| VOLUME 26 | * * All Arts News On the Web * * | February 17, 2022 |
ArtBits always features a calendar of the goings on of Franklin County artists. Check out these events around Franklin County. Each issue includes the entire text of our weekly newspaper column. STUFF YOU SHOULDN'T MISS
Franklin County's arts and music gatherings bring new opportunities, gossip, "show-and-tell" and occasional workshops. There are also booked and acoustic Open Mic Nights that feature music, readings, and more from the best new artists in Vermont.
... FROM THE ARTBITS DESK ...
E-Mail Delivery
Sign up to receive the free weekly ArtBits
newsletter by e-mail
or by RSS feed.
ENOSBURG--The Opera house at Enosburg Falls is "opening our doors after two years" of pandemic shut down, said new programming and office manager Kim Airoldi. Prydein will take the stage on Friday, March 18. GOOD NEWS AT THE HOUSE
Aron Garceau, Iain Mac Harg, Hazen Metro, Andy Smith, and Caleb Bronz play Celtic-music-meets-Motorhead and AC/DC. The Celtic rock band noted for their use of bagpipes has released five albums to date and has played major festivals up and down the East Coast and the Midwest. They formed in Burlington in 1999.
Call 802.933.6171 or click here for more info.
Vermont has set February 28 as the deadline to decide whether to extend the mask mandate for K-12 schools. "Other states, even liberal ones like Vermont," are making that call and many have urged Vermont to play monkey see, monkey do. PANDEMIC NEWS
The brief history of the pandemic shows that each time we have "returned to normalcy," a new surge has taken hold of the population. COVID-19 is the third leading cause of death, behind heart disease and cancer. Federal spending alone on COVID-19 has topped $3.59 trillion with another trillion dollars still in the budget.
The choice is ours to make: another surge of spending and death that we cannot afford or doing whatever we can to eliminate the virus and mitigate its effects.
The Vermont Immunization Advisory Council briefly discussed mandating a COVID vaccination for all Vermont students but VPR reported that Health Commissioner Mark Levine said, "It needs to be discussed over time, [but] it's certainly not an urgent matter at this point in time." Vermont kids currently must get shots for DtaP, chickenpox, hepatitis, measles, and polio to enter schools.
New case counts continue to fall. Vermont reported 2,229 new COVID-19 cases last week. Franklin County reported 308 cases in the 14 days ending Friday.
Vermont relies heavily on self reporting. Every home in the U.S. is eligible to order four free at-home COVID-19 tests from COVIDtests.gov. Most major chains including Walgreens, CVS, and Walmart should have free N95 masks for distribution.
Here's my own advice as U.S. deaths approach one million. Whether you have contracted and recovered from this coronavirus or haven't yet received a booster or even if you have done it all, immunity has waned for many of us. That lowered resistance leads to infections and increased transmission of the virus. Get the COVID and Flu shot(s), get the booster, and take precautions. Statewide, about 293,600 Vermonters or 65% of the eligible population has completed vaccination and gotten a booster. Franklin County still reports that about 60% of the people have the complete vaccine and the additional dose. It is unchanged that only Essex County with 51% vaccinated and boosted, and Orleans and Windsor Counties at about 59% have lower rates.
No vaccine is 100% foolproof. Wash your hands. Keep wearing an N95 mask where you can't control the airflow around you until we reach the same herd immunity we have for smallpox and once had but lost for measles because so many parents refused to vaccinate their kids. Bonus: it will also help protect you from pollen, summer colds, and the winter flu.
Vaccination clinics for booster shots and for the first or second dose of vaccine are open across Vermont for anyone age 12 or older. Call 855.722.7878 or click here to make an appointment or for more info. You can also walk-in at Costco, CVS, Hannaford, Price Chopper/Market 32, Rite Aid, Shaw's, Walgreens, or Walmart, or get an appointment with CVS, Kinney Drugs, Walgreens, or UVMMC Outpatient Pharmacies.
JEFFERSONVILLE--Bryan Memorial Gallery is publishing Techniques and Mediums on Facebook. Each brief segment looks at specific techniques or mediums. They cover Kintsugi this week. ART ON THE WALLS
The gallery is closed for winter break but appointments are available. Call the gallery (802.644.5100) or click here to schedule or for more info.
ST. ALBANS--The Artist In Residence Gallery has juried membership opportunities for local artists and hand crafters. The gallery and store is a prime, Main Street location to show and sell art and fine crafts.
The art and fine craft cooperative features paintings, fiber arts, stained glass, sculpture, lamps, pottery, folk art boxes, scarves, hats and more by 40 Franklin County and surrounding area artists. It is owned and operated by the artists and sponsors. The gallery on South Main Street is open Tuesday-Saturday, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Click here or find them on Facebook for more info.
ST. ALBANS--The Artist in Residence Gallery hosts a new series of Painting Classes with Patrick Murphy at the Sheldon Public Library on Thursday at 6 - 8 p.m. Classes are for artists, art enthusiasts, beginners, or anyone who would just like to paint." Instruction and guidance are given according to a students need and level." Students should bring their own paints and brushes. Everything else is supplied. Classes are held the third Thursday of the month. The cost is $25. WORKSHOPS & CLASSES
Call Valerie (802.933.2524) or stop at the library to register and for more info.
SWANTON--The Swanton Arts Council Writers' Group meets online via the Swanton Free Public Library this evening at 6 p.m. They meet the third Thursday of each month to share progress and join in the discussion about longer projects and anything else about writing, reading, publishing, and more. Email Becky Rupp or Swanton Library for more info. IN THE ARTS COUNCILS
Here's my own advice as U.S. deaths approach one million. Whether you have contracted and recovered from this coronavirus or haven't yet received a booster or both, immunity has waned for many of us. That lowered resistance leads to infections and increased transmission of the virus. Get the COVID and Flu shot(s), get the booster, and take precautions. No vaccine is 100% foolproof. Wash your hands. Keep wearing an N95 mask (not a bandana and not a "chin strap") where you can't control the airflow around you until we reach the same herd immunity we have for smallpox and once had but lost for measles. Bonus: it will also help protect you from pollen, summer colds, and the winter flu. ON STAGE LIVE
Friday, February 18
ST. ALBANS--14th Star presents Chris & Erica for a night of live music in The Room on Friday at 6 p.m. Find them on Facebook for more info.
SHELDON--The Abbey Live Music Series continues the Winter Season with John Gratton and Andrew James in the Pub on Friday at 6:30 p.m. Find them on Facebook for more info.
ST. ALBANS--Twiggs hosts Two Towns Band on Friday at 6:30 p.m. Call 802.524.1405, find them on Facebook, or click here for more info.
Friday-Saturday, February 18-19
ESSEX JUNCTION--On Tap has two shows Friday night, She Was Right at 5 p.m., and then the Devon McGarry Band for late night music starting at 9 p.m., plus two more shows live on Saturday night with the Robin Gottfried Band at 5 p.m., and Pony Truck starting at 9 p.m. Call 802.878.3309 or email for more info. And to confirm. Click here to reserve a table.
Saturday-Sunday, February 19-20
ST. ALBANS--Winter Carnival is back with two days of outdoor family fun, music, art, and fireworks at Hard'Ack Recreation Area on Saturday from 1 p.m. until dusk and Sunday from 11 a.m. until mid-afternoon.
St. Albans Recreation Department's Saturday activities include Bad Horsey live on at 3 p.m., ongoing chain saw art by John, fireworks at dusk on Saturday and more. On Sunday there will be music, chain saw art, ice sculpture by Wicked Good Ice, and much more. Find them on Facebook for more info.
Monday, February 21
SOUTH BURLINGTON--Higher Ground presents Corey Harper opening for Wild Rivers in the Showcase Lounge on Monday at 8 p.m. Doors at 7:30. As far as I know, Corey Harper is no relation and not from around here but I had to mention the show anyway. Admission is .$19-21. Click here for tickets and more info.
Virtual music and events continue this week. ALMOST LIVE ON STAGE
Summer Sounds favorite John Bartus' Perpetual Island Tour played Sparky's Landing, Boondocks twice, the Key Colony Inn, and opened the KCB Concerts in the Park on Sunday. Find him on Facebook for the watch party for Social Distancing Concert #85 tomorrow evening.
Yesterday would have been Jimmy T Thurston's 81st birthday. Here's Jamie Lee singing Heaven Got A Hellraiser on YouTube.
Carole King sang It's Too Late in a BBC Concert on her birthday in 1971 on YouTube.
Mark Leclair was live from the living room on Facebook. He says he's "changing it up."
Summer Sounds favorite Mark Shelton sang Several Songs I've Never Done Live Before and lots of "fun, weird, wild, and love stuff" on Facebook on Tuesday. Watch for the "Invisible Backup Singers" and follow him on Facebook for a link to this week's offerings.
ST. ALBANS--The Osher Lifelong Learning Institute presents Aphasia and the Power of Music with singer-songwriter Karen McFeeters at 14th Star on Wednesday at 11 a.m. HUMANITIES
"Aphasia is a language disorder commonly caused by stroke or traumatic brain injury," she wrote. "Because music is mediated by the undamaged hemispheres of the brains of people with aphasia, they can sing even if they have severe difficulty speaking or are nonverbal." She is the founder and director of the Aphasia Choir of Vermont. The choir won the American Stroke Association's Stroke Hero Award in 2020. Click here for tickets and more info.
ArtBits features a quick weekly peek at library events in and around Franklin County. That popular feature has a page of its own at the Franklin County Bookshelf here on the AAC site at AllArtsCouncil.org/books. We also take an occasional peek at the bookshelf or night stand of the folks you know in and around Franklin County. Those reviews can be found on the ArtBits Bookshelf. ON THE BOOKSHELF
Good News!There are so many events around the region that we miss some of them.Be sure to check these calendars for what's happening near you ... |
||
Music!Links to the Summer Music series in Franklin County |
||
Dick Harper, Chair
P.O. Box 1
Highgate Springs, VT 05460
email us
|
This article may also have originally
been published in the traditional print
media. It is
Copyright © 2022 by Richard B. Harper. All rights reserved.
Archival material is provided as-is. Links are not necessarily maintained
(if a link in this article fails, try Google.com or your favorite search engine). Thanks to recent misuse of copyright material on the Internet by individuals and archival firms alike, we emphasize that your rights to this article are limited to viewing it and printing it for personal use only. You must receive explicit permission from the All Arts Council and the author before reprinting or redistributing this article in any medium. Visit our Trademarks and Copyright page for more information. |