Seven Days, March 25, 2015

SEVENDAYSVT.COM MARCH 25-APRIL 01, 2015 VOL.20 NO.29 VERMONT’S INDEPENDENT VOICE

SUN SCREENERS

VT’s solar power struggle

PAGE 14

THE F-STOPS HERE

PAGE 38

Photo cyber connections in Stowe

FARM TO TABLE

PAGE 44

Alice Levitt meets her meat

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THE LAST MARCH 18-25, 2015 COMPILED BY MATTHEW ROY & ANDREA SUOZZO

Vermont dairy farmers are getting paid less for their milk — and the bulk price is expected to keep dropping for a while.

Udderly sucks.

C-O-N-G-R-A-T-S

Lucinda Storz, 11, of the Thaddeus Stevens School in Lyndon, took top honors at a statewide spelling bee by acing the word “ipecac.”

Future editor?

EB DIVE

Vermont deepsixed a Newport biotech project linked to the EB-5 investor program because of AnC Bio’s shaky finances.

VTDigger.org reported it Monday, but the state acted in August.

Clockwise from top: A clipping from the January 28, 1972, issue of Middlebury Campus reporting the news of Lynne Schulze’s disappearance; Kathy and Robert Durst in 1971; All Good Things, the health food store owned by Robert Durst in 1971 and 1972; Durst’s booking photo after his arrest in New Orleans earlier this year

More than 1,000 Vermonters lined up last week to pay off old tickets at a deep discount — in order to drive legal.

Comparable only to Ben & Jerry’s Free Cone Day.

1. “An Ongoing Feud Illustrates the Dark Side of Small-Town Life” by Mark Davis.

Scandal, alleged phone tapping and dead animals plague the Northeast Kingdom town of Victory, population 62.

2. “Taste Test: Junior’s Rustico” by Hannah Palmer Egan. A third eatery of the local Junior’s dynasty opened recently in South Burlington — to mixed reviews.

3. “Mississippi Hanging Case Has Vermont Connection” by Terri Hallenbeck. Former Vermont National Guard adjutant general Martha Rainville has a connection to the man who was found hanged in Mississippi last week.

4. “Timely Mail, Sunday Packages: Can Burlington’s Acting Postmaster Deliver?”

by Molly Walsh. Burlington residents have been complaining about weather-related mail deliveries this winter, but the post office is also struggling with staffing issues.

5. “Alice Eats: El Gato Cantina, Essex” by Alice Levitt. How does one of Vermont’s few Mexican restaurants stack up?

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That’s how many people have died in traffic accidents in Vermont this year, according to the state police. Four of the five were not wearing seatbelts.

LESS MOOOLA

DURST-CASE SCENARIO H

BO’s riveting documentary series on Robert Durst, the eccentric black sheep of a wealthy Manhattan real estate family, revealed more than it probably intended — about the subject’s connections to his missing wife and killings in Texas and California.

In the climax of “The Jinx: The Life and Deaths of Robert Durst,” the now 71-year-old man was caught on mic muttering to himself in a bathroom: “There it is. You’re caught! What the hell did I do? Killed them all, of course.”

How many? On Monday night, Middlebury police revealed that Durst was being investigated in connection with the unsolved 1971 disappearance of an 18-year-old Middlebury College freshman, Lynne Schulze; Durst owned a health food store in Middlebury at the time, called All Good Things. At a crowded news conference on Tuesday, police said that Schulze had bought prunes at Durst’s store on the day she was last seen: December 10, 1971.

Chief Thomas Hanley did not reveal any stronger connection between Durst and Schulze.

Middlebury police had been actively investigating the case for years and got a tip in 2012 that Durst had owned the store when Schulze disappeared.

Schulze, of Simsbury, Conn., was a freshman at the time. Over the years, police investigated reported sightings of her but could never confirm any. She’s not been seen or heard of for 44 years.

Durst sure has. The tabloid darling has since been arrested in New Orleans and charged with murder in California. He’s being held without bond. No one from the Middlebury Police Department has spoken with him.

Read more about the case in Seven Days’ Off Message blog posts by Mark Davis and Molly Walsh.

5

facing facts

WEEK IN REVIEW

3/24/15 5:16 PM

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Don Eggert, Cathy Resmer, Colby Roberts news editor Matthew Roy assoCiate editor Margot Harrison assistant editor Meredith Coeyman staff writers Mark Davis, Ethan de Seife, Kathryn Flagg, Alicia Freese, Terri Hallenbeck, Nicole Higgins DeSmet, Ken Picard, Nancy Remsen, Molly Walsh politiCal editor Paul Heintz MusiC editor Dan Bolles senior food writer Alice Levitt food writer Hannah Palmer Egan Calendar editor Courtney Copp diGital Content editor Andrea Suozzo MultiMedia produCer Eva Sollberger assistant video editor Ashley DeLucco business ManaGer Cheryl Brownell hr Generalist Lisa Matanle CirCulation ManaGer Matt Weiner CirCulation assistant Jeff Baron proofreaders Carolyn Fox, Marisa Keller speCialtY publiCations ManaGer Carolyn Fox stiCkY paws Rufus DESIGN/pRoDuctIoN Creative direCtor Don Eggert produCtion ManaGer John James art direCtor Rev. Diane Sullivan staff photoGrapher Matthew Thorsen desiGners Brooke Bousquet, Robin Earle,

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feedback reader reaction to recent articles

GEoGRAphY LESSoN

[Re Off Message: “Marijuana ‘Kingpin’ Sentenced to 30 Months in Prison,” March 19]: I just want to clarify: Montgomery is in Franklin County, not the Northeast Kingdom. The NEK is composed of Orleans, Caledonia and Essex counties.

Angela Lee

st. Johnsbury

AmAzING VIDEo

My best friend sent me a link to [Stuck in Vermont: “U.S. Winter Swimming Championship,” February 25], as her son and grandchildren were in it. I expected to see a short video that I enjoyed strictly because they were in it, but I was pleasantly surprised. What a fabulous job Eva Sollberger did! The shots were amazing, with cuts back and forth as people expressed their opinions and informed us of their love for the sport. I was captivated from beginning to end. pat mooney

spencer, Va

KINGDom coRREctIoN

[Re “Threats, Lawsuits and Dead Animals,” March 18]: As a Northeast Kingdom ex-patriot living in central Vermont, I found the account of Victory’s epic feuding wildly entertaining. You just can’t make this stuff up.

If I learned anything from a lot of years in the Kingdom it’s that, like people, Vermont

TIM NEWCOMB

towns, and particularly NEK towns, have very distinctive personalities — some more endearing than others.

But I do have one minor bone to pick with Mark Davis’ otherwise solid grasp of a cast of characters to rival Dostoyevsky: Referring to Walt Neborsky as a “former road agent” might just be the sort of literary slip that gets Mark branded as the opposition. It sounds like Walt took care of the town’s roads, making him a former “road commissioner” or perhaps “road foreman,” but road agent?

Unless Walt was waylaying unsuspecting tourists and relieving them of their valuables against their will, I’d say he didn’t deserve the appellation. That’s how rumors get started … or maybe feuds. paul hannan

calais

VoIcE of VIctoRY

Mark Davis did a marvelous job with his take on the town of Victory [“Threats, Lawsuits and Dead Animals,” March 18.]

Because of the ongoing feud, no one has taken a good look at themselves. But the Mitchell mafia said quite a lot. Telling the world that Gallup Mills is a shantytown, depicting herself as better folk than the people who live there. Now the world will see exactly what Patti Mitchell is really all about and how she really runs the humane society — with untruths. Victory has a lot of very nice people, but they have lived this

Last Blast

WEEK IN REVIEW

JUNIOR’S RUSTICO — SÌ E NO

a very fussy, gourmet cook myself, I am very hard to please.

I also felt that Hannah was way too critical given how recently the restaurant opened. Her comment about some of the dishes being out of line with the “type” of food she expected really got me. Has she ever gone to a restaurant with a group of people — be it family or friends? There are always people who want familiar foods, and it’s the wise place that offers a few of these “popular dishes.”

I found the atmosphere to be very warm and welcoming. Some of the prices are a little high for the portion sizes, but it’s nice to be able to have a really nice meal without spending $50 per person — or leaving half the food. I say bravo to the chef. Well done, Junior’s; keep up the good work. Maybe a little tutorial for your waitstaff might address some of the other online comments I read.

[Re Taste Test: Junior’s Rustico, March 18]: My husband and I went to dinner and found it was very loud and dark and reminded us of an upscale sports bar.

We heard it was a place to enjoy pizza and pasta and that they were adding burgers. I was very disappointed. The prices were very high for the portion sizes and poor quality of food. We are not planning on going back.

Cathy DiCecco SHELBURNE

Quite frankly I was appalled by Hannah Palmer Egan’s review [Taste Taste: Junior’s Rustico, March 18]. Does she have any experience reviewing a restaurant? It was unnecessarily harsh! I thought she really missed the boat on the majority of her evaluations. In my opinion, Junior’s has some of the very best pizza I’ve ever had; everything I’ve tried there has been enjoyable. And as

Judy Brown

National Center for Arts Research repreWinter Gear & Clothing sents a major set of positive achievements.

The author did not speak with anyone at the center, and as a result, the article was not terribly informative. It’s difficult to assemble data at this level, and there may be some oversights. For example, there were a number of organizations and festivals from central Vermont that were not included in the narrative — I presume for space 2014 Bikes on SALE! limitations.

I will be passing along comments to Plus NEW 2015 arrivals daily. the researchers. These show my biases: 1.

Future white papers would be strengthened if they included an inventory of ALPINE public artwork. (Barre would fly to the SHOP top of the list based on its magnificent public sculptures, an unusual quality for 1184 Williston Road, South Burlington 862-2714 /AlpineShopVT M-F 10-7, Sat 9-7, Sun 10-6 AlpineShopVT.com a small city.) 2. The next assessments should include evaluations of the higher education resources devoted to the arts.

12v-alpineshop031815.indd 1 3/16/15 1:04 PM (Montpelier would emerge as a leader, given that it is home to the growing campus of the Vermont College of Fine Arts, a remarkable institution for its creative programs.)

I’m pleased that Barre, Montpelier and their surrounds were honored as the No. 10 arts and cultural community and esday at 7 that two other communities earned “top Wedn 20” distinctions. We should work hard to maintain at least these positions. That said, let’s expand our financial investments in cultural assets in our communities and continue to perform at a high level. This is who we are.

Since

terrible life for over 30 years. World, please stop and look at the real truth.

Ferne Loomis

VICTORY

HOUSING QUESTIONS

I appreciate and echo Ruby Perry’s question in her letter to the editor [Feedback: “Housing for Whom?” February 25] inspired by a recent article [“Way to Grow,” February 11]. What exactly is the nature of the housing crisis? Last week’s article “Build It Where? Burlington’s Mayor Wants More Downtown Student Housing” only got me wondering about all this even more. Has there been a study of how many housing units are actually needed?

Due to the tenor of [“In National Report, Three Vermont Communities Make Top 20 List for ‘Arts Vibrancy,’” March 4], one would not realize that the report by the

CORRECTION

A photo credit in last week’s Nest story “’Hood, Sweet ’Hood” was incorrect; the property at 33 Pennington Drive is listed by Jason Lefebvre of Signature Properties of Vermont, not Nancy Jenkins.

Sprung a long time ago.

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Sue Higby

BARRE CITY

03.25.15-04.01.15

Amey Radcliffe

THE ERBELLIE END

SEVENDAYSVT.COM

And how many of each kind — affordable, market rate, student?

A December 2014 Downtown Housing Strategy Report by HR&A Advisors said that 359 units were built between 2011 and 2013 — that’s roughly 119 per year for three years. From what I have read, something like 1,900 units are proposed for 2015. Of course, not all that is proposed will be built, but it still sounds to me like a sizable increase to prior years.

And what about the student housing?

If the mayor succeeds in housing 1,500 students in coming years, what will that do to free up housing for working folks in the future?

What’s missing for me is a transparent, public and multi-viewed discussion of the housing issue with real numbers, and an encompassing plan that looks at the issue from many angles and offers projections for the future. I fear the constant call for more housing is clouding other issues such as the irreplaceable value of our open land and the economic benefits of our current housing-free enterprise district.

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contents

LOOKING FORWARD

MARCH 25-APRIL 01, 2015 VOL.20 NO.29

Glaring Omission?

Communities Demand More Say on Solar Projects

20

Captain Jonas Breaks the Vermont State Police Brass Ceiling

BY ALICIA FREESE

18

Pricey Premiums: Vermont Health Connect Leaves LowIncome Vermonters Struggling

26

BY SEVEN DAYS STAFF

21

BY TERRI HALLENBECK

16

Excerpts From Off Message UVM Campus Smoking-Ban Proposal Sparks Debate

26

ARTS NEWS

With Music, the Nile Project Delivers a PanAfrican Message

BY ETHAN DE SEIFE

24

BY NANCY REMSEN

44

The Museum of Everyday Life Explores the Quintessence of Dust

66

FEATURES

Sweet Deal

Quick Lit: A Triangle of Love and Loss in the Queen City

BY MARGOT HARRISON

BY HANNAH PALMER EGAN

36

When Physics Meets Dance

Dance: Marly Spieser-Schneider presents an Einstein-inspired work-in-progress

BY AMY MELISSA OVERSTREET

38

Shot at the Top

Art: Stowe-based fotovisura gives photography professionals optimum exposure

BY KEN PICARD

Stuck in Vermont: Photographer John

Churchman and his family live on a farm in Essex where they’re raising Sweet Pea, an adorable 1-year-old sheep who has quite a following on Facebook.

Mind Matters

Technology: A Vermont futurist foundation seeks creative thinkers to help explain its mission

BY KEN PICARD

Soul Food

Music: The Michelle Sarah Band cook up a recipe for success

BY GARY LEE MILLER

COLUMNS + REVIEWS 12 29 30 45 67 71 74 80 89

Fair Game POLITICS WTF CULTURE Poli Psy OPINION Side Dishes FOOD Soundbites MUSIC Album Reviews Talking Art Movie Reviews Ask Athena SEX

FUN STUFF

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The Magnificent 7 Life Lines Calendar Classes Music Art Movies

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40

Sorry, Charlie

Food: The life, death and afterlife of Plainfield’s awardwinning carcass

BY ALICE LEVITT

BY NICOLE HIGGINS DESMET

32

All Abuzz

Culture: A new sex-toy shop spices up downtown Middlebury

BY XIAN CHIANG-WAREN

Agriculture: Vermont’s newest — and soon-to-be biggest — sugaring operation is banking on maple

VIDEO SERIES

Underwritten by:

42

BY JULIA SHIPLEY

BY MOLLY WALSH

24

Oddball Artifacts + Poets = Ideas in a Sheldon Museum Exhibit

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MARCH 25-APRIL 01, 2015 VOL.20 NO.29

NEWS

42

VERMONT’S INDEPENDENT VOICE

40

36

SUN SCREENERS

PAGE 14

VT’s solar power struggle

THE F-STOPS HERE

PAGE 38

Photo cyber connections in Stowe

FARM TO TABLE

PAGE 44

Alice Levitt meets her meat

Spring is right around

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CONTENTS 9

monday-saturday 10-7

SEVEN DAYS

the corner!

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presents Advance Music Center 75 Maple Street advancemusicvt.com 863-8652

The Green Life 151 Cherry Street thegreenlifevt.com 881-0633

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10

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LOOKING FORWARD

the

MAGNIFICENT

WEDNESDAY 1

Forward Thinking In 1964, a radical architecture community emerged in the Mad River Valley. Dubbed Prickly Mountain, the site drew top architects from around the country, whose design/build experiments reflected the heyday of the 1960s counterculture. Local architect Danny Sagan highlights the significance of this visionary undertaking in a narrated slide show of past and present structures.

MUST SEE, MUST DO THIS WEEK COMPI L E D BY COU RTNEY COP P

SEE CALENDAR LISTING ON PAGE 61

SSELL

ANDA RU Y OF AM COURTES

FRIDAY 27-SUNDAY 29

Spring Forward While the calendar says it’s officially spring, the temps outside don’t exactly measure up. Enter Cabin Fever Follies Follies, the Valley Players’ end-ofwinter production. Ringing in mud season cabaretstyle, this 19th annual romp brings singing, dancing and comedy to an intimate performance benefitting the Vermont Cancer Survivor Network.

SEE CALENDAR LISTING ON PAGE 55

SATURDAY 28

Feel the Beat

NG I AY L P

E TH

L O FO

SEE CALENDAR LISTING ON PAGE 55

ONGOING

Scavenger Hunt

SEE SPOTLIGHT ON PAGE 76

E

SE

SATURDAY 28

Making the Grade

SEE CALENDAR LISTING ON PAGE 56

In 2011, a late-night jam session including vocalist Michelle Sarah and bassist John Ryan sparked a musical connection that couldn’t be ignored. Later, after recruiting keyboardist Ira Friedman, guitarist Seth Eames and drummer Phil Carr, the local musicians reemerged as the Michelle Sarah Band Band. Listeners can expect a danceable mix of funk, soul and R&B at Sweet Melissa’s.

SEE PROFILE ON PAGE 66

MAGNIFICENT SEVEN 11

Sweets lovers tap into tradition at the annual Maple Open House Weekend. This ode to Vermont’s liquid gold takes folks to sugaring operations throughout the state, where they witness sap’s journey from tree to syrup firsthand.

Whether produced with modern equipment or with horsedrawn wagons and wood-fired evaporators, the final product is downright delicious. Sugar on snow, anyone?

Groove Is in the Heart

SEVEN DAYS

SATURDAY 28 & SUNDAY 29

03.25.15-04.01.15

For Lisa Lillibridge, painting goes hand in hand with carving and hammering wood. Influenced by everything from found objects to vintage carnival signs to human relationships, the Burlington artist’s carved relief paintings employ bold colors and eye-catching assemblages. On view at Revolution Kitchen, “Freak Show” is the sum of these parts, interweaving a multitude of muses.

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s sa u it om gn e fr o s c n n In Bor era day s t u .” e ld y irc em us v e o wa ted C f h h es y irc t is gi ir b ma d c isits g h he d. c d n in t l 28 es he r a rev ggl its, go Y d p o A t a t w ju sk ic os ogr irec sho nd ng ed RD P i U e d T lo g a itt com rk r r, Yo cho rite e so lin spl to SA ew ely f w , th ugg ide s in 6 e N icat d o ins Str of s rop GE 5 Th tr in dk le. es y p PA “in e m ie A vil eri sk ON th m ude a s s pe ING Ja va gh in LIST of rou n sp DAR th ow LEN cl CA

Get ready to bust a move! Now in its seventh year, the Women Helping Battered Women Zumbathon heats up the dance floor with Latin-inspired rhythms while raising funds for victims and survivors of domestic abuse. This year’s “Rhythm Nation” theme pays homage to Janet Jackson’s 1989 hit single, living up to the lyrics “Strength in numbers/ We can get it right.”

FAIR GAME

OPEN SEASON ON VERMONT POLITICS BY PAUL HEINTZ

NOW FOR THE FIRST TIME IN VERMONT …

F

Date Certain

12 FAIR GAME

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03.25.15-04.01.15

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our weeks after Vermont Health Connect sputtered to a start in October 2013, Gov. PETER SHUMLIN summoned reporters to his Montpelier office to “apologize for the challenges that we’ve been facing.

“I take full responsibility for them,” he said. “I will continue to fix them.”

Asked precisely when the online insurance marketplace would function as advertised, the gov debuted a line that would become a sort of mantra over the next year and a half.

“If I’ve learned one lesson as governor, with my enthusiasm to make change and get tough things done, it is this,” Shumlin said. “Never give a date again.”

It was a clever, if cynical, tactic: “Because I couldn’t meet one deadline,” he seemed to be saying, “I won’t ever subject myself to another.”

Corner of Main & Battery Streets, For the next 17 months, Shumlin Burlington, VT • 802-861-7500 largely kept his promise to eschew further www.mirrormirrorvt.com Vermont Health Connect promises — until last Friday.

In an interview with WDEV’s MARK JOHNSON that morning, conducted on a couch outside the Statehouse cafeteria, 8v-MirrorMirror011415.indd 1 1/12/15 2:05 PMShumlin announced two new, self-imposed deadlines — and one big consequence if he fails to meet them.

The deadlines: By the end of May, state contractor Optum must finally fix the automated process through which Vermont Health Connect users update account information, such as changes in employment or family status. By October, Optum must be ready to smoothly enroll and reenroll users for the 2016 plan year.

“What happens, governor, if all your expectations that it works don’t get delivered?” Shumlin asked himself later that morning at an impromptu press conference in his ceremonial Statehouse office.

“What’s your plan?”

To jettison Vermont Health Connect, he answered himself, and replace it with the federal healthcare.gov site — or, more likely, with a hybrid exchange using the feds’ technology but retaining some state control.

“We think that we’re going to deliver Join us Easter Sunday finally on an exchange that’s going to work Serving Dinner 11am-9pm for Vermont,” Shumlin said. “If not, we want Vermonters to know what the contingency plan would be.”

The governor’s surprise announcement raised more questions than it answered.

As soon as Shumlin unveiled the plan, he and his chief of health care reform, 1076 Williston Road, S. Burlington LAWRENCE MILLER, proceeded to trash it.

862.6585 “This is not an attractive option,” www.windjammerrestaurant.com Miller said at Friday’s press conference.

In a subsequent interview, he argued that 8v-windjammer032515.indd 1

3/20/15 3:26 PM

ditching Vermont Health Connect for any kind of federal system was “a bad choice” and “a very bad outcome.” Driving home the point, Miller said of his own plan, “We should not do this.”

Why not?

It wouldn’t be cheaper. It wouldn’t be simpler for many families to navigate. It wouldn’t be easy to provide state subsidies to lower-income Vermonters. It might jeopardize federal subsidies, depending on the outcome of a U.S. Supreme Court ruling expected this summer. It wouldn’t even mean the end of Vermont Health Connect, since Medicaid recipients would still have to use the platform. And it wouldn’t happen until late 2016.

So, um, why even contemplate it?

WE JUST REALLY WANTED TO SAY,

“NO, WE’RE NOT INSANE.” L AW RE N C E M I L L E R

“The general assumption was we’re insane to keep doing what we’re doing and expect a different result,” Miller says.

“We just really wanted to say, ‘No, we’re not insane. We really do have confidence things are different.’ If they’re not, if our judgment is wrong, we’ll head in a different direction — and these are the conditions under which we will do that.”

But why, after avoiding public deadlines for so long, commit to two new ones? Why not let the legislative session dominate news coverage and quietly work to solve the problem? You know, let sleeping dogs lie?

“I do wonder, ‘Why now?’” says Lt. Gov. PHIL SCOTT, who has long advocated for ditching Vermont Health Connect. “And I don’t have the answer.”

In the absence of a clear political motive, plenty of theories have emerged.

The most obvious is that Optum, which replaced failed contractor CGI last summer, is actually very close to solving the so-called change-of-circumstances problem — and Shumlin’s setting himself up for a “mission accomplished” victory lap in May. Or perhaps it’s just the opposite. The administration has reason to believe the fix will never be made and is providing itself an exit strategy and a scapegoat: Optum.

Another possibility is that the legislature forced Shumlin’s hand. With a House floor fight expected this week over next year’s budget, a savvy opponent could have proposed an amendment to replace Vermont Health Connect — and even the

most loyal Democrats might’ve had a hard time voting no.

A more charitable version of this theory is that the administration wanted to provide legislators a more coherent message to pass along to irate constituents.

“I think the administration ultimately makes the decisions it makes,” says House Speaker SHAP SMITH (D-Morristown). “But we did talk to them about the need for a contingency plan, and I think they were responding to the concerns many of us had expressed.”

Rep. BILL LIPPERT (D-Hinesburg), who chairs the House Committee on Health Care, says he was surprised by the timing of Friday’s announcement. “But the speaker made it very clear some time ago that he was asking us and others to look at what alternatives there might be.”

One final theory is that Shumlin is inoculating himself against the release of a long-awaited audit being conducted by state Auditor DOUG HOFFER, who provided a draft to the administration last week.

Hoffer won’t disclose what he found until its formal release next month, but he says it focused on whether the administration followed recommendations provided by its own consultants.

“The question is: Did the state, in response to those reports, commit the resources in the right place, at the right time, in the right sequence?” Hoffer says.

Miller shakes off all those explanations.

“I think the theories that are out there are interesting,” he says.

But, he maintains, the truth is far less so: Now that this year’s open enrollment period is in the rearview mirror, he says, the administration is focusing on Vermont Health Connect’s remaining problems — and considering contingencies.

“There’s only so much capacity,” he says.

Budget Whoas

This was the year legislative liberals were hoping to provide universal health care, legalize marijuana and guarantee paid sick leave for all workers.

Instead, the Democratic majority in the Vermont House is preparing to cut the budget by $53 million, targeting everything from low-income heating assistance to adult day care to early childhood education. House Democrats are planning to cut hundreds of state jobs, ban teacher strikes and cap school district budgets — an idea they panned back when former Republican governor JIM DOUGLAS proposed it.

House leadership’s rightward drift has sent the Working Vermonters Caucus into

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overdrive. A typically ineffectual group of three dozen House and Senate members, the caucus held two “emergency meetings” last week to strategize a response.

(Emergency meetings, one member explained, are those during which pizza is not served.)

“There are some very significant cuts to many Vermonters who are vulnerable,” Rep. Joey Donovan (D-Burlington), the caucus’ cochair, said last Friday as she and her colleagues discussed the budget proposal in a vacant committee room. “Across the board, they’re pretty awful.”

The caucus formally registered its dissatisfaction last Thursday in a letter to Speaker Smith, saying they were “unable to support a budget that includes drastic cuts, reductions in work force, and new revenue of only $35 million.” Twenty-three members signed it.

Rep. Jean o’Sullivan (D-Burlington) was one of them. She says she plans to vote against the budget when it reaches the House floor this Thursday.

“The overarching issue is we are closing a budget gap on the backs of working Vermonters,” she says.

Though all four Republicans on the House Appropriations Committee voted in favor of the budget Monday, House Minority Leader Don Turner (R-Milton) says the vast majority of the chamber’s 53 Republicans will oppose it on the floor. If some of the House’s six independents join them and the 23 liberals who signed the letter stand firm, Smith may struggle to find the 76 votes he needs to pass the bill in the 150-member body.

But as O’Sullivan herself noted, several caucus members — particularly freshmen and members of Smith’s leadership team — did not feel comfortable signing the letter.

“When you’re making a statement that’s as strong as this, you have to really know the consequences,” she says.

Translation: If you cross the speaker on a vote like this, pack your bags for legislative Siberia. Otherwise known as the House Fish and Wildlife Committee.

But according to Rep. ChriS PearSon (P-Burlington), there are also consequences if you don’t stand up for something every now and then.

“If we held firm and the budget got stalled, they would bring a bunch of us into the speaker’s office, yell at us for a couple minutes and then say, ‘What can we do to get you guys to vote for the budget?’” he says. “It’s pretty elementary to me. It’s legislating 101.”

But — truth bomb — few House Democrats have the stones to stand up to the speaker. As they did last year when they blew their chance to raise the minimum wage at a faster rate than Smith and Shumlin preferred, many House liberals will back down this week and toe the party line.

And Smith knows it, which is why he doesn’t bother bargaining with them.

“I think the budget and tax bills will pass,” he said with confidence Monday afternoon. “The budget just passed out of Appropriations on an 11 to zero vote, and think that’s going to send a signal about a budget that’s worthy of support.”

Pearson argues that the legislature should be focused on fighting income inequality, and he believes Vermont has the tax capacity to do so. Indeed, a report released Tuesday by the Montpelier-based Public Assets Institute, a left-leaning think tank, shows that Vermont’s effective income tax rate is lower than all but 12 other states.

“There is widespread acknowledgement that this problem exists and there is absolutely no focus on any policy changes that might address it,” Pearson says of the state’s inequality. “If that’s the case, what the hell is the point of electing majority Democrats?”

To that, Smith says his party is doing plenty to protect health insurance subsidies, funding for higher education and drug abuse treatment. And, he cautions, the fight isn’t over until the House and Senate sign off on a final budget in May and send it to the governor.

“It’s an iterative process,” the speaker says. “Judge us by what we end up with — not where we are right at this moment.”

Sounds like a plan.

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FAIR GAME 13

During next week’s Senate recess, Sen. Bernie SanDerS (I-Vt.) will embark on a six-day tour of four states that are not Vermont.

Sanders, who is considering a run for president next year, is scheduled to touch down in Los Angeles, Hollywood, San Francisco, Las Vegas, Austin and Chicago.

Nevada, of course, is the home to the second caucus in the Democratic presidential primary race.

Sanders is scheduled to hold town meetings with unions representing musicians, culinary workers and electrical workers — and attend a leftie conference in LA called Sister Giant, hosted by selfhelp guru Marianne WilliaMSon. In Chicago, he’ll appear at a steel workers’ union hall alongside Chicago mayoral candidate JeSúS GarCía. Better known by his nickname, “Chuy,” the Cook County commissioner is locked in a runoff with Mayor rahM eManuel, the former White House chief of staff who served with Sanders in the House.

So has Bernie endorsed García, as former Vermont governor hoWarD Dean did earlier this month?

“I don’t think so,” Sanders spokesman MiChael BriGGS says tentatively. “I’m still waiting to hear him talk about it some more, actually.” m

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localmatters

Glaring Omission? Communities Demand More Say on Solar Projects B y T err i h alle n bec k

A

the Rutland town selectboard started in January, asking for changes in state law to give them that power.

“I think the state needs to find a way to accommodate the views and wishes of local communities,” said Peter Rothschild, who serves with Walsh on the New Haven Planning Commission.

Legislators are listening. Ten pending bills would, to varying degrees, give communities more leverage. Legislators held a public hearing on the issue as Seven Days went to press Tuesday.

and towns in his district have signed onto the Rutland petition or raised similar concerns. A one-acre solar project is proposed for a tract of land that is half a mile from his house.

Bray said he looks favorably on locally generated non-fossil-fuel power.

But he sees the rift that projects have generated in his town. “The risk I see is that if projects get pushed out in such a way that more and more people object, it will ultimately slow down the movement from fossil fuels,” Bray said.

14 LOCAL MATTERS

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03.25.15-04.01.15

SEVENDAYSvt.com

JAmes Buck

s Jim Walsh drove from Ferrisburgh to New Haven last week, he pulled over repeatedly to point out each new solar cluster along Route 7. In some places, they seem to be popping up like dandelions.

That one, the New Haven selectboard member said of a 17-acre array, was originally proposed to be bigger and closer to the road. Based on the town’s objections, smaller panels were erected farther back in a field when it was built in 2013.

for solar development. In the past two years, eight solar arrays have been or are being built, Walsh said. Four more are planned. Another three or four are on the drawing board.

Each project sends neighbors, the planning commission and the selectboard scurrying to get a foothold in a PSB approval process that some say heavily favors the developer.

Having spent 14 years on the town planning commission, Walsh has seen other hot-button issues: the Northwest

Energy

Solar array in New Haven

A few miles away on Dog Team Road, Walsh pointed to a one-acre solar facility that is a stone’s throw from a home.

It’s so close that the neighbors, Dale Hastings and Jess Whitney, say they plan to go to court to argue that their property’s value has declined as a result.

New Haven is what Walsh and others refer to as ground zero in Vermont’s red-hot solar siting debate. A surge of projects spurred by state incentives is bringing more attention to a nagging question: How much control should local residents and communities have over where energy projects end up?

Oversight currently rests in the hands of the Vermont Public Service Board, but many town officials argue that the PSB should give greater weight to their ideas about what gets built where. Leaders of some 50 towns have signed a petition

Even lawmakers who strongly support renewable energy are saying something has to be done.

“It’s important that folks see and know that their concerns have been heard and listened to and we’re addressing them,” said House Natural Resources and Energy Committee chair Tony Klein (D-East Montpelier), a longtime renewable energy proponent. “Our intent is to craft a bill that gets out of committee and passes out of the House by the end of the session.”

That means the bill stands little chance of passing the Senate this year.

Klein’s Senate counterpart, Chris Bray (D-Addison), said he hopes to put together a group that will work over the summer and fall on legislation that would be ready to go next year.

Bray could not ignore the debate even if he wanted to. He lives in New Haven,

The chief complaint in scenic Vermont is that large-scale solar arrays have the potential to mar prime views.

The angst is reminiscent of the debates that consumed some Vermont towns within sight of large wind turbine projects. In the wind debate, cries from a few towns — chiefly about aesthetics and turbine noise — were largely ignored.

On the solar front, the sheer number of projects being proposed and of towns and neighbors affected make the complaints harder to dismiss.

“We’re the canary in the coal mine.

It’s going to come to a town near you,” said Rothschild.

New Haven, population 1,666, ­­is rural and relatively flat, with lots of open farmland and ready access to the electric grid through a new power-transmission substation. That makes it prime territory

Vermont Reliability Project brought a major electric transmission line through town; more recently, Vermont Gas has sought to build a controversial 43-mile pipeline, nine miles of which would go through New Haven.

But nothing has consumed the commission quite like the steady stream of proposed solar projects.

Last week, the town applied to intervene in the PSB approval process for a 350-kilowatt-hour array that would cover five acres on Route 7 in New Haven near a Vermont State Police station. The proposed size exceeds the town plan’s per-project limit of 300 kwh.

“This will be the next chapter that’s written as to whether the town plan matters,” said town selectboard member Doug Tolles.

Developers and state officials say they

Got A NEWS tIP? news@sevendaysvt.com

What the state might do to satisfy take town plans into consideration and that the process works the way it’s sup- localities is unclear.

New Haven town leaders said they’d posed to. “If the community puts specification in the town plan, it’s not clear like solar siting to affect fewer people. that the Public Service Board doesn’t One way, Walsh suggested, would be take that into account,� said Darren to clump arrays into designated solar Springer, deputy commissioner of the parks.

Klein, the House committee chair, state Department of Public Service. As an example, he cited a Springfield bio- is sponsoring H.276, a bill that would mass project the board rejected because give priority to projects built in lessdesirable places such as brownfields. it conflicted with the town plan.

Energy projects are held to different His bill would also force the PSB to standards than other commercial de- give preference to municipal plans for velopment based on their contribution siting, but with a caveat. The municipalto the overall public good. Developers ity would have to identify places where note that Vermont law and Vermonters five-megawatt projects could be built, are generally in favor of locally gener- and the PSB would still be able to overated renewable energy. Developers also rule such plans if its members felt they were in conflict with the contend they bend over state’s public good. backward to accommoAnnette Smith of date local concerns.

Danby, executive direc“We are learning as tor of Vermonters for a we go across the state Clean Environment, has of Vermont how to have been trying for years to these conversations,� make the point that resisaid James Moore, codents and communities founder of SunCommon, lack sufficient standing a Waterbury Center in the PSB process. She’s solar developer. “I think dubious that state leadfolks have a voice in ers are willing to make the process and a voice significant changes. that carries significant “I really don’t think weight. That does not it’s getting as much tracmean that voice always tion as it should,� she carries the day.� said. “It really puzzles Sometimes it does.

SEn. ChRiS BRAy me why the citizen legEarly this month, SunCommon proposed a one-acre solar islature is so hostile to the public on this project in a field off Route 7 in New issue.�

The PSB process is challenging, she Haven that would have planted solar panels between Tourterelle restaurant said. Individuals who want to get inand a stunning view of the Adirondacks. volved in a case have to prove they are With just 10 days notice before affected. Once they do that, they have SunCommon submitted its application a tough time showing their situation to the state PSB, restaurant owners Bill outweighs the public good. “It’s rigged and Christine Snell and neighbor Marie from the beginning,� she said.

During the debate over large wind Gordon went to town officials pleading for help. The project was news to the projects, Smith found little support town, Rothschild said. Neighbors and in the legislature for giving neighbors town officials were preparing to argue more control.

But many more towns are involved against it.

Walsh brought up the case in an in the solar showdown. And they’re not email he sent to his legislators last seeking a moratorium on new projects, week, noting that he was speaking as as wind opponents did. Most just want a a citizen, not as a town official. “This say in where they are built. “I don’t think you’ll find anyone project reinforces and highlights the immediate need for solar-siting stan- on the planning commission or the sedards that have local control embedded lectboard totally opposed to renewable energy,� said Walsh. in this process,� Walsh wrote. “They haven’t just said, ‘No, we don’t Last Friday, SunCommon pulled the plug on the project. The company never want this,’� Bray noted. “They’re saying, intended to build it if the restaurant ‘How can we do this better?’� m was opposed, Moore said. In just three weeks, the project had popped up, Contact: terri@sevendaysvt.com, 999-9994 or @terrivt caused a furor and disappeared.

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Captain Jonas Breaks the Vermont State Police Brass Ceiling B y al ic ia f reese

03.25.15-04.01.15 SEVEN DAYS 16 LOCAL MATTERS

Law Enforcement

Oliver Parini

SEVENDAYSvt.com

A

fter college, Ingrid Jonas worked as a domesticviolence victims’ advocate who sometimes resorted to what she described as “in your face” tactics. There was one time, for instance, when she and others picketed outside a Burlington bar, chanting the name of a police officer they believed had failed to properly respond to sexual assault there.

Two months ago, the same woman was promoted to captain in the Vermont State Police, making her the highestranking female in the history of the force.

Jonas, 48, described her new job, which includes overseeing the recruitment and training of new officers, as “the perfect way to make an impact on the future of the department.” Among her duties: making her recent accomplishment commonplace.

Jonas grew up with two brothers and a sister in Burlington. She earned a bachelor’s degree from Sarah Lawrence College, originally a women’s college that remains more than 70 percent female.

While in school, she interned at a New York shelter for battered women, which “totally lit my fire about justice issues for women and kids,” Jonas said. After graduating, she returned to Vermont, working first at the Women’s Rape Crisis Center (now HOPE Works) and later at Women Helping Battered Women.

As an advocate for victims, she encountered cops on a regular basis.

Though the run-ins weren’t always cordial, they ultimately prompted her career change.

Sitting in her new, somewhat cramped office at the department’s Waterbury headquarters, Jonas described how she befriended a number of police officers who encouraged her to apply to be a trooper. The idea of investigating domestic violence and sexual assault crimes — in addition to dealing with their aftermath — appealed to Jonas, who was nearing 30 at the time. The application process was grueling. It included physical fitness and personality tests, a polygraph exam, and a thorough grilling about intimate subjects. But Jonas passed, and became one of only a few women participating in roughly six months of training out of the Vermont Policy Academy in Pittsford.

She got her badge in 1998 and was sent to the St. Albans barracks to work as a road trooper.

Ingrid Jonas

It’s widely accepted that police forces are most effective when they reflect the demographic makeup of the communities they serve. The fatal shooting of a black teenager by a police officer in Ferguson, Mo., and the subsequent eruption of racial tension illustrates the point. A recent Department of Justice report found institutionalized racism within the predominantly white, male Ferguson police department. Across the country, law-enforcement agencies have struggled to diversify their ranks.

The Vermont State Police remained an all-boys club until 1977, when it hired two female troopers. Integration was tumultuous. One of the first female troopers, Gloria Danforth, filed multiple grievances against the state police and a sex discrimination lawsuit that was settled out of court. Several other female troopers also took legal action.

Lt. Jocelyn Stohl joined the troopers in the mid-1980s. Now retired after 23 years, she noted in a recent interview that she initially felt pressure to prove her chops because of her gender. But Stohl also said she witnessed the agency grow more accommodating toward women over the years. She served on a committee created to address women’s issues, which reviewed maternity-leave

policies, procured gender-specific uniforms and served as a de facto support group for female officers. Eventually it disbanded. “I think we reached a point where it wasn’t necessary,” Stohl said.

Today, the Vermont State Police claims to have the highest percentage of female troopers among New England state police agencies. The number is still low — 36 of its 300 officers are women, or 12 percent. The national average for departments generally fluctuates between 10 and 13 percent.

In 2014, the state police announced that its class of 25 recruits included, for the first time, Latino and African American women. Three of the four females admitted were women of color; the rest of the recruits were white males.

Women in leadership posts are, unsurprisingly, more rare. According to Cary Brown, executive director of the Vermont Commission on Women, none of Vermont’s sheriffs are female, and only three of its 62 police chiefs are women.

Despite being in the minority, Jonas insists that she’s never experienced any of the harassment her predecessors faced: “Gloria had that thrown in her face. I never did.” She did note that, at first, “there is the sense that men are making decisions about whether you

‘rate’” — meaning whether a new recruit would be capable of backing up them in a dangerous situation.

In the office across the hall from Jonas is another recently promoted female officer. Barbara Zonay, who joined the state police in 1997, was promoted to lieutenant in early March — one of two women at that rank. Zonay echoed Jonas. “I’ve never been treated any differently than someone else,” she said, adding, “I have heard stories of females that came before us that weren’t treated very well.”

Both agree that the job entails some challenges that can disproportionately impact women. Troopers work a rotating schedule that includes on-call hours, which makes for an erratic lifestyle that is not conducive to raising a family.

Jonas now lives in Waterbury with her boyfriend and his son, but she didn’t have children when she was a trooper.

Zonay has had to juggle parental and policing duties, but she’s also had support from her husband, who has a more a regular schedule.

Jonas said she has encountered sexism — but it’s come from the regular citizens with whom she interacts. “I can’t tell you how many times I’ve been called a cunt” on duty, she noted matterof-factly. Also common: men making

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lewd comments during pat downs.

Most upsetting was when a man Jonas arrested for sexual assault sued her, alleging false imprisonment. Jonas, who was cleared by the court, believes her gender was a driving factor.

Jonas has spent a large part of her police career investigating sexual and domestic assault cases. As a detective with a special unit, she learned how to coax victims to open up, without asking leading questions that might invalidate an interview in court. After obtaining search warrants, she’d look for corroborating evidence. “It wasn’t like recovering kilos of cocaine,” Jonas explained. “It was more like, are there really candles on the bedside table?” Or, “Does the uncle really have a tattoo on his inner thigh?”

A painting of two grim-looking longhaired women takes up most of one shelf on her office bookcase. Jonas explained that a woman created it for her after Jonas arrested the woman’s husband.

The man was convicted of repeatedly assaulting his wife and sexually abusing his daughter.

Tearing up over the memory, Jonas doesn’t conform to a typical police profile. Shattering that stereotype is part of her mission. The state police have an image problem, Jonas readily acknowledged — specifically, the department is seen as a paramilitary organization. A related problem: The prototypical police officer remains “über hetero,” Jonas said. She recently shelved a promotional video, determining that its “weird heavy metal music and SWAT team footage” sent the wrong message to potential recruits.

But the challenge extends beyond marketing. Despite feeling at ease as a woman, Jonas recognizes that the internal culture isn’t comfortable for everyone. Case in point: There’s a glaring absence of gay male cops. “I would assume it’s because they don’t feel safe,” she said.

Jonas readily admits the police have more work ahead to diversify their ranks, but she’s not thinking in terms of quotas or deadlines — or even race, sexual identity and gender. Men hailing from the military are still the most common applicants, Jonas said. She wants to reach potential recruits who share her commitment to social justice.

Social workers, she argues, can be just as qualified as ex-Navy SEALs. Screening for strength is easy — to pass the physical test, for instance, female applicants under age 29 have

to complete 20 push-ups within one minute.

Assessing empathy is less straightforward.

Jonas also pointed out that finding qualified candidates in general is difficult. The state police currently have 27 vacancies. During the fall of 2013, 638 people applied but only 11 candidates met the criteria.

The new captain will have some backup outside the agency. Since 2004, Vermont Works for Women has run a nine-week training program for women considering careers in law enforcement.

Thirty-six of the 60 graduates have gotten jobs in corrections or police departments, according to Rachel Jolly, who oversees the program. Jonas, she noted, was among the law-enforcement officials who volunteered to visit the class.

More recently, state police Lt. Dee Barbic started a nonprofit called Vermont Women in Law Enforcement to provide training for female officers looking to advance in the field.

Barbic wrote her master’s thesis in 2006 on the poor retention rate among women in the Vermont State Police.

Barbic interviewed women who had left the force because they had struggled with the irregular work schedule, found better-paying jobs and were frustrated by the lack of upward mobility. She did not know whether retention had improved since she wrote her thesis, but she noted that there are now more women in leadership posts.

Jonas is one of nine captains in the hierarchical Vermont State Police — two notches below director Thomas L’Esperance, who is a colonel, and one notch below three majors.

Jonas’ direct supervisor, Major Bill Sheets, is confident she’ll make progress. “We think she is going to bring us to the next level,” he said. “She’s terrifically suited to do that because of her background.”

Vermont Commission on Women’s Brown is also optimistic that Jonas will improve diversity within state police ranks. And she agreed with L’Esperance when he announced in a January 21 press release that her promotion marks a “significant milestone.” That said, she added, “We’re all looking forward to the day when it’s not a news story.” m

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Pricey Premiums: Vermont Health Connect Leaves Low-Income Vermonters Struggling B y n a n c y remse n

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photos: Matthew Thorsen

A

s 2014 drew to a close, 24-yearold Alissa Carberry hoped that her insulin pump wouldn’t need to be replaced. Carberry has Type 1 diabetes, a chronic disease that requires expensive medication and constant monitoring. On paper, she was lucky: She had insurance through her employer, Burlington Children’s Space, so her monthly insurance premiums were covered.

Yet Carberry still struggled to pay her medical bills. She faced a $1,900 deductible before her insurance — obtained by her employer through Vermont Health Connect — even kicked in. When it did, she was still on the hook for 40 percent of the cost of her medical supplies. The pump alone, with a $5,000 price tag, would cost her $2,000. She said she comparison-shops whenever possible, but “There is no generic for insulin pumps or insulin.”

Carberry is one of many Vermonters who can barely afford health insurance but also can’t live without it. A large portion of her $30,000 annual income is consumed by medical costs.

This year, Rep. Paul Poirier (I-Barre) introduced a bill to boost state subsidies for low-income individuals who have policies through Vermont Health Alissa Carberry in her home Connect — policies that, Poirier argues, don’t do enough.

Poirier has pushed for an increase covered all residents by 2017. But in in aid to underinsured Vermonters December, Shumlin pulled the plug on since the state first adopted the health that plan, saying he couldn’t make the exchange — as mandated by the 2010 financing work.

That, said Poirier, made it more federal Affordable Care Act. When important to address that happened, two aid the financial burdens programs designed to placed on people who help people pay medical buy insurance through costs were eliminated: the exchange. His push the Vermont Health to reduce the costAccess Program and sharing burden took on Catamount Health. renewed urgency.

To make up for the Federal law alloss, the legislature and lowed states to raise the Shumlin adminisR ep. Ch ri s Pearso n the income eligibility tration allocated $3.8 (P-Bu rling ton) for their Medicaid million to reduce premiprograms — which ums, and $1.5 million to shrink deductibles and copayments for Vermont did. It also offered tax credits those who earn up to 300 percent of the to reduce premiums to individuals and federal poverty level and are ineligible families with incomes up to 400 percent of the federal poverty level when they for Medicaid.

The online exchange, Poirier be- bought insurance through the exchange.

The Shumlin administration also lieved, was temporary: The state was scheduled to move to a government- proposed other reforms, including an infinanced health insurance system that crease in cost-sharing assistance. “What

Health Care

There are too many Vermonters who have insurance but can’t

afford to use it.

we had been hearing from hospitals and consumer advocates was concern around cost-sharing,” explained Robin Lunge, the governor’s health reform director. Despite a multimillion-dollar budget gap, the governor proposed adding $2 million for cost-sharing aid to be offered when new policies take effect in January. A full year at this higher level of aid would cost $4 million.

Poirier’s proposal called for twice as much: $4.1 million in next year’s budget and $8.3 million the following year.

The House Health Care Committee voted for Poirier’s plan. “Our committee considered this a very high priority,” said committee chair Bill Lippert (D-Hinesburg).

“There are too many Vermonters who have insurance but can’t afford to use it,” agreed vice chair Chris Pearson (P-Burlington). Pearson, Lippert and Poirier all said hospital officials told them they were seeing more insured people defaulting on their co-payments.

They cited data from the 2014 Vermont

Household Health Insurance Survey last fall that found 27 percent of Vermonters with private health insurance could be considered underinsured — facing high deductibles and out-of-pocket expenses they could ill afford based on their income.

Trinka Kerr, chief health care advocate at Vermont Legal Aid, said her office hears complaints about high deductibles and co-pays for insurance obtained through the exchange. “When people compare it to Catamount, it falls short,” she said.

The House Health Care Committee’s plan would make cost-sharing expenses “roughly equivalent to Catamount,” Pearson said.

For example, a person earning $29,000 would have a $600 deductible under the House plan, compared with $1,500 under current health exchange plans. That person would pay $1,000 under Shumlin’s proposal.

The Health Care Committee’s challenge: to find a way to pay for the

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LOCAL MATTERS 19

expanded subsidy given that the budget if we can address the affordability for writers working across the hall from consumers with dollars already being them in the Statehouse can’t spare spent in the system,” Ashe said. a penny. The House Appropriations Last Friday, the Shumlin administraCommittee has been grappling with tion created new uncertainty when it financing existing programs as the state announced that if the online exchange faces a projected $113 million revenue fails to meet specific milestones, the shortfall. state will move to a hybrid federal exThe health care panel proposed a change beginning in 2017. Such a move 0.3 percent payroll tax — half as much could threaten the state’s ability to offer as the governor suggested to pay for his its premium and cost-sharing assistance. health reform plan — along with a twoPoirier, experienced in wheeling and cent per ounce tax dealing on bills, on sugar-sweetremained hopeful ened beverages. that a compromise Both potential revcould be found on enue sources have the funding for plenty of critics, expanded subespecially among sidies. A pennybusinesspeople. per-ounce tax on Legislative leadsugar-sweetened ers also have yet beverages, to commit to the perhaps?

House health care Vermont’s costplan. sharing assistance “Cost-sharing is has always been pretty important,” restricted to indiHouse Speaker viduals and famiShap Smith lies buying private (D-Morristown) policies rather said. But in the than ones through next breath he Carberry’s medical supplies employers, which noted, “We can’t mirrors restricafford what we are tions on federal doing now.” That House Appropriations assistance. Poirier’s proposal wouldn’t Committee chair Mitzi Johnson pro- change that. posed to eliminate funding for the Carberry now has better health covcurrent cost-sharing plan just one day erage through her partner’s employer, a after the House Health Care Committee large business that isn’t required to purvoted to expand the program illustrates chase the health insurance plans sold the conflict. on the state exchange. She pays $86 a “We are going to try to figure it out,” month and has a $1,000 deductible and a Smith suggested, indicating that the total out-of-pocket maximum of $2,000. promise of increased cost-sharing aid When she replaced her insulin pump in wasn’t dead.

February, her share totaled $1,200.

It’s not a priority for House Given Carberry’s income, though, Republicans. House Minority Leader those expenses are still not sustainable.

Don Turner (R-Milton) argues the state “This is not a solution for me,” she said. should focus first on fixing Vermont Carberry believes lawmakers should Health Connect. “Until we get our make insurance affordability a priority, house in order, we shouldn’t put money but she sees subsidies as a temporary into anything new,” Turner said. solution.

“The affordability question is im“It is hard to say what the real remedy portant,” said Senate Finance chair Tim would be,” she said. “There is so much Ashe (D/P-Chittenden). But he said he work we have to do. It really involves a wants to better understand the need. lot of people coming together and hash“You don’t want to pour new money ing it out.” m into a system for folks who don’t use it.”

As for how to fund a potential increase, Contact: nancy@sevendaysvt.com or “The priority on the Senate side is to see 343-9288

To read more, visit sevendaysvt.com/offmessage

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Montpeculiar: A Campaign Office in the Statehouse Cafeteria

20 LOCAL MATTERS

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work wherever my laptop is. When I’m in the building, it helps me get a big-picture eye as we go into the 2016 cycle.”

And, of course, Levasseur raises money for the Vermont Democratic House Campaign PAC and the Democratic House Leadership PAC, both of which finance Democratic campaigns and pay her salary. Last election cycle, the former raised nearly $147,000, while the latter raised roughly $15,000. Most of that money comes from lobbyists and the corporations and unions that hire them.

Levasseur spent much of last week planning what she calls “an intimate” fundraiser benefiting the House PACs and celebrating Sen. Patrick Leahy’s (D-Vt.) 75th birthday. The Sunday event at Waterbury’s Hen of the Wood sold out based on word of mouth alone. According to Levasseur, roughly 40 donors RSVPed, each contributing $500, Katherine Levasseur $750 or $1,000. and Rep. Tim Jerman As Levasseur planned the event from the Statehouse cafeteria last week, Smith and other top Dems sat down to discuss the agenda, speaking Dave Sterrett spent six years lobbying on Capitol Hill. When he order and expected attendance. Smith says that’s moved north last year to lobby in the Vermont Statehouse, he perfectly appropriate to do under the golden dome. expected things to be different.

“I don’t know,” he says. “If she’s telling me who’s going to be They were. there, I think that’s fine.”

“I noticed that a lot of things that are illegal in Washington, So who was scheduled to attend?

D.C., are allowed here,” Sterrett says.

“I don’t think I have to tell you,” the speaker says.

Occupying a corner table in the Statehouse cafeteria Indeed not. most days, he observed, was the head of the Vermont The timing of the Sunday fundraiser was somewhat Democratic House Campaign, a political action comawkward, given last week’s Senate debate over lobbyist mittee run by House leaders and devoted to electdisclosure. Sen. Michael Sirotkin (D-Chittenden) and ing Democratic legislators. The staffer, Katherine Sen. Kevin Mullin (R-Rutland) both planned to inLevasseur, sets up shop in the morning, troduce amendments barring PACs, such works from her laptop and entertains as the ones overseen by Levasseur, from visits from top lawmakers. raising money from lobbyists during House Speaker Shap Smith the legislative session. Neither senator (D-Morristown) drops by her corner ended up offering such an amendment, table. So does House Majority Leader citing constitutional concerns.

Sarah Copeland Hanzas (D-Bradford), ★ ★ ★ T H E S TAT E H O U S E S C E N E ★ ★ ★ Smith, who often headlines lobbyist Rep. Tim Jerman (D-Essex), Rep. fundraisers, says he wouldn’t be disapKesha Ram (D-Burlington) and Rep. Jill pointed if they were banned.

Krowinski (D-Burlington) — all members of the House leader“I don’t really care. That would be fine with me,” he says. “It ship team. would mean I wouldn’t have to go to fundraisers.”

“That stood out to me as something I’d never see in As for whether it’s appropriate for campaign staffers to set Washington,” Sterrett says. “In Washington, you have an absolute up shop just yards away from the speaker’s Statehouse office, ban on campaign work and fundraising efforts in any public buildSmith and Levasseur say it is. ings. And that does not seem to be the case in the legislature.”

“I think it’s beneficial to be present when everybody’s It’s not. around and to have a greater and fuller understanding of evLevasseur’s presence in the Statehouse cafeteria is pererything that’s happening in the building,” Levasseur says. “I fectly legal — and nothing out of the ordinary. The 2013 gradudon’t make any sort of policy recommendations or decisions. ate of the University of Vermont says she spends much of her For the most part, I just listen.” time getting to know Democratic legislators, so that she and Sterrett has a different take. they will be ready to work together when they face reelection “I think it’s a little naive to think that Vermont is different, in a little more than 19 months. and we don’t need the same strict rules that they have in “Sometimes I sit in on committee meetings. Sometimes I Washington, D.C.” sit in on caucus meetings to see what’s going on,” she says. “I

Mississippi Hanging Case Has Vermont Connection The story of a Mississippi man found hanging from a tree last week is making national news as authorities try to determine whether 54-year-old Otis Byrd, who was black, committed suicide or was lynched. Authorities are leaning toward the former conclusion.

In 1980, Byrd was convicted of robbing and murdering Lucille Trim, a 55-year-old, white convenience store Martha Rainville clerk. Trim’s daughter, Martha Rainville, went on to serve as adjutant general of the Vermont National Guard and ran unsuccessfully for Vermont’s lone seat in the U.S. House in 2006.

Rainville was a 21-year-old Air Force trainee when Byrd shot her mother while robbing the small Port Gibson, Miss., grocery store her family owned. Byrd was paroled just before the 2006 election in which Rainville, a Republican, waged a hard-fought race against Democrat Peter Welch for the open seat.

In a 2006 interview while she was running for Congress, Rainville told the Burlington Free Press that the murder was a traumatic event in her life from which she learned hard lessons. Rainville said white men in the community went to her father and offered to take care of the killer.

“My dad, of course, immediately put the word out, ‘Absolutely not,’” Rainville told this reporter in 2006. “It taught me, or showed me, how easy it is to react badly and to react judgmentally.”

Nine years after Byrd was paroled, he was found hanging from a tree — two weeks after going missing. Autopsy results are pending.

According to the Los Angeles Times, local residents and authorities said Byrd had stayed out of trouble since he was paroled.

Rainville was the first woman to serve as a state adjutant general in the National Guard when she was elected in 1997 by the Vermont legislature. She stepped down in 2006 to run for Congress. She has since moved to the Washington, D.C., area and is chief operating officer of a consulting firm that advises government agencies on crisis response.

TE R R I H A LLE NB E C K

PAU L H E I N T Z

Marijuana ‘Kingpin’ Sentenced to 30 Months in Prison A Montgomery man described as a “kingpin” in an international marijuana trafficking operation was sentenced to 30 months in prison during a federal court hearing last Thursday.

Roy “Opie” McAllister II, 39, was identified as a leader of a ring of at least 11 people who moved up to 3,000 kilograms of marijuana from Québec to Vermont from the mid2000s until his arrest in May 2013. The operation created a “sense of lawlessness” in Franklin County, prosecutors said.

Federal sentencing guidelines suggested a sentence of around eight to 10 years, U.S. District Court Judge Christina Reiss said during the hearing. But attorneys agreed to a plea deal for significantly less time, just as

they did for other defendants in the operation, which utilized electronic surveillance and confidential informants.

In part, prosecutors explained, the lesser sentences were offered in response to the government’s increasing acceptance of marijuana use. After successful marijuana legalization efforts in Colorado and Washington, the Justice Department in 2013 announced it would not challenge state laws that allow for recreational or medical marijuana use.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Heather Ross said she struggled with the sentence but agreed to it in “recognition of the national shift in attitude towards marijuana.”

“That’s not to say any conduct here was legal or will ever be legal, or to minimize the very serious nature of the conduct and how it compromised the border,” Ross said.

Reiss said that McAllister was a kingpin who for years was able to keep his hands clean while getting several younger people in Franklin County to do the “dirty work.”

McAllister forfeited to the government a home heating delivery truck, 34 guns, two Harley-Davidson motorcycles, a Polaris ATV, a Chevy Tahoe SUV and a Ford pickup truck.

Prosecutors are still seeking to take his home in Montgomery, jewelry and another truck.

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UVM Campus Smoking-Ban Proposal Sparks Debate B y M OL LY WA LSH

Molly Walsh

S

Health

Haley Agront

» p.22

LOCAL MATTERS 21

SMoking Ban

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a degree. But a significant number of college students do smoke, and some never quit. Roughly a quarter of student smokers at UVM start when they come to the school, according to a survey cited

by Carney.

She said other colleges have found it takes two to three years to successfully roll out a ban, and UVM wants to take the time to do it right. “You just don’t flip the switch,” Carney said, noting that the university has been working up to zero tolerance for tobacco with surveys, forums and quit programs targeting students and employees.

But a total of 15 people attended four town-hall-style meetings on the proposed ban, said Carney. Most asked basic questions about the proposal and there was no real debate, she added. The low turnout

03.25.15-04.01.15

commissioner. As a result, some people quit and others never start, Carney said.

Tobacco use remains the No. 1 cause of preventable death in Vermont. Smoking causes heart disease and various cancers.

Roughly 75,000 Vermont adults smoke, and half of those who keep it up will die of tobacco-related causes, according to the Vermont Health Department.

The percentage of Vermont adults who smoke dropped from 21 to 17 between 2000 and 2012. The health department goal is to reduce that number to 12 percent by 2020. It’s against the law to light up in Vermont workplaces, restaurants and bars. Many other states have similar restrictions, although Vermont was out front in the smoke-free bar movement.

College-educated adults tend to smoke at lower rates than adults without

contributed to the decision to delay implementation of the ban to “ensure that we really had made our best effort to have a campus-wide process,” Carney said.

Other Vermont colleges ban smoking inside buildings, including residence halls, and to varying degrees near them.

At Saint Michael’s College, smoking close to building entryways is a no-no; Champlain College restricts smoking close to all buildings on campus, especially dorms. Outdoor smoking is banned within 25 feet of residence hall entries and operable windows at all times.

UVM president Tom Sullivan will ultimately decide whether and when to implement the ban at the state university. His decision is expected this semester. It’s unclear what penalty, if any, would be imposed for violations.

Jordan LaFond, a 19-year-old sophomore from Georgia, Vt., believes the ban should have been implemented as planned in January. Many students ignore current UVM rules, she said, including the one prohibiting smoking within 25 feet of the entrance to buildings such as the library.

As LaFond spoke on a recent morning in front of the library, several students puffed away in plain view about 15 feet from the main entryway. Cigarette butts lay in the melting snow by the library’s front steps, despite bright blue smokefree-zone signs plastered on nearby columns and benches.

Administrators pushed to reduce smoking on the steps in 2013 after students complained about tobacco clouds that formed near the door. That’s reduced but not eliminated the problem, according to students.

It’s time for the school to push antismoking programs harder, said LaFond.

She has no sympathy for the habit. “My grandma died of lung cancer because of smoking, so I haven’t touched a cigarette in my life,” LaFond said. “Never will I ever try it, and I think it’s a gross, disgusting habit.”

LaFond supports the Church Street Marketplace smoking ban, which was implemented in December. If the city can do it, she implied, why can’t UVM? A quick walk down to Church Street from campus that same morning showed that the ban there is not uniformly obeyed. A woman smoked a cigarette on

SEVENDAYSvt.com

ome cigarette smokers show respect and others are rude, as Haley Agront sees it. The 19-year-old University of Vermont student won’t smoke in front of children. She lights up mostly in designated smoking areas, such as the one on the side of the library, where she sat on a bench between classes last week, nursing a Newport.

Agront accepts existing prohibitions on smoking indoors. But she opposes a proposal to ban tobacco altogether from the UVM campus. The new rule was supposed to go into effect in January but stalled partly due to objections from students.

College students are adults, and they should be free to make decisions about their own health, according to Alex Dickinson, a 21-year-old junior from Essex Junction majoring in philosophy and religion. The proposed ban “makes us feel like the school is saying we’re too stupid to understand the consequences of the habit we’ve chosen.”

“I just don’t agree with the fact that I should have to walk, like, 12 minutes off campus to smoke a cigarette,” said Agront.

The New Jersey freshman has smoked since she was 15. She argued that if the goal is to make people quit, the ban will fail. The resulting hassle might make her smoke less, but not give it up, Agront predicted. “If I want a cigarette, I’m going to smoke a cigarette,” she said.

Now that the public health war against smoking has eradicated cigarettes from much of the indoor world, the smoke-free campaign is going outside. Municipal outdoor spaces such as Burlington’s Church Street have recently banned smoking, and many colleges are kicking smokers off their greens.

Approximately 1,500 college campuses are smoke-free, and UVM should join them, said Dr. Jan Carney, cochair of the UVM Tobacco-Free Steering Committee, which is pushing for the ban.

She ticks off her reasons: There is no safe level of exposure to secondhand smoke, according to the U.S. surgeon general; cigarette butts are an environmental problem; and the ban, she believes, will help reduce smoking rates.

Studies since 2000 indicate such restrictions can help make nonsmoking the social norm, said Carney, associate dean for public health at UVM College of Medicine and a former Vermont health

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Smoking Ban « p.21 the Marketplace in front of the entrance smokers feel persecuted. “I don’t think to the Burlington Town Center, ignoring it’s right … Who is anybody to tell you multiple signs instructing smokers not what to do?” asked Daniel Gomez, a maintenance worker. He clustered with to light up.

But there were fewer smokers — and other smokers last week at the new gathcigarette butts — in that location than ering place by the health department.

Whatever antismoking program before the ban took effect in December.

Many have since moved to side streets, might come out of that building will be and their migration has generated new tough to sell to Gomez. “I’ve been smoking since I was 16,” he complaints about secsaid. “You can’t just ondhand smoke and tell me to quit.” cigarette-butt litter But others said at spots such as the the ban is improving sidewalk on the north the street, and some side of Cherry Street, of those encouraging between Church Street voices belong to smokand the Vermont ers. Puffing next to Health Department.

Gomez, Christopher Employees at the Thompson said a health department have group he considers to raised concerns about be a “bad element,” the new smoke spot. people he believes are “They were very vocal, H A LE y A g R O n T heroin addicts and saying ‘What have you done?’ said Ron Redmond, executive di- drug users, isn’t congregating as much rector of the Church Street Marketplace. in front of Burlington Town Center.

Other employers downtown also That’s a good thing in a place that wants complained about the problem moving to cater to families with children, he said. to new coordinates.

“It’s still going on, but it’s less than In response, the Church Street Marketplace is putting up signs this what was going on,” said Thompson, week to make clear that the no-smoke who does maintenance work for the zone encompasses portions of side Church Street Marketplace and obstreets off Church between Main and serves the scene on a daily basis.

Thompson never smokes in front of his Pearl, including the problem spot on own son, and since the ban, he reasoned, Cherry.

Tickets for violating the policy can children who visit the Marketplace aren’t run $50 to $100, but enforcement efforts seeing as much smoke.

He said, “It’s a good thing. It really so far have stressed education, not fines, Redmond said. Most of the feedback is.” m about the ban has been positive, he added.

Still, some of the ex-Church Street Contact: molly@sevendaysvt.com

I just don’t agree wIth the fact that I should have to walk, lIke,

12 minutes off campus to smoke a cigarette.

READ, POST, SHARE + COMMENT: LIFELINES.SEVENDAYSVT.COM

lifelines OBITUARIES

Sally Shane

1936-2015, SHELBURNE, VT

and settled in Woodstock, where they owned MorganBallou and Woodstock Travel for many happy years. Sally was a consummate hostess, impressing all with her cooking, gardening and elegant attire. She spent the last year bravely coping with terminal cancer, discovered shortly after Buck passed away in March 2014. Even during difficult periods in her treatment, she had a kind word for everyone.

Sally leaves a daughter, Julie Bressor, and her husband, James, and grandchildren Josh, Anna and Jack; stepson John Buckley Shane Jr., and his wife, Mary Lou, and their sons, Conner and Jacob; stepdaughter Barbara Schwaner, and her husband, Matt; and of course her great friend, the universally loved Darabee, one of the nicest dogs around. Sally’s family want to thank friends and staff at Wake Robin, a wonderful community of interesting and caring people who became members of Sally’s extended family. Memorial gifts can be made to Wake Robin (Patrick McKee, Wake Robin, 100 Wake Robin Drive, Shelburne, VT 05482) for the upkeep and maintenance of the gardens. There will be a memorial service in May.

Rita Pauline Dupont

1922-2015, SWANTON. VT Rita Pauline Dupont, 93, passed away on March 17, 2015, in Swanton surrounded by her loving family. She was born March 9, 1922, in Winooski to Narcisse and Marie (Gaboriault) Soutiere. She married the love of her life, the late Romeo Dupont, on June 14, 1941.

Left to cherish her memory are her children and their spouses: Joyce and Come Bombardier, Joan and Robert Perras, Joanne

and Phillip Kinne, Richard and Marie Dupont, Nancy Rousselle, Susan and John Couillard, and Bruce and Lucille Dupont; 16 grandchildren; 24 great-grandchildren; two great-great-grandchildren; brother-in-law Urbain Dupont; many nieces and nephews; extended family; and friends. She was predeceased by her husband Romeo in 1994, her parents, her grandson James Dupont, her son-in-law Daniel Rousselle, and 13 brothers and sisters.

Visitation was held Monday, March 23 at the LaVigne Funeral Home and Cremation Service in Winooski. A Mass of Christian Burial was held on Tuesday, March 24, at St. Francis Xavier Catholic Church in Winooski. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in her name to Franklin County Home Health/Hospice, 3 Home Health Circle, Suite 1, St. Albans, VT 05478. Condolences may be shared with the family online at lavignefuneral home.com.

Want to memorialize a loved one in Seven Days?

Post your remembrance online and print at lifelines.sevendaysvt.com. Or contact us at lifelines@sevendaysvt.com, 865-1020, ext. 37.

Celebrate the Life of Larry Piano (1954-2015) Wednesday, March 25, 2015, 1-4:30 p.m.

Tribute starting at 1:30 p.m.

ArtsRiot Gallery 400 Pine Street, Burlington, Vt. Light refreshments provided.

Please share with anyone who might like to attend.

A full obituary will appear at a later date.

This celebration is hosted by Larry’s closest friends in Vermont, and we will welcome Larry’s family from Florida and share with them his Vermont friends and contributions to the community. Come as you are, stay as long as you like; no RSVP is needed.

Feel free to share your thoughts and stories at the podium as you wish. A “thank-you” board will be available as well as a place to post business cards, brochures and messages to express your thoughts.

We are also looking for a volunteer or two who could videotape and photograph the celebration to share with Larry’s family members who are in Florida and unable to attend. Contact mathh6@aol.com.

Donations in Larry’s memory may be made to Fowler’s R&R Corporation, which is dedicated to helping our nation’s vets transition back to civilian life. Larry worked passionately for the last two years of his life and believed in the cause and its mission.

Fowler’s R&R, PO Box 38, Whiting, VT 05778 or online at fowlersrandr.org.

LIFE LINES 23

OBITUARIES • IN MEMORIAM • ENGAGEMENTS • WEDDINGS • BIRTHS • BIRTHDAYS • GRADUATIONS

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Sarah “Sally” Ide Shane passed away on March 11, 2015, at Wake Robin in Shelburne where she made her home for the past 10 years. Born in Wilkes-Barre, Pa., Sally attended Wyoming Seminary, the Northfield Mount Hermon School and Elmira College. Her lifelong friends from these schools remember their wonderful times together with great fondness, particularly their year abroad at the University of Edinburgh.

Sally married first Richard Harter Paterson and then John Buckley Shane, her life partner. She and Buck moved to Vermont in 1971

OBITUARIES, VOWS, CELEBRATIONS

STATEof THEarts

With Music, the Nile Project Delivers a Pan-African Message B Y E THA N D E SEI FE

SEVENDAYSVT.COM 03.25.15-04.01.15 SEVEN DAYS 24 STATE OF THE ARTS

Resources,” “The Nile and African Identity” and “The Role of Musicians in Social Movements.”

Similar activities are planned for the Middlebury and Dartmouth campuses.

Several years in the making, the project is largely the creation of Mina Girgis, an Egyptian ethnomusicologist with a background in cross-cultural music education. Speaking by phone from a bus eastbound on Interstate 80 in Ohio, Girgis tells Seven Days that he was inspired to launch the project by a concert of Ethiopian funk music he attended in San Francisco. He thought the music would be relevant to modern Egyptians, whose country had just undergone the upheaval of the Arab Spring.

“Water conflict isn’t really a platform for a dialogue between the people of different [African] countries,” says Girgis.

“They weren’t even in the conversation, even though they share a river that is becoming the subject of the world’s major water conflict. I could see how a musical conversation could have an impact on the

COURTESY OF PETER STANLEY

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s it courses from Lake Victoria to its sprawling delta at the Mediterranean Sea, the Nile River passes through no fewer than 11 countries. For each, the river is a lifeline. But that lifeline is so fragile that the United Nations has singled out eastern Africa as a region where increasing water scarcity portends dire economic, nutrition and sanitation problems.

The issues pertaining to the world’s longest river are enormously complex, and one unusual and ambitious international organization contends that the best way to begin addressing them is through music.

The Nile Project is a multifaceted music and education program that will make three stops in our region within the next month: at Burlington’s FLYNN CENTER FOR THE PERFORMING ARTS on March 28, at Middlebury College on April 2, and at the HOPKINS CENTER FOR THE ARTS at Dartmouth College on April 17. The project includes more than a dozen East African musicians who not only perform in a diverse array of traditions but also teach classes and lead workshops on how to use art to address geopolitical issues.

When the Nile Project visits Burlington, for instance, the main event will be its Saturday evening concert. But the participants will also visit the University of Vermont to present talks called “Civic Engagement and the Management of Water

MUSIC

larger water conversation that needed to happen — starting from a place of cultural empathy and a more systemic view of the Nile.”

In 2012, Girgis led a scouting trip to the 11 countries of the Nile Basin, meeting musicians and activists along the way.

Since then, the Nile Project has held three enviro-musical residencies — two in Egypt, one in Uganda — and its roster of musicians

QUICK LIT: A TRIANGLE OF LOVE AND LOSS IN THE QUEEN CITY As a subject for fiction, the death of a young child is a hard sell. The aftermath of such a loss is perhaps an even harder one. Yet Burlington author — and former Vermont state rep — SUZI WIZOWATY has taken on both those subjects in her third novel, The Return of Jason Green, published by local FOMITE PRESS. The novel opens seven years after the death of 11-year-old Adam, but grief hasn’t ceased to shape the lives of his parents, cultured Max and Alice Henry. (He’s a philosophy professor, she a photographer and designer, in a city that is pretty clearly Burlington.) Struggling to find meaning in her life as she enters middle age, Alice caustically recalls the well-meaning friends who told her after her son died, “‘You can always have another.’ … We didn’t want another,” she points out. “We wanted Adam.”

Also living in the wake of loss — twice over — is the Henrys’ neighbor and best friend, Richard, a gay tax accountant who has remained single since the death of his lover. He soothes himself with ice cream

and the moral simplicity of old war movies, trying to forget that he was once Adam’s “Uncle Richard,” the playful adult to whom the boy turned for relief from his intense, intellectual father. (Through flashbacks, Wizowaty offers a charming and nuanced portrait of Adam and Richard’s bond, a type of almost-familial relationship rarely explored in fiction.)

Wizowaty’s three protagonists — who narrate their stories in alternating chapters — coexist in a symbiosis that is civilized and stable, if not exactly happy. Then in glides the titular interloper.

Jason Green was Adam’s best friend, and he played a role in the boy’s death for which Alice will not forgive him. After a long absence, this child reappears as a sullen 18-year-old — the boy Adam might have been — and begs Max to take him on as an “apprentice” in philosophy. By using Richard as his go-between, Jason ignites a quiet rivalry between the two older men, each of whom wants something from the teenager that he can’t quite articulate.

Jason’s yearning for a philosophical

apprenticeship — and with it, perhaps, some form of absolution — has all the makings of a precious literary conceit.

But Wizowaty draws her characters with enough unruly naturalism to prevent them from becoming symbols. Jason displays a plausible adolescent resistance to Max’s heavy-handed teachings (“it’s all talk, man”), while Alice warns her husband that “something is bubbling up in me.” Even the normally laid-back Richard begins to consider the possibility that “maybe I wasn’t a rational, reasonably decent if repressed accountant, but a frustrated fat man exploding with predatory desire.”

What the novel could use, ultimately, is more of that bubbling and exploding.

Wizowaty’s three narrators spend far more pages self-consciously analyzing their impulses than acting on them; Alice, for instance, buys a drum set as a midlifecrisis gesture, but doesn’t end up making much noise. While the characters’ delaying and distancing tactics feel true to life, they slow the novel’s pace considerably, particularly because Wizowaty too often

has grown from 18 to 28. Thirteen of them are on the current tour.

Those musicians perform in traditions that long predate the founding of the countries now engaged in border skirmishes over water rights. Sophie Nzayisenga, for instance, plays the inanga, a Rwandan instrument akin to a zither. Ahmed Said Abuamna, from Sudan, is regarded as a modern-day master of the masankop, a

GOT AN ARTS TIP? ARTNEWS@SEVENDAYSVT.COM

lyre-like instrument with a millennia-long history.

Girgis says the music resulting from this pan-African collaboration transcends its constituent styles. In bringing them all together, the Nile Project “gives a space for a musical diversity onstage that really keeps the show moving and keeps people engaged,” he says. Girgis estimates that 95 percent of the music was composed specifically for the project’s performances.

It’s difficult not to enjoy the lively, exciting music of the Nile Project, but how does that translate into social activism?

Girgis considers the project a form of “cultural diplomacy”: The music jumpstarts a conversation about the environmental and political issues currently faced by its origin cultures, he says. Entertainment inspires audiences to learn — a process that, ideally, leads in turn to awareness and action.

So far, the Nile Project has launched a fellowship program for university students in Africa and has sponsored the Nile Prize, a competition to develop innovative solutions to the river’s most pressing problems. Those include providing irrigation and nutrition to a poor region with one of

I COULD SEE HOW A MUSICAL CONVERSATION COULD HAVE AN IMPACT

ON THE LARGER WATER CONVERSATION THAT NEEDED TO HAPPEN. MI N A GI R GIS

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The Nile Project, Saturday, March 28, 8 p.m., at Flynn MainStage in Burlington. $15-36; Thursday, April 2, 8 p.m., at Wilson Hall, Mc- 8v-northernlights030415.indd Cullough Social Space, Middlebury College. $6-25; and Friday, April 17, 8 p.m., at Hopkins Center for the Arts, Dartmouth College, Hanover, N.H. $17-40. Members of the project will present talks and workshops in all three locations. flynntix.org, middlebury.edu/arts, hop.dartmouth.edu

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The Return of Jason Green by Suzi Wizowaty, Fomite Press, 316 pages. $15.

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STATE OF THE ARTS 25

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and easy to forgive. Though the themes of crime and punishment are compelling, they end up feeling extraneous to the book’s carefully wrought three-character domestic drama. Jason Green is less interesting in himself — and in the eventual, predictable revelations he offers — than in his power to disrupt the balance among Max, Alice and Richard.

Wizowaty has a talent for dissecting enlightened people to discover the savage feelings underneath, as she already showed in her 2002 ensemble novel The Round Barn. Many local readers will see themselves in her characters and their all-too-human responses to a life-fracturing grief, even if the conflicts stirred up by this Return are too easily resolved, the epiphanies too simply won.

Thanks for playing such great music!!

SEVENDAYSVT.COM

has her narrators tell us how they feel rather than showing us. Musing about his tutelage of Jason, for instance, Max announces that “I believe — how can I say this without sounding melodramatic?

— my own redemption depends on my rescuing him.”

That theme of redemption is rather too transparently linked to the book Max is attempting to write — about the concept of punishment — and to his conflicted feelings regarding Jason’s role in his son’s death. The questions that Max obsessively contemplates — Does punishment serve any real purpose?

When does an accident become a crime?

What does it mean to be “responsible”?

— are clearly ones that also matter profoundly to Wizowaty, who is the founder and director of Vermonters for Criminal Justice Reform.

But these provocative questions don’t lead to much pay-off in the novel, largely because Jason’s actual transgression (when it is finally revealed) is so minor

the highest rates of population growth in the world.

Girgis also hopes to collaborate in the near future with the Smithsonian Folklife Festival. The group’s second album of recorded music is in the works, as is a documentary film about the project.

Just as the protean project results from extensive collaboration, so the area venues slated to host the Nile Project jointly applied for the grant to bring it here. LIZA SACHELI, director of Middlebury College’s MAHANEY CENTER FOR THE ARTS, says these events represent the first large-scale collaboration of some of the biggest arts venues in Vermont and New Hampshire.

“Not so very long ago, this might have been seen as competing,” Sacheli says, “but recent market research revealed that we’re not stealing audiences from each other. There’s not a lot of overlap. We may be helping each other, and that opened up new possibilities for us. A healthy arts tide will raise all of our boats.”

That cooperative effort echoes the spirit of riparian cultural exchange that is the heart and soul of the Nile Project.

SPRING IS IN THE AIR

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STATEof THEarts

Oddball Artifacts + Poets = Ideas in a Sheldon Museum Exhibit B Y JULI A SHI PLEY

STREET POETS WORKSHOP OF ADDISON COUNTY

WORDS

Cigar Ribbon Quilt that inspired the poem “Union Label” by David Weinstock

Sheldon tour, however, the poets began drafting object-inspired poems, a literary technique practiced by poets such as Rilke, Keats, Ezra Pound, Elizabeth Bishop and

William Carlos Williams. The last poet inspired the show’s title with his famous declaration: “Say it, no ideas but in things.”

While the practice of teasing poetic

The Museum of Everyday Life Explores the Quintessence of Dust B Y NI CO LE HI GGI N S DESMET

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ast week, a curious call to artists caught our attention and quickly evoked the question, “Does this really qualify as art?”

The quirky call came from CLARE DOLAN, the self-described “chief operating philosopher” of the even quirkier MUSEUM OF EVERYDAY LIFE in Glover. The self-service museum is housed in an unheated, unlocked barn beside her house. And, true to its name, it has mounted surprisingly informative, well-researched annual exhibitions on such everyday objects as the safety pin, the pencil and the toothbrush.

Dolan recently installed a seasonal exhibit titled “Get Out of This One: Broken Snow Removal Devices of the NEK.” Her current call? It’s for dust. Yes, you read that right: the kind that makes bunnies.

Dolan describes dust as the “most ubiquitous substance that gathers in all corners of everyday life.” For the exhibit, she seeks all kinds of dust-related items, including dust-removal objects, anecdotes, dust scholarship — apparently, that is a thing

“Vacancy” by Paul Hazelton

WE’RE GOING TO GO A LITTLE BIT MORE ABSTRACT,

A LITTLE BIT MORE OUT THERE. C L ARE D O L A N

IMAGE COURTESY OF CLARE DOLAN

26 STATE OF THE ARTS

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SEVENDAYSVT.COM

— were also on a collecting mission. They were gathering material, literally and figuratively, to write a series of poems inspired by things in the Sheldon Museum.

As the poets wandered the museum’s rooms and poked through drawers and boxes, they found plenty of evocative fodder — a belt of caribou teeth, a flute, paintings, a drawer full of eyeglasses, a

COURTESY OF THE HENRY SHELDON MUSEUM

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woman’s diary, a marble road sign. Now their object-inspired poetry has become the museum’s newest collection. In a currently running exhibit called “The Museum as Muse for Six Vermont Poets: ‘No Ideas But in Things,’” visitors can read the 25 poems on display beside the objects that inspired them.

“Henry Sheldon was a late-19th-century, early-20th-century hoarder,” explains Weinstock, who first recognized the collection’s poetic potential. A former interpreter of objects for Connecticut’s Mystic Seaport museum, Weinstock conceived of “The Museum as Muse” and brought his idea to Brooks. Partial funding for the project came from the Vermont Community Foundation.

This is the first organized collaborative endeavor for the Spring Street Poets, an invitation-only group cofounded by Weinstock that has been meeting for 18 years on Thursday afternoons at Carol’s Hungry Mind Café in Middlebury. Until this past winter, the group focused on workshopping verse generated by the members’ individual lives. Following the

ast November, BILL BROOKS, executive director of the HENRY SHELDON MUSEUM OF VERMONT HISTORY in Middlebury, offered six local poets a tour of the museum’s “somewhat idiosyncratic” collection of Vermont artifacts.

First Brooks ushered the poets through the current exhibits; then he introduced them to parts of the archive, founded in 1882, that visitors do not usually get to see.

Those included the packed basement, the stuffed attic and the barn, all brimming with everyday items from the 19th century.

But this was no ordinary tour. The poets — JANET FANCHER, KARI HANSEN, RAY HUDSON, JANICE MILLER POTTER, MARY F.C. PRATT and DAVID WEINSTOCK, all members of the SPRING

ART — and works of dust art. She also hopes to obtain dust samples from locations as distant as outer space and as intimate as a celebrity’s belly button.

Dolan explains in a phone conversation that the project was conceived “more with whimsy than thoughts of permanence.”

The dust in her home environment was her

initial inspiration. But as Dolan researched the topic, she began to consider its depths.

“There’s a lot to it,” she marvels. “There’s a lot to dust.”

For the museum’s fifth season, which she calls a miniature milestone, “We’re going to go a little bit more abstract, a little bit more out there,” Dolan says. But she assures us the direction won’t be permanent. “It just seemed like a good year to try something a little bit different.”

Dolan modestly notes that she doesn’t think her idea is original. She cites two books published in the past decade on the subject of dust: The Secret Life of Dust: From the Cosmos to the Kitchen Counter, the Big Consequences of Little Things by Hannah Holmes; and Dust: A History of the Small and the Invisible by Joseph A. Amato. And Dolan rapturously describes an account she read of Italian director Romeo Castellucci’s 2014 production of Stravinsky’s The Rite of Spring, which used bone dust in place of ballerinas. (He created machines that made the dust “dance” to live music.)

Got AN ArtS tIP? artnews@sevendaysvt.com

inspiration from stuff isn’t new, applying wheels, baby shoes, a hair taken from it to the artifacts of the Sheldon Museum Napoleon, diaries and a stuffed cat. Many was — and, say some of the poets, it was a items sparked her personal memories, she revelatory experience. says. Others, such as the “Petrified Boy,” Hudson, for instance, is a retired ignited a flurry of research, which Pratt ethnologist of the Aleutian Islands who distilled into her poem about this plaster describes the practice of writing poetry figure that was passed off as an authentic as a “freeing endeavor” compared with human fossil in the late 1800s. his former day job, which Hansen’s poem about involved intense scholara bustle derives from ship and documentation. her investigation of the On the museum tour, he museum’s clothing collecdiscovered one of his ideas tion, while Weinstock was in a box marked “Alaska” stirred to verse by a union that a Sheldon staffer prolabel reminding him of the duced. Hudson opened the kind that used to be sewn box and examined each into garments. Visitors item, finding a cariboucan see the pairings for tooth belt in excellent themselves — or, at the condition. “I was surprised March 26 reception, listen I was able to unfold it,” he to the poets read their arDAviD WE inST OC k recalls. tifact poems. Either way, From that unfolded belt, Hudson cre- their verse offers lyrical testaments to the ated a poem, part of which reads, “Kept in fact that at least 25 ideas live among the a hushed / box, it longs for winter, longs Sheldon Museum’s things. m to be told / things haven’t changed all that much.” It’s an unverifiable yet intriguing assertion, the kind he could never have INFo “The Museum as Muse for Six vermont Poets: made in his ethnographic work.

“It was overwhelming,” says Pratt, as ‘no ideas But in Things,’” through April 11 at the Henry Sheldon Museum of vermont she remembers how that first tour unHistory in Middlebury. Reception and readearthed a vast number of appealing items, ings, Thursday, March 26, at 7 p.m., and an including blacksmith’s tools, a life-size additional reading on Wednesday, April 1, at plaster horse, a collection of spinning noon. henrysheldonmuseum.org

Henry SHeldon waS

a late-19thcentury, early20th-century hoarder.

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Inside Picasso’s Studio

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Damian Elwes (b. 1960), Picasso’s Studio at the Bateau Lavoir, 1908, 2008 (detail). Oil on canvas. Courtesy of the artist

April 1

6:00pm

with

Damian Elwes

Regular Admission

INFo “Dust,” opening Sunday, May 31, at the Museum of Everyday Life in Glover. For more info or to reach Clare Dolan, use the “contact us” form at museumofeverydaylife.org.

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STATE OF THE ARTS 27

and, of course, actual dust. The museum welcomes participation during all phases of the project, she says.

The seemingly endless possibilities of her humble subject may be more than Dolan bargained for. “I’m worried now,” she admits. “It’s an ambitious choice, and I’m worried, oh, that I’m not going to have enough time to do it justice. But you know, there could always be ‘Dust: Part 1’ and ‘Dust: Part 2.’” m

Damian Elwes is known for the novel approach he took in a series of paintings that focused on his favorite artists’ studios. For his painting of Picasso’s Bateau Lavoir studio, Elwes aimed to create a portrait of Picasso’s mind at a particular moment in time and to reveal all of the influences that went into the creation of Demoiselles d’Avignon.

SEVEN DAYS

After just one week, Dolan has received two related series of photographs involving brooms and street cleaners from a French couple; she’s been promised the loan of 9/11 ashes from DaviD Fairbanks ForD of the Main street MuseuM in White River Junction; and she’s heard from an artist who is working on mounting dust bunnies with adhesives. “I’m really interested to see how that works out,” Dolan says. We are, too.

Many of the submissions have been ideas rather than objects. “People have written in saying things like, Do you know about Man Ray’s photo ‘Dust Breeding’?”

She does. Dolan appreciates the tips as she curates in real time, actively generating the exhibit as people send in ideas

W E DN E SDAY

03.25.15-04.01.15

“Dust Breeding” by Man Ray

THE STRAIGHT DOPE BY CECIL ADAMS

Dear Cecil,

SEVENDAYSVT.COM 03.25.15-04.01.15

you see this as a benefit or a hindrance may depend on how cynical you are about things like the Abu Ghraib affair.) And a declared war affects countries not directly involved: Neutral states must remain impartial in trade, commerce and diplomatic relations; alliance obligations can be invoked.

As a result, states now tend to avoid saying the W-word even when dispatching roving groups of armed personnel to foreign lands. Even though UN laws apply to “armed conflict,” which ought to override the declaration problem, the lack of labeling makes it harder to identify aggressive behavior and therefore trigger punitive action.

In this context, then, George Bush’s decision (OK, we all know it wasn’t his decision) to declare a legally confusing “War on Terror” was a wellcalculated move. Congress, the

Engagement Rings And Everything in Between

SEVEN DAYS 28 STRAIGHT DOPE

N

— were declared. Since then, however, we’ve had about the same number of conflicts, but only three of them have been declared, and none of those by a so-called Great Power, like the U.S., the UK, China, France, etc.

So what accounts for the decline? At this point, declaring war is worse than irrelevant — it’s basically all downside and no upside. Even for powerful countries, international organizations like the UN can make it a pain in the ass to break the rules. This is especially true lately: In 1898 there were three codified laws of war; by 1998 there were 33. Certain strategies and weapons aren’t allowed, and the military must be trained to exacting specifications. Lack of compliance means the possibility of being tried for war crimes. (Under U.S. military law, declaring war also empowers the military to court-martial its private contractors; whether

MA

H

ow quaint, Steve.

You’re talking about war like it’s a card game played by Boy Scouts, with rules enforced by creepy grown men wearing khaki shorts. Back here in reality, though, the U.S. isn’t going to forgo its milk and cookies because it launches a missile at someone it wasn’t supposed to.

Because that’s how the international system works: Laws are only as strong as the willingness of the most powerful country, or group of countries, to back them up.

That said, you’re right: While formal declarations of war were never exactly required, they definitely used to be more common. Between 1800 and 1950, political scientist Tanisha Fazal has pointed out, approximately half of all interstate “wars” — protracted and intense armed violence involving two or more states

A CAR

As far as I can tell, nations have stopped formally declaring war since the end of World War II. But can war only be declared between nations? With the rise in terrorist groups, could the U.S. or another country declare war against Al-Qaeda or ISIS or some other group rather than another nation? Or is any declaration of war just plain irrelevant these days?

Steve Mirro, Cape Coral, Fla.

Vintage

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only governmental branch technically empowered to declare war, never did so (though it did authorize military force). But the shocking visibility and scale of the 9/11 attack allowed the U.S. to justify belligerent military objectives that were both widespread and vague. In Bush’s words, the “war” wouldn’t end until “every terrorist group of global reach has been found, stopped and defeated.”

The combined facts that (a) the United States in 2001 was the world’s undisputed leading power, (b) the attack scared our Western allies, too, and (c) it marked a new era of warfare against organized yet transnational non-state actors meant that the U.S. government had more or less free rein to respond however it wished.

International law hadn’t adapted to deal with new, postCold War circumstances (and arguably it still hasn’t). For instance, since the object of aggression wasn’t a state, the U.S. used the umbrella term “terror” to justify attacking any terrorist, in any country, without warning. CIA agents used a drone to kill six men in Yemen

in 2002. But Yemen didn’t recognize this act as armed conflict on its land, nor did it or the U.S. consider themselves at war with one another.

Another political benefit (and humanitarian nightmare) of waging quasi-war was made manifest in the November 2001 executive order titled “Detention, Treatment, & Trial of Certain Non-Citizens in the War Against Terrorism” — also known as the catastrophe of Guantanamo Bay. The order authorized the Defense Department to detain potential enemies of the state, citing as justification the national emergency then in progress. What this meant in practice, administration lawyers would later explain, was that the detentions would continue until all the terrorists in the entire world were captured or eliminated — i.e., as long the U.S. government felt like it.

The grim possibility here is that efforts to impose humanitarian law on the practice of war have been at least in part counterproductive: Where once they might have played by at least some of the rules, states now have a greater incentive to avoid them entirely. One wants to believe in progress, but it’s hard not to suspect that war can be made only so civilized, and no more.

INFO

Is there something you need to get straight? Cecil Adams can deliver the Straight Dope on any topic. Write Cecil Adams at the Chicago Reader, 11 E. Illinois, Chicago, IL 60611, or cecil@chireader.com.

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What’s With the Dome-Topped Mansion on St. Paul?

valuable collection of seashells that was donated to the University of Vermont following his death in 1883.

The rooftop observatory, which takes the place of the cupola associated with the Italianate architectural style, contained a telescope 6.5 inches in diameter that could magnify objects up to 400 times. It was, in its day, the largest telescope in the state of Vermont, notes the 1991 edition of the Burlington neighborhood guide written by David J. Blow and published by the Chittenden County Historical Society.

Hickok must have had a fabulous view of the heavens in the pre-electriclight era. And the land surrounding his home was largely undeveloped in the second half of the 19th century.

The house passed to the doctor’s son, Horatio, who lived there with his family and his father’s widow, Laura Ann Platt.

In 1925, Burlington grocer and developer Paul Kelley purchased the property.

The house at that time was part of a 20-acre parcel, through which Kelley cut Margaret, Marion, Ledgemere, Charlotte and Caroline streets. He sold house lots in the area that’s today known as the Five Sisters neighborhood.

But it wasn’t named after any offspring of Kelley’s — and is, in fact, something of a misnomer. According to a 2008 City of Burlington survey, Caroline, Charlotte and Catherine (originally Katherine) streets were all named for daughters of Edward and Maria Buell Hungerford, who had also developed the area. Margaret Street was named for Kelley’s wife, while Marion — also referred to as Marian — Street was “most likely named for one of [Kelley’s] nieces,” the survey states. The couple did not have children.

Let’s return to the observatory: The telescope was removed some time after Hickok’s death and before Kelley’s 1928 conversion of the building into a

Contact: kelley@sevendaysvt.com

INFO Outraged, or merely curious, about something? Send your burning question to wtf@sevendaysvt.com.

SEVENDAYSvt.com 03.25.15-04.01.15 SEVEN DAYS WTF 29

courtesy of pamela polston

E

ver notice that handsome stone apartment house situated on a large lot on Burlington’s St. Paul Street near the South End roundabout? It appears to have an astronomical observatory on its roof. WTF? Yes, that’s exactly what the place is — or rather, was.

The 161-year-old Italianate building has an exterior of quartzite quarried from ledges on what’s now South Willard Street. It was constructed for Dr. William Hickok, a Burlington native born in 1802 who made a fortune tending to the health issues of wealthy New Yorkers. He returned to the Queen City as a retiree in 1850 and, four years later, built the 14-room home that became known as the Hickok Stone House.

According to the Historic Guide to Burlington Neighborhoods, Doc Hickok spent the last three decades of his life engaged in his hobbies: astronomy and conchology. He assembled a large and

summer-season hotel. The Hickok Stone House was remodeled in 1946 as a set of apartments that included the former observatory.

About 20 years ago, Paul Handy, who had purchased the building in the 1980s, sealed off the wood-domed space and an identically proportioned space immediately beneath it. “There’s only one egress from up there,” notes Joe Handy, who acquired the house 10 years ago following the death of his uncle Paul. “The city’s code says there has to be another way out, but it’s a historic building, so it would be hard to build an outside fire escape.”

A tenant supplies a key to the padlocked door, and Seven Days climbs a spiral staircase to find a four-windowed circular space with panoramic views of Lake Champlain and the South End. Plaster and wood debris are scattered on the bare floor, and a few slats are missing from the dome. A fix-up to make the space compliant with the city’s fire code would result in a spectacular aerie.

The rest of the structure’s interior appears to be in fairly good shape, considering its age. Joe Handy says he “completely renovated” the building, replacing its roof and installing new pipes and wiring. But tenants of three of the 10 apartments — none of whom was willing to be named — complain that their units need at least cosmetic improvements.

Burlington code enforcement director Bill Ward says the Hickok Stone House has no outstanding violations.

Handy responded promptly to a clogged drain in one of the apartments in 2011, Ward reports. The Hickok place was last inspected in 2013. “It met the minimum housing requirements,” Ward says, adding, “That’s not a very high bar.”

While the building may no longer be a stately Victorian mansion occupied by a single family, Hickok’s observatory still towers over the Five Sisters neighborhood, a memorial to his stargazing in an age gone by. m

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T

he budget of the majority party makes drastic cuts to social services. It slashes already meager supports to the poor. It demands concessions from government workers and consolidates agencies, which means eliminating jobs. The budgeteers resist the ex1:44 PM ecutive’s modest efforts to rationalize health care spending and increase the number of people covered by the state.

The U.S. congressional Republicans’ 2016 budget resolution — a virtual Xerox of the Dickensian blueprint Paul Ryan has been pushing for years — is driven by…

Oops.

I meant to say the Vermont Democratic leadership’s budget proposal — a virtual Xerox of the ones it’s been passing for years, only more Dickensian — is driven by a sacred and inviolable credo: Thou Shalt Not Levy Taxes.

Pop quiz: Who said, “Typically we try to raise as little revenue as possible and we try to get to as many reductions as possible”?

Newt Gingrich? Guess again.

That was House Speaker Shap Smith, talking to VTDigger. org in January, after the governor’s budget address. You may notice in his statement the absence of such words as “needs,” “infrastructure,” “services” or “people.”

For those having a hard time telling, Smith is a Democrat.

In Washington, the GOP is salivating over Social Security, eager to transform guaranteed payments into stock market investment dividends. Future administrations will change the program’s name to Social Insecurity.

The Vermont House Appropriations Committee suggests saving $1.6 million by counting $125 of supplemental security income — SSI, or “disability” — as part of a person’s

2/27/15 11:22 AM

total benefits. That is, they’d shave $125 a month from the income of disabled Vermonters.

While the Washington Republicans sic their dogs on Obamacare (and write a budget assuming it no longer exists), the Vermont legislature balked at the governor’s measly 0.7 percent payroll tax to make up the shortfall in doctors’ Medicaid reimbursements — costs that now are shifted onto private health care premiums.

The tax would raise more than $41 million, according to the administration. But lawmakers fretted about the burden on businesses having to pay, like — eek! — $3,500 annually on a half-million-dollar payroll.

The House Health Care Committee has proposed a 0.3 percent tax instead, saving those businesses $2,000 — hopefully enough to keep them out of bankruptcy.

The GOP budget has federal employees contributing more to their pensions. And, of course, gigantic cuts to every government function mean gigantic layoffs.

In Vermont, the governor is asking state workers to reopen contract negotiations and give back pay increases. State agencies have been ordered to find up to 325 positions to eliminate.

Smith has not made a peep in defense of labor.

After 10 years of cutting, the Democratic leadership is swinging its machetes at everything from adult daycare to energy efficiency. Disgusted by the endlessly bug-infested Vermont Health Connect website, they’ve got a fix: Give the techies less money!

You know: Do more with less.

Thankfully, revolt is brewing. A letter signed last week by 23 members of the House Working Vermonters Caucus tells the speaker they are “unable to support a budget that includes

Republicratic Values

drastic cuts, reductions in workforce and new revenue of only $35 million.”

This caucus, as the late Minnesota senator Paul Wellstone put it, represents “the Democratic wing of the Democratic Party.”

Of course, there are differences between the national GOP and the Vermont Democrats. The Republican budget is based on a near-religious faith in trickledown, or supply-side, economics — the idea that the rising tide produced by holding poor people’s heads under water will lift all boats. Indeed, the House Republicans’ blueprint accounts for the Miracle of the High Tide, to the tune of $147 billion over 10 years, on the plus side of the ledger.

Supply-side is a religion in the spiritual sense as well. “A budget is a moral document; it talks about where your values are,” Georgia Republican Rob Woodall, a member of the House Budget Committee, proudly told the New York Times last week.

I do not know a Vermont Democrat who feels it’s right to screw poor and middle-class people. They just think it’s necessary. Because, as everyone says, Vermonters are taxed too much. This might also qualify as an article of unproven faith.

So some families under the supervision of the state are killing their babies.

Isn’t it a pity that caseloads at the Department for Children and Families must increase?

Coldest winter in decades? Sorry, gotta cut heating fuel assistance.

It is shameful that the prisons are full of mentally ill people. Alas, the program that reduces their recidivism must go.

It’s a worthy, worthy goal to reduce the number of Vermont inmates being held in a private facility in Kentucky. But, hey, the feds will fork over $129 a day to house each of their inmates. And selling — er, sending — a few dozen Vermonters downriver will net the state $800,000.

There is just one government function lawmakers of both parties consider so urgent that it transcends financial considerations: Get the bad guys.

The U.S. House GOP wants to bulk up the global war on terrorism by $12

billion this year. Funding for actual wars will flow from a magical “emergency” font — located somewhere off the balance sheet. Senate hawks are putting in for a real appropriation for the Pentagon.

Here in Vermont, the legislature has also been busy socking it to evildoers.

“Revenge porn” — posting someone’s naked picture without her consent — will be a sex crime carrying three years’ imprisonment.

The failure to prevent child abuse if a person should “reasonably” have anticipated it will be punished with 10 years’ incarceration. The mere presence of illicit drugs in the household is considered abuse. Under a later iteration of the same bill, S.9, someone convicted of manufacturing methamphetamine where a child resides faces 30 years.

And let no year pass without administering another lash to the sex offender’s back. Act 1, the first signed by Gov. Shumlin this session, requires released sex offenders to inform the registry of a residence change within 24 hours, instead of the current three days. Violators of this supposedly victim-comforting mandate can be sent back to prison for two years.

(This regulation may be moot, since no sex offender is moving anywhere.

Residency restrictions make virtually every address “inappropriate” for them, and about 200 inmates of all sorts remain behind bars past their release dates for lack of housing.)

Also, sentencing requires judges.

Yet the courts will keep three unfilled seats empty for the foreseeable future.

Enforcement means police and prisons, which cost plenty.

So here’s a cheery thought: Maybe the state won’t have the money to do anything about these laws.

Here’s a grim one: If the Dems don’t pass a Democratic budget, they won’t have the money to do anything but. m

You know:

Do more with less.

SEVENDAYSVt.com 03.25.15-04.01.15 SEVEN DAYS poli psy 31

INFo poli psy is a monthly column by Judith levine. Got a comment on this story?

Contact levine@sevendaysvt.com.

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SEVENDAYSVT.COM 03.25.15-04.01.15 SEVEN DAYS 32 FEATURE

ILLUSTRATION: JEFF DREW

A

young man stood expectantly in front of an evaporator, his face illuminated by the orange glow coming from the steel contraption that boils maple sap down into syrup. After checking and rechecking to see if the syrup was ready, he opened a valve, releasing a rush of sweet-smelling, golden liquid into a container.

“Oh, that’s fancy!” he said with a wide grin that made his rosy cheeks look like apples.

Another dude ran up, in Carhartts and a plaid shirt. “Is it ready? Oh, ho ho! It is ready?”

Rosy Cheeks just smiled.

Their boss, Joe Russo, yelled from across the room: “Is it ready?”

“It’s ready!” hollered Rosy Cheeks.

“OK,” said Russo, approaching the evaporator. He plunged a dipper into the cooling syrup, swirled the pale amber liquid in the pan and brought it up to his face. “You don’t even have to taste it,” he said, breathing deeply. “You can smell it.” Satisfied, he handed the dipper to the guy in the plaid shirt, who leaned in for a taste.

“Oh, yeah!” he said, smacking his lips after a sip.

The same giddiness overtakes Vermont sugar makers

every spring as the first sap turns to syrup. But this particular scene played out not in some backyard sugar shack but in a factory, where the human interaction was accompanied by the rhythmic clanking of machinery and the occasional hiss of steam exiting the labyrinthine system of plumbing and piping.

The evaporator alone cost a cool quarter million dollars — and it’s one of four inside the former Ethan Allen furniture plant in Island Pond. Once a symbol of local enterprise, that plant now serves as the base of operations for Connecticut-based Sweet Tree Holdings 1, LLC, which bought the building last April for about $700,000. Sweet Tree is one of many assets held by Wood Creek Capital Management, an investment arm of Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Company.

In the last two years, Sweet Tree has spent about $5.5 million to purchase 7,000 acres of remote maple forest in the northeast corner of Vermont’s Northeast Kingdom. In the past several months, workers installed 100,000 taps on a parcel in Warren’s Gore. When the spring sap run ends, the company plans to add another 150,000 in Avery’s Gore, according to Wood Creek managing director Bob Saul, who is in charge of the Sweet Tree operation.

That would make it the largest single maple producer in the U.S. — bigger than the current record holder, Green Mountain Mainlines in Fletcher, which drew sap from 130,000 taps last year, according to the annual trade magazine The Official United States Maple Syrup Almanac.

Vermont produces more maple syrup than any other U.S. state — a quantity valued at $49 million in 2013.

Facts are harder to come by about what Sweet Tree plans to do with the syrup it harvests. No one — not Saul, or maple operation manager Russo, or Sweet Tree chief financial officer Michael Argyelan — will get specific, except to say the syrup won’t be sold locally, or even necessarily in liquid form. All three men said they intend to convert it into branded, value-added products, which will be sold worldwide in high-end markets. Some — perhaps all — of the manufacturing will take place on-site at the Island Pond plant.

“It’s actually an aphrodisiac,” Argyelan said jokingly of his plans for the raw maple. When pressed, the CFO, who is a trained chemist, said he’s having products tested in South Carolina. A recent Associated Press story suggested the company could be brewing a fructose-free maple alternative to southern sweet tea.

photos: hannah palmer-egan

“Probably in the next three or four months we’ll know what we’re doing,” Argyelan said. “Right now, everything’s just going into drums until we decide how to use it.”

Not surprisingly, this mega maple operation is the talk of the town — or, more accurately, of Essex County.

“I hear they’re putting in a million taps,” said a patron at Chez Pidgeon, a friendly roadside watering hole on Route 114 in Norton.

“They say they want to be the biggest maple producer in the world,” added another.

Would that spell gloom or boom for Vermont’s indigenous maple producers, which have traditionally been mom-and-pop operations?

“We were just talking about it, actually,” said April Lemay, owner of April’s Maple in Canaan. Fifteen miles northeast of the Sweet Tree sugar bush, she taps about 15,000 trees on land her family has sugared for generations. “Our hope is that they’ll educate a consumer market that wouldn’t otherwise know about maple products.”

In other words, she hopes that Sweet Tree will grow the market, not flood the existing one. “We’re not built to compete with somebody like that,” Lemay said. “The market for us is very different. It’s much more about local and the people passing through, who buy into a small brand and buy into the business, not into the conglomerate.”

Joe Russo

Modern Maple

» p.34

FEATURE 33

sweet deal

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The Sweet Tree maple property stretches for about three miles along Route 114 north of Island Pond. From the road, passersby can see sap lines, strung taut between the trees, and a few shipping containers, which serve as pump houses. Aside from these, there’s little indication of the operation’s industrial size.

Here and there, small roads lead into the maple bush, which is scattered with yellow birch and softwood trees.

In mid-March, the woods were still insulated with several feet of snow, but at waist level, a web of blue and white tubing connected the maples, fanning out in every direction as far as the eye could see. Against the snow, the trees and an ashen sky, the blue sap lines looked electric.

03.25.15-04.01.15

Matt Gordon, executive director of the Vermont Maple Sugar Makers Association, said other producers share Lemay’s concerns. “I think there’s trepidation in the industry as a whole: Are we making too much syrup? We’ve seen growth really take off in the last few years, but history is full of examples of production rapidly growing and then things falling out.”

SEVENDAYSvt.com

Workers monitor and test the syrup at Sweet Tree’s Island Pond plant

It’s not every day that an out-of-state company snaps up large tracts of Vermont land, hires dozens of people and taps 100,000 trees in its first season.

34 FEATURE

SEVEN DAYS

03.25.15-04.01.15

SEVENDAYSvt.com

Sweet Deal « p.33 Standing in the middle of it is surreal, but other than scale, this operation is not unusual: Vermont maple is growing — and evolving — at an unprecedented pace.

According to Henry Marckres, chief of consumer protection and maple specialist at the Vermont Agency of Agriculture, Food & Markets, the number of maple taps throughout the state has grown by 400 percent in a single decade. In 2004, Marckres said, “We estimated there were a million taps in Vermont. By 2014 there were almost 4.27 million taps. There’s going to be over five million this year.”

And the taps are more productive than ever before.

“Back in 2004, the goal was to get a quart of syrup per tap,” said Marckres. “Now the goal is to get a half gallon per tap.

So you’ve got five times the number of taps, and twice the production per tap.”

The difference is technology: This is not your grandpappy’s horse-drawn sap-bucket operation.

Today’s taps are smaller than the old ones, but the plastic lines that replaced the old-school buckets now connect to vacuum-powered pumps that pull the juice from the tree.

“Hardly anybody collects sap with buckets now,” said Tim Wilmot, extension maple specialist at the University of Vermont’s Proctor Maple Research Center. “You just cannot get a decent amount of sap without the vacuum.”

Wilmot said most large operations also pre-process the sap in reverse-osmosis machines, which remove up to 75 percent of the water. The concentrated liquid takes less time and fuel to evaporate. With the increased efficiency, sugar makers can tap bigger tracts of land.

Every drop of the world’s maple syrup supply comes from hardwoods in a narrow swath of North America, extending from the Great Lakes to the Canadian Maritimes.

But, according to Gordon, only a tiny fraction of the trees in those areas have been tapped. In Vermont, it’s roughly 5 percent, “and that’s a high percentage compared to New York or Michigan or elsewhere,” he said. “So the growth could be phenomenal, but we’re not sure if we can grow the market in proportion … so we don’t create an oversupply.”

So far, consumer demand has grown apace with increasing supply, and the price of the product has remained relatively stable. Syrup currently sells for around $25 per gallon wholesale and retails for a lucrative $50. Québec and the maple-producing New England states recently agreed to standardize the quality-control process, which forced Vermont to adopt a wordier system of “grading” syrup. “Fancy” is now “Grade A Golden Color with Delicate Taste.” Grade B is “Grade A Dark with Robust Taste.”

Economic logic suggests that if there were a way to increase demand for syrup, the price would hold steady or even rise. But historically, the state of Vermont has had limited success in marketing liquid maple to cultures that don’t eat pancakes or French toast. And while Vermont families may consume maple by the gallon, the average per capita annual consumption in the United States hovers around a measly three ounces — roughly a quarter of a cup.

Tapping into new overseas markets and rolling out value-added products that position maple as a healthy, natural alternative to refined sweeteners could be two ways to grow international demand.

Another factor that could drive up the price of syrup is climate change, which is pushing the maple band farther north. Maple producers in Vermont are already seeing the effects: On average, sugaring now begins eight days earlier and ends 11 days sooner than it did 40 years ago. All it takes is a freak warm spell in March or April to bring the sugaring season to an abrupt halt.

From a U.S. investor’s point of view, the coldest, highest locations in Vermont’s northeast corner may look like some of the last sweet spots to maximize its potential. “It’s sugar-maple carnage down here,” Saul said of southern New England, where the freeze-thaw cycle can cause the trees to crack, he explained, exposing them to blights and insect hazards. That hasn’t been an issue in frigid Essex County, where the winters remain reliably cold.

Sweet Tree’s sugarbush in Warren’s Gore

Forest Assets

Joe Russo in the Sweet Tree boiler room

Sweet Tree is not alone in its quest to make money from maple. But it’s not every day that an out-of-state company snaps up large tracts of Vermont land, hires dozens of people and taps 100,000 trees in its first season. “It certainly seems like it’s a first — for Vermont and probably for maple syrup,” said Gordon.

It’s also the first from-scratch maple operation to commodify syrup not as an end in itself, but as part of an investment portfolio. Wood Creek Capital, and ultimately MassMutual, bank on long-term, predictable returns.

Sweet Tree is betting as much on Vermont’s value as a lifestyle brand as it is on the maple syrup itself, Saul said.

“We chose Vermont because it’s pre-branded,” he said.

“Thank you very much, state of Vermont, for having the best brand of any state.”

And, in an increasingly food-obsessed world, the asset manager sees maple as a resource on the rise. “It’s becoming an ingredient in more and more products,” Saul said.

“It’s gaining more of a purchase on the public and foodconsuming public’s mental state … Every cooking show has some maple component.”

Sweet-toothed consumers can now buy everything from bourbon to energy goo made with the stuff. The skiracing Cochran family recently started selling a version of the latter called UnTapped from their Slopeside Syrup store in Richmond — and at Burlington’s Outdoor Gear Exchange. Last week, the UK-based Guardian ran a story about the product, headlined “Is maple syrup the new athletic superfuel?”

Maple is also gaining ground in previously unexplored markets. “You have this global awakening going on,” Saul said. “There’s a lot of syrup being sold in Japan, in Saudi Arabia, in Europe.” Gordon confirmed anecdotal evidence from local maple exporters of growing interest in Japan and China. “Also, in Oceania: Australia and New Zealand.

Europe isn’t growing quite as fast,” he said.

Vermont is well equipped to supply that international demand, and many of its most productive maple forests are located in the northern counties. Woodlands cover most of the Northeast Kingdom, and that’s particularly true in Essex County, which is home to around 6,000 fulltime residents — fewer than 10 people per square mile.

Here, land is often traded among timber companies in thousand-acre plots, and much of it is conserved in perpetuity under the Forest Legacy Program. Such lands are privately owned but subject to oversight from the Department of Forests, Parks and Recreation. They can be used for forestry, agriculture or recreation but never developed.

Sweet Tree’s properties in Warren’s and Avery’s Gores are “legacy lands,” previously used for timber harvest. To put the land into “current use” as a sugar bush — and enjoy the significant tax savings that come with keeping the land undeveloped — Sweet Tree must create a long-term forest management plan that complies with the forestry department’s guidelines.

With changes sweeping the maple industry, Vermont forestry commissioner Michael Snyder said he’s had to reconsider how maple forests are managed. With input

photos: hannah palmer-egan

— whatever it is — how are they going to experience this?” he said, referring to the network of blue tap lines that snakes through the Sweet Tree sugar bush. Even with his extensive maple and forestry background, Snyder said those lines still take him aback. “When I see all this plastic, this wall of tubing along 114, it takes my breath away. Then I think, Actually, this is good.”

“This is very near and dear to me,” the commissioner said — referring to the working landscape as a whole.

“These trees provide the scenic backdrop to the community — the natural infrastructure for recreation and clean air and water. But nobody pays for these things; timber and sap are the only things that pay their way. These other things are wonderful, and they have real value to Vermont, but they’re not bringing landowners any money.”

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Unfiltered syrup from the March 17 boil

Sweet Tree workers in front of the evaporator

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So far, Snyder said, he’s optimistic that the Sweet Tree properties are in good hands. “I think they’re paying attention and doing a good job. I haven’t done a lot of inspecting out there personally, but my sense of it is, it’s off to a good start.”

Director Saul has been managing long-term woodland investments since the 1990s and lives on 250 acres of farmland in western Massachusetts. Maple operation manager Russo runs his own sugar bush in Belvidere — 50,000 taps strong — and has been boiling maple for nearly five decades. The two have hired a couple of dozen experienced local woodsmen to handle the tapping operation.

Snyder conceded that maintaining open public recreational access, which is required by the legacy easement, could be a struggle. “I’m kind of curious how people who want to travel across the land, hiking, hunting, skiing

SEVENDAYSvt.com

from the maple community, he recently modernized the “current use” framework for sugar bushes monitored by the forestry department to encourage long-term forest viability. Clearing out everything but the maple trees, for example, is not permitted, and understory flora and debris must be left to decompose.

The new guidelines, Snyder hopes, will help preserve maple as a Vermont product. “We have a shared interest in the health of the land and the sustainability of this really awesome product, which is a hallmark of Vermont. We need to take care of the forests so they can continue to provide sap and continue to provide forest.”

“Even if all you care about is sap,” Snyder added, “it’s in your interest to protect forest health. We want people to find new ways to make money from the land, but we want to make sure we get it right.”

When Ethan Allen Global left Island Pond in 2001, it took more than 120 jobs with it. The Connecticut-based furniture chain still has a manufacturing plant in nearby Orleans — it’s named after a Green Mountain hero, after all.

Plans to put a wood-pellet plant in the old factory fell through years ago, but when Wood Creek bought the property in 2014, it inherited a ready stream of qualified workers — “people with exceptional work ethic, who are anxious to work hard and who want to work outdoors,” as Saul put it. As an asset manager, he specializes in agriculture and forest-based investments, which often require physical labor performed outdoors. Finding folks who are willing to do that kind of work can be a challenge elsewhere in the country.

That’s not the case in Island Pond. At the moment, Sweet Tree employs 24 full-time workers. Saul said he plans to hire up to 20 more this summer, once tree tapping starts up again. The company ran help-wanted ads in the local papers, but Saul said most of his employees came in through word of mouth — and people are still stopping by the former Ethan Allen plant looking for work.

In a conversation in February, Brighton town administrator Joel Cope said that despite lingering unease about industrial maple in the community, it may be a good match for Island Pond, a town he describes as “hard up for business.”

“We’re not in line for clean electronics factories or anything like that,” said Cope. “This fits. We have wood.”

Now that the operation’s up and running, some skeptics seem to be embracing the economic boost. “I’ve gotta be honest: I’m not against it; I’m just concerned,” said one local, sipping a whiskey with water at Chez Pidgeon last Tuesday. “But it has brought a lot of employment to people in this area that have been starving. Since Ethan Allen — I mean, it’s not totally gone, but there’s not much left around here anymore.”

Even small producer Lemay said she welcomes the big company. “It brings jobs to the area, which is wonderful. I know a lot of the guys that work there. For someone who’s part of a small community — and trying to create jobs … it’s good to see that type of economic development.”

People are definitely watching Sweet Tree — and not just in investment circles. “It’s early in the game,” said Snyder, noting that the company has barely even started its first sap run. The commissioner may not have fully inspected the operation, but it’s definitely on his radar. “I spend a lot of my time up there,” he said, “so I have an eye on it.”

Will Big Maple be a safer bet than a fickle furniture brand that evokes a Vermont patriot who was born in Connecticut? Future sugaring seasons will tell. Until nature turns the tables, ag investors like Sweet Tree are going with the flow. m

When Physics Meets Dance

Marly Spieser-Schneider presents an Einstein-inspired work-in-progress B y am y m e l i ssa o ve r str ee t

SEVENDAYSvt.com 03.25.15-04.01.15 SEVEN DAYS 36 FEATURE

photos: matthew thorsen

W

hat do physics and dance have in common? Albert Einstein didn’t have anything to say on the subject as far as we know, but Marly SpieserSchneider has set out to prove that the two are a match made in heaven.

The Burlington choreographer will present a work-in-progress on Wednesday, April 1, at the FlynnSpace.

The Vermont Artists’ Space Grant she received from the Flynn Center for the Performing Arts afforded her 60 hours of creation time over 10 weeks, as well as an informal public showing.

The grant challenges artists to focus on their creative process rather than on the presentation of finished, polished pieces.

Spieser-Schneider, 27, whole-heartedly embraces this concept, and her choreographic artistry reflects the malleable evolution that often characterizes a work-in-process.

“My intrigue lies in the innate, functional movements that define us as human as well as the many varied physical skills we are able to practice and hone,” she explains in a release describing the upcoming show. SpieserSchneider adds that what intrigues her most is not the perfection of form dancers can achieve but the process that occurs in the rehearsal hall, backstage and when no one is looking.

“Sometimes even more fascinating are our blunders, missteps, miscalculations and how we adapt them,” she writes.

The choreographer graduated from the University of Michigan in 2009 with a BFA in dance. She then traveled around that state teaching, performing and producing, before making her way to Vermont in 2010. Locally, Spieser-Schneider has performed with formerly Middlebury-based Tiffany Rhynard’s Big APE (Big Action Performance Ensemble) and appeared in Hannah Dennison’s Dear Pina, in addition to works by local dancer-choreographers Paul Besaw, Clare Byrne, Hanna Satterlee and Toby McNutt.

“My dance influences range far and wide, from tappers like Gregory Hines and Savion Glover to modern dance companies like Batsheva and Urban Bush Women,” said Spieser-Schneider in an interview. In Vermont, she founded Marly S. Danceworks, her platform for choreographic and performance-based projects.

The muse for her upcoming FlynnSpace performance is Einstein’s Dreams, a 1992 novel by Alan Lightman that Spieser-Schneider received as a gift from her mother, a science teacher. The book consists of 30 dated vignettes (the fictional dreams) that serve as analogies for time; that is, Einstein dreams night after night of different worlds where time exists in entirely unique ways.

In one vignette, time stands still in the center of a town and grows faster the

I am really interested in the idea that humans have an amazing ability to both retain and remember movement and replicate it,

but also to be really spontaneous and reactive.

Ma r ly S p ieser - S c h ne i der

Dance

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contact between the dancers, the piece could last three minutes or 15,” SpieserSchneider said. The element of chance makes for an unpredictable viewing experience.

Spieser-Schneider’s plans for a musical soundtrack are still evolving. “We have been working with a lot of Tom Waits and Taj Mahal in rehearsal, but we may very well use a different piece of music every time we perform the piece,” she said. Blues music helps her dancers find the right sensation for the piece, she explained, which involves sinking into the movement rather than feeling confined.

John Forbes was also at the rehearsal last week. The associate professor and resident lighting designer in the University of Vermont Department of Theatre intends to use video projections, filmed and edited by SpieserSchneider, as lighting sources. “I’m interested in digital media and how you use projections as lighting sources on the dancers,” he said.

One video is a time-lapse sequence of the morning sun casting light into a room. “When the author of Einstein’s Dreams talks about light, he describes how things appear out of nowhere,” Forbes said. “You start to see shapes and details. I was captivated by his writing and by this idea, which inspired us to try and create this revelation of form slowly, subtly.”

Spieser-Schneider has designed the FlynnSpace performance to engage the audience in her process. During an intermission, the dancers and choreographer will review the performance and try some phrases again.

“There is an urge to create something polished and beautiful, but that’s not the point with this work-in-progress,” she said. “It would be cheating to cut the audience out of the creative process.”

In turn, viewers can expect to come away from the performance with a deeper understanding of and appreciation for how dance pieces are created.

Spieser-Schneider said the most rewarding dances she’s performed were ones that “fried my brain as much as my body, and when it comes together, it’s amazing.”

No fooling: This April 1 dance performance will spotlight the fusion of body and brain. m

SEVENDAYSVt.com

INFo Vermont Artists’ Space Grant Work-inProgress Showing: Marly Spieser-Schneider, Wednesday, April 1, 7:30 p.m., at FlynnSpace in Burlington. $5 suggested donation. flynncenter.org

FEATURE 37

farther away its denizens venture. In another, people are stuck, forced to relive a single moment in their past à la Groundhog Day. Einstein’s Dreams was an international best seller and translated into 30 languages. Intrigued by several of its chapters, SpieserSchneider decided to translate Lightman’s prose into dance.

Her performance is titled 3 May 1905, inspired by certain chapters in the book that suggest cause and effect are erratic and that, at times, effect precedes cause.

Spieser-Schneider and six female dancers have been working with what she calls “phrase work” and “structures.” The result is a mesmerizing and lyrical work that melds movement, scientific theory, pattern, spatiality, grace and an element of chance.

“I appreciate well-rehearsed, unison movement onstage,” Spieser-Schneider said during a break in rehearsal last week, “but I am also really interested in the idea that humans have an amazing ability to both retain and remember movement and replicate it, but also to be really spontaneous and reactive.”

One of the two dances included in 3 May 1905, “Stuck,” is a sequence in which the dancers are assigned unique phrase work and paths. One dancer becomes “stuck” in a moment (not stationary, but repeating one or two movements like a skipping record). The other dancers must, one by one, make transitions into their own “stuck” actions, and remain that way until all dancers are in their individual repetitions. When that happens, everyone is free to continue on with her own trajectory.

If this sounds complicated, it is. The interdependence forces the performers to be keenly attentive to one another’s movements and respond accordingly.

“The last stage of this exercise is that all dancers try to get stuck and unstuck together,” Spieser-Schneider said. “If this does not happen on the first attempt, they try again. Once it does happen, the piece is over.”

In “River,” the choreographer plays bumper cars with the dancers, enacting Lightman’s notion that “In this world, time is like a flow of water, occasionally displaced by a bit of debris, a passing breeze.” Spieser-Schneider arranges her performers in a narrow corridor, perhaps representing a river. Dancers who accidentally make contact with other dancers become “displaced” and must leave the corridor and run back to their starting points.

“The goal is for all dancers to get offstage, and, depending on the level of

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Shot at the Top

Stowe-based fotovisura gives photography professionals optimum exposure b y K en Pic a r d

03.25.15-04.01.15 SEVEN DAYS 38 FEATURE

Art

Courtesy of Renato Osoy

SEVENDAYSvt.com

L

ast year, when Lynne Warberg posted her black-and-white photos on the photo-sharing website fotovisura.com, the site’s creators, Adriana Teresa Letorney and Graham Letorney, knew immediately that hers was a story worth telling. Warberg, a 64-yearold retired professional photographer from Port Charlotte, Fla., spent two decades documenting her son, Sam, and his struggles with bipolar disorder and schizophrenia.

While Warberg’s photos weren’t the most stunning images the Letorneys had ever seen, the pair saw in them a raw honesty and emotional power that deserved to be shared with a wider audience. And they knew how to make that happen.

The husband-and-wife duo from Stowe, avid shutterbugs themselves, already had plenty of cred in the ultra-competitive world of high-end photography. Adriana, who cut her teeth in the photo departments of Rolling Stone, Harper’s Bazaar, powerHouse Books and the Bruce Silverstein Gallery, has been a guest writer at the New York Times’ Lens Blog and the Huffington Post. Graham, a lifelong photographer and web designer, produced multimedia stories for National Public Radio, Lindblad Exhibitions/National Geographic Society and the New York Photo Festival. Both recognized a compelling visual story when they saw one.

So Adriana put Warberg in touch with Elizabeth Griffin, a photo editor at Esquire and Hearst Digital Media. Griffin was so taken with Warberg’s images that in December she published Warberg’s photographs, and her story, in Redbook. The online feature ran with a link to Warberg’s fundraising site, through which she was trying to raise $10,000 to get Sam treated at Johns Hopkins Hospital. Within 48 hours of the story going live, Warberg had raised more than $4,000.

“That is the impact of fotovisura,” Adriana says.

“We work with stories,” adds Graham, “not just images.”

Indeed, for the past seven years, the Letorneys have been creating online platforms where photographers can showcase not just great photos but projects about which they feel passionate. In the process, the couple has created a global community of likeminded professionals who share their vision. And their website could very well change the paradigm of how photographers get discovered, published and paid.

Both the Letorneys’ newest project and their most ambitious, fotovisura — the word visura means “the act of examining closely” — is an online networking site for industry professionals. The original 1.0 version of

Graham Letorney and Adriana Teresa Letorney

fotovisura launched in 2011. The new and improved 2.0 iteration, which went live on January 6, is advancing at light speed. In just three months, more than 5,000 photographers have signed up, 60 percent of whom live and work outside the United States.

Fotovisura is neither a photo agency nor a stock-image library. Here’s how it works: Photographers pay a nominal fee to join. For as little as $20 per month, they get their own website, with its own URL linked to fotovisura, where they can showcase their portfolios and personal projects. Members can also access industry news, network with others in their field, and learn about and compete for grants, scholarships and workshops, including those organized by the Letorneys themselves.

But fotovisura’s newest feature is its most valuable: maximum exposure. The Letorneys have created an elite, invitationonly membership called Guild. It includes dozens of photo editors, directors of photography and publishers at some of the world’s most prestigious print and digital publications and news outlets, including the New York Times, Bloomberg Businessweek, CNN, Esquire and Hearst Digital Media, the New Yorker, the San Francisco Chronicle, National Geographic, Mother Jones and Smithsonian Magazine.

In short, fotovisura is quickly becoming the Facebook of the F-stop crowd and the

LinkedIn of the lens and light-box set. It’s an impressive feat for two thirtysomethings based in Stowe with a 17-month-old toddler, no office and a chief software engineer, John Connolly, who lives in their basement.

“We are dreamers,” Adriana says. “We want to redefine the industry in a way that photographers can make a living. We frastructure looks like. And fotovisura is a

could communicate without saying too much,” she says, in a recent interview at the Vermont Center for Emerging Technologies in Burlington.

After college, Adriana tried law school, but soon realized she was in the wrong profession. Instead of registering for the second semester of her second year, she returned home and bought a plane ticket to New York City.

“I had no idea what I wanted to do,” she admits. “I just knew there was a magic to the medium, that it gave me a freedom and sense of interconnection with other people.”

In 2004, Adriana attended New York’s School of Visual Arts and took classes at the International Center of Photography.

Eventually, she landed an internship in a photo studio — cleaning it. “It was the only option I had,” she says, “so I took it.”

Two weeks later, the creative director for Bloomingdale’s visited the studio on a shoot, saw Adriana hard at work and told the studio’s director to give the intern something better to do. Within weeks, Adriana was training as a photo assistant on major accounts.

Graham, 34, grew up in Westford, where his family owns Rovers North, a classic Land Rover parts supplier, then attended the University of Colorado-Boulder. He studied business and economics but always engaged his lifelong passion for photography — “sometimes excessively so,” he says. In 2005, he landed an internship at New York’s prestigious Magnum Photos, in large part, he says, because the agency was intrigued by his business background.

Graham and Adriana met in 2007 while both were working at Brooklyn’s powerHouse Books. Its founder and owner, Daniel Power, also founded the New York Photo Festival.

While there, Adriana recalls, she said to him, “I notice you don’t have any art on the wall. I’m going to curate a show for you.”

Power agreed, and paired her with Graham on the project. Together, the couple produced the first of what would be several major photo exhibitions. When that festival ended, they got engaged, and were married the following year.

In January 2008, the Letorneys launched an online photo publication called Visura Magazine. As Graham explains, they wanted it to be advertising-free and filled with projects in which photographers were personally invested. They let the artists write about their own work, rather than assigning journalists to do it. For many photographers struggling to land assignments, it was a great way to get their images seen.

We want to redefine the industry

in a way that photographers can make a living.

A dr i ana Te r esa L e to r ney

home for us to create that vision.”

Fotovisura was born out of the Letorneys’ earlier efforts to create new avenues for photographers to get their work seen, not as a way for the couple to earn a living. While the endeavor isn’t yet profitable, Graham says it’s “on a nice trajectory.”

Fotovisura’s foreign name was chosen to reflect the website’s international focus.

The 37-year-old Adriana Teresa was born and raised in San Juan, Puerto Rico. When she was 21, her father gave her a Canon Rebel. Adriana, who admits she struggled to communicate with words, saw photography as a game changer.

“When I found the camera and began engaging with it, I realized that I’d found a medium through which I

“Think about it from a historical perspective,” Adriana recalls. “This was 2008.

The economy had crashed. Nobody had a job, and anyone who had invested in photography equipment was sweating bullets because we didn’t know what was going to happen to us.”

The first issue of visuramagazine.com was emailed free to just 200 people. Within a month, the site had 20,000 unique visitors. During the ensuing two-and-a-half years, the Letorneys published 13 issues, all without ad revenue. (Graham says the magazine still draws heavy web traffic.) By the third issue, they were getting letters from photographers worldwide asking how they could join the “Visura family.”

Why did so many people want to get involved?

“In a nutshell, Adriana is very convincing, and she’s very, very passionate,” says powerHouse owner Power, who’s become the Letorneys’ mentor. “She’s got a very good eye. And, quite honestly, if you have a passion and a vision, you’re going to impress a lot of people, and they’ll want to be a part of that.”

Eventually, as other photography blogs arose, including ones connected to large mainstream publications, Visura Magazine made less sense. More importantly, says Adriana, the couple was uncomfortable with not being able to pay photographers for their work, a practice that contradicted

their underlying mission of creating such a site? As Krist explains, it’s an excelopportunities. lent way to discover new photographers One day, Adriana recalls, she said to who are committed enough to their craft her husband, “Graham, we need to build that they’ll immerse themselves in their a community. We’re a lost generation of subject material for months, even years, at photographers and photojournalists and a time. writers with no infrastructure for a career path. We need a community to bring key players together so people have direction.”

And fotovisura was born. Since its inception in 2011 — the Letorneys settled in Stowe in 2012 — the site has helped scores of professional photographers find gigs. Fotovisura currently lists nearly 40 working photographers whose images were discovered there and were later published in such venues as the Fotovisura’s sign-up page New York Times’ Lens Blog, NPR’s Picture Show and CNN Photos.

“I love those guys! They’re a real force for good within the industry,” “For a lot of publications and photo says Elizabeth Krist, senior photo editor editors, that’s what we’re really attracted at National Geographic and a member of to, seeing the kind of talent and dedicathe Guild. Krist, a 20-year veteran of that tion it takes to do a whole story,” she says. magazine, has judged several of fotovi- Fotovisura, Krist adds, has become a “central sura’s photography competitions. And repository” where some of the world’s elite she’s twice visited Vermont to conduct photo editors can poke around and discover the annual photo-editing workshops foto- “not just great images but great stories.” visura puts on at Stowe Mountain Lodge Molly Roberts, chief photography — for which one slot is always held for a editor at Smithsonian Magazine, agrees.

Vermont photographer, Adriana says.

Roberts says she’s always looking for stoWhy would National Geographic need ries that weave together science, history,

art, technology and international culture, which are the lifeblood of Smithsonian.

Roberts joined the Guild because it lets her easily search the database of photographers by projects, ideas and geography, which she finds useful when making international assignments and matching photographers with an area of expertise.

“Adriana and Graham care very deeply about the power of photography,” Roberts writes via email.

“They see how important it is to give the people in the field who are creating this amazing content the assistance they need to have their work seen by many different potential publishing opportunities.”

For someone like Warberg, who once trained under famed landscape photographer Ansel Adams but no longer shoots professionally, fotovisura is a place where she can remain connected to the industry.

“I feel like I’m part of a wonderful family with them,” she says. “[The Letorneys] are really doing great things, and I know they want to do even more. In years to come, they will be a force to be reckoned with.” m Contact: ken@sevendaysvt.com

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Mind Matters

A Vermont futurist foundation seeks creative thinkers to help explain its mission b y k en p ic a rd

SEVENDAYSvt.com 03.25.15-04.01.15 SEVEN DAYS 40 FEATURE

david junkin

H

ow would you tell the story of who you are to your family, friends, future generations, even alien life-forms? What are the crucial influences and experiences that make you unique? Assuming you could even identify the disparate elements that came together to make you distinctly you, would you be willing to compile and preserve them in a computer so that, at some unknown time in the future, your conscious “self” could be re-created either in biological or synthetic form?

Bruce Duncan has been pondering such existential questions for more than a decade. In fact, as the managing director and sole employee of the Lincolnbased nonprofit Terasem Movement Foundation, he’s been operating under the assumption that such technologies are not only theoretically possible but inevitable. And he’s literally banking people’s “identities” so that TMF can eventually make that future happen.

Now, Duncan is looking for help from Vermont’s artists and other creative minds to establish an “explanatorium,” or showcase, that illustrates Terasem’s mission. And the more imaginative it can be, the better.

In 2006, TMF launched an online “mind-uploading” experiment called LifeNaut.com. Through this internet platform, TMF has been gathering and storing biographical information — photos, videos, music, art, writings, voice samples and other personal ephemera — submitted by more than 45,000 people around the world.

Anyone with an internet connection can visit the website and create a free “mindfile.” The site also has the ability to generate a photo-based avatar of the user that can “speak” and “learn” from interactive conversations with him or her. TMF then stores and backs up all those personal data, at no charge, on servers and other media formats at locations around the world. People are free to keep their mindfiles private, make them visible to a select network of friends and family or share them with the world.

And galaxy. As Duncan points out, LifeNaut users can even choose to “space-cast” their mindfiles, via radio telescopes, out into the universe.

Though the signals from Earth are weak

and spray like a lawn sprinkler in no particular direction, they travel at light speed and reach the closest star system, Alpha Centauri, in about four years.

“The idea there is, if an asteroid wipes out the Earth,” Duncan says, “your information will still be out there.”

In 2010, TMF launched the second phase of its LifeNaut experiment: It invited people to supplement their mindfiles with DNA samples, or “biofiles.” For a one-time fee of $99, LifeNaut users receive a bio-collection kit for gathering cells from the inside of the cheek. The genetic material is then mailed back to TMF, where it’s stored, in perpetuity, in

a tank of liquid nitrogen at minus 190 degrees Celsius.

Ultimately, the goal is to create an “analog” of a human being that combines a mindfile with future consciousness software, or “mindware.”

Theoretically, that digital composite could then be downloaded into a biological or nanotech body created from the biofile DNA, thus becoming as “alive” and “conscious” as any birthed human.

A century or more from now, Duncan suggests, your descendants might sit down and talk with a virtual you about what it was like to live in the early 21st century.

TECHNOLOGY

While TMF’s mission may sound implausibly ambitious, it’s worth keeping in mind who conceived it. TMF is the brainchild of Martine Rothblatt, the lawyer, author, entrepreneur and futurist behind GeoStar and Sirius radio, as well as the medical biotechnology company United Therapeutics. As Rothblatt is reportedly the highest-paid female CEO in the country, the foundation is amply self-funded.

In collaboration with Hanson Robotics, Rothblatt created one of the world’s first and most advanced cybernetic companions: Bina48. Named for Rothblatt’s wife, Bina48 was designed to test the feasibility of transferring human consciousness to a biological or technological body. Writers Megan James and Sarah Williamson, who interviewed Bina48 for an October 16, 2013, cover story in Seven Days, wrote that interviewing her “felt like communicating with another species, or glimpsing the future.”

Today, Bina48’s limbless bust sits on a platform beside a desktop computer in TMF’s 100 percent solar- and geothermal-powered facility. There, in a homey office above a three-car garage overlooking the western slope of the Green Mountains, it’s easy to envision how futurist Ray Kurzweil’s prediction of the “Singularity” — the point where human and artificial intelligence become so intertwined as to be indistinguishable — might eventually become reality.

For some, TMF’s futuristic vision of techno-immortality may conjure up thrilling mental images of Data, the benign and inquisitive android from the TV series “Star Trek: The Next Generation.” For others, James Cameron’s The Terminator and its homicidal cyborg instantly leap to mind.

Duncan readily understands the latter group’s fears about the future, and present, uses of all that data. But, he emphasizes, TMF has no interest in datamining LifeNaut’s users, selling them robots or cloning humans — the last of which, as he points out, is both unethical and illegal. Rather, his foundation is trying to answer more fundamental questions: What exactly does it mean to be human? What role will technology play in humanity’s next great evolutionary leap?

Poets, writers and artists are comfortable with exPloring something that seems ambiguous and true at the same time.

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FEATURE 41

Other research endeavors have I think are comfortable with being free focused on understanding how each thinkers. And this is definitely an area component of the human brain func- that requires free thinking about the tions; the BigBrain project, for in- future.” stance, is creating a 3D digital atlas of Initially, Duncan says, the explanathe brain. LifeNaut, Duncan says, is torium will focus on three components more interested in the information the of TMF’s work: the mind-uploading brain stores specifically to create the LifeNaut project, Bina48 and how she mind and the self. He envisions vari- came to be, and the biofile project. ous methods that might be used for ex- Though Duncan doesn’t envision the tracting and curating those data: video explanatorium as a public museum, he motion capture, voicesays it could eventurecognition software, ally become a mobile online surveys and exhibit he or the psychological tests.

Rothblatts use when Other details about they’re on tour with individual identity and Bina48 or their other beliefs, he adds, may projects. be gleaned from the Why solicit the cultural products we input of local creatives feed our minds, such for such an endeavor? as movies, books, art Artists, Duncan sugand music. gests, “are the cultural “All these different detectives for the truth constellations are exthat’s not yet emerged. pressions of your con“Poets, writers and sciousness,” Duncan artists are comfortable explains. “If it can be with exploring somedigitized or saved in thing that seems amsome form, we’re trying biguous and true at the to create that space” same time,” he adds. where consciousness “And that’s where could be preserved we’re at.” indefinitely.

Duncan wants visiWhile these cuttors to walk away from ting-edge technolothe explanatorium Bru cE Du NcAN gies may inspire prewith a greater underdictions of both good standing of the social and ill, Duncan says and moral implications people from around the world are of mind-uploading technology — and clamoring to learn more about TMF less fear about it. and its mission, values and projects.

“This is a very human endeavor, Many, including international jour- and it’s been going on from day one,” nalists and documentary filmmakers, he says, “where people have tried to travel to Vermont to get a closer look preserve and pass on something that at what the foundation is doing, and seems very personal and important to he no longer has time to sit down with them about their life and their unique them all. experiences.”

In response, TMF and its founders Pink Floyd once summed up a life and benefactors — Martine and Bina with the lyrics of “Breathe”: “For long Rothblatt — have set aside an empty you live and high you fly, / and smiles 10-by-25-foot space at the foundation’s you’ll give and tears you’ll cry, / and Lincoln headquarters to showcase their all you touch and all you see, / is all mission. Recently, Duncan put out a call your life will ever be.” But the folks to Vermont’s artists and other creative at TMF believe that your life could be thinkers to help him fill that space with something more: just the first of many an “explanatorium” that would teach future iterations of you. m people about the foundation’s history, goals and ethics. Participants will re- Contact: ken@sevendaysvt.com ceive public credit for their work, but not compensation.

INFo “I’ve always found that better things To participate in the Terasem Movement come out of collaboration and synergy,” Foundation’s Explanatorium project, email Duncan explains. “Vermont is just Bruce Duncan at terasem@gmavt.net or visit teeming with really creative people who terasemmovementfoundation.com.

All Abuzz

A new sex-toy shop spices up downtown Middlebury B y x ian c h ian g- war en

03.25.15-04.01.15 SEVEN DAYS 42 FEATURE

Culture

Kristin Lawson

displays of nighties and bras, with an emphasis on plus-size options.

When Curve Appeal opened, Lawson’s vision was to specialize in lingerie and sexy getups for plus-size women, she says. She knew there was a local need for such offerings; for the past decade, she’s made her living hosting “toy parties” for private groups. (Think Mary Kay parties, but with dildos instead of eye shadow.) At gatherings such as bachelorette parties,

I want people to feel like orgasms are their birthright.

Kr is t in L aws on

foreplay — they just had the, like, kiss, twist the nipples, shove it in and out thing — is having foreplay for the first time in their lives. And suddenly they’re like, ‘All right! Game on!’”

Tucked below street level, adjacent to a tattoo parlor and an artisanal chocolate shop, Curve Appeal has a vibe that suggests a college-town boutique far more than Fifty Shades of Grey. The walls are painted a friendly pink, and rooms are adorned with twinkly lights and potted plants. The first things customers see upon entering are attractively arranged

Courtesy of Caleb Kenna

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P

lenty of things come to mind when one thinks of Middlebury, but vibrators, cock rings and salted-caramel lube probably aren’t among the first ones. The picturesque shire town of Addison County has long drawn crowds for leaf peeping, skiing, craft brews and college visits. Now, though, visitors craving a less vanilla thrill can find one — or several — behind a discreet storefront at 52 Main Street.

That’s where Curve Appeal, an intimate apparel and pleasure boutique oriented mostly toward a female clientele, opened its doors last July. Owner Kristin Lawson, 44, has been a self-employed “sexologist” in the Champlain Valley for the past 10 years. Her goal? “I want people to feel like orgasms are their birthright,” Lawson says.

For many folks, that’s easier said than done. Curve Appeal offers a range of products to tempt customers’ diverse tastes and get them in the mood. The back room is stocked with vibrators, ranging in price from $22 to $200, and light BDSM products; Lawson plans to remove a luxe suede couch from the space to make way for a wall full of harnesses.

But toys, she advises, are only one means to enhance one’s pleasure. For newcomers, Lawson recommends gradually introducing products into the bedroom, starting with accessories such as lubrication gel, or with a sexy nightie.

“Sometimes it’s simple stuff,” she says. “I’ll give a customer a hot massager and put some oil on it and say, ‘Give this to him.’ Then someone who’s never had

Lawson would show up with a trunk full of toys and give fun, educational demonstrations on using the products to enhance pleasure. One of the most frequent complaints she heard from clients, she says, was the difficulty of finding pretty bedroom getups in larger sizes.

Over the years, Lawson built a client base of more than 5,200 people in Addison, Rutland and Chittenden counties, as well as in upstate New York.

But when she opened Curve Appeal, she didn’t initially plan to stock it with toys like those she’d showcased at her

parties. “I didn’t know how the town would react,” she explains.

Last September, customer demand inspired Lawson to take the plunge. She filled the shop’s back room with a range of toys that are “body safe” (read: free of the toxic chemicals often found in cheaper plastics). The front room is still stocked with lingerie, bras, perfumes with synthetic pheromones and plumping lip gloss. If not for a sign that reads enticingly, “And Things That Buzz in the Night…,” a shopper might miss the sextoy part of the store entirely.

Of course, word spreads fast in a small town. While most of the feedback has been positive from locals, says Lawson, as well from the Middlebury College set, she has experienced some backlash from naysayers who are uncomfortable with her offerings. Lawson estimates that about a dozen people have stopped in to tell her off. But she good-naturedly shrugs it away, saying, “Anyone has to have kind of a thick skin if they’re going to sell orgasms for a living and talk about sex and bodies.”

Not surprisingly, sales from Curve Appeal’s back room have outpaced those in the apparel section. “I think that’s going to be a trend,” Lawson deadpans.

“That makes me super happy,” she adds more seriously, “because I love lingerie, and I love that women will feel pretty and that will get them in the mood — but this is my passion.”

The back room’s shelves may be stocked with phallic objects, but the space feels anything but tawdry. In part, that’s because Lawson refuses to buy anything with explicit or pornographic packaging.

“That’s really challenging in our industry, actually,” she says. “But I would much rather sell the Entice Marilyn [a silicone vibrator] than the ‘bend-meover butt plug.’ People are already like, ‘I’m in the back, and I don’t know what to do!’ I want to make them comfortable so they can see themselves using [toys] — [so] they don’t just see a porn star using them.”

Lawson believes hers is the only sex-toy store in the state that doesn’t also stock smoking paraphernalia. “I’m just wanting to stock solid products for strengthening relationships and empowering women,” she says. “I want them to be able to come in and not be frightened by a counter full of bongs and hookahs.”

Instead, customers find Lawson herself at the counter. Tall and lanky, the mom of three has an effusive, approachable demeanor that makes her seem more like a grown-up version of your high school BFF than a salesclerk.

In other words, she’s exactly the kind of gal with whom you’d want to discuss bullets versus rabbits. And if you don’t know what those are, you may need to pay a visit.

“What I hear from people all the time is, ‘You make it so comfortable; you just make it sound so normal,’” Lawson says.

“Like buying kitchenware — only, you know, for my vag.”

Education, the sexologist adds, is a huge part of her work. Too often, Lawson says, “[Customers] come in here and tell you just how terrible [sex] was.

I hear things like, ‘Well, it wasn’t that bad’ or ‘It didn’t hurt that much.’ And I’m like, ‘Well, we want to get rid of the that much, and then we want to get rid of the hurt. Then we want to be pleasured!

Let’s do a three-step program.’” m

INFO Curve Appeal, 52 Main Street, Middlebury, 388-3500.

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44 FOOD

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Sorry, Charlie The life, death and afterlife of Plainfield’s award-winning carcass

BY A L I CE L EVI T T

O

n a day in early February, Charlie stuck close to home in Plainfield, munching on hay just downhill from where Highland cattle lolled their fuzzy, square heads. He doesn’t like to be far from his mom, Janet Steward, who owns Shat Acres Farm and Greenfield Highland Beef with her husband, Ray Shatney. When Steward approached, Charlie batted his long eyelashes blankly and waggled his big, fuzzy ears with pleasure when she began to brush him and coo compliments.

From birth, Charlie was labeled a “terminal animal” — Shatney and Steward always knew his lifespan would be about 20 months. “He has only one

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Janet Steward and Charlie

purpose, and that is to produce beef,” said Steward, explaining that the steer would not be passing down his halfHighland, half-shorthorn genetics.

But his success as a breed cross might inspire a trend among Vermont farmers who are eager to profit from an animal well suited to living on grass and enduring cold winters.

Charlie’s life and death could end up serving as a template for big-money beef in a state far better known for its beer and cheese than its meat.

And, in fact, Charlie — whom Steward called a “man of few thoughts” — had more in store for him than just becoming dinner. At Denver’s National Western LISTEN IN ON LOCAL FOODIES...

Stock Show in January, he had come in last in his market animal category. But for an extra $25, Steward and Shatney entered him in the show’s carcass competition, judging the meat he would one day become. Such contests were once focused on actual dead flesh, but technology has brought the practice to life.

The animal was taken from the show ring to an area where his side was shaved for an ultrasound. The scan revealed that an exceptionally generous portion of Charlie’s physique consisted of the muscles that would become high-end cuts such as tenderloin and rib eye steaks. In short order, the living, breathing steer was named the competition’s grand

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champion reserve carcass. Translation: His was deemed the second most valuable cattle corpse in the country — while he was still alive and well.

Back home in Vermont, Steward publicized Charlie’s victory in every way she could. In a February article in the Barton Chronicle, she told reporter Tena Starr, “We always believed he was special on the inside, and the carcass competition proved it.”

Steward invited Joe Emenheiser, the state livestock specialist for the University of Vermont extension, to come and meet Charlie. Emenheiser SORRY, CHARLIE

» P.46

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Dumplings at Nepali Dumpling House

by hannah palm e r e ga n & al i ce l e v i t t

Northern Exposure

isan-style thai restaurant cOming tO ranDOlph

Vermont is home to dozens of Thai restaurants — some more authentic than others.

After a while, the menus start to blur together with their familiar Bangkok-style cookery: pad Thai, drunken noodles, curries, more noodles. But in early April, husband-and-wife team StEVE and NiSAchoN “RuNG” moRGAN will bring a new kind of Thai cooking to downtown Randolph.

Located beside the White River Craft Center in the historic Kimball

jOhn james

sIDEdishes “This food is not shy in any sense,” says coNNoR moRGAN, Steve’s son, who will run the front of the house.

“It’s unapologetic in its bold flavors and fermented kind of funkiness.”

In the kitchen, Isan native Rung will lead the charge, preparing dishes on a wood-fired grill.

Steve, a classically trained chef and former NEw

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instructor, will help with cooking and handle overall kitchen and back-of-house management.

The opening bill of fare offers flame-grilled meats such as gai yang — a fragrant, marinated half-chicken

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Mo’ Momos

nepali Dumpling hOuse Opens in burlingtOn

» p.47

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FOOD 45

siDe Dishes

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served with sweet chili sauce and sour tamarind sauce — and mok pla suai, a curry- and herb-crusted suai fish rolled into a banana leaf and charred.

The menu also includes delicate, brothy soups, such as tom yum poa taek, which is similar to a standard Thai coconut soup but loaded with squid and shellfish; and various chopped-meat salads, alternately called laap, laab or larb, depending on who’s writing the menu.

Small plates include peek gai tod — garlicky, sticky,

3/23/15 1:20 PM

03.25.15-04.01.15

House building at 50 Randolph Avenue, SAAp (Thai for “tasty”) will serve Isan-style food, which is renowned for its saturated, pungent flavors.

In recent years, the northern Thai cuisine has become trendy in New York and other cities around the country, but Saap will be the first Isan spot in Vermont. Traditionally served family-style, meals are constructed bit by bit using sticky rice, grilled or fried proteins and vegetables, and a wide variety of zippy, herbaceous sauces.

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Gai yang and som tum with sticky rice

Over the past three years, Jamaican jerk chicken, Somali injera and stews have been on offer at 78 North Street in Burlington. Since last Saturday, momos — or a variation thereof — have taken over the menu. The storefront previously known as Cool Runnings, and then as African Safari Market, is now Nepali Dumpling House.

Owner GomA KhADKA has turned the space into a veritable Nepali general store; it’s filled with goods of use to the expanding local Himalayan community, including native clothes and jewelry. Imported grocery items will come later, says Khadka’s husband, RAtNA. For now, the small kitchen in the back of the store is turning out Nepali-style dumplings. How do they differ from Tibetan momos? “In Tibetan culture, they don’t add spices,” explains Ratna. “I add lots of spices. It’s different in taste and different in the content of what we add. The size of ours is also a little bit bigger.”

The Khadkas are starting with vegetarian and chicken-filled momos, though Ratna says they are happy to fill special orders for pork dumplings. The handmade delicacies are steamed over a pot of clear soup.

Diners can take their momos served in the soup or on their own. Either way, the Khadkas pack their dumplings with traditional dipping sauce — mild or hot and spicy.

Each dumpling order includes a free soft drink or bottled water, says Ratna — but what it doesn’t include is a place to settle in. Nepali Dumpling House may eventually get a dining table, but for now, the homemade dumplings are available for takeout only.

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Janet Steward and Charlie

Sorry, charlie « p.44

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later complimented the farmers for recognizing “that crossbreeding is the most powerful tool in animal breeding.”

About Charlie he said, “He was a nice calf. He had grown well and was right at 12 o’clock as far as finishing” — meaning the animal was ready to meet his fate.

Steward acknowledged her husband for this accomplishment: “Ray is very good at looking at an animal and seeing when they’re ready,” she said.

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Charlie’s win may have garnered him a 12v-SanSai010913.indd 1 1/7/13 2:08 PMreprieve, but on February 16, it was time for his final trip. “The hardest thing I do is go to the slaughterhouse,” admitted Shatney. “But our goal is for these cattle to only have one bad day in their life.”

Dying is part of living, and both are filled with indignity for all organic beings. But at Sharon Beef, Darryl Potter tries to make animals’ transition from life to death as easy as possible. He’s a 1 large, 1-topping pizza, 2 liter Coke certified humane handler who lives on product, 1 dozen boneless wings the same property as the facility. Outside the slaughterhouse, Potter’s two affec2 large, 1-topping pizzas & 2-liter Coke product tionate dogs follow him closely.

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and he’s strict with farmers, as well.

Livestock delivered to the facility must be clean and drug-free. If the people unloading their animal are deemed cruel in any way, Potter will not process it. The slaughterhouse is also USDA-inspected, an indication of additional oversight that helps “keep the food supply safe,” said Potter.

We alWays believed he Was

special on the inside,

and the carcass competition proved it.

JANE t S tE wA r D

Shatney and Steward were quiet in the car as they pulled Charlie in his trailer to Sharon, Steward recounted. He spent his final night in a clean pen with fresh hay and water. “Darryl likes for the animals to come a day ahead of time,” Steward explained. “They eat in the pen so they’re relaxed, and they’re not loaded into a trailer then shuffled along.”

The next morning, Charlie was dispatched with a single gunshot to the head. His body weighed in at 1,350 pounds while alive, and came to a full hanging weight of 804 pounds. Steward said her animals’ hanging weight is generally between 55 and 60 percent of their live weight. Charlie — on a winning streak even in death — showed his value at 65 percent.

A Taste of Victory

As his ultrasound at the Denver stock show had predicted, Charlie’s high-end primal cuts were exceptionally large for an animal of his size. “The rib primal was 19.67 pounds, the largest we have ever had, with beautiful marbling,” Steward wrote to Seven Days the day she collected the first half of Charlie’s meaty remains.

Potter was impressed, too. Charlie’s shorthorn DNA gave him the advantages of thriving on a grass diet like a Highland, with the marbling and size of the larger breed. Compared to a fullblooded Highland, Potter said, “Charlie is a different category. It’s like buying a Cadillac versus a Volkswagen. When you’re trying to make money by the pound, there’s no comparison.”

Steward took the meat home and cooked herself and Shatney a pair of Charlie’s rib eyes. Seated at the dinner table, Shatney sawed away at the flesh, telling his wife that the meat was tough; Steward’s heart dropped, she said later.

But when she cut into her own steak, “It was like butter,” Steward remembered.

Shatney had been joking. “It was the best New York strip steak we ever had. I was just so grateful to Charlie.”

Other meat lovers can be grateful, too.

In addition to the Capital City Farmers Market in Montpelier, most Greenfield beef is sold at Healthy Living Market sOrry, charlie

more food after the classifieds section. page 47

» p.48

more food before the classifieds section.

Sotto

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Thursday Trattoria Delia Pasta reworking the tasting room’s menu, which currently features tacos and a few other Mexican bites. Additions will include snackable Latin American-inspired foods, such as ceviches, arepas and Cuban street eats. Rich also plans to add more south-of-theborder cocktails, such as twists on the frozen margarita, and pisco sours.

“It’s not going to be as big as the menu in the restaurant,” Rich says, “but it’ll be a lot more than we currently have.”

The plan is to have the new menu up and running in May, so people can enjoy it al fresco in the new outdoor seating area. “This style of food can be really conducive to sitting out in the sun,” Rich says.

Now all we need is some warmer weather.

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FOOD 47

Two weeks ago, Winooski’s Four QuArtErS BrEwiNg made a splash when it introduced the crowler: a 32-ounce disposable can filled to order, much in the same way as a growler. Now Waterbury’s ProHiBitioN Pig is jumping on the can-wagon.

According to owner cHAD ricH, the crowler machine should arrive this week. This weekend or next, thirsty patrons should be able to get their fill of the brewery’s popular Bantam Double IPA, Multi Grain IPA and a hoppy saison brewed during a recent collaboration with Stillwater Artisanal Ales’ Brian Strumke — along with three other house beers on draft.

That’s not the only change coming to the Pig’s brewery. Rich says he’s in the process of adding another half dozen house beers on tap (both in the brewery and the restaurant) and

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sweet-and-sour chicken wings popularized by Stowe native Andy Ricker, whose Pok Pok restaurants are perennial hot spots in Portland, Ore., and New York City.

“These are very regional, complex and refined dishes,” Connor says of the food, “which have been made and tinkered with for thousands of years. We really just wanted to bring that back to Vermont and pair it with our craft artisan food and beer scene.”

Behind the bar, Connor will pour local brews — many from nearby BENt Hill BrEwErY — from six draft lines, and pop bottles of wine and Thai beers. Desserts will include house-made coconut and crystallizedginger ice creams, handmade ice cream sandwiches and Thai popsicles.

The restaurant connects with the White River Craft Center gallery, which will double as a space for events (live music, community events and workshops) and group dining.

This summer, Saap will offer outdoor seating (perhaps with frozen beer slushies) and a kitchen garden, where Rung plans to grow some of the herbs and veggies herself. Much of the meat and fresh produce will be sourced locally, while harder-to-find specialties will come from a traveling purveyor from Boston.

The Morgans say they haven’t settled on an opening date yet, but they’ve narrowed it down to either Friday, April 3, or Friday, April 10.

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Even brief visitors to the Green Mountains are likely to know the weathered face of Carroll Shatney. The farmer appears on the cover of photographer-writer Peter Miller’s 2013 book, A Lifetime of Vermont People, wearing his favorite Champlain Valley Fair hat. His jaw is stoically clenched, his eyes sunken after nearly a century of looking out over the hills of Greensboro Bend.

Shatney died in 2009, at the age of 98, after a lifetime of raising cattle at his family’s Shat Acres Farm. This year marks the Shatney clan’s 100th year farming the Greensboro land.

For most of that time, previous generations operated it as a dairy farm. But Ray Shatney describes his late father as “the Barnum & Bailey of show cattle.”

In 1967, one of Carroll Shatney’s friends sold him a Highland cow for $50 after a heart attack left him unable to care for her. “He always wanted something different,” Ray recalls fondly of his father. “Highlands were such a conversation piece. Back in the ’60s, no one had ever seen them before.”

Not that Highlands were anything new. Archaeological evidence places the widely built, hairy beasts in the rough-and-tumble Scottish Highlands as early as the sixth century.

For a little context, Beowulf is thought to have been written sometime between the eighth and 11th centuries. And like the epic poem, Highlands may have Scandinavian roots: Some historians believe they came to Scotland when Viking and Norse settlers began to populate the region.

The Scottish Highland Cattle Society, devoted to perfecting and standardizing the breed, was established in 1884. But it took far longer for the breed to catch on stateside. Ray Shatney recently learned that Shat Acres is home to the oldest registered herd of Highlands in the U.S. The second oldest herd in Vermont, at Trapp Family Lodge in Stowe, was originally populated with Shatney cattle.

Carroll Shatney loved taking his cattle to fairs in the summer, not just in Vermont but in Connecticut and New Hampshire. Ray Shatney continues the tradition: To the dismay of other exhibitors, he brings a cow and its baby to the Champlain Valley Fair each year. “One person’s comment was, ‘They never look at our cattle; they only look at yours,’” Shatney remembers.

At the National Western Stock Show in Denver in January, lines extended the length of a city block as people queued up to have their picture taken with award-winning cow Cinnamon Raisin. “Some people just want to be near ’em,” Shatney says. On the way home from Denver four years ago, a Kansas deputy sheriff pulled Ray over just to get a closer look.

The animals may look like the love children of a Wookie and an aurochs, but Shatney says their appeal isn’t just aesthetic. Janet Steward recalls that when she first met Shatney, he was quick to tell her his stock wasn’t just any old cattle. “They’re Highlands, ma’am,” he told her.

Besides a reputation for being exceptionally attentive mothers, the animals are placid and docile, with quirky personalities. Shatney relates this as a cow scratches herself using a corner of the tractor on which he’s sitting. “Sugar Plum is out there staring at me,” he says of another cow. “It’s so much fun to watch them.”

Steward adds, “The Highlands are very, very social animals. When we sell an animal, we tell people we won’t sell just one. They won’t thrive. They’ll be looking for companionship.”

But Shatney can’t watch them forever. He worries about the future of his herd. His daughter and son-in-law toyed with taking over the farm but decided that it was too much work. Shatney hopes that one of his seven grandkids will be as captivated with the animals as he is.

Shatney is also collaborating with Steward’s daughter, Aron, head of psychological services at Woodside Juvenile Rehabilitation Center in Colchester, to establish a program that would bring young offenders to the farm. “Troubled kids could learn so much, and their lives could change just being around these cattle,” Shatney says. “They’re awfully good medicine.”

Maybe one of those youngsters might want to take over the farm, he muses.

Shatney’s worries that cattle being born now might outlive him are probably unfounded given his father’s longevity, even if the cattle’s lifespan is about 20 years. Either way, it’s unlikely that the story of the country’s oldest Highland herd will end with Ray Shatney.

Sorry, charlie « P.46 & Café in South Burlington. Steward makes a delivery each Friday to Colin Driscoll, the store’s meat manager and buyer.

“It’s the best stuff that we’ve had,” Driscoll told Seven Days, explaining why he buys Greenfield. “Even before they were starting to do the crosses with shorthorns, the beef has always been really consistent and really tender.”

Aside from the significantly larger size of Charlie’s steaks, what Driscoll noticed was the marbling. “It looked more like grain-fed beef, and it was a grass-fed animal,” he said. That means the meat had the soft, fatty texture of a western-style feedlot steer, but with the lower cholesterol and higher Omega fatty acids of grass-fed cattle.

It was the best New York strIp steak we ever had.

I was just so grateful to CharlIe.

JA N Et S t E wA r D

Driscoll admitted that when he prepares steak at home, it’s usually from a grain-fed animal. But Charlie’s meat seemed to combine the greatest advantages of both finishing methods.

This reporter found the filet more forgiving than most; the meat seared effortlessly to a medium rare. Though this cut is generally tender, it is often bland.

Charlie’s cut had more external fat than usual, and therefore more to cut away, but it also had deep capillaries of marbling. This lent the meat a fat content that made it practically moo with beef’s deep, mineral flavor.

As for Charlie’s short ribs, they fell off the bone after just two hours of braising — about half the time usually required to render down the fatty cut. In the ground beef, the fat made for a lighter color than that of other Greenfield cattle, but also an intensely beefy flavor.

Greenfield created not just a medal winner with Charlie, but the start of something big in Vermont beef. Beginning next month, 30 more shorthorn-Highland crosses will be born at Shat Acres. “We’re going to have 30 baby Charlies! We’re so excited,” Steward said.

And with them, the cycle of life, death and afterlife will begin again.

food+drink

phOtOs: alice levitt

1 tablespoon cumin powder 1 tablespoon flour 1/2 cup white wine 1 cup beef stock Juice of 1/2 lemon Salt and pepper to taste

chArliE’S ButtErY FilEt migNoN For the steak: Two filet mignon steaks 1 tablespoon maple butter Salt and pepper to taste For the kale: 4 cups kale, chopped 1/3 cup balsamic vinegar Salt and pepper to taste

Heat oven to 375 degrees. In a small bowl, combine ground beef, bread crumbs, basil and egg with salt and pepper. Roll into about nine meatballs.

Cook until lightly browned, so the meat holds together. Set aside.

Meanwhile, lightly oil a pan and heat to medium-high. Add capers and fry until crisp. Set aside along with the meatballs. Lightly toast cumin and flour for about five minutes, until fragrant. Deglaze pan with wine. Once it has thickened to a milky consistency, add beef stock. Lower heat to medium and return meatballs to pan. Braise covered for about 10 minutes on each side. Remove meatballs from heat, add lemon and season as needed. Return meatballs to pan, and serve garnished with capers.

Pickup frisbee anyone?

MONDAY MADNESS

$2 $3 Long Trails

Chicken or Shredded Beef Tacos Open 7 days a week for lunch and dinner!

authentic mexican cuisine 802-540-3095 • 169 Church St. • Burlington • 802-662-4334 • 4 Park St. • Essex Junction (Lincoln Inn) www.ElGatoCantina.com • info@elgatocantina.com

craft

fo for od

For the egg: 2 eggs 2 tablespoons truffle butter

1 package bone-in short ribs Salt and pepper to taste 2 tablespoons vindaloo spice mix from Teeny Tiny Spice Co. of Vermont 1/2 tablespoon cumin powder 2 teaspoons turmeric 2 teaspoons fennel seeds 2 cups coconut milk Season and sear short ribs in a hot Dutch oven or braising pan. Once browned on each side, reserve ribs.

Bloom spices in the tallow left in the pan until highly fragrant. Deglaze pan with coconut milk and return short ribs. Braise on medium-low heat until meat nearly separates from the bone, two or three hours. Serve over basmati rice. m

8H-ThreePenny082813.indd 1

8/26/13 3:55 PM

Spring is here at Juniper!

Contact: alice@sevendaysvt.com

— go to hotelvt.com/dining-drinking 6h-HotelVT032515.indd 1

3/23/15 11:38 AM

FOOD 49

For the sauce: 2 tablespoons capers

goAN Short riBS, chArliE-StYlE

SEVEN DAYS

For the meatballs: 1 pound ground beef 1 mini croissant, pulsed into bread crumbs (we like La Strada’s wholewheat version) 1 cup fresh basil, chopped 1 egg Salt and pepper to taste

threepennytaproom.com | 108 Main Street, Montpelier VT 05602 | 802.223.taps

03.25.15-04.01.15

BoulEttES Au chArliE

craft beer

SEVENDAYSVt.com

Heat pan to medium-high. Season steaks. Once maple butter is completely melted in pan, add steaks. Sear each side to a deep brown, occasionally spooning butter over the top. It’s done when the steak is cooked to your liking.

Set aside.

Meanwhile, place kale in a flat-bottomed pot heated to just above medium.

Add vinegar, and stew until kale is soft.

Season as desired.

Cook eggs over easy in melted truffle butter. As those cook, place half of the wilted kale on each plate and top with a steak. When the eggs are finished, plop one on top of each steak, with a little more truffle butter if desired. Voilà! — a tangy, earthy ode to Charlie’s rich, beefy flavor.

When and where?

Anywhere in Vermont (FPF is statewide!)

Courtesy of Barre Opera house

calendar

M a r c h

2 5 - A p r i l

WED.25 activism

Vermont Drone Quilt Block Party: Following a presentation, crafters commemorate the victims of Pakistani drone strikes by contributing to a quilt that will tour nationally. Peace & Justice Center, Burlington, 6-8 p.m. Free. Info, 863-2345, ext. 6.

agriculture

USDA State Technical Committee Meeting: Committee members consider the technical guidelines necessary to implement the conservation provisions of the Farm Bill. USDA Service Center, Colchester, 9:30 a.m.-noon. Free. Info, 951-6796.

community

crafts

SEVEN DAYS

03.25.15-04.01.15

SEVENDAYSvt.com

Knitters & Needleworkers: Crafters convene for creative fun. Burnham Memorial Library, Colchester, 6-8 p.m. Free. Info, 264-5660.

dance

AfroLatin Party: Dancers ages 18 and up get down to kizomba, kuduro and kompa with DsantosVT. Zen Lounge, Burlington, lesson, 7:158:15 p.m.; party, 8:15-10 p.m. $6-12; free for party.

Info, 227-2572.

etc.

Tech Tutor Program: Teens answer questions about computers and devices during one-onone sessions. Dorothy Alling Memorial Library, Williston, 5:30-7:30 p.m. Free; preregister for a time slot. Info, 878-4918.

2 0 1 5

film

Community Cinema: 'American Denial': Llewellyn Smith's documentary examines the impact of Nobel Laureate Gunnar Myrdal's 1944 race-relations study, An American Dilemma.

Catamount Arts Center, St. Johnsbury, 7 p.m.

Free. Info, 748-2600.

'Freedom & Unity: The Vermont Movie: Part 4': "Doers and Shapers" explores people and institutions that pushed sociopolitical boundaries. Bradford Public Library, 6:30 p.m. Free. Info, 222-4536.

Green Mountain Film Festival: An annual cinematic celebration delights moviegoers with a diverse lineup of films and presentations by distinguished guests. See gmffestival.org for details. Various Montpelier locations. $7-10; $90-175 passes. Info, 262-3423.

food & drink

Coffee Tasting: Sips of Counter Culture Coffee prompt side-by-side comparisons of different regional blends. Maglianero Café, Burlington, noon.

Free. Info, 617-331-1276, corey@maglianero.com.

health & fitness

Fitness Boot Camp: Participants improve strength, agility, endurance and cardiovascular fitness with interval training. Holley Hall, Bristol, 6:15-7:15 p.m. $10. Info, ginger54@sover.net.

Freedom in Your Relationship With Food: Five Steps for Transforming Your Body and Life: Holistic health coach Krissy Ruddy presents ways to conquer cravings and achieve mental and physical balance. Community Room, Hunger Mountain Co-op, Montpelier, 6-7 p.m. $810; preregister. Info, 223-8000, ext. 202.

Insight Meditation: A welcoming environment fosters a deeper understanding of Buddhist principles and practices. Wellspring Mental Health and Wellness Center, Hardwick, 5:30-7 p.m. Free.

Info, 472-6694.

Prenatal Yoga & Barre: Moms-to-be prepare their bodies for labor and delivery. Prenatal Method Studio, Burlington, 12:15-1:15 & 5-6 p.m. $15. Info, 829-0211.

R.I.P.P.E.D.: Resistance, intervals, power, plyometrics, endurance and diet define this high-intensity physical-fitness program. North End Studio A, Burlington, 6-7 p.m. $10. Info, 578-9243.

Spring Renewal Meditation: Charlie Nardozzi helps newcomers and experienced meditators find body-mind balance through breathing, music and visualization. Yoga Roots, Shelburne, 5-6 p.m. $15. Info, 985-0900.

WED.25

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List your upcoming event here for free!

50 CALENDAR

All submissions are due in writing at noon on the Thursday before publication. find our convenient form at sevendaysvt.com/postevent. you can also email us at calendar@sevendaysvt.com. to be listed, yoU MUST include the name of event, a brief description, specific location, time, cost and contact phone number.

CALENDAR EVENTS IN SEVEN DAYS:

Listings and spotlights are written by courtney copp. SEVEN DAYS edits for space and style. Depending on cost and other factors, classes and workshops may be listed in either the Calendar or the Classes section. When appropriate, class organizers may be asked to purchase a Class listing.

MAR.28 | MUSIC All in the Family Listening to Eric and Leigh Gibson play bluegrass, it’s hard to believe the siblings hail not from the heart of Appalachia but from upstate New York. Smitten with the banjo- and guitar-driven tunes of Earl Scruggs and Lester Flatt, the two embraced bluegrass as teenagers and never looked back. Nearly 30 years later, the former farm boys prove the genre is not bound by geography, as a duo or leading the award-winning quintet behind the recently released album Brotherhood. A tribute to brother acts past and present, the record features the Gibsons’ commanding vocal harmonies and hard-picking hits.

The Gibson Brothers Saturday, March 28, 8 p.m., at Barre Opera House. $18-29. Info, 476-8188. barreoperahouse.org Courtesy of Gotham Artists

Cabot Community Association Membership Meeting: Residents share ideas about community and economic development in the coming year. Cabot Town Hall, 7 p.m. Donations of nonperishable food items. Info, 563-3338.

Peer Support Circle: A confidential space allows participants to converse freely without giving advice or solving problems. The Wellness Co-op, Burlington, 5-6 p.m. Free. Info, 777-8602.

Vermont Adult Learning Open House: Folks check out the organization's new space and celebrate the achievements of graduates of its high school completion program. Vermont Adult Learning, Burlington, 4-5:30 p.m. Free. Info, 735-0676.

1 ,

MAR.31 | TALKS Let’s Talk About Sex At the ripe old age of 25, Laci Green has taken the sex-ed world by storm. The creator of the YouTube channel “Sex Plus,” the bespectacled web personality has more than a million followers. Green was raised in a Mormon household, and her questioning of gender roles within the faith led to her eventually becoming a sex-education activist. Love her or hate her, the San Francisco-based vlogger addresses gender, sexuality, race, body image, feminism and other issues.

Stepping out from behind the screen, Green delivers a lecture that’s sure to open some eyes.

Laci Green Tuesday, March 31, 5 p.m., at McCarthy Arts Center, St. Michael’s College, in Colchester.

Free. Info, 654-2667. smcvt.edu

COURTESY OF RANI ARBO & DAISY MAYHEM

B

efore his untimely death in 2013, Bill Coperthwaite lived alone on a remote stretch of the northern Maine coast for 55 years. Eschewing the modern age for a life of simplicity and solitude, he immersed himself in homesteading, designing and building multistory, concentric yurts that garnered international attention. Peter Forbes and his wife, Helen Whybrow, capture their longtime friend’s devotion to intentional living and self-reliance in their book A Man Apart. Alternating chapters offer Forbes and Whybrow’s perspectives on the visionary thinker who redefined life off the grid. Coperthwaite’s pals Rani Arbo & daisy mayhem (pictured) honor him in song, with tunes from Violets Are Blue.

‘A MAN APART’ BOOK RELEASE PARTY & CONCERT Sunday, March 29, 4:30-9 p.m., at Big Picture Theater and Café in Waitsfield. Free; $10-15 for concert. Info, 4968994. billcoperthwaite.net

Master Plans SEVENDAYSVT.COM

MAR.29 | WORDS Let Freedom Ring

SEVEN DAYS

KYLE ABRAHAM/ABRAHAM.IN.MOTION Tuesday, March 31, and Wednesday, April 1, 7 p.m., at Moore Theater, Hopkins Center for the Arts, Dartmouth College, in Hanover, N.H. $17-40. Info, 603-646-2422. hop.dartmouth.edu

MAR.31 & APR.1 | DANCE

CALENDAR 51

COURTESY OF IAN DOUGLAS

03.25.15-04.01.15

In 1960, jazz musician Max Roach released We Insist: Max Roach’s Freedom Now Suite. A protest album, it celebrated the 100th anniversary of the Emancipation Proclamation and called attention to civil rights movements in the U.S. and South Africa. More than 50 years later, the record’s message takes choreographic form in When the Wolves Came In. The brainchild of renowned choreographer Kyle Abraham and his dance company, Abraham.In.Motion, the three-part piece revisits these themes with classical and modern styles. Dancers interpret challenging issues to a score of spirituals and original works

by Vermont-born composer Nico Muhly and Grammy Award winner Robert Glasper.

calendar WED.25

« P.50

talks

TangoFlow!: Creator Cathy Salmons leads students in a customized blend of Argentine tango, ballet, modern dance and body awareness.

North End Studio A, Burlington, 7 p.m. $15. Info, 345-6687.

kids

CelebraTe Spring!: Rabbi Tobie Weisman introduces the Jewish holiday of Passover to kiddos ages 2 through 5. Fletcher Free Library, join Collective Rhymes Burlington, 11 a.m. Free. Info, 865-7216.

HigHgaTe STory Hour: Budding bookworms for a Hip Hop benefit share read-aloud tales, wiggles and giggles with supporting Salvation Farms Mrs. Liza. Highgate Public Library, 10 a.m. Free.

Info, 868-3970. keeping food from MeeT roCkin' ron THe Friendly piraTe: going to waste Aargh, matey! Kiddos channel the hooligans of the sea during music, games and activities.

Buttered Noodles, Williston, 10-10:45 a.m. Free.

Club Metronome Info, 764-1810.

Thursday 4/2, 9pm • $5 one-on-one TuToring: Students in grades 1 through 6 get extra help in reading, math and sciAdditional donations encouraged ence. Burnham Memorial Library, Colchester, 4-8 p.m. Free; preregister. Info, 264-5660.

STory TiMe & playgroup: Engaging narratives 12v-salvationfarms032515.indd 1 3/23/15 3:29 PMpave the way for art, nature and cooking projects.

Jaquith Public Library, Marshfield, 10-11:30 a.m.

Free. Info, 426-3581.

Toddler TiMe: Parents chat over coffee while tots burn off energy in a supervised environment that encourages artistic expression. ONE Arts Center, Burlington, 9 a.m.-noon. $8. Info, oneartscollective@gmail.com.

SEVENDAYSVt.com 03.25.15-04.01.15

April WED 1 MATT DE LA PEÑA: THE LIVING 7PM De la Peña will discuss his newest young adult book at this free event - his first open-to-the-public event in Vermont!

THU 9 TERRY GALLOWAY: 7PM MEAN LITTLE DEAF QUEER

Join Terry Galloway for a discussion of her memoir. Ticketed event.

THU 16 POETRY FEST 2015 7PM Join Neil Shepard, David Cavanagh and

SEVEN DAYS

Carol Potter for a celebration of National Poetry Month! Ticketed event.

Ticketed events are $3 per person, and come with a $5 coupon good toward the purchase of the featured author’s books!

AT ESSEX

sports

April

52 CALENDAR

THU 23 TIM HAYES: RIDING HOME 7PM Hayes will discuss the power of horses to heal at this free event.

191 Bank Street, Downtown Burlington • 802.448.3350 Essex Shoppes & Cinema, Essex • 802.872.7111

www.phoenixbooks.biz

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All ages are welcome to this free book launch and cartooning lesson.

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SAT 28 JAMES KOCHALKA: 2PM GLORKIAN WARRIOR EATS ADVENTURE PIE

CE

Calling all gardeners!

Ticketed event.

DAN

THU 26 RON KRUPP: 6:30PM THE WOODCHUCK RETURNS TO GARDENING

T H U. 26 |

March

'MaCbeTH': The Acting Company stages Shakespeare's tragedy about a corrupt general's quest to become King of Scotland. Flynn MainStage, Burlington, 7:30 p.m. $15-40. Info, 863-5966.

'THe MenaeCHMuS TwinS': St. Michael's College students put a creative twist on gender stereotypes in a retelling of Plautus' comedy of errors about long-lost brothers reunited after a series of near misses. McCarthy Arts Center, St. Michael's College, Colchester, 7 p.m. Free.

Info, 654-2268. language 'orwell in aMeriCa': Northern engliSH aS a SeCond Stage interprets Joe Sutton's language ClaSS: Beginners portrayal of George Orwell in better their vocabulary. the aftermath of World War Pickering Room, Fletcher Free II. Briggs Opera House, White Library, Burlington, 6:30-8:30 River Junction, 10 a.m. & 7:30 p.m. Free. Info, 865-7211. p.m. $15-55. Info, 296-7000. inTerMediaTe/advanCed 'Slowgirl': After an accident engliSH aS a SeCond sends a teenager fleeing to her language ClaSS: Students uncle's Costa Rican retreat, the E sharpen grammar and conversato O two are forced to confront their FF bE tional skills. Administration Office, YO Sq pasts in Greg Pierce's drama, preuA r TES R U E D A N cE | C O Fletcher Free Library, Burlington, 6:30sented by the Vermont Stage Company.

8:30 p.m. Free. Info, 865-7211.

FlynnSpace, Burlington, 7:30 p.m. $28.8037.50. Info, 863-5966. iTalian ConverSaTion group: Parla Italiano?

A native speaker leads a language practice for all words ages and abilities. Room 101, St. Edmund's Hall, St. Michael's College, Colchester, 7-9 p.m. Free.

CreaTive wriTing workSHop: Lit lovers Info, 899-3869. analyze works-in-progress penned by Burlington Writers Workshop members. Studio 266, montréal Burlington, 6:30 p.m. Free; preregister at burlingtonwritersworkshop.com. Info, 383-8104.

'HoSanna': When a Cleopatra impersonator sheds her costume, she must face her identity kiM dannieS: The Williston Observer food writer and resulting insecurities in this Tableau D'Hôte compiles 10 years of columns on family and Theatre production. MainLine Theatre, Montréal, recipes into Everyday Gourmet. Dorothy Alling 8 p.m. $15-20. Info, 514-849-3378.

Memorial Library, Williston, 6:30 p.m. Free. Info, 878-4918. music new england raMble dine & diSCuSS: in THe MoMenT: Every show is different when Readers join Ed Cashman for a shared meal and the improvisational music group featuring Charlie conversation about Chris Bohjalian's Midwives.

Messing, Caleb Bronz, Evan Davey and Sam Brownell Library, Essex Junction, 6-8 p.m. Free; Hughes performs. BCA Center, Burlington, 8-10 bring a dish inspired by the book. Info, 878-6955. p.m. $10 suggested donation. Info, 865-7166.

TaleS FroM THe bear Cave: Wordsmiths JenniFer bird-arvidSSon & paul orgel: flock to an evening of open-mic, off-the-cuff The soprano and pianist, respectively, join forces storytelling based on the theme "Cold Days, Hot onstage to interpret works by Purcell, Debussy, Nights." ArtsRiot, Burlington, 7:30 p.m. Free. Info, Mahler, Berg and Bernstein. Recital Hall, McCarthy 540-0406.

Arts Center, St. Michael's College, Colchester, 7:30 p.m. $10 suggested donation. Info, 654-2284.

preMier Floor HoCkey league: Experienced players take shots in a competitive game. The Edge Sports & Fitness, Essex, 7-10 p.m. $80; preregister. Info, 355-4588. woMen'S piCkup baSkeTball: Drive to the hoop! Ladies hit the court for a weekly game.

See meetup.com for details. Hunt Middle School, Burlington, 8:30 p.m. Free. Info, carmengeorgevt@gmail.com.

3/23/15 12:35 PM

OR

presents AT BURLINGTON

theater

GH

Cabin Fever Got You Antsy?

burlingTon deaTH CaFé: Folks meet for tea, light fare and conversations about death aimed at accessing a fuller life. Dobrá Tea, Burlington, 6:30-8 p.m. Free. Info, 985-8984.

'ConverSaTionS' SerieS: Fran Stoddard moderates a discussion between Walter Wick and Nissa Kauppila, who consider curiosity as experienced through art, spirit and nature. Pizzagalli Center for Art and Education, Shelburne Museum, 4 p.m. Free; donations accepted. Info, 985-3819.

JoHn Slade: Referencing his years in Norway, the lecturer presents more than 150 photographs in the narrated slide show "Innovation and the Clean Energy Renaissance." A Q&A follows.

Kellogg-Hubbard Library, Montpelier, 6:30 p.m.

Free. Info, 223-3338. woMen'S HiSTory MonTH: gina barreCa: The academic and humorist brings her quick wit to an examination of women and humor. Clinton Community College, Plattsburgh, N.Y., 6:30-9 p.m. Free. Info, 518-562-4160.

THu.26

agriculture

Square-FooT gardening: Master gardener Peter Burke shares strategies for successful soil and productive plots. Community Room, Hunger Mountain Co-op, Montpelier, 6-7 p.m. $10-12; preregister. Info, 223-8000, ext. 202.

art

Tea & bruSHeS: Artists ages 16 and up tap into their creative side at a painting party hosted by Blue Jay Creative Common. Fairfax Community Library, 6-8 p.m. $25; preregister. Info, 849-2420.

business

STraTegy For SuCCeSS SerieS: 'diSaSTer reCovery For your buSineSS': Steve Paddock of the Vermont Small Business Development Center details plans that ensure resiliency in the face of minor and major catastrophies. St. Albans Free Library, 4-5:30 p.m. $10; free for Franklin County Chamber of Commerce members; preregister; limited space. Info, 524-2444. verMonT buSineSSeS For SoCial reSponSibiliTy MeeTing: Like-minded professionals head to Danforth Pewter to mingle and discuss employee well-being and management.

Danforth Pewter Workshop and Store, Middlebury, 5:30-7:30 p.m. Free. Info, 862-8347. 'verMonTrepreneurS SuMMiT SerieS: 'linkedin, Seo and poSiTioning': Jack Tremblay of Direct Design and Kate Payne of Standing Out Online dole out tips for improving online marketing. Pines Senior Living Community, South Burlington, 9-11:30 a.m. Free; preregister at meet up.com. Info, 318-7654.

comedy

verMonT CoMedy divaS: Founded by local comedienne Josie Leavitt, the all-female comedy troupe brings side-splitting material to a benefit show for the Pride Center of Vermont. ArtsRiot, Burlington, 7:30 p.m. $15-18. Info, 540-0406.

community

burlingTon walk/bike CounCil MeeTing: Locals consider ways to promote alternative transportation and improve existing policies and infrastructure. Room 12, Burlington City Hall, 5:30-7 p.m. Free. Info, 865-5449.

CHaMberlin neigHborHood CoMMuniTy MeeTing: South Burlington residents discuss issues related to properties in the vicinity of the Burlington International Airport. Chamberlin School, South Burlington, 6:30-8:30 p.m. Free.

Info, 846-4107.

Franklin region Career & Job expo: Students network with more than 60 potential employers from throughout Vermont. CollinsPerley Sports Complex, St. Albans, noon-5 p.m.

Free. Info, 782-1924. generaTor MeMberSHip orienTaTion: A guided tour of the maker space highlights facilities, equipment, tools and more. Generator, Burlington, 6-9 p.m. $10; preregister; limited space. Info, info@generatorvt.com.

MenToring diSCuSSion group: King Street Youth Center volunteers catch up over breakfast.

King Street Center, Burlington, 8:15 a.m. Free; preregister. Info, gabriella@kingstreetcenter.org.

dance

'dare To be Square' Square danCe SerieS: Jennifer Steckler calls the steps to tunes by the Foghorn Stringband. American Legion Post 03, Montpelier, 7:30 p.m. $5. Info, 229-9043.

etc.

aarp Tax prep aSSiSTanCe: Tax counselors straighten up financial affairs for low- and middleincome taxpayers, with special attention to those ages 60 and up. Brownell Library, Essex Junction, 9:15, 10, 10:45 & 11:30 a.m. Free; preregister for a time slot. Info, 878-6955.

Code For bTv HaCk nigHT: Tech-savvy tinkerers work on community and civic projects. Generator, Burlington, 5-7:30 p.m. Free. Info, 540-0761.

liSt Your EVENt for frEE At SEVENDAYSVT.COM/POSTEVENT

film

'The BreakfasT CluB: 30Th anniversary': The Brat Pack is back! John Hughes fans revisit his iconic film about a motley crew of high school students sentenced to a Saturday detention.

Palace 9 Cinemas, South Burlington, 7:30 p.m. $12.50. Info, 660-9300. 'fifTy years of Chez henri': Charlie Brown's film pays tribute to Sugarbush Resort's longtime Parisian bistrot, Chez Henri, and its larger-thanlife owners and managers, Bernard Perillat and Henri Borel. Gate House Base Lodge, Sugarbush Resort, Warren, 7:30 p.m. Prices vary. Info, 583-2410.

Green MounTain filM fesTival: See WED.25. 'roMero': Screened in remembrance of the late Robert White, John Duigan's 1989 docudrama tells the story of El Salvador's archbishop Óscar Romero, assassinated in 1980. Cheray Science Hall, St. Michael's College, Colchester, 7 p.m. Free.

Info, 654-2795.

ThrowBaCk Movie: 'The Man who would BeCoMe kinG': Sean Connery and Michael Caine star in the 1975 action film about British soldiers in India who abandon the military to become deities. Woodstock Town Hall Theatre, 7:30-9:30 p.m. Free. Info, 457-3981.

Thursday niGhT inspiraTions: Recorded live at the Omega Institute in 2013, "Unconditional Friendship With Oneself: Seeing Clearly" features insights by renowned Buddhist teacher Pema Chödrön. Yarn and Yoga, Bristol, 6-8 p.m. Free.

Info, 453-7799.

'TiMBukTu': Triggered in part by a 2012 public stoning of an unmarried couple, Abderrahmane Sissako's drama explores the brief occupation of Timbuktu, Mali, by Islamic militants. Main Street Landing Performing Arts Center, Burlington, 7-9 p.m. $7-8. Info, 793-4361.

food & drink

piCklinG workshop: Pickle pairings and demos pave the way for a locavore shindig complete with farm tours, tasty eats and kids activities.

Green Mountain Girls Farm, Northfield, 4-7 p.m.

Free; $5 for tour. Info, 276-0787.

health & fitness

Know that you are a person of worth and dignity, and more especially so because of the new life you carry within you.

winTer inTo sprinG lunar sound BaTh MediTaTion series: Weekly immersion in the vibrations of didgeridoos, singing bowls, frame drums and flutes alleviates stress and tension.

The Wellness Collective, Burlington, 7-8:30 p.m. $10-15 suggested donation. Info, 540-0186.

kids

®

Be'Tween' The ClassiCs: read aloud: Lit lovers age 12 through 15 take advantage of an age-appropriate story time. Burnham Memorial Library, Colchester, 4:30-5:30 p.m. Free. Info, 264-5660. leGo CluB: Brightly colored interlocking blocks inspire young minds. Burnham Memorial Library, Colchester, 4-5 p.m. Free. Info, 264-5660.

MiddleBury presChool sTory TiMe: Little learners master early-literacy skills through tales, rhymes and songs. Ilsley Public Library, Middlebury, 10:30-11:15 a.m. Free. Info, 388-4095.

MusiC wiTh derek: Kiddos up to age 8 shake out their sillies to toe-tapping tunes. Dorothy Alling Memorial Library, Williston, 10:30 a.m.

Free. Info, 878-4918. presChool sTory TiMe: Children ages 2 through 5 discover the magic of literature. Cutler Memorial Library, Plainfield, 10:30-11:30 a.m.

Free. Info, 454-8504. yoGa wiTh danielle: Toddlers and preschoolers strike a pose, then share stories and songs.

Buttered Noodles, Williston, 10 a.m. Free. Info, 764-1810.

REACH FOR HOPE

irthright

We’re here for you ... We’re here to help

289 College Street, Burlington • 802-865-0056 • 800-550-4900 • www.birthright.org 12h-Birthright031815.indd 1

3/16/15 2:06 PM

The Nile Project Saturday, March 28 at 8 pm, MainStage Presented in association with the Office of the Vice President for Human Resources, Diversity and Multicultural Affairs through the UVM President’s Initiative for Diversity Sponsors

Media

language

Mandarin Chinese Class: Linguistics lovers practice the dialect spoken throughout northern and southwestern China. Agape Community Church, South Burlington, 7-8:30 p.m. Free. Info, 503-2037.

montréal

Season Sponsor P E R F O R M I N G

www.flynncenter.org or call 802-86-flynn 6h-flynn031815.indd 1

'hosanna': See WED.25.

A R T S

CELEBRATION SERIES

3/17/15 10:25 AM

CELEBRATION SERIES

music

arioso Con Queso: A spring concert from the local chamber ensemble includes works by Bach, Purcell and Vermont composer Michael Close.

Norwich University, Northfield, 12:15 p.m. Free.

Info, 485-6924. lenTen noon ConCerT series: Music lovers convene for a midday performance. Middlebury St. Stephen's on the Green Episcopal Church, 12:15 p.m. Free. Info, 388-7200.

seminars

THE GIBSON BROTHERS

2012 and 2013 International Bluegrass Music Association Entertainers of the Year

presents

RED MOLLY Sat., April 4, 8 p.m.

03.25.15-04.01.15

applyinG BuildinG sCienCe in real ConsTruCTion: The Vermont Energy Investment Corporation consultant David Keefe discusses matters of proper air flow. Lunch 11:30 a.m.-noon; presentation, noon-4 p.m. BROC | Community Action in Southwestern Vermont, Rutland, 11:30 a.m.-4 p.m. Free; preregister; limited space. Info, 477-5041. enTrepreneurial spiriT seMinar: The Burlington Young Professionals hosts a panel of microbrewers and cider makers, who discuss Vermont's status as a leader in the beverage world. Growler Garage, South Burlington, 5:30-7 p.m. $5-10. Info, 863-3489.

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Sat., March 28, 8 pm sponsored by

Leahy Press, Union Mutual of Vermont

Saturday, March 8 pm and Hackett, Valine &28, MacDonald media support from WDEV & WLVB

sponsored by

“...tick-tight arrangements, crystalline vocals, and caramel harmonies.”

- The Boston Globe

Tickets, info: 802-476-8188 • www.barreoperahouse.org

CALENDAR 53

THU.26

SEVEN DAYS

talks

Book disCussion Group: Readers engage in a weekly study of Karen Armstrong's Twelve Steps to a Compassionate Life. North Branch Café, Montpelier, noon-1 p.m. Free. Info, 552-8105.

M.a.G.i.C.: MasCuliniTy and Gender idenTiTy ConversaTion: Open sharing encourages attendees to find common ground. The Wellness Co-op, Burlington, 2-3 p.m. Free. Info, 888-492-8218. woMen's hisTory MonTh: Gina BarreCa: See WED.25, 12:30-2 p.m.

SEVENDAYSVt.com

BeGinner Tai Chi for healTh & BalanCe: A weekly yang short-form series winds down with a seated breathing meditation. Ohavi Zedek Synagogue, Burlington, 7:15-8:45 p.m. $25 per series; preregister. Info, 978-424-7968.

CoMMuniTy Mindfulness: Folks relieve stress and tension with a 20-minute guided practice led

by Andrea O'Connor. Tea and a discussion follow.

Winooski Senior Center, 6:30-7:30 p.m. Free. Info, 233-1161. eliMinaTe sTress easily & efforTlessly: Janet and Edwards Smith describe the ways Transcendental Meditation offsets trying situations. Vermont Transcendental Meditation Center, Williston, 7-8:30 p.m. Free; preregister.

Info, 923-6248. fiTness BooT CaMp: See WED.25, Cornwall Town Hall, 10:30-11:30 a.m. $10. Info, 343-7160. forza: The saMurai sword workouT: Students sculpt lean muscles and gain mental focus when using wooden replicas of the weapon.

North End Studio A, Burlington, 6:30-7:30 p.m. $10. Info, 578-9243. an inTroduCTion To Mindfulness: Marcie Vallette references her hand-drawn cartoons when explaining the anatomy and physiology of stress and how to better handle it on a daily basis. Varnum Memorial Library, Jeffersonville, 7-9 p.m. Free. Info, 644-2117. posTnaTal Core: Babies are welcome at a class for new moms aimed at strengthening glutes, abdominals and the pelvic floor. Prenatal Method Studio, Burlington, 10:30-11:30 a.m. $15. Info, 829-0211. prenaTal yoGa & Barre: See WED.25, 12:151:15 & 4:30-5:30 p.m.

Unplanned Pregnancy? Decisions to make?

FORMER FORMER FORMER

SMOKERS SMOKERS SMOKERS FORMER WANTED WANTED SMOKERS WANTED45

calendar

UNDER

THU.26

Woof! Dog CommuniCation in the human WorlD: Is a wagging tail always a friendly invitation? A multimedia presentation demystifies canine behaviors. For humans only; four-legged friends must stay at home. Barlow Street Community Center, St. Albans, 6:30-7:30 p.m. $57; preregister. Info, 524-1500, ext. 266.

COMpENSATiON iS AvAilAblE

WANTED 30 yEARS OlD OR yOuNgER 30yEARS yEARS OlD 30 OlDOR ORyOuNgER yOuNgER

COMpENSATiON iSAvAilAblE AvAilAblE COMpENSATiON iS YEARS OLD

COMpENSATiON iS AvAilAblE

theater

Volunteers will complete computer

30 yEARS OlD yOuNgER Volunteers will complete tasksOR and Volunteers willquestionnaires. completecomputer computer tasks and questionnaires.

tasks and questionnaires.

This is a research study Volunteers will complete computer is a research study tasks andThis questionnaires. conducted by the

This is a research study conducted by the University of Vermont.

conducted by the This is a University research study of Vermont. conducted by the FOr mOrE INFOrmaTION University of Vermont.

University of Vermont.

CallmOrE 802-656-4849 FOr INFOrmaTION Email effects@uvm.edu Call 802-656-4849 FOr mOrE INFOrmaTION

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WANT TO TRAVEL? Work with international students?

JeWish Play ProJeCt finalist reaDing & DisCussion: A young girl in northern Ireland struggles to find her place in the Jewish and secular communities in Margot Connelly's Belfast Kind. The Jewish Community of Greater Stowe, 7-9 p.m. Free. Info, 253-1800. 'maCbeth': The Acting Company stages Shakespeare's tragedy about a corrupt general's quest to become King of Scotland. Fuller Hall, St. Johnsbury Academy, 7 p.m. $12-39. Info, 7482600, ext. 2. 'the menaeChmus tWins': See WED.25. national theatre live: A Brooklyn longshoreman confronts the darker side of the American dream in a broadcast production of Arthur Miller's drama, A View From the Bridge, starring Mark Strong. Palace 9 Cinemas, South Burlington, 3 & 7 p.m. $18. Info, 660-9300. 'orWell in ameriCa': See WED.25, 2 & 7:30 p.m. 'sloWgirl': See WED.25.

words

ameriCan JeWish Poetry: Lit lovers analyze how selected verse relates to Jewish identity and history. Ohavi Zedek Synagogue, Burlington, 2-3 p.m. Free. Info, 864-0218. ron KruPP: The master gardener gets green thumbs psyched for the growing season with The Woodchuck Returns to Gardening. Phoenix Books, Burlington, 6:30 p.m. $3. Info, 448-3350. sPring street Poets WorKshoP reaDing: In conjunction with the exhibit "The Museum as Muse for Six Vermont Poets: 'No Ideas But in Things,'" bards share verse inspired by the museum's collections. A reception follows. Henry Sheldon Museum of Vermont History, Middlebury, 7 p.m. $5; free for members. Info, 388-2117.

Writing for young aDults: Participants swap ideas and opinions about YA stories written by Burlington Writers Workshop members.

Studio 266, Burlington, 6:30 p.m. Free; preregister at burlingtonwritersworkshop.com. Info, 383-8104.

fri.27

Learn to Teach English this Summer!

DIPLOMA PROGRAM in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages Limited Scholarships available

Contact tesol@smcvt.edu or 802.654.2684 3v-stmichaels(TESOLREV)032515.indd 1

community

feast together or feast to go: Senior citizens and their guests catch up over a shared meal. Montpelier Senior Activity Center, noon-1 p.m. $7-9; preregister. Info, 262-6288. night out at the Cluse: Diners dress to impress for a five-course, family-style meal supporting CarShare Vermont. Penny Cluse Café, Burlington, 7-10 p.m. $100; cash bar; preregister.

Info, 861-2340. 'taste of maPle' funDraiser: Wine and hors d'oeuvres pair well with sweet-and-savory maple treats at a benefit for Mayo Healthcare. Fresh Tracks Farm Vineyard & Winery, Berlin, 5:30-8 p.m. $25. Info, 223-1151.

conferences

smcvt.edu/graduate/tesol

54 CALENDAR

SEVEN DAYS

03.25.15-04.01.15

SEVENDAYSVt.com

Email EffECts@uvm.Edu

EFFECTS OF QUITTING STUDY Call 802-656-4849 Email EffECts@uvm.Edu

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6h-effectsonsmoking(uvm)021815.indd 1

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3/20/15 10:30 AM

solutions ConferenCe: 'global fooD, loCal solutions': Experts in public health, nutrition and the environment address food safety, security and sovereignty in disenfranchised communities. Vermont Law School, South Royalton, 8 a.m.-5:30 p.m. Free. Info, 831-1228.

dance

ballroom & latin DanCing: tango: Samir Elabd leads choreographed steps for singles and couples. No partner or experience is required.

Williston Jazzercise Fitness Center, introductory lesson, 7-8 p.m.; dance social, 8-9:30 p.m. $10-14.

Info, 862-2269.

Johnson state College DanCe Club: Students bring spectacular choreography to the stage in a spring performance. Dibden Center for the Arts, Johnson State College, 7 p.m. Free; preregister. Info, 635-1476.

etc.

'an evening in soho': Makeup, manicures and massages give way to Reiki and other spa services fit for the big city. Briggs Carriage Co. Hair Lounge & Spa, Brandon, 5:30-7:30 p.m. $50.

Info, 465-8396. snoW farm Wine DoWn: Folks welcome the weekend with live music and local beer and wine in a pastoral setting. See snowfarm.com for details. Snow Farm Vineyard, South Hero, 6 p.m.

Cost of drinks. Info, 372-9463. turnon burlington: Communication games encourage attendees to push past comfort zones and experience deep connections. Sacred Mountain Studio, Burlington, 7:30-8:30 p.m. $10.

Info, 410-474-9250, mattbrand@gmail.com.

film

green mountain film festival: See WED.25.

health & fitness

avoiD falls With imProveD stability: A personal trainer demonstrates daily exercises for seniors concerned about their balance. Pines Senior Living Community, South Burlington, 10-11 a.m. $5-6. Info, 658-7477.

Community vinyasa With CanDaCe: Students of all skill levels deepen the body-mindbreath connection. South End Studio, Burlington, noon-1 p.m. $6. Info, 683-4918.

Quit tobaCCo: A nonjudgmental support session welcomes those looking to kick the habit.

Dorothy Alling Memorial Library, Williston, noon.

Free; preregister. Info, 878-4918.

kids

early birD math: One plus one equals fun!

Youngsters and their caregivers gain exposure to mathematics through books, songs and games.

Richmond Free Library, 11 a.m.-noon. Free. Info, 434-3036. stuffeD animal sleePover: Tykes' favorite toys spend a night amid the stacks, then are reunited with their owners the following day. Swanton Public Library, 5 p.m. Free. Info, 868-5977.

montréal

'hosanna': See WED.25.

music

'so long Winter blues' benefit ConCert: Tunes from the Tenderbellies and the Al Moore Blues Band prep concertgoers for a dance party with DJ Johnny Utah. Proceeds support FamilyAid. ArtsRiot, Burlington, 8 p.m. Free; donations accepted. Info, 540-0406. treeWilD house ConCert: A coffeehouse gala pairs performances by Hanna Zara, Cricket Blue and other local talents with food, wine and tea. Proceeds benefit Young Tradition Vermont.

Private residence, Shelburne, 6-9 p.m. $20; preregister. Info, 985-1124.

talks

brian linDner: The historian references local buildings and structures in the narrated slide show "A Baby Boomer's Connection to the Civilian Conservation Corps." McCarthy Arts Center, St. Michael's College, Colchester, 7-9 p.m. $5-8; free for students. Info, gmcevents@hotmail.com.

FIND FUtURE DAtES + UPDAtES At SEVENDAYSVT.COM/EVENTS

EldEr Education EnrichmEnt SEriES: Pediatrician Andrea Green considers crosscultural medicine in "Pediatric Refugee Health Care in Vermont." Faith United Methodist Church, South Burlington, 2 p.m. $5. Info, 864-3516. michaEl SchuckErS: The Saint Lawrence University professor crunches numbers in "A Peek at Statistical Analysis of the National Hockey League." Room 101, Cheray Science Hall, St. Michael's College, Colchester, 3:15 p.m. Free.

Info, 654-2434.

theater

'cabin FEvEr FolliES': Winter blues be gone! A cabaret-style variety show lifts spirits with singing, dancing, comedy and more. Personal food and drink encouraged. Valley Players Theater, Waitsfield, 7:30 p.m. $10; preregister for four or more tickets. Info, 583-1674. 'thE mEnaEchmuS twinS': See WED.25. nEw dirEctionS ShowcaSE: Emerging thespians elicit gut-busting laughs in a lineup of oneact comedies presented by Cabot Community Theater. Performing Arts Center, Cabot High School, 7 p.m. $5. Info, 563-3338. 'orwEll in amErica': See WED.25, 7:30 p.m. 'rumorS': A dinner party takes a hilarious turn when guests discover a wounded host and a missing hostess in Neil Simon's madcap comedy, staged by the White River Valley Players.

Rochester High School, 7:30 p.m. $10-12. Info, 767-3954.

'Slowgirl': See WED.25.

words

dance

JohnSon StatE collEgE dancE club: See FRI.27. norwich contra dancE: Folks in clean-soled shoes move to tunes by Cuckoo's Nest and calling by Andy Davis. Tracy Hall, Norwich, workshop, 7:45 p.m.; dance, 8 p.m. $5-8; free for kids under 16; by donation for seniors. Info, 785-4607.

Swing dancE: Left Eye Jump provides live tunes for movers and groovers at this spirited shindig open to all skill levels. Champlain Club, Burlington, beginner lesson, 7:30 p.m.; dance, 8-11 p.m. $15. Info, 864-8382.

congo FESt: Folks fête the Democratic Republic of Congo with music, drumming, food, speakers, art and dancing.

Alliot Student Center, St. Michael's College, Colchester, 3-5 p.m. Free. Info, 654-2795.

StowE homE & gardEn AN Show: Exhibitors offer a wide A AD CR variety of products and services at VE OF Nt Y URE ES a growers gathering complete with tAlES | CO URT a foodie fair. Proceeds benefit the Stowe Theatre Guild. Stowe High School, 10 a.m.-6 p.m.

Free; donations accepted. Info, 872-9000, ext. 11.

THEATER

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community

'thE big city (mahanagar)': Cinephiles screen preserved 16mm footage of the 1963 flick about a housewife whose job in Calcutta, India, is at odds with her conservative lifestyle. Newman Center, Plattsburgh, N.Y., 7 p.m. Free; donations accepted. Info, serious_61@yahoo.com. grEEn mountain Film FEStival: See WED.25. grEEn mountain Film FEStival: 'thE wiSdom to SurvivE: climatE changE, capitaliSm, & community': Leading activists and environmentalists including Bill McKibben, Joanna Macy and Ben Falk lend their voices to John Ankele and Anne Macksoud's documentary.

A panel discussion follows. Pavilion Building, Montpelier, 3:30 p.m. $7-10. Info, 223-0050.

'SwEEt charity': Shirley MacLaine plays a dancer straddling the line between hope and despair in the 1969 film adaptation of Neil Simon's hit Broadway musical. Green Mountain Performing Arts, Waterbury, 6 p.m. $5. Info, 244-8600. woodStock Film SEriES: Mark Kendall takes viewers on a road trip from Pennsylvania to Guatemala in his award-winning documentary, La Camioneta: The Journey of One American School Bus. Billings Farm & Museum, Woodstock, 3 p.m. $5-11. Info, 457-2355.

St. Elder Classic

St. Elder, Prosecco, Lemon Twist

REFRESH YOUR SPIRIT.

SEVEN DAYS

Crafted in small batches from an extract of fresh elderflower blossoms, St. Elder makes every drink irresistible.

Try it with a variety of spirits, wines and beers.

For more recipe inspirations, please visit St-Elder.com @drinkstelder

750ml • Code #77474 • Retail $17.99 SAT.28

» P.56

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PLEASE ENJOY RESPONSIBLY. 3/16/15 3/16/15 11:38 3:03 PM AM

CALENDAR 55

ESSEx Junction StrEEtlight count: Area residents search for outdated bulbs to be replaced with energy-efficient LED lights on an outing hosted by the Essex Energy Committee.

Call for details. Kolvoord Room, Brownell Library, Essex Junction, 9-11 a.m. Free. Info, 878-6944. gEnErator birthday baSh: Folks fête the organization's transformation from a pop-up to a thriving maker space. Generator, Burlington, 4-8 p.m. Free. Info, 540-0761. gEnErator mEmbErShip oriEntation: See THU.26, 4-5 p.m. hartFord Floor mEEting: Community members convene for a gathering hosted by the town's select and school boards. Gymnasium, Hartford High School, 10 a.m. Free. Info, 295-2965.

film

03.25.15-04.01.15

crop mob: Green thumbs lend a hand to the land and ready the farm for the growing season.

Call to confirm. Adam's Berry Farm, Charlotte, 9 a.m.-noon. Free. Info, 861-9756.

ExplorE our SugarbuSh: Families check out a sugarhouse in action, where they witness sap's journey from tree to syrup. McClure Education Center, Shelburne Farms, 9:30 a.m.-2 p.m. Free.

Info, 985-8686 or 802-985-8442. thE SciEncE oF Soil hEalth: Joel Tilley of the UVM Agricultural and Environmental Testing Lab lends his expertise to topics ranging from proper pH to soil texture. UVM Horticultural Research Center, South Burlington, 9 a.m.-noon. $10-15.

Info, info@friendsofthehortfarmorg.

SEVENDAYSVt.com

agriculture

“BEST OF SHOW”

BT

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Sat.28

DRINKS WITH A TWIST OF AWESOME.

fairs & festivals

TER SAT.28 | TH EA

carol noyES: The local author documents her experience with bipolar disorder in Coming Full Circle: One Woman's Journey through Spiritual Crisis. Jaquith Public Library, Marshfield, 7 p.m. Free. Info, 426-3581. crEativE writing workShop: See WED.25, 10:30 a.m.

Join our Jam: Lives tunes from Mango Jam enliven an evening of dancing, eating and merriment benefiting Burlington's Summer Nutrition and Recreation Program. Fletcher Free Library, Burlington, 7-10 p.m. $50; cash bar. Info, 865-7216. wFvr birthday party & Soup SuppEr: Fans of the all-volunteer South Royalton radio station catch up over good eats and live entertainment. Royalton Academy, 6 p.m. $20; BYOB. Info, 431-3433. womEn hElping battErEd womEn Zumbathon: Inspired by this year's "Rhythm Nation" theme, folks break a sweat to Latin rhythms while raising funds for domestic abuse victims and survivors in Chittenden County.

Higher Ground Ballroom, South Burlington, 1-3 p.m. $35. Info, 658-3131. womEn'S circlE: Those who identify as women gather for readings, discussion and activities.

The Wellness Co-op, Burlington, 5-6:30 p.m. Free.

Info, 888-492-8218, ext. 302.

list your event for free at SEVENDAYSVT.COM/POSTEVENT

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56 CALENDAR

Allison Mann Jazz Ensemble: Jazz fans get their fill at a live recording of For My Mother and Father: The Best Songs of Their Times, Vol.3.

Christ Episcopal Church, Montpelier, 7-9 p.m. $15; preregister. Info, 223-4712.

The Bright Wings Chorus: The nine-member ensemble brings soulful rhythms to a repertoire of shape-note hymns, Appalachian ballads and gospel songs. The Old Meeting House, East Montpelier, 7:30 p.m. $12. Info, 770-0857.

The Country Jamboree: A journey to the glory days of country music takes listeners through a health & fitness repertoire of songs by Johnny Cash, Patsy Cline, Fitness Boot Camp: See WED.25, Middlebury Hank Williams and other popular performers.

Municipal Gym, 7:30-8:30 a.m. $10. Info, Lebanon Opera House, N.H., 7:30 p.m. $25-39.

343-7160.

Info, 603-448-0440.

Prenatal Yoga & Barre: See WED.25, 10:30The Gibson Brothers: The award-winning blue11:30 a.m. grass quintet plucks and strums its way through R.I.P.P.E.D.: See WED.25, 9-10 a.m. toe-tapping tunes. See calendar spotlight. Barre Turning Emotional Blocks Into Opera House, 8 p.m. $18-29. Info, 476-8188.

Opportunities With Numerology Karen Becker & Friends: Mezzo-soprano Supercharged: Jessica Moseley explores the Elizabeth Bishop joins the pianist in a program of ancient art of finding meaning and potential American standards and works by Gustav Mahler. in different number combinations. Community E. Glenn Giltz Auditorium, Hawkins Hall, SUNY Room, Hunger Mountain Co-op, Montpelier, 1-2:30 Plattsburgh, N.Y., 7:30 p.m. Free. Info, parrotk@ p.m. Free; preregister. Info, 223-8000, ext. 202. plattsburgh.edu.

Kingdom Coffeehouse: A lively set of bluekids grass and folk tunes from the Sky Blue Boys heats Burlington Saturday Story Time: Tots up the stage. Northwoods Stewardship Center, and their caregivers listen to entertaining tales.

East Charleston, 7-9 p.m. $10; preregister. Info, Phoenix Books, Burlington, 11 a.m. Free. Info, 723-6551, ext. 115.

448-3350.

Michele Fay Band: Led by the accomplished James Kochalka: The award-winning local vocalist, the local group performs originals and comic book artist and writer celebrates Americana tunes. Brandon Music, 7:30 the release of The Glorkian Warrior p.m. $15; $35 includes dinner package; Eats Adventure Pie. Phoenix Books, preregister; BYOB. Info, 247-4295.

Burlington, 2 p.m. Free. Info, Montpelier Concert Crawl: 448-3350.

Music lovers sip fine wine and Meet Pete the Cat: Little feast on gourmet fare at this ones get acquainted with three-part performance hosted the lovable feline from by the Montpelier Chamber James Dean and Eric Litwin's Orchestra. Proceeds benefit children's book series. Crafts, the MCO Project Outreach. activities and stories round Various Montpelier locations, out the day. Buttered Noodles, 6:30-9:30 p.m. $50; preregister; n Williston, 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Free. limited space. Info, 223-4647. co ak gn Info, 764-1810. pe it u ce The Nile Project: Eleven African s’ | C ru p S O U R T ES Y O F Middlebury Saturday Story Time: artists offer a diverse program of music Captivating narratives arrest the attention from Ethiopia, Egypt, Uganda and beyond to raise of young ’uns. Ilsley Public Library, Middlebury, awareness about cultural and environmental 10:30-11 a.m. Free. Info, 388-4095. issues in the Nile River basin. Flynn MainStage, Burlington, 8 p.m. $15-36. Info, 863-5966.

One-on-One Tutoring: See WED.25, 9:30 a.m.3:30 p.m. outdoors Saturday Drop-In Story Time: A weekly selection of music and books engages children of Whoo's In the Sugarbush?: Live bird-on-hand all ages. Burnham Memorial Library, Colchester, presentations offer helpful hints about what 10-10:30 a.m. Free. Info, 264-5664. feather fliers are up to this time of year. McClure Education Center, Shelburne Farms, 10 a.m.-2 Spanish Musical Playgroup: Tykes up to age p.m. Free. Info, 985-8686.

5 join Constancia Gómez for stories, rhymes and songs en español. Crafts and snacks with Natasha seminars round out the fun. Dorothy Alling Memorial Library, Williston, 10:30 a.m. Free. Info, 878-4918.

Digital Video Editing: Final Cut Pro users get familiar with the most recent version of the Story Explorers: Spring: Are warmer temps editing software. Prerequisite of VCAM Access on the horizon? Children identify environmental Orientation or equivalent, or instructor's permischanges that signal the arrival of a new season. sion. VCAM Studio, Burlington, 11 a.m. Free. Info, ECHO Lake Aquarium and Science Center/Leahy 651-9692, bill@vermontcam.org.

Center for Lake Champlain, Burlington, 10:30 a.m. Free with admission, $9.50-12.50. Info, Freshen Up Your Interior Spaces: Jovana 877-324-6386.

Guarino brings an in-depth knowledge of measurement analysis, lifestyle, color theory and Vermont State Science & Mathematics feng shui to an informative session. Yoga Roots, Fair: Students in grades 5 through 12 display Shelburne, 2-4 p.m. $25. Info, 985-0900. projects related to science, technology, engineering and math. An awards ceremony follows Genealogy Seminar: Researcher Gloria Pratt in Dole Auditorium, Bartoletto Hall, Norwich and historian Anastasia Pratt dole out research University, Northfield, 9 a.m.-4 p.m. Free. Info, tips for locating ancestry records from New York.

485-2319.

Vermont Genealogy Library, Fort Ethan Allen, Colchester, 10:30 a.m.-noon. $5. Info, 310-9285.

Webby's Art Studio: 'I Spy' In a Jar: Inspired by the whimsical work of illustrator Walter Wick, sports kids and families assemble spring-themed creations. Shelburne Museum, 11 a.m.-3 p.m. $5-8 Green Mountain Open Table Tennis regular admission. Info, 985-3346.

Tournament: Quick reflexes are the name of the game when paddling ping-pong balls montréal back and forth in singles and doubles matches.

Gymnasium, Rutland Knights of Columbus, 8 'Hosanna': See WED.25. a.m.-3 p.m. $5-10; preregister. Info, 247-5913. | ‘C

4-H Pancake Breakfast: Families fill up on flapjacks at a benefit for the Shelburne Explorers 4-H Club. McClure Education Center, Shelburne Farms, 9 a.m.-noon. $4-8. Info, 985-8686.

Burlington Winter Farmers Market: A bustling indoor marketplace offers fresh and prepared foods alongside crafts, live music, lunch seating and face painting. Burlington Memorial Auditorium, 10 a.m.-2 p.m. Free. Info, 310-5172.

Chocolate Tasting: Chocoholics sample confections and discover the steps involved in evaluating flavor profiles. Lake Champlain Chocolates Factory Store & Café, Burlington, 3 p.m. Free. Info, 864-1807.

Greek Pastry Sale & Dinner: Phyllo-dough delights including baklava and spinach pie complement hearty offerings of chicken souvlaki and beef gyros. Greek Orthodox Church Community Center, Burlington, 10 a.m. Cost of food. Info, 862-2155.

Hops on the Snow: Regional brews are best sipped slope-side at a mountaintop fest featuring barbecue fare and live tunes from Beatles tribute band Studio Two. Courtyard, Jackson Gore Inn, Okemo Mountain Resort, Ludlow, 11 a.m.-4 p.m. $15 for four samples. Info, 228-1600.

Huntington Pancake Breakfast: Diners pile their plates with stacks of flapjacks, maple syrup, sausage and fruit at an all-you-can-eat affair.

Community Church of Huntington, 8-11 a.m. $2-6.

Info, 434-2690.

Huntington Sugar Makers Tour: Local sugaring operations offer sap-boiling demos and a wide array of tasty maple products. Call for details. Various Huntington locations, 11 a.m.-3 p.m. Free. Info, 434-3269.

Maple Sugar Festival: Folks celebrate Vermont's liquid gold with sugar on snow, wood-fired sugaring demos, maple wines and spirits, and more. Boyden Valley Winery & Spirits, Cambridge, 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Free. Info, 644-8151.

Middlebury Winter Farmers Market: Crafts, cheeses, breads, veggies and more vie for spots in shoppers' totes. Gymnasium, Mary Hogan Elementary School, Middlebury, 9:30 a.m.-1 p.m.

Free. Info, 989-7223.

New York State Maple Weekend: Maple producers open their doors to the public for tastings, sap-boiling demos and more. See nysmaple.com for details. Various New York locations, 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Prices vary. Info, 518-726-7139.

Norwich Farmers Market: Farmers and artisans offer produce, meats and maple syrup alongside homemade baked goods and handcrafted items. Tracy Hall, Norwich, 10 a.m.-1 p.m.

Free. Info, 384-7447.

Rutland Winter Farmers Market: More than 50 vendors offer produce, cheese, homemade bread and other made-in-Vermont products at the bustling indoor venue. Vermont Farmers Food Center, Rutland, 10 a.m.-2 p.m. Free. Info, 753-7269.

Shelburne Sugar on Snow: Folks welcome spring with maple syrup treats, sap-boiling demos, live music and a petting zoo. Palmer's Sugarhouse, Shelburne, noon-4 p.m. Free. Info, 985-5054.

Sugar on Snow: Served with a dill pickle and a doughnut, Vermont's signature sweet shines when drizzled atop snow. Vermont Country Store, Weston & Rockingham, noon-2:30 p.m. Free. Info, 362-5950.

Sugar-on-Snow Party: Beginning with sugarbush tours, folks follow sap from tree to syrup at this seasonal soirée. Meet at the sugarhouse.

Green Mountain Audubon Center, Huntington, 11 a.m.-4 p.m. Free; cost of food and syrup. Info, 434-3068.

Vermont Maple Breakfast: From pancakes to pulled pork, maple-inspired fare hits all the palate points. Georgia Mountain Maples, Milton, 8 a.m.-1 p.m. $6.95-12.95. Info, 363-0607.

music

SAT.28 | Theater

SEVENDAYSvt.com

food & drink

Vermont Maple Open House Weekend: 'Tis the season for syrup! Folks explore sugaring operations throughout the state and watch sap turn into the sweet stuff. Times vary according to specific location. See vermontmaple.org for details. Various locations statewide. Free. Info, 763-7435.

Wine Tasting: Paul's Boutique XI: Alpine Wines: French and Italian vintages produced at high altitudes please discerning palates.

Dedalus Wine Shop, Burlington, 1-5 p.m. Free. Info, 865-2368.

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United Way Dodgeball Tournament: Take aim! Coed teams of adult players heave foam balls at the competition in a round-robin format.

Collins-Perley Sports Complex, St. Albans, 9 a.m.-5 p.m. $240 per team; preregister; free for spectators. Info, 527-7418.

Vermont National Guard Benefit Hockey Game: The Vermont National Guard Defenders take the ice against the Vermont Law Enforcers in a family-friendly charity match. Essex Skating Facility, 6-9 p.m. $5. Info, 338-3452.

talks

Bob Popp: The botanist uses images of Vermont mosses and lichens as the visual center point for "Rare and Endangered Plants: What Allows Plants to Make a Difference?" Kellogg-Hubbard Library, Montpelier, 1:30 p.m. Free. Info, 223-3338.

How to Talk to Kids about Racism: A facilitated discussion group addresses the far-reaching effects of racism and white privilege. Fletcher Free Library, Burlington, 3:30-5 p.m. Free. Info, 863-2345, ext. 9.

Nile Project Discussion: Egyptian ethnomusicologist Mina Girgis and Ethiopian American singer Meklit Hadero address the issues in the Nile River basin that inspired them to found the project in 2011. Amy E. Tarrant Gallery, Flynn Center, Burlington, 6:30 p.m. Free. Info, 863-5966.

theater

'African Adventure Tales': Crabgrass Puppet Theatre mesmerizes audience members with Koi and the Kola Nut and Anansi and the Talking Melon. Sandglass Theater, Putney, 1 & 3 p.m. $8; preregister. Info, 387-4051.

'Cabin Fever Follies': See FRI.27.

'Circus Incognitus': Clown Jamie Adkins delivers a one-man show filled with juggling, acrobatics and over-the-top antics. Spruce Peak Performing Arts Center, Stowe Mountain Resort, 7 p.m. $20-38. Info, 760-4634.

Green Mountain Cabaret: The Sugar Shakers pay tribute to animated characters of the past in a sexy spin on weekend cartoons in "Saturday Morning Tease." For ages 18 and up. Club Metronome, Burlington, 8-9:30 p.m. $10-15. Info, 865-4563.

'Ground Hog Opry': Woodchuck Theatre Company cures cabin fever with a zany production of skits, songs and stories. Thatcher Brook Primary School, Waterbury, 7:30 p.m. $12. Info, 877-6737.

'The Menaechmus Twins': See WED.25.

'Mini Mud': Talented tots and teens take the stage at an event honoring up-and-coming performing artists. Chandler Music Hall, Randolph, 7 p.m. $6-17. Info, 728-6464.

New Directions Showcase: See FRI.27.

'Orwell in America': See WED.25, 7:30 p.m.

'Rumors': See FRI.27.

'Slowgirl': See WED.25, 2 & 7:30p.m.

words

Behind the Scenes With Walter Wick: The photographic illustrator behind the I Spy children’s books series discusses the titles behind the exhibit “Games, Gizmos and Toys in the Attic.”

A Q&A follows. Shelburne Museum, 2 p.m. $5-8 regular admission. Info, 985-3346.

Burlington Writers Workshop Book Club: Lit lovers exchange ideas about Elizabeth Bishop's poetry. Studio 266, Burlington, 11 a.m.

Free; preregister at burlingtonwritersworkshop. com. Info, 383-8104.

Geof Hewitt: The wordsmith reads selected works as part of the Don Hill Commemorative Poetry Series. St. Albans Free Library, 1 p.m. Free.

Info, 524-1507.

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DAYS!

APRIL 24 -MAY A 3 AY During Vermont Restaurant Week, participating locations across the state offer inventive prix-fixe dinners for $20, $30 or $40 per person.

Try lunch, brunch or breakfast specials, too!

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Special events include: The Sweet Start Smackdown, Culinary Pub Quiz, The Dish: Git Yer Goat, Parents’ Night Out and Clash of the Cocktails!

$1 provides 3 meals to Vermonters in need.

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Cornerstone Pub & Kitchen The Daily Planet E.B. Strong’s Prime Steakhouse El Cortijo Cantina & Taqueria El Gato Catina (Burlington, Essex) The Farmhouse Tap & Grill Fire & Ice Restaurant Grazers The Gryphon Guild Tavern Halvorson’s Upstreet Café Healthy Living Market & Café Hen of the Wood (Burlington, Waterbury) Hinesburgh Public House Hunger Mountain Coop Deli and Café Istanbul Kebab House J. Morgan’s Steakhouse Junction at the Essex: Vermont’s Culinary Resort & Spa Juniper Kismet The Kitchen Table Bistro L’Amante Ristorante La Villa Bistro & Pizzeria Leunig’s Bistro & Café The Lighthouse Restaurant & Lounge The Lobby Lucky Next Door

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For the latest dish ... vermontrestaurantweek.com PREMIER SPONSORS

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3 Squares Café 51 Main at the Bridge A Single Pebble Restaurant Apple Core Luncheonette & Brew (Cold Hollow Cider Mill) Ariel’s Restaurant Armory Grille and Bar ArtsRiot Kitchen Arvads Grill August First Bakery & Café The Bagel Place Bar Antidote Barkeaters Restaurant Barnard Inn Restaurant & Max’s Tavern The Bearded Frog The Bench Big Picture Theater and Café Black Sheep Bistro Bleu Northeast Seafood Blue Cat Steak & Wine Bar Blue Paddle Bistro Bluebird Barbecue Bluebird Coffee Stop Bluebird Tavern The Bobcat Café & Brewery Café Mediterano Café Provence (Brandon) Church & Main The Cider House Barbecue and Pub Citizen Cider City Market/Onion River Co-op

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120 PARTICIPATING RESTAURANTS (SO FAR!)

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health & fitness

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agriculture

ExplorE oUr SUgarbUSh: See SAT.28.

comedy

'ThE MoNTpEliEr projEcT': As part of Heather Bryce's monthlong public art series, local jokesters take the stage with standup and musical-improv comedy based on the theme "Hometown." Atrium, City Center, Montpelier, 3-5 p.m. Free. Info, brycedance@gmail.com.

community

VillagE UNiVErSiTy: ThE NaTUral laNdScapE & rESoUrcES of jEricho: Friends of the Winooski River present ways to minimize pollution in the major waterway. Jericho Community Center, 2-4 p.m. Free. Info, 899-2366.

dance

balkaN folk daNciNg: Louise Brill and friends organize people into lines and circles set to complex rhythms. No partner necessary. Ohavi Zedek Synagogue, Burlington, 4-7 p.m. $6; bring snacks to share. Info, 540-1020. bEgiNNiNg iSraEli daNciNg: Participants exercise their bodies and minds when learning the basic steps of more than 10 dances set to Israeli music. Social Hall, Ohavi Zedek Synagogue, Burlington, beginner session, 7:308:30; advanced practice, 8:30-9:30 p.m. $10 for five-class series. Info, 730-2174. 'piEcES of Now: childhood caNcEr awarENESS projEcT': IBIT Dance Company honors the memory of Alexis Giallella in an evening-length piece dedicated to youth stricken with cancer. Partial proceeds benefit the Children's Hospital at Dartmouth-Hitchcock.

Lebanon Opera House, N.H., 7 p.m. $10.50-37.50. Info, E |t 603-448-0400. hE

Nia wiTh liNda: Drawing from martial arts, dance arts and healing arts, sensory-based movements inspire participants to explore their potential. South End Studio, Burlington, 9-10 a.m. $14. Info, 522-3691.

SUNday SaNgha: coMMUNiTy aShTaNga yoga: Students of all ages and skill levels hit the mat to breathe through a series of poses.

Grateful Yoga, Montpelier, 5:40-7 p.m. $1-20 suggested donation. Info, 224-6183.

holidays

paSSSoVEr aroUNd ThE world aNd back: Traditional eats give way to skits, games, singing, and an introduction to international customs.

Ohavi Zedek Synagogue, Burlington, 10-11:30 a.m. Free. Info, 864-0218.

kids

kidS yoga: Strength and balance exercises encourage focus and relaxation in yogis ages 3 through 7. Grateful Yoga, Montpelier, 4:15-5:15 p.m. $12. Info, 224-6183. rUSSiaN playTiME wiTh NaTaSha: Youngsters up to age 8 learn new words via rhymes, games, music, dance and a puppet show.

Buttered Noodles, Williston, 11-11:45 a.m. Free.

Info, 764-1810.

language

diMaNchES frENch coNVErSaTioN: Parlezvous français? Speakers practice the tongue at a casual drop-in chat. Local History Room, Fletcher Free Library, Burlington, 4-5:30 p.m.

Free. Info, 363-2431.

montréal

'hoSaNNa': See WED.25, 2 p.m.

music

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foghorN STriNgbaNd workShop: Banjo, guitar, bass, mandolin and fiddle players hone their skills under the guidance of the seasoned AT musicians. Summit School, M Ni l OF Y E Pr Montpelier, noon-3 p.m. $25; preregS o j Ec t | C O U R TE etc. ister. Info, 917-1186.

VErMoNT wEddiNg aSSociaTioN will bUrhaNS & doMiNiqUE dodgE: An MiddlEbUry bridal Show: Brides-to-be intimate concert of original folk songs comes sample hors d'oeuvres and wedding cake while alive with guitar stylings and nuanced vocal harmingling with industry professionals, who monies. New City Galerie, Burlington, 7-8:30 p.m. showcase food, fashion and day-of designs for $10 suggested donation. Info, 598-6035. every budget. Middlebury Inn, 11:30 a.m.-2:30 p.m. $6-7; free for brides with four paid tickets. outdoors Info, 459-2897. whoo'S iN ThE SUgarbUSh?: See SAT.28. aarp Tax prEp aSSiSTaNcE: See THU.26, Fletcher Free Library, Burlington, 1-4:30 p.m. seminars Free; preregister for a time slot. Info, 865-7211. diScoVEriNg bUddhiSM STUdy groUp: Readings, discussions, and meditations help fairs & festivals participants better understand the complete STowE hoME & gardEN Show: See SAT.28, 10 path to enlightenment as taught by the Buddha. a.m.-4 p.m.

Milarepa Center, Barnet, 2-4 p.m. Free. Info, 633-4136.

film

grEEN MoUNTaiN filM fESTiVal: See WED.25.

SEVEN DAYS

food & drink

58 CALENDAR

104.7 & 93.3 BURLINGTON 104.7 & 93.3 BURLINGTON 93.7 MIDDLEBURY 93.7 MIDDLEBURY 104.7 & 100.3 MONTPELIER 104.7 & 100.3 MONTPELIER 95.7 THE NORTHEAST KINGDOM 95.7 THE NORTHEAST KINGDOM 103.1 & 107.7 THE UPPER VALLEY 103.1 & 107.7 THE UPPER VALLEY

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4-h paNcakE brEakfaST: See SAT.28.

MaplE SUgar fESTiVal: See SAT.28.

NEw york STaTE MaplE wEEkENd: See SAT.28.

ShElbUrNE SUgar oN SNow: See SAT.28.

SUgar oN SNow: See SAT.28.

SUgar-oN-SNow parTy: See SAT.28.

VErMoNT MaplE brEakfaST: See SAT.28.

VErMoNT MaplE opEN hoUSE wEEkENd: See SAT.28.

theater

'cabiN fEVEr folliES': See FRI.27. 'groUNd hog opry': See SAT.28, 2 p.m.

NEw dirEcTioNS ShowcaSE: See FRI.27, 2 p.m. 'orwEll iN aMErica': See WED.25, 5 p.m.

'Slowgirl': See WED.25, 2 p.m.

words

'a MaN aparT' book rElEaSE parTy & coNcErT: Peter Forbes and Helen Whybrow honor late back-to-the-land visionary Bill Coperthwaite in print. A musical tribute by Rani Arbo & daisy mayhem follows. See calendar spotlight. Big Picture Theater and Café, Waitsfield, 4:30-9 p.m. $10-15 for concert; cash bar. Info, 496-8994.

liSt Your EVENt for frEE At SEVENDAYSVT.COM/POSTEVENT

MON.30 conferences

Diversity CONfereNCe: Keynoters Devon Harris and Carol Moseley Braun lead a day of discussions that address race-related issues in the workplace. See gbmrc.org for details. Hilton Hotel, Burlington, 9 a.m.-3 p.m. $10-100; preregister. Info, 657-4219.

dance

salsa MONDays: Dancers learn the techniques and patterns of salsa, merengue, bachata and the cha cha. North End Studio A, Burlington, fundamentals, 7 p.m.; intermediate, 8 p.m. $12.

Info, 227-2572.

etc.

aarP tax PreP assistaNCe: See THU.26.

games

trivia Night: Teams of quick thinkers gather for a meeting of the minds. Lobby, Hotel Vermont, Burlington, 7-9 p.m. Free. Info, 651-5012.

health & fitness

avOiD falls With iMPrOveD stability: See FRI.27. begiNNer tai Chi fOr health & balaNCe: See THU.26, 5:15-6:45 p.m. bODy rebOOt CaMP fOr NeW MOMs: Using timed intervals, body weight and other tools, an innovative class helps mothers get fit.

Middlebury Municipal Gym, 10-11 a.m. $10. Info, 343-7160. fitNess bOOt CaMP: Participants improve strength, agility, endurance and cardiovascular fitness with interval training. New Haven Town Hall, 5:30-6:30 p.m. $10. Info, 343-7160.

PreNatal yOga & barre: See WED.25. r.i.P.P.e.D.: See WED.25. skiN Care & ChiNese MeDiCiNe: Acupuncturist Jennifer Etheridge offers a natural, holistic approach to treating acne, psoriasis and other common dermatological conditions. Community Room, Hunger Mountain Co-op, Montpelier, 6-7 p.m. Free; preregister. Info, 223-8000, ext. 202.

kids

MaD river ChOrale OPeN rehearsal: The community chorus welcomes newcomers in preparation for its June concert, "I Hear America Singing." Chorus Room, Harwood Union High School, South Duxbury, 7-9 p.m. Free. Info, 496-4781.

seminars

thiNgs that MattereD: A weekly class with Bob Mayer highlights artifacts that changed the world in unusual ways and contributed to major developments in human history. Ohavi Zedek Synagogue, Burlington, 5:45-7 p.m. $15-25. Info, 864-0218.

sports

COeD flOOr hOCkey: Men and women aim for the goal in a friendly league setting. The Edge Sports & Fitness, Essex, 7-9 p.m. $5; equipment provided; preregister; limited space. Info, gbfloorhockey@gmail.com.

talks

elDer eDuCatiON eNriChMeNt series: Architectural historian Britta Tonn highlights notable structures in "South Willard Street: A Look at the History and Architecture of Burlington's Gilded Age." Faith United Methodist Church, South Burlington, 2 p.m. $5. Info, 864-3516.

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words

Northern Dipper Qigong Class

Wednesday evenings for 13 weeks Beginning March 25th, 6-7 p.m.

shaPe & share life stOries: Prompts from Recille Hamrell trigger recollections of specific experiences, which are crafted into narratives and shared with the group. Dorothy Alling Memorial Library, Williston, 12:30-2:30 p.m. Free.

Info, 878-4918.

Taught by Arthur Makaris, a licensed acupuncturist and master of Chinese martial arts with over 30 years of experience. Qigong is the ancient Chinese art of cultivating health by combing visualization, meditation, movement, and breath. Northern Dipper Qigong includes gentle movements that stretch and open the spine. The practice of qigong increases harmony among the mind, body, and breath, generating greater health and vitality.

tue.31 business

suPerCharge yOur MarketiNg iN 2015: George Schildge of Matrix Marketing Group advises area professionals as part of the Vermontrepreneur Collective Summit Series. The Essex Culinary Resort & Spa, 8:30 a.m.-noon.

Free; preregister. Info, 318-7654.

NORTHERN DIPPER QIGONG WILL FOCUS ON: Essence, Breath, and Mind Physical and Energetic Alignment Opening Qi • Gathering Qi

community

Acupuncture & Qigong Health Center 167 Pearl St., Essex Junction www.daoisnow.org To register, call 879-7999

Sketch Comedy and Improv

Upright Citizens Brigade

Friday & Saturday, April 3 & 4 at 7 & 9:30 pm, FlynnSpace

SEVEN DAYS

conferences

Media P E R F O R M I N G

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A R T S

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CALENDAR 59

verMONt travel iNDustry CONfereNCe: A gathering of industry professionals features presentations, workshops and keynoter Robbin Philips. See vtic.org for details. The Equinox Resort & Spa, Manchester, noon-1:30 & 4:45-6 p.m. $55-275. Info, 865-5202.

TUE.31

03.25.15-04.01.15

feast tOgether Or feast tO gO: See FRI.27. sOuth burliNgtON City/sChOOl task fOrCe MeetiNg: Residents discuss options regarding the number of city schools, grade configurations, and community wants and needs. Cafeteria, Frederick H. Tuttle Middle School, South Burlington, 6:30 p.m. Free. Info, 652-7252. start the CONversatiON: The Visiting Nurse Association welcomes state representatives Jill Krowinski and Curt McCormack in a candid discussion about end-of-life care. Fletcher Free Library, Burlington, 6-7:30 p.m. Free. Info, 658-1900. tuesDay vOluNteer Nights: Folks pitch in around the shop by organizing parts, moving bikes and tackling other projects. Children under 12 must be accompanied by an adult. Bike Recycle Vermont, Burlington, 5-8 p.m. Free. Info, 264-9687. turkiC Cultural Day: Vermonters get a taste of Turkish culture with authentic fare, coffee, art and exhibits. Vermont State House, Montpelier, 4-5:45 p.m. Free. Info, 448-0458.

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aliCe iN NOODlelaND: Kiddos get acquainted over crafts and play while new and expectant parents chat with maternity nurse and lactation consultant Alice Gonyar. Buttered Noodles, Williston, 10-11 a.m. Free. Info, 764-1810.

COlChester PresChOOl stOry tiMe: Tales, crafts and activities arrest the attention of tykes ages 3 through 6. Burnham Memorial Library, Colchester, 10:30-11 a.m. Free; preregister. Info, 264-5660. iNtergeNeratiONal Dessert bOOk DisCussiON: Readers in grades 6 and up consider A. Lee Martinez's Emperor Mollusk Versus the Sinister Brain over sweet treats. Burnham Memorial Library, Colchester, 6:30-7:30 p.m. Free.

Info, 264-5660. iNtrO tO viDeO PrODuCtiON CaMP: Handson instruction gives kids age 9 through 14 the chance to film and edit projects for Lake Champlain Access Television. Georgia Public Library, Fairfax, 3:30-4:45 p.m. Free; preregister.

Info, 524-4643. kiDs yOga: A fun-filled class for students ages 8 through 12 encourages focus, creativity and teamwork. Grateful Yoga, Montpelier, 4:15-5:15 p.m. $12. Info, 224-6183.

MusiC With Peter: Preschoolers up to age 5 bust out song-and-dance moves to traditional and original folk tunes. Dorothy Alling Memorial Library, Williston, 11 a.m. Free; limited to one session per week per family. Info, 878-4918. stOries With MegaN: Engaging narratives enthrall budding bookworms ages 2 through 5.

Fletcher Free Library, Burlington, 11-11:30 a.m.

Free. Info, 865-7216.

music

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dance

Kyle AbrAhAm/AbrAhAm.In.motIon: Celebrated choreographer Kyle Abraham addresses civil rights struggles in South Africa and the U.S. in When the Wolves Came In. See calendar spotlight. Moore Theater, Hopkins Center, Dartmouth College, Hanover, N.H., 7 p.m. $10-40.

Info, 603-646-2422.

Intro to trIbAl belly DAnce: Ancient traditions define this moving meditation that celebrates creative energy. Comfortable clothing required. Sacred Mountain Studio, Burlington, 6:45 p.m. $13. Info, piper.c.emily@gmail.com. tAngo PrActIce SeSSIon: Dancers looking to master the Argentine tradition focus on their footwork in a weekly class. New City Galerie, Burlington, 7-10 p.m. $5 suggested donation. Info, 617-780-7701, maya@newcitygalerie.org.

etc.

SPrIng blooD DrIve: Healthy donors give the gift of life. Dion Family Student Center, St. Michael's College, Colchester, noon-5 p.m. Free.

Info, 654-2674.

film

'the breAKfASt club: 30th AnnIverSAry': See THU.26. 'the SeArcherS': John Ford's 1956 Western stars John Wayne as a Civil War veteran on a mission to rescue his niece from Native Americans.

Film House, Main Street Landing performing Arts Center, Burlington, 7 p.m. Free; first come, first served. Info, 540-3018.

games

gAmIng for teenS & ADultS: Tabletop games entertain players of all skill levels. Kids 13 and under require a legal guardian or parental permission to attend. Fletcher Free Library, Burlington, 5-7:45 p.m. Free. Info, 865-7216.

health & fitness

ActIve SenIor boot cAmP: participants break a sweat while improving strength, flexibility and cardiovascular health. Middlebury Municipal Gym, 10-11 a.m. $10. Info, 343-7160.

DroP-In yogA: Yogis hit the mat for a Hatha class led by Betty Molnar. Burnham Memorial Library, Colchester, 4:30-5:30 p.m. Free. Info, 264-5660. fItneSS boot cAmP: See WED.25, 2 Wolves Holistic Center, Vergennes, 5:30-6:30 p.m. $14.

Info, 343-7160. gentle yogA WIth JIll lAng: Students get their stretch on in a supportive environment. personal mat required. Dorothy Alling Memorial Library, Williston, 5:30 p.m. Free. Info, 878-4918.

Pee-Wee PIlAteS: Moms bond with their babies in a whole-body workout. prenatal Method Studio, Burlington, 10:30-11:30 a.m. $15. Info, 829-0211.

PrenAtAl yogA & bArre: See WED.25, 12:151:15 & 4:30-5:30 p.m.

kids

bAby & toDDler Story tIme: A Mother Goosebased morning features rhymes, songs and stories. Ilsley public Library, Middlebury, 10:15-10:45 a.m. Free. Info, 388-4095. creAtIve tueSDAyS: Artists exercise their imaginations with recycled crafts. Kids under 8 must be accompanied by an adult. Fletcher Free Library, Burlington, 3-5 p.m. Free. Info, 865-7216.

fAIrfAx Story hour: 'DAIry WIth fArmer vIrgInIA': Good listeners up to age 6 are rewarded with tales, crafts and activities. Fairfax Community Library, 9:30-10:30 a.m. Free. Info, 849-2420. hIghgAte Story hour: See WED.25. muSIc WIth mr. chrIS: Singer, storyteller and puppeteer Chris Dorman entertains wee ones and their parents. Buttered Noodles, Williston, 10-10:30 a.m. Free. Info, 764-1810.

PreSchool muSIc: Kids ages 3 through 5 sing and dance the morning away. Burnham Memorial Library, Colchester, 11:30 a.m.-noon. Free. Info, 264-5660. reAD to A Dog: Lit lovers bond with a congenial canine from Therapy Dogs of Vermont. Dorothy Alling Memorial Library, Williston, 3:30-4:30 p.m.

Free; preregister for a time slot. Info, 878-4918.

Story exPlorerS: WAter: Liquid, solid or gas?

A reading of Frank Asch's Water explores the magical properties of the substance. ECHO Lake Aquarium and Science Center/Leahy Center for Lake Champlain, Burlington, 10:30 a.m. Free with admission, $9.50-12.50. Info, 877-324-6386. tech tueSDAyS: Tinkerers tackle e-crafts, circuits and programming. Kellogg-Hubbard Library, Montpelier, 3:30-4:30 p.m. Free. Info, 223-4665. toDDler Story tIme: Young ’uns up to 3 years old have fun with music, rhymes, snacks and captivating tales. Burnham Memorial Library, Colchester, 10:30-11 a.m. Free; preregister. Info, 264-5660. youth meDIA lAb: Aspiring Spielbergs learn about moviemaking with television experts. Ilsley public Library, Middlebury, 3:30-4:30 p.m. Free.

Info, 388-4095.

language

'lA cAuSerIe' french converSAtIon: Native speakers are welcome to pipe up at an unstructured conversational practice for students. El Gato Cantina, Burlington, 4:30-6 p.m. Free. Info, 540-0195.

PAuSe-cAfé french converSAtIon: French students of all levels engage in dialogue en français. Sherpa Kitchen, Burlington, 6:30-8 p.m.

Free. Info, 363-2431.

talks

lAcI green: The web personality, public speaker and activist brings a fresh approach to an examination of gender, sexuality, body image and other hard-hitting issues. See calendar spotlight.

McCarthy Arts Center, St. Michael's College, Colchester, 5 p.m. Free. Info, 654-2667.

words

the Art of DIgItAl StorytellIng: Wordsmiths use online media to create original stories. Studio 266, Burlington, 6:30 p.m. Free; preregister. Info, 383-8104. booK DIScuSSIon: Bibliophiles analyze Elizabeth Strout's The Burgess Boys. Burnham Memorial Library, Colchester, 1-2 p.m. Free. Info, 264-5660.

WeD.1

agriculture

tIPS & technIqueS for SucceSSful PlAnt ProPAgAtIon: From roots to soil, Joann Darling shares tricks of the trade for thriving annuals and perennials. Vermont Center for Integrative Herbalism, Montpelier, 6-8 p.m. $10-12; preregister. Info, 224-7100.

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60 CALENDAR

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SEVENDAYSVt.com

GET ON THE ROAD TO THE FINAL POUR!

Now through April 3rd Vote for your favorite local brews at sevendaysvt.com/brew-bracket for your chance to win Three Penny Taproom swag.

liSt Your EVENt for frEE At SEVENDAYSVT.COM/POSTEVENT

music

tanGoflow!: See WED.25.

N .2

9|D

A N C E | P iE c E S o

health & fitness

fitness boot CaMp: See WED.25, 6-7 p.m. insiGht Meditation: See WED.25. r.i.p.p.e.d.: See WED.25. sprinG renewal Meditation: See WED.25.

UR

CO

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Coffee tastinG: See WED.25.

:c

food & drink

ow

'food Chains': Florida farm workers go up against the global supermarket industry in their quest for improved working conditions in Sanjay Rawal's 2014 documentary. A panel discussion follows. Livak Room, Davis Center, UVM, Burlington, 6:30-9:30 p.m. Free. Info, 355-3910.

TE

fN

film

SU

Kyle abrahaM/abrahaM.in.Motion: See TUE.31. afrolatin party: See WED.25.

Marly spieser-sChneider: The Vermont Artists' Space grant recipient offers a work-inprogress performance of 3 May 1905. FlynnSpace, Burlington, 7:30 p.m. $5 suggested donation.

Info, 863-5966.

Y

dance

BI T D A N CE C O M

VerMont traVel industry ConferenCe: See TUE.31, 8:45-9:45 a.m.

ChildliGht yoGa for Kids: Little ones ages 4 through 8 hit the mat and learn a sequence of stretches. Fletcher Free Library, Burlington, 2-2:45 p.m. Free. Info, 865-7216. sports eVeninG babytiMe playGroup: Crawling tots preMier floor hoCKey leaGue: See WED.25. and their parents convene for playtime and sharwoMen's piCKup basKetball: See WED.25. ing. Dorothy Alling Memorial Library, Williston, 6-7:30 p.m. Free. Info, 876-7555. talks hiGhGate story hour: See WED.25. danny saGan: The local architect referencMatt de la peña: The critically es Warren's design-build mecca, Prickly acclaimed young adult author disMountain, in "Freedom and Unity: cusses his latest novel, The Living.

Historical Thoughts on a Radical Phoenix Books, Burlington, 7 p.m.

Community of Architects in Free. Info, 448-3350.

Vermont." River Arts, Morrisville, Meet roCKin' ron the 7 p.m. $5 suggested donation. friendly pirate: See Info, 888-1261.

WED.25. edward tiCK: In "The Human read to a doG: Lit lovers take Face of War: Combat, Healing advantage of quality time with and the Humanities," the direca friendly, fuzzy therapy pooch. tor of the Soldier's Heart Clinic Fairfax Community Library, 3:15ponders the far-reaching effects il | Dh t 4:15 p.m. Free; preregister for a of wartime. Goodrich Memorial oo Ec oj Dc time slot. Info, 849-2420.

Pr A Nc Library, Newport, 7-8:30 p.m. Free.

Er AwArENESS Info, 334-7902. story tiMe & playGroup: See WED.25. lunCh & learn: biG-ass fans: Representatives language from the Kentucky-based manufacturer of massive ceiling fans discuss sustainability and other enGlish as a seCond lanGuaGe Class: See innovation design strategies. Hinge, Burlington, WED.25. noon-1 p.m. Free. Info, 923-3088.

GerMan-enGlish ConVersation Group: Mina GirGis: The ethnomusicologist and Nile Community members practice conversing auf Project founder details the cross-cultural conDeutsch. Local History Room, Fletcher Free Library, nections in "Musical Collaboration and Water Burlington, 6:30-8:30 p.m. Free. Info, 865-7211.

Cooperation." Mahaney Center for the Arts, interMediate/adVanCed enGlish as a Middlebury College, 7-8:30 p.m. Free. Info, 443-3168. seCond lanGuaGe Class: See WED.25.

OF I

conferences

kids

sonG CirCle: Singers and musicians convene for an acoustic session of popular folk tunes. Godnick Adult Center, Rutland, 7:15-9:15 p.m. Free; donations accepted. Info, 775-1182.

SY

Men's Group: A supportive environment encourages socializing and involvement in senior center activities. Montpelier Senior Activity Center, 10-11:30 a.m. Free. Info, 223-2518. peer support CirCle: See WED.25.

PAN

community

osher lifelonG learninG leCture: Meteorologist Roger Hill updates folks on the most recent climate change data. Montpelier Senior Activity Center, 1:30-3 p.m. $5 suggested donation. Info, 223-2518. roberta stewart: The Dartmouth College professor of classics touches on her work with survivors of war in "Homer's Odyssey, Narratives of Return for Combat Veterans." St. Johnsbury Athenaeum, 7 p.m. Free. Info, 748-8291. shinzen younG: Linking Eastern meditation with Western science, the Buddhist monk examines the evolution of mindfulness. McCarthy Arts Center, St. Michael's College, Colchester, 7-8:30 p.m. Free. Info, 654-2436. bill Mares & bill lipKe: From Ethan Allen to the War on Terror, the local authors consider the state's commemorative history in "Vermont War Memorials, Statuary and Cemeteries: From the Revolution to 9/11." Norwich Congregational Church, 7-8:30 p.m. Free. Info, 649-1184.

words

farMers niGht series: Award-winning poet Major Jackson kicks off PoemCity with a reading and a discussion of his craft. Vermont Statehouse, Montpelier, 7:30 p.m. Free. Info, 223-3338.

Julia alVarez: The author, activist and Middlebury College writer in residence excerpts early and recent works as part of National Poetry Month. Middlebury United Methodist Church, 7 p.m. Free. Info, 262-2626. norwiCh writers series: Prize-winning poet and essayist Ellen Bryant Voigt excerpts selected works. Norwich University, Northfield, 4 p.m. Free.

Info, 485-2886. poetry CirCle: New Hampshire poet laureate Alice Fogel crosses the border for an evening of shared stanzas. Bradford Public Library, 6 p.m. Free.

Info, 222-4536. m

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Tired of feeling like a number?

03.25.15-04.01.15

Hands-on Learning • Small Classes • Authentic Community

Open House April 25, 2015

SEVEN DAYS

Transfer students welcome www.sterlingcollege.edu/open-house

Sterling College Working Hands.Working Minds.

CALENDAR 61

www.sterlingcollege.edu • 800-648-3591 Transfer ad 3a.indd 1 2h-SterlingCollege031115.indd 1

3/4/15 3/2/15 11:55 3:17 PM AM

classes THE FOLLOWING CLASS LISTINGS ARE PAID ADVERTISEMENTS. ANNOUNCE YOUR CLASS FOR AS LITTLE AS $13.75/WEEK (INCLUDES SIX PHOTOS AND UNLIMITED DESCRIPTION ONLINE). SUBMIT YOUR CLASS AD AT SEVENDAYSVT.COM/POSTCLASS.

burlington city arts

Call 865-7166 for info or register online at burlingtoncityarts.org.

Teacher bios are also available online.

62 CLASSES

SEVEN DAYS

03.25.15-04.01.15

SEVENDAYSVT.COM

CLAY: SILKSCREEN SLIP TRANSFERS: Using silkscreen printing techniques to transfer slip on your clay work can add aesthetic depth, hard to achieve when painting slips directly onto your work. In this lecture-style class, Chris Vaughn will demonstrate the possibilities of surface decoration using slip transfers on thrown and slab-built forms and introduce basic silkscreen techniques using photo emulsion. Sun. Apr. 19, 1:30-3 p.m.

Cost: $25/person; $22.50/BCA members. Location: BCA Clay Studio, 250 Main St., Burlington.

CLAY: THROWING SETS: Students will be guided through the process of creating wheel thrown sets. Topics will include making multiples of the same piece, stacking mugs and nesting bowls, and serving sets specific to a type of food or beverage. This intermediate level course is intended for students with proficiency in centering, throwing cups and throwing bowls. Instructor: Chris Vaughn.

Weekly on Thu., Apr. 23-May 14, 12:30-3 p.m. Cost: $140/person; $126/BCA members. Location: BCA Clay Studio, 250 Main St., Burlington.

COMICS: Students will create a six-to-eight-page self-published mini-comic featuring handdrawn characters and stories.

Students will work with a variety of media including pencil, ink, colored pencil and watercolor.

Students can explore various comic formats including singlepanel, four-panel, and multiplepanel strips. No previous drawing experience required.

Material list online. Instructor: Glynnis Fawkes. Weekly on Thu., Apr. 9-May 21 (no class Apr. 23), 6:30-8:30 p.m. Cost: $210/ person; $189 BCA members.

Location: BCA Center, 135 Church St., Burlington.

EXPLORING LOCAL FILM PRODUCTION: Interested in making a film? Screen the work of local filmmakers and discuss their processes and the resources available to produce films in Vermont with local filmmaker Michael Fisher. Students are welcome to bring their own film ideas to discuss, to meet potential collaborators and to seek advice. Tue., May 5, 6:30-8:30 p.m. Cost: $25/person; $22.50/ BCA members. Location: BCA Center, Digital Media Lab, 135 Church St., Burlington.

JEWELRY: CHASING AND REPOUSSE: Take your skills a step further and learn the craft of chasing and repouse.

Repousse is a metalworking technique in which a malleable metal is ornamented or shaped by hammering from the reverse side. Chasing is done on the opposite side and the two are used in conjunction to create a finished, embossed piece.

Pair with Bangles. Prerequisite: Jewelry and Fine Metals experience. Instructor: Rebecca Macomber. Weekly on Thu., Apr. 2-16, 6:30-8:30 p.m. Cost: $105/ person; $94.50/BCA members.

Location: Generator, 250 Main St. (Memorial Auditorium), Burlington.

PHOTO: ADOBE LIGHTROOM: Upload, organize, edit and print your digital photographs using Adobe Photoshop Lightroom.

Importing images, using RAW files, organization, fine-tuning tone and contrast, color and white balance adjustments, and archival printing on our Epson 3880 printer will all be covered.

Bring a Mac-compatible portable flash or hard drive with your images to the first class. Pair this class with Digital SLR Camera for a 12-week experience and learn the ins and outs of photo editing and printing! Instructor: Dan Lovell. No experience necessary. Weekly on Wed., Apr. 1-May 6, 6-9 p.m. Cost: $260/person; $234/BCA members. Location: BCA Center, 135 Church St., Burlington.

PHOTO: ALTERNATIVE DARKROOM PROCESS: PRINTING ON GLASS, WOOD AND METAL: Learn new aspects of black-and-white darkroom printmaking! Students will learn to print on a variety of materials, including watercolor paper, fabric, wood, metal and glass using Liquid Light, an emulsion that can be painted on a variety of surfaces for a

unique effect. Bring your film/ digital negatives and ideas to the first class. Prerequisite: Intro to Black and White Film and the Darkroom or equivalent experience. Instructor: Dana Dunham. Weekly on Wed., Apr. 8-Apr. 22, 6-9 p.m. Cost: $135/ person; $121/BCA members.

Location: BCA Center, 135 Church St., Burlington.

PHOTO: PORTRAIT PHOTOGRAPHY: Improve your portrait-taking skills in this hands-on class. Camera techniques, composition, the use of studio and natural light, working with a model and more will be covered. Bring your camera with a charged battery and memory card to the first class.

Prerequisite: Film or Digital SLR Camera or equivalent experience. Instructor: Dan Lovell.

Weekly on Thu., Apr. 9-Apr. 23, 6-9 p.m. Cost: $160/person; $144/BCA members. Location: BCA Center, 135 Church St., Burlington.

PRINT: MIXED LEVEL MONOPRINT: Students will hone their skills working with the press and learn how to incorporate dry point, collagraphs and embossing techniques into their printmaking, and techniques to layer images that create depth and master chine colle. Over 25 hours per week of open studio time is included for producing prints. Prerequisite: Some previous experience with printing suggested. Instructor: Susan Smereka. Weekly on Wed., Apr. 1-May 6, 6-8:30 p.m. Cost: $210/ person; $189/BCA members.

Location: BCA Print Studio, 250 Main St., Burlington.

SCHOOL BREAK: DIY GAMES: Jon us for a day of fun and games! Make your own DIY board games and puzzles, create your own Mad Libs, build your own adventure stories and more.

There will be time for group and individual projects and plenty of time for playing. All materials provided. Registration required.

Instructors: Alissa Faber and Rachel Hooper. Ages 6-12. Wed., Apr. 22, 8 a.m.-3 p.m. Cost: $85/ person; $76.50/BCA members.

Location: BCA Center, 135 Church St., Burlington.

SILKSCREENING: Torrey Valyou, local silkscreen legend and co-owner of New Duds, will introduce you to silkscreening and show you how to design and print T-shirts, posters, fine art and more! Cost includes over 25 hours per week of open studio time for practicing, use of studio chemicals, class ink and equipment. See detailed student materials list online. No experience necessary. Weekly on Thu., Apr. 2-May 21, 6-8:30 p.m. Cost: $280/person; $252/BCA members. Location: BCA Print Studio, 250 Main St., Burlington.

TAKING ETSY TO THE NEXT LEVEL: Have you had an Etsy shop open for a while but traffic is slow? Etsy seller Laura Hale

will guide you through driving traffic to your shop using Etsy’s internal tools and creating your own online marketing methods.

We’ll cover treasuries, blog posts and comments, integrating social media, refining listings for top search results and more!

Tue., Apr. 7, 6:30-8:30 p.m. Cost: $25/person; $22.50/BCA members. Location: BCA Center, 135 Church St., Burlington.

TERRARIUMS: Join artist Laura Hale and create your own custom-designed terrarium.

You’ll learn how to choose the right plants and create the right soil conditions for them to thrive. You’ll leave with your own custom creation and care instructions for keeping it healthy and verdant. All materials provided. Registration required.

Thu., Apr. 2, 6-8 p.m. Cost: $28/ person; $25.20/BCA members.

Location: BCA Center, 135 Church St., Burlington.

WATERCOLOR: Learn how to paint with watercolor. This class will focus on observational painting from still life, figure, landscape and photos.

Students will gain experience with composition, color, theory, layering, light and shade. Class may move outdoors to paint en-plein-air on nice days. No experience necessary. Material list online. Instructor: Marc Nadel.

Weekly on Wed., Apr. 1-May 20, 6:30-8:30 p.m. Cost: $224/ person; $201.60/BCA members.

Location: BCA Center, 135 Church St., Burlington.

YOUTH: DARKROOM PHOTO: Experiment in the darkroom and create one-of-a-kind images with light and objects in our black-and-white darkroom. All materials provided. Registration required. Ages: 8-12. Instructor: Kristen Watson. Sun., Apr. 4, 1:30-3:30 p.m. Cost: $25/person; $22.50/BCA members. Location: BCA Center, 135 Church St., Burlington.

YOUTH: SILK-SCREENING: Come and silk-screen in BCA’s Print Studio! Learn the basic techniques of silk-screening and create your own artwork to print on paper, T-shirts, bags and more. All materials provided.

Registration required. Ages 8-12.

Instructor: Kim Desjardins. Sat., May 2, 1:30-3:30 p.m. Cost: $25/ person; $22.50/BCA members.

Location: BCA Print Studio, 250 Main St., Burlington.

FINANCES WITHOUT FEAR: We’ll go over the basics of how to keep track of what you earned and spend, how to prep for taxes, and how to plan for cash flow over the course of a year. No previous accounting experience is necessary and those who are totally flummoxed and intimidated by financials are encouraged to attend. Instructor: Laura Hale.

Limit: 12. Tue., Apr. 21, 6:30-8:30 p.m. Cost: $25/person; $22.50/ BCA members. Location: BCA Center, 135 Church St., Digital Media Lab, Burlington.

business

craft

INTRO TO SELF-EMPLOYMENT: Think you might want to start a business? Explore what a business might look like for you in this fun, supportive class.

Brainstorm business ideas, determine what you need out of a business, reality-filter business ideas, find resources for next steps. Join a community of your business-exploring peers!

Weekly on Thu., Apr. 2-23, 6-8 p.m. Cost: $125/8-hour workshop over 4 weeks. Location: Mercy Connections, 255 S. Champlain St., Burlington. Info: Mercy Connections’ Women’s Small Business Program, Gwen Pokalo, 846-7338, gpokalo@ mercyconnections.org, wsbp.org.

FEMMECHANICS: Learn to fix your bike! Female-identifying people learn bicycle maintenance and repair in a supportive environment. Students learn systems and parts of the bicycle and practice common repairs and adjustments on their own bikes. Taught by a female mechanic from Old Spokes Home. 3 Wed., Mar. 18-Apr. 1 or Apr. 15-29, 6-9 p.m. Cost: $95/3 3-hour classes; scholarships avail.

Location: Bike Recycle Vermont, 664 Riverside Ave., Burlington.

Info: Christine Hill, 339-2230722, christine@bikerecyclevt. org, bikerecyclevermont.org.

coaching MINDFULNESS DEMYSTIFIED: Maybe you’ve heard of mindfulness and want to learn the basics. Or maybe you’re familiar with the concepts and want help getting started with a practice. This class offers simple, straightforward instructions and practical tools that fit seamlessly into your everyday activities, helping you to approach your life with less stress and greater ease, awareness and fulfillment. 3 Thu. starting Apr. 9, 6:30-8 p.m. Cost: $85/3 90-minute classes. Location: Richardson Pl., 2 Church St., suite 2C, Burlington. Info: Mark Nash, 651-0999, marknashvt@gmail. com, marknashvt.com.

theshelburnecraftschool.org

985-3648

WATERCOLOR AT SHELBURNE FARMS: Join watercolor artist Joel Popadics for five days of painting, learning, and being inspired by the beautiful landscapes of Shelburne Farms.

Each day, there will be two brief painting demonstrations, with topics ranging from painting cows to handling the summer greens and Lake Champlain’s light. Following the demonstrations, you will have the

class photos + more info online SEVENDAYSVT.COM/CLASSES

opportunity to paint and apply the concepts presented. Jun. 1-5, Mon.-Fri., 8 a.m.-4 p.m. Cost: $675/person; rooms at the Inn at Shelburne Farms are avail. at a discount for this program.

Location: Shelburne Farms & Shelburne Craft School, Shelburne. Info: 985-3648.

Experimental Painting: Instructor: Sage TuckerKetcham. This workshop is perfect for the very beginner, but also the master painter. If you are stumped with how to break out of your process, or not sure how to enter painting as a medium, Sage will guide you through four different techniques. You will experiment with house paints, varnishes, oil paint, floor lacquers, enamels, inks and more. Sage will cover paint chemistry, sanding, repetition and layering. May 16, Sat., 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Cost: $115/person; member discount avail. Location: Shelburne Craft School, Shelburne. Info: 985-3648.

dance Dance Studio Salsalina: Salsa classes, nightclub-style, on-one and on-two, group and private, four levels. Beginner walk-in classes, Wednesdays, 6 p.m. $13/person for one-hour class. No dance experience, partner or preregistration required, just the desire to have fun! Drop in any time and prepare for an enjoyable workout. Location: 266 Pine St., Burlington. Info: Victoria, 598-1077, info@ salsalina.com.

Dsantos VT Salsa: Experience the fun and excitement of Burlington’s eclectic dance community by learning salsa.

Trained by world famous dancer Manuel Dos Santos, we teach you how to dance to the music and how to have a great time on the dance floor! There is no better time to start than now!

Mon. evenings: beginner class, 7-8 p.m.; intermediate, 8:15-9:15 p.m. Cost: $10/1-hour class.

Location: North End Studios, 294 N. Winooski Ave., Burlington.

Info: Tyler Crandall, 598-9204, crandalltyler@hotmail.com, dsantosvt.com.

Learn to Dance w/ a Partner!: Come alone or come with friends, but come out and learn to dance! Beginning classes repeat each month, but intermediate classes vary from month to month. As with all of our programs, everyone is encouraged to attend, and no partner is necessary. Private lessons also available. Cost: $50/4week class. Location: Champlain Club, 20 Crowley St., Burlington.

Info: First Step Dance, 598-6757, kevin@firststepdance.com, firststepdance.com.

Zumba Class in the South End: Have fun while getting fit!

Zumba is a 60-minute dance workout combined with interval/ resistance training. Enjoy an array of high-energy music including salsa, merengue, samba, cha-cha, soca, hip-hop, belly dance and more. Songs will change every few weeks to keep class fresh. No previous Zumba or dance experience needed!

Weekly on Sat., 11 a.m.-noon.

Cost: $14/class; class passes

avail. Location: South End Studio, 696 Pine St., Burlington.

Info: 540-0044.

drumming DJEMBE IN BURLINGTON!: Learn drumming technique and music on West African drums!

Burlington Beginners Djembe class is on Wed., 7-8:20 p.m.

Three-week sessions start Apr. 22 & May 3. $53/3 weeks, $22 drop-in. Djembes are provided.

Please register online or come directly to the first class!

Location: Taiko Space & , 208 Flynn Ave., suite 3G, Burlington.

Info: 999-4255, classes@ burlingtontaiko.org, burlingtontaiko.org.

TAIKO DRUMMING IN BURLINGTON!: Come study Japanese drumming with Stuart Paton of Burlington Taiko!

Beginner/Recreational Class on Tue., 5:30-6:20 p.m. Accelerated Taiko Program for Beginners on Mon., 7-8:20 p.m. Taiko Training Class for Beginners on Wed., 5:30-6:50 p.m. Kids and Parents Class on Tue., 4:30-5:20 p.m.

Sessions start Apr. 20, 21 & 22.

Register online or come directly to the first class! Location: Taiko Space, 208 Flynn Ave., suite 3G, Burlington. Info: 999-4255, classes@burlingtontaiko.org, burlingtontaiko.org.

fitness

Community Herbalism Workshops: Herbal First Aid: Beyond Plantain Poultices and Echinacea, with Heather Irvine: Sat., Apr. 4, 1-4 p.m. $17.

Understanding and Treating Lyme Disease: Chinese Medicine and Western Herbs, with Brendan Kelly, LAc: Wed., Apr. 8, 6-9 p.m. $17. Spring Into Clean, with Lauren Andrews, RN, CA: Wed., Apr. 15, 6-8 p.m. $22.

Location: Vermont Center for Integrative Herbalism, 252 Main St., Montpelier. Info: 224-7100, info@vtherbcenter.org, vtherbcenter.org.

Garden Plants w/ Medicinal Interest: Many plants do more then beautify a landscape.

Learn the medicinal properties and growing and harvesting tips for plants such as angelica, baptisia, black cohosh, calamus, calendula, California poppy, echinacea, elderberry and more.

Instructor: Heather Irvine. Mar. 28, 11:30-1 p.m. Cost: $12.50/person. Location: Gardener’s Supply Burlington, 128 Intervale Rd., Burlington. Info: 660-3505.

Vermont School of Herbal Studies: Foundations of Herbalism Apprenticeship 2015 offers plant identification, wildcrafting, herb walks, tea formulation, aromatherapy, tinctures, herbal oils and salves, first aid, materia medica, elixirs and much more. Space limited.

Certificate upon completion. 7 Sun., Apr. to Oct. Cost: $825/person. Location: Vermont School of Herbal Studies, Greensboro. Info: 533-2344.

Kitchen Garden Design: Learn the foundation of design skills to create a unique design to match your landscape or renovate a current garden to make it more inviting; methods for maximum productivity, soil health and best design techniques. You will learn how to take your design from paper to your own backyard. Instructor: Ellen Ogden. Apr. 4, 11:30-4 p.m.

Cost: $40/person, incl. lunch.

Location: Gardener’s Supply Burlington, 128 Intervale Rd., Burlington. Info: 660-3505.

Wisdom of the Herbs School: Now interviewing for our eight-month Wisdom of the Herbs 2015, a unique experiential program embracing the local herbaceous plants, trees and shrubs, holistic health, and sustainable living skills, valuable tools for living on the Earth in these changing times. Apr. 2526, May 23-24, Jun. 27-28, Jul. 25-26, Aug. 22-23, Sep. 26-27, Oct. 24-25 and Nov. 7-8, 2015.

Tuition $1,750. VSAC nondegree grants available, please apply soon. Location: Wisdom of the Herbs School, Woodbury. Info: 456-8122, annie@ wisdomoftheherbsschool.com, wisdomoftheherbsschool.com.

gardening

The Art of Growing Food: Learn the basics of kitchen garden design: choosing the right beds and garden tools, building paths, adding personality and organic methods to build your

martial arts VERMONT BRAZILIAN JIUJITSU: Classes for men, women and children. Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu enhances strength, flexibility, balance, coordination and cardio-respiratory fitness. Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu training builds and helps to instill courage and selfconfidence. We offer a legitimate Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu martial arts program in a friendly, safe and positive environment. Accept no imitations. Learn from one of the world’s best, Julio “Foca” Fernandez, CBJJ and IBJJF certified 6th Degree Black Belt, Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu instructor under Carlson Gracie Sr., teaching in Vermont, born and raised in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil! A 5-time Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu National Featherweight Champion and 3-time Rio de Janeiro State Champion, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

Mon.-Fri., 6-9 p.m., & Sat., 10 a.m. 1st class is free. Location: Vermont Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, 55 Leroy Rd., Williston. Info: 660-4072, julio@bjjusa.com, vermontbjj.com.

massage Asian Bodywork Therapy Program: This program teaches two forms of massage, Amma and Shiatsu. We will explore Oriental medicine theory and diagnosis as well as the body’s meridian system, acupressure points, Yin Yang and 5-Element Theory. Additionally, 100 hours of Western anatomy and physiology will be taught.

VSAC nondegree grants are available. NCBTMB-assigned school. Begins September 2015.

Cost: $5,000/500-hour program.

Location: Elements of Healing, 21 Essex Way, suite 109, Essex Jct..

Info: Scott Moylan, 288-8160, elementsofhealing@verizon.net, elementsofhealing.net.

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Cool Annuals: If you’re looking to add color to a garden, container or basket, annuals are the way to go. Learn about new varieties and types for sun and shade.

Instructor: Charlie Nardozzi. Mar. 28, 9:30-11 a.m. Cost: $12.50/person. Location: Gardener’s Supply Burlington, 128 Intervale Rd., Burlington. Info: 660-3505.

HONORING HERBAL TRADITION 2015: Herbal Apprenticeship Program held on a horse farm.

Herbal therapies, nutritional support, diet, detox, body systems, medicine making, plant identification, tea tasting, plant spirit medicine and animal communication, wild foods, field trips, iridology, and women’s, children’s, men’s and animal health! Textbook and United Plant Saver membership included! Open to all! 1 Sat./ mo. for 8 mos., 9 a.m.-5 p.m.

Cost: $900/person. Location: Horsetail Herbs, 134 Manley Rd., Milton. Info: Kelley Robie, 893-0521, htherbs@comcast.net, horsetailherbs.org.

SPANISH CLASSES BEGINNING SOON: Now’s the time to sign up.

Learn from a native speaker via small classes, individual instruction or student tutoring. You’ll always be participating and speaking. Lesson packages for travelers. Also lessons for young children; they love it! Our ninth year. See our website or contact us for details. Beginning week of Mar. 30 for 10 weeks. Cost: $225/10 classes of 90+ mins. ea.

Location: Spanish in Waterbury Center, Waterbury Center. Info: 585-1025, spanishparavos@ gmail.com, spanishwaterburycenter.com.

SEVEN DAYS

Exploring Connections: Inner-Outer Connectivity: The Exploring Connections workshop series uses movement and metaphor to explore the expressive body, incorporating movement fundamentals as well as drawing and writing to explore the relationship between

herbs

language

03.25.15-04.01.15

flynn arts

Advanced Stand-up Comedy: It takes years to master the art of stand-up, but you can accelerate the process in this advanced session for students who have taken Laugh Attack two or more times, or who have been performing for at least a year. Develop longer sets and use candid feedback to take your work to the next level. Class ends with a live performance in front of a full house in FlynnSpace on Monday, May 18. Instructor: Josie Leavitt. Weekly on Mon., Apr. 13-May 18 (no class Apr. 20 or May 4), 6:30-8:30 p.m. Cost: $95/4 weeks. Location: Flynn Center for the Performing Arts, 153 Main St., Burlington. Info: 652-4548, flynnarts.org.

soil. Learn how to integrate flowers, herbs and vegetables and what to choose for ultimate flavor. Instructor: Ellen Ogden.

Apr. 4, 9:30-11 a.m. Cost: $12.50/ person. Location: Gardener’s Supply Burlington, 128 Intervale Rd., Burlington. Info: 660-3505.

SEVENDAYSvt.com

First Strides Vermont: First Strides is a beginner 12-week program that will help you progress from the couch to walking or running at a pace that’s right for you. Find self-confidence you never imagined possible. Weekly meetings include a self-paced group walk and/or run with supportive, experienced mentors, plus inspirational, informative speakers. Weekly on Wed., May 6-Jul. 22. Cost: $45/12-week program if preregistered online; $50 day of. Location: Community Park & Paths, behind Williston Central School, Williston. Info: First Strides Vermont, Kasie Enman, 238-0820, info@ firststridesvermont.com, firststridesvermont.com.

movement and personal expression. Our goal will be to facilitate a lively interplay between inner connectivity and outer expressivity to enrich your movement potential, change ineffective neuromuscular movement patterns, and encourage new ways of moving and embodying your inner self. Fri., Apr. 3, 5:45-7:45 p.m. Cost: $22/person. Location: Flynn Center for the Performing Arts, 153 Main St., Burlington.

Info: 652-4548, flynnarts.org.

classes THE FOLLOWING CLASS LISTINGS ARE PAID ADVERTISEMENTS. ANNOUNCE YOUR CLASS FOR AS LITTLE AS $13.75/WEEK (INCLUDES SIX PHOTOS AND UNLIMITED DESCRIPTION ONLINE). SUBMIT YOUR CLASS AD AT SEVENDAYSVT.COM/POSTCLASS.

MASSAGE

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mathematics THE GOLDEN RATIO AND THE REGULAR POLYHEDRA: THE MATH NOT TAUGHT IN SCHOOL: Explore the deep relationship between the Golden Ratio and the regular polyhedra. Both the Golden Ratio and the regular polyhedra have been studied since ancient times by many cultures. We will review and apply some topics from high school math, use two- and three-dimensional drawings, origami and stick constructions to explore and enjoy these topics. TBD. Cost: $10/meeting. Location: The Greenhouse, 180 Flynn Ave., Burlington. Info: 845-467-3329, jumpinrick@gmail.com.

THREE DIMENSIONAL COORDINATE GEOMETRY FOR CARPENTERS AND OTHERS: Want to move beyond right angle constructions? Learn the math needed to calculate the compound angles. We’ll review the high school math topic “the equation of a line in a plane” and extend that concept to three dimensions. Then we’ll do the calculations to build a non-right-angled structure. TBD. Cost: $10/meeting. Location: The Greenhouse, 180 Flynn Ave., Burlington. Info: 845-467-3329, jumpinrick@gmail.com.

LEARN TO MEDITATE: Through the practice of sitting still and following your breath as it goes out and dissolves, you are connecting with your heart. By simply letting yourself be, as

you are, you develop genuine sympathy toward yourself. The Burlington Shambhala Center offers meditation as a path to discovering gentleness and wisdom. Shambhala Café (meditation and discussions) meets the first Saturday of each month, 9 a.m.-noon. An open house (intro to the center, short dharma talk and socializing) is held on the third Friday of each month, 7-9 p.m. Instruction: Sun. mornings, 9 a.m.-noon, or by appt.

Sessions: Tue. & Thu., noon-1 p.m., & Mon.-Thu., 6-7 p.m.

Location: Burlington Shambhala Center, 187 S. Winooski Ave., Burlington. Info: 658-6795, burlingtonshambhalactr.org.

pregnancy/ childbirth PRENATAL METHOD STUDIO: Prenatal and postnatal yoga and barre classes. Yoga for Fertility Class Series. Childbirth Education Series and weekend intensives. Yoga Alliance Registered Prenatal Yoga Teacher Training Program.

Empathy circles, infant massage

and new mothers groups.

Supporting women and their partners in the management and journey of pregnancy and childbirth. Every day: lunchtimes, evenings & weekends.

Cost: $15/1-hour prenatal or postnatal yoga class. Location: Prenatal Method Studio, 1 Mill St., suite 236, at the Chace Mill, Burlington. Info: 829-0211, beth@prenatalmethod.com, prenatalmethod.com.

spirituality HEAVEN/EARTH AWAKENING CIRCLE: We live in a tumultuous time of great change.In this circle we’ll learn and practice energy exercises to support our increasing the Light, stabilizing the Love and anchoring the paradigm of the New Earth of unity consciousness. For men and women; we leave renewed and expanded. 1st Thu. of the mo., Apr. 2 at 6:45 p.m. Cost: $15/1.25-hour circle. Location: Sacred Mountain Studio, 215 College St., Burlington. Info: Lightheart, Maureen Short, 453-4433, maureen@gmavt. net, lightheart.net.

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storytelling Using story to nUrtUre Beloved Places: Today the existence of many beloved places is threatened. In this workshop, we will share stories of the places we hold dear/sacred, and discuss some ways we might garner support for these places by sharing our stories with the world. Preregistration required.

Instructors: Jennie Kristel & Michael Watson. Sat., Apr. 18, 9:30 a.m-12:30 p.m. Cost: $25/ person. Location: JourneyWorks, 1205 North Ave., Burlington. Info: 860-6203, journeyworksvt.com.

tai chi art oF tai cHi cHUan: Begin learning this supreme art to cultivate and sustain well being of body, mind and spirit passed traditionally through Tung Family lineage. experience the bliss of true nature through practice of teachings, which include Yang-style long-Form Postures & sequence; complementary exercises & Qigong; Yin/Yang Theory & Guiding Principles; Push Hands Partner Practice;

and Mindfulness Meditation. Alllevel weekly classes, Wed., 5:30-7 p.m. $15/class. 1st class free. Art of Tai Chi Chuan/1st Sat. Seminar Series, Apr. 4, 10 a.m.-1 p.m. $30.

Tai Chi for Health, Thu., Apr.-Jun., 10-11 a.m. $50/mo. or $135/season. Location: McClure Center, 241 N. Winooski Ave, Burlington.

Info: Madeleine Piat-Landolt, 453-3690, whitecloudarts@ gmail.com, whitecloudarts.org. snake-style tai cHi cHUan: The Yang snake style is a dynamic tai chi method that mobilizes the spine while stretching and strengthening the core body muscles. Practicing this ancient martial art increases strength, flexibility, vitality, peace of mind and martial skill.

Beginner classes Sat. mornings & Wed. evenings. Call to view a class. Location: Bao Tak Fai Tai Chi Institute, 100 Church St., Burlington. Info: 864-7902, ipfamilytaichi.org.

well-being didgeridoo WorksHoP: Did you know that playing the didgeridoo has been scientifically documented to relieve

sleep apnea? Vermonter and didgeridoo performer/educator Pitz Quattrone leads this threeweek “How to play” workshop for apnea sufferers and anyone else interested. Bring your own didge or purchase one in class at special rates. 3 Thu., Apr. 9, 16 & 23, 7-8:30 p.m. Cost: $75/3-week workshop; instruments extra.

Location: Vermont Naturopathic Clinic, 41 IDX Dr., suite 220, S. Burlington. Info: Pitz Quattrone, 229-4952, pitzquattrone@gmail. com, pitzquattrone.com.

yoga BUrlington Hot yoga: try sometHing diFFerent!: Really different, hot yoga with far infrared heating panels. We offer creative, vinyasa-style yoga classes featuring Prana Flow Hot Yoga in a 93-degree studio with balanced humidity, accompanied by eclectic music in our newly remodeled studio. come try this unique heat which has many healing benefits. classes daily. ahh, to be warm on a cold day, a flowing practice, a cool stone meditation and a chilled orange scented towel to complete your

spa yoga experience. Get hot: 2-for-1 offer. $15. Go to hotyogaburlingtonvt.com.

Location: North End Studio B, 294 N. Winooski Ave., Burlington.

Info: 999-9963. commUnity yoga classes: ses offers five community Yoga classes a week! We also offer Heated Vinyasa, Hatha Flow, Men’s Yoga, Katonah Yoga and Middle school Yoga; prices vary. are you a beginner? ask about our affordable private or semiprivate classes to get you ready and comfortable to join a yoga class! Times vary; check website.

Cost: $6/1-hour drop-in class.

Location: South End Studio, Burlington. Info: 540-0044. evolUtion yoga: evolution Yoga and Physical Therapy offers a variety of classes in a supportive atmosphere: Beginner, advanced, kids, babies, post- and pre-natal, community classes and workshops. Vinyasa, Kripalu, core, Therapeutics and alignment classes. Become part of our yoga community. You are welcome here. Cost: $15/class, $130/class card, $5-10/community classes. Location: Evolution

Yoga, 20 Kilburn St., Burlington.

Info: 864-9642, evolutionvt.com.

Honest yoga, tHe only dedicated Hot yoga FloW center: Honest Yoga offers practice for all levels. Brand new beginners’ courses include two specialty classes per week for four weeks plus unlimited access to all classes. We have daily classes in essentials, Flow and core Flow with alignment constancy. We hold teacher trainings at the 200- and 500-hour levels. Daily classes & workshops. $25/new student 1st week unlimited, $15/class or $130/10-class card, $12/ class for student or senior or $100/10-class punch card.

Location: Honest Yoga Center, 150 Dorset St., Blue Mall, next to Sport Shoe Center, S. Burlington.

Info: 497-0136, honestyogastudio@gmail.com, honestyogacenter.com. men’s yoga series: can’t touch your toes? No problem. This class is for men who suspect a yoga class would be good for them but have never taken one, or found “regular” classes too off-putting.

We’ll start from the beginning and build a strong physical and

mental foundation for a longterm practice. Vibe is supportive, focused but relaxed. Cost: $84/6-week class. Location: South End Studio, Burlington.

Info: 540-0044. yoga roots: Yoga Roots provides a daily schedule of yoga classes for all ages and abilities.

We aim to clarify your mind, strengthen your body and ignite your joyful spirit through classes such as Prenatal Yoga, Gentle Yoga, anusura-inspired all levels, Restorative and Heated Vinyasa Flow! spring schedule starts Mar. 1. New on schedule: Kripalu Yoga w/ Pam, sun.,12:30-1:30 p.m.

Upcoming series/workshops: Interior spaces that Balance Your soul w/ Jovana Guarino, Mar. 28, 2-4 p.m.; The art and science of applied Positivity w/ Peter cole and Dr. Maria sirois, apr. 10, 7-9 p.m. & apr. 11, 1-4 p.m.; Teen Yoga camp, week of spring break beginning apr. 20, 3-4 p.m. Location: Yoga Roots, 120 Graham Way, Shelburne Green Business Park behind Folino’s. Info: 985-0090, yogarootsvt.com.

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music

COURTESY OF RALPH EAMES PHOTOGRAPHY

Soul Food

The Michelle Sarah Band cook up a recipe for success

66 MUSIC

SEVEN DAYS

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SEVENDAYSVT.COM

B Y GARY L EE M ILLE R

I

t’s easy to start a band. But the challenges of taking it public mean most quickly fade away. Others settle into a comfortable routine of low-key gigs and steady rolling. And then there are bands that, blessed by a combination of talent and personal drive, endure and even grow. With a series of Vermont shows lined up and a first record nearly ready for release, the Michelle Sarah Band are hoping to craft a recipe for funk and soul that will take them to the next level, musically and professionally.

Sarah, the band’s lyric writer and lead singer, has sought that recipe for decades. Born in Toronto, she and her twin brother moved to Guyana at age 9 with their parents, who traveled the world doing missionary work. Sarah was laser-focused on singing before she hit her teens, when the family moved to the Philadelphia area. At 16, she was working in a Philly restaurant when she asked the leader of a local cover band if she could sit in.

“I sang Alicia Keys’ ‘Fallin’,’” Sarah recalled. “And when I got done, they said, ‘Don’t go anywhere!’” The band’s bass player, Bennie Sims, ran a local studio. Sims took Sarah under his wing, produced her first demo, gave her work as a studio backup singer and helped her polish her vocal technique.

Kismet — and karaoke — landed Sarah her next big break.

“I got a [marketing] job traveling with the ‘American Idol’ tour for [game maker] Guitar Hero,” Sarah said.

“They had a karaoke machine in the lobby of the venues. My job was to convince people to sing. Of

course, nobody wanted to, so I’d sing to fill in the gaps. trio, including Ira Friedman on keys and John Ryan One of the ‘Idol’ singers heard me, and I got a job doing on bass. Sarah sat in on vocals, and things just clicked. backup on the tour.”

Today the band is still riding the groove, with former That worked for about a year — until Sarah realized viperHouse drummer Phil Carr replacing Davidian on she’d have to choose between working for someone else drums and the addition of Seth Eames on guitar. and starting her own band. She returned to Philly, took Recently, as the feature act at Radio Bean’s Thursday a job bartending and rolled out the first incarnation of night “Soul Sessions,” the band showed why it’s attractthe Michelle Sarah Band. The target was the sweet spot ing attention not only from fans but from professional where funk meets soul, a place management groups, as well. that Sarah had lived in musically On the Bean’s tiny stage, since childhood.

Sarah led the band through a Unfortunately, the Philly simmering set of original funk band came with some organiand soul, along with a couple zational stumbling blocks that of well-rendered covers. Ryan’s prevented it from realizing its understated bass grooves and full potential.

Carr’s tight, occasionally ex“We had three core players plosive kit attack laid down a and a lot of hired guns,” Sarah solid rhythm bed. Keyboardist MIC H E L L E S A R A H said. “Because of that, it never Friedman stepped out frelocked in the way I wanted it to quently, unleashing shimmery lock in. I wanted us to write together. I wanted us to banks of keyboard swells and scatty melodic runs grow together. I wanted it to be a recipe for longevity.” before locking the groove down for another verse. At When her rhythm section quit, Sarah decided to the core was Sarah, showcasing a bring-the-party stage throw in the towel on the Philly project and head to presence and an impressive combination of powerVermont. Here, a second dose of kismet birthed the ful pipes and tasteful phrasing honed over years of current version of the Michelle Sarah Band. practice.

One afternoon three years ago, Sarah was bartending “As a singer, you constantly work toward being able at Sugarbush Resort’s Pine Tree Pub, which her boy- to belt it out,” Sarah said later. “But when you reach friend, Eli Winthrop, owned. When that night’s band that point and you have the power to wow an audience, suddenly canceled, Winthrop made a phone call, and drummer PJ Davidian delivered a hastily assembled SOUL FOOD » P.68

THAT POWERHOUSE VIBE, THAT STANK-FACE UNGHHH! THAT FEELING IS WHAT I LOVE ABOUT FUNK MUSIC.

s

undbites

Got muSic NEwS? dan@sevendaysvt.com

www.highergroundmusic.com

B y Da N B Oll E S

COUrTESy OF vIllaNEllES

Villanelles

Brain Droppings

It’s kind of a quiet week on the local music front. But as we peer into April and beyond, it seems that will change, and soon. In the meantime, let’s burn through some random news and views with an old-school, rapid-fire edition of Soundbites. Buckle up.

SOUNDBITES

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Fr 27

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MUSIC 67

For up-to-the-minute news abut the local music scene, follow @DanBolles on Twitter or read the live Culture blog: sevendaysvt.com/liveculture.

MARCH

SEVEN DAYS

You may have heard that Nectar’s is celebrating its 40th anniversary this year. The House That pHiSH Built will be throwing anniversary bashes all year long — including a special, soldout edition of Bluegrass Thursday

THE DAVID MAYFIELD PARADE

03.25.15-04.01.15

In a related story, why don’t we use City Hall Auditorium for more rock shows?

Prior to Friday, I think I had only seen theater productions there, and maybe a First Night gig or two over the years.

But it’s a pretty cool larger room with better sound than you might imagine.

It’s also in the heart of downtown, making it ultra-convenient for pre- and post-show shenanigans. Y’know, if that’s your thing.

I’m sure there are probably some logistical reasons why using the space on a regular basis is problematic — the building’s daily use as government offices among them. (Maybe the folks in the treasurer’s office don’t like their lobby being turned into a bar after hours?) But it sure seems like an underutilized space.

I was a little bummed to see that the weekly Latin Sessions with cumbia songwriter mAl mAiz at Radio Bean have ended. I didn’t get a chance to see them, but word on the street was that Monday had become the steamiest night of the week at the Bean. I’ll be making a point to catch Maiz and co. the next chance I get, and, based on reports of their live show, I’d suggest you do the same.

In the meantime, Bill mulliNS and his seminal Vermont surf-noir band BArBAcoA will occupy the Monday-night residency for the foreseeable future with, you guessed it, Surf Sessions.

We 1

SEVENDAYSVt.com

Given the firestorm of hype around mADAilA — with flames fanned by these very pages — I was curious to see how the band would respond at the release show for its new record, The Dance, at Burlington City Hall Auditorium last Friday. Answer: with authori-tay.

Heading into the show last week, I had privately wondered if hosting the shindig at city hall — and with a $15 to $20 price tag, no less — was overambitious. It’s a big room, and that ain’t a cheap ticket, especially for a local band. Then, over drinks at a downtown watering hole before the show, I began to hear rumors it had already sold out.

To my mild surprise, those rumors proved true. And the capacity crowd boogying down in the halls of city government was treated to one hell of a show.

Live, Madaila lean on more muscular, guitar-centric arrangements than the glitzy electro-pop of their recordings.

That personally suits my tastes and general love of indie-rock guitar jangle.

But it didn’t dampen the vibrant energy or danceability of the material. If anything, the funky immediacy of mArk DAlY’s tunes was amplified, inspiring one of the most enthusiastic dance

parties I’ve seen at a rock show, local or otherwise, in quite a while. Madaila fans, often neon-clad like the band, got seriously down.

As impressive as the band was instrumentally, I think I was more wowed by Madaila’s handling of some very challenging vocal parts. Daly sings pretty much every note on The Dance, often including layers upon layers of dense, intricate harmony. That Madaila are able to more or less recreate those parts live is extraordinary.

It’s nice to see VillANEllES back in action. For a time not too long ago, they were one of the most highly regarded indie-rock bands in Burlington. But as is so often the case, life and occasional commercial fishing adventures in the North Pacific — in the case of front man triStAN BAriBEAu on that latter score — happen. The group hasn’t been as active in recent years.

Villanelles fans will be pleased to know the band has a pair of local shows this week. On Thursday, March 26, you can catch them at Signal Kitchen in Burlington with Montréal-based shoegazers No JoY and SlEEpiNG iN. Then, on Saturday, March 28, they’ll be at the Monkey House in Winooski with fellow locals SwAlE, opening for Boston rockers HAllEluJAH tHE HillS. (See spotlight on page 72.)

Also, Villanelles have been threatening to release a new album, Blue Heart Attack, for, like, four years now. I’m pleased to report it’s done, but since the band has spent so much time and money recording it, they want to do it proper and release that sucker on vinyl. No word on when that might be, exactly. But the guess here is we’ll have a gnarly new summer record from Villanelles.

music

CLUB DATES na: not availABLE. AA: All ages.

COURTESY oF foghorn stringband

Courtesy of Ralph Eames Photography

68 music

SEVEN DAYS

03.25.15-04.01.15

SEVENDAYSvt.com

Soul Food « p.66 the next step is learning how to harness that and do so tastefully. That powerhouse vibe, that stank-face UNghhh! That feeling is what I love about funk music.”

Sarah also is committed to writing lyrics that have something to say, in part because of her gender. “We are in a music industry that is owned by males; there are not many females that are all up in it,” she explained. “I think I have something to offer in that zone. Our writing is one of our strengths. It’s not just making people shake their asses — there’s a message to it.”

That writing will be showcased on the Michelle Sarah Band’s first album. The 10-song record was tracked at Bennett Shapiro’s Lovetown Recording in Middlesex. Just after the Radio Bean show, Sarah headed to New York to record backup vocals at Boom Camp Studios, owned by old Philly friend and collaborator Bennie Sims. The record will include two tunes from Sarah’s Philly days, seven tunes cowritten by Friedman and Sarah, and one cowritten by Ryan and Sarah. The band plans a late-spring release and a fall tour to support it.

Looking to the future, one of Sarah’s musical goals is stronger collaboration and bringing Ryan more into the songwriting space, a goal he shares.

“What’s interesting now,” Ryan said, “is where we gonna go? We kinda have that retro thing going on, but I know we are also interested in more contemporary sounds, and our writing has started to move in that direction a bit more.”

With a solid group of players, a tour-ready front woman and a bag full of tunes, the Michelle Sarah Band can likely move in any direction they choose. m

INFO The Michelle Sarah Band, Saturday, March 28, 9:30 p.m., at Sweet Melissa’s in Montpelier. Free.

thu.26, sat.28 & sun.29 // Foghorn Stringband [old time]

Sound the Alarm

Foghorn Stringband

trade in what they call “ass-kickin’ redneck stringband

music.” That’s a colorful way of saying the Portland, Ore.-based quartet specialize in a version of old-time music that is as steeped in roots tradition as it is devilishly entertaining. Foghorn Stringband play a run of dates in Vermont this week: Thursday, March 26, at a square dance at the American Legion in Montpelier; Saturday, March 28, at the Skinny Pancake in Burlington; and Sunday, March 29, at the Skinny Pancake in Montpelier.

WED.25 burlington

CLUB METRONOME: The Dolla Party: Ler Stevens and More (hip-hop), 9 p.m., $1/5. 18+.

ZEN LOUNGE: Kizomba with Dsantos VT, 7 p.m., free.

ZensDay (top 40), 10 p.m., free/$5. 18+.

PIECASSO PIZZERIA & LOUNGE: Trivia Night, 7 p.m., free.

chittenden county

CITY LIMITS: Karaoke, 9 p.m., free.

middlebury area

CLUB METRONOME: Smooth Antics, Harsh Armadillo (funk, soul), 9 p.m., $10/12. 18+.

DRINK: BLiNDoG Records Acoustic Sessions, 5 p.m., free.

FINNIGAN'S PUB: Craig Mitchell (funk), 10 p.m., free.

GOOD TIMES CAFÉ: Pat Donohue (fingerstyle guitar), 8:30 p.m., $25.

TWO BROTHERS TAVERN LOUNGE & STAGE: Trivia Night, 7 p.m., free.

JUNIPER: Ray Vega Quintet (jazz), 8 p.m., free.

JERICHO CAFÉ & TAVERN: Bluegrass Session, 6:30 p.m., free.

northeast kingdom

LEUNIG'S BISTRO & CAFÉ: The FOHR Sessions (jazz), 7 p.m., free.

THE MONKEY HOUSE: About Time Vermont Band (funk jazz), 8:30 p.m., free/$3. 18+.

HALFLOUNGE SPEAKEASY: Half & Half Comedy (standup), 8 p.m., free. Disco Phantom (eclectic), 10:30 p.m., free.

LIGHT CLUB LAMP SHOP: Julian Chobot Jazz Trio, 8 p.m., free.

ON TAP BAR & GRILL: Blues Jam with the Collin Craig Trio, 7 p.m., free.

THE STAGE: Open Mic, 6 p.m., free.

MANHATTAN PIZZA & PUB: Backwoods Boogie (rock), 9 p.m., free.

JP'S PUB: Pub Quiz with Dave, 7 p.m., free. Karaoke with Melody, 10 p.m., free.

MANHATTAN PIZZA & PUB: Open Mic with Andy Lugo, 9 p.m., free.

NECTAR'S: VT Comedy Club Presents: What a Joke! Comedy Open Mic (standup comedy), 7 p.m., free. Great Western (folk, rock), 9:30 p.m., free/$5. 18+.

RADIO BEAN COFFEEHOUSE: Tenzin Chopak (progressive folk), 6 p.m., free. Lotango (tango), 7:30 p.m., free. Irish Sessions, 9 p.m., free.

RED SQUARE: The Tenderbellies (bluegrass), 7 p.m., free. DJ Jack Bandit (hip-hop), 11 p.m., free.

THE SKINNY PANCAKE (BURLINGTON): Josh Panda's Acoustic Soul Night, 8 p.m., $5-10 donation.

SWITCHBACK BREWING COMPANY: Rick Cusick (singersongwriter), 5:30 p.m., free.

barre/montpelier BAGITOS BAGEL & BURRITO CAFÉ: Alice et Adam, Autumn Furtak-Cole (folk), 6 p.m., donation.

THE SKINNY PANCAKE (MONTPELIER): Cajun Jam with Jay Ekis, Lee Blackwell, Alec Ellsworth & Katie Trautz, 6 p.m., $5-10 donation.

SWEET MELISSA'S: Wine Down with D. Davis (acoustic), 5 p.m., free. Dan Zura (folk), 8 p.m., free.

stowe/smuggs area THE BEE'S KNEES: Heady Topper Happy Hour with David Langevin (piano), 5 p.m., free.

MOOG'S PLACE: Chickweed (rock), 8 p.m., free.

THE PARKER PIE CO.: Trivia Night, 7 p.m., free.

outside vermont

MONOPOLE: Open Mic, 10 p.m., free.

OLIVE RIDLEY'S: So You Want to Be a DJ?, 10 p.m., free.

THU.26 burlington

ARTSRIOT: Vermont Comedy Divas (standup comedy), 6:30 p.m., $15/18.

BARRIO BAKERY & PIZZA BARRIO: Abbie Morin (folk), 6 p.m., free. Erik Seivert (folk), 7:45 p.m., free.

BENTO: Classics Vinyl Clash (eclectic), 10 p.m., free.

CHURCH & MAIN: Cody Sargent Trio (jazz), 8 p.m., free.

FRANNY O'S: Karaoke, 9 p.m., free.

NECTAR'S: Trivia Mania, 7 p.m., free. Bluegrass Thursday: Masefield, Fishman, Perkins and Bolles, 9:30 p.m., $10/25. 18+.

RADIO BEAN COFFEEHOUSE: Jazz Sessions with Julian Chobot, 6:30 p.m., free. Laura Heaberlin (ghost folk), 7 p.m., free. Shane Hardiman Trio (jazz), 8:30 p.m., free. Soul Sessions with Kat Wright & the Indomitable Soul Band, 10:30 p.m., $5.

RED SQUARE: Eames Brothers Band (mountain blues), 6 p.m., free. D Jay Baron (hip-hop), 10 p.m., free.

RED SQUARE BLUE ROOM: DJ Dave Villa (EDM), 10 p.m., free.

RÍ RÁ IRISH PUB & WHISKEY ROOM: Mashtodon (hip-hop), 10 p.m., free. thu.26

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S

UNDbites

GOT MUSIC NEWS? DAN@SEVENDAYSVT.COM Try to be a rainbow in someone’s cloud.

— Maya Angelou

ONLINE@ZENLOUNGEVT

C O NT I NU E D F RO M PA G E 6 7 COURTESY OF NO JOY

KIZOMBA with DSANTOS VT 7-10PM 50 SHADES OF GAY 10PM, 18+

W.3.25 Th.3.26

TOTALLY INAPPROPRIATE COMEDY SHOW 8PM

AEPI INNOVATION AFRICA FUNDRAISER 10PM, 18+

SALSA with JAH RED 8PM

F.3.27

Sa.3.28

FEEL GOOD FRIDAY with D JAY BARON 11PM 21+

OLD SCHOOL REVIVAL

Tuesdays

with DJ ATAK & DAVE VILLA 10 PM 21+ KILLED IT! KARAOKE 10PM, 18+

165 CHURCH ST, BTV • 802-399-2645 12v-zenloungeWEEKLY2.indd 1

FRIDAY MARCH 27

No Joy

There’s an intriguing house concert this Friday, March 27, in Shelburne to benefit Young Tradition Vermont. For the uninitiated, that’s a nonprofit group that aims to keep youngsters interested

STARLINE RHYTHM BOYS9PM

in traditional music. Exposing them to some of the songwriters on the bill this Friday is a good place to start.

The lineup features a slew of talented local songsmiths. HANA ZARA headlines, fresh off releasing her exceptional new album, The North. If you missed the review in last week’s issue, here’s a spoiler: wow.

Rounding out the bill are folk songwriter KAREN KRAJACIC, indie-folk duo CRICKET BLUE — who also have a great new EP out — and songwriters ADDIE HERBERT and ERIC GEORGE. I recently caught George on an episode of the WRUV show “Exposure” and came away very impressed. Dude has a unique, bluesy songwriting style and voice to match. Word is he’s close to releasing a new record of his own.

Based on his “Exposure” performance, I’d say that should be one worth watching for.

For info on the house concert and to make reservations, call 985-1124.

Last but not least, welcome home to the Vermont delegation who attended South by Southwest in Austin, Texas, last week as part of the Big Heavy World Vermont Music Showcase. No word yet on how the showcase went — as of press time, most of the bands are still en route back to VT. But based on the slew of Facebook photos posted by the SNAZ, WAYLON SPEED and LOWELL THOMPSON last week — which made me and likely countless other frozen Vermonters insanely jealous — it looks like y’all had fun.

DONOVAN & THE CONGREGATION11PM

SATURDAY MARCH 28

RETRONAIL A FREE NIGHT OF THROWBACK JAMS FEATURING DJ REKKON

FRIDAY APRIL 3 • 8PM SHOW NECTAR’S IN ASSOCIATION W/ BOBBY ROBERTS & LYNN LEBEAU

THE MARSHALL TUCKER BAND a fundraiser for the US-Japan Technical Connections, Inc. WITH BETTER DAYS BAND SATURDAY APRIL 4 • FREE SHOW!

MICHELLE SARAH BAND FRIDAY APRIL 10

DEAD SET GRATEFUL DEAD TRIBUTE SATURDAY APRIL 11

LYNGUISTIC CIVILIANS FRIDAY APRIL 17 FRID

Listening In

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WAXAHATCHEE Ivy Tripp

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THEE OH SEES Manipulator Defeated

at Last

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FORT LEAN Quiet Day

IAN FUND BENEFIT THE AEROLITES • NAMED BY STRANGERS THE EAMES BROTHERS BAND

EVERY WEDNESDAY

LEAGUE NIGHT! DARTS & POOL LEAGUE DA

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MUSIC 69

COURTNEY BARNETT, Sometimes I Sit and Think, and Sometimes I Just Sit

SATURDAY APRIL 25

SEVEN DAYS

,

THE MOUNTAIN GOATS Beat the Champ

THE COP OUTS FRIDAY APRIL 24 • FREE SHOW RUMBLECAT & BIG OL DIRTY BUCKET DI

03.25.15-04.01.15

COURTESY OF HANA ZARA

SETH YACOVONE BAND WITH THE SHADY TREES SATURDAY APRIL 18

A peek at what was on my iPod, turntable, eight-track player, etc., this week.

Hana Zara

WITH BEN

SEVENDAYSVT.COM

this Thursday, March 26, with JAMIE MASEFIELD, DOUG PERKINS, TYLER BOLLES — yes, we’re related — and some guy named JON FISHMAN. By the way, 2015 is a banner year for anniversaries in Burlington.

Nectar’s turns 40, 242 Main turns 30 and this very paper is celebrating its 20th year. But those benchmarks pale in comparison to another local anniversary: University of Vermont radio station WRUV 90.1 FM, which turns 60 this year. More on that one next week.

3/24/15 12:51 PM

3/24/15 10:14 AM

music thu.26

CLUB DATES na: not availABLE. AA: All ages.

« p.68

SIGNAL KITCHEN: No Joy, Villanelles, Sleeping In (indie rock), 8 p.m., $10. AA. THE SKINNY PANCAKE (BURLINGTON): Revibe, the Red Newts (rock), 8 p.m., $5-10 donation.

ZEN LOUNGE: DJ Dave Villa (top 40), 10 p.m., free/$5. 18+.

chittenden county THE MONKEY HOUSE: IBIS, Elephants of Scotland (prog rock), 8:30 p.m., $3.

ON TAP BAR & GRILL: The Usual Suspects (blues), 7 p.m., free.

PENALTY BOX: Karaoke, 8 p.m., free.

BAGITOS BAGEL & BURRITO CAFÉ: Rockwood Ferry (alt folk), 6 p.m., free.

NORTH BRANCH CAFÉ: Neil Fitzgerald (fingerstyle guitar), 7 p.m., free.

NUTTY STEPH'S: Bacon Thursday: Sparlemuffin, Cookie's Hot Club, Andy Plante, 6 p.m., free.

SWEET MELISSA'S: BYOV Thursdays, 3 p.m., free. Two Cents in the Till (folk), 7:30 p.m., free.

WHAMMY BAR: Miriam Bernardo and Michael Chorney (folk), 7 p.m., free.

stowe/smuggs area THE BEE'S KNEES: Bruce Jones (folk), 7:30 p.m., donation.

MOOG'S PLACE: Open Mic, 8 p.m., free.

SUSHI YOSHI (STOWE): Robinson Morse Trio (jazz), 4:30 p.m., free.

SEVENDAYSvt.com

mad river valley/ waterbury

PHANTOM: Linday Lou & the Flatbellys (roots), 8 p.m., free.

middlebury area

51 MAIN AT THE BRIDGE: The Band SuGAR (blues, Americana), 8 p.m., free.

03.25.15-04.01.15

CITY LIMITS: Trivia Night, 7 p.m., free.

TWO BROTHERS TAVERN LOUNGE & STAGE: DJ Blinie (dance party), 10 p.m., free.

northeast kingdom THE STAGE: The Chills (singersongwriters), 7 p.m., free.

SEVEN DAYS

outside vermont

MONOPOLE: Return of Beats & Rhymes (hip-hop), 10 p.m., free.

OLIVE RIDLEY'S: Karaoke, 9 p.m., free.

FRI.27 70 music

burlington

242 MAIN: Doom Service, Lost Love, A Minor Revolution, be Agressive, Vicious Gift (hardcore, punk), 7 p.m., $7.

BENTO: Open Improvisation Jam, 10 p.m., free.

BLEU NORTHEAST SEAFOOD: Chris Peterman (jazz), 8:30 p.m., free.

BURLINGTON MOOSE LODGE #1618: Full Circle Band (rock), 7 p.m., free.

CLUB METRONOME: Back to the Future Friday (’90s/2000s dance party), 9 p.m., $5.

FINNIGAN'S PUB: DJ Jon Demus (reggae), 10 p.m., free.

HALFLOUNGE SPEAKEASY: Silent Mind (singer-songwriter), 7 p.m., free. Bonjour Hi (house), 10 p.m., free.

COURTESY oF david mayfield parade

barre/montpelier

ARTSRIOT: So Long Winter Blues: the Tenderbellies, Al Moore Blues Band (blues), 8 p.m., free.

LIGHT CLUB LAMP SHOP: Michael Lajeunesse (solo piano), 8 p.m., free.

MANHATTAN PIZZA & PUB: Tar Iguana (rock), 9 p.m., free.

NECTAR'S: Seth Yacovone (solo acoustic blues), 7 p.m., free.

Blues for Breakfast (Grateful Dead tribute), 10 p.m., $6.

wed.1 // David Mayfield Parade [Americana]

RADIO BEAN COFFEEHOUSE: Friday Morning Sing-Along with Linda Bassick & Friends (kids music), 11 a.m., free. John Nicholls (singer-songwriter), 7 p.m., free. Castle Creek (rock), 8:30 p.m., free. Red Hot Juba (cosmic Americana), 10 p.m., free.

Out of the Shadows You’ve probably heard David Mayfield, even if you didn’t know it at the time.

RED SQUARE: Jake Whitesell Trio (jazz), 4 p.m., free.

Rumblecat (rock), 7 p.m., $5. DJ Craig Mitchell (house), 11 p.m., $5.

RED SQUARE BLUE ROOM: DJ Con Yay (EDM), 9 p.m., $5.

RÍ RÁ IRISH PUB & WHISKEY ROOM: Supersounds DJ (top 40), 10 p.m., free.

He’s been an in-demand sideman who has performed with the likes of Mumford & Sons and the Avett Brothers, to

name a couple. With his own band, David Mayfield Parade, the songwriter marches to the beat of his own drum, fusing his love for country rock and bluegrass and writing in a style that’s equally humorous and heartwarming. DMP play the Higher Ground Showcase Lounge in South Burlington on Wednesday, April 1, the same day the band’s new album, Good Man Down, is released. No foolin’.

NUTTY STEPH'S: Jazzaoke with Z Jazz, 7 p.m., free.

POSITIVE PIE (MONTPELIER): Easy Star All-Stars (reggae), 10 p.m., $18/22/25. 18+.

RUBEN JAMES: DJ Cre8 (hip-hop), 10 p.m., free.

SWEET MELISSA'S: Honky Tonk Happy Hour with Mark LeGrand, 5 p.m., free. Tritium Well (rock), 9 p.m., free.

ZEN LOUNGE: Jah Red (Latin), 8 p.m., $5. D Jay Baron (hip-hop), 11 p.m., $5.

WHAMMY BAR: Big Hat No Cattle (western swing), 7 p.m., free.

chittenden county

stowe/smuggs area

BACKSTAGE PUB: Acoustic Happy Hour, 5 p.m., free.

Karaoke with Jenny Red, 9 p.m., free.

THE BEE'S KNEES: Nate Perham (folk), 7:30 p.m., donation.

HIGHER GROUND SHOWCASE LOUNGE: Start Making Sense, HmfO: A Hall & Oates Tribute (Talking Heads tribute), 8:30 p.m., $12/15/20. AA.

RIMROCK'S MOUNTAIN TAVERN: DJ Rekkon #FridayNightFrequencies (hip-hop), 10 p.m., free.

THE MONKEY HOUSE: Disco Phantom & Friends (eclectic), 9:30 p.m., free/$5. 18+.

ON TAP BAR & GRILL: King Me (acoustic rock), 5 p.m., free. A House on Fire (rock), 9 p.m., free.

VENUE NIGHTCLUB: Salsa Night with DJ Hector, 10 p.m., $3. 18+.

barre/montpelier BAGITOS BAGEL & BURRITO CAFÉ: Bitter Greens (Americana), 6 p.m., donation.

CHARLIE-O'S WORLD FAMOUS: Abby Jenne (rock), 7 p.m., free.

Rough Francis, Gorcrow (punk), 10 p.m., free.

GUSTO'S: Radio Flyer (rock), 8 p.m., $5.

MOOG'S PLACE: Granite Junction (rock), 9 p.m., free.

RUSTY NAIL: Starline Rhythm Boys, Rev. Ben Donovan & the Congregation (rockabilly), 9 p.m., $8.

middlebury area

51 MAIN AT THE BRIDGE: Longford Row (Celtic), 8 p.m., free.

CITY LIMITS: City Limits Dance Party with Top Hat Entertainment (Top 40), 9:30 p.m., free.

TWO BROTHERS TAVERN LOUNGE & STAGE: Bob Levinson Band (blues, rock), 9 p.m., $3.

upper valley

THE FREIGHT HOUSE: Chris Smither (folk, blues), 8 p.m., $30.

northeast kingdom

PHAT KATS TAVERN: Cobalt Blue (rock), 9:30 p.m., free.

THE STAGE: The Endorsements (singer-songwriter), 6 p.m., free.

Karaoke, 8 p.m., free.

outside vermont

MONOPOLE: Capital Zen (funk), 10 p.m., free.

MONOPOLE DOWNSTAIRS: Happy Hour Tunes & Trivia with Gary Peacock, 5 p.m., free.

SAT.28

burlington

242 MAIN: It's Not Night: It's Space, Green Bastard, Acid Roach, Neon Cry Babies (metal), 7 p.m., $7. AA. BENTO: Selah Sounds, 10 p.m., free.

BLEU NORTHEAST SEAFOOD: Max Bronstein-Paritz (jazz), 8:30 p.m., free.

CLUB METRONOME: Green Mountain Cabaret: Saturday Morning Tease (burlesque), 6:30 p.m., $10/15. 18+. Retronome with DJ Fattie B (’80s dance party), 9 p.m., free/$5.

DRINK: Salsa Night with DJ Hector, 10 p.m., free.

FRANNY O'S: Karaoke, 9 p.m., free.

HALFLOUNGE SPEAKEASY: Zach Rhoads (soul), 7 p.m., free.

Flashback with Rob Douglas,

Chia & Shawn Williams (house), 10 p.m., free.

JP'S PUB: Karaoke with Megan, 10 p.m., free.

MANHATTAN PIZZA & PUB: Demus (reggae), 9 p.m., free.

NECTAR'S: Jimmy Ruin (singer-songwriter), 7 p.m., free.

Aqueous, Tar Iguana (rock, jam), 9 p.m., $5.

RADIO BEAN COFFEEHOUSE: Acoustic Brunch with Paul Boffa & April Caspari, noon, free.

Lexi Weege (jazz, blues), 7 p.m., free. Aaron Flinn (rock), 8 p.m., free. Shay Gestal (singersongwriter), 9 p.m., free. Bone Orchard Butchers (gypsygrass), 10:30 p.m., free. Weak Signal Broadcast Service (rock), midnight, free.

RED SQUARE: Sticks & Stones (rock), 7 p.m., $5. Mashtodon (hip-hop), 11 p.m., $5.

RED SQUARE BLUE ROOM: DJ Raul, 6 p.m., $5. DJ Reign One (EDM), 11 p.m., $5.

RÍ RÁ IRISH PUB & WHISKEY ROOM: Annie in the Water (jam), 10 p.m., free.

RUBEN JAMES: Craig Mitchell (house), 10 p.m., free.

THE SKINNY PANCAKE (BURLINGTON): Foghorn Stringband (bluegrass), 9 p.m., $8.

ZEN LOUNGE: Standup Comedy with Regi Brittain, 8 p.m., $5. DJ Atak & Guests (EDM, top 40), 10 p.m., $5.

chittenden county BACKSTAGE PUB: Inca Hoots (rock), 9 p.m., free.

HIGHER GROUND BALLROOM: Zumbathon: Rhythm Nation 2015, 1 p.m., $35/100. AA. HIGHER GROUND SHOWCASE LOUNGE: Start Making Sense, HmfO: A Hall & Oates Tribute (Talking Heads tribute), 8:30 p.m., $12/15/20. AA. THE MONKEY HOUSE: WW Presents: Hallelujah the Hills, Swale, Villanelles (indie rock), 9 p.m., $3.

ON TAP BAR & GRILL: Zach Nugent & Co. (funk), 5 p.m., free.

Last Kid Picked (rock), 9 p.m., free.

VENUE NIGHTCLUB: Saturday Night Mixdown with DJ Dakota & Jon Demus, 10 p.m., $5. 18+.

barre/montpelier

BAGITOS BAGEL & BURRITO CAFÉ: Irish Session, 2 p.m., donation. Danny Fallon (singersongwriter), 6 p.m., donation.

CHARLIE-O'S WORLD FAMOUS: Dan Zura, Kenna Donovan (acoustic), 7 p.m., free. Toot Sweet (gypsy), 10 p.m., free.

POSITIVE PIE (MONTPELIER): House Shuffle Dance Party, 10 p.m., free.

SWEET MELISSA'S: David Langevin (piano), 5 p.m., free.

Michelle Sarah Band (funk, soul), 9 p.m., $5.

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Nectar’s preseNts with BoBBy roBerts & LyNN LeBeau

GOT MUSIC NEWS? DAN@SEVENDAYSVT.COM

REVIEW this The Snaz, Running Away From Home (SELF-RELEASED, CD, DIGITAL DOWNLOAD)

The ready-made narrative surrounding Brattleboro’s the Snaz is that the band is young. Like, really young. As in, parentsdriving-them-to-gigs-at-bars young. And, sure, the fact that the members of the quartet are barely old enough for a driver’s license is obviously intriguing. That’s particularly true when considering the many fine qualities of the band’s recently released debut full-length, Running Away From Home. But focusing on the group’s youth and using it to qualify praise does them a disservice. The Snaz are not a good high school band. The Snaz are a good band, period.

At least until its members graduate, there’s probably little hope for completely separating the Snaz from the “KIDS Incorporated” angle. Granted, that minor crime is somewhat aided and abetted by the title of the record itself, which certainly evokes adolescent folly. But Running Away From Home is anything but immature.

From start to finish, it’s a well-conceived

and energetically executed collection of songs that brims with youthful vigor and promise but also gleams with a veteran polish that belies the band members’ tender years.

Lead singer and guitarist Dharma Ramirez is the star around which the rest of the band orbits. She’s the primary songwriter and imbues her material with sly turns of phrase whose sharp angles are matched only by the hairpin twists in her arrangements.

The opening cut, “Try and Try and Try,” was written with keyboardist Mavis Eaton and is the only cowritten song on the record. Ramirez leads the band through a flurry of changes, from spiky Strokes riffs to an angsty half-time chorus that explodes into a snarling finish. Her delivery

Ben Carr Music Project, Unyielding (SELF-RELEASED, CD, DIGITAL DOWNLOAD)

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SEVEN DAYS

so fine with my cup of kind / I occupy my mind with the lyrical stylin’,” he sings on “Smiling.” It’s almost like Andy Samberg’s satirical Rastafarian, Ras Trent. Except that Samberg’s irie caricature was a joke on “Saturday Night Live.” Carr’s is not.

More frustrating than limp reggae is that Carr has obvious talent and a curious, creative mind. “Scent of Spring” is a wistfully serene instrumental composition that evokes dewy spring mornings. “Gingerbread” is a seriously funky, feel-good cut. “Ione’s Moonbeam” is a scintillating, nine-minute fusion of reggae and prog with an out-of-left-field bridge that cleverly incorporates the chord structure of Van Morrison’s “Moondance.”

“Together” boasts triumphant horns over a slinky reggae groove. But this song is a microcosm of the problem with Unyielding. A fine musical idea is submarined by Carr’s vocals and dim lyrics, in this case concerning the incursion of technology: “How dis one and dat one / can come from the same one / and still not get to know one another? / Dem all run for cover / from digital devices / from Palm Pilots and Blackberries / the only berry I want grows on the vine.”

Unyielding by Ben Carr Music Project is available at bencarrmusic.com.

03.25.15-04.01.15

about taste. Carr’s admiration for reggae is sincere — he’s also a member of the original Vermont reggae band Mo Ambesa.

The real problem is that his spurious and often tuneless island delivery is just goofy. Worse, it undermines what might otherwise be a genuinely intriguing album.

Carr is an adventurous composer, informed as much by prog rock as by the Wailers. The title track, for example, is a 12-minute opus that traverses an impressive span of stylistic terrain. The opening cut, “Smiling,” features a sunny flute melody — think reggae by way of Jethro Tull — that, in fact, does elicit a smile. But on both songs, Carr’s phony patter ruins the feel.

“Wake up smilin’ cuz the sun is shinin’ / But when the rain fall I still be irie / I feel

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SEVENDAYSVT.COM

When does cultural appropriation in music goes too far? Generally, we deem it OK when, say, a northern-bred country singer croons in a southern accent. Sure, the faux twang might be seen as contrived, but few would call it offensive. Madonna adopted a British accent for a while, and we all thought that was kind of weird but still harmless. The issue of cultural appropriation in hip-hop is almost too cavernous to explore, but we seem to have mostly come to terms with it.

But what if a native of the Philly suburbs who has moved to Vermont were to write reggae songs and sing them with a clearly manufactured Jamaican patois?

Such is the case of Ben Carr, whose recently released record, Unyielding, as Ben Carr Music Project features 11 original songs that are largely rooted in reggae.

Some are instrumental compositions centered on Carr’s primary instrument, the ukulele. But in those cuts that do feature vocals, Carr sings in an adopted accent.

Carr is white, and so a thorny racial component might seem to muddy the waters here. Yet, as murky as that might be, the issue is less about race and more

actually shares some similarities to the sleepy detachment of the Strokes’ Julian Casablancas. But she can open up and wail, too, which she does on the following title cut.

The album is playful, but it’s cut with an undercurrent of angst that tempers the band’s bouncy buoyancy. The Snaz don’t sulk in their teenage wasteland.

Instead, the classic frustrations of youth are presented with subtle, biting attitude.

It’s almost as if they know that the drama of high school fades almost as soon as you get your diploma.

Running Away From Home isn’t a perfect record. But some moments come close.

“Only 15” is one of the better summations you’ll ever hear of what it’s like to be a restless teen. “Monsieur Monsieur” is an ambitious feat of pop storytelling that nods at Spoon — though, sonically, it might more resemble Squeeze. The sinister, bruising “Pleasantry” closes the album on a decidedly hard note, suggesting the Snaz’s most fiery rocking may be yet to come.

Running Away From Home by the Snaz is available at iTunes.

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MUSIC 71

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sat.28

na: not availABLE. AA: All ages.

« p.70

WHAMMY BAR: Andy Pitt and Mark Greenberg (folk), 7 p.m.

stowe/smuggs area THE BEE'S KNEES: Lexi Weege (folk), 11 a.m., donation. Open Mic, 7:30 p.m., free.

MOOG'S PLACE: Main Street Syndicate (rock), 9 p.m., free.

RUSTY NAIL: RetroNail with DJ Rekkon (house), 9 p.m., free.

middlebury area

51 MAIN AT THE BRIDGE: Greenbush (blues, rock), 8 p.m., free.

CITY LIMITS: City Limits Dance Party with DJ Earl (top 40), 9:30 p.m., free.

TWO BROTHERS TAVERN LOUNGE & STAGE: Toast (rock), 9 p.m., $3.

northeast kingdom THE PARKER PIE CO.: Red Tin Box, the Mangroves Ry & Collin (rock), 8 p.m., NA.

THE BEAR DEN AT BURKE MOUNTAIN: Lucid (rock), 3 p.m., free.

THE STAGE: Matt Taylor (singer-songwriter), 6 p.m., free.

Alan Greenleaf and the Doctor (Americana), 8 p.m., free.

outside vermont

MONOPOLE: Royal Noise (rock), 10 p.m., free.

SUN.29 burlington

SEVEN DAYS

03.25.15-04.01.15

SEVENDAYSvt.com

CLUB METRONOME: Sundae Soundclash (open decks), 9:30 p.m., free.

FRANNY O'S: Kyle Stevens' Happiest Hour of Music (singer-songwriter), 7 p.m., free.

Vermont's Next Star, 8 p.m., free.

NECTAR'S: Mi Yard Reggae Night with DJs Big Dog and Demus, 9 p.m., $3.

OLDE NORTHENDER PUB: Open Mic, 7 p.m., free.

RADIO BEAN COFFEEHOUSE: Celtic Brunch with Hannah Beth Crary, 11 a.m., free. Danny Fallon (singer-songwriter), 5:30 p.m., free. Clare Byrne (folk), 7 p.m., free. Megan Davies (acoustic pop), 8 p.m., free. Keelan Donovan (acoustic pop), 9 p.m., free. James Harvey (singersongwriter), 10:30 p.m., free.

THE SKINNY PANCAKE (BURLINGTON): Bluegrass Brunch Scramble, noon, $5-10 donation. Spark Open Improv Jam & Standup Comedy, 7 p.m., $5-10 donation.

chittenden county BACKSTAGE PUB: Karaoke/ Open Mic, 8 p.m., free.

PENALTY BOX: Trivia With a Twist, 4 p.m., free.

72 music

courtesy of halleujah the hills

music

CLUB DATES

barre/montpelier BAGITOS BAGEL & BURRITO

CAFÉ: Eric Friedman (folk), 11 a.m., free.

THE SKINNY PANCAKE (MONTPELIER): Foghorn Stringband (old time), 5:30 p.m., $8.

stowe/smuggs area THE BEE'S KNEES: Howard Ring Guitar Brunch, 11 a.m., donation.

MOOG'S PLACE: John Wilson & Friends, noon, free.

northeast kingdom THE STAGE: Open Mic, 5 p.m., free.

MON.30 burlington

FRANNY O'S: Standup Comedy Cage Match, 8 p.m., free.

HALFLOUNGE SPEAKEASY: Family Night (rock), 10:30 p.m., free.

JP'S PUB: Dance Video Request Night with Melody, 10 p.m., free.

JUNIPER: Trivia Night, 7 p.m., free.

sat.28 // Hallelujah the Hills [rock]

MANHATTAN PIZZA & PUB: Karaoke, 9 p.m., free.

NECTAR'S: Metal Monday, Brave the Vertigo, Elephants of Scotland, Barishi, 9 p.m., $3/5.

18+.

RADIO BEAN COFFEEHOUSE: Spencer Goddard (folk), 7 p.m., free. Sad Turtle (instrumental dance rock), 8:30 p.m., free. Surf Sessions with Barbacoa, 10 p.m., free.

THE SKINNY PANCAKE (BURLINGTON): Kidz Music with Raphael, 11:30 a.m., $3 donation.

chittenden county

ON TAP BAR & GRILL: Open Mic with Wylie, 7 p.m., free.

stowe/smuggs area MOOG'S PLACE: Seth Yacovone (solo acoustic blues), 7 p.m., free.

northeast kingdom PHAT KATS TAVERN: Jay Natola (solo guitar), 9 p.m., free.

outside vermont

Kiss Me, You Fool Few underground rock records in 2014 were as critically adored as Have You

Ever Done Something Evil? by Boston’s Hallelujah the Hills. And the variety of reactions was as notable as the sheer

number of accolades it received. To wit, PopMatters wrote, “There are few records, of any kind, better than this one in 2014.” SPIN called it “critically underappreciated.” Blurt Magazine said it was “maybe the smartest music you will ever hoist a beer to.” But we’re partial to the take by the folks at Noisey: “Put on this song, shut up and kiss somebody” they said about “We Are What We Say We Are,” the album’s lead single. Done and done. HTH drop by the Monkey House in Winooski this Saturday, March 28. Locals Swale and Villanelles open.

MANHATTAN PIZZA & PUB: Stone Blossom (rock), 9 p.m., free.

NECTAR'S: Gubbulidis (jam), 8 p.m., free/$5. 18+. Dead Set: A Grateful Dead Jam, 10 p.m., free/$5. 18+.

RADIO BEAN COFFEEHOUSE: Bad Accent (whirled folk music), 7 p.m., free. Maryse Smith (folk), 9 p.m., free. Honky Tonk Tuesday with Brett Hughes & Friends, 10 p.m., $3.

OLIVE RIDLEY'S: Karaoke with DJ Dana Barry, 9 p.m., free.

RED SQUARE: Funkwagon (funk), 7 p.m., free. Craig Mitchell (house), 10 p.m., free.

TUE.31

ZEN LOUNGE: Killed It! Karaoke, 9 p.m., free.

burlington

CLUB METRONOME: J Boog, Inna Vision, Westafa, Big Dog & Demus (reggae), 9 p.m., $15/20.

Dead Set with Cats Under the Stars (Grateful Dead tribute), 9 p.m., free/$5.

HALFLOUNGE SPEAKEASY: DJ Tricky Pat & Guests (D&B), 10 p.m., free.

chittenden county

THE MONKEY HOUSE: Bike & Build Benefit: Abbie Morin, Bison (rock, singer-songwriter), 4:30 p.m., $5/10. 18+.

ON TAP BAR & GRILL: Trivia Night, 7 p.m., free.

barre/montpelier

SWEET MELISSA'S: Gabriel (folk), 5 p.m., free.

p.m., free. Funkwagon, Sauce (funk), 9:30 p.m., free/$5. 18+.

stowe/smuggs area

RADIO BEAN COFFEEHOUSE: Ensemble V (jazz), 7 p.m., free.

Irish Sessions, 9 p.m., free.

THE BEE'S KNEES: Children's Sing-Along with Lesley Grant, 10:30 a.m., donation.

MOOG'S PLACE: Jason Wedlock (rock), 7:30 p.m., free.

middlebury area

TWO BROTHERS TAVERN LOUNGE & STAGE: Karaoke with Roots Entertainment, 9 p.m., free.

WED.1

burlington

HALFLOUNGE SPEAKEASY: Craig Mitchell (house), 10 p.m., free.

JP'S PUB: Pub Quiz with Dave, 7 p.m., free. Karaoke with Melody, 10 p.m., free.

JUNIPER: Ray Vega Quintet (jazz), 8 p.m., free.

JP'S PUB: Open Mic with Kyle, 9 p.m., free.

BAGITOS BAGEL & BURRITO CAFÉ: The People's Café (poetry), 6 p.m., donation.

LIGHT CLUB LAMP SHOP: Julian Chobot Jazz Trio, 8 p.m., free.

LEUNIG'S BISTRO & CAFÉ: Cody Sargent Trio (jazz), 7 p.m., free.

CHARLIE-O'S WORLD FAMOUS: Karaoke, 8 p.m., free.

LIGHT CLUB LAMP SHOP: Andy K's Specialised Experience (jazz), 8 p.m., free.

SOUTH SIDE TAVERN: Open Mic with John Lackard, 9 p.m., free.

MANHATTAN PIZZA & PUB: Open Mic with Andy Lugo, 9 p.m., free.

NECTAR'S: VT Comedy Club Presents: What a Joke! Comedy Open Mic (standup comedy), 7

RED SQUARE: DJ Jack Bandit (hip-hop), 11 p.m., free.

THE SKINNY PANCAKE (BURLINGTON): Josh Panda's Acoustic Soul Night, 8 p.m., $5-10 donation.

ZEN LOUNGE: Kizomba with Dsantos VT, 7 p.m., free.

ZensDay (top 40), 10 p.m., free/$5. 18+.

chittenden county

SWEET MELISSA'S: Wine Down with D. Davis (acoustic), 5 p.m., free.

stowe/smuggs area

THE BEE'S KNEES: Heady Topper Happy Hour with David Langevin (piano), 5 p.m., free.

PIECASSO PIZZERIA & LOUNGE: Trivia Night, 7 p.m., free.

middlebury area

CITY LIMITS: Karaoke, 9 p.m., free.

TWO BROTHERS TAVERN LOUNGE & STAGE: Trivia Night, 7 p.m., free.

HIGHER GROUND SHOWCASE LOUNGE: The David Mayfield Parade (Americana), 8 p.m., $10/12. AA.

northeast kingdom

THE MONKEY HOUSE: Spencer Goddard (folk), 8:30 p.m., free.

THE STAGE: Open Mic, 6 p.m., free.

ON TAP BAR & GRILL: Chad Hollister (rock), 7 p.m., free.

outside vermont

barre/montpelier

BAGITOS BAGEL & BURRITO CAFÉ: Karl Miller (jazz), 6 p.m., free.

THE SKINNY PANCAKE (MONTPELIER): Cajun Jam with Jay Ekis, Lee Blackwell, Alec Ellsworth & Katie Trautz, 6 p.m., $5-10 donation.

THE PARKER PIE CO.: Trivia Night, 7 p.m., free.

MONOPOLE: Open Mic, 10 p.m., free.

OLIVE RIDLEY'S: So You Want to Be a DJ?, 10 p.m., free. m

venueS.411 burlington

51 mAiN At thE briDgE, 51 Main St., Middlebury, 388-8209 bAr ANtiDotE, 35C Green St., Vergennes, 877-2555 citY limitS, 14 Greene St., Vergennes, 877-6919 tourtErEllE, 3629 Ethan Allen Hwy., New Haven, 453-6309 two brothErS tAVErN louNgE & StAgE, 86 Main St., Middlebury, 388-0002

bAgitoS bAgEl & burrito cAfé, 28 Main St., Montpelier, 229-9212 cApitAl grouNDS cAfé, 27 State St., Montpelier, 223-7800 chArliE-o’S worlD fAmouS, 70 Main St., Montpelier, 223-6820 ESprESSo buENo, 248 N. Main St., Barre, 479-0896 grEEN mouNtAiN tAVErN, 10 Keith Ave., Barre, 522-2935 guSto’S, 28 Prospect St., Barre, 476-7919 kiSmEt, 52 State St., Montpelier, 223-8646 mulligAN’S iriSh pub, 9 Maple Ave., Barre, 479-5545 North brANch cAfé, 41 State St., Montpelier, 552-8105 NuttY StEph’S, 961C Rt. 2, Middlesex, 229-2090 poSitiVE piE, 20 State St., Montpelier, 229-0453 rED hEN bAkErY + cAfé, 961 US Route 2, Middlesex, 223-5200 thE SkiNNY pANcAkE, 89 Main St., Montpelier, 262-2253 South SiDE tAVErN, 107 S. Main St., Barre, 476-3637 SwEEt mEliSSA’S, 4 Langdon St., Montpelier, 225-6012 VErmoNt thruSh rEStAurANt, 107 State St., Montpelier, 225-6166 whAmmY bAr, 31 W. County Rd., Calais, 229-4329

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chow! bEllA, 28 N. Main St., St. Albans, 524-1405 SNow ShoE loDgE & pub, 13 Main St., Montgomery Center, 326-4456

brEAkiNg grouNDS, 245 Main St., Bethel, 392-4222

browN’S mArkEt biStro, 1618 Scott Highway, Groton, 584-4124 muSic box, 147 Creek Rd., Craftsbury, 586-7533 pArkEr piE co., 161 County Rd., West Glover, 525-3366 phAt kAtS tAVErN, 101 Depot St., Lyndonville, 626-3064 thE pub outbAck, 482 Vt. 114, East Burke, 626-1188 thE StAgE, 45 Broad St., Lyndonville, 427-3344 tAmArAck grill, 223 Shelburne Lodge Rd., East Burke, 626-7390

Artisanal Irish Whiskey imported from Ireland

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moNopolE, 7 Protection Ave., Plattsburgh, N.Y., 518-563-2222 NAkED turtlE, 1 Dock St., Plattsburgh, N.Y., 518-566-6200. oliVE riDlEY’S, 37 Court St., Plattsburgh, N.Y., 518-324-2200 pAlmEr St. coffEE houSE, 4 Palmer St., Plattsburgh, N.Y. 518-561-6920

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MUSIC 73

bEE’S kNEES, 82 Lower Main St., Morrisville, 888-7889 clAirE’S rEStAurANt & bAr, 41 Main St., Hardwick, 472-7053 mAttErhorN, 4969 Mountain Rd., Stowe, 253-8198 moog’S plAcE, Portland St., Morrisville, 851-8225 piEcASSo, 899 Mountain Rd., Stowe, 253-4411 rimrockS mouNtAiN tAVErN, 394 Mountain Rd., Stowe, 253-9593 thE ruStY NAil, 1190 Mountain Rd., Stowe, 253-6245 SuShi YoShi, 1128 Mountain Rd., Stowe, 253-4135 SwEEt cruNch bAkEShop, 246 Main St., Hyde Park, 888-4887 VErmoNt AlE houSE, 294 Mountain Rd., Stowe, 253-6253

MiDDlEburY ArEA

Preserving the Fine Craft of Traditional Irish Whiskey

SEVEN DAYS

bAckStAgE pub, 60 Pearl St., Essex Jct., 878-5494 gooD timES cAfé, Rt. 116, Hinesburg, 482-4444 highEr grouND, 1214 Williston Rd., S. Burlington, 652-0777 hiNESburgh public houSE, 10516 Vt., 116 #6A, Hinesburg, 482-5500

bArrE/MontPEliEr

big picturE thEAtEr & cAfé, 48 Carroll Rd., Waitsfield, 496-8994 thE cENtEr bAkErY & cAfé, 2007 Guptil Rd., Waterbury Center, 244-7500 ciDEr houSE bbq AND pub, 1675 Rte.2, Waterbury, 244-8400 cork wiNE bAr, 1 Stowe St., Waterbury, 882-8227 hoStEl tEVErE, 203 Powderhound Rd., Warren, 496-9222 purplE mooN pub, Rt. 100, Waitsfield, 496-3422 thE rESErVoir rEStAurANt & tAp room, 1 S. Main St., Waterbury, 244-7827 SliDE brook loDgE & tAVErN, 3180 German Flats Rd., Warren, 583-2202

03.25.15-04.01.15

CHittEnDEn CountY

MAD riVEr VAllEY/ WAtErburY

SEVENDAYSVt.com

242 mAiN St., Burlington, 862-2244 AmEricAN flAtbrEAD, 115 St. Paul St., Burlington, 861-2999 ArtSriot, 400 Pine St., Burlington, 540 0406 AuguSt firSt, 149 S. Champlain St., Burlington, 540-0060 bENto, 197 College St., Burlington, 497-2494 blEu NorthEASt SEAfooD, 25 Cherry St., Burlington, 854-4700 brEAkwAtEr cAfé, 1 King St., Burlington, 658-6276 brENNAN’S pub & biStro, UVM Davis Center, 590 Main St., Burlington, 656-1204 church & mAiN rEStAurANt, 156 Church St. Burlington, 540-3040 club mEtroNomE, 188 Main St., Burlington, 865-4563 thE DAilY plANEt, 15 Center St., Burlington, 862-9647 DobrÁ tEA, 80 Church St., Burlington, 951-2424 DriNk, 133 St. Paul St., Burlington, 951-9463 EASt ShorE ViNEYArD tAStiNg room, 28 Church St., Burlington, 859-9463 fiNNigAN’S pub, 205 College St., Burlington, 864-8209 frANNY o’S, 733 Queen City Park Rd., Burlington, 863-2909 hAlflouNgE SpEAkEASY, 136 1/2 Church St., Burlington, 865-0012 Jp’S pub, 139 Main St., Burlington, 658-6389 JuNipEr At hotEl VErmoNt, 41 Cherry St., Burlington, 658-0251 light club lAmp Shop, 12 N. Winooski Ave., Burlington, 660-9346 lEuNig’S biStro & cAfé, 115 Church St., Burlington, 863-3759 mAgliANEro cAfé, 47 Maple St., Burlington, 861-3155 mANhAttAN pizzA & pub, 167 Main St., Burlington, 864-6776 muDDY wAtErS, 184 Main St., Burlington, 658-0466 NEctAr’S, 188 Main St., Burlington, 658-4771 pizzA bArrio, 203 N. Winooski Ave., Burlington, 863-8278 rADio bEAN coffEEhouSE, 8 N. Winooski Ave., Burlington, 660-9346 rASputiN’S, 163 Church St., Burlington, 864-9324 rED SquArE, 136 Church St., Burlington, 859-8909 rÍ rÁ iriSh pub, 123 Church St., Burlington, 860-9401 rubEN JAmES, 159 Main St., Burlington, 864-0744 SigNAl kitchEN, 71 Main St., Burlington, 399-2337 thE SkiNNY pANcAkE, 60 Lake St., Burlington, 540-0188 thE VErmoNt pub & brEwErY, 144 College St., Burlington, 865-0500 zEN louNgE, 165 Church St., Burlington, 399-2645

JAmES moorE tAVErN,4302 Bolton Access Rd. Bolton Valley, Jericho,434-6826 JEricho cAfé & tAVErN,30 Rte., 15 Jericho, 899-2223 moNkEY houSE, 30 Main St., Winooski, 655-4563 moNtY’S olD brick tAVErN, 7921 Williston Rd., Williston, 316-4262 oAk45, 45 Main St., Winooski, 448-3740 o’briEN’S iriSh pub, 348 Main St., Winooski, 338-4678 oN tAp bAr & grill, 4 Park St., Essex Jct., 878-3309 pArk plAcE tAVErN, 38 Park St., Essex Jct. 878-3015 pENAltY box, 127 Porter’s Point Rd., Colchester, 863-2065 rozzi’S lAkEShorE tAVErN, 1022 W. Lakeshore Dr., Colchester, 863-2342 ShElburNE ViNEYArD, 6308 Shelburne Rd., Shelburne, 985-8222 VENuE Nightclub, 5 Market St., S. Burlington, 338-1057

TALKINGart

A VISUAL CONVERSATION

art

Photo Finish B Y E THA N D E SEI FE

T

JEB WALLACE-BRODEUR

he view from the window in Jamie Cope’s living room is the epitome of Vermontiana: tall pines in the foreground, a halfdozen snow-smattered peaks in the background, the spires of Montpelier churches nestled in a mid-ground vale. It cries out to be admired, painted, photographed.

Yet Cope, with the mechanical assistance of her trusty Hasselblad, stuck mainly to portraits in her several decades as a professional photographer. Her beautiful, naturally lit, black-and-white images unveil truths about their subjects that words never could.

COPE HAS PHOTOGRAPHED EVERYONE FROM FRIENDS

Cope rarely picks up her camera these days, whether to create portraits or images of the picture-perfect view from her hillside home. Still active and whip-smart at 93, she is slowing down a little and starting to think about her legacy. With the help of friends, she’s recently started seeking an archive to care for her large collection of photographic prints and negatives.

Especially drawn to faces, Cope has photographed everyone from her friends and family members to Vermonters past and present, including author Jamaica Kincaid, cartoonist Edward Koren and the late poet James Hayford. Cope’s portrait of Hayford — one massive hand clutching his shoulder, the other cradling his deeply creased face — makes him look less like a man of letters than a weather-beaten woodsman.

“Well, he was very rugged, and he was a woodsman!” Cope exclaims with a smile, delighted that her images still have the power to surprise and reveal.

Her shot of the poet is one in a series of elder Vermonters, the second such series Cope has created. The first depicted noted Bostonians of advanced age, including public-relations titan Edward Bernays and economist John Kenneth Galbraith. Both series reflect the photographer’s longtime interest in issues pertaining to the elderly.

From 1985 to 1990, she hosted a show on that subject on WCAX Radio. When she turned to photography in her forties, Cope quickly distinguished herself; her work

Jamie Cope

George Tooker

has been exhibited in galleries and museums in Paris, New York and Washington, D.C., and in numerous Vermont venues.

As the sun streams into her sitting room and a fresh-baked spice cake cools on a rack, Cope sits down with Seven Days to talk about her art and the photographic traces she’ll eventually leave behind.

SEVEN DAYS: How did you come to specialize in portraiture?

JAMIE COPE: I began by photographing my children. Then I thought, I’ll just take a step toward my neighbors. I knew the kids in the neighborhood, and we were all friends. At the local hair salon, I noticed that the walls were empty. The hairdresser was a lovely man, and I asked him, “What if I photograph your children, and then hang them here?” That’s how I got started.

SD: You imposed a major restriction on your process by using only natural light and monochromatic film stock.

JC: I did use color sometimes, when I found something that was just glorious, but I just couldn’t get into color. I just loved black and white. And you’re right that I almost never used artificial light. I have to give credit to being raised in Hollywood, Calif. Those black-and-white movies are just gorgeous. I was aware of lighting.

SD: Right, but Hollywood films generally use artificial lighting to simulate natural lighting.

JC: True. But, then, one thing was that I didn’t have the money to buy lighting equipment, so I had to invent my own way of doing what they did. I undid the process. I’d take people outdoors and find the shadows and the slanted light. If it was too bright or too harsh, I just moved to where it was softer. I learned a lot subconsciously. Most of my photography was done “by feel.”

SD: Tell me about the exhibit of your portraits of elderly Bostonians.

JC: It was the first “old people” exhibit in the United States. There had been nothing like it. In Boston, I had been freelancing.

One day, when I was only 50, I was on the Red Line and somebody asked me if I wanted his seat. I was very athletic, running track on my lunch breaks every day. So I was livid! I went back to my desk and thought, I don’t look old! I’m going to have an exhibit of older people who are working.

It soon escalated into all the famous people who really built Boston, people in their eighties and nineties, still very active.

It was Edward Bernays, who was my neighbor, who really stimulated me to do the series on Bostonians. He was charming,

Jamaica Kincaid

PORTRAITS COURTESY OF JAMIE COPE

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AND FAMILY MEMBERS TO VERMONTERS PAST AND PRESENT.

art shows

gave me all kinds of information. He was 90 at that time and had some great stories.

John Kenneth Galbraith was also very active. He was a very little, thin man, and just popping around all the time.

It was very different from the series of older Vermonters. These were great farmers, all people of the earth. I really loved doing the Vermonters. They had great stories to tell me.

SD: Your portrait of the late artist George Tooker, who lived in Vermont, is very intense. His eyes look so dark, like something from Rembrandt.

JC: He had a very interesting, teeny-weeny house, and he was a very intense Catholic.

So when he came into the room, I framed it so that [the light on the wall above his head] would be like a halo. He didn’t speak to me at all. That man was so arrogant.

SD: Why have you essentially stopped taking photos?

JC: I began being worried about my ability to focus, because I have macular degeneration.

I’ve wrapped up my Hasselblad and put it away. That was about 10 years ago. I just got it out, though, the other day, and thought I really should sell it.

SD: Do you ever miss it?

JC: Maybe sometimes. I think this is true of every photographer, but as I’m looking at you, I see the shadows and where the light falls.

You can’t really give it up, because it changes your whole life. You think like a camera.

‘Sweet Sips’: Porcelain Cups With Janice Walrafen: A monthly mixer with live music and hot drinks in handcrafted mugs. ONE Arts Center, Burlington, Friday, March 27, 7-9 p.m. $8 includes two cocktails; free for members. Info, onearts collective@gmail.com.

John Clarke Olson: A painting demonstration and artist’s discussion of his travels to paint almost all 251 Vermont towns. Green Mountain Fine Art Gallery, Stowe, Saturday, March 28, 1-2 p.m. Info, 253-1818.

‘A Living Mosaic’: A pop-up exhibit of artwork by young Mosaic Learning Center students with developmental disabilities, inspired by collaborative therapeutic relationships. New City Galerie, Burlington, Saturday, March 28, 5-9 p.m. Info, 658-9176.

Diane Gabriel Talk: In “Drawing With Light: The Origins of the Photographs,” the Burlington photographer discusses her process and her work from 1974 to the present. Darkroom Gallery, Essex Junction, Sunday, March 29, 6 p.m. Info, 777-3686.

Ukrainian Egg Decoration: Vermont artist Theresa Somerset demonstrates how to paint traditional pysanky egg decorations. Frog Hollow Vermont State Craft Center, Burlington, Sunday, March 29, noon-3 p.m. Info, 863-6458.

‘Art With a Spice’: Sip, socialize and make art with Kadina Malicbegovic, who introduces students of all levels to her painting techniques. Nectar’s, Burlington, Tuesday, March 31, 6-8 p.m. $30. Info, 310-6851.

Talk With James H. Maroney Jr.: “Charles Sheeler and Albert Einstein: Pioneers in the Exploration of Spacetime,” a talk about two contemporaries’ pioneering work on the fourth dimension, or “spacetime,” which Sheeler incorporated into two-dimensional art and photography. Mahaney Center for the Arts, Middlebury College, Tuesday, March 31, 4:30-6 p.m. Info, 443-5007.

‘Freedom & Unity’: Historical Thoughts on Radical Vermont Architects: Architect Danny Sagan explains how the radical ideas of the early design/build experiments developed. River Arts, Morrisville, Wednesday, April 1, 7 p.m. Info, 888-1261.

‘The Art of Giving’: Artists are invited to interpret the question, “What does a strong and engaged community look like?” Seeking diverse and thoughtful submissions. Open to all mediums and artists at every level and age. Send image with title, medium and description to nancy@ unitedwayaddisoncounty.org.

Deadline: April 15. United Way of Addison County, Middlebury.

Info, 388-7189.

‘Black & White’: A call for black-and-white photographs that excel within monochromatic constraints and pay tribute to the origins of photography. Send entries to darkroomgallery.com/ex69.

Deadline: April 14. Darkroom Gallery, Essex Junction. $24 for 4 images; $5 each additional.

Info, 777-3686.

A Call for Dust: The Museum of Everyday Life seeks submissions of dust including but not limited to dust-removal objects, anecdotes, facts and urban myths, dust scholarship, art and, most importantly, dust samples from specific locations. More info at museumofeverydaylife. org. Deadline: May 13. The Museum of Everyday Life, Glover.

NEW THIS WEEK burlington

f Essex Art League Show & Sale: Exhibition and art market with paintings and photographs by more than 40 artists. Reception: Friday, April 10, 5-8 p.m. March 29-May 2. Info, 864-1557. Union Station in Burlington. f Toni Lee Sangastiano: “Misguided

Adorations,” a photographic series of vacant Italian street shrine alcoves repurposed as slyly subversive altars to consumer culture, created during the artist’s sabbatical in Florence, Italy.

Reception: Thursday, March 26, 5-7 p.m. March 26-June 29. Info, 860-2733. Freeman Hall 300, Champlain College, in Burlington.

INFO visual art in seven days:

‘Moonlight in Vermont’ Call to Artists: Established and emerging artists are invited to submit work for an exhibit from May to August.

Info, 899-2974 or blgreene@ myfairpoint.net. Deadline: April 15. Jericho Town Hall. Info, 899-2974.

‘Natural Realm’ Call to Artists: Calling for photography that investigates the intrinsic magic in the natural world: landscape, flora and fauna, the cosmos. All selected entries will be exhibited in the gallery and in a catalog. Juror: Dan Burkholder. Send entries to darkroomgallery.com/ex70.

Deadline: May 13. Darkroom Gallery, Essex Junction. Info, 777-3686.

Northfield Art Show: Artists living or working in Northfield, Roxbury, Brookfield, Williamstown and Berlin are invited to submit up to six pieces for the 10th annual show, April 24 to 26, at the Brown Public Library. Deadline: April 13. Brown Public Library, Northfield. $10 entry fee. Info, 485-9650, druhens@tds.net.

Seven Below Arts Initiative: Burlington City Arts requests artist proposals for six-week residencies beginning in August. Open to artists working in any visual-arts medium. Info at burlingtoncityarts.org/sevenbelow-initiative. Deadline: April 1. Burlington City Arts.

Info, 865-7166.

‘Take an Islands Treasure Home’: The fifth annual fundraising exhibit and sale will feature artist-painted corner cabinets (donated unpainted

chittenden county

f ‘Still Life/Life Still’: An exhibit juried by Yumi Goto explores images with a composition of everyday objects. Juror’s choice “Linda’s Angels” is by Burlington photographer Diane Gabriel.

Reception: Sunday, March 29, 5-7 p.m. March 26-April 15. Info, 777-3686. Darkroom Gallery in Essex Junction. f ‘Walter Wick: Games, Gizmos and Toys in the Attic’: An exhibition of large-scale photographs, models and a video of model building from the photographic illustrator and cocreator of the I SPY and Can You See What I See? children’s books. Artist talk: Saturday, March 28, 2 p.m. March

art listings and spotlights are written by nicole higgins desmet and pamela polston. Listings are restricted to art shows in truly public places.

by Sam’s Wood Furniture), with proceeds benefiting Camp TaKumTa. Finished cabinets due by June 15 and will be displayed throughout the summer around the Champlain Islands. Lake Champlain Regional Chamber of Commerce, Burlington. Info, 372-8400, ruth@vermont.org.

The ‘Kodachrome Memory’ Instagram Contest: Submit photos via Instagram with hashtag #VTMoments, using Shelburne Museum’s exhibition for inspiration. The photo must also be tagged with one of the contest’s nine categories. One winner from each category will be displayed on the museum’s website and prizes will be given. Deadline: April 30.

Pizzagalli Center for Art and Education, Shelburne Museum.

Info, 985-3346, facebook.com/ events/378659245649925/.

‘Words Unspoken’ Call to Artists: The gallery invites artists to submit artwork whose focus is on markmaking as a form of language, or precursor to language, for a small exhibition June 4 through July 14. Send up to three JPEG images with your name, title, medium and size of artwork to Joan at fsgallery2@ gmail.com. Deadline: April 25.

Furchgott Sourdiffe Gallery, Shelburne.

Creative Competition: For this artist competition and exhibit during monthly First Friday, artists may drop off one display-ready piece in any medium and size to Backspace Gallery, 266 Pine Street in Burlington, between noon and 6 p.m. on Wednesday and Thursday, 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Friday. Entry $8. During the First Friday reception, 5-9 p.m., viewers can vote on their favorite work; the winning artist takes home the collective entry money. The work remains on view for the duration of the exhibit. More info at spacegal leryvt.com. First Wednesday of every month.

28-July 5. Info, 985-3346. Pizzagalli Center for Art and Education, Shelburne Museum.

barre/montpelier

Maplehill School Student Art Show: Artwork on canvas and mixed media on paper by students in grades seven through 12. April 1-30.

Info, 454-7747. Vermont Statehouse Cafeteria in Montpelier.

get your art show listed here!

new shows

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If you’re promoting an art exhibit, let us know by posting info and images by thursdays at noon on our form at sevendaysvt.com/postevent or galleries@sevendaysvt.com

ART 75

Marty Feldman, owner of Light-Works in Winooski, is a volunteer liaison for Jamie Cope.

Persons interested in archiving her body of work can reach him at 658-6815.

Animating Infrastructure: The Vermont Arts Council proposes to foster collaborative partnerships between communities and artists to successfully integrate public art into existing or proposed infrastructure improvement projects.

Eligible are proposals from municipalities, nonprofit arts and/or non-arts organizations, schools, libraries, downtown associations, and more.

Individual artists may not apply. Deadline: October 1. Vermont Arts Council, Montpelier. Info, 828-3291.

CVCOA’s 6th Annual ‘Art of Creative Aging’: Seeking recent work from senior visual artists living in or near Washington, Lamoille and Orange counties for a juried exhibit. Submit digital images of up to three art pieces to Scott Robbins: atsrobbins@ cvcoa.org. Deadline: April 3. Kellogg-Hubbard Library, Montpelier, through April 3.

Info, 476-2739.

SEVEN DAYS

Contact: ethan@sevendaysvt.com

Douglas Brooks Boatbuilding Talk: The master Vermont boatbuilder gives a talk in conjunction with a current exhibit. Frog Hollow Vermont State Craft Center, Burlington, Thursday, March 26, 6 p.m. Info, 863-6458.

call to artists

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SD: Why, exactly, do you want to do this? Is it to preserve your legacy?

JC: No, it has nothing to do with me. It has to do with the people I photographed.

But I don’t know that the photos are old enough, or if they’ll be appreciated for their quality. I have no idea whether they’re valuable or not. I just don’t want them to go up in flames. m

‘An Anecdotal History of Les Demoiselles’: Beth Gersh-Nesic, art historian, critic and curator, talks about Picasso’s painting “Les Demoiselles d’Avignon” and its influence on art today, including the works in the current exhibition “Staring Back.”

Fleming Museum, UVM, Burlington, Wednesday, March 25, 6 p.m. Info, 656-0750.

SEVENDAYSvt.com

SD: You’re looking for an archive or repository for your work. Where and in what condition is it all?

JC: I have all the negatives. I have limited prints, though. Some I’d sell, some I’d give away. I was really pretty casual about it. But all the negatives are clean and kept well.

I’ve just started, a couple months ago, looking for an archive, even though I’ve always worried about it. I only have a couple more years. [A friend] made up a list of possible archives, and I thought it would be a good idea to approach them with my book and a few prints so they could see the quality of the printing.

art events

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rutland area

Tom Waters: Acrylic paintings inspired by the beauty of Vermont, by the Essex artist. Through March 28. Info, 658-6400. American Red Cross Blood Donor Center in Burlington.

upper valley

‘Trapping Boats of Lake Champlain’: A trapping boat from a Panton farm and a replica boat made by Middlebury College students during a boatbuilding project led by master builder Douglas Brooks, in conjunction with Henry Sheldon Museum in Middlebury. Through March 31. Info, 863-6458. Frog Hollow Vermont State Craft Center in Burlington.

new shows

f Ruth Hamilton: “Attention/Intention: Nature Scapes and Other Worlds,” evocative and colorful paintings, as well as figurative and abstract three-dimensional works. Reception: Friday, April 10, 6 p.m. April 1-May 1. Info, 468-1266. Castleton Downtown Gallery in Rutland. f Laurel Vail Tobiason & Patricia Warren: Landscapes and portraits in watercolor and oil.

Reception: Sunday, March 29, 2-4 p.m March 29May 24. Info, 889-9404. Tunbridge Public Library in Tunbridge Village.

UVM Medical Center Group Show: Art by Michael Sipe, Cameron Schmitz, David Griggs, Michael Farnsworth, Phil Laughlin and Jane Ann Kantor.

Curated by Burlington City Arts. Through April 30.

Info, 865-7166. UVM Medical Center in Burlington.

ONGOING Shows

Vermont Artisans: Frame shop owners Alex and Jeremy Dostie have been collecting artwork since opening in 2011. A selection of those pieces is on view, featuring some 20 Vermont artists. Through March 30. Info, 660-9005. Dostie Bros. Frame Shop in Burlington.

burlington

28th Annual Children’s Art Exhibition Awards Ceremony: Original works by young artists from Burlington elementary schools.

Through March 31. Info, 865-7166. Burlington City Hall Auditorium.

Art’s Alive 2nd Annual Open Photography Exhibition: Thirty-six Vermont photographers who answered an open call to artists show more than 100 photographs. Through March 29. Info, 660-9005. Art’s Alive Gallery in Burlington.

Bryan Briscoe: “Fruit & Flowers,” new acrylic paintings by the area artist. Through April 2. Info, 518-572-2337. City Market/Onion River Co-op in Burlington.

Chance McNiff: “Geometrically cosmic,” acrylic and oil paintings lined with ink. Curated by SEABA. Through May 31. Info, 859-9222. Speeder & Earl’s: Pine Street in Burlington.

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Christine Wichert: The artist’s “Jack in the Pulpit” series includes one-of-a-kind multimedia work on canvas and paper with hand- or machinesewn stitching. Through May 1. Info, 862-9647. The Daily Planet in Burlington.

‘Civil War Objects From the UVM Collections’: Heirloom items donated to the museum from America’s Civil War period include correspondence and ephemera, quilts, medical items, fine and decorative art, and more.

Wilbur Room. Through May 17. ‘Staring Back: The Creation and Legacy of Picasso’s Demoiselles d’Avignon’: The exhibit explores the origins and influence of the seminal cubist painting through a selection of American, African and European contemporary art, as well as new technologies. Through June 21. ‘Travelers in Postwar Europe’: Black-and-white photographs of Germany, Paris, London and Venice by Burlington doctor H.A. Durfee Jr. between 1951 and 1953.

Through June 28. Info, 656-8582. Fleming Museum, UVM in Burlington.

Dana Smith: Original works drawn from nature by the Hawaii-born, self-taught artist. Through March 31. Info, 318-2438. Red Square in Burlington.

DJ Barry Art: “Project Stencil,” spray paint on canvas works by the local artist. Through April 30.

Info, 658-2010. Indigo Salon in Burlington.

Images From the Moran Plant: A celebration of the Moran Plant’s first artist-in-residence, Mary Lacy, features photographs of her murals by Burlington photographer Brendan Joe. Through April 9. Info, 922-4398. Scout & Co. in Burlington.

The Innovation Center Show: Group exhibits of local artists on all three floors. First floor: Ashley Veselis, Casey Blanchard, James Vogler, Jamie Townsend, Liz Cleary, Lori Arner, Robert Green and Scott Nelson; second floor: Elizabeth Nelson, Emily Mitchell, Lyna Lou Nordstorm, Michael Pitts and Tom Merwin; third floor: Jessica Drury, Lynn Cummings, Haley Bishop, Janet Bonneau, Krista Cheney and Wendy James. Curated by SEABA. Through May 31. Info, 859-9222. The Innovation Center of Vermont in Burlington.

Lisa Lillibridge “We’ve all felt like freaks at some point, or lived

‘The Waskowmium: Where the Art Stops’: A selection of works by 45 regional artists represent Barre collector Mark Waskow’s acquisitions since 1998. Through May 30. Info, 652-4500. Amy E. Tarrant Gallery, Flynn Center, in Burlington.

through seasons of our lives that felt like we were in a freak show.” So writes Lisa

Zoe Bishop & Adam Forguites: New works in oil by the local artists. Through March 29. Info, 861-2067. Nunyuns Bakery & Café in Burlington.

Lillibridge in an artist statement about her new exhibit, “Freak Show,” at Burlington

chittenden county

restaurant Revolution Kitchen. Her colorful, carved relief paintings and mixed-media constructions are fabricated from found and donated objects. The work is inspired by both her fascination with vintage carnival signs and her thoughts on complicated family relationships. “Freak Show” is on view through mid-June, and will evolve as Lillibridge replaces pieces that are sold. Pictured: “RINGmaster/mistress: becoming who we are meant to be.”

Jason Boyd, Jordan Douglas & Matt Gang: Wood and mixed-media assemblages by Boyd; photographs on infrared and black-and-white film capturing recent travels by Douglas; and works in cork and wood by Gang. Curated by SEABA. Through May 31. Info, 859-9222. VCAM Studio in Burlington.

Jeffrey Trubisz: “Images: On the Trail,” photographs of nature from the Pacific Northwest, Hawaii, Alaska and other places. Through March 31.

Info, 859-9222. SEABA Center in Burlington.

Joe Pulliam: Paintings on 19th-century ledger paper by a noteworthy Lakota artist, who lives on the Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota.

Through March 31. Info, 658-3074. Mirabelles in Burlington.

Julie A. Davis: Oil paintings and works on paper by the Burlington artist. Through April 27. Info, 363-4746. Flynndog Gallery in Burlington.

Kristen Tordella-Williams: “Knot Work,” sculptures that employ weaving, embroidery and knotting through handmade paper, wood and mixed media, by the Mississippi-based artist.

Through April 9. Info, oneartscollective@gmail.com.

Info, 338-0028. ONE Arts Center in Burlington.

Linda DiSanti: An exhibition of drawings and watercolors organized by ONE Arts Collective.

Through April 3. Info, oneartscollective@gmail. com. Info, 660-9346. Radio Bean Coffeehouse in Burlington.

Lisa Lillibridge: “Freak Show,” an installation of carved relief paintings created from found objects and textiles, influenced by vintage carnival signs, games and relationships. Through June 16. Info, 448-3657. Revolution Kitchen in Burlington.

Maltex Group Show: Art by Steve Diffenderfer, Nissa Kauppila, Carol Boucher, John Snell, Tracy Vartenigian Burhans, Krista Cheney, Amy Hannum and Kimberly Bombard. Curated by Burlington City Arts. Through April 30. Info, 865-7166. The Maltex Building in Burlington.

Meghan Raymond: The Burlington artist’s solo exhibition, titled “Present Tense,” of encaustic paintings and small sculptural works “explores issues of identity, privacy, nature’s sublimity and the experience of time.” Through March 31. Info, 488-5766. Vintage Inspired Lifestyle Marketplace in Burlington.

Nancy H. Taplin & Ethan Bond-Watts: “In Motion,” abstract paintings by Taplin and glass sculptures by Bond-Watts that capture the “kinetic energy of color and light.” Through April 4. Info, 865-5355. Vermont Metro Gallery, BCA Center, in Burlington.

Renee Lauzon: Two sound installations, “If We Are Two, They Will Have to Believe Us,” and “Stripping/Retrieval (Women in the Woods),” are featured along with “Speech Attempt I & II,” a work composed of vellum, clear wire, D-rings and tape. Through April 30. Info, 862-9616. Burlington College.

Sally Hughes & Carol Shallow: ‘Our Favorite Things,” plein-air watercolor paintings by two friends. Through March 29. Info, 660-9005. The Gallery at Main Street Landing in Burlington.

f ‘A Show of HANDS’: The third annual exhibit of decorated wooden hands is a benefit for HANDS, a local nonprofit that helps get food to Vermont elders. Silent auction: Thursday, April 2, 5:30-7:30 p.m. Through April 2. Info, 651-8834. Penny Cluse Café in Burlington.

Bob Arns/Mutin: “Science Meets Art,” the first solo show of Mutin, a University of Vermont emeritus professor of nuclear physics, who paints at the intersection of science and art. Through April 30. Info, 879-1236. Artists’ Mediums in Williston.

John Weaver: Oil paintings by the Montpelier artist. Through April 19. Info, 899-3211. Emile A. Gruppe Gallery in Jericho.

Katie Loesel: “Piles and Passageways,” drawings and prints by the Vermont artist, who explores ideas of pilings, webs and balance. Through June 1.

Info, 985-8222. Shelburne Vineyard.

Keith Tatarczuk: Drawings in graphite and charcoal, watercolors and mixed-media works by the local artist. Through March 31. Info, 658-2739.

Magic Hat Artifactory in South Burlington.

Miriam Adams: “Drawn to Words,” graphite drawings and watercolors about books and words.

Through April 13. Info, 482-2878. Carpenter-Carse Library in Hinesburg.

Nathan Benn: “Kodachrome Memory: American Pictures 1972-1990,” featuring evocative color images by the acclaimed National Geographic photographer.

Through May 25. Info, 985-3346. Pizzagalli Center for Art and Education, Shelburne Museum.

‘Young Vermont Lifestyle’: Artwork by Mt. Mansfield Union High School students. Through April 15. Jericho Town Hall.

barre/montpelier

‘1865, Out of the Ashes: Assassination, Reconstruction & Healing the Nation’: Historical artifacts that commemorate the Civil War’s 150th anniversary. Through July 31. Info, 485-2886. Sullivan Museum & History Center, Norwich University, in Northfield.

Athena Petra Tasiopoulos: “Transcend,” mixed-media works utilizing found photographs that explore our shared humanity. Through March 31. Info, 479-0896. Espresso Bueno in Barre.

‘Taking Pictures’: An exhibit of works past and present from artists in the Pictures Generation of the 1970s that explores appropriation and the influence of mass media. Through April 4. Info, 865-5355. BCA Center in Burlington.

August Burns: “The Eyes Have It: Portraits and Figures,” an expressive collection of paintings and drawings of men and women by the accomplished portraitist. Through March 31. Info, 828-3131.

Vermont Supreme Court Lobby in Montpelier.

‘This Is Our Show’: New work and collaborative paintings by Sage Tucker-Ketcham, Kristen L’Esperance and Dostie. Through March 29. Info, 660-9005. The S.P.A.C.E. Gallery in Burlington.

Daniel Barlow & Scott Baer: “Green Mountain Graveyards,” a photography exhibit that explores the evolution of historic gravestones and funerary art in Vermont. Through April 1. Info, 479-8519.

Vermont History Museum in Montpelier.

Art ShowS

HOLY WEEK & EASTER SERVICES Palm Sunday..........................March 29 .....7:45, 9:00, 11:00 am

Daryl StorrS: “Landscape Dreams,” woodcuts and pastels featuring landscapes of Vermont, maine and the artist’s imagination. Through April 10. Info, 371-4375. Central Vermont medical Center in Barre.

Glen Coburn HutCHeSon: Artwork by the gallery sIX founder. Through march 31. Info, 262-2253.

The skinny pancake in montpelier.

JonatHan VantaSSel: “so handsome! I know right?,” abstract large-scale paintings and photographs. Through may 1. Info, 828-3291. spotlight gallery in montpelier. ‘roCk-PaPer-SCiSSorS!’: more than 15 artists exhibit works that include some aspect of the childhood game. MarGaret JaCobS: “Fact and Fiction,” sculptures and drawings. Third Floor gallery. MiCHelle Saffran: “Remembering our Future Death,” collages by the local artist. second Floor gallery. Through April 4. Info, 479-7069. studio place Arts in Barre.

MiCHael t. JerMyn: “New American Impressionism,” images by the montpelier photographer. Through April 30. Info, 223-1570.

Chill gelato in montpelier. nina anD CraiG line: The father-and-daughter photographers exhibit images of the Kent museum as well as landscapes and portraits from Vermont and across the u.s., south America, the former soviet union, europe and Nepal. Through march 31.

Info, 223-2518. montpelier senior Activity Center. ray brown: Recent abstract oil paintings inspired by the Vermont artist’s travels in Florida and Italy.

Through march 31. Info, 552-8620. gallery sIX in montpelier.

stowe/smuggs area

“Subtle, not Subtle: eVoCatiVe nuanCe”: Delicate and complex paintings by marc Civitarese, Janis pozzi-Johnson and helen shulman; and sculptures by Jonathan prince.

Through June 3. ‘enDleSS beGinninGS: nonrePreSentational art toDay’: paintings and sculptures by 12 regional artists. Through April 19. ‘MenaGerie: aniMalS in art’: paintings and sculptures by 11 artists depict an

array of domestic and wild creatures. Through march 29. Info, 253-8943. west Branch gallery & sculpture park in stowe.

Jari CHeValier: “whole world in pieces,” collage inlays by the local artist. Through march 26. Info, 212-213-5310. Vermont studio Center in Johnson.

MarieluiSe HutCHinSon: New landscape paintings by the regional artist. Through march 31.

Info, 253-1818. green mountain Fine Art gallery in stowe.

MiCHael ZebrowSki: ‘otwieraç,” sculpture that explores art, architecture and science through the lens of material culture, by the JsC assistant professor of art. Through April 3. Info, 635-1469.

Julian scott memorial gallery, Johnson state College.

‘Play’: National and regional artists display work in various mediums inspired by play. Also, an ongoing collaborative art project by hundreds of local elementary school students. riCHarD wHitten: “experiments: recent paintings and sculptures,” architecturally inspired objects and paintings in Renaissance style. Through April 12.

Info, 253-8358. helen Day Art Center in stowe.

Taize .........................................March 30 .....7:30 pm.

Maundy Thursday & Agape Meal .......................April 2 .........6:30 pm Good Friday ...........................April 3...........12:15, 7:30 pm Holy Saturday.......................April 4 ..........8:30 am The Great Vigil of Easter ..April 4 ..........8:00 pm Easter Day .............................April 5 ..........7:45, 9:00, 11:00 am ALL ARE WELCOME 2 Cherry St (corner of Cherry & Battery) Burlington, 802-864-0471 www.stpaulscathedralvt.org 8h-cathedralchurchofsaintpaul032515.indd 1

3/20/15 3:32 PM

VERMONT TECH WILLISTON CAMPUS OPEN HOUSE

‘roManCinG tHe GarDen’: paintings of flowers, fauna, farms, gardens, buds and blossoms from more than 50 artists, main gallery. Also, piper strong, middle Room, and the 2014-2015 Legacy Collection, east gallery. Through march 29. Info, 644-5100. Bryan memorial gallery in Jeffersonville.

We offer 40 in-demand majors featuring hands-on learning, and instructors with real-world experience.

SanDra SHenk: middlesex artist sandra shenk’s solo exhibition, “A Celebration of Color, Light and Form in the southwest,” is a collection of travel and infrared photography, including images of Death Valley, southwestern Colorado and northern Arizona. SaraH-lee terrat: “Inside the Nitty gritty — Commercial Art and the Creative process” reveals the artist’s procedure, from sketches to final products, including illustrations, paintings, toys and sculpture.

Through April 29. Info, 888-1261. River Arts in morrisville.

sTowe/smuggs AReA shows

Register today at vtc.edu/open-house.

OPEN HOUSE: Saturday, April 11

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vtc.edu/open-house | 800 442 8821

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SEVENDAYSVt.com

Seeking Male and Female Smokers Ages 18-70 (who are not currently interested in quitting smoking)

only the contents of the show, but the contents of my head,” writes Walter Wick, the

For more information, call 656-0392

photographic illustrator and cocreator of the I SPY and Can You See What I See? series of children’s books. His touring exhibition of large-scale color photographs, threedimensional models and behind-the-scenes video will be on view at the Shelburne Museum’s Pizzagalli Center for Art and Education from March 28 to July 5. The opening public is invited to hear Wick talk about his work. Pictured: “Sky High.”

Say you saw it in...

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NOW IN sevendaysvt.com

3D!

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for museum members begins at 10 a.m. on Saturday, March 28. At 2 p.m., the general

6h-uvmdeptpsych(TCORS)101514.indd 1

SEVEN DAYS

Walter Wick “‘Games, Gizmos and Toys in the Attic’ ... describes not

This 15-visit study involves: • A screening visit and training visit (2-3 hours each) • Three visits per week for 5-7 Weeks (2-4 hours each) • Compensation of up to $900

03.25.15-04.01.15

We are conducting a UVM research study to learn about the effects of different levels of nicotine in cigarettes.

CVMC ExpressCARE We are a not-for-profit clinic and we are here when you need us.

Monday thru Friday 10am-8pm

Saturday & Sunday 9am-7pm

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PRESENTS

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TURKUAZ

“This Brooklyn-based funk army is a live music tour de force.”

Relix Magazine via questions.

and answer 2 tri Go to sevendaysvt.com

Or, come by Eyes of the World (168 Battery, Burlington).

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by 5 p.m.

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Email askathena@sevendaysvt.com with your questions.

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‘Slope Style’: Thirty-five fully accessorized vintage ski outfits, with a special section of the exhibit dedicated to Vermont ski brands. Through October 31. Info, 253-9911. Vermont Ski and Snowboard Museum in Stowe.

‘Vermont – A perSonAl Viewpoint’: Eighteen works depicting life in Vermont by six artists in styles from abstract to representational. Through June 3. Info, 472-6857. Grace Gallery at the Old Firehouse in Hardwick.

mad river valley/waterbury

Ben FrAnk moSS & VArujAn BoghoSiAn: “Collage, Drawing, Painting,” works by the abstract and collage artists. Through April 25. Info, 767-9670. BigTown Gallery in Rochester. elizABeth FrAm: “COLOR | stories,” lively, colorful textile collages by the Waterbury Center artist.

Through March 30. Info, 244-6606. Waterbury Congregational Church. ‘hooked in the VAlley’: Thirteen area artists display 36 hooked-rug pieces in a variety of styles.

Through March 28. Info, 496-6682. Festival Gallery in Waitsfield.

middlebury area

Saturday, April 11, 8:30pm, Ballroom

Deadline: 4/7, at

STOWE/SMUGGS AREA SHOWS

‘ViBrAnt ColorS’: An exhibition of seasonal landscapes and flora by painters David McPhee, Karla Van Vliet and Suzanne Houston; and photographer Amalia Elena Veralli. Through April 25. Info, 244-7801. Axel’s Gallery & Frameshop in Waterbury.

7 days 4.75 x 3.65

WIN TIX!

art

9/9/14 1:28 PM

peter Fried: The visual artist invites visitors to his new gallery and working studio to observe his process in various media. Works are available for purchase. Through December 31. Info, peterdfried@ gmail.com. Peter Fried Art in Vergennes. ‘rAiSe your CupS!’: An exhibit and sale of ceramic works by local artists celebrates 40 years of pottery and arts education in Middlebury. Proceeds benefit the Middlebury Studio School’s move to a new location in March. Through March 27. Info, 458-0098. Edgewater Gallery in Middlebury.

SuSAn AlAnCrAig: “Unexpected Journeys: Life, Illness and Loss,” photographic portraits, accompanied by audio and written excerpts of interviews given by women with metastatic cancer and their family caregivers. Through May 9. Info, 388-4964. Vermont Folklife Center in Middlebury.

rutland area

Bill rAmAge: An 11.5-by-43-foot photo-based drawing of downtown Rutland by the local artist and Castleton professor is on view by appointment.

Through March 26. Info, 468-6052. 104 Merchants Row in Rutland.

Bill rAmAge & BoB johnSon: “Death and the Chair,” a dual exhibit by the artist and Castleton College philosophy professor. Through March 28.

Info, 468-6052. Castleton Downtown Gallery in Rutland. gene ChilderS: “Bits and Pieces,”sculptures and assemblages made into bugs, musical creations and mobiles, as well as paintings and drawings.

Through April 28. Info, 247-4956. Brandon Artists Guild.

CAleB kennA: “Elemental Vermont,” photographs in the natural world by the Brandon artist. Through April 1. Info, 388-3300. American Flatbread (Middlebury Hearth).

‘A loVe oF Art’: A juried exhibition that celebrates work in diverse mediums by Chaffee’s member artists. Through March 28. Info, 775-0062. Chaffee Art Center in Rutland.

‘emerging: CeleBrAtionS oF Spring’: Artwork celebrating spring by local artists working in a variety of media. Through May 24. Info, 877-3850.

Creative Space Gallery in Vergennes.

ruSSell SerriAnne: “Natural Line,” landscapes made from clipped vines by the Glens Falls, N.Y., artist. Through March 27. Info, 468-6052. Christine Price Gallery, Castleton State College.

‘in ChAmplAin’S wAke: trApping BoAtS oF the lAke ChAmplAin BASin’: Trapping boat with a replica built by high school students, including vintage trapping gear, photographs and a video of the building process led by master builder Douglas Brooks, in conjunction with a Frog Hollow State Craft Center exhibition in Burlington. f ‘the muSeum AS muSe For Six Vermont poetS: no ideAS But in thingS’: A half dozen members of the Spring Street Poets Workshop — David Weinstock, Janet Fancher, Kari Hansen, Ray Hudson, Janice Miller Potter and Mary Pratt — each selected an object from the museum’s permanent collection and wrote a poem about it.

The result is this unusual exhibit of artifacts and words. Reception with poetry readings: Thursday, March 26, 7 p.m. Through April 11. Info, 388-2117.

Henry Sheldon Museum of Vermont History in Middlebury.

‘whAt iS loVe?’: The gallery’s annual Full House group exhibit offers diverse interpretations of and answers to the titular question. Through May 9.

Info, 775-0062. Chaffee Downtown Art Center in Rutland.

‘line in SpACe: juSt A Corner oF your memory pAlACe’: Artworks focused on the limitless possibilities of the welded-steel rod, by students in Sanford Mirling’s class Sculpture I: Communicating in Three Dimensions. Through April 3. Info, 443-5258. Johnson Memorial Building, Middlebury College.

‘Andy wArhol printS’: “Recent Gifts From the Andy Warhol Foundation”: 10 vivid prints by the late pop artist including portraits of Chairman Mao, Goethe, Sitting Bull, Ingrid Bergman and Queen Ntombi of Swaziland. ‘outSide in: Art oF the Street’: Graphic works by 19 street artists and urban legends who are now exhibiting in museums and galleries internationally. Through April 19. Info, 443-3168. Middlebury College Museum of Art. pAt lAFFin: Mixed-media and assemblage works by the Vermont artist. Through April 15. Info, 453-4130. Tourterelle in New Haven.

winter Art mArt: Winter-inspired art in many mediums by local artists including Gayl M. Braisted, Andrew David Christie, Lyn DuMoulin, Stu Hall, Maurie Harrington, Tom Merwin, Jim Samler and Judith Reilly. Through March 29. Info, 247-4295. Compass Music and Arts Center in Brandon.

champlain islands/northwest

genie ryBiCki-judkinS, jim Foote & pAt murphy: Pastels, paintings and wood sculpture, and paintings, respectively. Through March 31. Info, 933-2545. Artist in Residence Cooperative Gallery in Enosburg Falls.

upper valley

‘FArmerS wArriorS BuilderS: the hidden liFe oF AntS’: A traveling Smithsonian Institution exhibition featuring macro-photographs by ant expert and photographer Mark Moffett along with interactive models that teach us about the complex lives of ants. Through April 5. ‘the light Around uS’: An exhibit that explores the physics of light and color. Through May 10. Info, 649-2200.

Montshire Museum of Science in Norwich.

‘FiBrAtionS!’: Fiber creations by more than a dozen New England artists. Through March 30.

Info, 885-3061. The Great Hall in Springfield. jeAnette Fournier: Watercolor paintings inspired by wildlife and nature. Through March 31.

Info, 359-5001. VINS Nature Center in Hartford. tom SChulten: Vivid works by the renowned Dutch painter of consensusism. Through December 31. Info, 457-7199. Artemis Global Art in Woodstock.

Art ShowS

Michael Zebrowski

“Otwieraç” means “to open” in

4/3 FRI

Polish. It’s also the title of Americanborn Michael Zebrowski’s new sitespecific installation in the Julian College.

Educated

as

an

architect, Zebrowski is currently an

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at JSC. He wants his work to inspire space and his created object. “The

Venue Nightclub

things around us define us,” he says.

“When we rethink them or challenge

solaris voCal ensemBle

them — interact with them — we are really engaging in our own thoughts For his design, the existing doors

Waterbury Congregational

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of the gallery were removed and

solaris voCal ensemBle

College St. Congregational

incorporated into his steel construction as a means to “challenge the experience” of passing through the space. Zebrowski hopes it will initiate conversations about what art

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is and what architecture is supposed to accomplish. His installation is on view through April 3, with a closing reception on Thursday, April 2, 5-8 p.m. Pictured: “Otwieraç.”

‘get out of this one: broken snow removal deviCes of the nek’: A “brief celebration of futility” in the form of an exhibit about the rigors of snow removal in Vermont winters. Through May 31.

Info, claredol@sover.net. The Museum of Everyday Life in Glover.

northeast kingdom

susan Calza: Sculpture and drawings by the local artist, 3rd Floor Gallery. Through April 25. Info, 472-9933. Hardwick Inn. susan goodby: Paintings and collages of northern Vermont: landscapes, portraits and still lifes. Through April 13. Info, 525-3366. The Parker Pie Co. in West Glover.

‘wild nature: masterworks from the adirondaCk museum’: Sixty-two paintings, photographs and prints from the permanent collection of the Adirondack Museum, dating from 1821 to 2001, including work by Hudson River School masters. Through April 19. the george stephanopoulos ColleCtion: More than 120 photographs in a range of styles, including works

by Henri Cartier-Bresson, among many others.

Through May 31. Info, 518-792-1761. The Hyde Museum in Glens Falls, N.Y. ‘marvels and mirages of orientalism: from spain to moroCCo, benjamin-Constant in his time’: Six iconic aspects of orientalism are explored in Canada’s first museum exhibition dedicated to the genre, featuring recently rediscovered works by Jean-Joseph Benjamin-Constant, a seminal figure in the movement. Through March 31. Info, 514-285-1600. Montréal Museum of Fine Arts.

f vintage posters and silent auCtion: AVA

board chair Alfred T. Quirk’s collection of classic posters, including Harper’s Bazaar and World War II propaganda. Reception and silent auction: Saturday, March 28, 5:30-8 p.m. Through March 28.

Info, 603-448-3117. AVA Gallery and Art Center in Lebanon, N.H. m

4/22 WE

FlynnSpace (4/22-5/10)

4/23 TH

hanniBal BUress

4/24 FR

the nordiC fiddlers BloC

miwa matreyek

4/16 TH

afriCan Children’s Choir

MainStage

UVM Recital Hall

Jane Boxall St. Paul’s Cathedral

4/25 SA

Elley-Long Music Center

4/15 WE

vt stage Co. “moUntaintop”

ira glass, moniCa Bill Barnes, anna Bass

“Three Acts, Two Dancers, One Radio Host” MainStage

MainStage

everything eqUine & Canine

MainStage

Champlain Valley Exposition

“o, CaligUla! a mvsiCal”

horsin’ aroUnd

4/17 FRI National Theatre Live

Uvm springfest

Champlain Valley Exposition

Off Center (4/16-5/2)

“the hard proBlem”

UVM

4/27 MO Broadway National Tour

“anything goes”

Palace 9 Cinemas

natasha paremski

UVM Recital Hall

on sale and Coming soon

MainStage

4/30 TH

wendy whelan

“Restless Creature” MainStage

meghan trainor l Brian regan l discover Jazz fest: mavis staples l steve lehman octet l Joe locke’s love is a pendulum l Colin stetson & sarah neufeld duo l mimi Jones Band

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ART 79

‘two views from hollister hill’: Recent work in varied genres by Marshfield painters Chuck Bohn and Frederick Rudi. Through April 22. Info, 748-0158. Northeast Kingdom Artisans Guild Backroom Gallery in St. Johnsbury.

annual high sChool & middle sChool exhibition: The exhibition includes all visual arts media from students at almost a dozen area schools. Through April 24. Info, 518-563-1604.

Strand Main Gallery in Plattsburgh, N.Y.

MainStage

“peter and the starCatCher”

vyo ChorUs & ConCert Chorale

UkUlele orChestra of great Britain

SEVEN DAYS

brattleboro area

allan houser: Five sculptures by one of the best-known Native American artists are installed outside the museum in the Maffei Arts Plaza, representing his 3D work from 1986-1992. Through May 11. Info, 603-635-7423. Hood Museum, Dartmouth College, in Hanover, N.H.

MainStage

03.25.15-04.01.15

northeast kingdom

outside vermont

gilBerto gil

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‘Children of the oasis’: Ten tapestries by students of Egypt’s Ramses Wissa Wassef Centre, shown in conjunction with a contemporary fiber-art exhibit. Through June 21. ‘dialogue: lindenfeld + lindenfeld’: Ceramics by Naomi Lindenfeld inspired by and exhibited alongside textiles by her mother, Lore Kadden Lindenfeld. Through May 3. ‘gathering threads: Contemporary fiber art’: The works of 13 regional textile artists, featuring unconventional materials. Through May 3. donald saaf: “Contemporary Folk Tales,” a solo exhibition of figurative paintings by the local artist and musician. Through June 21. miChael poster: Photography series featuring the residents of the Messianic farming community Twelve Tribes, in Bellows Falls. Through May 3. Info, 257-0124.

Brattleboro Museum & Art Center.

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Broadway National Tour

MainStage

brattleboro area

4/20 MO

indie artist takeover

an interaction among visitors, the

MainStage

All Souls Interfaith

terry galloway

“You Are My Sunshine” FlynnSpace

Brit floyd martin and eliza Carthy

“legally Blonde: the mUsiCal” MainStage (4/9-12)

assistant professor of art and design

and our own ways of making.”

4/18 SA

FlynnSpace (4/3-4)

Scott Memorial Gallery at Johnson State

Upright Citizens Brigade

movies The Gunman ★

M

any people of my generation regard Sean Penn as our Robert De Niro — the serious actor, the tough guy, the top banana.

But the fact is, the two-time Oscar winner (De Niro has also won twice) has made relatively few films of significance, given that his career dates back to the mid-1970s. He’s averaged roughly one good film per decade, give or take, and, since 2010, the dude is zero for eight. (I’d love to see the Netflix numbers for Gangster Squad.)

It’s been 12 years since Mystic River, 20 since Dead Man Walking. Penn has developed a reputation for taking chances and being uncompromising in his work — even the duds. So it’s sad to see him now doing the same thing virtually every other actor pushing 60 has done in recent years and going the Taken career-resuscitation route. How Taken-y is The Gunman? It was directed by Pierre Morel, the guy who gave us Taken.

Penn plays Jim Terrier, yet another former operative for some shadowy agency who dusts off his very particular set of skills to protect someone close to him. In this case, that’s the love of his life, Annie (Jasmine Trinca). Once upon a time, you see, Jim had

a make-believe job in the Congo with either a private security contractor or a company that builds airfields or some sort of NGO. The film’s first act is among the most muddled, incomprehensible stretches of nonsense in the history of make-believe geopolitical thrillers. I seriously doubt Penn could tell you what his character was pretending to do in Africa, and he cowrote the thing.

I guess it doesn’t matter, since his real job title was hired assassin. For reasons never made clear, Javier Bardem (who’s unbelievably awful here) made Jim shoot the Congo’s minister of mining and go into hiding. When Jim resurfaces eight years later in 2014, he hooks back up with Annie — literally minutes before his past comes back to haunt him in the form of muscle-bound men with ear pieces and weapons the size of French horns.

The globe is dutifully trotted, cars are chased, Jim gets a concussion from explosions (yes, the film has an actual concussion subplot), and Trinca summons all the skill at her disposal to look scared. Also squandered are such wonderful actors as Ray Winstone and Idris Elba. Everywhere Jim goes, TVs in the background slip in references to civil war, starvation, vast mineral wealth and the

PECS APPEAL After a hard day of being haunted by his past, Penn relaxes by riding some tasty waves.

Western world’s insatiable demand, so it’s really easy to tell which parts of the script Penn wrote.

I should mention that the aging star is so buff he appears to be Photoshopped from the neck down. He takes his shirt off a lot. In one scene, he even goes surfing off the Congolese coast (insert Jeff Spicoli joke here).

But that’s not what Penn wants you to think about. He wants you to think about multinational corporations and their unethical treatment of people in developing countries. Or something equally sanctimonious in the context of a movie about a murderer who’s too sexy for his shirt.

80 MOVIES

SEVEN DAYS

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SEVENDAYSVT.COM

What We Do in the Shadows ★★★★

P

op culturally speaking, vampires are dead — and no, not undead, either. Vampire spoofs, satires and ironic meta-fests are likewise long past their heyday. So there’s nothing timely or particularly original about the New Zealand vampire mockumentary What We Do in the Shadows. Yet it’s one of the funniest and most fun film comedies of recent years — proof positive that having a buzzworthy concept is less important than being able to bring the goods.

In this case, “bringing the goods” means squeezing fresh gags of sublime silliness out of hackneyed characters and situations. And co-writer-director-stars Jemaine Clement and Taika Waititi deliver. Clement is half of the “Flight of the Conchords” duo; Waititi has directed numerous film and TV comedies, including the oddball indie Eagle vs.

Shark. The two have a long history of performing together, and it shows in the ease of their largely improvised banter.

Their characters have a rather longer history. Clement and Waititi play two of four urban flatmates who happen to be vampires; the youngest member of the group (Jonathan Brugh) is a frisky bad boy of 183. Waititi’s character, Viago, dates from the 18th century and still sports dandyish attire, while Clement’s Vladislav, who does his best to embody

every “sexy vampire” cliché in the book, has a bloody track record in the pre-modern era.

Petyr (Ben Fransham), a desiccated bloodsucker residing in the basement, is so ancient he hasn’t even tried to adjust GORE CHORE Waititi chipperly attests to the difficulty of to the world of cellphones and keeping a vampire’s abode clean. dance clubs.

The film’s conceit is that these roommates have invited But they’re also recognizably human, a film crew into their decrepit mansion to document their un-lives as they with dynamic personalities — and that’s why prepare for an annual festive gathering of the sight gags like the chore wheel on their wall local paranormal folk. And, unlike the blasé don’t come across as cheap or tired. Clemcharacters in found-footage flicks, they are ent and Waititi use the techniques of classic ridiculously happy to be on camera — preen- mockumentaries such as This Is Spinal Tap ing, mugging and posing at every opportu- to craft a minimal but effective narrative, as the flatmates’ bonds are tested by the advent nity.

Waititi sets the tone in the first scene: His of a freshly fanged vampire (Cori Gonzalezfetchingly fey character (based on his mom’s Macuer) who exhibits a millennial casualmannerisms, he has said) walks us through ness about privacy.

Back before Anne Rice staked her literary the nightly ritual of rising from his coffin, unable to repress his glee at playing to an audi- flag firmly in the realm of campy myth makence. Later, we watch as the flatmates child- ing, toward the end of Interview With the ishly flaunt their superhuman powers (“Bat Vampire (1976), she offered readers a strikfight!”), bully their human minions (who do ing image: Her aged bloodsucker cowered in their bidding for a shot at immortality) and his home, terrified of modernity. The sequel bicker over who’s going to wash the sink full explained that scene away and turned Lesof bloody dishes. In short, these are the dork- tat into a literal rock star, setting the course for decades of cultural obsession with coldiest vampires ever put on film.

The whole overlong mess comes to a head in Barcelona. At a bullfight, of course. Morel breaks the corn barrier with a sequence that cuts between a beast being finished off in the ring and Jim collapsing nearby, brought to his knees by punishing blows, regret and humanitarian guilt. In reality, the sport has been outlawed in Catalonia since 2012. But that’s not the only reason I say that the animal with all the banderillas sticking out of it isn’t the only bull in The Gunman.

RI C K KI S O N AK

REVIEWS

skinned immortals who are also cool (and/or sparkly).

Clement and Waititi resurrect the comically rich alternative version of the vampire as a befuddled vestige — your dad trying his damnedest to be hip. (The werewolves in this film, always a bit overshadowed by the vampire cool brigade, are perhaps even funnier.) This duo knows that comedy comes not just from mocking tropes but from mocking the scruffy human pretensions that give birth to them. What We Do in the Shadows answers the age-old question of whether immortality would confer glamour and gravitas on human beings with a resounding and hilarious no.

MARGO T HARRI S O N

moViE clipS

FREE CLASSES — SPRING REGISTRATION NOW OPEN

new in theaters gEt HARD: Screenwriter Etan cohen (Tropic Thunder) makes his directorial debut with this comedy about a millionaire (will ferrell) who hires what he thinks is a seasoned tough guy (Kevin hart) to prep him for hard time behind bars. with craig t. nelson and alison brie. (100 min, R. bijou, capitol, Essex, Majestic, Palace) HomE: Jim Parsons voices an extraterrestrial misfit who escapes to Earth and teams up with a spunky girl (voiced by Rhianna) in this dreamworks family animation. with Steve Martin and Jennifer lopez. tim Johnson (Over the Hedge) directed. (94 min, Pg. bijou, Essex, Majestic, Palace, Paramount, welden) it FolloWS: The title succinctly describes the nature of the threat in this indie horror film from writer-director david Robert Mitchell (The Myth of the American Sleepover), which has received a plethora of festival awards. with Maika Monroe, Keir gilchrist and Olivia luccardi. (100 min, R. Roxy) SERENA: bradley cooper and Jennifer lawrence play an embattled couple struggling to control a depression-era timber empire in this drama based on Ron Rash’s novel and directed by Susanne bier (After the Wedding). with Rhys Ifans and toby Jones. (109 min, R. capitol, Roxy)

now playing AmERicAN SNipERHHHH bradley cooper plays renowned navy SEal sniper chris Kyle, during and after his tours in Iraq, in this drama from director clint Eastwood. with Sienna Miller and Kyle gallner. (132 min, R; reviewed by R.K. 1/14) cHAppiEHH1/2 neill blomkamp (District 9, Elysium) directed this near-future tale of a police robot with a repressive mission who finds himself reprogrammed. Sharlto copley, dev Patel and hugh Jackman star. (120 min, R; reviewed by M.h.

3/11)

tHE DiVERgENt SERiES: iNSURgENtHH tris (Shailene woodley) continues her fight against a social order that allows everyone to have just one dominant character trait in the adaptation of the second novel in Veronica Roth’s dystopian ya series. with ansel Elgort, Theo James and Kate winslet. Robert Schwentke (R.I.P.D.) directed. (119 min, Pg-13)

H = refund, please HH = could’ve been worse, but not a lot HHH = has its moments; so-so HHHH = smarter than the average bear HHHHH = as good as it gets

tHE gUNmANH a former mercenary (Sean Penn) working for an ngO in the congo finds that his past as the assassin of one of the nation’s officials has caught up with him in this action drama from director Pierre Morel (Taken). with Idris Elba and Javier bardem. (115 min, R; reviewed by R.K. 3/25) iDAHHHH1/2 In communist Poland, a sheltered girl about to take vows at a convent (agata trzebokowska) makes a startling discovery about her family’s world war II past, in this black-and-white period drama from director Pawel Pawlikowski (My Summer of Love). (121 min, Pg-13)

How Palliative Care and Hospice Help You to Live Better Jaina Clough, MD, VNA Medical Director Hospice and Palliative Care Service, and Nancy Carlson, RN, BSN, VNA Clinical Supervisor, Vermont Respite House VNA professional staff will discuss the differences between palliative care and hospice and how both improve the quality of your life.

WHEN Wednesday, April 22, 6:00 – 7:00 pm WHERE UVM Medical Center, Main Campus, Davis Auditorium HealthSource education programs and healthy lifestyle classes are offered by Community Health Improvement at The University of Vermont Medical Center.

Many of these programs are FREE, unless otherwise noted. Please note that directions are provided upon registration. FREE parking is available onsite for all classes.

kiNgSmAN: tHE SEcREt SERVicEHHH1/2 a british street kid (taron Egerton) is tapped to become a modern-day James bond in this action comedy. Matthew Vaughn directed. (129 min, R) tHE lAZARUS EFFEctHH documentarian david gelb (Jiro Dreams of Sushi) swerves over to the thriller genre with this tale of a group of med students who believe they’ve found the key to reviving the dead. (83 min, Pg-13; reviewed by R.K. 3/4)

UVMHealth.org/MedCenterHealthsource

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lEViAtHANHHHHH In this modern take on the trials of Job, set in Putin’s Russia, a man fights the powers that be to save his remote home. director andrey Zvyagintsev’s film was nominated for a best foreign language film Oscar. (140 min, R; reviewed by R.K. 3/11)

... AND LOVIN’ IT!

mcFARlAND, USAHHH Kevin costner plays a coach at a predominantly Mexican american high school who bonds with his students as he leads the cross-country team to victory in this disney sports drama. (128 min, Pg) RED ARmYHHHH gabriel Polsky’s acclaimed documentary takes a look back at the Soviet union’s national ice hockey team, its iconic cultural status and its role in the propaganda machine through interviews with former players. (76 min, Pg) RUN All NigHtHHH liam neeson plays a hitman who has one night to decide whether his loyalties lie with his estranged son (Joel Kinnaman) or his former mob boss (Ed harris) in yet another addition to his tough-guy résumé. Once again he teams up with director Jaume collet-Serra (Non-Stop, Unknown). (114 min, R; reviewed by R.K. 3/18)

3/24/15 10:16 AM

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NEW THIS WEEK

tHE SEcoND BESt EXotic mARigolD HotElHH1/2 The sequel to the 2011 comedydrama hit follows the quirky inhabitants and managers of an Indian inn as they strive to expand into a second establishment. Starring bill nighy, Maggie Smith, celia Imrie, dev Patel and newcomer Richard gere. John Madden again directed. (122 min, Pg)

2015: MARCH 25, er John h p ra g Photo and his Churchman n a farm o family live re they’re e h w x in Esse et Pea, an raising Swe ar-old ye adorable 1quite a as h o h sheep w n Facebook. following o

sponsored by: nOw PlayIng

MOVIES 81

RatIngS aSSIgnEd tO MOVIES nOt REVIEwEd

by Rick kiSoNAk OR mARgot HARRiSoN aRE cOuRtESy Of MEtacRItIc.cOM, whIch aVERagES ScORES gIVEn by thE cOuntRy’S MOSt wIdEly REad MOVIE REVIEwERS.

gREEN moUNtAiN Film FEStiVAl: Sixty-one films from around the world will be screened in Montpelier from March 20 to 29.

This workshop will focus on growth and development, sleep, nutrition, safety, and whatever attendees need to know when it comes to parenting an infant in their first year of life.

WHEN Thursday, April 2, 6:30 – 8:00 pm WHERE UVM Medical Center, Main Campus, Davis Auditorium

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ratings

FocUSHHH will Smith plays a veteran con artist who finds himself distracted in the middle of a job by a woman from his past (Margot Robbie) in this comedy-drama from the writing team of glenn ficarra and John Requa. (104 min, R; reviewed by M.h. 3/4)

Baby Care Basics Lewis First, MD and Mary Lee Ritter, PNP, Vermont Children’s Hospital, University of Vermont Medical Center

03.25.15-04.01.15

Do YoU BEliEVE?H1/2 a pastor strives to return to the roots of true belief in this faith-based ensemble film featuring ted Mcginley, Mira Sorvino, Sean astin and others as interconnected characters seeking spiritual inspiration. Jonathan M. gunn directed. (115 min, Pg-13)

FiFtY SHADES oF gREYHH1/2 One clumsy college student (dakota Johnson) plus one ridiculously young billionaire (Jamie dornan) plus some light bondage equals E.l. James’ bestselling erotic romance, which director Sam taylor-Johnson has transferred to the screen. (125 min, R)

PRE-REGISTRATION IS REQUIRED BY CALLING (802) 847-2278 OR REGISTERING ONLINE AT UVMHEALTH.ORG/MEDCENTERHEALTHSOURCE.

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ciNDEREllAHHH cate blanchett gets to step out as the evil stepmother in disney’s live-action retelling of the tale of a put-upon girl and a glass slipper, directed by Kenneth branagh. lily James, Richard Madden and helena bonham carter also star. (112 min, Pg; reviewed by M.h. 3/18)

tHE DUFFHHH when a teen (Mae whitman) discovers that her supposed bffs call her the designated ugly fat friend, she sets out to turn the high school caste system on its head. ari Sandel directed. (100 min, Pg-13)

3/24/15 4:35 PM

movies

CDL Class A Course Offered in Essex The Precision Driver Training School is accepting applications for classes that will be held Mondays through Fridays beginning May 4th from 4:00pm to 8:00pm $250 off for the first two applicants.

Ph (802) 754-2842 or Website: www.vtdrivered.com

localtheaters Cinderella

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3/20/15 3:55 PM

BiG picturE thEAtEr

48 Carroll Rd. (off Rte. 100), Waitsfield, 4968994, bigpicturetheater.info

wednesday 25 — thursday 26 Kingsman: The Secret Service McFarland, USA The Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel friday 27 — tuesday 31 Focus McFarland, USA The Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel

BiJou ciNEplEX 4

Rte. 100, Morrisville, 888-3293, bijou4.com

wednesday 25 — thursday 26 WINTER CLOTHING OUTFITTER

W W W. SHOPSNOW D R O P. C O M

www.essexoutlets.com

Cinderella The Divergent Series: Insurgent The DUFF The Lazarus Effect friday 27 — wednesday 1

21 ESSEX WAY SUITE 207, ESSEX, VT | 802.871.5029

SEVENDAYSVt.com

Healthy postmenopausal women (50-60 years old) needed for a 1 visit UVM study that includes a brain MRI. Participants will receive $50.00 compensation.

Contact us at 847-8248 or menopauseandbrain@uvm.edu.

SEVEN DAYS

03.25.15-04.01.15

Cinderella The Divergent Series: Insurgent *Get Hard *Home (2D & 3D)

Say you saw it in...

82 MOVIES mini-sawit-white.indd 1

American Sniper Cinderella The Divergent Series: Insurgent (2D & 3D) Do You Believe? *Get Hard The Gunman *Home (2D & 3D) Kingsman: The Secret Service Run All Night The Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel

mAJEStic 10

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

wednesday 25 — thursday 26

friday 27 — wednesday 1

friday 27 — monday 30

The Divergent Series: Insurgent (2D & 3D) *Get Hard The Gunman Run All Night The Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel *Serena The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge Out of Water

American Sniper Cinderella The Divergent Series: Insurgent (2D & 3D) Do You Believe? *Get Hard The Gunman *Home (2D & 3D) Kingsman: The Secret Service Run All Night The Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel

21 Essex Way, #300, Essex, 879-6543, essexcinemas.com

wednesday 25 — thursday 26 American Sniper 9/18/14 4:14 PMCinderella

sevendaysvt.com

friday 27 — wednesday 1

The Divergent Series: Insurgent The Gunman The Lazarus Effect McFarland, USA Run All Night

ESSEX ciNEmAS & t-rEX thEAtEr

Clinical Neuroscience Research Unit

*Get Hard (Thu only) The Gunman *Home (Thu only; 2D & 3D) Kingsman: The Secret Service McFarland, USA Run All Night The Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel

American Sniper Chappie Cinderella The Divergent Series: Insurgent (2D & 3D) Do You Believe?

Fifty Shades of Grey Focus The Gunman Kingsman: The Secret Service Run All Night The Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel

Healthy Women3/3/15 10:07 AM Needed for a Study cApitol ShowplAcE 93 State St., Montpelier, 229-0343, on Menopause fgbtheaters.com and the Brain wednesday 25 — thursday 26

12v-essexshoppes030415.indd 1

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(*) = NEW THIS WEEK IN VERMONT. FOR UP-TO-DATE TIMES VISIT sevendaysvt.com/movies.

The Divergent Series: Insurgent (2D & 3D) Do You Believe?

Fifty Shades of Grey

11/24/09 1:32:18 PM

mArQuiS thEAtrE Main St., Middlebury, 388-4841, middleburymarquis.com

wednesday 25 — thursday 26 Cinderella The Divergent Series: Insurgent friday 27 — thursday 2 Schedule not available at press time.

mErrill’S roXY ciNEmA 222 College St., Burlington, 864-3456, merrilltheatres.net

The Gunman *Home (2D & 3D) Kingsman: The Secret Service McFarland, USA Run All Night The Theory of Everything

wednesday 25 — thursday 26 The Divergent Series: Insurgent (2D & 3D) Ida Leviathan Red Army The Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel Still Alice What We Do in the Shadows friday 27 — wednesday 1 The Divergent Series: Insurgent (2D & 3D) *It Follows Red Army The Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel *Serena Still Alice What We Do in the Shadows

pAlAcE 9 ciNEmAS

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

wednesday 25 — thursday 26 American Sniper **The Breakfast Club 30th Anniversary (Thu only) Chappie Cinderella The Divergent Series: Insurgent (2D & 3D) Focus The Gunman Kingsman: The Secret Service McFarland, USA **Rear Window Presented by Turner Classic Movies (Wed only) Run All Night The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge Out of Water The Theory of Everything **A View From the Bridge: National Theatre Live Production (Thu only) friday 27 — wednesday 1 American Sniper **The Breakfast Club 30th Anniversary (Tue only) Chappie Cinderella **Classic Music Series: Led Zeppelin (Mon only) The Divergent Series: Insurgent (2D & 3D) *Get Hard

pArAmouNt twiN ciNEmA

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

wednesday 25 — thursday 26 Chappie Cinderella friday 27 — wednesday 1 Cinderella *Home (2D & 3D)

thE SAVoY thEAtEr 26 Main St., Montpelier, 229-0509, savoytheater.com

wednesday 25 — sunday 29 Green Mountain International Film Festival monday 30 — thursday 2 Schedule not available at press time.

StowE ciNEmA 3 plEX Mountain Rd., Stowe, 253-4678. stowecinema.com

wednesday 25 — thursday 26 The Divergent Series: Insurgent (2D & 3D) McFarland, USA The Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel friday 27 — thursday 2 Schedule not available at press time.

wElDEN thEAtrE

104 No. Main St., St. Albans, 527-7888, weldentheatre.com

wednesday 25 — thursday 26 Cinderella The Divergent Series: Insurgent The Lazarus Effect Way Back Wednesday (weekly retro movie) friday 27 — wednesday 1 Cinderella The Divergent Series: Insurgent *Home Way Back Wednesday (weekly retro movie)

look up ShowtimES oN Your phoNE!

Go to SEVENDAYSVt.com on any smartphone for free, up-to-the-minute movie showtimes, plus other nearby restaurants, club dates, events and more.

moViE clipS NOW PLAYING

« P.81

new on video

tHE SpoNGEBoB moViE: SpoNGE oUt oF WAtERHHH In his second feature, the beloved animated character pursues a stolen recipe into the live-action dimension — and meets a pirate.

(93 min, PG)

tHE HoBBit: tHE BAttlE oF tHE FiVE ARmiESHHH Bilbo and his companions go to war to stop the dragon Smaug from destroying Middleearth in the last installment in this Tolkien-based series. Peter Jackson directed. (144 min, PG-13)

Still AlicEHHHH1/2 Julianne Moore got an Oscar nomination for her performance as a linguistics professor battling early-onset Alzheimer’s in this drama adapted from Lisa Genova’s novel.

Richard Glatzer and Wash Westmoreland directed.

(101 min, PG-13; reviewed by R.K. 2/11)

iNto tHE WooDSHHH1/2 Rob Marshall (Chicago) directed this film version of Stephen Sondheim’s dark musical take on the fairy tales of the Brothers Grimm. With Anna Kendrick as Cinderella, Meryl Streep as the Witch, Chris Pine, Johnny Depp, Emily Blunt and many more. (124 min, PG)

tHE tHEoRY oF EVERYtHiNGHHHH1/2 Eddie Redmayne and Felicity Jones play physicist Stephen Hawking and his wife, Jane, in this adaptation of the latter’s memoir of their marriage.

James Marsh directed. (123 min, PG-13)

UNBRoKENHHH Angelina Jolie directed this adaptation of Laura Hillenbrand’s bestseller about Olympian Louis Zamperini (Jack O’Connell) and his hellish travails in a Japanese prison camp during World War II. With Domhnall Gleeson and Jai Courtney. (137 min, PG-13)

WHAt WE Do iN tHE SHADoWSHHHH The New Zealand comedy duo of Jemaine Clement (“Flight of the Conchords”) and Taika Waititi wrote, directed and starred in this mockumentary about three flatmates who happen to be vampires. With Jonathan Brugh. (86 min, NR)

TRANSFER FASTER Instant Decision Days at Champlain make the transfer process easier and faster. Students will have the opportunity to meet privately with an admissions counselor, immediately receive a decision regarding admittance, have a preliminary transfer credit evaluation and learn about what financial aid is available.

Instant Decision Admission Days Monday–Friday 9:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m.

Sign up for your appointment today!

802.860.2727 or admissions@champlain.edu FOR DETAILS VISIT: Champlain.edu/transfer-days

more movies!

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3/23/15 10:18 AM

Film series, events and festivals at venues other than cinemas can be found in the calendar section.

movies YOu missed B Y MARGOT HARRI SON

Did you miss: hansel vs. gretel Usually in this blog feature, I try to write about movies that you shouldn’t miss. But what about all those movies you notice on Netflix and think, Hmm, WTF could that be?

Chances are, you aren’t going to stream an obscure, unpromising-looking movie because its title aroused your passing curiosity. But I occasionally do that kind of thing. And that’s why I watched Hansel vs. Gretel so you don’t have to.

SEVENDAYSVt.com

A week ago, while perusing Netflix Instant’s new arrivals on Instantwatcher, I noticed Hansel vs.

Gretel in the “Most Popular in the Last 24 Hours” list. I’ve heard of Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters, an actual movie that occupied local theaters in 2013. I’ve even heard of Hansel & Gretel Get Baked, which was popular on Netflix at around the same time. But this particular adult twist on the fairy tale was new to me…

In the Movies You Missed & More feature every Friday, I review movies that were too weird, too cool, too niche or too terrible for vermont's multiplexes. should you catch up with them on dvd or vod, or keep missing them?

03.25.15-04.01.15

what I’M watching B Y ETHAN D E SEI FE

This week i'm watching: "HoUSE oF cARDS"

SEVEN DAYS

Netflix's deliciously cynical "House of Cards" is perhaps most noteworthy for breaking the standard broadcast model for television(ish) shows. But it's the show's meticulous cinematographic palette — among other things — that really makes it worth watching. one career ago, I was a professor of film studies. I gave that up to move to vermont and write for Seven Days, but movies will always be my first love.

In this feature, published every saturday on Live Culture, I write about the films I'm currently watching, and connect them to film history and art.

MOVIES 83

ReAd tHese eACH week oN tHe LIve CULtURe BLog At sevendaysvt.com/liveculture

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3/23/15 1:14 PM

Dave Lapp

fun stuff Edie Everette

84 fun stuff

SEVEN DAYS 03.18.15-03.25.15 SEVENDAYSvt.com

Michael Deforge

lulu eightball

NEWS QUIRKs by roland sweet more fun!

jen sorensen

straight dope (p.28) calcoku & sudoku (p.c-4) crossword (p.c-5)

Curses, Foiled Again

David Fanuelsen, 39, and Dean Brown, 22, stole construction equipment worth $8,000 from their employer, according to police in Key West, Fla. The boss, Stace Valenzuela, identified the workers as the thieves because he had overheard them planning the theft after Fanuelsen unintentionally butt-dialed him. “Talk about bumbling idiots,” Valenzuela said.

(Reuters)

Bowling for Hollers

Two people in east Ukraine were injured while bowling after a player rolled a grenade instead of a ball. The blast occurred at a restaurant that also offers duckpin bowling, which uses a small ball without holes. Emergency services official Sergei Ivanushkin cited the incident as the latest in a rash of accidents in the rebelcontrolled area caused by careless use of explosives. (Associated Press)

Two people in east Ukraine were injured while bowling Harry BLISS

after a player rolled a grenade instead of a ball.

Smartphones, Dumb People

Sheena Keynna Miller, 27, was injured after she walked in front of a freight train while texting on her cellphone.

Miller told police in Lakeland, Fla., that she didn’t hear the train horn or see the crossing arms down when she stepped onto the tracks. Police Sgt. Gary Gross said the locomotive tossed Miller into the air, fracturing her arm. (Orlando Sentinel)

“Nightmare, huh … your mother or mine?

A fire extinguisher factory in Chicago burned down, even after 156 firefighters with 26 pieces of equipment responded

Police who spotted a pickup truck matching the description of a stolen vehicle in Destin, Fla., reported that the only occupant, Debra Jean Mason, 58, denied stealing the vehicle. She did admit knowing it was stolen but said, “I didn’t think it was that stolen.” (Northwest Florida Daily News) When a woman pointed a gun at a bartender in La Crosse, Wis., and demanded money, customer Jeff Steele stopped her with his Taser. The suspect, Heidi Thompson, 24, ran away but was quickly arrested. Police also charged Steele because he didn’t have a concealed carry permit for the Taser. “When I bought it off the internet, it said basically that it’s legal to have in the state of Wisconsin but didn’t go into any depth on it,” Steele explained, “so I assumed it was legal to carry around; otherwise why would you buy one to leave it at home?” (La Crosse’s WKBT-TV)

Post-Posting

Facebook announced that U.S. users can designate a “legacy contact,” who is authorized to continue posting on their page after they die, respond to new friend requests, and update their profile picture and cover photo. Users can also ask to have their accounts deleted after their death, a previously unavailable option.

(Associated Press)

Injudicious Behavior

When reporters spotted Flavio Roberto de Souza, the judge presiding over criminal proceedings against Eike Batista, once Brazil’s richest man, driving Batista’s confiscated Porsche, Souza insisted, “I did not take it to use, just to look after.”

He explained the police didn’t have a safe place to protect it from exposure to sun, rain and possible damage, so he took it to a covered parking space in the building where he lives in Rio de Janeiro. “I want the car to be preserved in good condition,” he said. (Reuters)

Thank You for Your Service

Canada’s House of Commons approved a policy change allowing military veterans who’ve lost limbs to verify their condition every three years, rather than annually.

(Canadian Press)

fun stuff 85

Irony of the Week

Degrees of Guilt

SEVENDAYSvt.com 03.18.15-03.25.15 SEVEN DAYS

Ontario researchers announced they’ve found a link between heavy smartphone use and lowered intelligence. The reason, their survey suggests, is that the devices encourage lazy thinking by allowing users to solve problems with computers rather than exercise their brains. “Decades of research has revealed that humans are eager to avoid expending effort when problem-solving, and it seems likely that people will increasingly use their smartphones as an extended mind,” said study coauthor Nathaniel Barr of the University of Waterloo. (United Press International)

to the three-alarm blaze, because they had nothing to put it out with. Noting that firefighters couldn’t reach the flames with water, First Deputy Fire Commissioner Charles Stewart III explained that firefighters finally “had one engine feed another engine to another engine until we got water on the fire.” (United Press International)

fun stuff

86 FUN STUFF

SEVEN DAYS

03.18.15-03.25.15

SEVENDAYSVT.COM

FRAN KRAUSE

Have a deep, dark fear of your own? Submit it to cartoonist Fran Krause at deep-dark-fears.tumblr.com, and you may see your neurosis illustrated in these pages.

KAZ

REAL free will astrology by rob brezsny march 26-april 1

webbed wings — thinking it was a toy. Don’t make a mistake like that. What you think is fake or pretend may turn out to be authentic.

Aries

(March 21-April 19)

The term “jumped the shark” often refers to a TV show that was once great but gradually grew stale, and then resorted to implausible plot twists in a desperate attempt to revive its creative verve. I’m a little worried that you may do the equivalent of jumping the shark in your own sphere. APRIL FOOL! I lied.

I’m not at all worried that you’ll jump the shark. It’s true that you did go through a stagnant, meandering phase there for a short time. But you responded by getting fierce and fertile rather than stuck and contrived. Am I right? And now you’re on the verge of breaking out in a surge of just-the-right-kind-of-craziness.

taUrUs (April 20-May 20): If you happen

caNcer

(June 21-July 22): novelist L. frank baum created the make-believe realm known as oz. Lewis Carroll conjured up Wonderland, and C. s. Lewis invented narnia. now you are primed to dream up your own fantasy land and live there full time, forever protected from the confusion and malaise of the profane world. Have fun in your imaginary utopia, Cancerian! APrIL fooL! I half-lied.

It’s true that now would be a good time to give extra attention to cultivating vivid visions of your perfect life. but I wouldn’t recommend that you live there full time.

leo (July 23-Aug. 22): “The national anthem

of Hell must be the old frank sinatra song ‘I Did It My Way,’” declares richard Wagner, author of the book Christianity for Dummies. “selfish pride is Hell’s most common trait,” he adds. “Hell’s inhabitants have a sense of satisfaction that they can at least say ‘they’ve been true to themselves.’” Heed this warning, Leo. tame your lust for self-expression.

APrIL fooL! I was making a little joke. The truth is not as simplistic as I implied. I actually think it’s important for you to be able to declare “I did it my way” and “I’ve been true to myself.” but for best results, do it in ways that aren’t selfish, insensitive or arrogant.

Virgo (Aug. 23-sept. 22): no matter what gender you are, it’s an excellent time to get a gig as a stripper. your instinct for removing

liBra (sept. 23-oct. 22): Give yourself obsessively to your most intimate relationships. Don’t bother cleaning your house. Call in sick to your job. Ignore all your nagging little errands. now is a time for one task only: paying maximum attention to those you care about most. Heal any rifts between you. Work harder to give them what they need. Listen to them with more empathy than ever before. APrIL fooL! I went a bit overboard there. It’s true that you’re in a phase when big rewards can come from cultivating and enhancing togetherness. but if you want to serve your best relationships, you must also take very good care of yourself. scorpio (oct. 23-nov. 21): It’s after mid-

night. you’re half wasted, cruising around town looking for wicked fun. you stumble upon a warehouse laboratory where zombie bankers and military scientists are creating genetically engineered monsters from the DnA of scorpions, Venus flytraps and Monsanto executives. you try to get everyone in a party mood, but all they want to do is extract your DnA and add it to the monster.

APrIL fooL! everything I just said was a lie.

I doubt you’ll encounter any scenario that extreme. but you are at risk for falling into weird situations that could compromise your mental hygiene. to minimize that possibility, make sure that the wicked fun you pursue is healthy, sane wicked fun.

sagittariUs (nov. 22-Dec. 21): If you were a ladybug beetle, you might be ready and eager to have sex for nine hours straight.

If you were a pig, you’d be capable of enjoying 30-minute orgasms. If you were a dolphin, you’d seek out erotic encounters not just with other dolphins of both genders, but also with turtles, seals and sharks. since you are merely

human, however, your urges will probably be milder and more containable. APrIL fooL! In truth, sagittarius, I’m not so sure your urges will be milder and more containable.

capricorN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): “The past is not only another country where they do things differently,” says writer Theodore Dalrymple, “but also where one was oneself a different person.” With this as your theme, Capricorn, I invite you to spend a lot of time visiting the old you in the old World. Immerse yourself in that person and that place. Get lost there. And don’t come back until you’ve relived at least a thousand memories.

APrIL fooL! I was exaggerating. While it is a good time to get reacquainted with the old days and old ways, I don’t recommend that you get utterly consumed by the past. aQUariUs

(Jan. 20-feb. 18): some Aquarian readers have been complaining.

They want me to use more celebrity references in my horoscopes. They demand fewer metaphors drawn from literature, art and science, and more metaphors rooted in gossipy events reported on by tabloids. “tell me how Kanye West’s recent travails relate to my personal destiny,” wrote one Aquarius. so here’s a sop to you kvetchers: The current planetary omens say it’s in your interest to be more like taylor swift and less like Miley Cyrus. be peppy, shimmery and breezy, not earthy, salty and raucous. APrIL fooL! In truth, I wouldn’t write about celebrities’ antics if you paid me. besides, for the time being, Miley Cyrus is a better role model for you than taylor swift.

pisces

(feb. 19-March 20): Annie edson taylor needed money. she was 63 years old and didn’t have any savings. she came up with a plan: to be the first person to tuck herself inside a barrel and ride over niagara falls.

(This was back in 1901.) she reasoned that her stunt would make her wealthy as she toured the country speaking about it. I recommend that you consider out-of-the-box ideas like hers, Pisces. It’s an excellent time to get extra creative in your approach to raising revenue.

APrIL fooL! I half-lied. It’s true that now is a favorable time to be imaginative about your financial life. but don’t try outlandish escapades like hers.

SEVENDAYSVt.com

to be singing lead vocals in an ozzy osbourne cover band and someone in the audience throws what you think is a toy rubber animal up on stage, Do not rambunctiously bite its head off to entertain everyone. It most likely won’t be a toy, but rather an actual critter.

APrIL fooL! In fact, it’s not likely you’ll be fronting an ozzy osbourne cover band any time soon. but I hope you will avoid having to learn a lesson similar to the one that ozzy did during a show back in 1982, when he bit into a real bat — a small flying mammal with

gemiNi (May 21-June 20): In the spring of 1754, benjamin franklin visited friends in Maryland. While out riding horses, they spied a small tornado whirling through a meadow. Although franklin had written about this weather phenomenon, he had never seen it. With boyish curiosity, he sped toward it. At one point, he caught up to it and lashed it with his whip to see if it would dissipate. This is the kind of adventure I advise you to seek out, Gemini. APrIL fooL! I half-lied. I don’t really believe you should endanger your safety by engaging in stunts like chasing tornadoes. but I do think that now is a favorable time to seek out daring exploits that quench your urge to learn.

your clothes in entertaining ways is at a peak. even if you have never been trained in the art, I bet you’ll have an instinctive knack.

APrIL fooL! I lied. I don’t really think you should be a stripper. but I do recommend you experiment with a more metaphorical version of that art. for instance, you could expose hidden agendas that are causing distortions and confusion. you could peel away the layers of deception and propaganda that hide the naked facts and the beautiful truth.

CheCk Out ROb bRezsny’s expanded Weekly audiO hOROsCOpes & daily text Message hOROsCOpes: realastrology.com OR 1-877-873-4888 03.18.15-03.25.15

ERMONT V E C N E I R EXPE h 28 & March 29 SUNDAY

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Southern Girl Living Up North 34-y/o woman looking to meet new friends and, if I am lucky, maybe that one person who ends up not only as my partner but my best friend as well. I am shy at first, love to kiss and love to laugh. I enjoy Netflix more than dancing, and love sushi. trinityjade, 34, l Just me...

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Women seeking Men

Clever, humorous, creative, sensible, affectionate Some would say that I march to the beat of a different drummer. If you are looking for a somewhat quirky, honest, loving woman, it might be me. Things I enjoy: making things (all sorts!), fixing things, birds, animal tracks, mushrooms and wild flowers, playing with my dog, gardening, being helpful, and trying to find my way. Anomaly, 50, l Must love bacon and dogs I crave companionship but am fiercely independent. I want a man to take care of and cook for, but I also want to be taken care of, and you can do the cleanup. I love playing ice hockey (I’m a goalie) when I’m not injured and being active in general. I love dogs; they’re totally awesome. vtgreengirl, 36, l Wild Child Dixie My philosophy of a love life: Imperfections are attraction. Love is more than something bought in the flower and card aisle. I’m a goofy, witty, sweet, curly-haired, romanticat-heart kinda gal, but I’m also very independent and outdoorsy, so don’t expect me to be the girl asking for a man’s jacket when I’m cold! I like snowboarding, music, reading, travel, hiking, hunting and fishing, watching sports, dogs. wolfeyes, 29 Tolerant, loving and humorous Looking for a man who enjoys a quieter lifestyle. I love rides on back roads, plays, books, friends, camping. Don’t like a macho man who lists every sport known to mankind. I do enjoy the summer and love the fall. Winter can be a struggle for me. Would love a man who loves to dance! Haven’t done that in years. widget5665, 65

Eclectic, Healthy, Independent Seeking a partner who works hard and plays hard to enjoy this great big world with me. Kindness, integrity, smarts and wit all get my attention. I’m well traveled, artsy, and love to cook it up in the kitchen and garden. I eat healthy, work out and stay engaged in world events. I have a flexible schedule and enjoy the spontaneous over routine. HeavenlyVT, 61, l

Curious?

Flexible, funny and ready I’m ultimately looking for a partner to love and live with or just be friends if the love is not mutual. I’ll want to hold your hand, support each other and cultivate our relationship together. EllieHeart, 63

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Outdoorsy adventures, traveler, have fun I don’t drive; legally blind. Recently lost husband to cancer. I would like a man to take me to the movies, on hikes, to museums, on adventures.

Looking for friendship for now. I love cats more than other animals, but I am an animal lover. lyndyleigh71, 64, l

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See photos of this person online.

Sexy and sweet I’ve been told I’m many things, but I’d prefer for you to decide for yourself! SweetQuietLoving, 26 Joyful, elegant nature girl I find joy in all of life: my garden, time with friends, a home-cooked dinner, shared wine with friends, art galleries, live music and going on adventures — whether across the ocean or at my backyard fire pit. I’m looking for warm friendship, good conversation, shared time, the intimacy of an open heart.

Let’s see what adventures we can create together. happy2behere, 53, l Adventurous Water Babe Seeking a kind, adventurous, loving man for friendship and dating. I don’t sit around much. Moderately active.

Love sunsets, anything to do with water, bonfires, traveling, going to new places and restaurants. Let’s explore life together. venture2015, 65, l spirited, playful, quiet, thoughtful, multifaceted If you bump into me when I’m out and about, I’m likely to appear shy and quiet. I’ve come to call myself an extroverted introvert. It’s equally true that I’m curious, engaging and approachable, and equally in need of time with friends, solo time, artwork, reading, cooking, my dogs, exploring new places, being domestic.

I seek someone equally invested in their life/creating a full life who is kind, considerate, communicative, affectionate, curious. snowcold, 53 loyal, kind, generous I am not looking for a sexual partner only! If you are an honest, hardworking and kind man who is looking for the same in a woman, then I look forward to meeting you.

Family comes first. Enjoy all things outdoors, photography and cooking.

Enjoy your day. borninvt62, 52, l Thoughtful, interested I am very earnest person. I like people, nature, cooking, gardening and thoughtful conversations. Reading the Sun magazine, going for a walk and doing restorative yoga is a perfect day. Oh, and then a beautiful dinner with a microbrew beer. I am delightful and easy to be around. I am looking for the same. forfunlife, 55, l Can stand alone or together I can stand alone, but can also be part of a couple. I am patient, physically fit and value honesty. A sense of humor draws me in, and an independent spirit keeps me coming back. I have many demands on my time, which is fine, but I always make time to get together with someone to share a meal or just be. Elsa2015, 50, l Green Mountain Art I love attending any art event, backcountry skiing, riding horses and standing on my head. I am looking for another free spirit. Beckett, 25, l

Laid-back, passionate friend I am on a journey. Seeking new friends along the way. Would you like to join me? Left the dairy profession and am now a foreman in construction.

When I turned 50 I went to massage school and began my yoga practice.

Both are important parts of my life.

Currently separated. Hope to find that special someone. yogafan, 59, l good times, ladies ;-) Very laid-back. Just looking for FWB or just lady friends. Horny, hung young man here on the search for a fun, cute girl to come take a ride on the wild side. eightmush69, 24, l The Clock is Running Honestly, I have not had much luck with online dating in the past. I feel like it is forcing a square peg into a round hole. However, since I turned 40, I am reconsidering this. I am not desperate as the ad would suggest, but let’s face it ... I’m not getting any younger. futurejack, 40

Native Texan from Vermont Seeking second opinion about movies, music, food, election results, fracking, good news, bad news, life. Having someone close who you can talk to about everything — things we care about, things we fear, things we enjoy, things we love. Maybe it’s validation.

Maybe it’s just having someone listen.

It’s not a complicated vetting process.

Just looking for a second ticket stub.

Richard. LoneStarVermonter, 61, l Edge of becoming Open minded, independent, creative, life exploring, awake 39 y/o looking for the same in others. See my online profile for more. alwayson, 39, l handsome, generous, loving I am 75 and very active. Spend winters in SW, volunteer in Vermont state parks in summer. I like sunrise and sunset shared with a friend. I can cook you any meal you like or am very happy to eat out. Hiking, travel, quiet times together or long talks with evening wine. loki75, 76

Ambitious, Genuine, Caring I am a local business owner who is trying to balance both the growth of a socially and environmentally responsible business, with a life filled with friends and meaningful relationships. My business revolves around computers. So I am looking for something outside of a computer, i.e. a face-to-face, human-interaction relationship. SamboVT, 33, l

let’s have coffee Looking for someone who wants to have fun and see where it takes us.

Meet for coffee and conversation and see if we have the spark or attraction.

Looking for FWB or friends. I’m an excellent kisser, I have been told, and very good in the bedroom. Tell me what you like. Like to cuddle, watch movies, run, hike... kineticspark, 34, l

Making a Fresh start Looking for honesty, a little outgoing, good personality, sometimes funny, stable and working partner to share good times or bad. Toshyessex, 59

open-minded and introspective I’m introverted but not shy. I want to pursue a career in comedy or music but don’t have much experience in either yet. I’m constantly looking for ways to better myself. aspiringbassist, 24, l

single and ready to mingle Very easygoing and laid-back.

Looking to see what’s out there. redlegand12979, 42, l Outdoors Lover Active, love to embrace the seasons, run year-round, paddle in the summer and bike through the fall! Love to cook a meal or enjoy a movie and dinner out. Gardening is a passion for me in the summer. casey, 55, l Open, Caring I am a little shy at first, but once we get to know each other am very open. I like to dine out or eat in; I am open to both. Not into the bar scene anymore. Looking for the same in a nice lady. DwayneD47, 48, l Funny, Sweet, Loving, Caring, Exciting!

I find it hard to find women to meet in my lifestyle. I am always on the go!

I am a funny, loving, caring, openminded, creative, animal-loving man. I like the outdoors and would like to find someone to live, explore and see life with. benny, 29, l Lonely Stoner Nerd Needs Life I can genuinely say I’m a good person, not without flaw, but, damn, I’m good.

I’ll be honest: If you’re into money or having the newest stuff, I’m probably not the guy for you. I’m into making do and having fun. I’m new to Burlington, so I’m trying to make some new friends and see where life takes me. Stonerd, 25

confidant, Gentleman, Alpha I’m an easygoing gentleman who finds humor in most things. Dinner and a movie followed by drinks and dance: my ideal date. vesker, 29 Freedom My thoughts: Animalistic attraction is mandatory. Loving yourself and all things with energy. Truth speaking and the capacity to work through it.

Highest quality food. Yoga, meditation, bodywork. The ability to dream and make it happen for each other.

Perpetual travel with modest homes to land at. I refuse to follow the laws of man. Live as equals. Zero, 47, l

Men seeking Men

Kind, gentle, young at heart Active, well-educated 63-year-young male seeking the same in someone else.

Looking for companionship and possible long-term relationship. SteveD, 63 Active, Adventurous and Easygoing Looking to meet compatible/easygoing guys for dating and friendship. My interests include hiking, travel, comforts of home, dining out, cultural events, music, antiques, sunsets, to name a few. Am currently easing into semi-retirement/second career and ready to explore deferred interests and adventures. Tough to summarize in ad, so, hoping to hear from you to talk live. gmforfun, 58

For groups, bdsm, and kink:

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Women seeking?

take a swing in hammock I’m looking for some playmates to join me in my hammock. Hoping for an erotically good time. Hammock is mandatory. Weight limit is 650 on hammock. Multiple playmates encouraged. ;) My hammock is colorful, and so are my fetishes. hammocksex69, 22, l rainbow unicorn seeks erotic adventures In a loving, healthy, committed, open relationship, and seeking playmates for myself or my partner and me. We value those with a great presence, honesty, openness and a grounded sense of self spiked with laughter and lightheartedness!

As a couple, we’re open to diverse experiences with other couples or singles.

Respect, excellent communication skills and healthy boundaries are critical! mangolicious, 43, l lonely girl looking for playmate Just looking for a one-time thing, unless it’s really good. Wanting some fun and wanting to try something new. limbogirl127, 19 Encouraged to play I’m a married woman who is in an ethically nonmonogamous marriage and encouraged to find men who interest me.

I’m just seeing who’s out there. I’m an active runner, gardener and skier (crosscountry), and would like someone who takes care of themself. Please contact me and tell me something that’s going to make me interested in getting to know you. Myprettypinkpincushion, 38, l

Naughty LocaL girLs waNt to coNNect with you

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Exploring Boundaries and Limits Power and pain are not goals but tools I’ve mastered to push my partners ever closer to and over the edge. My partners ALWAYS come first. Discovering the sensitive places where our minds and bodies meet is my greatest high. You: sane (!), independent, highly communicative and aware of your buttons. Me: sane, educated, literate, fit and very, very empathic. Anticapitalista, 55, l Honest, Passionate, Confident!

Hey, all! I’m 24. I’m an excitable, passionate lover who wants to make you laugh as much as I want to make you come! I enjoy making you feel sexy, and really enjoy hooking up and getting to know people through a hot night of sex and cuddling! Please lemme know if you’re interested in giving me a chance! SamThompson536, 24, l Crazy lover Looking for possible dating and more!

I love going out for drinks then having slow and gentle sex! Unless you want me to be rough! :) I want to have fun! If I meet someone who’s great and likes what I like, I would maybe like to be more than friends. Lover29, 29, l poly-curious I’m in a relationship where I’m not sexually satisfied. I’m interested in a discreet hookup with a polyamorous couple, something we can get comfortable having fun doing on a regular basis. I’m bi all the way. I enjoy sex to the fullest any way you slice it. mshsr, 31, l looking out of the box Male in a open relationship who needs to explore a wide variety of toys, gadgets and positions with a side of kink but in a safe, fun, discreet manner. Looking mainly for a woman who isn’t afraid to add another female or male in the mix from time to time. playaboy67, 44

She is insatiable We are a clean, laid-back couple looking for like-minded individuals or couples to play with and enjoy watching/being watched. She craves a LOT of sex, and we both have an interest in involving others. Please let us know if you are interested in getting to know us better.

Thank you. :) Playfulguyandgal, 43 Sensual adventure with sexy couple We are an awesome couple with a desire for adventure. We are easygoing, healthy, professional and looking for a like-minded woman to play with us.

We love music, dancing, socializing and good people. Life is good, and we want to enjoy it! RosaLinda, 28, l fun times Want to have a good time and experience others. Want to be fucked while my girlfriend watches and joins in. First time trying bi experience; not sure, but want to try. Disease-free and only want the same. tpiskura, 47 Poly Couple on the prowl We are a pretty chill duo who are adjusting to life in rural Vermont.

Our past lives included more poly possibilities, so we are trying to extend our network to meet fun people and play a little. DD-free, both are athletes and going for a hike would be just as fun as tying up the wife. Both would be best. ;) Poly_Peeps, 32, l Hot, sexy, fun to come We are seeking a sexy woman to join us in some threesome fun. Are you the one that will bring some extra excitement to our life? We are clean, fun-loving and very discreet.

FunLovingCoupleLooking4U, 48 Sexy couple looking for excitement Sexy, professional couple looking to make our fantasies become a reality.

She is bi-curious, he is straight. We want to find a woman (or two) we can hang out with, laugh, have fun and fool around with. Honesty, trust, privacy and communication are all things we value. Let’s get to know each other and see if we can have some fun! sexycouple84, 27, l

My wife and I went to a party. I saw a man and his wife show up — we did not know this couple — and for some reason I thought that this is a guy who women would look at. As the party went on, I noticed my wife staring at him. I didn’t say anything because I wanted to see if I was making something out of nothing — plus, I didn’t want to ruin the day. The staring never stopped, even after we moved to a different area. I said nothing ’til we got home.

She said she was hurt that I thought she was looking at someone else with sexual thoughts. She said he was a jerk for drinking so much and she couldn’t believe he was a father and that’s why she was staring. In the end, I was the one in trouble. Help!

Sincerely,

Dear In Trouble,

In Trouble With My Wife

Hey, now. Don’t beat yourself up. We’ve all felt insecure and paranoid at times. It’s not the end of the world, and, when it really comes down to it, I bet your wife isn’t too bent out of shape. But let’s dig a little deeper so you can avoid this kind of incident in the future.

It’s normal in a marriage to feel insecure every once in a while. But these feelings should be fleeting and easy to overcome. If you often worry that your partner is attracted to someone else, maybe some heavier issues are going on.

How have things been going lately? Are you two generally happy? How’s your sex life? When was the last time you enjoyed a romantic evening together?

Life can get hectic, but your marriage needs to be a top priority. Like your body or your car, your relationship needs regular checkups. Make sure you’re scheduling time for just you two. The courting process shouldn’t end at the altar. No matter how long you’ve been together, she needs to feel that you’re making the effort to make her feel special.

But wooing is a two-way street, and that feeling you had at the party didn’t come out of nowhere. Maybe you feel that she’s been distracted lately. When was the last time she did something to make you feel special? Do your insecurities stem from a sense of distance from her? How about if you initiate the closing of that gap?

It’s understandable that your wife got upset when you accused her of checking out another guy, but your feelings are important, too. Tell her why you felt that way, and that it was a result of how you much you care about her attention and affection. Find a way to connect with her again so you can feel confident in your marriage.

Yours,

Need advice?

Athena

You can send your own question to her at askathena@sevendaysvt.com

personals 89

Casual And Preferably Ongoing Willing to try anything (twice). We’re a well-educated couple in a “perfect situation.” We’re looking for another woman, or a couple, to try new things. Underthecovers, 32, l

Dear Athena,

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Sex is necessary for happiness I’m just your average horny college 19-year-old. I want a woman who 18+ knows what she is doing to teach me the advanced ways of sex. Well hung Girls Just Wanna Have Fun here. Will eat you out to no end. I Hey hey, I am just looking for someone want you so bad. ;) nickoala, 19, l 1x1c-mediaimpact050813.indd 1 5/3/13 4:40 PM to hang out with. Nothing too crazy, but I’m a lot of fun. Vonnie, 24, l love to eat Looking for someone to have some Looking to fill a hole fun with dinner moves. Must be I miss sex. I’ve put on weight due to a clean and discreet. My wife and I medical condition that I’m working on don’t sleep together and haven’t for fixing, but I have a nearly insatiable some time. I have needs and want to appetite. Young men (under 36 y/o) share them. lovetoplease, 45, l in shape who know how to please a woman with curves like mine need Slippery when wet only apply. FemUVMStudent, 26, l Healthy, professional, open-minded, DD-free, well-educated. Looking for some sub slut one-on-one fun. Lesbians encouraged I am a little looking for a daddy dom to apply. Shall we? ;) subedoc, 56, l to control me. I want to be punished and praised. Use me for your pleasure, Need intimacy make me submissive to you and Looking for younger woman (in heart leave me bruised. Ideally an ongoing or age) to spice up my life a little.

DD/lg relationship. Aftercare is a Must be discreet. Kindofshy, 65, l must. submissivegirl, 20, l

Blonde Bombshell and her Lumberjack Fun young couple interested in dates/ sexual adventure, seeking female playmate. She is a petite blonde bisexual femme in early twenties, and he is a wellendowed, bearded woodsman in early thirties. We are young professionals looking for discreet, respectful fun. Can host, no DD. Seeking compatible, funloving femme with up-to-date sexual health who is interested in more than one-night stands. TeaforThree, 31, l

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lick u long time I’m looking for a discreet encounter, FWB or more. I like to eat (lick). dryer2014, 39

Other seeking?

Ask Athena

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Hot and Bothered Educated, smart, witty, average-size woman who knows how to use her mouth is looking for a NSA and/or FWB for good times in and out of the throes of lust. Funtobehad, 42, l

Men Seeking?

Your wise counselor in love, lust and life

Hey, I Love you, E. I miss you so much. There simply is no way to soothe my soul without you here. I keep praying to see you walk in the house so that I can tell you I love you and to “bring it in.” There is so little life in life without you near. I love you utterly and am lost here waiting for my star. I already know what my birthday wish is for March 25, so darling ... can I spend a day or two with my wife? And, babe, smile for me. - M. P.S. Bring your ID to the place I told you I have gotten you a membership.

You can use the phone there to arrange a pickup.

When: Friday, March 20, 2015. Where: in our snow globe. You: Woman. Me: Man. #912844 One year ago everything changed I was promoting composting, and you were serving up farm-to-school. It took everything I had to ask you out. Now, a year later, I’m more enchanted than that first day. Sunsets will never be the same. If you feel the same, let’s make dinner some night. When: Thursday, March 20, 2014.

Where: Essex. You: Woman. Me: Man. #912843 Old Spokes Home I came in to donate an old mountain bike with a broken pedal. You had such an open face and big brown eyes, it took my breath away! Your crooked tooth and dark facial hair made you look positively rakish. I can only hope you come across this and agree to meet with me for coffee in the near future.

When: Thursday, March 19, 2015. Where: Old Spokes Home. You: Man. Me: Woman. #912842 Lovey...

You are damn hot, fun, sexy and so beautiful to me. I was thinking today how much I enjoy holding you, looking into your eyes, laughing and playing together, and how much I’ve enjoyed all the, ahem, sexy and sweet time we’ve been having lately. No other woman comes close to pulling my heartstrings like you do. :) When: Wednesday, March 18, 2015. Where: Montpelier. You: Woman. Me: Man. #912841

90 personals

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03.25.15-04.01.15

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ARH, Remember our wedding day Dear Amanda: Remember now our wedding day, which rested golden sunshine on your face and made you the fairest girl in Vondelpark. “Here!” I cried in dreamy delight as I seized the finest flower I could find with too much force. Ah! See it, hold it — never forget that scent nor our wedding day.

AAA. When: Thursday, March 19, 2015. Where: Amsterdam. You: Woman. Me: Man. #912840 breakfast sandwich for your dog A few Sundays ago, you held the door open.

You bought two egg sandwiches, one for you and one for your dog. You said something about me buying Cheetos for my daughter.

Seemed nice. If this is you, what type of dog is your buddy? Coffee sometime? When: Sunday, February 22, 2015. Where: Cambridge Village Market. You: Man. Me: Woman. #912839 Ci I came up with this name for you long before I called you by it and before I knew a thing about numerology. Just dropping by the I Spys to let you know that it’s just me and that I love you.

Looking forward to a beautiful spring. When: Wednesday, March 18, 2015. Where: River Town. You: Woman. Me: Man. #912838 Beautiful blonde, hannaford, barre Thank you so much for letting me go ahead of you in line. I also want to thank you for the quick conversation. Why couldn’t I get the nerve up to ask for your number when we spoke out by your Jetta? If you see this, I’d love to buy you dinner or drinks. When: Tuesday, March 17, 2015. Where: Hannaford, Barre. You: Woman. Me: Man. #912834 3 a.m. (YOU) must be lonely Ana girl: You said you always read the I Spys but haven’t been featured — until now! You were at my place a few weeks ago, and you looked so comfortable on the couch. You pretty much couldn’t stop talking about A.S. at Three Needs, and we even high-fived after it. What are your three needs, Ana? - Tony’s friend (rhymes with “lick”). When: Monday, March 16, 2015. Where: Three Needs. You: Man. Me: Man. #912833

i Spy

If you’ve been spied, go online to contact your admirer!

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Hey, Bee Man...

You know that you started it. You blamed me, though. You get the honey, and I get stung. When: Wednesday, March 18, 2015. Where: at the hive last season. You: Man. Me: Woman. #912837 AS ... my one You breathe beside me, inhaling deeply, a slight smile about the lips. Comfort and ease exudes from you like heat. I easily find my place in the crook of your arm and am instinctively drawn closer still. Your serenity washes over me, filling me to the brim. I sleep, dreaming about my beautiful reality: us. When: Tuesday, March 17, 2015. Where: my bed. You: Man. Me: Woman. #912832 Organic Man You were wearing Levi’s and a Quiksilver hat.

I was wearing red pants and copper earrings.

You pulled into the checkout behind me. I was talking to my son. Your cart was organic; so was my basket. We glanced at each other. You’re gorgeous and have a tattoo on your finger. When: Monday, March 16, 2015. Where: Morrisville Hannaford. You: Man. Me: Woman. #912831 Spicy Checkout Boy Your large, round rimmed glasses caught my eye in the checkout line at City Market. Immediately I was drawn to your smile, and you caught me off guard with your quirky talk about breakfast burritos and the roasted-garlic salsa you just passed through the scanner. Let’s make it happen. When: Monday, March 16, 2015. Where: City Market. You: Man. Me: Man. #912830 A Friend of Rumphius To the woman seated behind me who spoke the truth with whimsy and verve: I thank you, and I wish you well. Perhaps our paths will cross again. When: Friday, March 13, 2015. Where: We shared a cab. You: Woman. Me: Man. #912827 Winter Kayaking?

To whoever owns the tiny red car with the big red/orange swirly kayak on the roof: It’s always there! The topic of such quandary — I say you are a master ice kayaker! What’s the real story?

When: Saturday, March 14, 2015. Where: NNE. You: Woman. Me: Woman. #912826 Miss Cheetos and Red Wine As you stare at me with your spiked hot chocolate, stained sweatpants and your “Vermont haircut” that needs to be fixed, every time you wave your fist and threaten to “punch me in the face,” I know this caretaking was meant to be.

When: Friday, March 13, 2015. Where: House of Tang. You: Woman. Me: Woman. #912825 in a utopic world Wouldn’t it be nice to both talk and listen with abandonment and without fear or judgment? To actually be mutually respectful and unconditional friends? Maybe someday. I hope. When: Friday, March 13, 2015. Where: a few years ago on a winter morning. You: Man. Me: Woman. #912824 An intended accidental bump How cliché! And such a gym faux pas ... to “accidentally” brush my arm against you at the water fountain. My bad! I’ve been wanting to do that for quite some time. I know it’s probably creepy as hell, but I do enjoy watching your amazing afternoon workouts. I like your ink, too. When: Thursday, March 12, 2015. Where: gym. You: Man. Me: Woman. #912823

Skating at Timberline You were skate-skiing up and I was skinning up.

I loved your mismatched skis and thought you were very cute. We spoke for a minute at the bottom. Perhaps, despite my awkwardness, you’d want to skate a few laps with me someday. When: Tuesday, March 10, 2015. Where: Timberline at Bolton. You: Man. Me: Woman. #912822 Mistaken identity or new beginning?

I thought you might be someone I knew. I offered a name. It wasn’t yours, but you mentioned that others had also asked you if that was your name.

Now I’m curious to learn what your name actually is, and would love to give you mine. When: Thursday, March 12, 2015. Where: Waterbury Village Market. You: Woman. Me: Man. #912821 happy birthday, wife I spy a beautiful wife and mother who is the joy of my life. Gugu and I are so happy to have you. Happy birthday, baby! When: Monday, March 23, 2015. Where: Essex Junction. You: Woman. Me: Man. #912820 Undress She’s wearing cherry lip balm and taking ecstasy.

Later you can taste it. When: Thursday, March 12, 2015. Where: smoking cancer on a street corner. You: Man. Me: Woman. #912819 Mike ... never in Colchester This has gotten out of hand. No one even calls me Mike anymore. I wrote my last response online (too lengthy for print), but originally I just wanted to give advice I learned the hard way. If you think you’ve found The One, don’t let them go; feelings get hurt and communication breaks down.

Misunderstandings take place of truth; people move on and futures fade into potential. Talk to your lover and shine loving light on every facet of your relationship. Especially when it’s hard or scary. When: Wednesday, March 11, 2015. Where: I I-Spy too much. You: Woman. Me: Man. #912818 Beautiful Barista...

You made me the best latte. You had a really funky and creative vibe. I like your tattoos. Maybe sometime you can meet me on the other side of the counter? When: Tuesday, March 10, 2015. Where: Speeder & Earl’s. You: Woman. Me: Man. #912817 “Turbo” Hottie!

On our way out, I held the door and you returned the favor, saying “Have a good one!” You: brunette with a ponytail in a black-and-white spotted coat. Me: brown hair, glasses, wearing a black jacket with white-and-red stripes. Would love to meet there again. When: Monday, February 23, 2015. Where: Dunkin’ Donuts on Pearl St., Burlington. You: Woman. Me: Man. #912815 Jax at Oakledge sunset To the cute guy with the adorable dog named Jax: I hope you got some good shots of the beautiful sunset! Wish we could’ve talked more!

When: Wednesday, March 11, 2015. Where: Oakledge Park. You: Man. Me: Woman. #912814 Inamorata Entomology My attraction to you encrusts my body as obvious and necessary as an exoskeleton.

Your skin is inked with insects, and the sight of you makes me inept. I shy from you like a lady from an arachnid. - Little Miss Muffet. When: Wednesday, March 11, 2015. Where: Metro Rock. You: Woman. Me: Woman. #912812

Vegas Rules...

Thinking ahead to the the porch in Vegas, you welcome me with your beautiful face, smile and energy. Me in a skirt and flip-flops, you in just shorts or your skin. We enjoy a butt while having conversation. You approach me, and as you kiss me, we melt together as the world disappears. I love you so much, my C... When: Wednesday, July 10, 2013. Where: North Middlesex. You: Man. Me: Woman. #912811 A different Mike Burlington (and Plattsburgh) will miss you. Safe journey. Make it happen; we believe in you. When: Saturday, March 7, 2015. Where: Burlington/ Plattsburgh. You: Man. Me: Woman. #912809 Delivering Seven Days at Carol’s I came in after a lady opened the door for you and stood in your way, lol. You held the door open for me with your foot. :) I thought you were super cute.

Want to get coffee sometime? When: Wednesday, March 4, 2015. Where: Carol’s Hungry Mind Cafe, Middlebury. You: Man. Me: Woman. #912808 A week of dreams It’s been a week filled with dreams. Literally.

You have been in mine for a while now. Are you ready to take the first jump of spring?

Relax, smile and surrender... When: Saturday, March 7, 2015. Where: here, there and everywhere. You: Woman. Me: Man. #912804 Beautiful at Hannaford You were walking into Hannaford. I think you were having car trouble. We exchanged simple hellos as our eyes met on the way in. I was wearing black coat and hat with blue jeans. I was in a real hurry and didn’t have time to try to speak to you — total missed opportunity. Hope you see this. When: Wednesday, March 4, 2015. Where: Hannaford, Shelburne Road. You: Woman. Me: Man. #912803 DMV Goddess I spotted your sleeveless and sublime lines while standing on queue. I then willed my way to window 11. You ran a check on me, and I’d like to return the favor. Are you free to frolic with mortals? When: Wednesday, March 4, 2015. Where: Montpelier DMV. You: Woman. Me: Man. #912800 Thanks, Boss He’s running a load of laundry as we speak. When: Thursday, March 5, 2015. Where: flip-flops to Birkenstocks. You: Woman. Me: Man. #912799 Dream boy Can you tell me in person so I’m not wondering if it’s all just a dream? When: Sunday, March 15, 2015.

Where: all around. You: Man. Me: Woman. #912829

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3/24/15 4:00 PM

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3/19/15 2:27 PM