| VOLUME 28 | * * All Arts News On the Web * * | February 22, 2024 |
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.
ST. ALBANS--The Depot hosts Midnight at the Masquerade--A Murder Mystery on Saturday at 7 p.m. The rustle of silks and feathers and your muted conversation will be the last thing heard by the tragically and unexpectedly deceased at the Annual Billionaires Club Masquerade Ball. Evening wear, ball gowns, Venetian masks, suits, and tuxes are de rigueur. THEATER
Admission is $20. Click here for tickets and Find them on Facebook for more info.
JEFFERSONVILLE--Bryan Memorial Gallery hosts a Live Painting Session with Legacy artist Tom Waters on Saturday at 1 - 4 p.m. This is a look at an artist in action to experience the creative process firsthand. Attendees can likely engage with Mr. Waters to learn more about his techniques and inspirations. email for more info. ART ON THE WALLS
SWANTON--The Vermont Abenaki Artists Association features certified fine, decorative, and performing artists officially labeled as "American Indian" under Federal law.
Storyteller, writer, and wood worker Brian Chenevert hand carves snow snakes, war clubs and rattles. His first book, Azban's Great Journey, is a compilation of traditional and original tales of the Abenaki trickster, Azban. Click here for his story and a look at his work.
ST. ALBANS--14th Star Brewing Company holds the weekly Maker's Market in the Taproom on Sunday from 1 - 3 p.m. The pop-up booths host local crafters and makers every Sunday afternoon. Find them on Facebook for more info. ART FOR SALE
MORRISVILLE--River Arts hosts the in-person, February "Paint & Sip--Tropical Getaway in Watercolor!" with Evie Mason to a vacation of the mind on Friday at 6 p.m. Each class features a different local instructor. ART YOU CREATE
The cost is $55. Click here to enroll and for more info.
DERBY LINE--Dr. Bob Goodby will present the History of the Abenaki in Vermont and New Hampshire at the Nulhegan Education and Cultural Center (the Old Holland School) on Saturday at 1 p.m. Dr. Goodby is a professor at Franklin Pierce University and has spent more than 30 years studying Native American archeological sites in New England. Click here for more info HUMANITIES
ONLINE--Vermont Humanities presents Britton Rogers and Catherine Emil to discuss Crafting the Future: The State of Craft Education in Vermont on the Vermont Digital Channel on Wednesday at 7 p.m. Vermont has a long tradition of valuing the crafts, from fiber arts to woodworking and beyond. Ms. Emil, Director of Vermont Woodworking School, and Mr. Rogers, Executive Director of Yestermorrow, will discuss why craft education matters more than ever in Vermont and in the broader landscape.
Click here for more info about the talk and to register for the Zoom event.
MILTON--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. Stay for 30 minutes or the whole two hours. Click here for more info. WORKSHOPS & CLASSES
COLCHESTER--The Spanked Puppy hosts a Pebble Art Workshop on Wednesday at 6 p.m. This workshop will use pebbles, rocks, stones, driftwood, and lake glass to create artwork. From framed pieces to candle holders, each piece is unique. Sip on wine and nibble on a charcuterie while they provide guidance and inspiration; what you make will be completely your own creation.
The cost is $35. Click here for tickets and more info.
COVID-19 is still here. Cases continue with 38 hospitalizations statewide for the week ending February 7, down eight from the week before. 13, almost one-third of those hospitalizations were in Franklin County. There were six more COVID-related deaths reported statewide in the week ending February 3 for a pandemic total of 1,118 in Vermont. COVID NEWS
Vaccines are available for COVID, the Flu, and RSV, the three main viruses that cause people to end up in a hospital in the Winter respiratory virus season. According to the state COVID-19 and Flu Vaccination Dashboard still just 16% of Franklin County residents have received the new COVID vaccine, trailed only by Essex County. That compares to about 24% of Vermonters who have had the latest COVID-19 vaccine and 36% of Vermonters who have gotten a flu shot. Vermonters have not moved those numbers much in the past three weeks.
COVID vaccines are 100% free to everyone 6 months and older living in the United States, regardless of immigration or insurance status. The free shots are available via health insurance, Medicare, and through federally qualified health centers, pharmacies participating in the federal Bridge Program, or district health department offices. Free N95 masks are also available at many of the same locations. Pharmacies in Vermont may now give COVID-19 shots to kids ages 3 and older. Click here for more info.
Every U.S. household may order four free COVID-19 rapid tests delivered directly to home. The state and many municipalities also still have home antigen tests, available in libraries and town halls or food pantries. 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 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, February 22 ON STAGE LIVE
SOUTH HERO--The Blue Paddle Bistro hosts Stewart Foster for Acoustic Thursday this evening at 5 - 7 p.m. Click here for more info.
ST. ALBANS--14th Star hosts Karaoke Night & Open Mic Night this evening at 6:30 p.m. They are set up for musicians to plug in and play. Find them on Facebook for more info.
Thursday-Saturday, February 22-24
ESSEX JUNCTION--On Tap starts a weekend of music with Left Eye Jump tonight at 6 p.m. two shows Friday night, Mitch & Devon at 5 p.m., and then the Sticks and Stones return for late night music starting at 9 p.m., plus two more shows live on Saturday night at 5 and 9 p.m. Call 802.878.3309 or email for more info. Click here to reserve a table.
Friday, February 23
ST. ALBANS--Off The Rails at One Federal often has live performances in the lounge on Friday at 6:30 p.m. Find them on Facebook for more info.
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.
BURLINGTON--Foam Brewers presents Troy Millette & The Fire Below on Saturday at 8 p.m. The independent craft brewery has live music most days. Jazz Thursdays feature some of the Queen City's best jazz musicians. Times vary. Click here for more info.
Friday-Sunday, February 23-24
COLCHESTER--Live Music fills the Spanked Puppy with music for the weekend. Sibling Reverie kicks it off on Friday at 6 p.m. followed by Chris Lyon on Saturday at 6 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.
Sunday, February 25
KEY COLONY BEACH, FL--The KCB Community Association Concerts in Sunset Park series continues with the full Rick Lieder Band live in the new tiki in Sunset Park on Sunday at 4 p.m. Free. Click here for more info.
FRANKLIN--The Haston Library Book Discussion Group will talk about Braiding Sweetgrass by Robin Wall Kimmerer at the library or on Messenger this afternoon at 2:30. Books are available at the front desk. or Call 802.285.6505 or click here for more info. FRANKLIN COUNTY BOOKSHELF
HIGHGATE--The Highgate Library and Community Center hosts their Adult Virtual Book Club with romance novel Book Lovers by Emily Henry online on Tuesday at 6 p.m. The book finds a cutthroat literary agent stuck in a small town with the grumpy editor she despises. Email Adah to register and for more info.
ST. ALBANS--The Eloquent Page Mystery Book Club reads Cocaine Blues by Kerry Greenwood on Wednesday at 6 p.m. Hero Phryne Fisher's first adventure is set in 1920s Australia. She drinks, drive fast cars and fast planes, and solves mysteries in her spare time. 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 ... |
||
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 © 2024 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. |