| VOLUME 27 | * * All Arts News On the Web * * | April 27, 2023 |
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.
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The 56th edition of the Vermont Maple Festival this weekend brings a bucketful of events for the first (and sweetest) outdoor festival of the year. It happens in downtown St. Albans starting with the annual Maple Toast at noon tomorrow. MAPLE--THE HEART OF VERMONT
A friend here in the Keys commissions me to bring him a gallon or two of syrup each year; he drinks some and the rest gets served up at the local Disabled American Veterans. He's from New Hampshire.
HUGE PARADE
The Maple Festival Parade -- the biggest in Vermont -- on Sunday, starts at a new time: 12 noon. The parade stretches for miles with the BFA Marching Band and over 100 marching bands, fancy floats, bag pipers, clowns, dancers, fire trucks horses and tractors new and old, musicians, neat cars, probably the odd politician or two, scouts, and the ever-popular pooper scooper. The parade will march up Allen Street to Stebbins Street, over Main Street, past the Main Street Stage and Judging Stand, and down Lower Newton Street. Mary Cenci from Star 92.9 and Kwame from 95 Triple X will emcee the parade.
ARTS
The Village Frame Shoppe hosts a Sappy Art Show with the annual Maple Festival Amateur Photo Contest in the window all weekend. The theme is Maple--The Heart of Vermont. Judges check on a variety of criteria and pick a winner for each of the four categories (process, people, scenic, and using maple syrup). They will be open Friday 10-5 and Saturday 10-2.
Windows of downtown St. Albans shops are decorated with maple scenes, each trying to outdo the other to capture the honor of being named the business with the best maple display. Judging takes place on this year's theme, Maple--The Heart of Vermont.
SPECIAL EVENTS
The Antique Show returns to St Albans Town Educational Center with over 20 dealers with fine arts, furniture, glassware, kitchen collectibles, jewelry and vintage accessories, and much more. Open Saturday, 10 a.m. - 5 p.m., and Sunday, 10 a.m. - 4 p.m.
The Craft & Specialty Food Show fills the BFA Gym with homemade jewelry, hand sewn items, baked and canned goods, wood carvings, candles, herbs, writers and so much more. Open Friday 12 noon - 5 p.m., Saturday 10 a.m. - 5 p.m., and Sunday 10 a.m. - 4 p.m.
All entries for the Maple Cooking Contest will be judged by a team of sweet-toothed judges. At the Maple Exhibit Hall (St. Mary’s Parish Hall) Friday, Saturday, and Sunday.
The St. Albans Museum is open for the Festival with a display of Vermont Maple Sweet History. Open Friday 2 - 5 p.m. and Saturday 10 a.m. - 4 p.m. The Museum will open for the 2023 season on May 27.
There will be Vermont Maple Beverage Tasting at 14th Star Brewery on Saturday at 3 - 5 p.m. Sample craft beer, wine, cider, spirits, and more from bout a dozen maple beverage producers including 14th Star and Mill River Brewing. Find them on Facebook for more info.
The Vermont Maple Syrup and Maple Products contest, held in the Maple Exhibit hall in its new location in St. Marys Parish Hall, is the largest maple contest in Vermont.
Taylor Park is also packed with events from Pipsqueak the Clown, Little Fox Entertainment, Dragon Man, Jason Tardy's High Energy Juggling Family Show, the Aim High Canines, Facemania, and more.
MORE MUSIC, MORE ENTERTAINMENT
The fabulous entertainment for free on the Main Stage begins a weekend of free entertainment tomorrow at noon and runs through Sunday after the parade. Look for live Music and Dance from noon - 6 p.m. The stage is free! Click here for more info about the shows.
Friday
The Friday entertainment lineup on the free Main Street stage begins with Sister Speak on the Main Street Stage at 1 p.m.
The No Shoes Nation Band pays tribute to Kenny Chesney's catalog on the Main Street Stage. 4-6 p.m.
The Youth Talent Show fills the Bellows Free Academy Performing Arts Center on Friday at 7 p.m. The Show awards over $2,000 in scholarships to the participants and will also be broadcast on Northwest Access TV. Tickets can be purchased at the "office table" at the Craft & Specialty food show or at the door.
Saturday
The Electric Youth Dance Company takes over Main Street. This talented group of dancers in several age groups learn the fun and discipline of dance in St. Albans on the Main Street Stage. 10 a.m.
The Talent Show Winners strut their stuff on the Main Street Stage. 11:30 a.m
The Kingdom Allstars (Youth Rock Band) are an award winning band of teenagers from the Northeast Kingdom. On the Main Street Stage. 1:30 p.m.
Summer Sounds , FloodStock, and national favorites 8084 anchor the Main Street Stage.We've cheered on Andre Maquera, Randy Smith, Frank Barnes, and Gary Spaulding for 40 years. 4 p.m.
The Fiddler's Variety Show takes over Bellows Free Academy Performing Arts Center on Saturday at 7 p.m. Tickets can be purchased at the "office table" at the Craft & Specialty food show or at the door.
Sunday
Isaac French makes Sunday the "best pop" day on the Main Street Stage. 2 p.m. after the parade.
Click here for more info.
MORRISVILLE--River Arts hosts the in-person, April "Sip n' Slurry: Nesting Bowls" with Barb Flathers as the pottery twist on a Paint n' Sip on Saturday at 5 p.m. Each class features a different ceramic instructor. "Tuition includes two glasses of wine." ART YOU CREATE
The cost is $55. Click here to enroll and for more info.
MONTGOMERY--The Montgomery Center for the Arts begins Adult Beginners Ballet Barre on Monday at 5 p.m. The 60 minute class will start with a 15 minute mat warm-up, then transition to a true beginners' Ballet Barre. Classes will be held every Monday in May. Find them on Facebook for more info. DANCE
ONLINE--Mkwakbaga. Repeating the Vermont Abenaki Artists Association Abenaki Word of the Week. The "red water," commonly known as maple syrup, is perfect for this wwek's celebration of the Heart of Vermont. They share Abenaki words alongside English translations every week. Find them on Facebook for this week's word. HUMANITIES
SWANTON--The Swanton Free Public Library hosts a Scrapbooking Meetup on Wednesday at 4 - 6 p.m. Bring your photos and use supplies from the Maker Space or bring your own. The meetups will repeat every other Wednesday in May 5/17 and 5/31 Visit the library or Click here for more info. MEETUPS
COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations remained generally low over the last week. PANDEMIC NEWS
People keep getting sick, though, mostly because they aren't taking precautions. Original COVID-19 vaccinations have risen to 86% but far fewer have gotten boosters. Only a third of Vermonters have received a bivalent COVID booster and only about 60% of adults and eligible children have even received a flu vaccine. A bivalent booster is recommended for adults and most children if it has been at least two months since their last dose. Herd immunity remains a dream and COVID has killed 957 Vermonters so far including 11 in April through the middle of the month.
No vaccine is 100% foolproof. Wash your hands. Keep wearing an N95 mask where you can't control the airflow around you. Bonus: it will also help protect you from pollen, summer colds, and the winter flu. Call 855.722.7878 or visit healthvermont.gov for more info about the first or second dose and for booster shots of the vaccine.
Here's my own plan with over one million U.S. deaths and as our precautions wane. I got the COVID and Flu shots, and the boosters, and I still take precautions because no vaccine is 100% foolproof. I wash my hands. I double mask with a genuine N95 mask (not a bandana and not a "chin strap") and a surgical mask where ever I can't control the airflow. It isn't much of a burden and it mostly protects me from all the people without masks I see in stores and concerts.
SWANTON--The Swanton Free Public Library offers a Lit Shadow Box class in the Maker Space on Friday at 5 - 7 p.m. Barb and Abbey will teach basic CRICUT techniques. The class is free thanks to a grant from the Swanton Arts Council. WORKSHOPS & CLASSES
Space is limited and pre-registration is required. Visit or email the Swanton Library , to register and Click here for more info.
MILTON--The Milton Artists' Guild has two events this week.
Corrina Thurston leads Learn Colored Pencil at the MAG Art Center today at 6 p.m. She will focus on techniques to blend colors. The cost is $40 for members or $45 for non-members. Click here to register and for more info.
Social Sundays continue at the MAG Art Center with free weekly art classes for families at MAG on Sunday at 1 p.m. Each week offers a different project. Click here for more info.
JEFFERSONVILLE--Cynthia Rosen leads the Splendor of Color: A Palette Knife Painting Two-Day Workshop at Bryan Memorial Gallery on Monday and Tuesday at 10 a.m. - 4 p.m. each day. The focus will be on color from mixing, understanding warm and cool colors, effective uses of the knife, to techniques of application. The cost is $300 for members and $340 for non-members. Registration is required. Click here to register and for more info.
Thursday-Saturday, April 27-29 ON STAGE LIVE
ESSEX JUNCTION--On Tap starts off another weekend of music with Ryan Sweezey tonight at 5 p.m. two shows Friday night, Uncle Jimmy at 5 p.m., and then the return of Nighthawk for late night music starting at 9 p.m., plus two more shows live on Saturday night with Mitch and Devon at 5 p.m., and the Mullets of Rock starting at 9 p.m. Call 802.878.3309 or email for more info. Click here to reserve a table.
ST. ALBANS--14th Star queues up a big Maple Fest weekend of events on the Taproom stage. Singer/songwriter and guitarist Giovanina Bucci starts off with an evening of originals and some fun covers on Thursday at 6 p.m. Bravacado picks up the sap bucket for their five-year reunion on Friday at 8 p.m. Chris & Erica blend acoustic rock, country, and pop on Saturday at 6 p.m. Find them on Facebook for more info.
Friday, April 28
COLCHESTER--Whiskey & Wine plays live and free in the Friday Music Night at the Spanked Puppy on Friday at 6 p.m. Find them on Facebook for more info.
SHELDON--The Abbey Friday Night Music Series continues with Chris & Erica live for Maple Festival Weekend in the Pub on Friday at 6:30 p.m. Find them on Facebook for more info.
Saturday, April 22
ST. ALBANS--Cooper makes his first appearance at Off The Rails at One Federal on Saturday at 6:30 p.m. If the weather is nice, music and dining will be in their New Orleans style courtyard. There may be cornhole. Find them on Facebook for more info.
Sunday, April 30
ST. ALBANS--English blues guitarist Tom Caswell hosts his monthly Blues Show at Twiggs live on Sunday at 4 - 7 p.m. Call 802.524.1405 or find them on Facebook for more info. Click here to book a reservation or to visit the art on the walls.
April 23 - 29 is National Library Week, a time to celebrate our libraries and library workers' contributions to our communities, the state and across the nation. FRANKLIN COUNTY BOOKSHELF
Each day has had a focus. Today is Take Action for Libraries Day, a day to urge members of Congress to protect the freedom to read.
And every day is Right to Read Day, a day for readers, advocates, and library lovers to take action to protect, defend, and celebrate the right to read. Since 2003, attempts to ban or restrict library materials in the United States have nearly tripled. The American Library Association's Office for Intellectual Freedom documented 1,269 such attempts last year alone.
Click here or find them on Facebook for 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.
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 ... |
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Music!Links to the Summer Music series in Franklin County |
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Dick Harper, Chair
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Highgate Springs, VT 05460
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