| VOLUME 28 | * * All Arts News On the Web * * | March 14, 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.
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Slainte! Get your Irish on!
ST. ALBANS--Rotary Club of St. Albans opens the 30th Home & Recreation Exposition with free admission on Saturday and Sunday. The EXPO annual fund raiser runs takes over the Collins-Perley Sports and Fitness Center. 100% of the profits go to support the Rotary charitable work in this community. This will be one of the biggest Home Shows ever, featuring over 150 booths. ROTARY HOME SHOW
Building a new home this year? Planning a home remodeling project? That new space can easily help showcase your own collection of fine art etchings. Or perhaps you need, absolutely need, space for a house concert with KISS on their After the End of the Road Tour?
Rotary supports local organizations and particularly likes to help the start-up or expansion of local programs or facilities.
Admission is free. The doors will be open from 9 a.m. - 5 p.m. on Saturday and 9 a.m. - 3 p.m. on Sunday. The Collins-Perley Sports and Fitness Center is located just off I-89 at Exit 19. Find them on Facebook for more info.
ENOSBURG--"Vermont's Celtic Rock Sensation," Prydein sets the Opera House at Enosburg Falls stage on fire again for St. Patrick's Weekend on Friday at 7:30 p.m. Doors at 7. IN THE HOUSE
Prydein's Aron Garceau, Iain Mac Harg, Hazen Metro, Andy Smith, and Caleb Bronz play Celtic-music-meets-Motorhead and AC/DC. The Celtic rock band noted for their use of bagpipes has released five albums to date and has played major festivals up and down the East Coast and the Midwest. They formed in Burlington in 1999.
14th Star Brewing Company will operate the cash bar. There will be small bites by Fiddler's on the Green @ Joey's Junction and baked goods by Sweet Temptations.
Admission is $14 in advance or $18 at the door. Call 933.6171 or click here for tickets and more info.
SOUTH BURLINGTON--Spring Release, the Vermont Watercolor Society Spring Members' Show, opens with a reception at the South Burlington Public Library on Saturday at 1 - 3 p.m. The show features the work of MAG member Mary Anne Duffy Godin. The VWS has over 240 members dedicated to promoting the awareness and appreciation of watercolor with education, fellowship, and exhibitions. ART ON THE WALLS
Bring a refreshment, savory finger food, or dessert to share. Everyone is welcome. Click here for more info.
JEFFERSONVILLE--The Vermont blues: is it Winter or Spring? Bryan Memorial Gallery features Jacob Aguiar's pastel rendition of the Vermont Blues on Facebook and in the Stowe gallery.
The gallery has exhibits of the landscape painters of New England. The main showcase in Jeffersonville is open Wednesday-Sunday 11 - 4 and the Stowe Gallery is open Wednesday, Thursday and Sunday, 11 - 5, and Friday and Saturday, 11 - 6. Appointments are available. Call ahead (802.644.5100) to schedule or click here for more info.
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
MILTON--The Milton Artists Guild hosts Paint and Sip--Patty the Gnome with Sylvia Oblak this evening at 6 p.m. The cost is $45 for members and $50 for non-members. Click here for more info. ART YOU CREATE
MORRISVILLE--River Arts hosts the in-person, Paint & Sip: Spring Landscapes with Natalie Carr on Friday at 6 p.m. This evening will paint a landscape with spring flowers in acrylic.
The cost is $55. Click here to enroll and for more info.
NVAA ANNUAL JUNE SHOW (Now)--The Northern Vermont Artists' Association annual June Show seeks member works for the annual exhibit at Visions of Vermont Gallery. Email with the artist, phone, email address, and the title, medium, size, and price of two works. Drop off for the show is Saturday, June 1. CALL FOR ARTISTS
SWANTON--The Vermont Abenaki Artists Association features certified fine, decorative, and performing artists officially labeled as "American Indian" under Federal law. The Elnu Abenaki Singers have performed across the Northeast and mid-Atlantic regions for more than two decades. Click here for the rest of their story. FEATURED ARTISTS
ONLINE--The Vermont Abenaki Artists Association's monthly Bridging Perspectives speaker series continues with Andrea Tamburro to discuss Intergenerational Trauma: Healing and Resilience on Zoom next Thursday, March 21, at 6 p.m. The program will examine the impact of colonization with a focus on the Abenaki and other Northeastern tribes and will explore healing practices that bring communities together and promote resilience. HUMANITIES
The program is free but donations are appreciated. Click here to register in advance and for more info.
ST. ALBANS--Osher Lifelong Learning Institute continues the Fall weekly program series with Extension Associate Professor Emeritus Chester F. Parsons to discuss the History of Sheep in Vermont in the Greg Brown Lodge at Hard'ack on Wednesday at 11 a.m. Sheep, including the Merino sheep imported from Spain, played a major role in the history of Vermont.
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.
ONLINE--The Vermont Humanities Council offers two hybrid events this week.
VHC will discuss Wallace Stegner's Pulitzer Prize-winning novel Based on a Real Life: Angle of Repose on the VHC Digital Channel and at the Blake Memorial Library tomorrow afternoon at 4:30 p.m. Call the library (802.439.5338) or Click here to register and for more info.
UVM history professor Felicia Kornbluh discusses Reproductive Rights and Justice in the 1970s and Today on the VHC Digital Channel and at the Goodrich Memorial Library on Wednesday at 7 p.m. Click here to register and for more info.
MILTON--The Milton Artists' Guild Art Center presents poet Rajnii Eddins in a dynamic presentation on Saturday at 3 p.m. The spoken word poet/emcee and teaching artist was the youngest member of the Afrikan American Writers Alliance at age 11 and has been sharing with youth and community in Vermont since 2010. A community discussion and Q&A will follow his talk. Click here for more info. POETRY
ONLINE--Richard Cowperthwait, Saint Albans Messenger's Bridget Higdon, and re-elected St. Albans Mayor Tim Smith analyzed the results and spoke with candidates/officials about the day's events on NW Access TV and YouTube. TOWN MEETING
SWANTON--The Swanton Library hosts Intro to Macrame with local crafter Allie Chapple at the library on Friday at 5 p.m. All skill levels are welcome. The class is funded by a generous grant from the Swanton Arts Council. Click here to register and for more info. WORKSHOPS & CLASSES
JEFFERSONVILLE--The Bryan Memorial Gallery offers Key Elements in Portrait Painting as a two-day workshop with George Van Hook on Saturday and Sunday at 9 a.m - 4 p.m. The work will begin with an understanding of the structure of the head with time drawing the head from a live model before moving to a limited palette of colors for full studies. There will be information on painting simple clothing and work with each individual student. Artists at any stage of their development are welcome. Registration is required. Email , call 802.644.5100, or click here for more info and to register.
STOWE--The Bryan Memorial Gallery also hosts a live painting session with Plein Air artist Viktor Butko on Saturday at 12 noon - 2 p.m. Mr. Butko will create a work in real-time and engage with the audience to show more about his techniques and inspirations. Admission is free. This free event is not a sit down demo--seating is possible but limited. Email or click here for more info.
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.
MORRISVILLE--River Arts offers two new workshops this week.
The Mindful Art Series has Creative Escape--Fantasy in Art, with Jen Volansky this evening at 5:30 - 7:30 p.m. Fantasy Worlds in Miniature is a magical journey into fantasy, storytelling, and the creation of dioramas. The cost is $30. Click here to register and for more info.
The Best I've Ever Slabbed: Handbuilding Clay Class with Chiara begins a five session series on Wednesday at 6 - 8 p.m. Classes will be held each Wednesday through April 17. Ms. Keeling will guide students through the slab technique to hand-build useful things such as mugs, pitchers, vases, storage containers, and more. Tuition is $170. Click here to enroll and for more info.
COVID-19 is still here. Hospitalizations statewide were down to 22 for the week ending February 21, down another three from the week before. Ten, or almost half of those hospitalizations were in Franklin County. Three more Vermonters died statewide from the virus in the week ending February 24 for a pandemic total of 1,131 in Vermont. COVID NEWS
CDC estimates that 97% of Americans have some level of immunity, from either vaccination or infection or both, but the fact that 42 Vermonters have died and 370 have been sick enough to require hospitalization since New Year's Day remains worrisome. That Franklin County has less than 8% of the state population and accounts for more than one-third of those hospitalizations (128) is more so.
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 just 17% of Franklin County residents have received the new COVID vaccine, trailed only by Essex County. That compares to about 24% of Vermonters statewide who have had the latest COVID-19 vaccine and 37% of Vermonters who have gotten a flu shot. Vermonters have not moved those numbers much in the past four weeks.
The 2023-2024 flu season began the week of October 1, 2023. 32% of Franklin County residents have gotten flu shots. 43% each in neighboring Chittenden and Grand Isle rolled up their sleeves. Looks like we're more concerned about (or at least more aware of) the flu than COVID. A quick look at the flu data shows that, statewide, this has been a "mild" season. Surprisingly, February has had the most ER and Urgent Care visits for diagnosed influenza or influenza-like illnesses. There was no data specific to the flu in Franklin County available at press time but there have been no institutional outbreaks in Franklin County this season.
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, March 14 ON STAGE LIVE
SOUTH HERO--Today is the Blue Paddle Bistro's 19th Anniversary and it falls on Acoustic Thursday. The will celebrate this evening with dinner and live music by Ron Gagnon at 5 p.m. Click here for more info.
NORTH HERO--The North Hero House hosts Karaoke Night in the Event Barn this evening at 6 p.m. Find them on Facebook for more info.
ST. ALBANS--It's Karaoke and Open Mic Night live in The Room at 14th Star on Thursday at 6:30 p.m. Find them on Facebook for more info.
Thursday-Saturday, March 14-16
ESSEX JUNCTION--On Tap starts an Irish Weekend of music with Jomoband tonight at 6 p.m. two shows Friday night, Shane's Apothecary at 5 p.m., and then the Phantom Airwaves take over for late night music starting at 9 p.m., plus two more shows live on St. Patrick's Eve with Matty & Me at 5 p.m., and Last Kid Picked at 9:30 p.m. and then (Jameson) 90 Proof brings the smooth and mellow notes of vanilla, caramel, and spice to St. Patrick's at 3 p.m. Call 802.878.3309 or email for more info. Click here to reserve a table.
Friday, the Ides of March
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.
ENOSBURG--"Vermont's Celtic Rock Sensation," Prydein sets the Opera House at Enosburg Falls stage on fire again for St. Patrick's Weekend on Friday at 7:30 p.m. Doors at 7.
BURLINGTON--The Paul Asbell Trio brings a night of jazz to Foam Brewers this evening at 7 p.m. The small, 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, March 15-17
ST. ALBANS--14th Star holds a St. Patrick's Weekend Celebration with Irish-inspired specials from Grazers on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday from 11 a.m. - 10 p.m. "John O'Geno" leads Summer Sounds favorites IncaHoots for a night of live music in The Room on Friday at 6 p.m. Find them on Facebook here and here for more info.
COLCHESTER--The Spanked Puppy has a double shamrock weekend with Chris & Issy on Free Music Every Friday at 6 p.m. and the WD40s on Sunday at 2 p.m. Find them on Facebook for more info.
COLCHESTER--Live (Irish) Music fills The Taphouse at Mill River with music this weekend. John Gratton kicks it off on Friday at 6 p.m. followed by the Smokey Newfield Project "polishing our Irish tunes"on Saturday at 5:30 p.m. Find them on Facebook for more info.
JERICHO--The Jericho Cafe and Tavern fills with Live Music in March. The Phillip Hyjek Trio plays Friday, Spencer Lewis comes in on Saturday, and the Smokey Newfield Project returns with more Irish tunes on Sunday. Music starts at 6 p.m. Find them on Facebook for more info.
ST. ALBANS--Twiggs often has shows on Friday and Saturday nights. Support live, local music. This week they host Roger Giroux on Friday and Dave Miller live on Saturday night. 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.
Saturday, March 16
ST. ALBANS--Barbie-N-Bones rock the Depot for St. Patrick's Day weekend on Saturday night at 9 p.m. There is a $5 cover charge. Food for purchase and cash bar will be available. Find them on Facebook for more info.
Sunday, March 17
ST. ALBANS--The 10th annual St. Patrick's Day Parade & Festivities take over City Hall and Downtown on Sunday at 2 p.m. After the parade, City Hall Auditorium will fill with Irish music, bagpipes, activities for the kids, Irish beer, free green beverages, Irish food, Irish tattoos and more. Find them on Facebook for more info.
Wednesday, March 20
BURLINGTON--Young Tradition Vermont hosts Fam Jam! at Fletcher Free Library on Wednesday at 6:30 p.m. The group provides a space to try out playing tunes and singing songs together. There will be a session leader to facilitate and to guide to newcomers to jams. Adults and youth of all ages and skill levels are welcome to bring instruments and join in the fun. This event is free and open to anyone. 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. 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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