The Guilford Free Library will again be offering summer camps, free for resident children and $50 for nonresident children.
Librarian Cathi Wilken says in a news release the library “has been carrying on traditions for 131 years, but if you ask the parents and children who use the library, probably the one most anticipated is summer camp. Where else would Guilford's youngest residents find such talented camp counselors offering such wonderful programs?”
For the past two years, when many other social outlets disappeared, the summer camps have been especially important, Wilken says. “We were so pleased to be able to carry on with the major support of our community and are looking forward to yet another great summer of camp fun with everyone's help.”
The camps are free because of another tradition, now in its 12th year: the annual “Send a Kid to Camp” raffle.
Next Stage Arts brings Haitian roots revival collective Lakou Mizik to the Putney Inn, 57 Putney Landing Rd., on Friday, May 13, at 6 p.m., in the latest edition of its Bandwagon Summer Series. “Lakou Mizik is an opportunity to introduce Haitain culture to our community,” Keith Marks, executive...
To the shock of many, all but the student representative to the New England Youth Theatre board of directors announced their en-masse resignation on May 2. Board members say the split is amicable and they decided individually to step out of the way and let founder Stephen Stearns work...
Restorative Community Practice of Vermont (RCPVT) is sponsoring a series of community conversations in Newfane, encouraging folks with differing ideological perspectives to meet together to discuss the issues, exploring both their shared and diverging views. “The purpose is not to convince anyone to change their mind about their beliefs,” organizers wrote in a news release. “The idea is to give folks a safe and respectful venue in which to fully air their beliefs without interruption, condemnation or condescension. These conversations...
Obituaries • Helen (Lewis) Capen, 75, of Londonderry. Died April 23, 2022, surrounded by her children. Helen spent the last 20 years working at the Landgrove Inn. She is remembered through her love for her family and her love of nature. She was predeceased by her mother and father, Madeline and James, of Hancock; her brother, George, of Brookfield; her husband, Myron “Mike” of Londonderry; and her grandson, Mike. She is survived by her six children, Dorothy, Ed (Monica), Donna...
On Jan. 18, 2022, Selectboard members voted to change the traffic pattern at the intersection of Canal and South Main streets to include a stop sign for northbound traffic. This new stop sign was installed by DPW staff last week, and the traffic pattern change is now in effect. The stop sign in the northbound lane is a flashing stop sign, and there is a pedestrian crossing signal in the southbound lane that is also a flashing sign. As soon...
After a two-year hiatus, the Brattleboro Concert Choir resumes live performances with “Return to Light,” a program of works by American composers for choir, organ, and piano. The two scheduled performances are Saturday May 14, at 7:30 p.m., and Sunday, May 15, at 4 p.m., both at the Latchis Theatre. The program, described as “alternately joyful and introspective” by organizers, includes 20th- and 21st-century works by Zanaida Stewart Robles, Randall Thompson, and Morten Lauridsen. “We are so excited to bring...
It was a house of love and a safe haven where laughter was frequent, anxiety had no place, affection reigned. It was a Cape Cod bungalow with a white picket fence that made me feel warm and happy. In short, it was 1950s perfect, and I wished it were mine. I lived across the street in a house that became a place of illness, loneliness, and quiet despair. My mother's chronic depression began there as my father's tense nature worsened...
The title of Mildred Beltré Martinez's Brattleboro Museum & Art Center (BMAC) exhibit, “Between Starshine and Clay,” is drawn from a poem by Lucille Clifton: “born in babylon / both nonwhite and woman / what did i see to be except myself? / i made it up / here on this bridge between / starshine and clay.” Like the poem, the exhibition on view through June 12 explores issues of identity. “Clifton is celebrating that for Black women, the formation...
Gardeners interested in learning about the invasive jumping worm pest are invited to attend a webinar hosted by the Southeast Chapter of the University of Vermont (UVM) Extension Master Gardener Program. The webinar called, “Jumping Worms. Why Worry? What Can You Do,” will feature UVM's Dr. Josef Gorres as its presenter. It will be held remotely via Zoom on Saturday, May 14, from 9 a.m. to 10 a.m. Jumping worms are invasive earthworms hailing from eastern Asia. Their major mode...
May the 4th be with you at Library's First Wednesday lecture BRATTLEBORO - Celebrate “Star Wars Day” as the final Vermont Humanities Council Lecture of the season examines The Force of a Story Told in Parts: Star Wars, Fandom and Seriality. From Dickens to Game of Thrones, stories told in piecemeal style have shown their power to command a reader's attention. In this aptly scheduled talk author Anne Moore examines how Star Wars' serialized structure encourages readers to fill the...
Here's a list of what towns in Windham County are doing on Green Up Day, and whom to contact if you want more information: • Athens: Lynn Morgan, 802-869-2227 or jelpmorgan@yahoo.com. Leave full bags and large debris along roadsides. Routes may be worked on anytime through May 7. • Brattleboro: Brattleboro Subaru, 1234 Putney Rd., (bag pickup and drop-off); Robin Rieske, 802-275-7232 or rabiah@sover.net or Hilary Francis, 802-251-8157 or hfrancis@brattleboro.org. Bags available on Green Up Day from 8 a.m. to...
The 2022 edition of Green Up Day is set for Saturday, May 7, and it comes with a challenge to Vermonters. “Many residents have been contacting the Green Up Vermont office, concerned about the amount of trash on the roadsides this spring, looking for Green Up Day supplies and information, and also a solution,” Green Up Vermont Executive Director Kate Alberghini said in a news release. “I can't tell you the number of times I have heard, 'What kind of...
The Brattleboro Area Farmers' Market is opening for the 2022 season on Saturday, May 7, from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m., at its site on Route 9. Following a two-year COVID-19 pandemic-related hiatus, local musician Andy Davis will lead a traditional Maypole dance at 11 a.m. at the market grounds. The market tested a redesign in 2021, in which food and beverage vendors were placed in a separate area outside the main vendor circle. While the redesign was initially for...
The holy month of Ramadan is the ninth month in the Islamic lunar year. In this month, those of us who are Muslim follow specific religious practices that include fasting and prayer. This month is called by different names, such as “forgiveness month,” “blessing month,” “mercy month,” “plenty month,” “happy month,” “the month closest to God,” and “God's party month.” It is divided into three parts. The first 10 days are called “mercy.” The second 10 days are called “forgiveness,”
Mitchell-Giddings Fine Arts, 181–183 Main St., presents Tableaux, an exhibition of oil paintings by Bakersfield artist Rona Lee Cohen, with an opening and artist reception on Gallery Walk Friday, May 6, from 5 to 8 p.m. The exhibit continues through June 19. A percentage of sales will be donated to the International Rescue Committee in support of its efforts in Ukraine. Working with oil on paper, Cohen “explores relationships between everyday objects which happen to- momentarily-reside on a small table;
Supporters of Issac Evans-Frantz of Brattleboro, who is running for the Democratic Party nomination for U.S. Senate, are not worried about his underdog status in the race to succeed retiring longtime Democratic Sen. Patrick Leahy. “When Bernie [Sanders] ran for Congress, everyone said it couldn't be done, that he would be the spoiler,” said Nancy Braus of Everyone's Books of Brattleboro at Evans-Frantz's campaign kickoff rally on April 26 on the front steps of the U.S. Post Office. Evans-Frantz -
Two Windham County House members who found their current districts radically altered have made their decisions on what they will do in the 2022 election season. Rep. Carolyn Partridge, D-Windham, first elected to the House in 1998, will not seek re-election, while Rep. Michelle Bos-Lun, D-Westminster, will run for her second term in the House to represent the newly created Windham-3 district of Westminster, Brookline, and Rockingham. The recently approved House redistricting map sought to create one-member districts, which led...
When the Brattleboro Area Drop-In Center and Morningside Shelter merged in 2015 to become Groundworks Collaborative, the goal was to create an integrated network of services to provide food, shelter, medical care, and other assistance for those in need. Seven years later, the vision has become reality. The last piece of that effort is about to open on the site of the former Drop-In Center on 60 South Main St. A new building, still a couple of weeks away from...
Charles Raubicheck and Peg Alden are the newest members of the Selectboard following the April 26 special election. The vote came after annual meeting voters agreed to add two members to the former three-member panel - a change put on the ballot by citizen petition. Alden, who won a one-year seat with 369 votes, ran against Laura Campbell (28 votes), Bryce Hodson (63 votes), and Parry Smith-Phillips (39 votes). Raubicheck vied with Elizabeth Warner for a two-year seat, wining 364-128.
Ten-term Windham County state Sen. Jeanette White is set to join regional colleague and Senate President Pro Tempore Becca Balint in relinquishing her position, spurring a rising number of newcomers to seek the two southeastern Vermont seats. “I don't look forward to a primary and raising money. Campaigning is not my favorite thing to do,” White said this week of her decision not to run for reelection. “I like meeting people and selling them on ideas, but I don't like...
Brattleboro's Gallery Walk returns for the season on Friday, May 6 (rain date Saturday, May 7), with 19 participating merchants. At 5 p.m., a free guided tour along the Brattleboro Words Trail Tour begins at 118 Elliot. At 6 p.m., Cynthia Houghton will focus on the process of art-making and plans to guide participants in a visit to Harmony Collective, Gallery in Woods, and First Proof Press; meet at Chicken Rex outside of Harmony Collective on Elliot Street. The Stone...
In softball, if you have good pitcher, you are going win a lot of games. But even a great pitcher can't do it all alone, as consistent hitting and steady defense is also needed to rack up the wins. Brattleboro has a great pitcher in senior Leah Madore, who is a strike throwing machine. Consistency at the plate and in the field is another story. The Colonels played in the Hoosick Falls (N.Y.) Tournament on April 23, and they let...
Jeannie Sutherland is the featured “Artist of the Month” for May at the Harmony Art Collective's gallery on 49 Elliot St. All profits from sales of her work in May will go to three local organizations: Bonnyvale Environmental Education Center (BEEC), Windham County Humane Society, and Rich Earth Institute. The fundraiser starts with a silent auction during Gallery Walk on Friday, May 6, from 5 to 7 p.m., at Harmony Collective and continues to the end of the month. “I...
A small village on the Amalfi Coast in Italy, Positano sits high upon the cliffs as it rolls into the Tyrrhenian Sea below. There, over the course of one week in 2018, Grammy-winning guitarist and producer Will Ackerman wrote the music for his new solo album, Positano Songs (Imaginary Road Music, 2022). He left there with 24 viable musical ideas. Ackerman has visited Positano for over three decades and says it remains “one of the most beautiful places on Earth.”
The Vermont Legislature has officially congratulated culinary students from Vermont who won the 2022 New York State Restaurant Association Educational Foundation ProStart Invitational culinary competition on March 25 and 26 at the Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, N.Y. Five culinary students representing the River Valley Technical Center in Springfield, including Christopher Leary of Westminster, were honored as first-place winners and Vermont champions. The group will represent the state at the National ProStart Invitational competition from May 6 to...
I would like to take the opportunity to express my sincere thanks to members of Brattleboro's Representative Town Meeting for the support expressed in the thumbs-up vote you delivered for the Community Marketing Initiative on March 19. Your approval is an investment in the future economic development of the town, which has never done any formal, municipally driven cheerleading, to my knowledge. It has always relied on organizations like the Brattleboro Area Chamber of Commerce (BACC) or Downtown Brattleboro Alliance...
Deb Tillinghast, eldest child of Marcel Leclaire Sr., remembers a day in May of 1967 when she was 12 years old and her father came home from work wrapped up in a blanket. “He stunk,” she remembers of her father, who had served the Brattleboro Police Department for almost 25 years, including as chief of police from 1981 to 1984. He died April 25 at the age of 89. “And he was cold. We had no idea why.” The reason?