BRATTLEBORO — The treasure hunt is on.
When visitors navigate the maze of hallways and studios this year at the Cotton Mill 18th Annual Open Studio and Holiday Sale in Brattleboro, they'll discover a bounty of rare and one-of-a-kind gifts, edible treats, demonstrations, and performances.
More than 50 artists, artisans, and performers will open their studios and booths to holiday shoppers Dec. 2-4 at 74 Cotton Mill Hill. From intricate jewelry and fanciful fiber arts to small-batch spirits and handcrafted chocolates, the array of locally-made products will be as vibrant as the community that pours into the building each year for this much-anticipated event.
Tenants will welcome visitors to witness the magic and artistry of their trades in 18 open studios that produce metal works, ceramics, furniture, jewelry, sculpture, photography, handmade food products, and more.
Eclectic offerings from tenants New England Center for Circus Arts, the Vermont Jazz Center, and SoBo community dance center, as well as several visiting musicians, will entertain throughout the weekend. Thirty jury-selected artists and craftspeople from around Windham County will also sell their products throughout the building.
This year, exhibitors will cluster in marketplaces throughout the building. Shoppers can explore each marketplace to find edible delights from granola and handmade confections to locally produced spirits and hard cider, as well as a wide selection of creative gifts, organic body products, pet products, and wearable art.
Seven new exhibitors join the event this year with offerings as diverse as forged steel utensils, watercolors, and block prints.
As visitors walk the halls they'll enjoy artwork from area schools including the River Gallery School of Art and Brattleboro Union High and Brattleboro Area Middle Schools. Breakfast and lunch offerings will be available for purchase by Entera Catering throughout the weekend; on Friday, from 4 to 8 p.m., Dosa Kitchen will offer South Indian delights.
A variety of artisanal products will be raffled off in a paid raffle, and a free raffle will give away a basket filled with locally-produced food products. Drawings for both raffles will be on Sunday at 2 p.m.
Admission to the event is free, and free performances by several of the building's tenants promise to liven up every floor of the building.
On Saturday, the Vermont Jazz Center will present performances by student groups, and SoBo Studio will share hip hop, modern dance, and improvisational performances throughout the day.
On both Saturday and Sunday, Stephen Procter and Will Finkel offer ceramic demonstrations and NECCA will offer circus arts recitals and performances and sample classes for children and adults.
Aegis Art Studio will host performances by local musicians on all three days, including Scott Aegis on Friday, Jesse Lepkoff, Michael J. Hertz, and Sunny Lowdown on Saturday and Aura Shards on Sunday featuring Anders Burrows and Jed Blume.
“We frequently go out into the community to share our art form, but we love having the community come to us to see our home,” says Elsie Smith, co-founder of NECCA. “Visitors can watch our students in action 'behind the scenes.' It's like a peek backstage before the show begins!”
On Friday night at 8 p.m., the Vermont Jazz Center will present a tribute to Ella Fitzgerald with a 17-piece band and vocal diva Wanda Houston; tickets are required.
The 18th Annual Cotton Mill Open Studios is a chance for community members to celebrate the local arts culture - and they do so in droves. More than 2,000 shoppers attend the event each year. Sponsored by the Brattleboro Development Credit Corporation and Vermont Public Radio, the weekend is a favorite in the community.
“It not only brings hundreds of people from the region into the building to have fun and buy some affordable gifts, it gives all of us in the building some exposure in the community and to each other,” said longtime tenant Andy Burrows of Pro Lingua Associates. “This celebration is good for the creative people involved here and for our remarkable Greater Brattleboro community.”