The Manitou Project's summer concert series continues on Sunday, Aug. 14, from 4 to 5:30 p.m., at its forest theater nestled in pine and hardwoods.
Multi-instrumentalist and award-winning composer/performer Derrik Jordan joins tabla and handpan virtuoso Jed Blume in their blend of melodious, percussive sound.
Jordan's influences from the world over - African, Asian, Middle Eastern and Brazilian - meet Blume's world fusion style with roots in Indian raga and beyond.
“Magic unfolds with these acclaimed artists playing woods music together; shifts between violin, flute, tabla, djembe and handpan - crisp and trancelike - bring birds and squirrels into the act as well,” organizers said in a news release. “The immersive, healing power of the experience in such a beautiful, natural place is not to be missed.”...
Actors Theatre Playhouse presents Marie Jones' Stones in His Pockets,“a brave vaudeville of the characters and comedy of rural Irish life,” say organizers. Performances are Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays from Aug. 11 through Aug. 27, at 7:30 p.m. Marilyn Tullgren directs the production. Set in rural County Kerry, Stones...
Remember a time when it was possible to travel the world with an up-to-date passport that simply validated your identity and sent you on your way? It was easy to undertake an exploration of a world full of random pleasures, surprising beauty, and serendipitous encounters. Today it takes several...
Next Stage's Bandwagon Summer Series presents Slavic Soul Party! on Sunday, Aug. 14, at 6 p.m. at the Retreat Farm on Route 30. “Easily one of the most exciting artists we're bringing this summer, Slavic Soul Party! checks all the boxes,” says Keith Marks, executive director of Next Stage Arts, said in a news release. “They're masters of the Roma style of music that encapsulates dancing energy, Old World sounds, and they make it so fresh and new that audiences...
The Brattleboro Literary Festival invites everyone to join them online on Friday, Aug 12, at 5 p.m., when the August edition of the Literary Cocktail Hour presents Colleen Kinder, Jacquelyn Mitchard, and Peter Orner with Letter to a Stranger: Essays to the Ones Who Haunt Us, the book in which 65 extraordinary writers grapple with this mystery: How can an ephemeral encounter with a stranger leave such an eternal mark? When Kinder put out a call for authors to write...
I heartily endorse Nancy Braus's applause for the Republican Congress that passed the 13th, 14th, and 15th Amendments to our Constitution, that abolished slavery, enshrined equal protection of the law, and protected voting rights for all Americans. I also agree with her powerful condemnation of the Democratic white supremacists who aggressively undermined the promise of two of those amendments in the post–Civil War South. I share her concern about a possible “fascist takeover,” especially of our economy. I learned in...
You know what? There really was a vast right-wing conspiracy. I've watched it play out over my lifetime, and with the overturning of Roe v. Wade, now it's achieved one of its major goals. It would have been better had we prevented that, seeing as we vastly outnumber those who support the position taken by the court (many of the positions!), but we didn't. Too pure, too left, too lazy, not paying attention - it doesn't matter why. That's all...
To all Windham Southeast School District administration and staff: We wish to acknowledge your hard work, determination, and commitment through the 2021–22 school year. You have worked miracles when the days were dark so that children would go home with smiles and delightful stories. Thank you. Adults in every school have created so many positive experiences for students. This achievement is due to the neverending source of energy that was evident as you entered the building, as you greeted the...
Nancy Braus' letter on a Facist takeover (Commons, July 27, 2022) is rife with hackneyed progressive talking points and lacks real substance. Her rant is blatantly racist. She insinuates that black voters, black citizens, black men and people of color, and no other ethnic or political group can produce a legitimate ID; request, complete and return an absentee ballot; or otherwise find their way to the polls. This is absurd. William Barr, Trump's AG, found that, while there were election...
As someone who follows local and national news reports, I am worried about the recent extreme heat and wildfires raging across the country. I feel for people who lose their lives and livelihoods to extreme weather, and I'm scared that it's only a matter of time until it directly hits me and my community. Seeing headlines in local news outlets covering these climate disasters made me realize that most news stories show no connection between them and their main cause:
Most of us have been taught that leadership means top-down-rule, with one person, often a man, at the top of a pyramid-type organizational structure. When that structure does not exist, it is understandable that some people become uncomfortable and insecure. Another structure for leadership of an organization is a collaborative model, without the hierarchical form of decision-making. Currently, we are fortunate to have at Brattleboro Union High School three very capable women leaders who are committed to collaboration with teachers,
Vendor applications are now being accepted for the 17th season of the Brattleboro Winter Farmers' Market, whose mission is “to support sustainable agriculture by providing a viable winter-season direct market outlet for local community-based farms while building community and promoting regional sustainability.” The market will open for the 2022–23 season on Saturday, Nov. 5 and will operate through March 25, 2023. Weekly market hours are 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. New or returning vendors with new craft, prepared-food, or value-added...
Residents reminded to trim overgrown vegetation BRATTLEBORO - Property owners are advised that they responsible for trimming and maintaining vegetation on their property if it may interfere with the public right of way. “Overgrown vegetation creates an unsafe situation for pedestrians who may have to walk in the roadway to get by,” the Public Works Department wrote in a news release. “It also impacts the sight distance for vehicular traffic. Please inspect and trim your vegetation accordingly.” According to town...
ArtLords is a global Afghan-led movement to use art for peacebuilding and social transformation. Since last summer's takeover of Afghanistan by the Taliban, ArtLords' 50 artists have fled the country and have been in hiding, scattered around the world. Five ArtLords who have found refuge in Vermont - Marwa, Negina, Meetra, Zuhra, and Abdul - will work with tape artists Leah Smith and Michael Townshend to create a series of 20 temporary murals around Brattleboro, starting this week, to honor...
U.S. Sens. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., and Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., announced on Aug. 1 that more than $254 million that they requested on behalf of 89 Vermont projects has been included in the annual Senate Appropriations bills released last week. These 12 bills will fund the federal government for fiscal year 2023 and will have to be negotiated before being passed by both the House and Senate and signed into law by the president. According to a news release, Sanders's and...
It was nice while it lasted. The Brattleboro Little League 12-year-old All Stars swept through the Vermont tournament without suffering a loss en route to a state championship, but they knew the degree of difficulty would be much higher in the New England Region tournament in Bristol, Conn. They opened on Aug. 6 against a team that also swept through its state tournament undefeated, Bangor, Maine. Despite another strong pitching performance by Brattleboro's Senji Kimura, Bangor shut down the Brattleboro...
As elsewhere, the area has lost many loved ones to the coronavirus pandemic, with records showing that 40 people in Windham County have died from complications of COVID-19. Compassionate Brattleboro and Brattleboro Area Hospice will lead the community in honoring and remembering these loved ones in a brief ceremony at the beginning of Gallery Walk on Friday, Sept. 2 (rain date Saturday, Sept. 3), at 5 p.m., on the lawn between the Municipal Building and Brooks Memorial Library. “Our hope...
This week, the Vermont Jazz Center (VJC) is holding its 47th annual summer jazz workshop at The Putney School, the first time since 2019 that there's been a full, in-person workshop. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the 2020 workshop was held virtually, and it was convenient to invite numerous guest teachers to participate regardless of location. For example, bassist Linda May Han Oh taught from her studio in Perth, Australia. The 2021 workshop combined online and in-person programs. Pianists studied...
Grafton Village Cheese, a business of the nonprofit Windham Foundation in Grafton, Vt., was awarded two Best in Class medals for their Traditional Clothbound Cheddar and their Bear Hill at the 33rd Annual American Cheese Society Judging and Competition in July in Portland, Ore. Grafton Village Cheese produces handmade aged cheddar and cave-aged specialty cheeses using milk from small family farms. In June, Grafton Village Cheese took home four awards from the International Cheese & Dairy Awards Judging, celebrating its...
The Connecticut River Chapter of The Vermont Watercolor Society will present their upcoming watercolor show at Main Street Arts, 39 Main Street, Saxtons River, from Aug. 14 to Sept.10. With 72 members from the Tunbridge area to the southern Vermont border, and including New Hampshire members, there will be approximately 35 original and diverse watercolor pieces exhibited in the gallery. An opening reception is scheduled for Friday, Aug. 19, from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. Regular gallery hours are Fridays and...
The Selectboard won't adopt a local statement promoting abortion rights to avoid potentially complicating a statewide November vote on the issue. The five-member board has spent a month considering a “Resolution to Protect Pregnant People's Access to Abortion,” which has come with calls to financially assist supportive health care providers with up to $100,000 in tax money. “In the face of oppressive action, oppressive laws, laws that take us backwards, laws that infringe on people's liberties, it's important to say...
College news • Lia Clark, a member of the Class of 2023 from Saxtons River, Alex Shriver, a member of the Class of 2025 from Brattleboro, and Broden Walsh, a member of the Class of 2026 from Marlboro, were all named to the Dean's List for the spring 2022 semester at Tufts University in Medford, Mass. Transitions • Brattleboro Savings & Loan has promoted Karen Fortier to the post of Deposit Operations Manager, handling programs such as online banking, deposit...
Rock River Players (RRP) will hold open auditions for The Importance of Being Earnest in the Williamsville Hall on Thursday, Aug. 11, 4 to 6 p.m.; Friday, Aug. 12, 10 a.m. to noon; Monday, Aug. 15, 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. Directed by Annie Landenberger, Wilde's comedy will run Nov. 4–6 and 11–13 in the Williamsville Hall. Wilde, a late 19th-century Irish-born playwright is known for his quick wit, rapid-fire repartee, and quirky, rich characters. In this satire on the follies...
Amid a nationwide shortage of responders, southern Vermont's largest emergency medical service provider is launching the state's first EMS-specific training school. Rescue Inc. will tap $1 million in federal and state funds to open a new Vermont EMS Academy in Newfane. “Many rural communities in Vermont and around the region rely on their local emergency medical responders, but there's a dearth of qualified individuals and training opportunities,” said Marc Schauber, the academy's program manager. “With many communities being an hour...
Steve Crofter, Laurel Green, and Grace Waryas are the recipients of the Greater Falls Connections (GFC) Active Community Engagement (ACE) Award for 2022. The awards were presented during the organization's annual meeting on Wednesday, July 27, at the Rockingham Recreation Center in Bellows Falls. The ACE Award, according to GFC, “recognizes inspired, positive action happening every day in the community. Recipients of this award are the unsung heroes within our community who foster positive change and are dedicated to creating...
It is unreasonable and disingenuous for the Windham Southeast School District and the Windham Southeast Supervisory Union school board members to continue to say they know nothing about why Brattleboro Union High School's principal, Steve Perrin, has been on paid leave since April. It is also irresponsible for there to be no plan in place to reinstate or rehire for that position by September. Currently, the leadership team at Brattleboro Union High School consists of three administrators to carry out...
The Arts Council of Windham County (ACWC) recently announced the grantees for this year's Brattleboro Town Arts Fund (TAF) program. Ten community-focused creative projects were selected from a competitive field of proposals received in this third year of the TAF program. According to a news release, TAF “promotes the development and presentation of creative projects that contribute positively to the greater community and to the vibrancy and diversity of Brattleboro's arts and cultural landscape.” This year's grant program continues a...
Historical fiction author Bill Lockwood published his sixth novel, Forced Entry? The former social worker and journalist said he had long wanted to write a book, but it took him until after he retired to get one published. “I have now had six books published by The Wild Rose Press - the first in 2016, the most recent May 18, 2022 - I've written a few that haven't gotten published too,” he said. Lockwood's previous books include Gare de Lyon,
The Brattleboro Museum & Art Center (BMAC) presents a free online Abenaki cooking demonstration with chef Jessee Lawyer on Thursday, Aug. 11, at 7 p.m. This event is presented in connection with “Nebizun: Water Is Life,” an exhibit of artwork by Abenaki artists of the Champlain Valley and Connecticut River Valley regions, on view at BMAC through October 10. Lawyer is the head chef at Sweetwaters in Burlington. As a culinary artist, he creates indigenous specialties using Wabanaki ingredients. For...
Mitchell-Giddings Fine Arts was recently recognized for its cultural contributions to the Monadnock Region and southern Vermont. Gallery co-owner Petria Mitchell called the gallery's recent receipt of a “Presenting the Arts” award at the eighth annual Ruth & James Ewing Arts Awards “a big honor.” “We received this award because of how we present the artists' work, how well we do it, and our attention to detail,” she said. In approximately seven shows per year, Mitchell and her husband, Jim...
“There have been so many changes in the ways in which we treat our mentally ill and our elderly in our society,” says Sandy Ware, who has witnessed those changes locally firsthand over a long career of helping others, mainly at the Brattleboro Retreat and its former nursing home for resident patients, Linden Lodge. At just 14 years old, Ware was hired by longtime Recreational Director Frank Dearborn to assist in running one of the playground programs for the recreation...
With a ballot full of races that were as hot as the August sun beating down on the candidates and supporters outside polling places around Windham County, voters turned out in strong numbers to vote in their party primaries on Aug. 9. In the marquee matchup for Vermont's lone U.S. House seat being vacated by longtime U.S. Rep. Peter Welch, Senate President Pro Tem Becca Balint of Brattleboro defeated Lt. Gov. Molly Gray to win the Democratic nomination. She will...
Walking into a room that held the Bellows Falls Union High School school board and about 20 angry community members that lined the back wall with their arms crossed was, to put it lightly, intimidating. In another light, however, it also made me feel powerful to have made people so mad about my proposal for the school to fly the Black Lives Matter (BLM) flag that they felt they had to bring their friends with them to try and scare...
You can find Larry Simons most mornings in his Halifax home's basement workshop, working on one of his art assemblages. He says he begins and ends most days in that creative space. “Live It Up,” his art show of 24 wood and mixed-media assemblages and sculpture, is on display now until Sept. 11th at Mitchell-Giddings Fine Arts. His pieces sell from $1,200 to $6,000 each. “Art speaks for itself. If you look at it and like it and it draws...
They are sensually curved, some with lids like old apothecary jars, while others are open-topped. Some have rolled lips, grooves, and raised ridges along the circumference, while others are perfectly smooth, like Gobi sands. Each is a beautifully formed gem, shaped with inspiration from a cocoon, a chrysalis, a hive, a human figure, perhaps. Nature, in all its manifestations, inspires ceramics artist Stephen Procter. Procter's a tall man, but some of his pots are taller than he. Entering his ample,