The Brattleboro Museum & Art Center (BMAC) has been awarded a $3,000 grant from the Vermont Humanities Council to support a series of public programs on how the history and experiences of people of color are reflected in contemporary art.
The series will feature BIPOC artists and curators who use archival and historic materials to draw connections between the past and present.
“BMAC is committed to sharing the work, experiences, and expertise of BIPOC artists, curators, and arts professionals,” BMAC Director of Exhibitions Sarah Freeman said in a news release. “As the area's only contemporary art museum, we have an obligation to provide a platform for a wide range of artistic and curatorial perspectives.”
The series will build on the programming BMAC presented this past spring in connection with the exhibit “Jennifer Mack-Watkins: Children of the Sun.”...
Senior meal served in DummerstonDUMMERSTON - Evening Star Grange and Senior Solutions present their Fourth Wednesday senior luncheon on Wednesday, Aug. 25, with in-house serving at noon and takeout pickup between 11:30 a.m. and 1 p.m. The menu will include ham, macaroni and cheese, potato salad, and corn on...
A Brattleboro Rotary Club Gateway Foundation scholarship awarded to a Community College of Vermont (CCV) student each year aims to address the shortage of child care workers in Windham County. Emma Rose Sprenger, a CCV Brattleboro student, said she will use her $2,500 Jesse Corum Scholarship to continue working...
Photographer Jade Doskow presents a hands-on photography workshop inspired by the work of Minor White on Saturday, Aug. 28, at 4 p.m. at the Brattleboro Museum & Art Center (BMAC). Participants will tour the exhibit “Sequences: Ode to Minor White,” then move out into the field (weather permitting) to create photographs inspired by White's vision. Doskow will illuminate the conceptual and technical approaches in several key photographs of White's to inspire the day's shoot. As described by Artnet, “Minor White...
The Brattleboro Camerata, a new vocal ensemble at the Brattleboro Music Center, has scheduled a workshop for interested singers Saturday, Aug. 28. The workshop will be held from 10:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. outdoors under tents at the BMC, 72 Blanche Moyse Way, with a bring-your-own picnic lunch. “In this workshop, we'll get the chance to really dig into issues of performance practice and interpretation,” Music Director Jonathan Harvey said in a news release. “We'll ask questions like 'How should...
When the Scott administration ended Vermont's COVID-19 state of emergency on June 14, it seemed like a moment of triumph against a deadly virus that had killed hundreds of thousands of Americans since March 2020. Vermonters rejoiced at the prospect of a return to normal summer activities and of living life unmasked and un-distanced. However, the Delta variant of COVID-19, which accounted for about 1 percent of all cases in the United States when the state lifted its restrictions, now...
College news • Elizabeth Collins of Landgrove graduated after majoring in engineering and minoring in physics at Bates College in Lewsiton, Maine. • The following local students were recognized for academic achievement during the spring 2021 semester at Northern Vermont University: Kaylee Gargett of Jamaica, Samantha Palmer of Townshend, Hanna Buedinger of Vernon, Joseph Rafus of Whitingham, and Laura Gypson of Williamsville were all named to the President's List, and Kseniya Gorbunova, Samantha Martin, and Emmalee Waite of Brattleboro, and...
In response to the opinion piece written by Mindy Haskins Rogers and published in last week's Commons, I want to sincerely apologize for any pain I may have caused due to my actions. To clarify, I was unaware of any of the accusations against Zeke Hecker while he was a teacher at Brattleboro Union High School and became aware of them only after he had retired. By that time it became clear to me that the school administration and the...
The public is invited to the 20th annual Write Action Potluck Picnic, to be held Saturday, Aug. 21, from noon until 4 p.m. Rain date is Aug. 22. The picnic will be held at 640 Melendy Hill Rd. “Bring a dish to share and chair or blanket,” the event organizers write in a news release. “Enjoy music by Aura Shards, as well as a chance to schmooze, and enjoy great food.” Write Action will supply paper plates, eating utensils, cups,
Cyrano, the 1973 Broadway musical that starred the late Christopher Plummer, will be performed by the Deerfield Valley Players at Memorial Hall on Thursday, Aug. 19, Friday, Aug. 20, and Saturday, Aug. 21. Doors open at 7 p.m., and the performance will begin at 7:30 p.m. As described in a news release, Cyrano is “a beguiling musical for sentimentalists of all ages, with great fun in its swashbuckling swordplay and lovers' deceptions. It is flamboyant, witty, and filled with that...
The Brattleboro Music Center and Retreat Farm Music Under the Stars summer concert series concludes Saturday, Aug. 21 with a performance by the Pan Evolution Steel Orchestra (PESO), who will offer what concert organizers describe as “a much-needed feel-good Caribbean vibe.” The Pan Evolution Steel Orchestra, a steel pan band founded in 2015 and based in Brooklyn, N.Y., performs around the U.S. and overseas. The free concert will be held at Retreat Farm, 45 Farmhouse Square. Gates open 5:30 p.m.;
According to the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, suicide is the second-leading cause of death in young people in Vermont and the 10th-leading cause of death across the United States. The rate of suicide in the state is dramatically higher than it is in the rest of the nation, yet suicide can be prevented. Walkers and volunteers from the region are joining more than a quarter of a million people who are walking in towns across the United States to...
A public meeting is set for Thursday, Aug. 26 to discuss transportation needs along the Route 30 corridor and surrounding communities, as part of a study of a potential new bus route along Route 30. According to Randy Schoonmaker, CEO of Southeast Vermont Transit, which operates the MooVER bus service in the Deerfield and Connecticut River valleys, the agenda includes “a presentation about study activities completed to date at the beginning of each hour and an opportunity to talk with...
Load the Latchis returns for the 12th year on Thursday, Aug. 19, from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Join your neighbors, as the Latchis Theatre and Groundworks Collaborative tries to fill every seat in the 750-seat main theater with a bag of groceries - either an actual bag of food or a $20 donation for that purpose. The folks at WKVT, most recently broadcasting as Rewind 92.7, will collect groceries by the theater side door on Flat Street. If you...
On Aug. 7, Vermont recorded 112 cases of Covid - at the time the highest single-day count since April 29. I was one of those cases. I was also the third person in my household to test positive for Covid with a breakthrough case this past week. All of us were fully vaccinated. (Twenty people who spent time with us during days we were potentially contagious have tested negative - the vaccines are working, with a small number of exceptions).
The Windham Philharmonic announces a first step in taking responsibility for the systems and culture and harm revealed in Mindy Haskins Rogers' article in The Commons. The board of the Windham Philharmonic met, and voted to divest Linda Hecker of board presidency and board membership. This is a first and insufficient step. Zeke (Robert) Hecker has never been a member of Windham Philharmonic, is not welcome to play with the orchestra, and will not participate in any future open-to-the-public rehearsals.
Mindy Haskins Rogers' piece is impeccable journalism, brilliantly written.
Yes, it's August and it's been hot and humid. But winter will be here soon enough, and that means breaking out the skis and snowboards for another season of fun in the snow. Snow sports fans in the Brattleboro area have it good, with the excellent nordic ski trails run by the Brattleboro Outing Club and the Brattleboro Ski Hill at Living Memorial Park. The nonprofit group that runs the ski hill, Living Memorial Snow Sports, is already thinking about...
After more than 17 years as executive director of Southeastern Vermont Community Action (SEVCA) and four decades of leadership in the Community Action network and the War on Poverty - not only in Vermont but also in New England and nationally - Steve Geller will be retiring at the end of December. Under Geller's leadership, SEVCA has expanded the reach and impact of its programs serving people with low income and developed a multifaceted approach to meeting the diverse and...
Epsilon Spires will screen Fresh Kill in the outdoor Backlot Cinema on Friday, Aug. 20, at 8 p.m. Artistic Director Jamie Mohr said in a news release that the film, which splices fact and fiction, is named for the actual Fresh Kills landfill in Staten Island and “playfully extrapolates from our world in a sci-fi romp.” Fresh Kill follows lovers Claire and Shareen, their daughter Honey, and their network of family and friends as they are thrown into confrontation with...
Twilight Music continues its 18th Twilight on the Tavern Lawn series of summer concerts on Sunday, Aug. 22 with indie rock quartet Moxie. Co-presented with Next Stage Arts Project, the concert begins at 6 p.m. and takes place downtown on the Putney Tavern lawn (bring a lawn chair or blanket) or at Next Stage at 15 Kimball Hill in case of rain. Described as a “nonstop, effervescent fountain of all-original, bubbly, super-dance-able, '80s-esque indie rock,” Moxie draws from a wide...
For years, I have passed by the Rockingham Meeting House and sometimes stopped my car to ask myself again, “How is someone supposed to read the historic roadside marker on Route 103 just below the Rockingham Meeting House?” Again, when I attended the annual program at the meeting house, I purposely went back to the sign and determined whether someone had noticed this shortcoming (actually, long-coming, due to its extra-long pole!) and was giving it the attention it deserves. The...
If you were at the supermarket with your 6-year-old child, and you saw them take a candy bar off of the rack and start to eat it, would you simply shrug and pretend you didn't notice? Or would you stop them and explain why that is wrong? And would you love them any less for their mistake? And if that same child started picking on the neighbor kids, making them cry by taking their toys and being physically aggressive, would...
The Legislature has had a report in hand since 2019 that documents conclusively that Vermont is not fairly funding the most impoverished and struggling school districts. A failure to act on this issue going forward will be completely unacceptable. By doing so, we will allow harm to exist in our education funding system, knowingly. The Task Force on the Implementation of the Pupil Weighting Factors Report will be meeting over the summer to create a plan and propose legislation to...
The Vermont Theatre Company would like to thank Mindy Haskins Rogers and The Commons editor, Jeff Potter, for bringing such a difficult community topic to our attention. We at Vermont Theatre Company stand with the survivors of sexual abuse and assault and encourage them to bring their stories forward when they feel comfortable doing so. We acknowledge that our 2009 production of The Lift caused mixed feelings and was triggering for some. We are truly sorry for any pain that...
I found Jo Schneiderman's piece about her issues with the use of “they/them” as an alternative to gendered pronouns to be written respectfully and, in telling her story, she provided a valuable context for her issues with “they/them” as a pronoun. However, I hope to provide a further context for its use by telling my own story. When I was a child, roughly 5, my mom came home one day with a dress that fit me perfectly. I was exuberant.
Like many, I tend to hang out with people who have the same basic beliefs and preferences as I do. But I also realize that this practice can give me a biased view of what's going on around me. I know there is a value in my thoughts being challenged and questioned by people whose views differ. With that in mind, I decided to attend a meeting of Vermonters for Vermont (V4V). The description of the meeting in the newspaper...
This is an open letter to my representatives, in particular Mike Mrowicki. Martin Luther King Jr. reminds us to judge a man by the content of his character and not the color of his skin. The content of America's character is to love, to give, and to care for all humanity. I know people are divided. I want all to pay close attention to who is telling you to hate and fear. I ask for your immediate resignation, Mike, for...
I was rushing through my day when I took a break to aimlessly scroll, and came across the piece in last week's Commons written by my friend Mindy Haskins Rogers. I read it through once with an oh-holy-crap response. I then flattened my feet against the floor, took a deep breath, and read it again. As a survivor of plenty, I have learned to feel into my responses in my body, even all these years later. On that day, I...
I have been offered the opportunity to respond to the article by Mindy Haskins Rogers. First, I deeply apologize to any former student who may have been affected by my behavior, which I regret. I went into teaching with high ideals and never intended to hurt anyone. I wanted to be a good teacher, but I was not good enough. I also want to apologize to the parents of my students, who trusted me to be a caretaker and role...
An open letter to Sens. Patrick Leahy and Bernie Sanders and Rep. Peter Welch: I'm listening to the testimony of Capitol and other D.C. police officers as they share the trauma of Jan. 6, as I grieve for them and for our country. It is so painful but so true to hear what happened. It may surprise and horrify many of us, but is probably less surprising to people of color, many of whom have experienced abuse on a regular...
Vermont Independent Media (VIM), publisher of The Commons, announces the Media Mentoring Project, which is a participatory journalism project that seeks to assist area residents in building writing, journalism and other media literacy skills. “In the belief that a vibrant democracy requires an informed, empowered, and vocal citizenry, VIM endeavors to empower residents to become re-involved in their media - to see it once again as a town square, a vehicle for a community to debate and investigate,” the VIM...
After 12 years, United Way of Windham County Executive Director Carmen Derby will move on to serve as business director at Windham County Dental Center, a United Way program. “One of the most rewarding aspects of the executive director position is the individuals that I have connected with in this community,” Derby says. “Engaging in conversations with small and large business owners, town officials, donors, local and statewide nonprofits, and all community members gave me the perspective that was necessary...
A second public discussion addressing an area-wide plan for the Island and Under the Hill districts on Aug. 12 presented four potential redevelopment scenarios for about 24 attendees, half in person at the Waypoint Center and half on Zoom. The region includes “perceived, suspect, or known environmental impacts, including both petroleum and hazardous substances,” according to a preliminary synopsis from the Nobis Group, the environmental engineering firm working with Stevens & Associates of Brattleboro to develop a final plan, which...
Special screenings of The 211 Home, a forthcoming film from New Shepherd Films in Oregon, will take place this month at two churches in the area. Michael Gantt, the retired pastor of Agape Christian Fellowship, plays a starring role in the film as Nathan Caponi, a retired union truck driver who strikes up a friendship with a young teen who loves baseball but hates the gift he has received - a ragged, worn-out old glove from his grandfather. “The personal...
This is a story about Afghanistan, but I'm going to start in in Kuwait City. It's a long story, mostly because Americans have been dying in pointless “welfare” wars for a long time, yet even a long story can't convey the layered intricacy of the failures of U.S. military and political power. I'll start in 1997. I was working as a photographer for World Wrestling Entertainment (WWF/WWE) in Kuwait City and escorted several wrestlers to the front line between Kuwait...