| VOLUME 27 | * * All Arts News On the Web * * | August 3, 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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FRANKLIN COUNTY--The Big Music Weeks of Summer continue this week as some of our friends play multiple gigs. Summer Sounds takes the weekend off because Franklin County Field Days comes to Highgate and there are also live shows in Colchester, East Fairfield, Enosburg Falls, Essex, Milton, North Hero, St Albans City and Town, Sheldon, South Hero, . BIG MUSIC WEEKS
HIGHGATE--Today through Sunday, Vermont's finest country fair takes to the fields of Highgate as the 47th Franklin County Field Days brings a lineup of the best music, arts and crafts (and weeds, of course) that Franklin County has to offer. The musical lineup includes great music every day. The four best days of summer begin today at noon. FIELDS OF SUMMER
There will be ongoing demonstrations of woodworking, knitting, chair weaving, felting, and more in the Homemaker's Barn. The Arts and Crafts are bigger than ever. There are train rides and mechanical bull rides every day. Events include rides, the horse and pony pull, ATV pulls, poker tournaments, tractor pulls and the demolition derby. There are exhibits galore. Field Days has also established a scholarship fund in memory of the past directors; they award at least one $500 scholarship each year.
Field Days has headliners each day. Bad Horsey starts after Demo Derby this evening at 8 p.m.
Tomorrow, the Old Man Garage Band opens the Main Stage at 11 a.m. Chris & Erica build up the stage at 3 p.m. and Julia Parent steps up to the biggest show yet on stage at 7:30 p.m.
The Missisquoi River Band starts the entertainment on the Main Stage on Saturday, starting at 1:30 p.m. Spoony gathers a crowd when Neon Spoon rides into town at 4 p.m. Friction returns to slide on stage at 7:30 p.m.
The Darcy Cahill Band lights up Sunday morning at 11 a.m., then Johnnie Bubar anchors the stage at 1 p.m.
Field Days has "One Price" admission of $15 per day for all ages, every day of the fair. It includes all midway rides, the tractor pull exhibits, the track events, live entertainment, parking, and more. A limited number of rides may be available for small children.
Email or click here for more info.
ST. ALBANS--The Artist In Residence Gallery features different artists each month. This month, the spotlight is on teacher and stained glass artist Lindsay DiDio, digital artist Barbara Flack who often enhances images with colored pencils and chalk, figurative mixed media artist Meta Strick, and themed painter El Towle with a live reception at the gallery this evening at 4:30 - 6:30 p.m. A.I.R. will continue celebrating the monthly Featured Artists online and on Facebook. ART ON THE WALLS
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.
ENOSBURG--Atlas Obscura declared Cold Hollow Sculpture Park one of the 10 Unexpected Delights of Vermont's Arts and Culture Scene.
The "global community of explorers" has created a database of "wondrous places and foods." They call Cold Hollow, "a world-class sculpture exhibit hidden amid these remote Vermont dairy farms." Click here for more info.
MONTGOMERY--A Retrospective Looking Forward--the Art of Aida Whedon has opened in MCA-Kelton Hall at the Montgomery Center for the Arts. On loan from the collection of Tony Whedon, the collection is a whole artistic diary of the life and work of Aida Whedon. The exhibit will continue through the month of August before it goes on to an archive of her work based in New York. Find them on Facebook for more info.
ST. ALBANS--Off The Rails at One Federal has a new exhibit of artwork by Tina Logan and Todd Logan. Find them on Facebook for more info.
SWANTON--The Swanton Arts Council hosts Stampin' Up! Cardmaking with Barb in the Maker Space of the Swanton Free Public Library today at 2 - 4 p.m. All supplies are provided and the $5 fee is credited to any supplies ordered through Stampin' Up. ART YOU CREATE
The card making workshops take place the first Thursday of each month. Space is limited and pre-registration is required. Call Barb Switzer (802.752.7917) or email her or the Swanton Library to register or click here for more info
WARNER, NH--The Nebizun: Water is Life Abenaki Teach-In will be held at the Mt. Kearsage Indian Museum on Friday from 10 a.m. - 4 p.m. Topics include the significance of Nebi (water) in Abenaki culture and its essential roles in foodways, medicine, and daily activities. Teachers will receive professional development hours. Click here to register and for more info. HUMANITIES
The Nebizun: Water is Life exhibition is now open at the museum.
ST. ALBANS--The Historical American Women FUNdraiser celebrates the accomplishments of pioneering women in American history with impressionist Terry Buehner in the Bliss Room at the Saint Albans Museum on Saturday at 7 p.m.
The six women, Sally Ride, Wilma Mankiller, Anna May Wong, Bessie Coleman, Eleanor Roosevelt, and Maria Tallchief, headline the event that includes a wine pull, raffle, and silent auction of items from local artists and businesses. Light appetizers, beverages and desserts will be served. All proceeds will benefit the Artist in Residence Gallery and the Saint Albans Museum.
Admission is $20 in advance or $25 at the door. Click here for tickets and more info.
JEFFERSONVILLE--Becky Rupp will discuss Soup to Nuts: An Eccentric History of Food in a Vermont Humanities Council Program at the Cambridge Historical Society on Wednesday at 7 p.m. The history of what and how we eat encompasses everything from the prehistoric mammoth luau to the medieval banquet to the modern three squares a day. This talk will range from the rocky evolution of table manners, the not-so-welcome invention of the fork, the awful advent of portable soup, to the surprising benefits of family dinners, plus some catchy info on seasonal foods and chocolate. And the answer to this week's most pressing question, "What are sugarplums, anyway?"
The talk is free, open to the public. Email or click here for more info.
ONLINE--Askaskwiwajoak. The Vermont Abenaki Artists Association and Marsh-Billings-Rockefeller National Historical Park visit the Green Mountains for 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.
ENOSBURG--The Opera House at Enosburg Falls presents Adam Wilber, Ryan Bliss, and Kozmo to do Magic Beyond Imagination at the House on Friday and Saturday at 7:30 p.m. Master magician, inventor, and speaker Adam Wilber fools Penn & Teller on YouTube . Sleight-of-hand performer Ryan Bliss works right in front of the audience. Kozmo is a street performer from Bourbon Street to the Great Wall of China. THEATER
General admission is $45 in advance. A limited number of VIP tickets which include early admission, priority seating, and meet-and-greet performances by the magicians at 6:30, are available for $55. Click here for tickets and more info.
NORTH HERO--Island Arts and Full Circle Theater presents James and the Giant Peach Jr at the Island Arts Center on Friday at 7 p.m., Saturday at 2 p.m. and 7 p.m., and Sunday at 2 p.m. only.
The Full Circle Theater Collaborative returns to the Barn for their third season. The professionally run children's musical theater production has local Grand Isle County youth participating.
The adventurous musical about courage and self-discovery is based on Ronald Dahl's story James and the Giant Peach. The new take features a score by Benj Pasek and Justin Paul (Dear Evan Hansen), and a book by Timothy Allen McDonald.
Admission is $8-12. Click here for tickets and more info.
MILTON--The Milton Artists' Guild has three workshops this week. WORKSHOPS & CLASSES
Drawing 101 with Robert Waldo Brunelle Jr. starts at the basics of one point and two point perspective and progresses to the human face, all at the MAG Art Center at 10 a.m. - 4 p.m. The cost is $20 for members and $25 for non-members. Click here 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. Stay for 30 minutes or the whole two hours. Click here for more info.
Learn Zentangle with Julia Davenport at the MAG Art Center on Tuesday at 6 p.m. Zentangle is a drawing technique invented by the monk Rick Roberts and artist Maria Thomas to combine meditation and art. The cost is $20 for members and $25 for non-members. Click here to reserve a seat and for more info.
The gallery is at 199 US-7 South, located in Milton Square behind the Milton Post Office and open Monday-Saturday 10 a.m. - 6 p.m. and Sunday 11 a.m. - 3 p.m.
SWANTON--The Swanton Arts Council will hold a Board Meeting and Updates in person at the Swanton Free Public Library on Monday at 6 p.m. All art lovers, artists, creatives and crafters are encouraged to attend. IN THE SAC
Meetings are held on the first Monday of each month. Find the SAC on Facebook for the agenda and more info.
Northwestern Medical Center has submitted its proposed budget for next year to the Green Mountain Care Board. The NMC budget includes a rate increase request of 6.0%. The GMCB requests show that the profound impacts of COVID-19 on our health care system across all 14 Vermont hospitals will be felt for years to come. NMC also notes that Green Mountain Care Board growth guidance is 8.6%. NMC's net patient revenue growth request is 10.32%. or about $1.95 million. COVID NEWS
The Green Mountain Care board will begin its budget hearings on August 9. Decisions on each of the 14 budgets are due September 15.
COVID is still here. The state and many municipalities still have home antigen tests, available in libraries and town halls. 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 depend on insurance plans.
Some health plans will offer partial coverage of COVID-19 treatments such as Paxlovid but that will be plan dependent. As always, check with your insurer for specific information on your plan.
The Health Department still recommends following best practices. Call 855.722.7878 or visit healthvermont.gov for more info about the first or second dose and for booster shots of the vaccine.
My own plan remains unchanged with over 1.1 million U.S. deaths, especially since our precautions have waned. I got the COVID and Flu shots, and the boosters, and I still take precautions because neither vaccine nor "natural immunity" 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, August 3 ON STAGE LIVE
ST ALBANS TOWN--The weekly St. Albans Bay Farmer's Market and Concert Series continues with Rockin' Ron Gagnon today from 4:30 - 7:30 p.m. They have live music every Thursday evening into September. Find them on Facebook for more info.
SOUTH HERO--The Blue Paddle Bistro hosts Nathan Michaud's modern one-man band making his Paddle debut this evening at 5:30 - 7:30 p.m. He plays an eclectic mix of 60-70s classic rock and blues plus a sprinkle right up to current songs. Find them on Facebook for more info.
SOUTH HERO--The 2023 Snow Farm Summer Concert Series continues with Blues for Breakfast this evening at 6:30 p.m. From a start at a Discover Jazz Fest blues jam, B4B is in its third decade of playing "Grateful Americana" with a side of classic rock, reggae, Motown and originals, in New England and New York. Click here for more info
Thursday-Saturday, August 3-5
ESSEX JUNCTION--On Tap starts off another weekend of music with the Shane Murley Band this evening at 6 p.m. two shows Friday night, the Duel at 5 p.m., and then the Phil Abair Band with Keeghan Nolan for late night music starting at 9 p.m., plus two more shows live on Saturday night with Sibling Reverie at 5 p.m., and Smokin' Gun starting at 9 p.m. Call 802.878.3309 or email for more info. Click here to reserve a table.
Friday, August 4
MILTON--The Friday Night Live Music and Buffet at Arrowhead Golf Course presents Summer Sounds favorite Carol Ann Jones with Will Patton on the deck on Friday at 6 p.m. The boneless spare ribs buffet starts around 7 p.m. Both run until 9 p.m. The buffet costs $14 per person ($7 for each child). You don't have to be a member; the public is welcome. Be sure to come early, usually around 6, to get a good seat. Click here for more info.
ST. ALBANS--14th Star presents local band Medicine Tribe for a night of live, acoustic Americana music, originals, covers, and audience requests on Friday at 6 p.m. Find them on Facebook for more info.
SHELDON--The Abbey often has the Friday Night Music Series on Fridays at 6:30 p.m. Find them on Facebook for more info.
ALBURGH--The Alburg RV Resort hosts the Nobby Reed Project in a special concert for campers and their invitees at the park at 7 p.m. Call 802.796.8564 or click here for more info.
SHELDON--Summer Music at Grace presents the Champlain Consort with Heart's Ease: Songs and Dances of the English Renaissance at Grace Church on Friday at 7:30 p.m.
The group of six early music musicians, led by Chapin Kaynor performs Medieval, Renaissance, and Elizabethan music on period instruments. The members combine recorders, sackbuts (Renaissance trombones), viola da gamba, cornetto, capped reeds, and percussion, in "broken consort" tradition to recreate the sound of English and European Medieval and Renaissance music.
Admission is by donation which supports the artists. Click here for more info.
Friday-Sunday, August 4-5
ST. ALBANS--The Taphouse at Mill River has a weekend double with Jacob Green on Friday and Dan & Sean Jarvis live on Saturday night. Music starts at 5:30 p.m. Find them on Facebook for more info.
COLCHESTER--Live Music in June fills the Spanked Puppy with music all weekend. The Free Range Band kicks it off on Friday at 6 p.m. followed by the Jolly Roger on Saturday at 6 p.m. and Tim Brick 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. Music starts about 6:30 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.
NORTH HERO--Island Arts and Full Circle Theater presents James and the Giant Peach Jr at the Island Arts Center on Friday at 7 p.m., Saturday at 2 p.m. and 7 p.m., and Sunday at 2 p.m. only.
Saturday, August 5
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. The market and the music continue every Saturday through October. Find them on Facebook for more info.
Sunday, August 6
SOUTH HERO--Cooie Sings at the Blue Paddle Bistro on Sunday at 5:30 - 7:30 p.m.
Tuesday August 8
ENOSBURG FALLS--Summer Concerts in Lincoln Park continue as the Enosburg Town Band continues on the Bandstand on Tuesday at 7 p.m. There will be a variety of music, arts and crafts for the kids, popcorn and drinks, and even ice cream sundaes (when available) every Tuesday evening. Find them on Facebook for more info.
Wednesday, August 9
ESSEX JUNCTION--Trucks Taps & Tunes continues with Back Porch Revival on the Green at the Double E for live music, food trucks, and local beer on Wednesday at 5 - 8 p.m. The Revival is American roots music, from jazz, ragtime, hot jazz, acoustic blues, gospel, to the great American songbook.
Admission is free. Click here for more info.
ST. ALBANS--The St. Albans Summer Concert Series continues with Sister Speak in the E.A. Loomis Bandshell in Taylor Park on Wednesday at 5:30 p.m. 14th Star and Pickle's Snack Shack will be on site. Admission is free. The concerts will move to 14th Star Brewery if it rains. Click here for more info.
EAST FAIRFIELD--Special Night! Special Time! The Meeting House on the Green presents Kat Wright and Brett Hughes in a Summer Concert of soaring harmonies outdoor on the terrace on Wednesday at 6 p.m. The singers are known for their intimate moments, songwriting and arranging, and showmanship. Their union on stage is reminiscent of Dolly & Porter, She & Him, and Richard & Linda Thompson. Light dinner fare and desserts will be available, or BYO.
Admission is by suggested donation of $10 at the door with those under 16 admitted free. Concerts are held outdoors. In case of rain, concerts are either canceled or moved indoors with masks required and limited seating available. "Grab and go" light fare will be available for sale or bring your own picnic. Call Nance Shaw (802.827.6626) or click here for more info.
SOUTH HERO--Summer Sounds and long time Paddle favorite Carol Ann Jones plays a solo gig at Blue Paddle Bistro on Wednesday evening at 6 - 8 p.m. Find them on Facebook for more info.
ST. ALBANS--The monthly Blues Jam continues at Twiggs, hosted by Vermont's leading blues man, Nobby Reed and the House Band, on Wednesday at 7 p.m. The Blues Jam blows out the speakers at Twiggs on the second Wednesday of each month. Find them on Facebook for more info.
Plan Ahead
SOUTH BURLINGTON--Floodstock 2.0! Vermont Rises with 8084, the Chad Hollister Band, Rusty Dewees, Jamie Lee Thurston, and more for Vermont Strong at the Higher Ground Ballroom on August 20. Find them on Facebook for more info.
ST. ALBANS--Local writer DonnaRae Menard releases her third mystery, Murder in the Village Proper, at the Eloquent Page on Saturday at 10 a.m. - 2 p.m. Katelyn Took is investigating a five year old murder, to help her childhood friend who was accused of the crime. Part of her It's Never Too Late series in 1970s Vermont, the cozy has a traditional Vermont flavor. FRANKLIN COUNTY BOOKSHELF
Find the Eloquent Page on Facebook or click here 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
P.O. Box 1
Highgate Springs, VT 05460
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