| VOLUME 28 | * * All Arts News On the Web * * | April 4, 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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FRANKLIN COUNTY--Monday is the once-in-a-generation Great North American Eclipse. The partial eclipse begins at 2:14 p.m. The total eclipse begins at 3:25 p.m. Any yard or field or access in the county with a clear view of the sky is in the direct path of the eclipse. ECLIPSE WEEKEND FESTIVALS AND SHOWS
SOUTH HERO--Snow Farm Vineyard has a three-day Eclipse Celebration Festival running from Saturday through Monday.
Saturday starts with Parking Lot Pizza at noon - 5 p.m. followed by the Eclipse Farm & Craft Market at 1 p.m. and the live music with She Was Right at 3 p.m.
Sunday is also busy. Upon a Rock Vermont promises a new Pebble Art Workshop starting at noon. Acoustic singer/songwriter Ryan Sweezey takes the stage at 3 p.m. and a Full Moon Circle to create a sense of community and togetherness starting at 6 p.m.
Summer Sounds favorites Carol Ann Jones with Will Smith play an Eclipse Celebration for the great American eclipse on Monday at 1:30 - 4 p.m.
Click here for more info.
ST. ALBANS--Eclipse Magic. The Saint Albans Museum invites eclipse chasers and St. Albans natives alike to explore the exhibits, get a sneak peek at upcoming events, and enjoy a special presentation about past solar eclipses in Vermont, all on Sunday, the eve of the eclipse, at 1-3 p.m.
MONTPELIER--Barr Hill Distillery will have a Solar Eclipse Party with the Summer Sounds favorites Nobby Reed Project live on Monday from 12-4 p.m. They will have food vendors, special cocktails, commemorative glassware, and special viewing glasses with Trivia afterwards. The event is free and open to the public.
ST. ALBANS--The City and Town are going all out with a number of events.
St. Albans Rec will stage a Hard'ack Hootenanny Eclipse Celebration on Monday starting at 12 noon. The "walk in event" will have music by the Smokey Newfield Project, food, drink, fire on the patio, and fun for all There will be no parking on site. "The Fun is Free. The food, drink, and swag are at additional cost."
Saint Albans City hosts a Viewing Party in Taylor Park with Ryan Sweezey and the Midnight Walkers rocking the park throughout the event plus a Nimble Arts juggler and stilt walker, and CCV family activities, all on Monday afternoon.
14th Star Brewery hosts Eclipse Brews & Views in their outdoor side. Live music begins after the sun returns as Rushmore takes over the Taproom on Monday at 4 - 7 p.m.
The Taphouse at Mill River Eclipse After Party features Jacob Green on Monday at 4 - 9 p.m.
In the Dark at St. Albans Bay Park starts on Monday at 2 p.m. with the eclipse directly over the Bay.
Visit the Chamber Office for the eclipse. They have souvenir t-shirts, hotdogs and chips and more.
ST. ALBANS--The Artist In Residence Gallery features different artists each month. This month, the spotlight is on potters Barbara Colgrove and Barbara Flathers, and watercolor painter and mixed media artist Dorothy Goulet 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--Bryan Memorial Gallery featured David Pound's Sterling Brook Serenity new at the Stowe gallery for April 1 and on Facebook.
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.
SWANTON--The Vermont Abenaki Artists Association features certified fine, decorative, and performing artists officially labeled as "American Indian" under Federal law.
Basket maker Sherry Gould celebrates the creation of Abenaki fancy baskets. Click here for her story and a look at her work.
ONLINE--St Albans Community Arts features works by local artists. Self taught impressionist artist Lizzy Ridges showcases her new work. Daisy Fiber Art offers some new spring friends. Find them on Facebook for more info.
SWANTON--The Swanton Library has two events sponsored by the Swanton Arts Council this week. ART YOU CREATE
Cardmaking with Barb will be held in the Maker Space today at 2 - 4 p.m. The card making workshops take place the first Thursday of each month. Kits are available for all attendees but space is limited and pre-registration is required.
Local crafter Barb Switzer will also lead a Paper Flower Class in the Maker Space on Saturday at 10 a.m. - 12 noon.
Call the library (802.868.7656) to register. Call Barb Switzer (802.752.7917) or email for more info.
MILTON--Sylvia Oblak leads the Paint and Sip Solar Eclipse at the Milton Artists Guild Art Center on Sunday, the eve of the eclipse, at 6 p.m. The cost for the BYOB event is $45 for members and $50 for non members. Click here to register and for more info.
ST. ALBANS--The St. Albans Community Arts Creative Connections continues at St. Albans City Hall on Wednesday at 4 - 7 p.m. CALL FOR ARTISTS
Working on a creative project? Want to try something new but need special tools? Need an extra set of hands? Have donations for SACA projects? Interested in a material swap? 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 on the second Wednesday of the month. All ages and backgrounds are welcome. Find them on Facebook for more info.
VERMONT QUILT SAMPLER EXHIBITION (April 6)--The juried exhibition is open to all Vermont quilters. The exhibition will be displayed in the Billings Farm Historic Barn gallery from June through September. Click here for more info.
SAPPY ART SHOW (April 9)--The Vermont Maple Festival and Village Frame Shoppe & Gallery exhibit is open to Vermont all artists, aspiring artists, and young artists working in any 2-dimensional or 3-dimensional media. This year's theme is Totally Eclipsed by Vermont Maple. Works will be juried and on display at the Village Frame Shoppe during the Vermont Maple Festival. Cash prizes. No entry fee. Click here for more info and to register.
CREATION GRANTS (April 9)--Grant funds support artists or groups in creating new work. They may be used to compensate the artists for time spent, to purchase materials, or to rent equipment or space for the process. Established and emerging artists are eligible. Click here to apply online and for more info. CREATIVE NETWORK
Have you updated your CreativeGround profile recently? Find them on Facebook for more info.
ONLINE--The Vermont Abenaki Artists Association's Bridging Perspectives speaker series continues with Remembering The Dawn Land: Joseph Bruchac's presentation on the historical novel Dawn Land on Zoom today at 6 p.m. The program will examine Western New England as been the homeland of indigenous people for at least 10,000 years. HUMANITIES
The program is free but donations are appreciated. Click here to register in advance and for more info.
JEFFERSONVILLE--The Cambridge Historical Society presents Nancy Marie Brown of Lyndon to discuss the Far Traveler: Voyages of a Viking Woman on Wednesday at 7 p.m. Recent archaeological digs in Newfoundland, Greenland, and Iceland show that a Viking woman came to the New World 500 years before Columbus. Gudrid the Far-Traveler, sister-in-law of Leif Eiriksson, tried to set up a colony on the shores of the Gulf of St Lawrence around the year 1000. Email Georgeana Little or click here for more info.
MORRISVILLE--The April Open Studio Figure Drawing at River Arts offers a semi-nude session today at 3:30 p.m. There will be a combination of short and medium-length poses, and a long pose at the end. River Arts limits nude sessions to ages 16 and older. This session isn't just for figure drawing; sculptors and photographers are welcome. The cost is $15 with pre-registration preferred. Click here to register and for more info. WORKSHOPS & CLASSES
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.
COVID-19 is still here. Reported cases have fallen to their lowest level since early fall but hospitalizations statewide declined to 10 for the week ending March 16. Six of those hospitalizations (60%) were in Franklin County. There were no fatalities in the week ending March 16 for a pandemic total of 1,138 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 49 Vermonters have died and 380 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 (134) 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. According to the state COVID-19 and Flu Vaccination Dashboard still just 17% of Franklin County residents have received the new COVID vaccine, still trailed only by Essex County. That compares to about 25% 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 six 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.
Although the free program has been suspended, there are thousands of free testing sites. The state and many municipalities may 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 current JN.1 variant dodges all but the most up-to-date 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 everywhere 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.
Support live, local music. ON STAGE LIVE
Thursday, April 4
SOUTH HERO--The Blue Paddle Bistro often hosts Acoustic Thursday this evening at 5 - 7 p.m. Click here for more info.
ST. ALBANS--It's Karaoke and Open Mic Night live in The Room at 14th Star this evening at 6:30 p.m. Find them on Facebook for more info.
Thursday-Saturday, April 4-6
ESSEX JUNCTION--On Tap starts a weekend of music with the Jeff Salisbury Band tonight at 6 p.m. two shows Friday night, She Was Right at 5 p.m., and then the Phil Abair Band with Keeghan Nolan returns for late night music starting at 9 p.m., plus two more shows live on Saturday night with Mitch & Devon at 5 p.m., and Frankie and the Phoenix at 9 p.m. Call 802.878.3309 or email for more info. Click here to reserve a table.
Friday, April 5
COLCHESTER--Laura Fedele-Rasco plays the songs you know by heart in the live and free Friday Night Live Music at the Spanked Puppy on Friday at 6 p.m. Find them on Facebook for more info.
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.
ENOSBURG--The Opera House at Enosburg Falls presents a unique concert with Heliand &EK Duo on Friday at 7:30 p.m. Doors at 7. Oboist Katie Oprea and bassoonist Rachael Elliott are joined by New York percussion virtuoso Thomas Kozumplik (EK Duo) for an evening of chamber music and new arrangements of music by J. S. Bach, Claude Debussy, Thomas Kozumplik, Padma Newsome, Isadora Zebeljan, and others.
Admission is by donation at the door. The concert will be reprised at Catamount Arts on Saturday and the Westford Music Series on Sunday. Click here for more info.
ST. ALBANS--The Red Carpet Review Drag Show is coming to The Depot hosted by a Woman Named Carlos (the Uber driver) on Friday night at 8 p.m. The Queens will impersonate Dolly Parton, Cher, Reba, Lady Gaga, Adele, Liza Minnelli, and more. Standard seated general admission is $25. Limited seated VIP admission is $40. Tickets are available at the Depot or click here for tickets and more info.
Friday-Sunday, April 5-7
ST. ALBANS--Twiggs kicks off April with shows on Friday and Saturday nights. This week they welcome Sheri Anne and Sister Speak back to the stage on Friday and Blue Heron 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, April 6
NORTH HERO--The North Hero House throws a Summer Party in the Event Barn on Saturday at 2 - 5 p.m. Find them on Facebook for more info.
ST. ALBANS--The Champlain Country Club presents the Nobby Reed Project in a "pre-season opener" on Saturday.
ST. ALBANS--The Taphouse at Mill River hosts the Rough Suspects on Saturday at 6 p.m. Find them on Facebook for more info.
ST. ALBANS--PET Project makes their debut at 14th Star for a night of live music in The Room on Saturday at 6 p.m. Find them on Facebook for more info.
Sunday, April 7
MORRISVILLE--Moog's Joint and the Cambridge Cannabis Company present a Pre-Eclipse Celebration and Dance Party with Vermont's Phish Cover Band, Multibeast, on Sunday at 7:30 p.m. Find them on Facebook for more info.
Monday, April 8
FRANKLIN COUNTY AND BEYOND--Monday is the once-in-a-generation Great North American Eclipse. The partial eclipse begins at 2:14 p.m. The total eclipse begins at 3:25 p.m. Any yard or field or access in the county with a clear view of the sky is in the direct path of the eclipse. Click here for the details.
MONTPELIER--Barr Hill Distillery will have a Solar Eclipse Party with the Nobby Reed Project live on Monday from 12-4 p.m. They will have food vendors, special cocktails, commemorative glassware, and special viewing glasses with Trivia afterwards. The event is free and open to the public.
Tuesday, April 9
KEY COLONY BEACH--Summer Sounds favorite John Bartus plays April Music by the Inch, Inch Beach, that is, on Tuesday at 5 - 7 p.m. Think of it as a "post-eclipse party."
Wednesday, April 10
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.
Saxophonist and "consummate showman and entertainer" Joe Moore, 75, has died as a result of complications due to surgery for his back. He had traveled extensively with show bands, including Lavell Kamma, and worked with Wilson Pickett, the Staple Singers, the Isley Brothers, Stevie Wonder, the Manhattans, Nancy Wilson, and Bo Diddly and opened for Taj Mahal, Tower of Power, and Jimmy Cliff. PASSAGES
Mr. Moore has been a fixture of the Vermont music scene since arriving almost by accident in St. Albans in the early-70s. Here he played with the John Cassell Band, Big Dolla, Jon Fishman and Pork Tornado, the Dave Keller Band, Left Eye Jump, the N-Zones, the Nobby Reed Project, the Jeff Salisbury Band, the Spiders in Rutland and the Spiders in East Fairfax, Bob Stannard & Those Dangerous Bluesmen, Still Kickin', the X-Rays and, of course, the Joe Moore Band.
"A very sad night," Will Patton, wrote of "one of our oldest and dearest friends, and one of the kindest people I've ever met. Love you, Joe."
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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