DUMMERSTON - On Saturday, May 31, and Sunday, June 1, Landmark Trust USA invites everyone to tour Naulakha, the former house and grounds of author Rudyard Kipling, normally open only to overnight guests.
Take a self-guided tour when its spectacular Rhododendron Tunnel is likely to be in bloom. Start your visit with a tour of Naulakha, then stay to enjoy the estate's grounds at your leisure.
The Cocktail Party option returns this year as well, offering an even more exclusive experience of this special property on Friday evening, May 30.
Time slots often sell out early, so get your tickets today. Proceeds from all tours support the historic preservation work of The Landmark Trust USA, parent organization of Scott Farm. For more information, visit landmarktrustusa.org/rhododendron-tour.
BRATTLEBORO-The Winston Prouty Center is getting a new bookmobile. "After more than 25 years on the road, the current bookmobile will retire this summer," Prouty officials said in a news release, "and we will get a fully customized truck delivered just in time for our fall season." The Early...
BRATTLEBORO-Landowners can learn how to plan for the future of the forests by joining Vermont Coverts for a Passing Lands Pop-up at the Brooks Memorial Library on Wednesday, May 7, with one session from 3 to 5 p.m. and another from 5:30 to 7:30. Event organizers say nearly 80%
BRATTLEBORO-The Vermont Agency of Transportation (AOT) is set to begin multiple paving projects scheduled to take place in Brattleboro and from Brattleboro to Putney over the 2025 and 2026 construction seasons. Work will be done on Vermont Route 142, Vermont Route 9, Vermont Route 30, and U.S. Route 5. The majority of the work has been scheduled to occur during typical nighttime hours to minimize the impacts to traffic. Further description of the location and work is detailed below: •
BRATTLEBORO-Utilities Division crews from the Department of Public Works have begun spring flushing of the town water mains. Most work will be completed by Friday, May 2, with some daytime flushing continuing through May 9. Customers are asked to check the flushing schedule closely, as flushing causes water discoloration, low water pressure, and, in some areas, periods of no water. Water main flushing will occur during both night (10 p.m. to 6 a.m.) and day (9 a.m. to 4 p.m.).
DUMMERSTON-What could be more fun than going out at night to hear live music, or to see a comedian, a play, or a movie? It is pure happiness. The performers are happy - they have an audience for their art and a paycheck. The crowd is happy - they can greet long-lost friends and be part of a community. The venue is happy - it has a crowd. But when the mind says, "Let's go," and the body says, "I...
GUILFORD-The Guilford Free Library will host two field journal workshops, offered Saturdays, April 26 and May 10, from 10 a.m. to noon at the Broad Brook Community Center. In the first 2-hour workshop, Linda Lembke will teach the basics of bookmaking and guide participants in creating their own field journal with a pocket for small treasures and foldout pages to expand the reach of the book. All materials will be provided and each participant will take home a journal, ready...
ROCKINGHAM-The town of Rockingham recently announced that the Proposed Amendments to the town's Zoning and Subdivision Bylaws have been warned for a public hearing. The proposed amendments are the result of two years of work and is the next step in updating the town's regulatory framework which shapes permitting, development and growth in Rockingham. This is the first time the Bylaws have been comprehensively updated since the 1980s. This update was undertaken by the Planning Commission to align the town's...
BRATTLEBORO-The Latchis Theatre will host two special screenings of the 2024 award-winning documentary, Secret Mall Apartment, followed by discussions, on Friday, April 25, and Saturday, April 26, at 7 p.m. Secret Mall Apartment tells the true story of eight Rhode Islanders who created a secret apartment inside the busy Providence Place Mall in 2003 and kept it going for four years, filming everything along the way. "Far more than just a wild prank," film promoters say, "the secret mall apartment...
BRATTLEBORO-The Estey Organ Museum opens for the season, at 108 Birge St. Saturday, May 3. "Exquisitely crafted instruments, made in Brattleboro. That's what you can see, hear, and even play when you visit," organizers wrote in a news release. Board members the Rev. Craig L. Cowing and Allen Myers will be restoring Estey's 100,000th organ, made in 1881; visitors will be able to see the organ as work progresses. Also, thanks to Board President George Wiese, they have a new...
Obituaries • Doris M. "Dottie" Alamed, 66, of Gageville. Died on April 14, 2025, at her home after a long cancer battle. Dottie was born on March 5, 1959, in Middlebury, the daughter of John Porter and Sylvia (Currier) Porter. Dottie worked at Hannaford supermarket in the deli department for many years. Dottie loved coloring, she loved to travel and, most importantly, she adored her family and they were her greatest love. Dottie is survived by her two children, Cynthia...
BRATTLEBORO-The Brattleboro Music Center Chamber Series features "Musicians from Marlboro - Group III," Saturday, April 26, at 7 p.m. at the BMC. Performing will be Lucy Fitz Gibbon, soprano; Claire Bourg and Leonard Fu, violin; Cara Pogossian, viola; Maria Bitlloch, cello; and Sahun Sam Hong, piano. The program will include Haydn's String Quartet in D minor, Op. 76, No. 2; Mozart's String Quartet in D major, K. 575; and Helmut Lachenmann's "Got Lost." In 2023, Marlboro Music welcomed Lachenmann as...
-Next Stage Arts presents Stephane Wrembel, the "living face of Gypsy jazz," on Saturday, April 26, at 7:30 p.m. Wrembel stands as one of the world's most celebrated guitarists. Originally from Fontainebleau, France, he is renowned for his masterful blend of jazz, Gypsy swing, and world music, enchanting audiences worldwide with his distinctive sound. Wrembel is also a highly respected composer. His original compositions have accompanied films such as Midnight in Paris ("Bistro Fada," Grammy Award winner for Best Compilation...
WESTMINSTER-An open letter to Gov. Phil Scott: You once stepped up to be an admirable leader we all could respect during the pandemic, when failed and misguided federal actions threatened the lives of every Vermonter. We urgently need you to be that man again! These kidnappings by the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) are simply an outrageous abuse of federal power. Such actions undermine our faith in such pillars of civic order as "innocent until proven guilty" and due...
-The first weeks of baseball season in Vermont can be a rollercoaster of experiences - battling the unpredictable weather, getting used to playing baseball outdoors after weeks of being cooped up in a gymnasium, and the challenge of pulling a team together that can handle the sprint of a compressed schedule. The Bellows Falls Terriers went through all of that, and more, in their opening week. On April 14, they lost at Rutland, 8-5, as the Terriers saw their early...
Many people in Windham County look on in frustration as they watch the police arrest people suspected of breaking into cars, selling drugs, or stealing from stores - and then, in what seems like a minute, seeing them back on the streets. There's even a sarcastic term for the process: "catch and release," a phrase that once was used only for fish. "Backlog" is the usual one-word explanation for this problem. It means the cases accumulate faster than they can...
PUTNEY-Next Stage Arts presents indie rock band Betty, plus DJ ezGirl on Friday, April 25, at 7:30 p.m. The award-winning trio of Alyson Palmer (vocals, bass, guitar), Elizabeth Ziff (vocals, guitar, electronic programming), and sister, Amy Ziff (vocals and cello), create live shows that mix music, performance art, politics, and comedy. "Betty sings of joy, love, longing, lust, food, heartbreak, and the universal hilarity of human existence," organizers wrote in a news release. According to the artists' website, in addition...
BELLOWS FALLS-Canal Street Art Gallery, 23 Canal St., presents a solo show by Whitney Barrett, on display through June 14. Barrett presents paper collages and mixed media paintings using line drawings of anamorphic figures along with hand-stamped papers, gel prints, tissue paper, found words, and pages from romance novels. These new artworks continue a series Barrett has explored for the past two decades, creating visual metaphors to express her main interest: communication. "The artist's love of fairy tales, wonder tales,
BRATTLEBORO-Artists Chris Sherwin, Nick Kekic, and other members of the Vermont Glass Guild will transform two children's drawings of imaginary creatures into glass sculptures during a live demonstration on Saturday, April 26, from 1 to 4 p.m. Presented by the Brattleboro Museum & Art Center (BMAC) in connection with the exhibition "Glasstastic," the event will take place at Sherwin's and Kekic's adjoining studios at 33 Bridge St. in Bellows Falls. This family-friendly event offers viewers an opportunity to witness the...
BRATTLEBORO-The Palestine Film Series committee sends a big "thank you" to everyone who participated in the second annual screening of Palestinian documentaries and feature films at Latchis Theatre. On four consecutive Sunday afternoons in March and April, the Main Theater filled with audiences who came away with a deeper understanding of the enormous challenges and simple pleasures of life in occupied Palestine. We are especially grateful for the partnership of Jon Potter and Latchis Arts, who worked closely with us.
BRATTLEBORO-Greg Lesch. the executive director of the Brattleboro Area Chamber of Commerce, died Feb. 19, after a battle with cancer. In this interview, which aired on Brattleboro Community Television on Dec. 2, 2024, less than three months before he died, Greg and I discussed his life and work and the changes that have taken place over more than a half century since he and his family moved to town in 1974 when he was 11 years old. Prior to his...
Leah McGrath Goodman brings two decades of investigative journalism experience covering politics and money to a new Substack newsletter, Column C, where she explores "cultures of corruption, climate change, crypto, and other calamities." BRATTLEBORO-It's been a very strange spring under Trump 2.0 and, in hindsight, I think I was right to suggest taking a break from the headlines to avoid burnout. I mean ... what have we really gained from all this? And while I can't stop watching news cycles,
Michelle Bos-Lun (D-Windham-3), a third-term Vermont state representative from Westminster, is a member of the House Agriculture, Food Resiliency, and Forestry Committee. She is assisted this spring by a legislative intern, Taylor Abrams, a senior studying political science and economics at the University of Vermont. WESTMINSTER-Recent federal cuts to food access programs and local food purchasing from farms for schools and food shelves have created a number of challenges for the Vermont food system. At the same time, economic uncertainties...
GUILFORD-Joel Veena Eisenkramer, known professionally as Joel Veena, has recently released a new album, Cardinal, in the North Indian Classical genre. Veena has been making music for around 25 years, and Cardinal marks his 12th album of self-produced music. It is currently available on all streaming platforms. Since 2007, he has split his time between India and the U.S. and has studied and performed classical Hindustani music on the 20-stringed Indian slide guitar, which he describes on his website as...
BELLOWS FALLS-On this Saturday, the 250th anniversary of two early Massachusetts battles that irrevocably advanced the Revolutionary War, approximately 500 people gathered in downtown Bellows Falls, where for two hours they sang, chanted, and carried signs along both sides of Westminster Street from Henry Street down into the Square. "This is what democracy looks like," local poet Erica Bowman said when she spoke to the crowd on April 19. People came and went during the two-hour event, but an unofficial...
NORTHFIELD, MASS.-There are so many hysterical writers to this paper that it's difficult to focus on just one, but here goes. Lawrence Slason says he's "extremely frustrated and profoundly saddened by the decline of America under the present administration." Where was Mr. Slason during the Biden era? On Mars? Americans suffered greatly when Joe wandered around on stages shaking hands with people who weren't there, then threatened Americans to either get the jab or lose their jobs. Gas and grocery...
BRATTLEBORO-The Brattleboro Area Interfaith Youth Group went off to Asheville, North Carolina! The multicultural group of 12 youth and young adults, ranging in age from 13 to 22, and six adult leaders left April 12 in two vans for their service and learning week there. The group participated in hurricane- and poverty-relief activities, working closely with social services agencies in the area. The youth's volunteer efforts each day were coordinated and debriefed by Asheville Youth Mission, who purchased their groceries...
GREENFIELD, MASS.-When I saw the cover of The Commons, I decided to look over this paper and see what the charming lefties are up to in Vermont. Wow! What a bunch of angry, miserable people! And you know what? I wasn't shocked, not one bit. In case you missed seeing all their handmade, childish signs, the haters in Brattleboro (a town I will avoid like the plague) called the 47th President a "moron," a "clown," and a "rapist." I rolled...
BRATTLEBORO-In Brattleboro, a significant amount of public discourse happens online. While social media can be a great tool for engagement, it also opens the door for something more subtle and more troubling. A Town Meeting representative has been posting in local Facebook groups, asking questions that resemble formal outreach: What does the community think about this issue? Should the town consider doing that? On the surface, it seems like an official request, made by a holder of elected office with...
BRATTLEBORO-Since everyone is looking for ways to trim the town budget, consider dissolving the parking department. Historically, the Parking Services department has always lost money. Why not make parking free? Get rid of the pay to park machines (which are not user friendly), and write them off as a loss. Then move on without a Parking Services department. It will save the town a lot of money. And while you are at it, sell the street sweeper. It costs a...
Rick Holmes, of Marlboro, is a retired newspaper editor and columnist. MARLBORO-Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam - Fifty years ago, North Vietnamese tanks and Viet Cong soldiers streamed into Saigon from all sides, greeted by celebrating crowds. At the U.S. embassy and a CIA outpost on Gia Long Street, helicopters evacuated the last of the Americans, and the luckiest of their Vietnamese allies, to ships waiting offshore. It was the humiliating ending to America's longest war, the only war we'd...