Seven Days, May 13, 2026 by Seven Days

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BURLINGTON GREEN-LIGHTS SOUTH END HOUSING DEVELOPMENT

During its Monday night meeting, the Burlington City Council approved the development agreement for the ﬁrst phase of a major real estate project that will reshape the city’s South End.

e project, known as the South End Coordinated Redevelopment, is a public-private partnership between Champlain College and Ride Your Bike, the investors behind the nearby coworking campus Hula. e $100 million ﬁrst phase includes two six-story buildings with 205 apartments on what is now a parking lot on Lakeside Avenue.

Community & Economic Development Office director Kara Alnasrawi and Ride Your Bike director of real estate development Todd Sarandos told councilors that Jonathan Rose Companies, a developer that specializes in dense, affordable and energy-efficient housing, has been brought on for the project. Andrew Foley, the company’s director of development, said the firm has had a role in similar efforts across the country.

e ﬁrst phase will include 122 one-bedroom apartments, 49 studios and 33 two-bedrooms. Twenty percent of those units will qualify as affordable, which

the city mandates. e agreement would reduce fees for the developers if those units are offered at prices lower than required.

e private developers will design the public infrastructure needed, while the Department of Public Works will have to approve and actually build it. e city is using a tax-increment ﬁnancing structure to incentivize the project and plans to go after state funding, too. e developers hope to have construction ﬁnancing in place by the end of the year.

ough Mayor Emma Mulvaney-Stanak has criticized her predecessors for their overreliance on TIF districts to fund projects, which she has said contributed to the city’s low year-over-year increase in taxable property, she praised the plan.

She described the agreement as a “historic moment” that will bring “thoughtful, affordable housing development in the city in new and exciting ways that are value-based, that align with the city in terms of not only deeper affordability but creative thought around livability.”

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

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GOOD NEIGH-BORS

Three loose ponies joined the last turn of the Pump It Up ﬁve-mile race in Jericho on Saturday. Quite the photo ﬁnish!

LEVELING DOWN

Lake Champlain is about a foot lower than it usually is at this time of year, WCAX-TV reports. Hard to believe with all the snow and rain in recent months…

That’s how many people died of drug overdoses in Vermont last year — a 25 percent decrease from 2024.

TOPFIVE

MOUNTAIN MYSTERY

Police are investigating after hiking boots and human bones were discovered in the Green Mountain National Forest by Mount Tabor. A tent and other belongings were found nearby.

RALLY CATS

Hundreds gathered in St. Albans last week to protest ICE and Border Patrol. A downtown federal building closed early to avoid being targeted.

4. “Bodycam From ICE Raid Shows Local Chief Caught in the Middle” by Lucy Tompkins. Seven Days relived the drama on Dorset Street through the bodycam of South Burlington Deputy Police Chief Sean Briscoe.

5. “Workers at Healthy Living, Barnes & Noble Vote to Unionize” by Aaron Calvin. e Healthy Living vote affects workers at three stores, including the one close to Barnes & Noble in South Burlington.

TOWNCRIER

LOCALLY SOURCED NEWS

South Burlington Drops

Two Pickleball Nets

In response to years of complaints from neighbors, the South Burlington City Council voted to close two of four pickleball courts at Szymanski Park, the Other Paper reported. e decision comes two years after the council reduced pickleball hours at the park amid complaints about noise and trafﬁc. “It’s very invasive and destroys the quiet enjoyment of the home,” one neighbor said.

FLOAT ON

Jeffrey Trubisz was walking along Lake Champlain in South Burlington on Green Up Day when a white buoy on the shoreline caught his eye. A plastic liquor bottle was wedged beside it, and through the transparent plastic, Trubisz could make out a message dated May 26, 2014.

“Help!” it read. “Broke leg, Spiltrock. Send help and bring more wiskey.” It was initialed either “NJR” or “NTR.”

e misspelled Split Rock, Trubisz surmised, refers to the mountain on the west side of the lake in Essex, N.Y.

“ at was a pretty long distance,” Trubisz said. “Of course, it had 12 years to travel.”

e misspelling of whiskey, he believes, was the work of “some wit who was quite sober and just wanted to make a joke.”

“Certainly the handwriting didn’t look very drunken,” Trubisz said. “But I took the date to be real.”

Trubisz would love some answers about its origin, though he doesn’t intend to reply with a ﬂoating message of his own. He’s been studying shamanism for the past decade, and in that practice, “there are no coincidences,” he said.

“We attract whatever comes to us. Is there a lesson to give or an observation to be made or a gift to give?” Trubisz said. “So right now, I’m really thinking about synchronicity and waiting for other messages. And they may or may not come, but I’ve kind of incorporated that into my worldview.”

More simply, Trubisz said he feels “gratitude” that one message — in a bottle, no less — has already been delivered.

“I had a great experience that made me laugh,” he said, “and I feel special, in a way, because not everyone ﬁnds a message in a bottle.”

SASHA

GOLDSTEIN

COMPILED BY SASHA GOLDSTEIN & MATTHEW ROY

THE AWAKENING

Cannabis has not been analyzed or approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). For use by individuals 21 years of age or older or registered qualifying patient only. KEEP THIS PRODUCT AWAY FROM CHILDREN AND PETS. DO NOT USE IF PREGNANT OR BREASTFEEDING. Possession or use of cannabis may carry significant legal penalties in some jurisdictions and under federal law. It may not be transported outside of the state of Vermont. The effects of edible cannabis may be delayed by two hours or more. Cannabis may be habit forming and can impair concentration, coordination, and judgment. Persons 25 years and younger may be more likely to experience harm to the developing brain. It is against the law to drive or operate machinery when under the influence of this product. National Poison Control Center 1-800-222-1222.

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CONTRIBUTING WRITERS

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CONTRIBUTING ARTISTS

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UNCOMMON KITCHEN

The spirit of the food and the folks who provide the meals was well captured in [“Sterling Reputation: Sterling College Closes in June, but Sta and Alumni of Its Innovative Culinary Program Still Have Lessons to Teach,” April 8]. Missing is the history of Sterling College faculty in early 1990s drafting a progressive environmental kitchen mission to promote a “living what we teach” community. Its promotion of local, whole foods and student involvement in the kitchen was ahead of the local-food movement for institutions. It included environmental considerations such as energy

ENOUGH PODS

As I was quoted in [“Pod Fellows: Three Years After Opening, Burlington’s OftDebated Homeless Shelter Is at a Crossroads,” April 15], I just want to be perfectly clear that living next to the pods has been a horrible experience. Our neighborhood is still drug central. It is wrong for the city to continue this addiction housing experiment in our neighborhood! Enough was enough a long time ago.

I’m happy that Mike Renner got caught violating illegal drug and gun laws in Vermont and was lucky to get recovery treatment as a result. Recovery treatment is an essential key to success. “Housing ﬁrst” is only a motto, not a realistic policy solution.

I am 100 percent against keeping the pods in our neighborhood for another year. The city has to give notice to leave

use and waste management. It was part of a long-range plan for “Sterling 2000.”

The ﬁrst year, we tried to implement it with the catering company that was providing the food service. After it was clear that the company was unable to follow the mission, I wrote a proposal to switch to a “Sterling-run” kitchen with me being willing to leave my faculty position to take the helm. I was allowed to go ahead when I committed to keeping costs at or lower than the previous year. I predicted that folks would come to Sterling for the food!

With volunteer support, we increased the use of local foods, decreased energy consumption and lowered costs by 20 percent in the first year. The kitchen became a favorite work program position. It was Heather McConville, kitchen manager in the early 2000s, who came up with the brilliant idea of using wayward mugs rather than needing to buy new ones each year as they drifted out of the dining area.

Allison Van Akkeren

to the residents. I propose notice be given ASAP and August 31, 2026, as the last date for living in the Elmwood pods.

As Burlington residents, we all have to obey the laws and live within our social contract. It is against the law to sell and use illegal drugs. Everyone must be accountable.

Steph Holdridge BURLINGTON

CROOKED COPS

How many times are we expected to be shocked by the unlawful, despicable behavior of police in the Upper Valley? When law enforcement officers are accused of domestic violence. When leadership is tied to allegations of sexual harassment. When the very people entrusted with protecting our communities are the ones accused of causing harm.

In the Upper Valley, these are not isolated headlines — they are a pattern.

CRAFTSBURY COMMON

e Elmwood Community Shelter in Burlington

Within the past six months, Windsor County Sheriff Ryan Palmer was charged with multiple felonies and misdemeanors related to sexual misconduct and misuse of public funds [“Windsor Sheriff Paid Women to Watch Sex Acts, Charges Allege,” January 28, “Windsor Sheriff Stripped of Law Enforcement Certification,” February 4; “Another Sheriff Scandal Renews Calls for Accountability,” February 11]; Det. Tim Meenagh from the Hanover Police Department was charged with domestic violence; and Chief Alex Lee of New Hampshire’s Newport Police Department, who lied about an affair during an investigation, continues to operate as Newport police chief, while the other officer involved was fired.

These actions by local police should force a reckoning. Instead, we see quiet investigations, limited transparency and a public left to wonder whether accountability will ever come.

Survivors of domestic and sexual violence are watching. And what they are seeing is a system that asks them to report abuse to institutions that will not consistently police their own.

We cannot claim to take violence seriously while tolerating it within the ranks of those sworn to prevent it. We cannot ask survivors to come forward while sending the message that power protects its own.

Survivors in our communities deserve better. They deserve police who are willing to confront misconduct directly — not quietly manage it.

Karen Harke SPRINGFIELD

SOME DOCS MAKE TOO MUCH

[Re “UVM Medical Center Is Losing $460,000 Every Day,” April 17, online]: In the health care cost-reduction conversation, it is frankly astonishing that no one is pointing to the fact that many of the specialty providers, like anesthesiologists, make over $500,000 a year. This is unconscionable and a national problem. Unless we get national standards, including how much providers can be paid, we are not going to achieve reductions in costs. It’s another argument for national health insurance. If we had Medicare for All, or insurance like the Europeans have managed for decades, the insurance rules would be able to set how much money specialty providers can make. When are we going to face the music?

Trine Bech SHELBURNE

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Delay Tactics?

NEWS+POLITICS 14

No Architect Required

To build more homes, Vermont drafts 10 preapproved blueprints that will be free for the taking

House Ed Chair Conlon to Step Down

STUCK IN VERMONT

A last-minute insanity claim has thrown a wrench into the high-proﬁle case against Jason Eaton Vermont Public Executive Hired as VTDigger CEO

Young Republican Enters Race for State Senate

FEATURES 26

Brass Tactics

Jasper Craven’s new book chronicles a culture of abuse in military schools and its toxic effects on American masculinity

True Colors eater review: White, Between the Willows

In Pollock’s Last Lover, Author Stephen P. Kiernan Dips His Brush in the Art World

Young Composer Arranges Vermont State Song for Green Mountain Youth Symphony

Where the Heart Is Middlesex photographer Elliot Burg’s portraits convey history, resilience and personality Back in the Saddle

After a brutal bike accident, Burlington guitarist

Cardtopia is a wizard’s castle made with cardboard and creativity at the Highland Center for the Arts in Greensboro. Seven Days’ Eva Sollberger got a tour of the participatory

Vermonters help each other

MAGNIFICENT

in Brattleboro, former lead trumpeter

Sean Jones

artistic versatility

rooted in a career of high-proﬁle collabs.

international stage music educator brings his technical prowess and gospel-infused background to a night of brass mastery with his acclaimed quartet.

SATURDAY 16

Dig In

THURSDAY 14

Importance of Being Earnest

At Spruce Peak Arts in Stowe, earthy folk-pop sensation Brett Dennen navigates the human condition with his “Art Is Life” tour, a fusion of songs, storytelling, witticisms and audience participation. rough rootsy rhythms and husky harmonica, the towering redhead with an unexpectedly gentle voice drives a soulful exploration of grief and growth through music.

SEE CALENDAR LISTING ON PAGE 61

SATURDAY 16

e Eras Lure

Saint Albans Museum hosts costumed revelers for the Decades: Season Launch Party, a themed fundraiser marking the institution’s opening day. Party people sport ﬁts inspired by two distinct eras, the 1870s and the 1970s — or a combination of both! — for an epic soirée with interactive art, archival projections, and a DJ-fueled dance ﬂoor where the Gilded Age and disco fever collide.

SEE CALENDAR LISTING ON PAGE 64

SATURDAY 16

Funky Towns

Want to switch things up? 802 ARTs House presents Bizarre Bazaar, a weird and wonderful statewide market at venues from Fairﬁeld to Berlin. Local makers and artisans ditch the usual craft fair fodder in favor of curated collections of curiosities, quirky wares and outside-the-box creations. You won’t ﬁnd any doilies for Grandma here!

SEE CALENDAR LISTING ON PAGE 63

SUNDAY 17

In the Groove

Crate diggers and wax worshippers hunt for elusive grooves and rare pressings at the annual Burlington Record Fair. is year, the fest moves to Burlington City Hall Auditorium, where vinyl junkies score finds from more than 20 regional vendors while DJs fill the space with hi-fi energy. Pro tip: For just $5, early birds get an hourlong first look before the doors open at noon.

SEE CALENDAR LISTING ON PAGE 66

ONGOING

Cream of the Crop

Fans of wild foods seek out ForageFest, Newport’s citywide celebration of forest-to-table ﬁnds and locavore culture. e annual affair whets appetites with guided foraging walks, culinary demos, a bustling farmers market and specials on harvest-inspired fare throughout downtown — all culminating in a community bash of local music and dance.

SEE CALENDAR LISTING ON PAGE 64

irty-three artists examine the aesthetic allure — and the inherent struggles — of farm life in Studio Place Arts’ group exhibit “Milk Cans, Bees & Maple Trees” in Barre. e multimedia exploration includes scenes of dilapidated architecture, bucolic pastures, and old and new machinery, highlighting both the beauty and the burdens of Vermont agriculture.

SEE GALLERY LISTING AT SEVENDAYSVT.COM/ART

Portrait of an Artist

On the cover of this week’s Seven Days is Ceres, the Roman goddess of agriculture, whose likeness crowns the Vermont Statehouse in Montpelier. In our illustration, she is holding a sign asking for donations.

At the risk of overexplaining, the image — tied to this week’s cover story — suggests the growing number of unsolved problems under the golden dome this year is sufficiently alarming to evoke human emotion from the wooden monument on top.

The gag belies the artistry of the rendering. Notice the careful shading that defines the folds of Ceres’ toga; the realism of her left hand wrapped around a bundle of wilting wheat. Instead of standing serenely, this symbol of bounty looks sad, her furrowed brow and downturned mouth expressing just the right degree of concern.

caricaturist David Levine of the New York Review of Books Levine took Nadel under his wing and invited the painfully shy young man to attend weekly painting sessions with some of New York’s greatest working artists at the time, including presidential portraitist Aaron Shikler, who also mentored Nadel.

At 18, Nadel drew his first cartoon for money.

It’s the work of Burlington illustrator Marc Nadel, whose caricatures have delighted readers of Seven Days for almost two decades. Since he started freelancing for us in 2009, Nadel has captured the essence of almost every Vermont politician — and candidate — of consequence, from wild-haired Bernie Sanders to tightrope-walking Gov. Phil Scott. In 2011, he drew nine potential contenders for the top job in Burlington, each suited up for a road race, to illustrate a story headlined “Run, Someone, Run.”

Marc Nadel

bymostpopulargovernorisbeingtested thesecondTrumpadministration

BALANCINGACT

LUCKILY FOR SEVEN DAYS READERS, NADEL LOVES WHAT WE DO AND ALMOST NEVER SAYS NO TO AN ASSIGNMENT.

With the rigor of an expert draftsman, Nadel nails the likeness of his subjects, not all of whom are elected officials, and adds telling graphic details that expand the story. Donald Trump got the treatment when he filled Burlington’s Flynn in January 2016, long before anyone thought he could win the White House. Nadel drew the future president as “Fat Elvis” — one of the best covers we have ever published.

Memorably, he also gave us naked governor Peter Shumlin being chased by bears; mayoral candidates Joan Shannon and Emma Mulvaney-Stanak both reaching for the key to the Queen City; and former Burlington police chief and thespian Jon Murad playing Hamlet, contemplating his badge in lieu of a skull.

Simply put, Nadel is one of a cherished group of visual artists in Vermont who, despite being totally out of our league, regularly contribute to Seven Days — because, like us, they want the paper to look as good as it reads. The value of their work far exceeds what we can pay.

Nadel started drawing at age 3 in his native Brooklyn. He learned to read young, too, because he wanted to understand what was in the “bubbles” of the comic books he loved so much. He studied art in college but didn’t click with his teachers, most of whom were minimalists. So he sought additional instruction and, at the School of the Visual Arts, met the brilliant

TREND parityattheStatehouse

OH,THEHORROR!PAGE JoeCitro’snewshortstorycollection

The year: 1968. The subject: the recent assassinations of Martin Luther King Jr. and Robert F. Kennedy Sr. Flatbush Life published it, and Nadel soon became a regular contributor to the Nation , BusinessWeek and other publications. Between underground newspapers and glossy magazines, there were plenty of opportunities back then for a politically astute and versatile young artist. Kids liked his style, too, so he found work at the Children’s Television Workshop, which produced “Sesame Street” and “The Electric Company.”

Nadel was so busy in the 1970s that he passed up a chance to go to Columbia Journalism School. Parenthood — and the crack cocaine epidemic — pushed Nadel and his wife, Nancy, to leave New York City in 1988. She was raised in Vermont, so they moved into her family home in Burlington’s New North End. While their son, James, grew up, Nancy taught art at Lyman C. Hunt Middle School; Marc was grateful to get a regular paycheck from Highlights magazine and later taught what he coined “sequential art” at Champlain College. Luckily for Seven Days readers, Nadel loves what we do and almost never says no to an assignment. We know he’s not doing it for the money. Nadel spent a full three days on this week’s drawing — one to sketch it out in pencil, another to ink in the details and a third to color. In the burgeoning era of AI, behold the work of a truly dedicated old-school artist.

Paula Routly

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No Architect Required

To build more homes, Vermont drafts 10 preapproved blueprints that will be free for the taking

BY KEVIN MCCALLUM • kevin@sevendaysvt.com

Vermont has tried for years to speed up the construction of new housing, but results have been mixed. The state has invested nearly $800 million in more a ordable housing since 2020, with fewer than 4,500 new or rehabbed units to show for it.

New laws now prevent cities and towns from banning duplexes without a compelling reason. And the state has exempted housing projects from environmental review if they’re in places that already have robust local development rules.

Despite these and other initiatives, the number of homes being built each year lags well behind the 5,000 to 8,000 per year that experts say is needed by 2030 to meet demand.

To pick up the pace, state officials have embraced a novel approach: They’ll design your new home for you. Three communities — Essex Junction, Hartford and Manchester — are participants in a pilot program known as 802 Homes that is meant to fast-track construction.

State housing officials have commissioned architects to draw plans for 10 home styles that builders and developers can use for free, saving them time and money on design and planning. In exchange, the three towns have agreed to explore speeding up the approval of the homes, which range from tiny grandparent units to small multiunit apartment buildings.

Instead of going through the timeconsuming and uncertain process of seeking approval from a local design review board, someone proposing to build an 802 Home might only need a town official such as a zoning administrator to sign off. Correctly followed, the process is simpler, faster

DEVELOPMENT

House Ed Chair Conlon

to Step Down

BY ALISON NOVAK alison@sevendaysvt.com

e Village Fourplex design

and virtually assures approval of a building permit.

Details are still being worked out at the state and local levels, including exactly what the homes would look like and how the local zoning rules can be streamlined.

Hartford, for instance, is still grappling with how to simplify its planning process.

The Upper Valley town is open to changes, but it already allows administrative approvals for projects with fewer than four units if they can be on town sewer and water lines, according to Lexi Webster,

Rep. Peter Conlon (D-Cornwall), who has served in the Vermont legislature for a decade and helmed the House Education Committee for the last four years, will not seek reelection this November.

In an interview on Monday, Conlon, 62, discussed what went into his decision to end a 10-year run in Montpelier and reﬂected on the future of education reform, which has sucked up most of the oxygen at the Statehouse in recent years.

Conlon, who also served on the Addison Central School Board for 17 years, said the work has taken a toll: wrestling with how to address declining enrollment, ﬁnd cost savings and maintain high-quality education for students. e intensity has ramped up, he said, after the Scott administration proposed state-mandated schooldistrict consolidation last year.

“It has been very … challenging, and therefore pretty exhausting,” Conlon said. “I was feeling ready for a break.”

the town’s housing and development specialist.

It’s not yet clear how much more streamlining is possible. Neighbors often bring up issues with projects that planning sta may not have considered, she noted.

In the meantime, this week the program reached a milestone with the release of the 10 proposed home designs and a public survey to ﬁnd out what people think of them. (For a link to the survey, visit sevendaysvt.com.)

The Boston-based architecture ﬁrm doing the work, Utile, sought initial feedback on its drafts at public meetings in the three communities in February. The ﬁrm, which is being paid $500,000, has

But the rising cost of Conlon’s own health insurance coverage was the “nail in the cofﬁn” that led his decision, he said. Since 2015, Conlon, a former news editor for the Addison Independent, has run his own business helping older people move, downsize and manage their estates. He and his wife, Mary, have purchased their health insurance on the Affordable Care Act Marketplace. ey were among the millions who lost federal subsidies, meaning they will spend $20,000 more on premiums this year.

Now Conlon is on the hunt for a fulltime job with health beneﬁts — doing what, he doesn’t know yet.

e thing he’ll miss most about serving in the Statehouse, Conlon said, is the daily interactions with his colleagues. What Conlon won’t miss as much is the daunting nature of education-reform work: making big decisions when the right path forward is unclear on a topic for which everyone has different, and strong, opinions. ➆

Rep. Peter Conlon

A home in Randolph

Delay Tactics?

A last-minute insanity claim has thrown a wrench into the high-profile case against Jason Eaton

BY COLIN FLANDERS • colin@sevendaysvt.com

The case has been unusual from the start: A man is accused of shooting three college students as they walked past his Burlington apartment in a shocking act of violence with no apparent motive.

The victims — Hisham Awartani, Kinnan Abdalhamid and Tahseen Ali Ahmad — and their families believe that Jason Eaton targeted the trio because they are Palestinian, perhaps out of some twisted form of retribution for the Hamas attack on Israel only weeks earlier. The young men were speaking a mix of English and Arabic, and two wore Palestinian scarves known as keffiyehs.

But prosecutors say they found no proof that the accused shooter harbored anti-Palestinian views. And as Seven Days previously reported, Eaton had posted messages on social media that seemed to express sympathy for the Palestinian cause.

Now, a series of legal developments has further complicated the case, calling into question whether the victims will be able to attend the trial of the man they say tried to take their lives.

On April 17, Eaton notified the court that he intended to mount an insanity defense at his trial, which was scheduled for June. An expert witness was prepared to testify that Eaton suffered from an unspecified delusional disorder that had rendered him legally insane at the time of the crime.

There has been little debate over whether Eaton pulled the trigger, so the strategy appeared to make sense.

The three young men, all 20 at the time, were visiting Awartani’s grandmother and uncle in Burlington over the Thanksgiving holiday. They say Eaton stepped off his porch and, without saying a word, opened fire. The men survived. Awartani, the most seriously injured, was paralyzed from the chest down by a bullet lodged in his spine.

The following day, a federal agent knocked on Eaton’s apartment door, and

he opened it, reportedly saying, “I’ve been waiting for you.” Investigators found a gun in his home that allegedly matched the one used in the shooting, court records show.

Meanwhile, comments Eaton made in the two and a half years he’s been in prison have raised serious questions about his mental health.

He told one mental health provider a few months after the shooting that he didn’t know why he did it. Later, when speaking to psychiatric evaluators, he said he had been receiving messages from intelligence agencies through his FM radio, court records show.

COMMENTS THAT EATON

He has said he may have misinterpreted those supposed messages. Even so, he repeatedly refused to consider an insanity defense throughout most of his case.

He sought to fire his public defenders for pushing the idea, saying he wished instead to transfer the case to federal court. That would allow Eaton to raise what’s known as the “public authority defense,” in which a defendant receives immunity because they were acting on behalf of a government. (A judge denied his requests.)

Last month, Eaton was found fit to stand trial yet again, and it became clear that his case was barreling toward

MEDIA

Vermont Public Executive Hired as VTDigger CEO

BY KEVIN MCCALLUM kevin@sevendaysvt.com

e Vermont Journalism Trust, the nonproﬁt parent company of online news site VTDigger, has hired a new CEO.

Brendan Kinney, the chief operating ofﬁcer at Vermont Public, will take the helm in mid-June, the organization announced last Wednesday. He’ll replace Sky Barsch, who has ﬁlled the role since 2023. She announced in January that she would depart by June.

e hiring of Kinney, who has spent 16 years in management roles at Vermont Public and its predecessor, Vermont Public Radio, could help stabilize what has been a tumultuous time at VTDigger.

e site’s editor-in-chief, Geeta Anand, announced in March that she, too, would leave in June. Veteran Vermont journalist Susan Allen will step in as interim editor-in-chief.

e departure announcements came toward the end of a lengthy and at times contentious negotiation with the union representing VTDigger’s 17 newsroom employees. A new contract, announced on April 1, provides signiﬁcant pay increases for the lowest-paid journalists and protections against layoffs due to future use of artiﬁcial intelligence.

Gaye Symington, president of the trust, said in a statement that Kinney is a “people-focused leader” who will help build trust among readers, donors and community leaders.

“We are conﬁdent that as CEO, Brendan will strengthen not just VTDigger’s service to its readers, but also the broader news ecosystem of Vermont,” Symington said.

Kinney will oversee the business and operations of VTDigger, including ﬁnance, human resources, technology, marketing and business strategy.

He praised VTDigger’s growth from a one-woman operation founded in 2009 by Anne Galloway into a trusted statewide news service and said he looks forward to building on that success.

“VTDigger is essential to the health of Vermont’s democracy and civic life,” Kinney said.

reﬁned the designs and is now releasing them so anyone can weigh in.

The hope is that the designs will make it easier to build what Vermont really needs right now — homes for middleincome residents.

“We’re sort of stuck between our larger single-family homes and those larger multiunit buildings in downtowns,” said Je Dube, a planner in the Department of Housing and Community Development. “And we’re just not getting that missing middle.”

That’s why the 10 designs do not include larger multifamily apartment complexes such as those pushed by big developers, nor luxury homes, whose owners can a ord the higher cost of a customized house.

The 802 Homes were designed to ﬁt into Vermont’s existing architectural landscape. Each was modeled on actual homes common in the state. All are modest. The plans include a long, skinny unit called the Railroad Caretaker, an accessory dwelling unit, or ADU, that is modeled on narrow homes with cute porches like those on Franklin Street in Montpelier and Lafountain Street in Burlington.

Kinney holds degrees from Saint Michael’s College. He joined Vermont Public Radio in 2010. ➆

The two-story Four Square is a singlefamily home that resembles a simple farmhouse, modeled after versions in Hartford and Manchester. Other options include side-by-side and front-to-back duplexes, three-story structures with one apartment per ﬂoor, fourplexes, and townhouses.

The survey asks people several questions about each model: Does it look like a home in Vermont neighborhoods? Would you be happy to have this built next door to you? Would you be happy to live in this? How would you improve the design?

The answers will help the architects further hone the blueprints. Later this year, they’ll create the detailed construction drawings, available for free to anyone who wants them.

This may be the only time neighbors get a say in the appearance of future 802 Homes that go up in their neighborhood.

In Essex Junction, any structure built in areas visible from the main roads leading into the city must go through the Development Review Board. The ﬁve-member panel is appointed by the city council and holds signiﬁcant sway over building projects. Review typically

THERE IS A STRONG DESIRE TO FIGURE OUT IF THERE ARE WAYS WE CAN STREAMLINE THE [HOUSING APPROVAL] PROCESS AND TO MAKE IT MORE PREDICTABLE.

CHRIS YUEN

involves a public hearing, and any member of the public can show up to oppose a project for any reason.

To sidestep that, the city is considering whether to exempt 802 Homes from DRB review, according to Chris Yuen, the community development director.

That may speed things up, but it also means the 802 Homes will not receive the higher scrutiny that others do. Instead, builders would only need

Yuen to sign off on their permits. He would base his decision only on whether the proposed home meets rules such as setbacks and not more subjective criteria, like whether something matches the character of the neighborhood, he said.

“Because these homes were designed based on the layout and aesthetics of existing homes,” Yuen said, “we can have a good degree of confidence that these will be more accepted by the community than just a random new design.”

The planning commission has yet to sign off on the exemption idea, but Yuen thinks it eventually will. Helping builders avoid a trip to the DRB can shave a couple of months off the approval process, which would help keep costs down.

“I think there is a strong desire to ﬁgure out if there are ways we can streamline the process and to make it more predictable,” he said.

Yuen acknowledged, however, that he won’t have the ﬁ nal say. Neighbors could still appeal his decision to the full Development Review Board.

Such appeals remain a major problem for builders like Jason Webster, copresident and owner of Huntington Homes. In communities across the state, people propose new homes that are allowed by zoning and approved by boards or zoning administrators but then get appealed by neighbors

“One of the reasons we are in the problem that we are in today is because there are too many opinions and seats at the table for what’s happening on other people’s properties,” Webster said.

COURTESY IMAGES

Brendan Kinney

COURTESY OF MELISSA BROTT

A home in Roslindale, Mass.

e Paired Starter Home design

Huntington Homes makes modern modular housing in a cavernous facility in East Montpelier. It can assemble sections of a home there in a few days and put them together on a distant site in a matter of hours, Webster said.

His company is poised to beneﬁt from the 802 Homes program because, as a

cost-savings measure, the houses being designed could be built largely o -site in a factory such as his.

He’d like to see neighbors’ right to appeal eliminated entirely for homes that meet zoning rules. “If it’s allowed by zoning, then it should be allowed,” Webster said.

That’s something that housing advocacy group Let’s Build Homes is pushing hard.

Miro Weinberger, the former mayor of Burlington and the group’s executive chair, says the state’s housing permitting system is broken. Appeals can hold up projects for years. Even the threat of appeal allows neighbors to extract costly concessions from builders, said Weinberger, who is a former housing developer.

His group has proposed something cal led ROOT zones, which stands for Residential Opportunity Overlay for Towns. The idea is for the state to create a model “Vermont Code” that towns can adopt to replace their discretionary residential approvals process in zones where they want new housing.

Appeals of housing projects would become more difficult in these areas because subjective development criteria would be replaced by objective rules, Weinberger said. Cities and towns can adopt such rules now, but Let’s Build Homes has asked lawmakers to explore a statewide version. Lawmakers passed a bill commissioning a study on the idea, which is due by January 15, 2027.

“We’re hopeful this puts it on a trajectory that we can come back next year for binding action in the legislature,” Weinberger said. ➆

A home in Hartford

A home in Essex Junction

e Back-to-Back

Duplex design

e Four Square design

Young Republican Enters Race for State Senate

BY COLIN FLANDERS colin@sevendaysvt.com

A 24-year-old South Burlington native is running as a Republican for a seat in the Vermont State Senate.

Javen Sears will seek to represent the Chittenden-Southeast district, which covers a portion of Burlington, South Burlington and eight surrounding towns.

Sears graduated from South Burlington High School in 2020 and coaches track and debate there while attending the University of Vermont as a business major.

Sears launched his campaign on Tuesday evening at the Vermont National Country Club. In a phone interview prior to that, Sears said he decided to seek elected office because he believes more young people need to get involved in politics.

He said the vast majority of his childhood friends have left Vermont and many of his UVM classmates plan to do so after they graduate. A big reason, he said, is that they don’t believe they will have opportunities to succeed and raise families in the Green Mountain State.

“It’s about damn time we do something about that,” he said.

He says he’s running to “bring common sense back” to Montpelier and vowed to push policies that support economic growth and reduce taxes. He also called for expanding school choice.

The Chittenden-Southeast district is currently served by three Democrats: Thomas Chittenden, Virginia “Ginny” Lyons and Kesha Ram Hinsdale. Chittenden and Ram Hinsdale have said publicly that they plan to run again. Lyons told Seven Days on Tuesday that she will, too.

Joanna Grossman, a Burlington community activist and Democratic campaign manager, and Elizabeth Hunt, a pediatrician from Charlotte, are also running.

Vermont’s primary election is on August 11. ➆

Delay Tactics? « P.15

a conclusion. That’s when Eaton finally embraced the idea of an insanity claim.

His change of heart came just six weeks before trial, after hundreds of jury summonses had already been mailed out across the county.

Judge John Pacht grappled with whether to allow the defense and, if so, whether the trial should be delayed.

Arguments to deny the insanity defense appeared strong. The deadline to raise the issue had long passed, and prosecutors warned that they could not find their own expert in such a short time frame.

Further complicating matters, all three victims planned to return home to the West Bank, where their families also live, after the June trial concluded. Prosecutors worried that they might not be able to return to Vermont were the trial to be postponed.

One has been in the U.S. on a student visa. While the other two are dual citizens, any number of complications could prevent them from returning to the U.S., including a potential resumption of the war in Gaza.

“Any time there is bombing occurring, nobody leaves,” Chittenden County State’s Attorney Sarah George said in an interview last week. “So, if conflict rearises in August or September, nobody’s going to be able to get out, even if you are a dual citizen.”

George told Pacht that granting Eaton’s late request for an insanity defense would put the state in the “impossible position” of having to choose between heading to trial without either an expert or the key witnesses.

Pacht was sympathetic. But after half a dozen hearings, Pacht sided with Eaton, citing the severity of the charges and the lingering questions about Eaton’s mental health.

As for the trial date, Pacht deferred the decision to prosecutors.

The ruling frustrated George, who said it seemed obvious to her that Eaton has been trying to manipulate the trial schedule in his favor.

“A major burden is now being put on the state and the victims, and very little burden, if any, is being put on the defense, for what we feel is Mr. Eaton’s fault,” she said.

She was also concerned about the precedent that Pacht’s ruling set for other cases involving insanity defenses, which have become more common in recent years, she said. What’s the point of a deadline if defendants can “just ignore it?” she asked.

George met with the three victims last week to discuss their two options. She said she told the young men that she believed

she could secure a conviction even without an expert witness testifying that Eaton was sane and culpable for the crime.

“I could have just cross-examined their expert and, I think, convinced a jury that he was not credible,” she told Seven Days.

But she acknowledged that juries place great value on the testimony of expert witnesses, which could make proceeding without one risky.

THE THREE [VICTIMS] WANT THE PROCESS BROUGHT TO AN END WITH A DECISIVE CONVICTION.

MARIAN PRICE

The young men thought it over for a day, then informed George that they’d like to postpone the trial, even if it jeopardized their ability to attend. Pacht granted the request last week, and the trial is now scheduled for mid-September.

The postponement came as a relief to Eaton’s attorneys, who will have more time to prepare their defense.

“To rush through preparation for this defense would create an appellate issue, and it’s just not right to either party,” Eaton’s attorney, Margaret Jansch, told reporters last week.

Prosecutor George, too, will have more time to prepare and said she believes she has identified an expert witness who could be ready for the new trial date. She’s holding out hope that the victims will be able to make it, though she’s not taking any chances.

At her request, the court will hold a daylong hearing on June 2 — originally

scheduled to be the first full day in the trial — for what’s known as “preservation testimony.”

The rare legal procedure is used to secure on-the-record testimony and cross-examination of witnesses who, for whatever reason, may not be able to attend a trial. George said she has only done it one other time in her career, in a case that involved an aging witness in failing health.

The hearing will be recorded on video and will proceed much like any trial. Eaton will be there. Two of the victims will testify.

Should either of those men not make the trial, George would have the option to play their June testimony for jurors.

An attorney representing the three men said they were unavailable for an interview this week. But Marian Price, Awartani’s grandmother, who lives in Burlington, confirmed that they supported the postponement.

“The three young men are pacing themselves through this long drawn out process,” Price said in a text message. She added that the men recognize that denying Eaton an insanity defense or rushing the case to trial now could give his attorneys grounds for an appeal.

“The three want the process brought to an end with a decisive conviction,” she wrote.

One outstanding question remains: whether the trial will be held in a courtroom in Chittenden County. Eaton’s attorneys have asked for a change of venue, arguing that intense local media coverage has tainted the potential juror pool.

Prosecutors oppose the request. The case received global attention, George said, and the defense would need to show that there’s somewhere else in Vermont where people haven’t heard about the case.

“I think that’s pretty unlikely,” she said. ➆

Javen Sears COURTESY

Jason Eaton

FEEDback

ISRAELI INFLUENCE

[Re “Ethics Panel Dismisses Complaints Over Lawmakers’ Trip to Israel,” April 14, online]: The Vermont House Ethics Panel has absolved a bipartisan group of five Vermont lawmakers — Reps. Sarah Austin, James Gregoire, Matt Birong, Will Greer and Gina Galfetti — of ethics violations related to their all-expensespaid junkets to Israel. In so doing, our legislature has demonstrated Israel’s grip on U.S. politics not only in Washington, D.C., but also here in Vermont.

Voters are increasingly unhappy with U.S. support for Israel — and now the war we launched on behalf of Israel against Iran and Lebanon. Americans want investments in education, health care and housing — not billions spent on bombs and bulldozers for Israel to kill civilians and destroy crops and homes.

The lawmakers who went to Israel accepted more than $6,000 each in travel, accommodations and food while, just a few miles away in Gaza, Palestinians were sheltering in rat-infested tents and eating weeds and animal feed to survive. Our lawmakers did not meet with representatives from international bodies, human rights groups or Palestinian organizations. They met with Israel’s architects of apartheid, and they planted a Vermont flag on land stolen from Palestinians. What about this trip was ethical?

Birong’s refusal to allow a hearing on a bill that calls for Congressional approval before Vermont National Guard troops could be deployed in combat raises the question: Is he advocating for Israel’s priorities or Vermont’s?

Our elected representatives ethically must refuse favors from a country that is actively working against the security and values of the American people.

Kate Casa BRATTLEBORO

BAD TRIP

I am writing to express my disgust for the process and final decision of the Vermont House Ethics Panel about the five reps who took an all-expenses-paid trip to Israel [“Ethics Panel Dismisses Complaints Over Lawmakers’ Trip to Israel,” April 14, online]. After they planted a Vermont flag on stolen Palestinian land and proudly posted about it, they gained the name “Genocide 5,” and a petition started circulating to condemn what they had done. As of right now, more than 900 people have signed this to express their dismay and to call for all of them to resign from office.

Judging from their speaking engagements, where they shared what they saw there, it’s very clear they received Israeli propaganda about the situation. They were given instructions on how to encourage anti-boycott, divestment and sanction legislation, as well as how to try to have anyone who criticizes Israel be labeled as antisemitic. They never met with any human rights organizations or talked with Palestinians to understand their perspective. How could they really think they weren’t violating the code of ethics?

Since then, Vermonters have visited and seen the horrible treatment that the Israeli government continues to perpetuate on the Palestinians. Just this week, another Vermonter is joining the Global Sumud Flotilla that is trying to break the siege on Gaza. I encourage everyone to hear their honest and truthful account of what is really happening in Palestine.

Sally Lincoln NORTH FERRISBURGH

INVITATION-ONLY

The Vermont House Ethics Panel dismissed complaints against five legislators, ruling that the trip was OK in part because it was a “widely attended event” [“Ethics Panel Dismisses Complaints Over Lawmakers’ Trip to Israel,” April 14, online]. The panel’s definition of “a widely attended event” is severely distorted. I think such events are those that are open to the general public: concerts, sports events, theater. I fail to see how this trip, open only to preselected individuals by invitation — legislators in all 50 states — can be considered a

CONTRADICTORY STORIES

Vermont’s housing shortage is driving young people from the state. Seven Days has covered this compellingly, including in its April 29 “Baby Bust” cover story. So, it was disappointing to find in the same issue an entire story about a contrarian University of Vermont paper, with the online headline “Study Says Building More Homes in Burlington Won’t Lower Costs” [ Nest , April 29]. The premise of the academic study went unchallenged.

We know that building more homes will lower costs. Numerous studies confirm the bedrock economic principle that, in housing markets, increased supply reduces costs. A Pew Research Center report on Austin found that a surge in new construction produced a 4 percent inflation-adjusted drop in rents, while the rest of the country saw rents rise over 10 percent.

“widely attended event,” no matter how many or few of that preselected group actually attend. The panel’s distorted definition calls into question its own ethics.

Thomas Weiss MONTPELIER

‘WHY DID THE PANEL DO THAT?’

The April 14 article, “Ethics Panel Dismisses Complaints Over Lawmakers’ Trip to Israel,” gives the House Ethics Panel undeserved credit. Its ruling nullifies Vermont’s ethics statute, claiming that because Israel’s lobbying requests came after the legislators arrived, the trip couldn’t be “retroactively” unethical. This is willful ignorance: The lobbying was entirely foreseeable. Jewish Voices for Peace submitted clear evidence that Israel and its allies have pushed antiboycott laws in 37 states.

The panel ignored this — and the context: Israeli military actions that Vermont’s own Congressional delegation called genocide, as well as Israel’s push to redefine antisemitism to silence criticism of the genocide.

The decision creates a dangerous loophole: Foreign governments or corporations can now gift trips to U.S. legislators as long as no explicit promise is made beforehand. Lawmakers can plead ignorance. The statute’s twin purposes — preventing both the purchase of legislation and the appearance of it — are shredded. Why did the panel do that?

James Leas SOUTH BURLINGTON

Burlington is not exempt from basic economics.

The study is flawed. In a city where 60 percent of homes are rentals, the paper ignores the rental market and 80 percent of the interrelated metro area. Because it analyzed a period when only two to 15 single-family or duplex homes were built annually, no wonder the authors found no major supply-side effects.

Worse, Seven Days ’ provocative headline is contradicted by the study itself. The authors state: “Were 300 homes to be built … it would likely exert downward pressure on housing prices.”

That’s precisely our point: The trickle of new homes over the past 25 years is failing us. We must build more homes of all shapes and sizes for people of all incomes to change our demographic and economic trajectory. Vermont’s housing shortage deserves debate about solutions, not about whether the problem is real.

Weinberger is executive chair of Let’s Build Homes.

Editor’s note: As subheads in print and online detailed, the story focused on the study’s main takeaway that investor activity has driven the increase of housing prices more than the lack of housing supply.

Miro Weinberger BURLINGTON

The Vermont lawmakers in Israel

FEEDback

‘BABY’ TALK

We got a lot of feedback on our April 29 cover story, “Baby Bust: Vermont’s Birth Rate Is the Lowest in the Nation. Why Aren’t We Having More Kids?” Read on for an array of perspectives about the story, part of our “Gen Zero” series about the far-reaching ramifications of the declining number of young Vermonters.

The excellent “Baby Bust” article correctly identiﬁes the increasing monetary costs associated with raising children as a major reason Vermonters are having fewer children. Unfortunately, there’s not much that Vermonters can do about these increasing costs. It’s a matter of simple economics. As the Seven Days article states, developers can’t proﬁtably build a ordable housing because the rising cost of building such homes exceeds what low-income buyers can a ord.

Costs are high because fossil fuels — the natural resources powering our economy — have entered a period of increasing scarcity. Peak oil, peak coal and peak gas are all real. The prices for these energy resources go up as required by supply-and-demand curves. And renewable energy cannot cover the shortfall in supply at an equivalent cost. This is especially true in Vermont, with its cold and cloudy winters.

Furthermore, as energy gets expensive, everything else gets expensive. And, although all of North America is experiencing a housing crisis, it’s more acute in places like Vermont, where di cult weather and geography, paired with a dearth of industrial infrastructure (e.g., cargo ports), increase costs.

People talk about nuclear energy, but that’s not cheap either, and the supply of uranium is becoming increasingly limited.

Many economists, geologists, physicists, biologists and systems analysts are telling us that the human enterprise will, by necessity, shrink. The term is “degrowth,” and it’s what Vermont should be planning for. Google “degrowth” and learn more.

Robert Fireovid SOUTH HERO

Your cover article entitled “Baby Bust” comes as no surprise to the Vermont Right to Life Committee and its members. The low birth rate is the natural consequence of an intentional plan by taxpayer-funded Planned Parenthood of Vermont, implemented over the course of decades. What is its plan?

BABY BUST

Gain access to Vermont schools and provide sex education that promotes early sexual activity and multiple partners and minimizes the consequences of STIs, which can impact future fertility. At the same time, Planned Parenthood emphasizes that babies are expensive, unrewarding, and disruptive to your life and future plans, and that pregnancy should be delayed, postponed or aborted.

Want to carry your baby to term? Planned Parenthood will refer you elsewhere.

Ironically, Planned Parenthood of Vermont has actively opposed the work of privately funded pregnancy resources centers in our state. Those centers have helped girls and women with the resources and support they need to make the decision to carry their babies to term.

Year after year, Planned Parenthood uses federal and state funds, causing the very outcome that is now drawing legitimate concern over Vermont’s demographics. Learn more at “Another Year, Another Scandal”: vrlc.net/category/1/abortion.

Mary Hahn Beerworth FAIRFAX

Beerworth is executive director of Vermont Right to Life.

I knew even before reading “Baby Bust” what the reasons for Vermont having the lowest birth rate in the country were going to be: ﬁnancial insecurity and housing. I also knew that two other major reasons were not going to be mentioned: the fact that Vermont is the least religious state and the least pro-life state in the U.S.

I don’t see the point in pretending these two factors have no correlation with the low birth rates. Financial insecurity

and housing are issues throughout the country, not just in Vermont. If you are serious about looking into reasons for the declining birth rates in this state, look at the whole picture, not only at the facts that align with your political view.

Shayna DeDonato MONTPELIER

As a young person coming out of college a few decades ago with a degree in natural resource management, I believed our most important challenge to Earth stewardship and a healthy human future was the pressure of human population. After many years, my view has not changed. While I am sympathetic to the e ects of population decrease on the Vermont economy, I ﬁnd it important to keep the bigger picture in mind.

David Bailey HUNTINGTON

Colin Flanders’ article about the reasons for Vermont’s low birth rate should have included the lack of loving mutual support. My wife and I raised three children, worked full time and never paid for childcare. We belonged to a Christian prayer group in Connecticut that had many families with no money for childcare. Our response: developing a “babysitting” system so we could work, which required us to sacriﬁce nonwork time once a week to care for ﬁve to 10 kids for half a day in the same house daily. Every day, two or three adults did crafts; wiped tears; settled disputes; changed diapers; monitored lunchtime, nap time and playtime; and kept a written log for parents to read. Those with full-time jobs made their schedules work. (I worked nights, so I volunteered one morning per week.)

Serious Christians bond in ways that cannot be replicated elsewhere. Our childcare miracle resulted from obeying Jesus’ command to love others as we have been loved. The kids and their parents knew they were loved by the volunteers, and they loved us in return with lavish trust.

Reversing the falling birth rate is still possible for parents who genuinely worship the God who loves them, then bond together via sacriﬁce as an expression of love for others. Sadly, this practical, beautiful beneﬁt of faith is one of the many blessings forfeited when people leave or reject Christianity as “irrelevant.”

Mark Azzara DANBURY, CT

The cover article did a good job exploring the a ordability challenges causing Vermonters to have fewer children or forgo children altogether. However, it was notably short on potential policy solutions.

Paid family and medical leave are one such solution.

The evidence is clear: Paid leave is a proven way to “address the dollars-andcents anxieties of potential parents” like those quoted in the article. When new parents have access to 12 weeks of leave at 90 percent of weekly wages, they are more ﬁnancially secure and have lower infant childcare costs (the most expensive kind). Parents like Rachel Bishop would not have to spend down their savings to bond with their baby. They could use those savings for other investments, like childcare.

A recent benefit-cost analysis by Vanderbilt University’s Prenatal-to-3 Policy Impact Center found that a universal paid leave program would mean an additional $3,200 for a working Vermont family in the year after welcoming a new baby. The same analysis found that paid leave would also generate health care savings, reduce state expenditures on childcare subsidies, and beneﬁt employers through decreased job turnover and greater productivity.

Fourteen states, including New York, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut and Delaware, have wellestablished paid family leave programs covering over 90 percent of their workforce. Maine’s program takes e ect this year. Enacting an equivalent program in Vermont would make our state more attractive to young families. Why aren’t we hearing more about it?

Gretchen Elias MONTPELIER

I am a lifelong Vermonter, born in Burlington in 1952. When I was growing up, I was told over and over again that the greatest problem the world faced was overpopulation. Where are all these people going to live, and how are we going to feed them?

Now, nations around the world, including our own, are complaining about low birth rates. What changed? Did we solve the overpopulation problem? Of course not. What changed is that those who control the gigantic Ponzi scheme called “capitalism” have recognized that the system requires constant growth — and a constant influx of workers at the bottom of the pyramid to support the fortunate few at the top.

If we wish to continue feeding this shortsighted and self-destructive system, the answer is simple and obvious: We need more immigrants.

Of course, that would mean more people of color and inevitable changes to our “culture.”

But why don’t we look at the problem differently? Why not transition to a stable population and an economic system that works for a stable population?

We don’t need to keep growing, and acknowledging that truth would be a great first step.

Dan Marshall BURLINGTON

Thanks for the news about having kids in Vermont and why the school population rate is declining in recent years [“Empty Desks: Enrollment in Vermont’s K-12 Schools Is Dropping at an Alarming Rate. Communities Are On Their Own to Deal With the Problem” February 18]. The fact is, people are finally coming to the conclusion that the subsidies are declining. It’s about time that people realize this and reduce their family size to something they can actually support themselves without subsidies and taxpayer incentives. We pay a lot for your kids, their schools and teachers. There are a lot of taxpayers who never had kids and paid taxes for over 40 years. Having kids puts a greater demand on your taxpaying neighbors and is a luxury. “It takes a village,” right? It shouldn’t take a “village” to raise your responsibility. If you are expecting a child and can’t afford it, you should not expect taxpayers to pay for the expenses. You are responsible. I read an article in Seven Days 24 months ago about a couple who had two kids and wanted another one, but they were worried about subsidies declining to where they could not afford it, so they were going to move [“‘We’re Leaving’: Winooski’s Bargain Real Estate Attracted a Diverse Group of Residents for Years. Now They’re Being Squeezed Out,” May 1, 2024]. That’s great; find some other state to finance your kids.

Parents need to be responsible. How many parents 20 years ago would have thought their kids would be shooting up on Church Street, jobless and going to free clinics? You parents need to own this. I’ve seen this firsthand.

Be responsible for your actions, and don’t expect others to clean up your mistakes.

Rob Mongeon COLCHESTER

ETHICS OVERLOAD

I write on behalf of the Vermont State Ethics Commission to provide historical background to [“Lawmakers Might Suspend Financial Disclosure Penalties for Candidates,” April 23, online].

Since the inception of candidate financial disclosure requirements, the commission’s only role has been drafting the disclosure form. Several weeks ago, the commission provided the updated form to the Secretary of State’s Office to disseminate to candidates. The Secretary of State’s Office now insists that, unlike in past years, it will not directly disseminate the form; instead, it asserts, the ethics commission should post the form and educate candidates about it. We object — the commission does not have jurisdiction over any other part of elections. In any event, we have insufficient staff to take on a new task.

The commission has two hardworking half-time employees — our executive director and our administrative assistant — who oversee legislative mandates, including ethics trainings, advisory opinions and other services, to tens of thousands of state and municipal officials and employees. To fulfill all tasks the legislature has assigned us, we will likely need four staff members.

The House Appropriations Committee’s FY2027 budget allocated one new full-time staff attorney to the ethics commission. The Senate Appropriations Committee stripped this position from the budget. Will this legislative session continue to understaff the Vermont State Ethics Commission?

The article included an indefensible call by Vermont Republican Party chair Paul Dame for the commission’s hardworking, judicious executive director to resign. We will reach out to the GOP executive committee requesting a retraction and apology.

Paul Erlbaum EAST MONTPELIER

Editor’s note: See this week’s cover story on page 26 for more about the Vermont State Ethics Commission.

ONCE A CASHIER

Thank you for covering [“Healthy Living Workers Will Vote on Whether to Form a Union,” April 20; “Workers at Healthy Living, Barnes & Noble Vote to Unionize,” May 5]! It is time for good, hardworking people to be paid a salary that they can live off.

Nathan Bushweller SOUTH BURLINGTON

BEE SMART

Melissa Pasanen’s article about Middlebury’s Champlain Valley Apiaries highlighted the damage from pesticides to honeybees, native bees and other wildlife [“Speaking for the Bees: A Fourth Generation Steps Up as Middlebury’s Champlain Valley Apiaries Nears Its Centennial,” April 22].

The 2024 Vermont law Act 182 phases out the use of these harmful chemicals by 2029, along with similar action in New York State.

Unfortunately, the current version of the U.S. Farm Bill now under consideration in the U.S. House of Representatives would strip states and localities of the ability to adopt their own stronger pesticide protections than those made by the federal government.

There are other important reasons to oppose this bill. I am urging Vermont citizens to contact U.S. Rep. Becca Balint and ask her to vote against the current version of the Farm Bill.

Fran Putnam WEYBRIDGE

HOUSE OF HEROES

Thank you for shining light on this matter [“Dwelling on the Past: With Little Fanfare or Public Debate, the Historic Boyhood Home of Civil War Artist Julian Scott Is About to Be Torn Down,” April 15]. It is sadly apparent, from the way the whole sorry affair has been conducted, that transparency was not the order of the day.

President John F. Kennedy said, “A nation reveals itself not only by the men it produces but also by the men it honors, the men it remembers.” Julian Scott’s act of courage was astounding. The Vermont soldiers were being cut to pieces by enemy fire. Julian chose to go into great danger to save a comrade. Once safely on the other side of the creek, he turned around and went into enemy fire again. And again, nine or 10 or 11 times in all, dragging and carrying wounded men bigger than he was. He was 16 years old.

Two of his brothers served also; his younger brother Charlie enlisted at only 13 years old. Imagine an eighth grader at war.

Julian died in Plainfield, N.J., on July 4, 1901. In 1955 the state of Vermont paid for a gravestone for him. The Vermont governor went to Plainfield for the dedication ceremony. Now it seems Julian is forgotten here in Vermont.

That house is the cradle of heroes. In this day and age, we need to honor and remember our heroes more than ever — not only for them but for ourselves and generations to come.

Jennifer Theoret ALBURGH

KAHAN-DO

[Re “Talk It Out: The Great Divide , Noah Kahan,” April 29]: As a reader who found the tone of the Noah Kahan review more revealing of its critics than its subject, I offer this response in a format I think he’d appreciate.

“The Great Divide (A Reader’s Response)”

You called him reliable, like a midrange restaurant

Praised him with a shrug and a Godfather quote

Too cool to love him, too local to ignore him

So you sharpened your pencils, and you cleared your throat

Angela heard the heartbreak in a dozen simple words

While you were busy counting up his candles and his deals

Some of us just grew up in the cold and the mud

And we know when someone’s singing what is real

(Chorus)

There’s a great divide, alright

But it’s not the one he’s singing It’s between the ones who feel it

And the ones who just feel smart

You built your little fence of irony and taste

While a Fenway full of Busyheads

Pressed his songs against their hearts

Dan, I know your inner Gen X is suffering

Chris, your double standards are your own

But the dude sold out a ballpark full of people

Who just needed someone to make them feel less alone

So let the sacred cow graze

Let Angela have the last word

Because “Just because millions love it Doesn’t mean it sucks” —

Best line of criticism I’ve heard

(Chorus out)

Lisa Sherman SOUTH BURLINGTON

Noah Kahan

lifelines

OBITUARIES

David Lee Draper

JUNE 28, 1951-APRIL 19, 2026 BRISTOL, VT.

David Lee Draper, 74, of Bristol, Vt., passed away on April 19, 2026, at the McClure Miller Respite House after a courageous battle with cancer.

David was born in Morrisville, Vt., on June 28, 1951, and was predeceased by his parents, Carlyle and Ramona (Perry) Draper; brother James; and sister Connie. He is survived by his wife of 29 years, Nancy (Johnson) Draper; daughter, Kristina (Phillip) Smith, and granddaughters, Avery and Harper, of Grand Isle, Vt.; stepdaughter, Angie Dykstra, and step-grandchildren Vanessa, Casandra and Whitney of Bristol; stepson, Tim Farr, and step-grandchildren Hannah, Hunter and Phoenix of West Rutland, Vt.; sister Bonnie (Keith) Conchieri of Colchester, Vt.; Lori (Stephen) Ploof of St. Albans, Vt.; and brothers Steven (Paula) Draper of South Burlington, Vt., and Bruce Draper of Florida.

OBITUARIES, VOWS, CELEBRATIONS

A graduate of Burlington High School, class of 1969, David went on to serve in the Vermont National Guard while pursuing his lifelong passion for carpentry and woodworking. After years of working in all phases of carpentry, he found his true calling building high-end custom furniture and cabinets in his workshop in Bristol, where his skill and dedication were reﬂected in every piece he created.

David was an avid outdoorsman who loved hunting and ﬁshing year-round, spending countless hours on Lake Champlain and many of the beautiful lakes and streams throughout Vermont. He also enjoyed horseback riding and riding his custom motorcycles. One of his big adventures was traveling with his wife, Nancy, to Sturgis, S.D., for the famous Sturgis Motorcycle Rally. He will be deeply missed by all who knew and loved him. In memory of David, donations can be made to the McClure Miller Respite House.

Michelle Marie Thomas

OCTOBER 25, 1966-APRIL 20, 2026 BURLINGTON, VT.

Michelle Marie omas, 59, passed away on April 20, 2026, at the McClure Miller Respite House in Colchester, Vt., after a one-year battle with cancer.

Michelle was born in Burlington, Vt., on October 25, 1966, to Keith and Francine (Robert) omas. Michelle was a graduate of Bellows Free Academy in St. Albans, class of 1984. Michelle graduated from the University of Vermont in 1989 with a BA in English. She received her master of library science from SUNY Albany in 1994. Michelle worked for several years in the records department at Banknorth, and she most recently worked, for nearly 25 years, in the medical records department at the UVM Medical Center. Michelle had been a Burlington resident for 30 years. Michelle was a past member of the Williston Town Band trumpet section and a past volunteer with Out in the Mountains and the RU12?/Pride Center of Vermont. She enjoyed playing trumpet with LGBA massed bands and with local and regional Pride bands. She was a member of the Champlain Valley Rainbow Squares and VGSA for

several years. More recently, she had taken a keen interest in playing the ukulele with a local group and attending ACF and QCF conferences around the country.

Michelle leaves her mother, Francine; brother, Peter omas; and her nephews, Gareth and Ewan omas. Michelle also leaves her aunt and uncle, Ginette and James Warner; and her cousins, Paul Betz Jr., Carolyn Guilmette (Tom), Alan Warner (Pilar), Christine Warner (Miguel) and Robert Warner (Vivian). Michelle leaves many friends, including longtime friends Karen Gagne and Steven Stowell. She was predeceased by her father, Keith omas; and her aunt, Priscilla ( omas) Betz. Michelle also leaves her cat, Shelby. Michelle was predeceased by her other cats, Sinbad, Charlie and Bart.

e family would like to thank Dr. Ades and the staff in the Oncology Department at the UVM Medical Center, as well as the staff at the McClure Miller Respite House, for the care they provided to Michelle.

A funeral service will be held on Saturday, May 16, 2026, 11 a.m., at St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church, 1063 Prim Rd., Colchester, VT.

Inurnment will be at a future date at the convenience of the family. Please visit awrfh.com to share your memories and condolences.

Nancy B. Martin

JUNE 14, 1936-APRIL 22, 2026 SHELBURNE, VT.

Nancy Buchanan Martin passed away on April 22, 2026, at the Wake Robin retirement community after a short illness. She was 89 years old.

Nancy was born in Arlington, Mass., to John and Merriam Buchanan. After moving from Somerville, Mass., to Bennington, Vt., as a child, Nancy found that she loved Vermont and made many new friends.

Nancy met her future husband, Allen Martin of Burlington, on a blind date, and they were married on June 25, 1955. ey were married for 69 years, until Allen’s passing in March 2024. While Allen started and ran his new car company in South Burlington (Almartin Motors), Nancy was a homemaker, raising their three children at their South Burlington home. First, they had twin girls, Karin and Kathy, followed by a son, Peter. Although the car business was going well, “Al” had his eye on another business venture and purchased Point Bay Marina in Charlotte from bankruptcy. Nancy and Al moved their young family to Charlotte. ey owned Point Bay Marina for 38 years and lived there for much of that time, later moving to their home on Guinea Road before eventually relocating to Wake Robin.

Boating continued to be a big part of Nancy and Al’s life for years. They kept their 42-foot yacht, the Nancy Ann, at Point Bay. For years, they gave rides to seniors and many others on Lake Champlain. Nancy and Al spent winters at their Florida residence in Englewood, where they were also avid boaters. Nancy was an avid golfer, enjoying many outings over the years on various golf courses with “the girls.” Nancy was predeceased by her husband, Allen. She was also predeceased by her daughter Kathryn; son, Peter; nephew, Brennan Martin; brothers, Donald and David Buchanan; and sister, Janet Bellemare.

Nancy leaves behind her daughter Karin Small (Gary); grandsons, Matthew (Mikayla) and Justin Small; granddaughter, Andrea Martin; great-grandchildren, Sadie, Mercy and Mason; and brother-in-law, Bernie Bellemare.

“Nanny” will be missed by many — her smiles, energy, generosity and willingness to always lend a hand. ose who wish to make a donation may consider the Charlotte Senior Center or the Vermont Cancer Society. ere will be no formal service but a smaller gathering with family at a later date.

Arrangements are in the care of the Chittenden County Cremation Society, a division of Ready Funeral & Cremation Services. To send online condolences, please visit cremationsocietycc.com.

Patricia Miller Annable

JUNE 19, 1939-MAY 4, 2026 BURLINGTON, VT.

Patricia M. Annable, 86, passed away at the University of Vermont Medical Center on May 4, 2026, surrounded by her family.

She was born on June 19, 1939, in South Burlington, Vt., the daughter of Dorothy Boyce, and raised by her loving grandparents, Melton and Gertrude Miller.

She worked for many years at Hannaford as a cashier. Pat had served on the Northgate Residence Board and was an avid reader.

Kendall Annable of Haddon Heights, N.J.

Pat is survived by her four children and their spouses: Dottie and Bob Latimer of Tampa, Fla.; Debbie and Perry Coughlin of Georgetown, Texas; Lynn Annable and Jeff Willette of Burlington, Vt.; and Stephen and

She is also survived by eight grandchildren: Kendra and Justin Akey, Kayla and Shane Ronan, Kyle Latimer, Bryan and Ruby Coughlin, Matthew and Mikka Coughlin, Mindi and Shaun Heath, Spencer Annable, and Drew Annable. Pat had 20 great-grandchildren, whom she loved spending time with. Also surviving her is her brother, Ernest (“Butch”), and his wife, Judy Bragg; and her sisters Adele Brooker and Judy Boyce. She was predeceased by her husband in 2005; her granddaughter Heidi Bruce; sister Lyann Shepard; and several nieces, nephews and cousins.

Interment will be on May 30, 2026, 11 a.m., in Lakeview Cemetery in Burlington, Vt., with a Celebration of Life to follow at noon at Northgate Residence Hall in Burlington.

OBITUARIES

Patricia “Patty” Drage Hallam

APRIL 29, 1949APRIL 19, 2026

MIDDLEBURY, VT.

Patricia Drage Hallam passed away on April 19, 2026, at home in Middlebury, Vt., surrounded by loving family and friends. Patty was born on April 29, 1949, in Elyria, Ohio, to Lester E. Drage and Mary (Sederis) Drage. Patty was a 1967 graduate of Elyria High School in Ohio, attended Central Michigan University and graduated from Fanny Allen School of Practical Nursing. A lifelong learner, Patty later took classes at both Trinity and Woodbury colleges. Frustrated with her very first college experience, Patty and a close friend left school to hitchhike across Europe. Patty especially loved visiting Ireland, England and Scotland. After returning to the States, she worked as a ride operator at an amusement park in Sandusky, Ohio. After that she moved to Vermont to

Joyce Elaine (Guyette) Desautels

APRIL 28,1940-MAY 5, 2026

SHELBURNE, VT.

Joyce Elaine (Guyette) Desautels, 86, of Shelburne, Vt., died on May 5, 2026, in her home, surrounded by loved ones.

She was born on April 28, 1940, in Burlington, Vt., the daughter of Alexander and Mary (Evelti) Guyette. Joyce was a proud member of the last class to graduate from Cathedral High School, the class of 1958. Joyce was a natural leader early on and served as a class officer and majorette captain and was selected for Girls State, where she was elected governor. At Cathedral, Joyce was crowned prom queen, and her high school sweetheart, Robert “Bob” Desautels, was prom king.

Bob and Joyce were married at St. Joseph’s Cathedral in Burlington on September 18, 1960. During the early years of their marriage, Joyce supported Bob while he

take up the life of a ski bum, working at both the Lodge and Trapp Family Lodge in Stowe.

One day in December 1970, while trying to hitch a ride to the mountain, Patty was picked up by a fellow ski bum, David Hallam. She didn’t know it then, but she’d just met the absolute love of her life. That winter, Patty and David spent many nights listening to records in Patty’s small apartment above the Trapp Family Tea House; they danced at the Rusty Nail and skied. Patty, always the adventurer, said yes to being

pursued his college degree and launched his career. Bob’s career took them out of Vermont to Massachusetts and Connecticut. In each location they lived, Joyce nurtured their growing family and created a love-filled home. Bob and Joyce eventually returned to Vermont, the state they loved, and Bob launched his own businesses. Throughout Bob’s career Joyce remained his steadfast sounding board. Joyce devoted her life selflessly to her siblings, children and extended family. She will be forever remembered as a devoted and generous daughter, sister, mother,

a governess to two small boys living in Austria. While she pined for David, she also enjoyed the boys and the delicious Austrian pastries. Unable to bear Patty’s absence, David called her in Austria to propose. Patty not only said yes but also said she’d already bought an early plane ticket home, ending her role as governess, because she missed him, too. The two were married on March 4, 1972. This was the start of 54 beautiful, love-filled years together.

To know Patty was to be embraced by a deep spirit of optimism, love and joy. Her welcoming smile and beautiful blue eyes were captivating. Patty loved to sing, and we always knew when she was happy because she would be singing all throughout the house. She spent her whole life helping others. Volunteer service was an important part of Patty’s life, and she walked the talk. She worked as an aide at Green Mountain Nursing Home and then as an LPN in the newborn nursery

grandmother and greatgrandmother. She loved hosting parties and celebrations and opened her home to many family and friends over the years. Bob and Joyce’s Thanksgiving and Fourth of July parties on Brookes Avenue for the Desautels and Guyette families were legendary. She had a distinctive eye for beauty, as evidenced in her interior-decorating skills. She took up painting in her seventies and uncovered a real talent. She enjoyed singing, dancing and fashion. She beamed in the presence of babies and children. Trees, flowers, gardens, birds and butterflies brought her joy. She was a loving mother, not only to her four children but also to all their friends. She welcomed all to the dinner table, to swim in the pool in the summer and to ice-skate on it in the winter. Joyce embraced life and all it offered and led with love, laughter and care.

Joyce had a fantastic sense of humor and a quick wit. She loved a good practical joke and had an uncanny ability to often outwit the practical

at the University of Vermont Medical Center. Once their three children came along, David devoted himself to his family and his work while Patty devoted herself to her family and many, many hours volunteering. While living in South Burlington and Middlebury, Patty volunteered with the Visiting Nurse Association, the Lund Family Center, Refugee Resettlement, Green Mountain Prevention Projects, Habitat for Humanity, UNICEF, Spiritin-Nature, Shelburne Farms, Meals on Wheels, Vermont Respite House, Heifer International, Head Start Program, Helen Porter Nursing Home and as an ESL tutor, just to name a few. Patty also was cofounder of the Henriette Katuka Memorial Fund, raising over $100,000 with the help of the Woods Tea Company to feed and provide medicine to orphans in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Learning so much from her volunteer roles, and finding such purpose there,

joker. She was a problem solver and the go-to for family and friends who needed to talk. Her heart was open and ready to listen to you and help. She was values-driven and did not back down when it came to her morals. She fought for fairness and stood up for what and who she believed in. She often shared the story of marching in front of the Burlington Boys Club as a young girl with a sign saying, “No Fair, No Girls.” She was a trailblazer for equality and fairness. She became involved in Burlington politics and served on the Board of Aldermen in the ’70s and early ’80s. She also served as the first female president of the Board of Aldermen.

Joyce is survived by her husband, Robert “Bob” Desautels, the love of her life for 71 years; her four children, Robert “Rob” Desautels and his wife, Michelle, of Williston, Vt., Daniel “Dan” Desautels and his wife, Beth, of Shelburne, Vt., Mary Desautels of Shelburne, and Kristin (Desautels) Jarvis and her husband, Chris Jarvis, of South Burlington, Vt.; seven grandchildren, Stephanie

Patty felt that high school students would also benefit immensely by volunteering in their community. In 1997, she started the Volunteers in Action office at South Burlington High School, connecting students with volunteer opportunities.

Most significantly, Patty worked with the Champlain Valley and Addison County CROPWALK committees for 31 years as recruitment chair and cochair, respectively. After she and David moved to Middlebury in 2006, Patty joined the Hospice Wellspring Singers. Combining her love of singing and of helping others, singing to patients at their bedside brought her immense joy.

Patty enjoyed many active years running, skiing, hiking and bicycling. She and her beloved sister, Leslie, went on many guided and self-supported bicycling adventures. She also saw the Beatles live twice and had aspirations of marrying Paul, but life took her in a different direction.

Patty leaves behind her

Desautels, Lindsie Barone, Annie Rose Desautels, Emma Jarvis, Sawyer Jarvis, Grace Jarvis and Aiden Desautels; and five great-grandchildren, Ava Desautels, Jack Barone, Zander Barone, Harlee Barone and Gwenna Desautels.

Joyce is also survived by her brother Alexander J. Guyette and his wife, Barbara; sister Therese and her husband, Dave Burrell; sister Linda and her husband, Walter Gundel; sister-in-law Jane Guyette; sister Carolyn Clark; and brother Mark Guyette and his wife, Connie. Joyce is also survived by Bob’s siblings and their spouses, Gerald and Andi Desautels, Ed and Colette Desautels, and Jane and Rick Dall. She leaves many loving cousins, godchildren, nieces and nephews. Joyce was predeceased by her parents, Alexander J Guyette Sr. and Mary (Evelti) Guyette; Bob’s parents, Raymond and Madeline (Mahoney) Desautels; her infant sister, Marilyn Guyette; brother-inlaw John Clark; and brother Bill Guyette.

The family would like to extend their heartfelt

husband, the love of her life, David Hallam. She also leaves behind her daughter Aubrey (Gavin) Boyles of Montpelier, Vt.; son, Tyler of Great Barrington, Mass.; daughter Kim of Ashburn, Va.; and sister, Leslie (Gary) Goodman of Elyria, Ohio. She also leaves behind her loving grandchildren, Liam and Thea Boyles of Montpelier.

Patty’s family would like to thank Patty’s Posse, Dr. Laura Weylman, Dr. Zail Berry, Addison Home Health & Hospice, and all the friends that enriched her life beyond measure. Patty died at home, at the age of 76, from complications related to Lewy body and Parkinson’s diseases. In lieu of flowers, please make a donation to the Michael J. Fox Foundation, PO Box 5014, Hagerstown, MD 21741-5014. A celebration of Patty’s life will be held on Saturday, May 30, 2026, 11 a.m., at the Congregational Church of Middlebury, Vermont. All are welcome.

Arrangements are by Miller & Ketcham of Brandon.

appreciation to Joyce’s caretakers, Jamie Broomfield, Dawn Klein, Heidi Karic and Hannah Leavitt. Your love and care of Joyce was beautiful. We are very blessed by each of you.

Visiting hours were on Sunday, May 10, 2026, 4 to 6 p.m., at Ready Funeral Services, 261 Shelburne Rd., Burlington, VT. A Mass of Christian Burial and Celebration was held on Monday, May 11, 2026, 11 a.m., at St. Catherine of Siena Catholic Church, 72 Church St., Shelburne, VT. Burial followed at Resurrection Park Cemetery, 200 Hinesburg Rd., South Burlington, VT. A Celebration of Life luncheon followed at Delta Hotels Burlington, 1117 Williston Rd., South Burlington.

In lieu of flowers, Joyce’s family is establishing a scholarship in her name at the Boys & Girls Club of Burlington (bandgcclub.org/ online-donation-form).

Arrangements are in the care of Ready Funeral & Cremation Services. To send online condolences, please visit readyfuneral.com.

lifelines

OBITUARIES

Michael J. McGarry

OCTOBER 28, 1942-SEPTEMBER 30, 2025

ST. ALBANS, VT.

Michael J. McGarry lived and died with dignity and moved on to a better place on September 30, 2025. He was born in Burlington, Vt., on October 28, 1942. His interests were many and varied from local, state and national politics to the law. His lifelong interest in and support of the Boston Red Sox and Celtics and his close and devoted following of the New York Giants since 1955 included traveling to games in New York and at the Yale Bowl and summer trips to Albany for training camp. He enjoyed extensive reading on varied subjects and had great success in “Jeopardy!” and trivia games. He had abiding love for life on the water on Lake Champlain and in his Everglades-like setting at his Port Charlotte, Fla., home.

Mike was always a person who would speak his mind fully and directly, and he could afford to do that, as he spent his entire adult life working for himself as a selfemployed attorney, ﬁrst in Vermont as a general practice attorney and then in Florida as an elder care specialist.

OBITUARIES, VOWS, CELEBRATIONS

not only good sportsmen but also good citizens.

Robert L. Lincoln Jr.

DECEMBER 29, 1937-APRIL 21, 2026 MIDDLESEX, VT.

He was a member of the Vermont and Florida bar associations. Mike graduated from Rice Memorial High School in 1960, the University of Vermont in 1964 and George Washington Law School in 1967 and practiced law in Vermont and Florida for over 40 years.

Mike was an active and local Democrat who served for many years on local and state Democratic committees in Vermont and was a delegate to the 1976 Democratic Convention in New York City. Mike was intimately involved with the Burlington Parks and Recreation Department, as he was a Parks and Recreation commissioner for over 12 years, following in the footsteps of his father, J. Hanley McGarry, and his uncle, Bernard J. Leddy.

For a period of seven years Mike served as a manager of the Burlington Little League Tigers, who had the best winning record in the league during that time and many of whose members became

Mr. McGarry was survived by his longterm friend and partner, Pat Miller of St. Albans, Vt. He is also survived by his brothers, Peter of Atlanta and Stephen of Burlington, Vt.; his nephew, Patrick McGarry; and his niece, Kelly Bain, her husband, David, and their daughters, Cate and Allie. He was predeceased by his mother, Frances Leddy McGarry, and father, J. Henley McGarry, a career Internal Revenue Service employee; as well as his beloved golden retriever, “Egghead,” whose adventures included two kidnappings and one court battle for custody. While living in Vermont, he had several longterm relationships and loving partners, some of whom he devoutly wished had been kidnapped instead of his dog, and others whom he wished he had been a better partner for. Mike was a firm believer in working hard but playing harder and was often quoted as saying he was the only person he knew who succeeded in working just part time for his entire adult life and who was also able to retire for five years in his forties, prior to his actual retirement in his sixties. It was a night-and-day difference between retirement in his forties and retirement in his sixties. He was glad he had a chance to experience both, as you are a different person at each age, with different interests and abilities. Simple pleasures became more the order of the day after his final retirement, indulging in gardening, reading, dining out, garage sales, calls and letters to businesses and politicians whose bubbles needed bursting, fishing, surfing the web, and just relaxing.

While no life can be summed up in just a few sentences, the caption under Mike’s photo in his high school yearbook goes a long way toward explaining his essence: “Heart and mind were far away engaged in some glad bit of play.” Play on, Mike. Final services will be private. In honor of Mike’s memory, please make a donation to a charitable organization of your choice.

Robert L. Lincoln Jr. died on Tuesday, April 21, 2026, at the Woodridge Rehabilitation Center and Nursing Home in Berlin, Vt., of metastatic prostate cancer and heart failure. He was 88. Bob brought laughter and joy into his every encounter until days before his death. He was rambunctious, in-your-face loud, proclaiming and exuding LIFE. He loved reading, especially history. He loved music. He wrote volumes of poetry, bursting with images from nature, especially the coming of spring, in which he exulted. Bob made lovely collages, and he disseminated these and his poetry among his many friends. He loved his ﬁrst wife, Viiu; and his second wife, Lynne; her sons, Rich and Jamie; and their children. He loved his sisters, Shirley and Susan, and their progeny.

Bob was born in Albany, N.Y., on December 29, 1937, and he grew up in Stamford, Conn., graduating from Stamford High School and Denison University. His sisters describe a shy child who rapidly became increasingly spirited. I recall a picture of him around age 12, on a chair, ecstatically pointing to a New York Times headline reading “REDS INVADE PEIPING.” An early report card during World War II mentioned him running around the class playing war games. He calmed down, but never completely, thank goodness. Bob was a choir boy at St. John the Divine in Manhattan, where he resided during his junior high school years. His stay at St. John was a source of pride for him, but he recalled this also as a painful separation from his family. He continued his singing into adulthood and for many years performed widely with Social Band.

He lived in Greenwich Village during his beatnik years. During these years, he spent his free time playing “drums,” employing brushes on the bottom of an inverted metal trash can, accompanying recordings of elonious Monk and Miles Davis. He also enjoyed the music of Keith Jarrett and Stéphane Grappelli.

As he emerged from his beatnik phase, Bob took a job as a fundraiser at Pratt Institute in Brooklyn. ere he met and married Viiu Niiler, and they lived ﬁrst in Brooklyn, then moved to Vermont. He continued his fundraising career in Vermont. His marriage ended in divorce.

Some years after his divorce, he met Lynne, his second wife, when she made illegal contact with his leg under the net during a volleyball game. e illegal contact sparked a love affair that lasted the rest of their lives.

Kevin Emmons

APRIL 17, 1958MARCH 28, 2026

MORRISVILLE, VT.

Kevin Emmons, 67 of Morrisville, Vt., passed away on March 28, 2026. He was predeceased by his wife, Brendalee Emmons; mother, Kay Emmons; and brother Mark Emmons. He is survived by his son, Jeremy Emmons, and his wife, Emily, and their children, Gunnar and Freya; brother Jeffery Emmons and his partner, Cheryl; cousin, Suzanne Sanborn; father,

He was a terriﬁc fundraiser due to his generous spirit and gregarious nature, which contrasted with the little boy who often hid behind his mother when he was frightened. He worked for Planned Parenthood in New York, Central Vermont Community Action Council, Vermont Public Radio, and had a long stint with the Green Mountain Club. At the GMC, he was responsible for acquiring land to protect the 270-mile Long Trail, “A Footpath rough the Wilderness,” spanning the length of Vermont from Massachusetts to Canada. During his tenure, he helped to secure hundreds of acres of land to protect the trail.

Uncle Bob, as he was widely known, had a tremendous appetite for living. He approached his life with enthusiasm, courage and wit. He brought smiles to the faces of even the most reticent of people, including strangers. Many of the Green Mountain Club staff sought his counsel on personal matters, including their love lives.

His manic intensity, humor and decency attracted many fine people into his orbit, and these people helped care for him in the last years of his life. is caring enabled him to remain in his cherished home until very shortly before his death. His funky house in Middlesex, Vt., reflects his personality. e sprawling wooden house is full of unexpected angles and intimate spaces. e floors slant in various directions. e house has a ramshackle quality, while retaining warmth, charm and simplicity: a chaotic version of oreau’s cabin.

His life was affected by cancer, both his own for over 27 years and his wife Lynne’s, and he spent several years of intensive caregiving for Lynne, until he became the object of caregiving after her death seven months ago.

Bob is survived by his sisters, Shirley Lincoln Rigby and Susan Lincoln Weiss; cousin, John Lincoln; stepsons, Richard and Jamie Does; former wife, Viiu Niiler; step-grandchildren, Natalie, Graham and Finn; nieces, Kate, Elizabeth, Deborah and Suzanne; nephew Timothy; and many greatnieces and -nephews. He was predeceased by his wife, Lynne Walther, who died last year, and by his parents, Ellen Lundquist Lincoln and Robert Louis Lincoln, Sr., as well as his nephew Peter.

He died as he lived, with a sense of wonder, and he deeply touched all who knew him. e family wishes to thank Nancy and Bob Edson, Brian and Margot Prendergast, and Susan Walter for generously looking out for Bob over the last years and months of his life.

Leon Emmons, and stepmother, Linda; and his beloved German shepherd Bee.

Kevin attended South Burlington High School, where he met his wife, Brendalee; they were longtime residents of Richmond. He worked at the Lane Press for 30 years before retiring to be closer to his grandchildren.

Kevin enjoyed traveling the world with his wife, working his rock gardens, motorcycles, snowboarding, his many German Shepherds and, most of all, spending time with his grandchildren. No public service will be held, per Kevin’s request.

OBITUARIES

Kenneth J. Atherton

MARCH 9, 1945-MAY 6, 2026

ESSEX JUNCTION, VT.

Kenneth J. Atherton of Essex Junction, Vt., died on May 6, 2026, at the McClure Miller Respite House in Colchester, Vt.

He was born in Burlington, Vt., on March 9, 1945, the son of Kenneth H. and Ruth (Cushing) Atherton. On June 17, 1967, he married Norma (Tillotson) Atherton at Jericho Center Congregational Church.

Ken grew up in Hinesburg, Vt. He worked many years for R.B. Goodrich Construction in South Burlington. In 1992, he started Atherton Garage and Atherton Snow Removal and Lawn Maintenance. He loved restoring old cars and trucks.

Ken was an avid deer hunter, bagging his last deer on November 29, 2024, at 79 years of age, a 185-pound 7-pointer.

He is survived by his loving wife, Norma; their three sons, Norm (Nichole Shattuck) of Jericho, Vt., Stacy (Jennifer Champney) of Holland, Vt., and Kevin of Cutler, Ohio; brothers David of Enosburg Falls, Vt., and Gay (Cathy Paronto) of St. George, Vt.; and sister-in-law Sandy Tillotson of Flagler, Fla. He was predeceased by his mother; father; brothers Robert, Dean and Lee Roy; sister-in-law Patricia Atherton; and brother-in-law, David Tillotson.

Ken had 10 grandchildren, two great-granddaughters, and several nieces and nephews. He will be missed by special friends and family: Jennifer Jernigan, Miranda Benninghove-LeRoux, Marvin and Helen Bicknell, Mary Monnin, Murray Hunt, Donna Bugbee, and David and Luana Bugbee.

A Celebration of Life will be held for Ken on Saturday, May 23, 2026 at Jericho Center Congregational Church, Jericho Center, Vt., where he and Norma married almost 59 years ago. It will begin at 11 a.m., with food and friendship following the service.

In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made to Bayada Hospice, 463 Mountain View Dr., Colchester, VT 05446 or McClure Miller Respite House, 3113 Roosevelt Hwy., Colchester, VT 05446.

IN MEMORIAM

Roderick Boutin

1936-2025

A Celebration of Life for Doughboy will be held on May 23, 2026, 1 to 5 p.m., at the American Legion in Colchester, Vt. All are welcome! Come and share your memories. Let’s send him off with lots of love.

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Mary E. Woodruff

JANUARY 10, 1952-MAY 9, 2026

ESSEX JUNCTION, VT.

Mary E. Woodruff, 74, passed away peacefully on Saturday, May 9, 2026, at Maple Ridge Assisted Living.

Born on January 10, 1952, to Dr. Frank and Evelyn (MacDonald) Woodruff in Barre, Vt., she graduated from Marian High School in 1969 and went on to attend the University of Vermont, where she graduated with a BS in education in 1973. She received her master’s degree in history from UVM in 1985.

Mary began her love for teaching in Lake Zurich, Ill. After three years, the Green Mountains of Vermont called her home. She spent most of her teaching career in Chittenden County, and in 1998 she became a school principal and served in Franklin, Winooski and Smilie schools until her retirement. Her students were the center of Mary’s commitment to public education, whether in her role as teacher or principal.

to expand her knowledge of the world and its people so that she would be a better teacher. She spent her summers growing up with her siblings at her family cottage on Caspian Lake in Greensboro. She cherished her time there and returned to the Woodruff gathering place at “camp” every summer. Mary also enjoyed golf, kayaking, yoga, reading and playing piano, and she loved playing bridge with family and friends.

Mary is survived by her brothers Stephen and his wife, Micki; Frank Jr. and his wife, Jackie; and Paul; her sisters Sarah and Jane; sister-in-law Dianne; and their families. Mary also leaves behind many nieces and nephews and their children, of whom she was very fond. Her family will miss her dry sense of humor, generosity and lifelong commitment to learning. Along with her parents, Mary was predeceased by her brothers Richard and David and her sister Anne.

IN MEMORIAM

Dr. John “Jack” Murray

1937-2026

Mary had a love of traveling. She traveled to China and climbed the Great Wall, toured through the former Soviet Union, backpacked through Newfoundland, and trekked in the Himalayan mountains of northern India. She enjoyed the sights and food of Italy and traced her family’s roots in Scotland. Mary wanted

Bill Kelly

1933-2026

BURLINGTON, VT.

Bill Kelly died peacefully on February 1, 2026, in Vergennes, Vt., at the age of 93. From humble beginnings in Erie, Pa., Bill never forgot where he came from as his career took him from high school teacher to university administrator to international development practitioner.

Bill graduated high school in 1950 and began his college career at Pennsylvania State University before he was drafted by the U.S. Army. After two years of military service, Bill returned to Penn State, finished his undergraduate degree and began teaching in Waverly, N.Y. He enrolled in a PhD program at Cornell University and moved his young family to Newfield, N.Y.

The family would like to thank the people of Maple Ridge Assisted Living and UVM Home Health & Hospice for the compassionate care they provided. According to Mary’s wishes, there will be no calling hours or service. In lieu of flowers, charitable contributions may be made to the Vermont Foodbank or KidSafe Collaborative.

Arrangements are by Hooker Whitcomb Funeral Home, 7 Academy St., Barre. For a complete guestbook, please visit hookerwhitcomb.com.

A Celebration of Life for Dr. John “Jack” Murray will be held on Saturday, June 13, 2026, at Bill’s Barn at Starr Farm Beach in Burlington, Vt., beginning at 3 p.m. Please join us to celebrate a life well lived, full of love and laughter. RSVPs are appreciated to: sarah0414@live.com or debrose2229@gmail.com.

Burlington, where he and his wife, Judy Kelly, loved to bring students and faculty together for lively potluck dinners, friendship and conversation.

Bill always took care to be a friend to those in need. He was kind and had a deep commitment to helping others, and this was most evident in his international work. Through academic scholarship, and with the U.S. Agency for International Development, Bill helped establish lasting rural development programs in Nigeria, Honduras, Uganda and Botswana. His quiet manner and ability to actively listen without judgment left a lasting impression on all who knew him.

In 1969 Bill moved again, this time to Vermont, to begin what became a long and distinguished career in higher education.

As a member of the University of Vermont community, Bill served as associate dean of the College of Agriculture and had many adoring students. Many students found not only a mentor but also a welcoming home in

In addition to his academic and international pursuits, Bill was an avid gardener and skilled woodworker. He built two dollhouses and numerous pieces of furniture but was most proud of his three handcrafted wooden kayaks.

Bill is survived by three sons, Steven, David and Eric Kelly; a stepdaughter, Ann Simon; and a stepson, David Saurman. He also leaves behind three grandchildren, Keith, Coco and Calvin Kelly, as well as two New Mexico granddaughters, Katie and Jenna Simon.

IN MEMORIAM Cassandra Reyes Richard

1955-2026

The celebration of life service for Cassandra Reyes Richard will be held on Wednesday, May 27, 2026, 11 a.m., at Vergennes Congregational Church. A private burial will follow at Prospect Cemetery. Though she passed this winter, Cassandra wished for her life to be celebrated in the spring — her favorite season, when the world returns to color and new life begins. In honor of her wishes, guests are kindly asked to wear spring colors.

Promises Too Steep

Vermont legislators pass laws to strengthen education, environmental protections and more. Just one thing is lacking: the money to do the work.

BY HANNAH BASSETT & ALISON NOVAK

ight had fallen in Indonesia when Christina Sivret logged onto Zoom. It was morning in Montpelier, where a Statehouse committee was waiting for her testimony. Sivret was supposed to be taking her ﬁrst real time o in four years. Instead, she adjusted her camera and prepared, once again, to explain the limits of an o ce pushed to the brink.

Since 2021, she has run the Vermont State Ethics Commission as one of its two part-time employees. During that time, the legislature has kept assigning her o ce new tasks but without providing additional sta to

It’s easy to pass legislation saying that we should do all these things, and it’s another thing to fund them.

SEN. ANDY PERCHLIK

do the work. She is paid for part-time hours while working full-time ones. Eventually, she and her colleague paused parts of the commission’s work — not by choice, but because there was no way to keep up.

Reporting to the legislature was routine. But the circumstances of her mid-April appearance were not. Sivret had reached her breaking point and taken an unpaid, extended leave of absence. She was testifying despite that, and from the other side of the world, as lawmakers considered assigning the commission yet another duty: overseeing political candidates’ ﬁnancial disclosure forms. It might seem like a minor ask, she told lawmakers, but it would burden an o ce already straining to

“If we don’t even have the vision of more sta coming, I just don’t know what is going to happen to us,” she said. None of it made function.

costs themselves. State agencies, including Natural Resources and Education, cite mandates they face while lacking the requisite staff or money.

Underfunded legislative mandates carry consequences that extend well beyond dollars and cents, many of which lawmakers have yet to fully address. Some impacts are visible: Candidates struggle to access financial disclosure forms or get timely assistance; school administrators scramble to set up tents so learning doesn’t have to go remote; and communities face delays in critical flood recovery aid. Others are not as apparent but still damaging, as programs stall and initiatives once touted as transformative never fully materialize.

Lawmakers have largely sidestepped accountability for what follows, instead criticizing agencies for not meeting their duties or recasting funding shortfalls as administrative hurdles or problems to solve in future legislative sessions.

they remain a persistent feature of how Vermont governs. With 180 legislators, two chambers and a limited pool of money, the legislature is a “ripe environment for inconsistencies,” according to Sen. Andy Perchlik (D/P-Washington), chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee.

“It’s easy to pass legislation saying that we should do all these things, and it’s another thing to fund them,” Perchlik said.

Rep. Robin Scheu (D-Middlebury), chair of the House Appropriations Committee, said the challenge reflects the complexity of lawmaking itself.

assign candidate disclosure duties to the ethics commission without additional staff or funding — compounding the very problem Sivret had spent years warning them about.

‘A Bad Science Experiment’

One of the most striking recent examples of a law legislators imposed without understanding its real-world consequences is one that required all schools built before 1980 to test for polychlorinated biphenyls, or PCBs, toxic chemicals once commonly used in construction materials. The provision was hastily tacked onto a 261-page appropriations bill at the end of the 2021 session with no testimony or debate. It called on the Vermont Department of Health to set standards for acceptable PCB air concentrations — a complicated undertaking that no other state has attempted.

The scenario Sivret faced has become commonplace: The legislature has repeatedly created mandates — often in response to public pressure or high-profile concerns — without committing the resources to carry them out.

State government departments, as well as school districts and town governments, offer plenty of examples. Schools are required under Act 77 of 2013 to provide more personalized learning for students in grades 7-12, but without the full state funding they need to do the job. The Vermont Clean Water Act of 2015 requires towns and cities to reduce pollutant runoff while shouldering much of the implementation

The result is a kind of performative policy making: Legislators draft laws that signal urgency and intent while shifting the burden of execution onto schools, communities, agencies and public servants. State employees, school officials and communities scramble to fill the voids left by the lawmakers’ unfunded or underfunded demands.

Lawmakers acknowledge the longstanding problem. They have considered requiring reports on the cost of some unfunded mandates they have created — but have never followed through. Unfunded mandates are not sound policy, the elected representatives say, but

“There’s never enough money to do everything everybody wants to do,” she said. This year, Scheu’s committee received roughly $250 million in spending requests but could only grant $18 million because of budget constraints. Still, she added, lawmakers are ultimately responsible for revisiting laws that fall short, whether because they were poorly written, underfunded or both.

Legislators have developed strategies for demands that they don’t fund: making programs contingent on taxpayers’ money, delaying timelines, commissioning studies or inserting sunset clauses to force a future reckoning. But sometimes those maneuvers can create more work and prolong the delay between what the state promises and what it delivers.

And at times, as Sivret knows firsthand, legislators simply plunge ahead with priorities and don’t worry about the practical problems they are creating. That morning in April, as she finished her testimony, lawmakers were already moving to

The result was a mandate that both disrupted learning in some school districts and cost way more money than anticipated.

Legislators initially appropriated $4.5 million for testing — just a fraction, it would turn out, of the amount actually needed to test for PCBs and remove them from schools. One of the testing program’s most fervent supporters was senator Brian Campion, a Bennington Democrat who no longer holds the office. He had seen firsthand the fallout from water contamination from other toxic chemicals, PFAS, in his region.

For some schools, including Newport’s North Country Union High School, money has been the least of the problems with the PCB mandate. In early July 2024, as North Country’s principal, Chris Young, unwound on a family vacation in Canada after a stressful school year, he got a phone call from the state’s Department of Environmental Conservation. More than 12 months before, elevated levels of airborne

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

North Country administrators Chris Young and Elaine Collins

Promises Too Steep « P.27

PCBs had been identified at North Country, and Young had been dealing with the panoply of requirements that followed. The district had been busy installing air filters, sampling construction materials, testing the air and reviewing mitigation plans.

State officials now told Young that the remediation efforts hadn’t made much of a difference. The latest test results were so bad, according to the state’s stringent standards, that the district might not be able to open the school building in late August as planned.

For Young and North Country superintendent Elaine Collins, moving classes online was not an option, given how many students fell through the cracks during pandemic-era remote learning. They scrambled to make contingency plans. Ultimately, the district decided to erect six massive wedding tents in which students could attend classes while environmental consultants tried to figure out how to lower PCB levels.

Young and Collins spent much of their summer in a frantic rush, meeting with state and local officials, facilities directors, and contractors. Workers built floors and walkways for the tents and installed Wi-Fi and electrical connections. Staff rescheduled buses to bring some students to a satellite campus at the Community College of Vermont. Employees adjusted lessons and activities to account for new spaces and a new schedule. Administrators had to delay the first day of school for a week to complete these preparations.

Ultimately, school staff banded together to create a serviceable learning environment for students, but it was far from ideal, Young said. The tents were cold in the morning and hot by the end of the day. During stormy days, the patter of raindrops made it hard to hear. Meanwhile, inside the building, classrooms were sealed off with plastic sheets, more air filters were installed, and the school’s HVAC system was modified to improve air circulation.

In mid-October, state officials told administrators they believed the PCB air concentrations were trending in the right direction and gave permission for students to return to the building. The work, by that point, had cost the state $6.2 million. But the saga did not end there. PCBs remained in materials throughout the building.

Now, a year and a half later, the pernicious chemicals are still causing problems for administrators. The latest development in what Collins refers to as a “bad science experiment” occurred over the April break, when a huge rubber mat was

remediation and removal” of PCBs, “but there is no money,” O’Grady said. “I don’t know how else to say it.”

A majority of Vermont’s schools built pre-1980 still haven’t been tested for PCBs

SOURCE: VERMONT AGENCY OF NATURAL RESOURCES, DEPARTMENT OF ENVIRONMENTAL CONSERVATION

The potential optics of ending an initiative designed to protect children from toxic chemicals weighed on some legislators.

“If we passed the House version of the bill, would a headline be accurate that said ‘State Ends PCB Testing Program in Schools’?” Senator Kesha Ram Hinsdale (D-Chittenden-Southeast) asked O’Grady.

It would probably be more accurate to say the House bill “puts a long-term pause” on testing, O’Grady told her.

The following week, Young and Collins painted a more vivid picture in the committee room.

installed around the exterior of the school to prevent the soil, which has been found to contain high concentrations of PCBs, from releasing them. One school board member, Collins said, likened the installation to “a huge prophylactic.”

In April, both Young and Collins testified before the Senate Education Committee as it considered H.542, a bill passed by the House that would terminate airborne PCB testing in schools because the state has no money to pay for it. Other administrators, from Hartford and Wilmington, also spoke about the logistical headaches and disruption of student learning they’d experienced.

It was the third time that the House, led by Education Committee chair Rep. Peter Conlon (D-Cornwall), had tried to end the testing program. Conlon was disturbed by the challenges the testing mandate caused for schools, not to mention the expense.

It was a “cost rabbit hole that may have no end,” he told his fellow committee members earlier this year.

Elevated levels of airborne PCBs — a threshold determined by the Vermont Department of Health that is significantly lower than the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s PCB exposure guidance — have been detected in 46 of the 157 schools tested, and the state has spent almost $40 million on testing and remediation efforts.

Another 171 schools are awaiting testing, but there is no money to do the work. The proposed 2027 budget has no funds for it, either.

On April 8, Mike O’Grady, a lawyer from the nonpartisan Vermont Office of Legislative Counsel, highlighted that issue to Senate Education Committee members.

“There’s still session law out there that says the state is going to fund investigation,

Collins described the massive disruption that the PCB testing program had caused her high school and said she wished lawmakers would take heed of the medical adage “first, do no harm” when considering mandates that could have damaging real-world consequences.

Young, meanwhile, spoke of the “irreparable social-emotional, academic and financial damage” the PCB initiative had wrought on his school at a cost to date of almost $9 million to the state. A new plan to fully remove PCBs from the 1960sera building or tear it down completely, he told lawmakers, had a price tag of between $12 million and $21 million.

Sen. Seth Bongartz (D-Bennington), who chairs the Education Committee, asked Young what he thought about the House’s proposal to stop testing altogether.

“I highly encourage you to cease the testing program until and unless there is serious thought to how it’s going to

Rep. Peter Conlon (right) testifying before the Senate Education Committee about PCB testing in schools

be funded if and when PCBs are found,” Young said.

Bongartz thanked Young for his testimony. He’d seen firsthand how disruptive the PCB testing program could be when he visited Twin Valley Elementary School in Wilmington. The school had to discontinue use of its gym, library and offices, and the community was still feeling the impact.

Still, the chair knew his committee members didn’t want to just abandon the program, even if they understood there was no money for it. Better to keep it on life support, the group reasoned, than pull the plug.

Weeks later, members of the same group of lawmakers laughed when a witness testifying about a different topic asked whether an “unfunded mandate” could be included in state statute.

“That’s what we specialize in,” committee member Sen. David Weeks (R-Rutland) said with a chuckle.

Despite the warnings of the school administrators and the fact that the program has no funding, the Senate Education Committee voted 5-0 to reverse course on the House’s termination bill, instead extending the deadline for testing for four years, to August 1, 2031. The committee also created a special fund to hold money for PCB remediation that, theoretically, could be obtained through litigation. Vermont’s lawsuit against PCB manufacturer Monsanto, filed by Attorney General Charity Clark, is expected to go to trial as soon as early next year, according to Clark’s spokesperson.

In a text message after the Senate Education Committee’s vote, Conlon, the House Education chair, hammered home the point he’d been trying to make for years.

“I don’t understand why we would keep the deadline in law before there is a plan to pay for the testing and the consequences,” he wrote.

The PCB bill is now before the Senate Finance Committee.

‘Asking for Mercy’

The toll of underfunded legislative mandates can also be felt throughout state agencies. Executive branch department heads say the legislature has steadily expanded the work expected of state government without providing enough money for it. The disconnect has triggered growing friction between lawmakers and the people responsible for making their laws work in practice.

Within the Agency of Natural Resources, employees are being asked to implement increasingly complex environmental and climate laws without sufficient

There’s never enough money to do everything everybody wants to do.

REP.

workforce or budget, according to Charles Martin, the agency’s deputy secretary.

“The agency absolutely has a significant issue with legislatively underfunded or unfunded mandates,” Martin said.

Disagreements between the agency and the legislature became more apparent after the 2023 floods, when lawmakers passed Act 121 to strengthen flood resilience and waterway management. The agency determined it would need 17 staffers to implement the law.

Lawmakers allocated 15 positions but ultimately funded only 11. Even with an additional $1.75 million to support implementation, the state left an estimated $500,000 shortfall in staffing and operating costs, according to agency figures. The result, Martin said, is a program that, in practice, is not what exists on paper.

In April of last year, Agency of Natural Resources Secretary Julie Moore sent a memo to the Senate Committee on Natural Resources and Energy outlining a series of unfunded or underfunded mandates she said were causing stress and anxiety for staff, including Act 121.

“It became clear that when they were pressed, they really didn’t want to do it, so they put in a large figure,” Scheu said. Martin said ANR is careful in how it presents staffing needs to lawmakers. Its estimates, he said, are not inflated for negotiation but reflect what staff believe is required to carry out assigned work.

Still, there’s mistrust on all sides. Martin said agency staff lose faith in the process when lawmakers discount their subject-matter expertise. The result, he said, is legislation that is often well intentioned but difficult to implement.

“Where the legislature fails is, they’ll pursue things that have some agreeable intent, but they won’t realistically think about implementation in a critical way,” Martin said.

Over time, he added, that disconnect reshapes the relationship of agencies and the legislature. Requests for help from agencies are read as resistance. Delays are framed as failure. And agencies, already stretched, face additional problems with morale and burnout.

“We came into this legislative session more or less asking for mercy,” Martin said.

The Agency of Natural Resources does not oppose the work it is being asked to do, he said; the problem is that the dollars to do it often arrive later, if ever.

“I want to have a functional agency, and I want employees to maintain some level of emotional, professional capacity,” Martin said. “And the legislature is just not hearing us at all.”

Weeks later, Moore expanded the critique in an op-ed in VTDigger, faulting the legislature for passing “unfunded laws” with “only theoretical benefits.”

Initiatives such as the Global Warming Solutions Act and the Climate Superfund Act may benefit Vermonters, she wrote: “Realizing these outcomes, however, requires more than simply enacting idealistic laws. It requires working together to design achievable, properly funded initiatives rather than marching toward impractical requirements.”

Now, Martin said, the agency faces undue criticism for not moving fast enough to implement laws it was not fully funded to execute.

Some lawmakers see it differently. Scheu, the House Appropriations chair, said she doesn’t always take staffing proposals at face value, citing what she described as inflated claims. She pointed to a Department of Corrections estimate that pegged the cost of making inmates’ administrative files available for viewing by them and their lawyers at nearly $10 million.

Full Plate

The Agency of Education has also experienced frustration over unfunded mandates. In 2024, lawmakers passed Act 139 to improve reading instruction in schools. The agency was to develop a plan to ensure all students learn to read by the end of third grade. Months after the bill passed, the agency launched an initiative called Read Vermont, a vehicle to fulfill its responsibilities.

One of Read Vermont’s main goals was to train educators to teach reading effectively. The agency identified federal dollars to launch the program, knowing the money would eventually dry up and it would have to find another funding source. Late last year, agency officials believed they’d found the money: $700,000 left over from an earlier project to modernize the agency’s information technology system.

In the early months of the legislative session, with support from the administration of Gov. Phil Scott, the agency appealed to both the House and Senate

ROBIN SCHEU

Promises Too Steep « P.29

Appropriations committees to reappropriate those funds to Read Vermont in the 2026 Budget Adjustment Act.

At the time, House Appropriations chair Scheu said she didn’t know enough about Read Vermont to feel comfortable putting money toward it but would consider including the funds in the 2027 budget. In March, the legislature passed the Budget Adjustment Act with no money for Read Vermont; those unspent education dollars went back into the general fund.

The education agency then changed tack, appealing to the Senate Appropriations Committee to include the money for Read Vermont in next year’s budget. But Appropriations, too, rebuffed the request, leading to a proposed budget with not “a dollar for strengthening literacy instruction,” said Toren Ballard, the agency’s director of policy and communications.

Perchlik and Scheu said the agency is to blame for not having a good grasp of the state’s budgeting process.

Just because an agency has money left over from a previous year, Perchlik said, it can’t bank on using it for another purpose. He questioned why, if Read Vermont is an administration priority, the governor’s office didn’t protest more when it wasn’t included in the Budget Adjustment Act and also did not include funding for the program in its 2027 budget proposal.

The agency’s “inability to budget properly does not constitute an error on our part,” Scheu said. “That’s their problem.”

Ballard said focusing on the minutiae of the budgeting process obscures the bigger issue: Why is the legislature preventing the Agency of Education from using unspent funds to help implement a law it passed?

Without the $700,000 appropriation for Read Vermont, Ballard said, the agency will not be able to contract with literacy coaches to train teachers, which has been a fundamental component of improving literacy outcomes in states such as Mississippi. Ballard, who worked in education policy in that state before coming to Vermont, pointed out that the Mississippi legislature invested $15 million a year to support literacy efforts.

He said the agency hasn’t given up trying to get lawmakers to include money for Read Vermont in the final version of next year’s budget.

“We hope that the legislature will see the wisdom in allowing the Agency of Education to spend its own money to support teaching kids how to read,” Ballard said.

Ballard pointed to Act 29, a 2023 school safety law, as another example of

legislation passed without the resources to implement it. The law requires schools to create behavior threat assessment teams, conduct intruder drills, and ensure that windows and doors meet certain standards. That means training for school staff and, in some cases, building upgrades. The agency secured a federal grant to do some of that training, Ballard said, but it’s far from enough.

Brooke Olsen-Farrell, superintendent of Slate Valley Unified School District, also criticized the implementation of the school safety law. While she said she fully supports its intent, it requires staff time, training and coordination with local law enforcement that puts more responsibility on schools “without a corresponding investment,” creating “additional strain on already tight district resources,” she said.

Both the literacy and school safety laws are listed on a spreadsheet that the Vermont Superintendents Association helped create to track unfunded mandates related to education. A draft from 2024 shared with Seven Days includes 30 entries, including PCB testing and a host of others — from Act 173 of 2018, which requires schools to provide a higher level of academic support to students in the general-education classroom, to laws requiring access to contraceptives and menstrual products.

Principals and superintendents “often lament that more and more gets added to the plate every year,” said Vermont Principals’ Association executive director Jay Nichols, “without anything coming off those plates.”

Commission Impossible

When Christina Sivret returned to Vermont after working in Washington, D.C., she assumed state government operated under a basic code of ethics. Instead, upon becoming the head of the Vermont State Ethics Commission, she found the state had no formal ethics framework in place and encountered resistance when she asked lawmakers for the workers and money needed to carry out the commission’s work. “It was beyond anything I ever expected,” she said.

Part of that tension traces back to how the Vermont State Ethics Commission came to exist. For decades, there was little oversight of conflicts of interest, self-dealing and other ethical lapses in Vermont’s government. While much of the country strengthened ethics laws in the 1970s after the Watergate scandal, Vermont lagged behind.

Vermont’s shortcomings became harder to ignore when national assessments — including a 2015 report by the now-defunct Center for Public Integrity — ranked the state the worst in the nation for ethics enforcement. Lawmakers responded in 2017 by creating the commission, promising a new era of accountability. The nonpartisan, independent state agency would provide ethics advice and training, as well as oversee complaints related to ethical conduct in state and municipal government.

But from the beginning, there were warnings the legislature might hamstring the ethics body.

Jim Condos, a former state senator and secretary of state who helped create the

commission and now serves on it, argued that any meaningful ethics body would need three things: independence, the authority to investigate and adjudicate, and adequate money and staff. At the time, Condos estimated that would require three to five staff and at least $500,000 annually.

Two of those pillars are largely in place. The commission operates independently, with commissioner appointments spread across officials and outside entities, and lawmakers expanded its authority in 2024 to include investigatory and enforcement powers, though key provisions have been delayed.

A staffing shortfall, however, persists. The commission runs with two part-time employees and roughly $250,000 annually, even as its responsibilities have expanded to include public education, guidance, complaint management and now potentially managing candidate financial disclosure forms.

Vermont has the most underfunded state ethics commission in the country, according to Thomas Jones, an attorney and specialist in government ethics law. Jones is also an independent consultant for the commission and for state and municipal governments nationwide. By comparison, Rhode Island’s ethics commission has a budget of more than $2 million and a dozen staff, while Maine’s has a roughly $3 million budget and seven employees.

The only thing Sivret has wanted for the past two years is more employees to do the work that is mandated. The legislature’s repeated refusal to pay up reflects its true view of ethics and accountability, she said.

Students at Vergennes Union Elementary School

The agency absolutely has a significant issue with legislatively underfunded or unfunded mandates.

CHARLES MARTIN

This legislative session, Sivret asked for money for two additional positions to carry out the commission’s existing work. The House backed one position and added a requirement that the commission produce a new ethics handbook. But the Senate Appropriations Committee later stripped a proposed attorney position and handbook requirement from the budget bill, dashing any plan for future staff.

Scheu said she expects money for the commission’s proposed staff attorney position to be discussed when the budget bill goes to conference committee.

“Many legislators have been dragged kicking and screaming into the concept of having an ethics commission,” Scheu said, acknowledging that the commission cannot fulfill much of its work with its current staff and budget.

Condos cautioned that, without proper support for the commission, the legislature risks creating a self-perpetuating cycle: assigning new responsibilities, withholding the resources to meet them, then pointing to the commission’s limitations to justify further cuts or inaction.

Jones, the ethics expert, said commissions in some states, including Wisconsin, have collapsed after lawmakers faulted them for failing to meet mandates they were never equipped to fulfill. Politics often plays a role, he added, but in Vermont he does not see outright opposition to the commission so much as a gradual erosion of support, with fewer lawmakers willing to champion it. Even a funded staff attorney, he said, would still fall short of the commission’s needs.

“It’s just throwing another life preserver in the water,” Jones said.

Jones estimates that the commission needs to add one part-time and four full-time employees in order to fulfill its current mandate. That does not account for staffing required once enforcement powers take effect.

Despite warnings from Sivret, Condos, Jones and Ethics Commission chair Paul

Erlbaum, lawmakers continue seeking ways to expand the commission’s responsibilities. This session, the House passed the bill requiring the commission to manage candidate financial disclosure forms. And another proposal would have it design and collect travel disclosures from legislators. Neither proposal comes with the prospect of additional money or staff. Condos, who served eight years in the state Senate, knows the additions can seem incremental.

“People sitting in the committee room think, Well, we’re just adding a couple of things,” Condos said. But for an office already operating beyond capacity, he said, each addition compounds the challenge.

If the commission cannot keep up, the consequences are not always immediate or visible. Investigations could stall or go uncompleted. Complaints could go unanswered. And over time, the system itself could lose credibility, weakening the public’s trust in government at a time when it’s already waning.

Advocates and critics of the commission generally agree that most of Vermont’s elected and public officials want to do the right thing.

But the Green Mountain State is not immune to ethical lapses. Recent resignations — including those of senator Sam Douglass after his participation in a racist group chat surfaced, and representative Bob Hooper over sexual harassment allegations — underscore that Vermont needs government accountability and oversight.

Everybody likes the idea of a vibrant ethics commission, Perchlik said, but ultimately legislators have chosen not to put their money where their mouths are.

The commission, Sivret said, is not seeking to expand its reach. It is simply asking to be able to meet the responsibilities lawmakers have already laid out and to serve as the safeguard Vermont needs.

“Once we have the staff to implement it and really do our work, they’re going to see how beneficial this is,” Sivret said. ➆

JUNE 4, 2026 6:00 PM

Jewish Community of Greater Stowe 1189 Cape Cod Road, Stowe

Wine Tasting by Farrell Distributing Live and Silent Auctions Wine Pull Delectable appetizers and Sweet Treats from Susanna’s Catering

To learn more about this annual event or to buy tickets, scan this QR code, go to copleyvt.org, or call us at 802-888-8302.

Brass Tactics

Jasper Craven’s new book chronicles a culture of abuse in military schools and its toxic effects on American masculinity

BY KEN PICARD • ken@sevendaysvt.com

Last September, Jasper Craven got a tip that Valley Forge Military Academy in Wayne, Pa., would close its doors after nearly a century. The 33-year-old investigative reporter from the Northeast Kingdom can’t claim sole credit for bringing down an institution whose renowned alumni include retired general H. Norman Schwarzkopf Jr., commander of coalition forces during the first Gulf War; retired lieutenant general H.R. McMaster, former national security adviser to President Donald Trump; and author J.D. Salinger, who set his novel The Catcher in the Rye in a fictional version of Valley Forge. But Craven’s devastating reportage on the scandal-plagued school delivered the coup de grâce

In May 2022, Mother Jones magazine published Craven’s “Hazing, Fighting, Sexual Assaults: How Valley Forge Military Academy Devolved Into ‘Lord of the Flies.’” The story chronicles decades of abuses, lawsuits, and cases of alleged assault, arson, burglary, narcotics use, weapons possession, stalking, rape, and severe hazing such as branding and waterboarding.

Craven found that, during a four-year period, police responded to more than 300

incidents on campus, with cadets as young as 13 experiencing psychiatric crises that included suicide. Valley Forge staff, some of whom were former cops and prison guards, not only turned a blind eye to the misconduct but also often participated in it. Even as the academy incurred more than $4 million in legal expenses and sank $7 million into debt, administrators prioritized the school’s reputation and its culture of silence rather than confront the most serious offenses.

And Craven soon discovered that “the Forge,” as insiders called it, was no outlier in the world of military education. His Mother Jones piece became the springboard for his first book, a scathing indictment of U.S. military academies. God Forgives, Brothers Don’t: The Long March of Military Education and the Making of American Manhood, coming out on May 19, is a compelling, disturbing and timely read, reminiscent of the work of Sebastian Junger and Jon Krakauer.

Craven earned his stripes as an investigative journalist covering military and veterans’ affairs for such publications as the New York Times, Harper’s Magazine, Politico, the Boston Globe and Wired. (He also

military schools — notably, West Point and Valley Forge — and examines their approach to molding legions of impressionable youths into battle-ready warriors.

Military schools and their surrogates, such as the Reserve Officers’ Training Corps and private military academies, profess to instill a sense of duty, honor and self-sacrifice in their cadets. But Craven uncovered a far grimmer reality: a cult of toxic masculinity rife with cruelty, violence, racism, misogyny, antisemitism, substance abuse and Islamophobia.

“Military schooling,” he writes, “is an increasingly dubious, and, when poorly overseen, potentially dangerous form of teaching, one that has spawned polarization, male isolation and frustration, and a child abuse crisis hiding in plain sight. It’s also utterly ineffective at winning wars.”

Craven started writing God Forgives, Brothers Don’t in late 2022, long before Trump’s return to the White House. Yet the timing of the book’s release — nearly three months into the Iran war — is serendipitous.

The military mindset Craven describes is on full display in the current administration, including in Trump himself, who spent five years at New York Military Academy in Cornwall-on-Hudson. There, Craven writes, many cadets “made violence a core part of their identity.” One graduate whose schooling coincided with Trump’s described it as an “animalistic” environment that was “a lot like Full Metal Jacket.” In Stanley Kubrick’s 1987 film, a boot camp private is brutally hazed until he snaps, killing his drill sergeant and himself.

works part time for the nonprofit Veterans Healthcare Policy Institute.) During Joe Biden’s presidency, he briefly had access to the U.S. Military Academy’s West Point campus. He was later banned after a visit

THE BOOK IS A COMPELLING, DISTURBING AND TIMELY READ, REMINISCENT OF THE WORK OF SEBASTIAN JUNGER AND JON KRAKAUER.

to cover Trump’s speech to cadets; the U.S. Secret Service accused him of, as he told Seven Days, “acting suspiciously” and sent agents to his parents’ house.

In his book, Craven traces the history of military education in America from the Revolutionary War and the founding of

The mentality is also evident in the chest-thumping posturing of Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, with his invocation of a “warrior ethos,” his contempt for the Geneva Conventions, his Christian nationalist tattoos and his quoting of a fictitious Bible verse lifted from Pulp Fiction. In a Seven Days interview, Craven described Hegseth as “a perfect encapsulation of the blowback from the forever wars.” (For more, see sidebar excerpt.)

Craven shows that the culture of cruelty and secrecy in military education is no new phenomenon but one baked into its DNA. God Forgives, Brothers Don’t explores that mindset’s origins in the 1802 founding of West Point, when two men waged a battle for the academy’s ideological soul: early superintendent Alden Partridge — who later founded Norwich University — and Sylvanus Thayer, who deposed Partridge and became West Point’s founding father. While Partridge was averse to harsh punishment and treated cadets almost like his own children, Thayer saw his method as too forgiving and weak. An admirer of Napoleon Bonaparte, he emphasized discipline and subordination and adopted an austere 15-hour school day that discarded

BOOKS

Jasper Craven near his home in Barnet

FROM GOD FORGIVES, BROTHERS DON’T

American masculinity is predicated on the wobbly assumption that man is violent by nature. In a 2025 speech before every senior American defense official, Trump’s self-styled “Secretary of War” Pete Hegseth passionately defended this premise and derided pacifism as “naive and dangerous.”

“It ignores human nature and it ignores human history,” Hegseth argued. “Either you protect your people and your sovereignty, or you will be subservient to something or someone. It’s a truth as old as time.”

Hegseth has some history in his back pocket, but not much science. Men have fought many wars, that is true, but those leading them have never relied on innate aggression to naturally show itself. Rather, they have cultivated violence, often in closed and highly controlled educational environments. And often for years.

Since America’s founding, military brass have painstakingly developed and refined a military curriculum that breeds loyalty, teaches obedience, and constructs violence, all the while convincing the public that conflict is a hardwired male instinct. One early West Point superintendent briefly let this assertion slip when he acknowledged that a cadet’s “cruel” and “brutal” behavior is not “inbred,” and, in fact, could be “absolutely eradicated.” But it never has been.

Instead, the military’s muscular masculine archetype has become one of America’s most coveted assets. Like warfare itself, it is ever evolving. A diluted form of military manliness can be replicated in the civilian world, though it is always a clear knockoff. It lacks the high-and-tight haircut, the posture, the gaze, the mythic war stories of conquest, destruction, and dominance. Those who secure the genuine article make a devil’s bargain. As sociologist Ramon Hinojosa writes, “the irony is that by accessing

the humanities in favor of math and science. Thayer also established a student hierarchy that forced younger cadets to defer to upperclassmen, accepting any orders or indignities hurled their way.

Craven writes:

Hazing was one of Thayer’s most well-devised ingredients in making a military man, something that scrubbed away individual identity, crafted institutional loyalty, and established generalized, easily directable strains of anger. The military needed soldiers with conditional morality and violent urges, instincts that hazing inculcated. Before they arrived on the battlefield, these boys had nowhere to direct their urges other than inwards, or at each other.

the resources of the military to construct a hegemonic masculinity, [men] will be subordinated and/ or marginalized.” The male military identity is ultimately false, and fleeting, for it is meted out in small doses by men in power, who, for institutional purposes, always

withhold unconditional acceptance. Military masculinity is unsustainable. Real self-actualization is never achieved.

Many men nonetheless fight their way to the top of the military hierarchy. Some do so by toeing the line. Others become intoxicated by the obligatory respect and conditional salvation that their status confers. Some live with shame about the things they had to do to get there. Many in this latter group come to see the tragic fact at the heart of the military system: the military does not make them stronger; it alters and degrades them, sometimes forever.

Craven goes on to explore how military academies weaponized Christianity, embracing a “Christ the conqueror” theology that stripped away the meekness of Jesus in support of a hard-core, violence-affirming dogma.

Military schools were deeply infused with white supremacy from the antebellum era. Southern academies such as the Citadel in South Carolina and the Virginia Military Institute were established largely in response to fears of slave rebellions. Even after the armed forces integrated in 1954, racism persisted. At the Cam Ranh Bay naval base in Vietnam, white soldiers celebrated the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. by raising a Confederate flag.

Broken by it I too may be; bow to it I never will. — ABRAHAM LINCOLN

16TH PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES

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Craven relished the idea of covering the metro desk or courts and cops as a gumshoe reporter. His journalistic ambitions were nurtured by his father, who for years has written a column for the Caledonian-Record

Similar attitudes still pervade military education, argues Craven, who named his book after a West Point football team motto adopted in 1996. The academy dropped the slogan “God forgives, brothers don’t” in 2019 when it turned out to have roots in the neo-Nazi Aryan Brotherhood of Texas.

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On the surface, Craven may seem an unlikely candidate for exposing the ugly underbelly of U.S. military academies. He’s never served in the armed forces himself. When we met at his house in Barnet — he divides his time between the Northeast Kingdom and Brooklyn — he had a scraggly beard and wavy brown hair tucked into a ball cap; the elbows of his red flannel shirt were shredded as though he’d just been dragged by a horse. His arms sport several antiwar tattoos, including the words “Peace Piece,” the title of a Bill Evans song; and a Molotov cocktail bearing a peace sign

Craven grew up in Peacham and Barnet and attended St. Johnsbury Academy. His parents, Jay Craven and Bess O’Brien, accomplished filmmakers who cofounded Kingdom County Productions, were Vietnam War-era peaceniks.

The young Craven watched classic movies with his parents, notably All the President’s Men, about the reporters who exposed the Watergate scandal. Craven saw it for the first time in elementary school.

Though the film is a romanticized version of journalism, he said, “That pretty much sealed the deal. It was thrilling to me.”

The summer after eighth grade, Craven and his father took a trip to Ireland, where their rental car was stolen and recovered. Later, Jay let Jasper recount the story in his column. By high school, Jasper had his own column in the Record called “A Teen’s Time to Talk,” which featured his musings on adolescence.

Though Jasper occasionally helped his parents on projects, he never wanted to make movies himself, having witnessed the financial perils of independent filmmaking. Still, his rearing by professional storytellers left its mark. More than his father’s cinematic work, Jasper said, he took inspiration from Jay’s politics and anti-war activism, about which he loved hearing stories. As he put it, “Henry Kissinger was shouted at at our dinner table a million times.”

Coincidentally, Jay, who grew up outside Philadelphia, nearly attended Valley Forge Military Academy, a fact that Jasper didn’t discover until he wrote the Mother Jones story.

If Jasper Craven’s father influenced his politics, his mother’s style of documentary filmmaking taught him how to listen to interviewees and be compassionate in intense situations. O’Brien’s films broach such difficult subjects as addiction, sexual abuse and eating disorders. Craven vividly remembers touring with her to screen Here Today, her 2002 documentary about heroin addiction in the Northeast Kingdom. As is typically

Jasper Craven

Brass Tactics « P.33

Craven contributed was one about a wing commander who flew an F-16 to D.C. for a romantic rendezvous with a female Army colonel who worked at the Pentagon.

“These were not easy [stories] to put together, and there was a lot of pushback along the way,” recalled Jim Welch, longtime editor of the Burlington Free Press and USA Today, who help edit the series.

“Jasper was as good an investigative reporter as I’ve worked with.”

Johnson, a veteran radio and print journalist whom Craven considers his mentor, agreed.

“One of his strengths among many is, he’s really good at developing sources,” Johnson said. “He just loves getting up in the morning and finding that next great story … For him, journalism isn’t a job. It’s a calling.”

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APPRAISALS

Performed

REPAIRS

Performed

the case, O’Brien brought the people in the film along for the screenings.

“It was really good for me to be hanging out with these people who were from a completely different socioeconomic class, who’d been through hell, had found redemption and were working really hard,” he said. “That allowed me to be open to people and be curious and nonjudgmental.”

While studying journalism and political science at Boston University, Craven covered Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) for the Barre-Montpelier Times Argus. At the time, Sanders chaired the U.S. Senate Committee on Veterans’ Affairs, which exposed Craven to the many challenges vets face when reintegrating into civilian life.

After graduating in 2015, Craven took a job at VTDigger. In 2016, he reported on the Vermont elections and Sanders’ run for president, then began covering Washington, D.C.

In 2018, Craven, Anne Galloway and Mark Johnson coauthored a searing seven-part series for VTDigger about the “ Top Gun culture” of misogyny, harassment, substance abuse and retribution in the Vermont Air National Guard. Among the more damning stories

Craven’s book makes the case that reforming the dysfunction in U.S. military education will require a paradigm shift away from a centuries-old culture of blind obedience and violence toward one that embraces transparency, critical thinking and more humane definitions of manhood. Retired Air Force brigadier general Martin France offered a sketch of the latter, telling the author that the goal of military education should be producing “sentient beings who understand just war theory, the laws around conflict, [and] the orders that they are morally obligated to disobey,” rather than just “flesh-and-bone drones.”

God Forgives, Brothers Don’t may face criticism for minimizing the many benefits of a military education. In the book, Craven acknowledges the “most beautiful facets of military life,” such as opportunities to develop lifelong friendships, physical and mental discipline, social status, and a powerful sense of belonging and purpose. For many economically disadvantaged youths, he notes, military service remains a viable avenue out of poverty.

In the end, though, Craven sees those benefits as a “bait and switch,” arguing that the positive traits taught at military academies are “calibrated to enhance the aims of the military state, not the man.”

All too often, they come at a steep physical, psychological and societal price. ➆

INFO

God Forgives, Brothers Don’t: The Long March of Military Education and the Making of American Manhood, Atria/One Signal Publishers, 352 pages. $29.

Jasper Craven reads from his book on Wednesday, June 3, 7 p.m., at the Norwich Bookstore. Free. norwichbookstore.com

A Pawsitive Legacy

Humane Society of Chittenden County celebrates 125 years of commitment to pets and people

In 1988, when Jennifer Jewiss was an undergrad at the University of Vermont, she decided to adopt a cat. When she visited the South Burlington shelter run by the Humane Society of Chittenden County she found a furry companion — and so much more.

Püs (Norwegian for “cat”) was a long-hair tortoiseshell cat. Jewiss bonded with her immediately. For the next 18 years, Püs was Jewiss’ best friend. “She was the world’s greatest cat, and I say that with all objectivity and a totally unbiased perspective,” Jewiss joked.

After her positive experience with the adoption, Jewiss returned to the organization with a diﬀerent question: How could she help?

“Whatever it is you need, I’ll do it,” Jewiss told the organization’s leaders. She started with stuﬀing envelopes and sitting at the reception desk. Eventually, Jewiss’ volunteer work evolved into joining

committees and serving on the board.

In 1998, 10 years after adopting Püs, Jewiss became the board’s president and cochaired the committee that raised more than $4 million for the current shelter building.

Jewiss is just one of thousands of volunteers and staﬀ members who have kept the organization running for more than a century.

In 2025, the Humane Society

of Chittenden County rescued 210 animals from cruelty, abuse, abandonment, hoarding or neglect and facilitated 965 adoptions from its shelter on Kindness Court in South Burlington. When the organization started 125 years ago, members and volunteers worked out of a small Burlington garage. All these years later, the mission is essentially the same: to ﬁnd every pet a loving home and to provide every pet owner the resources they need to give the animals in their care a healthy, happy life.

To mark its anniversary, the Humane Society of Chittenden County will host its annual Best Friends Beneﬁt at the Farmhouse at the Essex Resort & Spa

on May 29. It serves as both a party and a fundraiser.

Jewiss believes it’s a worthy cause. “They go to great lengths to help animals and pet owners who might be struggling,” she noted. Since Püs, she has now adopted ﬁve animals from the Humane Society of Chittenden County, all of which became beloved members of her family.

Volunteer Vanessa Zerillo agrees. “HSCC goes above and beyond,” she said. “The people there recognize every animal’s uniqueness and work really hard to match adopters with the best ﬁt.”

125 YEARS OF ANIMAL WELFARE

The facility on Kindness Court in South Burlington serves as the central location for all of the organization’s work, which extends beyond sheltering animals and making adoption matches. Directly inside the front

Jennifer Jewiss and her cat Püs

door is an animal food pantry where pet owners can pick up supplies for free, donated by the community or purchased by HSCC. Farther inside, there is a medical clinic providing spay and neuter surgeries.

There’s also a large multipurpose room, where the organization holds classes and events. The room also serves as the central location for Camp Paw Paw, a popular summer camp started in 2008 that teaches kids about animal care and welfare.

HSCC has come a long way since its founding in 1901. Back then, residents of St. Albans responded to a case of animal cruelty in which a horse was severely beaten. The incident caused people in Vermont to realize that there was a need for an organization to protect the welfare of animals locally.

Three months after that incident in St. Albans, 20 people gathered in Burlington to form the Humane Society of Chittenden County. One of the first elected officers was John Fuller, whose garage on Clymer Street functioned as the organization’s first location.

Since then, the group’s eﬀorts have grown exponentially, from the garage to a larger facility built by June and Herb Davis in South Burlington in 1961; the couple are considered the organization’s modern-day founders. After outgrowing that facility, the organization built another in 2002. The need for its services only continues to grow. According to executive director Jess Wilson, the organization is poised to launch a capital campaign in the next few years to expand the current building.

On May 29, the Humane Society of Chittenden County will host its annual Best Friends Beneﬁt at the Farmhouse at the Essex Resort & Spa, sponsored by the Pomerleau Foundation. There will be a silent auction, cocktails and live music from the Grippo Funk Band. All proceeds fund the organization’s vital programs.

Humane Society of

Chittenden County

Tickets are priced on a sliding scale. Scan the QR code or purchase them on the Humane Society’s website at hsccvt.org.

COMMUNITY CARE

The Humane Society of Chittenden County was started by a small group of community members who volunteered their time to help animals, and despite how much the organization has grown since, volunteer eﬀorts continue to be essential. In 2025, volunteers donated 8,129 hours of labor, doing everything from cleaning animal enclosures to working community events for the shelter. They even do laundry.

Zerillo began helping out with the organization after her dog passed away. She was “completely griefstricken” and was having a hard time moving forward.

shelter twice a week and feeds the animals, does laundry and washes dishes. “Whatever needs to be done,” she clariﬁed. She’s staﬀed a table at more events than she can count.

Zerillo has stayed involved as a volunteer and donor for nearly 30 years because of the organization’s mission. “I love animals, but it’s more than that,” she said. “I strongly believe in what they do, not just to help animals but to help owners, too. Supporting them is a no-brainer.”

HAPPY, HEALTHY LIVES

“That’s why our work spaying and neutering pets is so important,” Wilson said. “When we address unwanted overpopulation, we’re preventing more animals from ﬁnding their way to our doorstep.”

The organization provided these services for more than 2,100 animals in 2025. In addition to the surgery clinic at the South Burlington shelter, the organization also operates the Community Pet Clinic in the Old North End, which oﬀers wellness exams and vaccines. Many of HSCC medical services are subsidized for low-income pet owners thanks to support from donors and grants — more than $53,000 in veterinary care grants were awarded in 2025 alone.

“It really goes to the heart of HSCC, because if we can keep an animal in a loving home, that’s a win,” Wilson said.

The organization has many other surrender prevention eﬀorts, such as the Spay the Mom program, which takes in pregnant animals, cares for them in foster homes and ﬁnds homes for the babies. Then the mother returns to her original owner after her free spay surgery. Additionally, the organization works with local service providers such as Howard Center or Steps to End Domestic Violence to provide temporary, emergency housing for the pets of clients experiencing domestic violence, struggling with substance use or other issues.

“My husband suggested that doing some volunteer work might help me get out of this state,” she said.

Zerillo’s not afraid to get her hands dirty volunteering. She visits the

In addition to the hundreds of animals that ﬁnd new homes every year through the Humane Society of Chittenden County, the organization highly prioritizes what is called “surrender prevention” — keeping animals from being brought to the shelter to begin with.

These programs require signiﬁcant resources. While HSCC brings in revenue from adoptions and the Community Pet Clinic, more than 65 percent of its budget comes from grants and the generosity of the local community.

Imogen

Sometimes letting go is the hardest and kindest decision. In October 2025, the HSCC team assisted a community member with the voluntary surrender of 28 cats, ranging from 2 months to 16 years old. This person adored her cats, but due to economic hardship she was unable to get them proper medical care, including spay and neuter surgery.

Fortunately, she realized that she needed help, and Humane Society sta transported all 28 cats to the shelter. They immediately received medical attention and were given safe places

to stay and healthy meals while they waited for new homes.

Imogen (pictured) was the last adopted, this past January, because she needed extra time to regain her health. Her medical care was generously covered by the Jess Cares Fund. Established to honor Jessica Pomerleau-Halnon, the fund helps cover the special medical needs of animals awaiting adoption.

“I am extraordinarily grateful to HSCC for the extensive care and rehabilitation that preceded her adoption,” said Imogen’s adopter, Rachel Miles. “She is now the picture of health and the closest to perfect a cat could ever get.”

The organization is celebrating 125 years of service with both a party and a fundraiser to recognize the achievements of the past and plan for the future.

“The reality is, the needs of our community continue to outpace our capacity,” Wilson said. “We have set a goal to raise $125,000 at this year’s beneﬁt in honor of our 125th birthday and to help support our lifesaving work.”

COMMISSIONED AND PAID FOR BY

Slurp’s Up

On a cold day, there’s nothing better than a steaming bowl of ramen. The broth stays piping hot under all the toppings, cooling to the perfect temperature with each slurp.

Partly because the dish is viewed as a winter thing, there’s a dearth of dedicated ramen shops in Vermont. But even as the weather warms, Neighborhood Noodle in Manchester is worth the trip.

Emily and Ian Shore opened their ramen shop and izakaya — the term for a Japanese bar that serves snacks — on March 17, after two years of hosting seasonal pop-ups at other local businesses. They hit the ground running, selling 200 bowls of ramen on day one. Since then, they’ve been testing specials and gearing up for the growing season, creating stunning vegetable dishes and shareable snacks that will satisfy summer soup skeptics.

The new restaurant is part of a real

FOOD LOVER?

a Japanese restaurant in the Lake Tahoe area a decade ago, where they fell in love with the country’s culture and cuisine. Emily is a Londonderry native, and they moved back and forth between California and Vermont several times before landing in her hometown for good when the pandemic hit.

During one of those earlier stints in the Green Mountain State, the couple worked at SoLo Farm & Table in South Londonderry — Ian in the kitchen and Emily at the front of house. Upon their ultimate return, Emily became general manager of the Crooked Ram, and Ian started working for Emily’s dad in construction. When their daughter was born not long after, he stuck with the family biz for its ﬂexibility. But he wanted to get back in the kitchen, and they started to plan for opening their own restaurant someday.

“Someday” happened faster than they expected. The Shores’ ﬁrst Neighborhood Noodle pop-up at the Crooked Ram was on January 1, 2024; the couple signed the lease on the former New Morning Natural Foods space in April 2025.

culinary moment in Manchester. Since October, the southwestern Vermont town has gotten its ﬁ rst brewery, Lost Marble Brewing; excellent Greek fare and

cocktails at Lola Mediterranean Woodﬁre; and a James Beard Award semiﬁnalist nod for chef Tiara Adorno of the Crooked Ram. Emily, 35, and Ian, 38, met working at

Construction, on the other hand, took longer than planned. Ian did almost all the work of transforming the raw space into a modern yet welcoming restaurant, with help from family and friends. The open kitchen is now visible behind a gently curving bar, where bottles of Japanese wine and sake are displayed along with earthy ceramics. The restaurant’s 25 seats include a cozy banquette, a few small tables and counters along the windows.

The couple’s pop-ups had been busy, including one at what was then Homestyle Hostel in Ludlow where they sold 168 bowls of ramen in two hours. But the ﬁrst week of Neighborhood Noodle was hotly anticipated, and even busier. The 200 bowls sold on opening day used up all the stock Ian and the kitchen team had prepped, and they had to skip a scheduled lunch service the next day to make more.

“Pop-ups were one and done,” Ian said. “Not like, ‘OK, now we have to do this again tomorrow.’”

“That was a good learning curve,” Emily added with a laugh, as Ian ducked into the kitchen and returned holding a stockpot larger than his torso. Two of those, one

A bowl of chicken shio ramen at Neighborhood Noodle

Ian and Emily Shore

SERVING UP FOOD NEWS

The Café HOT. to Permanently Close as Owners Return to NYC

After more than four and a half years of dishing up nationally acclaimed breakfast sandwiches, the owners of the CAFÉ HOT. in Burlington told Seven Days that they will close the popular 198 Main Street eatery within the next three months. Brothers ALLAN and TRAVIS WALKER-HODKIN made the decision to shut reluctantly, they said, to return to their native New York and be closer to family and friends. Allan’s 2.5-year-old twins figured prominently in the decision, they added. The restaurant will close when a new tenant is found to take over the space.

The Walker-Hodkins moved to the Burlington area from New York City during the pandemic, seeking a change. Allan, 43, and his wife came from Brooklyn in late 2020, and Travis, 40, followed from Queens in early 2021. Building on Allan’s expertise as a longtime NYC restaurant professional, they opened a breakfast spot in the former MIRABELLES BAKERY in September 2021.

The Café HOT. quickly developed a fervent fan base for its menu of meat-free breakfast sandwiches on house-baked buttermilk biscuits and milk buns. Over time, the brothers added their signature chicken-fried egg and glazed “bonuts,” made from rings of fried biscuit dough.

In Bon Appétit’s 2023 list of best restaurant meals, the magazine praised the “glorious” number 8 sandwich, which stars “a craggy, crisp-crusted slab of fluffy scrambled eggs.” Packages of the café’s frozen chicken-fried eggs are now sold in local grocery stores.

The brothers have been vocal about the negative effects on downtown businesses of Burlington’s “Great Streets” initiative, which entailed roadwork that forced them to cut staff and hours of operation, as well as forgo their own paychecks through the first quarter of 2025. But, Travis clarified, “We’re not leaving because of Main Street construction.”

Through unpredictable road closures and other challenges, the Walker-Hodkins remained committed to the city. After funding cuts forced Burlington City Arts to cancel the annual Festival of Fools last summer, they spearheaded a successful crowdfunding campaign to support a smaller version of the Church Street event. (The festival returns this year in full force.)

“This place is rad. We’ve been here for five years. We don’t want to leave, but family’s trumping all of that,” Allan said. “It’s hard. It’s bittersweet.”

The brothers have no plans to sell the Café HOT. brand or its recipes. They said they haven’t yet decided whether they’ll open a similar restaurant or continue to make their packaged frozen chicken-fried eggs in New York.

Travis and Allan Walker-Hodkin in 2021

for pork broth and one for vegetable, now bubble away almost every day.

And that’s during mud season, when skiers have left town and restaurants are usually slow. Even after the initial hype — which included several customers referring to Neighborhood Noodle as “Momofuku Manchester” in their social media posts, drawing comparisons to Dave Chang’s ramen shops in New York City — things have been steady, the Shores said.

Right now is the perfect time to visit, with spring vegetables starting to hit the menu and the weather doing its hot-andcold-and-hot-again dance. I made the two-hour drive for lunch last week on an unexpectedly 70-degree day.

Many of my previous ramen experiences have been nearly wordless solo endeavors: I once worked next door to the Brooklyn location of Ichiran, a Japanese chain known for its one-person booths, where the only human interaction is with a bodiless pair of hands that present bowls through a bamboo screen.

Neighborhood Noodle encourages more social slurping. The place has a communal feel, thanks to its already emerging roster of regulars and menu of dishes to share, from wok-fried karai edamame ($8) to delicate vegetable tempura ($12) to hand-formed gyoza ($16 for pork or veggie). There are kid-friendly simple pan-fried noodles or just noodles and broth ($10 each). Gluten-free noodles are available upon request, and both the light soy-based shoyu ramen and the creamier sesame-based tantanmen ramen are available with vegetarian dashi broth and tofu ($23 each).

Part of the casual vibe comes from the restaurant’s counter-service model. Customers order and pay at the register, and staff bring dishes to tables as they’re ready. (Takeout is also available for lunch and dinner.)

I sat at the bar and would have been happy reading the book I was trying to finish for a book club meeting that evening, but I ended up chatting with staff almost the whole time. The real folly of my solo adventure was that I didn’t have room to order more dishes. Before I even got to the ramen, I took Emily’s recommendation to start with the gomaae spinach ($6).

The dish is a sleeper, she said: simple blanched spinach with a black sesame sauce. But the two components have strong textural contrast, which makes it fun to eat.

I also ordered hakurei turnips ($14) from the specials board. Sourced from

Mighty Food Farm in Shaftsbury, the mild white turnips were poached in a kombu-shiitake broth, then seared. They sat atop a creamy edamame hummus, delicately plated with pickled carrots and turnip tops, Bromley Farm microgreens, and kimchi made with foraged ramps.

The dish is heavily influenced by the Shores’ time working at SoLo Farm & Table, Ian said, joking that it’s “kind of tweezer food.”

“But the turnips deserve it,” he said. They paired well with another special,

The Shores aren’t Japanese, but they’re approaching their restaurant with a deep reverence for the culture and a whole lot of research to get it right. Ian is mostly selftaught, but he got an in-depth education at Rajuku Ramen School in the outskirts of Tokyo last spring.

Other than requiring alkaline salt in the noodles, the dish “really has no parameters,” Ian said. “Ramen is the casserole of Japan — what’s left over in the fridge, what’s growing in the area.”

Neighborhood Noodle’s ramen is made by adding highly seasoned tare (pronounced tah-reh) to a base broth. The tare “is the flavor bomb,” Ian explained, made from soy sauce, dried shiitake mushrooms and nori for shoyu ramen. Adding seasoning at the end keeps the final flavor consistent from bowl to bowl, he continued. Cold tare goes in first, then stock is poured over and mixed together before adding noodles and topping. Oil added to the top — or chicken fat, which Ian recently started using — further elevates the flavor and insulates the ramen, so it stays nice and warm.

Taking Emily’s recommendation once again, I ordered the chicken shio ramen ($23, plus $3 for a marinated egg). “Shio” translates to “salt” and is a more subtle tare than the shoyu, resulting in a light ramen that’s “basically like chicken noodle soup,” Ian said. It’s inspired by one of the couple’s favorite ramens from their trip to Japan last spring: the shio at Kyoto’s Comorebi Ramen House.

My bowl was almost overflowing, stuffed with noodles, bok choy, perfectly poached chicken, tiny hon shimeji mushrooms and an aromatic ginger-scallion oil. I slurped as much as I could, then asked for a container for the rest.

Neighborhood Noodle’s ramen options will likely shrink in the summer, Emily said, to two or three rather than four. Still, noodles will be on the menu all the time, in both cold and hot form.

the yuzu-sake spritz ($13). I’d gone into the meal expecting to order a glass of Domaine Tetta’s Aki Queen (see “Japanese Juice, page 42), which I adore. But the minty, citrusy spritz felt like the right move for lunch.

Neighborhood Noodle has excellent nonalcoholic options, including housebrewed iced tea and Bristol’s Savouré soda. Their biggest beverage sellers so far, Emily said, have been sake and beer, the latter of which is “the classic combo” with ramen at tiny shops in Tokyo and Kyoto.

I ended my meal with a chocolate-green tea ice cream bar for the road ($7), which I devoured before I left the parking lot so it wouldn’t drip. It was a refreshing treat, but I was most looking forward to reheating my leftover ramen for dinner that night. My grandmother always said, “Have a hot cup of tea. It’ll cool you down.” Next time I head south for noodles on a summer day, I’ll give her phrase an update: Have a hot bowl of ramen. It’s cool year-round. ➆

INFO

Neighborhood Noodle, 4776 Main St., Manchester, 802-362-0181, neighborhoodnoodle.com

Ian Shore seasoning the hakurei turnip special

Assorted dishes, including gomaae spinach, the hakurei turnip special and chicken shio ramen

SIDEdishes

While they joked about polling their social media followers on their next steps, they said they expect to stay in the business in some capacity.

“I love restaurants,” Allan said. “The good, the bad, all of it. It’s too much fun to not continue to try.”

MELISSA PASANEN

Chef Avery Buck to Leave May Day for Farmers & Foragers

It’s almost food truck season, and big things are happening at FARMERS & FORAGERS. When the business’ summer DOCKSIDE location opens at the Burlington Harbor Marina on Saturday, May 23, AVERY BUCK will be the restaurant group’s executive chef.

Buck has been head chef at Burlington’s MAY DAY — where he was a 2025 James Beard Award ﬁnalist for Best Chef: Northeast — since July 2023. SLOAN MILLER, his current sous chef, will move up and run May Day’s kitchen as chef de cuisine, owner MATTHEW PETERSON conﬁrmed, with AREN BERKENBUSH as sous.

Buck, 33, will head Farmers & Foragers’ commissary kitchen and run catering for weddings and community events at Charlotte’s OLD LANTERN EVENTS BARN, which Farmers & Foragers’ cofounder SOLOMON BAYER-PACHT bought with a group of investors in spring 2025.

Farmers & Foragers current head chef, RYAN BRIGANTE, will retain his title

and focus full time on the food truck’s busy summer lakefront location, BayerPacht said.

50, and Ebaid, 40, bought the small counter-service spot at 505 Riverside Avenue in Burlington in February for an undisclosed sum. Anisa Mohamed, 31, has been working with the couple to gradually transition the business.

The new owners said they expect to add dishes from their native Sudan — such as eggplant salad, okra and greens with beans — to Kismayo’s menu of longtime favorites. The restaurant will continue to serve solely halal meats and do catering.

When Omar opened Kismayo Kitchen in 2019, he named it for the Somali city in which he was born and described it as multicultural. The restaurant became known for serving both Somali dishes, such as coconut chicken stew with rice, and all-American classics, including Philly cheesesteaks.

classics,

Buck’s role, he added, is the same one that Farmers & Foragers cofounder LAUREN JOHNSON occupied for the past 12 years. Johnson has moved to California and is “more of a silent partner now,” Bayer-Pacht said.

Buck will have a busy summer of his own at FARMERS & FORAGERS HILLSIDE at the Old Lantern in Charlotte. His ﬁrst event is a Seth Yacovone Band show on Friday, May 22; dinner starts at 5 p.m. with music at 7 p.m. Weekly Thursday

community concerts will run the ﬁrst week of June through Labor Day, featuring live music, dancing, lawn games, a full bar and food — some of which Buck hopes to cook on new wood-ﬁred grills outside.

Wednesday dinners could return to Charlotte, too, Bayer-Pacht said. And he has plans in the works to open a downtown Burlington location to house Farmers & Foragers’ commissary kitchen and a year-round brick-and-mortar restaurant.

JORDAN BARRY

Kismayo Kitchen in Burlington Has Been Sold to New Owners

ANISA MOHAMED has sold KISMAYO KITCHEN, the Somali American restaurant she owned with her late husband, Ahmed Omar, to another husband-and-wife team: ABBAS MOHAMED (no relation) and MASHAER EBAID. Abbas Mohamed,

Omar died unexpectedly in his sleep on August 13, 2023, at the age of 36. Anisa Mohamed reopened the restaurant three months later, running it with the help of family and friends. Now, the mother of two young daughters said she is completing her studies to become a pharmacist.

months

Abbas Mohamed met Omar, a respected and beloved member of the local African diaspora community, after he and Ebaid moved to Vermont four years ago. “We used to hang out and cut meat” at a local halal market, he said.

The couple already own SUDANESE HALAL MARKET, which they opened at 12 Malletts Bay Avenue in Winooski earlier this year.

Their nephew, YASIN MOHAMED, has been working at Kismayo and will manage the business with Ebaid. “He knows everything,” Anisa Mohamed said.

Learn more at sites.google.com/view/ kismayokitchen.

M.P.

CONNECT

From left: Ryan Brigante, Avery Buck and Solomon Bayer-Pacht of Farmers & Foragers

Above: Kismayo Kitchen’s new owners, Abbas Mohamed and Mashaer Ebaid. Right: Somali rice and chicken with samosas

Japanese Juice

Japanese whisky and sake have had their global breakout moments. Why not Japanese wine?

That’s Paul Travers’ thinking. After a career running finance technology for MetLife and other major financial institutions, he launched Nippon Naturals, an unexpected retirement project that distributes Japanese wines in Vermont.

Since he started his niche biz in 2024, Travers, 63, has made wine from Japan a thing in the Green Mountain State. If you’ve been paying attention to the shelves at Wilder Wines, Salt & Bubbles Wine Bar and Market, or Cork Market or the by-theglass lists at 10 Green Street, Hepcat and Neighborhood Noodle, you’ve seen that Japan has infiltrated Vermont’s beverage scene in a new way.

The 100 different cuvées from 11 producers in Travers’ portfolio are right on trend with growing interest in “low-intervention” wines made with organically farmed grapes and few or no additives. That’s the “natural” in Nippon Naturals, to use the hot, if hotly debated, industry term.

“Nippon” is a name for Japan — the more formal version of “Nihon,” which appears in kanji on the bottles Travers sells as part of a legal “Japan Wine” standard of identity. Less than 20 percent of wine produced in Japan meets that standard because the country’s industry is largely focused on making wine with fruit brought in from elsewhere, Travers said. Nippon Naturals, by contrast, works with small producers who grow their own grapes.

Travers has been to Japan more than

50 times in the past 42 years, including a four-month stint in college when he taught English to Japanese students. Working in financial services — with a parallel 11-year career as a U.S. Navy Reserve intelligence officer — he found “there was always a reason to go back,” he said.

His interest in wine was shaped by his daughter, Anna, who launched Lilith Vermont Wines while working with Deirdre Heekin and Caleb Barber at Domaine La Garagista in Barnard and West Addison. Anna recently moved to Montana, but she shared her knowledge of the distribution world with her dad and encouraged him to look beyond the wines he’d been drinking for most of his life.

“She tried her best, for the longest time, to break me of my devoted focus to one type

of wine at a certain price point,” Paul said with a laugh.

Some of Nippon Naturals’ wines are made with widely known varieties, “noble grapes” such as pinot noir and Chardonnay, that are grown in Japan. Others use hybrid grapes, much like wines made in Vermont. Shine muscat, a hybrid unique to Japan, lends itself to fruity wines that are “a great summertime drink,” Travers said.

In Burlington, Wilder Wines owner Sipha Lam points curious customers to Coco Farm & Winery’s offerings as an entry point for Japanese wines that are terroirdriven and unique but “not too out there,” she said. Located in the Tochigi Prefecture, Coco Farm and its longtime director, Bruce Gutlove, have led the country’s natural wine movement. Gutlove now runs 10R Winery in Hokkaido, and many up-and-coming winemakers use his facilities to produce their wines.

Lam has sold wines sourced by Nippon Naturals “since the beginning,” she said, noting that Travers’ focus on small, organic producers “fits our ethos.”

“He’s bringing in wines we’ve never seen or had the chance to try, which is so important as our food and beverage scene in Vermont grows,” Lam said.

Nippon Naturals’ wines are “thoughtful, meticulous and beautiful,” she continued. They tend to be bright rather than full-bodied or tannic. Some lean downright tropical: Lam gets guava notes from Domaine Tetta’s refreshing Aki Queen rosé and especially likes it paired with Vietnamese food.

At Neighborhood Noodle in Manchester (see page 38), the bottle list exclusively features Japanese wines. Several, including the Aki Queen and Coco Farm’s Noumin Dry, are available by the glass.

“People shouldn’t be afraid of these wines,” co-owner Emily Shore said. “They are really cool, and they are approachable.”

food+drink

Travers sat down with Seven Days to talk about encouraging drinkers to branch out while keeping things niche. These nontraditional wines aren’t for everybody, he acknowledged. But with customers and beverage pros who are “more adventuresome and interested in new experiences,” they’ve been a hit.

all manifesting the same output of the culture.

Are there overlaps between Japanese wine and Vermont wine?

The traditionalist and non-traditionalist categorization plays into [both]. Traditionalists are looking for cabernet sauvignon. They’re looking for pinot noir. They’re very set on “this is how wine should be.”

How do you convince people to give Japanese wine a shot rather than sticking to tried-and-true bottles or regions, like you used to?

That’s what most people do, in my experience. They go to the wine store, they navigate to what they liked at one point, and they just repeat. It’s like the shampoo bottle instructions, right?

It’s only a short 20, 30 years ago that Japanese whiskys came on the scene and were initially laughed at. Now, they’re some of the most expensive whiskys in the world. People need to keep an open mind and be prepared for flavors and experiences they may not have had.

I usually start by asking people what their preconceptions are. If you look across the spectrum of Japanese products — whether it’s service-oriented or electronics or whisky — it’s

Learn more at nipponnaturals.com. HE’S

With the hybrids, whether they’re from Japan or Vermont, people don’t know what to expect. And I find that often, when people don’t know what to expect, rejection is an easy way for them to respond, just because they didn’t know how to process it.

Will you branch out to other regions?

I have about 20 customers, and I don’t really want to make this a larger operation. I feel that it’s almost like providing a service, where it’s not me necessarily looking to make my career on selling wine at this time in my life, but it’s more about me having a unique experience to be able to do this.

I do carry wine from Lebanon now. I don’t know if it’s that I’m becoming the land of misfit toys — or underrepresented wines — but a lot of these niche wines are not going to have supermarket appeal. Most distributors’ business models are built on much higher volume than we’ll see coming out of Japan. So people like me pick up the slack. ➆

This interview was edited for clarity and length.

INFO

Paul Travers (center) with Coco Farm & Winery president Takashi Ikegami and executive officer/sales manager Hiroyuki Arai at Coco Farm in 2024

culture THEATER

True Colors

eater review: White, Between the Willows

BY PAMELA POLSTON • ppolston@sevendaysvt.com

Physics informs us that white contains all the colors of the spectrum and yet has no color, because it reflects, rather than absorbs, light. If this sounds like a riddle, it can also serve as a metaphor. As a human descriptor, “white” is something of a dualpurpose shibboleth, like a shoe that ﬁts both Cinderella and her evil siblings.

White is also the terse title of a play that reﬂects the current cultural moment, though it debuted more than a decade ago, winning the Terrence McNally New Play Award in 2015. Philadelphia playwright James Ijames’ fraught dramedy examines the complexities of white privilege — a very old story — through a contemporary prism of not only race but also gender and sexual orientation. White paint and obfuscating artspeak are also involved.

Between the Willows, a young, queercentered company founded in 2023, chose White for its main-stage production this year. Directed by Delanté Keys, the show runs through Sunday, May 17, at Burlington’s O Center for the Dramatic Arts. The

dynamic ﬁve-person cast, undaunted by the small stage, delivers a big performance.

As the play begins, the audience is introduced to Gus (Ry Poulin), an artist who has achieved moderate success with his abstract paintings. He lives with his boyfriend, Tanner (Timothy Sheridan), an American literature professor. Gus is white and ﬂamboyant; Tanner is Hispanic and grounded. We soon meet Jane (Gina Stevensen), Gus’ old friend from grad school; she is now head curator of the ﬁctitious Parnell Museum of Contemporary American Art.

Jane visits Gus’ studio to tell him about her upcoming exhibition, called “The New America,” which will feature underrepresented artists and absolutely no white men. Gus, who sorely wants to be in the show, is indignant. Doesn’t being a homosexual give him marginalized status? No, Jane tells him, he is still a privileged “white dude.”

Gus utterly refuses to accept this. “To be a white man in America right now is to be silent!” he fumes, rejecting Tanner’s e orts at appeasement (and presaging the fragile masculinity of the Trump era). In

his desperation, Gus essentially prays for a solution.

Enter St. Diana of Detroit (Janéa Hudson), through a portal hidden behind Gus’ large, mostly white painting. Stunning in a floor-length sequined gown, Diana is part fairy godmother and part diva — modeled after, yes, Diana Ross of the Supremes. She encourages Gus to take heart, be himself and express who he is on the inside through his art.

Gus has an epiphany: On the inside, he is a Black woman. He decides to “expose the hypocrisy” of the Parnell exhibition, and, he insists, to prove a point. Though his point is not entirely clear, he sets about to convince an aspiring actress he’d met through Tanner to pose as the artist of his paintings, and to persuade Jane to include her in the exhibit.

When Vanessa (Brittney Abdel-Malik) arrives and hears Gus’ scheme, she’s skeptical at ﬁrst. But Gus appeals to her lust for attention and fame, and Vanessa finally agrees. Together, they create her improbable alter ego: She’s 31, a lesbian. She’s colorblind. She went to Yale. Warming to her starring role, Vanessa christens herself Balkonaé Townsend. She even comes up with a genre: Bad Bitch Expressionism.

This scene, a fulcrum for the play, is funny but also represents an abdication of truth and authenticity. There is no turning back, especially when Jane, as expected, falls hard for the audacious Black woman with an exotic name — and when Balkonaé

takes control of the ruse and pushes Gus aside. It does not go well.

Ijames did not write a Shakespearean romp of mistaken identity politics and “woke” resolution. White takes another turn, which will not be revealed here. The play shows us both human passion and cold duplicity, soul singing and soul searching, fantasy and a hint of “Black Mirror” futurism. All of this is contained in an uninterrupted hour and 45 minutes, which in retrospect seemed to fly by. Keys keeps things moving in a push-and-pull tempo that allows the actors to bloom.

GUS HAS AN EPIPHANY: ON

THE INSIDE, HE IS A BLACK WOMAN.

Poulin, a cofounder of Between the Willows, is an energetic Gus, handily changing the emotional dial from sweetbut-needy to petulant to frantic. Stevensen is a cool counter as Jane, stylish and selfpossessed with a subtle note of arrogance. Sheridan has a natural, comfortable presence onstage, which serves his role as Gus’ loving but increasingly alarmed boyfriend — and as the play’s voice of reason. Hudson, a local jazz singer IRL, is sultry, sparkly and sassy as St. Diana.

Watching ambitious but unformed Vanessa transition to the knockout, superconﬁdent queen Balkonaé is exhilarating, even though her evolution is based on a lie. Abdel-Malik is riveting throughout.

Props to Charlie Connelly for the costumes, particularly Balkonaé’s more outré outﬁts. Kyle Keys made clever use of O Center’s modest staging, including paintings that transformed into windows or doors. John Hughes’ lighting and Sadie Kraus’ sound design were ﬂawless.

At the end of the play, after the actors took their bows and left the stage, a voiceover coda urged attendees to do their parts and tackle racism. It was entirely unnecessary. The message of White could not be more eloquent. If its narrative is centered on race and gender, White also parses personal identity: how we present to others versus who we believe ourselves to be, and what it means to “just be yourself.” ➆

INFO

White, written by James Ijames, produced by Between the Willows, directed by Delanté Keys, Wednesday to Friday, May 13 to 15, 7:30 p.m.; and Saturday and Sunday, May 16 and 17, 2 p.m., at Off Center for the Dramatic Arts in Burlington. $15.27-37.12. between-the-willows-llc.square.site

Brittney Abdel-Malik and Ry Poulin in White

BOOKS

In Pollock’s Last Lover, Author Stephen P. Kiernan Dips His Brush in the Art World

BY CHELSEA EDGAR • chelsea@sevendaysvt.com

Stephen P. Kiernan

“He nods deeply, as if everything before was confusion, but now it all makes sense. “Are you going to get drunk with me tonight?”

“Jackson, Jackson, Jackson.” She reaches over, laying her hand on his. It is nothing like Ronald’s: hairy, rough, red paint on his thumbnail. She drapes her soft palm over it. “That is why I came.”

FROM: POLLOCK’S LAST LOVER

Charlotte author Stephen P. Kiernan’s sixth and latest novel, Pollock’s Last Lover, out on May 19, is a tale of two obsessed women: Ruth, a former model who claims to have been artist Jackson Pollock’s mistress and muse just before he died, and Gwen, an ambitious young associate at a New York City auction house. eir paths collide when Ruth, now in her eighties and sporting perhaps one too many bangles, shows up unannounced at Gwen’s boss’ house carrying a garbage bag. Inside is a painting she insists was Pollock’s last. She wants the auction house to sell the work, with the bidding starting at $50 million. Gwen, assigned the potentially career-making task of verifying the painting’s authenticity, ﬁnds herself caught up in cutthroat competition and art-world egos.

Like Kiernan’s previous three novels — e Glass Château (2023), Universe of Two (2020) and e Baker’s Secret (2017) — Pollock’s Last Lover is a period piece, one that spans two epochs: in this case, the bohemian salad days of downtown New York City in the 1950s and the striving, Sotheby’s-adjacent uptown milieu of the early 2000s. e author alternates between the two, inviting us to see the parallels between Ruth’s quest for meaning and purpose in the days of bullet

bras, creepy men and crème de menthe cocktails, and Gwen’s at the dawn of the modern girlboss era.

In this portrait of female empowerment, tortured male genius is still the real protagonist — not just because of gender politics but because these characters suffer from want of psychological complexity. But this page-turner, a beach read par excellence, also offers a sexy immersion into two bygone eras; you will ﬁnd, for example, thighs that could “pull a plow” and shirts that “pour off” women’s shoulders. ink “Bridgerton,” but for the “artsy” set.

INFO

Pollock’s Last Lover by Stephen P. Kiernan, William Morrow, 352 pages, $24. Pollock’s Last Lover book launch parties and author talks: Monday, May 18, 5:30 p.m., at BCA Studios in Burlington, free. Tuesday, May 19, 5:30 p.m., at Bridgeside Books in Waterbury, $30 includes a copy of the book. Wednesday, May 27, 7 p.m., at Pierson Library in Shelburne, free. ursday, May 28, 6:30 p.m., at Town Hall eater in Middlebury, pay what you can. Saturday, May 30, 6 p.m., at Northshire Bookstore in Manchester, free. stephenpkiernan.com

GET

Young Composer Arranges Vermont State Song for Green Mountain Youth Symphony

BY AMY LILLY • lilly@sevendaysvt.com

School-age Vermonters are generally familiar with the state song, “These Green Mountains,” even if they can’t sing it. Composed by Diane Martin and arranged by Rita Buglass-Gluck, it was the winning selection in a 1999 competition held by the Vermont Arts Council. Governor Howard Dean made it official in 2000.

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Saturday, May 30, 2026

Run/Walk: 9:00 am Malletts Bay School Register today: uvmhealth.org/jog

The Green Mountain Youth Symphony in Montpelier was founded a year later. For its 25th anniversary celebration on Saturday, May 16, the orchestra will perform a new arrangement of “These Green Mountains” by alumnus Callum Robechek. The 20-yearold from Randolph played percussion and viola in the orchestra from sixth to 12th grade.

“The song has always been in my consciousness,” said Robechek, a sophomore at New York University majoring in composition with a focus on songwriting. He spoke from Prague, where he was studying abroad for the semester. “It feels — especially now that I’m not living there — one and the same with the people and the orchestra itself.”

Executive director Erin Eberhardt, who joined in 2025, had the idea to commission the arrangement. The 28-year-old has a bachelor’s degree in music education from the Berklee College of Music in Boston and moved to Vermont in 2024, where she soon befriended her next-door neighbor: Buglass-Gluck. Eberhardt also plays viola with the orchestra, as one of several community members who swell its ranks. She secured funding for Robechek’s commission from New Jersey’s Cummins Levenstein Charitable Foundation, which supports the orchestra annually.

This isn’t Robechek’s first work to see a Vermont performance. A veteran of Music-COMP, Vermont’s online composition coaching nonprofit, he wrote original pieces during high school for the Vermont Philharmonic and the Vermont Symphony Orchestra and Chorus. The latter performed his commemoration of the 2024 flood, “Water Buries, Too.”

Robechek arranged “These Green Mountains” to be “fun and dynamic rather than really challenging,” he said, preserving the melody while tweaking harmonies throughout.

The symphony premiered Robechek’s arrangement at its April concert at Barre Opera House and played it again at Highland Center for the Arts in Greensboro. This Saturday’s concert, at Montpelier Performing Arts Hub, will feature a string quartet and a brass chamber ensemble, and alumni will join in for the state song. The celebration also raises money for the scholarship fund.

All the concerts are — and always have been — directed by the orchestra’s founder, Bob Blais. The 60-year-old was not a conductor at all in 2001, he said, but a cellist playing and soloing in northeast orchestras such as the Manhattan Chamber Orchestra and the Boston Civic Symphony.

He was also giving cello lessons in Montpelier. When the mother of a budding violinist expressed her reluctance to drive her son every week to Vermont Youth Orchestra rehearsals in Colchester, Blais agreed to found the Green Mountain Youth Symphony. It now has three levels of orchestras — Repertory, Concert and Senior — and about 50 participants. This year, it launched Prelude, a beginning strings program for 7- to 10-year-olds.

Blais was planning on retiring after 25 years — it seemed a good time, he said — but had second thoughts.

“The world is a scary place right now, and this is a time every week when kids get together and they’re thinking about music. I don’t think I want to take that away from these guys right now,” he said. His dedication to the students has led to a special pleasure: premiering work by one whom he taught for seven years.

For Robechek, Blais was “an incredibly skilled musician who positioned himself as kind and forgiving but also demanded the best out of his students.”

Now, the composer said, “It’s cool to be on the other end of it.” ➆

Green Mountain Youth Symphony 25th Anniversary Celebration, Saturday, May 16, 4 p.m., at Montpelier Performing Arts Hub. $10-20 or pay what you can; free for kids under 12. gmys-vt.org

CLASSICAL MUSIC

Green Mountain Youth Symphony

Callum Robechek vv

on screen

Hokum ★★★★

If you know Adam Scott for his comic roles in Step Brothers , “Parks and Recreation” or “Party Down,” or even for his more serious turn in “Severance,” you probably don’t think of him as a “scream king.” But that’s what Phantasmag recently called the actor, noting that Hokum is his seventh horror ﬁlm.

Written and directed by Irish filmmaker Damian McCarthy (Caveat, Oddity), Hokum gives Scott a starring role well suited to his trademark prickly touchiness: a famous author who doesn’t su er fools gladly, or at all.

The deal

Novelist Ohm Bauman (Scott) is struggling to ﬁnd the right ending for his best-selling Conquistador series. Also, he might be haunted. In search of a fresh perspective, he decides it’s time to scatter his parents’ ashes at the inn in Ireland where they honeymooned.

At the rustic, rambling Bilberry Woods Hotel, Ohm meets eccentrics galore. There’s the owner (Brendan Conroy), who gleefully terriﬁes children with tales of witches; his uptight son-in-law and desk clerk (Peter Coonan); an aspiring writer bellhop (Will O’Connell) who begs Ohm to read his manuscript; and unhoused Jerry (David Wilmot), who lives in the nearby woods and o ers Ohm the local psychedelic mushrooms.

Ohm proceeds to alienate everyone on the premises except Jerry and friendly bartender Fiona (Florence Ordesh), who tells him the honeymoon suite has been locked up because of a rumored haunting. After Fiona does him a good turn and then goes missing, Ohm puts aside his usual selﬁshness to search for her inside the forbidden rooms.

Will you like it?

If you’re fed up with minimalist “vibes” horror and want a spooky story with a lot of plot, Hokum may be for you. Just be aware that, like many movies in this vein (Zach Cregger’s Oscar-winning Weapons comes to mind), what it gains in complexity it loses in fear factor.

The movie’s ﬁrst half wanders for a while in search of a central conﬂict. It’s entertaining to watch Ohm insult nearly everybody he encounters, and the unstablewriter-plus-creepy-hotel scenario evokes such celebrated precursors as Barton Fink and The Shining. Yet the screenplay doesn’t

REVIEW

give us the strongest sense of what Ohm wants, how his tragic personal history connects to his current authorial dilemma or why he commits the desperate act that ﬁnally sets the plot in motion.

Once Ohm sneaks into the honeymoon suite, however, Hokum ﬁnally locks in.

Most of the ﬁlm’s second half takes place on this spacious set, which production designer Til Frohlich has appointed with such loving details as carved cupids, ﬁlmy gothic bed-curtains, a hot tub full of black goo, and a creaky dumbwaiter to the basement (or possibly to hell).

McCarthy’s compositions make deft use of this limited space to create suspense. The jump scares are cleverly blocked, and one was original enough to draw a gasp from me. Once our protagonist is trapped (inevitably) in the haunted place, he’s no passive reactor, either. Hokum shifts smoothly into survival horror mode, with Ohm making ingenious use of various found objects — plus folk knowledge — in his e orts to escape.

While the supporting cast is excellent, Scott deserves credit for keeping us engaged during lengthy scenes in which Ohm is the only living person on-screen. The actor’s darting eyes and preternaturally alert air, which have served him well

in playing all sorts of easily provoked characters, show us the gears in Ohm’s brain turning. Viewers primed to appreciate Scott’s talent for making unlikable characters likable will savor the performance.

Buying into Ohm’s internal evolution is harder. Although the scenes with the wannabe writer bellhop ring true (what writer hasn’t been on one end of such an exchange?), Hokum is no Misery. It leans on outdated movie stereotypes of the lifestyle of literary lions: Based on the corny adventure scene from his novel that opens the movie, it’s tough to imagine Ohm being a household name. McCarthy never o ers enough details to turn this implausibility into a purposeful joke — it’s simply part of the ﬁlm’s pervasive retro stylization.

That aesthetic, too, puts us at a slight distance, so that McCarthy’s ﬁlm keeps our brains engaged while rarely triggering a primal sense of terror. Whatever secret ingredient makes the scariest stories cling to our unconscious and reappear in our nightmares, Hokum runs short of it. At its heart, it’s more cozy mystery with several dollops of supernatural peril than descent into the underworld.

There’s nothing inherently wrong with that, though. Given a theatrical landscape in which horror is often the only original

content amid franchise retreads, we can and should embrace its inﬁnite variety, and fans of hospitality horror will want to check in.

MARGOT HARRISON margot@sevendaysvt.com

IF YOU LIKE THIS, TRY…

ODDITY (2024; AMC+, Disney+, Hulu, YouTube Primetime, rentable): In McCarthy’s previous ﬁlm, a blind medium is determined to solve her sister’s murder with the aid of a mysterious curio.

THE INNKEEPERS (2011; Kanopy, Philo, PLEX, Pluto TV, Prime Video, Sling TV, Tubi, YouTube Primetime, rentable): For more hospitality industry horror with local color, try Ti West’s ﬁlm in which the employees of a shuttering New England inn make the mistake of exploring the basement.

BARBARIAN (2022; fuboTV, rentable): While typically less gothic, Airbnb rental homes can also offer plenty of scares, as Cregger proved in his breakout ﬁlm. Like Hokum, it’s a horror movie in which regular people tend to be scarier than anything monstrous or supernatural.

Adam Scott plays a misanthropic author who alienates everyone in a creepy Irish hotel in the third horror movie from Damian McCarthy.

NEW IN THEATERS

IN THE GREY: Covert operatives must steal a fortune from a tyrant in Guy Ritchie’s latest action thriller, starring Jake Gyllenhaal and Henry Cavill. (98 min, R. Capitol, Essex, Majestic)

THE LAST ONE FOR THE ROAD: Two middle-aged bar hoppers go on a road trip with a young architecture student in this Italian comedy from Francesco Sossai, a Cannes Film Festival nominee. (100 min, NR. Partizanfilm)

OBSESSION: A young man (Michael Johnston) makes the mistake of wishing on a magic charm that his crush would fall desperately in love with him in Curry Barker’s psychological horror film. (Essex, Majestic, Paramount, Savoy)

CURRENTLY PLAYING

THE AI DOC: OR HOW I BECAME AN APOCALOPTIMISTHHH A father-to-be wonders if artificial intelligence will make humans obsolete in this documentary. (103 min, PG-13. Catamount)

ANIMAL FARMH1/2 Angel Studios offers an animated take on George Orwell’s barnyard allegory. (96 min, PG. Big Picture)

BILLIE EILISH: HIT ME HARD AND SOFT — THE TOUR LIVE IN 3DHHH1/2 The singer-songwriter codirected her concert film with James Cameron. (114 min, PG-13. Capitol, Essex, Majestic)

BLUE HERONHHHH1/2 Sophy Romvari’s semiautobiographical festival favorite explores the dynamics of a family on Vancouver Island. Eylul Guven stars. (90 min, NR. Savoy)

THE CHRISTOPHERSHHHH Michaela Coel plays a forger hired to complete the unfinished work of a still-living renowned artist (Ian McKellen). (100 min, R. Partizanfilm; reviewed 4/22)

DEEP WATERHH1/2 The survivors of a plane crash must fight off sharks in Renny Harlin’s disaster flick. (110 min, R. Sunset)

THE DEVIL WEARS PRADA 2HH1/2 A journalist (Anne Hathaway) reunites with her one-time boss from hell (Meryl Streep) in David Frankel’s sequel. (119 min, PG-13. Big Picture, Bijou, Capitol, City Cinema, Essex, Majestic, Marquis, Playhouse, Star, Stowe, Sunset, Welden)

DJ AHMETHHH1/2 Music is an escape for a teen in rural Macedonia in Georgi M. Unkovski’s comedydrama from Turkey. (99 min, NR. Partizanfilm)

EAGLES OF THE REPUBLICHHH1/2 In this political thriller from Egypt, a prominent actor (Fares Fares) is forced to star in a propaganda film. Tarik Saleh directed. (129 min, NR. Partizanfilm)

HOKUMHHHH Adam Scott plays a horror writer who visits a reportedly haunted inn to scatter his parents’ ashes in this scare film from Damian McCarthy (Oddity). (107 min, R. Essex, Majestic' reviewed 5/13)

MICHAELHH This drama from Antoine Fuqua chronicles the life of pop legend Michael Jackson (Jaafar Jackson). (127 min, PG-13. Capitol, Essex, Majestic, Star, Stowe, Sunset)

MORTAL KOMBAT IIHH1/2 Martial artists have to save the world. Karl Urban and Ludi Lin star; Simon McQuoid directed. (116 min, R. Bijou, City Cinema, Essex, Majestic, Paramount, Star, Stowe, Sunset, Welden)

OMAHAHHH1/2 John Magaro stars in Cole Webley’s Sundance Film Festival premiere about a dad taking his kids on a spur-of-the-moment road trip. (83 min, PG-13. Partizanfilm, Savoy)

PROJECT HAIL MARYHHHH A science teacher (Ryan Gosling) finds himself on a mission to save Earth. (156 min, PG-13. Bijou, Capitol, Essex, Majestic, Sunset; reviewed 4/1)

THE SHEEP DETECTIVESHHH1/2 A flock sets out to solve the murder of their shepherd in this mysterycomedy-family flick starring Hugh Jackson. (109 min, PG. Bijou, Capitol, City Cinema, Essex, Majestic, Marquis, Star, Sunset, Welden)

THE SUPER MARIO GALAXY MOVIEHH Mario explores space in the sequel to the animated adventure hit. (98 min, PG. Bijou, Majestic)

OLDER FILMS AND SPECIAL SCREENINGS

BACK TO THE FUTURE (Savoy, Sat only)

THE BIG HEAT (VTIFF, Sun only)

BILLY PRESTON: THAT’S THE WAY GOD PLANNED IT (VTIFF, Sat only)

THE FAREWELL (Savoy, Sun only)

FRIED GREEN TOMATOES 35TH ANNIVERSARY (Essex, Wed 13 only)

HAROLD AND KUMAR GO TO WHITE CASTLE (Partizanfilm, Wed 13 only)

MAN WITH A PLAN 30TH ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATION (Playhouse, Mon & Tue only)

SECRET MALL APARTMENT (Marquis, Wed 13 only)

THE SEVENTH SEAL (Marquis, Thu only)

SHREK 25TH ANNIVERSARY (Essex, starts Fri)

THE SINGING REVOLUTION (Savoy, Mon only)

SWEETIE (VTIFF, Fri only)

TOP GUN 40TH ANNIVERSARY (Essex)

TOP GUN MAVERICK ANNIVERSARY (Essex)

OPEN THEATERS

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

*BIG PICTURE THEATER: 48 Carroll Rd., Waitsfield, 496-8994, bigpicturetheater.info. Closed through April 29.

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

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

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

CITY CINEMA: 137 Waterfront Plaza, Newport, 334-2610, citycinemanewport.com

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

MAJESTIC 10: 190 Boxwood St., Williston, 878-2010, majestic10.com

MARQUIS THEATER: 65 Main St., Middlebury, 388-4841, middleburymarquis.com.

PARAMOUNT TWIN CINEMA: 241 N. Main St., Barre, 479-9621, fgbtheaters.com

*PARTIZANFILM: 230 College St., Unit 13, Burlington, 276-4588, partizanfilm.org

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

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

Where the Heart Is

Middlesex photographer Elliot Burg’s portraits convey history, resilience and personality

BY ALICE DODGE • adodge@sevendaysvt.com

It is ﬁnally spring — a season of hope during a time when, many Americans agree, things are not going great.

Among our sources of collective disappointment: Technologies that once promised to promote unity and understanding are instead causing division and cynicism. The wonder and spirit of inclusion that photography once provoked have given way to an era of deepfakes and dehumanization.

For a refresher on how the medium can live up to its promise of connection and empathy, do yourself a favor and go see “Heart & Eye: World Photography by Elliot Burg” at the Vermont Supreme Court Gallery in Montpelier. It’s a retrospective featuring selections from multiple series and projects, primarily made since 2015. That’s when Burg, who lives in Middlesex and is now 77, started working as a freelance photographer, after a law career that included 27 years in the Vermont Attorney General’s O ce.

REVIEW

Before that, back in 1986 and ’87, Burg and his family spent a year living in Circuata, a tiny village in Bolivia’s Andes. His wife, portrait artist August Burns, was working with Save the Children there, and Burg was looking after their 3-year-old son. He brought his camera and started making portraits of his new neighbors.

The show opens with a few of these early black-and-white prints. Burg said he often gave his subjects color photos of themselves as well as making the ones on view, since no one else in town had a camera. “It was an incredibly satisfying and moving experience for me,” he said in a recent phone conversation, “both the process of creating the images and then being able to share them with people.”

One of the portraits, of Rita Rueda Renaga, is particularly striking in how it conveys the subject’s personality. The woman sits beside a wall, her light clothes and darker skin and hair contrasting with the neutral concrete. The shadow of a traditional bowler hat hides her eyes; her most prominent feature is a stretch of missing front teeth. Despite these absences, Burg captures her uproarious laugh — just looking at the picture invites a viewer in on the joke. Resilience and determination run

through many of Burg’s images. In a couple of series from 2015 and 2017, those qualities take the form of athleticism. One of Burg’s ﬁrst projects was documenting the 2015 National Senior Games in Minneapolis, where he captured older track-and-field competitors, including Vermont pole vaulter Flo Meiler, then 81. Burg establishes a rigid geometry with vertical and horizontal poles crossing in the middle of the shot; Meiler

breaks it with the strength visible on her face and the tension in her arms.

PEOPLE ARE INFINITELY DIVERSE AND BEAUTIFUL.

ELLIOT BURG

In the 2017 photo-essay “The Combination,” Burg pictures a younger athlete — Ali Watson, then a University of Vermont student — as she trained for the New England Golden Gloves boxing title. We don’t see Watson’s face, but her ferocity is clear from the way light hits her muscles.

Burg portrays strength of a di erent sort with images from several projects that hang in a sort of mini-exhibition of their own, “How We Remember,” in the back gallery. These photos, some of his most powerful, were taken on trips to the Gambia, Ukraine, Argentina, Cuba and New Orleans.

The Gambia, a West African nation surrounded by Senegal, spent 22 years under the authoritarian rule of dictator Yahya Jammeh, deposed in 2017. In 2025, a human rights museum called Memory House invited Burg and Burns, his wife, to the country to document survivors’ stories. Though the presentation doesn’t include those narratives, the images feel laden with them.

Viewers immediately confront a portrait of Abdoulie J. Barrow, identiﬁed as an ex-soldier. At 32 by 40 inches, the unframed, near-life-size image provokes an immediate sense of connection with the man, whose crisp shirt, beard and eyes pop in bursts of white; the depth of his gaze conveys the weight of his past.

Next to his portrait, printed equally large, a colorful image of a “Mardi Gras Indian” from New Orleans shows a dancer resplendent with a beaded costume and yellow feathers. But in the moment Burg caught, her downcast gaze seems serious and introspective. Though the Mardi Gras

Above: “Ex-soldier Abdoulie J. Barrow, Banjul, the Gambia”; Left: “‘Mardi Gras Indian,’ New Orleans”

images are some of Burg’s most vibrant, showcasing spectacular costumes, their placement beside those taken in the Gambia reminds viewers of the bonds between African, Louisianan and Indigenous American histories and cultures — and of the complexities of celebrating joy that follows deep trauma.

Several of Burg’s series address long historical arcs: authoritarianism in the Gambia, human rights activism in Argentina and a retracing of his Jewish ancestors’ routes through villages in Ukraine. But one photographed closer to home memorializes an event on a smaller time frame: Montpelier’s recovery from the 2023 ﬂoods.

Here, Burg broadens his view, showing us portraits not only of individuals but also of community response. The artist has said that the “eye” in the show’s title, “Heart & Eye,” refers to the technical aspects of his craft, rather than the identity of the subject. Those skills are on full view in these black-and-white pictures.

“Chairs” captures a volunteer next to barstools and wire shelves piled on the

sidewalk. Unexpectedly for such a grimy, busy scene, the stools make a forest of shining chrome, a promise of salvage, if not salvation. An image of a worker carrying a box out of Buch Spieler Records uses dramatic high contrast to highlight a mountain of trash outside the store. Behind it, a jazz musician pictured on a poster in the window looks like he’s really there, coolly playing on.

While Burg enjoys the “eye” part of his practice, true portraiture — o ering a glimpse into someone’s story — is clearly where his “heart” lies.

“People are infinitely diverse and beautiful,” he said. “When I’m approaching someone on the street in Havana or a volunteer in Montpelier after the ﬂood or one of our neighbors in Bolivia, I feel drawn to that person.” ➆ INFO

“Heart & Eye: World Photography by Elliot Burg,” on view through June 26 at the Vermont Supreme Court Gallery in Montpelier. curator.vermont.gov

Outdoor

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From top: “Flo Meiler, 81, Pole Vault”; “Vinyl”

OPENINGS + RECEPTIONS

‘VERMONT’S FINEST FURNITURE MAKERS’: Works by members of the Guild of Vermont Furniture Makers. Highland Center for the Arts, Greensboro, through June 7.

ART AT THE HOSPITAL: BECKY CHAPPELL: Mixedmedia works that experiment with improvisational art making. University of Vermont Medical Center, Burlington, through September 30.

ART AT THE HOSPITAL: FRANCOIS DE MELOGUE: Photographs representing a sense of timeless atmosphere. University of Vermont Medical Center, Burlington, through September 30.

ART AT THE HOSPITAL: GREG NICOLAI: Photographs based in form, shape and pattern. University of Vermont Medical Center, Burlington, through September 30.

ART AT THE HOSPITAL: JULIE DUNIGAN: Works combining collage, relief printmaking, and painting and exploring color. University of Vermont Medical Center, Burlington, through September 30.

ART AT THE HOSPITAL: NANCY CHAPMAN: A series of oil paintings celebrating an experience of natural beauty interpreted through memory. University of Vermont Medical Center, Burlington, through September 30.

ART AT THE HOSPITAL: TODD CUMMINGS: Digital illustrations inspired by time spent outdoors and in Vermont’s backcountry. University of Vermont Medical Center, Burlington, through September 30.

DEANNA SANTO: “Journey’s End,” an MFA exhibit of landscape paintings. Closing reception and artist talk: Thursday, May 14, noon-2 p.m. Julian Scott Memorial Gallery, Vermont State University-Johnson, through May 17.

‘VISIONS UNBOUND: A COLLECTIVE IN COLOR’: A group show of works by Ryan Curtis, Blaire D.W.E. and Scott J. Morgan. Reception features wine, Korean food and a live DJ. Reception: Friday, May 15, 5-8 p.m. The Great Hall, Springfield, May 15-31.

‘MARNI ROSNER AND CARL CROOK COLLECTIONS OF CHINESE ART’: An exhibition of pieces representing China’s diverse cultural regions, including works by Uighur artist Aniwar Mamet, Naxi painter and muralist Wang Rongchang, papercuts by Liang Changsheng, and portraits of Tibetan herdsmen by Sichuan-based artist He Duoling. Reception: Saturday, May 16, 1-3 p.m. CX Silver Gallery, Brattleboro, May 15-June 27.

‘CELEBRATION OF THE LIGHT TO COME’: A group show curated by Emma Horton. Reception: Saturday, May 16, 4-6 p.m. Frog Hollow Vermont Craft Gallery, Burlington, through May 31.

TODD DRAKE: “Help Each Other,” an exhibition of works by the New York City graffiti artist known as the Quaker Pirate that mix art and activism and are centered on radical empathy. Rokeby Museum, Ferrisburgh, May 16-October 11.

‘DRAWING ON THE ARCHIVE: TILLIE WALDEN’S CHARITY & SYLVIA’: A show pairing illustrations from the 2026 Vermont Reads graphic novel about a 19th-century couple with original objects and documents from the museum’s collection. Henry Sheldon Museum of Vermont History, Middlebury, May 20-January 2.

‘TIME KEEPING’: “Clockworks,” sculptures by Luciana Frigerio presented in conversation with clocks, watches, calendars, journals and time capsules from the museum’s collection. Henry Sheldon Museum of Vermont History, Middlebury, May 20-January 2.

‘DECADES IN THE MAKING’: A celebration of five decades of artistic practice by artist members Susan Wilson, Dick Weis, Fran Bull, Mark Schwabe, Joan Curtis and show curator Charles Lysogorski.

Reception: Saturday, May 23, 3-5 p.m. Southern Vermont Arts Center, Manchester, May 19-July 19.

Finer Things

It would be a mistake to expect a linear, logical show from a curator whose bio includes making puppets for the Broadway musical The Addams Family and a stint as head fabricator for a boutique terrarium company. Ben Finer is best known in Vermont as codirector of Kishka Gallery & Library in White River Junction, but in “Non Sequitur,” at the Phoenix in Waterbury, he presents his paintings alongside those of Woodstock artist Tara Wray and Contoocook, N.H., painter Lucy Mink. The latter’s works offer unstable stripes and geometries of wobbly forms that hover vulnerably in a strange palette of pastels and browns. Wray’s include happy abstractions in bright colors with titles such as “Friendly robot (for a child’s room)” and the cartoonish but scary “Dead horse, dead rider,” as well as one pretty realistic (but also scary) picture of her dog Hula on the porch with Halloween decorations. Among Finer’s contributions are slightly blurred abstract forms that seem to pulsate and a couple of fantasy-like representational images featuring people who might be zombies. The show is creepy, memorable and impressively cohesive, far more than its title might suggest.

‘NON SEQUITUR: BEN FINER, TARA WRAY, LUCY MINK’

Through June 26 at the Phoenix in Waterbury. thephoenixvt.com

‘OUT OF THE BOX’: Works by 10 printmakers who each responded to the challenge of creating an artwork based on a randomly selected box of objects assembled by another participating artist. Reception: Friday, June 5, 5-7 p.m. Two Rivers Printmaking Studio, White River Junction, through June 30.

VISUAL ART EVENTS

LIFE DRAWING AND PAINTING: A drop-in event for artists working with the figure from a live model. T.W. Wood Museum, Montpelier, Thursday, May 14, 7-9 p.m. Free; $15 suggested donation.

‘FURNITURE DESIGN & CRAFTSMANSHIP’: An exhibition of fine furniture designed and built by spring semester Immersion Program students, on display during an open house in the Third-Floor Gallery. Vermont Woodworking School, Fairfax, Friday, May 15, 4-6 p.m. Free.

‘FREE SELF-EXPRESSION’: An open forum in which the public is invited to celebrate community by sharing performance, music, reading, speaking, dancing, and take-home art and writing. Canal Street Art Gallery, Bellows Falls, Friday, May 15, 5-8 p.m. Free.

TEA CHAT: MAXWELL HOLDEN: Tea with the artist and a discussion of the exhibition “You Know Me,” the title of which is wordplay on an informal teacup style called yunomi. AVA Gallery and Art Center, Lebanon, N.H., Saturday, May 16, noon-2 p.m. Free.

ARTIST TALK AND BOOK SIGNING: CALEB KENNA: A discussion with the photographer of his book Art From Above: Vermont a collection of aerial photographs connecting the state’s identity with its working landscapes. Drone demonstration at 1 p.m., weather permitting. Billings Farm & Museum, Woodstock, Sunday, May 17, 11 a.m.-12:30 p.m. Free.

SOCIAL SUNDAY: An opportunity for children and caregivers to stop in and complete a 15- to 30-minute activity during the two-hour workshop. Milton Artists’ Guild Art Center & Gallery, Sunday, May 17, 1-3 p.m. Free.

PORTRAIT DRAWING AND PAINTING: A drop-in event where artists can practice skills in any medium. T.W. Wood Museum, Montpelier, Monday, May 18, 10 a.m.-noon. Free; $15 suggested donation. OPEN STUDIO: A guided meditation followed by an hour of art making in any medium and concluding with a share-and-witness process. Many art materials available. In person and online. Expressive Arts Burlington, Tuesday, May 19, 6:30-8:30 p.m. By donation.

CALL TO ARTISTS

‘THE LOVE OF LIGHT’: An invitation to submit one or two works on the theme in any medium for an exhibition running June through August. For registration materials and information contact Catherine McMains at catherine.mcmains@gmail. com. Jericho Town Hall. Deadline: May 29. ➆

“celestial event” by Ben Finer

Robbi Handy Holmes

Dubé

music+nightlife

Back in the Saddle

As the car pulled out of the driveway, Xander Naylor knew there was no time to brake or swerve his bicycle to avoid the impact. Twenty feet disappeared in seconds. Then darkness took him.

“It’s amazing how many thoughts the brain can have in a short period of time,” Naylor said. “A whole series of them came up when I saw the car, but the main one was, Dude, say your prayers, because you don’t know if you’re coming out of this.”

The musician was biking home through Winooski near Route 15 last June after teaching guitar lessons all day when he and a car collided. Naylor was severely injured, breaking almost a dozen bones including his ribs, collarbone, left wrist and his jaw in three places. Most worryingly, he also broke the C7 vertebra in his neck, located directly next to the nerve that runs to his ﬁngers.

An accomplished composer and guitarist, Naylor, 38, has spent years intertwining his jazz background with Indian music, often traveling abroad to perform and study. He’s developed a dynamic style of play, fusing Western and Eastern styles into his virtuosic shredding. He plays with London musician Michael Mwenso and Burlington fusion act Breathwork, in addition to fronting the Xander Naylor Trio. The accident put all of that in jeopardy.

Naylor was bedridden for months, with both arms in slings or casts and his jaw wired shut.

With a combination of faith and patience, as well as support from friends and family, Naylor is back, his trusty Fender Telecaster in his hands again after nearly a year. He’s playing live shows again, including a run later this month with Saturn People’s Sound Collective. He also has a new LP, Children of Sound, released last month.

Naylor sat down for lunch with Seven Days last week and talked about learning to listen to his body, the healing power of music and getting back on the bike.

At the risk of sounding insensitive, you look really good for a dude who got wiped out by a car.

[Laughing.] Thanks. It’s been a long road getting back, man. There was a point where I was drinking a huge milkshake with protein powder every morning, just trying to gain a little weight back. But I couldn’t do it. My body was just using everything to heal itself.

Physically, the crash was obviously pretty brutal for you. What effect did it have on your mental state?

I know it sounds weird, but there’s a

this immediate lesson in the connection between my mental health, my body and my sense of spiritual work.

It sounds like the crash started a conversation you maybe weren’t ready to have?

Well, I think I did want to have that conversation, but I didn’t know that crashing into a car would be the way it was going to happen! After it happened, I blacked out. When I woke up, the EMT was saying, basically, “Buddy, you had a bad accident.” And I was like, Yeah, no shit But at the same time I had this feeling of elation. I’m still here I’m still alive

At the hospital, my wife was laughing at me because she said I had this aura around me; she said I looked almost joyous. I’m still here on this planet, which means my work is not done, as simple as that.

Still, as someone whose whole career is predicated on the use of your hands, you must have been worried about what your injuries meant for you as a musician.

Honestly, the physical side of it was so big, I just put the music aside. I needed all my energy to heal; picking up a guitar just wasn’t an option. I did listen to music during recovery, nonstop. I listened to almost exclusively Indian music. I’d sit in the sun in my backyard, meditate and listen to these really old recordings. It was so easy for me to get overstimulated in that state, so I gravitated towards these slow ragas. They calmed my mind in a very medicinal way and helped me focus on my body recovering from the physical trauma.

When did you feel comfortable picking back up the guitar?

Last September, Michael [Mwenso] called me up to see how I was doing. I was still in a neck brace and had a cast on my wrist. He was so delicate, but he eventually asked if I was able to play some shows that December. And, you know, I had all this metal stu in my mouth, held together with rubber bands, so I was like, “Um, let me see?”

way where I was actually blessed by this accident. The force of it sent shock waves into my body, and it just felt like things were rearranged — sort of a spiritual clearing out, you know? It was

By October, around the 12-week mark, I was in full physical therapy and I decided, Yeah, I can do this I’m going to do this Because music heals me. So I had a goal. I arrived in London, and I said to myself, OK, I’m just going to survive playing guitar for an hour. And it was tough going at ﬁrst. I’d build up a little endurance, take a break and slip back again. But by the time we had

Naylor in the hospital after his accident

Xander Naylor Trio

On the Beat

On Saturday, May 23, NORTHWOODS MUSIC COLLABORATIVE and ThirdTone collaborate on a sound experience titled “Live Binaural Journey” at the Black Box Theater at Main Street Landing Performing Arts Center in Burlington. The organizations will combine low frequencies and live instruments to create an immersive sonic ﬁeld.

“This is a live binaural ﬁeld where sound is generated inside your perceptions,” ThirdTone cofounder, composer and conductor EVAN PREMO said in a press release. (Premo previously served as codirector of Marshﬁeld chamber ensemble SCRAG MOUNTAIN MUSIC.) “As the frequencies interact, listeners begin to generate new layers of sound internally, reshaping their sense of space and time.”

Did you follow all that? Put simply, a combination of ambient noise, pulsing tones and live instruments will help guide audience members’ brains into a relaxed, meditative state. What makes it di erent than, say, a sound bath is that “Live Binaural Journey” is meant to produce tones from within the listeners themselves, creating what Premo calls a “dynamic interplay between external sound and internal perception.”

And if you’re wondering what the hell “binaural” means (other than a mid-career PEARL JAM LP), it’s recording sound to mimic the way human ears

hear. When di erent frequencies are played in each ear, it creates a so-called binaural beat — a ghost beat — entirely inside a listener’s head.

The event also serves as a release party for the new app from ThirdTone, which uses binaural frequencies to create internal tones that the founders describe as “supporting brain-body synchronization.” The app purports to engage the nervous system in an e ort to help regulate the body and even improve sleep quality.

Listening In

(Spotify mix of local jams)

“Sound moves in the ears and is processed through the whole body,” cofounder, author and sound therapist LISA MASE points out in a press release. “ThirdTone creates conditions where people can feel that interaction directly and allow the body to respond. This sound experience is taking ancient traditions of vibrational healing into new forms.”

Sounds pretty cool! (See what I did there?) I don’t think I’ve ever been, uh, vibrated from within, but hey, there’s a ﬁrst time for everything.

For more details, visit northwoodsmusiccollaborative.org or thirdtone.io.

Burlington expats ALL NIGHT BOOGIE BAND are back with a new single. The R&B and soul quintet, whose members are split between Vermont and New York City these days, dropped the track “Always on My Mind” last Friday.

A romantic, classic-pop-leaning tune, the single features front woman JESS LEONE belting out a 24-karat vocal of undying love.

“Lovin’ you is easy, babe / ’cause you know you’re just my kind,” Leone sings. “I ain’t one for star signs, boy / But I believe that we’re aligned.”

1. “AIN’T IT FUNKY NOW” by EVNGwear

2. “NEW LIFE” by Freddie Losambe

3. “A THOUSAND SILVER MOONS” by Evan Alsop

4. “EAST OF ORDINARY” by King Tuff

5. “BOUND BY THIS” by Dutch Experts

6. “PORK SHOP” by the Pilgrims

7. “EASY ON ME” by Marcie Hernandez

Evan Premo

Back in the Saddle « P.54

a run of shows in February, it was less taxing. Progress was being made.

You just released a new LP, Children of Sound. Does it feel like this heralds the full comeback?

Well, yes and no. I recorded the album before my accident. But it was interesting to listen back to it during mixing and editing while I was recovering. Just to listen to my guitar as I was sort of relearning how to play, in a way.

I’m super happy with the way the record turned out. I feel so lucky to be able to bring that exact group of musicians together. Samir Chatterjee is an incredible tabla player. Raphael Pannier on drums, Utsav Lal on piano and Birsa Chatterjee playing tenor sax … These are all fabulous musicians who, like me, are really looking for that synthesis between Indian and jazz music.

You’ve also got new music with Breathwork, as well as more solo music in the works. Are you back at full speed? What’s the future hold for you, post-crash?

[ Holding up his sandwich. ] See this? This is currently the hardest part of my rehab. I want to devour this thing, but I can’t. My physical therapist told me no “Philly cheesesteak-size bites.” So, I’m still adjusting on a lot of fronts.

Music-wise, yep, there’s a new Breathwork EP coming in June, and I’ve got some shows in London this summer. I’m taking it all in stride, though, just trying to listen to my body.

Have you gotten back on the bike since the accident?

Oh, yeah. I love my bike; it’s like a friend. My nervous system isn’t totally, 100 percent back to normal — I can still feel myself overreacting to things. But I just remind myself to go slow.

It’s funny, the Winooski police called a few months after the accident and told me they weren’t going to hold on to my bike much longer. So my wife, Maggie, went to pick it up, and it was pretty much good to go. After all that, I still had my bike to ride. It was waiting for me to heal. The universe is funny like that. ➆

This interview was edited for clarity and length.

INFO

Children of Sound is available at xandernaylor.bandcamp.com and on major streaming services. Visit xandernaylor.com for more.

On the Beat « P.55

Along with other advance singles the band has released this year, such as “Keep On Rolling” and “I Think They Called It Peace,” the new track will appear on the band’s forthcoming third LP, If You’re Blue and Lonesome, due out later this year.

Spruce Peak Arts in Stowe has announced some excellent shows this summer and fall. The greatest drummer who ever lived (I’m available for debates!), STEWART COPELAND, formerly

of the Police, is set for a speaking engagement on November 15. But if you’re looking for an actual performance to get psyched for, singer-songwriter PETE YORN comes to the mountain on Friday, September 11.

Yorn will celebrate 25 years of his breakthrough album, musicforthemorningafter — good gravy, my knees hurt just reading that sentence — a record that perfectly encapsulated early 2000s indie ambivalence and included hits such as “Life on a Chain” and “Strange Condition.”

“These shows will lean heavily

Shows to Watch Out For

BY CHRIS FARNSWORTH

1. A$AP Rocky at Bell Centre in Montréal, June 1

2. Wilco at Thompson’s Point in Portland, Maine, June 21

3. Deer Tick at Higher Ground Ballroom in South Burlington, June 27

4. Jack White at the Midway Lawn at Champlain Valley Exposition in Essex Junction, July 15

5. Ruthie Foster at the Stone Church in Brattleboro, August 14

6. Graham Nash at Spruce Peak Arts in Stowe, September 17

7. Liz Phair at the Egg in Albany, N.Y., September 24

into songs from that record,” Yorn wrote in a press release. “I’ll also play favorites from across my catalog — and maybe even take a few requests along the way. Every show will be a unique experience.”

I’m guessing the unique experience for yours truly would just be a wave of college-era nostalgia and maybe some memories of bad breakups — Yorn is a great heartbreak soundtrack.

Tickets go on sale for members on Wednesday, May 13, and to the public on Friday, May 15, at sprucepeakarts.org.

CHRIS FARNSWORTH

Pete Yorn

Deer Tick

Jack White

Liz Phair

COURTESY OF DAVID JAMES SWANSON

COURTESY

CLUB DATES

live music

WED.13

Bluegrass & Pizza (bluegrass) at Four Quarters Brewing, Winooski, 6:30 p.m. Free.

Buckethead (rock) at Higher Ground Ballroom, South Burlington, 9 p.m. $39.

Dead Not Dead (Grateful Dead tribute) at Zenbarn, Waterbury Center, 7 p.m. $12.

Emerson Woolf & the Wishbones, Cricket Blue (folk) at Higher Ground Showcase Lounge, South Burlington, 8 p.m. $20.

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.

Tim Fitzgerald (singersongwriter) at Two Heroes Brewery & Public House, South Hero, 6 p.m. Free.

THU.14

Arcy Drive, soundhound (indie rock) at Higher Ground Ballroom, South Burlington, 8 p.m. $18.

Folino’s Summer Concert Series on the Patio (live music series) at Folino’s Pizza, Williston, 6 p.m. Free.

Folino’s Summer Concert Series on the Patio (live music series) at Folino’s Pizza, Northﬁeld, 6 p.m. Free.

Gemini (funk, jazz) at Foam Brewers, Burlington, 7 p.m. Free.

Hit Like A Girl, Jesse Taylor Band, Young Laidy (indie rock, punk) at Burlington Odd Fellows Hall, 7 p.m. $10.

James Shelley (covers) at On Tap Bar & Grill, Essex Junction, 6 p.m. Free.

Lincoln Sprague (piano) at Venetian Cocktail & Soda Lounge, Burlington, 5 p.m. Free.

Little Oso, Cady Ternity, Cosmic the Cowboy (indie) at Monkey House, Winooski, 7:30 p.m.

$5/$10.

Red Hot Juba (jazz) at Black Flannel Brewing & Distilling, Essex, 6 p.m. Free.

Troy Millette & the Fire Below, David Wimbish, Jesse DeConto (Americana) at Venetian Cocktail & Soda Lounge, Burlington, 7 p.m. $15.

VIAL, Scarlet Demore, Violet Crimes (punk) at Higher Ground Showcase Lounge, South Burlington, 7:30 p.m. $19.78.

Walter Mitty & His Makeshift Orchestra, Pacing, Milk St. (folk, punk) at Radio Bean, Burlington, 8 p.m. $15.

FRI.15

Alternate Take (folk) at Two Heroes Brewery & Public House, South Hero, 6 p.m. Free.

Blue Northern (blues, rock) at the Alchemist, Stowe, 4 p.m. Free.

e Bressetts (acoustic) at Gusto’s, Barre, 6 p.m. Free.

Christy Costello & the CC Club Band, the Pilgrims, Dog Water, We’re Here! To Kill (indie rock) at Monkey House, Winooski, 7:30 p.m. $10.

Dave Mitchell’s Blue’s Revue (blues) at Red Square, Burlington, 2 p.m. Free.

Dead Man Strumming (Grateful Dead tribute) at River Roost Brewery, White River Junction, 5 p.m. Free.

Deja-Nous (Cajun, zydeco) at Shelburne Vineyard, 6 p.m. Free. Dub Apocalypse (reggae) at Zenbarn, Waterbury Center, 8 p.m. $20.

Eustis, Holding Napoleon (Americana, indie rock) at Foam Brewers, Burlington, 9 p.m. Free. Freeway Clyde (jazz fusion) at Radio Bean, Burlington, 7 p.m. $10.

HiFi (electronica) at Hugo’s, Montpelier, 8 p.m. Free.

Jukebox Romantics, On the Cinder, Middle-Aged Queers, Robbery, the Skizm (punk) at 1st Republic Brewing, Essex, 7 p.m. $10.

e Mallett Brothers Band, Forest Station (bluegrass) at Higher Ground Showcase Lounge, South Burlington, 7:30 p.m. $21.85.

MOMDAD, Mooncusser, the Leatherbound Books (indie pop, funk) at Light Club Lamp Shop, Burlington, 8:30 p.m. $10.

Moondogs, Connor Young (jam, indie rock) at Radio Bean, Burlington, 9 p.m. $10.

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.

mill town of Lincoln, Maine, Augustine state away

Growing up in the paper JACOB AUGUSTINE started out playing metal music in deﬁance of the town’s straightlaced, conservative vibes. After a brief sojourn to Los Angeles, Augustine returned to his home state and relaunched as a singer-songwriter in Portland before pausing his career to care for his ailing mother. After a decade away from recording, Augustine is back with a new album, a tribute to his late mother. I Love You Forever dwells on themes of grief, perseverance and trying to ﬁnd yourself when your teacher is gone. Augustine swings through Winooski on Sunday, May 17, for a performance at the Monkey House with opener Ashna Maj Hille.

e Phil Abair Band (covers) at the Old Post, South Burlington, 8 p.m. Free.

Public Water Supply, Leddy Moss (indie, Americana) at Einstein’s Tap House, Burlington, 7:30 p.m. $10.

Radio Cowboy (country and western) at Switchback Beer Garden & Smokehouse, Burlington, 5:30 p.m. Free.

Shane Murley Band (Americana) at Jericho Café & Tavern, 7 p.m. Free.

Sibling Reverie (covers) at On Tap Bar & Grill, Essex Junction, 5 p.m. Free.

Something Reckless (covers) at On Tap Bar & Grill, Essex Junction, 9 p.m. Free.

SAT.16

Borrow the Bones (folk, Americana) at the Phoenix, Waterbury, 7:30 p.m. $15-$30.

Case Oats, Henry True (altcountry, folk) at Radio Bean, Burlington, 9 p.m. $15.

e Conniption Fits (covers) at Gusto’s, Barre, 9 p.m. Free.

Dead Man Strumming (Grateful Dead tribute) at Shelburne Vineyard, 6 p.m. Free.

Drew Hutson Rogers Band, Jaded Ravins, Sons of Williams (rock, Americana) at the Underground — Listening Room, Randolph, 7:30 p.m. $14.

DSM-5 (rock, blues) at Charlie-O’s World Famous, Montpelier, 8:30 p.m. Free.

Geoff Kim, Bob Gagnon (jazz) at Two Heroes Brewery & Public House, South Hero, 6 p.m. Free.

Dead Is Alive with Dobbs’ Dead (Grateful Dead tribute) at Einstein’s Tap House, Burlington, 8 p.m. $15.

Grooveasaurus, Ruminations (funk, jazz) at Monkey House, Winooski, 7:30 p.m. Free.

Honky Tonk Tuesday with Wild Leek River (country) at Radio Bean, Burlington, 9 p.m. $10. Irish Night With RambleTree (Celtic) at Two Brothers Tavern, Middlebury, 7 p.m. Free.

King Tuff, Mod Lang (indie rock) at Higher Ground Showcase Lounge, South Burlington, 8 p.m. $25.

Kiley Latham & Co (indie pop) at Einstein’s Tap House, Burlington, 8 p.m. $10.

Left Eye Jump (blues) at Red Square, Burlington, 3 p.m. Free.

Lloyd Tyler Band (folk) at Jericho Café & Tavern, 7 p.m. Free.

Lyle Brewer (instrumental guitar) at Light Club Lamp Shop, Burlington, 7 p.m. $15.

Mama’s Broke, Wes Pearce, Jude Brothers (folk) at Higher Ground Showcase Lounge, South Burlington, 8 p.m. $20.

Matt Dorko Trio (jazz) at Hugo’s, Montpelier, 7:30 p.m. Free.

Matthews & Rhodes (singersongwriter) at the Den at Harry’s Hardware, Cabot, 7 p.m. Free.

Mon Rovia, Ellery Harper (singersongwriter) at Higher Ground Ballroom, South Burlington, 8 p.m. SOLD OUT.

Pappy Biondo, Lowell ompson (folk) at Marigold Gallery, Burlington, 7 p.m. $20.

Pointe Noir (Cajun, zydeco) at Bent Nails Roadhouse, Middlesex, 7 p.m. Free.

Public Water Supply (indie) at Stowe Cider, 4 p.m. Free.

Two for Flinching (covers) at On Tap Bar & Grill, Essex Junction, 5 p.m. Free.

Weakened Friends, Jesse Taylor Band (indie rock) at Zenbarn, Waterbury Center, 8 p.m. $16/$18. Woods, Edsel Axle (indie rock, psych folk) at Foam Brewers, Burlington, 8 p.m. $22/$27.

Madigan Linnane (singersongwriter) at Lawson’s Finest Liquids, Waitsﬁeld, 5:30 p.m. Free.

WED.20

Bluegrass & Pizza (bluegrass) at Four Quarters Brewing, Winooski, 6:30 p.m. Free.

Cricket Blue, Connor Young, Diamond, Eastern Mountain Time, Grace Palmer (indie) at Radio Bean, Burlington, 7 p.m. $10/$15.

Jazz Night with Ray Vega (jazz) at Hotel Vermont, Burlington, 8:30 p.m. Free.

SUN.17

Bahamas, Sister Ray (singersongwriter) at Higher Ground Ballroom, South Burlington, 7:30 p.m. $35.

Bob Recupero (singersongwriter) at Lawson’s Finest Liquids, Waitsﬁeld, 3 p.m. Free.

Half Dead (Grateful Dead tribute) at Shelburne Vineyard, 1 p.m. Free.

Jacob Augustine, Ashna Maj Hille (singer-songwriter) at Monkey House, Winooski, 7 p.m. $10/$15.

Jeff and Gina (acoustic) at Foam Brewers, Burlington, 1 p.m. Free.

Kray Van Kirk, John Fealy (singer-songwriter) at Stage 33 Live, Bellows Falls, 3 p.m. $15/$20.

Seth Yacovone (acoustic) at the Alchemist, Stowe, 4 p.m. Free.

SKORTS (rock) at Foam Brewers, Burlington, 8 p.m. Free.

Sunday Brunch Tunes (singersongwriter) at Hotel Vermont, Burlington, 10 a.m.

ey Are Gutting a Body of Water, Noah Kesey (indie rock) at Higher Ground Showcase Lounge, South Burlington, 7:30 p.m. SOLD OUT.

Wine & Jazz Sundays (jazz) at Shelburne Vineyard, 5 p.m. Free.

TUE.19

Big Easy Tuesdays with Jon McBride (jazz) at the 126, Burlington, 9 p.m. Free.

Bluegrass Jam (bluegrass) at Poultney Pub, 7 p.m. Free.

Jazz Sessions (jazz) at the 126, Burlington, 9 p.m. Free.

djs

WED.13

Blanchface, DJ Chaston (DJ) at Red Square, Burlington, 8 p.m. Free.

Kraken, DJ Aras (DJ) at Red Square Blue Room, Burlington, 10 p.m. Free.

e Mid Week Hump with DJs Fattie B and Craig Mitchell (DJ) at Monkey House, Winooski, 7 p.m. Free.

THU.14

irsty ursday (DJ) at Rí Rá Irish Pub & Whiskey Room, Burlington, 10 p.m. Free. rough Being Cool: Pop-Punk Night (DJ) at Standing Stone Wines, Winooski, 7 p.m. Free. Vinyl Night (DJ) at Poultney Pub, 6 p.m. Free.

FRI.15

DJ 2Rivers (DJ) at Rí Rá Irish Pub & Whiskey Room, Burlington, 10 p.m. Free.

DJ LaFountaine (DJ) at Gusto’s, Barre, 9 p.m. Free.

DJ Taka (DJ) at Light Club Lamp Shop, Burlington, 11 p.m. $10/$15. Friday Night at Specs (DJ) at Specs Cafe & Bar, Winooski, 7 p.m. Free.

SAT.16

Broosha, Four-D (DJ) at Light Club Lamp Shop, Burlington, 11 p.m. $10.

SUN.17 // JACOB AUGUSTINE [SINGER-SONGWRITER]

COURTESY

REVIEW this music+nightlife

Swamp Camp, Swamp Camp

(SELF-RELEASED, CD, DIGITAL)

Back in 2004, rappers Cage and Tame One dropped a ridiculous concept album, Waterworld, under the moniker Leak Bros. It was a 14-track paean to PCP. While angel dust is hardly a popular drug in the hip-hop community, the duo’s unwavering dedication to this absurd conceit made for an underground classic still praised to this day.

Swamp Camp is a new local group featuring some familiar faces: Boxguts, Tha Truth and Rico James are all veterans of Vermont’s hiphop scene. Even a cursory accounting of their output and contributions would take up most of this review. Su ce it to say, their dues are paid in full.

opening track, “Welcome to the Swamp,” is a masterpiece, equal parts Cut Chemist and KutMasta Kurt. In addition to producing, he also mixed and mastered the entire album. The result is a compelling blend of lo-ﬁ grit and byzantine detail work.

Their latest project, however, is a genuine surprise. Like Waterworld, Swamp Camp’s eponymous debut is ridiculous in the best sense. By turns hilarious and menacing — and always archly self-aware — the trio is committed to the bit: bars and beats about the trials and tribulations of living in the swamp.

That swamp is a surreal pastiche of cultural references, blending movies, reality TV and documentaries from around the world. Producer James sets the tone with a torrent of brilliantly curated samples. The rappers follow suit, framing every brag and boast in terms of alligators and pythons, machetes and motorboats. These are dispatches from a world in which your survival skills determine your lifespan.

It also might be one of James’ ﬁnest projects to date. His instrumental

The album really catches fire with “Thump City,” the second track. While Tha Truth delivers straight-ahead boom-bap honesty, Boxguts is half chameleon, half chupacabra, constantly changing his flow patterns. That contrast is the key ingredient. Tha Truth has stepped up his hook game considerably in recent years and contributes some catchy, confident choruses throughout Swamp Camp, especially on “Gators” and “Playgrounds.” That kind of artistic growth is crucial when your partner in rhyme is so captivating. Boxguts remains one of the most interesting and unpredictable MCs Vermont has ever seen. It’s safe to say no other rapper has ever bragged about being “harder to catch than a 32-pound sea urchin with your bare hands,” as he does on “Tranquilize Ya (feat. DJ Kanga).”

I’ve had Swamp Camp in rotation for weeks now, and the balance of cohesion and experimentation across its nine tracks impresses me the most. Despite variations in tempo, feel and even mixing, it never deviates from the concept. This is the most fun I’ve had listening to an 802 rap album in a long time. If you love the genre, give this one a spin. Just watch out for those damn snakes.

Swamp Camp is available at swampcamp.bandcamp.com and on major streaming services.

JUSTIN BOLAND

DJ Chaston, Aras, Love, Kelly (DJ) at Red Square, Burlington, 6 p.m. Free.

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

Sparkomatik (EDM) at Monkey House, Winooski, 8 p.m. $10/$15.

TUE.19

Bashment Tuesday (DJ) at Akes’ Place, Burlington, 6 p.m. Free.

open mics & jams

WED.13

Open Mic (open mic) at Poultney Pub, 7 p.m. Free.

THU.14

Old Time Jam (string band open jam) at Radio Bean, Burlington, 6 p.m. Free.

Open Mic (open mic) at the Whammy Bar, Calais, 7 p.m. Free.

Open Mic with Dee Davis (open mic) at Charlie-O’s World Famous, Montpelier, 8 p.m. Free.

SUN.17

Olde Time Jam Session (open jam) at the Den at Harry’s Hardware, Cabot, noon. Free.

MON.18

Monday Night Open Mic (open mic) at Pearl Street Pub, Essex Junction, 6 p.m. Free.

TUE.19

Doug’s Open Mic (open mic) at Two Heroes Brewery & Public House, South Hero, 6 p.m. Free.

WED.20

Jazz Jam with Nina Towne (jazz) at the Phoenix, Waterbury, 6 p.m. $10.

Open Mic (open mic) at Poultney Pub, 7 p.m. Free.

Satellite Rock Burlington’s MOONDOGS emerged from the University of Vermont scene straddling the line between swampy, Ween-like psychedelic rock and funk-driven jam-band grooves. Their 2022 debut, ACiD TeST, was largely a one-man show, the work of singer-songwriter and guitarist Will Sturcke. Two years later, the band had become a fixture on the Queen City live scene and dropped Trialogues, its first LP as a proper quartet. Moondogs’ new album, Tides and Seasons, drops on Friday, May 15. To celebrate, they’ll throw a release party the same evening at Radio Bean in Burlington. Local trumpeter and composer CONNOR YOUNG provides support.

comedy

WED.13

$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.

THU.14

Exodus Roast (comedy) at Vermont Comedy Club, Burlington, 9 p.m. $10.

Rachel Scanlon (comedy) at Vermont Comedy Club, Burlington, 7 p.m. $25.

FRI.15

2026 Comedy Play Fest (comedy) at Grange Hall Cultural Center, Waterbury Center, 7:30 p.m. $20.

Comedy Night (comedy) at Bent Nails Roadhouse, Middlesex, 7:30 p.m. Free.

Rachel Scanlon (comedy) at Vermont Comedy Club, Burlington, 7 & 9 p.m. $25.

SAT.16

2026 Comedy Play Fest (comedy) at Grange Hall Cultural Center, Waterbury Center, 7:30 p.m. $20.

Rachel Scanlon (comedy) at Vermont Comedy Club, Burlington, 9 p.m. $25.

SUN.17

2026 Comedy Play Fest (comedy) at Grange Hall Cultural Center, Waterbury Center, 2 p.m. $20.

TUE.19

All That Jazz Open Mic Comedy (comedy) at the 126, Burlington, 7 p.m. Free.

WED.20

Standup Open Mic (comedy open mic) at Vermont Comedy Club, Burlington, 8:30 p.m. Free.

trivia, karaoke, etc.

WED.13

Karaoke Friday Night (karaoke) at Park Place Tavern & Grill, Essex Junction, 8 p.m. Free.

Karaoke with Cam (karaoke) at Monopole, Plattsburgh, N.Y., 9 p.m. Free.

Trivia (trivia) at Alfie’s Wild Ride, Stowe, 7 p.m. Free.

Trivia (trivia) at Rí Rá Irish Pub & Whiskey Room, Burlington, 7 p.m. Free.

Trivia (trivia) at Venetian Cocktail & Soda Lounge, Burlington, 7 p.m. Free.

THU.14

Country Line Dancing (line dancing) at Zenbarn, Waterbury Center, 7:30 p.m. Free.

Karaoke (karaoke) at Gusto’s, Barre, 8 p.m. Free.

Karaoke Friday Night (karaoke) at Park Place Tavern & Grill, Essex Junction, 8 p.m. Free.

Trivia (trivia) at Einstein’s Tap House, Burlington, 6 p.m. Free.

Trivia (trivia) at Four Quarters Brewing, Winooski, 6 p.m. Free.

Trivia Night (trivia) at 1st Republic Brewing, Essex, 6 p.m. Free.

Trivia Night (trivia) at McKee’s Island Pub & Pizza, South Hero, 6:30 p.m. Free.

Trivia Night with College (trivia) at Bent Nails Roadhouse, Middlesex, 7 p.m. Free.

FRI.15

Boogie Bingo (bingo, DJ) at the Alchemist, Stowe, 5 p.m. Free.

Karaoke Friday Night (karaoke) at Park Place Tavern & Grill, Essex Junction, 8 p.m. Free.

Karaoke with DJ Big T (karaoke) at McKee’s Original, Winooski, 9 p.m. Free.

Trivia Night with Taylor and Harry (trivia) at the Den at Harry’s Hardware, Cabot, 6 p.m. Free.

SAT.16

Queeraoke with Goddess (karaoke) at Standing Stone Wines, Winooski, 9 p.m. Free.

SUN.17

Family-Friendly Karaoke (karaoke) at Old Soul Design Shop, Plattsburgh, N.Y., 5 p.m. Free.

Sunday Funday (games) at 1st Republic Brewing, Essex, noon. Free.

Sunday Night Trivia (trivia) at the Lazy Goat Tavern, Essex, 6 p.m. Free.

Trivia (trivia) at Zenbarn, Waterbury Center, 5:30 p.m. Free.

MON.18

Fighting Game Community Biweekly with WNFC (gaming) at Lumière Hall, Burlington Beer, 4 p.m. $5.

Retro Game Night (gaming) at the Den at Harry’s Hardware, Cabot, 6 p.m. Free.

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.19

Karaoke with DJ Vociferous (karaoke) at Charlie-O’s World Famous, Montpelier, 9:30 p.m. Free.

Taproom Trivia (trivia) at 14th Star Brewing, St. Albans, 6:30 p.m. Free.

Trivia Night (trivia) at Gusto’s, Barre, 6:30 p.m. Free.

Trivia Tuesday (trivia) at On Tap Bar & Grill, Essex Junction, 7 p.m. Free.

WED.20

Karaoke Friday Night (karaoke) at Park Place Tavern & Grill, Essex Junction, 8 p.m. Free.

Karaoke with Cam (karaoke) at Monopole, Plattsburgh, N.Y., 9 p.m. Free.

Trivia (trivia) at Alfie’s Wild Ride, Stowe, 7 p.m. Free.

Trivia (trivia) at Rí Rá Irish Pub & Whiskey Room, Burlington, 7 p.m. Free.

Trivia (trivia) at Venetian Cocktail & Soda Lounge, Burlington, 7 p.m. Free. ➆

FRI.15 // MOONDOGS [JAM, INDIE ROCK]

COURTESY

calendar

MAY 13-20, 2026

WED.13

business

VERMONT WOMENPRENEURS

BIZ BUZZ BURLINGTON: A monthly networking meetup provides a space for female business owners to connect over coffee and snacks. Deep City, Burlington, 9:45-11:15 a.m. $10; preregister.

WOMEN IN LEADERSHIP

LUNCHEON: Networking opportunities, an awards ceremony and a keynote co-presentation by Emily Bush and Rhoni Basden make for an inspirational affair to remember.

Hildene, the Lincoln Family Home, Manchester, noon-2 p.m. $85-600.

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.

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.

YARN & YAK: A weekly club for fiber fanatics of all skill levels makes knitting and crocheting more sociable. Milton Artists’ Guild Art Center & Gallery, 5-7 p.m. Free.

YARN CRAFTERS GROUP: A drop-in meetup welcomes knitters, crocheters, spinners, weavers and other fiber artists. BYO snacks and drinks. Must Love Yarn, Shelburne, 5-7 p.m. Free.

etc.

GUIDED TOURS: Guests get to know the personal histories of rescued farm animals at an educational walk-through highlighting the nuances of lifelong care. Merrymac Animal Sanctuary, Charlotte, 2-3 p.m. $25.

‘OFF THE WALL’: A fast-paced lottery of fine art features a mosaic of 12-inch panels showcasing the breadth of Vermont’s creative community. Mad River Valley Arts Gallery, Waitsfield, 1-5 p.m. $150.

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.

film

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

MNFF SELECTS SERIES:

‘SECRET MALL APARTMENT’:

Jeremy Workman’s 2024 documentary tells the story of eight artists who created a hidden space to live inside the busy Providence Place Mall in 2003. A virtual Q&A with the film’s director and producer follows. Marquis Theatre & Southwest Café, Middlebury, 7 p.m. $14-16.

food & drink

COMMUNITY COOKING:

Helping hands join up with the nonprofit’s staff and volunteers to make a yummy meal for distribution. Pathways

Vermont Morgan’s Place Peer Support Center, Burlington, 6-8 p.m. Free.

CRÊPE NIGHT: Foodies enjoy sweet and savory French pancakes picnic-style at this monthly community meal

LIST YOUR UPCOMING EVENT HERE FOR FREE!

All submissions must be received by Thursday at noon for consideration in the following Wednesday’s newspaper. Find our convenient form and guidelines at sevendaysvt.com/postevent

Seven Days calendar writer

Rebecca Driscoll selects and writes calendar spotlights. To help process the hundreds of event submissions we receive each week, some listings are compiled with the help of AI. Driscoll reviews, edits and verifies every entry before publication.

Learn more about highlighted listings in the Magnificent 7 on page 11.

morning meetup facilitated by a native speaker. South Burlington Public Library & City Hall, 10-11 a.m. Free.

benefiting local nonprofits. Scott Farm Orchard, Dummerston, 5:30-7:30 p.m. $12-25.

CUPPA ON CAMPUS:

Community members mingle over tea and coffee, swapping bright ideas for the future of the property. The Creative Campus at Goddard, Plainfield, 8-10 a.m. Free.

health & fitness

CHAIR YOGA: Waterbury Public Library instructor Diana Whitney leads at-home participants in gentle stretches supported by seats. 10 a.m. Free.

GENTLE YOGA: Inhale relaxation and exhale tension with slow-paced movements and restorative postures designed to wake up weary muscles. Pillar Pilates Studio, Brandon, 9-10:15 a.m. By donation.

REAL TALK ABOUT SEX:

‘ECOSEXUALITY’: A monthly Zoom gathering facilitated by certified sexuality educator Sarah Goodrich allows for frank, respectful conversations about the topic. 7-8 p.m. Free; preregister.

RECOVERY DHARMA: Folks struggling with addiction gather weekly for an evening of meditation, topical readings and open discussion in a supportive environment. First United Methodist Church, Burlington, 6-7 p.m. Free.

language

ELL CLASS: Fletcher Free Library invites learners of all abilities to practice written and spoken English with trained instructors. 6:30-8 p.m. Free; preregister.

ITALIAN CONVERSATION GROUP: Practitioners sharpen their skills and connect with neighbors at a bimonthly

FIND MORE LOCAL EVENTS IN THIS ISSUE AND ONLINE:

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

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

SPANISH FROM SCRATCH: New England Language Academy teacher Carlos Reyes invites participants to ditch the textbooks and find their voice at an interactive intensive designed for beginners and those wanting to reconnect with the language. Waterbury Public Library, 6-8 p.m. Free; preregister.

lgbtq

THE ALL INCLUSIVE DYKETACULAR: A weekly get-together and listening party celebrates the LGBTQ+ community with feelgood tunes, dancing and drinks. Doma Bar, Burlington, 5-10 p.m. Free; cost of food and drink.

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.

outdoors

FOREST RESET: GUIDED NATURE

WALKS: Cultivate tranquility among the trees at this gentle weekly wander designed to help busy brains tap into their inner peace. Journey Together VT, Richmond, 9-10:30 a.m. Free; donations accepted; preregister.

SPRING BIRD WALK: Avian enthusiasts scope out migratory species and sharpen identification skills at this morning trek through a protected habitat. Woodside Natural Area, Essex Junction, 8-10 a.m. Free; preregister.

québec

FESTIVAL ACCÈS ASIE: The 31st annual Asian Heritage Month extravaganza includes art shows, film screenings, play readings and food tastings. See accesasie.com for full schedule. Various Montréal locations. Various prices.

‘WINE & HALVA’: Coffee and sharp social satire abound in this revival of Deniz Başar’s thought-provoking play about the unlikely friendship between a white gay man and a Turkish immigrant woman. Rangshala Studio, Montréal, 7 p.m. $20-35. seminars

AUDIO RECORDING 101: An informative evening examines the latest audio techniques and equipment, from microphones to boom poles. The Media Factory, Burlington, 6-8 p.m. Free; donations accepted; preregister.

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.

‘UNDERSTANDING

NEURODIVERSITY: A WORKSHOP FOR REGIONAL BUSINESSES & ORGANIZATIONS’: Attendees gain practical tools for fostering cognitive diversity and implementing

inclusivity in their professional environments. Virtual option available. Kellogg-Hubbard Library, Montpelier, 9-10 a.m. Free; preregister for Zoom link.

sports

GREEN MOUNTAIN TABLE

TENNIS CLUB: Ping-Pong players block, chop and lob in singles and doubles matches. Rutland Area Christian School, 7-9 p.m. Free for first two sessions; $30 annual membership.

theater

‘RHINOCEROS’: Vermont Stage mounts Eugène Ionesco’s absurdist classic about a lone holdout who refuses to join the herd when neighbors begin sprouting horns and hides. Main Street Landing Performing Arts Center, Burlington, 7:30 p.m. $34-54 sliding scale.

‘WHITE’: Between the Willows presents Pulitzer Prize winner James Ijames’ play exploring white privilege and appropriation in the art world. Off Center for the Dramatic Arts, Burlington, 7:30 p.m. $14-35.

‘WONDER! A WOMAN KEEPS A SECRET‘: A missing masterpiece and a boatload of baggage turn a luxury cruise into a high-stakes farce in Northern Stage’s production of Talene Monahon’s new comedy. Byrne Theater, Barrette Center for the Arts, White River Junction, 7:30 p.m. $10-80.

words

FFL BOOK DISCUSSION

GROUP: Readers convene via Zoom to dissect the plot twists of Virginia Evans’ critically acclaimed epistolary novel, The Correspondent about a retired lawyer who communicates through letters. Hosted by Fletcher Free Library. 7:30-8 p.m. Free.

LOUISE PENNY & MELLISSA

FUNG: A chart-topping novelist and an award-winning journalist discuss their new cowritten political thriller at a historic landmark straddling the international border. Haskell Free Library & Opera House, Derby Line, 4 p.m. $40; preregister.

POETRY POTLUCK: Got words? Folks gather to swap stanzas and dishes at a community-driven feast of verse. Wandering Vine, St. Johnsbury, 7 p.m. Free.

THU.14 agriculture

INTEGRATED PEST & POLLINATOR MANAGEMENT FOR LIVESTOCK PRODUCERS: Agriculturalists learn how to trade traditional deworming tactics for more holistic strategies at this informative pasture walk hosted by UVM Extension. Wild Earth Farm, Randolph Center, 10 a.m.-12:30 p.m. Free; preregister.

business

GROW YOUR BUSINESS: SPRING NETWORKING EVENT: Shelburne BNI hosts a welcoming morning of connection, sharing and conversation for local business owners. Shelburne Town Offices, 8:30-10 a.m. Free; preregister.

VERMONT BUSINESSES FOR SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY

CONFERENCE: Values-driven business leaders convene for a 36th year to swap sustainable strategies that prioritize people and planet. Hotel Champlain Burlington, 8 a.m.-6 p.m. Various prices; preregister.

WOMEN BUSINESS OWNERS

MASTERMIND: Area professionals come together to troubleshoot real-world challenges through collaborative problem-solving and collective support. Ladies Social Group, Essex Junction, 3:30-5 p.m. Free.

community

COALITION MEETING: Community members consult with clinical experts to better understand youth cannabis consumption trends and explore recovery pathways for adolescent substance use. Winooski School District, 3 p.m. Free.

crafts

KNIT FOR YOUR NEIGHBORS: From clicking needles to looping looms, participants hook into a mission of goodwill by creating handmade winter wear for the South Burlington Food Shelf. Materials provided. South Burlington Public Library & City Hall, 2-5 p.m. Free.

KNITTING GROUP: Knitters of every experience level get together to spin yarns. Latham Library, Thetford, 7 p.m. Free.

WOODWORKING LAB: Visionaries create a project or learn a new skill with the help of mentors and access to makerspace tools and equipment. Patricia A. Hannaford Career Center, Middlebury, 5-8 p.m. $7.50.

These community event listings are sponsored by the WaterWheel Foundation, a project of the Vermont band Phish.

environment

BTV CLEAN UP CREW: Good Samaritans dispose of needles, trash and other unwanted objects. BYO gloves encouraged. Top of Church St., Burlington, 7:30-10 a.m. Free. etc.

‘OFF THE WALL’: See WED.13. film

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

‘BACKYARD WILDERNESS 3D’:

Cameras positioned in nests, underwater and along the forest floor capture a year’s worth of critters coming and going. Dealer. com 3D Theater, ECHO Leahy Center for Lake Champlain, Burlington, 11:30 a.m., 1:30 & 3:30 p.m. $3-5 plus regular admission, $17-23; free for members and kids 2 and under.

‘DINOSAURS OF ANTARCTICA

3D’: Join scientists on a journey through a surreal world of bug-eyed giants and egg-laying mammals. Dealer.com 3D Theater, ECHO Leahy Center for Lake Champlain, Burlington, 11 a.m., 1 & 3 p.m. $3-5 plus regular admission, $17-23; free for members and kids 2 and under.

‘GONE GUYS’: The eye-opening documentary spotlighting the struggles of young men draws on Richard V. Reeves’ 2022 nonfiction book, Of Boys and Men. A discussion follows. Light refreshments provided. Generator Makerspace, Burlington, 5 p.m. Free; preregister.

‘SEA MONSTERS 3D: A PREHISTORIC ADVENTURE’: Footage of paleontological digs from around the globe tells a compelling story of scientists working as detectives to answer questions about an ancient and mysterious ocean world. Dealer. com 3D Theater, ECHO Leahy Center for Lake Champlain, Burlington, noon, 2 & 4 p.m. $3-5 plus regular admission, $17-23; free for members and kids 2 and under.

‘SHARK KINGDOM 3D’: A highstakes investigation into the underwater realm reveals how humanity’s future hinges on the fate of the ocean’s toothiest inhabitants. Dealer.com 3D Theater, ECHO Leahy Center for Lake Champlain, Burlington, 10:30 a.m., 12:30, 2:30 & 4:30 p.m. $3-5 plus regular admission, $17-23; free for members and kids 2 and under.

‘WOMEN OF THE EARTH’: Community members take in two episodes of the PBS documentary series celebrating women who steward the land, created by Vermont filmmaker Chiara Hollender. A Q&A with the filmmaker follows. The Tillerman, Bristol, 6 p.m. Free; cash bar. food & drink

FLATBREAD FRIDAY: A rotating soundtrack of live local music sets the tone for this weekly fresh-air feast for all ages. The Wheeler Homestead, South Burlington, 4-6:30 p.m. Various prices.

games

BRIDGE CLUB: A lively group plays a classic, tricky game in pairs. Waterbury Public Library, 12:304:30 p.m. Free.

CHESS FOR FUN: Players of all abilities select an opening gambit, go on the attack and protect their king in friendly competition. Cobleigh Public Library, Lyndonville, 5-8 p.m. Free.

DUPLICATE BRIDGE GAMES: Snacks and coffee fuel bouts of a classic card game. Burlington Bridge Club, Williston, 12:30 p.m. $6.

FRIENDLY GAME OF BRIDGE: Strategic thinkers have a blast with the popular card game. Heineberg Senior Center, Burlington, 1-3 p.m. Free.

MYSTERY DINNER PARTY GAME: Sleuths sharpen their skills over a shared meal at this interactive evening of deductive reasoning. Black River Academy Museum, Ludlow, 6-9 p.m. $25; preregister.

PEER SUPPORT DUNGEONS & DRAGONS: Beginners wanted! Players get lost in

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.13

burlington

‘CHAMP: AMERICA’S LAKE MONSTER’: Curious minds dive into the science and history of Vermont’s most iconic legend at this family-friendly exhibit

A New Chapter

Woodstock transforms into literary mecca Bookstock, a three-day worship of the written word punctuated by workshops, activities and readings by a pantheon of noteworthy writers. Pilgrims to the premier playground for print browse an epic used book sale of rare and vintage finds — don’t miss the tent for little readers. Master classes help aspiring authors learn the architecture of a gripping yarn, while Artistree Community Arts Center’s “Unbound vol. XIV” exhibit pushes the physical boundaries of the page. Talks by Garrett M. Graff, Katherine Arden, Amity Gaige and other distinguished voices captivate at venues across town.

BOOKSTOCK

Friday, May 15, 1-8 p.m.; Saturday, May 16, 9 a.m.-9 p.m.; and Sunday, May 17, 10 a.m.-2 p.m., at various Woodstock locations. Free; preregister for some events. Info, 802-432-8182, bookstockvt.org.

the fantasy-filled tabletop role-playing game while focusing on teamwork, connection and community building. Morgan House, Burlington, 6-8 p.m. Free.

featuring interactive games, a design studio, multimedia displays, a 30-foot sculpture and photo ops. ECHO Leahy Center for Lake Champlain, Burlington, 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Regular admission, $17-23; free for members and kids 2 and under.

ART EXPLORERS: Young creatives ages 5 to 14 learn about art history and self-expression at this homeschoolerfriendly program from Davis Studio. Fletcher Free Library, Burlington, 1-2 p.m. Free; preregister.

BLACK DAD HANG: Dad Guild staff

member Marlon Fisher hosts a casual monthly gathering for Black fathers looking to build community and connect with others. The Guild Hall, Burlington, 7-9 p.m. Free.

DINOSAUR SAFARI EXHIBIT: Young explorers take an unforgettable journey through a hands-on prehistoric world

WEEKLY CHESS FOR FUN: Players of all ability levels face off and learn new strategies. United Community Church, St. Johnsbury, 5:30-9 p.m. Free; donations accepted.

health & fitness

COMMUNITY MINDFULNESS: Volunteer coach Andrea Marion leads a weekly practice for stress

where life-size animatronic dinosaurs come to life. ECHO Leahy Center for Lake Champlain, Burlington, 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Regular admission, $17-23; free for members and kids 2 and under.

LIBRARY LITTLES PLAYGROUP: A weekly program brings babies, toddlers and their caregivers together for songs, stories, play and community building in a nurturing environment. Fletcher Free Library, Burlington, 11-11:45 a.m. Free.

chittenden county

BABY TIME: Nonmobile infants and their caregivers embark on a slowpaced social hour featuring songs, rhymes and restorative connection. South Burlington Public Library & City Hall, 10:30 a.m. Free.

HAFTY CRAFTY DAY: Kiddos ages 6 and up partake in a fun-filled, hands-on

art-making activity. South Burlington Public Library & City Hall, 1-2 p.m. Free.

barre/montpelier

BABY & CAREGIVER MEETUP: Wiggly ones ages birth to 18 months play and explore in a calm, supportive setting while adults relax and connect on the sidelines. Jaquith Public Library, Marshfield, 10:30-11:30 a.m. Free.

FAMILY CHESS CLUB: Players of all ages and abilities test their skills with instructor Robert and peers. KelloggHubbard Library, 2nd Floor, Children’s Library, Montpelier, 3:30-5 p.m. Free.

HOMESCHOOL BOOK GROUP: Kids ages 10 to 15 who learn at home bond over their favorite titles. Kellogg-Hubbard Library, Montpelier, 1-2 p.m. Free.

reduction, followed by a discussion and Q&A. 5-6 p.m. Free; preregister.

SEATED TAI CHI: Adina guides at-home participants — including those with limited mobility or difficulty standing — through a sequence of slow, connected movements. Sponsored by the Dorothy Alling Memorial Library. 1 p.m. Free; preregister.

VERMONT CORPORATE CUP

CHALLENGE & STATE AGENCY

RACE: Individuals and teams of business, government and nonprofit employees make strides at a 5K run or walk around the Capital City. Virtual option available. Vermont Statehouse lawn, Montpelier, 6 p.m. $35-58; preregister.

WISDOM FLOW YOGA: Curated music sets the tone for a mindful sequence that unites breath, body and spirit. Cornwall Town Hall, 9:30-10:45 a.m. By donation.

language

ENGLISH CONVERSATION GROUP: Practitioners make strides and new friends at a stress-free discussion circle hosted by Fletcher Free Library. 10:30-11:30 a.m. Free; preregister.

ITALIAN CONVERSATION GROUP: Parla Italiano? Language learners practice pronunciation and more at a friendly gathering. Fletcher Free Library, Burlington, noon-1 p.m. Free.

SPANISH CONVERSATION GROUP: Conversationalists of all levels practice the Romance language in a welcoming environment. Fletcher Free Library, Burlington, 4:30-5:30 p.m. Free. music

BRETT DENNEN: In “Art Is Life,” the folk-pop musician from California sings of joy and nature, woven through with signature witticisms, storytelling and audience participation. Spruce Peak Performing Arts Center, Stowe Mountain Resort, 7 p.m. $29.08-47.80.

THU.14 » P.62

middlebury area

THE NEW ENGLAND FAMILY THEATRE FESTIVAL: A multidisciplinary showcase brings world-class performers to local students and families through interactive workshops and accessible, community-focused events. See townhalltheater.org for full schedule. Town Hall Theater, Middlebury. Various prices.

upper valley

STORY TIME: Early literacy takes center stage as infants and toddlers engage in a melodic mix of books and songs. Norwich Public Library, 10:3011:30 a.m. Free.

CHAMPLAIN CONSORT: Historical harmonies from recorders and crumhorns transport listeners to the Middle Ages through a dynamic program of early music. Cathedral Church of St. Paul, Burlington, noon-1 p.m. Free.

québec

FESTIVAL ACCÈS ASIE: See WED.13.

‘WINE & HALVA’: See WED.13.

tech

TECH HELP: Users with digital dilemmas seek expert guidance about everything from smartphone settings to e-book downloads. Norwich Public Library, 1-4 p.m. Free.

theater

‘INTO THE WOODS’: St. Johnsbury Academy Theater raises the curtain on Stephen Sondheim’s gut-busting fairy tale sendup. Fuller Hall, St. Johnsbury Academy, 7 p.m. $5-10.

‘RHINOCEROS’: See WED.13.

‘THE WAVERLY GALLERY’: A grandson recounts the decline of his irascible grandmother in this poignant memory play exploring the realities of Alzheimer’s disease, staged by Shaker Bridge Theatre. Briggs Opera House, White River Junction, 7 p.m. $25-45.

‘WHITE’: See WED.13.

‘WONDER! A WOMAN KEEPS A

SECRET‘: See WED.13.

words

EVENING BOOK DISCUSSION:

Bibliophiles share their read on Lily Brooks-Dalton’s 2022 novel, The Light Pirate, a dystopian tale of survival and resilience. Essex Free Library, 6-7 p.m. Free.

LAMPSHADE POETS OPEN MIC: Local wordsmiths share their original works and have the opportunity to be recorded for the nonprofit’s community access station and YouTube channel. Junction Arts & Media, White River Junction, 6-7:30 p.m. Free; preregister.

LOUISE PENNY & MELLISSA FUNG: See WED.13.

MORNING BOOK GROUP: Readers swap thoughts on Balli Kaur Jaswal’s Erotic Stories for Punjabi Widows a thought-provoking East-meets-West story about women’s lives at all ages. South Burlington Public Library & City Hall, 10:30-11:30 a.m. Free.

FRI.15

conferences

TEACHERS WHO WRITE

CONFERENCE: Educators and authors from across the state gather to share best practices, develop strategies and reflect on the importance of writing. Breakfast and lunch provided. Willowell Foundation, Monkton, 8 a.m.-2:30 p.m. $125; preregister.

dance

‘CINDERELLA’: If the shoe fits, wear it! Forty international company dancers from the World Ballet tell this timeless folk tale with fabulous flair. Lebanon Opera House, N.H., 7 p.m. $48.50-78.50.

CUTLER DISCO DANCE: DJ Rick Stephens spins through a catalog of classic hits while attendees bust out the moves at this community fundraiser for Cutler Memorial Library. Plainfield Town Hall Opera House, 7 p.m. $10-20 suggested donation; cash or check only.

‘DANCES IN MOTION’: Performers of all ages showcase technical discipline and artistry at a program of diverse styles, including ballet, jazz and hip-hop. Barre Opera House, 6 p.m. $17-24. etc.

DEPTHS OF DISCOVERY GALA: Attendees dive into local bites and libations, nautical melodies by the Grift, a silent auction, and photo booth opportunities at this annual fundraiser inspired by Jules Verne’s classic maritime novel, Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea. Bixby Memorial Library, Vergennes, 7-11 p.m. $75.

‘OFF THE WALL’: See WED.13.

SPRING SIDEWALK SALE: Bargain hunters roam the historic village as local merchants move their wares outdoors for a sun-soaked weekend of discounts. Various Woodstock locations, 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Free.

fairs & festivals

BOOKSTOCK: Vermont’s annual festival of words returns with author readings, a used book sale, a poetry extravaganza, workshops and activities for all ages. See bookstockvt.org for full schedule. See calendar spotlight. Downtown Woodstock, 1-8 p.m. Free; preregister for some events.

film

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

‘BACKYARD WILDERNESS 3D’: See THU.14.

‘DINOSAURS OF ANTARCTICA 3D’: See THU.14.

MOVIE SHOWING: YOU DECIDE!: Movie buffs cast their vote to determine the afternoon’s feature presentation: a galactic adventure or a rock-and-roll legend’s life story? South Burlington Public Library & City Hall, 1:15 p.m. Free.

‘SEA MONSTERS 3D: A PREHISTORIC ADVENTURE’: See THU.14.

‘SHARK KINGDOM 3D’: See THU.14.

‘SWEETIE’: A young woman’s life is upturned by the arrival of her maladjusted sister in Jane Campion’s 1989 dramedy. The Screening Room @ VTIFF, Main Street Landing Performing Arts Center, Burlington, 7 p.m. $6-12.

food & drink

FLATBREAD FRIDAY: See THU.14.

Profile Pics

MAY 20 | TALKS

Fans of documentary film shouldn’t miss “An Evening With Ken Burns” at the Flynn Main Stage in Burlington, where the genre’s titan steps out from behind the camera for an intimate conversation with Vermont Public’s Jane Lindholm. For almost half a century, the filmmaker has captured imaginations with stories that tap straight into the heart of the nation’s experience, earning him the nickname “America’s storyteller.” From “Baseball” and “Jazz” to “The Civil War” and “The American Revolution,” Burns’ enduring canon has become a cultural touchstone, reminding viewers of the importance of preserving history for future generations.

‘AN EVENING WITH KEN BURNS’ Wednesday, May 20, 7:30 p.m., at Flynn Main Stage in Burlington. $64.72-89.89. Info, 802-863-5966, flynnvt.org.

games

250TH TRIVIA: History buffs and dabblers alike tackle multiple-choice questions exploring aspects of Vermont related to the 250th anniversary of the U.S. Cornwall Town Hall, 6:30 p.m. Free.

DUPLICATE BRIDGE GAMES: See THU.14, 10 a.m.

MAH-JONGG: It’s not just for old ladies! Tile traders of all experience levels gather for a rousing game. Dorothy Alling Memorial Library, Williston, 1-3 p.m. Free.

health & fitness

CHAIR YOGA: Seated stretches stir mindful motion as students utilize acupressure and meditative techniques to cultivate a grounded mental state. Virtual

option available. Springfield Town Library, 10-11 a.m. Free.

GUIDED MEDITATION ONLINE: Dorothy Alling Memorial Library invites attendees to relax on their lunch breaks and reconnect with their bodies. Noon-12:30 p.m. Free; preregister.

LAUGHTER YOGA: Spontaneous, joyful movement and breath promote physical and emotional health. Virtual option available. Iyengar Yoga Center of Vermont, Burlington, 4:30-5:30 p.m. Free.

MENTAL HEALTH FIRST AID: A daylong certification course led by experts equips participants with the intervention tools necessary to identify and navigate crisis situations. Hula, Burlington, 8:30 a.m. Free; preregister.

music

ANA GUIGUI: An acclaimed pianist and vocalist entertains listeners with a wide variety of styles and genres. The Brandon Inn, 7-8 p.m. Free.

CATAMOUNT COFFEEHOUSE CONCERT SERIES: Celebrated local musician Bob Amos takes the stage with central Vermont trio Fair Sparrow to play acoustic folk tunes in an intimate setting. St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church of St. Johnsbury, 7 p.m. $15 suggested donation.

COLLIN COPE & CHRIS PAGE: An acoustic duo serves up a soulful blend of bluegrass and folk music while patrons dig into wood-fired pizzas at this outdoor affair for all ages. Common Ground Center, Starksboro, 6-9 p.m. $10-20; free for kids 3 and under.

MUSIC IN THE ART GALLERY CONCERT SERIES: SUE PERSSON: A veteran music educator trades the classroom for the stage to share original songs and instrumental prowess. St. Johnsbury Athenaeum, 1-2 p.m. Free.

ONION RIVER CHORUS: Director Richard Riley conducts the vocalists in Luigi Cherubini’s Requiem in C Minor, as well as shorter works by friends and admirers of the 19th-century Italian composer. Unitarian Church of Montpelier, 7:30 p.m. $25; free for kids 18 and under.

QUERALT GIRALT SOLER TRIO: An adventurous three-piece assumes the spotlight for an evening of genre-blurring original music and reimagined works. Virtual option available. Next Stage Arts, Putney, 7:30 p.m. $10-25.

québec

FESTIVAL ACCÈS ASIE: See WED.13.

‘WINE & HALVA’: See WED.13. seminars

LONG TRAIL END-TOENDERS PANEL: Aspiring trekkers pick the brains of seasoned thru-hikers at an informative Q&A about tackling Vermont’s rugged spine. Hosted by Green Mountain Club. 6-7:30 p.m. Free; preregister.

tech

WEEKLY MEDITATION: Expert Zac

Ispa-Landa shares tools to quiet the mind, slow down and reset. Outright Vermont, Burlington, 8-8:45 a.m. Free.

WISDOM FLOW YOGA: Curated music sets the tone for a mindful sequence that unites breath, body and spirit. Pillar Pilates Studio, Brandon, 9-10:15 a.m. By donation.

lgbtq

RPG NIGHT: Members of the LGBTQ community get together weekly for role-playing games such as Dungeons & Dragons and Everway. Rainbow Bridge Community Center, Barre, 5:308:30 p.m. Free.

MORNING TECH HELP: Experts answer questions about phones, laptops, e-readers and other devices in one-on-one sessions. South Burlington Public Library & City Hall, 10 a.m.-1 p.m. Free; preregister.

theater

‘INTO THE WOODS’: See THU.14. NEW STAGE PLAYERS’ COMEDY PLAY FESTIVAL: Theatergoers experience a healthy dose of comic relief as local talent brings nine world-premiere short plays to life, proving that laughter remains the best medicine. Grange Hall Cultural Center, Waterbury Center, 7:30 p.m. $20 suggested donation.

‘RHINOCEROS’: See WED.13. ‘THE SPITFIRE GRILL’: We the People Theatre raises the curtain

Ken Burns

COURTESY OF MICHAEL AVEDON

on the moving musical about second chances, unexpected friendships and the courage to begin again, based on the film by Lee David Zlotoff. Eclipse Grange Theater, Thetford, 7:30 p.m. $15-30.

‘THE WAVERLY GALLERY’: See THU.14.

‘WHITE’: See WED.13.

‘WONDER! A WOMAN KEEPS A SECRET‘: See WED.13.

SAT.16

activism

MARCH TO END VIOLENCE:

Mosaic Vermont hosts local advocates for a resource-filled gathering and public procession to help foster a culture of safety. Vermont

Statehouse lawn, Montpelier, 11 a.m.-3 p.m. Free.

agriculture

MED47 GARDEN SHOPPE: Green thumbs revel in a jam-packed pop-up sale of veggie plants, annuals, perennials, hanging baskets and décor. Proceeds benefit the Brendon P. Cousino Med47 Foundation. 3319 S. 116 Rd., Bristol, 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Free; cost of plants.

bazaars

BIZARRE BAZAAR: Regional crafters showcase a boundary-pushing collection of whimsical creations and experimental mediums at venues across the state. See 802artshouse.org for details. Various locations statewide, 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Free.

MAKERS MARKET: Shoppers discover unique, handmade goods and meet the talented people behind them at a weekly showcase of local artists, bakers, distillers and crafters. Addison West, Waitsfield, 10 a.m.-2 p.m. Free.

business

MOMPRENEUR MEETUP: Entrepreneurial mothers swap business strategies and support while balancing professional goals with parenthood. Littles welcome. Red Poppy Cakery, Waterbury, 7:30-8:30 p.m. Free; preregister.

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.

dance

‘CINDERELLA’: See FRI.15. Flynn Main Stage, Burlington, 7 p.m. $39.17-123.89.

BERLIN CONTRA DANCE: Dancers of all ages and abilities learn at a gathering that encourages joy, laughter and friendship. Bring clean, soft-soled shoes. See capitalcitygrange.org for callers and bands. Capital City Grange, Berlin, 8-11 p.m. $5-20 sliding scale.

‘DANCES IN MOTION’: See FRI.15, 5 p.m.

OLD-FASHIONED BARN DANCE & SILENT AUCTION: Live music from the Radio Rangers

soundtracks a swinging benefit bash for two local libraries and the Craftsbury Chamber Players. Brassknocker Farm, Craftsbury, 6-10 p.m. $10-20; free for kids 10 and under.

education

COMMENCEMENT CEREMONY:

The class of 2026 gains a strategic edge as Everwell Consulting founder and CEO Mesler Pearsons delivers a keynote focused on building a tool kit for the future. Vermont State UniversityCastleton, 10 a.m. Free.

COMMENCEMENT CEREMONY:

Graduating student Jerika LaValley addresses the school’s class of 2026 with an empowering speech. Vermont State University-Randolph, Randolph Center, 4 p.m. Free.

UNIVERSITY OF VERMONT COMMENCEMENT: U.S. Olympic medalist Ben Ogden trades the slopes for the podium to steer graduates into the future with a high-velocity address. University Green, University of Vermont, Burlington, 8:30 a.m. Free.

environment

‘FROM CRAWDADS TO CROWS: CRITTERS THAT SHOULD AND CRITTERS THAT SHOULDN’T’: Scientist Melanie Giangreco and museum staff share how invasive aquatic invertebrates can impact Vermont waterways and, ultimately, avian life. Birds of Vermont Museum, Huntington, 10 a.m.-noon. $10-25 suggested donation; preregister.

etc.

THE DECADES: SEASON LAUNCH

PARTY: Partygoers don fits from the 1870s or 1970s — or a combination of both — for an opening-day soirée featuring multimedia artists, immersive projections and a lively dance party. Ages 21 and up. Saint Albans Museum, 7-11 p.m. $25; free for members; cash bar.

GUIDED TOURS: See WED.13.

‘OFF THE WALL’: See WED.13.

OPENING DAY: After a long winter, the museum welcomes visitors with exhibits, trails and nine historic buildings to explore. Rokeby Museum, Ferrisburgh, 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Regular admission, $10-12; free for members and kids under 6.

SPRING SIDEWALK SALE: See FRI.15.

SPRING STYLE SWAP & CLOSET

REFRESH: Savvy shoppers scout for secondhand treasures at this curated community event designed to help locals declutter.

Vermont Custom Closets & Otter Creek Awnings, Williston, noon2:30 p.m. Free; preregister to sell.

SWANTON TRAILHEAD GRAND

OPENING: Community members mark the expansion of a regional recreation artery with a ribbon-cutting ceremony, remarks and a guided walk. Lamoille Valley Rail Trail, St. Johnsbury to St. Albans, 10 a.m.-noon. Free.

fairs & festivals

BOOKSTOCK: See FRI.15, 9 a.m.-9 p.m.

FORAGEFEST: Guided walks, a farmers market, dining specials and culinary demos help turn the local terrain into a pantry at this annual celebration of wild foods. Various Newport locations, 9 a.m.9 p.m. Free.

film

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

‘BACKYARD WILDERNESS 3D’: See THU.14.

‘BILLY PRESTON: THAT’S THE WAY GOD PLANNED IT’: Paris Barclay’s 2024 music documentary zooms in on the challenging life of the legendary keyboardist. The Screening Room @ VTIFF, Main Street Landing Performing Arts Center, Burlington, 3 & 7 p.m. $6-12.

‘BLACKKKLANSMAN’: Spike Lee’s 2018 docudrama follows an African American police officer in Colorado who successfully infiltrates a local branch of the Ku Klux Klan. A discussion with screenplay writer Kevin Willmott follows. Woodstock Town Hall Theatre, 6-8 p.m. $12 suggested donation.

‘DINOSAURS OF ANTARCTICA 3D’: See THU.14.

‘SEA MONSTERS 3D: A PREHISTORIC ADVENTURE’: See THU.14.

‘SHARK KINGDOM 3D’: See THU.14.

food & drink

BURLINGTON FARMERS MARKET: Dozens of stands overflow with seasonal produce, flowers, artisanal wares and prepared foods to the tune of live local music. 345 Pine St., Burlington, 9 a.m.-2 p.m. Free.

games

250TH TRIVIA: See FRI.15. Morristown Centennial Library, Morrisville, 11 a.m., and Montpelier Performing Arts Hub, 7:30 p.m. Free.

CHESS CLUB: Proficient players of all ages face off and learn new strategies. South Burlington Public Library & City Hall, 11 a.m. Free.

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.

health & fitness

NAMIWALKS VERMONT: Community members take important steps as part of a nationwide fundraiser to bring visibility to mental health issues. Centennial Field, Burlington, 10 a.m.-3 p.m. Free; preregister.

music

ANA GUIGUI: See FRI.15.

BELLA VOCE: In “A Musical Mosaic,” the vocal group demonstrates the power and beauty of women’s voices with captivating works by female composers. McCarthy Arts Center, Saint Michael’s College, Colchester, 7:30 p.m. $10-50 sliding scale.

GREEN MOUNTAIN YOUTH SYMPHONY 25TH ANNIVERSARY

PARTY: Supporters toast to a quarter century of musical mentorship at a celebratory evening featuring student performances. College Hall Chapel, Vermont College of Fine Arts, Montpelier, 4 p.m. By donation.

HIROYA TSUKAMOTO: The internationally acclaimed guitarist displays delicate fingerpicking skills as he weaves peaceful, impressionistic soundscapes. York Street Meeting House, Lyndon, 7 p.m. $15-20; free for students under 18.

KEN TOPHAM: A renowned percussionist and composer dazzles with a performance of choral arrangements paired with live readings of the poetry that sparked the music. Ruth Stone House, Goshen, 5 p.m. $20.

MERCURY: A TRIBUTE TO QUEEN’S LEAD SINGER: An ensemble channels the operatic rock vibes of Freddie Mercury through a setlist of chart-topping anthems interspersed with the late front man’s own words. Lebanon Opera House, N.H., 7 p.m. $48.50-78.50.

‘THE NEXT GENERATION: UP-AND-COMING CLASSICAL TALENT’: Rising stars from Vermont and New Hampshire demonstrate their technical

MAY 2O | WORDS

Back to the Beginning

At Middlebury’s Town Hall Theater, prize-winning writer and Middlebury College alum Julia Alvarez launches her autobiographical collection, Visitations — the first book of poems published by the literary luminary in more than 20 years. Alvarez’s return to her poetic roots, hailed by Publishers Weekly as “a vivid and arresting volume,” gracefully traces the seasons of her life, from the warmth of her childhood in the Dominican Republic to the chaos of national political upheaval to the challenges of her assimilation in the U.S. Through intimate and heartfelt reflections, Alvarez illustrates how the art form can, as she puts it, “provide the necessary spark of joy to keep us going.”

JULIA ALVAREZ

Wednesday, May 20, 6:30 p.m., at Town Hall Theater in Middlebury. $8. Info, 802-382-9222, townhalltheater.org.

prowess alongside the Upper Valley Music Center ensemble. Chandler Center for the Arts, Randolph, 7 p.m. Free; donations accepted.

ONION RIVER CHORUS: See FRI.15.

SEAN JONES: A powerhouse trumpeter and former Jazz at Lincoln Center lead brings his gospel-rooted virtuosity to the stage. Virtual option available. Vermont Jazz Center, Brattleboro, 7:30 p.m. $25-60 sliding scale.

outdoors

COMMUNITY BIRD WALKS:

Feathered-friend seekers join expert Lachlan Ziegler for a morning trek to sharpen their identification skills. Rock Point Center, Burlington, 8-10 a.m. Free; preregister.

GUIDED SHORT TRAIL HIKE: Explore the fundamentals of local

path maintenance and regional hiking history at an expert-led trek along a scenic wooded loop. Green Mountain Club Headquarters, Waterbury Center, 2-3 p.m. Free.

québec

FESTIVAL ACCÈS ASIE: See WED.13.

‘WINE & HALVA’: See WED.13, 2 & 7 p.m.

seminars

‘HOW TO BUILD A HOME IN YOUR BACKYARD’: Property owners examine the benefits of adding a neighborhood-scale housing unit to their land. Burlington City Arts, 9-10:30 a.m. Free; preregister.

NEW MEMBER ORIENTATION:

Curious creatives and multimedia enthusiasts tour the facilities and check out available gear. The Media Factory, Burlington, 1-3

words

BETZY BANCROFT: An experienced herbalist and author digs into her new book, Herbal Pharmacy: The Science and Magic of Preparing and Administering Plant Medicine. Free Verse Farm, Chelsea, 3 p.m. By donation.

SPRING FLING FUNDRAISER: Literary enthusiasts support local shelves at an afternoon of readings, refreshments, raffles and activities. Rochester Public Library, 4-6 p.m. Free; donations accepted.

WRITE NOW!: Wordsmiths of all experience levels hone their craft in a supportive and critique-free environment. Kellogg-Hubbard Library, Montpelier, 10-11:30 a.m. Free.

WRITERS’ WERTFREI: Authors both fledgling and published share their work in a nonjudgmental setting. Virtual option available. Waterbury Public Library, 10 a.m.-noon. Free; preregister.

SUN.17 agriculture

MED47 GARDEN SHOPPE: See SAT.16, 9 a.m.-5 p.m.

community

BENEFIT RIDE: Freedom Vermont V-Twins Cruisers invites cyclists and passengers to hit the pavement and raise awareness of Williams Syndrome, a genetic disorder characterized by cardiovascular disease and developmental delays. Champlain Valley Union High School, Hinesburg, 9 a.m.-3 p.m. $10-20.

dance

‘DANCES IN MOTION’: See FRI.15, 2 p.m.

education

p.m. Free; donations accepted; preregister.

‘WHAT’S UNDER THE HOOD?’: An inclusive workshop presented by self-taught mechanic Allie Rowley breaks down automobile basics and turns curiosity into competence. Essex Free Library, 11 a.m.-noon. Free.

theater

‘INTO THE WOODS’: See THU.14.

NEW STAGE PLAYERS’ COMEDY PLAY FESTIVAL: See FRI.15.

‘RHINOCEROS’: See WED.13, 2 & 7:30 p.m.

‘THE SPITFIRE GRILL’: See FRI.15, 3 & 7:30 p.m.

‘THE WAVERLY GALLERY’: See THU.14, 7 p.m. & 2:30 p.m.

‘WHITE’: See WED.13, 2 & 7:30 p.m.

‘WONDER! A WOMAN KEEPS A SECRET‘: See WED.13, 6:30 p.m.

COMMENCEMENT CEREMONY: Former Lyndon State College president Joe Bertolino returns to his old stomping grounds to deliver a keynote that launches the class of 2026 into their next chapter. Vermont State University-Lyndon, 10 a.m. Free. COMMENCEMENT CEREMONY: Graduates receive their marching orders from Maj. Gen. Gregory C. Knight at an address focused on empowering the next rank of leaders. Vermont State University-Johnson, 4 p.m. Free. etc.

THE DISTINGUISHED

GENTLEMAN’S RIDE: Motorcyclists dressed in their vintage best ride refurbished rigs around scenic roads to raise funds for men’s mental health and prostate cancer research. Classic Bike Experience, Essex, 10 a.m. Free; preregister. fairs & festivals

BOOKSTOCK: See FRI.15, 10 a.m.-2 p.m.

Julia Alvarez

BURLINGTON RECORD FAIR: More than 20 vinyl vendors from across the Northeast sling 78s and other LPs while DJs spin dynamic sets. Burlington City Hall Auditorium, 11 a.m.-4 p.m. $5 early bird entry; free after noon.

film See what’s playing at local theaters in the On Screen section.

48-HOUR FILM SLAM SCREENING & AWARDS CEREMONY: Audience members revel in the fruits of a frantic two days’ work by local filmmakers. Junction Arts & Media, White River Junction, 7 p.m. Free.

‘BACKYARD WILDERNESS 3D’: See THU.14.

‘THE BIG HEAT’: Fritz Lang’s 1953 film noir thriller follows an unscrupulous police detective who takes on a crime syndicate with powerful political ties. The Screening Room @ VTIFF, Main Street Landing Performing Arts Center, Burlington, 3 p.m. $6-12.

‘DINOSAURS OF ANTARCTICA 3D’: See THU.14.

‘SEA MONSTERS 3D: A PREHISTORIC ADVENTURE’: See THU.14.

‘SHARK KINGDOM 3D’: See THU.14.

food & drink

PINK WINE TASTING WITH WILL:

Oenophiles gather around a communal farm table to sip their way through six pours paired with salty snacks and artisanal cheeses. The Tillerman, Bristol, 3-5 p.m. $90; preregister.

WINOOSKI FARMERS MARKET:

More than 25 area growers and bakers offer local and global fare against a backdrop of live music and activities. Winooski Falls Way, 10 a.m.-2 p.m. Free.

games

DUPLICATE BRIDGE GAMES: See THU.14, 1 p.m.

health & fitness

RACE AROUND THE LAKE: Runners and walkers circle Silver Lake on roads and single-track wooded trails in a 5 or 10K to benefit BarnArts. A chef’s table lunch, live music and an awards ceremony follow. Silver Lake State Park, Barnard, 9 a.m.-1 p.m. $25-50; preregister.

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.

NEW LEAF SANGHA

MINDFULNESS PRACTICE: New and experienced meditators alike sit together in the Plum Village tradition of Thich Nhat Hanh. Hot Yoga Burlington, 6-7:45 p.m. Free. NEW MINDFULNESS MEDITATION

GATHERING: Certified instructors lead hourlong sessions of the ancient contemplative practice

rooted in compassion and generosity. North Star Community Hall, Burlington, 5:30-6:30 p.m. By donation.

music

BELLA VOCE: See SAT.16. South Hero Congregational Church, 3 p.m.

BLOOD DRUM SPIRIT: A quartet weaves improvisational jazz with reimagined world rhythms to advocate for global harmony and social justice. The Left Bank, North Bennington, 3 p.m. $10 suggested donation.

CATHEDRAL CHOIRS IN CONCERT: In “Come Away to the Skies: Music of Resurrection and Transformation,” the choristers join forces with chamber musicians and renowned vocalist Theresa Thomason to present John Rutter’s Requiem and other inspiring works. Cathedral Church of St. Paul, Burlington, 4 p.m. $1030; free for kids and families with graduating members.

CHAMPLAIN VALLEY VOICES: The ensemble performs the New York premiere of Dr. Richard Nance’s contemporary choral masterpiece, “Mass for a New Millennium,” made even more memorable by the presence of the composer himself. Plattsburgh High School, N.Y., 3 p.m. $10-20.

DAVID FEURZEIG: In “Play Every Town,” the prolific classical pianist continues a statewide series of shows in protest of high-pollution worldwide concert tours. Tunbridge Church, 3 p.m. Free.

JOHN GORKA: A cornerstone of the “new folk” movement delivers a master class in songwriting, pairing resonant baritone vocals with observational wit. Virtual option available. Next Stage Arts, Putney, 7 p.m. $15-30.

JUNCTION SONG CIRCLE: Traditional tunes in any language are welcome at this instrument-free community music group. Greater Hartford United Church of Christ, Hartford Village, 2-4 p.m. Free.

LYLE BREWER: A virtuosic guitarist from Boston demonstrates his expressive playing style and versatile range. Artistree Community Arts Center, South Pomfret, 4 p.m. $25.

RIBBON SING FOR CONNECTION: This low-stress virtual session connects global voices through a continuous thread of themed songs, offering an experiment in collective harmony. 4-5 p.m. Free.

SUZUKI SHOWCASE: Upper Valley Music Center hosts listeners for a concert of world music, featuring more than 100 students sharing the stage with balafon master Mamadou Diabate. Lebanon Opera House, N.H., 3 p.m. Free; donations accepted.

WESTFORD MUSIC SERIES:

FREVO: A well-known contemporary quartet performs eclectic music with flute, clarinet, cello and classical guitar. Westford Common Hall, 4 p.m. Free.

outdoors

DOWNTOWN SPRING WEED OUT: Helping hands root out unwanted vegetation from the city’s sidewalks and public garden spaces. Vergennes City Park, 9 a.m.-noon. Free.

EARLY BIRDERS MORNING WALK: You know what they say ... Now get that worm! New and experienced avian admirers take a stroll to observe the area’s flying, feathered friends. BYO binoculars. Birds of Vermont Museum, Huntington, 7-9 a.m. $10 suggested donation; preregister.

SPRING BIRD WALK: Novices and aficionados alike join naturalists Bob Popp and Betsy Ziegler for a rousing morning of avian identification. Stranahan Town Forest, Marshfield, 8 a.m. Free.

québec

FESTIVAL ACCÈS ASIE: See WED.13.

‘WINE & HALVA’: See WED.13, 2 & 7 p.m. tech

DROP-IN TECH SUPPORT: Techsavvy library staff provide oneon-one guidance and support in 30-minute sessions. Fletcher Free Library, Burlington, 4-6 p.m. Free. theater

‘INTO THE WOODS’: See THU.14, 2 p.m.

NEW STAGE PLAYERS’ COMEDY

PLAY FESTIVAL: See FRI.15, 2 p.m.

‘RHINOCEROS’: See WED.13, 2 p.m.

‘THE SPITFIRE GRILL’: See FRI.15, 3 p.m.

‘THE WAVERLY GALLERY’: See THU.14, 2:30 p.m.

‘WHITE’: See WED.13, 2 p.m.

‘WONDER! A WOMAN KEEPS A SECRET‘: See WED.13, 5 p.m.

words

NADINE BUDBILL: The daughter and literary executor of late writer David Budbill reads from a new edition of his timeless collection Judevine. Jaquith Public Library, Marshfield, 2-4 p.m. Free.

MON.18 agriculture

MED47 GARDEN SHOPPE: See SAT.16, 9 a.m.-5 p.m.

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.

HAND-STITCHING GROUP: Embroiderers, cross-stitchers and other needlework aficionados chat over their latest projects. Waterbury Public Library, 6-8 p.m. Free.

film

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

‘BACKYARD WILDERNESS 3D’: See THU.14.

‘DINOSAURS OF ANTARCTICA 3D’: See THU.14.

‘SEA MONSTERS 3D: A PREHISTORIC ADVENTURE’: See THU.14.

‘SHARK KINGDOM 3D’: See THU.14.

games

BURLINGTON ELKS BINGO: Players grab their daubers for a competitive night of card stamping for cash prizes. Burlington Elks Lodge, 6 p.m. Various prices. MAH-JONGG MONDAYS: Tile traders gather for friendly bouts of the ancient game of skill, strategy and luck. St. Albans Free Library, 1-3 p.m. Free.

health & fitness

WISDOM FLOW YOGA: See FRI.15.

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.

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.

music

ONION RIVER CHORUS

REHEARSAL: The non-auditioned community ensemble conducted by Richard Riley invites interested vocalists to join in spirited song. Bethany United Church of Christ, Montpelier, 7-9 p.m. Free.

québec

FESTIVAL ACCÈS ASIE: See WED.13.

seminars

‘MEET THE RESILIENCE HUB TOOL KIT’: Neighbors learn about a step-by-step plan for local communities to build people-centered perseverance amid chronic and acute natural disasters. Deborah Rawson Memorial Library, Jericho, 6-7:30 p.m. Free.

theater

PLAYMAKERS SERIES: Theatergoers flock to an open forum-style showcase of new scripts and in-process works by Vermont playwrights. Off Center for the Dramatic Arts, Burlington, 7:30 p.m. Free.

words

ANIME GROUP: Fans of Japanese animation and comics convene weekly to swap ideas, read stories and connect over shared interests in hand-drawn media. Pathways Vermont Morgan’s Place Peer Support Center, Burlington, 6-8 p.m. Free.

SARAH EMERY: A local author launches her paranormal ghost romance, The Phoenix Queen about a college student who discovers that she’s the last

descendant of Anne of Cleves. St. Johnsbury Athenaeum, 6 p.m. Free.

SCRIPTWRITERS’ GROUP: Got a story to tell? Talented local writers swap techniques and constructive critiques. Junction Arts & Media, White River Junction, 5:30-7 p.m. Free; preregister.

STEPHEN KIERNAN: A celebrated Vermont author unveils his new book, Pollock’s Last Lover a multigenerational portrait of two women set against the work of Jackson Pollock. Light refreshments provided. BCA Studios, Burlington, 5:30-7:30 p.m. Free; cash bar.

TUE.19 agriculture

MED47 GARDEN SHOPPE: See SAT.16, 9 a.m.-5 p.m.

SOURCING & SELLING FOR THE RESTAURANT

MARKET WEBINAR: Agricultural producers and restaurant buyers gather virtually for a moderated dialogue focused on the communication and ordering patterns that sustain local food systems. Hosted by Wild Pear Creative. 4 p.m. Free; preregister.

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.

‘POWER OF CONNECTION: CELEBRATING 25 YEARS

TOGETHER’: Stories of resilience take center stage at a community-building gathering that shines a light on Burlington social justice organization Mercy Connections. Hula, Burlington, 4-6 p.m. $50.

SPECIAL TOWN MEETING: Local voters return to the polls to decide the fate of a $13.9-million bond for the town library expansion and aesthetic upgrades to the historic village green. Williston National Guard Armory, 7 a.m.-7 p.m. Free.

crafts

ALL HANDS TOGETHER

COMMUNITY CRAFTING GROUP: Marshfield spinning maven Donna Hisson hosts a casual gathering for fiber fans of all abilities to work on old projects or start something new. Jaquith Public Library, Marshfield, 6-7:30 p.m. Free.

CRAFTERS DROP-IN: Fiber fans converse and connect through knitting, crocheting, mending, embroidery and other creative pursuits. Fletcher Free Library, Burlington, 6-8 p.m. Free.

film

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

‘2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY’: A spaceship’s computer system displays strange behavior, leading to a fierce showdown

between man and machine in Stanley Kubrick’s 1968 sci-fi masterwork. Film House, Main Street Landing Performing Arts Center, Burlington, 7 p.m. Free.

‘BACKYARD WILDERNESS 3D’: See THU.14.

‘DINOSAURS OF ANTARCTICA 3D’: See THU.14.

‘SEA MONSTERS 3D: A PREHISTORIC ADVENTURE’: See THU.14.

‘SHARK KINGDOM 3D’: See THU.14.

games

BLOOD ON THE CLOCKTOWER: Katharine Bodan leads players in a thrilling social deduction game of lies and logic, in which no one is ever truly ruled out. Waterbury Public Library, 6-8 p.m. Free.

health & fitness

BEGINNER TAI CHI: Weight transference and mindful breathing help practitioners cultivate agility through a contemporary sequence of quintessential martial arts postures. Virtual option available. Unitarian Universalist Church, Springfield, 10-11 a.m. Free.

COMMUNITY MEDITATION: All experience levels engage in the ancient Buddhist practice of clearing the mind to achieve a state of calm. First Unitarian Universalist Society of Burlington, 5:15-6 p.m. Free; donations accepted.

TAI CHI: Practitioners get a feel for the Chinese martial art combining controlled breathing, meditation and slow, gentle movements. Ida Boch Park, Bradford, 10-11 a.m. Free.

language

ITALIAN LANGUAGE LUNCH: Speakers hone their skills in the Romance language over bagged

TUE.19 » P.69

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.

FAMI LY

THU.14

burlington

‘CHAMP: AMERICA’S LAKE MONSTER’: See WED.13.

‘SHE KILLS MONSTERS: YOUNG ADVENTURERS EDITION’: Dungeons, dragons and decade-defining anthems collide when a handcrafted fantasy module becomes a portal for healing and heroics in this production staged by Burlington High School drama students. Hunt Middle School, Burlington, 7 p.m. $5-10.

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.

DADS’ NIGHT OUT: BOARD GAME NIGHT: Local rad dads show up ready to play at this spirited evening of friendly competition and fun hosted by Dad Guild. The Guild Hall, Burlington, 7-9:30 p.m. Free; preregister.

DINOSAUR SAFARI EXHIBIT: See WED.13.

GROW PRESCHOOL YOGA: Colleen from Grow Prenatal and Family Yoga helps toddlers and their caregivers find their flow through a playful blend of song, movement and stretching. Fletcher Free Library, Burlington, 11-11:30 a.m. Free.

MINECRAFT MEETUP: Fans of the sandbox game from ages 7 to 12 gather with fellow enthusiasts to play on the library’s private server. Snacks provided. Fletcher Free Library New North End Branch, Burlington, 5-6:15 p.m. Free. chittenden county

PRESCHOOL MUSIC WITH LINDA BASSICK: The singer and storyteller extraordinaire guides wee ones ages birth to 5 in indoor music and movement. Dorothy Alling Memorial Library, Williston, 10:30-11 a.m. Free.

PRESCHOOL PLAY TIME: Pre-K patrons play and socialize after music time. Dorothy Alling Memorial Library, Williston, 11-11:30 a.m. Free.

READ TO CHEWY THE THERAPY DOG: Literacy and licks collide as students sharpen their skills alongside a fourlegged listener and his human, Cindy. Essex Free Library, 4:30-5:30 p.m. Free; preregister.

TODDLER TIME: Tykes bypass the “stay seated” rule at a morning of short stories, familiar songs, rhymes and finger plays. South Burlington Public Library & City Hall, 9:15-9:45 & 10:30-11 a.m. Free.

barre/montpelier

POKÉMON CLUB: I choose you, Pikachu! Elementary and teenage fans of the franchise — and beginners, too — trade cards and play games. Kellogg-Hubbard Library, Montpelier, 3:30-5 p.m. Free.

STORY TIME: Kids and their caregivers meet for stories, songs and bubbles. Kellogg-Hubbard Library, 2nd Floor, Children’s Library, Montpelier, 10:30-11 a.m. Free.

stowe/smuggs

WEE ONES PLAY TIME: Caregivers bring kiddos under 4 to a new sensory learning experience each week. Morristown Centennial Library, Morrisville, 10 a.m. Free.

mad river valley/ waterbury

BUSY BEES PLAYGROUP: Blocks, toys, books and songs engage little ones 24 months and younger. Waterbury Public Library, 10-11:30 a.m. Free.

middlebury area

THE NEW ENGLAND FAMILY THEATRE FESTIVAL: See WED.13.

northeast kingdom

‘CARDTOPIA’: The center’s studio space transforms into a giant interactive cardboard building, complete with secret chambers, tunnels and a ball run. Highland Center for the Arts, Greensboro, noon-4 p.m. Free.

ACORN CLUB STORY TIME: Youngsters 5 and under play, sing, hear stories and color. St. Johnsbury Athenaeum, 10:3011 a.m. Free.

FRI.15 burlington

‘CHAMP: AMERICA’S LAKE MONSTER’: See WED.13.

‘SEUSSICAL’: The beloved author’s fantastical characters unite in an unexpected and musical manner in this production staged by Very Merry Theatre’s middle school performers. Center of Recreation & Education, O.N.E. Community Center, Burlington, 6:30 p.m. Free.

‘SHE KILLS MONSTERS: YOUNG ADVENTURERS EDITION’: See THU.14. DINOSAUR SAFARI EXHIBIT: See WED.13.

DROP-IN: An afterschool hangout space invites teens ages 13 to 19 to relax, connect, grab a snack or browse the nonprofit’s clothing closet. Outright Vermont, Burlington, 2:30 p.m. Free.

FAMILY FRIDAY WITH LINDA BASSICK: Caretakers and wee ones enjoy a weekly morning mashup of muffins and music played by the local legend. Pingala Café North Avenue, Burlington, 9-9:30 a.m. Free.

SUMMER CAMP FINDER HACKATHON: Tech-savvy dads gather for a collaborative tweak session to refine a new digital tool over a shared taco dinner. The Guild Hall, Burlington, 5:30-11 p.m. Free.

chittenden county

FRIDAY LEGO BUILDERS: Weekly sessions invite creative minds to stack, connect and build their way to structural masterpieces using interlocking blocks. Recommended for ages 6 and up. South Burlington Public Library & City Hall, 3-4:30 p.m. Free.

SPANISH STORY TIME: Hola, amigos! Toddlers and their caregivers listen to stories and learn some new words. Brownell Library, Essex Junction, 10:30 a.m. Free.

TEEN OPEN MIC: Adolescents in grade 6 and up take the spotlight to showcase five-minute bursts of lyrical, comedic or literary talent. Brownell Library, Essex Junction, 5 p.m. Free.

barre/montpelier

BASEMENT TEEN CENTER: A drop-in hangout session welcomes kids ages 12 to 17 for lively games, arts and crafts, and snacks. Kellogg-Hubbard Library, Montpelier, 2-8 p.m. Free.

LEGO CLUB: Budding builders create geometric structures with snap-together blocks. Kellogg-Hubbard Library, Montpelier, 3:30-5 p.m. Free.

STORY TIME & PLAYGROUP: Participants ages 5 and under enjoy

themed science, art and nature activities. Jaquith Public Library, Marshfield, 10:30 a.m. Free.

mad river valley/ waterbury

STUDENT ART SHOW: Young creatives from across the Mad River Valley showcase the power of artistic expression. Red Barn Galleries at Lareau Farm, Waitsfield, 5-7 p.m. Free.

middlebury area

SILENT AUCTION BENEFIT: Families enjoy live tunes, light refreshments and an auction to benefit the Lincoln Cooperative Preschool. Burnham Hall, Lincoln, 6-9 p.m. $10 suggested donation; cash bar.

THE NEW ENGLAND FAMILY THEATRE FESTIVAL: See WED.13.

upper valley

STORY TIME: Preschoolers take part in tales, tunes and playtime. Latham Library, Thetford, 11 a.m. Free. northeast kingdom

‘CARDTOPIA’: See THU.14.

PRESCHOOL STORY TIME: Youngsters and their caregivers delight in beautiful books, silly songs, creative crafts and unplugged play in the library’s cozy children’s room. Craftsbury Public Library, Craftsbury Common, 10 a.m. Free.

SAT.16

burlington

‘CHAMP: AMERICA’S LAKE MONSTER’: See WED.13.

‘SEUSSICAL’: See FRI.15, 2 & 6:30 p.m.

‘SHE KILLS MONSTERS: YOUNG ADVENTURERS EDITION’: See THU.14, 2 & 7 p.m.

DADS’ NIGHT OUT: SOBER SATURDAY NIGHTS: Fathers get together for a casual, substance-free night of food and games. The Guild Hall, Burlington, 7 p.m. Free.

DINOSAUR SAFARI EXHIBIT: See WED.13.

SING-ALONG WITH LINDA BASSICK: Early learners and their guardians make memories at a monthly rhythmic residency with the local musician and educator. Fletcher Free Library New

North End Branch, Burlington, 11-11:30 a.m. free.

TROUT PARADE WORKSHOP: Community members craft aquatic-themed puppets and flags under the guidance of veteran activists to prepare for the annual watershed celebration on May 29. The Flynn, Burlington, 10 a.m.-2 p.m. Free.

barre/montpelier

DADS & KIDS HIKE: Fathers and their kiddos explore the outdoors at a guided morning ramble designed to cultivate neighborly connections. Hubbard Park, Montpelier, 9-10:30 a.m. Free.

SPROUTS CLUB FOR YOUNG

GARDENERS: Little nature enthusiasts learn about plant anatomy, pollinators and other botanical basics through hands-on activities and crafts. The Roots Farm Market, Middlesex, 10 a.m.noon. $10 per family.

mad river valley/ waterbury

KATE HOSFORD: A hometown author shares her whimsical new picture book, You and I Are Stars and Night then guides youngsters through a special craft. Inklings Children’s Books, Waitsfield, 11 a.m.-noon. Free.

STUDENT ART SHOW: See FRI.15.

middlebury area

THE NEW ENGLAND FAMILY THEATRE FESTIVAL: See WED.13.

northeast kingdom ‘CARDTOPIA’: See THU.14.

SCIENTIFIC SATURDAYS: Participants explore the wonders of the natural world, from the life cycle of plants to the mysteries of animal habitats. Haskell Free Library & Opera House, Derby Line, 1-2:30 p.m. Free.

SUN.17

burlington

‘CHAMP: AMERICA’S LAKE MONSTER’: See WED.13.

DINOSAUR SAFARI EXHIBIT: See WED.13.

DUNGEONS & DRAGONS GROUP B: Tabletop role-players ages 9 to

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

Job of theWeek

DIRECTOR OF HEALTHY YOUTH INITIATIVES

Vermont Network

Get the scoop on this position from the Director of Prevention and Healing, Kiona Heath

What are some speciﬁc challenges of this position and why is it important?

FAMI LY FU N

14 practice their craft with Andrew, the library’s dungeon master. Fletcher Free Library, Burlington, 12:15-3:15 p.m. Free; preregister.

FAM JAMS MUSICAL PLAYGROUP: Families drum up connections at a morning of collaborative music making with early childhood educator and musician Alex Baron. The Guild Hall, Burlington, 9:30-11 a.m. Free.

HAIRDOS & DON’TS: A HAIRSTYLING WORKSHOP FOR DADS: Unfamiliar brushes become tools of the trade as fathers navigate the kinks of styling at this hands-on seminar with local experts. The Guild Hall, Burlington, 2-3:30 p.m. Free; preregister.

TWEEN GROUP: A new program for queer and gender-creative youths ages 10 to 12 offers space to make new friends, join in fun activities and build community. Outright Vermont, Burlington, 2-4 p.m. Free.

chittenden county

MON.18

burlington

‘CHAMP: AMERICA’S LAKE

MONSTER’: See WED.13.

DINOSAUR SAFARI EXHIBIT: See WED.13.

STORY ARTISTS: Wee ones ages 2 to 6 and their caregivers read a selection of books by a featured author, then make art inspired by the theme. Fletcher Free Library, Burlington, 10:3011:30 a.m. Free.

chittenden county

‘TELL US WHAT YOU WANT’: Teens claim a seat at the table and help design events and programs that transform the library into a custom-tailored hangout. Refreshments provided. South Burlington Public Library & City Hall, 4-5 p.m. Free.

mad river valley/ waterbury

TODDLER TIME: Little kids ages 5 and under have a blast with songs, stories, rhymes and dancing. Waterbury Public Library, 10:30 a.m. Free.

upper valley

THE NEST: Good Beginnings of Central Vermont hosts a baby-friendly space where prenatal and postpartum families can connect. Kellogg-Hubbard Library, Montpelier, 9 a.m.-1 p.m. Free.

upper valley

LEGO TUESDAYS: Youth architects tackle construction challenges or follow their own blueprints at a creative building session complete with snacks. Norwich Public Library, 3:304:30 p.m. Free.

northeast kingdom

LAPSIT STORY TIME: Babies 2 and under learn to love reading while singing and playing with their caregivers. Siblings welcome. St. Johnsbury Athenaeum, 10:30-11 a.m. Free.

PRESCHOOL STORY TIME: See FRI.15.

WED.20

DADS’ NIGHT IN: JACKBOX GAMES: Fathers log on for a virtual game night hosted by Dad Guild. 8:45-10 p.m. Free.

burlington

It is both uniquely challenging and critically important to be part of the movement to end gender-based violence. e Director of Healthy Youth Initiatives plays a key role in facilitating the Vermont Network’s efforts to support young people with their well-being, with healthy relationships, and with the creation of safe & afﬁrming communities. is position requires thoughtful coordination with state and community partners to bring information, resources and training to Vermont youth — and to the adults who support them — with the goal of having youth create their own strategies for how to prevent harm in their lives and in the lives of their peers. In one example, youth designed a school mapping activity where they identiﬁed unsafe or unwelcoming areas within their schools and made recommendations to school administrators about how to make those places more accessible and welcoming to all students. e work that happens at the Vermont Network asks a lot of a person’s heart and mind.

SOCIAL SUNDAYS: Families participate in fun and educational art activities with diverse mediums and themes. All supplies and instruction provided. Milton Artists’ Guild Art Center & Gallery, 12:30-2:30 p.m. Free.

mad river valley/ waterbury

STORY TIME WITH BETH: An engaging bookseller and librarian reads picture books on a different theme each week. The Norwich Bookstore, 10 a.m. Free.

TUE.19

burlington

‘CHAMP: AMERICA’S LAKE

MONSTER’: See WED.13.

‘CHAMP: AMERICA’S LAKE MONSTER’: See WED.13.

DINOSAUR SAFARI EXHIBIT: See WED.13.

LIBRARY LITTLES PLAYGROUP: See WED.13.

MENDING STORY TIME: Vermont designer Annemarie Furey reads Alexander Mostov’s heartwarming picture book, Igor and the Mending Mice followed by a demo of simple sewing methods and a hands-on craft. Materials provided. Inklings Children’s Books, Waitsfield, 11 a.m.-noon. Free.

DINOSAUR SAFARI EXHIBIT: See WED.13.

MAGNATILE MASTERPIECES: Future architects ages 3 and up build imaginative creations with magnetic toys. Fletcher Free Library New North End Branch, Burlington, 10-10:45 a.m. Free.

chittenden county

STUDENT ART SHOW: See FRI.15.

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.

chittenden

county

middlebury area

What is unique about working for Vermont Network? e Vermont Network offers consistent opportunities to think big about the work that we do and how to sustain ourselves and our movement. We use healing-centered approaches, creative expression and other modalities for connection to help keep our organization healthy, to be resilient in our work and to uplift one another. One unique way is with our weekly Community Care meetings — which are a facilitated and ﬂexible chance to connect, reﬂect and engage with your colleagues. Our workplace is a community of brilliant, creative, engaged and committed people. It is a place where you bring and build your expertise and experience, while having ample opportunity to learn and evolve your approach to what you do.

KIDS MUSIC & PIZZA: Youngsters find their rhythm and get their fill at this spring social featuring songs by early educator Linda Bassick, festive drinks and family portrait mini sessions. The Tillerman, Bristol, 11 a.m.-1 p.m. Free.

CRAFTYTOWN: Aspiring artists tackle a rotating menu of tactile projects to explore new techniques, then bring home a finished masterpiece. Recommended for ages 8 and up, or 6 and up with an adult helper. South Burlington Public Library & City Hall, 3-4 p.m. Free.

SQUISH FACE PORTRAITS:

BABY TIME: See WED.13. KIDS PUZZLE SWAP: Young strategists trade their completed cardboard conquests for fresh challenges. 24 to 300 pieces only. South Burlington Public Library & City Hall, 2-5 p.m. Free.

barre/montpelier

BABY & CAREGIVER MEETUP: See WED.13.

FAMILY CHESS CLUB: See WED.13.

upper valley STORY TIME: See WED.13. K

champlain islands/northwest

Apply for this great local job and many more: jobs.sevendaysvt.com

DADS & KIDS HIKE: Fathers and their little ones enjoy a low-impact trek along a level path designed for an easy out-and-back experience. Maquam Creek Trail, Swanton, 9-10:30 a.m. Free.

northeast kingdom ‘CARDTOPIA’: See THU.14.

Creative children ages 6 to 11 experiment with goofy printmaking techniques to document their silliest expressions for a gallery display. Brownell Library, Essex Junction, 3:45-4:45 p.m. Free.

STORY TIME: Youngsters from birth to 5 enjoy a session of reading, rhyming and singing. Dorothy Alling Memorial Library, Williston, 10:30-11 a.m. Free.

barre/montpelier

BASEMENT TEEN CENTER: See FRI.15, 2-6 p.m.

lunches. Kellogg-Hubbard Library, Montpelier, noon-1 p.m. Free.

PAUSE-CAFÉ MARDI: Francophones and Frenchlanguage learners meet pour parler la belle langue. Burlington Bay Market & Café, 6-8 p.m. Free.

lgbtq

HECK YEAH PARTY: Folks craft sweet notes of affirmation for queer youths — aka “heck yeahs” — and share them anonymously in paper bags. Materials provided. Outright Vermont, Burlington, 3:30-6:30 p.m. Free.

music

BRETON & BALFOLK CONCERT & DANCE: Revelers of all ages take the floor for a rhythmic salute to Saint Yves, featuring the driving bellows and whistles of a live ensemble. Vivid Coffee, Burlington, 6:30 p.m. $15-25 sliding scale.

LEBANON HIGH SCHOOL SPRING

CONCERT: Student musicians and vocalists bid farewell to graduating seniors with a diverse program ranging from a regionally commissioned Mexican suite to the hip-hop rhythms of Hamilton. Lebanon Opera House, N.H., 7 p.m. Free.

ME2 ORCHESTRA: Michael Colburn conducts the ensemble in a spirited program titled “American Splendor,” featuring music nodding to the 250th anniversary of the nation’s founding. Vergennes Union High School & Middle School, 7-8 p.m. Free; donations accepted.

VERMONT’S FREEDOM & UNITY

CHORUS: Singers come together for a weekly rehearsal inspiring positive change through the power of music. Chapel of Saint Michael the Archangel, Saint Michael’s College, Colchester, 7 p.m. Free.

québec

FESTIVAL ACCÈS ASIE: See WED.13.

seminars

FINDING HOUSING WORKSHOP: Attendees build an apartmentsearch tool kit with guidance from the Champlain Valley Office of Economic Opportunity. noon-1 p.m. Free.

MEDIA WORKSHOP: An info-packed course for ages 60 and up blends hands-on training with reflection on local history, community ethics and public access values. CCTV Channel 17 Studios, Burlington, 2-4 p.m. Free; preregister.

sports

DAD GUILD OPEN GYM

BASKETBALL: Local fathers hit the hardwood for weekly sessions of full-court exercise and casual competition. Mater Christi School, Burlington, 7-9 p.m. Free.

FELLOWSHIP OF THE WHEEL ENDURO: New and experienced mountain bike riders gather in the spirit of sportsmanship for a casual racing night. Sleepy Hollow Ski & Bike Center, Huntington, 4:30-7:30 p.m. $1520; preregister.

tech

DROP-IN TECH SUPPORT: Library staff field questions about devices of all kinds in face-to-face chats. Fletcher Free Library New North End Branch, Burlington, 12:30-2 p.m. Free.

theater

‘WONDER! A WOMAN KEEPS A SECRET‘: See WED.13, 11 a.m.

words

BIANCA STONE: Vermont’s poet laureate continues her “State of Poetry” tour with a deep dive into the craft of her late grandmother

Ruth Stone. Town Hall Theater, Middlebury, 6 p.m. By donation.

BURLINGTON

LITERATURE GROUP:

Over the course of nine weeks, readers analyze the works of father-and-son authors Kingsley and Martin Amis, two influential British novelists of the post-war era. 6:30-8 p.m. Free.

STEPHEN KIERNAN: See MON.18. Bridgeside Books, Waterbury, 5:30 p.m. $30; copy of book included.

WRITER’S CIRCLE: Creative sparks fly as participants tackle curated prompts and read their latest drafts aloud in a collaborative environment. Virtual option available. Pathways Vermont Morgan’s Place Peer Support Center, Burlington, 4-5:30 p.m. Free.

WED.20 agriculture

MED47 GARDEN SHOPPE: See SAT.16, 9 a.m.-5 p.m.

business

MAY MIXER: Hors d’oeuvres and networking opportunities encourage warm community connections at this Franklin County Regional Chamber of Commerce event. Jeff’s Maine Seafood, St. Albans, 5:30 p.m. $15; free for members and firsttime attendees.

‘SPEAKING WITH CONFIDENCE FOR WOMEN IN BUSINESS’: Professionals sharpen their rhetorical edge by dismantling vocal habits and navigating the specific social hurdles of leadership communication. Hosted by Women Business Owners Network of Vermont. Noon-1:30 p.m. $20; free for members and first-time guests; preregister.

crafts

YARN & YAK: See WED.13.

YARN CRAFTERS GROUP: See WED.13.

etc.

CHAMP MASTERS

TOASTMASTERS CLUB: Those looking to strengthen their speaking and leadership skills gain new tools. Virtual option available. Dealer.com, Burlington, 6-7:30 p.m. Free; preregister.

GUIDED TOURS: See WED.13.

‘OFF THE WALL’: See WED.13.

food & drink

CHAMPLAIN VALLEY VEGAN

COMMUNITY DINNER: Folks practicing a plant-based diet — and those who are curious about beginning — gather for socializing, learning and a tasty potluck meal. BYO vegan dish to share. Burlington Cohousing East Village, 6 p.m. Free; preregister.

COMMUNITY COOKING: See WED.13.

CUPPA ON CAMPUS: See WED.13.

games

ADULTS PUZZLE SWAP: Participants leave completed puzzles (250-plus pieces only) in a ziplock bag with an image of the finished product, then find something new to take home. South Burlington Public Library & City Hall, 2:30-5 p.m. Free.

health & fitness

CHAIR YOGA: See WED.13.

GENTLE YOGA: See WED.13.

RECOVERY DHARMA: See WED.13.

language

ELL CLASS: See WED.13.

SPANISH

CONVERSATION: Fluent and beginner speakers brush up on their vocabulario with a

discussion led by a Spanish teacher. Presented by Dorothy Alling Memorial Library. 5-6 p.m. Free; preregister.

lgbtq

THE ALL INCLUSIVE DYKETACULAR: See WED.13.

politics

STATEWIDE ZOOM CALL:

Vermont Secretary of State Sarah Copeland Hanzas discusses what her office is doing to ensure that elections remain free, fair and accessible. Hosted by Third Act Vermont. 5-6 p.m. Free; preregister.

québec

FESTIVAL ACCÈS ASIE: See WED.13.

‘WINE & HALVA’: See WED.13.

seminars

CAMERA ESSENTIALS: An informative evening examines the critical elements of photography and videography, covering topics from exposure to depth of field. The Media Factory, Burlington, 6-8 p.m. Free; donations accepted; preregister.

UNDERSTANDING LIFE

INSURANCE: Experts demystify the complexities of coverage to ensure financial protections evolve alongside changing life stages and needs. EastRise Credit Union, Williston, 5:30-6:30 p.m. Free.

sports

BIKE & GEAR REPAIR SERIES:

Cyclists and outdoor enthusiasts breathe new life into battered packs and weary frames at a hands-on mending session dedicated to waste reduction. Zero Gravity Beer Hall, Burlington, 4-8 p.m. Free.

GREEN MOUNTAIN TABLE

TENNIS CLUB: See WED.13.

talks

‘AN EVENING WITH KEN BURNS’: A titan of documentary film reflects on half a century of chronicling the American experience through his lens. See calendar spotlight. Flynn Main Stage, Burlington, 7:30 p.m. $64.72-89.89.

ME2 ORCHESTRA: ‘BRAIN STORIES’: Classical compositions and candid conversations intersect as attendees learn more about the founding of a neurodiverse ensemble through podcast excerpts and a psychiatrist-led panel. South Burlington Public Library & City Hall, 5-6:30 p.m. By donation; preregister.

theater

‘MY ODD WAY TO BROADWAY’: Actor G. Richard Ames recounts the absurdities and joys of bigcity life through a multimedia blend of anecdotal tales and musical ditties. Ages 13 and up. Off Center for the Dramatic Arts, Burlington, 7 p.m. $12-15.

‘WONDER! A WOMAN KEEPS A SECRET‘: See WED.13.

words

C. AYLA JOYCE MATHESON: Lit lovers join the author for a reading from her new memoir, My Time, My Truth about finding the courage to embrace one’s authentic purpose. The Norwich Bookstore, 7 p.m. Free.

JULIA ALVAREZ: An acclaimed writer returns to her poetic roots with her new collection, Visitations, tracing the seasons of her life. See calendar spotlight. Town Hall Theater, Middlebury, 6:30 p.m. $8. ➆

Welcome, new Super Readers!

ese wonderful people made their ﬁrst donation to Seven Days this week:

Jennifer Brown Chris Marshall

Here are some of the repeat and recurring Super Readers who sustain us all year: – Bruce de Bree, Essex Junction SUPER

Kevin Burke

Lynn Bursell

Kirsten Connelly

Steven Cote

Charles Cyr

Abbie Penﬁ eld

Julia Davies

Deborah DeLadurantaye

Leigh Dolin

John Fisher

Laura Lyle

Kris Hillen

Tonya Howard

Robert G. Jacob

Ted Montgomery

Herbert Ogden

Shelley Richardson

Dianne Shullenberger

Angela Simpson

Gabrielle Smith

Jacqueline Weinstock

Join these generous folks and other Super Readers who donate monthly to:

Make your contribution today! sevendaysvt.com/super-readers

Or send a check w/note to: Seven Days c/o Super Readers, PO Box 1164, Burlington, VT 05402.

Need more info? Want to give from a donor-advised fund or through a qualiﬁed charitable contribution? Contact Gillian at 802-865-1020, ext. 115 or superreaders@sevendaysvt.com.

classes

THE FOLLOWING CLASS LISTINGS ARE PAID ADVERTISEMENTS. ANNOUNCE YOUR CLASS HERE FOR AS LITTLE AS $21.25/WEEK (INCLUDES SIX PHOTOS AND UNLIMITED DESCRIPTION ONLINE).

NEWSPAPER DEADLINE: MONDAYS AT 3 P.M. POST CLASS ADS AT SEVENDAYSVT.COM/POSTCLASS. GET HELP AT CLASSES@SEVENDAYSVT.COM.

arts & crafts

DAVIS STUDIO ART CLASSES: Stay connected to your creative practice this summer. Seasonal camps, classes and workshops offer ﬂexible, supportive ways for art making full of joy and inspiration! Come as you are and use the time to reset, focus and have fun. Now enrolling youths, teens and adults. Info: 802-4252700, info@davisstudiovt.com, davisstudiovt.com.

food & drink

MERINGUE SQUIGGLE CAKE DECORATING FEATURING

SARAH AUGER: Cake besties Red Poppy Cakery and the Goose Chase Cake Design are teaming up for a special workshop! Sarah Auger (owner of Goose Chase) will take us on a whimsical adventure making torched meringue to decorate some Red Poppy Cakes in her signature squiggle style with fresh ﬂower additions. Guests can pick from a selection of ﬂavors in advance of the class for their short-stack six-inch cake (serves eight). Dairy-free and gluten-free options available by request. Please disclose all allergies and dietary restrictions in the ticket registration. Please note, we are not an allergen-free facility. Date: Sun., Jun. 7, 2-3:30 p.m. Cost: $85; $15 to add additional decorator. Location: Red Poppy Cakery, 1 Elm St., Waterbury. Info: sevendaystickets.com.

JUNE COOKIE DECORATING CLASS WITH LAURA’S COOKIES: Have you ever wanted to learn the art of cookie decorating? Join us at our June cookie decorating class! In this class, Laura will go step-by-step on how to decorate four cookies using royal icing. Along the way you’ll learn tips and tricks to make sure you leave conﬁdent, regardless of your skill level. Date: Sun., Jun. 7, 2 p.m. Cost: $65; $100 for 2 decorators; $15 to add a decorator; $25 for cookie decorating kit. Location: Queen City Brewery, 703 Pine St., Burlington. Info: sevendaystickets.com.

martial arts

AIKIDO: FREE WORKSHOPS/ OPEN HOUSE: Sat., Jun. 6: Youth workshop at 10 a.m.; adult workshop at 12:30 p.m. Beginners’ classes ﬁve days a week. 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. Location: Aikido of Champlain Valley, 257 Pine St., Burlington. Info: bpincus@burlingtonaikido.org, burlingtonaikido.org.

OOM (MIND) YUNG (BODY) DOE (HARMONY) IN BURLINGTON: Essential training includes kong fu, tai chi, bagwa, kong su (tae kwon do), ship pal gae (18 weapons), kom do (samurai sword), udo and aikido/hapkido. Beneﬁts of training include stress release, improved balance, increased energy, better circulation, mental calmness, improved physical well-being and overall health, increased focus and self-discipline, and the conﬁdence that you can go anywhere and do anything. Offering classes for children, juniors and adults, plus seniors tai chi. Try it for free! Dates: Open 6 days a week. Location: School of Oom Yung Doe, 1127

North Ave., Burlington. Info: Inst. Wade Prescott, 802-495-6034, inst.wade@gmail.com, schools. oomyungdoe.com/vermont.

music

TAIKO TUESDAYS, DJEMBE

WEDNESDAYS!: Drum with Stuart Paton! New sessions each month. Community Taiko Ensemble Beginner’s Class, Mon., 5:30-7 p.m. Taiko on Tue.: Kids & Parents Taiko, 4-5:30 p.m.; Adult Intro Taiko, 5:30-7 p.m.; Accelerated Intro Taiko, 7-8:30 p.m. Djembe on Wed.: Intermediate Djembe, 5:30-7 p.m.; Beginner Djembe, 7-8:30 p.m. Drums provided. Cost: $92/4 weeks; 90-min. classes; $72 per person for Kids & Parents class. Location: Burlington Taiko, 208 Flynn Ave., Suite 3-G. Info: Stuart Paton, 802-448-0150, burlingtontaiko.org.

Find and purchase tickets for these and other classes at sevendaystickets.com. = TICKETED CLASS

READER SINCE JANUARY 2024

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

Juicebox

AGE/SEX: 8-month-old neutered male

ARRIVAL DATE: April 22, 2026

SUMMARY: is handsome boy can be shy when he ﬁrst meets someone new, but give him a little time and gentle support, and he opens right up into a happy, playful, fun-loving dog who is ready to make the absolute most of his next chapter! Walks, fetch, backyard zoomies, lazy mornings, road trips and a spot on the couch at the end of the day — Juicebox is ready for all of it. He just needs the right person to show him the way and gain his trust. If you have patience, a sense of adventure and room in your life for a dog who will absolutely be worth the warm-up, Juicebox may be your new best friend!

DOGS/CATS/KIDS: Juicebox is social with other dogs. He has no known experience with cats. He may prefer a home without young children.

Visit the Humane Society of Chittenden County at 142 Kindness Court, South Burlington, Tuesday-Wednesday 1-5 p.m., ursday-Friday 1-6 p.m., Saturday 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Call 862-0135 or visit hsccvt.org for more info.

DID YOU KNOW?

From puppies to adults, training is all about bridging a communication barrier with your dog. HSCC recommends positive reinforcement training: Using rewards such as treats, toys and attention is always the best way to help your dog learn.

GARAGE & ESTATE SALES

DO NOT MISS THIS ESTATE SALE

Painted vintage furniture, antiques, vintage rugs, household items (plates, vases, lamps, etc.), art, tons of eclectic textiles (silks, suzanis, Holland wax), African treasures, funky upholstered chairs, women’s clothing (M), cupboards, beds, tables, books. Fri., May 15, & Sat. May 16, 8 a.m.-2 p.m., & Sun., May 17, 10 a.m.-2 p.m. 94 Green St., Vergennes. Rain or shine.

FABULOUS ESTATE SALE

Eclectic & antique furniture, rugs, lamps, art, household items, exotic textiles, upholstery fabric, books, women’s clothing,

African treasures, Holland wax pillows, & so much more! 94 Green St., Vergennes. Rain or shine. Fri., May 15, & Sat., May 16, 8 a.m.-2 p.m.; Sun., May 17, 10 a.m.-2 p.m.; Fri., May 22, & Sat., May 23, 8 a.m.-2 p.m.; & Sun., May 24, 10 a.m.-2 p.m.

HOME & GARDEN

10” SAWSTOP INDUSTRIAL CABINET SAW

5 HP, 1ph, 230V SawStop industrial model table saw w/ 36” T-glide fence assembly. Comes w/ 2 additional 10” brakes & 1 additional 8” brake (for dado head). Incl. integral router table (router not incl.). Saw needs bearings, currently runs loud. $750. Info, 802-342-8240, steve. holman@holman.com.

FAIRLY SOPHISTICATED HOME GROW SYSTEM

Vevo sun tent, timers, 4 2-by-4-foot LED lights. HVAC ﬁ lter system, auto-feed system & many other features to list here. Must see. Paid over $2000; will sell for $1,000 cash.

W/D washer & dryer

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

Nestled in the northern Taconic Mountains of southwest Vermont. Info, 802-325-2603, lawlorschmidt@icloud. com, artistretreat chagawoods.com.

Communit y ommunit

ANNOUNCEMENTS

SLAVIC LIFE

e Slavic Life

Movement is an organization dedicated to the preservation & evolution of Slavic culture.

COMMUNITY

ACUPUNCTURE OPEN HOUSE PARTY

Food! Drink! Prizes! Acupuncture! Come celebrate community wellness w/ us. Learn about the radical history of community acupuncture (spoiler: It was the Black Panthers), how to use acupressure stick-on beads for your family & friends, & even see what it feels like to give acupuncture, using our silicon model! We’ll also have gifts & prizes, food, mocktails, & more. Free! Everyone welcome. No registration required. Come for part or all; drop in anytime. Sat., May 23, 2-5 p.m. 100 Dorset St. S. Burlington (inside Kula Yoga, Fitness & Social Lounge). Info: info@casobu.org, casobu.org.

ARTIST RETREAT FOR WRITERS & PRINTMAKERS

Chaga Woods on Green Hill Artist Retreat offers writers & printmakers a comfortable & supportive environment immersed in nature w/ uninterrupted time & quiet space to work. Private room, shared full BA, nourishing home-prepared meals, walking trails.

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

MUSIC LESSONS

GUITAR INSTRUCTION

vision in thisfully operational commercial bakery space. Property provides the ideal foundation for an established brand or an expanding enterprise. ere is also a large 3-bay garage w/ income-producing potential. Will provide detailed equipment list to serious buyers, but highlights incl. a 2-year-old Empire 5-deck oven, several mixers, a sheeter & a new handcrafted industrial ﬂ our mill. Great North Country, N.Y., location. Serious inquiries, respond to bakehouse312@gmail. com. $380,000.

HEALTH & WELLNESS

SLIDING-SCALE COMMUNITY

ACUPUNCTURE

$25-$50: You decide! Acupuncture can help a variety of issues, such as pain anywhere in the body, menstrual problems, stress, insomnia & more. We have helped thousands of people feel better. Learn more or schedule on our website: casobu.org. Email: info@ casobu.org.

FOOD COACH

All styles/levels. Emphasis on building strong technique, thorough musicianship, developing personal style. Paul Asbell (Big Joe Burrell, Kilimanjaro, UVM & Middlebury College faculty, Seven Daysies winner). Info, 802-233-7731, pasbell@ paulasbell.com.

HOUSEMATES

WINOOSKI, VT.

HOUSEMATE WANTED

APARTMENTS & HOUSES FOR RENT

BURLINGTON HILL SECTION, SINGLE ROOM FOR RENT

Furnished 1-BR at 27 Latham Ct. Single furnished room w/ a shared BA. No cooking, NS & no pets. Sheets & towels provided. On the bus line. $200/ week or $867/mo. Call 802-862-2389.

1-, 2- & 3-BR APTS. AVAIL. NOW IN BURLINGTON, VT. 118 Hyde St. Unfurnished 903 sq.ft. 1-BR, 1-BA, $900 + utils. Also a 1-BR in Winooski at $1,050 + utils. 2-BR in Burlington for $1,650. Heated. We pay cold water; tenants pay utils. 3-BR avail. now for $1,750. Heated. We pay cold water; tenants pay utils. Laundry on-site w/ 3-BR. Info, 802-318-8916.

COMMERCIAL SPACE FOR SALE

ADIRONDACKS, N.Y., TURNKEY BAKERY W/ OWNER APT. A baker’s dream opportunity! Launch your culinary

20 Manseau St. Housemate wanted for unfurnished BR in 3-BR, 2-BA house. 1,200 sq.ft. 2 professional females seek same to share complete 1-story home on pleasant street in the hill section of Winooski. Near bus line & bike commuting distance to UVM. Loads of southern exposure throughout & a full unﬁ nished cellar, W/D. e huge backyard is adjacent to sunny porch, allowing for outdoor enjoyment. Garden space nearby. Off-street parking. Regular lawn care service, trash/recycling & compost service incl. $975. Info, 802-5787526, westwick2014@ gmail.com.

Conﬁdential conversations on all things food & your health goals. Together, we create a strategic plan & work toward a pleasurable new mindset. Simple yet powerful food journaling, sound menu planning & our coaching sessions offer steady support & guidance. Info, 802-488-5286, coty@ touchstonekitchen.com, touchstonekitchen.care.

CAREGIVING

Retired nurse avail. for private in-home light caregiving. NS & no heavy lifting. $30/hour, negotiable. Please call 802-495-1954.

GRAND OPENING

Join us at for our Grand Opening at our Shelburne location & get a complimentary herbalism session w/ a massage. We do relaxation & therapeutic massage w/ hot stone incl. Info, 802-829-1849, tara@ahhhmassage.org, ahhhmassage.org.

SPRING TUNE-UPS AT ACUWELL BURLINGTON

TIME-SHARE CANCELLATION EXPERTS

Wesley Financial Group, LLC, time-share cancellation experts. Over $50 million in time-share debt & fees canceled in 2019. Get free informational package & learn how to get rid of your time-share! Free consultations. Over 450 positive reviews. Call 888-960-1781. (AAN CAN)

ere’s something special about Vermont coming back to life each spring — but after a long winter, it’s completely normal to feel a little sluggish or stuck. If you’re ready to shake off the winter blues, I’d love to welcome you into the clinic. ese spring acupuncture sessions are designed to give your nervous system deep rest, help clear mental fog & support your body as you move into a new season. It’s also a great time to get ahead of seasonal allergies before they fully set in. If you’re ready for a reset, feel free to book online or reach out for a free 15-min. consultation. I accept many insurance plans & look forward to supporting you on your wellness path. Info, 802-777-7817, acuwellburlington@ gmail.com, acuwellburlington.com.

HOME & GARDEN SERVICES

POTWIN EPOXY

Put a new surface on that old cement ﬂoor. Call 802-236-6189.

REGENERATIVE GARDENING, LANDSCAPING SERVICE

To support ecosystem resilience, MycoEvolve offers site assessment,

permaculture plans,

features, design, installation, maintenance, pollinator habitats, riparian buffers, lawns to gardens, forest gardens, fungal inoculation, polyculture orchards, hügelkultur & nonchemical opportunist species removal. Fully insured,

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.

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: HHH

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

REGRESSION ANALYSIS

ANSWERS ON P. 74 »

See how fast you can solve this weekly 10-word puzzle.

PLACE AN AFFORDABLE NOTICE AT: SEVENDAYSVT.COM/LEGAL-NOTICES OR CALL 802-865-1020, EXT. 121.

Info, mycoevolve. net, yepeth@gmail, 802-839-8286.

COMMERCIAL ROOF

DRAIN CLEANING

When’s the last time you checked your roof drains? Stop leaks before they start by making sure your drains are clear. Fast, reliable service. $250/roof. Call or text 802-207-6603.

new. View listing on RV Trader here: tinyurl. com/2ykfdc9x. Private link to high-res photos below as well. $57,000, negotiable. Info, 802-233-0334, vtwildebeest@ proton.me, tinyurl. com/3xh96sfr.

2006 SKOOLIE CHEV

DURAMAX

PROPOSED STATE RULES

By law, public notice of proposed rules must be given by publication in newspapers of record. The purpose of these notices is to give the public a chance to respond to the proposals. The public notices for administrative rules are now also available online at https://secure.vermont. gov/SOS/rules/. The law requires an agency to hold a public hearing on a proposed rule, if requested to do so in writing by 25 persons or an association having at least 25 members.

reduce pathogens alternatives which applies to EQ biosolids produced or imported to Vermont; and added regulations for short paper fiber testing, PFAS screening and tracking where applied. Minor typos were corrected too.

vermont.gov/) by clicking “Act 250 Database” and entering the project number “4C0354-3A.”

Vehicles RVS

2013 AIRSTREAM

INTERNATIONAL

SIGNATURE 23D

Get away in style in this beautiful Airstream, recently serviced & ready for travel! Lots of upgrades, w/ a good history & only 2 prior owners! Stored indoors in climatecontrolled environment every winter since

Chevrolet 3500 mid bus conversion Skoolie. 2006 6.6 Duramax diesel V8 turbo-charged engine. 165K miles. ( ese models are known for 400K miles.) Here are a few items added; inquire for more information. Build-out in 2018-20:refurbished floor incl. replacement of 12 of the U-bolts holding chassis to frame; new metal, wood & insulation & rust-proofing; side walls insulated & plywood. Cub mini woodstove, max fan, full-size bed, Porta-Potty, butcherblock table, butternut bench & cabinets, LED strip lighting, eco-flow power station, plenty of storage. Extra seat belts installed. 4 coats of ship metal paint, incl. NASA ceramic reflective on roof & hood. New diesel hoses, lights, wiring & more. Call for more info.She’s highway-ready. $18,000. Info, 207-924-1014, pawsonce@proton.me.

To make special arrangements for individuals with disabilities or special needs please call or write the contact person listed below as soon as possible.

To obtain further information concerning any scheduled hearing(s), obtain copies of proposed rule(s) or submit comments regarding proposed rule(s), please call or write the contact person listed below. You may also submit comments in writing to the Legislative Committee on Administrative Rules, State House, Montpelier, Vermont 05602 (802-828-2231).

The Solid Waste Management Rules. Vermont Proposed Rule: 26P011 AGENCY: Agency of Natural Resources CONCISE SUMMARY: The proposed rule revisions prohibit combining source separated food residuals with packaged food residuals; prohibit source separated food residual processing by depackaging machines; create operational requirements for mechanical depackaging facilities (required by Act 170 of 2022); allow development soil disposal outside of lined landfills (Act 69 of 2025); require paper and cardboard recyclables be covered at facilities; increase the amount of slaughterhouse waste that can be processed at medium compost facilities; increase the percentage of allowable paper contamination from 1% to up to 5% in processed glass aggregate; adopted PFAS screening standards for biosolids (already in DEC 2024 policy); expanded recognition of all EPA Part 503 Class A biosolids processes to significantly

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION, CONTACT: Benjamin Gauthier, Agency of Natural Resources, 1 National Life Dr, Davis 3, Montpelier VT 05620 Tele: 802-522-5080 E-Mail: benjamin. gauthier@vermont.gov URL: https://dec. vermont.gov/waste-management/solid. FOR COPIES: Dennis Fekert, Agency of Natural Resources, 1 National Life Dr, Davis 3, Montpelier VT 05620 Tele: 802-522-0195 E-Mail: dennis. fekert@vermont.gov.

ACT 250 NOTICE

MINOR APPLICATION 4C0354-3A

10 V.S.A. §§ 6000 – 6111

Application 4C0354-3A from GlobalFoundries

1000 River St, Essex Junction, VT 05452 was received on April 3, 2026 and deemed complete on April 29, 2026. The project specifically authorizes the construction of one 53’x32’ building to house wastewater treatment equipment to support the on-site treatment of industrial wastewater from site manufacturing operations. The building will be placed within the footprint of the existing permitted wastewater treatment plant. Construction includes excavation for a concrete foundation and piping installation, installation of a prefabricated insulated metal building, and minor demolition of 70’ of walkway and 30’ of curbing to prepare the site. The building will be accessed by a 30’ driveway from the existing roadway. Wastewater treatment equipment, chemical handling equipment, and safety apparatus will be installed in the building. The equipment will be integrated into existing systems and operated by licensed wastewater operators. Stormwater collected by the new impervious surface will be routed to existing infrastructure that collects all stormwater within the waste treatment plant. The project is located at 1000 River St in Essex Junction, City of, Vermont. The application may be viewed on the Land Use Review Board’s website (https://act250.

No hearing will be held and a permit may be issued unless, on or before June 2, 2026, a party notifies the District 4 Commission in writing of an issue requiring a hearing, or the Commission sets the matter for a hearing on its own motion. Any person as defined in 10 V.S.A. § 6085(c) (1) may request a hearing. Any hearing request must be in writing, must state the criteria or sub-criteria at issue, why a hearing is required, and what additional evidence will be presented at the hearing. Any hearing request by an adjoining property owner or other person eligible for party status under 10 V.S.A. § 6085(c)(1)(E) must include a petition for party status under the Act 250 Rules. To request party status and a hearing, fill out the Party Status Petition Form on the Board’s website: https://act250.vermont. gov/documents/party-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 be prepared unless the Commission holds a public hearing.

For more information contact Kaitlin Hayes at the address or telephone number below.

Dated this May 5, 2026.

By: /s/ Kaitlin Hayes Kaitlin Hayes District Coordinator 111 West Street Essex Junction, VT 05452 (802) 622-4084 kaitlin.hayes@vermont.gov

NOTICE OF REQUEST FOR STATEMENT OF QUALIFICATIONS FOR ENGINEERING SERVICES The Cooperative Development Institute’s Water Infrastructure Support Program is seeking Statements of Qualifications from qualified engineering firms on behalf of Hillcrest Resident Owned Community, Inc. to improve their wastewater infrastructure. Required professional services will include, but are not limited to, engineering assessments, additional preliminary engineering services, design- and construction-related services, updating or amending the community’s IDR General Permit, preparation of bidding and contracting documents, participation in evaluating bids received, and construction administration to ensure compliance with plans and specifications. Procurement of said services will be in accordance with 2 CFR 200.320(b)(2)(iv). Qualified entities interested in being considered must submit (1) a letter of interest; (2) a statement of qualifications and experience of the firm and associates to be involved with the project; (3) references; (4) related prior experience, including similar projects; and (5) experience with federal and state funding sources including CWSRF and CDBG. Submit the requested information to wisp@cdi.coop no later than June 15th, 2026 to be considered. Please visit https:// cdi.coop/rfqhillcrestvt/ to view the full Request for Qualifications.

NOTICE OF PUBLIC SALE

60 ETHAN ALLEN DRIVE, SOUTH BURLINGTON, VERMONT

By virtue and in execution of the Power of Sale contained in a certain Mortgage (With Future Advance Clause) dated October 26, 2018 (“ Mortgage ”) from J. and E. Enterprises LLC to Vermont Federal Credit Union conveying to Lender, with power of sale, certain property known as 60 Ethan Allen Drive in South Burlington, Vermont and more particularly described in the Mortgage (“ Property ”), of which Mortgage Vermont Federal Credit Union is the present holder:

TIME AND PLACE OF PUBLIC SALE : For breach of the conditions of and for the purpose of foreclosing said Mortgage, the Property will be sold at Public Auction on June 9, 2026 at 11:00 am at 60 Ethan Allen Drive in South Burlington, Vermont.

The Public Auction may be adjourned one or more times for a total time not exceeding 60 days by announcement of the new sale date to those present at each adjournment or by posting notice of the adjournment in a conspicuous place at the location of the sale. Written notice of the new sale date shall also be given by first class mail, postage prepaid, to any person who received notice of the sale pursuant to 12 V.S.A. § 4965.

PROPERTY DESCRIPTION: The Property being sold is all and the same lands and premises described in said Mortgage, to wit:

Being all and the same land and premises conveyed to J. and E. Enterprises, LLC by Warranty Deed of Bartlett Realty, LLL, dated March 28, 2011 and recorded on April 4, 2011 in Volume 1001 at Pages 304-306 of the City of South Burlington Land Records.

“Being all and the same lands and premises conveyed to Bartlett Realty, LLC by Warranty Deed of Thompson Leasing, LLC dated March 8, 2007, of record at Volume 777 at Pages 406-407 of the City of South Burlington Land Records, and being more particularly described therein as follows:

Being a parcel of land with all improvements thereon, said property depicted as Lot 2 on a plan entitled “A Portion of Ethan Allen Farm: Plat of Lots 1-8” dated April, 1983, last revised December 6, 1984, and recorded in Map Volume 197 at Page 61 of the South Burlington City Land Records. Said property is more particularly described as follows: Beginning at a point at a monument set in the northeasterly sideline of Ethan Allen Drive and the westerly sideline of a new unnamed roadway and marking southeasterly corner of said Lot 2; thence proceeding westerly in and along the northeasterly sideline of Ethan Allen Drive N 80° 00’ 00” W 35.54 feet to a point; thence proceeding N 78° 07’ 40” W 99.90 feet to a point; thence proceeding N 71° 16’ 00” W 49.50 feet to a point; thence proceeding N 52° 22’ 50” W 65.18 feet to a point marked by an iron pin; thence proceeding N 36° 02’ 00” W 144.88 feet to an iron pin; thence turning to the right and proceeding N 31° 34’ 57” E 106.83 feet to an iron pin; thence turning to the right and proceeding S 58° 25’ 03” E 336.16 feet to an iron pin in the westerly sideline of a new unnamed roadway; thence turning to the right and proceeding on a curve to the left a length of 50.60 feet to a monument; thence proceeding S 10° 00’ 00” W 67.07 feet to a monument marking the point or place of beginning. EXCLUDED from the above-described property is a 5.25 foot strip of land running the entire length of and northerly of and adjacent to the property line of the within lot which is also the northeasterly sideline of the present Ethan Allen Drive right-of-way; and Granters reserve for themselves, their heirs, successors and assigns, appurtenant easements adjacent to and northerly of said strip for the purposes of slope rights and drainage rights in conjunction with any expansion in width of Ethan Allen Drive, an existing city road. The purposes of the exclusion of said strip and the reservation of easement rights is to allow Granters to convey the same to the City of South Burlington at some time in the future. Until conveyance to and acceptance by the City South Burlington of the 5.25 strip for city roadway purposes, Grantees shall have and are hereby granted an unrestricted easement and right of way across and within said 5.25 foot strip at any point(s) for purposes of access to and from Lot 2, and shall have an easement for use and enjoyment of said 5.25 foot strip for any purposes as long as said use or enjoyment will not conflict with the City’s rights to use said strip for city roadway purposes. When said strip is conveyed to the City of South Burlington, the easements of Grantees for use, access and enjoyment over and within said 5.25-foot strip shall terminate, but only when alternate means of access to and from Lot 2, of similar quality and quantity at that time, are provided to Grantees at no cost to Grantees.

The above described property is conveyed subject to and with the benefit of “Protective Covenants For The Belter Industrial Park: South Burlington, Vermont” dated August 22, 1985, and recorded in Volume 213 at Pages 389-393 of the South Burlington Land Records, as amended pursuant to Amendment No. 1 dated September 4, 1985, and recorded in Volume 213 at Page 426 of the South Burlington Land Records.

The above-described property is conveyed subject to the covenant and condition, to run with the land, that no curb cut or access to said property shall be created from the unnamed roadway and cul-de-sac. Access to and from the property and the related curb cuts shall only be from Ethan Allen Drive.

The above-described property is subject to State Subdivision Permit #EC-4-0793 and any amendments thereto, as well as municipal permits and regulations.

The Property is conveyed subject to the rights of the public and others legally entitled thereto in any portion of the Property lying within the boundaries of a public road, way, street, trail, or alley to the extent not otherwise extinguished by the Vermont Marketable Record Title Act (27 VSA §§ 601-604).

Reference is hereby made to the aforementioned instruments, the records thereof and the references therein contained, all in further aid of this description.

Said lands and premises have an address of 60 Ethan Allen Drive, South Burlington, VT 05403.”

The description of the property contained in the Mortgages shall control in the event of a typographical error in this publication.

TERMS OF SALE : To qualify to bid, prospective bidders must tender to the Auctioneer before the sale the amount of $10,000.00 (the “ Bid Qualifying Deposit ”) in cash, certified funds, bank check, or other primary bank obligation, unless the parties agree on some other amount. The Property shall be sold to the highest bidder, and the high bidder’s Bid Qualifying Deposit will be held as a non-refundable deposit, and will be considered reasonable liquidated damages if the highest bidder fails to close on the purchase of the Property. All other bidders’ Bid Qualifying Deposits shall be returned to the unsuccessful bidders who supplied them.

The successful bidder will be required to sign a “no contingency” purchase and sale agreement at the conclusion of the Public Auction. The sale is “AS IS, WHERE IS,” subject to all liens, encumbrances, unpaid taxes, municipal assessments, and other matters which take precedence or priority over the Mortgage. The closing shall be held, and the balance of the purchase price shall be due and payable in cash, certified funds, bank check, or other primary bank obligation, upon the delivery of a Foreclosure Deed to the purchaser within forty-five (45) days after the sale, unless such date is mutually extended by the parties.

The mortgagor and all junior lienholders are hereby notified that at any time before the foreclosure sale, the mortgagor and all junior lienholders have a right to petition the Civil Division of the Superior Court for the county in which the Property is situated, with service upon the mortgagee, and upon such bond as the Court may require, to enjoin the scheduled foreclosure sale. Failure to institute such petition and complete service upon the foreclosing party, or the party’s agent conducting the sale, prior to sale shall thereafter bar any action or right of action of the mortgagor or any junior lienholder based on the validity of the foreclosure, the right of the mortgagee to conduct the foreclosure sale, or compliance by the mortgagee with the notice requirements and other conditions of 12 V.S.A. §§ 4961 et seq. An action to recover damages resulting from the sale of the Property on the date of the sale may be commenced at any time

PUBLIC NOTICE

INTENT TO APPLY HERBICIDES Selective Vegetation Control

Vermont Electric Cooperative, 42 Wescom Road, Johnson, Vermont 05656 has been issued a permit from the Vermont Secretary of Agriculture to apply herbicides. All herbicides will be applied by ground-based, hand-held equipment. This notice constitutes a notification to residents along the right-of-way that water supplies and other environmentally sensitive areas near the right-of-way should be protected from spray and that it is the resident’s responsibility to inform the contact person of the existence of a private water supply near the right-of-way. The contact person at VEC is Sara Packer, Vegetation & Right-of-way Management Program Manager, (802) 730-1104, or 1-800832-2667 (ext. 1104). Further information may also be obtained from the Vermont Agency of Agriculture, Food & Markets, Division of Plant Industry, 116 State Street, Montpelier, Vermont 05620-2901, telephone (802) 828-1732

Operations will commence on or about June 29, 2026 using one or more of the following herbicides: Escort® XP or Patriot® (metsulfuron methyl), Krenite® S (fosamine ammonium), Milestone® (aminopyralid) Arsenal® Powerline™ or Polaris® (imazapyr), Vastlan® (triclopyr choline) and Garlon® 4 Ultra (triclopyr).

Maintenance will be conducted on transmission lines in the following towns:

Lines:

Line 418 Eden/Montgomery

Line B7 Cambridge/Madonna

Line 116 Johnson

Line 51Y5 Richmond/Hinesburg

Line B5

Pleasant Valley 463R Breaker

Switch 31M

Switch 11

Town(s)

Eden, Belvidere, Montgomery Cambridge Johnson Hinesburg, Richmond Westford Cambridge Barton Jay

Maintenance will be conducted on select portions of distribution lines in the following towns:

Town(s):

Bakersfield, Fairfield, Sheldon Berkshire, Richford, Montgomery, Enosburg Cambridge, Underhill, Essex Canaan Derby, Morgan, Charleston Fairfax, Fletcher, Georgia Highgate

Irasburg, Albany, Craftsbury, Barton, Lowell Newport City Jay, Westfield, Troy Norton St. Albans Town, Swanton Westford, Milton

Vermont Electric Cooperative, Inc. 42 Wescom Road Johnson, VT 05656

within one year following the date of the sale, but not thereafter.

The mortgagor is entitled to redeem the Property at any time prior to the sale by paying to the mortgagee the full amount due under the Mortgage, including the costs and expenses of the sale.

Other terms to be announced at the Public Auction. Inquiries may be made with the Thomas Hirchak Company, 1878 Cadys Falls Road, Morrisville, VT 05661. Telephone: 802-888-4662. Email: info@THCAuction.com

VERMONT FEDERAL CREDIT UNION

Date: April 2, 2026

By: /s/ Renee L. Mobbs Renee L. Mobbs, Its Attorney

SHEEHEY FURLONG & BEHM P.C. (802) 865-6323

STATE OF WISCONSIN

CIRCUIT COURT WAUKESHA COUNTY

CASE NO.: 2026CV000525

CASE CODE: 30701

GERALDSON ENTERPRISES, LLC

W340N5347 Township Road O Nashotah, WI 53058 and CARL GERALDSON

W340N5347 Township Road O Nashotah, WI 53058, Plaintiffs, v.

Legal Notices

ADAM GERALDSON

4 Jackson Street Essex Junction, VT 05452, Defendant.

PUBLICATION SUMMONS

TO: ADAM GERALDSON 4 Jackson Street Essex Junction, VT 05452

You are hereby notified that the Plaintiffs named above have filed a lawsuit or other legal action against you. The Complaint, which is also served upon you, states the nature and basis of the legal action.

Within 40 days after April 29, 2026, you must respond with a written answer, as that term is used in Wis. Stat. Ch. 802, to the Complaint. The Court may reject or disregard an Answer that does not follow the requirements of the statutes. The Answer must be sent or delivered to the Court, whose address is Waukesha County Courthouse, 515 W. Moreland Blvd., Waukesha, WI 53186, and to Joshua J. Konopacki, Plaintiffs’ attorney, whose address is Cramer Multhauf LLP, 1601 East Racine Avenue, P.O. Box 558, Waukesha, Wisconsin 53187-0558.

If you do not provide a proper Answer within 40 days of April 29, 2026, the Court may grant judgment against you for the award of money or other legal action requested in the Complaint, and you may lose your right to object to anything that is or may be incorrect in the Complaint. A judgment may be enforced as provided by law. A judgment awarding money may become a lien against any real estate you own now or in the future, and may also be enforced by garnishment or seizure of property.

Dated this 21st day of April, 2026. CRAMER MULTHAUF LLP

Attorneys for Plaintiffs

By: Electronically signed by Joshua J. Konopacki

Joshua J. Konopacki State Bar No. 1125918

CRAMER MULTHAUF LLP

1601 East Racine Avenue • Suite 200 Waukesha, WI 53187-0558 (262) 542-4278 jjk@cmlawgroup.com

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 May 22, 2026: Contents: household goods

Location: 78 Lincoln St Essex Jct. VT 05452

Makayla Driscoll: #232

Devon Elizarde: #182

Carissa Mae Tetlow: #241

Location: 2211 Main St Colchester VT 05446

Ashley Langlois: #755

Christa Kirby: #665

Location: 485 Nokian Tyres Dr Colchester VT 05446

Andy Boyer: #2199 & #2433

Auction pre-registration is required, email info@ champlainvalleyselfstorage.com to register. CVSS,llc reserves the right to reject any bid lower than the amount owed by the occupant or that is not commercially reasonable as defined by statute. Any person claiming a right to the goods may pay the amount claimed due and reasonable expenses before the sale, in which case the sale may not occur.

PLACE AN AFFORDABLE NOTICE AT: SEVENDAYSVT.COM/LEGAL-NOTICES OR CALL 802-865-1020, EXT. 142.

NORTHSTAR SELF STORAGE WILL BE HAVING A PUBLIC AND ONLINE SALE/AUCTION FOR THE FOLLOWING STORAGE UNITS ON MAY 21, 2026 AT 9:00 AM

Northstar Self Storage will be having a public and online sale/auction on May 21, 2026 at 9am EST at 205 Route 4A West, Castleton, VT 05735 (C138), 130 Tanconic Business Park, Manchester Center, VT 05255 (M229), 681 Rockingham Rd, Rockingham VT 05151 (R09, R33, R51) and online at www.storagetreasures.com at 9:00 am in accordance with VT Title 9 Commerce and Trade Chapter 098: Storage Units 3905. Enforcement of Lien

Unit # Name Contents

M229 John Wellenius Household Goods

C138 Devin Bruno Household Goods

R09 Matthew Quinn Household Goods

R33 Brittanie Fowler Household Goods

R51 Justin Decker Household Goods

ACT 250 NOTICE MINOR APPLICATION 4C1110-4D

10 V.S.A. §§ 6000 – 6111

Application 4C1110-4D from The Snyder Williston Properties, LLC 4076 Shelburne Road, Shelburne, VT 05482 was received on April 24, 2026 and deemed complete on May 6, 2026. The project specifically authorizes the construction of the Neighborhood Park in the Annex Residential Neighborhood, as well as the modification of townhome footprint lots 47-52 & 64-76, and the modification of the paved path between Alpine Drive and Eden Lane. The Neighborhood Park includes a swimming pool, amenity building, garden beds, play equipment, and benches. The project is located at Alpine Drive & Eden Lane in Williston, 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 “4C1110-4D.”

No hearing will be held and a permit may be issued unless, on or before June 1, 2026, a party notifies the District 4 Commission in writing of an issue requiring a hearing, or the Commission sets the matter for a hearing on its own motion. Any person as defined in 10 V.S.A. § 6085(c) (1) may request a hearing. Any hearing request must be in writing, must state the criteria or subcriteria 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 be prepared unless the Commission holds a public hearing.

For more information contact Kaitlin Hayes at the address or telephone number below.

Dated this May 7, 2026.

By: /s/ Kaitlin Hayes Kaitlin Hayes District Coordinator 111 West Street Essex Junction, VT 05452 (802) 622-4084 kaitlin.hayes@vermont.gov

STATE OF VERMONT

SUPERIOR COURT PROBATE DIVISION

WINDSOR UNIT DOCKET NO.: 26-PR-01500

In re ESTATE of Elizabeth Walker NOTICE TO CREDITORS

To the creditors of: Elizabeth Walker, late of South Woodstock, 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: Thursday, May 7, 2026 Signature of Fiduciary: /s/ Ashley Stockwell Executor/Administrator: Ashley Stockwell P.O. Box 66 Burlington, Vermont 05402 United States acusick-loecher@sheeheyvt.com (802) 865-6326

Name of Publication: Seven Days Publication Date: 05/13/2026

Name of Probate Court: State of Vermont — Windsor Probate Division Address of Probate Court: 12 The Green, Woodstock, VT 05091

BURLINGTON DEVELOPMENT REVIEW BOARD TUESDAY, JUNE 2, 2026, 5:00 PM PUBLIC HEARING NOTICE

Hybrid & In Person (at 645 Pine Street) Meeting

Zoom: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/83225696227 pwd=SGQ0bTdnS000Wkc3c2J4WWw1dzMxUT09

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-26-167; 355 Ethan Allen Pkwy (RM, Ward 7) 355 Ethan Allen Pkwy, LLC / Norman Benoit Proposed amendment to the Planned Unit Development (PUD) approved under ZP-25-517. The three 2-unit additions will change to three 2-unit detached buildings.

2. ZP-26-191; 418 Saint Paul St (RC, Ward 6) Allan Walker-Hodkin Proposed 2-lot subdivision. No development proposed.

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 https://burlingtonvt.portal. civicclerk.com/ or the office notice board, one week before the hearing for the order in which items will be heard.

The City of Burlington will not tolerate unlawful harassment or discrimination on the basis of political or religious affiliation, race, color, national origin, place of birth, ancestry, age, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, marital status, veteran status, disability, HIV positive status, crime victim status or genetic information. The City is also committed to providing proper access to services, facilities, and employment opportunities. For accessibility information or alternative formats, please contact Human Resources Department at (802) 540-2505.

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 properaccommodations can be arranged. For information call 865-7188 (TTY users: 865-7142).

STATE OF VERMONT

SUPERIOR COURT CIVIL DIVISION CHITTENDEN UNIT CASE NO. 26-CV-02619 IN RE: ABANDONED MOBILE HOME OF LOUIS BELVAL SR. NOTICE OF HEARING

A hearing on The Housing Foundation, Inc.’s Verified Complaint to declare abandoned the mobile home of Louis Belval Sr. located at the Birchwood Manor Mobile Home Park (1987 Skyline Jay, 14’ x 70’, bearing Serial No. 18160403W) located on Lot #66, 63 Dewey Drive in Milton, Vermont, to authorize the transfer without public auction, so it may be removed and disposed of, has been set for Thursday, May 28, 2026 at 10:30 a.m. in person at the Vermont Superior Court, Chittenden Unit, Civil Division located at 175 Main Street in Burlington, Vermont.

Date: May 5, 2026

Nancy L. Bean, Judicial Assistant Chittenden Unit

VERIFIED COMPLAINT FOR ABANDONMENT PURSUANT TO 10 V.S.A. § 6249(I) (UNINHABITABLE)

NOW COMES The Housing Foundation, Inc. (“HFI”), by and through its counsel Nadine L. Scibek, and hereby complains as follows:

1. HFI, a Vermont non-profit corporation with a principal place of business in Montpelier, County of Washington, State of Vermont, is the record owner of a mobile home park known as the Birchwood Manor Mobile Home Park located in the Town of Milton, Vermont (the “Park”). The Park is managed by the Vermont State Housing Authority.

2. Louis Belval Sr. (“Belval”) is the record owner of a certain mobile home, described as a 1987 Skyline Jay, 14’ x 70’, bearing serial number 18160403W (the “Mobile Home”), located on Lot #66, Birchwood Manor Mobile Home Park, 63 Dewey Drive in Milton, Vermont. See attached Bill of Sale.

3. Belval and his wife, Mary Lew Belval leased a lot in the Park for the mobile home from HFI pursuant to a written lease. Mary Lew Belval vacated the Mobile Home in or about November, 2024 and conveyed her ownership interest in the Mobile Home to Belval. Belval paid a security deposit in the amount of $298.00 to HFI. See attached Lease and Vermont Property Transfer Tax Return.

4. Belval is deceased. His date of death is September 25, 2025. See attached Death Certificate.

5. No petition to open a probate estate has been filed for Belval per the Chittenden County Probate Court.

6. The last known resident of the mobile home was Belval. The mobile home has been abandoned and is unoccupied. After Belval’s death, his son, Louis Belval Jr. contacted the Park Owner on February 17, 2026 and indicated that: he had wanted nothing to do with the Mobile Home; he was not going to be filing an estate with the Probate Court; and HFI could do what it wanted with the Mobile Home.

7. The following security interests, mortgages, liens and encumbrances appear of record with respect to the mobile home:

a. Property taxes to the Town of Milton are current according to the Town Clerk. However, current year taxes in the amount of $477.42 are due May 15, 2026. See attached Tax Bill and email from Town of Milton.

b. Belval is in arrears on obligations to pay water bills to the Town of Milton, Vermont in the aggregate amount of $461.48, plus any additional interest and penalties. The delinquent water bills are now a lien on the property. See attached email from Town of Milton.

8. Mobile home storage fees continue to accrue at the rate of $436.00 per month. Rent, storage fees and late charges due HFI as of April, 2026 total $2,194.63. Court costs and attorney’s fees from this action to date exceed $750.00. See attached Account History.

9. HFI sent written notice by certified mail to the Town of Milton on March 5, 2026 of HFI’s intent to commence this abandonment action as required by statute. See attached.

10. The mobile home is uninhabitable. Tyler Willis, Property Manager and duly authorized agent for the Park owner, will testify under oath as to the poor and unlivable condition of this mobile home at the abandonment hearing.

WHEREFORE, HFI respectfully requests that the Honorable Court enter an order as follows:

1. Declare that the mobile home has been abandoned;

2. Transfer the mobile home that is unfit for human habitation to Park owner HFI without a public auction so that it may be removed and disposed of accordingly.

3. Order pursuant to 10 V.S.A. § 6249(j) that the mobile home and any security deposit paid be conveyed to the Park Owner in “as is” condition, and free from all liens and other encumbrances of record.

DATED April 30, 2026. THE HOUSING FOUNDATION, INC.

BY: Nadine L. Scibek

Attorney for HFI

I declare that the above statement is true and accurate to the best of my knowledge and belief. I understand that if the above statement is false, I will be subject to the penalty of perjury or other sanctions in the discretion of the Court.

April 30, 2026

BY: Tyler Willis

Duly Authorized Agent for HFI

CITY OF BURLINGTON

IN THE YEAR TWO THOUSAND TWENTY-SIX

A REGULATION IN RELATION TO RULES AND REGULATIONS OF THE TRAFFIC COMMISSION —

SECTION 7, NO-PARKING AREAS

Sponsor(s): Public Works Commission

Action: approved Date: 4/15/2026

Attestation of Adoption:

Madeline Suender, EIT.

Public Works Engineer, Technical Services

Published: 05/13/26

Effective: 06/02/26

It is hereby Ordained by the Public Works Commission of the City of Burlington as follows:

That Appendix C, Rule and Regulations of the Traffic Commission, Section 7, No-parking areas of the Code of Ordinances of the City of Burlington is hereby amended as follows:

Section 7 No-parking areas.

No person shall park any vehicle at any time in the following locations:

(1) – (45) As written.

(46) On the west side of Elmwood Avenue, between North Street and Spring Street. (Reserved)

(47) – (591) As written.

(592) On the west side of Elmwood Avenue, from North Street to the north side of the driveway at 179 Elmwood Avenue.

(593) On the east side of Elmwood Avenue, from the south side of the driveway at 182 Elmwood Avenue to the north side of the driveway at 196 Elmwood Avenue.

(594) On the west side of Elmwood Avenue, from the south side of the driveway at 185 Elmwood Avenue to the frontage of 211 Elmwood Avenue.

(595) On the east side of Elmwood Avenue, from the south side of the driveway at 212 Elmwood Avenue to the north side of the driveway at 238 Elmwood Avenue.

(596) On the west side of Elmwood Avenue, from the south side of the driveway at 237 Elmwood Avenue to Archibald St.

** Material stricken out deleted.

*** Material underlined added.

BCO Appx.C, Section 7 4/15/26

CITY OF ESSEX JUNCTION

DEVELOPMENT REVIEW BOARD

PUBLIC MEETING

WEDNESDAY, JUNE 3RD, 2026

6:30 P.M.

This meeting will be held in person at Lincoln Hall, 2 Lincoln Street in the Meeting 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

Final Site Plan construct a 4-story building with 39 residential units and parking at8 Railroad Street in the VC District by Franklin South, LLC, owner. No changes proposed from previously approved plans (SP#6.2023.1 approved May 13, 2024).

Major Site Plan amendment relocate curb cut to avoid an existing utility pole and construct 39 studio apartments with parking at 227-229 Pearl Street in the MF/MU1 District by Handy’s Hotels & Rentals, LLC, owner. No other changes proposed from previous approved plans (SP#1.2023.1, approved June 22, 2023).

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 Chris Yuen or Terry Hass – 802-878-6944

REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS FOR CONSTRUCTION MANAGEMENT SERVICES

Champlain Housing Trust and Evernorth are requesting construction management firms to submit proposals for the new construction of four multifamily housing structures containing 24 residential rental apartments on a 1.51-acre parcel in Winooski, Vermont. Construction Management firms must have comparable experience with new construction of multifamily housing and bonding capacity of at least $11,400,000. For additional information or to arrange a formal site visit, contact Javier Garcia at Javier.Garcia@champlainhousingtrust.org at Champlain Housing Trust and/or Ben Sturtz at Evernorth at bsturtz@evernorthus.org. Completed qualifications are due by Friday, June 5, 2026 at 3:00 PM ET. Davis Bacon residential wage rates will apply. Minority-owned, womenowned, locally-owned and Section 3 businesses are strongly encouraged to respond.

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. For meetings & events throughout Vermont, see aavt.org.

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 meetings are held at the Fletcher Free Library’s Fletcher Room 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.

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 Vermont Wellness Collaborative, 125 College St., 3rd Floor, 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 Fletcher Free Library’s Pickering Room 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) using the “Family Support” tab (click on “What We Offer”). Any questions, please send by email to tdauben@aol.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.

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. Vermont Wellness Collaborative, 125 College St., 3rd Floor, Burlington. Email us for more information: pvcc@pathwaysvermont.org.

KINDRED CONNECTIONS PROGRAM OFFERED FOR CHITTENDEN COUNTY CANCER SURVIVORS

The Kindred Connections program provides peer support for all those touched by cancer. Cancer patients, as well as caregivers, are provided w/ a mentor who has been through the cancer experience & knows what it’s like to go through it. In addition to sensitive listening, Kindred Connections provides practical help such as rides to doctors’ offices & meal deliveries. The program has people who have experienced a wide variety of cancers. For further info, please contact info@vcsn.net.

LIVING THROUGH LOSS

The Volunteer Chaplaincy Program of Gifford Medical Center sponsors a weekly meeting of its “Living Through Loss” grief support group. Anyone who has experienced a significant loss over the past year or so is warmly invited to attend the free weekly meetings every Fri., 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. For info, contact the Rev. Tim Eberhardt, Gifford’s spiritual care coordinator, at 802-728-2107.

MYELOMA SUPPORT GROUP

Area myeloma survivors, families & caregivers have come together to form a Multiple Myeloma Support Group. We provide emotional support, resources about treatment options, coping strategies & a support network by participating in the group experience w/ people who have been through similar situations. 3rd Tue. of every mo., 5-6 p.m., on Zoom. Info: Kay Cromie, 655-9136, kgcromey@aol.com.

NARCANON BURLINGTON GROUP

Group meets every Mon. at 7 p.m., at the Turning Point Center, 179 S. Winooski Ave., Suite 301, Burlington. The only requirement for membership is that there be a problem of addiction in a relative or friend. Info: Amanda H., 338-8106.

NARCOTICS ANONYMOUS

Narcotics Anonymous is a group of recovering addicts who live without the use of drugs. It costs nothing to join. The only requirement for membership is a desire to stop using. Held in Burlington, St Albans, Morrisville, Barre & Stowe. Info, 833-436-6166 or cvana.org.

NEW (& EXPECTING) MAMAS & PAPAS & EVERY

PRIMARY CAREGIVER TO A BABY

Drop-in play every day: The Children’s Room in Waterbury is open Mon.-Fri. for anyone w/children ages 0-6 to come & play. Check the TCR calendar for hours & school closure days. Caregiver & Baby Circle: Weekly drop-in on Mon., 11 a.m., at the Children’s Room. We are pleased to offer a weekly gathering for babies (0-18 mos.) & their caregivers, sponsored by Good Beginnings & hosted by the Children’s Room. Nature Explorations: Tue., 10-11:30 a.m., at various trailheads in the area. Get outside for some fresh air & fun! Every week we go to a different trailhead or natural area to explore. Ages 0-6; carriers are helpful for little ones. Email childrensroom@huusd.org to sign up; enrollment is always open. Music & Movement: drop-in, Wed., 10:30-11:30 a.m., at the Children’s Room in Brookside Primary School. We begin by

singing songs & moving together & allow time at the end to play w/ instruments, as well as time for adults & kids to socialize. Ages 0-6. Exploration & Art Fridays: drop-in, Fri., anytime from 9 a.m.-noon at the Children’s Room in Brookside Primary School. We’ll be engaging in different hands-on explorations & using various mediums every week — sometimes combined. Come to TCR to explore, play & create! For info, email childrensroom@huusd.org.

PARKINSON’S MUTUAL AID GROUP

For individuals & caregivers dealing w/ the challenges of Parkinson’s, we meet to share resources & practical ideas for improving quality of life. This in-person group is free & open to the public. Every 2nd Tue. of the mo., 2-3 p.m., at the Old Meeting House, 1620 Center Rd., East Montpelier. Please contact admin@oldmeetinghouse.org or 229-9593.

PROSTATE CANCER SUPPORT GROUP

The Champlain Valley Prostate Cancer Support Group meets online on the 2nd Tue. of the mo., 6-7:30 p.m., via Zoom. Whether you are newly diagnosed, dealing w/ a reoccurrence or trying to manage the side effects of treatment, you are welcome here! More info: Andy Hatch, group leader, ahatch63@gmail.com.

RECOVERY DHARMA

Recovery Dharma uses Buddhist practices & principles to help people recover from all kinds of addictions & addictive behaviors. This peer-led, nontheistic group offers opportunities to deepen understanding, explore personal inquiry & connect w/ others. We meet every Wed., 6-7 p.m., at the First United Methodist Church in Burlington (the Red Door Church, 21 Buell St.). Enter through the administrative office door (at far left when viewed from Buell St.). We also meet on Thu., 1-2 p.m., at the Turning Point Center, 179 N. Winooski Ave., Burlington. No meditation experience required; all are welcome. Email rd.burlington.vt@ gmail.com for more info.

SMART RECOVERY

SMART Recovery is a mutual support group where, through open confidential discussion, we help each other and ourselves with recovery from any type of addictive behavior.Regardless of whether your recovery goals include abstinence, reduction in use, or harm reduction, you are welcome here. You determine your goals; SMART provides tools and support to help you achieve them.Our approach uses self empowering skills that help you - Build and maintain motivation - Cope with urges - Manage thoughts, feelings, and behaviors - And live a balanced life. For the latest information about in-person and online groups go to meetings.smartrecovery.org.

SEX & LOVE ADDICTS ANONYMOUS 12-step recovery group. Do you have a problem w/ sex or relationships? We can help. Info: Visit slaafws.org or saa-recovery.org for meetings near you.

SEXUAL VIOLENCE SUPPORT

HOPE Works offers free support groups to women, men & teens who are survivors of sexual violence. Groups are avail. for survivors at any stage of the healing process. Intake for all support groups is ongoing. If you are interested in learning more or would like to schedule an intake to become a group member, please call our office at 8640555, ext. 19, or email our victim advocate at advocate@sover.net. Visit hopeworksvt.com for more info.

STEPS SUPPORT GROUP

Steps offers a weekly support group w/ drop-in options for those who have experienced or who have been affected by domestic violence. Women’s Support Group meets virtually every Tue., 5-6:30 p.m. Gender Inclusive Support Group meets virtually every Thu., 11 a.m.-12:30 p.m. Both groups offer a safe, supportive & confidential place to connect w/ others, heal & recover. For more info, call us at 658-1996 or email steps@ stepsvt.org.

STUTTERING SUPPORT GROUPS

We offer 3 monthly National Stuttering Association (NSA) stuttering support groups for adults, teens & school-age children (7-12). Meetings take place monthly at UVM & by Zoom. Contact burlingtonstutters@gmail.com for more information.

SUICIDE HOTLINES IN VT

Brattleboro, 257-7989; Montpelier (Washington County Mental Health Emergency Services), 2290591; Randolph (Clara Martin Center Emergency Service), 800-639-6360.

SUPPORT GROUP FOR WOMEN Group for women who have experienced intimate partner abuse. Facilitated by Circle (Washington Co. only). Please call 877-543-9498 for more info.

SURVIVORS OF SUICIDE: S. BURLINGTON

This group is for people experiencing the impact of the loss of a loved one to suicide. 1st Wed. of each mo., 6-7:30 p.m., at the Comfort Inn & Suites, 3 Dorset St., S. Burlington. Info: Bob Purvee at 922-4283 or ripurvee1@yahoo.com, or Aya Kuki at 881-3606 or ayakokuki@gmail.com.

THE COMPASSIONATE FRIENDS SUPPORT GROUP

The Compassionate Friends international support group for parents, siblings & families grieving the loss of a child meets every 4th Tue. of the mo., 7-8:30 p.m., at St. John Vianney Catholic Church, 160 Hinesburg Rd., S. Burlington. Call/email Alan at 802-233-0544, alanday88@gmail.com, or call Claire at 802-448-3569.

TRANS PARENT GROUP

This support group is for adult family members & caregivers of queer &/or questioning youths. It is held on the 1st Mon. of every mo., 6-7:30 p.m., online; & on the 3rd Mon. of every mo., 6-7:30 p.m., at Outright Vermont, 241 N. Winooski Ave., Burlington. This group is for adults only. For more info, email info@outrightvt.org.

TRANSGUARDIANS SUPPORT GROUP

We will be in community w/ parents of trans kids of all ages & supporting each other w/ storytelling, listening, learning & love. If we want to protect our trans kids, our 1st line of defense is uplifting their parents & guardians! This is a peer-support group & will be facilitated by Alison & Shawna. 4th Tue. of every mo., 5:30-7:30 p.m., at Rainbow Bridge Community Center. Contact 622-0692 or info@rainbowbridgevt.org or go to rainbowbridgevt.org.

TRAUMA SUPPORT GROUP

Our group is a space for mutual support for everyone who is living w/ mental/emotional trauma. The group meets every Fri., 2:15-3:15 p.m., at the Fletcher Free Library’s Fletcher Room in Burlington & online on Zoom. Email us for the Zoom link & more info: pvcc@pathwaysvermont.org.

We got a great response after listing our job postings with Seven Days last month. I tried to do it through other websites and didn’t get any qualified candidates. All the responses we got to our ad in Seven Days were local people that were either qualified or overqualified. Seven Days was affordable for our budget, and we liked how the ad turned out so much that we actually cut it out of the paper and put it in a frame in our office!

JOLENE WALKER Vacation Ambassador, Vacation Hospitality, Colchester

Director of Hospitality

ATTENTION RECRUITERS:

POST YOUR JOBS AT: JOBS.SEVENDAYSVT.COM/POST-A-JOB PRINT DEADLINE: NOON ON MONDAYS (INCLUDING HOLIDAYS) FOR RATES & INFO: GILLIAN COMITO, 802-341-3060 GCOMITO@SEVENDAYSVT.COM

This leader will coach and develop our hospitality team, continuing to elevate our taproom and destination experience. This role will help guide the next chapter of Lawson’s Finest hospitality by strengthening the foundation of team leadership, service standards, operational systems, and guest experience consistency. This is a hands-on, cross-functional role ideal for a leader who excels in people development, operational excellence, and delivering unforgettable guest moments rooted in our core values. We offer a generous total compensation package, opportunities to give back, and yes — some of the finest beer you’ll ever taste. This is a full-time, exempt position. Starting salary: $120,000 - $150,000. Learn more about each role and apply directly through our Careers page

Executive Assistant

RESPONSIBILITIES:

Support Fundraising Team: Produce monthly reports on fundraising and synagogue activities, acknowledge donations, and maintain records of all gifts

Support the Executive Director and Rabbi: Manage executives’ calendars and the Rabbi’s email, prepare materials for Board meetings and other Temple business.

Other responsibilities include but not limited to:Serve as a notary, monitor supplies, create systems and checklists for recurring events; maintain databases, and maintain the events calendar for the synagogue. Full Time postion.

To apply, please email a cover letter and resume to:

Stacie Gabert

Executive Director

stacie.gabert@ templesinaivt.org

FLOAT CERTIFIED MEDICAL ASSISTANT

Want variety?

Northeastern Vermont Regional Hospital (NVRH) is hiring a Float Certified Medical Assistant (CMA) to support multiple outpatient practices. Provide clinical and front‑office support, including intake/vitals, medication review, point‑of‑care testing, rooming, documentation in the EHR, assisting with procedures, and helping with scheduling, phones, referrals, and prescription coordination. Float where needed while partnering with care teams to deliver safe, compassionate care. Required: HS diploma/equivalent, active CMA/CCMA/RMA, and AHA BLS. Benefits: competitive pay, student loan repayment, tuition reimbursement, generous PTO, complimentary gym membership, health/dental/vision options, 401(k) match, and more

Apply today at NVRH.org/careers

4t-NVRH051326.indd

Community Investments Senior Analyst

Evernorth, Inc is seeking an experienced Community Investments Senior Analyst for LIHTC Acquisitions. This role supports the Community Investments Low Income Housing Credit (LIHTC) Acquisitions team in making affordable housing investments through investment selection, structuring, approval, and construction loan closing. The ideal candidate brings 3+ years of experience in multifamily affordable housing, community development, economic development or real estate financing fields. This role requires some travel within New England and to national events.

Evernorth’s mission is to work with partners to connect underserved communities in the northern New England region with capital and expertise to advance projects and policies that create more inclusive places to live. Evernorth is an E.O.E. To apply, go to evernorthus.org/careers

Join our dynamic team in a unique, family-like environment! We are seeking an organized professional to support our Finance Department and general museum operations.

Schedule: 20 hours/week (during normal business hours)

Pay: $20-23/hour based on experience, Location: St. Johnsbury, VT

Key Responsibilities:

• Manage AP/AR, invoicing, deposits, and payroll (QuickBooks Online).

• Integrate data from POS and donor software.

• General office management, record keeping, and event ticketing.

Qualifications:

• 1–3 years of accounting experience.

• Required: Proficiency in QuickBooks Online & MS Office.

• Strong attention to detail, flexibility & great customer service skills.

• Experience with non-profit donor software is a plus.

Full job description at fairbanksmuseum.org. To apply, please submit your resume & references to akane@fairbanksmuseum.org

Store Team Member

(Closing

Shifts)

We are seeking an energetic go-getter who’s ready to tackle the various tasks we have each day. This position is front facing and requires engagement with customers and store team members throughout the day.

Compensation:

• $19-20/hour depending on experience

• Accrued Paid Time Off

• 15% employee discount

• Staff lunch & drink and seconds vegetables

Full description and to apply:

7dvt.pub/roots

Vermont Tent Company is currently accepting applications for the following positions for immediate employment starting in May. Full time, part time, after school and weekend hours available for each position.

Pay rates vary by position with minimum starting wage ranging from $19-$24/hour depending on job skills and experience. We also offer retention and referral bonuses.

• Tent Maintenance

• Tent Installation

• Drivers/Delivery

• Load Crew Team

Interested candidates submit application online: vttent.com/ employment

No phone calls, please.

Director of Client Services & Communications

VITL is hiring a new member of our Senior Leadership Team: the Director of Client Services and Communications. The Director will be responsible for guiding their team through its stages of development, starting with establishing a client engagement strategy, supporting the team in developing the needed tools and processes, strengthening client relationships, and developing business opportunities. This position leads multiple aspects of VITL’s service delivery, external affairs, training, education, and client support activities. The Director will lead a team of Client Engagement Managers and Educators responsible for representing VITL to Vermont health care providers, including setting goals, training, and overall performance management.

See full job description and apply here: 7dvt.pub/vitl. Interested candidates may submit a resume & letter of interest to hr@vitl.net. Please use the phrase “Director of Client Services and Communication” in the subject line. Thank you for your interest in VITL.

Property Manager

Winooski Housing Authority

Awesome Benefits and Every Friday Afternoon Off!

Winooski Housing Authority is seeking a Property Manager to oversee a mixed portfolio of properties that may include subsidized and market rents. The Property Manager will work with a team of people to continuously improve properties and services, manage tenant relations, and assist with property inspections.

The ideal candidate will have a passion for serving tenants who may require support to be successful and understand how to work as a team. One year of experience in a similar work environment is preferred.

Pay starts between $25 - $27 per hour depending on experience. WHA has a 36 hour work week with every Friday afternoon off.

If you want to join our team of experienced professionals dedicated to serving our tenants, please respond with a letter of introduction and a resume to Susan at sperkins@winooskihousing.org

HEALTHCARE PROFESSIONALS NEEDED

Camp Kiniya in Colchester, VT

You show up for others every day – your skills matter here too. Fresh air, laughter, and a deeply caring community await. Looking for a little extra work this summer?

EMTs, CNAS, LPNs, RNs, NPs, PAs - encouraged to apply

• Day Shifts

• Flexible scheduling and shifts available daily between the hours of 8 am - 8 pm

• Overnight Coverage - sleeping shift from 8 pm - 8 am

Join us for a shift here and there, a week at a time, or throughout the summer. We’d love to find a rhythm that works for you.

Interested in learning more? Email Marnie McDonagh, Camp Director: marnie@campdudley.org

Early Childhood Educator

Pine Forest Children’s Center (PFCC) has provided high-quality, play-based early childhood education in Burlington’s South End since 1988. We are currently hiring for multiple positions, including licensed preschool teachers (full-time or part-time) and early childhood educators to join our infant–preschool teams. At PFCC, we value imagination, curiosity, and integrity, and believe children learn best through emergent, play-based experiences connected to their community and natural world. Our teachers collaborate to design engaging, child-led curriculum, partner closely with families, and receive strong professional development support to grow in the ﬁeld.

Pay: $20–$26/hour plus a $1,000 sign-on bonus

Beneﬁts include: health savings account, dental, vision & life insurance, retirement plan, paid time off, tuition reimbursement, ongoing training, and more.

To apply, send your resume and cover letter to Julie LaFountaine: julie@thepineforest.org. PFCC is an equal opportunity employer.

ATTENTION RECRUITERS:

Business Development Representative (BDR)

All Learners Network is looking for someone to help us bring equitable, highquality math instruction to K-12 schools across the US and beyond. You’ll connect with administrators and curriculum leaders through honest conversations, not sales scripts. If mission-driven work sounds like your kind of role, we’d love to meet you.

Base Salary Range: $52,000-$60,000 USD + Commission. See full job description and apply here: https://bit.ly/math-bdr

Are you looking to learn new skills or to start a career? Are you looking to join a supportive team and a dynamic company? We are so sure you will love it at HallKeen Management that we are offering a $1,000 hiring bonus for the right candidate. All bonuses to be paid per company policy. Will entertain employees looking to relocate to Vermont.

Responsibilities of Maintenance Technician are quite diverse including but not limited to Apartment turnovers, grounds keeping, various janitorial duties, painting, appliance, electrical, heating, plumbing and safety equipment repair and replacement and provide assistance at other company properties when needed. The qualified candidate must have reliable transportation and have the ability to assist in carrying appliances and climb ladders as needed.

• Director of Laboratory - Clinical Laboratory Services ($95,000-105,000/yr)

• Medical Laboratory Scientist ($28-32/hr), 2 shifts available:

o evening/night shift

o night shift with set schedule MondayWednesday weekly

Strong differentials in place for working evening ($4.50/ hr), overnight ($9.00/hr), and weekend shifts ($4.50/hr)!

Town Administrator

The Town of Jericho (pop. ~5,000) seeks an experienced, collaborative professional to serve as full-time Town Administrator. This role serves as the Selectboard’s chief administrative o cer, overseeing municipal operations, sta coordination, budgeting, and implementation of Town priorities.

Ideal candidates will demonstrate strong leadership, communication skills, and experience in municipal management, nancial oversight, and strategic initiatives. Ability to support long-term planning, partnerships, and community development is highly valued.

Quali cations: Bachelor’s degree in public/business administration or related eld and at least 4 years of relevant experience.

Salary: $85,000–$125,000 DOQ, plus excellent bene ts.

Full job description: https://www.jerichovt.org/297/Job-Openings

To apply, submit cover letter, resume, and three references (PDF) to phollstein@jerichovt.gov | Subject: “Jericho Town Administrator”

Deadline: May 29, 2026 | EOE

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Director of Major Gifts

Help shape the future of UVM Athletics.

The University of Vermont Foundation is seeking a dynamic Director of Major Gifts to lead high-impact fundraising that fuels student-athlete success, competitive excellence, scholarships, and facilities. This is a rare opportunity to partner closely with athletic leadership and coaches, build transformative relationships with alumni and families, and secure meaningful philanthropic investments that advance a proud athletics tradition. We’re looking for a strategic, relationship-driven fundraiser with strong communication skills, proven success cultivating major donors, and a passion for higher education and athletics. Based in Burlington, Vermont, this full-time, on-site role with travel offers a salary range of $120,000–$135,000, plus a robust benefits package. Apply: uvmfoundation.org/careers

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For more information or to apply, visit copleyvt.org/careers or contact Kaitlyn Shannon, Recruiter 802-888-8144 or kshannon@chsi.org.

SKILLED NURSING SITE ADMINISTRATORS

4/30/26 3:14 PM

UVM Health is seeking Skilled Nursing Site Administrators at Helen Porter in Middlebury and Woodridge in Berlin. The SA is responsible for creating and maintaining an environment providing high-quality clinical care in a homelike setting while assuring operations meet applicable policies and procedures, and the federal and state regulations.

Qualifications:

• Vermont and/or New York Nursing Home Administrator License.

• Bachelor’s degree in Healthcare or Business Administration. Master’s degree preferred.

• Five or more years of management experience

Pay Rate: $61.44 - $92.16 per hour

Learn more and apply: uvmhealthcareers.org/siteadmin_sevendays

Program Advocate

Provide coordinated advocacy and support services to people impacted by domestic and sexual violence. Build trusting relationships with survivors and collaborate with community partners to ensure comprehensive, survivorcentered care.

Assess needs, provide resources and referrals, and empower survivors. Help survivors understand their experiences, recognize the impacts, and articulate their needs. When survivors have advocates, they’re not alone.

Email cover letter/resume to peggy.oneil@wiseuv.org or apply online at: wiseuv.org/how-to-join/careers

School Based Mental Health & Substance Use Counselor

Low Barrier and Intake Counselor

Executive Administrative Coordinator

Case Manager/Clinician

Town Treasurer

Part-time: approximately 6.5 – 8.0 hours per week. Pay Range: $35.00 - $38.00 per hour, commensurate with experience

POSITION SUMMARY

The Town of Westford is seeking a detail-oriented professional to manage the custody, investment, and disbursement of town funds. The Treasurer is responsible for keeping accurate ﬁnancial records and ensuring compliance with Vermont state statutes (24 V.S.A. § 1571).

Visit westfordvt.us/ careers-rfps for full advertisement and application process. Applications are due by May 22nd, 2026.

Human Resources Director

Are you attentive to workplace culture, have a strategic mindset, are passionate about attracting, recruiting, and retaining employees for a diversity of roles, and enjoy hands-on involvement coaching managers and administering HR functions? If so, we’d love to hear from you!

This individual contributor role serves as a member of the management team and supports 200+ year-round and seasonal staff across the organization’s program and enterprise areas in roles ranging from educators to groundskeepers and hospitality staff to farmers. Important qualifications include exceptional interpersonal skills, solid technical and functional knowledge across HR disciplines, and the ability to help foster a nurturing, welcoming and respectful work environment.

Core responsibilities include:

• Management team skills development and performance improvement

• Employee relations

• HR systems operations and administration

• Staﬀ planning, recruitment and onboarding

• Compensation and beneﬁts

Shelburne Farms is an education nonproﬁt on a mission to inspire and cultivate learning for a sustainable future through its programs, place, and products. Home to the Institute for Sustainable Schools, our historic campus is a 1,400-acre diversiﬁed farm located on the homelands of the Winooskik band of the Abenaki.

Hiring range: $90,000.00 – $120,000.00

For the full posting including beneﬁts, qualiﬁcations and application guidance, please visit: 7dvt.pub/shelburnefarms

Shelburne Farms is an Equal Employment Opportunity employer, and we strongly stand against discrimination and harassment of any kind.

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Youth Coaches; Drop-In, Shelter & Supported Housing positions

Full & Part time

Respite Sta Burlington & St Albans

Scan QR code to apply.

District Manager

The Otter Creek Natural Resources Conservation District seeks a District Manager to supervise and oversee all District operations including technical and programmatic outreach to farms, landowners, and municipalities, development and oversight of water quality projects, and public engagement to determine priorities for conservation work within the district. This is a full-time position based in Middlebury, VT. Starting wage is $27 - $35 an hour. Applications are due by 5/29/26.

Visit VACD.org for the full job description & application.

An education-focused nonprofit dedicated to expanding the power of learning for over 40 years in Williston, Vermont.

SPEECH LANGUAGE PATHOLOGIST

We are seeking a Speech Language Pathologist with expertise in Social Thinking to provide small group and individualized instruction for people with communication and/or social understanding challenges. Our ideal candidate will have exceptional communication skills, an in-depth understanding of research-based interventions, and experience in developing individualized treatment plans. Salary range for this position is $65,000 to $75,000 annually.

SPECIAL EDUCATOR

We are currently looking to hire a full-time Special Educator to provide 1:1, intervention-based instruction. Candidates must hold a valid Vermont Special Educator license and have experience delivering targeted instruction in reading, writing, and/or math using a multisensory approach. This role focuses on individualized intervention and requires strong collaboration and communication skills. Experience with Orton-Gillingham, or similar qualifications preferred. This is an in-person position in Williston, VT. Salary range for this position is $54,000 to $57,000 annually.

OG CERTIFIED LITERACY INSTRUCTOR

We are seeking a full-time, in-person Orton-Gillingham Certified instructor to join our highly experienced and collaborative team of teachers. If you’re a qualified educator with training and experience in structured literacy instruction, this rewarding role allows focus and impact, teaching one-on-one to make a positive difference every day. Candidates should be certified in Orton-Gillingham or have had training in OrtonGillingham and/or Wilson. Our ideal candidate will also have exceptional communication and organizational skills, an understanding of research-based interventions, and experience in developing individualized learning plans. Salary range for this position is $54,000 to $57,000 annually.

PSYCHOLOGIST FOR EVALUATION

We are seeking an experienced clinical or school psychologist to join our collaborative and highly experienced team of evaluators. Our evaluation team administers and interprets psychoeducational and/or developmental tests for children and adults to identify specific learning disabilities, attention deficit (ADHD), autism, intellectual giftedness, and learning differences. We are seeking an individual with a strong interest in language and reading. The position will provide the qualified applicant with an opportunity to work with a team/organization that has a specialized expertise in reading disorders. Salary range for this position is $75,000 to $80,000 annually.

Apply here: https://sterncenter.org/about/careers

ATTENTION RECRUITERS:

Office Operations Manager

Birdseye Siteworks is seeking an Office Operations Manager to aid this department’s development and success.

The Work: Assisting with project development, documentation, and budget tracking as well as ensuring our daily Siteworks operations flow smoothly in order to keep our crews and fleet of equipment fully utilized.

What You Bring: Knowledge of or experience with the construction, siteworks and/or masonry industries, as well as maturity, reliability, initiative & strong communication skills.

Why Birdseye? We are a long established, highly regarded, employee owned Architecture and Construction company.

Compensation: $30-$35/hour depending on experience + ESOP shares + 401(k) match.

Submit resume & brief letter of interest: jobs@birdseyevt.com. For more info: birdseyevt.com/careers.

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DIRECTOR OF HEALTHY YOUTH INITIATIVES

Planning & Development Assistant

The City is looking for a new member of our team to take on a signiﬁcant role in providing municipal services for residents, property owners, visitors and businesses in our community. We are looking for candidates with a high level of organization, attention to detail, follow-through, communication skills, and a solution-based focus.

Please review the full job ad and position description at stalbansvt.com/jobs. The hiring salary range is $50,000 to $62,000. An excellent beneﬁts package is available. Resumes will be accepted until the position is ﬁlled.

Ready to help shape a future where all young people in Vermont thrive—free from violence and full of possibility? The Vermont Network Against Domestic and Sexual Violence is looking for an enthusiastic and collaborative Director of Healthy Youth Initiatives to lead transformative youth prevention efforts across the state. This role will:

• Drive systems change

• Partner with inspiring youth leaders and the adults that work with them

• Advance strategies that prevent harm before it happens

We’re looking for someone who thrives working across sectors— public health, education, state agencies, and community organizations—to build strategies rooted in justice, equity, and evidence. Successful candidates will be systems thinkers, relationship-builders, and passionate advocates for youth and social change.

Qualifications: include BA (or equivalent experience), at least 4 years of relevant professional experience working on youth or prevention initiatives, experience working with youth and/or cultivating youth leadership.

Salary range is $60,000 - $90,000, budgeted at mid-pay band.

Send cover letter and resume to Jamie Carroll at jamie@vtnetwork.org by May 22, 2026.

AssistAnt

Professor, educAtion

Are you interested in a job that helps your community and makes a difference in people’s lives every day? Consider joining Burlington Housing Authority (BHA) in Burlington, VT to continue BHA’s success in promoting innovative solutions that address housing instability challenges facing our diverse population of low-income families and individuals. We are currently hiring for the following positions:

HOUSING RETENTION SPECIALIST:

Provides assistance to residents who have barriers to maintaining housing and/or subsidy. The Housing Retention Specialist works with residents in Chittenden County for the most part and will occasionally provide support to neighboring regions. The Housing Retention Specialist works collaboratively with community service agencies and providers in addition to Section 8, Property Management and Inspection Staff and reports to the Director of Housing Retention and Services. Pay $24.00 to $26.00 per hour.

HOUSING RETENTION SPECIALIST – SITE BASED:

Responsible for supporting those who have mental health and substance use challenges and/or who have moved from homelessness to Bobbin Mill, Wharf Lane, and other BHA properties. The position works closely with property management and other site-based staff to identify challenges and respond with appropriate direct service and coordination of community services, with a goal of eviction prevention and facilitating a healthy tenancy. Pay $24.00 to $26.00 per hour.

Our robust benefit package includes premium medical insurance with a health reimbursement account, dental, vision, short and long term disability, 10% employer funded retirement plan, 457 retirement plan, accident insurance, life insurance, cancer and critical illness insurance.

We provide a generous time off policy including 12 days of paid time off and 12 days of sick time in the first year. In addition to the paid time off, BHA recognizes 13 (paid) holidays and 2 (paid) floating cultural holidays.

For more info about these career opportunities please visit: burlingtonhousing.org

Interested in our career opportunity? Send a cover letter and resume to: humanresources@burlingtonhousing.org

Human Resources, 65 Main St, Suite 101, Burlington, VT 05401

Trusted, local employers are hiring in Seven Days newspaper and online. Browse 100+ new job postings each week. Follow us on Facebook /sevendaysjobs for

Burlington Housing Authority (BHA)

Executive Assistant

POSITION SUMMARY: The Executive Assistant provides high-level administrative, coordination, and program support to the President and CEO of the Vermont Association of Hospitals and Health Systems (VAHHS). This role is central to the effective operation of the association, supporting executive calendar and travel management, association events and sponsorships, and the development and delivery of educational programming for members. The ideal candidate is highly organized, detail-oriented, proactive, and comfortable managing multiple priorities in a mission-driven, healthcare-focused environment.

This position is hybrid, with a combination of remote work and in-person presence at the main office and in Vermont as needed to support the President, meetings, events, and organizational priorities.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES

Executive Support

• Manage the President and CEO’s complex calendar, including scheduling meetings, planning itineraries, and coordinating logistics with internal staff, member organizations, board members, and external partners.

• Assist Sr. VP and VP on calendar logistics.

• Arrange and manage travel logistics, accommodations, agendas, and briefing materials for meetings, conferences, and speaking engagements.

• Prepare correspondence, meeting minutes, presentations, reports, and meeting materials as needed.

• Serve as a primary point of contact for the President and CEO, exercising discretion and professionalism in handling sensitive and confidential information.

Event Planning and Coordinatior

• Plan, coordinate, and execute association meetings, conferences, and special events, both in-person and virtual.

• Manage event logistics including venues, vendors, registration, materials, agendas, and post-event follow-up.

• Support board and committee meetings, including scheduling, preparation of materials, note-taking, and distribution of minutes or action items.

Sponsorship Management

• Coordinate sponsorship opportunities for association events, webinars, and educational programs.

• Manage sponsor communications, agreements, benefits fulfillment, and recognition.

• Track sponsorship commitments and support relationship management with sponsoring organizations.

Education and Webinar Development

• Support the development, coordination, and delivery of webinars and educational programs for VAHHS members.

• Coordinate speakers, schedules, learning objectives, registration processes, and materials.

• Assist with promotion, logistics, and evaluation of educational offerings to ensure high-quality member experiences.

Organizational and Administrative Support

• Maintain accurate records, files, and databases related to events, education, and sponsorships.

• Assist with internal process improvement and administrative projects as assigned.

• Provide general office and administrative support in alignment with association priorities and deadlines.

QUALIFICATIONS

Required

• Associate or bachelor’s degree or equivalent relevant experience.

• 5 -10 years of experience in an executive assistant, administrative, or operations support role, preferably in a nonprofit, association, healthcare, or professional services environment.

• Demonstrated experience managing executive calendars and coordinating complex logistics.

• Strong organizational skills with the ability to manage multiple priorities & deadlines.

• Excellent written and verbal communication skills.

• High level of professionalism, discretion, and attention to detail.

• Proficiency with common office and collaboration tools (e.g., Microsoft Office, calendar systems, webinar platforms).

Preferred

• Experience with event planning, sponsorship coordination, or professional education programs.

• Familiarity with healthcare, hospital systems, or membership-based associations.

• Experience supporting virtual and hybrid meetings and webinars.

Core Competencies

• Strategic time and priority management

• Relationship building and coordination

• Problem-solving and initiative

• Confidentiality and sound judgment

• Customer service orientation for members and stakeholders

SALARY RANGE: $70,000 – $90,000 annually, commensurate with experience and qualifications.

BENEFITS: VAHHS offers a comprehensive benefits package.

WORKING CONDITIONS & LOCATION: This is a hybrid position, allowing for remote work with regular in-person time at the main office to support meetings, events, and collaboration with staff and members.

Occasional travel within Vermont is required. Periodic evening or early-morning hours may be necessary to support meetings, webinars, or association events.

TO APPLY: Candidates can submit an application by email to: jocelyn@vahhs.org.

ATTENTION RECRUITERS:

Network Infrastructure Supervisor

Mansfield Community Fiber is a socially-responsible, locallyowned fiber-optic Internet Service Provider operating in Chittenden, Franklin and Lamoille counties. We are seeking candidates with a technical background in electrical and electronics engineering, interested in learning how to set up, manage and troubleshoot our state-of-the-art network.

This position also includes management duties and customer care. For a detailed job description including pay and benefits see www.mcfibervt.com/jobopportunities. We provide both in-house and external additional training for staff showing interest and aptitude.

Interested applicants should send an email of interest including brief bio to Leslie.nulty@mcfibervt.com with “Fiber-optic Network Supervisor” in the subject line.

INTERNATIONAL TOUR COORDINATOR

Join our Burlington-based team! Create unforgettable group travel experiences for choirs, bands, dragon boat teams, and special interest groups around the world. Requires handling logistics and excellent customer service, the more personal travel experiences the better.

Salary: 50k

Full-time and bene ts (health/dental/vision), plus 4-day workweeks for 7 weeks in the summer.

Contact Emily Hennessy to learn more! emily@music-contact.com

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Delinquent Tax Collector

Part-time: work to be done as needed.

POSITION SUMMARY: The Town of Westford is seeking an organized and motivated individual to serve as the Collector of Delinquent Taxes. This official is responsible for ensuring that all property taxes owed to the town are paid in accordance with Vermont state statutes. The collector acts as the primary contact for taxpayers whose accounts have fallen into arrears, balancing ﬁrm statutory enforcement with respectful public service. Visit westfordvt.us/careersrfps for full advertisement and application process.

Applications are due by May 22nd, 2026.

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Senior Carpenters & Site Leads

We are looking for experienced carpenters with knowledge of old and new construction to join the Lewis Creek Builders, DesignBuild team! We are a passionate group of carpenters, designers, and construction management professionals working in a supportive, collaborative environment to manage every aspect of residential building and remodeling projects.

Flexible start date! Great benefits package!

Property Manager

The Terraces, a 55+ independent living condominium community in Shelburne, seeks a Property Manager to oversee the day-to-day operations of the property and its programs.

As the Property Manager, you will work with the Board of Directors on strategies to enhance our facilities and broaden resident engagement.

If you are excited about the opportunity to make a difference and contribute to a thriving community, visit: theterracesshelburnevt. com/careers to read more and to apply.

Deadline for applications is May 22, 2026.

SOUS CHEF

STARRY NIGHT CAFÉ is currently seeking a Sous Chef to join our growing team of professionals.

Competitive pay: $60,000$65,000 starting salary d.o.e + $1000 sign on bonus (half paid upfront, the other half paid in 6 months).

We believe the restaurant industry is a labor of love and we are looking for someone with a strong desire to learn, cook and eat good food! We strive to create a working environment that promotes growth, positivity, and worklife balance. Come join our team of hard working, food loving individuals!

See full job description: 7dvt.pub/souschef Apply: manager@ starrynightcafevt.com

Community Support Specialist

The Preservation Trust of Vermont

The Preservation Trust of Vermont (PTV) builds community through the preservation of historic buildings, villages, and downtowns. Last year, PTV worked on 362 preservation and revitalization projects in 155 Vermont communities.

PTV is seeking a Community Support Specialist to support PTV’s Village Trust Initiative (VTI) Program. An innovative community revitalization collaboration between the Vermont Council on Rural Development, Vermont Community Foundation, and the Preservation Trust of Vermont, the Initiative will help 20 communities of 2,500 or fewer complete a transformational community development project involving a historic building or settlement pattern.

The ideal candidate will have five years of community and economic development or historic preservation experience, experience administering federal grant programs, exceptional project management skills, and a passion for working in partnership with rural communities.

This is a grant funded position and intended to last for three years.

Salary Range: $62,000-$65,000

Benefits include: generous paid leave, access to employer-sponsored healthcare & dental benefits, SIMPLE IRA

Organization Name: The Preservation Trust of Vermont

Organization Website: https://ptvermont.org

Apply: ben@ptvermont.org

Hiring + Seeking Community Volunteers

Join our nonproﬁt team or get involved— help shape Jewish life on campus.

NOW HIRING (FULL-TIME)

Engagement Associate ($44K-$48K) – Build relationships with students through outdoor, social, and experiential programs. Ideal for those with camp, athletics, or outdoor leadership experience.

Operations Associate ($50K-$54K) – Lead day-to-day operations, event logistics, and systems that support a vibrant student community.

Build Something That Matters — Lead Where It Counts Most

We’re looking for a BRANCH MANAGER who is energized by opportunity, motivated by challenge, and committed to building relationships that matter. If you are a BUILDER, MAKER, and/or a DOER, this is your opportunity to shape the success of a branch, a team, and a community.

IN THIS ROLE, YOU WILL:

• Lead day-to-day branch operations while driving performance and accountability

• Champion an exceptional customer experience aligned with NSB’s service standards

• Grow deposits and lending through proactive business development

• Coach, develop, and inspire a high-performing team

• Build strong relationships through active community engagement and visibility.

• This is a leadership role for someone who thrives in a dynamic environment and sees opportunity where others see challenge.

WE’RE SEEKING A CANDIDATE WHO:

• Brings strong leadership presence and the ability to inﬂuence and motivate others

• Is highly relationship-driven, both with customers and employees

• Is comfortable operating in a growth-focused, performanceoriented environment

• Has a demonstrated ability to build trust, credibility, and local connections

COMPENSATION: Base compensation range at hire (dependent on experience):

$66,560 - $74,360 annually

Apply here: nsbvt.com/careers/apply

Parent & Community Volunteers (1–2 hrs/month)

Governance – Board structure, recruitment, HR practices

Finance – Budget oversight, planning, sustainability

Development – Fundraising strategy and donor engagement

Parents Committee – Family outreach, student experience, community building

We’re looking for: Professionals and community members with experience in HR, ﬁnance, marketing, law, education, business, or anyone motivated to give back.

Impact: Support thousands of Jewish students at UVM through meaningful engagement, community, and leadership development.

Email info@uvmhillel.org to learn more or get involved!

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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.

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TAURUS

(APR. 20-MAY 20)

Soil biologists say a teaspoon of productive soil may contain billions of living organisms. These bacteria, fungi, protozoa and nematodes work in cooperative networks, generating a hidden abundance that ensures everything above ground thrives. Your immediate future has this quality, Taurus. Beneath the visible surface of your life, beneficial processes are generating fertility and possibility. You don’t need to see the miracle to trust it’s happening. Your role is simply to have faith as you maintain the conditions that allow this mysterious abundance to do its work.

ARIES (Mar. 21-Apr. 19): When naturalist John Muir wanted to experience a storm, he climbed to the top of a 100-foot Douglas fir and rode it for hours through gale-force winds. He later reflected that the danger, in his judgment, was “hardly greater” than staying under a roof and that the exhilaration and sensory richness justified his experiment. I’m not counseling you to be exactly like Muir in the coming weeks, Aries. Please don’t take foolish risks. However, I would love you to explore what truths are available when you put yourself in the path of intensity.

GEMINI (May 21-Jun. 20): I suspect you would benefit from engaging with a friendly devil’s advocate or two in the coming weeks. Your clarity and understanding will deepen in just the right ways if you converse with affectionate skeptics who like and respect you but

also want to help you grow. I realize that such people may be hard to find. If you can’t locate any, you could hire one. Or do the next best thing: Argue with yourself. Entertain lines of thought that are contrary to your usual ideas. Don’t let your habitual self get away with its usual rationalizations. The benefits of this exercise will be unpredictably huge.

CANCER (Jun. 21-Jul. 22): In the Northern Hemisphere, the North Star holds a fixed place in the sky. Also known as Polaris, or the Pole Star, it hangs in almost the same spot throughout the night while other stars rise and set. Because of this steadfast presence, it has long served as a trusted marker for navigation, especially for sailors at sea. Over time, it naturally came to represent an inner compass or a guiding ideal. In your own experience, Cancerian, what serves as your symbolic North Star? What’s the steady, orienting force that helps you decide where and how to move next? Now is an auspicious moment to tend to and revitalize your bond with this central source of direction.

LEO (Jul. 23-Aug. 22): In the mid 1950s, researchers developed reliable methods for creating synthetic diamonds in the laboratory. Since then, advances in technology have made it possible to grow large, high-quality diamonds from small seed crystals in a relatively short time. I invite you to make this one of your operative metaphors, Leo. In the coming weeks, the forces of destiny will align with your efforts if you experiment with nurturing and expanding the parts of your life that are most like a diamond. Facilitate the development of your valuable beauty.

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sep. 22): Scientist Stuart Kauffman theorizes that living systems are healthiest when they operate near the “edge of chaos.” There’s a critical zone between rigid order and unstructured randomness where complexity and adaptability can flourish. Too much organization creates brittle stiffness, while excessive chaos prevents coherence. Life thrives when it has some of both. I invite you to ruminate on these themes in the coming weeks, Virgo. According to my edgy analysis of the astrological omens, you’re

being invited to cultivate and foster your own personal “edge of chaos” territory. Your interesting task is to create sweet spots where structure and spontaneity synergize. Locate these happy places and abide there for a while.

LIBRA (Sep. 23-Oct. 22): Choose two small and specific ways you’re going to stop pretending. One example might be how you respond when someone asks how you’re doing. Another may be an opinion you’ve been softening to keep the peace. Or maybe there’s a desire you’ve been downplaying because it feels impractical or too revealing. Here’s the name of this experiment: Incremental Precision Liberation. The key is to do it casually, with no melodrama or self-consciousness. If it’s successful, you could try another round in two weeks.

SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): Scorpio primatologist Frans de Waal devoted years to watching chimpanzees reconcile with each other after enduring discord. He was fascinated by how they rebuilt trust through elaborate rituals of appeasement, grooming and kind gestures. Once the chimps stopped fighting, he marveled, they actively repaired their connection, which often emerged stronger than it was before the dispute. I hope you will borrow their primate wisdom in the coming weeks, Scorpio. Do your best to navigate through conflict or alienation, and then instigate generous acts of rebonding. Don’t sulk, be evasive or go silent. Be creative as you work to replenish what was damaged. The renewed relationship could be closer for having weathered the difficulties.

SAGITTARIUS

(Nov. 22-Dec. 21): The wandering albatross harnesses the wind, enabling it to travel vast distances with minimal effort. There’s an initial effort that leads to big energy savings. The bird climbs into strong winds and then relaxes as it gets transported, surfing the air currents. I mention this, Sagittarius, because I suspect you’ve been trying too hard and working too much — unnecessarily so. Less strenuous exertion, more gliding, please! Ask yourself what flows are already streaming in your favor. Could you catch a ride on

existing momentum? Here’s my advice: Figure out where life’s tides are already moving, then position yourself to get carried along.

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): Ethnomusicologists studying throat singing know that Tuvan singers can produce two or more tones simultaneously. The human voice, it turns out, has the ability to harmonize with itself. Most of us never discover this because we never try. What other multidimensional capacities are you not using because you’ve never investigated them or tested their limits, Capricorn? The coming weeks are ideal for experimentation. What unexpected capacities might you get access to if you explored possibilities you’ve assumed were beyond you? You may be able to develop aptitudes and acquire gifts you haven’t discovered yet.

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): Cartographer Gerardus Mercator created his famous world map in 1569, enabling sailors to plot straightline courses across oceans. But his technique dramatically distorts the size of landmasses. Greenland appears larger than Africa, when in reality Africa is 14 times bigger. And the truth is that every map privileges certain truths while distorting others. This is a key teaching for you right now, Aquarius. Examine the mental maps you’re using to navigate your life. Might they be hiding or warping reality in any way? Consider whether you would benefit from redrawing your inner visualizations of the wide, wild world out there.

PISCES (Feb. 19-Mar. 20): Perfectionism has increased dramatically in recent decades. Young people are especially affected. But here’s the twist: The compulsion for perfection rarely improves performance. It’s more likely to undermine achievement by triggering paralysis and excessive self-criticism. Now is a favorable time for you Pisceans to rebel against the trend. I encourage you to cultivate a relaxed devotion to being “good enough” as you enjoy yourself thoroughly. Do you know the difference between cheerfully seeking excellence and grimly striving for perfection? Move away from what demands your obsessive rigor and focus on what requires soulful completion.

WOMEN seeking...

FUN LOVING. LET’S LAUGH, ENJOY!

I really enjoy being in a relationship. Someone who enjoys being themselves, can talk for hours, enjoys being by the water. I enjoy being in nature, traveling, even staying right close to home, too.

I’m looking for a new good friend, a new love in my life — and with just the right touch of class. Denie, 60, seeking: M, l

LAID-BACK, OLD SCHOOL, SLOW

I am a woman looking for a man. tytyty, 52, seeking: M

LOVE IS ALL YOU NEED

I am easy to talk to and grounded. I like simple living and honest love. I keep my circle small. I am here to build one strong bond. jeholmez 57, seeking: M

SUNSHINE IN VERMONT

I’m looking for someone with the same values. I love to laugh and have a lot of fun. I like camping, traveling, playing cards and board games, watching movies, and having campfires in my backyard. I love to entertain and am a very happy person. I’m honest, loyal, loving and caring. Carolyn, 72, seeking: M, l

INTELLIGENT, CURIOUS, FUNNY AND PLAYFUL

College educated, pretty and emotionally intelligent. Life’s been a little chaotic lately, so I’m just looking for something simple and real — good conversation, calm energy, and someone who’s kind and easy to be around. I don’t need perfect, just genuine. sunshinedayz85 40 seeking: M

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W = Women

M = Men

TW = Trans women

TM = Trans men

Q = Genderqueer people

NBP = Nonbinary people

NC = Gender nonconformists

Cp = Couples

Gp = Groups

YOUTHFUL OLD SOUL, TENDER HEART

Relatively whole woman living a full, happy life in service with wonder and gratitude. Inquisitive, playful, kind, adventurous, generous with discerning orientation practicing equanimity, conscious communication, and emotional intelligence. Walking on the sunny side of the street in honor of my ancestors to nurture, nourish, regenerate the garden. Welcoming companionship, collaboration, playmatehood, and conscious partnership at the speed of trust. youthfuloldsoul, 50 seeking: M,l

WARM, CURIOUS, ENJOYS LIFE

Insightful, kind and a lifelong learner. Retired registered nurse, widow, and proud mom and grandmother. I’m looking for a genuine man to enjoy life with — someone who appreciates connection, conversation and shared experiences. I love music, travel (recently enjoyed the art and culture of Oaxaca), cooking, entertaining, and the simple joys of sunsets, beautiful views and beach walks. bluehydrangea, 83 seeking: M, l

HERE FOR LAUGHS AND LOVE

I’m the kind of person who laughs easily, shows up when it matters, and believes the best connections feel natural — not forced. I love good conversations, spontaneous plans and quiet moments that actually mean something. If you’re genuine, kind and ready for something that could turn into more, say hi. Let’s see where it goes. dawniegolucky, 50, seeking: M, l

FUN, FIT, FRIENDLY

I am a former flower child who likes music, dancing, laughing; and, when I’m not: reading, walking in nature and creating. Looking for someone in the Burlington area with similar interests who could be a friend, traveling companion (been to Ireland and Japan), dinner and movie date, and possibly more. Finding a group of like-minded friends is my heart’s desire. wythu 74, seeking: M, l

OUTDOORSY, ATHLETIC, INTRIGUING, OUTGOING, DEEP

Classy lady seeks gentleman for companionship and outdoor adventures. Building in Waitsfield, Vt. Avid equestrian and love to horseback ride, hike and swim in the emerald-green waters of the Mad River. Windsurfed and have sailboarded as well as figure skated. Seeking a man who can “whoa” and take it slow and see where things might go. Lavenderlady19 66, seeking: M, l

PEACEFUL AND PLAYFUL

I am a retired widow looking for companionship with a kind and honest man. I enjoy cooking, gardening and reading. I really enjoy the outdoors. I like fishing and kayaking. I enjoy playing pool and maybe a little foosball and bowling. I enjoy walks, and I love dancing to rock and roll. Dilly, 65, seeking: M, l

WINDY DAY

I’m kind, curious, fun, vivacious, friendly, love nature and being outside. Like new adventures and to meet different people and talk to them. windyday 69, seeking: M

SPONTANEOUS AND FUN

I would like someone to match my spontaneous personality! I’m a spontaneous, fun person. Spontaneous, as in, I could, on a dime, say, “Let’s get in the car and go!” Let’s go out to dinner. Let’s go dancing, bowling and so on. I enjoy dancing every weekend. Honesty and communication are important to me, as well as attraction. Aggie 73 seeking: M

WANNA JUMP IN THE RIVER?

I love being outside year-round, wandering the forests and wondering at their whimsy and beauty. Balancing that out with cozy time inside, I love a good cup of tea, a book, and attempting/collecting random craft projects, usually made with nature or textiles. Building intentional community is something I am very dedicated to and consider very important, especially right now. ForestFairy 32 seeking: M, W, TM, TW, Q, NC, NBP, l

POSITIVE, WELL-BALANCED MUSICIAN

I’m positive, bighearted, kind and helpful to others. Music is my passion, along with my pets and especially Friesian horses. Would love to see more of Vermont, as its mountains are breathtaking. Love to meet new people here. So far it’s been quite a whirlwind for me in Vermont. Ask me, and I’ll tell you why. Pianofairy 73, seeking: M

FIT, GROUNDED, NOT DONE DANCING

Finishing grad school in mental health and currently working as a wellness coach. I’m 5’7”, fit, grounded and funloving, with a good life, close family and supportive friends. I enjoy hiking, cross-country skiing, gravel rides, dancing, cooking simple whole-food meals, and meditation, yoga and Qi Gong. Seeking companionship for adventure, deep conversation and easy time together. soulshine1975 50 seeking: M, l

GREAT COFFEE DATE? MAYBE MORE?

I would like to meet a man for dating, possibly a partnership. I love to laugh, and my ideal person would be someone playful. I’m made happy by reading, socializing, hanging out at cafés or with dogs, walking, museum-ing, music, movies, No Kings! rallies, painting, gardening. Bonus points if you like to watch silent films or slow-paced, talky foreign ones. Pointer, 69, seeking: M, l

TRAVELING ENTHUSIAST

I’m always seeking the next adventure — whether it’s a weekend hike or discovering a new coffee shop. I’ve been all over the world; take a guess at my favorite location? With travel comes great food. Food lover on a mission to find the best food in the city. Let’s hit up some food trucks together! First date: Where you taking me? VTCHICA31 44, seeking: M, l

LIFE AFICIONADO

You: Self-assured, curious, sense of humor with a dash of derision, who has many words for his story. Me: Spiritual world traveler with a kink for life and a sweet touch, rires and petits plats, music in my heart. Us: Sunrise in winter, smell of apple in the wind, leisurely picnic, warmth in togetherness, old-style jazz. Life_Aficionado 65, seeking: M, l

MEN seeking...

OUTDOOR LOVER

I enjoy being outdoors, whether it be walking, hiking or working in the woods. Going to the beach and hiking in the mountains are two of my favorite things to do. During the winter you’ll find me snowshoeing, hiking or cross-country skiing. I love cooking and gardening. I am looking for someone who shares the same interests. Hikerplus 67, seeking: W, l

SMOKIN’ ON THE PORCH

Originally from Maine. Settling in southern Vermont. I’m a conspiracy, cryptid and paranormal enthusiast. Latest hobbies are wood carving and soccer-golf. I’m a chef by trade. I know I have a baby face. I am truly 38. JayFromMaine, 38, seeking: W, l

FIT, FUNNY, OUTDOORSY

Road and gravel bicycler, hiker, vegetable gardener, cross-country skier, snowshoer, reader, music listener, not a TV-er. Warm and loving to the right person. Searching for a woman who enjoys similar things, who can be warm and open. Hiker48, 77, seeking: W, l

ADVENTUROUS, FUN AND PASSIONATE

I am a middle-aged divorcé with brown hair and blue eyes. I enjoy cooking, gardening, hiking and kayaking. I gave up alcohol 12 years ago but enjoy near-beers. I am looking for someone adventurous, honest and kind to write the next chapter of my life with. Let’s meet up for coffee or a hike; when are you free? stwbll 44, seeking: W

BUILDER, THINKER, LIFELONG LEARNER

I like to stay busy, keep learning and build things. I appreciate simplicity: a good workout, a solid conversation and time spent creating things. I’m easygoing but intentional about how I live. Looking for someone genuine, positive and comfortable being themselves. If you’re curious about life, take care of your health and can laugh along the way, we’ll get along. MountainStars 57, seeking: W

HONEST, DEPENDABLE MAVERICK

I’m not saying I’m glad you’re single, but I’m happy you’re here. I promise I’m more interesting in person. ptink 57, seeking: W, l

JUST LOOKING

And browsing. abc123xyz, 32 seeking: W

EASYGOING

Lonely. rgarv48 77, seeking: W

HEY, NOW!

Looking for fun, good times and laughter with a good-hearted lady. Jonny5isalive, 51 seeking: W, l

NERDY ANIMAL LOVER SEEKING SAME

I’m vegan for the animals! Once you know, you know. I’m a friendly, well-read and informed guy who is seeking an affectionate, attractive and caring partner for the years we have left to share life. I’m open to most people as long as our values are aligned. Veg1965, 60, seeking: W, l

LONELY NIGHTS

Part-time dad with a full schedule, so I keep things simple but still like to have fun. Looking for a fun, consistent FWB situation with someone who’s got great chemistry, a good sense of humor and maybe a bit of a mischievous side. I’m clean, communicative and drama-free and looking for the same. If there’s a spark, even better. RootedIn802 52, seeking: W

LAID-BACK, RELAXING

Looking for anyone, honestly, to talk. If you just wanted to hook up, I’m fine with that, too. I can only walk or get picked up as I don’t have a car right now. jb2026, 18, seeking: W, TM, TW, l

ENIGMA

Anything in my life, I make my own. If it is odd, then I own it and celebrate it. If you are odd and you own it, then I will help you celebrate it. I have a dry, satirical sense of humor, and generally find everything funny as long as it’s just words. I like cars, motorcycles, history, food, experiences, exploring. Tfleming 40, seeking: W

ADVENTUROUS, CARING, FUN GUY!

New to Vermont and wanting to explore! Well-traveled metal artist seeks openminded, grounded companion for adventures including regional travel, music, hikes and creemee sampling. I am active, fit (not a gym rat), creative and capable. I love cycling, motorcycling, kayaking, hiking, good music and conversation. I’m interested mostly in companionship but open to more. (I’m not in a rush for anything.). Mdenney 69 seeking: M, W, TW, Cp, Gp, l

LOVE SPORTS, LAID-BACK

Love sports; huge baseball fan. In free time, like to hang out with my kids. Work a really good full-time job. Mainly looking for fun, multiple times. Darrencham917 29, seeking: W, l

IN THE HILLS

I’m looking for new experiences and adventures with the right woman. I’m retired and love to travel, read, go for walks and attend the theater. Trailmaker, 68, seeking: W

GOING WITH THE FLOW

Twenty-one and just moved back with my folks. Organizer, professional dumbass, CEO of silly geese. I’m from Boston. Unfortunately, I was allegedly too silly and on house arrest on bail. Consequently, I’m bored as fuck and would love to find someone to talk to while I’m here. If you’re into politics/organizing, funny and looking for someone to talk to/ more, HMU. APTTP 21, seeking: W, l

FIND LOVE WHERE CONNECTIONS SPARK Kind, genuine person searching for a meaningful connection. Bigchiefcohen, 52, seeking: W, l

NONBINARY PEOPLE

seeking...

LIFE SHAPED BY LABYRINTH

NB, queer, kinky, shy author and historian seeks friends, fellow artists and/or sex partners of all genders. Let’s make silly puns, talk about our creative work and bike around Burlington. If you want to hear about the imaginary, magical Vermont town of Hardship, the historical queers I keep finding or Jareth as role model, hit me up. ModernWizard, 47, seeking: M, W, TM, TW, Q, NC, NBP, l COUPLES seeking...

HOW DO YOU LOVE ME?

We are getting closer. We are excited to receive each other! You may not think you want poly-fidelity, but if you did, what would we be like together? How are we welcoming children into our life together? Nataraja, 46, seeking: M, W, l

LOOKING FOR FUN PEEPS

Fun, open-minded couple seeking playmates. Shoot us a note if interested so we can share details and desires. Jackrabbits 62 seeking: W, Cp

I HOPE YOU’RE HAPPY

I don’t wish you any ill will; I’m glad you cut things off. / It’s something I couldn’t do myself. / But I still think of you every single day. / I miss the girls, too. / When you think of me, please remember the good stuff. / It’s getting easier instead of harder / To live without you. / Be well, my long-lost werewolf. When: Sunday, May 17, 2026. Where: Cambridge. You: Man. Me: Woman. #916589

SHOPPER SEEKING SHOPPER

We were at Shaw’s near closing time. You apologized sweetly for stepping near my cart, though it was absolutely ﬁne. Your look was kind and open. I smiled. We passed each other later, but I was out of gas from the week and couldn’t speak (and was starstruck from our ﬁrst encounter). Can we shop together? When: Friday, May 1, 2026. Where: Shaw’s, Randolph. You: Woman. Me: Man. #916588

TANGLED AT THE BARRE RESOURCE

While shopping, we encountered each other three times, with you continuously excusing yourself. I responded, “You’re ﬁne,” and you quipped it was “because you worked out.” “I like your cattitude,” I responded. I looked you in the eyes and saw your very nice hair, and you were holding a large assortment of tangled yarn skeins. Extremely curious about you. Friend? When: Monday, May 4, 2026. Where: Barre ReSOURCE. You: Man. Me: Man. #916587

COSTCO SHARED GLANCES

You were the pretty lady sitting in the eye care department. I was the guy checking you out (when I wasn’t checking out big-screen TVs). Pretty sure I caught you checking me out, too. You looked familiar. Have you seen me before? If you’re not another stalker, reply here and tell me your name. When: Wednesday, April 29, 2026. Where: Costco. You: Woman. Me: Man. #916586

w De Rev end,

I’ve been in the same job for 11 years. It’s not difficult for me and has the benefit of being remote. I make my own schedule, get things done in my own way, and I’m used to having lots of autonomy. On the other hand, my salary hasn’t budged significantly, and I haven’t had a promotion in six or seven years. A couple of times a year I go through a spree of

CLADDAGH

If you’ve been spied, go online to contact your admirer!

In the café around 10:30 a.m., you were sitting by the windows sharing a bit of food with a young girl companion (a daughter, maybe?). I caught an intriguing detail that sparked my curiosity: a Claddagh ring worn in a rather intentional way. I should have inquired. Maybe you’ll grant a chance to amend my error. When: Wednesday, April 22, 2026. Where: City Market South. You: Woman. Me: Man. #916583

PRETTY LADY AT CROW BOOKSHOP

I went to Crow Bookshop to see if they were hiring. While there, I was left speechless at how pretty you were. I awkwardly complimented your sweater and hastily left. I wish I was able to get to know you a little better, either romantically or just as friends. When: ursday, April 16, 2026. Where: Crow Bookshop. You: Woman. Me: Man. #916584

IF You missed me you’d ﬁnd a way to be near me again. You wouldn’t weaponize me or love. And you’d allow me to move on. You’ve slept with enough other people and done enough deplorable actions. I got the hint the ﬁrst time. You wouldn’t have “a suitable replacement.” When: Wednesday, April 1, 2026. Where: somewhere. You: Man. Me: Woman. #916582

MALLETTS BAY AREA

Just moved to the area! I keep seeing the same girl: short, blond, mesmerizing eyes and a smile to die for! Spotted you at Malletts Bay Price Chopper, again on a hike and pretty sure downtown! I’m starting to think it’s not a coincidence but we’re actually meant to meet. Maybe we can get Chunky Monkey ice cream sometime? My favorite! When: Friday, April 10, 2026. Where: all over area. You: Woman. Me: Man. #916581

AN OVERLY EMPOWERED UNWED MOTHER

Bullying & verbally assaulting your disabled child & disabled neighbor was intentionally malicious, indefensible & lacking integrity, as was spreading untrue gossip throughout the building. e impulsive choice you made to immediately ﬁle a police report — despite not having witnessed the situation — rather than having a simple conversation with me was irresponsible & damaging. In the words of Stormzy, do better! When: Friday, April 24, 2026. Where: Winooski. You: Woman. Me: Woman. #916585

IT’S FRIDAY NIGHT!

You know what that means. Here’s to (at least) 16 more years spending copper to build suboptimal, nonsynergistic decks ﬁlled with curses, estates and safety duchys. We’ve got long to go before that third supply pile runs out. Either way, I’ll have more victory points. When: Friday, April 17, 2026. Where: in the hinterlands. You: Woman. Me: Man. #916580

WOMAN IN PLAID

You: black-and-white ﬂannel. Me: used to have the same ﬂannel, but with a hood. I meant to ask if you wanted to be thrifting buddies, but too shy to ask for your number. When: Wednesday, April 15, 2026. Where: Hardwick Village Restaurant. You: Woman. Me: Man. #916579

GRATEFUL AT THE ZEN BARN

I admired you in your sexy white knit dress from short distances (was I too obvious?). You were with a small group of three or four adults and a couple of kids. I’m an older gentleman with gray hair/beard and was wearing a creamcolored shirt. Hope to see you there again on a DSP night as the weather warms up. When: Wednesday, March 18, 2026. Where: Zen Barn, Waterbury. You: Woman. Me: Man. #916578

HALF MARATHON, FULL AWESOME

You: Fit and fun school counselor who speaks Hungarian(?) Me: Running buddy at mile eight until you took off. Are you out there? Let’s get a drink! When: Saturday, April 11, 2026. Where: Half Marathon Unplugged in Burlington. You: Man. Me: Woman. #916577

De Old Pro,

applying for jobs, but I haven’t had any luck. Should I just be happy with what I have and stop trying to get ahead? I feel a bit undervalued, but the ease of the job keeps me there. I’m not struggling much ﬁnancially, but I’m not saving much either. What should I do?

SCOUT TOWN MEETING

DAY COUPLE

I saw this beautiful couple at Scout in the Old North End with insane chemistry on Town Meeting Day. Sparks were ﬂying. I had butterﬂies just lookin’ at them. Man looked smitten like a kitten toward his li’l lady. Like Clark Kent and Lois. Wishing y’all the best. Can I get an invite to the wedding? When: Tuesday, March 3, 2026. Where: Scout ONE. You: Couple. Me: Woman. #916576

COSTCO BEAUTY

Early afternoon, I entered and went to grab a shopping cart. You were tall and beautiful, and you looked me in my eyes, gave me a beautiful smile and waved. I smiled and waved back. I hoped to bump into you while we shopped but I never saw you again. Message me if you ﬁnd this. When: Saturday, April 4, 2026. Where: Costco. You: Woman. Me: Man. #916575

MARY JANE SHOP IN MONTGOMERY

Around 4:15, you were saying goodbye to the owner just as I was walking in. We made eye contact for a moment, then again as you walked out. You: slim, down-to-earth-looking woman, gray hair, 60s? Me: similar age and height, longish gray hair and mustache. Hope we can see what drew us both. When: ursday, April 2, 2026. Where: Mary Jane shop, Montgomery. You: Woman. Me: Man. #916574

HOT VOLVO DADDY AT SPLASH

I kept checking you out (over and over)! We were both in the garage drying our cars. You have gorgeous white hair and a blazing rear! Seems your were giving me a show! You’re damned hot! I hope to see you again! I couldn’t stop looking at you! Your white hair is also hot. When: Sunday, March 29, 2026. Where: Splash, Rutland. You: Man. Me: Man. #916573

JOYLESS AND CRUEL

BUS DRIVER

ank you so much for conﬁrming your bus departure time and promptly pulling off the moment you saw me exit the station, before said departure time. With a smile! ere are places for people like you who ﬁnd joy in making the world harder for those around them. When: Tuesday, March 31, 2026. Where: Burlington bus station. You: Man. Me: Woman. #916572

e fact that you’ve stayed at the job for so long tells me that you already know you have it pretty good. However, feeling undervalued is at odds with overall job satisfaction.

It sounds like it’s time to ask for a raise. Get your ducks in a row and go through whatever ofﬁcial channels your company has to request a salary increase. e worst thing that can happen is that they’ll say no, so you’ve got nothing to lose.

Going on a job-search spree every once in a while isn’t the best way to ﬁnd a new position. You need to be persistent. Be sure your résumé is always up-to-date and ready to go, then

LADY IN RED

I waited in line to order. You — red hair, glasses, red cardigan — sat by the window with two older women. Later, you stopped near my seat to put your cup in the bus bin. My tattoos and I were working on my laptop. Care to share a table next time you’re up for coffee or tea? When: Monday, March 30, 2026. Where: Uncommon Coffee. You: Woman. Me: Man. #916571

A YEAR AFTER LOSING YOU

I can’t wait to get us back. You were the highlight of my every day, from awakening until sleep, and then still in my dreams, as you remain today. I told you that I will be here alone until your return to me, and that is a promise I will always keep. I have always been true to you. When: Sunday, March 23, 2025. Where: in my thoughts and dreams. You: Woman. Me: Man. #916570

BURLINGTON BLACKOUT SHY DANCER EDITION

You: Beard, black T-shirt, high thin ponytail and a passion for the music. Me: Light blue cloud T-shirt, light pink tiedye shorts and a Pac Man hoodie around my hips. I kept dancing behind you and stealing glances, wanting to chat you up. We left around the same time and felt like I blew my chance. When: Saturday, March 28, 2026. Where: Burlington Blackout, Higher Ground. You: Man. Me: Trans man. #916569

BEST-EVER SMILE

We live in the same building. Your small white dog was racing you down the stairs. I smiled at him and when I looked up, you were smiling at me. Whoever gets to go home to your smile every day is pretty lucky. Just wanted you to know. When: Wednesday, March 25, 2026. Where: Winooski, 1 p.m. You: Man. Me: Woman. #916568

BARNES & NOBLE

I saw you working. You were wearing your hat backwards. One time, you made me a double-blended strawberry lemonade. en, a different time, you made me a white hot chocolate and I ordered a chocolate chunk cookie. When: Saturday, March 21, 2026. Where: Barnes & Noble Café. You: Man. Me: Woman. #916567

incorporate checking listings into your daily routine. Take ﬁve minutes to peruse the postings during your morning coffee or lunch break. Don’t be too serious, or it could get discouraging. Just keep it a casual browse. You never know what

gem might pop up.

In the meantime, why not take advantage of your ﬂexible schedule and explore side gigs that could bring in extra cash? Sell stuff you don’t use anymore online. Pick up some freelance work or a very parttime shift at your favorite shop or restaurant. Walk some dogs. Who knows? You may stumble across a new career when you aren’t looking for it. Good luck and God bless,

The Rev end

Trans man looking for someone to go on adventures with. Big fan of reading, writing and video games. I look forward to long-form letters and heartfelt romance. Let’s see where the wind takes us. #L1936

Male, 23. Super into Asians. Already have a girlfriend but looking for something casual on the side. I like going out for fruity cocktails and playing golf. Hope you’re okay with my pants being tighter than yours. #L1935

Male unicorn seeking maiden for sharing fantasies in the magical kingdom. #L1934

Ambitious guy who loves business, travel and living life differently. Big on loyalty, laughs and connection. Looking for a girl who’s affectionate, wild, supportive and ready to run off to a Mexican dream life. No clothes needed, just avocados and mangoes. #L1932

All-smooth M, mid-50s, twinkish youthful appearance, seeking avid butt muncher to use mouth, ﬁngers, toys for long sessions. Very responsive to erotic sensual play, openminded, curious to explore turn-ons, kinks, fetish, fantasies. Seeking M or F. #L1931

ERS:

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YOUR MESSAGE ON THIS PAGE!

1 Submit your FREE message at sevendaysvt.com/loveletters or use the handy form at right.

I’m a 31-y/o man, tall, dark, long hair, very athletically toned. I like to dance, create music, enjoy Mary Jane and all of the culture’s movies. I am a fan of the expression of love, and I am just looking for my person. Hopefully a short female who takes care of herself well and is willing to take me on as a challenge. #L1928

I’m a gay male, mid-60s, seeking a gay male in his 70s and uncut. Trimmed, passionate, virgin. Enjoy nude activities together, nature walks, cuddling, etc. for intimate times. Let’s talk and hopefully meet. #L1930

I’m a SWM, 73, active, ﬁt, settled, living the good life. Seeking fun girl 65-75 y/o. A cat lover is a plus. Race or disability not important. Phone and picture are. #L1929

I’m a 21-y/o male seeking a 20-plus but preferably 45-plus woman. She must like a little weed. Have to be funny and smart; anything else a plus. Six-foot goddesses, please reach out. I like plants and hanging out. #L1927

71-y/o male with some zest for life looking for a female to enjoy some life with. Don’t ski — warm weather is coming — let’s see what fun we can ﬁnd. Not looking for friends; need a little more than that. All responses will be answered. Phone number, please and thank you. #L1925

Int net-Free Dating!

I’m a 68-y/o man seeking a 66to 70-y/o female. Looking for an old-school redneck female who’s looking to enjoy the simple things in life. I enjoy auto racing, outdoor events, bonﬁres, boating, camping, road trips and friendship. #L1926

I’m a gay male, 70 y/o, seeking an 18-plus male or males. I’m 180 lbs. and 5’9”. I’m into spanking and wearing and using adult diapers. Looking for the same. #L1933

SWF, 72 y/o, seeking a man 60 to 80 y/o. I live in Woodstock, Vt. Looking for a serious relationship with a man. Phone number, please. #L1919

I’m a 44-y/o male seeking a female. Part-time homesteader in Newport and W. Mass. Outdoors, skinny-dipping, gardening, hiking, snowshoeing, kinky, ice skating. I love campﬁres with a beer and reading a book with a glass of wine. 420-friendly. What are you reading? #L1922

Describe yourself and who you’re looking for in 40 words below: (OR, ATTACH A SEPARATE PIECE OF PAPER.)

I’m a

Strong, talented masseur and oral enthusiast seeks friendly relations with extremely sensual, pleasure-loving recipient/ counterpart of good character, similar spirit and compatible needs. Select female, male, or M/F couple. Tell me why it should be you. #L1923

I’m a 36-y/o man seeking a woman. Tall, slim and serious, looking for a soulmate who values children. #L1918

Mature bi guy versed in Eastern philosophy and American low culture ISO an outgoing mature gay guy with keen American feng shui insights beyond social media copy/paste to shape a uniquely Vermont “cultural exchange.” One never knows, do one? #L1924

50-y/o soul, youthful with awakening heart. Fit, kind, inquisitive, attentive, expansive, grounded woman open to grow partnership with a healthy, vibrant man at the speed of trust from solid friendship. Love being in nature, sharing, collaborating, children, liberation. #L1921

AGE + GENDER (OPTIONAL) seeking a AGE + GENDER (OPTIONAL) Required conﬁdential info: NAME

(MORE) CITY/STATE

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.

Evening Bird Walk

THU., MAY 14

BIRDS OF VERMONT MUSEUM, HUNTINGTON

2026 Comedy Play Fest: An Evening of Comedy

FRI., MAY 15 - SUN., MAY 17

GRANGE HALL CULTURAL CENTER, WATERBURY

Onion River Chorus - Spring 2026 Concerts

FRI., MAY 15

UNITARIAN CHURCH OF MONTPELIER

From Crawdads to Crows: Critters That Should and Critters That Shouldn’t

SAT., MAY 16

BIRDS OF VERMONT MUSEUM, HUNTINGTON

Buttercream Masterclass

SAT., MAY 16

RED POPPY CAKERY, WATERBURY

The Decades: Season Launch Party

SAT., MAY 16

SAINT ALBANS MUSEUM

Borrow the Bones

SAT., MAY 16

THE PHOENIX GALLERY & MUSIC HALL, WATERBURY

Bella Voce 'A Musical Mosaic' Concert

SAT., MAY 16

MCCARTHY ARTS CENTER RECITAL HALL, COLCHESTER

Drew Hutson Rogers Band, Jaded

Ravins, Sons of Williams

SAT., MAY 16

THE UNDERGROUND - LISTENING ROOM, RANDOLPH

Early Birders Morning Walk

SUN., MAY 17

BIRDS OF VERMONT MUSEUM, HUNTINGTON

SUN., MAY 17

Cathedral Choirs in Concert: 'Come Away to the Skies,' with Theresa Thomason

CATHEDRAL CHURCH OF ST. PAUL, BURLINGTON

Flowers at Fig

SUN., MAY 17

SHELBURNE FIG

Fellowship of the Wheel Enduro at Sleepy Hollow

TUE., MAY 19

SLEEPY HOLLOW SKI & BIKE CENTER, HUNTINGTON

Summer Fun Wine Tasting!

WED., MAY 20

STANDING STONE WINES, WINOOSKI

Bike Bloom

THU., MAY 21

INTERVALE CENTER, BURLINGTON

Fourth Friday | Dinner + Conversation for Midlife Women

FRI., MAY 22

SOUTH BURLINGTON

That Which Colors the Mind: An Evening of North Indian Classical Music and Art

FRI., MAY 22

1 MILL ST., SUITE 208, BURLINGTON

The Nancy Druids & Swale

FRI., MAY 22

STANDING STONE WINES, WINOOSKI

TURNmusic Presents the Ray Vega QuARTet Celebrating Miles Davis

FRI., MAY 22

THE PHOENIX GALLERY & MUSIC HALL, WATERBURY

Ray, Russ, Bob, Josh

SAT., MAY 23

LOST NATION BREWING, MORRISTOWN