Artistic creativity and the brilliant colors of Vermont autumn go hand in hand on Oct. 6 and 7 as a statewide network of craftspeople and artists open their studios to the public for Vermont Fall Open Studio Weekend.
This is the second year that the Vermont Crafts Council is presenting an Open Studio tour in the fall, although the spring studio tour has been offered since 1993.
VCC Director Martha Fitch points out that, unlike last fall when the state was dealing with the aftermath of road damage from Tropical Storm Irene, this year the traveling is easy as Vermont roads are smooth and bridges have been fully repaired.
“It's a rare invitation to go behind the craft shows and exhibits to view the creative work environment and speak with the artist,” says Fitch. “You can explore straight or winding, paved or dirt roads, and be treated to brilliant scenic vistas, classic Vermont villages, and warm welcomes from artists whose studios are normally private spaces.”...
The band Jatoba returns to the Rockingham Meeting House Sunday, Oct. 7, at 2 p.m. The concert is presented by Vermont Festivals, LLC, in association with Flying Under Radar, Barnaby's Presents, and Kicking & Screaming. This is the final 2012 all-acoustic “Summer Sunday Social” concert. The group performed last...
Apples and apple pies are an important part of fall festivals all over Windham County, but arguably the biggest celebration of apples in the area takes place in Dummerston on Sunday, Oct. 7 at the annual Apple Pie Festival. On that day, more than 1,500 apple pies made by...
On Sunday, October 7, at 2 p.m., the Estey Organ Museum presents “An Afternoon at the Opera,” a concert featuring music from the grand operas, performed on the famous 1909 Estey pipe organ at First Baptist Church in downtown Brattleboro. Local mezzo-soprano Jenna Rae will join organist Clark Anderson for performances of music by Mozart, Verdi, Richard Strauss, Wagner, Massenet, and Offenbach. “It may sound odd to play opera music on a pipe organ,” said Anderson, “but this organ is...
There's no police tape across Michael Mann's office doorway this morning. “Always a good start,” he says, juggling a cup of coffee as he slides his key into the lock. Mann, a paleoclimatologist, wears a sport coat over a turtleneck. As he takes a seat at his desk, a narrow sunbeam angles through the window, spotlighting a jumble of books, journals and correspondence. Behind him, a framed picture of his six-year-old daughter rests near a certificate for the Nobel Peace...
For Brattleboro, any competition in any sport against Mount Anthony usually means an exciting game for the fans. That was the case last Monday night at Tenney Field when the Colonels pulled out a 1-0 win over their arch-rivals from Bennington. Goalkeeper Galen Finnerty preserved the slim Brattleboro lead with some big saves in the second half. Patriots goalkeeper Patrick Cody was equally great, except for the one shot he didn't stop in the 42nd minute, when Brattleboro's Conner Elliott-Knaggs...
The 42nd Newfane Heritage Festival will be held on Columbus Day weekend, Oct. 6 and 7, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., rain or shine, on the historic Newfane Common. The Newfane Heritage Festival is one of Vermont's longest running festivals and has been growing each year, with more than 90 exhibitors offering unique handcrafted articles. “One's senses will delight in the sights, smells, and sounds on the historic Common,” organizers write. “Take time to visit as many booths as...
This year's ninth annual Empty Bowls Dinner to benefit the Brattleboro Area Drop-In Center will take place on Saturday, Oct. 6, with seatings at 5 and 6:30 p.m. in the Landmark College dining hall. For a $25 donation, guests will be served a simple, nutritious meal of soup, bread, cheese, apples, beverage, and dessert, and will enjoy live music. Afterwards, guests are invited to keep the hand-crafted bowl from which they ate as a reminder of the many people who...
St. Mike's 'Terrific Tag Sale' relocates to Dummerston DUMMERSTON - One of the most anticipated Fall events in Brattleboro is the “Terrific Tag Sale” hosted annually by St. Michael's Episcopal Church. People line up for hours to be the first to shop for bargains in quality winter clothing, books, furniture, antiques and sports equipment. Over the years, St. Michael's has donated thousands of dollars in proceeds from this sale to local charities. This year, however, St. Michael's is in the...
Yesterday, as the sun rose from east to west across the USA, citizens awakened to discover that they could not speak. No embodied voices emanated from pulpits or the campaign trail. Michele Bachmann stopped shrieking. In private homes, there were no mister-and-missus tiffs, no squalls of infants, nor whines of teenagers. At 7 a.m. EST, the president declared a national state of emergency on Twitter. Conspiracy theories flew through cyberspace like predator drones. Survivalists blamed the government. Republicans blamed the...
I was sorry to have missed the Marlboro College Graduate School graduation ceremonies. Matt Dunne's speech [“Grounds for optimism,” Primary Source, Sept. 12] was excellent and truly captured the spirit and ideals of Marlboro. In our fast-paced, super-media-focused lives, I'm afraid that many people miss the importance of personal and social interaction. Kudos to Dunne for stating it so eloquently.
I was shocked recently when I had to pay $7 for two cups of vegetable soup at the Putney Food Co-op. This was not the large size, either. All the more shocking was the sanctimonious quote printed on the soup cup considering the price I just paid: “Cooperatives are a reminder to the international community that it is possible to pursue economic viability and social responsibility.” Social responsibility is having an affordable item on the menu if you are going...
Thank you to Matt Dunne for one of the most inspiring speeches I have read in a long time [“Grounds for optimism,” Primary Sources, Sept. 12]. I am glad to be on the Board of Trustees at Marlboro College, and this piece expressed so much of what I see there and have't been able to put into words.
The Grammar School campus will be transformed into a medieval village as it hosts its 24rd annual Medieval Faire on Saturday, Oct. 6, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. “Enjoy the village as King Arthur and his royal court preside over games, feasts, and peasant frivolity,” event organizers write. “Join players gaming on the glen, merchants minding the village market, cooks tending a feast fit for a king, and musicians leading the festivities.” Traditional highlights include Merlin the Wizard, climbing...
Obituaries • Shirley Lyons Coleman, 88, formerly of Bondville. Died Sept. 24 at Equinox Terrace in Manchester. Wife of the late Elton Arthur Coleman. Mother of Sheila (Coleman) Eddy, Sandra (Coleman) Jones, and Elton Stuart Coleman. Sister of Francesca (Lyons) Gray, Sprague Lyons, and the late Kennon and Frederick “Buddy” Lyons. Born in Greenfield, Mass., the daughter of the late Frederick Elwell Lyons and Olivia (Burbank) Lyons, she attended primary schools in Greenfield and Bondville. She graduated as salutatorian from...
As part of its 2012 national concert tour, “The President's Own” United States Marine Band will perform at 8 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 13, at the Bellows Falls Union High School. The concert is free and open to the public. Conducted by Vermont native Col. Michael J. Colburn, the United States Marine Band is America's oldest continuously active professional musical organization. Founded in 1798, the band has performed for every U.S. president since John Adams. As director of “The President's...
The Blanche Moyse Chorale will once again perform a concert of J.S. Bach's choral works in memory of its founder, Blanche Moyse. Under the direction of Mary Westbrook-Geha, this second annual Blanche Moyse Memorial Concert, on Sunday, Oct. 7, will include Cantata No. 8, Liebster Gott, wann werd' ich sterben; Cantata No. 140, Wachet auf, ruft uns die Stimme; and The Magnificat. The chorale will be complemented by a vocal quartet and orchestra, both composed almost entirely of veterans of...
Grafton Forge hosts open house GRAFTON - Grafton Forge, a regional center for the preservation of the art of blacksmithing, announces its third annual Foliage Forge Fest to be held 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., on Saturday, Oct. 6 and Sunday, Oct. 7 at the Forge, 72 School St. Ongoing demonstrations and tutorials will be held both days as well as a tailgate swap meet of blacksmithing tools and related items. The shop's forges will be open to anyone wishing...
Morningside Shelter will hold its second annual Hike for the Homeless fundraising event on Saturday, Oct. 6 (with a rain date of Oct. 7) on Mount Wantastiquet in Hinsdale, N.H. The event will feature spectacular fall-foliage views of downtown Brattleboro, with options to hike to the summit of Mount Wantastiquet or walk along the river trail at its base. Participants may begin their hike at the Mountain Road trailhead (an immediate left after the second bridge on Route 119 when...
Cersosimo Lumber, a leading producer of high quality Northeastern Hardwood and Eastern White Pine lumber, has installed a new system at its Brattleboro hardwood mill to extract energy from the steam it produces to dry lumber in kilns, and convert it into approximately 600 kilowatts (kW) of electrical energy. The energy system, built by Turbosteam, will use waste wood from milling operations used to fuel Cersosimo's existing biomass boiler, allowing the mill to effectively use its steam three times -
At the Brattleboro Food Co-op's September board meeting, about 12 of its 160 employees formed a circle around the Board and spoke about why they believed unionizing the workforce there would be beneficial. They said that a substantial majority of the employees signed union cards and asked the board to voluntarily recognize their membership in United Food and Commercial Workers Union Local 1459 (UFCW) [News, Sept. 12]. But a smaller group also spoke. “It was hard to hear what was...
Very few houses nowadays have a proper pantry. You know the kind: a little separate room with shelving and drawers where you store staples and some dishware. The word pantry is derived from the French word for bread, pain, and was originally called a paneterie, the place where bread was stored. In today's world, a pantry is a catchall word that simply means the place in our kitchen where we store staples. And the word staples comes from the old...
Drawing Strength: Patient Art from the Brattleboro Retreat will launch a month-long run with an opening reception from 5:30 to 8 p.m. at the Hooker-Dunham Theater and Gallery on Friday, Oct. 5, during Brattleboro's Gallery Walk. As in years past, this art show will honor the creative process of Brattleboro Retreat patients and share with viewers the power of artistic expression in the process of recovering from mental health and addiction challenges. The opening reception will include free refreshments. The...
I am the Liberty Union candidate for lieutenant governor of Vermont. My basic platform is to return control of our state resources to the people. The framers of the Constitution were quite careful to build systems - checks and balances - to prevent any individual or small group of oligarchs from gaining too much power. But now the billionaires - less than .001 percent of the population - can pick the winners and losers in our elections. Even the supposedly...
If Iron Age jewelers had had access to the Internet - if they could buy rare and precious materials from all over the world - then their jewelry might look something like jewelry artist Bob Borter's latest work. Borter, 58, has been creating one-of-a-kind jewelry in his studio in Brattleboro since 1984. Until now, his work has been known for its futuristic, modern designs. Not anymore. After experiencing a creative epiphany, Borter's jewelry has become primal and elemental while still...
Over its 10 years, Polaris has worked to raise awareness of human trafficking and build infrastructure to eradicate the practice. The organization has trained law enforcement and worked with the U.S. Department of Justice, Department Of Defense, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the Department of Health and Human Services, and other non-government organizations (NGOs). The Latchis will sponsor two benefit screenings of the documentary “Not My Life” on October 6 and 7 at 4 p.m. The event will benefit ev the...
Next Stage Arts announces the return of Shrink Rap, the film series hosted by Brattleboro psychologist and author Dr. Martha Straus. Shrink Rap 2 debuts on Oct. 4 and consists of four films each featuring a therapist/patient relationship: Analyze This (Robert De Niro, Billy Crystal), Benny and Joon (Johnny Depp, Mary Stuart Masterson), The Wackness (Josh Peck, Ben Kingsley), and Carefree (Fred Astaire, Ginger Rogers). Straus will briefly introduce each film and, following the film, will facilitate an informal conversation...
What will education look like in 20 years? No one knows for sure, members of the Twin Valley Academic Committee told an audience of about 20 teachers, parents, and community members on Sept. 25. Undaunted, the committee wanted to prepare for the future by collecting examples of core values the audience held for students of the Twin Valley schools in Wilmington and Whitingham. Wilmington and Whitingham residents voted last summer to consolidate their school systems into the one, Twin Valley.
While apples have piqued people's interest for centuries for their physical beauty, unusual horticultural habits, and intriguing names and pedigrees, the main reason we love them, of course, is that they are good to eat. No food is more flavorful, versatile, and adaptable. Apples make everything around them taste better. Apple flavors range from strawberry sweet to lemony tart, with everything in between. Their flesh can be soft as a pear, crunchy as cauliflower, or as juicy as a ripe...
The Vermont Authors Project's Lending Library is a free book program designed to highlight the state's rich literary resources and encourage tourism across various regions. The Lending Library summertime pilot program saw more than 1,200 books distributed. Continuing this fall and winter tourism season, the program also promotes the state's “hidden treasures,” by encouraging discovery of lesser-known locations described in books. This marks the first-ever statewide Lending Library at seven Visitors Centers statewide: Alburgh, Fair Haven, Guilford, Montpelier, White River...
Before Landmark Trust USA took over Scott Farm in 1995, the orchard produced solely Macintosh apples. David Tansey, president and farm manager of Scott Farm, wanted to diversify as much as possible. “The time when Macintoshes taste any good is about three days,” says Tansey. Macintoshes are made viable for supermarkets through a series of horrid methods to preserve their shelf life, measures that Tansey wanted to avoid. He remembered the incredible variety of delicious heirloom apples he discovered in...
Pandowdy, a favorite in early New England for its economy and ease of preparation, and, of course, its rich apple flavor, is really a deep-dish apple pie, with a thick apple filling and no bottom crust, but it is distinguished by its choice of sweetener — molasses, rather than sugar — and its subtle blend of spices. The recipe differs from cobbler in that you push down its biscuit-like topping into the fruit as it bakes, allowing the apple juices...
The 11th annual Brattleboro Literary Festival is a three-day celebration of those who read books, those who write books, and of the books themselves. This year's festival, which begins on Friday, Oct. 12, includes readings, panel discussions, and special events, featuring emerging and established authors. All events are free and open to the public. Although the festival has been phenomenally successful in past years, festival director Sandy Rouse this time wanted specifically to plan events for a younger audience. “I...
Nearly 150 years after President Abraham Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation, human trafficking is considered the second fastest growing criminal industry in the world. People may have calculated their carbon footprint, but few think about the size of their slavery footprint, said Mei-Mei Ellerman, a scholar at the Brandeis Women's Studies Research Center and a founding board member of the Polaris Project, from her family home in Townshend. The breadth of a person's slavery footprint depends on whether they buy...
It is wonderful that businesses, including Entergy Nuclear Vermont Yankee, have donated money to the Brattleboro Area Drop In Center, but as a community member, I object to the Drop In Center now displaying a “VY 4 VT” sign on the lawn. “Well, they donated money” is not an acceptable answer.
If you are lucky enough to love your work, good for you. But I don't have to tell you that even the most fabulous jobs have at least one annoying thing about them. For me, as a cheesemonger, it's people who say things like “Oh, I don't like goat cheese” or “I don't like blue cheese,” as if all cheeses in those categories taste exactly the same. Unless you've tried at least six different examples of a category of cheese,
Despite continued opposition from neighbors, the Brattleboro Recreation & Parks Department is moving forward on plans to site a skatepark within the Crowell Lot on Western Avenue. Last Thursday, about 50 people ranging from town officials to young skateboarders came to the Gibson-Aiken Center to offer their input in what the park should be. The nearly two-hour session was led by Mike McIntyre, a skateboard architect from Action Sport Design/Stantec that's based in San Diego and Boston, who outlined the...
The Leland & Gray boys' soccer team had an easy time of it in a 7-0 rout over Windsor in Townshend last Monday. Senior captain Michael Bergeron scored three goals for the Rebels, sophomore Jake Sherman added two more, and sophomore Tanner Winot and junior Kevin Young each added a goal. Goalkeeper Tanner Karg needed to make only two saves for the shutout. “[Windsor] lost a lot of kids, but it was nice to see [my team] play well,” said...
In an instant-gratification society like the United States, Mei-Mei Ellerman worries about how many slaves are in the supply chain feeding America. People need to stop and reflect on how their daily actions contribute to the slave trade, she said. In 2005 and 2007, Ellerman, a Brandeis professor and board member of the anti-trafficking group Polaris Project, organized a 10-mile Vermont Freedom Walk along the old slave route between Townshend and Grafton, to raise awareness of human trafficking and encourage...
Wednesday, Oct. 10 ||7–9 p.m.||Vermont Reads. Film and discussion about The Red Badge of Courage. Brooks Memorial Library . Thursday, Oct. 11 ||7–8:30 p.m.||Vermont Reads. Readings of Bull Run by New England Youth Theatre. Brooks Memorial Library. ||7–8:30 p.m.||Collaborations between Video Artists and Writers. Center for Digital Arts. ||7–9:30 p.m.||Poetry Slam featuring Major Jackson. Landmark College. Friday, Oct. 12 ||11 a.m.–12:15 p.m.||Tony DiTerlizzi (school event). Latchis Theatre. ||5:30–7:30 p.m.||Fall 2012 New England Broadside Exhibition Opening Reception. Dianich Gallery. ||7–8:15 p.m.||Deni...
Michael Formanek, a multidisciplinary contemporary jazz musician, will stop for a concert in Brattleboro with his quartet as part of a release tour celebrating his new CD, Small Places. “Mike has always been a special musician,” says James MacDonald, the director of the Open Music Collective who studied under Formanek, a double bassist and composer who has played with a formidable list of musicians. Over the past 30 years, Formanek, who heads the jazz department in the conservatory at the...
Despite the presence of more than 60 pro-union employees and shareholders who packed the room and hallway where the Brattleboro Food Co-op Board of Directors was holding its monthly meeting, the board on Monday night opted not to voluntarily recognize Local 1459 of the United Food and Commercial Workers Union (UFCW) to represent the co-op employees. Instead, the board left it up to Co-op General Manager Alex Gyori to decide whether a secret ballot vote will be taken. No action...
On this mid-September day, the morning's tart coolness is burning off and long sleeves are no longer required. The Kurn Hattin campus is quiet for the moment as farm manager Patrick Barry, a.k.a. “Mr. Pat,” picks fresh flowers for lunchroom tables and administrative offices. Dressed in farmer blues, he is smiling and emanates a calm common in people who work the land for a living. Barry, a graduate of the University of Maine Landscape and Agriculture program, is a first-generation...