| VOLUME 27 | * * All Arts News On the Web * * | October 5, 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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ST. ALBANS--The Artist In Residence Gallery features different artists each month. This month, the spotlight is on fabric artist Claire Graham-Smith, potter Gillian Ireland, and Vermont Life photographer David Juaire 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.
JEFFERSONVILLE--The Bryan Memorial Gallery Fall Festival has a full day with Eric Tobin, Pumpkin Painting, the Vermont Fiddle Orchestra, and more on Saturday from at least 10 a.m. - 4 p.m. Artist Eric Tobin will host a Live Painting Demo at 10 a.m. Hands on Pumpkin Painting for all ages takes place at 12 noon. The Vermont Fiddle Orchestra takes the stage at 2 p.m. The painting demo and concert are free; pumpkin painting tickets are $5 per pumpkin. Find them on Facebook for more info. FESTIVALS AND SHOWS
The Bryan Gallery is open Wednesday - Sunday from 11 - 5 or by appointment. Click here for more info.
HERO--The annual Snow Farm Grape Harvest is a festival and community celebration of local grapes and Vermont agriculture with live music from the Buck Hollers on Sunday at 11 a.m. - 5 p.m. There will be live music, grape stomping, a campfire, wagon rides, a food truck, and more. Click here for more info.
ENOSBURG--Cold Hollow Sculpture Park welcomes Juan Hinestroza, Ph.D., for the final Amazing Makers conversation of 2023 on Saturday at 2 p.m. Dr. Hinestroza is professor of Fiber Science & Apparel at Cornell. "Imagine a shirt that can detect your diabetes status or a cape that can defend against malaria." He will present several cases using nanoparticles, nanolayers, and nanostructures to create fabrics to create fashionable technical apparel. HUMANITIES
Admission is free but registration is required. Find them on Facebook for free tickets and more info.
WESTFORD--Vermont Humanities presents Christine Hadsel, director of Curtains Without Borders with Vermont's Historic Theater Curtains in the Westford Brick Meeting House on Saturday at 1:30 p.m. Between 1880 and World War II, painted theater curtains were artistic features of Vermont stages in town and grange halls, opera houses, and community theaters. Call Caroline Brown (802.878.8890) or click here for more info.
MONTGOMERY--After the cold weather of this goofy summer season, Vermont Humanities presents historian Howard Coffin with Vermont, 1800 and Froze to Death: The Cold Year of 1816 at Pratt Hall on Sunday at 2 p.m. The cold year seems to have hit Vermont harder than any other state with failed crops, scarce food, and religious revival, all in the aftermath of the War of 1812. Call 802.326.3113 or click here for more info.
ST. ALBANS--Osher Lifelong Learning Institute continues the Fall weekly program series with James and Anne Ouellette Iceland: Traveling the Ring Road in the Greg Brown Lodge at Hard'ack on Wednesday at 11 a.m. They will share the highlights of their two-week self-driving tour of the Land of Fire and Ice.
OLLI no longer takes payments at the door. They "strongly recommend that all attendees/members pre-register prior to the start of the program." Click here for more info.
MORRISVILLE--River Arts has two workshops this week. WORKSHOPS & CLASSES
October Open Studio Figure Drawing offers a nude session today at 3:30 p.m. There will be quick two minute poses, five minute poses, 20 minute poses, and a long pose at the end. River Arts limits nude sessions to ages 16 and older. The cost is $15 with pre-registration preferred. Click here to register and for more info.
Karen Gunterman begins a three-week Adult Beginner Macrame Series on Wednesday at 6 p.m. She will lead the class through the art of knots for plant hangers, wall hangings, and more, starting with basic knotting techniques. Tuition is $100. Click here to enroll and for more info.
MILTON--The Milton Artists' Guild has two workshops this week.
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--last Sunday was paper stars. Stay for 30 minutes or the whole two hours. Click here for more info.
Learn Zentangle with Julia Davenport is 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 open Monday-Saturday 10 a.m. - 6 p.m. and Sunday 11 a.m. - 3 p.m.
ST. ALBANS--St. Albans Community Arts begins Creative Connections at St. Albans City Hall on Wednesday at 4 - 7 p.m.
Working on a creative project? Want to try something new but need special tools? Need an extra set of hands? SACA co-director Jennifer Kostuck takes over the Council Chamber with creative pointers and equipment including a sewing machine, heat tools, drawing materials, paints, papers, and more for use. Creative Connections will fill the space every second Wednesday. All ages and backgrounds are welcome. Find them on Facebook for more info.
The upcoming respiratory virus season comes with vaccines available for the three main viruses that cause people to end up in a hospital: COVID, the Flu, and RSV. COVID NEWS
COVID-19 is still here with 11 new admissions in Franklin County last week alone. The new Moderna and Pfizer COVID-19 vaccines protect against the XBB.1.5 variant as well as the EG.5, BA.2.86 and other omicron subvariants, but Vermont had received just 3,000 adult vaccine doses as of September 25. That means local appointments are difficult to find. I found one next week at Walgreens in Enosburg, for example, but none in St. Albans.
COVID vaccines remain free to all people living in the United States via Medicare or health insurance although insurance denials and delays are being reported. The free shots are also available for uninsured people through federally qualified health centers, pharmacies participating in the federal Bridge Program, or district health department offices. Free masks are also available at many of the same locations. Click here for more info.
Some health plans will also 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 state and many municipalities also still have home antigen tests, available in libraries and town halls or food pantries.
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, especially since our precautions have waned and the new COVID variant dodges our current immunity. 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-Saturday, October 5-7 ON STAGE LIVE
ESSEX JUNCTION--On Tap starts off another weekend of music with the Nobby Reed Project tonight at 6 p.m. two shows Friday night, King Me at 5 p.m., and then the Phil Abair Band for late night music starting at 9 p.m., plus two more shows live on Saturday night with Third Shift at 5 p.m., and Soul and Soda for blues, rock, and some pop, starting at 9 p.m. Call 802.878.3309 or email for more info. Click here to reserve a table.
Friday, October 6
SHELDON--The Abbey Friday Night Music Series often has live performances on Friday about 6:30 p.m. Reservations are suggested. Find them on Facebook for more info.
SHELDON--Summer Music at Grace presents a special season finale with Nobby Reed and Missisquoi Slim at Grace Episcopal Church on Friday at 7 p.m. The renowned blues musician and Sheldon native will be performing at Grace for the first time as Missisquoi Slim brings the bass and blues harp.
Admission is by donation--a generous donation supports the performers. Find them on Facebook for more info.
Friday-Sunday, October 6-8
ST. ALBANS--Twiggs often has shows on Friday and Saturday nights. Catch Mark Steffenhagen this Friday. Music starts about 6 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.
Saturday, October 7
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.
ST. ALBANS--The Taphouse at Mill River hosts the Buck Hollers in the lounge on Saturday at 5:30 p.m. Find them on Facebook for more info.
ST. ALBANS--14th Star presents the Old Man Garage Band for a night of classic tunes live in The Room on Saturday at 6 p.m. Find them on Facebook for more info.
Sunday, October 8
ST. ALBANS--Church Street Sounds of the Season presents Music-COMP in Franklin County at the First Congregational Church on Sunday at 3 p.m. The concert debuts several new works by young composers from Franklin County and other recent Music-COMP composers, performed by professional jazz musicians Tom Cleary, piano; Jeremy Hill, bass; Dan Ryan, drums; Brian Boyes, trumpet; and Kyle Saulnier, saxophone.
The church presents Vermont musicians on the second Sunday of each month. Admission is free (donations are accepted). Families are welcome. The venue is wheelchair accessible. Find them on Facebook for more info.
Wednesday, October 11
ST. ALBANS--The Taphouse at Mill River hosts Dennis O'Hagan for Wicked Wednesday at 5:30 p.m. Find them on Facebook for more info.
ST. ALBANS--14th Star hosts Wine Down Wednesday with a night of wine and the live music of singer-songwriter George Nostrand in The Room on Wednesday at 6 p.m. Click here or here to find the events 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.
"This is a dangerous time for readers and the public servants who provide access to reading materials. Readers, particularly students, are losing access to critical information, and librarians and teachers are under attack for doing their jobs." wrote Deborah Caldwell-Stone, director of the ALA Office for Intellectual Freedom. FRANKLIN COUNTY BOOKSHELF
Banned Book Week 2023 continues through Saturday. The week celebrates the freedom to read and spotlights current and historical attempts to censor books in libraries and schools. The American Library Association documented 1,269 demands to censor library books and resources last year. That's the highest number of attempted book bans in more than 20 years.
The theme for Banned Books Week 2023 is "Let Freedom Read."
Check out the banned books display at the Eloquent Page in St. Albans or at your local library. The book you buy or borrow may be under attack. Click here for more info.
ST. ALBANS--Ernie Hemenway, the Traveling Storyteller, gets spooky to celebrate Halloween at the Eloquent Page on Saturday at 10 a.m. They will also have a simple craft project and a treat to take home. Find them on Facebook for more info.
NORTH HERO--Island Arts hosts its annual End of Season Book Sale in the Island Arts Center on Saturday and Sunday, at 10 a.m. - 4 p.m. There will be a Meet the Writer event with novelist Lenny Levine, author of Hits From The Past, Death in the Jingle Jungle, and Diehard Fan, on Sunday only.
The two-day book sale is a stop on the 2023 Weekend in the Islands adventure tour. They have more than 4,000 books for every taste, organized by subject. There are paperbacks, hard-covers, and some beautiful books to display. Admission is free. books by donation. 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
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Highgate Springs, VT 05460
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