COMPILED BY SASHA GOLDSTEIN & MATTHEW ROY
$25 million
Vermont has lifted a statewide burn ban after the state got some much-needed rain. Just in time for fall cleanup.
The low water level in Lake Champlain has exposed some shipwrecks that are usually submerged, WCAX-TV reported. Look but don’t touch, historians say.
That’s the size of the gift the UVM Children’s Hospital received from New York philanthropist Tom Golisano.
MOST POPULAR ITEMS ON SEVENDAYSVT.COM
1. “Scott Unveils 14-Point Public Safety Plan for Burlington” by Courtney Lamdin. See the updated story on page 18 of this issue.
2. “Pascolo Ristorante to Return to Original Church Street Spot” by Melissa Pasanen. After three years aboveground, the Italian eatery will return to its former basement location.
3. “Kate’s Food Truck in Jericho Will Cook rough Winter” by Melissa Pasanen. e 5-year-old biz will transition to takeout meals. Plus, its not-to-be-missed anksgiving fries are in season again.
A new homeless shelter will open in downtown Burlington early next month.
COTS will operate the 56-bed shelter at 58 Pearl Street, the former Social Security Administration office where the nonprofit ran a warming shelter last winter. e space will replace the organization’s 36-bed Waystation shelter on Church Street, where it’s been based for more than four decades.
“ e new Waystation is more than just a building,” City Council President Ben Traverse (D-Ward 5) said at a ribbon-cutting ceremony on Monday. “It’s a promise to our community members who are experiencing homelessness that they will have a safe, warm and supportive place to rebuild their lives.”
e shelter will expand capacity just in time for winter, but, on the whole, the city still lacks enough beds for its burgeoning homeless population. About 300 people are sleeping rough in and around the Queen City, officials say.
COTS obtained the building in early January through a federal program that dispenses unused government property for programs that benefit homeless people. A little over a week later, the nonprofit opened a winter warming
shelter there, outfitting the space with two rows of cots separated by privacy curtains.
COTS raised $2 million, mostly from private donations, to open the new space, which has been transformed with dorm-style bunk rooms, storage lockers and private bathrooms. A dine-in kitchen will allow guests to prepare food and socialize, and a private meeting room will be available for social service providers to meet with clients.
Bunk beds are due to be delivered on November 11, according to Rebekah Mott, COTS’ director of development and communications. At that point, COTS will relocate guests from the Church Street location, which the organization hopes to repurpose into permanently affordable housing.
e new Waystation will be open each night starting at 6 p.m. and closed during the daytime. On extremely cold nights, it will allow about six additional guests in overflow space, Mott said.
At the ribbon-cutting, Mayor Emma Mulvaney-Stanak said she will continue to advocate for state support to open additional shelter space. As of now, the city has no plans to operate a low-barrier warming shelter this winter.
Read Courtney Lamdin’s full story at sevendaysvt.com.
For the first time in 11 years, the St. Mike’s men’s basketball team beat UVM in an exhibition game. A rivalry reignited.
President Donald Trump denied nearly $2 million in FEMA aid that Vermont requested for flood remediation. Other “blue” states were also denied federal disaster relief.
4. “’Plan Ahead’: Vermonters Might Not Get Federal Food Aid Next Month Due to Shutdown” by Sasha Goldstein. A state agency warned that unless the federal government reopens, some 65,000 Vermonters could go without 3SquaresVT benefits.
5. “Café Monette Buzzes in St. Albans, With French Flair” by Jordan Barry. e restaurant from Adam Monette and two of his former culinary students has diners jazzed about onion tarte tatin, poulet à la moutarde and mille-feuille.
LOCALLY SOURCED NEWS
Gilbert’s Hill Is for Sale
Gilbert’s Hill, a historic Woodstock farmstead, is on the market for $2.6 million, the Vermont Standard reported. e 112-acre property is widely regarded as the site where the first towrope for skiing was used in the U.S., in 1934. e farmstead, home to four structures, is conserved and cannot be developed.
Read more at thevermontstandard.com.
In thirsty Vermont, plenty of plastic beer and cider fourpack carriers wind up discarded as waste. at prompted Barnard resident Ben Kogan to start a plan to recover them for reuse.
Kogan, who runs an environmental nonprofit called Reusable Solutions, decided to collect the carriers before they reach the waste stream so that breweries can use them again. Since launching in 2021, Kogan has signed up 10 locations in Vermont and two in New Hampshire as collection points for the plastic pieces. He picks them up, sanitizes them and sells them back to beverage companies at a reduced price.
Kogan estimates he collects as many as 4,000 carriers each month and has turned the arduous sorting process into a fun game to play with his young son.
Black Flannel Brewing in Essex is one of the locations that accepts the carriers for reuse. Since it opened in 2020, the brewery has sorted, sanitized and reused them in-house — saving approximately $3,500 over the years, according to Dan Sartwell, the brewery’s director of beverage operations. “It’s a big part of our entire ethos, the sustainability aspect,” Sartwell said.
Kogan coordinates with Black Flannel to distribute extras to other breweries. Any that are unused go to Northwest Solid Waste Management District in the town of Georgia, which sells them to a buyer who melts them down and reuses the material.
Kogan, a musician, lives a busy life with his two bands, his family and the nonprofit. It’s not the most lucrative endeavor, but Kogan is proud to make a difference.
“It’s a tangible way to make the world a better place,” Kogan said.
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Thank you for your article on 40 years of the Vermont International Film Festival, a great Burlington institution [“Now Showing: After 40 Years, Thousands of Movies and a Near-Death Experience, the Vermont International Film Foundation Is Helping Fill a Cinematic Void in Burlington,” October 15]! A significant player worth noting from VTIFF’s early days was left out of your story: Lorraine B. Good-Samsom became the executive director in 1989 and took the festival to new heights during her tenure of seven or eight years.
Along with thousands of others, my husband, daughter and I went down to the Burlington “No Kings” day to exercise our right to free speech and to peacefully assemble [“Thousands Say ‘No Kings’ at Protests Across Vermont,” October 18, online]. The crowd filled Burlington City Hall Park with a festival atmosphere, colorful signs, music, chanting, and not a hint of anger or threat. It was the same at all the other nationwide rallies — no incidents of violence or threat.
Originally a Montréaler, Lorraine had been the executive director of Telefilm Canada in Los Angeles, giving her connections to Hollywood and beyond. She followed her husband, Karl, to Vermont and quickly embraced this community. Lorraine brought her connections, insider knowledge, endless energy and enthusiasm to the job and VTIFF. She convinced prominent actors, writers and directors to attend the festival and connected with likeminded film festivals in Italy, Japan and elsewhere.
Tragically, she was diagnosed with breast cancer, which she battled for several years until her death in 2001 at the age of 52. A room at Burlington’s BCA Center is dedicated to her memory. Lorraine was a hard act to follow, but fortunately VTIFF has had and continues to have strong leadership to take it into the future.
Fran Stoddard WILLISTON
Stoddard is a former VTIFF board member.
I was delighted to see Robert Waldo Brunelle Jr.’s cartoon of the ominous AI being in the Tech Issue [October 22]. I would love to see Seven Days continue to carry Robert’s cartoons every week.
Margo Howland WHITE RIVER JUNCTION
Why did we go?
We went to use our voice and our presence to shine a light on what’s happening to our country. We went to defend the Constitution. To defend our democracy. To protect voting rights. To reject dictatorship. To demand the rule of law to be upheld. To reject our military being deployed against us as citizens. To protect our neighbors, friends, legal immigrants, people of color from being detained and deported without recourse to legal assistance. To get government to stop dictating what we do in our own personal lives.
We want to be able to a ord health care and food and housing. We want jobs with a living wage. We want to stop our taxes going to billionaires. We want people to wake up before it’s too late. We went down there, and we will keep going, speaking out, and showing up for fairness, justice and basic human dignity.
Carolyn Bronz ENOSBURG FALLS
[Re “Vorsteveld Farm Faces New Pollution Lawsuit,” October 16, online]: As a multigeneration Vermonter born and raised in Irasburg, I have farming in my blood. My family and my neighbors took pride in working the small-scale farms in our corner of the Northeast Kingdom and strived to be good stewards of the land that we relied on for our livelihoods. Folks intuitively knew that their actions had an impact downstream, down the road and beyond.
As time has passed, the small farms I knew as a boy have closed. Farms have gotten bigger and bigger, buying up the smaller operations that used to dot the landscape. When my family and I were
directly impacted by the toxic pollution coming from the megafarm next door, I felt betrayed.
In 2016 my dad passed away. We still own the farm and couldn’t sell even if we wanted to because we don’t have a potable water source, thanks to the 29 years of groundwater contamination. This is what megafarms and their operators bring to our communities. This hasn’t just been a blow for me and my family financially; it’s also a blow to the sense of community that I believed was the bedrock of being a Vermonter. I was taught growing up that we needed to take care of each other, and that meant collectively taking care of our land and making sure that it stayed healthy and fertile for future generations.
My family no longer farms for a living — I work in the heavy construction industry, still based in northern Vermont — but I continue to take the health and vitality of my community seriously. Polluting public waters and neighboring properties runs counter to the Vermont ethic. We can’t let what happened to my family happen to others.
Leonard Messier LOWELL
BURLINGTON YEASAYER
It’s clear that there are issues in downtown Burlington that have caused a significant amount of concern for those who frequent the Queen City and, unfortunately, for those who do not. I am not one of the naysayers. Yes, I understand the concerns, but I am far from buying into the “I am afraid to visit Church Street” crowd.
My wife and I were having lunch at Halvorson’s Upstreet Café recently, on an absolutely perfect afternoon. We were walking down Church Street, back to our car, and I asked her: “What is wrong with this picture?” The answer was “Nothing!” It was just perfect.
This brings me to the October 8 “From the Publisher” column about people from out of the area having the opportunity to see Burlington and Vermont through, as you said, “fresh eyes.” This struck me as so simple and, at the same time, so very powerful! This happens virtually every day as people visit our area, often for the first time. We all know that it is human nature to take for granted that which we see and experience every day, but it is nice to be reminded.
I thought the piece was especially timely and refreshing, with a message that was particularly on point. Thank you for your excellent insight!
Steve Salls
BURLINGTON
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How does an affordable place to live sound ?
HomeShare Vermont guests are paying an average of $380/month in rent and providing help to their hosts. That can include help with chores, meal preparation or rides to appointments. It’s
Prognosis: Fiscal Pain
Womanning Up
Many Vermonters are facing sharply higher health care plan costs, fewer options and less coverage
Emerge Vermont is one reason there are so many women in the legislature. Some GOP members say their party needs a similar group.
To the Rescue?
Gov. Phil Scott’s public safety proposals for Burlington have potential to help, city officials say
Monster Smash Burlington ceramic artist Gretchen Verplanck has found success with her wildly popular “Scary Monsters”
Back From the Dead Vermont horror author Joe Citro resurrects his short stories and reveals the reallife tales behind them
Daniel Zeese Leaves Top Post at Frog Hollow Gallery
Distrust Funders
e Ghost Lab peers behind the veil of paranormal investigations to see how they undermine science
New Documentary Chronicles the Making of the World’s First Adaptive Mountain Bike Network
Prospecting for Gold
Photographer Joel Sternfeld’s iconic “American Prospects” at the Hall Foundation
Sowing Art at the Soda Plant in Burlington
Playback
Allan Nicholls revives his ’60s
the Playboys almost 60 years after they broke
For
Bollywood to Bristol Garam
More than 1,000 people streamed into Hula’s lakeside coworking campus in Burlington on Saturday, October 25, to talk tech. Local employers spoke with job seekers. FIRST teams brought their robots. Storyworkz took professional headshots for more than 100 people. Sue Schlom from the Targeted Resume o ered career coaching. People lined up outside to try BETA Technologies’ electric aircraft flight simulator.
Hula’s Reef conference room hosted two packed presentations: FIRST participants and adult alumni explained how robotics competitions inspired them to pursue engineering; then a physician, an entrepreneur and an ethicist discussed the promise and peril of using AI tools in health care settings, in a conversation moderated by Seven Days sta writer Ken Picard. Videos of both will be available on the Tech Jam website soon. This multifaceted event would not have been possible without all of the sponsors, exhibitors and enthusiastic Tech Jam volunteers. Thank you, all!
See you again on October 24, 2026!
THURSDAY 30-SATURDAY 1
BY REBECCA DRISCOLL
Grab a tissue (actually, the whole box) for Middlebury College eatre Department’s production of Melanie Marnich’s heart-wrenching drama ese Shining Lives. e show shines a light on the “Radium Girls” of the 1920s and ’30s — young women who worked with radioactive paint — and their extraordinary fight against the company that silenced their voices and, ultimately, their lives.
SEE CALENDAR LISTING ON PAGE 60
FRIDAY 31
Covens convene with folk-horror fervor at Queer Vermont’s Hot Butter Halloween: Ritual at Flynn Space in Burlington. e haunted holiday happening brings the netherworld to life with spooky sets conjured by DJ Kate Kush and drag performances by Sasha Sriracha and Rhedd Rhumm. Expect eerie, candlelit vibes; prizes; and a shadowy dance floor teeming with witchcraft.
SEE CALENDAR LISTING ON PAGE 60
SUNDAY 2
sensations at “ of George Michael.”
want
Fans at Paramount eatre in Rutland relive the magic of one of England’s most iconic pop e Life and Music .” e show chronicles the late singer’s oeuvre with songs spanning from his early days with Wham! to the solo career that made him a pop-culture god. You’ll want your dancing shoes for blockbuster hits including “Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go” and “Faith.”
SATURDAY 1
Jay Peak Resort’s Decanted: A Tasting Event for Kindred Spirits gathers Vermont’s boldest distillers and cider and wine producers for a palate-pleasing afternoon of pours. Top dogs such as Barr Hill, Eden Ice Cider and Green Mountain Distillers sample their latest releases and share the stories behind each sip. oughtfully curated refreshments and tunes by Matt Hagen add to the exclusive experience.
SEE CALENDAR LISTING ON PAGE 61
Grammy Award-winning vocal ensemble
SEE CALENDAR LISTING ON PAGE 62 and lauded flutist team up for the
Vermont premiere of the latter’s genreCollege’s Robison Concert Hall.
e performance features
sonic tapestries that weave together chamber singing and modern music production to capture the essence of the human experience.
SEE CALENDAR LISTING ON PAGE 65
MONDAY 3
KCP Presents continues its performing arts series with the world-renowned American Ballet eatre Studio Company at the Lyndon Institute auditorium. Crowd-pleasing excerpts from canons spanning classical to contemporary showcase gifted performers ages 17 to 21 who Broadway World calls “the next generation of ballet dancers, blossoming before our eyes.”
SEE CALENDAR LISTING ON PAGE 62
Lynn Newcomb’s multimedia exhibit “Life Is Short, Art Is Long” at Highland Center for the Arts in Greensboro features sculptures and works on paper that emphasize the relationship between construction and finished product. As Newcomb explains of her artistic process, “My work is decidedly nonconceptual: the meaning of each form has a direct relationship to how it is physically made.”
SEE GALLERY LISTING AT SEVENDAYSVT.COM/ART
Not many local news outlets organize events on the scale of the Vermont Tech Jam, which drew a steady crowd of all ages to Burlington’s Hula campus on Saturday.
Seven Days couldn’t do it without our employees, who pitch in to help staff the annual job fair and tech expo — our 18th. Almost everyone takes a shift, from setting up the exhibition space to directing attendees to the bathrooms. Many of our employees really enjoy it.
Food editor Melissa Pasanen, who teaches a course on professional development at the University of Vermont, spent two hours as “concierge,” happily dispensing career counseling to strangers.
Veteran Seven Days reporter Ken Picard was there to moderate a panel discussion on artificial intelligence in health care — also the topic of his story in last week’s issue — with three local experts in the field: a doctor, an entrepreneur and an ethicist. Right before the talk, I found him preparing in the tiny office that served as our headquarters for the day. Ken, who just turned 60, was no doubt thinking about the ease with which ChatGPT “wrote” the intro for his session, as he would later reveal onstage.
How does one become the kind of journalist who transforms reams of crucial information into artful prose? It takes years of practice — countless drafts and revisions — to learn how to organize and compose a compelling story, and to develop your own unique and authentic voice. AI seems to offer a shortcut, but in fact it’s a replacement for the critical thinking upon which the best journalism — and, arguably, our civilization — depends.
And, once we cede these responsibilities to AI, who will find the stories that haven’t already been told? On-the-ground reporting remains the only way to unearth some truths, including those that have been deliberately hidden. While we were working at the Tech Jam, the Vermont International Film Festival was showing Cover-Up, a new documentary about Pulitzer Prize-winning investigative journalist Seymour Hersh. He exposed atrocities the U.S. government purposefully concealed, including the My Lai massacre during the Vietnam War and, more recently, abuse of prisoners at the Iraqi prison Abu Ghraib.
In the little room, too, was the young Sam Hartnett, a recent graduate of UVM and its growing Center for Community News. He worked as our news reporting intern over the summer, eagerly diving into tricky stories about politics — he covered both “No Kings” protests as well as demonstrations at the airport and on the border — and other fast-moving subjects. When his internship ended in August, we put him to work on some less glamorous projects.
Sam was bent over a mundane Tech Jam task when Ken, musing about AI, said to no one in particular: “I’m just glad I’m not starting my journalism career now.”
Sam responded sarcastically: “Thanks, Ken.”
I want to tell Sam that he needn’t worry, but, in good conscience, I can’t. The ways in which AI sorts, transcribes and summarizes information can help journalists save time and navigate complicated data. But its ability to comb the entire internet at lightning-fast speed and assemble its bottomless trove of ideas into a cogent narrative per specific commands is an existential threat to every aspiring storyteller — except, perhaps, the most accomplished.
Maybe AI will help the next generation of reporters reveal future perversions of power, but I for one haven’t given up on human curiosity and drive — traits Sam has in abundance.
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Many Vermonters are facing sharply higher health care plan costs, fewer options and less coverage
BY COLIN FLANDERS • colin@sevendaysvt.com
Vermont’s annual sign-up window for Affordable Care Act plans doesn’t open until November 1, but sticker shock is already setting in.
Premium rates under what is known as Obamacare are projected to double on average next year, barring heroic methods to revive the expiring federal subsidies that have helped millions of Americans afford plans in recent years.
THE PRICE TAG FOR SOME FAMILY PLANS NOW FAR EXCEEDS A TYPICAL MORTGAGE PAYMENT.
Many in Vermont could confront even bigger jumps in their monthly payments, with price tags for some family plans now far exceeding a typical mortgage payment.
Democrats in Congress say these exorbitant costs are why the federal government must remain shut down until a deal is reached on health care. But Republicans say they aren’t willing to negotiate while the shutdown persists. Weeks into the stalemate, neither side seems willing to budge.
The loss of the subsidies would have ripple e ects across Vermont. Up to 5,000 people could drop coverage entirely, according to some estimates. That would put them at financial risk if they experience an accident or an illness and could further strain the state’s ailing health care system.
People who ditch insurance tend to
be younger and healthier, since they have less motivation to stay insured. Insurance pools that shrink cost more for those who remain. That, in turn, could price out more people until only the sickest are left, giving insurers little reason to stay in the market. It’s a phenomenon referred to as the insurance “death spiral,” and one that experts worry could play out in markets across the country.
More uninsured patients also means more unpaid medical bills, a dangerous prospect for Vermont’s rural hospitals.
The subsidy-related price hikes come as Vermont insurers are scaling back coverage in an attempt to rein in costs. That means many consumers will enter the new year finding themselves paying much more for less coverage.
A few issues are key to understanding the particularly tumultuous coming year for Vermont’s health care system.
BY KEVIN MCCALLUM kevin@sevendaysvt.com
Vermont has joined 24 other states suing the federal government to prevent the suspension of nutritional benefits for low-income families due to the ongoing federal shutdown.
Attorney General Charity Clark announced her decision on Tuesday, a day after Gov. Phil Scott indicated support.
e case, filed in federal court in Massachusetts, accuses the U.S. Department of Agriculture of unlawfully suspending the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program beginning November 1.
e program helps about 42 million Americans buy food. In Vermont, where the benefit is called 3SquaresVT, 65,109 people receive an average of $194 per month in benefits.
“Denying SNAP funding for millions of Americans when Congress created a contingency plan to ensure no American goes hungry is illegal and it is cruel,” Clark said in a statement. “SNAP was created to help feed our neighbors in hard times. I’m suing the Trump Administration to protect Vermonters so that no one goes hungry.”
Wait, how much?
Expect many Vermonters to say that when they see the price of their annual health insurance premiums next year as a result of the expiring federal subsidies now at the heart of the federal shutdown.
Enacted during the pandemic, the subsidies have helped low- and middleincome families better a ord coverage under Obamacare, driving enrollments to record levels nationally. But Congress is at a stalemate over whether to renew them. Without a deal soon, the average consumer will pay 114 percent more in out-of-pocket costs next year, according to the nonpartisan health policy group KFF.
Vermont has the highest premium rates in the country, even though about
e suit is Clark’s 32nd against the Trump administration. Scott, whose administration has backed some, but not all, of Clark’s lawsuits to date, had signaled support for a suit over SNAP.
Clark said Congress is refusing to release funds set aside for such a purpose.
“It is clear the federal government is making a deliberate, illegal, and inhumane choice not to fund the crucial SNAP program,” she wrote.
Lawmakers and the governor will meet on Wednesday at noon to decide whether to supplement 3SquaresVT with state funds. e program costs about $12.6 million per month.
Democratic lawmakers have called for the state to pay 100 percent of the benefits during any suspension. Scott last week proposed paying 50 percent. It’s unclear if they’ve reached a compromise. ➆
Editor’s note: For more on how Gov. Scott deals with the Trump administration, see “Balancing Act” on page 26.
Emerge Vermont is one reason there are so many women in the legislature. Some GOP members say their party needs a similar group.
BY HANNAH BASSETT • hbassett@sevendaysvt.com
When Rep. Emilie Krasnow (D-South Burlington) arrived in Montpelier in 2023 for her first day in the House, she felt a newcomer’s jitters, although she was hardly new to the building. Her father had served in the legislature when she was a kid, and as a young adult she had worked as an assistant in the Senate and the lieutenant governor’s office.
Jitters aside, she knew she had a network of peers who could provide mentoring and friendship as she began this next chapter. Krasnow took her seat in the company of six women who were fellow graduates of Emerge Vermont, a program that recruits and trains Democratic women to run for office.
House Majority Leader Lori Houghton (D-Essex Junction).
A variety of factors have contributed to this increase, including cultural and political shifts in the status of women. But Emerge can claim part of the credit for launching more Democratic women on political careers. Sixty-two of those 78 women legislators are Democrats or Progressives, making them the largest subgroup of legislators by gender and party. More than half have attended Emerge Vermont trainings; two members, Krowinski and Sen. Ruth Hardy (D-Addison), formerly served as the group’s executive directors.
Emerge graduates are not simply present; they have played a central role in passing landmark policies, including the 2022 constitutional amendment protecting reproductive rights and the 2023 legislation expanding childcare funding. Five of the seven women on the task force currently drafting new proposed school district maps are Emerge trainees.
JUST A SHORT DRIVE from downtown Burlington and the University of Vermont, The Village at Autumn Pond offers more than a home—it offers a way of life. Nestled among maples, birch, and beech trees, our tranquil community lets you trade noise for birdsong and traffic for rustling leaves.
“We came in knowing each other, knowing each other’s families,” Krasnow said. “And the support of the group has just never left.”
Krasnow is one of 78 women serving in Vermont’s 180-member state legislature this session — a high-water mark for the body as it inches toward gender parity. Women hold roughly two in five seats, a modest increase over the past decade and above the national average.
This session, women chair more than half of the legislature’s 32 standing committees. Several hold leadership positions, including House Speaker Jill Krowinski (D-Burlington), House Minority Leader Pattie McCoy (R-Poultney) and
Emerge’s many graduates also amount to a mentorship network for those who come after them, and they constitute a pipeline of women able to rise through the political ranks: U.S. Rep. Becca Balint (D-Vt.), Vermont Attorney General Charity Clark and Secretary of State Sarah Copeland Hanzas are all graduates of the program.
Meanwhile, the number of Republican women in the legislature has declined. Although the party picked up seats last year in both the Senate and House, there are just 14 women among the 53 Republicans in the House. There have been no GOP women senators since 2018, when the last Republican women members of that chamber chose not to run for reelection. The party has no program like Emerge to recruit, train and support women candidates.
Womanning Up « P.15
Republican women once were a more prominent presence in the Statehouse. Women have served in the state legislature since 1920, when the 19th Amendment was ratified and Vermont was a resolutely Republican state. The Vermont House elected its first woman speaker, Republican Consuelo Bailey, in 1953. As legislative power shifted toward the Democrats in the late 20th century, women continued to win seats and, more rarely, committee chairmanships.
Democrat Janet Ancel, who worked in the Statehouse as an attorney before being elected to the House in 2004, recalled how some people doubted then-representative Madeleine Kunin’s ability to chair House Appropriations when she became the first woman to do so in 1976. Thirty-five years later, when Ancel became the first woman to chair the equivalent House committee, House Ways and Means, the milestone hardly registered, in large part because women in leadership positions had become so normalized, Ancel said.
“At some point, the fact that you’re a woman ceases to be part of the story,” Ancel said.
Debbie Walsh, director of the Center for American Women and Politics at Rutgers University, said citizen legislatures such as Vermont’s tend to be less professionalized, with lower salaries and fewer sta to assist legislators, and have more open party politics. That leaves space for women to enter and for groups like Emerge to establish a foothold. Emerge America is a nonprofit national political organization with a liates in 27 states that recruit and train exclusively Democratic women and nonbinary candidates.
Kunin, who served as Vermont’s first and only woman governor, from 1985 until 1991, got the idea to found Emerge Vermont in 2013 after speaking at events for the state chapters of Emerge America in California and Massachusetts. At the time, she had established an informal practice of mentoring and advising Democratic women running for public o ce. Emerge America and its network of state programs seemed to provide a sustainable, systematic way to share that knowledge, Kunin recalled.
Unlike national groups such as EMILYs List, which endorses and fundraises specifically for abortion-rights candidates, Emerge is strictly an educational and training program. It focuses on teaching its trainees the fundamentals of how to fundraise, canvass, create campaign literature and develop a campaign platform. It also provides opportunities for women to network, practice public speaking and shadow their state legislators at work.
Democratic Women Have Increased Their Representation in the Legislature, Despite Recent Party Losses
Democratic women now comprise the majority of their caucus and the largest subgroup of legislators in the Statehouse, despite party losses in the 2024 election.
Democratic Women Have Increased eir Representation in the Legislature, Despite Recent Party Losses
Democratic women now comprise the majority of their caucus and the largest subgroup of legislators in the Statehouse, despite party losses in the 2024 election.
Source: State of Vermont Note: Democratic and Progressive party members are represented together.
a few major donors, according to Emerge Vermont executive director Elaine Haney, the group’s sole employee. Haney reports to a board of directors based in Vermont and works closely with Emerge America leadership and other state a liate directors.
Emerge Vermont has enrolled Democrats of all stripes and generations in its recent classes — from progressives to moderates, Gen Z to baby boomers. Not every graduate runs for public o ce, but those who do most often succeed. Seventy out of 86 Emerge Vermont trainees won their races in the 2024 general election, an 81 percent success rate.
Haney plans to move the training program to years when no state elections are scheduled, partly so participants have more time to prepare their campaigns and also because of the relatively limited pool of potential participants in a small state. Class sizes have varied from 12 to 29 people. Applications temporarily spiked after Hillary Clinton and Kamala Harris lost their respective presidential bids. Haney blamed the rising incivility of politics for the drop in applicants for Emerge training, saying it has made some women think twice before deciding to run for o ce.
SOURCE:
Kunin called on Krowinski and Senate Majority Leader Kesha Ram Hinsdale (D-Chittenden-Southeast), both state representatives at the time, to help establish a chapter in Vermont. The group gathered as an impromptu board of directors. They officially launched Emerge Vermont with a 200-person party in Burlington in September 2013, and the program grew from there, Kunin said.
“Its success has far outpaced anything I thought would happen,” she added.
Part of that success has come about because Emerge has helped women redefine who can serve in the state legislature.
“Men run for o ce without blinking,” Kunin remarked, noting that women often need to be asked several times or reassured they are qualified before deciding to enter a race.
Jessica Brumsted was one of the program’s early participants. She applied in 2015 while toying with the idea of running for the state Senate. Her previous political experience was behind the scenes, working in the o ce of U.S. representative and then senator Jim Je ords in the 1980s.
Once Brumsted was in the training, however, she was encouraged to run for the House seat in her district, even though it meant entering a primary where she was more likely to run head-to-head against an opponent. She said it was still daunting to
center herself as a candidate, despite her experience in politics.
“I’d never thought of myself as a person who could do that, and Emerge helped me to see that I could,” Brumsted said. She won her competitive district in Shelburne and St. George and served for three terms before deciding not to run for reelection in 2024.
Since Emerge Vermont’s founding in 2013, more than 230 women and nonbinary people have completed the group’s multimonth training program and shorter boot camps. Some attend the training without immediate plans to run, while others pursue local o ces. In recent years, the organization has also o ered a professional development series for alums only, a municipal boot camp for Town Meeting Day candidates, and occasional one-o trainings on select topics, such as digital and physical security. Each participant must self-certify they are a Democrat, a requirement of all state a liates of Emerge, despite pressure from across the political spectrum — including program alumnae — to open the program to women of all party a liations.
Tuition is currently $950 for the group’s 80-hour signature training and $400 for its three-day boot camp. That, along with program fees and sponsorships, funds about 20 percent of the program’s budget. The rest comes primarily from small individual contributors, with additional support from
Rep. Alice Emmons (D-Springfield), now in her 43rd year in the House, attributes part of the increase in women’s representation over the past decade to Emerge Vermont. When Emmons was first elected to the legislature in 1983, she was one of 27 women serving in the House.
But as Emerge Vermont has helped boost the number of Democratic women in the legislature, Emmons worries it has also encouraged a more activist mindset, with more lawmakers eager to move fast on the issues that inspired them to run while being less open to compromise.
“Once you get into a legislative position, you have to make a shift into governing,” Emmons said. “And it’s a very di erent mode of operating than being an activist.”
Krowinski, who was Emerge Vermont’s executive director from 2019 until 2021, when she was first elected House Speaker, pushed back against the narrative that Emerge had brought about a new era of activist legislators. Many people, regardless of party, are inspired to run by an issue facing them or their community, she said, and then take on larger questions as legislators.
While Haney would like to add a detailed unit on parliamentary procedure, she doesn’t have the budget to expand the curriculum, and it largely falls outside the program’s scope.
“They don’t need me to tell them how to do their job,” she said. “What they need me to do is help them get to their job.”
Haney said she had heard these critiques from others, including men. But she views the drive and determination of Emerge
candidates — and their eagerness to make change — as a strength, not a liability.
“It may bump up against, let’s be honest, some of the men in the legislature who are not either used to or don’t like having strong, opinionated women in their committee rooms taking stands on issues that are important to them,” Haney said.
Krasnow, the representative from South Burlington, confirmed that she has encountered sexism in the Statehouse and on the campaign trail.
“Politics is still very much a man’s world,” she said. “As a younger legislator, I still get called by constituents, ‘Sweetie,’ ‘Honey.’”
The support and guidance she’s found through Emerge has helped her navigate the moments when she has felt unsafe or upset, she said.
Branagan said it has been “thrilling” to see women speak with more confidence on the House and Senate floors over the years. She applauded Emerge for equipping its trainees, especially the younger candidates, with the tools needed to succeed on the campaign trail.
She said she explored creating a similar initiative with the Vermont Republican Party after she was elected to the Senate in 2016, but state and county leaders showed little interest.
House Minority Leader McCoy said several women approached her earlier this month to see if she would help set up a training program for potential Republican women candidates. McCoy welcomes the idea of a Republican counterpart to Emerge in some format and said she would work with the women who proposed it to explore developing a program.
It was not immediately clear how a Republican effort might be orchestrated or funded in Vermont. Nationally, no Republican counterpart provides the same training and support as Emerge, said Walsh, the Rutgers political scientist. Her research has found the discrepancy is fueled in part by the two parties’ differing ideologies around identity politics.
“The Democratic Party embraces the concept that diversity in your officeholders, in gender and race and ethnicity, is substantively important,” Walsh said, whereas the GOP is more likely to trust that the best candidate will rise to the top.
Senate Majority Leader Ram Hinsdale said the program also provides a forum for women to have difficult but supportive conversations about issues they face on the campaign trail, such as harassment and cyber abuse.
“We don’t have a magical solution, but we do have a lot of community and a lot of easier ways for people to find help and break isolation than we did before,” Ram Hinsdale said.
Some Republican women legislators say they have lacked that support. Rep. Carolyn Branagan (R-Georgia), who recently returned to the House after moving to the Senate for a time, said it’s been challenging to navigate campaigning and legislating with relatively little support from the Republican establishment. When she first ran for the House in 2002, she did not have a mentor and received little financial assistance or training from the Vermont Republican Party.
“You learn on your own, because there’s no one there to help you,” Branagan said.
John Killacky, a former Democratic state legislator who represented South Burlington for two terms starting in 2019, sees Emerge’s success as a model for other groups, not just political parties. A program like Emerge democratizes institutions, he said.
“It takes people who are interested in civic service, gives them permission and allows them to see themselves as viable leaders,” Killacky said. He and two lawmakers are developing a similar program at the Vermont Arts Council to encourage artists to run for office.
Krasnow said she sees programs such as Emerge as helping all parties. There’s no reason that the Republican party or others couldn’t or shouldn’t launch their own initiatives, she said, especially if parties say they want more women to run.
“It’s like, ‘Well, what’s stopping you?’” she asked. ➆
The “Ways and Means” project details the inner workings of the Vermont legislature and explores how well it represents the interests of citizens. The yearlong series is funded by Vermont philanthropists through the nonprofits GroundTruth Project and Journalism Funding Partners.
Gov. Phil Scott’s public safety proposals for Burlington have potential to help, city officials say
BY COURTNEY LAMDIN • courtney@sevendaysvt.com
After months of very public disagreement about crime and disorder in Burlington, Mayor Emma Mulvaney-Stanak and Gov. Phil Scott have finally found a way to work together.
The governor, in conjunction with the mayor, unveiled a 14-point plan last week that takes on some challenging items. The state will offer additional police patrols; take part in a community clean-up event; and start a program that aims to keep offenders from committing more crimes while awaiting trial.
“This response plan is a good step forward,” Mulvaney-Stanak said in a statement. “In order for our communities to be safer for everyone, we must identify myriad responses to address harm and improve well-being.”
Given the recent resignations of the mayor’s top advisers on public safety and homelessness, the offer of additional help was timely and well received by city officials. But questions remain about how some of Scott’s ideas will be put into practice — and who foots the bill. Some local officials are looking for more help, particularly on homelessness, than the initiative provides.
“At the moment, the plan is presented in a high-level way,” City Council President Ben Traverse (D-Ward 5) said. “In the weeks and months to come, we’re going to have to sort of fill in the blanks.”
About halfway through her first threeyear term, Mulvaney-Stanak has faced unrelenting pressure to stem pervasive public drug use and unsheltered homelessness. The Progressive mayor, though, has pointed the finger at Scott, a Republican, for some of the city’s problems as continued rollbacks of the state’s motel housing program have put hundreds of people on the streets. Scott’s administration has described Burlington’s challenges as those of its own making.
The public tit for tat eased in September when the governor announced that he would meet with residents, business leaders and elected officials to craft a public safety plan for the city.
The result is a mix of tougher-oncrime policies and an expansion of social services. On the accountability front, the plan directs service providers to call police when their clients are violent or disruptive
and promises new strategies to reduce syringe litter. It starts a new pretrial supervision program for defendants, who could face more charges if they violate courtordered conditions of release.
Created by the legislature in 2024, the program is already running in Essex and Orleans counties, according to Haley Sommer, a spokesperson for the Vermont Department of Corrections. It will be open to offenders who have five or more pending cases or who have previously violated court conditions. Depending on the person’s risk of reoffending, a pretrial supervisor may check in anywhere from once a week to twice a month, Sommer said.
More compassionate responses include plans to expand drug treatment both in prison and the community, the latter with a “mobile addiction treatment van” through the University of Vermont Medical Center.
Emergency medicine physician Matthew Siket, who is organizing the
street medicine team, said the van will be staffed by a paramedic and another provider who will visit designated locations daily to treat wounds, counsel patients, and refer them to drug treatment and other programs. Treating people on the street can help them avoid frequent trips to the emergency room and longer hospital stays, Siket said. He aims to have the van up and running before spring.
“The momentum has been really impressive, and we’ve had a lot of support,” he said. “I’ve been telling folks that we’ll be putting consistent miles on this vehicle before the snow melts.”
One part of Scott’s plan is already under way. Earlier this month, the governor appointed Zach Weight, a deputy state’s attorney in Washington County, to serve as special prosecutor on an “accountability court” docket meant to reduce a backlog of criminal cases.
Judge Martin Maley, who has retired, will preside. The court officially opened last week and is slated to run for 90 days. The governor’s office has said it will cover the cost, according to state court administrator Teri Corsones.
Chittenden County State’s Attorney Sarah George said defendants with five or more pending cases are automatically being referred to the special docket, with some exceptions, such as those who are due to be sentenced or are facing homicide charges.
“So far it appears to be going as smooth as possible given the very quick transition and change in the scheduling of cases,” George wrote in an email. But the plan doesn’t say how much that program, or any of the others on the list, will cost — and Scott’s press secretary, Amanda Wheeler, didn’t answer questions seeking details. The full 14-point proposal can be “operationalized” within three to four months, the
press release says, but it’s unclear how long each effort will last once it’s up and running.
Perhaps the vaguest item on the list is an offer of “law enforcement assets,” presumably Vermont State Police, to bolster the short-staffed Burlington department. Both Mulvaney-Stanak and interim Burlington Police Chief Shawn Burke have said such services wouldn’t be necessary, particularly when the state agency is facing staffing shortages of its own.
In an interview last week, the mayor said Burlington’s own officers, who are trained to city standards and know the repeat offenders, are best suited for patrols. But she said city officials and the governor discussed the possibility of having other agencies, such as the Department of Motor Vehicles or Fish & Wildlife, lend a hand. The plan
I’M GLAD
COUNCILOR CARTER NEUBIESER
also suggests that Burke will have a role in determining what his department needs, meaning Scott is unlikely to deploy state troopers without the chief’s say-so.
City councilors on both sides of the aisle welcomed the idea of additional help. Council President Traverse said state troopers may not be invited to conduct patrols but suggested they could transport arrestees to prison, which would free up Burlington officers. As for potential DMV patrols, Traverse said, drug traffickers might think twice about driving through town if they knew officers were tracking suspicious vehicles. Councilor Gene Bergman (P-Ward 2) suggested DMV officers could enforce serious infractions, such as excessive speeding and running red lights.
“I’ve heard enough complaints about traffic safety issues to think this is meaningful for improving the quality of life in the city of Burlington,” Bergman said.
It’s unclear who would pay for the additional patrols. Between 2022 and 2023, the city shelled out more than $100,000 to station state troopers downtown following a rash of gunrelated crimes, WCAX-TV reported at
the time. But after contending with a multimillion-dollar budget hole, city officials aren’t sure they can scrounge up that kind of money this year.
The mayor has also been reluctant to commit funds to getting rid of graffiti, which could complicate Scott’s plan to coordinate a “mass volunteer clean-up and beautification effort” with city officials. Mulvaney-Stanak said she and Scott have not yet discussed how to cover costs for that project or the police patrols.
“We both expressed solidarity to each other around our challenging budget situations,” she said. “The state is facing the same limited resources that the city does.”
Still, some local leaders are hoping for more state help. Kelly Devine, executive director of the Burlington Business Association, said many businesses’ concerns were reflected in Scott’s plan, but she hopes future discussions could be about bringing more people downtown, using perks such as a sales tax holiday.
Ways to address the crisis of homelessness were also absent from Scott’s plan. It doesn’t acknowledge the lack of shelter capacity, nor does it provide any strategies to manage encampments. In Burlington, several have popped up along the waterfront.
Mulvaney-Stanak said she and the governor discussed shelter space but couldn’t agree on an approach before Scott released his proposals. As it stands, the city has no plan to operate a low-barrier warming shelter this winter.
Mulvaney-Stanak said the city will continue to advocate for more shelter space, knowing it could alleviate some of the city’s public safety challenges. Data show that of the 20 people with the highest number of police interactions downtown, only one of them is not listed as homeless or living in a shelter.
“You can’t really solve any of these problems if you don’t address that,” Councilor Bergman said. “There’s got to be a commitment to work with us to deal with that, with this problem.”
Councilor Carter Neubieser (P-Ward 1) said substantial state funding is needed to fully address Burlington’s challenges, including more housing and inpatient mental health beds. But he said Scott’s short-term plan is a good start.
“I’m glad that the governor has acknowledged, finally, that he has a responsibility to be a partner in solving issues,” he said. “This is, by far, the most hope I’ve had that we can find some common ground.” ➆
90 percent of the 30,000 people enrolled in the individual marketplace receive assistance. That means if the subsidies end as planned, Vermont’s health care system will be hard hit.
On a typical plan, a single person earning about $33,000 will have a new $200 payment each month instead of having their premium covered in full.
Who, she asked, has an extra $600 a month “just floating around in their budget?”
Families may wind up paying more for less coverage. Case in point: The class of weight-loss drugs known as GLP-1, which have been heralded as a major breakthrough in the treatment of obesity.
costly health problems down the road. But those benefits might not be evident until workers are retired — a tough sell to executives grappling with high costs right now, said Bazzano, the broker.
“Employers have a hard time seeing the return on investment,” he said.
Cross earlier this month notifying him of the change.
Some 35,000 seniors need to find new health insurance for next year. But a statewide program that helps people navigate Medicare has had so many requests for one-on-one appointments this fall that it stopped accepting new referrals only a few days after the annual Medicare open enrollment period began on October 15.
Subsidies will shrink for people with higher incomes, too, and those earning more than 400 percent of the federal poverty line will lose assistance altogether. A family of four earning $130,000 could see their annual premium climb from $9,000 to $32,000, depending on the plan.
Their exploding popularity has come at a big cost for Vermont insurance
Some employers will likely cover the drugs anyway, viewing that as a retention tool, similar to the way some justify covering fertility treatments, Bazzano said. Blue Cross confirmed that a few major employers in Vermont will pay extra to cover the drugs, though it declined to say which ones.
“We’ve hit our capacity, which is totally insane,” said Samuel Carleton, who oversees the State Health Insurance Program. “We’ve never ever had this much demand.”
Mike Fisher, Vermont’s chief health care advocate, said he fears many people will do nothing and get automatically reenrolled in their current plan — only to realize that they are locked into something they can no longer a ord. He urged consumers to shop around, noting that Blue Cross Blue Shield of Vermont plans can often be significantly more expensive than MVP’s.
While many assume Obamacare is only for people who aren’t o ered health insurance at work, it also helps people who are o ered plans that are too expensive for them. People can qualify for federal subsidies as long as they can show that their job-based plan fails to meet a ordability standards as determined by a percentage of their income. Many are enrolled in Vermont’s insurance marketplace because their employers don’t kick in enough.
Those employer plans might seem more palatable next year when compared to the unsubsidized ones o ered on the marketplace, said Tom Bazzano, a health care broker who works with Vermont businesses.
And if a wave of people leave the marketplace for plans o ered through work, that’s going to “rock employer budgets,” Bazzano said. “There are a lot of employers out there not paying enough attention to that.”
Among those weighing their options are Jennifer and Tim Heidbrink, both 40, who live in Bellows Falls with their two children. Although the Heidbrinks work full time, only Tim’s job offers insurance, and the cheapest option — a $1,700-a-month, high-deductible plan — does not meet a ordability standards. Instead, subsidies have allowed the family to purchase a Blue Cross plan for about $1,100 a month. Next year, it’ll cost nearly $3,800 a month.
Tim’s employer-offered plan seems almost cheap by comparison. And yet, Jennifer said, they’re not sure they can a ord even that.
MORE UNINSURED PATIENTS MEANS MORE UNPAID MEDICAL BILLS, A DANGEROUS PROSPECT FOR VERMONT’S RURAL HOSPITALS.
companies and major employers, who say demand for the drugs has contributed to the state’s health care affordability problem.
Administered via injections, drugs such as Ozempic, Wegovy and Zepbound have been credited with helping scores of people shed pounds by curbing food cravings and slowing digestion. The medications are now being studied for other potential health benefits that could further increase their use.
But neither Blue Cross nor MVP will cover GLP-1s for obesity in Vermont next year. Ditto the plans offered to public school employees. And at the University of Vermont Medical Center, employees will need to complete three months of “lifestyle modifications” before they can get a new prescription covered next year. (Existing prescriptions will still be covered.)
The loss of coverage at Blue Cross alone will a ect an estimated 3,400 Vermonters.
Tom Weigel, vice president and chief medical o cer at Blue Cross Blue Shield of Vermont, said the drugs are overpriced, costing more than $1,000 per month — far more than what people pay in other countries. And patients often stop taking the drugs within the first few months, he said, before they can really be e ective.
“The rough math on that is half the money we spend on the GLP-1s is not going to anyone’s benefit,” he said. “That’s millions and millions of dollars.”
Big employers are making a similar calculus as they decide whether to continue covering the drugs for their workers. The economic argument in favor is that they can help people avoid more
People who do lose coverage have the option of purchasing some of the drugs directly from the manufacturers. Novo Nordisk, for example, has started selling Ozempic and Wegovy at Costco for $500 a month. That’s about half of what insurance companies pay but still more than many can a ord on their own.
Many seniors in Vermont, meantime, are wrestling with change. That’s because two major insurers will no longer o er Medicare Advantage.
The private insurance program provides people 65 and older one-stop shopping for health insurance needs. It exploded in popularity thanks to snazzy marketing campaigns featuring the endorsements of trusted, famous Americans, such as retired football quarterback Joe Namath. More than half of all U.S. Medicare beneficiaries are now covered by the plans.
But the great Medicare Advantage boom appears to be slowing down in much of the country, and in Vermont, a measurable contraction is under way.
UnitedHealthcare and Blue Cross separately announced this fall that they will no longer o er Advantage plans next year, citing rising costs and diminishing returns. The decision leaves most of Vermont with no access to the insurance program. Last year, MVP and Wellcare fl ed the market, and the fi nal remaining Medicare Advantage plan, o ered by Humana, only covers people in the southern part of the state.
“They pulled the rug out from under us,” said 80-year-old Bob Reid of Hinesburg, who received a letter from Blue
People who lost coverage in Vermont can opt back in to traditional Medicare. They will be allowed to enroll in a supplemental insurance plan, known as Medigap, without consideration of their preexisting conditions as long as they sign up within 63 days after their coverage ends. That gives most people until early March to make a decision, though experts encourage choosing a new plan before then to avoid coverage lapses.
The loss of Medicare Advantage plans may ultimately be a good thing for Vermont, Carleton said. While the plans o er simplicity and low monthly payments, they have been criticized for providing limited in-network coverage and exposing people to surprise costs when emergencies arise. They also require prior authorization, or preapproval, for many procedures.
A federal report in 2022 found that 13 percent of services denied by Advantage plans would have been covered under traditional Medicare.
Still, surveys have found that Advantage customers are generally as happy with their coverage as traditional Medicare recipients are with theirs. Meanwhile, those who recently lost Advantage coverage in Vermont may struggle to find an a ordable replacement.
Jonathan Kohn, 71, is running into that problem. Notified by UnitedHealthcare that he will soon lose access to his $680a-year Medicare Advantage plan, Kohn has determined that he would need to pay about $5,000 a year to duplicate his existing coverage.
The Burlington resident works a retail job and can’t afford to pay that much. Cheaper plans tend to limit what they cover, leaving him exposed to high risk. One plan, for instance, would cost about $140 a month but doesn’t cover emergency room visits — a nonstarter for Kohn, an avid cyclist.
He plans to eventually meet with a Medicare adviser to talk through his options. He’s at a loss, he said, over what to do.
“I feel really behind the eight ball here,” Kohn said. ➆
« P.7
‘BURLINGTON IS A CESSPOOL’
[Re “Tent City,” August 13]: I went to school in Newark, Del. — a college town roughly the size of Burlington with a Main Street comparable to Church Street. On a recent visit to Delaware, I noticed bustling activity at 9 a.m. on a six-block stretch with one-way auto traffic. Restaurants, banks, bakeries and retail businesses were all open. The one thing I could not find was homeless people, drug addicts or beggars with cardboard signs at corners. When I asked a lifelong resident about this, he seemed puzzled by the question.
Burlington’s problems could be solved by doing exactly what the blue state of Delaware has been doing for years. It is outlined in President Donald Trump’s “Ending Crime and Disorder on America’s Streets” order. Since Trump Derangement Syndrome has captured our legislature, Vermont is unable to use this commonsense approach. Burlington has decided to prioritize junkies and criminals over children and business owners.
I have been doing a rideshare for nine years in the early morning hours in Burlington. I have just recently heard visitors ask where it is safe, college students saying they can’t wait to get out and hardworking people complaining about crackheads beating on their apartment door in the middle of the night.
Burlington is a cesspool and an embarrassment. People are allowed to deal dangerous narcotics out of subsidized and free housing at all hours of the day and night. Unless we start arresting and imprisoning people who have made it this way, it will not change.
Peter Garritano CHARLOTTE
[Re “Tag, Who’s It? Burlington City Officials Have Few Strategies to Crack Down on Unsightly Graffiti,” October 8]: While it’s very nice that Burlington citizens are volunteering to clean up public spaces, picking up trash and needles, cleaning graffiti, etc., it also seems a bit like Mommy and Daddy following the offenders around, picking up after them. In other words, enabling.
Burlington needs a system of accountability for offenders. Certainly, as a retired drug and alcohol counselor, I’d been told many times by clients that accountability played a part in their getting sober.
I suggest reinvigorating the community justice program whereby offenders are ticketed when witnessed discarding trash and needles or found to be guilty of tagging or in any other way vandalizing community and private property, with
the “fine” being that they have to do the cleanup/make restitution. Of course, for those addicted to drugs and alcohol, there should also be mandatory participation in treatment. In the past, the probation and parole offices have mandated treatment to criminal offenders, so it’s not a new idea. Though it has been controversial over the years, I have witnessed it being the final factor that motivated people to enter recovery. And it may not only be addiction recovery that we’re talking about but also counseling for other problems that fuel negative social behaviors.
Of course, this would mean investing money in community justice and treatment programs. Programs that don’t punish but teach accountability and responsibility to the community and support healthy growth are a good investment and would have a long-term positive impact.
Luanne Sberna BURLINGTON
YOU FORGOT THE WORD ‘ILLEGAL’
I have some comments on [“Standing By: Vermonters Who Fear Deportation Are Lining Up Legal Guardians for Their Children,” September 24]. The very first paragraph erroneously leaves out one critical word in describing the administration’s immigration crackdown. Your editors should have caught it. That word is “illegal.”
President Donald Trump, and by extension U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, have no interest, I am sure, in deporting immigrants who have green cards or have been granted asylum, like the Venezuelan couple in your article.
ICE is after those thousands, possibly millions, of people who have arrived through no legal process and have run afoul of the law, often many times. Some have been deported before and found their way back. Many have not shown up for status hearings.
It is a sad state that this couple should feel concerned. I also believe that the press in general has played a role in amplifying that concern through inaccurate reporting.
David Stewart SOUTH BURLINGTON
Your June 12 article, “Scott Signs Bill Capping Drug Prices at Vermont Hospitals,” describes a necessary intervention in runaway drug markups. However, the piece understates how this policy might stress rural hospitals and worsen health inequities across Vermont.
Specialty drugs, such as those used to treat cancer and autoimmune diseases,
often carry enormous costs. Vermont hospitals currently charge markups that are among the highest in the nation, at more than five times the manufacturer’s average sales price. The new law limits charges to 120 percent of that price, which will provide substantial relief to insurers and patients. Blue Cross Blue Shield, for example, is projected to save $46 million annually, lowering rate increases for employers and schools.
Yet these savings come at a cost.
Hospital leaders warn they may lose millions of dollars in revenue and be forced to cut staff or shutter services.
Legislative testimony projected that an $8.8 million reduction would equate to a 12.5 percent workforce loss — or roughly 125 to 150 full-time positions — while
September 17]. In vain, I searched your article for acknowledgement of the countless volunteers who have contributed to the farm’s success. Who wound the tower clock? Who kept the gardens weeded? Who shepherded visitors through the inn for Mother’s Day tours?
Since the 1980s, thousands of visitors to the farm have learned about its mission while taking a tour. For more than a decade, I was one of a cadre of volunteer tour guides. At our weekly meetings, specialists from horticulturist Del Sheldon to architect Martin Tierney shared their expertise. Given access to archival materials, historian Shirley Murray read entries from Eliza “Lila” Vanderbilt’s journals, wherein her romance with William Seward Webb unfolded. With
many rural hospitals would need to close infusion centers. Without safeguards such as state subsidies for rural hospitals or tiered reimbursement models, the policy risks weakening access to care in communities that already struggle with shortages.
Vermont’s cap is a bold step forward, but lawmakers must pair it with structural protections to prevent unintended harm to patients and providers alike.
Tiffanie Katsuva COLCHESTER
Successful nonprofits rely heavily on volunteers, and Shelburne Farms is no exception [“A New Heyday: How the Family Behind Shelburne Farms Bootstrapped a Crumbling Gilded Age Estate Into a Beacon of Sustainability Education,”
visitors eager to understand the Vanderbilt connection, I wrapped up tours with a condensed account of the wily and driven Commodore and how his granddaughter Lila and her beau came to choose Vermont.
To this day, the moment I set foot on the farm, I am ready to launch into a discourse on the ideal qualities of Brown Swiss cows, the architectural oddities of the Coach Barn, Webb’s love of all things equine and Frederick Law Olmsted’s principles of landscaping.
May this letter pay tribute to volunteers everywhere who keep the gears turning, sometimes literally. House tours were given by the delightful cast of tour guides, Birgit pulled the weeds, and (correct me if I’m wrong, Shirley) it was George who wound the clock.
JANUARY 30, 1945OCTOBER 16, 2025
ST. GEORGE, VT.
Barbara Patch was born on January 30, 1945, in California. She passed away peacefully at her home on ursday, October 16, 2025.
She is survived by her son, Michael Patch; godson, Eric Audette; and sisters Donna Patch and Leona Aiguier (Dick Aiguier); as well as nieces and nephews. She is predeceased by her father, Chester Patch Sr.; mother, Irene Patch; brothers, Leo Patch and Chester Patch Jr.; and sisters Rosemarie Hanson and Grace Patch.
She was a hard worker and friendly to all. She worked various jobs throughout her life in Chittenden County, making many friends along the way. She was gentle but a fierce protector of family and friends. She was a woman of faith and loved by all who knew her.
We would like to thank the hospice care nurses, Judy, Chelsea and Gale, who helped her in her last month. ey’re greatly appreciated, and we’re so thankful to have had them by our side throughout her last month.
A funeral service will be held on Friday, October 31, 2025, 11 a.m., at St. John Vianney in South Burlington. Following the funeral mass in Recreation Park there will be refreshments in St. John Vianney Hall.
In lieu of flowers, we would like donations to be given in memory of Barbara Patch to the Vermont Alzheimer’s Association.
AUGUST 15, 1942-OCTOBER 20, 2025
BURLINGTON, VT.
Sister Jacqueline Marie Kieslich (Sr. Marie), RSM, 83, of the Sisters of Mercy of the Americas, died at Gardenview Community, Converse Home, in Burlington, Vt., on October 20, 2025, in her 61st year of religious life.
Sr. Marie was born in Burlington, Vt., on August 15, 1942, the daughter of Lucille (Audette) and Albert J. Kieslich. She was a graduate of Mount Saint Mary Academy and received her BS in sociology from Trinity College in Burlington, Vt.; MA in special education from the University of Oregon; and PhD in higher and adult education from the University of Maryland.
Sr. Marie entered the Sisters of Mercy on September 8, 1964, and professed her vows on August 15, 1967.
She taught in elementary schools at Mater Christi and Christ the King in Burlington, Vt., and St. Mary’s School in Middlebury, Vt.; and in higher education at Trinity College, where she ministered for several years. She also served as director of Special Religious Education for the Diocese of Burlington. Sr. Marie was instrumental in establishing Special
JUNE 14, 1954-OCTOBER 21, 2025 MONTPELIER, VT.
Michael Joseph Bagiackas passed from this Earth unexpectedly on October 21, 2025, engaging with the elemental world he loved. A steady, patient and loving presence, he found meditation and direction in natural landscapes and shared his warmth and wisdom as an educator and school administrator.
Locally, he served as the executive director of the Maplehill School in Plainfield for 17 years, eventually establishing the beginnings of the farm school, and cofounded the Montessori School of Central Vermont. Before that, he served as the first cofounding head of school
Religious Education Programs throughout the Diocese, traveling often at night to parishes throughout Vermont.
Along with Sister Janice Ryan, Sr. Marie established the Special Religious Education (SPRED) Program, providing religious formation for numerous children with special needs, in an inaugural program at Trinity College involving college students from Trinity College and Saint Michael’s College.
Sr. Marie served on several boards, including Mercy Connections, Mater Christi School, Saint Michael’s College, Salve Regina University, Burlington Community Land Trust, Vermont Catholic Charities and Mercy Higher Education Colloquium.
selling the Trinity College campus to the University of Vermont, and of facilitating the transition of the Trinity students and records.
While at Trinity College she was chair of the Education Department and academic dean and was appointed president by the Board of Trustees of Trinity College. While president, Sr. Marie, her administrative team and the Board of Trustees had the responsibility of closing Trinity College of Vermont and
at Hershey Montessori School in Concord Township, Ohio, for 13 years. He developed rites of passage programs for emerging adolescents, which he later continued with visiting students from around New England at Maplehill.
In his later years, he settled into his lifelong enjoyment of puttering in the backyard. Felling trees for firewood over time, he opened up a small plateau on the slope behind our house that looks out over the river valley. is became his sacred space, where he lovingly tended young fruit trees, berries and small
Following her tenure at Trinity College, Sr. Marie was appointed by the Sisters of Mercy as cochair of the “Integration Team for the Reimagining and Reconfiguration Process” of the Institute of the Sisters of Mercy of the Americas. In 2006 she was elected as a member of the leadership team of the former Northeast Community for eight years, and in 2014 she was elected as president of the Northeast Leadership Team and served generously for four more years.
Sr. Marie will be remembered for her love of nature, visits to art museums, travel and music; her love and dedication for her family and friends; and her winning smile.
Sr. Marie is survived by her Sisters in Religion, the Sisters of Mercy of the Americas; her brother James (Judy) Kieslich of Peru, N.H.; nephews Jeffery (Sarah) Kieslich of Milton and Gregory (Christina)
garden patches, enjoying quiet time for rest and reflection. His internal curiosity and search for connection to our Earth is expressed in the cairns and sculptures of found objects he built. Michael honored beauty through simplicity with perfectly mastered pies, breads and cookies, and his signature thin-crust pizza. He held reverence for the traditional recipes of his ancestors, most particularly the Bagiackas Slovak Christmas Eve ritual meal with extended family. His life became centered around his home, tending to his
Kieslich of Jericho; niece Nicole (Michael) Olzinski of Connecticut; grandnieces Ryleigh and Alexis Olzinski, Haley Moulton, Taylor Kieslich, and Charlotte and Mabel Kieslich; grandnephew Corbin Kieslich; and several cousins, including Marcelle ( omas) Lasher.
She was predeceased by her parents, Lucille and Albert Kieslich, and her brother Richard (Dick) Kieslich.
Our prayers and deepest gratitude to the caring staff at Converse Home, the Gardenview memory care community, and the University of Vermont Home Health & Hospice Team.
A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated on Saturday, November 1, 2025, 11 a.m., in the Sacred Heart Chapel at Mater Christi School (former Mount Saint Mary Convent), 100 Mansfield Ave., Burlington, Vt., with visiting hours from 9:30 to 11 a.m., and burial will follow the funeral in the Mount Saint Mary Cemetery.
In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made to the Sisters of Mercy in support of their ministerial works, Attn: Sister Laura Della Santa, 356 Mountain View Dr., Suite 101, Colchester, VT 05446.
Arrangements have been entrusted to the care of Ready Funeral & Cremation Services. To send online condolences, please visit readyfuneral.com.
woodpiles, his hearth fires, his family and friends.
Michael is survived by his wife of 45 years, Kaemaple Cotter; his daughters, Maya May Holmes and husband Brian of Eastham, Mass., and Ananda and partner Jonathan DeVilbiss of Northampton, Mass.; son, Emrys of Montpelier, Vt., grandson, Dylan Haviland of Eastham, Mass.; sisters, Claudia and longtime partner Paul Council of East Calais, Jean Moretti and husband Nick of Basking Ridge, N.J., and Kat Connaughton and husband Pete of St. Louis, Mich., brother, Thomas of Kent, Ohio; and several generations of extended family.
A gathering of remembrance will be held at the Plainfield Opera House on Saturday, November 1, 2025, at noon. All are welcome.
JULY 15, 1940OCTOBER 19, 2025 BERLIN, VT.
Judith Ann (Pillsbury) Hebert was a caring mother and grandmother, devoted wife and passionate gardener who will be dearly missed. She died peacefully with family by her side, at age 85, on October 19, 2025.
Born on July 15, 1940, in Montpelier, Vt., to Adrienne C. (Letourneau) and C. Richard Pillsbury, Judith grew up in Montpelier, attending Saint Michael’s High School. Although an only child, she enjoyed a full family life, surrounded by many aunts, uncles and cousins.
She held precious childhood memories of times spent with her Pillsbury relatives at Lake Groton and of visiting Burlington’s North End with the Letourneau family, who lived on Archibald Street. She enjoyed recounting stories of those early days, like learning from her uncle Russell how to drive a car and trying to understand her French-speaking aunts and uncles at family gatherings.
Judith was valedictorian of her high school class and earned a full academic scholarship to college. She attended the University of Vermont and graduated in
OCTOBER 22, 1926OCTOBER 24, 2025
SHELBURNE, VT.
1962 with a bachelor’s degree in speech and English. While at UVM, she ran the radio station, WRUV, becoming one of the first women in Vermont radio. She fondly remembered interviewing musical groups performing in Burlington, including folk trio Peter, Paul and Mary and jazz pianist Erroll Garner.
While in Burlington, Judith met Peter J. Hebert, who grew up on North Street — just one block away from the Letourneau family where Judith spent much of her childhood. They married on May 29, 1965, and began their family a year later with the birth of their son Jeremy, followed by son Kyle and daughter Jocelyn. They moved their young family from Prospect Street in Montpelier to a beautiful, newly constructed home in Berlin, Vt. As a young family, they explored the neighboring fields and forests on cross-country skis, returning
John Bisbee died October 24, 2025, shortly after his 99th birthday, at Wake Robin in Shelburne, Vt. As with all of his beliefs — the importance of family, volunteerism and philanthropy; a woman’s right to choose; a song for every occasion; the right to ice cream at least once a day — he advocated for and ultimately embodied the concept of death with dignity as a fundamental right. He was a gentleman in the sense that he was a very gentle man: courtly, kind and humble. His curiosity and kindness showed in his desire to learn everyone’s stories; he meant it when he asked about you and sat with hearing aids firmly in place so he could truly listen. He had two homes: Middlesex School, where his father reigned as a stern
home to warm up by the fieldstone fireplace — built with stones handpicked by Judith and Peter from land they owned in Westford, Vt. That fireplace brought warmth, light and comfort to Judith throughout her 52 years in the family home.
An avid tennis player, Judith competed in leagues and traveled with friends to tournaments. Each year, you could be sure that when Wimbledon or the U.S., French or Australian Open was on, Judith would be on the edge of her seat, cheering for the greats. Attending the Australian Open was one of the highlights of her life.
In the 1970s Judith took up running and often brought her children along to local fun runs, inspiring in them a lifelong love of fitness and the outdoors. She may not have known then that she was setting herself up for years of attending her children’s high school sporting events to come.
Camping trips to Maine, Prince Edward Island and Grand Isle were among the family’s most memorable getaways. Judith was pleased to be able to surprise her family one year with a choice of visiting St. John, U.S. Virgin Islands, or Yellowstone; to Judith’s delight they chose the beach and left right after Christmas that year.
Judith began her professional career as a writer and photographer for the
headmaster, and Fisher Hill, his parents’ farmhouse in Fayston, Vt., where he spent his summers and eventually moved full time. He married Margaret (Kim) Bisbee, with whom he had four children, and later married Brenda Bradley Bisbee, thereby gaining two stepsons. He was educated at Harvard (AB, astronomy) and Case Institute of Technology (MS, astronomy).
As an engineer in the aerospace industry, John developed optical systems for reconnaissance during the Cold War but refused to work on any weapon-related projects. He then transitioned to space exploration, helping design the first camera that landed on the surface of Mars
Burlington Free Press and later edited its women’s section. She then joined National Life of Vermont, starting in communications and publishing the company magazine, Contact . Over 28 years, she advanced to second vice president and was elected president of the Life Communicators Association, a national organization that took her across the country to plan and lead conferences. After retiring from National Life, she continued to do consulting for several years.
Judith had a brilliant mind. Strong-willed, exceptionally capable and fiercely independent, she overcame many challenges as a woman in a male-dominated industry. She broke the mold that was cast for her and earned the respect of colleagues and friends alike with her talent and perseverance.
Judith and Peter traveled to Australia, New Zealand, England, Scotland, Martinique, Hawaii, Alaska and many other U.S. states. After Peter’s passing, Judith traveled to France with her daughter, Jocelyn, staying with her dear friend Catherine Taylor and her husband, Malcolm, before fulfilling her dream of seeing Paris.
In their later years, Judith and Peter spent much of each summer at their camp on Nelson Pond in Calais, where Judith passed the time reading, canoeing, listening to the
and cameras for locating options for the first moon landing. He was very proud of his prowess with the lost art of a slide rule and later spreadsheets; to the very end of his life he was analyzing data on the detrimental effects of the abolishment of Roe v. Wade on women. He continued to pursue his passion for woodworking until his late eighties, crafting beautiful furniture and creating unique woodworking jigs.
In retirement he and his wife Brenda volunteered full time. After serving as a hospice visitor for a decade, he became a guardian ad litem for the next 29 years, working in the interest of children in court cases in Burlington. Connecting these two areas,
loons and watching thunderstorms roll in from the porch swing. She loved her daily swims along the shoreline and long walks around the lake with Peter.
Endlessly thoughtful, Judith looked forward to special occasions and enjoyed trying to find the perfect gifts for loved ones. She made Christmastime in her home magical — her kitchen counters overflowed with homemade candies and holiday treats.
A lifelong learner, she spent the last 35 years studying plants and soil, becoming both a master gardener and master composter who knew the Latin names of every flower, shrub and tree. She took pride in her exotic grasses, white fringe tree and silver birch. Calling herself a “collector,” she created a garden that was less about order and more about discovery. It sprawled with purpose — wild yet artfully composed — a sanctuary of rare and interesting species. She tended her beloved plants as if they were her children, calling her favorites her “babies,” and was elated each spring as they emerged from the soil. They were her cherished companions — and they took care of each other until her final days. Most recently she enjoyed quiet moments on the porch, looking out at the maple and pine trees that had grown so tall since she
he commented, “Dying is part of life, but neglecting children should not be.” On his retirement from that work, he was fêted and issued a State proclamation; with his tongue firmly in cheek he noted that his proclamation had nine “whereas” clauses, a number that he then compared to proclamations received by other Wake Robin residents. John was predeceased by his wife Brenda Bradley Bisbee and is survived by Michael Bisbee (Sigrid McCabe) of Socorro County, N.M.; Daniel Bisbee (Connie Bisbee) of Crestview, Fla.; Alice Bisbee of Hull, Mass.; Janet Bisbee of Duxbury, Vt.; Brad Simonds (Morgan Smeraldi) of Sugarloaf Key, Fla.; Joshua Simonds
and Peter built the house in 1973.
Judith adored and was very proud of her two grandsons, Zachary and Nikolaos, who grew up in Alaska. Although distance kept them apart, she was grateful to have recently seen them and witness firsthand the fine young men they have become. Very recently, she learned she was to become a great-grandmother.
Judith lovingly cared for her husband through his 10-year struggle living with Parkinson’s disease, until his passing in 2010. From then on, she took solace in her gardens and from her family. She is survived by her children, Jeremy (Nancy), Kyle (Michelle) and Jocelyn (Doug); grandsons, Zachary (Joyce) and Nikolaos; sister-in-law, Ruth (Hebert) Boivin; many cousins, nieces and nephews from the Letourneau, Pillsbury and Hebert families; and many good friends, particularly Eric Proudfoot, who was a kindred spirit, both in and out of the garden, and Deb Brown, whom she cherished like a second daughter.
A celebration of life will be held in the spring at her home among the gardens she built and tended, honoring her memory and the love and wisdom she shared with those fortunate to know her. An announcement with details about a celebration of her life will follow in early spring.
(Hilary Simonds) of South Burlington, Vt.; 10 grandchildren; and seven great-grandchildren.
We are deeply indebted to the staff at Wake Robin, who showered him with love and care in his final years. Very few missed his ribbing and virtually all gave as good as they got. Claire, on a daily basis, checked his magnificent lies. Ron, who John dissed for wearing a Yankees baseball cap, finally resorted to posting an official notice in the dining room saying that those wearing Red Sox paraphernalia were not to be served. Others expressed their love with milkshakes and cookies, songs and wordplay, and always lots and lots of hugs.
DECEMBER 10, 1972OCTOBER 10, 2025
CHARLOTTE, N.C.
Julie Ann Reid of South Burlington, Vt., passed away far too young at 52, leaving behind a legacy of love, dedication and strength.
Julie precedes in death her beloved parents, Robert and Mary Reid; her brother, John; and her treasured children, Bryant and Brianna Hinchliffe. Her love for Bryant and Brianna was not just deep; it was fierce, protective and allconsuming. ey were her world, her purpose, her joy. She carried them with her in every breath, every thought, every heartbeat. Her devotion to them was the very essence of who she was, and her love for them will continue to echo into the lives of those who knew her.
Julie also leaves behind the father of her children; many loving aunts, uncles, nieces and cousins; and a circle of lifelong friends who were more than companions; they were her chosen family. Julie had a rare gift for friendship. She made people feel seen, heard and deeply loved. Her friends considered her a sister, and her passing has shattered hearts across generations. e grief is raw, the loss immeasurable.
JUNE 14, 1939-OCTOBER 18, 2025 UNDERHILL, VT.
Sally Ann Aldrich, 86, passed peacefully at home on Saturday, October 18, 2025. She was born in Franklin, Vt., on June 14, 1939, to Sheila A. (Partlow) and Clelan Jones. Sally was predeceased by her sister, Jane Stygles; her daughter Sandra Ward; and her nephew Kenneth Stygles. She was raised in Underhill Center, Vt., with her sister on a farm with her mother and stepfather, Glenn W. Towle. Sally and Jane loved horses and collected many ribbons for trail riding.
Julie could be the biggest light in the room. You know the kind. A laugh that made you want to laugh along, a presence that was pure energy. She was a woman who was always down for a good time, who loved to dance and who wasn’t above a little carpool karaoke on the way to school drop-off. She grew up in Vermont, a place that shaped her spirit. From a young age, she understood the value of hard work, pouring herself into her studies to build the foundation for a great future. at drive took her far. After graduation, she dedicated 17 years to IBM, where her talent and tenacity saw her through the ranks with impressive speed. She built a career she could be proud of, but her greatest pride, her deepest love, was reserved for her children.
To her gorgeous redheaded twins, Bryant and Bri, she was simply Mom. And she loved them more than life itself. She worked tirelessly to provide a beautiful home for them in South Burlington, in a home nestled beside the Vermont Country Club golf course, where so many memories were made. In the last eight years, Julie found herself at home in Charlotte, N.C.
Her love for life extended beyond her home. Julie loved to travel, to
In August 1956, she married Bruce E. Ward of Underhill. ey had three daughters, Wanda Kaye, Donna Raye and Sandra Maye. On November 25, 1965, she married Gerald (Jerry) C. Aldrich, and this November would have been 60 years.
attend concerts, to see the world in all its color and variety. She enjoyed the simple pleasures, too: a round of golf, a bike ride through the Vermont landscape, a quiet walk to clear her head.
Alongside her vibrant energy, Julie also had a gentle, reflective side. She was comfortable being a quiet presence, taking in the world and those around her with thoughtful appreciation. It’s a reminder that even those who shine the brightest can carry unseen burdens. We often see the highlight reel — the dancing, the laughter, the adventures. We don’t always see the moments in between. We don’t always know the depth of battles being fought behind a familiar smile.
Julie was a fighter, a mom and a friend. She was complex and real. And now, she is deeply, profoundly missed. Her absence leaves a void that words can’t quite fill.
Julie’s legacy will live on through her beloved children, family, and all those whose lives she touched with her kindness and strength. Her laughter, generosity and unwavering support will be forever cherished and remembered by her friends and community. We are grateful for the precious time we shared with Julie and will hold her in our hearts always.
A Mass of Christian Celebration will be held on Friday, November 14, 2025, 2 p.m., at Christ the King — St. Anthony Parish, 305 Flynn Ave., Burlington, Vt. A celebration of life will follow.
Mom enjoyed crafting, music and donating to any animal charity out there. She loved learning and graduated from Trinity, Champlain and Saint Michael’s colleges and the University of Vermont. Her medical knowledge was impressive, due to many years working in the medical field and transcribing medical records well into retirement. She was giving and creative and funny. Her humor stayed to the end.
Surviving her are Jerry, her husband, of Underhill; Wanda Brown and husband Harley of Huntington; Donna Boiney and husband Peter of Jericho; and grandchildren Harley, Glenn and Jonathan Brown; Isaac, Eric and Sam Boiney; and Atalie Wells of Underhill. Also surviving her are great-grandchildren Natasha, Kaitlin, Aleeah, Caelum, Jackson, Zachary, Rowan, Gavin and Everly. Any donations can be sent to any animal charity.
JUNE 5, 1933-OCTOBER 22, 2025 BURLINGTON, VT.
Helene Marie (Limoge) McHugh, 92, of Burlington, Vt., passed away peacefully on Wednesday, October 22, 2025.
Born on June 5, 1933, in Burlington, she was the daughter of Arthur and Grace Limoge née Fortin. Helene grew up in the Old North End of Burlington and attended Nazareth Primary School before graduating from Cathedral High School in 1951.
After graduation Helene became a telephone operator at New England Telephone. Always independent, she worked her way up to a supervisor position there. In 1960, she married Valere Dion. ey had five children together: omas, Stephen, Matthew, Melissa and Nicole. In 1986 Helene found the love of her life in William “Bill” McHugh. Helene and Bill were married for many happy decades, together going to morning Mass and spending time with their family and friends, traveling, and going to parades and picnics.
spending time with her beloved grandchildren.
She was predeceased by her sons omas and Stephen Dion; her husband, William McHugh; and her siblings Jackie (and husband Arnold Parker), Janice Robbins, Robert Limoge, and Richard Limoge (and wife Rita Limoge).
Helene’s memory lives on in her brothers Larry Limoge (and wife Kathy Limoge) and Roland Limoge (and wife Jay Limoge); as well as many nieces and nephews, whom she loved dearly. She is also survived by her children Matthew Dion, Melissa Dion (and husband Ken Carter), and Nicole Bauman née Dion (and husband Todd Bauman).
“Meme” will be lovingly remembered by her grandchildren, Elizabeth, omas and Jacob Dion; Izabella and Calvin Carter; and Abigail and Owen Bauman.
Helene’s family is deeply appreciative of the incredible care she received from Mansfield Place, Dr. Susanna ach and the University of Vermont Hospice.
A woman of deep Catholic faith, Helene was a devoted parishioner and volunteer. She gave her time generously to Catholic Charities, Christ the King Church and Rice Memorial High School. Her commitment to service extended beyond her faith community — she was actively involved with Meals on Wheels and could be found most summer nights in the South Park concession stand.
Helene was a proud Vermonter who cherished her Burlington roots. She was known for her independence, gratitude, and unwavering love for her family and friends. Everyone was “hon” to her. Her greatest joy was cheering on her children at their sporting events and
Visiting hours will be held on Tuesday, November 25, 2025 — on what would have been Bill’s 96th birthday — 11 a.m. to noon, at the Ready Funeral Home South Chapel in Burlington, with a funeral service at noon. Burial will immediately follow in Resurrection Park Cemetery on Hinesburg Road in South Burlington. A celebration of life open house will take place from 2 to 5 p.m. at the St. John’s Club.
In lieu of flowers, please consider making a memorial donation in Helene’s name to the Vermont Food Bank, your local Hospice/ VNA or the Alzheimer’s Association.
Arrangements are in the care of Ready Funeral & Cremation Services.
To share online condolences, please visit readyfuneral.com.
JULY 25, 1946OCTOBER 19, 2025 JERICHO, VT.
William Mansfield Hubbard, longtime resident of Jericho, Vt., known as “Bill” to friends and colleagues and “Billy” to his wife and family, passed away on October 19, 2025, in Burlington, Vt. Bill is survived by his wife of 58 years, Janet Webster Hubbard; his daughters, Holly Donovan and Heidi (Geoffrey) Duke; his sister Karen (Bruce) Bonin; and his grandson, Jamie (Alexandria) Underhill.
Bill was born in Brattleboro, Vt., on July 25, 1946, the son of Paul and Agnes Hubbard. He graduated from Brattleboro Union High School, where he was active in the band and met his future wife, Janet. He attended Windham College in Putney prior to earning his bachelor’s degree at the
MARCH 31, 1951OCTOBER 16, 2025 NORTHFIELD, VT.
Col. (Ret.) Albert “Albie” Lee Lewis passed peacefully at home on October 16, 2025, after a courageous battle with cancer. He was surrounded by family and held in the arms of the woman he loved.
Born at Fort Lewis, Wash., on March 31, 1951, to Maridean (Davis) and Victor Lee Lewis, Albie grew up in Carlisle, Pa., and attended the Scotland School for Veterans’ Children. After moving to Northfield, Vt., he graduated from Northfield High School in 1969 and went on to earn a BS in physical education from Norwich University in 1973, commissioning as a second lieutenant in the U.S. Army upon graduation. After years of structure
University of Vermont and took courses toward his master’s degree at Saint Michael’s College.
Bill was predeceased by his parents, Paul and Agnes Hubbard of Merrimack, N.H.; his sister Patricia “Patty” Sullivan of Florida; and his very special kitty friend, Jazzy.
Bill worked as a special education teacher for 35 years at Lamoille Union High school before retiring in 2010. Over the course of his career, Bill developed and directed the Diversified Occupations program at Lamoille North Supervisory Union. Family dinners were often peppered with stories from his day at school and tales of coworkers to whom he was close.
and discipline, Albie settled in Vermont’s Mad River Valley, where he found both freedom and lifelong friendships. He became an avid skier and beloved bartender at Gallagher’s in Waitsfield and founded Heritage Post & Beam, restoring historic structures into new homes and businesses.
A gifted athlete, Albie represented the U.S. in the Military Pentathlon through the Interallied Confederation of Reserve Officers (CIOR), competing in several NATO countries and earning multiple medals. Inspired by this experience, he trained for the Modern Pentathlon and proudly competed in the 1980 Olympic Trials.
Bill and Janet moved from Isham Street in Burlington to Poker Hill Road in Underhill after the birth of their first daughter. In 1972, Bill and his growing family moved to the Riverside area of Jericho, where he and his wife opened an antiques store, William Hubbard Antiques. Bill and Janet became homesteaders and for 20 years kept a herd of 60 sheep and an assortment of animals, including cows, chickens, pigs and horses, and maintained a large garden from which food was canned for winter.
Bill was up early caring for animals and tending the farm before driving to school for work and was often outside long after dark in the winter feeding and tending animals.
It was during this time that he met the love of his life, Patti (Lindner). They married in 1981 and built their home in Berlin, Vt., where they raised three daughters — Kristen, Brittany and Kaitlin. Albie was a devoted husband and father who inspired his family to dream big, work hard and find joy in the journey.
Albie continued his service in the Vermont Army National Guard, becoming the first chief instructor at the Army Mountain Warfare School in Jericho and later serving as military liaison team chief to Macedonia. He retired from the military on September 11, 2001, concluding a distinguished career marked by
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His daughters have memories of their father making candles and jam at the holidays. Bill enjoyed woodworking, repairing everything from fences to broken chairs and building decks and doing home improvement projects. He offered clear instruction and a quiz on how to change the oil and tires of a car before he agreed to his children having their driver’s licenses. Though he was a man of few words, Bill was known for his offbeat sense of humor. He loved “Star Trek” reruns and listening to Simon & Garfunkel, Billy Joel, and the Beach Boys. As empty nesters, Bill enjoyed traveling to Maine with his wife. They often visited the coast during the summer.
leadership, mentorship and integrity.
Following military service, Albie continued serving others as Vermont’s director of emergency management and later with FEMA, where he became one of the nation’s few Type 1 federal coordinating officers. He led disaster recovery operations across the U.S. until retiring in 2020.
A dedicated community member, Albie volunteered for more than 20 years with the Berlin Volunteer Fire Department and at Camp TaKum-Ta, a camp for families affected by childhood cancer. He will be remembered for his humor, generosity and the way he made everyone feel like family.
A private graveside service will be held at a future date.
The family suggests that, in lieu of flowers, those who would like to offer a donation in Bill’s memory consider making a donation to the Underhill-Jericho Fire Department (P.O. Box 150, Underhill, VT 05489) or Essex Rescue (1 Education Dr., Essex Junction, VT 05452). Both organizations provided unwavering, committed support in Bill’s last days at home, for which the family is deeply appreciative.
Arrangements have been entrusted to the care of the Cremation Society of Chittenden County, a division of the Ready Family. To send online condolences, please visit cremationsocietycc.com.
Albie is survived by his wife of 44 years, Patti; daughters and sons-in-law, Kristen and Zachary Dukette, Brittany and Benjamin Michaud, and Kaitlin and Thomas Burke; brother, Frederick Kingsley; and niece, Rebecca Trower. His mother, Maridean Lewis, and sister, Judith Trower, predeceased him.
A celebration of life with full military and fire department honors will be held Sunday, November 2, 2025, 1 p.m., at White Memorial Chapel, Norwich University, Northfield, VT, with interment and reception to follow.
In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to Camp Ta-Kum-Ta or Norwich University’s Golden Goal Club.
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e political agility of the nation’s most popular governor is being tested by the second Trump administration
BY KEVIN MCCALLUM • kevin@sevendaysvt.com
Gov. Phil Scott visited the Cabot Hosiery sock mill in Waterbury earlier this month to call attention to the challenges facing Vermont manufacturers. Reporters, however, took the opportunity to broach more politically charged subjects, including the federal government shutdown that was then entering its second week.
Scott had sent a letter to U.S. Senate leaders in late September urging lawmakers to work together to prevent a shutdown. The letter was not well received by Vermont’s Congressional delegation, who viewed Scott as urging them to capitulate to Republican demands that would make it harder for Vermonters to a ord health insurance.
U.S. Rep. Becca Balint (D-Vt.), for one, described her reaction to the missive as “fury.”
May Hanlon, executive director of the Vermont Democratic Party, piled on: “Performative neutrality in the face of clear harm is not leadership,” she wrote in a scathing statement.
At the sock mill, reporters wanted to know what Scott had to say about this Democratic criticism. Anticipating the question, the governor pulled the twopage letter from his suit pocket, slid on his reading glasses and read it aloud. He explained that he was merely urging lawmakers to reach a spending deal — even just a short-term one, if necessary — to keep the government open while budget negotiations continued.
“I’m not blaming Democrats. I’m not blaming Republicans. I’m blaming both of them,” Scott said. “And they need to come together, just like we do in the states.”
That even an apparently benign call for bipartisanship could trigger such controversy was an illustration of the challenges Scott — no supporter of the president — faces in navigating the turmoil generated by Donald Trump 2.0.
As governor, Scott has been wary of taking actions or calling out Trump and his policies in ways that could trigger retaliation against the state by a president known to punish those who displease him.
As a moderate Republican dependent on Democratic voters in one of the country’s bluest states, this caution has made him vulnerable to charges that he does too little to stand up to the White House.
Scott remains the most popular governor in the nation, with an approval rating of 75 percent, according to market research firm Morning Consult. Those numbers have slipped a bit, however, from 81 percent last year. Scott, 67, is up for reelection next year. While he has yet to say whether he’ll seek a sixth two-year term, his cautious strategy for dealing with Trump raises the question: Will he pay a political price?
He has faced a drumbeat of criticism from Democrats and Progressives who say he is not doing enough to oppose policies they see as damaging, including cuts to
Medicaid and food benefits, mass deportation of undocumented immigrants, and antagonism of Canada. And many rankand-file voters are livid about President Trump. Vermonters gained worldwide attention when they protested the administration during Vice President JD Vance’s family ski trip in March. They have turned out by the thousands at protests such as the mid-October No Kings rallies in 50 or so communities.
After two election cycles in which his Democratic opponents posed no serious threat, Scott now faces the possibility of a credible challenge. State Treasurer Mike Pieciak and Attorney General Charity Clark, both Democrats, are mentioned as potential candidates. Both have seized on Scott’s sometimes muted response to President Trump.
“It’s just become clear to me that the approach of being proactive, of fighting tooth and nail on all these things in the Trump agenda that are antithetical to Vermont values, is what this moment demands of us,” said Pieciak, who has declined to openly declare his candidacy, though he recently hired two experienced political operatives to work for him.
Trump’s policies, he said, sometimes “are not being met with very forceful pushback from the governor.”
Vermont Republicans aren’t all pleased, either. Some say Scott hasn’t given Trump the credit he richly deserves.
“I think that most Republicans would like to see the governor be a little more positive toward Trump than he has been,” said Paul Dame, chair of the Vermont GOP, citing Trump’s stronger border policies
“As long as I am criticized by both of
that it is better not to pick fights with
urged Vermonters to give the president
delegation. Sen. Bernie Sanders’ (I-Vt.) “Fight Oligarchy” tour, for instance, helped galvanize the resistance soon after Trump’s inauguration. Even Sen. Peter Welch (D-Vt.), who is known for reaching across the aisle, has been a fierce critic of the administration, accusing Trump of being “lawless” as well as “trampling the constitutional rights” of
Pieciak, for one, said that while he didn’t always agree with Scott’s strategy in the first few months of Trump’s second term, he understood the governor’s goal of trying to separate the rhetoric from the reality in the barrage of presidential directives and policy
But as the first year has unfurled, Pieciak said, it’s becoming clearer that Trump’s tactics are often illegal, his threats of reprisals hollow and his leanings authoritarian. He noted that law firms and universities threatened by Trump have shown they can push back and prevail. States such as Minnesota, where Democratic Gov. Tim Walz blasted Trump’s “ridiculous trade war,” haven’t faced retaliation so far, he said.
Others point to Janet Mills, the Democratic governor of Maine, as a model of how governors can stand up to Trump. During a February White House meeting with governors, Trump warned Mills that her state had “better comply” with his executive order barring trans athletes from school athletics.
She did not flinch. “See you in court,” she replied.
Widely circulated clips of the confrontation made Mills a star of the left. Maine has prevailed in court so far, and now she’s running for the seat held by Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine).
National political cartoonist Jeff Danziger, who lives in Dummerston, reflected the views of Vermonters hoping for a more Mills-like response from Scott in an April cartoon. It depicts Mills retorting to the president while Scott cowers under a chair labeled “Vermont.”
Danziger acknowledged that some Vermonters seem to appreciate that Scott is “not yelling and screaming” endlessly about Trump but said he finds the governor’s cautious approach odd for a guy who takes risks on the track as a race car driver.
“Some see the governor they want,” he said, “and some of us who want to see action are disappointed.”
Clark, the state attorney general, has also pushed back against the president’s policies, making her points in court. She has so far filed or joined 32 lawsuits against Trump administration actions.
Scott has at times supported Clark’s efforts, including her recent lawsuit to restore the $57 million Vermont was promised in the Solar for All program. In other cases, he has held back. When federal highway officials froze $16 million in electric vehicle infrastructure funds Vermont was expecting, the Scott administration did not support her legal challenge. It declined to provide her with evidence that withholding the money harmed the state, arguing that the feds hadn’t made a final decision and it wasn’t worth going to war over a relatively small amount of money. The Trump administration ultimately released the funds.
Concern about retaliation is part of the calculus. It was a factor when Vermont
chose not to join a multistate suit over fees that states collect for managing federal energy projects, according to Kerrick Johnson, commissioner of the Department of Public Service. Vermont was out only about $146,000.
There is growing evidence that Scott is right to worry that the Trump administration might withhold federal funds to punish states that didn’t support him. Last week Trump denied Vermont’s request for disaster assistance for July 10 flooding during which torrential rains washed out roads and caused other damage in communities including Lyndon, East Haven and West Burke. Trump also denied requests from Democratically controlled Maryland and Illinois, while approving requests from red states Alaska, Nebraska and North Dakota.
Figuring out how Vermont will be affected by an avalanche of federal policy changes has challenged state officials. Scott’s measured approach at times shows that he’s waiting for the impacts to become clearer.
For example, state officials have struggled to keep up with threats to SNAP, the federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program once known as food stamps. First, Washington tightened the eligibility rules on the program. Now the government shutdown threatens to suspend those federal benefits altogether on November 1, which would affect 65,000 low-income Vermonters. And the state’s interest in providing some relief using its own funds has been complicated, and may be prevented, by technical barriers created
by the shutdown. Scott said on Monday that he would support Vermont’s inclusion in a multistate lawsuit to protest the cuts; which Clark announced the following day.
State Rep. Charlie Kimbell (D-Woodstock) serves on the Statehouse committee grappling with SNAP. He said Scott could push back harder on Trump at times but thinks the governor, on balance, is doing as well as can be expected under trying circumstances.
“You could be the most talented manager, but when the goalposts keep moving it’s really hard to know what play to call,” Kimbell said.
Scott’s willingness to sue over SNAP differs from his approach this summer, when he yielded to a Trump administration demand and opened himself to another round of criticism at home. The feds, saying they wanted to root out fraud and abuse, called for states to turn over information about those who receive payments from SNAP. Most Democratic-led states refused to comply, but Vermont turned over recipients’ names, addresses and Social Security numbers in July.
Twenty-one other states took the administration to federal court, arguing that the data was protected by privacy laws. Earlier this month, a federal judge in California granted a temporary injunction, finding that the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s demand for data was likely unlawful.
That means sharing the personal data of
Vermonters with the federal government was unnecessary and likely illegal, said Anore Horton, executive director of Hunger Free Vermont, a nonprofit that advocates for the needy.
“They are choosing what feels like the safest path, but it’s imposing the greatest burden of harm on the absolutely most vulnerable people,” Horton said. “I don’t think that’s consistent with Vermont values.”
Pieciak, the state treasurer and potential gubernatorial candidate, described sharing the personal information of an estimated 140,000 people as “one of the largest data breaches in Vermont history.”
“This is the clearest example of how when the governor chooses not to fight, Vermonters lose,” Pieciak said.
Scott defended his decision, saying the federal government has a right to basic data about those receiving federally funded benefits — and already knows who those people are.
“It just seemed like we’re fighting over nothing, because they already have the information,” Scott told Seven Days in a wide-ranging interview last week.
Scott also noted a preliminary injunction by a lower court is far from a legal victory and said he expects the Trump administration will ultimately prevail.
“This isn’t over,” he said.
Scott’s compliance in surrendering the SNAP specifics contrasts with the way in which Secretary of State Sarah Copeland Hanzas, a Democrat, handled the Trump administration’s demand for the state’s voter data, including every registrant’s name, date
of birth, address, driver’s license number and Social Security number.
She refused to obey. “This … is highly sensitive data that I have an independent obligation to protect under state and federal law,” she told the U.S. Department of Justice.
Scott counters that the situations were different because food assistance is a federal program but the state runs elections.
Scott’s desire to avoid unnecessarily provoking Trump is clear to some of the people who work for him.
One non-cabinet level Scott appointee, who asked for anonymity out of fear of retaliation, said senior administration officials have taken an unusually close interest in public communications about policies or programs that might draw unwanted federal scrutiny.
neutrality in the face of clear harm is not leadership.
MAY HANLON
“The Scott administration has made it clear we are to keep our heads down,” the appointee told Seven Days. “This is not a time to resist. This is the politics of appeasement.”
Jill Martin Diaz, executive director with the Vermont Asylum Assistance Project, said Scott administration officials are seeking to avoid Trump’s ire and have become hypervigilant about terminology, particularly when it comes to people detained by ICE and held in Vermont prisons. Scott administration officials discussed at length how to refer to prison visits by the group’s lawyers, Martin Diaz said, declining to use the term “clinic” to avoid the impression Vermont was doing anything “extra” for immigrants.
“They seem very preoccupied with word choice as part of their strategy to stay below the radar in Bernie Sanders’ Vermont,” Martin Diaz said.
This semantic sensitivity was apparent on Monday when Jon Murad, the interim commissioner of the Department of Corrections, explained in testimony to lawmakers that people brought in by ICE aren’t tracked separately or even referred to as “ICE detainees.” Rather, he said, they are called “immigration detainees.”
Language aside, Democratic lawmakers have taken Scott to task for renewing Vermont’s contract to hold federal immigration detainees in state prisons.
In March, ICE agents plucked Tufts University grad student Rumeysa Ozturk off a street outside Boston, stuffed her into an unmarked car and held her in Vermont overnight before shipping her to an ICE detention center in Louisiana. That case and others prompted some Vermont lawmakers to demand that the state simply stop making its prison space available to ICE.
“I think we need to be a leader on this and just say no,” Sen. Tanya Vyhovsky (P/DChittenden-Central) said. “People are being disappeared and moved out of their home communities and moved quickly so that lawyers don’t know where they are and [they] can’t get access to legal help, and we are complicit in that.”
Scott had a different take. If Vermont refused to house the detainees, they’d simply be whisked away to more-distant states, farther from families and legal assistance, he asserted. Scott ultimately signed a renewed agreement nearly identical to the old one — but with slightly higher payments to the state.
The Scott administration also declined an opportunity to defy the Trump administration in solidarity with other Northeast states that banded together to issue joint COVID-19 vaccine guidelines. The initiative was intended to counter restrictions on eligibility for COVID-19 vaccines announced by Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
In mid-September, seven states and New York City jointly encouraged more widespread use of vaccines. Vermont did not sign on to the recommendations but issued its own, similar guidelines.
Anne Sosin, a public health researcher at Dartmouth College, said regional initiatives such as this one by the Northeast Public Health Collaborative are vital as public guidance from the federal government loses credibility.
“I worry that Gov. Scott is letting politics drive the decision-making of the process around public health,” Sosin said.
To learn more about what and who drove the decision not to join the announcement, Seven Days requested emails between senior Scott administration officials and the Vermont Department of Health. Officials declined to release them, on grounds that the state’s public records law provides an executive privilege exemption to protect internal administration discussions on policy development.
Human Services Secretary Jenney Samuelson said Vermont collaborates
Gov. Phil Scott
To say I would rather have someone else in the White House would be an understatement.
GOV. PHIL SCOTT
with other health departments in New England on many issues but didn’t sign the vaccine memo for timing reasons, not political ones.
“There wasn’t a directive not to participate,” Samuelson said. “There wasn’t enough time for the governor’s office and the governor’s office staff to evaluate what they were being asked to sign on to.”
to patrol the streets of Washington, D.C. In both instances, Scott said the work involved did not suit the Guard’s role. When the state can work with lower-level federal officials to find a path forward without lawsuits, state officials will do so, he said. Maintaining relationships with federal agencies is crucial and may have helped the state secure an unexpected $27 million in federal funds to rebuild the aging bridge between Burlington and Winooski, he said.
Scott said he understands that some would like him to be more vocal and more critical of everything Trump says or does. However, that would play right into Trump’s hands, he contended.
“His trap is to cause turmoil,” Scott said. “He’s like a typhoon, and everyone is chasing their tail on a daily basis about something he says or does that is petty and unpresidential.”
It’s smarter, Scott said, to separate fact from fiction and focus on the policy changes that have actual impacts on the state. When it’s clear that an initiative is illegal or contrary to Vermont values, Scott said, he’s shown he’s willing to push back.
Mike Smith headed state agencies under Scott and former governor Jim Douglas and has become known as a fix-it man for Vermont organizations in trouble. Scott’s deliberative approach, he said, strikes him as exactly how someone with a state to run should respond.
As an example, he cited his handling of Trump’s two requests for the governor to deploy the Vermont National Guard — first to ICE detention facilities and then
“I think he’s playing it real smart,” Smith said. Efforts by political opponents to tie Scott to Trump won’t work because voters know him too well, Smith said. Scott agreed. He said he respects the office of the president and the will of the voters who elected Trump. But anyone who suggests he has an affinity for the president or his policies, he said, is mistaken.
“To say I would rather have someone else in the White House would be an understatement,” Scott said. ➆
Vermonters now spend 19.6% of their income on healthcare compared to the national average of just 7.9%.* That hurts every person in our community and the overall well-being of our state. Consider these comparisons of local costs:
There are many complex reasons for this crisis and no one entity or individual can fix it. That’s why our organizations have come together to be part of the solution. We invite you to join us, take action, and explore these tips to make more affordable care choices.
• Compare the costs of procedures at hospitals to those at accredited outpatient or ambulatory surgery centers.
• For medical imaging, compare costs at network and community hospitals and independent facilities to find the most affordable option.
• Ask your provider about using generic medications in place of more costly brand name drugs.
• For a clear picture of your medical costs, ask the facility for a written estimate beforehand. Following your service, an itemized bill can help you understand the specific charges and confirm the details of your care.
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• If you have a health plan, it pays to understand your covered benefits in advance of a procedure or service. Review your Outline of Benefits or call your health plan’s customer service team.
• Using “in-network” providers is more affordable and can help you avoid surprise expenses.
• Take advantage of free or low-cost screenings and preventive care programs.
• Ask how quickly you can get an appointment, as many independent facilities and community hospitals offer much shorter wait times, not to mention evening or weekend appointments, convenient access, and free parking.
Burlington ceramic artist Gretchen Verplanck has found success with her wildly popular “Scary Monsters”
BY MARY ANN LICKTEIG • maryann@sevendaysvt.com
Sometimes, success keeps strange company. Burlington artist Gretchen Verplanck found it amid a horde of cheeky monsters.
In July 2024, Verplanck and staffers at Frog Hollow Vermont Craft Gallery in Burlington waded through a sea of boxes to unpack 75 ceramic monsters she had made. The artist initially booked for that month’s gallery show had dropped out, and Verplanck, then 54, was a last-minute sub. The invitation was a nice boost to her fledgling art career. But she had no idea that she was about to unleash a frenzy.
Twenty years after giving up on a ceramics career, Verplanck had recommitted to the art four years earlier. She had cleaned out her garage studio and begun making intricate boxes with animals perched on the lids, vases shaped like people, and octopi candleholders, which Frog Hollow couldn’t keep in stock.
She hadn’t yet exhibited the monsters anywhere. That day at Frog Hollow, they emerged from the boxes one after another, sporting polka dots, hats, golden horns, hairy bodies, cheeky grins, wry smiles, and varying numbers of teeth or fangs. Customers were smitten. They started buying pieces as Verplanck was unpacking them. “This is going to be big, Gretchen,” then-gallery director Daniel Zeese told her.
So many monsters got snapped up ahead of the show’s
opening reception that Zeese suggested she go home and make more. “And I was like, Oh, my god, did I figure something out?” she recalled.
Finally, after leaving her art career; raising two kids; and working as a caterer, color consultant, bookkeeper, sandblaster, and server slinging pizza and beer, Verplanck, always an artist at heart, had found professional validation. “There is a market for me in what I want to do,” she said. “I just had to find it.”
Since that day, she has sold 700 of her “Scary Monsters.” Her Big Girl Company — husband Nat Woodard is her sole employee — has shipped monsters across the U.S. and to Canada, the UK and Germany. Each comes with a name, a bio and Verplanck’s hand-drawn doodles on the shipping box. No two monsters are alike.
While Verplanck tries to keep a few at two local galleries — Thirty-odd in Burlington and Front Four Gallery in Stowe — she sells mostly online, where she aims to offer monthly drops or lotteries of new collections. Three thousand people visited her website for her September drop, when 50 monsters sold in two minutes.
The audacious ogres celebrate humanity in all of its shapes, sizes and moods. All are lovable when rendered by Verplanck. She gives each monster a unique personality, which may be generous, goofy, quirky or extremely annoying. Regardless, said Burlington potter Dan Siegel,
“They just feel like they have kind souls.”
Verplanck has disarmed dreadful and made it endearing. “Bruce” is a toadish, gossipy community theater director conversant in dramas on and off the stage. Sleepy-eyed “Carson” likes to smoke weed and pretend he’s not from a rich family. Wideeyed, four-armed “Tina” is a hot mess and an excessively cheerful close talker. Meanwhile, “Maria,” matriarch of a large family, exhibits unmatched skill for multitasking — and micromanaging — and the minimally designed “Carla” Marie Kondo-ed her house and binge-watches “Real Housewives.”
inches tall. She has begun o ering a few in online auctions. “Geo rey,” a 10-inch-tall, eye-rolling egomaniac wearing a crown, went for a record $5,678 this month.
For Verplanck, who grew up middle-class and has lived paycheckto-paycheck most of her adult life, accepting that much money for her work has been a philosophical challenge.
Each monster starts as a hollow clay cylinder. Verplanck works quickly and without a plan. She cuts the legs, forms the crotch, builds the feet and then assembles the rest of the body. If a creature wears pajamas and bunny slippers, she knits a blanket to tuck under its arm. Monsters in flip-flops might tote a terry cloth beach towel or wear a ceramic starfish splayed atop their head.
Each appears e ortlessly made, “like it was just born into existence,” Siegel said. “That shows a really great deal of mastery.”
Most monsters stand squarely on two feet, facing the world head-on as if to say, Here I am — warts, claws, horns and all.
Verplanck exhibits the same unapologetic authenticity. She once created a series of “oversharing plates,” covered with pictures and tiny text detailing her life’s most embarrassing moments. She wears colorful overalls festooned with flowers and paints her fingernails chartreuse and teal. Her hair is “Twisted Plum,” a reddish-purple color she calls “Old Lady Montréal.” If not tamed into a ponytail, it tumbles to her shoulders, as if one of those birds’ nests she likes to perch on a monster head exploded in the kiln.
She posts videos on multiple social media platforms several times a week, which is undoubtedly a key to her success — she has 118,000 followers between TikTok and Instagram. Viewers can watch her work, meet monsters in various stages of production, look over her shoulder as she lifts the lid of her kiln — “I’m living for these kiln reveals,” one gushed — and hear her confessions.
“Look at me, I’m all hot and sweaty,” she said one August morning in a video that showed her sitting on her couch, sans makeup, next to her dog, Migs. She thanked everyone who had shown up online for her drop the previous day and empathized with people who didn’t get a monster. She takes on the frustration and disappointment they share with her, she said, as the video took on a therapy vibe: “I’m trying to have a little bit of a boundary,” Verplanck said, “but I haven’t gotten there yet.”
“My old self would not have been able to a ord a piece,” she told me. From the start, people told her that she needed to charge more. Her monsters are labor-intensive. From sculpting, drying, blackwashing, glazing, decorating, naming and writing backstories, they take days to complete. Most get fired three times. “It’s OK to make enough money to potentially have a retirement account,” she has realized. Still: “I want people who don’t have a lot of money to be able to get something that they feel happy about.”
Verplanck grew up in Wickford, R.I., the daughter of a fishmonger and a nanny turned Chamber of Commerce exec. Her parents split when she was a teen. After underwhelming high school art classes — “I basically was given books and pencils to draw with,” she said — she enrolled at Rhode Island College in 1988, when she was 17. She
THEY JUST FEEL LIKE THEY HAVE KIND SOULS.
DAN SIEGEL
went to one class, worked at a restaurant, partied and dropped out.
The next semester, to avoid moving home, she enrolled at Goddard College, the only school still accepting applications. “I wanted to do art, and I wanted to go to nightclubs and work in restaurants and drink and snort cocaine,” she said. But she settled in and met her future husband, Woodard, the son of an instructor, and pottery teacher Charlotte Potok, who introduced her to clay. She loved the medium and worked hard, but Goddard was tiny. Recognizing Verplanck’s talent, Potok pointed her to the New York State College of Ceramics at Alfred University, the premier ceramics institution in the country.
six years, she stopped pursuing an art career. She kept the studio she had set up in her detached garage, but it gradually filled with junk. “I just fumbled around for a really long time,” she said. Most recently, she worked as a server at American Flatbread in Burlington, where she built the elaborate tile mural at the host stand.
About six years ago, she visited Siegel’s studio and left feeling jealous of his career. What am I doing? she asked herself. I really want that. She emptied the garage, painted it, and installed a new floor and window. Then the COVID19 pandemic arrived, freeing Verplanck from her job at Flatbread, supplying unemployment income and erasing her excuses. And she started sculpting again. She went back to work at Flatbread for a stint, but since early 2024, she has been making art full time.
Casting about for things to make in January of that year, she eyed a monster head hanging on her studio wall. She’d made it years earlier and hadn’t even glazed it. She’d just stuck it on a plaque, like a deer trophy. I should figure that out, she thought.
She soon found herself surrounded by monsters.
“I was making all this work — and really excited about it — with absolutely no idea what I was gonna do with it at all,” she said. “It was piling up.” But the characters intrigued her, and she felt compelled to keep exploring. She planned to exhibit at the South End Art Hop that fall, but in the meantime, Frog Hollow called. She had to make a whole new show for Art Hop.
Monsters now generate enough income to support Verplanck and her husband. Even if they weren’t selling, she said, she’d still be making them because she wants to explore people’s relationships to their demons and monsters’ relationships to each other. She completes about seven each week. More, she said, “want to come out.”
And people can’t wait to meet them. The kiln reveal she posted on TikTok last week got 1 million views. Her September video introducing “Bobby” and “Garrett,” two monsters wearing Halloween costumes, sparked similar enthusiasm. “I want both of them!!!” one fan replied. “I’d even sell my kidney.”
Monster prices vary depending on size, detail and the amount of gold — real gold — that adorns their horns, claws and an occasional tooth. Generally, they range from $100 for the smallest ones to $2,000 for those 12 to 14
Verplanck completed her junior and senior years there. “I had humongous studios, a tile teacher, a throwing teacher, a ceramic-sculpture teacher,” she said, but no one taught “how to sell your work when you get out or even how to pack your work.”
Aware of those disappointed fans unable to buy a monster, a follower named Mike in Massachusetts sent back one he had purchased and asked Verplanck to give it to someone who couldn’t a ord one. He also paid $100 for a mini monster and asked Verplanck to give it away. “That’s the kind of people I want to be friends with,” she said. “I am not an angel. I am a judgy, snarky person,” she clarified. But, “I love that people are kind to each other when it really counts.”
Still, she tried to make a go of it. After college, she and Woodard moved to Burlington, where she shared studio space with other potters. “Their stu was selling, but mine was not,” Verplanck said. People wanted mugs and vases, “and I was making tattoo plates or polka-dot punch bowls.”
Some artists seek to make grand statements with their work, she said, but “I’m not trying to say anything about anything other than just: Lighten up.”
California collector Amy Rambacher owns 10 monsters, including “Geo rey.” “With all the crazy stu going on in the world, I like to surround myself with art that cheers me up and reminds me that there’s still good, beauty and humor around us,” she said. The monsters line a shelf in her living room.
She found some success exhibiting at shows for emerging artists but had to fight the art-world bias that dismisses ceramics as craft, not fine art.
Verplanck misses them when they’re gone. She hasn’t kept a single one. ➆
Disappointments mounted. After
INFO
Learn more at biggirlcompany.com.
deer” in Vermont. He also explained some of the challenges that have left him almost alone in the sector.
During the dairy crisis of the late 1980s, Dimuzio said, a New York deer farmer was among those who pitched the Vermont legislature on the promise of farmed venison. “He said, ‘Deer will take a back 40 that’s not really good for anything, and they’ll make it profitable. It’s a great protein, a great meat,’” Dimuzio recounted.
Like most farmed meat, the venison Hank Dimuzio raises in Middlebury is available year-round.
But over the three decades he’s sold his deer cuts to local restaurants and stores, Dimuzio has noticed that Vermonters’ appetite for the lean, iron-rich protein spikes when leaves turn crimson and woodsmoke starts to tendril from chimneys.
Not coincidentally, those sights and smells also herald Vermont deer-hunting season, which generally runs from October 1 through December 15.
Nonhunters in the mood for venison-and-mushroom stew or loin medallions with cranberry sauce may find a hunting neighbor willing to share. Vermont permits the sale of wild-caught deer during hunting season and for the 20 days following, but that e ectively applies only to private transactions because of restaurant and retail food-safety and meat-processing inspection requirements, according to Nick Fortin of the Vermont Fish & Wildlife Department.
When it comes to farmed deer meat, anything local in a butcher case or on a restaurant menu is almost certainly the product of Dimuzio’s LedgEnd Farm.
In Vermont, “he is the only one doing what he’s doing,” state veterinarian Dr. Kaitlynn Levine said. “Hank is truly unique in both his staying power and his consistency.”
LedgEnd Farm was not always so unique. Toward the end of the 1990s, when Dimuzio started farming fallow deer — named for the animal’s pale brown
color — there were several dozen operations raising deer for meat, he said. Today, according to Levine, Dimuzio is the only one still regularly processing and selling such farmed venison.
Sitting on his porch with a view of the fenced fields where some of his 600 animals grazed, the 74-year-old retired physician recalled “the heyday of farmed
The legislature decided to legalize farming of a few cervids, including fallow and red deer, in 1988. These species, originally from Europe and Asia, do not interbreed with native white-tailed deer; the latter may not be farmed or held in captivity in Vermont due to disease transmission risks to the wild population.
Around the same time, Dimuzio started his medical career in Vermont, but he also had entrepreneurial and back-to-the-land yearnings. The self-described hippie — who wears professorial spectacles, bushy white facial hair and a rattail braid curling down his back — said he always loved being outdoors and wanted to farm.
In 1991, Dimuzio and his first wife bought a 229-acre former dairy farm in Middlebury. “I was not looking to be a gentleman farmer,” he said. “I wanted to be hands-on, but it had to be compatible with emergency medicine, which is shift work, so milking cows or goats was out. I’m not a bird person, so chickens, emus, whatever: No, thank you.”
Intrigued by the idea of deer farming, Dimuzio studied up and, in 1995, bought about 50 fallow deer from two brothers in New Haven who had decided they were too much to manage alongside their other businesses.
Fallow deer appealed to Dimuzio for several reasons, not the least of which was their size, which rarely exceeds four feet tall and 150 pounds. “I’m small, and they’re small,” said the farmer, who described himself as “five foot six and shrinking.”
“They’re very beautiful animals,” he added, who keep their endearing Bambi spots for life and have sculptural antlers like moose.
The deer are pretty self-su cient: They graze the farm’s pastures, stay outside much of the year and require minimal care. Most important to his business plan, Dimuzio read that fallow deer were “touted as being some of the best venison
BY MELISSA PASANEN • pasanen@sevendaysvt.com
PASCOLO RISTORANTE will end an almost three-year run at 120 Church Street in Burlington on December 31 and reopen in its original, smaller subterranean home at 83 Church Street in January 2026. JED DAVIS, owner of the FARMHOUSE GROUP, which owns Pascolo and four other Chittenden County restaurants, confirmed timing details by text. Pascolo’s move leaves the 140-seat restaurant at 120 Church Street, the former longtime home of Sweetwaters, empty and back in the hands of DAVID MELINCOFF, who owned Sweetwaters when it closed in 2022.
In an email about the future of the space, Melinco said, “All ideas are on the table — including the possibility of bringing back Sweetwaters in some form.” Over the phone, he elaborated that he’s open to “people coming to us with their ideas, including iterations on Sweetwaters.”
The 83 Church Street space to which Pascolo will return was its location for close to nine years. That restaurant has been vacant since August, when Riko’s Pizza closed after less than eight months in business.
Davis declined to elaborate on the reasons for Pascolo’s move beyond saying by text, “Over the past couple of years, our guests have often commented that they missed the ambiance and warmth of 83 Church. The space became available, and we decided to return home.”
He said customers can expect the “same menu, same sta , same everything ... plus a few little surprises.”
The restaurant at 83 Church Street has a wood-fired pizza oven, which 120 Church Street lacked, so diners may see a return of Pascolo’s popular wood-fired pies.
In addition to Pascolo, the Farmhouse Group owns the FARMHOUSE TAP & GRILL in Burlington and Williston, EL CORTIJO TAQUERIA in Burlington, and GUILD TAVERN in South Burlington. Davis’ newer restaurant group, AWESOME TIMES, operates three locations of BLISS BEE in Williston and South Burlington and plans to open SPAGHET RED SAUCE JOINT in Williston by the end of this year.
Davis has been frank about the di culties of running businesses in Burlington over the past few years, describing the situation as “potentially an existential crisis” in January. “We’re not going anywhere, but it is challenging,” he said.
JITTERS CAFÉ & LOUNGE aims to launch in early December at 142 Bank Street, in the ground-floor corner unit of the newly opened, long-awaited Burlington Square. Co-owner TIM LAPRADE, a University of Vermont alum, recently celebrated the 13th anniversary of his original Jitters Café in Melrose, Mass. With the Vermont location, LaPrade is expanding, both geographically and with a broader menu of food and drink through the evening.
LaPrade, 44, co-owns the Burlington Jitters with three local partners, including GEORGE MARTIN and hands-on operating co-owner SIERRA BEARDSWORTH, who was assistant manager at EB STRONG’S
by chefs worldwide.” The newly minted farmer had little trouble signing up his first few restaurant customers.
Neil Solis, chef and co-owner of Burlington’s Daily Planet, has bought LedgEnd venison for about 15 years while cooking at various restaurants. For local venison, “Hank’s the guy, and he’s cool, too,” Solis said.
Solis counts farmed venison among the “good, sustainable meats,” he said. He is also a bow hunter and said he finds the flavor of the wild and farmed meat comparable; texture is where “a farmraised animal is a different thing.” Wild game can be quite tough, but LedgEnd’s legs are “fork-and-knife tender,” and the loin “is like butter,” the chef said.
When Solis puts loin on the menu, perhaps with a blueberry sauce over mashed sweet potatoes or risotto, he always sells out. Other hits have included a burger crowned with blue cheese and jalapeños, as well as meatballs in a roasted grape-and-tomato sauce that sold so fast they became “annoying, because we had to make so many,” Solis said with a laugh.
Venison is not for everyone, he noted, particularly customers who want their meat well done, which does not suit the low-fat protein. Unlike beef, venison has no marbling from intramuscular fat, although many seek it out for that reason. “People often ask me where I get it,” Solis said.
Dimuzio also cautions cooks against taking his venison past medium when grilled, roasted or pan-seared. In my home kitchen, LedgEnd loin chops that were just a little larger than local lamb chops grilled up tender and sweet, not the least bit gamy, in a few minutes per side. Naturally tougher cuts, such as stew meat or shanks, are well suited to long cooking in stock or wine. Dimuzio said his wife, Rhonda Roberts, makes a great braise with shanks and winter root vegetables.
The couple hunt, too, and shared some of their personal stash of wild white-tailed venison for a side-by-side burger test. Simply seasoned with salt and pepper, both meats yielded a flavorful patty but with markedly different textures: The fallow deer cooked up more like beef, while the white-tailed was denser and bouncier.
LedgEnd deer spend much of their lives out on about 100 acres of fenced pasture and wooded copses. They eat mostly grass with some fermented haylage during the winter and a little grain as a treat when needed to manage them.
Dimuzio noted that the animals are decidedly not domesticated. “We have not
HANK IS TRULY UNIQUE IN BOTH HIS STAYING POWER AND HIS CONSISTENCY.
DR. KAITLYNN LEVINE
taken the fight or flight out of the animal,” he said. “The bucks will fight to the death, especially if there are does around.”
A walk through his fields confirmed Dimuzio’s assertion. When humans approached, bucks standing under tall trees headed deeper into the shade. In
name for an unusually human-friendly deer. “He ate apples out of my mouth. He probably would have let me put a cardigan sweater on him,” Dimuzio said with a smile. “We bred him a lot, and I think that helped with the herd.”
In one field, does clustered around haylage bales, and a couple of fawns scaled them, nibbling as they went, like goats. Due to this summer’s drought, Dimuzio had to start feeding bales in late August, about six weeks earlier than usual, a new record. He feels lucky that he had 100 bales left from last year’s harvest on the now 420-acre conserved property.
Feeding his animals from his land is the difference between profit and loss, Dimuzio said. Other major challenges have included finding a reliable slaughterhouse partner and the time and effort he invests into being his own salesman and distributor. The farmer personally delivers to about a dozen restaurants, independent retail stores and co-ops around the state. Margins are too tight to add a middleman, Dimuzio said. Swings in consumer and chef tastes and trends have also proven difficult to ride over the decades. “Some years, I cannot keep venison in stock. It just flies out. Other years, I’m just sitting around begging for people to buy it,” Dimuzio lamented. Farmed venison is never going to be the next chicken, but “I don’t want it to be so niche that it’s niche-niche,” Dimuzio said. “I want it to be a local or regional product that a number of farmers can make a good living on.”
Dimuzio, who retired from medicine in 2016, acknowledged that he’s never made his living off the farm but also noted that he invested a lot of money as a first-generation farmer. He understands that the high cost of land and infrastructure are significant barriers to anyone looking to farm deer today — it currently works best as supplemental income, he noted — though he would welcome others. Dimuzio misses having fellow deer farmers with whom to share advice, commiserate, and band together to build and meet demand.
This fall has been good for venison sales. Dimuzio said he hasn’t yet had time to change the seasonal deer-themed song on his landline answering machine.
another paddock, does and fawns leaped gracefully away, tails bobbing.
Over the years, the farmer has bred for gentler animals to help with herd dynamics and easier handling. “That’s Mister Rogers’ knoll,” Dimuzio said, pointing to a rise in the distance. The moniker was his pet
In tribute to hunting season, he’ll warble a riff on Bob Marley’s “I Shot the Sheriff”: “I shot the fallow, but I did it for the venison.” ➆
INFO
Learn more at ledgendfarm.com.
During
BY JORDAN BARRY jbarry@sevendaysvt.com
How do you get a crowd to show up for dinner in Bristol at 5 p.m. on a Monday? If you’re Katherine Patel, you blast some Bollywood music and serve Western Indian flavors that don’t miss.
Patel, 26, founded Garam Tava Club in March. Now, she’s self-employed full time with catering gigs and regular fall pop-ups at Tandem in Bristol and Red Wagon Plants in Hinesburg. e business is a tribute to her wife, who is from Mumbai.
“She was teaching me all of her recipes, sharing stories and memories, re-creating it in a really diasporic way,” said Patel, an avid home cook with a professional background in coffee and wine. “As someone who’s as into food and taste and flavor as I am — and to impress her — I wanted to learn and to bring that flavor of home here and share it with people.”
Western Indian food is hard to find in Vermont, where North Indian and IndianNepali dishes dominate. Cuisine from Mumbai and its surrounding provinces is “really textural; it’s really fragrant,” Patel said. “It’s very light but also sustaining.”
It’s also largely vegetarian, and that’s been Patel’s focus with Garam Tava Club so far.
“I haven’t run out of things to do with vegetables yet,” she said with a laugh.
To introduce Vermonters to as many dishes as possible, Patel rotates 40 to 60 percent of her menu monthly — and even more for the complex desserts that take days to prepare. She does some traveling to hunt for spices but sources many ingredients from Naan Sense Grocery, an Indian store in Williston.
I was an instant fan after trying Patel’s food in May. When I saw that Garam Tava Club would kick off a Monday-night series of women-run global food pop-ups at Tandem in October, I preordered too fast to remember to ask my husband what he wanted.
We showed up early to find Jess Messer and Lauren Gammon’s multiuse space packed. Between 4:30 and 6:30, Patel made 269 plates for takeout and dine-in customers, she said.
We grabbed drinks from Messer, who served her Savouré sodas and clever cocktails to match the menu. I slowly sipped an autumnal pear, fig leaf and gin Tree of Life ($12) at one of two long communal tables. My toddler slurped his mango lassi ($5) in mere minutes.
Garam Tava Club’s most popular item is the Bombay Frankie ($11), a “cult classic” street dish from Mumbai, Patel explained, of roti filled with richly spiced potato; shredded carrot, cabbage and onion; green chutney; and fresh chile vinegar. Patel rolls each flatbread by hand with a thin belan rolling pin and cooks them on a tava, a flat steel pan used on the stovetop.
the pan for good luck — the full moniker translates as Hot Skillet Club. e dish is a perfect example of the textural contrast Patel loves: chewy roti, soft potato and crunchy vegetables amped up with vibrant spices and a touch of heat. She also sells a lot of pav, an impossibly soft eggless dinner roll originally brought to Mumbai from Portugal. We had one on the side of a very tasty samosa chaat ($12), and friends dipped theirs into misal pav ($10), a sprouted moth-bean curry. Continuing the texture trend, I somehow found room for a bowl of bhel ($9): crunchy puffed rice with fried chickpea noodles called sev, peanuts, cucumber, tomato, onion, lime and Patel’s tangy homemade chutneys.
Whatever’s on the menu next, I’ll be there. Garam Tava Club will host Friday pop-ups in the beautiful Bake Shop at Red Wagon Plants on November 7 and 21 and will return to Tandem on Monday, November 17. e Bollywood tunes will be blaring. ➆
Follow @garamtavaclub on Instagram to
“It’s the most auspicious utensil in the kitchen,” she said. She named her biz after
learn
PRIME STEAKHOUSE on Church Street. LaPrade said he was looking to expand the Jitters brand when the Burlington opportunity arose.
“I have ties up there and also have people up there who can help me,” he noted.
The daytime menu at the new Jitters will replicate that of the original, with pastries, breakfast sandwiches, espresso drinks, panini, deli sandwiches and salads. New in Burlington will be a small-plates evening menu with a full bar. LaPrade said Beardsworth is hiring a team, including a chef who will help develop that menu, which is likely to include dishes such as spinach-artichoke dip, sliders and charcuterie boards.
LaPrade acknowledged the challenges of doing business in downtown Burlington but said he has faith that the new project will help “bring it back.” He and his Jitters co-owners look forward to being one of the anchors of Burlington Square, he said, and “providing a spark to get more people walking around the city.”
Fair Haven will get a new from-scratch bakery, café and deli when OLD SCHOOL BAGELS BAKERY AND CAFÉ opens on October 29 at 73 Main Street in the former Ruby’s Bistro & Bakery space. Seasoned restaurateur BOB WORKMAN and his wife, KATE, decided to open the business six years after moving from Florida to Fair Haven. The 25-seat café will serve breakfast and lunch Wednesday through Sunday and offer a wide range of bread and baked goods.
Workman, 73, said his hand-formed bagels, which are kettle-boiled and then baked, are modeled on a classic New York City bagel. The bakery will also offer loaves of white, wheat, cinnamon-raisin and deli rye bread, plus baguettes and
New York hard rolls. All will be made with organic flour, organic sweeteners and no seed oils, Workman said.
The hard rolls will star in the café’s signature breakfast sandwich with egg, cheese and New Jersey-sourced Taylor pork roll. Workman promised he will offer “a kickass hot pastrami on rye” and other deli faves. He will make pizza bread — panuozzo in Italian — for panini sandwiches. The lunch menu will include hot soup and chili, salads, and daily specials.
Among the baked goods will be croissants, cinnamon rolls, muffins, cupcakes, cookies, brownies and a New York cheesecake, which Workman described as “rich, fairly dense and creamy on a graham cracker crust.”
The delicacy is called Kate’s Cheesecake after his wife of 50 years. A business by that name is among the many Workman has owned or run over a five-decade career in Florida, upstate New York and Nashua, N.H.
When the couple first moved to Fair Haven, Workman took a job baking for area schools, then he started his own home-based bakery. “I’ve been retired 10 times,” he said with a laugh. ➆
NOV 3 ONYX/STICKY FINGAZ BDAY NOV 7 THE LOONZ. NO COVER NOV 8
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EVAN JENNISON & FRIENDS
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Vermont horror author Joe Citro resurrects his short stories and reveals the real-life tales behind them
BY DAN BOLLES
• dan@sevendaysvt.com
In his 1842 review of Nathaniel Hawthorne’s short story collection
Twice-Told Tales , Edgar Allan Poe laid out his definition of a short story. Namely, it should be short — readable in one sitting — and more unified in tone, mood and scope than a novel. “During the hour of perusal,” quoth “The Raven” author, “the soul of the reader is at the writer’s control.”
For the past three decades, Joe Citro, 77, has served as Vermont’s preeminent
chronicler of spooky Green Mountain lore. Through painstakingly researched accounts of child vampires in Woodstock, winged cryptids in St. Albans and red-eyed monsters in Bennington, he’s captivated the hearts and imaginations of generations of readers. With his new book, False Memories & Eldritch Interludes, Citro is coming for their souls. (But only for an hour or so at a time, and then he promises to give them back.)
Published in September and illustrated
Chinese restaurants, Citro pulls back the curtain on the real-life events that inspired it — or, in some cases, followed its publication. Like the time one reader, angry that a certain story hewed too close to real life, showed up to a reading with a gun. No shots were fired, and no one was harmed, though Citro remains spooked to this day.
“I was looking over my shoulder for a long time afterward,” he writes. “Even now, I’m not sure I can drop my guard…” Most of Citro’s memoir-ish “eldritch interludes” are less dramatic but no less revealing, o ering a window on the formative influences of a man who’s spent a lifetime scaring the bejesus out of his readers.
“When I’m talking about my fi ction, the thing people ask me most often is ‘Why would you even think of that?’” Citro said recently from the sitting room of his Windsor home. The collection, he went on, is a chance to demystify his storytelling, particularly for those who may wish to write themselves. “It reconstructs the process of constructing the fi ction from fragments of my own life,” he said.
“I call the book False Memories,” Citro continued, “because I think really what short stories are — maybe what all fiction is — is just a reconstruction of a memory, an elaboration of it, morphing a bit of life into fiction.”
Citro has never been held hostage to bargain for his eternal soul, like Carl Congdon in “Soul Keeper,” a story that was first published in 1990 and later made into a short film by a team of locals. But each of his stories contains bits and pieces of himself, none more than “Kirby” (see sidebar) about a childhood friend who was much more than he seemed.
“There’s a lot of my real-life adolescence in that story,” Citro said, adding that many of its people and places were drawn from his hometown of Chester. “If any of these stories can be said to have depth, I think that one does.”
by Vermont artist Corey Furman, the book is the most complete collection of Citro’s short fiction to date. Its seven entries include stories that appeared in prestigious literary magazines and anthologies; they range from the first short story Citro ever published, for his high school newspaper in the mid-1960s, to his last, for Seven Days in 2002.
In an afterword to each tale of mysterious hill folk, abusive husbands or cursed
Before he became known as Vermont’s “Bard of the Bizarre” through his haunted history writings, Citro was a successful horror novelist. False Memories is part of his e ort to get his fi ction back in circulation. From 1987 to 1994, he released fi ve novels, including his fi rst and most successful, Shadow Child . All but his last, Deus-X, have been rereleased in expanded editions, including The Gore earlier this year.
Citro is currently at work on a nonfiction project that, while not about ghosts or UFOs, will be typically macabre, he promised. He expects False Memories to be his last short story collection.
Almost immediately I heard the most soul-shattering cry of terror I’ve ever heard in my life.
Stevie Petty came staggering backward from the alley. When he was clear of the opening, he turned. His face was white as chalk dust, his eyes wide and glazed. His mouth hung open; the muscles in his cheeks looked like they were paralyzed.
en he started to run, his chunky arms and legs pumping like crazy. I can’t recall ever seeing a human being move so fast. When the guys surrounding me saw their leader beating a retreat in obvious terror, they moved after him, bumping into each other and crying out as if the horror were contagious.
My eyes were glued on the mouth of the alley, and I started backing away, not sure if I dared turn my back on it long enough to run.
In a moment, Kirby walked out of the alley. His happy face was wrinkled in a bright smile and he was laughing with obvious delight. “ ought I was su’pose to meet you at the soda fountain,” he said. en he giggled like he’d just heard the funniest joke in the world.
Over Cherry Cokes, and during the rest of the school year, I tried to get Kirby to tell me what he had done to Stevie Petty in that alleyway. All he’d ever say was, “I never touched him.” … But I’ll never forget that look on Stevie Petty’s face. It was as if he’d got a close-up look at the devil.
“I don’t write short stories anymore,” he said. “I’m too long-winded.” ➆
False Memories & Eldritch Interludes by Joseph A. Citro, Bat Books, 210 pages. $12.59.
BY MARY ANN LICKTEIG maryann@sevendaysvt.com
Daniel Zeese has left Burlington’s Frog Hollow Vermont Craft Gallery after nearly four years as executive director. Zeese, 37, has moved to Sante Fe, N.M., where his partner has accepted a new job.
Gallery board president Kelly O’Neal said in an email that she and fellow board members are grateful for Zeese’s devotion to Frog Hollow “and the work he did to establish a strong team, support Vermont artists through curatorial work, and further our mission of promoting Vermont craft.”
Shannon Gillespie has been named gallery manager in the wake of Zeese’s October 17 departure and will share director duties with inventory and operations manager Alex Green, an arrangement, Zeese told Seven Days, that he recommended. “I told the board, ‘Not only do I trust these people, but every one of our artists trusts Alex and Shannon and has a relationship with them.’”
O’Neal did not say whether the current arrangement is intended to be permanent. Gillespie, 33, joined the gallery in 2022 to manage shipping and the website, which she rebuilt. An artist herself, she operates Prairi Lu Studio, where she works in digital design and stained glass.
Green, 32, has worked for Frog Hollow since 2021. e Burlington native has an MFA from the Maryland Institute College of Art and is a ceramic artist and knitter.
e nonprofit Frog Hollow Craft Association owns the for-profit gallery, which sells the work of its 117 member artists. Zeese arrived in the wake of management turmoil, in which a former assistant manager had alleged racial discrimination by her supervisor. Frog Hollow hired a lawyer to investigate and concluded that no “intentional discrimination” occurred.
Zeese arranged online awareness training for staff and, Gillespie said, created a positive work environment. “Daniel made this place feel so safe and structured it in a way that he valued us as people,” she said. “He would make sure that we would take care of ourselves as humans first.” ➆
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and the media. He proposes an unconventional solution: Give the paranormal believers a degree of legitimacy, such as providing state-issued certifications for spiritual mediums and partnering research scientists with ghost hunters.
Hongoltz-Hetling, 52, is a George Polk Award winner, Pulitzer Prize finalist and former reporter with the Valley News. He spoke to Seven Days about The Ghost Lab, how the belief in paranormal activity relates to the election of President Donald Trump and how summarily dismissing fringe ideas may actually do more harm than good.
When you met the paranormal hunters at KRI, were you thinking about writing a book or just curious about their subculture?
When I began to understand the connection between distrust and paranormal beliefs, I started casting a wide net among the paranormal enthusiast landscape to write a book. So I talked to a state legislator who was a Wiccan. I talked to a woman who owned a haunted crêpe restaurant — and it was the restaurant that was haunted, not the crêpes. But I landed on KRI and [founder] Andy Kitt, who I thought would be interesting because I knew he’d gone from one ghost-hunting group to another, and that implied conflict and a difference of opinion.
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The Ghost Lab peers behind the veil of paranormal investigations to see how they undermine science
BY KEN PICARD • ken@sevendaysvt.com
Matthew Hongoltz-Hetling will probably never get hired to promote tourism for the state of New Hampshire. The Vershire author and investigative reporter just published his second book about how the Granite State is a bellwether for wacky ideas that challenge institutional norms and gain an outsize influence on mainstream culture.
“New Hampshire is on the leading edge of a slow-breaking tidal wave of distrust,” Hongoltz-Hetling writes in The Ghost Lab: How Bigfoot Hunters, Mediums, and Alien Enthusiasts Are Wrecking Science. And as New Hampshire goes, he says, so goes the rest of American society.
Hongoltz-Hetling’s first book, A Libertarian Walks Into a Bear: The Utopian Plot to Liberate an American Town (and Some Bears), recounts the darkly comic tale of the
Free Town Project, a utopian plot hatched by some Grafton, N.H., libertarians to eliminate their local government. His 2023 release, If It Sounds Like a Quack...: A Journey to the Fringes of American Medicine, took aim at a nationwide phenomenon: the hordes of medical fraudsters and peddlers of dubious remedies who are subverting legitimate medicine.
The Ghost Lab, published in May, focuses a critical yet compassionate eye on the Kitt Research Initiative, or KRI, a paranormal investigation group in New Hampshire’s Seacoast region that became a magnet for self-proclaimed psychics, UFO abductees, cryptozoologists and other paranormal truth seekers. Hongoltz-Hetling spent two years exploring how their earnest but out-there beliefs reflect and feed a growing skepticism about traditional sources of knowledge, including science, government
You write that the paranormal investigators you met weren’t, for the most part, lying, crazy or stupid. Were you agnostic about the veracity of their claims?
I would describe my personal beliefs as very skeptical. If I’m to believe in something, I want to see the evidence. I want the guys in white lab coats to show me the beaker full of ectoplasm. In the course of researching the book, I saw some things I couldn’t explain. But I didn’t get the compelling evidence that would convert me into a believer, in part because I trust the institution of science more than I trust my own perceptions. At the same time, I really wanted to honor their experiences.
What did you tell the investigators about your beliefs in the paranormal? I told them that I was predisposed to not believe but that I was open to compelling evidence. I’m a little more of a hard-boiled skeptic. There’s a community of skeptics who are actively out there debunking, which I was not. I’m not gullible, but my skepticism will not prevent me from accepting an extraordinary claim. And that’s how they think of themselves. So when I described myself as a skeptic, they were like, “Cool, we are, too.”
Can their beliefs be explained away by groupthink, confirmation bias or collective psychosis? ere seems to be a lot going on with some of them, psychologically speaking. Their batch of evidence for any of these wacky beliefs is probably similar to what I myself, a skeptic, would rely upon to guide me through daily decisions and understandings of the universe. But at the end of the day I fact-check myself against the scientific consensus with some humility. They don’t do that.
I would compare it to religion. People have an experience and a relationship with God that they develop, in part, with the support of a group of peers who all have similar experiences and say similar things. We can point to a lot of those things that you mentioned in terms of confirmation bias and groupthink. But [the paranormal investigators] are no more susceptible to them than other humans. It’s a feature of the human animal.
And when you get down to the very biggest questions in science, there’s almost a sort of mysticism there: What was here before the big bang? How did life on Earth evolve? What is the smallest particle? We thought it was atoms, and then it was quarks. Now it’s all these other flavors that start to sound as wacky as the idea of your recently departed loved one speaking to you.
You write that society should adopt a more “delicate respect” for some of these fringe beliefs, much the way we respect major religions. But some of their claims, like Michael Stevens’ stories about his repeated UFO abductions, seem to suggest past traumas or even mental illness.
The things they believe in and the reasons they believe in them are the same reasons that you and I believe in the things we believe in. It’s often less about the underlying science and more about what our experiences tell us and what our peers tell us. It’s the bubble in which we live, only their bubble has this bizarre underlying spiritual new-age pastiche.
If we give legitimacy to pseudoscientific beliefs, doesn’t that undermine the credibility of rigorous science? It’s a fair question, because the position that I’ve come to adopt is so distasteful. Doesn’t it feel like we’re capitulating to the dark forces? There are some risks and downsides to doing earnest scientific investigations into phenomena that we’re fairly sure are not real. But right now a third of all scientific experiments in this country are halted, I would argue, because of this root distrust of government that has installed an administration that is willing to take a wrecking ball to science.
So when we talk about losing some purity and the capability for research, that horse has already left the barn. But as a matter of practicality, I think we have to do it. There’s a reason the United Nations recognizes witchcraft as a crime — because if they didn’t, the refugee camps in which they administer justice will form violent mobs and administer their own justice. So you have to provide an outlet for these beliefs.
Do we then run the risk of making all fact-based knowledge suspect?
I am confident that if science were to legitimize some of these beliefs, in that they were willing to partner with paranormal influencers in scientific experiments in the same manner that they partner with conservation groups to investigate river ecosystems, they will find very little evidence of, say, ghosts. But they will have bought the goodwill of the paranormal community that will harness those energies towards a legitimate scientific purpose. You’re both moving the wacky paranormal people closer to a rigorous scientific understanding of the universe, and you are preserving your own funding and legitimacy — and, perhaps, being a little kinder to people. ➆
This interview was edited for clarity and length.
INFO
e Ghost Lab: How Bigfoot Hunters, Mediums, and Alien Enthusiasts Are Wrecking Science, by Matthew Hongoltz-Hetling, PublicAffairs, 352 pages. $30.
Daniel Tuhus-Dubrow, Burlington
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ese wonderful people made their first donation to Seven Days this week: Tom Azarian Suzanne Crews Janice Hughes Tena Starr
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BY KEN PICARD • ken@sevendaysvt.com
Burlington mountain biker Greg Durso says he never wanted anyone’s pity or to be their inspiration. And he definitely didn’t want to be a burden to his friends when he rode with them. All he ever wanted was to bike the same trails — without toppling over, getting wedged between trees or having to be carried over obstacles.
Now, the new documentary Best Day Ever tells the story of the world’s first adaptive bike trail, inspired by Durso and built by a community of Vermont mountain bikers.
filmed and emotionally moving documentary that also features Richmond adaptive athlete Allie Bianchi. e special-education teacher, who broke her neck in a mountain bike accident in 2022, returned to the sport once the Driving Range opened.
e trail designers and builders put themselves on adaptive bikes to explore the terrain before starting work.
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e 40-year-old Long Island native was paralyzed in a 2009 sledding crash and rides an adaptive mountain bike. Several years ago, he took a hand-pedaled three-wheeler on a trail ride with friends in the Hinesburg Town Forest. Along for the ride was Berne Broudy, cofounder and president of Richmond Mountain Trails, a local mountain biking nonprofit.
Going in, the group knew the experience would be miserable for everyone. e riders had to stop frequently to carry Durso’s bike over boulders and bridges that were too narrow to accommodate his bike’s wide wheelbase. But their goal wasn’t to have fun; it was to see how much of the trail was “Gregable” or “not Gregable” — that is, accessible to those who ride adaptive bikes. Much of it was not.
“I left that ride thinking, is is so dumb,” said Broudy, a veteran journalist, filmmaker and outdoor enthusiast. “ ere are so many problems in the world that are not solvable. We can solve this problem.”
So, in May 2022, she and a group of volunteers set out to create a network of adaptive mountain bike trails. At the time, Broudy knew nothing about constructing such trails. Nevertheless, over three years and 5,000 hours of work, she and more than 200 volunteers succeeded.
e result is the Driving Range in Bolton, which its builders claim is the world’s first adaptive mountain bike network. Completed in spring 2024, it winds through 256 acres of private land, all of it open free of charge to riders of all abilities.
e story behind the Driving Range is chronicled in Best Day Ever, a beautifully
Professional trail builder Tom Lepesqueur of L&D Trailworks in Rochester described the experience as “eye-opening” and key to the resulting design of the trail network. Make no mistake: ese are not flat or boring ADA-accessible paths but challenging, intermediate to expert-level routes, including the first-ever double black diamond adaptive single track. e Driving Range has since inspired similar installations, including more than 57 miles of adaptive trails in the Kingdom Trails network in East Burke.
Produced by Broudy, who codirected with award-winning filmmaker Ben Knight, Best Day Ever has been making waves at film festivals around the world. Last week, it won an audience choice award for best documentary at the Heartland International Film Festival in Indianapolis. e 45-minute documentary will play in Stowe on Friday, November 7, and in Woodstock on Saturday, November 8. Both screenings are part of the Green Mountain Showdown, an annual film fest and variety show that celebrates Vermont’s bike culture.
“Our inclination as able-bodied people is to feel bad for somebody who’s had an injury,” Broudy says in the film. “But when somebody doesn’t feel bad for themselves, it changes your perspective.” ➆
Best Day Ever will screen at the Green Mountain Showdown on Friday, November 7, 8 p.m., at Spruce Peak Arts in Stowe, and Saturday, November 8, 7 p.m., at Woodstock Town Hall eatre. $20-31.75. bestdayever.mov
It’s not often the Pentagon comments on a Netflix release. But in an October 16 memo, o cials contested the accuracy of A House of Dynamite, the latest from director Kathryn Bigelow (Zero Dark Thirty), which is currently streaming.
In the film, which portrays a nuclear attack on the U.S., the secretary of defense (Jared Harris) is shocked to learn that an interceptor missile has only a 61 percent chance of taking out an incoming warhead, describing it as a “coin toss.” The real-life Pentagon claims the chances of neutralizing an attack are actually 100 percent. In a recent NPR piece on the film, Middlebury College global security scholar Jeffrey Lewis said the “coin toss” figure is indeed accurate for any one interceptor, though multiple ones would be fired in reality.
One thing is beyond dispute: Bigelow has broken her eight-year hiatus with a movie that grabs your attention.
The deal
When military personnel in Alaska detect an intercontinental ballistic missile crossing the Pacific, they assume it’s another North Korean test flight that will fall harmlessly into the ocean. They’re wrong. The nuclear warhead is headed straight for the U.S. Midwest, and intercepting it is no simple matter.
Captain Olivia Walker (Rebecca Ferguson) presides over the chaos in the White House Situation Room as everyone attempts to reach the president (Idris Elba), who’s doing a meet and greet with schoolchildren. While the head of U.S. Strategic Command (Tracy Letts) counsels an immediate retaliatory strike against the nation’s enemies, the deputy national security adviser (Gabriel Basso) tries to use diplomacy to avert fullout nuclear war. Meanwhile, a Federal Emergency Management Agency o cial (Moses Ingram) must execute contingency plans she never dreamed she would need.
The story plays out three times over the same roughly 15 minutes between the missile’s detection and its projected impact. In each iteration, we see the action from a di erent set of perspectives, moving up the chain of command from first responders to the president.
Will you like it?
As a cautionary tale exploring an arguably plausible scenario, A House of Dynamite is terrifyingly effective. But any viewer who expects something di erent — such
as a highbrow action thriller or disaster flick — will be disappointed and perhaps aggrieved.
It’s easy to see why many consider the film a bait and switch. Oscar winner Bigelow started out in the action genre.
A House of Dynamite has thriller pacing, breakneck editing and immersive camera work. Like the TV series “24,” it happens in a facsimile of real time. Like the pandemic disaster film Contagion, it’s an intricately detailed procedural with a vast cast of characters about whom we learn just enough to find them vaguely sympathetic.
Bigelow and writer Noah Oppenheim diverge from those predecessors with their three-act structure, however, which rehashes the same events from di erent angles rather than follow them to their logical conclusion. Our instinct is to want to see the story play out to its end, horrific or no. The filmmakers repeatedly frustrate our expectations and deprive us of that basic narrative satisfaction.
And they know exactly what they’re doing. The point of A House of Dynamite is not to demonstrate that a nuclear attack would be devastating. Anyone who grew up during the Cold War already sees that possibility in their nightmares. This movie is about readiness — specifically, about
what it means to imagine you can prepare for the unimaginable.
That’s why the whole film builds to the president’s conversation with the aide (Jonah Hauer-King) assigned to brief him on his options. There’s dark humor in the aide’s remark that he refers to di erent levels of retaliation as “rare, medium and well done,” as in the president’s admission that he spent less time preparing for this possibility than he did for the death of a Supreme Court justice.
Ferguson is riveting as a mom who sets personal concerns aside to do her highstress job. Yet courage isn’t enough to save anyone from a situation in which, as Basso’s character puts it, the options are “surrender or suicide.” Does the screenplay stack the deck in framing this particular scenario? Clearly — hence the debate — but the point stands.
A House of Dynamite frustrates us because we want to believe competence and ingenuity could save the day. We want to believe things have changed since the fi ctional DEFCON 1 crisis of 1983’s WarGames , which ended with the moral that “The only way to win the game is not to play.” This movie has its own cautionary metaphor, though: People can get used to anything, even living in a
Decades of preparation aren’t enough to save the U.S. from a nuclear crisis in Kathryn Bigelow’s worst-case-scenario drama.
house of dynamite, but that doesn’t mean it won’t blow.
MARGOT HARRISON margot@sevendaysvt.com
THE MAN WHO SAVED THE WORLD (2014; Pluto TV, Prime Video, Roku Channel, Tubi, rentable): In 1983, the world came perilously close to a nuclear war caused by a false alarm. is documentary profiles the Soviet army officer who stopped it.
THE HURT LOCKER (2008; Netflix, YouTube Primetime, rentable): Bigelow’s drama about a bomb-defusing team in Iraq won the Best Picture Oscar, then came under fire for its inaccuracies.
RAVEN ROCK: THE STORY OF THE U.S. GOVERNMENT’S SECRET PLAN TO SAVE ITSELF — WHILE THE REST OF US DIE (2017 book): Vermont resident Garrett M. Graff wrote this history of the Pennsylvania bunker designed to preserve highranking officials in the event of a nuclear attack, which features prominently in A House of Dynamite. Another possible influence on the film is journalist Annie Jacobsen’s 2024 book Nuclear War: A Scenario
AFTER THE HUNT: Julia Roberts plays a college professor shocked by a student’s accusation against her colleague in Luca Guadagnino’s drama. With Ayo Edebiri and Andrew Garfield. (138 min, R. Capitol)
BAAHUBALI: THE EPIC: S.S. Rajamouli (RRR) directed this action epic about a legendary warrior. (238 min, NR. Majestic)
BUGONIA: Conspiracy theorists (Jesse Plemons and Aidan Delbis) abduct a CEO (Emma Stone) whom they believe is an alien in the latest dark satire from Yorgos Lanthimos (Poor Things). (118 min, R. Capitol, Essex, Savoy)
STITCH HEAD: In this animated adventure from cowriter-director Steve Hudson, a mad scientist awakens the title character (voice of Asa Butterfield) to protect the occupants of a creepy castle. (89 min, PG. Capitol, City Cinema, Essex, Majestic, Star, Welden)
BLACK PHONE 2HHH A serial killer’s survivor (Mason Thames) tries to shield his sister from disturbing dreams in this horror sequel. (114 min, R. Bijou, City Cinema, Essex, Majestic, Paramount, Star, Stowe, Sunset)
BLUE MOONHHHH As Oklahoma! opens, Lorenz Hart (Ethan Hawke), former lyricist for Richard Rodgers (Andrew Scott), drinks away his sorrows in Richard Linklater’s period drama. (100 min, R. Savoy)
CHAINSAW MAN — THE MOVIE: REZE ARCHHH1/2 This animated dark fantasy, directed by Tatsuya Yoshihara, is a direct sequel to the first season of the anime series. (100 min, R. Essex, Majestic, Paramount)
GABBY’S DOLLHOUSE: THE MOVIE: The title character road trips to “Cat Francisco” to save her dollhouse. (98 min, G. Majestic, Stowe)
GOOD FORTUNEHHH Keanu Reeves plays a bumbling angel trying to brighten the attitude of a gig worker (Aziz Ansari, who also wrote and directed) in this comedy. (98 min, R. Essex, Majestic, Star)
HIMHHH1/2 A promising football player (Tyriq Withers) gets the chance of a lifetime in this horror movie. (96 min, R. Sunset; reviewed 9/24)
THE HISTORY OF SOUNDHHH In this drama nominated for the Palme d’Or, World War I soldiers make recordings of their comrades. Paul Mescal and Josh O’Connor star. (127 min, R. Catamount)
THE MASTERMINDHHHH In Kelly Reichardt’s Palme d’Or nominee, Josh O’Connor plays a man who pulls off a daring art heist in 1970. (110 min, R. Savoy)
ONE BATTLE AFTER ANOTHERHHHH1/2 Paul Thomas Anderson directed this saga of an aging ex-revolutionary returning to action. (161 min, R. Essex, Majestic; reviewed 10/1)
PETS ON A TRAIN: Criminal critters get caught up in a train heist in this animated adventure. (99 min, PG. Bijou)
REGRETTING YOUH1/2 A young widow (Allison Williams) clashes with her teenage daughter (Mckenna Grace) in this adaptation of Colleen Hoover’s novel. (117 min, PG-13. Bijou, Capitol, City Cinema, Essex, Majestic, Star, Stowe, Sunset, Welden)
ROOFMANHHH A fugitive (Channing Tatum) hides out in a big-box toy store in this fact-based dramedy from Derek Cianfrance. (126 min, R. Essex, Majestic, Sunset; reviewed 10/15)
ROUND THE DECAY: A New Hampshire town holds a dark secret in Adam Newman’s fantasy horror film. (105 min, R. Majestic)
SHELBY OAKSHH A woman (Camille Sullivan) searches for her sister, who disappeared while investigating a mysterious town, in this partially found-footage horror film. (99 min, R. Majestic)
SPRINGSTEEN: DELIVER ME FROM NOWHEREHHH
Jeremy Allen White plays the Boss in this drama about the struggles he faced while recording 1982’s Nebraska. Scott Cooper directed. (120 min, PG-13. Bijou, Capitol, Essex, Majestic, Marquis, Playhouse, Star, Sunset, Welden)
STRANGE JOURNEY: THE STORY OF ROCKY
HORROR: Linus O’Brien’s documentary examines the history of the film phenomenon. (89 min, NR. Majestic)
TRON: ARESHH1/2 A computer program (Jared Leto) is on a mission to meat space in the Disney adventure sequel. (119 min, PG-13. Majestic)
BACK TO THE FUTURE 40TH ANNIVERSARY (Essex, Marquis, Sunset, starts Fri)
CRAFT AND ROM COM (Savoy, Wed 29 only)
E.T.: THE EXTRA-TERRESTRIAL (Sunset)
EVIL DEAD II (VTIFF [Fri only], Welden [Sat only])
FREAKS (Catamount, Wed 29 only)
GAZA JOURNALISTS UNDER FIRE (Savoy, Sun only)
GONE GUYS (Playhouse, Mon only)
KPOP DEMON HUNTERS SING-ALONG (Essex, Welden [both Fri-Sun only])
NEW NEIGHBORS THE BEAVERS OF ALLEN BROOK (Catamount, Sat only)
ROCKY IV: ROCKY VS. DRAGO ULTIMATE
DIRECTOR’S CUT (Essex, Wed 5 only)
THE ROCKY HORROR PICTURE SHOW (Majestic [Fri only], Playhouse [Fri only], Sunset, Welden [Fri only])
TWILIGHT (Essex, Wed 29 only)
THE TWILIGHT SAGA: BREAKING DAWN — PART 1 (Essex, Sat only)
THE TWILIGHT SAGA: BREAKING DAWN — PART 2 (Essex, Sun only)
THE TWILIGHT SAGA: ECLIPSE (Essex, Fri only)
THE TWILIGHT SAGA: NEW MOON (Essex, Thu only)
(* = upcoming schedule for theater was not available at press time)
*BIJOU CINEPLEX 4: 107 Portland St., Morrisville, 888-3293, bijou4.com
CAPITOL SHOWPLACE: 93 State St., Montpelier, 229-0343, fgbtheaters.com
CATAMOUNT ARTS: 115 Eastern Ave., St. Johnsbury, 748-2600, catamountarts.org
*CITY CINEMA: 137 Waterfront Plaza, Newport, 334-2610, citycinemanewport.com
ESSEX CINEMAS & T-REX THEATER: 21 Essex Way, Suite 300, Essex, 879-6543, essexcinemas.com
*MAJESTIC 10: 190 Boxwood St., Williston, 878-2010, majestic10.com
MARQUIS THEATER: 65 Main St., Middlebury, 388-4841, middleburymarquis.com.
PARAMOUNT TWIN CINEMA: 241 N. Main St., Barre, 479-9621, fgbtheaters.com
PLAYHOUSE MOVIE THEATRE: 11 S. Main St., Randolph, 728-4012, playhouseflicks.com
SAVOY THEATER: 26 Main St., Montpelier, 2290598, savoytheater.com
THE SCREENING ROOM @ VTIFF: 60 Lake St., Ste. 1C, Burlington, 660-2600, vtiff.org
STAR THEATRE: 17 Eastern Ave., St. Johnsbury, 748-9511, stjaytheatre.com
*STOWE CINEMA 3PLEX: 454 Mountain Rd., Stowe, 253-4678, stowecinema.com
SUNSET DRIVE-IN: 155 Porters Point Rd., Colchester, 862-1800, sunsetdrivein.com
WELDEN THEATRE: 104 N. Main St., St. Albans, 527-7888, weldentheatre.com
Photographer Joel Sternfeld’s iconic “American Prospects” at the Hall Foundation
BY AMY LILLY • lilly@sevendaysvt.com
“McLean,
On a recent gorgeous fall day, landscape photographer Joel Sternfeld stood in front of a packed audience at the Hall Art Foundation in Reading to talk about his work. Eighteen of Sternfeld’s largeformat color photographs are hanging in the venue’s farmhouse, and his 16-minute video, “London Bridge,” is on view in the pole barn, where he spoke.
“You should be kayaking,” the 81-yearold joked in the semidarkness, the wall behind him lit up with projected images. “I’m going to try to make it worthwhile to give [that] up.”
Sternfeld lives where he was born, in New York City, and teaches in nearby Sarah
Lawrence College’s visual and studio arts department. He’s best known for “American Prospects,” a series he shot with a large-format, wooden 8-by-10 view camera while traveling around the country in a VW camper van between 1978 and 1984. During that time, he won two Guggenheim Fellowships and a National Endowment for the Arts Photographers Fellowship. Many of the images from “American Prospects” have become iconic.
The Hall’s exhibition features 13 of them, as well as five from Sternfeld’s later series, “Walking the High Line.” That project captures the abandoned elevated train track in lower Manhattan before it opened as a park in 2009.
three hues” of “equal density.” That objective required the perfect light.
Sternfeld told of scouting a particularly disastrous site of flash flooding in a California desert city. He slept in his van down the street until he could catch the image at 4 a.m., before the sun rose over the hills. The deep blue of a daytime sky would have overpowered the hue of a blue Trans Am suspended belly-up in a massive landslide that somehow spared the house perched above the a ected area. (The work is part of “American Prospects” but not in the Hall’s exhibition.)
As interesting as it is to think about color in Sternfeld’s photos, what strikes the eye first is their irony. In “American Prospects,” Sternfeld manages to capture both landscape views (one meaning of “prospects”) and the possibilities for financial exploitation (another) of those landscapes. The result is a tension between nature and the American dream — or, as he put it during his talk, “the idea of utopian versus dystopian possibilities.”
Sometimes that tension generates humor. In one of his most famous photographs, “McLean, Virginia, December 1978,” a helmeted fire chief picks out pumpkins at a farmstand while a house burns in the background. (The firefighters were doing a live-burn exercise.) The juxtaposition of a frantic scene and a contemplative one induces a chuckle; the parity of color between the orange flames and the scattered pumpkins reinforces it.
At the Hall, Sternfeld spoke mainly of his development as a photographer and his approach to color. When he started out in 1969, he said, fine art photography was black and white, and there were only two galleries dedicated to the medium in New York City. Color photography was “career suicide,” he said. But Sternfeld loved nature and the seasons, so color made the most sense.
The son of two artists, Sternfeld earned a bachelor’s degree in art from Dartmouth College and took his color cues from painting. Josef Albers’ color theory became central to his explorations, he said, as did Paul Klee’s watercolors, from which he gleaned a practice of capturing “two to
In other photos, Sternfeld’s sly humor is overcome by ominousness. “U.S.S. Alabama, Mobile, Alabama, September 1980” places a fisherman seated in a lawn chair at the very bottom of the frame, dwarfed by the giant hulk of the battleship anchored just beyond his fishing pole. The suggestion of possible wartime mobilization appears to loom over a scene of leisure in nature. In fact, the Alabama was already permanently berthed there as a museum ship. As Sternfeld said during his talk, “The idea [of my work] is that you don’t know anything, truly, from a photograph.”
A similar sense of unease pervades “Little Talbot Beach, Florida, September 1980,” a composition of thin horizontals that foregrounds the figure of a bikinied woman stretched out on a lounge chair at the ocean’s edge, one knee raised slightly. Her body perfectly echoes the forms of several military ships lining the distant horizon.
Sternfeld juxtaposes human enterprise and nature again in “Walking the High Line,” shot in 2000 and 2001. The beauty of these images almost makes a viewer rethink the aesthetic value of the popular
elevated park. What a treat it must have been to stride through wild overgrowth while looking down on the city’s relentless rectilinearity, as many apparently did; Sternfeld’s photos center on the faint footpath of trespassers.
“Walking the High Line” doesn’t include a human presence, unlike many of the works in “American Prospects.” When Sternfeld was creating the latter project, America’s future — yet another “prospect” — looked bleak. Having endured a failed Vietnam War and Richard Nixon presidency, the country had plunged into the hyped-up materialism of the 1980s. Nevertheless, Sternfeld said at the Hall, “In those days, I believed there was a goodness in the American people.”
That outlook seems to persist in his 2016 video, “London Bridge.” The setting is preposterous but real: London Bridge, originally an 1831 structure over the Thames River, is a tourist attraction in Lake Havasu City, Ariz. In 1968, an American oil entrepreneur paid to have
it dismantled and rebuilt over an artificial channel that leads to Lake Havasu — itself a dammed section of the Colorado River.
In the 16-minute video, a gondolier, in full costume and singing Italian arias, guides a gondola under and around the bridge until he is drowned out by partying students playing loud music on motorboats. By sunset, the youths have departed, and the gondolier picks up a couple, serenading them in the golden light as sincerely as if he were in Venice. Vermonters may turn up their noses at such constructed bodies of water, but Sternfeld’s art has the effect of illuminating the ways that ideas of nature and landscape are themselves constructs. Even the state’s best kayaking spots are part of the managed, and sometimes mishandled, American landscape. ➆
BY ALICE DODGE • adodge@sevendaysvt.com
Artistic renditions of landscapes often capture a single moment: sunrise over the mountains, a storm brewing on the horizon, a crisp first snowfall. But you aren’t likely to see scenes like those at Extra Special With Cheese, a new gallery in Burlington’s Soda Plant. In its current show, “Maintenance Practice,” on view through November 9, Landon Newton instead presents works in which landscapes — and specifically the plants within them — demand ongoing attention.
Newton, who lives and works in Brooklyn, presents a series of 5.5-by-12inch drawings of plants’ shadows printed as cyanotypes (photographs exposed in sunlight). Squiggly, sketchy white lines against deep blue backgrounds seem organic but abstract. Nearby, visitors can take a copy of the “Score for Two-Handed Shadow Drawings,” a set of instructions — what Fluxus artists of the 1960s called a “score” — for making your own. It describes the prerequisites as “two drawing instruments, eight sheets of paper, a firm drawing surface, a plant, and a sunny day preferably with crisp shadows and a slight breeze.” The score goes on to describe how to sit outside and sketch the plant’s shadow, using both hands at once to “awaken both hemispheres of your brain.”
Another piece, “Maintenance Practice,” features a whorl of actual mown grasses and weeds on the floor beside four 53-inch-tall cyanotypes, made in the field where the grasses were cut. A card offers a list of eight weeds and grasses included in the clippings, which Newton collected over a month at the Skowhegan School of Painting & Sculpture in Maine. It’s a record both of the human labor and the real species that make up the landscape, which we might otherwise see as a generic blanket of green.
This kind of work — with an emphasis on the conceptual, experimental and playful — is gaining a foothold at Extra Special With Cheese, located in the “Outer Limits” (second floor) of the Soda Plant. Photographers Mookie Kristensen, 34, and her husband, Corey Riddell, 42, opened the 150-or-so-square-foot project space in May; “Maintenance Practice” is their fourth show.
The pair moved to Burlington from Brooklyn just over a year ago. Kristensen grew up in Sharon, Vt., and Riddell in California. After earning their MFAs from Rhode Island School of Design and Columbia University, respectively, both worked in New York City, Kristensen in administrative roles at galleries and at an artist’s studio and Riddell as an arts
fabricator. They came to Burlington with a list of artists they knew and wanted to show, most of them women, many with academic chops or emerging on the national gallery scene.
Having seen even blue-chip artists struggle to display less commercially viable work in New York, the pair aimed to create a small space where artists could try something new without feeling like it needs to make money. The point, Kristensen said, is to show work with the potential to spark conversations. The gallery makes and sells a $10 zine for each show as an accessible entry point for visitors.
Kristensen said she loves Burlington’s selection of record stores, and the pair have found “so much good music” and comedy in the Queen City. They’ve found visual art, too, but not a lot of unconventional work, she said. With Extra Special With Cheese,
Above: “Maintenance Practice (one month, Skowhegan)”; Right and top right: from the series “Score for Two-Handed Shadow Drawings: June 20th, Summer Solstice, starting at 12:22 PM, hot sunny day, some wind, lots of bees flying around, Skowhegan, ME, 2025. Sweet-smelling steeplebush (Spiraea tomentosa)”
the couple seek to change that, because venues that incubate work like Newton’s are vital to a strong art scene. It’s important, Kristensen said, to have “spaces that are doing the weird things.” ➆
“Maintenance Practice” by Landon Newton, on view through November 9 at Extra Special with Cheese in Burlington. extraspecialwithcheese.com
ART AT CITY HALL: TRYSON BATES: Mixed-media collages that incorporate aspects of storytelling, social behavior, global mythology and ritual. City Hall Gallery, Burlington, through December 31. Info, 865-7296.
‘COLLECTIVE VISIONS: A MEMBER GROUP SHOW’: A member-curated exhibition of small works, no larger than 10 by 8 inches, in a wide array of media. Bryan Memorial Gallery, Jeffersonville, through January 4. Info, 644-5100.
‘GEMS’: A member-curated exhibition of artist favorites, experimental and new works. Bryan Memorial Gallery, Jeffersonville, through January 4. Info, 644-5100.
MICHAEL METZ: “Recent Street Portraits,” a mix of photographs taken with and without permission that invite viewers to reflect on the nature of public and private space. South Burlington Public Library Art Wall, November 1-30. Info, michaelmetz100@gmail.com.
ABIGAIL SILIN: A show of small gouache and acrylic paintings in a cartoon style, some featuring scenes from around Vermont. Kaleidoscope Art Supply, Rutland, November 1-December 15. Info, asilinart@ gmail.com.
CORRINE YONCE: “I’m Sorry If This Isn’t What You Needed, But I’m Giving It Anyways (Unsolicited Advice),” a show of paintings and mixed-media works by the Winooski artist. Reception: Saturday, November 1, 10 a.m.-2 p.m. ATM Gallery, Shelburne, November 1-30. Info, atmgallerydirector@gmail.com.
PEGGY WATSON: An exhibition of three-dimensional paintings featuring the Vermont landscape and the beauty of daily life. Reception: Saturday, November
1, 3-5 p.m. The Tunbridge General Store Gallery, November 1-December 21. Info, 889-3525.
DELIA ROBINSON: “The Archetypal Road,” a solo show featuring clay whistles and paintings on the theme of the Major Arcana of the tarot. Reception: Saturday, November 8, 3-5 p.m. Frog Hollow Vermont Craft Gallery, Burlington, October 31-November 24. Info, froghollowshannon@gmail.com.
‘CELEBRATE!’: The 25th annual exhibition of members’ work, displayed across three floors and including works by more than 75 artists. Reception: Saturday, November 8, 4-5:30 p.m. Studio Place Arts, Barre, November 5-December 27. Info, 479-7069, info@ studioplacearts.com.
SÉAMAS CAIN: An exhibition of artist books, displayed on the second floor of the library. Reception: Monday, November 10, 6:30 p.m. South Burlington Public Library & City Hall, November 1-30. Info, 383-1797.
UNVEILING OF ‘THE VERMONT BRIGADE AT CHANCELLORSVILLE’: A reception and reveal of the recently discovered 1872 painting by Civil War artist Julian Scott, who also painted the large mural in the Cedar Creek Room. Includes a brief ceremony and remarks by Civil War historian Howard Coffin at 4:30 p.m. in the Cedar Creek Room. Vermont Statehouse, Montpelier, Wednesday, October 29, 4-6 p.m. Free. Info, 279-5558.
LIFE DRAWING AND PAINTING: A drop-in event for artists working with the figure from a live model. T.W. Wood Museum, Montpelier, Thursday, October 30, 7-9 p.m. Free; $15 suggested donation. Info, 262-6035.
‘UNDER THE SURFACE’ AND SEABA CENTER SOFT OPENING: A show exploring the “dark side,” with artwork addressing fears, delving into deep meanings, and being playful with ghosts and ghouls. The show
is part of a larger celebration of the new space, which includes trick-or-treating from 5 to 7 p.m. and an adult costume party with DJ Tad Cautious and Nyaaké the DJ from 7 to 10 p.m. SEABA Center, Burlington, Friday, October 31, 5-10 p.m. $20+ donation. Info, director@ seaba.com.
EVENSTEVE OPEN STUDIO: Two recent bodies of work by Eve and Stephen Schaub, including a portfolio of black-and-white imagery with cryptic symbology and one celebrating vibrant color and unusual voices. EveNSteve Studio/the Hayfield Art Gallery, Pawlet, Saturday, November 1, 2-4 p.m. Free. Info, 287-0287.
SILENT AUCTION CLOSING CELEBRATION: A closing party for this online silent auction fundraising event, which features more than 140 photographic prints from a diverse group of regional, national and international artists. The event features a complimentary photo booth by local photographer Ezra Distler, an exclusive closing night raffle and refreshments. Vermont Center for Photography, Brattleboro, Saturday, November 1, 5-8 p.m. $5-25 sliding admission. Info, 251-6051.
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, November 2, 1-3 p.m. Free. Info, 891-2014.
PORTRAIT DRAWING AND PAINTING: A drop-in event where artists can practice skills in any medium. T.W. Wood Museum, Montpelier, Monday, November 3, 10 a.m.-noon. Free; $15 suggested donation. Info, 262-6035.
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, November 4, 6:30-8:30 p.m. By donation. Info, 343-8172.
‘UNDERSTANDING COLOR’: A hands-on workshop with Sabrina Fadial exploring color in gouache, watercolor, pencil or collage. Open to all levels. T.W. Wood Museum, Montpelier, Tuesday, November 4, 7-9 p.m. $15 suggested donation. Info, 222-0909.
ARTIST TALK: MARIAM GHANI: A discussion with the artist of her 2024 short film “There’s a Hole in the World Where You Used to Be,” on view in the exhibition “Do We Say Goodbye? Grief, Loss, and Mourning.” Presented in partnership with Middlebury College. BCA Center, Burlington, Wednesday, November 5, 6-8 p.m. Free. Info, 865-7166. ➆
–
Allan Nicholls has only ever wanted to be in a band. From his days as a broke teenager growing up in the Saint-Laurent neighborhood of Montréal, wearing borrowed suits and knock-o Beatle boots, Nicholls’ favorite place to be was on a stage with some pals making music.
“It was never about fame or money or any of that kind of stu ,” Nicholls said in between bites of dim sum recently at a restaurant in Burlington, the city he’s lived in for the past seven or so years. With a wild shock of snow-white hair flaring out from under a black baseball cap and an almost permanent grin on his face, Nicholls maintains a youthful zeal despite his 80 years of age, especially when he’s talking rock and roll.
“If I’m really being honest,” Nicholls continued, “one of the reasons I love being in a band is that it’s a built-in audience. You’re all friends. You’re all laughing at each other’s in-jokes. And I recently realized in therapy that I’m a guy who does not like not being liked, you know what I mean?”
It’s safe to say Nicholls has found a variety of audiences in his long and winding career. He’s perhaps best known as an actor and filmmaker, appearing alongside Paul Newman in the classic 1977 hockey comedy Slap Shot, as well as in Robert Altman’s Nashville and Popeye. And he played both male lead roles in the Broadway musical Hair. But for Nicholls, it was always about
BY CHRIS FARNSWORTH • farnsworth@sevendaysvt.com
the music. Before he started working with Altman on Oscar-winning projects and directing music videos for the likes of Meatloaf and Leonard Cohen, Nicholls fronted Canada’s original answer to the Beatles: J.B. and the Playboys. From its formation in 1963 until its breakup six years later, the quintet brought the sounds of the British Invasion to Canadian airwaves and stages, scoring moderate local hits and touring the country with the Rolling Stones
and the Beach Boys. While the band never broke through to achieve a headlining level of fame, it was regionally beloved in its day. Some bad business deals and a Broadway career beckoning for Nicholls ended J.B. and the Playboys’ quest for global stardom by 1969. But a funny thing happened more than half a century later: Nicholls got the band back together. And not just for a reunion gig or to trot out its greatest hits. Earlier this year, J.B. and the Playboys
released 2025, an LP that comes 60 years after their self-titled debut.
“J.B. and the Playboys was my first love,” Nicholls said. “That never stops holding a place in your heart.”
He formed the band with guitarists Bill Hill and Andy Kaye, drummer Lorne Douglas West, and bassist Louis Atkins. Hill’s classic, crystal-clear tones evoke Dick Dale or the Ventures and underpinned much of the band’s sound. The Playboys — named after the American men’s lifestyle magazine Playboy, with “J.B.” being an inside joke among the band — arrived just before Beatlemania had fully gripped North America, only months before the Fab Four made their fateful 1964 appearance on “The Ed Sullivan Show.”
With a mix of originals and early Beatles covers such as “Eight Days a Week,” they took Montréal by storm, playing high school dances, YMCA functions and eventually becoming a fixture at the Bonaventure Curling Club, one of the hottest rock clubs in the city in the ’60s. A local businessman who owned a cologne company took on the band of teenagers as their manager and had them fitted for suits, ready to become Canada’s next big thing.
After introducing their signature British Invasion-via-Canada sound on a handful of singles with the label RCA Victor, the lads found themselves touring the country in 1965 with the Rolling Stones, who were on the cusp of stardom and playing warm-up dates in Canada ahead of a U.S. tour.
“They were still trying to get to the next level,” Nicholls recalled of the Stones. “They were touring Canada in two station wagons, and we just followed them around to the gigs.”
Though the two bands didn’t hang out much, Nicholls does remember a particularly good show in Ottawa. As he and the Playboys left the stage and the Stones passed them on their way to headline, Mick Jagger pulled Nicholls aside to say a quick “Great job!” in his ear.
A brief tour with the Beach Boys followed that same year, but Nicholls was starting to worry that without a hit record, he and his nascent Playboys were letting their big chance pass them by.
“Onstage, we were so good, and we knew it,” he said. “But every time we went into the studio, we just couldn’t reproduce that magic. And we knew that if we didn’t get a record out soon, it would be a problem. But we just didn’t know what the hell we were doing.”
The band hooked up with several producers, including Gary Paxton, who had scored a No. 1 hit in 1962 for Bobby “Boris” Pickett with “Monster Mash.” Nothing stuck, so the Playboys flew to New York City in 1967 to cut their new record
I’m pretty sure this is in either the U.S. Constitution or the Magna Carta (maybe both?): When Halloween falls on a Friday, the holiday is officially designated as the infamous … Halloween Week! (Cue shrieking sound effect.)
That’s a full week of office parties and recycled costumes, of hoarding candy and nursing hangovers, of swearing vengeance on the first person to talk about Christmas and — most importantly — planning out your actual Halloween night. Fortunately, I’m here with suggestions for where to get your fright on this week. There’s so much spooky action in the Green Mountain music scene this year that you ghouls might have kicked it off already: On Tuesday, Three Needs Tap Room & Pizza Cube in Burlington started a three-night run screening the classic 1920 German silent film The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari, considered one of the first horror films ever made. It’s not silent this time, however: A host of local musicians, including ANDREW BEDARD, ANDRIANA CHOBOT and AVERY COOPER, provide a suitably creepy soundtrack. Or maybe they’ll interpret the existential dread of the film differently and sprinkle in some acid jazz. What do I know?
Over at Higher Ground Ballroom in South Burlington, indie-folk duo CRICKET BLUE are once again staging their “Over the Garden Wall” show on Wednesday, October 29. The band started playing the soundtrack to the cult animated Cartoon Network miniseries in 2020, performing the songs online during the pandemic. Five years later, the production has evolved into a massive live tribute, featuring a 13-piece band, with attendees and performers alike in costume.
Next door that same night, Higher Ground Showcase Lounge hosts
JENNY OWEN YOUNGS and KRISTIN RUSSO, who bring “Buffering the Vampire Slayer” to the stage for a live taping of their hit podcast about — you guessed it — the ’90s gem “Buffy the Vampire Slayer.”
They’ll be watching one of the show’s most notorious episodes, “Ted,” guest-starring John Ritter as an abusive would-be stepfather who turns out to be an evil robot because of, uh … reasons? I haven’t seen the episode since high school, when I would watch demons karate-fight with skateboarding werewolves and say things like, “This show is just like high school.” It was, in some way. That was the magic of Buffy.
The triple feature wraps up on All Hallows’ Eve Eve (that’s a thing, right?) on Thursday, October 30.
The holiday tradition of bands covering other bands is in full force this year, with parts of the state operating as a de facto tribute act festival leading
up to Halloween. There’s no way I could fit all the cover nights in this column, but highlights include a BLACK SABBATH tribute at Charlie-O’s World Famous in Montpelier on Thursday, LED ZEPPELIN lovers NICO SUAVE at the Radio Bean in Burlington on Friday and Boston-based GRATEFUL DEAD tribute act BEARLY DEAD at Stone Church in Brattleboro, also on Halloween proper.
Foam Brewers in Burlington always throws a mean spooky-season soirée, and this year is no exception. The waterfront brewery brings the moody electronica vibes to its Halloween-night party, with sets by JOHN BORAH’s new Burlington project POLKAROBICS, Boston indie-pop act EUSTIS, Burlington darkwave musician
BURIAL WOODS and Vermont DJ CRYSTAL
JONEZ. Dubbed “I Want My BTV,” the party’s theme is the classic MTV era, so costumes from the now-moribund music station are highly encouraged. Free suggestion from your friendly neighborhood music editor, whose peers were once in danger of being dubbed “the MTV Generation”: Gather a crew and go as the entire first-season cast of “The Real World.”
Burlington singer-songwriter ERIN CASSELS-BROWN has dropped two new singles in the past two months. In September, Cassels-Brown released the gentle folk ballad “Don’t Take Up Her Time,” followed in October by “Something to Leave Behind.” A sort of coming-to-grips-with-aging tune, the latter captures the singer’s realization of youth slipping away with the line “Most of the Red Sox are younger than me.” Both tracks are streaming now at erincasselsbrown.bandcamp.com.
OMEGA JADE dropped her latest single this week. The Burlington rapper’s “Uplift the Community Cypher” features guest verses by SINNN, RAJNII EDDINS and MARVELOUS KEVO. The accompanying music video, directed by PDG PRODUCTIONS, sees Omega, Eddins and Kevo rapping in front of the Richard Kemp Center in Burlington’s Old North End as a mural is painted by Juniper Creative Arts. The track is streaming now on YouTube.
Randolph singer-songwriter SPENCER LEWIS has released a trio of singles from his new LP, Of Spirits and Friends. “Expecting Rain,” “Davis & Victoria” and “Reflections” all come complete with music videos, and they’re streaming now on YouTube. Visit spencerlewismusic. com for more.
CHRIS FARNSWORTH
BY CHRIS FARNSWORTH
with producer Artie Kornfeld, who would later leave Capitol Records to cocreate the Woodstock Music and Art Fair in 1969.
Upon arriving at the studio, however, Nicholls and his bandmates discovered a crew of session musicians waiting to track the songs in their place. Even harmony vocals were handled by backing singers, leaving Nicholls’ voice the only contribution from the band itself on what was supposed to be its hit record. The sole track recorded, “Poster Man,” was eventually released under the name Carnival Connection, featuring only Nicholls from the band. The Playboys’ 1965 debut would remain their only record of the classic era, as the damage from the New York session was too much to overcome.
1. GZA & THE PHUNKY NOMADS at Higher Ground Ballroom in South Burlington, November 6
2. BEAUSOLEIL & RICHARD THOMPSON at Lebanon Opera House in Lebanon, N.H., November 21
3. ATREYU at the éâtre Beanfield in Montréal, November 25
4. BÉLA FLECK & THE FLECKTONES at the Flynn in Burlington, December 9
5. MARIA BAMFORD at Vermont Comedy Club in Burlington, December 18-21
6. CLAP YOUR HANDS SAY YEAH at Stone Church in Brattleboro, January 16
7. EXPLOSIONS IN THE SKY at Basilica Hudson in Hudson, N.Y., January 30
guitarist Rick Derringer and his band the McCoys.
“I was still trying to be a rock star,” Nicholls said. “I just wanted to be in a band so, so bad.”
He would form other outfits over the years, including a Vermont band featuring members of the Grift. But nothing seemed to stick like his first love.
In 2019, while catching up with Hill over beer, Nicholls popped the question: “What if we got the band back together?” The next thing they knew, the two had recruited three new members — guitarist Ron Stutz, bassist Stuart Patterson and drummer R.D. Harris — and played the Hudson Music Festival in Québec.
J.B. AND THE PLAYBOYS WAS MY FIRST LOVE.
“It just sucked all the confidence and self-esteem out of us,” Nicholls admitted years later. “That pretty much finished the band o . Well, that and a lawsuit over being in debt from when our manager borrowed money under our name to buy some amps. But yeah, by ’69 we were essentially done.”
The band members went their separate ways, but Nicholls and Hill never lost touch or stopped making music. Hill started a recording studio in Montréal, finding success producing and mixing disco music. For Nicholls’ part, even as he worked in film, he still dreamed of playing in a band. He did a solo performance on a live broadcast for the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation in 1970, backed by
The show was a success, but the pandemic hit only a few months later, shelving the resurgent project. Once the bandmates were able to play together again, Nicholls decided it was time to finally make the album they’d always wanted to. So the new-look J.B. and the Playboys headed to the hotel2tango studio in Montréal’s East End with former Arcade Fire member Howard Bilerman producing. They cut the nine tracks on 2025 in a week — a mix of old and new material, plus one cover — with a focus on capturing that perfect, late-’60s tone.
It’s almost shocking how vital the band still sounds, decades after recording its last note. A layer of ’60s pixie dust sits atop the songs, particularly on Hill’s pristine guitar work. And while there’s more grit and wear to Nicholls’ voice these days,
he remains an engaging, energetic vocalist who fronts the band e ortlessly, as if he were born to do it.
“When I heard the early mixes, I was ecstatic,” Nicholls said. “Honestly, it feels like this record is truly the first time we’ve sounded like we do onstage.”
Nicholls and his band have no illusions about restarting the British Invasion or making it big this go-round.
“Look, this whole thing is about legacy for me and the guys,” he said. “J.B. and the Playboys were a famous band in Canada. We’re not famous anymore, but we remember us, and this is us now. And isn’t that pretty cool in and of itself?”
What the future holds for the band is unclear to Nicholls, who maintains that he’s just happy to be playing music 62 years after forming J.B. and the Playboys. He can’t say if there will be a third record or if the band will play his adopted hometown of Burlington anytime soon — “Nobody knows who we were here!” he pointed out. But one thing he knows is that he’s not holding on to regrets.
“Do I look back and wonder, What if we stuck it out? What if we found a way to break out of Canada and become internationally successful? Sure, sometimes,” Nicholls admitted. “But not in some ‘what might have been’ kind of way. Because at the end of the day, every single decision in my career seems to come out of me just wanting to play in a band. That drive has steered me creatively, and it hasn’t let me down yet.” ➆
WED.29
Are You Now or Have You Ever Been? (indie) at Monkey House, Winooski, 6 p.m. Free.
BBQ and Bluegrass (bluegrass) at Four Quarters Brewing, Winooski, 6:30 p.m. Free.
Cantus, Rebecca Mack & Audrey Pirog (acoustic) at Standing Stone Wines, Winooski, 7 p.m. Free.
Cricket Blue Perform the Music of ‘Over the Garden Wall’ (indie, folk) at Higher Ground Ballroom, South Burlington, 6:30 p.m.
$19.84.
Dobbs’ Dead (Grateful Dead tribute) at Zenbarn, Waterbury Center, 7 p.m. $9.09/$11.52. Evan Alsop (singer-songwriter) at Two Heroes Brewery Public House, South Hero, 6 p.m. Free.
Groove Is in the Hearth: Matt Hagen’s Murder Ballads (singer-songwriter) at American Flatbread Burlington Hearth, 5:30 p.m. Free.
Halloween Bash (rock) at 1st Republic Brewing, Essex, 6 p.m. Free.
Jazz Night with Ray Vega (jazz) at Hotel Vermont, Burlington, 8:30 p.m. Free.
Jazz Sessions (jazz) at the 126, Burlington, 9 p.m. Free.
THU.30
Alex Stewart & Friends (jazz) at the 126, Burlington, 7 p.m. Free. April Patterson Clemens, L.N.S.U. (acoustic) at Standing Stone Wines, Winooski, 7 p.m. Free.
Autumn Grooves: David Karl Roberts (singer-songwriter) at American Flatbread Stowe, 6 p.m. Free.
Black Sabbath Tribute (tribute) at Charlie-O’s World Famous, Montpelier, 8:30 p.m. Free.
CombustOmatics (rock) at Black Flannel Brewing & Distilling, Essex, 6 p.m. Free.
Eric George (folk) at the Skinny Pancake, Burlington, 6 p.m. Free.
Familiar Faces Funk Jam (funk, jazz) at the 126, Burlington, 9 p.m. Free.
Halloween Masquerade Ball with Julia Randall, COOP, Joe Something (rock, jazz) at Radio Bean, Burlington, 8 p.m. $15. Kraatz Carromato (flamenco) at Hugo’s, Montpelier, 7:30 p.m. Free.
Los Straitjackets, Wasted Major (rock) at Higher Ground Showcase Lounge, South Burlington, 7:30 p.m. $32.06.
FRI.31
90 Proof (rock) at the Old Post, South Burlington, 8 p.m. Free.
e Balconiers (jazz, funk) at the Alchemist, Waterbury, 6 p.m. Free.
Find the most up-to-date info on live music, DJs, comedy and more at sevendaysvt.com/music. If you’re a talent booker or artist planning live entertainment at a bar, nightclub, café, restaurant, brewery or coffee shop, send event details to music@sevendaysvt.com or submit the info using our form at sevendaysvt.com/postevent.
What do you get when you combine the surf-rock sounds of the Ventures and Dick Dale, the rockabilly tones of Eddie Cochran and Gene Vincent, gold Aztec medallions, and luchador masks? You get the guitar pyrotechnics and theatrics of LOS STRAITJACKETS! The Nashville band has been delivering its idiosyncratic blend of ’60s-inspired instrumental rock since forming in 1994, releasing 15 studio records, eight live albums and several collaborations, including serving as singer-songwriter Nick Lowe’s backing band. Touring behind a new album, Somos Los Straitjackets, released in September, the quartet plays the Higher Ground Showcase Lounge in South Burlington on Thursday, October 30. Nashville rockers WASTED MAJOR open the show.
Bearly Dead (Grateful Dead tribute) at the Stone Church, Brattleboro, 7 p.m. $30.81.
Breanna & the Boys (singersongwriter) at Poultney Pub, 7 p.m. Free.
Brian Leven (singer-songwriter) at Stowe Cider, 5 p.m. Free.
e Complaints (rock) at Gusto’s, Barre, 9 p.m. Free.
Coven, EMO GIRLS KISSING, the War Turtles (indie rock) at Light Club Lamp Shop, Burlington, 8:30 p.m. $10.
Daniel Ouellette (indie) at Radio Bean, Burlington, 7 p.m. $10.
Dave Mitchell’s Blue’s Revue (blues) at Red Square, Burlington, 2 p.m. Free.
Duncan MacLeod (jazz) at Bleu Northeast Kitchen, Burlington, 7:30 p.m. Free.
e Easy Cure (Cure tribute) at Monkey House, Winooski, 8 p.m. $10/$15.
e Grift (rock) at Afterthoughts, Waitsfield, 8 p.m. $10-$15.
Halloween Costume Party with Donna under (rock) at the Den at Harry’s Hardware, Cabot, 6 p.m. Free.
I Want My BTV Halloween Party (indie, electronica) at Foam Brewers, Burlington, 7 p.m. Free.
Last Hurrah Halloween Bash (rock) at Bent Nails Bistro, Montpelier, 8 p.m. Free.
e Machine (Pink Floyd tribute) at Higher Ground Ballroom, South Burlington, 7:30 p.m. $34.14.
Madaila (indie) at Higher Ground Showcase Lounge, South Burlington, 7:30 p.m. $26.42.
Magic User (synth, punk) at Charlie-O’s World Famous, Montpelier, 8:30 p.m. Free.
Mary-Go-Round (singersongwriter) at the Whammy Bar, Calais, 7 p.m. Free.
Nico Suave’s Scary as Funk (rock, funk) at Radio Bean, Burlington, 8:30 p.m. $10.
Phantom Airwave (funk) at Red Square, Burlington, 5 p.m. Free. Rap Night Burlington (hip-hop) at Drink, Burlington, 9 p.m. $5.
Roots of Creation, Grateful Dub (Grateful Dead tribute) at Zenbarn, Waterbury Center, 8 p.m. $40.
Spring Chickens (string band) at Two Heroes Brewery Public House, South Hero, 6:30 p.m. Free.
Sticks & Stones (covers) at On Tap Bar & Grill, Essex Junction, 9 p.m. Free.
Vachsean (covers) at On Tap Bar & Grill, Essex Junction, 5 p.m. Free.
We Bite, Barbacoa (Misfits tribute, live band karaoke) at Standing Stone Wines, Winooski, 7 p.m. $10.
SAT.1
Amber deLaurentis (singersongwriter) at Venetian Cocktail & Soda Lounge, Burlington, 7 p.m. $10.
Arcy Drive, mercury (indie rock) at Higher Ground Ballroom, South Burlington, 7 p.m. $22.95.
Barbie N Bones (rock) at 14th Star Brewing, St. Albans, 4 p.m. Free.
Blue Fox Trio (blues) at Hugo’s, Montpelier, 7:30 p.m. Free.
Cheddar (jam) at the Alchemist, Waterbury, 5 p.m. Free.
Dog Water, Mr. Doubtfire, Zack Riot & the Ultraviolet, Better ings (punk rock) at Odd Fellows Lodge, Burlington, 7 p.m. $10.
e Edd, Solar Circuit (jam) at Higher Ground Showcase Lounge, South Burlington, 7:30 p.m. $16.16.
Erika Cushing (singer-songwriter) at the Den at Harry’s Hardware, Cabot, 7 p.m. Free.
Exit 18, the Worst, Fawn (punk) at Radio Bean, Burlington, 7 p.m. $10.
Kinhaven Fall Concert (chamber music) at the Mill, Westport, N.Y., 5 p.m. Free.
Koa Phoenix (singer-songwriter) at Jay Peak Resort, 6 p.m. Free.
Krishna Guthrie (folk) at the Whammy Bar, Calais, 7 p.m. Free.
Live Acoustic Series (acoustic) at Red Square, Burlington, 3 p.m. Free.
McMaple (covers) at On Tap Bar & Grill, Essex Junction, 9 p.m. Free.
One LoVermont Presents Mighty Mystic (reggae) at the Double E Lounge, Essex, 8 p.m; VIP reception, 7 p.m. $22-$45.
Paul Asbell (jazz) at Bleu Northeast Kitchen, Burlington, 7:30 p.m. Free.
PET Project (folk) at Jericho Café & Tavern, 7 p.m. Free.
Ryan Sweezey & the Midnight Walkers (indie pop) at Foam Brewers, Burlington, 8 p.m. Free. Satyrdagg, ree Piece Meal, Glass Pony (indie rock) at Monkey House, Winooski, 7:30 p.m. $10.
Shane Murley (Americana) at Shelburne Vineyard, 6 p.m. Free.
Sonido Mal Maïz , DJ Jah Red (Latin, psych) at Zenbarn, Waterbury Center, 8 p.m.
$12.19-$18.39.
Troy Millette & the Fire Below (folk rock) at Stowe Cider, 4 p.m. Free.
TRS LIVE: e Storm Windows (live music) at Tank Recording Studio, Burlington, 6 p.m. Free.
SUN.2
Blossom, AUGRAH, CORRUPT WORLD, Wrachet, Black Axe, DOGFACE (hardcore) at Radio Bean, Burlington, 8 p.m. $10.
Justin LaPoint (singersongwriter) at Lawson’s Finest Liquids, Waitsfield, 3 p.m. Free.
Our Way Zine Release Party #3 (hardcore) at Higher Ground Showcase Lounge, South Burlington, 7 p.m. $15.
Seth Yacovone (acoustic) at the Alchemist, Waterbury, 4 p.m. Free.
Sunday Brunch Tunes (singersongwriter) at Hotel Vermont, Burlington, 10 a.m.
TURNmusic Presents: e Fabulous Fugitive Freedom Tour of Toussaint St. Negritude (live music) at the Phoenix, Waterbury, 4 p.m. $15-$30.
Wine & Jazz Sundays (jazz) at Shelburne Vineyard, 5 p.m. Free.
MON.3
Onyx | Sed One | I Rhymes | DJ Kanga (live music, DJ) at Afterthoughts, Waitsfield, 8 p.m. $40.
TUE.4
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.
Dead Is Alive with Dobbs’ Dead (Grateful Dead tribute) at Einstein’s Tap House, Burlington, 8 p.m. $15.
Honky Tonk Tuesday with Wild Leek River (country) at Radio Bean, Burlington, 9 p.m. $10.
Johanna Warren, Cricket Blue (folk) at Radio Bean, Burlington, 7 p.m. $12/$15.
Julien Foster, Dec Dye (indie, country) at Monkey House, Winooski, 7 p.m. Free.
Sammy B (rock) at Lawson’s Finest Liquids, Waitsfield, 7:30 p.m. Free.
Sprezzatura (jazz) at Original Skiff Fish + Oysters, Burlington, 9 p.m. Free.
WED.5
BBQ and Bluegrass (bluegrass) at Four Quarters Brewing, Winooski, 6:30 p.m. Free.
DOOM GONG (indie rock) at Radio Bean, Burlington, 8 p.m. $12/$15. Irish Night with RambleTree (Celtic) at Two Brothers Tavern, Middlebury, 7 p.m. Free.
Jazz Night with Ray Vega (jazz) at Hotel Vermont, Burlington, 8:30 p.m. Free.
Jazz Sessions (jazz) at the 126, Burlington, 9 p.m. Free.
e Lone Bellow, Caroline Spence (folk, rock) at Higher Ground Ballroom, South Burlington, 7:30 p.m. $37.24.
TURNmusic Presents: CeruttiReid Duo (classical) at the Phoenix, Waterbury, 7:30 p.m. $15-$30.
THU.30
DJ JP Black (DJ) at Red Square, Burlington, 8 p.m. Free.
DJ Paul (DJ) at Red Square Blue Room, Burlington, 9 p.m. Free.
DJ Two Sev (DJ) at Red Square, Burlington, 11 p.m. Free.
Local Dork (DJ) at Foam Brewers, Burlington, 6 p.m. Free.
Lucky Luc, DJ Chaston (DJ) at Red Square Blue Room, Burlington, 9 p.m. Free.
Vinyl Night with Ken (DJ) at Poultney Pub, 6 p.m. Free. Vinyl ursdays (DJ) at Hotel Vermont, Burlington, 6 p.m. Free.
FRI.31
Cleaners Party with DJ Aline Barbosa (DJ) at Red Square Blue Room, Burlington, 7 p.m. Free.
DJ Taka (DJ) at Light Club Lamp Shop, Burlington, 11 p.m. $10/$15. HALLOWON’T STOP RAVE (DJ) at the Phoenix, Waterbury, 9 p.m. Free.
Ron Stoppable, DJ ATAK (DJ) at Red Square, Burlington, 9 p.m. Free.
SAT.1
Dark Communion: A Goth Dance Party (goth DJ) at the Stone Church, Brattleboro, 9 p.m. $12.23.
DJ Eric LaFountaine (DJ) at Gusto’s, Barre, 9 p.m. Free.
DJ Raul (DJ) at Red Square Blue Room, Burlington, 6 p.m. Free. Matt Payne (DJ) at Red Square Blue Room, Burlington, 10 p.m. Free.
Molly Mood (DJ) at Red Square Blue Room, Burlington, 8 p.m. Free.
4t-ValleyMeadeDispensary102925 1 10/27/25 12:43 PM
(SELF-RELEASED, DIGITAL)
The life of a Vermont band can be rugged. You spend a good portion of the year driving to shows through wintry conditions, hauling gear up snowy roads, loading into clubs while the sidewalks are covered in ice — let’s just say the outdoor gig season is short.
Spare a thought for Burlington Americana and bluegrass act the Wormdogs, if you will.
The five-piece started something of a tradition with its 2024 self-titled record when it traveled south to record in New Orleans. Several members of the band are farmers, so snowbirding out of the frozen Green Mountains for a few weeks of Louisiana sun and po’boys seemed like a wonderful respite.
While it worked a treat for that record, Mother Nature had other ideas when the band headed back to New Orleans to record the follow-up, It’s for You. An incredibly rare blizzard struck the Big Easy in January, just as the Wormdogs and producer Eric George arrived to start work on the new album.
The winter-grizzled Vermonters kept the faucets running as the city was frozen and proceeded to record what they describe on their Bandcamp page as their “best work to date with the least amount of thought put into ‘the release.’”
It’s hard to disagree. After opening with the recorded message from the band’s very real hotline, 802-WORMDOG, the album kicks into gear with “Clam Chowder.” The Wormdogs lean heavier into their country roots on the new record, evidenced by some proper honky-tonk on this track. It’s a laid-back tune with subtle fiddle and easygoing harmonies as the band sings, “I’m longing for my baby’s clam chowder.”
“Nobody Makes It,” a doom-laden, downtrodden ditty full of quirky fatalism, perfectly captures the vibe of being snowed in somewhere strange. Failed attempts at stardom and misadventures in Los Angeles underpin a song that could almost be about planned obsolescence. “Nobody makes it anymore, so I guess we’re gonna have to fake it,” the band sings.
Though bassist Braden Lalancette, drummer Will Pearl, fiddle player Danica Cunningham, and guitarists Eric Soszynski and Nick Ledak all take turns on lead vocals, they often sing as a unit. Under the guidance of George, who knows a thing or two about making authentic folk music, the band recorded the album’s vocals standing in a circle around a single microphone. That old-school vibe permeates a collection of songs dipped in roots and folk traditions, from country to bluegrass to Americana — though there are traces of electric blues and Southern rock, too. It’s for You is right on the edge of being an EP; two of the seven tracks are more skit than song, so there are really only five proper tunes. But they crackle with sincerity and warmth, the sound of a northern band shrugging o a southern snowstorm.
The album is available at thewormdogs.bandcamp.com and on major streaming services.
CHRIS FARNSWORTH
(Spotify mix of local jams)
1. “WALK ON DOWN” by Dari Bay
2. “YOUR FATHER IS/WAS A VAMPIRE” by Astral Underground
3. “SIDEWINDER — LIVE” by Moondogs
4. “I MISS YOU” by Troy Millette
5. “MONUMENTS” by Last Pages
6. “FORGET HOW TO FIGHT” by the Grift
7. “I HOPE YOU NEVER THINK OF ME” by Cricket Blue Scan to listen sevendaysvt. com/playlist
TUE.4
Bashment Tuesday (DJ) at Akes’ Place, Burlington, 6 p.m. Free.
WED.29
Open Mic with Danny Lang (open mic) at Poultney Pub, 7 p.m. Free. Writers’ Bloc (poetry, prose open mic) at Radio Bean, Burlington, 7 p.m. Free.
THU.30
Open Mic Night (open mic) at Parker Pie, West Glover, 6 p.m. Free.
Open Mic with Artie (open mic) at the Whammy Bar, Calais, 7 p.m. Free.
SUN.2
Olde Time Jam Session (open jam) at the Den at Harry’s Hardware, Cabot, noon. Free.
WED.5
Open Mic (open mic) at Moscow Mill Studios, East Calais, 6 p.m. Donation.
Open Mic with Danny Lang (open mic) at Poultney Pub, 7 p.m. Free.
The Ribbit Review Open Mic & Jam (open mic) at Lily’s Pad, Burlington, 7 p.m. Free.
WED.29
Possessed! Comedians Channel Comedians (comedy) at Vermont Comedy Club, Burlington, 7 p.m. $10.
THU.30
Doug Stanhope (comedy) at Vermont Comedy Club, Burlington, 7 p.m. SOLD OUT.
FRI.31
Katie Hannigan (comedy) at Vermont Comedy Club, Burlington, 7 & 9 p.m. $25.
SAT.1
Katie Hannigan (comedy) at Vermont Comedy Club, Burlington, 7 & 9 p.m. $25.
SUN.2
Neil Hamburger (comedy) at Vermont Comedy Club, Burlington, 6:30 p.m. $25.
TUE.4
Open Mic Comedy with Levi Silverstein (comedy open mic) at the 126, Burlington, 7 p.m. Free.
WED.5
$5 Improv Night (comedy) at Vermont Comedy Club, Burlington, 6:30 p.m. $5.
Standup Open Mic (comedy open mic) at Vermont Comedy Club, Burlington, 8:30 p.m. Free.
In the Midnight Hour
Cast from a similar mold as ’90s alt-light acts such as Dave Matthews Band and Counting Crows, Burlington singer-songwriter Ryan Sweezey makes music chock-full of melodic hooks and heart-on-sleeve lyrics. A ubiquitous presence on the local live scene, both as a solo act and with his full band, RYAN SWEEZEY & THE MIDNIGHT WALKERS, he’s recently been busy in the studio. Sweezey dropped his new LP, Maybe Magic, in early October and is celebrating the achievement with a record-release show at Foam Brewers in Burlington on Saturday, November 1.
WED.29
‘Buffering the Vampire Slayer’ (live podcast) at Higher Ground Showcase Lounge, South Burlington, 7 p.m. $37.24.
Karaoke Friday Night (karaoke) at Park Place Tavern & Grill, Essex Junction, 8 p.m. Free.
Karaoke with Autumn (karaoke) at Monopole, Plattsburgh, N.Y., 9 p.m. Free.
Trivia (trivia) at Alfie’s Wild Ride, Stowe, 7 p.m. Free.
Trivia Night (trivia) at Parker Pie, West Glover, 6:30 p.m. Free.
Trivia Night (trivia) at Dumb Luck Pub & Grill, Winooski, 7 p.m. Free.
Trivia Night (trivia) at Rí Rá Irish Pub & Whiskey Room, Burlington, 7 p.m. Free.
Trivia Night (trivia) at Venetian Cocktail & Soda Lounge, Burlington, 7 p.m. Free.
WRUV Scare-aoke Night (karaoke) at Radio Bean, Burlington, 8:30 p.m. Free.
THU.30
Costume Karaoke (karaoke) at the Tropic Brewing, Waterbury, 7:30 p.m. Free.
Karaoke Friday Night (karaoke) at Park Place Tavern & Grill, Essex Junction, 8 p.m. Free.
Line Dancing & Two-Step Night (dance) at Zenbarn, Waterbury Center, 6 p.m. Free.
Trivia (trivia) at Four Quarters Brewing, Winooski, 6 p.m. Free.
Trivia Night (trivia) at Blackbird Bistro, Craftsbury, 6 p.m. Free.
Trivia Night (trivia) at Bent Nails Bistro, Montpelier, 8 p.m. Free.
Trivia Thursday (trivia) at Einstein’s Tap House, Burlington, 8 p.m. Free.
FRI.31
Boogie Bingo (bingo, DJ) at the Alchemist, Waterbury, 5 p.m. Free.
A Haunting Masquerade (masquerade) at Venetian Cocktail & Soda Lounge, Burlington, 8 p.m. $10.
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.
SAT.1
Queeraoke with Goddess (karaoke) at Standing Stone Wines, Winooski, 9 p.m. Free.
SUN.2
Family-Friendly Karaoke (karaoke) at Old Soul Design Shop, Plattsburgh, N.Y., 5 p.m. Free.
Sunday Funday (games) at 1st Republic Brewing, Essex, noon. Free.
Venetian Karaoke (karaoke) at Venetian Cocktail & Soda Lounge, Burlington, 7 p.m. Free.
MON.3
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.4
Karaoke with DJ Party Bear (karaoke) at Charlie-O’s World Famous, Montpelier, 9:30 p.m. Free.
Taproom Trivia (trivia) at 14th Star Brewing, St. Albans, 6:30 p.m. Free.
Trivia Tuesday (trivia) at On Tap Bar & Grill, Essex Junction, 7 p.m. Free.
Tuesday Trivia (trivia) at Higher Ground Ballroom, South Burlington, 7 p.m. Free.
WED.5
Karaoke Friday Night (karaoke) at Park Place Tavern & Grill, Essex Junction, 8 p.m. Free.
Karaoke with Autumn (karaoke) at Monopole, Plattsburgh, N.Y., 9 p.m. Free.
Trivia (trivia) at Alfie’s Wild Ride, Stowe, 7 p.m. Free.
Trivia Night (trivia) at Parker Pie, West Glover, 6:30 p.m. Free.
Trivia Night (trivia) at Dumb Luck Pub & Grill, Winooski, 7 p.m. Free.
Trivia Night (trivia) at Rí Rá Irish Pub & Whiskey Room, Burlington, 7 p.m. Free.
Trivia Night (trivia) at Venetian Cocktail & Soda Lounge, Burlington, 7 p.m. Free. ➆
CANDLELIGHT VIGIL & SURVIVOR SPEAKOUT: Flames in hand, attendees remember those who lost their lives to domestic violence, while survivors share their experiences and offer hope for the future. First Unitarian Universalist Society of Burlington, 5-7 p.m. Free. Info, steps@stepsvt.org.
LOCAL ARTISAN & MERCHANT
MARKET: Holiday shoppers sip and snack their way through an eclectic bazaar, made merrier by WhistlePig drink specials and food by Vermont chef Matt Folts. Last Stop Sports Bar, Winooski, 5:30-8:30 p.m. Free. Info, 338-0314.
community
HEALING COMMUNITIES TO HEAL THE WORLD: The Center for Justice Reform at Vermont Law & Graduate School hosts a virtual session exploring what happens when neighbors come together to address substance use. Noon-1:30 p.m. Free; preregister. Info, 847-529-1724.
PROGRESS & THE PATH
AHEAD: The Montpelier Commission for Recovery & Resilience hosts a
community-driven evening of socializing, celebrating and learning about the city’s future. College Hall Chapel, Vermont College of Fine Arts, Montpelier, 6-7:30 p.m. Free. Info, jon@montpelierstrong.org.
crafts
YARN CRAFTERS GROUP: A drop-in meetup welcomes knitters, crocheters, spinners, weavers and other fiber artists. BYO snacks and drinks. Must Love Yarn, Shelburne, 5-7 p.m. Free. Info, 448-3780.
dance
‘THE INSTITUTE FOR FOLDING’: An interdisciplinary work explores our human relationship to knowledge through movement, language, live sound and 30 sheets of cardboard. Briggs Opera House, White River Junction, 7:30-8:30 p.m. $20. Info, info@vermontdance.org.
etc.
FOLIAGE TOUR: Burlington Trolley Tours beckons autumn adventurers to a three-anda-half-hour leaf-peeping ride exploring the spectacular display of Vermont’s fall colors, including a stop at Shelburne Museum. Burlington Trolley Tours, 11 a.m. & 3 p.m. $35-100. Info, 912-401-3959.
These community event listings are sponsored by the WaterWheel Foundation, a project of the Vermont band Phish.
LIST YOUR UPCOMING EVENT HERE FOR FREE!
All submissions must be received by Thursday at noon for consideration in the following Wednesday’s newspaper. Find our convenient form and guidelines at sevendaysvt.com/postevent
Listings and spotlights are written by Rebecca Driscoll Seven Days edits for space and style. Depending on cost and other factors, classes and workshops may be listed in either the calendar or the classes section. Class organizers may be asked to purchase a class listing.
Learn more about highlighted listings in the Magnificent 7 on page 11.
of this hot-and-cold ritual. Day Haus, Stowe, 2-6 p.m. $25. Info, grace@northernkinsauna.com.
QUEEN CITY GHOSTWALK:
DARKNESS FALLS TOUR:
Paranormal historian Holli Bushnell highlights haunted happenings throughout Burlington. 199 Main St., Burlington, 8 p.m. $25. Info, mail@queencityghostwalk. com.
‘SAFE AT HOME’ OPEN HOUSE: Curious folks explore the benefits of home sharing at this info-packed evening complete with refreshments and activities. HomeShare Vermont, South Burlington, 3-5 p.m. Free; preregister. Info, 847-529-1724.
See what’s playing at local theaters in the On Screen section.
‘THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION’:
A 46-minute preview of Ken Burns’ new six-part PBS documentary series explores the nation’s founding struggles. A reception with 18th centuryinspired refreshments follows. Monument Arts & Cultural Center, Bennington, 7-9 p.m. $15 suggestion donation. Info, 540-6882.
food & drink
COMMUNITY COOKING: Helping hands join up with the nonprofit’s staff and volunteers to make a yummy meal for distribution. Pathways Vermont, Burlington, 6-8 p.m. Free. Info, 777-8691.
CHAIR YOGA: Waterbury Public Library instructor Diana Whitney leads at-home participants in gentle stretches supported by seats. 10 a.m. Free. Info, 244-7036.
SAUNA & COLD PLUNGE: Locals recharge and experience the wellness benefits
FIND MORE LOCAL EVENTS IN THIS ISSUE AND ONLINE: art
Find visual art exhibits and events in the Art section and at sevendaysvt.com/art. film
See what’s playing in the On Screen section. music + nightlife
Find club dates at local venues in the Music + Nightlife section online at sevendaysvt.com/music.
= ONLINE EVENT
= GET TICKETS ON SEVENDAYSTICKETS.COM
SAUNA & COLD PLUNGE COMMUNITY SESSIONS: Guests delight in a little fire and ice to reset both the mind and body. Outbound Stowe, 2-6 p.m. $30. Info, 253-7595.
language
ELL CLASSES: Fletcher Free Library invites learners of all abilities to practice written and spoken English with trained instructors. 6:30-8:30 p.m. Free; preregister. Info, bshatara@burlingtonvt.gov.
ME2 CHORUS REHEARSAL: Conductor Stefanie Weigand leads vocalists ages 16 and up in a stigma-free, supportive environment created for people with mental illnesses and their supporters. Faith United Methodist Church, South Burlington, 7-9 p.m. Free; preregister. Info, phoenix@me2music.org.
CABOT CHEESE-E-BIKE TOUR: Cyclists roll through a pastoral 20-mile trail ride, then enjoy artisan eats, including Vermont’s award-wining cheddar. Lamoille Valley Bike Tours, Johnson, noon4 p.m. $120. Info, 730-0161.
FAMILY-TO-FAMILY: NAMI
Vermont hosts an informative weekly seminar for individuals with a loved one who is struggling with mental health. 6-8:30 p.m. Free; preregister. Info, 876-7949, ext. 100.
STUDIO PRODUCTION: Media enthusiasts walk through the process of conducting interviews on set while switching between cameras and utilizing chroma-keyed backgrounds. The Media Factory, Burlington, 6-8 p.m. Free; donations accepted; preregister. Info, 651-9692.
GREEN MOUNTAIN TABLE TENNIS CLUB: Ping-Pong players swing their paddles in singles and doubles matches. Rutland Area Christian School, 7-9 p.m. Free for first two sessions; $30 annual membership. Info, 247-5913.
DR. ANDREA LÖW: The deputy head of the Center for Holocaust Studies at the Institute for Contemporary History, Munich, delivers a timely lecture titled “Fighting in the Kraków Ghetto and Fighting for Memory: Joseph Wulf as Survivor and Historian.” University of Vermont Alumni House, Burlington, 7 p.m. Free. Info, jhuener@uvm.edu.
FALL SPEAKER SERIES: JIM SANFORD: A local architect raises the roof to explore the Dimetrodon, a distinctive 1970s multifamily housing building in Warren. Yestermorrow Design/
Build School, Waitsfield, 6:30-8 p.m. Free. Info, 496-5545.
theater
‘TINA — THE TINA TURNER
MUSICAL’: The inspiring true story of the woman who broke barriers and became the queen of rock and roll gets the jukebox treatment. Flynn Main Stage, Burlington, 7:30 p.m. $71-100. Info, 863-5966.
words
POETRY OUT IN THE OPEN: AN EVENING OF TENDERNESS & BELONGING: Coeditors James Crews and Brad Peacock host an evening of conversation and connection celebrating love in all of its many forms. Brooks Memorial Library, Brattleboro, 5:30 p.m. Free. Info, 254-5290.
TIM PALMER: Vermont River Conservancy hosts the award-winning author and photographer for a virtual presentation of his new book, Seek Higher Ground: The Natural Solution to Our Urgent Flooding Crisis complete with stunning photos and poignant stories. 6-7 p.m. Free. Info, isla@ vermontriverconservancy.org.
GROW YOUR BUSINESS:
Shelburne BNI hosts a weekly meeting for local professionals to exchange referrals and build meaningful connections. Connect Church, Shelburne, 8:30-10 a.m. Free. Info, 377-3422.
OCTOBER MIXER: Franklin County Regional Chamber of Commerce hosts an evening of networking, refreshments and community engagement. Northwestern Medical Center, St. Albans, 5:30-7:30 p.m. $10-15; preregister. Info, 524-2444.
COMMUNITY PARTNERS DESK: Neighbors connect with representatives from the Burlington Electric Department and get illuminating info about its services. Fletcher Free Library, Burlington, 3-5 p.m. Free. Info, 863-3403.
MONTPELIER RAMBLE: Locals take to the streets for a weekly community-building stroll of the Capital City’s pedestrian promenades. Downtown Montpelier, 5 p.m. Free. Info, 223-9604.
KNIT FOR YOUR NEIGHBORS: All ages and abilities knit or crochet hats and scarves for the South Burlington Food Shelf. Materials provided. South Burlington Public Library & City Hall, 2-5 p.m. Free. Info, 846-4140.
KNITTING GROUP: Knitters of every experience level get together to spin yarns. Latham Library, Thetford, 7 p.m. Free. Info, 785-4361.
WOODWORKING LAB: Visionaries create a project or learn a new skill with the help of mentors and
access to makerspace tools and equipment. Patricia A. Hannaford Career Center, Middlebury, 5-8 p.m. $7.50. Info, 382-1012.
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. Info, 863-2345. etc.
HISTORICAL WALKING TOUR: Vermont State University history students recount spooky true stories about the town’s past, including tragedies and natural disasters. Ages 12 and up. Refreshments provided. Ira Town Hall, 4:30-5:30 p.m. Free. Info, 235-2279.
QUEEN CITY GHOSTWALK: DARKNESS FALLS TOUR: See WED.29, 8 p.m.
See what’s playing at local theaters in the On Screen section.
‘ANIMAL KINGDOM 3D’: Audience members are guided through an exploration of stunning animal worlds, from frozen snowy forests to the darkest depths of the ocean. Dealer.com 3D Theater, ECHO Leahy Center for Lake Champlain, Burlington, noon, 2 & 4 p.m. $3-5 plus regular admission, $17-23; free for members and kids 2 and under. Info, 864-1848.
HIRSCHFIELD INTERNATIONAL FILM SERIES: ‘FRANKENSTEIN’: Oscar-winning director Guillermo del Toro’s 2025 adaptation of Mary Shelley’s classic tale features Oscar Isaac as the brilliant but egotistical scientist. Dana Auditorium, Sunderland Language Center, Middlebury College, 7-9:30 p.m. Free. Info, cengvall@middlebury.edu.
‘OCEAN PARADISE 3D’: Viewers travel to the far reaches of the Pacific Ocean for a glimpse into the pristine environments vital to our planet’s health. Dealer.com 3D Theater, ECHO Leahy Center for Lake Champlain, Burlington, 11 a.m., 1 & 3 p.m. $3-5 plus regular admission, $17-23; free for members and kids 2 and under. Info, 864-1848.
QUALITY SKI TIME FILM TOUR: Snow sports fans gear up for winter with flicks featuring incredible athletes and diverse styles of skiing. Film House, Main Street Landing Performing Arts Center, Burlington, 7 p.m. $15. Info, 540-3018.
‘THE ROCKY HORROR PICTURE SHOW’: Attendees in costume hoot and holler at an interactive screening of the bawdy 1975 cult-classic musical, featuring dance opportunities and prop kits for all. No outside props allowed. Town Hall Theater, Middlebury, 8 p.m. $15-20. Info, 382-9222.
‘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, 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. Info, 864-1848.
‘SPACE: THE NEW FRONTIER 3D’: Astrophiles witness history in the making — from launching rockets without fuel to building the Lunar Gateway — in this 2024 documentary narrated by Chris Pine. Dealer.com 3D Theater, ECHO Leahy Center for Lake Champlain, Burlington, 11:30 a.m., 1:30 & 3:30 p.m. $3-5 plus regular admission, $17-23; free for members and kids 2 and under. Info, 864-1848.
food & drink
DANTE’S INFERNO: A FEAST THROUGH THE 9 LAYERS OF HELL: Happy hour becomes haunting hour at this opulent dining experience featuring hellish dishes curated by chef Eric Hodet, potent potables and devilish desserts. Adventure Dinner Clubhouse, Colchester, 6-9 p.m. $85. Info, sas@ adventuredinner.com.
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. Info, 244-7036.
BRIDGE CLUB: A lively group plays a classic, tricky game in pairs. Waterbury Public Library, 12:30-4:30 p.m. Free. Info, 522-3523.
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. Info, lafferty1949@gmail.com.
DUPLICATE BRIDGE GAMES: Snacks and coffee fuel bouts of a classic card game. Burlington Bridge Club, Williston, 12:30-4 p.m. $6. Info, 872-5722.
WEEKLY CHESS FOR FUN: Players of all ability levels face off and learn new strategies. United Community Church, St. Johnsbury, 5:30-9 p.m. Free; donations accepted. Info, lafferty1949@gmail.com.
COMMUNITY
MINDFULNESS: Volunteer coach Andrea Marion guides attendees in a weekly practice for stress reduction, followed by a discussion and Q&A. 5:30-6:30 p.m. Free; preregister. Info, andreamarion193@gmail.com.
SAUNA & COLD PLUNGE
COMMUNITY SESSIONS: See WED.29, 5-8 p.m.
HAUNTED CINEMA: FILMS ABOUT GHOSTS & THE SUPERNATURAL: Just in time for Halloween, film historian Rick Winston presents a program of clips that explore the paranormal as depicted in movies. Waterbury Public Library, 6:30-8 p.m. Free. Info, 244-7036.
TAXIDERMY TERROR: Guests who dare to venture into the museum’s basement enjoy a fright-filled evening of creepy stuffed creations. Ages 14 and up. Fairbanks Museum & Planetarium, St. Johnsbury, 7-10 p.m. $10-20; preregister. Info, 748-2372.
ITALIAN CONVERSATION GROUP: Parla Italiano? Language learners practice pronunciation and more at a friendly gathering. Fletcher
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.
‘ANIMATIONLAND’: Museumgoers embark on an immersive journey to create stories using techniques such as storyboarding, sketching and stop-motion moviemaking. 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. Info, 864-1848.
‘CHAMP: AMERICA’S LAKE MONSTER’: Curious minds dive into the science and history of Vermont’s most iconic legend
If two roads diverged in a yellow wood, would you take the one less traveled by?
Northern Stage presents Emmy Award-winning Vermont actor Gordon Clapp in Robert Frost: This Verse Business at Barrette Center for the Arts in White River Junction.
The must-see one-man play shines a light on the controversial 20th-century poet known for his portrayal of rural American life and unabashed use of colloquialisms.
Heralded as “a seamless piece of theatre … with authentic New England wit and charm” by Broadway World, the show captures Frost’s beguiling wit, opinions and poems, through both a public and a personal lens.
‘ROBERT FROST: THIS VERSE BUSINESS’
Thursday, October 30, and Friday, October 31, 7:30 p.m., and Saturday, November 1, 2 p.m., at Byrne Theater, Barrette Center for the Arts, in White River Junction. $28-80. Info, 296-7000, northernstage.org.
at this family-friendly exhibit featuring interactive games, a design studio, multimedia displays, a 30-foot sculpture and photo ops. ECHO Leahy Center for Lake Champlain, Burlington, 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Regular admission, $17-23; free for members and kids 2 and under. Info, 864-1848.
LIBRARY LITTLES: 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. Info, 863-3403.
BABY TIME: Infants and their caregivers enjoy a slow, soothing story featuring songs, rhymes and lap play. South Burlington Public Library & City Hall, 10:30-11 a.m. Free. Info, 846-4140. GAME ON!: Kids take turns collaborating with or competing against friends using Nintendo Switch on the big screen. Caregivers must be present to supervise children below fifth grade. South Burlington Public Library & City Hall, 5-6 p.m. Free. Info, 846-4140.
PLAY TIME: Little ones ages birth to 5 build with blocks and read together. Brownell Library, Essex Junction, 1010:45 a.m. Free. Info, 878-6956.
BABY & CAREGIVER MEETUP: Wiggly ones ages birth to 18 months play and explore in a calm, supportive setting while adults relax and connect on the sidelines. Jaquith Public Library, Marshfield, 10:30-11:30 a.m. Free. Info, 426-3581.
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. Info, 223-3338.
‘ANIMATIONLAND’: See WED.29.
‘CHAMP: AMERICA’S LAKE MONSTER’: See WED.29.
Free Library, Burlington, noon-1 p.m. Free. Info, 863-3403.
DARTMOUTH COLLEGE WIND
ENSEMBLE: Trumpet virtuoso Pacho Flores and cuatro master Héctor Molina perform alongside the college’s ensemble at a program celebrating Venezuelan musical brilliance. Spaulding Auditorium, Hopkins Center for the Arts, Dartmouth College, Hanover, N.H., 7:30-9:30 p.m. $30-55. Info, 603-646-2422.
FAMILY-TO-FAMILY: See WED.29, 6:30-9 p.m.
SCHOOL OF ARCHITECTURE + ART LECTURE SERIES: CARA
ARMSTRONG: The associate dean of the College of Professional Schools presents her interdisciplinary research in neuroscience and architecture. Chaplin Hall Gallery, Northfield, 1 p.m. Free. Info, 485-2000.
TARA HETZ: The founder of Mazingira Adventures details two unforgettable opportunities in 2026: cycling through the wild landscapes of Kenya and exploring mountain trails from Bulgaria to Greece. Queen City Brewery, Burlington, 6-8 p.m. Free. Info, info@mazingiraadventures.com.
‘ROBERT FROST: THIS VERSE BUSINESS’: Northern Stage presents Emmy Award-winning actor Gordon Clapp in a one-man play highlighting the poet’s wit, opinions and, of course, poems. See calendar spotlight. Byrne Theater, Barrette Center for the Arts, White River Junction, 7:30 p.m. $28-80. Info, 296-7000.
BABY & ME CLASS: Parents and their infants ages birth to 1 explore massage, lullabies and gentle movements while discussing the struggles and joys of parenthood. Greater Burlington YMCA, 9:45-10:45 a.m. $10; free for members. Info, 862-9622.
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. Info, 878-4918.
PRESCHOOL PLAY TIME: Pre-K patrons play and socialize after music time. Dorothy Alling Memorial Library, Williston, 11-11:30 a.m. Free. Info, 878-4918.
TODDLER TIME: Wiggly wee ones ages 1 and up love this lively, interactive storybook experience featuring songs, rhymes and finger plays. South Burlington Public Library & City Hall, 9:15-9:45 & 10:30-11 a.m. Free. Info, 846-4140.
POKÉMON CLUB: I choose you, Pikachu! Elementary and teenage fans of the franchise — and beginners, too — trade cards and play games. Kellogg-Hubbard Library, Montpelier, 3:30-5 p.m. Free. Info, 223-3338.
STORY TIME: Kids and their caregivers meet for stories, songs and bubbles. Kellogg-Hubbard Library, 2nd Floor, Children’s Library, Montpelier, 10:30-11 a.m. Free. Info, 223-3338.
stowe/smuggs
WEE ONES PLAY TIME: Caregivers bring kiddos under 4 to a new sensory learning experience each week. Morristown Centennial Library, Morrisville, 10 a.m. Free. Info, 888-3853.
mad river valley/ waterbury
BUSY BEES PLAYGROUP: Blocks, toys, books and songs engage little ones 24 months and younger. Waterbury Public Library, 10-11:30 a.m. Free. Info, 244-7036.
‘THESE SHINING LIVES’: Michole Biancosino directs Melanie Marnich’s poignant play based on the true story of the Radium Girls — working women who painted watch dials with radioactive paint in the 1920s and ’30s. Seeler Studio Theatre, Mahaney Arts Center, Middlebury College, 8-10 p.m. $5-15. Info, 442-6433.
words
MINDFUL AGING BOOK
DISCUSSION: Amy Pitton of the Montpelier Senior Activity Center guides this group chat about the core topics outlined in Margareta Magnusson’s The Gentle Art of Swedish Death Cleaning Kellogg-Hubbard Library, Montpelier, 1:30-3 p.m. Free. Info, 223-3338.
etc.
FOLIAGE TOUR: See WED.29.
QUEEN CITY GHOSTWALK: DARKNESS FALLS TOUR: See WED.29, 8 p.m.
film
See what’s playing at local theaters in the On Screen section.
‘ANIMAL KINGDOM 3D’: See THU.30.
‘OCEAN PARADISE 3D’: See THU.30.
‘SEA MONSTERS 3D: A PREHISTORIC ADVENTURE’: See THU.30.
‘SPACE: THE NEW FRONTIER 3D’: See THU.30.
food & drink
BOURBON DINNER: First-rate chefs prepare a thoughtfully crafted five-course meal paired with cocktails featuring Smugglers’ Notch Distillery Straight Bourbon Whiskey. Alice’s Table, Jay, 6-9 p.m. $125. Info, 988-2743.
games
DUPLICATE BRIDGE GAMES: See THU.30, 10 a.m.-1:30 p.m.
health & fitness
THE ARTHRITIS FOUNDATION
EXERCISE PROGRAM: Anne Greshin leads a low-impact, evidenced-based program that builds muscle, keeps joints flexible and helps folks stay fit. Waterbury Public Library, 10:3011:30 a.m. Free; preregister. Info, 241-4840.
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. Info, programs@ damlvt.org.
MINDFULNESS MEDITATION: Community members gather for an informal session combining stimulating discussion, sharing and sitting in silence. Pathways
Vermont, Burlington, 1:15-2:15 p.m. Free. Info, 777-8691.
DOUBLE FEATURE IN THE PARK:
A Halloween-themed night of flicks includes classic cartoons featuring the likes of Popeye, Casper and Mickey Mouse, as well as the 1922 spooky silent film Nosferatu: A Symphony of Horror. Rotary Park, Winooski, 6:30-9 p.m. Free. Info, info@downtownwinooski.org.
HALLOWEEN COSTUME BALL: Vermont’s own Allman Brothers Band tribute act Soulshine Revival set the tone for a memorable costumed fête. Town Hall Theater, Middlebury, 7:30-9 p.m. Free; preregister. Info, 382-9222.
HOT BUTTER HALLOWEEN:
RITUAL: Step into the woods … if you dare. Witchy party people dance among the damned at a coven-themed folk-horror celebration. Ages 18 and up. Flynn Space, Burlington, noon. $10. Info, 652-4500.
language
FRENCH SOCIAL HOUR: The Alliance Française of the Lake Champlain Region hosts a rendez-vous over cocktails. Hilton Garden Inn Burlington Downtown, 5:30-7 p.m. Free; cash bar. Info, bbrodie@aflcr.org.
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. Info, 622-0692.
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. Info, 747-8300.
theater
‘ROBERT FROST: THIS VERSE BUSINESS’: See THU.30. ‘MURDER ON THE DISORIENTED EXPRESS’: Hitch a ride for homicide! Audience members dig into a three-course dinner while enjoying an interactive whodunit by Kevin O’Brien’s Upstage Productions. Champlain Valley Dinner Train, Burlington, 3-6:30 p.m. $180. Info, passenger@vrs. us.com.
‘THESE SHINING LIVES’: See THU.30.
VECAN CONFERENCE: The Vermont Energy & Climate Action Network hosts its 18th annual conference to work toward a more sustainable future, featuring activist Bill McKibben as the keynote speaker. See vecan.net for full schedule. Lake Morey Resort, Fairlee, 9 a.m.-5
We can think of at least 20 reasons you should know Louise Penny’s name — one for every mystery novel in her best-selling Chief Inspector Gamache series. But beyond the books, the acclaimed Canadian crime-fiction author made a memorable, and truly badass, move when she canceled her 2025 U.S. book tour in protest of Trump administration tariffs, preserving only one symbolic stop at Haskell Free Library & Opera House in Derby Line, which straddles the international border. Though the inperson event has sold out, virtual viewers can tune in to the writer’s Saturday launch of The Black Wolf, no matter which side of the border they’re on.
LOUISE PENNY
Saturday, November 1, 4 p.m., and Sunday, November 2, 2 p.m., at Haskell Free Library & Opera House in Derby Line. In-person tickets sold out; $43 for Saturday’s live stream; preregister. Info, 448-3350, phoenixbooks.biz.
p.m. Free; preregister. Info, 223-2328.
community
SISTERHOOD CAMPFIRE: Women and genderqueer folks gather in a safe and inclusive space to build community through journaling, storytelling, gentle music and stargazing. Leddy Park, Burlington, 7-9 p.m. Free. Info, sisterhoodcampfire@ gmail.com.
VERMONT WOODLANDS
STORYTELLING NIGHT: “Wildlife
Encounters: Critters, Creatures & Curiosities” invites community members to share funny, surprising and downright strange tales from the forest. Zenbarn, Waterbury Center, 5-7 p.m. $30; preregister; cash bar. Info, info@ vermontwoodlands.org.
BERLIN CONTRA DANCE: Dancers of all ages and abilities
Lakeview Cemetery, Burlington, 6 p.m. $25; preregister. Info, 413-426-7572.
MURDER AT THE MUSEUM: Costumed sleuths immerse themselves in mystery as they uncover secrets and work with (or against!) other guests to solve a crime. T.W. Wood Museum, Montpelier, 7-9:30 p.m. $45. Info, 222-0909.
TATTOO FUNDRAISER: Talented ink artists provide Halloween flash tats. Partial proceeds benefit Mosaic VT. Temple of Ink, Montpelier, 10 a.m.-7 p.m. $150350. Info, charlottedomino97@ gmail.com.
FALL FESTIVAL: ‘RESILIENT PATTERNS’: Vermont Humanities celebrates National Arts and Humanities Month with a special series highlighting stories of hope and resilience. See vermonthumanities. org for full schedule. Various locations statewide, 3 p.m. Various prices. Info, jpelletier@ vermonthumanities.org.
NATIONAL LIFE CRAFT FAIR: Locavores browse unique handmade items including jewelry, pickled veggies, chocolates, soaps and holiday decorations. National Life Building, Montpelier, 9 a.m.-3 p.m. Free. Info, nlcraftfair@gmail.com. film
See what’s playing at local theaters in the On Screen section.
‘ANIMAL KINGDOM 3D’: See THU.30.
GIRL WINTER FILM TOUR: A collection of femme-forward and gender-nonconforming flicks shifts the narrative of the standard ski and snowboard film. Film House, Main Street Landing Performing Arts Center, Burlington, 6-9 p.m. $30. Info, studio@moonrise-creative.com.
‘HEIGHTENED SCRUTINY’: Out in the Open presents the Vermont premiere of an award-winning documentary that zooms in on a highstakes legal battle to overturn Tennessee’s ban on gender-affirming care for trans youth. New England Youth Theatre, Brattleboro, 6:45 p.m. $0-10 sliding scale; preregister. Info, info@weareoutintheopen.org.
‘OCEAN PARADISE 3D’: See THU.30.
‘SEA MONSTERS 3D: A PREHISTORIC ADVENTURE’: See THU.30.
learn at a gathering that encourages joy, laughter and friendship. Bring clean, soft-soled shoes. See website for callers and bands. Capital City Grange, Berlin, 8-11 p.m. $5-20 sliding scale. Info, 225-8921. etc.
FRIGHT BY FLASHLIGHT:
Adventurous attendees become experts in vintage ghost-hunting techniques and scholars of paranormal lore. Ages 12 and up.
‘SPACE: THE NEW FRONTIER 3D’: See THU.30.
food & drink
CHAMPLAIN ISLANDS FARMERS
MARKET: More than 35 vendors showcase their farm-fresh veggies, meats, eggs, flowers, honey and other goodies, backed by sets of live local music. Champlain Islands Farmers Market, Grand Isle, 10 a.m.-2 p.m. Free. Info, champlainislands farmersmkt@gmail.com.
DANTE’S INFERNO: A FEAST THROUGH THE 9 LAYERS OF HELL: See THU.30.
DECANTED: A TASTING EVENT FOR KINDRED SPIRITS: Vermont’s boldest distillers and cider and wine producers serve up their latest releases, backed by live tunes courtesy of local legend Matt Hagen. Jay Peak Resort, 2-5 p.m. $60. Info, 988-2743.
PIE BREAKFAST: Ticket holders get access to all the savory and sweet bakes they can eat. Proceeds benefit the senior center. Heineberg Senior Center, Burlington, 9-11 a.m. $10-15. Info, 863-3982.
CHESS CLUB: All ages and abilities face off and learn new strategies. South Burlington Public Library & City Hall, 11 a.m.-2 p.m. Free. Info, 846-4140.
D&D & TTRPG GROUP: Fans of Dungeons & Dragons and other tabletop role-playing games embark on a new adventure with a rotating cast of game masters. Virtual option available. Waterbury Public Library, 1-5 p.m. Free. Info, judi@ waterburypubliclibrary.com.
HALLOWEEN-O-THON: ‘TILL
DEATH DO US PART’: Costumes are encouraged at a celebration of locally made horror shorts, followed by the Gorey Daze parade and Corn Ball. Junction Arts & Media, White River Junction, 6-7:30 p.m. Free. Info, 295-6688.
TAXIDERMY TERROR: See THU.30.
music
ALLISON MANN SEXTET: A local vocalist takes the stage with special guests to perform jazz standards in an intimate setting. Contemporary Dance & Fitness Studio, Montpelier, 7-9 p.m. $20 suggested donation. Info, allisonmannsings@gmail.com.
ANA GUIGUI: See FRI.31.
BURLINGTON CIVIC SYMPHONY CONCERT: Music director Kim Diehnelt leads the auditioned community ensemble in a rousing program of works by Edward Elgar, Jean Sibelius and Robert Schumann. McCarthy Arts Center, Saint Michael’s College, Colchester, 7 p.m. $5-25. Info, 654-2000.
CATAMOUNT ARTS BLUEGRASS
NIGHT: Bob and Sarah Amos host an evening of mesmerizing vocal harmonies and impressive guitar playing by super trio the Revenants. Alexander Twilight Theatre, Vermont State University-Lyndon, 7 p.m. Free; donations accepted. Info, 748-2600.
LANE SERIES: JERRON PAXTON & DENNIS LICHTMAN: Two acclaimed multi-instrumentalists romp through an energetic and engaging set of acoustic blues, ragtime, jazz and original compositions. The University of
Vermont Recital Hall, Burlington, 7:30 p.m. $5-30. Info, 656-4455.
MAIDEN VERMONT: Central Vermont’s all-female barbershop chorus sings a range of crowd-pleasers from past hits to contemporary chart-toppers. Town Hall Theater, Middlebury, 7 p.m. $10-20. Info, 279-2168.
THIRD TONE PROJECT: A meditative journey of remembrance and connection blends live music, binaural sound work and gentle, guided meditation. Unitarian Church of Montpelier, 7-8:30 p.m. $20; free for kids. Info, 223-7861.
THE VERMONT CHORAL UNION: Eric Milnes directs the vocalists and orchestra of L’Harmonie des saisons in Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s emotionally stirring masterpiece Requiem. Holy Angels Church, St. Albans, 8 p.m. $10-80; free for kids under 18. Info, 524-2585.
SHORT TRAIL HIKE: Explorers join Green Mountain Club staff on a guided trek of the center’s 0.5-mile loop, while acquiring tips and tricks along the way. Green Mountain Club Headquarters, Waterbury Center, 2-3 p.m. Free. Info, 244-7037.
‘BEING RED IN A BLUE ENVIRONMENT’: Braver Angels hosts a workshop for right-leaning individuals to learn and practice skills and strategies for effectively communicating their perspectives. A free lunch follows. Essex Police Department, 10 a.m.-1 p.m. Free; preregister. Info, learle-centers@ braverangels.org.
NEW MEMBER ORIENTATION: Curious creatives and multimedia enthusiasts get a tour of the
Find even more local events in this newspaper and online: art
Find visual art exhibits and events in the Art section and at sevendaysvt.com/art.
film
See what’s playing at theaters in the On Screen section.
music + nightlife
Find club dates at local venues in the Music + Nightlife section online at sevendaysvt.com/ music.
Learn more about highlighted listings in the Magnificent 7 on page 11.
= ONLINE EVENT
= GET TICKETS
facilities and check out available gear. The Media Factory, Burlington, 1-3 p.m. Free; donations accepted; preregister. Info, 651-9692.
WHAT CAN YOUR DOG DO?: The Green Mountain Dog Club hosts pet owners for an educational day packed with live demos, chats with experts and handson time with gear. No pups allowed. Crossett Brook Middle School, Duxbury, 9 a.m.-2 p.m. Free. Info, heatherpeatman@ gmail.com.
‘ROBERT FROST: THIS VERSE BUSINESS’: See THU.30, 2 p.m.
‘CHAOS IN THE VALLEY’: Viewers laugh out loud at this Dungeons & Dragons-themed show featuring four improv comedians as tabletop role players and their dungeon master. The Valley Players Theater, Waitsfield, 7 p.m. $5. Info, 583-1674.
MURDER MYSTERY DINNER:
A thrilling whodunit with a “London Hippie” theme keeps detectives and diners on the edge of their seats. The Opera House at Enosburg Falls, 5-9 p.m. $75. Info, 933-6171.
‘MURDER ON THE DISORIENTED EXPRESS’: See FRI.31.
‘THESE SHINING LIVES’: See THU.30, 3-5 p.m.
‘THE WEDDING TALE’: The Civic Standard presents an immersive soap opera by, for and about the people of Hardwick. American Legion Post 7, Hardwick, 5:30-9 p.m. $40. Info, thecivicstandard@gmail.com.
words
GRANT FAULKNER: The author of The Art of Brevity shares his expertise on writing and publishing flash fiction and nonfiction works. Hosted by the League of Vermont Writers. 11 a.m.-12:30 p.m. $20-30; preregister. Info, lvw@leagueofvermontwriters. org.
LITTLE FREE LIBRARY LAUNCH: Lit lovers gather for the installation and celebration of the town’s newest community offering. BYO book to get things started. Addison Town Clerk, 1011 a.m. Free. Info, 877-2211.
LOUISE PENNY: The No. 1 New York Times and USA Today best-selling author launches The Black Wolf, the 20th book in her Chief Inspector Gamache series. See calendar spotlight. Haskell Free Library & Opera House, Derby Line, 4 p.m. Inperson tickets sold out; $43 for Saturday-only live stream; preregister. Info, 448-3350. USED BOOK SALE: Readers peruse a wide array of like-new titles to replenish their stack. Proceeds benefit Ilsley Public Library. Middlebury United Methodist Church, 10 a.m.-2 p.m. Free; cost of books; cash or check only. Info, 388-4095. WRITE NOW!: Authors of all experience levels hone their craft
in a supportive and critique-free environment. Kellogg-Hubbard Library, Montpelier, 10 a.m.-noon. Free. Info, 223-3338.
community
CENTRAL VERMONT VETS
TOWN HALL: Veterans discuss what their service means to them while neighbors listen in a nonpolitical and welcoming environment. Vermont Statehouse, Montpelier, 1 p.m. Free; preregister. Info, vermont@ vetstownhall.org.
crafts
YARN CRAFTERS GROUP: See WED.29, 1-3 p.m.
fairs & festivals
VERMONT CIRCUS FESTIVAL:
An inaugural jubilee of aerials, acrobatics, miming and more offers workshops, performances, seminars, exhibits and one unmissable clown crawl. See necenterforcircusarts.org for full schedule. See calendar spotlight. Various Brattleboro locations. Various prices. Info, info@ necenterforcircusarts.org.
film
See what’s playing at local theaters in the On Screen section.
‘ANIMAL KINGDOM 3D’: See THU.30.
‘HEIGHTENED SCRUTINY’: See SAT.1. Latchis Hotel & eater, Brattleboro, 4 p.m.
JEWISH VOICE FOR PEACE FILM SERIES: ‘GAZA: JOURNALISTS UNDER FIRE’: Robert Greenwald’s documentary exposes Israel’s targeted attacks on reporters in order to eliminate news coverage. A discussion follows. Savoy eater, Montpelier, 1 p.m. $8.50-12. Info, 229-0598.
‘LA LIGA’: is 25-minute documentary follows immigrant dairy farmworkers who find joy, solidarity and a sense of home on the soccer field. A community discussion follows. Highland Center for the Arts, Greensboro, 3 p.m. Free; donations accepted. Info, 533-2000.
‘LOST NATION’: History buffs watch local filmmaker Jay Craven’s Revolutionary War drama about Ethan Allen and Lucy Terry Prince, set in the early upstart Republic of Vermont. A Q&A follows. Weston eater at Walker Farm, 7 p.m. $12-32. Info, 824-5288.
‘OCEAN PARADISE 3D’: See THU.30.
‘SEA MONSTERS 3D: A PREHISTORIC ADVENTURE’: See THU.30.
‘SPACE: THE NEW FRONTIER 3D’: See THU.30.
games
DUPLICATE BRIDGE GAMES: See THU.30, 1-4:30 p.m.
KARUNA COMMUNITY
MEDITATION: A YEAR TO LIVE (FULLY): Participants practice keeping joy, generosity and gratitude at the forefront of their minds. Jenna’s House, Johnson, 10-11:15 a.m. Free; donations accepted. Info, mollyzapp@live.com.
NEW LEAF SANGHA
MINDFULNESS PRACTICE: New and experienced meditators alike sit together in the Plum Village tradition of ich Nhat Hanh. Hot Yoga Burlington, 6-7:45 p.m. Free. Info, newleafsangha@ gmail.com.
CHAMPLAIN TRIO: Vermont musicians Letitia Quante, Emily Taubl and Hiromi Fukuda captivate listeners with a performance of classic chamber music. Dibden Center for the Arts, Vermont State University-Johnson, 2 p.m. $10; free for VTSU community. Info, 748-2600.
DARTMOUTH COLLEGE GLEE CLUB: Student choral singers draw on their ever-expanding repertory for an uplifting performance. Rollins Chapel, Dartmouth College, Hanover, N.H., 2-3 p.m. $20. Info, 603-646-2422.
‘THE LIFE AND MUSIC OF GEORGE MICHAEL’: Fans revisit the late English pop-culture icon’s canon, including blockbuster hits such as “Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go,” “Freedom” and “Father Figure.” Paramount eatre, Rutland, 6-8 p.m. $35-55. Info, 775-0903. MAIDEN VERMONT: See SAT.1, 2 p.m.
MARK GREENBERG & BEN KOENIG: In “Anything Goes,” two local musicians crisscross the American musical landscape, from folk favorites to Tin Pan Alley standards. Proceeds benefit Chittenden Asylum Seekers Assistance Network. Deborah Rawson Memorial Library, Jericho, 2 p.m. Free; donations accepted. Info, 899-4962. THE VERMONT CHORAL UNION: See SAT.1. College Street Congregational Church, Burlington, 4 p.m. Info, 864-7704.
WILLIAM GHEZZI: A classical guitarist performs a stirring solo program of works by Georg Philipp Telemann, François Couperin, Manuel Ponce and others. Church of Christ at Dartmouth College, Hanover, N.H., 4 p.m. Free. Info, 457-3500. 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. Info, 863-3403.
‘THE WEDDING TALE’: See SAT.1.
e New England Center for Circus Arts beckons folks to step right up to the inaugural Vermont Circus Festival in Brattleboro — a vibrant weeklong takeover featuring pop-up activities, performances, exhibits and workshops. More than 200 participants flood the town’s streets and venues with aerial feats, acrobatics, miming and clowning. Not to be missed is a “Clowns on Ice” show at Nelson Withington Skating Facility, a “200 Years of Circus in Vermont” history presentation with Circus Smirkus founder Rob Mermin, three unique shows at NECCA’s Trapezium and a kooky “Clown Crawl” in conjunction with Brattleboro’s monthly Gallery Walk.
VERMONT CIRCUS FESTIVAL
Sunday, November 2, through Sunday, November 9, at various Brattleboro locations. Various prices. Info, info@necenterforcircusarts.org, necenterforcircusarts.org.
CHRIS SWEENEY: An author and award-winning journalist signs copies of his new book, e Feather Detective: Mystery, Mayhem and the Magnificent Life of Roxie Laybourne, about the woman who forever changed our understanding of birds. Vermont Institute of Natural Science, Quechee, 3-4:30 p.m. Free; preregister. Info, 359-5000.
LOUISE PENNY: See SAT.1, 2 p.m. SOLD OUT.
FUSE BEADS CLUB: Aspiring artisans bring ideas or borrow patterns to make beaded creations. Kellogg-Hubbard Library, Montpelier, 3:30-5 p.m. Free. Info, 223-3338.
dance
KCP PRESENTS: AMERICAN BALLET THEATRE STUDIO COMPANY: Young dancers perform a blend of crowd-pleasing favorites spanning classical to contemporary canons. Lyndon Institute, Lyndon Center, 7-9 p.m. $18-54; free for students. Info, 748-2600.
‘GONE GUYS’: e eye-opening documentary spotlighting the struggles of young men draws on Richard V. Reeves’ 2022 nonfiction book, Of Boys and Men. A panel discussion follows. Playhouse Movie eatre, Randolph, 6-8 p.m. By donation; preregister. Info, 728-4012.
‘LOVE CHAOS KIN’: Chithra Jeyaram’s moving 2025 documentary explores transracial adoption, identity and belonging. Film House, Main Street Landing Performing Arts Center, Burlington, 6:30-8:45 p.m. Free; preregister. Info, chynah.boise@ uvm.edu.
‘OCEAN PARADISE 3D’: See THU.30.
‘SEA MONSTERS 3D: A PREHISTORIC ADVENTURE’: See THU.30.
‘SPACE: THE NEW FRONTIER 3D’: See THU.30.
BURLINGTON ELKS BINGO: Players grab their daubers for a competitive night of card stamping for cash prizes. Burlington Elks Lodge, 6 p.m. Various prices. Info, 862-1342.
GERMAN LANGUAGE LUNCH: Willkommen! Speakers of all experience levels brush up on conversational skills over bagged lunches. Kellogg-Hubbard Library, Montpelier, noon-1 p.m. Free. Info, 223-3338.
BOARD GAME NIGHT: LGBTQ tabletop fans bring their own favorite games to the party. Rainbow Bridge Community Center, Barre, 5:30-8:30 p.m. Free. Info, 622-0692.
THE CHOIR OF ST. STEPHEN’S EPISCOPAL CHURCH: Robert
Find even more local events in this newspaper and online: art
VERMONT CIRCUS FESTIVAL: See SUN.2.
See what’s playing at local theaters in the On Screen section.
ALBERTINE FILM FESTIVAL: ‘LE RÈGNE ANIMAL’: omas Cailley’s 2023 body-horror flick follows a father and son in a dystopian world where humans have started mutating into other species. McCardell Bicentennial Hall, Middlebury College, 7:30-9:30 p.m. Free. Info, 443-5527.
‘ANIMAL KINGDOM 3D’: See THU.30.
Find visual art exhibits and events in the Art section and at sevendaysvt.com/art. film
See what’s playing at theaters in the On Screen section.
music + nightlife
Find club dates at local venues in the Music + Nightlife section online at sevendaysvt.com/ music.
Learn more about highlighted listings in the Magnificent 7 on page 11.
= ONLINE EVENT
= GET TICKETS ON SEVENDAYSTICKETS.COM
Ludwig conducts the singers in the world premiere of “Darkness and Light,” a new composition by Peter Hamlin, as well as Gabriel Fauré’s Requiem. St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church, Middlebury, 7 p.m. Free; donations accepted. Info, 388-7200.
SEAN GASKELL: In “Songs on the Kora,” the rich musical traditions of West Africa combine with the stirring sounds of a 21-stringed harp. KelloggHubbard Library, Montpelier, 6:30-7:30 p.m. Free. Info, 223-3338.
STUDENT RECITALS: Music undergrads assume the spotlight for solos, duets and group performances spanning genres from classical to jazz. The University of Vermont Recital Hall, Burlington, 7:30 p.m. Free. Info, 656-3040.
talks
JUSTIN CIFELLO: An artist and organic farmer digs into his sustainable sculpture practice in “Weeds Into Wonder: Sculpting With Invasive Plants.” North Branch Nature Center, Montpelier, 5:30-7 p.m. Free. Info, 229-6208.
LIZ THOMPSON: In “Little Lives on Big Trees: What to See in Stick Season,” an ecologist shares details about the mosses, lichens and fungi found in local forests. Hosted by Vermont Land Trust. Noon-1 p.m. Free; donations accepted; preregister. Info, 262-3765.
words
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. Info, 295-6688.
CURRENT EVENTS DISCUSSION GROUP:
Brownell Library holds a virtual roundtable for neighbors to pause and reflect on the news cycle. 10-11:30 a.m. Free. Info, 878-6955.
conferences
VERMONT NONPROFIT SUMMIT: Common Good Vermont hosts hundreds of business professionals, community leaders, advocates and allies for an impactful day of collaboration and strategizing. Virtual option available. DoubleTree by Hilton, South Burlington, 8:30 a.m.-4 p.m. $50-175; preregister. Info, 861-7826.
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, 4:306 p.m. Free. Info, 426-3581.
CRAFTERS DROP-IN: Community members converse and connect through knitting, crocheting, mending, embroidery and other creative pursuits. Fletcher Free Library, Burlington, 6-8 p.m. Free. Info, 863-3403.
FALL FESTIVAL: ‘RESILIENT PATTERNS’: See SAT.1, 4:30 p.m. VERMONT CIRCUS FESTIVAL: See SUN.2.
film
See what’s playing at local theaters in the On Screen section.
‘ANIMAL KINGDOM 3D’: See THU.30.
‘OCEAN PARADISE 3D’: See THU.30.
‘SEA MONSTERS 3D: A PREHISTORIC ADVENTURE’: See THU.30.
‘SPACE: THE NEW FRONTIER 3D’: See THU.30.
food & drink
BENEFIT BAKE: Steps to End Domestic Violence invites neighbors to pop in and chat with the team while enjoying pizza for a great cause. Partial proceeds benefit Steps programs. American Flatbread Burlington Hearth, 4-10 p.m. Free; cost of food and drink. Info, 658-1996.
games
BOARD GAME NIGHT: Neighbors show off their skills at an evening of friendly competition playing European tabletop staples such as Catan, Splendor and Concordia. Waterbury Public Library, 6-8 p.m. Free. Info, ken_boring@yahoo.com.
DUPLICATE BRIDGE GAMES: See THU.30.
GAMES GALORE: Library patrons of all ages gather for bouts of board and card games. Brownell Library, Essex Junction, 3:304:30 p.m. Free. Info, 878-6955.
health & fitness
COMMUNITY MEDITATION: All experience levels engage in the ancient Buddhist practice of clearing the mind to achieve a state of calm. First Unitarian Universalist Society of Burlington, 5:15-6 p.m. Free; donations accepted. Info, 862-5630.
TAI CHI: Practitioners get a feel for the ancient Chinese martial art combining slow, gentle movements, controlled breathing and meditation. Ida Boch Park, Bradford, 10-11 a.m. Free. Info, 304-0836.
FRENCH CONVERSATION
GROUP: Fluent or still learning, language lovers meet pour parler la belle langue. Burlington Bay Market & Café, 5:30-8 p.m. Free. Info, 343-5493.
ITALIAN LANGUAGE LUNCH: Speakers hone their skills in the Romance language over bagged lunches. Kellogg-Hubbard Library, Montpelier, noon-1 p.m. Free. Info, 223-3338.
FLOW SINGING: Singers both new and seasoned intertwine music and mindfulness while learning a sequence of five or six songs by ear. Heineberg Senior Center, Burlington, 11:15 a.m.-12:45 p.m. Free. Info, patricia@juneberrymusic.com.
SEAN GASKELL: See MON.3. Waterbury Public Library, 6:30 p.m. Info, 244-7036.
TENANT SKILLS WORKSHOP: The Champlain Valley Office of Economic Opportunity brings renters up to speed on the fundamentals of tenant rights and responsibilities. 5-6:30 p.m. Free; preregister. Info, 660-3456.
tech
DROP-IN TECH SUPPORT: Library staff answer questions about devices of all kinds in face-to-face sessions. Fletcher Free Library New North End Branch, Burlington, 12:30-2 p.m. Free. Info, 863-3403.
words
ADA LIMÓN: The former U.S. poet laureate and National Book Award finalist delights with selections from her collections. Virtual option available. Ira Allen Chapel, University of Vermont, Burlington, 4:30-6 p.m. Free; preregister. Info, jpelletier@ vermonthumanities.org.
BETH MALOW & DOUG
TESCHNER: The Upper Valley coauthors discuss their timely book, Beyond the Politics of Contempt: Practical Steps to Build Positive Relationships in Divided Times. The Norwich Bookstore, 7 p.m. Free. Info, connect@beyondthe politicsofcontempt.com.
COOKBOOK CLUB: Food-focused bibliophiles share a dish and discussion inspired by Sohla El-Waylly’s Start Here. South Burlington Public Library & City Hall, 5:30-6:45 p.m. Free; preregister. Info, 846-4140.
DEBORAH LEE LUSKIN & ALEXIS LATHEM: Two Vermont authors launch their new books, Reviving Artemis and Lambs in Winter, both of which explore connections to the natural world. Phoenix Books, Burlington, 7 p.m. $3; preregister. Info, 872-7111.
W. JOHN KRESS: A scientist, curator emeritus and author of the indispensable reference book Smithsonian Trees of North America shares how humanity can regain its relationship with nature. The Norwich Bookstore, 1 p.m. Free. Info, 649-1114.
TUE.4 » P.65
What are some specific challenges of this position?
Vermont Compost Company makes some of the best living soil products in the world. We sell and ship them to customers across the country, all from our facility in Montpelier. Our soil products feature compost that we create from locally sourced food scraps, manures and other feedstock. In addition to training and working our equine, the Livestock Manager is responsible for the well-being and care of the chickens. We have about six equines and more than a thousand chickens at any one time. Our flock is an integral part of the compost-making process, which means the Livestock Manager is an important component of the company’s growth and success. is is a great opportunity for someone with draft animal experience to participate in a unique and exciting endeavor..
What is unique & about working for Vermont Compost Company?
One unique aspect of Vermont Compost Company is the role our chickens play in the production of our products — blended food scraps are provided as forage for our flock of laying hens. As the chickens sort through the recovered food scraps and other ingredients, they help shape the beginning of our composting process. ey further enhance the value of the rescued food resource with the manure they leave behind and convert what they eat into delicious and nutritious eggs. e resulting material is then used as a component in our compost. We’re proud of the role our products play in the success of organic growers across the country. We divert food scrap waste from entering landfills, improve soil health and promote the sequestration of carbon dioxide –all things that help improve our environment and planet as a whole.
Apply for this great local job and many more: jobs.sevendaysvt.com
HALLOWEEN HOOT: Mini monsters celebrate the holiday in style with songs, stories, dancing and puppetry lead by Ms. Andrea of Musical Munchkins. Waterbury Public Library, 4-5 p.m. Free. Info, 244-7036.
middlebury area
TRICK-OR-TREAT AT THE MUSEUM: Little ones have a fang-tastic time exploring the grounds for all things spooky and sweet. Lake Champlain Maritime Museum, Vergennes, 3-5 p.m. Free. Info, 475-2022.
northeast kingdom
ACORN CLUB STORY TIME: Youngsters 5 and under play, sing, hear stories and color. St. Johnsbury Athenaeum, 10:3011 a.m. Free. Info, 745-1391.
burlington
‘ANIMATIONLAND’: See WED.29.
‘CHAMP: AMERICA’S LAKE MONSTER’: See WED.29.
chittenden county
BUILD A HAUNTED HOUSE: Budding architects craft creepy constructions befitting the season. Brownell Library, Essex Junction, 3:45-4:45 p.m. Free. Info, 878-6956.
LEGO BUILDERS: Mini makers explore and create new worlds with stackable blocks. Recommended for ages 6 and up. South Burlington Public Library & City Hall, 3-4:30 p.m. Free. Info, 846-4140.
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. Info, 223-3338.
LEGO CLUB: Budding builders create geometric structures with
snap-together blocks. Kellogg-Hubbard Library, Montpelier, 3:30-5 p.m. Free. Info, 223-3338.
MONTPELIER HALLOWEEN TRICK-ORTREATING: State, Main and Langdon streets light up with holiday happenings, including a festive parade, a jamboree and “Thriller” flash mobs. Downtown Montpelier, 4-6 p.m. Free. Info, 282-2163.
STORY TIME & PLAYGROUP: Participants ages 5 and under enjoy themed science, art and nature activities. Jaquith Public Library, Marshfield, 10:30 a.m. Free. Info, 426-3581.
TRUNK-OR-TREAT: Ghoulish guests tour the Spooky Tower, listen to eerie music, devour pizza and collect candy from decked-out vehicles. Camp Meade, Middlesex, 4-6 p.m. Free. Info, info@ campmeade.today.
upper valley
STORY TIME: Preschoolers take part in tales, tunes and playtime. Latham Library, Thetford, 11 a.m. Free. Info, 785-4361.
HALLOWEEN TREATS: Little ones show off their creative costumes and get their sugar fix. St. Johnsbury Athenaeum, 4-5:30 p.m. Free. Info, 745-1391.
HALLOWEEN TRICKS & TREATS: Kiddos don scary, silly and super-cool costumes for an afternoon of themed games and candy collecting. Fairbanks Museum & Planetarium, St. Johnsbury, 4-6 p.m. Free. Info, 748-2372.
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. Info, 586-9683.
burlington
‘ANIMATIONLAND’: See WED.29.
‘CHAMP: AMERICA’S LAKE MONSTER’: See WED.29.
MEET TEDDY THE THERAPY DOG: Animal lovers pop by the library to make friends with a very good boy, learn about his therapy duties and see some of astounding tricks. Kellogg-Hubbard Library, 2nd Floor, Children’s Library, Montpelier, 12-12:45 p.m. Free. Info, 223-3338.
SATURDAY STORY TIME: Stories and songs help children develop social and literacy skills. Waterbury Public Library, 10:30 a.m. Free. Info, 244-7036.
brattleboro/okemo valley
PASTURE PALS: HALLOWEEN: A spook-tacular celebration includes pumpkin decorating and a gentle meet and greet with the sanctuary’s friendly residents. Vine Sanctuary, Springfield, 11 a.m.-1 p.m. Free; preregister. Info, 885-4017.
‘ANIMATIONLAND’: See WED.29.
‘CHAMP: AMERICA’S LAKE MONSTER’: See WED.29.
MASKS ON! SUNDAYS: Elderly, disabled and immunocompromised folks get the museum to themselves at a masks-mandatory morning. ECHO Leahy Center for Lake Champlain, Burlington, 9-10 a.m. Free; preregister. Info, 864-1848.
chittenden county
SOCIAL SUNDAYS: Families participate in fun and educational art activities with diverse mediums and themes. All supplies and instruction provided. Milton Artists’ Guild Art Center & Gallery, 12:30-2:30 p.m. Free. Info, 891-2014.
‘ANIMATIONLAND’: See WED.29.
‘CHAMP: AMERICA’S LAKE MONSTER’: See WED.29.
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, 10:30-11:30 a.m. Free. Info, 863-3403.
chittenden county
READ WITH SAMMY: The Therapy Dogs of Vermont emissary listens to kiddos of all ages practice their reading. Brownell Library, Essex Junction, 3:30-4:30 p.m. Free. Info, 878-6956.
mad river valley/ waterbury
TODDLER TIME: Little kids ages 5 and under have a blast with songs, stories, rhymes and dancing. Waterbury Public Library, 10:30 a.m. Free. Info, 244-7036.
upper valley
STORY TIME WITH BETH: An engaging bookseller and librarian reads picture books on a different theme each week. The Norwich Bookstore, 10 a.m. Free. Info, 649-1114.
‘ANIMATIONLAND’: See WED.29.
‘CHAMP: AMERICA’S LAKE MONSTER’: See WED.29.
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. Info, 863-3403.
SING-ALONG WITH LINDA BASSICK: Babies, toddlers and preschoolers sing, dance and wiggle along with the local musician. Fletcher Free Library, Burlington, 11-11:30 a.m. Free. Info, 863-3403.
chittenden county
STORY TIME: Youngsters from birth to 5 enjoy a session of reading, rhyming and singing. Dorothy Alling Memorial Library, Williston, 10:30-11 a.m. Free. Info, 878-4918.
BASEMENT TEEN CENTER: See FRI.31, 2-6 p.m.
northeast kingdom
LAPSIT STORY TIME: Babies 2 and under learn to love reading, singing and playing with their caregivers. Siblings welcome. St. Johnsbury Athenaeum, 10:30-11 a.m. Free. Info, 745-1391.
PRESCHOOL STORY TIME: See FRI.31.
‘ANIMATIONLAND’: See WED.29.
‘CHAMP: AMERICA’S LAKE MONSTER’: See WED.29.
FLYNNZONE FAMILY SERIES:
NOBUNTU: An all-female a cappella quartet from Zimbabwe performs a stirring program with traditional instruments such as the mbira. The Flynn, Burlington, 6 p.m. $39. Info, 652-4500.
LIBRARY LITTLES: See WED.29.
TEEN DROP-IN: Patrons ages 12 to 18 pop by to chat with teen services librarian Miriasha, play card and board games, and build community. Snacks provided. Fletcher Free Library New North End Branch, Burlington, 2:15-3:15 p.m. Free. Info, 863-3403.
PLAY TIME: See WED.29.
WHIMSICAL WEDNESDAYS: Attendees ages 6 and up play board games from the library’s collection and try their hands at shuffleboard. Brownell Library, Essex Junction, 3:30-4:30 p.m. Free. Info, 878-6956.
BABY & CAREGIVER MEETUP: See WED.29.
FAMILY CHESS CLUB: See WED.29.
mad river valley/ waterbury
TEEN QUEER READS: LGBTQIA+ and allied youths get together each month to read and discuss ideas around gender, sexuality and identity. Waterbury Public Library, 6-7 p.m. Free; preregister. Info, 244-7036. K
WRITING CIRCLE: Words pour out when participants explore creative expression in a low-pressure environment. Virtual option available. Pathways Vermont, Burlington, 4-5:30 p.m. Free. Info, 777-8691.
activism
A BIG BEAUTIFUL TOUR ABOUT THE BIG UGLY BILL: Panelists outline local consequences of recent federal decisions, chart a path forward for protecting Vermonters and tell listeners how they can help. Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Bennington, 6-7:30 p.m. Free; preregister. Info, 223-2328.
DISABLED ACCESS & ADVOCACY OF THE RUTLAND AREA MONTHLY
ZOOM MEETING: Community members gather online to advocate for accessibility and other disabilityrights measures. 11:30 a.m.-noon. Free. Info, 779-9021.
bazaars
LOCAL ARTISAN & MERCHANT MARKET: See WED.29.
business
VERMONT WOMENPRENEURS BIZ
BUZZ ZOOM: A monthly virtual networking meetup provides a space for female business owners to connect. 10-11 a.m. Free; preregister. Info, 870-0903.
crafts
YARN CRAFTERS GROUP: See WED.29.
dance MOVEMENT MATTERS MASTER
CLASS: Choreographer Robbie Cook leads participants of all ages and abilities in various floor work modalities acquired from Europe and Latin America. Dance Theatre, Mahaney Arts Center, Middlebury College, 4:30-6 p.m. Free. Info, 443-2808.
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. Info, cdmvt47@ yahoo.com.
fairs & festivals
VERMONT CIRCUS FESTIVAL: See SUN.2.
film
See what’s playing at local theaters in the On Screen section.
‘THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION’: See WED.29. A reception with refreshments and a hands-on
craft follows. Catamount Arts Center, St. Johnsbury, 6-8 p.m. $10 suggested donation; preregister.
‘GONE GUYS’: See MON.3. The Big Picture Community Hub for the Arts, Waitsfield. Info, 4968994.
food &
COMMUNITY COOKING: See WED.29.
CHAIR YOGA: See WED.29.
ELL CLASSES: See WED.29.
SPANISH
CONVERSATION: Fluent and beginner speakers brush up on their vocabulario with a discussion led by a Spanish teacher. Presented by Dorothy Alling Memorial Library. 5-6 p.m. Free; preregister. Info, programs@damlvt.org.
ME2 CHORUS REHEARSAL: See WED.29.
ROOMFUL OF TEETH AND ALLISON LOGGINS-HULL:
“Friction,” the debut collaboration of the vocal ensemble and the flutist, marries elements of chamber singing and modern music production. Robison Concert Hall, Mahaney Arts Center, Middlebury College, 7:309:30 p.m. $5-30. Info, 443-6433.
ST. J BLUEGRASS JAM: Players and fans get together for some old-time picking and fiddling. St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church of St. Johnsbury, 6:30-8:30 p.m. Free; donations accepted. Info, 748-2600.
UNIVERSITY JAZZ ENSEMBLE: Alex Stewart directs the UVM Big Band in an eclectic mix of modern and traditional repertoires, including works by Dizzy
Find even more local events in this newspaper and online: art
Find visual art exhibits and events in the Art section and at sevendaysvt.com/art. film
See what’s playing at theaters in the On Screen section.
music + nightlife
Find club dates at local venues in the Music + Nightlife section online at sevendaysvt.com/ music.
Learn more about highlighted listings in the Magnificent 7 on page 11.
= ONLINE EVENT
= GET TICKETS ON SEVENDAYSTICKETS.COM
Gillespie and Count Basie. The University of Vermont Recital Hall, Burlington, 7:30 p.m. Free. Info, 656-3040.
FAMILY-TO-FAMILY: See WED.29.
OPEN HOUSE: Volunteers learn how to provide free tax filing help to those who need it most. AARP Vermont State Office, Burlington, 3-4:30 p.m. Free. Info, vt@aarp.org.
GREEN MOUNTAIN TABLE
TENNIS CLUB: See WED.29.
‘MILL GIRLS’: Hidden stories of the 19th-century women and girls who worked in New England’s mills come to life in this gripping student production created by Saint Michael’s College professor Peter Harrigan and local musician Tom Cleary. McCarthy Arts Center, Saint Michael’s College, Colchester, -8, 7-8:30 p.m. Free; preregister. Info, 654-2268.
‘THRILL ME: THE LEOPOLD AND LOEB STORY’: Between the Willows raises the curtain on Stephen Dolginoff’s true-crime musical about two prelaw students who engage in a deadly romantic exchange. Off Center for the Dramatic Arts, Burlington, 7-9 p.m. $12.50-30. Info, 363-7790.
CHUCK COLLINS: A celebrated Vermont author launches his new book, Burned by Billionaires: How Concentrated Wealth and Power Are Ruining Our Lives and Planet, exposing the impact of America’s ultra-wealthy on social landscapes. Phoenix Books, Burlington, 7-8:30 p.m. $3; preregister. Info, 872-7111.
MERCEDES DE GUARDIOLA:
An author discusses her book “Vermont for the Vermonters”: The History of Eugenics in the Green Mountain State, examining how the movement emerged out of public policies conceived during the 19th century. A Q&A follows. South Burlington Public Library & City Hall, 5:30-6:45 p.m. Free. Info, 846-4140.
The craft fair hosted by National Life features vendors from all over Vermont. There will be over 50 vendors with a large variety of products to help kick off your holiday shopping!
TYLER ALEXANDER: An eighth-generation Vermonter and author launches his new book, If I Can Get Home This Fall: A Story of Love, Loss and a Cause in the Civil War, chronicling the epic story of Dan Mason, who served in the Sixth Vermont Infantry. The Norwich Bookstore, 7-8 p.m. Free. Info, 649-1114. ➆
THE FOLLOWING CLASS LISTINGS ARE PAID ADVERTISEMENTS. ANNOUNCE YOUR CLASS HERE FOR AS LITTLE AS $21.25/WEEK (INCLUDES SIX PHOTOS AND UNLIMITED DESCRIPTION ONLINE).
NEWSPAPER DEADLINE: MONDAYS AT 3 P.M. POST CLASS ADS AT SEVENDAYSVT.COM/POSTCLASS. GET HELP AT CLASSES@SEVENDAYSVT.COM.
DAVIS STUDIO ART CLASSES: Discover your happy place in one of our weekly classes. Making art boosts emotional well-being and brings joy to your life, especially when you connect with other art enthusiasts. Select the ongoing program that’s right for you. Now enrolling youths, teens and adults. Join and restore your faith in humanity. Info: 802-4252700, info@davisstudiovt.com, davisstudiovt.com.
BEGINNING SWING DANCE
CLASS SERIES: Learn the basics of swing dancing — to lead or follow with good connection. For beginning-level students with any amount of experience (or no experience). No partner necessary. Please arrive 15 minutes early to ensure time for parking and shoe changing (no outdoor shoes that may track in grit). Register in advance at vermontswings.com. Dates: Four Tue., Nov. 4-25, 7-8 p.m. Cost: $50 for 4-week series; $15 for just the 1st class. Location: North Star Community Hall, 20 Crowley St., Burlington. Info: Terrill Guy Bouricius, 802-3101034, terrybour@gmail.com, vermontswings.com.
FRESH IDEAS IN THANKSGIVING SIDES, FEATURING CHEF ARIEL
VOORHEES: Tired of the same old stuffing and mashed potatoes? Join chef Ariel Voorhees of Gather Round Chef Service for a fresh take on anksgiving sides that celebrate seasonal flavors and spark new traditions. Date: Sat., Nov. 8, 5-7:30 p.m. Cost: $100. Location: Red Poppy Cakery, 1 Elm St., Waterbury. Info: 203-4000700, sevendaystickets.com.
BRITISH BAKING FOR THE HOLIDAYS: Create three fabulous desserts that will surely put you in the festive spirit: 1) We’ll make shortbread, a simple treat that also makes a delightful hostess gift. 2) We will roll our own pastry for mince pies, filled with Vermont-made mincemeat from Blake Hill Preserves and topped with brandy butter. 3) We’ll bake sticky toffee pudding, which is actually a cake, not a pudding, and is simply scrumptious. As it bakes, it creates its own rich toffee sauce. is is a hands-on class. No experience necessary! Date: Sat., Nov. 8, 1:30-3:30
p.m. Cost: $75. Location: Richmond Community Kitchen, 13 Jolina Ct. Info: 802-434-3445, sevendaystickets.com.
AIKIDO: THE POWER OF HARMONY: Introductory classes begin Nov. 4. 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.
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: 802-448-0150, burlingtontaiko.org.
HUMAN DESIGN 101: HOW TO READ YOUR CHART: Join Lori Lisai for a hands-on series that reveals the fundamentals of your Human Design chart. We’ll explore your type, strategy and authority through interactive exercises, group sharing and personal reflection. No prior knowledge needed! Space is limited (20 max.), so reserve your spot now. Dates: Oct. 30, Nov. 13, & Nov. 20, 7-8:30 p.m. Cost: $100 for all 3 workshops & materials. Location: e Sanctuary in the Chace Mill, 1 Mill St., Suite 208, Burlington. Info: 802-730-6633, lorilisai.com/sanctuary-hdworkshop-registration.
RAR BIKE BASICS WORKSHOP: An expanded version of our popular single-evening bicycle care clinic, Bike Basics is a three-week series for folks who would like a little more time, detailed instruction & hands-on experience. RAR Bike Basics is reserved for women/trans/ nonbinary identities. Date: u., Nov. 6, 6-8 p.m. Cost: $150; scholarships avail. Location: Old Spokes Home, 664 Riverside Dr., Burlington. Info: 802-863-4475, sevendaystickets.com.
BIKE BASICS WORKSHOP: An expanded version of our popular single-evening bicycle care clinic, Bike Basics is a three-week series for folks who would like a little more time, detailed instruction & hands-on experience. Dates: Wed., Nov. 5, Nov. 12, or Nov. 19., 6-8 p.m. Cost: $150; scholarships avail. Location: Old Spokes Home, 664 Riverside Dr., Burlington. Info: 802-863-4475, sevendaystickets.com.
Buy & Sell »
ANTIQUES, FURNITURE, GARAGE SALES
Community »
ANNOUNCEMENTS, LOST & FOUND, SUPPORT GROUPS
Rentals & Real Estate »
APARTMENTS, HOMES, FOR SALE BY OWNER
Vehicles »
CARS, BIKES, BOATS, RVS
Services »
FINANCIAL, CHILDCARE, HOME & GARDEN
Musicians & Artists »
LESSONS, CASTING, REHEARSAL SPACE
Jobs » NO SCAMS, ALL LOCAL, POSTINGS DAILY
AGE/SEX: 3-year-old spayed female
ARRIVAL DATE: July 25, 2025
SUMMARY: Sweet, snuggly and full of heart, Daniela is one of those dogs who makes you feel loved from the moment you meet her. When Dani first arrived, she was heartworm-positive, but she completed her treatment like a champ and is now healthy and thriving! She’s the kind of dog who wiggles from head to tail when she sees you and melts right into your lap for snuggles. Her happiest moments are spent exploring the great outdoors: long walks through the quiet woods and sniffing along secluded trails. She’ll need a family who can give her plenty of enrichment and exercise to match her joyful energy and curious spirit. Dani has waited so patiently for her chance to be a loving, loyal companion to a lucky human — could that be you?
DOGS/CATS/KIDS: Daniela would prefer to be the only pet in her new home. She has no known experience with children.
Visit HSCC at 142 Kindness Court, South Burlington, Tuesday through Friday from 1 to 5 p.m. or Saturday from noon to 5 p.m. Call 862-0135 or visit hsccvt.org for more info.
A “sniffari” walk is a great way for dogs to burn off excess energy! Dogs enjoy the freedom of getting to explore at their own pace and sniff all the wonderful smells they encounter — and it requires a lot of brainpower, which makes this activity a great option for mental exercise.
Sponsored by:
Post ads by Monday at 3 p.m. sevendaysvt.com/classifieds
Need help? 802-865-1020, ext. 115 classifieds@sevendaysvt.com
Buy & Sell, Community, Musicians & Artists, Vehicles
PUREBRED ENGLISH BULLDOGS
parking. $1,775. Info: burchfieldcompany.com, bwalter37@gmail.com.
how much you can save: 1-844-588-6579. (AAN CAN)
only: 802-522-3932; gentletouchmassages. com.
Buy y & Se
ESTATE SALE
26 Pennington Dr., Burlington. Furniture, china, glassware, household items, clothing, antiques. Fri., Nov. 7, & Sat., Nov. 8, 9 a.m.-4 p.m. Rain or shine. Cash/Venmo.
CAVALIER KING CHARLES SPANIEL PUPPIES
Intelligent King Charles spaniels need loving homes ASAP. Registered, loyal, smart, social, easily trained. Text 347-345-2089.
The original bully. Beautiful male & female left. Family raised almost 10 mos. & all trained for family life. See why these are the classic companion dogs. $1,500. Call 802-498-8895 or email dnhmaintenance@ gmail.com.
TOP CASH PAID FOR OLD GUITARS
Looking for 1920-1980 Gibson, Martin, Fender, Gretsch, Epiphone, Guild, Mosrite, Rickenbacker, Prairie State, D’Angelico & Stromberg guitars + Gibson mandolins & banjos. These brands only! Call for a quote: 1-855-402-7208. (AAN CAN)
appt. appointment
apt. apartment
BA bathroom
BR bedroom
DR dining room
DW dishwasher
HDWD hardwood
HW hot water
LR living room
NS no smoking
OBO or best offer
refs. references
sec. dep. security deposit
W/D washer & dryer
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
BURLINGTON 1-BR/ 1-BA APT. AVAIL. IN HILL SECTION
Historic registered building. Off-street parking, heat & water incl. Cat OK. $1,600. Call 802-849-2640.
SEEKING MUSIC & WRITING
COLLABORATORS FOR A NEW MUSICAL
About Henry David oreau. Experience &/or affi nity w/ HDT preferred. Contact: 802-249-9854 or bobcfi sher@gmail.com.
GUITAR INSTRUCTION
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.
COZY 1-BR APT. FOR RENT IN WINOOSKI
Unfurnished 1-BR, 1-BA. Basement w/ W/D, no coin-op. Garage, large fenced-in yard. Very clean. 2 enclosed porches, off-street parking. Freshly painted. NS. Gas heat. 1 extra room for crafts. Landlord pays for water, mowing & snow removal. Pictures upon request. $1,650. Contact: 802-355-4099, skyhorse205@yahoo. com.
HOMESHARE IN ADDISON COUNTY
BUY TERM LIFE INSURANCE, INVEST THE DIFFERENCE
Term life is less expensive than whole or universal life, so buy term & invest the difference for lasting wealth. Life is unpredictable; secure your family’s future. Protect your income, your home, your spouse or partner, your children’s college education & future. Term lengths avail. from 10-35 years, subject to avail. issue ages 18-70. Call or email for a quick quote! 802-487-5641, dave.fytsyk@primerica. com, primerica.com/ davefytsyk.
STOP OVERPAYING FOR AUTO INSURANCE
GREEN MOUNTAIN PAINTERS
Refresh your home for the holidays w/ thoughtful, professional interior painting. Local, reliable & trusted tradespeople since 2005. Free estimates at vtpainters.com. Call 802-825-1578.
PROFESSIONAL PAINTER
Interior & exterior painting & staining. Call for a free estimate. Info, 802-673-5687, masonspainting service@gmail.com.
NEED NEW WINDOWS?
A recent survey says that most Americans are overpaying for their car insurance. Let us show you how much you can save. Call now for a no-obligation quote: 1-833-399-1539. (AAN CAN)
Drafty rooms? Chipped or damaged frames? Need outside noise reduction? New, energy-effi cient windows may be the answer! Call for a consultation & free quote today: 1-877-2489944. (AAN CAN)
24-7 LOCKSMITH
ESTATE AUCTION: Well-located raised ranch on 0.35± acres in the heart of Colchester, VT, offering 3 bedrooms, 1.5 baths, a partially finished basement, and enclosed porch. Located 1.5 miles from Lake Champlain and within walking distance to shops, restaurants, and schools.
1-BR APT. IN THE ONE, AVAIL. DEC. 1 219 No Winooski Ave., Apt. 3. Unfurnished 1-BR, 1-BA. I am looking for somebody to finish my lease ending May 31, w/ option to renew. Subject to approval by owner (Burchfield Management). Rent incl. water & trash removal. W/D in unit. Off-street
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
Active retiree in Bristol who enjoys walking, gardening & hosting friends for dinner is seeking a housemate to share a bit of company & some meals, in addition to light household assistance. $400/mo. A gentle dog would be considered! Familiarity w/ memory loss is a plus but not a must. Call 802-863-5625 or visit homesharevermont. org for application. Interview, refs. & background checks req. EHO.
HISTORICAL
HINESBURG HOME
Longtime Hinesburg resident is seeking kind housemate to help w/ occasional transportation, errands, meal preparation & going on outings just for fun! In exchange, enjoy the company of a bright, retired professional & a well-kept historical home. $400/ mo. Application, interview, refs. & background checks req. EHO. Call 802-863-5625, email info@homeshare vermont.org or visit homesharevermont.org.
GET DISABILITY BENEFITS
You may qualify for disability benefi ts if you are between 52 & 63 years old & under a doctor’s care for a health condition that prevents you from working for a year or more. Call now: 1-877-247-6750. (AAN CAN)
GET TAX RELIEF
Do you owe more than $10,000 to the IRS or state in back taxes? Get tax relief now! We’ll fi ght for you! Call 1-877-703-6117. (AAN CAN)
IN-HOME CARE
Bonanza Park Drive, Colchester, VT 12v-hirchakbrothers102925
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Using the enclosed math operations as a guide, ll the grid using the numbers 1 - 6 only once in each row and column.
Show and tell. View and post up to 6 photos per ad online.
Complete the following puzzle by using the numbers 1-9 only once in each row, column and 3 x 3 box.
Open 24/7/365. Post & browse ads at your convenience. Extra! Extra! There’s no limit to ad length online.
Try these online news games from Seven Days at sevendaysvt.com/games.
Put your knowledge of Vermont news to the test. NEW ON FRIDAYS:
REYNOLDS
DIFFICULTY THIS WEEK: HH
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.
1 2 4 5
2 6 4 5 3 4 3 5 6 2 1 2 5 4 1 3 6 5 1 2 3 6 4
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.
ON P.70
See how fast you can solve this weekly 10-word puzzle.
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.
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).
Risk Retention Group Holding Company Systems
Vermont Proposed Rule: 25P037
AGENCY: Department of Financial Regulation
CONCISE SUMMARY: The Risk Retention Group Holding Company System Rule sets out reporting, organizational and operational requirements for Risk Retention Groups (RRG) organized as holding companies. This update to the rule tells RRGs how to comply with changes made in Subchapter 13 of Title 8, Act 101 by Act 110 (H.659) of 2024. The amended statute permits exempting RRGs from certain filing requirements and requires certain terms in RRG management agreements, in each case based on Department rules. This update provides those rules. The update also explains what it means for a non-U.S. jurisdiction to "recognize and accept" a group capital calculation under 8 V.S.A. § 3684(m)(2)(D). Lastly, this update provides administrative changes and technical corrections to the rule. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION, CONTACT:
Russ McCracken, Department of Financial Regulation, 89 Main Street, Montpelier, VT 05620, Tel: 802-828-3301, Email: russ. mccracken@vermont.gov URL: https://dfr. vermont.gov/about-us/legal-general-counsel/ proposed-rules-and-public-comment.
FOR COPIES: Dan Petterson, Department of Financial Regulation, 89 Main Street, Montpelier, VT 05620, Tel: 802-828-3304, Email: dan.petterson@vermont.gov.
ACT 250 NOTICE
MINOR APPLICATION
4C0331-14J
10 V.S.A. §§ 6000 - 6111
Application 4C0331-14J from Beta Technologies, Inc. (BETA), Attn: Brian Dunkiel, 1150 Airport Drive, South Burlington, VT 05403 and Patrick Leahy Burlington International Airport, Attn: Nicolas Longo, 1200 Airport Drive #1, South Burlington, VT 05403 was received on October 1, 2025 and deemed complete on October 21, 2025. The project is generally described as construction of a new 230’ x 60’ general aviation hangar building by BETA (BETA Alia Storage Hangar) with hangar space for storage and recreational use of aircraft. The building will also include a small meeting space and bathroom. The site includes a relocated driveway to access the airfield, relocated utilities, new security fence, new gate, a parklet/patio, relocated dumpster, a re-purposed van accessible parking space, new access to the hangar and landscaping. The project is located at 240 Eagle Drive in South Burlington, Vermont. The application may be viewed on the Land Use Review Board’s website (https://act250.vermont. gov/) by clicking “Act 250 Database” and entering the project number “4C0331-14J.”
No hearing will be held and a permit may be issued unless, on or before November 14, 2025, a party notifies the District 4 Commission in writing of an issue requiring a hearing, or the Commission sets the matter for a hearing on its own motion. Any person as defined in 10 V.S.A. § 6085(c) (1) may request a hearing. Any hearing request must be in writing, must state the criteria or sub-criteria at issue, why a hearing is required, and what additional evidence will be presented at the hearing. Any hearing request by an adjoining
property owner or other person eligible for party status under 10 V.S.A. § 6085(c)(1)(E) must include a petition for party status under the Act 250 Rules. To request party status and a hearing, fill out the Party Status Petition Form on the Board’s website: https://act250.vermont.gov/documents/ party-statuspetition-form, and email it to the District 4 Office at: Act250.Essex@vermont.gov. Findings of Fact and Conclusions of Law may not be prepared unless the Commission holds a public hearing.
For more information contact Stephanie H. Monaghan at the address or telephone number below.
Dated this October 21, 2025. By: /s/ Stephanie H. Monaghan Stephanie H. Monaghan District Coordinator 111 West Street Essex Junction, VT 05452 802-261-1944 stephanie.monaghan@vermont.gov
NOTICE OF SELF STORAGE LIEN SALE
BURLINGTON SELF STORAGE, LLC 1825 SHELBURNE ROAD SOUTH BURLINGTON, VT 05403
Notice is hereby given that the contents of the self storage units listed below will be sold at public auction by sealed bid.
Name of Occupant, Storage Unit#, unit size: Murray, Unit #428, 5x5
Said sales will take place on Friday 10/31/25, beginning at 10:00am at Burlington Self Storage (BSS), 1825 Shelburne Road, South Burlington, VT 05403. Units will be opened for viewing immediately prior to auction. Sale shall be by sealed bid to the highest bidder. Contents of entire storage unit will be sold as one lot. The winning bid must remove all contents from the facility at no cost to BSS, on the day of auction. BSS, reserves the right to reject any bid lower that the amount owed by the
occupant or that is not commercially reasonable as defined by statute.
NOTICE OF SELF-STORAGE LIEN SALE
LYMAN STORAGE
10438 Route 116 Hinesburg VT 05461
802-482-2379
Notice is hereby given that the contents of the self-storage units listed below will be sold at public auction by sealed bid at the Lyman Storage facility. This sale is being held to collect unpaid storage unit occupancy fees, charges and expenses of the sale.
The entire contents of each self-storage unit listed below will be sold, with the proceeds to be distributed to Lyman Storage for all accrued occupancy fees (rent charges), attorney’s fees, sale expenses, and all other expenses in relation to the unit and its sale. Any proceeds beyond the foregoing shall be returned to the unit holder.
Contents of each unit may be viewed on Saturday 11/01/2025, commencing at 10:00 a.m. Sealed bids are to be submitted on the entire contents of each self-storage unit. Bids will be opened one-quarter of an hour after the last unit has been viewed on Saturday 11/01/2025. The highest bidder on the storage unit must remove the entire contents of the unit within 48 hours after notification of their successful bid. Purchase must be made in cash and paid in advance of the removal of the contents of the unit. A $50.00 cash deposit shall be made and will be refunded if the unit is broom cleaned. Lyman Storage reserves the right to accept or reject bids.
Unit 015 — Kyle Capiga 38R West Main Street Hyde Park VT 05655-9266
STATE OF VERMONT
SUPERIOR COURT CIVIL DIVISION
CHITTENDEN UNIT DOCKET NO. 25-CV-02143
VERMONT FEDERAL CREDIT UNION, Plaintiff, V. REBECCA CLARKE, Defendants.
SUMMONS AND ORDER OF PUBLICATION
THIS SUMMONS IS DIRECTED TO: REBECCA CLARKE
1. YOU ARE BEING SUED. The Plaintiff has filed a lawsuit against you. A copy of Plaintiff’s Complaint against you is on file and may be obtained from the Vermont Superior Court, Civil Division, Chittenden Unit, 175 Main Street, Burlington, Vermont 05401. Do not throw this paper away. It is an official paper that affects your rights.
2. PLAINTIFF’S CLAIM. Plaintiffs claim against you is for an unpaid loan on 2018 Mercedes Benz.
YOU MUST REPLY WITHIN 42 DAYS TO PROTECT YOUR RIGHTS. You must give or mail the Plaintiff a written response, called an Answer, within 42 days after the date on which this Summons was first published on October 22, 2025. You must send a copy of your Answer to the Plaintiff’s attorney:
Renee L. Mobbs, Esq.
SHEEHEY FURLONG BEHM P.C. PO Box 66 Burlington, VT 05402-0066
You must also give or mail your Answer to the Court:
Vermont Superior Court Chittenden Civil Division 175 Main Street Burlington, VT 05401
4. YOU MUST RESPOND TO EACH CLAIM. The Answer is your written response to the Plaintiff’s Complaint. In your Answer you must state whether you agree or disagree with each paragraph of the Complaint. If you believe the
Plaintiff should not be given everything asked for in the Complaint, you must say so in your Answer.
5. YOU WILL LOSE YOUR CASE IF YOU DO NOT GIVE YOUR WRITTEN ANSWER TO THE COURT. If you do not send the Plaintiff and the Court your Answer within 42 days, you will probably lose this case. You will not get to tell your side of the story, and the Court may decide against you and award the Plaintiff everything asked for in the Complaint.
6. YOU MUST MAKE ANY CLAIMS AGAINST PLAINTIFF IN YOUR ANSWER. Your Answer must state any related legal claims you have against the Plaintiff. Your claims against the Plaintiff are called Counterclaims. If you do not make your Counterclaims in writing in your Answer, you may not be able to bring them up at all. Even if you have insurance and the insurance company will defend you, you must still file any Counterclaims you have.
7. LEGAL ASSISTANCE. You may wish to get legal help from lawyer. If you cannot afford a lawyer, you should ask the Court Clerk for information about places where you can get free legal help. Even if you cannot get legal help, you must still give the Court a written Answer to protect your rights or you may lose the case.
ORDER
The verified Complaint or Affidavit filed in this action shows that service cannot be made with due diligence by any of the methods provided in Rules 4(d)-(f), (k), or (1) of the Vermont Rules of Civil Procedure. Accordingly, it is ORDERED that service of the Summons set forth above shall be made upon the Defendant, Rebecca Clarke, by publication as provided in Rules 4(d)(1) and (g) of those Rules.
This Order shall be published once a week and at least 7 days apart for 2 successive weeks in Seven Days, a weekly newspaper of general circulation in Washington and Chittenden County, Vermont, starting on October 22, 2025. A copy of this Summons and Order as published shall also be mailed by US first class mail to the Defendant, Rebecca Clarke, at her last known address, and sent to any and all email addresses for the Defendant known to Plaintiff.
Electronically signed pursuant to V.R.E.F. 9(d) 10/01/2025 9:14:04 AM Megan Shafritz Superior Court Judge
RFP — PAVING SERVICES ON MILTON WESTFORD RD.
The Town of Westford is working with a grant to pave a section of the Milton-Westford Rd, and replace a culvert. The RFP is available at https:// westfordvt.us/careers-rfps/
Any questions can be sent to Tommy O’Connor –Town Administrator at townadmin@westfordvt.us or call the office at 802-878-4587
STATE OF VERMONT
SUPERIOR COURT PROBATE DIVISION
CHITTENDEN UNIT DOCKET NO.: 25-PR-02088
In re ESTATE of Michael Doolan
NOTICE TO CREDITORS
To the creditors of: Michael Doolan, late of Essex Junction.
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: October 21, 2025
Signature of Fiduciary: /s/ Andrew Montroll
Executor/Administrator: Andrew H. Montroll, Esq. PO Box 1045
Burlington, VT 05402
Phone Number: 802-540-0250
Email: amontroll@mblawoffice.com
Name of Publication: Seven Days Publication Date: 10/29/2025
Name of Probate Court: Vermont Superior Court, Chittenden Probate Division
Address of Probate Court: 175 Main Street Burlington, VT 05401
OPENINGS
BURLINGTON CITY COMMISSIONS/BOARDS
Chittenden Solid Waste District-alternate Term Expires 5/31/26 One Opening Board of Health
Term Expires 6/30/28 One Opening Vehicle for Hire Licensing Board
Term Expires 6/30/28 One Opening
Applications may be submitted to the Clerk/ Treasurer’s Office, 149 Church Street, Burlington, VT 05401 Attn: Lori NO later than Wednesday, December 10, 2025, by 4:30 pm. If you have any questions, please contact Lori at (802) 865-7136 or via email lolberg@burlingtonvt.gov.
City Council President Traverse and Mayor Mulvaney-Stanak will plan for appointments to take place at the December 15, 2025 City Council Meeting/City Council With Mayor Presiding Meeting.
BURLINGTON DEVELOPMENT REVIEW BOARD
TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 18, 2025, 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-23-464; 702 Lake Street (UR, Ward 7) City of Burlington / Lee Perry Proposed renewal of existing site’s use for snow storage.
Plans may be viewed upon request by contacting the Department of Permitting & Inspections between the hours of 8:00 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. Participation in the DRB proceeding is a prerequisite to the right to take any subsequent appeal. Please note that ANYTHING submitted to the Zoning office is considered public and cannot be kept confidential. This may not be the final order in which items will be heard. Please view final Agenda, at www.burlingtonvt.gov/dpi/ drb/agendas or the office notice board, one week before the hearing for the order in which items will be heard.
The 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 proper accommodations can be arranged. For information call 865-7188 (TTY users: 865-7142)
STATE OF VERMONT
SUPERIOR COURT PROBATE DIVISION CHITTENDEN UNIT DOCKET NO.: 25-PR-05661
In re ESTATE of Nicholas Shepard NOTICE TO CREDITORS
To the creditors of: Nicholas Shepard, late of Burlington, VT.
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: October 23, 2025
Signature of Fiduciary: /s/ Alexander Shepard
Executor/Administrator: Alexander Shepard Desautels & Micciche, P.C. P.O. Box 3051 Burlington, Vermont 05408 Phone Number: (802) 318-6201 Email: cmicciche@miccichelaw.com
Name of Publication: Seven Days Publication Date: 10/29/2025
Name of Probate Court: State of VermontChittenden Probate Division Address of Probate Court: 175 Main Street , Burlington, VT 05401
STATE OF VERMONT
SUPERIOR COURT CIVIL DIVISION CHITTENDEN UNIT CASE NO. 25-CV-04473
IN RE: ABANDONED MOBILE HOME OF BONNIE SICELY
NOTICE OF HEARING
The Green Mountain Montessori School admits students of any race, color, religion, national and ethnic origin to all the rights and privileges, programs, and activities available to students at the school. It does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, national and ethnic origin in administration of its educational policies, admissions, scholarship and loan programs, and other school-administered programs.
ENROLLING NOW FOR 2025/26
For more information or enrollment call: (802) 879-9114
8 Jericho Road, Essex, Vermont 05452 www.gmmontessori.org
Liberty mobile home, 14’ x 70’, bearing serial No. 08L63848 (the “Mobile Home”), located on Lot #104, French Hill Manor Mobile Home Park, 104 French Hill Manor in Williston, Vermont (the “Lot”). See attached Vermont Mobile Home Uniform Bill of Sale.
MontessoriLegal102925.indd 1 10/24/25 2:34 PM
A hearing on Champlain Housing Trust, Inc.’s Verified Complaint to declare as abandoned the mobile home of Bonnie Sicely located at the French Hill Manor Mobile Home Park, on Lot #104, a/k/a 104 French Hill Manor in Williston, Vermont and to approve the sale of the mobile home at a public auction has been set for November 13, 2025 at 10:45 a.m. You may participate in the hearing either in person at the Vermont Superior Court, Chittenden Unit, Civil Division located at 175 Main Street in Burlington, Vermont or remotely via WEBEX video. The WEBEX Login Information is as follows: App: Cisco Webex Meeting Website: https://vtcourts.webex.com Meeting Number: 129 647 6521 Password: CIVIL2
If you do not have a computer or sufficient bandwidth, you may call (802) 636-1108 to appear by phone. (This is not a tollfree number). When prompted enter the meeting ID number listed above, followed by the pound symbol (#). You will be prompted to enter your attendee number (which you do not have). Instead, press pound (#). If you have technical difficulties, call the Court at (802) 863-3467.
Date: October 16, 2025
Nancy L. Bean, Judicial Assistant Chittenden Civil Division
VERIFIED COMPLAINT FOR ABANDONMENT PURSUANT TO 10 V.S.A. § 6249(h) (Auction)
NOW COMES Champlain Housing Trust, Inc. (“CHT”), by and through its counsel Nadine L. Scibek, and hereby complains as follows:
1. CHT, a Vermont non-profit corporation with a principal place of business in Burlington, County of Chittenden, State of Vermont, is the record owner of a mobile home park known as the French Hill Manor Mobile Home Park (the “Park”) located in the Town of Williston, Vermont.
2. Bonnie Sicely (“Sicely”) is the record owner of a certain mobile home described as a 1994
3. Sicely leased the lot in the Park for the mobile home from CHT pursuant to a written lease. She did not pay a security deposit. See attached Lease.
4. Sicely is deceased. Her date of death is July 6, 2025. See attached Death Certificate.
5. After Sicely’s passing, on August 27, 2025 Sicely’s son, Shawn Sicely contacted CHT and it’s counsel and indicated that the family had decided to walk away from the mobile home. Mr. Sicely stated that the family had removed all Sicely’s belongings which they wanted to keep and advised that the family would not be pursuing any action with the probate court. See attached email.
6. On October 6, 2025, CHT’s Counsel checked the Vermont Judiciary Public Portal and confirmed that no estate had been opened for Sicely.
7. The last known legal occupant of the Mobile Home was Sicely. The mobile home has been abandoned and has been unoccupied since her death.
8. The following security interests, mortgages, liens and encumbrances appear of record with respect to the mobile home:
a. Sicely is in arrears on obligations to pay property taxes to the Town of Williston, Vermont in the aggregate amount of $1,749.78, plus interest and penalties. The delinquent property taxes are now a lien on the property. See attached Tax Bill & Delinquent Tax Report.
9. Uriah Wallace, a duly licensed Vermont auctioneer, is a person disinterested in the Mobile Home and the mobile home park who is able to sell the mobile home at a public auction.
10. Mobile home storage fees continue to accrue at the rate of $522.00 per month. Rent, storage fees and late charges due the Park as of October, 2025 total $10,466.96. Court costs and attorney’s fees incurred by the Park in this action currently exceed $750.00.
11. The Park sent written notice by certified mail to the Town of Williston on May 2, 2025 of its intent to commence this abandonment action. See attached.
WHEREFORE, the Park Owner respectfully requests that the Honorable Court enter an order as follows:
1. Declare that the mobile home has been abandoned;
2. Approve the sale of the mobile home at a public
auction to be held within 15 days of the date of judgment, pursuant to 10 V.S.A. § 6249(h); and 3. Grant judgment in favor of the Park Owner CHT and against the mobile home for past due and unpaid rent and mobile home storage charges through the date of judgment, together with CHT’s court costs, publication and mailing costs, auctioneer’s costs, winterization costs, lot cleanup charges, attorney’s fees incurred in connection with this matter and any other costs incurred by CHT herein.
DATED this 10th day of October, 2025. CHAMPLAIN HOUSING TRUST, INC.
BY: Nadine L. Scibek Attorney for CHT
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.
October 10, 2025
By: Taheem Baptiste, Duly Authorized Agent for CHT
STATE OF VERMONT
SUPERIOR COURT PROBATE DIVISION
CHITTENDEN UNIT DOCKET NO.: 25-PR-05302
In re ESTATE of Arnold R. King
NOTICE TO CREDITORS
To the creditors of: Arnold R. King, late of Burlington.
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: October 24, 2025
Signature of Fiduciary: /s/ Brittany Lyman
Executor/Administrator: Brittany Lyman
c/o Corey F. Wood, Esq., BPF, 34 Pearl Street Essex Junction, VT 05452 Phone number: (802) 879-6304 Email: cwood@bpflegal.com
Name of Publication: Seven Days Publication Date: 10/29/2025
Name of Probate Court: State of Vermont, Chittenden Probate Division
Address of Probate Court: 175 Main Street , Burlington, VT 05401
TOWN OF RICHMOND SELECTBOARD
NOTICE OF PUBLIC HEARING
The Richmond Selectboard shall hold a public hearing on Monday, November 17, 2025 at 7:00 p.m. to hear public comment on proposed amendments to the Traffic Ordinance.
This hearing may be attended in person at the Richmond Town Center located at 203 Bridge St. Richmond, VT or by phone or online via Zoom Zoom Meeting: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/89331938834?pwd= xhafRdzMdeGRgL1D7pS45CMYv2ukAW.1 Meeting ID: 893 3193 8834
Passcode: 024678
Join by Phone: +1 929 205 6099
Copies of the proposed ordinances are available at the Town Clerk’s Office, 203 Bridge Street Richmond, or by calling 434-5170, and under “Ordinances & Policies” at www.richmondvt.gov.
All interested persons may appear and be heard. Persons needing special accommodations or those interested in viewing the ordinance should
PLACE AN AFFORDABLE NOTICE AT: SEVENDAYSVT.COM/LEGAL-NOTICES OR CALL 802-865-1020, EXT. 121.
contact the Richmond Town Manager’s Office (802) 434-5170.
Summary of Changes to Traffic Ordinance
Section 6A (B): Authorizes Highway Department to post no parking signs for parades and events
Section 6A (E):
• Authorizes Certified Law Enforcement Officers, the Richmond Constable, and the Richmond Highway Foreman and Assistant Foreman to have illegally parked vehicles towed
• Removes stipulation for the Selectboard to set a not to exceed rate for towing
REQUEST FOR QUALIFICATIONS FOR THE DESIGN OF A PUBLIC MURAL AT ESSEX JUNCTION FIRE DEPARTMENT
The City of Essex Junction is looking for a talented Vermont artist or artist team to design a new public mural celebrating our community. The project, We Are Essex Junction, will bring color, creativity, and local pride to the southeasternfacing exterior wall of the Essex Junction Fire Department at 3 Pearl Street. If you’re passionate about storytelling through art and want to be part of creating a lasting piece of public art for Vermont’s newest city, we’d love to hear from you.
Responses are to be submitted by 4:00 p.m. EDT on Monday, December 29th, 2025. Responses may be submitted in person at the Essex Junction City Offices at 2 Lincoln Street, Essex Junction, VT, 05452, or via e-mail to Michael Giguere: mgiguere@essexjunction.org
The complete RFQ may be obtained, without charge, on the City of Essex Junction’s public website at www.essexjunction.org/news/ invitation-to-bid or at the City Office at 2 Lincoln St. Please direct all questions regarding this request for qualifications to Michael Giguere, City Planner, at mgiguere@essexjunction.org or 802-878-6944 ext. 1625.
This project is supported in part by the Vermont Arts Council, which receives support in part from the National Endowment for the Arts, a federal agency.
TOWN OF RICHMOND
DEVELOPMENT REVIEW BOARD (DRB) AGENDA NOVEMBER 12, 2025 7:00-9:00 PM
THIS IS A HYBRID MEETING WITH ON-SITE AND REMOTE ACCOMODATIONS.
Note: Pursuant to 1 V.S.A. § 312(a)(2), this meeting will be held in the three following locations: (1) in person, onsite; (2) electronically via Zoom; and (3) by phone. You do not need a computer to attend this meeting. Calls can be placed by using the “Join by Phone” number below—this is a toll-free number. For additional information or accommodations to improve the accessibility of this meeting, please contact Danté DeNault at (802) 556-4959 or ddenault@richmondvt.gov.
Join In Person, Onsite: 3rd floor Meeting Room A, Richmond Town Offices, 203 Bridge Street, Richmond, VT 05477
Join Electronically via Zoom: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/89057870483
Join by Phone: +1 (305) 224-1968 // Meeting ID: 890 5787 0483
PUBLIC HEARING: Application materials for review: Development Review Board 11/12/2025 – Town of Richmond, VT
Item 1
CUR 2025-05 Buttermilk LLC Parcel ID # JC0074
Project description: Applicant seeks DRB approval to convert about 5,245 sq. ft. of existing, unoccupied commercial space into nine (9) residential dwelling units (studios and one-bedrooms of varying size). No changes to the second and third floors are proposed. The remaining commercial unit fronting Bridge Street will get a bathroom
and small kitchenette. Other planned improvements include a new window well and other minor exterior and site plan improvements.
Item 2
APE2025-01 Chelsye & Trevor Brooks Appealing: ZO 2025-61
Appellants Chelsye & Trevor Brooks challenge the issuance of zoning permit 2025-61 for allegedly missing information and violating the Town’s zoning regulations.
STATE OF VERMONT
SUPERIOR COURT PROBATE DIVISION CHITTENDEN UNIT DOCKET NO.: 25-PR-06083
In re ESTATE of Susan A. Victory NOTICE TO CREDITORS
To the creditors of: Susan A. Victory, late of South Burlington.
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: October 2, 2025
Signature of Fiduciary: /s/ Cheryl Victory /s/ Gary Joseph Victory
Executor/Administrator: Cheryl Victory/Gary Jospeh Victory c/o Corey F. Wood, Esq., BPF, PO Box 174 Essex Junction, VT 05452 Phone number: (802) 879-6304 Email: cwood@bpflegal.com
Name of Publication: Seven Days Publication Date: 10/29/2025
Name of Probate Court: Vermont Superior Court, Chittenden Probate Division Address of Probate Court: 175 Main Street , Burlington, VT 05401
NOTICE OF PUBLIC MEETING
Town of Underhill Development Review Board (DRB)
Final Subdivision Review hearing for a 9-lot Planned Residential Development Monday, November 17, 2025, Hearing @ 6:30 PM at the Underhill Town Hall, 12 Pleasant Valley Road, Underhill, VT
The Underhill Development Review Board will hold a Final Subdivision Review hearing for a 9-lot Planned Residential Development subdivision per Section 7.6 & 9.4 of the Underhill Unified Land Use & Development Regulations adopted March 1, 2011 and last amended March 3, 2020. The subject property is located at 422 VT Route 15, Underhill and is owned by the United Church of Underhill, Inc. which is also the applicant. The property is in the Underhill Flats Village Center zoning district, and the proposed use is residential, with open land owned in common. The hearing will commence at 6:30 PM at the Underhill Town Hall, 12 Pleasant Valley Road, on Monday, November 17, 2025. The hearing will also be accessible via the Go-To-Meeting platform.
Application submittals, including information to access the public meeting via the Go-To-Meeting platform or by telephone, may be obtained on the Town’s website calendar under November 17, 2025 or by contacting the Zoning Administrator. The hearing is open to the public. Pursuant to 24 VSA § 4464(a)(1)(C) and 4471(a), participation in this local proceeding is a prerequisite to the right to make any subsequent appeal. If you cannot attend the hearing, comments may be made in writing, prior to the meeting, and mailed to: Maya Holmes, Acting Zoning Administrator, P.O. Box
120 Underhill, VT 05489 or emailed to: zoning@ underhillvt.gov
BURLINGTON PLANNING COMMISSION PUBLIC HEARING NOTICE
BURLINGTON COMPREHENSIVE DEVELOPMENT ORDINANCE AMENDMENT
ZA-26-01 TECHNICAL AMENDMENTS AND MINOR REVISIONS
Please note that this Public Hearing was initially proposed for 10/28 but has been rescheduled for 11/13
Pursuant to 24 V.S.A. §4441 and §4444, notice is hereby given of a public hearing by the Burlington Planning Commission to hear comments on the following proposed amendments to the City of Burlington’s Comprehensive Development Ordinance (CDO). The public hearing will take place during the Planning Commission meeting on Thursday, November 13, 2025, with the hearing starting at Time Certain 6:45pm. You may access the hearing/meeting as follows:
The meeting will be held in the Sharon Bushor Conference Room at City Hall (149 Church Street) and online via Zoom
To join virtually from a Computer, please click this URL to join, and enter the Webinar ID if prompted: Link: https://zoom.us/j/97941883790?pwd=bGZB NzNyV1liL3p5NkhIL2dqUFIzdz09
Passcode: 658929
Webinar ID: 979 4188 3790
Passcode (if needed): 658929
To join virtually by phone, dial this number and enter the Webinar ID when prompted: Number: +1 312 626 6799 Webinar ID: 979 4188 3790
Pursuant to the requirements of 24 V.S.A. §4444(b): Statement of purpose:
The purpose of the proposed amendment is as follows:
• The proposed changes in ZA-26-01 all aim to support greater flexibility within current zoning regulations to accommodate development needs and seeks to correct several errors in the CDO, enhancing clarity and consistency in administration for both staff and applicants.
Geographic areas affected: This amendment applies to all areas of the city.
List of section headings affected: The proposed amendments modify the following sections of the Burlington Comprehensive Development Ordinance:
• ZA-26-01: Modifies Sec 3.1.2(c) 11; Table 3.5.2-1; and deletes and reserves Sec 3.5.3; modifies Table 4.4.2-1, Sec. 4.4.2 (d) 3 B; Table 4.4.5-1; Sec. 4.4.5(d) 2 B; Sec 4.4.5 (d) 4 D; Table 4.4.5-6; 4.4.5-7; Table 4.5.6-2; Sec 4.5.6-2; and deletes and reserves Sec 4.4.5(d) 4 C; modifies Sec 5.3.5(a); modifies Sec 6.2.2 (m); modifies Sec 7.1.1 and Sec 7.1.4; modifies Sec 9.1.5; Table Sec 9.1.12; Sec 9.2.10 (b); modifies Table 11.1.5-2; modifies Article 13;
The full text of the Burlington Comprehensive Development Ordinance is available online at www.burlingtonvt.gov/DPI/CDO. The proposed amendment can be reviewed in hard copy posted on the first floor of City Hall, 149 Church Street, Burlington or online at https://www.burlingtonvt. gov/DPI/CDO/Amendments
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 the City Planning department or 711 if you are hearing or speech impaired.
BURLINGTON PLANNING COMMISSION PUBLIC HEARING NOTICE
BURLINGTON’S OPEN SPACE PLAN
MDP-26-01 BURLINGTON’S OPEN SPACE PLAN
Please note that this Public Hearing was initially proposed for 10/28 but has been rescheduled for 11/13
Pursuant to 24 V.S.A. §4384, 4387 and §4432, notice is hereby given of a public hearing by the Burlington Planning Commission to hear comments on the proposed City of Burlington’s Open Space Plan. The public hearing will take place during the Planning Commission Meeting on Thursday, November 13, 2025 starting at Time Certain 7:15pm. You may access the hearing/ meeting as follows:
The meeting will be held in the Sharon Bushor Conference Room at City Hall (149 Church Street) and online via Zoom
To join virtually from a Computer, please click this URL to join, and enter the Webinar ID if prompted: Link: https://zoom.us/j/97941883790?pwd=bGZB NzNyV1liL3p5NkhIL2dqUFIzdz09
Passcode: 658929
Webinar ID: 979 4188 3790
Passcode (if needed): 658929
To join virtually by phone, dial this number and enter the Webinar ID when prompted: Number: +1 312 626 6799 Webinar ID: 979 4188 3790
Pursuant to the requirements of 24 V.S.A. §4444(b): Statement of purpose:
The Open Space Plan is a roadmap to guide the City of Burlington and its residents, partners,
and tell. View and post up to 6 photos per ad online.
and collaborators as they work together to grow and steward Burlington’s open spaces now and in the future. Burlington is a place where open spaces, water, and the built environment are intertwined in a symbiotic relationship that helps to make Burlington the unique place that is it. As Burlington continues to intensify in density to accommodate its increasing population, the City aims to continue its long-standing commitment to providing equitable access to quality open spaces and stewarding the health of the city’s ecosystems.
Burlington’s Open Space Plan takes an interdisciplinary approach to documenting the City’s open spaces, updating open space goals, and identifying specific resource targets and timelines through a robust community-focused engagement process. Ultimately, this plan is created to ensure that both the community—those who live, work, and recreate here—and the wildlife and flora will continue to thrive for generations to come.
Geographic areas affected:
Burlington’s Open Space Plan is applicable to all areas within the City of Burlington.
List of section headings affected:
Burlington’s Open Space Plan is a comprehensive rewrite of the previously adopted Open Space Protection Plan (2000 & 2014) and replaces all chapters, appendices, maps, and references. The full text of the draft 2025 Burlington Open Space Plan is available online at www.burlingtonvt.gov/planbtv/OpenSpace. The proposed plan can be reviewed in hard copy posted on the first floor of City Hall, 149 Church Street, Burlington.
The City of Burlington will not tolerate unlawful harassment or discrimination on the basis of political or religious affiliation, race, color, national
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.
AL-ANON
For families & friends of alcoholics. Phone meetings, electronic meetings (Zoom) & an Al-Anon blog are avail. online at the Al-Anon website. For meeting info, go to vermontalanonalateen.org or call 866-972-5266.
ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS
If you want to drink, that’s your business. If you want to stop, that’s ours. Call the Vermont statewide anonymous hotline: 802-802-2288. Alcoholics Anonymous holds daily meetings all over Vermont, both in person & online. See burlingtonaa.org for meetings, news & events in Chittenden & Grand Isle counties. For meeting & events throughout Vermont, see aavt.org.
ALZHEIMER’S ASSOCIATION SUPPORT GROUPS
Support groups meet to provide assistance & info on Alzheimer’s disease & related dementias. They emphasize shared experiences, emotional support & coping techniques in care for a person living w/ Alzheimer’s or a related dementia. Meetings are free & open to the public. Families, caregivers & friends may attend. Please call in advance to confirm the date & time. The Williston caregiver support group meets in person on the 2nd & 4th Tue. of every mo., 5-6:30 p.m., at the Old Brick Church in Williston. Contact support group
facilitators Molly at dugan@cathedralsquare.org or Mindy at moondog@burlingtontelecom.net. The Middlebury support group for individuals w/ early stage dementia meets on the 4th Tue. of each mo., 3 p.m., at the Residence at Otter Creek, 350 Lodge Rd., Middlebury. Contact is Daniel Hamilton, dhamilton@residenceottercreek.com or 802-9890097. The Shelburne support group for individuals w/ early stage dementia meets on the 1st Mon. of every mo., 2-3 p.m., at the Residence at Shelburne Bay, 185 Pine Haven Shores, Shelburne. Contact is support group facilitator Lydia Raymond, lraymond@residenceshelburnebay.com. The telephone support group meets on the 2nd Tue. of each mo., 4-5:30 p.m. Preregistration is required (to receive dial-in codes for toll-free call). Please dial the Alzheimer’s Association’s 24-7 Helpline, 800-272-3900, or visit alz.org for more info. For questions or additional support group listings, call 800-272-3900.
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.
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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 the City Planning department or 711 if you are hearing or speech impaired.
General Notice
The Town of Underhill (Owner) is requesting Bids for the construction of the following Project:
Bridge 7 Replacement
Bids for the construction of the Project will be received at the Town Municipal Offices located at 12 Pleasant Valley Road, Underhill, VT 05489 until December 3, 2025, at 10:00 a.m. Bid submissions will be opened and read aloud – final Contractor selection is anticipated at a Selectboard Meeting.
The Project includes the following Work: Bridge 7 Replacement on Pleasant Valley Road (Town Highway 1), including cast-in-place concrete footers/abutments/wingwalls, a precast superstructure, and associated roadway improvements.
The Project has a contractual duration (final completion) of 90 days, excluding procurement of the precast components.
Obtaining the Bidding Documents
The Issuing Office for the Bidding Documents is: East Engineering, PLC
CONTACT CLASSIFIEDS@SEVENDAYSVT.COM OR 802-865-1020 EXT. 115 TO UPDATE YOUR SUPPORT GROUP
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 & online on Zoom. Email us for the Zoom link & more info: pvcc@pathwaysvermont.org.
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
Tyler Billingsley, 802-989-6686, tyler@eastengineeringplc.com
Richmond, Vermont 05477
Partial sets of Bidding Documents will not be available from the Issuing Office. Neither Owner nor Engineer will be responsible for full or partial sets of Bidding Documents, including addenda, if any, obtained from sources other than the Issuing Office.
PDF sets of the Bidding Documents are available free of charge.
Pre-bid Conference
A mandatory pre-bid conference for the Project will be held on November 12, 2025, at 10:00 a.m. at the Project Site (intersection of Pleasant Valley Road and Deane Road at the Seymour River crossing, 44.575562, -72.863633). Bids will not be accepted from Bidders that do not attend the mandatory prebid conference.
Instructions to Bidders.
For all further requirements regarding bid submittal, qualifications, procedures, and contract award, refer to the Instructions to Bidders that are included in the Bidding Documents.
This Advertisement is issued by:
Owner: Town of Underhill
Engineer: East Engineering, PLC / TR Fellows Engineering
NOTICE OF DISINTERMENT
This notice serves to inform of the City of Burlington’s intent to disinter the remains of Eric Simendinger at Lakeview Cemetery in Burlington, VT. Any family member, town cemetery commissioner, or other authority responsible for cemeteries in the municipality can object to the proposed removal by filing a complaint in probate court.
of additional meetings throughout the U.S. & the world, call 603-630-1495 or visit foodaddicts.org.
FRESH START: A TOBACCO/VAPE QUIT WORKSHOP
Join a free 4- or 5-week group workshop facilitated by our coaches, who are certified in tobacco treatment. We meet in a friendly, relaxed & virtual atmosphere. You may qualify for a free limited supply of nicotine replacement therapy. Info: call 802-847-7333 or email quittobaccoclass@uvm health.org to get signed up, or visit myhealthyvt.org to learn more about upcoming workshops.
GRIEVING A LOSS SUPPORT GROUP
A retired psychotherapist & an experienced life coach host a free meeting for those grieving the loss of a loved one. The group meets upstairs at All Souls Interfaith Gathering in Shelburne. There is no fee for attending but donations are gladly accepted. Meetings are held on the 1st & 3rd Sat. of every mo., 10-11:30 a.m. If you are interested in attending please register at allsoulsinterfaith. org. (More information about the group leader at pamblairbooks.com.)
HEARING VOICES SUPPORT GROUP
This Hearing Voices Group seeks to find understanding of voice-hearing experiences as real lived experiences that may happen to anyone at any time. We choose to share experiences, support & empathy. We validate anyone’s experience & stories about their experience as their own, as being an honest & accurate representation of their experience, & as being acceptable exactly as they are. Tue., 2:30-4 p.m. Vermont Wellness Collaborative (125 College St., 3rd Floor). Email us for more information: pvcc@pathwaysvermont.org.
Pay range: $23-$27 depending on experience
Join Essex CHIPS as our next Teen Center Director! The Teen Center Director oversees daily operations of the Teen and Tween Center, ensuring a safe, inclusive, and enriching environment for 4th–9th graders. This position requires strong youth work skills, creativity, organization, attention to detail, and the ability to collaborate effectively with students, caregivers, and staff. Please visit essexchips.org/jobs for complete job description and information on how to apply.
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Local catering business is seeking part-time help in the kitchen. Nice working environment. Good cooking background necessary; some professional experience recommended. Apply at: christophe@pozecatering.com
highly professional and collegial team that is proud of, and enthusiastic about, the mission of the state legislature.
To apply, please go to 'Career Opportunities' at legislature.vermont.gov.
Intervale Center seeks a dynamic, mission-driven Administrative and Communications Assistant. This position supports the Center’s staff to create a welcoming and productive organization & executes communication strategies to share stories and impact. To apply, send cover letter, resume and three references to jobs@intervale.org by November 12th. Full job description at intervale.org/join-our-team
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The town of St. George in Chittenden County is seeking to hire a part-time Assistant Town Clerk/Assistant to the Boards. The position will directly support the work of our Town Clerk and the various Town Boards, who keep things running on behalf of our small but dynamic community. Ideal candidates will have attention to detail, be good at working with people, and be able to handle a variety of tasks.
For more information, please see the job postings on the Town website here: bit.ly/ StGeorgeJobs
To apply, please email a cover letter and your resume to: SBViceChair@ stgeorgevt.com
The jobs are open until filled; priority consideration will be given to applications received by Monday, November 10, 2025.
Are you passionate about improving the health and resilience of Vermont’s forests?
Vermont Land Trust is seeking a Forester based in the Northeast Kingdom who can:
• Steward forests across conserved and VLT-owned properties to advance forest health, carbon management, and ecological resilience.
• Work with landowners to review forest management plans, conduct annual monitoring, and ensure forest management is in keeping with VLT’s mission and conservation easements.
• Manage fee-owned forestlands, including overseeing timber sales and supervising contractors.
• Serve on our Cold Hollow Carbon project team.
The annual starting salary is $75,624 plus a cafeteria allowance of $25,561 to pay for health care and other benefits. Learn more and apply at vlt.org/employment. The position will remain open until 11/14/25. The Vermont Land Trust is an Equal Opportunity Employer. We invite people of all backgrounds and life experiences to apply for our jobs.
We’re hiring! There are two opportunities available to join our team:
This position ensures that youth have opportunities to build community, experience queer joy, and access meaningful social support within their schools through the GSA Network and in connection with other GSAs locally and regionally. Apply by noon on Friday, November 21, 2025.
This new role leads the departmental strategy, planning, implementation, and evaluation of our Youth and Family Social and Support Programs, ensuring youth and families have access to support, community, and joy. Apply by noon on Friday, November 21, 2025.
Make a Real Difference in the Community!
Northeastern Vermont Regional Hospital (NVRH) is seeking a compassionate Registered Nurse to join our dynamic Infusion Therapy Department in St. Johnsbury, VT. The Opportunity: Provide direct patient care in a rewarding role serving 15-20 patients daily. Administer IV therapies, coordinate care, and educate patients in our collaborative, patientcentered environment. RN License (VT or compact state) BSN degree
Why NVRH?
Student loan repayment Tuition reimbursement
Apply Now! nvrh.org/careers.
Connect Vermonters to safe, affordable housing, strengthen community bonds, and increase access to supportive services for vulnerable Vermonters
Now recruiting for:
For 11 months of service, you’ll receive: $30,500 living allowance, $7,395 education award, health insurance, training opportunities, leadership development
vhcb.org/vhcb-americorps/service-opportunities
: Help us pick, pack, and prepare specialty gift boxes and wholesale packages for shipping and delivery around the country.
Seasonal Chocolate Maker & Packaging Specialist: While working in our chocolate factory, you might fill chocolate molds, handdecorate our chocolate novelties, assemble gift baskets, or hand-pack our specialty chocolates.
Seasonal Dish Room Specialist: If you take pride in a clean, organized workspace and enjoy working both independently and with a team, we invite you to apply for this position and be part of the magic behind the chocolate!
*The above positions are Seasonal, Hourly, Non-Exempt, with $18.50 per hour starting pay, up to 3 paid holidays (Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Year's), accrued paid sick time off, and sweet chocolate perks!
Seasonal Retail Store Associate & Barista - Pine St. Join our team and bring joy to our amazing customers. You’ll spend your days with a great group of co-workers, boxing up truffles, learning all about chocolate, educating customers, and making life-altering hot chocolates. Seasonal, Hourly, Non-Exempt, $15.00 per hour starting pay, tips, accrued paid sick time off, and sweet chocolate perks!
Wholesale Sales Operations Specialist: You might be the perfect candidate if you're creative, able to speak and write with salesmanship, and create and polish PowerPoint presentations and collateral that beautifully stand out.
*Full-Time, Hourly, Non-Exempt, $27.00-$30.00 per hour starting pay (commensurate with experience), 7 paid holidays, generous CTO and benefits package, and sweet chocolate perks!
“I’m making a difference here and my impact on the community feels tangible.”
~ Meeka Moore, Direct Support Professional
NEKCV is growing again!
Job Title: Marketing Director
NEKCV is growing again!
Job Title: Marketing Director
Job Title: Marketing Director
This leadership position drives participation in the NEK Broadband and Central Vermont networks by focusing on customers, secondary revenue streams, and increasing affordability and accessibility for income sensitive residents. We are seeking a highly motivated and experienced Marketing Director with a strong background in communications to lead our efforts to ensure residents are aware of the high-speed internet options from NEK Broadband and CVFiber and maximize subscribers. Must be able to work independently with little supervision. This position will work with the Community Relations Manager, Communications Manager, currently contracted consultants, and additional consultants as deemed necessary by this position.
This leadership position drives participation in the NEK Broadband and Central Vermont networks by focusing on customers, secondary revenue streams, and increasing affordability and accessibility for income sensitive residents. We are seeking a highly motivated and experienced Marketing Director with a strong background in communications to lead our efforts to ensure residents are aware of the high-speed internet options from NEK Broadband and CVFiber and maximize subscribers. Must be able to work independently with little supervision. This position will work with the Community Relations Manager, Communications Manager, currently contracted consultants, and additional consultants as deemed necessary by this position.
Great jobs in management and direct support at an award-winning agency serving Vermonters with intellectual and developmental disabilities.
This leadership position drives participation in the NEK Broadband and Central Vermont networks by focusing on customers, secondary revenue streams, and increasing affordability and accessibility for income sensitive residents. We are seeking a highly motivated and experienced Marketing Director with a strong background in communications to lead our efforts to ensure residents are aware of the high-speed internet options from NEK Broadband and CVFiber and maximize subscribers. Must be able to work independently with little supervision. This position will work with the Community Relations Manager, Communications Manager, currently contracted consultants, and additional consultants as deemed necessary by this position.
This leadership position drives participation in the NEK Broadband and Central Vermont networks by focusing on customers, secondary revenue streams, and increasing affordability and accessibility for income sensitive residents. We are seeking a highly motivated and experienced Marketing Director with a strong background in communications to lead our efforts to ensure residents are aware of the high-speed internet options from NEK Broadband and CVFiber and maximize subscribers. Must be able to work independently with little supervision. This position will work with the Community Relations Manager, Communications Manager, currently contracted consultants, and additional consultants as deemed necessary by this position.
Benefit package includes 29 paid days off in the first year, comprehensive health insurance with premium as low as $30 per month, up to $6,400 to go towards medical deductibles and copays, retirement match, generous sign on bonus and so much more.
And that’s on top of working at one of the “Best Places to Work in Vermont” for seven years in a row. Join our team today!
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Job Title: Administrative Assistant
This leadership position drives participation in the NEK Broadband and Central Vermont networks by focusing on customers, secondary revenue streams, and increasing affordability and accessibility for income sensitive residents. We are seeking a highly motivated and experienced Marketing Director with a strong background in communications to lead our efforts to ensure residents are aware of the high-speed internet options from NEK Broadband and CVFiber and maximize subscribers. Must be able to work independently with little supervision. This position will work with the Community Relations Manager, Communications Manager, currently contracted consultants, and additional consultants as deemed necessary by this position.
Job Title: Administrative Assistant
NEKCV is looking for a highly organized and detail-oriented administrative assistant to keep our office running smoothly and efficiently. This is a great opportunity to assist our employees with diverse projects and provide general administrative support.
Job Title: Administrative Assistant
NEKCV is looking for a highly organized and detail-oriented administrative assistant to keep our office running smoothly and efficiently. This is a great opportunity to assist our employees with diverse projects and provide general administrative support.
NEKCV is looking for a highly organized and detail-oriented administrative assistant to keep our office running smoothly and efficiently. This is a great opportunity to assist our employees with diverse projects and provide general administrative support.
NEKCV is looking for a highly organized and detail-oriented administrative assistant to keep our office running smoothly and efficiently. This is a great opportunity to assist our employees with diverse projects and provide general administrative support.
For full details and to apply, please visit http://nekcv.org
For full details and to apply, please visit http://nekcv.org
NEKCV is looking for a highly organized and detail-oriented administrative assistant to keep our office running smoothly and efficiently. This is a great opportunity to assist our employees with diverse projects and provide general administrative support.
For full details and to apply, please visit http://nekcv.org
For full details and to apply, please visit http://nekcv.org
For full details and to apply, please visit http://nekcv.org
The Stern Center in Williston is seeking an OG 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 Orton-Gillingham 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. Specific duties include:
• Administer and interpret pre- and post-instructional assessments
• Create specific academic goals and objectives for each student
• Communicate with parents, schools, teachers, and special educators
• Strong progress monitoring and reporting skills
The non-profit Stern Center for Language and Learning is dedicated to learning for all as we recognize that all great minds don’t think alike. We invite you to learn more about us at: sterncenter.org
The starting salary range for this position is $54,000 to $57,000 annually.
The Stern Center for Language and Learning is proud to be an equal opportunity employer.
$95,000–$115,000, based on experience and credentials
This full-time position, based in VT, NH, NY or Maine, leads the design and engineering of commercial geothermal systems, utility-scale solar PV projects, and medium voltage infrastructure, with opportunities to contribute to energy storage and EV charging initiatives. It spans the full project lifecycle—from conceptual design through commissioning—and requires strong technical breadth, collaboration skills, and attention to detail. Job description and requirements: norwichtech.com/careers
$40,000-$55,000 based on experience and credentials
This full-time position, based in Windsor, VT, is responsible for sourcing project materials, creating, tracking, and receiving purchase orders, managing trucking logistics, physically receiving orders, and maintaining the warehouse space. Incumbent is responsible for all warehouse activities including maintaining a safe, clean workspace, materials handling, scheduling deliveries, unloading trucks, receiving inventory, efficient storage of materials, coordinating, and making job site deliveries. Additionally, this role will prepare job materials for upcoming projects using our ERP system and manage our digital inventory and cycle counts. Full job description & requirements: norwichtech.com/careers
Vermont Compost Company is hiring! We are seeking a Livestock Manager with experience in draft animal care and training, as well as a Crew Member for our fulfillment and food residuals departments.
Staff enjoy competitive wages, Livestock Manager: $20-$30/hr (DOE), Crew Member: $18-$20/hr (DOE), a full benefits package, and a fulfilling work environment.
Visit our website for more information: VermontCompost.com/ careers
Manufacturing Quality Manager
GlobalFoundries U.S. 2, LLC is seeking a Manufacturing Quality Manager, in Essex Junction, VT, to oversee team representation across all corporate QMS forums. Supervises 8 subordinates - Manufacturing Quality Engineers & Manufacturing Quality Technicians. Min 3 or 4 yr Bachelor’s in Electrical Eng, Materials Science, Chemical Eng, Chemical Process Technology, or rel discipline, or a foreign equiv plus 6 yrs of post-bacc exp in job offered or any eng/quality/ manufacturing rel job titles. Comp for role: $179,780–$204,500/yr. Apply online & see complete req’s. Submit resume to: https://gf.com/ careers/ REQ JR-2503956.
Case Managers support older Vermonters in the community to stay as independent as possible in the environment of their choice by promoting health, rights, independence, and economic well-being.
This position is based in our Barre CVCOA office, combined with in-home field visits.
Pay Range: $24-$26 per hour.
For the full job description and to apply, please visit: cvcoa.org/employment 4t-CVCOA100125.indd
The Facilities Department at Saint Michael’s College is inviting applications for a full-time HVAC Technician. The position supports the department in ensuring all campus HVAC systems are fully operational. The position is MondayFriday, 7:00am-3:30pm with the need for overtime and working off hours/days at times.
The hourly range for this position is $28-$32/hour based on experience.
For full job description, please go to: 7dvt.pub/SMChvac
Join our team at Teachers Tree Service!
We are a growing, dynamic and local arboriculture company that improves the health, beauty and safety of the outdoor living environment in northwestern Vermont.
If you enjoy solving complex puzzles, talking with clients and being part of a positive team, you may be our new Scheduler! Prior experience in scheduling appreciated. Benefits: Flexible part-time (at least 20 hrs/wk) or full-time (35+hrs/wk) schedule. Competitive salary (starting at $26/hr) and benefits package (details will be provided to qualified candidates).
To Apply: Please submit your cover letter, resume and three professional references to Sarah Pears, Operations Manager: sarah@teacherstreeservice.com. Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted.
Join the Flynn & be part of a team striving to make the community better through the arts. All backgrounds encouraged to apply. This is a part-time, hourly ($17.25), non-exempt, temporary position.
job details and to apply, please visit: flynnvt.org/About-Us/ Employment-and-Internship-Opportunities
phone calls, please. E.O.E.
The Town of Stowe is looking for a dynamic, detail-driven Senior Accountant to join our Finance team. If you’re passionate about public service, love turning spreadsheets into stories, and want to make a real impact — we want to hear from you!
As Senior Accountant, you won’t just be reconciling numbers — you’ll be supporting transparency, accountability, and sound financial practices. Your core responsibilities will include:
• Processing payroll and accounts payable
• Preparing and reviewing journal entries, reconciliations, and financial reports
• Assisting with month-end and year-end closing processes
• Collaborating on annual budget development and monitoring
• Participating in audit activities/preparing audit schedules
• Ensuring compliance with GASB, GAAP, and Town of Stowe financial policies
We’re looking for someone who thrives in a collaborative, public sector environment and brings strong accounting expertise. The ideal candidate will have (or equivalent combination of education and relevant experience):
• Bachelor’s degree in accounting, finance, or related field (Master’s or CPA a plus!)
• 5+ years of progressively responsible accounting experience (governmental accounting preferred)
• Strong computer skills and proficiency at Excel is a must. Knowledge of NEMRC municipal software is a plus.
• Analytical mindset with sharp attention to detail
• Excellent communication and problem-solving skills
This is an in-person position. Salary Range: $65,000$80,000, depending on qualifications.
The Town of Stowe o ers a robust benefit package including health and dental with low premium share, generous paid leave, VMERS B pension, and more!
More information can be found at stowevt.gov/jobs. Submit cover letter and resume to recruit@stowevt.gov. Application deadline: November 21, 2025. Position starts January 5, 2026.
The Town of Stowe is an equal opportunity employer.
Part time. H.O.P.E Works, Vermont’s oldest 501c3 nonprofit serving survivors of sexual violence in Chittenden County, VT, is seeking a part-time community outreach and victim advocate to work with survivors of sexual violence 15-20 hours per week. H.O.P.E Works offers generous paid time off and a flexible hybrid work environment. People with diverse lived experiences encouraged to apply.
Visit hopeworksvt.org/internships-and-employment for the full job listing. To apply email resume to admin@hopeworksvt.org
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:
Construction Project Specialist: Performs physical condition inspections of all owned and managed properties for assessment of capital needs and housing standards compliance, coordinates small to medium sized renovation and repair projects, and assists in the development and preparation of construction project bid specifications, requests for proposals and project requirements, manuals and plans, as well as other aspects of project management. Pay $26.00 to $30.00 per hour.
Property Manager Receptionist / Administrative Assistant: Serves as first point of contact for our customers in the Property Management office. This role greets applicants and the general public at the main office, collects rent payments, provides administrative support to the Leasing Specialist, the Property Managers, and the Director of Property Management. Pay $20.00 to $22.00 per hour, with a $1,500 Sign On Bonus.
Maintenance Technician: Performs general maintenance work in BHA owned and managed properties. This includes building exteriors, common areas, apartments, building systems, fixtures, and grounds. Our Building Operations Techs are required to participate in the on-call rotation, which covers night and weekend emergencies. Current rotation is once every 6-7 weeks. Pay $24.00 to $26.00 per hour, with a $1,500 Sign On Bonus.
Rental Assistance Specialist I: Assists in the operation of all rental programs, including tenant and project-based voucher and grant funded rental assistance programs. This position works with applicants, participants, and landlords to ensure that the required paperwork and annual certifications are processed timely. Pay $23.00 to $26.00 per hour.
For more info about our benefit package and these career opportunities please visit: burlingtonhousing.org
Interested in our career opportunity? Send a cover letter & resume to: humanresources@burlington housing.org.
Burlington Housing Authority Human Resources 65 Main Street Suite 101 Burlington, VT 05401-8408 P: 802-864-0538 F: 802-658-1286
BHA is an Equal Opportunity Employer
Union Bank has called Vermont home since 1891 — and we’re proud of our local roots. We’re a modern, community-focused bank where people come to grow their careers and make a difference. We offer strong benefits, support continuing education, and believe in promoting from within. Our CEO’s journey from teller to the top is just one example. If you’re looking for purpose, opportunity, and a team that cares, you’ll find it here. We are currently seeking to fill these roles:
We’re looking for a motivated individual to support post-closing loan operations, including checkbacks, escrow balancing, and disbursements. No banking experience? No problem — we’ll train the right candidate. You’re a great fit if you’re:
• Tech-savvy and detail-oriented
• Reliable, eager to learn, and customer-focused
• Comfortable with numbers and computers
Requirements: Customer service skills, analytical thinking, and math/computer aptitude.
Pay: $20–$23/hour
Join our Residential Loan Processing Team and help support our Loan Officers with administrative and clerical tasks. You’ll ensure loan documents are complete and accurate while keeping things running smoothly. You’re a great fit if you have:
• Strong admin and communication skills
• Banking or legal experience (preferred)
• Knowledge of mortgage loan products (a plus)
Pay: $20–$24/hour
Are you a creative thinker who loves digital storytelling, design, and community engagement and has 1-3 years of related experience? This hands-on role covers everything from social media and event planning to light graphic design. You’ll get to:
• Manage website updates (WordPress)
• Create content for social media & design flyers and digital assets
• Manage branded merchandise program, including ordering, inventory, fulfillment & sourcing new items
• Support internal marketing, external events and vendor coordination
Pay: $23–$26/hour
Hiring Operators of all experience levels for multiple shifts, including weekend
$22 – $35 per hour to start based on experience (including shift differential)
Plus a $5,000 sign-on bonus for eligible new hires!
• Paid Time Off - Including Company Holidays, Vacation, Personal Time
• On-site Primary Care for employees and eligible dependents
High quality, low cost benefits for as little as
• High quality, low cost benefits for as little as $9/pay (employee) or $18/pay (family)
• 401(k) Match - 100% matching up to 4%
• Annual Bonus, profit sharing and merit increases
•Wellness programs and incentives
Date: Friday, November 7th
Time: 6:00 am - 2:00 pm
Location: Hard’Ack Greg Brown Lodge 264 Hard’Ack, St. Albans VT
(OCT. 23-NOV. 21)
In the late 18th century, balloonomania came to Paris. Large crowds gathered to watch inventors and impresarios send hot-air balloons into the sky. Spectators were astonished, fearful and filled with wonder. Some wept, and some fainted. I suspect you’re due for your own exhilarating liftoff, Scorpio — a surge of inspiration that may bewilder a few witnesses but will delight those with open minds. Halloween costume prop: wings.
ARIES (Mar. 21-Apr. 19): On the outskirts of a village in Ghana, a healer gathers plants only when the moon says yes. She speaks the names of each leaf aloud, as if to ask permission, and never picks more than needed. She trusts that each herb has its own wisdom that she can learn from. I invite you to emulate her approach, Aries. Now is a good time to search for resources you need to heal and thrive. The best approach is to be receptive to what life brings you and approach with reverence and gratitude. Halloween costume suggestion: herbalist, traditional healer, sacred botanist.
TAURUS (Apr. 20-May 20): A well-cut ship’s sail is not a flat sheet. It has a gentle curve that the sailmaker crafts stitch by stitch so the wind will catch and convert invisible
pressure into forward motion. Too taut, and the cloth flaps, wasting energy; too loose, and power dissipates. The miracle lies in geometry tuned to an unseen current. I invite you to be inspired by this approach, Taurus. Build curvature into your plans so that optimism isn’t an afterthought but a structural feature. Calibrate your approaches to natural processes so movement arises from alignment rather than brute effort. Make sure your progress is fueled by what you love and trust. Halloween costume suggestion: Wear a sail.
GEMINI (May 21-Jun. 20): All of us can benefit from regular phases of purification: periods when we dedicate ourselves to cleansing, shedding and simplifying. During these intense times of self-healing, we might check our integrity levels to see if they remain high. We can atone for mistakes, scrub away messy karma and dismantle wasteful habits. Here’s another essential practice: disconnecting ourselves from influences that lower our energy and demean our soul. The coming weeks will be a perfect time to engage in these therapeutic pleasures, Gemini. Halloween costume suggestion: purifier, rejuvenator, cleanser, refiner.
CANCER (Jun. 21-Jul. 22): Deep in the Pacific Ocean, male humpback whales sing the longest, slowest, most intricate love songs ever. Their bass tones are loud and strong, sometimes traveling for miles before reaching their intended recipients. The coming weeks will be an excellent time to compose and unleash your own ultimate love songs, Cancerian. Your emotional intelligence is peaking, and your passionate intensity is extra refined and attractive. Meditate on the specific nature of the gifts you want to offer and receive in return. Halloween costume suggestion: singer of love songs.
LEO (Jul. 23-Aug. 22): Between 1680 and 1725, Italy’s Antonio Stradivari and his family made legendary violins that are highly valued today. They selected Alpine spruce trees and Balkan maple, seasoned the wood for years, and laid varnish in painstaking layers that produced sublime resonance. Their genius craftsmanship can be summed up as the cumulative magic of meticulousness over
time. I recommend their approach to you, Leo. Be in service to the long game. Commune with people, tools and commitments that age well. Act on the theory that beautiful tone is perfected in layers. Halloween costume suggestion: a fine craftsperson.
VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sep. 22): Trained women dancers in Rajasthan, India, perform the ancient art of bhavai. As folk music plays, they balance on the dull edge of a sword and hold up to 20 clay pots on their head. They sway with elegance and artistry, demonstrating an ultimate embodiment of “grace under pressure.” I don’t foresee challenges as demanding as that for you, Virgo. But I suspect you will have the poise and focus to accomplish the metaphorical equivalents of such a feat. Halloween costume suggestion: regal acrobat or nimble dancer.
LIBRA (Sep. 23-Oct. 22): In 1968, researchers at Stanford conducted the “marshmallow test.” Children were offered a single sweet treat immediately. But if they didn’t quickly gobble down the marshmallow, thus postponing their gratification, they were awarded two candies later. The kids who held out for the double reward didn’t do so by sheer willpower alone. Rather, they found clever ways to distract themselves to make the wait more bearable: making up games, focusing their attention elsewhere and adjusting their surroundings. I advise you to learn from their approach, Libra. Cultivate forbearance and poise without dimming your passion. Harness small triumphs of willpower into generating big, long-term gains. Diligent, focused effort invested now will almost certainly lead to satisfying outcomes. So please prioritize incremental, systematic grunt work over stunts and adrenaline. Halloween costume trick: Carry two marshmallows.
SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): Don’t be too shocked by my unusual list of raw materials that might soon turn out to be valuable: grime, muck, scuzz, scum, slop, bilge, slime and glop. Amazingly, this stuff may conceal treasures or could be converted into unexpected building materials. So I dare you to dive in and explore the disguised bounty. Proceed on the assumption that you will find
things you can use when you distrust first impressions and probe beneath surfaces. Halloween costume suggestions: sacred janitor, recycling wizard, garbage genius.
CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): In the tide pools of America’s Pacific Northwest lives the ochre starfish, a keystone species that keeps mussel populations in check. Remove the starfish, and the ecosystem collapses into imbalance. Let’s make this creature your power symbol, Capricorn. The visible effect of your presence may not be flashy or vivid, but you will hold a stabilizing role in a group, project or relationship. Your quiet influence can keep things harmonious. Your gift is not to dominate the scene but to keep the whole system alive and diverse. Halloween costume suggestion: ochre starfish (tinyurl.com/ ochrestarfish).
AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): For hundreds of years, the Blackfoot people of North America built buffalo jumps. These were steep cliffs where herds of bison could be guided and driven over the edge during a hunt. It required elaborate cooperation. Scouts tracked the herd, decoys lured them toward the drop, and prep teams waited below to process the meat, hides and bones for the whole community’s sustenance. I hope you will engage in smaller versions of this project. Now is an excellent time to initiate, inspire and foster shared efforts. Make it a high priority to work with allies you trust. Halloween costume suggestions: shepherd, sheepdog, cowboy, vaquero.
PISCES (Feb. 19-Mar. 20): In the ancient Greek world, oracles spoke in riddles. This was not because they were coy but because they understood that truth often arrives obliquely. Directness is overrated when the soul is in motion. Mythic modes of perception don’t obey the laws of logic. In this spirit, Pisces, I invite you to make riddles and ambiguities be your allies. A dream, an overheard conversation or a misheard lyric may contain an enigmatic but pithy code. You should be alert for messages that arrive sideways and upside down. Tilt your head. Read between the flames. You’ll understand when your heart recognizes what your mind can’t name. Halloween costume suggestion: oracle or fortune teller.
On October 18, BarnArts presented the third biennial Haunted Village eater in Barnard. Guides led visitors to five outdoor locations to see Halloween-themed scenes written by local writers and a musical performance. Seven Days’ Eva Sollberger joined a spooky tour and met some of the cast and crew.
YOUTHFUL OLD SOUL AWAKENING HEART
Youthful old soul; awakened heart, discerning mind welcomes aligned connections to nurture conscious, kind, harmonious peace promoting culture. Aiming to grow chosen beyond nuclear family with a life partner. Inquisitive, playful, kind, adventurous, content, open. Let’s drink tea, walk, watch, listen, sing, dance. Seeding mindful, low-throughput, liberation-oriented community. youthfuloldsoul, 49, seeking: M, W, TM, TW, Q, NC, NBP, l
THOUGHTFUL, OUTDOORSY, SWEET TOOTH!
My passions include my family and friends, a healthy lifestyle, and enjoying the great outdoors through hiking, cycling, running, xc skiing and paddling! Also love baking, volunteering, craft beer, travel, live music and dancing. Looking for an active, thoughtful guy! hikerbaker, 45, seeking: M, l
SOMEWHAT FEISTY
I know the world best through reading, writing and listening; the NEK woods and trails. A clumsy but enthusiastic Nordic skier, cheerful gardener and admirer of others’ gardens, with a tendency to laugh at inappropriate moments. Petite, decently educated, cancer survivor. Maybe your way of knowing the world can widen mine? Larch 57, seeking: M, l
You read Seven Days, these people read Seven Days — you already have at least one thing in common!
All the action is online. Create an account or login to browse hundreds of singles with profiles including photos, habits, desires, views and more. It’s free to place your own profile online.
l See photos of this person online.
W = Women
M = Men
TW = Trans women
TM = Trans men
Q = Genderqueer people
NBP = Nonbinary people
NC = Gender nonconformists
Cp = Couples
Gp = Groups
ON THE GO
I like to keep active to stay fit and to feel young. I love to laugh, travel, and enjoy the company of my family and friends. Contessa54, 70, seeking: M, l
EASYGOING, CARING SOUL
My friends say I am beautiful inside and out. I like sharing the heart as well as the mind. I like hand-in-hand walks where we can talk or just enjoy the view. Hoping for that kindred spirit connection. cu52, 65, seeking: M
PEACE-MINDED SOUL SEEKS SAME
Creative live music lover looking for some new people to go to shows with, take a hike with, get some coffee, take a road trip or just hang with my dogs. Looking for friends to start, and if something else should spark, to just go with it. Sugarmags68 56, seeking: M, TM, l
NOT A POET
I worked on these three haiku for awhile: Friends call me JLew / I love to dance. I’ve got moves / that will split your pants // “I wish I could work / on a farm with you” is my / highest compliment. // Dragonfly days and / firefly nights, the best world / a North Woods delight. JLew, 54, seeking: M, l
SEEKING FUN AND ADVENTURE
The world is full of adventures just waiting to be had: a long hike and walk to a waterfall, a fabulous show, a great meal, a beautiful ski. All these are adventures I like to go on. Care to join me? wildflower762, 54, seeking: M, l
NOT A FAN OF FAKES
Trusting my heart to you will take some time, but if you’re patient it will be worth it. I’m a romantic woman who loves to watch sunsets. I have a big heart and tend to trust people. Honesty is what I expect and deserve. I’m a one-man woman, and I want a one-woman man, nothing less. Patty802, 67, seeking: M, l
FULL OF STARS
My friends tell me I’m the nicest and most Zen person they know. I love music, art and history. Oh, and maybe you and/or your pets. I use “y’all” in unexpected places. I do not have a Dick Cheney tattoo. Tell me about you. NotAngryMittens 53, seeking: M
OUTDOORS, ACTIVE, SEEKS CONNECTIONS
I enjoy most outdoor activities including hiking, biking, XC/downhill skiing, gardening, training my horse. I am happy dancing under the stars or kayaking at sunrise. While I enjoy creative travel, I also enjoy each of Vermont’s seasons at home. I still work full time but make plenty of time for fun. Life is OK alone but more fun when shared. NEK026, 63, seeking: M, l
HOMEBODY AND TYPE 2 FUN
Hi there! Looking for my forever mealprep partner. Ideally someone to join me on my newly discovered type 2 fun activities as well! Reach out if you want to dry heave up a mountain together. pinecone802 28 seeking: M, l
UNPRETENTIOUS, CARING
WORD-LOVER
Outdoorsy retired journalist seeking intelligent, irreverent soul to share mutually enjoyable pursuits. For me these include music — roots, alt-folk, blues; cold winters, summer sun, hiking, skiing, cycling. I’m drawn to those who don’t take themselves too seriously. My son, grandkids and Labrador Nina mean everything. Treading lightly after losing my life partner, seeking friendship that may evolve into something deeper. elkaytee 68, seeking: M, l
DOWN-TO-EARTH NATURE LOVER
Looking for sincere, real spirituality connected to nature and friends for hiking and exploring the outdoors. Theotherside 51 seeking: M, NC, NBP, l
SPIRITED AND CURIOUS, NO DRAMA Hi! I’m looking for someone to share life’s adventures with and a relationship that brings out the best in each other. No drama on either end. Kindness, truthfulness and appreciation for the beautiful things in life are a must. Friendship first, and then let’s see where it goes! genX25 57, seeking: M, l
SOMEONE TO LAUGH WITH
I am looking for interaction! I’m very social. I miss fun. I miss sharing life experiences. I have a wicked sarcastic sense of humor. Be forewarned! I can make a joke (usually a bad one) about anything. Hard no to anyone that supports the orange monster. If you are interested in chatting, send me an email. Yikestheworldisnuts, 65, seeking: M, l
LIVING WITH PURPOSE
Seeking a true partner for the best that is to come. itry, 44, seeking: M
CURIOUS, CREATIVE, CARING, HOPEFUL
I’m a teacher, mother to two, well traveled but at heart a homebody, caring, creative, intelligent, fit and open-minded. Looking for a committed relationship with a man who’s kind, fun, smart and open-minded, with a great sense of humor. Relationships unfold slowly, starting with friendship and allowing things to go where they will. Physical chemistry depends on strong communication and emotional intimacy. Helen, 66, seeking: M, l
MEN seeking...
ACTIVE, KIND, ADVENTUROUS
Looking for a long-term partner who wants to share in travel, adventure, winter sports and a healthy, positive lifestyle. funnyfarm 53, seeking: W, l
OUTGOING INTROVERT SEEKING FELLOW ADVENTURER
Howdy! I’m an active and adventurous man seeking like-minded ladies to share in this beautiful journey called life. I would love to meet someone that I can have a deep emotional, intellectual, spiritual and physical connection with. Open, honest communication and kindness matter. If any of this sounds interesting to you, then let’s chat. Be well. Letstakeitoutside, 53, seeking: W
INTELLECTUALLY CURIOUS
Physically fit, intellectually curious, nature-loving, Ph.D., retired, Caucasian male with many interests looking for a woman to share a long-term relationship. Bonus if you enjoy back-country hikes, dancing, or home-brewing. PerpetualCuriosity 69, seeking: W, l
LET ME MARK YOU HAPPY
I’m looking to find that woman who wants to have a good, safe and happy life. I have a camp up north and love to spend time up there as much as I can. I love the way my other half looks at me and how she loves for her man to look at her. Snacky 59 seeking: W, l
CAREFUL, THE MENU HAS CHANGED
74-y/o M seeks sex partner. St. J/ Littleton, N.H., area. Longtime divorced and mostly celibate. Porn is disrespectful, and masturbating is boring. I need touching, give/receive. I have herpes and a severe hearing loss. All respect for preferences and boundaries. Remote areas, off-grid DIY homesteader, antiques picker, acoustic musician, poet, builder, recluse. Sex is both nutrient and gateway. LTR if... Northcountrypicker, 74, seeking: W, l
FRIENDLY, FUNNY AND HARDWORKING
Never done this before! Here goes! I love my job — I actually throw myself into my work because I need someone to share my life with: someone who wants to share their day with me after work and hear about mine while we sip coffee on our porch! Fullbucket, 48, seeking: W, l
BE THERE DRAGONS?
Living just south of the Vermont border, I am sorry to admit that most of Vermont is off my mental map — “There Be Dragons!” is scrawled across most of the state. Help me change that. Looking to explore, discover and share stories with someone I can connect with on a deep and essential level. Bardic_Blunderer, 57, seeking: W, l
COMPASSIONATE
I’m sincere, honest and take pride in my ability to empathize with people. I believe in courtesy towards others, holding a door open for folks, and looking someone in the eye when shaking hands or when speaking. Chas, 55, seeking: W, l
IT’S TIME — I’M READY
Just a nice, honest, loyal, young-atheart and -mind, single guy looking for one wonderful, caring, honest woman. Plenty of fun and great times will be had. Ask away: nothing to hide, strong believer that things in life happen for reasons. I’m taking a chance; so are you. Brooksie 69, seeking: W, l
TIRED OF THIS LONELY FEELING
My name is Michael. I’m honest, clean, considerate, hardworking and adventurous. I’m looking for someone who is looking for happiness and love. Michael3670, 55, seeking: W, TW, l
JUST LIVING MY BEST LIFE
Outdoorsy, open-minded, older and fit. Would love to find a couple for friendship and more. Drop a line and let’s chat to see if we connect! Ridgewalker, 65, seeking: Cp
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
HONEST, FUNNY AND KIND
I am an honest, down-to-earth person who likes to be active and adventurous in all seasons. My family is an important part of my life, and I hope yours is, too. I don’t mind being in gatherings, but I prefer hiking or skiing with my dog in the woods. If you are honest, considerate and kind, let me know. TEP, 61, seeking: W, l
OOKIB PA NUV OR FRIENDS
I love travel, woodworking and working on my pickup. I love walking while holding hands and new restaurants. Movies and fishing on the shore. I have an associate’s in computer programming. I love repairing antique clocks. I am looking for honesty, respect, good morals and the ability to stand on one’s own. Hottbob 65, seeking: W, Cp, Gp
HOLY MAN SEEKING FOR TRUE LOVE
I’m a hopeless romantic lover, kindhearted. I enjoy every day like my last one. I think the best way to live is to add value to life. I am looking for this special person who wants adventure and tender love. Just you and me. Holyman1960 65, seeking: W, l
RETIRED PROFESSOR, ADVENTURER, NATURE PHOTOGRAPHER
I am looking for a partner with whom I can share future adventures. Physically fit, I spend a great deal of time exploring northern New England when I am not home caring for my kids — four dogs and two cats. I live on 10 acres in northern Vermont and enjoy being home as much as traveling to new locations. SojournsInNature 71, seeking: W, l
seeking...
ADVENTUROUS, WHIMSICAL AND SILLY Brand new to Vermont living, from the West Coast! Looking for love in hopefully the right place. Always up for a good time and wanting to find someone who loves yacht rock, movies and going on the wackiest side quests. YachtRockGal 27 seeking: M, W, TM, TW, NBP, l
TRANS WOMAN LOOKING
I am not your typical transgender woman as I’m a MAGA Republican, unvaccinated, goth, redneck, Christian metalhead. Call it a contradiction if you want — you simply don’t understand the complexity of who I unapologetically am. I am searching for the one forever woman with core values in common who is loyal and honest.
TransRebecca 32 seeking: W, TW, l
seeking...
ADVENTURE, CREATIVITY, NATURE, COMMUNITY, LOVE
Join me for woods, water, volunteering, karaoke, or crafting! Me: nonbinary male ADHD extrovert who loves wildlife and most people. I like alone time but miss sharing a bed (and life). No kids but would happily adopt/etc. You: open-minded, active, curious, tough, cuddly and communicative. You have goals but can be spontaneous. Learning Spanish or ASL? Practice with me. WildWeirdWonderful, 41, seeking: W, Q, NC, NBP, 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 61, seeking: W, Cp
GNEISSGUY
I regret, and I do want to be saved. / is light I hold is true, not brave facade or wave. / When and where could we meet, to mend what is frayed? / You heard me silent, thought I’d fade, / But I stayed, adrift, awake, unscathed. / Not false light, but love engraved. When: Tuesday, October 28, 2025. Where: now. You: Woman. Me: Woman. #916472
KUNG DAWATON NIMO, GUSTO NAKO NGA AKO MAHIMONG IMONG BANA, UG IKAW AKONG PINALANGGA NGA ASAWA
I met you in Four Quarters on trivia night. You were wearing a black top, an M necklace and the most beautiful smile I’ve ever seen. From the moment we first met, I knew without a doubt we were meant to be together. From our secondplace trivia triumph at our first date to camping trips, early mornings reading the personals, long drives, train dates, nights in, karaoke and a hundred other adventures, every day with you is a gift. You’re my best friend; no one makes me as happy as you do. Mari, will you marry me? When: ursday, April 20, 2023. Where: Winooski. Me: Man. You: Woman
JERSEY BOY
You were behind me in line when my poodle was trying to beeline it out the door of Petco with his treat, like a thief. You looked handsome and familiar — perhaps we met in the ’90s at LBI one of those summers. I’m glad you gave me your name; wish I had your number. When: Saturday, October 25, 2025. Where: Petco in Barre. You: Man. Me: Woman. #916471
PHO HONG PHLIRTATION
You commented how nice it was of me to buy everyone dinner. I said I’m the nicest person I know. Are you single? Maybe we grab a drink? When: Saturday, October 25, 2025. Where: Pho Hong. You: Man. Me: Woman. #916470
De Rev end,
If you’ve been spied, go online to contact your admirer!
GREENEYECHIK
Loud and clear didn’t want to be saved. / Choose to be lost, left me no trace. / Looking for depth, I’m left out at sea / Stayed on your land, no lifeline to me. / What feels safe, only what was / Leap for the deep to rise above. / I spied you. End the long night / Choose to return or you’re only false light. When: Saturday, October 25, 2025. Where: in the future. You: Woman. Me: Man. #916469
JULIO’S MONTPELIER ISPY MOMENT
You were with a group of ladies near my table. As you were leaving, you were excited about seeing the next iSpys. You asked to see my copy of Seven Days. I was happy to let you look. You wondered if you would be in the iSpys. Here you are, Sweetheart! If you can find me, let’s have dinner! When: Wednesday, October 22, 2025. Where: Julio’s Montpelier. You: Woman. Me: Man. #916468
GNEISSGUY — COME FIND ME
You write of ghosts, but I am real, / Let’s start the story, not just send. / Why live in dreams when life could prove, / at what we crave is lasting love? / Meet me where the truth can stay, / No screens, no words — just eyes to say, / at time has come, the wait is through, / I’m here, and ready, are you? When: Wednesday, October 22, 2025. Where: in my dreams. You: Man. Me: Woman. #916467
GREENEYECHIK
Never absent, I hold the space. / Waiting and aching for the next embrace. / It’s not what we say, but what we do. / ese words reply, but is it even you? / Or just a ghost that I want to feel. / Like a ghost - I wish it was real. / It’s the heart that controls fate, / e mind chooses when to wait. When: Wednesday, October 22, 2025. Where: My heart. You: Woman. Me: Man. #916466
I traveled to Mexico last year and was there for Día de los Muertos (Day of the Dead).
I was really moved by how beautiful the traditions were, and I would like to celebrate the holiday at home. Is it wrong for me to do that since I don’t have any Mexican ancestry?
GNEISSGUY
I still hear your voice like a gentle rain. / Remorse and hope, sleeping side by side, / No distance dims the need that I hide. / I would pick you. / Remembering these feelings that burn like a flame, / Your absence wraps my mind that echoes your name, / Only in dreams can I reach your face, / Unsaid love that I can’t erase. When: Wednesday, October 22, 2025. Where: in my dream. You: Man. Me: Woman. #916465
GLITCH(ES)
Wild Wabbit, / wonging for wesoltution / Birdshot wanced my wear / Wost in your dark hole / My heart forever stole When: Wednesday, October 22, 2025. Where: Milton Hannaford’s. You: Man. Me: Man. #916464
MY GREEN-EYED WILD WOMAN
Your hidden scars make my heart heavy. is tangled love draws me in yet wounds with sharp edges from buried burdens. I understand your withdrawals stem from unresolved pain. Like embracing a flame, I burn but can’t let go — for the same reasons you loved me, you now leave, turning my vulnerabilities into walls. Is our healing worth the fleeting peace? When: Sunday, September 21, 2025. Where: My bed. You: Woman. Me: Man. #916463
SWEETLAND
I was trying to figure out how to pay for the corn. You helped by finding the right code to put in the register. I wish I had gotten your name. I’d love to meet again and have dinner. When: Saturday, October 11, 2025. Where: Sweetland Farm store, Norwich. You: Woman. Me: Man. #916462
CUTE MAN DRIVE-BY
I was at the No Kings protest on Saturday. You drove by in a black pickup truck hauling a trailer. You stopped and told us all thank you for being out there. I was in a tan and pink flannel — thought you were very handsome. When: Saturday, October 18, 2025. Where: Enfield, N.H. You: Man. Me: Woman. #916461
OLD BRICK STORE
You made an effort to talk to me, even though you were busy working. I thought you were very pretty. Let’s meet at KGB if I’m ever down in your neck of the woods. When: Wednesday, October 8, 2025. Where: Charlotte. You: Woman. Me: Man. #916459
Most people are familiar with Day of the Dead through movies and books. It’s a Mexican holiday, usually celebrated on November 1 and 2, where people honor and remember their deceased loved ones. Traditions include visiting and cleaning graves, as well as setting up home altars with marigolds, photos of the departed, and food and drink offerings.
PLAINFIELD MAPLEFIELDS
I was walking in, you were walking out. You held the door for me and said, “Here ya go, handsome!” Guys rarely receive compliments like that, thus my blank stare and momentary confusion. anks! Made my morning. When: Friday, October 17, 2025. Where: Plainfield Maplefields. You: Woman. Me: Man. #916460
GENTLEMAN IN CUTE PLAID HAT
I nearly ran you over in front of Barnes & Noble on Dorset Street. You graciously tried to speak to me in the store, but I ran away, mortified. Please give me another chance to converse. When: Sunday, June 30, 2024. Where: Dorset Street. You: Man. Me: Woman. #916458
BOLTON LIFT SERVE MOUNTAIN BIKING
You: cute mom worried about getting your bike on the lift. Me: giving you encouragement — you were going to be OK. Would you like to go for a mountain bike ride together?
When: Saturday, October 11, 2025. Where: Bolton Valley Lift Serve. You: Woman. Me: Man. #916457
YO
I complimented your pompadour cut and your handlebar moustache in the parking lot the other afternoon. I was the guy with the Skynet shirt. If you ever want to do nontoxic bro stuff, hit me up. Just friendship. When: Friday, October 10, 2025. Where: Kirkland. You: Man. Me: Man. #916456
WE MET ON HINGE
Hi, Heidi: We met on Hinge and spoke about loyalty. Unfortunately your profile disappeared. I’d love to continue chatting, if you’re interested! When: Sunday, October 12, 2025. Where: Hinge. You: Woman. Me: Man. #916455
SEEKING BEAUTIFUL BLOND HIKER
MOM
Descending Sunset Ridge, I passed so close you (kinda hot and sweaty) took my breath away. At “How are you?” I was going to say, “Better!” But, having heard the mom in your voice, wasn’t sure who followed. Just a teenage son? Should have mentioned my daughter and asked: Are you from the Burlington area? Are you single? If yes and yes, why not get in touch? When: Saturday, October 11, 2025. Where: Mount Mansfield. You: Woman. Me: Man. #916454
CROSSWORD BUDDY AT MINIFACTORY
Sois mon ami! You know everyone in town, claim you aren’t famous (but your name is), and have the most friendly and charming smile. Turns out a crossword is a great way to get to know someone. Invite me back to town. I promise not to distract you too much. When: ursday, October 9, 2025. Where: Minifactory. You: Woman. Me: Man. #916453
LAUGHTER AT THE MILL MARKET
You walked in. ought you were who I had met the night prior on the Spirit of Ethan Allen. You have a twin, LOL. I joked about you riding a motorcycle. Your laughter was contagious. In today’s world, we need more of that. Just wanted to say hi again. When: ursday, October 2, 2025. Where: Mill Market. You: Woman. Me: Woman. #916452
SAW YOU AT SHELBURNE FARMS WITH YOUR CUTE SMILE
We looked at each other twice on the same day. I was in the garden and you were standing outside with your friends (or family?). You’re cute, with your blond beard and a calm, loving, kind face. I was wearing a peach-colored shirt, formal gray pants; and you, brown jacket, hands inside the pockets. I want to know you. When: ursday, October 9, 2025. Where: Shelburne Farms. You: Man. Me: Woman. #916451
JOGGING AT SHELBURNE FARMS
You were jogging, I was walking with my daughter. Your smile made my day. A walk or lunch would be a treat. When: Wednesday, October 8, 2025. Where: Shelburne Farms. You: Woman. Me: Man. #916450
MOONRISE BIKE BRIDGE!
While the name and focus of Day of the Dead may seem sad, the holiday is truly a joyful celebration of life. It’s believed that the spirits visit the living, and there’s usually music, dancing and food involved. Some people may disagree, but I think there’s a big difference between cultural appropriation and
cultural appreciation. If the holiday really resonated with you, I don’t think you should ignore that. As long as you take the time to learn about the traditions and are respectful in how you choose to celebrate, I don’t think you’d be doing anyone
e sun was setting, and the moon was rising; it was glorious all around! Bike path bridge over the Winooski. I stopped to take a picture, and said, “It’s perfect!” You seemed familiar, but I didn’t want to intrude on the magic golden moment. Now wish I’d said hi and introduced myself. Maybe we can ride bikes together? When: Monday, October 6, 2025. Where: bike path bridge. You: Woman. Me: Man. #916449 any harm.
Many cultures believe that the veil between this life and the next is particularly thin at this time of year. e Celtic festival of Samhain, the Christian commemoration of All Saints’ Day, Mexico’s Día de los Muertos and secular Halloween are all connected. If you want to find a similar celebration that better aligns with your ancestry, just do a little research. However you decide to celebrate, say hello to everybody on the other side for me.
with your
Good luck and God bless, The Rev
I’m a 70-y/o male, 6’1”, 265 lbs., seeking a woman between 60 and 79 y/o who smokes cigarettes. I am looking for a long-term relationship. Drives, meals, cuddles, watching movies. #L1893
I’m a 65-y/o woman seeking a fit, 45- to 70-y/o man. I am a woman with a lot of energy! Clean houses. Love the outdoors, swimming, rides and Maine. I’m 5’2”, 130 lbs. Love to laugh! #L1892
I’m a 72-y/o SWF seeking a 60- to 70-y/o man. I live in Woodstock, VT. I want a serious relationship with a man. Phone number, would like to meet in person. #L1891
Very discreet bi guy loves the outdoors: camping, hiking, fishing, etc. Looking for other guys with similar interests to share fun times and have good times with. Hit me up! #L1890
Perverted tales. Hedonistic confessions. Bold, erotic and sensual? Titillating? Incredible and luscious? Yes, please! Extreme, deviant, obscene perversity helps incite lust. I am eager to hear from all you perverts. Confidential. I dare you to shock me. #L1889
I’m a SWM, 60s, 5’7”, 165 lbs. seeking slim males who enjoy a nice, long, slow, relaxing blow job or a regular one, if desired. NSA, just pleasure. #L1882
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Male looking for female, age 59 to 69. I am disabled but still get around on my own. Looking for someone to hang with, since I am all alone and hate it. My partner passed from cancer. #L1888
I’m an 81-y/o woman seeking a male. I am a widow of five years. Looking for companionship. Love music, reading and knitting, crocheting and playing card games, etc. #L1887
Gracious, attentive, educated, humorous soul seeks a fit, tender and unassuming female counterpart (58 to 68) for woodland walks, shared meals and scintillating conversation. Won’t you join me? #L1885
I’m an independent alternative to the classic male. Seeking independent alternative female for inside/outside adventures of all kinds. No TV or online presence beyond email. #L1886
I’m a 44-y/o bi male seeking a male, female or bi couple for casual sex. I am clean, easygoing and anything goes. No judgment here. Let’s talk. Call/text. #L1877
I’m a 19-y/o male college student seeking a kind, curious, adventurous woman around my age. I enjoy meditating, being outside and long conversations. Looking for someone I can value and appreciate who can help me to value and appreciate life. #L1881
Reply to these messages with real, honest-to-goodness le ers. DETAILS BELOW.
I’m a 43-y/o male seeking a woman, 30 to 50. Adventure seeker building an off-grid cabin in Newport. I’m 5’8”, redheaded, fit, living between western Mass. and Vt. I like to cook, bathe, hike, camp and travel. Seeking fit, fun-loving, cuddly companion for potential future. #L1880
I have the dreams; you have the sugar. Let us maybe travel a bit and figure out what this country needs. F, 24, seeking someone intellectual, active and financially afloat. #L1878
I’m a 74-y/o male. It’s been a long, long time without feeling a woman’s touch. I miss sex. I would love to meet a single, divorced or widowed woman in her 70s or 80s. Did I mention I miss sex? Phone number, please. #L1879
I’m 65 y/o and gay. Male, seeking my partner/lover and best friend. Gregarious and funloving. Laughter and a sense of humor are the cornerstones of my life. As Jimmy Buffet says, “If we couldn’t laugh, we would all go insane!” #L1875
Describe yourself and who you’re looking for in 40 words below: (OR, ATTACH A SEPARATE PIECE OF PAPER.)
I’m a
AGE + GENDER (OPTIONAL) seeking a
AGE + GENDER (OPTIONAL)
Divorced white female, 66 y/o. Looking for a single male, 45 to 60, who is tall, not big. Who is loving, caring and fun to be with. I like being outdoors. I am disabled and use a wheelchair. I am loving, caring and honest and don’t play games. Like animals, and I am easy to get along with. I live in Winooski. Hope to hear from someone soon. #L1876
Bist du mein B.G.G. (Big Gentle German)? 40, ehrlich, kreativ und naturluver. Suche liebevollen, bewussten DEU Mann für zweisprachiges Leben zwischen VT und DEU. Ich bin liebevoll, gesund und bereit. Du und Ich: Lass uns die Welt mit unserer Liebe verändern. #L1873
I’m a 72-y/o Eastern European woman with a young lifestyle. Seeking a man, age not important. I am a writer, and I like studying foreign languages. I would like to meet a man from Germany, France or Spain/South America to practice language skills. I am not expecting romance; friendship would be sufficient. #L1872
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Taxidermy Terror
THU., OCT. 30 & SAT., NOV. 1 FAIRBANKS MUSEUM & PLANETARIUM, SAINT JOHNSBURY
Halloween 'Fun'-draiser for the SEABA Center!
FRI., OCT. 31 THE SEABA CENTER, BURLINGTON
Darkness Falls Tour FRI., OCT. 31 199 MAIN ST, BURLINGTON
The Grift Presents: The Showmen ... Tribute to Legendary Frontmen of 70s Rock!
FRI., OCT. 31 AFTERTHOUGHTS, WAITSFIELD
Hallowon’t Stop Rave
FRI., OCT. 31 THE PHOENIX GALLERY & MUSIC HALL, WATERBURY
TRS LIVE: The Storm Windows Live Album Recording
SAT., NOV. 1 TANK RECORDING STUDIO, BURLINGTON
Fright by Flashlight
SAT., NOV. 1 LAKEVIEW CEMETERY, BURLINGTON
Burlington Civic Symphony Concert SAT., NOV. 1 MCCARTHY ARTS CENTER, COLCHESTER
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