Seven Days, March 13, 2024

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emoji that TRANSMISSION FAILURE

Developers have pulled the plug on a project that would have brought electricity from Québec through Vermont. Au revoir

BEAR AWARE

BIG PLANS

Burlington city councilors on Monday night unanimously approved two preliminary agreements with developers that could transform the city’s South End and downtown with hundreds of housing units.

e first is for the Gateway Block, 3.8 acres bounded by Main Street, South Winooski Avenue, College Street and South Union Street, including the shuttered Memorial Auditorium. e second involves three parcels in the newly formed South End Innovation District, which was rezoned last summer to allow residential development.

Both predevelopment agreements allow the city to continue talks with developers to determine whether the proposals are financially feasible. Neither agreement is binding, meaning the council could decide not to pursue either potential partnership.

e agreement for the Gateway Block says the city and developers Eric Farrell and Joe Larkin will look at redeveloping the area with 200 or more housing units, a 100-room hotel, underground parking, and a “vibrant pedestrian streetscape.” e council previously signed a letter of intent with the developers in November.

Besides Memorial, the Gateway Block contains the College Street Congregational Church and Fletcher Free Library, which would stay put, and the Central Fire Station, which would be relocated. In turn, the developers would

build the city a new fire station at an undetermined location, the draft agreement says.

e deal doesn’t commit to keeping Memorial standing. A “Central Public Assembly & Activity Space” would replace the building if it were torn down, the agreement says. Ron Wanamaker, a member of the nonprofit Preservation Burlington, told the council that the city should fight to keep Memorial intact.

For the other deal, in the South End, the city will work with two parties — Hula developer Russ Scully and Champlain College — to study the possibility of building 1,100 homes in a new “vibrant, sustainable, and accessible mixed-use neighborhood.”

e project would be on three adjoining properties on the west side of Pine Street that together make up 13 acres: a commuter parking lot at 125 Lakeside Avenue owned by Scully, a Champlain College office building and parking lot at 175 Lakeside Avenue, and a city-owned lot at 68 Sears Lane.

Over the next nine months, the parties will create a housing plan, study wastewater infrastructure and identify funding sources, the agreement says. ey aim to sign a formal development agreement by the end of the year, which would also be subject to council approval.

Read Courtney Lamdin’s full story and keep up with developments at sevendaysvt.com.

Reports have emerged of bears waking from hibernation earlier than usual. Winter, we hardly knew ye.

LIQUID LEAK

Casella says it quickly cleaned up nearly 9,000 gallons of spilled leachate — aka “garbage juice” — at its Coventry landfill. The mixture contains cancercausing chemicals.

ONE AND DONE

Former South Carolina gov Nikki Haley dropped out of the GOP presidential primary after winning Vermont, her first — and only — state. What else did she have to prove?

$15.5 million

That’s how much

46 mobile home communities in Vermont will receive for water infrastructure improvements.

TOPFIVE

MOST POPULAR ITEMS ON SEVENDAYSVT.COM

1. “Emma Mulvaney-Stanak Wins Burlington Mayoral Race” by Courtney Lamdin. e Old North End Progressive bested City Councilor Joan Shannon (D-South District) to become the city’s first female – and first openly gay — mayor.

2. “Officials Scramble to Secure Decker Towers, Burlington’s Embattled High-Rise” by Derek Brouwer. e building has received lots of attention, but its problems remain.

3. “Getting On: An Aging Population Is Transforming Vermont’s Schools, Workplaces and Communities” by Colin Flanders. e first story of our “ is Old State” series explains how Vermont has become one of the oldest states in the nation — and what that means for the people who live here.

4. “Vermont Voters Reject School Budgets in 29 Districts” by Alison Novak. Facing massive property tax increases, many communities across Vermont rejected school budgets last week.

5. “Delight Restaurant Now Open in Burlington” by Melissa Pasanen. A pair of brothers who hail from Nepal opened the business at 1130 North Avenue.

post of the week

@chrishendel

And now the big melt begins. Hello there, second (or will this be the third?) #Vermont mudseason, 2024.

SQUAD GOALS

It might be the biggest soccer match Vermont has ever seen.

Next Tuesday, March 19, the upstart Vermont Green FC, a Burlington semipro squad formed in 2022, will host a professional team from Kentucky.

The game is part of the first round of the nationwide U.S. Open Cup, the country’s longest-running soccer tournament, a knockout-style contest that features 96 amateur and professional clubs, including many from Major League Soccer. Never in the tournament’s modern history has a game been played in Vermont, according to U.S. Soccer. Nor can anyone

remember a professional soccer club playing a match in the Green Mountains.

“It’s a pretty cool debut for the state,” Vermont Green FC cofounder Patrick Infurna said, “and we feel proud to kind of carry that on our shoulders.”

Vermont Green FC earned an at-large bid in the tournament based on its strong showing last year in USL League Two, a developmental league that features college athletes and others with professional aspirations. It will take on Lexington SC, which plays in USL League One.

The boys in green will be underdogs, no doubt. Their regular season doesn’t start until May, and many Vermont Green FC players are still competing in their collegiate programs. The squad, whose

roster is still being finalized, will have just three days to train together before the U.S. Open Cup game, Infurna said.

But brisk March weather could prove an advantage for the New England-based crew, as could its devoted fan base, 2,000-plus of whom have been turning out for regular season games.

Plus, Infurna noted, the team is playing with nothing to lose.

“ is is just a massive opportunity for just about everyone involved on our end,” he said.

The match begins at 7 p.m. on March 19 at University of Vermont’s Virtue Field. Tickets are still available at vermontgreenfc.com.

DEREK BROUWER

Vermont

e Gateway Block

THE SKY’S THE LIMIT.

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UPSET VICTORY

For some strange reason, political pundits have been totally silent on the routing of a longtime Burlington city councilor who was running for mayor [“Emma Mulvaney-Stanak Wins Burlington Mayoral Race,” March 5].

Joan Shannon was a household name compared to Emma Mulvaney-Stanak. But the latter not only defeated Shannon, she annihilated her, winning the race by more than 6 percent. No one saw this coming except for Shannon, who in the week before the election emailed her supporters and said: “We’re behind.”

The winner spent a fraction of the amount of money that the loser spent, to say nothing of all the endorsements that the loser claimed going into Election Day.

The winner’s victory is historic not because of her sexual preference, which everyone can’t help themselves from talking about. It’s historic because she bumped off the de facto incumbent. She can partly thank the young Turks at the University of Vermont who were outraged with Shannon for ignoring pleas for her to condemn Israel’s invasion of Gaza.

Mulvaney-Stanak’s victory is the biggest election shocker since 1981, when an important Brooklyn socialist named Bernie Sanders knocked off the Democrat mayor.

Ted Cohen

BURLINGTON

Editor’s note: Burlington reporter Courtney Lamdin analyzes the mayor’s race — and MulvaneyStanak’s win — in this issue.

GRAFFITI SOLUTION

In [“Key to the Queen City: In Burlington’s Mayoral Contest, Joan Shannon and Emma Mulvaney-Stanak Are Mostly Focused on One Issue: Public Safety,” February 20], you state that Emma Mulvaney-Stanak called for “a ‘community brigade’ of volunteers that would pick up trash and cover graffiti.”

I’m all for removing graffiti, but unless it is on a surface that has always been and was meant to be painted, it should never be covered up with more paint. It should always be removed with a product called Elephant Snot and high-pressure water. This is especially important on historic

6H-girlington110123.indd

buildings, such as the old YMCA and Memorial Auditorium, and on stone walls, like those on the corner of College and Pine streets or in our parks. Painting over never matches the original surface color and doesn’t solve the problem.

DON’T LIKE THE LOGO

[“The University of Vermont to Unveil a New Logo,” February 26]: UVM’s new logo, if one can even call it that, is essentially soulless. The casual viewer might think it stands for Virginia, Vanderbilt, Vanderpump, Vendetta — maybe even Prince Valiant, given the shield. Nothing in it relates to the University of Vermont. (OK, it’s green.) In addition to wondering how much money was spent to achieve this result, I see this stark, single letter as a further symbol of the corporatization of higher education.

Eloise Boyle

LAKE FOREST PARK, WA

Boyle is a 1979 graduate of UVM.

BETTER BOTTLE BILL

deserves greater attention, so I appreciate you writing about it. Want to let you know that your headline is misleading, as there are far more than two Vermont athletes competing at Junior Nationals. Vermont is becoming a powerhouse in Nordic skiing, and there are many great athletes from our state participating at Lake Placid, N.Y.

[Re “Vermont Senate Fails to Override Veto of Bottle Bill Expansion,” January 23; Feedback: “O the Bottle Bill,” February 14]: While lobbying heavily against expanding Vermont’s bottle bill to cover more beverages, John Casella sits on the board of Vermont’s Green Up Day. The irony isn’t lost on us.

CORRECTIONS

Scott McEnaney SHAFTSBURY

Gra ti should also be removed within a few days of when it appears on a building. Otherwise, it attracts more gra ti, layer over layer, which is what has happened at the old YMCA, Memorial Auditorium and other abandoned buildings.

I have asked the Burlington City Council to ban the selling of spray paint in Burlington and also request that Lowe’s, Walmart and other stores stop selling it. They can replace spray paint on those shelves with Elephant Snot and pressure washers — at least until we have gained control of this ongoing problem that is most likely the result of anger and frustration.

NORDIC IN NUMBERS

Jay White BURLINGTON

MORE THAN TWO

Thank you for the piece featuring Nordic skiing [“Nordic Nobility: Two Vermont Teens Take On the CrossCountry Junior National Championships,” March 6]. It is a sport that

What a great article about two of this state’s amazing young Nordic skiers [“Nordic Nobility: Two Vermont Teens Take On the Cross-Country Junior National Championships,” March 6].

Unfortunately, you failed to mention that over two dozen Vermonters will be participating in Junior Nationals this year as a part of the New England Nordic Ski Association Team. There are 10 athletes competing from the Mansfield Nordic Club, as well as others from clubs like the Green Mountain Valley School, the Stratton Mountain School and the Craftsbury Ski Club.

Let’s hear it for all these young Vermont athletes who have worked so hard to represent our state and our region at the 2024 JNs!

Paul Hochanadel BURLINGTON

Last week’s news story titled “Room to Grow?” inaccurately described the number of units that would be allowed in a low-density district under the proposed BTV Neighborhood Code rezoning plan. The maximum number is eight units, split between two buildings. It also misstated which part of the proposal councilors delayed voting on; it was the amendments to the plan.

Last week’s “From the Publisher” column incorrectly stated when eligibility for Social Security benefits begins for someone born in 1960. Partial eligibility begins at 62, full eligibility at 67.

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— Shane Wright, Owner

As the solar eclipse approaches, Vermont astronomer and meteorologist Mark Breen is having his moment in the sun

BY DAN BOLLES

FOOD+DRINK 32

Well Baked

A multilayered career leads a seasoned chef to Middlebury’s Swift House Inn

Dutch Treat

Approaching three decades, Shelburne’s Dutch Mill Diner gets a refresh

NEWS+POLITICS 14

Crossing the Aisle

Progressive Burlington mayor-elect Mulvaney-Stanak won by picking up Democratic votes

Man Accused of Shooting

Palestinian Students

Appears in Court

Found in Translation

A video project delivers critical health information to immigrants in 18 languages

Judge Tosses Burlington

Cannabiz Owner’s Lawsuit

FEATURES 24

Making a Splash

UVM Swimming and Diving overcomes budget cuts to win conference for the first time in its history

ARTS+CULTURE 38

Poverty Lines

For comedian Moses Storm, growing up poor is rich fodder for his standup act

Celestial Festival

A new play in Greensboro tells the story of the eclipse that validated Einstein’s theory of relativity

High Notes

Soprano-aerialist Elizabeth Wohl will perform acrobatic opera in Putney

Books Without Borders

Exploring the Haskell Free Library & Opera House with Hannah Miller

Art Therapy

A new Burlington art space launches with a show dedicated to grief

Fiber Works at Chandler Center for the Arts Tell Colorful Stories

Bright Future

e Vermont Juice Company in Burlington heads into a new era

COLUMNS

11 Magnificent 7

33 Side Dishes

44 Movie Review

50 Soundbites

56 Album Reviews

13 From the Publisher

89 Ask the Reverend SECTIONS

Want to memorialize a loved one?

We’re

Hannah Miller is on a quest to write, read and knit in as many public libraries in Vermont as possible. Eva accompanied Miller (left) and her wife, Lisa Zinn, to the Haskell Free Library & Opera House in Derby Line, Vt., and Stanstead, Québec — a rare library that straddles two nations. Hannah was able to knit at a table in the U.S. with her feet resting in Canada.

MARCH 19-22, 2024

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LEADING WITH LOVE IN PURSUIT OF JUSTICE

MARCH 19-22

The 2024 Inclusive Excellence Symposium explores the relationship between love and social justice work with renowned scholars, performers, and activists.

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WEDNESDAY 20

MEANT TO BE

Best-selling author Rebecca Serle discusses her latest novel, Expiration Dates, with prolific blockbuster penner Jodi Picoult at Norwich Congregational Church. Expiration Dates follows the story of Daphne, a woman who receives a mysterious flyer every time she meets a new man, detailing when the relationship will end — and the one man who comes without a time limit.

SEE CALENDAR LISTING ON PAGE 65

FRIDAY 15

Role Models

etford-based twin sisters and animators Amy and Terry Lawrence premiere their newest stop-motion creation, “Gershwin Preludes: A inking Man’s Guide to Paris,” at Junction Arts & Media in White River Junction. e short, operatic reimagining features wooden artist models in the lead roles and theater-quality sets and costumes. A screening of a previous work, “ ank You, Mr. Sondheim,” and a Q&A with the artists follow.

SEE CALENDAR LISTING ON PAGE 60

SATURDAY 16

e Masked Singer

Costumes are encouraged and fun is unavoidable at BarnArts Center for the Arts’ annual Masquerade Jazz & Funk Winter Music Carnival at Barnard Town Hall. Between hip-shaking performances by the likes of Sonny & the Grey Cats and Crocodile River Music, attendees of all ages dip into the taco bar, make spangly masks at the craft table and get goofy in the photo booth.

SEE CALENDAR LISTING ON PAGE 61

SATURDAY 16

Holi Rollers

Brooklyn band Red Baraat mark the Hindu holiday of Holi with Festival of Colors at the Lebanon Opera House. e singular ensemble’s trademark fusion of North Indian bhangra with hip-hop and punk makes a stunning, dance-worthy soundtrack to the colorful, joyful South Asian celebration of springtime.

SEE CALENDAR LISTING ON PAGE 61

SUNDAY 17

Green Day

Submit your upcoming events at sevendaysvt.com/postevent

How Much Wood

New England sculptor and collage artist Alexandra Bottinelli presents a new show, “Art Is Process,” at the Front in Montpelier. Her sculptures, made of driftwood plucked from a tidal reef in Maine, sit in conversation with her encaustic — that is, made with hot wax — paintings, which employ earth tones and rich layering.

SEE GALLERY LISTING AT SEVENDAYSVT.COM/ART

Everyone’s favorite celebratory cement mixers get decked out for the S.D. Ireland St. Patrick’s Day Parade. Beginning and ending at the concrete company’s headquarters in Williston and rolling through the Winooski Rotary and along Burlington’s Church Street in between, the ballooned and bedazzled trucks raise funds for cancer research.

SEE CALENDAR LISTING ON PAGE 62

WEDNESDAY 20

All Together Now

McGill University assistant professor of Jewish studies Christopher Silver makes an appearance at Next Stage Arts Project’s NXT Curator Series in Putney. Drawing on his one-of-a-kind collection of early 20th-century North African records, Silver uncovers the little-known connections between Jewish and Muslim music in the region.

SEE CALENDAR LISTING ON PAGE 65

BROWSE THE FULL CALENDAR, ART SHOWS, AND MUSIC+NIGHTLIFE LISTINGS AT SEVENDAYSVT.COM.

“Vessel” by Alexandra Bottinelli

2020 Hindsight

I’m thinking about the coronavirus pandemic for two reasons. No. 1: Four years ago this week, it shut down life as we knew it. No. 2: I’m preparing for an interview with the Vermont Historical Society, which is collecting oral testimonies in an effort to document how the public health crisis played out in this state.

My questioner, seasoned journalist Mark Johnson, has already talked to a lot of people. He’s warned me: It’s surprisingly hard for individual narrators to accurately recall the collective trauma we shared.

But I have a memory enhancer: my weekly “From the Publisher” columns. I wrote the first one, “A Letter to Our Readers,” on March 18, 2020, to acknowledge the pandemic and the mortal threat it posed, including to Seven Days. The paper relies almost entirely on income from advertising to fund our news gathering, and that revenue dried up virtually overnight. With no way to predict the length of the resulting economic shutdown, or whether Seven Days could survive it, I continued to document the experience in real time.

One column captured the early days, when people still believed the virus spread on surfaces and so were too scared to pick up our newspaper. Another, three days after I unceremoniously turned 60, noted: “In truth, nobody could have imagined how we’re all living today: hunkered down in our respective safe houses, socializing on computer screens that look like the old ‘Hollywood Squares’ game show, venturing out to score supplies like masked survivalists.”

In April 2020, I learned my mother was dying of cancer and spent much of the next month working from her room at Burlington’s Converse Home, an assistedliving facility that was on lockdown. They let me in — against the usual COVID-19 protocols — because my mother was terminal, but I witnessed firsthand the logistical challenges and questionable trade-offs of isolating vulnerable seniors.

I wrote about running Seven Days through layoffs, loans, canceling and creating products, and the unexpected surprise that readers cared enough about the paper to support it financially. I chronicled what other businesses were going through — the hurdles restaurants had to clear, dark theaters, the labor shortage, changing mask mandates. The chaos of the vaccine rollout, long waits to get jabbed or to see a doctor, fear of contagion, shame.

I didn’t actually catch the bug until January 2022; by then, I’d written more than 80 columns prompted by it. One was a history lesson on the last time such a deadly disease swept the globe. The 1918 pandemic

killed 50 million worldwide, 675,000 of whom were Americans. Surprisingly, though, public health officials couldn’t shed much light on the “Spanish flu” — so named, they say, because Spain was the sole country to publicly record its toll.

Countries still involved in World War I discouraged news coverage of the pandemic. The U.S. went along with the media blackout. Mention of the deadly virus was also rare in literature and other art of the time. A May 14, 2020, New York Times article headlined “Why Are There Almost No Memorials to the Flu of 1918?” suggested: “The mass amnesia helps explain the lack of preparation for the Covid-19 crisis.”

In that column on December 2, 2020, I had the audacity to assert: “Vermonters won’t soon forget this global pandemic.”

Guess I was wrong. I couldn’t have imagined that four years later, we’d be so tired of talking about it that we’d feel a powerful urge to forget and move on.

This is how the brain heals and protects itself. Reading over my columns, reliving the fear and uncertainty we felt at the time, brought me to tears.

I’m not eager to hold on to that existential dread. But I’m glad I found words to capture it.

Paula Routly

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Birthday present to Paula Routly from Alison Bechdel, April 13, 2020

CRIME Man Accused of Shooting Palestinian Students Appears in Court

BY DEREK BROUWER derek@sevendaysvt.com

e Burlington man accused of shooting three Palestinian students appeared in court last Friday — as did 20 or so spectators who wore kaffiyehs, the symbolic scarves that two of the victims were wearing on the November night they were shot.

Crossing the Aisle

Progressive Burlington mayor-elect Mulvaney-Stanak won by picking up Democratic votes BY COURTNEY LAMDIN • courtney@sevendaysvt.com

In some ways, Progressive state representative Emma Mulvaney-Stanak was the underdog in Burlington’s mayoral race. The issue of public safety dominated the campaign, and she was up against seasoned City Councilor Joan Shannon, a Democrat whose pledge to crack down on crime won her an endorsement from the police union. As a Prog, Mulvaney-Stanak had to fight the narrative that her party’s push to “cut the police” in 2020 had caused downtown disorder — and she had far less campaign cash to do it.

Yet Mulvaney-Stanak ran away with last week’s Town Meeting Day election, winning 51.2 percent of all ballots cast, some 900 more votes than her leading opponent.

Aiding her victory was voters’ propensity to split the ticket. Mulvaney-Stanak picked up hundreds of extra votes in city wards considered reliably Democratic and

where Dem council candidates prevailed. By staying competitive there and running up the margins in Progressive strongholds, Mulvaney-Stanak became the first woman and openly gay person to be elected to lead the Queen City.

PEOPLE FELT WE BUILT A COALITION THAT CARRIED NUANCE BEYOND “PROGRESSIVE” AND “DEMOCRAT.”

DARYN FORGERON

In interviews, Mulvaney-Stanak and her team chalked up the win to her moderate message and clear opinion that more

police alone won’t solve Burlington’s problems. When sworn in on April 1, she’ll replace Mayor Miro Weinberger, a Democrat who’s held o ce for 12 years.

“The driving factor of this race … [was] the crossover votes,” said Daryn Forgeron, Mulvaney-Stanak’s campaign manager. “People felt we built a coalition that carried nuance beyond ‘Progressive’ and ‘Democrat.’”

A former labor organizer with experience winning city council and state legislative races, Mulvaney-Stanak knew how to run a campaign. She grew a team of 300 volunteers with a core group known as “Emma’s Entourage” that met weekly on Zoom. The squad was composed of researchers, phone bankers, endorsement seekers — even a “professional nudger”

Chittenden County prosecutors and attorneys for Jason Eaton, who faces three counts of attempted murder, told a state judge that they hope to have the case ready for trial by January 2025. e ambitious, perhaps unlikely timetable stems in part from Eaton’s desire to have the case resolved quickly, according to one of his public defenders, Sarah Varty. Eaton has been incarcerated since his November arrest.

e spectators in kaffiyehs, including well-known Palestinian activist Wafic Faour, watched silently as the otherwise routine hearing unfolded.

e Chittenden County State’s Attorney’s Office has not ascribed a motive to the crime, and Eaton reportedly said nothing to his victims — Hisham Awartani, Tahseen Ali Ahmad and Kinnan Abdalhamid — before allegedly opening fire on the night of November 25, 2023.

The ongoing war in Gaza, the victims’ ethnicity, the fact that they were speaking Arabic and their Palestinian scarves have prompted speculation that Eaton was driven by hate. Seven Days previously reported that a review of Eaton’s history paints the picture of a complicated person with views not easy to pigeonhole. In fact, Seven Days viewed posts by Eaton on X, the platform previously known as Twitter, that suggested he had some sympathy for the Palestinian side of the conflict.

Whether prosecutors will seek a hate-crime enhancement charge in the case was not discussed during last Friday’s hearing. e bar for proving a hate crime in Vermont courts is high.

After the hearing, Eaton’s attorneys told reporters that they were still conducting their own investigation into the circumstances surrounding the shooting.

“Our request is for patience and to keep an open mind,” public defender Peggy Jansch said.

She said Eaton hopes for “healing” for the three young men, one of whom is paralyzed from the chest down, and their families.

“ at healing includes the larger community of Burlington and throughout the world,” Jansch added. ➆

Found in Translation

A video project delivers critical health information to immigrants in 18 languages

BY ALISON NOVAK • alison@sevendaysvt.com

On the Vermont Language Justice Project’s YouTube channel, you’ll find a video in Ukrainian about how to pick up prescription medications and another, in Mandarin, about why energy drinks are harmful. You can learn in Nepali how to administer naloxone, the opioid overdose-reversal drug, and get tips for driving safely in the winter in Arabic.

A local social worker and a small group of translators teamed up four years ago, in March 2020, to create the videos and provide important, constantly evolving public-health information about COVID19 to Vermonters who did not read or speak English.

Four years later, with a grant from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and an assortment of smaller contracts, the project has turned out more than 2,000 straightforward informational videos in 18 languages, covering topics from mental health to natural disasters. The public service announcements have been viewed a combined 183,000 times.

In Vermont, which has welcomed an estimated 2,000 refugees in the

past decade, the videos provide a critical service for recent arrivals, said Eve Dolkart, who has worked closely with the project in her role as a health equity liaison for the Vermont Department of Health.

“A lot of people have been able to access information they weren’t able to access previously that is culturally …. responsive to [their] needs,” Dolkart said.

Public health information is often disseminated to non-English speakers

Alison Segar (center) with staff members Dani Agin and Olivia Moseley

DARIA BISHOP

Judge Tosses

Burlington Cannabiz Owner’s Lawsuit

BY SASHA GOLDSTEIN sasha@sevendaysvt.com

A Vermont judge has thrown out a lawsuit filed by a Burlington cannabis entrepreneur who claimed he was “hoodwinked” by the Canadian company that bought his business.

Shayne Lynn of High Fidelity alleged that Toronto-based SLANG Worldwide gave fraudulent and negligent misrepresentations when discussing its financial condition during a $25 million merger in 2021.

SLANG, a publicly traded company, buys and sells licenses for cannabis edibles and accessories. Executives told Lynn the company “was financially sound and had a bright economic future,” the suit alleged, and they promised Lynn $18 million to finance his plans for growth.

In reality, the company was “teetering on the edge of insolvency,” the suit says, and needed to borrow $18 million to survive.

“The failure to make disclosures and the misrepresentations by Defendants caused Mr. Lynn to agree to the Merger Agreement,” the suit says. “Had he known the true financial status of [SLANG], he never would have agreed to merge with it.”

Lynn filed the suit last August, and SLANG moved to have it dismissed shortly after. In her March 7 decision, Judge Helen Toor sided with SLANG, finding that Lynn had proved neither element of the suit.

“Lynn’s claim of a scheme is based entirely on statements of opinion, or puffery, and a promise to invest money at some undetermined time in the future,” Toor wrote. Further, Lynn failed to “allege that Defendants owed him a duty to disclose Slang’s financial situation, or that he was unable to verify that information for himself.”

SLANG declined to comment on Toor’s decision. In a statement, Lynn’s attorney, Pietro Lynn, said, “We intend to appeal and expect to win.”

“We are deeply disappointed by the judge’s ruling,” he wrote. “We believe she is incorrect and that the inaccurate statements identified in the complaint are sufficient to support a claim against the Defendants.” ➆

Crossing the Aisle « P.14

who kept volunteers on task, Forgeron said.

While Team Shannon kept supporters apprised with dozens of emails, MulvaneyStanak’s crew used social media, posting more than 30 Instagram reels that showed the candidate in action, one garnering more than 26,000 views. In one popular clip, Mulvaney-Stanak used plastic dinosaur toys to demonstrate ranked-choice voting, a method the city used in this year’s mayoral election for the first time since 2009.

“Don’t tell my kids I borrowed some of their toys this morning,” she said conspiratorially to the camera.

Mulvaney-Stanak, who balanced the campaign with parenting two young children and serving as a state legislator, had a full schedule. She carpooled with a colleague so she could call voters while commuting to Montpelier and attended more than 100 events, many of them gatherings in people’s living rooms.

Some voters may have been seeking change after 12 years of Mayor Weinberger. Others have suggested that Burlington is truly a Progressive town at heart, given that Weinberger was the first Dem to hold the office in three decades.

But Mulvaney-Stanak also appealed to the middle. She isn’t as far left as Max Tracy, the former city council president who lost to Weinberger by just 129 votes in 2021. And she’s more moderate than some Progs who ran for council, such as one who campaigned to cap the number of flights at Burlington International Airport over climate concerns. Mulvaney-Stanak has instead said the city should monitor the airport’s greenhouse gas emissions.

Her public safety message was also more palatable to moderates. She talked about hiring more cops, not reducing their numbers. She validated residents’ concerns about public drug use and homelessness and spoke of her own fear when a hostage situation at a local bar prevented her from picking up her child from school. Some of her campaign literature didn’t even mention the Progressive Party — a strategy some Democrats have suggested was disingenuous, though Shannon didn’t always include her party affiliation either. Team Emma says it focused on MulvaneyStanak’s message instead of reducing her to a party label.

As a result, Mulvaney-Stanak won over hundreds of voters who picked Democrats for city council, most notably in Shannon’s own South End. In Wards 5 and 6, she earned at least 300 more votes than Progressive-endorsed candidates Lena Greenberg and Will Anderson, respectively, who lost their elections. She also

outpaced Tracy’s 2021 showing in nearly every competitive ward.

South End resident Jessica Oski voted for Weinberger in 2021 and supported Shannon’s council reelection bid in 2023. But this year, Oski picked MulvaneyStanak for mayor and incumbent Democratic Councilor Ben Traverse, who defeated Greenberg in Ward 5. Both winning candidates want more police and better oversight, whereas Shannon focused only on the former, Oski said.

“I don’t think Joan appreciated how many people do not share her view on policing,” said Oski, a member of the city’s police commission and a political independent. “I think people were more able to find that space with Emma.”

Ward 5 resident Jason Van Driesche, who unsuccessfully challenged Shannon for her council seat in the 2022 Democratic caucus, voted the same way as Oski, in part because he thought Shannon’s public safety platform lacked nuance. Shannon wanted people who use drugs in public to be arrested, whereas Mulvaney-Stanak had proposed stationing more police in hot spots to deter the behavior. Tom Worthington, a split-ticket voter in Ward 7, also picked Mulvaney-Stanak, though he didn’t think either mayoral candidate had a perfect public safety plan.

“Joan’s approach was a little too heavyhanded, and Emma’s, too light,” he said. “If I have to choose, I’ll lean in the direction of compassion. We’ve seen heavy-handed policy does not work out well for anybody.”

Shannon supporters, however, maintain that her message was on point. They blame Shannon’s loss on negative social media campaigns such as one led by lets_talk_abt_joan, an anonymous Instagram account that criticized Shannon’s record on housing reforms and other policies. One post charged, without providing

evidence, that Shannon doesn’t tip service workers, which her campaign says is false. Supporters of the account, which wasn’t affiliated with Mulvaney-Stanak’s team, hung flyers at cafés and on telephone poles that urged voters to pick “literally anyone else.” Some people defaced Shannon’s campaign signs with stickers.

“When you have folks sharing that on social media and word of mouth, it’s hard to control and shut down,” said outgoing City Councilor Hannah King (D-Ward 8), who worked as Shannon’s campaign

I DON’T THINK JOAN APPRECIATED HOW MANY PEOPLE DO NOT SHARE HER VIEW ON POLICING.

JESSICA

manager. King was up for reelection and lost her seat on Town Meeting Day in what was another big win for Progressives.

Democrats say young voters, particularly those concerned about the war in Gaza, helped defeat both King and Shannon. Late last year, King voted for a council resolution calling for a cease-fire. But both she and Shannon voted in late January against putting an item on the ballot that asked voters to make Burlington an “apartheid-free community.” A month later, activists confronted Shannon after a debate at the University of Vermont. And on Town Meeting Day, Seven Days was at the Ward 3 polling place when a young man heckled and cursed at King for not supporting the ballot item. Progressiveendorsed Democratic socialist Marek

FILE: LEE KROHN

Shayne Lynn in 2017

Mulvaney-Stanak supporters as results were reported

Broderick, a UVM student involved in the pro-Palestine movement, defeated King with 57.2 percent of the vote.

The day after the election, the student vote was a big topic of conversation on “The Morning Drive,” a WVMT radio show cohosted by Republican former city council president Kurt Wright. Some callers suggested only long-term residents should be able to cast ballots.

Even before the race was called on election night, people attending Shannon’s watch party at Halvorson’s Upstreet Café were trading stories about the number of “young people” at the polls.

The mayor-elect also performed well in the more conservative New North End, which lacks a high concentration of students. While Mulvaney-Stanak held three roundtables with business owners, she didn’t aggressively court students — an approach Tracy took in 2021, her campaign said.

Mulvaney-Stanak instead thinks her message resonated with people in her own demographic: parents with young children and “small p” progressive values. She said a “key turning point” in her campaign was a debate hosted by the United Parent Teacher Organizations of Burlington during which she

“Anecdotally, we saw groups of dozens [of students] coming in at Ward 1 and Ward 8,” Burlington Democratic Party chair Adam Roof told Seven Days, referring to student-heavy voting districts. But he also acknowledged that he wouldn’t be able to accurately measure the student vote for several weeks, when the city clerk’s office releases updated voter data showing the addresses of people who returned ballots.

The vote totals, however, suggest that the Dems’ prediction could be off. The boundaries of Wards 1 and 8 have shifted slightly since the last mayoral election, but between the two areas, only 37 more voters cast ballots this year than in 2021. In the Progressive stronghold of Ward 2, 300 more people voted this year. Even still, “that doesn’t add up to 1,000 more people,” Forgeron said, referring to Mulvaney-Stanak’s winning margin.

described her experience raising kids as a queer mom. After the debate, a clip of Mulvaney-Stanak speaking passionately about the need to keep LGBTQ kids safe in schools garnered thousands of views on social media.

The event was also the first time Mulvaney-Stanak could lay out her vision for public safety — or what she calls “community safety” to convey that a safer Burlington needs more than just police. She said that message appealed to people beyond college students and hard-line Progressives.

“A whole wide coalition of people were energized by this,” she said.

Former city councilor Rachel Siegel, director of operations for MulvaneyStanak’s campaign, agreed.

“Once people hear her talk, they’re no longer thinking about the Progressive label,” she said. “They were voting for Emma.” ➆

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Hannah King and Joan Shannon

FILE: BEAR CIERI

using computer software or by translating written materials into other languages and posting it online. But the Vermont Language Justice Project takes a different tack. It hires primarily local translators to record messages for succinct, engaging videos distributed by trusted community organizations. The reasoning: People are more likely to follow guidance when it is provided by familiar people whom they respect.

“It’s an excellent model because it just helps bridge the cultural barriers,” said Kerubo Webster, a Swahili interpreter and musician who has worked with the project since its inception. “Communities already know who these people are … [The translators] understand the nuances and values of the community.”

Alison Segar, a Burlington social worker and filmmaker who has worked extensively with immigrant and refugee families, is the driving force behind the project. In the early days of the pandemic, Segar worried that her clients, friends and extended family members who spoke limited English were at risk of getting ill or dying without accurate information about the virus.

“I really had this sense of urgency to do something,” Segar said.

She recruited her friend Mohamed Jafar, whom she’d known since he arrived as a young boy in Burlington from a refugee camp in Kenya, to make what would be the first of many informational messages about COVID-19.

In the video, which was posted on YouTube on March 18, 2020, Jafar explains in Somali that there is a virus in Burlington and the rest of the world that can be spread even if you don’t know you’re sick. He tells people that hospitals are growing increasingly busy and that they should isolate at home if they are feeling ill.

“Stay calm but also responsible and safe,” Jafar says in Somali. “If we all do our part, we will be safe and healthy. Peace to all brothers and sisters.”

Segar, who was working for Howard Center and Spectrum Youth & Family Services at the time, found others who could record the same message in Arabic, Nepali and the South Sudanese dialect of Dinka — and posted those videos, too.

Soon, a group of community members who worked for immigrant- and refugeesupport organizations began meeting over Zoom to discuss how to circulate timely pandemic updates. Segar tapped into a wide range of support: from state agencies, political and school leaders in Burlington and Winooski, AALV

(formerly the Association of Africans Living in Vermont), the U.S. Committee for Refugees and Immigrants’ Vermont office, and the University of Vermont Medical Center.

Segar would watch Gov. Phil Scott’s daily press conferences and, on Friday evenings, meet with USCRI Vermont executive director Amila Merdzanovic

gave the language project $330,000 to continue its work. Around that time, the project became part of CCTV Center for Media & Democracy, a nonprofit media center in Burlington’s Old North End.

The money allowed Segar to translate videos into more languages, from 10 to 18, and expand beyond COVID19-related videos.

[THE TRANSLATORS] UNDERSTAND THE NUANCES AND VALUES OF THE COMMUNITY.

KERUBO WEBSTER

and AALV associate director Thato Ratsebe to nail down a simple, straightforward script with everything people needed to know that week. Local translators would then record it in their languages. Segar volunteered her time, while translators were paid with a small pool of funds from the cities of Burlington and Winooski, the UVM Medical Center, and the health department. The group has since taken down some outdated COVID-related videos.

“By doing things in an audiovisual way, it just really worked for the populations we wanted to serve, because they just had to listen,” Segar said.

In fall 2021, the CDC awarded the state a grant to address health disparities. The health department, in turn,

“We are learning about new things that we didn’t know existed, and it helps us be careful about the dangers around us,” one participant said.

Aside from COVID-19-related topics, the project has delved into everyday issues such as health insurance, wildfires, ticks and public transportation. Segar came up with the idea for a video on cyanobacteria after she watched an immigrant family heading to the beach at Burlington’s Oakledge Park despite signs — in English — that said swimming was prohibited because of the toxic algae. Segar learned that the city wasn’t displaying messages about cyanobacteria in different languages, so she quickly whipped up a script.

“I’m amazed at how they get messages out in the time frame they do,” said Dolkart, of the health department.

When massive flooding hit parts of Vermont in summer 2023, Segar and the translators quickly churned out videos about staying safe during heavy rains, how flooding can contaminate drinking water and how to avoid falling prey to scammers pretending to be Federal Emergency Management Agency officials. The project also made a video for immigrant farmers in Burlington’s lowlying Intervale about why they couldn’t harvest produce that had been touched by floodwater.

The project recently finished a fivepart series for the state Department of Mental Health on suicide prevention, trauma and how to get mental health support, paid for by a federal block grant.

They are filling a need that no one else in Vermont is, said Cheryle Bilodeau Wilcox, mental health collaborations director for the Department of Mental Health. “[It’s] a really unique and creative project.”

Lili Feng, who provides Mandarin interpretation services in Vermont hospitals, schools and courts, was among the new hires. She said people are sometimes surprised to learn that there are dozens of Mandarin speakers across the state; many own restaurants, work long hours and feel isolated, she said. Every time a new video is created, Feng sends it to a list of her contacts through WeChat, a Chinese messaging app. She said they always tell her how much they appreciate getting the information. Messages about how to file taxes and talk with teenage kids have been especially well received, Feng said.

Focus-group participants have also provided positive feedback.

Segar, who is now running the project full time and recently brought on two staff members, has more big plans. A video about cancer screenings is in the works for Brattleboro Memorial Hospital, and she’d like to create more content about preventive medicine, as well as a series on sexual and reproductive health. Soon, there will be an easy-to-use app, where videos will be organized by language and topic. Because the CDC grant money will likely run out at the end of this year, Segar said she is hunting for additional funding to support the work.

Segar said she’s surprised at how often language access is an afterthought and hopes that one day “it’s actually a line item in every organization’s budget.” Ultimately, she said, “I feel like everything I know that makes my life better should be available for everybody to make their lives better.” ➆

Vermont Language Justice Project translators

lifelines

OBITUARIES

William Baldwin Ski

1932-2024

WILLISTON, VT.

Having lived a joy-filled life in which every opportunity to dance was taken and the smallest act of joy or kindness was consistently and readily given, William Baldwin Skiff, age 91, left us on February 21, 2024, for his next great adventure.

A seventh-generation Vermonter from Jeffersonville, Bill has a family history that stretches from the first sheriff in the tiny hamlet of Hinesburg to a community-minded sponsor of the old Mary Fletcher Hospital, thus cementing his love of all things western and a lifelong commitment to personally and professionally making others’ lives better.

Bill attended Middlebury College, where selling homemade doughnuts and milk to the guys in the dorms helped “this old farm-boy” settle in. With a master’s in physical education from Springfield College, he returned to Stowe to teach PE, mentoring future Olympic skier Billy Kidd. He devoted his professional life to helping others, serving as an Army psychiatric social

worker, the administrator of wilderness camps for justice-involved youth in New York State and a high school guidance professional at Mount Mansfield Union High School.

One of his greatest joys, years after retiring from MMU, was to be joyfully greeted by a former student, now happy and with a family of their own, and hear the words “Hey, Mr. Skiff! You sure saved my a&$ in high school!”

Together with his wife, Ruth, Bill raised four children, who agree their childhood was a blast.

From towing them through snow-covered neighborhood streets behind his Datsun pickup on an old toboggan to organizing raucous western-themed

Ann H. Mudgett

MAY 13, 1945-FEBRUARY 17, 2024

WORCESTER, VT.

Ann Hoffman Mudgett, of Worcester, Vt., died on February 17, 2024, following a brief illness.

She was born on May 13, 1945, in Phillipsburg, N.J., the daughter of Mark Hoffman and Helen omas Hoffman.

Ann graduated from the University of Vermont in 1967 with a degree in geology and mathematics. She was married in 1968 to John H. Mudgett. ey lived in Burlington from 1968 to 1972, when they moved to Worcester and made their home there. eir two sons, omas Andrew Mudgett and Mark Jeffrey Mudgett, also live in Worcester. John was a University

barn dances complete with square dancing for their high school graduations, the memories are many.

With an irrepressible energy, Bill created occasions that brought people together, including the Williston Fourth of July Frog Jumping Contest, the Williston/Richmond Rotary, the “old-timer” — a humorous character he’d portray at special events — and the transformation of his and Ruth’s farmhouse into a 1920s speakeasy and mobster den for parties. Essentially a nonmusician, he nevertheless played in a Dixieland band and was a standout at washtub bass at local “kitchen tunks,” often organized by him to provide fellowship and highlight the talent of neighbors and friends.

Bill did not let the boundaries of family and work contain him. To the last, he was a fully present and integral part of the Williston community, the Bolton Valley staff team, the Butternut Road neighborhood family and the Residence at Shelburne Bay — a spreader of joy and connection wherever he was.

Fortunate to have had a caring team of professionals at Birchwood Terrace in the last weeks of his life,

of Vermont graduate and certified public accountant with a practice in Montpelier. When her sons were older, Ann did additional coursework and became a CPA. For many years, they worked together in the firm of Mudgett, Jennett and Krogh-Wisner PC.

Ann had often vacationed in Vermont with her parents, so attending UVM was a natural choice. Once Ann had a family of her own, vacations often were spent at the family’s summer camp on the Westcott Shore of Lake Carmi. She also loved to ski, and many days were spent in the mountains. Ann loved to travel to the Rocky Mountains for skiing or hiking. Her favorite trips were to Alta for the deep powder snow. In the 1990s, Ann began to grow orchids and became

he directed the delivery of several Valentine’s flowers from his bed and made connections with staff in those short weeks close enough to garner tears upon his passing.

Bill joins his wife, Ruth, and beloved grandson Silas. He leaves behind a legion of friends and family to carry on his legacy of joy, compassion and service to others, including his children, Robyn, Bill, Nan and Todd, and their spouses; five grandchildren; his sister, Carol Young, brother Robert, and their spouses and children; and about a million daffodils he and Ruth spent years planting along Butternut Road, a perennial reminder of the hope and joy that is always there for the taking.

A private ceremony will take place at the Williston East Cemetery, where he joins Ruth at their family bench overlooking the trees.

Donations in Bill’s honor can be made to the Youth Leadership or Post-High School Trade School/ College Scholarship funds at the Williston-Richmond Rotary Charities, PO Box 114, Williston, VT 05495.

Arrangements are by Stephen C. Gregory and Son Cremation Service of South Burlington, Vt.

Brian Robert Bing

FEBRUARY 23, 1962FEBRUARY 10, 2024 BURLINGTON, VT.

e family of Brian Robert Bing of Burlington, Vt., is saddened to announce his passing on February 10, 2024, at the age of 61, a few weeks shy of his 62nd birthday.

Brian was born on February 23, 1962, to the late Robert K. Bing and the late Jean P. Bing. He attended Burlington Public Schools and graduated from Burlington High School in 1980. During those years, Brian was actively involved in several sports, including ice hockey, soccer and baseball. He went on to study culinary arts at the Culinary Institute of America and graduated with high honors in 1986. Brian became an accomplished chef, sharing his talents with numerous restaurants during his impressive career.

Many of Brian’s coworker relationships fostered lasting friendships. Brian enjoyed playing golf, doing crossword puzzles and spending time with friends. His creative, original greeting cards were Brian’s special trademark. Brian possessed an incredible memory and could recount sporting events, scores and specific details about many

of the great athletes of the ’70s and ’80s. He held a very beloved place in his heart for Lake Champlain and his memorable boyhood years on Crescent Beach Drive.

Brian was blessed with a sensitive, forgiving and amazing spirit. He will be greatly missed by his surviving brother Daniel R. Bing and sister-in-law, Kristine M. Bruni; brother Randal J. Bing; and nephew, Jason P. Bing; as well as extended family and many friends and coworkers.

A private service will be held at Lakeview Cemetery, located off North Avenue in Burlington, Vt.

Donations can be made in Brian’s memory to COTS, 95 North Ave., Burlington, VT, or online at cotsonline. org. Please visit awrfh.com to share your memories and condolences.

a member of the Twin State Orchid Society. She quickly was helping with displays at shows throughout New England and traveling around the country to attend events and expand her knowledge.

Ann was known for being intelligent, inquisitive and generous, and for her love of family and friends. And she loved her dogs. Ann will be greatly missed by all who knew her. Ann was a member of the Episcopal church. Donations in her memory may be made to St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church on Prim Road in Colchester, Vt., or to the Make-A-Wish Foundation.

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

Happy 80th, Roger!

You’ve seen a lot in your lifetime! From the invention of the wheel (just kidding!) and the personal computer to the moon landing and the world wide web! Here’s to more discovery! We love you!

lifelines

OBITUARIES

Ken Liberto

JANUARY 16, 1945MARCH 9, 2024

EAST MONTPELIER, VT.

is was written by Ken Libertoff.

After living a full life, Ken Libertoff is at rest after 79 years of adventures, achievements and some disappointments, but uplifted with the belief that he made a difference.

Ken was born in Brooklyn, N.Y., on January 16, 1945. His mother, Lillian Libertoff, lived in New York City until age 92, when she moved to Westview Meadows in Montpelier. She passed away in 2016, age 95. Ken’s father, Wilford Libertoff, also a native of Brooklyn, died when Ken was 12 years old.

Ken is survived by Sarah Hofmann, Ken’s wife and best friend, whom he married later in life. Together they forged a full and happy union. Besides sharing loving children and grandchildren, they took pride in both having rewarding but different careers and, along the way, shared many friends and acquaintances.

ey were avid bike travelers with frequent visits to rail trails in Vermont and elsewhere, finding bikes in such diverse places as Maine, Florida, New Mexico, Wyoming and California.

Combining a love for adventure with life on the road, they also managed to travel to and bike in Canada, France, Italy, Spain, South Africa and Scandinavia.

Ken is survived by his son Jamie Libertoff of Albuquerque, N.M., who always made his father very proud. Jamie has been a social worker for many years, helping people with behavioral health disorders. Jamie’s two children, Fiorella Gamio of Queens, N.Y., and Rodrigo Sarmiento of Albuquerque, N.M., were shining stars in Ken’s constellation, as were Sarah’s children John Mullett

OBITUARIES, VOWS, CELEBRATIONS

of Vermont and Layne Mullett of Pennsylvania, along with their loving partners. Mireya Ortiz, Jamie’s kind and caring partner, also lives in Albuquerque, N.M., with Mireya’s son, Zahir.

Ken greatly valued his younger sister, Karen Harrington, and his brotherin-law, Leo Harrrington, of West Hartford, Conn. He also leaves behind his nephews and Sarah’s brother and sisters.

Ken is also survived by Jamie’s mother and former wife, Janet Ryan, of Florida. He also was fortunate to have wives and partners with women who were “way above average,” including Gabrielle Dietzel and Trish O’Regan of Montpelier, Vt.

Ken was a proud graduate of Public School 114 and Junior High School 198 in Queens. His boyhood memories included countless games of stoop and stickball and hours of basketball on the streets of Rockaway and Brooklyn. His first job, at age 14, was at the popular Bogianno’s Bar and Grill, where he manned the nighttime outdoor hamburger and hotdog stand for a dollar an hour.

Ken graduated from Far Rockaway High School in 1962. While his academic record was modest, he made his mark on the basketball court and served as team captain during his junior and senior years. He was named

to the All-Queens basketball team in his senior year.

Ken enrolled at the University of Connecticut. Given his less-than-stellar academic high school record, he was accepted “on academic probation” at UConn. is status, it was reported, caused his mother great stress. He was a proud member of several outstanding UConn Husky basketball teams, including the 1964 squad, which made it to the Elite 8 NCAA tournament. Ken was an English major in college and slowly but steadily matured as a student. In an effort to pad his grade point average, Ken was told about an easy course, so he signed up for an introductory plant science class. Arriving for the class, Ken discovered that it was devoted to the art of flower arranging and that he was the only male student in a group of nearly 20 students.

After college, Ken stayed at UConn and served as the freshman basketball coach in 1967. However, after reflection, Ken shifted his priorities and committed himself to social activism. us, he moved to New Haven, Conn., and served as an assistant to a young radical Yale University psychology professor, Ira Goldenberg. Over the course of several years, Ken worked with troubled teenagers while also crafting services and programs as part of the War on Poverty. He also was asked to provide workshops within the Yale Department of Psychology.

With added maturity and life experience, Ken applied to graduate school at Harvard University, and in a startling development, he was accepted. He received his PhD in 1978 in clinical psychology and public practice, and it was reported that his mother was most pleased. During his graduate career, Ken was awarded numerous National Institute of Mental Health

scholarships while writing his dissertation on the subject of runaway children.

Ken moved to Vermont in 1976, and, while still writing his dissertation, he served as the director with the relatively new Washington County Youth Services Bureau. In 1981, Ken was named the director of the Vermont Association for Mental Health, a post he maintained for 30 years. While working as a citizen advocate in this position, he was engaged in many facets of legislative advocacy on many health and human service issues. Among his achievements was his leadership in the passing of the Mental Health and Substance Abuse Parity Bill in 1997. is landmark legislation was viewed as the new national model and standard and included a mandate for all insurance policies sold within the state to cover both mental health and substance abuse conditions at parity with physical conditions. Another piece of legislation that had considerable national attention was a bill passed in Vermont in 2009 that banned gifts from the pharmaceutical industry to Vermont’s medical community, including hospitals. is legislation also set a national standard that was replicated in many other states. During his tenure, he was known as a fierce advocate for consumer empowerment, innovative children’s services and leadership in building recovery centers throughout the state. Ken lectured or consulted in more than 30 states, as well as at the Sorbonne in Paris. He also served as an adviser in South Africa, where he worked with Indigenous community groups, business leaders, government officials and other advocacy organizations throughout the country.

Ken received considerable recognition, including the Lifetime Legendary Leadership Award from Mental Health America, but

he was most proud of his award at Public School 114, when, in sixth grade, he was recognized with the highly valued Good Eater Award.

ose who worked with Ken and those who had occasion to oppose his efforts might all agree that he was a vigorous and spirited advocate, one who could be both sharp in opinion but quick with wit and humor.

After retiring in 2010, Ken continued to serve as a consultant, traveled to New Mexico frequently on family visits, traveled abroad and refined his tennis game with a cadre of tennis buddies. He was a loyal member of the Vermont Tree Committee and an avid gardener. It might be said that at age 74, Ken stumbled into a new endeavor and adventure when he signed up for a couple of free writing classes on a whim. He had no design, plan or thought about becoming a writer. Several local writers urged Ken to sign up for a more formalized writing group at the Montpelier senior activity center, specifically mentioning one of the group leaders named Maggie ompson. Under her guidance and support, Ken wrote his memoir in short story and essay form and was thrilled when a few appeared in the Montpelier Bridge and the BarreMontpelier Times Argus. Last year, Rootstock Publishing of Montpelier agreed to publish a collection of his work under the title Snapshots of a Life Ken launched his book on January 20, 2024, just days after his 79th birthday.

A celebration of life will be held in the spring. As much as Ken loved flowers, if you wish to honor Ken’s memory, please contribute to the Central Vermont Refugee Action Network (cvran.org/ donate) or the Montpelier Tree Board through the Montpelier Foundation (Montpelierfoundation.org) to purchase trees for the city.

IN MEMORIAM

Tom Simone

1943-2022

Listening to operas and missing you and the life and love we shared.

Susan

Joel Senesac

1979-2019

It has been five years since your passing. e loss of your shining light and life is felt more as years pass. You brought so much to so many. You lived life to the fullest and gave so much to this world. Rest in peace, Joel.

From your loving family

Joy Combs

1951-2024

Celebration of Life and Remembrances: Saturday, March 16, 2024, 11 a.m.

Joy Combs, loving wife of 48 years to Sandy Combs of Shelburne, Vt., passed unexpectedly on February 13, 2024. Joy’s Celebration of Life and Remembrances will be held on Saturday, March 16, 2024, 11 a.m., at Stephen C. Gregory and Son Cremation Service, 472 Meadowland Drive, South Burlington, VT. Joy’s full obituary can be found at tinyurl. com/joycombsobituary.

James Joseph Tomczak

APRIL 7, 1937-MARCH 7, 2024 SHELBURNE, VT.

James Joseph Tomczak, 86, passed away peacefully on March 7, 2024. He was born on April 7, 1937, in Highland Park, Mich. He was the only child of Agnes and Stanislaus Tomczak. He was predeceased by two grandsons, James Currie and Roger Schafer III. Jim is survived by his loving wife, Kay Tomczak; their nine children: Elizabeth (Roger)

Schafer, Mary Susan (John)

Currie, David (Patty), Andrew (Argira Glama), Jennifer (Scott DuBois), Christine (Steve)

Horton, Kathleen (A.D.) Kent, Stephen, and Natalie (Joel) Bradford; 21 grandchildren; two step-grandchildren; and 14 great-grandchildren.

Jim and Kay were married on August 2, 1958, in Detroit. Jim graduated from the University of Detroit in 1961. ey later moved to Poughkeepsie, N.Y., before settling in Burlington, Vt., in 1968, where they raised their nine children.

Jim worked for over 30 years at IBM as an electrical engineer. He contributed to many patents during his time there. He graduated from Syracuse University with a graduate degree in

engineering in 1969, which coincided with the year that his seventh child was born. After retirement from IBM, he co-owned A&D Service Station in the North Avenue Shopping Center, with his son David.

Jim had a great sense of humor, and he was a loving husband and father. He was also a man of deep faith. He and Kay participated in many retreats and Bible studies and prayer communities.

He learned to play the guitar, and he played and sang for prayer meetings and family campfire gatherings.

He was active in both Catholic and Christian faith communities through the years, most recently as a member of Daybreak Church in Colchester.

Jim had a strong sense of responsibility to others, and he

was eager to help anyone who came to him for assistance. He could repair or improve anything, from carpentry to car repair. He volunteered at Aspire Now, where he was named “Father of the House” because he helped put together cribs and fix things. He was honest and compassionate. His work to help many people with their finances and taxes was featured in a WCAX-TV senior spotlight. Always physically active, he coached youth hockey teams for many years and later became an avid pickleball player and champion.

Jim took great pride in his ever-expanding family. He and Kay loved to attend their children’s and grandchildren’s sports competitions, and they enjoyed working in the yard and garden together.

It was a joy to spend time with him, and he will be dearly missed by all who knew and loved him.

Visiting hours will be held on Wednesday, March 13, 5 to 7 p.m., at LaVigne Funeral Home in Winooski. Funeral services will be celebrated on Thursday, March 14, 11 a.m., at Daybreak Community Church in Colchester. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to Aspire Now, 5399 Williston Rd., #207, Williston, VT 05495.

Joseph “Byrd” Allen

OCTOBER 15, 1950MARCH 2, 2024 BURLINGTON, VT. Joseph “Byrd” Allen of Burlington, Vt., found eternal rest while cycling on the night of March 2, 2024. He was born on October 15, 1950, in Negril, Jamaica, and became an avid fisherman and craftsman. He immigrated to Vermont in the late 1980s and wed his late wife. ey began raising their two daughters, Mattie and Lilli Allen, in Starksboro, Vt.

joyful object he found on the streets of Burlington.

In the 1990s, they separated, and he set roots in Burlington, becoming an unexpected icon of the counterculture community. His philosophical spirit and passionate pursuit of his own reggae music were embedded in the town’s artistry, impacting creative minds and local businesses for decades. He was a passionate songwriter, and community venues such as Radio Bean would help bring “Super Byrdman’s” visions to life during smile-charged open mic nights. Many know him for lighting up the Burlington streets with his mobile art-cart installations that were wired and woven with any

Joseph “Byrdman” Allen was a living reminder that positivity and strength can always be found when we are tapped into our most authentic selves. His creativity reminds us that there is beauty and worthiness in all discarded elements of our own lives. In this tragic time, his daughters ask that you remember the positive epiphanies that he would freely offer to anyone. Honor his strong spirit and share your own unique glimmers of positivity. is is what our community is made of. Joseph is survived by his daughters, Mattie Manley-Allen and Lillian Allen. ey want to thank the Burlington community for their deep care and contributions. Memorials will be made through installations of his carts and a Burlington reggae Gathering of Life Community Celebration in summer 2024.

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FEEDback

Over 50 years ago, we were proud of our state when it enacted one of the nation’s first bottle bills. The bill and we have aged since then. We are not sure how many more years we will be able to pick up all the beverage containers along Route 116 between the Prayer Rock in Bristol and Rocky Dale that don’t fall under the bottle bill but might have if not for Gov. Phil Scott’s veto of its proposed expansion.

Sen. Dick Sears wrote to us that his failure to vote to override the veto was based on the complexity of the proposed expansion. He said he supports expanding the bill to cover more beverage containers. So, we invited him to introduce a better bottle bill next session. Perhaps Vermont can look east to Maine, where more beverages are already covered, for a less complicated bill?

Dave Rosen and Carol Clauss BRISTOL

DON’T PROSECUTE CHILDREN

[Re “No Room in the System: A 14-YearOld’s Murder Arrest Draws Attention to Vermont’s Lack of a Juvenile Facility,” November 8]: In the state of Vermont, children as young as 14 must be prosecuted in criminal court if they are accused of committing one of 12 egregious o enses known as “the Big 12.”

Violent crimes cause devastating grief and warrant serious consequences. However, punitive interpretations of justice give me pause, especially when they impact minors.

We do not allow children to smoke, drink, vote or drive without restrictions because of their well-recognized lack of judgment. So why are we treating them like adults in our courtrooms? We are conditioned to act with a sense of urgency when the stakes are high. Social issues are bearing down on our state, and serious crimes are being committed. We fear a society bereft of accountability.

We don’t have to prosecute children as adults to hold them accountable. The family division of the superior court ought to maintain exclusive jurisdiction over delinquency proceedings involving individuals who have not yet reached the age of 18. This would a ord juvenile o enders private proceedings and a better chance at rehabilitation. It would not excuse them from consequences.

I don’t believe our state will be safer if we continue to try children in adult criminal courts. Furthermore, I feel morally obligated to suggest that continuing this practice will disproportionately harm some of the most disenfranchised, vulnerable members of our population.

Cara Gallagher HINESBURG

‘AN EXAMPLE TO ALL’

[Re “‘Mr. Helpful’: Catching Up With David Corey, the ‘Angel’ of Burlington’s City Hardware,” February 21]: As a regular customer at City Hardware on College Street, I’ve had many interactions with David. His genuine, friendly nature is hard to forget.

Visiting on a Saturday for the first time in months, I looked for David. We both smiled, then he said, “I saved something for you.” He’d saved socks in the back for months, knowing I need them every day! So very, very touched — but not surprised — that he remembered.

His genuine nature, gestures and smile have been consistent for years. Glad this exceptional and kind person has been recognized as an example to all.

Sherry Brown BURLINGTON

REPRESENTING WHOM?

[Re “Wild Bill: Long at Odds With Vermont’s Fish and Wildlife Board, Activists Would Like to Strip Its Powers,” February 28]: As a hunter and a fi sher, I fi nd that some of the most powerful arguments in support of hunting and fi shing are that they can be among the most ethical ways to feed one’s family, especially compared to industrially farmed food. Humans are a part of the land and ecosystems — if we eat fish from Lake Champlain, we become a part of that ecosystem, which can deepen our responsibilities to it.

What seems missing in the debate about changes to Vermont’s Fish and Wildlife Board are honest conversations about how we want to relate to the other species we share Vermont

board he wants to replace failed to do what he thought should have happened last year with regard to legislation. Is S.258 an emotional response? What biologists are we listening to?

These groups lobby for their cause using manipulation and disregard for the voices of state biologists and the Fish and Wildlife Board, who understand the ecological balance better than anyone else. There have been many updated versions of S.258. I can’t even find 3.1 or 3.2. Most of the time in the hearings, the argument has seemed to focus on trapping and coyote hunting with hardly any discussion of changing the structure of the board.

with — questions that are ethical and moral in nature — not legal or scientific. Arguments that we should do something because it is “legal” or “traditional” avoid engagement with these questions and deny Vermonters the chance to hear some of the other reasons people value hunting and fishing.

Not all hunters and fi shers support all currently legal forms of hunting. Is chasing coyotes through the woods with a pack of dogs (who are fed on factoryfarmed meat) really how we want to relate to coyotes? Should we restore a flood-prone cornfield to wetland to provide an opportunity for beaver trapping and duck hunting, in addition to fl ood resilience? Everyone in Vermont is relating to wildlife every day, through living, driving and eating in this state. It seems like having a wide representation on the Fish and Wildlife Board would make it better equipped to answer these questions.

Kristian Brevik SOUTH BURLINGTON

SAY NO TO S.258

In my opinion, Sen. Chris Bray has failed to demonstrate why the current board composition at the Vermont Fish & Wildlife Department needs modifications [“Wild Bill: Long at Odds With Vermont’s Fish and Wildlife Board, Activists Would Like to Strip Its Powers,” February 28]. He argues that he is representing a portion of society that’s not represented but has no names or lists to share with the public. One group, I would say, is Vermont’s Protect Our Wildlife. These groups he represents are upset because trapping is not 50 feet o the trail and coyote hunting with dogs has continued. One could argue that the

Can we please be honest? S.258 is an attempt to gain momentum on ending certain forms of hunting that certain small-interest groups desire. Let’s protect our traditions, ecosystems and the right to sustainable harvest from decisions made without comprehensive dialogue or understanding.

Jeremy Ayotte FLETCHER

WOODS FOR ALL

Wildlife advocates are not anti-hunting [“Wild Bill: Long at Odds With Vermont’s Fish and Wildlife Board, Activists Would Like to Strip Its Powers,” February 28]. We like to be in the woods, enjoying wildlife, hearing coyotes sing at night, being comfortable in the woods. We are against cruelty to animals.

Sending four healthy hounds with a very strong prey drive out to chase down bears and coyotes is inherently cruel and inhumane. We need to change how the Fish and Wildlife Board is set up to include Vermonters who enjoy wildlife but don’t hunt or trap them.

Maureen Dwyer BARRE TOWN

FILE: DARIA BISHOP

FILE: JULIANNA BRAZILL

David Corey greeting Spider the dog at City Hardware in Burlington

“Locals look to Seven Days Jobs for serious professional positions. Copies of the paper appear everywhere, every week, for free and so they reach a wide audience.

Other platforms bombard you with follow-up emails and alerts and notices that are unhelpful with an already overflowing email box. I get the sense Michelle Brown knows we have better things to do than design and organize ads, so she makes it all happen.

We would absolutely recommend Seven Days to another business looking to hire. e process is efficient and cost-effective, the paper has a solid reputation for its journalism, excellent layout, and, best of all, we get results – even before the print edition comes out. e best applicants for the positions we advertised came from Seven Days. We are in our last round of interviews, and I’m confident we will land two great employees.”

SUSAN ALEXANDER Manager, Lamoille Regional Solid Waste District, Morrisville

As the moon began its journey across the face of the sun, it gradually blotted out our star’s life-giving light and cast the rapt faces of children below in shadow. Just before it completely swallowed the sun, a curved line of tiny, brilliant flecks of light appeared along the moon’s outermost edge.

“Oooooooooh!” the kids erupted in awed unison.

A rich and resonant baritone voice cascaded down from the heavens in reply. “What you are seeing now are ‘Baily’s beads,’” it said. “And if you wait … just … one … second, you’ll see … the ‘diamond ring.’”

“Ahhhhhhhhh!” responded the chorus of children.

As the sun disappeared behind the moon, the beads blinked out. Except for one that appeared to grow brighter, as if fueled by the sun’s fiery corona encircling the moon’s dark sphere. For a shining moment, it did in fact look like a diamond ring. That is, until the last bead of light vanished and the moon completely obscured the sun.

Then, darkness. And silence.

Mostly.

For the 40 or so homeschooled kids fidgeting in their seats in the Lyman Spitzer Jr. Planetarium at the Fairbanks Museum in St. Johnsbury, silence was not a strong suit. However, even they were awed into relative quiet while bearing witness to one of the great spectacles of the cosmos: a total solar eclipse.

Or, in this case, a simulation of that spectacle.

For the past several months, director Mark Breen has been fine-tuning the planetarium’s eclipse show in advance of the live one coming to Vermont next month. Breen, 63, admits it’s still not a perfect representation of the cosmic convergence that millions of North Americans, weather gods willing, will see on April 8. But it’s more than enough to capture the imagination, especially with Breen as the guide.

Breen is better known — at least to the parents of the kids in the planetarium — as the voice of the Fairbanks’ “Eye on the Sky” morning weather forecasts and the afternoon “Eye on the Night Sky” stargazing reports on Vermont Public. After all, he’s led those broadcasts, which number about 20 a day, for 42 years. His voice is always welcoming and familiar, even on a crackling car stereo with sketchy reception in the Vermont boonies. But in the confines of the planetarium, it has Oz-like gravitas.

That’s partly a trick of acoustics — the domed planetarium screen makes sound

extra resonant. But it’s also a credit to Breen’s local authority after four decades as the voice of weather and astronomy in Vermont.

Now more than ever, people are listening. The northern part of Vermont lies directly in the eclipse’s “path of totality,” a roughly 100-mile-wide swath running from Mexico to the Canadian Maritimes in which the moon will completely obscure the sun. (Viewers in locations above or below the path will see only a partial eclipse.) This oncein-a-lifetime event is expected to draw anywhere from 50,000 to 200,000 visitors to the state, and nearly every town and city along the path, from Middlebury to Newport, is hosting events and plan -

MODEL FORECAST

Breen is slim and slight of stature, with white hair and a neatly trimmed, mostly white beard. He favors cozy sweaters and khakis and generally gives off the amiable air of your favorite middle school science teacher. He says he wanted to be a weatherman from the time he was in seventh grade — a desire born more of necessity than a geeky interest in atmospheric sciences or a fascination with slick-talking weather reporters on TV.

Breen wanted to predict the weather, he said, because “I was really good at building snowmen.”

He was born in Dannemora, an upstate New York town that’s home to a famous

Eye on This Guy

As the solar eclipse approaches, Vermont astronomer and meteorologist Mark Breen is having his moment in the sun

BY DAN BOLLES • dan@sevendaysvt.com

ning public safety measures to deal with the unprecedented influx.

Breen’s star is rising in the lead-up to the big day. Planetarium attendance is up 114 percent. As local and national media outlets report on the eclipse, they are seeking his expertise, along with his unique way of making science accessible. School groups, too, have been calling.

What makes audiences tune in — whether for a casual weather report or a full-on eclipse explainer — isn’t just Breen’s depth of knowledge about the sky and the stars. It’s how effortlessly he seems to transfer it to listeners, students and anyone else who might be curious.

“Mark has a strong poetic sense,” said Anna Rubin, the museum’s director of external relations. “And he brings that to weather and astronomy.

“He’s a true scientist at heart,” she continued. “He wants to be that bridge to people’s understanding of the world.”

prison and — at least in the 1960s before climate change had its say — prodigious snow in the winter. But Breen’s family moved around a lot, trailing his Montgomery Ward salesman father to Potsdam, N.Y., and Montpelier, Vt., before finally landing in Connecticut.

“Which was really disappointing, because they didn’t have as much snow,” Breen recalled. “So I always wanted to know when the next storm would be.”

He became a fan of “Boston’s first TV weatherman,” Don Kent on WBZ-TV, and “America’s Wittiest Weatherman,” AccuWeather’s Elliot Abrams.

When he was 12, Breen joined the Boy Scouts with some friends who, like him, he joked, were “mostly just looking to go camping and goof off.” But being a scout meant earning merit badges. So Breen looked for the easiest ones. Among them: the weather merit badge.

“You had to watch the weather and

write down your observations for three weeks, and then you had to make a prediction,” he said. With an eyebrow raise, he added, “But it never said you had to be right. So how hard could that be?”

Breen doesn’t remember how accurate his first prediction was, which he says is beside the point anyway.

“The ingenious part of that is, if you start paying attention to something, enough that you’re writing it down every day, if it is something that interests you, you may not stop,” he said. “And I never did.”

Breen continued keeping a personal weather record all through middle and high school, where he focused on math and science. As a teenager, he wrote a computer forecasting program based on a rudimentary forecasting model in the book Weather: A Golden Guide

Like his merit badge prediction, Breen can’t say how accurate his high school computer models were. In part, that’s because he never considered the program

He really wants people to be interested and excited about the stars.

ANNA RUBIN

to be complete. What started out as a simple program drawing on basic weather info such as temperature, barometric pressure and wind direction became more sophisticated, along with Breen’s own growing understanding of the weather.

“I was constantly adding to it, but I never felt like I got it finished,” he admitted.

Still, to build a computer program — in high school in the 1970s, no less — that aims to predict the weather takes an awful lot of curiosity and resourcefulness. Those were qualities that would come to define Breen in his professional life.

CONVERGENCE ZONES

From Willard Scott and Al Roker to Vermont’s Sharon Meyer and Tom Messner, the most beloved weather personalities succeed not only on the strength of their forecasts but in how they deliver them. Weather people need to be likable, which by all accounts Breen is. But there’s also a performative aspect to the job that makes being a good weather forecaster as much an art as it is a science.

When he graduated high school, Breen already had a solid foundation in the latter.

Because he was anxious to get back to Vermont after high school, Breen enrolled in the meteorology program at Lyndon State College — now Vermont State University — to continue his journey to becoming a TV weatherman. But a funny thing happened on the way to the Weather Channel: He caught the acting bug.

During his first semester at Lyndon, a dorm mate who was a theater major asked if Breen could help build sets for an upcoming production. Before he knew it, he’d been talked into a small, nonspeaking role in the show.

“I really enjoyed it,” he said.

Theater became a diversion from the heavy science and math curriculum of studying weather. Acting and singing in Damn Yankees, Once Upon a Mattress and other shows was also a creative and social outlet. Onstage at Lyndon and in community theater productions, Breen forged relationships that have lasted a lifetime. That includes meeting his future wife, Sandi, during a production of Carousel when he was 18.

“I just thought he was so cute,” she recalled.

The two were fast friends but didn’t become romantically involved until a couple of decades, and divorces, later. They’ve now been married for 20 years, with five children between them — two from her previous marriage, three from his — and a few grandkids. “We just got together and knew it was right,” she said.

Sandi describes her husband as kind, dedicated, driven and “a great father.” He’s an avid reader, she noted, who read to his kids nightly at bedtime. But because he keeps such odd hours — he’s up a 3:15 a.m. every day to prepare the morning forecasts — he would usually fall asleep mid-book. “So they learned to read by finishing the books themselves,” she said.

Breen’s friends and colleagues noted that the velvety voice you hear on air is the same one he uses in person. Sandi confirmed her husband really does speak like that around their house in St. Johnsbury.

Mark Breen

LUKE

Eye on This Guy« P.25

“He has that beautiful voice and timbre to it,” she said, adding that Breen is a wonderful singer — the couple perform in a folk quartet called Wind Rose. “It’s like it resonates in your chest. It’s an incredible feeling.”

Sandi revealed that her husband never swears. In part, it’s because he’s afraid of accidentally cursing on air. But also, she said, “He’s very proper.”

Acting helped Breen cultivate that smooth voice and delivery, which prepared him for a career behind the microphone — one that started sooner than he expected.

THE IMPERFECT STORM

In 1981, the Fairbanks Museum partnered with Vermont Public Radio to launch the “Eye on the Sky” weather forecasts. Steve Maleski, who cofounded the meteorology department at Lyndon, was the original host. But a few months in, Maleski was offered a dream job with the Weather Channel in Atlanta. He needed to find a replacement.

Still a student, Breen was one of two young Lyndon meteorologists Maleski chose to share the role.

(The other was Jon Talbot, who went on to a career as the chief meteorologist for the U.S. Air Force Reserve’s hurricane hunters — they’re the folks who fly aircraft into storms to measure their strength.)

tools. Instead, weather data arrived daily at 3 a.m. via a World War II-era teletype machine. A bleary-eyed Breen would synthesize that info in the predawn hours and then check in with the National Weather Service by phone before crafting and calling in the day’s reports.

On March 13, 1984, a massive blizzard was bearing down on northern Vermont. Yet nobody knew it. There was snow in the forecast, but, according to Maleski, because someone at the National Weather Service in Albany, N.Y., had misread the data, local forecasters had wildly underestimated how much. The storm walloped the region overnight.

Breen had predicted six to 12 inches of snow, so he got up a little early the morning of March 14 and discovered at least that much already on the ground. By the time he’d shoveled his driveway, there was another six inches of snow on his car.

Breen cleared the snow, hopped in his silver Chevy Chevette and began the 10-mile drive south from Lyndonville to the Fairbanks to do the weather for the radio. But when he got on the interstate, it seemed the road hadn’t been plowed.

Was it Breen’s innate understanding of Vermont’s weird weather patterns that landed him the gig? His smooth and inviting on-air demeanor?

Not quite.

“What I was looking for was people that were competent at meteorology and willing to work in the Northeast Kingdom,” Maleski said. “I had nothing more specific than that in mind.”

Breen easily cleared that low bar. He was hired full time at the Fairbanks after graduation in 1982.

But it soon became clear: “He had an exceptional on-air presence,” said Maleski, who returned to Vermont, and the “Eye on the Sky” team, in 1984. “He was able to connect with Vermont Public’s audience.”

Sometimes he connects with them personally, too.

When Breen started at the Fairbanks, the museum didn’t have access to Doppler radar or other sophisticated forecasting

“What I wasn’t realizing was that it was snowing between four and six inches an hour,” he recalled, chuckling at the memory. He discovered that road crews were in fact plowing the interstate, but not the off-ramps, when he took his exit and his car was suddenly stuck in two feet of powder.

Breen abandoned his tiny Chevette on the off-ramp and began trudging through drifting, waist-deep snow about a mile into town. A woman who was shoveling invited him in for coffee and to warm up. Breen doesn’t drink coffee — he’s a hot chocolate aficionado — but needed the warmth.

Looking at her clock, he realized there was no way he’d make it to the Fairbanks on time to call Vermont Public Radio. So he used the woman’s phone and dialed into the radio station to report the weather from her living room.

Because he hadn’t made it to the museum, “the only information is what I had in my head,” Breen said. Somehow, he managed to do his entire weather segment, which back then was four to six minutes long.

“People have remembered that one for 40 years,” he said.

The Blizzard of ’84 wasn’t the only time Breen missed on a forecast. Early in his tenure, he fielded an angry call from a listener in southern Vermont. Breen had predicted clear skies, but this caller reported a hailstorm in Bennington.

Mark Breen and Steve Maleski in the 1980s

Mark and Sandi Breen

There’s no logical reason that you still need a Mark Breen, and yet we do.

JANE LINDHOLM

“There was nothing in my data that suggested that,” Breen said. “I realized really quickly I needed more information.”

So Breen went on the air one day and invited listeners who were up early to call in and give him weather reports from their parts of the state. A handful of folks did, several of whom still email Breen to this day.

Also creative: To make up for not having access to radar or satellite equipment, Breen went out and bought a 13-inch black-and-white television and a VCR — “because that’s what the museum could afford” — to record TV news weather forecasts so he could study their radar displays.

“I got really good at sketching out radar and satellite images as soon as they came up on the TV,” he said. He would use those maps to help plot out his own reports. Breen and his team often cite local landmarks such as Route 2 and the Green Mountains to help listeners visualize forecasts.

Breen also began incorporating old weather proverbs into his forecasts, a hallmark of his reports to this day. While it might seem odd for a science-minded meteorologist to give credence to Farmers’ Almanac-style colloquialisms, Breen says there’s wisdom to be found in them — and science that backs them up.

“It turns out that some of those actually work,” he said. He noted that the timeworn saying “Red sky at night, sailor’s delight” has been shown to predict smooth sailing — or clear skies — about 80 percent of the time. “That’s a pretty good average,” he said.

Here’s another one: “Dew on the grass, rain will never pass.”

“If you wake up in the morning and the grass is wet with dew, it’s not gonna rain that day,” Breen said, adding that the saying is about 80 or 90 percent accurate. He explained that for dew to form, the weather has to be clear and calm. “If it’s clear and calm, there’s no storm nearby,” he said.

Many weather proverbs, even goofy ones, have a kernel of truth because they’re based on time-tested observations. Sailors know “Red sky at night” thanks to centuries of navigating the seas. Farmers understand what dew means because they need dry days to hay their fields.

“If you’re really looking at the sky, seeing how the wind is changing, you really do get a sense for what the weather is doing,” Breen said. “It may not be quite the same as a satellite image, but you’re fine-tuning your senses to what’s going on.”

Mark Breen in the Lyman Spitzer Jr. Planetarium

Eye on This Guy«

ON THE RADAR

One famous weather proverb that’s generally been apt in Vermont is: “March comes in like a lion and goes out like a lamb.” But a recent run of unseasonably warm days made early March decidedly less fierce. So when he began the March 4 “Eye on the Sky” morning forecast, Breen riffed.

“March appears to have arrived like a mild-mannered, toothless lion,” he said.

It was classic Breen: not laugh-outloud funny, but astute and gently charming. In other words, everything listeners have come to expect from their morning forecasts on Vermont Public over the past 42 years.

“His voice was made for radio,” said Betty Smith-Mastaler, a programming producer who’s been at Vermont Public since the radio station was founded in 1975. “He’s warm, he’s informative, and he’s telling you something — just you — that you need in order to make your day work.”

Alex Bonson agrees. The Williston resident is the mastermind behind

Suspicious Duck, a line of “bootleg collectibles,” memorabilia and toys that he invents, produces and sells, mostly online. While he does make some collectibles of broader interest, most are Vermont specific, such as “Truck Stuck in Notch,” a tractor trailer that tried (and failed) to navigate the Smugglers’ Notch road, and “F-35 Disrupting Your Day,” a nod to the controversial Vermont National Guard jets.

But Bonson’s most popular creation by far is a line of T-shirts, mugs and bumper stickers that read: “Don’t talk to me until I’ve had my morning Eye on the Sky weather forecast with Mark Breen from the Fairbanks Museum in St. Johnsbury.”

Bonson debuted the shirts — which feature an entire Breen forecast transcribed on the back — at the South End Art Hop in Burlington last year. They’re now available at Thirty-odd, a Queen City boutique.

“When I was coming up with the shirts, I thought, What’s something very niche that I personally really enjoy? Something that resonates with me and that I can relate to on a daily basis?” Bonson said. “And that was Mark Breen’s daily forecast.”

Bonson said he has since sold hundreds of his “Eye on the Sky” swag. Its success is a testament to the indelible imprint that Breen and his team — which includes

meteorologists Lawrence Hayes, Christopher Kurdek and, until he retires in a few months, Maleski — have left on Vermont in an age when an up-to-the-minute weather forecast is available on your watch or phone.

“The fact that we still trust and care about what these actual live people have to tell us about the weather is kind of amazing,” said Breen’s Vermont Public colleague Jane Lindholm, host of the “But Why?” kids podcast and, formerly, the “Vermont Edition” talk show. “Mark is one of those people.”

Perhaps because weather here is notoriously finicky, Vermonters do still need to rely on someone to make sense of it all.

“Because we never had the latest technology, I’ve always felt that our role has been ... to interpret the weather,” Breen said. “What is the weather really doing? Why is it doing it? Worse: Why is the forecast wrong?”

These days, the “Eye on the Sky” meteorologists do use more sophisticated weather tech. They subscribe to a few specialty data services, but Breen said they largely base their predictions on the same publicly available info anyone can look up from the National Weather Service and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. They key is what they do with it.

“Eye on the Sky” segments range from fairly standard forecasts to deeply detailed atmospheric analyses. Depending on the season, they may be geared toward skiers or boaters or farmers and gardeners. The daily “Weather Journal” often includes notable historical weather events.

“I still want to hear Mark give me the weather, even if I’ve already heard it three times, because I trust what he has to say,” Lindholm said. “He knows more than my weather app — he gives me more information, or different information.

“There’s no logical reason that you still need a Mark Breen, and yet we do,” Lindholm continued. “He’s wonderful.”

STAR STRUCK

Breen knew from an early age that he was going to be a meteorologist. But he had no idea that he would also become an astronomer. While he received formal training in predicting the weather, his expertise in stargazing has been largely self-taught.

When he was hired at the Fairbanks to lead the “Eye on the Sky” team, he was also tasked with running the Lyman Spitzer Jr. Planetarium. Opened in 1962, the state’s only public planetarium welcomes an average of 13,000 visitors a year, including 2,000 to 3,000 schoolchildren.

Mark Breen recording a weather report

To be dropped into a situation where he was expected to be an expert but had no expertise was both daunting and exciting, Breen said. Daunting because he didn’t necessarily know what he was doing. Exciting because it was an opportunity to learn.

“It’s a playground of the imagination,” he said.

To find his way around the night sky, he started at the beginning: by studying ancient astronomy. As a weather history buff, Breen has spent countless hours poring over records from the Fairbanks’ weather station, the oldest operating station in the country. He also

Like he does with the weather, Breen has a way of making the cosmos accessible.

collects weather journals kept by farmers and weather enthusiasts. He drew similar historical inspiration from books about Stonehenge in England, Ireland’s Newgrange and other mysterious ancient sites.

“I was fascinated with the idea that 5,000 years ago, before Stonehenge, they had figured out the length of the year — 365 and a quarter days — and the path of the sun against the background of the stars,” he said.

That fascination comes through in Breen’s daily “Eye on the Night Sky” stargazing dispatches, aired late afternoons on Vermont Public. While he doesn’t lead stargazing sessions often anymore — being a super-early riser makes staying up late a challenge — he does host an annual Stargazing Party on Vermont Public. One night a year, usually in late summer, listeners can take their radios or smartphones outside and tune in as Breen describes what’s happening in the heavens. Much like he does with the weather, Breen has a way of making the cosmos accessible without dumbing it down.

On the March 7 edition of the astronomy report, he used familiar constellations to orient listeners looking for a glimpse of our galaxy: “In March, the Milky Way is still fairly high across the

western sky in the evening, running from the south, just above the bright star Sirius, then high in the west above Orion and Taurus, the Bull, then to the right of the bright star Capella, finally settling down into the north.”

Four decades in, Breen is well regarded in astronomy circles. He’s vice president of the Northeast Kingdom Astronomy Foundation and has taught introductory astronomy classes at Lyndon State and, more recently, Community College of Vermont. That college began offering classes in the new Fairbanks annex that opened last month, and Breen hopes to revive its astronomy program, which was shuttered during the pandemic.

Bill Vinton taught astronomy at St. Johnsbury Academy and is the president of the Northeast Kingdom Astronomy Foundation. While noting that Breen’s expertise comes more from running the planetarium than from looking through telescopes at night, he said he appreciates how Breen has used his voice to raise the profile of astronomy in Vermont.

“He speaks with authority, and he’s done a lot of research,” Vinton said. “He speaks to a pretty wide audience, which I’m sure has encouraged people to go look up in the sky.” In the lead-up to the eclipse, Breen has been interviewed by USA Today and other national outlets and is scheduled to appear on Public Radio International’s “Science Friday.”

“He really wants people to be interested and excited about the stars,” Rubin said of Breen. “And he would love to make every show in our planetarium an entry point for people’s further exploration.”

There will never be a bigger show at the Fairbanks than the one on April 8.

On the day of the eclipse, the museum and Vermont Public will coproduce a special live broadcast hosted by Breen and Lindholm. Breen will have to balance his excitement as an astronomer with his experience as a weatherman.

Breen has studied weather patterns and history for early April in northern Vermont and determined that there’s an 80 percent chance of clouds on the day of the eclipse.

“There’s nothing I can do about that,” Breen said with a shrug. However, he expects interest in the eclipse to linger long past April 8. “And,” he added hopefully, “if we have a really great experience — maybe we get a partly sunny day — people will be talking about this for the rest of their lives.” ➆

Making a Splash

Swimming and Diving overcomes budget cuts to win conference for the first time in its history

The members of the University of Vermont Women’s Swimming and Diving team became conference champions last month — the first time they’ve held the title in the program’s 48-year history.

For the past 11 seasons, the team has placed third at the America East Conference championships. This time, they emerged victorious in the field of seven Division I teams, narrowly edging out the four-year-consecutive champion University of New Hampshire by 12 points. For a team that has struggled with budget cuts, it’s a meaningful milestone.

“It’s something that I will never forget,” said cocaptain Kara Campbell, an all-conference honoree who placed third in the 400-meter individual medley, a combination of butterfly, backstroke, breaststroke and freestyle. “I’m smiling just thinking about it.”

According to head coach Gerry Cournoyer, the difference this year was the depth of the team’s talent. While the team has consistently had a few top performers, all 18 scoring athletes need to execute to pull off a win, he said.

Cournoyer points out that the victory is especially impressive given the program’s lack of resources. In 2018, UVM announced it would stop awarding new scholarships to swimming and diving athletes as part of a department-wide costcutting initiative.

The team has managed to bring back 1.5 scholarships, the equivalent of $100,000 per year, with the help of private donors — a far cry from the 5.75 scholarships it used to offer. An anticipated decrease in donations means the team will likely only

BY HANNAH FEUER

• hfeuer@sevendaysvt.com

offer 0.67 scholarships next year, according to Cournoyer. The facilities aren’t a selling point, either: The team practices in a small, 25-yard, six-lane pool in the basement of the Roy L. Patrick Gymnasium. Both were constructed in 1963.

Cournoyer, who started coaching at UVM in 2000, adapted his recruiting strategy to the dearth of funding. His “bread and butter,” he explained, is finding athletes with room to grow whom other teams might overlook — and then helping them reach their full potential.

As “one of the least funded programs in the conference,” UVM Swimming and Diving has “a little bit of a chip on their shoulders,” Cournoyer said. “I take a lot of pride in building what we built without a lot of help.”

Cournoyer said he’s up front with prospective swimmers and divers about the limited number of athletic scholarships, while noting that academic scholarships or need-based aid may be an option. Most athletes don’t qualify for in-state tuition, either: Only one of the 40 athletes currently on the team hails from Vermont.

The women’s swimming and diving program isn’t alone in its scrimping. As money at UVM has gotten tight, athletics programs have consistently been on the chopping block. The running joke is that UVM’s football team has been undefeated since 1974, when the program was abolished. (The school still offers club football.) A more up-to-date wisecrack: UVM men’s swimming has been undefeated since 2004, when that program was eliminated as part of budget cuts, too.

The total number of varsity sports at UVM has shrunk over the past few decades, from 27 in 2001 to 18 today, according to athletics director Jeff Schulman. Most recently, men’s baseball and women’s softball were eliminated in 2009.

As the longest-serving head coach at UVM, Cournoyer has been a constant. He said he’s stayed because of the strength of the community, even when he received offers to coach elsewhere.

“It’s not a big program with all these fancy facilities,” said Nancy Stearns Bercaw, who worked as an assistant swim coach at UVM from 1999 to 2001 and again in 2006. “The strength of the program is Gerry’s personality.”

A 1990 graduate of Norwich University in Northfield, Cournoyer swam during his college years, though he is quick to add that he “was not very good.” He served as head coach of swimming and diving at Lycoming College in Williamsport, Pa., for four years before coming to UVM. Swimming runs in his family: His wife, Jennifer, is head coach of swimming and diving at Norwich University, and his daughter currently swims at the University of New England in Maine.

During a recovery practice on a

UVM

From left: Peri Brooks-Randall, Michelle Malcolm, Brian Keats, Gerry Cournoyer and Katherine Paradis

Team huddle

Wednesday afternoon, after the team’s championship win, Cournoyer joked that his role was that of a “glorified lifeguard.” Knowing when to push athletes and when to hold back is an important aspect of coaching, he said, and on recovery days, he tends to take a back seat. After explaining the workout for the day, he bantered with the swimmers between laps.

“Two more!” Cournoyer yelled, keeping track of their sets.

“One more,” a swimmer corrected him.

“I can’t count,” Cournoyer responded.

“You’re always off!”

“And never in a good way,” Cournoyer quipped.

At the beginning of his career, Cournoyer said, he was fiercely competitive and focused on winning. But age has taught him it’s more productive to emphasize process over outcome. He pointed out that in the pool’s isolated lanes, swimmers can’t

affect their competitors’ performances; they only have control over their own.

University of New Hampshire Swimming and Diving head coach Josh Willman said he’s witnessed the evolution of Cournoyer’s coaching philosophy over the years.

“He was really competitive and kind of wore it on his sleeve. But over the past eight or so years I’ve known him, he’s come into his stride,” Willman said. “He

does a nice job getting them to swim their best without adding the pressure that a lot of coaches can.”

Cournoyer also fosters a fun environment during competitions. One benefit of the small pool: It gets jam-packed with fans, he said. Several athletes said the program often gets compliments for hosting one of the loudest, most supportive crowds on the pool deck.

“Every single dive, when I turn around, people are cheering the whole time,” said Tannah Proudfoot, a first-year diver from Johannesburg, South Africa. “It doesn’t matter how I do, whether I win or come in last — the team is going to be there for me.”

Hally Laney, a junior from Decatur, Ga., also said the supportive team culture and Cournoyer’s tendency to de-emphasize winning helped draw her to UVM. With a positive attitude, she noted, winning tends to come naturally. At the conference championship, Laney set a pool and varsity record in the 100-meter butterfly.

“The environment here is better than getting a nicer locker room,” Laney said. “I wouldn’t want to be at a school with more resources. I’d rather be here with my teammates.” ➆

Well Baked

A multilayered career leads a seasoned chef to Middlebury’s Swift House Inn

BY MELISSA PASANEN • pasanen@sevendaysvt.com

Catharine Noel began a recent conversation with one of her abundant chuckles. When asked her age, she replied with good humor, “I’m pretty dang old.” The New Haven resident turns 70 in July. Whether that’s old depends on one’s perspective, but it is pretty old to be working in a professional kitchen, where the physical rigors of standing for hours and slicing, dicing, kneading and rolling take a toll.

Noel, who has worked as a chef and culinary school instructor since the mid-’90s, is still at it — albeit on her own terms.

On February 14, 2022, Noel coldemailed the Swift House Inn in Middlebury to ask about the need for kitchen prep help. “She started, ‘Allow me to introduce myself…’” inn co-owner Serena Kim recalled. “It literally felt like manna from heaven.”

Kim explained that the inn needs fresh breakfast pastries daily to serve to overnight guests and the public — a task that had been handled by the breakfast team or outsourced to other local bakers.

Noel was a perfect fit for that job. “Her pastries are so good, so classic. They’re just

what you’d expect from a Vermont inn,” Kim said. Once Kim and her husband, Matthew Robinson, got to know Noel, they “were so charmed by her personality,” Kim said, that they also asked her to teach occasional baking classes.

The chef works three days a week baking muffins and scones and hand-making batches of multilayered, butter-rich laminated dough for croissants, pains au chocolat and kouign amanns.

That last flaky, buttery, richly bronzed pastry from Brittany, France, is Noel’s

CATHARINE NOEL

POSITION: Breakfast pastry chef

AGE: 69

EDUCATION: Associate’s degree in culinary arts, Hennepin Technical College, Eden Prairie, Minn.

EXPERIENCE: Pastry chef and chef at Lucia’s to Go in Minneapolis; chef-instructor at Le Cordon Bleu College of Culinary Arts in Mendota Heights, Minn.; chef-farmer-owner of the Roost, River Falls, Wis.

WHAT’S ON THE MENU: Cream scones, muffins, croissants and kouign amanns

favorite. “I love the caramelization, and I love to see the lamination before you put it in your mouth,” the chef said. “I love those layers. They’re magical.”

Sitting on the screened porch of the home she shares with two housemates, three cats, eight chickens and a cavalier King Charles spaniel named Cassie, Noel spoke with Seven Days about how she landed on cooking as a second career, her addictive personality and why scones get a bad rap.

SIDEdishes

Burlington’s Little Morocco Café Will Close

LITTLE MOROCCO CAFÉ will close its doors at 294 North Winooski Avenue in Burlington later this month, confirmed ALI AMANI, who has managed the restaurant since it opened in 2018. The restaurant’s final day of service will be March 25.

“We have decided to close our restaurant because business is no longer sustainable for us to keep going,” Amani told Seven Days in an email.

Amani declined to share specific reasons for the closure, citing “the overall business situation/climate.” The restaurant will be selling its tableware and cooking utensils, such as traditional conical clay tagines, “as a souvenir for our customers,” he said.

A Seven Days review of Little Morocco in 2019 praised the restaurant’s “perfect hummus” and detailed the process of slow-cooking tagines of chicken, beef meatballs or seafood.

In spring 2023, Amani asked for public support when the restaurant’s landlord, Jacob Hinsdale of Hinsdale Properties, more than doubled the rent in a new five-year lease. At the time, Hinsdale told Seven Days that the restaurant had been a challenging tenant. That situation was eventually resolved, and Little Morocco remained in the building.

Melissa Pasanen

Wild Hart Distillery in Shelburne Closes

At the end of February, CRAIG STEVENS officially ceased production at his WILD HART DISTILLERY in Shelburne. Stevens did one final production run in mid-February, he told Seven Days, and expects the state’s 802SPIRITS stores to be stocked with bottles of Wild Hart gin, vodka and other products for the next two to four months.

Stevens cofounded the distillery in 2017 and has been its sole owner since June 2018. Wild Hart was a fixture at Vermont farmers markets, selling products such as its Vermont Classic, blood orange, and pear and ginger gins at as many as 19 markets from

Burlington to Montpelier to Rutland. The distillery had several local tasting rooms over the years, and its products were distributed as far as the mid-Atlantic.

“As a small, owner-run business, I’ve been doing everything from accounting to cleaning toilets to marketing and sales to actually making the alcohol,” Stevens said.

“You get caught up in the grind.”

As the costs of bottles and other production materials, staffing, and shipping rose, “margins were getting smaller and smaller,” he continued. Wild

FILE: JAMES BUCK

Dishes at Little Morocco Café

Owner Craig Stevens

4t-alchemist031324

Well Baked « P.32

Can you share an early food memory?

Here we have Debbie Jenkins, who pushed me down on the cobblestones. She was a bully, but then we became really good friends. We were living in the Bronx at the Highbridge projects. She invited me to her house and gave me a piece of yellow cake with chocolate frosting. I thought it was the most magical thing I’d ever tasted. I learned that it came from a box, but it was still very good.

The projects in the late ’50s, early ’60s were a melting pot. We lived on the 11th floor. There were probably 12 apartments on that floor, and everybody had their own smell, wafting out of their [kitchens]. And I thought, Oh, my God, what is that? Oh, my goodness, what is that? I was just mesmerized.

What smells were coming from your home?

For special-occasion parties, my mom always put a giant pot of pig feet on, which stunk like crazy. This was Southern flavor. My mom was from Raleigh, N.C., where Black people ate pig feet. That’s part of the soul food. I didn’t eat it. It was rubber and lots of fat, lots of skin, lots of gristle — all the things that I don’t like.

How did you end up becoming a chef?

I was a counselor for emotionally disturbed adolescents and [their] families for 17 years in Minneapolis. I got so burnt out. I had one of those moments you have in your life and you go, OK, what’s next? And I thought, Well, you always liked food. Why don’t you go back to school and learn how to cook properly?

I went to Hennepin Technical College in Eden Prairie, Minn., working three jobs and going to school at the same time. I loved every single bit of it, except for carving — carving ice blocks for a presentation at a table at a banquet. My swan looked like a seal with a bloated belly. [Chuckles.]

I knew that I wanted to work in a small restaurant. There was a bistro in Minneapolis … I was there for 13 years. It was called Lucia’s. Lucia [Watson] was the Alice Waters of Minneapolis. She went to France to learn how to cook. Lucia taught me a lot about execution. I learned a lot about cooking cleanly. She would always say, “No, that’s too muddy. That’s not clean enough.”

And then you launched your own farmto-table business?

I’d had it with Minneapolis, so I decided to buy a farm in River Falls [Wis.]. It was a hobby farm. When I first saw it, my jaw just dropped, and I said, “I got to make this

CATHARINE NOEL’S CREAM SCONES

Yield: 8 scones

At the Swift House Inn, Catharine Noel makes blueberry scones, but her personal favorite is candied ginger. Her trick for crafting a tender scone is to let time do some of the work of absorbing the cream. When pulling the dough together, she advises, “Use delicate, open fingers and do not overmix.”

Ingredients

1 cup all-purpose flour, plus more for rolling

• 1 teaspoon baking powder

1 good pinch of fine salt

• 1/4 cup sugar

1 cup fresh blueberries or 1/2 cup finely minced candied ginger

1 cup heavy cream, plus more for brushing scones

• Coarse sugar (or more regular sugar) for tops of scones, optional

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment or a silicone baking mat.

2. In a medium bowl, mix the flour, baking powder, salt, sugar and choice of mix-in. (You can use a whisk, but Noel uses her hands.)

3. Pour the cup of cream over the dry mixture and fluff briefly with your fingers to

my home.” The ruralness of it. The beauty of it.

I was working at Lucia’s, driving back and forth to Minneapolis every day, 80 miles a day. I didn’t mind it at all, because once I came home, I knew I would be home to my Shangri-la. I developed all my flower

distribute the cream, but do not mix it fully. Let sit for 10 to 15 minutes.

4. Using gentle fingers (lightly floured as necessary), work the cream into the flour mixture just until it holds together.

5. Dust the prepared baking sheet lightly with flour and turn the dough out onto it. Gently pat it into a round about 6.5 inches in diameter.

gardens and a wonderful, huge vegetable garden.

Then I thought, I want this place to be shared, and there could be so much done here. I want to have a commercial kitchen on my property. I want to start a business. I called it the Roost. By then, I was teaching at Le

6. Cut the round into quarters and then each quarter in half so that you have eight pie-shaped wedges. Pull them about 1 inch apart.

7. Brush each scone with a little more cream and sprinkle with sugar if desired.

8. Bake 20 to 24 minutes until deep golden brown. Cool on a rack before eating. Best eaten the day they are baked.

Cordon Bleu. My interview for that job was how to make scones.

We will definitely come back to that. On Friday after school, we would start prepping for the Saturday farmers market, and we did pizza Sundays at the farm. I had built

Catharine Noel brushing heavy cream over scones

PHOTOS: DARIA BISHOP

a wood-fired pizza oven. I invited other chefs to come out, and we would put on hoop-house dinners.

I was probably no more than a year into it when I lost my job at the Cordon Bleu because they closed their doors. By that time, I was very, very tired. I did CSAs, too: I grew, harvested, cleaned, packaged and delivered to 12 clients. I made the decision to sell everything. I had to find homes for over 100 chickens.

I decided I wanted to be closer to my sister in Harlem. But I would never go live in New York City, so I stayed with a cousin for a bit in upstate New York and then decided to visit a friend who had moved to Maine.

What did you do there?

I got sober. [In River Falls], I would come home and have a glass of wine. That glass of wine turned into two, and that two glasses of wine turned into a bottle. And then I thought, Oh, I got a problem

I have an addictive personality. How do you think I ended up with 100 chickens?

[Chuckles.] I went to AA, but I was so resistant to it. Once I moved to Maine, I said, I can’t do this. I don’t want to do this. I knew I had to stop. I went back to AA, and I’ve been sober ever since.

How’d you end up in Vermont?

My neighbor in Maine would come over every morning and bring us the newspaper — in her nightgown and her boots. One day, she says, “Catharine, would you like to be a companion to my daughter-in-law’s father?”

I had free time. I was retired. My immediate question to her was “Is he racist?” In this society, this I know: Elderly people can

SIDEdishes

SERVING UP FOOD NEWS « P.33

Hart’s accessible pricing — a sweet spot of $29.99, Stevens said — was no longer realistic in the changing market.

In the fall, emergency surgery on a torn retina forced Stevens to pause and consider his work-life balance. He closed the distillery’s bar and tasting room at 26 Sage Court in December, hoping staff could find new jobs before Dry January. Rather than sign a new multiyear lease at the end of February, he opted to close the business.

Wild Hart served as an incubator for small spirits brands such as RECTIFIED BOURBON, LINCHPIN and ARCANA BOTANICA

food+drink

be very racist, and they have no idea how racist they are. I will never put myself in that position.

George and I became best of friends. He was funny and articulate. He had been a professor at Middlebury College, but he got Parkinson’s. We did that for about a year, and then he wanted to move back to Vermont.

What brought you to the Swift House Inn?

After George passed in 2021, I didn’t want to just sit around all day. A friend said, “You should bake at one of those inns.” Me being at the Swift House is like [“Newhart”]. It’s surreal.

I don’t need to be working, but I love it. It keeps me moving. It keeps me alive. It keeps me wondering. It keeps me searching for new recipes. It keeps me playing with food.

Back to the much-maligned scone. Why do you think people don’t like scones?

Because typically they’re dry and hard as a rock. I use the recipe that I used at Lucia’s. It’s a cream scone, and it’s the only way to go. I’m not professing that I make scones like they do in England, because I don’t like the scones in England. Sorry, too dry. I want my scones to be nice and soft and delicate. ➆

This interview was edited and condensed for clarity and length.

INFO

Swift House Inn, 25 Stewart Lane, Middlebury, 388-9925, swifthouseinn.com. Breakfast and dinner are open to the public; reservations recommended. Baking classes are private and must be booked ahead.

SPIRITS, maker of Fernet Vexia. Stevens mentored their owners while they used Wild Hart’s equipment to produce their spirits, paying commissions rather than rent. MATT GRANT of Linchpin will now be based at South Hero’s SNOW FARM VINEYARD & DISTILLERY, Snow Farm co-owner DAVE LANE confirmed, and Stevens is working with the others to find homes.

“We’re always oscillating between investing in our careers and investing in ourselves, and I’m moving back to investing in myself and my family,” Stevens said. “Now I get to be on the other side of the table for all these farmers markets, supporting our huge community of makers.”

Jordan Barry

Dutch Treat

Approaching three decades, Shelburne’s Dutch Mill Diner gets a refresh

BY MELISSA PASANEN • pasanen@sevendaysvt.com

Stepping into the Dutch Mill restaurant feels a little like traveling back in time. The distinctive Delft blue-shingled building with its windmill topper has graced Route 7 in Shelburne for almost a century. Inside the modest restaurant, the Bissonette family will soon celebrate 30 years of serving hearty, homestyle breakfast and lunch at a ordable prices.

A fat Shelburne Omelet stu ed with apple, ham and cheddar, served alongside toast and home fries, rings up at $10.95. The gravy-blanketed hot turkey sandwich, served with fries or mashed potatoes and coleslaw, costs $11.95. Sturdy white mugs of co ee are $3 with endless refills. (Just don’t ask for herbal tea; it’s not of the era.)

Third-generation co-owner Michael Bissonette, 35, has been in charge for the past decade, with behind-the-scenes support from his wife, Jessica. It’s been an intense couple of years for the family. Michael’s stepmom, Marilou Estacio, passed away in July 2022, and he lost his dad, Jamie, on February 6. Both were fixtures at the Dutch Mill: Marilou feisty and petite; Jamie a gentle, lumbering bear of a man.

Earlier this year, the Bissonettes finalized a deal to sell half of the two-acre property to a development partnership that is building an assisted-living facility for the Howard Center just south of the restaurant. The old motel has been demolished to make way for a planned apartment building. The family still owns the Shelburne Camping campground and cabins at the rear of the parcel.

In a nod to its next era, on March 1 Michael renamed the restaurant the Dutch Mill Diner, a small but important update from its original name, the Dutch Mill Family Restaurant.

“People can relate to a diner,” Michael said, noting that the word is more legible on a sign and helps with internet searches. “It was a way of having a fresh start but keeping it the same.”

A big photo of Jamie hangs behind the cash register under an illuminated, revolving Boston Celtics sign, part of a décor refresh and mechanical updates that were completed at the end of February. The

IT WAS ALWAYS MY DAD’S DREAM TO HAVE A RESTAURANT HERE.

MICHAEL BISSONETTE

DINING ON A DIME

room boasts new paint, flooring and cherryred curtains, but the walls are still plastered with family photos and Boston sports paraphernalia, evoking the comfortable clutter of someone’s living room.

The diner was once just that.

Before the family renovated the Dutch Mill building into a restaurant in 1995, it housed the motel reception up front and the home where Michael lived with his dad and Marilou in the back.

“This was our living room,” Michael said. “I had my first birthday party by this pillar,” he added, nodding at a structural support.

Michael began busing tables when he was 7. Twenty-nine years later, he’s still clearing plates emptied of corned beef hash topped with poached eggs ($11.50) and combo club sandwiches triplestacked with turkey, ham and bacon

Corned beef hash with eggs

Meat loaf

Michael Bissonette in front of the Dutch Mill Diner

PHOTOS: MELISSA PASANEN

($11.25), served with fresh-cut fries or chips.

“I never was forced to work. I just kind of liked being around my dad and working together,” Michael said. “The plan was always for me to take this over. It was always my dad’s dream to have a restaurant here.”

Staying the course at the Dutch Mill is Michael’s homage to his father. “I miss the times with just the two of us before we’d open — talking life, talking sports,” Michael reminisced. “He was a hazelnut coffee guy. I’m a hazelnut coffee guy.”

Michael acknowledged that he has to strike a fine balance, “trying to evolve into the future while keeping it classic.” On the classic side, diners will find two crusty-topped slabs of meat loaf with shiny mahogany gravy, freshly mashed red potatoes with their skins and a little saucer of creamy, sweet slaw ($11.95). Among the more modern menu options is a baconstuffed waffle with two eggs and toast ($11.95), inspired by a Food Network show.

About two-thirds of the menu falls under the $13 marker. “It’s important to me to keep it affordable for the average family,” Michael said.

The Dutch Mill participates in a local Age Well program that provides $5 meal tickets to seniors, a break-even proposition at best for the restaurant. “I’d rather be busy,” Michael said. “It’s a trade-off that works for us.”

Early on a recent Thursday afternoon, 6-year-old Henry Crandall of Shelburne relished the Belgian waffle topped with whipped cream, strawberries and his own flourish of grape jelly ($9.95). It was a school-vacation treat to eat at the diner with his dad, David Crandall, who was finishing up the breakfast burrito with home fries ($12.95).

David said he had driven by the Dutch Mill many times before finally stopping in a few months earlier. The “quaint little family restaurant,” he said, has become a go-to spot to take his two young sons.

Father and son Bissonette — one here, the other looking down from a photo on the wall — would be happy to hear that. ➆

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

Dutch Mill Diner, 4309 Shelburne Rd., Shelburne, 985-3568, dutchmillvt.com

DRINK UP

Bright Future

The Vermont Juice Company in Burlington heads into a new era

BY JORDAN BARRY • jbarry@sevendaysvt.com

The Vermont Juice Company offers packs of bright green, orange and red cold-pressed juice with aspirational names promising immunity, abundance, energy and strength. They’re not cleanses, though. They’re plans.

“Because plans change,” Jehan Dolbashian said. Hers certainly did.

Dolbashian, 31, was the first employee Hannah George and Matt Guba hired at their Burlington juice bar when it opened at 77 Main Street in 2014. Then a senior at the University of Vermont, Dolbashian dreamed of working in social and environmental justice nonprofits. Almost a decade later, she was still working occasionally at the store while pursuing a master’s degree in public administration when the company’s founders told her they were ready to move on.

“I couldn’t say no,” she said. “I’ve had a connection to this place since day one.”

In April 2022, Dolbashian became Vermont Juice Company’s owner-operator. The shop — and its core lineup of cold-pressed juices — has been “super consistent” over its 10 years, she said. Now, she’s expanding its local partnerships, sourcing ingredients from women-run businesses and farms such as Burlington’s ALKAME CO and Charlotte’s Head Over Fields.

Dolbashian is also reflecting on the business’ role in the oftenfraught health and wellness industry, where people can feel excluded or intimidated and a focus on diet culture can be harmful. Instead of targeting a specific demographic, she said, “we’re for everybody with a body.”

The language change — from “cleanse” to “plan” — is a big part of that. Dolbashian said she supports customers who want to follow the ritual of a juicing plan, spending a day (or three or five) consuming just raw fruit and vegetable juices in hopes of releasing toxins and restoring nutrients. But personally, she doesn’t do them anymore. They don’t make her feel good.

If you set out to spend the day drinking juice and your body tells you that you’re hungry, “You should eat,” Dolbashian said. “Changing our relationship with food and beverage is so vital, and it’s a lot of undoing.”

Cold-pressed

Juice is still the shop’s focus, but under Dolbashian’s ownership, Vermont Juice Company has started offering more snack items, including housemade vegan desserts such as PB&J cups, cheesecakes and tahini cups. The latter ($5) inspired me to double down on tahinifilled items when I stopped in on a recent rainy day, after navigating past construction on lower Main Street.

I paired the sweet treat — which Dolbashian said nods to her family and Armenian heritage — with a tahini mocha smoothie ($13). The combo of oat milk, Lumus Bread & Coffee cold-brew, ALKAME CO mushroom chocolate, banana, Vermont maple syrup and cocoa nibs with a tahini-maple smear around the cup was on the savory side of sweet. It reminded me of the peanut butterbanana smoothie I drank for months straight when I ran a coffee shop in New York City. That drink, from a cart outside a busy subway stop, often made me late for work.

This one gave me the boost I needed to meet a deadline — early, in fact — and reminded me that the cheery shop is worth a stop. ➆

INFO

The Vermont Juice Company, 77 Main St., Burlington, 651-7070, vtjuiceco.com

juices A tahini cup

Vermont Juice Company owner Jehan Dolbashian with a tahini mocha smoothie

PHOTOS: DARIA BISHOP

Moses Storm tells a fib in the first few minutes of “Trash White,” his 2022 HBO comedy special, currently streaming on Max. In it, the standup comic claims that his show has “nothing of educational value to add to your night.”

Nothing could be further from the truth. Naturally, Storm wants to reassure the audience that his hourlong act — which explores his childhood in a poor and ultrareligious family that lived in a converted Greyhound bus — won’t be some depressing TED Talk about homelessness, poverty and food insecurity.

But as one of five children whose parents once formed a “failed cult,” Storm provides an insightful and often hilarious glimpse into a life that’s probably unfamiliar to much of the audience. His stories examine the pitfalls of dumpster diving, his mother’s repeated e orts to win the grand prize on “America’s Funniest Home Videos” and his own long-undiagnosed dyslexia.

“If you’re not familiar with dyslexia [and] haven’t read up on it, don’t worry. Neither have we,” Storm says in “Trash White.” “All it means is that zero percent of the time, the book is better than the movie for me.”

Today, the 33-year-old Kalamazoo, Mich., native is largely free of the financial stressors that once plagued his life. In recent years, Storm has enjoyed success as an actor and comedian, starring in NBC’s “Sunnyside” and “This Is Us,” Showtime’s “I’m Dying Up Here,” and Netflix’s “Arrested Development.” Storm has been featured in films and appeared several times on TBS’ “Conan” as a guest and performer; he also hosted Conan O’Brien’s live variety show “Team Coco’s Up & Up” in Los Angeles. On Friday and Saturday, March 15 and 16, Storm performs four shows at Vermont Comedy Club in Burlington, rare opportunities to catch this rising star in an intimate setting.

Storm spoke to Seven Days by video call from his apartment in New York City.

Is Moses Storm your given name?

It’s very dramatic, like the name of a klezmer death-metal band.

I know! I wonder if I even chose standup.

Poverty Lines

For comedian Moses Storm, growing up poor is rich fodder for his standup act

BY KEN PICARD • ken@sevendaysvt.com

What else could I do, the weather? Or make adult movies? If I go into a Rite Aid or CVS, most of the time people just presume I’m a magician. But yes, that’s my real legal name.

When you were a kid, was comedy how you dealt with the chaos in your life, or was it something you discovered later?

It was a way to cope with the trauma and stress, but I wasn’t aware of what I was doing. It wasn’t like, “Everyone is tense right now, so I’m going to make a joke to relieve the tension.” But I now know that that’s what I was doing. It was just something fun for me. And we weren’t allowed to watch TV when I was growing up, so I didn’t know standup was an art form.

How does your family feel about your comedy?

There are some negative feelings about sharing our story, and everyone has their own point of view. My mom still thinks the traveling and street preaching and yelling at people was fun for us kids. And my dad views not paying child support as, “Well, she took the kids away from me and moved across the country in the middle of the night. So where was I supposed to mail the checks?” My mom has really come around, and I’ve had to do a lot of forgiving. But I can’t say I would have done a better job [than she did] given those same circumstances.

In “Trash White,” you challenge the traditional notion of the American dream and pulling yourself up by your own bootstraps. Instead, you credit your success to luck. How’d that happen for you?

If you want to do this 1 percent job, luck is only available when you’re working hard. I’m still ba ed, as we speak today, [by] how much work it takes to just maintain, let alone get to the next level. But to say it was just me and pure grit doesn’t take into account all the kindness, including Conan [O’Brien] hiring me to do his preshow and then taking me under his wing and putting me on his show. I was an interviewed guest on his show when I was no one. I felt bad for the studio audience. You think you’re going to see [actor] Pedro Pascal, and it’s ... who?

COURTESY OF SELA SHILONI

Do you ever still feel poor, despite your success?

All the time! I have enough money to join Equinox [Fitness Club], but I don’t have enough money to not steal the soap in the shower. I always have that scarcity mindset and still find myself looking for a deal. The one time I was in a car accident, I was in Los Angeles and saw a trash pile. Someone was moving out and, like an ’80s movie, I tipped down my sunglasses and

documentary that you’d see in Episode 3 without any of the payoff: where it’s building and building, and our numbers are growing, and we’re all doing nude yoga in the sun, and celebrities are joining. Never had that. It was just a 15-year slog through failure after failure — to prepare me for a life in standup.

Are you working on a sequel to “Trash White”?

The new show I’m working on is part two, which is all about the failed cult. It’s very interactive. In the show, I start a cult with the audience, called Perfect Cult. In Vermont, because it’s a comedy club, I can’t do the same things as I can do in New York, where I have ownership of the space. There, I have 600 white lab coats for the audience and masks for everyone and a bunch of props. So, what I’ll be doing in Vermont is the content that will be part of the next special, without all the interactive parts.

Do you ever get pushback for joking about your poverty?

thought, I wonder what’s in there of value that I can sell? Then I rear-ended a car.

Do you often get approached by people who also grew up in poverty?

Oh, yeah. Also, people with extreme religious backgrounds and people who were spanked as kids. I’m better at dealing with it now, but sometimes it’s a lot to handle. You want to take the flattery and go, “Look! I’m helping to heal people’s pain.” They watch your show, and once you’re open and honest about your own stuff, you build this parasocial relationship with them, and they will trauma-dump on you. I try to hold as much space as I can and just listen. It’s something I’m trying to get better at and not let it bum me out or, conversely, bloat my ego.

You end the “Trash White” special by saying the reason your family was so poor was that your parents were in a “failed cult.” What makes a cult a failure?

Not getting your own Netflix special. We had all the strife and negative parts of the

Not that often. The one thing I push back on is the “unhoused” term. It’s not even that the word “unhoused” isn’t respectful. The problem is, a lot of times on the left, they don’t do anything to actually help homeless people. They just stop and fight on X/Twitter about this word. They get to posture and feel like they did something. Really, when my family was in that situation, the last thing we needed was a new, jazzy name. We didn’t need a rebrand.

What’s your favorite part of being a comedian?

Just the act of performing. Being up there, your mind turns off everything you’re worried about, and you create this chemistry with the audience that didn’t exist before. There’s nothing like it. If I had to work eight Taco Bell jobs at once and do this at night, I would do it just for that feeling. ➆

This interview was edited and condensed for clarity and length.

Moses Storm, Friday and Saturday, March 15 and 16, 7 and 9 p.m.,

culture

Celestial Festival

A new play in Greensboro tells the story of the eclipse that validated Einstein’s theory of relativity

BY HANNAH FEUER • hfeuer@sevendaysvt.com

In 1919, astronomer Arthur Eddington used the positions of the stars during a total solar eclipse to provide evidence for Albert Einstein’s theory of general relativity. This April 8, Vermonters viewing the total solar eclipse may not have quite such momentous ambitions. But a new play about Eddington’s experiment will give them a chance to learn more about the history of eclipse science in advance of the big day.

When Light Bends tells the true story of how Eddington confirmed Einstein’s theory about the relationship between space, gravity and time. Writers John Lopez and Gracie Leavitt interweave the historical tale with a modern-day story about two lovers rushing to reach the path of totality during the April 2024 solar eclipse. The touring show premieres at the Highland Center for the Arts in Greensboro on Friday, March 22. Following its weekend run, it moves to the Museum of Science in Boston on March 27. An additional stop in New York is still in the works.

While the play was created by the New York-based nonprofit Media Art Xploration, it was commissioned specifically for Vermont because of its location along the path of totality, according to Highland Center executive director Keisha Luce. The Simons Foundation, a philanthropic organization that aims to advance math and science research, is funding the show as part of its In the Path of Totality initiative, which involves hosting more than 100 events in anticipation of the once-in-a-lifetime celestial event.

The show’s title comes from Einstein’s theory, which holds that light bends around massive objects due to how they warp the fabric of space-time. During a solar eclipse, general relativity predicts that the sun’s mass will cause starlight to bend, changing the stars’ apparent positions in the sky. Four years after Einstein published his theory, Eddington’s team set out to test the hypothesis by photographing the sky during a total solar eclipse. The scientists observed the predicted shifts in the stars’ positions, providing crucial experimental confirmation of Einstein’s theory.

Onstage, the actors convey such dense concepts through analogies, director Elena Araoz said. That method of elucidating physics comes from Einstein himself, who often explained his theories to the public through thought experiments. For example, he famously said a blind beetle crawling over the surface of a curved branch doesn’t notice

that the track is curved — a metaphorical expression of why we can’t perceive the curvature of space-time. In the play, the lovers hiking to reach the path of totality encounter beetles on the trail, which then serve as an entry point to discussion of Einstein’s theories, Araoz said.

“It’s a constant push and pull as we try to make sense of this science so that we can help make sense of it for the audience,” she said. “A great scientist can look at the world and see what we so easily ignore.”

One member of the team behind the show has an unusual background for the world of theater: Jared Goldberg, an astrophysicist who researches stars and plasma at the Flatiron Institute in New York City (a division of the Simons Foundation), helped workshop the script in the writers’ room. He also gave presentations about general relativity and hosted “ask the physicist” Q&As for everyone on set.

Sam Kebede, the New York City-based actor who plays Eddington, said listening to Goldberg explain physics concepts was his best preparation for the role. Goldberg’s expertise helped him get into the weeds, he said, including understanding the complex tensor calculus that Einstein used to develop his theory of relativity.

“It’s not very often I get to combine acting, science and art,” said Kebede, who was on track to become a neurosurgeon before he decided to pursue a career in acting. “I always find that the melding of di erent disciplines breeds some of the best creativity.”

The play incorporates magic tricks to demonstrate physics concepts. Illusion designer Steve Cui o worked with Goldberg to create gravity-related ploys such as levitation to help audience members grasp the science, he said.

“Magic can connect with the audience

A GREAT SCIENTIST CAN LOOK AT THE WORLD AND SEE WHAT WE SO EASILY IGNORE.

ELENA ARAOZ

in a slightly di erent way that’s not totally intellectual,” Cui o said. “It enhances some of the [scientific] explanation.”

Composer Tamar Muskal created an original score for the show, which includes a live violinist and recorded voices playing in the background. The choice of instrument is a nod to Einstein, who played the violin and famously said he lived his “daydreams in music.”

The combination of all these elements has produced a show that accurately honors Einstein’s theories while remaining accessible to a general audience, according to Goldberg. The story is also mostly historically accurate, though Araoz noted that the writers took some artistic liberties in depicting two female characters: Winifred Eddington, the sister of Arthur Eddington; and Mileva Marić, Einstein’s first wife, who was also a physicist. There is debate about the extent to which Marić contributed to the development of Einstein’s theories.

“I don’t think geniuses exist in a vacuum,” said Los Angeles-based actor Victoria Frings, who plays both Winifred and Jen, one of the lovers trying to reach the path of totality. Eddington’s sister “serves to keep him grounded, humbled, and [to make him] remember why he’s doing this work.”

Whether the play encourages viewers to explore its historical, political or scientific contexts, Araoz said she hopes audiences will come away with a greater sense of why the upcoming eclipse is significant.

“We’ll never onstage be able to cultivate what a real eclipse might feel like, when the temperature goes down and all the crickets start going,” she said. But she hopes the play will generate excitement “to go out and see the real eclipse” — no scientific discoveries necessary. ➆

INFO

When Light Bends, Friday and Saturday, March 22 and 23, 7 p.m.; and Sunday, March 24, 2 p.m., at the Highland Center for the Arts in Greensboro. $5-20. highlandartsvt.org

is story is part of our 2024 Vermont Solar Eclipse Guide, sponsored by the Vermont Department of Tourism. Find the full guide at sevendaysvt.com/eclipse and more information to plan your eclipse adventures at vermontvacation.com/solar-eclipse.

From left: Astrophysicist Jared Goldberg, writer Gracie Leavitt and creative producer Kay Matschullat

From left: Director Elena Araoz, actor Sam Kebede and illusion specialist Steve Cuiffo

High Notes

Soprano-aerialist Elizabeth Wohl will perform acrobatic opera in Putney

BY MARY ANN LICKTEIG maryann@sevendaysvt.com

Arias will soar when Elizabeth Wohl appears at Next Stage Arts in Putney on Saturday, March 16.

The classically trained Brattleboro soprano will present works by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Charles Gounod, Georges Bizet and longtime Vermonter Gwyneth Walker while performing aerial acrobatics with silks and rope.

As the giddy, lovestruck Juliet from Gounod’s Roméo et Juliet, Wohl will climb two suspended swaths of flowing fabric, then twirl and spin her way through “Je Veux Vivre.” She’ll sing sideways, upside down and right side up — doing the splits — all while airborne.

“Habanera,” from Bizet’s Carmen, on the other hand, calls for rope rather than silks. “Carmen is a strong and serious character, and so there’s just something about the physicality of the rope,” Wohl said. “It’s a heavier apparatus.”

“Unique” is a word that commonly pops up when people describe Wohl’s artistic fusion. Most arias are challenging enough when sung on a stage. Elsie Smith, cofounder and director of programming at Brattleboro’s New England Center for Circus Arts, calls Wohl’s opera in the air “an incredible display of vocal control, physicality and aerial grace.”

Wohl, 47, knew of no one staging aerial arias when she began developing them, around 2015. (She has since learned of a handful, including Texas soprano Rainelle Krause, who sings a Queen of the Night

PERFORMING ARTS

aria from Mozart’s The Magic Flute while performing on aerial silks.)

Despite a lack of mentors, Wohl took a rather logical, though extended, path to this performance art. A singer for as long as she can remember, a dancer since age 7, and a musical theater performer throughout middle and high school, she enrolled at Connecticut College in 1995, hoping its strong music, theater and dance departments would catapult her to Broadway. But the departments didn’t collaborate, she said, so “I studied opera and fell in love with opera.”

She earned a law degree from Vermont Law School — she continues to practice as general counsel for the Brattleboro Retreat — and moved to Brattleboro in 2004. The New England Center for Circus Arts opened there three years later. Any time Wohl saw an aerial act, she’d say, “Oh, that looks really fun.” At the urging of her wife, U.S. Rep. Becca Balint (D-Vt.), she finally took an intro class “and fell in love with it,” Wohl said.

That was in 2013. Soon after, she said, it was clear that her two loves belonged together: “It just sort of hit me like a bolt of lightning: This has to happen.” Some arias, she was convinced, “will be even better interpreted in the air than on the ground.”

“Je Veux Vivre” was the first she choreographed. Juliet sings it after meeting Romeo at a ball. “She’s just, like, in that bubbly, giddy, first-love state,” Wohl said. “There’s just real

opportunity for movement ... I could use the silks to really further express some of her emotion.”

She presented her debut solo show at the circus arts center in 2016. Since then, she has reworked that first aria as her skills and strength have advanced, and she’s added eight other works to her repertoire.

Combining arias with acrobatics is physically taxing. The first run-through of a new piece can feel impossible, she said, “and then by the second or third time through, you figure out, Oh, I have to breathe here, or I have to pause and move this way in this section.”

To train, she sings while she runs — “I always feel a little bad for my neighbors,” she said — and does scales in the car after dropping o her kids at school. She aims to be in the air, practicing on vertical apparatus, at least two days a week, for two hours at a time.

Since 2016, Wohl has performed at the Providence, R.I., fringe festival and at concerts, nonprofit fundraisers and weddings. For her upcoming show at Next Stage Arts, pianist Ivan Tan, a lecturer in music at Brown University, will accompany her. Brattleboro tenor James Anderson and Pawlet soprano Sarah Newcomb will also sing — on the ground. ➆

INFO

Soaring: An Evening of Circus and Song, Saturday, March 16, 4 and 7:30 p.m., at Next Stage Arts in Putney. $15. nextstagearts.org

Books Without Borders

Exploring the Haskell Free Library & Opera House with Hannah Miller

There aren’t many places where you can knit with your feet in Canada and the rest of your body in the United States. But Hannah Miller found a craft table in the Haskell Free Library & Opera House where she could do just that. Located in Derby Line, Vt., and Stanstead, Québec, it is a rare library that straddles two nations — and has a theater. The international border runs through the building and is marked by a thick black line taped on the floor.

Miller is an associate professor of education at Vermont State University-Johnson who is spending her sabbatical on a quest to write, read and knit in as many public libraries in Vermont as possible. She shares her adventures on social media and highlights the unique quirks of each space. Vermonters love their libraries: Per capita, we have more than any other state, at 187.

library she’d visited, and her first time crossing the border without a passport.

Sollberger spoke with Seven Days about filming the episode.

What drew you to this story?

I love libraries, knitting and reading — these are literally three of my favorite things — so I jumped at the chance to go library hopping with Miller.

For her latest episode of “Stuck in Vermont,” Seven Days senior multimedia producer Eva Sollberger met up with Miller and her wife, Lisa Zinn, at the Haskell Free Library on a sunny but frigid Saturday. All three wore colorful hand-knit sweaters, and Sollberger brought her knitting, as well. Miller documented the visit on her Instagram page; this was the 22nd Vermont public

She joked that every library she visits is the best library ever! And if you love libraries, you totally get that excitement. Her posts on social media are like love letters to libraries. I found a kindred spirit in Miller. We both have mothers who are flute teachers, and we get jazzed about books and knitting. Miller is a former elementary school teacher, and she exudes a positive energy. Zinn teased that Miller is prone to exaggeration, too. Um, guilty. I also feel like every video I make is the best story ever!

e Haskell is such a unique building.

my passport. It demystifies the border when you can easily hop across it. I got a thrill conducting an interview from Canada with Miller, who was straddling the border. Natalie Mercier, one of the library sta , joked that you start speaking English the moment you cross the American border, and when you return to Canada, you speak French.

There is something magical about this building that spans two countries. That’s why, in the video, I added a magic wand sound e ect whenever people crossed the line.

Who goes to this library?

It was a busy Saturday, and there was a steady stream of tourists and people looking for books in both languages. The Canadian library sta were incredibly helpful, and it was a pleasure to meet everyone. The children’s librarian and acting library director, Evelyne Crevier, leads a story hour for children every Saturday morning in both French and English.

She also gave us an impromptu tour of the majestic Opera House. Its stage is in Canada, and its seats are split between the two countries. Crevier showed us one seat that is split in half by the border, so that you have a butt cheek in each country. Last October, the Opera House started showing films; in the summer, it has live performances.

It is a very special spot, and you can tell it is important to the community. I was excited to see a rack of Seven Days newspapers there, as well!

What should people know before they visit?

If you are entering from the States, there is limited parking at the library, so we parked on Main Street. You can see the American and Canadian border crossings from there. There was a U.S. Customs and Border Protection vehicle parked beside us during our visit.

The entrance to the library is in the U.S., so Americans can enter freely. Canadians cross the border in front of the library, stay on the sidewalk and enter via the front door. They are allowed to return to Canada via the same route and cannot walk anywhere else in town. Americans are not allowed to cross over the sidewalk into Canada. The signs in the library are bilingual and quite clear about where you can and can’t go. It is advised that you bring your passport or papers just in case, but we didn’t need them.

After 9/11, the once-porous border between the two towns became more defined. There was a gun smuggling incident in the library in 2011, and people have been arrested for trying to slip through the border there. And the building shut down for months during the pandemic, when the border was largely closed.

is episode was sort of meta, documenting the documenter.

The Haskell Free Library & Opera House was intentionally built on the border in the early 1900s to serve people in both the U.S. and Canada. It seemed like the perfect pick for this video.

There is something incredibly exciting and nerveracking about borders. It felt slightly nefarious to cross the border over and over again inside the library without

It was a treat for me to film Miller as she photographed her adventures. She took a selfie with “Benny,” the gigantic moose head at the library, and picked out a children’s book to read. We chatted while knitting, and Zinn took photos for Miller. A week later, I enjoyed reading Miller’s post about her international adventures at the Haskell. Again, it was the best day of her life, and I totally agreed. ➆

Episode 710: Library in Canada & the USA

Seven Days senior multimedia producer Eva Sollberger has been making her award-winning video series, “Stuck in Vermont,” since 2007. New episodes appear on the Seven Days website every other ursday and air the following night on the WCAX evening news. Sign up at sevendaysvt.com to receive an email alert each time a new one drops. And check these pages every other week for insights on the episodes.

Hannah Miller and Liza Zinn

EVA SOLLBERGER

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on screen

Robot Dreams ★★★★★

If you watched the Oscars on Sunday, you may have wondered about one of the nominees for Best Animated Feature: Robot Dreams, written and directed by Spanish filmmaker Pablo Berger (Blancanieves) and based on the graphic novel by Sara Varon. The movie, which premiered at last year’s Cannes Film Festival, is currently scheduled for a U.S. release at the end of May.

But you may be able to catch this charming all-ages film at the Savoy Theater in Montpelier on Friday, March 15, at 10:30 a.m. — if you arrive 30 minutes early and put yourself on the wait list for a sold-out screening at the revived Green Mountain Film Festival. Barring that, look forward to this gem — and check out more weekend festival screenings in the sidebar.

The deal

Dog (voice of Ivan Labanda) leads a quiet life in 1980s Manhattan. One night he turns o the TV and catches sight of his reflection, all alone on the dark screen. The TV goes back on, and Dog orders himself a robot companion.

Robot (also Labanda) may be as rudimentary in his design as the Tin Man, but he has feelings. He can hold hands. He appreciates the energy of buskers in the subway and the euphoria of roller skating in Central Park to “September” by Earth, Wind & Fire.

Then, during a seaside outing, Robot takes a swim, and a malfunction leaves him stranded just as Ocean Beach closes for the season. Dog tries frantically to rescue his friend, but tall fences and municipal authorities bar the way. Will Dog and Robot ever be reunited?

Will you like it?

Robot Dreams is a testimony to the power of visual storytelling to bridge communication gaps. The characters are all anthropomorphized animals or robots. Not one line of dialogue is spoken. (The voice acting consists of expressive nonverbal sounds.) Yet the movie might move you to tears. I’ve seen it described variously as “cute” and “traumatizing,” and both are accurate. As in the case of Pixar’s Up, younger viewers are more likely to fixate on the cute factor, while older ones register the sadness. But almost everyone will find something to connect to.

Let’s start with the setting. The grubby,

REVIEW

lived-in New York City of the 1970s and early ’80s has icon status for a reason. Movies such as Taxi Driver documented it, and later ones such as Joker did their best to re-create it. But I never imagined that it would take a 2D animated film from Europe to transport me back into the sight- and soundscape where I lived for several formative years.

Berger spent a decade in the city during that same era, and in an interview with Deadline, he said he hoped to craft a “love letter to the New York that I experienced.”

Sound designer Fabiola Ordoyo drew on archival material to create layers of urban noise that a ect you on a subliminal level. The visual details of every scene are lovingly and accurately realized, from the storefronts to a salvage yard to a building super’s apartment to — of course — the Twin Towers looming on the horizon. For Halloween, Dog hands out Jelly Belly candies, a trendy novelty in those days. He plays Pong and watches actual music videos on MTV.

But if Robot Dreams evokes nostalgia in some viewers, it isn’t the cheap kind of nostalgia that consists of simply collecting and labeling pieces of our past. Like fellow

Oscar nominee Past Lives, this animation is very much about the bittersweetness of regret, of wondering how our lives might have gone di erently if we had spent them with one person rather than another.

Romantic and platonic relationships blur in Robot Dreams, as they often do in a child’s mind: What matters is having a daily companion, a best friend. The movie’s title refers to the dreams — some wistful, some beautifully trippy — that Robot experiences as he waits for Dog through a long, solitary winter. When spring arrives, a bird uses him as a nesting place. The symbiotic relationship between Robot and his new avian friends unfolds in a sequence so achingly tender that it has the enduring resonance of Hans Christian Andersen’s tales.

Much ink has been spilled over the question of whether machines can dream or love. Propelled by the generous logic of childhood, Robot Dreams never doubts it. The movie speaks to the power of the human mind to project our feelings onto everyone and everything we encounter — the enormous yet fragile gift of empathy. See it when you can.

MARGOT HARRISON margot@sevendaysvt.com

IF YOU LIKE THIS, TRY...

FARMING WHILE BLACK (2023; Green Mountain Film Festival, March 15 and 16, 1 p.m., at Savoy eater): is documentary from Mark Decena profiles the cofounder of the Hudson Valley’s Soul Fire Farm. On Saturday, a talk with four of Vermont’s Black farmers follows the screening.

EVIL DOES NOT EXIST (2023; Green Mountain Film Festival, March 14, 8:15 p.m., and March 17, 11:30 a.m., at Savoy Theater): In the new drama from director Ryûsuke Hamaguchi (Drive My Car), glamping and development threaten people’s quiet way of life in a rural village near Tokyo.

OCCUPIED CITY (2023; Vermont International Film Foundation Screening Room, March 16 and 17, 3 p.m., at Main Street Landing Performing Arts Center, Burlington): Director Steve McQueen (12 Years a Slave) explores the Nazi occupation of Amsterdam in an acclaimed four-and-a-half-hour documentary that uses neither talking heads nor archival footage.

A dog and a robot find platonic love in an all-ages, Oscar-nominated animation from Spain.

NEW IN THEATERS

ARTHUR THE KING: A stray dog inspires an athlete (Mark Wahlberg) to fight the odds in an endurance race. Simon Cellan Jones directed the adventure film based on Mikael Lindnord’s memoir. (90 min, PG-13. Essex, Majestic, Star)

KNOX GOES AWAY: Michael Keaton directed and stars in this thriller about a hit man with dementia who has one chance to redeem himself. With Al Pacino and Marcia Gay Harden. (114 min, R. Essex)

LOVE LIES BLEEDING: Kristen Stewart and Katy O’Brian play a gym manager and a bodybuilder who fall in love, but criminal entanglements threaten their dreams. Anna Baryshnikov also stars. Rose Glass (Saint Maud) directed. (104 min, R. Roxy)

ONE LIFE: Anthony Hopkins plays Sir Nicholas Winton in this biopic about how he rescued 600 Jewish children from Nazi-occupied Czechoslovakia. With Lena Olin and Johnny Flynn. James Hawes directed. (110 min, PG. Majestic, Roxy)

CURRENTLY PLAYING

2023 OSCAR NOMINATED SHORT FILMS: See the short films that contended for Academy Awards in separate live action, animation and documentary programs. (Run times vary, N/A. Roxy)

AMERICAN FICTIONHHHH Jeffrey Wright plays a novelist who tries a daring hoax after his publisher tells him his books aren’t “Black enough” in this comedy-drama from Cord Jefferson. (117 min, R. Roxy; reviewed 1/17)

ANYONE BUT YOUHH1/2 A fancy wedding gives two exes (Sydney Sweeney and Glen Powell) an incentive to fake-date in this rom-com from Will Gluck (Easy A). (103 min, R. Majestic)

BOB MARLEY: ONE LOVEHH Kingsley Ben-Adir plays the reggae icon in this biopic. (104 min, PG-13. Bijou, Capitol, Majestic, Roxy, Stowe)

CABRINIHH1/2 This biopic follows immigrant Catholic missionary Francesca Cabrini (Cristiana Dell’Anna) as she tries to relieve poverty in early 20th-century New York. (145 min, PG-13. Capitol, Essex, Majestic, Welden)

DEMON SLAYER: KIMETSU NO YAIBA — TO THE

HASHIRA TRAINING: Tanjiro attempts to level up in the movie series based on the popular dark fantasy anime. Haruo Sotozaki directed. (104 min, R. Roxy)

DRIVE-AWAY DOLLSHHH Two friends (Margaret Qualley and Geraldine Viswanathan) run straight into trouble when they encounter outlaws on a road trip in this action comedy directed by Ethan Coen. With Beanie Feldstein and Colman Domingo. (84 min, R. Roxy)

DUNE: PART TWOHHH1/2 The saga of Paul Atreides (Timothée Chalamet) and the spice planet Arrakis continues in Denis Villeneuve’s adaptation of Frank Herbert’s pioneering sci-fi series. (166 min, PG-13. Big Picture, Bijou, Capitol, Essex, Majestic, Marquis, Paramount, Playhouse, Roxy, Star, Stowe, Welden; reviewed 3/6)

IMAGINARYH1/2 What if you returned to your childhood home to find your imaginary friend still there — and angry? Jeff Wadlow directed this horror flick, starring DeWanda Wise and Taegen Burns. (104 min, PG-13. Essex, Majestic, Star)

KUNG FU PANDA 4HHH As he levels up to become a spiritual leader, Po (voice of Jack Black) must train his warrior successor in this animated adventure. With Awkwafina and Viola Davis. (94 min, PG. Bijou, Capitol, Essex, Majestic, Marquis, Paramount, Star, Welden)

MADAME WEBH1/2 Sony’s Spider-Man Universe continues with this action flick in which Dakota Johnson plays a woman using her precognitive abilities to save others from a looming threat. (117 min, PG-13. Majestic)

MIGRATIONHHH A duck family meets many mishaps on its first-ever trip south in this animated family comedy. (92 min, PG. Essex, Majestic)

ORDINARY ANGELSHHH In this fact-based drama, Hilary Swank plays a hairdresser who rallies a community around the cause of saving a child’s life. With Alan Ritchson and Amy Acker. Jon Gunn directed. (116 min, PG. Big Picture, Capitol, Stowe)

PERFECT DAYSHHHH1/2 Wim Wenders directed this meditative, Oscar-nominated film about a man (Koji Yakusho) who finds joy in his everyday routine — cleaning Tokyo’s arty public toilets. (124 min, PG. Roxy; reviewed 2/14)

WONKAHHH1/2 Timothée Chalamet plays the young Willy Wonka in this musical fantasy, directed by Paul King (Paddington). (116 min, PG. Majestic)

OLDER FILMS AND SPECIAL SCREENINGS

THE CHOSEN SEASON 4, EPISODES 7-8 (Essex, Wed 13 only)

END OF EVANGELION (Essex, Sun & Wed 20 only)

GREEN MOUNTAIN FILM FESTIVAL (Capitol, Savoy, Thu-Sun)

LABYRINTH (Essex, Sun only)

OPPENHEIMER (Majestic) POOR THINGS (Roxy)

TROLLS BAND TOGETHER (Majestic)

OPEN THEATERS

Catamount Arts’ theater is currently closed until further notice. (* = 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

*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

104 N. Main St., St. Albans, 527-7888, weldentheatre.com

Mark Wahlberg in Arthur the King

Art Therapy

A new Burlington art space launches with a show dedicated to grief

BY GINA TRON

Waya Usdi was forced to evacuate his Barre residence when it flooded last July. When he could finally return, he found his home in shambles. All that was left to eat was a moldy lemon. Usdi’s acrylic still-life painting depicting that moment is part of an exhibition titled “Blossoms in a Blizzard: A Study of Adversity, Grief & Resilience” at the Other Half in Burlington.

“When life gives you lemons, you make lemonade, but when life gives you a flood, you get a moldy lemon,” art director and curator Cassidy Sargent said.

The Other Half, a new bar and gallery space at 202 Main Street, opened its doors in November and now has art on display. One wall is covered with paintings, photographs and collages representing 18 local artists’ perseverance through tragedies and obstacles, both internal and external. Spurred by the struggles within her community, Sargent said she curated “Blossoms” to honor her own grief and to o er a creative outlet for others’. It is the first of her planned bimonthly exhibitions in the petite gallery.

REVIEW

Sargent, 31, said several people in her life have recently died from suicide and opioid overdoses.

“Burlington is really going through it right now,” she said. “I’ve been witness to a lot of the grief and trauma in this town.”

Sargent, who lives within walking distance of the Other Half, where she also bartends once a week, said she has observed drug abuse and heard gunfire downtown. When three Palestinian students were shot in Burlington last fall, she was deeply a ected.

“There were so many conversations after that,” Sargent said. She hopes the current show will inspire more discussions.

A few pieces in the exhibit comment on Israel’s ongoing bombardment of Gaza. Derek Zwyer, a social worker who uses art to explore psychological themes, created the abstract acrylic piece “Processing It”

about the conflict. In it, a dark red and black object hangs menacingly in a cloudy sky; the words “the terror” are faintly visible through the backdrop. After attending a local protest, artist Constance Craik created “social/structure,” a small watercolor and acrylic depiction of a Palestinian woman holding a jug. The woman, surrounded by painted sparkles, appears calm, almost angelic, as she pours out glimmering water.

Sargent, who grew up in Warren, managed Burlington’s Flynndog Gallery and Flynndog Station from 2018 to 2019. In that role, she showcased national and international artists and organized art pop-ups accompanied by hip-hop performances. During the pandemic, Sargent launched a graphic design business. Last year, she reached out to Other Half owners Boudee Luangrath and Adrian Sackheim

about designing a logo for the bar. They already had one, they told her, but the chat led to her current position.

Sargent is passionate about bringing youth and diversity to art, and she wants to do just that in downtown Burlington. Her mission, she said, “is to bring underground art that deals with local community issues to the downtown scene.”

So far, so good. Sargent said the February 9 opening of “Blossoms” was well attended — and the most lucrative night in the bar’s three-month existence. Sackheim told Seven Days that several pieces of art sold that evening. He and Luangrath

"social/structure" by Constance Craik

IMAGES COURTESY OF CASSIDY SARGENT

e Other Half gallery

"Mild Self-Esteem" by Derek Zwyer

previously owned Half Lounge, a tiny Church Street bar that closed in March 2020. Supporting local artists was a big part of Half Lounge’s mission, Sackheim said, and its walls were always full of local art.

“We wanted to keep that tradition alive with the Other Half, since it develops a sense of community within the walls and, in my opinion, looks better than a neon beer advertisement,” he said.

strength of being an artist to get through it.”

I’VE BEEN WITNESS TO A LOT OF THE GRIEF AND TRAUMA IN THIS TOWN.

CASSIDY SARGENT

Some of the works now on display at the Other Half were created in the midst of a painful experience. Sargent pointed to Sarah-Catherine Paschall’s “Bold Contrast,” featuring architecture in Montréal’s Old Port, and “Unreal Beauty,” a Virginia sunset. “[During] the time in which the artist took those photographs, she was moving through intense grief,” Sargent noted.

An artist who goes by the name Twisted Tentacles created a more literal rendering of the exhibition’s theme. Her acrylic painting “Ebbs and Flows” portrays a woman with a river of tears streaming from her eyes.

“It was a self-portrait of her moving through depression,” Sargent said. “She was drowning in it but also utilizing her

Jason Gorcoff’s oil paintings “The Mountain” and “The Red Tower” both feature lone figures — a tower under a supernaturally red sky and a cloaked Grim Reaper-esque figure with claws and a glowing eye reminiscent of the Terminator —to depict the terror and loneliness of grief. Yvonna Stewart also took on the mythical in her India inkand-graphite “King Cobra,” a Black rendition of Medusa, whose curse is associated with suffering and isolation.

Alexana Wolf’s “Blooms Eventually” directly resonates with the title of the exhibition. With acrylics, she painted a blue sky filled with snowflakes. Pieces of tall grass covered in ice, created with plaster, protrude from the canvas.

“If I were to equate it to humans in this town,” Sargent said of Wolf’s mixed-media canvas, “it’s us holding on to our inner fire until springtime.” ➆

INFO

“Blossoms in a Blizzard: A Study of Adversity, Grief & Resilience” is on view through March 30 at the Other Half in Burlington.

"The Red Tower" by Jason Gorcoff

EXHIBITION

Fiber Works at Chandler Center for

BY GINA TRON

Necromancy supposedly involves communicating with the dead, but trichromancy is all about romancing dye and communicating through textiles. Jeannie Catmull, cocurator of “Trichromancy: Color Divination” at Chandler Center for the Arts in Randolph, said the made-up word combines “necromancy” and “trichromatic” — referring to the three cones in human eyes that help process color. e exhibition, which showcases dye techniques in fiber, is a visual feast.

More than 130 diverse pieces by some 60 artists are on view: weavings, quilts, embroidery, crochet, sewn garments, jewelry, and felted wool and silk slippers.

Kris McDermet’s three hooked and braided fabric works — each one at least six feet in size and consisting of multiple parts — address environmental and social justice issues. ey are so visually pivotal to the show that Catmull and cocurator Fern Strong sited them in the gallery space first before organizing the rest.

e 30-by-70-inch “Privilege” comprises two wool and silk tapestries draped over a wooden stand. On the back panel, a hooded figure adorned in bright-orange silk pushes a shopping cart filled with belongings past trees made of wool. A light built into the stand illuminates the unhoused person. e front panel of “Privilege,” framed by braiding, depicts a cozy home interior. A window-like cutout in the fabric allows viewers to see the two contrasting images.

McDermet’s “Awakening” is made of 10 fabric pieces that together measure 52 by 78 inches. At its center is an oval braided rug decorated with hooked berries; smaller pieces, filled with berries and leaves, surround it. In “Quiet Beauty,” her wall hanging made of wool, silk, felt and beading, a braided blue river flows across a coral-colored field and among hummingbirds, flowers, butterflies and lanterns.

Stacey Piwinski’s 56-by-84-inch handwoven fabric work “Portrait of a Virtual Community” is big enough to cover a bed. Each color within it tells a teacher-student story. “ e pandemic hit, and she was teaching online classes, and she would pick a type of yarn for every student that she met,” Catmull explained.

Fellow teacher Billie Smith’s “Number Quilt,” an unbleached muslin wall hanging, was created for her eighth-grade math classroom. It features 100 squares that represent natural numbers; stripes represent their factors. e procion (fiber-reactive) dye in the squares and stripes provides color against a black background.

Alfredo Ratinoff created the 28-by-34-inch yarn-andfabric piece “Little Red Rides rough the Alchemy of Time and Color” using the Waldoboro rug-hooking technique. is means looping yarn higher than usual before cutting it at the desired height; the result is three dimensional,

CALL TO ARTISTS

ARTS FOR ASYLUM SEEKERS: The Chittenden Asylum Seekers Association seeks sponsors for its virtual fundraiser to help new neighbors as they navigate the legal process of seeking asylum. Donors will receive a poem, drawing or photograph from local creatives throughout the month of April via email or other method. Details and sign-up at casanvermont.org. Online. Through March 27. Info, artsforasylumseekers@gmail.com.

the

Arts Tell Colorful Stories

like a topographical map. e process is time-consuming. Using a circa-1880s shuttle to loop, Ratinoff took a month to create “Little Red,” who is pictured on horseback, surrounded by a lush, textured forest.

Rosalind Daniels’ abstract expressions of the colors and shapes of Vermont’s mud season include “Twenty Taillights,” with original photos of car taillights printed on quilted cotton and stitched over. Barb Ackemann hooked her wool tapestry, “ e Bridge at Cushendun,” based on a photograph she took in Northern Ireland. Despite the medium, it mimics a realistic painting.

“Trichromancy” is a vibrant exhibit in which each fiber and stitch communicates a story. ➆

INFO

“Trichromancy: Color Divination” is on view through March 16 at Chandler Center for the Arts in Randolph. chandler-arts.org

ART EVENTS

AMY & TERRY LAWRENCE FILMS: Premiere of the stop-motion animation “Gershwin Preludes: A inking Man’s Guide to Paris” and screening of old favorite “ ank You, Mr. Sondheim,” followed by a Q&A with the etford-based twin sisters. Junction Arts & Media, White River Junction, Friday, March 15, 5:30-6:30 p.m. Info, 295-668.

ART SOCIAL: A reception for new exhibitions on all three floors. Studio Place Arts, Barre, Saturday, March 16, 4:30-6 p.m. Free. Info, 479-7069.

SATURDAY MORNING MUSIC, BRUNCH & FINE ART: Jazz fusion from trio Deep ink, along with coffee and brunch fare, introduce new Edgewater artist Bonnie Baird. Edgewater Gallery on the Green, Middlebury, Saturday, March 16, 11 a.m.-12:30 p.m. Free. Info, 989-7419.

IN

QUEER ZINE WORKSHOP: Learn how to make a multipage booklet with Center for Cartoon Studies fellow S. Mirk. Suitable for all ages, identities and levels of artistic experience. RSVP to uvjam.org/events; supplies available. Junction Arts & Media, White River Junction, Tuesday, March 19, 6-8 p.m. Free. Info, 295-6688.

OPENINGS + RECEPTIONS

AMY KOLB NOYES: “Bitter Brew: Consumption Choices & Consequences,” an MFA exhibit featuring new installations and mixed-media art. Reception: Wednesday, March 13, 3 p.m. Julian Scott Memorial Gallery, Vermont State University-Johnson, through April 5. Info, 635-1469.

"Awakening" by Kris McDermet

From top: "Twenty Taillights" by Rosalind Daniels; “ e Bridge at Cushendun” by Barb Ackemann

IMAGES COURTESY OF SUSI RYAN

AMY SCHACHTER: “Hiding in Plain Sight,” abstract figurative works. Second Floor Gallery, Studio Place Arts, Barre, March 13-April 20. Info, 479-7069.

‘APOLIS — ATTENTION AS PARTICIPATION’:

The “APOLIS”-curated wing of the Green Mountain Film Festival 2024 and launch of the new multidisciplinary studio collective and gallery. Screenings, artist talks and DJ sets daily. Reception: Friday, March 15, 5-8 p.m. Crumb Factory, Montpelier, March 15-17. Info, contact@ cold-drean.site.

AXEL STOHLBERG: “The Grand Assemblage,” 3D constructions by the Vermont artist. Third Floor Gallery, Studio Place Arts, Barre, March 13-April 20. Info, 479-7069.

‘COLLABORATION’: A survey of 40 prints by 37 artists from the VSC Print Archive in celebration of 40 years of VSC, curated by printmaker Sarah Amos. The prints will be auctioned online to benefit the VSC Fellowship Fund. Reception: Thursday, March 28, 4-6 p.m. Red Mill Gallery, Vermont Studio Center, Johnson, through May 30. Info, 635-2727.

EDWARD HOLLAND: “Celestial Sea,” abstract, collage-based paintings that embed the constellations of the zodiac. Opening party: Saturday, March 16, 5 p.m., with music by Brooklyn DJ Producer Plug. Brattleboro Museum & Art Center, March 16-June 16. Info, 257-0124.

ELLIOT BURG AND SHANNON ALEXANDER:

“Recovery,” an exhibition of photographs from the July flood and aftermath in Barre and Montpelier. Reception: Thursday, March 14, 3:30-5:30 p.m., celebrating all who helped during and after the flood. Vermont Statehouse, Montpelier, through March 29. Info, david.schutz@vermont.gov.

‘IN NATURE’S GRASP’: Works in a variety of mediums by 11 artists that consider the idea of the sublime in nature as articulated by Romantic philosopher Edmund Burke. Opening party: Saturday, March 16, 5 p.m., with music by Brooklyn DJ Producer Plug. Brattleboro Museum & Art Center, March 16-June 16. Info, 257-0124.

JOHN NEWSOM: “Painting the Forest of the Happy Ever After,” a series of paintings created for a 2023 album of the same title by Wu-Tang Clan-affiliated rapper Killah Priest. Opening party: Saturday, March 16, 5 p.m., with music by Brooklyn DJ Producer Plug. Brattleboro Museum & Art Center, March 16-June 16. Info, 257-0124.

JULIE A. DAVIS: “Painting the Town: Iconic Landmarks of Johnson, Vermont,” expressive oil paintings from the artist’s collection. A portion of sales benefits the Johnson Flood Recovery. Reception: Sunday, March 17, 2-3 p.m. Minema Gallery, Johnson, through May 11. Info, 646-519-1781.

MICHAEL LYNCH: “Insomneon,” a solo art exhibit inspired by graffiti as part of a senior capstone project. Reception: Thursday, March 21, 6 p.m. McCarthy Art Gallery, Saint Michael’s College, Colchester, March 19-23. Info, bcollier@smcvt.edu.

‘MUD (SEASON)’: A (cautiously) optimistic exhibit of 2D and 3D artworks by artists from Vermont and New Hampshire. Reception: Friday, March 15, 5:30-7:30 p.m. Artistree Community Arts Center, South Pomfret, March 15-April 20. Info, 457-3500.

‘QUANTUM CELESTIAL ART SHOW’: A group exhibition of artworks in celebration of the solar eclipse. Reception: Saturday, March 16, 2-4 p.m. Northeast Kingdom Artisans Guild Backroom Gallery, St. Johnsbury, March 15-April 16. Info, 748-0158.

SAMIRA ABBASSEY: “Out of Body,” paintings, drawings and sculpture that examine the human body as a psychological and spiritual vehicle and scientific organism. Opening party: Saturday, March 16, 5 p.m., with music by Brooklyn DJ Producer Plug. Brattleboro Museum & Art Center, March 16-June 16. Info, 257-0124.

SPRING SALON 3RD EDITION: Artwork by 38 local artists, hung in the floor-to-ceiling style. Reception: Friday, March 15, 5-7 p.m. Canal Street Art Gallery, Bellows Falls, March 15-June 1. Info, 289-0104.

SUSAN WILSON: Figurative ceramic works by the Putney artist. Reception: Saturday, March 16, 5-7 p.m. Axel’s Frame Shop & Gallery, Waterbury, March 16-April 27. Info, 244-7801.

‘THEN TO NOW’: A collection of glass pieces produced by AO Glass cofounders Rich Arentzen and Tove Ohlander over the past 20 years.

Reception: Saturday, March 16, 3-5 p.m. Frog Hollow Vermont Craft Gallery, Burlington, through March 29. Info, 863-6458.

‘UP & DOWN, IN & OUT: EMBROIDERY AND ITS KIN’: A group exhibition of original contemporary needlework. Main Floor Gallery, Studio Place Arts, Barre, March 13-April 20. Info, 479-7069.

VERMONT WATERCOLOR SOCIETY: “Spring Release,” an exhibition of paintings by member artists, juried by watercolorist Mick McAndrews. Reception: Saturday, March 16, 1-3 p.m. South Burlington Public Art Gallery, March 16-May 29. Info, gallery@southburlingtonvt.gov. ➆

music+nightlife

S UNDbites

News and views on the local music + nightlife scene

BY CHRIS FARNSWORTH

The Heaviest Blanket: Dinosaur Jr. and Rough Francis Join Forces

When musicians hang out with other musicians, and particularly when booze or weed is involved, a curious game often takes place. I call it the “What If We” game.

“What if we formed a HALL & OATES cover band but everything is ska?” Or maybe the old-fashioned “Hey, what if we start a country band but only play synths?”

It’s a form of one-upmanship to a degree, but it’s also a fun way to dream up something that everyone involved knows will never happen. I can’t tell you how many BLIND MELON cover bands I’ve formed, bleary-eyed at the bar at 1 a.m., or how many “indie-rock collectives” I’ve agreed to join over a drunken text thread that I knew were just flights of fancy. No one ever gets bummed, because it’s just par for the course when musicians hang: We form fake bands all the time.

Unless, of course, your name is BOBBY HACKNEY JR

“The bands always actually happen when I’m involved,” Hackney said, laughing as we spoke by phone over the weekend.

The singer of punk rockers ROUGH

FRANCIS and former drummer for Vermont new-wave/post-punk act the STATIC AGE (among many, many other projects), Hackney has long been accustomed to forming bands in the course of a conversation, such as his new hardcore project with friend and DROWNINGMAN alum SIMON BRODY

That still didn’t prepare him for the genesis of his latest project. A few months ago, a new band was born backstage at Higher Ground in South Burlington, shocking Hackney. Maybe that’s because this time, he wasn’t even in the room when he joined the band.

“It was wild, man,” Hackney told me. “[Rough Francis] was opening up for DINOSAUR JR., and everyone was just hanging out backstage afterwards, but I didn’t hang too long.”

Hackney and his bandmates, brothers JULIAN and URIAN HACKNEY and bassist TYLER BOLLES, are no strangers to hobnobbing with rock stars: Urian recently joined IGGY POP’s touring band as its drummer. Rough Francis’ members are friends with KYLE THOMAS, aka KING TUFF, who plays in the stoner-metal act WITCH with Dinosaur Jr. vocalist and guitarist J MASCIS

So Hackney took the backstage scene in stride, bidding good night to his bandmates and the guys in Dinosaur Jr.

“I get home, and my phone starts blowing up with this text thread between J and the other Rough Francis guys,”

thing, but Hackney has learned never to say never when it comes to these kinds of spontaneous projects.

“Once you rip that seal and learn the songs, who knows what might happen in the future?” Hackney said. “Heavy Blanket doesn’t play a lot, but we’re all sort of part of this circle now, so maybe something will happen down the road.”

Hackney and Bolles are practicing the songs Mascis sent them, but they won’t get to jam them out until the day of the show. Ordinarily that’s far from ideal, but Hackney isn’t worried about it.

“They’re pretty straightforward songs, so we’re just going to kind of wing it,” Hackney admitted. “It’s sort of like jam metal, if that makes sense. It rips, though — I think it’s going to be great. I honestly just can’t wait because I think it’s going to be really fun to make music with J.”

I’m pretty excited myself to see the union of the two bands. I’ve long been used to the Hackney brothers pulling o all sorts of crazy musical feats, but the ’90s kid in me has that extra bit of stoke going into this one.

For Hackney, it’s another example of the power of saying yes.

Hackney recalled. He grew even more confused when he saw messages such as “Hey, here’s the set list!”

“I texted back to see what was happening, and they’re just like, ‘Yo, you and Tyler are going to play with HEAVY BLANKET with J,’” Hackney continued. “I basically got drafted!”

Heavy Blanket are a long-running instrumental side project for Mascis, one of the most influential rock guitarists of the past 30 years. A psychedelic maelstrom of ri s, the project allows Mascis to tap into his heavier instincts. To perform the music live, he typically pulls together guest rhythm sections to form a power trio. Hackney and Bolles will join Mascis when Heavy Blanket open for former SONIC YOUTH bassist and vocalist KIM GORDON at the Higher Ground Ballroom in South Burlington on Thursday, March 21.

Hackney reckons Mascis got the idea from Thomas after Rough Francis backed up King Tu on New Year’s Eve in Burlington.

“He must have told J that we’re a good crew to use,” Hackney said.

“It’s just wild, because I grew up listening to J’s music,” Hackney went on. “His band inspired NIRVANA, which really starts to fuck with my head if I think about it for a second. And now I’m playing drums for him. Like, what?”

For now, it’s a one-night-only sort of

“It’s so crazy how you can just be having some drinks with friends, a few ideas get kicked around, and the next thing you know, your new band has practice on Wednesday,” Hackney said. “It keeps happening to me!”

And long may it continue. For my money, just about every rock band I can think of could use a little more Hackney.

For tickets to Heavy Blanket and Kim Gordon, visit highergroundmusic.com.

Listening In

(Spotify mix of local jams)

1. “SADNESS AS A GIFT” by Adrianne Lenker

2. “SUPERBAD” by Heady Betty

3. “NICE TO MEET YOU, CAN I FREAK YOU?” by Noah Kesey

4. “I’M BORED” by Hayley Jane

5. “MYSTIC LAKE” by Notation, SkySplitterInk

6. “FEEL ALIVE” by Madaila

7. “I REMAIN” by Peg Tassey

Bobby Hackney Jr.

FILE: LUKE AWTRY

On the Beat

The other day, while driving home from the Burlington office in a mix of rain and sleet, I saw a herd of University of Vermont students walking around in shorts and T-shirts — a sure sign of spring’s imminent arrival. How fitting that not long after that, my inbox started filling up with reports of that other great harbinger of warmer weather: the summer music festival series.

The folks at WAKING WINDOWS recently announced the return of their annual music and arts festival in Winooski. The weekend traditionally boasts more than 100 acts, including the scene’s best musical talent and some killer touring artists, performing in just about every Onion City building the promoters can find to hold a stage. While no lineup information has been released yet, the press release says this year’s fest, running Friday through Sunday, May 3 to 5, will resemble 2023’s scaled-down version, with its heavier reliance on Vermont bands. Visit wakingwindows. com for more information.

The third annual Kingman Fest returns the following weekend. A one-day block party on Saturday, May 11, the family-friendly event offers the opportunity to check out some of St. Albans’ best businesses and food while rocking out on the closed-off street at night — for free. The fest concludes with a headlining performance by vocalists JESSE AGAN, who fronted a QUEEN cover band at last year’s edition, and MORGAN MYLES a finalist on the NBC reality show “The Voice.” For more info, check out kingmanfest.com.

Speaking of free music fests, the Maple Roots Festival is back on Saturday, July 27. Cofounded by guitarist MICHAEL-LOUIS SMITH and a crew of Vermont-based musicians during the pandemic to support the local music scene, Maple Roots has grown from a homemade stage at Morse Farm Maple Sugarworks in Montpelier to a full-fledged affair with a festival village and bands playing all day. Details such as lineup information should be available soon, according to Smith. Watch maplerootsfest.com for updates.

Eye on the Scene

Last week’s live music highlights from photographer Luke Awtry

SILVERSUN PICKUPS, HIGHER GROUND BALLROOM, SOUTH BURLINGTON, FRIDAY, MARCH 8: Silversun Pickups put on an insane visual spectacle for a sold-out crowd at Higher Ground last Friday night. The band became a favorite of mine in winter 2007, after I heard it play only 16 notes. Following a below-average season in my bowling league, I’d been motivated to compete in a nationally recognized rock-paper-scissors competition. I threw my way into the semis and was paired against local drummer LAUREN WEISS of the band L.DORA. As I walked up, the opening notes of Silversun Pickups’ then-new single “Lazy Eye” came through the PA, and I felt like Rocky stepping into the ring. When Weiss and I tied one to one, vocalist BRIAN AUBERT sang the first two lines — “I’ve been waiting / I’ve been waiting for this moment all my life” — and I was feeling exactly that. As our fists revealed the tiebreaker and Aubert’s vocals continued with “But it’s not quite right,” Weiss’ rock crushed my scissors — and my dreams of victory. The Silversun Pickups ended Friday’s set with “Lazy Eye,” and this time, the moment was quite all right.

Last but certainly not least, as reported previously, GRACE POTTER’s longrunning Grand Point North festival will return to Burlington’s waterfront after being on hiatus since 2020. The weekendlong event, held Thursday through Sunday, July 25 to 28, is now a “concert series.” Potter will headline, supported by local and national touring acts yet to be announced, and psych-rock legends the FLAMING LIPS will perform on Friday night. Tickets are available at highergroundmusic.com.

That’s just the tip of the iceberg. Watch this space in the coming weeks as more fests announce their lineups.

The Hinesburg Artist Series celebrates its 25th anniversary this month with a pair of concerts on St. Patrick’s Day. Held at St. Jude Catholic Church in Hinesburg at 2 and 4:30 p.m., the program features the SOUTH COUNTY CHORUS and HINESBURG ARTIST SERIES ORCHESTRA performing composer DAN FORREST’s Requiem for the Living.

Teacher, musician and conductor RUFUS PATRICK founded the series to showcase former students. Though the series has evolved into a nonprofit with a board, Patrick continues to highlight exciting young performers.

This year’s featured guest artist is vocalist CRISTINA ESCOBEDO. The 23-yearold soprano hails from Lima, Peru, where she studied at the Universidad Nacional de Música.

“Her talent and personality is amazing,” Patrick gushed in an email. Escobedo will be joined by fellow vocalists CAMERON BROWNELL and GARY MOREAU. Learn more and purchase tickets at hinesburgartistseries.org.

Cristina Escobedo

CLUB DATES

live music

WED.13

Bent Nails House Band (blues, rock) at Bent Nails Bistro, Montpelier, 8 p.m. Free.

High Break Beats (surf, hip-hop) at Nectar’s, Burlington, 9 p.m. Free.

Jazz Night with Ray Vega (jazz) at Hotel Vermont, Burlington, 8:30 p.m. Free.

Jazz Sessions (jazz) at the 126, Burlington, 9 p.m. Free.

Live Jazz (jazz) at Leunig’s Bistro & Café, Burlington, 6:30 p.m. Free.

Tom Bisson (singer-songwriter) at Two Heroes Brewery Public House, South Hero, 6 p.m. Free.

Tom Waits Night (tribute) at Radio Bean, Burlington, 8 p.m. $10.

Wednesday Night Dead (Grateful Dead covers) at Zenbarn, Waterbury Center, 7 p.m. $5.

Wild Pink (rock) at Foam Brewers, Burlington, 7:30 p.m. Free.

Willverine (electronic) at the Wallflower Collective, Burlington, 7:30 p.m. Free.

THU.14

Ali T (singer-songwriter) at the Filling Station, Middlesex, 6:30 p.m. Free.

David Lovald (singer-songwriter) at Bent Nails Bistro, Montpelier, 7 p.m. Free.

Dead Sessions (Grateful Dead tribute) at Stowe Cider, 8 p.m. $15. Eggy (jam) at Nectar’s, Burlington, 7 p.m. $20/$25.

Fiona and Emmett Stowell (folk) at Stone’s Throw, Waterbury, 6 p.m. Free.

Frankie & the Fuse (rock) at Red Square, Burlington, 7 p.m. Free.

Adela Dalto (jazz) at the Brass Lantern Inn, Stowe, 6:30 p.m. $35-$45.

Jomoband (R&B) at On Tap Bar & Grill, Essex Junction, 6 p.m. Free. Matisyahu, Cydeways (reggae) at Higher Ground Ballroom, South Burlington, 7:30 p.m. $40/$45.

Montpelier Jazz Project (jazz) at Bent Nails Bistro, Montpelier, 9 p.m. Free.

Paul Asbell Trio (jazz) at Foam Brewers, Burlington, 7 p.m. Free.

Red Hot Juba (jazz, swing) at Black Flannel Brewing & Distilling, Essex, 6 p.m. Free.

Sheepskin, Puppy Playdate, Danny & the Parts (indie) at Monkey House, Winooski, 7:30 p.m. $10.

Timothy Quigley & Friends (jazz) at Hugo’s, Montpelier, 7:30 p.m. Free.

Tuned Up Concert Series: Cool Cool Cool (funk, R&B) at Stowe Cider, 8 p.m. $25.

Will Hoge, Molly O’Leary (rock) at Zenbarn, Waterbury Center, 7 p.m. $22/$25.

THU.14 // ALI T [SINGER-SONGWRITER]

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.

Self-Starter

Royalton’s own Alison Turner, aka ALI T, has established herself as one of the busiest singer-songwriters in the Green Mountain State. Though occasionally backed by a full band, Turner usually gigs solo with her guitar, playing her brand of folk-infused indie pop anywhere from coffeehouses to breweries to clubs. After releasing the self-produced Pancakes at Midnight in 2023, Turner and her DIY ethic show no sign of slowing down. Her road tripping continues as she plays the Filling Station in Middlesex this Thursday, March 14.

FRI.15

AJ Lee & Blue Summit, Reid Parsons (bluegrass) at Zenbarn, Waterbury Center, 8 p.m. $15/$20.

Back in Black: The True AC/DC Experience (tribute) at Higher Ground Ballroom, South Burlington, 8 p.m. $20/$25.

Brass Balagan (brass) at Radio Bean, Burlington, 9:15 p.m. $10.

The Champlain Shoregasm, Jesse Taylor, A Montreal Paul, Dec Dye, Fisher Wagg (rock, folk) at Despacito, Burlington, 8 p.m. $8/$10.

Coane, Rowell & Schabner (folk, bluegrass) at Bent Nails Bistro, Montpelier, 7 p.m. Free.

Covered Up (acoustic) at Olive Ridley’s, Plattsburgh, N.Y., 6 p.m. Free.

Dave Mitchell’s Blues Revue (blues) at Red Square, Burlington, 2 p.m. Free.

Eggy (jam) at Nectar’s, Burlington, 7 p.m. $20/$25.

The Gallison Hill Band (rock) at Hugo’s, Montpelier, 7:30 p.m. Free.

High Summer (soul) at Radio Bean, Burlington, 7:30 p.m. $10/$15.

Hogback Hollow (folk) at Stone’s Throw, Richmond, 6 p.m. Free.

IncaHoots (covers) at 14th Star Brewing, St. Albans, 6 p.m. Free.

Instant Narwahl (rock) at Monopole, Plattsburgh, N.Y., 10 p.m. Free.

Phantom Airwave (covers) at On Tap Bar & Grill, Essex Junction, 9 p.m. Free.

Phillip Hyjek Trio (jazz) at Jericho Café & Tavern, 7:30 p.m. Free.

Quasar Valley Band (Americana) at Bent Nails Bistro, Montpelier, 9 p.m. Free.

Rap Night Burlington (hip-hop) at Drink, Burlington, 9 p.m. $5.

Scott Campbell (acoustic) at Gusto’s, Barre, 6 p.m. Free.

Shane’s Apothecary (indie) at On Tap Bar & Grill, Essex Junction, 5 p.m. Free.

Slob Drop, Burly Girlies, Ragz to Stitchez (punk) at Monkey House, Winooski, 8 p.m. $10/$15.

Toast (rock) at the Old Post, South Burlington, 8 p.m. Free.

Tuned Up Concert Series: Crooked Coast (rock, reggae) at Stowe Cider, 9 p.m. $5.

SAT.16

Beastie Ballz, Burning Monk, Limp Ballz (tribute) at Higher Ground Showcase Lounge, South Burlington, 7:30 p.m. $15/$18.

The Bresetts (folk) at Gusto’s, Barre, 7 p.m. Free.

Cloudbelly, Reid Parsons (chamber pop) at Foam Brewers, Burlington, 1 p.m. Free.

The Commons, Glass Onion (rock) at Olive Ridley’s, Plattsburgh, N.Y., 9 p.m. Free.

Dogs in a Pile (jam) at Nectar’s, Burlington, 8 p.m. $20/$25.

Frankie & the Fuse, the Hive (indie rock) at Radio Bean, Burlington, 11 p.m. $10.

Jaded Ravins (Americana) at Two Heroes Brewery Public House, South Hero, 6 p.m. Free.

Julian Lage, Arny Margret (jazz) at Higher Ground Ballroom, South Burlington, 7:30 p.m. $32/$35.

Last Kid Picked (covers) at On Tap Bar & Grill, Essex Junction, 9 p.m. Free.

Left Eye Jump (blues) at Red Square, Burlington, 2 p.m. Free.

Live Music Saturdays (live music series) at Dumb Luck Pub & Grill, Hinesburg, 7 p.m. Free.

Matty & Me (acoustic) at On Tap Bar & Grill, Essex Junction, 5 p.m. Free.

MIRA, Keepsake, Dreams of Extinction (metal) at 1st Republic Brewing, Essex, 9 p.m. $10.

Monopeoplz (rock) at Monopole, Plattsburgh, N.Y., 10 p.m. Free.

NASTEELUVZYOU, Ron Stoppable (hip-hop) at the Other Half, Burlington, 7 p.m. Free.

The Returnables (rock) at Bent Nails Bistro, Montpelier, 9 p.m. Free.

roost.world, Jubilee, Casper Electronics, Indivisual Video (electronic) at Zenbarn, Waterbury Center, 8 p.m. $10/$15. Spencer Lewis (Americana) at Jericho Café & Tavern, 7:30 p.m. Free.

Thea Wren (pop, soul) at Hugo’s, Montpelier, 7:30 p.m. Free.

Tuned Up Concert Series: The Full Cleveland (yacht rock) at Stowe Cider, 8 p.m. $10.

Umlaut (folk) at Bent Nails Bistro, Montpelier, 7 p.m. Free.

SUN.17

90 Proof (covers) at On Tap Bar & Grill, Essex Junction, 3 p.m. Free. Bluegrass Brunch (bluegrass) at the Skinny Pancake, Burlington, noon. Free.

The Cobras (covers) at the Old Post, South Burlington, 4 p.m. Free.

Dogs in a Pile (jam) at Nectar’s, Burlington, 8 p.m. $20/$25.

Everybody’s Favorite Irish Drinking Songs Band (drinking songs) at Red Square, Burlington, 4 p.m. Free.

The Joe Moore Band (blues, swing) at Red Square, Burlington, noon. Free.

Phish for Kids (kids, tribute) at Higher Ground Ballroom, South Burlington, 11 a.m. $16/$18.

The Smokey Newfield Project (folk) at Jericho Café & Tavern, 7:30 p.m. Free.

Sunday Brunch Tunes (singersongwriter) at Hotel Vermont, Burlington, 10 a.m.

TUE.19

Big Easy Tuesdays with Jon McBride (jazz) at the 126, Burlington, 8 p.m. Free.

Bluegrass Jam (bluegrass) at Taps Tavern, Poultney, 7 p.m. Free.

Chicken Fat Injection (jazz) at Lawson’s Finest Liquids, Waitsfield, 5 p.m. Free.

Dobbs’ Dead (Grateful Dead tribute) at Nectar’s, Burlington, 9 p.m. $10/$20.

Honky Tonk Tuesday with Wild Leek River (country) at Radio Bean, Burlington, 9 p.m. $10.

Ryan Osswald Quartet, Mary Esther Carter (jazz) at Radio Bean, Burlington, 7 p.m. Free.

WED.20

Nau (indie rock)

OBOY!, Brunch (indie) at Radio Bean, Burlington, 11 p.m. $10.

Pat Daddona (singer-songwriter) at Blue Cat Bistro, Castleton, 6 p.m. Free.

orangepeelmystic, Shore Rites, Noah Kesey Magic Band (indie) at Light Club Lamp Shop, Burlington, 8:30 p.m. $10.

Phil Henry (singer-songwriter) at Ripton Community House, 7:30 p.m. $15.

Ponyhustle (indie) at Radio Bean, Burlington, 8 p.m. $10.

Adirondack Jazz Orchestra (jazz) at Olive Ridley’s, Plattsburgh, N.Y., 7 p.m. Free.

Bent Nails House Band (blues, rock) at Bent Nails Bistro, Montpelier, 8 p.m. Free.

Blue Fox Trio (rock, blues) at Bent Nails Bistro, Montpelier, 8 p.m. Free.

Jesse Taylor Band, Good Morning Gils, Workingman’s Army (indie rock) at Light Club Lamp Shop, Burlington, 8:30 p.m. $10. J.J. Booth (singer-songwriter) at Two Heroes Brewery Public House, South Hero, 6 p.m. Free. Liana Nuse Quartet (jazz) at Light Club Lamp Shop, Burlington, 7 p.m. $10.

Michael

at Foam Brewers, Burlington, 7:30 p.m. $20.

Now hear this!

Seven Days is recording select stories from the weekly newspaper for your listening pleasure.

music+nightlife

live music

WED.20 CONTINUED FROM P.53

High Break Beats (surf, hip-hop) at Nectar’s, Burlington, 9 p.m.

Free.

SynthDiscoPunk with DJs

Sarah Yetter, Knayte Lander, Queens (DJ) at Crumb Factory, Montpelier, 5 p.m. Free.

SAT.16

Blanchface (DJ) at Manhattan Pizza & Pub, Burlington, 10 p.m. Free.

Open Mic Night with David Karl Roberts (open mic) at the Venetian Cocktail & Soda Lounge, Burlington, 7 p.m. Free.

WED.20

Irish Sessions (Celtic, open mic) at Burlington St. John’s Club, 6:30 p.m. Free.

How does it work?

Jazz Night with Ray Vega (jazz) at Hotel Vermont, Burlington, 8:30 p.m. Free.

Jazz Sessions (jazz) at the 126, Burlington, 9 p.m. Free.

Live Jazz (jazz) at Leunig’s Bistro & Café, Burlington, 6:30 p.m.

Free.

Paper Lady, Vega, Young Laidy (indie rock) at Radio Bean, Burlington, 9 p.m. $10/$15.

Wednesday Night Dead (Grateful Dead covers) at Zenbarn, Waterbury Center, 7 p.m. $5.

Willverine (electronic) at the Wallflower Collective, Burlington, 7:30 p.m. Free.

djs

WED.13

Local Dork (DJ) at Foam Brewers, Burlington, 6 p.m. Free.

The Mid Week Hump with DJs Fattie B and Craig Mitchell (DJ) at Monkey House, Winooski, 7 p.m. Free.

THU.14

DJ Chaston (DJ) at Red Square Blue Room, Burlington, 11 p.m. Free.

Dig: Queer Dance Party (DJ) at Monkey House, Winooski, 9 p.m. $10.

DJ A-Ra$ (DJ) at Red Square, Burlington, midnight. Free.

DJ Raul (DJ) at Red Square Blue Room, Burlington, 6 p.m. Free.

DJ Two Rivers (DJ) at Gusto’s, Barre, 10 p.m. Free.

Matt Payne (DJ) at Red Square Blue Room, Burlington, 10 p.m. Free.

Molly Mood (DJ) at Red Square, Burlington, 10 p.m. Free.

No Fun in Disco (EDM) at Light Club Lamp Shop, Burlington, 11 p.m. $10.

SUN.17

DJ CRE8 (DJ) at Red Square, Burlington, 10 p.m. Free.

DJ Skippy (DJ) at Olive Ridley’s, Plattsburgh, N.Y., 3 p.m. Free.

Mi Yard Reggae Night with DJ Big Dog (reggae and dancehall) at Nectar’s, Burlington, 9 p.m. Free.

TUE.19

The Vanguard: Jazz on Vinyl (DJ) at Paradiso Hi-Fi, Burlington, 7 p.m. Free.

Lit Club (poetry open mic) at Radio Bean, Burlington, 6:30 p.m. Free.

Open Mic (open mic) at Monopole, Plattsburgh, N.Y., 10 p.m. Free.

Open Mic with Danny Lang (open mic) at Taps Tavern, Poultney, 7 p.m. Free.

comedy

WED.13

March Madness (comedy) at Vermont Comedy Club, Burlington, 7 p.m. $5.

Standup Comedy Open Mic (comedy open mic) at Vermont Comedy Club, Burlington, 8:30 p.m.

THU.14

Anyone but Me (comedy) at Vermont Comedy Club, Burlington, 6:30 p.m. Free.

Red Flags (comedy) at Vermont Comedy Club, Burlington, 8:45 p.m. $5/$10.

FRI.15

Go to sevendaysvt.com/aloud and click on the article you want to hear.

When the article loads, scroll down past the first photo and find the prompt to “Hear this article read aloud.”

Press play! You can pause at any time, skip ahead, rewind and change the speaking speed to suit your needs.

DJ Kanganade (DJ) at the Other Half, Burlington, 10 p.m. Free.

DJ Two Sev (DJ) at Red Square, Burlington, 11 p.m. Free.

Drop It Like It’s Yacht (DJ) at Higher Ground Showcase Lounge, South Burlington, 7:30 p.m. $20/$25.

Full Melt Thursdays with Hudson Lee, Frequent (EDM) at Club Metronome, Burlington, 8 p.m. $20/$25.

This Must Be the Place: A Talking Heads Dance Party with Tad Cautious (DJ) at Stowe Cider, 8 p.m. $5.

Vinyl Night with Ken (DJ) at Taps Tavern, Poultney, 6 p.m. Free.

FRI.15

Aquatic Underground (DJ) at the Other Half, Burlington, 10 p.m. Free.

DJ Craig Mitchell (DJ) at Red Square Blue Room, Burlington, 10 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 Mildew (DJ) at Red Square, Burlington, 7 p.m. Free.

DJ Skippy (DJ) at Olive Ridley’s, Plattsburgh, N.Y., 9 p.m. Free.

DJ Taka (DJ) at Light Club Lamp Shop, Burlington, 11 p.m. $10/$15.

Fattie B (DJ) at the Venetian Cocktail & Soda Lounge, Burlington, 10 p.m. Free.

WED.20

Local Dork (DJ) at Foam Brewers, Burlington, 6 p.m. Free.

open mics & jams

WED.13

Irish Sessions (Celtic, open mic) at Burlington St. John’s Club, 6:30 p.m. Free.

Open Mic (open mic) at Monopole, Plattsburgh, N.Y., 10 p.m. Free.

Open Mic with Danny Lang (open mic) at Taps Tavern, Poultney, 7 p.m. Free.

THU.14

Old Time Jam (open mic) at Radio Bean, Burlington, 6 p.m. Free.

Open Mic (open mic) at Whammy Bar, Calais, 7 p.m. Free.

Open Stage Night (open mic) at Orlando’s Bar & Lounge, Burlington, 8 p.m. Free.

MON.18

Open Mic (open mic) at Despacito, Burlington, 7 p.m. Free.

TUE.19

Open Mic (open mic) at 1st Republic Brewing, Essex, 6 p.m. Free.

Open Mic Night (open mic) at Drink, Burlington, 8 p.m. Free.

Moses Storm (comedy) at Vermont Comedy Club, Burlington, 7 & 9 p.m. $25.

Valley Improv on the Ides of March (comedy) at Junction Arts & Media, White River Junction, 7 p.m. Free.

SAT.16

Moses Storm (comedy) at Vermont Comedy Club, Burlington, 7 & 9 p.m. $25.

SUN.17

$5 Improv Night (comedy) at Vermont Comedy Club, Burlington, 7 p.m. $5.

MON.18

Mondays Are Scary! Standup Comedy with Maddie Cross (comedy) at the Phoenix, Waterbury, 7 p.m. $10.

TUE.19

Free Stuff! (comedy) at Lincolns, Burlington, 9:30 p.m. Free.

WED.20

Laugh Local VT Comedy Open Mic (comedy) at the Den, Williamstown, 7 p.m. Free. March Madness (comedy) at Vermont Comedy Club, Burlington, 7 p.m. $5.

Standup Comedy Open Mic (comedy open mic) at Vermont Comedy Club, Burlington, 8:30 p.m.

ROB DONNELLY

SUN.17 // EVERYBODY’S FAVORITE IRISH DRINKING SONGS BAND [DRINKING SONGS]

Hot Potato

Like other cherished cultural institutions such as Santa Claus or Punxsutawney Phil, Burlington’s own EVERYBODY’S FAVORITE IRISH DRINKING SONGS BAND appear but once a year. As that most Irish of holidays approaches and St. Patrick’s Day celebrations commence, EFIDSB pack up their briefcase of scalding-hot baked potatoes — which they traditionally lob at the audience, so stay alert! — and their songbooks full of drinking ditties and Celtic anthems as they lead the Queen City through one very boozy sing-along. Catch their only performance of 2024 (and maybe a potato) this Sunday, March 17, at Red Square in Burlington. Slainte!

Trivia Night (trivia) at Nectar’s, Burlington, 6:30 p.m. Free.

Trivia Thursday (trivia) at Spanked Puppy Pub, Colchester, 7 p.m. Free.

FRI.15

Karaoke (karaoke) at McKee’s Pub & Grill, Winooski, 9 p.m. Free.

Karaoke Friday Night (karaoke) at Park Place Tavern & Grill, Essex Junction, 8 p.m. Free.

SUN.17

Sunday Funday (games) at 1st Republic Brewing, Essex, noon. Free.

Sunday Funday Karaoke (karaoke) at Pearl Street Pub, Essex Junction, 3 p.m. Free.

Venetian Karaoke (karaoke) at the Venetian Cocktail & Soda Lounge, Burlington, 7 p.m. Free.

MON.18

Free.

Karaoke Night (karaoke) at Zenbarn, Waterbury Center, 7 p.m. Free.

Karaoke with Matt Mero (karaoke) at Olive Ridley’s, Plattsburgh, N.Y., 8 p.m. Free.

Trivia (trivia) at Highland Lodge, Greensboro, 7 p.m. Free.

Trivia Night (trivia) at Four Quarters Brewing, Winooski, 6 p.m. Free.

Trivia Night (trivia) at McGillicuddy’s Five Corners, Essex Junction, 6:30 p.m. Free.

Trivia (trivia) at McKee’s Pub & Grill, Winooski, 7 p.m. Free.

Trivia (trivia) at North Hero House Inn & Restaurant, 7 p.m. Free.

Trivia with Craig Mitchell (trivia) at Monkey House, Winooski, 7 p.m. Free.

TUE.19

Godfather Karaoke (karaoke) at the Other Half, Burlington, 10 p.m. Free.

Karaoke Tuesdays (karaoke) at Vermont Comedy Club, Burlington, 9 p.m. Free.

Karaoke with DJ Party Bear (karaoke) at Charlie-O’s World Famous, Montpelier, 9:30 p.m. Free.

Karaoke with Motorcade (karaoke) at Manhattan Pizza & Pub, Burlington, 9 p.m. Free. Music Bingo (music bingo) at Stone Corral, Richmond, 7 p.m. Free.

Taproom Trivia (trivia) at 14th Star Brewing, St. Albans, 6:30 p.m. Free.

Trivia Night (trivia) at the Depot, St. Albans, 7 p.m. Free.

Trivia Tuesday (trivia) at On Tap Bar & Grill, Essex Junction, 7 p.m. Free.

Tuesday Trivia (trivia) at Vermont Comedy Club, Burlington, 7 p.m. Free.

WED.20

Karaoke Night (karaoke) at Drink, Burlington, 8 p.m. Free. Rock and Roll Bingo (bingo) at McKee’s Pub & Grill, Winooski, 7 p.m. Free.

Trivia Night (trivia) at Stone Corral, Richmond, 7 p.m. Free.

Venetian Trivia Night (trivia) at the Venetian Cocktail & Soda Lounge, Burlington, 6 p.m. Free. ➆

FILE: LUKE AWTRY

REVIEW this music+nightlife

Noah Kesey, Holding Hands

Around the World

(SELF-RELEASED, CD, CASSETTE, DIGITAL)

In my earliest days as a music journalist, I was sent to a songwriter retreat. I was meant to be a fly on the wall, but I ended up just playing a lot of piano while most of the other cabinmates drank mushroom tea.

There was one dude, though — he didn’t write anything, either. But he did approach me on the final night to tell me that he wrote music only while lucid dreaming. That notion fascinated me — taking control of your sleeping mind and composing music from the dark side of the brain. I asked to listen to some of his dream music.

answer I’ve found yet is Holding Hands Around the World, the new LP from Burlington songwriter Noah Kesey.

The Woodstock, N.Y., native started out with indie-pop project Full Walrus. Their records showed heaps of promise, specifically the 2019 EP Songs for Other People, which then-Seven Days music editor Jordan Adams described as “a pleasant dream that you can’t quite remember, viewed through a heavily greased lens.”

Unfortunately, it was just him doing what he described as “ancient chants” over a djembe run through a delay pedal. I politely finished listening to the album, really wishing I’d had some of that tea.

Later, I wondered how I’d actually want an album full of lucid-dream compositions to sound. The closest

Jam Dass, Love, Jam, Remember

(SELF RELEASED, CD, DIGITAL)

I’m going to be honest:

I thought I was being pranked when I first hit play on Jam Dass’ debut record, Love, Jam, Remember. There were a lot of submissions that day, so I hadn’t read much about the band, which is made up of musicians, yogis, Reiki masters and bodyworkers, mostly from Vermont, New York and Colorado. But as the drone of “Ganesha” opened the album and the chanting in Sanskrit started, I quickly reached for the liner notes. With calendar editor Emily

After playing on and coproducing Lily Seabird’s 2021 LP Beside Myself, Kesey released a pair of solo e orts. The most recent was 2023’s Guitar Music, an exciting but raw collection of indie rock.

Holding Hands Around the World is another beast altogether — a supremely trippy album built on sinuous melodies and chameleonic genre shifts with a vibrant, beating heart at its center.

After the heavily percussive instrumental piece “Cheetah Print Twin Bed Sheets” opens the LP, the shift to the dream pop of “Dynamite” is almost jarring. “I love watching you explode / You’re like heavy metal,” Kesey sings in a hushed, reverb-laden voice.

Hamilton as my witness, I actually said, “What in the actual hell is this?” as I opened the CD booklet.

As I soon discovered, Jam Dass are the union of jam-band music and sacred kirtan mantras, or sort of calls to prayer in Sanskrit. And yes, they’re named after American yoga guru Ram Dass. Vermont musician and yoga instructor Michael Levin created the project after traveling to India and witnessing kirtan chants firsthand. A former member of the Phish and Grateful Dead cover band Liquid Lobster, Levin sought to combine yogi spiritualism with jaunty, highly-danceable-to-the-hippies jam music.

For listeners whose interests fall in

The dreamlike quality of the production is almost certainly intentional. Kesey is a talented producer who sprinkles an earlymorning, bleary-eyed haze over his songs like pixie dust, whether it’s the jaunty bop of “Backyard” or the distorted krautrocker “Sparkling in the Dancelight.” The former’s sudden transition from angular rock to ’70s-educational-program synth soundtrack at the bridge is some real high-wire-balancing-act shit, but Kesey’s music is nothing if not brave.

Perhaps the best example of his fearlessness on Holding Hands is the

the Venn diagram overlap of wellness movements and the music of, say, the Disco Biscuits, Love, Jam, Remember will likely hit the spot. The vocals of Levin and Melissa Rose follow the call-andresponse nature of kirtan, so many of the songs feature just the two of them repeating the same lyric or two over eight minutes of jam rock. I could easily see a packed show of Deadheads at Nectar’s repeating back mantras to the band, so it’s not like there’s no market for Jam Dass and what they do.

Musically, the band is a tight unit, capable of making pleasing jam rock, mixing in tabla and a full drum kit and tossing slide guitar over drones. There’s actually some interesting interplay on songs such as “In the Chit Sabha.”

The new-age spiritualism can grow tiresome, however. The album’s low point might occur on “Everything,”

horny, hallucinatory “Nice to Meet You, Can I Freak You?” Like something out of the Flaming Lips’ Clouds Taste Metallic era, Kesey treads the surprisingly fine line between experimental and pop, all with a knowing wink.

Holding Hands Around the World is a glorious collection of music that can soundtrack any manner of dreams, lucid or otherwise. Check it out at noahkesey. bandcamp.com. Kesey and the Noah Kesey Magic Band celebrate the album with a release show this Saturday, March 16, at Light Club Lamp Shop in Burlington.

CHRIS FARNSWORTH

when Levin and Rose start intoning, “Everything is everything, everything is everywhere,” sounding uncannily like a pharmaceutical jingle. Just about any song on Love, Jam, Remember would work as the soundtrack to an Ozempic commercial.

Viewed as a rock album, Jam Dass’ debut is a well-produced slice of adultcontemporary jam (which is absolutely a thing these days) that would slot nicely into any number of summer festivals. Marrying that to Sanskrit and yoga feels more convenient than introspective, resulting in a record of pleasant jams and bland platitudes. Maybe it’s me, but something about the idea of using rock music to relax just feels like misunderstanding the assignment.

Love, Jam, Remember is available at jamdass.co.

CHRIS FARNSWORTH

Noah Kesey

FILE: LUKE AWTRY

TRADE CRAFT TIME FOR AIR TIME.

The Beast's Youth Mountain Bike Camps are for riders ages 7-17 of all ability levels who want to improve their skills, gain confidence and have the time of their lives in the fresh mountain air. Explore 30+ miles of lift accessed trails with the help of our skilled coaches and make this a summer you won't forget. Book your session before they fill up!

Scan code or visit killington.com/bikepark to learn more.

calendar

MARCH 13-20, 2024

WED.13

2024 solar eclipse

DOUGLAS ARION: An astronomer illuminates everything Vermonters need to know to prepare to be in the path of totality. Craftsbury Public Library, Craftsbury Common, 6 p.m. Free. Info, 586-9683.

‘PRECLIPSE’: The Vermont Symphonic Winds and Bella Voce Women’s Chorus perform the entirety of Gustav Holst’s seven-movement symphony “The Planets.” Elley-Long Music Center, Saint Michael’s College, Colchester, 7-8:30 p.m. $10-15. Info, vermontsymphonicwinds@ gmail.com.

business

QUEEN CITY BUSINESS NETWORKING INTERNATIONAL

GROUP: Savvy businesspeople 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.

crafts

GREEN MOUNTAIN CHAPTER OF THE EMBROIDERERS’ GUILD

OF AMERICA: Anyone with an interest in the needle arts is welcome to bring a project to this monthly meeting. Holy Family Parish Hall, Essex Junction, 9:30 a.m.-1 p.m. Free. Info, gmc.vt.ega@gmail.com.

YARN CRAFTERS GROUP: A drop-in meetup welcomes knitters, crocheters, spinners, weavers and beyond. BYO snacks and drinks. Must Love Yarn, Shelburne, 5-7 p.m. Free. Info, 448-3780.

dance

CAROL RIFELJ FACULTY

LECTURE SERIES: LAUREL

JENKINS: A dance instructor gives an address titled “Choreography as a Practice in World Building.” Franklin Environmental Center at Hillcrest, Middlebury College, 4:30-6 p.m. Free. Info, 443-4008.

film

See what’s playing at local theaters in the On Screen section.

ESSENTIALS OF CAMERA

OPERATION: Aspiring photographers and cinematographers learn how to shoot like the pros. The Media Factory, Burlington, 6-8 p.m. Free;

These community event listings are sponsored by the WaterWheel Foundation, a project of the Vermont band Phish.

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.

donations accepted; preregister. Info, 651-9692.

‘FUNGI: THE WEB OF LIFE

3D’: Sparkling graphics take viewers on a journey into the weird, wide world of mushrooms, which we are only just beginning to understand.

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.

‘GREAT WHITE SHARK

3D’: Viewers learn the true story behind one of our most iconic — and misunderstood — predators. 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.

GREEN MOUNTAIN FILM

FESTIVAL: An annual cinematic celebration delights moviegoers with a diverse lineup of films and events. See gmffestival.org for full schedule. See calendar spotlight. Various Montpelier locations, 1 p.m. $10-12; $50-150 for festival passes. Info, director@gmffestival.org.

‘OCEANS: OUR BLUE PLANET

3D’: Scientists dive into the planet’s least-explored habitat, from its sunny shallows to its alien depths. 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.

‘TINY GIANTS 3D’: Through the power of special cameras,

FIND MORE LOCAL EVENTS IN THIS ISSUE 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

audiences are transported into the world of the teeniest animals on Earth. Northfield Savings Bank 3D Theater: A National 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.

food & drink

WHAT’S THAT WINE

WEDNESDAYS: Aspiring sommeliers blind-taste four wines from Vermont and beyond. Shelburne Vineyard, noon-6 p.m. $15. Info, 985-8222.

games

BOARD GAME NIGHT: Lovers of tabletop fun play classic games and new designer offerings. Waterbury Public Library, 6-8 p.m. Free. Info, 244-7036.

health & fitness

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.

language

BEGINNER IRISH LANGUAGE

CLASS: Celtic-curious students learn to speak an Ghaeilge in a supportive group. Fletcher Free Library, Burlington, noon-1 p.m. Free. Info, 863-3403.

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.

INTERMEDIATE IRISH LANGUAGE CONVERSATION AND MUSIC: Speakers with some experience increase their fluency through conversation and song. Fletcher Free Library, Burlington, 10:30 a.m.-noon. Free. Info, 863-3403.

lgbtq

QUEER WRITER’S GROUP: LGBTQ authors meet monthly to discuss their work, write from prompts, and give each other advice and feedback. Rainbow Bridge Community Center, Barre, 5:30-7 p.m. Free. Info, 622-0692.

politics

DAVE GRAM & M.E. KABAY: A journalist and a computer scientist discuss how to spot misinformation and disinformation. Live stream available. KelloggHubbard Library, Montpelier, 7 p.m. Free. Info, 223-3338.

seminars

ECOGATHERINGS: Sterling College hosts online learning sessions digging into big ideas such as joy, rage, climate change, mutual aid, food and art. See ce.sterlingcollege.edu for upcoming topics. 6-7:30 p.m. Free; preregister. Info, ecogather@ sterlingcollege.edu.

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.

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.

theater

‘THE CHER SHOW’: The Tonywinning musical about a pop superstar’s unparalleled story comes to the Queen City. The Flynn, Burlington, 7:30 p.m. $58.54-83.50. Info, 863-5966.

‘THE PLAY THAT GOES WRONG’: A play-within-a-play goes horribly awry in this award-winning comedy, presented by Northern Stage. Barrette Center for the Arts, White River Junction, 7:30 p.m. $19-69. Info, 296-7000.

words

AFTER HOURS BOOK CLUB: Readers spend the evening discussing The Lost Girls of Willowbrook by Ellen Marie Wiseman. Dorothy Alling Memorial Library, Williston, 6:307:30 p.m. Free. Info, 878-4918.

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.

THU.14 business

BURLINGTON BIZ BUZZ: Local female business owners meet and chat over coffee. Vivid Coffee, Burlington, 10-11 a.m. Free. Info, info@vtwomenprepeurs.com.

crafts

KNIT FOR YOUR NEIGHBOR: All ages and abilities are invited to knit or crochet hats and scarves for the South Burlington Food Shelf. All materials are provided. South Burlington Public Library & City Hall, 2-5 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.

education

ONLINE AND BLENDED LEARNING CONFERENCE 2024: UNLOCKING FLEXIBLE PATHWAYS THROUGH COLLABORATION AND COMMUNITY: New England educators gather to discuss harnessing technology to create flexible, inclusive, collaborative classrooms. Hampton Inn,

Colchester, 8 a.m.-3 p.m. $200350. Info, 885-8331.

environment

LOVE THE LAKE: CHRIS SABICK: The Lake Champlain Maritime Museum director gives an address titled “Underwater Archaeology of the Revolution: Current and Future Research on Lake Champlain.” Virtual option available. Lake Champlain Basin Program Office, Grand Isle, 6:30 p.m. Free. Info, 372-3213.

film

See what’s playing at local theaters in the On Screen section.

‘FUNGI: THE WEB OF LIFE 3D’: See WED.13.

‘GREAT WHITE SHARK 3D’: See WED.13.

GREEN MOUNTAIN FILM

FESTIVAL: See WED.13, 1:45-10 p.m.

‘OCEANS: OUR BLUE PLANET 3D’: See WED.13.

‘TINY GIANTS 3D’: See WED.13. food & drink

BLEU X VERMONT FRESH NETWORK DINNER: A delectable four-course dining experience celebrates the vibrant connection between local farmers and our dinner tables. Bleu Northeast Kitchen, Burlington, 5-8:30 p.m. $75-115. Info, 864-8600.

FREE WINE TASTING: Themed wine tastings take oenophiles on an adventure through a region, grape variety, style of wine or producer’s offerings. Dedalus Wine Shop, Market & Wine Bar, Burlington, 4-7 p.m. Free. Info, 865-2368.

NEW ORLEANS COMMUNITY

DINNER: Chef Stephanie conjures up the Cajun flavors of the Big Easy at a meal featuring gumbo, grits and classic cocktails. Stowe Street Café, Waterbury, 6-8 p.m. $60. Info, 882-8229.

OLD NORTH END COMMUNITY

DINNER: A vegetarian meal precedes the Neighborhood Planning Assembly meeting. O.N.E. Community Center, Burlington, 5:30-6:30 p.m. Free; donations accepted. Info, 598-3139.

games

DUPLICATE BRIDGE: A lively group plays a classic, tricky game with an extra wrinkle. Waterbury Public Library, 12:30-4:30 p.m. Free. Info, 244-7223.

WEEKLY CHESS FOR FUN: Players of all ability levels face off and learn new strategies. United Community Church, St. Johnsbury, 5:30-9 p.m. Donations. Info, lafferty1949@ gmail.com.

language

ITALIAN CONVERSATION GROUP: Semi-fluent speakers practice their skills during a conversazione with others. Best for those who can speak at least basic sentences. Fletcher Free Library,

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.13

burlington

LEGO TIME: Kids ages 4 through 11 build blocky creations at the library’s new location. Fletcher Free Library New North End Branch, Burlington, 11 a.m.-noon. Free. Info, 863-3403.

STEAM SPACE: Kids in kindergarten through fifth grade explore science, technology, engineering, art and math activities. Fletcher Free Library, Burlington, 5:30-6:30 p.m. Free. Info, 863-3403.

TEEN CRAFTERNOON: Crafts take over the Teen Space, from origami to watercolors and beyond. Ages 11 through 18. Fletcher Free Library, Burlington, 3:304:30 p.m. Free. Info, 863-3403.

TODDLER TIME: Librarians bring out books, rhymes and songs specially selected for young ones 12 through 24 months. Fletcher Free Library, Burlington, 11-11:30 a.m. Free. Info, 863-3403.

chittenden county

BABYTIME: Caregivers and infants from birth through age 1 gather to explore board books and toys. South Burlington Public Library & City Hall, 10:30-11 a.m. Free. Info, 846-4140.

EGGSTATIC!: Kids ages 6 through 10 learn how eggs work and why they evolved for some species. Birds of Vermont Museum, Huntington, 10-11 a.m. $15-35 suggested donation; preregister; limited space. Info, 434-2167.

MOVIE MATINEE: Film lovers have a family-friendly afternoon at this screening of an animated favorite. Brownell Library, Essex Junction, 3-4:30 p.m. Free. Info, 878-6956.

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

FARMERS NIGHT: VERMONT YOUTH

ORCHESTRA: The VYO String Squad and the Winds, Brass and Percussion Ensemble perform mariachi jams and movie themes. House Chamber, Vermont Statehouse, Montpelier, 7:30 p.m. Free. Info, 828-0749.

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 6 through 8. Waterbury Public Library, 3-4 p.m. Free; preregister. Info, 244-7036.

THU.14

KIDS IN THE KITCHEN: Chefs in training and their caretakers

make fun meals with a trained

Grades 1 through 5. Presented by Dorothy Alling Memorial Library and Brownell Library. 4-5 p.m. Free; preregister; limited space. Info, 878-4918.

burlington

GROW PRESCHOOL YOGA: Colleen from Grow Prenatal and Family Yoga leads little ones in songs, movement and other fun activities. Ages 2 through 5. Fletcher Free Library, Burlington, 11-11:30 a.m. Free. Info, 863-3403.

PANDA SOAP MAKING: Crafters celebrate Giant Panda Day by making cute cleansers. Ages 11 through 18. Fletcher Free Library, Burlington, 3-5 p.m. Free. Info, 863-3403.

chittenden county

‘ELLIE’: In this student-written one-act play, a tragedy and its fallout change the course of a teen’s life. Essex High School, Essex Junction, 7-8:30 p.m. $5-10. Info, 879-7121.

MIDDLE SCHOOL MAKERS: COOKING: Students in grades 5 through 8 make delicious homemade dishes. ADA accessible. South Burlington Public Library & City Hall, 4-5 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.

A Cinderella Story

Happily ever after was never so hapless as in Into the Woods, Stephen Sondheim’s comedic reimagining of classic fairy tales. Presented by the talented teens of South Burlington’s Rice Memorial High School, the musical centers such storybook characters as Cinderella, Rapunzel, Little Red Riding Hood, and Jack and his beanstalk, alongside various witches, princes and giants. Wishes are granted and unexpected consequences take hold as a lowly baker and his wife try to break a curse and accidentally throw the realm into chaos. The play features such Sondheim hits as “Agony,” “Children Will Listen” and “No One Is Alone.”

‘INTO THE WOODS’

Friday, March 15, and Saturday, March 16, 7 p.m.; and Sunday, March 17, 2 p.m., at Christ the King School in Burlington. $5-15; free for kids under 11. Info, 862-6521, rmhsvt.org.

FRI.15 burlington

‘INTO THE WOODS’: Classic Grimm characters get entangled in the darker side of fairy tales in this high school production of Stephen Sondheim’s Tony Award-winning musical. See calendar spotlight. Christ the King School, Burlington, 7 p.m. $5-15; free for kids under 11. Info, 862-6521.

STUFFIE SLEEPOVER: Kiddos drop off their plushy friends at the library, then pick them up the next day and learn what they got up to overnight. Ages 3 and up. Fletcher Free Library New North End Branch, Burlington, 5:30-6:30 p.m. Free. Info, 863-3403.

chittenden county

Dorothy Alling Memorial Library, Williston, 11-11:30 a.m. Free. Info, 878-4918.

STORY TIME: Little ones from birth through age 5 learn from songs, crafts and picture books. Brownell Library, Essex Junction, 10-10:30 a.m. Free. Info, 878-6956.

barre/montpelier

ROBIN’S NEST NATURE PLAYGROUP: Outdoor pursuits through fields and forests captivate little ones up to age 5 and their parents. North Branch Nature Center, Montpelier, 10 a.m.-noon. Free; donations accepted. Info, 229-6206.

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

PRESCHOOL STORY TIME: Games, activities, stories and songs engage 3through 5-year-olds. Waterbury Public Library, 10:30 a.m. Free. Info, 244-7036.

middlebury area

‘MAMMA MIA!’: Audiences dance, jive and have the time of their lives at this high school production of the beloved ABBA jukebox musical. Vergennes Union High School & Middle School, 7 p.m. $1012. Info, 877-2938.

‘ELLIE’: See THU.14, 7-8:30 p.m.

KIDS MOVIE IN THE AUDITORIUM: Little film buffs congregate for a screening of a family-friendly film. See southburlingtonlibrary.org for each week’s title. ADA accessible. South Burlington Public Library & City Hall, 3-4:30 p.m. Free. Info, 846-4140.

LEGO BUILDERS: Each week, children ages 8 and older build, explore, create and participate in challenges. Children ages 6 to 8 are welcome with an adult. South Burlington Public Library & City Hall, 3-4:30 p.m. Free. Info, 846-4140.

TEEN ADVISORY GROUP: Teenagers in grades 6 through 12 meet new friends over pizza and take an active role in their local library. Brownell Library, Essex Junction, 5:30-6:30 p.m. Free. Info, 878-6956.

middlebury area

‘MAMMA MIA!’: See THU.14. upper valley

STORY TIME: Preschoolers take part in tales, tunes and playtime. Latham Library, Thetford, 11 a.m. Free. Info, 785-4361.

SAT.16

burlington

CHILDREN’S CRAFTS: Creative kids of all ages prep for St. Patrick’s Day with Irish-inspired projects. Fletcher Room, Fletcher Free Library, Burlington, 10

a.m.-noon. Free; donations accepted. Info, 363-6330.

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.

‘INTO THE WOODS’: See FRI.15.

STORIES WITH GEOFF: Little patrons of the library’s new location enjoy a morning of stories and songs. Fletcher Free Library New North End Branch, Burlington, 11:15-11:45 a.m. Free. Info, 863-3403.

STUFFIE SLEEPOVER: See FRI.15, Fletcher Free Library, Burlington, 5:306:30 p.m. New North End Branch, 10-11 a.m.

WEE ENGINEER: Little ones ages 3 through 5 learn problem-solving skills at this hands-on STEAM series. Fletcher Free Library New North End Branch, Burlington, 10:30-11:15 a.m. Free; preregister; limited space. Info, 863-3403.

chittenden county

‘ELLIE’: See THU.14, 7-8:30 p.m.

LEGO FUN: Budding architects and engineers use their imaginations and the classic blocks to build creations to display in the library. Children under 9 must bring a caregiver. Brownell Library, Essex Junction, 10 a.m.-noon. Free. Info, 878-6956.

TEEN THROWBACK MATINEE: Film buffs ages 13 and up share popcorn over a classic comedy. Brownell Library, Essex Junction, 2-3:40 p.m. Free. Info, 878-6956.

middlebury area

‘MAMMA MIA!’: See THU.14, 3 p.m.

SUN.17

burlington

CROCHETING 101: Teens learn fiber arts over five weeks. Ages 11 through 18. All materials provided. Fletcher Free Library, Burlington, noon-1 p.m. Free; preregister; limited space. Info, 863-3403.

‘INTO THE WOODS’: See FRI.15, 2 p.m.

STUFFIE SLEEPOVER: See SAT.16. Fletcher Free Library, Burlington, noon-1 p.m.

dietitian.

calendar

Burlington, noon-1 p.m. Free. Info, 863-3403.

music

USAF LANGLEY WINDS: U.S. Air Force musicians harness the wind for another purpose at this patriotic concert. Paramount eatre, Rutland, 7 p.m. Free. Info, 775-0903.

talks

A NATION ONCE AGAIN: A virtual presentation contemplates the potential reunification of Ireland and Northern Ireland. Presented by the Burlington Irish Heritage Festival. 7-9 p.m. Free; preregister. Info, 363-6330.

theater

‘IMMACULATE DECEPTION/ AND THEN THERE WERE NUN’: A convent is rocked by a murder mystery in this politically incorrect whodunit comedy. Shelburne Town Hall, 7-9 p.m. $20. Info, 818-281-1711.

‘THE PLAY THAT GOES WRONG’: See WED.13.

words

MORNING BOOK GROUP: Readers start the day off right with a lively discussion of Last Night at the Telegraph Club by Malinda Lo. ADA accessible. South Burlington Public Library & City Hall, 10:3011:30 a.m. Free. Info, 846-4140.

FRI.15

dance

APRÈS SKI/RIDE REGGAE PARTY: A DJ spins roots, dub and dancehall for skiers. Middlebury College Snow Bowl, Hancock, 4-7 p.m. Free. Info, 443-7669.

education

ONLINE AND BLENDED LEARNING

CONFERENCE 2024: UNLOCKING

FLEXIBLE PATHWAYS THROUGH COLLABORATION AND

COMMUNITY: See THU.14.

film

See what’s playing at local theaters in the On Screen section.

‘FUNGI: THE WEB OF LIFE 3D’: See WED.13.

‘GERSHWIN PRELUDES: A

THINKING MAN’S GUIDE TO PARIS’: etford-based twin animators

Amy and Terry Lawrence premiere their newest stop-motion creation. A screening of a previous film and a Q&A follow. Junction Arts & Media, White River Junction, 5:30-6:30 p.m. Free. Info, 295-6688.

‘GREAT WHITE SHARK 3D’: See WED.13.

GREEN MOUNTAIN FILM

FESTIVAL: See WED.13, 10:30 a.m.-11 p.m.

‘OCEANS: OUR BLUE PLANET 3D’: See WED.13.

‘PANDORA’S BOX’: is 1929 silent feature shows off the pre-Code era’s potential with Louise Brooks’

iconically erotic performance. e Screening Room @ VTIFF, Main Street Landing Performing Arts Center, Burlington, 7-8:45 p.m. $5. Info, 660-2600.

‘TINY GIANTS 3D’: See WED.13.

games

MAH-JONGG: Tile traders of all experience levels gather for a game. Dorothy Alling Memorial Library, Williston, 1-3 p.m. Free. Info, 878-4918.

health & fitness

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;

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

A Night at the Movies

Green Mountain Film Festival makes a triumphant comeback after its pandemic hiatus with five days of paradise for cinephiles in the Capital City. Audiences revel in the filmic riches of nearly 30 features and plenty of panels, presentations and parties. Can’t-miss highlights include We Are Guardians, the award-winning documentary by Lamoille County-born director Chelsea Greene; the Saturday screening of Farming While Black (pictured), which precedes a conversation with four Black Vermont farmers; and ursday’s opening night party, where local artists Andreas John and Evan Premo premiere their multimedia short “ e Space Between” and the Montpelier Chamber Orchestra plays live scores to locally made art films.

GREEN MOUNTAIN FILM FESTIVAL

Wednesday, March 13, 1 p.m.; ursday, March 14, 1:45-10 p.m.; Friday, March 15, 10:30 a.m.-11 p.m.; Saturday, March 16, 10:15 a.m.-11 p.m.; and Sunday, March 17, 11:30 a.m.-9 p.m., at various Montpelier locations. $10-12; $50-150 for festival passes. Info, director@gmffestival.org, gmffestival.org.

preregister. Info, programs@ damlvt.org.

holidays

‘O’CAROLAN’S FAREWELL TO MUSIC’: Middlebury Acting Company and Bald Mountain eater present a two-man musical show dedicated to the story of the legendary 18th-century Irish harpist Turlough O’Carolan. See calendar spotlight. Town Hall eater, Middlebury, 7:30 p.m. $20-42. Info, 382-9222.

lgbtq

RPG NIGHT: Members of the LGBTQ community gather weekly to play games such as Dungeons & Dragons and Everway. Rainbow

Bridge Community Center, Barre, 5:30-8:30 p.m. Free. Info, 622-0692.

music

‘BREATHING THROUGH THE POWER OF NATURE: SONGS FOR THE RIVER AND THE MOON’: Montpelier Chamber Orchestra and Green Mountain Film Festival present a multimedia experience with all the force of the tides. Montpelier City Hall Arts Center, 4-6 p.m. $10-25; free for kids 10 and under. Info, 477-3499.

DÉJÀ-NOUS: Parisian cabaret jazz pairs perfectly with a nice cabernet at this cozy show. Shelburne Vineyard, 7-10 p.m. $10. Info, 985-8222.

Harpoon Brewery Riverbend Taps & Beer Garden, Windsor, 5:307:30 p.m. Free. Info, 388-4967.

tech

MORNING TECH HELP: Experts answer questions about phones, laptops, e-readers and more in one-on-one sessions. ADA accessible. South Burlington Public Library & City Hall, 10 a.m.-1 p.m. Free; preregister. Info, 846-4140.

theater

‘IMMACULATE DECEPTION/AND

THEN THERE WERE NUN’: See THU.14.

‘THE PLAY THAT GOES WRONG’: See WED.13.

‘POET’S CHOICE’: e Valley Players premiere playwright Mary Pratt’s take on It’s a Wonderful Life, in which an angel offers a writer a lifetime of either happiness or artistic success. Valley Players eater, Waitsfield, 7:30 p.m. $14-18. Info, 583-1674.

words

PENNY GUISINGER & ALEXIS

FRIDAY NIGHT PIANO: A performance of piano rolls from the 1900s through the present — and from ABBA to Led Zeppelin — entertains as audiences eat snacks around the firepit. Main Street Museum, White River Junction, 5-10 p.m. Free. Info, info@mainstreetmuseum.org.

MICK MALONEY TRIBUTE

CONCERT: Guests gather to sing in honor of the late Irish American musician. Open session at Four Quarters Brewery in Winooski follows. McCarthy Arts Center, Saint Michael’s College, Colchester, 7-9 p.m. Free; donations accepted. Info, 363-6330.

PRYDEIN: A Vermont-raised Celtic band rocks the house. Enosburg Opera House, Enosburg Falls, 7:30-10 p.m. $14-18; cash bar. Info, 933-6171.

TRACY GRAMMER: e acclaimed folk artist shows off her clear vocals, dexterous guitar picking and virtuosic violin playing. Unitarian Universalist Congregation of the Upper Valley, Norwich, 7-9 p.m. $20. Info, 649-8828.

USAF LANGLEY WINDS: See THU.14. Barre Opera House, 7 p.m. Free; preregister. Info, 476-8188.

seminars

JOURNALISM COURSE: Veteran freelance reporter Carolyn Shapiro teaches attendees about media literacy and how the local news industry works. Presented by AARP Vermont. 10-11 a.m. Free; preregister. Info, 866-227-7451.

talks

TURKEY TALES: STORIES FROM THE FIELD — A LISTENING

PARTY: Recorded interviews from Vermont Folklife tell the oral history of the successful reintroduction of the eastern wild turkey into the Green Mountain State.

PAIGE: Two authors discuss their respective memoirs, Shift: A Memoir of Identity and Other Illusions and Work Hard, Not Smart: How to Make a Messy Literary Life. Norwich Bookstore, 7 p.m. Free. Info, 649-1114.

SAT.16

agriculture

CUT IT OUT: PRUNING FRUIT

TREES: From timing to cutting to useful tools, Jaquith Public Library patrons learn the skills needed to achieve reliable tree health and fruit quality. East Hill Tree Farm, Plainfield, 1 p.m. Free. Info, 426-3581.

dance

AFRICAN DANCE WORKSHOP WITH CROCODILE RIVER MUSIC: Dancers of all ages learn new moves ahead of the Masquerade Jazz & Funk Winter Music Carnival. Barnard Town Hall, noon-1 p.m. Free. Info, 234-1645.

MILONGA JARDIN: Elizabeth Seyler leads an adventurous Argentine tango social down on the farm. Some tango experience required. Red Wagon Plants, Hinesburg, 7-10:30 p.m. $10. Info, elizabethmseyler@gmail.com.

MONTPELIER CONTRA DANCE: Dancers balance, shadow and dosi-do the night away to live tunes by Atlantic Crossing. Capital City Grange, Berlin, beginners’ lesson, 7:40 p.m.; dance, 8-11 p.m. $5-20. Info, 225-8921.

TRINITY IRISH DANCE: Tradition and modernity collide at this percussive, empowered display of choreography and athleticism. e Flynn, Burlington, 7:30 p.m. $25-65. Info, 863-5966.

film

See what’s playing at local theaters in the On Screen section.

‘FUNGI: THE WEB OF LIFE 3D’: See WED.13.

‘GREAT WHITE SHARK 3D’: See WED.13.

GREEN MOUNTAIN FILM

FESTIVAL: See WED.13, 10:15 a.m.-11 p.m.

MEDIA FACTORY

ORIENTATION: Once aspiring filmmakers have taken this virtual tour of the Media Factory studio, they have access to the full suite of gear and facilities. 1-2 p.m. Free; preregister. Info, 651-9692.

‘OCCUPIED CITY: Steve McQueen’s 2023 documentary gives a minutely detailed, door-to-door view of the Nazi occupation of World War II using only contemporary footage. The Screening Room @ VTIFF, Main Street Landing Performing Arts Center, Burlington, 3 p.m. $5. Info, 660-2600.

‘OCEANS: OUR BLUE PLANET

3D’: See WED.13.

‘TINY GIANTS 3D’: See WED.13.

food & drink

BURLINGTON WINTER FARMERS

MARKET: Dozens of seasonal stands overflow with produce, artisanal wares and prepared foods. Burlington Beer, 11 a.m.-2 p.m. Free. Info, 560-5904.

ETHIOPIAN AND 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. Center of Recreation & Education, O.N.E. Community Center, Burlington, 4-5:30 p.m. $23-24; preregister. Info, 881-9933.

NONALCOHOLIC POP-UP

BOTTLE SHOP & TASTING: Nonalcoholic spirits and shrubs delight sober sippers. The Soda Plant, Burlington, 11 a.m.-4 p.m. Free. Info, lindsey@nacocktail.co.

games

BEGINNER DUNGEONS & DRAGONS: Waterbury

Public Library game master Evan Hoffman gathers novices and veterans alike for an afternoon of virtual adventuring. Teens and adults welcome. Noon-4 p.m. Free. Info, 244-7036.

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.

LEARN TO PLAY MAH-JONGG: Pauline Nolte teaches a seven-week course on the American and Chinese styles of this ancient game. Waterbury Public Library, 10:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m. Free; preregister. Info, judi@ waterburypubliclibrary.com.

ST. PETER’S CEMETERY

COMMITTEE BINGO: Players vie for cash prizes at this weekly event to support cemetery improvements. St. Peter’s Catholic Church, Vergennes, 5-9 p.m. $5-10. Info, 877-2367.

TRADITIONAL CHINESE GAMES

SOCIAL: Fans of mah-jongg, go and Chinese checkers make new friends. Faith United Methodist Church, South Burlington,

1:15-4:30 p.m. Free. Info, 307-6332.

health & fitness

COMMUNITY YOGA CLASS: An all-levels session offers a weekly opportunity to relax the mind and rejuvenate the body. Wise Pines, Woodstock, 10-11 a.m. Free; donations accepted. Info, 432-3126.

holidays

‘FESTIVAL OF COLORS’: Brooklyn band Red Baraat mark the Hindu holiday o≠≠≠f Holi with their signature fusion of North Indian bhangra with hip-hop and punk. Lebanon Opera House, N.H., 7:30 p.m. Free. Info, 603-448-0400.

‘O’CAROLAN’S FAREWELL TO MUSIC’: See FRI.15.

lgbtq

STRENGTH IN UNITY: Women and LGBTQ+ folks get the wellness floor to themselves. Greater Burlington YMCA, 6:30-8:30 p.m. $5; free for members. Info, 860-7812.

music

AARON FLINN: The guitarist delivers phenomenal fingerpicking. Shelburne Vineyard, 6-9 p.m. Free. Info, 985-8222.

‘BREATHING THROUGH THE

POWER OF NATURE: SONGS FOR THE RIVER AND THE MOON’: See FRI.15.

CATAMOUNT ARTS BLUEGRASS

NIGHT: Entertaining ensemble the Ruta Beggars deliver an evening chock-full of traditional tunes. Catamount ArtPort, St. Johnsbury, 7 p.m. Free; donations accepted. Info, 748-2600.

IRISH SLOW MUSIC SESSION: Adult players of melody instruments get an accessible introduction to Celtic playing. Fletcher Room, Fletcher Free Library, Burlington, 4:30-5:45 p.m. Free; donations accepted. Info, denisedean15@gmail.com.

JONATHAN RUSSELL: A founding member of the Head and the Heart performs some of the band’s most beloved hits. Spruce Peak Performing Arts Center, Stowe Mountain Resort, 7-9 p.m. $40-125. Info, 760-4634.

MASQUERADE JAZZ & FUNK WINTER MUSIC CARNIVAL: Costumes are encouraged and fun is required at BarnArts’ celebration of all things funky, featuring the musical stylings of Sonny & the Grey Cats, Crocodile River Music and more. BYOB. Barnard Town Hall, 6-10 p.m. $15-25; free for kids 6 and under. Info, 234-1645.

‘SOARING: AN EVENING OF CIRCUS AND SONG’: Soprano and aerialist Elizabeth Wohl sings opera arias while performing awe-inspiring aerial choreography. Next Stage Arts Project, Putney, 4 p.m. $15. Info, 387-0102.

outdoors

24 HOURS OF STRATTON & #SHRED4NATE: Winter enthusiasts from across New England ski the slopes day and night

to raise funds for the Stratton Community Foundation. Stratton Mountain Resort, 9 a.m. Free for fundraisers. Info, 297-2096.

FOREST PEST FIRST DETECTORS FOR OUTDOOR RECREATIONISTS: A monthlong virtual course teaches outdoorsy types how to identify and manage invasive pests. Presented by the Vermont Urban & Community Forestry Program. Free; preregister. Info, 656-4831.

MARCH BIRD MONITORING

WALK: Community scientists watch for warblers, spy sparrows and hear hawks to contribute to Audubon’s database. Green Mountain Audubon Center, Huntington, 8-10 a.m. Free. Info, 434-3068.

sports

THE PIG RACE: Nordic skiers slip and slide through mud and snow and celebrate with a pig roast and pizza afterward. Blueberry Hill Outdoor Center, Goshen, 11 a.m. $35-45; free for kid race; preregister. Info, 247-6735.

SEEING THE GREEN GOLF TOURNAMENT & ONLINE

AUCTION: Teams tee off and bidders hope to win Yankees tickets or ski passes. Proceeds benefit United Way of Rutland County. Stonehenge Indoor Golf, Rutland, 8 a.m.-10 p.m. $50; preregister. Info, 773-7477.

VERTICAL CHALLENGE: Folks hit the slopes for a lighthearted competition complete with awards and a victory party. Pico Mountain, Killington, 7 a.m.-1:30 p.m. Free; preregister. Info, 603-875-3100.

theater

‘IMMACULATE DECEPTION/AND

THEN THERE WERE NUN’: See THU.14.

‘THE PLAY THAT GOES WRONG’: See WED.13, 6:30 p.m.

‘POET’S CHOICE’: See FRI.15.

words

CHRIS BOHJALIAN: The best-selling novelist launches his latest, The Princess of Las Vegas, which follows a Princess Diana impersonator along her descent into Sin City’s deadly underbelly. Lake Champlain Chocolates Flagship Store, Burlington, 6:30 p.m. $10-50; preregister. Info, 448-3350.

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.-5 p.m. Free. Info, 863-3403.

WRITERS’ WERTFREI: Authors both fledgling and published gather to share their work in a judgment-free environment. Virtual option available. Waterbury Public Library, 10 a.m.-noon. Free; preregister. Info, judi@waterburypubliclibrary. com.

SAT.16 « P.61

SUN.17 community

COMMUNITY CARE DAY:

Volunteers hand out food, clothing and other necessities to community members in need. Rainbow Bridge Community Center, Barre, 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Free. Info, 622-0692.

HUMAN CONNECTION CIRCLE:

Neighbors share stories from their lives and forge deep connections. Pickering Room, Fletcher Free Library, Burlington, 3-4:30 p.m. Free; preregister; limited space. Info, humanconnectioncircle@ gmail.com.

crafts

YARN CRAFTERS GROUP: See WED.13, 1-3 p.m.

dance

BURLINGTON IRISH HERITAGE

FESTIVAL CEILI: McFadden Academy of Irish Dance and the Young Tradition Vermont Fiddleheads team up for a lively show. Burlington City Hall Auditorium, 1-3 p.m. Free; donations accepted. Info, 363-6330.

fairs & festivals

MAPLE FESTIVAL: From sap to syrup, Vermont’s liquid gold steals the show at this annual family-friendly fête. Middletown Springs Historical Society, 1-4 p.m. Free. Info, 235-2561.

film

See what’s playing at local theaters in the On Screen section.

‘FUNGI: THE WEB OF LIFE 3D’: See WED.13.

‘GREAT WHITE SHARK 3D’: See WED.13.

GREEN MOUNTAIN FILM

FESTIVAL: See WED.13, 11:30 a.m.-9 p.m.

‘OCCUPIED CITY: See SAT.16.

‘OCEANS: OUR BLUE PLANET 3D’: See WED.13.

‘TINY GIANTS 3D’: See WED.13.

food & drink

WINOOSKI WINTER FARMERS

MARKET: Families shop for meat pies, honey, kimchi, bread and prepared foods from more local vendors at an indoor

FAMI LY FU N

SUN.17 « P.59

chittenden county

‘ELLIE’: See THU.14, 2-3:30 p.m.

barre/montpelier

‘AUDIENCE CHOICE: AN INTERACTIVE

MUSICAL ADVENTURE’: Concertgoers of all ages choose their favorite works in this invigorating show featuring the Green Mountain Youth Symphony. Barre Opera House, 2 p.m. $5-25. Info, 476-8188.

SQUARE DANCE: Families sashay in squares, circles and lines to tunes by a live fiddle band. Capital City Grange, Berlin, 3-5 p.m. $5-30 suggested donation. Info, 410-487-1215.

MON.18

burlington

marketplace. O’Brien Community Center, Winooski, 10 a.m.-2 p.m. Free. Info, farmersmarket@ downtownwinooski.org.

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.

PRESCHOOL STORY TIME: Bookworms ages 2 through 5 enjoy fun-filled reading time. Fletcher Free Library, Burlington, 11-11:30 a.m. Free. Info, 863-3403.

chittenden county

SOLAR ECLIPSE EXPLAINED BY VAS: Vermont Astronomical Society experts explain solar science and eclipse safety through a presentation and crafts. Ages 7 and up. Brownell Library, Essex Junction, 5:30-6:30 p.m. Free. Info, 878-6956.

upper valley

STORY TIME WITH BETH: A bookseller and librarian extraordinaire reads two picture books on a different theme each week. Norwich Bookstore, 10 a.m. Free. Info, 649-1114.

Harp On

In 2003, actor Ethan Bowen and author and musician Stephen Kiernan performed the two-man show O’Carolan’s Farewell to Music for Vermont Stage. Twenty-one years later, the pair revive this touching tale with Middlebury Acting Company on St. Patrick’s Day weekend. Bowen plays poet Charles MacCabe, who tells the tender story of his lifelong friend Turlough O’Carolan, the legendary blind harpist who achieved great fame as a traveling bard in 18th-century Ireland. Set to Kiernan’s performance of O’Carolan’s own compositions, this singular play presents the story of a remarkable life and a challenging time in Irish history.

‘O’CAROLAN’S FAREWELL TO MUSIC’

Friday, March 15, and Saturday, March 16, 7:30 p.m.; and Sunday, March 17, 2 p.m., at Town Hall Theater in Middlebury. $20-42. Info, 382-9222, townhalltheater.org.

holidays

‘O’CAROLAN’S FAREWELL TO MUSIC’: See FRI.15, 2 p.m.

S.D. IRELAND ST. PATRICK’S DAY PARADE: Decked-out cement mixers roll through Williston, Winooski and Burlington to raise funds for cancer research. S.D. Ireland, Williston, noon. Free. Info, 863-6222.

ST. PADDY’S DAY BRUNCH: Chef Charlotte serves up a gourmet Gaelic feast of Guinness stew, baked beans and cocktails. Highland Center for the Arts, Greensboro, 11 a.m.-2 p.m. $6-20. Info, 533-2000.

ST. PATRICK’S DAY CELEBRATION SING-ALONG WITH FATHER MATTHEW RENSCH: Music and a joyful Irish potluck benefit the Roman Catholic communities of Moretown, Waterbury and Waitsfield. St. Leo’s Hall, Waterbury, 3-5 p.m. $10. Info, 244-7734.

TUE.19

burlington

DIY SUNCATCHERS: A twinkly stained glass craft for ages 11 through 18 marks the spring equinox. Fletcher Free Library, Burlington, 4-5 p.m. Free. Info, 863-3403.

SING-ALONG WITH LINDA BASSICK: Babies, toddlers and preschoolers sing, dance and wiggle along with Linda. Fletcher Free Library, Burlington, 1111:30 a.m. Free. Info, 863-3403.

chittenden county

FREE PLAY ART: Creative kids make paintings to take home. Ages 8 and up, or 6 and up with and adult helper. ADA accessible. South Burlington Public Library & City Hall, 3-4:30 p.m. Free. Info, 846-4140.

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: Miss Alexa delights infants and toddlers ages 1 to 3 and

genre has to offer. The Flynn, Burlington, 8 p.m. $52.50-84. Info, 863-5966.

NORTHERN RESONANCE: A Scandinavian string trio conjures breathtaking soundscapes on the viola, fiddle and nyckelharpa. Richmond Congregational Church, 4-6 p.m. $17.50-25. Info, 434-4563.

‘OURSELF, BEHIND OURSELF

CONCEALED’: Classical music collides with the blues in this collaboration between clarinetist Tasha Warren, cellist Dave Eggar, singer Martha Redbone and guitarist Phil Faconti. Live stream available. Next Stage Arts Project, Putney, 7 p.m. $10-25. Info, 387-0102.

outdoors

24 HOURS OF STRATTON & #SHRED4NATE: See SAT.16.

sports

music

HINESBURG ARTIST SERIES

SPRING CONCERT: Conductor Rufus Patrick leads the South County Chorus and Hinesburg Artist Series Orchestra in a varied program featuring guest vocalists Cristina Escobedo and Cameron Brownell. St. Jude Catholic Church, Hinesburg, 2-3:30 & 4:306 p.m. $25; free for kids under 12. Info, 777-5040.

LENA JONNSON: The fiddler and her trio blend traditional Swedish folk music with rock star sensibilities. Chandler Center for the Arts, Randolph, 2 p.m. $10-45; free for kids under 12. Info, 728-9878.

MYRA FLYNN: The award-winning new-soul singer croons the night away. Plainfield Town Hall Opera House, 4 p.m. $20 suggested donation. Info, 454-1286.

NICKEL CREEK: Mandolinist Chris Thile, violinist Sara Watkins and guitarist Sean Watkins offer up some of the best bluegrass the

their adult caregivers with interactive stories, songs, rhymes and more. South Burlington Public Library & City Hall, 10:30-11 a.m. Free. Info, 846-4140.

barre/montpelier

HOMESCHOOL FAMILY MEET-UP: Kids who learn at home and their caregivers bond over crafts and games. KelloggHubbard Library, Montpelier, noon-2 p.m. Free. Info, info@kellogghubbard. org.

WED.20

burlington

FAM JAM: Vermont Folklife hosts a tuneful get-together for musicians of all ages and skill levels. BYO instruments. Fletcher Free Library, Burlington, 6:30-7 p.m. Free. Info, ytv@vtfolklife.org.

STEAM SPACE: See WED.13.

TEEN CRAFTERNOON: See WED.13.

TODDLER TIME: See WED.13.

chittenden county

BABYTIME: See WED.13.

PLAY TIME: See WED.13.

VERTICAL CHALLENGE: See SAT.16. Bromley Mountain, Peru. tech

BASICS FOR BEGINNERS: INTERNET BASICS: Locals discover how to search for websites, bookmark pages and shop online safely. Fletcher Free Library, Burlington, noon-1:30 p.m. Free. Info, 863-3403.

theater

‘IMMACULATE DECEPTION/AND THEN THERE WERE NUN’: See THU.14, 2-4 p.m.

‘THE PLAY THAT GOES WRONG’: See WED.13, 5 p.m.

‘POET’S CHOICE’: See FRI.15, 2 p.m.

words

FRIENDS BOOK SALE: See SAT.16, noon-5 p.m.

SUN.17 » P.64

READ TO A DOG!: Kids of all ages sign up for a 10-minute time slot to tell stories to Emma the therapy pup. South Burlington Public Library & City Hall, 3:30-4:30 p.m. Free; preregister; limited space. Info, 846-4140.

TINKER TIME: COLORING FUN: Crafty kids decorate bookmarks with watercolors, markers or pencils. Brownell Library, Essex Junction, 2:30-4 p.m. Free. Info, 878-6956.

barre/montpelier

FARMERS NIGHT: APPLIED CARTOONING: Cartoon character costumes are encouraged at this family-friendly presentation on educational comics from the Center for Cartoon Studies. House Chamber, Vermont Statehouse, Montpelier, 7:30 p.m. Free. Info, 828-0749.

mad river valley/ waterbury

TEEN HANGOUT: Middle and high schoolers make friends at a no-pressure meetup. Waterbury Public Library, 3-6 p.m. Free. Info, 244-7036. K

Stephen Kiernan and Ethan Bowen

Eggstatic! (for Kids!)

WED., MAR. 13

BIRDS OF VERMONT MUSEUM, HUNTINGTON

Bleu x Vermont Fresh Network Dinner

THU., MAR. 14

BLEU NORTHEAST KITCHEN, BURLINGTON

New Orleans Community Dinner

THU., MAR. 14

STOWE STREET CAFÉ, WATERBURY

SOLD OUT

Cacio e Pepe & Amaretti Cookies Featuring Cooking With Stephanie

FRI., MAR. 15

RED POPPY CAKERY, WATERBURY

Tracy Grammer

FRI., MAR. 15

ROOTS & WINGS COFFEEHOUSE AT UUCUV, NORWICH

Songs for the River and the Moon

FRI., MAR. 15

CITY HALL AUDITORIUM ARTS CENTER, MONTPELIER

Edna Residency

FRI., MAR. 15

THE PHOENIX, WATERBURY

Prydein

FRI., MAR. 15

OPERA HOUSE AT ENOSBURG FALLS

Non-Alcoholic Pop-Up Bottle Shop & Tasting

SAT., MAR. 16

GUINEP, SOUTH BURLINGTON

Traditional Chinese Games Social

SAT., MAR. 16

MORE DATES

FAITH UNITED METHODIST CHURCH, SOUTH BURLINGTON

Ethiopian and Eritrean Cuisine Takeout Dinner

SAT., MAR. 16

O.N.E. COMMUNITY CENTER, BURLINGTON

Songs for the River and the Moon

SAT., MAR. 16

CITY HALL AUDITORIUM ARTS CENTER, MONTPELIER

Jazz Trio in Residence

With Special Guest Andrew Loose

SAT., MAR. 16

THE PHOENIX, WATERBURY

Deadline for Submissions to the Power of Perspective

MON., MAR. 18 ONLINE

Mondays Are Scary!

Hosted by Maddie Cross

MON., MAR. 18

THE PHOENIX, WATERBURY

Mandarin Conversation Circle

TUE., MAR. 19

SOUTH BURLINGTON LIBRARY

e Basics of Wine Tasting

TUE., MAR. 19

STANDING STONE WINES, WINOOSKI

Facing Change: Life’s Transitions and Transformations

WED., MAR. 20 ONLINE

e Dilemma of Retirement Income

WED., MAR. 20

SOUTH BURLINGTON LIBRARY

Eco-resiliency Gathering: Creative Tension

WED., MAR. 20 ONLINE

calendar

film

‘OUR SONGS REMEMBER’:

Library, 6:30-7:15 p.m. Free. Info, 244-7036.

See what’s playing at local theaters in the On Screen section.

Father and son storytellers Joseph and Jesse Bruchac dig down into the roots of Abenaki musical and oral traditions in this combination lecture and performance. Presented by Ethan Allen Homestead. 2-3 p.m. Free; preregister; limited space. Info, 865-4556.

language

MANDARIN CONVERSATION

‘FUNGI: THE WEB OF LIFE 3D’: See WED.13.

‘GREAT WHITE SHARK 3D’: See WED.13.

‘OCEANS: OUR BLUE PLANET 3D’: See WED.13.

‘TINY GIANTS 3D’: See WED.13.

CIRCLE: Volunteers from Vermont Chinese School help students learn or improve their fluency. ADA accessible. South Burlington Public Library & City Hall, 11 a.m.-noon. Free. Info, 846-4140.

PAUSE-CAFÉ FRENCH

games

‘WE ARE ALL IN THIS TOGETHER’: Poems by Rajnii Eddins and chamber works composed by Erik Nielsen celebrate Black American culture. South Church Hall, St. Johnsbury, 2 p.m. Free. Info, 748-2600.

MON.18

2024 solar eclipse

HYMNS TO THE SUN: Greensboro singer and folklorist Maria Schumann leads a volunteer choir in ancient Lithuanian song and dance, in preparation for an eclipse performance on April 8. Highland Center for the Arts, Greensboro, 6-7:30 p.m. Free; donations accepted. Info, 533-2000.

agriculture

WORKSHOP: STARTING SEEDS

WITH EASE: Laura Oliver of the Jericho Seed Library explains how to cultivate strong seedlings for the garden. Seed swap follows. Community Center in Jericho, 6-7:30 p.m. Free; preregister. Info, ttjericho.vt@ gmail.com.

dance

WEST AFRICAN DANCE AND DRUM CLASS: Participants learn songs, rhythms and moves from across the African diaspora. Ages 13 and up. Wilson Hall, McCullough Student Center, Middlebury College, 5-6:30 p.m. Free. Info, 443-3168.

MONDAY NIGHT GAMES: Discounted wine by the glass fuels an evening of friendly competition featuring new and classic board games, card games, and cribbage. Shelburne Vineyard, 4-7 p.m. Free. Info, 985-8222.

theater

PLAYMAKERS: Playwrights develop new work in a collaborative setting. Off Center for the Dramatic Arts, Burlington, 7 p.m. Free. Info, theoffcenter@gmail. com.

TUE.19 community

CURRENT EVENTS

DISCUSSION GROUP: Brownell Library holds 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 convene at Vermont Swings’ weekly boogie-down. Bring clean shoes. North Star Community Hall, Burlington, beginner lessons, 6:30 p.m.; dance, 7:30-9 p.m. $5. Info, 864-8382.

film

See what’s playing at local theaters in the On Screen section.

CONVERSATION: Francophones and French-language learners meet pour parler la belle langue Fletcher Free Library, Burlington, 5-6:30 p.m. Free. Info, 343-5493.

sports

ROWLY BRUCKEN: A Norwich University professor gives an address titled “Double-Talk on Doubleday: How a Dead Civil War General Invented Baseball Without His Permission.” Fairlee Town Hall Auditorium, 7-9 p.m. Free. Info, contact@fairleearts. org.

talks

PAWEŁ MACHCEWICZ: A Polish historian gives a lecture titled “The Museum of the Second World War in Gdańsk: At the Crossroads of History, Memory and Politics.” Memorial Lounge, Waterman Building, University of Vermont, Burlington, 7:30-9 p.m. Free. Info, 656-3180.

words

BURLINGTON LITERATURE

GROUP: TONI MORRISON: Readers analyze two novels, Song of Solomon and Jazz, over seven weeks. 6:30-8 p.m. Free; preregister. Info, info@nereadersandwriters.com.

AN EVENING WITH FOUR WAY BOOKS: A quartet of acclaimed writers across genres virtually discuss their work. Presented by Norwich Bookstore. 7 p.m. Free; preregister. Info, 649-1114.

MY VERMONT EYES: ‘MY

COLOR CORRECTION WITH

DAVINCI RESOLVE: Aspiring editors learn how to use lighting and color adjustments to make their footage pop. The Media Factory, Burlington, 1-3 p.m. Free; donations accepted; preregister. Info, 651-9692.

‘FUNGI: THE WEB OF LIFE 3D’: See WED.13.

VERMONT EXPERIENCES’: Resident artist Jolivette Anderson-Douoning leads a workshop on effective, emotional storytelling. ADA accessible. South Burlington Public Library & City Hall, 6-7:30 p.m. Free. Info, 846-4140.

‘GREAT WHITE SHARK 3D’: See WED.13.

‘OCEANS: OUR BLUE PLANET

3D’: See WED.13.

‘TINY GIANTS 3D’: See WED.13.

food & drink

WINE & STORY: Lovers of libations and tellers of tales gather for an evening of good company. Shelburne Vineyard, 7:30 p.m. $5. Info, 863-1754.

WED.20

business

THE BASICS OF WINE TASTING: Aspiring sommeliers learn how to identify their favorite flavors. Standing Stone Wines, Winooski, 6:30-9 p.m. $45. Info, 540-7160.

health & fitness

QUEEN CITY BUSINESS

NETWORKING INTERNATIONAL

GROUP: See WED.13.

crafts

CELEBRATE SPRING

MEDITATION: Locals celebrate the spring equinox with a guided meditation set to harp music. Waterbury Public

YARN CRAFTERS GROUP: See WED.13.

film

See what’s playing at local theaters in the On Screen section.

ARCHITECTURE + DESIGN

FILM SERIES: ‘NEW ENGLAND

MODERNISM: REVOLUTIONARY

ARCHITECTURE IN THE 20TH

CENTURY’: Vermont state architectural historian Devin Colman introduces this documentary about the influential figures of a provocative design movement. Live stream available. Burlington City Hall Auditorium, 6-8 p.m. Free. Info, 865-7166.

‘FUNGI: THE WEB OF LIFE 3D’: See WED.13.

‘GREAT WHITE SHARK 3D’: See WED.13.

‘LA FORZA DEL DESTINO’: The Metropolitan Opera’s first staging

of Verdi’s epic drama in nearly 30 years broadcasts live. Star Theatre of St. Johnsbury, 11 a.m. $16-25. Info, 748-2600.

‘OCEANS: OUR BLUE PLANET 3D’: See WED.13.

‘TINY GIANTS 3D’: See WED.13.

food & drink

WHAT’S THAT WINE WEDNESDAYS: See WED.13.

games

PUZZLE SWAP: Participants bring completed puzzles in a ziplock bag with an image of the puzzle and swap for a new one. South Burlington Public Library & City Hall, 2:30-5 p.m. Free. Info, 846-4140.

health & fitness

CHAIR YOGA: See WED.13.

language

BEGINNER IRISH LANGUAGE

CLASS: See WED.13.

ELL CLASSES: ENGLISH FOR BEGINNERS & INTERMEDIATE

STUDENTS: See WED.13.

INTERMEDIATE IRISH LANGUAGE

CONVERSATION AND MUSIC: See WED.13.

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.

music

NXT CURATOR SERIES: CHRISTOPHER SILVER: A scholar of Jewish history uncovers the musical connections between North African Jews and Muslims via his one-of-a-kind collection of early 20th century records. Next Stage Arts Project, Putney, 7 p.m. Free; donations accepted. Info, 387-0102.

seminars

ECOGATHERINGS: See WED.13.

sports

GREEN MOUNTAIN TABLE

TENNIS CLUB: See WED.13.

SMUGGS 55+ SKI CLUB: See WED.13.

talks

RICK WINSTON: The author of Red Scare in the Green Mountains: Vermont in the McCarthy Era digs into how this state handled the anti-communist hysteria of the 1950s. Dorothy Alling Memorial Library, Williston, 6-7:30 p.m. Free. Info, 878-4918.

TURKEY TALES: STORIES FROM THE FIELD — A LISTENING

PARTY: See FRI.16. Burlington Beer.

theater

‘BREAKFALLS’: Vermont Stage premieres local playwright Gina Stevensen’s play about the romance, friendship and conflict that blooms in a Burlington dojo. Main Street Landing Performing Arts Center, Burlington, 7:30 p.m. $24-64. Info, 862-1497.

‘THE PLAY THAT GOES WRONG’: See WED.13.

words

REBECCA SERLE: The best-selling author discusses her newest novel, Expiration Dates, with prolific blockbuster penner Jodi Picoult. Ticket includes a book. Norwich Congregational Church, 7 p.m. $32; preregister. Info, 649-1114.

TRISH O’KANE: An author and accidental ornithologist shares her new memoir, Birding to Change the World. Pierson Library, Shelburne, 6:30-7:30 p.m. Free. Info, 985-5124. ➆

Fur-ever

Seven Days Pet Memorials

Do you want to memorialize your pet in the pages of Seven Days? Visit sevendaysvt.com/petmemorials to submit your remembrance.

All sizes include a photo and your tribute. Short $30, Medium $50, Long $95

Print deadline: ursdays at 5 p.m.

Questions? petmemorials@sevendaysvt.com

Milo • 2008-2024

He Loved a Good Chin Rub!

Milo: You weren’t just a cat to us. You were our family, our protector and our best friend. You were and always will be the best cat ever! We miss you and love you. ’Til we meet again on the other side.

— Love Dad, Mom and Robbie

SPONSORED BY

Paws at Home

Mobile Veterinary Hospice & End of Life Care

classes

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.

astrology

YOUR ASTROLOGICAL MOON: Mother, Moods and Mystery: In this in-person three-part series, explore your natal moon to gain deeper understanding of your emotional development, needs, triggers, instincts and more. e ancient wisdom tradition of astrology offers fresh insights into your patterns, helping you develop self-acceptance and practical tools for better well-being. Wed., Mar. 20 & 27, & Apr. 3, 5:30-7 p.m. Cost: $75 for 3 classes, 1.5 hours each. Location: e Wellness Collective, 875 Roosevelt Hwy., Ste. 120, Colchester. Info: Jennie Date, 802-578-3735, hidden pathastrology@gmail.com, hiddenpathastrology.com.

beverages

THE BASICS OF WINE TASTING: Learn how to taste wine, know what you like and what to buy in an easy-to-understand way. Tue., Mar. 19, 6:30-9 p.m. Cost: $45.

Location: Standing Stone Wines, 33 Main St., Winooski. Info: 802540-7160, lilsickles@icloud.com, sevendaystickets.com.

culinary

Community Park, 250 Library La., Williston. Info: Kasie Enman, 802-238-0820, firststrides vermont@gmail.com, first stridesvermont.com.

language

ALLIANCE FRANÇAISE SPRING

CLASSES: Join us for online and in-person adult French classes this spring. Our 11-week session offers classes for participants at all levels. Please visit our website to read about all of our offerings or contact Micheline by email for more information. 11-week classes begin Mar. 18, online or in person. Location: Alliance Française, 43 King St., Burlington. Info: Micheline, education@aflcr.org, aflcr.org.

ADULT LIVE SPANISH

E-CLASSES: Join us for adult Spanish classes this spring, using Zoom online video conferencing. is is our 18th year! Learn from a native speaker via small group classes or individual instruction. You’ll always be participating and speaking. Classes from beginning to advanced. Note: Classes fill up fast. See our website or contact us for details. Group classes begin week of Apr. 1; private instruction avail. anytime. Location: Online. Info: 802-585-1025, spanishparavos@ gmail.com, spanishwaterbury center.com.

MANDARIN CONVERSATION

Share the story of your special friend.

TO SUBMIT A PET MEMORIAL, please visit sevendaysvt.com/petmemorials or scan the QR code.

Your beloved pet was a part of the family. Explain how and why in a Seven Days pet memorial. Share your animal’s photo and a written remembrance in the Fur-ever Loved section of the newspaper and online. It’s an affordable way to acknowledge and celebrate the nonhuman companions in our lives.

AUTHENTIC TACOS IN AN INSTANT!: anks to the Instant Pot, you can enjoy authentic Mexican tacos in an instant! You’ll learn to cook three types of tacos, plus guacamole from scratch. Students will master the Instant Pot, hone their knife skills, get hands-on instruction and connect with classmates over great food. Wed., Mar. 13, 6-8:30 p.m. Cost: $45 for 2.5-hour class, incl. dinner. Location: Access CVU, 369 CVU Rd., Hinesburg. Info: Gather Round Chef Service + Access CVU, Ariel Voorhees, 802-482-7194, ariel@gatherroundchef.com, cvsdvt.ce.eleyo.com.

EASTER SUGAR COOKIE

DECORATING: is class is the perfect introduction to decorating cookies with royal icing! You will learn the basics of cookie decorating, including obtaining the correct icing consistency and outlining and flooding cookies. Decorate and take home four cookies and a goodie bag of recipes and treats. Please disclose all allergies when you register. Sun., Mar. 24, 2-4 p.m. Cost: $65. Location: Red Poppy Cakery, Waterbury Village Historic District. Info: 203-400-0700, sevendaystickets.com.

FOCACCIA ART WORKSHOP: Join our workshop to craft focaccia bread art with diverse toppings. Kids need adult supervision. Tickets accommodate extra attendees without kits. e recipe suits vegan/vegetarian diets but contains gluten. Alert us to allergies during registration; note, our facility isn’t allergen-free. Take home your 8-inch masterpiece and the recipe! u., Apr. 25, 6-7:30 p.m. Location: Red Poppy Cakery, Waterbury Village Historic District. Info: 203-4000700, sevendaystickets.com.

fitness

FIRST STRIDES VERMONT:

Women beginning or returning to running and/or walking are invited to join us in this 12-week program based on mentoring, peer support and lifestyle habits. Every Wed. starting May 1, 5:45 p.m. Cost: $45/12-week program. Location: Williston Village

CIRCLE: Join the New Mandarin Conversation Circle meeting every first and third Tue. of each month in the Community Room at the South Burlington Public Library. Join volunteers from the Vermont Chinese School to learn and improve your Mandarin and make new friends. 1st and 3rd Tue. of each month, 11 a.m.-noon. Location: South Burlington Library, 180 Market St., South Burlington. Info: 802-307-6332, sevendaystickets.com.

meditation

TRUST IN SELF AND OTHER: Join the workshop/retreat “Trust in the Other, Within and Without: Buddhism, Psychotherapy, and the Path of Compassion and Ease” with Polly Young Eisendrath and Mark Unno, PhD. Apr. 4, 5 & 6. Cost: $200/2.5 days. Location: Burlington Friends Meeting, 173 N. Prospect St., Burlington. Info: Jeanne Plo, 802-233-6377, jeanne.plo@gmail.com.

Joanie

AGE/SEX: 7-year-old spayed female

ARRIVAL DATE: February 7, 2024

SUMMARY: This social sweetheart appreciates the important things in life: treats, sun-drenched naps and lots of snuggles. Like most cats, she has her preferences and limits but is good about communicating them! Joanie is a vocal friend who loves to chat with her people, and her previous owner said she would even respond to some commands! If Joanie sounds like your kind of cat, visit her at HSCC to meet her and see if she could be your new best friend.

DOGS/CATS/KIDS: Joanie is looking for a home where she can be the only pet. She may do well with older children who can respect her space.

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?

Kittens and puppies are great, but there’s nothing like the love of an older pet. One of the many perks of having a senior pet is that they don’t need as much training or entertainment as their younger counterparts. Consider opening your heart to a senior pet like Joanie!

Sponsored by:

CLASSIFIEDS

housing FOR RENT

ROOMY 3-BR & 1-BR

AVAIL. NOW

Roomy 3-BR, now

$2,200/mo. Redone 1-BR

avail. now, $1,000/mo. Refs. req., no pets. Call Joe’s cell: 802-318-8916.

2-BR APT. IN WATERBURY

Located within walking distance of the park & views of the Worcester Range. Laundry on-site. 1st, last & sec. dep. req. 1-year lease. NS. Email riosnkaren@comcast. net.

HOUSEMATES

BEAUTIFUL HOME IN

CALAIS

Share a large, beautifully handcrafted home in Calais w/ a couple seeking help w/ housecleaning, fi rewood stacking,

gardening & cat sitting. $450/mo. Call 802863-5625 or visit homesharevermont. org for application. Interview, refs. & background checks req. EHO.

HOMESHARE CLOSE TO I-89

Active retired couple in Richmond who enjoy travel & the outdoors are seeking a responsible housemate to help w/ occasional house projects. Beautiful location, 10 min. to I-89. A dog would be considered! Call 802-863-5625 or visit homesharevermont. org for application. Interview, refs. & background checks req. EHO.

OFFICE/ COMMERCIAL

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.

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

HOME/GARDEN

AGING ROOF? NEW HOMEOWNER? STORM DAMAGE?

SUBLETS/ TEMPORARY

SUBLET IN BURLINGTON

Need to sublet a BR in a 4-BR apt. in Burlington, Mar. 1-May 25.

Roommates are 2 girls & 1 guy, all in their 20s. $1,085 + gas, electricity & internet. Walking distance to downtown!

Open to discount on the monthly rent or doing a portion of the time frame. Call or text Anna at 802-558-2716.

ser vices

AUTO

2012 CHAPARRAL BOWRIDER

Model 204 Xtreme, 20.6 foot, w/ 5.7L Mercruiser Bravo III 260 HP I/O engine. Beautiful red & white coloring & upholstery. Email jscully555@aol.com.

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

DONATE YOUR CAR TO CHARITY

Running or not! Fast, free pickup. Maximum tax deduction. Support Patriotic Hearts. Your car donation helps veterans! 1-866-5599123. (AAN CAN)

FINANCIAL/LEGAL

DISABILITY BENEFITS

You may qualify for disability benefi ts if you are between 52-63 years old & under a doctor’s care for a health condition that prevents you from working for a year or more. Call now!

1-877-247-6750. (AAN CAN)

FREE AUTO INSURANCE QUOTES

For uninsured & insured drivers. Let us show you how much you can save! Call 855-569-1909. (AAN CAN)

HEALTH/ WELLNESS

PSYCHIC COUNSELING

Psychic counseling, channeling w/ Bernice Kelman, Underhill. 40+ years’ experience. Also energy healing, chakra balancing, Reiki, rebirthing, other lives, classes & more. Info, 802-899-3542, kelman.b@juno.com.

You need a local expert provider that proudly stands behind its work. Fast, free estimate. Financing avail. Call 1-888-292-8225. Have the zip code of the property ready when calling! (AAN CAN)

BATH & SHOWER UPDATES

In as little as 1 day! Affordable prices. No payments for 18 mo. 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)

NEED NEW WINDOWS?

Drafty rooms? Chipped or damaged frames? Need outside noise reduction? New, energyeffi cient windows may be the answer! Call for a consultation & free quote today. 1-877248-9944. You will be asked for the zip code of the property when connecting. (AAN CAN)

WATER DAMAGE CLEANUP & RESTORATION

A small amount of water can lead to major damage & mold growth in your home. Our trusted professionals do complete repairs to protect your family & your home’s value! Call 24-7: 1-888-290-2264. Have zip code of service location ready when you call! (AAN CAN)

print deadline: Mondays at 3:30 p.m. post ads online 24/7 at: sevendaysvt.com/classifieds questions? classifieds@sevendaysvt.com 865-1020 x115

buy this stuff

MISCELLANEOUS

DIRECTV SATELLITE TV Service starting at $74.99/mo.! Free install. 160+ channels avail. Call now to get the most sports & entertainment on TV. 877-310-2472. (AAN CAN)

PETS

FRENCH BULLDOG PUP Beautiful 4-mo.-old black & tan male pup. Sweet & energetic. $1,200. Call 802-454-8091 or email midheaven@charter. net.

RAGDOLL KITTENS FOR SALE Kittens for sale from Lachute Ragdolls, located in upstate New York. Visit lachuteragdolls. com, email lachuterag dolls@gmail.com or call 518-586-1212.

SNORKIE PUPS Miniature schnauzer/ Yorkshire terrier cross in East Hardwick. 7-13 pounds full grown. Non-shedding, hypoallergenic. 1st shots, health guarantee. Ready to go on Mar. 20. $775. Call 802-595-5345.

GERMAN SHEPHERD PUPPIES 12-week-old AKC East German shepherd puppies for sale. 2 bicolor males, 1 sable male. Sweet & calm temperament, excellent dogs. Call or text for more information, 802-373-1636.

Legal Notices

e

2024, starting at

District’s Performing Arts Center, located at

Normand Street, Winooski, VT and virtually via Zoom Webinar:

us06web.zoom.us/j/82371375856

To dial in by phone, please call +1-646-558-8656

Type in the Webinar ID: 823 7137 5856

When joining by phone, please press *9 to raise your hand to be called on and *6 when asked to unmute.

e City of Winooski is improving the roadway along the Main Street (U.S. 2/7) corridor, starting at the New England Central Railroad bridge near the intersection with Maple Street and extending to the Winooski-Colchester town line near the Winooski School District. e construction of the Winooski Main Street Revitalization project is anticipated to take place over three construction seasons starting this spring and continuing through summer 2026. e construction public meeting will include a presentation comprised of a project overview, construction schedule, anticipated traffi c impacts, and ways to stay informed throughout construction. Following the presentation, there will be an opportunity to ask questions of the project team and the contractor, Kubricky-Jointa Lime, LLC.

Requests for translation, interpretive, or other accommodation services, must be made by March 11, 2024, well in advance of the meeting for which services are requested. Please make requests to Annabelle Dally, Public Information Consultant at 802-595-4399 or info@winooskimainstreet.com.

*In the case of inclement weather, this meeting may be postponed to Tuesday, March 26, 2024, starting at 6:30 PM. Should a postponement occur, an announcement will be sent to the project stakeholder list and posted to the project website, winooskivt. gov/mainstreet.

A

on Monday, April 01, 2024 beginning at 6:00 p.m.

receive public comments on proposed amendments the City’s Municipal Code. e proposed changes will impact Chapter 5 – Business

864-7195,

WANT MORE PUZZLES?

Try these online news games from Seven Days at sevendaysvt.com/games.

NEW ON FRIDAYS:

Put your knowledge of Vermont news to the test.

CALCOKU

BY JOSH REYNOLDS

DIFFICULTY THIS WEEK: ★★

Fill the grid using the numbers 1-6, only once in each row and column. e numbers in each heavily outlined “cage” must combine to produce the target number in the top corner, using the mathematical operation indicated. A one-box cage should be filled in with the target number in the top corner. A number can be repeated within a cage as long as it is not the same row or column.

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.70

WELL-DEFINED

ANSWERS ON P. 70 »

CHALLENGING

= HOO, BOY!

See how fast you can solve this weekly 10-word puzzle.

NEW EVERY DAY:

Guess today’s 5-letter word. Hint: It’s in the news!

Legal Notices

[CONTINUED]

• Creation of a new Section 5.10 designating sidewalk space

• Additional permitting requirements included under Section 5.11

• Additional requirements for the issuance of a permit included under Section 5.11.02

• Creation of a new Section 5.12 for temporary use of sidewalk space

Full text of the proposed changes to Chapter 5 –Business Licenses, Permits and Regulations can be viewed at City Hall during normal business hours or on the City’s website at www.winooskivt.gov.

At the conclusion of the hearing, the City Council may take action to approve the proposed amendments, or hold additional hearings to solicit public comments.

Members of the public that are interested in participating in this hearing can do so by attending in person at Winooski City Hall, 27 West Allen Street, Winooski, VT; or electronically by visiting https://us06web.zoom.us/j/84364849328; or by calling (646) 558 8656 and using Webinar ID: 843 6484 9328. Toll charges may apply.

Members of the public interested in participating in the above captioned hearing are requested, but not required to make their intentions known by completing the public comment request form located on the City’s website at https://www. winooskivt.gov/FormCenter/Human-Resources6/ Public-Comment-Request-Form-61 at least 24 hours in advance to ensure this information is included in the record of the hearing.

Questions or comments on this matter can be directed to Eric Vorwald, AICP, City of Winooski Planning & Zoning Manager by calling 802.655.6410 or visiting Winooski City Hall at 27 West Allen Street during normal business hours.

CITY OF ESSEX JUNCTION

INVITATION TO BID

2024 RESURFACING PROJECTS

RECEIPT OF BIDS: Sealed bids on forms prepared by the Engineer will be received by the City of Essex Junction, at the offices of the City of Essex Junction, located at 2 Lincoln Street in Essex

Junction, Vermont, until 2:00 p.m. (local time) on April 11, 2024 for the 2024 Resurfacing Projects. The contract generally includes the following work items on West Hillcrest Road, Prospect Street, Cherry Street, Cherokee Avenue, Cree Avenue, Iroquois Avenue, and Abnaki Avenue:

1) Supply and Install approximately 1095 tons of Type IV Bituminous Concrete Pavement, Overlay

2) Cold Plane approximately 2290 sy of existing pavement up to 1-1/2” thick

3) Grinding approximately 520 sy of Existing Driveway Fillets up to 1-1/2” thick.

4) Adjust approximately 33 Structure Cover/Grate Elevations

5) Provide Traffic Control Packages

All work will be in accordance with Drawings, Specifications and other Contract Documents and information prepared by the City of Essex Junction, 2 Lincoln Street, Essex Junction, Vermont.

OBTAINING CONTRACT DOCUMENTS: Digital Drawings, Specifications, and other Contract Documents may be obtained by emailing Jeffrey P. Kershner, P.E., President, Donald L. Hamlin Consulting Engineers, Inc. at jkershner@dlhce. com. Prospective bidders will be added to the Plan Holder List and will be provided with access to a digital FTP site. All Drawings, Specifications, Contract Documents, Addendums, and other relevant project information will be available on the FTP site free of charge. It is the responsibility of the Prospective Bidder to review relevant project information located on the FTP site. Prospective Bidders must be on the Plan Holder List to be eligible to submit a bid.

BIDS WILL BE PUBLICLY OPENED AND READ AT 2:00 p.m. (local time) on April 11, 2024 in the City of Essex Junction conference room located at 2 Lincoln Street in Essex Junction, Vermont 05452.

BID GUARANTY: Each bid shall be accompanied by an acceptable form of Bid Guaranty in an amount equal to at least five percent (5%) of the amount of the Bid, payable to the City of Essex Junction, as a guaranty that if the Bid is accepted, the Bidder will execute the Contract and file acceptable Performance, Labor, and Material Payment Bonds within ten (10) days after the award of the Contract. Acceptable form for a Bid Guaranty is either a bid bond or certified check. No bidder may withdraw his bid within 30 days after the actual date of the opening thereof. The owner reserves

the right to waive any informalities and to reject any or all bids.

CONTRACT TIME: If awarded the Contract, the Contractor agrees to complete the work in its entirety, as shown on the Contract Plans. The anticipated contract start date for the project is July 1, 2024 and all work shall be completed on or before August 16, 2024. There are no exceptions to this schedule.

The City of Essex Junction is an equal-opportunity employer and is committed to equal opportunity in its contracting process. Auxiliary aids and services are available upon request to individuals with disabilities.

TOWN OF RICHMOND PUBLIC HEARING

The Richmond Selectboard shall hold a public hearing on Monday, April 1, 2024 at 7:00 p.m. to receive public comment on the proposed RICHMOND

CAPITAL PLAN FOR FY25.

This hearing may be attended in person at the Richmond Town Center at 203 Bridge St., by phone, or online via Zoom

Zoom Meeting: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/84611164424?pwd=O U1rZDY2UStLL2ZqV1Q0a0pKSUhJZz09

Meeting ID: 846 1116 4424

Passcode: 304382

Join by Phone: +1 929 205 6099

The public hearing is for the purpose of distributing information and receiving comments regarding the Draft 2025 Richmond Capital Plan. The document is available for your review at the Town Clerk’s Office or online at www.richmondvt.gov/ boards-meetings/selectboard

All interested persons may appear and be heard. Persons needing special accommodations or those interested in viewing the ordinance should contact the Richmond Town Manager’s Office (802) 434-5170.

ACT 250 NOTICE MINOR APPLICATION 4C0139-6

10 V.S.A. §§ 6001 - 6111

Application 4C0139-6 from Town of Colchester, Attn: Amanda Clayton, 781 Blakely Road, Colchester, VT 05446 and Colchester School District, P.O. Box 27, Colchester, VT 05446 was

received on February 23, 2024 and deemed complete on March 6, 2024. The project is generally described as the installation of a new traffic signal at the Blakely Road and Laker Lane intersection, including the conversion of the existing three-way intersection into a fourway intersection. The new traffic signal is replacing the existing flashing beacon at the intersection. The project is located at the intersection of Blakely Rd. and Laker Ln. in Colchester, Vermont. This application can be viewed online by visiting the Act 250 Database: (https://anrweb.vt.gov/ANR/Act250/Details. aspx?Num=4C0139-6).

No hearing will be held, and a permit will be issued unless, on or before March 29, 2024, a party notifies the District 4 Commission in writing of an issue requiring a hearing, or the Commission sets the matter for a hearing on its own motion. Any person as defined in 10 V.S.A. § 6085(c)(1) may request a hearing. Any hearing request must be in writing, must state the criteria or subcriteria at issue, why a hearing is required, and what additional evidence will be presented at the hearing. Any hearing request by an adjoining property owner or other person eligible for party status under 10 V.S.A. § 6085(c)(1)(E) must include a petition for party status under the Act 250 Rules. To request party status and a hearing, fill out the Party Status Petition Form on the Board’s website: https://nrb. vermont.gov/documents/party-status-petitionform, and email it to the District 4 Office at: NRB. Act250Essex@vermont.gov. Findings of Fact and Conclusions of Law may not be prepared unless the Commission holds a public hearing. For more information contact Kaitlin Hayes at the address or telephone number below.

Dated this March 7, 2024.

By: /s/ Kaitlin Hayes

Kaitlin Hayes

District Coordinator 111 West Street Essex Junction, VT 05452 (802) 622-4084

kaitlin.hayes@vermont.gov

ACT 250 NOTICE MINOR APPLICATION 4C0839-4B

10 V.S.A. §§ 6001 - 6111

Application 4C0839-4B from Myers Williams Rathe Road Lot 2B, LLC, Attn: Jeff Myers P.O. Box 38, Winooski, VT 05403 was received on February 28, 2024 and deemed complete on March 6, 2024. The project is generally described as construction of seven (7) new mini-storage buildings totaling 27,300 square feet with associated paved access and circulation roads. The site currently contains 75,400 square feet of mini-storage buildings. The project includes installation of a new fire hydrant at the new site entrance. The project is located at 295 Rathe Road in Colchester, Vermont. This application can be viewed online by visiting the Act 250 Database: (https://anrweb.vt.gov/ANR/Act250/ Details.aspx?Num=4C0839-4B).

No hearing will be held and a permit will be issued unless, on or before March 29, 2024, a party notifies the District 4 Commission in writing of an issue requiring a hearing, or the Commission sets the matter for a hearing on its own motion. Any person as defined in 10 V.S.A. § 6085(c)(1) may request a hearing. Any hearing request must be in writing, must state the criteria or subcriteria at issue, why a hearing is required, and what additional evidence will be presented at the hearing. Any hearing request by an adjoining property owner or other person eligible for party status under 10 V.S.A. § 6085(c)(1)(E) must include a petition for party status under the Act 250 Rules. To request party status and a hearing, fill out the Party Status Petition Form on the Board’s website: https://nrb. vermont.gov/documents/party-status-petitionform, and email it to the District 4 Office at: NRB. Act250Essex@vermont.gov. Findings of Fact and Conclusions of Law may not be prepared unless the Commission holds a public hearing. For more information contact Stephanie H. Monaghan at the address or telephone number below.

Dated this March 7, 2024.

By:

802-261-1944

stephanie.monaghan@vermont.gov

TOWN OF BOLTON DEVELOPMENT REVIEW BOARD

PUBLIC HEARING: MARCH 28, 2024

The Town of Bolton’s Development Review Board will hold a public hearing on March 28, 2024 at 6:30pm.

Place: Virtual or Municipal Conference Room, 3045 Theodore Roosevelt Highway, Bolton, VT, 05676.

Join Zoom Meeting

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/86322139060?pwd=N

UZ5d2RmYWVCWVlLWlpDZUdSaHBEZz09

Meeting ID: 863 2213 9060 Passcode: 011741

The following applications will be reviewed:

2024-01-DRB; Applicant & Property Owner: Lynn & Michael Lovejoy, 60 Beaver Brook Farm Rd., are seeking a conditional use review for the construction of an addition to an existing structure and the construction of a detached garage to replace an aging barn damaged in the flood event of July 2023. (Tax Map #14-4020300).

2024-02-DRB; Applicant & Property Owner: Amy Rubin, 1934 Notch Rd., is seeking a setback waiver for a non-conforming lot for the purposes of receiving an approved building envelope for a future dwelling unit. (Tax Map #5-0041934).

2024-03-DRB; Applicant & Property Owner: Richard Weston, 1925 Happy Hallow Rd., Seeking a conditional use review to approve a building envelope for a single family dwelling. (Tax Map #12-4101801).

Additional information can be obtained through email by calling 802-434-5075, or by email at zoningbolton@gmavt.net. Pursuant to 24 VSA § 4464 and § 4471, participation in this local proceeding, by written or oral comment, is a prerequisite to the right to take any subsequent appeal.

VERMONT SUPERIOR COURT PROBATE DIVISION LAMOILLE UNIT CASE NO. 24-PR-00709

154 Main Street Hyde Park, VT 05655 802-888-3887

www.vermontjudiciary.com

Notice of Hearing and Order for Publication Estate of Kathy Morrill

To All Interested Persons:

The following petition/motion, Petition to Open and Estate and Appoint Fiduciary, has been filed in the Probate Division of the Superior Court: January 30, 2024

A hearing on the petition/motion will be held at: 9:00AM on April 04, 2024, at the above-named Court.

If no one appears at the hearing to object, the

Show and tell. View and post up to 6 photos per ad online.

relief requested may be granted. If you wish to receive notice of future events in this proceeding, you must notify the Court by filing a Notice of Appearance form that can be found on the Vermont Judiciary website.

It is hereby ORDERED that the notice of hearing as set forth in the Order be published in SEVEN DAYS, a newspaper of general circulation in Lamoille County, Vermont.

Publication date: March 13, 2024

Electronically signed pursuant to V.R.E.F. 9(d)

3/6/2024 /s/ James R. Dean Mahoney Probate Judge

Any individual with a disability requiring assistance accessing the services, programs, and/or activities at the Courthouse should contact the Clerk’s office at the above address for further assistance.

IN ACCORDANCE WITH VT TITLE 9 COMMERCE AND TRADE CHAPTER 098: STORAGE UNITS 3905.

Enforcement of Lien, Champlain Valley Self Storage, LLC shall host an auction of the following units on or after 3/23/24:

Location: 2211 Main St. Colchester, VT

Contents: household goods

Sean Beaudoin: #618

Danielle Poole #845

Shayla Tessier: #522

Location: 78 Lincoln St. Essex Jct., VT

Contents: household goods

James Lafountain: #014

Tonika Jenkins: #026

Auction pre-registration is required, email info@ champlainvalleyselfstorage.com to register.

NORTHFIELD MUTUAL HOLDING COMPANY

NOTICE OF ANNUAL MEETING

The Annual Meeting of the Corporators of the Northfield Mutual Holding Company will be held on Tuesday, April 2, 2024 beginning at 6:15 p.m. at ECHO, Leahy Center for Lake Champlain, 1 College St, Burlington, VT. The matters to be considered include a review of corporate activities. Please call (802) 871-4492 for information.

NORTHSTAR SELF STORAGE WILL BE HAVING A PUBLIC AND ONLINE SALE/AUCTION FOR THE

FOLLOWING STORAGE UNITS ON MARCH 21, 2024, AT 9:00 AM

Northstar Self Storage will be having a public and online sale/auction on March 21, 2024 at 9am EST at 681 Rockingham Road, Rockingham, VT 05151 (Unit R81), 615 Route 7, Danby, VT 05739 (D36), 1124

Open 24/7/365.

Post & browse ads at your convenience.

Charlestown Road, Springfield, VT 05156 (Units S57, S64), 3446 Richville Rd, Manchester Center, VT 05255 (51) and online at www.storagetreasures. com at 9:00 am in accordance with VT Title 9

Commerce and Trade Chapter 098: Storage Units 3905. Enforcement of Lien

Unit # Name Contents

1 R81 Rebecca Richmond Household Goods

2 D36 Jessica Terry Household Goods

3 S57 Brittney Rowe Household Goods

4 S64 Shawn Aponte Household Goods

5 51 Floie Bright Household Goods

INVITATION TO BIDDERS

PROJECT: Post Apartments

176 South Winooski Avenue Burlington, VT

OWNERS: Post Apartments Housing Limited Partnership

100 Bank Street, Suite 400 Burlington, VT 05401

Champlain Housing Trust, Inc. 88 King Street Burlington, VT 05401

ARCHITECT: Duncan-Wisniewski Architecture

255 South Champlain Street Burlington, VT 05401

CONSTRUCTION MANAGER:

Wright & Morrissey, Inc.

99 Swift Street, Suite 100 South Burlington, VT 05403

Phone: 802-863-4541

Cell: 802-363-8474

Email: dyoung@wmorrissey.com

Fax: 802-865-1253

BID DUE: March 19th, 2024 @ 2:00 PM.

Wright & Morrissey, Inc. is seeking qualified subcontractor bids for all trades for the above reference project. Women and minority owned businesses, small locally owned businesses and Section 3 businesses are strongly encouraged to apply. Contract security in a form acceptable to the Construction Manager may be required. All potential bidders shall demonstrate the ability to provide such security.

Extra! Extra!

There’s no limit to ad length online.

Seeking a variance for north setback to add an ADA compliant WheelPad on lot with 3’ X 4’ connection to house.

3. ZAP-24-1; 230 Main Street (FD5, Ward 8)

Mid-Town Associates, Inc. / Ryan Nick Appeal of zoning violation notice regarding unpermitted parking lot use.

Plans may be viewed upon request by contacting the Department of Permitting & Inspections between the hours of 8:00 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. Participation in the DRB proceeding is a prerequisite to the right to take any subsequent appeal. Please note that ANYTHING submitted to the Zoning office is considered public and cannot be kept confidential. This may not be the final order in which items will be heard. Please view final Agenda, at www.burlingtonvt.gov/dpi/drb/agendas or the office notice board, one week before the hearing for the order in which items will be heard.

The City of Burlington will not tolerate unlawful harassment or discrimination on the basis of political or religious affiliation, race, color, national origin, place of birth, ancestry, age, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, marital status, veteran status, disability, HIV positive status, crime victim status or genetic information. The City is also committed to providing proper access to services, facilities, and employment opportunities. For accessibility information or alternative formats, please contact Human Resources Department at (802) 540-2505.

PUBLIC HEARING (IN-PERSON AND ELECTRONIC)

The State of Vermont’s Department of Housing and Community Development will be holding a public hearing to get input from Vermont residents before finalizing the state’s HUD Consolidated Plan Annual Action Plan (AAP) for 2024.

The hearing will be held on Wednesday, April 3, 2024, from 1:00 - 1:30 p.m. The in-person location will be in the Calvin Coolidge room at DHCD, 1 National Life Drive, Davis Building, 6th floor, Montpelier.

To participate electronically, go to: https://teams. microsoft.com/l/meetup-join/19%3ameeting_Mj Y1NWFlZGEtY2ExZi00N2Y4LTk5MzUtZDIzODI2 Y2U0ZjE5%40thread.v2/0?context=%7b%22Ti d%22%3a%2220b4933b-baad-433c-9c02-70ed cc7559c6%22%2c%22Oid%22%3a%22c7bef8 ee-5aed-420b-9d94-3ef05024d84f%22%7d

Meeting ID: 272 754 130 632

Passcode: tyyyc2

The draft Plan outlines priorities for the use of approximately $11 million in federal funds provided to the State for the Community Development Block Grant, HOME Investment Partnership Program, and Emergency Solutions Grant program, and $3 million awarded to the State from the National Housing Trust Fund to develop housing that is affordable to extremely low- and very low- income households. The Plan also serves as Vermont’s application to HUD for these funds.

This project is subject to all requirements of the City of Burlington, MBE/WBE/Section 3, Burlington Livable Wage, Davis Bacon, Certified Payroll/ WACTO/Section 3 Monthly Reporting, CDBG/ HOME/HTF/VCDP/VHCB Grant funding, WACTO, Certification for Contracts, Grants, Loans & Cooperative Agreements, Certification Regarding Debarment, Suspension, Ineligibility and Voluntary Exclusion, and Certification of Lobbying Activities. This project involves the new construction of a 38unit, 4 story multi-family housing building built on a podium slab with commercial spaces underneath, a partial below grade storage/mechanical space and associated site work. Contact Wright & Morrissey, Inc. for bid packages. Any bidding subcontractor without a prior working history with Wright & Morrissey, Inc. is asked to submit an AIA-305 Contractors Qualification Statement or equivalent references sufficient to indicate the bidding subcontractor is qualified to perform the work being bid.

BURLINGTON DEVELOPMENT REVIEW BOARD

TUESDAY, APRIL 2, 2024, 5:00 PM

PUBLIC HEARING NOTICE

Hybrid & In Person (at 645 Pine Street) Meeting

HUD’s goals for the Plan are to provide decent affordable housing, assure a suitable living environment, and expand economic opportunity for Vermont’s citizens. The Department, along with the Consolidated Plan Advisory Board, and the other State agencies and partners that receive HUD funding under the Plan, developed the draft based on input received about the state’s housing, homelessness, public facility and service, and non-housing community development needs, as well as ideas for grant activities the State should consider funding for the next year.

Zoom: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/83225696227p wd=SGQ0bTdnS000Wkc3c2J4WWw1dzMxUT09

Webinar ID: 832 2569 6227

Passcode: 969186

Telephone: US +1 929 205 6099 or +1 301 715 8592 or +1 312 626 6799 or +1 669 900 6833 or +1 253 215 8782 or +1 346 248 7799

1. ZP-24-23; 23 Catherine Street (RL, Ward 5) David Barron / Erica Houskeeper / Dixie O’Connor Conditional use to demolish existing garage to construct a new habitable building in the same footprint.

2. ZP-24-58; 140 North Prospect Street (RL, Ward 1) Marian E. Price 2005 Rev. Trust / Marian E. Price / Patrick Weise

Accommodations for persons with disabilities and interpreters to meet the needs of non-English speaking persons will be made available upon request. Requests for accommodations should be directed to Arthur Hamlin at (802) 828-3749 or emailed to arthur.hamlin@vermont.gov by March 28, 2024. For the hearing impaired please call (TTY#) 1-800-253-0191.

More information on the plan and process is available on the Department’s website at https://accd. vermont.gov/housing/plans-data-rules/hud/how

Legal Notices

CITY OF BURLINGTON ORDINANCE 7.20.

An Ordinance in Relation to an Update to Chapter 23, Peddlers and Solicitors, to Accommodate Burlingtonians and Visitors on April 8, 2024

Sponsor: Traverse Rules suspended and placed in all stages of passage: 03/11/24

Date: 03/11/24

Signed by Mayor: 03/13/24

Published: 03/13/24

Effective: 04/03/24

It is hereby Ordained by the City Council of the City of Burlington as follows:

That Chapter 23, Peddlers and Solicitors, of the Code of Ordinances of the City of Burlington be and hereby is amended to add the following:

23-16 Special 24-Hour Peddler License for April 8, 2024

Purpose. Burlington is in the path of totality for a solar eclipse occurring on April 8, 2024. An unprecedented number of people are anticipated to visit Burlington on this date. To ensure sufficient amenities are available to Burlingtonians and our visitors, the provisions of this article shall be temporarily amended as follows:

(a) A special 24-hour peddler license may be issued

PLACE AN AFFORDABLE NOTICE AT: SEVENDAYSVT.COM/LEGAL-NOTICES OR CALL 802-865-1020, EXT. 121.

for April 8, 2024, authorizing peddling at any location throughout the city as permitted by Section 23-15 and designated for peddling by the City’s Director of Business Workforce and Development pursuant to Sub-Section 23-16(e), provided that the provisions of Section 23-6(a)(1)(d) related to peddling in and around city parks shall remain in place.

(b) The application requirements for 24-hour peddler certificates set forth in Section 23-15(c) (3)(b) shall apply to all applicants seeking a special 24-hour peddler license, except that applicants seeking to peddle in and around city parks shall also obtain authorization from the Parks Commission. This shall be notwithstanding the use of the term “marketplace” throughout Section 2315 and shall be understood to mean all applicants seeking a special 24-hour peddler license pursuant to this Section.

(c) The combined application and license fee for a special 24-hour peddler license shall be one-hundred dollars ($100.00). The city may also require that peddlers selling food pay the deposit required by Section 23-6(d)(3). This fee and deposit requirements shall apply regardless of a peddler’s location.

(d) All applications for special 24-hour peddler licenses shall be submitted to and subject to final review by the city clerk. Upon receipt of a

satisfactorily completed application, the requisite fee, and proof of insurance as required by Section 23-3(h), the city clerk shall issue the special 24hour peddler license, as long as space is available as provided under this Section, and provided further that the applicant is not in violation of any applicable provision of this Code. Any denial of a special 24-hour peddler license shall be a final determination and there shall be no administrative appeal.

(e) The Director of Business and Workforce Development may designate any number of peddler sites throughout the city, including those eligible for vehicle endorsement, and any restrictions set forth herein on how far peddlers must be from each other, or a business selling similar produce or wares, may be waived. Such designations shall be submitted to the city clerk forthwith for processing of applications received pursuant to this Section.

(f) The Director of Business and Workforce Development may in their discretion, as needed to safely and efficiently designate peddling locations as outlined herein or otherwise carry on the business of April 8, 2024 within the City in the same manner, temporarily suspend any provision enumerated in Section 23-11, excepting that relating to discharge of grease, ash, or refuse onto any street or sidewalk.

(g) Peddlers that receive a special 24-hour peddler license may request a vehicle endorsement that authorizes the placement of a vehicle on a city street or right-of-way, regardless of the peddler’s location. If a vehicle for which an endorsement is requested exceeds thirty (30) feet in length, the city clerk may only issue such endorsement after consultation with the Department of Public Works and a determination that the vehicle will not impede the free flow of safe pedestrian, vehicle, or emergency personnel passage.

(h) A peddler that has already received a peddler license or certificate under this Article may peddle on April 8, 2024 to the extent permitted by their existing license or certificate without having to apply for a separate special 24-hour peddler license.

(i) Except as set forth in this Section, all other requirements of this Article shall apply to peddlers granted a special 24-hour peddler license.

(j) This Section shall sunset in its entirety and be stricken from the Code of Ordinances effective April 9, 2024.

*Material underlined added.

BT/hm/Ordinances 2024/An Update to Chapter 23, Peddlers and Solicitors to Accommodate Burlingtonians and Visitors On April 8, 2024

we do not rest.

Coordinator

Vermont Interfaith Power & Light

Vermont Interfaith Power & Light (VTIPL), is a non-profit that provides a religious response to our climate crisis. Working with faith and spiritual communities throughout Vermont, VTIPL provides education, advocacy and financial assistance to help these communities reduce their carbon emissions.

VTIPL has an opening for a Coordinator. This is a parttime (12-15 hours per week), remote-work position at $20$22 per hour, depending on qualifications and experience.

Job Responsibilities:

• Communications

• Fundraising and Event Planning

• Administrative

Go to VTIPL.org for a detailed job description. Submit resumes, qualifications, questions to: info@vtipl.org

ATTENTION RECRUITERS:

POST YOUR JOBS AT: JOBS.SEVENDAYSVT.COM/POST-A-JOB

PRINT DEADLINE: NOON ON MONDAYS (INCLUDING HOLIDAYS) FOR RATES & INFO: MICHELLE BROWN, 802-865-1020 X121, MICHELLE@SEVENDAYSVT.COM

Are you passionate about making a difference?

Wake Robin is seeking enthusiastic individuals in all departments to join our vibrant community! We are currently HIRING:

• Security Officer (Environmental Services)

• HR Generalist (Human Resources)

• Staff Nurse (RN, LPN), Licensed Nursing Assistants (LNA) (Health Services)

• General Manager, Floor Managers, Healthcare Hospitality Assistants, Servers, Dining Operations Coordinator, Cooks, & Dishwashers ( Dining Services)

• Housekeepers (Environmental Services)

At Wake Robin, we are committed to your professional development and career growth, making your experience with us not only rewarding but also a significant step in your career. Wake Robin offers competitive benefits & believes in supporting a livable wage for all Vermonters.

Visit wakerobin.com/contact-us/employment and apply today to join a team & caring community where your work truly makes a difference in the lives of others!

Master Plumber

launched a

innovative residential HVAC and plumbing systems. To help us achieve our goals, we are currently seeking a skilled and experienced Master Plumber to become part of our team.

At Silver Maple, we strongly believe in offering equal growth opportunities to all of our employees and providing them with inspiring work while maintaining a flexible and manageable work schedule, which is unlike what many other companies in this field offer.

Journeyman LINE WORKER

Morrisville Water and Light is seeking a qualified, reliable, safety minded individual(s) to fill a Journeyman Line Worker vacancy(s). This position will be responsible for building, maintaining and repairing overhead and underground power transmission and distribution lines in a safe and effective manner within the established guidelines of industry work practices.

Packaging & Warehouse Supervisor

Applicants must also be able to meet the physical demands of the position, live within 30 minutes of the office and be in an on-call rotation.

Submit cover letter and resume to Morrisville Water & Light, 857 Elmore Street, Morrisville, VT 05661 or dheller@mwlvt.com. No phone calls please. E.O.E.

The Packaging & Warehouse Supervisor is responsible for overseeing the packaging and warehouse operations at Stowe Cider, as well as active participation in the day-to-day responsibilities of the team.

JOIN OUR TEAM!

Shared Living Provider

Looking for a skilled Shared Living provider to assist a cultured gentleman. Collaborate as part of a team to establish the perfect living setup. Offering a generous annual stipend of $66,000.

The role involves assisting a young man with developmental disabilities in acquiring skills for independent living and enhancing his ability to cope with strong emotions. He takes pleasure in discussing historical topics, enjoying music, and savoring Mexican cuisine. He thrives in a calm and predictable setting, making someone with a relaxed and easygoing demeanor an excellent fit.

The ideal candidate should be patient and affirming. Trauma-informed preferred, but training can be provided. For more information call (802) 373-8862

howardcenter.org • 802-488-6500

Instructor/Assistant Professor of Accounting

The Department of Business Administration and Accounting at Saint Michael’s College invites applications for a full-time Instructor or Assistant Professor (tenure-track) of Accounting to begin in August 2024. To be considered for a tenure-track position, candidates must be committed to maintaining an active record of scholarship and have an appropriate terminal degree (or relevant Master’s degree and active CPA license). Teaching will include six 4 credit courses (three per semester) per academic year. Courses taught will depend on a selected candidate’s background but may include introductory Financial and Managerial for all business and accounting students, plus Intermediate, Cost, Federal Income Taxation, Non-Profit, Auditing, or new accounting electives for accounting majors/minors.

For job description, benefits and to apply, please visit: bit.ly/SMCIAPA

Fine Gardening/ Landscaping Assistant

Private Residence in Charlotte, VT

We are an E.O.E. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, or veteran status.

Benefits:

• PTO

• Health Insurance

• ST/LT Disability, Life, and Accident Insurance

Please apply at: careers@stowecider.com.

For

Email materials to: HResources@flynnvt.org

No phone calls, please. E.O.E.

Gardening assistant for a private residence with extensive perennial garden beds, a formal kitchen garden and substantial edible landscaping crops. We are in search of a fine gardener/ landscaping assistant to aid the property caretaker in the maintenance of these areas. The primary role of this position is as a gardener, however, the assistant may be asked to perform occasional property management and farming tasks. In addition to the primary residence, the gardening assistant will help in the care and maintenance of the landscape at a seasonal lakefront property. This is a part-time, seasonal position. The duration of the position is weather dependent, but anticipated to be late April-early November. This position is for 15-20 hours per week, however, additional hours are available doing trail maintenance or forestry work for the right candidate.

Contact Tacy Lincoln: dmccargo.assist@gmail.com

Trivia Hosts

Seeking responsible, engaging, quick witted and charismatic individuals to host weekly trivia night programs and other events!

We’ll provide everything needed to run a successful trivia night, including proper training. Hosting is a great way to earn some fun money, entertain a crowd, and become a “local celebrity.”

We are looking for hosts in the following areas:

Barre/Montpelier

St Albans

Colchester/Essex/Williston

Compensation: This is a part time position. Competitive pay with opportunity to host additional accounts.

To apply, please email resume to:  info@pubgeeks.com.

Legal Assistant

Primmer Piper Eggleston & Cramer PC, a full-service law firm with offices in Vermont, New Hampshire, and Washington, DC, has an immediate opening for an experienced legal assistant in our Burlington, VT, office. This assistant will support our litigation practice area. In addition to strong technical and document production skills, essential requirements are the ability to prioritize, multitask, adapt to different work styles and apply independent judgment as needed. This position requires at least two years’ experience in a law firm setting and proficiency with MS Office products. The ideal candidate will also have welldeveloped interpersonal skills and litigation law experience. We offer a competitive salary and comprehensive benefits. Please submit letter of interest and resume to careers@primmer.com

MU LTIPLE POSITIONS OPEN!

Are you our next Guest Services Representative? Buyer? Produce Associate?

Scan to see all open positions!

ST AFF CURATED BENEFIT S

Apply online at healthylivingmarket.com/careers

HIGH SCHOOL ASSISTANT PRINCIPAL

South Burlington School District is seeking a dynamic educational leader to fill the role of Assistant Principal for the high school beginning with the 2024-25 school year. The position will assist in day-to-day student management and work with the school community to meet the needs of all learners through challenging academic and behavioral standards, community and parental partnerships, and shared purpose. The position is an active member of the District’s Administrative team and will serve in a leadership role in our commitment to academic excellence and student well-being. The ideal candidate will have a Master’s degree in school administration, three or more years of administrative or educational leadership experience with a Valid Vermont Educators’ License with appropriate level endorsement and Administrator certificate. Expertise in student services, special education, supervision, and evaluation is preferred. To apply, visit SchoolSpring.com, reference Job ID #: 4486416, or visit sbschools.net/ page/employment-opportunities. If you have questions, contact Elissa Galvez, HR Employment Specialist at (802) 652-7247 or egalvez@sbschools.net

New GRAD RN program helps ensure success!

Kick-start your nursing career at Northeastern Vermont Regional Hospital (NVRH) with our innovative Nurse Residency Program. Designed for passionate new grads, the program offers wrap-a-round support for long-term career excellence. Beginning in summer 2024, full-time positions will be available in departments such

THE CITY OF BURLINGTON

Job & Internship Fair

Friday, March 22nd, 12-4PM

City Hall, 149 Church Street

Contois Auditorium (2nd floor)

This is your opportunity to meet with our City department representatives and apply for any of our open positions. Explore career opportunities for full-time and part-time, temporary, seasonal roles and internships.

We offer a competitive and comprehensive benefit package, including health, dental, life insurance, retirement plan, FSA and much more!

We believe in promoting a culture that reveres diversity and equity. The City of Burlington is proud to be an equal opportunity employer, and we are strongly committed to creating a dynamic and equitable work force.

No advanced registration required; register upon arrival.

burlingtonvt.gov/HR/jobfair

We did it again!

Champlain Community Services has been voted one of the Best Places to Work in Vermont for the sixth year in a row and we would love to have you as part of our team.

JOIN US!

JOIN OUR RADIOLOGY TEAM Come work with us!

We are currently seeking:

X-Ray Technologists

CT Technologists

MRI Technologists

• Full-time, benefits eligible, positions with generous shift differentials

• Day and night shifts available. Clinic-only roles for X-Ray available (no nights, weekends, or holidays).

For more info visit copleyvt.org/careers or call J.T. Vize at 802-888-8329

HIGHWAY ROAD FOREMAN

The Town of Jericho is seeking qualified candidates for the position of Road Foreman to manage a six-person Highway Department. Jericho (pop. 5,005) is a rural bedroom community in close proximity to Burlington with 61 miles of town highways.

This “working” foreman position requires experience with personnel management, all aspects of highway and bridge construction and maintenance, employee and contractor oversight, equipment operation and maintenance, job safety, mechanical ability, record keeping and communication skills, budget development, and any other tasks assigned by the Town Administrator. The position is full-time and requires a flexible schedule which will include nights, weekends, and holidays. This position is hourly and starting wage is dependent on qualifications commensurate with experience. An excellent benefits package is also offered. You can find the application and job description on our website at www.jerichovt.org at the top of the page under current job opportunities.

To apply, please email a confidential cover letter, resume, and three references to pcarrier@jerichovt.gov with Jericho Road Foreman Search in the subject line or send to:

Paula Carrier, Personnel Assistant P.O. Box 39, Jericho, VT 05465

Application materials will be accepted until the position is filled.

PRESIDENT

The Vermont Chamber of Commerce is seeking a visionary and strategic executive as President to lead the organization into the future. Reporting to the Board of Directors, the President will embrace the organization’s mission to advance Vermont’s economy. Trusted by the businesses that make living, working, and thriving in Vermont possible, we prioritize collaboration and uphold the core values that define our state, incorporating diversity, equity and inclusion principles. As the preeminent not-for-profit business organization, we advocate, build community, and provide resources for businesses statewide. Managing a $2 million budget and a dedicated team of 13 employees, the President will set the non-partisan tone of the organization, evaluate and enhance programs, and ensure financial viability. Key responsibilities include advocating for a businessfocused legislative agenda, cultivating relationships with government o cials and stakeholders, and expanding the Chamber’s network. The ideal candidate brings 5+ years of experience in association management, legislative a airs, or a related field, along with proven expertise in organizational growth and non-profit leadership. For a detailed description of the position, qualifications, or to apply, visit: vtchamber.com/executive-hiring

Please note that all inquiries/applications will be held in strict confidence.

Director of Human Resources

WCMHS has a fantastic opportunity for a committed leader who is seeking a new senior management role in Human Resources. This position is ideal for HR professionals with 10+ years of experience leading HR teams and strategizing with organizational leadership to achieve strong employee growth, retention, and performance outcomes.

The WCMHS workforce comprises over 600 employees that deliver high quality, client-focused services in very dynamic and innovative workplace settings and we are aspiring to become the most soughtafter mental health, substance use treatment, and developmental disability services employer in Vermont. We firmly believe that our people are the driving force behind our success, and we are seeking an HR leader who knows what this means and how to translate that knowledge into tangible actions that help us cultivate a workplace that thrives on mutual respect, creativity, diversity and having a can-do attitude every day.

Qualifications:

• Bachelor’s degree in HR, Business Administration, Social Sciences such as Psychology or related field required.

• Strong knowledge of State and Federal employment laws.

• Strong knowledge of data driven performance management processes and how HR supports service delivery outcomes.

• Minimum of ten (10) years’ progressive leadership experience

• Minimum of ten (10) years’ HR experience.

• SHRM-CP required.

Preferred:

• Master’s Degree preferred, SHRM-SCP preferred.

Send letter of interest and resume to apply: wcmhs.org/careers

Or email cover letter/resume: recruitment@wcmhs.org. E.O.E.

OPERATIONS MANAGER

For details and to apply:

350vermont.org/ ops-manager

4t-Copley031324

If you have a passion for working with youth, we have the career opportunities for you! 2v-Spectrum031324.indd

Scan the QR code to view job descriptions & apply.

WINGPERSON FOR YOUNG MAN WITH AUTISM

Seeking a responsible, creative, kind, spirited, initiative-taking individual to help my son continue to improve his living, recreation and communication skills. Alternating weekends each month, Friday 5:00 pm — Saturday 5:00 pm, $500 per day.

Send resume to sk@kieselaw.com

Are you looking for an innovative, dynamic, and collaborative place to work?

Join us at Lake Champlain Waldorf School to deliver a holistic and developmental approach to education.

Open Positions:

• Upper School Teacher

• Mixed-Age Kindergarten

Lead Teacher

• Kindergarten Assistant

• Spanish Teacher (part-time)

Public Works Crew (FTE)

Town of Fairfax, VT

The Town of Fairfax seeks to add full-time, year-round members to our Crew. We take pride in maintaining the Town’s equipment, roads, and facilities and creating improvements where we can. The successful applicants will be team players willing to do their best and learn along the way. Candidates are required to hold a VT Driver’s License, be able to respond to the Town Garage within 30 minutes of being called-in, successfully pass a background check, and participate in drug testing.

These positions have excellent benefits including VT Municipal Retirement, health care, and a competitive compensation package. Pay range starts at $25 per hour with pay commensurate with experience. These positions are eligible for overtime.  A CDL and three years of related experience is preferred.

To review the entire job description and download an application visit the Town’s website at: fairfax-vt.gov/jobs

Mail or return your application to: Town of Fairfax, Attn. Human Resources, 12 Buck Hollow Road, Fairfax, VT 05454.

Applications will be reviewed as received with the position open until filled. E.O.E.

Family Support Programs COORDINATOR

Prevent Child Abuse Vermont is seeking a Family Support Programs Coordinator to cover Bennington, Rutland, Windham, and Windsor counties. Successful candidates will organize, oversee and facilitate online parent education and support groups. Groups may move to in person meetings. The position may involve travel around the region. Duties include recruitment, training and supervision of volunteers and outreach and collaboration with community partners. Knowledge of child development and child abuse, love of parent education/support and experience with online facilitation are all a plus. Reliable transportation required. Minimum of Bachelor’s degree in human services, social work, education or related field required. This is a grant funded temporary position with the possibility of becoming permanent. PCAVT does not discriminate in the delivery of services or benefits based on race, color, national origin, religion, sex, disability, sexual orientation, or gender identity. E.O.E.

Please email cover letter, resume, and 3 references, along with the employment application to pcavt@pcavt.org

Or mail to: Prevent Child Abuse Vermont- Search, PO Box 829, Montpelier, VT 05601-0829

For application visit: pcavt.org/jobs-and-internships.

RNs, LPNs, LNAs Be Part of Something New!

The University of Vermont Medical Center seeks RNs, LPNs, and LNAs to join their new long term care unit in Burlington. Sign on bonuses up to $10K for RNs and LPNs and $5K for LNAs and Unit Secretary/LNAs.

RN Candidates must have strong communication & leadership skills. Long term care experience preferred for all roles.

Learn more and apply: uvmhealthnetworkcareers.org/shep3_sevendays

www.lakechamplainwaldorfschool.org

Fluor has immediate job openings at GLOBALFOUNDRIES in Essex Junction!

General Maintenance Tech:

Performs building maintenance duties, 2+ years exp. required, full-time M-F 7 a.m. – 3:30 p.m., $20-25/hour.

Warehouse & Logistics:

Performs shipping and receiving support duties in the Chemical Distribution Center, 1+ years exp. required, full-time 6:00 a.m. – 2:30 p.m. Sun-Thurs or Tues-Sat, $19-21/hour.

Furniture & Material Handling:

Responsible for office furniture moves, fulfilling internal office relocation requests and basic building maintenance, 1+ years exp. required, full-time M-F 7 a.m. – 3:30 p.m., $19-23/hour.

Fluor offers a competitive benefits package, PTO accrual starting at hire, and 401(k) match. Send resumes to: dawn.gallegos@fluor.com

Fluor is an Equal Opportunity Employer that recognizes the value of a diverse workforce.

Engaging minds that change the world

Seeking a position with a quality employer? Consider The University of Vermont, a stimulating and diverse workplace. We offer a comprehensive benefit package including tuition remission for on-going, full-time positions.

CALS HR Specialist - CALS Dean’s Office - #S4945PO - The College of Agriculture and Life Sciences (CALS) seeks a dynamic individual to assist in coordinating and processing specialized human resource functions. This is a 1.0 FTE, 12-month, non-represented, fully benefited position. Among other duties, this position will provide specialized support for staff recruitments, position changes and terminations; review and submit position description changes, and maintain personnel records. Previous experience in human resources is not required, but candidates should have a Bachelor’s degree and a minimum of three to five years using complex software for data processing. Equivalent combination of experience and education will be accepted. Effective organizational, interpersonal, communication, attention to detail and strong writing skills are required. Demonstrated ability to discern and maintain confidential information is also required. The successful candidate should be able to work as part of a team, and collaborate with members of the CALS Business Services Team. This position may be eligible to work a hybrid schedule but will be expected to work on campus a minimum of three days a week.

Review of applications will begin immediately and will continue until a suitable candidate is hired. The University is especially interested in candidates who can contribute to the diversity and excellence of the institution. Applicants are encouraged to include in their cover letter information about how they will further this goal.

For further information on this position and others currently available, or to apply online, please visit www.uvmjobs.com Applicants must apply for positions electronically. Paper resumes are not accepted. Open positions are updated daily. Please call 802-656-3150 or email employment@uvm.edu for technical support with the online application.

The University of Vermont is an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action Employer.

LEGAL PROJECT MANAGER

Are you a legal support professional seeking a collaborative work environment that values communication and growth?

We are seeking candidates with 1-3 years of legal experience who can:

• Support our team by managing transactions in a fast-paced, mission-driven organization

• Work collaboratively and independently, with keen attention to detail, and clear communication within and across teams

• Bring passion and commitment to furthering our mission

The starting salary for this position is $64,729, plus a generous benefits package equivalent to $24,344 per year to cover the cost of health care and other benefits.

Additional benefits include 6 weeks of time off, a retirement plan with match, and flexible/hybrid work schedules.

Learn more and apply at vlt.org/employment. The position will remain open until March 22, 2024.

The Vermont Land Trust is an Equal Opportunity Employer. We honor & invite people of all backgrounds & life experiences to apply.

Seven Days

Issue: 3/13

Due: 3/11 by 11am

Warehouse Technician

Size: 3.83” x 5.25”

Job Code DXY2

Cost: $476.85 (with 1 week online)

POSITION SUMMARY:

Technicians work in a warehouse environment.

PRINCIPLE RESPONSIBILITIES:

• Load and unload drums, totes, and containers of hazardous & non-hazardous waste materials from trucks.

• Sample contents of drums, totes, and containers.

• Consolidate drum contents into larger containers for processing.

• Operate Forklift under company safety standards, forklift license not required, company provided training.

PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS:

• Ability to use heavy and light equipment, such as forklift, and pallet-jack.

• Skilled using hand and shop tools, and instruments.

• Demonstrates accuracy, thoroughness and attention to detail.

• Must be able to prioritize, stay focused and handle multiple, diverse responsibilities.

• Valid driver’s license may be required for some positions. Apply online: jobs.republicservices.com/us/en

Real Estate Paralegal

Gravel & Shea PC seeks an experienced paralegal to join our commercial real estate practice in Burlington, VT. The ideal candidate will have at least three to five years of title search and real estate closing experience. Candidates must have the following skills: excellent independent research and analytical skills; willingness to adapt quickly to challenging and stimulating assignments; excellent writing and communication skills; and the ability to meet deadlines. This is a detail-oriented position that requires the ability to work with others both inside and outside the firm. Candidate must have a valid driver’s license. Adaptability to technology and advanced experience with Microsoft Office software is also important.

We offer a competitive salary and a comprehensive benefits package including health insurance, 401(k) and Profit Sharing. Interested applicants should submit cover letter, résumé and references to: cgaynor@gravelshea.com

All inquiries are held in the strictest confidence. gravelshea.com/careers

Chief Financial Officer

Join PCC in improving the lives of children and pediatricians nationwide. PCC is a leader in the pediatric software industry with a mission to remove obstacles that keep pediatricians from practicing medicine. As a benefit corporation, PCC is a values-driven, pragmatically irreverent company that prioritizes humanity over profit while promoting independence and knowledge sharing. PCCers solve meaningful problems with an obsessive commitment to customer service and quality of experience, all while having fun.

The Chief Financial Officer (CFO) is responsible for all financial aspects of PCC’s business, and is a team member of the leadership group called Some Executive Committee (SEC). This role requires benefit corporation-related accounting and tax knowledge. The CFO must have the ability to explain budgets and coach on financial matters, including acting as an advisor for PCC’s leadership and will participate in strategic decision making for the company.

The ideal candidate is a thoughtful and empathetic leader with exceptional communication skills and discernment. They must have a demonstrated history and knowledge of accounting, taxes, business planning, and strategic thinking. This calm realist knows when to take risks and when to reevaluate. They can think critically about opportunities, advise on financial consequences, and make educated decisions that are in line with PCC’s values and sustainable financial practices.

To learn more about PCC, this role and how to apply, please visit pcc.com/careers. Position is open until filled.

No phone calls, please. AA/EOE

Operations Coordinator

The Vermont Captive Insurance Association (VCIA), the largest captive trade association in the world, seeks a reliable self-starter to join our tight-knit team. This position supports the Senior Director of Finance with bookkeeping, and provides assistance to all staff through database entry, customer service, and office administration.We offer a competitive salary and benefits, a fully remote working environment and the opportunity for personal and career development in a growing industry.

ESSENTIAL REQUIREMENTS

•Must be located in Vermont with ability to travel for meetings, conferences, and other events

•Versatile problem solver who can recognize ways to improve operations

•Resourceful, and can thrive in remote working environment while collaborating with staff

•College degree and experience in bookkeeping software preferred

ESSENTIAL DUTIES AND SKILLS

•Data entry, creation & managing events in the database; as well as generating database reports

•Excellent computer skills including database/spreadsheet skills, accounting software, MS Office.

•Handle accounts payable/receivable; monitor batches; perform monthly bank reconciliations

•Write minutes of various committees with great attention to detail; provide assistance to Board

•Manage VCIA’s general inbox and provide excellent customer service

•Take lead on all conference registrations, and in general excel in time management

TO APPLY:

Provide minimum salary requirement in cover letter.

Send cover letter, resume and any other relevant information to: Kevin Mead, VCIA CEO, kmead@vcia.com. Full job description at vcia.com

Deadline to apply: End of Business Tuesday, March 19th, 2024.

Licensed Clinical Social Worker

$70.00/hour

Work 8-16 hours per week at the Northlands Job Corps Center in Vergennes, VT. Hours flexible but no evenings or weekend work available. You choose amount of hours per week. Remote work a possibility. MUST be licensed in VT.

Please call Dan W. Hauben ASAP at 888-552-1660

Communications Manager

Care about the environment? Want to support Vermont land stewards in their efforts to protect water quality, improve soil health, and build climate resilience? Bring your creative skills to VACD!

The Vermont Association of Conservation Districts (VACD) seeks a full-time, homebased COMMUNICATIONS MANAGER who will support the missions of Vermont’s 14 Natural Resources Conservation Districts (NRCDs), VACD, and the State Natural Resources Conservation Council (NRCC). The Communications Manager is a member of the VACD/NRCC leadership team and facilitates internal communications among NRCDs, VACD and NRCC; leads and supports external communications with our customers, partners, and the public; supports legislative advocacy efforts; organizes logistics for key events; manages VACD’s communications infrastructure; provides technical expertise, training and communications guidance to NRCDs, VACD and NRCC; and performs other duties as required.

This is a hands-on position requiring excellent written and verbal communications skills, research and/or journalism experience, website design and content management skills, graphic design, and utilization of social media and other software such as word processing, PowerPoint, ArcGIS StoryMaps, MS Publisher, Google docs, etc. The successful candidate has a high level of technical skills, is comfortable learning and teaching new technologies, is diplomatic and enjoys working with diverse groups and individuals, can work independently and in a team, and is familiar with Vermont’s efforts to protect water quality and build climate resilience. 3-5 years of experience and Central Vermont location are preferred.

Starting salary is $55,000-$57,000 per year, depending upon experience. Benefits include paid vacation, sick and holiday leave, health benefits, and a 401k-retirement plan.

Visit vacd.org for detailed job description. To apply, send cover letter, resume, three professional references, brief writing samples, and copies of (or links to) communications products developed in a single pdf file to lina.smith@vacd.org by 8 am Monday, March 18th.

VACD is an Equal Opportunity Employer.

SEEKING DYNAMIC EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

The Executive Director provides visionary leadership to guide Vermont Adult Learning, a nonprofit organization with a $5+ million budget and a staff of approximately 80, through a rapidly changing and uncertain environment.

Responsibilities: The ED oversees the organization’s administration, programs, and strategic plan with a statewide reach. Other key duties include fundraising, marketing, community outreach, and advocacy.

Requires: Bachelor’s degree with five or more years of transparent and high-integrity nonprofit management experience. Proven leadership, coaching, relationship management experience, and fiscal management skills. Concrete, demonstrable commitment to social justice and equity.

For full job description go to vtadultlearning.org/about-us/#careers This position is a remote-from-home position with occasional travel to meet with staff across the state. May require some weekend and evening hours. Preference will be given to someone with a demonstrable connection to Vermont.

Send resume, cover letter and salary requirements to: tfarrell@vtadultlearning.org

Join our team and support educators making a difference in the lives of adult learners! Full-time, competitive salary, excellent benefits.

Lead Daycare Teacher

We are seeking a qualified Lead Daycare Teacher to join our team of passionate child care providers. For over 30 years the Roots Child Development Center has been nurturing infants, toddlers, and preschoolers in Colchester, VT. Roots is housed within the headquarters of Vermont Information Processing and is attended by 50+ children of VIP employees. Roots employees enjoy exceptional benefits and a fun, collaborative work environment with a great team! Our ideal candidate will be knowledgeable and experienced in early childhood education as well as child-focused, creative, and compassionate!

Primary Job Responsibilities:

• Develop age-appropriate lessons and activities that promote and support the building of social skills, practical capabilities and self-esteem

• Collaborate with lead teachers to supervise, guide and encourage child’s learning and development

• Organize nap and snack hours and supervise children to ensure their safety at all times

• Communicate with parents regularly on their child’s day to day progress

• Maintain a clean and tidy classroom consistent with health and safety standards

Job Requirements:

• High School Diploma or GED

• 1-2 years of relevant childcare experience working with groups of children from grade 3 or younger

• Ability to lift 25-30 lbs, squat/kneel/sit on the floor and speak with children and families to ensure the health and safety of each child

Must meet at least one (1) of the following qualifications:

• 21 college credits in early childhood education or related field OR

• Associate’s Degree from an accredited college in early childhood education or related field OR

• Completed certification in one of the following: Registered Child Care Apprenticeship Program, Child Care Certificate from the Community College of Vermont, or Vermont Early Childhood Career

Ladder Level 3 Certificate

Benefits you'll enjoy:

• BlueCross BlueShield health insurance

• 3 weeks of paid time off, 6 paid holidays and 4 paid floating holidays

• Paid Parental Leave

• ESOP (Employee Stock Ownership Program)

• 401k and Profit Sharing

• Health Savings and Flexible Spending accounts

• Life and Disability Insurance

• Vision and Dental expense reimbursement

• Paid Professional Development training hours

• Onsite fitness center and heavily discounted gym membership to the Edge

• Onsite cafe serving breakfast, lunch and snacks

• Onsite health clinic for employees and families

Apply here: public.vtinfo.com/careers or reach out to careers@vtinfo.com

Receptionist/Legal Support Staff

Legal Services Vermont is looking to fill a full-time Receptionist/ Support Staff position.  We are an innovative non-profit law firm that provides civil legal services to a broad spectrum of low-income clients in a high volume practice.  Our advocates represent individual clients, participate in court clinics and also staff our helpline to screen new clients and provide legal advice.  Working closely with Vermont Legal Aid, we help low-income Vermonters resolve their civil legal issues.

We are seeking a Receptionist/Support Staff who will have primary responsibility for our front office, located in Burlington.  Duties include greeting clients and other members of the public, assessing basic legal issues presented by members of the public, answering incoming phone calls and messages, handling mail and other correspondence and messaging, coordinating with other staff members to support clients, supporting telephone and on-line Helpline and case intake activities, supporting attorneys and paralegals with case activities, and assisting with other front office management tasks.

We are looking for candidates with strong interpersonal, spoken communication and writing skills, the ability to handle a large workload, a demonstrated commitment to community engagement and public interest work, the ability to work empathetically with low-income and marginalized communities, and a collaborative work style.  Qualified candidates should be proficient in Microsoft Office applications and be comfortable with online office management systems, office machines and telephone systems, have the ability to work independently and collaboratively, and be sensitive to the diverse language and cultural needs of our clients.

We are an equal opportunity employer committed to building a diverse and culturally competent staff to serve our increasingly diverse client community.  We encourage applicants from a broad range of backgrounds, and welcome information about how your experience can contribute to serving our client communities.

Base starting salary is $42,480, with salary credit given for relevant experience, and an excellent benefits package.  The position is in-person in our Burlington office.

Application deadline is March 22, 2024.  Your application should include a cover letter and resume, sent as a single PDF.  Send your application by e-mail to Sara Zeno at szeno@legalservicesvt.org with the subject line “Support Staff Hiring Opportunity.” Please let us know how you heard about this position. legalservicesvt.org

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.

ADMINISTRATIVE SERVICES TECHNICIAN III – WATERBURY

Come do work that matters as a member of the small, dedicated team at the Vermont Board of Medical Practice, where we license physicians and investigate complaints about medical care. We seek an efficient and organized self-starter to provide administrative support handling mail and phones, maintaining files, and assisting physicians with medical licensing. This is a full-time, in office position in Waterbury, and offers State of Vermont employee benefits. For more information, contact Jane Malago at jane.malago@vermont.gov.

Department: Health. Location: Waterbury. Status: Full Time, Limited Service. Job ID #49616.

Application Deadline: March 19, 2024.

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Exam Proctoring Center (EPC) Support Specialist (2 positions)

The Exam Proctoring Center (EPC) Support Specialist provides day-to-day administrative functions for SAS Services to ensure that students with disabilities receive exam accommodations, such as extended time on tests. Administrative functions include records maintenance for the EPC; coordinating personnel and technological logistics for exams; administering accommodations for tests; interfacing with students and faculty to schedule exams; facilitation of exam return to faculty; assisting with student employee supervision including training sessions for students; and general office management duties within the Exam Proctoring Center (EPC). The EPC Support Specialist is responsible for fostering an inclusive and welcoming environment for students from diverse backgrounds.

This position will also support the Technical Support Specialist to coordinate disability services for students to include electronic books, note taking, captioning, and adaptive tech programs. Coordinate day-to-day management and application of various services and adaptive technologies to ensure students with disabilities receive the necessary accommodations to access University coursework, programs, and facilities. It will also maintain knowledge of federal regulations, the ADA, Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act, and FERPA, to maintain support for students with disabilities.

The EPC Support Specialist ensures designated accommodations are arranged according to established procedures, with due concern for security of exams and students’ confidentiality; the person in this position assists in University efforts to provide effective, timely accommodations to students with disabilities. Interaction with people at different levels of University administration, faculty and staff is a daily aspect of the position. Specific day-to-day tasks & responsibilities will be determined by the EPC Administrative Coordinator and are subject to change to meet daily needs. Coordination

and interaction with the EPC Administrative Coordinator, the other EPC Support Specialist, and Student Accessibility Services (SAS) Specialists will be a regular expectation. The EPC Support Specialist also assists the EPC Administrative Coordinator and other EPC Support Specialist to recruit, hire, train, and supervise EPC student staff by ensuring that staff are multiculturally competent and able to interact comfortably with a diverse student body. The EPC Support Specialist is expected to be familiar with and able to use technology, software, and equipment in order to facilitate equal access for students utilizing the EPC.

The EPC Support Specialist requires knowledge of the federal regulations to maintain support for students with disabilities. As a member of the CFAS team, the Specialist helps carry out the mission of CFAS, which includes a commitment to diversity, social justice, and to fostering a collaborative, multicultural environment. The EPC Support Specialist is administratively supervised by the SAS Assistant Program Director and functionally supervised by the EPC Administrative Coordinator.

Minimum Qualifications: Associate’s Degree with a minimum of two- three years’ office experience in human services, higher education or related field. Knowledge of word-processing, applicable technology, adaptive software, and database management skills required. Effective communication, interpersonal and conflict resolutions skills are required with a commitment to serving diverse populations. Strong organizational and time management skills, ability to give attention to detail and to maintain confidentiality of information required. Comfort with and demonstrated commitment to diversity/social justice and to fostering a collaborative environment required. E.O.E.

For full job details and to apply:

Position 1: uvmjobs.com/postings/70726

Position 2: uvmjobs.com/postings/70730

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 April 15th in Burlington & July 29th in Barre. APPLY: vtfoodbank.org/cka

Executive Director

HOPE Works, Vermont’s oldest and largest 501c3 nonprofit serving survivors of sexual violence in Chittenden County, VT, is seeking an experienced, dynamic Executive Director to lead a small, dedicated group of staff and volunteers.

The Executive Director is responsible for the internal operations of H.O.P.E. Works, while serving as the primary contact and spokesperson. The ideal candidate must have experience with budget development and management, knowledge of grant administration, and familiarity with financial statements. They must demonstrate experience with managing staff and volunteers, as well as developing relationships with community partners and the public. Understanding of sexual violence issues is required. A Master’s degree and/ or equivalent experience is necessary. Knowledge of strategic planning and non-profit experience is helpful. Please see our website Internships and Employment — HOPE Works (hopeworksvt.org) for the full job description. This position is a 32 hr/wk salaried exempt position. Starting salary range is $75k-82k annual salary with full health, dental, and vision insurance. HOPE Works offers generous paid time off, flexible hybrid work environment, as well as paid respite leave and ongoing professional development opportunities. Interested candidates should submit a resume and cover letter to HOPE Works Board of Directors at board@hopeworksvt.org. Applications will be accepted until the position is filled.

People with diverse lived experiences encouraged to apply. H.O.P.E. Works is an Equal Opportunity Employer.

YOUR TRUSTED LOCAL SOURCE.

Immigration Paralegal

Busy Burlington Law Firm seeks a full-time Immigration Paralegal. Applicants shall have 1-5 years’ experience in immigration law including preparing and submitting immigration applications using dedicated immigration software.

The Paralegal will also provide litigation support. Candidates will be professional and service-oriented, with strong computer, communication, and organizational skills. We offer a competitive salary commensurate with experience, benefits package, and a family friendly work environment.

Please submit your cover letter and résumé to Deborah Sabourin, Business Manager, MSK Attorneys at dsabourin@mskvt.com

Howard Center is Seeking Its Next CFO Join Our Team!

The Chief Financial Officer directs and oversees all financial activities of the organization and its subsidiaries.

The ideal CFO candidate at Howard Center will be missiondriven with extensive experience and knowledge in the human services finance landscape. The successful candidate will have a related advanced degree, supplemented by over eight years of progressively responsible leadership positions within healthcare finance roles including supervisory experience. With an annual budget of $135M+, we have 1,600 staff members serving in over 50 different programs in 60+ locations throughout Chittenden County and Vermont.

Inquiries regarding the CFO position should be directed to Heather A. Simmons, Manager of Talent Acquisition at hsimmons@howardcenter.org.

Howard Center is proud to be an Equal Opportunity Employer. The agency’s culture and service delivery is strengthened by the diversity of its workforce. Minorities, people of color, LGBTQIA+ and persons with disabilities are encouraged to apply. EOE/ TTY. Visit “About Us” to review Howard Center’s EOE policy.

Executive Director

Champlain Community Services (CCS), a Specialized Service Agency located in Colchester, VT, is seeking an experienced and dynamic Executive Director to lead our organization into the future. The ideal candidate will oversee operations, set strategic direction, and build strong relationships with community partners. CCS’s mission is to provide essential supports to people with intellectual disabilities and autism, building a community where everyone participates and everyone belongs. The Executive Director provides both internal and external leadership, manages a talented, experienced and committed staff and builds, engages and reports to an engaged and dynamic board of directors.

The ideal candidate will have proven experience in management and leadership, effectiveness with non-profit budgets and fiscal management, familiarity with the Vermont State System of Care Plan, an understanding of nonprofit legal and regulatory compliance, proficiency in Medicaid regulations, ability to represent the agency’s interests at both the State and local levels, and an appreciation of the unique history of Developmental Disabilities System in Vermont.

Compensation is commensurate with experience and will be negotiated with our Board of Directors. We offer a competitive total compensation package, including health and dental benefits, Simple IRA plan with a match, and opportunities for professional development.

CCS is an equal opportunity employer. We value diversity, equity and inclusion and encourage candidates of all backgrounds to apply. Join us in making a difference in the lives of individuals and families in need of developmental services. Be part of a dedicated team working towards a healthier community.

To learn more about CCS go to ccs-vt.org

How to Apply: Interested candidates are invited to submit their resume and a cover letter outlining their qualifications, experience, and commitment to advocacy for issues affecting people receiving services through this human services organization.

Please submit letters of interest and resume to Zoltan Sachs, Board President at zoltan@sachsweb.com

LICENSED MENTAL HEALTH CLINICIANS

We are seeking Licensed Mental Health Clinicians to join our established outpatient interdisciplinary mental health group practice. We have offices in Burlington, South Burlington, Winooski, Essex and Shelburne. We can also support hybrid (virtual and in-person) practice models. There are opportunities available for both full and part-time clinicians. Rostered, nonlicensed clinicians with a Master’s Degree in a mental health field are welcome to apply if they have strong psychotherapy clinical experience and learning interests.

Our practice serves children, adolescents, adults and families. We offer individual, couples and group therapy services. We work with all payers and referral sources. Credentialing, intake and billing services provided. Supervision toward licensure is available for qualified Rostered clinicians. Please respond with CV and interest areas to laurelgray@vtresiliency.com

Become a skilled forest steward as a paid, seasonal Advanced Forest Crew Member

Gain experience in forest management

Learn to operate a chainsaw Improve wildlife habitat

This AmeriCorps position runs June 3 - Nov 2 Camp in the field with your crew Monday to Friday Training, tools & camping gear provided Earn a Wilderness First Aid certificate

Complete Game of Logging levels 1 & 2 Find this & more opportunities at vycc.org/positions

Job Seekers:

•

Job Recruiters:

• Post jobs using a form that includes key info about your company and open positions (location, application deadlines, video, images, etc.).

• Accept applications and manage the hiring process via our applicant tracking tool.

• Easily manage your open job listings from your recruiter dashboard.

Get a quote when you post online or contact Michelle Brown: 865-1020, ext. 121, michelle@sevendaysvt.com.

• Set up job alert emails using custom search criteria.

• Save jobs to a custom list with your own notes on the positions.

• Apply for jobs directly through the site. jobs.sevendaysvt.com

fun stuff

CALCOKU

JEN SORENSEN

HARRY BLISS

WANT MORE FUN STUFF?

PISCES

(FEB. 19-MAR. 20)

My Piscean friend Jeff Greenwald wrote the humorous but serious book Shopping for Buddhas. It’s the story of his adventures in Nepal as he traveled in quest of a statue to serve as a potent symbol for his spiritual yearning. I’m reminded of his search as I ruminate on your near future. I suspect you would benefit from an intense search for divine inspiration — either in the form of an iconic object, a pilgrimage to a holy sanctuary, or an inner journey to the source of your truth and love.

ARIES (Mar. 21-Apr. 19): I will never advise you to dim the flame of your ambition or be shy about radiating your enthusiasm. For the next few weeks, though, I urge you to find ways to add sap, juice and nectar to your fiery energy. See if you can be less like a furnace and more like a sauna; less like a rumbling volcano and more like a tropical river. Practically speaking, this might mean being blithely tender and unpredictably heartful as you emanate your dazzling glow.

TAURUS (Apr. 20-May 20): Some spiritual traditions tell us that the path to enlightenment and awakening is excruciatingly difficult. One teaching compares it to crossing a bridge that’s sharper than a sword, thinner than a hair and hotter than fire. Ideas like these have no place in my personal philosophy. I believe enlightenment and awakening are available to anyone who conscientiously

practices kindness and compassion. A seeker who consistently asks, “What is the most loving thing I can do?” will be rewarded with lifeenhancing transformations. Now I invite you to do what I just did, Taurus. That is, reevaluate a task or process that everyone (maybe even you) assumes is hard and complicated. Perform whatever tweaks are necessary to understand it as fun, natural and engaging.

GEMINI (May 21-Jun. 20): Do you have a relative your parents never told you about? If so, you may find out about them soon. Do you have a secret you want to keep secret? If so, take extra caution to ensure it stays hidden. Is there a person you have had a covert crush on for a while? If so, they may discover your true feelings any minute now. Have you ever wondered if any secrets are being concealed from you? If so, probe gently for their revelation, and they just may leak out. Is there a lost treasure you have almost given up on finding? If so, revive your hopes.

CANCER (Jun. 21-Jul. 22): Cancerian poet Pablo Neruda wrote this to a lover: “I want to do with you what spring does with the cherry trees.” That sounds very romantic. What does it mean? Well, the arrival of spring brings warmer soil and air, longer hours of sunlight, and nurturing precipitation. The flowers of some cherry trees respond by blooming with explosive vigor. Some trees sprout upwards of 4,000 blossoms. Maybe Neruda was exaggerating for poetic effect, but if he truly wanted to rouse his lover to be like a burgeoning cherry tree, he’d have to deal with an overwhelming outpouring of lush beauty and rampant fertility. Could he have handled it? If I’m reading the upcoming astrological omens correctly, you Cancerians now have the power to inspire and welcome such lavishness. And yes, you can definitely handle it.

LEO (Jul. 23-Aug. 22): Speaking on behalf of all non-Leos, I want to express our gratitude for the experiments you have been conducting. Your willingness to dig further than ever before into the mysterious depths is exciting. Please don’t be glum just because the results are still inconclusive and you feel a bit vulnerable. I’m confident you will ultimately gener-

ate fascinating outcomes that are valuable to us as well as you. Here’s a helpful tip: Give yourself permission to be even more daring and curious. Dig even deeper.

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sep. 22): Unexpected mixtures are desirable, though they may initially feel odd. Unplanned and unheralded alliances will be lucky wild cards if you are willing to set aside your expectations. Best of all, I believe you will be extra adept at creating new forms of synergy and symbiosis, even as you enhance existing forms. Please capitalize on these marvelous openings, dear Virgo. Are there parts of your life that have been divided and you would like to harmonize them? Now is a good time to try. Bridge building will be your specialty for the foreseeable future.

LIBRA (Sep. 23-Oct. 22): Many of you Libras have a special talent for tuning in to the needs and moods of other people. This potentially gives you the power to massage situations to serve the good of all. Are you using that power to its fullest? Could you do anything more to harness it? Here’s a related issue: Your talent for tuning in to the needs and moods of others can give you the capacity to massage situations in service to your personal aims. Are you using that capacity to its fullest? Could you do anything more to harness it? Here’s one more variation on the theme: How adept are you at coordinating your service to the general good and your service to your personal aims? Can you do anything to enhance this skill? Now is an excellent time to try.

SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): Psychologist Carl Jung said, “One of the most difficult tasks people can perform is the invention of good games. And this cannot be done by people out of touch with their instinctive selves.” According to my astrological assessment, you will thrive in the coming weeks when you are playing good, interesting games. If you dream them up and instigate them yourself, so much the better. And what exactly do I mean by “games”? I’m referring to any organized form of play that rouses fun, entertainment and education. Playing should be one of your prime modes, Scorpio! As Jung notes, that will happen best if you are in

close touch with your instinctual self — also known as your animal intelligence.

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): Can Sagittarians ever really find a home they are utterly satisfied with? Are they ever at peace with exactly who they are and content to be exactly where they are? Some astrologers suggest these are difficult luxuries for you Centaurs to accomplish. But I think differently. In my view, it’s your birthright to create sanctuaries for yourself that incorporate so much variety and expansiveness that you can feel like an adventurous explorer without necessarily having to wander all over the earth. Now is an excellent time to work on this noble project.

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): You picked Door No. 2 a while back. Was that the best choice? I’m not sure. Evidence is still ambiguous. As we await more conclusive information, I want you to know that Door No. 1 and Door No. 3 will soon be available for your consideration again. The fun fact is that you can try either of those doors without abandoning your activities in the area where Door No. 2 has led you. But it’s important to note that you can’t try both Door No. 1 and Door No. 3. You must choose one or the other. Proceed with care and nuance, Capricorn, but not with excessive caution. Your passwords are “daring sensitivity” and “discerning audacity.”

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): My second cousin has the same name as me and lives in Kosice, Slovakia. He’s a Slovakian-speaking chemical engineer who attended the Slovak University of Technology. Do we have anything in common besides our DNA and names? Well, we both love to tell stories. He and I are both big fans of the band Rising Appalachia. We have the same mischievous brand of humor. He has designed equipment and processes to manufacture products that use chemicals in creative ways, and I design oracles to arouse inspirations that change people’s brain chemistry. Now I invite you, Aquarius, to celebrate allies with whom you share key qualities despite being quite different. It’s a fine time to get maximum enjoyment and value from your connections with such people.

supported by:

Eva Sollberger’s

Hannah Miller is on a quest to write, read and knit in as many public libraries in Vermont as possible. Eva accompanied Miller (left) and her wife, Lisa Zinn, to the Haskell Free Library & Opera House in Derby Line, Vt., and Stanstead, Québec — a rare library that straddles two nations. Hannah was able

SINGLE AND LOOKING

I’m 70 and live alone in Burlington. I’m looking for a woman to come to my apartment and have a little bedroom fun. kenny65 72, seeking: W, l

HELLO, BEAUTIFUL

If you are looking for perfect, well, sorry to say, but that isn’t me. If you want someone who is loving, caring, happy, funny, down-to-earth, fun-loving, who will adore you and cherish you, is openminded, loyal, trustworthy, that would be me! nhpoohdot, 55, seeking: W, l

WOMEN seeking...

A FRESH START

I’m smart, work hard and want someone who can help me play hard. I’m not looking to meet “soon,” nor do I want an instant relationship (I just got out of one), but I am open to it if the right person comes along. I feel like I just woke up from a long nap — entertain me! Freshstart, 57, seeking: M, l

CREATIVE WOMAN SEEKS

MALE COUNTERPART

I want a guy who was raised by a liberated mother. I am creative, witty, talented, graceful and devilish. Someone once said I think out of both sides of my brain — organized and artistic. I once auditioned for and was selected to sing backup for the Shirelles. People think I’m fun to be with. Maybe you will, too. San2Lus 74, seeking: M, l

HARDWORKING, INDEPENDENT TEACHER, GARDENER

Recently divorced after 25 years.

Looking to rediscover fun! I am a hardworking, independent and very active person. Big gardener. Like to be outside, hanging with friends and family. Enjoy going out for dinner/drinks/ dancing or hanging out at home. Pretty easygoing. La 54 seeking: M, l

JOT IN THE SUNSHINE

Happy lady leading a life of joy and adventure. Looking for a femme to join me in the fun, on the mountain and in the sleeping bag. Let’s go!

LolaLife 37, seeking: W, TW, NC

BIODYNAMIC, SAGACIOUS ARTIST

Desire meaningful conversation, companionship, laughter and love. I am family- and community-minded with philanthropic tendencies; broadly studied in history, art, science and spirituality; well traveled and influenced by world cultures. I lead a conscientious, healthy lifestyle and keep a clean home, hands and heart. Retired, actively pursuing my passions and enjoying my grandchildren. Are you similarly inclined? Eruditee 60, seeking: M, l

INTROVERTED EXTROVERT TO DANCE

Are you a grown-up and still curious, playful, inquisitive, ever learning? I thrive outdoors in every season and relish reflective company, solitude and togetherness, sharing ideas and inspiration, and desires to love in a way that we feel free. I see that many of us here wonder how to describe themselves. Aren’t we all more than we can say? esmeflying 60 seeking: M, l

STARTING A NEW CHAPTER

I’m going to college. I love reading and writing fiction. I love horror, movies and AHS. No chick flicks. I love playing pool, live music and dance. Can’t work but can play. I have love and kindness to offer the right person. I’m loyal, brave and supportive. I’m adventurous, definitely curious in all areas of life. Get to know me! salingersunrise 42 seeking: M, W, Q, NC, NBP, Cp, l

NATURE GIRL

New to the area and looking for friends and dates for the first time in my life. I feel weird even doing this (does everyone say that?). I’m in my 50s but slim and fit and honestly look younger than I am. Prefer slim, tall men but honestly don’t care much as long as you’re open-minded, fun and a good conversationalist. Highmeadows, 58 seeking: M, W, NC

WHAT’S BEHIND DOOR NO. 1?

I am a nature-loving, creative soul with a spiritual side who is a trusting, fun-loving, very healthy, energetic, welltraveled, loving soul. I am looking for a kindhearted, handsome “I can do it” guy, who is educated, trusting, innovative, creative/handy, with a fun-loving side who can laugh at himself, with freedom to travel and take time to hike and camp. FairyFunny 62, seeking: M

HONEST, EASYGOING, STRAIGHTFORWARD

W

M

TM

Q

NBP

NC

Cp

Vermonter retired from dairy farming, looking for a friend to share lunch, to get to know each other — what likes and dislikes we have in common, and what type of relationship we are looking for together. retired70 76, seeking: M

INTEGRITY FIRST

I live a very positive life, and I’m truly happy with where I am. I’m here, hoping to find someone to add to my happiness. I am a mother to two teenage boys in high school, a business professional, a very independent woman and love my family/friends who surround my life. Integrity 41, seeking: M, l

SMART, SELF-AWARE, KIND SEEKS SAME

Smart, self-aware and kind seeking same. AnneShirley 47 seeking: M

THIS COULD BE GREAT, RIGHT?

Calm, peaceful woman hoping to connect with a kind, smart, liberal, dog-loving guy. I work in a medical practice and also have a small business and live in northern New York. I am a widow but so ready for a great second chapter! Julie2085 66, seeking: M, l

CURIOUS, QUIET, SILLY, CONTENT

I’m looking to enhance my life, not complete it. Curiosity about others, kindness and generosity are essential. It’s important to me that a partner be able to share thoughts and emotions kindly, have a sharp intellect and a ready sense of humor. (PS: If Trump is for you, you’re not for me, but I wish you well.) Elaine 59 seeking: M, l

NO-DRAMA RIVER LOVER

Seeking conversations, hikes and walks, sharing a meal. Compatibility with where we each are in life. Hanging out with friends, watching a movie, just talking. Love learning about science, metaphysics, new music but also appreciate dad jokes to send to my grandkids, podcasts and reading mystery books. What are you serious about, and what makes you laugh? greentara, 65, seeking: M, l

LOYAL, DEPENDABLE, DIFFERENT, LOVING

I am a mature, single woman of color who is open-minded, real and comfortable in my uniqueness. I am looking for white mature man for companionship and friendship. I value peace, joy and am not interested in any drama. Mami8 40, seeking: M

MEN seeking...

LIFE IS POETRY

I like to believe my heart is in the right place. I work on being aware and openminded, considerate and a good listener. I’m artsy and eclectic. Music, art and literature are the simple things that make me happy. I’m looking for someone to share life with and write our own poetry. Someone who is kind and self-aware. DogberryTouchstone, 60, seeking: W, l

LOVING, LOYAL, CARING

I’m a kind, loving, caring, honest man who will open a door for you in public and spank you in private. I like physical touch, holding hands, walking arm in arm, hand on your thigh, snuggling, caressing and kissing. For now, I’m looking for a woman who would like to have casual sex with the possibility of a growing relationship. Ahhmtns, 61, seeking: W, Cp, l

CHILL, LOVING DUDE FROM IOWA

Hello! I recently moved back to Vermont and brought my little tea company with me. I am a kindhearted little dude hoping to meet a sweet-hearted woman I can learn, grow and explore with. I am both gentle and excitable but mostly pour my excitement into my creative endeavors and exploring the great outdoors. JungleJim, 41, seeking: W, l

NATIVE VERMONTER, ADVENTUROUS AND KIND

I’m an active, somewhat handsome, intelligent, artistic man whom takes care of himself. I live in and love nature. Looking for a fit, well-hung man, or men, who would enjoy taking care of my mostly submissive nature! Happygolucki1, 68, seeking: M, Cp

YOU, ME, ROMANTIC CANDLELIGHT DINNER?

Hi. Newly divorced guy just looking to meet someone to get to know, have fun with and more. I am a romantic at heart, passionate and have an offbeat sense of humor, but I can be somewhat shy at first. I enjoy cooking, gardening, reading and antiquing. Not a partier. I’d rather spend an evening with that special someone. Maybe you? attaboydavey, 54, seeking: M, W, TW, l

HELLO FROM SOUTH BURLINGTON

I am a human services worker and a college graduate. Have traveled to 47 states. I am definitely an outdoors person and also like to attend a wide variety of events. I recently ended a 23-year relationship and am ready to move on. Looking for a sincere woman, preferably in Chittenden County, for dating and a long-term relationship. kevinvermont, 63, seeking: W, l

WHERE ARE WE IN TIME?

Brutally honest, self-dedicated to helping and openly truthful. What can I say? I am a man, always and foremost. It’s what I do best. Have I or you not learned a lot in 68 years about life? Where are you going next? ManInTime, 68, seeking: W, l

ADVENTURE IS OUT THERE, LOVE

I’m housebroken, thoughtful, adventurous, kind. I love being helpful and doing my part to take care of Mother Earth! I’m learning to sailboat in my driveway and working on my flight classes. SouthHero 38, seeking: W

ENJOY TIME WITH FRIENDS

I like to try new things, but I also keep the things that have worked well for me in the past the same. I enjoy dinner out with my friends, and I enjoy watching a movie with my dog. I enjoy hockey and football and target shooting. I love to cook. natedog1961 63, seeking: W

EASYGOING GUY

Hi. Just looking to see what is out there. I love animals and love my family. I enjoy watching movies and chilling at home. During the summer, I love to be outside. I have lived in Vermont my whole life. Would love to find a relationship with someone. Jman85 36, seeking: W

INTUITIVE EXPLORATION

Hello! I’m a CNC maintenance technician, very simple and to the point. I enjoy working on mechanics, good food, good company. I like to be outside whenever I can and enjoy the sunshine! I’m looking for a woman who likes to have fun most of all, can carry a conversation, enjoys life and has great energy. JerimiahD 35, seeking: W, l

GREENONE

Hello! GreenOne 45 seeking: W, Cp

EASYGOING SUGAR DADDY

Sugar daddy. Single, fit, clean, healthy man. Easygoing, happy with life, generous, spontaneous. I enjoy fishing, occasional movies, road trips, cooking. I would like to meet a fun, open-minded sugar babe who would also like to meet a generous sugar daddy. Bluej, 53 seeking: W

NO CELLPHONES,

SPORTS OR BEER

Widower, 66. Advanced degree, college instructor, psychotherapist. Published author: novels, nonfiction. Drinks, no drugs, “conservatarian” politics. Interests: antiques, history, literature, art and photography. Blind since mid-’90s, think/act like a sighted person. Seek attractive woman, well read, intelligent, articulate, sense of humor. Ideally, great conversation and companionship will lead to someone I can pamper and spoil. 121nyv 66, seeking: W, l

EASYGOING, SINCERE NATURE LOVER

OK, here goes: I’m a fit hard worker who likes to be out in the fresh air and sunshine doing most activities. Responsible and loyal, I’m a realist. Life is fun but can be difficult alone. I would love to have a best friend to come home to every night. Thanks for your time.

Drafthorse_50 50, seeking: W, l

TRANS WOMEN seeking...

RECENTLY RELOCATED, ADVENTUROUS, FREE SPIRIT

I’m a gorgeous, white, 100 percent passable trans lady who is 57 and could pass as 30 — yes, 30! I long for love, laughter and romance, along with loving nature. I want a man who’s all man, rugged, handsome, well built but prefers a woman like myself. It’s as simple as that. We meet, fall in love and live happily ever after. Sammijo 58, seeking: M, l

FABULOUSLY FUTCH

Tall, smart trans woman looking for my people. I live in Middlebury. Any background in punk or politics is a plus — let’s make some noise! sashamarx 54 seeking: M, W, TM, TW, Q, NC, NBP, Cp, l

GENDERQUEER PEOPLE seeking...

LET ME WRITE YOUR STORY

Truly just here to explore everyone else. Dating weirds me out, and sex is so intimidating, so just let me be your friend. I promise I’m actually kinda cool. orion_nebula, 28, seeking: M, W, TM, TW, Q, NC, NBP, l

COUPLES seeking...

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, 43 seeking: M, W, Q, Cp

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, 67, seeking: M, TM, NC, Cp, l

If you’ve been spied, go online to contact your admirer!

dating.sevendaysvt.com

WILD SATURDAY NIGHT, ESSEX HANNAFORD

6:45 p.m. You: orange jacket, brown hair, shopping with a single grocery bag, sporting the only mustache I’ve ever found attractive in my life. Me: purple jacket, messy ponytail, shopping with my mom. We made eye contact in the produce section, and I smiled at you by the Mexican food. You looked like a deer in headlights. When: Saturday, March 9, 2024. Where: Hannaford, Essex. You: Man. Me: Woman. #915965

RICHMOND, SATURDAY MORNING, JOGGING HELLO

Just before 11 a.m. Me: M, tall, graying hair, glasses. You: F, petite, black hair in a bun, jogging up Bridge Street as I walked from home to the post office. en you turned left by the dentist. We’ve waved hello before as you’ve jogged by. Wondering if you’d like to talk sometime over coffee/ tea/whatever? When: Saturday, March 9, 2024. Where: Richmond village. You: Woman. Me: Man. #915964

VIOLET VEST VOTER

I was waiting in line to vote, you were on your way out, and our eyes locked for much more than a mere moment. Buy a lady lunch at Leunig’s? When: Tuesday, March 5, 2024. Where: Ward 3 polls.

You: Man. Me: Trans woman. #915963

THREE IS BETTER THAN TWO

e secretary of state’s website says only three people in the entire state voted “Ceasefire” in the primary. Just so happens I’m one and I work with the second person. Who’s our third? Kind and curious to meet a like-minded voter! Free Palestine! When: Tuesday, March 5, 2024. Where: somewhere in a Green Mountain State polling center. You: Group. Me: Woman. #915962

NEWSBOY CAP CUTIE!

I first saw you in line at Trials of Cato and Talisk. Was a bop, eh? You looked at me several times and had the cutest cap. Just wanted to inform you that you look like some 1920s dreamboat. Sigh! When: Saturday, January 27, 2024. Where: Higher Ground. You: Man. Me: Woman. #915961

RE: LOOKING FOR A COMPANION

at’s what I’m talking about! Glad you found someone who respects you. Dating is hard. As the folks from America said, “Don’t give up until you drink from the silver cup.” When: Saturday, March 2, 2024. Where: Seven Days I Spy. You: Woman. Me: Man. #915960

LOVE YOU

I feel like I’m getting onto a boat for a long journey, but all I want is to go back to the shore to live with you. I believe firmly that my heart, mind and soul always were and still are with you. When: ursday, February 29, 2024. Where: life. You: Woman. Me: Man. #915958

CONDUCTOR BUMBLE

Hi, Conductor Bumble! anks for a nice ride to NYC — or maybe you got off in Albany with the “crew changes.” Your smile and overall pleasant demeanor made the trip more delightful. Just stay out of the maple-flavored “goodies.” When: Saturday, February 24, 2024. Where: Amtrak, Ethan Allen Line. You: Man. Me: Woman. #915956

RE: FRIENDLY KENNEDY DR. WAVE

I’m glad that I could make your day, and yes, I would love to meet you for a coffee or drink — just name the place! When: Saturday, February 3, 2024. Where: Kennedy Dr. You: Woman. Me: Man. #915954

REVEREND Ask

Irreverent counsel on life’s conundrums

De Rev end,

I quit drinking last summer because I felt like I needed to take a break. For the most part, people have been supportive of my decision and I haven’t really felt tempted to pick up a drink. I usually go barhopping on St. Patrick’s Day with a group of friends, and they have invited me to join them again this year. ey all know I don’t drink anymore, and I think I could still have fun, but I’m worried that it’ll be too easy to fall off the wagon. Should I risk it?

T. Totetli (NONBINARY, 27)

PAULA ON MATCH

Seen your ad on Match. St. Albans, early 60s, woman. Like your photo, nicelooking gal. Wanted to write and say hi, but your ad was gone. Miss seeing you. Looking for long-term friendship. Are you coming back to Match? We could chat or have a date. I sent you a like. Your secret admirer. When: ursday, January 25, 2024. Where: Match.com. You: Woman. Me: Man. #915957

SAW YOU AT TRADER JOE’S

We crossed paths by the vegetables, where we made eye contact. You had glasses, as did I, and you were wearing a black coat. I was in blue. Instead of approaching you, I froze after the smile exchange. Would love to get a chance to meet you again. When: Friday, February 23, 2024. Where: Trader Joe’s. You: Woman. Me: Man. #915955

FAT-BIKE FLIRT

Erica, it was fun meeting you on Perry Hill. I was so giddy when the groomer passed us above S’mores. e best part of my day was talking to you while I caught my breath. May I join you on your next ride? When: Sunday, February 18, 2024. Where: Waterbury. You: Woman. Me: Man. #915953

BUMBLESTUMBLE

We were doing really well, I thought, but I had a family emergency and you ended our chat. You have my number and my name. Please reach out, and we can keep growing? When: Monday, February 12, 2024. Where: Bumble. You: Woman. Me: Man. #915952

KIND WORDS WITH NICK

Nick and your adorable pooch: ank you for your kind conversation while walking up the hill at the waterfront. I hope to see you at the plunge next year! When: Saturday, February 10, 2024. Where: Burlington waterfront (I was asking for directions). You: Man. Me: Woman. #915951

LOOKING FOR LOVE

Trying to reach user “Kate.” ought it could be here in the I Spy. Any chance you would like to get a coffee? I am a bit south of your age range, though. When: Sunday, February 11, 2024. Where: I Spy. You: Woman. Me: Man. #915948

De T. Totetli ,

FRIDAY AT DUNKIN’

8:30 a.m. We exchanged glances multiple times at the Shelburne Road Dunkin’, both of us waiting for our drinks. You: blonde, jacket, black yoga pants, Sorels, sunglasses. Me: brown hair, jeans, blue jacket. Can I buy you coffee next time over conversation? When: Friday, February 9, 2024. Where: Dunkin’. You: Woman. Me: Man. #915949

THE LAMP SHOP IN BURLINGTON

I was browsing, and you offered to help me a couple of times. You were confused because I didn’t seem very interested in the lamps, until I told you I was with a friend who was shopping. I liked your look and your confident energy. I’m intrigued. When: Saturday, February 3, 2024. Where: the Lamp Shop, Burlington. You: Woman. Me: Woman. #915946

SHAW’S, VERGENNES, ROASTED CHICKEN

Attractive blonde at checkout. We discussed the convenience of buying a roasted chicken. e teller chimed in with a soup suggestion. Let’s make soup together. When: Saturday, February 3, 2024. Where: Shaw’s, Vergennes. You: Woman. Me: Man. #915944

HAPPY BORN DAY! e happiest born day to my love. I look at you and see all the possibilities of our future together. e laughs and inside jokes. e way you look at my stupid face with so much love and compassion. So grab your flannel panties and let’s explore this journey called life together. In my heart and thoughts always. When: Saturday, February 10, 2024. Where: Calais. You: Woman. Me: Man. #915943

FRIENDLY KENNEDY DRIVE INTERACTION WAVE

You and I were waiting at a traffic light at the intersection of Kennedy Drive and Route 116 around 3. You were in a silver GMC pickup truck, and I was in a white SUV Acura. You gave me a friendly wave, and it made my day. Reach out if you would like to meet for a coffee/drink!

When: Saturday, February 3, 2024. Where: Kennedy Dr., South Burlington. You: Man. Me: Woman. #915942

My last name is about as Irish as they come, and Lord knows I enjoy a drink. But if I didn’t perform in a band every St. Patrick’s Day, there’s little chance you would find me in a bar on that day. e holiday is about tied with New Year’s Eve in terms of revelers hitting the sauce too hard and getting messy.

BLACK FLANNEL BAR, SATURDAY 2/3

6 to 7ish. I was at the corner of the bar with a friend. You were directly across from me wearing a black knit hat. Caught your eye a few times; something about you caught my interest. Care to chat? When: Saturday, February 3, 2024. Where: Black Flannel. You: Man. Me: Woman. #915941

CRYING AT COMEDY WOLF

You were onstage at Comedy Wolf this week talking about crying in public. I’m the one who guessed your sign after the show, then forgot to leave you my number before running away into the night. Funny, pretty and a water sign? What a dream! Get in touch if you want to cry in public together sometime. When: ursday, February 1, 2024. Where: Radio Bean. You: Nonbinary person. Me: Nonbinary person. #915940

DEB, LONG AGO, DAVID, 1999

I miss you, Deb. is is David from 25 years ago. We had many nice times but fell apart, and now we are older. Wiser? Love to see you again. I lived in Berkshire, and you in Montpelier. Shall we share some words? Perhaps even a kiss? When: Saturday, February 2, 2019. Where: Montpelier and Berkshire. You: Woman. Me: Man. #915939

YOU ALWAYS MAKE MY DAY

To the dark- aired customer service associate whose kindness always makes my day better: You smiled so warmly when you told me how you appreciated what I said; dare I hope that may have been more than courtesy? I’m respectful enough to accept whatever you wish, and you’re intriguing enough that I’m fine with whatever that is. When: ursday, February 1, 2024. Where: City Market. You: Woman. Me: Man. #915938

SUSHI AND SOMERSAULTS

To the elegant woman in stripes having sushi with a friend: I couldn’t help but overhear you tell the story of your gymnastic reawakening, and it reminded me of a septuagenarian gymnast I knew who designed her home around a set of rings, upon which she could be found swinging every night. So, you go, girl! When: Tuesday, January 30, 2024. Where: Sakura Sushi & Kitchen. You: Woman. Me: Man. #915937

them on the route. Alternatively, you could bring green food coloring to pop into soda water to make it festive.

It’s also important to be ready with a reply for when someone offers you a drink. Try a simple one-liner like this: “I don’t mix well with alcohol.” Funny but firm.

Going to a bar on March 17 when you’re trying to stay sober is like taking a stroll into the lion’s den. ere are many other ways to celebrate the day, from hosting a St. Paddy’s potluck at home to attending a daytime parade, and you should give an alternative some serious thought. But if you feel like your willpower can stand the test and you really want to go out with your friends, give it a shot — and plan ahead to stay the course.

Speaking of planning ahead: Do you have a solidly sober buddy that you could ask to go with you? ere is strength in numbers, and a little extra support never hurts.

ese days, most bars stock nonalcoholic beers and even spirits. Nonalcoholic cocktails are all the rage, and a lot of places are making fancy ones. Research which bars in your area offer a good selection, and make sure to include

If having a responsibility would help you stick to your guns, you could offer to be the designated driver for the group. But it might be best to leave yourself the option to make an Irish exit before the night is through.

Remember: If you feel like the temptation might be too much for you right now, it’s absolutely OK to decline the invitation. You’re not being a party pooper; you’re taking care of yourself. And if your friends are worth their salt potatoes, they’ll understand.

Good luck and God bless,

What’s your problem?

Send it to asktherev@sevendaysvt.com.

Fun, adventurous GM, early 60s, looking for a buddy to please. Would like it to be on a regular basis. Let’s meet up. Call/text. #L1736

Not a romantic/sexual request! Young, handsome woman seeking butch mentor (25 to 45) for guidance in self-expression, strength and intersocietal relations. #L1735

I’m a woman, 80 y/o, seeking a man, 70 to 80 y/o. I want friendship as well as a companion. Also like the outdoors in the summer. Swimming, boating and just reading at home. Like going out to eat once in a while. #L1734

I’m a 67-y/o woman seeking a 55- to 76-y/o man. I am looking for a man to enjoy inside and outside — one who finds time to be a companion, is not a couch potato, and enjoys the outdoors, traveling, golf, fishing, etc. Leave your cell number. #L1733

Let’s do some things — coffee at Black Cap Coffee, dinner, the Green Mountain Film Festival, music at Hugo’s or Bent Nails Bistro. Woman, early 70s, seeking man of similar age to explore common interests. #L1732

Kind, loving and sincere 72y/o woman looking for a male companion/friend to spend time with and get to know. #L1726

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We’ll publish as many messages as we can in the Love Letters section above.

Interested readers will send you letters in the mail. No internet required!

I am a 25-y/o male forager, tinkerer and dumpster diver seeking like-minded empathetic woman of a similar age. #L1729

I’m a 62-y/o female who wants a male companion to have fun with, maybe go for some drinks or smoke a bowl. Young in spirit, but I’m not into the romantic part of relationships anymore. Simply looking for a goofy friend to take me out on the town. #L1730

I’m a lifelong good-looking senior Vermonter. BA at Saint Michael’s College. Had a 750 Honda for 10 years to explore Arizona and Vermont. Live with my cat. Regular gardening indoor and out. Seeking a companion who is caring and honest for love and sexual experiences. #L1725

56-y/o single, sincere gentleman looking for one female partner for fun/experiences in St. J. Healthy, fit, humorous, not bad looking. Honest, tolerant, respectful. Open mind/heart. Just a tad lonely, and that is a good thing for us. #L1727

I’m a man, 34, seeking a woman, 20s to 30s. Make something out of me. I am full of potential. I work and was born in Vermont. Looking for a partner in life. #L1724

I’m 47, seeking a male. I’m 5’6, 206 pounds, looking for someone to marry me and who is very wealthy. Please respond ASAP. #L1728

SWF, mid-60s, slender. Loves: wildlife safety, non-predator pets, honest ones, kept-real dynamics and excellence with style. Hates: psychos and phonies, tech-obsesseds and scams. ISO of well-established guy, 60s to 70s — rather saintly. Also, hates old buildings — I like new! #L1722

I am a 25-y/o female looking for a sugar-daddy male (50 to 70). Not for a sexual relationship; more of a companionship. #L1723 I’m a 73-y/o woman seeking a male age 68 to 78. Would like to spend my birthday with a friend. I am trying to pare down my things. Lots of antiques and family treasures. And I’m still working — need a break — mid-February. I like sports — football, etc. Reading and movies. Please write me with your thoughts and phone number. #L1720

I am a 35-y/o M, thirsty for love. I am looking for a good-hearted woman who will accept that I am her ADAM. I promise to give you my best. You will never be disappointed. #L1721

I’m a 72-y/o male who would love to sensually experience a mature woman in her 70s or 80s. Phone number, please. #L1719

I’m a single female, 47, 5’6, red hair, blue eyes, 206 pounds, looking for the one who will marry me and is very well off financially wealthy to fulfill my dreams with. #L1716

I’m a 65-y/o male seeking a 55- to 65-y/o female. I am a hardworking man, loving and kind. I enjoy gardening (vegetables and flowers), snuggling by a campfire/ camping, cooking, hunting and fishing. Seeking a woman who is honest and caring. Someone to spend time with and see where it goes. #L1717

For 55-y/o M wannabe geek: I’m your huckleberry. Intense discussions and companionship are my game. Say when. My fave character. Demure, not exactly; yes, down to earth. You said intense — I’m your girl! I’m 55 also. Hope to hear back. #L1715

below:

(OR, ATTACH A SEPARATE PIECE OF PAPER.)

I’m a

AGE + GENDER (OPTIONAL) seeking a AGE + GENDER (OPTIONAL)

Required confidential info: NAME

ADDRESS

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