The Forest of Mystery is back!
After cancelling in 2020 due to Covid, the Bonnyvale Environmental Education Center (BEEC) says it is excited to host this beloved event as part of its 30th anniversary celebration.
This year's production, This Mad World, will be held from Thursday, Oct. 21 to Saturday, Oct. 23, with a rain date of Sunday, Oct. 24. More than 600 people participated in the 2019 edition, and BEEC hopes for a similar number this year.
Written by James Gelter, This Mad World takes visitors to a dystopian future. Gelter uses the lens of science fiction to focus on the urgency of the climate crisis and other world problems and to ask, “What does one generation owe to the next?”...
Manitou hosts healing walk WILLIAMSVILLE - The Manitou Project on Sunset Lake Road will hold a healing walk on Friday, Oct. 8, from 4 to 5:30 p.m. Meet at the parking lot at 4 p.m. The walk will be led by Fred Taylor and will include poems or other...
College news • Ethan Paasche, a mathematical economics major from Guilford, graduated from Colgate University in Hamilton, N.Y., with the Class of 2021. • Charlotte Croft of West Dover and Addison Kujovsky of South Londonderry recently matriculated as first-year students at Hamilton College in Clinton, N.Y. • Jasmine Denny...
Brattleboro Clayworks hosts 'Fungi Fest' BRATTLEBORO - The abundance of fungi this year has inspired the artisans at Brattleboro Clayworks at 532 Putney Rd. They say that, with rain and humidity, “mushrooms keep popping up, and new ideas for pottery are bouncing around in our heads and into our hands.” So inspired, they are holding a “Fungi Fest,” which begins Friday, Oct. 8 and runs through Saturday, Oct. 30. The Clayworks folks say they have something to please everyone, from...
Since 1970, volunteers have made the Newfane Heritage Festival a fall season destination in the heart of historic Newfane village. After canceling due to the pandemic last year, the Festival is back to celebrate its 50th anniversary, belatedly. Once again, people will celebrate community, crafts, and entertainment. The event will run from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., on Saturday and Sunday, Oct. 9 and 10, rain or shine. More than 60 juried artists and craftspeople will display and sell their...
Great literature is the inspiration for the works to be performed by Musicians from Marlboro at the Brattleboro Music Center Saturday, Oct. 16. The 3 p.m. concert will feature soprano Lucy Fitz Gibbon; Geneva Lewis and David McCarroll, on violin; Zhanbo Zheng, on the viola; Marcy Rosen, on the cello; and pianist Kuok-Wai Lio. Schubert's Ave Maria will be heard alongside its more rarely performed companion songs from this German setting of Sir Walter Scott's “Lady of the Lake.” Literary...
The Psychedelic Cinema Orchestra will play along live on Saturday, Oct. 9, at 8 p.m., to a collection of films by Ken Brown, who in the late 1960s created light shows and animations that were projected over bands such as the Jimi Hendrix Experience, the Grateful Dead, and the Velvet Underground. Brown's Super 8 films, which were made entirely in-camera without the use of editing equipment, take images from magazines like Life and Look with trippy patterns and lighting effects...
Groundworks Collaborative has begun the second annual Give60 Challenge: a hybrid fundraiser for the organization's housing support and shelter programs. The Give60 Challenge is a “choose-your-own-challenge” fundraiser, which this year includes the in-person Change-of-Pace Challenge event - a no-pressure, family-friendly walk, run, stroll, and roll event on Oct. 23 at the West River Trail. Supporters of all ages and abilities can participate - in person or virtually - by devoting time and raising funds for Groundworks in a way that...
After an absence of 1{1/2} years, The Met: Live in HD makes its return to the Latchis Theatre on Saturday, Oct. 9, at 1 p.m., launching its 2021–22 season with Mussorgsky's Boris Godunov. Bass René Pape, described in a news release as “the world's reigning Boris,” reprises his portrayal of the tortured tsar caught between grasping ambition and crippling paranoia. Conductor Sebastian Weigle leads Mussorgsky's masterwork, a pillar of the Russian repertoire, in its original 1869 version. Stephen Wadsworth's production,
The Vermont Agency of Agriculture, Food and Markets and Vermont Department of Tourism and Marketing, along with several partners, are bringing together the maple industry, specialty products, and maple-inspired activities in a statewide campaign. The Maple 100, a compendium of deals, packages, and adventures, offers visitors and Vermonters alike the chance to rediscover favorite maple snacks, treats, and local products, as well as discover new ways to enjoy the state's sweetest treat. The fall celebration of all things inspired by...
At its annual meeting on Sept. 25, members of Estey Organ Museum (EOM) in Brattleboro welcomed its newest trustee, Carol Farrington. Farrington has served as a volunteer with the Brattleboro Historical Society for the past several years, and her mother, Marguerite Douglas, was one of the first members of Estey Organ Museum. Farrington's paternal grandfather, William Bixby Douglas, worked at Estey Organ Company in the early 1900s. Other trustees include Dennis Waring, Leslie Nicholas, Karen Rosen, and Valerie Abrahamsen. Officers...
So sorry I missed the Sept. 12 pro-abortion rally at Pliny Park where Eliana Merson and other charming youngsters voiced their opposition to the Texas Heartbeat Act. These pro-aborts are concerned about the climate, but couldn't care less about the tens of millions of children who have been aborted in this country. Miss Merson says, “We are making a point that we care.” Uh-huh. Also, it was unnecessary for The Commons to print “g-----n.” Shame on the editor and on...
Deemed to be among “prominent classical guitarists” by The New York Times in 2007, David Rogers fuses classical, jazz, and world music into what he describes in his promotional material as “expressive, virtuosic performances.” Featured in major musicians' magazines, Rogers' performances have also been broadcast on both sides of the Atlantic. He has given recitals and conducted master classes throughout North America, including performances and classes at the San Francisco Conservatory and Interlochen National Arts Camp. He studied historical plucked...
A look at how Annual Representative Town Meeting is planned and put together each year, with guests Town Manager Peter Elwell and Town Attorney Bob Fisher, will take place on Wednesday Oct. 13, from 6 to 7:30 p.m. This hybrid meeting, sponsored by the Brattleboro RTM Steering Committee, will take place in-person in the Selectnoard meeting room at the Municipal Center and on Zoom. A video will be posted on YouTube. Committee members and guests are encouraged to attend online,
The Planning Commission is asking the community for input on the best ways to spend federal and state COVID-19 relief funds. Residents and property owners will receive the survey by mail with postage-paid return envelopes; the survey can also be filled out online. Copies of the survey will also be available at the Town Office. The survey asks participants to share their opinion on the priority of four topics: community life, economic sustainability, housing access, and transportation. “Three years ago,
I sat maybe three rows back from all the action at the Bernie Sanders' Labor Day rally, and I think Gabe Pofcher and I must not have been at the same event! The “gentleman,” as he described him in his letter - later arrested - caught my attention when he began menacing an older lady sitting on the ground next to him. He wagged his finger in her face while saying something I could not hear. She sat, immovable. One...
You may have heard that one of the proposals in President Biden's $3.5 trillion budget reconciliation bill is a provision that would require banks and credit unions (financial institutions) to greatly expand the information we are required to report to the IRS. Under the president's proposed legislation, financial institutions would report data on customers' accounts in an information return. The annual return would report gross inflows and outflows with a breakdown for physical cash, transactions with a foreign account, and...
I am very appreciative of Jane Katz Field's piece. Months before my husband was to become eligible for Medicare, he started doing exhaustive research on the various plans, which resulted in him avoiding Medicare Advantage plans like the plague. At the time, I teased him about the intensity of his research and, boy, did I eat my words after an illness landed him in the hospital three times this past spring. His due diligence saved us thousands of dollars and,
Village Square Booksellers in Bellows Falls welcomes Vermont author Elayne Clift, who, with three other poets, will participate in a virtual event on Saturday, Oct. 9, at 1 p.m. The four poets will read from and discuss A 21st Century Plague: Poetry from a Pandemic, the poetry anthology on the COVID-19 pandemic that Clift has edited. According to a news release, the anthology was borne out of the longing “for the touch of loved ones, to fight anxiety and despair,
Maya Richmond will be the new executive director of the Windham County Humane Society (WCHS). Richmond follows Annie Guion, who has been in the post since 2008. Director of Operations Keri Roberts, a 19-year WCHS veteran, will continue in her role, as will board of directors President Julie Hamilton. “We feel very fortunate to have hired Maya,” said Guion. “She has a wealth of experience, and she has implemented wonderful, progressive programs at her previous organizations.” “As the first shelter...
Susan Dedell has served as music director at St. Michael's Episcopal Church for the past 30 years. She said she's proud of the fine singing - not only of the choirs, but also of the congregation - and of the strong community spirit that music can yield, a spirit she believes will live past her tenure. She grew up in Muskegon, Mich., and started piano at 7. In her early teens, she said, she had her first paying gig on...
Every year, the Scott Farm welcomes visitors of all ages, from near and far for a one-day celebration of apples of all shapes, colors, and tastes, along with their histories. On Sunday, Oct. 10, the farm will host its 18th annual Heirloom Apple Day, starting at 10 a.m. This year's event will be fully outdoors and feature two well-beloved apple lovers and social media stars who will be presenting at 11 a.m. and 1:30 p.m.: • Sean Turley is a...
All summer, Lt. Gov. Molly Gray has been doing a listening tour through Vermont, but it took until the first full week of autumn for Gray to arrive to the southern part of the state. Gray has now been to every county in Vermont on what she calls the Recover Stronger tour. She said she and House Speaker Jill Krowinski, D-Burlington, and Senate President Pro Tem Becca Balint, D-Brattleboro, have been gathering feedback from people around state, and the three...
Lucas Forthofer, a senior trombonist from Brattleboro Union High School, has been selected to represent Vermont in the Macy's Great American Marching Band. He will perform with 200 other students from across the country in the 95th Annual Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade on Nov. 25 in New York City. This parade will be seen live by millions of spectators along the parade route in Manhattan, and on television by 50 million viewers as participants perform a routine in Herald Square.
It takes a lot of work to build a successful team, and then even more work to maintain that success. For Bellows Falls field hockey coach Bethany Coursen, that hard work has resulted in a lot of wins - including her 200th career victory last week - and several state championships. For Brattleboro field hockey coach Erin Cooke, the work is just beginning. While the lofty milestones and championship are still a ways away, she is slowly building up a...
The Emerson-DeWitt building development project at 47 Flat St. has been given a boost, making the list of 28 rehabilitation and revitalization projects in 22 of the state's designated downtown/village centers to be supported with tax incentive dollars. In this case, the project is getting $577,100 in tax credits toward the total cost of almost $10.2 million. The building, a former warehouse and, most recently, an auto parts supply store, has been vacant and partially boarded up for nearly a...
In 1974, during the fall of his senior year at Brattleboro Union High School, Steve Barrett joined the Brattleboro Fire Department as an on-call firefighter. He's been serving the town ever since. Forty-seven years later, Barrett's long career of serving his town - including 41 years with the Public Works Department - is winding down. He will be retiring as public works director on Dec. 18, which gives him plenty of time to bring his successor, Assistant Public Works Director...
You know it's autumn when you catch that first whiff of apples cooking - especially apple crisp - and right now, the whole world needs a nice big portion. Who can resist the sight, the smell, the texture of the crispy top and the spicy, softened apples underneath? In this version, I've added a couple of ripe pears that were asking to be used, and seasonal cranberries as well, which lend a lovely pink blush and special flavor to the...
It's October, and we still haven't had a frost in the Connecticut River Valley. This means our tomatoes, especially the cherries, are still producing their sweet little fruits, as tired as their foliage looks. While we can tuck these tomatoes whole and unprocessed in the freezer to enjoy in soups and stews next winter, using them fresh in this dish is quick and tasty. If you don't have cherry tomatoes, just chop up larger fruits. Tomatoes are a perfect accompaniment...
COVID-19 has reduced the hustle and bustle, letting us think about what is important - or, more correctly, reset our priorities. This is no small thing; in fact, a culture-quake may be necessary before we can adopt the entirely new relationship with nature that must happen if we are to stave off climate change. To go from environmental thinking globally to acting locally, let's consider that one of Vermont's natural, historical treasures - 130 acres of Connecticut River waterfront in...
Poor Lilly Ledbetter must be tearing her hair out. She is the woman, you may recall, who, she once said, “sought justice because equal pay for equal work is an American value.” Her legal fight took place some years ago when she learned that she was earning significantly less money than men doing the same managerial work in the Alabama tire plant where she worked for nearly 20 years. The case ultimately went to the Supreme Court in 2007, where...