| VOLUME 28 | * * All Arts News On the Web * * | October 10, 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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MONTGOMERY--The second annual People's Art Show opens Friday with a Reception at 5 - 8 p.m. at the Montgomery Center for the Arts. The exhibit runs through October 27. ART ON THE WALLS
The free, non-juried, uncensored exhibition celebrates all forms of creativity, diversity, and imagination. The exhibition is open to everyone, and all entries will be exhibited. The Gallery is open weekends or by appointment. All Donations and Commissions will go to the MCA General Fund. Click here for more info.
ST. ALBANS--The Artist In Residence collection spotlight is on painter and mixed media artist Tess Follensbee. The art and fine craft cooperative features paintings, fiber arts, stained glass, sculpture, lamps, pottery, folk art boxes, scarves, hats and more by 38 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 features Moon Rising on Banister Road by Lynn VanNatta. It is in the Nocturnal New England exhibition 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.
MILTON--The Milton Artists Guild Art Supply Sale has art and crafting supplies for sale as a MAG benefit on Saturday at 10 a.m. - 4 p.m. Find them on Facebook for more info. ART (SUPPLIES) FOR SALE
MORRISVILLE--River Arts hosts the in-person, October Paint & Sip -- Vermont Autumn Landscapes with Jen Volansky on Friday at 6 p.m. Dive into the autumn hues with color-mixing techniques, learn how to layer colors effectively, and create texture in your artwork. The cost is $55. Click here to enroll and for more info. ART YOU CREATE
GEMS (October 14)--Bryan Gallery's annual members' exhibit returns this year to the Middle Room. The focus this year is on GEMS alone, the small works (8x10 or smaller), and not the GIANTS. All entries must be presented through the Gallery's online submissions process. Click here for the Online Entry and for more info. CALL FOR ARTISTS
NORTHWEST NIGHTMARES (October 18)--The spooky season is upon us and the 12th annual Northwest Nightmares Film Festival is right around the corner. Film makers should submit their eeriest efforts now. Tickets go on sale tomorrow. Click here for details and more info and head over here to submit a film or click here for tickets.
Vermont will be the oldest state in the nation (65+) with one of the highest life expectancy rates at nearly 80 years of age by 2032. Participating in the arts as one ages can improve emotional well-being, support good health, strengthen social engagement, and bring purpose and joy. CREATIVE AGING
The Central Vermont Council on Aging has created a "Creative Care Kit" for people age 60+. The kits include several activities along with supplies, instructions, and resources needed to produce artwork. In addition, each participant in the Creative Care Kit Project could access a trained "Creative Companion" volunteer. Through phone and video calls, the volunteers engaged participants in meaningful conversations inspired by the activities and stories that arose in the process.
Anyone age 60+ can receive a Creative Care Kit or may volunteering as a Creative Companion. Call the CVCOA Helpline (802.477.1364) or click here for more info.
ST. ALBANS--The second annual, two-day Rail City Tattoo Festival offers live music, tattooing, vendors, and more in City Hall, on Saturday and Sunday starting at noon until 8 p.m. both days. This is more than a showcase; it is a tattooing event open to anyone and everyone. Admission to City Hall is $10 for one day or $15 for both. Find them on Facebook for more info. FESTIVALS AND SHOWS
The official punk rock and hardcore Afterparty will take over 14th Star Brewing Company on Saturday starting at 8 p.m. Bands include Rough Francis, The Path, Old North End, Dead Street Dreamers, and Violet Crimes!! This afterparty is open to everybody. Admission to the afterparty is $10 at the door. Find them on Facebook for more info.
SOUTH HERO--Snow Farm Vineyard celebrates its 11th annual Harvest Festival with live music, an artist gallery, and more at the vineyard on Sunday at 11 a.m. - 5 p.m. Chris and Issy play live from 2 - 4 p.m. There will be food, grape stomping, tractor rides, hikes up Fox Hill, and surprises surrounded by the fall foliage at Vermont's oldest vineyard. Click here for more info.
ST. ALBANS--It is Classic Movie Night (and Afternoon!) at the St. Albans Free Library with His Ghostbusters on Thursday at 6 p.m. and reprised at the Friday matinee at 1 p.m. The 1984 supernatural comedy stars Bill Murray, Dan Aykroyd, and Harold Ramis as three eccentric parapsychologists in New York City. It was the first comedy to use extensive (and expensive) special effects. This free presentation includes the show, the popcorn, cocoa, and tea. This showing is an after-hours event. Please arrive before the doors close at 6 p.m. Click here for more info. FILM
Unbroken Circle, a 1985 film by Mark Greenburg, uses the words and music of a dozen Vermont musicians, historic photos, and location videography to trace the development of traditional country music in Vermont from unaccompanied ballads through Franco- and Anglo-American fiddling to radio cowboy bands and contemporary square dancing. The musicians include Norman Kennedy, Margaret MacArthur, the Hurstins, the Pony Boys, Ron West, Wilfred Guillette, Cordelia Cerasoli, Floyd Brown, and Al Cadorette. Click here to stream the film.
ONLINE--The Vermont Abenaki Artists Association speaker series continues with writer and storyteller Randy Kritkausky's presentation of An Indigenous Perspective on Nature: Working Together as Allies on Zoom today at 6 p.m. The program will show us opportunities to heal the planet's ecosystems by learning to "listen" respectfully. Registration is free. Registration is required for this free event. Click here to register and for more info. HUMANITIES
FAIRFIELD and ONLINE--Bent-Northrop Memorial library offers Cemetery Sleuthing as a hybrid event this evening at 6:30 p.m. The local cemetery is a time capsule. Each headstone is plastered with clues about those who once walked before. Erin E. Moulton will examine the meaning behind cemetery iconography, abbreviations, epitaphs, and more. Join on Zoom or come to the Library Click here for the link, log-in, and more info.
MONTPELIER and ONLINE--The Vermont Truth and Reconciliation Commission hosts Truth and Healing: In Search of a Common Memory in-person and online on the State House Lawn on Friday at 1 p.m. Chief Brenda Gagne of the Missisquoi Abenaki will lead the opening ceremony with a Circle of Courage. Lunch will be served by People's Kitchen. Click here to watch the stream.
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 UVM Professor Luis Vivanco to explore When the Bicycle Came to Vermont in the Greg Brown Lodge at Hard'ack on Wednesday at the special time of 11:30 a.m. It generated widespread curiosity in the 1880s and enthusiasm exploded statewide in the 1890s.
This semester will offer eight lectures, held from 11 a.m. - 12 p.m. on Wednesdays through October 30. A St. Albans series membership is $40 individual/$70 couple for all eight events, or $8 per program if purchased individually. Call 802.656.8407 or email for registration questions. Click here for more info.
NORTH HERO--The North Hero Public Library and VHC present Dazed, Seduced and Transfixed: The Monster Through Time, In Literature and In Our Lives with writer and poet Shanta Lee in North Hero Community Hall on Friday at 5 p.m. Our culture is filled with monsters from Mary Shelly's creation in Frankenstein to Lovecraft Country to politics today. These figures span genres, from mythology to oral tradition to poetry. Click here for more info.
NORWICH and ONLINE--Erica Heilman talks about her podcast Rumble Strip: Building Community in Our Divided Society at Norwich Public Library and online on Wednesday at 7 p.m. The independent podcast from East Calais features interviews and documentaries and occasional experiments. Ms. Heilman will discuss making the show and trying to build community in an increasingly divided society. "Register for this free event" for the link to the stream. Call Vermont Humanities (802.262.2626) or click here to register and for more info.
MILTON--The Milton Artists Guild has two workshops this week. WORKSHOPS & CLASSES
Cathy LaClair will reprise Sparkle and Support: a Metal Earrings Workshop for MAG this evening at 5:30 p.m. She hand forges sterling silver. The proceeds from the class will benefit MAG. The cost is $75. Click here for tickets and more info.
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 has a busy week.
The Mindful Art Series offers Create & Connect Mixed Media with Jen Volansky this evening at 5:30 - 7:30 p.m. This workshop is a process-based collaborative art session. The cost is $30. Click here to register and for more info.
The Healing Arts Series offers its newest class, Meditate, Breathe, & Create with Victoria Veldon and Randy Putvain at 9:30 - 11:30 a.m. This segment will focus on body-based meditation and breathwork as well as creating pipe-cleaner characters, "a serene and transportable art form." The cost is $60. Click here to enroll and for more info.
COVID-19 is still here. Variants of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, continue to emerge. KP.3 is the dominant circulating variant but KP.2 is close behind it. The new vaccine formula targets currently circulating KP.2 variants and better protects against serious outcomes of all current variants of the virus. The updated vaccine is available now. COVID NEWS
The number of cases in Vermont continues to increase. 257 cases were reported in the week ending September 28, down from the prior week but still concerning. The number of emergency department visits with COVID has also increased since May (and has been higher than this time period a year ago). There have been 1,206 total pandemic deaths reported as of September 28; seven more Vermonters have died since the September 21 report.
Vermont's wastewater monitoring has shown shows that COVID-19 levels continue to be present at all testing stations. According to the Vermont Department of Health, wastewater data shows some of the COVID-19 in the community "because an infected person sheds into the water no matter if they're sick or not." Obviously those of us on septic systems (mound systems, tanks, or cesspools) are not included in the data so the actual numbers are higher.
The Centers for Disease Control recommends multiple vaccines, including the new COVID-19 vaccine and an updated flu shot. Medicare continues to cover vaccines without cost sharing. Most adults with health insurance and all children can continue to get the vaccine without cost-sharing. Vermont's universal vaccine program covers the cost of the COVID-19 vaccines at all primary care offices for adults without health insurance or whose insurance does not cover all costs. We can now order four free COVID-19 tests at COVIDTests.gov.
My own plan remains unchanged, especially since our precautions have waned and the current KP.3 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, October 10 ON STAGE LIVE
SOUTH HERO--The Blue Paddle Bistro offers Acoustic Thursday indoors most Thursday evenings at 5 - 7 p.m. Click here for more info.
ESSEX JUNCTION--Sparky's hosts a Blues & BBQ night with Jim Branca and Friends, this evening at 6 - 9 p.m. BBQ will be available after 5 p.m. Blues & BBQ will continue every Thursday through the end of the summer. Find them on Facebook for more info.
Friday, October 11
ENOSBURG--Laura Fedele-Rasco will play "all of your favorite songs" in her debut at the Rail Trail Pub on Friday at 6 p.m. The "new pub/restaurant has a pool table and other fun games." Find them on Facebook for more info.
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. The dance band focuses on well known covers new and old. 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, October 11-13
ST. ALBANS--The Taphouse at Mill River has shows on Friday and Saturday nights in October. Roger Giroux plays Friday at 5:30 p.m. and the Nobby Reed Project is live on Saturday night at 6 p.m. Find them on Facebook for more info.
JERICHO--The Jericho Cafe and Tavern fills the weekend with Live Music in October. The Smokey Newfield Project plays Friday. The Shane Murley Band performs live on Saturday night. Music starts at 6 p.m. Find them on Facebook for more info.
ALBURGH--Kraemer & Kin family brewery has two days of music every weekend in October with the Blue Rock Boys on Friday and it's All About Pie live on Saturday night. Music starts at 6:30 p.m. Click here for more info.
ST. ALBANS--Irons & Ale often has a weekend of music at Champlain Country Club. The restaurant is open 11 a.m. to close every day with pub fare from nachos and chicken wings to salads, burgers, salmon, and chicken to dinner options and libations.
ST. ALBANS--Twiggs often has shows on Friday and Saturday nights. This week has two more "nights of Wow" as they host Dan Parks on Friday at 6 p.m. and Will Austin live on Saturday night at 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, October 12
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. This week Bushey/Bedell/Branon (Eric, Justin, and Leah) bring Americana, originals, and creative covers live in the park. The market and the music continue every Saturday through October. Find them on Facebook for more info.
BERKSHIRE--Tavern no. 5 will open its doors for a one-day pop-up Fall Festival with the Nobby Reed Project, special events and free wine tasting, all on Saturday at 12 noon - 7 p.m.
The new small winery and vineyard will have music all afternoon, hay rides, face painting, a bouncy house, food, drinks, antiques, vintage clothes, jewelry, crafts, maple products, baked goods, essential oils, and even a cornhole or pong tournament with cash prize and benefit. All are welcome. Bring your own chair to this primarily outdoor event. Find them on Facebook for more info.
Wednesday, October 16
ENOSBURG--Sisters in Crime are Mystery Making at the Rail Trail Pub on Wednesday at 6 p.m. The fast-paced improv game has the writers brainstorming on their feet to create a brand-new mystery with suggestions from the audience. Only literary blood will be shed. Find them on Facebook for more info.
Many libraries will be closed Monday for Indigenous Peoples Day. FRANKLIN COUNTY BOOKSHELF
FAIRFIELD--Franklin County Photogs with Harry Goldhagen hosts a virtual Zoom group at Bent Northrop Memorial Library on Tuesday at 6 p.m. The group meets monthly to share and learn about photography. Join the Zoom MeetingMeeting with passcode: 527511.
Visit bentnorthrop.org for the Zoom link and more info.
ST. ALBANS--The Eloquent Page has two book signings this week.
Eloquent Page owner Donna Howard and writer Gail Schwartz host a special reading from her novel, Falling Through the Night, at the bookstore on Friday at 5:30 p.m. in honor of National Coming Out Day. Find them on Facebook for more info.
Writer Glenn Fay will discuss and sign Ambition: The Remarkable Family of Ethan Allen on Saturday at 10 a.m. - 12 noon. Ambition describes the lives and relationships of Ethan Allen's extended family of brothers, sisters, wives, children, grandchildren, and associates who helped create the Republic of Vermont. Ambition also dives into the Allens' relationship with slavery and their treatment of Indians. The teacher and photographer has written Ambition as well as Hidden History of Burlington Vermont and Vermont's Ebenezer Allen: Patriot, Commando and Emancipator. Find them on Facebook for more info.
SWANTON--The Swanton Free Public Library has a double header this week.
Local writer Patricia Letourneau Henderson will read and sign her novel Captive Company at the library on Saturday at 11 a.m. The book looks at Vermont through the eyes of former Tennessee police officer Jere Black lured here and abandoned by a girlfriend. He hates every second of the "solitary existence in the cold winter hell hole." Ms. Henderson grew up in Vermont and now divides her time between Swanton and Memphis. Click here for more info.
But I Progress takes up Parable of the Sower by Octavia E. Butler on Tuesday at 6 p.m. The readings generally focus on writers who "identify as women, with particular attention to Women of Color and nonbinary women, who are under represented in literature. Today women's works are priced lower, more seldom purchased, and not receiving proper credit." There will be snacks, reviews, discussion, ideas, and good conversation. 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.
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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