Seven Days, May 20, 2026

VE R MO NT ’S INDE PEN DENT VO IC E MAY 20-27, 2026 VOL.31 NO.37 SEVENDAYSVT.COM

SUMMER PREVIEW

SUMMER ISSUE INSIDE!

From picnics to outdoor concerts to getting out on the lake and the disc golf links, here’s what’s in store for Vermont’s sweetest season.

(But watch out for ticks.)

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WEEK IN REVIEW

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MAY 13-20, 2026 COMPILED BY SASHA GOLDSTEIN

SHRINKING FOOTPRINT

COUNCIL SAYS NO TO CONTROVERSIAL STATUE

The proposed statue

COURTESY

A statue intended to recognize local Native American tribes won’t go up in Burlington’s Battery Park. The city council voted to reject the gift on Monday night.

The 11-1 vote came after councilors heard overwhelmingly from people who believe the four tribes recognized by the State of Vermont are illegitimate. The most outspoken on that point have been members of the two Western Abenaki nations based in Québec: Odanak First Nation and Wôlinak First Nation. Supporters of their cause crowded city hall on Monday and derided the statue, which was intended to replace one of Abenaki Chief Greylock.

“A public monument is not neutral. It tells the public whose voices matter and whose identities are recognized,” said Denise Watso, a member of the Odanak Abenaki who lives in New York. “This proposal, this proposed statue, is offensive to Greylock’s descendants.”

The original statue of Chief Greylock stood in Battery Park for nearly 40 years. But when it was clear in 2024 that it needed to be replaced, the Missisquoi Abenaki offered the city a piece they’d commissioned.

The wooden pillar features the sculpted face of an Indigenous man above the words “Missisquoi Abenaki” and below an image from the Abenaki flag.

Meanwhile, debate about the legitimacy of the Missisquoi Abenaki has grown heated in recent years.

Councilors on Monday tried to tread carefully. They emphasized that they were not taking sides but aimed to avoid causing harm to any community by installing a piece of art.

A handful of Missisquoi Abenaki defended the project during the meeting’s public comment period. Missisquoi chief Brenda Gagne noted that the sculpture was built with city funds for a tribe recognized by the state.

“Remember the harm you didn’t want to cause?” Gagne called out to the council as she left the room following the vote. “You just did.”

Read Aaron Calvin’s full story at sevendaysvt.com.

true802

KEN PICARD

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The Jane Mansfield water bottle

GlobalFoundries wants to sell a 442-acre complex, complete with solar array and office space, it owns in Williston, the Observer reported.

A prime location for … something.

BURGER BUMMER

No one was injured when a man drove a pickup truck all the way into a Colchester Burger King on Sunday morning. Dude missed the drivethrough by a lot.

NO TRADERS

None of the three members of Vermont’s Congressional delegation owns individual stocks, online news site NOTUS reported.

Meanwhile, at the White House…

HOT AND BOTHERED Despite a few days of summerlike weather, officials warned that area waterways are still frigid. Swimming will have to wait.

Kyle Clark made last year, a salary enhanced by the company’s debut on Wall Street, Vermont Public reported.

TOPFIVE

MOST POPULAR ITEMS ON SEVENDAYSVT.COM

1. “Burlington Council Green-Lights Major South End Development” by Aaron Calvin. The $100-million first phase of the plan includes two six-story buildings with 205 apartments.

2. “Chicken Charlie’s in South Burlington Takes a Pause” by Melissa Pasanen. The group that bought the chicken spot in 2022 also owns Richmond’s Kitchen Table.

3. “UVM Faces Enrollment Decline, $12 Million Budget Deficit” by Alison Novak. Vermont’s flagship university plans to make cuts to cover the loss in revenue from tuition.

4. “Vermont Is Designing Simple Homes to Help Speed Construction” by Kevin McCallum. Three communities are in a pilot program known as 802 Homes that is designed to fast-track development.

5. “After 12-Year Journey, Message in a Bottle Is Found on Shore of Lake Champlain” by Sasha Goldstein. Jeffrey Trubisz came upon the find in South Burlington while looking for trash on Green Up Day.

TOWN CRIER

L O C A L LY

SOURCED

NEWS

Dog Jumps From Moving Car on I-91 in Hartford A Jack Russell terrier named Dallas pressed the power window button, rolled down the glass and then jumped out of a moving car on Sunday evening, the Valley News reported. The pooch was last seen running on Interstate 91 near the interchange with I-89 in Hartford. As of press time, Dallas had not been found.

Read more at vnews.com

THAT’S SO VERMONT

FROZEN IN TIME It was July 4, 1976. Gerald Ford was president, gas was 60 cents per gallon, and a new house in Vermont cost a whopping $46,000.

As Americans across the country celebrated the nation’s bicentennial, a group of twentysomethings from Warren artist enclave Prickly Mountain unveiled their annual Fourth of July parade float: a giant eagle with a nest. Inside the nest was an “egg,” a decommissioned gondola from nearby Sugarbush Resort, which the group had turned into a time capsule. Days later, Pierre Moffroid buried it with a backhoe near the Pitcher Inn. Nearly 50 years later on a humid Tuesday

morning, a smattering of those same Warren residents, most of them now in their seventies, gathered at the same spot under a mature apple tree to watch as the town road crew unearthed a piece of local history.

“Nobody has a full inventory of what went in,” said Shannon Dunfey Konvicka, Warren’s town historian. “Could be mud. Could be Grateful Dead tickets, love letters, diamonds.”

Alex Maclay, 74, whose husband, Bill, was one of the Prickly Mountain architects and artists who built the float, remembers tossing her garter belt inside.

“I put my birth control pills in there. And a Sears credit card,” said Candy Barr, whose late husband, Dave Sellers, came up with the idea for the time capsule.

At 9:42 a.m., the backhoe struck water, and

many people speculated about what could have survived — until a few items were pulled from the mud. The first was a small, beige plastic case with rows of holes in it — Barr’s birth control pills.

Several more items emerged, including a Jane Mansfield hot water bottle. Jim Sanford, 79, gave it to his friend Richard “Trav” Travers, who’d buried the bottle with items packed inside. Once opened, it contained a sparkler, some Genesee beer bottle caps — “We used to buy six-packs of Genny’s for 99 cents,” Travers remembered — a King Kong postcard, a film canister and a joint.

Another partially obscured postcard read, “We hope you do as well in 2026 as we did in 1976. Good luck.”

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D I G I TA L & V I D E O    Eva Sollberger /  Jeff Baron

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COUNTRY MUSIC COUNTRY FEST COUNTRY COUNTRY MUSIC MUSIC RY RY MUSIC MUSIC MUSIC

DESIGN   Don Eggert   Rev. Diane Sullivan   John James  Jeff Baron

SALES & MARKETING    Colby Roberts    Robyn Birgisson   Logan Pintka, Kaitlin Montgomery     Gillian Comito ,  &  

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A D M I N I S T R AT I O N   Marcy Stabile    &  Matt Weiner   Andy Watts     Gillian English

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CONTRIBUTING WRITERS Jordan Adams, Justin Boland, Alex Brown, Erik Esckilsen, Anne Galloway, Steve Goldstein, Rick Koster, Amy Lilly, Suzanne Podhaizer, Tori Preston, Jim Schley, Carolyn Shapiro, Rachel Stearns, Xenia Turner CONTRIBUTING ARTISTS Luke Awtry, Daria Bishop, Sean Metcalf, Tim Newcomb, Jeb Wallace-Brodeur FOUNDERS

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TURN OFF THE GAS

[Re “Upward Mobility? Burlington International Airport’s New Terminal Will Help It Compete, Officials Say. Despite Industry Turbulence, BTV Is Experiencing Lift,” April 29]: I flew out of our lovely local airport two weeks ago, and I was curious about the new addition, even though my departure gate was not in that area. It was clean and bright, and as I rounded the corner, I saw a built-in long fireplace with natural gas flames dancing away for the sole purpose of ambience.

WTF? Did we just abandon net-zero?

I asked to speak to airport management, and they put me in touch with an engineer. He told me the carbon-spewing appliance was for the “comfort” of the passengers. Hmm, I’m gobsmacked at this lack of care and concern about climate change.

I’ve sent emails to the airport director, the Burlington mayor and my city councilor. As of this writing, only the latter, Sarah Carpenter (D-Ward 4), has gotten back to me, with: “I do agree we might do better around this.” Yup! What’s with this trend to burn fossil fuels for show? Drive by the remodeled Hotel Champlain, whether it’s 8 degrees or 80, and you’ll see two planters and a large cauldron blazing away. For what purpose?

Yes, I use fossil fuels — but as few as possible. I didn’t really want to take out a loan for a heat pump (and it won’t save me any money), but we all have to do what we can.

We praise Beta Technologies for its electric planes (which we should). Can we not praise the airport and any other place if they will just turn it off ?

Flip Brown

BURLINGTON

STUDENTS SHOULD PROTEST

I am writing as a Champlain College alumnus about [“Champlain College to Discipline Students Who Protested Professor,” April 28, online]. Champlain’s “Safe Campus Demonstrations” policy, in my opinion, contradicts its claim that it “fully supports freedom of expression and the free exchange of diverse ideas, beliefs and opinions.” Strike the word “fully” or add an asterisk to any number of those other words, and you’re in the ballpark.

The notion that expression can be free while subject to strict time and place

restrictions, with prior approval required, is censorship and gatekeeping disguised as safety.

It is reasonable to require students to seek prior approval before setting up a table to recruit for a recreational sports league, but holding students to the same standard in times of upheaval robs them of the opportunity of responding in the immediacy of the moment. The pace of the modern world is such that 48 hours may as well be 48 days. If student activities are in fact endangering the community, you can still respond accordingly and appropriately.

As to the recent protests, I applaud these students for standing up for trans people. That community has been undeservedly demonized and marginalized for political gain by disingenuous hucksters plying bigotry for power.

Professor David Tomasi says, “Saying an ideology is evil does not mean the people embracing such ideology are evil.”

I say equating gender identity with ideology erases the individual.

Trans people are people, deserving of respect, tolerance and the same peace Champlain purports to preserve with its policies.

And students deserve the right to truly free expression.

Erik Post

ESSEX

NURSE’S ORDERS

[Re From the Publisher: “Out of Joint, Continued,” April 29]: I am a retired registered nurse with both orthopedic and home health experience. I am also a former patient of Dr. John Begly.

Recovery from any ortho surgery is a challenging, up-and-down process. The best way to recover is to follow all recommendations from your physical therapy team and surgeon. Being weight-bearing does not equal it is OK to go to a party one day post-op. Paula Routly’s surgery was April 2. Her column was published less

CORRECTION

A vote tally was wrong in last week’s cover story, “Promises Too Steep.”

The Senate Education Committee voted 6-0 to extend the deadline for the PCB testing program.

CLARIFICATION

A story about the Green Mountain Youth Symphony in last week’s paper noted the town where composer Callum Robechek was born but not where he grew up. He is from Montpelier.

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Unfortunately, we don’t bounce back like we used to. The knee is a complex joint.

I had an arthroscopic hip labral repair

by Dr. Begly at Central Vermont Medical Center on January 28, 2024, at 66 years old. I had three months of pre-op PT but was still weaker on my operative leg pre-op because it hurt to bear weight, so I favored the leg. It took three months of post-op PT to regain normal strength and mobility. Now I am walking a 5K. I owe my ability to walk without pain to Dr. Begly, CVMC and PT360.

Please give time, your knee, your PT team and especially Dr. Begly a reasonable chance at recovery before your next op-ed.

Kathy Williams

COLCHESTER

GIMME SHELTER

As a University of Vermont sociology student, I was tremendously disappointed to read that Vermont’s largest day shelter, Burlington’s Community Resource Center, is endangered [“Food Plight: A Combined Community Resource Center and Food Shelf in Burlington Just Expanded. Now, Some Major Funding Is at Risk,” March 18].

The Burlington location of the Feeding Champlain Valley food shelf, where I have had the pleasure of interning this semester for a UVM course, shares the building and space with CRC. Every day I am there, I witness firsthand the profound impacts both FCV and CRC make in the community. Throughout the morning hours at the CRC, staff of FCV and volunteers work hard to provide

nourishing hot meals to community members. In the afternoon hours, CRC provides case management and resources for housing and survival for those in need.

CRC and the food shelf not only work together to provide necessary resources for daily life, survival and hardships but also provide the capacity for members in the community to build and maintain relationships. Day to day, I observe how powerful and uplifting these relationships are — both between the guests of CRC and FCV, and between guests and the staff of these organizations.

As stated in the article, if CRC loses its funding, it would be forced to close.

Champlain Valley Office of Economic Opportunity, Burlington’s mayor and others are advocating to continue the funding. It is imperative to support and defend these organizations, as well as understand their incredible contribution to the community.

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Emma Singer

BURLINGTON

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The Perfect Floatation Staycation

MAY 20-27, 2026 VOL.31 NO.37

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42

COLUMNS 13 Magnificent 7 15 From the Publisher 43 Side Dishes 56 Movie Review 93 Ask the Reverend

24 COVER DESIGN REV. DIANE SULLIVAN • IMAGE MATT MIGNANELLI

Healthy Living Challenges Union Election Results

FEATURES 30

Past Due

Lake Champlain’s waters are out of reach for many

Desperate for revenue, Burlington is aggressively pursuing overdue taxes and fees

16

NEWS+POLITICS 16 Tick Tack

Vermonters are changing what they do outdoors to avoid the growing risk of tick-borne illnesses

STUCK IN VERMONT

Cannabis Grower Faces Ban From Industry for Illegal Operation UVM Faces Enrollment Decline, $12 Million Budget Deficit

Blueberry picking, outdoor concerts, grazing sheep and retreats offer respite at Fayston’s Knoll Farm

Disc Drivers

With a growing number of worldclass courses and tournaments, Vermont has become a disc golf mecca

New Up North Online Thursday

Fresh things to do in Québec this season range from convivial spas to cultural hubs

ARTS+CULTURE 50 The Hot List

From the soccer pitch to the stage, here are Seven Days’ can’tmiss summer events

Plus... food trucks beer + cocktail garden

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SECTIONS 26 Life Lines 42 Food + Drink 50 Culture 56 On Screen 58 Art 62 Music + Nightlife 68 Calendar 76 Classes 77 Classifieds + Puzzles 89 Fun Stuff 92 Personals

Trance Rock

Review: The Gatepost, Tim Weed

Out of the Box

In “Cardtopia,” students build a cardboard world at Highland Center for the Arts

We have

VERMONT CRAFTS COUNCIL

Leading the Field Cardtopia is a wizard’s castle made with cardboard and creativity at the Highland Center for the Arts in Greensboro. Seven Days’ Eva Sollberger got a tour of the participatory art installation from Craftsbury Academy Middle School students who contributed cardboard art to the ever-evolving show, open through the end of July.

SUPPORTED BY:

With new art and a new executive director, big things are happening at Cold Hollow Sculpture Park

The Sounds of Summer

A guide to outdoor music in the Green Mountains

Find a new job in the classifieds section on page 82 and online at jobs.sevendaysvt.com.

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LIFE’S A BEACH

The Summer Preview offers fun in the sun — but also ticks 80 courses, including a few world-class ones, and has become a destination for high-level players and pro tournaments (page 36).

Looking for something more lowkey that will get you outside but also nurture your soul? Check out serene KNOLL FARM in Fayston, where blueberry picking, outdoor concerts, grazing sheep and retreats offer respite (page 34).

Or visit COLD HOLLOW SCULPTURE PARK in Enosburg Falls (page 58). The sprawling site features sculptor David Stromeyer’s massive outdoor installations and just brought in a new director with equally big plans.

You know where ticks won’t bother you?

On Lake Champlain. Problem is, getting out on the water can be harder than you think. The vast majority of Lake Champlain’s hundreds of miles of shoreline is private and inaccessible.

But EFFORTS TO IMPROVE LAKE ACCESS are under way (page 30).

In the meantime, the water sure is nice to look at, as are so many views in Vermont. So PACK A PICNIC — with help from new sandwich and provisions shops around the state — and go sit somewhere scenic (page 42).

Whatever you do this summer, enjoy it.

Because before you know it, the season of the ticks will turn into the season of the … well, you know.

SUMMER PREVIEW

FILE: OLVIER PARINI

T

o borrow and twist a line from Vermont songwriter Noah Kahan, “I love Vermont, but it’s the season of the ticks.” Indeed, those nibbly little demons are one of the few downsides to summer in the Green Mountains — the others being the potential for flooding (and also, weirdly, drought) and that the season here is so short.

The RISE IN THE TICK POPULATION and tickborne diseases has forced many Vermonters to rethink how they approach the outdoors (page 16). But as you’ll soon see, given how much fun stuff there is to do between Memorial Day and Labor Day, we think the extra precautions are worth it.

For starters, you’d be hard-pressed to find a single warm-weather weekend without several OUTDOOR MUSIC FESTIVALS or big-name acts playing somewhere pretty (page 62). And between the debut of a new women’s soccer team, numerous state and county fairs, food festivals, and summer theater, there are more great SUMMER EVENTS in the next few months than anyone could possibly attend (page 50). That doesn’t even take into account all the NEW THINGS TO DO IN QUÉBEC this season (page 38). Mon dieu!

But summer is about more than entertainment. You’ve also gotta get out there and make your own fun, maybe by picking up a new sport. Enthusiasts are already aware, but VERMONT IS A DISC GOLF MECCA. The state now boasts more than

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COURTESY IMAGES

LOOKING FORWARD

MAGNIFICENT

THURSDAY 21

Pedal to the Petal Outdoorsy activities abound at Bike Bloom, an annual harbinger of summer fun at Burlington’s Intervale Center. Cyclists of all abilities roll through their choice of five guided group excursions, then converge for the Bike Show, a competitive display of two-wheeled finery. The pedal-powered evening concludes with a community celebration complete with hot eats, cold bevvies and ice cream.

MUST SEE, MUST DO THIS WEEK

BY RE BE CCA D RISCOL L

SEE CALENDAR LISTING ON PAGE 70

FRIDAY 22 & SATURDAY 23

Bigger and Better Twenty-two-piece outfit Saturn People’s Sound Collective deliver deep grooves with back-to-back shows at the Big Picture Community Hub for the Arts in Waitsfield and Haybarn Theatre in Plainfield.

The genre-busting big band launches listeners out of this world with a performance of postmodern rock, enhanced by far-out visuals in Waitsfield by Burlington design studio Vanish Works.

SEE CALENDAR LISTINGS ON PAGES 71 AND 72

SATURDAY 23

May the Course Be With You Why do golfers carry extra socks? In case they get a hole in one! Dad jokes aside, Adventure Dinner BTV Mini Golf Scavenger Hunt transforms Burlington’s Church Street Marketplace into a walkable putt-putt course with 18 stops at hot spots around town. Chef-prepared box lunches of sandwich wraps and maple blondies keep players fueled for the friendly competition.

SEE CALENDAR LISTING ON PAGE 72

SUNDAY 24

SOLE MATES

Fleet-footed participants tackle a 26.2-mile doubleloop course through Burlington’s scenic streets, parks and waterfront paths at the M&T Bank Vermont City Marathon & Relay. The annual test of endurance — and the state’s largest singleday sporting event — summons thousands of runners and spectators for an uplifting display of camaraderie and community spirit.

SATURDAY 23

United We Stand The poignant theme “All Gave Some, Some Gave All” sets the tone for the 39th annual Essex Memorial Day Parade, traversing the town’s main drags. An opening tribute at Veterans Memorial Park honors military sacrifices, followed by the patriotic procession of eye-catching floats, melodic marching bands and local civic groups.

SEE CALENDAR LISTING ON PAGE 73

SEE CALENDAR LISTING ON PAGE 72

CLOSES FRIDAY 29

Right Down the Line OPENS SUNDAY 24

Themes of feminism, community and social reform emerge from a lifetime of work by local artist Robin Lloyd at Burlington City Hall. Comprehensive retrospective “Through Lines” showcases six decades of rarely or never-before-seen visual works by the Queen City pillar. Don’t miss Sunday’s reception, featuring a curated selection of Lloyd’s thought-provoking short films.

To Be Blunt Bold new musical comedy Grow brings a cast of rising stars, inspired choreography and a whole lot of heart to Montréal’s Segal Centre for Performing Arts. Family, faith and forbidden fruit take center stage when Amish siblings Hannah and Ruth leave their sheltered upbringing for an unforgettable trip, prompting an unexpected entrepreneurial venture into cannabis growing.

SEE ART LISTING ON PAGE 60

“The Golden Key”

SEE CALENDAR LISTING ON PAGE 73

BROWSE THE FULL CALENDAR, ART SHOWS, AND MUSIC+NIGHTLIFE LISTINGS AT SEVENDAYSVT.COM. SEVEN DAYS MAY 20-27, 2026

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Discover a beautifully restored Greek Revival home rescued from the brink of demolition following a fire and enjoy the clean lines and sweeping views of a stunning mid-century modern house.

Featuring six remarkable properties, captivating interiors, and fascinating stories from Burlington’s past, this self-guided tour is made possible by our wonderful community volunteers. Join us for a memorable day of architecture, history, and discovery—plus light refreshments along the way!

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FROM THE PUBLISHER

Critical Condition Seven Days book critic Margot Harrison couldn’t get enough of Tim Weed’s 2025 “cli-fi” novel, The Afterlife Project. In this week’s issue, she reviews the Putney author’s latest release, The Gatepost. In the May 13 paper, we published a feature on investigative journalist Jasper Craven of Barnet, who has a new book, God Forgives, Brothers Don’t, that exposes the toxic masculinity in U.S. military academies.

Also in that edition was a short piece on Pollock’s Last Lover,

by Charlotte novelist Stephen P. Kiernan.

The week before that, Seven Days reported the results of the Vermont Book Awards. The story referenced our reviews of three of the four winning works, by Sasha

the number was 20 at best. What would it be now? Two? Three?”

In February the Washington Post announced the end of its stand-alone weekly literary section, Book World.

“A lonely and shellshocked survivor of this demise,” as he describes himself, Garner is now one of an estimated five full-time book critics left in America. He argues that America’s literature is imperiled without “serious, fervent and quick-witted criticism: public talk, back and forth, between competing voices, in something like real time.”

Garner’s career in journalism started here in Vermont: While a student at Middlebury College, he became a stringer for both the New York Times and the Vanguard Press, Burlington’s original alternative weekly. His editor at the latter was Pamela Polston, future cofounder of Seven Days.

COURTESY IMAGES

FROM OUR FIRST ISSUE, ALMOST 31 YEARS AGO, SEVEN DAYS HAS BEEN A HAVEN FOR VERMONT AUTHORS.

Hom, Mima Tipper and Helen Whybrow. Members of our culture team have been writing about the awards ceremony’s keynote speaker, poet Bianca Stone — in more than a dozen reviews, stories and interviews — since 2002.

From our first issue, almost 31 years ago, Seven Days has been a haven for Vermont authors. We can’t consistently acknowledge all of their books — the collective output is too great — but we come pretty darn close. Simply put, there’s a lot of literary criticism in these pages. In a state that’s home to multiple writers’ programs and residencies, as well as a vibrant network of independent booksellers and literary events, it’s an essential part of our cultural coverage.

Increasingly, though, media outlets in print and online have abandoned this “content” — as it’s now called, which in itself is a good indication of where most news publishers are heading.

In a recent piece, New York Times book critic Dwight Garner acknowledged the “near-extinction-level wipeout of the American book review,” a silent tragedy that “few have noticed.”

“Only yesterday, it seems, nearly every American newspaper, dozens and dozens of them, even in midsize cities, ran book reviews by local critics,” Garner writes. “In the 1960s, a good first novel might receive 90 individual newspaper reviews in America and England, the novelist Reynolds Price wrote in his memoir ‘Ardent Spirits.’ By 2009, the year ‘Ardent Spirits’ was issued, he reckoned

Between those papers, Garner and I worked together at the Vermont Times, where he was my editor. While by day he assigned, edited and assembled the arts and culture section, by night he wrote freelance book reviews for the Village Voice, the Boston Phoenix, the San Francisco Bay Guardian and the Oxford American.

I looked on in amazement — and Salieri-like envy — as Garner moonlighted his way out of Vermont to book editor jobs at Salon, then Harper’s Bazaar and finally the New York Times Book Review. After a decade there, he became a book critic for the main paper. Since 2008, he’s written a review almost every week. I don’t know a more talented writer.

So, I’ll give him the last word on the importance of reading and writing about books. Garner concludes: “I’m cheered by the young critics out there, swimming in this sea without drowning in it, trying not to be cast into gaol by their creditors, and working to make certain that the last snatch of book criticism isn’t three fire emojis, two jazz-hands, a crying face and a facepalm.”

I’m proud to say: Almost every week, Seven Days is doing its part.

Paula Routly If you like Seven Days and can help pay for it, become a Super Reader!

Look for the “Donate” button at the top of sevendaysvt.com. Or send a check with your address and contact info to: SEVEN DAYS, C/O SUPER READERS P.O. BOX 1164 BURLINGTON, VT 05402-1164

Need more info? Want to give from a donor-advised fund or through a qualified charitable contribution?

Contact Gillian English: 802-865-1020, EXT. 115 SUPERREADERS@SEVENDAYSVT.COM

SEVEN DAYS MAY 20-27, 2026

15

LABOR JULIANNA BRAZILL

news

Healthy Living Challenges Union Election Results S TO RY & PH O TO B Y A A RO N C A LV I N calvin@sevendaysvt.com

Workers at a press conference outside Healthy Living last week

Tick Tack

Vermonters are changing what they do outdoors to avoid the growing risk of tick-borne illnesses B Y S A S HA G OL D ST EIN • sasha@sevendaysvt.com

A

fter years of apartment living, Francis McGill and his wife, Charlotte, found their little slice of Vermont heaven in 2019: a home on 10 acres of land in South Starksboro with a greenhouse, woods and a brook. Their son could play safely there. Wild animals frequently traipse across the lawn.

“We saw a bobcat eating a woodchuck once,” McGill recalled in a recent interview.

“It’s like a haiku, living where we are,” he said. “All the seasons and the quiet, the peace of mind.” He paused. “And then you have these ticks.”

The tiny arachnids have changed his family’s sunny outlook about the place, McGill said. They’ve found ticks hiding in their hair, behind their 4-year-old son’s ear and, in one particularly horrifying instance, attached to McGill’s scrotum.

More ticks seem to appear each year.

The family’s worries about tick-borne illnesses mean they think harder about 16

SEVEN DAYS MAY 20-27, 2026

where they walk and play and are extra vigilant when they go back inside.

“It kind of limits the little universe for us,” McGill said.

In the past two decades, tick populations and cases of the hard-to-pronounce diseases they cause have risen rapidly in

SUMMER PREVIEW

Vermont, posing a dilemma for residents and tourists drawn to the outdoor beauty of the Green Mountains. In interviews, emails and social media posts, Vermonters told Seven Days how they have altered where or when they’ll walk in the woods, how they dress, and which chemicals they

apply to their clothes, bodies and backyards. Some have stopped composting, sealed cracks in their walls and pulled down bird feeders to avoid attracting the rodents and deer that ticks cling to. Other people have even abandoned outdoor hobbies they love.

With no apparent solution to the soaring tick population — and no vaccines to prevent the illnesses ticks can transmit — experts in the field say such watchfulness is the best way to avoid bites in the first place. More lifestyle changes seem likely for the future.

“You can get a tick at any time of the year,” said Patti Casey, the environmental surveillance program director at the Vermont Agency of Agriculture, Food and Markets. “We have found them in January and February … We need to be vigilant 12 months of the year.”

TICK TACK

» P.20

The owners of Healthy Living markets are contesting their employees’ successful union vote and seeking to invalidate the results.

At the same time, the union the employees hope to join, Workers United, has filed unfair labor practice allegations against Healthy Living and accused it of “union busting” tactics.

Employees at the market’s three stores in Vermont and New York State voted on April 30 to unionize by a margin of 105-69. But in a May 8 filing with the National Labor Relations Board, Healthy Living alleged that Workers United had illegally pressured its employees ahead of the election.

In the complaint, Healthy Living accused Workers United of engaging in coercion, “electioneering and campaign activity that exceeded lawful limits.”

The complaint also claims that some of Healthy Living’s own employees were “serving as union organizers” and “acting as agents of Workers United.”

In response, members of the organizing committee at Healthy Living and Workers United held a press conference outside the market’s flagship South Burlington store last week. They urged ownership to withdraw the complaint and negotiate in good faith.

The unfair labor practices complaint filed by Workers United alleges that managers broke federal regulations meant to protect the right to unionize.

Employees suspected of supporting the union effort were interrogated, surveilled, disciplined and retaliated against, according to the complaint.

Healthy Living was founded by Katy Lesser in 1986 and is managed by her children, Eli and Nina Lesser-Goldsmith.

Eli Lesser-Goldsmith did not return multiple requests for comment.

At the May 13 press conference, Paul Podbielski, a worker at the South Burlington store, called out the LesserGoldsmiths for refusing to recognize the union.

“To the owners, Katy, Nina and Eli, we are proud of our democratic decision to unionize, and we stand firm by our decision,” he said. “I know that this union can work collaboratively with you instead of in opposition. The organizing committee has worked to correspond with the essential values that make Healthy Living a one-of-a-kind place to be.” ➆

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Past Due

Desperate for revenue, Burlington is aggressively pursuing overdue taxes and fees

DISCOVER THE PEACE OF MIND of being outside of the city in a neighborhood that offers a rare blend of convenience and tranquility. Schedule your tour of Village at Autumn Pond and see why our residents love it here.

BY AARON CALVIN • calvin@sevendaysvt.com

A

t first glance, two split-level rental properties in Burlington have little in common.

One, on Mansfield Avenue, is a blue house with shingle siding in good repair. The other is set back from Colchester Court, its faded yellow exterior looking the worse for wear.

Peter Zuk, an executive at a title insurance agency, owns both. But he could lose them under a new city initiative to collect unpaid property taxes, which could lead to them being auctioned off. Zuk owes a combined $207,432 on the properties, with some of the debt dating back to 2020.

When asked to comment, Zuk declined.

Following a pandemic-era moratorium on delinquent tax collection, the city is now calling in IOUs on nearly 40 properties. In each case, the owner has failed to pay at least $1,500 in taxes for more than a year. Owners must either make good on their taxes, agree to repay-

PROPERTY TAXES FUND ESSENTIAL CITY SERVICES,

AND THE CITY HAS A RESPONSIBILITY TO COLLECT THEM FAIRLY AND CONSISTENTLY. J E N Z A KA RAS

ment plans or face a forced sale of their property.

Interest and penalties can compound quickly: Each late payment is hit with a one-time 8 percent penalty fee. Another 4 percent interest is levied if a property owner is late on their fourth-quarter installment.

The delinquent property tax collection is part of a broader effort by Mayor Emma Mulvaney-Stanak to collect money owed to the city on everything from neglected parking tickets to taxes that businesses owe on food, alcohol and entertainment.

All told, the city hopes to collect $1 million — revenue the mayor is banking

on to help balance next year’s budget. The city is owed more than $1.9 million in property taxes that it can try to collect; debts more than 15 years old get written off per state regulations.

Not every official is on board. City Council President Ben Traverse (D-Ward 5) is concerned that turning up the heat on property owners in arrears is a bad look that won’t ultimately bring in as much money as the mayor hopes.

“The tax sale of homes that folks are living in is a pretty draconian response,” Traverse said, “and I’m anticipating there being a lot of pushback if that’s the direction that the city is ultimately planning on going in.”

State regulations aim to keep people in their homes, whether they rent or own, and that’s the city’s preferred outcome as well, said Katherine Schad, Burlington’s chief administrative officer.

Most of the properties on the tax sale list are vacant, according to Bill Ward, director of permitting and inspections. For those that aren’t, he pledged to respect tenants’ rights.

In rental-heavy Burlington, just 40 percent of homes are owner-occupied.

Councilor Carter Neubieser (P-Ward 1) said that in private conversations, councilors on both sides of the aisle appeared to support stepping up collections, which he called “not a particularly radical idea.”

The mayor’s office promised an evenhanded approach. “It’s understandable that restarting tax sales after a pandemicera pause may raise concerns,” said Jen Zakaras, the mayor’s deputy chief of staff. “At the same time, property taxes fund essential city services, and the city has a responsibility to collect them fairly and consistently.”

When property taxes go unpaid, local municipalities bear the budget impact.

They must submit the education portion of property taxes to the state regardless of whether the owners have made good on their bill — meaning unpaid property taxes can hit municipalities hard. As Seven Days recently reported,

BURLINGTON

PAST DUE

.

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news ROB DONNELLY

Past Due « P.17 unpaid taxes in some towns, such as Cambridge, have forced leaders to pare their spending.

As of mid-April, a city outreach program got the owners of 14 Burlington parcels who collectively owe $660,000 on repayment plans, avoiding tax sales.

A lawyer retained by the city is notifying owners who owe an additional $674,000 on 20 parcels that they could be sold at auction.

Alan Bjerke is a Burlington attorney who sits on the city’s Board of Tax Appeals, which sets the taxable value for properties and hears the appeals if those values are contested. He also often buys properties at tax sales, including a dilapidated Queen City condominium he recently rehabbed into a rental.

He thinks the mayor should be even more aggressive in going after tax scofflaws.

“When you advertise and you tell somebody, ‘We’re going to sell your property for taxes,’ 90 percent of them pay up before you get to the tax sale,” he said. “So the fact that Burlington just doesn’t threaten means that people don’t bother, and they’ll keep their money in their pocket until the last possible second.”

Bjerke called out Stowe philanthropist Rick Davis, who owes nearly $50,000 in taxes going back decades on two properties that are part of the Pine Street Barge Canal Superfund site. In recent years, Davis has been a financial driving force behind the Let’s Grow Kids nonprofit, which successfully lobbied the legislature to institute a new payroll tax to help fund childcare subsidies.

In an interview, he said he refuses to pay what he owes for the Superfund properties on principle, arguing that the land is worthless.

“It doesn’t make sense to pay taxes on something that doesn’t have any value,” Davis said. “I always pay my bills on time. This is an exception, and I’ve spoken to the city at length about it over the years.”

Davis has been trying to sell an adjacent property, a less toxic brownfield, for years. The site is now being considered for cleanup and a 112-unit housing project. If it moves forward, Davis has pledged to donate his Superfund property to the city. Advocates with the group Friends of the Barge Canal believe it could become a new park within the rapidly developing South End. Meantime, the city has put the Superfund properties on its tax sale list and is seeking to recoup $25,927 of what’s 18

SEVEN DAYS MAY 20-27, 2026

owed — or the amount of back taxes that have accumulated within the past 15 years.

Delinquent property taxes aren’t the only debts the mayor’s office is pursuing.

The city also has plans to recoup about $800,000 in gross receipts taxes owed by

on improvements to its invoicing system and the addition of another employee to manage a more aggressive collections effort.

“I suspect that for a number of these folks that have not been up-to-date with the gross receipts, it’s because they’re

WHEN PROPERTY TAXES GO UNPAID,

LOCAL MUNICIPALITIES BEAR THE BUDGET IMPACT.

restaurants, bars, hotels and entertainment venues. As of early April, 108 businesses owed the city, but just one — on the hook for about $15,000 — was on a repayment plan.

Traverse is concerned that, absent the same blunt instrument as a tax sale, the city will be unable to collect on this money owed. The city can’t put a lien on a business simply for failing to pay its gross receipts tax and is instead relying

struggling financially, and I imagine it could be difficult for us to secure that kind of back payment,” Traverse said. He has suggested the city look for administrative inefficiencies across departments and make deeper cuts instead of relying on pursuing this revenue.

Mulvaney-Stanak is also using the prospect of enhanced fees to collect debts. A city ordinance approved last year doubled what officials charge

the owners of vacant buildings, to $1,500 each quarter — $6,000 annually.

Mulvaney-Stanak has tasked Ward to get more aggressive in collecting.

In an October 2023 cover story, Seven Days documented some of the city’s most high-profile vacant buildings. One, the former Bove’s Café, closed in 2015 and remains boarded up, leading to some $10,000 in fines. But the owners, Rick and Mark Bove, have submitted plans to demolish the place to build housing there, which would reduce their quarterly fee to $200.

About 30 buildings in the city are considered vacant.

Ward pointed to a recent success story — a run-down, vacant home on St. Paul Street that sports a red-and-white X sign posted by the city to warn firefighters that the interior is so dangerously dilapidated that they shouldn’t attempt to enter, even if a blaze were to break out.

After pressure from the city, the owner put the home up for sale earlier this year.

It was scooped up within a month.

According to city records, the owner was past due on $25,964 of back taxes.

City officials collected the debt as part of the building’s sale. ➆

And on the seventh day, we do not rest.

Instead we bring you...

CANNABIS

Cannabis Grower Faces Ban From Industry for Illegal Operation B Y S AS H A G O L D S T E I N • sasha@sevendaysvt.com FILE: JEB WALLACE-BRODEUR

Vermont regulators plan to revoke the license of one of the state’s most successful cannabis cultivators, alleging that the owners ran an offthe-books grow operation and, when confronted, lied about it and destroyed evidence.

The owners of Forbins Finest, a Barre-based indoor grower, must pay a $60,000 fine and are banned from participating in all aspects of Vermont’s licensed cannabis marketplace. That means Nicholas Mattei and his wife, Angela Payette, must also relinquish their ownership stakes in a manufacturing license and their cannabis retail shop, Forbins Reserve, in Barre.

“Tolerating willful provision of false information and concealment of evidence is unfair to rule-abiding licensees, and it makes licensing regulation untenable,” the Vermont Cannabis Control Board wrote in its May 15 ruling. “A licensee that will not be candid cannot be regulated, and a licensee that cannot be regulated cannot hold a license.”

The 17-page ruling says Forbins’ grow license is suspended immediately. The board’s decision does include a provision that would allow the owners to avoid full revocation if, by November 16, they “present a credible accounting of relevant events and a corrective action plan that, in the Board’s judgment, would enable the Board to have confidence in Respondent’s prospective candor and compliance.”

According to the order, Mattei and Payette’s other two licenses would not be affected if they divest from them.

In a series of text messages with Seven Days, Mattei denied allegations of illicit activity and said he would appeal.

“Angela and I in the meantime are going to step away from the company, at least temporarily during the appeal process to allow the company, its partners and employees to continue operations,” he wrote.

If the decision stands, it would mark the downfall of one of the industry’s success stories. Mattei was considered a “legacy grower” on the illicit market — and served time in prison for a 2006 cannabis conviction — before he joined the regulated one when it opened in 2022.

Mattei and Payette were among the first to get a license, one that allows them to grow up to 5,000 square feet of indoor cannabis canopy. They quickly earned a reputation for heady buds, which they sold at their Barre shop and some 20 others statewide.

But the business had been the subject of at least three anonymous complaints about shady practices, something Mattei attributed to a disgruntled former employee. Last October, state compliance

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From left: Angela Payette and Nicholas Mattei with Scott Rodd in 2022 officers began investigating an allegation of an illegal cannabis grow at a vacant home that Mattei and Payette own in rural Northfield.

Compliance officers later witnessed a former Forbins employee, Scott Rodd, move eight apparent cannabis plants from the Northfield property. He also burned some cannabis in a fireplace.

Regulators obtained utility bills for the property and found that the home “consumed an extraordinary volume of electricity,” with an average monthly bill of nearly $900 and a high of nearly $1,600 from late 2024 to late 2025.

The Cannabis Control Board issued the company a notice of violation in December and held a quasi-judicial hearing on April 30. As proof that Forbins wouldn’t risk its livelihood for such a small illegal grow, Payette testified to how well their legal cannabis business was doing, saying they raked in $8 million annually in gross revenue. Since getting a license, she said, they had not sold illegal cannabis, and, she noted, investigators had never actually proved they were growing or selling it.

Payette said they’d lost $200,000 in sales while the investigation dragged on, and some retailers refused to carry their product until there was a resolution.

Their bank had also dropped them, she testified, and the company’s brand had been tarnished.

“It’s literally been one nightmare after another,” she said.

But at every step, the board wrote in its ruling, Mattei and Rodd outright lied or changed their stories about what was actually happening at the Northfield house. While the illegal grow operation was a serious violation, the board wrote, the cover-up was worse than the crime.

“The many talented cannabis entrepreneurs in Vermont should know that the Board’s first priorities are compliance and public protection; punishment is not our brief,” it wrote. “The appropriate response to regulatory scrutiny, even if there has been a mistake, is disclosure.” ➆

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news Tick Tack « P.16 That advice is a marked change from even 25 years ago, when tick-borne illnesses were rarely seen in Vermont.

Several people who spoke with Seven Days, including Casey, recalled childhoods playing in meadows and rolling in grass without a second thought.

But as the climate warmed toward the end of the 20th century, researchers observed the steady northward march of tick species, including the Lyme diseasecarrying black-legged, or deer, tick, which became firmly established in Vermont in the early 2000s.

While some 15 types of ticks are found in Vermont, the black-legged one is the source of nearly all related illnesses in humans. The ticks don’t jump, fall or fly off vegetation onto unsuspecting people or wildlife. Black-legged ticks are passive hunters that go “questing,” Casey said, which involves attaching to a potential meal when one walks by. For tiny, barely visible newborn larvae in the spring, that’s usually a mouse or chipmunk. As ticks grow bigger, they climb and lurk among knee-high grasses and shrubs, especially invasives such as Japanese barberry and honeysuckle, with which a passerby might make contact.

“If you walk down a path and you’re able to not brush up against the vegetation, you’re 99.9 percent not going to get a tick on you,” Casey said.

Ticks are typically not active below 32 degrees Fahrenheit, but even one day above freezing in the middle of January will allow them to seek a blood meal, she said. Temperatures need to be extremely low — below about minus 23 degrees — to kill ticks, and even heavy snowfall won’t do them in. Instead, the blanket of white creates a humid, more temperate zone for the critters, which wait out the winter amid dead leaves on the ground.

With more winter days above freezing each year and less extreme cold to supress them, tick populations have soared — as has the number of people afflicted with the diseases they spread.

“I’ve read about ticks being referred to as ‘nature’s dirty needles,’ and I believe it,” Karla Bushway said. The 50-year-old South Strafford woman contracted Lyme disease from a tick bite in spring 2021.

“I’ve never been that sick in my life,” Bushway said. “I had a headache that lasted for 12 days. I thought I was going insane.”

Bushway said she still has lingering effects she attributes to the infection, including occasional days when she wakes up feeling crummy. When she’s doing yard work now, she puts bug spray on her boots and pants and is diligent 20

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about checking herself for ticks. But one slipup can spell disaster.

“I sort of got a little lazy the other day and was squatting on the ground by the woodpile,” Bushway said. “When I came in, I took my sweatshirt off, and I had three dog ticks crawling up the outside of my T-shirt.”

For Meg Oceanna, 63, treading anywhere near tick territory in warm weather is just not worth the risk anymore. She routinely turns down invitations to do things she enjoys: hiking, bird-watching or picking wildflowers. On her rural Rockingham property, Oceanna has mowed most of the grass short rather than leaving it tall as cover for wildlife.

Her fears stem from the excruciating, daylong headaches brought on by a case of Lyme, her third, two years ago.

“I thought, I would actually rather be dead at this point than have to endure yet another day,” Oceanna recalled.

VERMONT HAS AMONG THE HIGHEST RATES OF LYME DISEASE IN THE COUNTRY

BY POPULATION.

The risk of tick bites is a particular challenge for Vermonters who work in the woods or farm fields. Cheryl Frank Sullivan, a University of Vermont researcher who specializes in integrated pest management, recently conducted a survey of farmers, asking how ticks have altered their quality of life. Their biggest complaint was having to spend money on personal protection and treatment of tickborne illnesses, while also avoiding certain areas of their property. The full results are expected to be published soon.

Vermont has among the highest rates of Lyme disease in the country by population, and Casey said slightly more than half of adult black-legged ticks tested in the state are carrying the bacteria that causes Lyme. Two other tick-borne diseases that are tracked in Vermont — anaplasmosis and babesiosis — are each found in fewer than one in 10 tested ticks, she said.

While a bull’s-eye rash is a common sign of Lyme, it’s not always present, and there are no similar warning signs for anaplasmosis or babesiosis. The three illnesses have similar symptoms and can resemble the flu: fever, chills, headache and malaise, according to Natalie Kwit, the state’s public health veterinarian. Close to a third of people who report having

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contracted anaplasmosis or babesiosis end up hospitalized, she said. The diseases are mostly diagnosed in people 50 and older.

All three illnesses grow worse without prompt treatment, so some providers may recommend treating with antibiotics — even without a positive test — if someone who’s been in tick habitat falls ill with these symptoms during the warmer months. Babesiosis, though, requires treatment with other drugs, as it’s caused by a parasite rather than a bacteria.

One emerging, and extremely serious, tick-borne illness is not yet systematically tracked in Vermont. Alpha-gal syndrome can create an allergic reaction to red meat. Although it’s caused by the lone star tick, which is not considered established in Vermont, the syndrome “is something we’re watching,” Kwit said.

In the meantime, the Pfizer pharmaceutical company has completed human trials of a Lyme vaccine for which it is seeking U.S. Food & Drug Administration approval. The vaccine could be available as soon as next year, Kwit said.

“It’s just for Lyme disease,” she added, “but it would be nice to see another tool in our toolbox out there.”

Absent that, Underhill resident Chris Varney has tried to build as many defenses as possible into her daily routine. She and her husband have lived on their 45-acre wooded property for 50 years but only perceived a tick problem in the past decade or so.

Varney, a 77-year-old retired librarian, uses a spreadsheet to meticulously track every tick they find. She encases them in a piece of Scotch tape, then labels each with the place she found it and the date.

The worst year so far was 2021, when she contracted anaplasmosis.

“High fever, chills, shaking, a terrible headache and just really feeling rotten,” Varney recalled. “Worse than flu, for sure.”

To avoid ticks, Varney walks the same wide three-mile trail through the woods behind her home. She wears the same hiking clothes, which she sprays with permethrin, an Environmental Protection Agency-approved insecticide for the arachnids. She soaks a headband in conventional bug spray and tucks her pants into her socks.

If it’s warm out, Varney takes a dip in her pond to wash off any hitchhikers. In the winter, she brushes her hair over the sink to shake loose any ticks. She runs a lint roller over her clothes to complete the check.

“It’s kind of a pain in the neck,” Varney said. “But it’s just part of my daily routine.”

Despite the precautions, Varney had a tick bite earlier this spring. The doctor who examined it prescribed antibiotics — just in case. ➆

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The University of Vermont is projecting a sizable loss of undergrads next year, spurring it to make cuts to offset the reduction in revenue from tuition.

Alicia Estey, the university’s vice president for finance, administration and human resources, and Jay Jacobs, vice president for enrollment management, broke the news in a May 13 letter to UVM staff. The university is projecting a 7 percent decline in undergraduate enrollment next school year, including a 15 percent drop in first-year and transfer students. This year, UVM has approximately 11,600 undergraduate students.

Because tuition makes up more than two-thirds of UVM’s general fund, the administrators wrote, the projected decline has created an approximately $12 million general-fund deficit.

The university plans to address the shortfall by reducing its fiscal year 2027 general-fund budget by 3.25 percent and making additional cuts in housing, dining and other departments.

Some of the strategies to find cost reductions include reviewing staffing “to identify compensation-related savings short of broad layoffs,” “reviewing university-owned and leased space,” and tightening spending on nonlabor expenses such as software, consulting and travel. UVM leadership will forego raises this fiscal year.

In an interview on May 13, Jacobs said the university is exploring various ways to boost its undergraduate admission numbers. Those include more outreach to prospective and admitted students and engagement with high-school counselors. The school is considering how to better align its programs with students’ interests.

UVM will “continue to strategically use our financial-aid dollars to make sure that this place is affordable and accessible for all students,” Jacobs said.

But he acknowledged that UVM will have to contend with “the undergraduate dip” for years to come.

Nationally, the number of collegeage students is falling, Jacobs said, “and is projected to continue to fall year-overyear for some amount of time.” ➆

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FEED back « ‘INCOME SENSITIVITY’ FOR SOME

It is unfortunate that some lawmakers believe Vermont’s current struggle with high property taxes is because “income sensitivity has gotten out of whack” [“Tax Burdened: Education Reform Won’t Address Property Tax Rates for Years. As Delinquencies Rise in Pockets of Vermont, Leaders Seek Both Short- and Long-Term Solutions,” April 8]. In fact, it is the opposite. Our high property taxes, specifically education property tax, are in part a result of 20 years of income sensitivity that only recently began to get in whack.

Why do property taxes increase?

Because a majority of the electorate votes for them. Why does a majority vote for tax increases in Vermont? Because over the past 20-plus years, a majority of the electorate did not feel the full effect of the tax due to income sensitivity.

By the way, this is the same line of reasoning that Burlington Mayor Emma Mulvaney-Stanak used in her failed attempt to exempt a portion of a home’s assessed value when calculating property taxes [“Burlington Councilors to Study Tax Fairness Proposal,” October 21, 2025].

Such plans are not so much about helping people, but rather about how, when governments overextend themselves, as they frequently do in Vermont, it makes tax increases more likely to pass and therefore easier for governments to tax their way out of their mistakes.

The way to resolve high property taxes is to reduce spending and/or grow the tax base. Unfortunately, the current focus for the immediate term seems to be on adjusting the income sensitivity. The past 20 years tell us that will continue to make a bad situation worse.

Clifford Morgan

BURLINGTON

REPEAL ACTS 181 AND 59

[Re “Act of Contrition? Vermont Lawmakers Added Special Protections for Rural Land Two Years Ago. Facing a Revolt, They Now Favor Repeal,” April 22]: The legislature in Montpelier is dysfunctional at this point, basically driving longtime rural Vermonters to move to other states.

Acts 181 and 59, pretending to be about the environment and housing, will hurt all rural Vermonters and our land values and make it very difficult and expensive to build anything on your own land. I have lived in California, where you cannot fart without a permit, and it’s not working; it drives people and businesses out. Unfortunately, the Vermont legislature seems to be following the California model. Using “protecting the environment” as an excuse to push these acts is deceiving.

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MASS. BACKWARDS

[“Tax and Defend: Some Democrats Say It’s Time to Raise Taxes on Vermont’s Richest Residents Despite Gov. Scott’s Veto Threat,” April 29] referenced a Massachusetts policy director supporting Vermont’s desire to implement a wealth tax on the state’s highest ratepayers. His shortsighted analysis of Massachusetts’ 4 percent income tax surcharge, which he called an “unmitigated success,” only highlights a partial truth: that taxes raise revenue. The warnings of tax flight from the state’s highest earners were far from overblown.

In the first year of implementation, Internal Revenue Service data show approximately 30,000 taxpayers leaving Massachusetts, taking with them a net overflow of adjusted gross income totaling $4.2 billion, 70 percent of which comes from high earners making more than $200,000 a year. It’s more when you add the downstream activity related to this income.

When high earners flee the state, it reduces the tax base, placing more burden on those who stay.

Scott Wentzell EAST HARDWICK

‘THINK BIG!’

Democrats and Progressives aren’t thinking big enough with their tax hikes.

The “Tax and Defend” piece [April 29] detailing their 12.7 percent income tax proposal cites academics with data that high earners will accept higher income tax rates and not move out of Vermont.

If that is the case, why not raise income tax rates on high-income Vermonters to 25 percent, or 50 percent, or 75 percent?

Think big!

P.S. Ben Cohen will be happy to know that he may raise his own tax rate anytime if he thinks it’s too low. The

Of course we all care about the environment, and Vermont has no urgent environmental issues, being extremely sparsely populated and with most landowners caring very much about the environment and taking very good care of their land.

Repeal Acts 181 and 59. We should all familiarize ourselves and write letters, make phone calls and vote, since it affects your land use and value. There is a Facebook page dedicated to the issue.

I am a lifelong Democrat. The Democrats and Progressives in Montpelier created and pushed Acts 181 and 59, so let’s not make them look good for favoring

Vermont Department of Taxes will gladly accept voluntary contributions above and beyond his statutory tax obligations.

Chris Harvey ESSEX TOWN

PAY TO PAVE

If they are so eager, what’s holding Ben Cohen and the 20 letter signers back from voluntarily paying more taxes [“Tax and Defend,” April 29]? Maybe one of them could pay for repaving the interstate through Chittenden County and fill the holes on the Winooski River bridge.

Kimberly Martell SOUTH HERO

‘SHARED RESPONSIBILITY’

I thank Kevin McCallum for [“Tax and Defend,” April 29]. This proposal is hardly punitive. It is long overdue. Ever since the Reagan Revolution, tax policy at the state and federal levels has consistently favored the wealthiest Americans.

The top 1 percent have benefited not only from these incessant federal tax cuts on

rollback reforms; they created the problems in the first place. Don’t vote for anybody who supports 181/59. These bills were written and pushed through without the input of rural Vermonters who make up 66 percent of Vermont’s population.

Repeal 181 and 59. Vote out anybody who supports them.

Sean Ingoldsby

TUNBRIDGE

CURIOUS SLOVAK

This is the rare letter to the editor about a classified ad, entitled “Slavic Life” [April

their behalf but also from an economy now structured to reward capital over labor. Asking the 1 percent to contribute a little more is hardly punitive to them — it is a recognition of shared responsibility we have together.

So many working Vermonters — including me, who at 70 years old still has to work full time — live daily on the fine edge of financial disaster and homelessness. It is almost like we have been forced into indentured servitude in an economy that we serve but that does not work for us. This proposal begins to rebalance that equation. It says prosperity should not come at the expense of everyone else.

Opponents consistently argue that higher taxes will drive away wealthy residents. Yet it rarely materializes at the predicted scale. People choose to live in Vermont for its quality of life, not just its tax rates. Strong schools, infrastructure and health care systems — all funded by taxes — are part of that appeal.

Fairness is not class warfare. It is the foundation of a healthy democracy.

Walter Carpenter

MONTPELIER

29]. I am Slovak. To clarify, all Slovaks are Slavic, but not all Slavic people are Slovak!

The classified ad lists no link or instructions. Your online classified ad provides a YouTube link, which includes exactly one video of a car in a parking lot. Very Sovietera. Alas, it appears the Vermont Slavic Life Movement is either a hidden society (a bit KGB), or Slavs lack the social media skills of the 21st century. Any organization that is so hell-bent on keeping this Slovak from joining is the one I’m yearning to be part of!

Ric Cengeri

COLCHESTER

ASK THE MAYOR

In [“Burlington Council Green-Lights Major South End Development,” May 12, online], Aaron Calvin writes: “Though Mayor Emma Mulvaney-Stanak has criticized her predecessors for their overreliance on [tax-increment financing] districts to fund housing and infrastructure projects, which she has said contributed to the city’s desultory yearover-year increase in taxable property, she singled out this particular plan for praise.”

Did you ask why the mayor changed her opinion? Perhaps she had a good reason; perhaps she had no reason; perhaps she’ll refuse to answer the question. If it’s worth noting the mayor’s past position on TIFs, your readers deserve to know why it has or hasn’t changed or if this project is an exception.

Mark Floegel

BURLINGTON

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culture.

Jane and Bob Pomykala circa 1990

— and Jane Booth Pomykala’s critical role [“Asparagus Days: In Grand Isle, Pomykala Farm Starts Its 49th Season Without a Beloved Cofounder,” May 6].

Jane was my first graduate student at the University of Vermont, and one of the very best.

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Tom Hudspeth

BURLINGTON

POOR REPORTING ON HOUSING CRISIS

the economic consensus. Its evidence is that home sales in Burlington went from 166 in 2003 to 100 in 2023, while investor purchases went from 3 to 12 percent.

According to their own numbers, five houses were bought by nonresidents in 2003 and 12 in 2023. Eighty-eight homes, the overwhelming majority, still went to Burlington residents in 2023!

Even when buying homes, investors don’t reduce supply by destroying or leaving them empty. They increase rental availability by putting units back on the market, driving down costs, as only 38 percent of housing in Burlington is owneroccupied while 62 percent is rented.

The overwhelming majority of economists agree that low supply, not high speculative demand, is to blame for our housing costs. Our problem is the negative externalities of the system we built, not a group of oligarchic boogeymen, and our solution is to build more housing, whether by private development or public investment. Seven Days failed its journalistic duty with this uncritical article.

COURTESY

For decades I bought delicious food and beautiful flowers from Jane at the Burlington Farmers Market. I would go to her stall first, because her asparagus in the early summer and beans in the mid- to late summer always sold out quickly. Our family also enjoyed eating her produce at restaurants such as Shore Acres, Farmhouse Tap & Grill, and Leunig’s Bistro & Café. And we would usually stop at Pomykala Farm’s farmstand en route to or from our camp in North Hero. Our two daughters are a few years younger than Ben and Jon; on a couple of occasions, Jane let our daughters ride their pony around the farm and down along the lake — a special treat.

I know I will never forget the expression of love for Jane and her dear family at her celebration of life in early April, and the amazing potluck meal provided by dozens of chefs and farmers who had worked with Jane and Bob over the years.

Seven Days employees at the World Press Freedom Day march

Shooting, Cops Say,” August 26, 2024, online]. The proposed ban would not have prevented the shooting from occurring.

Brooke Hadwen

BURLINGTON

Dylan Shelby

[Re Nest: “The Building Dilemma: A UVM Study Says Constructing More Homes in Burlington Won’t Bring Down Costs — as Investors and Buyers With Cash Compete for What’s Built,” April 29]: Uncritically platforming a non-peer-reviewed paper to the wider public without proper scrutiny is a journalistic failure. This article feels more like a press release for the study than critical reporting.

To substantiate their claim, the authors would need to show that investors are buying a majority of newly constructed housing to leave empty as speculative investments, which it fails to do.

The paper claims that adding more supply would not affect housing costs because they are driven by demand from investors and not a lack of supply, denying

BURLINGTON

BETTER WORD FOR ‘PROTESTER’

SECURITY QUESTION

Please, will someone explain how this ban would be enforced [“Baruth Pushes to Ban Guns From Establishments That Serve Alcohol,” May 5, online]? Sure, not bringing a gun downtown is a great idea, but I cannot understand how the bouncer at Rasputin’s, Red Square or What Ales You is going to stop the person intent on concealing a weapon on their person while consuming alcohol in the bar. Are they going to pat everyone down? Are these establishments going to buy metal detectors for the doors?

Hire a police officer to stand by the doors?

The person involved in the shooting in front of Red Square kept her gun in the car [“Bar Tab Dispute Preceded Fatal Burlington

As I read [“Man in the Middle: Body Camera Footage From the March 11 ICE Raid Shows How South Burlington Deputy Police Chief Sean Briscoe Tried to Keep the Peace,” May 6], here’s what jumped out at me immediately: The use of the word “protester” to describe the neighbors, community members and activists who came out in solidarity with the household being targeted by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

Yes, you can say they were “protesting” ICE’s overreach. But words matter, and there are so many other words that could be used. These folks came out as witnesses and observers, as protectors, neighbors, community members, friends, allies. Yes,

they were protesting ICE tactics, but you could also call them “defenders of democracy” or “protectors of human rights.” You could call them patriots standing up for the rule of law.

Two weeks ago, when members of the Seven Days crew joined the march for World Press Freedom Day, did you consider yourselves “protesters” (which is what many bystanders thought, I’m sure) [From the Publisher: “Free Press, Free People,” May 6]? Or did you proudly consider yourselves advocates of an important and fragile First Amendment right that needs champions and protectors?

“Protester” is a tired word, and it is not the best way to describe millions of Americans who are standing up daily in so many different ways for justice and basic human rights. Let’s come up with a word that proudly and accurately describes who we are and what we are doing to protect the vision this country was founded on.

Joanne Heidkamp

SOUTH BURLINGTON

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OBITUARIES, VOWS, CELEBRATIONS

OBITUARIES Gene Smith Parent

FEBRUARY 17, 1938-JANUARY 5, 2026 BROOKFIELD, VT. It is with heavy hearts that we share the passing of Gene Smith Parent, lifelong Vermonter, who left us on January 5, 2026, at the age of 87. Born in Burlington on February 17, 1938, and raised in Richmond, Gene was the son of Kedrick and Gladys Smith Parent. He was a graduate of Richmond High School and the University of Vermont, class of 1960.

He married Evangeline Marion Howe on June 12, 1965, in Northfield, and they made their home in Brookfield, welcoming two children, James and Sera. Gene was a deeply patient, kind and loving father who always took time to be with them. He and Evangeline celebrated 60 years of marriage in 2025.

Gene possessed many talents and passions. An avid gardener and gifted artist, he captured the beauty of Vermont landscapes and people in watercolor, pastel, oil and pen. He received many awards for his artwork, which was on display in the Upper Valley, Stowe and other locations in central Vermont.

His professional life was devoted to the Small Business Administration in Montpelier, where he was highly regarded for his interpersonal skills and financial expertise.

Following retirement, he enjoyed working at the Porter Music Box Shop in Randolph, conversing with visitors from all over the world. Gene was a licensed pilot who also possessed a deep love for music and languages, as well as for his community. He lived out this dedication through his involvement with the Shriners Club, Elks Lodge, Masonic Temple, Brookfield Community Singers and the Barre Paletteers.

He is survived by his wife, Evangeline, and his children, James Howe Parent and Sera Anderson, as well as grandchildren Asa, Iris and Caden Anderson. He was predeceased by his mother and father; brother, Cedric; and children Mary and Jon. Those who knew Gene will remember his warmth, sense of humor and deep devotion to his family. He left behind a legacy of kindness, love and loyalty, as he touched the lives of many who knew him.

A funeral service will be held on Saturday, June 13, 2026, 1 p.m., at the Northfield United Methodist Parish, 152 S. Main St., Northfield, VT 05663, with refreshments to follow. Family and friends are invited to attend. Private burial services were held at an earlier date.

In honor of Gene’s memory, donations may be made to the Alzheimer’s Association, Vermont Chapter, 75 Talcott Rd., Suite 40, Williston, VT 05495.

The family wishes to thank everyone for their kindness and support during this difficult time.

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SEVEN DAYS MAY 20-27, 2026

Joan Schaaff Hollister

the church manse connected to the sanctuary, was always open. It is there that Joan and Bill raised five children in a household filled with music, conversation, laughter, compassion and always room for one more at the table.

Some of the family’s most treasured memories were made at Squam Lake, where weekends were filled with storytelling, hymn sings, boat rides, swims, late-night laughter and long dinners around crowded tables. The calls of the loons and a bright shining moon will always bring Joan to the center of our mind. A “stop-the-world” moment.

Joan devoted much of her life to caring for others.

She worked as a counselor at Waterbury State Hospital and later with the Vermont Women’s Health Center,

Planned Parenthood and the Elizabeth Lund Home, supporting women, families and those in need with empathy and dignity.

Music was central to Joan’s spirit. She joined her first choir at age 3 and sang throughout her life, including with the University Choral Union in Burlington, Vt.; the Calla Lilies; and Festival Chorus at Old North Church in Marblehead, Mass. One of her most meaningful legacies was founding a local chapter of Threshold Singers, offering gentle bedside songs to those in their final days.

In later years, Joan earned her real estate license and became a partner at Smith Bell Real Estate, where her warmth and gift for connection flourished. It was there that she met Paul Sutherland, the second great love of her life.

Shortly after, Joan and Paul moved to Marblehead to be closer to her grown children. Together, they created a beautiful home on Glover Square and became cherished members of the community. Joan joined Old North Church and continued to share her music, friendship and generous spirit.

Joan’s car carried a simple bumper sticker: “Be Kind.” To those who knew her, it was more than a phrase; it was

how she lived. She made friends everywhere, listened deeply, and made people feel seen, welcomed and loved. Creating community was Joan’s superpower — in Vermont, Marblehead and later at Brooksby Village.

She embraced life fully, from Symphony Hall outings and New Hampshire adventures to gatherings with the spirited “Mad Grannies,” — who were vocal voices for radical change in our world. Through it all, Lily, her cherished dog, remained one of her greatest companions and comforts.

Joan’s greatest joy was her family, including her five kids: Jodi (Robert) LaPointe, Mark (Margaret) Hollister, Kristen (James) Atwood, Kip (Warren) Hyde and Chad (Katie O’Rourke), as well as her 18 grandchildren and 13 great-grandchildren.

To celebrate the vivacious spirit of Joan, there will be a Celebration of Life service on Friday, May 22, 2026, 10 a.m., at Old North Church in Marblehead, Mass.

Immediately following will be a reception at the Boston Yacht Club. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to: Threshold Singers of the North Shore, PO Box 597, Swampscott, MA 01907. For the online guest book, please visit murphyfuneralhome.com.

and Erik; daughter, Jennifer; granddaughter, Charlie Ann; and nieces, Marilyn, Betsy,

Emily and Ellie Mae; as well as his sisters, brothers and their families. In addition to spending time with his family, Patrick cherished time on his farm raising Hereford cows, sugaring, rebuilding classic cars and tending his land.

A lifelong resident of Northfield, Patrick served his community for over 30 years as a municipal employee and firefighter. He took immense pride in his work, rising from mechanic to utilities superintendent.

Patrick’s humor, warmth, dedication to his family and unique idioms will always be

remembered. He is predeceased by his parents, James and Elizabeth; his son Erik; his brother Peter; and his sister Sue. A Mass of Christian Burial was held on Tuesday, May 19, 2026, 2 p.m., at St. John the Evangelist Catholic Church in Northfield, with graveside services immediately after the service, followed by a gathering at the family home on Hallstrom Road.

Donations may be made to Bayada Hospice or the Alzheimer’s Association in his memory. There were no calling hours.

APRIL 12, 1932-MAY 13, 2026 PEABODY, MASS. Joan Schaaff Hollister — a spark, light, beloved matriarch and positive force.

Joan passed away peacefully on May 13, 2026, surrounded by her family, leaving behind a legacy of love. Born on April 12, 1932, Joan lived a life rooted in love, service, music, humor and community.

Raised in Washington, D.C.,

by Joseph and Helen Schaaff, Joan was the youngest of three daughters and shared a lifelong bond with sisters Peggy and Betty, who is 101 today. She attended Ohio Wesleyan University, where she was a proud member of Pi Beta Phi. Joan’s great love story began early. She met William H. Hollister in grade school, and they married on June 26, 1954. Together they moved to Burlington, Vt., where they helped found Christ Church Presbyterian, transforming a television repair shop into a chapel that brought together a vibrant congregation committed to social action.

Joan and Bill went door-todoor, inviting neighbors in, building not just a church but a true community of love and belonging. Their home,

Patrick Joel DeMasi

MARCH 17, 1961-MAY 14, 2026 NORTHFIELD, VT. Patrick Joel DeMasi passed peacefully on Thursday, May 14, 2026, surrounded by his family, after a courageous battle with Alzheimer’s disease. He was born on March 17, 1961. He was the ninth of 11 children born to James Walter and Elizabeth Jeanette (Jette) DeMasi.

Patrick’s greatest treasure was his family: his beloved wife of 45 years, Tina; sons Adam

Polly Bosworth Whitcomb McEwing DECEMBER 12, 1936MAY 13, 2026 ESSEX, VT.

Polly Bosworth Whitcomb McEwing passed away peacefully on May 13, 2026, with her husband, Bob, at her side.

Polly was born at home in Bristol, Vt., on December 12, 1936, the daughter of Bernard and Pauline Sullivan Bosworth. She attended Burlington public schools and went on to graduate as an RN from the Mary Fletcher School of Nursing, becoming a surgical nurse.

Polly and Ed Whitcomb eloped in 1958, and she became an integral part of the Whitcomb Farm, capably taking on everything from the farm bookkeeping to driving a silage truck. In the days before public kindergarten, she ran a private kindergarten from her home.

Polly served as the first agricultural director for the Vermont Land Trust, providing the perspective of both a dairy farmer and a detail-oriented accountant.

She was inducted into the Vermont Agriculture Hall of Fame in 2023.

Polly was a dedicated volunteer with the Red Cross, the Vermont Girl Scout Council and the Essex Junction Conservation Commission. She served as a founding board member of the Discovery Museum and was a licensed wildlife rehabilitator. It wasn’t unusual to have an injured owl resting in the family Christmas tree or baby raccoons bottle-fed in the back kitchen.

For nearly 20 summers Polly ran the Champlain Valley Fair’s Dairy Center, and if you knew her, odds are she recruited you to scoop ice cream and make milkshakes.

Ed predeceased Polly in 2000, and the following summer she began a new chapter in her life when she reconnected with Bob McEwing at the information booth at the Champlain Valley Fair. They were married at the fair a year later on opening day.

Polly was an adventurous traveler, first across the country with Ed in their motor home and later around the world with Bob. Together she and Bob traveled extensively in Europe, particularly Scotland, Germany, France and Switzerland, and in Singapore, Australia and New Zealand. They also enjoyed vacations in Jamaica, Mexico and throughout much of Canada and cruises throughout the Caribbean. One of her latest travel adventures was a trip to India for a grandson’s wedding in 2022, circumnavigating the globe.

Polly will be remembered as a loving and supportive parent and as a grandparent who embraced whatever the next generations were

interested in. She was a firm believer in the importance of education and the value of family, and she was a tireless supporter of Vermont agriculture.

Polly is survived by her husband, Robert McEwing; children, Onan (Mary) Whitcomb, Lorenzo (Marybeth) Whitcomb and Margaret (Craig) Armstrong; brother, Kirk Bosworth; sister, Gael Stein; grandchildren, Jessica Cook, Rebecca Allen, Benjamin Whitcomb, Zebulon Armstrong, Robyn Butler, Elizabeth Armstrong, Eli Armstrong, Cale Whitcomb, Max Whitcomb, Dane Whitcomb, Robyn and Travis Kendrew, Angus, Mackenzie, Mason, Airdin, Kevin, Rebecca, and Daniel. She is also survived by 11 greatgrandchildren: Caroline and Tom Allen; Edward and Memphis Whitcomb; Andrew and Alex Cook; Sienna, Aiden, Syphera and Kia Butler; and Evangeline Armstrong.

She is also survived by her stepdaughters, Sarah McEwing, Heather (Derrick) Kendrew and Susan (Tom) Kelly; stepson, Andrew (Karen) McEwing; and numerous nieces and nephews.

A celebration of Polly’s life will be held on June 3, 2026, 4 p.m., in the Blue Ribbon Pavilion Building at the Champlain Valley Exposition in Essex Junction.

Family burial will take place the following day. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made the Stern Center for Language and Learning, 183 Talcott Rd., Williston, VT 05495, or to University of Vermont Home Health & Hospice, 1110 Prim Rd., Colchester, VT 05446. Please visit awrfh.com to share your memories and condolences.

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OBITUARIES, VOWS, CELEBRATIONS

OBITUARIES Nancy W. Zoller

Alvin L. Salzman

On May 7, 2026, at 10:25 a.m., Nancy W. Zoller, 73, of Williston, Vt., died. She left behind a husband, Larry, 76; two children, Sarah (45) and Daniel (42); and two grandchildren, Aurora (15) and Madeleine (11). Others who mourn her loss include her older sister, Carolyn, and her younger sister, Barbara.

They are joined in grief by Sarah’s husband, Craig,; Barbara’s husband, Jim; Carolyn’s husband, Arthur; and several nieces and nephews.

It may seem like a cliché, but it is impossible to properly state the effect that Nancy had on the people that she touched. Nancy was a firstand second-grade teacher for more than 40 years, and her students adored her, as did the parents of her students.

Needless to say, her passing has left a huge hole in the hearts of all of us who loved her.

As I write this I realize there are more than 50 people who would like to be contacted with information about Nancy. If you discover that you have been excluded, please do not be upset. That is not something Nancy would have wanted. Just realize it was inadvertent on my part.

On Monday, May 25, 2026, 2 p.m., we will have

Alvin L. Salzman died peacefully in his home in Fairfield, Vt., on May 16, 2026, surrounded by his wife and two sons.

He was 92.

Al was born in Brooklyn on October 13, 1933, to Sidney and Jean Salzman. He lead a creative and colorful life, engaging his many talents and passions.

He was an artist, teacher, builder, poet, musician and actor. He was a loving father and husband and a great friend and neighbor.

Having graduated from the School of Music and Art in New York City, Al attended the Cooper Union (art college) and received a master’s in art education from SUNY New Paltz.

He met his wife, Gail, in New York City, and they were married in 1968. They had two sons and moved to Vermont with their young family in 1972.

Al found his professional calling as a teacher. He taught at-risk youths in the Upward Bound program in New York City, was a lecturer in art history and education at Johnson State College, and, most notably, headed the art department at St. Albans City Elementary School for 18 years. He believed that art and music were essential school subjects, not peripheral “activities.” He encouraged unrestrained expression

JUNE 5, 1952-MAY 7, 2026 WILLISTON, VT.

OCTOBER 13, 1933-MAY 16, 2026 FAIRFIELD, VT.

a celebration of Nancy’s life at Temple Sinai in South Burlington. After the ceremony, we will travel to Ahavath Gerim Cemetery on Fielding Lane in South Burlington, where her ashes will be interred. Following the burial, we hope you will join us at our home for good food and better memories, 175 Creeks Edge Dr., Williston, VT 05495.

Lastly, please do not send flowers or food. Both Nancy and I discussed this and would like, if you see fit, to send a donation to the American Cancer Society Hope Lodge, Lois McClureBee Tabakin Building, 237 East Ave., Burlington, VT 05401. Nancy stayed at the Lodge when she was not well, and they could certainly use your help. Arrangements are in the care of LaVigne Funeral & Cremation Services. To send condolences to her family, please visit vtfuneralhomes.com.

IN MEMORIAM Kristen Laure Charlebois 1978-1995

IN LOVING MEMORY OF KRISTEN LAURE CHARLEBOIS To our dearest Kristy, You will live forever in our hearts. We love you deeply, miss you beyond words and will always wish that May 29, 1995, had never happened.

Forever loved, Mom, Dad, Randy and Kate

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SEVEN DAYS MAY 20-27, 2026

and loved to see children discover the freedom to be themselves. He was known to smear charcoal on his own face to demonstrate to the kids how messiness is not only acceptable but a fun part of the process. Even years later, he was approached by former students whose lives were changed by his art class.

His own artistic work was wideranging and prolific.

He illustrated and penned a children’s alphabet book and created an extensive series of large paintings depicting the human condition in many states.

Upon retirement, he completed a series of huge canvas murals communicating uncompromising critiques of the political status quo and human rights issues, which were shown during the Burlington Art Hop on several occasions.

An enthusiastic fan of the performing arts, he acted in many plays, including Mamet’s Speed-the-Plow and Glengarry Glen Ross, Athol Fugard’s The Blood Knot, and several of local playwright Steve Goldberg’s productions.

Al had a deep love for classical music and could name a piece within the first couple of notes. He also played guitar and sang and most enjoyed traditional folk, blues, and peace and justice anthems.

Regina L. “Gina” Haddock

JANUARY 3, 1952MAY 15, 2026 RICHMOND, VT. Regina L. “Gina” Haddock, 74, of Richmond, Vt., passed peacefully on May 15, 2026, surrounded by family and friends. Born to John and Mary Alice Lynch on January 3, 1952, Gina grew up in West Roxbury, Mass., before moving to Vermont to attend Saint Michael’s College as part of its first graduating class to include women (1970-1974).

She studied fine arts and English, formed lifelong friendships, and developed

a deep love for Vermont and the St. Michael’s community.

Gina brought warmth, humor and energy to every chapter of her career. Over the years, she worked at the Radisson Hotel, served as a Vermont Transit

He was a voracious reader. At gatherings he would often spontaneously recite passages from Shakespeare and other writers. He held several public readings of his own poetry and prose and attended a monthly poetry group in Franklin County.

Political comment and cartoons — both officially and unofficially published — were a constant activity throughout his life. The cartoons — with their eloquent and biting accompanying text — were sent weekly to a large email list, including lawmakers on both sides of the aisle.

His letters to the editor were known for their harsh criticism of policy and politicians and marked by their frank truth-telling on behalf of working people.

Fiercely anti-war and passionate about justice, Al was an energetic communicator, often mixing his tenacity and intensity with humor and a twinkle in his eye.

Above all, Al thrived on the day-to-day interactions with his family and community. Driving his sons to school, he would tell exciting tales of mythical creatures.

Whoever crossed his path was a human being he wanted to engage. A simple life was where he found meaning; moving from New York City to rural Vermont, building his own home, and surrounding himself with a cherished family and community were truly his life’s work.

Al is survived by wife Gail and sons Jonah and Eli, and he will also be missed by a large extended family.

He was predeceased by brothers Neil Salzman and Leonard Salzman.

The family would like to thank Bayada Hospice for their loving care.

tour guide leading trips throughout New England, bartended at Carbur’s, and later returned to her alma mater, SMC, as director of leadership giving. She then spent two decades as the development director at the Flynn Theater for the Performing Arts. There, her enthusiasm and gift for connecting with people left a lasting impression.

In retirement, Gina lovingly cared for her husband, Bill, during his battle with Alzheimer’s disease. She continued Bill’s “Business Beat” column for Richmond’s the Times Ink!, enjoying the chance to celebrate local people and businesses. Gina remained joyful, resilient and deeply

engaged in her community, despite health challenges of her own. She loved spending time with her friends and family, reading, gardening, community center classes, walks with family dog Luna, and singing with her beloved granddaughter.

Gina is survived by her sons, Luke Haddock and his wife, Emily, and Matt Haddock and his fiancée, Hope; along with her granddaughter, Holly, and many dear friends who became family.

A service will be held on June 13, 2026, 11 a.m., at Richmond Congregational Church. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to Richmond Congregational Church or the Flynn in Burlington.

Jacqueline Rae Goss

MAY 15, 1947-APRIL 26, 2026 SHELBURNE, VT. Jacqueline Rae Goss, known as Jackie to all and Jake to her siblings, died on April 26, 2026, at Wake Robin, of complications from primary progressive aphasia. She was 78.

Jackie was a beloved daughter, sister and aunt; an emergency medicine pioneer; an expert mountaineer; and a passionate singer who dedicated every ounce of energy to the people and places she loved.

Born on May 15, 1947, in Summit, N.J., Jackie was the oldest of six and a loving caretaker and protector before she’d even learned to drive. Her three lifelong callings were already visible in her childhood: music, mountains and medicine. Her love of music came first, from intimate concerts where she heard world-class New York musicians up close, from the Far Brook School chorus, and from a trip to Manhattan’s Trinity Church, where she would later recall holding her father’s hand and hearing a pipe organ for the first time. As a teenager Jackie spent summers as a counselor at a camp in the White Mountains run by Bob Seeger — Pete’s brother — where she sang, played guitar and taught outdoor skills.

Jackie was a skier from her earliest days. The family had a cabin high up on the Appalachian Gap at Mad River, and the trail she and her brother Steve cut so they could ski home became one of the area’s best-known but hardest to find unofficial trails. Jackie would go on to become a ski patroller, one of the first women in the country to do so.

In 1966 the family moved to Vermont full time and set to work restoring a stone farmhouse in Charlotte.

After finishing high school, she went to Ithaca College and ultimately finished her degree at the University of Vermont. There, she fell in with Vermont’s nascent emergency medical system and never looked back.

She earned her EMT certification in the field’s earliest days and became the nation’s 123rd licensed paramedic, following that with her physician’s assistant license in 1977. Later

that same year, the National Ski Patrol awarded her its highest honor — the National Appointment — for lifetime contribution to the patrol.

She was 30 years old. When she moved to Smugglers’ Notch Ski Patrol, its medical adviser, Dr. Dave Pilcher (who also ran the MCHV Emergency Department), recruited her to do a study of the state’s emergency services for the Vermont Department of Health. That study turned into curriculum development.

The curriculum turned into a vocation. Her contributions to emergency medicine are immeasurable. She traveled to Pittsburgh to learn from the Freedom House paramedics — the Black ambulance corps who effectively invented modern American EMS — and brought their lessons home to Vermont.

As soon as Jackie learned something, she turned around and taught it. She wrote the original text of the Secondary Survey, the protocol that still guides patient assessment for emergency providers worldwide.

She gave 46 years to Essex Rescue and decades more to the National Ski Patrol and the emergency departments at UVM and Copley.

She taught EMT, paramedic, PA, and OEC classes at the university and across Vermont. When a young EMT once asked her what her certification number was, she replied: “Six. I’ve been around a few years.”

In 1993 she took a faculty appointment as the first PA in emergency medicine at UVM. Among her proudest achievements: At one point, five directors of emergency medical services nationwide were her former students.

She lectured throughout the world (often in cities near great mountains or peripatetic nieces and nephews).

Years after her last lecture, the providers she trained still think of her “sick or not

sick” triage lecture when they walk onto an emergency scene.

Jackie was a lifelong mountaineer. As a teenager, she led kids on a spring climb of Mount Washington and got caught in a freak snowstorm. Her party had foul-weather gear; they pulled it on and kept moving. When they came across another group in shorts and T-shirts — some already hypothermic — she had her kids make camp and share their sleeping bags. They sheltered until the storm passed and walked everyone down. As she was fond of saying, “It’s never a crisis if you have the right equipment.”

In the 1970s she bought land in Underhill for its panoramic view of Mansfield. She then built a log cabin by hand, aimed it at the view and made it cozy with the largest woodstove she could find.

She lived there for most of her adult life, at the foot of the mountain, hosting family and friends, singing along to her favorite choral music, but always ready to jump in her van to respond to an emergency call.

Even after both ankles were fused and knees replaced, she kept climbing, in custom orthotics and boots, her inimitable heel-toe gait familiar to anyone who’d shared a trail with her. At 70, she led her 92-year-old mother and three siblings to summit Camel’s Hump.

The music never left, either. She sang for decades with the Oriana Singers, and each summer she spent a week at Camp Ogontz in New Hampshire, harmonizing with 75 strangers from across the country. “There is teamwork in emergency medicine,” she once said, “and there is teamwork in singing.”

Primary progressive aphasia mercilessly took these passions from her one at a time. Singing went first, as she lost the ability to read music or carry a melody.

Advising Stowe’s Ski Patrol and Essex Rescue went next, as did her work on the UVM College of Medicine admissions committee, where she had advocated for applicants with her same grit, real-world experience and caring bedside manner that served her throughout her career. She poured every bit of herself into this … until she could no longer find the words.

In 2020 she moved to

Wake Robin to be closer to her mother, Marjorie, who passed last fall at the age of 101. She became a beloved member of the community, using her condition as yet another opportunity to teach.

“It is helpful to be patient, and it is okay for you to guess what I am trying to say,” she wrote, “Yes and no answers are easiest.”

She enjoyed conversation right to the end, always happy to hear the voices of those she loved.

Jackie never married nor had children. In lieu of one family she built five: her extended biological family; her Vermont EMS family; her singing family at Oriana and Ogontz; her sailing family on the Schooner Heritage; and her mountain family of patrollers, trail partners and SAR squads. She loved each of them the way she loved everything else in her life — completely and without condition. She left every one of those families better than she found it. To be in one (biological or otherwise) was to know you could never disappoint her, a fact which, in the way such things go, made you spend the rest of your life making damn sure you didn’t.

Jackie is survived by her sisters Deborah of Burlington, Vt., and Terre Murphy of Wexford, Ireland; her brother Duncan of Stowe, Vt.; her nieces and nephews, Tyler, Asher, Tim, Caitlin, Corinne, Alex, Connor and Isaac; and her seven great-nieces and great-nephews.

She was preceded in death by her parents, Marjorie Major and Frank Goss; her sister Meredith; her dogs Ariel and Maddie, both of whom she spoiled rotten and would happily admit it; and her brother Steve, who passed unexpectedly five days before her.

We hope she and Steve found each other quickly and headed off on their next epic hike.

A remembrance will be held on July 25, 2026, 11 a.m., at her beloved St. Paul’s Cathedral in Burlington. All are invited.

In lieu of flowers, her family asks that donations be made to your local volunteer rescue squad. If you don’t have one, please consider giving to any of Vermont’s rural EMS teams, which are critical to the health of the state and chronically underfunded.

Mary Elizabeth Evans Keefe AUGUST 24, 1954-MAY 11, 2026 WILLISTON, VT.

Mary Elizabeth Evans Keefe, 71, of Williston, Vt., passed away on May 11, 2026, after a courageous battle with cancer, surrounded by the love of her family.

Mary was born on August 24, 1954, in New York to Joseph and Rita Evans. She grew up in a large, lively family, and from an early age she had a natural warmth and generosity that drew people to her.

On June 1, 1974, she married the love of her life, Larry Keefe, beginning a partnership and love story that would span more than 50 wonderful years together.

Mary built a meaningful career in health care, working for the University of Vermont and Aesculapius Medical Center. Her work supporting the health care community was a natural extension of who she was, someone who found her deepest purpose in helping others. Whether in her professional life or at home, Mary had an extraordinary ability to make people feel cared for and seen. She was genuinely empathetic, honest and always the first to offer support when someone needed it. She also knew how to have a good time, and her warmth and laughter made every gathering better for her being there.

Above all, Mary treasured her family. She was incredibly proud of her four grandchildren, Maggie, Paige, Emmett and Reilly, who brought her immeasurable joy. Time spent with family and friends was never something she took for granted; it was the very center of her world.

Mary is survived by her beloved husband, Larry Keefe; her daughters, Jamie Saylor and Michelle Rovnak; her four cherished grandchildren; and her brothers Pat Evans, Chris Evans and Tim Evans. She was preceded in death by her parents, Joseph and Rita Evans; her brothers “Little” Joe Evans and Michael Evans; and her sister, Theresa Debarge.

Mary lived with grace, loved with her whole heart and leaves behind a world made better by her presence. May she now find peace and rest.

A funeral service will be held on May 30, 2026, 1 p.m., at the Immaculate Heart of Mary Church in Williston, followed by a reception celebrating Mary’s life at the Williston Golf Course beginning at 4 p.m. All who knew and loved her are welcome to gather and share in her memory.

In memory of Mary, please consider a donation to the UVM Cancer Center in honor of the compassionate, high-quality care that they provide for our loved ones and neighbors (give.uvmhealth.org/cancermemorialgift).

Please visit awrfh.com to share your memories and condolences.

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SEVEN DAYS MAY 20-27, 2026

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Shore Enough?

Lake Champlain’s waters are out of reach for many

SUMMER PREVIEW

B Y J I M CAR RI ER

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SEVEN DAYS MAY 20-27, 2026

FILE: JAMES BUCK

O

Burlington Bay

FOR MOST OF ITS 587 MILES OF SHORELINE,

FILE: OLIVER PARINI

ne hundred and ninety-one years ago, Irish actor Tyrone Power boarded a steamboat in Whitehall, N.Y., and watched with wonder as it churned north into Lake Champlain.

“I have looked on many lakes, and by none have been more delightfully beguiled,” he wrote in his book Impressions of America During the Years 1833, 1834, and 1835.

Describing the swampy headwaters, “the sweetest bays,” the mountains that rose on either side, and the “tributary streams that rushed sparkling and foaming into its turbid bosom,” he gushed: “Had these beauties been given to England or to Scotland, they would each and all have been berhymed and bepainted until every point of real or imaginable loveliness had been exhausted.”

Poets and artists rhyming and painting along that same route today would find Lake Champlain just as inviting. It retains the same mountain views; long stretches of beauty interrupted only by cottages and a few estates to die for; and very little development, save for one steaming paper plant in New York, until Burlington, where on June 1, 1835, Power’s boat, the Phoenix II, stopped to load and unload passengers.

Driving north from Whitehall to Burlington, glimpses of the lake’s blue surface tease a visitor to come down, touch the water and become beguiled. But where can you do that?

“It’s terrible,” said Chris Sabick, executive director of the Lake Champlain Maritime Museum in Vergennes. “Public access to the lake without having a watercraft is practically impossible.”

Neither Vermont nor New York has calculated how much of Lake Champlain’s frontage is public. But for most of its 587 miles of shoreline, the lake’s motto could be “Look but Don’t Touch” — unless you have a boat or money or own lakefront property.

More than 100 public beaches and boat launches ring the lake, which seems like a lot until you zoom in on the map. Fact is, the vast majority of lakefront on both sides and into Canada is privately owned.

Sabick began working at the museum in 1998 as an underwater archeologist. He was in his mid-twenties and didn’t own a boat. “Just trying to find a place where I could fish from the shoreline without getting yelled at by somebody was incredibly difficult,” he recalled. “Everything

THE LAKE’S MOTTO COULD BE “LOOK BUT DON’T TOUCH.”

Boating around the Champlain Islands

was private property, or you have to have a vessel to really be able to enjoy the lake, particularly in the South Lake. I find it very frustrating.”

“It’s an equity issue,” said Lori Fisher, who for 30 years directed the Lake Champlain Committee, a nonprofit watchdog and activist group headquartered in Burlington. “When you can walk a shoreline or paddle the lake or fish or swim, that water body becomes personal, and that

lived experience is what builds care and responsibility and public support for clean water. Access is not equitably distributed along Lake Champlain.”

Hundreds of millions of dollars have been spent on Lake Champlain, with public access implicit if not explicitly expressed. But the highest priority for the federally supported Lake Champlain Basin Program, created by the U.S. Congress in 1990, has been phosphorous pollution

prevention and reduction. That focus has left other problems relatively untouched.

As early as 1988, a study by the Vermont Agency of Natural Resources’ Lakes and Ponds Task Group called lake access sites “insufficient” and recommended, among other things, that “swimming access areas should be acquired” and public access sites “should be more visible.” In 2003 the LCBP’s own blueprint, “Opportunities for Action,” called human access “inadequate.”

Today, growing demand for water recreation is prompting efforts to find stretches of shoreline that can be opened to the public. Until that happens, mirroring Powers’ trip by car reveals that jumping in the lake is often harder than it seems.

From the locks at Whitehall, it is a halfhour drive to Benson Landing, a Vermont

BOATING OPTIONS IN BURLINGTON HARBOR Burlington’s waterfront is a bounty of access if you’ve got money, have a boat, or are willing to walk or bike to put your hands or feet in the water. Alongside three marinas and a boat ramp, a dozen outlets rent ways to hit the lake on canoes, kayaks, paddleboards, sailboats, motorboats, party and picnic craft, fishing trips, and sightseeing trips.

BUTTERCUP CRUISES

One- to 3.5-hour rides aboard a covered “picnic” motorboat. buttercupcruisesvt.com CHAMPLAIN CLASSIC CHARTERS

Two-hour rides in a captained motorboat. champlainclassiccharters.com CHAMPLAIN FLEET CLUB

A club with 25 motorboats for self-operated trips. Initiation fee plus monthly fees. champlainfleetclub.com COMMUNITY SAILING CENTER

Sailboats, canoes, kayaks and paddleboards can be rented from this nonprofit. communitysailingcenter.org KOOL VIBES

Two- to six-hour cruises aboard a motor yacht with a captain. koolvibes.fun LET’S GO SAILING

A two-hour sail on a 30-foot sloop with a captain. vermontsailing.com NAUTI PADDLE

Public or private 90-minute cycleboat cruises on a large, covered pontoon with a captain, crew and motor that does all the work. nautipaddle.com SAIL VERMONT

Private sails for two to four hours on Swan yachts with a captain. sailbtv.com SPIRIT OF ETHAN ALLEN

A large ferry/cruise ship offering cruises, meals, weddings and events. soea.com SWILLY’S CHARTERS

A six-hour fishing charter with a captain. swillyscharters.com WHISTLING MAN SCHOONER

Two-hour sails aboard classic sloops with a captain and crew. whistlingman.com VERMONT BOAT RENTAL

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Fish & Wildlife Department ramp and dock. It’s free for boat fishing, though technically off-limits to shore fishing because it lacks a fishing platform. It is not a place to swim.

The 40-plus miles between that ramp and the northern edge of Addison County include more than half a dozen public boat access points, but none allows swimming. Along that same stretch are just two town beaches — a rocky beach in Panton and a shallow, sandier one in Ferrisburgh, both free. There’s also a trio of Vermont state parks that charge admission, but of those, only Kingsland Bay in Ferrisburgh offers readily accessible lake swimming.

Button Bay, also in Ferrisburgh, has a pool as an alternative to its rocky lakefront, and D.A.R. State Park in Addison advises on its website: “Because the shoreline is steep, swimming, boating, and fishing can be difficult directly from the park.”

Just north lies Lake Champlain’s most exclusive lakefront. Charlotte and Shelburne are two of the wealthiest towns in Vermont, with dozens of miles of shoreline between them — and just two public or semipublic beaches. Charlotte Town Beach charges $5 daily for residents and $10 for nonresidents. Shelburne Town Beach charges $10 per car, which must hold a “Shelburne resident or guest of resident and residents must be present to allow guests to use the facility,” according to its website. From the public boat launch in Shelburne Bay, you can spy South Burlington’s lone public beach, across the bay at Red Rocks Park.

✵ Burlingtonians are justifiably proud of the city’s waterfront and defensive of characterization that access is limited. People who remember the bad old days before 1990, when barbed wire and industrial tanks made the waterfront downright dangerous, see its transformation as a gateway to the lake.

Strolling the Waterfront Park boardwalk and watching the sun set over the Adirondacks makes us all feel privileged.

Indeed, from Oakledge Park in the south to Leddy Park in the north, numerous beaches, boat launches and fishing spots are accessible by foot, bike or car.

However, you’ll pay to park in most places, and beach access from Waterfront Park is at least a mile’s trek in either direction. Farther north, the lake is rich with access: There are nine Vermont state parks with beaches — three on islands only reachable by boat.

Replicating that kind of access elsewhere on the lake today might only SHORE ENOUGH?

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happen with vision, philanthropy, political will and a boatload of money. The good news: The search is on.

This year the Vermont Citizens Advisory Committee on Lake Champlain’s Future, which reports to the governor and legislature, made expansion of “equitable public access and recreation” one of its five priorities. According to its 2026 Lake Champlain Access Plan, the committee “particularly recommends strategies to improve access in the South Lake” — the narrower body below the Champlain Bridge — “and for marginalized and historically disenfranchised communities.”

For Vermont’s immigrant communities, many of which want to fish for their supper, Fish & Wildlife has held programs to explain fishing rules and the dangers of fish caught in polluted waters. Still, according to a focus-group study funded by the Lake Champlain Sea Grant at the University of Vermont, immigrants and refugees say they don’t feel comfortable fishing openly, in part because of ethnic profiling by police. The study is being reviewed for publication by an academic journal.

A major opportunity to improve lake access for immigrants was blocked this year by the Trump administration. When the LCBP awarded $600,000 to a dozen access projects, federal guidance rejected any aimed at diversity, equity and inclusion efforts, according to Basin program director Eric Howe.

Broadening access is a goal at both the Maritime Museum in Ferrisburgh, which began pay-what-you-can admission in 2021, and Burlington’s Community Sailing Center, where the board, prompted by the 2020 Black Lives Matter movement, directed the staff to diversify its mostly white clientele. By adding free lessons, serving lunch and accommodating immigrant needs, director Owen Milne has increased BIPOC participation in its

student population from 2 to 25 percent.

Sailing center staff now includes BIPOC instructors who began as students five years ago.

As for equity in the South Lake, the issue has bubbled back to life after lying dormant for 17 years. In fall 2009, a group boarded the Carillon, a replica 1920s tour boat, in Whitehall and followed the route taken by Powell in 1835. The idea was to drum up interest in the lake and look at both pollution and potential, said Hilary Solomon, the district manager of the Poultney Mettowee Natural Resources Conservation District.

“We saw the lake from on the water.

Most of us hadn’t been on the lake because it’s not accessible down here,” said Solomon, who still remembers taking her children to a nearby marina to swim on a hot day and “being told we had to leave.”

The population in the area is largely working-class: loggers, farmers, slate miners. Using a $5,000 grant from the South Lake Champlain Fund, Solomon is scouting the shoreline for potential access land. A new Vermont state park is one idea, though that project would take years.

“In this part of Vermont, people don’t realize that they even live in the Lake Champlain watershed,” Solomon said.

“So people don’t go there. They don’t take their kids there. There aren’t very many places to put in a kayak. It’s difficult to have a picnic along Lake Champlain in the southern part of the lake.”

“Access should not depend on owning a car or a boat,” said Fisher, the former Lake Champlain Committee director.

“We need these walkable, bikeable, lowbarrier access points. Free or reducedfee options are really essential to allow people to get to the lake and form those lasting connections that are so fundamental to protecting water quality.” ➆

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LOCAL KNOWLEDGE: HIDDEN GEMS ON LAKE CHAMPLAIN

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At the far south end of Lake Champlain, where the lake is more like a river, so sluggish that a stiff north wind will back the water into a flooding wave called a seiche, a dirt road leads to a small parking area with a sign posted by the Nature Conservancy. There, you can fish or slide a canoe or kayak into the water.

If you google “Buckner Natural Area, ” you might find it. The Nature Conservancy’s southern Vermont office in Poultney has a trail guide and can help direct you from Whitehall, N.Y., across the Poultney River into Vermont. This lake access is a classic example of “local knowledge,” something mariners seek before entering unknown waters.

Around Lake Champlain are dozens of hidden, seldom-visited access gems.

Many run across private property and are not on any map, their existence passed by word of mouth among friends. Here are a handful:

The NARROWS WILDLIFE MANAGEMENT AREA , northwest of Fair Haven, has a mile of lake frontage. The property was donated by the Spiegel family, then to Vermont Fish & Wildlife. Reached by boat or Cold Springs Road, it has a small parking area and offers shore fishing, plus an immense variety of wetland and forest.

THOMPSON’S POINT in Charlotte isn’t on any public access map, but scuba divers visit regularly, said Jonathan Eddy, co-owner of Burlington’s Waterfront Diving Center. “We do a lot of scuba diving right from shore because there is a public access point with a couple of parking spaces,” he explained. “It’s leased by private landowners down to the high-water mark.” Follow Thompsons Point Road past tennis courts, turn right on North Shore Road, and, as it curves back past the courts, there’s a small dirt parking lot on the right. The path to the lake is across the road to the north.

Outside Shoreham, a private farm has more than a mile of frontage in an area known as STONY COVE. There is public access to the rocky beach area, located where Lake Street parallels the shore. It is one of 40 sites around the lake in the Lake Champlain Committee Paddlers’ Trail. This beach may be underwater for portions of the year. The farm is off-limits.

Find MAYES LANDING AND DERWAY COVE right off the Colchester Causeway before the bike path bridge. The landing, on the shores of the river, can be fished and used to launch kayaks. The water is often full of trees and limbs washed down in heavy rain. The Trust for Public Land gathered several nonprofits, including Local Motion and the

Lake Champlain Land Trust, to buy the land. The Winooski Valley Park District manages it.

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THE ROSSETTI BEACH NATURAL AREA

in Colchester is a rare free 1,280-foot sandy beach tucked on 47 acres behind the Malletts Bay United Church of Christ, on the road to Airport Park.

Once slated for 44 waterfront homes, the Lake Champlain Land Trust purchased and protected it.

ROUND POND in South Hero is a

quiet little spot as you enter the Champlain Islands, either driving on Route 2 or biking on the Colchester Causeway. Comprising farmland, woods, wetland and 1,075 feet of lake shoreline, Round Pond was purchased by several conservation organizations. The beach is shale, but the views of the Green Mountains are spectacular.

BUTTERNUT HILL NATURAL AREA

in North Hero has an undeveloped 1,100-foot shoreline and two shale beaches reached by a mile-long trail. It is maintained by the Nature Conservancy and Lake Champlain Land Trust and is free to walk, picnic or swim.

For more hidden gems, the LAKE CHAMPLAIN COMMITTEE has compiled lists with links of public access “opportunities” for state parks, public beaches, boat launches and wildlife management areas. The LAKE CHAMPLAIN LAND TRUST has conserved just over 20 miles of Lake Champlain shoreline, executive director Chris Boget said. He recommends GREEN GOAT MAPS for finding spots in the Burlington area.

They’re available at Outdoor Gear Exchange on Church Street.

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Grounding Force

Blueberry picking, outdoor concerts, grazing sheep and retreats offer respite at Fayston’s Knoll Farm B Y M ARY A NN L I CKTE IG • maryann@sevendaysvt.com

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PHOTOS COURTESY OF PETER FORBES

S

o many times, in the 25 years they’ve lived at Knoll Farm, Helen Whybrow and Peter Forbes have had the somewhat jarring experience of seeing people wandering around right outside their windows. They’ve sacrificed privacy to honor their conviction that a healthy working farm heals people — and that everyone deserves access to it.

The couple’s 167 acres in Fayston include wooded trails, certified organic blueberries, a concert stage and a flock of purebred Icelandic sheep that moves from pasture to pasture. The recently renovated barn, equipped with a commercial kitchen, Oriental rugs, and a hodgepodge of couches and wingback chairs, accommodates retreats, conferences and family celebrations. Overnight guests stay in the retreat village up the hill, which offers a dozen canvas yurts — with skylights that frame the stars — as well as a sauna, a hot tub, and a bathhouse built from clay, straw and sand, crowned with a green roof.

Locals who come to this seasonal destination for pick-your-own blueberries, Sunday yoga or a summer concert may not realize the farm’s greater missions. The first is to foster healthy soil, plants and animals. The second: to offer the farmstead as a place for difficult conversations around justice, land and the environment — and a respite for the people doing that work.

“In addition to being farmers, we are conveners,” Forbes said, “and we believe very, very much in the power of access to land to heal people and to bring people together.”

Acquiring the farm was not a typical real estate transaction. Prior owner Ann Day had given it to the Vermont Land Trust, which required the next stewards to keep it in agriculture and to run educational programs pertaining to land. Whybrow and Forbes had to compete to buy it.

The site, on a hill facing a broad arc of mountains stretched wide like welcoming arms, appeared ideal to the couple.

Said Whybrow: “We wanted to farm. We wanted to live on the land, and we wanted to provide a gathering place for people doing justice work.”

The farm operates for profit, earning income from the sale of blueberries, breeding stock, meat and wool. The nonprofit based there, New Learning Journey, runs retreats, concerts and other programs and is funded by individual donors. Between

SUMMER PREVIEW

An outdoor concert at Knoll Farm

the farm and the nonprofit, Knoll Farm employs eight people year-round and another seven seasonally.

For 12 years, starting in 2003, Forbes, 64, and Whybrow, 58, operated Center for Whole Communities, which invited environmentalists and social justice leaders with differing opinions to meet at the farm to find common ground. Their first retreat brought together loggers and wilderness advocates. Since then, conversations that started around a firepit on the farm have led to the launch of First Light, New Learning Journey’s program that links dozens of conservation organizations with four Wabanaki tribes in Maine to foster shared land stewardship and to return Indigenous land — 52,000 acres so far. Oregon Land Justice Project is the nonprofit’s similar enterprise on the West Coast.

Center for Whole Communities now operates independently in Burlington. And while Knoll Farm hosts retreats for organizations such as the American Civil Liberties Union and environmental nonprofit 350.org, the farm itself has shifted focus from actively facilitating cultural change to nurturing the people doing that work.

New Learning Journey hosts weeklong fellowships for people of color and their allies who work for environmental and social causes. The Better Selves Fellowships — 70 of them this summer — cover all expenses, including travel and childcare.

The weeks are lightly programmed because the fellows already know what their work is, Forbes said. “They’re all running these marathons for all kinds of social issues, justice issues — from immigration to police reform to Indigenous rights,” he explained. “These are people who anchor other people — and we’re the place that gives them care and renewal so they can go back and continue running that marathon.”

The farm hosts a similar retreat, called Restoring Force, for people whose work relates to marine conservation in the Northeast and mid-Atlantic.

Offering refuge continues the efforts that Day undertook when she owned Knoll Farm and housed Central Americans fleeing civil war as they made their way to Canada. She taught nearby shopkeepers basic Spanish so they could offer directions to the Bragg Hill Road farm, Forbes said.

Picking up where Day left off “was all a giant leap of faith,” Whybrow wrote in her 2025 Vermont Book Award-winning memoir, The Salt Stones: Seasons of a Shepherd’s Life. She and Forbes weren’t married yet. They had met years earlier, lost touch, then reconnected when she was a book editor and he was working on an anthology about land conservation for his employer, the Trust for Public Land. He hired her to edit and produce the book.

“The anthology,” Whybrow wrote, “marked the first sparks of change in Peter’s career, when he began to publicly question the privileged underpinnings of land conservation and articulate his vision for a broader movement that could no longer shy away from addressing equity, dispossession, and social healing in its work of protecting land.”

Forbes’ dream of a place to do that work materialized when he and Whybrow moved to the farm in 2001. He built tent platforms and outdoor showers and started a nonprofit to run the programs. She brought home chickens and sheep and planted 700 blueberry bushes. On a hillside at sunrise on the summer solstice in 2003, they married.

Icelandic sheep

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KNOW BEFORE YOU GO On Blueberry Sundays (July 26, August 2 & 9, 9 a.m.-noon), the farm offers free cinnamon rolls for blueberry pickers, fresh from the wood-fired outdoor oven.

The farm’s Yoga Sundays (June 28-September 6, 11 a.m.-noon) blend movement and breathwork for all levels. $10-25 suggested donation.

The 2026 Summer Concert Series features Sky Blue Boys (July 11, 6 p.m.), the Wormdogs (July 18, 6 p.m.), the Wolff Sisters (July 25, 6 p.m.), Cloudbelly (August 1, 6 p.m.), Kathleen Parks Band (August 9, 1 p.m.), and A2VT and Bhangra Liberation Orchestra (August 15, 6 p.m.). Most tickets are by donation; $60 for the August 15 benefit concert for the Better Selves Fellowships; free for children under 12.

BYO picnic or purchase a picnic basket.

Thirty guests, who had camped there the night before, joined the celebration of their “marriage to one another and to the land,” Whybrow wrote in her book.

Forbes has since taken the lead on the farm’s justice work; Whybrow runs the farm. She and her sister had milked cows and done chores on the small Plainfield, N.H., farm where they grew up, but it was more of a hobby farm, she said. Her father was a doctor and her mother a social worker. She had never tended sheep.

Whybrow’s 100 percent grass-fed flock now numbers about 65, and she mentors other sheep farmers. She aims to have a “closed-loop farm, where the meat that we’re producing is 100 percent generated from the grass and sun and rain of this hillside.”

The sheep eat hay in the winter and graze in the summer. When they’re turned out in the spring, “they get really excited,” she said. “They kick their heels up.”

Rotational grazing benefits the soil and grasses as well as the animals, said Meghan Sheradin, executive director of the Vermont Grass Farmers Association.

Eating grass is what sheep are meant to do, Sheradin explained, and grass clipped by a ruminant benefits from the animals’ saliva and breath. The grass feeds the sheep, the sheep fertilize the grass, and healthy grass feeds soil microbes, which, in turn,

nourish the grass that feeds the sheep. “So it’s creating the strongest, most resilient system that you can,” Sheradin said.

Knoll Farm employs that system to feed people, literally and emotionally. Welltended land, part of a healthy ecosystem, becomes a foundation for healthy human communities — those that live and work there as well as those who come for a week or an afternoon, Whybrow said.

Once Amy Paro of Warren saw Knoll Farm, there was no question where she wanted to hold Revive, her three-day restorative retreat for women in early June.

“Everything on that farm feels like a warm hug,” she said. Being there is grounding, she explained: It puts people in sync with “the frequency of nature” and provides an opportunity to disconnect from the artificial world and plug into the real one.

Knoll Farm hosts fellowships, concerts and yoga specifically to bring people to the land. “We say that maybe the land is the greatest teacher we have here,” Forbes said, noting that people feel a spirituality on a healthy, working farm. “Indigenous people feel it; white people feel it; rich people feel it; poor people feel it … This place can bring all of those people together.”

Visitors buy blueberries and pay to attend the six concerts, but there’s no charge to come see the sheep or walk the 2.6 miles of trails. Whybrow and Forbes just ask that people check in at the farmstand first to learn if there are retreats or other events they should be respectful of.

Knoll farm doesn’t post “No trespassing” signs. “People should have access to farms,” Whybrow said. “They should see sheep grazing and food growing and be able to pick their own food.”

Six days a week — every day but Monday — a red, white and blue flag flutters at the end of the lane. Its black block letters spell “OPEN.” ➆

802.864.7146 | opticalcentervt.com | 107 Church Street, Burlington 6H-opticalctr050626a.indd 1

4/30/26 1:03 PM

INFO Knoll Farm is open to the public Tuesday through Saturday, 8 a.m.-6 p.m., and Sunday, 9 a.m.-3 p.m., through October 15 at 700 Bragg Hill Rd. in Fayston. Dogs are not allowed. knollfarm.org 3v- NancyJenkinsREV052026 1

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SUMMER

Disc Drivers

PREVIEW

With a growing number of world-class courses and tournaments, Vermont has become a disc golf mecca B Y K E N PI CA RD • ken@sevendaysvt.com

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COURTESY OF AIDAN TROMBLEY

N

ick Gentile and Patrick Dunseith hiked up a steep, muddy hillside to hole No. 1 at Big Rock Disc Golf in Waterbury Center. The forecast that Saturday called for light rain in the afternoon, so the disc golfers were eager to get on the new course, which opened to members only last year and to the public this spring.

Gentile and Dunseith drove about an hour from Burlington to play Big Rock, a hilly, pro-length private course that charges $10 per player and requires tee time reservations. With its rolling fairways, old-growth trees, exposed cliffs and stunning views of the Green Mountains, it’s a hidden gem in the heart of Waterbury Center. There are courses closer to Burlington — and public ones, such as Center Chains in Waterbury, that are free. But these disc enthusiasts wanted a more challenging outing.

“If you’re going to make a day of it, you want something that isn’t just a par three,” Gentile said.

While Gentile and Dunseith practiced their putts and waited for the rest of their foursome, Willy Pacheco and his son, James, of Montpelier, were just leaving the course. Unlike the players following them, the Pachecos are newcomers to the sport, having taken it up last fall. James teaches social studies in Newport, where his school’s gym teacher installed baskets out back so his students could play. The Pachecos had never played Big Rock before. They gave it glowing reviews.

“It’s a beautiful course,” Willy said.

“The views are great, obviously, and it’s really well kept.”

Disc golf has taken off in Vermont, as it has worldwide. For the uninitiated, players throw a Frisbee or specialized disc from a tee area at a target or “hole” — typically, a raised metal basket outfitted with chains to stop the disc. As in conventional golf, players try to reach the hole in as few shots, or throws, as possible, and the player with the fewest throws wins. The outdoor sport exploded during the pandemic, being one of the few group activities that allowed for social distancing. According to UDisc, the most popular user app for finding courses and tracking rounds, there are at least 11,165 courses in the United States. Vermont has 83 — more than the total number of Dunkin’, Taco Bell and Domino’s franchises in the state.

From its creation in the early 1960s throughout the 1990s, the sport enjoyed a

A disc golfer at Cold Hollow Disc Golf in Enosburgh

laid-back, hippie reputation. Players would stash a six-pack or a bag of weed in their golf bags for enhancing their walk in the woods. While some players are still mainly in it for the chill vibes, by the mid-2000s disc golf had greatly expanded its fan base to include more serious, competitive and even professional athletes.

In recent years, Vermont has earned a reputation for hosting world-class tournaments throughout the spring, summer and fall. They include pro tour events, sanctioned by the Professional Disc Golf Association, that draw international competitors and thousands of spectators. Three of Vermont’s private courses are now ranked in the top 100 in the world, including two — Brewster Ridge and Fox Run Meadows at Smugglers’ Notch Resort — that rank sixth and eighth, respectively.

While most players don’t compete at the elite level, the presence of a robust disc golf community in Vermont has led more younger players to take up the sport and enter tournaments. As more high-quality private courses have opened in the past few years, even casual players have many options to choose from.

Rob Murray built Big Rock after he and his wife moved back to Waterbury Center from Austin, Texas, in 2019 to help care for his aging parents. In 2023, while trying to figure out what to do with the family’s 68-acre tree farm, Murray sold a Christmas tree to a disc golf enthusiast named Russ Causley, who asked if he’d ever considered putting in a course. Murray, who’d played for years, liked the idea of a low-impact

activity that would complement the farm.

So he and Causley built one.

A diverse and rigorous course, Big Rock is 3.5 miles, the second-longest in the state, attracting disc enthusiasts who come to play at Smugglers’ Notch and then explore other courses in the area. In the short time that Big Rock has been open, Murray has had players visit from more than 20 states and six countries. Last year, he even held a few tournaments there. On June 6 and 7, he’ll

IF YOU’RE GOING TO MAKE A DAY OF IT, YOU WANT SOMETHING

THAT ISN’T JUST A PAR THREE. NIC K GE NTIL E

host the 2026 Sap Bucket Open, a PDGAsanctioned event that was previously held at Center Chains, the state’s busiest course.

Murray admitted that course upkeep is hard work; while disc golfers were enjoying a relaxing Saturday outing, he was grinding stumps and cutting back thorny invasives.

“It’s losing money, and it’s a pain in the ass, but long term, hopefully, it pays for itself,” he said. “It’s mostly about building a community. It’s really nice having people enjoy the land.”

Up in Franklin County, Kurtis and Jade Rogers have carved out a similar niche for players at Cold Hollow Disc Golf in

Enosburgh. In 2019, Kurtis started building a nine-hole course for his friends. Then, when the pandemic killed his catering business, he expanded it to an 18-hole course on 36 acres. It opened in August 2020, just as many people were discovering the sport.

Players tee off at hole No. 1 from inside a barn that faces an open field. From there, the course offers a mix of hilly and wooded trails, open meadows, and a pond shot. The course is now ranked 76th in the world and third overall in Vermont.

“For a small-town course, we feel pretty proud of that,” said Kurtis, who now manages the course full time, with a pro shop on the premises.

Situated between Jay Peak and Smugglers’ Notch, Cold Hollow attracts out-ofstate players who are visiting those resorts, as well as Vermonters who come from as far away as Barre and Burlington for Friday league nights. On September 26 and 27, the Rogers will host the Cold Hollow Classic, with more than 200 people camping on-site and enjoying food trucks and live music.

The Cold Hollow Classic is organized

by Chris Young, founder and owner of Disc Golf Vermont and the state’s PDGA coordinator. Young, 49, is arguably Vermont’s most passionate disc golf ambassador.

He builds courses, organizes leagues and puts on about 80 percent of the state’s tournaments. This year will be his busiest ever, with 20 events. They’ll include the Discraft Green Mountain Championship, which runs from September 17 to 20 at Smugglers’ Notch, an event that typically draws hundreds of competitors and thousands of spectators.

COURTESY OF JADE ROGERS

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A player teeing off from hole No. 1 at Cold Hollow Disc Golf

On July 24 to 26, the United States Juniors Disc Golf Championship returns to Jeffersonville. That tournament ran in 2018 and 2019 but was canceled during the pandemic. This high-level event, which showcases some of the nation’s top talent from ages 8 to 18, could become a “major,” or top-tier PDGA event, as early as next year, Young said. That means attracting world-class players. At the pro level, majors can pay out more than $20,000 to the winners.

Indeed, Vermont’s competitive players are getting younger. As recently as a decade ago, collegiate disc golf was virtually nonexistent; today, more than 300 colleges have competitive players.

In Vermont, at least half a dozen public schools now have nine-hole courses, and another two — Champlain Valley Union High School in Hinesburg and Harwood Union High School in Duxbury — have 18-hole courses. Just last weekend, South Burlington held the grand opening of the city’s first public course: Awasiwi Woods, a free, nine-basket course on the middle and high school campus. So on August 29, Young will put on the first-ever Vermont High School Disc Golf Championships at Smugglers’ Notch.

Aidan Trombley, the resort’s director of disc golf operations — a full-time, yearround position that didn’t exist a decade ago — is especially excited to see the caliber of young players who are competing. A 27-year-old Jeffersonville native, Trombley remembers going to play at Smuggs when he was still in school. He now serves on the PDGA’s youth and education committee. The junior crop has gotten so good that players as young as 14 are competing in the pro tour.

“This is the next step, in our eyes,” he said, “to get into the high schools in Vermont and make the sport more mainstream.”

Not all of the summer’s tournaments are PDGA-sanctioned events.

On August 8, Northwood Park Disc Golf Course in Rutland will host the 5th Deaf Vermont Maple Open for deaf players, children of deaf adults and those who are part of the American Sign Language community.

On June 14, Moose Head Disc Golf in Jeffersonville will host Team on the High, a 21-plus, invitation-only event that combines Vermont’s disc golf and cannabis industries. Interested players must contact the event’s organizer in advance to participate.

With so much growth in the sport, it was inevitable that private courses would become dominant in Vermont, said Young, who now holds most of his tournaments on private land. They include those at Smuggs, Cold Hollow, the Wildflower Inn in Lyndonville, Black Falls Disc Golf Course in Montgomery and North Calais Disc Golf Course.

Young doesn’t disparage Vermont’s free public courses. The Quarries Disc Golf in Barre Town is one of the state’s most unique and beautiful courses, and the City of Montpelier recently converted a traditional golf course at the former Elks Club into a free, 18-hole course.

But the benefits of private courses are hard to compete with, he said. Typically, they’re better maintained, with well-groomed fairways, wood-chipped greens, benches, trash cans and portable toilets. And because those courses are on private land, there are fewer conflicts.

When Burlington considered installing a disc golf course along the Burlington bike path, residents voiced concerns about the potential for serious injuries from the hard flying discs. And at Center Chains, neighbors have long complained about inconsiderate disc golfers leaving trash, consuming alcohol and allowing dogs to run loose on their property.

Despite the greens fees, disc golf is a very affordable sport compared to traditional golf, where the cheaper courses still cost $80 to $100 per round.

As Gentile, the disc golfer at Big Rock, went to retrieve his first disc, someone in his foursome cracked open a can with a loud psssh. Unlike conventional golf courses, he said, disc courses “don’t overcharge you for a beer.” ➆

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SEVEN DAYS MAY 20-27, 2026

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5/1/26 4:54 PM

New Up North

Fresh things to do in Québec this season range from convivial spas to cultural hubs COURTESY

B Y J E N ROSE SM I T H

RECESS sauna

S

pring’s first warm days jolt Québec into a season-long flurry of activity, amplified by a “We earned it” energy familiar to denizens of wintry places everywhere. The province’s Gallically chill aperitif hour — the cinq-àsept — spills across sidewalks; frozen rivers pull back to reveal beaches; and pale human limbs unfurl like they’re photosynthetic.

And for Vermonters heading north, there’s plenty to explore this summer, spanning new urban hangouts and adventurous ways to get outside. In Montréal, social spas are reinventing the Québécois sauna scene, even as an Olympic Games semicentennial ushers in a long series of major sporting events.

Just north of the city, a newly designed network of gravel routes offers largely offroad pedaling through one of the planet’s oldest mountain ranges. And on the south shore of the St. Lawrence River, a cultural center opening this summer explores Kanien’kehá:ka (Mohawk) culture, as well as a community’s legacy of resistance.

Here is the best of what’s new in Québec right now — and how to make the most of the season.

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SEVEN DAYS MAY 20-27, 2026

WORK UP A SWEAT

Social saunas and spectator sports in Montréal

Québec Nordic spas have long been favorites among Vermonters willing to travel for a day of peaceful relaxation — but the steam scene has lately taken a convivial turn. Last September, the “thermal station” RECESS (217 rue Young, recessthermalstation.com/en, drop-in sessions from CA$35) opened in the city’s postindustrial Griffintown neighborhood, offering a stylish round sauna and cold plunges. You can leave your whispery spa voice at home; this one’s all about mingling.

Club-like weekend nights feature DJ sets, and the nontraditional sauna shape arranges bathers in a conversational arc.

It’s the city’s first “social bathhouse,” a trend that’s appeared in North American cities from New York to Toronto in recent years, combining buzzy hot-and-cold contrast therapy with our post-pandemic yearning for offline connection. (Many such spots ask patrons to leave digital devices in the locker room.) Now, RECESS has company.

GUIDE sevendaysvt.com/quebec This article is part of a travel series on Québec. The province’s destination marketing organization, Bonjour Québec, is a financial underwriter of the project but has no influence over story selection or content. Find the complete series plus travel tips at sevendaysvt.com/quebec.

Last month, social spa JOY WELLNESS CLUB (2200 rue de la Montagne,

joywellnessclub.ca/en, single sessions CA$45) debuted in the Golden Square Mile neighborhood with daily guided sauna events. Even silent-spa standby BOTA BOTA (Old Port waterfront, botabota. ca/en, spa access from CA$60) is starting “reconnection Thursdays,” for the first time allowing visitors to talk on the converted ferry moored on the St. Lawrence River.

SUMMER PREVIEW

Craft brew enthusiasts might opt instead for beer spa BAINS NINKASI (2120 rue de Bleury, bainsninkasi.com/en, from CA$79), which opened in December with its sauna, cold shower and two-person oak bathtubs where you can soak in an aromatic infusion of hops and herbs.

It’s not as gimmicky as it might seem: Hop bathing has been a thing in central Europe since medieval times. Beer nerds will appreciate the selection of obscure cans and drafts paired with charcuterie boards featuring Québécois meats and cheeses.

Saunas aren’t the only places in Montréal celebrating sweat in 2026: 50 years ago, the city hosted the Summer Olympics, and now it’s marking the anniversary with a retrospective exhibit at the MCCORD STEWART MUSEUM (690 rue Sherbrooke Ouest, musee-mccord-stewart.ca/en, adult admission CA$20) that runs through September 13. New tours of the OLYMPIC PARK (4545 avenue Pierre-De Coubertin, montrealolympique.ca/en, CA$23.50 for adults) let visitors peek behind the scenes (and into the locker rooms). Alternatively, you could toast the games at the new-inDecember hangout LE NADIA — GUINGUETTE SPORTIVE (3213 rue Ontario Est, lenadia.ca, mains CA$14-17), named for virtuosic Olympic gymnast Nadia Comăneci. It’s dedicated entirely to women’s sports and screens games from around the world. Think of it as an extra-stylish sports bar, if sports bars were kid-friendly, inclusive and served housemade pumpkin soup.

The Olympic milestone comes in a sporty year: As this issue goes to print — and to the Québécois’ delirious, towel-waving joy — the Habs are still in the running for the Stanley Cup. In August, Montréal hosts the CANADIAN OPEN (nationalbankopen. com, qualifying matches from CA$15, finals from CA$225) men’s tennis tournament for the first time in over a decade. The UCI ROAD WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS (montreal2026. org/en, free) in September will bring 1,000 professional road cyclists from more than 75 countries for races billed as Montréal’s biggest sporting event since the 1976 Olympics. After winning two World Championships in a row, Tadej Pogačar — perhaps the world’s second-most-famous Slovenian — will be going for a hat trick.

COURTESY

Maison O’Brien

FRESH DIGS There are a handful of new places to stay in Québec, too, starting with the buzzy Montréal “immersive art hotel” SONOLUX (225 rue Saint-Jacques, sonolux.ca, rooms from CA$348) that opened over the winter in a converted 1928 bank near the Old Port. The rooms, while comfortable and well appointed, aren’t the arty bit. Public spaces in the hotel feature digital installations (anyone can stop by to see them); the debut exhibition, “Seeds of R/evolution,” was curated by Cheryl Sim of the PHI Center, whose galleries are just a few blocks away. The lobby restaurant nurtures lofty aspirations but had a bloodless feel on a recent visit. Head instead to the hotel’s underground listening bar, SUBTERRA, where you can join a largely local crowd for excellent cocktails, thoughtfully chosen vinyl and occasional live jazz.

This summer, the Mi’gmaq community of Gespeg is launching a traditional accommodations experience in Forillon National Park, at the Gaspé Peninsula’s eastern tip. Comprising five wigwams near Cap-Bon-Ami — a traditional site of Mi’gmaq sun ceremonies — UM’TGI WAPG (gespeg-conseil.ca/umtgi-wapg) is expected to ramp up operations over the course of the season. Keep an eye on the website for updates.

In the westerly Québec region of Outaouais, the O’Brien House — a federal heritage building constructed in 1930 with storybook stone architecture — reopens this month as 11-room boutique hotel MAISON O’BRIEN (650 Lac-Meech Road, Chelsea, maisonobrien.ca/en, rooms from CA$208). It’s hard to beat the lakeside location within Gatineau Park, with its 120 miles of hiking trails, cycling and boating. It’s close to Ottawa and even closer to the cute cafés and massive Nordic spa of Old Chelsea.

CELEBRATE KANIEN’KEHÁ:KA (MOHAWK) HERITAGE

A cultural center in Kahnawake

Long-memoried Vermonters might know the Kanien’kehá:ka community of Kahnawake — on the south shore of the St. Lawrence just outside Montréal — for its role in 1990’s Oka Crisis, a 78-day standoff over a golf course planned on the site of an Indigenous burial ground. Two people died; the golf course wasn’t built.

Today, Kahnawake is home to

KAHNAWAKE BREWING (22 Route 138,

kahnawakebrewing.com), the country’s first Native-owned brewery on First Nations land; the dimly cavernous casino PLAYGROUND (1500 Route 138, playground.ca); and the 1720 ST. FRANCISXAVIER MISSION containing the NATIONAL SAINT KATERI TEKAKWITHA SHRINE (1 River

Road, nationalsaintkaterishrine.ca) dedicated to the first Native American saint. (She’s the patron saint of traditional ecology.)

This summer will see the gradual opening of the KANATAHKWÈN:KE CULTURAL ARTS CENTER (6 Route 132, kmpb.ca), which will house a theater, a tourism office, and a museum exploring Kanien’kehá:ka culture, the Haudenosaunee Confederacy and the Oka Crisis.

It’s a major milestone in the communityled growth of tourism in Kahnawake, where the presence of outsiders has been historically sensitive. For additional perspective on Kahnawake culture, you can take a guided tour with a local or learn about the history of the Haudenosaunee game of lacrosse — known to the Kanien’kehá:ka as “the Creator’s game” — at the Kahnawà:ke Youth Center (kahnawaketourism.com/ book-yourtour, tours from CA$8).

NEW UP NORTH

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COURTESY OF CHARLES DION

New Up North « P.39

Mont-Mégantic ASTROLab

DIG THE DIRT

Riding and running the Laurentians

COURTESY OF LAURENCE BÉLANGER

New, multiday cycling routes have been proliferating in Québec lately, spanning the rugged FOUR BY FOUR (bikepacking.com) bikepacking tour of Saguenay and Charlevoix and the more leisurely, 67-mile LA DOYENNE DES VIGNES (easterntownships.org) overnight through the Eastern Townships’ wine country.

This spring saw the debut of GRAVELLE LAURENTIDES (gravellelaurentides.com/ en), a nonprofit-led initiative that’s developed six routes — mostly dirt and gravel — winding through the Laurentian Mountains north of Montréal.

The flagship is the 158-mile loop LA GRANDE BORÉALE, a ramble across MontTremblant National Park with 63 percent dirt and 7,854 feet of climbing. (Vermont cyclists fresh off winter lulls will appreciate that even these storied mountains rack up mellower average elevation gains than the Greens.) Downloadable GPX maps detail every turn. The organizers — the same ones behind the ROUTES BLANCHES network of village-to-village ski trails — plan to update the maps with info on camping, accommodations and services as the season progresses.

This August also brings the first edition of an Ultra-Trail du Mont-Blanc World Series trail-running event: the BORÉALYS MONTTREMBLANT (borealys.utmb.world). Courses start with the approachable 5.8-kilometer P’TITE 5K and culminate in the 80-kilometer ODYSSÉE that zips up and down a series of smaller summits before grunting over the top of 2,870-foot Pic White.

(cieletoilemontmegantic.org) to the east, which holds an annual festival for the Perseids meteor shower. This year is likely to bring a particularly fine showing, as the shower’s August 13 peak coincides with a sky-darkening new moon for the first time in years.

Sister stories in Québec City

Though the Eastern Townships that hug the international border are best known for vineyards, the region also has standout apple orchards. It was here that, in the 1990s, Québécois vintner Christian Barthomeuf invented ice cider — the super-concentrated sweet-tart elixir now also produced by a handful of Vermonters. This month brings the debut of POMME SAUVAGE (327 chemin Hodgman, Cookshire-Eaton, pommesauvage.com), a cidery producing drinks with wild and feral apples growing on-site. After sipping ciders in the tasting room, visitors can stroll a three-mile forest trail that winds through the property.

Located east of Sherbrooke, rural Cookshire-Eaton is admittedly a long haul from Vermont for an afternoon of cider

Pomme Sauvage cidery

A new Eastern Townships cidery

COURTESY

GO WILD

SEVEN DAYS MAY 20-27, 2026

INTERNATIONAL DARK-SKY RESERVE

GET THEE TO A NUNNERY Gravelle Laurentides

40

tasting. But there’s plenty of reasons to stick around: Highlights include the tiny, hyperlocal restaurant LES MAL AIMÉS (429 Route 253, Cookshire-Eaton, mal-aimes.ca, multicourse tasting menus from CA$120) and the observatory at MONT-MÉGANTIC

Housed in a gorgeously restored 1639 nunnery and run by a nonprofit since 2015, LE MONASTÈRE DES AUGUSTINES (77 rue des Remparts, Québec City, monastere.ca/en, from CA$204 a night) is an urban wellness retreat inspired by the Augustinian ethos of caregiving — all cultures, genders and religions welcome. It’s a quiet place, with silent daily breakfasts; some guests wear name tags indicating they’re staying contemplatively mum for the duration.

A few Augustinian sisters still live on the property, and you might spot them strolling the gardens or attending opento-all Vespers and Lauds services. You don’t have to be an overnight guest to visit the on-site LE MUSÉE DU MONASTÈRE (CA$17 for nonguests). The museum’s new permanent exhibit, “Resonances. From Their Lives to Ours,” highlights the legacy of the order, which founded the first North American hospital north of Mexico on the land where the nunnery now stands. ➆

SPEND YOUR SUMMER WITH

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JUL 31

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JUN 4

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JUN 10

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JUL 15

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JUL 21

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AUG 1

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LOW TICKET S

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Sierra Ferrell

SEP 6

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SEVEN DAYS MAY 20-27, 2026

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5/14/26 5:05 PM

food+drink

Picnic provisions from the Green Cat and Bondville Bodega

Picnic Time

SUMMER

Four new spots for sandwiches and provisions to fuel outdoor adventures

PREVIEW

B Y JORD A N BA RRY & MELISSA PASAN E N • jbarry@sevendaysvt.com, pasanen@sevendaysvt.com

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SEVEN DAYS MAY 20-27, 2026

Bondville Bodega’s jambon-beurre sandwich with a Savouré soda and broccoli slaw

PHOTOS: JORDAN BARRY

picnic can be many things, from a roadside sandwich scarfed in the back of your car to an elaborate endeavor with a wicker basket, checkered blanket, silverware and maybe wine. I love them all.

Eating outside has its challenges, of course, including bugs, inclement weather, uneven ground and bears. (Thanks for that fear, Yogi and Boo-Boo.) But the views are often worth the trouble, especially if you pack the essentials.

As we waited for trails to dry out and lakes to warm up, the Seven Days food team traversed Vermont from Alburgh to Stratton, checking out new and newly reimagined cafés, bakeries, bodegas and general stores stocked with pastries, sandwiches and sweets to pack in your basket. We also got local intel on where to picnic nearby.

Elmore Store manager Matt Allen summed it up best: “A picnic is enjoying really good food somewhere outside, ideally with good company.”

“A solo picnic is good, too,” he added.

Whichever you choose, don’t forget the bug spray and bottle opener — and be sure to pack out what you pack in.

GOURMET GRAB-AND-GO

Bondville Bodega, 59 Route 30, Bondville, 802-787-3584, bondvillebodega.com

When I lived in New York City, bodegas were lifesavers. Forget milk? Bodega.

Need a breakfast sandwich? Bodega.

Want to pet a snarky cat? Bodega. The tiny convenience stores are always nearby, full of whatever’s missing from your life.

Bondville Bodega doesn’t have a cat.

But if you’re near Stratton Mountain Resort in southern Vermont, the new grab-and-go spot from the team behind

FOOD NEWS SERVED TO YOUR INBOX

FOR A SNEAK PEEK AT THE WEEK’S FOOD COVERAGE, RECIPES AND OTHER DELICIOUS TIDBITS, SIGN UP FOR THE BITE CLUB NEWSLETTER: SEVENDAYSVT.COM/ENEWS.

the Crooked Ram in Manchester has breakfast, lunch, pastries, prepared foods, pantry staples and wine — everything you should be eating and drinking by a river.

This summer, the bodega will add a back deck overlooking the Winhall River and picnic tables right on its banks, making it especially convenient to do so.

The market, deli and café launched in February, catching the end of Stratton’s ski season. Its opening meant the end of coffee and pastry service at the Crooked Ram, which is now focused on dinner in its elegant dining room until the more casual Yard opens out back on June 20.

Moving Alli Ford’s excellent laminated pastries to the new bodega wasn’t an easy decision, owner Peter Campbell said. In the past three years, the Ram’s morning offerings had developed a regular following — and the 15-mile drive up the

GET COOKIN’

mountain isn’t one most folks make for a croissant, at least not daily.

But a lot of the team lives up near Stratton, Campbell, 44, said, and there’s a whole new community there that hadn’t really been to the Ram. More than anything, a “little sister” biz with less overhead, quick service and affordable offerings is a response to rising costs, staffing challenges and unpredictable traffic in Manchester, he said.

I knew Ford’s pastries were good, but my late-April lunch visit was the first time I’d tried the lead pastry chef and kitchen manager’s breads. They’re well deployed, from sausage-egg-and-cheese breakfast sandwiches on soft Portuguese rolls to house-smoked brisket on perfectly swirled marble rye. (Tiara Adorno — the Crooked Ram’s chef who recently earned a James Beard Award semifinalist nod — collaborates on menu ideas.)

“We’re just trying to do simple sandwiches but really take care of the ingredients,” Campbell said. “It’s pretty easy to

PICNIC TIME

» P.44

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Matthew and Michelle Merrifield of Barbarian

Barbarian to Serve American Classics With a Twist in Stowe Chefs MICHELLE and MATTHEW MERRIFIELD plan to open BARBARIAN in the former Skinny Pancake location at 454 Mountain Road in Stowe by the end of June. They will serve breakfast and dinner. The menu of American classics will have “a diner feel but taken up a notch, a little more fun,” Michelle said.

There will be pancakes and housemade doughnuts but also hash browns with caviar, she elaborated. In the evening, guests will be able to order such starters as deviled eggs and chicken pot pie fritters, followed by meatloaf with rich French-style mashed potatoes or pork belly with braised beans. Barbarian will have a full bar.

The couple met in culinary school in Northern California, where Michelle, 31, earned a pastry degree and Matthew, 34, a culinary arts degree. They worked in kitchens in Napa Valley, Calif., and New Orleans before moving to Vermont for Matthew to become chef de cuisine at the SHELBURNE FARMS INN, where he stayed for four years. Michelle rose to bakery manager at AUGUST FIRST. At the new restaurant, she will make all the breads, rolls, English muffins, doughnuts and old-school desserts, such as meringue cradle cake.

The Merrifields named Barbarian for various comic-book characters and for Matthew’s love of Dungeons & Dragons. It also reflects a reaction

6H-BurlBank032526.indd 1

chefs sometimes have when eating at the kinds of restaurants where they normally work, they explained. “I always feel like a barbarian in a place I don’t belong,” Matthew said.

“The chaos in the kitchen is more comfortable,” Michelle added.

The full-service restaurant will have 40 seats, a lounge area with couches and a large outside deck. It will also offer breakfast sandwiches and espresso drinks to go. Learn more at barbarianrestaurant.com.

M E L I S S A PA S A N E N

Big Heart Social to Open in Vergennes The former Hired Hand Brewing taproom at 35 Green Street in Vergennes has sat empty since Antidote returned downstairs and subsequently closed in 2024. This summer, the upstairs bar will become BIG HEART SOCIAL. Cofounder and self-proclaimed “sparkle princess” SHILOH LAWRENCE wants the café-bar and coworking spot to be a “local third space, a community hangout,” she said. “It’s somewhere you can just go to exist without feeling like you need to do something or invest your life savings.”

Big Heart Social will occupy SIDE DISHES

CONNECT Follow us for the latest food gossip!

On Instagram: Jordan Barry: @jordankbarry; Melissa Pasanen: @mpasanen.

3/20/26 12:08 PM

Inspired Dining Just Off Route 7

25 Stewart Ln. Middlebury, VT 05753 802-388-9925 swifthouseinn.com

Middlebury

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MOJO. RUM. SUNSET.

Cojelo Suave

» P.47

Cuban Classics and tropical cocktails on the Burlington Waterfront.

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SEVEN DAYS MAY 20-27, 2026

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3/16/26 5:25 PM

make a good sandwich with what’s around us.”

I ordered one of the simplest sandwiches there is: a jambon-beurre ($12), a picnic classic. Bondville Bodega’s version zhuzhes up the French combo of ham, butter and crusty baguette with mustard, rosemary butter and cheddar joining the ham.

I paired it with a container of bright and crunchy broccoli slaw ($8) and a celery-lovage-cardamom soda ($6) from Bristol’s Savouré. And because Bondville Bodega’s wine selection is full of the fun natural bottles I’ve come to expect from the Crooked Ram, which started as a bottle shop in 2017, I also picked the appropriately summery Lemonade rosé ($28) from Oregon’s Day Wines.

It was 50 degrees and raining when I later asked Campbell to recommend a picnic spot, but he gamely suggested the Stratton snowmaking pond, where locals swim, paddle and walk their dogs in the resort’s offseason. Before the Crooked Ram was a full-scale restaurant, it was known for its cheese and charcuterie boards. Those will make an appearance at the bodega this summer, Campbell said, boxed up and ready to hit the slopes.

MELISSA PASANEN

Picnic Time« P.42

A PICNIC IS ENJOYING REALLY GOOD FOOD SOMEWHERE OUTSIDE,

IDEALLY WITH GOOD COMPANY. MAT T AL L E N

The Maple Firebird (left) and Worcester Range Reuben sandwiches on the Elmore Store’s deck

J . B.

GIVE A KID A COOKIE

The Elmore Store, 1208 Route 12, Elmore, 802-888-2296, elmorestorevt.com

When my kids were little, I often incentivized them (OK, fine, bribed them) with a sweet reward to hike just a little bit farther. I cannot imagine a better motivator than the recently upgraded chocolate chip cookie from the Elmore Store.

The fully renovated general store reopened last July under new operators, Becca and Tim Lindenmeyr, and has gradually added An Elmore Store chocolate chip cookie COURTESY

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SEVEN DAYS MAY 20-27, 2026

housemade deli and bakery items. The crew, headed by lead cook Wren Martin, started making a brown butter chocolate chip cookie using a recipe refined by the Lindenmeyrs’ oldest daughter, Elsa.

Earlier this month, those cookies got even better when Phineas Marvin, the 15-year-old son of Blair Marvin and Andrew Heyn of Elmore Mountain Bread, signed up to make the dough in the family’s bakery with its freshly milled, Ve r m o n t - g r o w n flour from Charlotte’s Nitty Gritty Grain.

The cookies ($3) are then baked daily at the store. They are thick and chewy with crispy edges, rich with buttery toasted flavor, and punctuated with bittersweet chocolate chips and crunchy sea salt. The “ultimate decadent” cookie — in the words of Elmore Store manager Matt Allen — provides ample incentive to hike through Elmore State Park on the Fire Tower or Balancing Rock trails.

The Elmore Store also has many pre-cookie picnic options. Coolers and shelves hold an array of local ingredients for a do-it-yourself spread of veggies, cheeses, cured meats and bread. The grab-and-go section has select premade sandwiches (around $12), potato and egg salads (from $4.25), and bowls, such as rice noodles with chile crisp-seasoned pork and sesame cabbage ($12).

On a recent trip, my husband and I managed an Elmore Store twofer. Our mud-season mountain wanderings were well fueled by a mid-hike picnic lunch of the Worcester Range Reuben ($13), with corned beef, Pitchfork Pickle kraut and Cabot Swiss on Elmore Mountain Bread’s focaccia-meets-hoagie roll “foagie”; and the Maple Firebird ($12), featuring smoked local chicken, chipotle mayo, maple slaw and cheddar on the same bakery’s sandwich bread. (West Meadow Farm Bakery’s gluten-free bread from Essex is available for an extra $2.)

The sandwiches were so substantial that, despite a good five miles of traipsing through the woods, we had barely worked up an appetite for a post-hike seasonal ramp pesto, kale and onion cream pizza ($28) on an Elmore

Mountain Bread crust. But we each managed a couple of delicious slices on the store’s expanded back deck overlooking the lake, one of my favorite Vermont waterside eating spots.

Not everyone would consider pizza picnic fare, but store manager Allen begs to disagree. “I would take a pizza to the beach,” he said.

The 28-year-old grew up in neighboring Wolcott, and beyond the nearby lake beach and state park, his local picnic destination recs include the Vermont River Conservancy’s universally accessible North Branch Cascades Trail, about a 10-minute drive from the store, and the paddler-accessible Picnic Island at the Green River Reservoir, about 20 minutes away.

When we visited, the Elmore Store’s creemee window — named Chilly Jilly’s in honor of Tim Lindenmeyr’s late mother, Jill, a longtime Elmore resident — was not yet open. It opened on May 8 and, new this season, Allen said, will offer a chocolate chip cookie creemee sundae (from $7) with housemade dark chocolate or salted caramel sauce.

That sounds even more motivating than a chocolate chip cookie.

ME LI S S A PAS AN E N

food+drink

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JULY 31 — 2o AUGUST 1, 26

Pain au raisin and other laminated pastries at the Green Cat

WESTON WISHES

The Green Cat, 613 Main St., Weston, 802-824-5001, thegreencatvt.com.

There’s a lot of word art on the walls of the Green Cat in Weston, but one phrase stands out: Qui n’aime pas le poulet rôti?

Translated: Who doesn’t love roast chicken?

The phrase was a favorite of Peter Sharp, the founder of the Weston luxury hotel, of which the Green Cat is the newest part. The bakery and café “was Peter’s dream,” executive pastry chef Mary Pisanelli said.

“He wanted to have it fresh and French-inspired — like you would see in Paris — but with New York style,” she continued. “Familiar yet upscale.”

The Green Cat opened on April 10, a few months after Sharp died unexpectedly in January at age 69. The hotel is now run remotely by two of his children, Pisanelli said. From a retail display of

French mustard and jam to piles of laminated pastries and delicate desserts, the café’s talented team has certainly brought Sharp’s vision to life.

Rotisserie chickens ($19), unsurprisingly, are a hot ticket. I added my name to the preorder list when I arrived at 10 a.m. on a Friday and snagged the final slot.

They wouldn’t be ready until 11 a.m., so I ordered breakfasty items and a cold-brew ($5), made with beans from Burlington’s Brio Coffeeworks, to tide me over. The Fat Cat ($6), stuffed with Boursin cheese, sautéed spinach and seared tomatoes, was a fun take on a bialy — a bagel-adjacent bread that’s hard to find in Vermont.

The impressive amount of sweet and savory croissants, kouign amanns, and other laminated pastries shows off Pisanelli’s classical training. The Johnson & Wales University graduate joined the Weston a year ago, having previously PICNIC TIME

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Education + AI Summit T H I R D A N N UA L

Saturday June 6, 2026 Educators are past basic AI awareness. What’s next?

Through immersive simulations from real school Hula Lakeside scenarios—curriculum design, classroom delivery, 8:30 – 3pm team planning, community outreach—you’ll see $45 includes: parking, lunch & refreshments

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Produce and provisions at the Green Cat The Ruth and Peter Metz Family Foundation | David and L.J. Stiller | Maggie Eaton and Ron Yara 4T-aiVT052026 1

SEVEN DAYS MAY 20-27, 2026

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J . B.

WORTH A STOP

The Main Stop, 113 S. Main St., Alburgh, 802-796-3596, themainstopvt.com

As a customer ordered a late-morning coffee and doughnut on a recent Thursday at the Main Stop in Alburgh, he told the cashier that he’d likely stick around for lunch while his car was at a nearby auto shop. “Oh, I’m Tony’s aunt,” Carlene Letourneau said from behind the counter, referring to the mechanic-owner.

Letourneau is also the aunt of Kara Babic, who opened the Main Stop with her husband, Daniel, last October.

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SEVEN DAYS MAY 20-27, 2026

PHOTOS: MELISSA PASANEN

worked at large four- and five-star hotels around the country.

She and her small team of bakers make everything from scratch, and they’re looking forward to berries and other produce that will soon come from the Weston’s own farm down the road. There, farm manager Briana Grosodonia has just under an acre in production, where she grows herbs, greens, root vegetables and greenhouse tomatoes that were already fist-size in late April.

Grosodonia works closely with Pisanelli and executive chef Brett Combs, who then serves the produce in bistro salads, Brussels sprout Caesars and elegant entrées at the Left Bank, the hotel’s on-site restaurant. The produce is also sold from the retail cooler at the Green Cat. Weston itself comes to life in the warmer months, with tourists headed to the Vermont Country Store or locals attending Weston Theater Company’s summer season. Both Pisanelli and Combs moved to the area from out of state to work at the hotel right in the center of it all. But they’ve already discovered Lowell Lake State Park in Londonderry and Emerald Lake State Park in Dorset, both picturesque spots for an outdoor meal.

I ended up with two picnics from the Green Cat: flaky pain au raisin ($6) and chocolate ($6) and strawberry ($7) croissants with my coffee on the hotel’s lawn across the street, and the succulent roast chicken a couple of hours later on my lawn at home, which my family and I devoured along with a leaf-shaped loaf of oregano and kalamata olive fougasse ($9). There’s no seating at the café yet — a deck is being built — but some meals are just meant to have on the go.

The Blair Road sandwich from the Main Stop in Alburgh

The pastry case at the Main Stop

far to find a family connection. You’re also never too far from a state park or other scenic picnic spot where you can chomp into the Main Stop’s hefty sandwiches within view of Lake Champlain.

Babic, 29, grew up working for Letourneau, co-owner of another worthy island sandwich destination, Hero’s Welcome in North Hero, for about 20 years. Just over a year ago, Babic hatched a catering business specializing in charcuterie and grazing boards, which quickly took off. She started looking for a commercial kitchen and discovered that the gas station-turnedrestaurant on her hometown’s main street needed a new tenant.

Babic didn’t intend to open a restaurant.

She has a full summer catering calendar, Daniel is launching his own electrician business, and the couple have a 4-year-old.

“What’s one more thing?” Babic said with a laugh. Having family around to help makes all the difference, she added.

At her aunt’s suggestion, I drove about 10 minutes to the century-old Saint Anne’s Shrine, where picnic tables, expansive green lawns and a beach welcome those who flock there for reasons spiritual or not. On a chilly but sunny late-spring day, I was the only one there and settled on a table between the peaceful lake and gleaming statue of our Lady of Lourdes.

I alternated bites of the Baker Street ($10.99), piled with turkey, bacon, cheddar and veggies, and the Blair Road ($9.99), the deli’s version of an Italian, loaded with banana peppers and lashed with oil-and-vinegar dressing. Stacked on freshly baked 10-inch sub rolls, the generous sandwiches easily serve two.

They can be ordered on bread or in a wrap, but I highly recommend the light, fluffy rolls, which are baked every morning. Babic said she expects the deli to churn through 1,200 to 1,500 weekly during peak tourist season — and cautions that it may sometimes run out.

The lengthy menu of sandwiches — all named for island roads — includes simpler choices such as grilled cheese ($4.99) and housemade tuna salad ($10.99). Breakfast sammies are served 7 to 11 a.m.

Main Stop regular and local school employee Julian Cunningham, a breakfast-for-lunch guy, squeaked in under the wire on May 7. His go-to is the Lake Street ($9.99) with eggs, bacon, sausage, hash brown and maple syrup in a wrap. “It tastes like it’s made at home,” Cunningham said.

The Main Stop’s bakers make freshly fried doughnuts (from $1.65) from old-fashioned to maple-filled, as well as pastries and sturdy cookies ($2.29), such as peanut butter, oatmeal raisin and Snickers. Coolers hold housemade deviled eggs (four halves for $3.99), pasta salad (from $2.99), and Babic’s grazing boxes of meats, cheeses, fruits, veggies and sweets (from $15).

If your four-legged best friend tags along for the picnic, the Main Stop stocks locally made Dig ’Em dog treats (from 50 cents). Her family’s black Lab loves them, Babic said.

As for her son, his favorite Main Stop menu item is the Mini Main Meal ($12.99): eight chicken nuggets, fries, a drink and a sweet treat. Packed in a neat little box, Babic said, it makes a perfect picnic.

M.P.

food+drink

SIDEdishes « SERVING UP FOOD NEWS

long-term vision for the location.” He added that staffing “has been tough,” so he was able to redeploy Chicken Charlie’s employees in the neighboring market and café and lost only two jobs.

Customers will still see Chicken Charlie’s crossover ingredients on the Kitchen Table Market menu, such as fried or grilled tenders in the Charlie’s Caesar salad wrap and fried tenders layered with bacon and provolone in the Patty sandwich, Anthony said.

Shiloh Lawrence behind the bar at the future Big Heart Social

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Chicken Charlie’s in South Burlington Takes a Pause Chicken Charlie’s Rotisserie, Grill & BBQ at 1160 Williston Road in South Burlington has closed, at least for now, while the behind-the-scenes ownership group that bought the business in 2022 evaluates its future. The group also owns Richmond’s KITCHEN TABLE restaurant and the KITCHEN TABLE MARKET & CAFÉ. The latter

Dan Gwaltney and Jessica PalmerGwaltney of North Country Donuts

COURTESY PHOTOS

J ORDAN BARRY

M.P.

JORDAN BARRY

two-thirds of the upstairs, which is now sealed off from the restaurant below.

Lawrence, 37, is “brightening and softening the space,” she said, with vivid colors and furniture “like you’d have at home.’ A new counter will soon be installed on the wraparound deck out front.

Exact hours are still TBD, but Lawrence plans to offer coffee and a few breakfast food items — including house-baked biscuits and hot-and-ready breakfast sandwiches — from 7:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. On Friday and Saturday, she hopes to remain open until 10 p.m., serving beer, wine, canned cocktails, espresso, tea and other nonalcoholic drinks alongside a small rotating food menu.

A separate weekday coworking space in the back will operate on a membership system, becoming additional bar seating in the evenings.

Lawrence was seeking office space for her software development business in Addison County when her wife and cofounder, TAYLOR MORLEY, encouraged her to follow her decade-long dream of opening a community hub. Morley, who will keep her full-time job, has “been my thought partner” and driven menu development, Lawrence said.

If all goes well with construction and permitting, Big Heart Social’s grand opening will coincide with Vergennes’ Big Pride in the Little City celebration in late June.

Big Heart Social is “very queerforward and will be a safe space for trans and queer people,” Lawrence said. “But everybody who is willing to approach that with an open mind is welcome and encouraged to come join us.”

Follow @bigheartsocial on Instagram for updates.

opened late last year in two-thirds of the Chicken Charlie’s space, taking all the seating from the 25-year-old chicken restaurant, which cut back to takeout and delivery. The two restaurants shared a doorway and vestibule.

Chef CRAIG ANTHONY, the group’s director of operations, said by text that the closure may not be final. “We have not made any permanent decisions regarding the future of the Chicken Charlie’s concept,” said Anthony, 39. But in December, he told Seven Days that Chicken Charlie’s niche was becoming more crowded, which contributed to the owners’ go-ahead to his proposal to

take over part of the South Burlington storefront to extend the Kitchen Table brand.

Anthony said the group will “take time to refresh the space, evaluate some current infrastructure challenges and thoughtfully consider how [Chicken Charlie’s] may fit into the

North Country Donuts to Add Waterbury Shop With Drive-Through After a successful run of preorder deliveries and pop-ups in Waterbury last fall and winter, JESSICA PALMER-GWALTNEY and DAN GWALTNEY will expand NORTH COUNTRY DONUTS from its Morrisville bakery base to a second location in Waterbury Center. The couple hopes to open at 2653 Waterbury-Stowe Road by July 4.

The small spot has been Giancarlo’s Panini Press for almost two years, but before that, it was a Dunkin’ Donuts with a drive-through service window. “It’s full circle,” Gwaltney, 45, said.

The new outpost will offer North Country Donuts’ wide range of freshly fried classic and creative doughnuts, from maple-bacon brioche to orange-glazed vanilla cake, with gluten-free and vegan options. It will have an expanded drink menu of coffee, tea and cold drinks and serve creemees and doughnut creemee sandwiches from the counter inside or the drive-through, Gwaltney said.

When the Waterbury Center location opens, customers will be able to place preorders for pickup there. North Country Donuts will continue to do some events in Waterbury.

At a wineand-doughnut pairing at CASK & CORK on Friday, May 22, from 4 to 7 p.m., for instance, attendees will be able to sample pairings such as dark chocolate-sea salt-ricotta-filled doughnuts and pinot noir.

M.P.

SEVEN DAYS MAY 20-27, 2026

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THE HOT LIST

Summer in Vermont is a double-edged lawn-mower blade. On the one hand, from Memorial Day to Labor Day, the Green Mountains come alive with endless fun things to do. On the other, FOMO is inevitable, as you can’t possibly squeeze in everything before the weather turns cold again. To guide your choices, read on for our picks of can’t-miss summer events. Whether you’re a soccer hooligan, a serious foodie or a theater aficionado, we guarantee you’ll find something to fill those fleeting summer days. Music fans, turn to page 62 for a roundup of outdoor concerts and festivals. ➆

From the soccer pitch to the stage, here are some can’t-miss summer events

BY DAN B OLLE S • dan@sevendaysvt.com

THE SOUND OF MUSIC IN CONCERT Wednesday to Saturday, August 5 to 8, 7 p.m., at von Trapp Family Lodge & Resort Concert Meadow in Stowe. $59-149. flynnvt.org

Home games through June 22 at University of Vermont’s Virtue Field in Burlington and streaming. $8-15; free for kids under 5. vermontgreenfc.com

Since 2022, Vermont Green FC has been the hottest sports ticket in town. The USL League Two men’s club has cultivated a die-hard local fan base and routinely sells out its home games at the University of Vermont’s Virtue Field. The Green are so popular that this season a second club joins them: Vermont Green FC Women.

Kicking off their inaugural season this week, the “Women in Green” will compete in the newly formed USL W League’s Northeast Division. Like the men’s team, the women’s roster is loaded with UVM players and others with local ties, as well as regional standouts. Also like their male counterparts, the women have been an immediate hit: While tickets to some games remain, their home schedule is almost sold out.

ALSO TRY… THUNDER ROAD SPEEDBOWL: The area’s top stock car racers — including Gov. Phil Scott — compete for the coveted Milk Bowl at Barre’s iconic racetrack.

Sunday, May 24, to Sunday, October 4, at Thunder Road International Speedbowl in Barre. Times and prices vary. thunderroadvt.com

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VERMONT LAKE MONSTERS: Catch some of the region’s best college baseball players before they hit the major leagues.

Saturday, May 30, to Saturday, August 8, at Centennial Field in Burlington. $7.50-19.50. vermontlakemonsters.com

SEVEN DAYS MAY 20-27, 2026

VERMONT OVERLAND: The state’s premier gravel bike race is a 55-mile grind that includes 7,000 feet of climbing. Saturday, August 15, 9 a.m., at Ascutney Outdoors in West Windsor. $195 to compete; free for juniors. vermontoverland.com

ALSO TRY… VERMONT SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA SUMMER FESTIVAL TOUR: ‘AMERICA 250’: Celebrate the country’s quarter millennium with the Vermont Symphony Orchestra’s annual outdoor touring show and a program of patriotic favorites. Wednesday, July 1, 7:30 p.m., at Saskedena Six in South Pomfret; Thursday, July 2, 7:30 p.m., at Burke Mountain Resort in East Burke; Friday, July 3, 7:30 p.m., at Grafton Trails & Outdoor Center; Saturday, July 4, 7:30 p.m., at Shelburne Museum; and Sunday, July 5, 7:30 p.m., at von Trapp Family Lodge & Resort Concert Meadow in Stowe. $10-35; free for kids 5 and under. flynnvt.org LAKE CHAMPLAIN CHAMBER MUSIC FESTIVAL: Class up your summer with intimate performances by some of the world’s finest chamber musicians. Saturday, August 22, to Sunday, August 30, at Elley-Long Music Center in Colchester and other locations. $10-285. lccmf.org NEW WORLD FESTIVAL: Explore Vermont’s rich Celtic and Québécois heritage at this annual festival that melds world-class music, food and art. Sunday, September 6, noon-11 p.m., at Chandler Center for the Arts in Randolph. $35-65; free for kids under 12. chandler-arts.org

COURTESY

COURTESY OF PATRICK MCCORMACK

VERMONT GREEN FC WOMEN

Do we really need to tell you, readers of an artsy newspaper in Vermont, why you should see a concert of the music from The Sound of Music in a scenic mountain meadow at the von Trapp Family Lodge in Stowe? Cue Julie Andrews: How many of the average Vermonter’s favorite things were just listed in that one sentence?

Apparently you don’t need convincing, as demand for tickets to the Lyric Theatre-produced event has been so high that a fourth night was added to the August run. And why not? The concert features the Vermont Symphony Orchestra and some of the state’s most accomplished vocalists doing renditions from one of the most beloved musicals ever, about a family, the von Trapps, who are as synonymous with Vermont as good beer, skiing and maple syrup — you know, our other favorite things.

COURTESY OF FEATHERWIND PHOTOGRAPHY

COURTESY OF KIQE BOSCH

PUPPETS IN THE GREEN MOUNTAINS Wednesday, September 16, to Sunday, September 20, at various locations in Brattleboro. Prices TBA. Tickets available June 1. puppetsinthegreenmountains.net

FOODAROO Sunday, August 2, 4-8 p.m., at the Historic Marble Works District in Middlebury. $5; free for kids under 12. middunderground.org

Addison County’s robust food scene is increasingly diverse, boasting top-notch cuisine from almost every corner of the globe — if you’re willing to drive.

But what if foodies could sample those far-flung flavors in one spot without traversing the county?

For the past decade, Middlebury Underground has helped sate adventuresome appetites with its annual Foodaroo festival. The one-day event gathers restaurateurs, food trucks and other food businesses in Middlebury’s Historic Marble Works District to help you eat and drink your way through some of the best the area is serving up. Among the 20-plus offerings at this year’s festival are Ethiopian and Eritrean eats from A Taste of Abyssinia, gyros from Dougy Fresh Catering, Thingz From Yaad’s Jamaican fare, and two beverage gardens helmed by American Flatbread.

ALSO TRY… VERMONT BREWERS FESTIVAL: The state’s signature craft beer event features 40-plus breweries and a stunning Lake Champlain view. What more could you want? (Answer: a designated driver.) Friday and Saturday, July 17 and 18, at Waterfront Park in Burlington. $60-115; $22 for designated drivers. vermontbrewers.com

CHAMPLAIN VALLEY DINNER TRAIN: The high-class dining experience aboard this train between Burlington and Middlebury is truly moving.

Saturdays and Sundays, July 11 to September 6, 5 p.m.; and Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays, September 11 to October 25, 4 p.m., from the Amtrak Station in Burlington. $220-440. rails-vt.com

STRAWBERRY FESTIVAL: Just because Tom Brady has never eaten a strawberry doesn’t mean you shouldn’t.

Enjoy dinner, dessert and dancing at this homey staple.

Friday, June 26, 4-7 p.m., at West Burke Village Park. Cost of food. burkevermont.com

DORSET THEATRE FESTIVAL June 19 to September 5 at Dorset Playhouse. $62-74. dorsettheatrefestival.org

ALSO TRY… WESTON THEATER COMPANY: Highlights this summer include the Johnny Cash jukebox musical Ring of Fire and Rent. Tuesdays through Sundays, June 10 to September 6, at Walker Farm Theater. $25-94. westontheater.org UNADILLA THEATER: Located in two barns down a long dirt road, theater doesn’t get much more Vermont than this. Friday, June 26, to Saturday, August 29, at Unadilla Theater in Marshfield. $15-30. unadilla.org BIG POND IMPROV FESTIVAL: Improv comedians from around the country descend on the Queen City for a weekend of made-up fun. Thursday, September 10, to Sunday, September 13, at Vermont Comedy Club in Burlington. Price TBA. bigpondimprov.com

ALSO TRY… QUECHEE BALLOON FESTIVAL: There’s more to this fest than hot air. In addition to colorful balloons dotting the skies, expect music, Frisbee-catching dogs and the Fair Explorer, a roving entertainer who performs from — what else? — a balloon. Friday, June 19, to Sunday, June 21, at Quechee Village Green. $25; $5 for kids 4-12; free for kids under 4. quecheeballoonfestival.com VERMONT RENAISSANCE FAIRE: Adrian Paul from TV’s “Highlander” highlights this annual fête that’s always a good tyme. Saturday and Sunday, June 27 and 28, 10 a.m.-6 p.m., at Champlain Valley Exposition in Essex Junction. $5-30; free for kids under 5. vtgatherings.com FESTIVAL OF FOOLS: It’s back! After scaling down last year, Vermont’s foremost street fair returns in full force with buskers, acrobats, circus acts and music. Friday and Saturday, July 31 and August 1, at various locations in downtown Burlington. Free. vermontfestivaloffools.com

TUNBRIDGE WORLD’S FAIR Thursday, September 17, to Sunday, September 20, at Tunbridge World’s Fairgrounds. $10-50; free for kids under 12. tunbridgeworldsfair.com

Vermont suffers no shortage of lively fairs in the summer, from the roaring midways of the Champlain Valley Fair in Essex Junction and the Vermont State Fair in Rutland to smaller carnivals up and down the Green Mountains. But for the trueblue agricultural fair experience, look no further than the Tunbridge World’s Fair.

Founded in 1867, the annual Orange County fair retains its rural charm and deep farming roots. Sure, you’ll find rides, games and fried dough aplenty, but the real draws are time-honored events such as the ox pull, swine agility races, and the goat and sheep costume contests.

ALSO TRY…

© GRAPHICPHOTO | DREAMSTIME

Each summer for the past 50 years, the Dorset Theatre Festival has drawn worldclass playwrights, directors and actors to southern Vermont. A destination for regional and world premieres, the festival routinely mounts works by some of today’s most acclaimed theater artists.

This summer is no exception. The lineup begins in June with Deceived, an adaptation of Patrick Hamilton’s 1938 thriller Gas Light, which introduced that term to the lexicon. In July, catch The Understudy by award-winning screenwriter and playwright Theresa Rebeck, who debuted her 2019 play Dig at Dorset. Next up is the New England premiere of Brent Askari’s Advice, starring Katie Lowes of ABC’s “Scandal” and Adam Shapiro from “The Bear.” The season concludes with the Tony Award-nominated comedic murder mystery Lobby Hero.

Shoshana and

For 30 years, Putney’s Sandglass Theater Eric Bass has educated and entertained Vermont audiences through the art of puppetry. While its work encompasses material suitable for kids and grown-ups alike, this is not your average puppet show. Sandglass Theater productions are meant to provoke thought as much as chuckles.

In September, the organization mounts its 13th annual Puppets in the Green Mountains festival at locations throughout Brattleboro. Centered on a theme of “Beginnings, Endings and the Humanity Between,” the five-day event features artists from Vermont and around the globe working in an array of puppet mediums, from hand puppets to virtual reality puppets to some that are larger than life.

Rooted in multicultural myths and current headlines, each show aims to answer the question of “what it means to be alive in a fractured world.”

CHAMPLAIN VALLEY FAIR: Home of the “10 best days of summer.” Musical headliners this year include ZZ Top, Jordan Davis, and a Bow Wow, Soulja Boy and Fat Joe triple-header. Friday, August 28, to Sunday, September 6, at Champlain Valley Exposition in Essex Junction. $6.50-76.50. champlainvalleyfair.org FRANKLIN COUNTY FIELD DAYS: After a year off in 2025, this family favorite is back in a new location. Thursday, July 30, to Saturday, August 1, at Hubbard Lane in St. Albans. $20. franklincountyfielddays.org ADDISON COUNTY FAIR & FIELD DAYS: Whatever you do, don’t miss the demolition derby. Tuesday, August 4, to Saturday, August 8, on Field Days Road in New Haven. $5-60; free for kids 5 and under. addisoncountyfairfielddays.com SEVEN DAYS MAY 20-27, 2026

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Trance Rock Book review: The Gatepost, Tim Weed B Y M ARG OT HAR RI S ON • margot@sevendaysvt.com

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SEVEN DAYS MAY 20-27, 2026

archaeologist who runs a foundation in Montpelier and covets the priceless stela for himself.

Using close third person, Weed unfolds this story from multiple perspectives: Esme, Lucas, Sebastian and Gregory himself. The present-day chapters alternate with flashbacks that reveal where Gregory found the stela and how it ended up in Vermont.

COURTESY

W

e seem to be in a golden age of psychedelics. As a growing number of psychotherapists seek to integrate substances such as psilocybin into their practices (a trend documented locally by Seven Days), it’s no surprise to see a new wave of trippy literature, too.

In his excellent 2025 novel The Afterlife Project, Putney author Tim Weed explored an apocalyptic climate-crisis scenario with a side of psychedelics. Stranded alone in the far future after a time travel experiment, Weed’s protagonist uses mushrooms to hallucinate the human companionship he needs to preserve his sanity.

Now, in The Gatepost, out on May 26, Weed gives psilocybin center stage. His new novel is part adventure story and part cautionary tale, an imagining of what might happen if some intrepid explorer really did manage to step through the doors of perception.

The time-hopping narrative begins more or less in the present. Fed up with her life as an urban lawyer, Esme Weatherhead has holed up on her parents’ 300-acre farmstead in Corinth, Vt. There she spends her days “talking to a ghost” — her father, Gregory, a Mesoamerican archaeology professor and author of a celebrated book on ritual psychedelics, who mysteriously disappeared from the property during Esme’s childhood, 20 years earlier.

At the time, Gregory was engaged in independent research he hoped would “rescue the human species from its current downward trajectory.” From her father’s field journals, Esme learns this research entailed consuming Psilocybe cubensis mushrooms in a cave.

Unaware of any cave on the property, she hires geological consultant Lucas St. Pierre to guide her to the dark maw into which she imagines her father might have vanished in his search for enlightenment.

Inside the cave, the pair find no trace of Gregory, but they do discover a Mesoamerican stela with carvings that suggest a ritual purpose: a “sublimely beautiful work of ancient art” that seems “to radiate some kind of mysterious power.”

Esme and Lucas grow closer as she attempts to retrace her father’s steps by repeating his subterranean experiments with psychedelics. They have no idea they’re being watched by the unscrupulous Sebastian Bonney, a popular TV

THE STORY’S REAL ANTAGONIST IS MORE MUNDANE THAN

ANYTHING TO BE FOUND ON THE ASTRAL PLANE.

The novel’s premise is irresistible: Carlos Castaneda meets Indiana Jones, but with more cultural sensitivity. (Esme’s mother is Mexican, and a Oaxacan curandera, or healer, plays a pivotal role in the stela’s relocation.) And the conceit of a humble New England farmstead hiding a portal to the unknown recalls Madeleine L’Engle’s perennially beloved A Wrinkle in Time.

What The Gatepost isn’t, however, is a mystery, because the reader finds out where Gregory vanished to in Chapter 2.

We never doubt that the stela is indeed a “gatepost” to another plane of reality.

What we don’t know is whether the artifact can still reunite Esme and her father — or whether Sebastian will steal it first.

In The Afterlife Project, Weed successfully wedded a nail-biter plot to a tragic meditation on the end of humanity. In The Gatepost, he attempts a similar feat. The author’s descriptive virtuosity goes a long way toward keeping readers enthralled: Every location in The Gatepost is fully realized, from the Vermont forest to the Mexican jungle to a sublimely grim otherworld. The particulars of Gregory’s journey into ritual psychedelic use (see sidebar excerpt) have a spooky vividness that keeps us riveted.

But The Gatepost’s action is sparser than that of its predecessor, and the promising setup sometimes threatens to run aground on the plot device of misunderstanding. The story stagnates for chapter after chapter as Sebastian connives to turn Lucas into his unwitting mole by offering

Tim Weed

him a dream job. We spend much of the novel wondering how long it will take the lovers to stop keeping secrets from each other, when what we actually care about is what will happen to Gregory and the stela.

The story’s real antagonist, it turns out, is more mundane than anything to be found on the astral plane: the insecurity of a young man who doesn’t feel worthy of a woman’s love until another man offers him an impressive salary. With his working-class background and bitterness over a failed marriage, Lucas gradually reveals himself as the novel’s most conflicted and interesting character. Weed does deft work in tracing the origins of Lucas’ mindset, writing that “His own painful experience had taught him that … how a man is perceived by the rest of the world actually did have important implications for his closest relationships.”

Lucas’ worldly materialism threatens to poison his romance with Esme and cut her off from the last link to her father.

Yet the reader can’t help noting that the

Weatherheads’ high-minded idealism rests on a cushion of money. Although Gregory is an exemplary father, his efforts to save humanity via psilocybin not only don’t save humanity but lead directly to his daughter’s abandonment. It’s hard to disagree with his own self-assessment that he’s an Icarus figure, “being punished for his hubris.”

That’s the ambivalent, slightly sour insight with which The Gatepost leaves us. While neither as page-turning nor as transportive as The Afterlife Project, Weed’s follow-up still offers plenty of ideas to chew on. In this story, rather than ushering in a golden age or elevating us to a more enlightened plane, psychedelics leave us with the bittersweet realization that there’s no place like home. ➆

BOOKS

INFO The Gatepost by Tim Weed, Podium Publishing, 264 pages. $19.99. Launch party and reading, Tuesday, May 26, 6 p.m., at Next Stage Arts in Putney. Free; RSVP encouraged at nextstagearts.org.

u

IN PARTNERSHIP WITH SPRUCE PEAK ARTS AND HIGHER GROUND

I

FEATURING AMAZING MUSIC BY CELEBRATED ARTISTS IN A MAGICAL GREEN MOUNTAIN SETTING

FROM THE GATEPOST The little curandera lit a dozen candles and told Gregory to sit cross-legged in the center of the packed-earth floor of her kitchen. She used tongs to pluck a red ember from the cooking fire, placed it in a three-legged ceramic incense burner, and dropped in a pebble of copal, a kind of dried tree sap with a strong, pleasant fragrance akin to burning cedar.

The Chihuahua puppies came in and started climbing all over him, growling playfully and chewing on his fingers in a way that caused him to laugh uncontrollably. The curandera admonished them, and they went obediently over to their little bed of blankets in a corner of the room, where they curled up with their mother, three tiny guardians staring solemnly at Gregory from the shadows.

The room filled with copal smoke and flickering candlelight.

Zoraida picked up the copalero and blew on it; it flamed up with unexpected brightness, like a blazing star in her hands. She began chanting, her handsomely chiseled features spotlit like a marble bust in a dark nicho, and as the flame subsided the light of the ember seemed to move inside her body, illuminating her from within as the smoke from the copalero shaped itself into tentacles that curled out into every corner of the candlelit room. Gregory’s mind whirled with new insights about life and death; momentous, prophetic, life-altering insights that he would later be completely unable to remember, like the most vivid and wonderful dream that evaporates in the seconds after waking.

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culture

Out of the Box I

In “Cardtopia,” students build a cardboard world at Highland Center for the Arts

How was your trip to “Cardtopia”?

It was raining hard all day, and a thick mist enshrouded the hills during my drive from Burlington to Greensboro — perfect weather for playing indoors in a cardboard castle. My imagination began to wake up as I crawled through tunnels and

EVA SOLLBERGER

n mid-March, the magical world of “Cardtopia” — a wizard’s castle made of cardboard — opened at Highland Center for the Arts in Greensboro.

The human-size installation has tunnels, secret rooms, creatures, a garden and a laboratory.

The immersive exhibit, on view through the end of July, is a collaboration among artists from Montpelier’s Cardboard Teck Instantute, the Highland Center and area students. “Cardtopia” is always changing and evolving as new people visit and get inspired to create.

About 150 youths have taken field trips to the Highland Center and contributed their own cardboard creations, including a wedge of cheese, a stick of dynamite and an ogre’s giant toothbrush.

In the latest episode of “Stuck in Vermont,” Seven Days senior multimedia producer Eva Sollberger visited “Cardtopia” and got a lively tour from Craftsbury Academy Middle School students.

She spoke about filming the episode.

Episode: 767: ‘Cardtopia’

Students at “Cardtopia”

explored with students. The space was dense with cardboard flowers, dragons, foods and more. Deceptive mirrors and surprises abounded. It was hard to fathom that this magical world was constructed from toilet paper rolls, flattened boxes and egg cartons.

Tell us about your tour.

You know how, as a kid, you can make friends really quickly and easily? It felt like that. I was adopted by a group of students who gave me a playful tour. They commandeered my mic, and the castle

came alive with their youthful energy. We stopped to admire seventh grader Alice LaChance’s “Sprig,” a tiny cardboard sprout planted in the lush gardens. “It’s a massive project that a ton of people have contributed to,” said LaChance, who has visited “Cardtopia” four times and is still discovering new things.

What is the Cardboard Teck Instantute?

Cardboard Teck is a makerspace, innovation lab and the art studio of founder Ben t. Matchstick, who has been making

cardboard creations for 21 years now. He cocreated the PinBox 3000 cardboard pinball machines that can be found in “Cardtopia,” as well. Matchstick and Plainfield artist Uncle Erok spent 10 days constructing the rooms of “Cardtopia” in early March, and the space has evolved as new creations have been added.

Back in 2008, I made a video called “Langdon’s Army of Fun,” about a Montpelier festival hosted by the former Langdon Street Café that featured children’s shows

by Cardboard Teck. The enthusiasm and creativity is still going strong.

How can people experience “Cardtopia”?

It’s open to the public Thursday through Sunday, noon to 4 p.m., through the end of July. There will also be special events and school field trips. Cardboard Teck will host a student workshop in the space on Thursday, May 28. I’d like to see the space at night, when the lighting display is turned on. The evolving cardboard creation is sure to transport you, if you let it. ➆

Seven Days senior multimedia producer Eva Sollberger has been making her award-winning video series, “Stuck in Vermont,” since 2007. New episodes appear on the Seven Days website every other Thursday and air the following night on the WCAX evening news. Sign up at sevendaysvt.com to receive an email alert each time a new one drops. And check these pages every other week for insights on the episodes.

We’re Having a Party!

The East Monitor Barn-Raiser Join VYCC for a special evening celebrating the restoration of our East Monitor Barn and learn what is instore for this iconic structure. Come and enjoy a delicious meal prepared with fresh ingredients from our farm and hear our plans to transform this historic space into a year-round home for workforce training, food production, and community gathering.

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Live Music - Silent and Live Auctions - Campus Tours - And More!

Scan the QR code to register, or visit: www.vycc.org/event-the-east-monitor-barn-raiser/

THURSDAY, JULY 9, 2026 5:30-8:00 PM VYCC Campus | 1949 East Main St. | Richmond VT

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That Which Colors the Mind: An Evening of North Indian Classical Music and Art FRI., MAY 22 1 MILL ST., SUITE 208, BURLINGTON

Cooking Lesson: Rice Dumpling (Zongzi) Wrapping

SAT., MAY 23, FAITH UNITED METHODIST CHURCH (BRAND HALL), SOUTH BURLINGTON

Find Your Frequency: Reiki & Restorative Yoga with Plant Music

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Lee Ross Music x Barbiemode SAT., MAY 23 AFTERTHOUGHTS, WAITSFIELD

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SAT., MAY 23 LOST NATION BREWING, MORRISTOWN

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on screen Obsession ★★★★★

M

COURTESY OF FOCUS FEATURES

ovies about relationships are resonating with today’s young audiences — but they aren’t rom-coms. Judging by the success of April’s The Drama, about a revelation that threatens to derail a wedding, Gen Z is more interested in everything that can go horrifically wrong with romance.

Enter Obsession, from writer-directoreditor Curry Barker (Milk & Serial), which earned about $17 million last weekend on a reported budget of less than $1 million.

Social media is buzzing with takes on the horror film’s nightmarish scenario — and arguments about who its real monster is.

The deal

Twentysomething Bear (Michael Johnston) is in love with his longtime friend Nikki (Inde Navarrette). Now that she’s about to quit the music store where they both work, it could be his last chance to tell her. But Bear’s rehearsal of his declaration with a mutual friend (Cooper Tomlinson) doesn’t go well, and then his cat dies. When he drives Nikki home that night, he isn’t feeling brave. Instead of responding honestly to her blunt question — “Do you like me?” — Bear hems and haws. Then, alone and miserable, he pulls out the novelty gift he didn’t dare give Nikki — a “One Wish Willow” — and wishes on it that she loved him “more than anyone in the entire world.”

And just like that, Nikki is begging to go home with Bear. She wants to be his girlfriend and spend every waking minute with him. Bear’s wish has been granted, and he thinks he’s living the dream — at first.

Will you like it?

The horror genre has a strong moralizing strain, and it often sends the message “Be careful what you wish for.” From the classic 1902 story “The Monkey’s Paw” to the forgettable 2017 horror flick Wish Upon, the archetype hasn’t changed: Wishgranting talismans exist to prove human folly. Once the universe learns our heart’s desires, it uses them to hurt us.

So there’s nothing new about Obsession’s premise. We can guess from the trailer that Nikki’s single-minded obsession with Bear will turn her into a stalker, teaching him the lesson that moderate, mutual affection is better for all concerned. What sets Obsession apart 56

SEVEN DAYS MAY 20-27, 2026

REVIEW from its predecessors is Barker’s merciless commitment to keeping us inside the pressure cooker of a bad romance. The film’s execution combines claustrophobic terror and dark humor in ways that have us squirming. And it doesn’t gloss over the fact that its protagonist asked for this when he rendered his love interest incapable of consent.

Sure, Bear never imagined the One Wish Willow would work. His subsequent efforts to control the magic — researching on a Reddit-like forum, calling a customer service line — are so pathetic they’re funny. But that’s the cruel irony of wish talismans. Whatever he thought he was doing, he’s turned Nikki from a person into a puppet.

There’s nothing abstract about the transformation, either. Navarrette’s bold performance goes way beyond the familiar stereotypes of women unhinged by love.

This new Nikki isn’t just obsessed with Bear, she’s volatile and unpredictable, with a sexy coo that becomes a whine, snarl or scream within instants. Prone to malice and random violence, she often seems more robotic or animalistic than human.

Navarrette’s expressiveness and Barker’s direction work together to trigger

Inde Navarrette and Michael Johnston give chilling performances as an ill-fated couple in Curry Barker’s horror hit.

our sense of the uncanny: This Nikki isn’t just scary, she’s wrong. We often see her in silhouette, a shadowy presence whose eyes catch the light when they shouldn’t. Her body moves in ways bodies shouldn’t, too.

A scene in which Bear wakes to find her skulking in his dark bedroom is up there with the freakiest moments in Japanese horror cinema.

It’s hard not to have some initial empathy for Bear, because Johnston brings the character to tremulous life. We feel the quivering sensitivity that keeps him silent about his feelings and makes him ill-equipped to deal with a partner who’s out of control. But hidden in Bear’s deerin-the-headlights passivity is a stubborn vein of selfishness. Long after he should realize his wish is a death sentence, he still wants to make the “relationship” work.

And the movie doesn’t let him off the hook for that.

Obsession makes it very clear that the product of Bear’s wish is not the real Nikki, a self-possessed aspiring author who lectured him on the distinction between a “romance” and a “love story.” The difference is a happily-ever-after, and no one in this movie gets one. Obsession is relentlessly dark, yet Barker’s twisted comic

sensibility keeps the horror on a painfully relatable level. There’s a tragic absurdity in the story of a young man so afraid of rejection that he’d rather turn a woman into a monster than tell her how he feels.

MARGO T HARRI S O N margot@sevendaysvt.com

IF YOU LIKE THIS, TRY… TOGETHER (2025; Disney+, Hulu, Kanopy, rentable): Michael Shanks’ body-horror comedy depicts another relationship nightmare: A longtime couple (Dave Franco and Alison Brie) find themselves getting too close in the literal sense.

COMPANION (2025; HBO Max, YouTube Primetime, rentable): Some viewers have pointed out that whatever occupies Nikki’s body shares certain sycophantic habits with chatbots. This update on The Stepford Wives explores the perspective of a love-bot who tries to break free of her programming.

HEREDITARY (2018; Fandango at Home, Kanopy, PLEX, Pluto TV, Tubi, YouTube): Navarrette has said she took inspiration from Toni Collette’s intense performance as a woman trying to escape her family legacy in Ari Aster’s modern horror classic.

COURTESY OF 20TH CENTURY STUDIOS

NEW IN THEATERS I LOVE BOOSTERS: Shoplifters act on their grudge against a cold-hearted fashion designer in the new surreal comedy from Boots Riley (Sorry to Bother You), starring Kiki Palmer and Naomi Ackie. (105 min, R. Essex, Majestic, Partizanfilm, Savoy) PASSENGER: Vermont native Zachary Donohue cowrote this folk horror film about a threat that preys on road trippers, directed by André Øvredal and starring Melissa Leo and Lou Llobell. (Essex, Majestic) STAR WARS: THE MANDALORIAN AND GROGU: Pedro Pascal reprises his TV role as a bounty hunter adventuring with his unusual apprentice. With Sigourney Weaver and Jeremy Allen White. Jon Favreau directed. (132 min, PG-13. Bijou, Capitol, City Cinema, Essex, Majestic, Marquis, Paramount, Playhouse, Star, Stowe, Sunset, Welden) THE TRAVEL COMPANION: A filmmaker (Tristan Turner) risks losing his free flights when his friend finds romance in this comedy-drama from Travis Wood and Alex Mallis. (91 min, NR. Partizanfilm)

SEWN TOGETHER | Summer 2026

Pride & Joy is a community art project celebrating Queer joy, vitality, & community through collaborative quilts.

The Devil Wears Prada 2

OLDER FILMS AND SPECIAL SCREENINGS

We’re quilting all summer long! Find a crafting

event near you and learn more about the project at

40 YEARS OF FUCKIN UP (Partizanfilm, Mon only)

riotcraftstudio.prideandjoy.com

AGATHA’S ALMANAC (VTIFF, Sat & Sun only) AN ANGEL AT MY TABLE (VTIFF, Sat only) CANOE DIG IT? (Savoy, Sat only)

CURRENTLY PLAYING THE CHRISTOPHERSHHHH Michaela Coel plays a forger hired to complete the unfinished work of a still-living renowned artist (Ian McKellen). (100 min, R. Catamount; reviewed 4/22) DEEP WATERHH1/2 The survivors of a plane crash must fight off sharks in Renny Harlin’s disaster flick.

(110 min, R. Sunset) THE DEVIL WEARS PRADA 2HH1/2 A journalist (Anne Hathaway) reunites with her one-time boss from hell (Meryl Streep) in David Frankel’s sequel.

(119 min, PG-13. Big Picture, Bijou, Capitol, Essex, Majestic, Stowe, Sunset; reviewed 5/6) DJ AHMETHHH1/2 Music is an escape for a teen in rural Macedonia in Georgi M. Unkovski’s comedydrama from Turkey. (99 min, NR. Partizanfilm) IN THE GREYHH1/2 Covert operatives must steal a fortune from a tyrant in Guy Ritchie’s latest action thriller, starring Jake Gyllenhaal and Henry Cavill.

(98 min, R. Capitol, Essex, Majestic) THE LAST ONE FOR THE ROADHHH1/2 Two middle-aged bar hoppers go on a road trip with a young architecture student in this Italian comedy from Francesco Sossai. (100 min, NR. Partizanfilm) MICHAELHH This drama from Antoine Fuqua chronicles the life of pop legend Michael Jackson (Jaafar Jackson). (127 min, PG-13. Big Picture, Capitol, Essex, Majestic, Star, Sunset) MORTAL KOMBAT IIHH1/2 Martial artists have to save the world. Karl Urban and Ludi Lin star; Simon McQuoid directed. (116 min, R. Bijou, City Cinema, Welden) OBSESSIONHHHH1/2 A young man makes the mistake of wishing on a charm that his crush would fall in love with him in Curry Barker’s horror film. (Essex, Majestic, Paramount, Savoy, Stowe; reviewed 5/20) OMAHAHHH1/2 John Magaro stars in Cole Webley’s Sundance Film Festival premiere about a dad taking his kids on a spur-of-the-moment road trip. (83 min, PG-13. Partizanfilm) PROJECT HAIL MARYHHHH A science teacher (Ryan Gosling) finds himself on a mission to save Earth. (156 min, PG-13. Majestic, Sunset; reviewed 4/1) THE SHEEP DETECTIVESHHH1/2 A flock sets out to solve the murder of their shepherd in this mystery-comedy-family flick. (109 min, PG. Bijou, Capitol, City Cinema, Essex, Majestic, Marquis, Star, Sunset, Welden) THE SUPER MARIO GALAXY MOVIEHH Mario explores space in the sequel to the animated adventure hit. (98 min, PG. Bijou, City Cinema, Majestic, Welden)

Project Kickoff this weekend!

CHUNGKING EXPRESS (Partizanfilm, Wed 20 only) DRY LEAF (Partizanfilm, Sat only)

5/22 & 5/23 -- Riot Craft Studio, Jericho

FORCE OF EVIL (VTIFF, Fri only) GEORGIA O’KEEFFE: THE BRIGHTNESS OF LIGHT (Catamount, Sun only) LEGALLY BLONDE 25TH ANNIVERSARY (Essex, Sun & Wed 27 only)

Presented by:

Supported by:

THE OTHERS (Catamount, Fri only) THE QUIET EPIDEMIC (Partizanfilm, Thu only) SHREK 25TH ANNIVERSARY (Essex, Thu only) SILENT FRIEND (VTIFF, Thu only) THE WILD SIDE: A DOCUMENTARY ON VERMONT’S TROUT (Savoy, Thu only)

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OPEN THEATERS (* = upcoming schedule for theater was not available at press time) *BIG PICTURE THEATER: 48 Carroll Rd., Waitsfield, 496-8994, bigpicturetheater.info. Closed through April 29.

BIJOU CINEPLEX 4: 107 Portland St., Morrisville, 888-3293, bijou4.com CAPITOL THEATER: 93 State St., Montpelier, 229-0343, fgbtheaters.com CATAMOUNT ARTS: 115 Eastern Ave., St. Johnsbury, 748-2600, catamountarts.org CITY CINEMA: 137 Waterfront Plaza, Newport, 334-2610, citycinemanewport.com ESSEX CINEMAS & T-REX THEATER: 21 Essex Way, Suite 300, Essex, 879-6543, essexcinemas.com MAJESTIC 10: 190 Boxwood St., Williston, 878-2010, majestic10.com MARQUIS THEATER: 65 Main St., Middlebury, 388-4841, middleburymarquis.com.

PARAMOUNT TWIN CINEMA: 241 N. Main St., Barre, 479-9621, fgbtheaters.com *PARTIZANFILM: 230 College St., Unit 13, Burlington, 276-4588, partizanfilm.org PLAYHOUSE MOVIE THEATRE: 11 S. Main St., Randolph, 728-4012, playhouseflicks.com

JULY 31 - AUG 2

CABOT,VT

MediSun

Double Tiger

SAVOY THEATER: 26 Main St., Montpelier, 2290598, savoytheater.com THE SCREENING ROOM @ VTIFF: 60 Lake St., Ste. 1C, Burlington, 660-2600, vtiff.org STAR THEATRE: 17 Eastern Ave., St. Johnsbury, 748-9511, stjaytheatre.com STOWE CINEMA 3PLEX: 454 Mountain Rd., Stowe, 253-4678, stowecinema.com SUNSET DRIVE-IN: 155 Porters Point Rd., Colchester, 862-1800, sunsetdrivein.com WELDEN THEATRE: 104 N. Main St., St. Albans, 527-7888, weldentheatre.com 4t-onelovermont052026.indd 1

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COURTESY PHOTOS

art

Schatell, who will live in St. Albans for the season, doesn’t see it that way.

“This is not small at all,” she said in a recent phone call. “It’s a huge challenge.

It’s building out this idea of a public art park in rural Vermont that sustains itself beyond the founders, fully staffed and funded.”

Schatell’s vision for the park takes into account its sculptures and natural setting in equal measure. “It’s incredibly beautiful,” she said. “It feels like the sculptures have sprouted up from the ground. You can sepa-

THE PARK IS THE ART PROJECT. R O B I N S C H AT EL L

Cold Hollow Sculpture Park

Leading the Field

With new art and a new executive director, big things are happening at Cold Hollow Sculpture Park B Y A M Y L I L LY • lilly@sevendaysvt.com

S

culptor David Stromeyer turns 80 this fall. The artist has been making his signature monumental steel sculptures for more than half a century now, with no sign of slowing down. At the bucolic Cold Hollow Sculpture Park that Stromeyer created in Enosburg Falls on 200 acres he bought in 1970, more than 70 of his works show the entire range of his output. The latest will be unveiled this summer.

With rolling fields surrounded by forested hills, and mown paths between its enormous colorful sculptures, Cold Hollow is a joy to see on a sunny day. But as stunning as the site is, the outdoor venue is more than a showcase for Stromeyer’s works. It’s a vibrant center for the arts.

Public events this season, which runs from June 6 to October 12, include

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SEVEN DAYS MAY 20-27, 2026

presentations by two artists-in-residence — Constance Jaquay and Ed Woodham, both interdisciplinary artists — and the premiere of the park’s first commission, a site-specific musical composition for quintet by Phil Acimovic. There are birding walks, hikes led by forestry experts, photography workshops and a birthday party for Stromeyer.

That’s a lot to manage. Since the park opened to the public in 2014, Stromeyer and his wife, Sarah, who live on-site during the season, have handled most of it themselves.

They’ve also had the help of a small advisory council headed by former director Rosie Branson Gill and, after the park became a nonprofit in 2019, a board, which Sarah chairs. But the couple, Sarah said, are ready to “step out of the picture as much as we can from the running of things.”

Enter the park’s first full-time executive director, Robin Schatell. The Manhattan resident has 30 years of experience in arts programming, public event planning and organizational management in New York City. Her introduction to outdoor sculpture came as director of public programs and community engagement at Madison Square Park Conservancy. She subsequently managed public programming at Socrates Sculpture Park in Queens, one of many directorships she has held at institutions around the city.

Schatell founded her own nonprofit consultancy, Moving Culture Projects, in 2020, when performing arts venues had shut down due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Through the organization, she partnered with the City Parks Foundation, the NYC Department of Transportation’s Public Realm Program, City University of New York’s graduate center theater and other institutions to mount arts programming in public spaces across all five boroughs.

Prior to that, her largest project was heading the River to River Festival, New York City’s largest free summer arts festival. While serving as director of programming for Riverside Park at New York City’s Department of Parks and Recreation, she founded Summer on the Hudson in 2005; this year’s festival lists 400 events.

Given all that, one might think running a seasonal sculpture park in Franklin County is among her smaller projects. But

rate out the sculptures as individual pieces, but the park is the art project.”

The new director chose “Among the Sculptures” as this season’s theme to highlight that holistic view. The artwork is sited on only about 40 of the park’s 200 acres. So she partnered with the landconservation organization Cold Hollow to Canada — named for the Cold Hollow Mountains, which stretch from Fletcher to the Canadian border. The group’s foresters will offer two hikes through other parts of the property.

“What More Can I Say?” by David Stromeyer

ART SHOWS

Stromeyer working on “Body Politic”

COURTESY

Schatell also selected both artists-inresidence, whom she got to know through her position as consultant to Art in Odd Places, a grassroots project that uses visual and performing arts to reclaim public spaces along 14th Street in New York and in other cities. Woodham, who founded and directs Art in Odd Places, is a visual and performance artist, puppeteer, and curator who often uses humor and irony in his provocative works. Jaquay, based in Los Angeles, has performed with his group. She is a physical storyteller and avant-garde dancer whose work explores women’s trauma; at Cold Hollow she will give a workshop on the therapeutic practice of family mapping using found materials.

As yet unscheduled are sitings of at least three new sculptures by David Stromeyer. The one nearest to completion, which the artist created over the past few years in his on-site studio, is a painted work in stainless steel called “Once Broken.” Once the ground dries out, he and his team will move the piece across the fields using cranes that weigh 30,000 to 50,000 pounds apiece.

Three more sculptures are in various

stages of completion, but the studio isn’t always available to work on them: Stromeyer also uses the space to rehabilitate two or three existing sculptures every year — the paint lasts about 25 years — before hauling them back out to their foundations. He is currently conducting trial workdays with candidates for a conservator position. The new hire will learn to carry on the technically demanding rehabilitation work without him.

Schatell is well aware of the difficulties

presented by Cold Hollow’s remote location. “Rural places have their challenges, obviously, but I think bringing artists into [Cold Hollow] will be relatively easy because this is an incredible space,” she said. She acknowledged that funding is “getting harder,” but added that she has ideas for new revenue streams. The main skill she said she brings to the job? “Being able do it all.”

“This is someone who can get stuff done,” Sarah Stromeyer confirmed.

Schatell’s experience will be key to sustaining a rarity in the art world: a single-artist sculpture park that shows the evolution of that artist’s work over 50 years. Board member Peter Espenshade, who also runs the Lake Champlain Chamber Music Festival in Colchester, realized Cold Hollow’s unique worth on his first visit.

“A lot of places in Vermont claim to be hidden gems,” he said. “A friend of mine took me there two years ago and I was like, Oh, my god. I had no idea this place existed.

It really is a perfect surprise. You drive into this dirt road and suddenly, boom! There’s this extraordinary sculpture park.

“Sarah and David have this life that is almost an idealized commitment to the art,” he continued. “They’re surrounded by it. The sculptures come from an artist who just lives it. That’s what makes them so meaningful.” ➆

INFO Cold Hollow Sculpture Park in Enosburg Falls is open Thursday through Sunday, 11 a.m.-5 p.m., from June 6 to October 12. Free. coldhollowsculpturepark.com

MAY 23RD - JUNE 21ST, 2026

TO BELONG RO RY J AC K S O N

OPENING RECEPTION

MAY 29TH 5:30 - 7:00PM EDGEWATER GALLERY ON THE GREEN 6 MERCHANTS ROW, MIDDLEBURY 2H-edgewater052026 1

One Mill St and 6 Merchant’s Row, Middlebury Vermont 802-458-0098 & 802-989-7419

edgewatergallery.com

GALLERY HOURS: Wednesday - Saturday: 10AM – 4PM or by appointment

SEVEN DAYS MAY 20-27, 2026

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FIND ALL ART SHOWS + EVENTS AT SEVENDAYSVT.COM/ART

art MAY 20-27 ‘BEHIND CLOSED DOORS’: An exhibition of privately owned works lent by members of the Adamant community and including handmade textiles, local landscapes, ceramics, oil and watercolor paintings, vending machine art, and 240-year-old Pennsylvania Dutch fraktur calligraphy. Adamant Cooperative Gallery, through June 15.

‘TIME KEEPING’: “Clockworks,” sculptures by Luciana Frigerio, presented in conversation with clocks, watches, calendars, journals and time capsules from the museum’s collection. Henry Sheldon Museum of Vermont History, Middlebury, through January 2.

‘DRAWING ON THE ARCHIVE: TILLIE WALDEN’S CHARITY & SYLVIA’: A show pairing illustrations from the 2026 Vermont Reads graphic novel about a 19th-century couple with original objects and documents from the museum’s collection. Henry Sheldon Museum of Vermont History, Middlebury, through January 2.

‘THE STITCHES BETWEEN US: WOMEN’S HANDWORK & OUR SHARED STORIES’: An exhibition curated by Bennington College students of 19th-century garments from the museum’s collection. Historic Park-McCullough, North Bennington, May 22-October 19.

‘DECADES IN THE MAKING’: A celebration of five decades of artistic practice by artist members Susan Wilson, Dick Weis, Fran Bull, Mark Schwabe, Joan Curtis and show curator Charles Lysogorski.

Reception: Saturday, May 23, 3-5 p.m. Southern Vermont Arts Center, Manchester, through July 19.

LESLIE LYMAN: “Work Beneath the Work,” a solo show of works by the 2026 artist-in-residence.

Reception: Saturday, May 23, 4-6 p.m.; artist talk, 4:30 p.m. Saint-Gaudens National Historical Park, Cornish, N.H., May 23-August 3.

ROBIN LLOYD: “Through Lines,” a selection of drawings, paintings, collage and sculpture created across six decades by the lifelong activist. Reception and screening of selected film shorts: Sunday, May 24, 3-5 p.m. Burlington City Hall, through May 29.

JOEY MORGAN: “Forgotten Not Gone,” an exhibition by the Brattleboro artist of a series of 12 mixedmedia collages that transform fragments of a flood-damaged project into an exploration of loss, memory and personal transformation. Reception: Sunday, May 24, 5-7 p.m. Next Stage Arts, Putney, through August 9.

TOM CULLINS: “Abstractions,” an exhibition of watercolors, mixed-media works, photographs and assemblages exploring composition, shape, negative space and color by the award-winning Burlington architect. Reception: Tuesday, May 26, 5:30-7 p.m.

Jackson Gallery, Town Hall Theater, Middlebury, May 26-August 8.

CALLS TO ARTISTS ART HOP REGISTRATION: An invitation to participate in the event on September 11, 12 and 13 as an open studio, artist, business or vendor at the SEABA Artist Market. Register online at seaba.com. The SEABA Center, Burlington. Deadline: July 31. Free for SEABA members; membership $50.

SEABA ARTIST RESIDENCY: Now accepting applications for the SEABA/Unsworth Properties artist residency program, which provides one artist with access to a private studio at the Vaults in Burlington free of charge from October 2026 through September 2027. Apply at seaba.com. The SEABA Center, Burlington. Deadline: August 23. $25; free for SEABA members.

EXHIBITION

A Bright Spot Excepting its golden dome and red velvet curtains, the Vermont Statehouse’s palette is altogether too white. Of the dozens of oil-on-canvas portraits adorning the halls of power, only one is of a Black man. Of the female portraits (just three until this month) none has featured a woman of color — until now. In a May 5 ceremony in the House chamber, the Friends of the Vermont Statehouse unveiled a portrait of representative Louvenia Dorsey Bright, both the first Black woman and woman of color to serve in the Vermont legislature. Bright was elected in 1988 and served three terms Portrait of Louvenia Dorsey Bright by Ayana Ross representing South Burlington; she died in 2023. Ayana Ross, a painter from the state of Georgia and alum of the Vermont Studio Center in Johnson, was selected for the commission. She talked about getting to know Bright through photos and stories: her elegance, her luminous smile, her trademark tinted glasses. Ross included flowers representing the states where Bright lived and an apple, symbolizing her career in education. In the legislator’s hand is a copy of the bill codifying paid family leave, of which she was an original sponsor. To honor Bright holds deep meaning and promise, especially for many of the legislators of color who spoke. Rep. Saudia LaMont (D-Morrisville), the third Black woman to serve in the legislature, said, “When people walk through these halls and they see her portrait, I hope they don’t just see history. I hope they see possibility.”

PORTRAIT OF LOUVENIA DORSEY BRIGHT On permanent display in the West corridor of the Vermont Statehouse. Learn more at friendsvtstatehouse.org.

RORY JACKSON: “To Belong,” a new body of work that moves between two landscapes: central Vermont and the coastal fishing villages of western Ghana.

Reception: Friday, May 29, 5:30-7 p.m. Edgewater Gallery on the Green, Middlebury, May 23-June 21.

VISUAL ART EVENTS OPENING DAY RECEPTION: A celebration of the museum’s new season, including “Time Keeping,” “Uncovering Wallpaper Design,” “Drawing on the Archive: Tillie Walden’s Charity & Sylvia,” “Icy Artifacts of the Everyday,” the “Tempestry Project,” “Remembering the American Revolution,” and “Artists in the House.” Henry Sheldon Museum of Vermont History, Middlebury, Wednesday, May 20, 4-6 p.m. Free.

ARTIST TALK: TED MONTGOMERY: A discussion with the architect of his work and several constructed design pieces, including mobile benches and handmade telescopes, presented as the 21st annual Roland Batten Memorial Lecture in the Architecture + Design Film Series. BCA Studios, Burlington, Thursday, May 21, 6 p.m.

OPEN STUDIOS: EVE JACOBS-CARNAHAN AND GLEN COBURN HUTCHESON: An opportunity to stop by the artists’ studios during Vermont Crafts Council’s Open Studio Weekend. Jacobs-Carnahan presents narrative sculptures reflecting on American democracy, and Hutcheson shows experimental sculptures, paintings, wood-block prints and drawings. Clothespin Factory, Montpelier, Saturday, May 23, and Sunday, May 24, 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Free.

ALLEN HILL PRESS OPEN STUDIO: A chance to visit with printmaker Jeanne Amato in her workspace as part of the Vermont Craft Council’s Open Studio weekend. Allen Hill Press, South Royalton, Saturday, May 23, and Sunday, May 24, 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Free.

LIFE DRAWING AND PAINTING: A drop-in event for artists working with the figure from a live model.

T.W. Wood Museum, Montpelier, Thursday, May 21, 7-9 p.m. Free; $15 suggested donation.

CURATORIAL TALK: JOHN STOMBERG AND KATHERINE HART: An evening conversation with the Hood Museum’s John R. Stomberg and retired senior curator Katherine W. Hart, who reflect on their careers through intimate, story-driven questions.

AVA Gallery and Art Center, Lebanon, N.H., Friday, May 22, 5:30-6:30 p.m. Free.

ESSEX ART LEAGUE SPRING OPEN STUDIO: A display of works by 10 members of the league for the Vermont Craft Council’s Open Studio Weekend.

Mediums include oil, watercolor, pastels, collage, jewelry and German cut paper. 7 & 9 Main Street Studio, Essex Junction, Saturday, May 23, and Sunday, May 24, 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Free.

PROMOTING AN ART EXHIBIT? SUBMIT THE INFO AND IMAGES BY THURSDAY AT NOON AT SEVENDAYSVT.COM/POSTEVENT OR ART@SEVENDAYSVT.COM. SEVEN DAYS MAY 20-27, 2026

OPEN STUDIO WEEKEND: A self-guided tour of 146 studios across the state, with maps and guides available at participating community hubs and a new digital guide at tour.vermontcrafts.com.

Vermont Crafts Council, Montpelier, Saturday, May 23, and Sunday, May 24, 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Free.

DIANE SHULLENBERGER OPEN STUDIO: An opportunity for visitors to stop by and receive a tour of the textile artist’s workspace during the Vermont Craft Council’s Open Studio Weekend. Diane Shullenberger Studio, Jericho, Saturday, May 23, and Sunday, May 24, 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Free.

GET YOUR ART SHOW LISTED HERE AND ONLINE!

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OPENINGS + RECEPTIONS

VISUAL ART IN SEVEN DAYS:

ART LISTINGS ARE WRITTEN BY ALICE DODGE. LISTINGS ARE RESTRICTED TO ART SHOWS IN TRULY PUBLIC PLACES.

JERICHO/UNDERHILL OPEN STUDIOS: Self-tours of area artist studios for the Vermont Craft Council’s Open Studio Weekend: Emile Gruppe Gallery (tour hub, maps available), Dianne Shullenberger, Erin Cohen (Sugar House Jewelry), Gerald K. Stoner, Gretchen Alexander, Irene Lederer LaCroix (Rend’l Pottery & Art), Kait Armstrong (Armstrong Artisans), Kristen Richland (Sweet Enemy Art), Mary & John Weaver (Live Edge Creations), Nancy Chapman (Covey Road Studio), and Robert Linde. Various Jericho and Underhill locations, Saturday, May 23, and Sunday, May 24, 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Free.

OPEN STUDIO: KATIE O’ROURKE: An invitation to the Montpelier artist’s second-floor workspace during the Vermont Crafts Council’s Open Studio Weekend to see her abstract paintings inspired by movement, emotion and imagination. Katie O’Rourke Art, Montpelier, Saturday, May 23, and Sunday, May 24, 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Free.

OPEN STUDIO WEEKEND: An opportunity to visit work spaces as part of the Vermont Crafts Council’s Open Studio Weekend, including Alyssa DeLa Bruere Art Gallery & Studio, Kurt Budliger Photography Gallery & Studio, Painted Iris, Tabbatha Henry Designs, and Analog Works. Camp Meade, Middlesex, Saturday, May 23, and Sunday, May 24, 10 a.m.-5 p.m.

Free.

SPRING OPEN STUDIO: An opportunity to stroll through gardens and see more than 50 welded steel sculptures at Underhill Ironworks. Gerald K. Stoner Sculpture, Underhill, Saturday, May 23, and Sunday, May 24, 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Free.

RECEPTION AND ARTIST TALK: ARTHUR ZORN: A reception including a discussion at 3:30 p.m. with the Barre artist of his abstract expressionist paintings, which will be on view. B.F. Southgate & Company, Quechee, Saturday, May 23, 1-4 p.m. Free.

ARTIST TALK: JACKIE BROWN: A discussion with the sculptor of her exhibition, her love of materiality, and her use of raw materials such as clay and plaster.

AVA Gallery and Art Center, Lebanon, N.H., Saturday, May 23, 3-4 p.m. Free.

SPRING CELEBRATION: An evening of art, food and drink, with self-guided tours of the exhibitions and a meal provided by Brownsville Butcher & Pantry; vegetarian option available. Space is limited. Advance purchase of tickets is strongly recommended. Hall Art Foundation, Reading, Saturday, May 23, 4-7 p.m. $25-40.

‘BEST IN SHOW’: A one-evening show in which more than 30 local artists exhibit works in a range of mediums, joined by musicians Alex Raine, Remi Russin, Daffodil-11 and the Eyetraps. Spiral House, Burlington, Saturday, May 23, 7-11 p.m. $10; sliding scale.

SOCIAL SUNDAY: An opportunity for children and caregivers to stop in and complete a 15- to 30-minute activity during the two-hour workshop.

Milton Artists’ Guild Art Center & Gallery, Sunday, May 24, 1-3 p.m. Free.

PORTRAIT DRAWING AND PAINTING: A drop-in event where artists can practice skills in any medium. T.W. Wood Museum, Montpelier, Monday, May 25, 10 a.m.-noon. Free; $15 suggested donation. ➆

Find all calls to artists, ongoing art shows and future events online at:

sevendaysvt.com/art

= ONLINE EVENT OR EXHIBIT

The Beast never takes a season off, and neither should you. From deep winter powder days to summer mountain biking, golf, hiking, live music, and scenic escapes, the Beast 365 Pass unlocks year-round access to everything you love about Killington. Plus, your pass includes an Ikon Base Pass, giving you access to destinations beyond the Beast all winter long. One pass. Four seasons. Endless ways to play.

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music+nightlife From top: Jack White, Cory Wong, Las Guaracheras and Night Protocol

The Sounds of Summer A guide to outdoor music in the Green Mountains

BY C H R IS FARN S WO R T H • farnsworth@sevendaysvt.com

T

SUMMER PREVIEW

he snow is gone, the green is back, and the sound of music is about to fill the mountains and valleys of Vermont. That’s right, summer festival season is upon us, that time of year when hordes of very, very pale Vermonters scurry out of their hobbit holes, squint at the sun, throw on tie-dye shirts and immediately start dancing.

OK, maybe there’s a little more to it than that. The eclectic festivals and music series that sprout up in the summer months are plentiful and spread across the Green Mountains, so a guiding hand is needed. Fortunately, we’re here to help you make sense of a jam-packed calendar.

Read on for a selection of some of the coolest outdoor music events happening in Vermont this summer. This list isn’t comprehensive — we’ve excluded a couple, such as the Burlington Discover Jazz Festival and Do Good Fest, which we’ll preview in upcoming issues. And we’ll have loads more coverage of festivals and outdoor shows all summer long. Stay tuned!

SUMMER MUSIC SERIES

Summer-long music series are popping up all over — at breweries, on scenic hillsides and in city parks. They often feature top-tier touring artists, as well as plenty of local talent. Here are a few to put on your calendar.

Next Stage Arts’ Bandwagon Summer Series Through September 26 at various locations in Windham County. $24-32; free for kids under 12. nextstagearts.org

PHOTOS COURTESY OF THE ARTISTS; DAVID SWANSON (JACK WHITE)

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SEVEN DAYS MAY 20-27, 2026

Returning for its seventh season, the Next Stage Arts Bandwagon Summer Series features a combination of great music and community involvement: Events are hosted in multiple locations across Windham County. Whether at a local park or farm, these shows boast some of the more eclectic lineups around, including Latin jazz with

LAS GUARACHERAS (July 5), Toronto rockers

BYWATER CALL (August 14) and Afrobeat

masters KOTOKO BRASS (September 26).

“What I love about Bandwagon is the joy of it,” Next Stage executive director Natalie Dreyer said. “The dancing, the kids, the feeling that the whole community showed up. This is community building through the arts.”

Burlington City Arts’ Summer in the City June 3 to September 26, at various locations in downtown Burlington. Free. burlingtoncityarts.org

Speaking of community building, the folks over at Burlington City Arts are bringing back the Summer in the City series. Running June through September across the Queen City’s downtown, the initiative features more than 100 free programs, performances and events to fill up your summer.

Concerts in City Hall Park on Wednesdays and Fridays are a big part of the programming. Local acts such as MOMDAD(June 12), BRETT HUGHES & FRIENDS (July 10), BABY FEARN (August 21), and more are set for lunchtime shows in the shade of a tent. And don’t sleep on the evening Twilight Series, which features the likes of HIGH SUMMER (July 18) and NIGHT PROTOCOL (August 22) taking over the park.

Burlington City Arts executive director Doreen Kraft views the series as a way to shine a light on the arts in Burlington, especially amid the downtown’s recent struggles. In a press release, she said the events will “make it crystal clear that arts and culture are an essential part of what makes Burlington such a vibrant place.”

Shows at the Midway Lawn and Waterfront Park June 2 to September 12 at the Champlain Valley Exposition in Essex Junction and Waterfront Park in Burlington. Various prices. highergroundmusic.com

Is it a Vermont summer without a trip to the fairgrounds or the Burlington THE SOUNDS OF SUMMER

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La Cenerentola (Cinderella) GOT MUSIC NEWS? MUSIC@SEVENDAYSVT.COM

Barre Opera House Presents Series

On the Beat For almost 30 years, no electronic dance music event in the Burlington area has maintained the consistency and pull of Sunday Night Mass. Launched by NEXUS ARTIST MANAGEMENT in the late 1990s at the much-missed Club Metronome, the weekly series showcased touring DJs and ace local selectors alike. Over the years, it scaled back to a monthly installment, then a quarterly-ish event at the Higher Ground Ballroom in South Burlington.

While other players such as ROOST. WORLD and BURLINGTON ELECTRONIC DEPARTMENT have emerged to keep the local scene bumping, Sunday Night Mass is still going strong. It returns for a blowout on Sunday, May 24, at Higher Ground. The show features headliner DJ SNEAK, a pioneer of Chicago’s famed 1980s and early ’90s house scene. The Puerto Rican DJ’s 1996 track “You Can’t Hide From Your Bud” was a highwater mark for an artist credited with influencing the likes of DAFT PUNK and BASEMENT JAXX. Joining him at the top of the bill is Texas DJ and producer KELLY REVERB, formerly of ’90s breakbeat outfit SOUTHSIDE REVERB. Rounding out the lineup are local DJs VETICA, CHEETATAH, and PHILTHAAY and MITCH ALMOND of AQUATIC UNDERGROUND. Check out highergroundmusic.com to snag your tickets.

Does anyone remember when Hunter S. Thompson ran for sheriff of Colorado’s Pitkin County in 1970? It was a wild turn for the gonzo journalist, who ran on a platform of decriminalizing drugs and renaming Aspen

Listening In (Spotify mix of local jams) 1. “LOVE ME NOT” by Grace Potter 2. “ALWAYS ON MY MIND” by

All Night Boogie Band 3. “THE LOST SOUL” by Ruth

Garbus 4. “CHEVY” by Dari Bay

La Cenerentola (Cinderella) • May 23, 7 pm

5. “LOTUSFOOT” by Remi Russin 6. “XAYC” by Guster

MAY 29 8 PM

7. “HIEROTHESION” by Ordh

Scan to listen

lead singer The Wailin’ Jennys

sevendaysvt. com/playlist

“Fat City” to turn off would-be land developers. His campaign poster featured a fist clutching a peyote button.

While his campaign may have seemed like a stunt, Thompson was dead serious. He gave the staid local establishment a scare, losing the election by a thin margin only after Democrats and Republicans banded together to stop his ascent.

I’m not much for drawing political parallels in 2026 — things have gotten so weird these days that I know socialists who retweet Tucker Carlson. But there are shades of Thompson’s ON THE BEAT

THE

RUTH MOODY BAND

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DJ Sneak COURTESY

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The Sounds of Summer « P.62

waterfront? Even when the fair isn’t in town, there’s just something about the Champlain Valley Expo in the summer that sets the scene for a proper music fest. Ditto anything happening at Waterfront Park.

Curated by Higher Ground Presents (more on them in a sec), the lineup of acts performing at both venues this summer is seriously impressive. The Midway Lawn season kicks off with Sacramento rockers CAKE (June 2) and MT. JOY (June 4). It continues with a slate of heavy hitters, including JACK WHITE (July 15), “WEIRD AL” YANKOVIC (July 24) and RAINBOW KITTEN SURPRISE (September 12).

Not to be outdone, the Waterfront Concert Series at Waterfront Park is equally loaded. Unclassifiable savant THUNDERCAT kicks things off (July 30), followed by electro-pop duo SYLVAN ESSO with LANDLADY (July 31), and perennial indie-folk favorites the HEAD AND THE HEART (August 1). Rounding out that weekend are BIG THIEF (August 2), led by newish Vermonter Adrianne Lenker.

Ben & Jerry’s Concerts on the Green June 10 to September 4 at Shelburne Museum.

Various prices. highergroundmusic.com

Museums, ice cream, and rock and roll — what’s not to love? As they have for years, Shelburne Museum, Ben & Jerry’s, and South Burlington venue Higher Ground team up to bring in some of the biggest names of the summer. Their Concerts on the Green series has become a seasonal staple, boasting beautiful surroundings, family-friendly vibes and killer shows from major acts.

This year is no exception, with GILLIAN WELCH AND DAVID RAWLINGS (July 21), MODEST MOUSE (August 21), and GREGORY ALAN ISAKOV WITH VERMONT SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA (August 24 and 25) among numerous highlights.

Some shows have already sold out, so don’t waste any time before snagging tickets.

Spruce Peak Arts’ Summer Concert Series July 16, August 2 and August 19, 6 p.m., at the WhistlePig Pavilion at Spruce Peak in Stowe. $16.70-64.85. sprucepeakarts.org

The WhistlePig Pavilion at Spruce Peak is easily one of the most atmospheric outdoor venues in Vermont. Located smack-dab at the base of Stowe Mountain Resort, the setting provides gorgeous views and unparalleled vibes.

The crew at Spruce Peak Arts has made its summer concert series there a highlight of the season, booking a wide array of local talent and touring artists. The organizers may have outdone themselves 64

SEVEN DAYS MAY 20-27, 2026

Disco Biscuits

this year, going all in on ’90s nostalgia and partnering with Higher Ground to bring three big shows to the mountain. BIG HEAD TODD AND THE MONSTERS kick things off (July 16), followed by a performance from SPIN DOCTORS (August 2) and culminating in a sold-out show from folk-rock duo INDIGO GIRLS (August 19).

SUMMER MUSIC FESTIVALS

Now, let’s turn our attention to the various music festivals dotting the landscape this summer. While a few of the long-running fests have called it quits in recent years (RIP, Waking Windows) or have yet to announce a return (any of the reggae fests), plenty of classic Vermont events are coming back, joined by a few fresh faces on the scene. Here’s a look at some of the highlights.

Jeezum Crow Festival Friday, July 10, and Saturday, July 11, at the Stateside Amphitheater at Jay Peak Resort. $45-75; free for kids 6 and under. jaypeakresort.com

When there’s no snow, the only thing to do with all these ski resorts is to turn them into music festival grounds, right? Jay Peak is no exception, hosting the Jeezum Crow Festival for more than a decade at the Stateside Amphitheater.

With a heavy emphasis on jam bands and roots and Americana acts, the fest offers a laid-back and intimate experience compared to many of the other, crunchier jam fests. It boasts simple camping plots and just two stages to navigate: one for the touring acts, the other a spotlight for Vermont artists. This year’s lineup includes

YONDER MOUNTAIN STRING BAND, the DISCO

BISCUITS, RAILROAD EARTH and CHARLIE PARR, as well as local acts such as KYLE CHADBURN & THE EARTHBOUND SPIRITS and BEG, STEAL OR BORROW.

Middlebury Festival on-the-Green Sunday, July 12, to Saturday, July 18, at Middlebury Town Green. Free. festivalonthegreen.org

For those looking to avoid any sort of Live Nation corporate feel, you don’t get more grassroots than the Middlebury Festival on-the-Green. It started in the 1970s when Middlebury College dance instructor Dana Holby decided to rent out the village green for a performance. But the first official iteration of the fest took place in 1981.

It’s since grown bigger and bigger. Four decades later, it’s one of the most Vermonty of Vermont fests, with an authentic community feel and a sprawling lineup.

This year’s program includes Colorado roots act MOJO BIRDS, Vermont musicians TED AND THE BIG EASY and RYAN MONTEBLEAU, Québécois folk artist MÉLISANDE, and Nashville funk band SLAP DRAGON, as well as circus performers, marionettes and magic shows. It’s completely free, so all you have to do is head to Middlebury with some sunscreen and a plan.

Strawberry Jam Saturday, August 8, at Strawberry Hill Farm in Stowe. $95-185. strawberryjamstowe.com

Nothing says “Vermont summer” like a big show in a green field on a farm.

And Strawberry Jam delivers just that.

The one-day fest is ensconced at the

scenic Strawberry Hill Farm in Stowe, surrounded by trees and mountains and, if you time it right, with a truly remarkable sunset view.

Hosted in conjunction with Waterbury Center club Zenbarn, Strawberry Jam has a nice blend of touring acts and hometown heroes. Funk guitarist CORY WONG headlines, joined by Oakland R&B act the CALIFORNIA HONEYDROPS, singer-songwriter DEVON GILFILLIAN, and the bluegrass duo of MICHAEL DAVES & JACOB JOLLIFF. The Homegrown Stage features Led Zeppelin tribute NICO SUAVE & THE MOTHERSHIP, Grateful Dead tribute DOBBS’ DEAD, and Goose drummer COTTER ELLIS performing with a collection of friends.

Stowe Jazz Festival Friday, August 14, to Sunday, August 16, at Mayo Farm Event Field in Stowe. Free. stowejazzfestival.org

Musician and producer GEORGE WALKER PETIT founded the Stowe Jazz Festival in 2017 as a free three-day celebration of the art form. Frustrated with what he saw as other jazz fests straying from the genre in their programming, Petit wanted to start something that he felt better represented jazz music, as well as the local musicians in the scene.

The festival has since come closer to achieving Petit’s goal. It has outgrown its previous home at the Alchemist brewery and is now held at the Mayo Farm Event Field. The fest is still bringing top-flight jazz to its stages, this year including the ALEX GOODMAN QUARTET, SHAYNA STEELE, the ANTHONY WILSON NONET and bassist DAVID AMBROSIO’s band CIVIL DISOBEDIENCE. Grand Point North Friday, September 18, to Sunday, September 20, at Waterfront Park in Burlington. $60-330. grandpointnorth.com

Waitsfield native and certified rock star GRACE POTTER is once again bringing her Grand Point North festival to the Burlington waterfront. Potter kicked off the fest in 2011, using it as a sort of end-ofsummer homecoming show. She’d often tap her rock-star friends to play it, including Kenny Chesney, the Avett Brothers, the War on Drugs and the Flaming Lips. And she put them on the bill alongside a handpicked selection of Vermont acts.

After a four-year absence largely due to the pandemic, a scaled-down version of the festival returned in 2024. Now back in full force, this summer’s Grand Point North lineup includes PORTUGAL. THE MAN, DAWES and the DEVIL MAKES THREE. Representing the Queen City are the JESSE TAYLOR BAND, FRANKIE WHITE and ROSE ASTEROID, to name a few. ➆

CLUB DATES live music WED.20

Find the most up-to-date info on live music, DJs, comedy and more at sevendaysvt.com/music. If you’re a talent booker or artist planning live entertainment at a bar, nightclub, café, restaurant, brewery or coffee shop, send event details to music@sevendaysvt.com or submit the info using our form at sevendaysvt.com/postevent.

FRI.22 // LARA CWASS BAND [JAM]

The Balconiers (funk, jazz) at the Alchemist, Stowe, 4 p.m. Free.

Bluegrass & Pizza (bluegrass) at Four Quarters Brewing, Winooski, 6:30 p.m. Free.

Cricket Blue, Connor Young, Diamond, Eastern Mountain Time, Grace Palmer (indie) at Radio Bean, Burlington, 7 p.m. $10/$15.

FILE: LUKE AWTRY

THU.21

Folino’s Summer Concert Series on the Patio (live music series) at Folino’s Pizza, Northfield, 6 p.m.

Free.

The Fool, Saru (indie rock) at Radio Bean, Burlington, 9 p.m. $10.

George Murtie (covers) at On Tap Bar & Grill, Essex Junction, 6 p.m.

Free.

Ides of Marge, Be-er (rock) at Radio Bean, Burlington, 7 p.m. $10.

Jaded Ravins (Americana) at the Den at Harry’s Hardware, Cabot, 7 p.m. Free.

Lincoln Sprague (piano) at Venetian Cocktail & Soda Lounge, Burlington, 5 p.m. Free.

Paddy Reagan, Bruno John, Jeremy Fredrick (indie, jazz) at Monkey House, Winooski, 6:45 p.m. $5/$10.

Three Piece Meal (funk, jazz) at Foam Brewers, Burlington, 7 p.m.

Free.

FRI.22

Ben Clark (singer-songwriter) at the Whammy Bar, Calais, 7:30 p.m. Free.

CRUNK WITCH, Night Protocol, Hexenclub (electro pop) at Monkey House, Winooski, 8:30 p.m. $10.

Dan Parks (singer-songwriter) at Switchback Beer Garden & Smokehouse, Burlington, 5:30 p.m. Free.

Dave Mitchell’s Blue’s Revue (blues) at Red Square, Burlington, 2 p.m. Free.

Cole, DJ Chaston (DJ) at Red Square Blue Room, Burlington, 9 p.m. Free.

Turf n’ Turf, Montreal Paul, Kitbash, Magic User (rock, punk) at Burlington Odd Fellows Hall, 6:30 p.m. $10.

DJ Two Sev, JP Black (DJ) at Red Square, Burlington, 9 p.m. Free.

High Fade, Canopy (funk, rock) at Higher Ground Showcase Lounge, South Burlington, 7:30 p.m. $20.

Sans Souci (Jerry Garcia Band tribute) at Zenbarn, Waterbury Center, 7 p.m. $10/$15.

Folino’s Summer Concert Series on the Patio (live music series) at Folino’s Pizza, Williston, 6 p.m.

Free.

Tim Brick (country) at the Den at Harry’s Hardware, Cabot, 7 p.m.

Free.

Bluegrass Brunch (bluegrass) at Madbush Falls, Waitsfield, noon.

Free.

Jazz Sessions (jazz) at the 126, Burlington, 9 p.m. Free.

Evan Jennison (singersongwriter) at Black Flannel Brewing & Distilling, Essex, 6 p.m.

Free.

THU.21

SUN.24

Jazz Night with Ray Vega (jazz) at Hotel Vermont, Burlington, 8:30 p.m. Free.

D.Davis & Marc Gwinn (folk) at Charlie-O’s World Famous, Montpelier, 8 p.m. Free.

Speak of the Witch, Sabrehound, Bitter Rival (metal) at Charlie-O’s World Famous, Montpelier, 9 p.m.

Free.

Cwass Act Burlington guitarist and singer

LARA CWASS is a rising force in the jam-

band world. Whether she’s performing with bassist Oteil Burbridge (the Allman Brothers, Dead & Company), Grahame Lesh, guitarist Brandon “Taz” Niederauer, or joining fellow Green Mountain acts such as Zach Nugent and Joe Agnello, Cwass’ classic, soulful guitar tone is fast becoming unmistakable. Long a supporting player, Cwass has been stepping out with her own trio more and more, letting her red Gibson 335 sing with a mixture of searing blues licks and Zappa-esque jazz-rock melodies. She and her band play Foam Brewers in Burlington on Friday, May 22.

Dead Man Strumming (Grateful Dead tribute) at River Roost Brewery, White River Junction, 5 p.m. Free.

Deja-Nous (jazz, Zydeco) at Venetian Cocktail & Soda Lounge, Burlington, 8 p.m. Free.

HiFi (live house) at the Alchemist, Stowe, 5 p.m. Free.

Joe Adler & Joe Agnello (acoustic) at Two Heroes Brewery & Public House, South Hero, 6 p.m. Free.

Joe’s Big Band (jazz) at Higher Ground Showcase Lounge, South Burlington, 7:30 p.m. $20.

Lara Cwass Band (jam) at Foam Brewers, Burlington, 9 p.m. Free.

Matt Meserve (acoustic) at Gusto’s, Barre, 6 p.m. Free.

McMaple (covers) at On Tap Bar & Grill, Essex Junction, 9 p.m. Free.

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

Mostly Bones (jazz) at Radio Bean, Burlington, 10:30 p.m. $10.

Mowgli Gianitti (jazz, folk) at Poultney Pub, 6 p.m. Free.

The Nancy Druids, Swale (indie rock) at Standing Stone Wines, Winooski, 7 p.m. $10.

Northern Ramble (roots rock) at Charlie-O’s World Famous, Montpelier, 8:30 p.m. Free.

ok commuter (rock) at 1st Republic Brewing, Essex, 6 p.m.

Free.

J.J. Booth (singer-songwriter) at Two Heroes Brewery & Public House, South Hero, 6 p.m. Free.

Quadra (covers) at the Old Post, South Burlington, 7 p.m. Free.

King Tuff, Mod Lang (indie rock) at the Stone Church, Brattleboro, 8 p.m. SOLD OUT.

The Ray Vega QuARTet (Miles Davis tribute) at the Phoenix, Waterbury, 7:30 p.m. $15-$30.

The Seventeen Strings (folk) at Jericho Café & Tavern, 7 p.m. Free.

Soul Porpoise (R&B, funk) at Zenbarn, Waterbury Center, 8 p.m. $10/$15.

Summit Prowler, ouzkwqlzn, Exile Shroud (indie) at Light Club Lamp Shop, Burlington, 8 p.m. $10/$15.

Tyler Mast (roots, pop) at Hugo’s, Montpelier, 7:30 p.m. Free.

WD-40 (covers) at On Tap Bar & Grill, Essex Junction, 5 p.m. Free.

SAT.23

Artie Party (blues) at the Whammy Bar, Calais, 7:30 p.m.

Free.

Cooper (covers) at On Tap Bar & Grill, Essex Junction, 5 p.m. Free.

Crunk Witch (electro) at Bent Nails Roadhouse, Middlesex, 8:30 p.m. Free.

George Nostrand (acoustic) at Poultney Pub, 6 p.m. Free.

Jerband (covers) at On Tap Bar & Grill, Essex Junction, 9 p.m. Free.

Lee Ross Music, Barbiemode (dance) at Afterthoughts, Waitsfield, 8 p.m. $10.

Left Eye Jump (blues) at Red Square, Burlington, 3 p.m. Free.

The Lousekateers, A.P.E., Model 97, Timmy Heist & the 456, WratChit (punk) at 1st Republic Brewing, Essex, 7 p.m. $15.

Phillip Hyjek Trio (folk) at Jericho Café & Tavern, 7 p.m. Free.

Queer Takeover (indie, DJ) at Radio Bean, Burlington, 7:30 p.m. $10/$15.

Quinn Sullivan (blues, rock) at Higher Ground Showcase Lounge, South Burlington, 8 p.m. $30.

Ray, Russ, Bob, Josh (jam) at Lost Nation Brewing, Morrisville, 8 p.m. $20.

Seth Yacovone Band, Phantom Suns (rock) at Monkey House, Winooski, 7:30 p.m. $10.

Slum Village, Vice Souletric (hip-hop) at Zenbarn, Waterbury Center, 8 p.m. $35/$40.

John Andrews & the Yawns, vega (indie) at Radio Bean, Burlington, 7:30 p.m. $15.

The John Lackard Band (blues) at Red Square, Burlington, 3 p.m.

Free.

The Outcrops (folk rock) at Lawson’s Finest Liquids, Waitsfield, 3 p.m. Free.

Seth Yacovone (acoustic) at the Alchemist, Stowe, 4 p.m. Free.

Sunday Brunch Tunes (singersongwriter) at Hotel Vermont, Burlington, 10 a.m.

Wine & Jazz Sundays (jazz) at Shelburne Vineyard, 5 p.m. Free.

MON.25

Afro-Latin Dance Night (DJ) at Zenbarn, Waterbury Center, 7 p.m. $10/$25.

Thirsty Thursday (DJ) at Rí Rá Irish Pub & Whiskey Room, Burlington, 10 p.m. Free.

Vinyl Night (DJ) at Poultney Pub, 6 p.m. Free.

FRI.22

Burly Bear, Aidan (DJ) at Red Square Blue Room, Burlington, 8 p.m. Free.

DJ Chia (DJ) at Bent Nails Roadhouse, Middlesex, 8:30 p.m.

Free.

DJ Dakota, Nasteeluvsyou, DJ Chris Logan (DJ) at Afterthoughts, Waitsfield, 9 p.m.

Free.

DJ Ronstoppable, Two Sev (DJ) at Red Square, Burlington, 7 p.m.

Free.

DJ Taka (DJ) at Light Club Lamp Shop, Burlington, 11 p.m. $10/$15.

DJ Two Rivers (DJ) at Gusto’s, Barre, 9 p.m. Free.

Friday Night at Specs (DJ) at Specs Cafe & Bar, Winooski, 7 p.m.

Free.

City of the Sun (indie) at Higher Ground Showcase Lounge, South Burlington, 7:30 p.m. $22.50.

SAT.23

TUE.26

DJ Kanganade (DJ) at the Alchemist, Stowe, 3 p.m. Free.

Big Easy Tuesdays with Jon McBride (jazz) at the 126, Burlington, 9 p.m. Free.

DJ Chaston, Aras (DJ) at Red Square, Burlington, 6 p.m. Free.

DJ LaFountaine (DJ) at Gusto’s, Barre, 9 p.m. Free.

Cole Davidson (folk) at Radio Bean, Burlington, 7 p.m. $10.

Dead Is Alive with Dobbs’ Dead (Grateful Dead tribute) at Einstein’s Tap House, Burlington, 8 p.m. $15.

SUN.24

Sunday Night Mass with DJ Sneak, Kelly Reverb (EDM) at Higher Ground Ballroom, South Burlington, 8 p.m. $32.

Honky Tonk Tuesday with Pony Hustle (country) at Radio Bean, Burlington, 9 p.m. $10.

TUE.26

WED.27

open mics & jams

Bluegrass & Pizza (bluegrass) at Four Quarters Brewing, Winooski, 6:30 p.m. Free.

Jazz Night with Ray Vega (jazz) at Hotel Vermont, Burlington, 8:30 p.m. Free.

Jazz Sessions (jazz) at the 126, Burlington, 9 p.m. Free.

Bashment Tuesday (DJ) at Akes’ Place, Burlington, 6 p.m. Free.

WED.20

Jazz Jam with Nina Towne (jazz) at the Phoenix, Waterbury, 6 p.m. $10.

Oranssi Pazuzu, Wayfarer (metal) at Stone Church, Brattleboro, 8 p.m. $37/$42.

Open Mic (open mic) at Poultney Pub, 7 p.m. Free.

djs

Open Mic (open mic) at the Whammy Bar, Calais, 7 p.m. Free.

WED.20

THU.21

SUN.24

DJ Chalango, DJ Tarzana Salsa Night (DJ) at Hugo’s, Montpelier, 7:30 p.m. Free.

Olde Time Jam Session (open jam) at the Den at Harry’s Hardware, Cabot, noon. Free.

Sondido Mal Maïz (Latin, psych) at Foam Brewers, Burlington, 9 p.m. Free.

OPEN MICS & JAMS SEVEN DAYS MAY 20-27, 2026

» P.67 65

music+nightlife FILE: LUKE AWTRY

WIN FREE TICKETS TO GREAT CONCERTS We’ve Sent Our Listeners to Concerts Locally & Around The Country: BILLY JOEL

ELO

MADISON SQUARE GARDEN

TD GARDEN, BOSTON

BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN

ELTON JOHN

GILLETTE STADIUM, FOXBORO

SUNRISE, FLORIDA

ROLLING STONES

THE EAGLES

SOLDIER FIELD, CHICAGO & GILLETTE STADIUM, FOXBORO

THE FORUM, LOS ANGELES

Kevin Bloom

PAUL MCCARTNEY

THE WHO

BELLE CENTER, MONTREAL

TD GARDEN, BOSTON

SHOWS AT LOCAL VENUES LIKE THE FLYNN, BARRE OPERA HOUSE, STRAND CENTER & THE DOUBLE E – ESSEX THE MONKEES

MANIA

HARVEST & RUST

LITTLE FEAT

ALMOST QUEEN

ONE NIGHT OF QUEEN

BRUCE HORNSBY

TUSK

SPACE ODDITY

LOS LOBOS

EAGLEMANIA

FAB FOUR

MICHAEL MCDONALD

HOLLYWOOD NIGHTS

INTO THE MYSTIC

GORDON LIGHTFOOT

RUMOURS OF FLEETWOOD MAC

ARRIVAL FROM SWEDEN

GLADYS KNIGHT

YESTERDAY

NEIL YOUNG

KASHMIR

MELISSA ETHERIDGE BONNIE RAITT

LIVE FROM LAUREL CANYON

BOZ SCAGGS

BRITAIN’S FINEST

THE RASCALS

FLOYDIAN TRIP

TOM RUSH

THE SIXTIES SHOW

JORMA KAUKONEN

FOREIGNERS JOURNEY

SHADOWS OF THE SIXTIES MERSEY BEATLES CLASSIC STONES MAGICAL MYSTERY DOORS DYLAN & THE DEAD BOOKENDS THE WIZARDS OF WINTER

THE SIMON & GARFUNKEL STORY

ZACH NUGENT’S DEAD SET

GET THE LED OUT

JERRY DUTY

DWEEZIL ZAPPA

BIG YELLOW TAXI

JOHN DENVER CHRISTMAS

GRAND POINT NORTH

ALL NIGHT BOOGIE BAND

BRIT FLOYD

CREEDENCE REVIVED

MAVIS STAPLES LADYSMITH BLACK MOMBAZO

PRESLEY, PERKINS, LEWIS & CASH

LISTEN FOR DETAILS & JOIN THE FUN! CHAMPLAIN VALLEY CENTRAL VERMONT NORTHERN VERMONT

GET OUR MOBILE APP

Streaming on ClassicHitsVermont.com 66

SEVEN DAYS MAY 20-27, 2026

2V-WCVT-052026 1

5/14/26 4:39 PM

On the Beat « P.63 political run in Burlington musician KEVIN BLOOM’s push to be elected sheriff of Chittenden County.

Bloom, the mind behind Burlington psych-rock act the DEAD SHAKERS, is campaigning on issues such as curbing evictions rather than renaming Burlington, say, Crap Town or legalizing all narcotics, like Thompson wanted.

But don’t quote me on local politics, all right? I’m here to tell you where to find open mics and talk shit about NOAH KAHAN, not to wade into debates about property taxes.

So why am I writing about Bloom’s campaign? Because he’s throwing a rally in precisely the way one would expect an indie rocker to throw a rally: with a massive concert at Radio Bean in Burlington. The event on Saturday, May 30, features a stacked lineup of GREG FREEMAN, LIZ COOPER, DJ TAKA, IVAMAE, KATE KUSH, BLOWTORCH, ENGLISH MAJOR, DJ TWO SEV and others. Speakers include Winooski City Councilor Al Turkos, Burlington City Councilor Melo Grant (P-Central District), state Senate candidate Nikhil Goyal and Democratic gubernatorial candidate Amanda Janoo.

I’m not going to lie: I have no clue about the vagaries of local elections, so who knows if we have a Thompson-like situation brewing.

I’m just over here fantasizing about the Burlington music scene taking over Vermont politics. Who says no to CRAIG MITCHELL, governor of Vermont? I mean, probably Mitchell, to be honest.

But what about the TSUNAMIBOTS as senators, running on an antihuman platform? They’d probably get funding from Palantir to “consciously uncouple” from humanity.

New Release Radar Five recent or upcoming releases from Vermont artists

BY CHRIS FARNSWORTH

We’ll have to

wait and see

1. NOCERE by krummholz, krummmholz. bandcamp.com (March 3, indie pop) 2. LIVE FROM THE UNDERGROUND by

Ali T, sheisalit. bandcamp.com (March 27, indie pop) 3. WHEN WE DEAD AWAKEN… by

Invisible Homes, invisiblehomes. bandcamp.com (May 1, indie rock) 4. FAMILY NIGHT

by EVNGwear, evngwear. bandcamp.com (May 1, jazz fusion) 5. LIFE OF PASSION

by Bo Malcolm, bo-malcolm. bandcamp.com (June 5, folk)

come November, I guess. Until then, you can get tickets at radiobean.com.

And in the interest of equal time, if any other BTV sheriff hopefuls are throwing concert rallies, hit me up.

C HRI S FARN S W O RT H

open mics & jams

WED.27 // ORANSSI PAZUZU [METAL]

CONTINUED FROM P.65

SUPER STARTERS!

MON.25

Bluegrass Etc. Jam with Ben Kogan (bluegrass jam session) at Ottauquechee Yacht Club, Woodstock, 6:30 p.m. Free.

Monday Night Open Mic (open mic) at Pearl Street Pub, Essex Junction, 6 p.m. Free.

Annuals, Veggies & Herbs Ready to Plant

TUE.26

Doug’s Open Mic (open mic) at Two Heroes Brewery & Public House, South Hero, 6 p.m. Free.

Open Memorial Day 8-3

Bluegrass Jam (bluegrass) at Poultney Pub, 7 p.m.

Free.

Regular Hours 8-5 Daily

Open Mic (open mic) at Monkey House, Winooski, 7 p.m. Free.

2638 Ethan Allen Hwy, New Haven greenhavengardensandnursery.com @greenhavengardensvt 802-453-5382

WED.27

Lit Club (poetry open mic) at Light Club Lamp Shop, Burlington, 6 p.m. Free.

Open Mic (open mic) at Poultney Pub, 7 p.m. Free.

In Space, No One Can Hear You Headbang Like some cosmic demon descending to Earth in an H.P.

comedy $5 Improv Night (comedy) at Vermont Comedy Club, Burlington, 7 p.m. $5.

Conjuring a miasma of psychedelic black metal and a particularly unsettling brand of dark ambience, the Finnish band pairs a fearlessly idiosyncratic and

Standup Open Mic (comedy open mic) at Vermont Comedy Club, Burlington, 8:30 p.m. Free.

progressive sound with a knack for the conceptual. Its 2024 album, Muuntautuja

THU.21

(“Shapeshifter” in English), was a snarling and epic tale of cosmic horror, filled

Pete Lee (comedy) at Vermont Comedy Club, Burlington, 7 p.m. $25.

with churning soundscapes and ice-cold synthesizers. Oranssi Pazuzu’s North

FRI.22

Pete Lee (comedy) at Vermont Comedy Club, Burlington, 7 & 9 p.m. $25.

SAT.23

Pete Lee (comedy) at Vermont Comedy Club, Burlington, 7 & 9 p.m. $25.

TUE.26

All That Jazz Open Mic Comedy (comedy) at the 126, Burlington, 7 p.m. Free.

WED.27

American tour brings them to the Stone Church in Brattleboro on Wednesday, COURTESY

Laugh & Run Burlington (comedy) at DoubleTree by Hilton, South Burlington, 6 p.m. Free.

May 27. Denver’s WAYFARER provide support.

Karaoke with DJ Vociferous (karaoke) at Hugo’s, Montpelier, 7:30 p.m. Free.

Trivia Monday (trivia) at Black Flannel Brewing & Distilling, Essex, 6 p.m. Free.

Trivia (trivia) at Four Quarters Brewing, Winooski, 6 p.m. Free.

Trivia Monday with Top Hat Entertainment (trivia) at McKee’s Original, Winooski, 7 p.m. Free.

Trivia (trivia) at Einstein’s Tap House, Burlington, 6 p.m. Free.

Trivia with Brain (trivia) at Charlie-O’s World Famous, Montpelier, 8 p.m. Free.

Trivia Night (trivia) at 1st Republic Brewing, Essex, 6 p.m. Free.

Trivia with Craig Mitchell (trivia) at Monkey House, Winooski, 7 p.m. Free.

Trivia Night (trivia) at McKee’s Island Pub & Pizza, South Hero, 6:30 p.m. Free.

TUE.26

Standup Open Mic (comedy open mic) at Vermont Comedy Club, Burlington, 8:30 p.m. Free.

Trivia Night with College (trivia) at Bent Nails Roadhouse, Middlesex, 7 p.m. Free.

trivia, karaoke, etc.

FRI.22

WED.20

Karaoke Friday Night (karaoke) at Park Place Tavern & Grill, Essex Junction, 8 p.m. Free.

Karaoke with Cam (karaoke) at Monopole, Plattsburgh, N.Y., 9 p.m. Free.

Trivia (trivia) at Two Heroes Brewery & Public House, South Hero, 6 p.m. Free.

Trivia (trivia) at Alfie’s Wild Ride, Stowe, 7 p.m. Free.

Trivia (trivia) at Rí Rá Irish Pub & Whiskey Room, Burlington, 7 p.m. Free.

Trivia (trivia) at Venetian Cocktail & Soda Lounge, Burlington, 7 p.m. Free.

THU.21

Boogie Bingo (bingo, DJ) at the Alchemist, Stowe, 5 p.m. Free.

Karaoke Friday Night (karaoke) at Park Place Tavern & Grill, Essex Junction, 8 p.m. Free.

SAT.23

Karaoke with DJ Vociferous (karaoke) at Charlie-O’s World Famous, Montpelier, 9:30 p.m. Free.

Taproom Trivia (trivia) at 14th Star Brewing, St. Albans, 6:30 p.m. Free.

WED.27

Lyfe-A-Palooza Drag Show (drag) at Monopole, Plattsburgh, N.Y., 8 p.m. $10.

Dads’ Night Out: Trivia Night (trivia) at Colatina Exit, Bradford, 6:30 p.m. Free.

Queeraoke with Goddess (karaoke) at Standing Stone Wines, Winooski, 9 p.m. Free.

Historically Close Friends Presents: ‘Caterpillar Soup’ by Gina Stevensen (theatre) at Radio Bean, Burlington, 8 p.m. $10/$15.

Family-Friendly Karaoke (karaoke) at Old Soul Design Shop, Plattsburgh, N.Y., 5 p.m. Free.

Sunday Funday (games) at 1st Republic Brewing, Essex, noon. Free.

Sunday Night Trivia (trivia) at the Lazy Goat Tavern, Essex, 6 p.m. Free.

Don Mahogany Third Thursday Trivia (trivia) at Butter Bar & Kitchen, Burlington, 7 p.m. Free.

Trivia (trivia) at Zenbarn, Waterbury Center, 5:30 p.m. Free.

Karaoke (karaoke) at Gusto’s, Barre, 8 p.m. Free.

MON.25

5/15/26 4:47 PM

Trivia Tuesday (trivia) at On Tap Bar & Grill, Essex Junction, 7 p.m. Free.

Charlie’Os World Famous Drag Show (drag) at Charlie-O’s World Famous, Montpelier, January 28, 7:45 p.m. Free.

SUN.24

12V-VTRepTheatre052026 1

Trivia Night (trivia) at Gusto’s, Barre, 6:30 p.m. Free.

Drag & Burlesque (drag) at Light Club Lamp Shop, Burlington, 9 p.m. $10/$15.

Country Line Dancing (line dancing) at Zenbarn, Waterbury Center, 7:30 p.m. Free.

Karaoke Friday Night (karaoke) at Park Place Tavern & Grill, Essex Junction, 8 p.m. Free.

5/21/24 3:24 PM

Lovecraft novel, the music of ORANSSI PAZUZU tests the sanity of mere mortals.

WED.20

Genius Hour Comedy Show (comedy) at Einstein’s Tap House, Burlington, 8 p.m. Donations.

12V-greenhaven052224.indd 1

Karaoke Friday Night (karaoke) at Park Place Tavern & Grill, Essex Junction, 8 p.m. Free.

Karaoke with Cam (karaoke) at Monopole, Plattsburgh, N.Y., 9 p.m. Free.

Trivia (trivia) at Alfie’s Wild Ride, Stowe, 7 p.m. Free.

Trivia (trivia) at Venetian Cocktail & Soda Lounge, Burlington, 7 p.m. Free.

Trivia (trivia) at Rí Rá Irish Pub & Whiskey Room, Burlington, 7 p.m. Free. ➆

say you saw it in

Retro Game Night (gaming) at the Den at Harry’s Hardware, Cabot, 6 p.m. Free.

SEVEN DAYS MAY 20-27, 2026 12v-sayyousawit.indd 1

67 8/20/24 6:01 PM

calendar M A Y

2 0 - 2 7 ,

WED.20

mathematics. Hosted by the Vermont Small Business Development Center. 10 a.m.

Free; preregister.

MED47 GARDEN SHOPPE: Green thumbs revel in a jampacked pop-up sale of veggie plants, annuals, perennials, hanging baskets and décor.

Proceeds benefit the Brendon P. Cousino Med47 Foundation.

3319 S. 116 Rd., Bristol, 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Free; cost of plants.

community

agriculture

VT PAID FOR PERFORMANCE PRESENTATION FOR FARMS: Agricultural experts break down the specifics of performance-based payments for phosphorus reduction as a new application window approaches for regional producers. University of Vermont Extension, Middlebury, 11 a.m.12:30 p.m. Free; preregister.

business

MAY MIXER: Hors d’oeuvres and networking opportunities encourage warm community connections at this Franklin County Regional Chamber of Commerce event. Jeff’s Maine Seafood, St. Albans, 5:30 p.m. $15; free for members and firsttime attendees.

‘SPEAKING WITH CONFIDENCE FOR WOMEN IN BUSINESS’: Professionals sharpen their rhetorical edge by dismantling vocal habits and navigating the specific social hurdles of leadership communication.

Hosted by Women Business Owners Network of Vermont.

Noon-1:30 p.m. $20; free for members and first-time guests; preregister.

‘STARTING YOUR OWN BUSINESS’: Strategic planning meets practical execution as advisers guide attendees through the complexities of value propositions, legal registrations and startup

PASSEGGIATA: Locals take to the streets for a community-building stroll of the pedestrian promenade based on the Italian social ritual. Church Street Marketplace, Burlington, 6 p.m. Free.

crafts

YARN & YAK: A weekly club for fiber fanatics of all skill levels makes knitting and crocheting more sociable. Milton Artists’ Guild Art Center & Gallery, 5-7 p.m. Free.

YARN CRAFTERS GROUP: A drop-in meetup welcomes knitters, crocheters, spinners, weavers and other fiber artists.

BYO snacks and drinks. Must Love Yarn, Shelburne, 5-7 p.m.

Free.

etc.

CHAMP MASTERS TOASTMASTERS CLUB: Those looking to strengthen their speaking and leadership skills gain new tools. Virtual option available. Dealer.com, Burlington, 6-7:30 p.m. Free; preregister.

GUIDED TOURS: Guests get to know the personal histories of rescued farm animals at an educational walk-through highlighting the nuances of lifelong care. Merrymac Animal Sanctuary, Charlotte, 2-3 p.m. $25.

‘OFF THE WALL’: A fast-paced lottery of fine art features a mosaic of 12-inch panels showcasing the breadth of Vermont’s creative community. Mad River Valley Arts Gallery, Waitsfield, 1-5 p.m. $150.

help kick off the museum’s 2026 season, featuring six new exhibits ranging from American Revolution artifacts to a collaborative climate-tracking textile project. Henry Sheldon Museum of Vermont History, Middlebury, 4-6 p.m. Free.

food & drink

CHAMPLAIN VALLEY VEGAN COMMUNITY DINNER: Folks practicing a plant-based diet — and those who are curious about beginning — gather for socializing, learning and a tasty potluck meal. BYO vegan dish to share. Burlington Cohousing East Village, 6 p.m. Free; preregister.

COMMUNITY COOKING: Helping hands join up with the nonprofit’s staff and volunteers to make a yummy meal for distribution. Pathways Vermont Morgan’s Place Peer Support Center, Burlington, 6-8 p.m. Free.

CUPPA ON CAMPUS: Community members mingle over tea and coffee, swapping bright ideas for the future of the property. The Creative Campus at Goddard, Plainfield, 8-10 a.m. Free.

SUMMER FUN WINE TASTING: Vino enthusiasts sample a curated selection of pours designed for seasonal sipping. Standing Stone Wines, Winooski, 6 p.m. $15; preregister.

games

ADULTS PUZZLE SWAP: Participants leave completed puzzles (250-plus pieces only) in a ziplock bag with an image of the finished product, then find something new to take home. South Burlington Public Library & City Hall, 2:30-5 p.m.

Free.

OPENING DAY RECEPTION: Live music and light refreshments

LIST YOUR UPCOMING EVENT HERE FOR FREE! All submissions must be received by Thursday at noon for consideration in the following Wednesday’s newspaper.

Find our convenient form and guidelines at sevendaysvt.com/postevent.

Seven Days calendar writer Rebecca Driscoll selects and writes calendar spotlights. To help process the hundreds of event submissions we receive each week, some listings are compiled with the help of AI. Driscoll reviews, edits and verifies every entry before publication.

Learn more about highlighted listings in the Magnificent 7 on page 13.

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SEVEN DAYS MAY 20-27, 2026

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 in the On Screen section.

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

= ONLINE EVENT = GET TICKETS ON SEVENDAYSTICKETS.COM

health & fitness

CHAIR YOGA: Waterbury Public Library instructor Diana Whitney leads at-home participants in gentle stretches supported by seats. 10 a.m. Free.

GENTLE YOGA: Inhale relaxation and exhale tension with slowpaced movements and restorative postures designed to wake up weary muscles. Pillar Pilates Studio, Brandon, 9-10:15 a.m. By donation.

RECOVERY DHARMA: Folks struggling with addiction gather weekly for an evening of meditation, topical readings and open discussion in a supportive environment.

First United Methodist Church, Burlington, 6-7 p.m. Free.

language

ELL CLASS: Fletcher Free Library invites learners of all abilities to practice written and spoken English with trained instructors. 6:30-8 p.m. Free; preregister.

SPANISH CONVERSATION: Fluent and beginner speakers brush up on their vocabulario with a discussion led by a Spanish teacher. Presented

by Dorothy Alling Memorial Library. 5-6 p.m. Free; preregister.

lgbtq

THE ALL INCLUSIVE DYKETACULAR: A weekly get-together and listening party celebrates the LGBTQ+ community with feelgood tunes, dancing and drinks.

Doma Bar, Burlington, 5-10 p.m.

Free; cost of food and drink.

politics

STATEWIDE ZOOM CALL: Vermont Secretary of State Sarah Copeland Hanzas discusses what her office is doing to ensure that elections remain free, fair and accessible. Hosted

by Third Act Vermont. 5-6 p.m.

Free; preregister.

québec

FESTIVAL ACCÈS ASIE: The 31st annual Asian Heritage Month extravaganza includes art shows, film screenings, play readings and food tastings. See accesasie.com for full schedule. Various Montréal locations. Various prices.

‘WINE & HALVA’: Coffee and sharp social satire abound in this revival of Deniz Başar’s thought-provoking play about the unlikely friendship between a white gay man and a Turkish immigrant woman. Rangshala Studio, Montréal, 7 p.m. $20-35.

seminars

CAMERA ESSENTIALS: An informative evening examines the critical elements of photography and videography, covering topics from exposure to depth of field.

The Media Factory, Burlington, 6-8 p.m. Free; donations accepted; preregister.

UNDERSTANDING LIFE INSURANCE: Experts demystify the complexities of coverage to ensure financial protections evolve alongside changing life

stages and needs. EastRise Credit Union, Williston, 5:30-6:30 p.m.

Free.

sports

BIKE & GEAR REPAIR SERIES: Cyclists and outdoor enthusiasts breathe new life into battered packs and weary frames at a hands-on mending session dedicated to waste reduction. Zero Gravity Beer Hall, Burlington, 4-8 p.m. Free.

GREEN MOUNTAIN TABLE TENNIS CLUB: Ping-Pong players block, chop and lob in singles and doubles matches. Rutland Area Christian School, 7-9 p.m. Free for first two sessions; $30 annual membership.

talks

‘AN EVENING WITH KEN BURNS’: A titan of documentary film reflects on half a century of chronicling the American experience through his lens. Flynn Main Stage, Burlington, 7:30 p.m. $64.72-89.89.

JOHN VINCENT: In “A Revolution Will Not Be Tweeted,” a retired police officer, poet and letterpress operator sheds light on the history of printing political materials.

St. Johnsbury Athenaeum, 6:30-8 p.m. Free.

ME2 ORCHESTRA: ‘THE STORY BEHIND THE MUSIC’: Classical compositions and candid conversations intersect as attendees learn more about the founding of a neurodiverse ensemble through “Brain Stories” podcast excerpts and a psychiatrist-led panel.

South Burlington Public Library & City Hall, 5-6:30 p.m. By donation; preregister.

theater

‘MY ODD WAY TO BROADWAY’: Actor G. Richard Ames recounts the absurdities and joys of bigcity life through a multimedia blend of anecdotal tales and musical ditties. Ages 13 and up.

Off Center for the Dramatic Arts, Burlington, 7 p.m. $12-15.

‘WONDER! A WOMAN KEEPS A SECRET​‘: A missing masterpiece and a boatload of baggage turn a luxury cruise into a high-stakes farce in Northern Stage’s production of Talene Monahon’s new comedy. Byrne Theater, Barrette Center for the Arts, White River Junction, 7:30 p.m. $10-80.

words

C. AYLA JOYCE MATHESON: Lit lovers join the author for a reading from her new memoir, My Time, My Truth, about finding the courage to embrace

one’s authentic purpose. The Norwich Bookstore, 7 p.m. Free.

JULIA ALVAREZ: An acclaimed writer returns to her poetic roots with her new collection, Visitations, tracing the seasons of her life. Town Hall Theater, Middlebury, 6:30 p.m. $8.

THU.21

agriculture

MED47 GARDEN SHOPPE: See WED.20.

business

HIRING2DAYVT VIRTUAL JOB FAIR: Time for a new gig? The Vermont Department of Labor offers a meet and greet with employers from around the state. 11 a.m.-noon. Free.

crafts

KNIT FOR YOUR NEIGHBORS: From clicking needles to looping looms, participants hook into a mission of goodwill by creating handmade winter wear for the South Burlington Food Shelf.

Materials provided. South Burlington Public Library & City Hall, 2-5 p.m. Free.

KNITTING GROUP: Knitters of every experience level get together to spin yarns. Latham Library, Thetford, 7 p.m. Free.

WOODWORKING LAB: Visionaries create a project or learn a new skill with the help of mentors and access to makerspace tools and equipment. Patricia A. Hannaford Career Center, Middlebury, 5-8 p.m. $7.50.

environment

BTV CLEAN UP CREW: Good Samaritans dispose of needles, trash and other unwanted objects. BYO gloves encouraged. Top of Church St., Burlington, 7:30-10 a.m. Free.

etc.

ECHO AFTER DARK: ‘DUNGEONS & DINOSAURS’: An after-hours night at the museum serves up interactive quests that bridge tabletop role-playing and prehistoric creatures. Ages 18 and up. ECHO Leahy Center for Lake Champlain, Burlington, 6-9 p.m. $20-25; cash bar.

‘OFF THE WALL’: See WED.20.

film

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

THU.21

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These community event listings are sponsored by the WaterWheel Foundation, a project of the Vermont band Phish.

LIST YOUR EVENT FOR FREE AT SEVENDAYSVT.COM/POSTEVENT

Check out these family-friendly events for parents, caregivers and kids of all ages.

• Plan ahead at sevendaysvt.com/family-fun.

• Post your event at sevendaysvt.com/postevent.

COURTESY

FAMILY FUN

MAY 25 | FAMILY FUN

FAMILY FRIDAY WITH LINDA BASSICK: Caretakers and wee ones enjoy a weekly morning mashup of muffins and music played by the local legend. Pingala Café North Avenue, Burlington, 9-9:30 a.m.

Free.

chittenden county

DADS’ NIGHT IN: JACKBOX GAMES: Fathers log on for a virtual game night hosted by Dad Guild.

8:45-10 p.m. Free.

FRIDAY LEGO BUILDERS: Weekly sessions invite creative minds to stack, connect and build their way to structural masterpieces using interlocking blocks.

Recommended for ages 6 and up. South Burlington Public Library & City Hall, 3-4:30 p.m. Free.

burlington

DINOSAUR SAFARI EXHIBIT: Young explorers take an unforgettable journey through a hands-on prehistoric world where life-size animatronic dinosaurs come to life. ECHO Leahy Center for Lake Champlain, Burlington, 10 a.m.-5 p.m.

Regular admission, $17-23; free for members and kids 2 and under.

LIBRARY LITTLES PLAYGROUP: A weekly program brings babies, toddlers and their caregivers together for songs, stories, play and community building in a nurturing environment. Fletcher Free Library, Burlington, 11-11:45 a.m. Free.

MAGNATILE MASTERPIECES: Future architects ages 3 and up build imaginative creations with magnetic toys. Fletcher Free Library New North End Branch, Burlington, 10-10:45 a.m. Free.

chittenden county

BABY TIME: Nonmobile infants and their caregivers embark on a slow-paced social hour featuring songs, rhymes and restorative connection. South Burlington Public Library & City Hall, 10:30 a.m. Free.

KIDS PUZZLE SWAP: Young strategists trade their completed cardboard conquests for fresh challenges. 24 to 300 pieces only. South Burlington Public Library & City Hall, 2-5 p.m. Free.

barre/montpelier

BABY & CAREGIVER MEETUP: Wiggly ones ages birth to 18 months play and explore in a calm, supportive setting while adults relax and connect on the sidelines.

Jaquith Public Library, Marshfield, 10:3011:30 a.m. Free.

FAMILY CHESS CLUB: Players of all ages and abilities test their skills with instructor Robert and peers. Kellogg-Hubbard Library, 2nd Floor, Children’s Library, Montpelier, 3:30-5 p.m. Free.

upper valley

STORY TIME: Early literacy takes center stage as infants and toddlers engage in a melodic mix of books and songs. Norwich Public Library, 10:30-11:30 a.m. Free.

DINOSAUR SAFARI EXHIBIT: See WED.20.

DROP-IN: An afterschool hangout space invites teens ages 13 to 19 to relax, connect, grab a snack or browse the nonprofit’s clothing closet. Outright Vermont, Burlington, 2:30 p.m. Free.

WED.20

‘CHAMP: AMERICA’S LAKE MONSTER’: Curious minds dive into the science and history of Vermont’s most iconic legend at this family-friendly exhibit featuring interactive games, a design studio, multimedia displays, a 30-foot sculpture and photo ops. ECHO Leahy Center for Lake Champlain, Burlington, 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Regular admission, $17-23; free for members and kids 2 and under.

to 19 gather weekly to socialize in a supportive environment. Outright Vermont, Burlington, 6:30-8 p.m. Free.

barre/montpelier

BASEMENT TEEN CENTER: A drop-in hangout session welcomes kids ages 12 to 17 for lively games, arts and crafts, and snacks. Kellogg-Hubbard Library, Montpelier, 2-8 p.m. Free.

Puppet Pals Can you tell me how to get to ... 30 Center Street? Interactive puppet production Sesame Street Live!

Elmo’s Got the Moves beckons families to Paramount Theatre in Rutland for a music- and dancefilled afternoon accented by confetti, fog and flashing lights. Little learners leave their TV screens behind for a memory-making performance of crowd-favorite songs, including “Sunny Days,” “Letter of the Day” and the titular hit encouraging movement. And move, you most certainly will! Big Bird, Cookie Monster and other treasured characters guide attendees in playful exercise, from yoga and cartwheels to jumping rope and goofy grooves.

‘SESAME STREET LIVE! ELMO’S GOT THE MOVES’ Monday, May 25, 2 & 6 p.m., at Paramount Theatre in Rutland. $35-45. Info, 802-775-0903, paramountvt.org.

THU.21

burlington

‘CHAMP: AMERICA’S LAKE MONSTER’: See WED.20.

BABY & ME CLASS: Parents and their infants ages birth to 1 explore massage, lullabies and gentle movements while discussing the struggles and joys of parenthood. Greater Burlington YMCA, 9:45-10:45 a.m. $10; free for members.

DINOSAUR SAFARI EXHIBIT: See WED.20.

chittenden county

PERLER BEAD OPEN STUDIO: Crafty kids ages 7 and up mix, match and fuse beads to create their own designs or follow a pattern. Essex Free Library, 4:30-6:30 p.m. Free.

PRESCHOOL MUSIC WITH LINDA BASSICK: The singer and storyteller extraordinaire guides wee ones ages birth to 5 in indoor music and movement. Dorothy Alling Memorial Library, Williston, 10:30-11 a.m. Free.

PRESCHOOL PLAY TIME: Pre-K patrons play and socialize after music time.

Dorothy Alling Memorial Library, Williston, 11-11:30 a.m. Free.

TODDLER TIME: Tykes bypass the “stay seated” rule at a morning of short stories, familiar songs, rhymes and finger plays.

South Burlington Public Library & City Hall, 9:15-9:45 & 10:30-11 a.m. Free.

barre/montpelier

AMERICAN SIGN LANGUAGE STORY TIME: Special guest Nora conveys stories, songs and silliness through the visual language. Kellogg-Hubbard Library, Montpelier, 10:30-11 a.m. Free.

POKÉMON CLUB: I choose you, Pikachu!

Elementary and teenage fans of the franchise — and beginners, too — trade cards and play games. Kellogg-Hubbard Library, Montpelier, 3:30-5 p.m. Free.

STORY TIME: Kids and their caregivers meet for stories, songs and bubbles.

Kellogg-Hubbard Library, 2nd Floor, Children’s Library, Montpelier, 10:30-11 a.m. Free.

stowe/smuggs

WEE ONES PLAY TIME: Caregivers bring kiddos under 4 to a new sensory learning experience each week. Morristown Centennial Library, Morrisville, 10 a.m.

Free.

mad river valley/ waterbury

BUSY BEES PLAYGROUP: Blocks, toys, books and songs engage little ones 24 months and younger. Waterbury Public Library, 10-11:30 a.m. Free.

STUDENT ART SHOW: Young creatives from across the Mad River Valley showcase the power of artistic expression. Red Barn Galleries at Lareau Farm, Waitsfield, 5-7 p.m. Free.

rutland/killington

WORKFORCE IN MOTION SUMMIT: Chamber & Economic Development of the Rutland Region invites students in grades 7 to 12 to learn about high-skill, high-demand careers in the trades.

Vermont State University-Castleton, 9 a.m.-2 p.m. Free; preregister.

northeast kingdom

‘CARDTOPIA’: The center’s studio space transforms into a giant interactive cardboard building, complete with secret chambers, tunnels and a ball run.

Highland Center for the Arts, Greensboro, noon-4 p.m. Free.

LEGO CLUB: Budding builders create geometric structures with snap-together blocks. Kellogg-Hubbard Library, Montpelier, 3:30-5 p.m. Free.

STORY TIME & PLAYGROUP: Participants ages 5 and under enjoy themed science, art and nature activities. Jaquith Public Library, Marshfield, 10:30 a.m. Free.

mad river valley/ waterbury

STUDENT ART SHOW: See THU.21.

middlebury area

BOAT LAUNCH DAY: Alternative education takes to the waves as student shipwrights from Middlebury Union High School and the Long Trail Program christen their yearlong woodworking project with a maiden voyage. Lake Champlain Maritime Museum, Vergennes, 11 a.m.3 p.m. Free.

upper valley

STORY TIME: Preschoolers take part in tales, tunes and playtime. Latham Library, Thetford, 11 a.m. Free.

northeast kingdom ‘CARDTOPIA’: See THU.21.

ACORN CLUB STORY TIME: Youngsters 5 and under play, sing, hear stories and color. St. Johnsbury Athenaeum, 10:30-11 a.m. Free.

PRESCHOOL STORY TIME: Youngsters and their caregivers delight in beautiful books, silly songs, creative crafts and unplugged play in the library’s cozy children’s room. Craftsbury Public Library, Craftsbury Common, 10 a.m. Free.

FRI.22

SAT.23

‘CHAMP: AMERICA’S LAKE MONSTER’: See WED.20.

‘CHAMP: AMERICA’S LAKE MONSTER’: See WED.20.

burlington

‘FOLLIES’: Very Merry Theatre’s high school performers breathe new life into Stephen Sondheim’s classic musical about a reunion of former showgirls. ONE Community Center, Burlington, 7 p.m.

Free.

BURLINGTON FNG: Self-identified LGBTQ+ and questioning youths ages 13

burlington

‘FOLLIES’: See FRI.22, 2 & 7 p.m.

CHAMP’S LEGENDARY CREEMEES OPENING DAY: Free Vermont Teddy Bear plushies and frozen treats delight waterfront ramblers of all ages at the seasonal sweets stand. ECHO Leahy Center for SAT.23

SEVEN DAYS MAY 20-27, 2026

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THU.21

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‘ALL YOU HEAR IS NOISE’: A 2023 documentary portrait of three athletes with intellectual disabilities zooms in on life beyond the spotlight of the Special Olympics.

A discussion follows. South Burlington Public Library & City Hall, 1 p.m. Free.

‘BACKYARD WILDERNESS 3D’: Cameras positioned in nests, underwater and along the forest floor capture a year’s worth of critters coming and going. Dealer. com 3D Theater, ECHO Leahy Center for Lake Champlain, Burlington, 11:30 a.m., 1:30 & 3:30 p.m. $3-5 plus regular admission, $17-23; free for members and kids 2 and under.

‘DINOSAURS OF ANTARCTICA 3D’: Join scientists on a journey through a surreal world of bug-eyed giants and egg-laying mammals. Dealer.com 3D Theater, ECHO Leahy Center for Lake Champlain, Burlington, 11 a.m., 1 & 3 p.m. $3-5 plus regular admission, $17-23; free for members and kids 2 and under.

‘THE QUIET EPIDEMIC’: Viewers take in the powerful 2022 documentary following a young girl and a Duke University scientist who are both diagnosed with chronic Lyme disease. A Q&A with local experts follows.

Partizanfilm, Burlington, 5 p.m.

Free.

‘SEA MONSTERS 3D: A PREHISTORIC ADVENTURE’: Footage of paleontological digs from around the globe tells a compelling story of scientists working as detectives to answer questions about an ancient and mysterious ocean world. Dealer. com 3D Theater, ECHO Leahy Center for Lake Champlain, Burlington, noon, 2 & 4 p.m. $3-5 plus regular admission, $17-23; free for members and kids 2 and under.

‘SHARK KINGDOM 3D’: A highstakes investigation into the underwater realm reveals how humanity’s future hinges on the fate of the ocean’s toothiest inhabitants. Dealer.com 3D Theater, ECHO Leahy Center for Lake Champlain, Burlington, 10:30 a.m., 12:30, 2:30 & 4:30 p.m. $3-5 plus regular admission, $17-23; free for members and kids 2 and under.

‘SILENT FRIEND’: Set in a medieval botanical garden in Germany, Ildikó Enyedi’s 2025 drama delivers an awe-inspiring exploration of the natural world. Film House, Main Street Landing Performing Arts Center, Burlington, 4 & 7 p.m. $6-12.

food & drink

BEER & CHEESE PAIRINGS: Reps from Hill Farmstead Brewery and Jasper Hill Farm deconstruct the flavor profiles of local brews and artisanal wedges at a deep dive into the craft of the two regional producers. Hill Farmstead Brewery, Greensboro, noon-8 p.m. $30; preregister.

FLATBREAD FRIDAY: A rotating soundtrack of live local music sets

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the tone for this weekly fresh-air feast for all ages. The Wheeler Homestead, South Burlington, 4-6:30 p.m. Various prices.

games

BRIDGE CLUB: A lively group plays a classic, tricky game in pairs.

Waterbury Public Library, 12:304:30 p.m. Free.

CHESS FOR FUN: Players select an opening gambit, go on the attack and protect their king in friendly competition. Cobleigh Public Library, Lyndonville, 5-8 p.m. Free.

DUPLICATE BRIDGE GAMES: Snacks and coffee fuel bouts of a classic card game. Burlington Bridge Club, Williston, 12:30 p.m. $6.

FRIENDLY GAME OF BRIDGE: Strategic thinkers have a blast with the popular card game.

Heineberg Senior Center, Burlington, 1-3 p.m. Free.

PEER SUPPORT DUNGEONS & DRAGONS: Beginners wanted! Players get lost in the fantasy-filled tabletop role-playing game while focusing on teamwork, connection and community building. Morgan House, Burlington, 6-8 p.m. Free.

SOLARPUNK BOOK CLUB & GAME NIGHT: Neighbors dream up a socially conscious, ecological future with readings and a short round of Solarpunk Futures. Peace & Justice Center, Burlington, 5-6:30 p.m. Free.

WEEKLY CHESS FOR FUN: Players of all ability levels face off and learn new strategies.

United Community Church, St. Johnsbury, 5:30-9 p.m. Free; donations accepted.

health & fitness

COMMUNITY MINDFULNESS: Volunteer coach Andrea Marion leads a weekly practice for stress reduction, followed by a discussion and Q&A. 5-6 p.m.

Free; preregister.

‘THE POWER OF CONNECTION: IMPACTS OF RELATIONSHIPS ON MENTAL HEALTH’: Experts and community members dissect the science of human connection to reveal how stable bonds fortify individual and collective well-being.

Winooski High School, 6-8 p.m.

Free; preregister.

SEATED TAI CHI: Adina guides at-home participants — including those with limited mobility or difficulty standing — through a sequence of slow, connected movements.

Sponsored by the Dorothy Alling Memorial Library. 1 p.m. Free; preregister.

WISDOM FLOW YOGA: Curated music sets the tone for a mindful sequence that unites breath, body and spirit. Cornwall Town Hall, 9:30-10:45 a.m. By donation.

language

ENGLISH CONVERSATION GROUP: Practitioners make strides and new friends at a stress-free discussion circle hosted by Fletcher Free Library.

10:30-11:30 a.m. Free; preregister.

SEVEN DAYS MAY 20-27, 2026

COURTESY

calendar

MAY 23 | THEATER

On a High Note Opera Vermont tosses out traditional tropes in its production of Gioachino Rossini’s La Cenerentola at Barre Opera House. Based on the timeless European folktale of Cinderella, the 19th-century dramedy sidesteps any supernatural elements to highlight the story’s more humanistic side. (Sorry, Disney fans, no pumpkin carriages or glass slippers here!) Nevertheless, magic abounds thanks to a Dr. Seuss-inspired setting.

Vibrant colors, wacky costumes and high-energy staging show adults and kids alike that the art form doesn’t have to be serious or tragic to make a lasting impact.

‘LA CENERENTOLA’ Saturday, May 23, 7 p.m., at Barre Opera House. $10-60. Info, 802-476-8188, barreoperahouse.org.

ITALIAN CONVERSATION GROUP: Parla Italiano? Language learners practice pronunciation and more at a friendly gathering. Fletcher Free Library, Burlington, noon-1 p.m. Free.

MANDARIN CONVERSATION CIRCLE: Volunteers from Vermont Chinese School help students learn or improve their fluency.

South Burlington Public Library & City Hall, 11 a.m.-noon. Free.

SPANISH CONVERSATION GROUP: Conversationalists of all levels practice the Romance language in a welcoming environment. Fletcher Free Library, Burlington, 4:30-5:30 p.m. Free.

music

JUDITH WRIGHT BATTISTA: A local master of keys traverses centuries with a stirring program of works by Johann Sebastian Bach, Ludwig van Beethoven and Sergei Rachmaninoff. Cathedral Church of St. Paul, Burlington, noon-1 p.m. Free.

LIVE MUSIC: A rotating cast of local musicians, unbeatable sunset views, locavore pours and tasty treats make for a memorable time spent at the vineyard. Maquam Barn & Winery, Milton, 6-8 p.m.

Free; cost of food and drink.

outdoors

BIKE BLOOM: Group rides, a bicycle show and an all-ages party benefit the host food-system nonprofit and Old Spokes Home.

Intervale Center, Burlington, 5:30-8:30 p.m. Free; donations accepted; preregister.

québec

FESTIVAL ACCÈS ASIE: See WED.20.

‘WINE & HALVA’: See WED.20.

talks

ALAN BEROLZHEIMER: A local historian traces settlement patterns to reveal how Vermont’s historic growth along riverbanks has led to modern flooding vulnerabilities. Jaquith Public Library, Marshfield, 6:30 p.m.

Free.

‘CONFLICT OF INTEREST LIVE!’: Montpelier media host Kevin Ellis migrates his podcast to the stage to interview national and local guests about hot-button topics including housing, culture, education and politics. Montpelier Performing Arts Hub, 7 p.m. $10.

ROLAND BATTEN LECTURE: TED MONTGOMERY: Technical precision meets artistic intuition as the veteran builder and architect showcases a lifetime of eclectic designs, from copper telescopes to visionary furnishings. BCA Studios, Burlington, 6-7 p.m. Free.

tech

TECH HELP: Users with dilemmas seek expert guidance about everything from smartphone settings to e-book downloads.

Norwich Public Library, 1-4 p.m.

Free.

TECH MEET-UP: Franklin County digital devotees talk shop over specialty brews and artisanal pastries at this monthly networking opportunity. Catalyst Coffee Bar, St. Albans, 7:30-9:30 a.m. Free; preregister.

theater

‘MY ODD WAY TO BROADWAY’: See WED.20.

‘THE WAVERLY GALLERY’: A grandson recounts the decline of his irascible grandmother in this poignant memory play exploring the realities of Alzheimer’s disease, staged by Shaker Bridge Theatre. Briggs Opera House,

Eric Sebek and Rachel Deatherage

White River Junction, 7 p.m. $25-45.

‘WONDER! A WOMAN KEEPS A SECRET​‘: See WED.20, 2 & 7:30 p.m.

words

MAI DER VANG: A decorated author reads stirring selections from her poetry collections.

Vermont Studio Center, Johnson, 8 p.m. Free.

MORNINGS, MUFFINS & MYSTERIES: Lit lovers link up to discuss the month’s twisty page-turner. St. Albans Free Library, 10:30 a.m. Free.

NO PRESSURE BOOK GROUP: Bibliophiles share whatever recs they like at this low-key Zoom hangout hosted by Waterbury Public Library. 7-8 p.m.

Free.

FRI.22

agriculture

MED47 GARDEN SHOPPE: See WED.20.

PLANT SALE: The Granite Center Garden Club invites green thumbs to browse a botanical bounty of saplings and blooms to fund regional horticultural projects.

Vermont Granite Museum, Barre, 6:30-10 a.m. Free.

crafts

PRIDE & JOY PROJECT KICKOFF: Attendees learn about a collaborative art project celebrating the queer community through quilts, then do some crafting of their own. Riot Craft Studio, Jericho, 5-8 p.m. Free.

dance

SHELBURNE CONTRA DANCE: No partner or experience is necessary when Luke Donforth calls

the steps and Oliver Scanlon and Bjorn Peterson provide the tunes.

Bring clean, soft-soled shoes.

Historic Shelburne Town Hall, beginner lesson, 6:45 p.m.; music, 7-10 p.m. $5-12 cash or check; free for kids under 12.

etc.

‘OFF THE WALL’: See WED.20.

VOLUNTEER WORK PARTY: Spring rejuvenation takes root at the farm through a group effort of cleaning and maintenance, rewarded with communal meals and lodging. Knoll Farm, Fayston.

Free.

film

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

‘BACKYARD WILDERNESS 3D’: See THU.21.

‘BEST DAY EVER’: A locally made 2025 documentary follows adaptive athletes Greg Durso and Allie Bianchi as they tackle the daily challenges of disability and find joy in Vermont’s mountainbiking community. DoubleTree

by Hilton, South Burlington, 4:30 p.m. Free.

‘DINOSAURS OF ANTARCTICA 3D’: See THU.21.

‘FORCE OF EVIL’: Abraham Polonsky’s gritty 1948 film noir follows an unethical lawyer who partners with a client in the numbers racket. The Screening Room @ VTIFF, Main Street Landing Performing Arts Center, Burlington, 7 p.m. $6-12.

‘SEA MONSTERS 3D: A PREHISTORIC ADVENTURE’: See THU.21.

‘SHARK KINGDOM 3D’: See THU.21.

food & drink

FLATBREAD FRIDAY: See THU.21.

LIST YOUR EVENT FOR FREE AT SEVENDAYSVT.COM/POSTEVENT

FOURTH FRIDAY: DINNER & CONVERSATION FOR MIDLIFE WOMEN: Health coach Liza Baker facilitates this communityminded gathering featuring a nourishing meal and reflection prompts to spark deep, meaningful discussion. Various South Burlington locations, 5:30-8 p.m. $67-127; preregister.

games

ADULT RUMMIKUB: Strategists gather to test their mental agility with this classic numbers-based tabletop challenge. Essex Free Library, 1-3 p.m. Free.

POINTE NOIR CAJUN BAND: Lively bayou beats and syncopated melodies by the crowd-favorite local outfit invite dancers to explore the spirited heritage of southwest Louisiana.

Atkins Field, Hardwick, 7 p.m.

Free; donations accepted.

SATURN PEOPLE’S SOUND COLLECTIVE: A post-rock big band delivers deep grooves and extended jams alongside evocative visuals from Burlington design studio Vanish Works.

The Big Picture Community Hub for the Arts, Waitsfield, 7 p.m. $17-30.

DUPLICATE BRIDGE GAMES: See THU.21, 10 a.m.

‘THAT WHICH COLORS THE MIND: AN EVENING OF NORTH INDIAN CLASSICAL MUSIC & ART’: A guided mindfulness practice grounds listeners’ senses before a stirring sarod performance

by Burlington musician Pat Lambdin. Chace Mill, Burlington, 6:30 p.m. $25; preregister.

health & fitness

québec

DADS & DUNGEONS & DRAGONS: New and experienced dad-venturers try their hand at the riveting role-playing game.

Premade characters and extra dice available. The Guild Hall, Burlington, 7-9:30 p.m. Free.

GUIDED MEDITATION ONLINE: Dorothy Alling Memorial Library invites attendees to relax on their lunch breaks and reconnect with their bodies. Noon-12:30 p.m. Free; preregister.

MINDFULNESS MEDITATION: Community members gather for an informal session combining stimulating discussion, sharing and sitting in silence.

Iyengar Yoga Center of Vermont, Burlington, 4:30-5:30 p.m. Free.

WEEKLY MEDITATION: Expert Zac Ispa-Landa shares tools to quiet the mind, slow down and reset. Outright Vermont, Burlington, 8-8:45 a.m. Free.

WISDOM FLOW YOGA: Curated music sets the tone for a mindful sequence that unites breath, body and spirit. Pillar Pilates Studio, Brandon, 9-10:15 a.m. By donation.

holidays

SHAVUOT ON THE FARM: KIRTAN & COMMUNITY: Guests celebrate the Jewish festival of revelation with a catered farmto-table feast, call-and-response chanting, and a crystal bowl sound bath. Living Tree Alliance, Moretown, 5:30-8 p.m. $24-36.

lgbtq

RPG NIGHT: Members of the LGBTQ community get together weekly for role-playing games such as Dungeons & Dragons and Everway. Rainbow Bridge Community Center, Barre, 5:308:30 p.m. Free.

music

ANA GUIGUI: An acclaimed pianist and vocalist entertains listeners with a wide variety of styles and genres. The Brandon Inn, 7-8 p.m. Free.

COLLEGE CHOIR: Harmonies and high notes blend in a bittersweet celebration as senior singers take their final bows at this academic send-off. Virtual option available. Robison Concert Hall, Mahaney Arts Center, Middlebury College, 7:30 p.m. Free.

FESTIVAL ACCÈS ASIE: See WED.20.

‘WINE & HALVA’: See WED.20.

sports

BIKE FERRY OPENING DAY RIDE: Cyclists pedal toward the waterfront in a decorated procession to welcome the seasonal return of the Lake Champlain link. Local Motion, Burlington, 8-11 a.m.

Free.

EQUAL DISTANCE PROJECT PRESENTATION: Saint Michael’s College coach Molly Peters shares details about an effort to ensure that all collegiate cross-country athletes compete at the 8K distance. DoubleTree

by Hilton, South Burlington, 2 p.m. Free.

SPORTS & FITNESS EXPO: Athletes of all ages and abilities gather to learn about local and national health and wellness businesses. DoubleTree by Hilton, South Burlington, 1-7

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

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

film See what’s playing at theaters in the On Screen section.

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

Learn more about highlighted listings in the Magnificent 7 on page 13.

= ONLINE EVENT = GET TICKETS ON SEVENDAYSTICKETS.COM

p.m. Free; preregister for some events.

theater

‘MY ODD WAY TO BROADWAY’: See WED.20.

‘THE WAVERLY GALLERY’: See THU.21.

‘WONDER! A WOMAN KEEPS A SECRET‘: See WED.20.

words

BRAD FAWLEY: A Vermont author reads from his novel, The Frontrunner, exploring the pressures and challenges that come with pursuing excellence in sports. DoubleTree by Hilton, South Burlington, 3:30 p.m. Free.

Adventure is out there, you just have to paddle to it!

SAT.23

agriculture

MED47 GARDEN SHOPPE: See WED.20.

SPRING PLANT GIVEAWAY: Gardeners pick up rare starters from the African, Asian and Latin American diaspora, as well as traditional Vermont staples.

Landry Park, Winooski, 9-11 a.m.

Free.

bazaars

MAKERS MARKET: Shoppers discover unique, handmade goods and meet the talented people behind them at a weekly showcase of local artists, bakers, distillers and crafters. Addison West, Waitsfield, 10 a.m.-2 p.m.

Free.

PLANT, CANDLE & BAKE SALE: Perennials, annuals, veggie starters, homemade treats and handmade beeswax creations by Barbara Gray make for the perfect gift-shopping opportunity.

Brandon Congregational Church, 9 a.m.-1 p.m. Free.

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HAPPENING ST. IIT’S T ’’S SH A P P ENIN G IIN NS T T’S IT T’ HA AP PP PE NG ST T.. J

community

‘PRAISE! PROJECT SACRED BODIES’: Wender and VT Dance host a creative storytelling workshop and community gathering for ages 16 and up to explore themes of healing, identity and belonging through movement.

A potluck follows. All Souls Unitarian Universalist Church, West Brattleboro, 2-4 p.m. $25.

SISTERHOOD CAMPFIRE: Women and genderqueer folks gather in a safe and inclusive space to build community through journaling, storytelling, gentle music and stargazing.

Leddy Park, Burlington, 7-9 p.m.

Free.

crafts

PRIDE & JOY PROJECT KICKOFF: See FRI.22, 10 a.m.-2 p.m.

etc.

GUIDED TOURS: See WED.20.

‘OFF THE WALL’: See WED.20.

OPENING DAY: The museum awakens for a fresh season of discovery, inviting visitors of all ages to roam the grounds, check out the exhibits and take SAT.23

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part in activities. Lake Champlain Maritime Museum, Vergennes, 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Free.

VOLUNTEER WORK PARTY: See FRI.22.

fairs & festivals

BLOOM TIME FESTIVAL: Environmentally minded attendees cultivate ecological resilience at a day of floral tours, pollinator workshops and insights into local butterfly populations. University of Vermont Horticultural Research Center, South Burlington, 10 a.m.2 p.m. Free.

JOIN THE REVOLUTION!: History comes to life as reenactors demonstrate the rugged skills of domestic and tactical frontier survival with musket firings, fire-cooking demos and artisan crafts. Ethan Allen Homestead Museum, Burlington, 11 a.m.-2 p.m. Free.

film

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

‘AGATHA’S ALMANAC’: Amalie Atkins’s 2025 documentary follows the inspiring story of 90-year-old Agatha Bock, who maintains her ancestral farm without modern amenities. The Screening Room @ VTIFF, Main Street Landing Performing Arts Center, Burlington, 7 p.m. $6-12.

‘AN ANGEL AT MY TABLE’: Jane Campion’s 1990 coming-of-age biopic zooms in on the life of renowned author Janet Frame, who was misdiagnosed with schizophrenia in her teens. The Screening Room @ VTIFF, Main Street Landing Performing Arts Center, Burlington, 3 p.m. $6-12.

‘BACKYARD WILDERNESS 3D’: See THU.21.

‘BEST DAY EVER’: See FRI.22, 10:30 a.m.

‘DINOSAURS OF ANTARCTICA 3D’: See THU.21.

‘THE NASHVILLE SOUND’: This riveting music documentary features Johnny Cash, Dolly Parton, Loretta Lynn and other country music luminaries during an iconic concert at Ryman Auditorium in 1969. A discussion with sound recordist Alan Dater follows. Next Stage Arts, Putney, 7 p.m. $10.

games

CHESS CLUB: Proficient players of all ages face off and learn new strategies. South Burlington Public Library & City Hall, 11 a.m.

Free.

PLANTS & PIES: Neighbors gather to stock their pantries and their garden beds with veggie starters, potted perennials and homemade treats. The Old Meeting House, East Montpelier, 11 a.m.-noon.

Free.

etc.

BURLINGTON VINTAGE MARKET POP-UP: Style-conscious shoppers scour outdoor racks for pre-loved treasures and retro finds curated by local vendors.

Four Quarters Brewing, Winooski, noon-8 p.m. Free.

ESSEX MEMORIAL DAY PARADE: A service at Veterans Memorial Park kicks off the annual procession of marching bands and eye-catching floats. Virtual option available. Various Essex Junction locations, 9:30 a.m. Free.

“Portrait of Wet Nurse With Baby”

by Fratelli Alinari

language

music

ANA GUIGUI: See FRI.22.

BEG, STEAL OR BORROW: A bluegrass band known for its vocal harmonies and high-energy instrumentals performs original tunes and classic covers. Meeting House on the Green, East Fairfield, 5 p.m. $10; free for kids under 12.

DARTMOUTH COLLEGE WIND ENSEMBLE: The group dazzles listeners with the world premiere of preeminent Mexican composer Arturo Márquez’s new symphony, Sinfonía Nómada, exploring themes of migration and nomadic culture. Spaulding Auditorium, Hopkins Center for the Arts, Dartmouth College, Hanover, N.H., 7:30 p.m. $20-30.

outdoors

72

MED47 GARDEN SHOPPE: See WED.20.

holidays

‘SHARK KINGDOM 3D’: See THU.21.

BURLINGTON FARMERS MARKET: Dozens of stands overflow with seasonal produce, flowers, artisanal wares and prepared foods to the tune of live local music.

345 Pine St., Burlington, 9 a.m.-2 p.m. Free.

agriculture

LIVE BINAURAL JOURNEY: ThirdTone debuts its new app with an immersive sound experience combining “entheoacoustic” frequencies with instrumentation. Black Box Theater, Main Street Landing Performing Arts Center, Burlington, 7 p.m. $15; preregister.

FRENCH BOOK SWAP: Francophiles refresh their personal libraries by trading up to three well-loved works for new titles.

Alliance Française of the Lake Champlain Region, Burlington, 10 a.m.-noon. Free.

COMMUNITY BIRD WALKS: Feathered-friend seekers join expert Lachlan Ziegler for a morning trek to sharpen their identification skills. Rock Point Center, Burlington, 8-10 a.m. Free; preregister.

québec

FESTIVAL ACCÈS ASIE: See WED.20.

‘WINE & HALVA’: See WED.20, 2 & 7 p.m.

SEVEN DAYS MAY 20-27, 2026

WRITE NOW!: Wordsmiths of all experience levels hone their craft in a supportive and critique-free environment. Kellogg-Hubbard Library, Montpelier, 10-11:30 a.m.

Free.

SUN.24

health & fitness

‘SEA MONSTERS 3D: A PREHISTORIC ADVENTURE’: See THU.21.

BREW THE 802: An inaugural craft beverage celebration taps into the Green Mountain spirit with regional pours, food vendors, artisans and live music. South Burlington Recreation & Parks Department, 4-8 p.m. $35.

MAY 27 | WORDS

D&D & TTRPG GROUP: Fans of Dungeons & Dragons and other tabletop role-playing games embark on a new adventure with a rotating cast of game masters. Virtual option available.

Waterbury Public Library, 1-5 p.m.

Free.

SATURN PEOPLE’S SOUND COLLECTIVE: See FRI.22. Haybarn Theatre, the Creative Campus at Goddard, Plainfield, 7:30 p.m.

food & drink

Pickering Room, Fletcher Free Library, Burlington, 1-3 p.m. Free.

COURTESY

SAT.23

I Can Be Your Mother Figure

ME-MADE CLOTHING SWAP: Fashion fans refresh their wardrobes by swapping self-stitched garments and knitted creations with fellow makers. The Makery, Burlington, noon-3 p.m. Free.

VOLUNTEER WORK PARTY: See FRI.22.

Local artist and author Barbara Zucker shines a light on the complicated history of hired breastfeeding with the launch of her new book, The Second Oldest Profession: The Wet Nurse, Revered and Reviled, at Burlington’s BCA Center. Race, class and misogyny take center page in a feminist exploration of the socially fraught — and largely forgotten — occupation dating back to ancient civilizations. Using her own art and archival images from across eras and cultures, Zucker fleshes out the realities, attitudes and contradictions bound up in the stigmatized practice. After, a participatory conversation invites listeners to share stories and memories over (ahem) milk and cookies.

fairs & festivals

JOIN THE REVOLUTION!: See SAT.23.

film

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

‘AGATHA’S ALMANAC’: See SAT.23, 3 p.m.

‘BACKYARD WILDERNESS 3D’: See THU.21.

BARBARA ZUCKER Wednesday, May 27, 6-8 p.m., at BCA Center in Burlington. Free. Info, 802-865-7166, burlingtoncityarts.org.

seminars

INTRO TO 3D MODELING: Digital artists learn the basics of opensource software Blender at this info-packed workshop. The Media Factory, Burlington, 1-3 p.m. Free; donations accepted; preregister.

‘WHAT IS LIBERALISM? AN EXAMINATION OF LIBERALISM AND ITS CRITICS’: Participants learn about one of the most influential political ideologies in world history and why it remains a target for both the left and right. Peace & Justice Center, Burlington, 2-4 p.m. Free.

sports

10TH ANNIVERSARY BIKE SALE: Cycling enthusiasts toast the center’s milestone with half-price rentals, deep discounts on preowned wheels and free e-bike demos. Lamoille Valley Bike Tours, Johnson, 9 a.m.-5 p.m.

Free.

ADAPTIVE ATHLETE PANEL: Kelly Brush moderates an illuminating discussion about adaptive

mountain biking with cyclist Shannon Franks and Vermont Mountain Bike Association executive director Nick Bennette.

DoubleTree by Hilton, South Burlington, 11:30 a.m. Free.

Pridgen shed light on how they balance their training with dayto-day life. DoubleTree by Hilton, South Burlington, 3:30 p.m. Free.

ADVENTURE DINNER BTV MINI GOLF SCAVENGER HUNT: Chefprepared boxed lunches fuel a citywide game with 18 holes scattered at shops, cafés and other hot spots around town. Church Street Marketplace, Burlington, noon-4 p.m. $35.

‘LA CENERENTOLA’: Opera Vermont delivers a Dr. Seussinspired rendition of Gioachino Rossini’s 1817 dramma giocoso, based on the timeless European folk tale. See calendar spotlight.

Barre Opera House, 7 p.m. $10-60.

DRAGON BOAT BEGINNER LESSON: Active adults learn the basics of paddling from a Malia Racing coach. Gear provided.

Community Sailing Center, Burlington, 11:30 a.m.-1 p.m. Free; preregister.

EQUAL DISTANCE PROJECT PRESENTATION: See FRI.22.

SPORTS & FITNESS EXPO: See FRI.22, 9 a.m.-6 p.m.

VERMONT CITY MARATHON INVITED RUNNER PANEL: Athletes Scott Mindel, Ryan Smith, Sarah Shiman and Paula

theater

‘MY ODD WAY TO BROADWAY’: See WED.20, 2 & 7 p.m.

‘THE WAVERLY GALLERY’: See THU.21.

‘WONDER! A WOMAN KEEPS A SECRET​‘: See WED.20, 2 & 7:30 p.m.

words

BRAD FAWLEY: See FRI.22, 12:30 p.m.

THE POETRY EXPERIENCE: Local wordsmith Rajnii Eddins hosts a supportive writing and sharing circle for poets of all ages.

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

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

film See what’s playing at theaters in the On Screen section.

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

Learn more about highlighted listings in the Magnificent 7 on page 13.

= ONLINE EVENT = GET TICKETS ON SEVENDAYSTICKETS.COM

LIST YOUR EVENT FOR FREE AT SEVENDAYSVT.COM/POSTEVENT

‘DINOSAURS OF ANTARCTICA 3D: See THU.21.

‘SEA MONSTERS 3D: A PREHISTORIC ADVENTURE’: See THU.21.

‘SHARK KINGDOM 3D’: See THU.21.

food & drink

WINOOSKI FARMERS MARKET: More than 25 area growers and bakers offer local and global fare against a backdrop of live music and activities. Winooski Falls Way, 10 a.m.-2 p.m. Free.

games

DUPLICATE BRIDGE GAMES: See THU.21, 1 p.m.

health & fitness

KARUNA COMMUNITY MEDITATION: A YEAR TO LIVE (FULLY): Participants practice keeping joy, generosity and gratitude at the forefront of their minds. Jenna’s House, Johnson, 10-11:15 a.m. Free; donations accepted.

M&T BANK VERMONT CITY MARATHON & RELAY: RunVermont invites dedicated athletes to go the distance on a 26.2-mile course through the Queen City. Waterfront Park, Burlington, 7:15 a.m. Free; preregister to participate.

NEW LEAF SANGHA MINDFULNESS PRACTICE: New and experienced meditators alike sit together in the Plum Village tradition of Thich Nhat Hanh. Hot Yoga Burlington, 6-7:45 p.m. Free.

NEW MINDFULNESS MEDITATION GATHERING: Certified instructors lead hourlong sessions of the ancient contemplative practice rooted in compassion and generosity. North Star Community Hall, Burlington, 5:30-6:30 p.m. By donation.

SUNDAY SANCTUARY SERIES: ‘I-MAGI-NATION’: Creative divination and meditation practices led by Rev. Kim Marie Glynn invite participants to look inward and harmonize their personal paths with a rising global consciousness. Dreamland, Worcester, 4 p.m. $15-30 sliding scale.

lgbtq

BOARD GAME DAY: LGBTQ+ tabletop fans bring their own favorite games to the party. Rainbow

québec

‘WONDER! A WOMAN KEEPS A SECRET‘: See WED.20, 5 p.m.

MON.25

LIVE MUSIC: See THU.21, 2:304:30 p.m.

‘GROW’: Teenage twins swap their sheltered Amish upbringing for an unexpected entrepreneurial venture in cannabis growing in this bold new musical comedy.

Sylvan Adams Theatre, Segal Centre for Performing Arts, Montréal, 2 p.m. $33-75.

outdoors

tech

FUSE BEADS CLUB: Aspiring artisans bring ideas or borrow patterns to make beaded creations. Kellogg-Hubbard Library, Montpelier, 3:30-5 p.m. Free.

Bridge Community Center, Barre, 1-6 p.m. Free.

CRAFT CLUB: Creative queer folks work on their knitting, crocheting and sewing projects. Rainbow Bridge Community Center, Barre, 10 a.m.-noon. Free.

music

EARLY BIRDERS MORNING WALK: You know what they say ... Now get that worm! New and experienced avian admirers take a stroll to observe the area’s flying, feathered friends. BYO binoculars. Birds of Vermont Museum, Huntington, 7-9 a.m. $5-15 sliding scale; preregister.

FESTIVAL ACCÈS ASIE: See WED.20.

DROP-IN TECH SUPPORT: Techsavvy library staff provide oneon-one guidance and support in 30-minute sessions. Fletcher Free Library, Burlington, 4-6 p.m. Free.

theater

‘MY ODD WAY TO BROADWAY’: See WED.20, 2 p.m.

agriculture

MED47 GARDEN SHOPPE: See WED.20.

crafts

etc.

LAKEVIEW CEMETERY TOUR: Knowledgeable experts from MON.25

» P.74

Stress?

Not here!

Independent living means leaving the hassles behind and living the life you love. Spacious apartments, private balconies, lovely cottages — each of our communities has something unique to offer.

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calendar MON.25

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Preservation Burlington guide guests through the restored church, graveyard and historic sexton’s house. Louisa Howard Chapel, Burlington, 10-11:30 a.m. $10 suggested donation.

MUSEUM TOURS: Visitors explore the depths of regional history at a guided exploration of the historical and archaeological heritage of the lake. Lake Champlain Maritime Museum, Vergennes, 10:30-11:30 a.m. Free.

VOLUNTEER WORK PARTY: See FRI.22.

film

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

‘BACKYARD WILDERNESS 3D’: See THU.21.

‘DINOSAURS OF ANTARCTICA 3D’: See THU.21.

‘SEA MONSTERS 3D: A PREHISTORIC ADVENTURE’: See THU.21.

‘SHARK KINGDOM 3D’: See THU.21.

games

BURLINGTON ELKS BINGO: Players grab their daubers for a competitive night of card stamping for cash prizes. Burlington Elks Lodge, 6 p.m. Various prices.

MAH-JONGG MONDAYS: Tile traders gather for friendly bouts of the ancient game of skill, strategy and luck. St. Albans Free Library, 1-3 p.m. Free.

health & fitness

WISDOM FLOW YOGA: See FRI.22.

holidays

MEMORIAL DAY SERVICE: Community members gather to honor the sacrifices of people who gave their lives in military service. Milton Fire Department, 10 a.m. Free.

MONUMENT DEDICATION: Citizens commemorate local service members at a Memorial Day dedication. Veterans Park, White River Junction, 10 a.m. Free.

VERGENNES MEMORIAL DAY PARADE: American Legion Post 14

hosts a patriotic procession honoring people who have served our country during times of conflict, followed by a chicken barbecue.

Vergennes Union High School & Middle School, 11 a.m. Free.

language

GERMAN LANGUAGE LUNCH: Willkommen! Speakers of all experience levels brush up on conversational skills over bagged lunches. Kellogg-Hubbard Library, Montpelier, noon-1 p.m. Free.

music

ONION RIVER CHORUS REHEARSAL: The non-auditioned community ensemble conducted

by Richard Riley invites interested vocalists to join in spirited song.

Bethany United Church of Christ, Montpelier, 7-9 p.m. Free.

québec

FESTIVAL ACCÈS ASIE: See WED.20.

‘GROW’: See SUN.24, 7:30 p.m.

talks

‘FROM THE RIVER: ETHNIC CLEANSING IN THE WEST BANK VILLAGE OF RAS EIN AL AUJA’: Neighbors convene to hear firsthand accounts of the colonial violence happening in Palestine.

Spiral House, Burlington, 6:30 p.m. Free.

words

ANIME GROUP: Fans of Japanese animation and comics convene weekly to swap ideas, read stories and connect over shared interests in hand-drawn media. Pathways Vermont Morgan’s Place Peer Support Center, Burlington, 6-8 p.m. Free.

EDONUSEM H.A.Y. POMEYIE: A local author and Colchester High School student launches his new collection, Live Love Life: A Poetic Symphony From One’s Heart.

Phoenix Books, Burlington, 4 p.m. $3; preregister.

READ LIKE A WRITER: New England Readers & Writers hosts a virtual reading group for bibliophiles to chat about short stories, both contemporary and classic. 6:30-8 p.m. Free.

TUE.26 activism

SHOWING UP FOR RACIAL JUSTICE COMMUNITY GATHERING: Neighbors work on cultivating trust, appreciating and respecting differences, and combating racism and classism.

Unitarian Church of Montpelier, 6-8 p.m. Free.

agriculture

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

NETWORKING EVENT: A behindthe-scenes look at restaurant sourcing strategies offers farmers and chefs a chance to bridge the gap between agricultural production and kitchen operations. Pearl Street Pizza, Barre, 4-6 p.m. Free; preregister.

‘BRIDESMAIDS’: Longtime best friends find their relationship tested when one woman prepares to walk down the aisle in this 2011 comedy starring Kristen Wiig and Maya Rudolph. Film House, Main Street Landing Performing Arts Center, Burlington, 7 p.m. Free.

community

‘DINOSAURS OF ANTARCTICA 3D’: See THU.21.

CURRENT EVENTS DISCUSSION GROUP: Brownell Library holds a virtual roundtable for neighbors to pause and reflect on the news cycle.

10-11:30 a.m. Free.

crafts

ALL HANDS TOGETHER COMMUNITY CRAFTING GROUP: Marshfield spinning maven Donna Hisson hosts a casual gathering for fiber fans of all abilities to work on old projects or start something new. Jaquith Public Library, Marshfield, 6-7:30 p.m. Free.

CRAFTERS DROP-IN: Fiber fans converse and connect through knitting, crocheting, mending, embroidery and other creative pursuits. Fletcher Free Library, Burlington, 6-8 p.m. Free.

dance

BALLET CLASS: Professional dancer and educator Jessica Batten helps participants explore their inner artistry through movement with an emphasis on joy and personal expression. Stone Valley Arts, Poultney, 6-7:30 p.m. $20.

Watch at: sevendaysvt.com/stuckinvt SEVEN DAYS MAY 20-27, 2026

film

‘BACKYARD WILDERNESS 3D’: See THU.21.

Supported by:

4H-Stuckinvt051326.indd 1

METHODS & MEANS: A showand-tell event invites creatives to pull back the curtain on their particular approach to tasks, projects and processes. Generator Makerspace, Burlington, 6-8 p.m.

Free; preregister to participate.

MED47 GARDEN SHOPPE: See WED.20.

Eva Sollberger’s

74

etc.

‘SEA MONSTERS 3D: A PREHISTORIC ADVENTURE’: See THU.21.

‘SHARK KINGDOM 3D’: See THU.21.

games

BOARD GAMES FOR ADULTS: Locals ages 18 and up enjoy the library’s collection or bring their own to share with the group.

Light refreshments provided.

Essex Free Library, 6-7:30 p.m.

Free.

health & fitness

BEGINNER TAI CHI: Weight transference and mindful breathing help practitioners cultivate agility through a contemporary sequence of quintessential martial arts postures. Virtual option available. Unitarian Universalist Church, Springfield, 10-11 a.m.

Free.

COMMUNITY MEDITATION: All experience levels engage in the ancient Buddhist practice of clearing the mind to achieve a state of calm. First Unitarian Universalist Society of Burlington, 5:15-6 p.m.

Free; donations accepted.

TAI CHI: Practitioners get a feel for the Chinese martial art combining controlled breathing, meditation and slow,

gentle movements. Ida Boch Park, Bradford, 10-11 a.m. Free.

language

ITALIAN LANGUAGE LUNCH: Speakers hone their skills in the Romance language over bagged lunches. Kellogg-Hubbard Library, Montpelier, noon-1 p.m. Free.

PAUSE-CAFÉ MARDI: Francophones and Frenchlanguage learners meet pour parler la belle langue. Burlington Bay Market & Café, 5-7 p.m. Free.

music

VERMONT’S FREEDOM & UNITY CHORUS: Singers come together for a weekly rehearsal inspiring positive change through the power of music. Chapel of Saint Michael the Archangel, Saint Michael’s College, Colchester, 7 p.m. Free.

québec

FESTIVAL ACCÈS ASIE: See WED.20.

‘GROW’: See SUN.24, 7:30 p.m.

seminars

LIVING WELL WITH DEMENTIA WEBINAR SERIES: EARLY SENSORY CHANGES: Individuals with dementia offer insight into how changes in the brain can affect senses such as taste, smell, touch and hearing at this virtual series hosted by the National Council of Dementia Minds. 2-3 p.m. Free.

sports

laptops, e-readers and other devices in one-on-one meetings. South Burlington Public Library & City Hall, 1-4 p.m. Free; preregister.

DROP-IN TECH SUPPORT: Library staff field questions about devices of all kinds in face-to-face chats. Fletcher Free Library New North End Branch, Burlington, 12:30-2 p.m. Free.

ONE-ON-ONE TECH HELP: Adult services librarian Megan Robinson lends a hand with smartphones, laptops and e-readers in 30-minute sessions.

St. Johnsbury Athenaeum, 10 a.m.-noon. Free; preregister.

theater

‘WONDER! A WOMAN KEEPS A SECRET‘: See WED.20.

words

BURLINGTON LITERATURE GROUP: Over the course of nine weeks, readers analyze the works of father-andson authors Kingsley and Martin Amis, two influential British

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.

DAD GUILD OPEN GYM BASKETBALL: Local fathers hit the hardwood for weekly sessions of full-court exercise and casual competition. Mater Christi School, Burlington, 7-9 p.m. Free.

film

DRAGON BOAT BEGINNER LESSON: See SAT.23. Community Sailing Center, Burlington, 5:30-7 p.m. Free; preregister.

Find club dates at local venues in the Music + Nightlife section online at sevendaysvt.com/ music.

EZ BREEZY BIKE RIDES: Cyclists gain confidence at this funfilled, casual group loop around the Queen City. Local Motion, Burlington, 6 p.m. Free.

tech

AFTERNOON TECH HELP: Experts answer questions about phones,

See what’s playing at theaters in the On Screen section.

music + nightlife

Learn more about highlighted listings in the Magnificent 7 on page 13.

= ONLINE EVENT = GET TICKETS ON SEVENDAYSTICKETS.COM

WATCH HER LATEST VIDEO! Cardtopia is a wizard’s castle made with cardboard and creativity at the Highland Center for the Arts in Greensboro. Seven Days’ Eva Sollberger got a tour of the participatory art installation from Craftsbury Academy Middle School students who contributed cardboard art to the ever-evolving show, open through the end of July.

5/12/26 9:48 AM

LIST YOUR EVENT FOR FREE AT SEVENDAYSVT.COM/POSTEVENT

novelists of the postwar era.

6:30-8 p.m. Free.

CATHERINE TUDISH: A local author reads from her latest release, A Thousand Souls: A Novel in Stories, a collection of 14 interconnected narratives centered on residents in a remote Vermont town. The Norwich Bookstore, 7 p.m. Free.

EVENING BOOK GROUP: Bibliophiles share their read on Daphne Palasi Andreades’ debut novel, Brown Girls, following a group of young women of color growing up in New York City.

Virtual option available. South Burlington Public Library & City Hall, 6-7 p.m. Free.

EXPLORING IRISH LITERATURE: Bookworms dissect the wit and grit of the Emerald Isle through monthly discussions spanning titles from ancient mythology to modernity. Norman Williams Public Library, Woodstock, 10:30 a.m.-noon. Free.

ROBERT MELLO: A retired Vermont Superior Court judge and author shares his new book, When the Trees Came Back: The Great Battle to Save Vermont’s Forests, exploring the long campaign to reverse the deforestation that decimated the state in the 1700s. Carpenter-Carse Library, Hinesburg, 6 p.m. Free.

TIM WEED: A local author reads from his gripping new novel, The

Gatepost, about a woman who returns to Vermont to uncover the mystery of her father’s disappearance. Next Stage Arts, Putney, 6-8 p.m. Free; preregister.

WRITER’S CIRCLE: Creative sparks fly as participants tackle curated prompts and read their latest drafts aloud in a collaborative environment. Virtual option available. Pathways Vermont Morgan’s Place Peer Support Center, Burlington, 4-5:30 p.m. Free.

WED.27

agriculture

MED47 GARDEN SHOPPE: See WED.20.

climate crisis

BILL MCKIBBEN: In “Here Comes the Sun,” a renowned environmentalist and author gives a timely talk on the climate crisis, justice and the path forward.

Worthen Library, South Hero, 6:30 p.m. Free; preregister.

community

‘BRANDON: A HUB & OUR HOME’: The second in a series of three meetings hosted by Vermont Council on Rural Development allows participants to share their ideas for the town’s future over a

shared meal. Brandon Town Hall, 6 p.m. Free.

CURRENT EVENTS: Neighbors have an informal discussion about what’s in the news. Dorothy Alling Memorial Library, Williston, 10:30 a.m.-noon. Free.

PASSEGGIATA: See WED.20.

conferences

NEW ENGLAND SOCIETY FOR HEALTH CARE COMMUNICATIONS CONFERENCE: Industry professionals from across New England convene for a weekend of networking, breakout sessions and presentations. Hotel Champlain Burlington, noon-8 p.m. Various prices.

crafts

COLLAGE NIGHT: Makers snip, stick and transform provided materials into paper masterpieces in honor of Mental Health Awareness Month. Ilsley Public Library Temporary Location, Middlebury, 6-8 p.m. Free.

YARN & YAK: See WED.20.

YARN CRAFTERS GROUP: See WED.20.

etc.

GUIDED TOURS: See WED.20.

MUSEUM TOURS: See MON.25.

TOASTMASTERS OF GREATER BURLINGTON: Those looking to strengthen their speaking

FAMILY northeast kingdom FUN ‘CARDTOPIA’: See THU.21.

SAT.23

« P.69

Lake Champlain, Burlington, 11 a.m.-5 p.m. Free.

DINOSAUR SAFARI EXHIBIT: See WED.20.

FAMILY ART SATURDAY: Families get creative at a drop-in activity inspired by works featured in the center’s spring exhibitions. BCA Center, Burlington, 11 a.m.-1 p.m. Free.

TROUT PARADE WORKSHOP: Community members craft aquatic-themed puppets and flags under the guidance of veteran activists to prepare for the annual watershed celebration on May 29. Sustainability Academy, Lawrence Barnes School, Burlington, 10 a.m. Free.

chittenden county

DADS & KIDS PLAYGROUND PLAYGROUP: Fathers cultivate community connection while little ones navigate play structures at this springtime social. Volunteers Green, Richmond, 10-11:30 a.m. Free.

READ & PLAY: Kiddos 5 and under discover the magic of libraries through picture books, singing and creative fun.

Brownell Library, Essex Junction, 10 a.m.

Free.

mad river valley/ waterbury

STUDENT ART SHOW: See THU.21.

and leadership skills gain new tools. Virtual option available. Generator Makerspace, Burlington, 6-7:30 p.m. Free; preregister.

food & drink

COMMUNITY COOKING: See WED.20.

CRÊPE NIGHT: Foodies enjoy sweet and savory French pancakes picnic-style at this monthly community meal benefiting local nonprofits. Scott Farm Orchard, Dummerston, 5:30-7:30 p.m. $12-25.

CUPPA ON CAMPUS: See WED.20.

health & fitness

BLOOD DRIVE: Participants part with life-sustaining pints at this American Red Cross donation event. Greater Burlington YMCA, 9 a.m.-1:30 p.m. Free; preregister.

CHAIR YOGA: See WED.20.

GENTLE YOGA: See WED.20.

RECOVERY DHARMA: See WED.20.

language

ELL CLASS: See WED.20.

ITALIAN CONVERSATION GROUP: Practitioners sharpen their skills and connect with neighbors at a bimonthly morning meetup facilitated by a native speaker.

South Burlington Public Library & City Hall, 10-11 a.m. Free.

northeast kingdom ‘CARDTOPIA’: See THU.21.

mad river valley/ waterbury

HIKING 101 & SHORT TRAIL HIKE: Want to hit the trails but not sure where to start? The Green Mountain Club hosts an informative workshop on the basics, followed by a guided trek. Green Mountain Club Headquarters, Waterbury Center, 6-8:30 p.m.

Free; preregister.

INTRO TO STUDIO PRODUCTION WORKSHOP: Media enthusiasts walk through the process of conducting interviews on set while switching between cameras and utilizing chroma-keyed backgrounds. The Media Factory, Burlington, 6-8 p.m. Free; donations accepted; preregister.

TUE.26

‘CHAMP: AMERICA’S LAKE MONSTER’: See WED.20.

TODDLER TIME: Little kids ages 5 and under have a blast with songs, stories, rhymes and dancing. Waterbury Public Library, 10:30 a.m. Free.

SING-ALONG WITH LINDA BASSICK: Babies, toddlers and preschoolers sing, dance and wiggle along with the local musician. Fletcher Free Library, Burlington, 11-11:30 a.m. Free.

rutland/killington

chittenden county

upper valley

STUDENT ART SHOW: See THU.21.

seminars

STEPHEN P. KIERNAN: A celebrated Vermont author unveils his latest release, Pollock’s Last Lover, a multigenerational portrait of two women set against the work of Jackson Pollock. Pierson Library, Shelburne, 7-8 p.m. Free.

TRASH FOR THE TROPE: ROMANCE LOVERS BOOK CLUB: Bibliophiles dissect the nuances of Rachel Reid’s spicy sportsthemed novels, Game Changer and Heated Rivalry. Phoenix Books, Burlington, 6 p.m. Free; preregister. ➆

upper valley

DINOSAUR SAFARI EXHIBIT: See WED.20.

chittenden county

mad river valley/ waterbury

‘GROW’: See SUN.24, 7:30 p.m.

BARBARA ZUCKER: A Burlington artist and author launches her new book, The Second Oldest Profession: The Wet Nurse, Revered and Reviled, followed by a participatory conversation.

Refreshments provided. See calendar spotlight. BCA Center, Burlington, 6-8 p.m. Free.

MINECRAFT MEETUP: Fans of the sandbox game from ages 7 to 12 gather with fellow enthusiasts to play on the library’s private server. Snacks provided. Fletcher Free Library New North End Branch, Burlington, 5-6:15 p.m. Free.

DINOSAUR SAFARI EXHIBIT: See WED.20.

SOCIAL SUNDAYS: Families participate in fun and educational art activities with diverse mediums and themes.

All supplies and instruction provided.

Milton Artists’ Guild Art Center & Gallery, 12:30-2:30 p.m. Free.

FESTIVAL ACCÈS ASIE: See WED.20.

words

DINOSAUR SAFARI EXHIBIT: See WED.20.

‘SESAME STREET LIVE! ELMO’S GOT THE MOVES’: Young fans find their rhythm when beloved neighborhood characters take the stage for a musical celebration of learning. See calendar spotlight.

Paramount Theatre, Rutland, 2 & 6 p.m. $35-45.

‘FOLLIES’: See FRI.22, 6 p.m.

québec

‘WONDER! A WOMAN KEEPS A SECRET​‘: See WED.20.

burlington

outside vermont

‘CHAMP: AMERICA’S LAKE MONSTER’: See WED.20.

theater

FOREST RESET: GUIDED NATURE WALKS: Cultivate tranquility among the trees at this gentle weekly wander designed to help busy brains tap into their inner peace. Journey Together VT, Richmond, 9-10:30 a.m. Free; donations accepted; preregister.

LEGO TUESDAYS: Youth architects tackle construction challenges or follow their own blueprints at a creative building session complete with snacks. Norwich Public Library, 3:30-4:30 p.m. Free.

‘CHAMP: AMERICA’S LAKE MONSTER’: See WED.20.

burlington

outdoors

GREEN MOUNTAIN TABLE TENNIS CLUB: See WED.20.

‘CREATIVIDAD SILVESTRE/WILD CREATIVITY’ EXHIBIT: See MON.25, 10 a.m.-5 p.m.

MON.25

SUN.24

sports

THE ALL INCLUSIVE DYKETACULAR: See WED.20.

burlington

COMIC BOOK CLUB: Kiddos collaborate to create their very own comic book to print and take home. Haskell Free Library & Opera House, Derby Line, 1-2:30 p.m. Free.

HOPSTOP FAMILY SHOW: MISTER CHRIS & FRIENDS: Little listeners ages 3 to 8 sing, dance and clap along to classic and original tunes by the veteran musician and his collaborators. Top of the Hop, Hopkins Center for the Arts, Dartmouth College, Hanover, N.H., 11 a.m.-noon. Free.

lgbtq

‘CREATIVIDAD SILVESTRE/WILD CREATIVITY’ EXHIBIT: Aspiring innovators examine biological designs of the natural world to better understand and solve human engineering challenges.

Montshire Museum of Science, Norwich, 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Regular admission, $1821; free for members and kids under 2.

STORY TIME WITH BETH: An engaging bookseller and librarian reads picture books on a different theme each week.

The Norwich Bookstore, 10 a.m. Free.

READ TO CHEWY THE THERAPY DOG: Literacy and licks collide as students sharpen their skills alongside a fourlegged listener and his human, Cindy.

Essex Free Library, 4:30-5:30 p.m. Free; preregister.

STORY TIME: Youngsters from birth to 5 enjoy a session of reading, rhyming and singing. Dorothy Alling Memorial Library, Williston, 10:30-11 a.m. Free.

barre/montpelier

BASEMENT TEEN CENTER: See FRI.22, 2-6 p.m.

THE NEST: Good Beginnings of Central Vermont hosts a baby-friendly space where prenatal and postpartum families can connect. Kellogg-Hubbard Library, Montpelier, 9 a.m.-1 p.m. Free.

northeast kingdom

LAPSIT STORY TIME: Babies 2 and under learn to love reading while singing and playing with their caregivers.

Siblings welcome. St. Johnsbury Athenaeum, 10:30-11 a.m. Free.

PRESCHOOL STORY TIME: See FRI.22.

WED.27

burlington

‘CHAMP: AMERICA’S LAKE MONSTER’: See WED.20.

DINOSAUR SAFARI EXHIBIT: See WED.20.

chittenden county BABY TIME: See WED.20.

barre/montpelier

BABY & CAREGIVER MEETUP: See WED.20.

FAMILY CHESS CLUB: See WED.20.

upper valley

‘CREATIVIDAD SILVESTRE/WILD CREATIVITY’ EXHIBIT: See MON.25, 10 a.m.-5 p.m.

STORY TIME: See WED.20. K SEVEN DAYS MAY 20-27, 2026

75

classes THE FOLLOWING CLASS LISTINGS ARE PAID ADVERTISEMENTS. ANNOUNCE YOUR CLASS HERE FOR AS LITTLE AS $21.25/WEEK (INCLUDES SIX PHOTOS AND UNLIMITED DESCRIPTION ONLINE).

SEVEN DAYS DOES

NEWSPAPER DEADLINE: MONDAYS AT 3 P.M. POST CLASS ADS AT SEVENDAYSVT.COM/POSTCLASS. GET HELP AT CLASSES@SEVENDAYSVT.COM.

BIG-PICTURE REPORTING WITH GREAT COURAGE.

arts & crafts DAVIS STUDIO ART CLASSES: Stay connected to your creative practice this summer. Seasonal camps, classes and workshops offer flexible, supportive ways for art making full of joy and inspiration! Come as you are and use the time to reset, focus and have fun. Now enrolling youths, teens and adults. Info: 802-4252700, info@davisstudiovt.com, davisstudiovt.com.

– Ted Montgomery, Charlotte SUPER READER SINCE MARCH 2020

food & drink

Welcome, new Super Readers!

These wonderful people made their first donation to Seven Days this week:

Pomykala Farm

Here are some of the repeat and recurring Super Readers who sustain us all year: Wendy Bilodeau Celine Champine Edward Champine Robert Clark Michael Devost Elder Education Enrichment

Gabriel Harwood Barbara Heilman David & Judith Hershberg Elizabeth Humstone Felicia Martineau Leo Martineau Elizabeth Merrill

Nancy Nesbitt Beth Pidgeon Maryanne Roberts James Scott Basak Simal Peter Velasquez Nevin Zablotsky

Join these generous folks and other Super Readers who donate monthly to:

Make your contribution today! sevendaysvt.com/super-readers Need more info? Want to give from a donor-advised fund or through a qualified charitable contribution? Contact Gillian at 802-865-1020, ext. 115 or superreaders@sevendaysvt.com.

SEVEN DAYS MAY 20-27, 2026

2v-SRthanks052026.indd 1

ANNE OF GREEN GABLES TEA PARTY FEATURING EMILY’S HOME COOKING: Learn how to make raspberry cordial, dainty tea sandwiches and lemon curd with cream! The price of this class includes a copy of the beloved book from Bridgeside Books, and we will talk about reviving the lost social art of having company for tea. These recipes will be soy-free and vegetarian but not vegan or gluten-free. Please disclose all allergies and dietary restrictions in the ticket registration. Please note, we are not an allergenfree facility. Date: Sat., Jun. 6, 3-6 p.m. Cost: $100. Location: Red Poppy Cakery, 1 Elm St., Waterbury. Info: 203-400-0700, sevendaystickets.com.

language

Or send a check w/note to: Seven Days c/o Super Readers, PO Box 1164, Burlington, VT 05402.

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KIDS COOK CAMP: Get ready to chop, mix and taste your way through five awesome days of cooking adventure! Kids Cook Camp is where curious kids become confident cooks. Your child will experiment with new ingredients, pick up kitchen skills they’ll use forever, and come home bursting with pride — and tasty treats to share with the whole family. Dates: Mon., Jun. 22, to Fri., Jun. 26, 9 a.m.-12:30 p.m. Cost: $295.

Location: Stockbridge Central School, 2933 Route 107. Info: sevendaystickets.com.

5/19/26 4:14 PM

JOIN US! FRENCH DAY TRIP AND NEW ADVANCED BEGINNER FRENCH CLASS: Wingspan Studio is leading a culturally rich and relaxed small-group French immersion day trip to Québec’s Eastern Townships on Saturday, May 23. Four more spots! Visit Magog for coffee and croissants, Abbaye de Saint-Benoît-du-Lac, scenic Lake Memphrémagog, and lunch in North Hatley, with French practice throughout.

Cost: $125/person; meals

extra. Just added: Advanced Beginner French class starts Thursday, May 21. Spring into your French journey! Allons-y!

Email for details or to sign up, or visit the website. Location: Wingspan School & Studio, 4A Howard St., Burlington. Info: Maggie Standley, 802-233-7676, maggiestandley@gmail.com, wingspanstudioeduc.com.

martial arts OOM (MIND) YUNG (BODY) DOE (HARMONY) IN BURLINGTON: Essential training includes kong fu, tai chi, bagwa, kong su (tae kwon do), ship pal gae (18 weapons), kom do (samurai sword), udo and aikido/hapkido.

Benefits of training include stress release, improved balance, increased energy, better circulation, mental calmness, improved physical well-being and overall health, increased focus and self-discipline, and the confidence that you can go anywhere and do anything.

Offering classes for children, juniors and adults, plus seniors tai chi. Try it for free! Dates: Open 6 days a week. Location: School of Oom Yung Doe, 1127 North Ave., Burlington. Info: Inst. Wade Prescott, 802495-6034, inst.wade@gmail. com, schools.oomyungdoe.com/ vermont.

music TAIKO TUESDAYS, DJEMBE WEDNESDAYS!: Drum with Stuart Paton! New sessions each month. Community Taiko Ensemble Beginner’s Class, Mon., 5:30-7 p.m. Taiko on Tue.: Kids & Parents Taiko, 4-5:30 p.m.; Adult Intro Taiko, 5:30-7 p.m.; Accelerated Intro Taiko, 7-8:30 p.m. Djembe on Wed.: Intermediate Djembe, 5:30-7 p.m.; Beginner Djembe, 7-8:30

p.m. Drums provided. Cost: $92/4 weeks; 90-min. classes; $72 per person for Kids & Parents class. Location: Burlington Taiko, 208 Flynn Ave., Suite 3-G. Info: Stuart Paton, 802-448-0150, burlingtontaiko.org.

sports & fitness SMART CYCLING WORKSHOPS: Worried about riding near cars? Unsure how to teach your children safe cycling habits?

Newish to biking? Smart Cycling is a workshop series to help you get started. Learn the skills and gain confidence to ride safely on the road and with traffic through hands-on training with our league-certified instructor.

Bike rentals available. Dates: Mon., Jun. 15, 22 & 29, 6-8 p.m.

Cost: $165. Location: Local Motion Bike Rentals, 1 Steele St., Burlington. Info: sevendaystickets. com.

wellness HOT FLASH SOCIAL CLUB: A small-group series offering support and community for women struggling with the symptoms of perimenopause and menopause. Cut through the confusion and overwhelm to learn what’s happening to you and how you can feel like yourself again. Dates: Tue., Jun. 9, 16 & 23, 6-7:30 p.m. Cost: $99.

Location: Songbird Acupuncture, 145 Pine Haven Shores Rd., Suite 2032, Shelburne. Info: sevendaystickets.com.

Find and purchase tickets for these and other classes at sevendaystickets.com.

= TICKETED CLASS

Humane Buy & Sell »

ANTIQUES, FURNITURE, GARAGE SALES

Community »

ANNOUNCEMENTS, LOST & FOUND, SUPPORT GROUPS

Rentals & Real Estate »

APARTMENTS, HOMES, FOR SALE BY OWNER

Vehicles »

CARS, BIKES, BOATS, RVS

Auto AGE/SEX: 2-year-old neutered male ARRIVAL DATE: April 9, 2026 SUMMARY: Auto is ready for a fresh start with someone special in

the driver’s seat! This sweet, affectionate boy has a gentle heart and a deep love for his people. He’s affectionate and genuinely happiest when included in everyday life. Auto is still building confidence in the world, and he does best with someone who’s willing to move at his pace, learn his cues and offer gentle reassurance as he grows.

If you’re someone willing to learn Auto’s love language and help him build his confidence, he is a charming, goofy guy who is fully fueled and ready to ride shotgun as your new best friend.

DOGS/CATS/KIDS: Auto has been social with female dogs. We are

Services »

happy to arrange a introduction at HSCC if you have a resident canine looking for a friend. Auto has no known experience with cats.

Auto may thrive in a home with teenagers and adults.

Musicians & Artists »

Visit the Humane Society of Chittenden County at 142 Kindness Court, South Burlington, Tuesday-Wednesday, 1-5 p.m.; Thursday-Friday, 1-6 p.m.; and Saturday, 10 a.m.-5 p.m.

Call 862-0135 or visit hsccvt.org for more info.

FINANCIAL, CHILDCARE, HOME & GARDEN

LESSONS, CASTING, REHEARSAL SPACE

Society of Chittenden County

DID YOU KNOW?

Dogs are creatures of habit and feel most comfortable when their schedule is predictable. You don’t need to change your schedule to fit their needs, but try to keep mealtime, exercise and bedtime as consistent as possible.

Sponsored by:

Jobs »

NO SCAMS, ALL LOCAL, POSTINGS DAILY

NEW STUFF ONLINE EVERY DAY! PLACE YOUR ADS 24-7 AT SEVENDAYSVT.COM/CLASSIFIEDS. SEVEN DAYS MAY 20-27, 2026

77

Post ads by Monday at 3 p.m. sevendaysvt.com/classifieds Need help? 802-865-1020, ext. 115 classifieds@sevendaysvt.com

GARAGE & ESTATE SALES Buy y & Sell e

CLOTHING & ACCESSORIES 2013 AIRSTREAM INTERNATIONAL SIGNATURE 23D Get away in style in this beautiful Airstream, recently serviced & ready for travel! Lots of upgrades, w/ a good history & only 2 prior owners! Stored indoors in climate-controlled environment every winter since new. View listing on RV Trader here: tinyurl.com/2ykfdc9x.

Private link to high-res photos below as well. $57,000, negotiable.

Info, 802-233-0334, vtwildebeest@proton. me, tinyurlcom/3xh96sfr

NEIGHBORHOOD YARD SALE IN GEORGIA Radharc Dr., Georgia.

Neighborhood yard sale!

Kids’ toys, electronics, appliances, 7500W generator, HomeLink generator switch, air conditioners, riding lawnmower & lots, lots more. Sun., May 24, 8:30 a.m.-2:30 p.m., rain or shine.

Buy & Sell, Community, Musicians & Artists, Vehicles 1-week combo: $12 All print combos include 2-week combo: $22 30 days free online!

4-week combo: $42

(#1747) Farm Equipment Online Auction Closes: Tuesday, May 26 @ 10AM Morrisville, VT (#1748) 1959 Cessna 172 “Straight Tail” Airplane Online Auction Closes: Thursday, May 28 @ 11AM

Preview: Wednesday, May 27 from 11AM-1PM in Orange, VT

(#1737) 4BBL Brewery & Commercial Restaurant Equipment Online Auction Closes: Monday, June 1 @ 12PM

ARTIST RETREAT FOR WRITERS & PRINTMAKERS Chaga Woods on Green Hill Artist Retreat offers writers & printmakers a comfortable & supportive environment immersed in nature w/ uninterrupted time & quiet space to work.

Private room, shared full BA, nourishing home-prepared meals, walking trails. Nestled in the northern Taconic Mountains of southwest Vermont. Info, 802-3252603, lawlorschmidt@ icloud.com, artistretreat chagawoods.com.

MOVING SALE We have a few things looking for new homes: a working refrigerator, $200; working dishwasher, $150; working gas dryer, $250; working electric stove, $250; Kohler & Campbell upright piano (grandfathered ivory key tops), $200; office desk, $50; pine dresser, $25; Craftsman 42-in.

THCAuction.com  800-634-SOLD garden tractor, $500; Craftsman garden Ready Jun. 5. Contact wagon, $250; Craftsman later than May 30. In 802-595-5345.5/15/26 4:49 PM 1 other addition, many lawn sweeper, $250; 12V-Hirchak052026 items are avail. Please lawn seed/fertilizer GUITAR INSTRUCTION contact us at cymln2@ spreader (attaches to All styles/levels. the garden tractor), $25. yahoo.com if you have Emphasis on building any interest or see us at Best reasonable offers strong technique, 86 Hinesburg Hollow Rd. will be considered. Pick thorough musicianship, in Huntington on May up by buyer is req., no developing personal 23, 9 a.m.-3 p.m., rain or style. Paul Asbell (Big shine.

Joe Burrell, Kilimanjaro, UVM & Middlebury College faculty, Seven Daysies winner). Info, 802-233-7731, pasbell@ PREPARE FOR POWER appt. appointment paulasbell.com.

OUTAGES apt. apartment Prepare for power outages today w/ a BA bathroom Generac Home Standby SLAVIC LIFE Generator. Act now The Slavic Life BR bedroom to receive a free Movement is an 5-year warranty w/ organization dedicated DR dining room qualifying purchase. Call to the preservation 1-866-381-0627 today & evolution of Slavic DW dishwasher to schedule a free quote. culture.

HDWD hardwood It’s not just a generator.

COMMUNITY It’s a power move. (AAN HW hot water ACUPUNCTURE OPEN CAN) HOUSE PARTY LR living room Food! Drink! Prizes!

Acupuncture! Come NS no smoking celebrate community wellness w/ us. Learn PUPPIES & KITTENS OBO or best offer about the radical Corgi & corgipoo pups: LONDONDERRY 2-BR history of community shots, dewormed, refs. references APT. acupuncture (spoiler: It health guarantee. sec. dep. security deposit was the Black Panthers), Unfurnished 2-BR, 1-BA $675. Ready late Jun. apt. w/ eat-in kitchen, how to use acupressure Himalayan snowshoe W/D washer & dryer $1,300/mo., incl. heat & stick-on beads for your Siamese kittens: shots, electric. Laundry room family & friends, & even dewormed. $375. on premises. No pets & see what it feels like to NS. 1-year lease is req. give acupuncture, using Must have excellent our silicon model! We’ll rental history & refs. also have gifts & prizes, EQUAL HOUSING readers are hereby informed that all Info, 201-248-1973, food, mocktails, & more.

OPPORTUNITY dwellings advertised in this newspaper Free! Everyone welcome. tbahearn@optonline.

All real estate advertising in this are available on an equal opportunity net.

No registration req. newspaper is subject to the Federal Fair basis. Any home seeker who feels he Come for part or all; drop Housing Act of 1968 and similar Veror she has encountered discrimination BURLINGTON 2NDin anytime. Sat., May mont statutes which make it illegal to should contact: FLOOR, 2-ROOM APT. 23, 2-5 p.m. 100 Dorset advertise any preference, limitations, FOR RENT St. S. Burlington (inside or discrimination based on race, color, HUD Office of Fair Housing Clean, bright, carpeted.

Kula Yoga, Fitness & religion, sex, national origin, sexual 10 Causeway St., Heat & HW incl. Trash Social Lounge). Info: orientation, age, marital status, handiBoston, MA 02222-1092 removal incl. 450 sq.ft. info@casobu.org, cap, presence of minor children in the (617) 565-5309 Ample storage. No pets, casobu.org. family or receipt of public assistance, — OR — NS. Street parking only. or an intention to make any such Vermont Human Rights Commission BA: shower only. Tenant preference, limitation or a discrimina14-16 Baldwin St. pays electric. $1,150. tion. The newspaper will not knowingly Montpelier, VT 05633-0633 Avail. Jun. 1. Contact accept any advertising for real estate, 1-800-416-2010 802-373-1625. which is in violation of the law. Our hrc@vermont.gov

CLASSIFIEDS KEY

Preview: Thursday, May 28 from 11AM-1PM - Williston, VT

VISIT: THCAuction.com

Musicians M cians & Ar Artists ts

MUSIC LESSONS

HOME & GARDEN

Community C ommunity mmuni y

ANNOUNCEMENTS

Rentals R e als & R al Est Real Estate Esta

PETS & SUPPLIES

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SEVEN DAYS MAY 20-27, 2026

APARTMENTS & HOUSES FOR RENT

1-, 2- & 3-BR APTS. AVAIL. NOW IN BURLINGTON, VT. 118 Hyde St. Unfurnished 903 sq.ft.

1-BR, 1-BA, $900 + utils.

Also a 1-BR in Winooski at $1,050 + utils. 2-BR in Burlington for $1,650.

Heated. We pay cold water; tenants pay utils. 3-BR avail. now for $1,750. Heated. We pay cold water; tenants pay utils. Laundry on-site w/ 3-BR. Info, 802-318-8916.

COMMERCIAL SPACE FOR SALE ADIRONDACKS, N.Y., TURNKEY BAKERY W/ OWNER APT. A baker’s dream opportunity! Launch your culinary vision in this fully operational commercial bakery space.

Property provides the ideal foundation for an established brand or an expanding enterprise. There is also a large 3-bay garage w/ income-producing potential. Will provide detailed equipment list to serious buyers, but highlights incl. a 2-yearold Empire 5-deck oven, several mixers, a sheeter & a new handcrafted industrial flour mill. Great North Country, N.Y., location. $380,000. Serious inquiries, respond to bakehouse312@gmail. com.

HOUSEMATES WINOOSKI, VT. HOUSEMATE WANTED 20 Manseau St. Housemate wanted for unfurnished BR in 3-BR, 2-BA house. 1,200 sq.ft.

2 professional females seek same to share complete 1-story home on pleasant street in the hill section of Winooski.

Near bus line & bike commuting distance to UVM. Loads of southern exposure throughout & a full unfinished cellar, W/D. The huge backyard is adjacent to sunny porch, allowing for outdoor enjoyment.

Garden space nearby.

Off-street parking.

Regular lawn care service, trash/recycling & compost service incl. $975. Info, 802-5787526, westwick2014@ gmail.com.

HOUSING WANTED ST. ALBANS TO MORRISVILLE: SEEKING ANIMAL-FRIENDLY HOUSING Single female therapist seeks animal-friendly housing.

Rentals & Real Estate 1-week combo: $25 2-week combo: $45 4-week combo: $85 Great long-term refs. for myself, 2 cats & 2 dogs. Willing to consider anything, from owner financing (2-year balloon, premium paid) to roommates or large house to get roommates to an efficiency. Most details negotiable. Call 802-878-5169.

Services 1-week combo: $15 2-week combo: $25 4-week combo: $45 STOP OVERPAYING FOR AUTO INSURANCE A recent survey says that most Americans are overpaying for their car insurance. Let us show you how much you can save. Call now for a no-obligation quote: 1-833-399-1539. (AAN CAN)

HEALTH & WELLNESS SERVICES Services rv es

ELECTRONICS SERVICES WIRELESS HOME INTERNET Connect to the best wireless home internet w/ EarthLink. Enjoy speeds from 5G & 4G LTE networks, no contracts, easy installation, & data plans up to 300 GB. Call 855-873-2215.

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SEVEN DAYS MAY 20-27, 2026

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SPRING TUNEUPS AT ACUWELL BURLINGTON There’s something special about Vermont coming back to life each spring — but after a long winter, it’s completely normal to feel a little

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PLACE AN AFFORDABLE NOTICE AT: SEVENDAYSVT.COM/LEGAL-NOTICES OR CALL 802-865-1020, EXT. 121.

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By law, public notice of proposed rules must be given by publication in newspapers of record. The purpose of these notices is to give the public a chance to respond to the proposals. The public notices for administrative rules are now also available online at https://secure.vermont.gov/ SOS/rules/ . The law requires an agency to hold a public hearing on a proposed rule, if requested to do so in writing by 25 persons or an association having at least 25 members.

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To obtain further information concerning any scheduled hearing(s), obtain copies of proposed rule(s) or submit comments regarding proposed rule(s), please call or write the contact person listed below. You may also submit comments in writing to the Legislative Committee on Administrative Rules, State House, Montpelier, Vermont 05602 (802-828-2231).

----Rule on Agency Designation.

Vermont Proposed Rule: 26P012

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AGENCY: Agency of Human Services CONCISE SUMMARY: This rule sets the requirements for the Agency of Human Services (AHS) to designate nonprofi t agencies (“Designated Agencies”) to deliver community mental health and intellectual/developmental disability services in specific geographic areas of Vermont. It also outlines the responsibilities of “Specialized Service Agencies,” which AHS assigns to provide either community mental health or intellectual/ developmental disability services statewide.

This rule updates rule 24-020 by incorporating provisions from the Provider Agreement applicable to Designated and Specialized Service Agencies which specifies administrative and operational responsibilities.

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6 2 8 7 5 4 9 3 1 SEVEN DAYS MAY 20-27, 2026

STATE OF VERMONT SUPERIOR COURT PROBATE DIVISION CHITTENDEN UNIT DOCKET NO.: 26-PR-01539 In re ESTATE of Leonard Miles NOTICE TO CREDITORS To the creditors of: Leonard Miles, late of Essex Junction, Vermont.

I have been appointed to administer this estate. All creditors having claims against the decedent or the estate must present their claims in writing within four (4) months of the date of the first publication of this notice. The claim must be presented to me at the address listed below with a copy sent to the Court. The claim may be barred forever if it is not presented within the four (4) month period.

Dated: May 11, 2026 Signature of Fiduciary: /s/ Kevin Lavallee Executor/Administrator: Kevin Lavallee Mailing Address: c/o Kolvoord, Overton & Wilson, P.C. 600 Blair Park Rd, #205 Williston, Vermont 05495 Phone Number: 8028783346 Email: JFR@essexvtlaw.com Name of Publication: Seven Days Publication Date: May 20, 2026 Name of Probate Court: Chittenden Probate Court Address of Probate Court: 175 Main Street , Burlington, VT 05402

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FOR FURTHER INFORMATION, CONTACT: Ashley Johns, Agency of Human Services, 280 State Drive Center Building Waterbury, VT, 05676 Tel: 1-802-585-9884 E-Mail: ashley.johns@vermont. gov URL: https://humanservices.vermont.gov/ rules-policies.

FOR COPIES: Conor O’Dea, Agency of Human Services, 280 State Drive- Center Building Waterbury, VT, 05676 Tel: 1-802-798-9890 E-Mail: conor.odea@vermont.gov.

NOTICE OF SELF STORAGE LIEN SALE, CHAMPLAIN HOUSING TRUST Rose Street Basement Storage, 78 Rose Street, Burlington, VT 05401. The contents of the following self-storage units will be sold at public auction on Monday, June 1 at 2:30 pm.

Andrew McKinnon, Storage Unit #26 Debra Whitten, Storage Unit #22 Infinite Culcleasure, Storage Unit #08 Dan Fancher, Storage Unit #19 Desiree Cutting, Storage Unit #12 James Gero, Storage Unit #11 Units will be opened for viewing immediately prior to the auction. Cash only. Contents of each storage unit will be sold as one lot.

STATE OF VERMONT SUPERIOR COURT PROBATE DIVISION CHITTENDEN UNIT DOCKET NO.: 26-PR-00869 In re ESTATE of Patricia Kondor NOTICE TO CREDITORS To the creditors of: Patricia Lee Kondor, late of Jericho.

I have been appointed to administer this estate. All creditors having claims against the decedent or the estate must present their claims in writing within four (4) months of the date of the first publication of this notice. The claim must be presented to me at the address listed below with a copy sent to the Court. The claim may be barred forever if it is not presented within the four (4) month period.

SEVENDAYSVT.COM/CLASSIFIEDS Dated: 5/13/2026 Signature of Fiduciary: /s/ Kristin Swain Executor/Administrator: Kristin Swain Mailing Address: 110 Quaker Lane Haverford PA 19041 Phone Number: (802) 238-8007 Email: kristinkondor@gmail.com Name of Publication: Seven Days Publication Date: 05/20/2026 Name of Probate Court: Chittenden Probate Court Address of Probate Court: 175 Main Street Burlington, VT 05401 ACT 250 NOTICE MINOR APPLICATION 4C0608-23C-1 10 V.S.A. §§ 6000 - 6111 Application 4C0608-23C-1 from Why Not, LLC, Attn: Jonathan Lang, 16 Hagan Drive, Essex, VT 05452 was received on May 5, 2026 and deemed complete on May 13, 2026. The project is generally described as construction of a 3,600 square foot clubhouse building with a restaurant and pro shop for the Links at Lang Farm Golf Course. The project includes 24 additional parking spaces and a private stormwater treatment system. Water and sewer services will be provided through connections to municipal systems. The project is located at 127 Stinson Drive in the Town of Essex, Vermont. The application may be viewed on the Land Use Review Board’s website (https://act250.vermont.gov/) by clicking “Act 250 Database” and entering the project number “4C0608-23C-1.”

No hearing will be held and a permit may be issued unless, on or before June 9, 2026, a party notifies the District 4 Commission in writing of an issue requiring a hearing, or the Commission sets the matter for a hearing on its own motion. Any person as defined in 10 V.S.A. § 6085(c)(1) may request a hearing. Any hearing request must be in writing, must state the criteria or sub-criteria at issue, why a hearing is required, and what additional evidence will be presented at the hearing. Any hearing request by an adjoining property owner or other person eligible for party status under 10 V.S.A. § 6085(c)(1)(E) must include a petition for party status under the Act 250 Rules. To request party status and a hearing, fill out the Party Status Petition Form on the Board’s website: https:// act250.vermont.gov/documents/party-statuspetition-form, and email it to the District 4 Office at: Act250.Essex@vermont.gov. Findings of Fact and Conclusions of Law may not be prepared unless the Commission holds a public hearing.

For more information contact Stephanie H. Monaghan at the address or telephone number below.

Dated this May 14, 2026.

By: /s/ Stephanie H. Monaghan Stephanie H. Monaghan District Coordinator 111 West Street Essex Junction, VT 05452 802-261-1944 stephanie.monaghan@vermont.gov PROPOSED INTRODUCED PEST PLANT CONTROL MEASURES The Vermont Department of Forests, Parks and Recreation proposes to conduct treatments to control introduced pest plants on properties owned by the State of Vermont in Rutland, Windsor, and Bennington Counties. The proposed treatment area will not exceed 50 acres in size. Application will include foliar and cut stem methods utilizing common site-specific herbicides such as Rodeo or Roundup. Treatment will occur between 5/15/2026 and 11/30/2026, and each site will have signage displayed for additional public notice. For specific locations or more information, please contact State Lands Forester Ryan Francoeur at Ryan.

Francoeur@Vermont.gov.

PUBLIC HEARING COLCHESTER DEVELOPMENT REVIEW BOARD Pursuant to Title 24 VSA, Chapter 117, the Development Review Board will hold a public

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hearing on June 10, 2026, at 7:00pm to hear the following requests under the Development Regulations. Meeting is open to the public and will be held at 781 Blakely Road. a) FP-26-21 SP-26-39 ST. MICHAEL’S COLLEGE: Final Plat and Site Plan Application for a minor, 2-lot subdivision in the GD2 and HPD Districts.

Proposed subdivision will further subdivide Parcel B as created under FP-22-07 to create 1) Parcel B-1 measuring 105,558 sf in size and inclusive of two existing buildings fronting on Hegeman Avenue, and 2) Parcel B-2 to measure 28,382 sf and inclusive of one existing building fronting on both Hegeman Avenue and Barnes Avenue.

No change of use is proposed. Subject property is located at 0 Ethan Allen Avenue, Account #20-004091-0000000. b) CU-26-14 388 BROADLAKE ROAD LLC : Conditional Use application for an increase in the degree of encroachment in the SD District pursuant to 7.03-D(1). Proposed increase in degree of encroachment to measure 192 square feet and accommodate replacing a deck that was previously permitted and subsequently expanded. No other scope of work requested for review at this time.

Subject property is located at 388 Broadlake Road, Account #34-090002-0000000. c) SP-26-36 / CU-26-15 COLCHESTER NORTH LLC: Site Plan and Conditional Use Application to amend a previous Site Plan approval. Proposed amendment includes 1) change of use to establish a Landscape Contractor’s Yard (Use 4.230) on the lot located in the GD4 District and 2) site modifications to include interior renovations, grading and paving within existing paved areas, relocation of an existing concrete dumpster enclosure, construction of a new 15 ft x 20 ft screened dumpster enclosure, and construction of a 6 ft tall fence surrounding an existing concrete pad to create screened outdoor storage. Subject property is located at 30 Jimmo Drive, Account #17-003040-0000000.

May 20, 2026 TOWN OF ESSEX DEVELOPMENT REVIEW BOARD NOTICE OF PUBLIC HEARING JUNE 4, 2026, 6:30 PM Hybrid & In Person (Municipal Conference Room, 81 Main St., Essex Jct.) Meeting. Anyone may attend this meeting in person at the above address or remotely through the following options: Join Online: Zoom Meeting ID: 821 7131 4999 | Passcode: 754119 Join Calling (audio only): 888-788-0099 1. Site Plan Amendment and Conditional Use – 1 David Drive LLC is proposing to add three food trucks to the parking lot at 1 David Drive (Parcel ID 2-047-003-000) located in the Retail Business (B1) District.

2. Site Plan Amendment and Conditional Use – Shane Bissonette is proposing to add one food truck to the parking lot at 135 Sunderland Way (Parcel ID 2-046-010-000) located in the Retail Business (B1) District.

3. Site Plan Amendment – Little One’s University is proposing to remove three parking spaces and expand the existing playground area to accommodate additional children at the daycare located at 71 Center Road (Parcel ID 2-057-052-000) in the Residential Business (RB) and Business-Design Control Overlay (B-DC) Districts.

4. Site Plan Amendment – S&R Properties LLC is proposing to add a 30’x50’ addition to the existing planing mill at 82B Jericho Road (Parcel ID 2-008-028-000) located in the Medium Density Residential (R2) and Floodplain Overlay (O2) Districts.

Application materials may be viewed before the meeting at essexvt.gov/applications. Please call 802-878-1343 or email community-development@ essex.org with any questions. This may not be the final order in which items will be heard. Please view the complete Agenda, at https://essexvt.portal. civicclerk.com or the office notice board before the hearing for the order in which items will be heard and other agenda items.

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NOTICE TO BIDDERS The Town of Underhill is now accepting sealed bids for the hauling of 4500 tons of winter sand mix.

Please follow this link to the Town’s website and the invitation to bidders: https://www.underhillvt. gov/request-proposals-rfps Sealed bids are due at the Underhill Town Office located at 12 Pleasant Valley Road, Underhill VT No later than 2:00 PM on Thursday, June 4, 2026.

NOTICE OF APPLICATION TO BROWNFIELDS REUSE AND ENVIRONMENTAL LIABILITY LIMITATION ACT PROGRAM Please take notice that Vermont Land Trust, Inc. whose mailing address is 8 Bailey Avenue, Montpelier, VT 05602, is applying to the Vermont Brownsfields Reuse and Environmental Liability Limitation Program (10 V.S.A. §6641 et seq.) in connection with the redevelopment of property known as 4259 Roosevelt Highway in the Town of Colchester. A copy of the application, which contains a preliminary environmental assessment and a description of the proposed redevelopment project is available for public review at the Colchester Clerk’s Office and at the Vermont Department of Environmental Conservation offices in Montpelier. Comments concerning the application and/or the above referenced documents may be directed to Sarah Bartlett at (802) 249-5641 or at sarah.bartlett@vermont.gov. Comments may also be submitted by mail to the Vermont Department of Environmental Conservation, Waste Management Division, 1 National Life Drive – Davis 1, Montpelier, VT 05620; attention: Sarah Bartlett.

NOTICE OF FINDING OF NO SIGNIFICANT IMPACT AND NOTICE OF INTENT TO REQUEST RELEASE OF FUNDS STATE OF VERMONT May 20th, 2026, Vermont Agency of Commerce and Community Development Grace Vinson, Environmental Officer 1 National Life Drive Montpelier, Vermont 05620 (802) 622- 4336 Request for Release of Funds These notices shall satisfy two separate but related procedural requirements for activities to be undertaken by the Vermont Housing and Conservation Board and the State of Vermont Agency of Commerce and Community Development (Agency).

On or about June 6th, 2026 the Vermont Agency of Commerce and Community Development (the Agency) will submit a request to HUD for the release of Community Project Funding (CPF) funds under the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2023 (P.L 117-328), to undertake a project known as the Westons Cooperative Infrastructure Project for the purpose of upgrading drinking water and storm water infrastructure to help preserve affordable housing. The project is located at 94 3rd Street Berlin, VT 05602. The total estimate cost of the project is approximately $3,4MM, which includes $1,325,000 (ARPA HH), $795,719 (VHCB HUD Community Project Funding, B-23-CP-VT-1500), $261,945(HUD PRICE funding, B-23-PR-25-0002), and $980,687 (3-Acre MHC Stormwater Construction Initiative).

The project, a residential mobile home cooperative, exists within the 100- and 500-year floodplain of the Dog River. HUD’s 8-Step Guidance has been undertaken and mitigation measures include a flood insurance policy on proposed infrastructure and placing underground storage tanks at an elevation outside of the floodplain that will eliminate the need for locating pressurization equipment within the floodplain.

Finding of No Significant Impact The Agency, Vermont Agency of Commerce and Community Development, has determined that the project will have no significant impact on the human environment. Therefore, an

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Environmental Impact Statement under the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA) is not required. Additional project information is contained in the Environmental Review Record (ERR), which will be made available to the public for review either electronically or by U.S. mail. Please submit your request by U.S. mail to Environmental Officer, Department of Housing and Community Development, National Life Building, One National Life Drive, Davis Building 6th floor, Montpelier, Vermont 05620 or via email at Grace.Vinson@ vermont.gov.

Public Comments Any individual, group, or agency may submit written comments on the ERR to the Agency, Attn: Environmental Officer, Agency of Commerce and Community Development, Department of Housing and Community Development, One National Life Drive, Davis Building, 6th Floor, Montpelier, Vermont, 05620 or via email at grace.vinson@ vermont.gov. All comments received by June 5th, 2026, will be considered by the Department prior to authorizing a request for release of funds.

Environmental Certification The Agency is certifying to HUD that Ann Kroll, in their official capacity as Director of Federal Programs, consents to accept the jurisdiction of the Federal Courts if an action is brought to enforce responsibilities in relation to the environmental review process and that these responsibilities have been satisfied. The Agency’s approval of the certification satisfies its responsibilities under NEPA and related laws and authorities and allows Vermont Housing and Conservation Board to use the CPF funds.

Objections to Release of Funds The Agency will accept objections to its release of funds and the Agency’s certification for a period of fifteen days following the anticipated submission date or its actual receipt of the request (whichever is later) only if they are on one of the following bases: (a) the certification was not executed by the Certifying Officer, Ann Kroll, Director of Federal Programs; (b) the Agency has omitted a step or failed to make a decision or finding required by HUD regulations at 24 CFR part 58; (c) the grant recipient or other participants in the development process have committed funds, incurred costs or undertaken activities not authorized by 24 CFR Part 58 before approval of a release of funds by the Agency; or (d) another Federal agency acting pursuant to 40 CFR Part 1504 has submitted a written finding that the project is unsatisfactory from the standpoint of environmental quality.

Objections must be prepared and submitted in accordance with the required procedures (24 CFR Part 58, Sec. 58.76) and shall be addressed to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) by email at CPDRROFBOS@ hud.gov or by mail at Thomas P. O’Neill, Jr. Federal Building, 10 Causeway Street, 3rd Floor Boston, MA 02222.

Responsible Entity Certifying Officer: Ann Karlene Kroll, Director of Federal Programs, Vermont Agency of Commerce and Community Development THE VERMONT TRAVEL INFORMATION COUNCIL WILL CONVENE A SPECIAL MEETING ON MAY 27, 2026, AT 1:30 P.M. AT 219 NORTH MAIN STREET, BARRE, VT IN CONFERENCE ROOM 134 TO HEAR FROM THE TOWN OF WILMINGTON AND THEIR PERMIT TO ALLOW BANNERS IN THEIR TOWN. To hear appeals and make decisions regarding Official Business Directional Sign denial from The Dinner House at Runaway Manor of Glover, VT and Emily’s Bistro of Waitsfield, VT. A review of Stowe Cider Official Business Directional Sign (OBDS) and determine if their business sign is on or off premise. Provide the status of reappointment of current Travel Information Council members and adopt a resolution regarding future regular meetings. This meeting is open to the public with in-person and virtual option. Agenda and link to the hearing can be found on https://vtrans.vermont.gov/highway/ sign-information.

SEVEN DAYS MAY 20-27, 2026

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82 MAY 20-27, 2026

ATTENTION RECRUITERS: POST YOUR JOBS AT: PRINT DEADLINE: FOR RATES & INFO:

JOBS.SEVENDAYSVT.COM/POST-A-JOB NOON ON MONDAYS (INCLUDING HOLIDAYS) GILLIAN COMITO, 802-341-3060 GCOMITO@SEVENDAYSVT.COM

YOUR TRUSTED LOCAL SOURCE. JOBS.SEVENDAYSVT.COM

Production Sewing Associate The Work: Manufacturing high-quality textiles for the home, ranging from pillows, throws, and bedding Responsibilities: Operate various sewing machines to assemble and finish product efficiently and accurately.

Requirements: Prior experience in production sewing. Proficiency with sewing machines and basic sewing techniques.

Knowledge of manufacturing processes in textiles.

Senior Carpenters & Site Leads We are looking for experienced carpenters with knowledge of old and new construction to join the Lewis Creek Builders, DesignBuild team! We are a passionate group of carpenters, designers, and construction management professionals working in a supportive, collaborative environment to manage every aspect of residential building and remodeling projects.

Compensation: $20-$25/hour depending on experience. Hiring both full-time or part-time

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Network Infrastructure Supervisor Mansfield Community Fiber is a socially-responsible, locallyowned fiber-optic Internet Service Provider operating in Chittenden, Franklin and Lamoille counties.

We are seeking candidates with a technical background in electrical and electronics engineering, interested in learning how to set up, manage and troubleshoot our state-of-the-art network.

This position also includes management duties and customer care. For a detailed job description including pay and benefits see www.mcfibervt.com/jobopportunities. We provide both in-house and external additional training for staff showing interest and aptitude.

Are you looking for an innovative, dynamic, and collaborative place to work?

INTERNATIONAL TOUR COORDINATOR

Join us at Lake Champlain Waldorf School to deliver a holistic and developmental approach to education.

Join our Burlington-based team!

Create unforgettable group travel experiences for choirs, bands, dragon boat teams, and special interest groups around the world. Requires handling logistics and excellent customer service, the more personal travel experiences the better.

Open Positions: • Third Grade Teacher • Preschool Assistant Teacher

Salary: 50k Full-time and benefits (health/dental/vision), plus 4-day workweeks for 7 weeks in the summer.

www.lakechamplainwaldorfschool.org

Contact Emily Hennessy to learn more! emily@music-contact.com

Quality Control Technician

High Mowing Organic Seeds is seeking a Technician to join our Or call 802.662.1630 Submit resume & brief letter team. The ideal candidate will of interest to ashleyfarland@ conduct laboratory and seed mill Sr. Carpenter pay range: $33-$40 gmail.com. work, be detail-oriented, possess a Site Lead pay range: $36-$50 natural curiosity about seed biology, and be excited about improving and following processes that create 3v-DandyLionDesign052026.indd 1 5/19/263v-LewisCreekBuilders032526.indd 2:42 PM 1 5/11/263v-MansfieldCommunityFiber051326.indd 4:00 PM 1 5/12/263v-MusicContactInternational051326.indd 2:47 PM 1 5/8/26 11:26 AM high-quality organic seeds.

Interested applicants should send an email of interest including brief bio to Leslie.nulty@mcfibervt.com with “Fiber-optic Network Supervisor” in the subject line.

FLOAT CERTIFIED MEDICAL ASSISTANT

Full Time: $20.50 - $24.50/hr Comprehensive Benefits

Want variety?

Northeastern Vermont Regional Hospital (NVRH) is hiring a Float Certified Medical Assistant (CMA) to support multiple outpatient practices. Provide clinical and front‑office support, including intake/vitals, medication review, point‑of‑care testing, rooming, documentation in the EHR, assisting with procedures, and helping with scheduling, phones, referrals, and prescription coordination. Float where needed while partnering with care teams to deliver safe, compassionate care. Required: HS diploma/equivalent, active CMA/CCMA/RMA, and AHA BLS. Benefits: competitive pay, student loan repayment, tuition reimbursement, generous PTO, complimentary gym membership, health/dental/vision options, 401(k) match, and more.

Community Investments Senior Analyst

Evernorth, Inc is seeking an experienced Community Investments To apply: Email resume, cover Senior Analyst for LIHTC Acquisitions. This role supports the letter, and references to: jobs@ Community Investments Low Income Housing Credit (LIHTC) highmowingseeds.com. E.O.E. Acquisitions team in making affordable housing investments through investment selection, structuring, approval, and construction loan closing. The ideal candidate brings 3+ years of experience in multi- 2v-HighMowingSeeds052013.indd 1 5/14/26 3:56 PM family affordable housing, community development, economic development or real estate financing fields. This role requires some travel within New England and to national events.

Evernorth’s mission is to work with partners to connect underserved communities in the northern New England region with capital and expertise to advance projects and policies that create more inclusive places to live. Evernorth is an E.O.E.

Apply today at NVRH.org/careers.

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A complete job description can be obtained at: highmowingseeds. com/staff-and-careers.

To apply, go to evernorthus.org/careers.

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FOLLOW US ON TWITTER @SEVENDAYSJOBS, SUBSCRIBE TO RSS, OR BROWSE POSTS ON YOUR PHONE AT JOBS.SEVENDAYSVT.COM

We’re hiring!

Strong differentials in place for working evening ($4.50/ hr), overnight ($9.00/hr), and weekend shifts ($4.50/hr)!

For more information or to apply, visit copleyvt.org/careers or contact Kaitlyn Shannon, Recruiter 802-888-8144 or kshannon@chsi.org.

• Lead day-to-day branch operations while driving performance and accountability • Champion an exceptional customer experience aligned with NSB’s service standards • Grow deposits and lending through proactive business development • Coach, develop, and inspire a high-performing team • Build strong relationships through active community engagement and visibility.

• This is a leadership role for someone who thrives in a dynamic environment and sees opportunity where others see challenge.

WE’RE SEEKING A CANDIDATE WHO: • Brings strong leadership presence and the ability to influence and motivate others • Is highly relationship-driven, both with customers and employees • Is comfortable operating in a growth-focused, performanceoriented environment • Has a demonstrated ability to build trust, credibility, and local connections COMPENSATION: Base compensation range at hire (dependent on experience): $66,560 - $74,360 annually Apply here: nsbvt.com/careers/apply

Front Desk Staff The Front Desk staff is the first point of contact for patients at The Bendavid Clinic and plays a vital role in creating a welcoming, organized, and efficient patient experience.

We are looking for new team members who work well with others and can empathize with their needs, are comfortable with computers, are strong communicators and are enthusiastic to learn and grow as professionals.

o evening/night shift o night shift with set schedule MondayWednesday weekly

IN THIS ROLE, YOU WILL:

MAY 20-27, 2026

Based in our Randolph office, the Case Manager will work with older persons to remain in their homes through creative connections with state and community resources.

• Director of Laboratory - Clinical Laboratory Services ($95,000-105,000/yr) • Medical Laboratory Scientist ($28-32/hr), 2 shifts available:

We’re looking for a BRANCH MANAGER who is energized by opportunity, motivated by challenge, and committed to building relationships that matter. If you are a BUILDER, MAKER, and/or a DOER, this is your opportunity to shape the success of a branch, a team, and a community.

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Care Coordinator/ Case Management

Laboratory Services

Build Something That Matters — Lead Where It Counts Most

NEW JOBS POSTED DAILY!

$25/hour: Compensation is negotiable for exceptional candidates. This is a 40% part-time, hourly position.

Pay Range: $24-$26 per hour. Generous benefits including retirement, health insurance, and paid time off.

Comprehensive Benefits.

Email a resume and letter of interest in PDF format to hiring@bendavidclinic.com.

For the full job description and to apply, please visit: cvcoa.org/employment.

Maintenance Technician • Offering a $1,000 hiring bonus

Store Team Member

• Full Time 40 Hours Pay Rate $27.00

(Closing Shifts)

Are you looking to learn new skills or to start a career? Are you looking to join a supportive team and a dynamic company? We are so sure you will love it at HallKeen Management that we are offering a $1,000 hiring bonus for the right candidate. All bonuses to be paid per company policy. Will entertain employees looking to relocate to Vermont.

We are seeking an energetic go-getter who’s ready to tackle the various tasks we have each day. This position is front facing and requires engagement with customers and store team members throughout the day.

Responsibilities of Maintenance Technician are quite diverse including but not limited to Apartment turnovers, grounds keeping, various janitorial duties, painting, appliance, electrical, heating, plumbing and safety equipment repair and replacement and provide assistance at other company properties when needed. The qualified candidate must have reliable transportation and have the ability to assist in carrying appliances and climb ladders as needed.

Compensation: • $19-20/hour depending on experience • Accrued Paid Time Off • 15% employee discount • Staff lunch & drink and seconds vegetables

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Full description and to apply: 7dvt.pub/roots

Please e-mail resume to Diane Finnigan at dfinnigan@hallkeen.com.

Early Childhood Educator

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5/14/26 4:43 PM

CARE TAKER

12/5/25 10:48 AM

Pine Forest Children’s Center (PFCC) has provided high-quality, play-based early childhood education in Burlington’s South End since 1988. We are currently hiring for multiple positions, including licensed preschool teachers (full-time or part-time) and early childhood educators to join our infant–preschool teams. At PFCC, we value imagination, curiosity, and integrity, and believe children learn best through emergent, play-based experiences connected to their community and natural world. Our teachers collaborate to design engaging, child-led curriculum, partner closely with families, and receive strong professional development support to grow in the field.

Pay: $20–$26/hour plus a $1,000 sign-on bonus Benefits include: health savings account, dental, vision & life insurance, retirement plan, paid time off, tuition reimbursement, ongoing training, and more.

To apply, send your resume and cover letter to Julie LaFountaine: julie@thepineforest.org. PFCC is an equal opportunity employer.

Looking for the right live in couple or individual to take care of our sweet adult autistic son. New free fully equipped private apartment on a beautiful horse farm estate with gorgeous views provided. Tax free annual salary $52,000,00 with additional income for grounds maintenance if desired. References and background checks required.

Interested parties email jibek@aol.com

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YOUR JOBS AT JOBS.SEVENDAYSVT.COM FOR FAST RESULTS, OR ATTENTION RECRUITERS: POST CONTACT GILLIAN COMITO: GCOMITO@SEVENDAYSVT.COM

84 MAY 20-27, 2026

Executive Assistant POSITION SUMMARY: The Executive Assistant provides high-level administrative, coordination, and program support to the President and CEO of the Vermont Association of Hospitals and Health Systems (VAHHS). This role is central to the effective operation of the association, supporting executive calendar and travel management, association events and sponsorships, and the development and delivery of educational programming for members. The ideal candidate is highly organized, detail-oriented, proactive, and comfortable managing multiple priorities in a mission-driven, healthcare-focused environment.

Organizational and Administrative Support • Maintain accurate records, files, and databases related to events, education, and sponsorships.

• Assist with internal process improvement and administrative projects as assigned.

• Provide general office and administrative support in alignment with association priorities and deadlines.

This position is hybrid, with a combination of remote work and in-person presence at the main office and in Vermont as needed to support the President, meetings, events, and organizational priorities.

QUALIFICATIONS

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES

• 5 -10 years of experience in an executive assistant, administrative, or operations support role, preferably in a nonprofit, association, healthcare, or professional services environment.

Executive Support • Manage the President and CEO’s complex calendar, including scheduling meetings, planning itineraries, and coordinating logistics with internal staff, member organizations, board members, and external partners.

• Assist Sr. VP and VP on calendar logistics.

• Arrange and manage travel logistics, accommodations, agendas, and briefing materials for meetings, conferences, and speaking engagements.

• Prepare correspondence, meeting minutes, presentations, reports, and meeting materials as needed.

• Serve as a primary point of contact for the President and CEO, exercising discretion and professionalism in handling sensitive and confidential information.

Event Planning and Coordinatior • Plan, coordinate, and execute association meetings, conferences, and special events, both in-person and virtual.

• Manage event logistics including venues, vendors, registration, materials, agendas, and post-event follow-up.

• Support board and committee meetings, including scheduling, preparation of materials, note-taking, and distribution of minutes or action items.

Required • Associate or bachelor’s degree or equivalent relevant experience.

• Demonstrated experience managing executive calendars and coordinating complex logistics.

• Strong organizational skills with the ability to manage multiple priorities & deadlines.

• Excellent written and verbal communication skills.

• High level of professionalism, discretion, and attention to detail.

• Proficiency with common office and collaboration tools (e.g., Microsoft Office, calendar systems, webinar platforms).

Preferred • Experience with event planning, sponsorship coordination, or professional education programs.

• Familiarity with healthcare, hospital systems, or membership-based associations.

• Experience supporting virtual and hybrid meetings and webinars.

Core Competencies • Strategic time and priority management

Sponsorship Management

• Relationship building and coordination

• Coordinate sponsorship opportunities for association events, webinars, and educational programs.

• Problem-solving and initiative

• Manage sponsor communications, agreements, benefits fulfillment, and recognition.

• Customer service orientation for members and stakeholders

• Track sponsorship commitments and support relationship management with sponsoring organizations.

• Confidentiality and sound judgment

SALARY RANGE: $70,000 – $90,000 annually, commensurate with experience and qualifications.

Education and Webinar Development

BENEFITS: VAHHS offers a comprehensive benefits package.

• Support the development, coordination, and delivery of webinars and educational programs for VAHHS members.

WORKING CONDITIONS & LOCATION: This is a hybrid position, allowing for remote work with regular in-person time at the main office to support meetings, events, and collaboration with staff and members.

• Coordinate speakers, schedules, learning objectives, registration processes, and materials.

• Assist with promotion, logistics, and evaluation of educational offerings to ensure high-quality member experiences.

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Occasional travel within Vermont is required. Periodic evening or early-morning hours may be necessary to support meetings, webinars, or association events.

TO APPLY: Candidates can submit an application by email to: jocelyn@vahhs.org.

5/11/26 4:06 PM

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NEW JOBS POSTED DAILY! MAY 20-27, 2026

Town Administrator

Manager of Legal & Regulatory Affairs Stowe Electric Department is seeking a senior leader to oversee all legal, regulatory, and policy functions.

Reporting to the General Manager, this role represents the utility before the Vermont Public Service Department and the Vermont Public Utility Commission, ensures regulatory compliance (rates, tariffs, RES, Tier 3, IRPs), manages outside counsel, and advises executive leadership and the Board.

The position also leads grant development and compliance and serves as the primary legal and regulatory liaison with agencies and industry partners.

The Town of Jericho (pop. ~5,000) seeks an experienced, collaborative professional to serve as full-time Town Administrator. This role serves as the Selectboard’s chief administrative officer, overseeing municipal operations, staff coordination, budgeting, and implementation of Town priorities.

Qualifications: Bachelor’s degree in public/business administration or related field and at least 4 years of relevant experience.

Salary: $100,000–$125,000 with outstanding benefits.

Full job description: https://www.jerichovt.org/297/Job-Openings

For a full description go to: stoweelectric.com/jobs

To apply, submit cover letter, resume, and three references (PDF) to phollstein@jerichovt.gov | Subject: “Jericho Town Administrator”

To apply, send resume to HR@stoweelectric.com

Administrative Assistant Shelburne United Methodist Church in Shelburne VT is seeking a part-time administrative assistant, 10-12 hours per week, primarily onsite with some remote work possible. The main responsibility is to produce communication pieces in a variety of formats for use in the church and the community.

Please email Shelburne UMC at office@shelburneumc.org for a full job description and application requirements. Application deadline: May 25, 2026.

Ideal candidates will demonstrate strong leadership, communication skills, and experience in municipal management, financial oversight, and strategic initiatives. Ability to support long-term planning, partnerships, and community development is highly valued.

Qualifications: Advanced degree (J.D. or related), at least 5 years of utility regulation or energy policy experience (preferably in Vermont), and strong analytical, writing, and stakeholder management skills.

Salary: $85,000–$125,000 DOQ, plus excellent benefits.

Deadline: May 29, 2026 | EOE

Procurement Administrator

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U.S. District Court

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Complete job description and formal application requirements are found in the official Position Announcement available from court locations in Burlington and Rutland and the court’s web site: E.O.E.

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UVM Health is hiring Licensed Skilled Nursing Site Administrators to lead exceptional care and high-performing teams in Vermont at Helen Porter (Middlebury) and Woodridge (Berlin). Lead the delivery of resident-centered care in a home-like environment while ensuring compliance and operational excellence. Our experienced teams are eager to partner with a strong, engaged leader dedicated to outstanding care for residents and patients.

Qualifications: • VT Nursing Home Administrator License • Bachelor’s in Healthcare or Business (Master’s preferred) • 5+ years of management experience Pay Rate: $61.44 - $92.16 per hour Learn more and apply: uvmhealthcareers.org/siteadmin_sevendays

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5/4/26 9:51 AM

THE GRIND GOT YOU DOWN?

SKILLED NURSING SITE ADMINISTRATORS

The United States District Court is seeking a qualified individual with excellent analytical, organizational, bookkeeping, and computer skills capable of functioning in a dynamic, team-oriented environment. The duty station is Burlington, Vermont.

Full federal benefits apply.

WWW.VTD.USCOURTS.GOV

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PERK UP!

Trusted, local employers are hiring in Seven Days newspaper and online.

Browse 100+ new job postings each week.

­ ­ ­ ­

­

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Follow us on Facebook /sevendaysjobs for the latest postings

See who’s hiring at jobs.sevendaysvt.com 5/11/264v-CoffeCampaignx.indd 3:16 PM 1

2/25/25 3:31 PM

YOUR JOBS AT JOBS.SEVENDAYSVT.COM FOR FAST RESULTS, OR ATTENTION RECRUITERS: POST CONTACT GILLIAN COMITO: GCOMITO@SEVENDAYSVT.COM

86 MAY 20-27, 2026

Delinquent Tax Collector Part-time: work to be done as needed.

POSITION SUMMARY: The Town of Westford is seeking an organized and motivated individual to serve as the Collector of Delinquent Taxes. This official is responsible for ensuring that all property taxes owed to the town are paid in accordance with Vermont state statutes.

The collector acts as the primary contact for taxpayers whose accounts have fallen into arrears, balancing firm statutory enforcement with respectful public service.

Visit westfordvt.us/careersrfps for full advertisement and application process.

Applications are due by May 22nd, 2026.

Town Treasurer Part-time: approximately 6.5 – 8.0 hours per week.

Pay Range: $35.00 - $38.00 per hour, commensurate with experience POSITION SUMMARY The Town of Westford is seeking a detail-oriented professional to manage the custody, investment, and disbursement of town funds. The Treasurer is responsible for keeping accurate financial records and ensuring compliance with Vermont state statutes (24 V.S.A. § 1571).

Visit westfordvt.us/ careers-rfps for full advertisement and application process.

Applications are due by May 22nd, 2026.

District Manager The Otter Creek Natural Resources Conservation District seeks a District Manager to supervise and oversee all District operations including technical and programmatic outreach to farms, landowners, and municipalities, development and oversight of water quality projects, and public engagement to determine priorities for conservation work within the district. This is a full-time position based in Middlebury, VT. Starting wage is $27 - $35 an hour. Applications are due by 5/29/26.

Visit VACD.org for the full job description & application.

LOOKING FOR A COOLER OPPORTUNITY? Program Advocate Provide coordinated advocacy and support services to people impacted by domestic and sexual violence. Build trusting relationships with survivors and collaborate with community partners to ensure comprehensive, survivorcentered care.

Assess needs, provide resources and referrals, and empower survivors. Help survivors understand their experiences, recognize the impacts, and articulate their needs. When survivors have advocates, they’re not alone.

Email cover letter/resume to peggy.oneil@wiseuv.org or apply online at:

wiseuv.org/how-to-join/careers

Find 100+ new job postings from trusted, local employers.

Follow us on Facebook /sevendaysjobs for the latest postings

jobs.sevendaysvt.com

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Crew Arborists

OG CERTIFIED LITERACY INSTRUCTOR

Join our team at Teacher’s Tree Service!

We are a growing, dynamic and local arboriculture company that improves the health, beauty and safety of the outdoor living environment in Vermont. If you enjoy working outside, learning new skills, and being part of a positive team, you may be our next crew arborist!

Now hiring for permanent and seasonal crew positions, full time + up to 10 hrs/wk overtime. Competitive salary (starting at $26/hr) and benefits package (details provided to qualified candidates).

Valid driver’s license and clean driving record required.

To Apply: Please submit your resume and three professional references to Sarah Pears, Operations Manager (sarah@teacherstreeservice.com).

Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted.

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An education-focused nonprofit dedicated to expanding the power of learning for over 40 years in Williston, Vermont.

SPEECH LANGUAGE PATHOLOGIST

We are seeking a Speech Language Pathologist with expertise in Social Thinking to provide small group and individualized instruction for people with communication and/or social understanding challenges. Our ideal candidate will have exceptional communication skills, an in-depth understanding of research-based interventions, and experience in developing individualized treatment plans. Salary range for this position is $65,000 to $75,000 annually.

SPECIAL EDUCATOR

We are currently looking to hire a full-time Special Educator to provide 1:1, intervention-based instruction.

5/19/26 10:27 AM Candidates must hold a valid Vermont Special Educator license and have experience delivering targeted instruction in reading, writing, and/or math using a multisensory approach. This role focuses on individualized intervention and requires strong collaboration and communication skills. Experience with Orton-Gillingham, or similar qualifications preferred. This is an in-person position in Williston, VT. Salary range for this position is $54,000 to $57,000 annually.

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We are seeking a full-time, in-person Orton-Gillingham Certified instructor to join our highly experienced and collaborative team of teachers. If you’re a qualified educator with training and experience in structured literacy instruction, this rewarding role allows focus and impact, teaching one-on-one to make a positive difference every day. Candidates should be certified in Orton-Gillingham or have had training in OrtonGillingham and/or Wilson. Our ideal candidate will also have exceptional communication and organizational skills, an understanding of research-based interventions, and experience in developing individualized learning plans. Salary range for this position is $54,000 to $57,000 annually.

PSYCHOLOGIST FOR EVALUATION

We are seeking an experienced clinical or school psychologist to join our collaborative and highly experienced team of evaluators. Our evaluation team administers and interprets psychoeducational and/or developmental tests for children and adults to identify specific learning disabilities, attention deficit (ADHD), autism, intellectual giftedness, and learning differences.

We are seeking an individual with a strong interest in language and reading. The position will provide the qualified applicant with an opportunity to work with a team/organization that has a specialized expertise in reading disorders. Salary range for this position is $75,000 to $80,000 annually.

Apply here: https://sterncenter.org/about/careers 5/8/26 11:39 AM

FOLLOW US ON TWITTER @SEVENDAYSJOBS, SUBSCRIBE TO RSS, OR BROWSE POSTS ON YOUR PHONE AT JOBS.SEVENDAYSVT.COM

NEW JOBS POSTED DAILY! JOBS.SEVENDAYSVT.COM

Field Technician 1 $2,500 Sign on bonus!

Pay range is $20-22/hour, based on experience. Yearround position with PTO & comprehensive benefits.

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5/1/26 10:15 AM

Westport Hospitality is hiring.

For job description & to apply, visit: 7dvt.pub/fieldtech

Juniper Bar & Restaurant at Hotel Vermont and The Harborvale are looking for warm and engaging hospitality professionals to join our team.

We are hiring: LINE COOKS SERVERS BARTENDERS and more.

The Environmental Services (ES) Field Technician I performs operational functions related to emergency response, hazardous and non-hazardous spill clean-up, and hazmat decontamination work.

➆

Rock Point School is hiring for multiple positions!

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RESIDENTIAL EDUCATOR

OFFICE & SYSTEMS MANAGER

Join our small, all-gender boarding and day high school serving bright, creative students who haven’t found success in traditional school settings.

Responsibilities include managing day-today office operations, supporting school communication and coordination, serving as the first point of contact for families and visitors, and assisting with school events and administrative systems. We are seeking an organized, personable professional with strong communication skills and office management experience. Familiarity with Google Workspace required; experience with QuickBooks, Salesforce, and educational software preferred.

Responsibilities include supervising and supporting students in residential life, leading activities and wellness programming, teaching daily living and social skills, providing transportation, and helping build a positive, structured community. We are seeking someone energetic, compassionate, flexible, and team-oriented who enjoys working closely with adolescents. Bachelor’s degree and experience with teens preferred.

This is a full-time, live-in position and includes evening and weekend hours.

Benefits: Housing and meals, medical/dental/ vision benefits, generous vacation time aligned with the school calendar, retirement benefits after year one, and salary starting at $36,000.

Email resumé and cover letter to: Ryan Weiland, Dean of School rweiland@rockpointschool.org www.rockpointschool.org 7-RockPointSchool052026.indd 1

Find Your Impact.

Be a Teacher.

We’re looking for amazing Early Childhood Program educators!

The Y offers many career benefits —including competitive pay, professional development opportunities, access to Y perks, and a supportive community where you can make a difference in the life of a child and their family. Come work with us!

$1,500 Hiring Incentive!

Apply with QR Code

1 5/1/264T-YMCA042226 4:39 PM

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Visit westporthospitality.com for details and applications.

87 MAY 20-27, 2026

4/17/26 10:28 AM

Vermont Tent Company is currently accepting applications for the following positions for immediate employment starting in May. Full time, part time, after school and weekend hours available for each position.

Pay rates vary by position with minimum starting wage ranging from $19-$24/hour depending on job skills and experience. We also offer retention and referral bonuses.

• Tent Maintenance

This is a full-time, year-round position with salary ranging from $43,000–48,000.

• Tent Installation

Benefits include medical/dental/vision coverage, generous vacation time aligned with the school calendar, meals while working, and retirement benefits after year one.

• Drivers/Delivery • Load Crew Team

Email resumé and cover letter to:

Interested candidates submit application online: vttent.com/ employment.

No phone calls, please.

C.J. Spirito, Head of School cspirito@rockpoint.org www.rockpoint school.org 5/15/26 11:15 AM

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Town Treasurer/ Financial Director Are you a big picture thinker, with keen attention to detail?

Are you a systems person, who loves when tasks are completed & the numbers balanced? Are you someone who can stay focused amidst the hands-on nature of day-to-day municipal government? Would you like to use your analytical skills to make a big impact?

The Town of Plainfield (pop. 1400), a quirky small town in Central Vermont, that has been heroically dealing with the aftermath of two years of historic flooding, is looking to fill a key position in our town office.

The Town Treasurer/Finance Director position combines the statutory responsibilities of the Town Treasurer, with big picture support of the town Select Board, as it steers the town through major recovery projects, to a stable and sustainable future.

Status: Full time, 32 hours, salary range $55,000 – $60,000, commensurate with experience, generous benefit package.

Description: plainfieldvt.gov.

To apply, send resume to: Selectboard7@plainfieldvt.gov.

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5/14/26 3:44 PM

YOUR JOBS AT JOBS.SEVENDAYSVT.COM FOR FAST RESULTS, OR ATTENTION RECRUITERS: POST CONTACT GILLIAN COMITO: GCOMITO@SEVENDAYSVT.COM

88 MAY 20-27, 2026

PARALEGAL Norwich Technologies is seeking a Paralegal with overall corporate as well as renewable energy project specific responsibilities.

•On the project level you will help streamline the details of developing, financing, constructing, and maintaining renewable energy projects.

•You will route, review and record all necessary documents – including titles, surveys, and financing related documents such as SNDAs. •At the corporate level, you will contribute to company goals by maintaining form libraries, drafting documents, conducting due diligence, and coordinating with stakeholders to facilitate the development, acquisition, sale, construction, ongoing ownership, operations and maintenance of renewable energy projects.

•You will maintain trackers for key dates such as annual tax filings, contract expirations and renewals, project regulatory and compliance filings, and annual corporate entity maintenance and filings.

Qualification: •3-6 years’ experience working as a corporate, real estate or energy law paralegal.

•Knowledge: understanding renewable energy, land use, and title/ survey review.

This is a hybrid position. Norwich Technologies has offices in White River Junction and Montpelier.

Interested candidates should submit a cover letter and resume to careers@norwichsolar.com.

Chittenden Solid Waste District Full-time & Part-time openings

School Based Mental Health & Substance Use Counselor Low Barrier and Intake Counselor

CSWD is seeking a highly motivated individual to work at various busy Drop-Off Centers. The full-time position works Tuesday-Saturday from 7:45am-3:45pm. The part-time position works Saturday from 7:45am3:45pm. Occasionally on-call days for Tuesday – Friday possible.

You must enjoy interacting with the public, have the ability to operate a point-of-sale system (training provided) and be able to keep cool under pressure. Moderate physical effort is required as is the ability to work outdoors. Customer service experience a plus. Self-starters and those with a passion for reducing waste, recycling, and composting, are strongly encouraged to apply. Reliable transportation required to arrive at various sites on time. $21.52 per hour ($22.18 on July 1st) with an excellent benefits package.

Executive Administrative Coordinator Case Manager/Clinician Youth Coaches; Drop-In, Shelter & Supported Housing positions

For more information on the position see Staff & Job Openings Chittenden Solid Waste District

Full & Part time

Respite Staff

Burlington & St Albans

Send a resume or a completed job application to humanresources@cswd.net.

Scan QR code to apply.

Position is open until it is filled.

No phone calls please

GO HIRE.

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5/11/26 4:45 PM

Job Recruiters: •

Post jobs using a form that includes key info about your company and open positions (location, application deadlines, video, images, etc.).

•

Accept applications and manage the hiring process via our applicant tracking tool.

•

Easily manage your open job listings from your recruiter dashboard.

Get a quote when you post online or contact Gillian Comito: 802-341-3060, GComito@sevendaysvt.com. jobs.sevendaysvt.com

Job Seekers: • Search for jobs by keyword, location, category and job type.

• Set up job alert emails using custom search criteria.

• Save jobs to a custom list with your own notes on the positions.

• Apply for jobs directly through the site.

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CALCOKU & SUDOKU (P.79) CROSSWORD (P.79)

fun stuff JULIANNA BRAZILL

HARRY BLISS

“He’s a thingapoo.”

SEVEN DAYS MAY 20-27, 2026

89

fun stuff JEN SORENSEN

RUSTY EPSTEIN

say you saw it in

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FREE WILL ASTROLOGY BY ROB BREZSNY REAL MAY 21-27 TAURUS (Apr. 20-May 20): When we hear people described as having fertile imaginations, we may assume they are artists, writers or musicians. But the truth is that many creative visualizers are engineers, city planners, inventors and the like: those who design and build functional wonders. Of this group, you Tauruses make up a disproportionately high percentage. Your tribe is often most imaginative when vitalizing concrete details and transforming practical matters. In the coming weeks, this will be a vibrant X factor in your relationship with the world.

GEMINI (MAY 21-JUN. 20)

When many people reflect on their early years, they focus on the alienation and wounds they endured. Few recall, in vivid detail, the moments of joy, triumph and breakthrough. It’s a symptom, I suppose, of our era’s compulsive cynicism and not necessarily an accurate account of the past. So many good things happened, too!

This isn’t to dismiss the real pain that shaped us in our tender years. Still, I want you to know that you are in a season when it’s essential to recognize and celebrate the blessings of your beginnings — the fun, guidance and grace that helped you flourish.

Update your gratitude!

ARIES (Mar. 21-Apr. 19): If you’re a professional photographer, now is an ideal moment to invest in the higher-end lens you know would expand your best work. If you’re a committed chef, it’s a perfect time to spring for a precision knife set that elevates your craft. If you’re a devoted yoga or meditation teacher preparing a new series, you might decide to purchase an upgraded sound system to share your vocal offerings more crisply. And if you are none of the above, consider this your sign to obtain a key instrument or tool that will help you move to the next level of professionalism in the work you’re called to do.

CANCER (Jun. 21-Jul. 22): Of all the zodiac signs, you have the most potential to cultivate robust emotional intelligence that’s helpful in practical situations. More than everyone else, your feelings are less likely to render you vulnerable and fragile and more likely to make you a powerhouse. The coming weeks will be prime time to deploy these talents to the max. I encourage you to summon gleeful exuberance as you provide your sensitive, heartful nurturing. Practice the ingenious art of keeping the world emotionally literate and spiritually alert.

LEO (Jul. 23-Aug. 22): I am pleased to

predict that you will be less egotistical and narcissistic in the coming weeks than you have ever been in your life. In saying that, I don’t mean to imply that you’re any more egotistical and narcissistic than the rest of us. I’m simply saying you can get a liberating reprieve from the excessive pride and selfishness that regularly debilitates us all. Congratulations, Leo! This grace period should enable you to deepen your attunement with your soul’s blueprint, the design of destiny you chose before birth. I bet you will enjoy a period of vibrant, exciting tranquility.

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sep. 22): Consider this a

friendly heads-up to your inner critic, your gloomy side and any voice in your head that expects too little from life. Upcoming astrological omens are influencing me to predict a stream of auspicious omens and fortunate events. So if you’d rather cling to tired stories about not being good enough or strong enough, you might want to skip my forecasts for a while. But if you’re ready to vivify your

faith in your power to eagerly create what you desire, stay tuned. Karmic blessings are coming.

LIBRA (Sep. 23-Oct. 22): To be blunt, dear Libra, I think you need soul medicine that’s most available in frontiers, borderlands and thresholds. Some of these might be bright, shiny places, and others may be akin to mazes and tunnels. Please keep in mind that your main motivation, as you seek adventures in the outskirts, should be the quest to have fun as you blow your own mind. For the sake of your lust for life and joie de vivre, you really must explore power spots untouched by trivia and pettiness: sanctuaries where vastness, freedom and raw vitality can wash away at least some of your fixations and habits.

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): In 1994, im-

munologist Polly Matzinger revolutionized her field with a radical theory. She discovered that our immune systems focus not on distinguishing “self” from “non-self” but rather responding to threats. The body puts less emphasis on asking “Is this me?” and more on “Is this harmful?” Her breakthrough transformed our understanding of immunity, autoimmune disease and transplant rejection. According to my analysis of the astrological riddles, you Capricorns could benefit from a similar adjustment. Don’t worry about whether any particular influence harmonizes with your identity or aligns with your history. Instead, ask, “Is it nourishing or harmful? Supportive or useless?”

As you refresh your approach to guarding and protecting your precious self, new options will become visible.

SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): Giant Pacific octopus dens are identifiable by the “gardens” of debris outside. They include shells and bones, arranged like ornamentation around the entrance. Are the creatures trying to decorate? Scientists don’t know. But it’s clear they are leaving evidence of their appetites. The result is distinctive, artistic and revealing. With this scenario as your metaphorical meditation, Scorpio, I invite you to look at what you have been pursuing and consuming in recent months. Contemplate the stuff piling up in your sphere. What do your finished experiences reveal about your quest for meaning? Does this pattern reflect your deepest intentions? Is this who you want to be? Make sure the story you’re telling about yourself is the right one.

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): According to

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): Advising a Sagittarius to be patient is like asking a bonfire to burn slowly and politely. Still, I will give it a try. Because I love you, I will dare to be frank. So here goes: If you want to align yourself with astrological currents, practice being reverently at ease with life’s madness as you watch and wait. See if you can take genuine pleasure in resting within a field of calm trust. Imagine, with fearless delight, the rewards that will find you as you nurture a steady, unhurried confidence in your intuition, which will ultimately tell you exactly what you need to do.

PISCES (Feb. 19-Mar. 20): Maybe you’ve been

my interpretation of the astrological signals, you have run into an obstacle to your creative flow, or may soon do so. Though this could feel discouraging at first, I think it’s a promising sign. It indicates that a hidden bug is surfacing. An inner saboteur is no longer operating in the shadows. You’re being given the opportunity to repair an unseen energy leak that has been sapping your vitality. To illuminate this process, consider the wisdom of author Joyce Carol Oates. She says writer’s block arises when a writer subconsciously believes that what they’re trying to create is false, misguided or harmful to themselves, which results in a temporary creative paralysis. Be brave and relentless in hunting down the glitch in your self-love, Aquarius.

having thoughts like this: “I’m too scrambled to do what’s necessary to get unscrambled.”

Here’s another snag that may be tangling your mind: “I’m too mixed up to know what questions to ask to sort out my confusion.” If this is true, Pisces, I’m here to offer advice. Imagine calling a time-out on the whole noisy world and slipping free of the habitual trance. Consider retreating to a sanctuary where time doesn’t oppress you and complications subside. Let your mind be empty, give your ambitions a rest and immerse your tender attention in the deepest part of yourself you can find.

SEVEN DAYS MAY 20-27, 2026

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value human rights and dignity of all.

Resonate with this description? Send me a message. I’d love to connect with you! Autumn63, 62, seeking: W, l

Respond to these people online: dating.sevendaysvt.com WOMEN seeking...

LAID-BACK AND OLD SCHOOL Seeking assistance with lawn care but also someone to do things with this summer such as swimming, day trips, an occasional stop at a snack bar; let’s see where it goes from there.

I am casual and am not a fan of big crowds. I am an early riser. If there is a connection, I’d be interested in a relationship. TurtleLvr34, 54, seeking: M LOOKING FOR SOULMATE Hello, I am a very spiritual woman — you could call me an empath. I desire to meet a gentleman who could possibly be a true Renaissance man. Honesty and loyalty and kindness are what I seek. Plumerea, 68, seeking: M, l KIND, GENEROUS Rediscovering myself. Hopeful to find kindness and friendship in others. Hope, 36, seeking: M, l WISE WOMAN WISHES FOR COMPANIONSHIP Seeking a positive, honest person who is confident, independent, kind, loves the outdoors and being active, but also appreciates music of many genres, people from other cultures, likes to explore new places and ideas, is creative, is environmentally friendly and kind to creatures big and small. Floralgirl, 68, seeking: M, l

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W = Women M = Men TW = Trans women TM = Trans men Q = Genderqueer people NBP = Nonbinary people NC = Gender nonconformists Cp = Couples Gp = Groups

92

SEVEN DAYS MAY 20-27, 2026

HOPELESS ROMANTIC LOOKING FOR LOVE Looking for something tangible.

Someone that is understanding of chronic health issues, that doesn’t define me. I live pretty modestly. I love hard and fast as long as the vibe is right. I’m not into long distance or a man that wants me to pay for everything or has any addiction issues.

I have adult children who live with me.

Lostandlonley, 51, seeking: M, l FUN LOVING. LET’S LAUGH, ENJOY! I really enjoy being in a relationship.

Someone who enjoys being themselves, can talk for hours, enjoys being by the water. I enjoy being in nature, traveling, even staying right close to home, too. I’m looking for a new good friend, a new love in my life — and with just the right touch of class. Denie, 60, seeking: M, Cp, Gp, l LAID-BACK, OLD SCHOOL, SLOW I am a woman looking for a man. tytyty, 52, seeking: M LOVE IS ALL YOU NEED I am easy to talk to and grounded. I like simple living and honest love. I keep my circle small. I am here to build one strong bond. jeholmez, 57, seeking: M WARM, CURIOUS, ENJOYS LIFE Insightful, kind and a lifelong learner.

Retired registered nurse, widow, and proud mom and grandmother. I’m looking for a genuine man to enjoy life with — someone who appreciates connection, conversation and shared experiences.

I love music, travel (recently enjoyed the art and culture of Oaxaca), cooking, entertaining, and the simple joys of sunsets, beautiful views and beach walks. bluehydrangea, 83, seeking: M, l HERE FOR LAUGHS AND LOVE I’m the kind of person who laughs easily, shows up when it matters, and believes the best connections feel natural — not forced. I love good conversations, spontaneous plans and quiet moments that actually mean something. If you’re genuine, kind and ready for something that could turn into more, say hi. Let’s see where it goes. dawniegolucky, 50, seeking: M, l CHILLING IN NATURE Hola. I am a kind, gentle animal lover who is looking for a friendship that will blossom naturally (no pressure.) This will happen if you are also kind, open-minded and care about what is happening in the world. You are laid-back but not opposed to protesting an ICE facility.

Must love cats! Eddy, 54, seeking: M, l FUN, FIT, FRIENDLY I am a former flower child who likes music, dancing, laughing; and, when I’m not: reading, walking in nature and creating. Looking for someone in the Burlington area with similar interests who could be a friend, traveling companion (been to Ireland and Japan), dinner and movie date, and possibly more. Finding a group of like-minded friends is my heart’s desire. wythu, 74, seeking: M, l

SUNSHINE IN VERMONT I’m looking for someone with the same values. I love to laugh and have a lot of fun. I like camping, traveling, playing cards and board games, watching movies, and having campfires in my backyard. I love to entertain and am a very happy person. I’m honest, loyal, loving and caring. Carolyn, 72, seeking: M, l OUTDOORSY, ATHLETIC, INTRIGUING, OUTGOING, DEEP Classy lady seeks gentleman for companionship and outdoor adventures.

Building in Waitsfield, Vt. Avid equestrian and love to horseback ride, hike and swim in the emerald-green waters of the Mad River. Windsurfed and have sailboarded as well as figure skated.

Seeking a man who can “whoa” and take it slow and see where things might go.

Lavenderlady19, 66, seeking: M, l PEACEFUL AND PLAYFUL I am a retired widow looking for companionship with a kind and honest man. I enjoy cooking, gardening and reading. I really enjoy the outdoors. I like fishing and kayaking. I enjoy playing pool and maybe a little foosball and bowling. I enjoy walks, and I love dancing to rock and roll. Dilly, 65, seeking: M, l SPONTANEOUS AND FUN I would like someone to match my spontaneous personality! I’m a spontaneous, fun person. Spontaneous as in, I could, on a dime, say, “Let’s get in the car and go!” Let’s go out to dinner. Let’s go dancing, bowling and so on. I enjoy dancing every weekend. Honesty and communication are important to me, as well as attraction. Aggie, 73, seeking: M WANNA JUMP IN THE RIVER? I love being outside year-round, wandering the forests and wondering at their whimsy and beauty. Balancing that out with cozy time inside, I love a good cup of tea, a book and attempting/ collecting random craft projects, usually made with nature or textiles.

Building intentional community is something I am very dedicated to and consider very important, especially right now. ForestFairy, 32, seeking: M, W, TM, TW, Q, NC, NBP, l POSITIVE, WELL-BALANCED MUSICIAN I’m positive, bighearted, kind and helpful to others. Music is my passion, along with my pets and especially Friesian horses. Would love to see more of Vermont, as its mountains are breathtaking. Love to meet new people here. So far it’s been quite a whirlwind for me in Vermont. Ask me, and I’ll tell you why. Pianofairy, 73, seeking: M

MEN seeking...

FUN, AFFECTIONATE, THOUGHTFUL LISTENER Looking for a friend, lover, life companion.

Honest and authentic with myself and others. Enjoy dancing, singing and fun adventures. Also relaxing with a book and music. Love walks in the woods. Romantic and affectionate.

Patient listener. Kind, empathetic,

HIKER, READER, DOG LOVER Professional with an active life and a thoughtful temperament seeks a genuine connection. I spend my time running, hiking, climbing, reading and exploring with my dog. Equally happy in the mountains, at a bookstore, or sharing long conversations over coffee. I’m looking for someone kind, curious, grounded and interested in building something real together.

ARK, 30, seeking: W, l INTELLIGENT, KIND, YOUNG AT HEART ISFP enjoys walks, biking, camping, hiking and baseball. Prefer going to versus watching sports on TV. Kind, honest, funny, faithful, loving and romantic.

Love books, NPR, TV, movies, plays, art in general. A work in progress. Looking for a woman with similar qualities for social interaction and then seeing where it leads. Father of two daughters and a son. Animal lover. Homebody, yet a traveler. fireinthehole, 58, seeking: W, l NEW TO VT, SEEKING YOU! Hello. Denver native here and new to Vermont. Seeking a long-term companion, but whatever happens ... happens. Prefer to meet first, not endless emails. I seek a connection, be it an activities partner, karaoke, pool, sports, live music, dance, BBQs at home... johnp, 56, seeking: W OUTDOOR LOVER I enjoy being outdoors, whether it be walking, hiking or working in the woods. Going to the beach and hiking in the mountains are two of my favorite things to do. During the winter you’ll find me snowshoeing, hiking or cross-country skiing. I love cooking and gardening. I am looking for someone who shares the same interests. Hikerplus, 67, seeking: W, l SMOKIN’ ON THE PORCH Originally from Maine. Settling in southern Vermont. I’m a conspiracy, cryptid and paranormal enthusiast.

Latest hobbies are wood carving and soccer-golf. I’m a chef by trade. I know I have a baby face. I am truly 38.

JayFromMaine, 38, seeking: W, l FIT, FUNNY, OUTDOORSY Road and gravel bicycler, hiker, vegetable gardener, cross-country skier, snowshoer, reader, music listener, not a TV-er.

Warm and loving to the right person.

Searching for a woman who enjoys similar things, who can be warm and open. Hiker48, 77, seeking: W, l ADVENTUROUS, FUN AND PASSIONATE I am a middle-aged divorcé with brown hair and blue eyes. I enjoy cooking, gardening, hiking and kayaking. I gave up alcohol 12 years ago but enjoy near-beers. I am looking for someone adventurous, honest and kind to write the next chapter of my life with. Let’s meet up for coffee or a hike; when are you free? stwbll, 44, seeking: W BUILDER, THINKER, LIFELONG LEARNER I like to stay busy, keep learning and build things. I appreciate simplicity: a good workout, a solid conversation and time spent creating things. I’m easygoing but intentional about how I live. Looking for someone genuine, positive and comfortable being themselves. If you’re curious about life, take care of your health and can laugh along the way, we’ll get along. MountainStars, 57, seeking: W EASYGOING Lonely. rgarv48, 77, seeking: W

JUST LOOKING And browsing. abc123xyz, 32, seeking: W HONEST, DEPENDABLE MAVERICK I’m not saying I’m glad you’re single, but I’m happy you’re here.

I promise I’m more interesting in person. ptink, 57, seeking: W, l COMPASSIONATE, LOYAL, ATHLETIC, CURIOUS Longtime Buddhist. Practical (some say to a fault). Financially secure, emotionally intelligent, sensitive and kind. I love poetry as much as engineering.

Irrepressibly curious learner and adventurer. Happiest when I’m outside.

Long-distance trail runner and lover of all bikes. Starting a new chapter and looking for someone to share adventures and maybe more after a foundation.

Buddhistbuilder, 58, seeking: W, l HEY, NOW! Looking for fun, good times and laughter with a good-hearted lady.

Jonny5isalive, 51, seeking: W, l NERDY ANIMAL LOVER SEEKING SAME I’m vegan for the animals! Once you know, you know. I’m a friendly, well-read and informed guy who is seeking an affectionate, attractive and caring partner for the years we have left to share life. I’m open to most people as long as our values are aligned. Veg1965, 60, seeking: W, l LONELY NIGHTS Part-time dad with a full schedule, so I keep things simple but still like to have fun. Looking for a fun, consistent FWB situation with someone who’s got great chemistry, a good sense of humor and maybe a bit of a mischievous side. I’m clean, communicative and drama-free and looking for the same. If there’s a spark, even better.

RootedIn802, 52, seeking: W ADVENTUROUS, CARING, FUN GUY! New to Vermont and wanting to explore!

Well-traveled metal artist seeks openminded, grounded companion for adventures including regional travel, music, hikes and creemee sampling. I am active, fit (not a gym rat), creative and capable. I love cycling, motorcycling, kayaking, hiking, good music and conversation. I’m interested mostly in companionship but open to more. (I’m not in a rush for anything.) Mdenney, 69, seeking: M, W, TW, Cp, Gp, l

NONBINARY PEOPLE seeking...

LIFE SHAPED BY LABYRINTH NB, queer, kinky, shy author and historian seeks friends, fellow artists and/or sex partners of all genders. Let’s make silly puns, talk about our creative work and bike around Burlington. If you want to hear about the imaginary, magical Vermont town of Hardship, the historical queers I keep finding or Jareth as role model, hit me up. ModernWizard, 47, seeking: M, W, TM, TW, Q, NC, NBP, l

COUPLES seeking...

HOW DO YOU LOVE ME? We are getting closer. We are excited to receive each other! You may not think you want poly-fidelity, but if you did, what would we be like together? How are we welcoming children into our life together? Nataraja, 46, seeking: M, W, l LOOKING FOR FUN PEEPS Fun, open-minded couple seeking playmates. Shoot us a note if interested so we can share details and desires.

Jackrabbits, 62, seeking: W, Cp

i SPY

If you’ve been spied, go online to contact your admirer!

dating.sevendaysvt.com

CURLY-HAIRED CARPENTER I spy a carpenter. You were chopping wood on a porch in a white T-shirt. I slowed down for a closer look, but I didn’t want to drive by twice in case you noticed me. Your curls caught my eye, and I’ve always had a thing for handymen. Can we take a walk sometime? When: Tuesday, May 12, 2026.

Where: on Lime Kiln Road in Charlotte.

You: Man. Me: Woman. #916590 I HOPE YOU’RE HAPPY I don’t wish you any ill will; I’m glad you cut things off. / It’s something I couldn’t do myself. / But I still think of you every single day. / I miss the girls, too. / When you think of me, please remember the good stuff. / It’s getting easier instead of harder / To live without you. / Be well, my long-lost werewolf. When: Sunday, May 17, 2026. Where: Cambridge.

You: Man. Me: Woman. #916589 SHOPPER SEEKING SHOPPER We were at Shaw’s near closing time. You apologized sweetly for stepping near my cart, though it was absolutely fine. Your look was kind and open. I smiled. We passed each other later, but I was out of gas from the week and couldn’t speak (and was starstruck from our first encounter).

Can we shop together? When: Friday, May 1, 2026. Where: Shaw’s, Randolph.

You: Woman. Me: Man. #916588 TANGLED AT THE BARRE RESOURCE While shopping, we encountered each other three times, with you continuously excusing yourself. I responded, “You’re fine,” and you quipped it was “because you worked out.” “I like your cattitude,” I responded. I looked you in the eyes and saw your very nice hair, and you were holding a large assortment of tangled yarn skeins. Extremely curious about you. Friend? When: Monday, May 4, 2026. Where: Barre ReSOURCE. You: Man. Me: Man. #916587

COSTCO SHARED GLANCES You were the pretty lady sitting in the eye care department. I was the guy checking you out (when I wasn’t checking out big-screen TVs). Pretty sure I caught you checking me out, too.

You looked familiar. Have you seen me before? If you’re not another stalker, reply here and tell me your name. When: Wednesday, April 29, 2026. Where: Costco. You: Woman. Me: Man. #916586 PRETTY LADY AT CROW BOOKSHOP I went to Crow Bookshop to see if they were hiring. While there, I was left speechless at how pretty you were. I awkwardly complimented your sweater and hastily left. I wish I was able to get to know you a little better, either romantically or just as friends. When: Thursday, April 16, 2026. Where: Crow Bookshop.

You: Woman. Me: Man. #916584 CLADDAGH In the café around 10:30 a.m., you were sitting by the windows sharing a bit of food with a young girl companion (a daughter, maybe?). I caught an intriguing detail that sparked my curiosity: a claddagh ring worn in a rather intentional way. I should have inquired. Maybe you’ll grant a chance to amend my error. When: Wednesday, April 22, 2026. Where: City Market South. You: Woman. Me: Man. #916583 IF...

If you missed me, you’d find a way to be near me again. You wouldn’t weaponize me or love. And you’d allow me to move on. You’ve slept with enough other people and done enough deplorable actions. I got the hint the first time. You wouldn’t have “a suitable replacement.” When: Wednesday, April 1, 2026. Where: somewhere.

You: Man. Me: Woman. #916582

Ask REVEREND the

AN OVERLY EMPOWERED UNWED MOTHER Bullying and verbally assaulting your disabled child and disabled neighbor was intentionally malicious, indefensible and lacking integrity, as was spreading untrue gossip throughout the building.

The impulsive choice you made to immediately file a police report — despite not having witnessed the situation — rather than having a simple conversation with me was irresponsible and damaging.

In the words of Stormzy, do better! When: Friday, April 24, 2026. Where: Winooski.

You: Woman. Me: Woman. #916585 MALLETTS BAY AREA Just moved to the area! I keep seeing the same girl: short, blond, mesmerizing eyes and a smile to die for! Spotted you at Malletts Bay Price Chopper, again on a hike and pretty sure downtown! I’m starting to think it’s not a coincidence but we’re actually meant to meet.

Maybe we can get Chunky Monkey ice cream sometime? My favorite! When: Friday, April 10, 2026. Where: all over area. You: Woman. Me: Man. #916581 IT’S FRIDAY NIGHT! You know what that means. Here’s to (at least) 16 more years spending copper to build suboptimal, non-synergistic decks filled with curses, estates and safety duchys. We’ve got long to go before that third supply pile runs out. Either way, I’ll have more victory points. When: Friday, April 17, 2026. Where: in the hinterlands.

You: Woman. Me: Man. #916580 WOMAN IN PLAID You: black-and-white flannel. Me: used to have the same flannel, but with a hood. I meant to ask if you wanted to be thrifting buddies, but too shy to ask for your number.

When: Wednesday, April 15, 2026.

Where: Hardwick Village Restaurant.

You: Woman. Me: Man. #916579 GRATEFUL AT THE ZENBARN I admired you in your sexy white knit dress from short distances (was I too obvious?). You were with a small group of three or four adults and a couple of kids. I’m an older gentleman with gray hair/beard and was wearing a creamcolored shirt. Hope to see you there again on a DSP night as the weather warms up. When: Wednesday, March 18, 2026. Where: Zenbarn, Waterbury.

You: Woman. Me: Man. #916578

Dear Ghosted Gary,

Irreverent counsel on life’s conundrums

Dear Reverend,

I have a friend who always flakes out on plans with me. I can count on him for important stuff, but when it’s a casual hangout, he doesn’t show up about half the time. I wouldn’t mind so much if he would let me know he has to cancel, but I usually wind up waiting around and don’t find out until hours later (after I text him) that he forgot or something came up. I value our friendship, but this has been going on for years and I’m getting tired of it. What do I do?

Ghosted Gary (MAN, 37)

Any time spent with a friend is important, casual or not.

Your buddy’s behavior seems downright rude and selfish, but I’m going to give him a wee benefit of the doubt for a minute.

Is it possible this is a problem of misunderstanding? Perhaps your pal says, “I’ll swing by if I can,” but you hear “I’ll be there at 5.” An easy way to work that out is to reiterate the facts of a plan when you’re making it so that you’re both certain of expectations.

If crossed wires are just wishful thinking on my part, you could take a direct approach and gently share how frustrating his

HALF MARATHON, FULL AWESOME You: fit and fun school counselor who speaks Hungarian(?). Me: running buddy at mile eight, until you took off. Are you out there? Let’s get a drink! When: Saturday, April 11, 2026. Where: Half Marathon Unplugged in Burlington.

You: Man. Me: Woman. #916577 SCOUT, TOWN MEETING DAY COUPLE I saw this beautiful couple at Scout in the Old North End with insane chemistry on Town Meeting Day. Sparks were flying. I had butterflies just lookin’ at them. Man looked smitten like a kitten toward his li’l lady. Like Clark Kent and Lois. Wishing y’all the best. Can I get an invite to the wedding? When: Tuesday, March 3, 2026. Where: Scout ONE. You: Couple. Me: Woman. #916576 COSTCO BEAUTY Early afternoon, I entered and went to grab a shopping cart. You were tall and beautiful, and you looked me in my eyes, gave me a beautiful smile and waved. I smiled and waved back.

I hoped to bump into you while we shopped, but I never saw you again.

Message me if you find this. When: Saturday, April 4, 2026. Where: Costco.

You: Woman. Me: Man. #916575 MARY JANE SHOP IN MONTGOMERY Around 4:15, you were saying goodbye to the owner just as I was walking in.

We made eye contact for a moment, then again as you walked out. You: slim, down-to-earth-looking woman, gray hair, 60s? Me: similar age and height, longish gray hair and mustache.

Hope we can see what drew us both.

When: Thursday, April 2, 2026. Where: Mary Jane shop, Montgomery.

You: Woman. Me: Man. #916574 HOT VOLVO DADDY AT SPLASH I kept checking you out (over and over)!

We were both in the garage drying our cars. You have gorgeous white hair and a blazing rear! Seems your were giving me a show! You’re damned hot! I hope to see you again! I couldn’t stop looking at you! Your white hair is also hot. When: Sunday, March 29, 2026. Where: Splash, Rutland. You: Man. Me: Man. #916573

JOYLESS AND CRUEL BUS DRIVER Thank you so much for confirming your bus departure time and promptly pulling off the moment you saw me exit the station, before said departure time. With a smile! There are places for people like you who find joy in making the world harder for those around them. When: Tuesday, March 31, 2026. Where: Burlington bus station.

You: Man. Me: Woman. #916572 LADY IN RED I waited in line to order. You — red hair, glasses, red cardigan — sat by the window with two older women. Later, you stopped near my seat to put your cup in the bus bin. My tattoos and I were working on my laptop. Care to share a table next time you’re up for coffee or tea? When: Monday, March 30, 2026. Where: Uncommon Coffee.

You: Woman. Me: Man. #916571 A YEAR AFTER LOSING YOU I can’t wait to get us back. You were the highlight of my every day, from awakening until sleep, and then still in my dreams, as you remain today. I told you that I will be here alone until your return to me, and that is a promise I will always keep. I have always been true to you. When: Sunday, March 23, 2025.

Where: in my thoughts and dreams.

You: Woman. Me: Man. #916570 BURLINGTON BLACKOUT SHY DANCER EDITION You: beard, black T-shirt, high thin ponytail and a passion for the music.

Me: light blue cloud T-shirt, light pink tie-dye shorts and a Pac-Man hoodie around my hips. I kept dancing behind you and stealing glances, wanting to chat you up. We left around the same time and felt like I blew my chance.

When: Saturday, March 28, 2026. Where: Burlington Blackout, Higher Ground.

You: Man. Me: Trans man. #916569 BEST-EVER SMILE We live in the same building. Your small white dog was racing you down the stairs. I smiled at him, and when I looked up, you were smiling at me.

Whoever gets to go home to your smile every day is pretty lucky. Just wanted you to know. When: Wednesday, March 25, 2026. Where: Winooski, 1 p.m.

You: Man. Me: Woman. #916568

his spots. Your friend may be a permanent flake. He’s most likely not disrespecting your time on purpose. It’s probably just part of his DNA. In that case, what you can do is change your behavior.

Don’t make any more casual plans with this guy. And if you do, know that it probably won’t happen, so don’t wait on him — just go about your business.

If he does show up, it’ll be serendipitous. If you happen to not be there, he’ll get a taste of his own medicine.

flakiness is for you. If he knew that he was causing you to waste Good luck and God bless, time waiting for him, he might be less loosey-goosey about showing up.

Unfortunately, since this has been happening for so long, I What’s your problem? think the leopard has shown Send it to asktherev@sevendaysvt.com.

The Reverend

SEVEN DAYS MAY 20-27, 2026

93

Male unicorn seeking maiden for sharing fantasies in the magical kingdom. #L1934 Ambitious guy who loves business, travel and living life differently. Big on loyalty, laughs and connection. Looking for a girl who’s affectionate, wild, supportive and ready to run off to a Mexican dream life. No clothes needed, just avocados and mangoes. #L1932

I’m a 65-y/o single white male, 5’8”, 200 lbs., looking for female 50 to 65 who is white, slender, a good looker, fit, in good health; likes outdoor fun, camping, car rides, and plenty of foreplay and sex. #L1940

I’m a SWM, late 60s, 5’7”, 165 lbs., seeking slim males, 18 y/o and up, who are quick comers for oral sex and a rim job. Body hair a plus.

Phone number, please. #L1938

I’m a SWM, 73, seeking a female.

I am creative, smart, clean and good looking. Seeking a woman 70-plus who wants to play once or twice a week. #L1939

Trans man looking for someone to go on adventures with. Big fan of reading, writing and video games. I look forward to long-form letters and heartfelt romance. Let’s see where the wind takes us. #L1936

DWM, 71, looking for female to start a relationship with. I enjoy dining in as well as out, country drives. Looking for fun and honest people. I’m retired and happy, just something missing.

Phone number, please. #L1937

Male, 23. Super into Asians.

Already have a girlfriend but looking for something casual on the side. I like going out for fruity cocktails and playing golf. Hope you’re OK with my pants being tighter than yours. #L1935

HOW TO REPLY TO THESE LOVE LETTERS: Seal your reply — including your preferred contact info — inside an envelope. Write your pen pal’s box number on the outside of that envelope and place it inside another envelope with payment. Responses for Love Letters must begin with the #L box number.

MAIL TO: Seven Days Love Letters

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Submit your FREE message at sevendaysvt.com/loveletters or use the handy form at right.

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We’ll publish as many messages as we can in the Love Letters section above.

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Interested readers will send you letters in the mail. No internet required!

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SEVEN DAYS MAY 20-27, 2026

All-smooth M, mid-50s, twinkish youthful appearance, seeking avid butt muncher to use mouth, fingers, toys for long sessions. Very responsive to erotic sensual play, openminded, curious to explore turn-ons, kinks, fetish, fantasies.

Seeking M or F. #L1931 I’m a 31-y/o man, tall, dark, long hair, very athletically toned.

I like to dance, create music, enjoy Mary Jane and all of the culture’s movies. I am a fan of the expression of love, and I am just looking for my person. Hopefully a short female who takes care of herself well and is willing to take me on as a challenge. #L1928 I’m a gay male, mid-60s, seeking a gay male in his 70s and uncut.

Trimmed, passionate, virgin.

Enjoy nude activities together, nature walks, cuddling, etc. for intimate times. Let’s talk and hopefully meet. #L1930

Internet-Free Dating!

Reply to these messages with real, honest-to-goodness letters. DETAILS BELOW. I’m a gay male, 70 y/o, seeking an 18-plus male or males. I’m 180 lbs. and 5’9”. I’m into spanking and wearing and using adult diapers.

Looking for the same. #L1933 I’m a SWM, 73, active, fit, settled, living the good life. Seeking fun girl 65-75 y/o. A cat lover is a plus.

Race or disability not important.

Phone and picture are. #L1929 I’m a 21-y/o male seeking a 20-plus but preferably 45-plus woman. She must like a little weed. Have to be funny and smart; anything else a plus.

Six-foot goddesses, please reach out. I like plants and hanging out. #L1927 I’m a 68-y/o man seeking a 66to 70-y/o female. Looking for an old-school redneck female who’s looking to enjoy the simple things in life. I enjoy auto racing, outdoor events, bonfires, boating, camping, road trips and friendship. #L1926 SWF, 72 y/o, seeking a man 60 to 80 y/o. I live in Woodstock, Vt. Looking for a serious relationship with a man. Phone number, please. #L1919

I’m a 44-y/o male seeking a female. Part-time homesteader in Newport and W. Mass. Outdoors, skinny-dipping, gardening, hiking, snowshoeing, kinky, ice skating.

I love campfires with a beer and reading a book with a glass of wine. 420-friendly. What are you reading? #L1922 Strong, talented masseur and oral enthusiast seeks friendly relations with extremely sensual, pleasure-loving recipient/ counterpart of good character, similar spirit and compatible needs. Select female, male, or M/F couple. Tell me why it should be you. #L1923 I’m a 36-y/o man seeking a woman. Tall, slim and serious, looking for a soulmate who values children. #L1918 Mature bi guy versed in Eastern philosophy and American low culture ISO an outgoing mature gay guy with keen American feng shui insights beyond social media copy/paste to shape a uniquely Vermont “cultural exchange.” One never knows, do one? #L1924

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Summer Safety

BUCKET LIST

This summer, your pet is going to live their best life.

And we will be there to help them live it.

BEVS is here if your pet ...

Eats a bee  Treat the face that caught one

Makes friends with a porcupine  Remove 47 quills

Eats something interesting at the cookout  Supportive care for bad choices

Drinks that interesting green stuff in the lake  Treat Blue Green Algae Toxicity, fast

Open 24 hours • 1417 Marshall Ave, Williston, VT • 802-863-2387 • bevsvt.com SEVEN DAYS MAY 20-27, 2026

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FIND EVERYTHING YOUR GARDEN NEEDS, AT OUR GARDEN CENTERS Annuals Vegetable and Herb Starts Perennials Trees and Shrubs Tools and Accessories Fertilizer and Pest Control 128 Intervale Road, Burlington 472 Marshall Avenue, Williston gardeners.com 1t-gardenerssupply052026 1

5/18/26 5:59 PM