| VOLUME 27 | * * All Arts News On the Web * * | May 18, 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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SWANTON--The Swanton Free Public Library hosts an Emerging Artist Showcase on Friday at 5:30 p.m. Three MVU students are eligible for the 2023 award. They will meet and speak with the panel of local artists about their work. ART ON THE WALLS
The annual award is given by the Swanton Arts Council. Visit or the Swanton Library for more info.
MONTGOMERY--The Montgomery Center for The Arts hosts the semi-annual MES Student Spring Art Show in MCA-Kelton Hall on Friday and Saturday at 10 a.m. - 4 p.m. and Sunday at 12 noon - 4 p.m.
NATURE'S PLAYGROUND (now)--The Summer Middle Room exhibit at the Bryan Memorial Gallery will celebrate activities in nature in images of all mediums. Submit your work to show how you use Nature's diverse landscape as your playground. Click here for the online submission page and more info. CALL FOR ARTISTS
MONTGOMERY--The Montgomery Center for the Arts continues Adult Beginners Ballet Barre on Monday at 5 p.m. The 60 minute class starts with a 15 minute mat warm-up, then transitions to a true beginners' Ballet Barre. Classes have been held every Monday in May. Find them on Facebook for more info. DANCE
ONLINE--Moz. The Vermont Abenaki Artists Association and Marsh-Billings-Rockefeller National Historical Park introduce the Abenaki Word of the Week. They will share Abenaki words alongside English translations every week. Find them on Facebook for this week's word. HUMANITIES
SWANTON--The Swanton Free Public Library offers a Paper Lantern class with Barb and Abbey in the Maker Space on Saturday at 11 a.m. - 1 p.m. The class is free and all supplies are included thanks to a grant from the Swanton Arts Council. Space is limited and pre-registration is required. Visit or email the library to register. WORKSHOPS & CLASSES
MILTON--The Milton Artists' Guild has two events this week.
MAG hosts How to Write Your Best Artist Statement with instructor Corrina Thurston this afternoon at 12:30 p.m. Part of their Art is a Business seminars, this workshop for beginners helps with some tips and tricks. Free for members or $10 for non-members. Click here for more info.
Social Sundays continue at the Milton Artists' Guild 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.
MORRISVILLE--River Arts begins two new workshops this week.
Woodworker Pacella Porter leads a new Flower Press Making Workshop on Sunday at noon - 4 p.m. The step by step class will explore the basics of press design and will integrate wood burning to create a one of a kind piece. The cost is $90. Click here to register and for more info.
Adult Wheel Class | May Series with Cal Spinelli covers the essentials of wheel throwing in a six-week course beginning Tuesday at 6 p.m. Classes will be held each Tuesday through June 27, skipping June 20. This class will be filled from the waitlist. Click here to enroll and for more info.
Here's how the end of the COVID health emergency changes testing, vaccines, and treatments in Vermont: some insurance and health care benefits will end. PANDEMIC NEWS
The state and many municipalities still home antigen tests, available in libraries and town halls. The Feds more than 600 million tests stockpiled in the event of future surges. They will also continue to send out tests free-of-charge through the end of this month. Insurance companies like Blue Cross Blue Shield of Vermont no longer have to cover the cost of at-home tests.
The federal vaccine supply should last through this summer, which means COVID-19 shots will remain free to the public for that long. After the federal supply is gone, the COVID vaccine will be treated like other vaccinations, and the cost will be dependent on insurance plans (Patients on Medicare and Medicaid will continue receiving COVID vaccinations for free).
Some health plans will offer partial coverage of COVID-19 treatments such as Paxlovid but that will be plan dependent. The changes at Blue Cross Blue Shield of Vermont go into effect on July 1. As always, check with your insurer for specific information on your plan.
Although COVID-19 is no longer a global health emergency, the Vermont Health Department still recommends following best practices. There were three confirmed COVID admissions in Franklin County and, statewide, five more COVID-related deaths last week for a pandemic total of 967, all as of May 6. Follow this link for the CDC summary of recent changes.
Today's bivalent vaccines provide limited protection against COVID transmission, Vermont Health commissioner Mark Levine, said, but people may want to strengthen their protection against the "more serious outcomes" like hospitalization by getting another booster to fight the virus. 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") plus 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.
Thursday-Saturday, May 18-20 ON STAGE LIVE
ESSEX JUNCTION--On Tap starts off another weekend of music with acoustic duo Whiskey & Wine tonight at 5:30 p.m. two shows Friday night, Jerborn and Axe warming up the bread at 5 p.m. for the return of Toast for late night music starting at 9 p.m., plus two more shows live on Saturday night with WD-40 at 5 p.m., and Last Kid Picked starting at 9 p.m. Call 802.878.3309 or email for more info. Click here to reserve a table.
Friday, May 19
RICHMOND--Stone's Throw Pizza presents Fiddlehead Hollow on Friday at 6 p.m. Eric Bushey and Rusty Charpentier do "a bunch of originals, traditional fiddle tunes, classic country tunes, and funky banjo/fiddle covers of Hendrix, Floyd, and just about everything in between." Find them on Facebook for more info.
ST. ALBANS--Cozy rocks 14th Star Brewing with a night of "funky brass, rocking guitars, and bluesy vocals" in The Room on Friday at 6 p.m. Find them on Facebook for more info.
SHELDON--The Abbey Friday Night Music Series continues with a girl and her guitar, Laura Fedele-Rasco in the Pub on Friday at 6:30 p.m. Find them on Facebook for more info.
ST. ALBANS--CTUD Productions returns to the Depot with a special Pride drag show on Friday night at 8 p.m. With the theme Studio 54 - Drag Does Disco Divas! the celebrity impersonation drag experience stars Ms. Golden Delicious and Vanna Deux. Standard seated general admission is $27. Limited seated VIP admission is $42. Tickets are available at the Depot or at eventbrite.com .
ST. ALBANS--Off The Rails at One Federal hosts Ron Gagnon in the lounge on Friday at 10 p.m. The one man band covers the hits from classic rock to country and blues. Find them on Facebook for more info.
Friday-Sunday, May 19-21
COLCHESTER--Live Music in May fills the Spanked Puppy with music all weekend. The Mark Abair Band kicks it off on Friday at 6 p.m. followed by Slightly Used on Saturday at 6 p.m. and the Devon McGarry Duo on Sunday afternoon at 1 - 4 p.m. Find them on Facebook for more info.
ST. ALBANS--Twiggs often has shows on Friday and Saturday nights. 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.
Saturday, May 20
ST. ALBANS--Northwest Farmers Market fills Taylor Park with live music, handmade crafts, locally grown food, prepared foods, free kids activities on Saturday from 9 a.m. - 2 p.m. Michael Stridsberg plays this Saturday. The market and the music continue every Saturday through October. Find them on Facebook for more info.
JEFFERSONVILLE--Bryan Memorial Gallery presents a Piano & Cello Concert with pianist Diane Huling and cellist Melissa Perley on Saturday at 7 p.m. They will perform the Sonata for Cello & Piano op.19 by Sergei Rachmaninov plus other works by Shostakovich and Dvorak and more.
Admission is by $15 suggested donation. The Bryan Gallery is open Wednesday - Sunday from 11 - 5 or on Monday or Tuesday by appointment. Click here for more info.
ST. ALBANS--The BFA Chorus offers a program of choral music in the BFA Performing Art Center on Wednesday at 7 p.m. Arrangements include songs from Journey, Queen, Garth Brooks, and more.
Plan Ahead
SHELDON--Summer Music at Grace start the new season celebrating 21 years of Farewall Reunion concerts next Friday, May 26. This year, Pascal Gemme joins Young Tradition Vermont's Youth Commission and more. This event benefits the Tom Sustic Fund. Find them on Facebook for more info.
EAST FAIRFIELD--The 2023 Summer Concerts on the Green start with Beg, Steal or Borrow at the Meeting House next Saturday, May 27. Most of this year's shows will be held on Saturdays at 5 p.m. and will be outside unless it's raining or too windy, in which case they move indoors. Click here for the full line-up 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 ... |
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Music!Links to the Summer Music series in Franklin County |
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Dick Harper, Chair
P.O. Box 1
Highgate Springs, VT 05460
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