SAXTONS RIVER-On Sept. 27, from noon to 4:30 p.m., 24 Main Street hosts its second annual "Chili Fest" in front of the Community Building on Main Street.
They'll offer an array of activities including the Chili Cook-Off, fresh cider tasting, the Fun Fair, a village exploration adventure for older children, a silent Auction and quilt raffle, and a 50/50 raffle. Visitors can dance the day away with music provided by WOOL Radio, grab a hot dog at The Dog House, and enjoy a locally-brewed libation from Mt. Holly Beer. Additional beverages and desserts will be available at the River Refreshment Stand.
Cook-Off Winners for Best Individual (Meat), Best Individual (Vegetarian), and Best Organization will be announced at 2:15 p.m.
After the Cook-Off, at 2:30 p.m. in the Assembly Hall will be the Pleasant Valley Cabaret, a variety show of local acts. Cabaret admission is free; donations are optional. The silent auction's final round of bidding will happen during intermission.
BELLOWS FALLS-The Stage 33 Live Podcast assembles live-performance clips from the Stage 33 Live documentation archives. A new hour-long episode of the podcast comes out on the third Thursday of every month in both audio and video formats on YouTube, Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music, iHeart, Pandora, and several...
WESTMINSTER-The Westminster Conservation Commission, Southeastern Vermont Community Action (SEVCA), and the Windham County Natural Resources Conservation District (WCNRCD) invite everyone to join them for a birding event Friday, Oct. 3, from 8 to 10 a.m. at SEVCA, 91 Buck Drive. This event celebrates a collaborative project between the three...
TOWNSHEND-Grace Cottage will host two Saturday flu vaccine clinics, on Oct. 4 and Nov. 8, from 9 a.m. until noon, at Grace Cottage Family Health, 185 Grafton Rd. The flu shots at these clinics are available to the public; one does not need to be an established patient at Grace Cottage. Pre-registration is recommended (call 802-365-4331); walk-ins will be accommodated as space permits. Anyone under age 18 must be accompanied by a parent or guardian. Most insurance covers flu shots;
BRATTLEBORO-"Sucka Punch: Graffiti Jam," is a free, three-day celebration of graffiti and hip-hop culture. Taking place on Arch Street, across from the Latchis Theatre, the event kicks off during Brattleboro's first-Friday Gallery Walk on Oct. 3 at 5 p.m. and continues through Sunday, Oct. 5. "Graffiti, the first and oldest element of hip-hop, is a people's art based in storytelling through modern hieroglyphs, bold letters, vibrant colors, and abstract expressions," explained organizers in a news release. "Sucka Punch brings that...
PUTNEY-Next Stage Arts Project presents the Soggy Po' Boys, New England's own ambassadors of New Orleans sound, Saturday, Oct. 4, at 7:30 p.m. Since their formation in 2012, the Soggy Po' Boys have performed New Orleans music across the Northeast and beyond, bringing their mix of traditional jazz, Caribbean tunes, brass band grooves, funk, and soul to concert halls, street corners, libraries, and festivals alike. "Although New Hampshire isn't the most obvious home for a group so devoted to the...
BRATTLEBORO-Vermont Adult Learning (VAL) recently welcomed community members, local businesses, and prospective students to an open house at its new Windham County Learning Center at 113 Technology Drive. The event showcased what VAL calls "the transformative impact of adult education." It also celebrated a $20,000 grant from Comcast supporting the Center's new Digital Learning Lab, which expands digital literacy and technology access. The grant is being used to fund essential technology programs, upgrade 11 computers, and enable the purchase of...
Community apple pie making begins in DummerstonDUMMERSTON - Pie making began this week for the Dummerston Congregational Church's annual Apple Pie Festival Sunday, Oct. 12. Everyone is welcome to help with apple-slicing and crust-making while meeting members of the community. Two shifts, 9 a.m. to noon and 5 to 9 p.m., take place Monday through Friday until Oct. 9 in the church's basement kitchen at 1535 Middle Rd. There is no need to stay for entire shift. Community service hours...
Obituaries • Dr. Mary Louise Bove, 70, of Columbia, New Hampshire, formerly of Brattleboro. Died of cancer at her Fish Pond home on June 9, 2025. Mary was born in Las Vegas, Nevada, on April 27, 1955, to Dorothy and Louis Bove. One of four children, she grew up in the family home in Portland, Maine, spent summers at Higgins Beach in Scarborough, and graduated from Deering High School. After earning a B.A. in clinical psychology from Trinity College of...
WEST BRATTLEBORO-The Brattleboro Area Jewish Community and All Souls Unitarian Universalist Church are co-sponsoring a book reading and presentation on All for You: A World War II Family Memoir of Love, Separation, and Loss by New Hampshire author Dena Rueb Romero. The free event will take place Saturday, Oct. 4, at 7 p.m., at the West Village Meeting House, 29 South St. Rueb Romero grew up in Hanover, New Hampshire, the daughter of a Lutheran mother and a Jewish father,
BRATTLEBORO-Peter Siegel, founding member of The Gaslight Tinkers, hosts local seasoned and touring songwriter acts on the first Sunday of every month at Marigold on Main Street. On Oct. 5, from 7 to 9 p.m., he will be joined by singer-songwriter and songleader Shawn Magee. "Shawn is a masterful lyricist with deep musical roots. He was known as a part of the Barbary Ghosts, a well known sea chantey singing band from the West Coast," wrote Siegel in a news...
PUTNEY-Next Stage Arts presents the return of "Vermont Comedy All Stars Live Stand-up Comedy Showcase" Friday, Oct. 3, at 7:30 p.m. at Next Stage Arts, 15 Kimball Hill. Hosted and produced by Gordon Clark and the nonprofit Vermont Comedy All Stars, the evening features a lineup of comedians from across New England, "each bringing a unique style and a sharp sense of humor to the stage," wrote organizers in a news release. Featured performers include: • Tim Lovett: Appearing on...
NEWFANE-The Crowell Art Gallery at Moore Free Library will present "Have Watercolors, Will Travel," a variety of paintings from Karen Becker from Oct. 1 through 30. A reception will be held on Thursday, Oct. 16 from 4:30 to 6 p.m. This exhibit, with the theme of landscapes, animals, and abstraction, will consist of a retrospective of Becker's work going back to the early 1980s, when she lived in New York City for three years. "I did some very hard-edged geometric...
BRATTLEBORO-Every year the Vermont Pastel Society (VPS) hosts a juried member show somewhere in the state. This year, the show will be held in Brattleboro. Vermont Artisan Designs on Main Street will host the show that opens Friday, Oct. 3, during the monthly Gallery Walk festivities. The show will continue through Nov. 22. An awards reception will be held from 5 to 7 p.m. on Friday, Nov. 7, at the gallery. The mission statement of the VPS, an all-volunteer organization...
Tim Stevenson (bereal@vermontel.net), a community organizer with Post Oil Solutions, is the author of Resilience and Resistance: Building Sustainable Communities for a Post Oil Age (Green Writers Press) and Transformative Activism: A Values Revolution in Everyday Life in a Time of Societal Collapse (Apocryphile Press). He is at work on a book about mutual care associations. ATHENS-Thanks to the efforts of the president's special advisor for cruelty, Stephen Miller, and the principal architect of the far-right Project 2025 document, Russell...
-The Bellows Falls Terriers have hit the midpoint of the high school football season with a 4-0 record and a string of dominant performances in their wake. In the 112th edition of the rivalry game with the Springfield Cosmos at Hadley Field on Sept. 26, the Terriers cruised to a 49-8 victory to retain "The Trophy" for the 15th straight season. This game featured 447 yards of rushing by the BF offense, while the defense intercepted Springfield quarterback Maddox Wilson...
Nancy Braus, a retired independent bookseller, is a longtime activist. GUILFORD-I was confident that U.S. Rep. Becca Balint would never have voted for a resolution to honor the memory of Charles Kirk. I was astounded at the vote totals: Only 58 Democrats had the spine to say they would not honor a man who built his life, career, and fortune on hate and manipulation, mostly targeted at high school and college students in their formative years. And all of two...
Chris Morrow represents the Windham-Bennington-Windsor district, which includes the Windham County town of Londonderry, in the Vermont House of Representatives. Keep in touch with him at morrowforvt@gmail.com. WESTON-So much is going on in the world! Where to start? I am a bit overwhelmed by the brazen, successful takedown of our First Amendment by the president and his minions at the Federal Communications Commission and elsewhere. It is staggering. Despite my many disagreements with the president, I took solace in the...
NEWFANE-Windham County is home to 23 municipalities and a hodgepodge of law enforcement coverage. The towns of Brattleboro, Dover, and Wilmington operate municipal police departments, as does the village of Bellows Falls. Fifteen other towns contract with the Windham County Sheriff's Department to provide policing services; the rest rely on the Vermont State Police. A handful elect or employ town constables. Sheriff Mark Anderson of the Windham County Sheriff's Office (WCSO), believes the existing system leaves rural communities without equitable...
BRATTLEBORO-Ambassador Peter Galbraith will take the podium at the 2025 Windham World Affairs Council (WWAC) annual Galbraith Lecture - as he has regularly since 1999 - this year to deliver a talk, "Hot Spots: Revolution in Syria, Ukraine's Munich moment, NATO in peril, War in Iran, and the Humanitarian Crisis in Gaza," on Wednesday, Oct. 8, at Centre Congregational Church on Main Street. According to a WWAC news release, Galbraith, the son of the distinguished economist John Kenneth Galbraith (1908–2006),
BELLOWS FALLS-Parks Place Community Resource Center welcomes October with two community events designed to support families and bring neighbors together: the annual "Rake in the Diapers" Fall Diaper Drive and "Community Trunk-or-Treat." "These events bring together the best of fall - generosity, fun, and community spirit," said Parks Place Executive Director Jennifer Tolaro-Heidbrink in a news release. "By donating diapers, joining us at Dari Joy, or coming out for Trunk-or-Treat, neighbors are making a direct impact on families right here...
WEST DUMMERSTON-Lydia's Friends Inc., the friends-of-the-library organization that supports the Lydia Taft Pratt Library, hosts a presentation by visiting Irish author Peter Keenan Saturday, Oct. 4, at 4 p.m. at the library located in the Dummerston Community Center, 150 West St. Keenan is the author of a trilogy published by Columba Books, including: The Birth of Jesus the Jew: Midrash and the Infancy Gospels, The Death of Jesus the Jew: Midrash in the Shadow of the Holocaust and, most recently,
BRATTLEBORO-The Vermont Center for Photography (VCP) is holding its second annual Silent Auction through the month of October, a major fundraising event featuring more than 100 photographic prints from a diverse group of regional, national, and international artists. The auction directly supports VCP's mission to promote the photographic arts through exhibitions and education and is now open for bidding online at 32auctions.com/vcp-2025. The auction includes works by artists such as Lotte Jacobi, Dona Ann McAdams, Meridel Rubenstein, Jen Morris, and...
BRATTLEBORO-ByWay Books & More, 399 Canal St., hosts Clara Goodband as she debuts The Blood of Shadows and Matt Spencer who will present his collection of short stories, Chapel of the Falcon on Saturday, Oct. 4, at 5 p.m. Both are fresh voices in the fantasy genre. Each will read from their new book, discuss their stories, and sign books. Goodband grew up in the mountains of southern Vermont. While being homeschooled, she was able to follow her passion for...
BRATTLEBORO-The Brattleboro Museum & Art Center's popular annual "Lego Contest & Exhibit" will return to the museum for the 18th year in a row, opening with an awards ceremony on Wednesday, Oct. 8, at 5:30 p.m. (doors open at 5). The exhibit will be open 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Thursday and Friday and 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday through Monday, Oct. 13, Indigenous Peoples Day. Prizes will be awarded in six age groups, and one structure will be...
BRATTLEBORO-The Winston Prouty Center for Child and Family Development has received a $1 million donation to open a family shelter on its campus, a project designed to provide safe housing for families experiencing homelessness in Windham County. In a news release announcing the donation, the organization anticipates that the shelter "will serve as an immediate lifeline for families who have no stable place to live, offering not only a roof but also access to support services." "This investment makes it...
BRATTLEBORO-The battle against children's addiction to social media is coming to town. After a special screening of the film Can't Look Away: The Case Against Social Media at 4 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 5, at the Latchis Theatre in Brattleboro, Sen. Wendy Harrison (D-Windham), the lead supporter of this year's Act 63, a law that puts restrictions on the way social media companies can interact with Vermont students, will be leading a panel discussion. Admission is by donation ($10 suggested), but...
ROCKINGHAM-The Rockingham Selectboard has approved an updated and amended zoning ordinance for the first time in 25 years. The new bylaws, which became effective Sept. 10, are the result of five years of work and the efforts of some 20 local citizens and town officials. The ordinance, enacted by the Selectboard by a 4–0 vote on Aug. 20, updates several key zoning changes that will shape town and village development for years. Some of the biggest changes have to do...
NEWFANE-Moore Free Library presents writer, sculptor, cartoonist, and filmmaker Annie Weatherwax on Sunday, Oct. 5, at the Williamsville Hall. The occasion is a screening of Weatherwax's Monster in a Dress, billed as "a story about family that will catch you off guard." The 25-minute short will be followed by an artist talk with the filmmaker - a part-time Newfane resident who describes herself for this project as a literary cartoonist - answering audience questions. After earning a degree in sculpture...
Carolyn North (carolynnorthbooks.com) is a writer of books that address "the interface between matter and spirit." PUTNEY-I wonder if there is some hidden use for the political mess we've gotten ourselves into. What can we learn from these times of breakdown and breakup that leave us bereft and frightened, not quite knowing where to turn? When I was growing up Jewish in a household of helpless grief during Hitler time, I bided my time, telling myself that "every dog would...
DOVER-Goats, face painting, and a bouncy house. That's just the tip of the iceberg of Dover Day 2025. The fall festival is scheduled from noon to 4 pm Sunday, October 5, at Dover Town Hall and Dover Free Library. The event features numerous activities for community members, including games like pumpkin bowling and eating doughnuts from a string, live music with Logan Boyd, fire trucks, tractors, goats from Dover Hill Creamery, and a cow named Rose, the pet of Dover...