The historic Green Mountain Flyer will offer “magical train rides filled with holiday cheer” from Bellows Falls to the North Pole (Chester Station) and back again on Sunday, Nov. 19, according to a news release.
The ride includes Santa and the Grinch and caroling elves and special surprises. It is 45 to 60 minutes each way, with a 45-minute stop at the North Pole.
At the North Pole, each child meets Santa, a small ensemble of the handbell choir Saxtons River Ringers will play 12-bell holiday music, and Smokin' Bowls will offer soups, sandwiches, and more for purchase.
Tickets are available at Village Square Booksellers in Bellows Falls, Phoenix Books Misty Valley in Chester, online at www.susval.org or by calling 802-376-9534. The price is $25 for adults, $20 for kids 2 to 12, and free for under age 2 on your lap.
Next Stage Arts Project will host its first annual gala benefit event, a disco dance party to benefit Next Stage programming, on Friday, Nov. 10, at 7 p.m. In a news release, organizers invited the community to “dust off your bell bottoms and reconnect with your inner 70s, or...
Main Street Arts is collaborating with local artists to organize an art exhibit that highlights the area's many creative folks. The community art show opened Oct. 23 with more than 40 artists displaying their work. It will run until Nov. 19. “This exhibit is an opportunity for the artist...
A town employee serving in the capacity as a resident has charged that the Selectboard recently violated Open Meeting Law when they voted to remove her as the town's representative to the Windham Solid Waste Management District Board of Supervisors. The Selectboard took this action in an unwarned executive session at a special board meeting on Sept. 26, said Shannon Meckle, the resident who serves as the town's administrative assistant. The decision “was discussed and decided at a meeting that...
Vermont Yankee's current and prospective owners are expanding their quest to keep “highly sensitive” information about their finances and business dealings out of the public eye. That information newly at issue includes detailed financial data for NorthStar Group Services, the nuclear plant's proposed buyer. It also includes “descriptions of several types of risk” Entergy faces if it continues to own Vermont Yankee. The state Public Utility Commission's review of the Vermont Yankee sale has produced reams of public documents. But...
The past, present, and future of music in Vermont will be highlighted at the Latchis Theatre on Saturday, Nov. 11, at 7 p.m. The concert is called “By the People for the People: A Celebration of Love and Community” and features something for everyone. It is the culmination of a series of 250th anniversary events which have taken place during the past year to benefit and celebrate the Guilford Community Church, United Church of Christ. The “By the People, for...
Toys for Kids begins annual outreach BRATTLEBORO - The Brattleboro Detachment and Auxiliary Unit 798 of the Marine Corps League has begun scheduling appointments for its Toys for Kids program for families in need of assistance this Christmas. Call 802-490-9582 from 4 to 7 p.m. (weekdays only) before Nov. 21 to schedule an appointment. If the line is busy, call back. Applicants are asked to not leave messages, and to have the Social Security or Medicaid numbers for the children...
Latchis Arts brings back its popular Movies for Kids series on Sunday mornings, starting this month and continuing January through March. Kids - and their big people and everyone who is a kid-at-heart - are invited to showings of movies at the Latchis Theatre, 50 Main St., on Sundays at 11 a.m. Admission to the movies is by donation. Movies for Kids will have a monthly theme and offer both contemporary and older films that fit that theme. The theme...
Greater Falls Warming Shelter will begin its ninth season of operation Wednesday, Nov. 15, when the 10-bed shelter opens again at 23 Church Street in North Walpole, N.H. “We are already aware of six people who are in need of shelter,” said GFWS chair Louise Luring. “If weather predictions are correct, it will be a long, hard, snowy winter that will drive more people to our doors.” The shelter provides a warm, safe, overnight shelter during the winter months for...
A cow as white as milk, a cape as red as blood, hair as yellow as corn, and a slipper as pure as gold. A tall order for the Baker (Andrew Flaherty) if he wants the Witch (Carolee Williams) to remove the childlessness curse she has put on his family. From Grandma's attic, the Baker and his wife begin their journey to find a happy ending in the Main Street Arts production of the musical “Into the Woods,” which opens...
Vernon has no village. In spite of that, the town received Village Center Designation from the Agency of Commerce and Community Development. According to the Sept. 26 letter issued by Department of Housing and Community Development Commissioner Katie Buckley, “Vernon's village center, as submitted in your application, met the statutory requirements for village center designation.” “A lot of places have historic downtown villages,” said Martin Langeveld, member of the Vernon Planning and Economic Development Commission, “but it's not common to...
The Leland & Gray Players' first show of its 22nd season is Mary Poppins by Julian Fellows, Richard Sherman, and Robert Sherman. In a news release, director Jessa Rowan said that this is “a musical that shows us how to discover the good in ourselves, how to find the magic in our everyday lives, and how to treat others with the utmost kindness. “Mary Poppins teaches us all lessons: how to turn our hearts to kindness and to love. She...
Obituaries • Bruce Harold Corwin, 83, of Brattleboro. Died Oct. 30 at the Thompson House following an extended illness. Born in Natick, Mass., on Dec. 15, 1933, the son of Harold and Alice (Day) Corwin. He was raised and educated in Bellows Falls and was a graduate of Bellows Falls High School, Class of 1951. He went on to graduate from the University of Maine at Orono in 1955 with a B.A. in music. In 1955, he married Carol Langlois,
WOOL 91.5 FM, community radio for Vermont and New Hampshire, will hold its 10th annual Silent Auction and Flea Market on Friday, Nov. 17, from 5 to 8 p.m. The event, held at the station's broadcast studios at 33 Bridge St. in Bellows Falls, features art, antiques, household goods, furniture, gift certificates from area businesses including shops and restaurants, and many gift items - some for only $1. Enjoying its 12th year on the air, WOOL, also known as Black...
The Brattleboro Music Center's 2017-18 Chamber Series opens Saturday, Nov. 11, at 7:30 p.m., when Musicians from Marlboro take the stage. According to a news release, the concert will feature “wonderful wind works” by Ligeti, Barber, Beethoven, and Poulenc performed by Marina Piccinini, flute; Mary Lynch, oboe; Michael Rusinek, clarinet; Wei-Ping Chou, horn; Brad Balliett, bassoon; and Ieva Jokubaviciute, piano. This long-time touring extension of the Marlboro Music Festival convenes exceptional young professional musicians to work and perform alongside seasoned...
The Selectboard unanimously voted to appoint Maria Glabach as interim Board member at the Oct. 25 meeting. Almost exactly a year prior, on Oct. 26, 2016, Glabach was appointed as Selectboard Assistant. Glabach fills the Selectboard seat vacated by her late husband, Steve Glabach, who died on Oct. 6. He was one year into a three-year Selectboard term, and had served on the Board since March 2012. Maria Glabach's term will end at the 2018 Town Meeting, where, if she...
The history of journalism hasn't always been honorable. It is littered with the stories of scoundrels willing to do anything for a story - anything at all. Perhaps the best portrayal of an amoral, anything-for-a-scoop reporter is found in the filmic one-two punch that is Billy Wilder's 1951 Ace in the Hole, starring Kirk Douglas. The Journalism Film Festival will show this witty yet brutal film at the Latchis Theatre on Sunday, Nov. 19, at 4 p.m. Admission is free,
Village Square Booksellers celebrates National Novel Writing Month with a “How to Write to Publish” workshop featuring author and writing coach Annalisa Parent on Sunday Nov. 12, from 1-3 p.m. Parent will walk participants through the elements of a publishable manuscript. Based on her decade-long career helping writers publish, and a 20-year writing career, she'll pull back the curtain on some tricks of the trade. Participants will also have the opportunity to share their writing and get meaningful feedback based...
Many people in southeastern Vermont have been aware of the GoFundMe campaign that was set up by Joseph Mangum, of Sunnyside Solar in West Brattleboro. It is collecting donations to provide solar systems for people in need in Puerto Rico. Sunnyside Solar has a long history. It was founded by Richard Gottlieb and Carol Levin, selling its first photovoltaic (PV) panel in 1983. At that time, many people did not even know solar panels were available, but Gottlieb was already...
Any woman - and there are legions of us - who has experienced sexual violence at any time in her life knows that the effects reach far beyond the psychological, creating physiological responses to retrieved memories and perceived threats that can be injurious to a woman's health. And any woman who has been paying attention to the statements and actions of the current commander-in-chief may feel these triggers weekly, daily, or even by the hour. How a self-proclaimed sexual predator...
By the end of the year, state officials expect to sign a lease with the town to rent approximately 10,000 square feet of the municipal building at 230 Main St. State Commissioner of Buildings and Services Christopher Cole submitted a letter of intent, dated Oct. 5, with some details on the proposed lease agreement. In the letter, Cole wrote, “It is the State's intent to formalize a lease within 45 days of the signing of this Letter of Intent.” The...
They may have moved up a division this season, but the Bellows Falls Terriers field hockey team has been as dominant in Division II as they were in Division III for the past two seasons. On Nov. 4 at the University of Vermont, the top-seeded and undefeated Terriers shut out the No. 2 Spaulding Crimson Tide, 6-0, to win the Division II state championship. It was the third straight championship for the 17-0 Terriers, who have won 40 consecutive games...
Write Action will sponsor a memoir workshop with award-winning author Ann Anderson Evans on Saturday and Sunday, Nov. 11 and 12, from 1:30 to 4:30 p.m., at the Marlboro Graduate Center on Vernon Street. In this workshop, she will use both meditative and literary practices to write a single scene. The group will work both in class and at home between classes to develop characters, hone the writer's ability to describe places and situations, and craft a narrative arc. The...
On a sunny Friday afternoon in Randolph Center, the mortal remains of Sergeant Charlotte Ann Marcy of Guilford were laid to rest at Vermont Veterans Cemetery. “It didn't bring closure, but it brought peace,” her mother, Therese Marcy, said of the Oct. 27 graveside service. “She is in a well-deserved resting place with her fellow soldiers.” Marcy, a member of the Vermont Army National Guard who served two combat tours in Iraq, died by suicide on Sept. 30, 2016. She...
Let's recognize health care as a human right by extending it to all people in the United States and funding it by tax revenues. Let's reckon each other's inherent worth way above our unfair market value. So shall we invest in one another, and, what's more, express our love for one another? Let's recognize love as a cardinal American value. Is this proper for a secular republic? Yes. Though religions do promote love, love is an observable phenomenon, probably explicable...
We at the Vermont Veterans' Home desire to express our gratitude to every U.S. military veteran, past and present, for their unwavering service to our country. Let us all remember that, if not for their assurance of liberty, we would not have the rights and freedoms their sacrifice bestows on us all. We live in the greatest nation on earth because of their commitment to duty, honor, and country. Please join with me and thank our veterans and their families...
Those of us who live in Vernon have experienced the effects of Vermont Yankee’s closure firsthand. Thanks to NorthStar’s proposed purchase of Vermont Yankee, Vernon has a chance to rebuild Windham County’s economic foundation sooner. However, the state’s latest demands to require NorthStar to adhere to “residential standards†when decommissioning the site may force additional, pointless delays on the deal. While constructive vetting is useful to ensure NorthStar’s ability to complete the job, endless roadblocks such as this will only...
I am not an economist; nor am I an ecologist, a politician, a scientist, or what Malvina Reynolds, in her 1962 song “Little Boxes,” called a “business executive.” I am just someone who cares deeply about the planet and all the living things on it. Having been here for a few decades, and having observed the descent into the parlous state in which we now find ourselves, I feel qualified to state with full assurance that it is time for...
After reading this piece belatedly, I wanted to visit “Lucy Speaks” in the mobile unit in front of Key Bank on Main Street. Occasionally, we happen to be in Brattleboro around the time of your annual Literary Festival. Not this year, unfortunately. Carbone's political map statement really caught my eye: “all of its red counties and blue islands....” How succinctly that phrase covers our present political divide, no matter where one lives and votes. Hopefully, “People, Places, and History of...
Just before last year's general election, participants at the annual Vermont Vision for a Multicultural Future Conference talked up the possibility of the nation's first black president welcoming the first female commander-in-chief. Then Donald Trump won. Attendees at the 2017 event this past week could have lost themselves in present-day headlines reporting a proposed travel ban targeting Muslims, fights over Confederate monuments and a flood of workplace sexual harassment claims. Instead, they focused on the future. “The new resident in...
Good day to those who lay their heads down in the windy hamlets of southeastern Vermont! Guess what? Autumn has finally arrived and entrenched itself into our region. And, if that wasn't enough, we'll be dealing with a truly wintry air mass for Friday and Saturday which could lead to a couple of chances for snow showers. I hope you all enjoyed the unseasonably mild-to-warm air we've been having, because it has certainly left the building. Having said all that,
Scene from the night of Saturday, Oct. 28, 7 p.m.: Location: Main block of Main Street, Brattleboro. I have just run a free Halloween singalong event at the Brooks House Atrium, a sweet, fun community gathering open to all, attended by children and parents and elders and everyone in between. Costumes, laughs, hugs, ukuleles. My car is parked in Harmony Lot, but as I walk to it after the event, I see five or six shady characters just standing around...
In late October, I boarded a plane and embarked upon a journey that I would later find out would change my life and my perspective on the world. I was on my way to the Inaugural Women's Convention organized by the Women's March Team in Detroit. After a lifetime of being involved in the political process and a year of protests, rallies, meetings, lobbying, phone calls, op-eds, art for change, and more, I had begun to feel a fire in...
Nancy Miller of Cortland Hill Orchard threw an impromptu outdoor party on a recent sunny Saturday. Across Miller Road from her farm stand, she set up a table with chilled and mulled cider and a big box of cider doughnuts from Paradise Farm Sugarhouse. The snacks were the guests' reward for a bit of hard work. Participants headed up the short, steep hill to the orchard, then came down with fresh apples - mostly Cortlands - that otherwise would have...
Nancy Miller offered this recipe to guests at a recent gleaning party at Cortland Hill Orchards. “This works with a Macintosh or Cortland apple. “Remove the core, and fill the cavity with two layers of oatmeal, raisins or cranberries, butter, and maple syrup. “Prick the skin of the apple, place a sheet of waxed paper on top of the apple, and microwave the apple for two or three minutes, depending on the size of the apple.”
New England Center for Circus Arts' (NECCA) holds its inaugural show at its new custom trapezium on Saturday, Nov. 11, at 7:30 p.m. The building has been open to classes since June, but this is the first time a show has been put on under the vast high-ceilinged space. NECCA welcomes award winning guest company LAVA from New York City performing and teaching as part of the 21st Circus Workshop Weekend that runs from Nov. 10–12. LAVA is an Obie...
For some local elders, the isolation of rural living can be scary. For those with far-away adult children, busy relatives, or no family, who will provide rides to the doctor and arrange for home care? Who will bring in the groceries? Who will stave off loneliness? In 2006, two local nurses, Susan and Richard Davis, founded Guilford Cares to help serve those needs. Its mission: “to provide free assistance to vulnerable community members to improve the quality and independence of...
Mitchell-Giddings Fine Arts, 183 Main St., presents “Emily Mason, Explorations,” a survey of Mason's prints from 1985 to 2016. An opening reception is scheduled for Saturday, Nov. 11, from 5 to 7 p.m., followed by an artist talk with Mason on Sunday, Nov. 12, at 5 p.m. This gallery-wide exhibition continues through Jan. 7. One of America's foremost nonrepresentational painters, Mason began exploring printmaking at the Tamarind Institute in 1985, and continued working with the Garner Tullis Workshop, Hand Graphics,
Three years ago, the Westminster School Board was going to vote to close the Westminster West School. I was at the center of the scandal and quit the school board a few weeks later. The school eventually had to close just as I had warned, but only after costing an extra quarter million dollars to keep it awkwardly open for two additional years. This all happened before Act 46 was even proposed, but the story highlights the need for Act...
With the weather so warm this autumn, little have our thoughts drifted to the upcoming holidays. But now that Halloween has passed, we turn our attention to the busy times ahead, and the gatherings and meals to be planned. There are some traditions at the holidays that cannot be altered, especially at Thanksgiving. The turkey (of course), the mounds of mashed potatoes, the pools of gravy and, in my family, everyone has their favorite pie that has to be on...
“People have been trying to make wine not taste like this for thousands of years!” So said my chemist friend, a researcher at a big brewing company, commenting on one of my favorite recent discoveries, the 2014 Garde Manger syrah from Oregon's Fausse Piste winery. She had a point. There was something faintly savage about the wine. The acid presence that gave it its tart, plummy edge went beyond racy into territory that verged on biting. There was a certain...