The Vermont Theatre Company presents “Twelfth Night,” its 24th annual Shakespeare in the Park production, June 27-30 on the Rotary Stage in Brattleboro's Living Memorial Park.
“Twelfth Night; or, What You Will,” believed written in 1601, in the middle of Shakespeare's career, is about illusion, deception, disguises, madness, and the extraordinary things that love will cause us to do - and to see.
Robert Kramsky directs, for his 13th production at VTC.
The cast includes Julia Waldron (Feste), John Ogorzalek (Curio), Tyler Latulippe-Haselton (Valentine), Ian Hefele (Fabian), Sean Whelan (the priest), and Craig Vinton (the officer). Stage manager is Brenda Seitz.
Sex with consent is sexy. Sex without consent is rape. No means no. Most of us have heard this important slogan around navigating sex - and it's direct and to the point. However, is that simple advice enough to give people a true understanding of consent to carry with...
Rain pours. The day-long storm stains the landscape along Route 100 varying shades of grey. Flocks of mallard ducks drift through pools formed in waterlogged fields. The Vietnam Veterans Memorial wall rises from Howe Field. Its mirrored surface, broken by lines of white, reflects visitors counting year, panel, line...
The Neighborhood Market CSA has moved to Green Street School for the 2013 market season. Organizers Post Oil Solutions and Food Connects are partnering to run the market for the fourth year in Brattleboro. This year, the market builds on the strengths of having the freshest produce from young local farmers, sliding scale pricing, EBT access, educational opportunities and community building, according to a press statement. Along with a more child-friendly location, the market is adding yogurt, bagels, bread, eggs,
One recent day, I came home from work, worn out and broke as usual. As soon as I entered the house, I could tell something was wrong, a foreboding hung in the spring air. “What's going on?” I chirped with all the forced optimism of a seasoned classroom teacher. “Daddy,” my 8-year-old daughter, Lucy, said, turning toward me with grim determination. “Promise me you won't kill yourself.” (What the … ?) This request took me completely by surprise. “Lucy, don't...
The Vermont Agency of Transportation (AOT) is beginning work on replacing the Interstate 91 bridges that span Route 30 and the West River in Brattleboro. Between June 19 and 21, I-91 between exits 2 and 3 will be reduced to a single lane both northbound and southbound. Lane closures will be during daylight hours only. A construction crew will be conducting geological boring work on the interstate and adjacent to the West River Trail on June 24. The trail will...
The Rock River Artists are offering some lucky pair a free weekend for two in a charming cabin along the Rock River in South Newfane to coincide with the annual Rock River Artists Open Studio Tour. Maybe it's you. The tour takes place Saturday and Sunday, July 20 and 21, from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. The winners of the free weekend will receive a two-night stay with breakfast in a guest cabin on the grounds of photographer Christine Triebert...
It's been a rainy June, and all that rain has wreaked havoc with the state high school softball playoffs. Both the third-seeded Brattleboro Colonels and the top-seeded Leland & Gray Rebels won their respective semifinal games on June 12, clinching a trip to the championship game at Poultney Recreation Field. But both teams had to wait days to learn whom they'd face in the final. Sixth-seeded Oxbow beat No. 7 Enosburg, 5-4, in eight innings on June 13 to reach...
The New England Center for Circus Arts (NECCA) offers many ways for students of all ages and all abilities to experience circus fun this summer. There are camps and classes for kids, and workshops and classes for adults. For all ages, there's the high-flying trapeze with net and safety lines. Or just come and watch a circus show. Based in Brattleboro, NECCA offers low wire and trapeze, aerial fabric, juggling, hula hooping, tumbling, and flying trapeze. All classes are taught...
Births • In Brattleboro (Memorial Hospital) June 8, 2013, a daughter, Elodie June Sebold, to Jessica Lindoerfer and Nathan Sebold of Putney; granddaughter to Nancy Lindoerfer and Armando Robles, Paul Lindoerfer and Mary Randolph, Cheryl Neal and Kathy DeJohn, and John and Eileen Sebold; great-granddaughter to Bonnie Neal. Engagements • Stephen and Carol Farrington announce the engagement of their daughter Catherine M. Farrington of Brattleboro, to Mihnea Tudoreanu of Northampton, Mass. Tudoreanu is the son of Liliana and Nicolaie Tudoreanu...
I want to sincerely thank the staff at the Rockingham Free Public Library for all their hard work and positive energy during this time of great stress. Staff members are packing to move into a temporary space at Merchants Bank. They are doing the absolute best they can, and they need the support of our community. If you want to keep the RFPL one of the best libraries in Vermont, let your voice be heard. Here are some ways to...
We are grateful to all the musicians who shared their music with us this year, at a concert or open mic, at the West Townshend Store and Café. During the summer season, we plan to do one concert a month. There was some talk of performing on the first Friday of the month, but we might end up doing it on a different one so we don't conflict with Gallery Walk in Brattleboro. We are looking for musicians who would...
We now have the technology to know everything about everybody. So we should have no trouble counting all the votes in a national election. Since we can now know exactly what the Will of the People is, we can have true democracy! The Big Data has been piling up for years. While we're at it, why not look up what actually happened back there in Bush v. Gore, how all these horrible wars started, and where all our money went?
In “Town backs employee in case of spoofed email” [Town & Village, June 12], The Commons incorrectly reported that Attorney Raymond Massucco, representing both the Town of Rockingham and the Village of Bellows Falls, read a statement he wrote and made the accompanying comments at two respective board meetings. Massucco did write the statement but he attended neither the Rockingham nor Bellows Falls meeting, and Village President Roger Riccio made the comments while reading from Massucco's text to his fellow...
The Leland & Gray Players are again offering a Summer Performing Arts Exploration (SPAE) for students entering fifth, sixth, seventh and eighth grades. The program opens with a family potluck gathering Sunday, July 21, and runs Monday through Friday, July 22 to Aug. 2, with culminating performances Aug. 2 at 7 p.m. and Aug. 3 at 4 p.m. Days will include theater games, production work and workshops in acting, music, scene design, movement and dance, lighting, costumes and prop-making. A...
The Vermont Public Service Board on Monday kicked off what's expected to be the final two weeks of hearings on whether it's in the public's best interest for Vermont Yankee nuclear power plant to obtain a new state operating permit. “This is a very critical phase of the case,” said Geoffrey Commons, attorney and director of public advocacy at the state's Public Service Department. “We think this is the last evidentiary hearing the Public Service Board will hold before issuing...
This weekend, a group of talented New England Youth Theater alumni, under the guidance of a visionary local director, are unveiling a new look at a classic tragedy. From June 21 through 23, the NEYT Alumni Association will present a special production of “Blood Wedding” by the Spanish poet and dramatist Federico García Lorca. Rather than merely reviving this celebrated tragedy, NEYT's “Blood Wedding” is transforming it into what director Eric Bass calls a folk opera. Using a new translation...
When Dr. Robert Nassau and seven other cycling enthusiasts decided in 2010 to undertake a two-day ride from Derby Line to Brattleboro to raise money for the Boys & Girls Club of Brattleboro, they had no idea they were creating a major fundraising event. The fourth annual Going the Distance Ride takes place on Saturday, June 29 (rain date is June 30), with loop routes of 30, 60, or 100 miles along the Connecticut River that start and finish at...
As the two-year mark of Tropical Storm Irene approaches, nearly 50 families in Windham County are still struggling to rebuild their lives. To help these individuals, the Southeastern Vermont Irene Long-Term Recovery Committee (SEVT-LTRC) is organizing groups of volunteers of all skill levels to assist with small construction, debris clean-up, and other projects throughout Windham County. We are inviting townspeople, faith communities, and other civic organizations to become a part of these projects. By becoming a volunteer, you give support...
Some things you're willing to look at, and some things you avoid. That's what “Private Eyes,” the first production this season from Actors Theatre Playhouse in West Chesterfield, N.H., is all about. Performances are 7:30 p.m. on Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays, June 20 through July 13. The play, written by Steven Dietz and directed by Sam Pilo, is “a relationship thriller about infidelity and how it's perceived,” says Pilo. “Private Eyes” stars Eric Cutler, Emmaline Bliss, Richard Epstein, Nan Mann,
The Brattleboro community is once again invited to help make bowls to support the Brattleboro Drop In Center. Brattleboro Clayworks is hosting a “Bowlerama” on Saturday, June 29, as part of its preparations for the ninth annual Empty Bowls Dinner to be held this fall as a benefit for the Center. Bowlerama offers those who have little or no experience in clay an opportunity to create a bowl to donate to the dinner. Bonnie Stearns, Alan Steinberg, and Annie Lauterbach...
It's been a little more than six months since a mass shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn., left 20 students and six teachers dead. The shock, outrage, and fear that the Dec. 14, 2012 massacre generated seemed destined to ignite a national re-examination of laws regulating firearms. However, in that time, there has been no movement in Congress and no movement in Montpelier to strengthen gun laws. Ann Braden, a mother of two from Brattleboro, wants to...
Living Memorial Park pool now open BRATTLEBORO - The Living Memorial Park Swimming Pool opened for the season on June 15. Season passes are still available at the swimming pool. The regular rates for Brattleboro residents are $10 for toddlers, $25 for students, $35 for adults, and $65 for families. For non-residents, passes are $20 for toddlers, $40 for students, $50 for adults, and $90 for families. For more information, call the Recreation & Parks office at 802-254-5808. Dairy Day...
It is with disbelief and great sadness that I've followed the unfolding of the Rockingham Free Public Library's current saga. As a former librarian at this wonderful library, my experience there was one of great camaraderie, collaboration, and mutual respect. My former colleagues (all of whom are currently still there) worked together as a team, fully supporting our director, Célina Houlné, the most hard-working, dedicated, and honest boss one could wish for. We were committed to our jobs, our workplace,
It is probably safe to say that the Gabriel Fauré “Requiem” is one of the most popular and performed pieces of music in the choral literature. And for good reason: Fauré captured the essence of all that is beautiful and transporting in a format that is modest in size and huge in concept. The Brattleboro Concert Choir, directed by Susan Dedell, will sing this most beloved of pieces on Saturday, June 22, at 8 p.m., at Persons Auditorium at Marlboro...
The Winston Prouty Center for Child Development has been awarded a grant from the Vermont Agency of Human Services to implement a new program in the community. Family Supportive Housing (FSH) is a pilot grant the state is funding in three communities that have a high number of children and families accessing emergency shelter or living in motels. The funding will provide intensive supports to these families with young children to help them find and maintain permanent, affordable housing. Supports...
The Waypoint Center, serving Rockingham, Springfield, Westminster and Putney, and Charlestown, Walpole, and Westmoreland, N.H., is looking for volunteers to assist in promoting the Connecticut River Byway and the area. The Center, part of the Connecticut River Scenic Byway, is operated by the Town of Rockingham, and provides interpretative information about the area's cultural and natural history as well as promotional information about shopping, dining, lodging, and attractions. Volunteers welcome visitors, answering their questions about history, scenery, and other typical...
So I ran a mountain today, if you can call 30-minute miles “running.” But altitude - 2,200 feet of climb in the first three miles - and barometric pressure and blood pressure teamed up against me; my body rebelled. I couldn't breathe enough. My head was spinning. For the first time, I was sure I wouldn't finish. I climbed and cried; I stopped to breathe. Everyone had passed me. Even the man on crutches. My heart broke to think that...
The CineSLAM LGBT Film Festival of Shorts will offer more than just award-winning independent films this June. Between films, this eighth annual event will host a “Wedding Cake Intermission” in recognition of the marriage equality case awaiting decision by the Supreme Court. CineSLAM 2013 is Saturday, June 22, at 6:30 p.m. at the Hooker-Dunham Theater on Main Street in Brattleboro. Advance tickets are available online, and reservations are recommended. The festival brings together films offering an intriguing glimpse of the...
Mondo Mediaworks, a downtown marketing agency specializing in content development, is launching a program aimed at providing marketing services for a worthy fundraising project that benefits the southeastern Vermont community or the arts. On offer are a professionally produced video to use for a Kickstarter, Indiegogo, or similar crowdfunding campaign, a press release created and distributed to publicize a project, and marketing consultation to help the client meet its fundraising goal. To be considered, applicants must be a small business,
The town is exploring installing a well to supply water to the Town Hall. “I'm here to stress the urgency of it [needing water to the hall],” Valerie Heisler, a member of the Town Hall Committee, told the Selectboard at its June 6 meeting. According to Heisler, the water situation at the hall has interfered with events there. The hall lacks water for drinking, lavatories, hand washing, and cleaning, she said. She pointed out that a festival was scheduled for...
Steve Fuller has resigned from the board of trustees of the Rockingham Free Public Library, a move that followed a number of votes with which he found himself at odds with the majority of his fellow board members. At the June 4 meeting vote not to sign the lease at 41 The Square at the Merchant's Bank location, Fuller was one of the dissenting votes. He questioned as too high the figures that Library Director Célina Houlné estimated it would...
The Selectboard is set to interview a field of four candidates, and from among them appoint a replacement for outgoing member Ken Schneck, in two special board meetings on June 20. The four met a deadline to submit letters of intent for consideration to serve the remainder of Schneck's three-year Selectboard term. They are Donna Macomber, co-executive director of the Women's Freedom Center; Ian Kiehle, a local filmmaker; Michael Bosworth, president of the West Brattleboro Association; and Steve Cormier, station...
After a year of work by a variety of committed supporters, the Academy School proudly announces the opening of its quarter-mile nature trail boasting 21 sites, one for each classroom, identified by nature signs providing information created by classrooms. The trail starts next to the bike rack at the front of the school, extends through the adjacent forest, and ends in an outdoor nature classroom with benches that can accommodate 30 people. The trail includes stream access where teacher Orly...
The application window for a remaining $11 million in federal funds for natural disaster mitigation projects closes July 12. According to the Vermont Division of Emergency Management and Homeland Security, Vermont is eligible for funding from the Hazard Mitigation Grant Program. The money, which was authorized in the wake of Tropical Storm Irene, is for improving public infrastructure, the buyout of vulnerable property, and education and outreach studies on hazard mitigation strategies. The program is funded through the Federal Emergency...
The Southeast Vermont Learning Collaborative has appealed to the Vermont Supreme Court to settle whether it's entitled to tax exempt status, as has been denied here. Town Attorney Robert Fisher, of Fisher & Fisher, presented the Dummerston Selectboard with his reading of the facts of the case at their meeting June 12. Town voters in 2010 approved selling the former state library building, at 471 Route 5, to the nonprofit Learning Collaborative with the understanding that the organization would pay...
Estey Organ Museum will be open for extended hours the weekends before and after the Organ Historical Society Convention, June 24-29 in Burlington. The museum, in the Engine House of the Estey Organ Company's factory buildings at 108 Birge St., features displays of various styles of reed organs as well as a playable, walk-through, 1915 Estey pipe organ. Many of the other instruments on display are also playable, and visitors of all ages are encouraged to take a turn at...
Barbara Sondag, town manager since 2007, is stepping down to take a position as city administrator in Olivette, Mo., a city of about 8,000 near the Illinois state line. Selectboard Chair David Gartenstein made the announcement at Tuesday's night meeting that Sondag is leaving her post effective July 23. Sondag, who will start her new job at the end of July, is making the move to be closer to her family, said Gartenstein. Gartenstein said that the process of hiring...