DANCE - FINE ARTS - MUSIC - THEATER - WRITING

ARTBITS by Richard B. Harper


VOLUME 16 * * All Arts News On the Web * * December 27, 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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ON STAGE LIVE

MORRISVILLE--The Bees Knees presents Carol Ann Jones in the round with fellow farmer/singer/songwriter, Alan Greenleaf this evening at 7:30 p.m.
      Admission is by $5-10 suggested donation.


ST. ALBANS--Chow Bella celebrates the New Year with the second annual party for community and friends on Monday evening. Abbey Road will play at Twiggs starting at 8 p.m.
      They may have live piano, violin, or light guitar any day of the week. The Chow! Cabaret offers live performances by musicians, visual artists, poets, and more. The regular Chow Open Mic Night repeats next Wednesday and on the first Wednesday of every month. Their Open Comedy Night for comics 18 and older is held on the third Tuesday of every month. Vern Colburn is Live on the Piano on Friday Nights, Dayve Huckett on the guitar on the first and third Saturday, and the Best Little Border Band plays some of the best jazz in Vermont on the second and fourth Saturdays, starting at 5:30 p.m.
      Call 802.524.1405, email, or click here for more info or booking requests.


BURLINGTON--Young Tradition-Vermont presents Diversity Rocks at First Night with two shows in Contois Auditorium on Saturday at 3 p.m.
      The Diversity Rocks International Youth Group is an international group of youth ages 14-21 who came to the U.S. as refugees and immigrants from countries including Bhutan, Burma, Burundi, Democratic Republic of Congo, Ivory Coast, and Somalia.


FIRST NIGHT LIVE

BURLINGTON--First Night Burlington has a citywide, substance-free party of stage shows, musical acts, and arts activities to kick off the new year. Downtown Friday from noon on.
      A huge number of performers are either from Franklin County or are Summer Sounds favorites starting with Paul Asbell, Atlantic Crossing, Michele Choiniere with Will Patton, the Constitution Brass Quintet, Counterpoint Chorus, Gary Dulabaum, Electric Youth Dance Company, Tammy Fletcher Band, Jon Gailmor, Tim Jennings and Leanne Ponder, Mark LeGrand & Sarah Munro, Longford Row, Modern Grass Quintet, Prydein, Social Band, Annemieke Spoelstra and Jeremiah McLane, Starline Rhythm Boys, Vermont Youth Orchestra and VYO Chorus, Yankee Chank, and Young Tradition Vermont.
      Some events are free; buttons are $5-27 at 65 button outlets including Hannaford, KeyBank, Price Chopper, or Vermont Federal Credit Union in St. Albans. Most Flynn MainStage and Memorial Auditorium shows require $4 tickets in addition to the button. Click here for a complete schedule.

LOOKING BACK AT THE YEAR

      Franklin County artists and presenters had a busy year in 2012. This week, we wrap up the All Arts Council events, what Other Major Presenters pulled off, and the Four Franklin County Festivals.
ALL ARTS COUNCIL
      The All Arts Council serves northwestern Vermont as a presenter, an event producer, and as a technical resource for artists and other groups. Other Franklin County organizations continue to grow, which means we support more events.
      Summer Sounds, Franklin County's popular, long running, outdoor series, offered free concerts on summer Sunday evenings. As we close in on a quarter century of concerts (this was the 23rd season of the popular free concert series) we began a search for new, younger performers. The season began when Dark Horse played into the Fireworks at St Albans Bay. We featured Keeghan Nolan's Young Guns Tour twice, once in Highgate and then in Swanton, and had new performances by the Joe Levesque Big Band and Longford Row. Jenni Johnson and the Jazz Junketeers, Mr. French, and Towne Meeting all returned for a great season.
      The free concerts in this series have been sponsored by the supporting Towns and the All Arts Council, and underwritten by Chevalier Drilling, Desorcie's Market, Drummac Septic Service, O. C. McCuin and Sons, Ray's Extrusion Dies and Tubing, and the Swanton Chamber of Commerce. We also received a special grant from Mylan Technologies.
      The community based All Arts Council brings the performing and visual arts to northwestern Vermont. The Summer Sounds concerts are always on Sunday evenings, always at 7 p.m., always in a Town Park, always in the summer, and always free.
      Did you miss any of the concerts? Fortunately, Northwest Access TV and the All Arts Council produce Almost Live, a series of live concerts that airs each week on Comcast Channel 15. The volunteer videography crew produced a "front row seat" show of all the Summer Sounds concerts and many more besides. click here for more info.
THE FOUR FESTIVALS
      The seventh annual Art in Bloom Festival brought a day of music, a gazillion art exhibits, and plenty of food to Swanson's Farm and Nursery in Fairfax, all as a benefit for the BFA-Fairfax Nordic Ski Team. The artists and artisans included the Animal Whisperer, Amanda Bates, Corliss Blakely with iPhone and iPad paintings, Barbara and Josh Derner, Wayne Freeman, Humming Wheel Pottery, In the Ferns, Lena Meunier, Mary Smith, Vermont Moods Photography, Ellen Powell, Tia Rooney, Darla White, Karen Day-Vath, plus Art in Bloom Tie Dye, face painting, maple iced coffees, a petting zoo, fresh veggies and flowers, and more.
      Franklin County Field Days had a lineup of music, arts and crafts, antique tractors, and of course cows. The ten band stage lineup was worth the price of admission alone: hypnotist Joey Allen, the Jim Daniels Band, Chasing 440, Dark Horse, Alana Freeman of Highgate, Ivory, the Valerie-Costello Band, Maple Creek, Missisquoi River Band, the Keeghan Nolan Band, the Jessica Prouty Band, and the Nobby Reed Project to anchor the show.
      The popular Scholarship Pageant opened the 56th Vermont Dairy Festival which followed up with almost unlimited entertainment and family activities with a weekend lineup that included Alanna Freeman, Boozehounds, Sarah Butson, Chasing 440, Dark Horse, Marko The Magician, Music With A Message, Missisquoi River Band, and Professor Fairbanks. The Northeast Fiddlers Association promoted old-time fiddling.
      The 46th annual Vermont Maple Festival was the first major outdoor event of the year; it offered Big Bands, country bands, magicians, instrumentalists, classic ensembles, rock bands, storytellers, choruses, dancers, puppeteers, and more. The free Main Street stage hosted Dark Horse, the Electric Youth Dance Company, the Michele Fay Band, the Joe Levesque Big Band, Marko the Magician, the Smokey Newfield Project, Prydelin, Bill Shontz, and the Youth Talent Show winners. BFA filled to overflowing with the Youth Talent Show, the premiere Fiddler's Variety Show, and the annual Crafts and Specialty Foods Show with artwork and fine photographs, glittery bling, classy clothing, wooden things, and fine Vermont specialty foods. The famed Foothills Fogies and other acts appeared around town. Did I mention that the Main Street Stage is always free?
OTHER MAJOR PRESENTERS
      The Artist In Residence Gallery in Enosburg Falls featured dozens of northern Vermont fine artists with a focus on four different artists each month.
      The Opera House at Enosburg Falls had a busy year with the Community Christmas Concert, Count Dracula the Play, the 18th annual Fundraiser Gala, The Godmother and Queen of the Silent Scream, Highbrow to Hoedown, two Mystery Dinner Theaters, and Summer Music Camp; plus a Community Night at the Opera House and the 20th annual Talent Search. The Opera House hosted the Franklin Northeast Supervisory Union annual District Art Gala and houses a permanent art exhibit.
      Rotary Home and Recreation Expo continued a program of art for the home. The Rotary Club of St. Albans exhibited a new Fred Swan poster, photographer Chris Hungerford and more.
      Summer Music at Grace opened the season before Memorial Day with the tenth annual Farewell Reunion concert (in conjunction with Events for Tom). They continued with the Michele Fay Band featuring music from their new CD, Endless Sky, PossumHaw, and Chasing 440.
      Young Tradition-Vermont is a statewide presenter with more than a dozen major events each year including several Events for Tom.


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.


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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.