| VOLUME 28 | * * All Arts News On the Web * * | May 30, 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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ENOSBURG FALLS--June is National Dairy Month! MILK FROM MOO TO YOU
The Vermont Dairy Festival returns today and continues through Sunday in downtown Enosburg Falls.
The Enosburg Falls Lions Club celebrates 68 years of Dairy Days this weekend with more entertainment and magical family activities than ever before. Most of the music and entertainment is on two stages around Lincoln Park. The Dairy Scholarship Pageant returns tonight and the Fireworks will return to light up the sky on Saturday. There are pig races all weekend long. on Stebbins Street. All the outdoor entertainment is free.
The Mooooving Parade starts Saturday at 10:30. With marching bands and mobile mooving murals, it is one of Vermont's largest parades.
THURSDAY--The Vermont Dairy Festival Scholarship Pageant, this evening at 7:30 p.m. in the Opera House at Enosburg Falls, highlights the scholastic achievements, talents, and enthusiasm of college-bound high school senior girls in Franklin County. The competition includes poise and appearance, stage interviews, and youth fitness.
The Enosburg Lions offer scholarship prizes ranging from $125 to $750. Tickets will be available at the door.
FRIDAY--The six piece band Native Tongue plays original music and classic rock covers at 7 p.m. Bandstand.
SATURDAY--The Parade begins at 10:30. Pirate Man Dan will roam the parade route on his ship ahead of the parade.
Singer/songwriters Chris & Erica start the live music day at noon.
Pirate Man Dan thrills in a cloak of comedy and his Land Moving Ship at 1:30, 7:15 p.m. and roaming at 9 p.m.
Secondhand Blues take over at 2:15.
The Modern Times Theater brings Punch and Judy to life at 3:45 and 6 p.m.
One man band Jacob Green plays blues roots music at 4:30 p.m.
The Maple Grove Band returns for a special performance at 8 p.m. right through the fireworks.
Fireworks will shoot over the mighty Missisquoi about 9:30 p.m.
SUNDAY--Pirate Man Dan begins roaming at 11 a.m.
The Missisquoi River Band with Pat Murphy opens the Sunday music at 11 a.m.
Acoustic artists Aaron and Alaria Doane play original music at 12:30 p.m.
Farm to Fair keeps Dairy Days 68 going harmoniously at 1:15 and 3:30 p.m.
Vyntage Skynyrd pays tributes and celebrates the 70s by replicating the timeless music as it was originally recorded and performed at 2 p.m.
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 7 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, rain or shine. Cows go about their business regardless of the weather, and so does the Vermont Dairy Festival. Click here for more info.
JEFFERSONVILLE--The 2024 Jeffersonville Art Jam takes over downtown Jeffersonville with music and art everywhere you look on Sunday at 11 a.m. - 5 p.m. ART ON THE WALLS
Visions of Vermont hosts the Northern Vermont Artists Association 93rd June Juried Show with an opening reception at the Sugar House Gallery on Sunday at 11 a.m. - 5 p.m. The Carriage House Gallery features work by landscape masters Emile Gruppe, Aldo T. Hibbard, Thomas Curtin, Robert Blair, Karen Winslow, Eric Tobin and more. The NVAA show continues through June 29.
The Vermont Fiddle Orchestra plays under the mini circus tent on Sunday at 1 p.m.
The Cambridge Arts Council sidewalk art fest has artist booths on Main Street.
Bryan Memorial Gallery has three shows in the Jeffersonville Gallery, 40 Years Together, New England Waterways and Legacy 2024.
Click here or Find them on Facebook for more info about all the events.
JEFFERSONVILLE--Bryan Memorial Gallery features Rosalie Sidoti in both locations but her oil Tucked in the Foothills is on Facebook and in Jeffersonville. 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. Scriptwriter, photographer, writer, and researcher Lori Lambert spends her "spare time" on beadwork. "It is important to have a peaceful heart and calm mind otherwise the work will have bad karma." Click here for her story and a look at her work.
ENOSBURG--The First Sundays Flea & Farmers Market fills the Opera House at Enosburg Falls on Sunday at 9 a.m. - 2 p.m. The House has artists and handmade/hand-produced crafts and goods as well as antiques, unique vintage items and local foods. Click here for more info. ART FOR SALE
JEFFERSONVILLE--The Cambridge Arts Council will have a Sidewalk Art Sale in conjunction with the NVAA June Juried Show with an opening reception on Sunday at 11 a.m - 5 p.m.
ESSEX JUNCTION--Once Upon A Rock joins the Holy Walkamolies Relay For Life team with a Pebble Art Fundraiser at On Tap on Sunday at noon - 2 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. Relay For Life is a community-based fundraising event for the American Cancer Society and other cancer related institutions. ART YOU CREATE
The cost is $40. Find them on Facebook for tickets and more info.
BELLOWS FALLS--The Vermont Creative 2024 Creative Sector Convening happens in downtown Bellows Falls on June 6. It is a day to network, learn, and advocate with Vermonters working in the creative sector. Click here for more info. CREATIVE NETWORK
NORTH HERO--Elizabeth Powell will have Words in the Woods in a Vermont Humanities program at Knight Point State Park on Sunday at 11 a.m. Ms. Powell has written three books of poems and a novel. She is Professor of Creative Writing and Chair of the Writing and Literature Department at Northern Vermont University. HUMANITIES
Admission is free and entrance to the park will be covered by Vermont Humanities. Email Jacob Pelletier or click here to register and for more info.
GRAND ISLE--Storyteller Eugene Rich tells Abenaki Stories at Grand Isle State Park on Wednesday at 2 p.m. The former chief of the Missisquoi Nation of the Abenaki and Council Member of Alnôbaiwi tells stories about Glooscabe and the Great Turtle. Learn and enjoy the myths of the lakes and mountains and rivers of the Abenaki. Bring the kids. Free with park admission.
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
MORRISVILLE--River Arts offers Painting Pastoral, with Vermont artist Yvette "Evie" Mason on Friday at 5 - 8 p.m. This new class combines "the charm of American literature, poetry, and watercolor painting." Ms. Mason, an English teacher and a watercolor artist, will be a guide to nineteenth century literature and lead the class to create unique watercolor paintings inspired by the literary masterpieces.
Tuition is $80. Click here to enroll and for more info.
JEFFERSONVILLE--The Bryan Memorial Gallery offers a Cartooning Class with Robert Waldo Brunelle Jr on Friday and Saturdayat 9 a.m. - 3 p.m. Covering the basics of creating cartoons, the topics include: designing characters, caricaturing famous people, how to set up panels, writing speech balloons, inking and pencils, adding color, and creating cartoons using digital technologies. Attendees will need drawing paper, pencils, erasers, ink pens, colored pencils, and a straight-edge (ruler or triangle). This workshop is geared those age 15 and up.
The cost is $175. Use promo code BMGMEMBER for discounted member pricing. Click here to register and for more info.
SWANTON--The Swanton Arts Council will hold a Board Meeting and Updates in person at the Swanton Free Public Library on Wednesday at 6 p.m. Meetings are held on the first Wednesday of each month. Find the SAC on Facebook for the agenda and more info. IN THE SAC
COVID-19 is still here. CDC estimates that 97% of Americans have some level of immunity, from either vaccination or infection or both, but the fact Vermonters continue to die or become sick enough to require hospitalization, even with that level of immunity, remains worrisome. That Franklin County has less than 8% of the state population and accounts for more than one-third of statewide hospitalizations is more so. The statewide pandemic death toll rose to 1,148 as of May 11. COVID NEWS
Vaccines are available for COVID, the Flu, and RSV, the three main viruses that cause people to end up in a hospital. 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 still 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.
Thursday, May 30 ON STAGE LIVE
ST ALBANS TOWN--The weekly St. Albans Bay Farmer's Market and Concert Series begins the new season with NightHawk today from 4:30 - 7:30 p.m. They have live music every Thursday evening into September. Find them on Facebook for more info.
SOUTH HERO--Sticks and Stones play modern pop dance music, classic rock, and country rock in the Summer Concert Series at Snow Farm Vineyard this evening at 6:30 p.m. Food will be catered, call Kristen (802.922.8074) for all pre-order food requests. Click here for more info.
Thursday-Saturday, May 30-June 1
SOUTH HERO--The Blue Paddle Bistro kicks off summer and goes wild for the weekend.
Singer/songwriter and Summer Sounds favorite Carol Ann Jones returns for Acoustic Thursday this evening, "outdoors if it's nice, indoors if it's ... well, not." Then the Bettenroo Duo brings blended harmony and instrumental versatility on Friday. Music starts at 5:30 p.m. Click here for more info.
Thursday-Sunday, May 30-June 2
ENOSBURG--The Vermont Dairy Festival starts today and continues through Sunday with live music, a parade, fireworks, and so much more in downtown Enosburg Falls.
Friday, May 31
ST. ALBANS--14th Star presents B-Town for a night of live rock and roll and blues in The Room 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.
Friday-Sunday, May 31-June 2
COLCHESTER--The Outdoor Summer Music Series fills the Spanked Puppy with live music this weekend. The Devon McGarry Band kicks it off on Friday followed by Sanctuary on Saturday. Music starts at 6 p.m. Find them on Facebook for more info.
JERICHO--The Jericho Cafe and Tavern fills the weekend with Live Music in May and June. Jim Branca plays Friday. TBA performs live on Saturday night. Music starts at 6 p.m. Find them on Facebook for more info.
ST. ALBANS--The Taphouse at Mill River has shows on Friday and Saturday nights in May. Jacob Green plays Friday and the Buck Hollers are live on Saturday. Music starts about 5:30 p.m. in the Biergarten. Find them on Facebook for more info.
ST. ALBANS--Twiggs often has shows on Friday and Saturday nights. This week Ryan Hanson returns on Friday and Sister Speak comes across the border 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.
ESSEX JUNCTION--On Tap has a weekend of music with Bad Horsey Friday night and then Lawless live on Saturday night. Both shows start at 9 p.m. Call 802.878.3309 or email for more info. Click here to reserve a table.
Saturday, June 1
ST. ALBANS--Northwest Farmers Market fills Taylor Park with live music, handmade crafts, locally grown food, prepared foods, free kids activities on Saturday from 9 a.m. - 2 p.m. The market and the music continue every Saturday through October. Find them on Facebook for more info.
Saturday, June 16
SOUTH HERO--The Congregational Church of South Hero hosts pianist Jacqueline Schwab in I Lift My Lamp--Illuminations from Immigrant America as a special Father's Day concert at the church on Sunday June 16 at 3 p.m. An improvisational pianist, Ms. Schwab accompanied Ken Burns' The Civil War and other PBS documentaries. She is "known for evoking the American musical past, but in a fresh, personal way" and has performed on the solo concert stage in almost every state in the union. The concert will include local guest singers Ernestine Tuyishime and Christine Aziza.
An optional pot-luck supper will follow. Admission is by free will donation, a portion of which will benefit USCRI--VT. Call the church (802.372.4962), Mark Kennedy (802.318.0916) or click here for more info.
Monday, June 3
NORTH HERO--Jazz veterans Tony Pietricola, sax, and Bob Gagnon, guitar, play jazz standards on the Pier Bar at the North Hero House on Monday at 5:30 p.m. Find them on Facebook for more info.
Tuesday, June 4
ENOSBURG FALLS--Summer Concerts in Lincoln Park continue as the Enosburg Town Band continues on the Bandstand on Tuesday at 7 p.m. There will be a variety of music, arts and crafts for the kids, popcorn and drinks, and even ice cream sundaes (when available) every Tuesday evening. Find them on Facebook for more info.
Wednesday, June 5
NORTH HERO--The acoustic duo Bettenroo play originals and influential covers on the Pier Bar at the North Hero House on Wednesday at 5:30 p.m. Find them on Facebook for more info.
ST. ALBANS--14th Star presents local singer-songwriter Julia Parent for a night of live music in The Room on Wednesday at 6 p.m. Find them on Facebook for more info.
FAIRFIELD--Bent Northop Memorial Library has been "overrun with great book donations and is out of storage space." Their June Book Sale offers a whole bag or box of great summer reads starting Saturday and continuing through Friday, June 14. FRANKLIN COUNTY BOOKSHELF
ST. ALBANS--The Eloquent Page introduces St. Albans writer Tamara Mathieu to discuss and sign her memoir, All Who Believed on on Saturday at noon - 2 p.m. In August of 2000, Ms. Mathieu and her husband, then 23 years old, gave up everything they had and joined the Twelve Tribes, a worldwide religious organization, with their 17-month-old son. Fourteen years and three more children later, they fled back to "the real world." This is the story of her journey to freedom. 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 ... |
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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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