NEWFANE-Caro Diallo, guest dancer and teacher from Senegal; drummer Ult Mundane, based in New Hampshire; and other guest drummers will teach a series of workshops Saturday, Sept. 20, and Sunday, Sept. 21, at Union Hall near the Newfane Common. There will be all levels dance classes and drum classes on both days, plus African meals.
Gena Corea will be honored that weekend and will be present. Corea brought Diallo to the Brattleboro area from Senegal more than 20 years ago, which started African dance and drum classes and the Abene Festival in Brattleboro. Classes and the festival have not occurred since 2019, and Diallo's return this summer has resurrected this opportunity.
On Saturday, there will be a beginner class from 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., followed by a lunch from 12:30 to 1:30 p.m. The class is $15, and lunch is $10. From 2 to 3:30 p.m., a drum class will be presented. The cost is $15. An all-levels class follows from 4 to 6 p.m.; the cost is $25. For access to all classes, the cost is $50 (lunch not included).
Sunday features a beginner class from 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., with an African lunch available for purchase from 12:30 to 1:30 p.m. The class is $12, and lunch is $10. A drum class follows from 1:45 to 2:45 p.m.; the cost is $12. The day concludes with an all-levels class from 3 to 5 p.m.; the cost is $25. For access to all classes, the cost is $40 (lunch not included).
BELLOWS FALLS-The Square in front of the Bellows Falls Opera House will be the stage for the annual "Overflow the Opera House" food drive to benefit Our Place Drop-In Center on Thursday, Sept 18. Beginning at 8 a.m. and continuing to 4 p.m., board members and other volunteers will...
WATERBURY-The Department for Children and Families (DCF) is making federally required changes to 3SquaresVT, Vermont's name for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). Each year, benefit amounts are updated to match federal standards. This year's update also includes new federal rules about how household expenses can be counted. These...
DUMMERSTON-The Green Mountain Conservancy (GMC) will be holding an official trail opening at Canoe Brooke Nature Preserve on Saturday, Sept. 20 (rain date: Sept. 21). The celebration is free. Cider, doughnuts, and apples will be offered as refreshments at the trail head. A guided hike begins at 10 a.m., starting at the Nature Preserve sign on Canoe Brook Road. The hike will be led by Roger Haydock, local geology enthusiast and GMC board member. All are invited to check out...
PUTNEY-On Friday, Sept. 19, at 7:30 p.m., Yellow Barn hosts a free concert with artist-in-residence Seán Morgan-Rooney. He will perform Maurice Ravel's "Miroirs" suite for solo piano, with original works and film created in response by Morgan-Rooney, followed by a post-concert conversation facilitated by Yellow Barn Artistic Director Seth Knopp. "In composing 'Miroirs,' Ravel was seeing his own humanity reflected in nature - the night moths, the melancholy birds, the boat on the ocean," wrote Morgan-Rooney, who has composed four...
WEST BRATTLEBORO-On the evening of Monday, Sept. 22, the Brattleboro Area Jewish Community (BAJC), along with Jewish people all over the world, will celebrate Rosh Hashanah, beginning the Year 5786 on the Jewish calendar. This 10-day holiday period, known as Days of Awe or Days of Repentance, begins on the first day of the first month of the civil year, Tishrei (Sept. 23–24), and ends with Yom Kippur, which begins at sundown on Wednesday, Oct. 1. During this time, observers...
BELLOWS FALLS-"Sun Day," Saturday, Sept. 20, is a global day of action celebrating the rise of clean energy and the movement to leave fossil fuels behind. "Timed with the fall equinox - a moment of transition - people will come together to showcase the power of the sun and wind, the energy sources that can power the world without pollution or profiteering," said organizers in a news release. The Windham-Windsor (Win-Win) regional group of Third Act Vermont is hosting a...
BRATTLEBORO-The Brattleboro Music Center Chamber Series presents Sō Percussion on Friday, Sept. 26, at 7 p.m. For 25 years, Grammy-winning quartet Sō Percussion has redefined chamber music for the 21st century, creating an "exhilarating blend of precision and anarchy, rigor and bedlam" (The New Yorker). Jason Treuting, Adam Sliwinski, Josh Quillen, and Eric Cha-Beach offer collaborations in classical music, pop, indie rock, contemporary dance, and theater. They are also known for their work in education and community, creating opportunities and...
BRATTLEBORO-St. Michael's Episcopal Church, 16 Bradley Ave., is inviting all parishioners, faith communities, and the public to an educational event, "What to Do If ICE Comes to Church?" This presentation and discussion by ACLU of Vermont will be held Tuesday, Sept. 30, from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m., at St. Michael's Undercroft. Recently, the Episcopal Diocese of Vermont wrote to all its churches, declaring that, as a "Sanctuary" diocese, which welcomes and supports refugees and immigrants, people should educate themselves and...
BRATTLEBORO-The Estey Organ Museum will host an open house on Tuesday, Sept. 30, to celebrate several milestones. The public is invited to this free event from 4 to 6 p.m. The day will mark the 211th birthday of Estey Organ Company Founder Jacob Estey. Trustees will also celebrate the restoration of Estey's 100,000th reed organ, completed by Craig Cowing, who has spent the summer readying the organ for a musical debut on the 30th. As Estey organ production approached this...
BRATTLEBORO-While construction continues as part of the ongoing Williams Street retaining wall project, the Brattleboro Department of Public Works says that traffic patterns in the project area will remain altered for the duration of the work. • The western spur of Williams Street and Western Avenue will remain closed. • The eastern spur of Williams Street and Western Avenue has been converted to one-way traffic, allowing vehicles to exit onto Western Avenue only. • Residents must access the eastern side...
PUTNEY-Next Stage Arts Project and Twilight Music present an evening of acoustic folk music by Louisiana-based Ordinary Elephant and Vermont-based Lizzy Mandell & Colin McCaffrey at Next Stage Friday, September 19, at 7:30 pm. Folk duo Ordinary Elephant has spent nearly a decade on an endless tour, earning acclaim and winning fans, "including legends like Tom Paxton and Mary Gauthier," claim organizers in a news release. Married couple Crystal and Pete Damore took home the 2018 International Folk Music Award...
PUTNEY-"Man With No Country" is an exhibition of paintings by Saad Hindal on display at the Putney Public Library. Hindal is an Iraqi-American artist who has 40 years of experience in mixed media, including ceramics, murals, architectural design, and acrylic painting on canvas and wood. A graduate of the Department of Interior Design at the Institute of Fine Arts in Baghdad, Iraq, in 1984, Hindal worked in cinema and theater, executing many sets in both Iraq and Egypt. After seeking...
BRATTLEBORO-Vermont Attorney General Charity Clark will hold a Town Hall meeting concerning her recent work to protect the rule of law and Vermont's sovereignty, including filing 27 lawsuits against the administration since President Donald Trump took office in January. Clark will be joined by state Rep. Emilie Kornheiser, D-Brattleboro, and Windham County state Sen. Nader Hashim on Sunday, Sept. 21, from 2 to 3:30 p.m., at Brattleboro Union High School, 131 Fairground Rd. The lawsuits against the Trump administration filed...
PUTNEY-Putney Community Center (PCCtr), founded in September 1925, will celebrate 100 years of serving Putney and surrounding communities as a gathering place for connection and learning Sunday, Sept. 21, from 2 to 4 p.m. at 10 Christian Square. Board members will offer conversation and light refreshments and will gather suggestions for activities that people would like to see in the newly designated Community Room. PCCtr is one of the organizations participating in Discover Putney's Main Street Festival, also Sept. 21.
TOWNSHEND-The second-floor Townshend Opera House is stirring back to a vibrant stage life following the official kickoff on Aug. 1 of The Friends of the Townshend Town Hall and Opera House. Starting in December and continuing throughout all of 2026, Friends of the Town Hall and Opera House will host a series of live cultural programs-bringing together music, ideas, fun, entertainment and community in a uniquely Townshend setting. Planned programs include: • Music performances - professional music, student ensembles, and...
'Stuffie Sleepover' at Lydia Taft Pratt Library WEST DUMMERSTON - On Thursday, Sept. 18, Lydia Taft Pratt Library, 150 West St., will host its second annual "Stuffie Sleepover." Children of all ages are invited to drop off their stuffed animals to the library during open hours on Thursday, 1 to 7 p.m. The stuffie friends will stay over at the library for a night of adventures. Responsible library staff will make sure the stuffies stay out of too much trouble,
College news • Karson Barclay of Londonderry recently received a B.S. in pharmaceutical sciences from the University of Rhode Island. • The following local students were honored for academic achievement during the summer 2025 semester at Southern New Hampshire University. Named to the President's List were Jessica Waldman of West Dover, Grady Lockerby of Putney, Nathaniel Sanderson of Newfane, Michelle Little of Brattleboro, Charlie Slicer of Brattleboro, Briana Lyman of Brattleboro, Caitlin Faiola of Brattleboro, Ashleigh Vanleeuwen of Brattleboro, Magdalen...
BRATTLEBORO-ByWay Books & More, 399 Canal St., hosts Gregg Orifici, a poet, memoirist, international educator and garden and landscape designer, on Wednesday, Sept. 17, at 6 p.m. Orifici has gardened in residence at the Great Dixter in England, Villa San Giuliano in Sicily, and Jardin Botanico de Vallarta in Mexico, and he says those experiences have inspired his creativity, both on the page and in the New England gardens he designs. Orifici holds a Juris Doctor degree from Vanderbilt University...
The writer represents the Windham-4 district (Putney and Dummerston) in the Vermont House of Representatives. PUTNEY-It can be easy to get discouraged these days when we see and hear things that we couldn't have imagined just a few months ago. These clowns in the White House want that, though. To discourage us, to see despair. If for no other reason, I'm not letting them think that what they're doing is working. More than that, I'm hopeful from meeting with kids...
BRATTLEBORO-In-Sight Photography Project recently announced the appointment of Jessica Iris as its new administrative and development director. A self-proclaimed "townie" with deep roots in the region's arts community, Iris brings a wealth of experience in arts leadership and a lifelong passion for arts education. Iris is a 2003 graduate of Brattleboro Union High School, and went on to earn a BFA in theater from Boston University in 2007. She worked at the New England Youth Theatre and with Music Together...
Joshua Davis adds: "I have no relation to Richard Davis, though it would be an honor to be a family." WESTMINSTER-In following up to the recent article about the Windham County Heat Fund, I want to begin by affirming that at SEVCA and across southeastern Vermont, advocates and service providers are very concerned about the funding landscape facing human services. This summer's reconciliation budget actions shredded support for Medicaid and SNAP, and while the impacts will take time to be...
SPRINGFIELD-Sens. Sanders and Welch, as well as Rep. Balint, are seeking to block offensive arms sales to Israel, a democratic ally. Public sentiment is increasingly wary of continuous U.S. arms support to Israel, especially as concerns grow about civilian casualties in Gaza. These concerns are understandable. But cutting or conditioning U.S. aid would not stop Hamas' violence - it would risk empowering it. This war did not begin with Israel. It began when Hamas, a ruthless terrorist organization, brutally murdered...
Tim Maciel is a longtime teacher, a former college administrator, and an education consultant. He is also a member of the Windham Southeast School Board, but emphasizes that the opinions he expresses here "are entirely my own." BRATTLEBORO-This Sept. 17 marks Constitution Day, the anniversary of the signing of our nation's foundational document. This year especially is a time to reflect not just on the wisdom of the Constitution's principles, but also on the responsibilities it entrusts to us as...
BRATTLEBORO-Kerry Secrest has been a successful business person, a civic leader, and someone who never misses an opportunity to lift up her community. Now Secrest adds one more accolade: She is the 2025 Brattleboro Regional Chamber of Commerce's Person of the Year. She received the award Sept. 11 at the Chamber's annual award mixer at the Brattleboro Country Club. "Like many women," Secrest said, "I don't have a singular commitment. I haven't done 50 years of one thing. It's about...
-A loss is a loss in high school football, but in the Brattleboro Bears 28-14 defeat at the hands of the Middlebury Tigers on Sept. 12 at Natowich Field, there were more positives than negatives for the Bears. While a bad second quarter, where Middlebury scored four touchdowns, turned out to be the Bears's undoing, Brattleboro managed to hold a quality Division I opponent scoreless for three quarters, and made the Tigers sweat a little in the second half. After...
BRATTLEBORO-Thank you for the great coverage of WOOL-FM in Bellows Falls. I've been a DJ on WOOL since I moved up here 20 years ago, hosting After Hours on Sundays from 8 to 10 p.m., where I interview local and international musicians and play their music. I was trained by Nancy Stefanik and have been having a great time doing the show ever since. I wanted to do radio in college but all of the slots were filled, so this...
HINSDALE, N.H.-Nancy Braus is upset that Trump is Hitler and children in Gaza are starving. If Trump were Hitler, Braus and her friends standing on the bridge and in front of the post office would simply have disappeared. As to starving children in Gaza (and Ukraine, China, Africa - all over our world), this sad reality is typically caused by wars we citizens have little power to stop. Protest signs accomplish very little. Meanwhile, Isaac Evans-Frantz writes of medically vulnerable...
BRATTLEBORO-Poet and teacher Ann Gengarelly will read from her recently published collection of poems, Loss and Invention, at Mitchell-Giddings Fine Arts gallery Friday, Sept. 19, from 5 to 7 p.m. Chard deNiord, who served as Vermont's poet laureate from 2015 to 2019, will introduce Gengarelly and her poetry. The book's cover features a painting, "Reflecting," by Brattleboro artist Petria Mitchell, who co-owns the venue. The word "reflecting" resonates with many of the poetic themes of the book, including journeys, dark...
Tristan Roberts (tristan@tristanroberts.org) is a former state representative, a small-scale farmer, and a writer who explores the intersections of rural life, policy, and human dignity from Quill Nook Farm in Halifax. This piece is a response to multiple responses to his original Viewpoint in the Aug. 20 issue, "The long, uphill battle against the working class." HALIFAX-I'm grateful to Steev Lynn and other letter writers for adding nuance to my portrayal of Enclosure's impact. Lynn is right that pre-Enclosure serfs...
BRATTLEBORO-After a week of contract negotiations, Windham Southeast School District (WSESD) school bus drivers and TravelKuz, the district's bus contractor, just one issue remains to be resolved. But if it isn't fixed by Wednesday night, drivers say they are prepared to walk out. On Monday, Sept. 15, Teamsters Local 597 President Curtis Clough told The Commons that the only outstanding issue to signing a five-year contract is one TravelKuz had agreed to in previous negations. Clough said the bus company,
BRATTLEBORO-Australian (secret) ballot is the only way all the registered voters of Brattleboro get to vote. It is the only option that allows all voters to express their opinion and communicate their preferences. Representative Town Meeting (RTM) or open Town Meeting (OTM) serve only the favored few who can attend a 10- or 12-hour meeting before being able to vote. Not everyone can attend RTM or OTM. If a senior is housebound, they can't attend. First responders on duty can't...
ATHENS-Jeff Potter's column argues that because some United Nations officials and nongovernmental organizations argue Israel's conduct in Gaza is genocide, it is "unrealistic to pretend otherwise." That framing misleads by inflating the credibility of those sources and emptying the word of its legal and moral definition. Genocide is not a synonym for war, destruction, or mass suffering. The 1948 Genocide Convention defines it as acts committed with the intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnic, racial,
WINDHAM-The recent acquisition of several properties throughout town has led to a call for more residents to become involved in its government. Selectboard Member Michael Pelton said the town is proposing creating three committees: one focused on maintenance and operations, another on capital planning, and one dedicated to community spaces and activities. Pelton said the town would need between nine and 20 volunteers to serve on the committees to evenly distribute the workload in managing all the properties of the...
WILLIAMSVILLE-The passing of Rt. Rev. Thomas Clark Ely on Aug. 30 at age 73 has sent waves of dismay and compassion through the many communities with which he interacted. "If I were a rich man...." Tom once sang those words as he performed Tevye's optimistic tune from Fiddler on the Roof for one of the many Rock River Players (RRP) cabarets he was in. He was a rich man. Rich in friends, accomplishments, impact on others, service to the oppressed...
Daniel Quipp served on the Brattleboro Selectboard from 2019 to 2025. BRATTLEBORO-In the last month of my service as a member of the Brattleboro Selectboard, we held an unprecedented number of meetings, the first of which was a joint meeting with the Hinsdale (New Hampshire) Board of Selectmen at their Town Hall. This meeting was the first time both boards had met in the course of the multiyear project to build a new bridge over the Connecticut River, replacing the...
BRATTLEBORO-It's a win-win. While Brattleboro has a chance to revel on a healthy Flat Street abuzz with lots of activities and entertainment, dozens of young people have a chance to be in the limelight as artists, planners, and musicians. On Saturday, Sept. 20, from 5 to 9 p.m., the Preston Lot - the parking lot across from the Transportation Center on Flat Street - morphs into Teen Street, an event for area teens. The collaboration involving Downtown Brattleboro Alliance (DBA),
WILMINGTON-Just like their coach, the Twin Valley boys' varsity soccer team just keeps winning. The Wildcats rolled over visiting Green Mountain, 10-1, on Sept. 9, to give Buddy Hayford's 500th win as a high school soccer coach. The Wildcats put the game out of reach early. Alex Sullivan scored off of a Brayden Brown corner kick in the third minute. Carson McHale added a score four minutes later, taking a pass from Brown and beating GM keeper Colin Rose. Sullivan...