Seven Days, July 2, 2025 by Seven Days

WEEK IN REVIEW

JUNE 25-JULY 2, 2025

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SWEET SURPRISE

That was the Vermont Green FC’s unbeaten streak heading into a July 2 game against Seacoast United.

Mayor Emma Mulvaney-Stanak

BURLINGTON, WE HAVE A BUDGET

Burlington city councilors last week unanimously approved a $107.1 million budget for ﬁscal year 2026 that shrinks the size of city government while still investing in public safety and the local economy.

e spending plan mixes cuts and tax increases to close a $9.8 million budget gap, the second multimillion-dollar budget hole that Mayor Emma MulvaneyStanak has faced in her short tenure. Balancing the budget required laying off 18 staffers and cutting seven vacant positions in what was the ﬁrst major shrinkage of the city workforce in more than a decade.

Even so, the budget earmarks funds for public safety and social services — necessities as the Queen City deals with drug and homelessness crises. Eight more police ofﬁcers could be hired, and Howard Center’s Street Outreach Team, which responds to calls involving mental illness and drug use, will receive a historic $249,000 allotment, up from $77,500.

Democratic councilors also negotiated more support for businesses, including a potential program to pay those affected by the disruptive construction on Main Street.

e $0.86 tax rate, a 2 percent increase, will add about $115 to the tax bill for a home valued at $500,000. When ﬁguring in education taxes, however, that same homeowner is projected to see an overall tax decrease in ﬁscal year 2026, which began on Tuesday, July 1.

e budget was Mulvaney-Stanak’s ﬁrst go at her “ModernGov” initiative, a yearslong effort to cut costs, including by trimming staff. e budgeted city workforce has grown by nearly 100 positions over the past decade, 37 of them ﬁnanced with one-time funds such as federal coronavirus money that are all but gone.

ModernGov found $2 million in savings, including by merging the Community & Economic Development Ofﬁce with the Business & Workforce Development department. A new Department of Finance & Administration will combine human resources, information technology, and both the assessor’s and clerk/treasurer’s ofﬁces. More savings came from cutting programs such as the CORE, which serves seniors at the ONE Community Center, and adult programming through Burlington City Arts.

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

All that rain this spring was good for the strawberry crop, Vermont Public reported. So, worth it?

ROCK ON

In the new season of “The Bear,” a character wears a shirt from legendary Burlington music venue Nectar’s. Keep your eyes peeled!

DUE NORTH

The number of Canadian visitors to Vermont State Parks has declined by 45 percent this year. A worrying barometer of our cross-border relationship.

HERO’S WELCOME

Several ceremonies marked the 200th anniversary of the Marquis de Lafayette’s 1824 U.S. tour, including stops in Vermont. A French Revolutionary War hero.

TOPFIVE

TOWNCRIER

LOCALLY SOURCED NEWS In Stowe, Short-Term Rentals Are Owned From Afar

Just 196 — or 22 percent — of the 891 people who registered their short-term rentals in Stowe are actually from the town, according to the Stowe Reporter. About 260 registered with Massachusetts addresses. Created last year, the registry went live in early May.

MIDDLEBURY’S PALETTE

Pedestrians in downtown Middlebury are following the yellow brick road — and the red, green, purple, orange or blue ones. Since early June, ordinary crosswalks have been transformed with bright splashes of color, like the Vermont version of the gateway to Oz. Using buckets of paint and rollers, the town’s public works department transformed 16 crosswalks on several streets, painting each a different color inside the traditional white lines.

“When I drove into town that ﬁrst morning, it was like a surprise — and so delightful — because this so elevates our little town,” said Peter Cousineau, owner of Toad Hall Flowers, a downtown ﬂorist. “What I’m seeing in

Middlebury in general is a whole new wave of excitement over taking care of our town.”

e project is a creative, vibrant and low-cost way of sprucing up Middlebury and improving pedestrian safety, according to town manager Mark Pruhenski.

“ e cost of the colorful paint was $1,660 total — an increase of only $360 over the cost of white paint,” Pruhenski said.

Many local establishments celebrated the makeover, applauding the colorful change in comments on photos posted to the town’s Instagram account. Some want public works to replicate the treatment on crosswalks in other parts of town. Others wondered how the colors will be maintained.

e positive feedback will likely drive the town to expand the effort, Pruhenski told Seven Days

e Better Middlebury Partnership board came up with the idea in February and hoped to have it completed before the Memorial Day parade in late May. But wet weather delayed the project.

Kathryn Torres, codirector of the partnership, said not all of the feedback has been positive. Some residents expressed sharp criticism. But that is to be expected with a bold change like this one, she noted.

In a post on its website, the partnership said, “It caught us off guard how something as seemingly simple as color could stir up deeper, even political, emotions.”

“Still, we hold onto this: community isn’t about everyone agreeing all the time,” the post says. “It’s about being willing to move through disagreement, together.”

MADELEINE

KAPTEIN

SASHA GOLDSTEIN & MATTHEW ROY

TOO COOL FOR SCHOOL.

Routly

Cathy Resmer

Don Eggert, Colby Roberts

& POLITICS

Matthew Roy

Goldstein

Ken Ellingwood, Candace Page

Hannah Bassett, Derek Brouwer, Colin Flanders, Courtney Lamdin, Kevin McCallum, Alison Novak

Sam Hartnett

ARTS & CULTURE

Dan Bolles, Carolyn Fox

Chelsea Edgar, Margot Harrison, Pamela Polston

Jen Rose Smith

Alice Dodge

Chris Farnsworth

Rebecca Driscoll

Jordan Barry, Mary Ann Lickteig, Melissa Pasanen, Ken Picard

Alice Dodge, Angela Simpson

Katherine Isaacs, Martie Majoros

Madeleine Kaptein

Bryan Parmelee

Eva Sollberger

Je Baron DESIGN

Don Eggert

Rev. Diane Sullivan

John James

Je Baron

& MARKETING

Colby Roberts

Robyn Birgisson

Michelle Brown, Logan Pintka, Kaitlin Montgomery

Carolann Whitesell ADMINISTRATION

Marcy Stabile

Matt Weiner

Gillian English

Anthony Cinquina

CONTRIBUTING WRITERS

Jordan Adams, Justin Boland, Alex Brown, Erik Esckilsen, Anne Galloway Steve Goldstein, Amy Lilly, Bryan Parmelee, Suzanne Podhaizer, Samantha Randlett, Jim Schley, Carolyn Shapiro, Xenia Turner, Casey Ryan Vock

CONTRIBUTING ARTISTS

Luke Awtry, Daria Bishop, James Buck, Tim Newcomb, Zachary P. Stephens, Jeb Wallace-Brodeur FOUNDERS

Pamela Polston, Paula Routly

CIRCULATION: 35,000

Seven Days is published by Da Capo Publishing Inc. every Wednesday. It is distributed free of charge in greater Burlington, Middlebury, Montpelier, the Northeast Kingdom, Stowe, the Mad River Valley, Rutland, St. Albans, St. Johnsbury and White River Junction. Seven Days is printed at Quebecor Media Printing in Mirabel, Québec.

DELIVERY TECHNICIANS

Harry Applegate, James Blanchard, Joe Bou ard, Pat Bou ard, Colin Clary, Elana Coppola-Dyer, Matt Hagen, Karissa Hummel, Nat Michael, Frankie Moberg, Liam Mulqueen-Duquette, Dan Nesbitt, Dan Oklan, Ezra Oklan, Matt LaDuq Perry, Danielle Schneider, Andy Watts, Tracey Young With additional circulation support from PP&D.

SUBSCRIPTIONS

WHITHER WILLOUGHBY?

Thank you, Seven Days, and reporter Kevin McCallum for your thorough coverage of circumstances surrounding the proposed Industrial Tower and Wireless radio tower near Lake Willoughby in Westmore [“Communication Breakdown: A Proposed Tower Near Scenic Lake Willoughby Riles the Tiny Town of Westmore,” June 25]. After navigating numerous hurdles trying to protect one of Vermont’s National Natural Landmarks, we residents see how important it is for other small rural towns to be better prepared for a similar scenario. Your reporting plays an important role in doing that!

Vermont has a legacy of protecting its distinctive rural character and natural nonindustrialized landscape, recognizing them as economic resources for the everburgeoning tourist industry; witness its cutting-edge 1968 billboard ban. Honoring this legacy, senator Patrick Leahy was quoted in 1998 warning against Vermont becoming a pincushion of telecommunication towers.

Since publication of the Seven Days story, the Public Utility Commission hearing officer’s proposal for decision was released, concluding that “the proposed project will promote the general good of the state.” As noted in your story, the Department of Public Service agrees. It is unconscionable that, with so little evidence of public good or demand, a massive industrial radio tower would be constructed in a place treasured for its natural beauty, extending from its southern dramatic glacial gap north to its rolling ﬁelds and woodlands unmarred by any large industrial structures. This decision clearly disregards the recommendations of the Westmore Planning Commission and Selectboard.

It’s not too late to act for those who want to keep Lake Willoughby free of industrial development. Please submit comments to the Public Utility Commission for Case 24-1755-PET before 4 p.m. on Friday, July 11, at epuc.vermont.gov/?q=node/52/198631.

$250.

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Seven Days shall not be held liable to any advertiser for any loss that results from the incorrect publication of its advertisement. If a mistake is ours, and the advertising purpose has been rendered valueless, Seven Days may cancel the charges for the advertisement, or a portion thereof as deemed reasonable by the publisher. Seven Days reserves the right to refuse any advertising, including inserts, at the discretion of the publishers.

CORRECTION

Cynthia Krieble WESTMORE

In last week’s music feature “Searching for the Sounds,” a photo labeled as the Underground — Listening Room was actually of the Marigold Gallery. An image of the correct venue now appears in the online story.

THE OTHER BERNIE BRO

What a wonderful profile of our naturalist friend and neighbor Bernie Paquette

[“Going Apian: Citizen Naturalist Bernie Paquette Spreads the Joy of Spotting Wild Bees and Other Bugs in One’s Own Backyard,” June 4]. Bernie’s enthusiasm for all things outdoors, and his penchant for capturing photos and cataloging bees, are inspiring. So inspiring, in fact, that I wrote a poem for Bernie that he encouraged me to send in:

A man and his bees

Perhaps down on his knees

Takes a shot for the world to share

With dozens in flight

There’s a ton in his sight

It’s more fun than a person can bear.

Keep up the great work, Bernie!

Steve Martano JERICHO

FARMWORKERS NEED HOUSING

It’s sad that housing experts and developers have no knowledge about farming or building off-the-farm affordable farmworker housing [“Home Hacks: Co-ops, Community Partnerships and Tiny Homes: Vermonters Pursue Innovative Solutions During an Unrelenting Housing Crisis,” May 28]. Such development for our agricultural workers could have a huge positive impact.

Farmworkers are essential workers, and Vermont cannot afford to keep farmworkers in the shadows. We need investment in agricultural workforce housing to continue growing food in our communities.

Ernest Caswell MILTON

DOWNTOWN NEEDS

[Re “Food Fight: Plans to Relocate a Free Lunch Program in Burlington Just Got Messier,” May 28]: Perhaps the quandary of determining a suitable location for Burlington’s free lunch program recalls the maxim to craft a problem-solving strategy only after defining the need for that strategy. In other words, determine the need first.

What are the respective needs? I understand that the food cart is concerned with providing accessible nutrition and human support to other humans, whereas the Church Street Marketplace is concerned with shoppers, tourists and merchants.

I encourage the participants in this quandary to set aside judgmental bias and instead hone in on the needs of each faction. Unless there is a valid need to locate the two — Marketplace and free

lunch — close to one another, then let them be physically separate. History tells us that they may have conflicting needs.

Also, unless there are needs that warrant proximity, I trust that Burlington has an open area, accessible by public transportation and located away from the Marketplace, that can host the meals program and serve the needs of its clientele.

Hugo Liepmann MIDDLESEX

‘POWERFUL JUXTAPOSITION’

Thanks for providing the powerful juxtaposition on the Last 7: Week in Review page [June 18] of the Sackler family’s paltry settlement for accelerating the nation’s opioid crisis and the insane use of force to subdue two people who had the audacity to bring meals to people who are working on farms, orchards and dairies across the nation.

The Sacklers and their Purdue Pharma settled for $7.4 billion for contributing to the more than 1 million deaths since OxyContin was released in 1996. In 2024, the Sackler family had a net worth of $10.8 billion. Because the fine can be paid over time, the Sackler family only had to come up with $1.5 billion down and can pay the rest over 15 years. At the current 4 percent interest rate on money markets, the Sacklers can bank $236 million per year. And no one is facing prison or deportation.

At the same time, two people here without documentation were forcibly arrested and are facing deportation. Faced with armed individuals who were masked and refused to identify themselves, they were targeted because they are brown people. They and their entire community were traumatized and now live in constant fear.

We have to ask ourselves, as a country: Are we better off with the Sacklers or with Heidi and Jose?

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John Garn RIPTON

Bernie Paquette

FOOD+ DRINK 38

Getting Wilder

Sipha Lam’s wine shop and bar sparkles in its

Learning Curve

NEWS+POLITICS 14

Beg Your Pardon

Gov. Phil Scott has not provided clemency to any of the 117 people who have applied for it during his eight years in ofﬁce

VTSU Nixes Dental Therapy

After Years of Planning

Up in Smoke

A mistake at the McNeil woodburning plant cost the Burlington Electric Department nearly $1 million

Northlands Job Corps Center Can Stay Open Amid Legal Battle

FEATURES 26

Wheel Life

Bike tourism is growing in Vermont, but leading a bike tour is no walk in the park

Going With the Flow

A new app developed in Tropical Storm Irene’s aftermath alerts users to rising rivers and streams before they ﬂood

ARTS+CULTURE 44

Let Music Ring

In its 175th season, the Burlington Concert Band brings free tunes and community connection to the band shell

Artist Will Kasso Condry Receives 12th Annual Herb Lockwood Prize

Avant-Gardener

Tour Clarence Baker’s unique gardens in Roxbury

O Say, Can You See? Protest, history and democracy reverberate in a powerful show at the Current

Let’s Go Fly a Kite: Jacob Hashimoto’s Airy Installation at BCA Center

Burn and Turn Burlington indie rocker Greg Freeman is on the cusp of a breakout with his forthcoming LP, Burnover

Sweet as Honey

At a new South Burlington café, the owner of Matryoshka’s Bakery shares a traditional Russian cake COLUMNS

11 Magniﬁcent

have Find a new job in the classiﬁeds section on page 77 and online at

I have been the manager of the Danforth store for over 12 years. Church Street Marketplace has such a rich variety of locally-owned shops and restaurants! What’s unique about Danforth is that everything is designed and made in our Middlebury workshop. Where else can you get a one-of-a-kind oil lamp? I love helping our customers from all over the world decide which of these beautiful pewter gifts they would like to buy for themselves, for a friend or to bring home as a keepsake of their visit to Vermont.

I love coming to work in downtown, the views of the lake and the mountains are second to none. I feel fortunate to work here in such a vibrant, energizing downtown. So come on down, stroll around with a friend, get a bite to eat, do some shopping and soak up the atmosphere of this unique and beautiful small city. One of the best anywhere!

My staff and I are looking forward to seeing you real soon!

HANNAH BASSETT & ALISON NOVAK

STUCK IN VERMONT

Clarence Baker has been working on his extensive gardens in Roxbury for more than 30 years. He collects junk, found objects and old farm equipment and transforms them into works of art that sit among his ﬂowers. Seven Days’ Eva Sollberger got a tour of Baker’s surprising gardens of wonder.

MAGNIFICENT

MUST SEE, MUST DO THIS WEEK COMPILED BY REBECCA DRISCOLL

ONGOING AS ABOVE, SO BELOW

Town Hall eater in Middlebury exhibits renowned Vermont photojournalist Caleb Kenna’s breathtaking aerial landscapes at its Jackson Gallery. Kenna’s masterfully executed bird’s-eye drone shots — which have appeared everywhere from Seven Days to a 2020 New York Times photo essay — capture meandering rivers, autumnal mountains and bright, cerulean lakes as you rarely see them.

SEE GALLERY LISTING AT SEVENDAYSVT.COM/ART

and Cloud Reﬂection,

WEDNESDAY 2-SUNDAY 6

Love Notes

e Vermont Symphony Orchestra’s “Summer of Love” festival tour channels community spirit and the power of popular music at idyllic Vermont venues in South Pomfret, Grafton, Shelburne, East Burke and Stowe. Andrew Crust directs the ﬁrst-rate ensemble in an evening of tunes you know and love, including John Williams’ Star Wars theme and 20th-century earworms such as “I Put a Spell on You” and “Nature Boy.”

SEE CALENDAR LISTINGS ON PAGES 62, 64, 65 AND 66

SATURDAY 5

Brandon’s Booming

Larger cities might draw bigger crowds, but you can’t beat the Brandon Independence Day Celebration for small-town charm. e bitty burg packs a big punch with the expected patriotic procession and ﬁreworks, plus train rides, two auction sites, live music, a beer garden and a “worldfamous” Little Debbie Swiss Roll eating contest.

SEE CALENDAR LISTING ON PAGE 65

SUNDAY 6

Passage of Rhyme

Back Roads Readings presents “When You Come Back to Me: Remembering Ruth Stone” at Highland Center for the Arts in Greensboro. Current Vermont poet laureate Bianca Stone takes the stage to honor the past poet laureate — her grandmother — with an evocative recitation of works from the late writer’s 13 collections.

SEE CALENDAR LISTING ON PAGE 68

WEDNESDAY 9

Hump Day

FRIDAY 4-SUNDAY 6

Touching Base

Sports fans from 1 to 100 pack Centennial Field in Burlington to cheer on treasured collegiate summer league baseball team the Vermont Lake Monsters at a weekend of holiday home games. Spirited spectators stuffed with hot dogs and root beer catch a glimpse of googlyeyed mascot Champ — our own mean, green ﬁghting machine. Well, not so mean. Or interested in ﬁghting. But he is green, all right!

SEE CALENDAR LISTINGS ON PAGES 65 AND 66

e Over the Hump Summer Music Series kicks off with Americana band Blues for Breakfast at Huntington Recreation Field, backed by unparalleled views of Camel’s Hump. Spend a midweek midsummer’s eve letting loose to jammy, feel-good tunes, made merrier by food trucks, vendors and lawn games. Donations beneﬁt the neighboring Birds of Vermont Museum.

SEE CALENDAR LISTING ON PAGE 69

WEDNESDAY 9

All About That Bass

Area anglers from novice to experienced celebrate the art of wetting a line at the Missisquoi River Fishing Festival in Enosburg Falls. Hands-on, themed learning stations led by expert reps from local agencies tackle everything from fintastic fly tying to sofishticated species identification.

SEE CALENDAR LISTING ON PAGE 69

“Canoe

Goshen, Vermont” by Caleb Kenna

Mixing Media

It takes more than a free lunch to round up a roomful of working Vermont journalists. On June 13, before and after a buffet, the University of Vermont’s Center for Community News served up a day of programming in the Silver Pavilion of the Alumni House for those of us in the business of informing the public about what’s happening in our state.

CCN director Richard Watts deserves credit for convening the group — for the fourth year in a row — and connecting us to identify common threats and opportunities. While his official job is to build the student journalism program he founded, which last year won a $7 million grant from the Knight Foundation, the local media ecosystem around it faces urgent and existential challenges, from finding the money to pay reporters to ensuring they have access to the news they seek.

I first interacted with Watts when he was director of UVM’s Center for Research on Vermont. He published a newsletter with stories I often wished we’d had in Seven Days — and I told him so.

Not surprisingly, Watts is a former journalist. He also ran political campaigns. Savvy, strategic and driven, he’s a master networker.

Watts was the one who thought to invite former Vermont Supreme Court justice John Dooley to the conference to talk about current threats to press freedom — and had his phone number. In a session titled “Defending Journalism in Vermont and Beyond,” the retired judge schooled the crowd on the 1964 precedent-setting legal case, New York Times Co. v. Sullivan, that defines “defamation” in this country — arguably, with too much wiggle room.

THE VERMONT JOURNALISM COALITION WILL REPRESENT LOCAL NEWS PUBLISHERS OF ALL SHAPES, SIZES, PLATFORMS AND BUSINESS MODELS. IT AROSE OUT OF CONVERSATIONS BETWEEN SEVEN DAYS, WCAX-TV, VERMONT PUBLIC, VTDIGGER AND UVM’S CENTER FOR COMMUNITY NEWS.

Dooley was in good company with Lia Ernst, legal director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Vermont, who has been involved in almost all of the recent immigration cases that have wound up in local courts. She had practical advice for journalists covering protests and also crossing the border. Matt Byrne — an attorney with Gravel & Shea who represents many Vermont media outlets, including Seven Days, on First Amendment issues — talked about ways to strengthen local laws to better protect news publishers and reporters.

All agreed that Vermont’s public records law, which now has countless exemptions, badly needs an overhaul so that journalists can better access information the public has a right to know.

That would involve the legislature. In the audience were Lt. Gov. John Rodgers, Rep. Chea Waters Evans (D-Charlotte) and Sen. Andrew Perchlik (D/P-Washington). Also, Secretary of State Sarah Copeland Hanzas. The four — plus Rep. Barbara Rachelson (D-Burlington) — were recognized as “public policy champions” for supporting a bill that almost became law this year. H.244 would have

mandated agencies of state government to spend a percentage of their advertising budgets with local news outlets.

Watts

The proposed legislation got as far as it did because Paul Heintz — formerly of Seven Days and VTDigger — was guiding it through the Statehouse. He was our full-time political editor in 2017, when he successfully lobbied the legislature for a Vermont shield law for journalists, which protects reporters from having to reveal confidential sources and information.

Now freelancing for the Boston Globe, Heintz accepted this CCNfunded short-term lobbying job to address the business challenge of running a news operation in the age of Google, Meta and Amazon. H.244 passed the Vermont House but not the Senate, and in the course of crafting the bill, Heintz discovered just how difficult it is to learn how and where state agencies are spending taxpayer dollars on advertising.

Pushing for this legislation was essentially the first act of a new entity, the Vermont Journalism Coalition. Until now, the state’s media outlets have formed their trade organizations based on medium. The Vermont Association of Broadcasters serves radio and TV, while the 158-year-old Vermont Press Association represented the state’s newspapers. But as local print media outlets have folded and shed jobs, there are fewer bodies to attend meetings or compete in awards contests. The Vermont Press Association hasn’t convened its members since before the pandemic.

The Vermont Journalism Coalition will represent local news publishers of all shapes, sizes, platforms and business models. It arose out of conversations between Seven Days, WCAX-TV, Vermont Public, VTDigger and CCN and quickly broadened to include community weeklies across the state.

In a press release, the coalition declared its aim “to advocate for the rights of journalists, provide business and legal support to members, and raise awareness of the industry’s critical mission.” Heintz is the part-time director. Funding it for two years are CCN and the Vermont Community Foundation. The latter org is a conduit for the money Vermont could receive from a national fundraising effort for journalism known as Press Forward.

All of this is good news, for sure, though it remains to be seen whether any of these efforts will deposit cash in the hands of local news reporters and publishers. A free lunch doesn’t pay the bills. In the end, it’s going to take action by all of us — the media, the legislature and readers like you — to keep Vermont media alive and kicking.

Paula Routly

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POLITICS

Beg Your Pardon

Gov. Phil Scott has not provided clemency to any of the 117 people who have applied for it during his eight years in ofﬁce

BY COLIN FLANDERS • colin@sevendaysvt.com

Every now and then, Jez Smith calls Gov. Phil Scott’s o ce to ask about an application she submitted back in 2017. The Bellows Falls woman isn’t seeking a job. It’s forgiveness she’s after, the o cial variety, for a crime she committed half a lifetime ago.

Smith, 65, is one of nearly 120 people who have applied for gubernatorial pardons during Scott’s eight years in o ce, according to a spreadsheet Seven Days received from the state as a result of a public records request. Roughly half of those applications were deemed “incomplete” for lacking necessary paperwork. Several others were withdrawn for reasons unknown. The rest, close to 70, are pending.

The applications themselves are deemed conﬁdential, making it di cult to know the exact motivations behind them. But those seeking gubernatorial

forgiveness likely see in pardons the rarest of opportunities: to leave their past behind. All records related to the crimes of those pardoned would become eligible to be destroyed through a process known as expungement. The pardoned would no longer have to disclose the conviction on paperwork, nor would it appear on background checks. Their slate would e ectively be wiped clean.

While a recent series of controversial presidential pardons has the public once again talking about this absolute power, less attention has been paid to executive clemency at the state level — mostly because, in Vermont anyway, there’s not been much to discuss.

Scott, one of Vermont’s longest-serving governors, has never granted a pardon, making him an outlier among those who have previously held the o ce. He’s also

VTSU Nixes Dental erapy After Years of Planning

BY DEREK BROUWER derek@sevendaysvt.com

Lawmakers wished it, but nine years and millions of dollars spent could not create a new academic program to ease the state’s dentist shortage. e Vermont State Colleges System, which oversees Vermont State University, announced on Monday that it was scrapping long-ﬂoundering plans to create a dental therapy degree.

Chancellor Elizabeth Mauch cited high costs as the death knell for the project. Vermont State University couldn’t offer competitive wages to prospective administrators and faculty, while small class-size requirements would further prevent the offering from being cost-effective.

In 2016, Vermont became one of the first states to create a new category of licensed dentistry provider with a level of training that splits the difference between a full-fledged dentist and a dental hygienist. Almost every county in Vermont needs more options for oral health care, and state leaders reasoned that “dental therapists” could help. Lawmakers tasked what was then Vermont Technical College — now Vermont State University — with creating a degree program in the nascent field. e college is the only one in Vermont that offers degrees in the oral health sciences.

never denied one. The pending applications instead sit in a pile somewhere, frustrating some of those seeking mercy.

“At ﬁrst, you go into it with a lot of faith,” said Smith, who is seeking a pardon for a pair of 1993 convictions related to the robbery of a fast-food joint. Now, she wonders whether he’s even read her application.

The governor was not made available for an interview, but his spokesperson provided a statement about his stance on pardons. Scott meets with his attorney a few times a year to review applications, which come in on a rolling basis and have no expiration date, according to the spokesperson, Amanda Wheeler.

“The Governor takes the authority he has to issue a pardon very seriously

Yet, by 2023, little progress was evident. Vermont Auditor Doug Hoffer issued a report that criticized college leaders for not doing more to advance the project, despite $2.6 million in federal, state and private funds that had already been spent on it.

Mauch, who took over as chancellor last year, put together an internal “feasibility assessment” that concluded the program was “not sustainable under the present model.”

e report notes that the market wage for a practicing dentist is $260,000, compared to a faculty contract at VTSU that caps salaries at $70,000. And it details recruiting woes for the program.

Meanwhile, the cost to educate each graduate could run between $83,000 and $144,000, which Mauch described as “a level far beyond the resources of a tuition-driven institution like VTSU.”

At the same time, the Vermont State Colleges System is still trying to close a budget gap. It must trim $5 million in recurring costs by next ﬁscal year. ➆

COURTESY

Elizabeth Mauch

Jez Smith

Up in Smoke

A mistake at the McNeil wood-burning plant cost the Burlington Electric Department nearly $1 million

BY KEVIN MCCALLUM • kevin@sevendaysvt.com

Areporting error discovered earlier this year at the Queen City’s wood-fired power plant has cost the Burlington Electric Department nearly $1 million.

Managers at the McNeil Generating Station are supposed to track how much renewable energy the plant produces, which allows it to qualify for clean energy credits worth millions of dollars. But due partly to staff turnover, a manager last year neglected to document the plant’s third-quarter output and fuel type in a regional reporting system as required for the plant to be awarded the credits.

“It’s an unfortunate error, and I wish it hadn’t happened,” said City Councilor Mark Barlow (D-North District), who was briefed on the issue during a closeddoor executive session in February.

THE ERROR HAS RAISED QUESTIONS ABOUT MANAGEMENT AT THE CITY-OWNED UTILITY.

The mistake won’t immediately impact rates. And systems have been put in place to make sure it won’t happen again, according to BED general manager Darren Springer.

But the error has raised questions about management at the city-owned utility. Kerrick Johnson, commissioner of the state Department of Public Service, said he met with BED officials and found the oversight troubling.

“Was it a disappointment? Hell, yes, it was,” Johnson told Seven Days.

The utility has outlined for regulators some of the changes it’s made, such as ensuring more than one person is responsible for and able to enter data into the reporting system. The department also plans to provide additional training for staff and use automatic reminders about upcoming reporting deadlines.

Johnson said the “proof remains to be seen” whether those and other changes are sufficient.

“Prudence would dictate, in order to protect ratepayers, you look at the

outward signs of effective management,” Johnson said. “It’s by no means the sum total, but this is an important indicator of overall management effectiveness.”

The lapse involves the sales of renewable energy credits, or RECs, that some power generators sell. These are tradable certificates that represent the environmental benefits of generating electricity from renewable sources

ENVIRONMENT

such as wind, solar or hydro. RECs are a key part of how clean energy is tracked and incentivized. In places such as Connecticut, state officials allow utilities that lack the infrastructure to meet their own cleanenergy goals to buy the certificates instead.

Every year, BED brings in between $7 million and $9 million by selling RECs, according to Springer — about 10 to 13 percent of the utility’s annual operating budget.

About half of that is tied to electricity from McNeil, the state’s largest power generator. Though the plant can be fueled by oil or natural gas, it mostly runs on wood chips harvested from New York and Vermont — a renewable resource.

While a growing number of critics say burning wood chips is not environmentally sound, some states still consider the power produced to be “green” and are willing to buy RECs from McNeil.

In order to ensure the RECs are legit, utilities in the region register them with the New England Power Pool Generation Information System. Every quarter, a manager at McNeil is supposed to enter how much energy the plant produced with wood chips, considered a renewable biomass. Once that is done, the RECs are created and can be sold.

The manager responsible for uploading that information gave two weeks’ notice last summer, Springer explained in a note to Vermont regulators. The manager, who was not named in Springer’s account, “ignored multiple requests by BED management to produce a transition memo documenting key responsibilities for their successor,” he wrote.

That left the second-in-command at the plant “without adequate training or

SIT BACK AND

Some retired people want to hang ‘em up, and some are just getting warmed up. The people at Wake Robin are definitely in the latter camp. They’re busy, curious, and part of a dynamic Life Plan Community in Shelburne, Vermont. Come see for yourself. Wake Robin. It’s where you live.

Award-Winning Teamwork

Congrats to Seven Days reporter DEREK BROUWER and LIAM ELDER-CONNORS of Vermont Public for ﬁrst-place recognition in the 2025 Public Media Journalists Association Awards Competition.

TRIALS

eir winning “News Feature” collaboration competed with journalism projects from the largest public radio stations in the country.

Liam Elder-Connors and Derek Brouwer at the Judge Edward J. Costello Courthouse on May 10, 2024

PHOTO: DARIA BISHOP

because a pardon is an act of extraordinary relief,” Wheeler said in the statement.

She added that Scott has not denied any applications outright because he does not want to signal that someone is beyond rehabilitation; he might just want to see a longer track record of good behavior.

“As convicted felons in most cases, we believe they should be continuing to find ways to demonstrate why they should be eligible for such extraordinary relief,” Wheeler said.

Executive clemency is one of the unrestrained powers granted to U.S. presidents, who have the ability to pardon federal crimes, and governors, whose authority is limited to state offenses. Anyone is eligible for a pardon. But how a recipient is chosen can be wildly subjective — and ethically dubious.

On the final day of his presidency, Bill Clinton granted clemency to an oil trader who fled the U.S. after he was indicted for tax evasion and whose ex-wife just happened to be a major Democratic donor. President Joe Biden pardoned his son Hunter on his way out the door after vowing for months that he wouldn’t.

Since his first day back in the Oval Office this year, President Donald Trump has taken the power of the pardon to unprecedented lengths on behalf of those who curry his favor. He has pardoned January 6 rioters, corrupt sheriffs, Bitcoin barons and tax-evading government officials.

In a 2019 essay for Vermont Bar Journal , Montpelier attorney Paul Gillies reflected on the reasons for pardons in Vermont in recent decades.

Sometimes it has been to right an injustice. In 1976, then-governor Thomas Salmon pardoned 71 people who had been convicted on the testimony of a celebrated undercover drug agent who was later discredited.

Other times, the pardon has been used to wipe away convictions that look different after the passage of time. In the final days of his tenure in 2016, for example, governor Peter Shumlin issued a call for applications from people who had been convicted of cannabis possession, leading to nearly 200 pardons. His justification was that the convictions were no longer legitimate in the age of decriminalization.

All told, Vermont governors have issued nearly 780 full pardons since 1950, according to the state archives. Salmon and Shumlin account for more than half, but every governor — even single-termer Robert Stafford — issued at least one pardon before leaving office.

Vermonters have additional avenues these days to get convictions wiped off the books, thanks to recent expansions of the

state’s expungement laws. But there are still many convictions that don’t qualify, such as multiple DUIs or crimes with some component of violence.

Scott still has more time in office, of course, and it is not uncommon for presidents and governors to grant pardons at the end of their tenures, perhaps to avoid potential political blowback.

In Vermont, a 14-page pardon application describes the guidelines. Generally, applications will be considered only if a certain amount of time has passed from the conviction in question: at least five years for a misdemeanor and 10 years for a felony.

Applicants must also show that their behavior has been “exemplary” since their conviction and that a pardon would not only help them find a job and provide for their family but also benefit society more broadly.

ALL TOLD, VERMONT GOVERNORS HAVE ISSUED NEARLY 780 FULL PARDONS SINCE 1950.

Finally, they must submit at least four letters of recommendation explaining why they are worthy of gubernatorial mercy.

Among the nearly 70 completed applications filed with Scott’s office since he started on the job in 2017 are people convicted of DUI, domestic assault, robbery, possessing child pornography, drug dealing and child cruelty.

One woman, who spoke to Seven Days on the condition that her name wouldn’t be printed, said she requested a pardon in late 2023. She’d just been fired after her supervisors learned she had a misdemeanor domestic assault conviction from 1996.

The woman, who spent 14 years working at the state psychiatric hospital, said she disclosed the charge to the people who first hired her. But she was told that there was no written record of those conversations. She believes the file was ruined in July 2023, when floods filled the basements where some public documents were stockpiled.

She’s now working part time at a convenience store and said she assumes she’ll never hear from the governor’s office about her request.

For Smith, the Bellows Falls woman, the pursuit of a pardon traces back to a cold spring night in 1992, when she and a friend walked into a Brattleboro McDonald’s with an unloaded pellet gun and demanded a key to the safe. They ushered the employees into a cooler, tossed them their coats and cigarettes, and locked the door before leaving with several thousand

dollars in cash. They didn’t make it far: The employees snuck out a delivery hatch and called the cops, who quickly nabbed the robbers.

Smith, then 32, was charged with four felonies, including kidnapping, though prosecutors would determine that she had been manipulated into participating.

Smith, who says she was diagnosed with schizophrenia as a teen, had been off her medication for years. She recalled from the witness stand how she became depressed after losing custody of her son and finally agreed to join her friend in the stickup because she felt that she had nothing to lose.

“That’s basically how things were going in my life,” she said at her friend’s 1993 trial, the Rutland Herald reported at the time.

Smith had two felonies dismissed in exchange for cooperating with prosecutors. She would spend a few years locked up — including stints at the state psychiatric hospital, from which she briefly escaped twice — before rebuilding her life.

She got back on her meds and found work at homeless shelters. She even went to school, earning her bachelor’s degree in psychology. But she came to recognize that her job prospects would be forever limited by her criminal record.

So, in 2017, Smith filled out the lengthy pardon application, hoping Scott might be willing to wipe away the worst decision of her life.

She duly disclosed a DUI charge she picked up in 2016, the only other time she’d run afoul of the law this millennium. She attached the mandated letters from people vouching for her: a former minister, therapist, psychiatrist, two friends and her father.

And she explained her motivation: to get a job working with at-risk teens.

“I got really screwed up when I was an adolescent,” Smith told Seven Days. “That’s where it all started for me. I would like to help them nip it in the bud and get their lives on track before they go way downhill.”

It’s unclear whether Scott has reviewed Smith’s application or discussed it with his attorney. Those conversations are protected by executive privilege, Wheeler said.

Smith grew impatient as the years passed and eventually started contacting the governor’s office directly to inquire about her application. She’s called enough times that those on the other end of the line recognize her by name, she said. She’s been told — more than once — that if Scott hasn’t responded yet, he probably won’t.

But she wants to hear that from the governor himself, and so she wrote to him once again this spring, pleading for an answer.

She has yet to hear back. ➆

Sisco.

I have been doing business downtown since 1975. In addition to selling lots of fine contemporary and estate jewelry, I am also a designer of one of a kind personalized jewelry.

Both my shop and store are located on Church Street. I enjoy my time interacting with our customers and with my fellow business people.

It’s a very unique environment, beautifully condensed into four blocks that represent the beating heart of downtown Burlington. Add to that all the other sites and sounds and businesses and you end up with one of the finest small cities in the entire country.

So come on down, make the scene, live your life, enjoy your life.

In 2023, Vermonters threw away 71,113 tons of food scraps which ended up in our only land ll. Enough to ll 3,555 tractor-trailer trucks, which placed bumper-to-bumper would stretch from Milton to Montpelier.

CSWD’s Organic Recycling Facility (ORF) and our six Drop-O Centers accept food scraps from residents and businesses to keep them out of Vermont’s only land ll. For information scan or visit cswd.net/foodscraps

EDUCATION

Northlands Job Corps Center Can Stay Open Amid Legal Battle

BY SAM HARTNETT hartnett@sevendaysvt.com

A federal judge will allow Job Corps centers across the country to remain open while a lawsuit trying to stop their closure plays out in court. That’s good news for Northlands Jobs Corps Center in Vergennes, which hosts about 150 students and was slated to shut down at the end of June.

A Northlands staff member told Seven Days that students and employees were ecstatic about the judge’s decision. The center’s director, Mike Dooley, said he was not allowed to comment, instead directing Seven Days to the U.S. Department of Labor, which originally ordered the centers to shut down.

“The Department of Labor is working closely with the Department of Justice to evaluate the injunction,” an agency spokesperson said in an email. “We remain confident that our actions are consistent with the law.”

The federally funded Northlands Job Corps Center provides free vocational training programs for young adults from ages 16 to 24 and is one of around 100 across the country. In late May, the Department of Labor surprised the centers by saying they must close by the end of June. The department said the program operated at a $140 million deficit in 2024 and is “no longer achieving the intended outcomes that students deserve.”

Since 1964, Job Corps programs have provided housing and trained underprivileged youths for a wide variety of jobs.

Earlier this month, Education & Training Resources, the private contractor that runs Northlands, filed a temporary restraining order alongside other contractors to stop the termination. The restraining order was granted, and on June 25, a federal judge allowed Job Corps to stay open while the litigation continues.

Because the program was created and funded by Congress, the Department of Labor “is not free to do as it pleases” and does not have the power to shut down the programs unilaterally, U.S. District Court Judge Andrew Carter wrote in his ruling.

“Job Corps provides basic necessities such as food and shelter along with resources for them to complete their high school education,” Judge Carter wrote. ➆

documentation to fulfill this important quarterly reporting task,” Springer wrote.

The individual, who also was not named, “did not alert BED management to this knowledge gap,” Springer wrote.

The result was that BED missed out on being able to sell an entire quarter’s worth of McNeil RECs to Connecticut utilities, which have been buying them consistently for years. That resulted in a loss of about $951,000 for BED, Springer said.

But BED wasn’t the only loser. The utility owns 50 percent of McNeil, while Green Mountain Power has a 31 percent share and the Vermont Public Power Supply Authority owns 19 percent. GMP estimates it lost $600,000; VPPSA is out $260,000.

In a statement, GMP said it’s always concerning when something drives up costs for its customers. “BED has communicated well with us about this and we are evaluating options,” the company wrote.

Ken Nolan, the general manager at the power authority, also said BED had been communicative about the issue and fixes. “It’s never good news to hear that a problem like this has occurred, but reality is that the utility industry is complex and errors do occur,” Nolan wrote in a statement.

When the error at McNeil was initially discovered early this year, Springer informed the mayor’s office, let the City Council know in a closed-door executive session in February and briefed the

McNeil Generating Station

IT’S AN UNFORTUNATE ERROR, AND I WISH IT HADN’T HAPPENED.

Burlington Electric Commission in private three times. But he didn’t publicly disclose the screwup until the commission’s May 14 meeting. The five-member body, appointed by the city council, oversees the utility.

Springer said the secrecy was necessary because BED had been “working to settle contract obligations with counterparties,” meaning the McNeil partners. Those have since been resolved, he told the commission. While the RECs from McNeil could not be sold to Connecticut utilities, the McNeil partners were able to use them to help satisfy their renewable energy requirement in Vermont, Springer explained.

The error will not affect rates, which were already scheduled to go up 4.5 percent next year, Springer told commissioners.

A bigger potential problem for BED, Springer said, will develop if Connecticut moves forward with a plan to reduce electricity rates by changing how biomass energy is accounted for in the state’s energy portfolio. BED is still analyzing the possible impact, but under SB4, recently

signed by Connecticut Gov. Ned Lamont, some biomass-generated power may no longer qualify as renewable as soon as this October.

The rules in Connecticut’s Renewable Portfolio Standard have “historically propped up polluting biomass generators around the region,” said Chris Phelps, the director of the advocacy group Environment Connecticut.

“Connecticut clearly wants its [renewable] policy to prioritize electric generation facilities that do not emit pollution. This change is a step in that direction,” Phelps told Seven Days. Local environmental advocates have long pointed out that the Vermont plant, which opened in 1984, is a major source of carbon pollution. BED, meanwhile, says the wood it uses comes from sustainably managed forests that reabsorb the carbon over time.

Springer told commissioners that being unable to sell RECs to Connecticut utilities could have a “significant financial impact” on BED. The department would be out $3 million to $4 million in annual revenue, unless another buyer could be found.

“BED will do all appropriate financial contingency planning to address any market changes,” Springer told Seven Days. BED management and the commission have long discussed whether the utility should scale back the REC sales, Springer said.

Hello, my name is Michael.

BED makes money by engaging in “REC arbitrage.” The department sells the rights to the highest bidder, in this case Connecticut utilities, to call its energy “green.” Then, because Vermont has more lax rules for renewability than other states, BED buys cheaper RECs, mostly from large hydro facilities, to be able to claim its electricity is green.

The system is meant to incentivize new renewable energy. But critics say it’s been manipulated to prop up old generators such as McNeil.

If Connecticut buyers pass up McNeil’s RECs, that could eliminate BED’s access to a market “in a dramatic way in a short period of time, and that’s not ideal,” Springer said. The city will learn more about whether McNeil qualifies for Connecticut RECs this fall, he said.

As for what the mistake says about BED’s management, Springer said, the department handled the issue appropriately. He’s led the department since October 2018.

“What an effective management team does when confronted with an error or mistake is that they transparently and timely communicate about it to their governing bodies and regulators, they seek to learn from it, and they seek to implement reforms to ensure it does not recur,” Springer told Seven Days.

BED, he said, did “all those things.”

I am the owner of Lippa’s Estate and Fine Jewelry here on the Church Street Marketplace.

We are the oldest continuously operated business on Church Street, established in 1933. We are still going strong!

We’re happy to be part of this vibrant Marketplace. It’s one of the most beautiful and successful walking malls in the country, in one of the most liveable cities anywhere.

We are lucky to have it.

Come on down, do some strolling, shopping, eating and people watching.

CITY COUNCILOR MARK BARLOW

FEEDback

PHONE-FREE FOREVER!

As executive director of Kinhaven Music School in Weston, I was deeply moved by your recent article on Harwood Union Middle and High School’s phone-free policy [“Bye, Phone: Vermont Is Poised to Ban Cellphones During School. It’s Already Been a Success on One Local Campus,” May 28]. At Kinhaven, we have operated tech-free summer programs for decades, and I can say with certainty: It works — and beautifully so.

When students arrive on our campus, they relinquish their phones and instead immerse themselves in two powerful forces — nature and music. What begins with a little unease quickly gives way to something extraordinary. Students look one another in the eye. They listen. They form friendships that run deep, unmediated by screens. And the music they make reflects this depth — honest, expressive, and full of presence and vulnerability.

Like Harwood, we’ve found that removing phones doesn’t isolate young people; it liberates them. Their attention spans stretch. Their conversations deepen. The power of community, built through shared meals, chamber music rehearsals, morning walks, spontaneous laughter and late-night storytelling, becomes the true technology of connection.

Many of our students tell us they don’t want to go back on their phones after Kinhaven. They crave the rare, profound gift of real, uninterrupted human connection. I was particularly struck by Harwood teacher Phil Stetson’s words: “It’s been an amazing change.” I couldn’t agree more.

Harwood’s example — and this potential statewide policy — sends a powerful,

necessary message: Our students deserve spaces where they can be fully present. Sometimes, the most radical and loving act is to simply put the phones away.

Tony Mazzocchi WESTON

GOOD BOY

I enjoyed your recent article about therapy dogs at the airport [True 802: “Calming Canine,” June 4]. What a great way to highlight the comfort and joy these pups bring to travelers!

I’m the handler for Buddy, a 2-yearold golden retriever who also volunteers at Burlington International Airport as a therapy dog. Since our names were briefly mentioned, I wanted to reach out and share a bit more context about Buddy’s role.

Buddy is a graduate of the Therapy Dog Academy run by Deb Helfrich of Gold Star Dog Training. Following a thorough background check and TSA clearance, Buddy and I began visiting the airport in July 2024. We are there three or four times a week and coordinate with John Wrobel so there’s transparency and consistency in coverage.

Our approach is a little different from John’s — we typically set up in a fixed spot in the North Terminal so that passengers can choose to approach Buddy if they’d like. We’ve found this to be a respectful and effective approach, especially in a public space where some people may be afraid of dogs, have allergies, come from cultures with different views about dogs or simply prefer not to interact. Creating space for people to opt in — or not — is an essential part of doing this work responsibly.

We’ve received incredible feedback from passengers and airport staff alike. Many say spending a few minutes with Buddy eases their anxiety before a flight. In addition to our airport visits, Buddy and I also make therapy dog visits to the Colchester Rescue Squad, the Burlington Fire Department and Rice Memorial High School.

Thanks again for spotlighting the positive impact of therapy dogs in our community!

Cathy Chamberlain & Buddy the Therapy Dog COLCHESTER

‘PEOPLE, NOT PROPERTY’

[Re “Short on Rent: Housing Assistance Cuts Could Keep More Vermonters Homeless,” June 11]: Who does the system serve?

The answer to that question has been laid bare as we witness the continued rollback of programs meant to support our vulnerable brothers and sisters in Vermont.

Facing budget shortfalls, the Burlington Housing Authority hasn’t asked landlords to freeze or lower rents — as some housing authorities in other states have done. Instead, it’s cracking down on renters. These are parents, veterans and working-class people already on the margins now left to face a brutal housing market with no support.

The BHA says it can’t “force anything down a landlord’s throat.” But it can — and does — revoke a renter’s lifeline. That’s not neutrality; it’s a conscious decision, part of a deeper structure that, yes, exists even here in Vermont: a system that prioritizes the owner class over the working class. BHA’s language reflects a structural constraint that is ideological as much as it

FILE: RACHEL HELLMAN

Therapy dog Ellie Mae and a flier at Burlington International Airport

is fiscal. After all, BHA is operating within a political-economic system that treats housing as a commodity, not a right.

Once again, we see that the institutions of this country are designed to protect private property — not to meet the basic needs of people. Nowhere is that clearer than in this struggle over Section 8 vouchers.

We need a different kind of politics — one that puts people, not property, at the center. That means confronting the power imbalance between landlords and tenants and rejecting the idea that rising homelessness is just an unfortunate by-product of “budget constraints.”

Matt Kobzik BURLINGTON

‘BOLD SOLUTIONS’

I want to thank the authors at Seven Days and Vermont Public for their journalism in [“Exposed: Overdose Is the Leading Killer of Homeless Vermonters. But a Shift From Motel Rooms to Tents Presents New Dangers,” February 5]. This reporting brings attention to the systemic neglect that has allowed homelessness and preventable deaths to persist in our state. I’m also grateful for the community members who continue to show up — our solidarity matters.

The article highlights the intertwined crises of homelessness, substance-use disorder and mental health. Vermont’s reliance on the emergency motel program

has failed to address root causes, such as the lack of constructed housing available, and has worsened conditions for vulnerable Vermonters. Additionally, for those questioning, “Why do people keep coming here?!,” I posit curiosity and pride in the sense of safety and opportunity Vermont offers. We are at risk of deepening social and economic divides, fueling xenophobia, and weakening our values if we do not act. Our denial brings instability, not security. Vermont needs a comprehensive system to track homeless deaths and guide data-driven policy. We also need bold solutions. Permanent supportive housing with integrated services is critical for long-term sustainability.

One solution in plain sight: second and vacation homes that sit vacant most of the year. Taxing these underused assets and directing the revenue toward frontline social services could transform our trajectory. A statewide fund dedicated to housing and care would reflect a real commitment to justice and community. Homelessness is not inevitable; it is the result of our choices that prioritize property and wealth over people.

Evie

Blair Campbell ESSEX JUNCTION

Campbell works for COTS, a nonprofit that works to end homelessness in Vermont.

lifelines

OBITUARIES

Jane Jackson

AUGUST 22, 1948-JUNE 11, 2025 ALBUQUERQUE, N.M.

Jane Clark Jackson passed away peacefully on June 11, 2025, in the Land of Enchantment, New Mexico. Jane was a midwife, an organizer, a fundraiser, an author, a person of profound faith and a community builder. She brought unrelenting love for all and fearlessly shared that love with people all over the world.

Jane cared so deeply for her family and is survived by her son, Aaron, and his wife, Jan; their daughter, Jasmine; and her daughter, Gail. She was a loving sister to Ann Clark and Christine Clark Rabidoux and her husband, Paul; and to her sister-in-law, Suzanne Clark. Jane cherished her nieces and nephews. In addition to her related family, Jane was a

OBITUARIES, VOWS, CELEBRATIONS

beloved mother, aunt and grandmother to many people she had no relation to, but they viewed her as such regardless.

Jane was predeceased by her beloved husband, Blyden; her parents, James and Cecile Clark of Winooski, Vt.; and her brother, Tom.

Jane valued peace on Earth and the sanctity of life above all else; one of her favorite phrases was “Make bread, not bombs,“ and she loved to make bread, quilts, prayer shawls, and handwritten notes and letters for everyone she knew. In a life that took her from her home state of Vermont to Kentucky, Wyoming, New York City, New Jersey and ﬁnally New Mexico, she brought love and peace to everyone.

A memorial service for Jane will be held on July 26, 2025, 10 a.m., at St. Chad’s Episcopal Church in Albuquerque, N.M.

Claus Bockwoldt

NOVEMBER 18, 1937JUNE 5, 2025

SHELBURNE, VT.

It is with sadness that we share the passing of Claus Bockwoldt, who died peacefully on June 5, 2025, at age 87 in Shelburne, Vt. Claus was born on November 18, 1937, in Oldenburg in Holstein, Germany. A trained chef, he moved to the U.S. in the 1960s and lived in San Francisco and Los Angeles before eventually settling in Vermont in the 1990s. In Burlington, he opened his own restaurant, Iron Wolf, which became a cherished spot for many who appreciated good food and warm company.

Claus had a lifelong passion for cooking, enjoyed ﬁne dining and loved a good glass of wine. He traveled the world with his wife, Danni, who predeceased him, and later with his partner, Anne Everett, always curious and eager to explore new places and cultures.

He will be remembered for his hospitality, his vibrant spirit and his love for life. He is survived by his next of kin: niece Sabine and her spouse, Stephan; and grand-niece Mona Bockwoldt, also of Oldenburg, Germany.

Kristine S. Gerson

JANUARY 26, 1957-JUNE 23, 2025 CHARLOTTE, VT.

Kristine Sheathelm Gerson passed away peacefully in her home on June 23, 2025. Her death followed a long period of enduring a brutal lymphoma. She remains a beautiful young woman in the eyes of her loving family and wonderful friends.

Kristine was born in Colorado Springs, Colo., on January 26, 1957. She spent her early years in Lansing, Mich., alongside her brother, Kurt, before moving to Storrs, Conn., during elementary school. Her father taught at the University of Connecticut, and her mother taught in the Mansfield Public Schools. It was in Storrs that she met and fell in love with her husband, Bill. She initially attended the University of Massachusetts Amherst, but after deciding that teaching was her future, she transferred to Wheelock College in Boston. After graduation, she and Bill married, and she moved to Baltimore to be with him during his medical school years. ey lived at the Garrison Forrest School as dorm parents. Teaching was her professional passion. She taught first in Rockville, Md., where she taught both art and special education. She then taught in the Baltimore Public Schools in a selfcontained special education classroom in south Baltimore until she had her first child, Zachary, and the new family moved to Boston. She spent six years in Boston while Bill was at the Children’s Hospital, and the family added two more sons, Jacob and Elijah, while also running a home daycare. e family moved to Charlotte, Vt., in summer 1988, when Bill joined Pediatric Medicine in South Burlington. eir fourth son, Abraham, was born soon after the move. Kristine continued to provide home daycare in Charlotte, taught at the religious school at Temple Sinai in South Burlington and gave back to her local community by founding, along with her friend Marty Ditchey, the Charlotte Food Shelf, for which she was later

honored as Volunteer of the Year by the town.

Kristine went on to teach first and second grade at Charlotte Central School for 20 years, until her illness and the COVID-19 pandemic necessitated her early retirement. She made true friends among her colleagues and wishes to thank them, especially Peggy Coutu, Kathy Lara and Rookie Manning, for the love they showed her as her disease progressed. At Charlotte Central School, she treasured her work as the school union representative and was especially thankful for the love and support she received during her illness from her district union colleagues. Kristine and Bill also want to express thanks for the excellent care, both compassionate and wise, provided by Dr. Paul Unger and Stephanie Pevear in Burlington, Vt., and Dr. Jeremy Abramson at Massachusetts General Hospital and the nurses on Lunder 10 at MGH, where she underwent two cellular transplants and multiple treatment protocols. She was excited about contributing to medical science and enjoyed meeting the dedicated research and care teams. e care Kristine received at end of life from the University of Vermont Home Health & Hospice was truly caring. Abby Foulk and her husband, Mort Wasserman, longtime friends and colleagues, were essential supports as she navigated her last years.

While she excelled as a teacher, her family and community of friends deﬁned her — the love, travel and just the fun of it all. Married for almost 50 years, her loving family — husband, four sons, four daughters-in-law and six grandchildren — was a constant joy. ey are all heartbroken by their loss. Her father, Herb, and his wife, Beverly, were extraordinary hosts to the entire family for weeks at a time for many decades at their homes in Maine and Arizona. Lifelong friends Jack and Sue Rome are special, and as they vacationed together as a family for 40 years, they are indeed family. Alan Guttmacher enticed Bill and Kristine to move to Vermont after they had spent years together

at Boston Children’s Hospital, and he and his wife, Bridgid, have also been a part of the family since. e now-retired partners at Pediatric Medicine are also family, and they loved and nurtured both Kristine and Bill. She was so thankful to have been a part of that family – Tom and Lorna Bates, Buzz and Donna Land, Delight and Jack Long, and Deb and om Hartswick. Kristine was also very grateful to the current partners and staff at Pediatric Medicine for their accommodations necessitated by her prolonged illness. Kristine was an individual of great beauty, humor, strength, compassion and a deep commitment to caring. She loved her series of family dogs: pugs, Shumba and Nyabo, Mazel, and her last — Tootsie and Ollie. She was an avid knitter and reader, particularly as her illness became more limiting, when she would produce treasure troves of knitting creations and read hundreds of books each year. She was dedicated to nature and will be missed by the wide variety of birds that daily visited her yard at home, bringing Kristine and whoever was visiting happiness at the most difficult of times. Her family and friends will profoundly feel her enduring legacy. Instead of flowers, her family asks that contributions be made in her name to the Charlotte Library and the National Audubon Society.

She is survived by her sons, Zachary Gerson and his wife, Kristin (Ducrest), and their three children, Eloise, Samuel and Lilly, of Wynnewood, Pa.; Jacob Gerson and his wife, Maria Gabriela Morgade Yllera, of Valladolid, Spain, and their son, Manuel Gerson Morgade; Elijah and his wife, Sara JohnsonCardona, and their children, Louis and Santiago, of St. Louis, Mo.; and Abraham Gerson and his wife, Alicia (Lorre), of Avignon, France. She is also survived by her parents, Herbert Sheathelm and his wife, Beverly Kelton, of Tucson, Ariz., and her mother, Shirlee Sheathelm, of Newington, Conn.; brother, Kurt Sheathelm, and his wife, Marjie, of Rocky Hill, Conn.; brother-in-law, Elliot Gerson, and his wife, Jessica Herzstein, of Washington, D.C., and Aspen, Colo.; sister-in-law Annie Swanson and her husband, Russ, of Sherman, Conn.; many nieces and nephews; and close extended family — Ellen and John O’Shaughnessy of Ellington, Conn., and Steve and Beth Gerson of Hampton Bays, N.Y.

Jeffrey Mann

JANUARY 28, 1968JUNE 22, 2025

JERICHO, VT.

Jeffrey David Mann was born in Burlington, Vt., on January 28, 1968, to Ramona (Poulin) and Gilbert Mann and died peacefully at the University of Vermont Medical Center on June 22, 2025. He completed high school at Mount Mansfield Union High School and went on to study psychology and graphic design at New England College, graduating in 1990. He enjoyed a year studying abroad in Arundel, England.

Jeff was an adept artist and enjoyed drawing and photography. He graciously shared his profound love of the outdoors with his friends and family. Whether it be guiding us deep into the woods to find a good fishing hole or up Mount Mansfield to scale Cantilever Rock, he seemed most happy under the sky and among the trees. His work as a counselor at Northeastern Family Institute (NFI) afforded him the opportunity to offer care and support to children and

Brenda Naatz Bandy

NOVEMBER 4, 1939-JUNE 25, 2025 EAST RYEGATE, VT.

Brenda Johnston Naatz Bandy passed gracefully on Wednesday, June 25, 2025, surrounded by love, laughter and music. Born on November 4, 1939, in St. Johnsbury, Vt., to Doris and Charles Naatz, she was an excellent daughter, sister and occasional farmhand on their family dairy farm.

Among Brenda’s many gifts was the ability to make life feel simultaneously sacred and as amusing as a Carol Burnett skit. Her beauty was only rivaled by her talent, humor and boundless care for others.

young adults facing many of life’s challenges. It was not an easy profession, but he loved the work, and his innate, calm confidence and no-nonsense demeanor made him a skilled mentor to many.

He is predeceased by his father, Gilbert Mann; his sister Debra Smejkal; and the best damn dog a person could ever ask for, Chauncey. Jeff is survived by his mother, Ramona Mann; sisters Stefanie Sander and Gretchen Engbretson; their families; and nieces and nephews. A gathering will be held on July 19, 2025, noon to 3 p.m., at the Mills Riverside Park in Jericho, Vt. Condolences may be sent to 39 Palmer Ln., Jericho, VT 05465, in care of Ramona Mann.

IN MEMORIAM

As Miss Vermont, she performed a side-splitting Victor Borge comedy routine on the piano at the 1960 Miss America Pageant, winning the talent portion of the competition. She earned scholarships for her creative skills and attended Rochester Institute of Technology to study interior design before returning to Vermont to care for her mother in her final years. While Miss Vermont, she also won the attention of her assigned cadet escort, Bill Currier, with whom she quickly fell in love. They married and traveled the world while raising three rambunctious children before settling in upstate New York. There, she was a church organist, a choir director, a full-time mother, and the one-woman powerhouse of an 11-acre horse farm, where she boarded more than a dozen

horses and taught riding — all while keeping her sense of humor (and most of her sanity).

She played every instrument she encountered with otherworldly skill, though her favorites include the pipe organ at the Peacham Congregational Church, piano, bagpipes and the accordion. In addition to her endless musical and performing talents, she was a gifted craftsperson. She excelled at creating model horse-drawn carriages and miniature dollhouses, along with all of the delicate painting, sculpture and leatherwork that entailed.

A lifelong equestrian, Brenda had a love for horses that easily withstood a lifetime of shoveling manure. She won several accolades and blue ribbons for her Morgan horses — including one New York State Grand Champion Morgan mare, Vanderland Gabrielle “Gabby” — and taught all of her children and grandchildren how to ride (and clean the stalls). Her deep love for animals was unmatched; even the most skittish stray cats grew to return her affections tenfold.

Brenda was a skillful and beloved teacher and returned to school to earn her music teaching degree in 1986 at the age of 47. She taught music to all grades at Blue Mountain Union School, where she met her second husband, Arnold Bandy, a social studies teacher and athletic director. Together, they shared great pride in teaching and learning with their students. With endless energy

Ruth Anne “Ruthie” Furman

OCTOBER 5, 1940-JUNE 3, 2025 JERICHO, VT.

Ruth Anne “Ruthie” Furman, 84, of Jericho, Vt., passed away peacefully on June 3, 2025, surrounded by her loving family.

Champlain Valley Union High School. It was wonderful to be a part of new endeavors and watch them evolve — Buff Ledge Camp, 1959; Champlain Valley Union High School, 1964; Camp ForMe, 1995. Summers gave me good times at Buff Ledge Camp and Camp ForMe.

and enthusiasm, she led her students to create elaborate, impressive musical productions. Her pride in teaching was well earned, as she taught all those around her how to make things that mattered — music, art, a home, a life — by hand, by heart and with just the right amount of humor.

For Brenda, the sun rose and set over the children in her life. She is survived by her beloved children, Tonya Currier and husband Dan Griggs, Miles Currier and wife Cheryl, Matthew Bandy and wife Anne, and Auburn Watersong; niece, Jennifer Gilman, and her husband, Peter Pelissier; adored grandchildren, Tia Hohman and husband Rusty, Gabe Harter, Emma Harter, and Liam Currier; great-niece, Kelsey Gilman; greatnephews, Teddy Gilman and Chad Larabee; and her dearest and only greatgrandchildren, Eden and Ezra Hohman. Brenda leaves behind a sprawling chosen family of dear friends and creative kin who will carry her memory forward with laughter, music and love.

In her passing, Brenda joins her husband, Arnold Bandy; dear sisters, Carolyn and Frannie; beloved nephew, Charlie “Thumper” Gilman; and many close girlfriends, as well as dozens of spoiled horses, ponies, cats, dogs and at least one goat waiting patiently for her to return with treats.

A celebration of Brenda’s life will be held on August 2, 2025, 11 a.m., at Peacham Congregational Church. In lieu of flowers, adopt a cat, laugh until your sides hurt, or make something beautiful with your hands and your heart.

Donations in Brenda’s honor can be made to Mayo Healthcare, 71 Richardson St., Northfield, VT 05663, or to Kingdom Animal Shelter — Just for Cats, 1161 Portland St., St. Johnsbury, VT 05819.

FEBRUARY 20, 1963JULY 3, 2020

five years I saw you past time is slipping fast lift me up so I may hear your gentle whisper in my ear forever

“Born in Grand Rapids, Minn., I was the second child of Ruth and Sandy Fraser. Our family had a wonderful life on our farm in LaPrairie. I was a graduate of Greenway High School, class of 1958, and continued schooling at Itasca Junior College and Winona State College. I had a long career as an art teacher in Missoula, Mont.; Kaiserslautern, Germany; and at

“Anatol Furman and I were married on October 14, 1978.

His life enriched mine with his children, Natalie and Geoff. Our time together was an exciting adventure. He is always with me.

“I have loved politics, writing and Airedales. My vocation was my avocation, and teaching art gave me so many wonderful people in my life.

“I am predeceased by my parents, Ronald “Sandy” and Ruth Fraser; and my siblings Sheila and Ronnie

— all beloved. My beloved sister Alice Siegriest (Ron) survives me, as well as my children, Natalie Nelson (Easton) and Geoffrey Furman (Alethea Coulter); three grandchildren, Hardy Kent (Oceana Manbeck), Nadia Kent and Sarina Furman; and great-grandson, Hudson.”

Ruthie left a legacy of loving relationships and strong friendships that transcended generations, nurtured us all and brought her joy. She always seemed to know when to get in touch, either by a phone call, letter, package or gift of food left on your doorstep. Her love for life and living inspired us all, and her quick wit and amazing sense of humor kept everyone smiling, even in the worst of times. Thank you, Ruthie.

A celebration of life will be held on July 13, 2025, 2 p.m., at the Williston Federated Church. Memorial contributions may be made to the Williston Federated Church. Please visit awrfh. com to share your memories and condolences.

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OBITUARIES

Timothy Charles Hughes

JANUARY 6, 1965JUNE 29, 2025

ESSEX JUNCTION, VT.

Timothy Charles Hughes passed away on Sunday, June 29, 2025, at his home.

Tim was the extra-fun uncle, a protective big brother, a loving son and a beloved friend. Tim had a smile and an easy way that enabled him to make friends wherever his travels took him, from the football ﬁeld and hockey rink at Essex High School, to McGill University, to Nectar’s, to Merritt Island, to Norwalk, Conn., to the coast of North Carolina, and back home to Vermont. Even while receiving treatments at the oncology department at the University of Vermont Medical Center, Tim was forever quick with a smile or a funny quip.

He was as interested in hearing your story as he was in telling you his, of which he

Lois Agnes Wilson

OCTOBER 13, 1934JUNE 3, 2025

PHOENIX, ARIZ.

Lois Agnes Wilson, of Phoenix, Ariz., passed away peacefully on June 3, 2025.

She was born in Chicago on October 13, 1934, to Clyde and Alice (Simard) Mercier. ey moved to Swanton, Vt., where she attended St. Anne’s Academy.

OBITUARIES, VOWS, CELEBRATIONS

had many. A true ﬁsherman at heart, Tim had stories to tell — like the time his nephew hooked him in the back of the neck with an errant cast at Indian Brook Reservoir that led to a trip to the emergency room for an extraction. Undaunted, Tim remained a devoted uncle, attending many soccer matches and taking his nieces and nephews to the comic book store, a favorite activity of his. Tim loved dogs, especially his own, Tug and Gertie,

Lois retired from Fonda’s in St. Albans, Vt., and for many years provided daycare in her home.

Lois is survived by her son Corey Wilson; grandchildren, Amber (Laughlin) Sullivan and husband Shaun, Alphonse

whom he missed dearly. He enjoyed dog sitting as much as he enjoyed ﬁshing. His side hustle, Mutts and Hutts, did a brisk business. Tim was also a ﬁghter and overcame many health challenges in recent years. Relationships were important to Tim; he valued his family and friends more than anything. He is deeply missed.

Tim was predeceased by his parents, Ann and Wade Hughes. He is survived by his brother, Matt; sister-in-law,

Mikalonis, Lacy Laughlin, Nichelle (Laughlin) Grennon, and Emily and Anna Wilson-Mikalonis; great-grandchildren, Isaac Sullivan, Waylan Choiniere, Lyric Sartwell, Briar Grennon, Foryst Allard and Austin Grennon; brother David Mercier; and her special cat, Angel. Lois was predeceased by her parents; husband, Roland Wilson; son Michael Laughlin; daughter, Sally (Laughlin) Brace, and her husband, Charles; and their father, omas Laughlin; brother Clyde (Bink) Mercier; sister, Susan (Mercier) Amilhat, and her husband, Armand; and sister-in-law, Patricia Mercier.

e family will do a private graveside service.

friends and his aunt, uncles and cousins.

A very special thank-you to the Oncology Department at UVM and to Wendy, Sean and Amanda for always looking out for him.

If you would like to honor Tim’s memory, please feel free to make a donation to the UVM Cancer Center.

Peter J. Vlahos

1942-2021

“Love is love and not fade away.” —Buddy Holly

Missing you. Love, Maury

Post your obituary or in memoriam online and in print at sevendaysvt.com/lifelines Or contact us at lifelines@sevendaysvt.com or 865-1020 ext. 121.

Stephanie; nephews, Evan, Colin and Peter; little sister, Sara; brother-in-law, Ryan; and nieces, Ruby and Gracie. He will be remembered fondly by countless

Pomerleau Real Estate is a regular advertiser in Seven Days. In the paper and online, the weekly is a fantastic way to reach a broad range of Vermonters, and it feels good to know that our ad dollars are supporting essential local journalism.

Ernie Pomerleau President, Pomerleau Real Estate

Learning Curve

As they revamped the state’s education system, Vermont legislators navigated the long-standing conflict between public and independent schools

STORY HANNAH BASSETT & ALISON NOVAK | PHOTOS JEB WALLACE-BRODEUR

Three senators and three representatives had been sitting across a table in a Statehouse conference room for two days. Their job: to reach a compromise on the House and Senate versions of H.454, the landmark education reform bill that had dominated the 2025 legislative session.

As the hours ticked by, the two sides appeared to draw closer. Checking off one section of the bill they had agreed on, Rep. Emilie Kornheiser (D-Brattleboro) quipped, “I feel like we should celebrate.”

But then on May 30, the third day of negotiations, the party ended abruptly.

Two conferees, Sens. Seth Bongartz (D-Bennington) and Scott Beck (R-Caledonia), suddenly introduced several new policy proposals that deviated dramatically from both the House and Senate versions of the bill. House conferee Peter Conlon (D-Cornwall) argued that the amendments would shield private schools — commonly referred to as independent schools in Vermont — from the substantial changes that public schools would face if the bill became law.

Education leaders and lobbyists whispered to each other as they watched the proceedings. Conlon and Kornheiser appeared rattled.

“An unvetted, unmapped-out proposal at the eleventh hour is not something I think anybody can be terribly comfortable with,” Conlon told his Senate counterparts.

The conference committee broke at 8:17 p.m. for what was supposed to be a brief recess. The two sides didn’t meet again for 12 days.

The breakdown in negotiations was the latest twist in the session’s marquee effort to reshape Vermont’s education system — a process that broke from Statehouse norms long before the bill was formally introduced and continued through months of protracted debate to the bill’s ultimate, bipartisan passage.

Education reform was forecast to be fraught and politically charged, given the differing visions held by the Democrat-led legislature and Republican Gov. Phil Scott. November’s election results had ended Democrats’ veto-proof supermajority and sent a batch of first-term lawmakers to the Statehouse, adding to the challenge

Independent schools educate just 3,500 of Vermont’s more than 83,000 publicly funded students. Yet they have long been a bone of contention in what is Vermont’s version of the fiery national debate over whether state dollars should fund private institutions. Various attempts by the legislature and State Board of Education to make independent schools’ operations more transparent and change their enrollment practices have been met with fierce opposition by independent-school advocates and some legislators. Disagreements often fall more along geographic than party lines, since the schools have the biggest presence in Bennington County and the Northeast Kingdom.

Under Vermont’s “tuitioning” system, towns without an elementary, middle or high school can use tax dollars to send their students to their preferred public or stateapproved independent schools. Some of that tuition money goes to small institutions such as Long Trail School in Dorset, ski academies such as Burke Mountain Academy, religious schools such as Rice Memorial High School in South Burlington or Grace Christian School in Bennington, out-of-state boarding schools, and therapeutic schools for students with special needs.

of building consensus on the must-pass legislation.

Over the course of the session, lawmakers, lobbyists and the administration would disagree over how much money should be allocated for each student under a new funding formula; whether there should be class, school and district minimum sizes; who should help draw the new school district lines; and when all the changes should take effect.

But the biggest stumbling block to agreement, nowhere more apparent than at the conference committee negotiating table, stemmed from the long-standing debate over how Vermont’s independent schools should be integrated within the state’s public education system. Independent school proponents, including Bongartz and Beck, clashed with legislators and public-school advocates through the final days of the session.

Seven Days followed the reform effort from start to finish, tracking the lawmakers who cast aside legislative conventions and ignited flash points over independent schools — maneuvers that at times threatened to derail the entire overhaul.

But the vast majority of those who attend independent schools on the public dime go to one of Vermont’s four historic academies: Burr & Burton in Manchester, St. Johnsbury Academy, Lyndon Institute and Thetford Academy. The schools, beloved institutions in their communities, were founded in the 1800s through private endowments but historically have enrolled mostly publicly funded, rural students and are integral to the educational landscape.

Unlike public schools, independent schools can raise money privately; the academies are known for their top-notch facilities and robust course offerings. But much of their operations remains opaque; their board meetings and budgets are not public, for example.

Supporters of the education bill in the Statehouse have applauded what they call unprecedented levels of coordination between the chambers and the bipartisan support the bill ultimately garnered. But the different tacks taken by the House and Senate and their leaders still left legislators scrambling to reconcile stark differences over independent schools, weeks into overtime.

By the time the bill passed, what might have otherwise been a moment of collective celebration was marred by a divided Democratic caucus, infighting among legislators, independent school proponents lamenting new constraints on their institutions and public-school advocates mourning a loss of trust in the legislative process.

Gov. Phil Scott after signing H.454 at the Statehouse

MUSICAL CHAIRS

The education bill’s fractious journey was set in motion before the session even began, when Statehouse leaders selected chairs for the committees that would shape its course.

State leaders knew education would be one of the main issues of the session. Voters had rejected a historic number of school budgets in 2024 to protest skyrocketing property taxes. In November, they had shrunk Democrats’ House and Senate majorities.

House Speaker Jill Krowinski (D-Burlington) reappointed Conlon and Kornheiser to chair the House Education and Ways and Means committees, respectively. The selections were unsurprising, given their incumbencies as chairs and their track records of working closely with the public-school advocates favored by many Democrats.

In contrast, Senate leaders reshaped their education committee. The Committee on Committees, the panel tasked with appointing committee chairs — Senate President Pro Tempore Phil Baruth (D-Chittenden-Central), Sen. Ginny Lyons (D-Chittenden-Southeast) and Republican Lt. Gov. John Rodgers — expanded the Senate Education Committee from five to six members and appointed equal numbers of Republicans and Democrats to encourage bipartisan lawmaking. The group selected Bongartz to serve as the committee’s leader.

Bongartz, who served in the House and Senate during the 1980s and returned to the Senate in 2020, had no experience on the Senate Education Committee. But he did have an intimate understanding of Vermont’s independent schools, having spent 15 years as the board chair of Burr & Burton Academy, his alma mater. Bongartz said his objective in this new role was to focus on outcomes for all

Anything about a conflict of interest is ludicrous.

SEN. SETH BONGARTZ

students, not just those attending independent schools.

“It’s as simple as trying to get excellent educational opportunities for every Vermont child,” Bongartz said.

Lyons, who is serving her first term on the Committee on Committees, said the panel sought chairs with experience bringing people together and listening to different perspectives.

But some legislators and public-school advocates wondered why Sen. Martine Larocque Gulick (D-Chittenden-Central) wasn’t chosen for the role. A member of the Burlington School Board since 2018, Gulick had experience working in the public education system as a former teacher and librarian and had been vice chair of the committee during the previous session under senator Brian Campion, who retired in 2024.

ABOUT THE SERIES

The “Ways and Means” project details the inner workings of the Vermont legislature and explores how well it represents the interests of citizens. The yearlong series is funded by Vermont philanthropists through the nonprofits GroundTruth Project and Journalism Funding Partners. AND

Gulick even expressed her desire to lead the committee during a September 2024 conversation with Baruth, she said in an interview after the session wrapped in June. She said Baruth told her he’d been unhappy with her performance the previous session.

Sen. Ruth Hardy (D-Addison), a former fiscal analyst for the Wisconsin state legislature, had asked Baruth and then the members of the Committee on Committees to be chair of the Senate Finance Committee, or — once Gulick gave

“Anything about a conflict of interest is ludicrous,” Bongartz said.

“To say that somebody who volunteers their time to serve on the board of a nonprofit organization has a conflict of interest is an unprecedented charge and is ridiculous on its face,” he added in a written statement sent to Seven Days. Bongartz also noted that several public school teachers who serve on the House Education Committee are members of the Vermont-National Education Association, which actively lobbies for public school employees.

There’s a significant difference between a lawmaker pushing for a policy that personally benefits them and one that serves their constituents’ interests, said Matthew Dickinson, professor of political science at Middlebury College. But that distinction can get lost during heated policy debates.

“That type of political sniping is pretty par for the course,” Dickinson said.

All three Committee on Committees members noted that they made compromises with one another when selecting chairs.

“Anytime you have more than one person who wants a chair, if you choose a chair, you run the risk that someone is not happy,” Baruth said.

her blessing — Senate Education, if she could not have her first choice, according to Hardy and records reviewed by Seven Days. Baruth declined to comment, but ultimately the panel did not give Hardy either job.

Hardy said she was not surprised when Bongartz was named chair of Senate Education, but she was concerned given his strong ties to the independent school community and what she perceived as a limited knowledge of how public schools operate.

On Monday, Geo Honigford, a board member of the advocacy group Friends of Vermont Public Education, made formal ethics complaints against senators Bongartz and Beck over their close ties to independent schools. (Beck teaches social studies at St. Johnsbury Academy.)

Beck said on Tuesday that the complaint was baseless and a “political jab.” Statehouse counsel have generally interpreted ethics rules to mean there is no conflict unless a senator has an “immediate or direct interest” — and even then, attorneys have advised that a legislator need not recuse themselves on issues that affect both the lawmaker and a larger group of people.

Prior to Honigford’s filing, Bongartz rejected any assertion that his judgment was compromised by his long-standing ties to independent schools.

MAPPING IT OUT

Chairs have the power to shape the work of their committees by deciding which bills they will focus on, who will testify and how much airtime they get. Long before H.454 landed in the Senate Education Committee in April, independent schools had a notable presence in its conference room.

“One of the things we’re going to have to figure out … is how the independent schools fit into this overall framework,” Bongartz told his committee before a January 29 presentation by Oliver Olsen, a former state representative and a lobbyist for the Vermont Independent Schools Association. “Though they serve a comparatively small number of children as it relates to the whole, they play a critical role in the system.”

The Senate committee heard testimony from the heads of Burr & Burton and Long Trail School — two of the independent schools in Bongartz’s region — as well as two smaller independent schools and two therapeutic independent schools.

In contrast, the House Education Committee heard no such testimony from independent school leaders, nor did they invite them in.

Learning Curve « P.27

The workings of a legislative committee often reflect the distinct philosophy of the person leading it, Dickinson said.

“Chairs are traffic cops, but they also are agenda setters,” Dickinson said. “[Bongartz] took advantage of his role as chair, as a good legislator would.”

On March 18, as the House was hammering out the fine points of H.454 — including the formation of a committee that would create proposals for new, merged school district boundaries — Bongartz presented his committee with his own school district restructuring map, which he told Seven Days he designed with the help of Beck.

Bongartz’s map called for the state to be divided up into six school districts and three umbrella supervisory unions. The supervisory unions would include a mix of school districts, some of which operated public schools and some of which paid for students to attend independent ones.

Bongartz said he initially believed it made sense to draw up a map before working on any other education reform efforts. He also wanted to present an alternative to the governor’s education transformation reform plan, which split the state into just five districts, he said. But public-school advocates also believed that Bongartz’s map was carefully designed to preserve school choice in his and Beck’s regions.

“We are not interested in gerrymandering to preserve vouchers,” Darren Allen, a spokesperson for Vermont-NEA, told Vermont Public.

PREACHING TO THE CHOIR

A week and a half after Bongartz unveiled his proposal, he stood at a podium in the center of the packed gymnasium of Burr & Burton for an event billed as “an important discussion on preserving our local education options.” As he led the crowd through a slideshow projected on a large screen behind him, the senator appeared at ease at the institution where he once studied and later served on the board.

Bongartz kicked off his remarks by touching on the major issues facing Vermont’s education system — declining enrollment, small schools with limited educational opportunities and a “byzantine funding formula.” But he devoted the majority of his public-speaking time to the existential threat to independent schools.

“Some of them are quite literally saving kids,” he told the audience. He said he bristled when people referred to Vermont’s independent schools as “private.”

“When our opponents use the term ‘private school’ they are trying to conjure up that your daughters are going to Choate

or Andover,” Bongartz said. “The independent schools in Vermont are focused on Vermont kids.”

Bongartz motioned to a slide behind him displaying quotes critical of school choice from the Vermont Superintendents Association, Vermont School Boards Association and Vermont-NEA.

“We’re under constant attack year after year,” he said, “because we’re different.”

Bongartz also directed his scorn at the House version of H.454. The “really horrible bill,” he said, limited school choice and imposed class-size minimums that would interfere with schools’ operations.

“The House is not with us,” Bongartz said.

As an alternative, Bongartz shared the map he had created, which he called “the Senate proposal.” It would consolidate school districts across the state, he told the Burr & Burton crowd, “even as it maintains our ability to have the system that we have always had here.”

The audience hung on Bongartz’s every word. After he spoke, he opened the floor for questions and comments. People spoke enthusiastically about the critical role independent schools played in their region, the high-quality education they provided and their desire to preserve them.

Bongartz acknowledged their passion. But, he told them, it was hard to get legislators from other regions to truly understand how independent schools operate, to convince them of “how deeply they care about kids and how much they … especially focus on the kids who need them the most.”

WITNESSES ON PARADE

H.454 moved from the House to the Senate Education Committee in mid-April. The bill’s reforms largely echoed policies favored by the public-school advocates who had repeatedly testified before Conlon’s and Kornheiser’s committees.

Bongartz had abandoned his map after he determined the redistricting process

would require more time than was available this session, but he appeared focused on bringing more voices of independentschool advocates to the fore as the Senate Education Committee prepared its witnesses. By that point, people affiliated with independent schools had testified on six separate occasions. Private-school officials had not appeared in any of the 14 joint hearings held by the House and Senate Education committees as of that April and had remained mostly absent from the earlier House committee hearings.

In the two and a half weeks that the Senate Education Committee spent digging into the House bill, public-school advocates were among the first outside witnesses to testify, followed later by a group of more than 20 students from public and independent schools. Later came more testimony from the Vermont Independent Schools Association, as well as from St. Johnsbury Academy and Beck.

“I really try to get everybody in, from every perspective, and hear them,” Bongartz said.

The committee tackled issues of both education governance and financing as it worked and also updated the House version in several key ways that added greater flexibility to independent schools. While the governor’s proposal and the House bill prohibited state dollars from flowing to out-of-state schools, the Senate version allowed independent schools and public schools within 25 miles of the state border — such as Northfield Mount Hermon in Massachusetts — to accept public tuition from Vermont. The Senate committee also decided that the task force that would draw new school district boundaries would be composed solely of legislators and would not include the group of public-school experts called for by the House.

“The bill that came out of the [Senate] Education Committee was, in my view, very carefully crafted, down to the sentences and words and making sure we had things right,” Bongartz said.

But it was clear that the bill had doubters, not just on the issue of independent schools but also for the ways it would change school financing and local decision making.

“It’s a weird position to be in, to feel very hesitant and actually quite concerned about a lot of the things in this bill,” committee member Sen. Nader Hashim (D-Windham) said before the unanimous committee vote. Though Hashim voted yes, he said he hoped more changes would be made as the bill moved through Senate Finance, the full Senate and ultimately the conference committee.

A HARDY INTERVENTION

By mid-May, the Democratic-led Senate Education and Finance committees had both advanced H.454 with little enthusiasm. Only Hardy and Gulick voted against the bill in the Finance Committee, but the senators who voted yes expressed reservations about its specifics.

So widespread and serious were these concerns that at a May 20 party caucus, Baruth told Senate Democrats that the bill did not have enough support from their party and he worried bringing it to the floor would undermine its credibility as a bipartisan proposal. He needed to get more members of his caucus on board if the reform effort was ultimately going to succeed.

He decided to use an unusual procedural move to suspend Senate rules, strip the Senate changes from H.454, return to the House-passed version of the bill, then design an amendment to the House iteration before bringing it back to the Senate floor for a vote.

That gave Sen. Hardy an opening to weigh in on the legislation. Though she was upset about the ways in which the Senate Education and Finance committees had changed the House version of the bill, she agreed to help craft an amendment to it after four senators — not including Baruth — had asked her to help.

What followed, Hardy said, was an intense day and a half of working with legislative staff to draft a comprehensive amendment that retained much of the House language but made key changes, including slightly lowering the percentage of tuition students required to enable an independent school to receive public dollars, an attempt to reach a compromise between the House and Senate provisions.

Still, the amended bill was not acceptable to Bongartz. Hardy said she understood Bongartz’s issues were primarily with the parts of the bill that weren’t friendly to independent schools. Bongartz, meanwhile, said later that he took issue more broadly with the “prescriptive” approach of Hardy’s amendment regarding issues such as class size and education spending.

From left: Sen. Philip Baruth, Education Secretary Zoie Saunders, Rep. Peter Conlon and Sen. Kesha Ram Hinsdale

On May 22, Hardy and Bongartz decamped to a room to negotiate. Their talks continued into the next day.

The bill was reshaped largely around Hardy’s amendment, Bongartz said, with a few of the Senate Education Committee’s ideas reintegrated into the proposal.

As Hardy sat with Bongartz, she said, she tried to press him on what informedhis values, particularly around independent schools.

Though “he was not as receptive as I would have liked him to have been,” Hardy said, he did tell her, just as he had told the crowd at Burr & Burton months earlier, that he believed independent schools “save kids’ lives.” Hardy said she told Bongartz that she believed public schools did, too.

[Committee] chairs are traffic cops, but they also are agenda setters.

MATTHEW DICKINSON

Ultimately the two senators signed off on a revised version of Hardy’s amendment that they agreed to bring to the full Senate. It stopped money from going to out-of-state independent schools. But it allowed approved independent schools to continue accepting public dollars if at least 25 percent of their Vermont students were already tuitioned in that manner, a percentage that Bongartz thought indicated that the school was essential to the educational landscape.

Several hours after Hardy and Bongartz presented the new wording to the Democratic caucus, the Senate passed H.454 by voice vote. On the floor that day, Baruth singled out Hardy, thanking her for doing “yeoman’s work” on the bill.

BUTTING HEADS

The six members who make up a legislative conference committee are tasked with reconciling the House and Senate versions of a bill. Each chamber sends three conferees. The Senate’s choice of Bongartz and Beck — in addition to Senate Finance Chair Ann Cummings (D-Washington) — raised eyebrows in the public-education community and even among some legislators.

“I think the obvious bias to private schools was really stark,” Sen. Gulick said in an interview.

Baruth defended his picks. Bongartz and Cummings were “no-brainers” because of their respective positions as education and finance chairs, he said, and Beck made sense because of his familiarity with the issues involved and his position as the Republican minority leader.

In the case of H.454, the House and Senate bills weren’t vastly different because the Senate had adopted much of the House language. It wasn’t hard, then, to imagine a scenario in which the conference committee came to an agreement in relatively short order.

But on day three of deliberations, Beck and Bongartz introduced the new provisions related to independent schools that were in neither the House nor Senate versions of the bill. One measure would have allowed publicschool districts to spend less than the state-allocated foundation amount if they got voter approval, while requiring districts that paid for their students to attend independent schools to pony up the full amount. Another would have allowed independent high schools to set their own tuition, while public schools were locked into spending only what the state gave them under the new funding formula.

Beck argued that, because independent high schools were freestanding and not part of a larger school district, they were at a financial disadvantage.

Conlon, meanwhile, took issue with the different standards the senators appeared to be proposing for public and independent schools.

“I fully support the fact that [independent schools] are part of our educational system,” Conlon said, “and yet we are asking a lot of our educational system in this process, and to say one part of this doesn’t have to worry about it is difficult to fathom.”

It was shortly after Conlon spoke that the conference committee disbanded for nearly two weeks. Bongartz said he had been hoping to resume negotiations earlier. He was surprised when he reached out to Conlon to schedule their next session and was told the House was not interested in meeting until the following week.

Kornheiser, too, said an extended break was needed “to give the senators a chance to regather themselves and figure out how they wanted to show up.” But the truncated timeline left the legislature — and the public — less time to review a final reform package before lawmakers reconvened on June 16 to vote on it.

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THREE DAYS IN JUNE

When the conference committee finally got back to work, independent schools remained at the center of the conversation. The emphasis on this one aspect of the education system left less time to discuss other important topics, Kornheiser said, reflecting on the final negotiations.

“I was certainly very frustrated by the amount of time we spent on the couple of sections related to independent schools,” Kornheiser said.

But negotiations proceeded steadily over three days. Representatives of the Scott administration worked behind the scenes to ensure the final product was one the governor could sign. On June 13, the conference committee shook hands over a shared version of the bill that would go before both of their chambers the following Monday. Scott indicated that he would support the bill, too. The relief in the room was palpable.

That weekend, rank-and-file lawmakers were inundated with emails from superintendents, school board members and constituents urging them to vote no on the bill. Some were focused on the two senators’ connections to independent schools and the time and energy they devoted to the issue.

Burlington superintendent Tom Flanagan wrote to his legislative delegation that “too much time has been spent, especially by the Senate, protecting a small number of private schools that serve a tiny share of Vermont’s students. Meanwhile, the needs of more than 80,000 children in our public schools have been sidelined.”

Scott’s endorsement convinced many House and Senate Republicans to support the bill. In the Senate, which would vote first, Democratic leaders felt they finally had the votes they needed.

But just as Lt. Gov. Rodgers was preparing to call the final vote, Sen. Tanya Vyhovsky (P/D-Chittenden-Central) stood and asserted that the conference committee’s bill should be thrown out because the conferees had violated legislative rules by deviating so substantially from both the House’s and Senate’s versions.

The move was not likely motivated by the fact that the conference bill contained new language, which is routine during negotiations, Dickinson, the Middlebury political scientist, said.

“The reason that these procedural objections loom so large is because of the underlying philosophical divide when it comes to education reform: school choice, independent schools versus public

schools,” Dickinson said. “They’re masking philosophical differences about the role of independent schools.”

Vyhovsky’s objection threatened to remove the bill from consideration for a few precious minutes before Baruth successfully moved to suspend the rules so a vote on the bill could proceed.

The final Senate vote: 17-12. The majority of Baruth’s own Democratic caucus voted against the bill — seven for, 10 against.

I think the obvious bias to private schools was really stark.

SEN. MARTINE LAROCQUE GULICK

In the House, members overrode a similar motion to throw out the bill on the procedural objection. An accurate measure of the bill’s final support in each party was obscured by a voice vote, instead of a legislator-by-legislator roll call that would make clear each legislator’s stance. But the subsequent roll-call vote to send the bill to Scott, which handily passed 96-45, drew the support of a slim majority of the Democratic caucus.

Baruth described the bill’s passage as a hard-earned win after months of walking a political tightrope.

“The idea was a broad bipartisan bill, and I’m proud that we got there in the end,” Baruth said. He also pointed to policies in the bill that constrain independent schools: Tuition will no longer flow to out-of-state schools and the 40 or so independent schools in Vermont that get public dollars will be trimmed by more than half.

Olsen, the independent-school lobbyist, went a step further. He characterized the bill as “probably the greatest victory for the opponents of independent schools in the history of Vermont’s independent

schools.” He said he anticipated that independent schools with small numbers of tuitioned students would immediately feel the effects of the reform bill, since, starting this month, they will be ineligible to accept new publicly funded students.

Historic academies may also feel a financial impact down the line, Olsen said, depending on how the legislature decides to implement the new funding formula.

Hardy, who ultimately voted against the bill, gave an impassioned speech from the Senate floor before the final vote. She supported many parts of the bill, she said, but the conference committee lost the public’s trust by not representing the Senate’s position in negotiations.

“Some say that the ends justify the means or that policy is more important than process, but if the process is so bad that it leads to a loss of trust from the very people who are the subject of the reform, then a good product will be difficult to achieve,” Hardy wrote in an open letter to her constituents after the legislative session ended.

In her letter, she also took the unusual step of calling for new leaders of key committees before the chamber reconvenes for the second year of the biennium in January 2026. Baruth said he is not considering replacing Bongartz.

The pro tem dismissed the concerns raised by Hardy and others.

“I don’t accept the idea that the Senate lost Vermonters’ trust,” Baruth said. “I think they trusted us to find a bipartisan path, and we did.”

Lt. Gov. Rodgers applauded the bill’s bipartisan passage and stood by the conference committee members who crafted the final version of the bill.

“I think people focused on Beck and Bongartz’s attachment to independent schools too much and didn’t focus on their overall knowledge of education as a whole,” Rodgers said.

But he said the process to get there was frustrating.

“I’m left disappointed with the fact that

we didn’t make more progress,” Rodgers said. “I really don’t think much of it was smooth. I think there’s a lot of room for improvement, and I hope we do better next year.”

AND NOW IT’S THE LAW

On Tuesday, the mood was upbeat, but not quite celebratory, as Gov. Scott held a public signing ceremony for H.454. Baruth, Krowinski, Education Secretary Zoie Saunders and a handful of key legislators, including five who served on the conference committee, attended. Before inking his name on the bill, the governor, who had pushed hard for the passage of a comprehensive education reform bill all session, thanked the conferees, Baruth and Krowinski.

The legislative session had been “long and difficult and uncomfortable for some,” Scott said, but those involved “were able to come together to chart a path toward a system that better serves our kids, and one that taxpayers can afford.”

Lawmakers who spoke next hit on similar themes: A new, more predictable funding formula would ensure that all Vermont kids, no matter their zip code, have the resources to guarantee a quality education. In the long term, Vermonters will see a decrease in property taxes. Still, they cautioned, the passage of H.454 was just the first step. Many hard decisions await, and debates over independent schools will continue.

The first substantial one will be choosing who will sit on a redistricting task force that will draft three proposals for new school district and supervisory union lines by December. Krowinski, who will choose five of the task force members, said she hopes to name them by early next week. The governor said he will name his one appointee soon.

Baruth, who will help choose the five remaining members, noted that the public-education community would have a large presence on the body. Five of its members are required to be a mix of former superintendents, business managers and school board members. The other six will be legislators. Bongartz has already expressed interest in serving.

Legislators stood deferentially behind Scott as he sat down at his desk to sign H.454. After finishing, he handed ceremonial pens to Krowinski, Baruth and Saunders.

“We are going to have to educate Vermonters on this bill … and be straight with them and be transparent along the way,” Scott said. “And that’s the way we get buy-in.” ➆

The H.454 bill

Wheel Life

Bike tourism is growing in Vermont, but leading a bike tour is no walk

in the park

In all his years as a bike tour guide, there is one guest Rich First will never forget.

Though she’d never ridden with clipless pedals, this particular client informed First ahead of a trip with his Woodstock company, Discovery Bicycle Tours, that she intended to use them. Those pedals can be tricky, he warned, urging her to practice with them first. She promised she would.

For non-cyclists, the term “clipless” may seem misleading. The pedals do, in fact, attach to bike shoes, a connection that produces a more efficient leg stroke. Back in the day, pedals were made with toe clips; now, pedals attach to a cleat on the sole of the shoe — thus clipless. Being able to smoothly clip in and out is the key to staying upright.

On day one of the tour, First was only mildly surprised when the guest handed him the still-unopened box of clipless pedals and asked that they be installed on her bike.

BY STEVE GOLDSTEIN • sgoldstein@sevendaysvt.com

“I could have said no,” First, 57, recalled. But he realized she was trying to impress a new boyfriend, an experienced cyclist.

Plus, saying no to a paying client on a bike tour is bad business. And it is a business:

Discovery’s menu includes a three-day Lamoille Valley Rail Trail tour at $1,899 per person, a six-day Champlain Islands trip for $3,599 and an eight-day excursion to the Greek islands for a tidy $5,999.

So, after again warning his guest of the risks, First relented. Call it a feet accompli

Once he attached the pedals, First held the bike upright so the guest could try clipping in and out several times. He worked with her until she said, “Let’s go.” But within the first mile she crashed, badly skinning both knees. As First bandaged her wounds, the client copped a plea and apologized. Flat pedals replaced clipless, and the six-day trip was salvaged.

Biking is one of the fastest-growing forms of tourism in the country, according

the Adventure Cycling Association. Buoyed by the flush of baby boomer retirees and the availability of hill-conquering electric-assist bikes, Vermont is benefiting from the trend. That’s led to heightened demand for competent tour leaders — camp counselors on two wheels. Though guides are less a factor in choosing a tour than location, bike selection and lodging, they are frequently the difference between a good experience and a great one.

With touring season in high gear, Seven Days checked in with local pros to hear how they roll with everything from challenging clients to weather disruptions. It turns out that leading a bike tour is no walk in the park — but it does have its wheely good moments.

Guides are in the hospitality business, and accommodating clients is one of the skills required, in addition to being a mechanic, concierge, mediator, emergency medical technician and human Lonely Planet guide.

Though experience levels vary, bike tour leaders have one goal in common: Guide the group safely and enjoyably to its destination. Bill Reuther, who has worked for Discovery and its predecessor, Bike Vermont, said that, done right, the job is its own reward: “For me, it’s the traveling, interacting with interesting people and getting them out of their everyday lives.”

Dave Dostal, 50, who lives in nearby Hanover, N.H., has been leading tours for Discovery for 18 years. An engineer who works remotely, he relishes getting away from his desk. Dostal caught the touring bug when he took a summer job in college herding a dozen 13-year-olds down the

“It’s very rewarding to help people accomplish a goal,” said Sue King, who lives in Annapolis, Md., but became a tour leader for Discovery after being a customer for many years. “That goal may be just to have a really great vacation, or it could be to do something they’ve never done before.”

Bike tourists on the Lamoille Valley Rail Trail

Pacific Coast Highway from Seattle to San Francisco. “Every tour I’ve done since then has been easier,” he said with a laugh.

For Dostal, the beauty of leading a bike tour is that it impresses upon his clients the value of bikes as transportation. “People don’t always think of a bike as a way to really explore a place, get from point A to point B and have an experience along the way that you don’t get driving a car,” he said.

Whether you live near point A or B, you’ve no doubt spotted bike tours on the highways and byways of Vermont: a single line of a dozen or so bicyclists strung out on the road, sporting matching logo jerseys, with GPS devices or phones clipped to handlebars and, sometimes, identical flags jutting from the rear wheels.

At the head of the mini peloton is the leader, the person yelling “car back” or pointing to a potentially damaging pothole or distracting roadkill. Vermont’s bucolic vibe, miles of lightly traveled roads and relatively tolerant motorists make it a potent lure for modest tour companies like Discovery, as well as bigger operations such as Vermont Bicycle Tours, headquartered in Williston.

VBT has become a worldwide enterprise. Lead tour designer Cammy Richelli said the company’s Vermont tours are more popular than ever: Enrollment in them has shot up 20 percent in the five years since the onset of the pandemic. Discovery said ridership has nearly doubled for its Vermont tours in the same period.

Family-owned Bike Vermont was renamed Discovery Bicycle Tours after New Zealand’s Active Adventures acquired it in 2024. Discovery employs between 25 and 30 guides, both full and part time, during its May to September season, according to assistant operations manager Olivia Oaks. Guides may do as few as three or as many as 20 trips, depending on experience and availability. Salaries range from $150 to $225 per day, and daily tips from each client average $20.

Asked what essential quality she looks for in prospective guides, Oaks said: “Is this a person you’d want to spend a week of vacation with?”

The same thinking applies to selecting guide teams. In a sense, the guides are in a weeklong marriage of convenience. “Maybe the best advice I ever got was: Whenever you can, yield to your coleader,” First said. “Your rapport will affect the way you roll.”

Most Discovery tours of 13 or fewer riders are guided by two individuals, who switch between leading the pack to bringing up the rear, driving a van called the SAG wagon. The acronym stands for “Support and Gear”: The van carries spare bikes and parts, tools,

RECREATION

YOUR RAPPORT WILL AFFECT THE WAY YOU ROLL.

RICH FIRST

snacks, and water. But some refer to it as “Save a Guest.” Riders who get tired, injured or just plain bored can travel the day’s route on four wheels instead of two.

As the popularity of bike touring has grown, so have the number of guests with little or no experience riding bikes, the guides said in interviews. Basics such as the importance of proper seat height and knowing when to downshift have to be taught.

The big change is the prevalence of e-bikes. Oaks estimated that 60 percent of Discovery’s guests choose electric bikes, including some who’ve never put their butts on a bike saddle. “They think it’s a motor scooter, but it’s pedal-assist,” Dostal noted, meaning that you have to pedal to activate the electric power.

As with any tool, the bike is only as good as the rider. A $3,000 state-ofthe art hybrid is not going to transform

a rider for bad behavior, but in one case, the other riders did it for him.

Another time, in the late 1990s, First had to put all of his bikers in the van. He was leading a two-day, 200-mile tour through Vermont, from the Canadian border to Massachusetts, when a heavy storm struck. The next day had bluebird skies. But when the tour reached Waterbury, First was told to pull the riders off the road: There was flooding up ahead.

One of the 20 clients grumbled, loudly criticizing the decision, as the van drove south. “He chirped at me for hours — the whole way — that this was bullshit,” First recalled. “I was really rattled.”

Coming around a bend near Bethel, they were met with a startling sight. The White River was “busting at the seams, a looming disaster,” First said. In the shocked, silent van, everyone turned and stared at the Chirper. One guest yelled: “See that, you asshole!” The Chirper “literally shrank in his seat,” First said.

Though singles are welcome, most of Discovery’s tours are populated by groups of friends or couples. Reuther recalled guiding a honeymooning couple years ago. The tour traveled south along the Connecticut River, and riders were free to go at their own pace. A head count at a planned rest stop revealed that the newlyweds were AWOL.

“So I hop in the van and backtrack, looking for them, but no luck,” Reuther said. “I have to take a leak, so I pull over, park and walk down the riverbank a ways so I can’t be seen from the road.” At that moment Reuther spotted two bikes lying in the grass a short distance away. Closer inspection showed them to be bikes from his tour. It also put the puzzled guide within hearing range of “the unmistakable sounds of lovemaking.”

an inexperienced cyclist into Lance Armstrong.

While leading a Discovery tour two seasons ago on the Katy Trail in Missouri, Mark Lewis found the group consistently missing one rider.

“She was a former nun — very sweet but clearly not ready,” he recalled. “No sense of direction, and she’d keep getting lost unless we had someone with her.”

The three guides took turns staying with her. “We tried pairing her up, but the guests didn’t really want to watch her,” Lewis said.

Whether a rider is wayward, exhausted or an annoyance to others, the first remedy is to put them in the van. In rare instances, a miscreant might be told to return to the hotel — and stay there. Before he led tours for Discovery, First owned a bike-touring enterprise called POMG — for Peace of Mind, Guaranteed. He never had to unseat

At the end of the day’s ride, with everyone present, Reuther made a request: If you leave our route, please place your bikes where we can see them so we have some idea where you are. As he scanned the faces of his guests, he winked at the lovebirds. The woman’s face turned crimson.

Reuther has led more than 400 tours and, at 66, maintains a sunny outlook on his second career, after selling a business at age 40. “My job is not going to change the world. I’m not solving cancer. I’m not, you know, bringing world peace,” he said. But, he added, if during a one-week bike tour, “I can take somebody who has a stressful life and give them a chance to decompress, maybe that person will go back to their more stressful job and solve cancer.” ➆

Rich First with a bike tour group

Going With the Flow

A new app developed in Tropical Storm Irene’s aftermath alerts users to rising rivers and streams before they flood

BY KEN PICARD • ken@sevendaysvt.com

On the last weekend of August 2011, Stephen Farrington of Stockbridge took his family to stay at his parents’ house in Burlington ahead of Tropical Storm Irene. At the time, his major concern was the forecast of high winds, which threatened to topple the large pines that surround his house on the White River.

Once the storm had passed, Farrington and his family headed for home. They made it only as far as Tozier’s Restaurant, on Route 107 in Bethel. Beyond that, he said, “The road was just gone.” Cut off entirely by washed-out highways and bridges, Stockbridge had become an island.

Farrington hiked the last seven miles to his house alone, then spent the next week with other volunteers trying to reach people who were stranded in the hills and accessible only by ATVs or helicopters. Many were seniors who had lost power and didn’t have enough food, water or medication on hand. Farrington’s house survived the storm, but several of his friends and neighbors lost theirs, including one couple who fled their home just 20 minutes before floodwaters swept it away.

From then on, Farrington, a civil engineer and hydrologist by training, began diligently watching data available online from the U.S. Geological Survey’s nearby stream-gauging stations, such as those in the White River in West Hartford and Ayers Brook in Randolph. He could interpret those readings, he realized, but the average person could not. So he set out to create a user-friendly smartphone app that would notify the public about rising waters near their homes and businesses before they reached critical flood stage.

The result: RiverAware, an app released in January that lets users set alerts for bodies of water near them and their family and friends, as well as properties they’re concerned about anywhere in the country. Ordinary citizens, first responders, floodplain managers, scientists, and recreational users such as paddlers and anglers can get real-time river-flow data, then share it with others.

The app’s release comes at a critical time in flood preparedness. This month marks the anniversaries of the catastrophic flooding that hit Vermont in July 2023 and 2024. In all, the storms killed four people, forced the rescue or evacuation of hundreds of Vermonters, and caused more than $1 billion in damage.

Climate scientists warn that such extreme weather events will only get more frequent and intense.

Yet the real-time reports that make RiverAware’s early warning system possible may be in jeopardy. The app relies on aggregated data from more than 13,000 stream-gauging stations around the country, which are maintained by the U.S. Geological Survey, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the Bureau of Reclamation, the Bureau of Land Management and the National Weather Service. Earlier this year, President Donald Trump’s U.S. Department of Government Efficiency proposed cutting more than half a billion dollars from the U.S. Geological Survey’s 2026 budget. If the cuts get approved, the fate of those stations, and the app, could be at risk.

ENVIRONMENT

“If you want all that data in one place,” Farrington said, “it’s just not available anywhere else.”

A 60-year-old South Burlington native, Farrington has spent years solving waterand climate-related problems. He founded Transcend Engineering in 2009, initially

to develop sensing instruments for boreholes deep in the ocean floor. At the time, he was working with the University of Rhode Island’s Graduate School of Oceanography and Ocean Networks Canada to install instruments that measure methane releases in the North Pacific and Arctic oceans. The greenhouse gas is of particular concern to climate scientists, as it’s more than 28 times as potent as carbon dioxide in trapping heat in the atmosphere.

Transcend Engineering, which now has nine employees and is based in Bethel, also develops soil moisture sensors that are used by farmers to know exactly when and how much to irrigate, as well as by meteorologists, who use them to create more accurate weather forecasting models. As Farrington put it, “We get involved with issues of too much water and too little water.”

One of the goals of RiverAware is to educate the public about the watersheds they live in. The app provides easy-to-read graphs and explanations of current river conditions, historical data going back three months, and color-coded flood-severity levels. Users can set customized alerts for rivers and streams near them, which they can share instantly with friends,

IT GIVES YOU A SENSE OF WHAT RIVERS ARE GOING TO BE BLOWN OUT WHEN.

KARINA DAILEY

family and community members via text, email and social media. The app has both free and premium versions, the latter of which allows users to set unlimited alerts and watch-list stations. It costs $2.99 per month or $29.99 per year.

When Transcend Engineering first released RiverAware, the app’s designers assumed their user base would be primarily homeowners, farmers, first responders, and others responsible for protecting lives and property. But as RiverAware has grown in popularity — as of June, it had been downloaded more than 1,500 times — they’ve heard from other users who work in outdoor recreation, such as river guides, as well as professionals who spend a lot of time in and around moving water.

Cally and Hazen Abbott watching the Winooski River flow through Richmond in July 2023

RiverAware is “super easy and user friendly and a great resource for Vermonters,” said Karina Dailey, a restoration ecologist with the Vermont Natural Resources Council.

Dailey, who manages VNRC’s program focused on removing derelict dams, previously used the U.S. Geological Survey’s website in her job, largely because she’s accustomed to reading hydrological graphs.

“But this app does give quicker access to those gauges and lets you do that work faster,” she said. “For ﬁshing, it gives you a sense of what rivers are going to be blown out when and how murky the waters are going to be.”

Mike Cannon, who works as urban search and rescue program coordinator for the Vermont Department of Public Safety, said he recently switched to RiverAware after an app he had used for years was discontinued.

Cannon, who is also a member of Colchester Technical Rescue, has since set up alerts for gauges on the Mad River in Waitsﬁeld and the Winooski River in Waterbury and Essex, all of which are prone to ﬂooding.

“It’s my job to keep track of this stu ,” he said. “I’m not on that [app] every day, but when it’s raining and we’re out in the ﬁeld ... it’s easy to just ﬂip that app open and see stu . That’ll generally get me a feel for what the watershed is doing.”

Indeed, RiverAware is trying to help users develop a “more intuitive understanding” of the waterways that are all around them, said Emily Ellert, Transcend Engineering’s digital strategies manager. Ellert moved to Pittsfield from Brooklyn in July 2023, just as the floods were occurring. The day she closed on her house, she had to constantly check a map to find ways of circumventing the washed-out roads.

“That was quite an introduction to my time in Vermont,” she said.

One challenge of making RiverAware more usable for Vermonters, Ellert explained, is the fact that the state doesn’t have many gauging stations overall.

According to the U.S. Geological Survey, Vermont has 52 real-time stream gauges and ﬁve lake and reservoir gauges, spread across 7,100 miles of river. All are maintained by a crew of nine who cover all of Vermont and New Hampshire.

And many of the gauges that are in Vermont’s rivers and streams don’t indicate when the river or stream has hit ﬂood stage. This is true not only in Vermont but also in sparsely populated areas all around the country. For this reason, Transcend Engineering is developing its own custom metrics, so that when people see a nearby river or stream has risen above a certain level, they know it’s time to take action.

For now, Farrington is also keeping a close eye on another looming threat: budget cuts to the federal agencies that provide the data. While he doesn’t expect that the gauges themselves will be shut o , he said, “The biggest concern is the unpredictability of it, because a lot of things are being cut without notice or any public comment.” After a couple of “scares” when the team had trouble pulling data out of the cloud and into the app, Transcend signed a deal with a thirdparty data aggregator that has access to that information.

In the meantime, Transcend Engineering plans to add more supplemental features in the future, such as enabling users to upload photos and videos. Farrington said he also envisions the app including hourly ﬂood predictions. In January, he submitted a grant proposal to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to develop such forecast models, particularly for underserved rural areas such as Vermont.

“We’re entering a phase in our society where it’s going to be more incumbent on people to look out for each other,” Farrington said, “and we’re trying to provide the tools to do that.” ➆

To learn more and download the app, visit riveraware.app.

Paying It Forward

Mission investing at the Vermont Community Foundation creates lasting local impact

St. Johnsbury has been on the upswing. The largest town in the Northeast Kingdom, it’s now home to a newly reopened arts center, Catamount Arts; Dog Mountain, known for its Dog Chapel, which attracts passionate pooch lovers from around the globe; the recently expanded Fairbanks Museum & Planetarium; and the St. Johnsbury Athenaeum, a distinctive library and art gallery; as well as a distillery, a thriving farmers market and cozy cafés. In short, it’s become a place where people want to live. Unfortunately, housing infrastructure is in short supply.

Rob Riley, president of the Northern Forest Center, which helps rural towns across northern New England and the Adirondack region of New York grow, said he’s heard from businesses in the St. Johnsbury area that can’t hire new employees because of the lack of housing. “Folks at Northeastern Vermont Regional Hospital shared they’ve had candidates turn down positions because there was nowhere for them to rent or buy,” he said.

The Northern Forest Center has been involved in St. Johnsbury for more than a decade, providing grants to assist with mountain bike trails, partnering with downtown association Discover St. Johnsbury to promote tourism,

and o ering assistance and training to companies such as Lyndon Furniture.

The Northern Forest Center just completed its biggest project in Vermont yet: a refurbished apartment building at 560 Railroad Street, on the northern edge of downtown St. Johnsbury. Just three years ago, the 15,000-square-foot building was largely empty; now it’s home to nine apartments and two commercial businesses: a bookstore that will open soon and a gallery space a liated with Catamount Arts. It will lease a studio apartment to artists-in-residence who will rotate throughout the year.

“We’re developing housing for the missing middle — teachers, nurses, nonproﬁt and municipal workers — so that they can live in safe, quality housing to raise families and, long-term, buy these places as their homes,” Riley said.

But developing this kind of housing isn’t cheap: This project cost $5.5 million. That’s a lot of money for a small, rural community.

The Northern Forest Center got started with the complicated process of planning this project supported by a $50,000 regional and local impact grant from the Vermont Community Foundation, a public charity that’s home to hundreds of funds and individual giving accounts created by Vermonters to serve charitable goals.

With strong plans in place, the ﬁnancing for this project came together with support from many partners, including a $500,000 mission investment from the Vermont Community Foundation into the center’s Northern Forest Fund. One of the community foundation’s tools is what’s called “mission investing.” This is a process in which charitable dollars are invested — not just granted — to support things that matter to Vermonters, such as building a ordable housing, supporting small businesses and working lands, revitalizing downtowns, fostering entrepreneurship, and creating welcoming community spaces. That’s what supported the project in St. Johnsbury.

It’s just one of the ways the community foundation is able to connect fundholders and donors to projects that make a di erence. Its knowledgeable sta of philanthropic advisers work with fundholders to direct money to impactful projects that will align with fundholders’ priorities and have the greatest possible impact. Together, the community foundation’s family of funds puts more than $70 million into the community each year.

“The Vermont Community Foundation came to us and asked how to help. That is very di erent from a lot of processes where you just apply for

a grant and see if you get it,” Riley said. “The Vermont Community Foundation came to the table willing, open and ﬂexible.”

Seeing Vermont’s Potential

As president and CEO of the Vermont Community Foundation, Dan Smith puts it this way: “Making a grant says, ‘I see the need.’ Making an investment says, ‘I see your potential.’”

The foundation’s mission investing approach recognizes that returns are not only ﬁnancial; they are also measured in lives changed and communities strengthened. While mission investing carries risk, it also creates the opportunity for deep, lasting impact.

The Vermont Community Foundation was one of the earliest adopters of mission investing. In 2001, VCF began allocating 5 percent of its assets to Vermont-based companies and organizations. Now, Smith says, this model has widespread interest, and he advises other foundations on how to make it work. VCF inspired and was a major contributor to the Community Foundation Field Guide to Impact Investing, which is now a resource for community foundations nationwide.

“One of the most engaging things about mission investing is that the money is recyclable,” explained

The ribbon-cutting ceremony at 560 Railroad St., St. Johnsbury, on June 5, 2025

Je rey Smith, director of ﬁnance at the Vermont Community Foundation. “So, with the Northern Forest Fund, we provided a loan. Then, when it is repaid, we can keep reusing that money over and over again in di erent projects. It expands the impact of those dollars.”

Annie Penfield, a fundholder at the Vermont Community Foundation, is a strong supporter of mission investing and uses her fund to uplift Vermont’s workforce. That’s because Penfield knows firsthand how hard it can be to run your own business. She owned

taking a risk and supporting a startup,” Penﬁeld said.

Backing Local Ideas

Julie Lineberger was on the receiving end of a transformational investment from the Vermont Community Foundation. When her godson Riley Poor broke his neck in 2009, she saw ﬁrsthand how the injury completely disrupted his life. He was in a wheelchair, but he had just been o ered a job with Nike and was in the process of moving to Portland. With his disability, Poor was unable to ﬁnd

Want to invest in projects like these?

Learn more about how opening a fund at the VCF can support mission investing across Vermont.

Curious about what’s possible?

Start the conversation at 802-388-3355, opt. 5 or philanthropy@vermontcf.org

vermontcf.org/ mission-investing

just help disabled people stay in their communities: It also helps build the economy of Wilmington, a town in Windham County with a population of fewer than 3,000 people. Lineberger employs a diverse workforce of 15 people in the WheelPad factory.

“Before WheelPad, there wasn’t any manufacturing in our town,” Lineberger said. “We bring economic viability to this area and the people here.”

When it comes to distributing her product, Lineberger said she sees and hears so many tears of happiness. In Burlington, she spoke with a woman who

Stra ord Saddlery and sold equipment for horses for 22 years. She closed her business in 2023, though she continues to work as a mobile saddle ﬁtter.

She set up her fund with the Vermont Community Foundation in 2022. She chose to work with the community foundation because she wanted to ﬁnd a way to help out in her own backyard.

“Stra ord is a small town, which means everyone has to do their part to keep things going. That’s important when you choose what to invest in — with your money, your time and your energy,” Penﬁeld explained.

Penﬁeld values the ability to diversify her philanthropy and give to a lot of causes that matter to her. The Vermont Community Foundation makes that possible by providing Penﬁeld with a philanthropic adviser who looks into opportunities that align with her values.

“I really trust the Vermont Community Foundation, so if they bring something to my attention, I feel good about that investment. The VCF has resources beyond funding to help these businesses, like coaching and support, that make a big di erence in

an accessible place to live. He lived in a hotel room for nine months until he found a house.

Lineberger and her husband, Joseph Cincotta, who owns LineSync Architecture in Wilmington, visited Portland to help make accessible changes to their godson’s new house. This gave Lineberger an idea.

“I thought, What if there had been an accessible dwelling so he could have stayed with his family instead of being isolated?” she said. It was just an idea until 2015, when Lineberger entered the Annual InnovateHER Challenge Business Plan competition. She presented her plan for WheelPad, a company that would manufacture accessible home attachments. She saw it as something that could help those with spinal cord injuries, debilitating illnesses such as ALS or multiple sclerosis, or anyone else who might need an accessible living accommodation on an existing property.

Other people saw the vision. Lineberger kept winning awards and was able to get enough funding to build a prototype in 2018. By 2020, she was in business with WheelPad’s ﬁrst product: the SuitePAD, a bedroom and bathroom attachment.

“By attaching a SuitePAD to someone’s house, they don’t have to leave their nests. We can help someone with an ALS diagnosis stay home and with their family. We can keep people living in the community where they want to live,” she said.

Nothing like WheelPad existed on the market, and customers were grateful for the product. One problem: The demand was more than the small, growing company could keep up with. Lineberger had to turn down people in serious need.

“I had to take a deposit from a customer to build a unit and then send it out. It took four or ﬁve months, but the reality is, we need to have the units built three months before someone realizes they need it,” she said. “For every one unit I delivered, I had to say no to six more. It was really hurting my heart.”

That’s where the Vermont Community Foundation came in.

At the end of 2024, the community foundation provided a $600,000 mission investment that allowed Lineberger to start building her inventory.

The Vermont Community Foundation backed Lineberger’s business because WheelPad does more than

fell and broke her hip, but because of the SuitePAD, she was able to move in with her daughter. WheelPad also provided a dwelling unit for Hisham Awartani, a Palestinian student paralyzed from the waist down after he was shot in Burlington in 2024. The unit will allow him to continue to visit his grandmother, who lives in the city. At the southern end of the state, the town of Putney changed its zoning laws to allow WheelPad units.

Because of the ability to build inventory, WheelPad is growing. In July, the company will start prototypes for a new unit: the StudioPAD, an attachable studio apartment with a kitchenette.

“Starting a new business is challenging, but the support of organizations like the Vermont Community Foundation have helped us make it,” Lineberger said. “Because of that support, I don’t think I could’ve started this business in any other state but Vermont.” ■ THIS ARTICLE WAS COMMISSIONED AND PAID FOR BY

Annie Penﬁeld

Joseph Cincotta and Julie Lineberger

A SuitePAD unit by WheelPad

food+drink

Getting Wilder

When I walked into Wilder Wines’ new location on Burlington’s College Street on opening day, I had a ﬂashback. It was T. Rugg’s Tavern, July 2021. Sipha Lam was hosting a packed pop-up — one I later described in this paper as “somewhere between a collective sigh of relief and full-on bacchanalia.” That night, as Lam poured natural wines into pint glasses for a who’s who of Vermont winemakers and restaurant people, I thought, Man, I really hope she opens a wine bar someday Now she has. And it’s beautiful.

Four and a half years after launching her original shop on Cherry Street, Lam, 35, moved Wilder Wines two blocks south. There, she expanded retail o erings and added a 25-seat wine bar, with plush chairs inviting guests to linger and people-watch through the ﬂoor-to-ceiling windows, as I have on several occasions since it opened on May 16.

Now, as in the previous space, Lam

FOOD LOVER?

DRINK UP

is focused on making wine accessible, not intimidating. The shop’s popular $20-and-under shelf is even bigger than it was in its ﬁrst iteration, and nothing on the bar’s by-the-glass menu is more than $14. You can ball out if you want, choosing a Mexican or Japanese wine from the bottle list or a $178 grand cru grower Champagne. But, at least in wine terms, Wilder Wines is overwhelmingly a ordable.

That’s been key to Lam’s success so far, along with her immense enthusiasm for the wines she stocks. A couple of years ago, I stopped bringing a shopping list to Wilder. Instead, I buy whatever Lam’s most excited about that day. (It’s often a chilled red.)

The natural wine scene in Burlington hadn’t quite bubbled to the surface when, in March 2021, Lam opened her initial 400-square-foot store, the ﬁrst one dedicated entirely to wines from small, organic growers who work without additives in their vineyards and cellars. In that shoebox of a shop, she had an outsize impact on how the scene has developed.

Her monthly wine club — a good deal at $40 for two bottles — is approaching 200 members. National outlets such as Wine Enthusiast and beverage industry website Punch have listed Wilder Wines among the best shops in the country, noting its neighborhood feel and support of Vermont producers alongside low- and no-intervention wines from around the world.

Now, the Burlington-area natural wine scene is as explosive as an overheated bottle of pét-nat. Essex’s Salt & Bubbles Wine Bar and Market, Vergennes’ 10 Green Street, and Winooski’s Specs and Standing Stone Wines are all both shops and bars, though the last two aren’t exclusively focused on natural wine. And Wilder is one of three natural wine bars to open this spring in Burlington: Bar Renée is just a block away on Main Street, and La Reprise has ﬁlled the Dedalus-size hole in the South End.

Lam, who has been working toward opening her bar for several years, views the trend as a net positive.

“The more people we can get to drink wine, talk about natural wine, support the growers and support businesses downtown, the better,” she said.

As a first-generation American who grew up in Burlington, she has a vested interest in its downtown.

“The city was my playground,” she said fondly. “After school at Edmunds, I’d go to

From left: Wild Folk Vermouth Spritz, radishes and fresh dill with Ploughgate Creamery butter, Pile O Chips, and a lambrusco spritz at Wilder Wines

From left: Ariel Moss, Sipha Lam and Gragen Cook at Wilder Wines

Sipha Lam’s wine shop and bar sparkles in its new Burlington home

STORY JORDAN BARRY • jbarry@sevendaysvt.com | PHOTOS DARIA BISHOP

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Cork Opens Third Stowe Spot and Introduces New Chef

The sister duo behind CORK RESTAURANT & NATURAL WINE SHOP at 35 School Street and CORK MARKET at 539 Moscow Road, both in Stowe, have added a third location.

DANIELLE and KATIE NICHOLS opened CORK MARKET & THE CANDY CASTLE at 70 Pond Street on June 20. It o ers the same natural wine, local beer and gourmet provisions as their original market but with a royally sweet twist: candy.

The sweets are mostly gummy candy — such as soft, chewy dogs similar to Swedish ﬁsh — and many kinds of licorice from Sweden and Denmark, along with some chocolate from the U.S. and Brazil. Mostly sold by the pound, it’s all naturally dyed and preservative-free.

Danielle, Cork’s founder, has owned the Pond Street building since 2020. She decided its downtown location across from the restaurant would make a convenient third spot after the most recent

tenant’s lease ended, said Katie, who serves as the group’s general manager and wine director. The sisters remain committed to the Moscow Road market, which serves a di erent clientele from downtown.

Meanwhile, the Nicholses’ 10-yearold restaurant and natural wine shop has had a new chef since September, they said. WESTON NICOLL, former chef-owner of Ludlow’s now-closed Gamebird, changes the menu daily and o ers many gluten-free dishes, including fried chicken and wol sh with bok choy and Béarnaise aioli.

“He’s just a really dynamic chef,” Katie said. “It’s been a breath of fresh air.”

The restaurant will start serving creemees this summer, she said, adding another touch of sweetness to Cork’s portfolio. ➆

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Nectar’s and get gravy fries from the takeout window.”

She started her restaurant career in the Queen City, too, at the now-closed Penny Cluse Café in 2010. Lam found her passion for natural wine during a four-year stint in Boston. Back in Burlington in 2016, she worked at Honey Road and started planning her small, curated shop, all while living downtown.

Opening that shop — and then the bar — in another city never occurred to Lam, despite growing public sentiment that Burlington “isn’t the same” or is “unsafe,” Lam said.

“Part of it is stubbornness,” she continued. “When I hear people spread this narrative, it makes me more determined to stay, push back and draw people into town. I’m going to be part of the solution.”

The new location was half funded through the Burlington Revolving Loan Program, which offers zero-interest loans to established businesses such as Wilder. The other half came from a successful crowdfunding campaign. Lam sold $34,000 worth of gift cards for future purchases — which included a 15 percent discount — between late January and the May opening.

Not much has changed on the retail side with the move, Lam said. Mainly, the $20-and-under shelf has grown, and there’s a lot more elbow room. The shop is open daily, even when the bar is closed on Sundays. On Thursdays, Wilder hosts free tastings.

The real star of the new spot is the bar. Designed by Sara Manning and built by Neil Berry of Waitstown Builders, it’s one of Burlington’s most unique dining or drinking spaces.

Long gone is the ocean-blue box of the Tinkering Turtle toy shop, the space’s previous occupant. In its place are pops of red, green and a more subtle blue. Furnishings are a playful mix of IKEA, Facebook Marketplace finds and custom pieces, such as statement lampshades by Alexa Rivera of WOVN.COUNTRY and a mural by Alex Labriola, who has done all the branding for Wilder Wines.

“I imagined it to be really minimalist,” Lam said, chuckling. “We didn’t go minimal. It just felt right.”

The menu isn’t minimalist, either. On top of 10 rotating by-the-glass options, you can get a lambrusco spritz and a kalimotxo — a quizzical yet refreshing Spanish cocktail that’s half red wine, half Mexican Coke. Food options include “things on toast,” tinned fish, and an

over-the-top (but just right) Pile O Chips, draped with cured bresaola, Manchego cheese and pickled, slightly spicy piparra peppers.

Wine retailers in Vermont all pull from the same distributor inventory. To distinguish Wilder’s by-the-glass list, Lam and assistant general manager Ariel Moss, a sommelier who previously worked at Dedalus, try to pour things that are new to the state or not being offered elsewhere.

Recent favorites, Lam said, include a former wine club-only Spanish red that hadn’t been distributed in Vermont for more than a year and an Alsatian orange wine she’s sold for ages but always had to special order. Everything that’s poured in the wine bar is also available on the retail shelves.

name of the grape. (Fair warning to my gewürz-hating friends.)

The omission isn’t meant to be misleading, Lam said, but rather to gently push people toward something they wouldn’t normally pick.

On Tuesdays, Wilder offers a flight of three unnamed wines for a $15 blind tasting. They vary in style and region, but all are made from the same grape.

LAM IS FOCUSED ON MAKING WINE ACCESSIBLE, NOT INTIMIDATING.

Grape varieties aren’t listed on the menu. That Alsatian orange — Les Vins Pirouettes’ Cubique — was described as “tropical, pineapple, orange,” not “gewürztraminer,” the

Wilder’s food menu is more “girl dinner” than full dinner, Lam said, referring to the trend of snacky meals. Gragen Cook, Wilder’s front-of-house manager and food buyer, said the food’s job is to enhance the wine.

“On a scale of dive bar to restaurant, we’re the in-between,” Cook said.

Cook has a cocktail background, not a cooking one. But his food hits the mark. Working in a tiny kitchen — if you can call knives, a toaster oven and a meat slicer behind the bar a kitchen — he prepares simple yet stunning plates that reference what one might eat at a wine bar in Spain, Portugal, Italy or France. They’re largely filled with Vermont ingredients, especially cheeses and meats.

On a recent Tuesday afternoon, I stopped into Wilder during the new weekday lunch service. I’d seen a friend’s Instagram story of the nectarine-topped ricotta toast ($14) and had to have it. (I’d also seen another friend’s post that she was working remotely from Wilder’s couches, next to outlets built into the floor. Yes, please.)

I asked Cook which wine would go best with the tart yet savory toast, which was slathered with creamy ricotta, perfectly salted, and topped with delicate, uniform slices of nectarine, cherry and fresh mint. He quickly recommended the Seehof rosé ($14) from Germany.

The light, mineral pinot noir was more classic than I’d choose on my own — I’m usually in the “wilder the better” camp — and tasted almost like a traditional Provençal rosé. But it was a perfect pairing.

I could have stayed all afternoon, maybe swapping the wine for one of Wilder’s thoughtful nonalcoholic options. Soon, it will stock cans of Vivid Coffee.

Several evenings later, I opted for a lower-alcohol lambrusco spritz ($14). The refreshing combo of sparkling red wine, Ghia nonalcoholic aperitif, grapefruit juice, pebble ice and Castelvetrano olive garnish was gulpable, especially during a heat wave.

The game is to guess what that grape is.

(There’s no prize, just bragging rights.)

Lam doesn’t make it easy. Last week, the wines were a red, a white and a pink sparkling. The grape? Blaufränkisch.

“Nobody got it,” Lam said with a laugh. “There were some good guesses, though.”

So far, Wilder’s team of 10 doesn’t seem to be getting the most common question Lam fielded four years ago: “What is natural wine?” The term has made its way into the zeitgeist, she said.

My friend, visiting from Brooklyn, was happy to see that Alsatian orange wine on the menu ($14). It’s one she knows well from big-city wine bars. We ordered more olives ($6), radishes and butter ($6), and the Pile O Chips ($12) to go with our drinks.

The table was soon full of snacks and drinks, each one more fun than the next. We could have been at a wine bar in Italy or Spain. But we were in Burlington, just as Lam intended. ➆

INFO

Wilder Wines, 210 College St., Burlington, wilderwinesvt.com

Getting Wilder

« P.38 Ricotta toast with nectarine, cherry and mint and a Seehof rosé

Sweet as Honey

At a new South Burlington café, the owner of Matryoshka’s Bakery shares a traditional Russian cake

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

Many customers at the new Matryoshka’s Bakery will beeline to the pastel-tinted macaron sandwich cookies in the pastry case. e rotating rainbow of ﬂavors runs temptingly from sophisticated salted caramel and Earl Grey to fanciful Fruity Pebbles and maple s’mores.

Matryoshka’s shares its South Burlington location with a second outpost of Hinesburg’s Good Times Café. Maryam and Travis Counter co-own the sister businesses; she runs the bakery, while he is chef-manager for both cafés. ey opened their joint, counter-service eatery in late March in a bright space at the rear of the former Shelburne Road Uno Pizzeria & Grill, tucked behind a new NBT Bank branch.

e location serves lunch and dinner, with Good Times’ familiar menu of pizzas, sandwiches, salads, and Cajun and Creole dishes, plus a few tweaks and additions permitted by the larger kitchen. Travis, 44, plans to start serving breakfast sandwiches in July, followed by Sunday brunch.

Since Maryam, 42, started Matryoshka’s in 2019 in the family’s St. George kitchen, she has focused largely on perfecting her almond-ﬂour macarons. She built the business selling them at the original Good Times, directly online and to a few local coffee shops.

“Her execution of them are some of the best I’ve had,” said Magda Van Dusen, who sells the macarons at Burlington’s Brio Coffeeworks. “Maryam puts so much effort and so much of herself into everything she makes.”

Now, with her ﬁrst dedicated production space, the self-taught baker has expanded her roster of sweets — and put even more of herself into them.

e shelf below the macarons ($3.50

each) holds another mouthwatering confection: mini Pavlovas ($5.18), named for the Russian ballerina Anna Pavlova Last week, the swirls of snow-white meringue were ﬁlled with lemon-and-passion fruit curd and a ﬂuff of whipped cream, then topped with blueberries and an edible marigold.

On the shelf below, another Russian icon risks being overshadowed by its showy neighbors. Despite its comparatively homely cream and golden-crumbed exterior, Matryoshka’s honey cake should not be missed. Not only is it delicious and unusual, but each bite is a taste of Maryam’s Russian childhood.

Maryam grew up baking honey cake, called medovik in Russian. e labor-intensive process involves cooking eggs, honey, sugar and butter over simmering water before adding baking soda and ﬂour to form a thick dough. e heat contributes a toasty, caramel note, reminiscent of honey graham crackers.

Each of nine slender layers must then be portioned, rolled, cut into a round and baked. Construction calls for spreading each with creamy frosting before enrobing the stack in more frosting and coating it with cake crumbs. Maryam and her team make just six cakes a week, which sell by the generous, shareable slice for $10.

Honey cake was even more laborious in Russia, in Maryam’s experience. “ ey didn’t have fancy rolling pins or cake rings,” she said. “We just stretched the dough by hand, baked the cakes and cut the layers with a plate upside down.”

An aunt even baked honey cake in a wood-ﬁred oven, Counter recalled: “I still can taste in my mouth that ﬂavor.”

In Russia, the frosting is made with sweetened sour cream, but for American tastes, Maryam whips cream cheese with powdered sugar and then lightens it with heavy cream. She is experimenting with a sour cream and whipped cream combo, which yields a fluffier filling with a delicate tang that beautifully balances the sweet cake.

No matter the ﬁlling, “it’s always been a cult classic,” Travis said.

Maryam was grateful to move out of her home kitchen, but she does miss her young assistant. Just like when she helped her own mother, Maryam said, the Counters’ 11-year-old daughter “would put her apron and her little scarf on, and this was our Friday-night date: rolling honey cake.” ➆

“One Dish” is a series that samples a single menu item — new, classic or ﬂeeting — at a Vermont restaurant or other food venue. Know of a great plate we should feature? Drop us a line: food@sevendaysvt.com.

INFO

Matryoshka’s Bakery and Good Times Café, 1330 Shelburne Rd., South Burlington, 800-1600, matryoshkasbakery.com, goodtimescafevt.com

Maryam Counter with her honey cake

Matryoshka’s Bakery honey cake

Let Music Ring

In its 175th season, the Burlington Concert Band brings free tunes and community connection to the band shell

BY AMY LILLY • lilly@sevendaysvt.com

While Burlington’s Waterfront Park is a hot spot for major summer concerts, from the Burlington Discover Jazz Festival to Grand Point North, those in the know head just up the hill for a mellower music tradition many years in the making.

On a recent Sunday evening, more than 40 musicians in the Burlington Concert Band regaled audiences in Battery Park with a medley from the musical Chicago, a John Philip Sousa march and other selections. People lazed on blankets and chairs on the grass; others strolled or biked by. Lake Champlain glinted in the sunset, framed by the open-ended band shell.

Barring thunderstorms and heavy rain, the Burlington Concert Band performs these free summertime concerts every Sunday night — and annually on July 3 as part of the city’s Independence Day celebration.

Not many music groups in the area can claim to predate the Civil War, but this one began as the Burlington Cornet Band in 1851 and has been playing for 175 years. It

will celebrate by dedicating its concert on Sunday, July 20, to the anniversary.

For the occasion, musical director Whitney Lussier, 32, a Charlotte-born trombone player with a music education degree from St. Olaf College in Minnesota, has invited back former conductors, guest conductors (including former Vermont governor Jim Douglas) and musicians. The band shell itself commemorates a former conductor: Built in 1978, it is named for Burlington-born Joseph F. Lechnyr, who led the band from 1927 to 1957.

Town bands primarily play marches — a military tradition — along with show tunes, jazz, pop songs and the odd classical piece. Lussier hasn’t chosen the 175th anniversary music yet, she said by phone, but, per tradition, the band will open with “Salute to Burlington” by former conductor George Sherman. The Richmond native, who led from 1878 to 1917, wrote marches so well known that Sousa conducted them, according to Gary Aubin’s 2023 History of Town Bands in Vermont

All concerts end with the national anthems “O Canada” and “The Star Spangled Banner.”

In addition to upholding tradition, the Burlington Concert Band o ers something rare: an intergenerational experience. Lussier said current musicians range from high school juniors to people in their late seventies. The members mingle weekly at their free rehearsal space at St. Mark Catholic Church on North Avenue, where the band also gives an end-of-season concert.

That’s one aspect that Nick Tatakis, a 29-year-old clarinetist in the band, appreciates. Tatakis joined in 2023 after overhearing the concerts from his home in the Old North End. He attended one out of curiosity and then found a call for musicians online. He now serves as the ensemble’s equipment and web manager.

“One thing that really warms my heart about the band is that it’s a space for people of all ages,” said Tatakis, who played clarinet from fourth through 12th grades and took it up again after graduating from the

University of Vermont. “That makes the band really special. I feel like I don’t have many spaces where I’m around people of all those ages.”

From the oboist sitting beside him, Tatakis added, he learned about Town Meeting TV, Chittenden County’s government-access TV channel, with which he then began volunteering. “That’s another great institution I can be proud of having in my community that I didn’t really know about,” he said.

The band’s community-building extends even to passersby. At this season’s opening concert, Lussier recalled, most of the clarinetists were out due to illness, but then a man toting a clarinet case appeared.

“At the break, he came up to chat,” Lussier said. “We said, ‘Hey, do you want to play? We have extra folders.’ He played well. He was from out of town, so I don’t think we’ll see him again, but we did appreciate his support.”

While the musicians are volunteers, the band does need money to operate. Costs such as the conductor’s fee, music, chairs, music stands and equipment insurance are covered by Burlington Parks, Recreation & Waterfront.

The city had been giving the band an annual stipend of $4,000 since at least the 1950s, according to Lussier’s predecessor, Larry Solt, who led it from 2018 to 2022 and now plays trumpet in the ensemble. Solt and a friend approached mayor Miro Weinberger during his tenure and proposed an increase, given the intervening half-century. The mayor raised the contribution to $5,000. Solt, who is writing a history of the Burlington Concert Band’s 22 conductors, said even that modest amount is now at risk, since Mayor Emma Mulvaney-Stanak’s discovery in late June that the city budget is short an additional $1.8 million.

The Burlington Concert Band could use continued support. Its July 3 concert is always packed, but at Sunday concerts, Tatakis noted, “If we have as many people in the audience as we have in the band, that’s a good thing.” In addition to competing forms of entertainment, increased numbers of unhoused and addicted individuals in the park have a ected attendance.

“It’s deﬁnitely something we have to address as a band, because we play in a public park where people might have set up a bit, and as compassionately as possible, we talk with them about how we’ve reserved this space to play a concert,” said Tatakis, who works as a substance misuse prevention consultant for the Vermont Department of Health.

Jenna Schultz with the Burlington Concert Band at Battery Park in Burlington

Free. Find additional special concerts at burlingtonconcertband.org.

Artist Will Kasso

Condry Receives

12th Annual Herb Lockwood Prize

BY MADELEINE KAPTEIN kaptein@sevendaysvt.com

The day that Will Kasso Condry learned he won the 2025 Herb Lockwood Prize in the Arts started out like any other for the Afrofuturist painter, graffiti scholar and educator. He and his wife and business partner, Jennifer Herrera Condry, were at Manchester Elementary/ Middle School, hard at work on a large-scale mural. It’s the latest of more than 40 community arts projects they have led around Vermont.

He set down his paintbrush to take a call. It was prize director Todd R. Lockwood calling to inform the Brandon artist that he’d won the honor — and the $10,000 cash prize that comes with it. Kasso Condry, 47, was shocked.

The pair married and founded Juniper Creative Arts in 2020, spearheading collaborative public arts initiatives inspired by hip-hop culture and the mystical, natural world. The mural at Manchester Elementary, completed earlier this month, is their most recent project with local youths.

Kasso Condry creates “unique artwork for which the whole community shares authorship — and pride,” Vermont writer Stephen Kiernan said at the award ceremony on Saturday at the BCA Center in Burlington, where Kasso Condry accepted the prize.

“The design and content are dependably brilliant and original, in part because they contain the vulnerability that comes from valuing the contribution of every participant.”

The artist told Seven Days that this achievement is meaningful to him because while he works constantly to bring out others’ passions, he often forgets his own role.

“You always put yourself on the back end, because you’re representing so many different voices and different ways of being,” Kasso Condry said.

Part of the Lockwood Prize’s unique prestige is that its nominees are not notified that they are being considered until they have won. And differing from the Vermont Prize for visual work that Kasso Condry earned in 2022, artistic excellence is only part of the criteria. Winners must also have gone to great lengths to uplift and engage others in their art, a goal Kasso Condry has sustained throughout his career.

While studying fine art and illustration at the College of New Jersey, Kasso Condry developed an interest in graffiti and large murals. With bright color and expansive scale, he channels Afrofuturism to explore Black identity through portrayals of hope and positivity. He founded SAGE Coalition, a nonprofit arts collective that created outdoor murals on abandoned buildings in New Jersey.

Since moving to Vermont in 2016, he has been an artist-in-residence and instructor at the University of Vermont and Middlebury College. At the latter, he taught classes and painted the interior of the Anderson Freeman Resource Center alongside a student mentee. That’s also where he met Herrera Condry, the center’s associate director at the time.

He added that he has not decided what he’ll do with the prize money but anticipates investing some of it back into his practice.

Lockwood founded the Herb Lockwood Prize in 2014 to honor his late brother Herb, an artist and musician who died in 1987. Lockwood said Kasso Condry has been on the nominating group’s radar for several years and that he first noticed the artist’s work driving by Kasso Condry’s mural at Champlain Elementary School in Burlington. The two met as panelists at a Burlington History & Culture Center event last December, and a conversation they had about city graffiti left a lasting impression on Lockwood.

“[Kasso Condry] was just sending out a really great message to both the greater community and to the community of color,” Lockwood said. It was a message “to look ahead [and] imagine a view of Black America that had never been thought of before.” ➆

INFO

Learn more at junipercreativearts.com and herblockwoodprize.org.

Sunday, July 13

7:00 Durham County Poets

Monday, July 14

12:00 Mathis, Gaelle, & Marc

7:00 Caitlin Canty

8:30 Ray Vega’s Afro-Caribbean Jazz Ensemble

Tuesday, July 15

12:00 Faculty New Orleans jazz & swing

7:00 Ordinary Elephant

8:30 Honey & Soul

Wed., July 16

12:00 No Strings Marionettes

7:00 Ali McGuirk

Saturday, July 19

Thursday, July 17

12:00 Magician Tom Verner

7:00 Mathis Andersen Trio

8:30 Dobet Gnahore Friday, July 18

12:00 Juggler Jason Tardy

7:00 Buﬀalo Rose 8:30 Madaila

7:00 Vermont Jazz Ensemble Street Dance

ARTS NEWS

“Kelis the Afronaut” mural at Champlain Elementary School

Will Kasso Condry

culture

Avant-Gardener

Tour Clarence Baker’s unique gardens in Roxbury

Clarence Baker has spent more than 30 years transforming his Roxbury gardens into a peaceful respite full of surprises. Baker, 69, is a woodworker, gardener and maker. He collects junk and old farm equipment, repurposing it into works of art that are carefully placed among his perennials. In his hands, two wheelbarrows are reinvented to resemble a human couple, a barrel becomes a pig, and metal odds and ends form a sculptural wind chime hung above ﬂowers.

Clarence’s wife, Violet, grew up with her family on this two-acre plot of land. The couple were childhood sweethearts who drifted apart and then came back together later in life. Violet is endlessly surprised by Clarence’s creations.

How did you hear about Clarence?

Claire Chomentowski, a longtime resident of Roxbury, called to tell me about him. She raved about his work but didn’t have any photos to share. I couldn’t ﬁnd a digital trail of images on the internet, either. I gave Clarence a call, and he described his space and creations. It was a bit of a gamble to drive to Roxbury without seeing a photo preview, but it was 100 percent worth the trip.

Had you been to Roxbury before?

This was actually my ﬁrst time visiting. It is a small town — as Clarence said, “Don’t blink your eyes; you’ll miss it.”

How was this visit surprising?

I felt like a wide-eyed kid as we explored. Everywhere you look, there is something unique. Keys, springs, pots, cups and jugs hang from a sculpture, a lilac tree and along his workshop. The gardens are quite large, and there is a beautifully landscaped pond at the back of the property. Items such as a steam winch are partially hidden underneath foliage. “I don’t think of it as junk,” Clarence said. “It’s history.”

In the latest episode of “Stuck in Vermont,” Seven Days senior multimedia producer Eva Sollberger met Clarence and Violet, along with their granddaughter Nasienie and their dog, Taco. Sollberger spoke with Seven Days about ﬁlming the episode.

But you can’t miss the Bakers’ home: There is a stu ed panda riding a bicycle at the mailbox. That whimsical touch is Clarence all over. His front lawn includes a full-size blinking tra c light, a hydrant spewing blue water into a small pond and a giant bell that sits atop sca olding he built using hand-hewn timber from a barn. When Clarence ﬁrst rang it, it wasn’t loud enough for him. So then he whacked it with a crowbar. They probably heard it ringing in Northﬁeld.

There is also a wall of wheels and “Stovetop Hill,” which is a memorial to Violet’s son Lee Whalen. After Tropical Storm Irene flooded the gardens and driveway in 2011, Clarence repaired the damage and rebuilt his covered bridge. Clarence’s gardens aren’t perfectly manicured. They are lively and wild, and you can tell how much care he puts into each inch. “It’s like heaven to us,” he said. 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 ursday 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.

744: Turning Junk Into Art

Clarence Baker

To combat the problem, a designated Parks & Rec employee readies the band shell and stays for the duration of each concert, and community resource officers from the police department are on call. In Lussier’s estimation, the interference has decreased since her first year.

Given the Burlington Concert Band’s longevity, one hopes it can overcome recent challenges. It’s not the oldest of Vermont’s town bands: St. Johnsbury’s, founded in 1830, takes that prize and is the third oldest in the country, according to its website.

But Burlington’s band, one of at least 30 active town bands in the state, is a key part of city pride with a gem of a setting.

“It’s such a great way to be outside and enjoy Burlington,” Tatakis said. “When the weather is great, it is, in my mind, unmatched.” ➆

INFO

The Burlington Concert Band plays Thursday, July 3, and Sundays through August 10 (with 175th Anniversary Concert on July 20), 7-8:45 p.m., at Battery Park in Burlington. Free. Find additional special concerts at burlingtonconcertband.org.

DARIA BISHOP

The Burlington Concert Band at Battery Park in Burlington

on screen

28 Years Later ★★★★

In 2002, the ﬁlmmaker then best known for Trainspotting breathed new life into the zombie genre. Let’s not quibble over whether the Infected in Danny Boyle’s 28 Days Later count as “zombies” — they’re not actually dead, no, but all the same paranoid tropes are there. In the wake of 9/11, Boyle’s images of a devastated London resonated disturbingly, and the movie had a kinetic, ripped-from-theheadlines style and a pace that didn’t let up. The 2007 sequel 28 Weeks Later did well enough to justify the announcement of 28 Months Later, which never materialized. Instead, nearly a quarter-century after the original ﬁlm, Boyle and screenwriter Alex Garland returned for 28 Years Later. The trailer went viral, thanks largely to its audio — an actor’s reading of Rudyard Kipling’s 1903 war poem “Boots,” which became an unlikely anthem of 21st-century political resistance. That grim chant is hard to shake, but what about the movie itself?

After “The Walking Dead,” “The Last of Us,” Train to Busan and countless video games, are zombie apocalypses played out?

The deal

Twenty-eight years after the Rage virus swept through the UK, turning Infected

people into shrieking, mindless attackers, the island remains in quarantine. While life continues as usual elsewhere in Europe, an isolated community of survivors subsists in premodern conditions on the tidal island of Lindisfarne.

There are no doctors to help Isla (Jodie Comer), who has a mysterious ailment. When her 12-year-old son, Spike (Alfie Williams), makes his ﬁrst trip to the mainland under the guidance of his dad, Jamie (Aaron Taylor-Johnson), they’re reminded of the group’s ironclad rule: If you don’t return from an expedition, don’t expect a rescue party.

Schooled in archery, Spike successfully kills a creeping Infected known as a “slow low,” but then he and his dad encounter a preternaturally strong one, or Alpha (Chi Lewis-Parry), and barely escape alive. Back on the island, Spike wonders if Jamie told him the whole truth about the apparent settlement they glimpsed down the coast. Desperate to help his mother, he makes a choice that could seal both their fates.

Will you like it?

The prominence of the “Boots” audio on the soundtrack suggests that 28 Years Later is a war movie — and it is, for a while.

In the film’s first half, Boyle punctuates Jamie and Spike’s adventure with flashes of archival and cinematic footage that evoke the whole history of bloodshed on English soil. Combine this with rapidly cut digital action (the iPhone 15 Pro Max was the main camera used), and you get a surreal vision of constant combat. Edginess is practically bred into the residents of Lindisfarne, whose fear of outsiders has obvious realworld parallels.

The second half of the movie retains the trancey mood (enhanced by a Young Fathers score), but the plot veers o in a new direction. Raised for war, young Spike yearns for something else. When his dad exaggerates their exploits to the other villagers, he turns away in disgust. His mother is his center of gravity, her fraying mental and physical state his obsession.

Mother and son set out on a second quest with a very di erent tone from the ﬁrst, its goal not killing but healing. The Infected become less antagonists than mere obstacles, lost in the dreamy, unspoiled beauty of the Northumbrian landscape. When actual soldiers show up — marooned Swedish troops sporting modern weaponry and cellphones — the movie’s contempt for them is plain.

After having directed Civil War and codirected this year’s Warfare, Garland seems to crave a rest from battle. Inﬂuenced by Ken Loach’s socially conscious comingof-age ﬁlm Kes, he has said, his script for 28 Years Later focuses instead on the exhaustion and aftermath of war: grief, memorials, hope springing eternal.

Williams and Comer have a believable, sensitive mother-son rapport, and Ralph Fiennes shows up eventually to deliver a quietly showstopping performance. But the movie is less about the characters than about sweeping us up in its feverish vision of apocalypse and rebirth.

28 Years Later is the kind of movie in which ﬂowery ﬁelds and a newborn baby serve unironically as symbols of hope. It’s also the kind of movie in which a “Teletubbies” clip sets up a brutal massacre, and people’s heads routinely get yanked right o . As in the Mad Max universe, the grittiness, the wacky dark humor and the sentimentality never cancel each other out. 28 Years Later is more trippy than scary, and its disjointed story is clearly setting up a sequel (due out in January). But Boyle’s sound and fury are immersive enough to send us out feeling genuinely shell-shocked.

MARGOT HARRISON margot@sevendaysvt.com

IF YOU LIKE THIS, TRY…

28 DAYS LATER (2002; Pluto TV, rentable): With a chilling opening similar to that of “ e Walking Dead,” the original launched not only Boyle and Garland but also star Cillian Murphy into the mainstream.

28 WEEKS LATER (2007; Disney+, Hulu, Tubi, rentable): Spanish director Juan Carlos Fresnadillo stepped in for the sequel, in which refugees return to the UK after the Infected (mostly) die of starvation. What happens next sets up the third installment.

LAND OF THE DEAD (2005; rentable): e progenitor of modern zombie horror, George A. Romero, got in on the revival with this class-conscious B movie that takes place in a Pittsburgh besieged by zombies — an “island” setting similar to that of 28 Years Later. Romero subsequently made Diary of the Dead and Survival of the Dead before his death in 2017.

A young boy comes of age in a ravaged landscape in Danny Boyle’s belated sequel.

NEW IN THEATERS

FAMILIAR TOUCH: This debut drama from Sarah Friedland, about an eightysomething woman (Kathleen Chalfant) making the transition to assisted living, won three awards at the Venice International Film Festival. (90 min, NR. Savoy)

JURASSIC WORLD: REBIRTH: In the fourth spin-off series installment, when dinosaurs no longer roam most of the Earth, a pharmaceutical research team seeks out the surviving critters on a remote island. Gareth Edwards directed; Scarlett Johansson, Jonathan Bailey and Rupert Friend star. (134 min, PG-13. Bethel, Bijou, Capitol, Essex, Majestic, Marquis, Paramount, Star, Sunset, Welden)

CURRENTLY PLAYING

28 YEARS LATERHHHH The third installment of the horror series that began in 2002 with 28 Days Later focuses on an island community that has managed to survive the apocalyptic pandemic. Danny Boyle again directs; Jack O’Connell and Aaron Taylor-Johnson star. (115 min, R. Essex, Majestic, Sunset; reviewed 7/2)

BAD SHABBOSHH1/2 An interfaith couple’s first Shabbat dinner with both sets of parents goes very wrong in this comedy from Daniel Robbins, starring Kyra Sedgwick, Milana Vayntrub and Method Man. (84 min, NR. Savoy)

ELIOHHH1/2 An 11-year-old boy (voice of Yonas Kibreab) finds himself serving as Earth’s ambassador to aliens in this Pixar family animation, also starring Zoe Saldaña and Remy Edgerly. (99 min, PG. Bijou, Capitol, City Cinema, Essex, Majestic, Star, Stowe, Welden)

F1: THE MOVIEHHH1/2 A retired Formula One racer (Brad Pitt) returns to the track and mentors a rookie in this sports drama, also starring Kerry Condon and Javier Bardem. Joseph Kosinski (Top Gun: Maverick) directed. (155 min, PG-13. Bijou, Capitol, Essex, Majestic, Playhouse, Star, Stowe, Sunset, Welden)

FINAL DESTINATION: BLOODLINESHHH1/2 A college student (Kaitlyn Santa Juana) learns her family was never supposed to exist in the return of the horror franchise. (110 min, R. Sunset; reviewed 5/21)

FRIENDSHIPHHHH A dad (Tim Robinson) eager to make an adult friend develops a fascination with his new neighbor (Paul Rudd) in this comedy from Andrew DeYoung. (100 min, R. Catamount; reviewed 5/28)

FROM THE WORLD OF JOHN WICK:

BALLERINAHHH In this action spin-off, a young woman (Ana de Armas) trains as an assassin to seek revenge. Len Wiseman (Underworld) directed. (125 min, R. City Cinema, Majestic)

HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGONHHH DreamWorks Animation gets into the live-action-remake business with this new take on its 2010 hit about a Viking lad (Mason Thames) who makes an unexpected friend. (125 min, PG. Bethel, Bijou, Capitol, City Cinema, Essex, Majestic, Marquis, Star, Stowe, Sunset, Welden)

KARATE KID: LEGENDSHH1/2 A young martial-arts prodigy (Ben Wang) struggles to adjust after a move to the U.S. in the sixth entry in the action franchise, also starring Jackie Chan. (94 min, PG-13. Sunset)

THE LIFE OF CHUCKHHH1/2 This adaptation of Stephen King’s genre-crossing novella from director Mike Flanagan (Doctor Sleep) follows the life of an ordinary guy in reverse chronological order. Tom Hiddleston and Jacob Tremblay star. (110 min, R. Majestic)

LILO & STITCHHH1/2 In Disney’s (partially) liveaction remake of its 2002 animation, a lonely girl (Maia Kealoha) makes friends with an alien who’s on the run. Dean Fleischer Camp directed. (108 min, PG. Bijou, Essex, Majestic)

MATERIALISTSHHH1/2 A matchmaker (Dakota Johnson) struggles to decide between two attractive men (Chris Evans and Pedro Pascal) in this romantic drama from Celine Song (Past Lives). (116 min, R. Majestic, Savoy; reviewed 6/25)

M3GAN 2.0HH1/2 An all-too-protective robot is resurrected to fight her pirated counterpart in this sequel to the horror comedy hit, again directed by Gerard Johnstone and starring Allison Williams, Jemaine Clement and Violet McGraw. (119 min, PG-13. Capitol, Essex, Majestic, Sunset)

MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE — THE FINAL

RECKONINGHHH1/2 Tom Cruise returns in the eighth installment of the action franchise about spies and stunts, again directed by Christopher McQuarrie. (169 min, PG-13. Majestic)

THE PHOENICIAN SCHEMEHHH Wes Anderson turns his pastiching energies on midcentury capers in this comedy about a tycoon (Benicio Del Toro) who wills his estate to his devout daughter (Mia Threapleton). (101 min, PG-13. Majestic, Savoy; reviewed 6/11)

SINNERSHHHH1/2 In this supernatural horror film set in 1932, twin brothers (Michael B. Jordan) return to their hometown to find unexpected evil. Ryan Coogler directed. (137 min, R. Sunset; reviewed 4/23)

OLDER FILMS AND SPECIAL SCREENINGS

1984 (Catamount, Wed 9 only)

CADDYSHACK (Welden, Tue only)

FAHRENHEIT 451 (Catamount, Wed 2 only)

THE INCREDIBLES (Catamount, Tue only)

POLTERGEIST (Catamount, Sat only)

THIS IS SPINAL TAP 41ST ANNIVERSARY (Essex, Sat-Mon only)

OPEN THEATERS

(* = upcoming schedule for theater was not available at press time)

BETHEL DRIVE-IN: 36 Bethel Dr., Bethel, 728-3740, betheldrivein.com

BIJOU CINEPLEX 4: 107 Portland St., Morrisville, 888-3293, bijou4.com

CAPITOL SHOWPLACE: 93 State St., Montpelier, 229-0343, fgbtheaters.com

CATAMOUNT ARTS: 115 Eastern Ave., St. Johnsbury, 748-2600, catamountarts.org

*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

PLAYHOUSE MOVIE THEATRE: 11 S. Main St., Randolph, 728-4012, playhouseflicks.com

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

O Say, Can You See?

Protest, history and democracy reverberate in a powerful show at the Current

BY ALICE DODGE • adodge@sevendaysvt.com

This Independence Day weekend, we’ll be drowning in a sea of stars and stripes. Fireworks will burst in air. And despite the fact that the free are being thrown into vans by masked operatives while the “brave” have no comment, on Saturday morning a lot of ﬂags will, in fact, still be there — even if the ideals they represent are tattered and frayed.

“It often rhymes,” a new and powerful exhibition at the Current in Stowe, explores our relationship to national symbols, protest, history and democracy. The title ri s on a quote attributed to Mark

Twain: “History doesn’t repeat itself, but it does often rhyme.” Those rhymes — echoes of other inﬂection points or longstanding injustices — stand out and inform the present moment by reminding us what the past felt like.

Dona Ann McAdams’ black-andwhite photographs give us history in granular detail. The photographer, who now lives in Sandgate, is best known for her images of protests and actions from the 1980s and ’90s. “Day of Desperation, Act Up, Grand Central Terminal, January 23, 1991,” the oldest of the ﬁve works presented here, pictures slightly blurry,

hastily photographed protesters hanging a banner across a Metro-North departures board; the trains’ precise schedules mirror the banner’s message: “One AIDS Death Every 8 Minutes.” Another image — of Black Lives Matter protesters, some of them masked, from July 1, 2020 — reminds us of a more recent moment when public health and personal identity were similarly entwined, both subject to o cial inaction and indi erence.

Protest continues in “Public Address,” an installation of signs by Ellen Rothenberg. In red and black block lettering, the Chicago-based artist quotes excerpts

from photo captions in a 1914 British antisu rage publication. With phrases such as “Rather Emotional,” “Dishevelled After Fighting” and “Screaming With Impotent Rage,” the placards describe women before, during and after their arrests for confrontations with police.

Hank Willis Thomas and Emily Shur,

For Freedoms — bridge

a similar historical gap with a more optimistic

Rockwell’s iconic 1943 the Union address:

“Neon American Anthem (red)” by Nicholas Galanin

“through the night that...” by Robert Buck

While the photographs stick closely to Rockwell’s compositions and settings, Thanksgiving dinner spread included, the people in them are notably more diverse. Some are recognizable, such as actor and activist Rosario Dawson taking the place of Jim Edgerton, who stood up to speak at Arlington’s town meeting in 1942 and was immortalized in the original “Freedom of

part time to far West Texas. His flag is recognizable but dyed inky black, held by a pole leaning askew and propped up by a coil of barbed wire. The sculpture is designed to be taken apart and put back together “as needed,” Buck writes in his statement. Since the sculpture’s first incarnation, the absence of proof that our flag “was still there, undimmed and upright,” he writes, “woefully corroborates the precarity and tension” of his assemblage, which has only become more relevant over time.

Charlotte artist Janie Cohen’s “We Hold These Truths,” a response to the first Trump administration, layers and twists a weathered, stained flag into a new form, hanging from a majorette’s baton and patched with an embroidered upraised fist. It’s a personal, intimate take on how one’s relationship to a symbol changes over time — in this case, from disconnected to deeply emotional.

presents the immersive, affecting installation “Neon American Anthem (red),” the centerpiece of the show. Even before viewers enter the Current’s west gallery, 16-foot-wide glowing neon-red text on a matte black wall confronts them with the artist’s words: “I’VE COMPOSED A NEW AMERICAN NATIONAL ANTHEM / TAKE A KNEE / AND SCREAM / UNTIL / YOU CAN’T BREATHE.”

Speech.” Yet the photos are most e ective when, as in Rockwell’s, the models are ordinary people. The brown and Black family tucking in their children may represent freedom from fear, but their toddler’s face says otherwise.

The American flag features prominently in a few works in the show. Robert Buck, who works in New York City, created

Thomas, who lives in Brooklyn and collaborated on the “Four Freedoms” photographs, also presents two solo works in the show. One of them, “Flag III,” nods to Jasper Johns’ many paintings of the symbol, which he started making in the 1950s. Where Johns’ works build texture and interest through encaustic brushstrokes, the surface of Thomas’ flag is made of retroreﬂective vinyl. In darkness, viewers taking ﬂash photos see a collage of activist imagery embedded beneath the stars and bars.

Nicholas Galanin, an Indigenous

A grid of carpet squares on the ﬂoor invites visitors to do just that. The surface feels wiry and uncomfortable against the knees, like red Astroturf, as the buzzing neon creates a strange atmosphere that’s both meditative and urgent. With just a few lines, Galanin references George Floyd’s words as he was murdered by Minneapolis police, as well as the controversy around former National Football League quarterback Colin Kaepernick’s practice of taking a knee during the national anthem to protest similar injustices. The work compresses action, reaction and symbol into a single moment of experience; its monumental scale makes it impossible to ignore.

Gallery manager Kelly Holt said that during the exhibition’s ﬁrst weekend, only one person actually screamed in the installation. With the way things are going, they won’t be the last. ➆

INFO

“It often rhymes,” on view through October 18 at the Current in Stowe; reception on Saturday, July 12, 4-7 p.m. thecurrentnow.org

“We Hold ese Truths” by Janie Cohen

“Four Freedoms (Freedom of Speech)” by For Freedoms

“Public Address” by Ellen Rothenberg

Let’s Go Fly a Kite: Jacob Hashimoto’s Airy Installation at BCA Center

BY ALICE DODGE • adodge@sevendaysvt.com

A running start, the uplift of wind, the playful hover of tautly held paper: Even stiff-upper-lipped Mr. Banks in the 1964 children’s classic Mary Poppins can appreciate the unbridled joy of ﬂying a kite.

Breezy day or not, visitors can capture some of that feeling this summer with Jacob Hashimoto’s exhibition “a lowercase sky” at BCA Center in Burlington. In an installation of the same name that takes up the whole front gallery, the artist has used kite-making techniques from across the globe to create a veritable cloud of paper discs, stretching them across the space on a structure of bamboo rods and black string.

e installation is made of short spans of nine or so discs spaced at regular intervals, tied together to make long trails that weave above, below and across each other, all strung from the gallery walls and ceiling. Most are white; a few are elaborately patterned, solid black or painted blue with puffy white clouds. e Ossining, N.Y., artist and his assistant, Derek Zeitel, spent four full days creating the site-speciﬁc sculpture in the gallery, according to BCA curator and director of exhibitions Heather Ferrell.

While airy and spacious, the installation gives the gallery architectural nooks and crannies, with some areas low to the ground and others seeming to stretch higher than usual. Visitors can stand back to observe the whole or get lost in a visual ﬂurry of activity. Ducking underneath one section to pop up in another is like getting lost in a next-level cat’s cradle.

It’s a temporal experience as much as a spatial one. e repeating forms seem to stutter across the air, as though they were individual frames from a movie or video game, seen simultaneously. e effect is a little like moving in bullet time.

Past the installation, a few sculptural reliefs offer a more ordered version of the kitelike constructions. Works such as “Neutron Star” and “Prying Into the Secrets of the Sky” stack differently sized discs in

CALL TO ARTISTS

‘GREEN MOUNTAIN PHOTO SHOW’: Seeking photographers for the 35th annual exhibition, produced by Mad River Valley Arts at the Red Barn Galleries at Lareau Farm this fall. Register online for the non-juried show or drop off work on Tuesday, September 2, 3-6 p.m. at the Red Barn Galleries. Deadline: September 2. $30. Info, info@madrivervalleyarts.org.

front of each other, affixed with string to pegs sticking out from the wall. In both pieces, Hashimoto paints dynamic, abstract compositions across the discs in black and white or color. Viewed from the front, they’re coherent; a shift in perspective to one side or the other seems to make them dissolve into a field of floating bubbles.

Hashimoto also gives viewers a visual index with a series of 192 9-by-9-inch framed prints, presented in a grid across one entire gallery wall and around a corner. Each print pictures a circle divided into four sections — the same format as the discs stretched over bamboo. But every circle is unique, sporting brightly colored patterns or symbols, creating an iconographic legend with no key. Some are swirling and romantic, others bold and geometric. Looking at one leads to discovering another, each more intriguing than the last.

While there may well be a meaning attached to each motif, that’s neither presented nor necessary for understanding the work. Everything in the exhibition instead encourages curiosity and exploration. It invites viewers to imagine themselves soaring up through the atmosphere — up where the air is clear. ➆

INFO

“Jacob Hashimoto: a lowercase sky,” on view through September 14 at BCA Center in Burlington. burlingtoncityarts.org

OPENINGS + RECEPTIONS

‘FROM OUR EYES’: An exhibition of works by SVAC’s teaching artists. Southern Vermont Arts Center, Manchester, through September 28. Info, 362-1405.

SUMMER SOLO EXHIBITION: Solo presentations by Christine Capuano, Jack Howard-Potter, Syd Cummings, Jim Westphalen, Patty Hudak, Neil Davidson, Kelli Nyman, Robert Whiting, Susan

Bayard Whiting, Hannah Cole Dahar, Mark Witzling and Amanda Bittner. Southern Vermont Arts Center, Manchester, through September 28. Info, 362-1405.

REBECCA PADUA: A series of new paintings. Island Arts South Hero Gallery, through July 31. Info, 598-6698.

‘ILLUSTRATING HISTORY’: An exhibition examining how illustrations of historical events have shaped our understanding across 250 years. Vermont History Museum, Montpelier, July 3-June 30. Info, 828-2291.

HASSO EWING: “...Of the Earth,” an exhibition of sculptures in clay and materials such as cloth, paper, dried seaweed, spruce root and ﬁshing line that celebrate a connection to the natural world. A soundtrack by Bob Hannan accompanies the show. Reception: Friday, July 4, 4-7 p.m. e Front, Montpelier, July 4-27. Info, info@thefrontvt.com.

‘THESE COLORS KILL FASCISM’: A group show about how art highlights our shared humanity, with works by Mary erese Wright, Gayle Robertson, Tina Olsen, Ellen Cone Maddrey, John Loggia, Nick

Detail of “Prying Into the Secrets of the Sky”

From top: “ e Hashimoto Index I and II”; “a lowercase sky”

Garder and Liza Cassidy. Reception: Friday, July 4, 5-8 p.m. 118 Elliot, Brattleboro, July 4-30. Info, 118elliot@gmail.com.

WYLIE GARCIA: “Dear Helen: A Requiem for Disappearing Landscapes,” an installation dedicated to a tree named Helen. Drawing on the discovery of beluga whale bones in a Vermont field in 1849, the show explores how landscapes — physical, fantastical and psychological — exist in perpetual transition. Reception: Saturday. July 5, 10 a.m.-2 p.m. ATM Gallery, Shelburne, July 5-27. Info, atmgallerydirector@gmail.com.

SUSAN BULL RILEY: “In Their Elements,” new works in watercolor depicting birds on vintage topographical maps and nautical charts. Reception: Saturday, July 5, 1-3 p.m. Bryan Fine Art Gallery, Stowe, July 2-August 31. Info, 760-6474.

‘PEACE SIGNS OF VERMONT’: A series of photographs of peace signs taken by Shawn Dumont, founder of the Shelter Cultivation Project, and his two young children as they journeyed on winding back roads across the state. The opening reception features a drop-in peace sign screen-printing workshop hosted by Iskra Print Collective. Reception and screen-printing workshop, Thursday, July 10, 6-9 p.m. Karma Bird House Gallery, Burlington, July 5-August 29. Info, shawn@sheltercultivationproject.com.

MARILYN RUSECKAS AND KILEH FRIEDMAN: “Terra Chroma,” an exhibition featuring works in pastel and ceramics that explore the connection between art and the natural world. Reception: Friday, July 11, 4:30-6:30 p.m. Frog Hollow Vermont Craft Gallery, Burlington, July 4-28. Info, 863-6458.

‘SPACES & PLACES’: “Pictorial Interpretations by Three Visionary Artists,” including works by James Secor, Anne Davis and James Rauchman. Reception: Friday, July 11, 4:30-7 p.m.; artist remarks at 6 p.m. Vermont Supreme Court Gallery, Montpelier, July 2-September 30. Info, 828-0749.

KEITH WAGNER: “Lines, Layers and Land,” a show of abstract landscape paintings by the awardwinning landscape architect. Reception: Friday, July 11, 6-7:30 p.m. Axel’s Frame Shop & Gallery, Waterbury, July 9-August 9. Info, 244-7801.

JAMES SECOR: “Faulty Harbor,” paintings by the Montpelier artist. Reception: Saturday, July 12, 3-5 p.m. The Satellite Gallery, Lyndonville, July 9-August 10. Info, melmelts@yahoo.com.

RICHARD WILSON: “Beyond the Surface,” a show of photographs and digital drawings exploring abstraction and light. Reception: Saturday, July 12, 5-7 p.m.; artist remarks at 5:45 p.m. Highland Center for the Arts, Greensboro, July 5-August 10. Info, 533-2000.

JONATHAN RYAN STORM: “Time Was a River, Too,” a series of undulating, colorful compositions on view from outdoors in the museum’s window bays. Reception: Saturday, July 12, 5:30 p.m. Brattleboro Museum & Art Center, through April 26. Info, 257-0124.

IRINA GORBMAN: “Art That Heals,” a series of abstract oil paintings on 36-inch round canvases embedded with semiprecious stones chosen for their healing vibrations. Reception: Thursday, July 17, 5-6:30 p.m. at the 4th floor information desk. Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center, Williamson Building Gallery, Lebanon, N.H., through September 30. Info, igorbman@gmail.com.

ART EVENTS

ASSETS FOR ARTISTS WORKSHOPS: Free professional development workshops for artists. This season’s workshops are all online and include topics such as project management, quarterly taxes, website design and project portfolios. Register online at assetsforartists.org/workshops. Vermont Arts Council, Montpelier, through July 31. Free. Info, info@vermontartscouncil.org.

LIFE DRAWING AND PAINTING: A drop-in event for artists working with the figure from a live model. T.W. Wood Gallery, Montpelier, Thursday, July 3, 7-9 p.m. Free; $10 suggested donation. Info, 262-6035.

ARTIST DEMO: GRETCHEN G. ALEXANDER: The artist paints in the gallery and invites visitors to drop in and talk with her about her process. Emile A. Gruppe Gallery, Jericho, Sunday, July 6, 1-3 p.m. Info, 899-3211.

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, July 6, 1-3 p.m. Free. Info, 891-2014.

‘ART MAKING ON THE LAND WALKING TOUR’: An introduction for first-time visitors and a fresh way for return visitors to engage with the art on view. Registered participants will receive an email if the tour is canceled due to inclement weather. Info and registration at coldhollowsculpturepark. com. Cold Hollow Sculpture Park, Enosburg Falls, Sunday, July 6, 1:15 p.m. Free; RSVP required. Info, info@coldhollowsculpturepark.com.

PORTRAIT DRAWING AND PAINTING: A drop-in event where artists can practice skills in any medium. T.W. Wood Gallery, Montpelier, Monday, July 7, 10 a.m.-noon. Free; $10 suggested donation. Info, 262-6035.

SUMMER WATERCOLOR SERIES: A class suitable for novice and experienced painters, taught by Pauline Nolte. Supplies provided for beginners. Waterbury Public Library, Tuesday, July 8, 10:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m. Free; preregister. Info, judi@ waterburypubliclibrary.com. ➆

Fair warning: If you’re in proximity to Greg Freeman and utter something — anything, really — vaguely interesting, the Burlington indierock singer-songwriter just might snatch it, reconﬁgure it and turn it into another of his opaque, observational epics.

“I try to be on the clock as a songwriter,” Freeman said as he put down his drink at a Queen City pizza spot not far from where he holds down a day job. “People are saying crazy shit all the time.”

music+nightlife Burn and Turn

Burlington

Freeman is a songwriter’s songwriter, whether he’s lifting strangers’ phrases or working in historical references such as the 1980 Chicago ﬁreﬁghters’ strike, which pops up in “Burnover,” the title track on his excellent new album, due out in August via Canvasback/Transgressive Records.

“If you got a secret / don’t keep it too close to your chest,” he sings on Burnover’s opening track, “Point and Shoot.” But Freeman’s songs are su used with mystery, like dusty mirrors left in roadside shacks. You’ll hear strains of middle-American indie rock, à la the Replacements, all caught up with shades of dark folk and country subversions. The result is a sort of neoAmerican-gothic, indie sound crafted for road-tripping across a crumbling empire.

Freeman popped up on the radar with his excellent 2022 debut, I Looked Out, initially released on the DIY cassette label Bud Tapes and rereleased on Transgressive in January. The record established Freeman as an indie troubadour in the mold of MJ Lenderman of Asheville, N.C., or Jason Molina, the late front man of Songs: Ohia. Sprawling tours followed, and the 27-yearold adopted Vermonter found himself part of the new wave of Vermont indie rock with friends and frequent collaborators such as Lily Seabird, the Dead Shakers, Dari Bay and Robber Robber and other acts such as Brattleboro’s THUS LOVE.

With Burnover, Freeman has ascended to another level, writing some of the best songs of his career while tapping the powerful local scene to help craft the album. He’s already released four advance singles from the forthcoming LP; the latest, “Gallic Shrug,” dropped on June 25.

After a summer of largely lying low in Burlington, Freeman will set o in September for a tour of the UK and European Union, then join a U.S. tour supporting California indie-rock outﬁt Grandaddy. With another winter tour planned, he won’t perform in-state again until a February show at Higher Ground.

Since he’s still around, Freeman sat down at Rogue Rabbit in Burlington to

musician to leave the Green Mountains in search of a wider audience.

“Vermont is always where I’ll call home now,” Freeman assured Seven Days, even as he noted that “As an artist, I want to see more of the world and experience more. And it’s so speciﬁc here, part of me wonders how much a songwriter can grow in a small town.”

indie rocker Greg Freeman is on the cusp of a breakout with his forthcoming LP, Burnover

BY CHRIS FARNSWORTH • farnsworth@sevendaysvt.com

share his view of the local scene, offer insights into his writing process and ponder whether an observational writer such as himself can a ord to stay in a small town, creatively speaking.

That last question is very much on Freeman’s mind lately. He recently returned from New Mexico, where he rented a spot for a few weeks and wrote a new batch of songs — his ﬁrst not written in Burlington for some time.

“The last album and this new one were so inﬂuenced by living here,” he said. “I wasn’t trying to communicate anything specific about the Northeast, but I just wanted it to feel like the music came from where I was physically writing it.”

Wanting a change of scenery, Freeman headed west to write new material, which raises the inevitable question: How much longer will he be part of the Vermont music scene? He certainly wouldn’t be the ﬁrst

His pale-blue eyes widened at a sudden thought: “But then, take Emily Dickinson. She could write about anything just sitting in her house in western Mass.”

It’s not something Freeman plans on deciding anytime soon, while the rush of a new record is upon him — and what a record it is. Burnover moves on from the indie charm and scru ness of I Looked Out to present a sort of post-American epic, full

I JUST WANTED IT TO FEEL LIKE THE MUSIC CAME FROM WHERE I WAS PHYSICALLY WRITING IT.

GREG FREEMAN

of twang and fuzz in equal measures. Above all, it shows us Freeman’s notebook of a mind taking everything in.

Freeman recorded the songs with engineer and coproducer Benny Yurco at the latter’s Burlington studio, Little Jamaica Recordings. The record also features a ton of Freeman’s friends and scene mates, including Zack James (Robber Robber, Dari Bay), Scott Maynard (Wild Leek River), Sam Atallah and Cam Gilmour. Freeman has appeared on many of their records in the past.

“I guess it is a scene, yeah,” Freeman admitted with a soft laugh, contemplating the current landscape of local music.

On the Beat

Last week, I wrote about tons of o eat and lesser-known cool places to catch live music in Vermont. Spurred by some prominent venue closures, I wanted to highlight that there are more live shows happening than most people realize.

I’m not going to lie: I strongly suspected that I’d hear from a lot of readers, either sore that their own favorite spot didn’t get a shout-out or just eager to throw other establishments into the conversation. You did not disappoint!

While the piece was never intended as a comprehensive roundup, I’m glad it has us all looking for more places to see music. I heard from fans of clubs like the Venetian Cocktail & Soda Lounge in Burlington and newer spots such as Vermont Cider Lab in Essex. As for those few readers who asked why I didn’t talk about South Burlington’s Higher Ground, the largest and most established club in the state: Well, I think you missed the point of the article, homies.

One thing I didn’t track in the piece were underground, basement and DIY shows, such as those thrown by BURLINGTON ELECTRONIC DEPARTMENT, the brainchild of ROOST.WORLD’s ZAQ SCHUSTER Their latest party takes us to a most unconventional venue: the Marketplace Garage in downtown Burlington. Featuring ACQUA MOSSA, AMELIA DEVOID, MARIE HAMILTON and Roost.World, the rave goes down on Thursday, July 3, 6 to 10 p.m., on the rooftop of the city’s

frendly gathering music festival is returning to timber ridge, july 17–20! gather your frends for the reunion of the summer!"

Listening In

(Spotify mix of local jams)

1. “CURTAIN” by Greg Freeman

2. “YES WE ARE A THE GRATEFUL DEAD COVER BAND, THANKS FOR ASKING!” by the Dead Shakers

3. “SEA OR WAR — ROOST.WORLD VERSION” by Robber Robber, Roost.World

4. “CASSETTES” by the Leatherbound Books

5. “HURT YOU” by Frankie White

6. “JANKY FUCKER” by Joe Something

7. “I CAN’T QUIT YOU” by Rebecca Ryskalczyk

com/playlist

most visible parking garage. Find tickets through Roost.World’s Instagram. You shouldn’t have trouble ﬁguring out where to park.

From July 19 through 27, Otter Creek Music Festival returns for its 46th

4t-FrendlyGathering062525.indd 1

Windborne

music+nightlife

season of world-class chamber music. Originally founded as a summer series by Middlebury College professor GLENN ANDRES and held in the Salisbury Congregational Church, the event has evolved quite a bit over the years. It became a nonproﬁt under arts administrator JOSHUA GLASSMAN, who took over from Andres in 2022. The shindig has grown into a fullblown festival spread across multiple locations, including Town Hall Theater and the Mahaney Arts Center in Middlebury, the Cha ee Art Center in Rutland, and Red Clover Ale in Brandon.

This year’s lineup is loaded with talent. Vocal quartet WINDBORNE is joined by the likes of the TOOMAI STRING QUINTET, SKYLARK string ensemble, Grammy-winning mezzo-soprano MAREN MONTALBANO with guitarist THOMAS SCHUTTENHELM, and baritone NICHOLAS TOCCI with pianist CLAIRE BLACK. Tickets can be purchased at ottercreekmusicfestival.com.

Rockin’ Ron the Friendly Pirate

Not being a particularly nautical dude, I saw a new track in my inbox titled “Poop Deck Dance” and envisioned a pretty nasty scenario — cue the worrying over how I might cover such a track. Fortunately, before I brainstormed too many juvenile puns, I realized the song had come from our old friend ROCKIN’ RON THE FRIENDLY PIRATE, the noted local kids’ musician with a penchant for sea shanties. As he explained in the email, a poop deck is the roof of a ship’s cabin built near the aft of the boat — not a German expressionist video you found on the dark web. (C’mon, Chris.)

Eye on the Scene

Last week’s highlights from photographer Luke Awtry

GRACE BOWERS & THE HODGE PODGE AT SHELBURNE MUSEUM, FRIDAY, JUNE 27: e Ben & Jerry’s Concerts on the Green series, with the help of Higher Ground Presents, started summer off with four huge outdoor shows at Shelburne Museum last week. On Monday, lovebirds KATIE CRUTCHFIELD, aka WAXAHATCHEE, and KEVIN MORBY brought both their bands for a sold-out show. On Tuesday, hard-to-define (and hard-to-pronounce) KHRUANGBIN also sold out. On Wednesday, the field filled up again for the triple bill of BNNY, BRISTON MARONEY and headliner PEACH PIT. Friday looked like the perfect night for some rock and roll — moody skies, relentless wind and two double-guitar groups — so I had to be there. GARY CLARK JR., Austin’s fourtime Grammy-winning guitarist, headlined the show, playing alongside longtime bandmate ERIC “KING” ZAPATA. For the opener, GRACE BOWERS took center stage on a right-handed Gibson SG Special, with lefty PRINCE PARKER playing an upside-down, reverse-strung Fender Stratocaster. I loved the visual of that ripping combo. Both the guitarist and the photographer in me were thrilled to be in the house.

The song was originally cut for Ron’s 2021 album Captains and Sea Monsters . The new track, a remix by JOSHUA CLINGER of River Road Productions, gives the kids’ tune a trance makeover for when it’s time to get the galleon grooving. Ron also shot a video for the

Originally from Bethesda, Md., he moved north to attend the University of Vermont, where he studied anthropology and religion.

“By ‘scene,’” he continued, “I mean there’s this tight-knit community of people that have chosen to stay here through all the phases. We started out as students in basements, moved on to playing little clubs that are gone now, like SideBar, then on to Radio Bean. Now a lot of us are touring.”

Burnover comes on the heels of Lily Seabird’s excellent LP Trash Mountain, an ode to the Queen City in its own fashion. Like Freeman’s album, Seabird’s was recently featured in Rolling Stone. For all the shared success and buzz, Freeman is quick to point out that the musicians of Burlington’s indie scene follow di erent paths toward their goals. Despite their connections, they don’t sound or operate the same.

“It’s so diverse right now — even the electronic music, which is awesome,” Freeman said. “It’s felt special here for a number of years, but … if one venue closes or one person moves away, everything can shift overnight. Other scenes like this, in Asheville or Bloomington [Ind.], have structures in place, like labels, that help sustain it. Here, it’s mainly about the artists knitting it together, which is cool but ultimately fragile, as well.”

If Freeman feels the Burlington scene is constantly on the cusp of ending or changing, a similar mood permeates his work. Seeded throughout the songs on I Looked Out and Burnover is an overarching sense of mortality, a curious eye for the endings of things.

“Pass right by the broken dreams of the broken-into cars,” Freeman sings over and over at the end of “Rome, New York,” creating a sort of “Hey Jude” moment as a chorus of backup singers joins him to repeat the foreboding line. Lyrics such as “cruciform fossils lay excavated on your memory,” from “Curtain,” also encode that sense of ﬁnality.

“The natural conclusion of thinking about anything is that it ends,” Freeman said. “I want to think through what I’m writing about as much as I can, so I’m not bullshitting myself. And yeah, everything ends. That’s not necessarily a bad thing, either. It’s just the arc of the universe.”

song at Cambridge Elementary School, aided by its Technology Ambassador program, which handled set production, videography and choreography.

“Poop Deck Dance” is on major streaming services, and the video is on YouTube. Right on, matey. ➆

As he ﬁnished his drink and stood up from the table, Freeman didn’t have the look of a man near the end of anything, however. With Burnover’s release, the work will begin anew. For now, he’ll try to enjoy the last days of a quiet Burlington summer, but the world awaits. ➆

INFO

Burnover by Greg Freeman releases on August 22 on Canvasback/Transgressive Records and all major streaming services. greg-freeman.net

What are some

speciﬁc challenges of

this position?

One of the most common misconceptions about working at TCI is that it’s just about ﬁxing computers behind the scenes, with little to no client interaction. at couldn’t be further from the truth. While technical ability is essential — we do need someone capable, resourceful and able to work well with others — what we’re really seeking is someone exceptional. Someone who thrives in a client-facing role, who takes initiative not only to solve problems but also to anticipate them, and who genuinely cares about helping our clients succeed. It’s about becoming a trusted guide who helps our clients improve productivity, reduce stress and feel conﬁdent in their technology. is role matters because you’re not just supporting systems; you’re supporting people. And that makes all the difference.

What is unique about TCI?

Unlike other IT companies that discourage technicians from engaging with clients, we believe just the opposite. At TCI, you’re not just a technician. We equip you to be a tech, a consultant and, at times, even a salesperson — because the ability to communicate, educate and guide our clients is critical. Whether you’re helping them understand the value of a solution, navigating them through a process or simply earning their trust, it’s all part of the job. We don’t hire “geeks” who only work in the background — we hire real people who build relationships, solve real problems and perform great IT.

Apply for this great local job and many more: jobs.sevendaysvt.com

Get the scoop on Technology Consultants, Inc. from CEO Michael Servidio

Readers help pay for the production of this award-winning weekly newspaper. Thousands have made one-time or recurring donations to sustain Seven Days. Their support — along with advertisers’ — allows us to keep delivering breaking news and thoughtful long-form journalism to Vermonters.

Support local journalism — make a contribution today!

If you like what we do and can a ord to help pay for it, please become a Seven Days Super Reader. Your donation will help to keep our community informed and connected. Join the Super Readers at sevendaysvt.com/super-readers.

Or send a note (and a check) to: Seven Days c/o Super Readers PO Box 1164 Burlington, VT 05402

Gillian English at 865-1020, ext. 115 or superreaders@sevendaysvt.com.

Seven Days on the press in Mirabel, Québec

music+nightlife

CLUB DATES

live music

WED.2

Arty LaVigne Band (blues, rock) at Halvorson’s, Burlington, 6:30 p.m. Free.

BBQ and Bluegrass (bluegrass) at Four Quarters Brewing, Winooski, 6:30 p.m. Free.

Davy Knowles, Pony Truck (blues) at Higher Ground Showcase Lounge, South Burlington, 7:30 p.m. $32.06. Ghost-Note, Allysha Joy (funk) at Stone Church, Chester, 7 p.m. $33.30/$39.40.

Irish Night with RambleTree (Celtic) at Two Brothers Tavern, Middlebury, 7 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.

Jeff & Gina (folk) at North Hero House Inn & Restaurant, 5:30 p.m. Free.

Red Hot Juba (jazz) at Black Flannel Brewing & Distilling, Essex, 6 p.m. Free.

Scott Reynolds, Jon Snodgrass, Slob Drop, Violet Crimes, FFO Chillin (punk) at 1st Republic Brewing, Essex, 7 p.m. $15.

Unto, Tabarnak, Neighbors (indie) at Radio Bean, Burlington, 8:30 p.m. $10.

Wednesday Night Dead (Grateful Dead tribute) at Zenbarn, Waterbury Center, 7 p.m. $10.

THU.3

Alex Stewart & Friends (jazz) at the 126, Burlington, 7 p.m. Free.

Ali T (singer-songwriter) at Shelburne Vineyard, 6 p.m. Free.

CDSM, TVOD, Mad (post-punk) at Radio Bean, Burlington, 9:30 p.m. $12/$15.

Eric George (folk) at the Skinny Pancake, Burlington, 6 p.m. Free.

The Faerie Godbrothers (Americana, jazz) at Black Flannel Brewing & Distilling, Essex, 6 p.m. Free.

Familiar Faces Funk Jam (funk, jazz) at the 126, Burlington, 9 p.m. Free.

Frankie & the Fuse (indie pop) at Red Square, Burlington, 6 p.m. Free.

The Full Cleveland (yacht rock) at Charlie-O’s World Famous, Montpelier, 7 p.m. Free.

Harsh (rock, funk) at Foam Brewers, Burlington, 9 p.m. Free.

Live Music Series (live music series) at Folino’s Pizza, Northfield, 5 p.m. Free.

Loose Monkey (rock) at Switchback Beer Garden & Smokehouse, Burlington, 5 p.m. Free.

Silvan Pulse (rock fusion) at Hugo’s, Montpelier, 7:30 p.m. Free.

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.

Barnstorming

Consisting of two pairs of brothers and a powerhouse female vocalist, NIKKI AND THE BARN BOYS meld indie-rock sounds with a streak of R&B.

Fronted by Nikki Childs, whose soaring vocals and dynamic melodies combine with waves of shimmery guitars and a rock-steady rhythm section, the Cape Code-born band moved to Vermont in 2024 so several members could attend Saint Michael’s College. But the group is no mere college act. It regularly tours up and down the East Coast and has opened for the likes of Jack Johnson and G. Love & Special Sauce. It also recently released the EP where do we go from here, recorded locally at Tank Recording Studio. Nikki and the Barn Boys hit Radio Bean in Burlington on Tuesday, July 8.

FRI.4

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

Burning Monk (Rage Against the Machine tribute band) at Lost Nation Brewing, Morrisville, 7 p.m. $15.

The Cold Creek Pickers (bluegrass) at Shelburne Vineyard, 6 p.m. Free.

Colin McCaffrey & Friends (folk, pop) at Hugo’s, Montpelier, 7:30 p.m. Free.

Dale and Darcy Band (folk) at von Trapp Brewing Bierhall, Stowe, 2 p.m. Free.

Dancin’ in the Streets with Local Strangers (Grateful Dead tribute) at the Skinny Pancake, Burlington, 8 p.m. Free.

Dave Mitchell’s Blue’s Revue (blues) at Red Square, Burlington, 2 p.m. Free.

The Lowmen (folk) at Old Soul Design Shop, Plattsburgh, N.Y., 8 p.m. Free.

Nico Suave & the Mothership (Led Zeppelin tribute) at Zenbarn, Waterbury Center, 8 p.m. $15/$18.

The Phil Abair Band (covers) at the Old Post, South Burlington, 7 p.m. Free.

Rap Night Burlington (hip-hop) at Drink, Burlington, 9 p.m. $5. Sabouyouma (funk) at Radio Bean, Burlington, 9 p.m. $10/$15.

SAT.5

Absence of Light, Defender (metal) at Monopole, Plattsburgh, N.Y., 10 p.m. Free.

The Bleeding Hearts Family Band (folk) at the Den at Harry’s Hardware, Cabot, 7 p.m. Free.

Dale and Darcy Band (folk) at Two Heroes Brewery Public House, South Hero, 6:30 p.m. Free.

Jaded Ravins (Americana) at von Trapp Brewing Bierhall, Stowe, 5:30 p.m. Free.

Jess O’Brien & Paul Miller (acoustic) at Whammy Bar, Calais, 7 p.m. Free.

Jewel House, Ella Grace (discopop) at Radio Bean, Burlington, 9:30 p.m. $12/$15.

Jordan Sedwin (jazz) at Bleu Northeast Kitchen, Burlington, 7:30 p.m. Free.

Little Mazarn, Fern Maddie, Ethan & Francis Azarian (folk) at Light Club Lamp Shop, Burlington, 7 p.m. $12/$15.

Liz Reedy (singer-songwriter) at Poultney Pub, 6 p.m. Free.

Long Gone John & TallGrass GetDown (folk, bluegrass) at Foam Brewers, Burlington, 9 p.m. Free.

The Midnight Stargazers (bluegrass) at Old Soul Design Shop, Plattsburgh, N.Y., 8 p.m. Free.

Mojo Birds (roots, rock) at Bent Nails Bistro, Montpelier, 9 p.m. Free.

Moonbird (covers) at On Tap Bar & Grill, Essex Junction, 9 p.m. Free.

Paris Monster (funk, soul) at the Mill, Westport, N.Y., 7:30 p.m. $25.

Reid Parsons (singer-songwriter) at Shelburne Vineyard, 6 p.m. Free.

The Samples, Zack Tyler (rock) at the Green at the Essex Experience, 7 p.m. $25/$35.

SUN.6

Ali T (singer-songwriter) at Vermont Pub & Brewery, Burlington, 1 p.m. Free.

Burton Stonerook (bluegrass) at Foam Brewers, Burlington, 1 p.m. Free.

Chris Peterman Duo (jazz) at Lawson’s Finest Liquids, Waitsfield, 3 p.m. Free.

Cooie Sings (folk) at Blue Paddle Bistro, South Hero, 6 p.m. Free.

G Rockwell & Hilary Weitzner (folk) at Shelburne Vineyard, 2 p.m. Free.

Grrrrls 2 the Front Graduation Show (R&B, rock) at Stone Church, Chester, 5 p.m. Free.

The Leatherbound Books, bug crush, the Eye Traps, Angel Hair no.12 (indie) at Monkey House, Winooski, 7 p.m. $10.

Sunday Brunch Tunes (singersongwriter) at Hotel Vermont, Burlington, 10 a.m.

MON.7

Duncan MacLeod Trio (folk) at North Hero House Inn & Restaurant, 5:30 p.m. Free.

TUE.8

Beach Party Bash with Cady Ternity, Campfire Jack, TATO (indie) at Monkey House, Winooski, 5:30 p.m. Free.

Big Easy Tuesdays with Jon McBride (jazz) at the 126, Burlington, 7 p.m. Free.

Bluegrass Jam (bluegrass) at Poultney Pub, 7 p.m. Free.

Honky Tonk Tuesday with John Abair and His Good Pals (country) at Radio Bean, Burlington, 9 p.m. $10.

Nikki and the Barn Boys (indie rock) at Radio Bean, Burlington, 7 p.m. $10.

Twangtown Paramours (folk) at Lawson’s Finest Liquids, Waitsfield, 5 p.m. Free.

WED.9

BBQ and Bluegrass (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.

Jerborn (acoustic) at North Hero House Inn & Restaurant, 5:30 p.m. Free.

Tom Bisson (folk) at Two Heroes Brewery Public House, South Hero, 6 p.m. Free.

Wednesday Night Dead (Grateful Dead tribute) at Zenbarn, Waterbury Center, 7 p.m. $10. The Wormdogs (bluegrass) at Radio Bean, Burlington, 8 p.m. $10/$15.

djs

WED.2

DJ Chalango, DJ Tarzana Salsa Night (DJ, salsa) at Hugo’s, Montpelier, 7 p.m. Free.

THU.3

Dance Party with DJ Chia (DJ) at Bent Nails Bistro, Montpelier, 8 p.m. Free.

DJ Chaston (DJ) at Red Square Blue Room, Burlington, 10 p.m. Free.

DJ JP Black (DJ) at Red Square, Burlington, 8 p.m. Free.

DJ Two Sev (DJ) at Red Square, Burlington, 11 p.m. Free.

DJs Paul, Flat, Aidan (DJ) at Red Square Blue Room, Burlington, 9 p.m. Free.

Local Dork (DJ) at Foam Brewers, Burlington, 6 p.m. Free.

Vinyl Night with Ken (DJ) at Poultney Pub, 6 p.m. Free.

Vinyl Thursdays (DJ) at Hotel Vermont, Burlington, 6 p.m. Free.

FRI.4

CRWD CTRL (DJ) at Foam Brewers, Burlington, 8 p.m. Free.

DJ CRE8 (DJ) at Red Square, Burlington, 6 p.m. Free.

DJ Taka (DJ) at Light Club Lamp Shop, Burlington, 11 p.m. $10/$15.

SAT.5

DJ Eric LaFountaine (DJ) at Gusto’s, Barre, 9 p.m. Free.

DJ Night with Broosha, Snakefoot, Transplante (DJ) at Zenbarn, Waterbury Center, 8 p.m. $12.21.

DJ Raul (DJ) at Red Square Blue Room, Burlington, 6 p.m. Free. HAVEN (DJ) at MothershipVT, Burlington, 10 p.m. Free.

Kate Kush (DJ) at Light Club Lamp Shop, Burlington, 10:30 p.m. $10.

TUE.8 // NIKKI AND THE BARN BOYS [INDIE ROCK]

COURTESY

Cal Humberto, Maybe You’ve Changed

(SELF-RELEASED, DIGITAL)

Cal Humberto, like so many great names in the music business, is a pseudonym. The man behind the moniker is Calvin Wuthrich, one of the many multi-instrumentalist wizards who keep the Burlington scene so busy. (He also plays bass for jazz-jam ﬁxture No Showers on Vacation.)

Maybe You’ve Changed is a foursong introduction to his new solo direction: luxurious, timeless R&B. Well, technically speaking, this is a reintroduction. In 2023, he tested the waters with a split single, “Capo 5 // Maybe That’ll Be,” featuring some guitar-driven, introspective pop. For this latest project, Wuthrich leans into his keyboard chops and explores his remarkable vocal range. It’s a completely di erent animal from his earlier work.

Johnny Hartman as an inﬂuence. Hartman was an incomparable baritone stylist who worked with both Dizzy Gillespie and John Coltrane. This is deep lore, and the Cal Humberto enterprise is aiming very high indeed.

The EP leads o with “Captive of That World,” setting the tone with a bright, funky yacht-rock workout. Yet the lyrics are the work of an old soul: While the sound is very cocaine 1980s, the song itself is pure ’50s jazz ballad. The melodies and storytelling are equally reﬁned.

Up next is “Perfect,” by far my favorite cut. It’s a straightforward R&B love song with a knockout arrangement that more than justiﬁes the ﬁve-minute run time. Wuthrich’s falsetto work is impressive, and the chorus section is, indeed, perfect. Trumpeter Sam Atallah’s solo work here is scorching, too.

record, and it is a doozy, growing from a piano-lounge intro into a warm, melancholy meditation on how relationships drift apart — and closer together.

Maybe You’ve Changed shows great work. But it could be far better. This is a promising demo, a practice run for a breakthrough album in the making. Wuthrich has the ear, the pipes and the style all dialed in. He just needs to collaborate with a mixing engineer he trusts. The self-production here is competent, but the tracks need more polish to really shine. It would be well worth rerecording some of the songs; these are top-shelf compositions.

One thing that shouldn’t change? This band. Its killer players are tight as hell and clearly having fun. The core trio of Zach Brownstein (drums), Luca Medina (guitar) and Evan Barker (bass) elevates every song with a deep, organic pocket.

So, until that next album drops, give this EP a couple of spins — and catch the outﬁt live if you get the chance this summer.

Surprisingly for a young artist, Wuthrich cites

Julia Randall, Rom-Com Industrial Complex

(SELF RELEASED, DIGITAL)

Ah, love. We fill albums, films, books, poems and social media posts with paeans and laments to love, but ultimately we know so little about it. Al Pacino declared it “biochemically no di erent than eating large quantities of chocolate” (granted, he said this while playing Satan in a film), yet studies have shown that lovers have a tendency to sync heartbeats and even respiration. We can be hopeless romantics one week and hardened cynics the next.

That dynamic is at the heart of Julia Randall’s Rom-Com Industrial Complex. The Burlington singer-songwriter’s debut spans the spectrum of love, from the dizzying, weak-atthe-knees early days of infatuation to the bitter moments before a fraying relationship’s end. She even covers the acceptance stage, writing a song for an ex and their new partner.

The ﬁrst half of Rom-Com is the giddy climb as love is found and as amazing as the movies promised. In the jazzy, playful “I’m in Love Again,” Randall is so enraptured that “co ee tastes like Champagne” and there’s no concentrating on anything but those feelings. “You think that I’d know by now,” she croons, a prophetic line that returns later.

“Money” is the most earnest earworm on the EP, an up-tempo wash of arpeggios and vocal layers that ends with a brilliant guitar solo. The title track closes out the

The title track, all gentle folk-pop, is awash with the myths of love, moonlight and gold rings, but already there’s a sense of caution creeping in, as if the artist recognizes this is too much like a fairy tale.

Randall is a gifted composer, as good at shifting genre gears from pop to jazz to Americana as she is at crafting evocative and, eventually, bittersweet lyrics. She builds suspense as a love story risks going pear-shaped. Despite the wistful romance of “When We’ve Grown Old” — “disconnect the telephone / and hope we’re left alone,” she sings — there’s a sense of desperation beneath it all as clouds gather on the horizon.

Maybe You’ve Changed is now available on all major streaming platforms.

For all the cleverness of the concept, it’s Randall’s voice that holds Rom-Com together. She spends much of the album in close control, singing breathy, at times languid melodies su used with desire or sorrow. But she can easily swing big, soaring on tracks such as “What Won’t Be.”

By the second half of the record, the love story has fallen apart. Friends and family have been told it’s o ; pictures are disappearing from social media; sweaters are returned. Randall describes doing some light stalking in “On the Internet,” a slow-burning, R&Binﬂected song that reminds listeners to maybe avoid looking at an ex’s Venmo transactions.

Fourteen tracks might seem like a lot to dedicate to a single love story, and indeed, were it not for Randall’s high-level songcraft and keen storytelling, the record might get bogged down. The vision behind Rom-Com is compelling enough that even when we know which way it’s going for our heroine, we’re still ready for the next chapter.

When it arrives, there’s a light in the darkness, a new ﬂame. Cautiously, over a lush string arrangement, Randall returns to that earlier line: “You’d think that I’d know by now,” closing the circle on “I’m in Love Again (Reprise).”

Randall’s debut is an emotionally gripping record — an expertly crafted piece of art that serves as a marker for the ferocious potential of a young, up-and-coming artist.

Rom-Com Industrial Complex is available on major streaming services. For more information, visit juliarandallmusic.com.

CHRIS FARNSWORTH

JUSTIN BOLAND

Julia Randall

Matt Payne (DJ) at Red Square Blue Room, Burlington, 10 p.m. Free.

Molly Mood (DJ) at Red Square Blue Room, Burlington, 8 p.m. Free.

WED.9

The Mid Week Hump with DJs Fattie B and Craig Mitchell (DJ) at Monkey House, Winooski, 7 p.m. Free.

open mics & jams

WED.2

Celtic Open Jam (open mic) at Bent Nails Bistro, Montpelier, 8 p.m. Free.

Open Mic with Danny Lang (open mic) at Poultney Pub, 7 p.m. Free.

The Ribbit Review Open Mic & Jam (open mic) at Lily’s Pad, Burlington, 7 p.m. Free.

THU.3

Open Mic (open mic) at Brookfield Old Town Hall, 6:30 p.m. Free.

Open Mic Night (open mic) at Parker Pie, West Glover, 6 p.m. Free.

Open Mic with Artie (open mic) at Whammy Bar, Calais, 7 p.m. Free.

FRI.4

Jam Session with Connor Young & Friends (jazz open jam) at Radio Bean, Burlington, 10:30 p.m. $10/$15.

Red Brick Coffee House (open mic) at Red Brick Meeting House, Westford, 7 p.m. Free.

SUN.6

Olde Time Jam Session (open jam) at the Den at Harry’s Hardware, Cabot, noon. Free.

MON.7

Bluegrass Etc. Jam with Ben Kogan (bluegrass jam session) at Ottauquechee Yacht Club, Woodstock, 3 p.m. Free.

Off the Shelf

Take one part folk twee. Add a dose of indie-rock fuzz and punk edge. Throw in a dash of selfdescribed “crushing low self-esteem,” and you get the sonic goodness that is Burlington band the LEATHERBOUND BOOKS What’s now a trio started as an indie-folk duo whose debut, Tender My Hopes, earned rave reviews and comparisons to artists such as the Mountain Goats. The band has been on a steady trajectory of turning up the amps and getting more aggressive with each release — just look at its most recent album, the aptly named LOUDER and SADDER. The Leatherbound Books play the Monkey House in Winooski on Sunday, July 6, with New York City bands BUG CRUSH and ANGEL HAIR NO. 12, along with locals the EYETRAPS

WED.9

Open Mic with Danny Lang (open mic) at Poultney Pub, 7 p.m. Free.

comedy

THU.3

Live, Laugh, Lava: A Comedy Showcase (comedy) at Radio Bean, Burlington, 7 p.m. Free.

TUE.8

Open Mic Comedy with Levi Silverstein (comedy open mic) at the 126, Burlington, 7 p.m. Free.

WED.9

$5 Improv Night (comedy) at Vermont Comedy Club, Burlington, 7 p.m. $5.

Standup Open Mic (comedy open mic) at Vermont Comedy Club, Burlington, 8:30 p.m. Free.

trivia,

karaoke,

etc.

WED.2

Karaoke Friday Night (karaoke) at Park Place Tavern & Grill, Essex Junction, 8 p.m. Free.

Karaoke with Autumn (karaoke) at Monopole, Plattsburgh, N.Y., 9 p.m. Free.

Trivia (trivia) at Alfie’s Wild Ride, Stowe, 7 p.m. Free.

Trivia Night (trivia) at Two Heroes Brewery Public House, South Hero, 6 p.m. Free.

Trivia Night (trivia) at Parker Pie, West Glover, 6:30 p.m. Free.

Trivia Night (trivia) at Dumb Luck Pub & Grill, Winooski, 7 p.m. Free.

Trivia Night (trivia) at Venetian Cocktail & Soda Lounge, Burlington, 7 p.m. Free.

THU.3

Karaoke Friday Night (karaoke) at Park Place Tavern & Grill, Essex Junction, 8 p.m. Free.

Line Dancing and Two-Step Night (dance) at Zenbarn, Waterbury Center, 6 p.m. Free.

Trivia (trivia) at Four Quarters Brewing, Winooski, 6 p.m. Free.

FRI.4

Karaoke Friday Night (karaoke) at Park Place Tavern & Grill, Essex Junction, 8 p.m. Free.

SAT.5

Don’t Tread on Us: Drag Show + Karaoke Party (drag, karaoke) at Sawtooth Kitchen, Bar and Stage, Hanover, N.H., 8 p.m. $15.

Queeraoke with Goddess (karaoke) at Standing Stone Wines, Winooski, 9 p.m. Free.

Summer Sparks: Drag & Burlesque Show (drag, burlesque) at Afterthoughts, Waitsfield, 8 p.m. $20.

SUN.6

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.

Venetian Karaoke (karaoke) at Venetian Cocktail & Soda Lounge, Burlington, 7 p.m. Free.

MON.7

Trivia Monday (trivia) at Black Flannel Brewing & Distilling, Essex, 6 p.m. Free.

Trivia Monday with Top Hat Entertainment (trivia) at McKee’s Original, Winooski, 7 p.m. Free. Trivia with Brain (trivia) at Charlie-O’s World Famous, Montpelier, 8 p.m. Free.

Trivia with Craig Mitchell (trivia) at Monkey House, Winooski, 7 p.m. Free.

TUE.8

Karaoke with DJ Party Bear (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.

Taylor Swift Trivia (trivia) at Switchback Beer Garden & Smokehouse, Burlington, 5 p.m. Free.

Trivia Tuesday (trivia) at On Tap Bar & Grill, Essex Junction, 7 p.m. Free.

WED.9

Karaoke Friday Night (karaoke) at Park Place Tavern & Grill, Essex Junction, 8 p.m. Free.

Live Band Karaoke (karaoke) at Bent Nails Bistro, Montpelier, 8 p.m. Free.

Trivia (trivia) at Alfie’s Wild Ride, Stowe, 7 p.m. Free.

Trivia Night (trivia) at Parker Pie, West Glover, 6:30 p.m. Free.

Trivia Night (trivia) at Dumb Luck Pub & Grill, Winooski, 7 p.m. Free. Trivia Night (trivia) at Venetian Cocktail & Soda Lounge, Burlington, 7 p.m. Free. ➆

SUN.6 // THE LEATHERBOUND BOOKS [INDIE ROCK]

calendar

JULY 2-9, 2025

WED.2 activism

DISABLED ACCESS & ADVOCACY OF THE RUTLAND AREA MONTHLY ZOOM MEETING: Community members gather online to advocate for accessibility and other disability-rights measures. 11:30 a.m.-noon. Free. Info, 779-9021.

business

‘BUSINESS CONTRACTS: BASICS & IN PRACTICE’: The Vermont Small Business Law Center hosts an informative webinar to show how contracts can help folks set and manage expectations in their professional relationships. 4 p.m. Free; preregister. Info, 831-1289.

QUEEN CITY BUSINESS NETWORKING INTERNATIONAL GROUP: Savvy businesspeople make crucial contacts at a weekly chapter meeting. BCA Center, Burlington, 11:15 a.m.-1 p.m. Free. Info, 829-5066.

VERMONT WOMENPRENEURS BIZ

BUZZ ZOOM: A monthly virtual networking meetup provides a space for female business owners to connect. 10-11 a.m. Free; preregister. Info, 870-0903‬.

community

WEEKLY 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, 5-8 p.m. Free. Info, churchstmarketplace@ gmail.com.

crafts

EMBROIDERY GUILD: Curious patrons watch members of the Embroiderers’ Guild of America create stitched wonders using a variety of needlework techniques, then choose a beautifully crafted bookmark to take home. Brownell Library, Essex Junction, 10 a.m.-noon. Free. Info, 878-6956.

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. Info, 448-3780.

dance

BARN DANCE: Seasoned pros and beginners alike hit the dance floor for an evening of two-steppin’ feet and beats by Better in Boots. The Barn at Boyden Farm, Cambridge, 5:30-9 p.m. $15; free for kids 10 and under; cash bar. Info, 598-5509.

These community event listings are sponsored by the WaterWheel Foundation, a project of the Vermont band Phish.

LIST YOUR UPCOMING EVENT HERE FOR FREE!

All submissions must be received by Thursday at noon for consideration in the following Wednesday’s newspaper. Find our convenient form and guidelines at sevendaysvt.com/postevent

Listings and spotlights are written by Rebecca Driscoll Seven Days edits for space and style. Depending on cost and other factors, classes and workshops may be listed in either the calendar or the classes section. Class organizers may be asked to purchase a class listing.

Learn more about highlighted listings in the Magnificent 7 on page 11.

food & drink

COMMUNITY COOKING:

Helping hands join up with the nonprofit’s staff and volunteers to make a yummy meal for distribution. Pathways Vermont, Burlington, 6-8 p.m. Free. Info, 777-8691.

health & fitness

CHAIR YOGA:

Waterbury Public Library instructor Diana Whitney leads at-home participants in gentle stretches supported by seats. 10 a.m. Free. Info, 244-7036.

CONNECTION SUPPORT

GROUP: Trained volunteers living in recovery with a mental health condition facilitate this meeting for participants to share their own experiences and gain wisdom from peers. Windsor Public Library, 5:156:45 p.m. Free. Info, 876-7949, ext. 102.

language

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. Info, programs@damlvt.org.

music

ATOM & THE ORBITS: A local band plays original songs influenced by 1950s rock and roll. The Tillerman, Bristol, 5-8 p.m. Free; cash bar. Info, 643-2237.

BCA SUMMER CONCERT

SERIES: SALINE FIDDLERS

HARMONIC: A Michigan youth fiddling show band astounds audience members at an energetic and polished performance of works ranging from American folk to Western swing. Burlington City Hall

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

Park, 12:30-1:30 p.m. Free. Info, 829-6305.

JAZZ CAFÉ: Fans of the genre savor a showcase of live tunes performed by professional and upand-coming Vermont musicians in an intimate setting. Stone Valley Arts, Poultney, 7 p.m. Free. Info, stonevalleyartscenter@ gmail.com.

SALINE FIDDLERS HARMONIC: A premier youth fiddling group from Michigan astounds audiences with a showcase of diverse music from American folk, bluegrass, jazz and Celtic traditions. The Opera House at Enosburg Falls, 6:30 p.m. $12-15. Info, 933-6171.

TAYLOR PARK SUMMER

CONCERT SERIES: Local bands take the stage weekly to perform dynamic grooves while listeners enjoy green grass, refreshments and an evening breeze. See downtownsaintalbans.com for lineup. Taylor Park, St. Albans, 5:30-8 p.m. Free. Info, 524-1500, ext. 263.

VERMONT SYMPHONY

ORCHESTRA: The acclaimed ensemble invites listeners to its “Summer of Love” festival tour, featuring a range of spectacular works from around the globe. Saskadena Six Ski Area, South Pomfret, 7:30 p.m. $5-33; Free for kids 5 and under. Info, 864-5741.

WEDNESDAYS ON THE WATERFRONT: KYLE CHADBURN & THE EARTHBOUND SPIRITS: A Northeast Kingdom singer-songwriter gets bodies grooving with Americana, blues, soul and rock tunes. Newport Waterfront, 6 p.m. Free. Info, 748-2600.

outdoors

CABOT CHEESE-E-BIKE TOUR: Cyclists roll through a pastoral 20-mile trail ride, then enjoy artisan eats, including Vermont’s award-wining cheddar. Lamoille Valley Bike Tours, Johnson, noon4 p.m. $120. Info, 730-0161.

sports

BIKE BUM RACE SERIES: Mountain bikers of all ages tackle the trails solo or in teams, then cool down at an athlete after-party. Killington Resort, 2-5 p.m. $20-200; preregister. Info, 800-734-9435.

GREEN MOUNTAIN TABLE TENNIS CLUB: Ping-Pong players swing their paddles in singles and doubles matches. Rutland Area Christian School, 7-9 p.m. Free for first two sessions; $30 annual membership. Info, 247-5913.

VERMONT LAKE MONSTERS: Green Mountain State batters step up to the plate while sports fans of all ages root, root, root for the home team. Centennial Field, Burlington, 6:35 p.m. $7.5019.50. Info, 655-4200.

theater

‘ALMOST HEAVEN: JOHN DENVER’S AMERICA’: Weston Theater Company brings the Rocky Mountain high to the

Green Mountain State at this uplifting production chronicling the singer-songwriter’s life, legacy and timeless tunes. Weston Theater at Walker Farm, 2-4:30 & 7:30-10 p.m. $55-92. Info, 824-5288.

‘SALVAGE’: The Dorset Theatre Festival features Lena Kaminsky’s heartwarming new comedy about what can happen when we allow ourselves to be seen. Dorset Playhouse, 2 & 7:30 p.m. $57. Info, 867-2223.

THU.3

business

GROW YOUR BUSINESS:

Shelburne BNI hosts a weekly meeting for local professionals to exchange referrals and build meaningful connections. Connect Church, Shelburne, 8:30-10 a.m. Free. Info, 377-3422.

community

COMMUNITY PARTNERS DESK: Neighbors connect with representatives from the Burlington Electric Department and receive answers to questions about its services. Fletcher Free Library, Burlington, 3-5 p.m. Free. Info, 863-3403.

crafts

KNIT FOR YOUR NEIGHBORS: All ages and abilities knit or crochet hats and scarves for the South Burlington Food Shelf. Materials provided. South Burlington Public Library & City Hall, 2-5 p.m. Free. Info, 846-4140.

KNITTING GROUP: Knitters of all experience levels get together to spin yarns. Latham Library, Thetford, 7 p.m. Free. Info, 785-4361.

WOODWORKING LAB: Visionaries create a project or learn a new skill with the help of mentors and access to tools and equipment in the makerspace. Patricia A. Hannaford Career Center, Middlebury, 5-8 p.m. $7.50. Info, 382-1012.

dance

ENGLISH COUNTRY DANCE:

Leaders Barrett Grimm and Martha Kent introduce participants to a sprightly social dance popular in the 18th and 19th centuries. Richmond Free Library, 7-9 p.m. $5. Info, 355-8288.

etc.

NIGHT OWL CLUB: Astronomers and space exploration experts discuss the latest in extraterrestrial news with curious attendees.

Presented by Fairbanks Museum & Planetarium. 7 p.m. Free. Info, 748-2372.

film

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

‘ANIMAL KINGDOM 3D’: Audience members are guided through an exploration of stunning animal worlds, from frozen snowy

forests to the darkest depths of the ocean. 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, $16.5020; free for members and kids 2 and under. Info, 864-1848.

‘ANTARCTICA 3D’: Never-beforeseen footage brings audience members to the farthest reaches of the coldest, driest, windiest continent on Earth. Dealer.com 3D Theater, ECHO Leahy Center for Lake Champlain, Burlington, noon, 2 & 4 p.m. $3-5 plus regular admission, $16.50-20; free for members and kids 2 and under. Info, 864-1848.

‘OCEAN PARADISE 3D’: Viewers are transported to the far reaches of the Pacific Ocean for a glimpse into the pristine environments vital to our planet’s health. 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, $16.5020; free for members and kids 2 and under. Info, 864-1848.

‘SPACE: THE NEW FRONTIER 3D’: Viewers witness history in the making — from launching rockets without fuel to building the Lunar Gateway — in this 2024 documentary narrated by Chris Pine. Dealer.com 3D Theater, ECHO Leahy Center for Lake Champlain, Burlington, 11 a.m., 1 & 3 p.m. $3-5 plus regular admission, $16.50-20; free for members and kids 2 and under. Info, 864-1848.

food & drink

FOOD TRUCK ROUNDUP: Foodies enjoy live music, craft beer and fabulous fare from local purveyors at a weekly summer gathering. Retreat Farm, Brattleboro, 5-8 p.m. $5-8. Info, 490-2270.

FOMO?

Find even more local events in this newspaper and online: art

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

film

See what’s playing at theaters in the On Screen section. music + nightlife

Find club dates at local venues in the Music + Nightlife section online at sevendaysvt.com/ music.

Learn more about highlighted listings in the Magnificent 7 on page 11.

= ONLINE EVENT

= GET TICKETS ON SEVENDAYSTICKETS.COM

FAMI LY FU N

Check out these family-friendly events for parents, caregivers and kids of all ages.

• Plan ahead at sevendaysvt.com/family-fun

• Post your event at sevendaysvt.com/postevent.

WED.2

chittenden county

BABY TIME: Infants and their caregivers enjoy a slow, soothing story featuring songs, rhymes and lap play. South Burlington Public Library & City Hall, 10:30-11 a.m. Free. Info, 846-4140.

DREAM BEASTS: PAPIER-MÂCHÉ

ALEBRIJES: Local artist and educator Tina Logan teaches crafty kids how to design and build their own colorful, mythical creature from Mexican folk art. Brownell Library, Essex Junction, 2-4 p.m. Free. Info, 878-6956.

GAME ON!: Kids take turns collaborating with or competing against friends using Nintendo Switch on the big screen. Caregivers must be present to supervise children below ﬁfth grade. South Burlington Public Library & City Hall, 3-4 p.m. Free. Info, 846-4140.

SUMMER CRAFTYTOWN: Kiddos express their inner artist using mediums such as paint, print, collage and sculpture. Recommended for ages 6 and up. South Burlington Public Library & City Hall, 1-2 p.m. Free. Info, 846-4140.

WATER PLAY: Tots ages birth to 5 get wet and wild at an outdoor fest of giant blocks, hoops, chalk, bubbles, sounds and splashes. BYO towel or change of clothes. Brownell Library, Essex Junction, 10 a.m. Free. Info, 878-6956. 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, 10:30-11:30 a.m. Free. Info, 426-3581.

DINOMAN: ‘SPACE!’: A family entertainer uses dinosaurs, meteors, comets, liquid air and goldﬁsh to give kiddos a unique view of the heavens. Jaquith Public Library, Marshﬁeld, 6:30 p.m. Free. Info, 426-3581.

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, 3:305 p.m. Free. Info, 223-3338. mad river valley/ waterbury

CIRCUS SMIRKUS BIG TOP TOUR: Hold on to your seat! Acrobatic

Ship Shape

Lake Champlain Maritime Museum invites nautical adventurers of all ages to dive in (metaphorically, anyway) and discover what lies beneath at its seasonal Shipwreck Tours in Vergennes. Voyagers hop on board for a guided, scenic cruise unveiling the many mysteries of the deep — without getting wet! e region’s wartime, commerce and travel history comes to life as experts give context to James Cameron-esque underwater footage captured by submersible robots called ROVs. Attendees absorb dramatic, true tales at famous sites where 18th-, 19th- and 20th-century vessels sleep forever in the quiet, dark recesses of the lake’s bottom.

SHIPWRECK TOURS

ursday, July 3, 10 a.m.-noon, at Lake Champlain Maritime Museum in Vergennes. See website for additional dates. $25-45; preregister. Info, 475-2022, lcmm.org.

OPENS JUL. 3 | FAMILY FUN

adventures abound when performers rise to new heights in “Game On!” Farr’s Field, Waterbury, noon & 6 p.m. $25-40; free for kids 2 and under. Info, 877-764-7587.

TEEN HANGOUT: Middle and high schoolers make friends at a no-pressure meetup. Waterbury Public Library, 3-6 p.m. Free. Info, 244-7036.

TEEN QUEER READS: LGBTQIA+ and allied youths get together each month to read and discuss ideas around gender, sexuality and identity. Waterbury Public Library, 6-7 p.m. Free; preregister. Info, 244-7036.

northeast kingdom

ENCHANTED KINGDOM MINI GOLF: Putters of all ages hit the artist-designed course for some lighthearted competition, whimsy and thrills. Highland Center for the Arts, Greensboro, noon-8 p.m. $4-5. Info, 533-2000.

THU.3

burlington

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. Info, 862-9622.

‘THE GREAT CIRCUS TRAIN ROBBERY’: Budding thespians from Very Merry eatre entertain and delight audience members of all ages. Burlington City Hall Park, noon. Free. Info, 355-1461.

chittenden county

DREAM BEASTS: PAPIER-MÂCHÉ ALEBRIJES: See WED.2.

FAMILY STORY TIME: Wiggly ones through age 5 and their caregivers love this lively, interactive storybook experience featuring songs, rhymes and ﬁnger plays. South Burlington Public Library & City Hall, 10:3011 a.m. Free. Info, 846-4140.

KALEIDOSCOPE OF STORIES: Youngsters ages birth to 5 make merry with rhymes, songs and a colorful activity. Brownell Library, Essex Junction, 10-10:30 a.m. Free. Info, 878-6956.

MUSIC & MOVEMENT WITH MISS EMMA: Little ones and their caregivers use song and dance to explore the changing seasons and celebrate everyday joys. South Burlington Public Library & City Hall, 10:30 a.m. Free. Info, 846-4140.

PRESCHOOL MUSIC WITH LINDA BASSICK: e 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. Info, 878-4918.

PRESCHOOL PLAY TIME: Pre-K patrons play and socialize after music time. Dorothy Alling Memorial Library, Williston, 11-11:30 a.m. Free. Info, 878-4918.

barre/montpelier

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. Info, 223-3338.

STORY TIME: Kids and their caregivers meet for stories, songs and bubbles. Kellogg-Hubbard Library, Montpelier, 10:30-11 a.m. Free. Info, 223-3338.

FRI.4

stowe/smuggs

AN OLD-FASHIONED FOURTH OF JULY: A throwback bash summons patriotic spirit with a parade, street performers, local artisans and festive foods, rounded out by an impressive ﬁreworks display at the Mayo Events Field. Various Stowe locations, 10:30 a.m.-9:30 p.m. Free. Info, 253-7321.

northeast kingdom

ENCHANTED KINGDOM MINI GOLF: See WED.2.

SAT.5

burlington

LEGO TIME: Mini makers ages 4 to 11 design and build original, colorful creations. Fletcher Free Library New North End Branch, Burlington, 11 a.m.-noon. Free. Info, 863-3403.

SPLASH DANCE: Kiddos soak up sunshine and fun in the fountain while DJs spin family-friendly tracks. Burlington City Hall Park, 2:30-4:30 p.m. Free. Info, eindorato@burlingtoncityarts. org.

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. Info, 888-3853.

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. Info, 244-7036. CIRCUS SMIRKUS BIG TOP TOUR: See WED.2.

DINOMAN: A fun and informative program for all ages takes attendees on a trip to the Mesozoic era with magic, mayhem and magniﬁcent, inﬂatable dinosaurs. BYO chairs and blankets. Rusty Parker Memorial Park, Waterbury, 11 a.m.-noon. Free. Info, 244-7036.

middlebury area

SHIPWRECK TOURS: What lies beneath? Spectators view real-time footage of a sunken craft transmitted from a robotic camera. See calendar spotlight. Lake Champlain Maritime Museum, Vergennes, 10 a.m.-noon. $25-45; preregister. Info, 475-2022.

northeast kingdom

ACORN CLUB STORY TIME: Youngsters 5 and under play, sing, hear stories and color. St. Johnsbury Athenaeum, 10:15-10:45 a.m. Free. Info, 745-1391.

ENCHANTED KINGDOM MINI GOLF: See WED.2.

CHILDREN’S AFTERNOON TEA PARTY & TEA ETIQUETTE TALK: Tots don their ﬁnest dress-up outﬁts for a spot of history and sumptuous snacks, including mini sandwiches, warm scones with clotted cream and jam, and bite-size sweets. Governor’s House in Hyde Park, 1-2 p.m. $2048; preregister. Info, 888-6888.

mad river valley/ waterbury

SATURDAY STORY TIME: Stories and songs help children develop social and literacy skills. Waterbury Public Library, 10:30 a.m. Free. Info, 244-7036.

middlebury area

CIRCUS SMIRKUS BIG TOP TOUR: See WED.2. Mary Hogan Elementary School, Middlebury, 1 & 6 p.m.

upper valley

SENSORY-FRIENDLY HOUR: Families enjoy a special experience designed for visitors who prefer a quieter, less crowded environment. Vermont Institute of Natural Science, Quechee, 9-10 a.m. Regular admission, $17-20; free for members and kids 3 and under. Info, 359-5000.

northeast kingdom

ENCHANTED KINGDOM MINI GOLF: See WED.2.

SATURDAY STORY TIME: Tiny tots from birth to age 6 and their caregivers have fun with stories, songs, free play and crafts. St.

ST. ALBANS BAY FARMERS

MARKET: Local vendors’ art and crafts, live music, and a wide array of eats spice up Thursday afternoons in the region. St. Albans Bay Park, 4:30-7:30 p.m. Free. Info, 524-7589.

VERGENNES FARMERS MARKET: Locavores delight in handmade products, live music, hot food and a new beer tent. Vergennes City Park, 3-7 p.m. Free. Info, vergennesfm@gmail.com.

games

DUPLICATE BRIDGE GAMES:

Snacks and coffee fuel bouts of a classic card game. Burlington Bridge Club, Williston, 12:30-4 p.m. $6. Info, 872-5722.

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. Info, lafferty1949@gmail.com.

health & fitness

VON TRAPP SUMMER TRAIL

SERIES: Athletes embark on a low-frills 5K race through the property’s stunning forests and soak up the area’s stellar views. The von Trapp Family Lodge & Resort, Stowe, 5:30-7 p.m. $5-10. Info, 253-5719.

holidays

BURLINGTON’S INDEPENDENCE

DAY CELEBRATION: Live bands and fun-filled activities set the scene for a spectacular fireworks show over Lake Champlain. Waterfront Park, Burlington, 5-11 p.m. Free. Info, 864-0123.

INDEPENDENCE DAY LAKESIDE

AT ECHO: Revelers celebrate America’s birthday with unbeatable views of the city’s firework display and access to the museum’s exhibits. ECHO Leahy Center for Lake Champlain, Burlington, 7-10 p.m. $10-30; free for kids 2 and under; cash bar. Info, 864-1848.

JULY 3RD CELEBRATION: The Capital City’s blowout bonanza returns with a bang, featuring FamilyFest, a perfectly patriotic parade and a phenomenal fireworks show. Downtown Montpelier, 3-10 p.m. Free. Info, 282-2163.

WILLISTON INDEPENDENCE DAY

CELEBRATION: Families get into the patriotic spirit with two days of fun-filled activities, including an ice cream social, a parade, live music and fireworks. Various Williston locations, 4 p.m. Free. Info, 876-1160.

language

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. Info, 846-4140.

lgbtq

POP-UP HAPPY HOUR: Locals connect over drinks at a speakeasy-style bar, hosted by OUT in the 802. Lincolns, Burlington, 5:30-7 p.m. Free. Info, 860-7812.

music

FEAST & FIELD: LAKOU MIZIK: A powerhouse collective performs uplifting Haitian roots music with soulful energy. Fable Farm, Barnard, 6 p.m. $5-25. Info, 234-1645.

I DRAW SLOW AND KAVAZ: A double bill of Celtic and Appalachian roots tunes guides listeners on a cross-cultural musical journey. Virtual option available. Next Stage Arts, Putney, 7-9 p.m. $10-25. Info, 387-0102.

LAKE MOREY SUMMER CONCERT SERIES: MORGAN EVANS:

An Australian-born country musician captivates listeners with a performance blending heartfelt storytelling and an uplifting sound. Lake Morey Resort, Fairlee, 8 p.m. Free. Info, 800-423-1211.

LITTLE RIVER SUMMER MUSIC SERIES: Sixteen weeks of dynamic performers, local food vendors, craft cocktails, beer and mingling offer the perfect escape after a hot summer day. See bluebirdhotels.com for lineup. Tälta Lodge Bluebird, Stowe, 5-8 p.m. $10-15. Info, 253-7525.

MUSIC IN THE VINEYARD SUMMER CONCERT SERIES:

THE HITMEN: A local cover band gets toes a-tappin’ with crowd-pleasing renditions of popular songs while local food trucks serve up tasty treats. Snow Farm Vineyard, South Hero, 6:30-8:30 p.m. Free. Info, 372-9463.

ON THE DOOR RADIO: A laid-back summer series features tantalizing food-truck fare and a rotating pair of local DJs backed by sunset cocktail vibes. Coal Collective, Burlington, 5-9 p.m. Free. Info, info@thepineryvt.com.

VERMONT SYMPHONY

ORCHESTRA: See WED.2. Grafton Trails & Outdoor Center.

outdoors

E-BIKE & BREW TOUR: Pedal lovers cycle through scenic trails and drink in the views with stops at four local breweries. Lamoille Valley Bike Tours, Johnson, 11 a.m.-4 p.m. $85. Info, 730-0161.

theater

‘ALMOST HEAVEN: JOHN DENVER’S AMERICA’: See WED.2, 2-4:30 p.m.

‘AS YOU LIKE IT’: The Valley Players mount the Bard’s quintessential romantic comedy, in which characters discover love, identities and forgiveness. The Valley Players Theater, Waitsfield, 7:30 p.m. $14-18. Info, 583-1674.

‘SALVAGE’: See WED.2, 2 p.m.

words

ART & WRITING SHARE

GROUP FOR JEWS OF ALL STRIPES: Secular, spiritual or

JUL. 4 | HOLIDAYS

Blast From the Past

Old-fashioned fun, live music and historic lawn games abound at Billings Farm & Museum’s 4th on the Farm holiday happening in Woodstock. Visitors of all stars and stripes mark America’s birthday the old-timey way, with a patriotic party of horsedrawn wagon rides, ice cream making, and youth and adult spelling bees with a 19thcentury twist. A leisurely stroll of the museum’s grounds reveals a World War II-era victory garden, demonstrating how at-home food production alleviated the nation’s needs. Indoors, guests discover the true meaning of craftsmanship with “A Vermont Quilt Sampler,” a showcase of 56 vibrant textile masterpieces.

4TH ON THE FARM

Friday, July 4, 10 a.m.-5 p.m., at Billings Farm & Museum in Woodstock. Regular admission, $14-23; free for members and kids 2 and under. Info, 457-2355, billingsfarm.org.

religious, all adult Jewish artists, writers and creators are invited to a monthly virtual meetup, presented by Jewish Communities of Vermont. 7-8:30 p.m. Free; preregister for Zoom link. Info, alison@jcvt.org.

FRI.4 etc.

150TH ANNIVERSARY

CELEBRATION: Locals celebrate the historic store’s birthday with an array of activities, including live music, food and wine tastings, kids’ games, and vintage photo displays. Chapman’s

General, Fairlee, 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Free. Info, 333-9709.

film

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

ANIMAL KINGDOM 3D’: See THU.3.

‘ANTARCTICA 3D’: See THU.3.

‘OCEAN PARADISE 3D’: See THU.3.

‘SPACE: THE NEW FRONTIER 3D’: See THU.3.

food & drink

SOUTH END GET DOWN: Local food trucks dish out

mouthwatering meals and libations while live DJs and outdoor entertainment add to the ambience. Coal Collective, Burlington, 5-9 p.m. Free; cost of food and drink. Info, 363-9305.

holidays

4TH ON THE FARM: Merrymakers mark Independence Day with horse-drawn wagon rides, historic lawn games, ice cream making and crafts. See calendar spotlight. Billings Farm & Museum, Woodstock, 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Regular admission, $14-23; free for members and kids 2 and under. Info, 457-2355.

BIRTHDAY PARTY FOR AMERICA & PRESIDENT COOLIDGE: After a National Guard-led march to the president’s grave, the historic village throws an Independence Day bash featuring a commemorative ceremony, a 13-piece orchestra, and a speech and debate competition. President Calvin Coolidge State Historic Site, Plymouth, 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Free. Info, 636-7824.

ESSEX JUNCTION JULY 4TH

CELEBRATION: An evening of live music, games, face painting, fair food and fireworks captures the spirit of America’s birthday. Midway Lawn, Champlain Valley Exposition, Essex Junction, 6 p.m. Free. Info, 878-1375.

MILTON JULY 4TH

CELEBRATION: A peppy procession kick-starts a full day of fun, including live music by the town’s community band, a 15-foot waterslide, mini golf, cornhole, “cow plop” bingo and a fantastic fireworks display. Various Milton locations, 11 a.m. Free. Info, 893-6655.

POULTNEY 4TH OF JULY

CELEBRATION: A pancake breakfast and a magic show precede a sprightly morning procession, followed by an afternoon of family-friendly activities, including a bouncy house and a performance by No Strings Marionette. Various Poultney locations, 10 a.m. Free. Info, 287-9751.

RANDOLPH FOURTH OF JULY

PARADE & FESTIVAL: Folks

reflect on American life in a themed promenade and street fest featuring unique floats, carnival-style eats and live entertainment. Various Randolph locations, 10 a.m.-3 p.m. Free. Info, 728-4305.

RICHMOND FOURTH OF JULY

CELEBRATION: A spectacular show in the sky follows a patriotic parade, car show, fun run and karaoke contests. Volunteers Green, Richmond, 10:30 a.m. Free. Info, paradeandfireworks@ gmail.com.

SOUTH HERO JULY 4TH

PARADE: A colorful themed procession makes for a holiday to remember. Landon Road & South Street, South Hero, 11 a.m. Free. Info, 372-5552.

WILLISTON INDEPENDENCE

DAY CELEBRATION: See THU.3, 9 a.m.

music

CONCERTS IN THE COURTYARD: Music aficionados of all ages tune into a weekly summer series featuring live outdoor performances by noteworthy talent. See benningtonmuseum.org for lineup. Bennington Museum, 5-7 p.m. Free. Info, 447-1571.

CONCERTS ON THE GREEN:

Guests get cozy on the grass while local legends take the stage to perform feel-good toe-tappers. See campmeade. today for lineup. Camp Meade, Middlesex, 5-8 p.m. Free. Info, info@campmeade.today.

GREEN MOUNTAIN CHAMBER

MUSIC FESTIVAL: ARTIST

FACULTY SERIES: Listeners revel in a month-long lineup of performances by internationally renowned musicians and distinguished guest ensembles. Elley-Long Music Center, Saint Michael’s College, Colchester, 7:30 p.m. $35-50; free for students and kids. Info, info@ gmcmf.org.

VERMONT SYMPHONY

ORCHESTRA: See WED.2. Shelburne Museum.

outdoors

CABOT CHEESE-E-BIKE TOUR: See WED.2. E-BIKE & BREW TOUR: See THU.3.

sports

VERMONT LAKE MONSTERS: A three-day holiday-weekend home stand offers endless summer fun for baseball fanatics of all ages. Centennial Field, Burlington, 1:05 p.m. $7.5019.50. Info, 655-4200.

theater

‘ALMOST HEAVEN: JOHN DENVER’S AMERICA’: See WED.2, 2-4:30 p.m.

‘THE GONDOLIERS’: This Gilbert and Sullivan opera bursts with comedy, witty lyrics, lilting melodies and playful political satire. Unadilla Theatre, Marshfield, 7:30-10 p.m. $15-30 cash or check. Info, 546-0406.

‘SALVAGE’: See WED.2, 2 p.m.

words

BOOK SALE: The library’s 40th annual summer sale offers hundreds of unique titles for kids, teens and adults. Proceeds benefit the Friends of the Stowe Free Library. Stowe Free Library, 9 a.m.-9 p.m. $2. Info, 253-6145.

SAT.5 community

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. Info, sisterhoodcampfire@ gmail.com.

dance

BERLIN CONTRA DANCE:

Dancers of all ages and abilities learn at a gathering that encourages joy, laughter and friendship. Bring clean, softsoled shoes. See website for callers and bands. Capital City Grange, Berlin, 8-11 p.m. $5-20 sliding scale. Info, 225-8921. etc.

TWILIGHT BLOCK PARTY:

Locavores shop, sip and soak in the energy at a summer market replete with live music by Copilot and Leddy Moss, unique makers, and area food purveyors. Burlington City Hall Park, 4-8 p.m. Free. Info, 829-6305.

film

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

‘ANIMAL KINGDOM 3D’: See THU.3.

‘ANTARCTICA 3D’: See THU.3.

FOMO?

Find even more local events in this newspaper and online: art

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

See what’s playing at theaters in the On Screen section. music + nightlife

Find club dates at local venues in the Music + Nightlife section online at sevendaysvt.com/ music.

Learn more about highlighted listings in the Magnificent 7 on page 11.

= ONLINE EVENT

‘OCEAN PARADISE 3D’: See THU.3.

‘SPACE: THE NEW FRONTIER 3D’: See THU.3.

food & drink

NORTHWEST FARMERS

MARKET: Locavores stock up on produce, preserves, baked goods, and arts and crafts. Taylor Park, St. Albans, 9 a.m.-2 p.m. Free. Info, 242-2729.

ST. JOHNSBURY FARMERS

MARKET: Growers, bakers, makers and crafters gather weekly at booths centered on local eats. Pearl St. & Eastern Ave., St. Johnsbury, 9 a.m.-1 p.m. Free. Info, cfmamanager@gmail.com.

games

CHESS CLUB: All ages and abilities face off and learn new strategies. South Burlington Public Library & City Hall, 11 a.m.-2 p.m. Free. Info, 846-4140.

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. Info, judi@ waterburypubliclibrary.com.

MAH-JONGG: Tile traders face off in the ancient Chinese game often compared to gin rummy and poker. Waterbury Public Library, 10:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m. Free; preregister. Info, judi@ waterburypubliclibrary.com.

health & fitness

DEB BECKETT MEMORIAL 5K

RUN & WALK: Beloved Vermont Lake Monsters mascot Champ makes an appearance at this race to support the WillistonRichmond Rotary Club. Williston Village Community Park, 8:15-10 a.m. $20-30; preregister. Info, 872-8380.

holidays

BAY DAY: The annual shebang begins with a rousing volleyball tournament, followed by live music, festivities and a sparkling fireworks display at dusk. St. Albans Bay Park, 2-10 p.m. Free. Info, 524-7589.

BRANDON INDEPENDENCE DAY

CELEBRATION: A full day of festivities begins with a parade and culminates in fireworks, with food, dancing and fun for all ages in between. Brandon Town Green, 10 a.m.-10 p.m. Free. Info, 247-6401.

FREDERICK DOUGLASS

READING: Neighbors participate in a community reading of the American abolitionist and orator’s historic speech, “What to the Slave is the Fourth of July?” Rokeby Museum, Ferrisburgh, 1-3 p.m. Free. Info, 877-3406.

OKEMO 4TH OF JULY

CELEBRATION: Live music by Rustie Bus and good eats from Squeals on Wheels set the tone for a patriotic evening of mountainside fireworks and other festivities. Okemo Mountain

Resort, Ludlow, 6:30-10 p.m. Free. Info, 228-1600.

music

BANDWAGON SUMMER SERIES:

LAKOU MIZIK: A powerhouse collective performs uplifting Haitian roots music with soulful energy. Robertson Paper Company Field, Bellows Falls, 6-8 p.m. $2225; free for kids under 12. Info, 387-0102.

COOLER IN THE MOUNTAINS

CONCERT SERIES: Top regional and national acts delight audience members of all stripes at a weekly summer offering backed by unparalleled views. See killington.com for lineup. K-1 Lodge, Killington, 3-5:50 p.m. Free. Info, 800-621-6867‎.

MOIRA SMILEY’S VERMONT

GARDEN SINGS: A singer, composer and multi-instrumentalist leads community members in a program of joyful, accessible songs. Cloud Water Farm, Warren, 6:30-8 p.m. $10-25 sliding scale. Info, 349-1946.

SUMMER SOUNDS CONCERT SERIES: CONNOR YOUNG

QUARTET: A Vermont-born trumpeter, composer and educator performs a mix of jazz standards and original compositions with help from talented artists Geza Carr, Josh Childs and JD Haenni. Town Hall Theater, Middlebury, 5:30-7 p.m. Free; preregister. Info, 382-9222.

VERMONT PHILHARMONIC POPS

CONCERT: Listeners enjoy a picnic on the patio while the orchestra performs a program of Broadway hits, opera favorites and classic American tunes. Highland Center for the Arts, Greensboro, 6:30-8:30 p.m. Free; donations accepted. Info, 533-2000.

VERMONT SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA: See WED.2. Burke Mountain Resort, East Burke.

outdoors

CABOT CHEESE-E-BIKE TOUR: See WED.2.

E-BIKE & BREW TOUR: See THU.3.

sports

THE GREAT RACE TRIATHLON: Ambitious athletes push their limits on a 3-mile run, 12-mile bike ride and 3-mile paddle. St. Albans Bay Park, 9 a.m.-noon. $35; preregister; free for kids. Info, 524-7589.

VERMONT LAKE MONSTERS: See FRI.4, 6:05 p.m. theater

‘ALMOST HEAVEN: JOHN DENVER’S AMERICA’: See WED.2.

‘AS YOU LIKE IT’: See THU.3.

‘THE GONDOLIERS’: See FRI.4.

‘SALVAGE’: See WED.2, 2 p.m.

words

BOOK SALE: See FRI.4, 9 a.m.-9 p.m.

Global Positioning

Senegalese singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Cheikh Ibra Fam mesmerizes listeners with a musical mélange of Afro-pop, funk, jazz and soul at the Martha Pellerin & Andy Shapiro Memorial Bandstand in Middlesex. Fam’s artistic evolution traces back to his childhood in West Africa, where — at the tender age of 7 — he joined a choir performing spiritual melodies in the Baye Fall tradition. An early introduction to AfroCuban music on his family’s home stereo — as well as the gritty, unmistakable vocals of Otis Redding and the crooning, soulful sounds of Marvin Gaye — further defined Fam’s diverse palate, laying the foundation for his genre-defying career.

CHEIKH IBRA FAM

Wednesday, July 9, 6:30-8:30 p.m., at the Martha Pellerin & Andy Shapiro Memorial Bandstand in Middlesex. Free. Info, middlesexbandstand@gmail.com, middlesexbandstand.com.

in the Plum Village tradition of Thich Nhat Hanh. Hot Yoga Burlington, 6-7:45 p.m. Free. Info, newleafsangha@gmail.com.

music

BCA SUNDAY CLASSICAL:

VYO DUO: A beloved summer series showcases some of the state’s most gifted classical musicians while listeners enjoy

FOMO?

Find even more local events in this newspaper and online: art

their morning coffee outdoors. Burlington City Hall Park, 10-11 a.m. Free. Info, 829-6305.

BURLINGTON CONCERT BAND: Local music lovers bring lawn chairs and blankets to a weekly big-band blowout. Battery Park, Burlington, 7-8:45 p.m. Free. Info, burlingtonconcertbandvt@ gmail.com.

CONCERTS ON THE GREEN: See FRI.4, 3-6 p.m.

MOIRA SMILEY’S VERMONT GARDEN SINGS: See SAT.5. Red Wagon Plants, Hinesburg.

WRITE NOW!: Lit lovers of all experience levels hone their craft in a supportive and critique-free environment. Kellogg-Hubbard Library, Montpelier, 10 a.m.-noon. Free. Info, 223-3338.

SUN.6 crafts

YARN CRAFTERS GROUP: See WED.2, 1-3 p.m.

etc.

CONTRA DANCE & STRAWBERRY SHORTCAKE: Live music sets the tone for an evening spent

JILL MCCROSKEY COUPE: A local author unveils her third novel, Gemma Somerset, about a resilient woman coming into her own power. Poultney Public Library, 11 a.m. Free. Info, 287-5556.

noshing on fruity treats, then burning off calories on the dance floor. Green Mountain Perkins Academy and Historical Association, Woodstock, 4-6:30 p.m. Free. Info, 457-3779.

film

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

‘ANIMAL KINGDOM 3D’: See THU.3.

‘ANTARCTICA 3D’: See THU.3.

‘OCEAN PARADISE 3D’: See THU.3.

‘SPACE: THE NEW FRONTIER 3D’: See THU.3.

food & drink

WINOOSKI FARMERS MARKET: Area growers and bakers offer ethnic fare, assorted harvests

and agricultural products against a backdrop of live music. Winooski Falls Way, 10 a.m.-2 p.m. Free. Info, info@ downtownwinooski.org.

games

DUPLICATE BRIDGE GAMES: See THU.3, 1-4:30 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. Info, mollyzapp@live.com.

NEW LEAF SANGHA

MINDFULNESS PRACTICE: New and experienced meditators alike practice together

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

film

See what’s playing at theaters in the On Screen section.

music + nightlife

Find club dates at local venues in the Music + Nightlife section online at sevendaysvt.com/ music.

Learn more about highlighted listings in the Magnificent 7 on page 11.

= ONLINE EVENT

= GET TICKETS ON SEVENDAYSTICKETS.COM

RIVER RHYTHMS SUMMER CONCERT SERIES: Good tunes and good times meet at this outdoor music series and beer garden. Juana’s Garden, Montpelier, 3-7 p.m. Free; preregister. Info, 917-1009.

VERMONT SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA: See WED.2. Trapp Family Lodge Concert Meadow, Stowe.

sports

VERMONT LAKE MONSTERS: See FRI.4, 5:05 p.m.

theater

‘ALMOST HEAVEN: JOHN DENVER’S AMERICA’: See WED.2, 2-4:30 p.m.

‘AS YOU LIKE IT’: See THU.3, 4 p.m.

‘THE GONDOLIERS’: See FRI.4, 2-4 p.m.

FAMI LY FU N

Johnsbury Athenaeum, 10:30-11 a.m. Free. Info, 745-1391.

SUN.6

burlington

MASKS ON! SUNDAYS: Elderly, disabled and immunocompromised folks get the museum to themselves at a masks-mandatory morning. ECHO Leahy Center for Lake Champlain, Burlington, 9-10 a.m. Free; preregister. Info, 864-1848.

chittenden county

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, 1-3 p.m. Free. Info, 891-2014.

middlebury area

CIRCUS SMIRKUS BIG TOP TOUR: See SAT.5, 11 a.m. & 4 p.m.

MON.7

chittenden county

‘THE MUMMY’: Teens gather to watch the 1999 action flick starring Brendan Fraser as a witty archaeologist whose dig goes utterly awry. South Burlington Public Library & City Hall, 3-5 p.m. Free. Info, 846-4140.

NATURE PLAYGROUP: Budding nature lovers ages birth to 5 and their caregivers trek the trails with an experienced educator. Green Mountain Audubon Center, Huntington, 9:3011 a.m. Free. Info, 434-3068.

READ WITH SAMMY: The Therapy Dogs of Vermont emissary listens to kiddos of all ages practice their reading. Brownell Library, Essex Junction, 3:30-4:30 p.m. Free. Info, 878-6956.

mad river valley/ waterbury

TODDLER TIME: Little ones ages 5 and under have a blast with songs, stories, rhymes and dancing. Waterbury Public Library, 10:30 a.m. Free. Info, 244-7036.

upper valley

STORY TIME WITH BETH: A bookseller and librarian extraordinaire reads picture books on a different theme each week. The Norwich Bookstore, 10 a.m. Free. Info, 649-1114.

TUE.8

burlington

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. Info, 863-3403.

chittenden county

COLORFUL CRAFTERNOON: Inventive patrons create their own light-up Ping-Pong ball lantern. Brownell Library, Essex Junction, 3-4 p.m. Free. Info, 878-6956.

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. Info, 878-4918.

barre/montpelier

SPANISH STORY TIME: Kiddos become immersed in the Romance language through stories and songs with Edisa. KelloggHubbard Library, Montpelier, 10:30-11 a.m. Free. Info, 223-3338.

mad river valley/ waterbury

WATERCOLOR FOR KIDS: Artist Pauline Nolte leads little painters in grades 2 to 4 in exploration and expression. Waterbury Public Library, 3-4 p.m. Free; preregister. Info, 244-7036.

northeast kingdom

LAPSIT STORY TIME: Babies 2 and under learn to love reading, singing and playing with their caregivers. Siblings welcome. St. Johnsbury Athenaeum, 10:15-10:45 a.m. Free. Info, 745-1391.

SIMON BROOKS: The Children’s Literacy Foundation invites readers of all ages to an exciting celebration of words with the British storyteller, educator and voice artist. Kiddos in attendance receive two free books. St. Johnsbury School, 1-2 p.m. Free. Info, 745-1391.

manchester/bennington

CIRCUS SMIRKUS BIG TOP TOUR: See WED.2. Dana L. Thompson Memorial Park, Manchester Center, 1 & 6 p.m.

WED.9

chittenden county

BABY TIME: See WED.2. GAME ON!: See WED.2.

READ TO A DOG: Kids of all ages get a 10-minute time slot to tell stories to Emma the therapy pup. South Burlington Public Library & City Hall, 1-2 p.m. Free; preregister. Info, sbplkids@southburlingtonvt.gov.

SUMMER CRAFTYTOWN: See WED.2. WATER PLAY: See WED.2.

barre/montpelier

BABY & CAREGIVER MEETUP: See WED.2.

CIRCUS MINIMUS: A tent, a band, lights and a boisterous ringmaster emerge from a suitcase in Kevin O’Keefe’s one-man show packed with whimsy, imagination and audience participation. Jaquith Public Library, Marshfield, 6:30 p.m. Free. Info, 426-3581.

FAMILY CHESS CLUB: See WED.2.

HOMESCHOOL BOOK GROUP: Kids ages 10 to 15 who learn at home bond over books. Kellogg-Hubbard Library, Montpelier, 1-2 p.m. Free. Info, 223-3338.

northeast kingdom

BIRD TALES WITH MICHAEL CADUTO: A Vermont author and master storyteller illuminates the ways and wisdom of our flying, feathered friends through traditional tales, music and a circle dance. St. Johnsbury Athenaeum, 1-2 p.m. Free. Info, 745-1391.

ENCHANTED KINGDOM MINI GOLF: See WED.2.

manchester/bennington

CIRCUS SMIRKUS BIG TOP TOUR: See WED.2. Dana L. Thompson Memorial Park, Manchester Center, 1 & 6 p.m. K

Pick from 25 fun civics activities — each one you do is another chance to win the grand prize.

Submit entries all summer to qualify for prize drawings every Thursday on “Channel 3 This Morning” — you could win a $50 gift card to Phoenix Books or a Vermont State Parks pass!

Complete all 25 activities to be honored as a “Distinguished Citizen” at the Vermont Statehouse.

FINAL DEADLINE: September 1

TRIP DRAWING: SEPTEMBER 4

words

BACK ROADS READINGS: ‘WHEN YOU COME BACK TO ME: REMEMBERING RUTH STONE’: Current Vermont poet laureate Bianca Stone reads from her late grandmother’s works, followed by a reception and book signing. Highland Center for the Arts, Greensboro, 3-4:30 p.m. Free. Info, 633-4956.

BOOK SALE: See FRI.4, 9 a.m.-9 p.m.

MON.7

crafts

FUSE BEADS CLUB: Aspiring artisans bring ideas or borrow patterns to make beaded creations. Kellogg-Hubbard Library, Montpelier, 3:30-5 p.m. Free. Info, 223-3338.

dance

BEGINNER LINE DANCING: No partner or experience is necessary when Sid McLam teaches learners how to step in sequence. Brookfield Old Town Hall, 6:30-8 p.m. $10 suggested donation. Info, abelisle2@ comcast.net.

film

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

‘ANIMAL KINGDOM 3D’: See THU.3.

‘ANTARCTICA 3D’: See THU.3. ‘OCEAN PARADISE 3D’: See THU.3.

‘SPACE: THE NEW FRONTIER 3D’: See THU.3.

games

Read the News

Ms. Malik’s class at Champlain Elementary School in Burlington read a newspaper, Kids VT (activity No. 20). They were excited to ﬁnd Ms. Malik’s class from last year featured in the Good Citizen section. They wrote: “Our favorite article was the recipe for summer popsicles!”

UNDERWRITTEN

get comfy on lawn chairs and blankets while local instrumentalists ages 12 to 90 perform rousing works. Vergennes City Park, 7-8 p.m. Free. Info, sodaniel27@gmail.com.

words

BOOK SALE: See FRI.4, 9 a.m.-9 p.m.

TUE.8 business

CEDRR JULY MIXER: Chamber & Economic Development of the Rutland Region members and friends eat, drink and win prizes at a catered shindig. Four Seasons Sotheby’s International Realty, Rutland, 5-7 p.m. Free; donations accepted. Info, 773-2747.

community

CURRENT EVENTS

DISCUSSION GROUP: Brownell Library holds a virtual roundtable for neighbors to pause and reflect on the news cycle. 10-11:30 a.m. Free. Info, 878-6955.

LAKE CHAMPLAIN MEMORY

CAFÉ: Those living with dementia and their caregivers gather to make friends and have fun.

Fletcher Free Library New North End Branch, Burlington, 11 a.m.noon. Free. Info, 863-3403.

THE MOTH STORYSLAM: Local tellers of tales recount true stories in an open-mic format. Burlington Beer, 7 p.m. $15; preregister. Info, susanne@ themoth.org.

crafts

ALL HANDS TOGETHER

COMMUNITY CRAFTING GROUP: Marshfield spinning maven

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. Info, 862-1342.

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. Info, 223-3338.

lgbtq

BOARD GAME NIGHT: LGBTQ tabletop fans bring their own favorite games to the party. Rainbow Bridge Community Center, Barre, 5:30-8:30 p.m. Free. Info, 622-0692.

music

ST. JOHNSBURY BAND: The nation’s third-oldest community band regales locals with dynamic tunes during a weekly ice cream social. Caledonia County Courthouse, St. Johnsbury, 7:30 p.m. Free. Info, manager@stjohnsburyband.org. VERGENNES CITY BAND SUMMER CONCERTS: Attendees

film

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

‘ANIMAL KINGDOM 3D’: See THU.3.

‘ANTARCTICA 3D’: See THU.3. ‘OCEAN PARADISE 3D’: See THU.3.

‘SPACE: THE NEW FRONTIER 3D’: See THU.3.

games

DUPLICATE BRIDGE GAMES: See THU.3.

health & fitness

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. Info, 862-5630.

QI GONG FOR VITALITY & PEACE: Librarian Judi Byron leads students in this ancient Chinese practice of mindful movement and breath. Wear comfortable clothing. Waterbury Public Library, 9:15 a.m. Free; preregister. Info, judi@ waterburypubliclibrary.com. language

FRENCH CONVERSATION

GROUP: French-speakers and learners meet pour parler la belle langue. Burlington Bay Market & Café, 5:30-8 p.m. Free. Info, 343-5493.

ITALIAN LANGUAGE LUNCH: Speakers hone their skills in the Romance language over bagged lunches. Kellogg-Hubbard Library, Montpelier, noon-1 p.m. Free. Info, 223-3338.

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, 4:306 p.m. Free. Info, 426-3581.

dance

SWING DANCE PRACTICE

SESSION: All ages and experience levels shake a leg in this friendly, casual environment designed for learning. Bring clean shoes. North Star Community Hall, Burlington, 8-9:30 p.m. $5. Info, 864-8382.

environment

BUTT LITTER CLEANUP:

Helping hands come together to dispose of discarded cigarettes. Downtown Richford, 9:30 a.m., and Enosburg Falls Village, 12:30 p.m. Free. Info, 524-1296.

MILTON FARMERS MARKET & MUSIC IN THE PARK: Local purveyors sell their goodies, bands bring the beats, and the lawn fills up with cornhole players and giant Jenga tournaments at a weekly outdoor offering. Bombardier Park West, Milton, 4-8 p.m. Free. Info, 893-1457.

Find even more local events in this newspaper and online: art

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

See what’s playing at theaters in the On Screen section. music + nightlife

Find club dates at local venues in the Music + Nightlife section online at sevendaysvt.com/ music.

Learn more about highlighted listings in the Magnificent 7 on page 11.

= ONLINE EVENT

= GET TICKETS ON SEVENDAYSTICKETS.COM

SUN.6 « P.66

music

GREEN MOUNTAIN CHAMBER

MUSIC FESTIVAL: LIMINAL

SPACES: The festival’s artist faculty perform stirring works by Sofia Gubaidulina, Dora Pejačević and Antonín Dvořák. Elley-Long Music Center, Saint Michael’s College, Colchester, 7:30-9:30 p.m. $35-50; free for students. Info, 503-1220.

INTERPLAY JAZZ JAM NORTH:

Instrumentalists tune in for a night of melodies, bringing six to eight copies of sheet music to pass around. Faith United Methodist Church, South Burlington, 6:30-9 p.m. Free. Info, 578-8830.

seminars

TENANT SKILLS WORKSHOP: The Champlain Valley Office of Economic Opportunity brings renters up to speed on the fundamentals of tenant rights and responsibilities. 5-6:30 p.m. Free; preregister. Info, 660-3456.

tech

AFTERNOON TECH HELP:

Experts answer questions about phones, laptops, e-readers and other devices in one-on-one sessions. South Burlington Public Library & City Hall, 1-4 p.m. Free; preregister. Info, 846-4140.

words

BOOK SALE: See FRI.4, 9 a.m.-9 p.m.

BURLINGTON LITERATURE GROUP:

Bookworms analyze three short novels about life under the shadow of authoritarianism over the course of seven weeks. 6:30-8 p.m. Free. Info, info@ nereadersandwriters.com.

WRITING CIRCLE: Words pour out when participants explore creative expression in a low-pressure environment. Virtual option available. Pathways Vermont, Burlington, 4-5:30 p.m. Free. Info, 777-8691.

WED.9

business

QUEEN CITY BUSINESS

NETWORKING INTERNATIONAL GROUP: See WED.2.

community

CURRENT EVENTS: Neighbors have an informal discussion about what’s in the news. Dorothy Alling Memorial Library, Williston, 10:30 a.m.-noon. Free. Info, 878-4918.

WEEKLY PASSEGGIATA: See WED.2.

conferences

THE 99S INTERNATIONAL

CONFERENCE: The country’s largest women’s aviation organization hosts members and guests for a multiday exhibition featuring seminars, keynote speeches and networking opportunities. Hotel Champlain Burlington.

Various prices; preregister. Info, 99s@akatravelteam.com.

crafts

GREEN MOUNTAIN CHAPTER OF THE EMBROIDERERS’ GUILD OF AMERICA: Anyone with an interest in the needle arts can bring a project to this monthly meeting. Holy Family Parish Hall, Essex Junction, 9:30 a.m.-1 p.m. Free. Info, gmc.vt.ega@gmail.com.

YARN CRAFTERS GROUP: See WED.2.

etc.

TOASTMASTERS OF GREATER BURLINGTON: Those looking to strengthen their speaking and leadership skills gain new tools. Virtual option available. Generator Makerspace, Burlington, 6-7:30 p.m. Free; preregister. Info, 233-4157.

film

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

NXT ROCKUMENTARY FILM SERIES: ‘THE KIDS ARE ALRIGHT’: Jeff Stein’s 1979 music documentary employs interviews, TV clips and concert footage to build a comprehensive profile of beloved British rock stars the Who. Next Stage Arts, Putney, 7-9 p.m. $8. Info, 387-0102.

food & drink

COMMUNITY COOKING: See WED.2.

health & fitness

CHAIR YOGA: See WED.2.

VISION SCREENING: Folks of all ages sit down for a quick test of how well they can see things, both near and far away. Brownell Library, Essex Junction, 5-6 p.m. Free. Info, 878-6956.

lgbtq

QUEER WRITERS’ GROUP: LGBTQ authors meet monthly to discuss their work, write from prompts, and give each other advice and feedback. Rainbow Bridge Community Center, Barre, 5:30-7 p.m. Free. Info, 622-0692.

music

THE ALBANY SOUND: A local band plays a rich combination of country, folk and rock originals, paired with renditions of rarities by John Prine, Bobby Charles and other noteworthy names. The Tillerman, Bristol, 5-8 p.m. Free; cash bar. Info, 643-2237.

BCA SUMMER CONCERT SERIES:

MOONDOGS: A Burlington psychedelic rock band blends elements of alternative, funk, progressive and jam music into its original sound. Burlington City Hall Park, 12:30-1:30 p.m. Free. Info, 829-6305.

CHEIKH IBRA FAM: A Senegalese singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist blends Afro-pop with funk, jazz and soul elements for an unforgettable musical mélange. See calendar spotlight. Martha Pellerin & Andy Shapiro Memorial Bandstand, Middlesex, 6:30-8:30 p.m. Free.

Info, middlesexbandstand@ gmail.com.

JAZZ AT THE JUNCTION: IVAN RENTA & HIS CARIBBEAN SEXTET: Swingin’ cool cats flock to a spirited celebration of New York’s Latin jazz scene, featuring sizzling headliners and the Upper Valley’s brightest young talent. Byrne Theater, Barrette Center for the Arts, White River Junction, 7 p.m. $28-60. Info, 296-7000.

OVER THE HUMP SUMMER MUSIC SERIES: BLUES FOR BREAKFAST: A local band plays Americana music seasoned with impromptu jam sessions. Proceeds benefit Birds of Vermont Museum. Huntington Recreation Field, 5:30 p.m. Free; donations accepted. Info, 434-4947.

TAYLOR PARK SUMMER CONCERT SERIES: See WED.2.

outdoors

CABOT CHEESE-E-BIKE TOUR: See WED.2.

seminars

SUSTAINING THE RENT WORKSHOP: The Champlain Valley Office of Economic Opportunity helps tenants financially prepare and access resources to meet their housing needs. Noon-1:30 p.m. Free; preregister. Info, 660-3456.

sports

BIKE BUM RACE SERIES: See WED.2.

GREEN MOUNTAIN TABLE

TENNIS CLUB: See WED.2.

MISSISQUOI RIVER FISHING FESTIVAL: Aspiring anglers learn from area experts at themed activity stations, including casting, fly tying and species identification. 387 St. Albans St., Enosburg Falls, 10 a.m.-1 p.m. Free. Info, kerry@franklincountynrcd.org.

talks

SCIENCE OF SOUND SERIES:

CRESTON LEA: A local luthier whose instruments are played by musicians all over the world teaches curious folks about the guitar-making process. Brownell Library, Essex Junction, 5-6 p.m. Free. Info, 878-6956.

words

BOOK SALE: See FRI.4, 9 a.m.-9 p.m.

SARAH STROHMEYER: An award-winning novelist celebrates the release of her new thriller, A Mother Always Knows, exploring society’s collective obsession with cults and their charismatic leaders. Phoenix Books, Burlington, 7 p.m. $3; preregister. Info, 448-3350. ➆

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).

NEWSPAPER DEADLINE: MONDAYS AT 3 P.M.

POST CLASS ADS AT SEVENDAYSVT.COM/POSTCLASS. GET HELP AT CLASSES@SEVENDAYSVT.COM.

arts & crafts

BLOCKPRINTING BOTANICALS

HORSFORD GARDENS & NURSERY: Join us for an introduction to blockprinting with linoleum. Using images from the garden, we will draw onto the linoleum and learn to carve and print. You’ll make a series of prints with your new image and take home your linoleum block to continue your printing adventure! is is the fourth year that Jen has offered this workshop at Horsford Gardens & Nursery. e workshop is in a barn

surrounded by the beauty of the gardens. If time allows, we will also print from natural materials. All materials provided. Sun., Jul. 27, 11 a.m. Cost: $80. Location: Horsford Gardens & Nursery, 2111 Greenbush Rd., Charlotte. Info: attherootvt.com.

food & drink

LUMPIA: FILIPINO SPRING ROLLS Join this hands-on class in which you’ll learn to make pork and vegetable lumpia, the beloved Filipino spring rolls known for their crispy, golden exterior and ﬂavorful ﬁlling. You’ll learn traditional lumpia-making

techniques, from rolling to frying to achieving the perfect crunch. You’ll explore the rich history and cultural signiﬁcance of Filipino cuisine, enjoy a taste of authentic Filipino ﬂavors, and take home skills to re-create them in your own kitchen. Sat., Jul. 26, 4-6:30 p.m. Cost: $65. Location: Richmond Community Kitchen. Info, sevendaystickets.com.

SUSHI & ONIGIRI WORKSHOP: Roll into something new with this hands-on class from Chef Ariel Voorhees of Gather Round Chef Service at Red Poppy Cakery! We’ll explore the art of veggie sushi and onigiri: simple, beautiful Japanese bites that are as fun to make as they are to eat. You’ll learn foundational rolling and shaping techniques, ﬂavor pairings, and how to turn humble ingredients into stunning, satisfying food. We’ll ﬁnish by sharing what we’ve made together, because every good meal deserves a moment of connection. Wed., Jul. 16, 6-8 p.m. Cost: $100. Location: Red Poppy Cakery, 1 Elm St., Waterbury. Info: Red Poppy Cakery, 203-400-0700, sevendaystickets.com.

healing arts

FIRST-DEGREE REIKI

ATTUNEMENT/TRAINING: Learn the art of Reiki healing — needed more than ever! First degree includes instruction, attunement and guidance from Maureen’s 30-plus years of experience. Learn

the history, practice with a great textbook and receive ongoing guidance. Date: u., Jul. 10, 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Cost: $175, incl. training, instruction, textbook, practice & lunch. Location: Lightheart Sanctuary, 236 Wild Apple Rd., New Haven. Info: 802-771-5417, maureenseventeen@gmail.com, lightheart.net.

martial arts

AIKIDO: THE POWER OF HARMONY: FREE WORKSHOP AT AIKIDO OF CHAMPLAIN VALLEY

Free adult workshop, Tue., Jul. 8, at 7:15 p.m. Cultivate core power, aerobic ﬁtness and resiliency. e dynamic, circular movements emphasize throws, joint locks and the development of internal energy. Join our community and ﬁnd resiliency, power and grace. Inclusive training, gender-neutral dressing room/bathrooms and a safe space for all. Visitors are always welcome to watch a class! Vermont’s only intensive aikido programs. Preregister for workshop on our website. Location: Aikido of Champlain Valley, 257 Pine St., Burlington. Info: bpincus@burlingtonaikido.org, burlingtonaikido.org.

music

TAIKO TUESDAYS, DJEMBE

WEDNESDAYS!: Drum with Stuart Paton! New sessions each month (starting Jul. 8, Aug. 5, Sep. 9).

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. $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

THE ONE-NIGHT STAND: Having a basic understanding of your bike and knowing how to care for it is empowering! e One-Night Stand at Old Spokes Home will cause neither regret nor shame; instead, it will help you stay safer, keep your bike running longer, and give you conﬁdence in either getting what you need at the bike shop or ﬁguring out how to deal with it on your own. Wed., Jul. 9, or Wed., Jul. 30, 6-8 p.m. Cost: $50. Location: Old Spokes Home Community Workshop, 664 Riverside Dr., Burlington. Info: 802-863-4475, sevendaystickets.com.

wellness

PERFUMERY CLASS & SPA DAY: Learn the basics of perfumery while creating your own custom eau de parfum that is hand-blended to reﬂect your unique personality. It’s part art, part science, and a whole lot of fun and self-discovery! Arrive early or stay late to indulge in the on-site spa amenities, including a pool, sauna, and hot tub in a picturesque setting on the West Branch Little River in Stowe. Spa amenities for the day are included! Sat., Jul. 26, noon-2 p.m. Cost: $135. Location: Tälta Lodge, 3343 Mountain Rd., Stowe. Info: bloomlabvt@gmail.com, sevendaystickets.com.

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

Services »

FINANCIAL, CHILDCARE, HOME & GARDEN

Musicians & Artists »

LESSONS, CASTING, REHEARSAL SPACE

Jobs » NO SCAMS, ALL LOCAL, POSTINGS DAILY

Telly

AGE/SEX: 9-year-old spayed female

ARRIVAL DATE: May 22, 2025

SUMMARY: She’s sweet. She’s gentle. She’s easy to love. If you have space in your heart and home for a soft-eyed senior who’s still got a little pep in her step, Telly just might be your girl! She can still be a bit nervous in new places, but give her a little time, and she ﬁgures things out beautifully. When meeting new people, she just needs a few quiet minutes and some yummy snacks, and then she’s ready to make you part of her circle. Once you’re in, you’re in — and she’s all about the gentle companionship and soft snuggles. Telly loves to romp about, and she is all legs and happy energy, even if it only lasts a few minutes. After that, she’s perfectly content to curl up and relax by your side, just happy to be near her people. Visit Telly to see if she could be your new best friend!

DOGS/CATS/KIDS: Telly is looking for a home without other dogs. She has lived with cats in the past and tolerated their company. She may be happiest in a home without young children.

Visit the Humane Society of Chittenden County at 142 Kindness Court, South Burlington, Tuesday through Friday from 1 to 4 p.m. or Saturday from noon to 4 p.m. Call 862-0135 or visit hsccvt.org for more info.

DID YOU KNOW?

July is National Pet Hydration Awareness Month! As the summer heats up, don’t forget to keep your pets cool and hydrated with lots of fresh water, and be sure to educate yourself about the early warning signs of pet dehydration.

WANT TO BUY

seen on Nov. 15, 2024. Contact Burlington Police at 802-658-2700.

802-345-9552 or email jwddonahue24@ gmail.com.

FREE STUFF

Buy y & Se

TOP CASH PAID FOR OLD GUITARS

FREE ROTATING ORIN

STARSLEEP BED

Perfect for seniors & those needing a little help getting up. Has unique 90-degree rotating mechanism for effortless transition from lying down to sitting up, making getting in & out of bed a breeze. Call 703-3038413 or email birgitmb@ msn.com.

HOME & GARDEN

YURT FOR SALE — BUYER TO DISASSEMBLE & REMOVE

Our 10-year-old yurt in South Strafford is for sale — the perfect summer camp or studio, w/ potential to be a yearround ADU or rental property. $15,000. More

Looking for 1920-1980 Gibson, Martin, Fender, Gretsch, Epiphone, Guild, Mosrite, Rickenbacker, Prairie State, D’Angelico & Stromberg guitars + Gibson mandolins & banjos. ese brands only! Call for a quote: 1-855-402-7208. (AAN CAN)

ANNOUNCEMENTS

$5,000 REWARD To ﬁ nd Christopher Harper, North Burlington, Vt. Must know exact location. Hair color: brown/gray. Eye color: blue. Height: 5’8. Age: 38. Last

EQUAL HOUSING OPPORTUNITY

All real estate advertising in this newspaper is subject to the Federal Fair Housing Act of 1968 and similar Vermont statutes which make it illegal to advertise any preference, limitations, or discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, national origin, sexual orientation, age, marital status, handicap, presence of minor children in the family or receipt of public assistance, or an intention to make any such preference, limitation or a discrimination. The newspaper will not knowingly accept any advertising for real estate, which is in violation of the law. Our

& sewer are incl. Highspeed Comcast internet is avail. Low annual heating costs (propane). NS, preferably no pets. Dogs & cats considered w/ a carpet cleaning fee on a case-by-case basis. (Electric dog fence installed.)

HOMES FOR SALE

&

APARTMENTS & HOUSES FOR RENT

GORGEOUS, SUNNY, SPACIOUS 3-4-BR CAPE IN ESSEX

20 Weed Rd., Essex. Unfurnished 3-BR, 3-BA. 2,052 sq.ft., built in 2012, freshly painted. 3-4 BR, 3 full BA, spacious high-post cape. Large, open fl oor plan w/ offi ce/den, 9-foot ceilings. Stainless steel appliances, mudroom w/ walk-in pantry, lots of windows. Laminate wood fl ooring, gas stove, DW, W/D, economical gas heat, 5-star energy-rated home. Upstairs: 3 BR, 2 full BA, large main BR w/ en-suite BA & a walk-in closet. Full basement w/ lots of storage, perfect for a workshop w/ a Bilco door for access. Outdoor back patio for barbecue. Spacious, 0.25 acre, nice side yard to play. is is a great alternative to a condo. Award-winning Essex schools & athletic programs. YMCA before& after-school care. Elementary schools & athletic fi elds are mins. away. Potential access to a 45-acre neighboring property for recreation. e school bus stops at the end of the driveway. Country setting, yet 20 mins. to UVM Medical Center & Bolton Ski Area, & Smugglers Notch is 25 mins. away. 5 mins. to Essex shopping, cinema, outlets, Market 32 & Hannaford stores. 12 mins. to I-89 & 2 mins. to the Jericho Café & Tavern. Lawn mowing, snow plowing, water

readers are hereby informed that all dwellings advertised in this newspaper are available on an equal opportunity basis. Any home seeker who feels he or she has encountered discrimination should contact:

HUD Ofﬁce of Fair Housing 10 Causeway St., Boston, MA 02222-1092 (617) 565-5309 — OR — Vermont Human Rights Commission 14-16 Baldwin St. Montpelier, VT 05633-0633 1-800-416-2010 hrc@vermont.gov

2+ parking spaces. Application, credit report & background check. 1-year lease minimum, additional years considered. First, last & security due at lease signing. Renters’ insurance is req. Please send us an email & tell us a little bit about yourself & your pets if applicable (who would be living here, employment, reason for moving, credit history, etc.), & provide a good number to reach you at. Inquiries without a detailed introduction will not be responded to. House plan may be viewed at Huntington Homes/Morse Cape. ank you. Avail. Aug. 1. $3,695+. Call 802-5784317 or email dpabm@ comcast.net.

1-BR APT. IN WINOOSKI, $1,800. A MUST-SEE!

26 Hood St., Unit 26B, Winooski. 1-BR, 1-BA. Beautiful 1-BR apt. w/ large yard, large LR & kitchen, full BA. BR fi ts queen-size bed perfectly. New fi xtures, beautiful fl ooring & tastefully painted. Your own private entry as well as private parking. Heat, HW, parking & plowing incl. Near colleges, hospitals & local transportation. Avail. now. $1,800; additional charge for more than 1 tenant. Contact garmanvt@ yahoo.com

BURLINGTON/CHURCH ST. DOWNTOWN LIVING AT ITS BEST!

131 Church St. Unfurnished, brand-new 1- & 2-BR apartments for rent. Avail. Aug. 1. Amenities incl. A/C, keyless entry, W/D in unit & more. Efﬁ cient & cozy. $2,500-$3,500. Call 802-391-9089.

COMMERCIAL & OFFICE RENTALS

S. BURLINGTON COMMERCIAL SUBLET AVAIL., FLEXIBLE START DATE

700-sq.ft. open-space room w/ new LVT ﬂ ooring & paint. Great location w/ free on-site parking. Perfect space for a yoga or pilates studio, physical therapist ofﬁ ce, or other studio space. $1,250/mo., incl. rent & common-area maintenance fees. Call

SPACIOUS 4-BR, 2.5BA W/ LARGE YARD IN NEW NORTH END OF BURLINGTON 69 Van Patten Pkwy. Discover this spacious colonial nestled in a tree-lined neighborhood of the New North End. Sunroom, large yard & connected deck add to the charm. Bamboo LR ﬂ oor, mini-split, modern appliances & electric car charger are among numerous updates. Large main BR w/ private BA. All BR feature beautiful oak HDWD. 2-car garage & storage room. Easy access to Ethan Allen Park, bike path, beaches & just 5 mins. from downtown Burlington.

$569,000. Call 516-4105245 or email house@ walkburlington.com.

HOUSEMATES

BURLINGTON/OLD NORTH END ROOM

AVAIL. IN PEANUT/ NUT-FREE HOME

$850/mo., all utils. incl. Street parking, no laundry facilities. Access to a backyard & garden. 9’ x 12’ BR w/ a window & a closet. Terriﬁ c location, lovely neighborhood. I cannot have peanuts & nuts in my home due to severe allergies. I’m allergic to dogs, but I could live w/ a cat if you keep it clean. I’m a 33-year-old woman. I work part time, & I sell artwork. I have health issues & live a quiet life. Hoping to ﬁ nd a roommate ASAP who wants to stay for a year. Email natrusso91@ yahoo.com.

FERRISBURGH

HOMESHARE W/ A VIEW!

Spacious rural home w/ stunning views. 1-BR, 1-BA. Vibrant woman in her 70s who enjoys yoga, book groups & hiking seeking a housemate who might enjoy walks or occasional meals together! $650/mo. + utils. Private BA. 6 miles to Vergennes. Application, interview, refs. & background checks req. EHO. Info, 802-863-5625, info@ homesharevermont.org, homesharevermont.org.

BURLINGTON HOMESHARE NEAR THE LAKE

Share townhome near the lake w/ a well-traveled senior couple, 1 w/ memory loss. Help w/ meal prep in the evenings (ﬂ exible schedule) while sharing

conversation w/ delightful gentleman. Help w/ small garden & errands would be appreciated. Furnished BR, private BA. No rent; approx. 10 hours/week of household help. Must be cat-friendly. Interview, refs. & background checks req. EHO. Info, 802-863-5625, info@ homesharevermont.org, homesharevermont.org.

HOUSING WANTED

BURLINGTON COMMUNITY WORKER SEEKS AFFORDABLE STUDIO/1-BR

Hi, I’m MJ! Local mental health worker seeks affordable studio or 1-BR apt. for less than $1,200/mo. to get a chance to live alone. I’m hoping community can come through for me here, as it is hard to ﬁ nd affordable deals. Flexible move-in dates from Jul.-Oct. Old North End preferred; ﬂ exible to anywhere in Burlington. Must be less than $1,200/mo. base rent or $1,600/ mo. if all utils. are incl. Credit is over 750. I have proof of savings & income & stellar refs. anks! Email me at: madeline.griego@gmail. com. View my art & work experience on my website: mjgriego.net.

SEEKING ROOM TO RENT JUL. 1 IN BURLINGTON’S SOUTH END

Older gentlemen seeking 1-BR, 1-BA to rent in Burlington South End as of Jul. 1 or latest Jul. 15. Hoping for a room close to Austin Dr. or near the bus line. I am very quiet, responsible & have worked at a local business for the past 20 years (3rd shift). I am hoping for something long-term. My budget is $800-900/mo. If someone is looking for additional income or help w/ monthly expenses, I hope you will consider. I have refs. as well. Call 802-557-2556 or email mklein1033@ gmail.com.

how much you can save: 1-844-588-6579. (AAN CAN)

FINANCIAL & LEGAL

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ELECTRONICS

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Sudoku

CLASSIFIEDS » Show and tell. View and post up to 6 photos per ad online.

Using the enclosed math operations as a guide, fill the grid using the numbers 1 - 6 only once in each row and column.

Complete the following puzzle by using the numbers 1-9 only once in each row, column and 3 x 3 box.

Open 24/7/365. Post & browse ads at your convenience. Extra! Extra! There’s no limit to ad length online.

WANT MORE PUZZLES?

Try these online news games from Seven Days at sevendaysvt.com/games.

NEW ON FRIDAYS:

Put your knowledge of Vermont news to the test.

CALCOKU BY JOSH

REYNOLDS

DIFFICULTY THIS WEEK: HHH

Fill the grid using the numbers 1-6, only once in each row and column. The numbers in each heavily outlined “cage” must combine to produce the target number in the top corner, using the mathematical operation indicated. A one-box cage should be filled in with the target number in the top corner. A number can be repeated within a cage as long as it is not the same row or column.

SUDOKU BY JOSH REYNOLDS

DIFFICULTY THIS WEEK: HH

Place a number in the empty boxes in such a way that each row across, each column down and each 9-box square contains all of the numbers one to nine. The same numbers cannot be repeated in a row or column.

ANSWERS ON P.74 H = MODERATE H H = CHALLENGING H H H = HOO, BOY!

See how fast you can solve this weekly 10-word puzzle.

AGING ROOF? NEW HOMEOWNER? STORM DAMAGE?

MOVING & HAULING

MOVING

of your carpentry & excavating needs covered! Visit our website & contact us for a free estimate. Info, 802-310-4090, derek@ derekco.com, derekco. com.

DO YOU NEED A PAINT JOB?

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PROTECT YOUR HOME Home break-ins take less than 60 seconds.

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NEED NEW WINDOWS? Drafty rooms? Chipped or damaged frames?

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PEST CONTROL

Protect your home from pests safely & affordably. Roaches, bedbugs, rodents, termites, spiders & other pests. Locally owned & affordable. Call for a quote, service or an inspection today: 1-833-237-1199. (AAN CAN)

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Markoski’s has established a local reputation for being a team of friendly professionals who treat their customers like family. Based out of Chittenden County, we go across Vermont & out of state. Please inquire at markoskismoving.com.

NOTICE FROM THE ESTATE OF JAMES S. FRY, ESQUIRE

Essex Junction, VT

To all former clients of James S. Fry, Esquire, located at 17 Wrisley Court, Essex Junction, Vermont.

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).

2025 Vermont Fire & Building Safety Code.

Fax: 802-479-7562

E-Mail: landon.wheeler@vermont.gov

2023 Vermont Electrical Safety Rules. Vermont Proposed Rule: 25P023

AGENCY: Electricians Licensing Board

Vehicles

CARS & TRUCKS

GOT AN UNWANTED CAR?

Donate it to Patriotic Hearts. Fast, free pickup in all 50 states. Patriotic Hearts’ programs help veterans ﬁnd work or start their own business. Call 24-7: 1-855-402-7631. (AAN CAN)

RVS

35-FT. TRAVEL TRAILER

Beautiful Keystone Premier travel trailer w/ only 65 miles on the tires. Has a lot of goodies incl. $27,900. Call 352-643-0881 or email ekenerson@live.com.

As of May 28, 2020, Attorney Fry retired from legal practice and is now deceased. If you were a client of Attorney Fry and would like to reclaim your legal ﬁ le, please contact Michelle Miller via email at michellegmiller@gmail.com or by calling 802-373-1934. If Ms. Miller has not heard from you by August 31, 2025, your ﬁ le will be securely destroyed.

Additionally, if you believe you have an original Last Will and Testament being retained by Attorney Fry, please contact Ms. Miller to make arrangements to have your Will returned to you for safekeeping.

PROPOSED STATE RULES

By law, public notice of proposed rules must be given by publication in newspapers of record. e purpose of these notices is to give the public a chance to respond to the proposals. e public notices for administrative rules are now also available online at https:// secure.vermont.gov/SOS/rules/ . e law requires an agency to hold a public hearing on a proposed rule, if requested to do so in writing by 25 persons or an association having at least 25 members.

To make special arrangements for individuals with disabilities or special needs please call or write the contact person listed below as soon as possible.

To obtain further information concerning any scheduled hearing(s), obtain copies of proposed rule(s) or submit comments regarding proposed rule(s),

Vermont Proposed Rule: 25P022

AGENCY: Department of Public SafetyDivision of Fire Safety

CONCISE SUMMARY: e 2025 Vermont Fire & Building Safety Code establishes the minimum standards to protect the public from the risks of fi re, explosion, hazardous materials, dangerous structural conditions and carbon monoxide poisoning within public buildings. ese amended rules provide updates and incorporate more recent editions of the same national codes and standards that are currently adopted. ese rules include requirements for the addition of carbon monoxide detection in some occupancies, protection of lithium-ion batteries, building energy storage systems, escape window clarifi cations, sprinkler system, requirement modifi cations, and the inclusion of grab bars to prevent slips and falls. ese amendments are also intended to provide clarity of the intent of currently adopted codes and standards and to incorporate existing interim operational guidance.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION, CONTACT: Landon Wheeler, Division of Fire Safety, 45 State Drive Waterbury, VT 05671 Tel: 802-479-7566 Fax: 802-479-7562 E-Mail: Landon.Wheeler@vermont.gov URL: https://ﬁ resafety.vermont.gov/.

FOR COPIES: Michael Desrochers, Division of Fire Safety, 45 State Drive Waterbury, VT 05671 Tel: 802-479-7566

CONCISE SUMMARY: e Proposed 2023 Vermont Electrical Safety Rules (VESR) will update the technical codes and standards, including the adoption of the 2023 edition of the National Electrical Code (NEC) also known as the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) 70. is will better coordinate the license examination with the state apprenticeship program, establish an expiration date for a permit and a process for refunding permit fees. ese rules also provide requirements for ﬁ ling an electrical work notice, inspection and energizing procedures, details powers of enforcement and licensing disciplinary procedure.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION, CONTACT: Dennis Blair, Dept. of Public SafetyDivision of Fire Safety, 45 State Drive, Waterbury, Vermont 05671 Tel: 802-760-7408 Fax: 802-479-4446 E-Mail: dennis.blair@vermont.gov URL: https://ﬁ resafety.vermont.gov/.

FOR COPIES: Landon Wheeler, Dept. of Public Safety-Division of Fire Safety , 45 State Drive, Waterbury, Vermont 05671 Tel: 802-479-7566 Fax: 802-479-4446 E-Mail: landon. wheeler@vermont.gov.

e 2025 Vermont Plumbing Rules. Vermont Proposed Rule: 25P024

AGENCY: Plumbers Examination Board

CONCISE SUMMARY: e primary focus of these rules is to update the currently adopted 2021 International Plumbing Code to the 2024 edition. e 2024 International Plumbing Code and updated rules will allow for more current methods and materials to be utilized. Rules are amended to clarify intent of the code and answer frequently asked questions. Some of the new changes include gender neutral/multi user restroom provisions, a clarifi cation of specialist license fi elds, new defi nitions, additional clarifi cations and terminology.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION, CONTACT: John A. Hammer, Dept. of Public Safety, Division of Fire Safety, 45 State Drive Waterbury, VT 05671 Tel: 802-249-0271 Fax: 802-479-7562

E-Mail: john.hammer@vermont.gov

URL: https://ﬁ resafety.vermont.gov/.

FOR COPIES: Landon Wheeler, Dept. of Public Safety-Division of Fire Safety, 45 State Drive, Waterbury, Vermont 05671 Tel: 802-479- 7566

Fax: 802-479-7562 E-Mail: landon. wheeler@vermont.gov.

BURLINGTON DEVELOPMENT REVIEW BOARD

TUESDAY, JULY 15, 2025, 5:00 PM PUBLIC HEARING NOTICE

Remote with Limited Onsite Presence (at 645 Pine Street) Meeting

Zoom: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/8322 5696227?pwd=SGQ0bTdnS000Wkc3c2 J4WWw1dzMxUT09

Webinar ID: 832 2569 6227

Passcode: 969186

Telephone: US +1 929 205 6099 or +1 301

715 8592 or +1 312 626 6799 or +1 669 900 6833 or +1 253 215 8782 or +1 346 248 7799

1. ZP-21-800; 501 Pine Street (E-LM, Ward 5) KS Pine, LLC / Kurt Schueler

Proposed time extension request for the establishment of food truck/container kitchen eating area. (Project Manager, Scott Gustin)

2. ZP-25-277; 565 Main Street (RL, Ward 6) Michael Shea, Sr. / Michael Shea, Jr. / Tanya Chen

Proposed conditional use to convert existing structure into a 12-bedroom boarding house. (Project Manager, Scott Gustin)

3. ZAP-25-2; 172 North Willard Street (RL, Ward 1) Margaret Tamulonis / Melanie Jannery / Luke Purvis

Proposed appeal of zoning approval for ZP-25-83; construction of deck and ADA ramp. (Project Manager, Garret King)

4. ZAP-25-4; 164 North Willard Street (RL, Ward 1) Luke Purvis

Proposed appeal of extension request denial and inaccurate site plan. (Project Manager, Scott Gustin)

Plans may be viewed upon request by contacting the Department of Permitting & Inspections between the hours of 8:00 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. Participation in the DRB proceeding is a prerequisite to the right to take any subsequent appeal. Please note that ANYTHING submitted to the Zoning office is considered public and cannot be kept confidential. This may not be the final order in which items will be heard. Please view final Agenda, at www.burlingtonvt.gov/dpi/drb/agendas or the office notice board, one week before the hearing for the order in which items will be heard. The programs and services of the City of Burlington are accessible to people with disabilities. Individuals who require special arrangements to participate are encouraged to contact the Zoning Division at least 72 hours in advance so that proper accommodations can be arranged. For information call 865-7188 (TTY users: 865-7142).

RFP FOR EXISTING ATTIC TRUSS SUPPORTS REINFORCING

The Essex Westford School District is seeking bids for the remedial reinforcement of existing attic truss supports at Thomas Fleming School. A mandatory pre-bid conference will be held on-site at 21 Prospect St. Essex Jct. VT 05452 on Monday, June 30, 2025 at 10:00am. Bids shall be delivered no later than 3:00 PM on Thursday, July 10, 2025.

To read the full RFP, go to (see News section): https://www.ewsd.org/o/ewsd/page/ purchasing-bids

VERMONT STATE HOUSING AUTHORITY ANNUAL PLAN

Starting May 30, 2025, the Vermont State Housing Authority seeks comments on its FY2025 Annual Plan and substantive updates to the Administrative Plan.

These documents can be viewed, by appointment, during regular business hours, at the VSHA Administrative Office located at One Prospect Street, in Montpelier, VT or on VSHA’s website at www.vsha.org. You may also request a copy of these documents be sent via email, fax or USPS mail by contacting Jennifer Gray at jennifer.gray@ vsha.org or 802-828-3020.

Written comments on these documents can be emailed to elizabeth.bacon@vsha.org or mailed to VSHA, Attn: Liz Bacon at One Prospect Street, Montpelier, VT 05602.

A public hearing and opportunity to comment will be held on Wednesday, July 16, 2025 at 11:00am. This public hearing will be held virtually via Microsoft Teams. For meeting login details, please contact Robert Abbott at (802) 828-4154.

IN ACCORDANCE WITH VT TITLE 9 COMMERCE AND TRADE CHAPTER 098: STORAGE UNITS

3905. ENFORCEMENT OF LIEN, CHAMPLAIN

VALLEY SELF STORAGE, LLC SHALL HOST A PRIVATE AUCTION OF THE FOLLOWING UNITS ON OR AFTER 7/19/25:

Location: 2211 Main st Colchester , VT

Contents: household goods

Robert Sweeney: #661

James Spearman: # 833

Location: 485 Nokian Tyres Dr Colchester, VT

Contents: household goods

Nicholas Hammond: # 2429

Auction pre-registration is required, email info@ champlainvalleyselfstorage.com to register.

STATE OF VERMONT SUPERIOR COURT

PROBATE DIVISION CHITTENDEN UNIT

DOCKET NO.: 24-PR-07463

In re ESTATE of Robert Thompson

NOTICE TO CREDITORS

To the creditors of: Robert Thompson, late of Hinesburg, 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: 06/24/2025

Signature of Fiduciary: /s/ Joseph Sweeney and Laura Sumner

Executor/Administrator:

Joseph Sweeney and Laura Sumner

36 Perkins Drive, Essex Junction, VT 05452

Phone number: 802-922-6655

Email: joesweeney1961@gmail.com

Name of Publication: Seven Days

Publication Date: 07/02/2025

Name of Probate Court: Chittenden County Probate Court

Address of Probate Court: 175 Main Street, Burlington, VT 05401

NOTICE OF SELF STORAGE LIEN SALE

BURLINGTON SELF STORAGE, LLC 1825 SHELBURNE ROAD

SOUTH BURLINGTON, VT 05403

Notice is hereby given that the contents of the self storage units listed below will be sold at public auction by sealed bid.

Name of Occupant, Storage Unit#, unit size: Murray, Unit #428, 5x5

Said sales will take place on Friday 07/11/25, beginning at 10:00am at Burlington Self Storage (BSS), 1825 Shelburne Road, South Burlington, VT 05403. Units will be opened for viewing immediately prior to auction. Sale shall be by sealed bid to the highest bidder. Contents of entire storage unit will be sold as one lot. The winning bid must remove all contents from the facility at no cost to BSS, on the day of auction. BSS, reserves the right to reject any bid lower that the amount owed by the occupant or that is not commercially reasonable as defined by statute.

STATE OF VERMONT SUPERIOR COURT

PROBATE DIVISION CHITTENDEN UNIT

DOCKET NO.: 25-PR-03116

In re ESTATE of Lee Sevene

NOTICE TO CREDITORS

To the creditors of: Lee Sevene, late of Winooski, 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

and

View and post up to 6 photos per ad online.

24/7/365. Post & browse ads at your convenience.

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: June 25, 2025

Signature of Fiduciary: /s/ Jade Dewar

Executor/Administrator: Jade Dewar, c/o John J. Mahoney, Esq. PO Box 24, Essex Junction, VT 05453

Phone number: 802-238-1643

Email: jsevene123@gmail.com

Name of Publication: Seven Days Publication Date: 07/02/2025

Name of Probate Court: Vermont Superior Court, Chittenden Unit

Address of Probate Court: 175 Main Street, Burlington, VT 05401

CITY OF ESSEX JUNCTION DEVELOPMENT REVIEW BOARD PUBLIC HEARING

THURSDAY, JULY 17TH, 2025 6:30 P.M.

This meeting will be held in person at Brownell Library, 6 Lincoln Street in the Kolvoord Room and remotely via Zoom. The meeting will be live-streamed on Town Meeting TV.

• JOIN ONLINE:

Visit www.essexjunction.org/DRB for meeting connection information.

• JOIN BY TELEPHONE:

Dial 1(888) 788-0099 (toll free)

Meeting ID: 839 2599 0985

Passcode: 940993

PUBLIC HEARING

Site plan and conditional use review for the addition of a temporary training center at the Champlain Valley Expo at 105 Pearl Street by the Essex Junction Fire Department.

Design review for the construction of a new single-family home at 40 Maple Street by Ron Bushey, owner.

This DRAFT agenda may be amended. Plan documents will be available on www. essexjunction.org/DRB five days prior to the meeting. Any questions re: above please call Michael Giguere or Terry Hass – 802-878-6944 x1604

NOTICE OF PUBLIC MEETING

TOWN OF UNDERHILL DEVELOPMENT REVIEW BOARD (DRB)

Access and Conditional Use Review Application, DRB Docket No. DRB-25-05.

Site Visit & Hearing: On Monday, July 21, 2025, at 20 Waughbrook Lane, Underhill, VT, a site visit will commence at 5:45 PM followed by a hearing @ 6:30 PM at the Underhill Town Hall, 12 Pleasant Valley Road, Underhill, VT. Remote participation options will also be available, see below.

The Access and Conditional Use Review Hearing is based upon an application submitted by Catherine & Matthew Cross regarding a preexisting nonconforming lot which is approximately 5.5 acres. The applicants are seeking improved access, which includes rehabilitation of an existing bridge, and the construction of a new driveway which will serve a proposed single-family dwelling located at 20 Waughbrook Lane. The subject property is located partially in the Mount Mansfield Scenic Preservation Zoning District and the Soil & Water Conservation Zoning District.

Application submittals, including information to access the public meeting via the Go-To-Meeting platform or by telephone, may be obtained on the Town’s website calendar under July 21, 2025, or by contacting the Zoning Administrator. The hearing is open to the public. Pursuant to 24 VSA § 4464(a)(1)(C) and 4471(a), participation in this local proceeding is a prerequisite to the right to make any subsequent appeal. If you cannot attend the hearing, comments may be made in writing, prior to the meeting, and mailed to: Brad Holden,

Interim ZA, P.O. Box 120 Underhill, VT 05489 or emailed to: bholden@underhillvt.gov

TOWN OF ESSEX DEVELOPMENT REVIEW BOARD NOTICE OF PUBLIC HEARING JULY 17, 2025, 6:30 PM

Hybrid & In Person (Essex High School Cafeteria, 2 Educational Drive, Essex Junction) 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: 426269

Join Calling (audio only): 888-788-0099

Public wifi is available at the Essex municipal offices, libraries, and hotspots listed here: https://publicservice.vermont.gov/content/ public-wifi-hotspots-vermont

1. Consider amending or rescinding all or part of approval for John and Meredith McClellan - 2-lot simple parcel subdivision and waiver at 56 Tanglewood Dr (Parcel ID 2-044-059-002) located in the Medium Density Residential (R2) District. Lot 1 will be 3.21 acres and contain the existing single-family home. Lot 2 will be 1.00 acre for future residential development.

2. Continued from 6/26/25 meeting - Site Plan – Scannel Properties LLC is proposing a +/- 107,000 square foot distribution facility with associated parking located at 637 Kimo Drive (FKA Saxon Hill Industrial Park, Parcel B, Lot 13) Parcel ID 2-074-004-013 in the Resource Preservation Industrial-District (RPD-I). Included in the application is a waiver request for the RPD-I 50’ buffer (ZR Table 2.14(9)(c)).

3. Prelim Subdivision – John and Carolyn Leo are proposing an 8-lot commercial subdivision located at 15 Leo Drive (Parcel ID 2-008-004203) in the Industrial (I1) and Scenic Resource Protection Overlay (SRPO) Districts.

Application materials may be viewed before the meeting at https://www.essexvt.org/182/ Current-Development-Applications. Please call 802-878-1343 or email COMMUNITYDEVELOPMENT@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.

NOTICE OF MUNICIPAL CONDEMNATION HEARING (CONTINUED HEARING)

PLEASE TAKE NOTICE that—pursuant to 24 V.S.A. § 2805 et seq.—the City of Winooski plans to continue its hearing regarding condemnation of a parcel of land owned by Winooski Hotel Group, LLC. The necessity and compensation due for such condemnation were addressed at a hearing held on June 25, 2025, and will be further addressed at a hearing held by the mayor and city council of the City of Winooski at 6:00 pm on Monday, July 14, 2025, located at 27 West Allen Street, Winooski, Vermont.

Attend in person: Winooski City Hall (27 W Allen St)

Attend online: https://us06web.zoom. us/j/84364849328

Attend by phone: 1 646 558 8656 Webinar ID: 843 6484 9328

Based on municipal records, the subject parcel is approximately .18 acres in size; is located at 4 Winooski Falls Way in Winooski, Vermont; has SPAN number 774-246-11848; and has tax parcel ID number WI004. Pursuant to this condemnation process, the City of Winooski has determined that it is necessary for public use and benefit to take the subject parcel on a temporary basis for use in construction of a bridge to replace the current Burlington-Winooski Bridge over the Winooski River. Such temporary basis will last until a project completion date of July 1, 2030, but may be extended depending on project needs. Instructions for remote participation may be provided upon request to the City Clerk’s Office, available at (802) 655-6410 or clerk@winooskivt.gov.

Legal Notices

[CONTINUED]

ACT 250 NOTICE

MINOR APPLICATION 4C0881-5

10 V.S.A. §§ 6000 - 6111

Application 4C0881-5 from WGM Associates, P.O. Box 2352, South Burlington, VT 05407 was received on May 9, 2025 and deemed complete on June 23, 2025. The project is generally described as (a) subdivision of a 10.05-acre tract of land into 8 lots and one right-of-way parcel; (b) construction of infrastructure common to this subdivision, including a road, utilities, and common

PLACE AN AFFORDABLE NOTICE AT: SEVENDAYSVT.COM/LEGAL-NOTICES OR CALL 802-865-1020, EXT. 142.

improvements on Lot 4; and (c) authorization for use of an existing trucking business on Lot 1B. The project is located at 896 Hinesburg Road in South Burlington, 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 “4C0881-5.”

No hearing will be held and a permit may be issued unless, on or before July 22, 2025, 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)

Support Groups

A CIRCLE OF PARENTS SUPPORT GROUPS

Please join our professionally facilitated peer-led support groups designed to share our questions, concerns & struggles, as well as our resources & successes! Contribute to our discussion of the unique but shared experience of parenting. For more info or to register, please contact Heather at hniquette@pcavt.org, 802-498-0607, pcavt.org/ family-support-programs.

ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS

If you want to drink, that’s your business. If you want to stop, that’s ours. Call the Vermont statewide anonymous hotline: 802-802-2288. Alcoholics Anonymous holds daily meetings all over Vermont, both in person & online. See burlingtonaa.org for meetings, news & events in Chittenden & Grand Isle counties. For meeting & events throughout Vermont, see aavt.org.

ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS

ALZHEIMER’S ASSOCIATION SUPPORT GROUPS

Support groups meet to provide assistance & info on Alzheimer’s disease & related dementias. They emphasize shared experiences, emotional support & coping techniques in care for a person living w/ Alzheimer’s or a related dementia. Meetings are free & open to the public. Families, caregivers & friends may attend. Please call in advance to confirm the date & time. The Williston caregiver support group meets in person on the 2nd & 4th Tue. of every mo., 5-6:30 p.m., at the Old Brick Church in Williston. Contact support group facilitators Molly at dugan@cathedralsquare.org or Mindy at moondog@burlingtontelecom.net. The Middlebury support group for individuals w/ early stage dementia meets on the 4th Tue. of each mo., 3 p.m., at the Residence at Otter Creek, 350 Lodge Rd., Middlebury. Contact is Daniel Hamilton, dhamilton@residenceottercreek.com or 802-989-0097. The Shelburne support group for individuals w/ early stage dementia meets on the 1st Mon. of every mo., 2-3 p.m., at the Residence at Shelburne Bay, 185 Pine Haven Shores, Shelburne. Contact is support group facilitator Lydia Raymond, lraymond@residenceshelburnebay. com. The telephone support group meets on the 2nd Tue. of each mo., 4-5:30 p.m. Preregistration is required (to receive dial-in codes for toll-free call). Please dial the Alzheimer’s Association’s 24-7 Helpline, 800-272-3900, for more info. For questions or additional support group listings, call 800-272-3900.

ALZHEIMER’S ASSOCIATION SUPPORT GROUPS

Support groups meet to provide assistance & info on Alzheimer’s disease & related dementias. They emphasize shared experiences, emotional

support & coping techniques in care for a person living w/ Alzheimer’s or a related dementia. Meetings are free & open to the public. Families, caregivers & friends may attend. Please call in advance to confirm the date & time. The Williston caregiver support group meets in person on the 2nd & 4th Tue. of every mo., 5-6:30 p.m., at the Old Brick Church in Williston. Contact support group facilitators Molly at dugan@cathedralsquare.org or Mindy at moondog@burlingtontelecom.net. The Middlebury support group for individuals w/ early stage dementia meets on the 4th Tue. of each mo., 3 p.m., at the Residence at Otter Creek, 350 Lodge Rd., Middlebury. Contact is Daniel Hamilton, dhamilton@residenceottercreek.com or 802-989-0097. The Shelburne support group for individuals w/ early stage dementia meets on the 1st Mon. of every mo., 2-3 p.m., at the Residence at Shelburne Bay, 185 Pine Haven Shores, Shelburne. Contact is support group facilitator Lydia Raymond, lraymond@residenceshelburnebay. com. The telephone support group meets on the 2nd Tue. of each mo., 4-5:30 p.m. Preregistration is required (to receive dial-in codes for toll-free call). Please dial the Alzheimer’s Association’s 24-7 Helpline, 800-272-3900, for more info. For questions or additional support group listings, call 800-272-3900.

ALZHEIMER’S ASSOCIATION SUPPORT GROUPS

ANXIETY RELIEF GROUP

Anxiety Relief Group is a safe setting for relaxing & exploring your feelings w/ others through gentle socialization & self-expression, building up what makes you centered & strong. Wed., 4-5:30 p.m. Both in-person & Zoom options avail. In-person

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-status-petition-form, and email it to the District 4 Office at: Act250.Essex@vermont.gov. Findings of Fact and Conclusions of Law may not

CONTACT CLASSIFIEDS@SEVENDAYSVT.COM OR 802-865-1020 EXT. 115 TO UPDATE YOUR SUPPORT GROUP

meetings are held at the Pathways Vermont Community Center at 279 N. Winooski Ave. in Burlington. Email us for the Zoom link & more info: pvcc@pathwaysvermont.org.

BRAIN INJURY SUPPORT GROUP Vermont Center for Independent Living offers virtual monthly meetings, held on the 3rd Wed. of every mo., 1-2:30 p.m. The support group will offer valuable resources & info about brain injury. It will be a place to share experiences in a safe, secure & confidential environment. To join, email Linda Meleady at lindam@vcil.org & ask to be put on the TBI mailing list. Info: 800-639-1522.

BREAST CANCER SURVIVOR DRAGON BOAT TEAM

Looking for a fun way to do something active & health-giving? Want to connect w/ other breast cancer survivors? Come join Dragonheart Vermont. We are a breast cancer survivor & supporter dragon boat team who paddle together in Burlington. Please contact us at info@ dragonheartvermont.org for info.

BURLINGTON MEN’S PEER GROUP

Tue. nights, 7-9 p.m., in Burlington. Free of charge, 30 years running. Call Neils 802-877-3742.

BURLINGTON MEN’S PEER GROUP Tue. nights, 7-9 p.m., in Burlington. Free of charge, 30 years running. Call Neils 802-877-3742.

CONVERSATIONS ABOUT SUICIDE

Conversations About Suicide is a judgment-free & open space to talk about personal experiences of suicidal ideation. The group is facilitated by peer support staff w/ lived experience of suicidality. Thu., 4-5 p.m., at Pathways Vermont Community Center, located at 279 N. Winooski Ave. in Burlington. Email us for more info: pvcc@ pathwaysvermont.org.

DISABILITY SUPPORT GROUP

Our group is a space for mutual support, open to anybody who identifies as disabled, differently abled or having a disability. Whether your disability is visible, invisible, physical or cognitive, this group is for you! The group meets every Mon., 1:15-2:15 p.m., at 279 N. Winooski Ave. in Burlington & online on Zoom. Email us for the Zoom link & more info: pvcc@pathwaysvermont. org.

FCA FAMILY SUPPORT GROUP

Families Coping with Addiction (FCA) is an open community peer support group for adults (18+) struggling with the drug or alcohol addiction of a loved one. FCA is not 12-step-based but provides a forum for those living the family experience, in which to develop personal coping skills & to draw strength from one another. Our group meets every Wed., 5:30-6:30 p.m., live in person in the conference room at the Turning Point Center of Chittenden County (179 S. Winooski Ave., Burlington), &/or via our parallel Zoom session to accommodate those who cannot attend in person. The Zoom link can be found on the Turning Point Center website (turningpointcentervt.org)

be prepared unless the Commission holds a public hearing.

For more information contact Kevin Anderson at the address or telephone number below.

Dated this June 30, 2025. By: /s/ Kevin Anderson Kevin Anderson District Coordinator, Land Use Review Board 111 West Street Essex Junction, VT 05452 802-522-6074 Kevin.Anderson@vermont.gov

using the “Family Support” tab (click on “What We Offer”). Any questions, please send by email to tdauben@aol.com.

FIERCELY FLAT VT

A breast cancer support group for those who’ve had mastectomies. We are a casual online meeting group found on Facebook at Fiercely Flat VT. Info: stacy.m.burnett@gmail.com.

FOOD ADDICTS IN RECOVERY ANONYMOUS (FA) Are you having trouble controlling the way you eat? FA is a free 12-step recovery program for anyone suffering from food obsession, overeating, under-eating or bulimia. Local meetings are held on Mon., 4-5:30 p.m., via Zoom. For more info & a list of additional meetings throughout the U.S. & the world, call 603-630-1495 or visit foodaddicts. org.

FRESH START: A TOBACCO/VAPE QUIT WORKSHOP

Join a free 4- or 5-week group workshop facilitated by our coaches, who are certified in tobacco treatment. We meet in a friendly, relaxed & virtual atmosphere. You may qualify for a free limited supply of nicotine replacement therapy. Info: call 802-847-7333 or email quittobaccoclass@uvmhealth.org to get signed up, or visit myhealthyvt.org to learn more about upcoming workshops.

GRIEVING A LOSS SUPPORT GROUP

A retired psychotherapist & an experienced life coach host a free meeting for those grieving the loss of a loved one. The group meets upstairs at All Souls Interfaith Gathering in Shelburne. There is no fee for attending but donations are gladly accepted. Meetings are held on the 1st & 3rd Sat. of every mo., 10-11:30 a.m. If you are interested in attending please register at allsoulsinterfaith. org. (More information about the group leader at pamblairbooks.com.)

HEARING VOICES SUPPORT GROUP

This Hearing Voices Group seeks to find understanding of voice-hearing experiences as real lived experiences that may happen to anyone at any time. We choose to share experiences, support & empathy. We validate anyone’s experience & stories about their experience as their own, as being an honest & accurate representation of their experience, & as being acceptable exactly as they are. Tue., 2:30-4 p.m. Pathways Vermont Community Center, 279 North Winooski Ave., Burlington. Email us for more information: pvcc@ pathwaysvermont.org

INTERSTITIAL CYSTITIS/PAINFUL BLADDER SUPPORT GROUP

Interstitial cystitis (IC) & painful bladder syndrome can result in recurring pelvic pain, pressure or discomfort in the bladder/pelvic region & urinary frequency/urgency. These are often misdiagnosed & mistreated as a chronic bladder infection. If you have been diagnosed or have these symptoms, you are not alone. For Vermontbased support group, email bladderpainvt@gmail. com or call 802-735-5735 for more info.

ATTENTION RECRUITERS:

POST YOUR JOBS AT: JOBS.SEVENDAYSVT.COM/POST-A-JOB PRINT DEADLINE: NOON ON MONDAYS (INCLUDING HOLIDAYS) FOR RATES & INFO: MICHELLE BROWN, 802-865-1020 X121, MICHELLE@SEVENDAYSVT.COM

YOUR TRUSTED LOCAL SOURCE. JOBS.SEVENDAYSVT.COM

Veterinary Receptionist/ Patient Care Coordinator

Qi Veterinary Clinic

We’re looking for someone who is:

• Passionate

• A strong communicator in person, via email and phone

• Loves animals and the people who care for them

This is a full-time position consisting of four 10 hour shifts per week. Pay range is $20$25 and includes the following benefits:

• 40 hrs paid personal/sick time per year

• 80 hrs paid vacation time/year

• 52 hrs paid major Holidays/year

• $2,600 contribution towards healthcare premium per year

• Simple IRA with matching up to 3%

• Staff Lunches 2-3 times/week

Serious applicants must submit a cover letter telling us why you’re the right person for us, a resume and 3 references. One reference must be from a direct supervisor.

Send resumes: therese@Qivet.com

Engineering The Future of Carbon-Free Power

Prime Engineering, LLC is a fast-moving, niche engineering firm where mechanical and structural minds tackle the toughest challenges in advanced nuclear technology. From hightemperature reactor design to next-gen pressure vessels and piping loop analysis, we turn bold ideas into real-world solutions - today.

Current Openings:

Engineering Analyst Lead Engineer Engineering Manager

Ready to put your mark on tomorrow’s energy landscape? Apply now at prime-engineering.com/careers and power up your career with Prime Engineering.

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TATA HARPER SKINCARE is seeking passionate, driven individuals to join our team at our Vermont Manufacturing Facility in Whiting, VT. As a leader in 100% natural, high-performance skincare, we’re committed to sustainability, innovation, and excellence.

Join a growing brand that’s transforming beauty naturally.

Manufacturing Technician (Packaging)

This position is responsible for the setup and operation of packaging equipment and assembly in the manufacturing of products into secondary components. The job holder is responsible for following work in accordance with the schedule, speciﬁc work instructions, standard operating procedures, and Good manufacturing practices at all times.

Manufacturing Technician (Filling)

This position is responsible for the setup and operation of products into primary components. The job holder is responsible for following work in accordance with the schedule, speciﬁc work instructions, standard operating procedures, and Good manufacturing practices at all times.

Compensation: Starts at $19.50 per hour

Beneﬁts: Medical/Dental/Vision

15 Paid Corporate Holiday, Paid Time O , Sick days 401K, Gratis

Email resumes to: TNA_HR@ap.tataharper.com

Teaching Opportunities

Openings for teachers in the middle school level in Science and Math for the upcoming school year.

MMA is also seeking teachers in the high school level in Science and French. Teachers must have the skills to reach students with engaging lesson plans, creative resources, innovative approaches to presenting content, provide support, act as a mentor and continue professional development.

Administrative Assistant

Facilitate and develop all aspects of communication within the MMA academic community. This individual will manage and monitor the daily academic schedule, assist sta with communication and logistics, direct students as needed with scheduling needs. Answer a wide range of questions and provide (or seek out) information across all areas.

Send resumes to: academics@mmsca.org

ATTENTION RECRUITERS:

USDA is hiring in Vermont!

Do you have a passion for Vermont agriculture and the environment?

FSA is looking for temporary office assistance to help deliver “The American Relief Act of 2025,” which was signed into law on Dec. 21, 2024 and provided the U.S. Department of Agriculture with more than $30 billion to deliver disaster recovery assistance for farmers and livestock producers. This position will help support the implementation of the Emergency Livestock Relief Program and the Supplemental Disaster Relief Program which will provide assistance to producers for necessary expenses due to losses due to weather-related events in 2023 and 2024. Resumes can be submitted to the Chittenden County office or by email to Jessica.Boylan@usda.gov

For more information contact: Lana Walden at 802-658-2803 x258 or email lana.walden@usda.gov.

Our roots go deep. Won’t you come grow with us?

FSA is looking for temporary office assistance to help deliver “The American Relief Act of 2025,” which was signed into law on Dec. 21, 2024 and provided the U.S. Department of Agriculture with more than $30 billion to deliver disaster recovery assistance for farmers and livestock producers. This position will help support the implementation of the Emergency Livestock Relief Program and the Supplemental Disaster Relief Program which will provide assistance to producers for necessary expenses due to losses due to weather-related events in 2023 and 2024. Resumes can be submitted to the XXXXX County office at <Street address> or by email to <CED email address>.

Transportation Coordinator

Jenna’s Promise is hiring a parttime Transportation Coordinator to support women in recovery by providing dependable transportation services and support.

OBGYN Nurse (RN)

MAITRI HEALTH CARE FOR WOMEN is a group of female health care providers united in 2003 to create a comprehensive, compassionate obstetrics and gynecology practice for women of all ages. Maitri Health Care for Women is the premier OBGYN practice in Chi enden County, delivering over 600 babies per year, and providing state of the art gynecologic care for women. We practice medicine with an emphasis on individualized, holistic care.

Experience and Qualiﬁcations:

• Registered Nurse with current State Board of Nursing in VT licensure

• At least 1-2 years of OB/GYN experience preferred, but not required.

Job Types: Part-time, Full-time Pay: $32.00 - $36.00 per hour

Email resumes to: chelsea@maitriobgyn.com 4t-Maitri070225.indd 1 6/26/25 1:21

CLIENT SERVICES & LOGISTICS COORDINATOR

For 24 years, JCohen Financial has put our clients’ best interests first. We are seeking an organized, self-motivated, confidential professional for our busy, client-focused practice.

Our roots go deep. Won ’t you come grow with us? 5v-USDA070225.indd

For more information contact: Lana Walden at 1-802-658-2803 x258, or lana.walden@usda.gov

Key Responsibilities:

• Provide scheduled transportation to residents for work, appointments, and offsite activities.

• Coordinate and manage the transportation schedule.

• Log trips and ensure accurate recordkeeping.

• Support residents in their recovery journey with kindness, patience, and professionalism.

• Approach all interactions with trauma-informed care and respect for confidentiality.

• Other duties as assigned.

Qualifications:

• Valid driver’s license, reliable vehicle, and current insurance required.

• Experience working with people in recovery or with vulnerable populations preferred.

• Strong interpersonal and communication skills.

• Excellent time management and organizational skills.

• Belief in all pathways to recovery and a willingness to support each individual’s journey.

• Must be able to work Monday through Saturday. Contact: Madison Perry – madison@jennaspromise.org

This position will maintain, develop, and streamline organizational procedures and systems to facilitate the smooth flow of day-to-day activities and interaction with clients. Diverse responsibilities will include managing client relationships and database records, coordinating with corporate and field offices, and anticipating next steps. With room for advancement, this is an excellent opportunity to play a critical role in an established, reputable, financial services practice. Ideally, the individual will have a keen eye for detail, accuracy, and follow through with a professional, friendly demeanor and a general curiosity and eagerness to learn about financial planning. Experience with Microsoft Office and Google Docs plus a willingness to obtain industry licenses are required.

The right candidate will possess compassion, integrity, and an impressive work ethic. Is it you? Apply to james@jcohenfinancial.com

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Assistant Development Director

Burlington City Arts (BCA) is seeking an Assistant Development Director, a full-time fundraising position responsible for increasing revenue from corporate supporters through sponsorships, program underwriting, and in-kind partnerships. This role also provides general support for BCA’s annual fund, including prospecting, solicitation, stewardship, and donor relations, & uses CRM analytics & data to inform strategy and donor engagement.

The ideal candidate will have experience in nonprofit fundraising, particularly corporate sponsorships and donations, strong relationship-building skills, and the ability to manage donor data and reporting through a CRM system. A successful candidate will demonstrate a commitment to equity and inclusion, bring excellent communication and organizational skills, and thrive in a collaborative, dynamic environment.

Visit burlingtoncityarts.org/join-bca for more information and to apply online by July 13.

Facilities Manager

Performs some custodial maintenance duties. Needs to be able to lift 50 pounds.

Snow removal of sidewalks with plow. Works in cooperation with school administration to address facility emergencies, needs, and regular maintenance, including the monitoring of a facility maintenance log.

For full job description, requirements and to apply: klafferty@materchristischool.net

IT Support Technician

We are seeking a motivated and dependable IT Support Technician to join our growing team. This individual will provide on-site and remote technical support to our clients, resolving a wide variety of hardware, software, and network issues.

Required Qualifications

• Valid driver’s license and reliable transportation

• CompTIA A+ and Network+ certifications, OR 3+ years of hands-on IT support experience.

• Strong knowledge of Windows & Mac desktop operating systems, Microsoft 365, and basic networking (DNS, DHCP, firewalls).

• Experience with ticketing systems and remote management tools.

• Familiarity with firewalls, switches, and wireless networks.

• Knowledge of cybersecurity fundamentals and data protection practices.

What We Offer

• Competitive salary based on experience

• Mileage reimbursement for travel

• Health and dental insurance

• Paid holidays and time off Send resumes to: employment@tcivt.net

NEW FRAMEWORKS IS HIRING

If you’ve been looking for a way to use your skills to advance climate change response through the built environment; design and construction with natural, local, and plant-based materials; and be an integral part of an equitable, intersectional feminist workplace with a strong team culture, we welcome you! People of color, trans and gender-nonconforming people, people from poor and working-class backgrounds, queer people, and women are encouraged to apply. New Frameworks is currently hiring for the following positions:

• PROJECT & OFFICE MANAGER

Planner

$28 -$35/hour. Total compensation package of $60,000 - $75,500

• CARPENTER

$26 - $30/hour. Total compensation package of $55,900 - $65,200

Our team is committed to social justice and mutual respect between all people, and a similar commitment is sought in the right people to fill these positions. Check out our detailed job postings at newframeworks.com. To apply for any of the above positions, please provide a resume, letter of interest, and 3 references to: info@newframeworks.com

CVRPC is looking for a full-time planner with broad life experience, and a commitment to helping Central Vermont municipalities. The strongest candidates will have experience working with municipalities & volunteer committees, delivering projects on schedule, working in teams, and experience with transportation safety planning and municipal planning. Experience with GIS and geospatial analysis preferred. The selected candidate will work with our community planning team supporting the development of several central Vermont municipalities as they update their municipal plans, as well as supporting our transportation department as it develops a regional safety action plan. Candidates with all levels of experience are encouraged to apply. The salary range for this position is $46,000 to $66,000 dependent on qualifications. Funding for this position is guaranteed for one year.

A review of applications will begin July 22, 2025. Further details and job descriptions are available at: centralvtplanning.org/news/job-postings

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Executive Director

The Vermont Association for the Blind and Visually Impaired seeks a visionary Executive Director to lead our management team. Headquartered in So. Burlington, VT, VABVI is the only private, nonprofit, statewide agency providing training, services and support to infants, children and adults throughout Vermont. VABVI has an annual operating budget of $4.1 million. The successful candidate will possess a vision for the future and strive to fulfill a mission that encourages and assists blind and visually impaired people to achieve or maintain their independence and quality of life. Salary range is $120,000 to $150,000 depending on experience.

Complete details of the responsibilities and qualifications for this position, as well as the Application process is available at: Vabvi.org/careers

Application Deadline: August 31, 2025

Licensed Clinical Social Worker, MHC

JOIN OUR TEAM AND MAKE A DIFFERENCE!

4t-VABVI060425.indd 1 6/27/25 2:38 PM

JUDICIAL ASSISTANTS

VERMONT

STATE COURTS

Looking to enter the legal world and make a difference? $21.32 per hour, $22.07 after 7/13/25, permanent full-time positions in downtown Burlington. The Judicial branch of state government is rapidly expanding. We offer a competitive rate with top-notch health, dental, paid time off and pension. The successful candidate has 2 years general office experience, be a team player, good communicator, able to use technology, organized, and seeking a prestigious and professional atmosphere. EOE. For a more detailed description and how to apply see vermontjudiciary. exacthire.com/job/177307.

At Community Health Centers (CHC), we are committed to delivering compassionate, affordable, and high-quality health care to all, regardless of their financial status or life circumstances. We are currently seeking a Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW) to be part of our dynamic team, contributing to the well-being of our community and making a tangible difference in people’s lives. CHC allows you to live your dream while working for an organization that enables you to be a care provider that delivers quality care. WHY JOIN US? As a Clinical Social Worker at CHC, you’ll be a critical member of a multidisciplinary team providing essential mental health and social support services. Your role will be diverse and impactful, including conducting rapid assessments, offering brief counseling, and providing longer-term psychotherapy to patients in need. You’ll also collaborate with the medical team to assess mental health and substance abuse disorders, make treatment recommendations, and provide crisis intervention and behavioral medicine interventions. Join a community organization that adds value to the community that we serve and live in.

WHAT WE OFFER:

• Excellent Medical, Dental, and Vision coverage

• $600 annual wellness reimbursement – Get paid to stay active!

• Monthly stipend for those with alternate health insurance

• Flexible Spending and Dependent Care Accounts

• Comprehensive Life Insurance, AD&D, Short/Long Term Disability, and Critical Illness Insurance

• 401(k) Retirement Plan & 3% employer contribution after 1 year

• Fiduciary services via Morgan Stanley for financial planning

• Generous accrued paid time off (CTO)

For details and to apply: bit.ly/CHClcsw

ATTENTION RECRUITERS:

Superintendent

New West Building Company is hiring a Superintendent in the Stowe area. The ideal candidate will have a strong understanding of all phases of the construction process. Some responsibilities might include: quality control/quality assurance, maintaining job site safety, labor performance and scheduling, subcontractor scheduling, maintaining the daily log, and conﬁrmation of specs. Salary range of $110K - $130K DOE & great beneﬁts!

Please send resume to jobs@newwestbc.com or apply at newwestbc.com/careers

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Bar Manager

We are looking for a committed, full time bar manager to join our team in a fast paced environment.

The bar manager is responsible for managing inventory and maximizing resources, creating weekly schedules for staff, facilitating menu changes, maintaining an effective costing system, maintaining and growing vendor relationships, planning and overseeing trainings, encouraging continued education, managing day-to-day operations, & proactively overseeing operational needs.

The bar manager should be a skilled communicator, have excellent problem-solving skills, be able to think critically and efficiently, have strong leadership skills, and have a strong understanding of the beverage and hospitality industries.

Email resume & cover letter to info@waterworksvt.com

Nurse Manager Full-time

Homeless Services Coordinator

28–32 hours a week. Assist persons experiencing homelessness in identifying and accessing services and programs needed to stabilize them while homeless, and to address barriers to obtaining stable housing. Minimum of 2 years’ experience working with persons with mental illness and substance use disorders, knowledge of mainstream resources required. Must have a valid driver’s license and reliable auto. HOPE offers a supportive, positive work environment and competitive compensation. Equal Opportunity Employer.

To apply, send resume and letter of interest to receptionist@hope-vt.org, or mail to 282 Boardman Street, Suite 1A, Middlebury, Vermont 05753.

THE STRAM CENTER is looking for an experienced and compassionate Full-time Nurse Manager to assist in leading our nursing team in providing high-quality patient care in our growing integrative medical practice. The Stram Center is a unique practice designed to support chronically ill patients in their journey to health. Our practice collaborates with a multidisciplinary team of medical doctors, naturopaths, and dieticians at our South Burlington location to provide individualized care plans for those undergoing treatment for chronic illness, general wellness, and supportive oncology care. The nursing team is the heart of the practice, integral to helping keep all the parts moving in synchrony, and we are looking to expand our team. The right individual would be a Licensed Registered Nurse and would need to have strong IV placement skills and the ability to adapt to a constantly evolving environment.

Approximately 32 hours weekly are available now with potential for growth. Primary duties would be case management, IV administration, phlebotomy, and lab processing, as well as administrative tasks related to these such as, ordering and stocking supplies, medication refills, compiling quotes for patients, and supervising office staff. Looking for a nurse with managerial experience. IV experience also a must.

Pay: $35.00 - $45.00 per hour

Benefits:

Employee discount, 401K Medical, Dental & Vision Benefits

Flexible schedule, Free

Technology Coordinator

Head Coach, Women’s Softball

Assistant Coach, Men’s Ice Hockey

For position details and application process, visit jobs.plattsburgh.edu and select “View Current Openings”

SUNY Plattsburgh is an AA/EEO/ADA/VEVRAA committed to excellence through diversity and supporting an inclusive environment for all.

Senior Staff Associate

The Legislative support offices are currently hiring. The nonpartisan offices are an interesting, challenging, and exciting place to work. You will be part of a highly professional and collegial team that is proud of, and enthusiastic about, the mission of the state legislature.

To apply, please go to 'Career Opportunities' at legislature.vermont.gov.

OPERATIONS SUPPORT

At North Star Leasing, we know that there is more to life than work. But we also understand that the quality of the work environment and employee benefits can greatly impact an associate’s life. That’s why we seek to create a great benefits package for our associates including: 401(k) retirement plan with an employer match, employee stock purchase plan, various education assistance programs, paid vacation and holidays, and much more. For full details of our benefits offerings, please visit: peoplesbancorp.com/about-us

This position is a Lease Operations Support role within North Star Leasing, a division of Peoples Bank. This position is in-office and will be responsible for owning and maintaining the title function within the company which includes title package preparation, lien perfection, title releases, etc. Associate will be responsible for providing extraordinary customer service to internal and external customers, answering calls and researching questions. Will also provide back up and support to the accounting team. Equal Opportunity Employer M/F/Disabled/Vet.

If you are unable to complete this application due to a disability, contact humanresources@pebo.com to ask for an accommodation, alternative application process, or other inquiries.

Maintenance Coordinator

Part-Time

Jenna’s Promise is seeking a dedicated and compassionate part-time Maintenance Coordinator to help maintain and enhance our properties. This is a hands-on role ideal for someone handy, eager to learn, and excited to support people in recovery by creating clean, safe & welcoming environments.

Key Responsibilities:

• Serve as the main point of contact for maintenance needs across all Jenna’s Promise properties, including residences, community spaces, and retail locations.

• Coordinate repairs and seasonal upkeep (e.g., lawn care, snow removal).

• Complete light carpentry, plumbing, patching, and other small repairs.

• Collaborate with vendors and contractors as needed.

• Maintain inventory, order parts and supplies & follow procurement protocols.

• Support preparation of donated products for sale at JP’s Promising Goods.

• Train and support residents with basic maintenance tasks.

• Maintain a trauma-informed & recovery-focused approach to all interactions.

Qualifications:

• Demonstrated experience with building maintenance and repair work.

• Belief in the power of recovery and a commitment to supporting women in recovery.

• Valid driver’s license and reliable transportation preferred.

• Must be able to work Tuesday through Saturday.

Contact: Madison Perry – madison@jennaspromise.org

EVENTS, PROMOTIONS & TICKETING MANAGER

Events are a big part of what we do at Burlington-based Seven Days. The mission of our employee-owned company is to inform and engage Vermonters with reliable reporting on local news and culture. We are seeking a creative, enthusiastic and organized planner to manage the Seven Days Tickets online box office, as well as our own dynamic slate of events and promotions. Revenue generated from this position supports our journalism and Vermont’s dynamic community of event producers.

Digital fluency is key to success in this job, but it’s just the tip of the iceberg. Applicants should feel comfortable running the registration desk at the Vermont Tech Jam, schmoozing at a cocktail reception or creating an Instagram reel promoting Burger Week. Organization and time management are also crucial — rolling deadlines for print publications and digital products drive an aggressive promotional cycle across our multiple media channels. To join our team, you must be an excellent communicator, meticulous about details, a creative problem solver and a master multitasker who appreciates the value of local journalism. It helps if you also like to have fun!

Responsibilities for this full-time position include:

• Planning, promoting and executing events large and small such as: Vermont Tech Jam, the Seven Daysies awards party, the Spectacular Spectacular youth talent show and more

• Conceptualizing strategic marketing plans for Seven Days events, promotions and ticketing

• Recruiting local event promoters to use our free box office software, walking them through the process of selling tickets on the platform, coaching and providing basic tech support

• Communicating with our audience and beyond using all the marketer’s tools including social media, newsletters, radio, TV, print and IRL conversations

• Identifying strategic community partnerships to enhance our events and promotions; this includes working on events related to reader support, promoting civic engagement and local journalism

• If you are passionate about Vermont and inspired by the opportunity to help connect local businesses, event promoters and Seven Days readers, we want to hear from you! Send cover letter & résumé to eventsjob@sevendaysvt.com by Monday, July 14.

For consideration, applicants should have experience planning and executing events for 100+ guests. In your cover letter, please explain the role(s) you’ve played in past events, your current employment situation and provide three professional references. Compensation, which includes some commission, is in the $50-60k range, plus sales commission, health insurance, paid vacation and other benefits. The position is based out of our Burlington office with occasional opportunities for remote work. Preference given to individuals who’ve worked in local media. No phone calls, please.

Seven Days is an equal opportunity employer.

ATTENTION RECRUITERS:

LPN Starting at $35/hr or RN Starting at $45/hr

Sign on Available! Valley Vista is seeking full-time, part-time, and per diem nurses (LPN or RN) for all shifts, to join our team and support our 80-bed facility as our patients move toward a life in recovery.

Job Duties:

• Provide appropriate nursing services and education to clients.

• Observe, record, and reports to the appropriate person any symptoms, reactions and changes in a client’s condition.

• Receives and transcribes physician order to client charts.

• Chart nursing notes in an informative and descriptive manner reflecting the care provided and the response to that care.

• Participate in report at shift change.

• Administer Mantoux upon admission.

• Complete scheduled weekly updates and chart audits.

Job Requirements: LPN or RN License, Interest in Behavioral Health and Chemical Dependency

Apply: bit.ly/ValleyVistaNurse

Graduate Nurse Residency Program

Build your skills – with support.

Kickstart your nursing career with the support you need at our not-for-profit, rural critical access hospital. Apply for our Summer 2025 program on the Medical-Surgical Unit. Receive hands-on training with experienced preceptors, exposure to diverse patient populations, and education on essential nursing skills in a mentorship-driven atmosphere. Why NVRH? Collaborate with a dedicated team, gain valuable experience, and enjoy work-life balance in a welcoming rural community while making a meaningful impact on patients’ lives.

Requirements: Enthusiastic new graduates with a Bachelor’s or Associate’s Degree in Nursing and eligibility for a Vermont or multi-state Compact RN license. Benefits Include: Competitive compensation, student loan repayment, tuition reimbursement, paid time off, and more. About Us: Located in St. Johnsbury, Northeastern Vermont Regional Hospital serves over 30,000 people in a picturesque, bustling community. Apply Now! nvrh.org/careers.

Town Administrator

The Town Administrator is a highly responsible administrative position supervising and coordinating the overall operations of the Town. The Town Administrator is responsible for managing the day-to-day affairs of the Town as specifically assigned by the Selectboard, and in all areas not directly assigned by the Selectboard to someone else.

Desired Qualifications:

• Bachelor’s or master’s degree preferred

Marketing & Communications Associate

Use your storytelling skills to help small towns thrive. CommunityHeartandSoul.org

Are you a creative communicator who excels at connecting people through stories? Do you want your work to make a real difference in small cities and towns across the country? Community Heart & Soul® is a national nonprofit organization whose namesake program engages residents and local leaders to shape the future of their communities. We’re looking for a talented marketing professional to help expand our program to hundreds of new towns across the country.

In this role, you’ll create and manage campaigns, support webinars and events, develop content across a variety of platforms, and ensure brand consistency as we grow. Based in our Shelburne, VT office, your work will help fuel the momentum behind a program that’s already making a difference in over 130 communities nationwide. You are a great fit if you're an energetic digital marketer with a passion for content development (video, images, written) and you’re excited about building thriving communities. Curious? Energized? Ready to make a difference? Join a dedicated team working to strengthen small towns across America—one story at a time. Apply now by submitting your cover letter and resume at: communityheartandsoul.org/careers

The salary range for this role is $60,000 - $80,000 per year, depending on experience.

Pre-Charge Diversion Case Manager

LRC is hiring a 32 hr/wk Pre-Charge Diversion Case Manager. Pre-Charge Court Diversion is a voluntary, confidential alternative to the formal court process through which people who have broken the law can make amends to all affected; the victim, the community, and themselves. The case manager will work within a team to create trauma-informed and victim-centered responses and supports using restorative practices and assist participants in repairing the harm caused by the crime they committed. The successful candidate will possess excellent communication, collaboration, and organizational skills. A bachelor’s degree, or equivalent work experience is required. Preference will be given to those who have worked with justice-involved individuals or with people impacted by crime.

Foreman

New West Building Company is a high-end custom home builder based in Stowe, VT, and is seeking an experienced Foreman to lead day-to-day operations on job sites. The ideal candidate has a strong background in residential construction, is highly organized, and can e ectively manage crews and subcontractors. Salary range: $60K-90K DOE with competitive beneﬁts. For more information and to apply, please visit our website at newwestbc.com/careers

LEAD LIBRARIAN

Russell Memorial Library seeks a Lead Librarian to oversee all aspects of services provided by our rural library, open 16 hours per week. We seek a candidate committed to engaging with our community, continuing the library’s vital role in our town, and ensuring the library is accessible and inclusive. See details at: russelllibraryvt. wordpress.com

• 3 years’ experience in local government planning, administration, or equivalent experience in business or government preferred.

• A combination of relevant experience and qualifications may be acceptable

To apply, please send a cover letter and resume to: jhenry@alburghvt.org, by 5PM on July 11th, 2025.

The hourly pay rate is between $24.00 and $25.33. A generous benefits policy provides $13,000 annually for each employee to pay for the benefits they need, such as: medical, dental, vision, and supplemental insurance, and retirement. Additional benefits include 27 paid days off and 17 paid holidays, pre-tax dependent care deductions, paid family medical leave, an annual training stipend, and life insurance.

Please submit a cover letter and resume to: info@lrcvt.org.

LRC is an equal opportunity employer and invites applications from professionals with lived experience. Applications will be accepted until the position is filled.

2v-RussellMemorialLibrary070225.indd 1 6/27/25

To apply, please send your resume, 3 references & contact information to jobs@philoridgefarm.com For full descriptions, visit: philoridgefarm.org/join-our-team Qualified candidates will be contacted directly. No phone calls.

Business Manager

New Learning Journey is seeking a Business Manager at the Knoll Farm location.

We are seeking a passionate and detail-oriented business manager, a key leadership role responsible for managing the fiscal health of our $1.2 million dollar nonprofit organization dedicated to social justice.

Details and to apply use the QR Code:

EMS Captain-Paramedic, Crew Chief/Driver Paramedic, Crew Chief/Driver AEMT

Shelburne Rescue has open positions for EMS CaptainParamedic, Crew Chief/Driver Paramedic, and Crew Chief/ Driver AEMT! Full-time and parttime positions are available. Job descriptions and applications can be found on the HR page: shelburnevt. org/237/Human-Resources

Contact Adam Backus: abackus@ shelburnevt.org or Andrew Kehl: aKehl@shelburnevt.org for info.

Experienced Prep Cook

Got knife skills? And love carrots?

Our kitchen offers a variety of daily specials and grab-and-go items for the store. Open 7 days a week. Ideal candidates must have experience in a professional kitchen. Familiarity with a prep kitchen preferred. Exact schedule to be discussed, but ideally includes one weekend day. $18-$22/hr depending on experience and fit. Full time.

Full job details: therootsfarmmarket.com/ job-openings

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Why not have a job you love?

Make a career making a difference with a job in human services at Champlain Community Services.

Benefit package includes 29 paid days off in the first year, comprehensive health insurance with premium as low as $30 per month, up to $6,400 to go towards medical deductibles and copays, retirement match, generous sign on bonus and so much more.

And that’s on top of working at one of the “Best Places to Work in Vermont” for seven years in a row.

Great jobs in management and direct support at an award-winning agency serving Vermonters with intellectual and developmental disabilities.

ccs-vt.org/current-openings

Human Resources Director

The Town of Essex is accepting applications for full-time employment for a Human Resources (HR) Director.

Under the general direction of the Town Manager, the Human Resources (HR) Director is directly responsible for the overall management, planning, administration, coordination, evaluation, and improvement of the Human Resource Function. Completes all other related work as required.

Full job description can be found here: essexvt.bamboohr.com

In general, the regular work hours per week are 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday. However, hours may vary depending upon the needs of the Town.

July 9 | 8:30 AM—12:30 PM July 22 | 1:00—5:00 PM

2v-TownofShelburneRESCUE061825.indd 1 6/16/25 12:18 PM LEAD COOK/ KITCHEN MANAGER

Small Established Restaurant with a pub-style family setting in Montgomery Center, VT. We have been a local favorite for over 50 years, serving great food. We are looking for a Lead Cook/Kitchen Manager to lead our kitchen, ensuring that our staple items are consistently prepared to the highest standards while also developing exciting specials. This role requires someone who is a strong leader, organized and able to manage a small highvolume kitchen efficiently.

For full description and to apply: bit.ly/BelfryCOOK

2v-theBelfry062525.indd 1 6/23/25 12:57 PM

The below list of qualifications and experience is desired, unless otherwise specified, for this position. Essex will consider any combination of education and experience that allows for successful performance in this role. We encourage persons with non-traditional skill sets and experiences to apply, even if candidates believe they do not meet 100% of the qualification and hiring criteria described.

The qualified candidate will have at least 4 years of relevant experience in human resources and at least a bachelor’s degree with a major in human resources, or a related field. A SHRM-CP Certification is desired. The Town will consider any equivalent combination of education and experience.

The salary range is $78,000-$98,000 per year with the actual starting salary based on qualifications and experience. This is a full-time, non-union, exempt position. Please visit https://essexvt. bamboohr.com/ to view a competitive benefits package.

Applications can be submitted online or interested candidates can pick up a paper application at the Essex Town Offices, 81 Main St, Essex Junction, VT 05452. This position is open until filled.

The Town of Essex is an equal opportunity employer.

PTO, Health/Vision/Dental, 401(k) | On-the-job training | Flexible scheduling | Earn an extra $3/hr when you work weekdays from 4:30 PM to close or any weekend shift | Career advancement

Hiring! NURSING LEADERSHIP

Looking to be part of a tight-knit nursing leadership team that supports growth and collaboration?

• House Supervisor

Serve as a clinical resource to all departments across organization.

• OR Nurse Manager

Lead dynamic team through upcoming Operating Room expansion.

• PACU Nurse Manager

Manage pre- and post-op care for a variety of surgeries.

For more information visit copleyvt.org/careers or contact Kaitlyn Shannon, Recruiter, at 802-888-8144 or kshannon@chsi.org.

“Seven Days sales rep Michelle Brown is amazing! She’s extremely responsive, and I always feel so taken care of. I can only imagine how many job connections she has facilitated for local companies in the 20 years she has been doing this.”

CAROLYN ZELLER, Intervale Center, Burlington Get a quote when posting online. Contact Michelle Brown at 865-1020, ext. 121, michelle@sevendaysvt.com

Burlington Housing Authority (BHA)

Are you interested in a job that helps your community and makes a difference in people’s lives every day? Consider joining Burlington Housing Authority (BHA) in Burlington, VT to continue BHA’s success in promoting innovative solutions that address housing instability challenges facing our diverse population of lowincome families and individuals.

We are currently hiring for the following positions:

Leasing Coordinator:

Screens all applicants for program eligibility for HUD Multifamily & BHA owned properties. Gathers information for screening tenant’s suitability and lease ups. Works closely with the Property Managers, Rental Assistance department, and coordinates inspections for housing Choice vouchers. Pay $23.00 to $25.00 per hour.

Maintenance Technician:

Performs general maintenance work in BHA owned and managed properties. This includes building exteriors, common areas, apartments, building systems, fixtures, and grounds. Our Building Operations Techs are required to participate in the on-call rotation, which covers night and weekend emergencies. Pay $24.00 to $26.00 per hour.

Offender Re-entry

Housing Specialist

Provides support to men and women under the VT Department of Corrections supervision from prison back to living in Chittenden County. The ORHS focuses on high-risk men and women who are being released from jail and graduating transitional housing programs and in need of permanent housing. The ORHS provides intensive retention and eviction prevention services and works collaboratively with the Burlington Probation and Parole Office. Additionally, the ORHS works with various case workers, Re-Entry staff and the Administrative Staff from the VT Department of Corrections and the broad network of COSA staff, as necessary, throughout Chittenden County. Pay $25.00 to $26.00 per hour.

Permanent Supportive Housing Specialist

Provides assistance to community members within Chittenden County who are without housing and have significant medical/mental health barriers to locating and securing housing in Burlington Housing Authority’s service area. Pay $25.00 to $26.00 per hour.

Property Manager Administrative Assistant

Serves as first point of contact for our customers in the Property Management office. This role greets applicants and the general public at the main office, collects rent payments, provides administrative support to the Leasing Specialist, the Property Managers, and the Director of Property Management. Pay $20.00 to $22.00 per hour.

For more info about these career opportunities, our robust benefit package, and to apply, please visit: jobs.appone.com/ burlingtonhousingauthority

Burlington Housing Authority

Human Resources

65 Main Street, Suite 101 Burlington, VT 05401

To find more info about these career opportunities, please visit: burlingtonhousing.org.

BHA is an Equal Opportunity Employer

fun stuff

“You’ll not ﬁnd a more bucolic setting in all of Vermont to take a #!@*.”

JEN SORENSEN

HARRY BLISS

JOHN KLOSSNER

JULIANNA BRAZILL

JONNY HAWKINS

CANCER

(JUN. 21-JUL. 22)

There’s a story from West African tradition in which a potter listens to the raw material she has gathered from the earth. She waits for it to tell her what it wants to become. In this view, the potter is not a dictator but a midwife. I believe this is an excellent metaphor for you, Cancerian. Let’s imagine that you are both the potter and the clay. A new form is ready to emerge, but it won’t respond to force. You must attune to what wants to be born through you. Are you trying to shape your destiny too insistently, when it’s already confiding in you about its preferred shape? Surrender to the conversation.

ARIES (Mar. 21-Apr. 19): Greek philosopher Socrates declared, “The unexamined life is not worth living.” That extreme statement is a foundational idea of Western philosophy. It’s hard to do! To be ceaselessly devoted to questioning yourself is a demanding assignment. But here’s the good news: I think you will find it extra liberating in the coming weeks. Blessings and luck will flow your way as you challenge your dogmas and expand your worldview. Your humble curiosity will attract just the influences you need.

TAURUS (Apr. 20-May 20): Recently, I brought an amazing Taurus to your attention: the German polymath Athanasius Kircher, who lived from 1601 to 1680. Once again, I will draw on his life to provide guidance for you. Though he’s relatively unknown today, he was the Leonardo da Vinci of his age — a person with a vast range of interests. His many admirers called him “Master of a Hundred Arts.” He traveled extensively and wrote 40 books that covered a wide array of subjects. For years, he curated a “cabinet of curiosities” or “wonderroom” filled with interesting and mysterious objects. In the coming weeks, I invite you to be inspired by his way of being, Taurus. Be richly miscellaneous and wildly versatile.

GEMINI (May 21-Jun. 20): How does a person become a creative genius in their field? What must they do to become the best? In his book Outliers, Malcolm Gladwell said one way to accomplish these goals is to devote 10,000 hours to practicing and mastering your skill set. There’s some value in that theory, though the full truth is more nuanced. Determined, focused effort that’s guided by mentors and bolstered by good feedback is more crucial than simply logging hours. Having access to essential resources is another necessity. I bring these thoughts to your attention, Gemini, because I believe the coming months will be a favorable time to summon a high level of disciplined devotion as you expedite your journey toward mastery.

LEO (Jul. 23-Aug. 22): Here’s my odd but ultimately rewarding invitation: Tune in to the nagging aches and itches that chafe at the bottom of your heart and in the back of your mind. For now, don’t try to scratch them or rub them. Simply observe them and feel them with curiosity and reverence. Allow them to air their grievances and tell you their truths. Immerse yourself in the feelings they arouse. It may take 10 minutes, or it might take longer, but if you maintain this vigil, your aches and itches will ultimately provide you with smart guidance. They will teach you what questions you need to ask and how to go in quest for the healing answers.

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sep. 22): Wise gardeners may plan their planting by the moon’s phases.

Through study of the natural world, they understand that seeds sown at the ripe moment will flourish, while those planted at random times may be less hardy. In this spirit, I offer you the following counsel for the coming weeks: Your attention to timing will be a great asset. Before tinkering with projects or making commitments, assess the cycles at play in everything: the level of your life energy, the moods of others and the tenor of the wider world. By aligning your moves with subtle rhythms, you will optimize your ability to get exactly what you want.

LIBRA (Sep. 23-Oct. 22): In parts of Italy, grapevines were once trained not on wires or trellises but on living trees, usually maples or poplars. The vines spiraled upward, drawing strength and structure from their tall allies. The practice kept grapes off the ground, improved air circulation and allowed for mixed land use, such as growing cereals between the rows of trees and vines. In the coming weeks, Libra, I advise you to be inspired by this phenomenon. Climb while in relationship. Who or what is your living trellis? Rather than pushing forward on your own, align with influences that offer height, grounding and steady companionship. When you spiral upward together, your fruits will be sweeter and more robust.

SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): Migratory monarch butterflies travel thousands of miles, guided by instincts and cues invisible to humans. They trust they will find what they need along the way. Like them, you may soon feel called to venture beyond your comfort zone — intellectually, socially or geographically. I advise you to rely on your curiosity and adaptability. According to my analysis of the astrological omens, the journey will lead you to resources and help you hadn’t anticipated. The path may be crooked. The detours could be enigmatic. But if you are committed to enjoying the expansive exploration, you’ll get what you didn’t even know you needed.

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): Your assignment is to uncover hidden treasures. Use the metaphorical version of your peripheral vision to become aware of valuable stuff you are missing and resources you are neglecting. Here’s another way to imagine your

task: There may be situations, relationships or opportunities that have not yet revealed their full power and glory. Now is a perfect moment to discern their pregnant potential. So dig deeper, Sagittarius — through reflection, research or conversation. Trust that your open-hearted, open-minded probing will guide you to unexpected gems.

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): The legendary jazz musician Louis Armstrong said, “If you have to ask what jazz is, you’ll never know.” What did he mean by that? That we shouldn’t try to use words to describe and understand this complex music? Countless jazz critics, scholars and musicians might disagree with that statement. They have written millions of words analyzing the nature of jazz. In that spirit, I am urging you to devote extra energy in the coming weeks to articulating clear ideas about your best mysteries. Relish the prospect of defining what is hard to define. You can still enjoy the raw experience even as you try to get closer to explaining it.

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): In the Andean highlands, there’s a concept called ayni, a venerated principle of reciprocity. “Today for you, tomorrow for me,” it says. This isn’t a transactional deal. It’s a relational expansiveness. People help and support others not because they expect an immediate return. Rather, they trust that life will ultimately find ways to repay them. I suggest you explore this approach in the coming weeks, Aquarius. Experiment with giving freely, without expectation. Conversely, have blithe faith that you will receive what you need. Now is prime time to enhance and finetune your web of mutual nourishment.

PISCES

(Feb. 19-Mar. 20): How often do I, your calm, sensible counselor, provide you carte blanche to indulge in exuberant gratification, a free pass for exciting adventures, and a divine authorization to indulge in luxurious abundance and lavish pleasure? Not often, dear Pisces. So I advise you not to spend another minute wondering what to do next. As soon as possible, start claiming full possession of your extra blessings from the gods of joy and celebration and revelry. Here’s your meditation question: What are the best ways to express your lust for life?

Clarence Baker has been working on his extensive gardens in Roxbury for more than 30 years. He collects junk, found objects and old farm equipment and transforms it into works of art that sit among his ﬂowers. Seven Days’ Eva Sollberger got a tour of Baker’s surprising gardens of wonder.

SOUTHERN HOMOSEXUAL REPUBLICAN

Intelligent, museums, FLW, inquisitive nature, honesty, responsible, history, conversation, fun, water, warmth, kindness. A man who likes a great deal! Staglen 62, seeking: M, l

COMPANIONSHIP TO SHARE OUTDOOR FUN

WOMEN seeking...

BEAUTIFUL PLAYFUL MAGICAL BUTTERFLY

Spiritual being having a human experience. Lighthearted. Love life’s adventures! I’m comfortable with me, love to have fun, laugh, play. Looking for someone who gets me and relishes life, who’s balanced and independent, and who complements me, not completes me. Someone to share in the magical blessings! SunflowerHarmony 56, seeking: M, l

INTELLIGENT AND CURIOUS

Don’t be discouraged by my age. I am mature, I enjoy meaningful and intellectual conversations, and I have always preferred the company of those older than myself. Invite me over, let me cook you dinner in your kitchen, and I’ll tell you that you’re pretty and ask you a million questions about your life story. kateausten, 22 seeking: W

HAPPY, OPTIMISTIC, INTELLIGENT, CARING, ADVENTUROUS

I’m fun, healthy, outdoorsy. Love cooking, gardening, theater, wine, music, candles. Not perfect, but happy with who I am. Enjoy good, honest conversation, others’ perspectives about life. Sensitive, compassionate, attractive, very young at heart. Optimist: value others with positive energy. Appreciate the simple things in life. Looking for quality time with someone to evolve together into long-term relationship. Vizcaya7 70, seeking: M, l

WANT TO RESPOND?

You read Seven Days, these people read Seven Days — you already have at least one thing in common!

All the action is online. Create an account or login to browse hundreds of singles with profiles including photos, habits, desires, views and more. It’s free to place your own profile online.

l See photos of this person online.

W = Women

M = Men

TW = Trans women

TM = Trans men

Q = Genderqueer people

NBP = Nonbinary people

NC = Gender nonconformists

Cp = Couples

Gp = Groups

OPEN-MINDED, UNDERSTANDING AND COMPASSIONATE

Looking for a playmate to share adventures with. Someone who is positive and sees the glass as half full, or better yet, full. Someone who likes the outdoors and enjoys hiking, kayaking and, above all, laughter. And honesty is a must. Cynder, 76 seeking: M, l

WOMAN LOOKING FOR WOMAN

35-y/o woman looking for a woman for my first experience. Horselover28, 35, seeking: W, l

POWER DROID LOOKIN’

One-time opportunity, because I only bought a day’s worth of this. I’m not your usual run of the mill. Hybrid droid/ human. Hybrid femme/butch. Hybrid punk/hipster artsy nerd. Soft yet muscular. Creative nature lover. Likes movies, cats, Dave Lynch. MOZ (if you know, you know). Live shows but not the people. Making and eating food. Dancing, jazz, punk, rock. Kissing. JDroid 49 seeking: M, W, TM, TW, Q, NC, NBP, Cp, l

SEEKING LAKE MONSTERS LOVER

I’ve got Lake Monsters season tickets, and I’m looking for a cute lady to join me for some summer fun at the ballpark. Don’t care if we make it to first, second, third or go all the way. I’m just looking for a gal who appreciates good seats, good humor and a guaranteed good time. Cracker Jack is on me. LakeMonsterLover, 37 seeking: W, l

NATURE-LOVING FRUGALIST CREATIVE

I’ve been a homebody lately, but really want to get back to nature. I love a man who can use his hands to create or fix. Will share photos with the right connection. I love creating, being in nature — just simple things. Trying to find the world’s last semi-honest man to spend time with. I’m 5’4”, about 122 lbs., piercings: only two, I’m not a human pincushion. LOL. Sadie407 47, seeking: M

IF YOU LIKE PIÑA COLADAS

Middle-aged, dog-loving woman with a badass job, sharp humor and no patience for small talk. You: stable, kind, weird in the best way. Let’s laugh over dinner, maybe escape town (separate rooms!) and see what happens — no pressure, no script, just two grown-ups figuring out if this could be something worth exploring. vtpinacoladagirl, 49 seeking: M

SEEKING AUTHENTIC CONNECTION

Charmingly active and young-for-myyears woman looking to share my life and experiences with an intelligent, romantic and genuine man. I’m passionate about social justice and progressive ideas. I’d love for you to join me for dancing, skiing, cooking, writing poems and exploring openheartedness. VTJewel, 75, seeking: M, l

DRAMA-FREE!

Mom of two. One grown, one at home. Vermonter, born and raised. Water is my happy place, especially the ocean. I work part time. Divorced 17 years, single most of that. Ready to try again. Could you be the one? poeticbabs 55, seeking: M, l

DO YOU LIKE INNER STILLNESS?

Looking for someone with a similar lifestyle, not a tagalong. Someone desiring relationship as a life journey. I observe some who want to use another as escape or rescue from having a relationship with themselves, to avoid loneliness, to fit in, or just because it’s what they’ve always done. If that’s you, it’s not me you’re looking for.

NotOutOfTheWoodsYet 61 seeking: M

FINDING JOY AND LOVE

Opening my life and heart to experiencing the joy and love that exists in between the spaces of this troubled world. Looking for a partner for traveling to amazing places, communing with the forest fairies and mycelium networks, and playing in the water. Young at heart, embraces the wonders of this life, has compassion for the difficulties facing our planet and its inhabitants. Halfpint 72, seeking: M, l

SMART FUNNY ROMANTIC SEEKS SAME

Are you an optimist? Enjoy an active, engaged lifestyle? Downhill skier a plus. Romantic, fun-loving person seeking someone who loves music, traveling, hiking, biking, concerts and comedy. I’m living a full life, but if it can be enhanced with a partner, I’m up for that. If you think the cup is half empty, do not apply! apresski711 68, seeking: M, l

HIKING BOOTS AND FUN EARRINGS

I’m happiest when in the forest with snacks! I care about social and environmental justice and hope to leave my corner of the earth better than I found it. Outgoing introvert. I value solitude but am also fun at parties (especially if given enough caffeine). Looking for an outdoorsy guy with compassion and good sense of humor. Trailhobbit, 30 seeking: M, l

WHY WE’RE HERE

Looking for friendship and joy. I’m a dogand cat-loving, independent, outdoorsy and indoorsy central Vermonter. I’m a busy volunteer. I love to hike, read, write, think, make things and help out. I am most comfortable with people who are confident, independent, liberal and very kind. Let’s go have some amazing adventures while we still have our marbles! FourSeasons 67, seeking: M, l

MEN seeking...

MOUNTAIN MAN/NATURE BOY

Solid and fun-loving, free and a little wild still. Compassionate old soul with a young spirit who likes to entertain, eat well, travel, enjoy nature and explore. Looking for someone to share/ enjoy this delightful summer and so on. Natureboy 59 seeking: W

OLD-SOUL NERD SEEKING MEANING

People are often surprised I don’t smoke a lot of weed. I’m very laid-back. I tend to really value quality time and connection with people. Love a good board game night, and if you ever tell me you want in on my next role-playing campaign, I will likely love you forever. Looking for the Sabetha to my Locke Lamora. boardgamegeek 38 seeking: W

When not working, I’m on a bike, snowboarding, in the woods or on the back deck. Seeking a companion to share my passions or theirs, for a mutual spark of joy and excitement, not relationship baggage or pressures or even necessarily romantic expectations. If a spark lights something up, open to being warmed by that fire. Have a dog?

Even better. Spence, 49, seeking: W, l INTERESTING POSITIVE PERSON

I am a mature and well-qualified professional looking for delightful connection, kind of serious and long-term relationship, and someone who shares my values and interests. Banti 43 seeking: W, l

PASSIONATE, OPTIMISTIC, ROMANTIC, MAGICAL, CONFIDENT

Hello, my love. I hope that you are the one I can show all my true affection for. I am the founder and CEO of a suicide prevention nonprofit. I love giving people the things they need to experience life to the fullest. I’ve been hurt a couple of times. I have tattoos for an expression of me. Jhoman81 43, seeking: W, l

KINDHEARTED RURAL RETIRED GENT

Living a somewhat nomadic retirement, seeking a female companion to share life’s delights on the edge of wild woods and waters. A lover and avid watcher of animals, wild and domestic (especially dogs!), I seek a country girl with a playful side — affectionate, with a quiet side. Mutual respect and kindness above all to carry us through our twilight years’ adventures! CountryFella, 71, seeking: W, l

JEWISH IN NAME ONLY

I have a master’s degree in chemical engineering, which I did in one semester from Cornell University. I lived in China for three years and work as a software engineer, now in my own company. I enjoy exercise, especially swimming, reading intellectually stimulating literature, and I am looking for a thoughtful relationship. myazhbinGmail, 38, seeking: W, l

TO ENJOY THE NEXT CHAPTER.

I’m really interested in a relationship with you if you’re interested in traveling and/or day trips. Just sipping an adult beverage, and not getting stupid drunk, next to an open fire or just by the fireplace. Someone who wants a lot of passion, compassion and to be treated like the great lady that you are. Fac3102 66, seeking: W, l

DISCREET, NSA MAN FOR WOMAN

Missing intimacy in a complicated situation. joeking1298, 53 seeking: W

ADVENTURE IS MY LOVE LANGUAGE

I like hiking, visiting museums, reading, video games, but I’m undecided on long walks on the beach and piña coladas. I crack a lot of jokes; there are pieces everywhere. I can hold on to an apartment, a car, a job, but not a train of thought. If this sounds appealing, hit me up. TwitchyRabbit 34, seeking: W, l

MUSICAL, ACTIVE AND PLAYFUL

I am in the process of a gentle divorce. I am retired, and I would love to find someone to sing or play music with as well as getting exercise outdoors. Please look at my profile online for more info. Comfyguy, 64, seeking: W, l

LOOKING FOR EXCITEMENT

Just looking for excitement and a break from the everyday-to-day tasks. db0103 40 seeking: W

I’M OFTEN CALLED MARK HELPIN

Full of energy, laughter, curiosity and the kind of spirit that says, “Why not?” I live for music, whether it’s getting lost in a live show, jamming on my guitar or psyching myself up for my first open mic. I love to dance, camp under the stars, soak in hot tubs, and have deep talks that lead to big laughs. MarkHalpin1965, 59 seeking: W, Cp, Gp, l

FUN AND OPEN-MINDED

I’m looking for a sweet, submissive woman to spoil me and end up being spoiled through my loving and caring nature. I’m in pretty good shape. I love women who take care of themselves. Your reward is me showing you great affection. Summer of love?

8ohdude 54, seeking: W

TRANS WOMEN seeking...

TRANS WOMAN LOOKING FOR NEW EXPERIENCES

Hello, trans woman looking for new experiences, sexually and as friends. Open-minded, bisexual but like women, trans women and shemales more than men. Want to try things and see what I like with clean, nice people. If a relationship or besties, our views would matter; otherwise, just being civil and not discussing our differences would be the way to make FWB work out.

TransRebecca 32 seeking: W, TW, l

RECENTLY RELOCATED, ADVENTUROUS, FREE SPIRIT

I’m a gorgeous, white, 100 percent passable trans lady who is 57 and could pass as 30 — yes, 30! I long for love, laughter and romance, along with loving nature. I want a man who’s all man, rugged, handsome, well built but prefers a woman like myself. It’s as simple as that. We meet, fall in love and live happily ever after. Sammijo, 59, seeking: M, l

COUPLES seeking...

FRIENDLY OPEN-MINDED FUN COUPLE

We are a couple looking for another woman or couple to join us for a fun, mind-blowing sexual time. We are a very sexual, fun couple who want to explore sexual fantasies we have always wanted and give someone else the joy, happiness and experience alongside us and fulfill their fantasies as well as ours. GoddessQueenofcuriosity1399 42 seeking: W, Cp, l

KNOTTEE COUPLE

Complicated couple looking for woman or couple for friends with benefits. We would like to boat and grab a beverage with like-minded couple or woman and see where it goes from there. knotteecpl 66, seeking: W, Cp

LOOKING FOR FUN PEEPS

Fun, open-minded couple seeking playmates. Shoot us a note if interested so we can share details and desires. Jackrabbits 61, seeking: W, Cp

FUN COUPLE LOOKING FOR EXPLORATION

We are a secure couple who enjoy the outdoors, good wine, great food, playing with each other, exploring our boundaries and trying new things. We are 47 and 50, looking for a fun couple or bi man to play and explore with us. We are easygoing, and we’d love to meet you and see where our mutual adventures take us. vthappycouple 52, seeking: M, Cp, Gp

CHARMING LADY AT RITTERBUSH POND

How delightful it was to meet you by chance on the rock that day. Still has me smiling. I’m intrigued and possibly enchanted! I’d love to spend some time: swim, sun, walk, coffee, a glass of something somewhere? I do hope we meet again, sooner than later. Let’s do fun stuff! When: Friday, June 27, 2025. Where: Ritterbush Pond. You: Woman. Me: Man. #916362

SAID HI AT CAPITOL GROUNDS

I saw you sitting at a table at Capitol Grounds. I ordered and said hi to you. I’m writing to say that I regret not talking longer and introducing myself. I felt there was some kind of connection. I hope that you see this and that maybe we can meet up and talk further. When: Friday, June 27, 2025. Where: Capitol Grounds. You: Woman. Me: Man. #916360

FIVE SECONDS EXPIRED SHOW

We exchanged glances when I was just arriving. You seemed familiar. I was with friends. When I looked again, you were gone. Later, up front, were you the one who thanked me for guarding at the edge of the pit? Me: mock election shirt, boots, jeans, baseball cap. You: stunning. When: Saturday, June 21, 2025. Where: Higher Ground. You: Woman. Me: Man. #916359

77 RESIDENCES ROOFTOP TERRACE

You: long brown hair, somewhat curly. Me: short hair with sunglasses on my head, wearing a gray hoodie over rust-colored tee. I was hanging with friends. You came up with a woman who lives in the building and a blond woman. We exchanged a couple of glances and smiles. You all were heading to a comedy show. Single, I hope? When: Friday, June 20, 2025. Where: 77 Residences rooftop terrace. You: Woman. Me: Man. #916358

If you’ve been spied, go online to contact your admirer!

BRANDON BEVERAGE CENTER

I was grabbing lunch; you were headed kayaking. We exchanged small talk. I should’ve given you my number — I like kayaking, too. When: Friday, June 20, 2025. Where: Brandon. You: Woman. Me: Man. #916361

I SPY SILVER FOX

You were a silver fox, mid to late 40s in Colchester with a great smile who posted a personal ad back in April. I saw your ad, and it was gone before I had a chance to reach out. I hope you found someone special. If you are still searching for her, say hi! When: Tuesday, April 22, 2025. Where: Seven Days Personals. You: Man. Me: Woman. #916356

YOU SHOOK ME!

I heard you sing, I watched you move and listened to your soulful talent! I now have a Friday afternoon addiction to the alley. I was too smitten to introduce myself, as you seemed so absorbed! Mmm — coffee, possibly for a song? When: Friday, June 20, 2025. Where: Red Square. You: Man. Me: Woman. #916355

COWBOY AT MAPLEFIELDS

To the punk-woodchuck cowboy who bummed me a smoke in the parking lot of the gas station while his friend disapprovingly waited in his “shitbox” car: I should have just given you my number. Still want to hang out? I need a smoke. When: Sunday, June 1, 2025. Where: Mapleﬁelds. You: Man. Me: Woman. #916354

BIRTHDAY FLOWERS AT TRADER JOE’S

To the beautiful associate wearing blue eyeshadow and a radiant smile — thank you for the birthday magic! You made my daughter’s day. Now she wants to work at TJ’s just like you! When: ursday, June 19, 2025. Where: Trader Joe’s. You: Woman. Me: Woman. #916352

BALLISTICALLY BEAUTIFUL, WORKING

BARRE CONVENIENCE

You: tall and thin — incandescent, really. Great smile. You asked about my glasses. I am not prowling — too much of an age gap — but you are very striking. We only spoke for a moment, but I wanted to say you brightened a dark day. anks for reminding me there is joy in the moment, if you get out of your head. When: Saturday, June 21, 2025. Where: Champlain Farms, Barre. You: Woman. Me: Man. #916353

FRONT SEAT FOLLOWER, HAIR WOOER

Sparky Serendipity side-glance spied you at Front Seat whipping your twotone hair Sunday morn. You followed, threw hair woo at my babe. I concurred, and you threw hair woo at me! I melted and imagined us KNOWING you. Poly? We are. Fidelity-so, not la-dee-da. We love for real. Come say a digital hello if Serendipity strikes and you wanna know more. When: Sunday, June 15, 2025. Where: Front Seat, Hardwick. You: Woman. Me: Man. #916351

CITY MARKET GEN X OLD BONES

Salad dressing selection, City Market, downtown. I was kneeling. Went to stand up, said I was getting old. You said you weren’t far behind. I see why people make I Spys; I had no line, except that your fashion sense is classic. is poly punk is up for friendship or more. When: Monday, June 16, 2025. Where: City Market. You: Woman. Me: Man. #916350

CHAOS & KINDNESS REDHEAD

You were at the surgical waiting area with a Chaos & Kindness sweatshirt. I was waiting for your results. Relieved to know the surgery went ﬁne and you are cancer-free. What a great birthday gift for me. Waiting for the 10 weeks to celebrate. I’ll take great care of you ‘til then and forever. When: Monday, June 16, 2025. Where: UVM Medical Center. You: Woman. Me: Man. #916349

CUTE GIRL ON THE BENCH

You and your friend sat on the bench next to me at the lake in Burlington. You had a nice smile and braids. At sunset, you mentioned Zach B., so we talked about him for a bit. After, I got up and walked away but should’ve asked for your number. We shared glances as I walked away. A missed connection. When: Sunday, June 15, 2025. Where: Waterfront Park, Burlington. You: Woman. Me: Man. #916348

De Pace T. Enproud,

Rev end,

In the summer, my sister spends all of her free time lying out in the sun, using tanning lotion that has little to no SPF. Other times of the year, she goes to whatever tanning salon she can ﬁnd. She says she knows it’s bad for her, but she’s not going to stop. Can a person be addicted to tanning? How can I get her to smarten up?

GREEN EYES AND GUMMY WORMS

To the green-eyed goddess on Camel’s Hump with the gummy worm stash and wild, curly hair to match your wit: Your calm felt like finding a secret place. Your dog had forest sage energy. I wish our meeting hadn’t been so fleeting, and if this floats back to you on the wind, maybe the trail isn’t done with us yet. When: Saturday, June 14, 2025. Where: Camel’s Hump. You: Woman. Me: Man. #916347

SWITCH GLITCH

It’s time to switch roles. / No more playing in the clouds / part of getting it right is / getting over your fear to start / You know how to reach me, / if you feel it didn’t work, / you should try again. / if you haven’t tried yet / you’re really missing out. When: Saturday, June 14, 2025. Where: the vehicle. You: Gender nonconformist. Me: Woman. #916346

INTERMEZZO

We happened to sit next to each other at a violin recital; the more we spoke, the more I was intrigued. When I saw you again at the Monteverdi Vespers you were busy with friends; I thought you didn’t see me. But then, just before the intermission ended, you turned around, found me, and smiled. I’m ready when you are. When: Sunday, May 4, 2025. Where: Burlington. You: Woman. Me: Man. #916345

GAS STATION BADDIE

Your amazing body caught my eye when I first walked into the store. You were looking through the different aisles, and I let you pass through. We each gave the other a smirk, and exchanged words briefly. You looked amazing, and I couldn’t take my eyes off of you. P.S.: I think your glasses are sexy. When: Tuesday, June 10, 2025. Where: Maplefields in Plainfield. You: Woman. Me: Man. #916344

SOUL REBELS TRUCKER HAT

Your style reminded me of Ke$ha and you seem cool — wild and energetic like that, in a really good way. I was right behind you and we were vibing together and kinda dancing together for a bit — you even broke the ice a little. I was kicking myself all night that I didn’t make a move on you! When: Saturday, June 7, 2025. Where: waterfront, by the stage. You: Woman. Me: Man. #916343

Although many people consider a tan to be a “healthy glow,” it’s actually a sign that skin is reacting to injury. When human skin is exposed to the ultraviolet rays of the sun, it produces melanin, the pigment that causes darkening, in order to prevent further harm to deeper layers. e radiation from the sun, or a tanning bed, can damage DNA and cause all sorts of serious problems over time. Your concern for your sister is certainly warranted. Tanning dependance, sometimes referred to as “tanorexia,” is an excessive or compulsive need to tan despite known health risks, and it is considered a behavioral addiction. ere is evidence showing that UV exposure causes the body to release an endorphin into the bloodstream, so tanning may have the potential to be physiologically addictive as well.

JAKE: SOUL REBELS, BURLINGTON WATERFRONT

Jake! I cannot for the life of me remember where I know you from — do I have face blindness? Forgive me and please, help me solve this mystery. When: Saturday, June 7, 2025. Where: Burlington jazz fest. You: Man. Me: Woman. #916342

NECTAR’S DANCING

We had a moment during Dobbs’ Dead. I’m overly stimulated in that environment and failed to make any connection. I’ve been back in there every night since, LOL. I can’t stop thinking about you. When: Wednesday, June 4, 2025. Where: Nectar’s. You: Woman. Me: Man. #916341

FLORRY, SILVER FOX

You: oh-so-cute silver fox in snappy jumpsuit with a sparkling smile. Me: cute in a weird way, with a WB hat and a stain on my shirt. e show was good and the beer was cheap. Can I take you home in my SUV, tuck you into bed and maybe kiss you? When: ursday, June 5, 2025. Where: Higher Ground. You: Woman. Me: Man. #916340

PHILLY FAN

Philly fan, red Dodge. Timing has been off for both of us, but I can’t seem to get you out of my head. When: Saturday, May 31, 2025. Where: Wolcott. You: Man. Me: Woman. #916339

MAC’S QUICK STOP

Eleven o’clock-ish. I held the door open for you. We ended up at the deli at the same time. I should have said hello. If you’re single, I would enjoy talking to you. Hope to hear from you. When: Monday, June 2, 2025. Where: St. Albans. You: Woman. Me: Man. #916338

W.O.W.

You really don’t think that it’s over between us, do you? After 12 years, it’s still going strong — hot and steamy. You are blind if you can’t see the signs. When: ursday, May 29, 2025. Where: serving at IBM. You: Woman. Me: Couple. #916337

BTV SHOWED UP!

I could have quit, but you kept cheering us on. e most positive words I’ve heard in a while. So many smiles, good vibes and treats to keep us going. Hoping we can continue the good time, BTV! When: Sunday, May 25, 2025. Where: Burlington. You: Group. Me: Woman. #916336

According to a 2017 study conducted by researchers at Georgetown University, 20 percent of women who tan show signs of tanning dependence.

As with any addiction, trying to convince someone to stop can be damn near impossible. You could buy your sis some sunscreen or a gift card for a spray tan, but I doubt she’d use them.

Your best bet is to have a serious conversation and let her know you’re worried about the negative effects tanning may be having on her health. Urge her to see a dermatologist. Heck, you could even make the appointment for her and tag along for moral support. Perhaps talking to a skin care professional would ﬁnally get her to see the light.

Good luck and God bless,

I’m a 72-y/o Eastern European woman with a young lifestyle. Seeking a man, age not important. I am a writer, and I like studying foreign languages. I would like to meet a man from Germany, France or Spain/South America to practice language skills. I am not expecting romance; friendship would be sufﬁcient. #L1872

Spunky couple, 70s, adventurous, love domestic and international travel, camping, and anything on or near the water. We also enjoy the great array of music in VT. We’ve enjoyed some M and F singles and couples involving sensual, relaxed experiences. Interested? Let’s chat. #L1871

Single M, 60, youthful blond, blue-eyed appearance, wanting mutual attraction with F, 45 to 60, for connection/intimacy. Dinners, talks, walks, nature, TV, entertainment, day trips, overnights, spontaneity, hobbies, more. Ideally seeking BDSM kinky playmate, openminded, curious to explore kinky side and fantasies. #L1870

52-y/o male seeking a female, 40 to 50, who is lively, intellectually curious, passionate and an adventurous soul. ings I like: hiking, exploring new places, cycling, personal growth and cooking memorable meals. #L1869

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PUBLISH YOUR MESSAGE ON THIS PAGE!

1 Submit your FREE message at sevendaysvt.com/loveletters or use the handy form at right.

We’ll publish as many messages as we can in the Love Letters section above. 2

Interested readers will send you letters in the mail. No internet required!

I’m a 74-y/o male looking for a mature woman in her 70s or 80s who would enjoy a sensual relationship. Phone number, please. #L1866

I’m an 81-y/o woman seeking companionship and romance. I am a widow of ﬁve years. I have one son (married). Love ﬁshing and travel. I’m good at cooking, knitting and sewing. #L1867

I’m a 68-y/o slender woman seeking a 62- to 73-y/o male. I’m a homeowner in a rural setting wanting companionship and a romantic partner to share my life and home. I work part time and enjoy many outdoor activities. #L1865

Retired male. Financially secure with stable housing and good transportation, healthy, active, and ﬁt. Seeking lively big game — female cat, lioness, tiger, black panther or cougar — for adventures in the jungle. #L1864

I’m a 68-y/o bi male seeking a 60- to 70-y/o man. Bi guy in NEK seeking like-minded guys for relaxing fun. Enjoy being nude, BJs, BBQs, drinks. Casual, easygoing, wanting to share being gay. #L1863

Beautiful woman looking for great guy, 60s-70s, to go away with. Maybe Greece or another new adventure together. Sincere gentlemen, sophisticated, intellectual and sweet only, please. Handsome a plus. #L1861

Int net-Free Dating!

Reply to these messages with real, honest-to-goodness le ers. DETAILS BELOW.

M, 61, fit, tall, compassionate, mission-driven and W/E who loves music, sports, film and writing ISO confident, funloving sensual soul F, 45 to 65, for texting and banter in anticipation of intense mutual pleasure romps (weekend lunchtime lovers). Discrete, drama-free, HWP and D/DF. Please be same. #L1856

I’m a 40-y/o male seeking a kayaking, outdoorsy type for company and also to stay at home. I like to read, cuddle, walk, drive. Time together is important. I like a good cook, and I like to cook, by myself or together. #L1858

I’m an older man seeking a trans woman and fun! I love makeup and drag queenies. I love beer and cars and piña coladas by the lake. #L1859

Woman of 28 seeking older woman of any presentation for our own proverbial Desert Hearts. Shy but good with words. Seeking acceptance, refuge and freedom, not explicitly “from” you, but with you. #L1857

Describe yourself and who you’re looking for in 40 words below: (OR, ATTACH A SEPARATE PIECE OF PAPER.)

I’m a

AGE + GENDER (OPTIONAL) seeking a

AGE + GENDER (OPTIONAL)

Emotionally and spiritually mature, attractive woman in mid-60s seeking smart, witty, tall, ﬁt, decent man. If you have a broken heart which makes you appreciate joy and peace even more, have friendships that span decades, or perhaps are widowed, please write. #L1854

27-y/o female who is looking for something more serious/ long term. I am funny, smart, witty, communicative, loyal and empathic. I’m looking for those same things in a person. I love to try new coffee places, adventure around, be on the lake/reading by the water, 4/20 and play with my 5-year-old cat. All genders are welcome. #L1853

70-y/o divorced male looking for companionship and romance. If you’re not looking for a romantic relationship, don’t respond. Looking for a friendly female, age not important, but not a friend. Tired of numbers game, wanting to connect. Let’s chat and see! Phone number, please. #L1852

(MORE)

MAIL TO: SEVEN DAYS LOVE LETTERS • PO BOX 1164, BURLINGTON, VT 05402 OPTIONAL WEB FORM: SEVENDAYSVT.COM/LOVELETTERS HELP: 802-865-1020, EXT. 161, LOVELETTERS@SEVENDAYSVT.COM

THIS FORM IS FOR LOVE LETTERS ONLY. Messages for the Personals and I-Spy sections must be submitted online at dating.sevendaysvt.com.

Saline Fiddlers

WED., JUL. 2

THE OPERA HOUSE AT ENOSBURG FALLS

Burning Monk

WED., JUL. 2

LOST NATION BREWING, MORRISTOWN

Summer Sparks: Drag & Burlesque

SAT., JUL. 5

AFTERTHOUGHTS, WAITSFIELD

Do Good Fest 2025

SAT., JUL. 12

WED., JUL. 9 & WED., JUL. 16

OLD SPOKES HOME COMMUNITY WORKSHOP, BURLINGTON

NATIONAL LIFE GROUP LAWN, MONTPELIER

TUE., JUL. 15

Fellowship of the Wheel Enduro at Sleepy Hollow

SLEEPY HOLLOW SKI & BIKE CENTER, HUNTINGTON

Sushi & Onigiri Workshop featuring Chef Ariel Voorhees

WED., JUL. 16

RED POPPY CAKERY, WATERBURY

The One-Night Stand: A Single-Evening Course in Bike-Care Basics

Founding and Rise: The Story of Lime

WED., JUL. 9

HULA, BURLINGTON

Fellowship of the Wheel Women's Ride

THU., JUL. 10

BOLTON VALLEY RESORT

Cherry Street Social

THU., JUL. 10

HOTEL VERMONT, BURLINGTON

Thursday Dinners at the Farm

THU., JUL. 10 & THU., JUL. 17

367 MISSION FARM RD, KILLINGTON

Little Women: A Musical

JUL. 11-12 & 18-20

OFF CENTER FOR THE DRAMATIC ARTS, BURLINGTON

Butterfly and Bug Walk

SAT., JUL. 12

BIRDS OF VERMONT MUSEUM, HUNTINGTON

Forest Sit

THU., JUL. 17

BIRDS OF VERMONT MUSEUM, HUNTINGTON

"The Basics" Cake Decorating Class

THU., JUL. 17

RED POPPY CAKERY, WATERBURY

Vermont Brewers Festival 2025

THU., JUL. 17 & FRI., JUL. 18

WATERFRONT PARK, BURLINGTON

Fried Chicken & Pickin'

FRI., JUL. 18

MAPLE WIND FARM, RICHMOND

Westford Garden Tour

SAT., JUL. 19

WESTFORD COMMON HALL

Jerry Jam

THU., JUL. 24 & FRI., JUL. 25

759 MITCHELL RD, CONCORD

Bloom Lab Perfumery Class & Spa Day

SAT., JUL. 26

TALTA LODGE, STOWE