auction. See calendar spotlight. KelloggHubbard Library, Montpelier, 6:30 p.m. $60. Info, rysenechal@ kellogghubbard.org. FANTASY/SCI-FI LOVERS BOOK DISCUSSION GROUP: Bookworms ages 18 and up exchange ideas about The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood. Brownell Library, Essex Junction, 3-5 p.m. Free. Info, 878-6955.

FIND FUTURE DATES + UPDATES AT SEVENDAYSVT.COM/EVENTS

GOOD NAKED — WIT, WISDOM & A WRITING WORKSHOP: Aspiring wordsmiths hone their craft with help from Joni B. Cole, author of Good Naked: Reflections on How to Write More, Write Better and Be Happier. Waterbury Public Library, 12:30-2:30 p.m. Free; preregister. Info, 244-7036. POETRY EXPERIENCE: Writers share original work and learn from others in a supportive environment open to all ages and experience levels. Fletcher Free Library, Burlington, 1-3 p.m. Free. Info, 865-7211.

SUN.8 business

MAIN STREET ALLIANCE OF VERMONT CELEBRATION & FUNDRAISER: An organization aimed at elevating the voices of small business owners plays host at an evening of eats, drinks and silent auction bidding. Caledonia Spirits, Montpelier, 5 p.m. $35. Info, morgan@main streetalliance.org.

community

ALL OUR HEARTS RECEPTION: Supporters of Seven Days’ opioid crisis memorial project gather to hear from participants and to help spread awareness and reduce the stigma of opioid-use disorder. Generator, Burlington, 4-5:30 p.m. Free; preregister. Info, 865-5684. CENSUS 2020 RECRUITING & INFORMATION CENTER: See WED.4, noon-1:30 p.m. COMMUNITY MINDFULNESS PRACTICE: Sessions in the tradition of Thich Nhat Hanh include sitting and walking meditation, a short reading, and open sharing. Evolution Physical Therapy & Yoga, Burlington, 6:30-8:30 p.m. Free. Info, newleafsangha@ gmail.com.

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 local theaters in the movies section and at sevendayst.com/movies.

music + comedy Find club dates at local venues in the music + nightlife section and at sevendaysvt.com/music.

dance

BALKAN FOLK DANCING: Louise Brill and friends organize participants into lines and circles set to complex rhythms. Ohavi Zedek Synagogue, Burlington, 3:30-6:30 p.m. $6; free for firsttimers; bring snacks to share. Info, 540-1020. FLIP FABRIQUE: See THU.5, 2 p.m. ISRAELI FOLK DANCE: No partner is required for a beginnerfriendly session of circle and line dances. Wear shoes with clean soles. Social Hall, Ohavi Zedek Synagogue, Burlington, 7:309:30 p.m. Free. Info, 864-0218.

fairs & festivals

VERMONT INTERNATIONAL FESTIVAL: See FRI.6, 10 a.m.

film

See what’s playing at local theaters in the movies section. ‘AMAZING GRACE’: Shown as part of the Biography Series by Middlebury New Filmmakers Festival Selects, a 2019 documentary chronicles the late Aretha Franklin singing with the choir at the New Bethel Baptist Church in Watts, a Los Angeles neighborhood, in January 1972. Town Hall Theater, Middlebury, 2 p.m. $15; $105 for series pass. Info, 382-9222. ‘EARTH FLIGHT 3D’: See WED.4. ‘THE FIRST RAINBOW COALITION’: The Vermont International Film Festival and Vermont PBS Sunday Best documentary series continues with a 2019 picture about a multi-ethnic coalition in 1960s Chicago. A discussion follows. Film House, Main Street Landing Performing Arts Center, Burlington, 4 p.m. Free. Info, 660-2600. ‘INCREDIBLE PREDATORS 3D’: See WED.4. ‘SPACE JUNK 3D’: See WED.4. ‘TINY GIANTS 3D’: See WED.4.

food & drink

CHOCOLATE TASTING: See SAT.7. COFFEE HOUSE & BRUNCH: A cozy morning meal sets the stage for Buddhist monk Venerable Losang Tendar to discuss the Maitreya Pure Land project and life as a monk. Funds raised support the Nalanda Monastery. Milarepa Center, Barnet, 11 a.m.-2 p.m. Donations. Info, 633-4136. FOOD FOR TALK: A COOKBOOK BOOK CLUB: Anissa Helou’s Feast: Food of the Islamic World stimulates minds — and appetites. Fletcher Free Library, Burlington, 3-5 p.m. Free. Info, 863-3403. INNDULGENCE TOUR: See SAT.7.

MOLLY STEVENS COOKBOOK PARTY: Foodies eat from a special menu with recipe selections from All About Dinner: Simple Meals, Expert Advice. The Great Northern, Burlington, 5:30-8 p.m. Cost of food and drink. Info, 489-5102. PANCAKE BREAKFAST: Friends and neighbors catch up over a

hearty spread. St. Mark Catholic Parish, Burlington, 8:30-10:30 a.m. $7; free for kids under 6 and adults over 89. Info, 862-5109.

HE'S BACK!

holidays

BELLA VOCE WOMEN’S CHORUS OF VERMONT: See SAT.7, 3-5 p.m. BRANDON CAROL FESTIVAL: The Brandon Festival Singers, a flute soloist and the Catamount Brass Quintet lift spirits with this 39th annual tradition. Brandon Congregational Church, 3 p.m. Donations. Info, 247-6058. CATHEDRAL ARTS: VERMONT CHORAL UNION: See SAT.7, the Cathedral Church of St. Paul, Burlington, 3-4:30 p.m. $15-40. Info, 238-9848. ‘A CHARLIE BROWN CHRISTMAS’: Snoopy, Lucy, Linus and the whole “Peanuts” gang come to life in this stage adaptation of the 1965 animated holiday TV special, which includes Vince Guaraldi’s iconic score. Flynn MainStage, Burlington, 2 & 7 p.m. $32.50-118.50. Info, 863-5966.

NEW SONGS NEW ADVENTURES & SPECIAL NEW FRIENDS!

CHRISTMAS AT THE FARM: See SAT.7. CHRISTMAS TREE SALE: See SAT.7. FULL BARREL COOPERATIVE POP-UP HOMEBREW SOCIAL & HOLIDAY MARKET: Suds lovers sample homemade brews and shop unique crafts. Old Spokes Home, Burlington, 2-5 p.m. Free; preregister. Info, fullbarrelcoop@ gmail.com. HOLIDAY BEER & CHOCOLATE PAIRING: See FRI.6, 11 a.m.-7 p.m. HOLIDAY BOOK FEST: SHORT READINGS & LIVE MUSIC: The Burlington Writer’s Workshop hosts local authors and songwriters performing live. Books, CDs and baked goods are available for purchase. Fletcher Free Library, Burlington, 1-3:30 p.m. Free. Info, 495-9322. HOLIDAY OPEN HOUSE: See SAT.7, noon-4 p.m.

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History

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HOLIDAY OPEN HOUSE & LUNCHEON: Locals catch up over a shared meal and sweet treats. Milton Historical Society, 11 a.m.2 p.m. Free. Info, 893-1604. LESSONS & CAROLS FOR ADVENT & CHRISTMAS: Led by Mark R. Orten and Jeffrey Buettner, an annual program lifts spirits with biblical texts and music by the Middlebury College Choir. Mead Memorial Chapel, Middlebury College, 4 & 7 p.m. Free. Info, 443-3168. MILTON COMMUNITY BAND: Audience members should warm up their voices ahead of this high-spirited holiday concert including a sing-along and a narrated musical rendition of “The Night Before Christmas.” Milton Middle/High School, 2-3:30 p.m. Free; nonperishable food donations accepted. Info, 578-3467.

Advocacy

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NORTH COUNTRY CHORUS: See FRI.6, Peacham Congregational Church, 3 p.m. In partnership with:

SUN.8

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‘THE NUTCRACKER’: See SAT.7, 2 p.m. PEACHAM CORNER GUILD HOLIDAY SHOP: See FRI.6.

BOND NO. 9 FRAGRANCE & LIPSTICKS

PLATTSBURGH STATE GOSPEL CHOIR: Sixty voices soar in a soulful holiday concert featuring Motown takes on classic Christmas songs. E. Glenn Giltz Auditorium, Hawkins Hall, SUNY Plattsburgh, N.Y., 4 p.m. $8-20; free for kids 5 and under in laps. Info, 518-564-2704. ST. ALBANS FESTIVAL OF TREES: See WED.4. A TRADITIONAL CHRISTMAS IN STOWE: See FRI.6.

NEW LAUNCHES INCLUDING: African Botanics, Surratt Beauty & Rodial

UNIVERSITY CONCERT CHOIR & CATAMOUNT SINGERS: David Neiweem directs student vocalists in “Winter’s Warm Music: A Celebration of Yuletide.” Fleming Museum of Art, University of Vermont, Burlington, 1 & 3 p.m. Free. Info, 656-3040.

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VERMONT PHILHARMONIC ORCHESTRA & CHORUS: See FRI.6, Barre Opera House, 2 p.m. Info, 476-8188.

language

‘DIMANCHES’ FRENCH CONVERSATION: Parlez-vous français? Speakers practice the tongue at a casual drop-in chat. Fletcher Free Library, Burlington, 4-5:30 p.m. Free. Info, steve norman@fastmail.fm.

lgbtq

LGBTQ FIBER ARTS GROUP: A knitting, crocheting and weaving session welcomes all ages, gender identities, sexual orientations and skill levels. Pride Center of Vermont, Burlington, noon-2 p.m. Free. Info, 860-7812.

and Ralph Vaughan Williams carry through the air. Chapel of Saint Michael the Archangel, Saint Michael’s College, Colchester, 3 p.m. Free. Info, 654-2000. SHOWROOM OPENING EVENT: See SAT.7. THETFORD CHAMBER SINGERS: See SAT.7, First Congregational Church of Thetford, 4:30-6:30 & 7:30-9:30 p.m. UKULELE MÊLÉE: Fingers fly at a group lesson on the fourstringed Hawaiian instrument. BYO uke. Fletcher Free Library, Burlington, 4-6 p.m. Free. Info, 865-7211.

outdoors

BUTLER LODGE VIA NEBRASKA NOTCH HIKE: Outdoor adventurers don snowshoes for a moderate 6.2-mile trek with members of the Green Mountain Club Burlington section. Contact trip leader for details. Free; preregister. Info, 899-9982.

sports

UGLY SWEATER III 5K FUN RUN & 2.5K WALK: Participants pound the pavement wearing deliberately unattractive knitwear. Frederick H. Tuttle Middle School, South Burlington, 10 a.m.-1 p.m. $15-35; free for kids under 12; preregister. Info, jaypasvt@ gmail.com.

theater

ALL-COMPANY SHOWCASE: See FRI.6, 2 p.m. ‘JESUS CHRIST SUPERSTAR’: See FRI.6, 2 p.m. VERMONT FAMILY THEATRE MAINSTAGE PRODUCTIONS’ ‘THE SOUND OF MUSIC’: See SAT.7, 2:30-5 p.m.

music

Find club dates in the music section. AMARYLLIS: VERMONT’S EARLY VOICE: Susanne Peck directs an a cappella vocal recital titled “IN TERRA PAX: 15th and 16th Century Motets.” Lincoln United Church, 2 p.m. $15. Info, 453-3513.

BRING IT HOME We Build it. We Deliver it. We Service it.

JOHN STOWELL & DRAA HOBBS: Two-guitar improvisations on familiar songs augment obscure works by Brazilian composer Antônio Carlos Jobim. ArtisTree Community Arts Center & Gallery, South Pomfret, 4-5:30 p.m. $10. Info, 457-3500. NORTHEAST FIDDLERS ASSOCIATION MEETING: Lovers of this spirited art form gather to catch up and jam. Canadian Club, Barre, noon-5 p.m. Free; donations of nonperishable food items accepted. Info, 565-7377. RUTLAND AREA CHORUS: Under the direction of Alastair Stout, soloists and orchestra members perform Handel’s Messiah. Grace Congregational Church, Rutland, 3:30-5 & 7-8:30 p.m. Donations. Info, 775-4301. SAINT MICHAEL’S COLLEGE STRING ORCHESTRA: Works by Ludwig van Beethoven, Germaine Tailleferre, Philip Glass

SEVEN DAYS DECEMBER 4-11, 2019

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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 local theaters in the movies section and at sevendayst.com/movies.

words

MEGAN PRICE: The writer signs copies of the sixth and latest volume of her humorous and sometimes harrowing Vermont Wild: Adventures of Fish & Game Wardens series. Phoenix Books, Burlington, 1-4 p.m. Free. Info, 448-3350.

MON.9 crafts

HANDWORK CIRCLE: Friends and neighbors make progress on works of knitting, crocheting, cross-stitch and other creative endeavors. Jaquith Public Library, Marshfield, 6:30 p.m. Free. Info, 426-3581.

environment

350VERMONT BURLINGTON NODE MEETING: Environmentally conscious individuals deepen their involvement in issues related to the climate crisis. 350Vermont, Burlington, 7-8:30 p.m. Free; preregister. Info, btvnode@350vt.org.

etc.

AMERICAN VETERANS VERMONT POST 1: Those who have served or are currently serving the country, including members of the National Guard and reservists, are welcome to join AMVETS for monthly meetings. American Legion, Post 91, Colchester, 6:30 p.m. Free. Info, 796-3098.

film

See what’s playing at local theaters in the movies section. ‘EARTH FLIGHT 3D’: See WED.4. ‘INCREDIBLE PREDATORS 3D’: See WED.4. ‘LITTLE WOMEN’: Winona Ryder portrays the fiery Jo in a 1994 adaptation of Louisa May Alcott’s novel about four sisters coming of age in the 1860s. Catamount Arts Center, St. Johnsbury, 7 p.m. Free. Info, 748-2600. ‘SPACE JUNK 3D’: See WED.4. ‘TINY GIANTS 3D’: See WED.4.

food & drink

BTV POLY COCKTAILS: Those who are polyamorous, in an open relationship or just curious connect over drinks. Deli 126, Burlington, 7 p.m.-midnight. Free. Info, 253-310-8315.

games

BRIDGE CLUB: See WED.4, 6:30 p.m. CORN HOLE: Competitors vie for points in this popular lawn game during 10 weeks of league play. Barre Elks Lodge, registration, 6 p.m.; games, 6:45 p.m. $10; cash bar. Info, 479-9522. MAGIC: THE GATHERING — MONDAY NIGHT MODERN: Tarmogoyf-slinging madness ensues when competitors battle for prizes in a weekly game. Brap’s Magic, Burlington, 7-11 p.m. $8. Info, 540-0498.

FIND FUTURE DATES + UPDATES AT SEVENDAYSVT.COM/EVENTS

PITCH: Players compete in a trick-taking card game. Barre Area Senior Center, 1 p.m. Free. Info, 479-9512.

health & fitness

CHAIR YOGA WITH SANGHA STUDIO: Supported poses promote health and wellbeing. Heineberg Senior Center, Burlington, 10:45-11:45 a.m. Free. Info, 448-4262. COMMUNITY HERBAL CLINIC: Supervised clinical interns offer guidance and support to those looking to care for themselves using natural remedies. By appointment only. Vermont Center for Integrative Herbalism, Montpelier, and Railyard Apothecary, Burlington, 4-8 p.m. $10-30; additional cost for herbs; preregister. Info, 224-7100. GUIDED GROUP MEDITATION: In keeping with the tradition of Thich Nhat Hanh, folks practice mindfulness through sitting, walking, reading and discussion. Zenbarn Studio, Waterbury, 7:158 p.m. Free. Info, 505-1688.

holidays

GINGERBREAD HOUSE COMPETITION: Innovative individuals bring their completed creations for judging. Funds raised support the Committee on Temporary Shelter. Stonecutter Spirits Highball Social, Burlington, 6-9 p.m. $10 to compete; free for viewers. Info, 540-3000. HOLIDAY BUSINESS AFTERHOURS RECEPTION: Area business people join Central Vermont Chamber of Commerce members, friends and community leaders for an evening of networking and good cheer. Barre Opera House, 5-7 p.m. $10-15; preregister. Info, 229-5711.

language

PLATTSBURGH CONVERSATION GROUP: French speakers maintain their conversational skills in a weekly meet-up. Plattsburgh Public Library, N.Y., 3:30-4:30 p.m. Free. Info, ajobin-picard@ cefls.org.

lgbtq

PANORAMA: Joined by a facilitator, parents, caregivers and adult family members of LGBTQ youth ask questions and share their experiences. Outright Vermont, Burlington, 6:30-8 p.m. Free. Info, 865-9677.

music

Find club dates in the music section. AMARYLLIS: VERMONT’S EARLY VOICE: See SUN.8, St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church on the Green, Middlebury, 7:30 p.m. SAMBATUCADA OPEN REHEARSAL: Burlington’s own samba street percussion band welcomes new members. No experience or instruments required. 8 Space Studio Collective, Burlington, 6-8:30 p.m. Free. Info, 862-5017.

talks

STATE OF THE WORLD COMMUNITY DISCUSSIONS: Activist Sandy Baird leads an open forum reflecting on and analyzing current events in a nonjudgmental setting. Fletcher Free Library, Burlington, 10 a.m. Free. Info, 865-7211.

tech

TECH HELP WITH CLIF: See WED.4.

theater

‘DRINKING HABITS’ AUDITIONS: Be they seasoned thespians or just starting out, actors vie for roles in the Essex Community Players production of Tom Smith’s laugh-out-loud farce. Essex Memorial Hall, 6:30-9:30 p.m. Free. Info, nanmurat@ yahoo.com. PLAYMAKERS: Playwrights develop new work in a collaborative setting. Off Center for the Dramatic Arts, Burlington, 7:309:30 p.m. Free. Info, playmakers vt@gmail.com.

words

MUST-READ MONDAYS: Nonfiction fans discuss Becoming by Michelle Obama. Brownell Library, Essex Junction, 6:30-7:30 p.m. Free. Info, 878-6955.

TUE.10 bazaars

OUTDOOR GEAR SALE: Outdoor adventurers stock up on lightly used equipment. Alexander Twilight Theatre, Northern Vermont University-Lyndon, 4-8 p.m. Free. Info, benjamin. mirkin@northernvermont.edu.

community

COMMUNITY DROP-IN CENTER HOURS: Wi-Fi, games and art materials are on hand at an open meeting space where folks forge social connections. GRACE, Hardwick, 9 a.m.-noon. Free. Info, 472-6857.

crafts

COMMUNITY CRAFT NIGHT: Makers stitch, spin, knit and crochet their way through projects while enjoying each other’s company. Fletcher Free Library, Burlington, 6-8 p.m. Free. Info, 865-7211.

dance

SWING DANCING: Quick-footed participants experiment with different forms, including the Lindy Hop, Charleston and balboa. Beginners are welcome. Champlain Club, Burlington, 7:30-9:30 p.m. $5. Info, 448-2930.

environment

‘CLIMATE CHANGE AND FOOD SECURITY’: Lieutenant Governor David Zuckerman, organic consultant Grace Gershuny and others consider the impact of the climate crisis on food security in

Vermont and beyond as part of the Garage Cultural Center’s “Let It Bee” exhibit and events series. The Garage Cultural Center, Montpelier, 7-8:30 p.m. Free. Info, 738-3667.

etc.

RIGHTS & DEMOCRACY INSTITUTE’S HUMAN RIGHTS CELEBRATION VERMONT: The Rights & Democracy Institute honors local and national leaders and organizations while celebrating the 71st anniversary of the adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Caledonia Spirits, Montpelier, 6-8 p.m. $25; cash bar. Info, 448-0326.

film

See what’s playing at local theaters in the movies section.

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‘EARTH FLIGHT 3D’: See WED.4. ‘INCREDIBLE PREDATORS 3D’: See WED.4.

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‘SPACE JUNK 3D’: See WED.4. ‘TINTORETTO: A REBEL IN VENICE’: Helena Bonham Carter narrates a 2019 documentary celebrating the 500th anniversary of the birth of the Italian Renaissance painter born Jacopo Comin. Town Hall Theater, Middlebury, 11 a.m. $8-13. Info, 382-9222. ‘TINY GIANTS 3D’: See WED.4.

food & drink

HARPOON BREWERY & WHISTLEPIG BARREL-AGED BALTIC PORTER LAUNCH PARTY: Suds lovers get some of the first sips of a new brew. Harpoon Brewery Riverbend Taps & Beer Garden, Windsor, 6:30-8 p.m. $25. Info, 674-5491. TUESDAY LUNCH: An in-house chef whips up a well-balanced hot meal with dessert. See barreseniors.org for menu. Barre Area Senior Center, noon. $6; preregister. Info, 479-9512.

games

BRIDGE CLUB: See WED.4, 7 p.m.

health & fitness

ARTHRITIS FOUNDATION EXERCISE PROGRAM: See THU.5. COMMUNITY HERBAL CLINIC: See MON.9, Vermont Center for Integrative Herbalism, Montpelier, 9 a.m.-1 p.m. FALL PREVENTION WITH SUNSTYLE TAI CHI: Beginners boost their strength and balance through a gentle guided practice. Twin Valley Senior Center, East Montpelier, 10-11 a.m. Free. Info, 223-3322.

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REIKI CLINIC: Thirty-minute treatments foster physical, emotional and spiritual wellness. JourneyWorks, Burlington, 3-5:30 p.m. $10-30; preregister. Info, 860-6203. TUESDAY GUIDED MEDITATION: Participants learn to relax and let

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Library, Williston, 1-3:30 p.m. Free. Info, 878-4918.

go. Stillpoint Center, Burlington, 5:30-6:30 p.m. Free. Info, 318-8605.

health & fitness

ALL-LEVELS ACROYOGA CLASS: See WED.4.

holidays

CHAIR YOGA: See WED.4.

‘ELF’: Will Ferrell lends his comedic gifts to this holiday romp about an oversize Santa’s helper. Film House, Main Street Landing Performing Arts Center, Burlington, 7-9:30 p.m. Donations. Info, 540-3018.

RESILIENCE FLOW: See WED.4. YOGA4CANCER: See WED.4.

holidays

‘A CHRISTMAS STORY’: Peter Billingsley, Melinda Dillon and Darren McGavin star in the classic tale of a boy growing up in the 1940s whose holiday hopes repeatedly fall short. Catamount Arts Center, St. Johnsbury, 7 p.m. Free. Info, 748-2600.

HOLIDAY EXTRAVAGANZA: A powerful panel discussion hosted by eWomenNetwork inspires attendees to set goals and ring in the new year with a clear vision for their business. Burlington Country Club, 11 a.m.-2 p.m. $39-105. Info, info@ewomennetwork.com. ‘THE POLAR EXPRESS’: In this 2004 animated film, Tom Hanks voices the conductor of a train bound for the North Pole. Catamount Arts Center, St. Johnsbury, 7 p.m. Free. Info, 748-2600.

HOLIDAY SING-ALONG: Guitar in hand, Erica Mitchell accompanies vocalists of all ages and experience levels. Jaquith Public Library, Marshfield, 6:45 p.m. Free. Info, 426-3581. SAT.7 | HOLIDAYS | Holiday Open House in Middlebury

language

ITALIAN CONVERSATION GROUP: Parla Italiano? Language learners practice pronunciation and more in an informal gathering. Hartland Public Library, 12:30-2:30 p.m. Free. Info, 436-2473. ‘LA CAUSERIE’ FRENCH CONVERSATION: Native speakers and learners say it all in French at a social conversational practice. Red Onion Café, Burlington, 4:306 p.m. Free. Info, 540-0195. LUNCH IN A FOREIGN LANGUAGE: ITALIAN: Speakers hone their skills in the Romance language over a bag lunch. KelloggHubbard Library, Montpelier, noon-1 p.m. Free. Info, 223-3338. PAUSE-CAFÉ FRENCH CONVERSATION: Frenchlanguage fanatics meet pour parler la belle langue. ¡Duino! (Duende), Burlington, 6:30-8:30 p.m. Free. Info, 430-4652.

music

Find club dates in the music section. BURLINGTON SONGWRITERS OPEN MIC: Area songsters make their music heard. O.N.E. Community Center, Burlington, 7-9:30 p.m. Free. Info, 899-1139.

to the Japanese martial art focuses on centering and finding freedom while under attack. Open to prospective students. Aikido of Champlain Valley, Burlington, 6:15-7:15 p.m. Free. Info, 951-8900.

talks

BOOKED FOR LUNCH: Mary Fillmore examines the choices Anne Frank’s neighbors faced and the decisions they made in the face of those choices. BYO lunch. Fletcher Free Library, Burlington, noon-1 p.m. Free. Info, 863-3403. COMMUNITY MEDICAL SCHOOL: University of Vermont professor of medicine Daniel Weiss lays out the facts in “Stem Cell Therapies: Hype & Hope.” University of Vermont Robert Larner College of Medicine, Burlington, 6 p.m. Free. Info, 656-0733. CURRENT EVENTS DISCUSSION GROUP: Sandy Baird moderates a forum for the lively and courteous expression of views on the issues of the day. Brownell Library, Essex Junction, 10-11:30 a.m. Free. Info, 878-6955.

tech

NORTHERN VERMONT SONGWRITERS: Melody makers meet to share ideas and maximize their creativity. Call for details. Catamount Arts Center, St. Johnsbury, 6:45 p.m. Free. Info, 467-9859.

INTERMEDIATE EXCEL: Formula entry, formatting, freeze pane and simple plotting become second nature at a tutorial on electronic spreadsheets. Fletcher Free Library, Burlington, 5:30-7 p.m. Free; preregister. Info, 865-7217.

OPEN MIC: Singers, players, storytellers and poets entertain a live audience at a monthly showcase of local talent. Wallingford Town Hall, 7-9 p.m. Free. Info, 446-2872.

INTRODUCTION TO MICROSOFT WORD: Technology librarian Delia Gillen teaches techniques such as formatting, printing and saving documents. Waterbury Public Library, 6:30 p.m. Free; preregister; limited space. Info, 244-7036.

outdoors

SLOW & EASY HIKING: See THU.5.

sports

theater

‘DRINKING HABITS’ AUDITIONS: See MON.9.

FREE AIKIDO CLASS: A one-time complimentary introduction

SEVEN DAYS DECEMBER 4-11, 2019

words

BOOK SWAP: Bibliophiles add to their personal libraries at an exchange of new and gently used titles. Money raised supports Evolution Physical Therapy & Yoga’s scholarship fund. Evolution Physical Therapy & Yoga, Burlington, 7-8:30 p.m. Donations for books. Info, 864-9642. BURLINGTON FREE WRITE: Aspiring writers respond to prompts in a welcoming atmosphere. Fletcher Free Library, Burlington, 6-8 p.m. Free. Info, 999-1664. THE MOTH: FAMILY: Wordsmiths have five minutes to tell true tales inspired by a shared theme. ArtsRiot, Burlington, 7:30 p.m. $15. Info, 540-0406.

Kellogg-Hubbard Library, Montpelier, 1:30-2:30 p.m. Free. Info, 223-3338.

film

See what’s playing at local theaters in the movies section. ‘EARTH FLIGHT 3D’: See WED.4. ‘INCREDIBLE PREDATORS 3D’: See WED.4. ‘RENZO PIANO: AN ARCHITECT FOR SANTANDER’: Shown as part of the Architecture + Design Film Series, the film focuses on the Italian designer behind buildings such as the Centre Pompidou in Paris and the New York Times Building in Manhattan. Burlington City Hall Auditorium, reception, 6 p.m.; screening, 6:30 p.m. Free. Info, 865-7166. ‘SPACE JUNK 3D’: See WED.4.

WED.11 bazaars

OUTDOOR GEAR SALE: See TUE.10.

community

CENSUS WORKER INFORMATION: Jeanne Zimmerman shares opportunities to join the 2020 census team, including full- and parttime paid positions, in Chittenden County. Dorothy Alling Memorial Library, Williston, 3:30-5:30 p.m. Free. Info, 878-4918.

‘TINY GIANTS 3D’: See WED.4. WARREN MILLER’S ‘TIMELESS’: Skiers and snowboarders get stoked on the upcoming season with the release of the latest edition of the long-running wintersports film franchise, which this year features Vermont native Jim Ryan. Town Hall Theater, Middlebury, 7:30 p.m. $21. Info, 382-9222.

food & drink

KNITTER’S GROUP: See WED.4.

COOK THE BOOK COOKIE SWAP: Home bakers bring two dozen treats from Chewy Gooey Crispy Crunchy Melt-in-Your-Mouth Cookies by Alice Medrich. Dorothy Alling Memorial Library, Williston, 11 a.m.-12:30 p.m. Free. Info, 878-4918.

dance

games

etc.

MAH JONGG IN BARRE: See WED.4.

crafts

FIBER RIOT!: See WED.4.

SQUARE DANCING: See WED.4.

GETTING TO KNOW LIBBY: Patrons learn to use a library app to download e-books and audiobooks to their smartphones, tablets and e-readers.

BRIDGE CLUB: See WED.4.

MAH JONGG IN WILLISTON: Participants of all levels enjoy friendly bouts of this tile-based game. Dorothy Alling Memorial

ILLUMINATION NIGHT: Hot cocoa and holiday songs pave the way for an annual lighting ceremony. College Green, Vermont College of Fine Arts, Montpelier, 5:30 p.m. Free. Info, 828-8600. OLD-FASHIONED CHRISTMAS CAROL SING: Community members lend their voices to well-known religious and secular music selections. Sheet music is provided. Stowe Community Church, 7-8 p.m. Free. Info, 253-7257. ‘WINTER TALES’: In Vermont Stage’s 15th annual holiday special conceived by Mark Nash and directed by Cristina Alicea, songs and stories warm the heart during the coldest season. Black Box Theater, Main Street Landing Performing Arts Center, Burlington, 7:30 p.m. $29.70-33. Info, 862-1497.

language

BEGINNER & INTERMEDIATE/ ADVANCED ENGLISH LANGUAGE CLASSES: See WED.4. LUNCH IN A FOREIGN LANGUAGE: SPANISH: See WED.4.

lgbtq

LUNCH WITH BOI CHAPLAIN: See WED.4. SHAPE NOTES FILM SCREENING: ‘ANYTHING’: Clashing lifestyles challenge a romance between a Southern widower and a transgender sex worker. Fletcher Free Library, Burlington, 6-8 p.m. Free. Info, 863-3403.

music

Find club dates in the music section. MENTALLY INTUNE: Singers find harmony in a community chorus for people living with depression. No experience or talent required. Rumney Memorial School, Middlesex, 6:30-8 p.m. Donations. Info, 272-7209. OLD NORTH END NEIGHBORHOOD BAND TEEN MUSIC JAM: See WED.4.

talks

EMILY TARLETON: “Magnesium for the Treatment of Chronic Disease and Other Adventures in Nutrition Research” finds eager listeners. Room 207, Bentley Hall, Northern Vermont UniversityJohnson, 4 p.m. Free. Info, les. kanat@northernvermont.edu.

tech

TECH HELP WITH CLIF: See WED.4. TECH SUPPORT: See WED.4. TECHNOLOGY NIGHT: Anti-virus and device protection strategies become second nature during a class with Vermont Technical College’s Ken Bernard. Dorothy Alling Memorial Library, Williston, 5:30-6:30 p.m. Free. Info, 878-4918.

theater

‘THE SOUND OF MUSIC’: See WED.4.

words

BOOK DISCUSSION GROUP: Bibliophiles delve into The Library Book by Susan Orlean. Fletcher Free Library, Burlington, 6:30-8 p.m. Free. Info, 863-3403. SYDNEY LEA: The former Vermont poet laureate reads from his latest collection, Here, in which he addresses the deep connection between human life and the natural world. St. Johnsbury Athenaeum, 7-8 p.m. Free. Info, 745-1393. WRITING CIRCLE: See WED.4. m

FOMO? Find even more local events in this newspaper and online:

art Find visual art exhibits and events in the art section and at sevendaysvt.com/art.

film See what’s playing at local theaters in the movies section and at sevendayst.com/movies.

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CLASS PHOTOS + MORE INFO ONLINE SEVENDAYSVT.COM/CLASSES

classes 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.

aerial fitness and therapeutics SPIRAL ENERGETICS: A luxurious and fun low-mount aerial silk practice that works with the body’s natural inclination to swing, bounce, writhe, roll, push, pull and grip to regulate all systems and processes. Learn how to use both “hammock” and “twin tail” suspensions, aerial and floor poses, and intuitive sequencing. Wed. & Fri., 6 p.m.; Thu. & Sat., 10:30 a.m.; Sun. 4 p.m. Cost: $35/person; $15 first class pass avail. online at silkswingstudio. com/plans-pricing. Location: Silk Swing Studio, the Soda Plant, 266 Pine St. (above Tomgirl), Burlington. Info: Robin Lawson, 662-0012, silkswingstudio@gmail. com, silkswingstudio.com.

SWING YOUR PAIN AWAY: A luxurious and fun low-mount aerial silk practice that works with the body’s natural inclination to swing, bounce, writhe, roll, push, pull and grip to regulate and restore all systems and processes. Learn how to use both “hammock” and “twin tail” suspensions, pain-relief poses, and intuitive sequencing. Wed. & Fri., 10:30 a.m.; Thu. 6 p.m.; Sat. 4 p.m.; Sun. 10:30 a.m. Cost: $35/person; $15 first class pass avail. online at silkswingstudio. com/plans-pricing. Location: Silk Swing Studio, the Soda Plant, 266 Pine St. (above Tomgirl), Burlington. Info: Robin Lawson, 662-0012, silkswingstudio@gmail. com, silkswingstudio.com.

dance

martial arts

meditation

DANCE STUDIO SALSALINA: Salsa classes: nightclub-style, group and private, four levels. Beginner walk-in classes, Tue., 7 p.m. $15/ person for one-hour class. No dance experience, partner or preregistration required, just the desire to have fun! Drop in anytime and prepare for an enjoyable workout. Location: 32 Malletts Bay Ave., Winooski. Info: Victoria, 598-1077, info@salsalina.com.

VERMONT BRAZILIAN JIU-JITSU: Brazilian jiujitsu is a martial arts combat style based entirely on leverage and technique. Brazilian jiujitsu self-defense curriculum is taught to Navy SEALs, CIA, FBI, military police and special forces. No training experience required. Easyto-learn techniques that could save your life! Classes for men, women and children. Students will learn realistic bully-proofing and self-defense life skills to avoid becoming victims and help them feel safe and secure. Our sole purpose is to help empower people by giving them realistic martial arts training practices they can carry with them throughout life. IBJJF and CBJJ certified black belt sixth-degree instructor under Carlson Gracie Sr.: teaching in Vermont, born and raised in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. A five-time Brazilian National Champion; International World Masters Champion and IBJJF World Masters Champion. Accept no Iimitations! Location: Vermont Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, 55 Leroy Rd., Williston. Info: 598-2839, julio@ bjjusa.com, vermontbjj.com.

LEARN TO MEDITATE: Taught by qualified meditation instructors at the Burlington Shambhala Meditation Center: Wed., 6-7 p.m.; Sun., 9 a.m.-noon. Free and open to anyone. Free public meditation: weeknights, 6-7 p.m.; Tue. and Thu., noon-1 p.m.; Sun., 9 a.m.-noon. Classes and retreats also offered. See our website at burlington.shambhala.org. Location: Burlington Shambhala Center, 187 S. Winooski Ave., Burlington. Info: 658-6795.

empowerment 1970-2020 VT ABENAKI REVIVAL: Join the Vermont Indigenous Heritage Center for a three-hour, profusely illustrated, in-depth look at the last 50 years of Vermont indigenous history & culture – from the beginnings of revival at Missisquoi in the late 1960’s to breaking news of late 2019. Dec. 5, 6-9 p.m. Cost: $20/3-hour class. Location: Ethan Allen Homestead, 1 Ethan Allen Homestead, Burlington. Info: 355-2196, ethanallenhomestead@gmail.com, ethanallenhomestead.org.

language LEARN SPANISH & OPEN NEW DOORS: We provide high-quality, affordable instruction in the Spanish language for adults, students and children. Travelers’ lesson package. Our 13th year. Small classes, private lessons and online instruction with a native speaker. Also live, engaging, face-to-face online English classes. See our website for complete information or contact us for details. Location: Spanish in Waterbury Center, Waterbury Center. Info: 585-1025, spanishparavos@gmail.com, spanishwaterburycenter.com.

pilates PILATES MATWORK: Ongoing pilates classes. Tue.: Pilates/Stretch, a flowing mat-work class that includes deep stretching. Thu.: Therapeutic Pilates, a mindful approach to pilates mat work. 5:156:15 p.m. Cost varies. All levels of ability welcome. No class Dec. 24, 26 & 31, and Jan. 2. Cost varies. Location: Burlington Acupuncture and Therapeutic Pilates, 215 College St., #2C, Burlington. Info: Sharon, 522-3992, sharon@ burlingtonacupuncture.com, pilatesburlingtonacupuncture.com.

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tai chi SNAKE-STYLE TAI CHI CHUAN: The Yang Snake Style is a dynamic tai chi method that mobilizes the spine while stretching and strengthening the core body muscles. Practicing this ancient martial art increases strength, flexibility, vitality, peace of mind and martial skill. Beginner classes Sat. mornings & Wed. evenings. Call to view a class. Location: Bao Tak Fai Tai Chi Institute, 100 Church St., Burlington. Info: 3636890, snake-style.com.

well-being

yoga

200-HOUR AYURVEDA INTEGRATION PROGRAM: Join us in learning and immerse yourself in the oldest surviving preventative health care system. This program is ideal for yoga teachers, counselors, therapists, bodyworkers, nurses, doctors, wellness coaches, herbalists, etc. VSAC approved and payment plans available. Can transfer hours to Kripalu’s Ayurveda Health Counselor program. More information at ayurvedavermont.com/ classes. 2020 schedule: Feb. 8-9, Mar. 7-8, Apr. 4-5, May 2-3, Jun. 6-7, Jul. 11-12, Aug. 15-16, Sep. 12-13, Oct. 17-18, Nov. 14-15. Cost: $2,795/ person. Location: The Ayurvedic Center of Vermont, 34 Oak Hill Rd., Williston. Info: Allison Morse, 8728898, ayurvedavt@comcast.net.

EVOLUTION YOGA: Practice yoga in a down-to-earth atmosphere with some of the most experienced teachers and therapeutic professionals in Burlington. All are welcome. Try our Beginners Series, Tuesdays, November 5 to December 17. We are all beginners. This is your invitation to enjoy learning the basics and start exploring the benefits of a yoga practice. Daily drop-in classes including $10 community classes, Yoga Wall and Yoga Therapeutics classes led by physical therapists. Dive deeper into your practice! $10-$15/ class; $140/10-class card; $10/ community class. New students $100/10-class card. New! Student Monthly Unlimited just $55/

mo. Location: Evolution Yoga, 20 Kilburn St., Burlington. Info: 8649642, evolutionvt.com.

LAUGHING RIVER YOGA: Located in a beautiful setting overlooking the Winooski River. We offer high-quality classes, workshops and trainings taught by experienced teachers who honor the beauty and wisdom of the yogic tradition. Learn more about our Teacher Enhancement Program and ongoing workshops, including Yin Yoga, December 6-8. All bodies and abilities welcome. Daily classes, workshops, 200- and 300-hour yoga teacher training. Cost: $49/first month of unlimited classes; workshop & training prices vary. Location: Laughing River Yoga, Chace Mill, Suite 126, Burlington. Info: 3438119, laughingriveryoga.com.

SANGHA STUDIO |: NONPROFIT, DONATION-BASED YOGA: Sangha Studio builds an empowered community through the shared practice of yoga. Free yoga service initiatives and outreach programs are offered at 17 local organizations working with all ages. Join Sangha in both downtown Burlington and the Old North End for one of their roughly 60 weekly classes and workshops. Become a Sustaining Member for $60/ month and practice as often as you like! Daily classes. Location: Sangha Studio, 120 Pine St. & 237 North Winooski Ave., Burlington. Info: 448-4262, info@sangha studio.org, sanghastudio.org.

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music+nightlife lot of neat stuff in there. We worked hard when we were young, and there are lots of hidden treasures — tunes we haven’t done for 20 years.

From left: Victor Wooten, Howard Levy, Future Man and Béla Fleck

SD: What’s something you used to worry about in the early days that you hardly think about anymore? BF: I don’t worry about whether they’re gonna like it. Now, we just go be ourselves. It’s a little more mature. I think we can be a little more secure.

First Pick

Banjo virtuoso Béla Fleck reflects on 30 years with the Flecktones B Y J O RD A N AD A M S

efore Béla Fleck came along, the banjo was mostly relegated to the world of roots music. But the New York City-born banjo virtuoso changed the world’s perception of the stringed instrument, primarily through the work of his longtime quartet, the Flecktones. By fusing together elements of traditional bluegrass and contemporary jazz, Fleck, 61, pioneered a compositionally intricate hybrid sound that garnered him an enduring following. Fleck is something of a Grammy Award magnet. Famous not only for winning multiple statuettes from the Recording Academy — 14, at last count — he has been nominated in more categories than any other artist. From his lauded early work in the 1980s with the trailblazing progressive bluegrass group New Grass Revival to an acclaimed 2016 self-titled folk album

SEVEN DAYS DECEMBER 4-11, 2019

with his wife, fellow banjo player (and Middlebury College Language School alum) Abigail Washburn, Fleck’s music has been recognized 36 times in nearly a dozen genres, including pop, jazz, country and classical.

THERE ARE LOTS OF

HIDDEN TREASURES. BÉ L A F L E C K

In 2008, Fleck unveiled Throw Down Your Heart, a documentary by Sascha Paladino that chronicles the banjo player’s travels in Africa as he examined the origins of his instrument. A new box set featuring an extended version of the doc is due out soon. Béla Fleck and the Flecktones perform

on Saturday, December 7, at the Flynn MainStage in Burlington. Seven Days caught up with Fleck by phone. SEVEN DAYS: Congratulations on 30 years with the Flecktones! At this point in your career, does touring feel like a victory lap, or is there still a lot of track left ahead? BÉLA FLECK: I do think there’s a lot of track left ahead. There are a lot of things to try. And I’m gonna go down fighting. Once in a while, it’s fun to get the band together and play some of the stuff from the past. Everything doesn’t have to be looking forward. And the Flecktones sort of naturally are looking forward, just because of who everybody is and what they do. But we haven’t created new music in a while, and we’re discovering as we reexplore our catalog that there’s a

SD: What are some differences in the way that you develop music with your wife as opposed to with the Flecktones? BF: With the Flecktones, we hardly ever talked about much. We would sit and play, play, play, and then come out of a room and have an arrangement of some kind of complicated piece. Nobody had discussed a single word of it. Abby and I talk a lot. There’s a lot of discussion. And the creation of the music can be more uncomfortable. We have to have a lyric we both like; we have to work on textures. It’s more challenging, honestly, because of the nature of what it is. With the Flecktones, I always come up with some weird little tune. I just start playing it, the guys start playing along, and I wouldn’t say what the chords were until after a while. That band is all about being free, whereas for me and Abby it’s more of a structured situation. We’ve got something to prove. When we first started, it was like, Could we do a whole night of music with just two banjos? SD: Your discussions with Abby, are they more about technique and structure as opposed to history and culture? BF: The history and culture stuff might come into the songwriting. There are certainly things we respond to that we want to talk about in our songs. But we might be talking about what kind of accompaniment patterns Abby has that might work for a banjo solo, or what kind of a solo should I play over her basic rhythm, or how can we introduce more harmonies into these two banjos? What are ways we can make it really natural but innovative at the same time? SD: I read that a rerelease of your 2008 documentary Throw Down Your Heart is forthcoming. BF: Yes, we’re working on the package right now. It’s gonna have the original CD and the FIRST PICK

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GOT MUSIC NEWS? JORDAN@SEVENDAYSVT.COM

S UNDbites

FRI 12.6

News and views on the local music + nightlife scene B Y J O R D A N A D A MS

Honey, I’m Home

Nearly two years after releasing their debut, self-titled album, YES DARLING return bigger and better than ever. On Saturday, December 7, the duo of RYAN MONTBLEAU (RYAN MONTBLEAU BAND) and HAYLEY JANE (formerly of HAYLEY JANE AND THE PRIMATES) reunite for the theatrical debut of their shared project at the Double E Performance Center at the Essex Experience in Essex Junction. If you recall, Montbleau and Hayley Jane released Yes Darling on Valentine’s Day 2018, which was not too long after the formerly Boston-based artists, unbeknownst to each other at the time, relocated to Burlington. Though the two had collaborated casually in the past, Yes Darling was their first major shared project. “Back when we put out [Yes ], we were still figuring out Darling], exactly what it was,” Hayley Jane said in a recent phone interview. “It’s kind of grown, and we’ve made discoveries about what it is.” The ambiguity she expressed relates to the project’s unconventional nature. The highly conceptual album examines modern relationships by digging into some of the oftenoverlooked nooks and crannies of love, sex, romance, family and friendship, with an emphasis on the first three topics. Montbleau and Hayley Jane explore the intersection of lust and

anger, the pitfalls of polyamory, the loneliness of our incessant inner monologues, and the catharsis of working through our own bullshit. (Also, there’s a song about tripping on acid while getting pulled over by the cops during an ill-fated road trip.) The duo achieves all of this while simultaneously traversing all manner of styles and genres, such as swingin’ jazz, folk-rock balladry, old-school ska and near-Broadway show-tune pageantry. Though the songs themselves aren’t terribly interconnected — there isn’t a cut-and-dried narrative on the record, exactly — Montbleau and Hayley Jane tie everything together through interstitial, sketchlike moments, both on the recording and in their live performances. Atop being excellent singer-songwriters, the two have proven to be stellar actors and improvisers, as well.

104.7 The Point welcomes

The artists kept things fairly streamlined while touring the album in 2018, largely opting for the simplicity of a single acoustic guitar. I often wondered whether the project would move beyond this structure. “This is the show we’ve been doing, but it’s such a step up,” said Montbleau of the forthcoming debut. The theatrical version keeps everything fans love and expect from past Yes Darling shows and adds major production value. Namely: They’ll perform with a full rock band. Though the artists preferred not to give too much away about their stage plot, they described a full set that includes multiple locations through which they’ll move during in the show. And given that they’ll debut it in the Double E’s T-Rex theater, expect them to utilize the screen. Recently, the band unveiled a new music video for its song, “Call Your Mother.” Directed by DORIAN WEINZIMMER, the clip begins in a familiar Burlington hot spot, the Light Club Lamp Shop. The song pits Montbleau and Hayley Jane against one another, each urging the other to “call your mother” and dissuade any anxiety she might have about the debauchery she thinks each might be getting up to — all of which the viewer sees in a series of hilarious cutaways. On the night of the show — which has a hard R rating, by the way — attendees are encouraged to dress up like they’re extras in SOUNDBITES

Start Making Sense: Talking Heads Tribute Squig Heart

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FRI 12.6

Thunder Jackson

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SAT 12.7

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WED 12.11

TroyBoi

THU 12.12

106.7 WIZN welcomes

FRI 12.13

WOKO Live For Five Show

SAT 12.14

Yultron, Argenil

Zoso: The Ultimate Led Zeppelin Experience Stephanie Quayle Joe McGinness

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Fully Completely Hip: Tragically Hip Tribute Heartless

SAT 12.14

A Holiday Drag Cabaret

12.16 Scrantonicity: The Office Themed Holiday Party 2.13 TAUK 2.27 Kamasi Washington 2.28 And That’s Why We Drink

» P.71

1214 Williston Road, South Burlington 802-652-0777 @higherground

Ryan Montbleau and Hayley Jane of Yes Darling

@highergroundmusic SEVEN DAYS DECEMBER 4-11, 2019

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the first season of “Mad Men.” If you’ve never seen the television show, think slick suits and flouncy party dresses. Word is that ticket holders will get to walk a red carpet, so you’ll want to put on your weekend best. Oh! And expect to hear a brand-new song. “It might be one of my favorites,” said Hayley Jane. “It’s my least favorite,” Montbleau chimed in. Save it for the stage, you two!

BiteTorrent

From Friday, December 6, through Sunday, December 8, dancers and musicians practicing indigenous styles from all over the globe descend on the Champlain Valley Exposition in Essex Junction for the Vermont International Festival. Highlights include Nova Scotia duo ANITA MCDONALD and BEN MILLER, who specialize in Scottish folk music. They perform all three days of the fest. SABOR 2.0 present a selection of salsa, bachata and other styles originating in the Caribbean region on Saturday, while ELIJAH KRAATZ TRIO DE RUMBA explore the music of the Romani people on Sunday. It’s a global extravaganza, and a modestly priced one at $10 for individuals and $25 for families. Are any Vermont-based music makers putting out any new Christmas music this year? If so, send it my way. Bonus points for original material, off-kilter

subject matter and just plain ol’ irreverence. Reminder: I’m kind of a Grinch. A new music series titled First Taste takes over three consecutive Thursday nights in December at Nectar’s in Burlington. The first installment of the combination music and art show this Thursday, December 5, features a performance by Burlington slowcore band FATHER FIGUER and sets from DJ DAVID CHIEF. Meanwhile, visual artists of all kinds — painters, illustrators, fashion designers — will exhibit their wares. Subsequent dates spotlight experimental rockers MODEL/ACTRIZ on December 12 and local punkers GREASEFACE on December 19.

Listening In If I were a superhero, my superpower would be the ability to get songs stuck in other people’s heads. Here are five songs that have been stuck in my head this week. May they also get stuck in yours. Follow sevendaysvt on Spotify for weekly playlists with tunes by artists featured in the music section. TANLINES, “All of Me” JAMES TAYLOR, “Millwork” KING KRULE, “Biscuit Town” WILD CUB, “Thunder Clatter” WILCO, “A Shot in the Arm”

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music+nightlife

CLUB DATES

live music

COMEDY ›› P.76 | DJS ›› P.74 TRIVIA, KARAOKE, ETC. ›› P.76

WED.4

Hostel House Band (funk, rock) at Hostel Tevere, Warren, 9 p.m. Free.

Ensemble V (jazz) at Radio Bean, Burlington, 7 p.m. Free.

Hunter (rock) at Monopole, Plattsburgh, N.Y., 10 p.m. Free.

John Fealy (folk) at Radio Bean, Burlington, 5:30 p.m. Free.

James Harvey (jazz) at Bleu Northeast Seafood, Burlington, 8:30 p.m. Free.

Mosaic (jam, funk) at Nectar’s, Burlington, 8 p.m. $5/8. 18+. Nico Suave’s Improv Surprise (jam) at Radio Bean, Burlington, 10 p.m. Free.

The Jeff Salisbury Band (blues) at Jericho Café & Tavern, 6 p.m. Free.

O’hAnleigh (Irish) at Rí Rá Irish Pub & Whiskey Room, Burlington, 7 p.m. Free.

Jimmy T and the Cobras (rock) at the Old Post, South Burlington, 8 p.m. Free.

Peter Bingham, Kathy Blume (singer-songwriter) at the Double E Lounge at Essex Experience, Essex Junction, 6:30 p.m. Free.

Joe Adler (singer-songwriter) at Monkey House, Winooski, 5:30 p.m. Free. Justin Friello (singersongwriter) at Olive Ridley’s, Plattsburgh, N.Y., 6:30 p.m. Free.

The Ray Vega Latin Jazz Sextet at Juniper, Burlington, 8:30 p.m. Free.

Kalia Vandever Quartet (jazz) at Light Club Lamp Shop, Burlington, 9 p.m. $5.

Steve Rodgers, Natalie Tuttle (singer-songwriter) at Light Club Lamp Shop, Burlington, 9:30 p.m. Free.

Laura Fedele-Rasco (singersongwriter) at the Tap Room at Switchback Brewing Co., Burlington, 6 p.m. Free.

Twin Peaks, Lala Lala, Ohmme (rock) at Higher Ground Ballroom, South Burlington, 8:30 p.m. $17/20.

Lee Ross (funk, reggae) at Orlando’s Bar & Lounge, Burlington, 9:30 p.m. Free.

Wednesday Night Dead (Grateful Dead tribute) at Zenbarn, Waterbury, 7 p.m. Free.

THU.5

Liam Alone (singer-songwriter) at Whammy Bar, Calais, 7:30 p.m. Free. Lloyd Tyler Band (rock) at 14th Star Brewing Co., St. Albans, 6 p.m. Free.

Anna p.s. (indie folk) at Radio Bean, Burlington, 7 p.m. Free.

SAT.7 // SIRSY [ROCK]

Berklee American Roots Night at Zenbarn, Waterbury, 7 p.m. Free.

Beat Goes On Active since the year 2000, Albany, N.Y., rock band

Bishop LaVey with Heavy Gaze and BJ Cain (rock) at the Howlin’ Mouse Record Store, Rutland, 7 p.m. $5. Colin McCaffrey and Friends (folk) at Bagitos Bagel and Burrito Café, Montpelier, 6 p.m. Free. Comedy & Jazz: A Rat-Packish Rabblin’ Good Time at RabbleRouser Chocolate & Craft Co., Montpelier, 7 p.m. Free. Cooie Sings (Americana) at Blue Paddle Bistro, South Hero, 6:30 p.m. Free. Cracker (rock) at ArtsRiot, Burlington, 7:30 p.m. $30. Django Soulo (singersongwriter) at Tap 25, Stowe, 7:30 p.m. Free. First Taste: Father Figuer, David Chief (rock) at Nectar’s, Burlington, 9:30 p.m. $1. Hot Chelle Rae (pop) at Higher Ground Ballroom, South Burlington, 8 p.m. $15/20. The Hot Pickin’ Party (bluegrass) at the Daily Planet, Burlington, 8 p.m. Free. The Keychains, Pons, Lily Seabird (indie) at SideBar, Burlington, 8:30 p.m. $3. Light Club Jazz Sessions and Showcase at Light Club Lamp Shop, Burlington, 10:30 p.m. Free.

SIRSY make brash rock with pizzazz to spare. Front person Melanie Krahmer, who

sings, drums and manipulates electronic samples, has talked openly about her two bouts with cancer. “It doesn’t define me, but it’s definitely a part of me,” she told Rochester City Newspaper in 2019. “Like a Drum,” the opening song and title track from their 2019 EP, is a commanding proclamation of empowerment. Krahmer wrote it in celebration when her doctor informed her she could return to playing the drums after having to stop while undergoing treatment. SIRSY perform on

Shane Hardiman Trio (jazz) at Light Club Lamp Shop, Burlington, 8:30 p.m. Free. Yarn (alt-country) at Higher Ground Showcase Lounge, South Burlington, 8 p.m. $12/15.

FRI.6 Allison Fay Brown (singersongwriter) at the Old Foundry at One Federal Restaurant & Lounge, St. Albans, 6:30 p.m. Free. Badfish: A Tribute to Sublime at Pickle Barrel Nightclub, Killington, 8 p.m. $17. Bira (pop, funk) at Radio Bean, Burlington, 10 p.m. $5.

SEVEN DAYS DECEMBER 4-11, 2019

The Bubs, James Kochalka Superstar, Cave Bees (punk) at the Hive on Pine, Burlington, 8:30 p.m. $5. Carol Hausner and Jonathan ‘Doc’ Kaplan (bluegrass) at El Toro, Morrisville, 7 p.m. Free. Chris Lyon (Americana) at Highland Lodge Restaurant, Greensboro, 6:30 p.m. Free. Dale and Darcy (Celtic, bluegrass) at Twiggs — An American Gastropub, St. Albans, 6 p.m. Free. Elizabeth Renaud (rock covers) at Gusto’s, Barre, 5 p.m. Free. Erin Harpe & the Delta Swingers (rock, blues) at Red Square, Burlington, 7 p.m. $5.

Monochromatic Black, Abaddon, O.N.E., lossbearer (metal) at Monkey House, Winooski, 8:30 p.m. $5/10. 18+. Party Crashers (rock covers) at Gusto’s, Barre, 9 p.m. $5. Phil Abair Band (rock) at On Tap Bar & Grill, Essex Junction, 9 p.m. Free. Rehab Roadhouse (rock) at City Limits Night Club, Vergennes, 9:30 p.m. Free. Sarah King (blues, soul) at Red Clover Ale Co., Brandon, 7 p.m. Free.

Saturday, December 7, at Radio Bean in Burlington.

Nobby Reed Project (blues) at On Tap Bar & Grill, Essex Junction, 7 p.m. Free.

Mike Turnwell & the Burning Sun (blues, folk-rock) at Radio Bean, Burlington, 7 p.m. Free.

The Fabulous Wrecks (rock) at On Tap Bar & Grill, Essex Junction, 5 p.m. Free. Friday Morning Sing-Along with Linda Bassick & Friends (kids’ music) at Radio Bean, Burlington, 11 a.m. Free. George Petit’s Jazz Quartet at Tap 25, Stowe, 7:30 p.m. Free. Harsh Armadillo, Rustic Overtones (jam) at Nectar’s, Burlington, 9 p.m. $8. Headphone Jack and the Splitters (hip-hop) at Radio Bean, Burlington, 11:30 p.m. $5. Honky Tonk Happy Hour with Mark LeGrand at Sweet Melissa’s, Montpelier, 5:30 p.m. Free.

Seth Yacovone (solo acoustic blues) at Nectar’s, Burlington, 7 p.m. Free.

open mics & jams WED.4

Bluegrass Session at Jericho Café & Tavern, 7 p.m. Free. Irish Sessions (traditional) at Light Club Lamp Shop, Burlington, 7 p.m. Free. John Lackard Blues Jam at Charlie-O’s World Famous, Montpelier, 6 p.m. Free. Open Mic with Andy Lugo at Manhattan Pizza & Pub, Burlington, 9:30 p.m. Free. Open Mic with Austtin at Monopole, Plattsburgh, N.Y., 10 p.m. Free.

THU.5

Coffee Corner Jam Session at Bagitos Bagel and Burrito Café, Montpelier, 7:30 p.m. Free. Irish Session at Jericho Café & Tavern, 7 p.m. Free. Open Mic at Whammy Bar, Calais, 7 p.m. Free. Open Mic Night at Moogs Place, Morrisville, 8:30 p.m. Free. Open Mic with Alex Budney at Localfolk Smokehouse, Waitsfield, 8:30 p.m. Free.

FRI.6

Dave Mitchell’s Blues Revue at Red Square, Burlington, 3 p.m. Free.

SAT.7

Irish Session at Bagitos Bagel and Burrito Café, Montpelier, 2 p.m. donation.

SUN.8

Sing-Along with Nate Venet at Vermont Comedy Club, Burlington, 6 p.m. Free. Southern Old Time Music Jam at Bagitos Bagel and Burrito Café, Montpelier, 10 a.m. Free. Ukulele Shenanigan at the Double E: T10 Listening Room, Essex Junction, 4:30 p.m. $5.

MON.9

Family Night (open jam) at SideBar, Burlington, 9 p.m. Free. Open Circuit: Puppets, Crankies and Pantomime at Light Club Lamp Shop, Burlington, 9 p.m. Free. Open Mic at SideBar, Burlington, 7 p.m. Free. Open Mic Night with Kyle Stevens at the Double E Lounge at Essex Experience, Essex Junction, 6 p.m. Free.

TUE.10

Shane Murley (folk-rock) at Stone Corral Brewery, Richmond, 8:30 p.m. Free.

Tuesday Bluesday Blues Jam with Collin Craig and Friends at Nectar’s, Burlington, 6 p.m. Free.

Start Making Sense: Talking Heads Tribute, Squig Heart at Higher Ground Ballroom, South Burlington, 8 p.m. $15/18.

WED.11

Thunder Jackson, Moxie (indie, R&B) at Higher Ground Showcase Lounge, South Burlington, 8 p.m. $8/10. Two Stroke Motors (folk) at Foam Brewers, Burlington, 8 p.m. Free.

Blues Jam with John McDonald at Twiggs — An American Gastropub, St. Albans, 6 p.m. Free. Irish Sessions (traditional) at Light Club Lamp Shop, Burlington, 7 p.m. Free. Open Mic at Stone Corral Brewery, Richmond, 8 p.m. Free. Open Mic with Andy Lugo at Manhattan Pizza & Pub, Burlington, 9:30 p.m. Free. Open Mic with Austtin at Monopole, Plattsburgh, N.Y., 10 p.m. Free.

SAT.7

» P.74

GOT MUSIC NEWS? JORDAN@SEVENDAYSVT.COM

COMEDY

5 NIGHTS

REVIEW this Sarah King and the Guilty Henchmen, What Happened Last Night (SELF-RELEASED, CD, DIGITAL)

Sarah King is relatively new to the Vermont music scene, but the Addison-based singersongwriter is far from some fresh-faced neophyte. Originally from Maine, King left New England more than a decade ago to pursue her musical career in the Deep South. From the sound of her new record, What Happened Last Night, she picked up plenty of Southern blues along the way. The title track, for example, tells the story of a femme fatale who uses her looks to seduce and rob suckers at a bar, all over a driving, bluesrock groove. “You should have known better than to let a pretty girl near your glass,” King admonishes. (Somewhere, Cardi B is nodding vociferously.) It has the

Jennings & McComber, Will You Leave the Light On? (THUNDER RIDGE RECORDS, CD, DIGITAL)

Orange County’s Jennings & McComber specialize in what Guy Clark called “that old-time feeling.” The folk duo’s moniker actually comes from the past, too. Known to their family and friends as Kara and Andy Lake, the couple took their stage name from their grandmothers. The duo’s second album, Will You Leave the Light On?, is a beautiful piece of work, their best yet. This album is a clear evolution from their 2016 debut, Let Fall the Fine. They obviously came to the studio with a careful plan and some lessons learned. They also had an experienced collaborator in producer Kristina Stykos, owner/operator of Pepperbox Studio in Chelsea, where the album was recorded. The improvements here are all in the finer points, especially the mixing

A WEEK THIS WEEKEND: feel of a Gregg Allman solo cut, something that might have popped up on a Michelob commercial in the late ’80s. While it’s a perfectly fine song, King doesn’t offer much that’s new in what could be described as a genre homage. She shines a little brighter on the following track, “Madman’s Doll.” King has a powerful voice, capable of warm, smooth tones, as well as gravelly blues howls. She sings with the confidence of a woman who knows she can belt out a tune. Here she rides a soulful melody over the arrangement, which culminates in a shuffling chorus in which she pleads with a lover, “Please don’t drag me down.” King cut the 11-song album in four days with her old band at Spinnaker Studio in Columbus, Ga., before mastering it with Ryan Cohen at Robot Dog Studio in Williston. What Happened Last Night is a crisp, present-sounding record, which is a nice change for the genre. Especially in blues-rock, there’s something irritating about records produced to sound like

the music that inspired them. It’s like the musical equivalent of pre-ripped jeans. Refreshingly, the focus here is squarely on highlighting King’s vocal prowess. “Restored” is a high point, a beautiful, PHILIPS reflective piano ballad that King delivers with emotive intent. She then takes a turn toward country rock on “Oh Mama” before the band show off some funk chops on “The Gun.” Though she and the Guilty Henchmen are largely a blues-rock outfit, they display a strong ability to dive into other pools when the mood is right. “Wedding Rings,” like the title track, feels a bit like paint-by-numbers, but by the time the record closes with an excellent version of the traditional tune “Columbus Stockade Blues,” all is forgiven. Over a swaying, shimmering grove, King sings the slow burner of a man missing his baby while languishing in prison, and she sings it with equal parts loss and authority. What Happened Last Night is an excellent introduction of King to the Vermont scene. The album is available at sarahkingsings.com. Catch her live on Friday, December 6, at the Red Clover Ale in Brandon.

and sequencing, because these two have been exceptional songwriters from the start. Every track plays like a short film. The Lakes’ gift for storytelling and small, heartbreaking details makes for some unforgettable moments. The album opens on a melancholy note with “Miserere,” a sad and lovely funeral song that sets the tone for a cohesive, focused set. It’s also an introduction to Kara’s powerful vocal chops. From a wail to a whisper, she absolutely compels your attention. Both of the Lakes are multi-instrumentalists, and Andy is a fine vocalist, too. So the LP has a tremendous amount of sonic and dynamic range — far bigger than your average folk duo. Yet some of the most goose-bump-inducing moments are the barest, like the stripped-down, ethereal “Flame” or the title track, which closes out the album. There’s a lot of joy and celebration, too. “Lay Me Down” is an up-tempo sing-along that really cooks. “Effie’s Song” is a sweet paean to parenthood that manages to avoid being too saccharine and

sentimental. They also pay tribute to one of those aforementioned grandmothers on “Georgena McCumber’s,” a narrative family history of sorts set over a knockout arrangement. It’s one of the best tracks in an impressive set. Then there’s the wistful ballad “Wintertown,” another album highlight. Remarkably, it stretches past the six-minute mark, but you won’t even notice. That’s a testament to the power of the Lakes’ performances and their knack for letting a song live and breathe on its own terms. Credit here is surely shared with producer Stykos, because the whole project sounds like a million bucks. Vermont’s bountiful folk scene is a blessing. But even in this crowded field, Will You Leave the Light On? is a highwater mark — polished to perfection, adventurous and ambitious. You can’t escape the impression that Jennings & McComber have cracked some secret code. It takes a lifetime of work to make an album sound this good. Will You Leave the Light On? is available at jenningsandmccomber.wixsite.com/j-mc. The duo performs on Friday, December 20, at Christmas at the Fern at the Wild Fern in Stockbridge.

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CLUB DATES

music+nightlife

Mad Genius Where to start with a legendary comic like live music CONTINUED FROM P.72

SAT.7 Barn Band (rock covers) at Whammy Bar, Calais, 7:30 p.m. Free. Barry Bender (singer-songwriter) at Bagitos Bagel and Burrito Café, Montpelier, 11 a.m. Free. Beg, Steal or Borrow (bluegrass) at Zenbarn, Waterbury, 9 p.m. $8/10. Blind Boy Paxton (blues, roots) at Light Club Lamp Shop, Burlington, 6 & 9:30 p.m. $25/27. Blue Rock Boys (bluegrass) at the Old Foundry at One Federal Restaurant & Lounge, St. Albans, 6:30 p.m. Free.

Josh Carey and Friends (singersongwriter) at Smitty’s Pub, Burlington, 8 p.m. Free.

Old Sky and Friends (Americana) at Radio Bean, Burlington, 6 p.m. Free.

Joshua Glass (jazz) at Bleu Northeast Seafood, Burlington, 8:30 p.m. Free.

Sarah Potenza (singer-songwriter) at Radio Bean, Burlington, 8:30 p.m. $5.

King Me (acoustic) at Jericho Café & Tavern, 6 p.m. Free.

Two Stroke Motors (Americana) at Manhattan Pizza & Pub, Burlington, 10 p.m. Free.

Left Eye Jump (blues) at Red Square, Burlington, 2 p.m. Free. Long Way Home (Americana) at the Skinny Pancake, Burlington, 6:30 p.m. Free. Mary McGinniss & the Selkies (folk-rock) at Radio Bean, Burlington, 6:30 p.m. Free. Michael T. Jermyn and the Aristocratic Peasants (rock) at Sweet Melissa’s, Montpelier, 6 p.m. Free.

Brickdrop (funk) at Foam Brewers, Burlington, 8 p.m. Free.

Monochromatic Black, Oakheart, Beast, Dead Solace (metal) at Monopole, Plattsburgh, N.Y., 10 p.m. Free.

Citizen Pine (covers) at the Old Post, South Burlington, 9 p.m. Free.

Mullett (’80s rock covers) at Pickle Barrel Nightclub, Killington, 8 p.m. $10-20.

Daddy Long Legs (folk) at the Den at Harry’s Hardware, Cabot, 7 p.m. Free.

The Red Newts (country, blues) at Radio Bean, Burlington, 11:30 p.m. Free.

Dancing Bean People (psych-rock) at Radio Bean, Burlington, 3 p.m. Free.

Sergio Torres (Americana, Latin) at El Toro, Morrisville, 7 p.m. Free.

Dead Meat (Grateful Dead tribute) at Orlando’s Bar & Lounge, Burlington, 9:30 p.m. Free. Dirty Looks (rock) at On Tap Bar & Grill, Essex Junction, 9 p.m. Free. Duncan MacLeod Trio (blues) at On Tap Bar & Grill, Essex Junction, 5 p.m. Free. Erin Cassels-Brown (indie folk) at Twiggs — An American Gastropub, St. Albans, 6 p.m. Free. The Frank White Experience, Juicebox (Notorious B.I.G. tribute) at Nectar’s, Burlington, 9 p.m. $6. Jacob Green (singer-songwriter) at Hostel Tevere, Warren, 9 p.m. Free.

SIRSY (rock) at Radio Bean, Burlington, 10 p.m. Free. Stephen Kellogg, Casey (Americana) at Higher Ground Showcase Lounge, South Burlington, 7:30 p.m. $25/30. Strange Purple Jelly (jam) at Red Square, Burlington, 6 p.m. $5. Yes Darling featuring Ryan Montbleau and Hayley Jane (pop, jazz) at Double E Performance Center’s T-Rex Theater, Essex Junction, 8 p.m. $15-110.

SUN.8 Elijah Kraatz Trio de Rumba (global) at Light Club Lamp Shop, Burlington, 7:30 p.m. Free.

John Fealy (folk) at Stone Corral Brewery, Richmond, 8 p.m. Free.

lean tee (indie) at Radio Bean, Burlington, 10 p.m. Free.

John Lackard Blues Duo at Tap 25, Stowe, 7:30 p.m. Free.

Maple Street Six (jazz) at Radio Bean, Burlington, 1 p.m. Free.

Jonathan ‘Doc’ Kaplan (holiday music) at North Hero House Inn & Restaurant, 5:30 p.m. Free.

Old Sky (Americana) at the Skinny Pancake, Burlington, noon. Free.

djs WED.4

SEVEN DAYS DECEMBER 4-11, 2019

haircut, Philips has an onstage persona combining childlike amusement with darkly twisted jokes. He’s a master of the paraprosdokian setup — that is, an innocuous opener that gets turned on its head in the punch line. For example, Philips once famously quipped, “When I die, I want to go quietly in my sleep, like my grandfather Saturday, December 5 through 7, at the Vermont Comedy Club in Burlington.

Justin Mazer and Friends (improvisational, ambient) at Radio Bean, Burlington, 9 p.m. $5. Ryan Fauber with Erich Pachner (singer-songwriter) at Radio Bean, Burlington, 7 p.m. Free. Seth Yacovone at Moogs Place, Morrisville, 7 p.m. Free.

TUE.10 Dead Set (Grateful Dead tribute) at Nectar’s, Burlington, 9 p.m. $5/8. 18+. Erin Cassels-Brown (singersongwriter) at Manhattan Pizza & Pub, Burlington, 9:30 p.m. Free. Honky-Tonk Tuesdays with Pony Hustle at Radio Bean, Burlington, 10 p.m. $5. Joe Scrimenti (folk-rock) at Radio Bean, Burlington, 7 p.m. Free. Lowell Thompson and Friends (roots-rock) at Hatch 31, Bristol, 7 p.m. Free. Matt Crossett (soul, rock) at Radio Bean, Burlington, 8:30 p.m. Free. Ukulele Kids with Joe Beaird at the Skinny Pancake, Burlington, 9:30 a.m. Free.

WED.11 The Alex Stewart Quartet (jazz) at Juniper, Burlington, 8:30 p.m. Free. Andriana Chobot and Joshua Glass (pop, jazz) at Light Club Lamp Shop, Burlington, 9:30 p.m. Free. WED.11

DJ Disco Phantom (open format) at Finnigan’s Pub, Burlington, 10 p.m. Free. DJ Luis Calderin (hits) at Waterworks Food + Drink, Winooski, 5 p.m. Free.

FRI.6

DJ Abby and Friends with special guest Ryan Miller (vinyl DJs) at Dedalus Wine Shop, Market & Wine Bar, Burlington, 6 p.m. Free.

his voice often careens into a falsetto register. Perpetually sporting a stringy bob

Erin Cassels-Brown (indie folk) at Monkey House, Winooski, 5 p.m. Free.

DJ KermiTT (open format) at Red Square, Burlington, 7 p.m. Free.

DJ A-RA$ (open format) at Red Square, Burlington, 5 p.m. Free.

Clint and Peter (of the Grift) (rock) at Lawson’s Finest Liquids, Waitsfield, 5 p.m. Free.

DJ Pilaf (hip-hop) at Manhattan Pizza & Pub, Burlington, 10 p.m. Free.

D Jay Baron (open format) at Red Square, Burlington, 10 p.m. Free.

The 63-year-old comedian is known for overly drawn-out speech patterns in which

— not screaming, like the passengers in his car.” Philips performs Thursday through

MON.9

Chromatic (hip-hop) at Half Lounge, Burlington, 10 p.m. Free.

THU.5

EMO PHILIPS?

DJ Craig Mitchell (open format) at Red Square, Burlington, 11 p.m. $5. DJ Disco Phantom (eclectic dance) at Manhattan Pizza & Pub, Burlington, 10 p.m. Free.

» P.76

THU.5-SAT.7 // EMO PHILIPS [STANDUP]

DJ Sean (open format) at the Engine Room, White River Junction, 7:30 p.m. $5. DJ Taka (eclectic vinyl) at Light Club Lamp Shop, Burlington, 11 p.m. $5.

SAT.7

DJ A-RA$ (open format) at Red Square, Burlington, 10 p.m. $5. DJ ATAK (house) at Red Square Blue Room, Burlington, 10 p.m. $5. DJ Earl (hits) at City Limits Night Club, Vergennes, 9 p.m. Free.

DJ Djoeh (eclectic) at Radio Bean, Burlington, 5 p.m. Free.

DJ Kaos (hits) at Gusto’s, Barre, 9:30 p.m. $3.

DJ Luis Calderin (hits) at Rí Rá Irish Pub & Whiskey Room, Burlington, 10 p.m. Free.

DJ Raul (Latin) at Red Square Blue Room, Burlington, 5 p.m. Free. DJ Taka (eclectic vinyl) at Light Club Lamp Shop, Burlington, 11 p.m. $5.

DJ Triple J (hits) at Rí Rá Irish Pub & Whiskey Room, Burlington, 10 p.m. Free. DJ Wyrdbeard (hip-hop, house) at Monkey House, Winooski, 10 p.m. Free. The Lion Pavilion Part 1 with Heavy Manners Sound (reggae) at Tres Amigos & Rusty Nail Stage, Stowe, 9 p.m. $6/10.

SUN.8

Disco Brunch with DJ Craig Mitchell at Misery Loves Co., Winooski, 11 a.m. Free. Open Decks at Half Lounge, Burlington, 10 p.m. Free.

MON.9

Jack Bandit and Friends (EDM) at Half Lounge, Burlington, 10 p.m. Free.

Motown Mondays with DJs Craig Mitchell and Fattie B (soul, R&B) at Monkey House, Winooski, 8 p.m. Free.

TUE.10

CRWD CTRL (house, techno) at Red Square, Burlington, 7 p.m. Free. DJ Dale Sweat (disco, funk) at Monkey House, Winooski, 7 p.m. Free.

WED.11

DJ Ianu (open format) at Half Lounge, Burlington, 10 p.m. Free. DJ KermiTT (open format) at Red Square, Burlington, 7 p.m. Free. DJ Two Sev (open format) at Red Square, Burlington, 11 p.m. Free.

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SEVEN DAYS DECEMBER 4-11, 2019

10/29/19 3:50 PM

music+nightlife live music WED.11 CONTINUED FROM P.74 Cam Gilmour (indie) at Radio Bean, Burlington, 7 p.m. Free. Joe ‘Cool’ Speers, Ava Speers, Grace Engler (singer-songwriter) at the Double E Lounge at Essex Experience, Essex Junction, 6:30 p.m. Free. Mosaic (jam, funk) at Nectar’s, Burlington, 8 p.m. $5/8. 18+. Nico Suave’s Improv Surprise (jam) at Radio Bean, Burlington, 10 p.m. Free. O’hAnleigh (Irish) at Rí Rá Irish Pub & Whiskey Room, Burlington, 7 p.m. Free. TroyBoi, Yultron, Argenil (electronic) at Higher Ground Ballroom, South Burlington, 8:30 p.m. $20/25. Wednesday Night Dead (Grateful Dead tribute) at Zenbarn, Waterbury, 7 p.m. Free.

trivia, karaoke, etc. WED.4

Godfather Karaoke at SideBar, Burlington, 10 p.m. Free. Karaoke at JP’s Pub, Burlington, 10 p.m. Free. Karaoke with DJ Amanda Rock at City Limits Night Club, Vergennes, 9 p.m. Free. Trivia Night at Parker Pie Co., West Glover, 7 p.m. Free. Trivia Night at City Sports Grille, Colchester, 7 p.m. Free. Trivia Night at Stone Corral Brewery, Richmond, 7:30 p.m. Free. Trivia with Tim Rouselle at Mill River Brewing BBQ & Smokehouse, St. Albans, 7 p.m. Free.

THU.5

Karaoke at Hatch 31, Bristol, 7 p.m. Free. Karaoke at JP’s Pub, Burlington, 10 p.m. Free.

CLUB DATES

Karaoke with DJ Jon Berry & DJ Coco at Olive Ridley’s, Plattsburgh, N.Y., 8 p.m. Free.

WED.4

Open Mic at Vermont Comedy Club, Burlington, 8:30 p.m. Free.

FRI.6

Happy Hour Tunes & Trivia with Gary Peacock at Monopole Downstairs, Plattsburgh, N.Y., 5 p.m. Free.

Roast of Tracy Dolan (comedy) at Vermont Comedy Club, Burlington, 7 p.m. $10.

‘Isle of Snow’ (film screening) at Tres Amigos & Rusty Nail Stage, Stowe, 9 p.m. $6/10.

THU.5

Dan Gilbert, Chad Blodgett, Bryan Muenzer, Pierre Vachon, Kevin McTaggart, G.W. Foley (standup) at the Engine Room, White River Junction, 8 p.m. $10.

Karaoke at JP’s Pub, Burlington, 10 p.m. Free. Karaoke with Dave Bourgea at Burlington St. John’s Club, 8:30 p.m. Free. Vermont Dance Alliance Live Auction at Light Club Lamp Shop, Burlington, 7 p.m. Free.

Emo Philips (standup) at Vermont Comedy Club, Burlington, 7 p.m. $15.

SAT.7

The Mainstage Show (improv) at Vermont Comedy Club, Burlington, 8:30 p.m. $5.

Karaoke at JP’s Pub, Burlington, 10 p.m. Free. Karaoke with Mike Lambert at Park Place Tavern, Essex Junction, 9:30 p.m. Free. Spectacular Spectacular (kids’ variety show) at Higher Ground Ballroom, South Burlington, 12:30 p.m. $7/10.

FRI.6

Emo Philips (standup) at Vermont Comedy Club, Burlington, 7 & 9:30 p.m. $20/27.

WED.11 // TROYBOI [ELECTRONIC]

SUN.8

Karaoke with Samantha Dickey at Ruben James, Burlington, 10 p.m. Free.

MON.9

Karaoke with Rob Jones at Manhattan Pizza & Pub, Burlington, 9:30 p.m. Free. Lamp Shop Lit Club (open reading) at Light Club Lamp Shop, Burlington, 7 p.m. Free. ‘National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation’ (film screening) at Babes Bar, Bethel, 7 p.m. Free.

TUE.10

Karaoke with DJ Molotov at Charlie-O’s World Famous, Montpelier, 9:30 p.m. Free. The Moth: Family (storytelling) at ArtsRiot, Burlington, 7:30 p.m. $15.

First Pick « P.68 second CD. There were two albums that came out of that project. The documentary is gonna be part of it, with an extra hour of footage of great interactions with African musicians. It also includes a new recording with me and Toumani Diabaté, a great kora player from Mali. There are, like, six different elements. It’s exciting. SD: Had it been a while since you revisited the doc before you started working on the rerelease? BF: Yeah. It’s one of those things, similar to the Flecktones, where I look back and, this sounds really egotistical, but it’s better than I remembered. You wanna think everything you’re doing now is the best, 76

comedy

Trivia Mania at Nectar’s, Burlington, 7 p.m. Free.

SEVEN DAYS DECEMBER 4-11, 2019

Sweat Box

TROYBOI is on a perpetual quest for the perfect groove. Coming of age

Stand Up, Sit Down & Laugh (standup) at FlynnSpace, Burlington, 8 p.m. $16/20.

with unconventional electronic flourishes. In 2019, he released the third installment of his

Unreliable Narrator with Colin Ryan (storytelling) at Revelry Theater, Burlington, 8 p.m. $7/8.

V!BEZ series, a sharp and progressive collection of EPs that focuses on tropical sounds

SAT.7

in the SoundCloud era, the South East London producer specializes in trap beats augmented

with Latin influences. The artist is also one half of the production duo SoundSnobz, along with his longtime collaborator icekream. Catch TroyBoi on Wednesday, December 11, at the Higher Ground Ballroom in South Burlington. YULTRON and ARGENIL add support. Trivia Night at the Skinny Pancake, Hanover, N.H., 7 p.m. Free.

WED.11

Trivia with Top Hat Entertainment at On Tap Bar & Grill, Essex Junction, 7 p.m. Free.

Karaoke at JP’s Pub, Burlington, 10 p.m. Free.

and then you get face-to-face with some things you did back then and go, “Oh, man, we must’ve worked hard on that. We were busy little beavers.” SD: Your Blue Ridge Banjo Camp was new in 2018. How did your experience the first year influence your experience this year? BF: I prepared a ton for the first year and prepared very little for the second year. Part of it is because I learned that a lot of the best things that happened at the camp the first year were very spontaneous. I think I was worried about the sophomore jinx, and I didn’t know how to prepare for the second year. I changed two of the teachers and kind of kept my basic approach. I think I got a little bit better at teaching this

Godfather Karaoke at SideBar, Burlington, 10 p.m. Free.

Karaoke with DJ Amanda Rock at City Limits Night Club, Vergennes, 9 p.m. Free.

Emo Philips (standup) at Vermont Comedy Club, Burlington, 7 & 9:30 p.m. $20/27.

Trivia Night at Parker Pie Co., West Glover, 7 p.m. Free.

Unrehearsed with Matt Fleury (sketch comedy) at Revelry Theater, Burlington, 8 p.m. $7/8.

Trivia Night at City Sports Grille, Colchester, 7 p.m. Free.

WED.11

Trivia with Tim Rouselle at Mill River Brewing BBQ & Smokehouse, St. Albans, 7 p.m. Free. m

year. Next year, I think I’m gonna prepare more, because now I have a little more data. SD: Who’s an up-and-coming musician you admire? BF: There’s a young banjo player named Matt Davis who I found out about through my camp. He’s one of the first banjo players I’ve come across who has serious jazz piano chops. Every time I’ve run into walls trying to play jazz or classical things, it’s because I don’t have piano knowledge. SD: Maybe you and your 6-year-old son, Juno, could take lessons together. BF: Yeah, I’ve thought about that. But he’s got very much a mind of his own. A few months ago, I said, “Juno, it’s time for you to start taking music lessons. We need to figure

Indie Rumble (improv) at Vermont Comedy Club, Burlington, 7 p.m. $5.

out what instrument.” And he immediately said, “Yeah, I wanna learn drums and piano and banjo, like you and Mom.” I think he was just shining me on, because what he really wants to do is play golf. One day, I heard him strum my banjo. I said, “Juno, whenever you’re ready, I’ll show you how the banjo works.” He said, “No, Papa. You play banjo, I play golf.” m This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity and length. Contact: jordan@sevendaysvt.com

INFO Béla Fleck and the Flecktones perform on Saturday, December 7, 8 p.m., at the Flynn MainStage in Burlington. $25-65. AA. flynntix.org

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SEVEN DAYS DECEMBER 4-11, 2019

11/20/19 11:35 AM

Re-Gendering a Movement

art

“Color Fields: 1960s Bennington Modernism,” Bennington Museum B Y AMY LI LLY AMY LILLY

REVIEW

"Color Fields" installation view, with "Green Sleeper" by Anthony Caro in foreground

SEVEN DAYS DECEMBER 4-11, 2019

The Bennington Modernism Gallery, a permanent installation with changing works, is currently hosting “Color Fields: 1960s Bennington Modernism.” The show was conceived to pair with a special exhibition in adjacent rooms about how the 1960s effected similarly radical changes in Vermont’s society, politics and culture. Because of the pairing, Franklin said, “we made sure to get top-notch works” for “Color Fields.” These include a pastelstriped painting by Kenneth Noland, a guest lecturer and the subject of a 1961 exhibition at the college; two sculptures by Sir Anthony Caro, who taught at the college from 1963 to 1965; and a soak-stain painting by Helen Frankenthaler, who graduated in 1949. This exhibition of 14 works offers a window on Bennington College’s central

role in the midcentury American art scene, but it’s also a must-see for its gender reenvisioning of a male-centric era. Color-field painting — along with minimalism and hard-edge painting — was part of a 1960s reaction against the gestural, emotional work of abstract expressionists such as Jackson Pollock and Willem de Kooning. The idea was to create abstract “fields” of flat color in simple compositions that celebrated the sensuous experience of color. Clement Greenberg, the critic and artworld influencer of the day, named the movement “Post-Painterly Abstraction” — the title he gave to an exhibition he curated at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art in 1964. Of the 31 artists Greenberg selected for that exhibit, only one was a woman: Frankenthaler, with whom he had had a relationship from 1950 to 1955. During that

COURTESY OF BENNINGTON MUSEUM

hen Jamie Franklin became curator of the Bennington Museum in 2005, he started connecting with artists’ estates and living artists linked to Bennington College’s midcentury heyday. Founded in 1932 as a women’s college, Bennington was a hotbed of American artistic experimentation from 1950 through the mid-1970s. Its nearly all-male faculty had close connections to the New York gallery scene and influenced a generation of women students, who went on to gain their own fame. (Bennington went coed in 1969.) Five years ago, Franklin and then-executive director Robert Wolterstorff decided to dedicate a room in the museum to the college’s key role in modernism “because it was such an important part of the town’s cultural history,” said the energetic, longhaired curator during a recent visit.

time, Frankenthaler introduced Greenberg to Paul Feeley, her former teacher, and the two men co-mounted at Bennington the first-ever retrospectives of Pollock and Barnett Newman. Feeley went on to head the art department in the ’50s and early ’60s, and three more Greenberg mentees soon joined him: Noland, Caro and Jules Olitski, who taught at the college from 1963 to 1967. The four Bennington-based artists were dubbed “the Green Mountain Boys” in a 1966 Vogue article, which cemented the image of Bennington modernism as male. Their works continued to be shown together as late as 1998, at a New York gallery show that was well reviewed in the New York Times. “Those were the central figures, but it wasn’t just them,” Franklin said. “I included women [in ‘Color Fields’] to give a sense that it wasn’t just a boys’ club.” Frankenthaler, for example, pioneered soak-stain painting, which involved pouring thinned paint onto unprimed canvas and letting it soak in. The method was a major influence on Noland and other color-field artists. Frankenthaler’s “Cascade” (1966), her sole painting in “Color Fields,” is a later work in that vein, after she had jettisoned oil for acrylic paint. Compared with her enormous and exuberant “Jacob’s Ladder” (1957) in the newly revamped Museum of Modern Art in New York, “Cascade” is small and uses pared-down forms: only two swaths in yellow and violet with a smaller green stain and an accent of red. Feeley has two works in the exhibition.

"Along and At" by Pat Adams

ART SHOWS

COURTESY OF BENNINGTON MUSEUM

"Untitled (Green Eye)" by Paul Feeley

“Untitled (Green Eye)” (1962) places two rectangles of strangely paired colors — dark orange and brick red — side by side on a white canvas. In the center of the left rectangle is a circle, unpainted except for a green ball at its core, like an iris. While Feeley’s application of oil-based enamel leaves hints of the canvas visible beneath the paint, his floor sculpture in the show, “Enif” (1966), uses the same paint to create solid areas of color on wood. Named for the main star in the Pegasus constellation, the sculpture has two intersecting planes — the bare minimum needed to create three-dimensionality. They compose a toothlike shape whose painted lavender center and orange stripe are both outlined in white. Ruth Ann Fredenthal, a student of Feeley’s who graduated from Bennington in 1960, may or may not have painted “Enif.” But, as his studio assistant for six months in 1965, she did paint all of Feeley’s sculptures for an exhibition that year at the Betty Parsons Gallery in New York City. Also in 1965, Fredenthal created her own painting, “Hermaphrodite,” which appears in “Color Fields.” The sizable canvas features the sparest representation of combined sex organs imaginable: a thin vertical block adorned at the ends with two pairs of circles. The sharply delineated form in creamy white is contained inside a yellow, boxier one with half-circular tabs defining its slightly bulging form. The whole is bordered in matte silver. A Fulbright scholar in painting in Florence, Italy, after her graduation, Fredenthal has work in several major Italian contemporary art museums. She won the PollockKrasner Foundation grant in 2008. “Color Fields” opens with “Study for Color Room,” a small, informal coloredpencil sketch by another of Feeley’s students, Patricia Johanson, who graduated in 1962. In 1960, while her teacher was absent, Johanson used colored paper to remake his office into an installation she called “Color Room.” An exploration of hue as experienced in space, the work created a buzz that drew Noland and sculptorpainter David Smith to see it before the college dismantled it days later. Johanson’s other work in the gallery,

“Model for Hayden Survey” (1968), is indicative of the increasing scale she has worked on ever since. A thin horizontal line of precise lengths of color stretches across a long canvas, a model for an 80-foot work that was never realized. Johanson named the painting for the 1871 geological survey of Yellowstone Park. According to Franklin, the painted line’s three yellow segments are “conceived as vanishing points. You experience them as you move along the canvas.” Johanson’s recent large-scale artworks combine public infrastructure with ecological restoration, among other environmental concerns. Franklin described Johanson as “integral to this exhibition” because she was “steeped in high modernism, pushed beyond it and is still working today while drawing on the core values she learned at Bennington.” Pat Adams was Bennington’s first fulltime female teacher. Her long tenure, from 1964 to 1993, overlapped with the shorter one of her husband, Vincent Longo, from 1957 to 1967. Both artists are included in “Color Fields.” Adams’ “Along and At” (1966) and “Steady Change” (1969) have in common an elegantly sinuous line. In the first work, an abstract but recognizable rendering of green mountains and pink sky on canvas, the line forms a yellow border for the mountains. In the second, a work on paper uniformly stippled with acrylics in various shades of green, the wavy line becomes a multicolored frame inside the actual frame. The most pleasing use of color, for this reviewer, appeared in two metal sculptures by British artist Caro: the rich red-brown of “Table Piece LXVI” (1968), whose gracefully industrial form is reminiscent of farm implements and balances on the edge of a white table; and the dark grass-green of the angular, floor-bound “Green Sleeper” (1965). While space does not allow a mention of every piece in this show, each deserves viewing and conjures pleasure out of simple color. “This is kind of the apex of high modernism,” Franklin pointed out. “[Later, with] pop art, conceptualism, assemblage, installation, it started to become this complicated, swelling world we know today. But for artists working in an abstract vein and thinking about formalism — color, line, stripping painting down to its elements — Bennington was leading the way.” m Contact: lilly@sevendaysvt.com

INFO “Color Fields: 1960s Bennington Modernism,” through December 30 at Bennington Museum. benningtonmuseum.org

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12/2/19 7:22 PM

Friday

Saturday

December 13

December 14

4-8 pm

10 am-4 pm

Contois Auditorium City Hall, Burlington

A premiere holiday shopping experience featuring and supporting Vermont artists. Coffee by Brio Coffeeworks on Saturday.

Generously supported by

BURLINGTONCITYARTS.ORG Untitled-12 1

SEVEN DAYS DECEMBER 4-11, 2019

12/2/19 10:24 AM

art NEW THIS WEEK burlington

BRENDAN BUSH: “A Cross Section,” artwork with intersecting colors, interrupted visual patterns and imperfect lines, reflecting the artist’s attempts at love and acceptance of self. December 6-February 29. Info, 859-9222. Speeder & Earl’s Coffee in Burlington.

f ‘CREW NECK’: New artwork from 12 artists using

T-shirts as their canvas: Annemarie Buckley, Noah Butkus, Aaron Draplin, Cody Hudson, Marin Horikawa, Scott Lenhardt, Sarah Letteney, Zak Jensen, Byron O’Neill, Tyler Stout, Jackson Tupper and Ty Williams. Proceeds from sales will be used to provide art classes for children. Reception: Thursday, December 5, 5-10 p.m. December 5-March 5. Info, 233-2943. Safe and Sound Gallery in Burlington.

Unveiling of Restored Whittredge

The restoration of a masterful painting might be more thrilling to its owner than to the general public. But anyone who is curious about the painstaking process or the results — or, for that matter, enjoys Hudson River School artworks generally — will have a chance to indulge all three this Friday, December 6, at the T.W. Wood Gallery in Montpelier. That’s when the public can view, for the first time in decades, an oil-on-canvas painting titled “Old Home by the Sea” by Worthington Whittredge (1820-1910). The American landscape

chittenden county

painter was a friend and peer of Albert Bierstadt, whose grand

16 artists represented by the gallery, marking the change of ownership from founders Joan Furchgott and Brad Sourdiffe to longtime employee Lara Maloy. Reception: Friday, December 6, 5:30-7:30 p.m. December 6-January 31. Info, 985-3848. Furchgott Sourdiffe Gallery in Shelburne.

Johnsbury Athenaeum, was restored and returned to that venue last

f ‘TRANSITIONS’: A group exhibition of some

barre/montpelier

f ANGIE FOLLENSBEE-HALL & MARY-JO

painting “The Domes of the Yosemite,” in the collection of the St. year. A donation from the Margaret J. George Fund for Art covered the cost of conservation work on Whittredge’s 1900 painting, which is in the Wood Gallery’s permanent collection. A reception at 6 p.m. on Friday will also feature the current exhibitions of contemporary

KROLEWSKI: Follensbee-Hall shares works in mixed media, transforming rope, paper, paint, plant fibers and botanicals into jewelry, journals and fiber art; Krolewski, a soft-sculpture artist, displays mostly food-inspired pieces. Reception: Friday, December 6, 4-8 p.m. December 6-31. Info, 223-1981. The Cheshire Cat in Montpelier.

collage artist Athena Tasiopoulos and photographer Elliot Burg.

f ‘LET IT BEE’: Mixed-media encaustic works by Dona Mara Friedman, Jan Sandman and Peggy Smith. Programming about colony collapse disorder and other threats to pollinators throughout the month, as well as workshops and a film. Reception: Friday, December 6, 4-7 p.m. December 6-January 12. Info, 738-3667. The Garage Cultural Center in Montpelier.

f ERIN DAIGLE: A dozen plein air oil paintings of downtown Vergennes storefronts, restaurants and street scenes, all of which will be featured in a 2020 calendar. Reception: Friday, December 6, 5-7 p.m. December 6-February 29. Info, 324-7140. Kennedy Brothers Building in Vergennes.

f ‘SHOW 36’: Recent works by the membership of Montpelier’s sole collective art gallery. Friday through Sunday or by appointment. Reception: Friday, December 6, 4-8 p.m. December 6-January 1. Info, info@thefrontvt.com. The Front in Montpelier. f ‘SPILT MILK: THREE VERSIONS OF WORLDLY

UPSET’: Multimedia work including video, sculpture and work on paper by Susan Calza, Ginger Pearl Irish and Nina DuBois that responds to the theme. Artists on-site for informal discussion in conjunction with Montpelier Art Walk. Reception: Friday, December 6, 4-8 p.m. December 6-January 26. Info, 224-6827. Susan Calza Gallery in Montpelier.

stowe/smuggs

f ‘CHASING LIGHT’: A group exhibition featuring the work of John Bonner, Galen Cheney, Dominique Gustin, Charlie Hunter, John Moyers, Sam TalbotKelly and Jim Westphalen, curated by Kelly Holt Reception: Thursday, December 5, 5-6:30 p.m. December 5-January 19. Info, 760-4634. Spruce Peak Performing Arts Center, Stowe Mountain Resort. f ‘ORIGINS: SKIING AND RIDING IN VERMONT’: “Green Mountains, White Gold” is a photographic journey through Vermont’s ski history, and “Surfing Snow: Vermont Inspired Boards” tells the story of snowboard technology with examples from Burton’s archives, curated by VTSSM Hall of Famer John Gerndt. Reception: Friday, December 6, 6:30 p.m. December 6-October 31. Info, 253-9911. Vermont Ski and Snowboard Museum in Stowe.

middlebury area

f 21ST ANNUAL GINGERBREAD HOUSE COMPETITION AND EXHIBITION: A competition of sweet creations open to individuals of all ages and abilities, as well as organizations, school groups and businesses. This year’s theme is “Christmas at Hogwarts Castle.” Visitors can vote for their favorite entry to receive the People’s Choice award. 80

SEVEN DAYS DECEMBER 4-11, 2019

Before

Pictured: before and after images of “Old Home by the Sea.” Reception: Friday, December 6, 4-6 p.m. December 5-20. Info, 388-4964. Vermont Folklife Center in Middlebury.

HOLIDAY TRAINS: Multilevel Lionel train tracks running through artist-made settings and operated by volunteer “engineers” through the holiday season. See henrysheldonmuseum.org for schedule. MINIATURE CHRISTMAS TREE RAFFLE: Sixteen one-of-a-kind trees decorated by local artisans to be raffled in support of the museum’s children’s activities. The drawing is Friday, December 20. December 7-20. Info, 388-2117. Henry Sheldon Museum of Vermont History in Middlebury.

rutland/killington

f GINGERBREAD CONTEST SHOWCASE: Sweet

creations by locals of all ages, with first, second and third prizes plus a People’s Choice award. Reception: Saturday, December 7, noon-3 p.m. December 7-January 3. Info, 775-0356. Chaffee Art Center in Rutland.

upper valley

f HOLIDAY SHOW: Member artists offer works

in a variety of styles and techniques. Reception: Friday, December 6, 5-7 p.m. December 6-31. Info, 295-5901. Two Rivers Printmaking Studio in White River Junction.

f SMALL WORKS HOLIDAY SHOW: An exhibit of

small-scale artworks, including a “mini exhibit”: a wall of 50 panels measuring 50 square inches each. Reception: Friday, December 6, 5:30-7:30 p.m. December 6-21. Info, 457-3500. ArtisTree Gallery in South Pomfret.

northeast kingdom

f STUDENT ART SHOW AND HOLIDAY SALE: An exhibition of artwork by animation and illustration students, as well as jewelry, textiles, paintings, illustrations, drawings and other art for holiday shopping in the Satellite Gallery. Reception: Friday, VISUAL ART IN SEVEN DAYS:

December 6, 6-8 p.m. December 6-January 6. Info, 626-6459. Northern Vermont University-Lyndon in Lyndonville.

manchester/ bennington

After f RICHARD D. WEIS: “Beyond Words,” a solo show of paintings by the Vermont artist. Reception: Saturday, December 7, 4-7 p.m., including introduction of new works by other artists, two new artists, and a name change to the gallery. December 7-March 14. Info, 768-8498. Ellenbogen Gallery in Manchester.

outside vermont

f 2019 MEMBERS HOLIDAY SHOW: This annual exhibition and sale includes works by gallery members in a broad variety of mediums. f RON NOLLAND: Nature-focused photography by the featured artist, along with other member artists, in the cooperative gallery. Reception: Friday, December 6, 5:30-7:30 p.m. December 6-27. Info, 518-563-1604. Strand Center for the Arts in Plattsburgh, N.Y. f HOLIDAY EXHIBITION: Unique gifts ranging from artwork in all mediums to handmade ornaments and fine jewelry. Reception: Saturday, December 7, 5-7 p.m. with live music. December 7-24. Info, 603-4483117. AVA Gallery and Art Center in Lebanon, N.H. ‘IMAGINE VAN GOGH’: An immersive installation presented by Paul Dupont-Hébert and Tandem that brings viewers inside large-scale 3D versions of the painter’s famous works, accompanied by music from composers Saint-Saëns, Mozart, Bach, Delibes and Satie. See imagine-vangogh.ca to make appointment for visit. December 5-February 2. Info, 514-931-9978. Arsenal Contemporary Art in Montréal.

ART EVENTS 2019 HOLIDAY CRAFT MARKET: More than 25 artists sell their handmade crafts over the course of two weekends. Southern Vermont Arts Center,

ART LISTINGS AND SPOTLIGHTS ARE WRITTEN BY PAMELA POLSTON. LISTINGS ARE RESTRICTED TO ART SHOWS IN TRULY PUBLIC PLACES.

Manchester, Friday, December 6, 5-7 p.m., and December 7-8, 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Info, 362-1405. BURLINGTON GLASSBLOWING CHALLENGE: WINTER EDITION: Interested in trying out glassblowing? Participants have three minutes to gather the largest clear marble they can. Winner takes home a prize and trophy. The Bern Gallery, Burlington, Saturday, December 7, 1-7 p.m. Free. Info, 865-0994. ESSEX ART LEAGUE MEETING: The arts group’s monthly meeting includes social and business time and a guest speaker or presentation. First Congregational Church Essex, Essex Junction, Thursday, December 5, 9-11 a.m. FIRST FRIDAY ART: Dozens of galleries and other venues around the city open their doors to pedestrian art viewers in this monthly event. Various Burlington locations, Friday, December 6, 5-8 p.m. Info, 264-4839. FIRST THURSDAYS: The monthly event features four AIR Artists in multiple media. AIR Gallery, St. Albans, Thursday, December 5, 4:30-7 p.m. Info, 528-5222. GALLERY OF ART & COLLECTIBLES: A one-day sale of paintings and other art, quilts, home décor items and more, to benefit church projects. Waterbury Center Community Church, Saturday, December 7, 9 a.m.-4 p.m. Info, 244-8089. HOLIDAY CERAMICS SALE BENEFIT: The 25th annual fundraiser for Vermont Foodbank and Operation Smile offers hand-built and wheel-thrown items made at a public Throw-a-Thon this fall and glazed and fired by students. Northern Vermont UniversityJohnson, Wednesday, December 4, 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Info, 626-6459.

GET YOUR ART SHOW LISTED HERE!

IF YOU’RE PROMOTING AN ART EXHIBIT, LET US KNOW BY POSTING INFO AND IMAGES BY THURSDAYS AT NOON ON OUR FORM AT SEVENDAYSVT.COM/POSTEVENT OR GALLERIES@SEVENDAYSVT.COM.

Must have

ART SHOWS

HOLIDAY HOP: Open studios and artist markets catered to holiday shopping at sites throughout the neighborhood. Details at seaba.com. South End Arts District, Burlington, Friday, December 6, 5-9 p.m., and Saturday, December 7, 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Info, 859-9222. HOLIDAY OPEN HOUSE: In conjunction with the Holiday Show, resident artists will have their studios open to the public for shopping, food and live music. AVA Gallery and Art Center, Lebanon, N.H., Saturday, December 7, 11 a.m.-5 p.m. Free. Info, 603-448-3117. JANET MCKENZIE: The Vermont artist’s controversial painting “Jesus of the People,” which depicts Christ as an African American, is on view during a 20th anniversary celebration of the work including live music and discussion. The artist speaks Saturday, 2:45 p.m.; a panel discussion is Sunday, 3-4 p.m., with Bishop Shannon MacVean-Brown, Dr. Wanda Heading-Grant of the University of Vermont, and others. First United Methodist Church, Burlington, Friday, December 6, 5-8 p.m.; Saturday, December 7, 1-5 p.m.; and Sunday, December 8, 1-5 p.m. Info, 777-1952. OPEN ART STUDIO: Seasoned makers and first-timers alike convene to paint, knit and craft in a friendly environment. Bring a table covering for messy projects. Swanton Public Library, Tuesday, December 10, 4-8 p.m. Free. Info, swantonartscouncil@gmail.com. PETER MILLER: Photographs of Vermont taken over 60 years, as well as autographed books of portraits and text about rural Vermonters by the award-winning photographer and author. Also open weekends and by appointment. Peter Miller Photography, Waterbury, Thursdays, 11:45 a.m.-5:30 p.m. Info, 272-8851. POTTERY SALE: The annual sale presents ceramic works by Kathy Clarke, Ken Martin, instructors, local potters, studio assistants and students, as well as cards, jewelry, paintings and more. Middlebury Studio School, Saturday, December 7, 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Info, 247-3702. RIVER OF LIGHT: The 10th annual lantern parade, which leaves from Thatch Brook Primary School, features illuminated objects handmade by locals of all ages, live music from Sambatucada, a fire performance by Cirque de Fuego and refreshments. Details at ariveroflightinwaterbury.org. Downtown Waterbury, Saturday, December 7, 5 p.m. Free. Info, mmonley@huusd.org. STAFF COUNCIL HOLIDAY BAZAAR: Handmade crafts, pottery, fine art, homemade baked goods and more. Grand Maple Ballroom, Davis Center, University of Vermont, Burlington, Wednesday, December 4, 9 a.m.-3 p.m. Info, 656-4493. TALK: ALISON BECHDEL: In “Graphic Novels to Watch Out For,” the renowned Vermont-based cartoonist and author illustrates the power of comics to confront today’s issues. Part of the Vermont Humanities Council’s First Wednesdays lecture series. Wilson Hall, McCullough Student Center, Middlebury College, Wednesday, December 4, 7 p.m. Free. Info, 262-1354. TALK: ELLIOT BURG AND ATHENA TASIOPOULOS: The artists discuss their work in photography and collage, in conjunction with a current exhibition. T.W. Wood Gallery, Montpelier, Friday, December 6, 5 p.m. Free. Info, 262-6035. UNVEILING OF RESTORED WHITTRIDGE: The gallery shows off a recently conserved painting, “Old Home by the Sea,” by Hudson River School artist Worthington Whittredge (1820-1910), which had not been shown in decades. T.W. Wood Gallery, Montpelier, Friday, December 6, 6 p.m. Info, 262-6035. WINTER MIXER & WREATH AUCTION: The ninth annual fundraiser for the Shelburne Craft School features artist-decorated holiday wreaths. Tickets online at shelburnecraftschool.org or in person at the school, 64 Harbor Road. AO Glass, Burlington, Thursday, December 5, 6-8:30 p.m. $35. Info, 985-3648.

ONGOING SHOWS

CORNER OF LAKE & MAIN ST. ALBANS 802-524-3769

burlington

ALEXEI DMITRIEV: Multimedia installation marrying footage from classic films with the new music of Zelany Rashoho. Through December 31. Info, 391-4083. The Gallery at Main Street Landing in Burlington. ‘BE STRONG AND DO NOT BETRAY YOUR SOUL’: Photographs by 47 artists from the collection of Light Work, a nonprofit based in Syracuse, N.Y., that explore topics of politics, social justice, identity and visibility. ‘RESIST! INSIST! PERSIST!’: Curated by UVM students in a fall 2018 art history class, the exhibit draws works primarily from the museum’s collection to explore how historical and contemporary artists “have countered adversity and hardship with empowerment and expression.” Through December 13. Info, 656-0750. Fleming Museum of Art, University of Vermont, in Burlington. ‘CONTRAST’: A new exhibition by the Art Tribe — Melanie Brotz, Annie Caswell, LaVerne Ferguson, Kara Greenblott, Billie Miles, Lynne Reed, Kelley Taft and Beth Young — who are dedicated to supporting and encouraging each other in making art. Through December 27. Info, 598-7420. MELANIE BROTZ: “Visions of the Camino de Santiago,” a series of paintings inspired by the artist’s recent walk across Spain. Through December 24. Info, mel@burlingtontelecom. net. Flynndog Gallery in Burlington. ‘TRANSCENDENT: SPIRITUALITY IN CONTEMPORARY ART’: A group exhibition of nationally recognized artists who explore or evoke themes of spirituality through their work, reflecting on questions of human nature, cultural identity and sanctity in everyday life. Artists include Anila Quayyam Agha, Leonardo Benzant, Maïmouna Guerresi, Shahzia Sikander, Zarina, and Vermontbased artists Sandy Sokoloff and Shelley Warren. ‘TRAVIS SHILLING: TYRANNOSAURUS CLAN’: The Canadian Ojibwe painter debuts a new series of work that explores the environmental impact of industry and the threat of extinction to the animal realm and indigenous culture. Through February 8. Info, 865-7166. BCA Center in Burlington.

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chittenden county

AMÉLIE BRINDAMOUR: “In Oscillation,” mixedmedia installation based on the mycorrhizal network that examines whether we could find inspiration from intelligent natural systems in order to alleviate power dynamics in contemporary communication systems. Through December 6. Info, 654-2851. McCarthy Art Gallery, Saint Michael’s College, in Colchester.

the

Season HOLIDAY CONCERTS

CEILI SEIPKE: “Who Are You?” limited-edition photographs on fine-art paper with pencil detail. Through December 8. Info, 578-3829. Davis Studio in South Burlington.

with Guest Artists

Champlain Consort

‘HOPES AND FEARS: Inspired by an Atlantic Monthly article about a similar exhibit in a New York art gallery, the library put out red boxes to collect comments about patrons’ hopes and fears, and now has them displayed in the Kolvoord Community Room. Visitors can continue to add their own comments. Through December 31. Info, 878-6955. Brownell Library in Essex Junction. ‘JOEL BARBER & THE MODERN DECOY’: The first major exhibition to explore the life, collections and artwork of Barber (1876-1952), with objects including decoys, drawings, photographs and watercolor paintings from the museum’s collection. Through January 12. Info, 985-3346. Pizzagalli Center for Art and Education, Shelburne Museum.

Sat. December 7, 7:30pm Sun. December 8, 3:00pm

JUDITH LERNER: Vividly colored landscape paintings by the Vermont artist. Through December 20. Info, 660-8808. Dorset Street Dermatology in South Burlington. MICHAEL STRAUSS: Acrylic paintings by the Vermont artist. Through December 29. Info, 899-3211. Emile A. Gruppe Gallery in Jericho.

Dawn Willis, Artistic Director

McCarthy Arts Center Recital Hall Saint Michaels College, Colchester, VT

www.bellavocevt.org Sponsored by:

With additional support from: THE

BARRE/MONTPELIER SHOWS

Vermont Community Foundation

» P.82 Untitled-44 1

TICKETS: $20 Adults, $17 Seniors and Students Advance tickets available at FLYNNTIX.ORG or by calling (802) 863-5966

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SEVEN DAYS DECEMBER 4-11, 2019

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art CHITTENDEN COUNTY SHOWS

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barre/montpelier

‘200 YEARS—200 OBJECTS’: In the final celebratory year of the university’s bicentennial, the museum exhibits a curated selection of artifacts, documents and images from the school’s collections. Through December 21. Info, 485-2886. Sullivan Museum & History Center, Norwich University, in Northfield. ADELAIDE MURPHY TYROL: “Anatomy of a Pond,” acrylic paintings and drawings, including larger fine-art paintings and small natural history armature illustrations. Through December 31. Info, 229-6206. North Branch Nature Center in Montpelier. ‘CELEBRATE’: Three floors of fine art and crafts created by more than 80 SPA member artists, including decorative and functional items for the household, ornaments, jewelry, cards and more. Through December 27. MARK HEITZMAN: “Graphite,” an exhibit of 12 drawings on display in the Quick Change Gallery, a tiny white-box gallery in a repurposed telephone booth. Through December 6. Info, 479-7069. Studio Place Arts in Barre. ELIZABETH NELSON: “Northward,” paintings by the Vermont artist. Curated by Studio Place Arts. Through December 14. Info, info@studioplacearts. com. Morse Block Deli & Taps in Barre. ELLIOT BURG & ATHENA PETRA TASIOPOULOS: Photographs from the streets of Havana, Cuba, and mixed-media collages, respectively. Through January 3. Info, 262-6035. T.W. Wood Gallery in Montpelier. ‘I AM…: EXPLORING WHAT IT MEANS TO BE A VERMONT ARTIST’: More than 20 artists present 2D work, music and sound, spoken word, poetry, dance and movement within a digital compilation. The exhibition is the culmination of a yearlong “I Am a Vermont Artist” e-newsletter series documenting how artists’ creative expressions reflect their experiences of ethnicity, gender identity, religion, disability or age. Through December 20. Info, 828-3291. Spotlight Gallery in Montpelier. JANIE COHEN: “Rogue Cloth Work,” hand-stitched pieces of old cloth combined and transformed into new textile assemblages with new contexts. Through December 27. Info, 828-0749. Vermont Supreme Court Gallery in Montpelier. ‘NORMAN ROCKWELL’S ARLINGTON: AMERICA’S HOME TOWN’: An exhibit chronicling Rockwell and other artists who lived in Arlington, as well as many local residents who posed for the scenes of everyday life they portrayed. A collaborative effort of the Canfield Gallery and the Russell Collection of Vermontiana. Through January 31. Info, 479-8500. Vermont History Museum in Montpelier.

Erin Daigle Last summer Vermont artist Erin Daigle set up her easel and

plein-air-painted her way through downtown Vergennes, highlighting local businesses and restaurants. The results: a dozen vibrant 9-by-12-inch scenes in oil, which she has framed and hung for viewing at Kennedy Brothers just down the road. Her exhibition opens with a reception this Friday, December 6, 5 to 7 p.m., and will extend through February. In addition, Daigle features her paintings in a 2020 Vergennes calendar, which will be available for purchase at the show, locations around the little city that she has so lovingly documented. Pictured: “Daily Chocolate.”

f BFA STUDENT EXHIBIT: Media arts major Jessica Skala and studio arts majors Auburn Little and Harrison Holmes show their work. Reception: Thursday, December 5, 3-5 p.m. Through December 13. Info, 635-1469. Julian Scott Memorial Gallery, Northern Vermont University-Johnson.

HEARTBEET LIFESHARING FIBER ARTS: Collaborative works of fiber artists and the therapeutic woodworking studio at the lifesharing communities in Hardwick and Craftsbury that include adults with developmental disabilities. JENNIFER HUBBARD: “The View From Here,” landscape paintings featuring scenes from Lamoille and Orleans counties. Through December 27. Info, 888-1261. River Arts in Morrisville.

f MEMBERS’ ART SHOW & SALE AND FESTIVAL

OF TREES & LIGHT: Elena Rosen and Alexa Sherrill curated an exhibit of works by gallery member artists. Also on view: evergreen trees decorated with ornaments handmade by master artisans and a Hanukkah display of menorahs, games and dreidels. Reception: Friday, December 6, 5-7 p.m., with music from Stowe Elementary School Chorus, refreshments, hands-on activities and hors d’oeuvres from local restaurants. Through December 28. Info, 253-8358. Helen Day Art Center in Stowe. ‘WINTER IS HERE’: Photographs of the season by Orah Moore, Dorothy Koval and Ross Connelly, members of the River Arts Photo Co-op in Morrisville. Through April 23. Info, 253-2691. Plate in Stowe.

‘2020 VISION: SEEING THE WORLD THROUGH TECHNOLOGY’: We are now accepting applications for our partially crowdsourced exhibit on Vermont innovation and technology in our Local History Gallery as part of this statewide project. Details and application at vermonthistory. org. Deadline: February 28. Vermont Historical Society, Barre. Info, 479-8500. ‘THE ART SHOW’: All sizes and mediums of artwork accepted, one piece per artist, to this monthly non-juried exhibition. $10 cash entry fee. Drop-off time for artwork is every First Friday of the month 9 a.m.5 p.m. Opening reception is 6-9 p.m., with People’s Choice awarded a mini-grant. The Gallery at RL Photo, Burlington. Through January 2. Info, publicartschool@gmail.com. BOAT SAIL DESIGN: The Lake Champlain Basin Program is seeking an artist to design a boat sail with artwork related to aquatic invasive species to help draw the public’s attention to preventing their spread. It will be incorporated into the fleet at the Community Sailing Center in Burlington in 2020. Up to $2,500 available. Request for proposals info at lcbp.org/grants. Deadline: January 7. Lake Champlain Basin Program Office, Grand Isle. Info, 372-3213. CALL FOR MURAL ARTISTS: Axel’s Gallery & Frame Shop requests proposals from experienced muralists for a high-impact public art opportunity that will be developed in two phases: sketch and execution. Design must incorporate a phoenix. Mural location: alley at 5 Stowe Street in Waterbury. Prize for winning preliminary sketch: SEVEN DAYS DECEMBER 4-11, 2019

‘MORE LIGHT 2019’: The gallery’s fourth annual small works show, featuring new art by Bonnie Baird, Brenda Myrick, Anne Cady, Hannah Sessions, Pamela Smith and Reid Boehner in a range of media, including English porcelain, watercolor and oil painting. Through December 29. Info, 877-2173. Northern Daughters in Vergennes.

stowe/smuggs

CALL TO ARTISTS

CORRINE YONCE: “Somewhere Between Place and Home,” a multimedia exploration of three projects by the community organizer, artist and documentarian that considers what it means when one’s primary residence is something other than fully home. Through February 29. Info, 388-4964. Vermont Folklife Center in Middlebury.

through erindaigleart.com, and in

BRIAN FEKETE: “Quixotica,” an exhibition of five large-scale oil paintings on canvas that explore abstraction, gesture and color. Through December 20. Info, 881-0418. 571 Projects in Stowe.

‘CONJURING THE DEAD: SPIRIT ART IN THE AGE OF RADICAL REFORM’: Photographs and original drawings acquired by Solomon Wright Jewett (1808-94), a Vermont farmer, legislator and spiritualist who claimed supernatural powers, including bringing back the deceased. DANA SIMSON: “The animals are innocent,” mixed-media/ceramic sculptures and paintings featuring animals that address loss of habitat and food sources, among other perils. Through January 11. Info, 388-2117. Henry Sheldon Museum of Vermont History in Middlebury.

mad river valley/waterbury

‘BOLD AND BEAUTIFUL’: Juried paintings by members of the Vermont Watercolor Society illustrate diverse styles and techniques. Through December 21. Info, 496-6682. Vermont Festival of the Arts Gallery in Waitsfield. ‘CELEBRATING THE SMALL: A GROUP SHOW’: Artworks in a variety of mediums that measure 10 by 10 inches or less, priced at no more than $100. Through December 24. Info, 244-7801. Axel’s Gallery & Frame Shop in Waterbury. JANE BRIGGS & LEE YOUNGMAN: Hand-knit shawls by the co-owners of Waterbury’s Yarn, for display and sale. Through December 20. MIMI CLARK: “The Summer of 2018,” watercolor paintings that depict life around the Winooski River. Through December 31. Info, 244-7036. Waterbury Public Library.

middlebury area

12TH ANNUAL HOLIDAY SHOW: Original, handmade and hand-printed art and fine crafts from 25 regional artists, including pastel drawings by Judy Albright, woodblock prints by Ray Hudson, bee quilts by Hope Johnson and more. Through December 31. 802-382-9222. Jackson Gallery, Town Hall Theater, in Middlebury.

$750. Email proposal to info@axelsgallery.com. Subject line: 2019 Mural Submission (your first and last name). Deadline: December 15. Axel’s Gallery & Frame Shop, Waterbury. Info, 244-7801. CALL TO ARTISTS: ‘QUIET TIME’: Established and emerging artists are invited to submit one or two pieces of artwork on the theme “Quiet Time” in any medium; must be ready to hang. Exhibition will be January through April. For info and registration materials, email catherine.mcmains@gmail.com or visit jerichovt.org. Deadline: December 20. Jericho Town Hall. CALL TO ARTISTS: THE PARADE IS COMING!: This show (July 7-August 22) includes work in a variety of mediums and installations that depict the excitement, content and colors associated with parades, as well as more solemn processions and marches. In addition to works on the walls, we’ll assemble a parade involving a group of artists’ sculptural works. Deadline: April 24. Info at studioplacearts. com/calls-to-artists.html. Studio Place Arts, Barre. $10; free for SPA members. Info, 479-7069. ECOSYSTEM SERVICES THROUGH AN ARTIST’S EYE: The Orleans County Natural Resources Conservation District and the Memphremagog Arts Collective are looking for artists of all types to submit work around the theme of ecosystem services and agriculture. The juried exhibition will open on April 3 at the MAC Center for the Arts in downtown Newport. More info at vacd.org/ conservation-districts/orleans-county or emily.irwin@vt.nacdnet.net. Memphremagog Arts Collaborative, Newport. Through December 31. Free. Info, 624-7022.

MUSEUMLAB: A diverse array of pieces from the museum’s collection selected by professors from a variety of disciplines; visitors are invited to observe the reactions sparked when this “teaching laboratory” displays art supporting various college courses. Through December 8. Info, 443-5258. Middlebury College Museum of Art. SMALL WORKS: A curated exhibition of new and favorite small-scale works by the gallery’s established and emerging artists. Through December 31. Info, 4580098. Edgewater Gallery on the Green in Middlebury. ‘VOTES … FOR WOMEN?’: An exhibition of vintage photographs, banners and memorabilia that coincides with the 100th anniversary of the campaign to ratify the 19th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution in 1920. Through December 8. Info, 443-6433. Johnson Memorial Building, Middlebury College.

rutland/killington

‘CELEBRATE WITH ART’: All-member, all-media holiday gift show. Also, the debut of three new artist-members: Catherine Palmer (colored pencil), Winslow Colwell (photography on kite forms) and Michael DiMeola (photography). Through January 28. Info, 247-4956. Brandon Artists Guild. DONA ANN MCADAMS: Acclaimed Vermont photographer and activist Dona Ann McAdams’ expansive oeuvre features historic black-and-white portraits of avant-garde performers, pioneers of queer liberation, people living with schizophrenia, Appalachian farmers, cloistered nuns and racetrack workers, as well as luminous images of horses, oxen

PROFESSIONAL MURALIST WANTED: The Morrisville Alliance for Culture & Commerce is seeking to engage the services of a professional artist to create a mural that is artsy, welcoming and represents downtown Morrisville. The three 4-by-8-foot panels will be installed on the Portland Street side of the Green Dragon building; plywood and installation provided. Stipend: $2,500. Email proposals to heidi@ riverartsvt.org by December 15. Various Morrisville locations. Info, 888-1261. SEEKING VOLUNTEER MURALISTS: Nonprofit Arts So Wonderful is looking for artists to help paint murals at its gallery in the lower level of CityPlace Burlington, across from L.L.Bean. Paint provided. Participating artists can show and sell their own work in the gallery for free. ASW Art Gallery, Burlington. Through December 15. Info, artssowonderful2@gmail.com. SOUTHERN VERMONT ARTS CENTER HOLIDAY MARKET: Now accepting applications from both established and emerging artists to participate in SVAC’S biggest retail event of the year. Original work in any medium welcome. Market December 6-15. Entry info at svac.org. Southern Vermont Arts Center, Manchester. Free. Info, 362-1405. VOICING ART EKPHRASTIC POETRY READING SERIES: Calling for submissions of original poetry written by all ages and experience levels in response to current exhibit “Contrast!” by the Art Tribe, or other art of the writer’s choice, for December 14 Voicing Art Poetry Reading. Submission guidelines and details at poarty.org/voicing-art. Deadline: December 13. Flynndog Gallery, Burlington. Free. Info, poartryproject@gmail.com.

ART SHOWS

and goats. Through January 4. Info, 579-9501. Castleton University Bank Gallery in Rutland. SANDY MAYO: “On the Surface,” a solo exhibition of mixed-media paintings by the local artist. Through January 20. Info, the77gallery@gmail.com. B&G Gallery in Rutland. ‘SEASON OF GIVING’: A holiday show featuring giftable works by gallery members in a variety of mediums. Through January 3. Info, 775-0356. Chaffee Art Center in Rutland.

upper valley

COLEEN O’CONNELL: “Feathers, Ferns and Fish,” prints using a variety of techniques by the ecologically minded local artist. JENNA RICE: “Guitar Tattoos,” pyrographic artwork on musical instruments by the Weathersfield artist and musician. Through December 31. Info, 295-4567. Long River Gallery & Gifts in White River Junction. ‘ELEMENTS OF GLASS: FROM THE WORKSHOP OF SIMON PEARCE’: A collaborative exhibition with the renowned Vermont glassmaker explores the transformation from sand to glass, from design to finished product. Through March 31. Info, 649-2200. Montshire Museum of Science in Norwich. MYRA MUSGROVE: “Say Nice Things to Me,” acrylic paintings by the Brooklyn artist that “dissect an affair.” Through December 5. Info, 295-0808. Scavenger Gallery in White River Junction. SONJA OLSON: Paintings and drawings of Rajput Indian imagery. Through December 31. Info, 4572295. Norman Williams Public Library in Woodstock. WENDY KLEMPERER, MIRANDA THOMAS & JACKIE PADICH: Paintings and sculpture that incorporate natural imagery. Through January 5. Info, 3595000. Vermont Institute of Natural Science Nature Center in Quechee.

northeast kingdom

THE 99 FACES PROJECT: Photographic portraits, without labels, featuring people on the bipolar or schizophrenia spectrum and those who love them. Through March 2. Info, 748-7313. Northeastern Vermont Regional Hospital in St. Johnsbury. ANNUAL HOLIDAY SHOW: Guest and member artists present a variety of wares, including paintings, pottery, woodwork, clothing, kitchen items and more. Through January 4. Info, 748-0158. Northeast Kingdom Artisans Guild Backroom Gallery in St. Johnsbury. ‘COME TOGETHER’: Paintings, digital work, photography, prints and more by Northern Vermont University art faculty. Through January 18. Info, 626-6459. Quimby Gallery, Northern Vermont University-Lyndon, in Lyndonville. ‘THE PIVOT AND THE BLADE: AN INTIMATE GLANCE AT SCISSORS’: A collection of objects that conveys the long human relationship to scissors and explores their design and myriad professional, creative, superstitious, violent and domestic uses. Through December 31. Info, 626-4409. The Museum of Everyday Life in Glover. ROBERT MALLORY KLEIN: “The Character of the Kingdom,” paintings of the villages and hamlets of the Northeast Kingdom by the retired diplomat turned artist. Through December 22. Info, 5339075. Highland Center for the Arts in Greensboro.

brattleboro/okemo valley

‘ALCHEMY: METAL, MYSTERY AND MAGIC’: A group show featuring sculptures and painting by Jeanne Carbonetti, Sabrina Fadial, Alexandra Heller, Peter Heller, Pat Musick, Dan O’Donnell, Gerald Stoner and Johny Swing. Through February 29. Info, 258-3992. The Great Hall in Springfield. DOUG TRUMP: “By Rail,” 12 oil and mixed-media works on repurposed wood. Through February 9. FAFNIR ADAMITES: “Interfere (with),” a sculptural installation created with felted wool and burlap that focuses on intergenerational trauma and generational emotional turmoil. Through March 7. GORDON MEINHARD: “The Lives of Tables,” modernist still life paintings of tables that appear to become more

animated as the series progresses, by the cofounder of the museum. Through March 7. MARÍA ELENA GONZÀLEZ: “Tree Talk,” an installation that uses rubbings and tracings of birch bark as templates for laser-cutting paper piano rolls. Through February 9. THELMA APPEL: “Observed/Abstract,” a survey of the career of a cofounder of the Bennington College Summer Painting Workshop, whose work now centers on the tarot. Through February 9. Info, 257-0124. Brattleboro Museum & Art Center.

manchester/bennington

‘COLOR FIELDS: 1960S BENNINGTON MODERNISM’: An exhibition of works by Pat Adams, Anthony Caro, Paul Feeley, Helen Frankenthaler, Ruth Ann Fredenthal, Patricia Johanson, Vincent Longo, Kenneth Noland and Jules Olitskies that illustrates the centrality of the college in the development of midcentury modernism. ‘VISIBLE IN VERMONT: OUR STORIES, OUR VOICES’: A multigenerational photo and story exhibition highlighting the experiences of people of color living in or attending school in Vermont. ASA CHEFFETZ: VERMONT WOOD ENGRAVINGS: Works by the late printmaker (1896-1965). Through December 30. Info, 447-1571. Bennington Museum.

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18TH ANNUAL ARTISANS HOLIDAY MARKET: Fine art, crafts and products created by area artisans and local food producers. Through December 28. Info, 728-9878. Chandler Gallery in Randolph. JORDAN LAURA MCLACHLAN & MORTON BARTLETT: “Family Matters,” a special exhibition of outsider art, in association with Marion Harris Gallery in New York City. Through February 29. Info, 767-9670. BigTown Gallery in Rochester. KATE EMLEN: “Breathe the Wind,” paintings large and small, inspired from immersion in nature. Through December 20. Info, 498-8438. White River Gallery in South Royalton. KATE REEVES: “My Winter World,” a solo show of acrylic and watercolor paintings by the Barnard artist. Through February 18. Info, 889-9404. Tunbridge Public Library.

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ALAIN PAIEMENT: “Bleu de Bleu,” 32 videographic, photographic and sculptural elements that document the artist’s public-art installation between Trudeau International Airport and downtown Montréal. FRANCIS ALYS: “Children’s Games,” a collection of 20 short videos of children at play around the world. GISELE AMANTEA: Ink-jet prints that combine photographic documentation of the MAC Rotunda with drawings inspired by Giovanni Battista Piranesi’s 18th-century etchings. JANET WERNER: A survey of the last decade of “fictional portraits” by the renowned Montréal painter. f LUIS JACOB & SERGE TOUSIGNANT: “Je vois ce que tu regardes,” images and sculptures by the Canadian artists that, respectively, encourage viewers to contemplate and reconstruct relationships or act directly on viewers’ experience of the exhibition space. Gallery tour with curator Mark Lanctôt and Serge Tousignant: Wednesday, December 4, 6 p.m. (in French). WILLIAM KENTRIDGE: Two short animated films, “Second-hand Reading” and “Learning the Flute,” by the South African artist, who is known for philosophical reflections on time, violence and resilience in the context of colonialism and revolutionary politics. Through January 5. Info, 514-847-6226. Montréal Museum of Contemporary Art.

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‘EGYPTIAN MUMMIES: EXPLORING ANCIENT LIVES’: An international exhibition created by the British Museum combines arts and science to tell the stories of six people who lived along the Nile in ancient times. Through February 2. Info, 514-2852000. Montréal Museum of Fine Arts.

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MARGARET DWYER: The AVA watercolor instructor and studio tenant showcases her multimedia artwork in the Carter-Kelsey building lobby. MEMBERS’ GALLERY EXHIBITION: An inaugural display of artwork by AVA members. Through December 28. Info, 603-448-3117. AVA Gallery and Art Center in Lebanon, N.H. m Untitled-25 1

SEVEN DAYS DECEMBER 4-11, 2019

12/2/19 11:25 AM

movies Marriage Story ★★★

hen was the last time a couple directed dueling Best Picture contenders? James Cameron and Kathryn Bigelow went head-to-head at the Oscars in 2010 with Avatar and The Hurt Locker, but they’d already divorced. This year, Noah Baumbach and Greta Gerwig are all but certain to find themselves in competition with each other, having released Marriage Story and Little Women, two of the year’s best-reviewed movies. That’s an awful lot of talent for one Hollywood household. And, potentially, an awful lot of strain on a relationship. If I were Gerwig, I’d be vigilant. Baumbach, after all, has built a career on portraits of aspiring artists hobbled by bruised egos, unfulfilled ambition and failed relationships. His breakout film, The Squid and the Whale (2005), autopsied the bond between his parents, both of whom were writers. Relationships have likewise frayed and dreams gone unrealized in films as disparate as his Margot at the Wedding (2007), While We’re Young (2014) and The Meyerowitz Stories (2017). With his latest, Baumbach autopsies his bond with ex-wife Jennifer Jason Leigh,

REVIEWS

with whom he had a son and from whom he split in 2013. Marriage Story (on Netflix starting Friday) explores the divorce-industrial complex from the perspectives of a stage director named Charlie (Adam Driver) and an actress named Nicole (Scarlett Johansson). The couple has a young son and emotional connections to both coasts. As the movie opens, Charlie is preparing the latest production of his up-and-coming off-Broadway company, while Nicole flirts with the notion of returning home to LA and resuming the career she put on hold to serve as her husband’s muse. The pair has agreed to keep things amicable. Agreeing on where the boy should live proves more challenging. Enter the lawyers. Despite her promises to proceed in a civil, enlightened fashion, Nicole is easily persuaded by an acquaintance to sic a legal attack dog on Charlie. Laura Dern delivers the movie’s most memorable performance as Nora Fanshaw, a divorce attorney with a gift for convincing clients to go for the jugular by making them believe they’re not so much clients as BFFs. Charlie, meanwhile, is so busy winning MacArthur fellowships that he’s clueless about getting representation. He vacillates between

SELF-CONSCIOUS UNCOUPLING Baumbach’s latest is probably being overpraised for its observations concerning the divorce process.

an easygoing mensch played by Alan Alda and Ray Liotta’s killer shark. Along for the ride are peripheral players such as a couples counselor, a child protection worker and a gaggle of family members, including Julie Hagerty as Nicole’s developmentally arrested mother. It’s all eminently watchable, though decidedly nothing new. Think Kramer vs. Kramer meets Husbands and Wives with smartphones. As mentioned, dysfunction among privileged, white, creatively striving types has been Baumbach’s bread and butter for nearly two decades. To freshen his formula this time around, he sprinkles a twinkly strain of fairy dust on everything, hoping to enchant us with the sug-

Knives Out ★★★★★

n the 1970s, Hollywood periodically took refuge from politics and “serious” subjects in drawing-room-style mysteries. Movies like Murder by Death and The Last of Sheila doubled as playgrounds for seasoned character actors to ham it up to their hearts’ content. Writerdirector Rian Johnson clearly remembers those days. In his first feature, Brick (2005), he brought midcentury noir to a modern high school. Now, in Knives Out, Johnson offers a semi-parodic Agatha Christie pastiche set in a Queen Anne mansion, with an ensemble big enough to fill “The Love Boat.” Cleverly plotted and stuffed with delectable dialogue, the movie is a throwback in every way but one: Johnson applies his satirical carving knife to political topics, too. That aspect of Knives Out lacks the edge that viewers may expect if they come for “a Clue board game drawn up by …. Bernie Sanders,” as a Washington Examiner op-ed rather hysterically put it. As a smart entertainment, though, the movie succeeds brilliantly. One dark night in his brick manse, bestselling mystery writer Harlan Thrombey (Christopher Plummer) slits his own throat. Or does he? The cops are inclined to close the case. But detective Benoit Blanc (Daniel Craig), hired to investigate by an anonymous party, has his doubts. Practically every member of Harlan’s contentious family could reap potential gains from his demise. And, on the eve of that de84 SEVEN DAYS DECEMBER 4-11, 2019

SHARPEST TOOLS A world-class ensemble plays the rather awful Thrombey family in Johnson’s throwback murder mystery.

mise, he managed to offend most of them, from his philandering son-in-law (Don Johnson) to his feckless grandson (Chris Evans) to his mooching daughter-in-law (Toni Collette) to the obsequious son (Michael Shannon) who runs his publishing empire. In fact, Harlan may have only one intimate who likes him: his nurse, Marta (Ana de Armas), a first-generation American whom the Thrombeys treat with impeccable con-

descension. Blanc enlists Marta to help him sort out the others’ conflicting stories because of her handy tendency to be truthful: Lying makes her literally puke. Clear-eyed Marta serves as an emotional anchor for the audience as the whodunit launches into a series of whiplash turns. Sympathetic as she is, though, it’s the film’s gallery of rich rotters and grotesques who leave the deepest imprints.

gestion that, deep down, Charlie and Nicole still love each other even as each attempts to rip out the other’s heart. It’s an approach that can periodically cloy. Here’s a little litmus test: Watching the film, bear in mind the great Randy Newman composed the score. After the credits roll, try to remember a single bar. The music has little of substance to infuse and resonate through. Marriage Story can’t hold a candle to, say, Toy Story where that’s concerned. And that should be concerning. I wouldn’t say Baumbach’s latest has all that much of a friend in me. RI C K KI S O N AK

The performances in Knives Out are a high-end dessert tray. How do you choose between Jamie Lee Curtis as Harlan’s business shark daughter, who’s raised bitch-face to an art form, and Craig as a nonchalant sleuth who caresses each word with his New Orleans drawl? Or between Collette’s self-righteous caviar liberal, Shannon’s deceptively tweedy man of letters and Evans’ glinty-eyed, casually nasty playboy? These actors are having a ball, and so are we. The critics praising Knives Out for its “subversive” import (Time, NPR) may be giving the movie a little too much credit for a jaundiced portrayal of elites that’s typical of its genre. A mystery that encourages us to root for the underdog is nothing new. When Johnson has the Thrombeys actually talk politics, the scene feels forced, a Ryan Murphy-style attempt to push as many hot buttons as possible. Johnson’s script is much sharper when it simply demonstrates all the ways in which the Thrombeys undercut their own pretensions — to enlightenment, to deserving privilege, to American aristocracy. They are terrible people, and they are intensely fun to spend time with. From its ruddy interiors full of obsessively detailed bric-a-brac to its spot-on costuming and vehicles, Knives Out brings a lost era of movies to life. To see it is to be reminded that razor-sharp dialogue is as dazzling as any special effect. MARGO T HARRI S O N

MOVIE CLIPS

Holiday Special

NEW IN THEATERS THE AERONAUTS: Felicity Jones and Eddie Redmayne play Victorian hot-air balloonists attempting an unprecedented ascent in this adventure drama from director Tom Harper (Wild Rose). With Himesh Patel and Tom Courtenay. (140 min, PG-13. Essex) DARK WATERS: A lawyer (Mark Ruffalo) takes on DuPont for polluting West Virginia farmland in this fact-based drama from Todd Haynes (Carol), also starring Anne Hathaway, William Jackson Harper and Tim Robbins. (126 min, PG-13. Capitol, Roxy) FANTASTIC FUNGI: This documentary that the New York Times called “informative and kooky” suggests that mushrooms might be the cure for what ails us — and the planet. Louie Schwartzberg directed; Brie Larson narrates. (81 min, NR. Savoy) PLAYMOBIL: THE MOVIE: The German building toy gets its own showcase with this family animation about two orphans who find themselves pulled into a fantastical world. But is everything awesome there? With the voices of Anya Taylor-Joy, Jim Gaffigan and Daniel Radcliffe. Animator Lino DiSalvo makes his directorial debut. (99 min, PG. Essex, Majestic)

NOW PLAYING 21 BRIDGESHH1/2 While a manhunt locks down the entire island of Manhattan, an NYPD detective (Chadwick Boseman) discovers a conspiracy among his colleagues in this crime drama. With J.K. Simmons and Sienna Miller. Brian Kirk (Middletown) directed. (99 min, R) ABOMINABLEHHH1/2 Lost in Shanghai, a young yeti needs help to return to his Everest home in this DreamWorks animated adventure. Jill Culton (Open Season) directed. With the voices of Chloe Bennet, Albert Tsai and Eddie Izzard. (97 min, PG; reviewed by M.H. 10/2) A BEAUTIFUL DAY IN THE NEIGHBORHOODHHHH A cynical journalist (Matthew Rhys) learns lessons from children’s TV pioneer Fred Rogers (Tom Hanks) in this fact-based drama. Marielle Heller (Can You Ever Forgive Me?) directed. (108 min, PG; reviewed by R.K. 11/27) CHARLIE’S ANGELSHH1/2 The babes-beatingbad-guys action franchise returns in an apparent feminist reboot directed and cowritten by Elizabeth Banks, who also plays Bosley. Kristen Stewart, Naomi Scott and Ella Balinska are the Angels. (118 min, PG-13) DOCTOR SLEEPHHH In this adaptation of Stephen King’s sequel to The Shining, grown-up Danny Torrance (Ewan McGregor) tries to protect a girl with powers similar to his own from a cult. With Rebecca Ferguson. Mike Flanagan (Gerald’s Game) directed. (151 min, R) FORD V FERRARIHHHH Matt Damon and Christian Bale play the team behind the Ford race car that challenged the Ferrari at the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 1966. James Mangold (Logan) directed the fact-based drama, also starring Catriona Balfe and Jon Bernthal. (152 min, PG-13) FROZEN IIHHH1/2 Royal sisters Anna and Elsa must find the source of Elsa’s icy powers to save their kingdom in the sequel to Disney’s animated mega-hit. With the voices of Kristen Bell, Jonathan Groff and Idina Menzel. Chris Buck and Jennifer Lee again directed. (103 min, PG; reviewed by M.H. 11/27)

ratings

H = refund, please HH = could’ve been worse, but not a lot HHH = has its moments; so-so HHHH = smarter than the average bear HHHHH = as good as it gets RATINGS ASSIGNED TO MOVIES NOT REVIEWED BY RICK KISONAK OR MARGOT HARRISON ARE COURTESY OF METACRITIC.COM, WHICH AVERAGES SCORES GIVEN BY THE COUNTRY’S MOST WIDELY READ MOVIE REVIEWERS.

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Midway

“ONE OF THE TOP 10 SPAS IN VERMONT” THE GOOD LIARHHH A con man (Ian McKellen) finds himself falling for his rich mark (Helen Mirren) in this thriller-ish drama directed by Bill Conden (Mr. Holmes). With Russell Tovey. (109 min, R; reviewed by M.H. 11/20) HARRIETHHH1/2 Cynthia Erivo portrays Harriet Tubman, who escaped from slavery to become an activist and organizer of the Underground Railroad, in this biopic directed by Kasi Lemmons (Eve’s Bayou). With Leslie Odom Jr. and Joe Alwyn. (125 min, PG-13) THE IRISHMANHHHH1/2 Retired labor union official Frank Sheeran (Robert De Niro) remembers his past as a hitman — and his role in the disappearance of Jimmy Hoffa (Al Pacino) — in this crime drama from Martin Scorsese, also starring Anna Paquin, Jesse Plemons and Joe Pesci. (209 min, R) JOJO RABBITHHHH Everybody has an opinion on this anti-Nazi satire from Taika Waititi (Thor: Ragnarok), in which a young follower of Hitler (Roman Griffin Davis) makes discoveries that change his world. With Thomasin McKenzie, Scarlett Johansson, Sam Rockwell and Rebel Wilson. (108 min, PG-13; reviewed by R.K. 11/13)

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KNIVES OUTHHHH1/2 Daniel Craig plays a detective investigating the death of a crime novelist in writer-director Rian Johnson’s dark comic riff on Agatha Christie-style mysteries. The all-star cast includes Chris Evans, Ana de Armas, Jamie Lee Curtis, Michael Shannon, Don Johnson and Toni Collette. (130 min, PG-13; reviewed by M.H. 12/4) LAST CHRISTMASHH1/2 In this holiday rom com, a young woman (Emilia Clarke) with darkness in her past meets her new beau while playing a department-store Santa’s elf. With Henry Golding and Emma Thompson. Paul Feig (A Simple Favor) directed. (102 min, PG-13) MIDWAYHH1/2 Director Roland Emmerich (Independence Day: Resurgence) transports audiences to a key World War II battle for control of the Pacific in this drama starring Woody Harrelson, Ed Skrein, Patrick Wilson and Dennis Quaid. (138 min, PG-13) PAIN & GLORYHHH1/2 In Pedro Almodóvar’s semi-autobiographical drama, a film director recalls his origins while struggling with his failing health. With Antonio Banderas, Asier Etxeandia, Julieta Serrano and Penélope Cruz. (113 min, R; reviewed by M.H. 11/13) PARASITEHHH An unemployed family finds plenty to do — and money to be made — in an affluent home in this satirical drama from Bong Joon Ho (Snowpiercer), which won the Palme d’or at the Cannes Film Festival. With Kang-ho Song and Yeo-jeong Jo. (132 min, R; reviewed by R.K. 11/6)

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PLAYING WITH FIREH Rescuing three boisterous kids is a tough job even for fearless firefighters in this family comedy. Judy Greer, Keegan-Michael Key and John Cena star. Andy Fickman (Paul Blart: Mall Cop 2) directed. (96 min, PG) QUEEN & SLIMHHH1/2 A couple’s first date turns into a desperate run from the law after a routine traffic stop goes wrong in this drama from director Melina Matsoukas (“Insecure”). Daniel Kaluuya, Jodie Turner-Smith and Chloë Sevigny star. (132 min, R)

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SEVEN DAYS DECEMBER 4-11, 2019

11/4/19 5:43 PM

movies

LOCALtheaters BREAKFAST • LUNCH • DINNER

(*) = NEW THIS WEEK IN VERMONT. (**) = SPECIAL EVENTS. FOR UP-TO-DATE TIMES VISIT SEVENDAYSVT.COM/MOVIES.

BETHEL DRIVE-IN

36 Bethel Drive, Bethel, betheldrivein.com

Closed for the season.

BIG PICTURE THEATER

The perfect place for Holiday Gatherings Ask about our specially designed menus for your celebration.

48 Carroll Rd. (off Route 100), Waitsfield, 496-8994, bigpicturetheater.info

wednesday 4 — thursday 5 Charlie’s Angels Frozen II

802.660.7523 1117 WILLISTON RD. SOUTH BURLINGTON

A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood Rest of schedule not available at press time.

BIJOU CINEPLEX 4 Route 100, Morrisville, 888-3293, bijou4.com

wednesday 4 — tuesday 10 Abominable (except Wed & Thu) Ford v Ferrari Frozen II Knives Out

CAPITOL SHOWPLACE

8v-dukespublichouse112719.indd 1

93 State St., Montpelier, 229-0343, 11/25/19 1:08 PM fgbtheaters.com

wednesday 4 — thursday 5 A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood Ford v Ferrari Frozen II The Good Liar (Thu only) Knives Out Last Christmas (Wed only) friday 6 — thursday 12 A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood *Dark Waters Ford v Ferrari Frozen II Knives Out Open-caption screenings on Wednesdays (first evening show) and Sundays (first matinee).

Check out our new specialty coffees coming in throughout the season! 12 oz. “stocking stuffer” bags available.

ESSEX CINEMAS & T-REX THEATER 21 Essex Way, Suite 300, Essex, 879-6543, essexcinemas.com

wednesday 4 — thursday 5 A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood Ford v Ferrari Frozen II (2D & 3D) The Good Liar The Irishman Knives Out Last Christmas Midway *Playmobil: The Movie (Thu only)

Gift certificates, too!

412 PINE ST, BURLINGTON 658-6016 86

SEVEN DAYS DECEMBER 4-11, 2019

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*The Aeronauts A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood **Elf (Tue only) Ford v Ferrari Frozen II (2D & 3D) Knives Out Midway *Playmobil: The Movie **TCM Big Screen Classics Presents: Meet Me in St. Louis (Sun & Wed only) **They Shall Not Grow Old 3D (Sat only)

Ford v Ferrari

friday 6 — thursday 12

Closed Mondays.

MON-FRI: 6:30AM-10PM SAT+SUN: 7AM-10PM LOUNGE DAILY: 11 AM-CLOSING

friday 6 — wednesday 11

11/21/16 11:32 AM

MAJESTIC 10

190 Boxwood St. (Maple Tree Place, Taft Corners), Williston, 878-2010, majestic10.com

wednesday 4 — thursday 5 A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood Charlie’s Angels Doctor Sleep Ford v Ferrari Frozen II The Good Liar Knives Out Last Christmas Midway Playing With Fire friday 6 — wednesday 11 A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood Charlie’s Angels Doctor Sleep Ford v Ferrari Frozen II Knives Out Last Christmas Midway Playing With Fire *Playmobil: The Movie

friday 6 — thursday 12 A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood *Dark Waters Harriet Jojo Rabbit **Killer Raccoons! 2! Dark Christmas in the Dark (Fri only) Knives Out Parasite Queen & Slim

PALACE 9 CINEMAS 10 Fayette Dr., South Burlington, 864-5610, palace9.com

wednesday 4 — thursday 5 A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood Charlie’s Angels Ford v Ferrari Frozen II The Good Liar Knives Out Last Christmas **Met Opera Encore: Akhnaten (Wed only) Midway friday 6 — wednesday 11

MARQUIS THEATRE

Schedule not available at press time.

wednesday 4 — thursday 5

PARAMOUNT TWIN CINEMA

65 Main St., Middlebury, 388-4841, middleburymarquis.com

Ford v Ferrari Frozen II

241 N. Main St., Barre, 479-9621, fgbtheaters.com

THE SAVOY THEATER 26 Main St., Montpelier, 229-0598, savoytheater.com

wednesday 4 — thursday 5 Jojo Rabbit Pain & Glory friday 6 — thursday 12 *Fantastic Fungi **Fiddlin’ (Wed only) Jojo Rabbit (except Wed) Pain & Glory Open-caption screenings on main screen on Mondays.

STOWE CINEMA 3 PLEX 454 Mountain Rd., Stowe, 253-4678, stowecinema.com

wednesday 4 Ford v Ferrari Frozen II Knives Out thursday 5 A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood Frozen II Knives Out Rest of schedule not available at press time.

SUNSET DRIVE-IN

155 Porters Point Rd., Colchester, 862-1800, sunsetdrivein.com

friday 6 — thursday 12

wednesday 4 — wednesday 11

A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood Frozen II Harriet (Wed only)

21 Bridges Frozen II

Closed for the season.

Open-caption screenings on Wednesdays (first evening show) and Sundays (first matinee).

WELDEN THEATRE

MERRILL’S ROXY CINEMAS 222 College St., Burlington, 864-3456, merrilltheatres.net

wednesday 4 — thursday 5 A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood Harriet The Irishman Jojo Rabbit Knives Out Parasite (Wed only) Queen & Slim **Thrasher Road (Thu only)

PLAYHOUSE MOVIE THEATRE

11 S. Main St., Randolph, 728-4012, playhouseflicks.com

wednesday 4 — sunday 8 & wednesday 11 — thursday 12 Frozen II Closed on Monday and Tuesday.

104 N. Main St., St. Albans, 527-7888, weldentheatre.com

wednesday 4 — thursday 5 Ford v Ferrari Frozen II Knives Out (Thu only) friday 6 — thursday 12 A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood Ford v Ferrari (Fri-Sun only) Frozen II Knives Out (except Wed)

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GO TO SEVENDAYSVT.COM ON ANY SMARTPHONE FOR FREE, UP-TO-THE-MINUTE MOVIE SHOWTIMES, PLUS NEARBY RESTAURANTS, CLUB DATES, EVENTS AND MORE.

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VERMONTâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;S RISING STARS

SATURDAY, December 7, at noon