| VOLUME 29 | * * All Arts News On the Web * * | March 13, 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.
... FROM THE ARTBITS DESK ...
E-Mail Delivery
Sign up to receive the free weekly ArtBits
newsletter by e-mail
or by RSS feed.
ST. ALBANS--Rotary Club of St. Albans opens the 31st Home & Recreation Exposition with free admission on Saturday and Sunday. The EXPO annual fund raiser takes over the Collins-Perley Sports and Fitness Center. 100% of the profits go to support the Rotary charitable work in this community. The #1-rated Home Show in the state will be one of the biggest ever, featuring over 150 booths. ROTARY HOME SHOW
Building a new home this year? Planning a home remodeling project? That new space can easily help showcase your own collection of fine art etchings. Or perhaps you need, absolutely need, space for a house concert with Aerosmith on their Peace Out farewell tour?
Rotary supports local organizations and particularly likes to help the start-up or expansion of local programs or facilities.
Admission is free. The doors will be open from 9 a.m. - 5 p.m. on Saturday and 9 a.m. - 3 p.m. on Sunday. The Collins-Perley Sports and Fitness Center is located just off I-89 at Exit 19. Find them on Facebook for more info.
ST. ALBANS--The Artist In Residence collection spotlight is on sculptural and functional potter Martha McGinn. 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 What Lies Beyond, a dreamy new pastel by Jacob Aguiar. It is in the Stowe Gallery 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 through Sunday, 11 - 5. Appointments are available. Call ahead (802.644.5100) to schedule or click here for more info.
CHADDS FORD, PA--In honor of Women's History Month, the Brandywine Museum of Art features Carolyn Wyeth. She received her first artistic training from her father N.C. Wyeth in his studio when she was 12 years old. The traditional lessons she received were passed along to her own students later in life as well as to her nephew Jamie Wyeth, who began studying with her at age 12.
Her 1974, oil on canvas, N.C. Wyeth's Barn, is in the collection and on Facebook.
ENOSBURG--The Rail Trail Pub hosts a showcase for local artist Bill Lutz on Friday and Saturday from 5 - 10 p.m. A portion of the proceeds will go to a local charity. Mr. Lutz is an artist, graphic designer, video editor, IT technician, and comic book fan as well as a multimedia instructor in Enosburg. Find them on Facebook for more info. ART FOR SALE
ST. ALBANS--Awaken Yoga & Creative Arts Studio and Kreations by Katherine host a Winter Wonderland Paint Night on Friday at 5:30 p.m. Break up the winter scene and enjoy lots of snacks. The cost is $40 which includes all painting supplies and materials. Click here or find them on Facebook for tickets and more info. ART YOU CREATE
FRANKLIN--Dick Wright Pub hosts a relaxing Paint & Sip with Elizabeth Varney on Saturday afternoon at 4 p.m. The $35 fee includes all painting supplies and materials. Bring your own sip. Find them on Facebook for more info.
MORRISVILLE--River Arts hosts the in-person "Personal Symbols & Paint: A Creative Paint & Sip Inspired by Keith Haring’s Art" on Friday at 6 p.m. Haring used hearts, crowns, flowers, radiant babies, dancing figures, barking dogs, angel wings, and more to create art that's playful and meaningful. The cost is $55. Click here to register and for more info.
FRANKLIN COUNTY--Northwest Access TV is looking for community members in Franklin County who have hands-on knowledge of traditional skills and agricultural practices to be featured in a new local TV series. Do you have experience with: CALL FOR ARTISTS AND MORE
If you or someone you know has knowledge in these areas--or any other traditional skills--and would love to share and preserve them on camera, NWA TV wants to hear from you. Email or find them on Facebook for more info.
- Blacksmithing & tool-making
- Canning & food preservation
- Carpentry & woodworking
- Farming & homesteading
- Fire-starting & primitive shelter building
- Foraging & wildcrafting
- Herbal medicine & natural remedies
- Hunting, trapping, & fishing
- Leatherworking & hide tanning
- Pottery & stoneware
- Soap & candle making
- Weaving & fabric arts
- Welding & tinsmithery
- And more!
ST. ALBANS--It is Classic Movie Night (and Matinee!) at the St. Albans Free Library with Bogart and Bacall, together again, in Dark Passage on Thursday at 6 p.m. and reprised at the Friday matinee at 1 p.m. The tense drama of a man wrongfully convicted of murder. The 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
ST. ALBANS--It is Free Mystery Movie Night at the Welden Theater on Friday at 9:30 p.m. The Franklin County Film Club is in a barbaric time. There is a fight to save a surrogate mom. It features the most twisted dragon ever filmed. Enjoy an '80s fantasy epic at this free, adults-only showing with drinks by Mill River Brewing. Admission is free. Find them on Facebook for more info.
ENOSBURG--Cold Hollow Sculpture Park needs a visionary Executive Director to to guide the sculpture park into new growth. The E.D. will lead fundraising, marketing, and operations and will develop new and existing partnerships in the arts community. They offer a competitive salary and flexible schedule. Click here for more info. HELP WANTED
ST. ALBANS--Osher Lifelong Learning Institute continues the Spring weekly program series with NOTCH CEO Kathy Benoit to discuss NOTCH Committed to Health & Community in the Greg Brown Lodge at Hard'ack this morning at 11 a.m. The Northern Tier Center for Health is a primary care practice in Franklin and Grand Isle counties. They offer family medicine, internal medicine, behavioral health, pharmacy, lab, and general dentistry as well as a social grocery store in Richford. HUMANITIES
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 f or registration questions. Click here for more info.
FRANKLIN and ONLINE--Vermont Humanities hosts several events this week.
A Literary Cocktail Hour with writers George Monbiot and Peter Hutchison will discuss Invisible Doctrine: the Secret History of Neoliberalism online only on Friday at 5 p.m. Their analysis covers the controversial ideology. Part of the Brattleboro Literary Festival. "Register for this free event" for the link to the stream. Call Vermont Humanities (802.262.2626) or click here or here to register and for more info.
Tim Brookes examines Endangered Alphabets, Cultural Erosion, and the Future of the Written Word live at Franklin Town Hall on Saturday at 11 a.m. Mr. Brookes offers a look at a range of forms of writing from all over the world that are in danger of extinction. Click here for more info.
VHC continues the weekly Snapshot Series with Professor Declan McCabe who discusses Turning Stones: Discovering the Life of Water at Goodrich Memorial Library and online on Wednesday at 7 p.m. Lakes, ponds, rivers, streams, and even rain gutters teem with life. "Register for this free event" for the link to the stream. Call Vermont Humanities (802.262.2626) or click here or here to register and for more info.
ONLINE--Host Alex Foltz continues Season 2 of Foltz Studio with Episode 6 in a series of outdoor oil painting lessons, this week on a St. Albans rooftop with "possibly the best view in the entire city". This episode will be a cityscape for Plein-Air painting on Northwest Access TV and on YouTube. WORKSHOPS & CLASSES
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.
FAIRFIELD--Bent Northrop Memorial Library hosts a free Paper Making Workshop with Northwest Solid Waste District on Wednesday at 2:15 - 4 p.m. Hand-crafted paper can be art, often used as sculpture, manipulated into shapes or images, or as the field for a painting or a poem. NWSWD will lead the class to turn junk mail, newspapers, and other unwanted detritus into fresh, usable, hand-made paper sheets. Registration is required. Call 802.827.3945 or click here to register or for more info.
SWANTON--The Swanton Library hosts a Barn Quilt Class with Marie Speer on Wednesday at 6 p.m. The class is free, thanks to a generous donation to the Swanton Arts Council, but registration is required. Click here to register and for more info.
SWANTON--The Swanton Arts Council is celebrating its 10th Anniversay with a stupendous Tenth Birthday Bash in person at the Swanton Free Public Library on Sunday at 2 - 4 p.m. There will be artists, videos, and cake. Find the SAC on Facebook for more info. IN THE SAC
Friday was the fifth anniversary of the pandemic in Vermont. The first presumptive case of SARS-COV-19 was detected in Vermont on March 7, 2020. Since then, COVID has killed 1,258 Vermonters through the state's final report on February 12. COVIDVERSARY
COVID-19 is still here. Still only about 24 percent of Vermonters have gotten the updated COVID-19 vaccine and 35 percent have gotten a flu shot, according to the Vermont Department of Health dashboard. Franklin County residents have even lower rates of protection: just 18 percent have the updated COVID-19 vaccine and 30 percent have gotten a flu shot. Even Vermonters over age 75 are not getting RSV shots--just 32% statewide and only 27% in Franklin County have rolled up their sleeves for that protection.
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, especially when we don't have a lot of data from our surroundings. 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.
Friday, March 14 ON STAGE LIVE
COLCHESTER--Dan Parks plays the live and free Friday Night Live Music at the Spanked Puppy on Friday at 6 p.m. Find them on Facebook for more info.
ST. ALBANS--14th Star gets jerborned with live music from the 80’s to current rock by Jerborn on Friday at 6 p.m. Find them on Facebook for more info.
SHELDON--The Abbey Friday Night Music Series goes wild for two nights this St. Patrick's Day weekend. John Gratton takes over the Pub on Friday at 6:30 p.m. They have corned beef and cabbage, Jameson shots, green drafts, and Guinness. Reservations are suggested. Find them on Facebook for more info.
SOUTH HERO--The Buck Hollers play the Friday Night Wine Down inside the tasting room at Snow Farm Vineyard on Friday at 6:30 p.m. The Winter Wine Down Music Series continues inside the wineries with well known musicians, wine, and food every Friday through March 28. Click here for the menu and more info.
SOUTH BURLINGTON--Higher Ground presents Ryan Sweezey and the Midnight Walkers with the Jesse Taylor Band and Audrey Pearl on Friday at 7:30 p.m. Doors at 7. Admission is $15 in advance or $20 day of show. Click here for tickets and more info.
WINOOSKI--The Dumb Luck Pub presents Tim Brick for a live, acoustic, solo, Vermont country show on Friday at 7:30 p.m. Find them on Facebook for more info.
Friday-Sunday, March 14-16
SOUTH HERO--Summer Sounds favorite Carol Ann Jones joins the Blue Paddle Bistro to celebrate their 20th Anniversary of "something happening" over two nights on Friday and Saturday at 5 - 8 p.m. Call 802.372.4814 or Click here for reservations and more info.
Wilbur came in third in the quarter finals for the Modern Dog Magazine cover. Find his "cover pose" on Facebook .
ESSEX JUNCTION--Toast returns to On Tap for late night music on Friday night plus Last Kid Picked is live on Saturday night. Music starts at 9 p.m. Call 802.878.3309 or email for more info. Click here to reserve a table.
ST. ALBANS--The Taphouse at Mill River has shows on Friday and Saturday nights in March. Sean Jarvis plays Friday and the Smokey Newfield Project is live on Saturday. Music starts about 6 p.m. Find them on Facebook for more info.
JERICHO--The Jericho Cafe and Tavern fills the weekend with Live Music in March. The Duncan McLeod Trio plays Friday. O & Schu (Dave Ogrodowczyk and Mike Schuster) perform original tunes by Dave O and selected covers 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 on Friday and Cooie Sings 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.
NORTH HERO--Celebrate St. Patrick’s Day Weekend at North Hero House with festive evenings filled with live music and traditional dinner specials on Friday and Saturday. Music starts at 7 p.m. Find them on Facebook for more info.
The Ides of March--Saturday, March 15
EAST FAIRFIELD--The Meeting House and the Fairfield Community Center begin the Meeting House Concert Series with the Vermont Mandolin Trio in their first Franklin County appearance on Saturday at 7 p.m. Doors at 6.
Adding bassist Pat Melvin to the trio of Vermont's finest mandolinists--Jamie Masefield, Will Patton and Matt Flinner--guarantees an evening of eclectic music ranging from Bill Monroe to Benny Goodman and Philip Glass to Norman Blake, along with plenty of their own originals. The group performs seasonally only in the winter months so fortunately, winter is still with us. Light dinner fare and Marcia's famous pies will be available for sale.
Admission is $15 at the door. Call Nance Shaw (802.827.6626) or click here for more info.
ENOSBURG--"Vermont's Celtic Rock Sensation," Prydein sets the Opera House at Enosburg Falls stage on fire again for St. Patrick's Weekend on Saturday at 7 p.m. Doors at 6.
Prydein's Aron Garceau of St. Albans, Iain MacHarg of South Royalton, Hazen Metro, Andy Smith of Charlotte, and Enosburg native Caleb Bronz play Celtic-music-meets-Motorhead and AC/DC. The Celtic rock band noted for their use of bagpipes has released five albums to date and has played major festivals up and down the East Coast and the Midwest. They formed in Burlington in 1999.
Snowshoe Lodge and Pub will operate the cash bar. There will be small bites by Fiddler's on the Green @ Joey's Junction.
Admission is $15. Call 933.6171 or click here for tickets and more info.
JOHNSON--LMAO County presents the Ides of March (a comedy show) hosted by Ian Paul and featuring Levi Silverstein, Donavin Andronaco, Tracy Dolan, Bobby Pelligrino, and Amy Leclerc, all at Moog's Joint on Saturday at 7 p.m.
$10 cover. Find them on Facebook for more info.
SHELDON--The Abbey goes wild for two nights this St. Patrick's Day weekend. The Crowe Hill Band rocks the Jay Mountain View Room on Saturday at 8 p.m. They have corned beef and cabbage, Jameson shots, green drafts, and Guinness. Reservations are suggested. Find them on Facebook for more info.
ST. ALBANS--Barbie-N-Bones will rock St. Patrick's Day Weekend at the Depot on Saturday night at 9 p.m. There is a $5 cover charge. Food for purchase and cash bar will be available. Find them on Facebook for more info.
Sunday, March 16
ST. ALBANS--Irons & Ale has Sunday Brunch and Music at Champlain Country Club with bushey bedell branon on Sunday. Brunch is served from 10 - 2 p.m. with music from 11 - 1 p.m. Reservations are encouraged. Call 802.524.3804 for reservations or more info.
KEY COLONY BEACH, FL--The KCB Community Association Concerts in Sunset Park series continues with Ericson Holt live in the new tiki in Sunset Park on Sunday at 5 p.m. Free. Click here for more info.
WESTFORD--The Westford Music Series hosts the world famous and a little offbeat Oleo Romeos in concert in Westford Common Hall on Sunday, March 16, at 4 p.m. Tyrone Shaw, Jerry Bowers, Will Patton, Roy Cutler, and Doug Southworth are throwbacks to the days of diners and swing joints. The event is by donation at the door and also features a covered pie raffle. Click here for more info.
Monday, March 17
Everyone is Irish this week.
ESSEX JUNCTION--Sparky's hosts a Saint Patrick's Day Party on Monday from 9 a.m. - 9 p.m. There will be food and drink specials--Irish beer, some Irish whisky and Irish food-- plus Irish music all day with Dan Parks for live music at 5 - 8 p.m. Find them on Facebook for more info.
ST. ALBANS--Get your green on with St. Albans Rec for live music and a Taylor Park parade on St. Patrick's Day at 5:30-7:30 p.m. City Hall will swell with live performances by Prydein, an Irish Dance by UVM Celtic Cats, bagpipe music, shamrock tattoos, green punch, and more. Irish fare will be available to purchase, and there will be a cash bar for the grown ups. Slainte! Find them on Facebook for more info.
ESSEX JUNCTION--90 Proof is On Tap for St. Paddy's Day music on Monday at 6 p.m. Call 802.878.3309 or email for more info. Click here to reserve a table.
JERICHO--The Smokey Newfield Project will dye their beards green live at the Jericho Cafe and Tavern on Monday night at 6 p.m. Find them on Facebook for more info.
ST. ALBANS--14th Star opens the Taproom for special Monday hours to celebrate St. Patrick's Day and will have live music with the Buck Hollers playing on Monday at 6 p.m. Find them on Facebook for more info.
FRANKLIN--The Haston Library Book Discussion Group reads The Heaven and Earth Grocery Store by James McBride on Tuesday at 2:30 p.m. The novel tells the story of Black and Jewish residents of the Chicken Hill neighborhood of Pottstown, Pennsylvania, in the 1920s and '30s. Click here for more info. FRANKLIN COUNTY BOOKSHELF
ST. ALBANS--The St. Albans Free Library Banned Books Group ("read them if you dare") meets to discuss The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood on Wednesday at 6 p.m. Banned in schools and libraries in the United States and several other countries, the dystopian novel is set in a near-future New England. The Book Group meets after hours at the library. Please arrive before the doors close at 6 p.m. 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 ... |
||
Music!Links to the Summer Music series in Franklin County |
||
Dick Harper, Chair
P.O. Box 1
Highgate Springs, VT 05460
email us
|
This article may also have originally been published in the traditional print media. It is Copyright © 2025 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. Visit our Trademarks and Copyright page for more information. |