The Rock River Players present The Fantasticks by Harvey Schmidt and Tom Jones July 19-23 at Williamsville Hall on Dover Road.
The Fantasticks tells an allegorical story, loosely based on the play The Romancers (Les Romanesques) by Edmond Rostand, about two neighboring parents who, by pretending to feud, trick their children, Luisa and Matt, into falling in love.
The mothers - fathers in most productions - hire traveling actors to stage a mock abduction, so that Matt can heroically “save” Luisa and end the feigned feud. When the children discover the deception, they reject the arranged love match and separate.
Each then gains disillusioning experiences of the real world, seen in parallel fantasy sequences. They return to each other bruised but enlightened, and they renew their commitment with more maturity.
The fur is starting to fly as a consequence of Governor Phil Scott's willful misunderstanding of collective bargaining law as it applies to teacher health benefits and the continuing fallout from the pushback against the statewide school consolidations mandated under Vermont Act 46. But one positive result of all...
Vermont Performance Lab hosts its third annual Open Lab event on Saturday and Sunday, July 15 and 16, in Brattleboro to coincide with the Southern Vermont Dance Festival. The Open Lab weekend features emerging local and international dance artists from Vermont, Maine, Western Massachusetts, Lithuania, England, and Quebec. VPL...
Southern Vermont Dance Festival celebrates its fifth season from July 13 to 16 with an exciting round of classes, performances, and community events. As in past years, there is a wide selection of offerings. With four days of ticketed and free performances, 113 classes, and a strong focus on community, this year's Festival has something for everyone. The festival boasts faculty and choreographers at the top of their field with a unique ability to serve all levels of dance from...
On Sunday, July 16, at 7 p.m., Wendy Redlinger's Jazz Soiree will present the Bob Stabach 4tet with George Kaye, bass; Jon Fisher, drums; Bob Stabach, sax; and special guest pianist Stephen Page. They will perform a mix of Cool jazz tunes from the '50s, complemented by European ECM-style jazz compositions. Cool jazz arose out of the post-World War II American jazz scene. It was a reaction to the bebop movement, which was characterized by tense and complex music featuring...
Planning is well underway for the 14th annual Empty Bowls Dinner to be held at Landmark College on Oct. 7. This community dinner, which supports Groundworks Collaborative Food Shelf on South Main Street in Brattleboro, is made possible by many collective efforts and an impressive cadre of volunteers. Local potters contribute bowls, local eateries donate home-cooked soups, and musicians share their talents. For a $25 donation, participants will enjoy live music and a delicious meal in a handcrafted bowl they...
Jasmine's Bakery and Peter Havens restaurant have teamed up in a shared space of deliciousness. In the two years since Jasmine Bernier stopped selling her cupcakes out of North End Butchers on Putney Road and returned to baking at home, many folks in town couldn't get their buttercream frosting fix. But she has set up shop on 34 Elliot St., next door to Peter Havens. The location is not a coincidence. Bernier is a long-time friend of Zach Corbin, Peter...
The arts thrive along the winding, craggy Rock River in southern Vermont. Witness the Rock River Artists Open Studio Tour: What started as a humble cooperative among Williamsville, South Newfane, and Newfane artists now heralds its quarter-century mark. In 1993, photographer Christine Triebert, then new to South Newfane from a career in Boston, noted a cluster of area artists all producing extraordinary work in a variety of media from studios tucked away on the banks, in the woods, and along...
David Cohen, founder of VBikes, is now working with local bike shops to make Vermont bike culture more “inclusive,” a movement that he says is “less about the bike and more about being a human being.” VBikes is a nonprofit advocacy organization which, in contract with GoVermont, a division within the Vermont Agency of Transportation, has been providing free bike consultations to individuals seeking what founder David Cohen calls “car reduction therapy.” Cohen does so with the help of e-cargo...
Route 5 bridge closes for repair on July 12 GUILFORD - On Wednesday, July 12, the Route 5 bridge in Algiers will close, beginning at 7 a.m. According to project information officer Jill Barrett, during the closure, the contractor will begin demolition of the existing bridge while excavation and installation of the piles will occur at the south abutment. The contractor has 28 days to complete the work and re-open by Aug. 9. The 10-day wet cure for the prefabricated...
Architectural historian and author Richard Ewald calls the Vilas Bridge “a bridge for our time,” and will discuss the history of the Vilas and other Bellows Falls bridges at Rockingham Free Public Library on Thursday, July 13, at 7 p.m. The free event is part of a summerlong fundraising effort by the Friends of the Library to acquire and permanently exhibit a large painting of the Vilas Bridge by the late, nationally-known local artist Jerry Pfohl. The large, evocative painting...
Yellow Barn's 48th summer season continues with a full weekend of events, from three concerts to Saturday's master class and pre-concert discussion, to lunch and open rehearsals with musicians on campus at the Greenwood School. The weekend opens on Thursday, July 13, at 8 p.m. in the Big Barn. The evening begins with Franz Joseph Haydn's Piano Trio in E-flat Major, followed by Max Reger's String Sextet in F Major. The musical landscape blossoms from Furrer to Schnittke, finally concluding...
College news • Cadet First Class Jeffrey Daniel Kahler of Brattleboro graduated from the Massachusetts Maritime Academy on June 27 with a degree in marine transportation. • Katherine E. Koes of Vernon recently graduated with a B.S. in health science from Wichita (Kan.) State University. She was also named to the Dean's Honor Roll for the spring 2017 semester. • Katherine Weir of Newfane recently graduated from Evergreen State College in Olympia, Wash., with a B.A. in botany and scientific...
Attendance was somewhat sparse at the special Selectboard meeting on June 22 to explore solutions to the Putney Fire Department's staffing woes, but all who spoke did so in support of the town's firefighters. The question remains: How to retain and attract firefighters? According to a 20-page internal operations report the fire department issued in May, the situation is critical, and public safety may be compromised if something isn't done. And soon. In late May, Fire Chief Tom Goddard appeared...
The Selectboard is advising those who spend time on Green River and Hinesburg roads to be on the lookout for giant hogweed, also known as wild parsnip, poison parsnip, or hogsbane. Heracleum mantegazzianum, native to the Caucasus region and central Asia, is a plant that appears to be a giant version of Queen Anne's lace, about 6 feet tall or higher, with an umbrella shaped head consisting of clusters of small white flowers. It's usually found on roadsides and in...
I was dismayed by the image of the Whetstone Brook in full roar after the June 19th storms. Such a volume of water after only 4 inches of rain reveals we have yet to learn all the lessons of Tropical Storm Irene. It was ironic, actually, that the front page of the same issue heralded the opening of Red Clover Commons, risen from the muck of one of the Whetstone's past victims: Melrose Terrace. For many of us, such an...
The core mission of the Landmark Trust USA is to rescue and restore significant historic properties so people can rent them, sleep and live in them, and experience the cultural and artistic legacy embodied in each of them. I am responsible for the five properties we own and offer to the public as short-term vacation rentals. The life and life style in each varies from two farmhouses from 1799 and the 1840s; Rudyard Kipling's home, Naulakha; his carriage house from...
For young, aspiring professional musicians, the opportunity to participate in Marlboro Music, the Vermont summer community The New Yorker called “the music world's most coveted retreat,” is a dream come true. Rather than being coached by the likes of Artistic Director Mitsuko Uchida and members of some of the world's leading string quartets, they actually get to play alongside them (a concept initiated at Marlboro), exploring works in a depth not possible elsewhere. That's why these exceptional young artists often,
The Green Mountain Care Board is meeting in Montpelier on Thursday, July 20 at 9 a.m. to consider the Blue Cross/Blue Shield request for a 12.7-percent rate increase. This increase will affect more than 70,000 of our patients, families, friends, and neighbors. The Green Mountain Care Board's purpose is to oversee our state's health-care system. This hearing will include actuarial testimony from the insurers and state agencies, followed by time for brief testimonies from the public. As nurses, every day...
I believe it is time to thank the members of the WSESU Act 46 Study Committee for the work they have done on the merger models outlined at the onset of Act 46. I also believe it is time to recognize that the Act 46 challenge in WSESU has changed significantly from when this group began its work back in 2015. Deadlines have come and gone, Vernon has received special permission from the state Legislature to exit the current union...
I'm usually a fan of petitions. They're an easy way to make your voice heard, especially these days when, on a national level, it sometimes feels like our leaders don't share our values. But lately a local social-media petition has been trying my patience a bit. The petition urging our town to “End Brattleboro's Municipal Use of Heating Oil” points out, fairly, that our town emits large amounts of carbon dioxide from burning fuel oil and that we should be...
It's been a long time since a baseball game was played on the Fourth of July at Tenney Field in Brattleboro. In a baseball town like Brattleboro, it seems weird to me that there's not a ball game on the Fourth of July, other than the Small Fry All-Star games. But this year, the Brattleboro Post 5 and Bellows Falls Post 37 American Legion baseball teams gave us a treat - a noontime game with the pomp of the Legion...
This year, the Brattleboro Community Television Summer Video and Tech Camp tackled the spiritual world of ghosts and ghouls. Starting in 2006, the BCTV camp has been offered each summer during the last week in June and, each year, campers create a short fantasy film. This year's theme was “Ghost Hunters: Vermont.” Brattleboro Community Television is a community media center that serves eight towns in southern Windham County. While most know BCTV for its coverage of municipal meetings and special...
I recently had the opportunity to join a local group of students in Berlin, Germany who were on a three-week study-abroad program on the subject of World War II, including how a country commemorates atrocities committed during its history. As a visitor to the many memorials and monuments in Berlin, I was impressed most by the intentional ownership of the atrocities that took place during the reign of the Nazi regime. The Holocaust Museum, for example, is actually called the...
After years of work by local officials, state regulators have given the go-ahead for thousands of solar panels to be built atop Brattleboro's former landfill. The 5 megawatt project at Windham Solid Waste Management District will cover about 13 acres. And it's expected to spread financial benefits throughout Windham County via net-metering credits for towns and schools. In approving the project, Vermont's utility regulatory board said the size of the solar array won't be a drawback due to “advantageous siting”
When state Commerce and Community Development Secretary Michael Schirling visited Brattleboro in late June, he toured the rapidly growing headquarters of G.S. Precision Inc. But before that, Schirling took a look at a nearby empty building - the former home of L3 KEO, a defense contractor that closed its Brattleboro operations earlier this year. That itinerary held some significance: Even as Windham County economic development officials celebrate the near-completion of G.S. Precision's $17 million expansion at Exit One Industrial Park,
Mother Courage and Her Children, a modern classic drama that changed the direction of theater in the 20th century, is coming to southern Vermont. The Apron Theater Company, founded by Karla Baldwin and Hallie Flower as Next Stage Arts Project's theater-company-in-residence, will present Bertolt Brecht's play at Next Stage July 13-16 and 20-22. The Thursday, Friday, and Saturday performances are at 7:30 p.m. There will be one matinee, Sunday, July 16, at 2 p.m. The play confronts the savagery of...
Four nonprofit groups serving Algiers Village are working together on a project, the Living Community Challenge, that may bring economic development money and national attention to the town. The LCC (living-future.org) is a certification program developed by the nonprofit International Living Future Institute. According to its website, it works “to build an ecologically-minded, restorative world for all people. Using principles of social and environmental justice, ILFI seeks to counter climate change by pushing for an urban environment free of fossil...
Joe Berry is right to point out that Rudyard Kipling was a product of and spokesman for the British Empire, many of the underlying attitudes and assumptions of which we now find - to say the least - extremely objectionable. But if we were to condemn every writer for cultural attitudes we currently consider toxic, we'd have to include Edith Wharton, T.S. Eliot, Virginia Woolf, Charles Dickens, Jane Austen, William Shakespeare, and many, many others. We think it's important to...
Good day to you! We have landed in a bit of a rinse-and-repeat pattern for the upcoming week, thanks to a large upper level low over Hudson Bay, Canada. This large system will continue to sit and spin, driving fronts and low pressure disturbances counterclockwise around its southern flank. What does this mean for us? Showery weather potential for much of the upcoming seven days as these systems will drive east through the region in a zonal, or west-to-east, flow.
On a beautiful July morning, a small crowd gathered on Walnut Street to witness an unusual event - the sight of seven pianos being hoisted from the second-floor window of the Brattleboro Music Center so they could be whisked away in moving vans. The flying pianos was the grand finale to a project that has been years in the planning and months in the execution - moving the BMC from its cozy quarters on 38 Walnut St. into a new...
The company that wants to buy Vermont Yankee hasn't properly assessed the plant for radiological contamination and therefore “cannot know” the true cleanup cost, a Brattleboro anti-nuclear group contends. New England Coalition, in recent filings with the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, seeks to intervene in the federal review of Vermont Yankee's proposed sale to NorthStar Group Services. One of the coalition's biggest concerns mirrors worries that have been previously expressed by Vermont officials - that NorthStar could run into unforeseen problems...
After living in Baltimore for 15 years, artists Katie Bachler and Scott Berzofsky have moved back to the Green Mountains and are now running the Avenue Grocery at 82 Western Ave. Though the two have kept the same corner-store vibe the shop has maintained for over 40 years, they are also integrating some changes. While you can still buy a pack of cigarettes, lottery tickets, or the cone of soft-serve ice cream regionally known as a creemee, now customers may...
With the help of his family and the community, a local food vendor has realized the goal that will allow him to move his business to the next level. The mobile cart for Tito's Taqueria arrived from Michigan in early May, reported owner Tito Garza, who has now taken his popular array of tacos and burritos on the road. The primary site for his wares has been Avenue Grocery on Western Avenue, where Wednesdays through Saturdays, Garza drops off freshly...
Joshua Moyse, artistic director of the Shoot the Moon Theater Company, is presenting a brand new staged production, Trump's Fifth Avenue: A Political Fantasia. Although in the past Moyse has written or adapted original works presented by his resident company at Hooker-Dunham Theater and Gallery, this one he didn't write. In an odd way, no one did. “Trump's Fifth Avenue is an original theater piece made up of Trump's speeches and his tweets, as well as writings of his supporters,”