DANCE - FINE ARTS - MUSIC - THEATER - WRITING

ARTBITS by Richard B. Harper


VOLUME 16 * * All Arts News On the Web * * May 31, 2012

STUFF YOU SHOULDN'T MISS

      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.


      Stop in for live music and more at the Fairfax Music Sessions at the Foothills Bakery in Fairfax most Saturday afternoons at 1 p.m., at various restaurants around Franklin County throughout the week, at the Bayside in St Albans Town most Sunday afternoons, and the Cambridge CoffeeHouses at 7 p.m. on the first and third Wednesday of every month.
     These gatherings bring new opportunities, gossip, "show-and-tell" and occasional workshops. The booked performances and acoustic Open Mike Nights feature music, readings, and more from the best new artists in Vermont.

      Find links to these events and more in our Spotlight!

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JUMPSTART WITH MILK!

      June is National Dairy Month and the Enosburg Falls Lions club celebrates 56 years of Vermont Dairy Festivals this weekend with almost unlimited entertainment and magical family activities. Most of the stage shows and entertainment are on the Lincoln Park Bandstand. All the outdoor entertainment is free.
      The Dairy Festival begins today and continues through Sunday in downtown Enosburg Falls.
      The Mooooving Parade starts Saturday at 10:30. With marching bands and mobile mooving murals, it is one of Vermont's largest parades.
      All that milk includes some art. The Masonic Hall hosts the Arts and Crafts show Saturday and Sunday.

THURSDAY--The Vermont Dairy Festival Scholarship Pageant Finals are held this evening at 7 p.m. in the Opera House at Enosburg Falls as college-bound seniors return for final judging. The competition tonight includes poise and appearance, stage interviews, and youth fitness.
      The Enosburg Lions offer scholarship prizes ranging from $125 to $750.
      Admission is $8. Tickets will be available at the door.

FRIDAY--Female Vocalist Alanna Freeman of Highgate gets us off to a good start. 6 p.m. on the Green.
      Dark Horse brings their Country/Southern to their first appearance at the Dary Festival. Look for new songs by Dierks Bentley, Lady Antebellum, Thompson Square, George Strait, Alan Jackson, and a Charlie Daniels classic by Bob Corbiere, Bob Berger, Dan Cox, George Seymour, and Ron Hall. 6 p.m.-closing on the bandstand.

SATURDAY--The Parade begins at 10:30 and the Dairy Festival hosts a marching band competition at the Main Street reviewing stand at 12:30 p.m.
      The front porch string band Chasing 440 plays bluegrass and "old tyme rhythms" fronted by David Benway, vocals and lead guitar; Arnold Royea, fiddle and mandolin; Bill Masse, dobro and other instruments, Mike Ryan, vocals, banjo, Blueridge flattop, and mandolin. 1 p.m on the Bandstand.
      Marko The Magician returns for two sets of magic and hypnosis. 2 and 3 p.m. on the Green.
      Vocalist Sarah Butson sings the afternoon away. 4 p.m. on the Band Stand.
      The Northeast Fiddlers Association is dedicated to preserving and promoting old-time fiddling and its related arts and skills. 5 p.m. on the Green.
      Boozehounds start at 7 p.m. and play through the fireworks on the Band Stand.

SUNDAY-Music With A Message kicks off the day at 10 a.m. on the Green.
      The bluegrass playing Missisquoi River Band features Cindy and Jim Weed and Pat Murphy. 11 a.m. on the Bandstand.
      Todd Wellington, the King of Silly is billed as "pound for pound, the finest entertainer in three states" from Red Sox games to NASCAR races. Look for juggling, unicycling, balloons, magic, and physical comedy. 1 and 3 p.m. on the Green.
      Peter Professor Fairbanks Miller has been playing violin for 44 years. You may hear jazz, classical, rock, folk, fiddling, and improv on a traditional as well as the 6-string electric violin. 2 p.m. on the Bandstand.

     The men and women of the Enosburg Lions volunteer their time to conduct service projects and raise funds for the local community. They contribute to senior citizens' programs, area school projects, community health services, the Enosburg public library, family assistance and drug/alcohol programs, fire and ambulance services, other non-profit organizations, scholarships, as well as to the Lions International sight and hearing programs. The Vermont Dairy Festival is the Enosburg Lions' primary source of funding for these programs with thousands of man-hours and hundreds of thousands of dollars donated to the community.
      The Vermont Dairy Festival midway opens at 6 p.m. this evening. Entertainment on the bandstand starts Friday evening at 6 p.m. and the weekend activities begin at 9 a.m. Saturday and Sunday in downtown Enosburg Falls. Admission to the grounds is free and most events are also free. Click here for more info.


ON STAGE LIVE

ST. ALBANS--The Cosmic Bakery and Cafe hosts Carol Ann Jones and Will Patton for Cosmic Nights tomorrow evening at 7 p.m.
      Click here for more info.


ESSEX JUNCTION--Backstage Pub presents Justice tomorrow evening at 9:30 p.m. The band is Gary Greeno, lead vocals; Scott Belisle on bass and backup vocals; Todd Dunn, lead and rhythm guitar; Mike Fredette, drums; and Scott Guptill, rhythm guitar and backup vocals.
      Call 802.878.5494 for more info.


ST. ALBANS--Chow!Bella hosts the Chow Open Mic night on Wednesday, June 6. Sign up from 6 - 6:30 p.m. or email for more info.


FRANKLIN COUNTY BOOKSHELF

     Patrick Ness author of The Knife of Never Letting Go! has won the 7th annual Green Mountain Book Award. The Vermont Department of Libraries program is a readers' choice award for students in grades 9 - 12.


HIGHGATE--The Highgate Public Library offers a car seat inspection on Tuesday, June 5, at 10 a.m. I suppose that volunteers might check to see if your sports car bucket seat pockets have room for your library books, but the intent is to assure the security of infant and child safety seats.


RICHFORD--Planning programs for a community of busy people is always challenging. The A.A. Brown Library wants to know what adult programming patrons want to see at the library. They have a short questionnaire online. click here to take the survey.


ST. ALBANS--The St. Albans Free Public Library will hold a puppet show in lieu of Story Hour today at 10:30 a.m.


NEFA NEWS

     The New England Foundation for the Arts received a recent $2,200,000 Andrew W. Mellon Foundation award for the National Theater Project and has rotated in three new advisors to help guide the program. Colleen Jennings-Roggensack is Assistant V.P. for Cultural Affairs of Arizona State University and E.D. of ASU Gammage; Howard Shalwitz is Artistic Director of the Woolly Mammoth Theater Company in D.C.; Lisa Steindler is Artistic Director of Z Space. The advisors generally come from the ranks of national presenters, producing theaters, festivals, and theater artists.
      The National Theater Project Advisors guide applicants in proposal preparation and tour development. They can also help with project selection and serve as consultants and ambassadors for the program.


      Reserve your spot: The Creative Communities Exchange takes place next week, June 6-7, in Portland, Maine. This is a peer exchange for creative and cultural leaders from communities and organizations around New England shares practical info and up-to-date stories about creative economy projects. Participants walk away with tools that can be used at home.
      The CCE has workshops focused on downtown revitalization, artist and small business professional development, data collection, planning, zoning, space development, marketing, and more.
      NEFA has awarded over $1.6 million since January for creative exchange projects across the country, from Naples, Maine, to Alamogordo, New Mexico.
      Call New England Services Coordinator Nella Young (617.951.0010 x529) or email for more info.


CLICK HERE: ART SITE OF THE WEEK

     Sherri Osborn offers an About.com roundup of summer crafts and activities from a hand print summer sun for ages 3 (time required just 30 minutes) to saving your summer blooms.


FRANKLIN COUNTY BOOKSHELF

      ArtBits features a quick weekly peek at the bookshelf or night stand of the folks you know in and around Franklin County. That popular feature has a page of its own at the Franklin County Bookshelf here on the AAC site.


SUPPORT LIVE ARTS IN YOUR TOWN!


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      This article was originally published in the St Albans Messenger and other traditional print media. It is Copyright © 2012 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.