Seven Days, February 22, 2023

A portion of proceeds from Castlerock IPA supports Three Peaks Medical Clinic in their efforts to provide the mountain community with access to affordable healthcare coverage.

WEEK IN REVIEW

CASE CLOSED, AT LAST

Decades-old DNA evidence and a commercial genealogy database helped police solve the 1971 murder of Rita Curran, Burlington’s oldest cold case, authorities said on Tuesday.

An upstairs neighbor, William DeRoos, strangled the 24-year-old schoolteacher while she was alone in her Brookes Avenue apartment, Burlington acting Police Chief Jon Murad announced at a press conference, flanked by members of Curran’s family.

DeRoos, who left Burlington and became a Buddhist monk in ailand, died in 1986. If he were alive, Chittenden County State’s Attorney Sarah George said, he’d be charged with aggravated murder. He was linked to DNA from Curran’s torn-open coat and a cigarette butt found next to her bloodied body.

“Today, William DeRoos would be 83,” Murad said. “But there is not a cop in this building who would not happily put handcuffs on him.”

e identification of DeRoos was a made-for-TV conclusion to a case that has long provoked intrigue, including a theory that Vermont-born serial killer Ted Bundy was behind the murder. Curran’s family remained involved in the investigation over the decades and published newspaper notices on the anniversaries of her death.

“We’re so thankful for this day,” her sister, Mary Campbell, said.

Curran and DeRoos did not appear to have known each other, according to an investigative report released on Tuesday by Lt. James Trieb, who leads the detective bureau. DeRoos had recently moved in above her, in the top-floor apartment, with his then-wife.

Last year, detectives sent in DNA samples for analysis

by a company using new genetic genealogy methods. e technique taps DNA submitted to commercial ancestry research companies to find potential matches. It helped authorities identify the notorious Golden State Killer in 2019 and has since been popularized through the ABC show “ e Genetic Detective.”

CeCe Moore, the “genetic detective” herself, analyzed the Curran case DNA.

“It only took a few hours to narrow it down to William DeRoos,” she said by video.

Both DeRoos and his wife at the time, Michelle, had been interviewed by investigators after the murder. ey’d said they were home that night but hadn’t heard anything unusual.

After the analysis linked DeRoos to the scene, Burlington detectives interviewed DeRoos’ ex-wife again in California. She revealed new information: DeRoos had actually left their apartment following an argument on the night of the murder but later instructed her to lie to police about his whereabouts. e cops might use his criminal record in California to pin the killing on him, DeRoos told her at the time.

Burlington police said they do not intend to charge DeRoos’ ex-wife, who has since changed her name, for misleading investigators in 1971. Det. Cpl. omas Chenette said he doesn’t think the woman knew or suspected her then-husband was the killer.

“I think she lied at the time because she was young, she was naïve, she was recently married, and she was in love,” Chenette said.

Read Derek Brouwer’s complete story at sevendaysvt.com.

THAT’S SO VERMONT

IN SEARCH OF SNOW

Bill Burrell has an ambitious goal: He wants to ski the length of Vermont. e 300-plus-mile journey on the Catamount Trail is his attempt to call attention to our warming winters.

But Burrell, 56, is worried about one key ingredient — snow. e up-and-down weather this winter could imperil his 18-day trek, which would prove his point before he even leaves the house.

“I’m very concerned if I’ll be able to do it,” Burrell admitted.

Burrell, a science teacher at Albert D. Lawton Intermediate School in Essex Junction, plans to depart from

emoji that MUCK AND MIRE

A midwinter thaw previewed mud season. Not fun.

MEDIOCRE GRADE

The State of Vermont’s infrastructure earned a C on a report card from the American Society of Civil Engineers. Time for some upgrades.

DANCE OFF

Due to security concerns, Vermont has barred state employees from using TikTok on their work phones. Gotta find another way to go viral.

DYING BREED

Nancy’s Video in Irasburg, the last video rental shop in the state, is planning to close in June, WCAX reported. Roll the credits.

15 percent

That’s how much the median home price in Vermont increased in 2022, according to VTDigger.org.

TOPFIVE

MOST POPULAR ITEMS ON SEVENDAYSVT.COM

1. “Viral TikTok Post Brings Delayed Fame to Montpelier Author” by Sally Pollak. e 2012 book Stone Maidens by Lloyd Devereux Richards became a bestseller after his daughter’s post got 42 million-plus views.

2. “Wake Boat Opponents Pack Vermont Hearing on Regulation” by Anne Wallace Allen. Plenty of critics of the powerful boats turned out at a public meeting.

3. “Northfield’s Police Chief Takes Flak for His Provocative Public Stances” by Alison Novak. Some residents are complaining about what John Helfant says as a private citizen.

4. “Vermont’s Old Churches Offer Potential for New Enterprises — If ey’re Not Demolished First” by Rachel Hellman. Repurposing church buildings for secular use can be complicated.

5. “Maverick Market at 110 Offers Local Goods in Burlington” by Jordan Barry. A new high-end market opened for business earlier this month.

tweet of the week

@Konstructible

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the southern end of the state, at the Massachusetts border, on Saturday, February 25. With much of the ground pretty bare after the recent warm spell, Burrell estimates he needs a solid 20inch base to make the journey. Some snow is forecast in the coming days.

e Catamount Trail, which runs to the Canada border, includes some 35,000 feet total of elevation gain. Only 112 people have successfully skied the entire length, according to the trail’s record-keeping. But no one has done it unsupported before, meaning they carry everything they need with them except water.

Burrell is attempting just that. He said he’s nervous for the trek but, above

all, is looking forward to spending more than two weeks outside.

e self-proclaimed chionophile — someone who thrives in winter conditions — said his trek is part of a threepronged quest to document a Vermont winter before it disappears, draw attention to the adverse effects of climate change and become the first to finish unsupported. Burrell plans to chronicle his journey on Instagram and wants to write a book about his experience and climate change in Vermont. Recently released data showed that winters in Burlington warmed by about 7 degrees in the past 50 years. at’s the biggest jump in the country.

RACHEL HELLMAN

COMPILED BY SASHA GOLDSTEIN & MATTHEW ROY

Bill Burrell

Tom Curran, brother of Rita Curran DEREK BROUWER

GET ORGANIZED.

publisher & editor-in-chief

Paula Routly

deputy publisher Cathy Resmer

AssociAte publishers Don Eggert, Colby Roberts

NEWS & POLITICS

editor Matthew Roy

deputy editor Sasha Goldstein

consulting editors Ken Ellingwood, Candace Page

stAff writers Derek Brouwer, Colin Flanders, Rachel Hellman, Courtney Lamdin, Kevin McCallum, Alison Novak, Anne Wallace Allen

ARTS & CULTURE

coeditors Dan Bolles, Carolyn Fox

AssociAte editor Margot Harrison

Art editor Pamela Polston

consulting editor Mary Ann Lickteig

Music editor Chris Farnsworth

cAlendAr writer Emily Hamilton

stAff writers Jordan Barry, Melissa Pasanen, Ken Picard, Sally Pollak

proofreAders Carolyn Fox, Angela Simpson

AssistAnt proofreAders

Katherine Isaacs, Martie Majoros

DIGITAL & VIDEO

production speciAlist Bryan Parmelee

ultiMediA producer Eva Sollberger

MediA journAlist James Buck

DESIGN

creAtive director Don Eggert

rt director Rev. Diane Sullivan

roduction MAnAger John James

esigners Jeff Baron, Kirsten Thompson

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director of sAles Colby Roberts

Account executives

enior

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xecutives Michelle Brown, Logan Pintka

ticKeting MAnAger Katie Hodges

ls, life lines And super reAder coordinAtor

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personAls coordinAtor Jeff Baron

ADMINISTRATION

business MAnAger Marcy Stabile

circulAtion & logistics Matt Weiner

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AssistAnt to the publishers Gillian English

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Seven Days is published by Da Capo Publishing Inc. every Wednesday. It is distributed free of charge in greater Burlington, Middlebury, Montpelier, Northeast Kingdom, Stowe, the Mad River Valley, Rutland, St. Albans, St. Johnsbury, White River Junction and Plattsburgh, N.Y. is printed at Quebecor Media Printing in Mirabel, Québec.

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‘BEST BUS DRIVER ON EARTH’

Jackie Terry is the best bus driver on Earth [“Precious Cargo,” February 8]. I taught kindergarten in Vergennes for 26 years. My students spoke highly of her daily.

I was especially impressed by how much out-of-pocket money and time she gave to her charges. Jackie went above and beyond her job expectations every day, and it worked for her kiddos.

She has missed her calling. She should have been a teacher.

Beth Ekroos BRISTOL

WHY HIGH SCHOOL LOVE?

I’m perplexed by the specificity of showcasing high school sweethearts for the Love & Marriage Issue [“Sweethearts

Still,” February 8.] The article itself doesn’t provide a reason to focus on this age bracket.

While it’s wonderful and great that some individuals find their person in high school, we also know that the average age of marriage in the U.S. is now 28 for women and 30 for men. That is a long potential courtship! The article does little to represent changing social trends.

Three-quarters of the couples in the article met more than 50 years ago.

I can’t tell what the reference to high school is promoting? Apparently true love can happen below the legal marriage age. While it’s heartwarming to hear that couple’s endearing story, I doubt a probate judge’s approval is common in most modern wedding plans.

My own parents met in high school; this seems like an unrealistic expectation to project on today’s youth — or even for my own Generation X. Articles like this celebrate longevity as

CORRECTION

Last week’s story about Northfield Police Chief John Helfant, “Serve, Protect ... and Inflame?,” misstated his school district of residence. Helfant lives in East Roxbury, which is in the Montpelier Roxbury Public Schools district, but his children go to school in the Orange Southwest School District.

the measure of a relationship. Luckily, this diverse selection of couples shows that longevity is not what we should be celebrating; we should celebrate their unique stories instead.

Meredith Breiland MILTON

RESPECT FOR THE UNHOUSED

As a community activist for the unhoused, and a resident of Burlington’s Elmwood Avenue, I’m writing to support the new temporary shelter community [“Residents to Move Into Elmwood Avenue Pods This Week,” February 6, online]. It is a great honor to work with the team of people who made this happen for the unhoused, giving them another opportunity to get back on their feet. As a gay senior citizen and Native American, I believe in helping out people who deserve respect, honor and dignity at all times.

David Call BURLINGTON

ASTUTE REVIEW

I just wanted to say how much I appreciated your review of Northern Stage’s ’Bov Water [“Tree of Life,” February 1]. I had some of the same reservations and appreciation, and admired how beautifully theater reviewer Alex Brown articulated it all.

Yes, the play did create barriers by eliminating context, and yes, I did still get immersed in individual small moments in which characters (especially those by the amazing Erin Margaret Pettigrew) created connections despite the barely

implied backstory. The lovely movement and evocative set helped as well, as Brown noted.

Reviews are so critical to audience education and development, I believe. You can mold our unformed blobs of impressions into a cohesive shape that then allows us to have aha moments about what we saw. As a director, I also welcome the feedback from a trained eye and know I have grown from those insights.

Lastly, reviews do also function as previews for people who were considering an event but needed that final push, and in that sense they support our work.

Joanne Greenberg MONTPELIER

MORE ABOUT 251 CLUB

I think that the True 802 with the online headline “A Burlington Pup Visited Every Vermont Town — and Peed in Most, Too” [February 1] should have talked more about the history of the 251 Club. I have never heard of this club, and this article would have benefited from more information about it. For example, who visited every town first, if anybody has done it twice, etc. With more information about the club, it might gain more members.

Additional information could also highlight this feat by both the owner and the dog. Personally, I am not sure whether or not this is a hard club to be a part of. This is another example of where additional information about the club would have been helpful.

Promoting clubs like this is a great opportunity for a small state like Vermont. These clubs can help a small community

or group of people come together. They also give people something to do. Kids have clubs and extracurriculars to stay busy, so why shouldn’t everyone?

Aaron Brock PROCTOR

Editor’s note: Agreed, the 251 Club is an interesting local phenomenon. Seven Days has written about it on numerous occasions — including in a February 23, 2021, Staytripper story entitled “Roads Less Traveled: The 251 Club Encourages Vermonters to Explore the State.” Read it at sevendaysvt.com.

DEMOLITION RAISES QUESTIONS

[Re “Burlington Allows Parish to Demolish Historic Cathedral,” January 11, online]: The recent decision to demolish the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception, a treasured community asset and culturally significant landmark property, has sparked serious concern in the community. There was more community support for adaptive reuse to save this Smithsonian-caliber property than any other building, and the Development Review Board hid the fact that the property had been under contract with a developer for almost a year.

In his book Capital City, Samuel Stein writes that “the city is not just a collection of buildings and streets, but a social and political organism whose design reflects power relations.” The recent decision by the DRB raises questions about the balance of power between developers and the community.

As residents of Burlington, we must ask ourselves: What is the role of the DRB in our city? Is it to promote the interests of the community or to facilitate rapid and profitable development?

We cannot afford to sit back and watch as our city’s history and cultural heritage are erased for the sake of short-term profits.

Celina Barton PLAINFIELD

Barton is a real estate broker.

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STUDIO PLACE ARTS

As a nonprofit organization with nine distinct yet interconnected programs, CVOEO addresses fundamental issues of economic, social, racial, and environmental justice and works with people to achieve economic independence.

NEWS+POLITICS 14

Battle of the Books State Colleges staff, students protest the plan to eliminate librarians and books

UnitedHealthcare, UVM Health Network Can’t Agree on New Contract

Council Clash

Ten candidates vie for five seats on the Burlington City Council

Senate Committee Advances

Clean Heat Bill

Potlucks and Planes

Seven votes to watch on Town Meeting Day

THE LONG RUN

Andrew Tripp is an all-star union organizer — and a kick-ass cross-country coach, too

Tangled Up in Blue National law enforcement experts come to Burlington to share ideas on police reform

FEATURES 26

Northern Lights e Montréal en Lumière festival is back in full force

On the Market

Chick’s Market in Winooski approaches the end of an era

Ticktock Influencer

Randolph clocksmith Skip Sjobeck turns back the hands of time on antique clocks

STUCK IN VERMONT Online ursday

FOOD+DRINK 42

Mountain Spirit

Drinking and dining at New England’s first hotel distillery in Killington

Penny-Wise Pioneer

A Colchester café serves big flavors for small prices

Love Bites

An ode to Charlotte’s Sobremesa kimchi

ARTS+CULTURE 48

Talent Show

Vermont filmmaker’s new documentary celebrates a beloved Burlington skate park

Perspective Shift

e Black Experience 2023 brings an array of performers and speakers to the Flynn

Lakecia Benjamin to Guest

Curate Burlington’s Jazz Fest

Wildest Dreams

We

Trent Cooper is obsessed with perfecting his loaf of pain de campagne — a naturally leavened country-style bread that he learned to make from famed local baker Gérard Rubaud; Cooper took over Rubaud’s bakery in 2020, after his death. Eva filmed Cooper’s baking process and tasted bread hot out of the oven at 2:30 a.m.

SUPPORTED BY:

Dance and digital technology fuse in an immersive performance in Middlebury

Beauty and Beast

Esperanza Cortés explores the legacies of colonialism in “Tierro Dentro”

COVER DESIGN JOHN JAMES • PHOTO JEB WALLACE-BRODEUR

MAGNIFICENT

FRIDAY 24 & SUNDAY 26

MAGICAL MELODIES

Newcomer Canadian folk musician Annie Sumi makes appearances at Randolph’s Chandler Center for the Arts and Richmond Congregational Church this weekend. Accompanied by Jill Sauerteig on cello and Neil Whitford on electric guitar, the singer invites audiences into an ethereal, emotional soundscape that evokes the deepest wilderness of the Great White North.

SEE CALENDAR LISTING ON PAGE 70

THURSDAY 23

Soprano-Brainer

Swedish opera stars Lotte Ohlander and Laine Quist sing along to the gentle hum of the furnaces during Pop-Up Opera night at Burlington’s AO Glass. Between arias, guests enjoy curated cocktails, mocktails, natural wine and local beer from Adventure Dinner. Dress code: as fun, fancy and sparkly as you’d like.

SEE CALENDAR LISTING ON PAGE 68

THURSDAY 23

Opposite Reaction

If they missed the sold-out U.S. debut at the Vermont Statehouse earlier this month, viewers have another chance to see Backlash: Misogyny in the Digital Age at Essex Cinemas & T-Rex eater. is powerful documentary highlights the stories of five people, including former Vermont state representative Kiah Morris, whose lives were upended by online hate mobs and other forms of cyberviolence reacting against the Me Too movement.

SEE CALENDAR LISTING ON PAGE 68

SATURDAY 25

Copy at

HAM-CON, the annual Vermont Ham Radio Convention, brings together New England’s electronic hobbyists at the Hampton Inn in Colchester for a day of forums, flea markets and making waves. is year’s theme, “Getting on the Air,” means the festival offers newbies and longtime enthusiasts alike the opportunity to imagine new and exciting uses for amateur radios.

SEE CALENDAR LISTING ON PAGE 70

WEDNESDAY 1

My Side of the Mountain

e Green Mountain Club hosts a virtual presentation by Mardi Fuller, the first Black hiker to summit the 48 highest mountains in New Hampshire in winter. Fuller shares tales from 20 years of trekking, lessons from her backcountry adventures and insights she’s gained as a Black woman in the majority-white hiking community.

SEE CALENDAR LISTING ON PAGE 73

Submit

SUNDAY 26

Minor Prophets

Middlebury Acting Company’s Cutting Edge Series returns for a new season of off-Broadway drama and delight with a staged reading of Claire Kiechel’s Sophia at Middlebury’s Town Hall eater. Directed by Delanté Keys, the story follows an early Christian priestess with one last chance to raise her voice before the Roman Empire changes her religion forever.

SEE CALENDAR LISTING ON PAGE 71

ONGOING

Welcome to the Dollhouse

River Arts in Morrisville presents “Home and How We Make It,” a group exhibition of 30 miniature rooms and other art related to visual and emotional conceptions of home. Artists from organizations as far-ranging as the Clarina Howard Nichols Center and the Jewish Community of Greater Stowe offer up their visions of cozy comforts, from minimalist to maximalist, monochromatic to pattern clashing.

SEE GALLERY LISTING ON PAGE 57

Delanté Keys

Cool in a Crisis

Last Thursday Seven Days weathered an internet storm. It was a local problem — a physical outage at a Chittenden County data center with a server that hosts our company’s domain name. Geek-speak translation: bad news for Seven Days and a mess of other companies and organizations, including Vermont Public. For 10 hours our website was down, and none of us could send or receive emails; the outage also affected our internet-based office phone system. Without warning, in a blackout totally unrelated to meteorology or spy balloons, the digital connections to our readers simply disappeared.

We could talk to each other, though: Like many companies, we use the instant messaging app Slack for internal communications, and our officewide group chat was abuzz with queries from anxious reporters, editors and advertising staff. Fielding them was Don Eggert, our creative director, associate publisher and in-house “IT guy.” Calm and collected, at least in writing, he explained the problem in understandable language and dispensed sensible advice like: “You may also not be able to connect to the office server remotely. Come on in if you can! The server works fine in the office.”

For the past quarter century, Don has led Seven Days through the digital revolution. Guided by beauty and functionality, he designed the front and back ends of our local media company. He is the man behind the curtain, monitoring how our readers interact with our paper and digital products. It may be no coincidence that he shares a central New York birthplace with L. Frank Baum, the guy who wrote The Wonderful Wizard of Oz

In truth, the masthead is not big enough to list all the jobs Don does. They include fixing and maintaining our computers — all 49 of them. The night we went dark, Don was working on mine, installing a new operating system. And the cool new rug in the office — the one that ties our newsroom together? That was picked by Don the decorator.

Don came to Vermont to attend Middlebury College, just like I did, though he arrived almost 20 years later. I studied French and Italian; he chose Russian, spending a year in Moscow.

He didn’t get any formal training in design. He picked that up on his own, along with his digital expertise. Don keeps an eye on what’s trending, both in the culture and in the media industry. He’s the one who pushed to get Seven Days content online in 2000. And he’s guided us through many tech transitions, methodically mapping out what it’ll take to move from one platform to another with as little disruption, and expense, as possible.

Often his solutions involve a DIY element: Like most of us at Seven Days, Don likes to fix things himself. That’s true outside of work, too. He’s the handyman at home in Winooski. When he saw that the state’s LGBTQ community needed a gathering spot, he helped build what is now the Pride Center of Vermont. Sitting around last week waiting for unseen engineers to pull a switch to get Seven Days back online was excruciating for him, especially as the problem stretched late into the evening.

As one of our employee-owners, Don understands that his is not a nine-to-five gig. At 10:30 p.m., he let all of us know via Slack that the website was back up and our emails would soon be restored. By 11, he’d drafted a notice to alert readers to the outage and put it up on the site. After he got some sleep, he started planning to make sure it never happens again.

Paula Routly

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Seven Days creative director Don Eggert

Battle of the Books

State Colleges staff, students protest the plan to eliminate librarians and books

BY ANNE WALLACE ALLEN • anne@sevendaysvt.com

Well-thumbed monthly magazines, dusty midcentury encyclopedias, graphic novels and costly reference books: They’re all destined to be cleared from the library shelves at Northern Vermont University-Lyndon under a costcutting plan to go digital-only.

Jay Bona, who has worked in the Lyndon stacks for decades, is one of nine library workers at campuses around the state whose jobs are being eliminated by the Vermont State Colleges System. President Parwinder Grewal says getting rid of the books and employees will save the cash-strapped colleges $600,000 a year. The sta will be replaced by one person who will run the merged virtual library.

The plan has caught many by surprise, generating protests and prompting a no-confidence vote in Grewal, other administrators and trustees.

“How is this advancing people’s educations?” asked Allison Fiske, a nursing student at Castleton University. She helped organize a protest and has contacted state lawmakers for help. She says it’s a matter of equity.

“For some people, this is their first exposure to di erent ideas from what they were raised with in the community,” Fiske said. “A lot of those ideas are discovered in the library by looking at a book that piques your interest.”

into a new institution, Vermont State University. Grewal has been up front that the merger, which will be final on July 1, requires hard choices. He pledged last summer not to do away with any departments altogether, but he has eliminated administrative jobs.

When he announced the library plan on February 7, Grewal said students wanted it. He cited a survey of 5,500 students that yielded 500 responses, as well as his own data that showed annual library checkouts have declined from 22,000 in 2019 to only 6,000 last year, when the pandemic was still a factor. The system has 350,000 items in circulation.

UnitedHealthcare, UVM Health Network Can’t Agree on New Contract

BY ANNE WALLACE ALLEN anne@sevendaysvt.com

e University of Vermont Health Network and UnitedHealthcare have reached an impasse in contract talks for the second year in a row, with the current agreement set to expire on April 1.

e lapse would affect coverage for an estimated 2,600 patients in Vermont and New York. UnitedHealthcare dropped out of contract talks and notified patients of the decision on Tuesday, according to Al Gobeille, chief operating officer and executive vice president at UVM Health Network.

Most of the patients would lose in-network coverage, raising the costs of their appointments and care.

“We negotiated the same rate increases that are approved by the Green Mountain Care Board, that are approved by our other payers, and we haven’t been able to be successful with United,” Gobeille said in an interview. “It’s really upsetting to our patients and docs and providers.”

UnitedHealthcare, one of the nation’s largest commercial health insurance providers, did not respond to a request for comment.

In a prepared statement, the UVM Health Network said it had been working since last year to reach a new rate agreement with the company before UnitedHealthcare pulled the plug on the talks.

While hospitals are struggling to meet increasing costs, insurance companies are posting billion-dollar profits, the health network said in its statement. UnitedHealth Group, the insurer’s parent company, distributed about $13 billion to shareholders in 2022. e UVM Health Network, meanwhile, reported a $90 million loss for fiscal year 2022.

“Our obligation is to our patients, families, staff and communities, not to UnitedHealthcare shareholders,” the health network’s president and CEO, Sunny Eappen, said.

“I don’t know how you substitute being able to go to the shelf and browse,” Bona said. “I don’t get it.”

The State Colleges System hired Grewal last summer to help consolidate Northern Vermont University — made up of the former Lyndon and Johnson State colleges — with Castleton University and Vermont Technical College

Students sharply disagreed with the survey findings, saying it wasn’t clear they were being asked whether they wanted the print materials removed. Many noted that they often use printed works without checking them out.

“I’m hearing a lot of students saying they might transfer because of this huge

A similar situation arose last February, when UnitedHealthcare informed its 1,800 Vermont policyholders that they might lose coverage in the UVM Health Network because of a contract dispute. That dispute was resolved before the April 1 termination date because the insurer agreed to UVM’s rate request, Gobeille said. ➆

I DON’T KNOW HOW YOU SUBSTITUTE BEING ABLE TO GO TO THE SHELF AND BROWSE. I DON’T GET IT. JAY BONA

Calvin Coolidge Library at Castleton University

CALEB KENNA

Council Clash

Ten candidates vie for five seats on the Burlington City Council

BY COURTNEY LAMDIN • courtney@sevendaysvt.com

With five of 12 city council seats up for election on March 7, Burlington could see yet another swing in the balance of power in city hall. Democrats and Progressives have traded control in recent years, with Dems and their allies currently in the driver’s seat. Progressives hope to recapture an East District seat they lost in a winter special election, while Democrats hope debate over policing in the city may win them new voters.

There are 10 candidates on this year’s ballot, most of them new to city politics. Using ranked-choice voting, residents will decide contests in Ward 8, where there’s a special election, and in the city’s four districts, which contain two wards apiece. All the seats are contested, except in the North District, where independent incumbent Mark Barlow is running unopposed.

Candidates have positions on a range of issues, but two are dominating the discourse: housing and policing. The city’s meager vacancy rate and recent increases in property tax bills have led candidates to call for building more homes and apartments. While there is some agreement on strategies for accomplishing that, the candidates diverge on public safety, which has been top of mind for voters as the police department struggles with a sta ng shortage amid a spike in thefts and gun violence.

With Town Meeting Day just two weeks away — and mail-in ballots in the hands of voters — candidates have limited time to make their pitches. Seven Days spoke to council-hopefuls in the contested races about their plans if elected.

CENTRAL DISTRICT

Melo Grant was crafting a rebuttal to an anonymous Reddit user when a Seven Days reporter called her last week. The commenter was challenging Grant’s positions on public safety — a topic she knows well as a member of the Burlington Police Commission.

Grant told the commenter that she supports a proposal on the ballot to create a police oversight board whose members would be able to discipline officers,

including the chief of police. The item is divisive; Progs are in favor, and Dems are opposed. As the Central District’s Progressive candidate, Grant finds herself defending her party’s position more often than she expected. It’s unclear if Grant’s stance makes her vulnerable in the race. The Central District, which comprises much of the Old North End and downtown, has long been a Progressive bastion. It’s currently represented by incumbent Councilor Perri Freeman, who is stepping down. Grant’s platform includes some proposals that are palatable to Dems, such as bolstering the police department’s team of unarmed first responders.

“Other parties have not been present for this district. They’re just not,” Grant said. “We have another election where you don’t even have a Democrat running.” Instead, there’s an independent candidate, Avery Muzikar, who thinks a “quiet unhappiness and discontent” with Progressives is brewing. A former Prog voter himself, Muzikar said the party has lofty ideals that are disconnected from reality, particularly around public safety.

Muzikar is opposed to the oversight board; one of his concerns is that it bans people with law enforcement experience from serving. Grant says racial disparities in arrest and use-of-force rates prove that Burlington cops can’t police themselves.

The candidates have more common ground on housing policy. Both want the University of Vermont to build enough student housing to keep up with growing enrollment. (Muzikar, an alum and UVM’s assistant director of residential life, knows firsthand about the problem.) And both want city zoning that allows denser residential development.

CANDIDATES HAVE POSITIONS ON A RANGE OF ISSUES, BUT TWO ARE DOMINATING THE

HOUSING

Senate Committee Advances Clean Heat Bill

BY KEVIN MCCALLUM kevin@sevendaysvt.com

The Vermont Senate Natural Resources and Energy Committee has unanimously signed off on the new version of last year’s failed “clean heat standard” bill. Intended to clean up Vermont’s heating sector, the legislation has a new name and new momentum — but is drawing the same objections from fossil fuel dealers who are worried it might put them out of business.

“This is a huge win for the environment and a huge win for people’s fuel bills,” Sen. Anne Watson (D/PWashington) said after last Friday’s vote, “because the only way to get their fuel bills to be lower is to get them off fossil fuels.”

Vermont Technical College will leave the USCAA and offer only club sports.

Gov. Phil Scott vetoed last year’s bill over concerns that it would raise heating fuel prices. Lawmakers then fell one vote shy of overriding Scott.

The new version, which the Democratic supermajority calls its top climate priority this session, has been rewritten and rebranded as the Affordable Heat Act. The moniker aims to highlight how low- and moderateincome residents would receive the bulk of the program benefits, such as subsidized home weatherization and electric heat pump installation.

Vermonters paid about $650 million more for heating fuel this winter than last, committee chair Sen. Chris Bray (D-Addison) said. That’s roughly $1,000 for every person in the state.

The cost of complying with the program could be too much for many fuel dealers, predicted Matt Cota, government affairs director of the Vermont Fuel Dealers Association.

The bill would require fuel dealers to decrease the amount of fossil fuel they sell over time. As an alternative, they could offset sales by supplying more biofuels, installing heat pumps and pellet stoves, and weatherizing homes for efficiency.

Fuel dealers who didn’t do so would be subject to “noncompliance payments.” These funds would be pumped back into clean heat projects. ➆

change,” Castleton student Brandon Burmeister said. A few in the college community predicted that the system would soon resemble huge online-only institutions such as Southern New Hampshire University and the University of Phoenix.

Bill Wiles, an adjunct professor of English at Castleton, cited Ray Bradbury’s oft-taught novel Fahrenheit 451, in which authorities order books to be burned as a way of eliminating knowledge and complexity in society. In the McCarthy-era novel, fireman Guy Montag — whose job is burning books — starts to save literature instead of destroying it.

Wiles said in a Facebook post that he hoped Grewal would relent.

“I fear, however, that those of us who value physical books and the printed word will end up like Montag and the hobos at the end of Fahrenheit 451,” Wiles wrote, “...sitting around a campfire where the Calvin Coolidge Library used to be, each person tasked with committing to memory those valuable and precious texts that have been lost or given away.”

On Tuesday, students from several state college campuses gathered in the Statehouse to ask for help from state leaders. They decried not only the library changes but also decisions to alter athletics, too. The sports program at the Johnson campus of Northern Vermont University is leaving the National Collegiate Athletic Association for the smaller United States Collegiate Athletic Association. And

Brianna Belisle of South Burlington, a first-year student at Johnson, wore her softball mask to the Statehouse and said afterward that she expects many of her teammates to transfer to other schools. “People don’t want to attend a glorified junior college,” Belisle said.

In a flurry of media interviews and meetings with lawmakers, Grewal has so far defended his decisions. Despite infusions of aid from the Vermont legislature, his colleges are still $20 million in the hole, and he has pledged to eliminate $5 million in expenses for each of the next four years.

“We are looking in every corner where we can make a change and come out of this as a sustainable institution,” he said.

But like Bona, many people can’t envision a library without books. Grewal’s announcement prompted a furor on social media and at Castleton University, which has the largest on-campus student body. Petitions are circulating, and protests are planned. A film class at Castleton is making a documentary about the controversy.

“We are seeking to understand the reasons for this capricious, anti-intellectual, and heavy-handed decree,” Castleton professors Rich Clark and Linda Olson wrote in a stinging response last week.

Grewal and administrators held their ground in meetings with staff, students and legislators, saying they were basing the decision on the survey.

But the survey, which was created by library staff, has drawn scorn. It “appears

to be a poor attempt to feign support for a decision already made rather than a catalyst for making such a decision,” wrote Clark and Olson. “This goes beyond being poor social science methods; this is outright deception.” Clark was the founding member of Castleton’s Polling Institute.

In addition, library proponents questioned whether board member Megan Cluver had a conflict of interest because she was closely associated with Deloitte Consulting, which assists higher ed transformations. Cluver said she had no conflict.

“Deloitte has not bid and will not bid on work at the Vermont State Colleges,” she said on Monday. “I would not want there ever to be the perception of a conflict of interest.”

Grewal has the support of trustees, according to board chair and state Rep. Eileen Dickinson (R-St. Albans Town). She noted that several liberal arts colleges in Vermont have gone under in recent years.

“I recognize change is hard, but it’s either change or die,” Dickinson said.

Grewal’s plan was reported in the national education press. No other state university libraries are converting physical collections to digital-only, according to Raymond Garcia, a spokesperson for the American Library Association.

“How can we in good conscience send new teachers into the world without educating them on how to navigate real books?” Blithe Milks, an adjunct professor of English at Castleton, wrote on

Battle of the Books « P.14

Senators after the vote

KEVIN MCCALLUM

Signs of support at Calvin Coolidge Library at Castleton University PHOTOS: CALEB KENNA

Facebook. “Imagine kindergarten teachers with no experience with picture books. Imagine high school teachers who can’t help their students do anything but digital research.”

Grewal told Seven Days last week that he was surprised by the vehemence of the reaction, but he’s determined to see the plan through. However, the uproar has softened his stance; he’s now open to keeping a few books on the shelves.

“Because people are so passionate about the ambience of the library, the feel of the physical books and such, we may consider a small number of books to be placed in the library and make a decision — working with faculty — about what would be those most important to each academic area,” he said.

Jeb Spaulding, who shocked the state colleges community in April 2020 when he proposed closing three campuses. The backlash was intense, and the plan was tabled; Spaulding later resigned.

Lawmakers responded last year with $45.5 million in annual funding — $10 million more than in previous years — and nearly $15 million in one-time spending. In return, administrators are under strict instructions to cut costs, something that Grewal has taken a run at by consolidating academic programs, selling underused real estate and the changes in athletics.

Administrators have acknowledged that raising enrollment is critical and won’t be easy in a state with one of the oldest populations in the country. Starting next fall, tuition will be cut roughly 15 percent, to $9,999 a year for undergrads. Still, enrollment is projected to drop 10 percent in the coming year.

Grewal, who oversaw a large merger in the Texas higher ed system, knew what he was getting into. As a cerebral PhD biologist who relishes solving difficult problems, he brings an impartial mien to the difficult job of dismantling one of the most cherished institutions on each campus — and some see that as uncaring.

There was a short honeymoon period. Grewal spent his first few months on the job visiting campuses and getting to know people.

Asked if he himself reads books on paper, Grewal held up Arrive and Thrive:

7 Impactful Practices for Women Navigating Leadership, a business guide that he said he’s sharing with top managers. He also listens to books while driving.

“I’m not saying that people should not read books,” Grewal said. “I love books.”

He added that his son, a political science scholar and researcher who just finished writing a book, told him recently that he hasn’t checked out a book physically in years because he can find everything he needs online.

“And he’s a scholar and researcher,” Grewal said. “Not just master’s level.”

But the state colleges serve a different population — those who otherwise might not get a shot at higher education, many of them first-generation college students. The system tries to provide the financial and academic support they need to complete a degree, often while working. Some of these students, activists say, learn better when they have access to paper books and journals.

Grewal is reliving on a small scale the experience of former chancellor

Last week, he spoke with some regret about the fallout. “This is extremely hard for me,” Grewal said. “Those relationships that I spent so much time building, even some of those folks are not happy with it.”

He acknowledged that more painful cuts are on the way.

“In this situation, we have to make hard decisions,” Grewal said on February 15. “We have the data that there is this sharp decline in use. What else can I say?”

On a recent February day, the NVULyndon library did have some users — including one who was reading a book. But the room next door, where students receive academic assistance, was quietly bustling, with full tables of students at work.

Grewal has repeatedly said books in print will be available to students who need them. “We are taking a multipronged approach to survive,” he said.

What will happen to the hundreds of thousands of books newly freed from the shelves? Grewal has mentioned donating them to community libraries — several of which have responded they don’t have the space — or placing them in the little free libraries that can be found in some front yards. ➆

Allison Fiske

Grant, 59, has lived in the Old North End for 23 years. Besides being a police commissioner, she’s well known as the host of “Cultural Bunker,” a long-running hip-hop show on WRUV 90.1 FM. She frequently attends Neighborhood Planning Assembly meetings.

“I just feel I can hit the ground running in a way that he can’t,” Grant said.

Muzikar, 28, doesn’t deny Grant’s advantage in experience and name recognition, acknowledging he’s a political “nobody.” But he’s confident his message will resonate.

“We need more people who are less attached to the campaigning and pontificating and more interested in just getting things done,” he said.

EAST DISTRICT

Control of the East District, which includes Wards 1 and 8, has seesawed between Progs and Dems in recent election cycles. When two Progressives resigned from the East District and Ward 8 seats in quick succession last fall, Dems were eager to scoop up those seats.

They succeeded in the East District, where Maea Brandt handily defeated two opponents to give her party an advantage on the council. But Brandt isn’t running again, so Progs see a chance to regain lost ground.

Jockeying for the seat are Progressive Jake Schumann and Democrat Tim Doherty.

Despite what’s at stake for their respective parties, both candidates are painting themselves as practical, not ideological.

Schumann, who ran as an independent against Brandt in December, is now endorsed by Progressives. But he said he’s not beholden to them.

“I would not just do as I’m told,” Schumann, 32, said. “I would not follow party leadership without doing my own due diligence.”

Doherty, 46, also said he’s not invested in party politics.

“More than anything, I hope … to be an independent-minded, nonpartisan, detail-oriented person who has a commonsense approach to city governance issues,” he said.

For now, Doherty is working closely with party leadership. His campaign manager is Adam Roof, chair of the Burlington Democratic Committee. And earlier this week, Seven Days reported that Doherty’s website contained verbatim passages that had appeared on Brandt’s website. Roof acknowledged he made the mistake when updating Doherty’s website.

If elected, Doherty would be the second attorney from Downs Rachlin Martin on the council; Ben Traverse (D-Ward 5) also works for the firm but in a different division.

Doherty’s campaign is focused on constituent service. He pledges to promptly return emails and phone calls — a response to voters feeling abandoned when the councilors resigned.

Public safety is also part of his platform, but Doherty said he’s not interested in “relitigating past fights” over policing.

“I hope to focus on, ‘OK, we are where we are. What’s the best path forward?’” he said.

Not the proposed oversight board, he said, answering his own question. Doherty wants to strengthen police accountability but worries that the proposed model — which removes the chief’s final say over discipline — would hurt the city’s attempts to hire and retain officers. Schumann, who helped get the item on the ballot, said he wouldn’t support an initiative if he thought it would demoralize cops. A dispirited police force would make the city more dangerous, while his goal is making the city safer, he said.

Both candidates want to tackle housing and affordability. Schumann, a renter, wants the city to provide seed money for a tenants’ union and to pass a policy that would give renters the right of first refusal to purchase their building if it went up for sale.

Doherty, a homeowner, wants to create a property tax relief fund for those who had their property values jump by a certain percentage during the 2021 citywide reassessment — but can’t afford to pay. Doherty also wants to see Burlington conduct reassessments more frequently to prevent future sticker shock.

Does Doherty think Brandt’s recent victory bodes well for his chances? He’s not sure. Voters have told him they’re less interested in electing a Dem than a candidate who will stick around. (Doherty said he will.)

Schumann, meantime, said he feels optimistic.

“We’ve always had an uphill battle to win this district,” he said of Progressives. “But if we run a good race … we can’t lose.”

SOUTH DISTRICT

Burlington Progressives have always struggled in the South District, particularly against Democrat Joan Shannon.

The 20-year incumbent has won at least 65 percent of the vote in her last three reelection campaigns, each time defeating a Progressive-endorsed candidate. Shannon, 58, a real estate agent, is favored to win reelection this March with a campaign largely focused on public safety. But her two opponents hope that voters are tired of the status quo.

Will Anderson, 24, the Progressive candidate, is proposing policies that he thinks will have broad appeal. An analyst at the state Department of Finance and Management, Anderson wants Burlington to adopt a rent stabilization policy that would cap annual increases at just above the rate of inflation.

Last year, the maximum allowable rent hike would have been 8.5 percent, Anderson estimates, calling that “very reasonable for landlords.” He also wants to tax owners of multifamily properties at a higher rate.

FaRied Munarsyah, 45, an independent, said he is running to give people more say in local decisions. An organizer with mutual aid group the People’s Kitchen, Munarsyah is the main driver behind “Prop Zero,” a ballot item that would allow issues to be decided by referenda.

Rhone Allison

Hannah King

Will Anderson

FaRied Munarsyah

Mark Barlow

Avery Muzikar

Tim Doherty

Jake Schumann

Melo Grant

Joan Shannon

Council Clash « P.15

(Anderson supports the proposal; Shannon doesn’t.) Munarsyah also wants more funding for the city’s Neighborhood Planning Assemblies and is promoting participatory budgeting, a process in which residents would collectively decide how to spend city funds.

But the challengers’ greatest vulnerability could be public safety, namely their support for the oversight board, which Shannon vehemently opposes. Shannon said board members — who would be appointed by representatives of community organizations that are selected by the mayor and council — wouldn’t be accountable to the public. And she worries about the cost, since the proposal would form a new city department. Proponents haven’t provided budget estimates.

Shannon would prefer to empower the existing police commission. She also wants to hire more police officers by increasing the number of authorized positions beyond the current 87. Like her opponents, she supports deploying unarmed professionals to answer certain calls.

“Voters are concerned with the direction of Burlington,” she said. “They do want the full spectrum of public safety measures, not just policing. My message to voters is: I hear you.”

Anderson and Munarsyah are confident some voters will agree with their message: that police can’t fix the root causes of crime. But they’re also realistic about their chances of winning. Munarsyah said he’ll succeed if he can convince residents to pay more attention to local politics. Anderson agreed, saying he’d like to at least start a conversation about progressive housing policy.

“I will be assuming until the end that I can do that,” he said.

WARD 8

Hannah King is feeling a bit of déjà vu.

Just as a year ago, she is the Democratic nominee in Ward 8, and her Progressive opponent is a UVM student. But this time, King, 22, hopes the outcome is different.

Last March, King lost by 43 votes to Ali House, who resigned less than a year later — only a month after a fellow Prog in the East District called it quits. The exodus left Ward 8, which includes college student neighborhoods and the UVM residential campus, without any representation for months.

That’s why King is sticking with the same promise as last year: If elected, she wouldn’t go anywhere.

“I think it’s a message that’s resonating

now more than last time,” King said. “People are just really tired and want someone that is going to do the job.”

But her opponent, 20-year-old Rhone Allison, who uses they/them pronouns, said they’re just as committed.

“I’ve worked long hours before,” said Allison, a full-time student studying economics and history. “It’s hard, but it’s not impossible.”

To win, the candidates must curry favor with college students, who make up a significant chunk of Ward 8 voters — but who rarely turn out to vote.

Both candidates have experience with political campaigns. Allison helped Sen. Tanya Vyhovsky (P/D-Chittenden Central) and Rep. Kate Logan (P/D-Burlington) get elected last November. King just finished a gig as finance director for U.S. Rep. Becca Balint (D-Vt.).

King is playing up that work on the campaign trail. She has also served on the Ward 8 Neighborhood Planning Assembly steering committee and on a city advisory board that makes grants for initiatives that fight poverty.

Allison may be less involved in city government, but the Prog has a healthy number of policy proposals. Allison’s 22-point platform includes creating a

Potlucks and Planes

Seven votes to watch on Town Meeting Day

BY RACHEL HELLMAN • rhellman@sevendaysvt.com

There’s more than one way to do Town Meeting Day now, thanks to pandemic-era changes. A number of municipalities, including Dorset and Norwich, like deciding local issues by mail so much that they will continue to make it an option. Other towns are committing more deeply to in-person decision making. In Panton, for example, this year’s meeting will start with a community potluck to “rekindle the feeling of traditional Town Meeting Day,” the town website promises.

Whether in-person or mailed-in, the votes cast on March 7 will settle issues as varied as Vermont’s 200-plus communities. Seven Days pored over each and every town’s meeting day warnings to deliver a sampling of noteworthy ballot items under consideration.

Not Cleared for Takeo

Although a 2018 proposal for a 2,000foot private airplane runway in North

Hero was withdrawn, residents are considering steps to ensure that airstrips are permanently banned from their quiet lakefront town.

Vermont already has more than 70 of these runways, known as “restricted landing areas.” But in North Hero, Larry Dupont and Glenn Cotton’s 2018 plan for a grass airstrip on their property met fierce headwinds.

“The place is magic,” Scott Richardson, a North Hero resident, told Seven Days in 2018. “We just don’t want the magic being wrecked by some rich guys playing with their toys.”

Because North Hero does not regulate airstrips, Dupont and Cotton’s application went to the state Transportation Board. At a hearing in 2018, dozens of town residents voiced their opposition; shortly afterward, the two men withdrew their application.

“We don’t know to this day whether the state would have approved it or not,” said Andy Alling, chair of the town Planning Commission. The uncertainty led a

group of residents to seek a town meeting vote to prohibit private landing strips and helipads altogether.

Alling said he wouldn’t be surprised if residents backed the ban. “The people that are opposed to landing strips are very vocal,” Alling said. “And there’s been a lot more people opposed than in favor.”

Running on Grounding

South Burlington City Council candidate Jimmy Leas insists he’s not waging a one-issue campaign. According to his website, he cares about a ordable housing, tenants’ rights and climate preservation. But, he adds: “Each and every one of [those issues] is made far worse, and solutions to each are sabotaged, by the 115-decibel F-35 training flights in our city.”

Since 2013, when the U.S. Air Force revealed that 20 or so next-generation fighter jets would be flying from the Vermont Air National Guard base, taking o roughly twice a day, Leas has become the

municipal bike-share program, raising the city’s minimum wage to $20 an hour and capping flights out of Burlington International Airport to reduce carbon emissions. Another item calls for nixing the city’s annual $10,000 contribution to the Lake Champlain Chamber — King’s employer — and giving the funds to labor groups.

Allison is also focused on housing, calling it “the biggest issue in the city.”

Last year, King campaigned on rent stabilization and a guaranteed minimum wage. While she said she’d still support those big-ticket issues if elected, her website is devoid of policy ideas this time. Her camp aign materials simply include her promise to be responsive and put “real progress before politics as usual.”

Allison criticized King for having barebones policy, but King said the messaging is deliberate: “I’ve just been trying to keep it really simple: Do more listening than talking this time,” she said.

Will voters respond to that approach? Allison doesn’t want to guess but acknowledged that a Ward 8 win would be significant for either party.

“Maybe I win [and] this signals increasing momentum for the Progressives. Maybe I lose, and it signals Dem domination,” Allison said. “I won’t know until March.” ➆

most outspoken and persistent critic of the decision. Now he is running, he said, to give a voice to the people who feel there is nothing they can do about the extreme noise.

The 75-year-old patent attorney maintains a large noise complaint database and has a Substack newsletter titled “Cancel the F-35.” Leas believes that SoBu, home to Burlington International Airport, which hosts the planes, has the legal power to ground the jets. He argues that if the F-35s were banished, 44 acres of land near the airport could be made available to build much-needed housing. (On Monday, he announced he’d received an endorsement from famed linguist and leftist political theorist Noam Chomsky.)

In the race for a three-year term, Leas faces political newcomer Andrew Chalnick. Chalnick, the global head of tax planning at JPMorgan Chase, has been endorsed by the city council chair, vice chair and a lengthy list of South Burlingtonians active in city government. His campaign has focused on supporting smart growth, combating climate change and increasing a ordable housing.

Potlucks and Planes « P.19

Chalnick told Seven Days that he plans to advocate for those a ected by the noise, though he does not believe the city has the power to get rid of the jets.

Said Leas, “We want to improve our community, and we all have ideas of how to improve it in di erent ways. Let the public decide which program sounds best. That’s democracy.”

Dismissed

Lincoln may finally be able to pull the plug and say goodbye to Mount Abraham Unified School District after Town Meeting Day. Its four fellow towns in the district — Bristol, Monkton, New Haven and Starksboro — will vote on whether to approve the financial details of Lincoln’s withdrawal from the school district.

After Mount Abraham announced in 2020 that it would likely close Lincoln’s K-6 school due to dwindling enrollment, town residents voted by a 3-1 margin to withdraw from the school union. The state Board of Education ratified that decision in 2022, giving Lincoln unconditional approval to leave the district. And last May, Lincoln won begrudging approval from the Board of Education to separate from the Mount Abraham district and form an independent Lincoln School District.

At stake on Town Meeting Day are the terms of Lincoln’s exit. The item on the ballot would transfer ownership of the Lincoln Community School and $74,754 of the district’s reserve funds to the Lincoln School District.

“The fact of the matter is, it is in the best interest of all parties to make the [break] and keep moving forward,” said Jennifer Oldham, board chair of Lincoln School District.

Mount Abraham district superintendent Patrick Reen agreed. “I think this is something that the taxpayers should support,” he told Seven Days. Until the deal goes through, though, Mount Abraham owns the Lincoln school building, which would create complications if the exit agreement did not pass.

In the meantime, Lincoln’s newly formed school board has been busy building a school district from the ground up: creating financial systems, setting up payrolls, purchasing technology and coordinating transportation. The board has raised more than $90,000 in donations to cover these startup costs.

“One of our goals is to demonstrate the viability of small schools and the value of them because of the unique opportunities

they provide for children’s education,” Oldham said. “We want to challenge the de facto assumption that bigger is better.”

A Rec Center at Last?

After nearly 22 years of planning, Colchester residents will decide whether or not to build a $16 million recreation center. Glen Cuttitta, the town’s parks and recreation director, remembers discussions about a rec center dating back to 2000, when he started his job. Since then, he’s been working to make the idea a reality, jumping over monetary hurdles that he said have slowed progress until now.

Article 7 on the Town Meeting Day ballot asks voters to approve a $6.9 million bond, and Cuttitta said he is optimistic. “Vermont winters can be cold, dark and lonely, with not a lot of recreational opportunities,” he said.

Revenue from the town’s 1 percent local option sales tax — approved by voters in 2015 — would pay for the center. To date, the tax has raised roughly $9 million, all of which would be applied to financing the project, along with the $6.9 million bond, which would be paid o by the existing local option tax revenue over 10 years.

“People like the way it’s funded from a capital perspective,” said Aaron Frank, Colchester’s town manager.

The 29,427-square-foot recreation center would be built near the intersection of Blakely Road and East Lakeshore Drive and would feature an elevated track, gymnasium, weight room and studio spaces. It would have rooftop solar panels to reduce electric bills. Residents would be able to rent rooms for events and gatherings, which Cuttitta hopes would help bring the community together post-pandemic.

The parks and recreation department would manage the center and charge tiered membership fees for residents and nonresidents. A Colchester resident could expect to pay $50 a month, or $600 a year, to use the facilities.

“That’s kind of been the push all along,” Cuttitta said. “To find those indoor recreation spaces to keep people socializing, active and healthy.”

Justifying ‘Just Cause’

Last May Vermont lawmakers fell just one vote short of overturning Gov. Phil Scott’s veto of a bill that would have required landlords to have a “just cause” to evict tenants in Burlington. Now the “just cause” cause is back,

with similar tenantprotection proposals on the March ballot in Brattleboro, Essex, Essex Junction and Winooski.

“Having multiple ‘just cause’ eviction charters across the state shows that this is not just a Burlington problem, it’s a statewide problem,” said Tom Proctor, an organizer with Rights & Democracy, the group that spearheaded the “just cause” eviction campaign. The ballot items were added as a result of resident petitions in all four communities.

In Winooski, the proposal follows a landlord’s attempt last spring to evict 24 lowincome, mostly refugee families from a downtown apartment complex in order to raise rents to market rate. While landlords Mark and Rick Bove later reversed their decision, Mayor Kristine Lott said the situation opened residents’ eyes to the disproportionate e ect eviction can have on already marginalized community members.

Lott said she believes a majority of residents support the “just cause” measure. “Anything that can be done to help people feel more stable in their housing feels like a good move,” Lott said. Still, opponents worry that “just cause” eviction measures would make it di cult for landlords to evict problem tenants. Proctor’s response? “These are ballot protections to protect good renters from bad landlords. Good landlords don’t need to worry.”

No Troubled Teens in My Backyard

A number of Newbury residents have been loud and clear in their opposition to the state’s plan to convert a former bed-andbreakfast into a juvenile detention facility. Now they hope the town’s voters will turn up the volume even louder.

The center would help fill the void created when the state closed Woodside Juvenile Rehabilitation Center in Essex, the state’s only youth detention center. The Newbury home could house up to six boys ages 12 to 17; its program would

help teens address behaviors that could lead them to commit crimes.

But some residents feel Newbury is not the right place for such a project, citing the center’s remote location and the town’s lack of a police department.

The local Development Review Board unanimously denied the state’s application in 2021, citing reasons including the adverse effect the detention center would have on the character of Newbury. State officials appealed to environmental court, where a judge overturned the local decision last fall. In a last-ditch effort, the town appealed to the Vermont Supreme Court, which has not yet ruled.

In the meantime, local opponents have succeeded in putting a question on the town meeting ballot, asking voters to tell the state “it is not appropriate to locate a high-security facility of this type in a conservation district designed for low-density agriculture, forestry, and residential use.”

“We have no power,” said Alma Roystan, chair of Newbury’s selectboard. “I think [opponents] are hoping

the outcome of the vote will have some influence on the state. But we won’t know until after it happens.”

Calais Considers Giving a Dam

What would the village of Maple Corner be without its beloved Curtis Pond? Would there still be neighborhood ice hockey games, community swim lessons or “Dockstock,” the floating pontoon boat concert?

Or worse: What would happen if the Curtis Pond Dam collapsed? Would homes be flooded? Would people be hurt? These questions have been on residents’ minds for nearly 25 years. State engineers classified the dam, built in 1900 on a tributary of Pekin Brook, as a “significant hazard” nearly 18 years ago. Its deterioration has continued, and neighbors say they’ve noticed the dam has a pronounced lean — as well as leaks.

“The fear is something we live with every day,” said Jamie Moorby, vice president of the Curtis Pond Association.

Confronted with the possibility that the dam could collapse — and with no prospect of state money to fix it — Maple Corner residents have spent the past few years raising money to save their pond.

The five-year-old Curtis Pond Association has amassed nearly $220,000 through fundraising projects, including a summerlong concert series and by-donation pontoon boat rides. Alas, the sticker price for a dam renovation is still out of reach, at $700,000.

Those who love the pond hope voters in Calais, Maple Corner’s town, will approve a $350,000 bond to help meet that price tag. The selectboard has agreed to provide an additional $100,000 in federal funds if the bond passed. The Curtis Pond Association hopes to reach its $250,000 fundraising goal in March through a GoFundMe campaign that’s under way. If the bond and the fundraising are successful, reconstruction of the dam would begin in the spring.

“I’ve been talking about this issue for more than half of my life,” Moorby said.

“It will be great for it to be done.” ➆

Rachel Hellman covers Vermont’s small towns for Seven Days . She is a corps member of Report for America, a national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms. Find out more at reportforamerica.org.

Tangled Up in Blue

National law enforcement experts come to Burlington to share ideas on police reform

BY KEN PICARD • ken@sevendaysvt.com

Rising crime rates. Police departments struggling with low morale and dwindling ranks. A steady drumbeat of news stories about cops who’ve abused their authority or broken the law. And communities distrustful of the people who were hired to protect and serve them.

There’s a crisis in law enforcement. Burlington, and Vermont, aren’t alone in confronting these problems. But the turmoil also provides a window of opportunity for reimagining how community policing is done in the 21st century.

That’s the belief of Sean Smoot, a national expert on police reform, who will join Yale Law School professor Tracey Meares for a free community discussion at the Flynn in Burlington on Thursday, February 23. The forum, titled “Collaborating Public Safety,” is sponsored by the Flynn and will be moderated by a third expert, Deborah Spence, assistant director of the federal Office of Community Oriented Policing Services.

Smoot, 53, is the managing partner of 21CP Solutions, a Chicago-based consulting firm that helps communities make their law enforcement agencies safer, trustworthy and more effective. He serves on teams that monitor police departments with histories of abuses, including those in Baltimore and Cleveland. Smoot served as a public safety policy adviser to the Obama-Biden presidential transition team.

Meares is an expert in urban policing and served with Smoot on president Barack Obama’s Task Force on 21st Century Policing, created in December 2014 to address, among other things, the police culture that led to the deaths of Eric Garner, Tamir Rice and others at the hands of law enforcement officers.

Smoot spoke with Seven Days by telephone last week.

SEVEN DAYS: There’s a sentence in the presidential task force’s final report from 2015 that reads, “Law enforcement culture should embrace a guardian — rather than a warrior — mindset to build trust and legitimacy…” How do we change that culture when many of the people recruited to become cops have a warrior mindset, if not a military background?

SEAN SMOOT: That’s an interesting observation. We’ve had the opportunity to work with a number of organizations,

including some that are led by and largely comprised of former Special Forces folks. They actually embrace the idea of building trust and legitimacy. These are people who served in Iraq and Afghanistan and had to build trust and legitimacy in order to do their jobs. So I wouldn’t throw the taint on the military necessarily. There are some excellent law enforcement officers with previous military experience. One problem with police recruiting traditionally has been the way that the profession sells itself.

SD: How so?

SS: If you look at police recruitment videos from seven or eight years ago, you see people flying around in helicopters, jumping out of armored vehicles and doing SWAT operations. That’s actually a very small percentage of what police do. So when someone joins the ranks, they find

out pretty quickly that the job is not what the video showed. The fact is, over 90 percent of the time that police are on the street, they’ll be sitting in a car.

SD: But in many communities, the police look and feel like an occupying force.

SS: We’ve heard that. A lot of departments have toned that down, which many officers actually prefer. Some departments have gone to a uniform of golf shirts and utility pants. But sometimes military-looking gear is necessary. If police are serving a warrant on somebody who doesn’t want to go back to prison, they need protective equipment. The number of officers shot in January increased 40 percent over the number shot last January and 113 percent over the number of officers shot in 2020.

That said, I’m not one of these guys who thinks that cops need to be hypervigilant. The reality is, there are probably 2 million interactions between police officers and community members every day. More than 99 percent of them do not involve the use of force against or by the officer.

SD: Police have traditionally resisted the kind of civilian oversight that exists in other professions. Doctors and pilots have regulatory boards that can strip them of their licenses. Shouldn’t we be tracking the disciplinary records of cops and make those records available during the hiring process?

SS: Accountability is important in any profession. As long as accountability is

coupled with a strong system of procedural justice, there’s far less police objection to it. One of the things that makes officers resistant to more accountability is, they don’t feel like there’s a strong system of procedural justice behind it, where they’ll have an opportunity to tell their side of the story and be judged by an appropriate determiner of facts.

SD: How do we make cops feel more comfortable about the policing of their ranks?

SS: That’s a cultural issue. Part of it is the way accountability systems work right now. It’s a blame game: Who screwed up, and how much can we punish them for it? The reality is, in other systems, like medicine and aviation, they do something called sentinel event reviews. When a surgeon operates on someone — maybe it was the left arm they were supposed to operate on instead of the right — everyone who was involved in that surgery, from the person who cleaned the surgical suite to the doctors, nurses, anesthesiologists and orderlies, sits around a table and creates a detailed timeline of the entire event. They’re focused on figuring out how to prevent that bad outcome from happening again. It’s not, “Am I going to get fired?” or “What’s this going to cost me when I get sued?” They’re allowed to have an honest, open conversation.

It’s the same kind of investigation that the National Transportation Safety Board does after a plane crash or a near miss. Once the investigation is completed, the report is anonymized and published so that every other pilot knows what occurred. The reason police don’t do this is because they don’t have a legally protected way to do so.

SD: Vermont’s police departments are grappling with serious staff shortages. Officer morale is low, and most municipalities don’t have the budgets to compete with larger cities on salaries. How do we fill those ranks but still get qualified applicants?

SS: I actually feel like we’re at a time of unique generational opportunity because staffing is so low. If you look at surveys of young people looking for their first job, money is less important than having a job that they actually like and feel is important. So, it’s not like we have to compete for the dollars. It’s important to reframe what the job of policing is all about.

Sean Smoot

Then-president Barack Obama meeting with members of the President’s Task Force on 21st Century Policing in the White House in March 2015

COURTESY OF THE WHITE HOUSE/PETE SOUZA

Imagine gathering with family and friends at a picture-perfect Vermont wedding to celebrate your most special occasion.Whether you envision a wedding reception that’s traditional, formal, intimate or grand, the historic Middlebury Inn has set the stage for your ceremony, rehearsal dinner, morning brunch or special event.

SD: Should police agencies be recruiting different types of candidates?

SS: Absolutely! What you want to look at first are the criminal justice curricula at the junior college and college levels. A lot of departments recruit directly from two- and four-year degree programs but don’t ever look at the curricula because these student already have an interest in becoming cops. But what if the program isn’t that good? What if the curriculum deals mostly with incarceration and use of force? Maybe it’s not the best place to look. However, if the curriculum covers the root causes of crime, the impact of policing on communities, and the history of policing and civil rights, that might be a better program to recruit from.

The other thing is, we shouldn’t be focused solely on criminal justice majors — and nothing against them, by the way. My bachelor’s degree is in criminal justice science. I see some wonderful police officers who went to the seminary and decided that becoming a minister or priest wasn’t for them. I see officers who got their degrees in history or English. Some of them just fell into policing, and

LAW ENFORCEMENT

they turned out to be some of the best cops we have. Others just wanted to serve. We have to be a lot more thoughtful than we’ve been. And that’s hard right now because departments are desperate for bodies.

SD: Anything else?

SS: We need to remember that policing is a human endeavor. All my partners across the country will tell you that we have yet to find a perfect police department. There are some good things happening in different places. I don’t mean to simplify things and say, “Cops are people, too.” But the reality is, when humans are involved, there are going to be mistakes. ➆

This interview was edited and condensed for clarity and length.

“Collaborating Public Safety,” Thursday, February 23, 7 p.m., at Flynn Main Stage in Burlington. Free. flynnvt.org

What is currently soaring

the VermontCanada border?

Sean Smoot and then-president Barack Obama

lifelines

OBITUARIES

Sherlyn M. Allard

MARCH 19, 1948-FEBRUARY 15, 2023 MILTON, VT.

Sherlyn M. Allard, 74, of Milton, Vt., died on February 15, 2023, at the University of Vermont Medical Center.

She was born on March 19, 1948, the daughter of the late Howard and Frances (Quenneville) Manley.

Sherlyn graduated from Burlington High School, class of 1966, and received two bachelor’s degrees from the University of Vermont, one in medical technology and one in accounting. She was married to Paul Allard in 1970 at St. Joseph Cathedral in Burlington.

Sherry earned her CPA in September 1980. She worked for a local firm and started her own CPA business, Allard and Associates. In later years, she worked for Scheer and Hickey, performing tax returns at the beginning of each year.

Sherry had a special love for her horses. She was a dedicated horsewoman with associations throughout the state. She got her first horse in 1975 and owned six during her riding career. She enjoyed attending horse shows and earned numerous blue ribbons in dressage and competitive trail riding. She loved every opportunity to be outdoors, including visiting many national parks in both the U.S. and Canada, hiking the Long Trail, and overnight camping with her husband and college friends. She especially loved

Glenn Gannon

NOVEMBER 8, 1956-FEBRUARY 10, 2023

EAST MONTPELIER, VT.

Glenn Gannon 66, of East Montpelier, passed away unexpectedly of a heart attack, at his home on February 10, 2023.

Glenn graduated from Norwich University in 1979, where he met his wife, Robin Bickford Gannon. ey loved vacations on Cape Cod and watching the sunset together at the beach. ey were married for 44 years.

Glenn taught physical education at East Montpelier Elementary and driver’s education throughout Vermont. He was active in his community — teaching, coaching, refereeing or just cheering from the sidelines. It filled his heart to watch his daughters and grandsons play hockey. His love of sports came from his father, Spike.

Besides family, Glenn’s passions were hunting and fishing. He instilled those traits in his family and within a young man he mentored, named Jake Storey.

Glenn showed his love through cooking, just like his mother, Margery Nelson Gannon. Every family

OBITUARIES, VOWS, CELEBRATIONS

working in her large garden around her home and spending time with her grandchildren. Sherry cherished every moment on the riding trails and her close relationships with longtime friends. She enjoyed every dirty job and every conversation about horses, be it past or present.

She is survived by her husband, Paul Allard, of Milton; her two sons, Patrick Allard and his wife, Heather, of Saranac Lake, N.Y., and Tony Allard and his wife, Yvonne, of Wellsville, Pa.; her grandchildren, Madelyn, Benjamin and Samuel Allard; her brothers, Neil Manley of South Burlington and Craig Manley and his partner, Melody Alarie, of Burlington; her sister, Eileen Labonte, and her husband, Lonny, of Nashua, N.H.; and numerous cousins, nieces and nephews.

Visiting hours will be held on Wednesday, February 22, 5 to 7 p.m., at the Ready Funeral & Cremation Services, South Chapel, 261 Shelburne Rd., Burlington.

A mass of Christian burial will be celebrated on ursday, February 23, 10 a.m., at St. Joseph Cathedral, with burial to follow in New Mt. Calvary Cemetery. In lieu of flowers, donations in Sherlyn’s memory may be made to the Green Mountain Horse Association, P.O. Box 8, South Woodstock, VT 05071 (gmhainc.org/ annual-fund-support-gmha).

Arrangements are in the care of Ready Funeral & Cremation Services. To send online condolences, please visit readyfuneral.com.

gathering had food at the center. He always talked about wanting to turn his whole lawn into a garden.

Glenn was a man of many words. He would engage in conversation with anyone. He was very proud of his family and loved to talk about them. Glenn is survived by his wife, Robin; his daughters, Jennifer Nance and Brooke Small; his in-laws, Clarice and David Bickford; three brothers, Gary, Geoff and David Gannon; his sons-in-law, BT Nance and Justin Small; and his three grandchildren, Nathan Nance, Samuel Nance and Sadie Small.

Glenn’s family will be hosting a celebration of life this spring.

e family sends its deepest gratitude to the firefighters and EMTs in East Montpelier for their quick response and valiant efforts.

Memorial contributions can be made to the Green Mountain Camp Conservation Endowment Fund. Glenn loved being a counselor at Buck Lake and having his grandson attend. He would love for others to have the opportunity to learn to love and appreciate the outdoors as he did.

Checks for scholarships can be made payable to GMCC, Vermont Fish & Wildlife Department, 1 National Life Dr., Davis 2, Montpelier, VT 05620-3702.

Paul Verrastro

DECEMBER 6, 1970-FEBRUARY 7, 2020

SOUTH BURLINGTON, VT.

Paul was born in Pennsylvania and lived his early life in New York and Key West, Fla., before moving to Huntington, Vt. He attended MMHS and was the catcher for the varsity baseball team, earning a reputation as the home run king and fondly referred to as “square wheels.”

After graduation in 1989, he joined the National Guard and became part of the F-16 bomb-loading squad and went on to electronics school in California.

Paul was a MacGyver and a jack-ofall-trades and excelled in carpentry and fine woodworking, which was his passion. He worked for both Stewart and Engelberth Construction, directing crews to complete the finished woodwork for large projects at Wesleyan

Robert James Verrastro

JULY 13, 1973-JANUARY 7, 2023 SOUTH BURLINGTON, VT.

Robert was born in Johnson City, N.Y., and spent time in Key West, Fla., before moving to Huntington and then South Burlington, Vt. He led a tumultuous and magical life and was known to some as RJ, Paul’s brother, Rob and a friend. He had a huge heart and went out of his way to help anyone who needed a hand. He was a marvelous, creative cook and managed several large restaurants, including Crabby Bills in South Carolina and several of the Longhorn franchises, which tapped into his “effervescent bunny” personality. He also worked as a handyman and landscaper and had a very green thumb. He was an entrepreneur who could spot an opportunity at its conception and tenaciously take it to fruition.

He and his closest friend, his brother, Paul, shared many great adventures while fishing and hunting and enjoyed

College and Jay Peak. He was also involved with the renovation of the National Guard bunkers.

He loved his family and all things outdoors: four-wheeling, hunting and camping. As an avid fisherman, he cruised the Atlantic, the Gulf and the St. Lawrence and pieced together a mini-lobster boat to fish Lake Champlain.

Paul is survived by his wife, Jennifer; sons, Paul Jr. and Austin; parents, Paula (South Burlington, Vt.) and Canio (Largo, Fla.); and sister, Katie (Florida). He was predeceased by his uncles, Gordon Mayo (Duff) of Essex, Vt., and Lennard Verrastro of New York. His many friends and family will miss his strength, supportive attitude and dry sense of humor.

A celebration of life for both Robert and Paul will be held on April 15, 2023. Call 802-465-5565 for more information on venue and time.

all things outdoors — hiking, fourwheeling and camping. ey were the thunder and lightning! ey worked side by side, fixing cars or planning other projects, rain or shine.

He was predeceased by his brother, Paul, and his uncles, Gordon Mayo (Essex, Vt.) and Lennard Verrastro (New York). Rob loved his family, and nothing gave him more pleasure than his three daughters, Haylea (New Hampshire) and Kaylah and Sierah (Vermont).

He is survived by the four special ladies in his life: his mother, Paula (Vermont), Holly Willard (New Hampshire), Debi Verrastro (Vermont), and Crystal Verrastro (Vermont); as well as his father, Canio, sister, Katie (Florida) and nephew, Paul (Vermont). His many friends and family will miss his charisma and the entertaining chaos he brought to everything he did.

A celebration of life for both Robert and Paul will be held on April 15, 2023. Call 802-465-5565 for more information on venue and time.

Nancy Lutton

AUGUST 13, 1925FEBRUARY 19, 2023 SHELBURNE, VT.

Nancy Lutton cherished nothing more in life than her family, and she was blessed with a large one: six children, five grandchildren and two great-grandchildren. Born in Worcester, Mass., on August 13, 1925, to Ethel and Ted Quist — both first-generation Americans — she grew up in a close-knit Swedish community and prized her Scandinavian heritage.

(The Kitchen Gnome, as her daughter Karin lovingly nicknamed her, fiercely guarded her Swedish meatball recipe, in particular.)

As a teenager, Nancy found the first love of her life: Block Island. She spent summers there throughout the 1940s, ’50s and ’60s helping her parents run the Bayside, a lively inn on Corn Neck Road. In later years, she reminisced wistfully — in a Worcester accent she never lost — about her time on the small island off the coast of Rhode Island. A favorite story was of her coming-out party on her 18th birthday, a lavish affair at Searles Mansion, for which Mansion Beach is named. Though the Quists sold the Bayside in the late 1960s, Nancy’s heart never really left the island. She was a graduate of North Park College in Chicago, an accomplishment of which she was deeply

Catherine Pawlowski

DECEMBER 4, 1925FEBRUARY 16, 2023

BURLINGTON, VT.

Catherine Pawlowski, born on December 4, 1925, in Bridgeport, Conn., passed away in Burlington on February 16, 2023.

A longtime resident of Burlington and Lincoln, Catherine worked in the University of Vermont Given Research Laboratory, studying respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), and she also worked with the University of Vermont crime scene investigation laboratory in Morrill Hall. Later in her

charm and boundless pride in her family. She especially enjoyed following the exploits of her grandchildren and relished every chance to see them.

In the final weeks of her life, Nancy was surrounded by family at the Gazebo Senior Living facility in South Burlington. She died peacefully in the early morning of February 19. She was 97.

proud. After school, Nancy returned to Worcester and married Robert Tillson, with whom she had three children. Their marriage ended in 1963. But Block Island would again play a pivotal role in her life. One day on the ferry back to the mainland, Nancy met Don Lutton, a friend of friends who offered her a ride home to Worcester. They soon fell in love and were married on the island in 1969. Nancy raised Don’s three children as her own. The couple lived for decades in Schenectady, N.Y., where he worked in various capacities for General Electric, and she served on the board of the Schenectady Museum and the auxiliary board of the Schenectady Symphony. They later moved to Shelburne, Vt., to be closer to Nancy’s daughter, Karin Lime, and her family.

After Don passed away in 2016, Nancy lived at the Terraces in Shelburne. Even as Parkinson’s disease slowly diminished her over several years, Nancy retained her sharp wit, impish

Nancy is survived by her son Marc Tillson of Block Island, R.I.; daughter Karin Lime and her husband, Neal Lime, of Charlotte, Vt.; son Mark Lutton of Brookline, N.H.; son Larry Lutton and his wife, Denise, of Nashua, N.H.; daughter Lynn Fletcher of Block Island, R.I.; grandson, Nelson Lime, of Burlington, Vt.; granddaughter Keilani Lime and her fiancée, Dan Bolles, of Vergennes, Vt.; granddaughter Rebekah Fletcher; grandson Orin Fletcher of Seattle, Wash.; grandson Beckett Lutton of Nashua, N.H.; and two great-grandchildren. She was predeceased by her husband Robert Tillson, husband Don Lutton and son Philip Tillson.

A celebration of Nancy Lutton’s life is planned for the spring, with arrangements handled by Corbin and Palmer Funeral Home in Shelburne. Donations in her name can be made to the American Parkinson Disease Association. To send online condolences, visit vtfuneralhomes.com.

community where she lived. A woman of deeply rooted strength, she carried with her a brightness, warmth and joy for life that touched everyone she encountered.

professional life, she trained leaders for the Girl Scout Council of Vermont.

Catherine was an avid gardener and crafter. Her great love of books and learning led her to be an active volunteer in libraries in every

Catherine’s beloved husband of 64 years, Ted, passed in 2011. Catherine is survived by her daughter, Cathy Ann, of South Burlington; son, Kirk, and daughter-in-law, Patricia, of Vancouver, Wash.; grandson, Leonard, and his wife, Juno; and great-grandson, David, of Huntingburg, Ind. The family offers heartfelt thanks to the staff of Burlington’s Converse Home for the warm care provided to Catherine in the last years of her life.

lifelines

THE LONG RUN

Andrew Tripp

BY DEREK BROUWER • derek@sevendaysvt.com

Running coach Andrew Tripp greeted the high schoolers who trickled into Norwich University’s field house with a hearty warning: A brutal workout was in store, starting with three laps around the indoor track — 600 meters at full speed.

Referring to the final turn, the U-32 coach said, “It’s going to hurt very badly, but only for 15 seconds, OK?”

Normally, Tripp, who is 52, would have been running with them. But he had a cold, so he reverted to his race-day role of sideline encouragement, which he delivers in an emotional register that will stay imprinted in their amygdalae into adulthood.

“Amy, let’s go, girl! Faster!”

is an all-star union organizer — and a kick-ass cross-country coach, too

The next group of runners stepped up to the starting line. “This is the 600. Violence, all right?” he cajoled. “This is not some middle-distance ‘I’ll save myself,’ OK? Let’s bite their head off, Ozzy Osbourne! You guys know Ozzy Osbourne, right?”

Indoor track is not a varsity sport for U-32 Middle & High School. Most of the athletes here were distance runners and Nordic skiers, not sprinters.

And yet the runners hustled and focused. Amid the herdlike thumping of feet, a young assistant coach from rival Harwood Union Middle & High School, Jake Pitman, marveled at the display of discipline: “They’re all bought in. They want to be here. It’s indoor track! It’s not even regular track!”

primary occupation: union organizer. In both endeavors, the challenges are similarly steep — figuring out how to help disparate groups of people push themselves toward a finish line that will only be reached through stamina, sacrifice and shared purpose.

Establishing unions has gotten harder in the United States, where the proportion of unionized workers has been declining for 50 years. That’s never deterred Tripp, who has honed the trade of high-stakes team building. He’s worked on landmark campaigns in Vermont and more than 20 other states, organizing more than 100,000 people over the years. In 2020, during the height of the pandemic, he helped health care workers at a rural Pennsylvania nursing

from Sen. Bernie Sanders’ (I-Vt.) presidential campaigns. “He works through other people, as the best organizers do. It’s not charismatic organizing: ‘If you want to be a hero, just follow me.’ He’s the opposite of that.”

Grand Slam

In 2003, Colchester native and University of Vermont standout pitcher Jamie Merchant became one of the few Vermonters ever drafted by a majorleague baseball team, but his selection was hardly a golden ticket.

Like most draftees, Merchant would never play in a major-league game. During his three years pitching in the Houston Astros’ farm system, Merchant earned less than $10,000 per season, with

were going to defy the owners, when they had stars in their eyes about making it to the major leagues — it’s just not going to happen,” former MLBPA president Marvin Miller told Slate in 2012.

In the ensuing years, as MLB tightened its grip, players began to challenge that assumption. They started speaking out, and their working conditions attracted wider attention. A pitcherturned-attorney from New Jersey, Harry Marino, took charge of a small organization called Advocates for Minor Leaguers. Marino, whose career 2.13 earned run average hadn’t been enough to secure a big-league promotion, recruited players into activism through Instagram. Within months, MLB announced it would provide housing to minor-league players.

Tripp’s knack for motivating people has helped endurance athletes at U-32, a public school of 700 or so students from towns outside Montpelier, excel with head-turning consistency. They’ve won more than 30 state championships in Nordic skiing, track and field, and cross-country running, including seven consecutive titles for the boys’ crosscountry runners. In 2021, their streak earned Tripp an award as the top boys’ coach in the country from the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association.

Tripp likes to invoke ancient warriors and leads with Spartan intensity. But his sideline exhortations aren’t as key to his coaching as the subtler techniques that Tripp has learned to apply from his

home take on the boss while many of them were infected with COVID-19.

Tripp played an important behindthe-scenes role last fall in the effort to organize nearly 5,600 minor-league pro baseball players, who for decades endured exploitative working conditions during their quests to make the big leagues. Their nationwide campaign defied long-held assumptions that minor leaguers were too itinerant and individualistic to band together and bite the head off Major League Baseball.

“I don’t believe there’s a better organizer in the country,” said Larry Cohen, former president of the 700,000-plusmember Communications Workers of America, who chairs the board of Our Revolution, a political action group spun

which he was expected to pay rent and maintain his body at an elite caliber. He spent countless uncompensated hours on buses and worked a second job as a stonemason’s assistant in the off-season. He accrued calories by eating leftover hot dogs from the stadium snack bar.

“You were treated horrendously,” said Merchant, now 41, who runs a local carpet-cleaning business. “You felt at the time like that was the way it was. That was the price you had to pay if you wanted to play in the big leagues.”

Back then, a fair deal for minor-league players seemed far-fetched. Even the powerful union for major leaguers, the Major League Baseball Players Association, had dismissed it. “The notion that these very young, inexperienced people

Energized, and backed with some MLBPA funding, Marino’s group decided to explore a minor-league union. One problem: “None of us had any union organizing experience,” Marino said. One of the group’s founders, labor and racial justice activist Bill Fletcher Jr., recommended he contact Tripp for help, Marino said.

Tripp, an independent consultant at the time, said he saw in Marino someone who had the chops to spearhead an ambitious drive.

“As an attorney — an attorney who wasn’t corroded by his legal training — he understood intuitively that organizing

I DON’T BELIEVE THERE’S A BETTER ORGANIZER IN THE COUNTRY.

LARRY COHEN

Andrew Tripp speaking with fellow coach Mark Chaplin at U-32 High School in East Montpelier

Tripp on the picket line with striking UVM Medical Center nurses

players was the only power that the ballplayers had,” Tripp said.

Beginning in fall 2021, Tripp served as adviser to Marino, as a strategist and a sort of organizers’ organizer, training the handful of former players who joined as field organizers. Advocates for Minor Leaguers formed a player steering committee, and Tripp and Marino went on a spring-training tour to Arizona and Florida to meet with more athletes. Tripp, who is fluent in Spanish, helped make inroads with players from Central America. Mostly, he showed the player-organizers how to approach the delicate, methodical work of building trust among players across more than 100 clubhouses.

Even with an effective organizing network, the players were uniquely vulnerable. An aggressive opposition campaign by the deep-pocketed league could crush their shoestring effort. “So we had to back the league off,” Tripp said.

Public awareness was one prong of the strategy that Advocates for

Minor Leaguers devised. Congress was another. The league, in 2021, had cut ties with 40 of its affiliate teams, including the Vermont Lake Monsters, eliminating hundreds of jobs, many of them in communities that had helped pay for the stadiums. (The Lake Monsters were reconstituted as a collegiate summer team; its players today are unpaid.)

Congress had historically done MLB’s bidding, but now the players saw lawmakers as an important ally.

Sen. Sanders announced a push to end a long-standing antitrust carve-out that had allowed Major League Baseball to suppress wages and control teams in ways that most businesses could not. The chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) planned hearings on the question. Key Democratic and Republican senators started talking publicly about the treatment of minor leaguers.

Time, however, was not on the players’ side. The minor-league workforce would disperse during the off-season and rosters would change, weakening the player relationships needed to win majority support for a union. Players

could hold elections club by club, but a patchwork process could allow team owners to more easily push back. Pursuing a league-wide vote, meanwhile, was an all-or-nothing gamble.

Confident in the breadth of their support, Advocates for Minor Leaguers went for the league-wide approach. When the campaign went public last August, it took barely two weeks for a majority of players to sign cards saying they wanted a union. The once-skeptical MLBPA had agreed to represent the players, leaving the league with two options: force a contested election, administered by the National Labor Relations Board, or agree to recognize the new union and negotiate with players. The league acquiesced.

The players’ triumph surpassed any victory on the field, Josh Hejka, a pitcher for the Binghamton, N.Y., Rumble Ponies, told Sports Illustrated. “It felt like it overcame the individuality of pro ball to the point where there was a collective excitement, collective celebration,” he said, “and that’s something I hadn’t really felt — that raw an emotion — since college.”

The challenges the players overcame weren’t unlike those faced by other workers who seek to unionize, Tripp said. But the minor-league drive differed in one respect. “It went almost exactly according to plan,” he said.

‘Organizing the Unorganized’

1995 was a pivotal year for America’s labor movement. With union membership steadily dropping, progressive insurgents staged a revolt at the country’s largest union federation, the American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations, to push for a more aggressive response. The incoming AFL-CIO president, John Sweeney, set union expansion as his top priority through his mantra to “organize the unorganized.”

Tripp was on board. Then a graduate student studying economic history at the University of Chicago, he had come to believe that a strong labor movement was the foundation for all progressive social change. “It’s fundamentally about small‘d’ democracy. Do you get to vote on what you get paid? Or does someone get to just tell you?” he said.

Tripp had learned at a young age the

Tripp urging on senior Wilder Brown during a race at U-32 High School

ethic of never crossing a picket line. His father, a Harvard University-educated physician, was a New Deal Democrat who had served in the Peace Corps in Cameroon and Nigeria. Tripp grew up in Washington, D.C., then attended Harvard himself.

At a time of rapid globalization and free-trade Clintonomics, Tripp was studying the policies of the late Mexican president Lázaro Cárdenas, who seized the assets of foreign oil companies during a labor dispute. He came to loathe the culture at the exclusive institutions he’d attended, seeing them as training grounds for the “world’s elite.”

Electrical, Radio and Machine Workers of America, or UE, helping nursing assistants and service workers form a union at Berlin Health and Rehabilitation in Barre. They won a fiercely contested union election in 2000, making them the only unionized nursing home workers in Vermont.

Kimberly Lawson, a union staffer with the UE, was initially skeptical of Tripp and his Ivy League background, but he showed he could earn the trust of the older, mostly female nursing home workers, she said. Tripp also proved adept at identifying which workers could become leaders among their coworkers — a crucial skill for organizers, Lawson

“I wanted no part of that team,” Tripp said. “I understood them to be doing bad work. Not ambiguous work, not ‘It’s complicated’ work, not gray-area work. Bad work.”

Tripp started an organizing drive among University of Chicago graduate students in 1995 and later traveled to California to work on an ambitious but unsuccessful campaign by the United Farm Workers to unionize strawberry pickers, most of whom were immigrants. He never returned to graduate school.

Some of Tripp’s earliest campaigns as a field organizer were waged at nursing homes, including in central Vermont, where he and his partner, Rebecca Plummer, moved in 1999 after she got a job as an attorney at Vermont Legal Aid. He took a position with the United

said, especially in private-sector workplaces, since union officials typically can’t access company property.

A nurse sympathetic to the plight of the home’s nursing assistants persuaded licensed nursing assistant Laurie Gomo to join the cause, Gomo recently recalled. “I trusted her; therefore, with her backing up Andrew, I felt he was OK,” Gomo said. She handed out union flyers during the drive.

Being a white man who wears Carhartts comes with certain advantages in Tripp’s line of work, where he’s seen employers use photos of a gay organizer to divide workers. These days, Tripp, pale and sinewy, wears beat-up running shoes, U-32 jackets and Bernie beanies,

THE LONG RUN «

from which curls of dark hair peek out. He converses with a disarming openness that makes it easy to envision even a stranger sharing confidences with him. Tripp might also be genetically predisposed to forthrightness, as when, during one interview for this story, he suggested that Seven Days publish an article about bass fishing, one of his hobbies, figuring that the paper’s middle-class readers would enjoy reading about something they saw as “authentically redneck.”

Tripp’s zealousness for the work aids in the organizer’s fundamental task: getting workers to take personal risks for the benefit of their group. Those consequences can be particularly severe in the United States, where most employers can terminate workers without cause. Though it’s illegal to fire someone because they’re involved in organizing, enforcement is “exceedingly weak,” Tripp tells workers. “You don’t hide that.”

Vermont, despite its political bent, historically has been no easier for workers seeking to organize. Only 13 percent of its workers were represented by a union last year, according to federal data. The Committee on Temporary Shelter, a homeless shelter in Burlington, defeated workers in a contested election in 2007. An ambitious effort to create a union for all of Montpelier’s downtown service workers, led by the UE and the Vermont Workers’ Center, fizzled amid criticism that it was too confrontational for small-town Vermont, even though the National Labor Relations Board found that one of the businesses had violated workers’ rights during the drive. When nurses at the hospital now known as the University of Vermont Medical Center tried to unionize in 1998, the Burlington Free Press, in an editorial, urged them to vote no.

The Berlin Health and Rehab union fell apart after several years. But the UVM Medical Center nurses tried again, successfully, in 2002. Tripp worked that campaign and, alongside the nurses, led the negotiations for their first contract.

“I just real quickly felt like he was a brother to me,” said Mari Cordes, one of the nurse-organizers and now a Democratic state rep from Lincoln. “Not just in the union sense, but like a brother. He had my back.”

The nurses’ first contract secured better pay and staff-to-patient ratios and was a signal moment in the state’s labor history. During bargaining, Tripp and the nurses sat opposite the hospital’s hired attorney, an ace named Peter Robb from Burlington’s Downs Rachlin Martin law firm. Robb, whose surname, Tripp admits,

was “rhetorically very useful,” would later be appointed in 2016 as the National Labor Relations Board’s general counsel — the country’s chief enforcer of federal labor law — by then-president Donald Trump.

Extended Stay

Tripp spent 17 years working full time on contract campaigns, strikes and new union drives, many of which were grueling affairs. He knocked on workers’ doors, and some of them slammed those doors in his face. He slept in extended-stay motels and fielded late-night calls from workers who had just learned they were being deported. Fellow organizers typically would unwind each night at the bar. Tripp, who used to run ultramarathons, would go for long jogs.

Tripp’s tenacity occasionally got him into trouble. Security guards once broke up a shouting match between Tripp and former hospital lobbyist Steve Kimbell on the Statehouse steps in 2004. Kimbell tried to leverage the encounter with lawmakers, urging them to vote against a unionsupported bill to grant whistleblower protections to nurses on the grounds that their advocate had resorted to “physical intimidation.” Tripp told Seven Days columnist Peter Freyne that Kimbell had called one of the union nurses a liar.

“It’s a strength and a weakness that I take things exceedingly seriously,” Tripp said. “It’s not just business for me. I mean, I know it is for those guys. I’ve learned to be able to be civil. It’s taken a long time.”

Tripp started chasing organizing campaigns “like a junkie,” he said. He worked several years for Service

Employees International Union, then one of the most aggressive unions anywhere when it came to new organizing, and later became executive director of the Vermont chapter of American Federation of Teachers, or AFT Vermont. The victories sustained Tripp, but so did smaller encounters. Pro-union workers in Tripp’s first campaign, at a nursing home in Vestal, N.Y., lost a bitter election by just a couple of votes. Following the result, Tripp said, one of the workers revealed that she’d left her abusive husband during the union drive “because we learned to stand up for ourselves.”

Most labor organizers don’t tend to last long. Tripp eventually came to exist in a state of constant dread. He feared the next “scorched earth” fight that could ignite at any time. “Even just talking to you about this, my cortisol levels are way up,” he said. It started to make him sick.

“It took a real kind of health breakdown for me to realize that, like, well, if you die at 42, you can’t do any useful work,” he said.

In June 2012, bedridden with pneumonia and with the adoption of his and Plummer’s second child pending, Tripp accepted that he needed to slow down. He decided to carry on his organizing work as a consultant, at a safer distance from the “sharp end of the spear.”

Commitment

That summer, Tripp saw a “help wanted” ad for an assistant cross-country coach for U-32 and jumped on it. The gig was sweet. The team’s head coach, Mark

Chaplin, is a local legend who had been coaching since shortly after U-32 opened in 1971. Chaplin established a team ethos by running with his athletes during practices and, later, bicycling alongside them. He retired as a chemistry teacher last year but still helps coach.

Even Chaplin was taken aback by the way Tripp applied his organizing frame of mind to high school coaching. Tripp would show up to the weight room and basketball games to prospect for new recruits, “then talk to them after the game, or send them letters, or get their teammates who are already on the track team to talk to them and try to talk them into doing it,” Chaplin said.

Tripp started holding summer training camps at his family’s cabin in Craftsbury, where runners sleep in tents and share chores. During the retreats, he counsels students about their goals and training plans. Andrew Crompton, a runner who graduated in 2019, said Tripp required him to log at least 200 miles during the summer to gain admittance to the camp.

Running, in Tripp’s eyes, is the most “democratic” sport, especially at the high school level, as Tripp sometimes reminds affluent parents who ask for recommendations on which shoes will make their child faster. “I’m like, look, they’re a novice runner. Basically, they need to run to Chicago over the next five to six months. And call me when you get there.” The key is commitment, and Tripp sees coaching as a matter of convincing athletes to do the necessary, year-round, frequently unpleasant work. He’s direct with athletes when

Tripp training with the girls’ track team near U-32 High School

he thinks they aren’t pulling their weight, which leads to occasional complaints from parents.

“There are times when it helps to have me around to soothe the ruffled feathers,” Chaplin said.

“Andrew came in knowing how to coach kids to get really good and reach their full potential,” said former Nordic skier Emma Curchin, “which is challenging, I think, with middle school and high schoolers, because not everybody wants to have a sport be a very serious thing.”

At U-32, endurance sports are not treated as individual events. “You’re running every day for your team,” Crompton emphasized. In 2021, the boys’ cross-country team became just the second from Vermont to ever win the New England regional championships, where they bested a powerhouse private school from Rhode Island. A finalstretch push by the squad’s fifth-fastest runner, then-junior Sargent Burns, clinched the win. “We both cried when

yet to reverse unionism’s decline as a broad economic force; the proportion of American workers in unions dipped to its lowest point on record last year, 10 percent. But it suggests collective action may be gaining purchase among a new generation of workers who are trying to find their place in an economy that doesn’t seem to have their future in mind.

Former Communications Workers of America president Cohen sees the minor-league players’ union as representing an important way forward. The win showed the power workers can wield when they organize simultaneously across an entire industry, an approach that has become rare in the U.S. Only such broad-based organizing will be able to tilt economic power back toward workers, Cohen said.

James Haslam, who for years ran the Vermont Workers’ Center, a labor rights organization, and cofounded the economic and social justice group Rights & Democracy, said Tripp introduced him

the scores were announced,” Tripp told a reporter after the race.

Athletes impart the program’s collectivist approach to their younger peers, which has proven key to U-32’s recurring success.

“He kind of established these expectations, and since then, the leaders each year have really set forth those expectations,” Crompton, now a captain on the UVM track team, said. “So it’s kind of a self-running machine.”

Passing It Down

More than 70 percent of Americans say they approve of unions, the highest level since 1965, according to a recent Gallup poll. Unions have made inroads at Amazon, and workers at more than 250 Starbucks locations have organized in the past two years despite of vigorous opposition by the company.

In the past few years in Vermont, more than 1,000 UVM staff voted to form a union, and VTDigger.org agreed to recognize its employees’ new union. Last month, more than 2,200 of the lowestpaid workers at the UVM Medical Center voted to join the union that the hospital’s nurses formed two decades ago — the largest private-sector union mobilization in recent state history.

The renewed organizing energy has

as a young organizer to the adage that “the boss is only half the problem.” It’s helped motivate his work ever since. Haslam described Tripp as a practitioner of methods that have been passed down across generations of working people. In Vermont, small numbers of organizers have helped to “keep the torch lit” over time, Haslam said, so that when new groups of workers are ready to unionize, they have the tools and the confidence to succeed.

As a seventh grader at U-32 a decade or so ago, Curchin was among Tripp’s first group of Nordic skiers. She can still hear his voice in her head imploring her to “double pole, faster, faster!” She discovered labor organizing during college in Minnesota and now, at 23, works for an economic justice think tank in Washington, D.C. She is contemplating eventually getting into organizing work full time.

Last month, Curchin attended a public podcast recording in the city featuring interviews with an Amazon organizer and the minor-league organizer Marino, who now works for the MLBPA. During the event, Marino credited Tripp for his behind-the-scenes work.

Curchin went up to Marino afterward to let him know: “That’s my high school cross-country coach.” ➆

HASLAM DESCRIBED TRIPP AS A PRACTITIONER OF METHODS THAT HAVE BEEN PASSED DOWN ACROSS GENERATIONS OF WORKING PEOPLE.

Northern Lights

The Montréal en Lumière festival is back in full force

BY MARY ANN LICKTEIG

STILL TO COME

A selection of Montréal en Lumière events not to miss:

NUIT BLANCHE: This year marks the 20th anniversary of Montréal’s Nuit Blanche, a free arts and culture all-nighter with some 130 events around the city. The Métro will run until 6 a.m. to shuttle festivalgoers who are sampling museums, dance, theater, standup comedy, improv, music and more. Find events organized by area — pôle in French — on the festival website. Click the “theme routes” tab for suggested itineraries, including one for families.

Saturday, February 25.

CINÉ-CONCERT LES TRIPLETTES

DE BELLEVILLE: Guitarist and composer Benoît Charest, who composed the soundtrack for the 2003 Academy Awardnominated animated film The Triplets of Belleville, will join eight other musicians to perform the soundtrack live while the film plays. Sunday, February 26, 7 p.m., at Théâtre Maisonneuve, Place des Arts, 175 rue Sainte-Catherine Ouest Can$52.15-62.55.

1969 LIVE: Claudia Bouvette, Elisapie, Elliot Maginot, Half Moon Run, Jason Bajada, Joseph Mihalcean, Les Soeurs Boulay, Matt Holubowski, Quatuor Esca and Safia Nolin play ’60s folk songs. Saturday, March 4, 8 p.m., at MTELUS, 59 rue Sainte-Catherine Est Standing room only; Can$47.

Boasting as many restaurants per capita as New York City and 110 festivals per year — including the largest jazz and comedy festivals in the world — Montréal doesn’t slow down in the winter. Fests that just ended include Poutine Week (which lasts for two) and Igloofest, an outdoor electronic dance music festival on the pier in Old Montréal. “I like to say that it’s the only festival where I need to put my beer in the fridge to keep it warm,” tourism promoter Martine Venne said.

Already under way is Montréal en Lumière (Montréal in Light), an 18-day festival that runs through Sunday, March 5, and is among the season’s biggest. After being online-only in 2021 and hybrid in 2022, the annual celebration of food, culture and the outdoors is back to normal in its 24th year with a full slate of events. By its nature, a festival of light must feature the night, and Montréalers are out dancing in the streets. After all, in winter, they say here, “it’s not the

days that get short, it’s the nights that get longer.”

Ready to shake off the slumber of the past three years myself, I headed north last Thursday to check out Montréal en Lumière’s opening days. Canada has lifted all of its COVID-19 travel restrictions, Québec has a high vaccination rate, and hotels are filling up.

The first person I met, hotel doorman Oscar Donoso, immediately mentioned

the festival. “Snow is coming tonight,” he said. “It’s going to be beautiful.”

His favorite part of Montréal en Lumière is Nuit Blanche, the one day — Saturday, February 25, this year — when museums and galleries stay open late and more than 120 free events run all night. Donoso likes the museums and the music, and he stays out until 3 a.m. He is 61 years old, he said, “but the energy there … it’s contagious.”

My first taste of the festival was a “crispy cigar of goat cheese” with olives and dried tomatoes, served with basil-elderberry vinaigrette, part of the special Montréal en Lumière menu at Restaurant Bivouac. Shaped like an egg roll, it was simply sublime. I followed it with roasted cauliflower prepared with woodsy spices and topped with crushed hazelnuts and, for dessert, clementine and sweet clover panna cotta. Executive chef Xavier Dahan, originally from Marseilles, France, runs a

GALERIE LAROCHE/JONCAS: This art gallery on the fourth floor of the Galeries d’Art Contemporain du Belgo features 15 oils and watercolors by Waitsfield painter Frankie Gardiner. “Instagram,” gallery director André Laroche said when asked how he connected with a Vermont artist. “I like her style, her painting.” Through Saturday, March 11, at Galeries d’Art Contemporain du Belgo, 372 rue Sainte-Catherine Ouest. Free.

ANTONI: LET’S DO DINNER!: “Queer Eye” star Antoni Porowski will demo recipes from his latest cookbook, Antoni: Let’s Do Dinner, and answer questions (in English) Saturday, February 25, 7 p.m., at Corona Theatre, 2490 rue Notre-Dame Ouest Can$56.53-65.23.

FREE BILINGUAL FOOD

WORKSHOPS FOR KIDS: February 28 to March 2, at Le Central, 30 rue Sainte-Catherine Ouest.

Learn more at montrealenlumiere.com.

Festivalgoers at Montréal en Lumière

COURTESY OF FRÉDÉRIQUE MÉNARD-AUBIN

MARY ANN LICKTEIG

Panna cotta at Restaurant Bivouac

Québécois kitchen, he said: “I try to get all the products around us.”

Festival food at Montréal en Lumière, I quickly learned, is not about beaver tails and poutine, though you can get them from a food truck on rue JeanneMance. It’s a celebration of local chefs, local producers and local ingredients. There are tastings, demonstrations and workshops. New this year is Quartier Gourmand, which offers free presentations in the hall at Place des Arts on the first two festival weekends.

Forty restaurants offer special events; 25 host international chefs, a festival tradition. This year, many come from Scandinavia, which has a similar climate and produces many of the same foods. Visiting chefs are paired with local chefs to cook together and learn from each other. “We rediscover our own products through the eyes of an international chef,” Julie Martel, the festival’s gastronomic program manager, told me.

Among the international visitors is Vermont winemaker Deirdre Heekin of Barnard’s La garagista Farm + Winery, who will join Newfoundland chef Jeremy Charles at Vin Mon Lapin (150 rue

Saint-Zotique Est) for wine pairings on Tuesday, February 28.

The heart of Montréal en Lumière is the Quartier des Spectacles, a downtown district of less than a square mile. It’s home to 30-plus performance halls and to plazas where revelers can ride a Ferris wheel, zip down a slide and skate for free during the festival. Colors dance up and down the 265 LED tubes that line the elevated 1,000-meter skating loop (maintained by a custom-made mini Zamboni). The Ferris wheel turns like a neon kaleidoscope, and rings of light encircle the five slides. Video clips are projected on the sides of buildings, and five interactive installations dot the area, producing light and sound.

Though the whole area is designed to keep people moving and warm, opportunities to duck inside abound, such as a chalet at the skating loop, another at the Esplanade Tranquille rink two blocks away and the pop-up (heated) Bistro SAQ.

Thursday was so springlike that even I had the stamina to stay outside, but the buzz swirling around Haitiborn chef Paul Toussaint’s 2-year-old

skating loop

interactive installation

pan-Caribbean restaurant, Kamúy (1485 rue Jeanne-Mance), pulled me in for jerk chicken, rice and plantain chips. Chef Paul’s Sour, the signature cocktail, is made with Trois Rivières Martinique rum (which smells like cotton candy), lime and spicy syrup. It burned just enough.

Sated by the warm explosion of spices but disappointed that I was too full to try the tres leches cake, I tumbled back outside and hustled over to Place des Arts to catch the first two acts of Riopelle Symphonique, a multimedia concert celebrating the centennial of the birth of acclaimed Montréal-born painter Jean-Paul Riopelle. Then it was o to Le Studio TD, a block away, where trumpeter Jacques Kuba Séguin’s jazz performance had 30 minutes left to go. I perched on a stool along the back wall and sipped water to rehydrate while, along with Séguin, I reveled in the return of indoor performance.

After a post-jazz spin on the Ferris wheel, I was exhausted. Nightlife goes on long after the festival closes at 11 p.m., and I wanted to stay out, but I headed to my hotel and melted into my pillow before midnight.

Friday dawned white. The snow that doorman Donoso promised had arrived, and the temperature had plunged. This was Montréal winter.

I explored Le Central (30 rue SainteCatherine Ouest), the place to go if you miss out on a restaurant reservation or simply want a casual, high-quality meal. Open 11 a.m. to 11 p.m., this 3-year-old gourmet food hall includes 22 restaurants, not one of them a chain.

This is no mall food court. “It’s more like a street food spirit,” general manager Genevieve Touchette said. Cuisines include French, Moroccan, Italian, Spanish, Vietnamese, Hawaiian and Indian.

I passed up my chance to eat Filipino poutine, but I had to try a “caviar bump.” It’s a thing! And it’s popular at Dominic Laflamme’s new wine bar, named kaviar. You spoon caviar onto the base of your thumb and, tequila-shot-style, lick it o , hold it against your palate and then drink a shot of vodka. Three flavors come through, Lafl amme said: fi rst salt; next, the sea or the fish. “And then you feel all the soil texture, the soil fl avor, and that’s usually where we take a shot of vodka.”

I tried a mini version consisting of onequarter of the caviar, minus the vodka (it

wasn’t even 2 p.m.), and found the Siberian sturgeon caviar mild and less fishy than I expected.

After the delicacy, I walked to Morso Pizzéria & Alimentari, tucked at the opposite end of Le Central, for the Roman-style pizza that won a 2019 world championship award in Naples. Its dough is fermented for two to four days to produce a light crust with large air bubbles and a thin, cracker-like base. The result is crisp to the bite, then satisfyingly chewy. I savored a square of potato-rosemary, then went back for the Margherita, topped with burrata and basil leaves.

Two hours later, I enthusiastically accepted an invitation for the festival raclette and wine pairing that the hospitality and culinary school ITHQ o ered at its bar, Blanc bec (3535 rue Saint-Denis). The Can$25 event (which runs through February 25 and February 28 to March 4) features Québec-made Swiss cheese on bread from aube boulangerie and Chardonnay from the Jura region of France.

By 10:30 p.m., it was 16 degrees but felt like 6. Ten-year-old Kalae King and her brother, Maverick, 12, from Ottawa, smiled for a photo holding ice-cold sticks of maple ta y (sugar on snow.) “I’m hot!” Kalae said before she and Maverick darted o for a ride down the longest slide at the festival. My fingers ached from the cold. This time, I ducked into Kamúy to get warm — and finally to get a slice of that tres leches cake. Kamúy’s version — cuatro leches because it adds coconut milk — is garnished with lime zest, hazelnut crumble, passion fruit reduction and a sugar confit habanada pepper, giving the Latin American dessert a Caribbean kiss and my Montréal en Lumière adventure a sweet ending.

Heading home on Saturday, I was wistful but recharged by the energy of the city. This must have been how Dorothy felt when she got to Oz, and her world turned from black and white to color. She wanted to go home; I wanted to stay!

But I will come back to this world next door. It’s so easy and so close, and, through March 5, Montréal will leave the light on for me. ➆

Learn more at montrealenlumiere.com, or download the Montréal en Lumière app.

Riopelle Symphonique

Tres leches cake at Kamúy MARY ANN LICKTEIG

Festival slides

PHOTOS COURTESY OF VICTOR DIAZ LAMICH

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On the Market

Chick’s Market in Winooski approaches the end of an era

BY SAMANTHA WATSON & CAROLYN SHAPIRO

supermarket chains, to meet the needs of the neighborhood’s single moms.

“I keep my stu low, because I don’t want anybody to go hungry,” Vezina said on a late January afternoon.

The lone service business on its block, Chick’s sits in the middle of a residential area west of Malletts Bay Avenue, a busier thoroughfare with a nearby laundromat and an auto repair shop. From behind the register, Vezina has watched the neighborhood change over 20 years, she said. Outside Chick’s door, she witnesses drug use and mental health breakdowns. Allen House, an apartment complex around the corner, is home to adults with serious mental health challenges who are clients of Howard Center, a local provider of mental health and substance-use services.

The market is there for all of them, Vezina said. She knows those customers need a snack or a meal as much as the next person, and she allows some to run a tab and pay when they can.

“These are some of the people that I worry about,” Vezina said. “They have not too many people that understand them. [Others] kind of shut them out. I don’t do that, because my mother taught me that everybody’s the same, no matter what they are or who they are.”

By 9 a.m., Chick’s Market has already been buzzing for hours on its corner in a Winooski neighborhood, as regulars stop in for morning breakfast sandwiches and a friendly word with the woman behind the counter.

Pam Vezina, who has owned Chick’s for 24 years, helms the market for most of its operating hours — which can stretch from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m. — at the intersection of Hickok and River streets.

With a purple cap covering her short-cropped white hair, Vezina starts prepping the deli station as soon as she arrives at work. She knows most of her customers so well that she barely looks up as the door rattles open. Nor does she need to ask one of them, Ronnie Spears, what he wants. He’s a regular, and so is his Chick’s order: a bacon, egg and cheese sandwich.

Spears, a former New Yorker who now lives in Burlington, said he discovered Chick’s a decade ago and has frequented the market ever since “to shop, to get food, to communicate.” Vezina has become “like family,” he said, and he and her grandson are “like brothers.”

“I love the store,” Spears said. “It makes me feel homey.”

Soon, though, that sense of home may fade. A Winooski fixture since 1944, Chick’s will undergo a major upheaval when Vezina, 68, retires in May and sells the store. Facing an upcoming foot surgery

and a lengthy recovery that she expects to sap her stamina, she said it’s the right time to close the chapter on Chick’s.

The market and building, which includes two upstairs apartments, are listed for $719,900. Vezina and her husband, Sonny, said they hope the buyer will want to maintain the store and deli. A few people have expressed interest in the property but not in becoming proprietors of a market, though a more recent prospect indicated an inclination toward keeping Chick’s intact, Vezina said.

Meanwhile, the possibility of Chick’s closing has devastated its devotees, many of them locals who grew up with the market and depend on it for a loaf of bread, a bottle of bleach or a meatball grinder. The whole-size sandwich, a two-hander delicacy big enough for lunch one day and breakfast the next, costs just $11.50.

Vezina said she makes an e ort to price products with her most budget-conscious customers in mind. A gallon of milk goes for $4.50, competitive with even the large

On a recent morning, a man entered Chick’s muttering to himself and asked for a pack of cigarettes that Vezina didn’t carry. She offered him another brand, which he accepted.

“Having a good day?” she asked. He nodded and left.

Not every encounter goes so smoothly, Vezina admitted. “When they do have their moments, it is, you know, scary,” she said. “But you just talk them through it. It’s all you can do. And then they calm down.”

In 1944, Edmund “Chick” Dupont opened his namesake market on West Center Street in the space that now houses Papa Frank’s Italian Restaurant. A year later, he moved Chick’s to its current corner, where it quickly turned into a hub of heated political debate, as well as hot sandwiches.

A Winooski native and mill worker, Dupont served three terms as the city’s mayor. He lived with his wife in one of the apartments above Chick’s.

“You talked politics in this building when he was here,” said Vezina, who grew up in the Old North End of Burlington.

In 1982, Dupont sold Chick’s to his nephew and daughter-in-law, Richard and Carole Corbiere.

Vezina moved to Winooski in 1979 as a single mom. Living close to Chick’s, she got a job helping out there and watched Carole working constantly on her feet behind the register or at the deli counter making submarine sandwiches, Vezina said.

Pam Vezina laughing with a regular customer

A Chick’s employee preparing sandwiches at the deli counter

PHOTOS: LUKE AWTRY

When she worked nights, Vezina often saw Dupont hanging out at the market. He’d sit on a stool in the back, bantering with customers and spinning stories.

Vezina wasn’t sure she’d like the work at first, she recalled, but she quickly took to it. She loved seeing the local kids and getting to know her neighbors. The market gave her roots in the community.

“Before that, I didn’t even know anybody around here,” Vezina said, referring to her first years in Winooski, as well as her previous time in Burlington. “I lived down the street for 30 years and didn’t know anybody.”

She and Sonny, who then lived on Weaver Street, got together in 1985 but only married 15 years ago, he said. They now live nearby on West Street.

In 1999, the Corbieres began looking to retire and offered Vezina the chance to purchase Chick’s. They even financed the deal, letting her pay off the purchase in monthly installments over five years. Vezina put in a full kitchen and expanded the deli offerings.

Sonny, 78, has helped out at Chick’s over the years. Now retired, he still comes to the market every morning to peel 50 pounds of potatoes — by hand — for the French fries.

“I like to talk,” Vezina said, explaining the secret of her success at the market.

“That’s what you need in a place like this,” her husband added.

These days, the children and grandchildren of Chick’s original customers shop at the market. Vezina has watched many of them grow up.

“They tell me all their good news,” she said.

Dupont always gave candy to kids who visited. Vezina gives dogs treats. One little dog regularly comes in wearing a shirt and does a dance for his treat, she said.

“She’s like family to everyone,” said Jaret Chagnon, 22, who frequented Chick’s when he was growing up on Hickok Street. Now a Winooski firefighter, he favors the ham, egg and cheese sandwich for $6.55.

Chagnon is one of many customers who rave about the deli fare. Robert Kelly, 34, praised the “gratuitous piles of bacon” he gets with his breakfast order. Dylan Freeman, a U.S. Postal Service carrier in Winooski, usually picks the turkey bacon sub for $13.95.

“They come in every day,” Vezina said of the regulars. “When they go to order, we automatically know what they want. Same thing with their smokes. They come in, and you know what they smoke.”

If new owners took over Chick’s, Spears said, he hopes they’d use the same recipes. But the place will never be the same without Vezina, he added, saying, “It’s gonna take away from the community.”

Vezina understands that. She feels just as attached to this corner of Winooski — and her customers — as they are to her. And she tears up when she talks of leaving it behind.

“I just can’t keep doing it,” she said. “I wish I could.” ➆

Ticktock Influencer

Randolph clocksmith Skip Sjobeck turns back the hands of time on antique clocks

BY KEN PICARD • ken@sevendaysvt.com

Noon in Skip’s Clock Shop in Randolph sounds a lot like the introduction to Pink Floyd’s 1972 song “Time.” Before the hour strikes, the windowless workshop is quiet except for the steady ticking of the scores of antique timepieces that line its walls and shelves.

Then a rising wave of mechanical melodies swells to a crescendo: the steady, baritone bonging of grandfather clocks; the two-tone chimes of mantel clocks; the rapid pinging of a ship’s clock, whose four bells once marked the end of sailors’ watch at sea; and the frantic cries of cuckoo clocks, their faces animated by miniature twirling dancers and defenestrating birds.

Standing serenely amid the clockwork clamor is Skip Sjobeck, 43, a clocksmith who learned the trade from his father when he was still in high school.

“I don’t hear the ticking anymore,” Sjobeck told a Seven Days reporter once the hourly strikes fell silent. “It’s just background noise.”

Sjobeck (pronounced SHOW-beck) has sold and repaired clocks full time since 1998. In 2011, he took over the shop from his father, Charlie Sjobeck, and has operated it mostly solo ever since. He specializes in antique timepieces, mostly from the 19th and early 20th centuries — clocks but

not watches, because the latter demand a di erent set of skills and tools.

Occasionally, Sjobeck gets an inexplicable rush of customers bringing in antique clocks, many of them family heirlooms that need to be repaired, cleaned, oiled or refurbished. During a recent six-day period, 42 clocks came through his door. When that happens, Charlie, 81, walks over from his house across the road to lend a hand.

On the day we met, Skip Sjobeck sported a salt-and-pepper beard, a gray hoodie, tan Carhartts and a Shimano fishing cap. Taciturn but friendly, he has a placid demeanor that seems well suited to both his solitary profession and his angling.

“I have a good sense of time,” he said. “I can be out ice fishing and say, ‘It’s two o’clock,’ and it’ll be 2:10.”

That’s lucky, because he doesn’t wear a watch, for practical reasons. Sjobeck

explained that a technician’s watch can easily scratch up a clock or get snagged on the interior gears, springs, chains or pendulum. And replacement parts for the antique clocks he works on aren’t easy to track down. When he can’t find parts though a nationwide network of dealers, Sjobeck uses his own lathes and gearcutting tools to make them himself.

As we perused the shop’s offerings, Sjobeck pointed out some of the rarer timepieces in his inventory of 500 to 600. One wall clock, known as a figure eight, was made by 19th-century Boston firm E. Howard. This particular figure eight, one of the smaller clocks in the E. Howard series, sells for $6,500.

Across the aisle is a larger, freestanding clock, made by Riley Whiting of Winchester, Conn. It contains an allwooden “movement,” or internal mechanism, with oak side plates, cherry gears and maple shafts.

Sjobeck explained that American clockmakers started building movements out of wood during the War of 1812, when brass was scarce; few were made after 1830. Clockmaker Whiting traveled from town to town selling his movements. Local cabinetmakers then built the clocks’ cabinets around them, and their wives would often paint the dials.

On humid summer days, the wooden parts can swell and run less reliably, Sjobeck noted, but more than two centuries later, these clocks still keep remarkably good time.

Among the oldest pieces in Sjobeck’s shop is a grandfather clock built in the late 1700s, with a second hand. Some of his other grandfather clocks have dials indicating the phases of the moon. One, made in 1866, has a calendar that automatically adjusts for the di erent number of days in each month. Some still feature their original manufacturers’ warranties, printed on now-yellowed paper and glued inside.

Many of Sjobeck’s clocks once sat on fireplace mantels or stood in the foyers, parlors or professional offices of the well-to-do. Others were clearly meant for public display, such as wall clocks that advertise Coca-Cola, Jolly Tar Pastime and Baird Tobacco. Some were made in Montréal, others in Plattsburgh, N.Y. But most of the clocks in the shop, Sjobeck said, were handmade in New England and purchased at auctions in Vermont and New Hampshire.

In an era when virtually all digital devices display the date and time, Sjobeck

Skip’s Clock Shop

Skip Sjobeck

PHOTOS: BEN DEFLORIO

can testify that the public’s understanding of mechanical clockworks is fading with remarkable speed. He said his father was so often asked, “How do these clocks work?” that he finally removed the cabinet from a clock and hung it on the wall so his customers could examine its inner workings.

As his son explained, most antique clocks are driven by springs or weights. Both kinds need to be wound with a key, usually weekly, though so-called “30-hour clocks” need daily winding. Weight-driven clocks tend to keep more accurate time, Sjobeck said, because the weights apply an even pressure on the gears, whereas spring-driven clocks can slow throughout the week as their springs unwind.

When you wind a weight-driven clock, the weights, which hang alongside the pendulum, ascend toward the clockface and transfer their power to the spinning gears. (You cannot overwind a clock, Sjobeck noted, unless you apply too much force.) A typical grandfather clock has three hanging weights: The largest powers the quarter-hour chime, the second largest drives the clock’s hands and pendulum, and the third largest powers the hour strike.

Much of Sjobeck’s work involves fixing gears whose teeth have broken, replacing worn bushings or removing oil that has congealed over time. For centuries, clockmakers used whale oil on the gears, but today Sjobeck uses mostly synthetics. Once an antique clock is professionally cleaned and oiled, he said, it can run reliably for 10 to 20 years without additional maintenance.

“It just depends on the environment,” he said. “Some [clockmakers] say every two to three years, but that’s … more about job security.”

One customer who recently sought out Sjobeck’s services was Beth Damon of Montpelier. A retired architect, designer and educator, Damon inherited two antique clocks from her grandmother, both of which are now on display in her Montpelier inn.

Damon’s wall clock, which was made in 1903 by noted clockmaker Seth Thomas, once hung in a relative’s law office in Boston. It was in rough shape when Damon inherited it two years ago, missing its weights and pendulum, and several of the parts clattering around inside were from different timepieces.

Damon brought it to Sjobeck, who tracked down period-accurate replacement parts and got it running again. She said it’s now accurate to within 30 seconds.

“The length of [the pendulum] had to be custom-fitted to the clock, and Skip knew just what to do,” Damon said. “And

he did it so quickly! I thought it would be six months. He did a really great job.”

At about 12:30 p.m., Charlie Sjobeck dropped by the shop to say hello. A garrulous man with bushy eyebrows, a thick beard and a frizzy ponytail, Charlie learned to repair clocks by watching the owner of a clock shop in West Lebanon, N.H., across the road from his workplace at the time.

“During my lunch hour, I’d watch Slim working on clocks and said, ‘Gosh! That looks interesting,’” Charlie recalled. Soon, he was buying clocks at yard sales, taking them apart and reassembling them.

“I got to where I could take an eightday [clock] apart, scramble all the pieces and put them back together in 49 minutes — and have it work,” he said.

By the late 1970s, Charlie was repairing clocks in his free time for Bill Mather of Randolph Center, a now-deceased fellow in the National Association of Watch & Clock Collectors. In the early 1980s, when Charlie had to give up his snowmobile and motorcycle franchises in South Royalton, he devoted himself to working on clocks full time.

Over the years, the Sjobecks have had clients send them clocks for repair from as far away as Alaska. Charlie recalled one customer from Bogotá, Colombia, who visited the shop. The man took a bunch of photos and left without making a purchase. Charlie never expected to hear from him again. But a few weeks later, the Colombian called and ordered 11 clocks to be shipped to him in South America.

Charlie said his favorite part of repairing antique clocks is “restoring a

piece of history. I’ve restored clocks that were in fires and clocks that smashed on the floor … I wish they could talk. What they have seen … every one of them could tell a story.”

Skip is less inclined than his father to wax poetic about his work.

“What I like is, it’s not repetitive. They’re all a little bit different,” he said.

It’s an unexpected answer, given that his work is all about mechanical parts that go around in circles. But, given the age and variety of antique timepieces in Skip’s Clock Shop, few people can say their work offers them a view of such vast sweeps of time. ➆

EVERY ONE OF THEM COULD TELL A STORY.

CHARLIE SJOBECK

Charlie Sjobeck

Skip Sjobeck fixing a clock

One Unit at a Time

A New Incentive for Homeowners Aims to Help Solve Vermont’s Housing Crisis

Finding affordable and accessible housing in Vermont isn’t easy. A recent search on housingdata.org, a site powered by the Vermont Housing Finance Agency, found fewer than 100 vacant rental units considered “affordable” in the entire state.

In the first quarter of 2022, Vermont’s rental vacancy rate was the lowest in the country.

A few years ago, Jean Lowell wanted to help her daughter and granddaughter find a place near hers in Montpelier. Lowell also realized that, as she and her husband got older, they might need single-level housing that could accommodate a wheelchair.

After studying her two-story, threebedroom home, and researching possible solutions, Lowell discovered that the smartest thing to do would be to add an accessory dwelling unit or ADU to her house — “what used to be called a mother-in-law apartment,” Lowell

explained. It would be a big investment, but a state program incentivizing Montpelier property owners to create ADUs could help.

Lowell applied to the program before the pandemic and received a $20,000 grant and a $10,000 no-interest loan

to help pay for roughly $100,000 in construction costs. She was able to build a 600-square-foot single-level unit attached to the main house, which was finished in the fall of 2020. Her daughter and granddaughter moved to the main house, and she and her husband, both in

their 70s, relocated to the new one. “It’s very cozy,” she said, “but it works.”

The state incentive program helped make it possible. “It wasn’t easy,” said Lowell, “but I feel secure in my old age. That makes it worth it.”

A mile away, Montpelier homeowner Marni Leikin used the same program to build a one-bedroom ADU above the carriage barn in her yard. She and her son live in a three-bedroom house on the property; the rent from her tenant, a NECI-trained chef who works in Waterbury, helps pay the mortgage.

Leikin had wanted to turn the carriage barn space into an apartment after she bought the place in 2013. She had even sketched out plans and brought plumbing and electricity into the barn with an apartment in mind, but the space sat vacant for years because she couldn’t afford to finish the job — until she discovered the incentive program.

Using it was “a total no-brainer,” she said. “I asked my accountant whether I should do it, and he was like, ‘you never say no to free money,’” she recalled.

ADUs like Lowell and Leikin’s are currently a “hot topic” in housing policy circles, according to Shaun Gilpin, Housing Division Director of Vermont Department of Housing and Community Development. Incentivizing homeowners to build them is a way to increase housing capacity, avoid sprawl and help seniors age in place in their communities. ”It’s a very smart-growth way to address our housing needs,” he said.

To create more of these success stories, Vermont has doubled down on its ADU incentives and expanded them across the state. Using $25 million from the American Rescue Plan Act, the housing and community development department has upped the ADU construction cost reimbursement to $50,000. Gov. Phil Scott has proposed a $15 million boost for the program in his 2023 budget.

In other words, if you’ve been thinking about adding an ADU to your property, now’s the time to do it.

HOW THE ADU INCENTIVE WORKS

The ADU incentive is part of the Vermont Housing Improvement Program. Since September 2020, VHIP has provided funds to help landlords repair and improve vacant apartments to make them habitable again.

Said Gilpin: “It’s a pretty low-barrier program, for sure.”

The new ADU grants, which target homeowners who aren’t yet landlords, carry fewer restrictions than other VHIP units. Applicants are only required to rent units at affordable rates for five years.

There are still a few hoops to jump through, though. To be eligible for the ADU incentive:

The kitchen and laundry room inside Marni Leikin’s carriage barn ADU

Marni Leikin in front of her Montpelier home. She built a one-bedroom ADU above the carriage barn in her backyard.

1. The project must create a new unit of long-term rental housing — it can’t be listed on short-term rental sites like VRBO or Airbnb.

2. The owner must live on the property.

3. The unit must meet applicable housing codes.

4. For at least five years, the ADU must be rented at Fair Market Rent as determined by the Housing and Urban Development Department. In 2023, for a one-bedroom, this ranges from $746 to $1238 depending on the county.

Another important factor: The property owner has to match at least 20 percent of the grant funds provided for the construction costs. For example, a property owner who receives $50,000 in grant funds would need to contribute $10,000. And the grant funds are released at key milestones in the project, meaning that the owner has to provide proof of payments before being reimbursed for costs. Gilpin noted that there’s some flexibility involved. “If you’re willing to apply some sweat equity and use skills you have as a homeowner, making your own repairs or assisting with the project can be counted towards your match requirement,” he said.

regional homeownership centers, and Gilpin said applicants can work closely with those organizations to understand and troubleshoot these kinds of issues. His department is also working to streamline the process to make it as easy as possible.

‘DON’T BE AFRAID TO DO IT’

Both Leikin and Lowell recommend participating in ADU incentive programs wholeheartedly — Lowell calls it “a fantastic program.” Neither of them would have been able to add their units without it.

HOW TO APPLY

To apply for funding through the ADU program, contact your local homeownership center:

Leikin urges more Vermonters to consider adding an ADU. “Don’t be afraid to do it,” she said. “Don’t be afraid to live close to other people.” She said she’s heard Vermonters express hesitation about sharing their property with tenants, but she’s found that it’s really not an issue. She and her son rarely bump into Max, their renter. The same was true of the basement apartment she rented out for years in her last house in Washington, D.C.

• RuralEdge in Caledonia, Essex, and Orleans counties

• Champlain Housing Trust in Chittenden, Franklin and Grand Isle counties

• NeighborWorks of Western Vermont in Addison, Bennington and Rutland counties

• Downstreet Housing & Community Development in Lamoille, Orange and Washington counties

That was true of the ADU program Lowell used, too. She and her husband did “a tremendous amount” of the work on their unit, she said. “He and I did all the painting, all the sanding, and finish work.” They left the electricity and plumbing to the pros, though.

• Windham & Windsor Housing Trust in Windham and Windsor counties

Leikin, who grew up in Waitsfield, pointed out that Vermonters are often tempted to do home improvement projects themselves, but participating in the ADU program means that you have to rely on professionals. That includes starting with drawings from an architect or a design-build firm, and getting an estimate for how much the project will cost. “Everything has to be super above board,” she said.

Leikin and Lowell also noted that there were a few hiccups in the construction and permitting process, particularly around water and sewer hookups. “That required some extra work, and some extra fees,” Leikin said.

The ADU funds flow through five

She also noted that there’s no shortage of people looking for housing. She advertises her place online and does her due diligence when people apply, which includes a credit and reference check. “It’s never been a problem to find really good people,” she said.

Leikin chose to live in Montpelier because it’s a walkable community; her son was able to walk to elementary and middle school, and go downtown on his own. She can do many of her errands on foot. “There are some weeks when I never take my car out,” she said.

By creating another housing unit in her neighborhood, she’s made it possible for someone else to enjoy that community, too — Max confirmed that’s something he likes about living in Montpelier.

Leikin pointed out that, before she turned Max’s place into an apartment, “we weren’t even using that space.” Now, thanks to the ADU incentive, it’s someone’s home. 

Jean Lowell and Michael Gulick relaxing in their unit with their granddaughter, Aquilla; cat, Akira; and dog, Taffy

Jean Lowell and her husband live in the single-level addition (left) they built with housing grants. Their daughter and granddaughter live in the main house (right).

The bedroom in Jean Lowell and Michael Gulick’s ADU with a view of open-concept living room/kitchen

Mountain Spirit

Drinking and dining at New England’s first hotel distillery in Killington

BY JORDAN BARRY • jbarry@sevendaysvt.com

After a full day of shredding down Killington’s 73 miles of trails, many skiers and riders are ready for a drink. At Still on the Mountain, that drink could be a flight of old-fashioneds served on a wooden tasting board with the mountain’s image carved into it, trails and all.

The cocktail bar and restaurant in the Mountain Inn lives up to its name: Just past the Snowshed Lodge’s second parking lot, it has a front-row view of Killington’s imposing peaks. But the name is also a nod to the shiny copper still in the connected Killington Distillery — visible through a large window — where all the bar’s spirits are made.

When it opened in late summer 2020, the property became just the second hotel-distillery combo in the United States — and the first in New England, said Caroline Wise, who owns all three of the technically distinct businesses: Killington Distillery, Still on the Mountain and the Mountain Inn. “But it’s really cool that if you come and stay, it’s all here,” Wise said.

During ski season, the 49-room hotel is usually full. This week, with Presidents’ Day and school vacation for many out-of-staters, is the busiest of the year. But you don’t have to stay at the Mountain Inn to take in its spirit — or its spirits. Guests and visitors alike can sample Mediterraneaninspired pub food and live music at Still on the Mountain, stock up in the distillery’s bottle shop, or sip a warm cocktail and enjoy après s’mores around a firepit. Heck, you can even dine in a refurbished Skyeship gondola — heated in the winter, air-conditioned in the summer.

Killington Distillery is making its mark all over Vermont: As of fall 2022, its vodka, Maple Cask bourbon and Woodland Gin can be found at 802 Spirits stores. Those products are featured on front racks in 10 of the state-contracted liquor stores through March, along with cocktail recipe cards.

“The spirits are really our No. 1 thing,” Wise said. “The distillery is what creates a unique experience for our guests.”

Raised in Massachusetts, Wise has been skiing at Killington her whole life. She worked in hospitality technology before purchasing the Mountain Inn in 2019 with her father, real estate developer Jack Wise. The hotel was still running at the time, but its attached restaurant, Santa Fe Steakhouse, had been vacant for roughly three years, she said. The pair embarked on a complete renovation.

As she imagined the project’s final form, Wise thought of Vermont’s craft beer reputation. A brewery near the mountain made sense, she recalled thinking, but that market was feeling oversaturated. Killington already had a brewery at the time, and Long Trail Brewing is less than 20 minutes away in Bridgewater Corners.

DISTILLERIES

Through market research, Wise learned that spirits were on an upward trajectory, especially among younger legal drinkers. “That’s how we ended up in the spirits industry: It’s something di erent for the area,” she said. “And I love building a product, whether it’s a technology product or a physical product.”

The stills were due to arrive just days after Gov. Phil Scott called a state of emergency in March 2020. Construction continued through the early pandemic lockdown, albeit slowly. The distillery’s target opening date was delayed four months, but that gave head distiller Ryan Bremser time to develop various spirits with care.

Bremser came to Killington Distillery from the beer and kombucha industries in New York State. To meet the needs of the on-site restaurant and cocktail bar, he was tasked with crafting the full gamut of spirits. Besides the three products distributed through state liquor stores, that includes VTQuila Blanco, an agave spirit; coconut

vodka; bourbon; Snowshoe White Rum; citrus-forward Summer Gin; and the limited-release 4241 Blended Whiskey Series, named for the height of Killington Peak. Thanks to his brewing background, Bremser also makes a mean hard seltzer, which is available in rotating flavors on tap at Still on the Mountain.

The Killington Distillery team sources Vermont ingredients as much as possible, Wise said. That philosophy shines in its popular Maple Cask bourbon, which is aged with maple syrup from a farm up the road “to bring out the Vermont essence and tie in the mountain,” she explained.

Pot-distilled Woodland Gin includes botanicals from farther afield, such as Italian juniper and Californian lemon peel, but it also features blue spruce tips in a nod to the local landscape. Bartenders at Still on the Mountain joke that they’re foraged from the top of Killington.

Killington Distillery’s Woodland Gin, vodka and VTQuila Blanco

Joe’s Kitchen Owners Open Café NOA in Montpelier

JOE BULEY, chef and coowner of the wholesale soup business JOE’S

KITCHEN AT SCREAMIN’

RIDGE FARM, returns to the restaurant sector with this week’s opening of CAFÉ NOA in Montpelier. Buley and his wife and co-owner, LORI MARTIN BULEY, both 59, named the café using the first initials of their three grown daughters’ names.

The daytime café occupies a newly renovated 1,600-squarefoot, 75-seat space at 8 Putnam Street, next door to the soup production kitchen. It will open at 6:30 a.m. daily and serve Joe’s Kitchen soups, naturally, along with breakfast fare, salads and sandwiches, many of which will star house-smoked and -roasted local meats.

Over two decades ago, the couple’s daughters motivated Buley to leave a high-powered culinary career in Austin, Texas, for a teaching job at the now-shuttered New England Culinary Institute in Montpelier that allowed him more family time.

“I burned out and escaped,” Buley said of his restaurant experience. “I’m coming back under my own terms.”

The soup business, which launched in 2007, will remain the “anchor” of the operation, Buley said. He has been working on the café

Joe Buley at Café NOA

Café NOA

Penny-Wise Pioneer

A Colchester café serves big flavors for small prices

BY MELISSA PASANEN • pasanen@sevendaysvt.com

I am anti-American — specifically when it comes to those plasticky American slices so far removed from real cheese that they must be labeled “prepared cheese product.” My distaste for the stuff, I recently learned, is shared by Jean-Luc Matecat of Colchester’s Pioneer Lakeshore Café. But after discovering some redeeming qualities to American cheese, he doesn’t hold back from slapping slices of it on the top-notch griddled Bay burger ($11.95) and the barbecue brisket melt sandwich ($12.85) that he serves at the small eatery he opened with his wife, Lindsay, in May 2021.

For about three seconds during a weekend lunch visit to the unfancy spot, located behind a row of gas pumps at 824 West Lakeshore Drive, I debated replacing the American cheese on the brisket sandwich with cheddar. I’m glad I resisted. e tender house-smoked beef, caramelized onions, sweet-tangy-creamy-mustardy Pioneer sauce, and housemade bread-and-butter pickles in the sandwich unite into a blissful whole, due in large part to the engineered melting prowess of American cheese.

“ at melty, gooey texture just brings a nice mouthfeel,” Jean-Luc said. “With a piece of cheddar, it’s delicious, but it’s just not the same.”

anks to a French chef father, Jean-Luc, 41, grew up steeped in the European culinary tradition. But you wouldn’t know it from Pioneer Lakeshore Café’s allAmerican menu of rib-sticking sandwiches and burgers. Each item is a strong contender for best in its class, and almost all cost between $11 and $13 — no mean feat in the face of steep food inflation.

“We wanted to be a community eatery offering a quality bite of food,” Jean-Luc said. “Colchester’s a very cost-conscious town.”

“We want people to feel welcome,” Lindsay, 31, emphasized.

Jean-Luc followed his father into the cooking profession and worked for others for many years. In May 2018, he and Lindsay launched the Pioneer food truck. ey still offer their original chicken sandwich ($11.95) in all of its buttermilk-brined, crunch-coated, pepper honey-drizzled glory. “In a sea of chicken sandwiches, it will always be there for you,” Jean-Luc joked.

Lindsay manages the front of the house and the books, while Jean-Luc runs the kitchen and the smoker out back, where the excellent brisket and pork shoulder cook for hours.

For the smoked pork sandwich ($11.80), the kitchen team crisps rough-chopped meat on the flat-top and dresses it with maple-pepper barbecue sauce, cider vinegar-and-mayo slaw, crunchy fried onions, and housemade pickles. e pork also crowns ample servings of dirty fries ($9.95), laced with Pioneer sauce and dusted with fresh herbs and Parmesan.

Offering only counter service, using versatile ingredients and minimizing waste help the couple keep prices low and food quality high, they said.

Trim from the smoked brisket goes to good use in the smoked beef gravy for gravy fries ($7.50) and

poutine ($9.95). e vegetable pita ($11) accommodates any veg on hand — eggplant to red bell pepper to corn — with crunchy fried chickpeas, a creamy roast garlic sauce and the signature house pickles.

Jean-Luc crafts those pickles, which top many of the sandwiches, using his maternal grandmother’s recipe. At 94, she still makes them for Christmas gifts, he said. ey are the chef’s “No. 1 favorite cucumber pickle,” and — unlike with American cheese — he’s unequivocally delighted to use them on Pioneer’s menu.

Dining on a Dime is a series featuring well-made, filling bites (something substantial enough to qualify as a small meal or better) for around $12 or less. Know of a tasty dish we should feature? Drop us a line: food@ sevendaysvt.com.

INFO

Pioneer Lakeshore Café, 824 W. Lakeshore Dr., Unit 1, Colchester, pioneerfoodvt.com

Smoked pork sandwich

Crispy chicken sandwich, dirty fries and barbecue brisket melt sandwich

Jean-Luc and Lindsay Matecat

PHOTOS: DARIA BISHOP

Vegetable pita

concept for several years as a “fun retail outlet” for the soups, which are sold regionally through co-ops and independent food markets. The new eatery will also generate income during the summer soup lull and provide full-time, year-round employment to about 16 team members.

During the summer, the café’s deck will host music and pop-up events, including the barbecue feasts and “cans

’n clams” seafood shack that Buley used to set up outside the production kitchen.

Buley said he sees Café NOA as filling an early morning niche in Montpelier. Breakfast sandwiches on house-baked English mu ns will include a steak-and-egg option made with house-smoked brisket. The contractors who worked on the new café are happy about that, according to Buley: “They said, ‘We won’t have to go to Cumberland Farms for breakfast anymore.’”

Melissa Pasanen

Carter’s Keto Kitchen O ers Takeout in Essex

When he ran into health issues last year, chef LEVI CARTER started following the low-carb, high-fat ketogenic diet to lose weight and get his blood pressure in check. Last Friday, he launched CARTER’S KETO KITCHEN, a ketogenic-friendly takeout biz in Essex.

Dishes such as smoked-chicken Cobb salad, wild mushroom bisque, pan-roasted Faroe Islands salmon, and marinated steak tips with roasted garlic-Parmesan cauliflower purée and grilled asparagus fit the keto bill with a target of fewer than eight net carbs per serving, Carter said. The rotating menu is currently available via preorder, with pickup at Carter’s certified home kitchen at 111 Center Road in Essex from Monday through Saturday, 4 to 7 p.m.

“Even if you’re not keto, it’s delicious,” Carter said. “It’s all hot, fresh, chef-made food.”

Currently popular for weight loss, the ketogenic diet “aims to force your body into using a di erent type of fuel”; unlike the paleo and Atkins diets, it focuses on consuming fat rather than protein, according to Harvard Health Publishing. The long-term safety of the diet has not been studied.

One of the main criticisms of the diet is that it’s hard to stick to. Carter agreed that the lack of variety was a challenge, especially at restaurants. His takeout biz is a way to o er more options to the community; it’s also a lean model that helps the chef avoid current industry sta ng problems.

After 20 years of working at places such as HARRISON’S RESTAURANT in Stowe, the LIGHTHOUSE RESTAURANT AND LOUNGE in Colchester, and BARKEATERS RESTAURANT in Shelburne, “I’d rather rely on myself,” Carter said.

“People want to-go food to eat at their house, anyway,” he added. “They’ve usually got big TVs and a better wine selection.”

Jordan Barry

Follow us for the latest food gossip! On Instagram: Seven Days: @7deatsvt; Jordan Barry: @jordankbarry; Melissa Pasanen: @mpasanen.

Korean barbecue shrimp with kimchi “fried rice”

Smoked-chicken Cobb salad

SMALL PLEASURES

Love Bites

An ode to Charlotte’s Sobremesa kimchi

STORY & PHOTOS BY SUZANNE PODHAIZER • spodhaizer@gmail.com

At first glance, these ingredients may strike a reader as dissonant: anchovies and apples and vegetables? But when they go into Vermont’s Sobremesa kimchi — locally grown Napa cabbage, carrots and daikon smeared with an intensely flavored seasoning paste and then fermented — the result is symphonic.

e flavor starts off sour, as you bite down on vegetables that retain some crunch but don’t squeak between the teeth. In sweeps the heat from gochugaru pepper, jolting your tongue and sinuses. Finally, there’s a hint of sweetness from the apples and a dose of fish sauce funk.

A single forkful of these fermented veggies lights up the taste buds and, at least in my case, makes the eater feel more alive.

Some products sold as “kimchi” in the U.S. share a mere thread of connection with traditional Korean ferments. But Sobremesa owners Caitlin Rodriguez Elberson and Jason Elberson strive to keep cultural traditions intact, despite having made a tweak to the classic formula by using Champlain Orchards apples in place of Asian pears.

e husband-and-wife team currently lives and ferments in Charlotte but launched the biz in Marshfield in 2014. “When we started brainstorming about having a fermented foods business, I was elated about the existence of kimchi,” Caitlin said. “It’s a complex, culturally important food, a condiment that is present at just about every meal.”

In addition to kimchi, the couple make and sell curtido (a cabbage relish), kombucha and a variety of sauerkrauts. ey use local, organic produce in their ferments while sourcing a few crucial ingredients, including Vietnamese Red Boat fish sauce, outside the state.

One of their early suppliers was Full Moon Farm’s David Zuckerman, then a state senator and now Vermont’s lieutenant governor. Jason recalled swinging into the Statehouse parking lot to meet the politician and pick up hundreds of pounds of produce. “It was a funny experience,” he said.

ese days, Sobremesa sources its kimchi veggies exclusively from Zuckerman. “ e quality is just incredible,” Jason said.

To make their kimchi, the Elbersons brine Napa cabbage overnight in salt water, then slather it with a spice paste made with organic hot peppers from a Korean family farm, garlic, ginger, apple and fish sauce. e kimchi is then fermented, bottled and stored.

I scoop spoonfuls of Sobremesa kimchi into my breakfast bowls, appreciating the bite it brings to my daily sunny-side-up eggs on wilted greens. I drape strands over beef bulgogi tacos or pile it beside galbi — thinly cut beef ribs soaked in a tangy-sweet marinade. Another favorite use is in kimchi-jjigae, a fatty pork and kimchi stew sometimes garnished with tofu. Want to liven up a breakfast sandwich, a burger or a hot dog? You get the gist. Sobremesa ferments are available at a number of farm stores and co-ops in central and northern Vermont and at the biz’s online store. But the best way to get Sobremesa products is to visit Caitlin and Jason at the Burlington Farmers Market when it’s in season. ere, you can quiz them on their favorite ways to eat kimchi, although they’ll probably tell you the same thing they told me: “We basically eat it on the side of everything.” ➆

Small Pleasures is an occasional column that features delicious and distinctive Vermont-made food or drinks that pack a punch. Send us your favorite little bites or sips with big payoff at food@ sevendaysvt.com. INFO

Learn more about Sobremesa at sobremesavt.com.

That was one of the many engaging details that restaurant manager Jared Nugent shared with my table of four on a recent Thursday evening. I had hoped to dine in one of the property’s refurbished gondolas, which sit front and center on the patio and seem like they could head right up the mountain. But at well below zero, even the gondola’s heater and a pile of blankets couldn’t make dining outdoors feasible.

Luckily, Still on the Mountain’s dining room has a great view of the resort, even at night. We watched the lights of snowcats zip around the mountain while listening to live music from Red Daisy Revival float in from the bar. Though we hadn’t been skiing, the après cocktail flights proved irresistible.

The gin and tonic flight ($25) and the old-fashioned flight ($28) both featured three mini cocktails. After sipping our way through the boozy trios, my dining companions and I agreed that they were closer to full pours.

“It tastes like you’re skiing through the woods,” Nugent said of the Woodland Gin, one of three o erings in the gin and tonic flight. Its complexity came through beside the crisp, more floral Summer Gin; Woodland was also slightly sweeter than the third o ering, the distillery’s take on a traditional London Dry. (A gin and tonic made with Woodland Gin and housemade tonic water is available on tap.)

Like most new distilleries, Killington Distillery is largely sourcing its whiskeys from elsewhere. Bremser “rectifies” those base products by adding ingredients such as the maple syrup, aging in di erent barrels or blending to achieve his desired flavor profile. Most of the whiskey distilled on-site is still too young to sell; two batches are aging in barrels of various char levels behind the bar.

The old-fashioned flight was a tasty tour through the whiskey lineup, including the distillery’s straightforward bourbon, which is 21 percent rye and aged at least three years in new American oak casks. The oldfashioneds had no added sugar, Nugent explained, so that the character and flavor of each whiskey could shine through. That made the Maple Cask the sweetest, thanks to the local syrup that ages along with the bourbon, but not too sweet.

“The Maple Cask is the first thing I drank when I moved to Vermont, even before water,” Nugent said with a laugh.

An old-fashioned made with the limitededition 4241 Blended Whiskey Series o ered a hint of what’s to come: Some of the distillery’s own rye, a 5-month-old single malt, was part of the blend.

That blend changes every 250 bottles or so, Wise explained, calling the 4241 series “almost a collectible.” It’s only sold at Still on the Mountain, in the inn’s bottle shop,

IT’S A COMPLEX, CULTURALLY IMPORTANT FOOD.

Kimchi-jjigae with Sobremesa kimchi

Sobremesa kimchi

through the distillery’s website, and at Rutland and Woodstock farmers markets in the summer.

Still on the Mountain’s bar is stocked almost solely with Killington Distillery’s products, supplemented with a few liqueurs and finishing touches from elsewhere.

“If you go to a brewery, you don’t have other beer,” Wise said. “So we don’t carry other spirits.”

Besides the flights, my group took Wise’s advice and ordered several cocktails. We passed around sips of the Last Chair ($16), with Woodland Gin, allspice dram, a dash of bitters and fresh-squeezed orange juice; the Blackberry Bourbon Smash ($15), which the menu described as “drawing bears out of hibernation since the Ice Age”; and an alcohol-free strawberry lemonade ($5 without vodka, $14 with).

To pair with our bevy of beverages, we ordered shareable starters: huge Downhill Wings ($22 for a large order), half coated in a dry rub and half in maple-bourbon barbecue sauce; and a flatbread of the day ($14), topped with bacon, prosciutto and tomatoes. We also each chose a sandwich from chef Dustin Dyer’s Mediterranean-influenced menu. My chicken gyro ($22) was stuffed with perfectly grilled chicken, lettuce, tomato, red onion, feta and kalamata olives and slathered with a very tangy tzatziki.

After all that food and drink, we wished we’d booked spots at the inn for the night. Wise had taken me on a tour earlier that day, showing off a cozy balcony king room, a coworking space, ski lockers, a game room, a gym and an outdoor pool heated to 100 degrees in the winter. There’s even a state-of-the-art bike room to accommodate the area’s booming summertime mountain bike scene.

With so much to do and taste, I’m planning a return visit. Next time, if it’s not historically cold, I’m determined to eat in one of the gondolas. ➆

Killington Distillery and Still on the Mountain, 47 Old Mill Rd., Killington, 422-8200, killingtondistillery.com

IF YOU GO TO A BREWERY, YOU DON’T HAVE OTHER BEER. SO WE DON’T CARRY OTHER SPIRITS. CAROLINE WISE

An old-fashioned flight

Chicken gyro sandwich, Mediterranean flatbread and Maple Bourbon BBQ Downhill Wings

Caroline Wise

PHOTOS:

Talent Show

Vermont filmmaker’s new documentary celebrates a beloved Burlington skate park

BY COLLEEN GOODHUE

As a professional skateboarder, Jordan Maxham has traveled to big cities around the world, doing massive frontside flips and jaw-dropping rail slides. But Maxham grew up in Barre and rose through the ranks of Vermont’s skateboarding scene, cutting his teeth on the half-pipe at South Burlington’s Talent indoor skate park.

“Ever since I was 11 years old, [Talent] was the spot,” Maxham declares in a new documentary about the local skateboarding mecca, now located in Burlington. “I would be begging my mom to drive 45 minutes through the snow so I could skate. It was heaven. It was warm. You could get snacks. All the homies were always there.”

Vergennes filmmaker Kevin Barry’s 28-minute documentary, “Talent,” premiered on January 21 and chronicles the rise, fall and rebirth of the local skating landmark. The doc features interviews with Talent co-owners and married couple Hannah Deene Wood and David Wood; pro skateboarders such as Maxham, Collin Hale and Chris “Cookie” Colbourn; and other members of the greater Talent

community. Though skateboarding is an individual sport, the interviewees highlight a sense of belonging at the park. “Talent” is the story of a skate park — and the community that rallied to preserve it.

The film also captures an era of Vermont skateboarding history through archival fish-eye video of skaters doing tricks all across the Queen City: inside the former B-Side skate shop, on sidewalks, in parks and even within the old Burlington Square Mall. Kickflips and 180s are soundtracked to songs by local punk-rock band Rough Francis, as well as cuts by their drummer, Urian Hackney, who is interviewed in the film.

Wood and Deene Wood opened the first Talent Skatepark & Shop in 2001 on Williston Road. The South Burlington location featured a retail shop and a 12,000-squarefoot indoor skate park; it o ered clinics, summer camps and open skate time. After

riding high for years, the park hit a speed bump during the 2008 recession and never fully recovered. The couple hung on for a decade but finally closed up shop in 2018, much to the dismay of skaters and their families.

Barry is a Burlington native who grew up skating at Talent. He was living in Brooklyn when he heard about the park closing. Even from afar, he was impressed by the outpouring of support for Talent that followed.

“This was clearly more than just a place to skateboard inside,” Barry said in an interview with Seven Days. “It was a community that was facilitated by Hannah … over the span of 17 years, which in the skateboard world is like an eternity.”

In the film, pro skater Colbourn reveals that he was a socially awkward kid. But Talent “really took me out of my shell,” he says. “It’s just a whole indoor space of people trying to figure life out, like me.” He

and others in the film speak about skateboarding as a way to expend their energy and find a place to fit in.

“Skateboarding is an incredible, welcoming, loving community,” Deene Wood told Seven Days. “I think for a lot of kids, Talent is their second home. We’re a safe place.”

Barry and his wife, Seven Days food writer Jordan Barry, had just moved back to Burlington when he heard that a group of parents was attempting to reopen the park as a nonprofit. Despite the perception of skateboarding as a dangerous sport, parents always felt comfortable dropping o their kids to skate for hours at Talent. Those families felt the void when the park closed.

“I have been told that I run the strictest skate park in the United States by people who don’t like the helmet rule or whatever,” Deene Wood said. “There’s a reason that the community rallied to reopen me. I worked really hard to get that love and trust from our community.”

As the nonprofit took shape, Kevin Barry, whose day job is in multimedia production, began work on the film to document Talent’s history and importance in the Burlington skate scene.

Archival skating footage from the early aughts is a key component of “Talent.” The film features dozens of shots of skaters doing flip tricks and grinds in backyards, area parks and, of course, at the original Talent with its signature baby blue ramps. In those scenes, both the skaters and the original videographers are credited on-screen.

That wealth of footage exists because shooting video is essential to the sport and culture of skateboarding, Barry said. He explained that skateboarding has a “pics or it didn’t happen” ethos. He thought it was important to credit the people who captured what was a generational change in Vermont skateboarding.

“[Video] was really, like, legitimizing Vermont skateboarding,” Barry said, adding that some of the pro skaters in his film used those videos to get sponsorship deals and start their careers.

While the film centers on Talent, Barry said producing it was also a chance to explore what was interesting to him about skateboarding in the first place.

“It’s this focused activity,” he said. “Whatever you’re going through, positive or negative, you can just focus that energy on something that you can progress at.”

Before its premiere, Barry brought the film to Talent for a private screening with Deene Wood.

“It was super emotional for me,” she said. “It’s really a beautiful story, but there’s a lot of sorrow and a lot of heartache.”

THIS WAS CLEARLY MORE THAN JUST A PLACE TO SKATEBOARD INSIDE.

KEVIN BARRY

Filmmaker Kevin Barry at Talent Skatepark

The Valley Players proudly present the mystery-comedy by Thomas Hischak

The documentary touches on serious issues, including the traumatic brain injury that Deene Wood suffered while building the original Talent location. She said she still struggles with its negative effects two decades later.

The film also delves into the lives that have been lost over the years, particularly that of skateboarder Sean Stem, who died of a drug overdose in 2016 at age 26. Deene Wood was especially close with Stem and noted that several skateboarders of his generation have also died in recent years.

“It doesn’t ever stop hurting,” she said of those losses. “Even if I haven’t seen a kid in 15 years, it was still one of my little buddies.”

While much of the film focuses on Talent’s history, it also brings viewers up to the present day. Talent reopened

8-year-old daughter, Greta, who began taking lessons at Talent during the pandemic.

“People tend to think negatively about skateboarding when it really couldn’t be further from the truth,” Karnes said. “The Talent family and skateboarding community fosters so many positives: the sense of community, confidence, persistence. And I’ve seen my daughter become a more compassionate little person.”

Deene Wood has high hopes and big plans for Talent’s future. She opens certain nights to in-line skaters who skate in circles and practice their dance moves. She’s got a roller disco party on the books and said she’s not above painting some lines on the floor and offering her favorite new sport: pickleball.

Most of all, she intends for Talent to continue serving as a second home for

as a nonprofit in February 2020 on the Burton Snowboards campus in Burlington. A month later, the pandemic hit and Deene Wood was forced to close again. Talent has slowly come back to life and now offers open skating for newbies and veterans, lessons by the hour, and summer camps.

The January film premiere was part of the Slam Bam Talent Jam, a thirdanniversary celebration. The all-day event also featured skateboard contests and free pizza and ice cream.

Wood said the jam was the first time it felt like “everyone” was there at the new facility. Barry added that he was happy to see Talent’s community have “the grand reopening that they deserve, finally, three years into it.”

Jaime Karnes of South Burlington attended the screening with her

young skaters. Especially in the social media age, she believes it’s important for kids to have a place to spend time offline and build confidence and community. In that regard, there might not be a better testimonial for the skate park’s impact in Burlington than Barry’s film.

As she spoke with Seven Days in her office, Deene Wood pulled up an email from a man in Ballston Spa, N.Y., who had watched “Talent” online and hoped to open a similar skate park in his town. She read from the email: “I was hooked on the idea of having a place for our kids to express themselves, learn more tricks on a skateboard and just try to figure themselves out at the same time.” ➆

Watch “Talent” at talentskatepark.org/ documentary.

Thursdays @ 7 pm - $10

Fridays & Saturdays @ 7 pm - $18

Sundays @ 2 pm - $14

For tickets go to valleyplayers.com or call 802-583-1674

COURTESY

OF

Valley Players Theater, 4254 Main Street (Rt. 100) Waitsfield, Vermont

March 2-19

8H-ValleyPlayers022223 1 2/21/23 8:14 AM

In the early stages of planning the Black Experience, nuwave Equity Corporation CEO and founder Emiliano Void and poet Rajnii Eddins were a twoman show, “wearing about 986 hats,” Void recalled. The two men shared an outlook, he said: that systemic problems require systemic solutions. They also shared lofty goals, even as the wide-ranging celebration of Black Vermonters was in its infancy.

“We were already thinking big, really big,” Void said. “As in, we were dreaming of bringing Beyoncé and Jay-Z as headliners.”

Their inaugural event was part of Burlington’s Juneteenth celebration last year, and now the Black Experience 2023 (BX23) is making strides toward Void and Eddins’ original ambition. Beyoncé and Jay-Z aren’t headlining just yet, but America’s most famous living revolutionary, Angela Davis, will return for a second year as the event’s featured speaker.

The world-renowned activist, author, academic and philosopher appears in conversation with Brown University’s Tricia Rose at the Flynn in Burlington on Saturday, February 25. The talk caps a free, daylong slate of speakers, poets and musicians at the venue. The next day, PHILADANCO!, aka the Philadelphia Dance Company, takes the stage.

BX23 has a statewide scope that marks an expansion from 2022. This year’s event features speakers Mia Schultz and Steffen Gillom, the presidents of the Rutland and Windham County NAACP branches, respectively. Through a partnership with Green Mountain Power, BX23 is facilitating a network of free shuttles to transport attendees from 18 locations across the state.

“Our three pillars last year were community, culture and education,” Void said. “This year we’re expanding to include health as our fourth pillar.”

As part of the effort, BX23 partnered with Jackie Hunter, senior vice president and chief diversity and inclusion officer for the University of Vermont Health Network, to offer free screenings on Saturday for illnesses such as diabetes at the Cathedral Church of St. Paul. According to the National

PERFORMING ARTS

Perspective Shift

The Black Experience 2023 brings an array of performers and speakers to the Flynn

BY BENJAMIN ALESHIRE

Institutes of Health, Black Americans are nearly twice as likely as white Americans to develop type 2 diabetes, a disparity that has been rising over the past 30 years. Open to all Vermonters, the screenings will be accompanied by assistance with insurance and prescriptions to help people navigate the complexities of seeking health care.

That BX23 has assembled so much support from local partners is a testament to Void’s skill as a diplomat.

Void’s nuwave Equity is a consulting company that works to transform professional and educational spaces to be more equitable. Originally from Montréal, he’s

been based in Burlington for the past 11 years. He and Eddins met at Brother Cipher, an affinity space for Black men founded by Eddins and another speaker at BX23, Infinite Culcleasure, who ran for Burlington mayor in 2018 and currently works with the Freedom Finders Collective.

In a phone interview, Void made it clear that he hasn’t been a fan of Seven Days’ coverage of racial issues. He cited a November 2, 2022, cover story about a recent eruption of gun violence in Burlington as an example, arguing that it unfairly targeted the city’s immigrant community by perpetuating harmful stereotypes.

The cover featured a stock photo of bullet shells littered on asphalt with the headline “Warning Shots: Burlington’s Immigrant Community Seeks Solutions to the Gun Violence That Is Claiming Youths.” The piece revealed the connections between the perpetrators and victims of the crimes, the majority of whom were new Americans.

“Narrative and imagery like that are dangerous,” Void said. “What we’re trying to do is lift people up and empower them.”

Void believes that this sort of tension illustrates how deeply BX23 is needed in Vermont — a state that is 94 percent white — as both a celebration of Black life and an opportunity for white Vermonters to reconsider their relationship to the Black experience. The recent spate of racist slurs yelled during high school sports events is just one example of how far Vermont still has to go to live up to its reputation for neighborly tolerance.

“We have to draw from the strength of people who made vital sacrifices that at the time seemed impossible to surmount,” Eddins told Seven Days at kru Coffee in Burlington, where he often holds court while organizing community events. The life’s work of BX23 headliner Davis, he explained, “gives us a certain spiritual reserve against the periodic amnesia about the roots of systemic racism.”

Davis has been an activist icon at the cutting edge of the struggle for racial equality since the 1960s. Her work fighting for Black liberation, anti-war, feminist and prison abolition movements has taken her from working with militant organizations such as the Black Panther Party to being hunted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation to a successful career as an academic and philosopher. She recounted that journey in Angela Davis: An Autobiography , originally edited by Toni Morrison and recently reissued by Haymarket Books.

“At the time I wrote this book,” Davis writes in a preface to the new edition, “I could not really imagine myself as an author, especially of an autobiography. Almost a half-century later, I have

Angela Davis

Jolivette AndersonDouoning

Toussaint St. Negritude

Christal Brown Tricia Rose

retained my suspicion of the underlying individualism that defines the genre. Today, as we witness the perilous repercussions of neoliberal individualism, I am more convinced than ever that we need to engage in relentless critique of our centering of the individual.” Seeing a worldview that always places the self above the community as the defining spirit of capitalism, she applies a critical lens to that treasured American ideal. Davis is no rigid ideologue, however, and that’s part of her power as an activist and thinker. Through out her life, she’s shown the courage to evolve and change course while staying true to her ideals. She left the American Communist Party after the fall of the Soviet Union, citing power struggles that were less than democratic. In 1997, she came out as a lesbian, and much of her preface to Angela Davis: An Autobiography shows her clear-eyed admission that the radical struggles of her earlier career should have included more recognition of intersectional issues.

BX23 has a stellar showcase lined up to precede Davis. Emceed by Christal Brown, an associate professor of dance and director of the Anti-Racist Task Force at Middlebury College, the schedule includes musician Mikahely on guitar and valiha, beloved local DJ Craig Mitchell, and several spoken-word artists: Harmony Edosomwan, Brittany “Beamer” Morgan Wallace and Jolivette Anderson-Douoning, in addition to a set by Eddins.

Anderson-Douoning teaches at Saint Michael’s College. Recently arrived from Louisiana, she moved to Vermont as the college’s inaugural Edmundite Fellow to complete her dissertation on the development of Shreveport’s Hollywood neighborhood, “Louisiana Learning: A Race-Space Geographic Education and the Creation of a Black Cultural ‘Place’.”

“What I’m working on is how to teach young people history through poetry,” she told Seven Days. “I want people to understand or wrestle with the notion that, in order to write a poem, you have to understand history.”

Anderson-Douoning is no stranger

to the stage: She has run a poetry venue called Mississippi Vibes, hosted a poetry radio show, and toured as an opener for big acts such as Patti LaBelle and Brian McKnight.

“Understanding history makes us question the absences, the lack of representation,” she said. “All groups have those absences: Asian, Latino, poor white folks. What we do as artists is plug in the gaps; we make those absences become present.”

Toussaint St. Negritude is another fascinating performer slated for BX23. An Afrofuturist, poet and jazz musician, he’ll perform on the bass clarinet and deliver his own brand of what he calls “oroshamanic poetry,” a reference to orology, or the study of mountains.

“I grew up in northern California around mountains, in the Sierras,” he said. “I’ve always had a deep connection to mountains on a deep spiritual level.”

That love of mountains has brought St. Negritude around the world — to Haiti, where he lived for several years; to Belfast, Maine, where he was appointed the state’s poet laureate; and finally to Vermont.

“The minute I saw the mountains — and I know this might sound strange, coming from an African diaspora perspective — when I saw the Green Mountains, I felt the same immediate, lightningstrike connection as I felt with the Haitian mountains,” he said. “And I still feel it today.”

BX23 is proof of the richness of Vermont’s Black community and the vast potential for local partnerships — to paraphrase Davis — to no longer accept the things we cannot change, and to change the things we cannot accept. ➆

INFO

The Black Experience, Saturday, February 25, starting at 11:30 a.m. with headliners at 5 p.m., at the Flynn Main Stage in Burlington. Free.

PHILADANCO!, Sunday, February 26, noon, at the Flynn Main Stage in Burlington. $20-35. Learn more at flynnvt.org.

MUSIC FESTIVALS

Lakecia Benjamin to Guest Curate

a Shortened Burlington Discover Jazz Festival

BY CHRIS FARNWORTH • farnsworth@sevendaysvt.com

Saxophonist and bandleader Lakecia Benjamin will guest curate the 2023 Burlington Discover Jazz Festival, according to an announcement from the Flynn on Tuesday. Celebrating its 40th anniversary, the BDJF will run from June 7 to 11, half the length of its usual 10-day run.

A rising star in modern jazz, Benjamin performed a rousing set at Burlington’s Waterfront Park at the 2022 festival. Having recently released the critically acclaimed album Phoenix, which includes guest appearances by saxophonist Wayne Shorter and activist Angela Davis, Benjamin is one of the hottest names in the genre. Following in the steps of last year’s BDJF guest curator, Michael Mwenso, Benjamin is excited to take her turn.

“It is a special honor for me to join the Burlington Jazz festival for its 40th anniversary,” Benjamin said in a press release. “I want to honor the legacy of this music while looking at the future. With the help of the Flynn team, as well as community partners, we are putting together an exciting festival that celebrates the past 40 years of jazz in Burlington while looking ahead to the possibilities for the next 40.”

The Flynn also announced two headliners.

First up is vocalist Samara Joy, who earlier this month became only the second jazz artist to win a Best New Artist Grammy Award. Joy has been turning heads and bending ears with a voice that has been compared to one of her idols, Sarah Vaughan. That’s fitting, as Vaughan headlined the very first Burlington Discover Jazz Festival, in 1984. Joy opens the festival on the Flynn Main Stage on Wednesday, June 7. Benjamin and her band, Phoenix, will join Joy.

“We are proud to partner with such a powerful and talented artist,” Flynn executive director Jay Wahl said of Benjamin. “Lakecia is one of the best new music leaders in our country. The energy she will inject into this festival will be extraordinary.”

Additionally, local indie soul singersongwriter Myra Flynn will make her Flynn

Main Stage debut on Sunday, June 11. She’ll be joined by the Lake Champlain Mass Choir to perform a new show called “Roar of the Queen.” The performance also serves as a release party for Flynn’s forthcoming album.

Over its four decades, the jazz fest has traditionally run for 10 days in late May and early June. In its initial announcement on Tuesday, the Flynn offered no explanation for why the 40th anniversary edition of the festival has been shortened by half.

“The festival is a bit shorter,” Wahl admitted in an email. “But mostly because we couldn’t pass up the opportunity to open with Samara. We know we can put on a rich, impactful festival for Burlington in five days. I look forward to announcing and sharing with everyone our very robust lineup in April with lots of can’t-miss free shows as always.”

Asked what conditions led to the shorter festival, Wahl offered a pragmatic response.

“I’d say there are a varying number of reasons for this, not the least of which is the unforgiving and unpredictable post pandemic festival landscape,” he explained in a follow-up email. “To put it simply, things are different now than they were before and we must make tough, but necessary adjustments in order to continue to offer the same level of artistic experiences that everyone has come to expect from The Flynn.”

Wahl expressed confidence that the Flynn can make the most of the new, five-day festival format. He pointed to last year’s free George Clinton show at Waterfront Park as an example of doubling down “on our commitment for wide access.”

“We’re investing more — not less — resources into the festival in order to make the arts available for all,” he wrote.

The full lineup for the 2023 Burlington Discover Jazz Festival will be announced on April 18.

Learn more at flynnvt.org.

WE HAVE TO DRAW FROM THE STRENGTH OF PEOPLE WHO MADE VITAL SACRIFICES THAT AT THE TIME SEEMED IMPOSSIBLE TO SURMOUNT.

RAJNII EDDINS

Lakecia Benjamin

ERIHSELANIMAJNEB

Wildest Dreams

Dance and digital technology fuse in an immersive performance in Middlebury

BY AMY LILLY • lilly@sevendaysvt.com

On a dance floor bounded on two sides by multiple large LED screens, two incredibly fit dancers face each other and start bouncing from foot to foot. Wearing black bodysuits adorned with long straps that activate with their movements, they bounce in unison through precisely mirrored moves to electronic music, never touching each other.

Given the scenes scrolling across the screens behind them — expanses of water, sunlit nature, abstract objects in motion — this might appear to be a dance performance accompanied by digital images. But The Wilds, a 60-minute work choreographed by Middlebury College assistant dance professor Laurel Jenkins, uses much more sophisticated technology, and its goal is humanistic: to engage the audience in an immersive experience that will inspire a sense of shared humanity.

Vermont audiences have a chance to attend The Wilds this Friday and Saturday, February 24 and 25, at Middlebury’s Mahaney Center for the Arts. Jenkins, one of the dancers, will be joined by Los Angeles-based devika v. wickremesinghe and Miguel Alejandro Castillo, a Venezuelan dancer and Jenkins’ former student at Middlebury who now lives in New York City.

The Wilds premiered last year at the Lied Center for Performing Arts in Lincoln, Neb. It was cocreated by Jenkins; Jesse Fleming, a multidisciplinary visual artist who is the founding director of the University of Nebraska-Lincoln’s Awareness-Based Design Lab and an assistant professor at UNL’s Johnny Carson Center for Emerging Media Arts; and Los Angeles-based, Grammy-nominated composer Lewis Pesacov. The creative trio plans to take the work to New York City, LA and Montréal next.

With the help of dramaturge and Middlebury theater professor Claudio Medeiros, the cocreators fashioned a narrative for The Wilds that follows the archetypal human journey from order to chaos and back, with the return characterized by a new understanding.

As Jenkins described the narrative arc during a phone call, “Order and society break down. One character goes on a journey, the other follows, into a forest. [The light moves from] afternoon to evening to deep night to dawn.” (Lighting

was designed by UNL assistant professor Michelle Harvey.) “Deep night is almost like a rave or the best night out you’ve had dancing.”

Just before dawn, a scene in the third act, the two dancers touch for the first time, though their relationship is ambiguous. “Are they friends, one version of the same person, sisters, lovers? The piece doesn’t pin that down,” Jenkins said.

She added, “We’re playing with this idea of wildness: going out into the wild, but also going into your own wild.”

Audiences will get a sense of how wild the work’s technology is from the moment they enter the theater. As they find their seats, two dancers wearing motion-capture bodysuits loaded with sensors will slowly move around the periphery of the stage, triggering voice recordings of random numbers: 42, 11, 106 and so on. The whole stage is overlaid, in e ect, by a virtual grid; the numbers correspond with sectors of the grid.

As cocreator Fleming explained during a phone call, he and UNL coding specialist Shane Bolan “designed a software tool that allows us to turn a performance floor into a bunch of triggers. Imagine a virtual grid over the floor. At every point you cross, it can trigger sound, lighting, anything we ask it to. It’s like building a living instrument that the dancers perform within.”

The divide between dancer and technology is thus “a little murky,” he added. It’s “as much bringing the digital into the physical as bringing the physical into the digital.”

During performances, Fleming and Pesacov sit at tables in back of the audience creating the visuals and tweaking audio in real time, making each performance unique.

Jenkins said the technology is also meant to collapse the divide between performers and audience. The L-shaped setup of the LED screens is mirrored by L-shaped audience seating, and the sound and lighting feel immersive.

In the first act, for example, Jenkins searches for the other dancer, who has left the stage. As she moves, sliding and circling the floor, she activates the 12 speakers set around the space, one by one, so that the audience hears wings fluttering past and behind them.

That sense of shared experience is emphasized when Jenkins, in a final scene, breaks the fourth wall and takes the hand of an audience member. The moment “creates an image of connection using the body of the audience,” Jenkins said.

While much of the screen imagery is either abstract or taken from the natural world, avatars of the dancers often pop up, mirroring the motion-capture suits’ movements. Created from body scans, the

THE TECHNOLOGY IS IN SERVICE OF AMPLIFYING THE BODY.

LAUREL JENKINS

An animation sequence in e Wilds

PHOTOS COURTESY OF MIDDLEBURY PERFORMING ARTS SERIES

avatars may loom in close-up or appear in fragmentary moments.

Jenkins explained that the work is not about technology. “The technology is in service of amplifying the body,” she said. “It’s not just, I move my arm, and the light turns blue. It’s a more generative relationship between movement and technology.”

Jenkins grew up in Essex Junction and studied dance, theater and ballet in town at the now-defunct Movement Center. Her teachers were Vermonters Jennifer Lavoie, Shelley Ismail and Manon Pellman. (The latter two are former professionals from Les Grands Ballets Canadiens.) After earning her bachelor’s degree at Sarah Lawrence College, Jenkins danced in Washington,

D.C., as an apprentice with Liz Lerman’s Dance Exchange, an intergenerational company. Then she moved to New York City and spent 10 years with the postmodern Trisha Brown Dance Company.

In 2013, Jenkins relocated to the West Coast to earn her MFA in choreography from the University of California, Los Angeles. During her five years in the city, she said, “I got into sci-fi to understand LA. That place was so big and abstract, with deserts and freeways. [I was trying to understand] how people connected with each other.” The experience turned her work toward technology. She moved back to Vermont six years ago to take the Middlebury job.

Jenkins’ dancing and choreography

projects have often been top-level collaborations. In 2018, she choreographed the LA Philharmonic’s production of Leonard Bernstein’s Mass: A Theatre Piece for Singers, Players and Dancers, conducted by Gustavo Dudamel. In 2019, she performed solos by Merce Cunningham, one of the most influential choreographers of the 20th century, in LA’s Night of 100 Solos: A Centennial Event. Jenkins was the solo dancer in the San Francisco Symphony’s 2022 production of Igor Stravinsky’s Oedipus Rex, conducted by Esa-Pekka Salonen and directed by Peter Sellars.

Contemporary dance, including her own, is all about connection, Jenkins said. Whereas “the postmodernists were pulling things apart, people right now are

interested in integration and putting things back together in new ways. [The question is] how do we move forward as human beings?”

The Wilds, she added, immerses audiences in a collective experience of vibrating sound, light and movement to show “how a small human action can ripple through space and time. It is about connection: connecting us to the environment and connecting us to each other.”

INFO

Laurel Jenkins and collaborators perform The Wilds on Friday and Saturday, February 24 and 25, 7:30 p.m., at the Mahaney Arts Center Dance Theatre, Middlebury College. $5-25. middlebury.edu/arts

art

Beauty and Beast

Esperanza Cortés explores the legacies of colonialism in “Tierra Dentro”

STORY & PHOTOS BY AMY LILLY • lilly@sevendaysvt.com

In 2012, the Current in Stowe hosted a group show called “Migration” that included a single, beaded-heart sculpture by Esperanza Cortés. The Colombia-born, New York City-based artist now has a solo show of 28 works at the gallery, curated by executive and exhibitions director Rachel Moore. Titled “Tierra Dentro” (“inside earth”) — which is also the name of a national archaeological park in Colombia — the exhibition excavates Cortés’ cultural and personal history.

The artifact-like works are scintillating. Sparkling glass beads cover the surfaces of clay sculptures shaped like skulls, organs and reliquaries. Gold chains dangle from a canvas. Strands of alabaster beads extend from the back of a chair like a wedding train. Tiny crystals and faux pearls are worked into gold-sequined embroidery.

Cortés’ work is not just visually dazzling. All the Current’s exhibitions

have a social or environmental justice component and “Tierra Dentro” is no exception. In much of the work, which spans the past 25 years, the artist explores the legacies of colonialism, particularly the European rush to deplete natural resources around the globe. In 16th-century Colombia, the prizes were gold, emeralds and copper.

“I use Colombia as an example, but I’m talking about colonial exploitation everywhere — Africa, Brazil, Latin America — that had to do with access to materials that would make people wealthy,” Cortés said during a phone call while caring for her baby granddaughter.

(She lives in the East Village and has a studio in Brooklyn.)

“What Was Left” is a tall, heavylooking ceiling installation consisting of a gold-leafed chandelier draped with velvet tassels, glass beads, and gold-plated charms and chains linked together in long strands that pool on the sculpture’s base in elegant coils.

The work portrays “the excessiveness of colonialism,” Cortés’ label reads. (She wrote the labels, and assistant curator Alexa Sherrill edited them.) For the colonizers, the label continues, owning a chandelier was an “a ectation to European aristocracy,” while the colonization

process was one of “plunder, pillage and violence dressed as civilization.”

Cortés, who calls herself mixed race, moved to the U.S. when she was 3 years old with her mother and two siblings; they followed her father, who had left in 1959-60 to escape what would become the Colombian civil war. She earned a bachelor’s degree in studio art at Queens College, City University of New York, and gained what amounted to a second education in art while working as a lecturer at the Museum of Modern Art.

Cortés also learned South American dances such as cumbia, samba and merengue and eventually became an Afro Latin dance instructor.

From her mother, Cortés learned about some colorful ancestors, including a poet laureate of Bogotá, an opera singer, a famous dancer and one of Latin America’s first female bullfighters. Also among them was her uncle, an emerald miner who died of black lung disease. Colombia’s long history of emerald exploitation — going back to the Spaniards’ efforts to supplement their ranks of enslaved Indigenous miners with enslaved Africans — is addressed in Cortés’ show.

Like a swath of eyeshadow, a spray of emerald shell chips accents the blackpainted clay female head of “Cumbia.”

The head, resting on its side on an antique wood bench, bears a calm, self-possessed expression that somehow defies the message of exploitation, as does the title. It refers to Colombia’s oldest dance, which emerged from the interaction of Indigenous peoples and Africans in about 1648, according to the label.

Much of Cortés’ work similarly evokes both beauty and horror. “Emerald Tears”

is a collection of 13 forms encrusted with green glass beads and arranged in a vitrine, as if in an archaeology museum. The clay forms range from an arterywrapped lung to a fetus to a skull — a symbol of ancestry rather than death, Cortés specified. Their shimmer under gallery lighting, a label notes, is “a beautiful effect” that both fetishizes them and highlights the system of violence behind mineral extraction.

Violence is more directly evoked in “Golden Rain,” a composition of three black oil-and-encaustic-on-wood panels hung with 20 gold-plated necklaces. Along the panels’ edges, the color red seeps out like blood from behind the black.

Cortés’ works are explicitly feminine and often feminist. “La Cordobésa,” a chair covered with embroidery, honors the artist’s matrilineal line of female bullfighters, in particular a cousin who became one of the first women in Latin America to fight bulls on foot instead of horseback.

The piece’s hybridity embodies a cross-generational link having to do with female strength and endurance. The chair sets a 20th-century seat and back on 18th-century turned legs. And Cortés cut the colorful embroidery from her dance costumes, which she had to abandon after an injury ended her dance teaching career.

Cortés collaged bits of her daughter’s embroidered dresses onto “Cradle,” a wood bassinet that she began creating in 2016 when news broke of thenpresident Donald Trump’s policy to separate children from their immigrant parents. “A Charmed Life,” a white brocade-upholstered chair with a train of alabaster beads, is a veiled message to women not to marry for money at the cost of personal health and freedom.

Alabaster is “fragile and translucent, a perfect symbol for women,” Cortés said. The title “A Charmed Life,” she continued, “implies what women often want so badly, a fairy-tale wedding. They often look at things incorrectly — the financial gain, not the person.”

Yet, like her other pieces, “A Charmed Life” is visually stunning.

Why make her critiques beautiful?

“People are beautiful,” Cortés said simply. “The Americas are a place that was created when people were brought together in brutal ways. It’s the beautiful aftermath of a brutal experience.” ➆

NEW THIS WEEK

burlington

HOWARD CENTER ARTS COLLECTIVE: A spring show features work in a variety of mediums by more than 20 artists. February 27-April 28. Info, artscollective@ howardcenter.org. City Market, Onion River Co-op, in Burlington (South End).

barre/montpelier

DMITRI BELIAKOV: “On the Margins of Europe: A War Before the War,” a retrospective of 55 photographs from war in Ukraine, 2014 to ’19, by the Russian photojournalist now based in Vermont. February 28-March 30. Info, 485-2000. Kreitzberg Library, Norwich University, in Northfield.

middlebury area

MEG MADDEN: “ e Art of Mycology,” photographs of mushrooms by the Vermont naturalist. Reception: Tuesday, February 28, 5-7 p.m. February 24-March 19. Info, 382-9222. Jackson Gallery, Town Hall eater, in Middlebury.

brattleboro/okemo valley

JOHN R. KILLACKY: “Flux,” an exhibition of objects from a wordless, process-based video inspired by scores, propositions and performative actions of Fluxus-era artists; cinematography by Justin Bunnell, editing by C. Alec Kozlowski and sound composition by Sean Clute. Reception and forum: Saturday, March 11, 1-3 p.m. March 1-August 30. Info, 257-7898. CX Silver Gallery in Brattleboro.

SIMI BERMAN: “Other Worlds,” paintings in mixed media. Reception: Sunday, February 26, 3-6 p.m. February 24-May 14. Info, 387-0102. Next Stage Arts Project in Putney.

outside vermont

‘FROM THE HEART’: Artworks by Sachiko Akiyama, Chris Chou and Kayla Mohammadi, curated by John R. Stomberg, director of the Hood Museum of Art at Dartmouth College. Panel discussion:

Friday, February 24, 5 p.m., with artists and curator.

TOM FELS: Cyanotypes, drawings and watercolors, curated by John R. Stomberg, director of the Hood Museum of Art at Dartmouth College. Reception: Friday, February 24, 6-8 p.m. February 24-March 31. Info, 603-448-3117. AVA Gallery and Art Center in Lebanon, N.H.

ART EVENTS

ARTIST TALK: KRISTIN RICHLAND: Howard Center Arts Collective presents the Vermont artist, who creates paintings and drawings of animals both whimsical and dark. Online, Tuesday, February 28, noon-1 p.m. Free. Info, brunkhorst@ howardcenter.org.

FAMILY ART SATURDAY: Adults and their kiddos get creative and make art together, inspired by current exhibitions. BCA Center, Burlington, Saturday, February 25, 11 a.m.-1 p.m. Free. Info, 865-7166. LIGHTS ON IN LYNDON: A community lantern festival with live music by SheBang, food trucks, hot chocolate and a silent film. e Satellite Gallery, Lyndonville, ursday, February 23, 5 p.m. Free. Info, 229-8317.

‘ON THE MARGINS OF EUROPE: A WAR BEFORE THE WAR’: A live and streaming panel discussion with Vermont-based Russian photojournalist Dmitri Beliakov, war correspondents and a Ukrainian army veteran, on the anniversary of the Russian invasion of Ukraine and in conjunction with an exhibition of Beliakov’s photographs in Kreitzberg Library. Mack Hall Auditorium, Northfield, Tuesday, February 28, 9:25-10:40 a.m. Free.

Keith Haring

Last month, a New York City subway station made headlines when a work crew painted over a graffiti-covered pedestrian tunnel in Washington Heights. While some locals welcomed the newly white walls — reportedly primed for future murals — others were dismayed by the erasure of artwork that helped define the area’s character. As the Daily News observed, the tunnel was even featured in Lin-Manuel Miranda’s musical In the Heights

Whatever one might think of graffiti — Is it vandalism? Is it even art? — some purveyors use the medium as social message. Today, renowned British artist-activist Banksy reaches beyond the street to nearly 12 million followers on Instagram. Four decades ago, Keith Haring became an art superstar more laboriously: one drawing at a time, using only chalk.

Seventeen of Haring’s images, salvaged by a New York City building superintendent and later purchased by art dealer and collector Alex Trimper, are now on view at the Brattleboro Museum & Art Center in an exhibition titled simply “Keith Haring: Subway Drawings.”

Subway stations and tunnels provided ample canvases for the Pennsylvania-born artist in the form of the matte black paper with which subway authorities covered blank advertising billboards. Needing to work quickly and clandestinely, Haring developed a distinctive drawing shorthand that is now recognized worldwide: simple, cartoony figures enhanced by lines that indicate movement. In effect, he created his own visual language, which he used primarily to promote love, equality, harmony — and safe sex.

Not long after Haring arrived in New York, so did the scourge of HIV/AIDS. Eventually, the global epidemic would claim more than 40 million lives, including Haring’s. But over the 1980s, the artist made countless subway drawings, appeared in solo and group exhibitions, produced a multitude of sanctioned public art projects, designed sets in theaters and nightclubs, and developed designs for products such as Swatch watches and Absolut Vodka.

Before Haring died — in 1990 at age 31 — he established the Keith Haring Foundation. According to its website, its mandate is to “provide funding and imagery to AIDS

organizations and children’s programs,” as well as licensing Haring’s work. To date, the foundation has 185,000 followers on Instagram.

“Keith Haring: Subway Drawings” is on view through April 16. Learn about related programming at brattleboromuseum.org.

PAMELA POLSTON

Untitled subway drawing on paper

Keith Haring

Untitled subway drawing on paper

OPEN STUDIO: Make art alongside other artists, socialize, get feedback and try out new mediums. No experience required; art supplies provided. Hosted by the Howard Center Arts Collective, whose members have experience with mental health and/ or substance-use challenges. ONE Arts Center, Burlington, Monday, February 27, 12:30-2:30 p.m. Free. Info, artscollective@howardcenter.org.

TALK WITH CONSERVATOR NANCIE

RAVENEL: Ravenel discusses the history, care and conservation of the collection of Native American art at Shelburne Museum, followed by audience Q&A. Register for Zoom event at shelburnemuseum.org. Online, Monday, February 27, 1 p.m. Free.

TOUR: ‘THE GIRL WHO DREW MEMORIES’: Artist Gail Winbury leads participants through her current exhibit and concludes with refreshments in the gallery café. Email Alison Crites at acrites@svac.org to reserve a spot. Southern Vermont Arts Center, Manchester, Saturday, February 25, 4 p.m. Info, 362-1405.

VISITING ARTIST TALK: AMANDA ROSS-HO: Vermont Studio Center hosts the interdisciplinary artist and sculpture professor at the University of California, Irvine via Zoom. Register for link at vermontstudiocenter.org. Online, Monday, February 27, 7-8 p.m. Free. Info, 635-2727.

VISITING ARTIST TALK: ATHENA LATOCHA: The Alaska-born artist talks about her massive works on paper that explore the relationship between the human-made and natural world. Limited seating is available. Red Mill Gallery, Vermont Studio Center, Johnson, Thursday, February 23, 7-8 p.m. Free. Info, 635-2727.

ONGOING SHOWS

burlington

‘ALL THE FEELS’: A group exhibition of works that project joy, angst and/or humor by local artists. Through March 25. Info, 578-2512. The S.P.A.C.E. Gallery in Burlington.

‘ART / TEXT / CONTEXT’: An exhibition of art objects that prominently feature words, images, symbols and gestural or abstract marks, and that considers their power to prompt critical reflection or spur social action. JOSEF ALBERS: “Formulation: Articulation,” featuring studies by the late German American artist (1888-1976) that show how perception of color is affected by the environments in which it is viewed.

SHANTA LEE: “Dark Goddess: An Exploration of the Sacred Feminine,” large-scale black-and-white photographs that encouraging inquiry beyond the limited roles to which society assigns women. Through May 20. Info, 656-0750. Fleming Museum of Art, University of Vermont, in Burlington.

ART AT THE HOSPITAL: Acrylic paintings by Matt Larson and Julio Desmont (Main Street Connector, ACC 3); photographic giclées by Jeffrey Pascoe (McClure 4 & EP2 Healing Garden); photographs by Sharon Radtke (EP2); and oil paintings by Judy Hawkins (BCC). Curated by Burlington City Arts. Through May 31. Info, 865-7296. University of Vermont Medical Center in Burlington.

ART AT THE MALTEX: Paintings by Pievy Polyte, Shannon O’Connell, Nancy Chapman and Ashley MacWalters and photography by Brian Drourr and Robert Fahey. Through April 8. Info, 865-7296. The Maltex Building in Burlington.

‘BLACK FREEDOM, BLACK MADONNA & THE BLACK CHILD OF HOPE’: Designed by Raphaella Brice and created by Brice and Josie Bunnell, this mural installed for Burlington’s 2022 Juneteenth celebration features a Haitian-inspired image of liberation. Through June 18. Info, 865-7166. Fletcher Free Library in Burlington.

‘CO-CREATED: THE ARTIST IN THE AGE OF INTELLIGENT MACHINES’: Interactive projects that examine how artists are engaging with the rapidly changing field of artificial intelligence and its uniquely collaborative character. JULIA PURINTON: Nature-inspired abstract oil paintings. LBG Room.

SARAH STEFANA SMITH: “Willful Matters,” photo-

graphic and sculptural black-and-white abstractions that explore ideas of Blackness and boundlessness by the contemporary artist and scholar. Through May 6. Info, 865-7166. BCA Center in Burlington.

‘CONNECTIONS’: Howard Center Arts Collective presents an art installation of painted mailboxes and mosaics, inviting viewers to reflect on the benefits of old-fashioned mail delivery and to consider whether mailboxes have become relics of the past. Through July 31. Info, artscollective@howardcenter.org. Howard Center in Burlington.

‘LARGE WORKS’: A group exhibition of works measuring between two and six feet by artists of all ages working in all mediums. Through March 10. Info, spacegalleryvt@gmail.com. The Soda Plant in Burlington.

‘RIP: RELATIONSHIPS IN PROGRESS’: An exhibit in a variety of mediums by 14 area artists. Through March 26. Info, hello@thekarmabirdhouse.com. Karma Bird House Gallery in Burlington.

chittenden county

‘ABENAKI CONTRIBUTIONS TO THE VERMONT

COMMUNITY’: A series of murals designed by Scott Silverstein in consultation with Abenaki artists Lisa Ainsworth Plourde and Vera Longtoe Sheehan and members of Richmond Racial Equity; the 10 panels celebrate the Abenaki origins of practices still important to Vermont culture. Through May 31. Info, radiate.art.space@gmail.com. Richmond Town Hall.

ART AT THE AIRPORT: Oil paintings of cows by Stephanie Bush and hand-cut paper scenes from the natural world by Adrienne Ginter. Skywalk corridor.

Through March 15. Info, 865-7296. Burlington International Airport in South Burlington.

CHRISTINE SELIN & ALISON SAUNDERS: Sculptures in wood and clay and acrylic landscape paintings, respectively. Through March 26. Info, 899-3211. Emile A. Gruppe Gallery in Jericho.

GREG NICOLAI: Black-and-white and color photographs. Curated by Burlington City Arts. Through June 23. Info, 865-7296. JC WAYNE: “Oracle of Future Beauty,” eco-friendly palette-knife paintings and other mediums that express stories of unseen and seen energies in the natural world. Through February 28. Info, poartryproject@gmail.com. Pierson Library in Shelburne.

IAN TRANCE: “Impermanent Marks,” an installation of large-format ink and Sharpie drawings on paper and vinyl sheeting by the SMC art student. Reception: Thursday, February 23, 6-7 p.m. Through March 3. Info, bcollier@smcvt.edu. McCarthy Art Gallery, Saint Michael’s College, in Colchester.

MARVIN FISHMAN: A retrospective of 2D and 3D work by the Charlotte artist. Through March 14. Info, gallery@southburlingtonvt.gov. South Burlington Public Art Gallery.

‘WELCOME BLANKET’: A collection of quilted, crocheted and knitted blankets handmade by community members to be gifted to new American neighbors. Immigration stories and welcoming messages from the makers are also on display. Through February 26. Info, 355-9937. Heritage Winooski Mill Museum.

barre/montpelier

CAMERON DAVIS: “Poetic Ecologies,” paintings based on an ecological, scientific and spiritual narrative to reveal relationships that transform life. Through March 31. Info, 279-5558. Vermont Supreme Court Gallery in Montpelier.

DARCIE L. TREDWELL: “Cherries, Roses and Other Loves,” paintings and mixed media by the Barre artist and author of a book by the same title. Through February 25. Info, 249-5228. Kellogg-Hubbard Library in Montpelier.

JAY HUDSON: “Winter in the Northeast Kingdom,” oil and acrylic paintings of landscapes and inhabitants of the region by the Glover artist. Through March 31. Info, 223-2328. Vermont Natural Resources Council in Montpelier.

‘WHIR, CLANK, BEEP’: Artworks and assemblages by more than 30 artists that explore simple, complex and fantastic machines. KENNY HARRIS: “Envisivivarium,” a site-specific installation that presents the universality of mythology through illustrative, sculptural and theatrical experiences. VERMONT SURFACE DESIGN ASSOCIATION:

“Transformation: Material, Environment, Us,” fiber artwork by Sarah Ashe, Cari Clement, Judy Dales, Rosalind Daniels, Jennifer Davey, Elizabeth Fram, Eve Jacobs-Carnahan, Marya Lowe, Kris McDermet, Jane Quimby, Heather Ritchie, Leslie Roth, Dianne Shullenberger, Fern Strong, Sharon Webster and Betsy Wing . Through March 4. Free. Info, 479-7069. Studio Place Arts in Barre.

‘LET’S COLLAGE ABOUT IT!’: An exhibition of works in varied mediums by Kris Bierfelt, Liz Buchanan, Anne Cummings, Holly Hauser and Cariah Rosberg. Through April 8. Info, 207-373-8099. Center for Arts and Learning in Montpelier.

NITYA BRIGHENTI: “Side Streams in Art,” portraits, landscapes and cityscapes by the Italian painter living in Barre. Through March 27. Info, 479-0896. Espresso Bueno in Barre.

PATTY CORCORAN & MASON YOUNG: “Shared Spaces,” multimedia landscape paintings and abstract wood sculptures, respectively. Through March 24. Info, 262-6035. T.W. Wood Gallery in Montpelier.

PHILLIP ROBERTSON & ED EPSTEIN: Relief prints and charcoal drawings, respectively, by the Vermont artists. Through February 28. Info, 229-6206. North Branch Nature Center in Montpelier.

SHOW 53: An exhibition of artworks by gallery members Elizabeth Nelson, James Secor, Ned Richardson, Diane Sophrin, Kate Fetherston. Glen Coburn Hutcheson, Cheryl Betz, Sam Thurston, Marjorie Kramer, Kathy Stark, Melora Kennedy, Anne Cogbill Rose, Hasso Ewing, Richard Moore, Delia Robinson and Chip Haggerty. Through February 26. Info, 552-0877. The Front in Montpelier.

SUSAN CALZA: “Our Demons Are Translucent,” large-scale, mixed-media drawings created over 10 years, influenced by the artist’s travels in Nepal, and assemblages. Through March 25. Info, 224-6827. Susan Calza Gallery in Montpelier.

stowe/smuggs

ESPERANZA CORTÉS: Sculptures, paintings and installations by the Colombian-born artist, whose work considers social and historical narratives, colonialism and the politics of erasure and exclusion. Through April 8. Info, 253-8358. The Current in Stowe.

‘HOME AND HOW WE MAKE IT’: An exhibition of 30 miniature rooms, as well as woodworking, textiles and paintings that define visually and conceptually what home means. Reception: Thursday, February 23, 5:30-7:30 p.m. Through June 1. Info, 888-1261. River Arts in Morrisville.

KATHY BLACK: “Expanding Universe, Collapsing Time,” paintings that incorporate landscape, still life, maps and writing to explore our changing understanding of the universe. Through March 8. Info, 635-2727. Red Mill Gallery, Vermont Studio Center, in Johnson.

MARY ZOMPETTI: “Time and Again: Psychogeographic Meditations on Place,” new photographs. Closing reception and artist talk: Thursday, March 16, 3 p.m. Through March 16. Info, 635-1469. Julian Scott Memorial Gallery, Northern Vermont University, in Johnson.

MEG MCDEVITT: “Iterations,” a solo show of drawings, sculptures and textiles by the Vermont artist and educator. Through March 11. Info, 646-519-1781. Minema Gallery in Johnson.

SCOTT LENHARDT: An exhibition of graphic designs for Burton Snowboards created since 1994 by the Vermont native. Through October 31. Info, 253-9911. Vermont Ski and Snowboard Museum in Stowe.

mad river valley/waterbury

KIMBERLY HARGIS: “Close to Home: Photography From a 30-Mile Radius,” images from the natural world and human community around Thetford. Through March 31. Info, 244-7801. Axel’s Frame Shop & Gallery in Waterbury.

MIREILLE CLAPP: A retrospective of artworks by the late artist and mechanical/industrial engineer, featuring mixed-media wall sculptures and freestanding abstract pieces of welded metals. Through March 25. Info, 496-6682. Mad River Valley Arts Gallery in Waitsfield.

middlebury area

LYNN JOHNSON: “The Way I See It,” large-scale still life works on canvas and paper. Through March 22. Info, 989-7419. Edgewater Gallery on the Green in Middlebury.

‘MAGENTA’: More than 50 local artists contribute works in this vibrant hue in a variety of mediums. Through March 11. Info, 989-7225. Sparrow Art Supply in Middlebury.

‘PORTALS’: Photographs that feature an architectural element — a gate, doorway, window, mirror or tunnel — that frames, isolates or adds a new dimension to the image. Through February 24. Info, photos@photoplacegallery.com. PhotoPlace Gallery in Middlebury.

SARA KATZ: “Inner Landscapes,” new abstract paintings that explore botanical forms. Through February 28. Info, 458-0098. Edgewater Gallery at the Falls in Middlebury.

‘URBAN CADENCE’: Photographs of street scenes from Lagos and Johannesburg that represent the complex issues facing these cities. Reception: Thursday, March 2, 5-6:30 p.m., with music by members of the Middlebury Afropop Band. Masks optional. Through April 23. Info, 443-5007. Mahaney Arts Center 221 in Middlebury.

rutland/killington

MEMBERS’ EXHIBIT: Works in a variety of mediums fill the mansion in themed galleries: “Resolutions,” “Frozen” and “Breathe Deep.” Through March 3. Info, 775-0356. Chaffee Art Center in Rutland.

TOMÁSIO: “Abstractions of a Metaphorical World,” energetic acrylic paintings by the Vermont artist also known as Thomas Hacker. Through March 11. Info, 800-639-8521. Castleton University Bank Gallery in Rutland.

upper valley

ABRAHAM DUNNE: “Finds on a Hartland Farm,” relics compiled by the Sharon Academy first-year student. Through March 31. Info, info@mainstreetmuseum. org. Main Street Museum in White River Junction.

JOHN R. KILLACKY: “Flux/Flow/Elegies,” an intermedia installation featuring three video pieces: a premiere of one inspired by the Fluxus movement of the 1960s; a collaboration with choreographer Eiko Otake speaking to the artists’ dead mothers; and an abstract work with tears. Through February 28. Info, 295-6688. Junction Arts & Media in White River Junction.

JUNE GUTMAN: “(Un)reality on Five Milligrams,” paintings by the Montréal-born artist that address her psychiatric treatment. Through February 25. Info, 347-264-4808. Kishka Gallery & Library in White River Junction.

KATIE ROBERTS: Artworks in a variety of mediums by the nature artist, who is inspired by plants, animals and weather. Through February 28. Info, 359-5000. Vermont Institute of Natural Science in Quechee.

northeast kingdom

‘ARTS CONNECT’: A juried showcase of emerging and established member artists using a variety of mediums. Through March 12. Info, 748-2600. Catamount Arts Center in St. Johnsbury.

‘COMING CLEAN’: An exhibition that considers bathing practices throughout time and across cultures, including religious immersion and ritual purification, bathing as health cure, methods of washing in extreme environments, and much more. All kinds of bathing and scrubbing implements are on display. Through April 30. Info, 626-4409. The Museum of Everyday Life in Glover.

OPEN AIR GALLERY: Outdoor sculptures by 14 area artists line a 1.8-mile trail open to cross-country skiers and snowshoers. Through March 26. Free. Info, 533-2000. Highland Center for the Arts in Greensboro.

VICTORIA MATHEISEN: Recent landscape paintings in oil. Through March 8. Info, 525-3366. Parker Pie in West Glover.

‘WINTER BLOSSOMS’: Floral art by Benjamin Barnes, Sachiko Yashida Zahler and Robert Chapla. Through March 11. Info, 748-0158. Northeast Kingdom Artisans Guild Backroom Gallery in St. Johnsbury.

‘WONDER OF LIGHT’: A group exhibit of works depicting the use of light by 25 artists. Through March 1. Info, melmelts@yahoo.com. The Satellite Gallery in Lyndonville.

brattleboro/okemo valley

APRIL M. FRAZIER: “Frame of Reference,” a pictorial representation of familial influences and experiences that shaped the photographer’s life and provide an alternate narrative of the African American experience in Texas and beyond. Reception: Friday, March 3, 5-8 p.m. Through April 30. Info, 251-6051. Vermont Center for Photography in Brattleboro.

ARTFUL ICE SHANTIES: Brattleboro Museum & Art Center and Retreat Farm present the third annual exhibition of artist-designed shanties on the ice at Retreat Meadows. Awards ceremony: Saturday, February 25, 2 p.m. Through February 26. Free. Info, 257-0124. Retreat Farm in Brattleboro.

‘HEROES & VILLAINS’: Artwork by Clare Adams, Thomasin Alyxander, Debi A. Barton, Jean Cannon, Len Emery, Mindy Fisher, Corinne Greenhalgh, Gregory Damien Grinnell, Su Lin Mangan, Charles Norris-Brown, Gretchen Seifert and Linda Udd. Through March 4. Info, 289-0104. Canal Street Art Gallery in Bellows Falls.

JAMES MULLEN: “Luminous Edge,” 72 vignette paintings from the artist’s “Pilgrim” series that investigate iconic sites of the 19th-century American landscape. Through March 3. Info, 387-6249. Michael S. Currier Center, Putney School.

JUDITH KLAUSNER: “(De)composed,” sculptures of objects usually considered ruined, meticulously crafted from a child’s modeling medium, expressing a reevaluation of the under-appreciated. Through March 4. KEITH HARING: SUBWAY DRAWINGS: Samples from the more than 5,000 chalk drawings the New York City artist made from 1980 to 1985 in subway stations. Through April 16. OASA DUVERNEY: “Black Power Wave,” a window installation of drawings by the Brooklyn artist, inspired by images of Chinese Fu dogs, the cross and the Yoruba deity Èsù. Through May 6. Info, 257-0124. Brattleboro Museum & Art Center.

‘SNOW SHOW’: Paintings in a winter theme by eight artists in the Hall collection. Through February 26. Info, info@hallartfoundation.org. Hall Art Foundation in Reading.

manchester/bennington

GAIL WINBURY: “The Girl Who Drew Memories,” large-scale abstract paintings and collage. Through February 25. Info, 367-1311. SPRING SOLO

EXHIBITIONS: Artworks by Domenica Brockman, Janet Cathey, Priscilla Heine, Rose Klebes, Lorna Ritz, Elise Robinson, Angela Sillars, Courtney Stock, Gregg Wapner, Susan Wilson and Chloe Wilwerding. Through May 7. Info, 362-1405. Southern Vermont Arts Center in Manchester.

randolph/royalton

‘CREATIVE COLLABORATION: THE ART OF DEBORAH AND MICHAEL SACKS’: Printmaking and photography by the married artists. Through March 19. Info, 889-9404. Tunbridge Public Library.

‘FEMMEZINE’: An exhibition of zines celebrating femme identity and DIY spirit by artists near and far. Through March 4. Info, 728-9878. Chandler Center for the Arts in Randolph.

online

‘ACTION FIGURES: OBJECTS IN MOTION’: A virtual exhibition from the Shelburne Museum that explores the theme of movement and action in art. Through April 30. ‘RIGHT UNDER YOUR NOSE’: The Shelburne Museum presents children’s printed textiles from the collection of J.J. Murphy and Nancy Mladenoff, featuring 21 playful, colorful handkerchiefs with motifs including insects, alphabets, circus clowns, shadow puppets, the solar system and a lumberjack beaver. Through May 13. Info, 985-3346. Online.

CALL TO ARTISTS

2023 CORNISH CCS RESIDENCY

FELLOWSHIP: Applications are now open for the fall residency in Cornish, N.H., and the Center for Cartoon Studies in White River Junction. Dates are October 17 to November 17. For details and application, visit cartoonstudies.org. Online. Through April 1. Info, 295-3319.

2024 SOLO EXHIBITION PROPOSALS: AVA’s exhibition committee of artists, art curators and art professionals seek proposals for solo shows from artists with strong connections to New Hampshire, Vermont and the greater New England region. Details at avagallery.org. Deadline: March 31. AVA Gallery and Art Center, Lebanon, N.H. $50. Info, 603-448-3117.

ART IN THE PARK: The Chaffee Art Center in Rutland invites applications for the 2023 festivals featuring fine artists, craft persons and specialty foods. Show dates are August 12 and 13 and October 7 and 8 in Main Street Park. Application at chaffeeartcenter.org. Online. Through April 1. Info, artinthepark@chaffeeartcenter.org.

ARTISTS NEEDED: Musical and visual artists are invited to perform and exhibit at the University Mall space. Email for details. Arts So Wonderful Gallery, South Burlington. Through March 31. Info, artssowonderful2@gmail.com.

ARTS FOR ASYLUM SEEKERS: The Chittenden Asylum Seekers Assistance Network is looking for creatives (artists, poets, writers, sculptors, musicians, photographers, etc.) to join us for our April fundraising event. CASAN and artists will recruit sponsors, who will donate in exchange for receiving daily content. Funds will be used to help asylum seekers with housing, living expenses and other support. Details and sign-up at casanvermont.org. Deadline: March 8. Online. Info, artsforasylumseekers@gmail.com.

CELEBRATING THE MISSISQUOI WATERSHED: The Missisquoi River Basin Association’s 2023 art contest theme is: what the river means to you or the community and the importance of water quality, stream-side tree plantings and a healthy watershed. All mediums accepted. Entry groups: grades 1-3, grades 4-6, grades 8-12, and adult. Details and application at mrbavt.com. Deadline: March 10. Online. Info, corrina@mrbavt.com.

CREATION GRANTS AVAILABLE: The Vermont Arts Council is accepting applications for this annual grant, which supports artists in creating new work. Grant funds may be used to compensate artists for time spent creating new work, to purchase materials, or to rent equipment or space for the process. New this year: the People’s Choice Creation Grant. Find info and application form for both at vermontartscouncil. org. Deadline: April 3. Online. Info, 402-4614.

outside vermont

‘CHIAROSCURO’: A group exhibition featuring artwork in a range of mediums depicting light and shadow, both formally and allegorically, by Janet Van Fleet, Leslie Fry, Henry Isaacs and other artists from New Hampshire and Vermont. Through April

1. Info, 603-448-3117. AVA Gallery and Art Center in Lebanon, N.H.

FRANKIE GARDINER & ANNE-SOPHIE VALLÉE: “Visions,” paintings and sculptural works, respectively. Through March 11. Info, 514-570-9130. Galerie Laroche/Joncas in Montréal.

NELSON HENRICKS: Immersive video installations by the Montréal artist in which visual and sound editing create a musical dynamic, and which explore subjects from the history of art and culture. Through April 10. Info, 514-847-6226. Montréal Museum of Contemporary Art.

‘PARALL(ELLES): A HISTORY OF WOMEN IN DESIGN’: A major exhibition celebrating the instrumental

role that women have played in the world of design, featuring artworks and objects dating from the mid-19th century onward. Through May 28. Info, 514-285-2000. ‘VIEWS OF WITHIN: PICTURING THE SPACES WE INHABIT’: More than 60 paintings, photographs, prints, installations and textile works from the museum’s collection that present one or more evocations of interior space. Through June 30. Info, 514-235-2044. Montréal Museum of Fine Arts. ‘¡PRINTING THE REVOLUTION! THE RISE AND IMPACT OF CHICANO GRAPHICS, 1965 TO NOW’: A Smithsonian American Art Museum traveling exhibition featuring 119 artworks by more than 74 artists of Mexican descent and allied artists active in Chicanx networks. Through June 11. Info, 603-6462808. PARK DAE SUNG: “Ink Reimagined,” 23 ink paintings, some on view for the first time in the U.S., by the renowned Korean artist; curated by Sunglim Kim, Dartmouth College associate professor of art history. Through March 19. Info, 603-646-3661. Hood Museum, Dartmouth College, in Hanover, N.H. ➆

CREATIVE SECTOR GRANTS, ROUND 2:

Awards of up to $200,000 are available to creative sector organizations and businesses, including sole proprietors that can demonstrate economic harm caused by or exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic. Funding amounts are based on 2019 operating revenue and can be used for any regular operating expenses, such as payroll and benefits, utilities, rent and insurance. Details and application at vermontartscouncil.org. Deadline: February 28. Online. Info, 402-4409.

CVRAN 2023 MARCH ARTS MARATHON:

The Central Vermont Refugee Action Network invites artists to commit to a daily creative practice making paintings, sculptures, photographs, drawings, fabric art or other art. The artists’ sponsors receive daily copies of the artwork. Funds raised helps CVRAN assist 19 asylum seekers and nine Afghan refugees with housing, living expenses and legal fees. Sign up at cvvran.org. Online. Through February 28. Free. Info, nicolamorris@mac.com.

DIANE GABRIEL VISUAL ARTIST AWARD:

Burlington City Arts announces the opening of the application period for this annual award provided by the family of the late Burlington artist (1947-2017). The awardee receives a prize valued at $2,500, with their work showcased via BCA promotion and social media. Details and application at burlingtoncityarts.org. Deadline: March 17. Online. Info, jobrien@burlingtoncityarts.org.

‘ONE + ONE IS MORE THAN TWO’: This show is about multiple artworks by an artist that relate to each other as a group, in some cases using repetition of pattern, form, shape, color and comparative imagery. Show dates: May 10 to June 24. Deadline: March 25. Details at studioplacearts.com. Studio Place Arts, Barre. $10; free for SPA members. Info, submissions.studioplacearts@gmail.com.

PAINT-BY-NUMBER COW: Purchase a paint-bynumber cow kit and submit your version to the museum for an upcoming exhibition. Instructions at mainstreetmuseum.org. Deadline: April 15. Main Street Museum, White River Junction. Info, info@ mainstreetmuseum.org.

RFQ FOR STOWE STREET ALLEY:

Revitalizing Waterbury and a host of volunteers have been working for more than a year to reclaim and transform an alley that is central to Waterbury’s historic downtown district. The committee is looking for artists to create a medallion and a gateway to the alley; deadlines are April 1 and March 15, respectively. Details at revitalizingwaterbury.org. Online. Free. Info, karen@revitalizingwaterbury.org.

SAPPY ART SHOW: An exhibition with the theme “Maple, the Heart of Vermont” is open to Vermont artists working in any 2D or 3D medium and will be

displayed during the Vermont Maple Festival. More info and instructions for application at vtframeshop. com/sappy. Village Frame Shoppe & Gallery, St. Albans. Through April 15. Info, 524-3699.

SEEKING NEW ARTIST MEMBERS: Become an exhibiting member of the Brandon Artists Guild; show at the gallery year-round, and participate in group and solo exhibitions. Judging criteria include originality, impact, clarity, craftsmanship, consistency of style and quality, presentation and marketability. Apply at brandonartistsguild.org. Deadline: February 26. Online. Free. Info, 247-4956.

‘SPARK!’: The Birds of Vermont Museum’s 2023 art show seeks works that tell the story of your spark as it relates to birds, birding, conservation, science, art, love or something else. Up to three works of art in almost any media, by new or returning artists of any age, may be submitted. Details at birdsofvermont.org.

Deadline: March 20. Online. Info, museum@ birdsofvermont.org.

SPRING SALON CALL: Canal Street Art Gallery in Bellows Falls solicits artists for an upcoming exhibition hung in the floor-to-ceiling salon style. Artists of all career levels, experience and with or without formal training are welcome. Details and submission instructions are at canalstreetartgallery.com. Online. Through February 27. $35. Info, 289-0104.

VERMONT STUDENT WILDLIFE ART

CONTEST: The second annual contest and exhibition is open to all Vermont students in grades 7-12. The top 40 entries will be exhibited at the Highland Center for the Arts in Greensboro; 10 of those will be awarded cash prizes. Details and application at vtwildlifeeducationfund.org.

Deadline: March 17. Online.

VERMONT WATERCOLOR SOCIETY:

Members are invited to submit works on the theme of “Emergence” for a juried spring exhibition at the Emile A. Gruppe Gallery. Nonmembers may join the association and submit, as well. Details and entry form at vtwatercolor.org.

Deadline: February 28. Online. Info, 673-8087.

WRIF EMERGING FILMMAKERS: In March, the 18th White River Indie Film festival will precede feature films with selected shorts. All self-identifying emerging filmmakers who are residents of Vermont, New Hampshire, Maine or Québec are eligible to submit. Those selected will be notified of screening date/time prior to the festival. Three will be awarded cash prizes. Details and submission form at uvjam.org. Deadline: March 4. Online. Free. Info, 295-6688.

NORTHEAST KINGDOM SHOWS « P.57

S UNDbites

News and views on the local music + nightlife scene

BY CHRIS FARNSWORTH

All Around the World

Human beings just love to categorize things. Eighty percent of human history is just nerds roaming around doing inventories, from grain storage to family lineage to DAVE MATTHEWS BAND set lists (you sick fucks). Did I make that stat up? Sure. But I’m not wrong, either. We can’t help ourselves.

Maybe the most egregious example of this tendency is our obsession with genre in music. I’ve made my sour grapes known on this subject before — I tend to think genre is an outdated, pointless and, in some cases, damaging construct. And there is no genre tag I dislike more than “world music.” I mean, honestly, what does that mean? If it’s not made by a Western artist, it’s, uh, from the world? Ya think? Can you imagine calling dumplings “world food”?

My opinion on this is hardly new or isolated. In 1999, former TALKING HEADS front man DAVID BYRNE wrote an op-ed in the New York Times called “I Hate World Music” — which, considering that he founded LUAKA BOP (a so-called world music label), should tell you how strongly he feels about the term. Even musicians who often find themselves lumped into the category chafe against it.

“It only helps reinforce the narrative that other people’s music is less evolved and important than your own and doesn’t deserve a more nuanced approach,” said Indian jazz drummer and producer

SARATHY KORWAR in a 2019 interview in the Guardian

The term wasn’t created to relegate thousands of musical styles to one amorphous and ill-fitting genre. Many record labels and music festivals that trade in “world music” were founded with the noble goal of spreading music in all its forms into Western markets. Some, like PETER GABRIEL’s WOMAD (World of Music, Arts and Dance) festival, founded in the early 1980s, actually predated the term “world music.”

While the tag carries some negative connotations, I try to remind myself that the vast majority of world music labels are actually doing a great service to Western listeners by introducing us to sounds we otherwise probably would not

have heard. And one of those labels has o ces right here in Charlotte.

PUTUMAYO maintains an o ce in the barn of JACOB EDGAR, who works as a consultant for the company on top of running his own world music label and booking agency, CUMBANCHA. The labels

often work in tandem, with many of the artists who appear on Cumbancha releases first showing up on Putumayo compilations.

“When I started Putumayo almost 30 years ago, the music industry was very different than it is today,” label founder DAN STORPER wrote in an email.

One change to which Storper has had to adapt is the growing dominance of digital releases.

“While I stubbornly resisted the digital age,” he admitted, “in recent years, I’ve embraced it.” He recognizes, he wrote, “that the curation Putumayo is known for is more important than ever in the vast and overwhelming ocean of digital music.”

So the label has gone digital. The shift began with the Putumayo Discovery series, digital-only releases of singles and EPs from artists who have rarely, if ever, released their music online. The 12th installment of the EP series, a compilation called Reggae World 2 , drops on March 3.

“We’re also pleased that, after two years, Putumayo’s official profile has more followers on Spotify than any other world music label,” Storper enthused about the 100,000-plus followers the label now boasts. “And more than most record labels of any genre, for that matter.”

Putumayo posts new-release playlists every Friday on just about every streaming service out there. It also maintains a robust YouTube channel, with music videos featuring artists from Africa, Latin America, Europe, Asia and even North America.

The label recently released Feels Like Home: Songs From the Sonoran Borderlands , a collection of Mexican songs curated by Storper and LINDA RONSTADT. It’s a soundtrack companion to Ronstadt’s memoir about growing up near the Sonoran Desert in California. I’m never going to warm up to the term “world music.” But the importance of the work that labels such as Putumayo do, spreading the gospel of music to every corner of the world, cannot be understated. Genre is a construct, but music is universal.

Cumbancha recording artists Lakou Mizik

Dan Storper

Sarathy Korwar

On the Beat

The BURLINGTON ELECTRONIC DEPARTMENT returns to drop some zeroes and ones on Radio Bean this Thursday, February 23. Hosted by Burlington’s top synth dance act, ROOST.WORLD, this installment includes BEAUTIFUL NATURAL, BONE BONE, DEBBY NIGHTS, JEWELRY COMPANY, MOLE and TERMINAL FLOOR, with the visual accompaniment of projections from art collective VANISH WORKS. According to roost.world’s ZAQ SCHUSTER, the performers will be stationed all over the club, ensuring a seamless transition from act to act. Having experienced a few of the BED nights at the Bean, I can tell you, they get weird in the best ways.

Burlington soul act HIGH SUMMER are back with a trio of new singles in advance of a full-length LP to be released later in the year. “The Rain That Falls,” “Ones and Onlies” and “Let Go” all drop on streaming services on March 1 but can be heard on the band’s website now. The three tracks, recorded at Burlington studio the Tank, are the band’s first proper releases and showcase lead vocalist MIRIAM BERNARDO’s gorgeous voice and the horn-powered soul of the eight-piece band. To celebrate the new releases, the band is playing a series of shows around the state, starting with one on Saturday, March 18, at Winooski’s Four Quarters Brewing.

Listening In

(Spotify mix of local jams)

write it right / you’ll come back home.” It’s streaming now on Spotify. Hanson plays a release show on Friday, February 24, opening for Anekan River at Foam Brewers in Burlington.

Also releasing new music this week are Brattleboro synth act DUTCH EXPERTS Following the first single, “Morrígu,” which dropped in December, the solo project of HANNAH HOFFMAN, formerly of the dream-pop band DUNE HUNTER, releases the four-song EP Bound by This on Friday, February 24. Full of layers of synths and Ho man’s ethereal voice, the record channels classic SIOUXSIE AND THE BANSHEES and COCTEAU TWINS. The EP delves so deep into dark chasms of synthpop, it feels like it’s encased in a thick fog under moonlight.

Piano player and vocalist JACK HANSON has released his first solo material since 2014. The former Burlington city councilor’s new song, “Alone,” is perfect for staring into your drink on a late night at the local club, ruminating on past romantic mistakes and pining for a partner. Over an almost lethargic chord sequence, Hanson croons, “I sit here by myself writing you another song / thinking maybe this time if I

Eye on the Scene

Last week’s live music highlights from photographer Luke Awtry

ROUGH FRANCIS AT T. RUGG’S TAVERN IN BURLINGTON, THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 16: e sun had barely gone down last ursday night when ROUGH FRANCIS set up their gear, and there was already a line forming outside T. Rugg’s Tavern in Burlington’s Old North End. Friends and fans of the band filled the tiny bar, relishing the opportunity to catch one of the city’s best acts at such an unexpected venue — and with an even more unexpected start time of 6 p.m. As soon as the first note was struck, the room erupted with energy. It seems our music-loving community is more than ready to rock, no matter where or when.

Things will look funny at Okemo resort in Ludlow on Saturday, March 4, when the Base 68 Café & Biergarten in the Clocktower Base Lodge hosts the 19th annual Comedy Night. Presented by William Raveis Real Estate, this year’s lineup includes Boston comedians ORLANDO BAXTER and KELLY MACFARLAND , both of whom have been finalists in the Boston Comedy Festival and appeared on TV shows such as “Conan,” “The View” and NBC’s “Last Comic Standing.” For more info and to purchase tickets, go to vtprop.com. ➆

On the Air

Where to tune in to Vermont music this week:

“WAVE CAVE RADIO SHOW,” Wednesday, February 22, 2 p.m., on 105.9 the Radiator: DJS FLYWLKR AND GINGERVITUS spin the best of local (and nonlocal) hip-hop.

“EXPOSURE,” Wednesday, February 22, 6 p.m., on 90.1 WRUV: Punk-rock act DICK RICHARD play live in studio.

“ROCKET SHOP RADIO HOUR,” Wednesday, February 22, 8 p.m., on 105.9 the Radiator: Local music with host TOM PROCTOR

“THE SOUNDS OF BURLINGTON,”

ursday, February 23, 9 p.m., at wbkm.org: Host TIM LEWIS plays the best of local music.

“CULTURAL BUNKER,” Friday, February 24, 6 p.m., on 90.1 FM WRUV: Host MELO GRANT plays local hip-hop selections.

“ALL THE TRADITIONS,” Sunday, February 26, 7 p.m., on Vermont Public: Host ROBERT RESNIK plays an assortment of folk music with a focus on Vermont artists.

1. “Fountain Pen,” NICK CARTER

2. “Deathwire,” ROUGH FRANCIS

3. “nope,” IVAMAE

4. “Ny Gidro,” MIKAHELY

5. “HANDSOME,” HEADY BETTY

6. “Loretta,” the MAPLE RUN BAND

7. “Jacob’s Ladder,” FREDDIE LOSAMBE

CLUB DATES

live music

WED.22

Bluegrass & BBQ (bluegrass) at Four Quarters Brewing, Winooski, 6:30 p.m. Free.

The Dip, Stephen Day (R&B, soul) at Higher Ground Ballroom, South Burlington, 8 p.m. $20/$25.

Gallison Hill Band (blues) at Bent Nails Bistro, Montpelier, 7:30 p.m.

Free.

Grace Palmer and Socializing for Introverts (rock) at Red Square, Burlington, 6 p.m. Free.

Honey and Soul, Two Cattle & the Moon (folk) at Radio Bean, Burlington, 9 p.m. $10/$15.

Jazz Night with Ray Vega (jazz) at Hotel Vermont, Burlington, 8:30 p.m. Free.

Jazz Sessions with Randal

Pierce (jazz open mic) at the 126, Burlington, 8:30 p.m. Free.

Live Jazz (jazz) at Leunig’s Bistro & Café, Burlington, 6:30 p.m. Free.

The Most Wanted (jazz fusion) at Nectar’s, Burlington, 8 p.m. Free.

Singer-Songwriter Sessions with Bert, Charlie Clark, Meg (singersongwriters) at Radio Bean, Burlington, 6:30 p.m. $5/$10.

Troy Millette Presents: Sample Sets (singer-songwriter) at 14th Star Brewing, St. Albans, 6 p.m. Free.

Wednesday Night Dead (Grateful Dead covers) at Zenbarn, Waterbury Center, 7 p.m. $5.

THU.23

Alex Stewart Quartet and Special Guests (jazz) at the 126, Burlington, 9 p.m. Free.

Andriana Chobot (pop) at Black Flannel Brewing & Distilling, Essex, 6 p.m. Free.

Breanna Elaine (singersongwriter) at Charlie-O’s World Famous, Montpelier, 8 p.m. Free.

Burlington Electronic Department Showcase (electronic) at Radio Bean, Burlington, 7:30 p.m. $5/$10.

Dan Ryan Express (jazz) at Foam Brewers, Burlington, 7 p.m. Free.

Dave Mitchell’s Blues Revue (blues) at Red Square, Burlington, 2 p.m. Free.

Giant Panda Guerilla Dub Squad (reggae) at Pickle Barrel Nightclub, Killington, 8 p.m. $20/$25.

Ira Friedman and Brian Boyes (jazz) at Hugo’s Bar and Grill, Montpelier, 7 p.m. Free.

Joe Agnello, Jack Vignone (singer-songwriter) at Folino’s, Williston, 6 p.m. Free.

Lincoln Sprague (jazz) at the Venetian Soda Lounge, Burlington, 5 p.m. Free.

McMaple (folk) at 1st Republic Brewing, Essex Junction, 6 p.m. Free.

Find the most up-to-date info on live music, DJs, comedy and more at sevendaysvt.com/music. If you’re a talent booker or artist planning live entertainment at a bar, nightclub, café, restaurant, brewery or coffee shop, send event details to music@sevendaysvt.com or submit the info using our form at sevendaysvt.com/postevent.

Please contact event organizers about vaccination and mask requirements.

Mark Legrand & Sarah Munro, the Bar Belles (singersongwriter, folk) at Bent Nails Bistro, Montpelier, 6 p.m. Free. Never in Vegas (covers) at Pickle Barrel Nightclub, Killington, 8 p.m. Free.

Off With Their Heads, Doom Service, Dead St. Dreamers, Mr. Doubtfire, Suburban Samurai (punk) at Monkey House, Winooski, 8 p.m. $15/$20.

Seth Yacovone (acoustic) at Moogs Joint, Johnson, 7:30 p.m. Free.

Shane McGrath (acoustic) at Gusto’s, Barre, 6 p.m. Free. Sputoola (jam) at Red Square, Burlington, 7 p.m. Free.

Sticks & Stones (covers) at On Tap Bar & Grill, Essex Junction, 9 p.m. Free.

Tom Cleary (jazz) at the Venetian Soda Lounge, Burlington, 6 p.m. Free.

Uncle Jimmy (acoustic) at the Tap Room at Switchback Brewing, Burlington, 5 p.m. Free.

SAT.25

A Little Bit Rock and Roll

It can be daunting to be crowned the Next Big Thing, especially in a storied genre like country music. When MARGO PRICE dropped her 2016 debut Midwest Farmer’s Daughter, publications such as the Fader and Rolling Stone hurried to anoint her as a country music breakout star. Yet even after being nominated for a Grammy for Best New Artist in 2019, Price wasn’t about to be pigeonholed. Her latest record, Strays, takes a turn for driving rock and roll, and it was written after an extended mushroom trip with her husband and collaborator, Jeremy Ivey. She plays the Higher Ground Ballroom in South Burlington on Monday, February 27, with support from singer-songwriter TRÉ BURT

The Rustics, Inflatable Alien (folk, blues) at Bent Nails Bistro, Montpelier, 7 p.m. Free.

Ryan Osswald Trio (jazz) at the Venetian Soda Lounge, Burlington, 7 p.m. Free.

Third Shift (covers) at On Tap Bar & Grill, Essex Junction, 6 p.m. Free.

FRI.24

Aneken River, Jack Hanson (rock) at Foam Brewers, Burlington, 8 p.m. Free.

The Apollos (rock) at Monopole, Plattsburgh, N.Y., 10 p.m. Free.

Ben Patton (jazz) at the Venetian Soda Lounge, Burlington, 7:30 p.m. Free.

Brevity Thing (folk rock) at Whammy Bar, Calais, 7 p.m. Free.

Chris & Erica (covers) at On Tap Bar & Grill, Essex Junction, 5 p.m. Free.

Corner Junction (bluegrass) at Stone Corral, Richmond, 7 p.m. Free.

Dave Mitchell’s Blues Revue (blues) at Red Square, Burlington, 2 p.m. Free.

Dead Gowns, Jane Lai, A Box of Stars, Addie Herbert (singer-songwriter) at Radio Bean, Burlington, 8 p.m. $10/$15.

The Deul (rock) at 14th Star Brewing, St. Albans, 6 p.m. Free.

The Deviators (bluegrass) at Hugo’s Bar and Grill, Montpelier, 7 p.m. Free.

Donna Thunder, Moondust & Chemtrails (hard rock) at CharlieO’s World Famous, Montpelier, 9:30 p.m. Free.

Fran Briand (singer-songwriter) at the Old Post, South Burlington, 8 p.m. Free.

The Full Cleveland (yacht rock) at Nectar’s, Burlington, 8 p.m. $10.

Ira Friedman (jazz) at Bleu Northeast Kitchen, Burlington, 7:30 p.m. Free.

Jamie Snook (singer-songwriter) at Taps Tavern, Poultney, 6 p.m. Free.

Kyle Stevens, Chris Bradley (singer-songwriter) at 1st Republic Brewing, Essex Junction, 6 p.m. Free.

Ruby Lou, Jane Doe, Paper Castles, Blueberry Betty (rock, folk) at Radio Bean, Burlington, 8 p.m. $10/$15.

Staircase 24 (covers) at On Tap Bar & Grill, Essex Junction, 9 p.m. Free.

Steve Ellis (jazz) at Bleu Northeast Kitchen, Burlington, 7:30 p.m. Free.

Swimmer (jam) at Nectar’s, Burlington, 8 p.m. $10.

Tim Brick (country) at Stone Corral, Richmond, 7 p.m. Free.

WD-40 (covers) at On Tap Bar & Grill, Essex Junction, 5 p.m. Free. When Dinosaurs Ruled the Earth (rock) at Charlie-O’s World Famous, Montpelier, 9:30 p.m. Free.

SUN.26

Florist (indie) at Radio Bean, Burlington, 6:30 p.m. $18/$20.

Jaded Ravins (Americana) at Foam Brewers, Burlington, 1 p.m. Free.

Satsang (folk rock) at Zenbarn, Waterbury Center, 7 p.m. $25/$30.

Sunday Brunch Tunes (singersongwriter) at Hotel Vermont, Burlington, 10 a.m.

MON.27

Barbie-N-Bones (rock) at Gusto’s, Barre, 9 p.m. Free. Blue Fox Trio (blues) at Moogs Place, Morrisville, 9 p.m. Free. The Bubs, the Wet Ones!, Rangus (rock, surf) at Monkey House, Winooski, 8 p.m. $5/$10.

Dan Ryan Quartet (jazz) at the Venetian Soda Lounge, Burlington, 7 p.m. Free.

David Karl Roberts (singersongwriter) at the Den at Harry’s Hardware, Cabot, 6 p.m. Free.

The Discussions (psych jazz) at Foam Brewers, Burlington, 8 p.m. Free.

Jerborn (acoustic) at 1st Republic Brewing, Essex Junction, 6 p.m. Free.

Laura Molinelli and Ben Campbell (indie) at Taps Tavern, Poultney, 6 p.m. Free.

Left Eye Jump (blues) at Red Square, Burlington, 2 p.m. Free.

Lucid’s Sabo & Shacklett (jam) at Monopole, Plattsburgh, N.Y., 10 p.m. Free.

McMaple (folk) at Red Square, Burlington, 7 p.m. Free.

Monachino, Jarrett & Hill (country) at Hugo’s Bar and Grill, Montpelier, 7 p.m. Free.

Never in Vegas (covers) at Pickle Barrel Nightclub, Killington, 9 p.m. Free.

Mykal Rose (reggae) at Zenbarn, Waterbury Center, 8 p.m. $30/$35.

Florist (indie) at Radio Bean, Burlington, 6:30 p.m. $18/$20. Margot Price, Tré Burt (country) at Higher Ground Ballroom, South Burlington, 7:30 p.m. $26/$28/$73.

TUE.28

Alex’s Galactic Jams of Space, Alex Kauffman & Colin Henkel (jazz) at Monkey House, Winooski, 6 p.m. Free.

Bluegrass Jam (bluegrass) at Taps Tavern, Poultney, 7 p.m. Free. Grateful Tuesdays (tribute) at Nectar’s, Burlington, 6:30 p.m. $20.

Honky Tonk Tuesday with Pony Hustle (country) at Radio Bean, Burlington, 9 p.m. $10. Red River North (country) at Lawson’s Finest Liquids, Waitsfield, 5 p.m. Free.

WED.1

Bluegrass & BBQ (bluegrass) at Four Quarters Brewing, Winooski, 6:30 p.m. Free.

Fresh Pressed Wednesday (rock) at Radio Bean, Burlington, 9 p.m. $5/$10.

Grace Palmer and Socializing for Introverts (rock) at Red Square, Burlington, 6 p.m. Free.

Jazz Night with Ray Vega (jazz) at Hotel Vermont, Burlington, 8:30 p.m. Free.

Jazz Sessions with Randal Pierce (jazz open mic) at the 126, Burlington, 8:30 p.m. Free.

Live Jazz (jazz) at Leunig’s Bistro & Café, Burlington, 6:30 p.m. Free.

MON.27 // MARGO PRICE [COUNTRY]

One Time Weekend (funk, rock) at Nectar’s, Burlington, 8 p.m. Free.

Troy Millette Presents: Sample Sets (singer-songwriter) at 14th Star Brewing, St. Albans, 6 p.m. Free.

Wednesday Night Dead (Grateful Dead covers) at Zenbarn, Waterbury Center, 7 p.m. $5.

djs

WED.22

Molly Mood (DJ) at Red Square, Burlington, 10 p.m. Free.

Queer Bar Takeover (DJ) at Charlie-O’s World Famous, Montpelier, 8 p.m. Free.

THU.23

DJ Chaston (DJ) at Red Square Blue Room, Burlington, 11 p.m. Free.

DJ Two Sev (DJ) at Red Square, Burlington, midnight. Free.

Mi Yard Reggae Night with DJ Big Dog (reggae and dancehall) at Nectar’s, Burlington, 9:30 p.m. Free.

Molly Mood (DJ) at Red Square, Burlington, 10 p.m. Free.

Taytay Party: The Ultimate Taylor Swift DJ Party (DJ) at Club Metronome, Burlington, 7 p.m. $20.

Vinyl Night with Ken (DJ) at Taps Tavern, Poultney, 6 p.m. Free.

FRI.24

DJ Craig Mitchell (DJ) at Red Square Blue Room, Burlington, 9:30 p.m. Free.

DJ Kata (DJ) at Red Square, Burlington, 10 p.m. Free.

DJ LaFountaine (DJ) at Gusto’s, Barre, 9 p.m. Free.

DJ Taka (DJ) at Light Club Lamp Shop, Burlington, 11 p.m. $10/$15.

Emo Night Brooklyn (emo DJ) at Higher Ground Showcase Lounge, South Burlington, 8:30 p.m. $17/$20.

Hollaback with DJ Briidj (DJ) at Club Metronome, Burlington, 10 p.m. $5.

SAT.25

Crypt Goth Night (goth DJ) at Bent Nails Bistro, Montpelier, 7 p.m. Free.

DJ A-Ra$ (DJ) at Red Square, Burlington, midnight. Free.

DJ Raul (DJ) at Red Square Blue Room, Burlington, 6 p.m. Free.

DJ Taka (DJ) at Light Club Lamp Shop, Burlington, 11 p.m. $10/$15.

Matt Payne (DJ) at Red Square Blue Room, Burlington, 10 p.m. Free.

Molly Mood (DJ) at Red Square, Burlington, 10 p.m. Free.

Moses, CRWD CTRL, Damon Sarceno, Ryan Darling (DJ) at Orlando’s Bar & Lounge, Burlington, 9 p.m. Free.

MON.27

Mo’ Monday with DJs Craig Mitchell and Fattie B (DJ) at Monkey House, Winooski, 7 p.m. Free.

TUE.28

Local Dork (DJ) at Foam Brewers, Burlington, 6 p.m. Free.

WED.1

Molly Mood (DJ) at Red Square, Burlington, 10 p.m. Free.

open mics & jams

WED.22

Irish Sessions (Celtic, open mic) at Light Club Lamp Shop, Burlington, 6 p.m. Free.

Open Mic (open mic) at Monopole, Plattsburgh, N.Y., 10 p.m. Free.

Open Mic with JD Tolstoi (open mic) at Taps Tavern, Poultney, 7 p.m. Free.

Poetry Reading with Kerrin McCadden and Open Mic (poetry open mic) at Black Flannel Brewing & Distilling, Essex, 6 p.m. Free.

THU.23

Open Mic (open mic) at Whammy Bar, Calais, 6:30 p.m. Free.

Open Mic (open mic) at Orlando’s Bar & Lounge, Burlington, 8:30 p.m. Free.

Open Mic Night (open mic) at Parker Pie, West Glover, 6:30 p.m. Free.

SUN.26

Open Mic Night with Justin at Charlie-O’s World Famous, Montpelier, 7:30 p.m.

WED.1

Irish Sessions (Celtic, open mic) at Light Club Lamp Shop, Burlington, 6 p.m. Free.

Lit Club (poetry open mic) at Light Club Lamp Shop, Burlington, 6:30 p.m. Free.

Open Mic (open mic) at Monopole, Plattsburgh, N.Y., 10 p.m. Free.

Open Mic with JD Tolstoi (open mic) at Taps Tavern, Poultney, 7 p.m. Free.

comedy

WED.22

Standup Class Performance (comedy) at Vermont Comedy Club, Burlington, 6 p.m. Free.

Standup Comedy Open Mic (comedy open mic) at Vermont Comedy Club, Burlington, 8:30 p.m.

Whale Tales Comedy Show (comedy) at Club Metronome, Burlington, 7 p.m. Free.

THU.23

Improv Class Show (comedy) at Vermont Comedy Club, Burlington, 6 p.m. Free.

FRI.24

Jackie Kashian (comedy) at Vermont Comedy Club, Burlington, 7 & 9 p.m. $25.

SAT.25

Jackie Kashian (comedy) at Vermont Comedy Club, Burlington, 7 & 9 p.m. $25.

TUE.28

Comedy Open Mic (comedy) at the 126, Burlington, 7 p.m. Free.

WED.1

Standup Comedy Open Mic (comedy open mic) at Vermont Comedy Club, Burlington, 8:30 p.m.

trivia, karaoke, etc.

WED.22

Nerd Nite Trivia (trivia) at Citizen Cider, Burlington, 6:30-9 p.m. Free.

Trivia (trivia) at Alfie’s Wild Ride, Stowe, 6:30 p.m. Free.

Trivia Night (trivia) at Stone Corral, Richmond, 7 p.m. Free.

THU.23

Karaoke Night (karaoke) at Zenbarn, Waterbury Center, 7 p.m. Free.

Trivia (trivia) at Jericho Café & Tavern, 6 p.m. Free.

Trivia Night (trivia) at McGillicuddy’s Five Corners, Essex Junction, 6:30 p.m. Free.

Trivia Night (trivia) at Babes Bar, Bethel, 7 p.m. Free.

Trivia Thursday (trivia) at Spanked Puppy Pub, Colchester, 7 p.m. Free.

SUN.26

Venetian Karaoke (karaoke) at the Venetian Soda Lounge, Burlington, 7 p.m. Free.

MON.27

Trivia with Brain (trivia) at Charlie-O’s World Famous, Montpelier, 8 p.m. Free.

TUE.28

Karaoke with DJ Party Bear (karaoke) at Charlie-O’s World Famous, Montpelier, 9:30 p.m. Free.

Music Bingo (music bingo) at 14th Star Brewing, St. Albans, 6:30 p.m. Free.

Trivia Night (trivia) at the Depot, St. Albans, 7 p.m. Free.

Tuesday Night Trivia (trivia) at Vermont Comedy Club, Burlington, 7 p.m. Free.

WED.1

Nerd Nite Trivia (trivia) at Citizen Cider, Burlington, 6:30-9 p.m. Free.

Trivia Night (trivia) at Stone Corral, Richmond, 7 p.m. Free. ➆

REVIEW this

Nick Carter, Fountain Pen

(SELF-RELEASED, CD, DIGITAL)

With the number of music submissions Seven Days receives every week, occasionally some records slip through the cracks. Fortunately, the paper employs an AI-powered chatbot to harass and verbally abuse music editor Chris Farnsworth until he collects all the albums he missed. Hoping to salvage what’s left of his dignity from the savage attacks of the bot, he presents six new(ish) Vermont records!

Nick Carter is in the midst of a second act in life. The Vermont- and Connecticut-based singer-songwriter, who has been playing music since he saw the Beatles perform on “The Ed Sullivan Show” in 1964, spent decades as a music educator. Now solidly into his career as a recording artist, he takes his first foray into contemporary folk music with his new album, Fountain Pen. Channeling the work of folk legends such as Jim Croce and Harry Chapin, Carter writes songs that are equal parts gentle acoustic guitar and evocative, world-weary lyrics. His new record is no tentative first step. Carter brought in Grammy-nominated producer Seth Glier to man the boards, as well as special guests including Abbie Gardner and Laurie MacAllister of New York folk trio Red Molly and Boston folk-pop singer Ellis Paul.

KEY TRACK: “Arizona Sunset” WHY: The country-leaning song serves as a declaration of undying love set to gorgeous harmonies. WHERE: nickcartersmusic.com

Stefani Capizzi, Here for a While

(SELF-RELEASED, CD, DIGITAL)

For such a sparsely populated state, Vermont boasts a high number of folk singer-songwriters. I’d love to know what the ratio of folk musicians to average Vermonters is, but hopefully there are enough co eehouses around for all of them. The latest o ering from the robust folk scene is Stefani Capizzi and her new EP, Here for a While.

While there’s nothing on Capizzi’s six-song EP that deviates from the genre norms or breaks new ground, some tracks bear enough of an emotional edge to let you know Capizzi understands how tough life can get. A recovering alcoholic, Capizzi writes songs full of hope and unflinching reflection. She is also donating 50 percent of all CD sales of Here for a While to the North Central Vermont Recovery Center and Jenna’s Promise, a recovery community in Johnson.

KEY TRACK: “Bittersweet Truth” WHY: Capizzi’s voice sounds raw and warm as she croons over a soft bed of acoustic guitar and piano. WHERE: capizzimusic.com

Andrew Richards, Andrew Richards

(SELF-RELEASED, DIGITAL)

Burlington native Andrew Richards made the big move to New York City in 2021. The former University of Vermont student hasn’t wasted any time turning around a confident, sonically gorgeous self-titled debut LP. A vocalist with a classically smooth tone and subtle, assured delivery, Richards is also an innovative and clever composer.

Backed by drummer Ben Freidkin, bassist SeaJun Kwon and Israeli pianist Moshe Elmakias, Richards presents eight original songs that, while rooted in jazz, show flashes of soul and funk. It’s sophisticated, well-crafted music that manages to feel simultaneously like a throwback and utterly modern. The band even throws in a tribute to Richards’ home state, covering the classic John Blackburn and Karl Suessdorf tune “Moonlight in Vermont.” It’s nice to know that even in the concrete jungle of NYC, Richards still has Vermont on his mind.

KEY TRACK: “It’s Good to Have a Lover” WHY: Richards channels his inner Frank Sinatra, getting playful as he celebrates the art of being a cad. WHERE: Spotify, Apple Music

Ryan Osswald, Hum

(SELF-RELEASED, DIGITAL)

Burlington guitarist Ryan Osswald was once part of the city’s robust Americana and folk scene, playing with expat Maryse Smith and in the band Cannon Fodder with Paper Castles’ Paddy Reagan. He also led his own project, Great Western. In recent years, Osswald has shifted his musical focus, centering on instrumental jazz. He continues that trend on his latest release, the four-song EP Hum Osswald brought together a talented trio to back him up, including bassist Alex Hall, keyboardist Michael Hartigan and drummer Dan Ryan. Together, the band forms a tight but still elastic backing unit, laying down smooth grooves beneath Osswald’s deft guitar playing and intriguing compositions.

KEY TRACK: “Blues for Kalief” WHY: Ryan’s virtuoso drum performance underpins a long, moody jam. WHERE: ryanosswald.bandcamp.com

ILLu, B Side Instrumentals Volume 15

(EQUAL EYES RECORDS, DIGITAL)

Sometime during the pandemic, I became addicted to listening to YouTube mixes of lo-fi hip-hop. In what has become something of a phenomena, millions of viewers follow channels with such videos these days. The videos typically feature an anime kid with a cat, studying beside a busy city window as chilled-out hip-hop plays softly. To be honest, I was much more in it for the vibes than the actual tunes, which tend to be pretty basic. So imagine my excitement when Vermont hip-hop producer ILLu released his latest collection of instrumental hip-hop jams. Here was a truly inspired mix to let seep into my brain in the late hours.

The cofounder of Burlington record label Equal Eyes Records, ILLu is also one of the most talented producers in the scene. He deftly weaves an assortment of beats and loops, creating a nonstop, head-nodding soundtrack to … well, anything. Such is the strength of the record that it could be used to score anything from a late-night smoke session to an early morning workout.

KEY TRACK: “Parmigiano” WHY: ILLu layers a creaky piano loop over a classic boombap beat, perfectly occupying the space between tension and release. WHERE: equaleyesrecords.com

The Path/Gone Wrong, Split

(STATE OF MIND RECORDINGS, DIGITAL, VINYL)

I love a split EP. A common practice for hardcore, metal and punk bands, split EPs are the heavy music equivalent of getting those Hershey’s miniature assorted packs — there’s a little something for all headbangers. Take the latest from Vermont bands the Path and Gone Wrong. With the Path, you get pure, screaming hardcore punk full of gargantuan ri s and lyrics like “Wage slaves of the world / Arouse / Do your duty for the cause.” Listen to a few of the Path’s songs, and you’ll be pulling out the guillotine and driving to Elon Musk’s house.

Burlington’s Gone Wrong are a little more raw, thrashing through their brand of skate punk with aplomb. The two approaches blend like whiskey shots and Miller High Life — beautifully, as long as you’re in the mood to fuck shit up.

KEY TRACK: “Haymarket to Stonewall” by the Path WHY: In this heaviest song on a record full of punishing heaviness, the lyrics are the real killer: “Lick the boot or eat the sole / The poor will keep killing the poor.” WHERE: gonewrong.bandcamp.com

Open Memorial: Remembering in Community

FRI., FEB. 24

ONLINE

Ethiopian and Eritrean

Cuisine Takeout

SAT., FEB. 25

O.N.E. COMMUNITY CENTER, BURLINGTON

Yoga Nidra in the Salt Cave

SUN., FEB. 26

PURPLE SAGE, ESSEX

e Quarry Project Film

SUN., FEB. 26

GRANGE HALL CULTURAL CENTER, WATERBURY

Irish Song

Tune-Up

TUE., FEB. 28

ONLINE

Focaccia Art Workshop

TUE., FEB. 28

RED POPPY CAKERY, WATERBURY

Book Club

February

TUE., FEB. 28

PURPLE SAGE, ESSEX

Living with Loss: A Gathering for the Grieving

WED., MAR. 1 ONLINE

Hotel Vermont Ice Bar 2023

Night 1

FRI , MAR 3

HOTEL VERMONT, BURLINGTON

Ethiopian/Eritrean Cooking Class

Veggie Sauces

FRI., MAR. 3

RICHMOND COMMUNITY KITCHEN, RICHMOND

Spiritual Readings with Red Sapphire

FRI., MAR. 3 AND. SUN., MAR. 5

HILTON BURLINGTON, BURLINGTON

Concentric Creatives

TUE., MAR. 7 THE HIVE ON PINE, BURLINGTON

“ e Basics” Cake

Decorating Class

THU., MAR. 9 RED POPPY CAKERY, WATERBURY

Facing Change:

Life’s Transitions and Transformations

WED., MAR. 22 ONLINE

Mega March Birthday Bash - Suburban Samurai, NRVS, What Makes Sense

SAT., MAR. 25 THE UNDERGROUND, RANDOLPH

David Feurzeig Play

Every Town VT

SUN., MAR. 26 FIRST CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH, ESSEX

Virtual Cooking Workshop Sweet Potato Gnocchi Bolognese

SUN., MAR. 26 ONLINE

Vermont Gatherings Spring Market

SAT., APR. 1 AND SUN., APR 2

CHAMPLAIN VALLEY EXPOSITION, ESSEX JUNCTION

Living with Loss: A Gathering for the Grieving

WED., APR. 5 ONLINE

[NEW DATE] Paul Asbell

Plays & Sings Steel-String Americana

SUN., APR. 3 0

FIRST CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH, ESSEX

on screen

Many critics have lamented the omission of Saint Omer from the list of Best International Feature Film Oscar nominations. This first fiction feature from director-cowriter Alice Diop won the Silver Lion Grand Jury Prize at the Venice International Film Festival and is the first film directed by a Black woman to represent France at the Oscars. You can see it at Catamount Arts in St. Johnsbury from February 24 to March 9 or rent it on various platforms.

The deal

Rama (Kayije Kagame), a Parisian professor and novelist, travels to the town of SaintOmer to attend the trial of a young woman named Laurence Coly (Guslagie Malanda), who has confessed to killing her 15-monthold daughter by leaving her on a beach at high tide.

Saint Omer ★★★★ REVIEW

Hoping to write a book about the case, Rama tapes the courtroom proceedings and speaks with Laurence’s mother (Salimata Kamate). As the disturbing testimony unfolds, we learn the writer has personal reasons for her fascination with Laurence, a Senegalese immigrant who came to Paris to study but was sidetracked by her lack of funds and her a air with a much older white man (Xavier Maly). Everyone in the courtroom wants to know: Was Laurence really driven to commit an unthinkable act by sorcery, as she sometimes claims, or by all-too-mundane forces?

Will you like it?

Saint Omer is far from a traditional legal drama, yet its courtroom scenes are riveting. Like Women Talking , this is a movie that explores the power of speech and testimony through a wrenching script — some of it drawn from the real trial of a woman named Fabienne Kabou — and extraordinary performances.

The movie begins in a fragmentary, elliptical mode that could alienate viewers: After an ominous glimpse of Laurence holding her child on the beach, we see everyday scenes of Rama with her husband, her students, her relatives. Kagame has a powerful presence, but Rama holds her emotions close to the chest, so it’s not immediately clear how any of these scenes are connected or where they’re going.

Then the defendant takes the stand, and we stop wondering why Rama is sitting in this courtroom. The narrative of Laurence Coly consumes us, just as it clearly has consumed her. In France’s inquisitorial justice system, such a criminal trial is not primarily a duel between the prosecuting and defense attorneys but an extended interrogation of the accused by the judge, or présidente du tribunal (Valérie Dréville), with occasional witnesses called to supplement that testimony. And what a testimony it is.

From Laurence’s first appearance, Malanda commands the screen. Even the camera seems to be mesmerized: Diop shoots Laurence’s testimony in long takes, first in medium shots and later, as the trial nears its conclusion, closer up. Every shot is purposeful; rather than simply cut to whoever is speaking, Diop often lingers on a listener to examine their reaction.

Forced to stand for the length of the proceedings, Laurence does so proudly, dressed in golden browns that harmonize with her skin tone and the woodwork of the chamber, and speaks with precision and eloquence. If the courtroom feels like a theater, she has the bearing of a heroine of classical tragedy; it’s no wonder that Rama imagines her as a modern Medea.

But behind this impressive persona

are darker truths. In Senegal, we learn, Laurence’s mother raised her to be a model of gentility and forbade her to speak her family’s native language. She was taught to imitate the colonizers of her country, and when the newspapers now praise her flawless French, they perpetuate the standards that formed and deformed her. We learn how Laurence’s socially approved quest for an elite education led her down a dead end of isolation — and how this alienation finally took her beyond the pale of human society, as it did Albert Camus’ The Stranger. We also learn why Laurence’s story provokes such an intense identification in Rama, who was born in France but has a distant, di cult relationship with her Senegalese immigrant mother. This relationship is fleshed out in brief flashbacks, some of which work better than others. Overall, the semi-autobiographical framing of the story through Rama doesn’t feel as assured as do the beautifully realized courtroom scenes, but it benefits from Diop’s refusal to spell out any easily digestible message.

Although Laurence describes her crime in poetic terms, she can’t hide its sheer horror — a horror that Rama, like the rest of the courtroom, eventually must confront. Saint Omer isn’t a movie about seeing justice done or not done; it’s a tale of

pity and terror, the essentials of Aristotelian tragedy. We may not absolve Laurence by the final scenes, or even fully understand her, but we will never forget her.

MARGOT HARRISON margot@sevendaysvt.com

IF YOU LIKE THIS, TRY...

WE (2021; MUBI, rentable): Taking a commuter train that winds through the suburbs of Paris, home to many immigrant communities, Diop explores the many worlds the line traverses in this acclaimed documentary.

TOWARDS TENDERNESS (2016; MUBI): In this documentary inspired by her own youth, Diop talks to young men in the Paris suburbs about what masculinity means to them.

HIROSHIMA MON AMOUR (1959; Criterion Channel, rentable): Dialogue from this classic of the French new wave is heard in a scene in which Rama lectures her students on the Marguerite Duras novel on which it’s based. Duras was fascinated with both motherhood and culpability, and the scene raises questions that resonate throughout Saint Omer

Kagame plays a writer obsessed with another woman’s trial for murder in Diop’s mesmerizing drama.

NEW IN THEATERS

BUNKER: A supernatural entity preys on soldiers trapped in a bunker during World War I in this horror flick from director Adrian Langley. Roger Clark and Luke Baines star. (108 min, R. Essex)

CLOSE: In this Belgian Oscar nominee, two 13-yearold boys (Eden Dambrine and Gustav De Waele) feel the strain when classmates begin to question the nature of their close friendship. Lukas Dhont directed. (104 min, PG-13. Savoy)

COCAINE BEAR: Elizabeth Banks directed this comedy-thriller about a bear that terrorizes the countryside after going on a coke binge. Ray Liotta, Keri Russell and Margo Martindale star. (95 min, R. Essex, Marquis, Paramount, Star, Stowe)

EMILY: Jane Austen has had romanticized cinematic reimaginings of her life; now it’s Emily Brontë’s turn! Emma Mackey plays the Wuthering Heights author; Frances O’Connor directed. (130 min, R. Savoy)

JESUS REVOLUTION: Hippies in the 1970s spread the gospel in this inspirational period piece from the team behind I Can Only Imagine. With Jonathan Roumie and Kelsey Grammer. (120 min, PG-13. Essex, Star)

SAINT OMERHHHH In this Oscar submission from France, a writer (Kayije Kagame) attends the trial of a student from Senegal who has confessed to an unspeakable crime. Alice Diop directed. (122 min, PG-13. Catamount; reviewed 2/22)

CURRENTLY PLAYING

2023 OSCAR NOMINATED SHORT FILMS: Three separate programs — Live Action, Animation and Documentary — offer everything from “My Year of Dicks” to “The Elephant Whisperers.” Check online for runtimes, ratings and program dates. (Roxy, Savoy)

80 FOR BRADYHH1/2 Sally Field, Jane Fonda, Rita Moreno and Lily Tomlin play four friends determined to meet Tom Brady. (98 min, PG-13. Big Picture, Bijou, Capitol, Essex, Majestic, Palace, Star, Welden)

THE AMAZING MAURICEHH1/2 A clever cat (voice of Hugh Laurie), a young piper (Himesh Patel) and a band of rats plot to scam an unsuspecting town in this animation. (93 min, PG. Capitol, Majestic, Welden)

ANT-MAN AND THE WASP: QUANTUMANIAHH1/2

The lives of the titular Marvel superheroes (Paul Rudd and Evangeline Lilly) get complicated as they face off against Kang the Conqueror (Jonathan Majors) in the Quantum Realm. Peyton Reed directed. (125 min, PG-13. Bijou, Capitol, Essex, Majestic, Marquis, Palace, Paramount, Roxy, Star, Stowe, Welden)

AVATAR: THE WAY OF WATERHHH1/2 Director James Cameron returns to Pandora for this sequel in which Jake Sully (Sam Worthington) and his family face a new threat. (192 min, PG-13. Majestic)

EVERYTHING EVERYWHERE ALL AT ONCEHHHHH

Michelle Yeoh plays a woman who travels the multiverse to save the world in this surreal adventure comedy. (139 min, R. Palace, Roxy; reviewed 4/13/22)

KNOCK AT THE CABINHHH M. Night Shyamalan directed this horror flick about a vacationing family who encounter an apocalypse cult. (100 min, R. Majestic, Palace, Roxy)

LIVINGHHHH Bill Nighy received an Oscar nomination for his performance as a civil servant in 1950s England who changes his life after receiving disturbing news. (102 min, PG-13. Roxy)

MAGIC MIKE’S LAST DANCEHH1/2 Channing Tatum reprises his role as a stripper in the final film of Steven Soderbergh’s comedy-drama trilogy. (112 min, R. Bijou, Capitol, Essex, Majestic, Palace, Welden)

A MAN CALLED OTTOHH1/2 In the American adaptation of Fredrik Backman’s best seller, Tom Hanks plays a widower in need of a new lease on life. (126 min, PG-13. Majestic, Palace, Welden)

MARLOWEHH Liam Neeson plays the classic private detective in this mystery, also starring Diane Kruger. Neil Jordan directed. (110 min, R. Capitol, Essex, Majestic, Palace)

MISSINGHHH1/2 Storm Reid plays a girl who must use digital sleuthing to find her mom (Nia Long) in this thriller. (111 min, PG-13. Big Picture)

OF AN AGEHHH1/2 A young Australian ballroom dancer (Elias Anton) finds himself romantically attracted to his partner’s brother in this drama from Goran Stolevski. (100 min, R. Roxy)

PUSS IN BOOTS: THE LAST WISHHHHH Antonio Banderas again voices the titular cool cat in this animated adventure. (100 min, PG. Bijou, Capitol, Majestic, Palace)

SHEHZADA: The switching of a rich and poor infant at birth has unintended consequences in Rohit Dhawan’s Hindi-language action comedy. (142 min. Majestic)

WOMEN TALKINGHHHH In Sarah Polley’s Oscarnominated adaptation of Miriam Toews’ novel, a group of isolated Mennonite women decides how to react to a pattern of assaults. (104 min, PG-13. Savoy; reviewed 2/8)

OLDER FILMS AND SPECIAL SCREENINGS

THE BUTTERFLY QUEEN (Playhouse, Sun only)

ENCANTO (Catamount, Tue only)

TITANIC 25TH ANNIVERSARY (3D) (Essex, Palace, Roxy)

TRIANGLE OF SADNESS (Palace)

WHITNEY HOUSTON: I WANNA DANCE WITH SOMEBODY (Playhouse)

WHO IS DAYANI CRISTAL? (Catamount, Wed 22 only)

OPEN THEATERS

(* = upcoming schedule for theater was not available at press time)

BIG PICTURE THEATER: 48 Carroll Rd., Waitsfield, 496-8994, bigpicturetheater.info

*BIJOU CINEPLEX 4: 107 Portland St., Morrisville, 888-3293, bijou4.com

CAPITOL SHOWPLACE: 93 State St., Montpelier, 229-0343, fgbtheaters.com

CATAMOUNT ARTS: 115 Eastern Ave., St. Johnsbury, 748-2600, catamountarts.org

ESSEX CINEMAS & T-REX THEATER: 21 Essex Way, Suite 300, Essex, 879-6543, essexcinemas.com

*MAJESTIC 10: 190 Boxwood St., Williston, 878-2010, majestic10.com

MARQUIS THEATER: 65 Main St., Middlebury, 388-4841, middleburymarquis.com

*MERRILL’S ROXY CINEMAS: 222 College St., Burlington, 864-3456, merrilltheatres.net

*PALACE 9 CINEMAS: 10 Fayette Dr., South Burlington, 864-5610, palace9.com

PARAMOUNT TWIN CINEMA: 241 N. Main St., Barre, 479-9621, fgbtheaters.com

PLAYHOUSE MOVIE THEATRE: 11 S. Main St., Randolph, 728-4012, playhouseflicks.com

SAVOY THEATER: 26 Main St., Montpelier, 229-0598, savoytheater.com

STAR THEATRE: 17 Eastern Ave., St. Johnsbury, 748-9511, stjaytheatre.com

*STOWE CINEMA 3PLEX: 454 Mountain Rd., Stowe, 253-4678, stowecinema.com

WELDEN THEATRE: 104 N. Main St., St. Albans, 527-7888, weldentheatre.com

Note: These capsule descriptions are not intended as reviews. Star ratings come from Metacritic unless we reviewed the film (noted at the end of the description). Find reviews written by Seven Days critic Margot Harrison at sevendaysvt.com/ onscreen-reviews.

Cocaine Bear

FEBRUARY 22-MARCH 1, 2023

WED.22 business

QUEEN CITY BUSINESS

NETWORKING

INTERNATIONAL GROUP: Local professionals make crucial contacts at a weekly chapter meeting. Burlington City Arts, 11:15 a.m.-1 p.m. Free. Info, 829-5066.

community

CURRENT EVENTS: Neighbors have an informal discussion about what’s in the news. Dorothy Alling Memorial Library, Williston, 10:30 a.m.noon. Free. Info, 878-4918.

OPEN HOUSE: The PJC and 350VT open the doors of their new office and community space to neighbors and organizers for food, drinks and games. Peace & Justice Center, Burlington, 4-8 p.m. Free. Info, 863-2345.

dance

MOVEMENT MATTERS: ‘THE

WILDS’: Creators Laurel Jenkins, Jesse Fleming and Lewis Pesacov give a behindthe-scenes look into the upcoming mixed media dance show. Dance Theatre, Mahaney Arts Center, Middlebury College, 4:30-6 p.m. Free. Info, 443-5822.

etc.

fairs & festivals

RUTLAND WINTER FEST 2023: The 20th annual community congregation features sledding down Center Street, the Great Bigfoot Chase, a cornhole tournament and giant foosball. See rutlandrec.com for full schedule. Downtown Rutland, 9 a.m.-7 p.m. Prices vary. Info, aprilc@rutlandrec. com.

film

See what’s playing at local theaters in the On Screen section.

‘AMAZON ADVENTURE 3D’: Viewers experience 19thcentury explorer Henry Bates’ journey through the Amazon rainforest. Northfield Savings Bank 3D Theater: A National Geographic Experience, ECHO Leahy Center for Lake Champlain, Burlington, noon, 2 & 4 p.m. $3-5 plus regular admission, $14.50-18; admission free for members and kids 2 and under. Info, 864-1848.

BOOK FLICKS: Bibliophiles enjoy the Oscar-winning 2013 adaptation of 12 Years a Slave by Solomon Northup. Dorothy Alling Memorial Library, Williston, 6-8 p.m. Free. Info, 878-4918.

food & drink

GREEN CURRY LENTIL AND SWEET POTATO

SOUP: Chef Audrey Bernstein demonstrates how to cook a hearty winter meal. Presented by City Market, Onion River Co-op. 5:30-7 p.m. Free; preregister. Info, info@citymarket.coop.

Geographic Experience, ECHO Leahy Center for Lake Champlain, Burlington, 11 a.m., 1 & 3 p.m. $3-5 plus regular admission, $14.50-18; admission free for members and kids 2 and under. Info, 864-1848.

‘SEA MONSTERS 3D’: An adventurous dolichorhynchops travels through the most dangerous oceans in history, encountering plesiosaurs, giant turtles and the deadly mosasaur along the way. Northfield Savings Bank 3D Theater: A National Geographic Experience, ECHO Leahy Center for Lake Champlain, Burlington, 11:30 a.m., 1:30 & 3:30 p.m. $3-5 plus regular admission, $14.50-18; admission free for members and kids 2 and under. Info, 864-1848.

‘WATSON’: Sustainable Woodstock virtually screens this documentary about one man willing to put his life at risk to protect the oceans. Free. Info, 457-2911.

health & fitness

ADVANCE CARE PLANNING

WORKSHOP: Central Vermont

Home Health & Hospice experts explain why it’s never too early to start planning for future medical care. Kellogg-Hubbard Library, Montpelier, 6:30 p.m. Free. Info, 223-3338.

CHAIR YOGA: Waterbury Public Library instructor

Diana Whitney leads at-home participants in gentle stretches supported by seats. 10 a.m. Free. Info, 244-7036.

COMMUNITY YOGA CLASS — ALL LEVELS: Yogis of all abilities find peace and community in a cozy, candlelit scene. Wise Pines, Woodstock, 5:30-6:45 p.m. Free; donations accepted; preregister; limited space. Info, 432-3126.

language

seminars

INFLATION, INTEREST RATES AND THE

ECONOMY: Webinar attendees learn how to weather skyrocketing prices. Presented by New England Federal Credit Union.

Noon-1 p.m. Free; preregister. Info, 764-6940.

sports

GREEN MOUNTAIN TABLE

TENNIS CLUB: Ping-Pong players swing their paddles in singles and doubles matches. Rutland Area Christian School, 7-9 p.m. Free for first two sessions; $30 annual membership. Info, 247-5913.

MICHELOB ULTRA SKI BUM RACE

SERIES: Teams of amateur skiers and snowboarders test their skills and speed at one of 10 downhill bouts. Killington Resort, 10 a.m.-2 p.m. $60; $250 per team. Info, events@killington.com.

RALLY AGAINST CANCER: UVM’s hockey and basketball teams play to raise funds for the Cancer Center. Fans are encouraged to wear lavender. University of Vermont, Burlington, 7 p.m. $5. Info, 656-4410.

talks

helps community members welcome spring and embrace new beginnings. South Burlington Public Library & City Hall, 2-4 p.m. Free. Info, 777-4414.

fairs & festivals

RUTLAND WINTER FEST 2023: See WED.22, 9 a.m.-8 p.m.

film

See what’s playing at local theaters in the On Screen section.

‘AMAZON ADVENTURE 3D’: See WED.22.

‘BACKLASH: MISOGYNY IN THE DIGITAL AGE’: A powerful documentary highlights the stories of five people, including former Vermont state representative Kiah Morris, whose lives were upended by online hate mobs reacting against the MeToo movement. Essex Cinemas & T-Rex Theater, Essex Junction, 7-8:30 p.m. $14.75. Info, 878-4200.

‘MYSTERIES OF THE UNSEEN WORLD 3D’: See WED.22. ‘SEA MONSTERS 3D’: See WED.22. ‘WATSON’: See WED.22.

‘WINGS OVER WATER 3D’: See WED.22.

LIFE STORIES WE LOVE

TO TELL: Prompts from group leader Maryellen Crangle inspire true tales, told either off the cuff or read from prewritten scripts. Presented by Dorothy Alling Memorial Library. 2-3:30 p.m. Free; preregister; limited space. Info, 878-4918.

ESSENTIALS OF CAMERA OPERATION: Aspiring photographers and cinematographers learn how to shoot like the pros. RETN & VCAM Media Factory, Burlington, 6-8 p.m. Free; donations accepted; preregister. Info, 651-9692.

‘MYSTERIES OF THE UNSEEN WORLD 3D’: Sparkling graphics take viewers on a mindbending journey into phenomena that are too slow, too fast or too small to be seen by the naked eye. Northfield Savings Bank 3D Theater: A National

LIST YOUR UPCOMING EVENT HERE FOR FREE!

All submissions must be received by Thursday at noon for consideration in the following Wednesday’s newspaper. Find our convenient form and guidelines at sevendaysvt.com/postevent

Listings and spotlights are written by Emily Hamilton Seven Days edits for space and style. Depending on cost and other factors, classes and workshops may be listed in either the calendar or the classes section. Class organizers may be asked to purchase a class listing.

Learn more about highlighted listings in the Magnificent 7 on page 11.

art

‘WHO IS DAYANI CRISTAL?’: The quest to identify a body found in the Arizona desert raises questions about the way the U.S. treats undocumented immigrants in this 2014 documentary. Catamount Arts Center, St. Johnsbury, 6 p.m. Free. Info, 748-2600.

‘WINGS OVER WATER 3D’: Sandhill cranes, yellow warblers and mallard ducks make their lives along rivers, lakes and wetlands. Northfield Savings Bank 3D Theater: A National Geographic Experience, ECHO Leahy Center for Lake Champlain, Burlington, 10:30 a.m., 12:30, 2:30 & 4:30 p.m. $3-5 plus regular admission, $14.50-18; admission free for members and kids 2 and under. Info, 864-1848.

FIND MORE LOCAL EVENTS IN THIS ISSUE AND ONLINE:

Find visual art exhibits and events in the Art section and at sevendaysvt.com/art.

film

See what’s playing at theaters in the On Screen section.

music + nightlife

Find club dates at local venues in the Music + Nightlife section online at sevendaysvt.com/music.

= ONLINE EVENT

ELL CLASSES: ENGLISH FOR BEGINNERS & INTERMEDIATE STUDENTS: Learners of all abilities practice written and spoken English with trained instructors. Presented by Fletcher Free Library. 6:30-8 p.m. Free; preregister. Info, bshatara@ burlingtonvt.gov.

IRISH LANGUAGE CLASS: Celticcurious students learn to speak an Ghaeilge in a supportive group. Fletcher Free Library, Burlington, 11 a.m.-1 p.m. Free. Info, 863-3403.

music

MUSIC OF ANOTHER WORLD: MUSIC IN THE CAMPS: This second in a series of presentations on the music made under the constraints of the Third Reich focuses on pieces composed by the Austrian inmates at the Terezin concentration camp. ADA accessible. South Burlington Public Library & City Hall, 1:15-2:30 p.m. Free. Info, 846-4140.

ZACH NUGENT UNCORKED: The sought-after guitarist plays a weekly loft show featuring live music, storytelling and special guests. Shelburne Vineyard, 6-9 p.m. Free. Info, 985-8222.

outdoors

NATURALIST JOURNEYS 2023:

KY AND LISA KOITZSCH: A Fayston couple describe their time studying wolves and moose in Isle Royale National Park. North Branch Nature Center, Montpelier, 6:30-8 p.m. Free; preregister. Info, 229-6206.

SMUGGS 55+ SKI CLUB: Seniors who love to ski, snowboard and snowshoe hit the slopes after coffee and pastries. Smugglers’ Notch Resort, Jeffersonville, 9 a.m.-noon. $30 for annual membership. Info, president@ smuggs55plus.com.

FARMERS NIGHT: THE ENIGMATIC AND CHARISMATIC ALEXANDER

TWILIGHT: Middlebury Historian Bill Hart and others celebrate the groundbreaking life of America’s first Black legislator. House Chamber, Vermont Statehouse, Montpelier, 7:30 p.m. Free. Info, 828-2228.

words

VIRTUAL POETRY OPEN

MIC: Wordsmiths read their work at an evening with local performance poet Bianca Amira Zanella. Presented by Phoenix Books. 7 p.m. Free; preregister. Info, 855-8078.

THU.23 business

TWO-PART BRANDING

WEBINAR: Jodi Lawaich of Rural Solutions teaches entrepreneurs four key aspects of getting their story out there. Presented by Champlain Valley Office of Economic Opportunity. 10 a.m.-noon. Free; preregister. Info, 860-1417, ext. 112.

crafts

KNIT FOR YOUR NEIGHBORS: Yarnsmiths create hats and scarves to be donated to the South Burlington Food Shelf. All supplies provided. ADA accessible. South Burlington Public Library & City Hall, 3-6 p.m. Free. Info, 846-4140.

KNITTING GROUP: Knitters of all experience levels get together to spin yarns. Latham Library, Thetford, 7 p.m. Free. Info, 785-4361.

dance

SACRED CIRCLE DANCE: A lesson in contemporary and traditional dances from around the world

music

CABOT FOLK CLUB: CRICKET BLUE: The folk duo brings an intimate, textured, melodic night of music to town. Willey Memorial Hall, Cabot, 7-9 p.m. $12. Info, 793-3016.

POP-UP OPERA: Swedish stars Lotte Ohlander and Laine Quist bring the glamour and Adventure Dinner brings the bar for an unforgettable night. Dress to impress. AO Glass, Burlington, 7-9 p.m. $25. Info, hello@aoglass.com.

SWEET BABY JAMES: James Taylor tribute artist Bill Griese conjures beloved songs such as “Fire & Rain” and “You’ve Got a Friend” using only his voice and a guitar. Paramount Theatre, Rutland, 7:30 p.m. $32. Info, 775-0903.

outdoors

HEINZ TREBITZ & MIKE DEBONIS: CANCELED. Two Green Mountain Club stalwarts compare and contrast their respective climbs of Denali in 1972 and 2019. Waterbury Public Library, 7-8 p.m. Free. Info, gmc@ greenmountainclub.org.

ZAC COTA: An expert birder teaches listeners about the wonderful woodpeckers of Vermont. Presented by Green Mountain Audubon Society. 6:30 p.m. Free; preregister. Info, gmas@ greenmountainaudubon.org.

politics

COLLABORATING PUBLIC SAFETY: Two members and the project manager of president Obama’s 2014 task force on public safety reform discuss the current state of policing. The Flynn, Burlington, 7 p.m. Free. Info, 863-5966.

FAMI LY FU N

Check out these family-friendly events for parents, caregivers and kids of all ages.

Plan ahead at sevendaysvt.com/family-fun

• Post your event at sevendaysvt.com/postevent.

WED.22 burlington

‘BUGSY MALONE’: Very Merry Theatre presents the hilarious story of a rivalry in a city populated only by kids. O.N.E. Community Center, Burlington, 6:30-8:30 p.m. Free. Info, carybenjaminportway@ gmail.com.

BABYTIME: Librarians bring out books, rhymes and songs specially selected for young ones. Pre-walkers and younger. Fletcher Free Library, Burlington, 11-11:30 a.m. Free. Info, 863-3403.

CRAFTERNOON: Crafts take over the Teen Space, from origami to stickers to fireworks in a jar. Ages 11 through 18. Fletcher Free Library, Burlington, 4-5 p.m. Free. Info, 540-2546.

POKÉDEX SCAVENGER HUNT:

Throughout the month of February, Pokémon catchers of all ages search for the creatures hiding throughout the library. Winners, announced in March, receive prizes. Fletcher Free Library, Burlington. Free. Info, 540-2546.

STEAM SPACE: Kids explore science, technology, engineering, art and math activities. Ages 5 through 11. Fletcher Free Library, Burlington, 5-6:30 p.m. Free. Info, 863-3403.

chittenden county

BABYTIME: Teeny-tiny library patrons enjoy a gentle, slow story time featuring songs, rhymes and lap play. South Burlington Public Library & City Hall, 10:30 a.m. Free. Info, 846-4140.

GET YOUR GAME ON: Countless board games are on the menu at this drop-in meetup for players in grades 6 through 12. Brownell Library, Essex Junction, 2:30-4 p.m. Free. Info, 878-6956.

LEGO BUILDERS: Elementary-age imagineers explore, create and participate in challenges. Ages 8 and up, or ages 6 and up with an adult helper. ADA accessible. South Burlington Public Library & City Hall, 3-4:30 p.m. Free. Info, 846-4140.

PLAY TIME: Little ones build with blocks and read together. Ages 1 through 4. Brownell Library, Essex Junction, 1010:45 a.m. Free. Info, 878-6956.

barre/montpelier

CHESS CLUB: Kids of all skill levels get one-on-one lessons and play each other in between. Ages 6 and up. KelloggHubbard Library, Montpelier, 3:30-5 p.m. Free. Info, 223-3338.

mad river valley/ waterbury

LEGO CHALLENGE CLUB: Kids engage in a fun-filled hour of building, then leave their creations on display in the library all month long. Ages 9 through 11. Waterbury Public Library, 3-4 p.m. Free; preregister. Info, 244-7036.

The Snow Must Go On

The presence or absence of snow on the ground won’t impact the fun at Vermont Institute of Natural Science’s Winter Wildlife Celebration, a daylong wonder-filled ode to winter and the local creatures that thrive in it. The whole family can hunt for fairies in the woods (wing-wearing is encouraged), get up close and personal with reindeer, look for birds from the canopy walk, watch as snow sculpture champions create frozen carvings, and learn how moose survive in the cold. The day wraps up with a raptor feeding session and a new appreciation of animals’ ability to adapt in all seasons.

WINTER WILDLIFE CELEBRATION

Saturday, February 25, 10 a.m.-4 p.m., at Vermont Institute of Natural Science in Quechee. Regular admission, $15-18; free for members and kids 3 and under. Info, 359-5000, vinsweb.org.

middlebury area

YOUTH ICE FISHING CLINIC: CANCELED. Tween anglers learn all about ice drilling, rods and jigs, winter safety, and fish identification. Grade 5 through 8. Lake Champlain Maritime Museum, Vergennes, 9 a.m.-3 p.m. Free; preregister. Info, 475-2022.

upper valley

PEABODY AFTERSCHOOL FUN FOR GRADES 1-4: Students make friends over crafts and story time. George Peabody Library, Post Mills, 3:30-4:30 p.m. Free. Info, 333-9724.

northeast kingdom

TWEEN BOOK CLUB: Book lovers ages 10 through 14 share their favorite recent reads at this monthly meeting. St. Johnsbury Athenaeum, 4-5 p.m. Free. Info, 745-1391.

THU.23

burlington

POKÉDEX SCAVENGER HUNT: See WED.22.

PRESCHOOL YOGA: Colleen from Grow Prenatal and Family Yoga leads little ones in songs, movement and other fun activities. Fletcher Free Library, Burlington, 11-11:30 a.m. Free. Info, 863-3403.

chittenden county

LEGO TIME: Builders in kindergarten through fourth grade enjoy an afternoon of imagination and play. Dorothy Alling Memorial Library, Williston, 3-4 p.m. Free. Info, 878-4918.

MIDDLE SCHOOL MAKERS: COOKING: Students in grades 5 through 8 make delicious homemade snacks. ADA

accessible. South Burlington Public Library & City Hall, 4-5:30 p.m. Free. Info, 846-4140.

PRESCHOOL MUSIC WITH LINDA

BASSICK: The singer and storyteller extraordinaire leads little ones in indoor music and movement. Birth through age 5. Dorothy Alling Memorial Library, Williston, 10:30-11 a.m. Free. Info, 878-4918.

PRESCHOOL PLAYTIME: Pre-K patrons play and socialize after music time. Dorothy Alling Memorial Library, Williston, 11-11:30 a.m. Free. Info, 878-4918.

PRESCHOOL STORY TIME: Books, songs, rhymes, sign language lessons and math activities make for well-educated youngsters. Brownell Library, Essex Junction, 10-10:30 a.m. Free. Info, 878-6956.

TEEN NIGHT: FOOD FOR THOUGHT: The Teen Advisory Board meets over pizza to brainstorm ideas for library programming. Dorothy Alling Memorial Library, Williston, 5-6 p.m. Free; preregister. Info, 878-4918.

barre/montpelier

FUSE BEAD CRAFTERNOONS: Youngsters make pictures out of colorful, meltable doodads. Ages 8 and up. Kellogg-Hubbard Library, Montpelier, 3:30-5 p.m. Free. Info, 223-3338.

PRESCHOOL STORY TIME: Energetic youngsters join Miss Meliss for stories, songs and lots of silliness. KelloggHubbard Library, Montpelier, 10:30 a.m. Free. Info, 223-3338.

stowe/smuggs

WEE ONES PLAY TIME: Caregivers bring kiddos 3 and younger to a new sensory learning experience each

week. Morristown Centennial Library, Morrisville, 10 a.m. Free. Info, 888-3853.

mad river valley/ waterbury

JUBAL HARP & SONG: Judi Byron plays folk ditties, rhymes, and counting and movement songs for babies, toddlers and preschoolers to sing and dance along to. Waterbury Public Library, 10:30 a.m. Free. Info, 244-7036.

PRESCHOOL PLAY & READ: Outdoor activities, stories and songs get 3- and 4-year-olds engaged. Waterbury Public Library, 10:30 a.m. Free. Info, 244-7036.

FRI.24 burlington

‘THE PIRATES OF PENZANCE’: Very Merry Theatre’s student thespians present the classic comedic musical set on the high seas. Teens and above. O.N.E. Community Center, Burlington, 6:30-8:30 p.m. Free. Info, carybenjaminportway@gmail.com.

POKÉDEX SCAVENGER HUNT: See WED.22.

chittenden county

DUNGEONS & DRAGONS: Imaginative players in grades 5 and up exercise their problem-solving skills in battles and adventures. Brownell Library, Essex Junction, 6-8 p.m. Free. Info, 878-6956.

VT READS COMIC WORKSHOP: Using The Most Costly Journey: Stories of Migrant Farmworkers in Vermont, Drawn by New England Cartoonists as an example, Marek Bennett shows older kids and teens how to draw their own comics.

LGBTQ VICTORY INSTITUTE

RECEPTION: Citizens celebrate Vermont’s record number of LGBTQ elected officials. Capitol Plaza Hotel & Conference Center, Montpelier, 5-6:30 p.m. Free; donations accepted; preregister. Info, marty.rouse@victoryfund. org.

THOUGHT CLUB: Artists and activists convene to engage with Burlington‘s rich tradition of radical thought and envision its future. Democracy Creative, Burlington, 6-7:30 p.m. Free. Info, tevan@democracycreative.com.

seminars

VIRTUAL ROUNDTABLE: COLLECTIONS DONATION

ISSUES: Museum workers discuss how to manage donated items over lunch. Presented by the Vermont Historical Society and the League of Local Historical Societies & Museums. Noon-1 p.m. Free; preregister. Info, 479-8500.

WHAT HAPPENS TO YOUR HOME IN A DIVORCE?: New England Federal Credit Union experts walk listeners through the process of dividing joint assets. Noon-1 p.m. Free; preregister. Info, 764-6940.

tech

TECH SKILLS: ORGANIZING

DIGITAL FILES: Technology for Tomorrow teaches students all about keeping their desktops, cloud accounts and online calendars organized. ADA accessible. Virtual option available. South Burlington Public Library & City Hall, 2-3:30 p.m. Free; preregister. Info, sbplprograms@ southburlingtonvt.gov.

words

DONALD YACOVONE: The Harvard University researcher discusses his book Teaching White Supremacy: America’s Democratic Ordeal and the Forging of Our National Identity. Presented by Rokeby Museum. 6:30-8:30 p.m. Free; preregister. Info, 877-3406.

EVENING BOOK GROUP: Readers discuss The Final Revival of Opal & Nev by Dawnie Walton in a relaxed round-robin. Virtual option available. ADA accessible. South Burlington Public Library & City Hall, 6-7 p.m. Free. Info, 846-4140.

NEK AUTHORS READING: Natalie Kinsey-Warnock and Chris Braithwaite read their favorite selections by Leland Kinsey, Loudon Young and Daisy Dopp. St. Johnsbury Athenaeum, 1-2 p.m. Free. Info, 748-8291.

FRI.24

climate crisis

EEE LECTURES: LESLEY-ANN L.

DUPIGNY-GIROUX: The Education & Enrichment for Everyone series begins with the geoscience professor’s address, “Climate Change and Climate Justice in Vermont.” Virtual option available. Faith United Methodist Church, South

Burlington, 2-3 p.m. Free. Info, info@eeevermont.org.

dance

THE DUKE ROBILLARD BAND: The veteran group gets audience members jumping and shuffling at a bluesy dance party. Next Stage Arts Project, Putney, 7:30 p.m. $22-25. Info, 387-0102.

ENGLISH COUNTRY DANCE: Locals get their Jane Austen on at a British ball where all the dances are run through beforehand. Wear casual, comfortable clothes. Newcomers’ lesson, 6:30 p.m. Elley-Long Music Center, Saint Michael’s College, Colchester, 7-9:30 p.m. $10-15; preregister. Info, val.medve@gmail.com.

‘THE WILDS’: Assistant professor Laurel Jenkins presents a new, reality-bending work in which dancers, wearing motion-capture suits, instantly transform their movement into music. Live stream available. Dance Theatre, Mahaney Arts Center, Middlebury College, 7:30-9:30 p.m. $5-25. Info, 443-6433.

fairs & festivals

RUTLAND WINTER FEST 2023: See WED.22, 9 a.m.-8 p.m.

film

See what’s playing at local theaters in the On Screen section.

‘AMAZON ADVENTURE 3D’: See WED.22.

‘MYSTERIES OF THE UNSEEN WORLD 3D’: See WED.22.

PUBLIC DOMAIN MOVIE NIGHT:

‘THE LAST MAN ON EARTH’: A plague has turned the dead into bloodsucking hordes in this 1964 postapocalyptic horror classic. RETN & VCAM Media Factory, Burlington, 7-9 p.m. Free; preregister; limited space. Info, 651-9692.

‘SEA MONSTERS 3D’: See WED.22.

‘WINGS OVER WATER 3D’: See WED.22.

health & fitness

ARTHRITIS FOUNDATION

EXERCISE PROGRAM: Those in need of an easy-on-the-joints workout experience an hour of calming, low-impact movement. Waterbury Public Library, 10:3011:30 a.m. Free; preregister. Info, 244-7036.

GUIDED MEDITATION

ONLINE: Dorothy Alling Memorial Library invites attendees to relax on their lunch breaks and reconnect with their bodies. Noon-12:30 p.m. Free; preregister. Info, programs@ damlvt.org.

language

SOCIAL HOUR: The Alliance

Française of the Lake Champlain Region hosts a rendez-vous over cocktails. Armory Grille and Bar, Burlington, 5:30-7 p.m. Free. Info, btvescargot@gmail.com.

music

ANNIE SUMI: The Canadian folk musician invites audiences into an ethereal, emotional soundscape. Chandler Center for the

Postlude to a Kiss

In Barn Opera’s adaptation of French composer Jules Massenet’s opera Werther — itself loosely based on a semi-autobiographical tragic love story by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe — aging Charlotte reminisces about her first love, the poet Werther. Artistic director Joshua Collier (pictured) created this streamlined production of the original opera using letters, flashbacks and Massenet’s passionate music to tell Charlotte’s tale of past romance.

‘THE LETTERS OF CHARLOTTE: AN ADAPTATION OF MASSENET’S WERTHER’

Friday, February 24, and Saturday, February 25, 7:30 p.m., at Barn Opera House Main Stage in Brandon. $50-55. Info, 772-5601, barnopera.com.

FOMO?

Find even more local events in this newspaper and online: art

Find visual art exhibits and events in the Art section and at sevendaysvt.com/art.

film

See what’s playing at theaters in the On Screen section.

music + nightlife

Find club dates at local venues in the Music + Nightlife section online at sevendaysvt.com/ music.

Learn more about highlighted listings in the Magnificent 7 on page 11.

= ONLINE EVENT

Arts, Randolph, 7-9:30 p.m. Pay what you can. Info, 728-9878.

THE MARSHALL TUCKER BAND: The veteran six-piece Southern rock outfit’s show draws from 50 years of legendary jams. Paramount Theatre, Rutland, 8 p.m. $39-59. Info, 775-0903.

outdoors

TORCHLIGHT SNOWSHOE:

Visitors trek around the flame-lit grounds, meeting park rangers and learning about local wildlife and history along the way. BYO headlamp or flashlight. Billings Farm & Museum, Woodstock, 4:30-6:30 p.m. $5-10; free for members and kids under 4. Info, info@billingsfarm.org.

theater

‘THE LETTERS OF CHARLOTTE’: A tragic love story unfolds through a series of letters and flashbacks in this Massenet adaptation. See calendar spotlight. Barn Opera,

marine conservationist. 6-7 p.m. Free; preregister. Info, 457-2911.

fairs & festivals

THE BLACK EXPERIENCE: A Black History Month blowout features panel discussions, a performance by dance troupe Philadanco and a keynote address by renowned activist Angela Davis. The Flynn, Burlington, 5 p.m. Free; donations accepted. Info, 863-5966.

HAM-CON: The annual Vermont Ham Radio Convention brings together New England’s electronic hobbyists for a day of forums, flea markets and beyond. Hampton Inn, Colchester, 8 a.m.-1 p.m. $10. Info, 879-6589.

RUTLAND WINTER FEST 2023: See WED.22, 9 a.m.-9 p.m.

film

See what’s playing at local theaters in the On Screen section. ‘AMAZON ADVENTURE 3D’: See WED.22.

‘MYSTERIES OF THE UNSEEN WORLD 3D’: See WED.22.

‘SEA MONSTERS 3D’: See WED.22.

‘THE SUMMER OF WALTER HACKS’: Faced with a tragedy, an 11-year-old boy must grow up fast in George Woodward and Gerianne Smart’s 1950s coming-of-age drama. Proceeds benefit the All Access Project. River Arts, Morrisville, 6:30 p.m. $7; cash or check. Info, joan@ hangingmudflapproductions.com.

‘WINGS OVER WATER 3D’: See WED.22.

food & drink

ETHIOPIAN & ERITREAN CUISINE

TAKEOUT: Foodies from the Old North End and beyond sample Mulu Tewelde’s spicy, savory, succulent meals. Vegetarian options available; bring your own bag. 20 Allen St., Burlington, 4 p.m. $23; preregister. Info, tewmlde@ yahoo.com.

Brandon, 7:30 p.m. $45-55. Info, 772 -5601.

SAT.25

dance

DJ SWING DANCE: All-star DJs back a night of dancing with sock hop bops. Bring clean shoes. Champlain Club, Burlington, beginners’ lesson, 7:30 p.m.; dance, 8-9:30 p.m. $5. Info, 864-8382.

GOTH SYNTH POST PUNK: DJ Velvet Vamp’s soundscapes make for a night at the museum to remember. Main Street Museum, White River Junction, 8 p.m. $10. Info, info@mainstreetmuseum.org.

‘THE WILDS’: See FRI.24.

environment

PAUL WATSON: Sustainable Woodstock presents a Q&A with the environmental activist and

FREE CHOCOLATE TASTING: A sommelier of sweet stuff leads drop-in guests through a new vegan treat collection. Lake Champlain Chocolates Factory Store & Café, Burlington, noon-4 p.m. Free. Info, 864-1808.

LOVE TREK: Foodies don their finest snowsuits and hike through the snowy woods, discovering four gourmet courses and drink pairings from Adventure Dinner along the way. Blueberry Hill Outdoor Center, Goshen, 11:30 a.m.-3 p.m. $169; preregister; limited space. Info, 248-224-7539.

TURKEY/SYRIAN EARTHQUAKE

RELIEF DINNER: Sales of Middle Eastern meals and desserts benefit supply shipments and medical support from Episcopal Relief. Takeout available. Good Shepherd Episcopal Church, Barre, 5-7:30 p.m. $20 suggested donation; preregister. Info, 595-9912.

games

CHESS CLUB: Players of all ages and abilities face off and learn new strategies. ADA accessible. South Burlington Public Library & City Hall, 11 a.m.-2 p.m. Free. Info, 846-4140.

REAL RUTLAND FEUD: Local businesses including Killington Resort and Rutland Regional Medical Center race to answer survey questions. Proceeds benefit the Chamber & Economic Development of the Rutland Region. Paramount Theatre, Rutland, 7 p.m. $30; preregister. Info, 775-0903.

music

ART + APRÈS: Birdcode provides a jazzy soundtrack to the Esperanza Cortés exhibit. The Current, Stowe, 3-5 p.m. $1020 suggested donation. Info, 253-8358.

BENEFIT FOR EARTHQUAKE

RELIEF: The Green Mountain Mahler Festival Orchestra and Chorus play Brahms’ “A German Requiem” to raise funds for Turkey and Syria. Chapel of Saint Michael the Archangel, Saint Michael’s College, Colchester, 7:30 p.m. Donations. Info, gmmf@vtmahler.org.

CARLTON LIVINGSTON: The reggae legend joins forces with fellow artist Prince Negasi and Montpelier band Satta Sound. Town Hall Theater, Middlebury, 7 p.m. $22. Info, 382-9222.

CONCERT SERIES: TROY

MILLETTE AND THE FIRE

BELOW: Heartfelt original country-rock songs carry through the air, courtesy of the Fairfax musician and his band. ADA accessible. South Burlington Public Library & City Hall, noon-1 p.m. Free. Info, 846-4140.

MICHAEL ARNOWITT: The pianist presents a program of imaginative works by the likes of Bach, Debussy and the contemporary Ukrainian composer Victoria Poleva. Waterbury Congregational Church, 3 & 7:30 p.m. $20-25. Info, 244-8354.

MONTPELIER COMMUNITY

GOSPEL CHOIR: New choir director Verdis LeVar Robinson makes his debut with a Black History Month program of uplifting numbers. Live stream available. Unitarian Church of Montpelier, 7-9 p.m. $10-40. Info, 222-0331.

outdoors

DAVID GOODMAN: The local skiing legend presents and signs his new book, Best Backcountry Skiing in the Northeast. REI, Williston, 5-6 a.m. Free; preregister; limited space. Info, 316-3120.

TREASURE THE LIBRARY: Skiers or snowshoers who donate to the Craftsbury Public Library gain access to private trails through a magical cedar swamp for a designated time slot. 400 Post Rd., Craftsbury, 9 a.m.-5 p.m. $10-25 suggested donation; preregister. Info, 586-9683.

WILDLIFE TRACKING CLUB: Naturalists teach trackers of all ages how to distinguish the snowy paw prints of coyotes, foxes, minks and more. North Branch Nature Center, Montpelier, 10-11:30 a.m. Free; donations accepted. Info, 229-6206.

politics

WHAT IS NONCITIZEN VOTING?: Marguerite Adelman of the League of Women Voters of Vermont answers questions about Burlington’s all-legalresident voting proposal. Kellogg-Hubbard Library, Montpelier, 10:30 a.m.-noon. Free. Info, league@lwvofvt.org.

sports

CURDS AND CURLING: Players sweep a wheel of cheese across the ice while spectators enjoy cheesy treats and gin drinks. Highland Center for the Arts, Greensboro, 11 a.m.-2 p.m. $10 per car. Info, 533-2000.

theater

‘THE LETTERS OF CHARLOTTE’: See FRI.24.

‘SUGAR ON TAP: A BURLESQUE SHOW’: Green Mountain Cabaret performers, alongside drag star Rhedd Rhumm and pole powerhouse Ruthless Retribution, deliver a sultry evening of sass and class. 18 and up. Black Box Theater, Main Street Landing Performing Arts Center, Burlington, 8-10 p.m. $20-25. Info, info@greenmountaincabaret. com.

words

FRIENDS BOOK SALE: Eager readers score new titles for their nightstands and help support library programs in the process. Fletcher Free Library, Burlington, 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Free. Info, 863-3403.

POETRY EXPERIENCE: Local wordsmith Rajnii Eddins hosts a supportive writing and sharing circle for poets of all ages. Fletcher Free Library, Burlington, 1-3 p.m. Free. Info, 863-3403.

SUN.26 film

See what’s playing at local theaters in the On Screen section.

‘AMAZON ADVENTURE 3D’: See WED.22.

‘THE CONFORMIST’: A man attempts to repress his memories of gay experiences and murder by joining Mussolini’s Fascist party in this 1970 Italian classic, accompanied by sommelierselected sips. Epsilon Spires, Brattleboro, 6-9 p.m. $5-25. Info, 401-261-6271.

‘MYSTERIES OF THE UNSEEN WORLD 3D’: See WED.22.

‘THE QUARRY PROJECT’: A 40-minute film captures last summer’s sold-out, site-specific dance theater performance at Wells Lamson quarry. Q&A follows. Grange Hall Cultural Center, Waterbury Center, 5-7 p.m. $5 suggested donation. Info, 371-7400.

‘SEA MONSTERS 3D’: See WED.22.

‘WINGS OVER WATER 3D’: See WED.22.

food & drink

LOVE TREK: See SAT.25.

WINTER FARMERS MARKET: Shoppers sip a local beer while browsing local bites at this wintertime hub for local growers, bakers and crafters. Four Quarters Brewing, Winooski, noon-3 p.m. Free. Info, 391-9120.

health & fitness

KARUNA COMMUNITY

MEDITATION: A YEAR TO LIVE

(FULLY): Participants practice keeping joy, generosity and gratitude at the forefront of their minds. Jenna’s House, Johnson, 10-11:15 a.m. Free; donations accepted. Info, mollyzapp@live. com.

montréal

L’HARMONIE DES SAISONS: The orchestra plays Bach’s cantatas on period instruments. Montréal Museum of Fine Arts, 2:30 p.m. $33-64. Info, 514-285-2000.

music

ANNIE SUMI: See FRI.24. Richmond Congregational Church, 4-6 p.m. $15-25. Info, 434-4563.

MONTPELIER COMMUNITY

GOSPEL CHOIR: See SAT.25, 4-6 p.m.

outdoors

TREASURE THE LIBRARY: See SAT.25, 9 a.m.-5 p.m.

sports

SNOW GOLF SKILLS

COMPETITION: CHIP, DRIVE & PUTT FOR PRESERVATION: Locals enjoy a few games of snow golf, the sport invented by Rudyard Kipling, on the author’s own estate. Scott Farm, Dummerston, 12:30-3 p.m. $25. Info, 579-1853.

STOWE DERBY: For the 78th year, skiers of all ages race from the peak of Mount Mansfield to Stowe. Mount Mansfield, Stowe, 8:30 a.m.-1 p.m. $35-135; preregister. Info, 253-7704.

theater

ALWAYS ON SUNDAY: THE RODGERS & HAMMERSTEIN LEGACY: Opera North directors Evans Haile and Louis Burkot talk to Ted Chapin of the Rodgers and Hammerstein Organization. 2 p.m. $20; preregister. Info, 603-448-4141.

CUTTING EDGE SERIES:

‘SOPHIA’: Middlebury Acting Company presents a staged reading of Claire Kiechel’s drama about Christianity’s ancient priestesses. Town Hall Theater, Middlebury, 4 p.m. $10 suggested donation. Info, 382-9222.

words

FELICIA KORNBLUH: The author of A Woman’s Life Is a Human Life: My Mother, Our Neighbor and the Journey From Reproductive Rights to Reproductive Justice speaks to Sen. Kesha Ram Hinsdale about

SUN.26 « P.71

the state of abortion rights. See calendar spotlight. Phoenix Books, Burlington, 2 p.m. $3; preregister. Info, 448-3350.

FRIENDS BOOK SALE: See SAT.25, noon-6 p.m.

OPEN MIC POETRY: Resident poet Bianca Amira Zanella welcomes writers and listeners of all stripes to an artful afternoon of readings. Phoenix Books, Rutland, 2 p.m. Free. Info, 855-8078.

MON.27

crafts

FIBER ARTS FREE-FOR-ALL: Makers make friends while working on their knitting, sewing, felting and beyond. Artistree Community Arts Center Theatre & Gallery, South Pomfret, 6-8 p.m. Free. Info, theknittinkittenvt@ gmail.com.

KNIT FOR YOUR NEIGHBORS: See THU.23.

dance

WEST AFRICAN DANCE CLASS: Live drummers soundtrack a fun, joyful lesson for all experience levels. Dance Theatre, Mahaney Arts Center, Middlebury College, 5-6:30 p.m. Free. Info, mabbatiello@ middlebury.edu. etc.

SMALL TALK ANTIDOTE // DIALOGIC CIRCLES: Life coach Maris Harmon facilitates biweekly virtual philosophical discussions designed around collective support. 6-7:30 p.m. $10; preregister. Info, maris. harmon@gmail.com.

film

See what’s playing at local theaters in the On Screen section.

‘AMAZON ADVENTURE 3D’: See WED.22.

‘MYSTERIES OF THE UNSEEN WORLD 3D’: See WED.22.

FOMO?

Find even more local events in this newspaper and online: art

Find visual art exhibits and events in the Art section and at sevendaysvt.com/art.

film

See what’s playing at theaters in the On Screen section.

music + nightlife

Find club dates at local venues in the Music + Nightlife section online at sevendaysvt.com/ music.

Learn more about highlighted listings in the Magnificent 7 on page 11.

= ONLINE EVENT

‘SEA MONSTERS 3D’: See WED.22. ‘WINGS OVER WATER 3D’: See WED.22.

health & fitness

ADVANCED TAI CHI: Experienced movers build strength, improve balance and reduce stress. Holley Hall, Bristol, 11 a.m.-noon. Free; donations accepted. Info, jerry@ skyrivertaichi.com.

LONG-FORM SUN 73: Beginners and experienced practitioners learn how tai chi can help with arthritis, mental clarity and range of motion. Holley Hall, Bristol, 11 a.m.-noon. Free; donations accepted. Info, wirlselizabeth@ gmail.com.

YANG 24: This simplified tai chi method is perfect for beginners looking to build strength and balance. Congregational Church of Middlebury, 3:30-5:30 p.m. Free; donations accepted. Info, wirlselizabeth@gmail.com.

language

ENGLISH CONVERSATION CIRCLE: Locals learning English as a second language gather in the Digital Lab to build vocabulary and make friends. ADA accessible. South Burlington Public Library & City Hall, noon-1 p.m. Free. Info, 846-4140.

lgbtq

NONBINARY SOCIAL GROUP: Genderqueer, agender, gender nonconforming and questioning Vermonters gather for a virtual tea time.

Presented by Pride Center of Vermont. 6:30-8 p.m. Free; preregister. Info, trans@ pridecentervt.org.

outdoors

TREASURE THE LIBRARY: See SAT.25, 9 a.m.-5 p.m.

politics

ADDISON COUNTY LEGISLATIVE BREAKFAST: Addison County Economic Development Corporation members and neighbors meet up with local lawmakers over bacon. American Legion Post 19, Bristol, 7 a.m. Cost of food and drink. Info, 388-7953.

LEGISLATIVE FORUM: State representatives discuss the upcoming session with their constituents. Virtual option available. ADA accessible. South Burlington Public Library & City Hall, 6:30-8 p.m. Free. Info, 846-4140.

talks

UNWITTINGLY HOMELESS: Brattleboro journalist Matthew Vernon Whalan talks to houseless Vermonter Colby Lynch about her experiences. Kellogg-Hubbard Library, Montpelier, 6:30 p.m. Free. Info, 223-3338.

theater

PLAYMAKERS: Playwrights develop new work in a collaborative setting. Fletcher Free Library, Burlington, 7:30 p.m. Free. Info, playmakersvt@gmail.com.

Fighting the Fight

Author and University of Vermont professor Felicia Kornbluh visits Phoenix Books in Burlington for a conversation about her new book, A Woman’s Life Is a Human Life: My Mother, Our Neighbor and the Journey From Reproductive Rights to Reproductive Justice. Kornbluh chronicles the activists, campaigns and movements that transformed access to reproductive rights against a backdrop of the current American landscape, where location increasingly determines access to reproductive health care. State Sen. Kesha Ram Hinsdale leads the discussion.

FELICIA KORNBLUH

Sunday, February 26, 2 p.m., at Phoenix Books in Burlington. $3. Info, 448-3350, phoenixbooks.biz.

words

ADDISON COUNTY WRITERS

COMPANY: Poets, playwrights, novelists and memoirists of every experience level meet weekly for an MFA-style workshop. Swift House Inn, Middlebury, 6-8 p.m. Free. Info, jay@zigzaglitmag.org.

GEORGE’S MYSTERY BOOK CLUB: Patrons discuss Agatha Christie’s And Then There Were None with resident whodunit expert George Spaulding. East Montpelier Room, Kellogg-Hubbard Library, Montpelier, 6-7 p.m. Free. Info, 223-3338.

MONDAY BOOK GROUP: A Long Petal of the Sea by Isabel Allende inspires a lively conversation. Jaquith Public Library, Marshfield, 7-8 p.m. Free. Info, 426-3581.

TUE.28

business

STAPLES MIXER: The Central Vermont Chamber of Commerce

hosts a networking get-together featuring refreshments and a raffle benefiting the Rainbow Bridge Community Center. Staples, Barre, 5-6:30 p.m. $10; free for members; preregister. Info, 229-5711.

cannabis

LINDA KLUMPERS: A cannabis pharmacologist lays out the realities of the plant, its medical benefits and its effects on the body. Presented by Osher Lifelong Learning Institute. 11 a.m.-noon. $10; preregister. Info, 656-5817.

community

CURRENT EVENTS

DISCUSSION GROUP: Brownell Library hosts a virtual roundtable for neighbors to pause and reflect on the news cycle. 10-11:30 a.m. Free. Info, 878-6955.

dance

SWING DANCING: Local Lindy hoppers and jitterbuggers

food & drink

GUEST CHEF DINNER: Chef Brendan Vesey serves up a skillful culinary experience featuring seafood several ways. Tipsy Trout, Stowe, 6:30-10 p.m. $150; preregister. Info, 760-4735.

language

FRENCH CONVERSATION GROUP: Francophones and Frenchlanguage learners meet pour parler la belle langue. Fletcher Free Library, Burlington, 5-6:30 p.m. Free. Info, 863-3403.

outdoors

ETHAN TAPPER: The Chittenden County forester explains how woodlands impact the environment, and how we can protect them. Faith United Methodist Church, South Burlington, 1 p.m. Free. Info, lconlong@comcast.net.

MAEVE KIM: Rutland County Audubon presents a fascinating look into bird names: what they mean, where they come from and why significant changes might be coming soon. 7-8:30 p.m. Free; preregister. Info, birding@ rutlandcountyaudubon.org.

TREASURE THE LIBRARY: See SAT.25, 9 a.m.-5 p.m.

politics

FEBRUARY BREAKFAST CLUB:

Washington County Senator Anne Watson discusses upcoming legislation proposals over a catered morning meal. Central Vermont Chamber of Commerce, Berlin, 8-9 a.m. $11; free for members; preregister. Info, 229-5711.

seminars

THE FAMILY FOREST CARBON PROGRAM

WEBINAR: Audubon Vermont teaches landowners about incentives to adopt climatefriendly foresting practices. 7-8 p.m. Free; preregister. Info, 434-3068.

convene at Vermont Swings’ weekly boogie-down. Bring clean shoes. Beginner lessons, 6:30 p.m. Champlain Club, Burlington, 7:30-9 p.m. $5. Info, 864-8382.

film

See what’s playing at local theaters in the On Screen section.

‘AMAZON ADVENTURE 3D’: See WED.22.

‘MYSTERIES OF THE UNSEEN WORLD 3D’: See WED.22.

‘SEA MONSTERS 3D’: See WED.22.

‘SHAFT’: Richard Roundtree stars as a Harlem private investigator hired to rescue a girl from the Italian mob in this 1971 action flick. Film House, Main Street Landing Performing Arts Center, Burlington, 7 p.m. Free. Info, mariah@mainstreetlanding.com.

‘WINGS OVER WATER 3D’: See WED.22.

REDUCING STRESS BY TAKING CONTROL OF YOUR FINANCES: Attendees learn how to manage their budgets and employ new, anxiety-reducing spending strategies. Presented by New England Federal Credit Union. Noon-12:45 p.m. Free; preregister. Info, 764-6940.

theater

‘THE BOOK OF MORMON’: SOLD OUT. In the latest Broadway tour to stop by the Queen City, two missionaries meet with more than they reckoned for during an attempt to convert a Ugandan village. The Flynn, Burlington, 7:30 p.m. $50-120. Info, 863-5966.

words

BROWN BAG BOOK CLUB: Readers digest Universe of Two by Stephen P. Kiernan over lunch. Dorothy Alling Memorial Library, Williston, 12:30-1:30 p.m. Free. Info, 878-4918.

POETRY GROUP: A supportive verse-writing workshop welcomes those who would like feedback on their work or who are just

happy to listen. ADA accessible. South Burlington Public Library & City Hall, 11 a.m.-noon. Free. Info, 846-4140.

VIRGINIA WOOLF BOOK

DISCUSSION: The Burlington Literature Group reads and analyzes the foundational author’s novels Mrs. Dalloway, To The Lighthouse and The Waves over nine weeks. 6:30-8 p.m. Free; preregister. Info, info@ nereadersandwriters.com.

WED.1 business

BRANDING 101 FOR

SMALL BUSINESS: Alyse

Schulte of Better World Creative explains how storytelling and

visuals can help you reach customers. Presented by Mercy Connections. Noon-1 p.m. Free; preregister. Info, 846-7081.

QUEEN CITY BUSINESS NETWORKING INTERNATIONAL

GROUP: See WED.22.

community

SPRING MENTOR TRAINING: Community members prepare to be matched with incarcerated and court-involved women in order to coach them in transitioning to life in Northwest Vermont and Chittenden County. Mercy Connections, Burlington, 5:307:30 p.m. Free; preregister. Info, 846-7164.

FAMI LY FU N

FRI.24 « P.69

Adults also welcome. Dorothy Alling Memorial Library, Williston, 4:30-5:30 p.m. Free; preregister. Info, 878-4918.

barre/montpelier

WINTER STORY TIME & PLAYGROUP:

Participants ages 6 and under hear stories, sing songs and eat tasty treats between outdoor activities. Jaquith Public Library, Marshfield, 10:30 a.m. Free. Info, 426-3581.

middlebury area

YOUTH ICE FISHING CLINIC: CANCELED. See WED.22.

upper valley

STORY TIME: Preschoolers take part in stories, songs and silliness. Latham Library, Thetford, 11 a.m. Free. Info, 785-4361.

northeast kingdom

ACORN CLUB STORY TIME: Kids 5 and under play, sing, hear stories and take home a fun activity. St. Johnsbury Athenaeum, 10-11 a.m. Free; preregister; limited space. Info, 745-1391.

SAT.25

burlington

‘THE PIRATES OF PENZANCE’: See FRI.24, 2-4 & 6:30-8:30 p.m.

FAMILY PLAYSHOP: Kids from birth through age 5 learn and play at this school readiness program. Fletcher Free Library, Burlington, 10-11:30 a.m. Free. Info, 863-3403.

POKÉDEX SCAVENGER HUNT: See WED.22.

SKATE YOUR WINTER BLUES AWAY: An all-ages ice party raises funds for Robin’s Nest Children’s Center. Admission includes skate rental and raffle ticket. Gordon H. Paquette Ice Arena, Burlington, 10 a.m.-noon. $10-30. Info, 864-8191.

chittenden county

SATURDAY STORIES: Kiddos start the weekend off right with stories and

film

See what’s playing at local theaters in the On Screen section.

‘AMAZON ADVENTURE 3D’: See WED.22.

‘MYSTERIES OF THE UNSEEN

WORLD 3D’: See WED.22.

‘SEA MONSTERS 3D’: See WED.22.

‘WINGS OVER WATER 3D’: See WED.22.

health & fitness

CHAIR YOGA: See WED.22.

language

ELL CLASSES: ENGLISH FOR BEGINNERS & INTERMEDIATE STUDENTS: See WED.22.

IRISH LANGUAGE CLASS: See WED.22.

songs. Ages 3 through 7. Brownell Library, Essex Junction, 10:30-11 a.m. Free. Info, 878-6956.

stowe/smuggs

MUSICAL STORY TIME: Song, dance and other tuneful activities supplement picture books for kids 2 through 5. Morristown Centennial Library, Morrisville, 11 a.m. Free. Info, 888-3853.

mad river valley/ waterbury

STARK MOUNTAIN STORYSKI: Skiers ages 3 through 10 follow the pages of Red Sled by Lita Judge through the glade. Mad River Glen, Waitsfield, 10:30 a.m.-2:30 p.m. Regular admission, $3999; preregister. Info, 583-3536.

rutland/killington

MINI SHRED MADNESS: Grom skiers and riders 13 years old and under have fun as they slide to victory. Pico Mountain, Killington, 10 a.m.-12:30 p.m. $20. Info, info@picomountain.com.

upper valley

WINTER WILDLIFE CELEBRATION: Sled dogs, reindeer, birds and even woodland fairies are out, about and ready to be discovered during a day of exploration. See calendar spotlight. Vermont Institute of Natural Science, Quechee, 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Regular admission, $15-18; free for members and kids 3 and under. Info, 359-5000.

northeast kingdom

SATURDAY CREATIVE FAMILIES

INITIATIVE: ‘TIME OUT’: The Rural Arts Collaborative leads artsy activities for creative kids ages 6 through 12 while parents socialize over tea and coffee on the second floor. Grass Roots Art and Community Effort, Hardwick, 10-11:30 a.m. Free. Info, info@ruralartsvt.org.

brattleboro/okemo valley

WINTER SUNSHINE SERIES: One-ofa-kind family puppet shows let the sunshine in at each of these weekly performances. Sandglass Theater, Putney, 11 a.m. & 2 p.m. $7.50-9; $30 for series pass. Info, info@sandglasstheater.org.

SPANISH CONVERSATION: Fluent and beginner speakers brush up on their español with a discussion led by a Spanish teacher. Presented by Dorothy Alling Memorial Library. 5-6 p.m. Free; preregister. Info, programs@damlvt.org.

lgbtq

THRIVE QTPOC MOVIE

NIGHT: Each month, Pride Center of Vermont virtually screens a movie centered on queer and trans people of color. 6:30 p.m. Free; preregister. Info, thrive@pridecentervt.org.

music

FARMERS NIGHT: KERUBO: Originally from Kenya, the Afrojazz artist captivates audience

SUN.26

burlington

CIRCUIT CIRCUS FESTIVAL: Hair-raising science shows, crowd-dazzling spectacles and hands-on activities spark the whole fam’s scientific curiosity. ECHO Leahy Center for Lake Champlain, Burlington, 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Regular admission, $14.50-18; free for members and kids 2 and under. Info, 864-1848.

POKÉDEX SCAVENGER HUNT: See WED.22.

MON.27

burlington

CIRCUIT CIRCUS FESTIVAL: See SUN.26, 10 a.m.-5 p.m.

POKÉDEX SCAVENGER HUNT: See WED.22.

POKÉMON PARTY: Fans celebrate the franchise’s 27th anniversary with crafts, art and refreshments. Ages 11 through 18. Fletcher Free Library, Burlington, 3:30-5:30 p.m. Free. Info, 863-3403. STORIES WITH SHANNON: Bookworms ages 2 through 5 enjoy fun-filled reading time. Fletcher Free Library, Burlington, 11-11:30 a.m. Free. Info, 863-3403.

barre/montpelier

TEEN WRITERS WORKSHOP: Prompts and discussions inspire teenage wordsmiths. Ages 14 through 18. Kellogg-Hubbard Library, Montpelier, 4-5 p.m. Free; preregister. Info, info@kellogghubbard.org.

WINTER BREAK CRAFT FESTIVAL: Over three days, crafty kids make cool creations from suncatchers to paper bag puppets. Kellogg-Hubbard Library, Montpelier, 10 a.m.-5:30 p.m. Free. Info, 223-3338.

northeast kingdom

ACORN CLUB STORY TIME: See FRI.24, 2-2:30 p.m.

DANCE PARTY MONDAYS: Little ones 5 and under get groovy together. Siblings welcome. St. Johnsbury Athenaeum, 10-10:30 a.m. Free. Info, 745-1391.

TUE.28

burlington

CIRCUIT CIRCUS FESTIVAL: See SUN.26, 10 a.m.-5 p.m.

members with her blend of blues, jazz and traditional African music. House Chamber, Vermont Statehouse, Montpelier, 7:30 p.m. Free. Info, 828-2228.

PAUL ASBELL: The veteran jazzman serenades concertgoers with his bluesy strains. Mahaney Arts Center, Middlebury College, 7-8:30 p.m. Free. Info, 443-5221.

outdoors

MARDI FULLER: RESCHEDULED. The first Black hiker to summit the N.H. 48 shares tales from her adventure. Presented by the Green Mountain Club. 7-8 p.m. Free; preregister. Info, gmc@greenmountainclub. org.

SMUGGS 55+ SKI CLUB: See WED.22.

LEGO ROBOTICS: Building and programming with the UVM STEM Ambassadors keep youngsters ages 8 through 14 engaged. Fletcher Free Library, Burlington, 5-6 p.m. Free. Info, 863-3403.

PIZZA & PAPERBACKS: Teen bibliophiles discuss their latest reads over a slice. Ages 11 through 18. Fletcher Free Library, Burlington, 5-6 p.m. Free. Info, 863-3403.

POKÉDEX SCAVENGER HUNT: See WED.22.

SING-ALONG WITH LINDA BASSICK: Babies, toddlers and preschoolers sing, dance and wiggle along with Linda. Fletcher Free Library, Burlington, 11-11:30 a.m. Free. Info, 863-3403.

chittenden county

CRAFTYTOWN!: From painting and printmaking to collage and sculpture, creative kids explore different projects and mediums. Ages 8 and up, or ages 6 and up with an adult helper. ADA accessible. South Burlington Public Library & City Hall, 3-4:30 p.m. Free. Info, 846-4140.

PLAYGROUP & FAMILY SUPPORT: Families with children under age 5 play and connect with others in the community. Winooski Memorial Library, 10-11 a.m. Free. Info, 655-6424.

PRESCHOOL STORY TIME: Little ones enjoy a cozy session of reading, rhyming and singing. Birth through age 5. Dorothy Alling Memorial Library, Williston, 10:30-11 a.m. Free. Info, 878-4918.

TODDLERTIME: Kids ages 1 through 3 and their caregivers join Miss Alyssa for a lively session of stories, singing and wiggling. South Burlington Public Library & City Hall, 9:15 & 10:30 a.m. Free. Info, 846-4140.

barre/montpelier

PRESCHOOL STORY TIME: See THU.23.

WINTER BREAK CRAFT FESTIVAL: See MON.27, 10 a.m.-5:30 p.m.

mad river valley/ waterbury

ISSUES AND IDENTITIES BOOK GROUP: Using current and past Golden Dome Award nominees, readers ages 9 through 12 discuss social issues like race, gender and disability. Waterbury Public Library, 3:45-5 p.m. Free; preregister. Info, 244-7036.

TREASURE THE LIBRARY: See SAT.25, 9 a.m.-5 p.m.

sports

GREEN MOUNTAIN TABLE TENNIS CLUB: See WED.22. MICHELOB ULTRA SKI BUM RACE SERIES: See WED.22. talks

MARY LOU RECOR: An adventurer shares images and insights from her solo bike trip from Vancouver to Halifax. ADA accessible. South Burlington Public Library & City Hall, 5:30-7 p.m. Free. Info, 846-4140.

theater

‘THE BOOK OF MORMON’: See TUE.28.

STEM BUILDING CHALLENGE: Little scientists spend their school break building things out of cardboard, Legos and other tools. Ages 6 and up. Waterbury Public Library, 3-4:30 p.m. Free. Info, 244-7036.

northeast kingdom

‘ENCANTO’: The only nonmagical sister of a big, fantastical family must figure out how to save her home in this blockbuster Disney flick. Catamount Arts Center, St. Johnsbury, 1:30 p.m. Free. Info, 748-2600.

HOMESCHOOL BOOK CLUB: Learners ages 6 through 10 hear and discuss Lola Out Loud by Jennifer Torres and Dolores Huerta by Sarah Warren. St. Johnsbury Athenaeum, 1:30-2:30 p.m. Free. Info, 745-1391.

WED.1 burlington

BABYTIME: See WED.22.

CIRCUIT CIRCUS FESTIVAL: See SUN.26, 10 a.m.-5 p.m.

CRAFTERNOON: See WED.22.

STEAM SPACE: See WED.22.

chittenden county

BABYTIME: See WED.22.

CRAFTERNOON: TREASURE BOXES: Little artists bedazzle and decorate little chests to keep their precious items in. Brownell Library, Essex Junction, 2:303:30 p.m. Free. Info, 878-6956.

CRAFTYTOWN!: See TUE.28.

LEGO BUILDERS: See WED.22.

PLAY TIME: See WED.22.

barre/montpelier

CHESS CLUB: See WED.22.

WINTER BREAK CRAFT FESTIVAL: See MON.27, 10 a.m.-5:30 p.m. mad river valley/ waterbury

QUEER READS: LGBTQIA+ and allied youth get together each month to read and discuss ideas around gender, sexuality and identity. Waterbury Public Library, 6-7 p.m. Free; preregister. Info, 244-7036.

upper valley

PEABODY AFTERSCHOOL FUN FOR GRADES 1-4: See WED.22. K

THE FOLLOWING CLASS LISTINGS ARE PAID ADVERTISEMENTS. ANNOUNCE YOUR CLASS FOR AS LITTLE AS $16.75/WEEK (INCLUDES SIX PHOTOS AND UNLIMITED DESCRIPTION ONLINE). SUBMIT YOUR CLASS AD AT SEVENDAYSVT.COM/POSTCLASS.

art

DAVIS STUDIO ART CLASSES:

Discover your happy place in one of our weekly classes. Making art boosts emotional well-being and brings joy to your life, especially when you connect with other art enthusiasts. Select the ongoing program that’s right for you. Now enrolling youths and adults for classes in drawing, painting and fused glass. Location: Davis Studio, 916 Shelburne Rd., S. Burlington.

Info: 425-2700, davisstudiovt.com.

LIFE DRAWING: Two-hour drawing class with a clothed model. Instruction is self-led. We focus on shorter poses ranging from one to 20 minutes. Super fun, very casual. Beginners encouraged to join. Every Tue., 6-8 p.m. Cost: $10/2-hour class. Location: Karma Birdhouse Gallery, 47 Maple St., Burlington. Info: Kirsten Hurley, 503-8773, kirsten.hurley@gmail. com, kirstenhurley.com.

business

HIGH-PERFORMANCE BUILDING

COURSE: e Sustainable Energy Outreach Network (SEON) will deliver its acclaimed course Basics of High-Performance Building, taught by Chris West, one of Vermont’s thought leaders on high-performance building. is is a foundation course on the science of how a building performs. For years our builders have worked hard to follow best practices and energy code requirements in new construction and renovation, but they were all too rarely exposed to the science of how a building performs. Building Science is now considered essential learning in

language

SPANISH CLASSES FOR ALL

workforce development in the residential building industry. Mar. 8 & 15, 3:45-7:45 p.m. Location: Center for Technology Essex, 2 Educational Dr., Essex. Info: Guy Payne, 376-9262, guy@ buildingscience.org, buildingscience.org/building-sciencewinter-spring-2023- classschedule.

AGES: Premier native-speaking Spanish professor Maigualida Rak is giving fun, interactive online lessons to improve comprehension and pronunciation and to achieve fluency. Audiovisual material is used. “I feel proud to say that my students have significantly improved their Spanish with my teaching approach.” —Maigualida Rak. Info: 881-0931, spanishtutor.vtfla@gmail.com, facebook.com/spanishonlinevt.

martial arts

AIKIDO: THE POWER OF HARMONY: Discover the dynamic, flowing martial art of aikido. Learn how to relax under pressure and cultivate core power, aerobic fitness and resiliency. Aikido techniques emphasize throws, pinning techniques and the growth of internal power. e circular movements emphasize blending rather than blocking.

Visitors should watch a class before joining. Beginners’ classes 5 days/week.

Membership rates incl. unlimited classes. Contact us for info about membership rates for adults, youths & families. Location: Aikido of Champlain Valley, 257 Pine St., Burlington. Info: Benjamin Pincus, 951-8900, bpincus@ burlingtonaikido.org, burlingtonaikido.org.

GMMAC INCLUSIVE

craft

CHAIR MAKING, SPOONS, BASKETS!: Learn the fundamentals of Windsor or ladder-back chair making in a weeklong workshop! A variety of workshops are on the schedule from Mar. to Oct., many featuring guest instructors coming in to teach related skills such as spoon carving and basket weaving. Open to all skill levels. All tools & materials provided. Location: Chairmaker’s Workshop, Charlotte. Info: Eric Cannizzaro, 360-5281952, ericcannizzaro.com.

VERMONT BRAZILIAN JIU-JITSU: We offer a legitimate Brazilian jiu-jitsu training program for men, women and children in a friendly, safe and positive environment. Julio Cesar “Foca” Fernandez Nunes; CBJJP and IBJJF seventh-degree Carlson Gracie Sr. Coral Belt-certified instructor; teaching in Vermont, born and raised in Copacabana, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil! A two-time world masters champion, fivetime Brazilian jiu-jitsu national champion, three-time Rio de Janeiro state champion and Gracie Challenge champion. Accept no limitations! 1st class is free. Location: Vermont Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, 55 Leroy Rd., Williston. Info: 598-2839, julio@bjjusa.com, vermontbjj.com.

music

DJEMBE & TAIKO DRUMMING: JOIN US!: New classes (outdoors mask optional/masks indoors).

Taiko Tue. and Wed.; Djembe Wed.; Kids & Parents Tue. and Wed. Conga classes by request! Schedule/register online.

Location: Taiko Space, 208 Flynn Ave., Suite 3G, Burlington. Info: 999-4255, spaton55@gmail.com, burlingtontaiko.org.

photography

SUMMER PRINTMAKING

WORKSHOPS: Summer workshops cover a wide range of techniques, including platinum print, photopolymer photogravure, carbon inkjet, hybrid digital analog techniques and digital negative. Workshops at Cone Editions Press in Topsham offer an excellent opportunity to learn proven workflow in a fully equipped analog/ digital printmaking studio. You will be printing a lot. Mon.- u., noon-5 p.m. Cost: $1,750/4 days of hands-on training. Location: 17 Powder Spring Rd., Topsham. Info: Jon Cone, 439-5751, jcone@cone-editions.com, cone-editions.com/event.

well-being

Cost: $2,895/200-hour program. Location: e Ayurvedic Center of Vermont, 34 Oak Hill Rd., Williston. Info: Allison Morse, 8728898, info@ayurvedavermont. com, ayurvedavermont.com.

MARTIAL ARTS: Green Mountain Martial Arts Collaborative offers martial arts that will strengthen your body and your mind. We foster a collaborative community for a diverse range of individuals. Our practices include Muay ai, Brazilian jiu jitsu, Filipino and ai combat arts. First class is always free! Membership, drop-in or private training available. See our website for rates. Location: Green Mountain Martial Arts Collaborative, 274 N. Winooski Ave. #3, Burlington. Info: 3168896, info@green mountainmartialarts.com, greenmountainmartialarts.com.

WOMEN’S TRANSFORMATIVE RETREAT: is transformational retreat is for women seeking personal growth, inspiration and a stronger connection with their spirit. You will be led through group healings and various workshops for empowering the soul, elevating the mind-bodyspirit connection and creating the changes you are looking for in your life. Apr. 27, 4 -Apr. 30, 11 a.m. Cost: $933/4-day retreat incl. meals. Accommodations avail. through separate group rate. Location: Windjammer Inn & Conference Center, 1076 Williston Rd., S. Burlington. Info: Cheryl Banfield, 207-216-9584, info@ lovelightilluminations.com, lovelightilluminations. com.

yoga

AYURVEDIC INTEGRATION

PROGRAM: Learn to integrate Ayurveda as lifestyle medicine that can prevent or reverse chronic disease; increase energy; reduce stress, anxiety, and depression; and promote longevity. Specialized seasonal and daily Ayurvedic routines, holistic nutrition, stress-reduction techniques, and self-care will be taught. Sat. & Sun. 9 a.m.-4 p.m. 2023: Oct. 14-15, Nov. 4-5, Dec. 2-3; 2024: Jan. 6-7, Feb. 3-4, Mar. 9-10, Apr. 6-7, May 4-5, Jun. 8-9, Jul. 13-14.

POSTPARTUM DOULA TRAINING: Serve women and families in your community during a time of huge transition and growth by becoming an Ayurveda postpartum doula. You will learn about pregnancy, birth and postpartum through the lens and language of Ayurveda, while receiving training in traditional postpartum care practices, balanced with practical understanding for modern women. Apr. 3-7, 9 a.m.-3:30 p.m. Cost: $995/weeklong workshop w/ VSAC grants avail. Location: e Ayurvedic Center of Vermont, 34 Oak Hill Rd., Williston. Info: Allison Morse, 872-8898, info@ayurvedavermont.com, ayurvedavermont.com.

Jack

AGE/SEX: 7-year-old neutered male

ARRIVAL DATE: February 6, 2022

SUMMARY: Jack came to HSCC when his owner lost their housing. You may recognize this sweet guy from our social media, as we posted in hopes of finding him a home prior to coming to the shelter. He has been a wonderful companion to his person for most of his life, and he’s a pretty low-key fella looking for a house to hang in and people to take him on short walks. He’ll be your buddy for morning coffee, watching the news and just hanging out. Jack’s a tripod pup, and he loves hanging out on a deck or in the yard surveying the squirrels. Come meet Jack at HSCC and see if he could be your new best friend!

CATS/DOGS/KIDS: Jack will do best as the only pet in his new home. He is looking for a home without kids, or with older children who can give him space when he needs it.

Visit the Humane Society of Chittenden County at 142 Kindness Court, South Burlington, Tuesday through Friday from 1 to 5 p.m. or Saturday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Call 862-0135 or visit hsccvt.org for more info.

DID YOU KNOW?

February is Spay and Neuter Awareness Month! Spaying and neutering isn’t just important to preventing litters of homeless pets — it’s also critical to keeping pets happy and healthy! Looking for an affordable option to spay or neuter your cat or dog? Check out HSCC’s Community Pet Clinic at hsccvt.org/community-pet-clinic

Sponsored by:

Humane Society of Chittenden County

CLASSIFIEDS

DONATE YOUR CAR FOR KIDS

on the road

BICYCLES

2022 MINI COOPER COUNTRYMAN

Loaded, 5K miles. Warranty transferable. Leather, pearl gray, excellent condition. $41,000. Contact Sandra, 802-660-9843.

BOATS

LOWRANCE HDS-16

LIVE FISH FINDER

e fi sh fi nder is original & brand-new. $1,800. Info, gabipaulo366@ gmail.com

CARS/TRUCKS

2019 VW ALLTRACK

AWD, blue, manual transmission. 52K miles.

Very good condition. In Rutland. $26,500/OBO. Info, 802-558-3245.

Fast, free pickup. Running or not. 24-hour response. Maximum tax donation. Help fi nd missing kids! Call 877-266-0681. (AAN CAN)

housing ads: $25 (25 words) legals: 52¢/word buy this stuff: free online

services: $12 (25 words) fsbos: $45 (2 weeks, 30 words, photo) jobs: michelle@sevendaysvt.com, 865-1020 x121

print deadline: Mondays at 3:30 p.m. post ads online 24/7 at: sevendaysvt.com/classifieds questions? classifieds@sevendaysvt.com 865-1020 x115

Room for rent, private BA. In Essex Jct. on bus line, 3 miles from hospital. $1,000/mo. Contact homebase130@ gmail.com.

HOUSEMATES

HOMESHARE WALKABLE TO UVM

Share a Burlington home w/ intellectual 90-year-old who enjoys poetry & BBC. No rent (small

CLASSIFIEDS KEY

appt. appointment

apt. apartment

BA bathroom

BR bedroom

DR dining room

DW dishwasher

HDWD hardwood

HW hot water

LR living room

NS no smoking

OBO or best offer

refs. references

sec. dep. security deposit

W/D washer & dryer

utility contribution) in exchange for providing meal prep 3-4 times/ week & light help around the house. Private BA. No pets. Info, 863-5625 or homesharevermont. org. Application, interview, refs., background check req. EHO.

MONTPELIER HOMESHARE OPPORTUNITY!

Professional couple interested in social justice, animals & gardening seeking COVID-19-cautious housemate. $550/ mo. Lending a hand on snow removal would be a plus! Private BA. Must be cat-friendly. Info, 863-5625 or homesharevermont.org. Application, interview, refs., background check req. EHO.

MUST LOVE SPORTS IN SOBU

Share a condo near Kennedy Dr. in S. Burlington w/ avid sports fan in his 30s who enjoys CNN, video gaming & the outdoors. $650/mo. all incl. + cooking 1 meal/week & fl exible companionship. Private BA. Info, 802-863-5625 or homesharevermont. org for application. Interview, refs., background check req. EHO.

SHARE HOME, PLAY PING-PONG

Mountain views to enjoy in this rural Shelburne home shared w/ active senior who loves PingPong & the arts. $400/ mo. + cooking 3 times/ week, giving reminders & sharing conversation. Private BA. Familiarity w/ memory loss is a plus. Info, 802-863-5625, homesharevermont.org for application. Interview, refs., background check req. EHO.

OFFICE/ COMMERCIAL

OFFICE IN THE SOUTH END

Amazing space in Burlington arts district. Separate offi ce in a suite w/ shared reception area, kitchenette & Wi-Fi. $700/mo. Info: hello@essentialcarechiropractic.com or 802-540-1143.

OFFICE/RETAIL SPACE AT MAIN STREET LANDING on Burlington’s waterfront. Beautiful, healthy, affordable spaces for your business. Visit mainstreetlanding.com & click on space avail. Melinda, 864-7999.

ser vices

EDUCATION

BILLING TRAINING FROM HOME

Career training: medical billing. CTI Career Training allows students to earn a degree from home & be ready to work in mos. Call 866-2435931. (AAN CAN)

COMPUTER CAREER TRAINING

Career training: computer IT. CTI Career Training allows students to earn a degree from home & be ready to work in mos. Call 888-2811442. (AAN CAN)

HEALTH/ WELLNESS

ADULTS W/ SCHIZOPHRENIA

years’ experience. Also energy healing, chakra balancing, Reiki, rebirthing, other lives, classes & more. 802-899-3542, kelman.b@juno.com.

HOME/GARDEN

BATH & SHOWER UPDATES

In as little as 1 day! Affordable prices. No payments for 18 mos. Lifetime warranty & professional installs. Senior & military discounts avail. Call 1-866-370-2939. (AAN CAN)

BEAUTIFY YOUR HOME

Get energy-effi cient windows. ey will increase your home’s value & decrease your energy bills. Replace all or a few! Call 844-3352217 now to get your free, no-obligation quote. (AAN CAN)

BUY A PORTABLE BUILDING

Buy your portable building direct from the manufacturer. Custom storage buildings to cabins to greenhouses. 10x16’ storage building is $4,646. Call Adirondack Backyards for more information, 518-481-4195.

COVERED HOME REPAIRS

Don’t pay for covered home repairs again!

American Residential Warranty covers all major systems & appliances. 30-day risk-free/$100 off popular plans. Call 855-731-4403. (AAN CAN)

GUTTER GUARD INSTALLATIONS

buy this stuff

APPLIANCES/ TOOLS/PARTS

BCI WALK-IN TUBS

BCI walk-in tubs are now on sale. Be 1 of the 1st 50 callers & save $1,500. Call 844-514-0123 for a free in-home consultation.

MISCELLANEOUS

DISH TV $64.99

$64.99 for 190 channels + $14.95 high-speed internet. Free installation, Smart HD DVR incl., free voice remote. Some restrictions apply.

1-866-566-1815. (AAN CAN)

MALE ENHANCEMENT

PILLS

Bundled network of Viagra, Cialis & Levitra alternative products for a 50-pills-for-$99 promotion. Call 888531-1192. (AAN CAN)

SPECTRUM INTERNET AS LOW AS $29.99

Call to see if you qualify for ACP & free internet. No credit check. Call now! 833-955-0905. (AAN CAN)

SWITCH TO DIRECTV

By switching to DIRECTV, you can receive a $100 Visa gift card! Get more channels for less money. Restrictions apply. Call now! 877-693-0625. (AAN CAN)

WANT TO BUY

Public Auto Auction

Bid Online or In Person

Saturday, February 25 @ 9AM

298 James Brown Dr., Williston, VT

MEN’S WATCHES WANTED

Men’s sport watches wanted. Rolex, Breitling, Omega, Patek Philippe, Here, Daytona, GMT, Submariner & Speedmaster. Paying cash for qualifi ed watches. Call 888-3201052. (AAN CAN)

WE’LL BUY YOUR CAR

Cash for cars. We buy all cars. Junk, high-end, totaled: It doesn’t matter! Get free towing & same-day cash. Newer models, too. 1-866-5359689. (AAN CAN)

Comm. Restaurant Equip.

Online Lots Closing

Thurs., Mar. 2 @ 10AM

60 Battery St., Burlington, VT

Preview: Mon., Feb. 27, 11AM-1PM

PETS

8-WEEK-OLD PUPPY

EQUAL HOUSING OPPORTUNITY

All real estate advertising in this newspaper is subject to the Federal Fair Housing Act of 1968 and similar Vermont statutes which make it illegal to advertise any preference, limitations, or discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, national origin, sexual orientation, age, marital status, handicap, presence of minor children in the family or receipt of public assistance, or an intention to make any such preference, limitation or a discrimination. The newspaper will not knowingly accept any advertising for real estate, which is in violation of the law. Our

readers are hereby informed that all dwellings advertised in this newspaper are available on an equal opportunity basis. Any home seeker who feels he or she has encountered discrimination should contact:

HUD Office of Fair Housing 10 Causeway St., Boston, MA 02222-1092

(617) 565-5309

— OR —

Vermont Human Rights Commission 14-16 Baldwin St. Montpelier, VT 05633-0633

1-800-416-2010 hrc@vermont.gov

If you or someone you love have schizophrenia & it’s disrupting daily life, you may be interested in the clinical research study being conducted at Green Mountain Research Institute. Info: (802) 855-8368 or greenmoutainresearch.org.

CASH FOR CANCER PATIENTS

Diagnosed w/ lung cancer? You may qualify for a substantial cash award, even w/ smoking history. Call 1-888-3760595. (AAN CAN)

PSYCHIC COUNSELING

Psychic counseling, channeling w/ Bernice Kelman, Underhill. 40+

Gutter guards & replacement gutters. Never clean your gutters again! Affordable, professionally installed gutter guards protect your gutters & home from debris & leaves forever. For a quote, call 844-499-0277. (AAN CAN)

INTERIOR PAINTING SERVICE

South Burlington-based painter seeking interior projects. Quality work, insured w/ solid refs. On the web at vtpaintingcompany.com or call Tim at 802-373-7223.

MOVING/HAULING

LONG-DISTANCE MOVING

Licensed & insured, full-service nationwide movers. Call now to get a free, instant price quote on your next move: 1-866-590-6549. (AAN CAN)

Restaurant Equip. & Tools, Williston, VT

Online - Mon., Feb. 27 @ 10AM

Art, Antiques & More, Williston, VT

Online - Mon., Feb. 28 @ 10AM

Woodworking Equip., Williston, VT

Online - Wed., Mar. 1 @ 10AM

Comm. Rest. Equip., Williston, VT

Online - Thurs., Mar. 2 @ 10AM

Foreclosure: Barre Ranch, Barre, VT

Thurs., Mar. 2 @ 11AM

Vespa & Antiques, Burlington, VT

Online - Mon., Mar. 6 @ 10AM

THCAuction.com  800-634-SOLD

Father is a AKC registered full-blooded Black Labrador retriever, mom is a AKC registered full-blooded golden retriever. Text 802-8578780 for info.

music

INSTRUCTION

GUITAR INSTRUCTION

Berklee graduate w/30 years’ teaching experience offers lessons in guitar, music theory, music technology, ear training. Individualized, step-by-step approach. All ages, styles, levels. Rick Belford, 864-7195, rickbelford.com.

÷ ÷ ÷

5

93 7 462

7 5 4 21 1 98 3 4 2 85 3 8 96

WANT MORE PUZZLES?

these online news games from

Days at sevendaysvt.com/games.

Put

CALCOKU BY JOSH REYNOLDS

DIFFICULTY THIS WEEK: ★★★

SUDOKU BY JOSH REYNOLDS

DIFFICULTY THIS WEEK: ★★★

Place a number in the empty boxes in such a way that each row across, each column down and each 9-box square contains all of the numbers one to nine. e same numbers cannot be repeated in a row or column.

ANSWERS ON P.78

★ = MODERATE ★ ★ = CHALLENGING ★ ★ ★ = HOO, BOY!

today’s

Legal Notices

AUCTION – MOBILE HOME

Sale Date & Location: Tuesday, 2/28/23 at 11:00

a.m. – Pinecrest Mobile Home Park, Lot #51, 15 First Street in Morrisville, VT.

For more info. call (802) 860-9536.

1979 Skyline, 14’ x 70’, Min. bid $9,817.70 Must be moved 5 days after sale.

Auctioneer: Uriah Wallace – Lic. #057-0002460

CITY OF BURLINGTON IN THE YEAR TWO THOUSAND TWENTY-THREE A REGULATION IN RELATION TO RULES AND REGULATIONS OF THE TRAFFIC COMMISSION— SECTION 15 DESIGNATED SCHOOL ZONES.

Sponsor(s): Department of Public Works

Action: Approved

Date: 2/15/2023

Attestation of Adoption:

Phillip Peterson, PE

Public Works Engineer, Technical Services

Published: 02/22/23

Effective: 03/15/23

It is hereby Ordained by the Public Works Commission of the City of Burlington as follows:

That Appendix C, Rule and Regulations of the Traffic Commission, Section 15, Designated school zones, of the Code of Ordinances of the City of Burlington is hereby amended as follows:

Section 15 Designated school zones.

The following streets are hereby designated as school zones. No person shall operate a vehicle at a rate of speed greater than twenty-five (25) miles per hour on the following streets:

(1)-(25) As written.

(26) Cherry Street beginning at Battery Street and extending east to Saint Paul Church Street.

(27)-(28) As written.

** Material stricken out deleted.

*** Material underlined added.

TD: BCO Appx.C, Section 15

2/15/23

PUZZLE ANSWERS

PLACE AN AFFORDABLE NOTICE AT: SEVENDAYSVT.COM/LEGAL-NOTICES OR CALL 802-865-1020, EXT. 142.

CITY OF BURLINGTON IN THE YEAR TWO THOUSAND TWENTY-THREE A REGULATION IN RELATION TO RULES AND REGULATIONS OF THE TRAFFIC COMMISSION— SECTION 17 DESIGNATION OF PARKING METER ZONES.

Sponsor(s): Department of Public Works

Action: Approved

Date: 2/15/2023

Attestation of Adoption: Phillip Peterson, PE

Public Works Engineer, Technical Services

Published: 02/22/23

Effective: 03/15/23

It is hereby Ordained by the Public Works Commission of the City of Burlington as follows:

That Appendix C, Rule and Regulations of the Traffic Commission, Section 17, Designation of parking meter zones, of the Code of Ordinances of the City of Burlington is hereby amended as follows:

Section 17 Designation of parking meter zones.

(a) As written.

(b) Thirty (30) minute zones. The following streets or portions of streets are hereby designated as thirty (30) minute parking meter zones:

(1)-(27) As written

(28) On the west side of Pine Street, in the first space south of Bank Street.

(c) – (f) As written.

(g) Designated streets with no time limit metered parking: The following streets or portions of streets are hereby designated as no time restriction metered parking zones:

(1)-(3) As written.

(4) Pine Street, from College Street to Bank Street., except on the west side of Pine Street, in the first space south of Bank Street.

(5)-(12) As written.

** Material stricken out deleted.

*** Material underlined added.

TD: BCO Appx.C, Section 17 2/15/23

CITY OF BURLINGTON IN THE YEAR TWO THOUSAND TWENTY-THREE A REGULATION IN RELATION TO RULES AND REGULATIONS RULES AND REGULATIONS OF THE TRAFFIC COMMISSION— SECTION 19 PARKING RATES.

Sponsor(s): Department of Public Works

Action: Approved

Date: 2/15/2023

Attestation of Adoption:

Phillip Peterson, PE

Public Works Engineer, Technical Services

Published: 02/22/23

Effective: 03/15/23

It is hereby Ordained by the Public Works Commission of the City of Burlington as follows: That Appendix C, Rule and Regulations of the Traffic Commission, Section 19, Parking Rates, of the Code of Ordinances of the City of Burlington is hereby amended as follows:

Section 19 Parking rates.

(a)-(c) As Written

(d)

(1)-(5) As written.

(6) Citywide Parking Restrictions, Fees: Overnight parking in city garages during declared citywide or zone-based parking restrictions (such as parking bans for snow removal and “Operation Clean Sweep””, as declared by the director of the department of public works or their designee, will be free for each night of the event and at the discretion of the director of the department of public works, if a citywide event occurs over multiple overnights, for each day between.

(e)-(f) As Written

** Material stricken out deleted.

*** Material underlined added.

TD: BCO Appx.C, Sec 19, 2/15/23

ESSEX PLANNING COMMISSION AGENDA

MARCH 9, 2023 - 6:30 P.M.

ZOOM OR MUNICIPAL CONFERENCE ROOM, 81 MAIN ST., ESSEX JCT., VT

Zoom link: https://www.essexvt.org/1043/ Join-Zoom-Meeting-Essex-PC

Call (audio only): 1-888-788-0099 | Meeting ID: 923

7777 6158 # | Passcode: 426269

Public wifi is available at the Essex municipal offices, libraries, and hotspots listed here: https://publicservice.vermont.gov/content/ public-wifi-hotspots-vermont

1. Public Comments

2: Sketch/Master/Final Plan: Public Hearing: Gary Villeneuve: Proposed a 2‐lot subdivision to create a 5.06-acre lot and a 91-acre lot located at 250 Jericho Road, Tax Map 8, Parcel 16, AR Zone.

3. Minutes: 2/23/2023

4. Other Business

Visit our website at www.essexvt.org.

MOUNT MANSFIELD UNIFIED UNION SCHOOL DISTRICT (MMUUSD)

REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS-SUMMER EDUCATION CAMP

Your company/program is invited to submit a competitive proposal for a Summer Education Camp to serve students who require COVID Recovery Learning Services.

Issue Date: February 3rd, 2023

Responses Due By: March 3rd, 2023

Response must be submitted electronically, you can find the full RFP at https://www.mmuusd.org/ district_home/rfps

Please confirm our receipt of your submission immediately through the contact shown below:

Proposals, Correspondence and Questions should be sent to:

Andrew Jones, MMUUSD Assistant Superintendent andrew.jones@mmuusd.org 802-434-2938

NOTICE OF SELF-STORAGE LIEN SALE CHIMNEY CORNERS SELF STORAGE

76 GONYEAU ROAD, MILTON VT 05403

Notice is hereby given that the contents of the self-storage units listed below will be sold at public auction by sealed bid. This sale is being held to collect unpaid storage unit occupancy fees, charges, and expenses of the sale. The entire contents of each self-storage unit listed below will be sold, with the proceeds to be distributed to Chimney Corners Self Storage for all accrued occupancy fees (rent charges), late payment fees, sale expenses, and all other expenses in relation to the unit and its sale.

Contents of each unit may be viewed on March 13th, 2023, commencing at 10:00 am. Sealed bids are to be submitted on the entire contents of each self- storage unit. Bids will be opened one half hour after the last unit has been viewed on March 13th, 2023. The highest bidder on the storage unit must remove the entire contents of the unit within 48 hours after notification of their successful bid. Purchase must be made in cash and paid in advance of the removal of the contents of the unit. A $50 cash deposit shall be made and will be refunded if the unit is broom cleaned. Chimney Corners Self Storage reserves the right to accept or reject bids.

The contents of the following tenant’s self-storage units will be included in this sale:

Taylor Woodard, Unit 413. Amy Atwood, Unit 814. Desiree Cutting, Unit 822.

NOTICE TO VOTERS FOR MARCH 7, 2023 ELECTION

BURLINGTON, VT

BEFORE ELECTION DAY:

CHECKLIST POSTED at Clerk’s Office by Sunday, February 5, 2023. If your name is not on the checklist, then you must register to vote. You may also check your voter registration status at https:// mvp.vermont.gov. SAMPLE BALLOTS will be posted by Saturday, February 25, 2023.

HOW TO REGISTER TO VOTE: There is no deadline to register to vote. You will be able to register to vote

on the day of the election. You can register prior by visiting the City Clerk’s office or going online to olvr. vermont.gov.

EARLY or ABSENTEE BALLOTS: All registered Burlington voters will be automatically mailed absentee ballots for this election. The latest you can request ballots to be mailed for the March 7, 2023 Election is by the close of the City Clerk’s office at 4:30 p.m. on Friday, March 3, 2023. Ballots can be requested in-person at the City Clerk’s office until 1:00pm on Monday, March 6, 2023.

WAYS TO VOTE YOUR EARLY BALLOT:

• Mail or deliver the ballot mailed to you back to the City Clerk’s Office before Election Day, drop off at one of the City’s five Drop Boxes, or return it to your polling place before 7:00 p.m. on Election Day.

• Please contact the City Clerk’s Office if you have not received your ballot in the mail by February 22, 2023.

• If you are sick or disabled before Election Day, ask the City Clerk to have two justices of the peace bring a ballot to you at your home. (Ballots can be delivered on any of the eight days preceding the day of the election or on the day of election.)

ON ELECTION DAY:

If your name was dropped from the checklist in error, or has not been added even though you submitted a timely application for addition to the checklist, you can fill out a new registration form.

• If the clerk or Board for Registration of Voters does not add your name, you can appeal the decision to a superior court judge, who will settle the matter on Election Day. Call the Secretary of State’s Office at 1-800-439-VOTE (439-8683) for more information.

If you are a first time voter who submitted your application to the checklist individually by mail and did not submit the required document, you must provide a current and valid photo identification, or a bank statement, utility bill, or government document that contains your name/current address.

If you have physical disabilities, are visually impaired or can’t read, you may have assistance from any person of your choice. If any voters you know have disabilities, let them know they can have assistance from any person of their choice. You may also use the accessible voting system to mark your ballot. If you want to use the accessible voting system tell the entrance checklist official. An election official will take you to the accessible ballot marking device, enter a security code, and then leave you to mark and print your ballot privately. More details about our new accessible ballot marking device are available at https://sos. vermont.gov/elections/voters/accessible-voting/

If you know voters who cannot get from the car into the polling place let them know that ballot(s) may be brought to their car by two election officials. If you have any questions or need assistance while voting, ask your city clerk or any election official for help.

NO PERSON SHALL:

• Vote more than once per election, either in the same town or in different towns.

• Mislead the Board for Registration of Voters about your own or another person’s true residency or other eligibility to vote.

• Hinder or impede a voter going into or from the polling place.

• Socialize in a manner that could disturb other voters in the polling place.

• Offer, bribe, threaten or exercise undue influence to dictate or control the vote of another person.

FOR HELP OR INFORMATION: Call the Secretary of State’s Office at 1-800-439-VOTE (439-8683).

(Accessible by TDD)

If you believe that any of your voting rights have been violated, you may file an Administrative Complaint with the Secretary of State’s Office, 128 State Street, Montpelier, VT 05633.

If you believe you have witnessed efforts to commit any kind of fraud or corruption in the voting process, you may report this to your local United States Attorney’s Office.

If you have witnessed actual or attempted acts of discrimination or intimidation in the voting process, you may report this to the Civil Rights Division of the United States Department of Justice at (800) 253-3931.

Waitsfield and Champlain Valley Telecom

Look To Us For Your Basic Phone Service

Waitsfield and Champlain Valley Telecom is the designated “Eligible Telecommunications Carrier” for universal service purposes in its service area. The goal of universal service is to provide all citizens access to essential telecommunications services.

Waitsfield and Champlain Valley Telecom provides single-party residence and business service at rates which range from $24.95 to $31.75 per month per line (excluding all taxes and additional fees that are required by state and federal government agencies). This includes:

• Voice grade access to the public switched network

• Unlimited minutes of local usage

• Access to emergency services (E911)

• Toll limitation services to qualifying low-income customers

• Complying with applicable service quality standards and consumer protection rules. Waitsfield and Champlain Valley Telecom offers qualified customers a monthly telephone discount through the Lifeline Program If your household income is less than $19,683. for a single person household, or less than $26,622 for a two-person household, (add $6,939 for each additional person in your household), you may be eligible.

For more information on these services and benefits, please contact Waitsfield and Champlain Valley Telecom at 800-496-3391 or visit www.wcvt.com

I have been appointed to administer this estate. All creditors having claims against the decedent or the estate must present their claims in writing within four (4) months of the date of the first publication of this notice. The claim must be presented to me at the address listed below with a copy sent to the Court. The claim may be barred forever if it is not presented within the four (4) month period.

Dated: February 17, 2023

Signature of Fiduciary: /s/ Geoffrey McLoughlin

Executor/Administrator: Geoffrey McLoughlin C/O Geraldine Stewart, Esq., Jarrett | Hoyt, 1795 Williston Rd., Ste 125, S. Burlington, VT 05403, gerry@vtelaw.com, 802-864-5951

Name of Publication: Seven Days Publication Date: 2/22/2023

Name of Probate Court: Vermont Superior Court, Chittenden Unit, Probate Division Address of Probate Court: PO Box 511 Burlington VT 05402

SUPERIOR COURT OF ARIZONA IN COCHISE COUNTY

In the matter of:

Aaliyah Heather Gaboriault Riley Spencer Gaboriault Case #: SV202300002

INSTRUCTIONS FOR VOTERS using Vote Tabulator Ballots

k6h-WaitsfieldChamplainTelecom022223 1

CHECK-IN AND RECEIVE BALLOTS:

• Go to the entrance checklist table.

• Give name and, if asked, street address to the election official in a loud voice.

• Wait until your name is repeated and checked off by the official.

• An election official will give you a ballot.

• Enter within the guardrail and go to a vacant voting booth.

MARK YOUR BALLOT: For each office listed on the ballot, you will see instructions to “Vote for not more than one, or Vote for not more than two, etc.”

• To vote for a candidate, fill in the oval to the right of the name of the candidate you want to vote for.

• WRITE-IN candidate(s). To vote for someone whose name is not printed on the ballot, use the blank “write-in” lines on the ballot and either write-in the name or paste on sticker, then fill in the oval.

CAST YOUR VOTE by depositing your voted ballot into the vote tabulating machine.

LEAVE the voting area immediately by passing outside the guardrail.

REQUEST FOR

QUALIFICATIONS

The Town of Bristol is requesting Statements of Qualifications (SOQ)s from engineering firms (Consultants) for engineering services for the Basin Street Improvement Project in the Town of Bristol. The Town is seeking a Consultant or Consultant Team with expertise in designing, engineering, and permitting. The procurement process for selection of the Consultant will be a Qualifications Based Selection (QBS). We are not seeking a detailed scope of work or cost proposal at this time. The successful Consultant or Consultant Team will be selected based upon their demonstrated ability to provide the highest qualified team to achieve the goals of the project through their SOQ and possible interview with the Selection Committee.

The purpose of the Basin Street Improvement Project is to stabilize a sloughing slope embankment along Main Street, improve stormwater drainage in the area to mitigate erosion issues, and reconfigure the intersection of Basin Street, Main Street, and East Street to make it safer for motorists and pedestrians.

The project is funded in part by the Federal Highway Administration (FHA) through the Vermont Agency of Transportation (VTrans) Municipal Assistance Section (MAS) Transportation Alternatives Program grant, through the Vermont Agency of Commerce and Community Development Downtown Transportation Fund grant and Clean Water Initiatives grant, and the Town of Bristol.

A detailed scope of work can be downloaded from Bristol’s Web site at: http://bristolvt.org/employment-bid-and-for-sale-opportunities/. Proposals will be accepted until 4:00pm, Wednesday, March 23, 2023 by e-mail to Patrick Travers, MPM, at ptravers@gpinet.com. The email transmission must be clearly identified as an SOQ, including the project name. Please inform the Contact Person prior to submission to avoid the proposal being relegated to their spam or junk email files.

Questions? Contact MPM Patrick Travers at ptravers@gpinet.com or Town Administrator Valerie Capels at townadmin@bristolvt.org.

The Town of Bristol is an equal opportunity provider and employer and does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, age, disability, religion, gender, or familial status.

STATE OF VERMONT SUPERIOR COURT PROBATE DIVISION CHITTENDEN UNIT DOCKET NO. 22-PR-07583

In re ESTATE of Lynne Lemire

NOTICE TO CREDITORS

To the creditors of: Lynne Lemire, late of Milton, Vermont

I have been appointed to administer this estate. All creditors having claims against the decedent or the estate must present their claims in writing within four (4) months of the date of the first publication of this notice. The claim must be presented to me at the address listed below with a copy sent to the Court. The claim may be barred forever if it is not presented within the four (4) month period.

Dated: November 17, 2022

Signature of Fiduciary: /s/ Eric Lemire

Executor/Administrator : Eric Lemire, 33 Foster Road Essex Jct, Vermont 05452, errlemire@gmail. com, (802) 343-1000

Name of Publication: Seven Days

Publication Date: 2/22/2023

Name of Probate Court: Vermont Superior Court, Chittenden Unit, Probate Division

Address of Probate Court: 175 Main Street, Burlington VT 05401

STATE OF VERMONT SUPERIOR COURT PROBATE DIVISION CHITTENDEN UNIT DOCKET NO.: 22-PR-07185

In re ESTATE of Virginia A. McLoughlin

NOTICE TO CREDITORS

To the creditors of: Virginia A. McLoughlin, late of Shelburne, Vermont

NOTICE OF INITIAL HEARING ON PEITION FOR TERMINATION OF PARENT-CHILD RELATIONSHIP

Notice is hereby given that the Petitioner: Gentilissa L Thibodeau has filed a Petition for Termination of Parent-Child Relationship with the Juvenile Department of the Superior Court in Cochise County regarding the above-named child or children and: Matthew Thomas Gaboriault.

An initial hearing has been set to consider the petition:

Date: May 10, 2023

Time 11:00

Before: Hon. Terry Bannon

At the Cochise County Superior Court (Juvenile Department) located at: 100 Colonia De Salud, Division Six, Sierra Vista AZ 85635

TOWN OF RICHMOND DEVELOPMENT REVIEW BOARD AGENDA

MARCH 8, 2023 AT 7:00 PM

Location: 3rd floor meeting room Richmond Town Offices, 203 bridge street Richmond VT 05477 Join Zoom Meeting: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/82607801509?pwd=T nJlSHNScUI0NjZMTjEvbmhSN0FVdz09

Meeting ID: 826 0780 1509

Passcode: 241149

Call-in: +1 929 205 6099 US (New York)

Application materials may be viewed at http:// www.richmondvt.gov/boards-minutes/development review-board/ before the meeting. Please call Tyler Machia, Zoning Administrator, at 802-4342420 or email tmachia@richmondvt.gov with any questions.

Public Hearings: Item 1

SP2023-01 (Site Plan Review) Northfield Saving Bank Parcel ID#PS0023

This is a continuation of the hearing from the February 8th 2023 DRB meeting. Applicants are seeking Site Plan approval for an exterior remodel of the former TD Bank property located on 23 Pleasant Street. Applicants are proposing changes to the landscaping and parking as well as changes to the exterior of the building.

WARNING & NOTICE 2023 ANNUAL CITY MEETING

The legal voters of the City of Burlington, Vermont are hereby warned and notified to come and vote at the Annual City Meeting on Tuesday, the 7th day of March, 2023 between 7:00 a.m. and 7:00 p.m. in their respective wards, at the voting places hereinafter named and designated as polling places, viz:

Ward One/East District: Mater Christi School, 100 Mansfield Ave.

Ward Two/Central District: H.O. Wheeler School (Integrated Arts Academy), 6 Archibald St.

Legal Notices

[CONTINUED]

Ward Three/Central District: Lawrence Barnes School (Sustainability Academy), 123 North St. Ward Four/North District: Saint Mark’s Youth Center, 1271 North Ave.

Ward Five/South District: Burlington Electric Department, 585 Pine St.

Ward Six/South District: Edmunds Middle School, 275 Main St.

Ward Seven/North District: Robert Miller Community & Recreation Center, 130 Gosse Ct.

Ward Eight/East District: Fletcher Free Library, 235 College St.

The polls open at 7:00 a.m. and close at 7:00 p.m. for the purpose of electing certain city officers as follows:

WARD ONE/EAST DISTRICT – one East District City Councilor for two-year term; one East District School Commissioner for two-year term; one Ward One Ward Clerk for two-year term; one Ward One Inspector of Election for three-year term; all terms beginning April 3, 2023

WARD TWO/CENTRAL DISTRICT – one Central District City Councilor for two-year term; one Central District School Commissioner for two-year term; one Ward Two Ward Clerk for two-year term; one Ward Two Inspector of Election for three-year term; all terms beginning April 3, 2023

WARD THREE/CENTRAL DISTRICT – one Central District City Councilor for two-year term; one Central District School Commissioner for two-year term; one Ward Three Ward Clerk for two-year term; one Ward Three Inspector of Election for three-year term; all terms beginning April 3, 2023

WARD FOUR/NORTH DISTRICT – one North District City Councilor for two-year term; one North District School Commissioner for two-year term; one Ward Four Ward Clerk for two-year term; one Ward Four Inspector of Election for three-year term; all terms beginning April 3, 2023

WARD FIVE/SOUTH DISTRICT – one South District City Councilor for two-year term; one South District School Commissioner for two-year term; one Ward Five Ward Clerk for two-year term; one Ward Five Inspector of Election for three-year term; one Ward Five Inspector of Election for one-year term all terms beginning April 3, 2023

WARD SIX/SOUTH DISTRICT – one South District City Councilor for two-year term; one South District School Commissioner for two-year term; one Ward Six Ward Clerk for two-year term; one Ward Six Inspector of Election for three-year term; all terms beginning April 3, 2023

WARD SEVEN/NORTH DISTRICT – one North District City Councilor for two-year term; one North District School Commissioner for two-year term; one Ward Seven Ward Clerk for two-year term; one Ward Seven Inspector of Election for three-year term; one Ward Seven Inspector of Election for one-year term all terms beginning April 3, 2023

WARD EIGHT/EAST DISTRICT – one East District City Councilor for two-year term; one Ward Eight City Councilor for one-year term; one East District School Commissioner for two-year term; one Ward Eight Ward Clerk for two-year term; one Ward Eight Inspector of Election for three-year term; one Ward Eight Inspector of Election for two-year term; all terms beginning April 3, 2023

The legal voters shall also vote upon five special articles being placed on the ballot by request of the City Council by Resolutions duly adopted and approved, two special articles made by petition of at least five percent of voters of the City of Burlington, and one special article being placed on the ballot by request of the Board of School Commissioners by action of the Commissioners duly approved, with all said special articles being as follows:

1. APPROVAL OF SCHOOL BUDGET FOR FISCAL YEAR 2024

“Shall the voters of the school district approve the school board to expend $104,144,584 which is the amount the school board has determined

to be necessary for the ensuing fiscal year? It is estimated that this proposed budget, if approved, will result in education spending of $21,325.14 per equalized pupil. Spending at this level could produce a property tax rate increase of 4.03% (current estimate).”

2. IMPLEMENTATION OF A CARBON POLLUTION IMPACT FEE FOR NEW CONSTRUCTION AND LARGE EXISTING COMMERCIAL AND INDUSTRIAL BUILDINGS 50,000 SQUARE FEET OR LARGER

“Shall the City Council, in order to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in the City, be authorized starting January 1, 2024, to implement a carbon pollution impact fee in the permitting process, with the fee to be set by resolution starting at up to $150 per ton and rising annually at the rate of regional inflation but capped at no more than a 5 percent annual increase, for:

• new construction buildings that install fossil fuel thermal energy systems instead of using renewable energy systems or renewable fuels, with the exception that the fee would not be implemented until January 1, 2026 for domestic water heating systems in new construction multi-family residential buildings with more than 4 units; and • for existing commercial and industrial buildings 50,000 square feet or larger when the building is installing fossil fuel thermal energy space conditioning or domestic water heating systems instead of using renewable systems or renewable fuels?”

The fee proceeds could support one or more of the following: capital investments in converting the City’s vehicle fleet to electric vehicles; a new City fund to support clean heating technology installations for low-income Burlington households and renters; and/or in the case of existing building payors, greenhouse gas emissions reductions projects at their building or facilities in Burlington.

3. PROPOSED CHARTER CHANGE RE WARD BOUNDARIES

“Shall the Charter of the City of Burlington, Acts of 1949, No. 298 as amended be further amended to amend Article 2, City Election Areas Defined, thereto to read as follows:

ARTICLE 2. CITY ELECTION AREAS DEFINED

2 Election boundaries.

(a) City Districts Described. For the annual meeting of 20 15 24 and all City elections thereafter, the City of Burlington is divided into four electoral districts, constituted as follows?:

(1) East District. The East District shall include all that part of said City lying easterly and northerly of the following described boundaries: Beginning at the common boundary between the Cities of Burlington and Winooski in the Winooski River beneath the Central Vermont Railway bridge downstream of the Lower Winooski Falls and Salmon Hole; thence westerly in the centerline of said railroad tracks, crossing Intervale Road, and continuing for 1043.42 feet to a point where the centerline of Hyde Street extended northeasterly intersects said railroad track centerline (approximately -73.204 5 6 longitude, 44.4912 latitude); thence southerly along the extension of the centerline of Hyde Street, continuing on the centerline of Hyde Street to the intersection of the centerline of North Willard Street; thence southerly along the centerline of North Willard Street to the intersection of the centerline of Pearl Street; thence westerly along the centerline of Pearl Street to the intersection of the centerline of South Winooski Avenue; thence southerly along the centerline of South Winooski Avenue to the intersection of the centerline of Maple Street; thence easterly along the Maple Street centerline for 1573.5 feet to a point where the eastern property boundary of 315 Maple Street extended northerly intersects Maple Street (approximately -73.2064 longitude, 44.4739 latitude); thence southerly along the eastern property boundary of 315 Maple Street for 276.5 feet (approximately -73.2064 longitude, 44.4734 latitude); thence 281.4 feet westerly to a point where the southern property boundary of 315 Maple Street extended westerly intersects with the western boundary of 251 South Willard Street extended northerly (approximately -73.2071 longitude, 44.4733 latitude), thence 723.7 feet 177º southerly to a point where it intersects the southern property boundary of 285 South Willard Street extended westerly (approximately -73.2071 longitude, 44.4719 latitude); thence easterly along the southern boundary of 285 South Willard Street for 696.5 feet until intersecting with the South

Willard Street centerline (approximately -73.2051 longitude, 44.472 latitude); thence northerly along the South Willard Street centerline for 220.9 feet (approximately -73.2052 longitude, 44.4724 latitude); thence easterly along the southern property boundary of 262 South Willard Street for 557.6 feet (approximately -73.2037 longitude, 44.4725 latitude); thence northerly along the eastern property boundary of 262 South Willard Street for 89.6 feet to a point where the Juniper Terrace centerline extended westerly intersects the eastern property boundary of 262 South Willard Street (approximately -73.2037 longitude, 44.4726 latitude); thence following the Juniper Terrace centerline easterly until intersecting with the Summit Street centerline (approximately -73.2021 longitude, 44.4727 latitude); thence northerly along the Summit Street centerline until reaching the centerline of Main Street; thence following the Main Street centerline easterly 2339.6 feet (approximately -73.1964 longitude, 44.4753 latitude); thence southwesterly 214º for 136.1 feet (approximately -73.1966 longitude, 44.4751 latitude), thence southeasterly 98.2 feet (approximately -73.1964 longitude, 44.4749 latitude); thence southwesterly by 213º for 770 feet (approximately -73.1975 longitude, 44.4737 latitude); thence southeasterly by 123º for 477.4 feet until intersecting with the University Heights centerline (approximately -73.1964 longitude, 44.4732 latitude); thence southerly along the centerline of University Heights Road 1221.65 feet until intersecting with the PFG Road centerline, thence westerly by 79º until intersecting Main Street; thence easterly along the centerline of Main Street to the intersection of the western property line of 525 Main Street extended, containing the Main Street Water Reservoir (approximately -73.1992 longitude, 44.4763 latitude); thence southerly along the western property boundary of 525 Main Street to its southwestern corner approximately -73.1991 longitude, 44.4746 latitude); thence easterly along the southern property boundary of 525 Main Street to its southeastern corner (approximately -73.1984 longitude, 44.4746 latitude); thence southwesterly along the western property boundaries of 49, 55, and 59 University Terrace to the southwestern corner of 59 University Terrace (approximately -73.1987 longitude, 44.4742 latitude); thence southeasterly along the southern property boundaries of 59 University Terrace and 60 University Terrace, extended to the centerline of University Heights Road (approximately -73.1964 longitude, 44.4732 latitude); thence southerly along the centerline of University Heights Road 1,314 feet to its intersection with the extended centerline of the walkway serving the University of Vermont Southwick Hall and the Music Building from the Redstone Campus loop road (approximately -73.1968 longitude, 44.4698 latitude); thence westerly along the extended walkway and walkway centerline, with the Music Building to the north and Southwick Hall to the south, 367 feet to its intersection with the centerline of the Redstone Campus loop road (approximately -73.1982 longitude, 44.4698 latitude); thence northerly and then westerly along the centerline of the Redstone Campus loop road to its intersection with the centerline of South Prospect Street; thence southerly along the centerline of South Prospect Street to its intersection with the centerline of the Davis Road; thence northeasterly along the centerline of Davis Road to its intersection with University Heights Road, continuing easterly along the centerline of Davis Road to its intersection with the common boundary between the Cities of Burlington and South Burlington.

(2) Central District. The Central District shall include all that part of the City bounded as follows: On the east, beginning at the common boundary between the City of Burlington and Town of Colchester in the Winooski River at the intersection of a point intersecting with the centerline of Institute Road extended northeasterly (approximately -73.2139 47 longitude, 44.50 89 77 latitude); thence southerly along the common boundary between the City of Burlington and Town of Colchester in the Winooski River to a point beneath the Central Vermont Railway bridge downstream of the Lower Winooski Falls and Salmon Hole; thence southerly westerly along the East District northern western boundary to its intersection with the centerline of for 1043.42 feet to its intersection with the westerly boundary of the East District; thence southerly along the westerly boundary of the East District to its intersection with the centerline of Archibald Street, then southerly along the East District western boundary to the intersection with the centerline of Pearl Street; thence westerly along the northern boundary of the East District

to the intersection with the centerline of South Winooski Avenue; thence southerly along the western boundary of the East District to the centerline of King Main Street; thence westerly along the centerline of King Street until its intersection with the centerline of Pine Street; thence southerly along the Pine Street centerline until a point which intersects with the northern property boundary of 315 Pine Street extended easterly; thence westerly along the northern property boundary of 315 Pine Street to Lake Champlain (44.4706 latitude, -73.2152 longitude); continuing southerly along the centerline of South Winooski Avenue to its intersection with the centerline of King Street; on the south along the centerline of King Street extended westerly to Lake Champlain; on the west by Lake Champlain; on the north, beginning at the intersection of the common property boundary between 87 North Avenue and 9 Lakeview Terrace extended westerly to Lake Champlain (approximately -73.2252 longitude, 44.4832 latitude); thence northeasterly along the extended property boundary between 87 North Avenue and 9 Lakeview Terrace to its intersection with the centerline of the Central Vermont Railway railroad track (approximately -73.2239 longitude, 44.4837 latitude); thence northerly and easterly along the centerline of the Central Vermont Railway railroad track, crossing North Avenue and the Burlington Beltline, to its intersection with the centerline of Spring Street extended northwesterly (approximately -73.2183 longitude, 44.4912 latitude); thence northwesterly along the extension of the centerline of Spring Street to its intersection with the centerline of Institute Road extended northeasterly (approximately -73.2281 longitude, 44.4995 latitude); thence northeasterly along the extension of the centerline of Institute Road extended to its intersection with the common boundary between the City of Burlington and Town of Colchester in the Winooski River (approximately -73.2139 longitude, 44.5077 latitude).

(3) South District. The South District shall include all that part of the City south of the southern boundaries of the East and Central Districts.

(4) North District. The North District shall include all that part of the City north of the northern boundary of the Central District.

(b) Wards Described. Each of the City of Burlington’s four electoral districts set forth in subsection (a) of this section hereby comprises two wards, each of which is constituted as follows:

(1) East District - Ward 1 and Ward 8.

(A) The East District is divided into two wards by the following boundary: Beginning at the center of the intersection of Pearl Street and South Willard Street; thence southerly easterly along the centerline of Colchester Avenue to the intersection of the centerline of Mary Fletcher Drive; thence southerly along the centerline of Mary Fletcher Drive for 331.58 feet (approximately -73.196 longitude, 44.4802 latitude); thence southerly along the western side and easterly along the southern side of the UVM Medical Center building for 1854.5 feet until a point at the center of the intersection of Beaumont Avenue and Mary Fletcher Drive (approximately -73.1932 longitude, 44.4788 latitude); thence south along the Beaumont Avenue centerline to the intersection of Carrigan Drive; thence following Carrigan Drive westerly for 199.1 feet (approximately -73.1932 longitude, 44.4756 latitude); thence travelling southwesterly for 821.3 feet along the UVM service road on the eastern border the southeastern wing of UVM Jeffords Hall; thence northwesterly along the service road bordering the southern border of the southeastern wing of UVM’s Jeffords Hall until a point at the intersection of the service road and the centerline of University Heights extended northeasterly (approximately -73.1947 longitude, 44.4751 latitude); thence southwesterly along the centerline of University Heights 977.3 feet (approximately -73.1962 longitude, 44.4735 latitude); thence continuing southeasterly along the centerline of the driveway bounding the western side of the UVM Living/Learning Commons for 404.3 feet (approximately -73.1952 longitude, 44.4731 latitude); thence continuing south along the eastern side of UVM’s University Heights dorms until intersecting with the service road between University Heights North and University Heights South (approximately 44.4723 latitude, -73.1951 longitude); thence continuing easterly at 84 degrees for 589.72 feet until intersecting with of South Willard Street to the intersection of the centerline of College Street; thence easterly along

the centerline of College Street extended to the intersection of the centerline of University Place; thence southerly along the centerline of University Place to the intersection of the centerline of Main Street; thence easterly along the centerline of Main Street to the common boundary between the Cities of Burlington and South Burlington.

(B) Ward 1 lies to the north and east of the boundary described in subdivision (A) of this subdivision (1), and Ward 8 lies to the south and west.

(2) Central District - Ward 2 and Ward 3.

(A) e Central District is divided into two wards by the following boundary: Beginning at the intersection of the common property boundary between 85 North Avenue and 9 Lakeview Terrace extended westerly to Lake Champlain (approximately -73.2252 longitude, -44.4832 latitude); thence northeasterly along the extended property boundary between 87 North Avenue and 9 Lakeview Terrace to its intersection with the centerline of the Central Vermont Railway railroad track (approximately -73.224 longitude, 44.4837 latitude); thence southeasterly along the centerline of the Central Vermont Railway railroad track to a point intersecting with the northwestern property boundary of 300 Lake Street extended southwesterly (approximately -73.2234 longitude, 44.4832 latitude); thence northeasterly to a point at the intersection of the northwestern property boundary of 300 Lake Street extended northeasterly with the centerline of Depot Street (approximately -73.2223 longitude, 44.4837 latitude); thence northerly along the centerline of Depot Street to the intersection with the centerline of Lakeview Terrace; Beginning at the centerline of the Central Vermont Railway railroad track at the intersection of the centerline of Spring Street extended northwesterly (approximately -73.2183 longitude, 44.4912 latitude); thence southerly easterly along the centerline of Spring Street Lakeview Terrace extended northwesterly until intersecting , continuing along the centerline of Spring Street to its intersection with the centerline of Elmwood North Avenue; thence southerly northerly along the centerline of Elmwood North Avenue to its intersection with the centerline of Pearl North Street; thence easterly along the centerline of Pearl North Street until intersecting with the North Union Street centerline; thence southerly following the North Union Street centerline until intersecting with the Loomis Street centerline; thence easterly along the Loomis street centerline to the intersection of the centerlines of Loomis Street and South Willard Avenue. to the intersection of the centerlines of North and South Winooski Avenue.

(B) Ward 2 lies to the east north of the boundary described in subdivision (A) of this subdivision (2), and Ward 3 lies to the west south

(3) South District - Ward 5 and Ward 6.

(A) e South District is divided into two wards by the following boundary: Beginning at the intersection of the centerlines of King Street and Saint PaulChurch Street; thence southerly along the centerline of Church Street to the intersection with the centerline of Adams Street; thence westerly along the centerline of Adams Street to the intersection with the centerline of Saint Paul Street; thence southerly along the Saint Paul Street centerline along the centerline of Saint Paul Street to its intersection with the centerline of Shelburne Street; thence southerly along the centerline of Shelburne Street to its intersection with the centerline of Flynn Avenue; thence easterly along the centerline of Flynn Avenue extended easterly to the common boundary between the Cities of Burlington and South Burlington.

(B) Ward 5 lies to the west of the boundary described in subdivision (A) of this subdivision (3), and Ward 6 lies to the east.

(4) North District - Ward 4 and Ward 7.

(A) e North District is divided into two wards by the following boundary: Beginning at the centerline of Institute Road extended southwesterly to Lake Champlain; thence northeasterly to the intersection of Institute Road with the centerline of North Avenue; Beginning at the intersection of the centerlines of North Avenue and the Central Vermont Railway railroad track; thence northerly along the centerline of North Avenue to its intersection with the centerline of Fairfi eld Drive; thence westerly along the centerline of

Fairfi eld Drive to its intersection with the western property boundary of 39 Westward Drive extended southerly (approximately -73.2685 longitude, 44.5257 latitude); thence northerly along the western property boundaries boundary of 39 and 40 Westward Drive, until intersecting with the centerline of Westward Drive; thence southwesterly along the centerline of Westward Drive to the intersection with the Northshore Drive centerline; thence northerly along the Northshore Drive centerline until intersecting with the Clair Pointe Road centerline (point);, continuing northerly along the western property boundaries of properties fronting the west side of Hardy Avenue to the southern boundary of 35 Derway Drive; thence westerly along the southern boundary of 35 Derway Drive, extended to its intersection with the centerline of Derway Drive (approximately -73.2690 longitude, 44.5249 latitude); thence northeasterly along the centerline of Derway Drive to its intersection with the centerline of Claire Pointe Drive; thence northerly along the centerline of Claire Pointe Drive approximately 44 feet to its intersection with the southern property boundary of the Claire Pointe condominium development; thence westerly along the southern property boundary of the Claire Pointe condominium development (approximately -73.2686 longitude, 44.5286 latitude) to the Waterfront Bike Path right-of-way approximately 537 feet (approximately -73.2707 longitude, 44.5253 latitude), and then extended to Lake Champlain.

(B) Ward 4 lies to the west of the boundary described in subdivision (A) of this subdivision (4), and Ward 7 lies to the east.

(5) Ward map reference. Reference is also made to a map entitled “ Ward Redistricting, 8 Wards - 4 Districts, 12 Councilors, Requested Edits to December Map (City Edits v2), Map Date: January 20, 2023 Ward Redistricting, 8 Wards - 4 Districts, 12 Councilors, Referred to City Council by CC Committee (v.3), Map Date: December 2, 2013 ” located in the Burlington Chief Administrative Offi cer’s offi ce in further aid of the description of the wards set forth in this subsection.”

* Material underlined added.

** Material stricken out deleted.

4. CHARTER CHANGE RE REQUIREMENTS FOR LEGAL RESIDENT VOTERS WHO ARE NOT UNITED STATES CITIZENS

“Shall the Charter of the City of Burlington, Acts of 1949, No. 298, as amended, be further amended to add Section 8a, Requirements for legal resident voters who are not citizens, to Title II, Article 4,Qualifi cations of Voters, to allow legal residents who are not citizens of the United States but reside in the United States on a permanent or non-temporary basis in compliance with federal immigration laws to register as legal voters for City of Burlington and Burlington School District local elections, and to vote for local offi cers and on local public questions, provided such residents are at least 18 years of age, reside in the City of Burlington, and have taken the Voter’s Oath?”

5. CHARTER CHANGE RE QUALIFICATIONS OF VOTERS AND SITING OF POLING PLACES

“Shall the Charter of the City of Burlington, Acts of 1949, No. 298, as amended, be further amended by amending Title II, Article 4, Qualifi cations of Voters, and Title II, Article 8, Method of Conducting Elections, to permit all legal voters residing in a ward or City district to cast a ballot for local offi cers and local public questions specifi c to the ward or City district at the time of casting the ballot, and to allow for the City Council, in conjunction with the City Clerk’s Offi ce and election offi cials, to: determine the number and location of polling places; locate polling places in each ward unless a more accessible facility is available outside the ward, which shall be in as close proximity as possible to the ward in which each over resides; and, if more than one polling place is located within the same building, to locate each polling place so that it is separate and distinct from the others?”

6. CHARTER CHANGE RE ABILITY TO USE RANKED CHOICE VOTING FOR THE ELECTION OF MAYOR, SCHOOL COMMISSIONERS AND WARD ELECTION OFFICERS

“Shall the Charter of the City of Burlington, Acts of 1949, No. 298, as amended, be further amended by amending Title II, Section 5, Election to be by ballot; method of election; runoff elections,

to adopt ranked choice voting for the elections of Mayor, school board commissioners, and ward election offi cers?”

Pursuant to 17 V.S.A. § 2645, the following two proposals to amend the Charter of the City of Burlington, Acts of 1949, No. 298, as amended, are made by petition of at least fi ve percent of voters of the City of Burlington. Offi cial copies of the proposals were received by the City Clerk on December 8, 2022. Public hearings were held on January 17, 2023 and January 23, 2023. As required by 17 V.S.A. § 2645(a)(5)(A), the City Council does not have the authority to revise a charter proposal made by petition.

7. CHARTER CHANGE RE CREATION OF INDEPENDENT COMMUNITY CONTROL BOARD

“Shall the Charter of the City of Burlington, Acts of 1949, No. 298, as amended, be further amended by amending Title VI, Article 64, Section 189, and Title VI, Article 65, Section 190 to remove the existing Article 65, Removal or Suspension, Section 190, Chief may remove member for cause; hearing, and replace it with language providing for an independent department of the city, comprised of an independent community police department control board with the power to review and make fi ndings on any incident or complaint against a police offi cer, including the chief, and to discipline or remove a member of the police force, including the chief, whenever a member of said force is found to have become incompetent, ineffi cient or incapable from any cause, is or has been negligent or derelict in their offi cial duty, is guilty of any misconduct in their private or offi cial life, or for any other just cause?

e independent community control board shall consist of no less than seven (7) and no more than nine (9) members, selected by an appointment committee established by the City Council with Mayor presiding and consisting of: representatives selected by seven (7) community-based organizations; the Director of the Racial Equity Inclusion & Belonging Offi ce, or their designee; and, one (1) City Councilor. No member of the independent community control board shall have ever been employed by a law enforcement agency. For time spent working on the independent community

control board, members shall be entitled to fair compensation no less than that set by the city’s livable wage ordinance.

e independent community control board shall have the power to establish and maintain an investigative offi ce, which shall have an appropriation adequate to conduct the work of the offi ce, may employ a director, and may hire other staff or consultants, including independent legal counsel. e investigative offi ce shall have the power to receive, investigate, and present to the independent community control board any complaint against a police offi cer, and to issue subpoenas to produce documents or compel testimony.”

8. CHARTER CHANGE RE PROPOSITION ZERO

“Shall the Charter of the City of Burlington, Acts of 1949, No. 298, as amended, be further amended to grant voters additional powers to, by petition, initiate non-binding ballot questions, binding initiatives proposing ordinances, and referenda repealing ordinances, provided that, in the case of binding initiatives and referenda, the City Council fails to adopt or repeal the ordinance at issue?”

/s/Miro Weinberger

Miro Weinberger, Mayor

Publication Dates: Seven Days, Feb. 22, 2023 Burlington, Vermont

VERMONT SELF STORAGE

THE CONTENTS OF STORAGE UNIT 01-01331, located at 28 Adams Drive Williston, VT, 05495 will be sold on or about the 9th of February 2023 to satisfy the debt of Jamie Peters. Any person claiming a right to the goods may pay the amount claimed due and reasonable expenses before the sale, in which case the sale may not occur.

THE CONTENTS OF STORAGE UNIT 01-04118, located at 28 Adams Drive, Williston VT, 05495 will be sold on or about the 9th of March 2023 to satisfy the debt of Jennifer Anderson. Any person claiming a right to the goods may pay the amount claimed due and reasonable expenses before the sale, in which case the sale may not occur.

Support Groups

A CIRCLE OF PARENTS FOR MOTHERS OF COLOR

Please join our parent-led online support group designed to share our questions, concerns & struggles, as well as our resources & successes!

Contribute to our discussion of the unique but shared experience of parenting. We will be meeting weekly on Wed., 10-11 a.m. For more info or to register, please contact Heather at hniquette@pcavt.org, 802-498-0607, pcavt.org/ family-support-programs.

A CIRCLE OF PARENTS FOR SINGLE MOTHERS

Please join our parent-led online support group designed to share our questions, concerns & struggles, as well as our resources & successes!

Contribute to our discussion of the unique but shared experience of parenting. We will be meeting weekly on Fri., 10-11 a.m. For more info or to register, please contact Heather at hniquette@pcavt.org, 802-498-0607, pcavt.org/ family-support-programs.

A CIRCLE OF PARENTS W/ LGBTQ+ CHILDREN

Please join our parent-led online support group designed to share our questions, concerns & struggles, as well as our resources & successes!

Contribute to our discussion of the unique but shared experience of parenting. We will be meeting weekly on Mon., 10-11 a.m. For more info or to register, please contact Heather at hniquette@pcavt.org, 802-498-0607, pcavt.org/ family-support-programs.

AL-ANON

For families & friends of alcoholics. Phone meetings, electronic meetings (Zoom) & an Al-Anon blog are avail. online at the Al-Anon website. For meeting info, go to vermontalanonalateen.org or call 866-972-5266.

ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS

Do you have a drinking problem? AA meeting sites are now open, & online meetings are also available. Call our hotline at 802-864-1212 or check for in-person or online meetings at burlingtonaa.org.

ALL ARTISTS SUPPORT GROUP

Are you a frustrated artist? Have you longed for a space to “play” & work? Let’s get together & see what we can do about this! Text anytime or call 802-777-6100.

ALZHEIMER’S ASSOCIATION SUPPORT GROUPS

Support groups meet to provide assistance & info on Alzheimer’s disease & related dementias. They emphasize shared experiences, emotional support & coping techniques in care for a person living w/ Alzheimer’s or a related dementia. Meetings are free & open to the public. Families, caregivers & friends may attend. Please call in advance to confirm the date & time. The Williston Caregiver Support Group meets in person on the 2nd Tue. of every mo., 5-6:30 p.m., at the Dorothy Alling Memorial Library in Williston; this meeting also has a virtual option at the same time; contact support group facilitators Molly at dugan@cathedralsquare. org or Mindy at moondog@burlingtontelecom. net. The Middlebury Support Group for Individuals w/ Early Stage Dementia meets the 4th Tue. of each mo., 3 p.m., at the Residence at Otter Creek, 350 Lodge Rd., Middlebury; contact Daniel Hamilton, dhamilton@residenceottercreek.com or 802-989-0097. The Shelburne Support Group for Individuals w/ Early Stage Dementia meets the 1st Mon. of every mo., 2-3 p.m., at the Residence at Shelburne Bay, 185 Pine Haven Shores, Shelburne; contact support group facilitator Lydia Raymond, lraymond@residenceshelburnebay.com. The Telephone Support Group meets the 2nd Tue. monthly, 4-5:30 p.m. Prereg. is req. (to receive dial-in codes for toll-free call). Please dial the Alzheimer’s Association’s 24-7 Helpline, 800-2723900, for more info. For questions or additional support group listings, call 800-272-3900.

ARE YOU HAVING PROBLEMS W/ DEBT?

Do you spend more than you earn? Get help at Debtor’s Anonymous & Business Debtor’s Anonymous. Wed., 6:30-7:30 p.m., Methodist Church in the Rainbow Room at Buell & S. Winooski, Burlington. Contact Jennifer, 917-568-6390.

BABY BUMPS SUPPORT GROUP FOR MOTHERS & PREGNANT WOMEN

Pregnancy can be a wonderful time of your life. But it can also be a time of stress often compounded by hormonal swings. If you are a pregnant woman, or have recently given birth & feel you need some help w/ managing emotional bumps in the road that can come w/ motherhood, please come to this free support group led by an experienced pediatric registered nurse. Held on the 2nd & 4th Tue. of every mo., 5:30-6:30 p.m. at the Birthing Center, Northwestern Medical Center, St. Albans. Info: Rhonda Desrochers, Franklin County Home Health Agency, 527-7531.

BETTER BREATHERS CLUB

American Lung Association support group for people w/ breathing issues, their loved ones or caregivers. Meets on the 1st Mon. of every mo., 11 a.m.-noon at the Godnick Center, 1 Deer St., Rutland. For more info call 802-776-5508.

BRAIN INJURY SUPPORT GROUP

Vermont Center for Independent Living offers virtual monthly meetings, held on the 3rd Wed. of every mo., 1-2:30 p.m. The support group will offer valuable resources & info about brain injury. It will be a place to share experiences in a safe, secure & confidential environment. To join, email Linda Meleady at lindam@vcil.org & ask to be put on the TBI mailing list. Info: 800-639-1522.

BRAIN INJURY ASSOCIATION OF VERMONT

Montpelier daytime support group meets on the 3rd Thu. of every mo., at the Unitarian Church ramp entrance, 1:30-2:30 p.m. St. Johnsbury support group meets on the 3rd Wed. of every mo., at the Grace United Methodist Church, 36 Central St., 1-2:30 p.m. Colchester evening support group meets on the 1st Wed. of every mo., at the Fanny Allen Hospital in the Board Room Conference Room, 5:30-7:30 p.m. White River Jct. meets on the 2nd Fri. of every mo., at Bugbee Senior Center from 3-4:30 p.m. Call our helpline at 877-856-1772.

CANCER SUPPORT GROUP

The Champlain Valley Prostate Cancer Support Group will be held every 2nd Tue. of the mo., 6-7:45 p.m. via conference call. Newly diagnosed? Prostate cancer reoccurrence? General discussion & sharing among survivors & those beginning or rejoining the battle. Info, Mary L. Guyette RN, MS, ACNS-BC, 274-4990, vmary@aol.com.

CELEBRATE RECOVERY

Overcome any hurt, habit or hang-up in your life w/ this confidential 12-step, Christ-centered recovery program. We offer multiple support groups for both men & women, such as chemical dependency, codependency, sexual addiction & pornography, food issues, & overcoming abuse. All 18+ are welcome; sorry, no childcare. Doors open at 6:30 p.m.; we begin at 7 p.m. Essex Alliance Church, 37 Old Stage Rd., Essex Junction. Info: recovery@essexalliance.org, 878-8213.

CELEBRATE RECOVERY

Celebrate Recovery meetings are for anyone struggling w/ hurt, habits & hang-ups, which include everyone in some way. We welcome everyone at Cornerstone Church in Milton, which meets every Fri. from 7-9 p.m. We’d love to have you join us & discover how your life can start to change. Info: 893-0530, julie@mccartycreations.com.

CONTACT CLASSIFIEDS@SEVENDAYSVT.COM

CENTRAL VERMONT CELIAC SUPPORT GROUP

Last Thu. of every mo., 7:30 p.m. in Montpelier. Please contact Lisa Mase for location: lisa@ harmonizecookery.com.

CEREBRAL PALSY GUIDANCE

Cerebral Palsy Guidance is a very comprehensive informational website broadly covering the topic of cerebral palsy & associated medical conditions. Its mission is to provide the best possible info to parents of children living w/ the complex condition of cerebral palsy. cerebralpalsyguidance.com/ cerebral-palsy.

CODEPENDENTS ANONYMOUS

CoDA is a 12-step fellowship for people whose common purpose is to develop healthy & fulfilling relationships. By actively working the program of Codependents Anonymous, we can realize a new joy, acceptance & serenity in our lives.

Meets Sun. at noon at the Turning Point Center, 179 S. Winooski Ave., Suite 301, Burlington. Tom, 238-3587, coda.org.

DECLUTTERERS’ SUPPORT GROUP

Are you ready to make improvements but find it overwhelming? Maybe 2 or 3 of us can get together to help each other simplify. 989-3234, 425-3612.

DISCOVER THE POWER OF CHOICE!

SMART Recovery welcomes anyone, including family & friends, affected by any kind of substance or activity addiction. It is a science-based program that encourages abstinence. Specially trained volunteer facilitators provide leadership. Sun. at 5 p.m. The meeting has moved to Zoom: smartrecovery.zoom.us/j/92925275515. Volunteer facilitator: Bert, 399-8754. You can learn more at smartrecovery.org.

DOMESTIC VIOLENCE SUPPORT

Steps to End Domestic Violence offers a weekly drop-in support group for female-identified survivors of intimate partner violence, including individuals who are experiencing or have been affected by domestic violence. The support group offers a safe, confidential place for survivors to connect w/ others, to heal & to recover. In support group, participants talk through their experiences & hear stories from others who have experienced abuse in their relationships. Support group is also a resource for those who are unsure of their next step, even if it involves remaining in their current relationship. Tue., 6:30-8 p.m. Childcare is provided. Info: 658-1996.

EMPLOYMENT-SEEKERS SUPPORT GROUP

Frustrated w/ the job search or w/ your job?

You are not alone. Come check out this supportive circle. Wed. at 3 p.m., Pathways Vermont Community Center, 279 N. Winooski Ave., Burlington. Info: Abby Levinsohn, 777-8602.

FAMILY & FRIENDS OF THOSE EXPERIENCING MENTAL HEALTH CRISIS

This support group is a dedicated meeting for family, friends & community members who are supporting a loved one through a mental health crisis. Mental health crisis might include extreme states, psychosis, depression, anxiety & other types of distress. The group is a confidential space where family & friends can discuss shared experiences & receive support in an environment free of judgment & stigma w/ a trained facilitator. Wed., 7-8:30 p.m. Downtown Burlington. Info: Jess Horner, LICSW, 866-218-8586.

FAMILY RESTORED: SUPPORT GROUP FOR FRIENDS & FAMILIES OF ADDICTS & ALCOHOLICS

Wed., 6:30-8 p.m., Holy Family/St. Lawrence Parish, 4 Prospect St., Essex Junction. For further info, please visit thefamilyrestored.org or contact Lindsay Duford at 781-960-3965 or 12lindsaymarie@gmail.com.

FCA FAMILY SUPPORT GROUP

Families Coping w/ Addiction (FCA) is an open community peer support group for adults (18+)

struggling w/ the drug or alcohol addiction of a loved one. FCA is not 12-step-based but provides a forum for those living the family experience, in which to develop personal coping skills & to draw strength from one another. Our group meets every Wed., 5:30-6:30 p.m., live in person in the conference room at the Turning Point Center of Chittenden County (179 S. Winooski Ave., Burlington), &/or via our parallel Zoom session to accommodate those who cannot attend in person. The Zoom link can be found on the Turning Point Center website (turningpointcentervt.org) using the “Family Support” tab (click on “What We Offer”). Any questions, please send by email to thdaub1@ gmail.com.

FIERCELY FLAT VT

A breast cancer support group for those who’ve had mastectomies. We are a casual online meeting group found on Facebook at Fiercely Flat VT. Info: stacy.m.burnett@gmail.com.

FOOD ADDICTS IN RECOVERY ANONYMOUS (FA)

Are you having trouble controlling the way you eat? FA is a free 12-step recovery program for anyone suffering from food obsession, overeating, under-eating or bulimia. Local meetings are held twice a wk.: Mon., 4-5:30 p.m., at the Unitarian Universalist Church, Norwich, Vt.; & Wed., 6:30-8 p.m., at Hanover Friends Meeting House, Hanover, N.H. For more info & a list of additional meetings throughout the U.S. & the world, call 603-6301495 or visit foodaddicts.org.

G.R.A.S.P. (GRIEF RECOVERY AFTER A SUBSTANCE PASSING)

Are you a family member who has lost a loved one to addiction? Find support, peer-led support group. Meets once a mo. on Mon. in Burlington. Please call for date & location. RSVP mkeasler3@ gmail.com or call 310-3301 (message says Optimum Health, but this is a private number).

GRIEF & LOSS SUPPORT GROUP

Sharing your sadness, finding your joy. Please join us as we learn more about our own grief & explore the things that can help us to heal. There is great power in sharing our experiences w/ others who know the pain of the loss of a loved one & healing is possible through the sharing. BAYADA Hospice’s local bereavement support coordinator will facilitate our weekly group through discussion & activities. Everyone from the community is welcome. 1st & last Wed. of every mo. at 4 p.m. via Zoom. To register, please contact bereavement program coordinator Max Crystal, mcrystal@ bayada.com or 802-448-1610.

GRIEF SUPPORT GROUPS

Meet every 2nd Mon., 6-7:30 p.m., & every 3rd Wed. from 10-11:30 a.m., at Central Vermont Home Health & Hospice in Berlin. The group is open to the public & free of charge. More info: Diana Moore, 224-2241.

HEARING VOICES SUPPORT GROUP

This Hearing Voices Group seeks to find understanding of voice-hearing experiences as real lived experiences that may happen to anyone at anytime. We choose to share experiences, support & empathy. We validate anyone’s experience & stories about their experience as their own, as being an honest & accurate representation of their experience, & as being acceptable exactly as they are. Tue., 2-3 p.m. Pathways Vermont Community Center, 279 N. Winooski Ave., Burlington. Info: 802-777-8602, abby@pathwaysvermont.org.

HELLENBACH CANCER SUPPORT

Call to verify meeting place. Info, 388-6107. People living w/ cancer & their caretakers convene for support.

INTERSTITIAL CYSTITIS/PAINFUL BLADDER SUPPORT GROUP

Interstitial cystitis (IC) & painful bladder syndrome can result in recurring pelvic pain, pressure or discomfort in the bladder/pelvic region & urinary frequency/urgency. These are often misdiagnosed & mistreated as a chronic bladder infection. If you have been diagnosed or have these symptoms, you are not alone. For Vermontbased support group, email bladderpainvt@gmail. com or call 899-4151 for more info.

KINDRED CONNECTIONS PROGRAM OFFERED FOR CHITTENDEN COUNTY CANCER SURVIVORS

The Kindred Connections program provides peer support for all those touched by cancer. Cancer patients, as well as caregivers, are provided w/ a mentor who has been through the cancer experience & knows what it’s like to go through it. In addition to sensitive listening, Kindred Connections provides practical help such as rides to doctors’ offices & meal deliveries. The program has people who have experienced a wide variety of cancers. For further info, please contact info@ vcsn.net.

KINSHIP CAREGIVER SUPPORT GROUP

A support group for grandparents who are raising their grandchildren. Led by a trained representative & facilitator. Meets on the 2nd Tue. of every mo., 6:30-7:45 p.m., at Milton Public Library. Free. For more info, call 802-893-4644 or email library@miltonvt.gov. Facebook.com/ events/561452568022928.

LGBTQ SURVIVORS OF VIOLENCE

The SafeSpace Anti-Violence Program at Pride Center of Vermont offers peer-led support groups for survivors of relationship, dating, emotional &/ or hate-violence. These groups give survivors a safe & supportive environment to tell their stories, share info, & offer & receive support. Support groups also provide survivors an opportunity to gain info on how to better cope w/ feelings & experiences that surface because of the trauma they have experienced. Please call SafeSpace at 863-0003 if you are interested in joining.

LIVING THROUGH LOSS

Gifford Medical Center is announcing the restart of its grief support group, Living Through Loss. The program is sponsored by the Gifford Volunteer Chaplaincy Program & will meet weekly on Fri., 11 a.m.-12:30 p.m., in Gifford’s Chun Chapel. Meetings will be facilitated by the Rev. Timothy Eberhardt, spiritual care coordinator, & Emily Pizzale MSW, LICSW, a Gifford social worker. Anyone who has experienced a significant loss over the last year or so is warmly invited to attend & should enter through the hospital’s main entrance wearing a mask on the way to the chapel. Meetings will be based on the belief that, while each of us is on a unique journey in life, we all need a safe place to pause, to tell our stories &, especially as we grieve, to receive the support & strength we need to continue along the way.

MARIJUANA ANONYMOUS

Do you have a problem w/ marijuana? MA is a free 12-step program where addicts help other addicts get & stay clean. Ongoing Wed., 7 p.m., at Turning Point Center, 179 S. Winooski, Suite 301, Burlington. Info: 861-3150.

MYELOMA SUPPORT GROUP

Area Myeloma Survivors, Families & Caregivers have come together to form a Multiple Myeloma Support Group. We provide emotional support, resources about treatment options, coping strategies & a support network by participating in the group experience w/ people who have been through similar situations. 3rd Tue. of every mo., 5-6 p.m., at the New Hope Lodge on East Ave. in Burlington. Info: Kay Cromie, 655-9136, kgcromey@aol.com.

NAMI CONNECTION PEER SUPPORT GROUP

MEETINGS

Weekly virtual meetings. If you have questions about a group in your area, please contact the National Alliance on Mental Illness of Vermont, program@namivt.org or 800-639-6480. Connection groups are peer recovery support group programs for adults living w/ mental health challenges.

NAMI FAMILY SUPPORT GROUP

Weekly virtual & in-person meetings. ASL interpreters available upon request. Family Support Group meetings are for family & friends of individuals living w/ mental illness. If you have questions about a group in your area, please contact the National Alliance on Mental Illness of Vermont, info@namivt.org or 800-639-6480.

NARCONON SUNCOAST DRUG & ALCOHOL REHABILITATION & EDUCATION

Narconon reminds families that overdoses due to an elephant tranquilizer known as Carfentanil have been on the rise in nearly every community nationwide. Carfentanil is a synthetic opioid painkiller 100 times more powerful than fentanyl & 1,000 times stronger than heroin. A tiny grain of it is enough to be fatal. To learn more about carfentanil abuse & how to help your loved one, visit narconon-suncoast.org/drug-abuse/ parents-get-help.html. Addiction screenings: Narconon can help you take steps to overcome addiction in your family. Call today for a no-cost screening or referral: 1-877-841-5509.

NARCOTICS ANONYMOUS

is a group of recovering addicts who live without the use of drugs. It costs nothing to join. The only requirement for membership is a desire to stop using. Info, 862-4516 or cvana.org. Held in Burlington, Barre & St. Johnsbury.

NARCANON BURLINGTON GROUP

Group meets every Mon. at 7 p.m., at the Turning Point Center, 179 S. Winooski Ave., Suite 301, Burlington. The only requirement for membership is that there be a problem of addiction in a relative or friend. Info: Amanda H. 338-8106.

NEW (& EXPECTING) MAMAS & PAPAS! EVERY PRIMARY CAREGIVER TO A BABY!

The Children’s Room invites you to join our weekly drop-in support group. Come unwind & discuss your experiences & questions around infant care & development, self-care & postpartum healing, & community resources for families w/ babies.

Tea & snacks provided. Thu., 11 a.m.-12:30 p.m. Bring your babies! (Newborn through crawling stage.) Located in Thatcher Brook Primary School, 47 Stowe St., childrensroomonline.org. Contact childrensroom@wwsu.org or 244-5605.

NORTHWEST VERMONT CANCER PRAYER & SUPPORT NETWORK

A meeting of cancer patients, survivors & family members intended to comfort & support those who are currently suffering from the disease.

2nd Thu. of every mo., 6-7:30 p.m., St. Paul’s United Methodist Church, 11 Church St., St. Albans. Info: stpaulum@myfairpoint.net. 2nd Wed. of every mo., 6-7:30 p.m., Winooski United Methodist Church, 24 W. Allen St., Winooski. Info: hovermann4@comcast.net.

OPEN EARS, OPEN MINDS

A mutual support circle that focuses on connection & self-exploration. Fri. at 1 p.m., Pathways Vermont Community Center, 279 N. Winooski Ave., Burlington. Info: Abby Levinsohn, 777-8602.

OVEREATERS ANONYMOUS (OA)

A 12-step program for people who identify as overeaters, compulsive eaters, food addicts, anorexics, bulimics, etc. No matter what your problem w/ food, we have a solution! All are welcome, meetings are open, & there are no dues or fees. See oavermont.org/meeting-list for the current meeting list, meeting format & more; or call 802-863-2655 anytime!

PONDERING GENDER & SEXUALITY

Pondering Gender & Sexuality is a twice-monthly facilitated mutual support group for folks of any identity (whether fully formed or a work in progress) who want to engage in meaningful conversations about gender, sexuality & sexual orientation, &/or the coming-out process. Discussions can range from the personal to the philosophical & beyond as we work together to create a compassionate, safe & courageous space to explore our experiences. The group will be held on the 2nd Sun. & 4th Tue. of every mo., 1-2:30 p.m., either virtually or at Pride Center of Vermont. Email pgs@pridecentervt.org for more info or w/ questions!

POTATO INTOLERANCE SUPPORT GROUP

Anyone coping w/ potato intolerance & interested in joining a support group, contact Jerry Fox, 48 Saybrook Rd., Essex Junction, VT 05452.

QUEER CARE GROUP

This support group is for adult family members & caregivers of queer &/or questioning youth. It is held on the 2nd Mon. of every mo., 6:30-8 p.m., at Outright Vermont, 241 N. Winooski Ave. This group is for adults only. For more info, email info@ outrightvt.org.

READY TO BE TOBACCO-FREE GROUPS

Join a free 4-5-week group workshop facilitated by our coaches, who are certified in tobacco treatment. We meet in a friendly, relaxed & virtual atmosphere. You may qualify for a free limited supply of nicotine replacement therapy. Info: call 802-847-7333 or email quittobaccoclass@uvmhealth.org to get signed up, or visit myhealthyvt.org to learn more about upcoming workshops!

RECOVERING FROM RELIGION

Meets on the 2nd Tue. of every mo., 6-8 p.m., at Brownell Public Library, 6 Lincoln St., Essex Junction, unless there’s inclement weather or the date falls on a holiday. Attendees can remain anonymous if they so choose & are not required to tell their story if they do not wish to, but everyone will be welcome to do so. The primary focus of a Recovering From Religion support group is to provide ongoing & personal support to individuals as they let go of their religious beliefs. This transitional period is an ongoing process that can result in a range of emotions, as well as a ripple effect of consequences throughout an individual’s life. As such, the support meetings are safe & anonymous places to express these doubts, fears & experiences without biased feedback or proselytizing. We are here to help each other through this journey. Free.

REFUGE RECOVERY MEETING

Burlington Refuge Recovery is a Buddhistoriented, non-theistic addiction recovery group that meets every Tuesday at 6:45 p.m. at Turning Point Center, located at 179 S. Winooski Avenue in Burlington.

SCLERODERMA FOUNDATION NEW ENGLAND

Support group meeting held on the 4th Tue. of every mo., 6:30-8:30 p.m., Williston Police Station. Info, Blythe Leonard, 878-0732.

SEX & LOVE ADDICTS ANONYMOUS

12-step recovery group. Do you have a problem w/ sex or relationships? We can help. Shawn, 660-2645. Visit slaafws.org or saa-recovery.org for meetings near you.

SEX ADDICTS ANONYMOUS, MONTPELIER

Do you have a problem w/ compulsive sexual behavior? A 12-step program has helped us. SAA Montpelier meets twice weekly at 6 p.m: Mon. virtual meeting, details at saatalk.info; Thu. faceto-face at Bethany Church, Montpelier, details at saa-recovery.org. Contact saa.vtrecovery@gmail. com or call 802-322-3701.

SEXUAL VIOLENCE SUPPORT

HOPE Works offers free support groups to women, men & teens who are survivors of sexual violence. Groups are avail. for survivors at any stage of the healing process. Intake for all support groups is ongoing. If you are interested in learning more or would like to schedule an intake to become a group member, please call our office at 864-0555, ext. 19, or email our victim advocate at advocate@ sover.net.

SOCIAL ANXIETY SUPPORT GROUPS

For screened adults age 28-40. Therapist-led sessions. For more information, contact Diane@ ldtayeby.com.

STUTTERING SUPPORT GROUPS

If you’re a person who stutters, you are not alone! Adults, teens & school-age kids who stutter, & their families are welcome to join 1 of our 3 free National Stuttering Association (NSA) stuttering support groups at UVM (join by Zoom or in person). Adults: 5:30-6:30 p.m., 1st & 3rd Tue. monthly; teens (ages 13-17): 5:30-6:30 p.m., 2nd Thu. monthly; school-age children (ages 8-12) & parents (meeting separately): 4:15-5:15 p.m., 2nd Thu. monthly. Pomeroy Hall (489 Main St., UVM campus). Info: nsachapters.org/burlington,

burlingtonstutters@gmail.com, 656-0250. Go, Team Stuttering!

SUICIDE SURVIVORS SUPPORT GROUP

For those who have lost a friend or loved one through suicide. 6:30-8 p.m., on the 3rd Tue. of every mo. Maple Leaf Clinic, 167 N. Main St., Wallingford, 446-3577.

SUICIDE HOTLINES IN VT Brattleboro, 257-7989; Montpelier (Washington County Mental Health Emergency Services), 2290591; Randolph (Clara Martin Center Emergency Service), 800-639-6360.

SUPPORT GROUP FOR WOMEN who have experienced intimate partner abuse, facilitated by Circle (Washington Co. only). Please call 877-543-9498 for more info.

SURVIVORS OF SUICIDE

If you have lost someone to suicide & wish to have a safe place to talk, share & spend a little time w/ others who have had a similar experience, join us on the 3rd Thu. of every mo., 7-9 p.m., at the Faith Lighthouse Church, Route 105, Newport (105 Alderbrook). Please call before attending. Info: Mary Butler, 744-6284.

SURVIVORS OF SUICIDE:

S. BURLINGTON

This group is for people experiencing the impact of the loss of a loved one to suicide. 1st Wed. of each mo., 6-7:30 p.m., at the Comfort Inn & Suites, 3 Dorset St., Burlington. Info: Heather Schleupner, 301-514-2445, raysoflifeyoga@gmail.com.

TOPS

Take Off Pounds Sensibly chapter meeting. Hedding United Methodist Church, Washington St., Barre. Wed., 5:15-6:15 p.m. For info, call David at 371-8929.

TRANS & GENDER-NONCONFORMING SUPPORT GROUP

As trans & GNC people in the world, we experience many things that are unique to our identities. For that reason, the Transgender Program hosts a support group for our community on the 1st & 3rd Wed. of every mo., 6:30-8 p.m., either virtually or at Pride Center of Vermont. The Trans & GNC Support group is for Vermonters at all stages of their gender journey to come together to socialize, discuss issues that are coming up in their lives & build community. We welcome anyone whose identity falls under the trans, GNC, intersex & nonbinary umbrellas, & folks questioning their gender identity. Email safespace@pridecentervt. org w/ any questions, comments or accessibility concerns.

TRANSGENDER EXTENDED FAMILY SUPPORT

We are people w/ adult loved ones who are transgender or gender-nonconforming. We meet to support each other & to learn more about issues & concerns. Our sessions are supportive, informal & confidential. Meetings are held at 5:30 p.m., the 2nd Thu. of each mo., via Zoom. Not sure if you’re ready for a meeting? We also offer 1-on-1 support. For more info, email rex@pridecentervt. org or call 802-318-4746.

VEGGIE SUPPORT GROUP

Want to feel supported on your vegetarian/vegan journey? Want more info on healthy veggie diets? Want to share & socialize at veggie potlucks & more in the greater Burlington area? This is your opportunity to join w/ other like-minded folks. veggy4life@gmail.com, 658-4991.

WOMEN’S CANCER SUPPORT GROUP

FAHC. Led by Deb Clark, RN. Every 1st & 3rd Tue., 5-6:30 p.m. Call Kathy McBeth, 847-5715.

We have several exciting opportunities available!

Cra Beer Delivery Driver (F/T)

Ensure the timely delivery of goods to predetermined customers on specific routes, review orders prior to delivery, load and unload trucks, & provide exceptional customer service. Driving experience preferred.

Packaging Line Operator (F/T)

Round out our Packaging Team by kegging and canning fresh beer.

Heavy Equipment Service Technician

Monroe Tractor, an established company with 71 years as an agriculture dealership is growing in VT and we are seeking to add Service Technicians to perform repair and maintenance on industry leading Agricultural and Construction equipment in shop and on the road.

Applicant will be responsible for troubleshooting and repairing of electrical, hydraulic, transmission and diesel engine components.  Ideal candidate will be self-motivated, safety minded, organized, reliable and a strong communicator. Applicant must have a clean driving record, have reliable transportation, successfully pass a background check and drug test. Must be able to meet the physical requirements of the job which include bending, lifting heavy components and working in confined spaces.

Competitive pay and benefits provided. Please send resume to mhendy@monroetractor.com or call 802-771-3007

GROUNDS MEMBER

Saint Michael’s College is seeking applications from dependable and efficient workers to fill a full-time grounds member position. This position will have a set schedule on Saturdays and Sundays, from 6:00 a.m–2:30 p.m., and three (3) other weekdays of their choosing, from 6:30 a.m.–3:00 p.m. Successful candidates will join a team that maintains campus grounds throughout the year. Overtime is expected and required throughout the year during large campus events and especially in the winter months for forecasted snowstorms.

For a complete job description, benefits information, and to apply online, please visit: bit.ly/SMCPSMG.

ATTENTION RECRUITERS:

We're looking for one full-time person to support plant hygiene needs at Lake Champlain Chocolates. Under the direction of the Facilities Manager, the Environmental Services Technician is responsible for the cleaning, sanitizing, and general health of the building space. Duties include: vacuuming, sweeping, and mopping floors; dusting; washing walls, doors, and windows; trash removal and basic upkeep of most areas in and around the facility. You can expect to work independently while following detailed procedures and checklists. The work does require frequent lifting, bending, stooping, reaching, and working from ladders and elevated platforms such as scissor lifts.

Schedule: Monday-Friday, 2:00-10 pm at our 290 Boyer Circle facility in Williston, VT. Please note: Our building is not located on the bus line and therefore, any candidate would need their own reliable transportation.

Please visit our website for additional job details: https://www.lakechamplainchocolates.com/careers

DISCIPLINARY COUNSEL

The Vermont Judiciary has an immediate full-time career opening for the position of Disciplinary Counsel. Disciplinary Counsel is responsible for investigating and litigating disciplinary and disability matters. Located in Burlington or Montpelier, the position requires an active member in good standing of the Vermont bar and 5 to 8 years’ litigation experience, as well as strong research, writing and analytical skills. Disciplinary Counsel works closely with the Professional Responsibility Board and serves at the pleasure of the State Court Administrator. Job code # 23005.

This position is open until filled with a salary equivalent of $98,000 or higher depending upon experience. Excellent benefits including generous leave, group life and health and retirement plans.

Further information and how to apply see vermontjudiciary.exacthire.com/job/106292 E.O.E.

VERMONT STATE COURTS

Human Resources Manager

Are you looking for an innovative, dynamic and collaborative place to work?

Join us to offer a holistic and developmentally-aligned education to meet the students of today.

Open Positions:

• First Grade Teacher

• Kindergarten Assistant

• Education Support Specialist

• School Counselor

APP LY ONLINE : lakechamplainwaldorfschool.org /careers 2v-LakeChamplainWaldorfSchool022223.indd

OPERATIONS SUPPORT

True North Wilderness Program is seeking Operations Support people. The ideal candidate is an adaptable team player with a positive attitude who is willing to work both indoors and outdoors performing a variety of tasks associated with the logistics of running our program. Tasks including food packing and rationing, gear outfitting, transportation and facilities maintenance. Candidates must be willing to work weekends and occasional evenings.

A clean and valid driver’s license is required.

Competitive salary and comprehensive benefits offered. Benefits include health, dental, vision and accident insurance, an employee assistance program, a Wellness Fund, student loan repayment reimbursement, and a SIMPLE IRA.

Please apply at: truenorthwilderness.com

Looking for a career? Ellis Music is a family-owned music store located in central Vermont that serves over 400 schools and thousands of individuals throughout Vermont, New Hampshire, and beyond with instrument sales and rentals, repair services, supplies & sheet music. Current job opportunities include:

• Instrument Repair Technician

• Educational Sales Representative

• Instrument Polisher

• Luthier

Employees are paid a competitive hourly wage and have access to benefits, including paid holidays and vacation time, companysponsored health insurance, and a SEP-IRA retirement plan.

Full-time and part-time employment opportunities are posted on the Ellis Music website along with job descriptions and instructions for applying. Scan the QR code or visit ellismusic.link/jobs for more information.

APPLY ONLINE AT MIDDLEBURY.COOP

Accounting Manager

Goddard College in bucolic Plainfield, Vermont seeks a diligent and resourceful Accounting Manager to collaborate with our Chief Finance and Administration O cer, Business O ce, Human Resources and Academic A airs teams in support of our low residency learning communities and auxiliary operations.  The Accounting Manager must feel comfortable working independently, and in support of our team. The ideal candidate will hold knowledge in non-profit, higher education, or public sector accounting. Experience with or interest and ability to learn ADP WorkforceNow payroll software, Netsuite accounting software, Google platforms & the Microsoft O ce Suite or similar software is desired.

Goddard College o ers a generous paid leave package. Our benefits package includes Blue Cross, Blue Shield of Vermont health insurance and other employee insurances and tuition remission.

To learn more and to apply for the position, please visit: goddard.edu/about-goddard/employment-opportunities/

MARKETING ASSISTANT

The Flynn’s marketing team is looking for an outstanding assistant who thrives in a creative, busy environment. Must be proactive, organized, kind, and collaborative. If you are interested in growing your marketing career and being part of Burlington’s historic performing arts center, visit our website for more information.

flynnvt.org/About-Us/Employment-

Send

Conservation Nursery Crew

The Intervale Center is accepting applications for our Conservation Nursery Crew to support conservation efforts by assisting in tree harvest, planting, and general nursery tasks, as well as participating in invasive species removal and stewardship projects. An ideal candidate is energetic and enthusiastic about working outdoors and being part of a team. The position is full-time and seasonal beginning April 3 through May 31, 2023, with the possibility to extend beyond the spring.

Intervale Center is an Equal Opportunity Employer that values diversity of experience, background, and perspective to enrich our work. Applications by members of all underrepresented groups are encouraged. The full job description with instructions on how to apply can be found at intervale.org/get-involved#employment-banner.

Northern New England’s Premier Performing Arts Center

Seeking experienced HR professional to support over 100 employees i n an engaged workplace culture w hile elevating diversity, equity & inclusion.

NOW HIRING

Creative Micro is looking for highly motivated, out-ofthe-box thinking individuals to join our unique team.

CMC works on diverse technical challenges in a vibrant workplace located in the Mad River Valley. We are actively seeking Firmware, Software, Optical Engineers with cross disciplinary skills. Please check us out at creativemicro.com

ATTENTION RECRUITERS:

PARK MAINTENANCE

Work outdoors in beautiful parks! General maintenance of parks, beaches, athletic fields and other municipal grounds including, mowing, trimming, pruning, leaf and trash removal.

Seasonal positions available from March - November 7am - 3pm, 40 hrs./week, $18.50/hr.

Visit: colchestervt.gov/321/ Human-Resources for job description and application.

E.O.E.

NORTHEASTERN VERMONT REGIONAL HOSPITAL is seeking

Registered Nurses

Seeking Registered Nurses for a variety of departments and shifts! NVRH RNs enjoy shared governance, a competitive salary and numerous opportunities for growth. Come be part of a healthcare team offering excellent services within your community. New grads welcome!

NVRH offers excellent benefits, including student loan repayment, generous paid time off, health/ dental/vision, 401k with company match, and more!

APPLY TODAY AT NVRH.ORG/CAREERS.

JOB TRAINING. WELL DONE. Join the Community Kitchen Academy!

Community Kitchen Academy (CKA) is a 9-week job training program featuring: Hands on learning, national ServSafe certification, job placement support and meaningful connections to community. Plus... the tuition is FREE and weekly stipends are provided for income eligible students!

At CKA you’ll learn from professional chefs in modern commercial kitchens and graduate with the skills and knowledge to build a career in food service, food systems and other related fields. Throughout the 9-week course, you’ll develop and apply new skills by preparing food that would otherwise be wasted. The food you cook is then distributed through food shelves and meal sites throughout the community. CKA is a program of the Vermont Foodbank, operated in partnership with Capstone Community Action in Barre and Feeding Chittenden in Burlington. Next sessions start March 20th in Burlington and April 3rd in Barre.

APPLY ONLINE: vtfoodbank.org/cka

FISCAL COORDINATOR

PLUMBER

The Facilities Department at Saint Michael’s College is inviting applications for a full-time Plumber. This position supports the department in maintaining a comfortable, safe, and efficient environment by providing timely responses to issues and ensuring all campus plumbing systems are fully operational.

Some responsibilities include maintaining, repairing, and replacing plumbing systems and components throughout the campus; operating and repairing energy management building systems that control heating and cooling systems; participating in an on-call rotation for 1-week every 4-5 weeks; identifying deferred maintenance issues; and implementing preventative maintenance for the shop. This position will require regular work hours, as well as occasional on-call evening, weekend, and holiday times. For a complete job description, benefits information, and to apply online, please visit: bit.ly/SMCPLFT.

SERVICE COORDINATOR

Join our team of professionals providing case management for individuals with intellectual disabilities and autism. In this position you will work with individuals to create and realize goals while supporting them in maintaining a safe and healthy lifestyle.

Compensation package is $47k annually plus mileage, on call stipend and $1500 sign on. Position includes affordable health insurance, 20 paid days off plus 12 paid holidays, retirement match, dental plan and so much more. In addition, CCS has been voted as one of the Best Places to Work in Vermont for five years in a row!

Continue your career in human services in a compassionate & fun environment. Join us today and make a career making a difference. Send resume to Karen Ciechanowicz at staff@ccs-vt.org ccs-vt.org

E.O.E.

South Burlington School District is seeking a self-motivated, creative individual to join our Business Office as the Fiscal Coordinator. This position will assist the Business Office with reporting and accounting functions, and provide backup support to the payroll department. The ideal candidate will have a Bachelor’s degree in Accounting, Finance, or a related field. Two years of experience in accounting functions is preferred. Please apply through SchoolSpring.com, Job ID #: 412551, or contact Elissa Galvez, HR Employment Specialist at 802-652-7247 or egalvez@sbschools.net

Development Coordinator

30-40 hours per week

Yestermorrow Design/Build School is seeking a talented, selfmotivated individual to bring our development e orts to the next level. This person will work closely with the Executive Director to cultivate existing donor relationships and to provide insight, direction and leadership to our school’s fundraising initiatives, which include special events, major gifts, grant writing and more.

Prior fundraising experience, especially at a nonprofit, is required. Experience organizing events and coordinating volunteers is preferred. Some remote work available.

Base Pay Starting at $23/hour plus generous benefit package.

For a more detailed job description visit our website at yestermorrow.org/jobs

DUMB LUCK PUB & GRILL

Now Hiring Cook

• Basic Pub Menu

• Low Stress

• Workable Hours

• Good Pay

• Weekends a must

• Full & Part time wanted

• Experience not required, will train

Bartender/Server

• Looking for day & nighttime shifts

• Close at 10pm

• Experience not required, will train

• Weekend availability a must

• Full & Part time wanted

To apply, contact Ed: eboldwin820@gmail.com or call 802-922-7024

4th/5th grade Elementary Educator

Do you...

... value deep thinking?

... welcome creativity?

... advocate for social and environmental justice?

The Schoolhouse Learning Center in S. Burlington has an opening for a teacher in our 4th-5th grade multiage classroom. The ideal candidate enjoys teaching children to be independent, understands child development and is passionate about student-centered education. You should have experience with or a willingness to learn progressive approaches to learning and teaching, and embrace our interdisciplinary, nature-based philosophy. This is an unusual and exciting opportunity to join a team of creative, skilled educators in a progressive school with a 50-year track record of success.

Find out more and apply: www.theschoolhousevt.org/ employment

802-658-4164

STATE TRAIL COORDINATOR & TRAIL CREW POSITIONS

Work outside in the State Forests and State Parks of Vermont! The VT Dept. of Forests, Parks and Recreation is currently hiring for a Trail Coordinator I (Rutland) and Trail Crew Positions. As Trail Coordinator you’ll work closely with a fulltime recreation professional to gather data for trail planning and project development, work with trails crews on a variety of projects from front country carpentry projects to backcountry rock work projects. On Trail Crew you will work across Vermont doing a mixture of trail maintenance, technical rockwork, and carpentry. You’ll be able to practice or gain new skills related to Wilderness First Aid and chainsaw use. These positions are dynamic and physically demanding. You’ll need to be able to move comfortably over uneven terrain in all weather.

Apply online: vtstateparks.com/jobs/

JOIN OUR TEAM!

Shared Living Provider

Seeking a Shared Living Provider for a 37-year-old female who loves art and local music. This position would require the candidate to move into the client’s Winooski home and assist the client while they recover from surgery, help with transportation (on-site parking available), and assist the client with daily tasks due to their diagnosis of Autism Disorder. The SLP will have the ability to work full time outside of this opportunity. The ideal provider would be a single female under the age of 60 who is sensitive and open minded. The client has a service Labradoodle, but no other large pets are allowed.

Compensation includes an annual tax-free stipend of $25,000 plus contracted supports.

Contact: RebeccaLO@howardcenter.org or (802) 324-5729.

howardcenter.org • 802-488-6500

Business Operations Manager

Henry Sheldon Museum, Middlebury, VT

Lane Press prints, binds, and mails high-quality magazines for publishers nationwide. We’re widely known for our cra smanship, and we’re looking for dedicated, collaborative, and friendly employees to join our team. Apply today!

WE HAVE IMMEDIATE NEEDS FOR:

Postal Liaison

Work with our publishing customers to get their magazines delivered across the country using the most efficient and cost-effective methods. Collaborate with our mail data specialists. Requires working knowledge of postal so ware and regulations, and USPS online tools.

Pay rate: Commensurate with experience

General Maintenance Technician, 3rd Shi Maintain, troubleshoot, and repair controls, mechanical and electrical aspects of manufacturing equipment, and facility systems. Basic plumbing and carpentry skills desired.

Shi : 11pm-7am

Pay rate: Commensurate with experience

Bindery Production Crew, 1st & 3rd Shi s

Work on our bindery production line, performing tasks to complete magazine binding and prepare finished magazines for shipping. This is a fun, fast-paced, and active role – your shi will go by quickly!

Shi s: 7am-3pm (Mon-Fri), 11pm-7am (Sun-Thr)

Pay rate: $18-$19.80/hour

Pressroom Trainees, All Shi s

Learn to perform technical, manual, and machine tasks in our pressroom. Assist in the setup, maintenance, and operation of web presses, as well as stacker and roll-stand units.

Shi s: 7am-3pm (Mon-Fri), 3pm-11pm (Mon-Fri), 11pm-7am (Sun-Thr)

Pay rate: $18-$19.80/hour

Lane offers competitive wages and comprehensive benefits to all full-time employees.

Learn more & apply: careers.lanepress.com

Lane Press is an Equal Opportunity Employer.

The Henry Sheldon Museum seeks a hands-on Business Operations Manager to join its dynamic team. Reporting to the Executive Director/Board President and working closely with the other museum staff, the Business Operations Manager is responsible for managing the day-to-day operations of the Museum including finances, operations, facilities, development/fundraising support, and communications/marketing, in accordance with the mission of a small active cultural community museum in the vibrant college town of Middlebury, Vermont.

Please see full job description at www.henrysheldonmuseum. org/work-at-the-sheldon. Interested candidates should send a letter of interest, resume, and three references to jobs@ henrysheldonmuseum.org. We are committed to cultivating an inclusive work and learning environment and look for future team members who share that same value. The Henry Sheldon Museum is an equal opportunity employer.

IMMEDIATE OPENINGS

K-8 Lunchroom/Recess Monitors: Supervises students during lunch and/or recess. Helps to maintain a safe and respectful environment. HS graduate or equivalent

Nutritional Services: Prepares and serves meals to students and staff. Experience with large-scale cooking, food preparation, and serving is preferred, but not required.

Bus Drivers: Transports students over established routes and special trips. Regular driver’s license for Van Drivers. Commercial Drivers license (CDL) class B, Senior Vermont Operator's license with Vermont School Bus Endorsement needed for Bus Drivers. Training provided to qualifying candidates for special licensure. Substitute positions are also available.

Please apply through SchoolSpring.com. Keyword: South Burlington School District.

Or contact Elissa Galvez, HR Employment Specialist at (802) 652-7247 or egalvez@sbschools.net

88 Right People. Right Business. RIGHT JOB FOR YOU!

ATTENTION RECRUITERS:

New,

Rhino is hiring like crazy to meet the summer demand for all our delicious products and we need you to join us! If you are hired in an hourly role for our Production, Distribution, Maintenance and Sanitation Teams, Rhino will pay YOU $2,000 on your 6-month anniversary!

Check out our website for all our job listings, which include:

Production 3rd shift, $18.50/hr.

Sanitation 2nd shift, $18/hr.

Maintenance Techs 1st & 3rd shifts, $20-$35/hr DOE

Earn some “Dough” at Rhino Foods!

Please see more on these openings on our career page at rhinofoods.com/about-rhino-foods/jobs-and-careers

*Rhino Foods does run sex offender checks on all employees

LIBRARY DIRECTOR

THE TOWN OF STOWE is seeking to hire a full-time Library Director. The Stowe Free Library is dedicated to providing a welcoming public space that inspires learning, advances knowledge, enriches lives and encourages lifelong learning. Our mission is To Welcome...To Inspire...To Enrich the Mind

The Library Director is responsible for managing library operations including programming, goal setting, library planning, collection development, supervision and managing the operating budget. The ideal candidate will have demonstrated administrative skills managing library functions and leading a team of employees in carrying out the Library Trustee’s vision, goals, and strategic plan. The Librarian should have excellent customer service skills and be proficient with library technology. The Library Director will promote a safe, respectful, and collaborative team culture through positive role modeling and strong communications skills.

A Master’s Degree in Library Science or related field, with three years of experience in library operations, budgeting and employee supervision is preferred, or an equivalent combination of education and experience. Pay range is $70,177-$78,937, dependent upon experience. The Town of Stowe currently offers an excellent benefit package including health and dental insurance, paid leave, a generously matched retirement plan, life insurance and more.

Job descriptions and employment application can be obtained at: townofstowevt.org. Submit application, letter of interest, resume, references, and salary requirements to: Town of Stowe, c/o HR Director, PO Box 730, Stowe, VT 05672 or by email recruit@stowevt.gov. Applications will be accepted until the position is filled. The Town of Stowe is an E.O.E.

Assistant Dean of Community Life

Goddard College seeks an Assistant Dean of Community Life to oversee and provide strategic direction for Community Life and Student Services. This position provides a unique and exciting opportunity to rethink how learning communities are built both on campus and in virtual spaces and develop and implement systems to support student success. The Assistant Dean for Community Life works closely with the Academic Affairs team and faculty to support the learning objectives of our students and leads the Community Life team in providing services to students in our low residency model. The Assistant Dean for Community Life also serves as the college’s Title IX officer and works to educate and support the students, faculty, and staff regarding their rights and responsibilities under Title IX. This position is based on our beautiful main campus in Plainfield, VT-a fi een minute drive from Montpelier, a one hour drive from Burlington, a 2.5 hour drive from Montreal, Quebec, 3 hours from Boston, MA, and 5 hours from Quebec or New York cities.

Key qualifications include a master’s degree in counseling, education, higher education administration, legal or paralegal studies, conflict management, student affairs, sociology, or a related field. Ability to engage with those of other cultures and backgrounds and commitment to the principles of social justice which are at the center of Goddard’s pedagogy and curriculum are required for this position.

To review the position description and apply for the position, please go to the college website: goddard.edu/about-goddard/ employment-opportunities/

Centers

Invest EAP Admin Coordinator

Invest EAP is seeking a team-oriented individual with very strong customer service, interpersonal, and administrative skills to provide part-time support to Invest EAP leadership and staff. This position will provide human resource and clerical support, help us develop innovative technologies to interface with members and accounts, and work alongside our clinical and program staff to implement our programming.

Invest EAP is a small, strong team that is very busy overseeing multiple state programs and operating a statewide employee assistance program. Core duties include invoice and contract processing and ensuring high quality consumer relations. Position will support the Director, senior staff, and program managers with multiple aspects of our work. Candidate must be able to juggle multiple priorities and perform complex tasks involving state and federal programs. Must be a self-starter and have excellent computer and technical skills.

If you thrive in working cooperatively with people at all levels with respect, then we want to talk with you. Please submit cover letter and resume to Marc Adams at marca@investeap.org by February 28th, 2023, or apply online at https://bit.ly/InvestEAPadmin

FACILITIES MANAGER

The First UU Society of Burlington is searching for the perfect person to care for our historic building at the top of Church Street. If you have a strong background in building maintenance and management and want to work for an organization with a mission you can feel good about, we just might be the fit for you! Send an email with your resume to Christina Fulton at xina@uusociety.org.

Read the full description at uusociety.org/information/ employment-opportunities/

Assistant Manager of Technology & Security Services

THE VERMONT PUBLIC POWER SUPPLY AUTHORITY, located in Waterbury Center, Vermont is seeking an Assistant Manager of Technology & Security Services to join our team. This position will support the Manager of Technology & Security Services and all Authority cyber-security efforts.

Essential functions include but are not limited to:

• Design, develop, install & manage IT and cyber-security

• Provide metering support, management of MV-90 interrogation software

• Network administration and maintenance

• Maintain hardware and software inventory

• Troubleshoot and resolve software and hardware issues

• Research and source new information technologies

• Administer SQL Server Database installations

Duties require specialized knowledge of computer technology support, project management, computer and hardware applications, and specialized training equivalent to completion of four years of college and/or three to five years of progressively responsible related experience with training in computer technology and software programs.

Vermont CARES Is Hiring

Looking to join a team committed to harm reduction and lifesaving work in Vermont? We have multiple positions open, both client facing and administrative, full and part time. We would love to learn more about you and your professional goals today.

Please check out our website for the details: vtcares.org

GLOBALFOUNDRIES, a semiconductor manuf & tech co. seeks the following in Essex Junction, VT: SMTS Device Engineering #JR-2201640: Support the development & qualification of 200mm SiGe BiCMOS & RF CMOS technologies. Responsible for designing new device features & the creation of process routes for these features. Apply at http:// www.globalfoundries.com/, US Careers, & search by requisition #.

VPPSA is building a team of professionals who are passionate about helping Vermont towns meet their energy needs. If you are a team player & enjoy a fast-paced collaborative environment we want to hear from you. Please send resumes and salary requirements to: Vermont Public Power Supply Authority, PO Box 126, Waterbury Ctr., VT 05677. Attn: Ken St. Amour, or to kstamour@vppsa.com. The position will be open until filled.

ADMINISTRATIVE SUPPORT STAFF

Vermont Legal Aid seeks a highly organized individual who enjoys working as part of a team, with a desire to further our mission. We have two full-time positions available: one in Burlington and one in Montpelier, VT. We encourage applicants from a broad range of backgrounds, and welcome information about how your experience can contribute to serving our diverse client communities. Applicants are encouraged to share in their cover letter how they can further our goals of social justice and individual rights. We are an equal opportunity employer committed to a discrimination-and-harassment-free workplace. Please read our Commitment to Diversity & Inclusion: vtlegalaid.org/commitment-diversity-inclusion

Responsibilities include general office management and front desk duties (answering phones, client contact, data entry, typing, file/document/database management), as well as providing administrative support to multiple attorneys and paralegals. Experience in an administrative support role is preferable. Proficiency with Microsoft Office suite required. Fluency in French, Spanish, Swahili, Kirundi, Somali, Arabic, Nepali, or Burmese is a plus. See job description and more details at vtlegalaid.org/work-at-vla

Base salary is $38,480 with salary credit given for relevant prior work experience. Benefits include 4 weeks paid vacation, retirement, & excellent health benefits; possibility for law office study. Application deadline is March 7, 2023. Send cover letter (indicating which office you prefer), resume & contact information for 3 references as a single PDF file with the subject line “Support Staff -Burlington or Montpelier - March 2023” to hiring@ vtlegalaid.org. Please tell us how you heard about the position.

MacDun Garden Care

Seeking individuals who enjoy working outdoors to join our amazing team. Job entails typical gardening activities but without using chemicals or fossil fueled power tools.

Schedules can be flexible. Pay starts at $20/hour.

Apply at: lazydogs2@comcast.net

Administrative & Finance Assistant

This part-time position focuses on keeping NBNC’s financial, employee, and corporate records and files accurate and up-to-date and assists with related projects, such as researching new benefit options, insurance, and regulatory requirements, as needed. Depending on the background and skills of the Administrative and Finance Assistant, the position can focus more heavily on bookkeeping or on supporting NBNC’s HR functions and other administrative tasks, by mutual agreement.

northbranchnaturecenter.org/ employment/

Recreation Coordinator

$49,227, with an excellent benefits package.

Seeking an energetic and active self-starter. Develops, maintains and oversees operations of before & afterschool programs, assist w/ dept. programs and special events. Develops & implements curriculum, supervises and assists sta in administering lesson plans. Collaborates with dept. leadership to develop long-term vision for programs.

Excellent comm. skills, associate’s degree and two years of exp. teaching, oversight of childcare programming, or equiv. combination of education and exp. required. Bachelor’s degree pref. If you’re looking for a positive, fun and rewarding work environment, with a collaborative team, we want to hear from you!

To view a full job description and apply online visit: colchestervt.gov/321/Human-Resources

The Town of Colchester is an E.O.E. Position open until filled.

1

Camp Nurse

CANADA/USA MATHCAMP is a residential academic summer camp for talented high school students. We are looking to hire a RN or LPN as our Camp Nurse.

Dates & Location: June 29 to August 5, 2023, at Champlain College in Burlington, VT. The on-campus hours are typically 8am - 10am, Monday to Saturday, but we can be flexible. We also ask that you are available for phone consultations during the day.

The Camp Nurse is the healthcare professional for our population of 120 students (ages 13 - 18) and 30 staff (adults of all ages, 18+). Responsibilities include: review records before camp; organize and supervise the regular administration of daily medications; assess and treat minor illnesses and injuries that come up during the program; refer issues to urgent care / ER if needed, and then monitor progress and after-care regime.

Compensation: $40/hour for an LPN and $50/hour for an RN.

More info: For the full position description, visit mathcamp.org/jobs/ camp_nurse/. Contact Ania Łeń, Program Coordinator, with any questions at rn-hiring23@mathcamp.org

Deputy State’s Attorney Positions

The Vermont Department of State’s Attorneys and Sheriffs is hiring full-time Deputy State’s Attorneys in Orleans County (Newport), Rutland County (Rutland) and Washington County (Barre), plus limited-service Deputy State’s Attorneys positions in locations around Vermont. A DSA represents the State’s Attorney’s Office in prosecuting criminal and certain civil offenses.

Minimum Qualifications: J.D. degree and admission to the Vermont Bar, or a candidate who has passed the VT bar exam by reading the law. A candidate pending bar results or admission to the Vermont bar may be considered.

For a complete list of openings and full job descriptions, go to prosecutors.vermont.gov/job-opportunities. Positions open until filled. Inquiries can be made by emailing sas.jobs@vermont.gov

Law Office

Finance & Operations Manager

Gravel & Shea PC, a law firm in downtown Burlington, Vermont is seeking a Finance and Operations Manager to join our firm. The Finance and Operations Manager will be responsible for the overall administrative management of the firm, overseeing human resources, finance, operations and related tasks. The ideal candidate is someone who is a strategic, analytic thinker who will enthusiastically build upon our tremendous culture of providing excellent client service in a respectful, collegial work environment.

The qualified applicant will have the following experience and education:

• Management and leadership experience, combined with proven success in human resources, law firm finances and general office administration

• Self-driven

• An excellent communicator

• Proven previous experience with accurately preparing, interpreting, and communicating financial data/statements

• A bachelor’s degree in business management, finance or related field, plus at least 5 years of progressive experience, preferably in a legal or professional services environment; OR a combination of education and related working experience from which comparable knowledge and skills can be acquired

• Computer proficiency, technical aptitude and on-the-job experience, using Microsoft products as well as bookkeeping, timekeeping, and billing systems. Prior experience working with NetDocs document management and Juris billing system a plus

• A desire to work with a growing team of legal professionals

We offer a competitive salary and benefits package including health insurance, 401(k), paid parental leave, and profitsharing. Interested applicants can see the complete job posting at: gravelshea.com/careers. If you are interested please e-mail your cover letter and résumé to ajg@gfc.com

Gravel & Shea PC is an Equal Opportunity Employer. www.gravelshea.com

Join a growing team at an innovative, nationally-recognized organization charged with creating affordable housing, building community, preserving historic assets, and conserving our lands.

Housing Stewardship Coordinator

Evaluate, monitor, and support the long-term sustainability of housing developments across the state. Bring your excellent analytical, communication, and problem-solving skills and assist the network of non-profit organizations creating housing for Vermonters and revitalizing our communities.

Clean Water Program Director

Are you knowledgeable and passionate about clean water, agriculture and land conservation? The Clean Water Program Director works with state and local partners on water quality projects in the Memphremagog Basin to achieve Vermont's clean water goals.

VHCB offers an excellent benefit package and is an Equal Opportunity Employer. Candidates from diverse backgrounds are strongly encouraged to apply. To read position descriptions and apply, visit vhcb.org/about-us/jobs. Positions will remain open until filled.

COMMUNITY BANKERS

CHITTENDEN COUNTY

BUILDERS | MAKERS | DOERS

There is no better time to join our Team! Northfield Savings Bank, founded in 1867, is the largest banking institution headquartered in Vermont. We are committed to providing a welcoming work environment for all. Are you looking to start or continue a career in the finance industry? Consider joining our team as a Community Banker! To see all our available positions, please visit www.NSBVT. com/careers/open-positions.

JOB RESPONSIBILITIES & REQUIREMENTS

This frontline position is crucial in creating a positive, welcoming and inclusive experience for NSB customers. The successful candidate will have exceptional customer service and communication skills.

The Community Banker will be responsible for receiving and processing customers’ financial transactions as well as opening and maintaining customer accounts and services. We are looking for someone who can develop and maintain relationships with our valued customers, protect bank and customer information, and uphold customer confidentiality. A high school diploma, general education degree (GED), or equivalent is required.

If you have customer service, previous cash handling, or banking experience we encourage you to apply!

OPPORTUNITY FOR GROWTH

NSB has training opportunities to engage employees and assist with professional development within our company. The average years of service for an NSB employee is 9! If you’re looking for a career in an environment that promotes growth, join our team!

WHAT NSB CAN OFFER YOU

Competitive compensation based on experience. Well-rounded benefits package. Profit-Sharing opportunity. Excellent 401(k) matching retirement program. Commitment to professional development. Opportunities to volunteer and support our communities. Work-Life balance! We understand the importance of having evenings and weekends with our friends, families, and the communities we serve!

Please send an NSB Application & your resume in confidence to: Careers@nsbvt.com or Northfield Savings Bank | Human Resources PO Box 7180, Barre, VT 05641

Equal Opportunity Employer/Member FDIC

RAPID REHOUSING SPECIALIST

Are you interested in a job that helps your community and makes a difference in people’s lives every day? Consider joining Burlington Housing Authority (BHA) in Burlington, VT. We’re seeking candidates to continue BHA’s success in promoting innovative solutions that address housing instability challenges facing our diverse population of low-income families and individuals.

Currently, we’re looking for a full time (40 hours per week) Rapid Rehousing Specialist in our Housing Retention and Services department. This position provides assistance to community members who are without housing and have barriers to locating and securing housing in the community. This grant funded position works closely with our Rental Assistance department and Chittenden County Coordinated Entry and is a part of a skilled team that focuses on assessment, intervention, and service coordination of at-risk households.

Bachelor’s degree in Human Services or related field and three years of experience working with home-based service provision to diverse populations is required. The ideal candidate should be highly organized with strong written and verbal communication skills and positively contribute to a collaborative team. A valid driver’s license and reliable transportation is preferred.

BHA serves a diverse population of tenants and partners with a variety of community agencies. To most effectively carry out our vision of delivering safe and affordable housing to all, we are committed to cultivating a staff that reflects varied lived experiences, viewpoints, and educational histories. Therefore, we strongly encourage candidates from diverse racial, ethnic, and cultural backgrounds, persons with disabilities, LGBTQ individuals, and women to apply. Multilingualism is a plus!

BHA offers a competitive salary, commensurate with qualifications and experience, and a sign on bonus of $2,000!

Our robust benefit package includes premium medical insurance with a health reimbursement account, dental, vision, short and long term disability, 10% employer funded retirement plan, 457 retirement plan, accident insurance, life insurance, cancer and critical illness insurance.

We provide a generous time off policy including 12 days of paid time off and 12 days of sick time in the first year. In addition to the paid time off, BHA recognizes 13 (paid) holidays.

Interested in this career opportunity? Send a cover letter and resume to: humanresources@burlingtonhousing.org

Human Resources - Burlington Housing Authority 65 Main Street, Suite 101 Burlington, VT 05401 https://burlingtonhousing.org, BHA is an Equal Opportunity Employer

ATTENTION RECRUITERS:

POST YOUR JOBS AT: SEVENDAYSVT.COM/POSTMYJOB

PRINT DEADLINE: NOON ON MONDAYS (INCLUDING HOLIDAYS) FOR RATES & INFO: MICHELLE BROWN, 802-865-1020 X121, MICHELLE@SEVENDAYSVT.COM

CCS is thrilled to be voted as one of the “Best Places to Work in Vermont” for the fifth year in a row and we would love to have you as part of our team. Join Us! Work at CCS and support our mission

CCS is thrilled to be voted as one of the “Best Places to Work in Vermont” for the fifth year in a row and we would love to have you as part of our team.

MANUFACTURING TEAM MEMBER

Super Thin Saws, of Waterbury, VT, manufactures precision circular sawblades and similar tooling, primarily for the woodworking industry. We are seeking highly motivated individuals to work and grow in our manufacturing operation.

Candidates must be mechanically inclined. Previous experience with measuring tools such as micrometers, calipers, and dial indicators is desired. We will provide training to successful candidates.

Super Thin Saws provides excellent benefits, including medical, good pay, and flexible work hours.

To apply: please send your resume to bookkeeping@ superthinsaws.com or call 802-244-8101

Paralegal

Vermont Legal Aid seeks a full-time paralegal located in any of its five offices: Burlington, Montpelier, Rutland, Springfield or St. Johnsbury. Responsibilities may include interviewing, advising, and advocating for clients, including written and oral communications, and assisting project attorneys with cases. Initially, paralegal will assist with two projects trying to keep people housed; over time, paralegal may work in other projects with different job responsibilities.

We encourage applicants from a broad range of backgrounds, and welcome information about how your experience can contribute to serving our diverse client communities. We are an equal opportunity employer committed to a discrimination- and harassment-free workplace. Please see our Commitment to Diversity & Inclusion: vtlegalaid.org/commitment-diversity-inclusion

Prior advocacy experience desirable. Knowledge of database software a plus. Bachelor’s degree or four years’ professional work experience required, or a comparable mix of education and experience; some weekend work and in-state travel necessary. See vtlegalaid.org/work-at-vla for additional information and job description.

Base salary is $44,200, with starting salary determined by a candidate’s relevant skills and experience. Generous benefits package including four weeks paid vacation, retirement, and excellent health benefits. Opportunity for law firm study. Application deadline is March 7, 2023 Your application should include a cover letter, resume, writing sample, and 3 references, all combined into one pdf, sent by e-mail to hiring@vtlegalaid.org with “Paralegal – March 2023” in the subject line. Please let us know how you heard about this position.

JOIN THE TEAM AT GARDENER’S SUPPLY!

Through gardening, our customers control their access to safe and a ordable food, and grow food to share with their neighbors. At Gardener’s Supply, we are committed to doing everything we can to help our customers keep gardening, but we need your help.

We’re hiring for SEASONAL POSITIONS AT ALL LOCATIONS:

•Pick/Pack customer orders at our DISTRIBUTION CENTER IN MILTON

•Provide exceptional customer service in our CALL CENTER - Remote options available

• Help customers with their gardening needs at our WILLISTON & BURLINGTON, VT GARDEN CENTERS

We are 100% employee-owned and a Certi ed B Corporation. We o er strong cultural values, competitive wages and outstanding bene ts (including a tremendous discount!). Please go to our careers page at www.gardeners.com/careers and apply online!

Vice President of Communications

Vice President of Business Development

www.CommunityHeartandSoul.org

Now that you know who we are, what we do, and our passion for small cities and towns across America, read on if this stirs you. Founded by Lyman Orton, who built his family’s business, The Vermont Country Store, into an enduring retail organization, Community Heart and Soul is a resident-driven process that engages the entire population of a town in identifying what they love most about their community, what future they want for it, and how to achieve it. Practiced in over 100 towns across America, we are expanding our program to include hundreds of new communities.

If you are a strong leader with business experience, an entrepreneurial hands-on approach, and have a passion to expand Community Heart and Soul across America, write to our President, Mark Sherman, with your background and what you can do to bring Heart & Soul to vastly more small cities and towns. Needless to say, you must be a convincing public speaker, writer, effective manager, and have the desire and ability to evangelize Community Heart & Soul effectively to small cities and towns so they will want to invest in it for their own benefit.

Both VP positions will be based at our office in Shelburne, Vermont. To learn more about each position and submit your cover letter and resume, visit communityheartandsoul.org/careers/

For details and to apply: bit.ly/3HwzIS7

BARBER/STYLIST

MAIN ST. BARBERS

Looking for full-time/part-time Barber or Stylist for a very busy Barber Shop. Very reasonable rent.

Please call Teri or Sue: 802-863-5100

ADMINISTRATOR

Saint Anne’s Shrine in Isle La Motte is seeking an Administrator to oversee operations of this historic attraction situated on the shores of Lake Champlain.

The Administrator is responsible for the day-to-day management of the Shrine, with a year-round staff of seven. The Administrator coordinates all mission-based programming in support of the Shrine’s Spiritual Director. The Administrator plays a key role in fundraising and donor development with the Shrine Spiritual Director, as well as financial and strategic business planning.

A bachelor’s degree is preferred and experience in fundraising, organizational planning or hospitality would be beneficial. This position is full-time year-round. Occasional weekend work is required. A competitive salary and generous benefits package supplement the beautiful surroundings and meaningful work.

Please send your resume and letter of interest to: Steve Karcher, Society of Saint Edmund, One Winooski Park, Colchester, VT 05439 or to skarcher@sse.org

Applications will be accepted until a new administrator is selected.

Vermont Truth and Reconciliation Commissioners

The State of Vermont will hire three Commissioners who are charged with achieving the goals of Act 128. Act 128 is a Vermont law that establishes the Truth and Reconciliation Commission. This Commission will implement a plan for listening to and documenting the stories of Vermonters who have been discriminated against by State laws and policies. This discrimination can be historical or present today.

The Truth and Reconciliation Commission Selection Panel will hire three Commissioners. Act 128 requires Commissioners to meet the following criteria:

 They live in Vermont.

 They are not members of the Selection Panel.

They have knowledge of the problems and challenges facing the people and communities identified in Act 128. These include:

 Those who are Native American or Indigenous.

 Those or family members of those with a physical, psychiatric, or mental condition or disability.

 Those who are Black or other people of color.

 Those with French Canadian, French-Indian, or other mixed ethnic or racial heritage.

 Other people and communities that have experienced institutional, structural, and systemic discrimination.

Three Commissioners will be hired and start working on April 1, 2023, or as soon as possible. The Commissioners will be State employees with paid time off, benefits, and an annual salary of $80,000. The Commissioner position ends on June 30, 2026.

People who are interested in applying should send a description of their qualifications and interest using any combination of a resume, cover letter, or recording. People should send their application packages to TRCVT@vtnetwork.org. The deadline is March 3, 2023.

For information or requests regarding accessibility, contact: Karen Tronsgard-Scott or Vanessa Santos Eugenio at TRCVT@vtnetwork.org.

People from marginalized communities, especially those named in Act 128, are encouraged to apply.

TREE CLIMBERS & GROUNDS CREW

Join our team! We are a small, family-run company and we’ve been doing business in the Upper Valley of Vermont and New Hampshire for over 40 years. Timber Tender is a great place to start your career and learn an excellent trade.

We offer on the job training and pathways to professional certification in the arboriculture industry. All experience levels are welcome. Starting wage $20/hour and up depending on experience. Must have a valid driver’s license and a love of the outdoors.

Email resumes to: info@timbertender.com or call 802-234-5441

Office Manager

AFTER THE SKI SEASON ENDS

Office Manager at Sugarbush Soaring. Rewarding, fast paced, full time, May thru October. Help manage youth programs and general day to day operations.

Competitive Wage, E.O.E.

Contact:

Tom.emory@outlook.com sugarbushsoaring.com

3E Thermal, a statewide program of Capstone Community Action, Inc. partnering with Low-Income Weatherization program operators, efficiency programs, and housing agencies is seeking select professionals to join our growing team:

3E Thermal Project Services Manager

(Barre, VT) – An experienced professional who provides closesupport of energy efficiency improvements in retrofit projects

3E Thermal Associate Project Services Manager (Barre, VT) – An up-and-coming professional supporting and learning the job of the Project Services Manager

3EThermal Operations Manager

(Barre, VT) – Supports and coordinates operational details among 3E Thermal Staff.

For more detailed information and to apply go to: capstonevt.org/careers.

3E Thermal advances energy efficiency and better building practices for owners of affordable apartment housing, the designers and contractors who serve them, and ultimately for the tenants who live in their buildings.

3E acts as consultants to owners and developers to maximize energy savings, safety, comfort and efficiency. We bring our experience, insights, knowledge and technical support to customize solutions for each project and can provide cash incentives based on energy savings.

Capstone Community Action, Inc. is an Equal Opportunity Employer and Provider. Applications from women, individuals with disabilities, veterans, and people from diverse cultural backgrounds are encouraged.

Delivery Driver/Sales Non-CDL

We are looking for a part time delivery driver for a small family business specializing in fresh fish and shellfish.

Tuesday/Thursday (Adding Fridays late Spring). Hours are typically 10-7 with option for 1-7 shi . Excellent job for people with part time schedules. Fun job, good pay, good people.  Check us out at: WoodMountainFish.Com for more information!

WHERE YOU AND YOUR WORK MATTER

When you work for the State of Vermont, you and your work matter. A career with the State puts you on a rich and rewarding professional path. You’ll find jobs in dozens of fields – not to mention an outstanding total compensation package.

PUBLIC HEALTH NURSE SUPERVISOR – SPRINGFIELD

The Vermont Department of Health is looking for an enthusiastic and experienced nurse to lead a dedicated and caring team toward improving population level health. This is achieved through the delivery of essential public health services and programs such as chronic disease prevention, immunizations, maternal and child health, healthy homes, infectious disease, substance abuse prevention, school health, and emergency preparedness. This position reports to the District Director. For more information, contact Michael Russell at michael.russell@vermont.gov.

Department: Health. Location: Springfield. Status: Full Time. Job Id #45721.

Application Deadline: March 15, 2023.

DDS MEDICAL CONSULTANT – WATERBURY

Are you a physician looking for a flexible part-time career helping to improve the lives of Vermont’s most vulnerable people? Disability Determination Services seeks a licensed M.D./D.O. with experience in general medicine, family practice, or cardiology to consult with adjudicative staff and provide medical eligibility decisions for applicants filing for Social Security disability, SSI, and Medicaid disability. Telework available. Program training is provided with no patient care responsibilities. For more information, contact Kirsten Moore at kirsten. moore@ssa.gov. Department: Children and Families. Location: Waterbury.

Status: Part-Time, Temporary. Job Id #44279. Application Deadline: March 5, 2023.

RESIDENTIAL COUNSELOR I – ESSEX

Come join a team of dedicated and compassionate staff at a new 16-bed state-of-the-art Secure Residential Facility in Essex, Vermont! Residential Counselor duties involve the care and treatment of the residents within the facility and out in the community. Residential Counselors provide education, support with life skills, and milieu management. Residential Counselors support residents with appointments in the community, activities, and various community visits. Shifts available, including a need for overnight staffing. For more information, contact Troy Parah at troy. parah1@vermont.gov. Department: Mental Health. Location: Essex. Status: Full-time with benefits! Job Id #45895. Application Deadline: March 6, 2023.

GO HIRE.

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Join Our Auto Auction Team

We are looking for DYNAMIC INDIVIDUALS to help run our Williston Auto Auction.

OPEN POSITION:

Auto Auction Positions

We are currently looking for applicants who are interested in the car auction industry, have basic knowledge of cars and trucks, enjoy a face paced work environment and strive to better themselves every day. We have multiple positions open including yard crew, front office and auction day support staff. We offer competive wages and benefits for full time employees!

Thomas Hirchak Company is an at will employer. See details at: THCAuction.com

WANT TO APPLY?

Email Us: Eric@THCAuction.com or drop by our auto office today at 298 James Brown Dr., Williston 802-878-9200 or 800-474-6132

Compliance Specialist sought by Aon Insurance Managers (USA) Inc., an Aon Corporation company, in Burlington, VT to perform compliance & reporting activities for captive insurance. May work from home up to 3 days per week. Reqs a Bachelor’s deg in Finance, Business Mgmt, or a related field plus 2 yrs of compliance & reporting for captive insurance exp. Must have at least 2 yrs of exp in each of the following: Creating & maintaining an operating manual for monthly procedures & premium tax return preparation; Reviewing & reconciling tax payments, premiums, reinsurance recoveries, & company expenses; Collating information for tax reporting & regulatory filings; & Providing financial bookkeeping. All positions req an applicant who has accepted an offer to undergo a background check.

Annual salary: $47,600-$79,300. Candidates must send resume to aonresumes@aon.com & cite requisition number 00567 or apply at jobs.aon.com

ATTENTION RECRUITERS:

Engaging minds that change the world

DEI Strategic Communications Professional Temporary, Hourly Position

20 hours/week Mid-February (desirable) - end of May 2023

Flexible hours, remote and on-campus

UVM’s Office of Strategic Communications is seeking an experienced communications professional on a temporary basis to support, enhance and provide leadership in facilitating the brand of the University of Vermont (UVM) as a member of the Division of Strategic Communications (OSC) team embedded within the Division of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI). The role will help ensure strategy reinforces UVM’s commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion by acting as OSC’s Diversity Officer, representing OSC on the University Diversity Council, and stewarding OSC’s Inclusive Excellence Action Plan.

Manage and support on-going communications and marketing activity needs sponsored by Division of DEI including a key signature event, the Inclusive Excellence Symposium March 21-24 (https://www.uvm.edu/diversity/IES) and dates of cultural significance (e.g., heritage months). Provide creative content to support these campaigns as well as amplify University events that uplift the values of DEI.

Develop, organize, and maintain university web content and assess its adherence to web content accessibility guidelines in accordance with the University’s brand, policies, and best practices, creating an engaging, high quality user experience.

Partner with the University’s social media manager and collaborate with other University communicators to manage social media channel messaging and engagement on a day-to-day basis. Develop, execute, and evaluate campaigns to advance the Division’s social media presence in support of communications goals.

Oversee and support communications and marketing activities of UVM’s four identity centers as needed during this period.

Provide University leaders guidance on messaging regarding crisis communications and support and draft strategic communications and presentation content for the Office of the Vice Provost.

Requirements: Bachelor’s degree and two to four years of relevant professional experience to include background in DEI strategic leadership and messaging, content management and creation, writing/editing, and social media skills required. Knowledge of best practices for web management and digital and social media accessibility required. Proficiency utilizing social media platforms to promote organizations and programs. Demonstrated ability to work as a collaborative team member on complex, sensitive projects in a fast-paced environment. Experience meeting deadlines with multiple, simultaneous projects. Demonstrated expertise working with a range of ethnically and culturally diverse populations and evidence of commitment to fostering a collaborative multicultural environment.

Desirable qualifications: Proficiency in collaborative project management, web and social media management is desired. Knowledge of HTML, Drupal and other web content management systems, and web-based communications, technologies, and tools also helpful. Basic Microsoft Office Suite and Adobe Creative Suite skills. Demonstrated experience using analytics to measure effectiveness of DEI communications and engagement activities across platforms.

This is a temporary hourly position at 20 hours/week and is not eligible for benefits. Pay range is $30/hour-$40/hour based on experience. This position is eligible for hybrid work, with a combination of on-campus and remote. Submit your resume and cover letter before March 1, 2023 to StratComm@uvm.edu with “DEI Strategic Communications Professional” in the subject field. No phone calls please.

The University of Vermont is an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action Employer.

8t-Graystone022223 1

Seven Days Issue: 2/22

Due: 2/20 by 11am

Size: 3.83 x 8.84

Cost: $710.60 (with 1 week online)

SOCIAL MEDIA MANAGER

Vermont College of Fine Arts welcomes applications for the Social Media Manager. This full-time administrative staff position reports to the VP for Institutional Advancement.

Engaging minds that change the world

DEI Strategic Communications Professional Temporary, Hourly Position

20 hours/week Mid-February (desirable)

Flexible hours, remote and on-campus UVM’s Office of Strategic Communications is communications professional on a temporary basis to support, leadership in facilitating the brand of the University of Vermont of the Division of Strategic Communications (OSC) Division of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI). The role will help ensure strategy reinforces UVM’s equity, and inclusion by acting as OSC’s Diversity Offi University Diversity Council, and stewarding OSC’s Plan.

Responsibilities include bringing creative vision to developing and executing a social media strategy to help drive awareness and engagement across VCFA’s social channels while supporting the college’s enrollment marketing objectives and strategic goals. The Social Media Manager is a key contributor to the college’s overall marketing and community engagement initiatives and exhibits strong written and visual storytelling skills, brand awareness, and a proven track record of driving growth through organic social content to communicate the story of VCFA to internal and external audiences.

Successful candidates will have a combination of education, expertise, and experience in social media, communications, and content development; knowledge of all current social media platforms, and current social trends, new platforms,and platform-specific best practices; strong writing skills with experience creating compelling social media content; experience with content tools, Digital Asset Management platforms (Canto, SmugMug), and digital marketing tools; copywriting skills and awareness of SEO/Keyword experience; experience producing powerful visual content, including still images to graphics, GIFs, Instagram stories and reels; high-level organization skills and capacity for attention to detail; and the ability to work independently as well as to effectively collaborate within a team environment.

Manage and support on-going communications and sponsored by Division of DEI including a key signature Excellence Symposium March 21-24 (https://www.uvm.edu/diversity/IES dates of cultural significance (e.g., heritage months). support these campaigns as well as amplify University of DEI.

Develop, organize, and maintain university web content to web content accessibility guidelines in accordance policies, and best practices, creating an engaging, high Partner with the University’s social media manager University communicators to manage social media engagement on a day-to-day basis. Develop, execute, advance the Division’s social media presence in support Oversee and support communications and marketing identity centers as needed during this period. Provide University leaders guidance on messaging regarding and support and draft strategic communications and Office of the Vice Provost.

VCFA Administrative offices are in Montpelier, VT. This position can be performed in-person, hybrid, or remotely. Please see the full job description: vcfa. edu/about/jobs-at-vcfa

To apply, send the following to vcfajobs@vcfa.edu with “Social Media Manager” in the subject line: Cover Letter; CV/Resume; Statement on Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion, outlining your professional skills and experience, and willingness to engage in activities to enhance diversity, equity, and inclusion. For full consideration, submit application materials by March 6th. Position will remain open until filled.

Requirements: Bachelor’s degree and two to four years experience to include background in DEI strategic content management and creation, writing/editing, and Knowledge of best practices for web management and accessibility required. Proficiency utilizing social media organizations and programs. Demonstrated ability to work member on complex, sensitive projects in a fast-paced meeting deadlines with multiple, simultaneous projects. working with a range of ethnically and culturally diverse of commitment to fostering a collaborative multicultural Desirable qualifications: Proficiency in collaborative and social media management is desired. Knowledge web content management systems, and web-based communications, and tools also helpful. Basic Microsoft Office Suite skills. Demonstrated experience using analytics to measure communications and engagement activities across platforms. This is a temporary hourly position at 20 hours/week and Pay range is $30/hour-$40/hour based on experience. hybrid work, with a combination of on-campus and remote.

Submit your resume and cover letter before March 1, 2023 with “DEI Strategic Communications Professional” in calls please.

The University of Vermont is an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative

Burlington Free Press

Size: 1/4 pg (4.937” x 9.82”)

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Cost: $814.77 w/ 30 days online

fun stuff

CALCOKU & SUDOKU (P.77) CROSSWORD (P.77)

JEN SORENSEN

HARRY BLISS

fun stuff

JULIANNA BRAZILL

PISCES

(FEB. 19-MAR. 20)

“What is originality?” asked philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche. Here’s how he answered: “To see something that has no name as yet, and hence cannot be mentioned though it stares us all in the face.” Got that, Pisces? I hope so, because your fun assignments in the coming days include the following: 1) to make a shimmering dream coalesce into a concrete reality; 2) to cause a figment of the imagination to materialize into a useful accessory; 3) to coax an unborn truth to sprout into a galvanizing insight.

ARIES (Mar. 21-Apr. 19): Philosopher John

O’Donohue wrote a prayer not so much to God as to Life. It’s perfect for your needs right now. He said, “May my mind come alive today to the invisible geography that invites me to new frontiers, to break the dead shell of yesterdays, to risk being disturbed and changed.” I think you will generate an interesting onrush of healing, Aries, if you break the dead shell of yesterdays and risk being disturbed and changed. The new frontier is calling to you. To respond with alacrity, you must shed some baggage.

TAURUS (Apr. 20-May 20): Right-wing religious influencers are rambling amok in the United States. In recent months, their repres-

sive pressures have forced over 1,600 books to be banned in 138 school districts in 38 states. The forbidden books include some about heroes Nelson Mandela, Cesar Chavez and Rosa Parks. With this appalling trend as a motivational force, I encourage you Tauruses to take inventory of any tendencies you might have to censor the information you expose yourself to. According to my reading of the astrological omens, now is an excellent time to pry open your mind to consider ideas and facts you have shut out. Be eager to get educated and inspired by stimuli outside your usual scope.

GEMINI (May 21-Jun. 20): I think we can all agree that it’s really fun to fall in love. Those times when we feel a thrilling infatuation welling up within us are among the most pleasurable of all human experiences. Wouldn’t it be great if we could do it over and over again as the years go by? Just keep getting bowled over by fresh immersions in swooning adoration? Maybe we could drum up two or three bouts of mad love explosions every year. But alas, giving in to such a temptation might make it hard to build intimacy and trust with a committed, long-term partner. Here’s a possible alternative: Instead of getting smitten with an endless series of new paramours, we could get swept away by novel teachings, revelatory meditations, lovable animals, sublime art or music, amazing landscapes or sanctuaries, and exhilarating adventures. I hope you will be doing that in the coming weeks, Gemini.

CANCER (Jun. 21-Jul. 22): The scientific method is an excellent approach for understanding reality. It’s not the only one and should not be used to the exclusion of other ways of knowing. But even if you’re allergic to physics or never step into a chemistry lab, you are wise to use the scientific method in your daily life. The coming weeks will be an especially good time to enjoy its benefits. What would that mean, practically speaking? Set aside your subjective opinions and habitual responses. Instead, simply gather evidence. Treasure actual facts. Try to be as objective as you can in evaluating everything that happens. Be highly attuned to your feelings, but also be aware that they may not provide all facets of the truth.

Eva Sollberger’s

LEO (Jul. 23-Aug. 22): Is there anything in your psychological makeup that would help you do some detective work? How are your skills as a researcher? Are you willing to be cagey and strategic as you investigate what’s going on behind the scenes? If so, I invite you to carry out any or all of these four tasks in the coming weeks: 1) Try to become aware of shrouded half-truths. 2) Be alert for shadowy stuff lurking in bright, shiny environments. 3) Uncover secret agendas and unacknowledged evidence. 4) Explore stories and situations that no one else seems curious about.

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sep. 22): The country of Nepal, which has strong Virgo qualities, is divided into seven provinces. One is simply called Province No. 1, while the others are Sudurpashchim, Karnali, Gandaki, Lumbini, Bagmati and Madhesh. I advise Nepal to give Province No. 1 a decent name very soon. I also recommend that you Virgos extend a similar outreach to some of the unnamed beauty in your sphere. Have fun with it. Give names to your phone, your computer, your bed, your hairdryer and your lamps, as well as your favorite trees, houseplants and clouds. You may find that the gift of naming helps make the world a more welcoming place with which you have a more intimate relationship. And that would be an artful response to current cosmic rhythms.

LIBRA (Sep. 23-Oct. 22): Are you aimless, impassive and stuck, floundering as you try to preserve and maintain? Or are you fiercely and joyfully in quest of vigorous and dynamic success? What you do in the coming weeks will determine which of these two forks in your destiny will be your path for the rest of 2023. I’ll be rooting for the second option. Here is a tip to help you be strong and bold: Learn the distinctions between your own soulful definition of success and the superficial, irrelevant, meaningless definitions of success that our culture celebrates. Then swear an oath to love, honor and serve your soulful definition.

SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): The next four weeks will be a time of germination, metaphorically analogous to the beginning of a pregnancy. The attitudes and feelings that predominate during this time will put a strong

imprint on the seeds that will mature into full ripeness by late 2023. What do you want to give birth to in 40 weeks or so, Scorpio? Choose wisely! And make sure that in this early, impressionable part of the process, you provide your growing creations with positive, nurturing influences.

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): I recommend you set up Designated Arguing Summits. These will be short periods when you and your allies get disputes out in the open. Disagreements must be confined to these intervals. You are not allowed to squabble at any other time. Why do I make this recommendation? I believe that many positive accomplishments are possible for you in the coming weeks, and it would be counterproductive to expend more than the minimal necessary amount on sparring. Your glorious assignment: Be emotionally available and eager to embrace the budding opportunities.

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): Actor Judi Dench won an Oscar for her role as Queen Elizabeth in the film Shakespeare in Love — even though she was on-screen for just eight minutes. Beatrice Straight got an Oscar for her role in the movie Network, though she appeared for less than six minutes. I expect a similar phenomenon in your world, Capricorn. A seemingly small pivot will lead to a vivid turning point. A modest seed will sprout into a prismatic bloom. A cameo performance will generate long-term ripples. Be alert for the signs.

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): Most of us are constantly skirmishing with time, doing our best to coax it or compel it to give us more slack. But lately, you Aquarians have slipped into a more intense conflict. And from what I’ve been able to determine, time is kicking your ass. What can you do to relieve the pressure? Maybe you could edit your priority list — eliminate two mildly interesting pursuits to make more room for a fascinating one. You might also consider reading a book to help you with time management and organizational strategies, such as these: 1) Getting Things Done by David Allen. 2) The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen R. Covey. 3) 15 Secrets Successful People Know About Time Management by Kevin Kruse.

Trent Cooper is obsessed with perfecting his loaf of pain de campagne — a naturally leavened country-style bread that he learned to make from famed local baker Gérard Rubaud; Cooper took over Rubaud's bakery in 2020, after his death. Eva filmed Cooper's baking process and tasted bread hot out of the oven at 2:30 a.m.

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WOMEN seeking...

IT’S ALL GOOD!

I am a lovely, kind, loving, fun, funny, intelligent woman, looking for a man who has integrity, humor and maturity. You don’t have to be a Mensa member, but intelligence, self-awareness and emotional intelligence will help us relate to each other well. I am content and happy, grateful for all of life’s blessings. I truly wish the same for you! Songbird24 58, seeking: M, l

OLD-SCHOOL R&B LOVER

COVID-19 has left me feeling alone — hoping to get my groove back. Building a friendship is at the top of my list. Love R&B, dancing and music. Clean up well. Very independent and social. Artistic and crafty. Looking for someone to go on walks and bike rides, a hike in the woods, movies and dinners out. RareBean13, 71, seeking: M, l

HOPE, LIGHT, LOVE

Am looking for that special man — the one who understands that love is unconditional yet has healthy boundaries. That it’s sometimes inconvenient and equally timeless. If you’re that guy, let’s talk. Prospect, 57, seeking: M, l

TRAVEL PARTNER

I would like to have a partner to do fun things with outdoors and indoors. I enjoy exploring, good food, travel, talking, laughing. Rendeveuz, 54, seeking: M, NC, l

WANT TO RESPOND?

You read Seven Days, these people read Seven Days — you already have at least one thing in common!

All the action is online. Create an account or login to browse hundreds of singles with profiles including photos, habits, desires, views and more. It’s free to place your own profile online.

l See photos of this person online.

W = Women

M = Men

TW = Trans women

TM = Trans men

Q = Genderqueer people

NBP = Nonbinary people

NC = Gender nonconformists

Cp = Couples

Gp = Groups

IT ALL BEGINS WITH HELLO

Hi! Thanks for stopping by. Now to tell you a bit about myself: I’m a kind (treat people the way I’d like to be treated), happy, hardworking, financially self-sufficient, inquisitive, romantic, humble, dramafree, non-helicopter parent, makeup or not, pull-yourself-up-by-your-bootstraps kind of girl. Oh, and I’m searching for “the one.” Daisies36 53 seeking: M, l

READY, SET, GO

Honestly, after 68 years of life and a major upheaval, I am learning about who I am now. The things I know are: I am honest, sincere, thoughtful, flexible and hardworking. I seek justice and truth in this jumbled-up world. I love to travel but also love my home in Vermont. dontknowaboutthis, 68, seeking: M, l

IS LOVE A FAIRY TALE?

I am a very kindhearted person. Been called the world’s biggest cheerleader. Love loud muscle cars and even louder bikes. I will fish all day with you as long as you take the fish off my hook. I promise you’ll either laugh at me once a day or question whether my mom brought me to Houston for the follow-up appointment.

CaptainCupcake, 43, seeking: M, l

NEK, ADVENTUROUS, INTELLIGENT, WELL-ROUNDED

Looking for a kind, self-confident guy with whom to explore our worlds. A nice mix of homebody and adventurous spirit would be ideal. Travel near and far, time spent on the water, a social life. Traveling into Québec is always interesting. French speakers welcome. Call now for a free set of Ginsu knives!

Stemtostern, 74, seeking: M, l

HAPPILY MARRIED, HAVING SOME FUN

I’m just looking for low-drama physical fun, and my husband is delighted to watch, participate or just know that I’m out having a good time. The_Lemon_Song

41, seeking: M, TM, Q, NC, NBP, l

FIRST, LET’S TALK

A devoted VPR listener. Love gardening, almost all music, museums, movies, theater, flea markets, trips to nowhere and travel. I don’t need someone to “complete” me or support me, just someone to talk to, hold hands, share adventures. I am short and round — not sloppy fat, but definitely plump. I love to laugh and sing, preferably with others — hence this endeavor. ZanninVT 73, seeking: M, l

EYE-TO-EYE IN ALL

Love to cook, garden, travel, write, photograph, cross-country ski, hike, bike, watch movies, read, walk my dogs. Wish to share all that with a kind, grounded, warm and self-reflective man who can communicate — key to a strong relationship. I’m still working part time in private practice. I’m looking for a healthy, long-term, monogamous relationship. RumiLove, 73, seeking: M, l

I NEED LOVE

I am proud of myself, honestly. I treat others the way I want to be treated, and I need a man who is going to love me and give me joy. elizabethlove 28 seeking: M, l

FUN, FUNNY AND FIT

Attractive, athletic woman interested in casual dating/connections. Kids are getting older, and work is winding down. Looking for new adventures. Love to travel, see new places, experience new things. Never bored or boring. I enjoy music, dancing, yoga, weight lifting and soccer. Not a fan of drama. If you are healthy, fit, nice, funny and easy on the eyes, reach out. Yolo50 50, seeking: M

HONEST, RESPECTFUL, PLANNER, CARING, THOUGHTFUL

I am a worker, a giver of my time, sincere, honest. I hide nothing. Very up-front and open. I like going places, traveling, beaches. I haven’t biked in a couple of years but enjoy biking. I like to eat healthy, but everything in moderation. I get tired of just staying at home! Give me an email. Would like to email/message. Respect2020, 47 seeking: M, l

CREATIVE, 64, CURIOUS AND FUNNY

I’d like to meet an active, friendly man, ages 60 to 68, who’d join me for outdoor adventures. I want to make friends first. I enjoy music, good food, movies, conversation, my home, my garden, simple things. I am fit: I snowshoe, cross-country ski, hike, cycle. If you write, I’ll respond and can then send a photo. Let’s get outside! nicensimple, 64 seeking: M, l

FUN, KIND AND LOVING

Recently I relocated to Vermont and am looking for someone to enjoy Vermont life with. I’ve been divorced/single long enough to know myself and enjoy my own company. I would like to be in a long-term, healthy, monogamous relationship. So let’s be friends first and see where it goes! CoachKaty7 53, seeking: M, l

MONTRÉAL WIFE IN OPEN RELATIONSHIP

Longtime married, very attractive, in open relationship. Desire playmate in Burlington area. I like confident, experienced, athletic, smart, welleducated, charming men. I am not looking to develop a relationship. Would like a regular playmate who is very discreet. My wonderful husband may be around for first meet, so need to be comfortable with that. He does not participate.

MontrealWife, 54, seeking: M, l

MEN seeking...

ROMANTIC KISSES AND LAUGHTER

Seeking someone who has a spark and values quality time together. I value kindness, sensitivity and communication. Looking for passion and comfort in a connection. I appreciate humor and ease of being with a partner, as well. feoh794 54, seeking: W, l

NICE GUYS SOMETIMES FINISH FIRST

Friends have told me I’m a good listener and reasonably deep thinker possessed with a subtle sense of humor ... and I’m not afraid to turn the squirt gun on myself! If you’re a woman who wants to spend time with someone with whom you can hold meaningful conversations and who will treat you with kindness and decency, reach out.

VTRepatriated 57, seeking: W, l

HONEST, HILARIOUS POLYMATH

I stopped telling lies when I was 6 — too much trouble remembering them. Since then, mind freed, I’ve followed my heart through art, yoga and arbology. Live on a river in southern Vermont but will relocate for the right woman. Looking for a creative, open-minded, honest, fun-loving, sexy woman, someone who’ll be my friend and collaborator in creating heaven on Earth. Moonscout 64 seeking: W, l

RENAISSANCE LONE WOLF IN NEK

You are talented, driven or grounded. Conversations, adventures, maybe more. You have a life, as I work PT, home projects. Events, exploring, sharing meals or time works. Sensuality if we become more than friends. I’ve traveled the U.S. and world. Still much to see. I’m right- and left-brained. Good times, also hard times; builds character. Neither rich nor poor. Happy. SoundofLight 63 seeking: W, l

LOOKING FOR RESPECTFUL, CASUAL FUN

Healthy, happy and horny! Looking for a regular FWB for mutually satisfying sweaty encounters.

A1Sparky 46, seeking: W, l

NEW GENT

Hi, I’m newish to Vermont and seeking interesting and open-minded folks to connect with. I have a lot of interests and plenty of things I want to do, but not interested in drugs, drinking or games. Euphemystic, 45, seeking: W

ADVENTUROUS SPONTANEOUS/DOM

Looking for someone fun and adventurous who isn’t afraid to try new things. claballero 42 seeking: W

JUST STAYING BUSY

Active, hardworking, but like to take a moment and enjoy some of the finer things in life. Hemlock 55 seeking: W, l

HOPE

I am seeking someone who wants companionship. I enjoy face-to-face conversations. ICY, 54, seeking: W, l

LIFE LOVER, ADVENTUROUS, GENTLEMAN, DANCER, POSITIVE I embrace life and love as one thing and truly enjoy the presence of positive, passionate people. I’ve lived globally, sailed the world, adventured in many ways on many paths in this life. Love to dance, make music, cook, travel and experience cultures. Open and welcoming, warm and real. Seeking a fun connection that exquisitely moves us and vibes just right. FunMerman 49 seeking: W, l

LOW-KEY, QUIET, SHY GUY

Endless cloudy days are getting me a bit down. I hope to meet somebody who could likewise use some companionship, romantic or not, to help spark some new light, energy, excitement. Ideally you love getting outside in nature and are easygoing, open-hearted and -minded. I’m willing to get out of my comfort zone or happy to kick back with a movie. Let’s give it a try. EatRideSleep 46 seeking: W, l

RELAXED, ACTIVE

BACKWOODS GENTLEMAN

I like to hike, bike, canoe, cross-country ski, etc. I meditate, do yoga, hunt and fish. I enjoy the backwoods. I’ve got a couple young kids. We float down the mighty Winooski and go skating in Montréal. Looking for a lady with a good laugh who is comfortable with herself. Let’s meet for tea or coffee. canoeman 57, seeking: W, l

LOOKING FOR A FRIEND

I would like to find a female friend. I would like to make her dinner. If she hikes, that would fine. I hope she enjoys movies and going out for a drink. alphaboy50, 52, seeking: W

MAINER LOVES BURLINGTON

I live in a gorgeous section of Maine, but I would like having someone with whom to explore Burlington. I can reciprocate, offering hospitality here if we click. First filter: being articulate and interested in others. Second, a sense of humor. Just had a major life loss. Don’t know my direction yet, but I do crave a lady’s companionship again. rumavephil, 70, seeking: W, l FRIENDLY, CARING, SILLY, ACTIVE

I love running, camping, music and animals. I’m passionate about exploring the outdoors, vegetarian cooking and building community. Interested in making friends or going on a date. veggielover9 23, seeking: W, l INTUITIVE, MUSICIAN, GARDENER

Lifetime lover of ice hockey. I love all the creatures of the Earth, but cats especially. Seeking someone who is kind and healthy. Guitarboy 63, seeking: W, l

COUPLES seeking...

SNOW AND SUN EQUAL FUN

Borders and boundaries are sexy. We’re pretty cute. We like to have fun, and we bet you do, too. Happily married couple (W, 35; M, 45), open-minded and looking to explore. Love playing outdoors. Looking to meet a couple, man or woman for fun and adventure. Ideal meetup is a cottage in the mountains with great food and lots of great wine. SnownSun, 46, seeking: Cp, l

LOVERS OF LIFE

We are a 40s couple, M/F, looking for adventurous encounters with openminded, respectful M/F or couples. Looking to enjoy sexy encounters, FWBs, short term or long term. sunshines, 42, seeking: M, W, Q, Cp

LOOKING FOR OUR MAN!

Ideally hoping for a throuple/FWB situation. Us: established M/F couple. DD-free. (She: 44, straight BBW; he: 46, bi MWM). Drinks, 420-friendly, fires, get outside, music, Netflix and chill, always horny. You: DD-free, clean, masculine bi male (30ish to 50ish) who works and knows how to enjoy life! A little rough/hard (top, real man, etc.) with a compassionate heart and a bit of a snuggler. Connection is key. Let’s chat and get to know each other, then play! ginganddaddy, 46, seeking: M

EXPLORING THREESOMES

AND FOURSOMES

We are an older and wiser couple discovering that our sexuality is amazingly hot! Our interest is another male for threesomes or a couple. We’d like to go slowly, massage you with a happy ending. She’d love to be massaged with a happy ending or a dozen. Would you be interested in exploring sexuality with a hot older couple? DandNformen 66, seeking: M, TM, NC, Cp, l

VT COUPLE SEEKING A FEMALE/COUPLE

Fun married couple in their 30s looking for a female or couples for casual dates. We like the outdoors. 3inthevt 36 seeking: W, Cp, Gp

COUPLE LOOKING FOR SOME FUN

My husband and I are looking for some fun with a woman or a couple to join us for some drinks and a good time. Let us know if you are interested. Torshamayo 40 seeking: M, W, Cp

GREEN MOUNTAIN FUNTOWN

Adventurous, educated, attractive couple married 14 years interested in meeting others for some wine, conversation, potential exploration and safe fun. She is 42 y/o, 5’11, dirty blond hair. He is 43 y/o, 5’10, brown hair. ViridisMontis 45, seeking: Cp, W

If you’ve been spied, go online to contact your admirer!

dating.sevendaysvt.com

I LOOK LIKE JIMMY FALLON?

Your eyes, warm and curious, catch mine twice. You ask me if anyone’s told me I look like Jimmy Fallon. I’m shocked at a compliment out of the blue and answer that, yes, in fact they have. Uninspired response, for sure. Maybe you’ll see this, and we’ll find a time to meet when I’m not in a rush?

When: Sunday, February 19, 2023. Where: City Market hot bar downtown.

You: Woman. Me: Man. #915716

FIDIUM GUY AT THE LOCAL

I had you in my peripherals the entire time I was wine tasting. You walked by and gave me the brows and smile. I was too chicken to talk to you. Wanna meet for a drink? I was the only girl in the room wearing sparkles. When: ursday, February 16, 2023. Where: the Local.

You: Man. Me: Woman. #915715

KRIS KRISTOFFERSON

I saw you over cocktails a few months back in Winooski in a black beanie. I am more curious if this is the first iSpy you have seen for you. Hope you have booked the flight to Italy and have a copilot ready for the ride. Hope this made you smile. When: Wednesday, December 14, 2022. Where: celebrating the holiday. You: Man. Me: Woman. #915714

OGE/WALGREENS

MEET-CUTE

We were leaving OGE at the same time, skis in tow. It was raining — we both groaned and smiled. A minute later, we saw each other again in the Walgreen’s lot, which we agreed is the best place to park for a quick run into OGE. Want to go skiing and show me the best runs? When: Tuesday, February 7, 2023. Where: OGE/Walgreen’s lot. You: Man. Me: Woman. #915712

RE: MISSING MY TWINFLAME

I needed time and space to become the best version of myself and to attend to matters I could never explain. Where I went, you could not follow. I tried to tell you tête-à-tête, but it wasn’t in the cards. I still keep that Jack close, and I keep warm with the thought of being in your arms. Soon. When: Wednesday, April 29, 2020. Where: the astral plane. You: Woman. Me: Man. #915711

VTHOMESTEADER

ank you for the iSpy! I’m still interested in checking out the paradise you have created in Hardwick, and I would like it if we can finish our novel we have started. If all goes well, perhaps I can be your Papa Ganoush! When: Tuesday, February 7, 2023. Where: un-Hinge.

You: Woman. Me: Man. #915710

LIFE DRAWING AT

KARMA BIRD HOUSE

You were drawing, super focused. IDK if you even noticed me, but I love how seriously you take your craft, and you’re sooooo cute! You: blue hair and septum piercing. Me: 30-y/o woman, overalls, backward cap. Sometime in the beginning of January on a Tuesday night. Come back to class! I go most weeks. We could draw each other. When: Tuesday, January 3, 2023. Where: Karma Bird House. You: Man. Me: Woman. #915709

UNTAPPED, TOO NERVOUS TO SPEAK

Hi! I was too shy surrounded by my friends at Friday’s Untapped show to strike up a conversation. You kept checking people into the show, and my friends hung out at the bar. But you seemed like a lovely person and also someone who may possibly enjoy grabbing a beverage and conversation sometime? When: Saturday, February 11, 2023. Where: Winooski circle. You: Man. Me: Woman. #915708

REVEREND Ask

Irreverent counsel on life’s conundrums

De Rev end,

At the beginning of the pandemic, I bought some MDMA. I figured it was the end times, so why not? I never got around to taking it, so it’s just been sitting in my cupboard all this time. Would it still be good? Does MDMA have an expiration date?

Molly Hatchet

(NONBINARY, 29)

REDHEADED WONDER, TAKE TWO

I saw you having lunch with two other women. I think I also saw you at Shanty on the Shore a few weeks earlier. If you are the same woman from the airport a few months ago with the white Mercedes, maybe we could have lunch together sometime. You name the place, and I’ll be there. When: Wednesday, February 8, 2023. Where: Grazers. You: Woman. Me: Man. #915707

BEAUTIFUL BROWN EYES

Dear woman, I miss you. ough you are just three houses down the street, it seems you are 1,000 miles away. I miss you and would love to move beyond the past to a brighter future with you. Always! When: 2014 to present. When: Monday, January 30, 2023. Where: central Vermont.

You: Woman. Me: Woman. #915706

MUDDY WATERS SMILE

I saw you when I walked in around 4:30. You were sitting by the window in a multicolored crocheted hat. I had my hair in two pigtails, and you smiled at me on your way to the bathroom. You look really thoughtful and introspective. I’d love to get to know you more. When: Friday, February 3, 2023. Where: Muddy Waters. You: Man. Me: Woman. #915705

OLD POST BLONDE, BAD BAND

We spoke briefly as you and your friend were about to leave. I asked you about talking in a place more conducive to conversation. Here’s another invite to talk. Interested? I could try and catch up with you again at Old Post but would rather see you elsewhere — dinner or drinks? I know your name; it starts with an M. When: Monday, January 30, 2023. Where: the Old Post. You: Woman. Me: Man. #915704

MATHEW ON HINGE

Hey, Mathew, we had been talking and were going to meet up soon. I didn’t disappear — I can’t access my account! Reach me through here?! Cheers! When: Wednesday, January 11, 2023. Where: online. You: Man. Me: Woman. #915694

CROSS-COUNTRY SKIER IN HUBBARD PARK

We crossed paths while skiing and chatted for a bit while I was waiting for my friend to catch up to me. I enjoyed talking with you! Care to meet up for a ski together? When: Friday, January 27, 2023. Where: Hubbard Park. You: Man. Me: Woman. #915701

De Molly Hatchet,

BRIGHT-EYED, ENERGETIC SUNFLOWER

You give me the goosebumps. Your eyes are light like water, but your mind is strong and driven — like a freight train. I can’t see myself anywhere else but with you. Why don’t we share some red grenadine? Down by the black, muddy river, perhaps. I hope you see me here, and I hope you see me today. When: Saturday, January 28, 2023. Where: close by, but I’d love to say “in my arms.” You: Woman. Me: Man. #915702

TOMGIRL EMPLOYEE

You were working the register. You had a really warm and beautiful energy. I ordered a half avocado toast, but you gave me a full. ank you! If you’re interested in connecting further, I’d love to. Either way, thank you for the extra food and good vibes. When: Monday, January 30, 2023. Where: Tomgirl Kitchen. You: Woman. Me: Man. #915703

TRADER JOE’S CASHIER QUEER

You: working at Trader Joe’s, shaggy haircut with brown, blond and purple. Me: buying almond butter, pink hair, wearing post-dance class sweats. You rang up my groceries and asked about my pink dye. I tried to play it cool, but when you said I had a nice laugh, I couldn’t meet your eye. Let’s bleach each other’s hair sometime? When: Tuesday, January 24, 2023. Where: Trader Joe’s. You: Genderqueer. Me: Woman. #915698

BELLA’S BARTOK AT ZENBARN

You wore a jean jacket. I wore a derby and the eye. We chatted after the show around the fire, and on our way to leave you told me your name. I regret not giving you my phone number. I’d love to reconnect sometime.

When: ursday, December 29, 2022. Where: Zenbarn, Waterbury. You: Woman. Me: Man. #915697

A COURAGEOUS WOMEN

I spy a beautiful lady with a terrible partner. I didn’t ask for help; we stopped talking. My heart is broken, but I’m proud of you for leaving a relationship you weren’t happy in. I wish I communicated my pain with you. Could we try counseling? I’m so sorry for the pain I caused you! I threw it all away! When: Friday, January 20, 2023. Where: our home. You: Woman. Me: Man. #915696

e cold remedies, aspirin and other regulated drugs in your medicine cabinet have an expiration date on their packages because they’ve been tested for when their components will start to break down and become less effective. It’s the date to which the manufacturer can guarantee the full potency and safety of a drug, but there’s usually wiggle room. As long as they are stored properly and not exposed to direct sunlight, heat or moisture, most drugs (check with your pharmacist) are safe to use up to a year after the expiration date, or even longer.

Although illicit drugs don’t come with an expiration date, MDMA and other amphetamine derivatives, like speed and crystal meth, are made

DENNY’S BEAUTY

You were our server this morning and told me to eat a pancake bite for you. When I offered you one, you said you couldn’t because you’re watching your figure. You don’t need to. I tipped you personally before I left. Would love to hear from you!

When: Wednesday, January 25, 2023. Where: Denny’s, South Burlington. You: Woman. Me: Man. #915700

COSTCO TEDDY BEAR

I think you’re adorable, and I wish I had said something! We only got to smile twice but made eye contact several times. Put on your blinker to turn right! If this is you, please reply. I am a 5’4 woman, black beanie and black jacket. You are my type of man. Gray hair, blue jeans. Noon. When: Sunday, January 22, 2023. Where: Costco, Colchester. You: Man. Me: Woman. #915695

BLUE EYES AND BEANIE

Cutie I met in the bathroom. You followed me and my friends to the next bar. I hesitated in the kitchen and deeply regret it. Meet me back at Ruggs for tequila and Fernet on me? When: Tuesday, December 27, 2022. Where: T. Rugg’s. You: Woman. Me: Woman. #915693

BEST-DRESSED WOMAN

AT TRADER JOE’S

You: black nylons, black miniskirt, white faux fox, raven black hair, dog-bone barrettes, goth willowy beauty. Me: starstruck professor. I said you win the award for best dressed at Trader Joe’s, and we laughed. In a word: stunning. Another word: ravenous. I will exhaust the thesaurus with you. Let’s get a drink. We will discuss your wardrobe. When: Tuesday, January 17, 2023. Where: Trader Joe’s. You: Woman. Me: Man. #915692

NORTH CAROLINA TO NORTH COUNTRY

I ran into you on South Union Street, and you commented on my North Carolina plates. It was so nice meeting you! I thought you were so friendly! I wished I would’ve asked you for your number at the time, but I was too shy. Would you like to get coffee sometime? When: Monday, January 9, 2023. Where: South Union. You: Man. Me: Woman. #915691

up of very stable molecules that resist degradation. Unless you left it out on a windowsill or got it soaking wet, the MDMA will likely have the same effect now as it would have had two or three years ago.

Even if you obtained the MDMA from what you consider to be a reputable source, there’s a good chance it isn’t pure. As with any party drug, you shouldn’t trust that you know exactly what’s in it. It would behoove you to purchase a test kit to make sure there’s nothing more dangerous in the mix. You’re an adult, and you can do what you like. But with illegal drugs, I recommend that you do your best to stay safe. If you aren’t sure of the potency, don’t take it all at once and give it time to kick in before upping your dose. Remember to stay hydrated, be around people you trust, don’t drive, and give yourself a day or two to recover from the comedown.

Good luck and God bless, The

Mature male searching for mature female for company and creativity. is will not be all flowers and fun, more like hard work and effort. In the end, we will have our hearts’ desires. Activities centered on gardening, art and music. I’m a white Indigenous person who appreciates all colors and shapes. ese are only words; I have so much to show you. #L1640

I’m a male, 60s, bi, seeking another male. Any race, any age. I’m fit, clean, disease/ drug-free. Fun guy, open to everything, but mostly a bottom. Reply with phone and best time to call. #L1639

Man of letters/amateur artist seeks companionship of thoughtful, considerate woman, mid-50s to low 70s. Share fine cinema, literature, classical music and discussions concerning spiritual/ metaphysical subjects. I’m healthy, 71, creative, curious, a good listener, appreciate the feminine soul and mysteries of existence. #L1638

I’m a 70-y/o GWM seeking a 60-plus male for some fun. I’m fit and drug- and disease-free, looking for the same. Discreet fun only. Send stats and contact number. I’m in the Barre/ Montpelier area. #L1637

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PUBLISH YOUR MESSAGE ON THIS PAGE!

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Submit your FREE message at sevendaysvt.com/loveletters or use the handy form at right.

We’ll publish as many messages as we can in the Love Letters section above.

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Young-looking, attractive, principled woman, 66, seeks man, 50 to 78, for companionship. Treat man with empathy, kindness, love and respect, and expect the same in return. Enjoy the arts (except dance), cooking, reading, quiet chats, walks, television. Phone number, please. #L1636

ISO “gingandaddy, 46, seeking M.” Did you find your man? Nontech-connected guy would like to discuss possible connection.

#L1635

I’m a GWM in his 60s, 5’8, 150 pounds. Seeking a male for fun. I am open-minded and live alone. Can host. Please leave your phone number. #L1634

I’m a young-looking, 65-y/o male seeking a female over 45 who likes cattle ranching, working together, auctions and gardening. Must be active, fit, good-looking, financially secure, healthy and a good cook. No smokers or drugs.

#L1632

Gentle, affable, fit, humorous, principled, educated man (67) seeks tender alluring woman (52 to 66) who relishes a life of organic gardening, animals, hiking, biking, Scrabble and pillow talk. Land conservation and off-grid living are also interests of mine. #L1630

Int net-Free Dating!

60s bi white male seeks older guys for relaxing, M-to-M fun in the NEK. Regular guys being yourself. Soft or hard is less important than attitude. #L1631

I’m a 47-y/o male seeking a male for some fun. I’m attractive, fit and drug/disease-free; have perfect hygiene; and am looking for the same. Discreet fun only. Let’s watch each other cum and help each other out. Send stats with contact number. #L1629

72-y/o male seeks similar qualities as my own in a woman. Kind, tender, loving, empathetic, fun, homebody, somewhat liberal, intelligent. I’m healthy, fit, thin and considered attractive. Cozy home in the country. Financially secure. Phone or email, please. #L1627

I’m a 66-y/o woman seeking a 60-plus male. Not married, no children. I’m a loving, kind, talented, educated nonsmoker. Honest and love to cook and bake and share joyrides. Looking for a serious friendship. Chittenden County. Phone number, please. #L1626

Describe yourself and who you’re looking for in 40 words below:

(OR, ATTACH A SEPARATE PIECE OF PAPER.)

I’m a

seeking a

I’m a GWM 59-y/o. Mostly a bottom seeking to take care of the needs of a top. Very attentive and willing to please. Rutland area. Phone/text. #L1624

I’m a female, 71, single (W), seeking a male, 65 to 75 (W). Would like a quiet dinner, movie or just coffee. Central Vermont. Need a friend to get through the winter, etc. Please write a note or send a phone number. #L1625

I’m a male seeking a loving companion of any gender. I’m a nonsmoker with a concentration on health. I’m an educated, honest, kind and calm baby boomer with a love for gardening. Time is precious. Open to the right person. #L1622

I’m a 70-y/o WF seeking a 70-plus WM. (#1604, I’m interested.) Was widowed 10 years ago and am lonely and seeking a companion. I love being outdoors and seeing birds and animals. Car travel is fun for me. #1618

Required confidential info:

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“I just wanted to pass along the praise from my HR manager, who was overjoyed with how many solid applicants we received from our postings on Seven Days Jobs. Everyone we hired for these seasonal positions was very friendly, hardworking and cared about the success of our holiday season. is year in particular we used Seven Days as our main form of advertising, and we were highly rewarded for this strategy.

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I greatly appreciate the support from the team and would recommend advertising with Seven Days to any local company.”

CAROLYN CUTTING Marketing Manager, Dakin Farm