| VOLUME 29 | * * All Arts News On the Web * * | January 16, 2025 |
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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JUNIOR DUCK STAMP (March 15)--The Fish Wildlife Service Junior Duck Stamp Design Program is a dynamic art- and science-based curriculum that teaches wetland and waterfowl conservation to students in kindergarten through high school. Click here for more info. CALL FOR ARTISTS
ST. ALBANS--The Artist In Residence collection spotlight is on seamstress, a woodworker, and now glass artist Cherie Marshall. 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. ART ON THE WALLS
JEFFERSONVILLE--Bryan Memorial Gallery features A Quiet Day at Gill's Rock a new oil by Charlie Hunter. It is in the Stowe gallery and on Facebook .
The gallery has exhibits of the landscape painters of New England. The Stowe Gallery is open Wednesday through Sunday, 11 - 5. Appointments are available. Call ahead (802.644.5100) to schedule or Click here for more info.
ST. ALBANS--14th Star Brewing Company hosts a Pet Portraits Paint n Sip with Linda Oakes Carvalho this evening at 8:30 p.m. Register for a class, email a clear image of your pet, and show up. We do the hard work for you and all supplies to create your masterpiece are included. Food and beverages are available from 14th Star and Grazers. The cost is $45. Find them on Facebook for tickets and more info. ART YOU CREATE
ESSEX--Snowmotion Dance hosts Latin Night at The Double E on Friday at 6:45 p.m. There will be a beginner bachata class at 6:45 p.m. and the Dance and social at 7:45. The cost is $20 for the class, $10 for the social. Click here for tickets or Find them on Facebook for more info. DANCE
MANCHESTER and ONLINE--Vermont Humanities continues the weekly Snapshot Series with Ann Davila Cardinal's discussion of her book, Blue Hair & Purse Candy: Reimagining Dated Stereotypes of Older People, at Manchester Community Library and online on Wednesday at 7 p.m. "Register for this free event" for the link to the stream. Call Vermont Humanities (802.262.2626) or Click here or Click here to register and for more info. HUMANITIES
MILTON--The Milton Artists' Guild Art Center has two workshops this week. WORKSHOPS & CLASSES
Social Sundays continue 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.
Intro to Quilting begins an eight-class series on Tuesday at 10 a.m. Bring your portable machine, travel iron, and portable ironing surface, cutting mat, acrylic ruler, and rotary cutter if you have them to learn basic quilt making steps. If you don't have your own, you may share. The cost is $120. Classes continue on Tuesdays and Thursdays through February 13. Click here for more info.
Covid-19, influenza and RSV are on the rise after the holiday gatherings. Vermont has also suffered an uptick in norovirus outbreaks, the digestive system virus that can cause vomiting and diarrhea. COVID NEWS
About 22 percent of Vermonters have gotten the updated COVID-19 vaccine and 32 percent have gotten a flu shot, according to the Vermont Department of Health dashboard. Franklin County residents have even lower rates of protection: only 16% have the updated COVID-19 vaccine and 27 percent have gotten a flu shot.
COVID-19 is still here whether Vermonters get the shot or not. Variants of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, continue to emerge. XEC remains the dominant circulating variant while KP.3 and MC.16 specimens are also increasing. The current vaccine formula protects against serious outcomes of all current variants of the virus.
COVID hospitalizations and deaths continue to surge. 192 cases were reported in the week ending January 4, up from 138 the week before. In total, 1,241 pandemic deaths have been reported as of January 4, meaning COVID claimed six more Vermonters' lives in the past week.
Vermont's wastewater monitoring has shown shows that the levels of the virus spiked to its highest level in a full year in Montpelier. 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. The tests available for order are rapid antigen, at-home tests requiring no lab drop-off. Many COVID-19 tests have longer shelf life and extended expiration dates.
My own plan remains unchanged, especially since our precautions have waned and the current variants dodge all but the most up-to-date immunity. I got the COVID, Flu, and RSV 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, January 16 ON STAGE LIVE
ST. ALBANS--The SATEC Winter Concerts & Fine Arts Nights celebrate the talent of local students at Saint Albans Town Educational Center this evening at 7 p.m. Find them on Facebook for more info.
SOUTH HERO--The Blue Paddle Bistro often has music on Acoustic Thursday on Thursday evenings at 5 - 7 p.m. Click here for more info.
ESSEX JUNCTION--Sparky's hosts a Blues Night with Jim Branca, this evening at 5 - 9 p.m. The Winter Blues will continue on the first and third Thursday of each month. Find them on Facebook for more info.
Thursday-Saturday, January 16-18
ESSEX JUNCTION--On Tap starts a weekend of music with Dan Parks tonight at 6 p.m. two shows Friday night, Jesse Agan at 5 p.m., and then the 90 Proof returns for late night music starting at 9 p.m., plus two more shows live on Saturday night with Jerborn at 5 p.m., and Lawless at 9 p.m. Call 802.878.3309 or email for more info. Click here to reserve a table.
Friday, January 17
BURLINGTON--Justice 3 debuts at the Burlington Moose Lodge on Friday at 6 p.m. "It's our first show of 2025. Come on out and let's get the party going." Find them on Facebook for more info.
ST. ALBANS--14th Star Brewing Company has two events on Friday.
Chris & Erica return to the Taproom Stage at 14th Star on Friday at 6 p.m. Find them on Facebook for more info.
Next Stop Comedy plays live on Friday at 7:30 p.m. The former Boston Comedy Club brings stand-up comedians to local venues. Admission is $25. Click here for tickets or find them on Facebook for more info
ST. ALBANS--The Taphouse at Mill River hosts Bare Bones on Friday at 6 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.
SOUTH HERO--Chris & Issy play the Friday Night Wine Down inside the tasting room at Snow Farm Vineyard on Friday 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.
ENOSBURG--The Rail Trail Pub hosts Nathan Michaud for a night of classic rock on Friday at 7 p.m. There will be music from Pink Floyd, Cream, CCR, The Allman Brothers, the Beatles, the Rolling Stones and more. Find them on Facebook for more info.
WINOOSKI--Tim Brick plays acoustic country rock live at the Dumb Luck Pub on Friday at 7:30 p.m. Find them on Facebook for more info.
Friday-Sunday, January 17-19
JERICHO--The Jericho Cafe and Tavern fills the weekend with Live Music in January. Spencer Lewis plays Friday. Bob Gagnon performs live on Saturday night. Music starts at 6 p.m. Find them on Facebook for more info.
ST. ALBANS--Twiggs often has shows on Friday and Saturday nights. This week they host Will Austin returns for a solo show on Friday and Sister Speak returns 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.
JOHNSON--Moog's Joint has shows on Saturday and Sunday this weekend.
One man party band Lee Ross takes over the Joint for a dance party on Saturday at 9 p.m. Find them on Facebook for more info.
"Everyone's favorite bluegrass band," Beg, Steal or Borrow plays live on Sunday at 5 p.m. Their debut album is Old Mountain Time. Find them on Facebook for more info.
Saturday, January 18
ESSEX JUNCTION-- The Double E presents the Lloyd Tyler Band in the Double E Lounge on Saturday at 8 p.m. Doors at 7. Zack Tyler, Jeff Lloyd, Trevor Ainsworth, and Nick Caiano play rock, folk, country, pop, and blues. Admission is $20-25. Click here for tickets or find them on Facebook for more info.
Virtual music and events continue this week. ALMOST LIVE ON STAGE
Dark Star Project played and recorded at Rimrocks in Stowe on January 4, 2025. Click here for the video.
The Young Tradition Touring Group played their first concert of the season at the Montpelier Performing Arts Hub and on YouTube. This song was written by Elsie Gawler, one of the Touring Group Artist Leaders this year.
Summer Sounds favorite Mark Shelton sang audience Elvis requests on Facebook on Friday. Follow him on Facebook for a link to this week's offerings.
Most libraries will be closed on Monday as Inauguration Day coincides with Martin Luther King, Jr., Day. FRANKLIN COUNTY BOOKSHELF
HIGHGATE--The Highgate Library and Community Center continues the Muffin Monday Senior Social Hour on Monday at 10 a.m. The program is a community connect to brainstorm opportunities for senior support. Each week will also include coffee and tea, as well as fresh pastries. The program will run every Monday morning and is free for anyone 55 and older. Registration is mandatory as space is limited. Call the Library (802.868.3970) to register and for more info.
ST. ALBANS--The Eloquent Page hosts a special midnight release event for Onyx Storm by Rebecca Yarros on Monday at 11 p.m. The new book is the third instalment (after Fourth Wing and Iron Flame) in the #1 bestselling dragon rider saga of the Empyrean fantasy romance series. Find them on Facebook for more info.
ST. ALBANS--The St. Albans Free Library hosts Mornings, Muffins, and Mysteries to discuss Everything I Never Told You, the moving debut novel about a family living in 1970s Ohio by Celeste Ng, this morning at 10:30 a.m. The group reads a variety of mystery genres and meets the third Thursday of each month in the Martha Dalton Meeting Room. 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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Dick Harper, Chair
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