Seven Days, March 5, 2025 by Seven Days

BY JONATHAN MINGLE, PAGE

COMPILED BY MATTHEW ROY

STICKY SITUATION

Sen. Peter Welch (D-Vt.) invited the Vermont Maple Sugar Makers’ Association executive director to Trump’s address to Congress. Sugar makers now face a 25 percent tari on Canadian equipment.

BORDERLINE

Homeland Security

Burlington Democrats swept contested elections on Tuesday to cement the party’s majority on the city council for another two years.

Democrats won in three of four districts on Town Meeting Day. at means the Dems will hold seven of the council’s 12 seats, positioning them well to pursue their priorities — and block those of their Progressive counterparts.

Democrat and ﬁrst-time candidate Allie Schachter won in the East District, besting Progressive Kathy Olwell. In the South District, Democrat Ranjit “Buddy” Singh defeated Progressive Jennifer Monroe Zakaras.

DEMS RULE — IN BTV, ANYWAY

drinking water systems. ey approved another $20 million bond to address deferred maintenance issues, such as crumbling sidewalks.

Dems also held on to the North District, where incumbent Councilor Mark Barlow had faced a last-minute write-in challenge from former councilor Ali Dieng. e Progs, meantime, won the uncontested Central District race to give incumbent Councilor Melo Grant another term.

Burlington voters overwhelmingly approved several ballot measures. e biggest ticket item was a $152 million bond to fund upgrades of the city’s wastewater treatment system. e improvements are sorely needed, city ofﬁcials said. Voters also passed a $20 million bond to improve

e water and wastewater bonds will increase the typical home’s monthly bill from $60 to $112 by 2030. e infrastructure bond will cost the owner of a home valued at $500,000 an additional $139 in taxes.

Secretary Kristi Noem stepped over the international line at the Haskell Free Library recently and said “51st State” each time she set foot in Canada, former Seven Dayzer Paul Heintz reported in the Boston Globe A born diplomat.

CHAMP LIVES

Progressive Mayor Emma Mulvaney-Stanak congratulated the victors in council races. She also thanked voters for their support of the infrastructure bonds, as well as for one other measure passed — a bid to change the city charter so Burlington can ban ﬁrearms in bars. Voters approved an identical item several years ago, but the Vermont legislature never authorized the charter change, which is required. It remains to be seen whether this item, resurrected after a dispute in a city bar led to a fatal shooting, will get a different reception in Montpelier this time.

“My administration will advocate for the legislature to respect the will of the voters and adopt this charter change,” the mayor said.

Read reporter Courtney Lamdin’s full stories on sevendaysvt.com.

Jonesville residents used heavy equipment to sculpt a nearly 40-foot snow sculpture of Lake Champlain’s famous resident. Cool.

SNOW BUSINESS

The summit of Mount Mansﬁeld has gotten more than 100 inches of snow this year — a depth that hasn’t been seen since 2019, WPTZ-TV reported.

$439,120

That’s how much the O ce of the Attorney General got returned to Vermonters who complained about home improvement work last year.

TOPFIVE

1. “Vermont Attractions Hit by Canadian Tourist Cancellations” by Anne Wallace Allen. President Donald Trump’s threatened tariffs and his stated desire to annex Canada led to the backlash. Should we start marketing to Russians?

2. “Incoming: Vice President JD Vance Plans Vermont Ski Excursion” by Colin Flanders. After publicly castigating Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, the veep hit the slopes.

3. “In a New Trump Era, Bernie Sanders’ Crusade Against Oligarchy Is Resonating With Americans Once Again” by Kevin McCallum. e senator is barnstorming in the Midwest, attempting to pressure members of Congress to ﬁght Trump’s budget.

4. “Hepcat Vinyl Listening Bar and Café Opens in Montpelier” by Melissa Pasanen. Inspired by his travels in Japan, Christopher Gleason has opened an intimate vinyl listening bar and café.

5. “Foxy’s in Barre Is a Café by Day, Spooky Saloon by Night, Safe Space Always” by Jordan Barry. e new café-bar has a cozy, all-are-welcome feel, plus espresso, cocktails, a full-scale kitchen and mummiﬁed cats.

TOWN

CRIER

LOCALLY SOURCED NEWS

Fire Claims an Icon in Sharon Galen Mudgett Jr., an 81-year-old musician who was a Sharon lister, a former town moderator and correspondent for the Herald, died in a ﬁre, the paper reported.

‘POWDER TO THE PEOPLE’

Subscribers to Sugarbush Resort’s snow report, an email and online post about snow conditions, got more than just a powder primer on Saturday. In addition to promises of “fresh pow,” snow reporter Lucy Welch, who’s been letting skiers know about conditions there since 2023, delivered a critique of the administration of President Donald Trump and urged skiers to “use their voice.”

While the message was posted on Sugarbush’s site and also emailed to subscribers, Welch had one skier in mind in particular: Vice President JD Vance, who took his family to Sugarbush last weekend.

On Saturday, hundreds of people through-

out the Mad River Valley protested Vance’s visit, lining roads and holding signs with messages such as “Spineless fascists can’t ski” and “Go ski in Russia!”

Welch, who is 25, took a riskier approach. She called out the administration for failing to address climate change, targeting members of the LGBTQ+ community and cutting National Forest Service funding. Sugarbush is in the Green Mountain National Forest.

“I can only assume that I will be ﬁred,” Welch acknowledged. “But at least this will do even a smidge more than just shutting up and being a sheep.” She concluded: “What a gift to be a Sugarbush snow reporter. I hope that everyone has a fantastic day, and power to the freakin people.”

On Monday, Seven Days reached out

to Welch, who declined to comment. e Massachusetts native is a 2022 University of Vermont grad.

While her post was taken down within hours, screenshots of it quickly went viral on social media. “I stand with Lucy Welch,” some people posted on Instagram. “Powder to the people!”

Environmentalist Bill McKibben declared Welch “a hero for the moment” on Substack. A few people on Reddit shared that they had emailed the resort commending Welch and asking that she not be ﬁred.

It is unclear what Sugarbush — which did not respond to a request for comment — will do about Welch. But she certainly made a mark.

RACHEL HELLMAN

Protesters in the Mad River Valley

Buddy Singh at the Dems’ victory party

TIMBERRRRRR!

Paula Routly

Cathy Resmer

Don Eggert, Colby Roberts

NEWS & POLITICS

Matthew Roy

Sasha Goldstein

Ken Ellingwood, Candace Page

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

ARTS & CULTURE

Dan Bolles, Carolyn Fox

Chelsea Edgar, Margot Harrison, Pamela Polston

Jen Rose Smith

Alice Dodge

Chris Farnsworth

Rebecca Driscoll

Jordan Barry, Hannah Feuer, Mary Ann Lickteig, Melissa Pasanen, Ken Picard

Alice Dodge, Angela Simpson

Katherine Isaacs, Martie Majoros

DIGITAL & VIDEO

Bryan Parmelee

Eva Sollberger

James Buck

Je Baron DESIGN

Don Eggert

Rev. Diane Sullivan

John James

Je Baron SALES & MARKETING

Colby Roberts

Robyn Birgisson

Michelle Brown, Logan Pintka, Kaitlin Montgomery

Whitesell

Marcy Stabile

Gillian English

Madison Storm

CONTRIBUTING WRITERS

BEING HOMELESS IS HUMILIATING

[Re “Exposed,” February 5]: I’m struggling to survive as a homeless person living in my car. It’s a humiliating experience, stripping me of my dignity and sense of belonging in the community. Despite being a small business owner, I feel like an outcast.

Finding safe parking is a daily challenge. I’ve had terrifying encounters, including an incident at a rest stop near Waterbury where a naked man assaulted me. I’ve also experienced harassment from other drivers and individuals while trying to sleep.

Even when I’ve obtained permission to park, I’ve faced problems. At one location, I su ered from carbon monoxide poisoning, and my 74-year-old mother, who has been in and out of the hospital, was also a ected.

Recently, I was treated horribly and illegally by the police, and I’m in the process of ﬁling a complaint. This experience has eroded my trust of and respect for law enforcement.

Being homeless is expensive, with costs adding up for gas, food and car maintenance. It’s di cult to save and get back on my feet. I feel like I don’t belong, and the lack of compassion and support from authorities makes it harder.

MUSK DOESN’T ‘BELONG’ IN STORY

While I appreciate the focus on Dr. Mel Houser’s important work in the neurodivergent community in [“Meeting of Minds: All Brains Belong Provides Neurodivergent People With Health Care, Education and Social Connections,” January 15], I found the comparison to Elon Musk at the end of the piece deeply troubling.

Speaking as an autistic patient in the All Brains Belong community, I am dismayed to see Musk, a figure whose public actions and statements have caused significant harm to autistic and other neurodivergent people, compared to Houser. Musk has repeatedly dismissed neurodivergent experiences, belittling our struggles and reducing autism to a caricature. Musk uses his own autistic expressions as an excuse for racist, repugnant behavior without apology, and his ongoing attacks on the trans community also contribute to the harm he is causing to marginalized groups, further perpetuating harmful stereotypes about gender and neurodivergence.

Jordan Adams, Justin Boland, Alex Brown, Erik Esckilsen, Steve Goldstein, Amy Lilly, Bryan Parmelee, Suzanne Podhaizer, Samantha Randlett, Jim Schley, Dayton Shafer, Carolyn Shapiro, Xenia Turner, Casey Ryan Vock

CONTRIBUTING ARTISTS

Luke Awtry, Daria Bishop, James Buck, Bear Cieri, Caleb Kenna, Tim Newcomb, Jeb Wallace-Brodeur FOUNDERS

Pamela Polston, Paula Routly

CIRCULATION: 35,000

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

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Not all homeless individuals struggle with addiction, crime or incarceration. Many, like me, are simply stuck due to circumstances beyond our control. Our government must address the root causes of homelessness, including inadequate housing and restrictive laws like Act 250.

We need to invest in a ordable housing solutions, such as tiny houses and microapartments, to help people get back on their feet. It’s more cost-e ective to support those in need than to leave them on the streets.

I’m calling on our community to show compassion and understanding. We need to recognize that homelessness can happen to anyone and that we all deserve a chance to rebuild our lives.

I’m not sure how much longer I can hold on. I hope that by sharing my story, I can inspire change and encourage our leaders to take action.

Dr. Houser is committed to creating neuro-a rming health care that values the diverse experiences of autistic individuals while prioritizing compassion and understanding. Comparing them to Musk, who often alienates and dismisses the very communities Houser seeks to support, undermines the important work All Brains Belong is doing to build a more inclusive world for neurodivergent people.

I respectfully request that the mention of Musk be redacted from this article. Despite his successful achievements in business, his actions and attitudes do not align with the values of the neurodivergent community, and such comparisons distract from the meaningful progress being made by autistic professionals like Houser, who are truly working to improve the lives of autistic and neurodivergent individuals.

Amy Noyes PLAINFIELD

NOT THE ONLY WINNERS

Seven Days shall not be held liable to any advertiser for any loss that results from the incorrect publication of its advertisement. If a mistake is ours, and the advertising purpose has been rendered valueless, Seven Days may cancel the charges for the advertisement, or a portion thereof as deemed reasonable by the publisher. Seven Days reserves the right to refuse any advertising, including inserts, at the discretion of the publishers.

CORRECTION

Sequoyah Peace

BURLINGTON

Last week’s story “Side Hustle” contained an error. Milton is in Chittenden County.

It was grand to see the soccer Cats’ victory parade on Burlington’s Church Street [“Year of the Dogs,” January 29]. They are in good company. The University of Vermont’s Lawrence Debate Union has been collecting national titles since 1950, when Richard O’Connell and future lieutenant governor Thomas Hayes won the national debate tournament at West Point. Burlington honored

them with a parade down Main Street aboard a fire truck and a large ceremonial key to the city.

The Cats next roared in 1967, when Carl Lisman and Nicholas Danigelis were first at Delta Sigma Rho nationals. Those wins under legendary coach Robert “Doc” Huber established UVM’s reputation as a national leader, attracting debaters and grad students from far and wide. Huber’s successor, the renowned debate missionary Alfred “Tuna” Snider, led UVM to global ranking in international competition.

Most recently, under head coach Helen Morgan Parmett, Lawrence Debate Union teams won three national titles in 2016 at the Cross Examination Debate Association nationals (Taylor Brough and Khalil Lee), Social Justice Debates in 2024 (Rachel Kussick and Maggie Pierce), and the Yaatly Online Debate League in 2024 (Rachel Kussick and Bridget Grew).

Nominally in the English department, Lawrence Debate Union contributes to UVM’s national brand by demonstrating excellence in the humanities and social sciences.

Samuel Press BURLINGTON

THANK BAIRD FOR BIKE PATH

I’m so sorry to hear of Sandy Baird’s passing. She contributed so much to our community, as noted in the press [Feedback: “Losing Sandy,” February 19; Life Lines: Sandra “Sandy” Baird, 19402025, February 18; “Sandy Baird, Fierce Advocate and Lawyer, Dies at 84,” February 10, online]. Few remember

her contribution to the Burlington waterfront.

My fondest memory of Sandy is from the battle to save the Burlington water front from the Alden Plan in 1985. Alden would have covered the filled land just north of College Street with a luxury hotel and two aboveground parking struc tures for 1,200 cars. Then-mayor Bernie Sanders was the leading proponent of Alden. Peter Clavelle was his director of community and economic development, promoting the plan.

Initially, the opposition to the Alden Plan consisted of a very small group of radical left environmentalists in the Green Party, Bea Bookchin and myself.

Sandy and Maurice Mahoney, both former Burlington city councilors, and then-city councilor Paul Lafayette joined the opposition, giving the “no” vote credibility in the political arena leading up to the critical vote on December 10, 1985.

Alden needed a two-thirds vote for a $6 million bond backed by the city. We held the proponents to 54 percent. That stretch of the waterfront is now used for volleyball games with the bike path under a tree-lined canopy instead.

TO GREATNESS FROM GRO DWORK

Sandy was one of a very small group of people that saved the waterfront from the Alden development. I’ll think of Sandy whenever I tread that stretch of the bike path. SHOP

6h-JohnCohn(FIRSTRobotics)022625

Axed Out

JONATHAN MINGLE

NEWS+POLITICS 14

From Florida, With Love

A homeless couple came to Vermont for services. ey found a home.

Trump Tari s Will Hit Vermonters

Dollars for Developers Housing builders want assistance to pay for infrastructure such as streets. Will it happen?

Sanders, Balint and Welch’s ‘Town Hall’ on Trump Draws

34,000

Feds in Vermont Bust Montréal Ring That Scammed the Elderly FEATURES

Molding Maestro At the Arcana Workshop in Barre, Mike Turner crafts dinosaurs, airplane replicas and a 50-pound chicken

A Little O the Top eater review: Sweeney Todd: e Demon Barber of Fleet Street Vermont Repertory eatre

a diner concept in Colchester Turn Up the Heat

Sounding It Out

Bunny Harvey’s audible landscapes at BCA Center In ‘Landscape Complexions,’ Natural and Human-Made Beauty Overlap

Rockin’ the Statehouse e Farmers Night performance series

Find a new job in the classiﬁeds section on page 74 and online at jobs.sevendaysvt.com.

THE 2025 VERMONT FLOWER SHOW A

A

Story of Gardening

SHOW HIGHLIGHTS

• Stroll through the Grand Garden Display filled with flowering bulbs, shrubs, trees, and water features!

• Shop the Flower Show Marketplace with over 100 vendors related to horticultural/gardening/home/ accessories.

• Choose from over 40 educational Seminars and Workshops on a variety of topics.

• Experts on-hand all 3 days to answer your gardening and landscaping questions.

• Family Activity Room: Come dig for worms, plant a flower, and make a craft and enjoy Magicians Without Borders & No Strings Marionette performances.

• Local bookstore with a great selection of books to choose from.

• The Federated Garden Clubs of VT, North District will present a National Garden Club Small Standard Flower Show: “The Story of the Garden.”

• Plant Sale at the end of the show on Sunday.

• Hours: Fri & Sat – 10am – 6pm; Sun – 10am – 4pm

Tickets on sale now! Online, Claussen’s and Gardener’s Supply Co. Tickets also available at the door!

March 7, 8, 9

CHAMPLAIN VALLEY EXPOSITION • ESSEX JUNCTION, VERMONT

Image

Freepik

FRIDAY 7

MAGNIFICENT

SATURDAY 8

MUST SEE, MUST DO THIS WEEK COMPILED BY REBECCA DRISCOLL

Keys to Happiness

MASQUER AID

e Vermont Italian Cultural Association hosts fundraiser Carnevale at the Essex Resort & Spa for the ﬁrst time since 2005, to beneﬁt its grants and scholarships. Revelers don festive attire and intricate masks à la the annual Venetian and indulge in live opera performances, a silent auction, dancing, specialty cocktails, cannoli and loads of pasta, naturalmente

SEE CALENDAR LISTING ON PAGE 61

Shacked Up

Colombian-born local photographer exhibit “Ice Shanties: Fishing, People & Culture” at the Center for Arts and Learning in Montpelier showcases atmospheric large-format color photographs. e simple yet captivating works are coupled with audio from Vermont Folklife interviews with the shanty owners, offering a window into their lives in temporary seasonal communities.

Pictured: “Steve Haisley Shanty” SEE GALLERY LISTING AT SEVENDAYSVT.COM/ART

Middlebury College’s Performing Arts Series welcomes Jordanian Palestinian pianist Iyad Sughayer to Mahaney Arts Center for his Vermont concert debut. An up-and-coming force bursting onto the classical music scene, Sughayer captures the hearts and imaginations of audiences worldwide with his extraordinary technique, profound emotive ability and keen musicality.

SEE CALENDAR LISTING ON PAGE 60

SATURDAY 8

Buy the Book

Guster front man Ryan Miller and musical guest Bill Mullins & Friends join Vermont native Colin ompson for the launch of his debut novel, e Spoils, at Light Club Lamp Shop in Burlington. e ﬁlmmaker turned author regales listeners with the story of a young man’s foibles and failures in Hollywood-adjacent Venice, Calif. — an unapologetic portrait of modern creative ambition.

SEE CALENDAR LISTING ON PAGE 62

SATURDAY 8

Over the Moon

Stargazers rocket to the Montshire Museum of Science in Norwich for Astronomy Day, an annual celebration of celestial wonders. is year’s extraterrestrial programming includes hands-on space demonstrations with Dartmouth College grad students, a gravity well, themed arts and crafts, and the rare chance to examine a meteorite at close range. Talk about outta this world!

SEE CALENDAR LISTING ON PAGE 64

SUNDAY 9

Ceiling Busters

Lawson’s Finest Liquids marks International Women’s Day with the Power of Women in Leadership panel in Waitsﬁeld. CEO Adeline Druart leads a candid convo about successes and challenges with local female business leaders such as Karen Colberg, CEO of King Arthur Baking; and Sascha Mayer, cofounder of Mamava, with a keynote by Vermont Women’s Fund director Emily Bush.

SEE CALENDAR LISTING ON PAGE 62

SUNDAY 9

Transcendent Tunes

If you’re looking to be swept away from this century’s trials and tribulations, Trinity Episcopal Church in Rutland presents an evening of penitential Tudor music by local vocal chamber ensemble Ampersand. e consort’s program, “Lamentation,” brings works of the 15th and 16th centuries into the spotlight, breathing new life into Renaissance polyphony — Greek for “many voices.”

SEE CALENDAR LISTING ON PAGE 62

festa

Carnevale

Federico Pardo’s

Feeding the Local Economy

Kismet is my new go-to lunch spot. A short walk from the Seven Days o ce in Burlington, the Turkish restaurant at the south end of Battery Street o ers sit-down service and is open all afternoon. I can nosh on a mezze platter and have a work meeting. The space is so big, I know I’ll get a table. That’s a nice way of saying: Business is not booming. I’ve gone in half a dozen times — for lunch and dinner — since the eatery opened last August and have noticed too many empty seats.

I saw at least one nonpaying customer, though.

On the way to lunch there last Friday, my colleague Cathy Resmer and I came upon a young woman passed out on the sidewalk. Specifically, she was bent over at the waist with her face buried in the dirt and snow of a landscaping feature. Cathy went to her aid, and some workers filling potholes nearby o ered to call 911. Cathy moved the woman’s head, confirmed she was breathing and eventually roused her. Tanya from Massachusetts was thankful and apologetic — and almost certainly under the influence — but insisted she did not want or need help.

When we got to Kismet and described Tanya to co-owner Serkan Çetin, he nodded; he’d already given her food and temporary shelter from the cold that day. From our table by the window, we watched her walk unsteadily back and forth outside on the sidewalk. After lunch, we spotted Tanya again: Çetin had let her in to use the bathroom.

Encounters such as these, or the fear of them, are among the challenges facing Burlington restaurateurs this winter. There’s also a giant construction site in the heart of downtown that has shut down sections of Main Street for months; the threat of avian ﬂu and its adverse impacts on the price and availability of eggs; fewer Canadians crossing the border since our president insulted their country; and the usual seasonal ice and cold.

And those are just the measurable risks to a local food scene that for decades has punched above its weight. On a gray wintry day, parts of Burlington look almost postapocalyptic. Back in January, Jed Davis, owner of two local restaurant groups that include the Farmhouse Tap & Grill, told Seven Days food writer Melissa Pasanen that Burlington eateries faced a potential “existential crisis.”

The Café HOT. is struggling to survive on Main Street, which has been closed to cars for more than a year. “Not having the parking, not having the tra c was already putting us in a weakened position,” co-owner Travis Walker-Hodkin said. “Once they closed the South Winooski intersection,” in early January, “that was a nail in the co n.”

He said he and his business partner have been “white-knuckling it” since the city started rerouting Main Street travelers to South Union

IF YOU CAN AFFORD IT, PLEASE GO OUT TO EAT THIS MONTH. VERMONT’S LOCAL FOOD BUSINESSES COULD USE A BOOST.

Street. Walker-Hodkin said this stage of the project, which was supposed to take four or ﬁve weeks, is now stretching into a third month, and no one at the Public Works Department can tell him with certainty when it will end.

“People cannot get into Burlington,” he observed. Nor can they easily ﬁnd their way to the Café HOT. “We’re a quick-service restaurant; the entire thing is built on ‘pop in, pop out,’ but if it takes you 20 minutes to get here and then you’ve got to walk through construction because you don’t know which way to go and they’re changing it all the time … Our only

MARCH

ON!

For

more information about our advertising deals this month for Vermont restaurants, email sales@sevendaysvt.com

problem right now is not having access to our customers.”

The Café HOT. has reduced operations from seven days a week to ﬁve and cut back on sta hours. It’s selling a frozen version of its Bon Appétit-endorsed chicken-fried egg at City Market, Healthy Living, Leo & Co., and Jake’s ONE Market. Walker-Hodkin has organized neighboring businesses on Main Street, including Honey Road, to ask the city for a lifeline. All they want, he said, is a westbound lane of one-way tra c on Main Street for as long as the work continues.

Walker-Hodkin claimed that, whether they admit it or not, “100 percent” of Burlington businesses are being adversely a ected by the closure of Main Street. In a December 17, 2024, Instagram post, chef Cara Chigazola Tobin put a positive spin on it: “You know what the best part of the Main St. construction is? It’s easier than ever to get a table at Honey Road!”

Last year’s roadwork on Pine Street did a number

on Haymaker Bun. The disruption is over for now, until it starts up again next month. Meanwhile, owner Caroline Corrente is trying to ﬁgure out how to make her 8-month-old breakfast and lunch spot in Burlington’s Soda Plant as successful as the 6-year-old one on Middlebury’s Bakery Lane. Last week she posted on Instagram, asking customers to buy gift cards to help her to navigate “turbulent economic conditions,” including “ripple e ects of tari s, all during the slowest time of the year.” She also mentioned rising food costs; the price of eggs has more than doubled. Corrente’s brioche dough-based business goes through up to 1,800 a week.

On Monday morning at the shop, she told me more: She’s had to lay o some workers and reprioritize. Like the Café HOT., she’s expanded her wholesale business, freezing buns and distributing them through Wilcox Ice Cream to stores in Vermont, New York and New Hampshire. Her husband, a former chef who now works in education ﬁnance, is doing pop-up dinners in Middlebury to bring in extra cash. She had “knots in her stomach” when she published the plea for community support.

“It’s a scary time,” she said, noting widespread anxiety about the state of the world; her sister just lost her Vermont job with USAID. But it’s also been “heartwarming” to see customer appreciation for her work. Someone shelled out $2,500 for a gift card.

I bought a box of mouthwatering buns and shared them with my coworkers back at the o ce. Especially in uncertain times, I’ve found life is vastly improved by something delicious.

With that in mind: If you can a ord it, please go out to eat this month. Whether it’s breakfast at a favorite diner or a special meal at a ﬁne-dining establishment, Vermont’s local food businesses could use a boost. We at Seven Days are doing our part, too, by o ering deep discounts to restaurant advertisers through March.

As Corrente put it: “If you value these places that are creating not only food but community, patronize them. Keep coming out and showing up.”

And don’t forget to leave a tip.

Paula Routly

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PHOTOS: PAULA ROUTLY

e Café HOT. in Burlington

Travis Walker-Hodkin

Trump Tariffs Will Hit Vermonters

BY ANNE WALLACE ALLEN anne@sevendaysvt.com

From Florida, With Love

A homeless couple came to Vermont for services. ey found a home.

BY DEREK BROUWER • derek@sevendaysvt.com

Ishowed up at Ana Winn’s motel room unannounced on a stressful day in June 2023. I was reporting on the first of many waves of evictions from motels as Gov. Phil Scott’s administration scaled back the pandemic-era emergency housing program. Winn had been ordered to vacate her room in a couple of hours. She had been scrubbing the counters with a sponge when I introduced myself.

“Come in, come in, come in,” she said. “Have a seat, honey!”

Winn was a big woman wearing a bright purple patterned dress. “Let me get my glasses on so I can see you,” she said. Her glasses, also purple, were missing one of the arms and lay crooked across her nose. She plopped onto her bed and gestured to an open two-liter soda on her nightstand. “Can I o er you some ginger ale?” she asked.

I’d met Winn, then 57, through her husband, 33-year-old Tony Pickard. Minutes earlier, I’d spotted Pickard

walking toward a row of storage units behind a Denny’s in South Burlington. He was pulling a utility cart piled with clothes and cleaning supplies. Meek and

friendly, Pickard mentioned his wife over and over. He credited her with helping him kick his meth addiction years earlier. Now she was planning the couple’s next move upon getting notice to leave the Travelodge, where they’d been living for eight months.

Winn had good news for her husband. She’d spent the morning on the phone with a state official named Clark and managed to get them a temporary room at a motel down the road, in Shelburne. They wouldn’t have to pitch their tent at the waterfront for another month.

“Clark is the bomb!” Winn yelled. She rejoiced like someone singing a praise song: “When I heard his voice, I knew. Thank God, we’re gonna be OK! Thank God, we got Clark!”

President Donald Trump on Tuesday made good on his threat to impose 25 percent tariffs on goods from Canada and Mexico and doubled the levy he imposed last month on China to 20 percent.

e move triggered a trade war. Canada, Vermont’s largest trading partner, immediately responded with a 25 percent tariff of its own on an array of goods. China, too, announced tariffs and import restrictions.

Trump also implemented a 10 percent tariff on energy imports from Canada, which could affect many Vermonters. Prices at the pump are likely to go up. And Vermont Gas Systems, which has 56,000 customers in the northwestern part of the state, is owned by a Canadian company, Énergir, and imports nearly all of its fuel from north of the border.

On Tuesday, Vermont Gas president and CEO Neale Lunderville estimated that the levy could cost the company $6 to $7 million in the coming year. Asked if it was feasible to switch to a U.S. supplier, Lunderville said the company is locked into an annual natural gas contract with its Canadian supplier.

“We don’t want to make quick decisions that could have unintended consequences later,” Lunderville said, noting that the policy outlook in Washington, D.C., is uncertain.

Ben Clark, the CEO of Ann Clark, a Rutland-based cookie cutter company, said on Tuesday that it’s unclear whether the tariffs will help or harm his business.

e company, which expects to sell about 4 million cookie cutters this year, faces its stiffest competition from Chinese factories. Tariffs on that country could help Ann Clark if cookie cutters are included in Trump’s order, the CEO said.

But the price of imported steel is also expected to rise because of the tariffs. Even though Ann Clark buys its steel in the U.S., producers here are likely to raise their prices in response. Something similar happened during Trump’s ﬁrst term, when the president also imposed tariffs on steel, Clark said.

“If you’re selling a product and your competitor’s price goes up 20 percent, you can raise your price,” Clark said. ➆

President Donald Trump

Ana Winn and Tony Pickard with Winn’s daughter Sydney (in purple dress) and Neil Preston (far right)

Dollars for Developers

Housing builders want assistance to

PHOTOS

When Eric Farrell started building the Cambrian Rise housing project in 2016 on the former Burlington College campus, he expected to develop more than 1,000 apartments within 10 years.

Farrell has completed just over half of that goal: He’s erected buildings and also rehabbed a former orphanage along North Avenue, creating 567 apartments so far. But he says rising costs for materials, labor and loans have slowed the work.

Farrell hopes a proposed financing tool for developers will help him complete the roads and other infrastructure he says he needs to build the rest of the apartment complex. Lawmakers are considering a plan to allow tax increment financing, or TIF, that would use a share of property tax revenue to repay builders who borrow money to construct water, sewer, parking and other infrastructure.

Farrell said a TIF program such as one proposed by a new statewide nonprofit group called Let’s Build Homes would save him money on his projects and that he’d pass the savings on to renters.

“There is probably housing that won’t get built if you don’t have these tools,” he said.

TIF was created in the 1980s in Vermont to spur real estate development by allowing cities and towns to sell bonds to pay for water, sewer and other infrastructure up front. In theory, the projects funded this way add to the property tax base, and TIFs allow municipalities to use a portion of the resulting increased taxes to pay off the bonds. The CityPlace housing development in downtown Burlington, for instance, involves some TIF funding.

In the past few years, housing advocates have pushed for legislation that would enable scaled-down “projectbased” TIF programs, but the idea has never gained much traction in the Statehouse.

The idea is back this year, with a couple of twists: The developers themselves, not necessarily municipalities, would be able to borrow money to pay for infrastructure such as roads and sidewalks. And while existing TIF districts are large and can fund many projects, the concept is to set up small, project-specific ones.

Backers are pitching the proposed smaller TIFs as helpful for developers

Sanders, Balint and Welch’s ‘Town Hall’ on Trump Draws 34,000

BY KEVIN MCCALLUM kevin@sevendaysvt.com

Vermont’s small Congressional delegation vowed to keep ﬁghting President Donald Trump’s agenda during a “telephone town hall” meeting that drew 34,000 people.

U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), U.S. Sen. Peter Welch (D-Vt.) and U.S. Rep. Becca Balint (D-Vt.) ﬁelded questions and tried to reassure callers that they are doing everything they can ward off threats to democracy and protect Vermonters from cuts to federal programs.

Sanders argued that Trump is pushing the country toward authoritarianism and oligarchy. He warned that a budget being pushed by Republicans would result in a massive tax cut for the richest Americans, funded by deep cuts to programs such as Medicaid that working families rely upon.

He also argued that the U.S. under Trump was rapidly losing its leadership status in the world as it backs away from support for Ukraine.

“What Trump is doing is turning his back on 250 years of American history where we led the world, we were an example to the world, of what democracy was about,” Sanders said.

Welch said Trump was on a “lawless rampage” to usurp Congress’ power and defy the courts as he seeks to execute Project 2025, the right-wing wish list for his second term.

“Being here is absolutely shocking,” Welch said. “Every day we get calls and letters from people in utter dismay about what is happening to our democracy.”

Balint urged people to take care of one another and stay engaged even if they feel overwhelmed.

“ is is the moment when we need people to check back in and really do what you can, when you can,” she said.

Vermonters should take heart knowing that their delegation is standing up for them, regardless of what party they support, by executing a strategy of “legislation, litigation and agitation,” she said.

Callers asked the trio about the impacts of possible cuts to Medicaid and the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs and threats to gender-afﬁrming care for trans people. ➆

From Florida, With Love « P.14

Thousands of people have lived in state-funded motel rooms and tents across Vermont in recent years. They’re largely a faceless constituency, seen by many as either a scourge or an object of pity. But each person has a story. In my time reporting on homelessness, I’ve come to appreciate how interesting and messy their lives tend to be. Few have been as memorable as Winn and Pickard, a conspicuously odd couple who built a life together using little more than Pickard’s devotion and the force of Winn’s personality.

The couple came to Vermont in summer 2022 from Tallahassee, Fla., where they’d met on the street. Winn had done her research and knew that Vermont provided comparatively generous food stamp benefits. She figured they could eventually get back on their feet.

First they pitched a tent in the middle of Waterfront Park. The City of Burlington’s lead urban park ranger, Neil Preston, got word that two new arrivals had made camp in the high-tra c area. He walked over and encountered Winn lying on her stomach on the green, placidly reading a Stephen King novel, looking like a college student.

Winn spoke adoringly and protectively to the park ranger about her partner, Pickard, who has a thin, scraggly appearance, lives with schizophrenia and possesses an earnestness that makes him prone to exploitation on the streets.

“She was really struggling with the way people looked down on Tony when they walked by,” Preston recalled.

One day that summer, Winn and Pickard made their way to the small thrift shop inside the First United Methodist Church in downtown Burlington. A volunteer at the shop tapped pastor Kerry Cameron and told her, “There’s a couple in here I think you should talk to.”

Cameron met with Winn and Pickard in the church choir room for an hour. Winn did most of the talking, o ering the bluehaired pastor her thumbnail history. She had grown up in Panama and later majored in English literature at the University of Florida. She had three daughters but was only in contact with one. In Vermont, she and Pickard saw an opportunity to change their lives.

I’ve tried to trace the path of Winn’s journey northward. I learned she was born in the U.S. but spent her childhood as one of thousands of “Zonians” who lived in the Panama Canal Zone during its near-century under American

SHE WAS THE COOLEST PERSON I EVER MET IN MY LIFE

control. She was the child of two wealthy Panamanian parents who left her to be raised by her stepfather, according to a childhood friend, Tonya Penney.

At her small school on the Atlantic side of the canal, where American military kids mingled with those of rich Panamanian families, Winn was smart and athletic. She happened also to be chubby, which Penney said made her stick out in a place where teens wore bikinis year-round. Winn, with her booming, ebullient voice and a nity for makeup, anchored the cheerleading squad anyway, Penney recalled.

When Winn turned 18, Penney said, her stepfather bought her a plane ticket to Florida, where she was to live with an aunt she barely knew.

Winn became a student and mother, but stable work doesn’t appear to have been her strong suit. Her middle daughter, Sydney Rae Winn Miller, told me that her mother had worked as an English teacher and tax accountant, among other jobs. When Penney visited Winn in 1998, her friend was living in an apartment in Gainesville and working for a phone sex service, taking calls at all hours of the day in English and Spanish.

By her fifties, Winn had become homeless, Pickard told me.

A meth addict, he met her as he was walking in a park to bathe in a sink one day. She was painting on a bench. She paused and o ered him a peanut butter and jelly sandwich.

“I remember it as being so dry,” Pickard said. He still appreciated the gesture. Sometimes he went without food.

The two became friends and later fell in love. Winn taught him some street sense and urged him to stop using methamphetamine. Before meeting her, Pickard said, “I was on my way to death.”

After visiting with pastor Cameron, Pickard and Winn joined the Burlington church, though they sometimes had to

SYDNEY RAE WINN MILLER

Ana Winn in 2023

take turns attending services so the other one could guard their belongings at their campsite. Soon the church began hosting regular events called “the Share,” where homeless guests are invited to eat a hot meal and tell their stories to church members.

“We fell in love with these two birds,” Cameron said. “And as a result of that, we’ve all felt this real calling to help the homeless.”

In April 2023, Pickard and Winn got married in the church. Cameron officiated, and Miller and Winn’s then3-year-old grandson, GianLuca, came from California. Before the ceremony, Pickard went to Applebee’s with a couple of groomsmen, one of whom was Preston, the urban park ranger. Some of the church’s older members served as bridesmaids, and a little dog named Maggie Mae carried their rings down the aisle: a mood ring for Pickard, a band made of Hawaiian koa wood for Winn.

Afterward, they all partied at the church. Guests enjoyed peanut butter and jelly sandwiches that were fresher and more evenly smeared than the one Winn had offered Pickard in the park.

When I met them at the Travelodge a few months later, Winn had big plans. Since apartments in Vermont were so expensive, she explained, they were planning to move to England, where she thought they could rent a two-bedroom flat for $500 per month. “Thank God, I won’t be homeless there,” she said.

They would be able to afford the move thanks to a friend they’d made at the Travelodge who was due to receive almost $23,000 in back benefits from the U.S. Social Security Administration, Winn explained.

The move to England eventually transmuted into a road trip down the eastern seaboard, that friend, Emily Quinn, later told me. The trio rented a car and treated themselves to hotel room stays during the monthlong adventure. They visited Coney Island in Brooklyn and rode the Ferris wheel. Pickard is scared of heights, so, naturally, Winn made a point to rock the compartment as much as she could.

Quinn had to cut short the trip, and Pickard and Winn returned to Vermont, where they still had nowhere to stay.

Winn called me last summer during one of their motel room shuffles. Unless they were able to sort out their eligibility, Winn and Pickard were planning to camp near the waterfront again. If that happened, Winn said, I could join them in the woods for pachamanca, a Peruvian speciality of meat and root vegetables cooked over a pit of hot stones.

During that call, an otherwise jolly Winn told me that she had been diagnosed with cancer the previous fall. She was undergoing chemotherapy, pushing doctors to try every treatment at their disposal.

Winn posted to her social media accounts about the hair loss that followed. The pain became severe, and Pickard pushed her to doctor’s appointments in her wheelchair. They eventually landed in a Motel 6 in Colchester.

I called Winn last month while reporting a story about deaths of homeless Vermonters. Working with a colleague at Vermont Public, I’d been combing records to identify 82 people who had died while homeless in recent years. I thought Winn might know some of them.

She was as cheery as ever. But her cancer, she told me, was now considered terminal, and she was out of therapies. Winn said she was raising money to return to Panama so she could die in her homeland. Sure enough, a GoFundMe started by Penney had raised over $1,000.

“I want to see you!” Winn told me. She invited me to lunch before she and Pickard departed — more specifically, she invited me to buy her a $10 chicken sandwich at Applebee’s. It came with fries, she added.

Busy with my story, I didn’t take her to Applebee’s, and Winn didn’t end up going home to Panama. She died in their motel room on February 23. She was 59.

Pickard took a photo of his wife the night before her death. Winn had an oxygen mask over her nose and both middle fingers in the air. She was flipping the bird to President Donald Trump, Pickard explained.

Seeing that photo left me wishing I’d made time for lunch.

Cameron is helping Pickard make funeral arrangements. The pastor is also trying to connect Pickard with social service agencies that can help him navigate homelessness alone and find somewhere permanent to live, ideally in a group home. It won’t be easy. In the meantime, the church will host a public funeral service for Winn on March 15 at 3 p.m.

Winn’s middle daughter, Miller, said she hopes her mother’s death is honored with celebration, not mourning.

“She was so mesmerizing,” Miller, 32, told me last week from California, where she lives with little GianLuca, who Winn named. “She was the coolest person I ever met in my life.”

Miller hopes to take a trip someday to Panama, where she would scatter her mother’s ashes. ➆

Feds in Vermont Bust Montréal Ring That Scammed the Elderly

BY DEREK BROUWER derek@sevendaysvt.com

Federal prosecutors in Vermont have charged more than two dozen Canadians with running a sophisticated cybercrime ring in Montréal that scammed more than $21 million out of elderly Americans in nearly every U.S. state.

The court unsealed indictments against 25 alleged members of a conspiracy on Tuesday, and prosecutors said another nine participants in the cross-border scheme had already been charged.

They’re accused of orchestrating a type of ruse known as the “grandparent scam,” in which a caller poses as an elderly victim’s relative and pleads for bail money. The scams, according to prosecutors, were organized in a series of call centers in and around Montréal but also employed phony bail bondsmen who would visit victims’ homes in the U.S. — including Vermont — to collect the money.

Acting U.S. Attorney for the District of Vermont Michael Drescher said in a statement that the case resulted from investigative work by numerous federal agencies, with assistance from Canadian law enforcement.

All but two of the 25 alleged coconspirators were arrested in Canada on Tuesday, prosecutors said. Garuth West, a 38-year-old man from Burlington, Ontario, and 35-year-old Jimmy Ylimaki, of Notre-Dame-de-l’ÎlePerrot, Québec, remain at large. West is alleged to have managed the illicit call centers along with four others who are in custody.

Transnational cybercrime rings are notoriously difficult to unravel because they cross international boundaries and their leaders typically take measures to insulate themselves. Paid couriers sometimes don’t know whom they’re working for, Seven Days reported in a cover story last summer.

Losses from cyber fraud have been increasing in Vermont and nationally in the past several years, fueled in part by the proliferation of cryptocurrency. Scammers often target older victims because they are more likely to have savings to plunder and are perceived to be more susceptible, though research shows that anyone can fall prey to a well-crafted con. ➆

Dollars for Developers « P.15

outside Chittenden County, where little market-rate construction is under way. Despite years of attention in the Statehouse and the allocation of hundreds of millions of dollars for housing programs, construction still isn’t keeping up with demand. The reason, builders say, is rising construction costs.

Fairlee developer Jonah Richard has tapped into several state and federal programs to build affordable and marketrate housing around his Connecticut River Valley town. Richard runs Réal Hazen Construction, which has 16 full-time workers, and he blogs and testifies in the Statehouse about the expense of building in Vermont. It’s difficult to construct apartments that local people can afford, he said, even though Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center, just 25 minutes away, has a well-paid workforce.

“Most projects don’t pencil out without a subsidy,” Richard said.

Developers are pushing a slew of proposals in the Statehouse this year. Having tackled some of the big obstacles to construction — such as zoning and permitting reform — over the past several years, housing advocates are taking aim at the cost of putting in water, sewer, roads and other infrastructure.

Early in the session, Gov. Phil Scott introduced his version of a small TIF program, aimed at helping small developers such as Richard by letting towns build infrastructure to benefit housing developers. Around the same time, Let’s Build Homes announced its own proposals, including a small, housing-focused TIF initiative. Richard is a Let’s Build Homes board member.

Last week, lawmakers started talking about how to roll those ideas, and others, into a bill aimed at speeding up home construction.

The Senate Committee on Economic Development, Housing and General Affairs is aiming to create a housing bill by mid-March that includes project-based TIF plans, money for home renovations and construction, and other measures.

House lawmakers will then take up the bill. Rep. Marc Mihaly (D-Calais), chair of the House Committee on General and Housing, thinks a new, streamlined TIF program has a good chance of winning approval — even from lawmakers who have been skeptical of the proposal in the past.

Mihaly, a former dean of Vermont Law School, cofounded Shute, Mihaly & Weinberger, an environmental law firm, and has represented municipalities in their deals with developers. He doesn’t see TIF as a handout to builders.

MOST PROJECTS DON’T PENCIL OUT WITHOUT A SUBSIDY.

JONAH RICHARD

“It helps reduce the cost of the development to the point where it will happen,” Mihaly said. He expects the housing bill this year to contain elements of the governor’s plan and the one from Let’s Build Homes.

“I am confident we will produce a final bill that has a project-specific TIF in it,” he said.

Many lawmakers declined to comment on the TIF proposals, saying they want to see a bill with the details first.

But State Auditor Doug Hoffer, a longtime and fierce critic of TIF, did not hold back. He outlined his concerns in a memo last week to the Senate Committee on Economic Development, Housing and General Affairs. Hoffer said his own audits of large-scale TIF districts show that their complicated funding schemes lead to accounting errors. He further recommended that lawmakers review analyses by the legislature’s nonpartisan Joint Fiscal Office, which has concluded that TIF projects have eroded revenue for the state’s education fund. Bringing education costs under control is a central goal of the Scott administration and lawmakers this year.

“We already have a lot of programs and entities that do housing,” Hoffer said in an interview, reeling off some examples, including the Vermont Housing Conservation Board and regional affordable housing agencies.

“We have a bunch of nonprofits that do a damned good job. We have federal and state tax credits that are helpful to a lot of developers. I am just wondering why we have to borrow from the ed fund to do more housing,” Hoffer said.

Let’s Build Homes counters anti-TIF arguments in its presentations, saying that because its proposal is specifically aimed at housing, it would benefit the public.

Under the Let’s Build Homes plan, qualifying projects would have to devote at least half of their floor space to housing and be built in developed areas to prevent sprawl.

Farrell’s project in Burlington includes some affordable housing, including apartments managed by the nonprofit developer Champlain Housing Trust that are slated to open next year. That satisfies Burlington’s requirement that new market-rate housing projects include a component of affordable housing. But Farrell’s buildings at Cambrian Rise are built for profit, and a one-bedroom apartment there rents for as much as $2,300 per month.

Farrell noted that the infrastructure built there by a new TIF program would belong to the city, not to him.

Sen. Alison Clarkson (D-Windsor), chair of the Senate Committee on Economic Development, Housing and General Affairs, said last Friday that she sees the new measures under discussion as tools very different from traditional TIF programs. She added that using public financing to create infrastructure for developers would benefit all Vermonters by easing the housing crisis.

“Housing is a public good,” Clarkson said. ➆

Jonah Richard

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MEOW MIX

On January 29, Seven Days published a news story by Courtney Lamdin headlined “Reining Cats and Dogs: Roaming Burlington at Will, Cats Fight, Poop and Kill Songbirds. Councilors Are Considering a Leash Law.” Not surprisingly, readers had a lot to say about the idea of a local law that would make it illegal to let cats roam free.

NOT A JOKE

It seems like a joke to worry about cat licensing or the thought of police arresting pussycats when there are big problems in our city. The problem of outdoor cats is about livability and safety.

Trees don’t address issues such as homelessness. Yet Burlington spends tons of time and money on beautiﬁcation. People can’t use their own backyards, and they deal with dead animals, cat poop, cat bites and sleepless nights. Outdoor cats torment your neighbors. We’re not laughing.

Also not a joke is bird flu. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends keeping pets away from wild birds. H5N1 in cats has around a 67 percent fatality rate. A global spike in reports of bird flu in cats coincides with the spread of the H5N1 strain, which a ects more types of birds and mammals and has spread to people. Shelter workers have gotten other bird ﬂu strains from cats, which shows cats as a potential transmitter to humans.

Don’t underestimate the deterrent power of laws. The police aren’t going to arrest outdoor cats en masse, just as they don’t cite everyone who breaks dog laws. Laws create a culture of good people following the rules. It also gives people somewhere to turn if there is a problem. The same would be true for cats. Responsible cat owners will license their cats. Hopefully, many will bring them indoors and think twice before letting a new kitten out.

There was a time before dog laws, then the culture shifted. Let’s do the same for cats.

Kristen Cameron BURLINGTON

CAT CASUALTIES

If you think you are a cat lover or an environmentalist but you oppose the Dog Task Force’s recommendation to prohibit freeroaming cats, think again.

The lives of free-roaming cats are typically cut short by 10 to 15 years, and their deaths are not painless. Burlington’s cats are no exception. Let’s not forget the cat who was hung from a tree in the New North End, the cat who was caught and injured in a leghold trap on the waterfront,

and the many cats found dead by the side of the road. If your free-roaming cat has lived a long, healthy life, you have an extraordinarily lucky cat, not a “streetsmart” feline.

Cats have been domesticated for centuries. They are called “house cats” for a reason. Studies estimate that domestic cats kill billions of birds, small mammals, amphibians and reptiles each year, mostly out of human sight. The ecological dangers of free-roaming cats are so critical that the International Union for Conservation of Nature lists domestic cats as one of the world’s worst non-native invasive species. And remember Ecology 101? Our fate is inextricably intertwined with that of our environment.

As a lifelong cat guardian, I know that cats can be happy indoors if given the appropriate enrichment and their guardians aren’t too lazy to be inconvenienced by a litter box.

In a community that prides itself on its compassion and proactive environmental initiatives, this proposed ordinance is a no-brainer and a clear win for cats and our urban environment.

outdoor peers. Where I live, in the country, free-roaming cats are endangered by insect-borne diseases and wild predators. City cats contend with their own dangers, too: injury by unleashed dogs, other felines (who may carry diseases), traffic and cat-harming people. Keeping your cat indoors — or, if outside, in a catio or on a harness and leash by your side — is the best policy for your friend’s well-being.

Remember: While dogs were domesticated by us, cats domesticated themselves to us, when we formed agrarian communities. They initially came for the rodents in our grain storage, but the bravest of them crossed our thresholds, realizing that we o ered safety from “nature red in tooth and claw.”

We still have an evolutionary — and moral — responsibility to honor that relationship.

Scott Stockwell DUXBURY

AS DOGS DO

Our animals depend on us to keep them safe. Cats are family members and a lifelong responsibility. Cats allowed to roam outside are not safe. Like dogs, they should be licensed and included in laws that require them to be accompanied when outside their own home or yard. And, yes, poop scooping, too.

neighbors would expect otherwise! I am an animal lover, but I do not want your cat in my yard. We all have private property rights; please be considerate and keep your cat from free-roaming my property and instead keep it inside with toys, things to climb on, a window perch and perhaps even a catio.

The neighborhood cats (who have a home but are allowed to free-roam) patrol my yard, stalk and kill wildlife, spray urine, and poop in my gardens. If my dog were wandering in my neighbor’s yards causing havoc, 1) that would be illegal; 2) I would be horriﬁed!; and 3) my neighbor would be rightfully upset.

I hope the committee does the right thing and moves forward with a freeroaming cat ordinance. Laws for cat owners are fair and will be a deterrent.

Andy Tracy BURLINGTON

PEOPLE PROBLEM

In “Reining Cats and Dogs,” Courtney Lamdin talks about how people in Burlington are su ering because of free-roaming felines that kill songbirds and are “yowling so loudly that they rouse people from sleep.” In fact, it is the cats who are su ering much more than people because of this situation.

Many of these cats are hungry and unneutered strays or are “owned” by

Lori Kettler

BURLINGTON

BETTER INDOORS

When I was a kid back in the 1960s, cats were fed mostly dry food, went outside as they pleased, and were brought to the vet only for vaccines or obvious health issues.

Much has changed in the ﬁeld of cat care since. Animal science and research have shown that cats do best on a wet food diet, an indoor lifestyle is optimal, and an annual physical exam, complete with a blood panel and even a dental cleaning, is beneficial for our feline friends.

Like all responsible dog owners, I clean up after my dog and am conscientious about their safety as well as my neighbors’ rights. As a dog owner, I’m required to license and keep them under my control when we are walking

Why are my cat-owning neighbors not subject to the same responsibilities? They seem to be incredulous that their

Burlington’s consideration of a cat ordinance is in line with the most recent info supporting the fact that indoor cats generally lead longer and healthier lives than their

back to areas will they will be fed. There are other cat rescue groups in Burlington that the humane society can recommend.

And yes, bird populations are dropping in some areas, but the biggest threat to birds is not cats but urban sprawl, the use of pesticides and fertilizers, and being hit by cars.

As humans, let’s take some responsibility.

Vivien Brown ST. ALBANS

SKETCH-WORTHY

If Burlington passes the proposed cat leash law, it would mean that cats have more restricted access to Burlington than repeat offenders with a grocery list of felonies. Are we living in a drama or comedy?

Neither — we are living in a satire, at least in the good old Queen City.

Burlington: where it’s illegal not to compost but perfectly legal to openly use fentanyl in public. Burlington: where you can obtain five different strains of weed from five different dispensaries in less time than it takes the cops to respond to an assault call. Burlington: where the safety of birds holds a higher priority than the safety of the average citizen.

Fred Armisen himself could not concoct a more biting satire than the one we’re living in. My favorite part is that the grown adults in charge have convinced themselves it’s not their fault. Say what you will about math and science; we need to teach our kids about irony.

Al Teodosio NORTH FERRISBURGH

WHAT ABOUT DOGS?

Shouldn’t we all, including city employees and council members, have to first reveal our personal bias before speaking on this topic? I do not own a cat or a dog but serve on the Burlington Parks, Recreation & Waterfront Commission and work in invasive species control. Neither domesticated cats nor dogs are native to North America. The Dog (not pet) Task Force invited four animal specialists to speak at a city hall meeting on why cats should be controlled. They were asked to address topics of “nuisance animals,” “cat welfare,” “wildlife protection” and “public safety.” While the science agrees with their statements pertaining to cats, the science also states the same of dogs, yet the task force recommends allowing dogs to be off-leash and unfenced within various city parks.

I was able to locate contacts for three of those specialists, asking three questions. Were you made aware of the off-leash dog portion of the report? Have you been invited to return to speak about off-leash dogs? Is it good policy for dogs to be off-leash and unfenced within city parks? Thus far, two responded and their answers were no, no and no.

Domestic dogs threaten 200 International Union for Conservation of Nature “Red List” species and contributed to the extinction of a dozen bird and animal species. Four and a half million dog bites occur annually, 60 percent of them to children. There were 58 fatalities in 2023.

Task force documents state it is seeking “good environmental stewardship,” yet it is laughably hypocritical. Think these same specialists will be invited to support the dog portion of the report?

Aaron Keech BURLINGTON

‘ANTI-CAT AGENDA’

A quick search of the internet will provide you with 32.8 billion hours of cat videos. I would be careful not to upset those crazy cat people; they own the internet. Some “real” statistics:

• Cats kill birds, but birds aren’t real! They are government surveillance drones. So cats are actually doing us all a favor.

• Unfortunately, of the 50 billion birds in the world, cats are only able to handle about 1 to 4 billion (2 percent), while the combination of windows, cars and the Bird Surveillance Task Force account for at least 60 billion.

• As for poop ... a shameless plug for diapers. I got some wicked fashionable ones with squirrels on them (for the cats).

• One of the best-kept secrets of the Anti-Cat Agenda: The best way to protect yourself against cats is with … cats! Outdoor cats provide incredible protection against invading cats. Just get a couple of scrappy rabid kittens to handle the invaders. Cat fight!

• Last but not least, U.S Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has stated hundreds of times that toxoplasmosis causes people to hate cats! Thank God he will be heading up the Bird Surveillance Task Force. What do we want? Freedom! When do we want it? Meow!

Patrick Johnson BURLINGTON

SPRING TREE SALES

HOSTED BY VERMONT’S CONSERVATION DISTRICTS

and Naturalized

Shrubs

PICKUPS AVAILABLE IN Highgate, Montgomery, North Hero, Williston, Berlin, Barton, Rutland, Poultney, Middlebury, Putney

United States Bankruptcy Court for the District of Vermont

In re Roman Catholic Diocese of Burlington, Vermont, Case No. 24-10205-HZC

Claims Notice for Survivors of Sexual Abuse and Others With Claims Against the Roman Catholic Diocese of Burlington, Vermont

If you were sexually abused by any person connected with the Diocese, a Catholic parish, or Catholic school within the geographic area of the Diocese, or have any claim against the Diocese, you must file a claim by April 4, 2025

For more diocesan information: visit vermontcatholic.org

For the bankruptcy docket: visit https://case.stretto.com/ dioceseofburlington

For U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Vermont information: visit vtb.uscourts.gov

For advice about your rights: contact an attorney

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« P.21

WORDS TO LIVE BY

I ﬁrst met Frank Murray, whose recent obituary remembers his “commitment to justice,” in 1976 [Life Lines, February 6]. Back then, he was state’s attorney and we were writing a story for the Vermont Times Journal on crime in Chittenden County.

Here are a few of Frank’s salient points. They are especially timely today:

1) Our No. 1 priority should be “protection of the public.”

2) Way too often, the criminal justice system “fails to meet the needs of victims.”

3) “Two-thirds of serious crimes are committed by just 6 percent of the population. Police, prosecutors and courts must work closely together to identify and deal with hard-core, habitual career o enders.” Sorry to say, but these people most often “cannot be rehabilitated.” Letting them go free without consequences is an “invitation to more crime and harm to innocent people.”

4) To protect the community, these people “must be separated from society” during their peak criminal years.

There are lessons in Frank Murray’s words that need to be relearned by his successors in our current criminal justice system.

Jack Scully COLCHESTER

H.74 HELPS SENIORS

Kudos to Seven Days writer Anne Wallace Allen for her article on the challenges retired seniors face in Vermont [“Green Mountain Stakes: Taxes and a High Cost of Living Make Vermont an Expensive Place to Grow Old,” January 22]!

Allen mentioned legislation pending, and that is H.74, which over eight years would phase out Vermont’s practice of taxing Social Security beneﬁts as income in many tax brackets. (My hope is that it takes less than eight years and that income caps are raised to help even more seniors so I may be in the Land of the Living to see such tax beneﬁts.)

Seniors have worked hard to support themselves, their families and their communities. Many senior homeowners still pay a disproportionate amount in Vermont education taxes – as in, way too much — generation after generation.

Plus, many seniors get slapped with Vermont tax penalties just as they are adjusting to retirement and the resulting lower income. There is no perfect tax formula to match a lowering income during the transition into retirement!

H.74 as drafted is not perfect, but it needs support by seniors and all of

us. Please contact your representatives and urge them to support H.74. No one wants to be dependent on government programs. Montpelier needs to cut taxes and government spending and let us live within our means.

H.74 will help more Vermont seniors retire with dignity.

Robert “Bob” Devost JERICHO

IT’S A ‘COUP’

[Re “Vermont Orgs Announce Layo s, Cutbacks After Funding Freeze,” January 31]: Elon Musk, a private, unelected individual enabled by President Donald Trump and his new Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, now has access to private, privileged, sensitive information such as our Social Security checks, tax refunds and Medicare beneﬁts. I not only share the concerns of other seniors and disabled individuals but I am also asking Vermont’s U.S. senators, Bernie Sanders and Peter Welch, and Attorney General Charity Clark to commence a classaction lawsuit on our behalf against such blatant criminality, which disregards our laws and the separation of the di erent branches of our government. Musk is staging a coup, using similar tactics used by the autocratic Viktor Orbán of Hungary.

If we are to retain, let alone strengthen, our Democratic republic, then this cannot be tolerated nor be allowed to stand. A republic is for and by the people; it is not a monarchy or a dictatorship.

Giovanna Lepore JERICHO

WHAT THE WELCH?

U.S. Sen. Peter Welch recently told Seven Days that President Donald Trump believes chaos is an instrument of persuasion [“Vermont O cials Still Wary After Trump Cancels Funding Freeze,” January 30]. At the time I am writing this, Welch was batting .500 in voting to confirm Trump’s cabinet nominees.

For example, he voted to confirm Doug Burgum, a billionaire lackey of the oil industry, as secretary of the U.S. Department of the Interior, which Burgum’s government sued at least five times during his tenure as governor of North Dakota to loosen public land use rules. Welch voted to confirm Sean Du y, a former reality TV star, Fox News host and climate denialist, as transportation secretary.

More recently, Welch and every other Democrat on the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition & Forestry voted to advance the nomination of Brooke Rollins, the cofounder of the America First Policy Institute, as secretary of agriculture. Yes, Rollins grew up on a farm and got an agriculture degree, but she’s also a known conspiracy theorist and fabulist, and she is yet another climate denialist with deep ties to the oil industry.

Trump and his associates have shown time and again they have no interest in governing, no regard for the public weal and no scruples whatsoever.

Please stop voting to place these foxes in the henhouse. Doing so only encourages further chaos.

‘WAKE UP, PEOPLE!’

[Re “Vermont Officials Still Wary After Trump Cancels Funding Freeze,” January 30; “Vermont Orgs Announce Layoffs, Cutbacks After Funding Freeze,” January 31]: Elon Musk, an unelected multibillionaire born in another country, has gotten access to U.S. intelligence computers, and they are now compromised. He now controls the U.S. Department of the Treasury and has all of our personal information, Social Security numbers, bank accounts, addresses, etc. They are shutting down USAID. They are systematically dismantling and destroying the federal government infrastructure. That includes, of course, Social Security, as well as so many organizations we all depend on.

It’s a coup and a blatant takeover going on with no oversight, no guardrails and very little information coming out about what’s really going on. This is a real constitutional crisis. Our country as we knew it is going down, and a world of hurt is on the way — unless, somehow, we all stand up with all our might and resist and call our senators. I cannot believe that all Republicans and people who voted for the current president are OK with this. It is illegal and a crime. Wake up, people!

Carolyn Bronz BAKERSFIELD

EDUCATION SHOULDN’T BE POLITICAL

Alison Novak’s [“Power Move,” February 12] provides an excellent overview on why Vermont public educators find themselves valiantly defending the core, and the future, of our democracy, following years of well-orchestrated attacks taken from a national playbook.

In 2012, the Vermont School Boards Association fought tooth and nail against newly elected governor Peter Shumlin’s proposal to change the Vermont Department of Education, with a commissioner appointed by and directly accountable to the State Board of Education, to an agency with a secretary answerable only to the governor. We worried that such an important role overseeing education would be undermined and subject to the direction of political winds. And here we are.

It’s worth noting that the previous administration, under former governor Jim Douglas, had drastically reduced staff at the department. Now an “agency,” the state entity has been working shortstaffed ever since.

In the article, Vermont Education Secretary Zoie Saunders is quoted as acknowledging she had “inherited an agency with many issues.” It really

shouldn’t matter if those issues began with a Republican governor, were exacerbated by a Democrat and are now seeing efforts to privatize Vermont’s education system near fruition under another Republican, because education should not be political — period.

Friends of Vermont Public Education — savevtpubliced.org — has a mission statement focused on ensuring public dollars support only schools that abide by our state rules and the Vermont Constitution, but I submit there is a direct line between that challenge and this power grab.

Ken Fredette WALLINGFORD

RETHINKING USAID

[Re “Vermont Aid Workers Reel in Wake of Rapid USAID Cuts,” February 12]: If it is a nongovernmental agency, why is it completely dependent on U.S. federal funding? If it is an independent media outlet, why is it completely dependent on U.S. federal funds? If ThinkMD wants unqualified amateurs working legitimately as doctors, why wouldn’t we fund a medical tricorder project instead? Why should we fund Catholic Relief Services with federal dollars while pretending we have separation of church and state?

If USAID had focused its efforts since John F. Kennedy entirely on bringing potable water and sanitary septic to every marginalized community around the planet, we wouldn’t live in a world where 60 percent of humanity doesn’t have safe toilets. The cost would be nearly the same, but the effects would be biologically undeniable. We wouldn’t need propagandists to message in other nations about how great we are. Why would you call a chaplain an “independent consultant” when she clearly has a religious edict to fulfill? Why use such Orwellian terms if we are speaking the truth?

Devin Wilson JERICHO

Zoie Saunders

lifelines

OBITUARIES

Dr. John J. Saia

SEPTEMBER 4, 1939-FEBRUARY 25, 2025

ESSEX JUNCTION, VT.

Dr. John J. Saia, beloved family physician, passed away peacefully on February 25, 2025, at the McClure Miller Respite House in Colchester, Vt., surrounded by his family. Born on September 4, 1939, in Barre, Vt., he was the son of Dr. John L. and Margaret V. Saia.

John graduated Spaulding High School in 1957, where he played football and baseball. He was a 1961 graduate of Bowdoin College and the University of Vermont College of Medicine in 1966. Following graduation, John completed two years of medical residency at Rochester General Hospital in Rochester, N.Y., concurrently commissioned as a captain in the U.S. Army Medical Corp. He fulfilled one year of his military obligation as a battalion surgeon stationed on the DMZ in South Vietnam, and the second year was completed at Schilling Air Force Base in Selina, Kan., as a general medical officer. Upon discharge from active military duty with the rank of major, John entered his third year of residency at the Medical Center Hospital of Vermont, becoming one of the first residents to embark on the primary care track.

At the completion of his residency, John began a career which spanned the practice and lifestyle of the solo country doc and the institutional teamwork of a university teaching hospital. Initially practicing in Waitsﬁeld, Vt., in the decade of the ‘70s, John was recruited by the chairman of the Department of Family Practice to serve as residency program director. For the next nearly 30 years, John would enjoy an extensive career at the University of Vermont College of Medicine. He was elected by medical students for induction into AOA, twice recognized by residents as Family Practice Teacher of the Year and honored by his peers as Vermont Family Physician of the Year. John was the recipient of the 2016 A. Bradley Soule Award for his loyalty and dedication to the UVM College of Medicine. His commitment to teaching the art of medicine — the dynamics of health and illness through wisdom, wit, humility and equanimity — was legend among his students and residents. He demonstrated this art admirably in his care and empathy for his own patients.

OBITUARIES, VOWS, CELEBRATIONS

the many sporting and social events of his children and grandchildren, preserving memories that will be cherished for generations.

John and his wife, Linda, enjoyed theater and the arts, attending local and professional performances throughout their travels — from major cities to the small coastal towns in Maine.

His love of the outdoors was nurtured by planting and tending to his apple trees, lovingly and meticulously constructing stone walls, and other small building projects in and around his home.

John was a lifelong skier — a passion he especially enjoyed with his children, niece and nephews. He faithfully attended the early morning ski races of his children and was instrumental in facilitating one of the first Ski and Skate sales at Colchester High School. John was an accomplished fly fisherman. e peace and solitude found in the quiet moments on the river were reminders of the treasures that surround us and the importance of caring for our environment as we care for ourselves.

“Time spent ﬁshing is not deducted from one’s total time on earth.”

John is survived by his loving wife, Linda; his devoted children, Sean (Melanie) Saia, Scott Saia and Drs. Kelley Saia (Mazda Jalali); and his stepchildren, Candace (Tony) Lewis and Sean Vallie. He is “Pop” to nine grandchildren, Sierra (Max Brown) Saia, Kelsie Saia, Cameron Saia, Simon Saia, Sydney Saia, Benjamin Jalali, Amelia Jalali, Mattie Lewis and Anika Lewis.

He is also survived by his sister, Carol (Henry) Robbins, and their children, John (Mary) Robbins, Margan (Patrick) Walsh and Art (Laura) Robbins, as well as nine grandnieces and -nephews. John leaves a special friend, John Reynolds, and family, as well as many dear friends and extended family.

A celebration of John’s life will be held in the late spring.

Our family wishes to extend sincere thanks and appreciation to Dr. James Boyd for his unwavering and compassionate care of John and to the kind and attentive staff of the McClure Miller Respite House during John’s ﬁnal journey.

Ray Atwood

APRIL 3, 1941FEBRUARY 18, 2025 UMATILLA, FLA.

Ray Atwood, 83, of Umatilla, Fla., (formerly of Bolton, Vt.) passed away on February 18, 2025. Born on April 3, 1941, in New York City, Ray lived a life of adventure, dedication and service.

Ray proudly served in the U.S. Air Force as a weapons mechanic, receiving an honorable discharge. His passion for automobiles led him to own and operate Ray’s Auto Body from 1977 to 2017. A dedicated member of his community, he was named Citizen of the Year in Bolton in 2004 and actively participated in the Chittenden County Fish & Wildlife Club and the Vermont 1st Wildlife Club. He was also a volunteer ﬁreﬁghter and served on the Bolton Selectboard and the Regional Planning Commission for Chittenden County, Vt.

Meredith Tredeau

Ray had many passions, including riding motorcycles — especially dirt bikes — sailing from Burlington, Vt., to the Florida Keys, building model cars and ﬂying model airplanes. He cherished time with his family and was known for his adventurous spirit, generosity and unwavering loyalty. He loved the Green Mountain State of Vermont and later enjoyed his retirement in Umatilla, Fla.

DECEMBER 30, 1951-FEBRUARY 21, 2025 EAST MONTPELIER, VT.

Meredith Tredeau died suddenly on February 21, 2025, at the age of 73, at home in East Montpelier, Vt. Meredith is survived by her daughter, Zora Woodsum, and son-in-law, Joe, of Concord, Mass.; son, Dashiell Vermilya of Plainﬁeld, Vt.; and brothers Chris of Onset, Mass., Mike of Burlington, Mass., and Frank of Pelham, N.H. She was preceded in death by her father, David; mother, Marion (Naves); and brother Steve.

He is survived by his beloved wife of nearly 65 years, Patricia Atwood; his children, Corine Nicholson of Umatilla, Fla., Mark Atwood (Tina) of Roebuck, S.C., Stephen Atwood of Patchogue, N.Y., and Kristie Maddox of Greenbelt, Md.; as well as 11 grandchildren and eight great-grandchildren. Ray was preceded in death by his mother, Ruth Atwood; father, Walter Atwood; and sister, Jeanne Schwiecke. He is also reunited with his longtime close friend John Sheehan. A memorial service will be held on March 15, 2025, 10:30 a.m., at Altoona Methodist Church in Altoona, Fla. In lieu of ﬂowers, donations can be made to Altoona Methodist Church. Ray will be remembered for his adventurous heart, his willingness to help others, and the lasting impact he had on his family, friends and community.

Outside of the realm of medicine was an equally important family and social life. His talent as a photographer allowed him to capture the beauty around him and

Please consider a donation in John’s name to the University of Vermont Binter Center for Parkinson’s Disease and Movement Disorders, 1 S. Prospect St., Burlington, VT 05401-5505, or to the McClure Miller Respite House, 3113 Roosevelt Highway, Colchester, VT 05446.

Meredith graduated in 1970 from Medﬁeld High School in Massachusetts. She was proud of her education at Goddard College in Plainﬁeld, where she met her best friend, Reuben Jackson, known in Vermont for his “Friday Night Jazz” radio show. After college she pursued acting in New York before returning to Vermont in 1989. She built her own house on what was once a piece of the Goddard campus, raising her family there with former civil union partner Shelley Vermilya. Meredith took pride in her career as an executive at Rounder Records and later as a disability adjudicator for the State of Vermont.

Meredith adored books and was a regular at Bear Pond Books. She loved historical ﬁction, particularly Diana Gabaldon’s Outlander series. When not reading by her woodstove, Meredith enjoyed playing golf, dining at the Wayside and watching movies at the Capitol eater. Meryl Streep and Dame Judi Dench were among her favorite actors. She was also a longtime member of the Unitarian Universalist Church in Montpelier. She came alive spending time with friends and family, whether having dinner with friends, watching her son play basketball or seeing her daughter perform on the stage.

Meredith believed in enjoying life’s slow, cozy moments and the adventurous ones. She found joy in the kitchen, experimenting with dishes from e Joy of Cooking and Julia Child’s Mastering the Art of French Cooking. Most of all she believed in love and the satisfaction that accompanies cracking open a good book.

Meredith will be sorely missed by her family and the friends she made in every corner of the community, from church to work to the Saturday Morning Live crew. In lieu of ﬂowers, donations may be made to Doctors Without Borders. A memorial service will be held at a later date.

Naomi Flanders

JANUARY 14, 1953FEBRUARY 23, 2025

MONTPELIER, VT.

Naomi Flanders, who spent a passionate life filled with a love of singing, teaching voice, and fostering music and art in the central Vermont community she loved so much, passed away at McClure Miller Respite House in Colchester on Sunday, February 23, 2025. A consummate student of the breath, and her belief in the breadth of the human voice to lift spirits and bring joy, she took her own last breath around 4:30 a.m., after six peaceful days that capped a two-and-a-half-year struggle with dementia. Her week in hospice care brought a wonderful outpouring from family, friends, and the many people whose lives she touched with her humor, belief in their talent, and her dedication to their music and personal growth. Born on January 14, 1953, she was 72 years old, a life too short for her feisty spirit and robbed of the golden years she hoped for.

Mary Krabbe Kerr

MARCH 4, 1933MARCH 3, 2025

FERRISBURGH, VT.

Mary K. Kerr of Ferrisburgh, Vt., passed away quietly in her sleep on March 3, 2025, in her home on Lake Champlain, which she fondly referred to as “the most beautiful place in the world.” She was one day shy of her 92nd birthday. Her family was with her.

Born Mary Sonja Krabbe in Bellingham, Wash., to Johan and Winifred Gamble Krabbe, Mary spent her youth moving about the West Coast with her family. She attended Sequoia High School in California and Northwestern University in Evanston, Ill., where she graduated from the Medill School of Journalism in 1954. She also studied at the University of Copenhagen.

She first met her devoted husband, Joseph Minott Kerr, while skiing at Sugar Bowl in Soda Springs, Calif., and

She grew up on Brazier Road in East Montpelier with eight brothers and sisters, born to her father, Ralph, and mother, Anne (Lawson) Flanders. Their rambunctious life in a small house, surrounded by forests, farm fields and a wetland instilled in her deep lifelong connections to the family property and her neighbors in East Montpelier. It is where she did yoga outside in winter, like her father kept an (unruly) garden, and spent many hours seated with friends under the maples looking at vistas of the fields and hills.

Naomi went to Johnson State College, where her love of

continued their relationship at Northwestern. They were married on April 2, 1955, at Aftermath, the Kerr family summer home in Wainscott, N.Y. Joe preceded her in death in 2008.

While living in New Jersey, Mary and Joe fell in love with Vermont, invested in the thenburgeoning ski industry and eventually built a “ski home” in South Fayston in 1962. They moved there full time in 1965, where they raised their three sons. In addition to loving the

poetry and English blossomed, and she received a bachelor of arts and humanities. She also began to deal with the bouts of depression that seemed so out of character with her exuberant laugh and zest. While they lingered throughout her life, she found ways to balance out those moods with travel, gardening, lots of (very) strong coffee, frequent bread baking and dinners, and a number of close friendships that were tested at times but also gave her great comfort and many conversations, always punctuated by laughter.

Naomi achieved her dream to sing professionally by going to New York City in the 1980s to study with renowned vocal coach and Feldenkrais practitioner Marcy Lindheimer. She worked as a nanny and became lifelong friends with the Brickman family, spinning tales of Vermont and working her wonders with fresh dough for baking bread and pies. Returning to Vermont, her career blossomed as a voice teacher, with boundless insight and energy and turning countless tin ears and untuned voices into confident

mountains and skiing, Mary and Joe loved the water and sailing. In 1981 they bought a home on the shores of Lake Champlain near Basin Harbor, where they moved permanently in 1997.

For most of Mary’s life, she had a love affair with the Green Mountains and Lake Champlain. Her enthusiasm for the beauty of the natural world was truly evident in the plethora of gardens, flowers, birds, squirrels and even chipmunks she encouraged to grow around her home on the lake. Inspired by the variety of birds she watched every day, she worked with the Vermont Bald Eagle Restoration Initiative to help return the American Bald Eagle to Lake Champlain.

Mary was an avid writer and photographer and capitalized on her training as a journalist. She served as the editor of two publications, Window of Vermont, a bimonthly newspaper devoted primarily to the ski industry, and the Valley Reporter, the weekly

sopranos, altos and tenors. She launched myriad teens and elders alike onto life on the stage at Unadilla Theater in East Calais and in her own musical productions through Echo Valley Community Arts, the nonprofit she created in 2002. Her teaching passion especially focused on young men and women through her private lessons and choral and Shakespeare camps held during summers in East Montpelier, where she taught them to find their voice in myriad ways beyond the words they sang or said. She also worked at the Monteverdi Music School in Montpelier, where she taught voice, was choir director and sang with the Onion River Chorus.

Her own musical tastes led her to a dedicated embrace of opera, which suited her rich voice and temperament. Operatic opportunities not exactly being a thing in Vermont, she grabbed the baton and as member and president of Vermont Opera Theater in the early 1990s produced, directed and fundraised with numerous galas. She performed numerous times, putting on

newspaper for the Mad River Valley in central Vermont. Mary had taught journalism as an adjunct professor at Saint Michael’s College in Burlington. She was also a prolific writer on skiing and the ski industry.

Mary wrote two books, the first of which was The Tapestry of My Life, an unpublished autobiographical work that she gave to her sons. The second was what she called her life’s work, A Mountain Love Affair: The Story of Mad River Glen. It was a compendium of photographs and stories of the iconic ski area’s history.

Mary loved to ski. From the moment the mountains had enough snow until it was completely gone, you could find Mary and Joe schussing one of the 140 ski areas around the world where they adventured during their lifetime together. She loved organizing ski trips all over the world for the New York Amateur Ski Club, of which she and Joe were lifelong members.

Mozart’s Don Giovanni and The Magic Flute. She also directed and performed in many Gilbert and Sullivan classics at Unadilla Theater, whose stage in East Calais was for years her virtual summer home, a place where many friendships and much fun were fostered.

In September of 1988, she married Andrew Nemethy of Calais at Christ Church in Montpelier, and they celebrated under an auctioneer’s tent pitched in a field with a boisterous celebration, led by the rocking music of Gale Harris, her bestie and lead singer in the band. They separated 10 years later but remained friends and jointly raised their daughter, Esther Nemethy, who was born on September 15, 1993, and now lives in Salt Lake City, Utah, where she works as a nurse.

The sale of the family home in 2020 was followed by the first hints of the dementia that also afflicted first her mother and then her father, after a serious heart issue.

Throughout her memory struggles, her life was anchored by the incredible support of the parishioners

Above all was Mary’s passion for traveling and seeing the world, having been to five of the seven world continents. She loved to capture her travels in pictures, and her home is filled with carefully annotated albums documenting her exploits on the road. Even after Joe passed in 2008, Mary continued to travel the world, traveling extensively in the Middle East and Southwest Asia.

Her most passionate project grew out of her senior thesis on women and leadership at Northwestern and her travels to Afghanistan, where she sought to help young women become strong and independent. She worked with the School of Leadership Afghanistan (SOLA), a boarding school for Afghan girls that operated in Kabul from 2016 until 2021, and since the return of the Taliban, now operates out of Rwanda. She made several trips to that war-torn country to mentor the girls, as well as teach them writing and journalism.

at Christ Church, which she thought of as her “home.”

During her six months living in an apartment on Elm Street in 2024, she visited daily and was assisted in this happy period of independence by wonderful caregivers Raylene Lissor, Mary Rose Dougherty, Kelly Fairchild and especially Linda Radtke, as well as by Andrew Nemethy, who became her guardian along with their daughter, Esther.

She is survived by her daughter, Esther, and her ex, Andrew Nemethy; brothers, Jon and Jamie; sisters, Deb, Elizabeth, Lois and Eunice; nephews, Neil, Rhys and Darrel, and Isaac; nieces, Brit and Mary Clare; and longtime friends Dug Nap, Nancy Webb and Gale Harris, as well as friends and family in Vermont and far-flung places. She is now reunited with her brothers, Tim and Mark, who predeceased her, as did her beloved dogs, Hazel and little Happy, her shih tzu.

A memorial service, aptly filled with music, was attended by more than 180 people on Saturday, March 1, 2025, at Christ Episcopal Church.

Mary is survived by her three sons, Minott Kerr, Geoffrey Kerr (Dan Flanagan) and Gibson (Diane Lawliss) Kerr; five grandchildren, Kirstin (Seamus) Kerr O’Connor, Alyssa (Matthew) Kerr Pyrak, Maxer Kerr, Gavin Kerr and Peter Kerr; and one great-granddaughter, Rory Kerr O’Connor. Her surviving Minnesota nieces, Lois Meekins Croonquist, Lisa Meekins Meyer and Heidi Meekins were very dear to her.

Though a devoted wife, she was fiercely independent, and she left this life exactly as she said she would to anyone who knew her well: “Out of her house feet first, going up through the trees.” Her outgoing personality and strong belief systems will be remembered by many. In lieu of flowers, please consider a donation to SOLA at sola-afghanistan.org. The family is planning a private life celebration at Scotch Bonnet in the springtime once the gardens begin to bloom.

lifelines

OBITUARIES

Reinhard W. Straub

MAY 16, 1950DECEMBER 24, 2024

CAROLINA, R.I.

Reinhard W. Straub, 74, of Carolina, R.I., passed away due to complications of a stroke, with his loving family by his side, on Tuesday, December 24, 2024, at the Riverview Rehabilitation & Healthcare Center in Coventry, R.I. He was the beloved husband of Susan M. Straub and the son of the late Walter and Wiltraut (Till) Straub. Reinhard was born in Austria in 1950 and immigrated with his refugee family to Burlington, Vt., in 1951. An accomplished violinist at a young age, Reinhard pursued a professional music career after attending Syracuse University in the 1960s. As a kick-ass rock violinist, he worked with many notable artists, including Aerosmith, Peter Tork, Paul Butterﬁeld and Harry Nilsson, to name a few.

While living in New York City in the mid 1980s, Reinhard began creating visual art. Over a three-year period, he produced more than 300 paintings and drawings. He was getting ready to take part in an art show when he landed in rehab at Conifer Park in Albany, NY., and then relocated to upstate New York. In May 1991

OBITUARIES, VOWS, CELEBRATIONS

Reinhard survived an airplane crash, and his interest in art was reawakened. For the next four years, he completed 250 additional acrylic and oil paintings.

Reinhard earned his bachelor of science degree in human services at the State University of New York Empire State College in 1992. He went on to receive a master’s degree in social work from Adelphi University in New York in 1994. He was a licensed clinical social worker and an internationally certiﬁed alcohol and drug clinical supervisor, who worked in the substance abuse and mental health ﬁeld for more than 30 years. He was a faculty member at SUNY Empire State College and conducted over 1,000 clinical interventions. He facilitated treatment for and advocated on behalf of countless physicians and health care professionals while at the

Raymond Achille Beaudoin

JANUARY 9, 1957-FEBRUARY 26, 2025

ST. ALBANS, VT.

e family of Raymond Achille Beaudoin, 68, of St. Albans, Vt., announces that he passed away peacefully on February 26, 2025, in St. Albans.

A complete obituary can be found on the funeral home’s website.

Arrangements are entrusted to Jeffrey Levesque and the Brady & Levesque Funeral Home, where fond memories and expressions of sympathy may be shared with his family and friends at bradyandlevesque.com.

New York Committee for Physician Health and later with Haven, the Connecticut assistance program for health professionals. In 2011 Reinhard founded Clinical Services of Rhode Island, a system of three licensed substance abuse outpatient facilities. In January 2018 he started Recovery Services of Connecticut, another substance abuse outpatient facility.

He was an avid golfer and skier — sports he enjoyed with his whole family. He was proud of all his achievements, but he believed his greatest accomplishment was being a father to his three children.

Besides his wife, Susan, he is survived by his children, Alexander Straub of Providence, R.I., Ian Straub of Carolina, R.I., and his ﬁancée, Milana Cededa, and her daughter, Saoirse; and Katrina Straub of Narragansett, R.I.; a sister, Henriette Chapman, of Rouses Point, N.Y.; a brother, Peter (Kathryn) Straub, of Plattsburgh, N.Y.; and many beloved nieces and nephews.

Two celebrations of life will be held. e ﬁrst service will be held on Saturday, March 15, 2025, 2 p.m., at the Unitarian Universalist Congregation of South County, 27 North Rd., South Kingstown, R.I. e second celebration of life will be held on May 31, 2025, in Albany, N.Y., at a time and place to be determined.

Dorothy “Dottie” Bennett Nickerson

AUGUST 8, 1927FEBRUARY 7, 2025

ESSEX JUNCTION, VT.

We are saddened to announce the passing of Dottie on Friday, February 7, 2025. She was born on August 8, 1927, in Lowell, Mass., the daughter of the late Raymond H. and Nettie B. Bennett. She graduated from Lowell High School and Westbrook College in Portland, Maine. She worked for many years at the University of Vermont in the registrar’s ofﬁce, retiring in 1986.

Dottie shared a lifetime of love with her sweetheart and devoted husband, Howard “Nick” Nickerson. ey were married on April 17, 1949, and enjoyed 69 years ﬁlled with love, laughter and devotion. Above all, she was a devoted mother. She loved her children ﬁercely and was their biggest cheerleader. She had a way of making each of them feel special, always knowing just what to say to bring comfort, encouragement or laughter. Dottie adored her grandchildren, Kristin, Eric, Scott and Paul. She also enjoyed her great-grandchildren, Brianne, Sawyer and Jordan.

places of interest before settling down and spending winters in Vero Beach, Fla. Dottie and Nick were often seen gliding across the dance ﬂoor, gazing into each other’s eyes. When not dancing, they could be found with friends enjoying a great game of bowling. She also could be found reading, gardening, doing sudokus and enjoying a spirited game of rummy.

She was predeceased by her husband of 69 years, Howard “Nick” Nickerson; her parents, Raymond and Nettie Bennett; her brother, Coolidge; her sister, Barbara; and many nieces and nephews. She is survived by her daughter, Donna Gallas (Michael); her son, Stephen Nickerson (Debra); grandchildren, Kristin Gallas (Darryl Robinson), Eric Gallas (Jessica), Scott Nickerson and Paul Nickerson (Mindy); and great-grandchildren, Brianne, Sawyer and Jordan.

e family would like to thank Maple Ridge Lodge and BAYADA Hospice for the excellent care given to our mother.

She attended St. James Episcopal Church, where she was a member of the Women’s Group. She volunteered for many years at the Green Mountain Nursing Home, Meals on Wheels and other groups for RSVP.

After retiring, she and her husband, Nick, traveled cross-country three times, visiting

Gene A. “Uncle” Baskette

AUGUST 15, 1951-FEBRUARY 11, 2025 MANHATTAN, N.Y. AND WATERBURY, VT.

Surrounded by loved ones, Gene A. Baskette, known to all as Uncle, lost his battle with cancer on February 11, 2025.

Uncle Baskette was born in Groton, Vt., on August 15, 1951. He grew up on the go, homeschooled and traveling the Northeast with his family, and later split his time between Manhattan and Waterbury, Vt.

Uncle relished his life in New York and pursued a successful career in the rodenticide and pest management industries for more than four decades. He became a strong and consistent force in multiple citywide running groups (CP-UES, UWS 2010s) while training for many endurance races with his prized dogs. Uncle’s other great passion was birding, a practice that followed him from

Calling hours will be held on Saturday, March 8, 2 to 4 p.m., at the Ready Funeral Home Mountain View Chapel, 68 Pinecrest Dr., Essex Junction, VT. A memorial service celebrating Dottie’s life will immediately follow. Inurnment will take place at a later date. In lieu of ﬂowers, contributions may be made to BAYADA Hospice, 463 Mountain View Dr., Colchester, VT 05446. Arrangements are in the care of Ready Funeral & Cremation Services. To share online condolences, please visit readyfuneral.com.

the depths of Vermont’s woodlands to the winding, oak-lined paths of Central Park.

With his vast knowledge of late 19thcentury barbed wire, he was a proud contributor to the Antique Barbed Wire Association’s annual symposium reports until it ceased publication in 2020. He always returned to Vermont for his cherished hunting seasons and, as an avid adventurer, could be spotted challenging himself to winter hikes there through this year. His love for animals was core to his being and he donated generously to local and regional veterinary ofﬁces throughout his life.

Uncle Baskette is survived by his sisters (née Baskette), Ruby Fullman of Scarborough, Maine, and Ivy Larwa of Waterbury, Vt.; his laterin-life partner, Daisy Beem of Waterbury Center, Vt.; his longtime caregiver; and countless friends who will miss him dearly. A private memorial service and interment will take place in the spring.

Reporting for this article was supported by a grant from the Institute for Journalism and Natural Resources. For more information, visit ijnr.org.

And then there’s climate change. Loggers need firm or frozen ground to operate in the woods. By late 2023, warm rainy winters followed by soggy, monsoonal summers had reduced the ﬂow of logs into A. Johnson’s yard to a relative trickle.

Axed Out

Vermont’s loggers and sawmills are disappearing — and that’s bad news for forests

BY JONATHAN MINGLE

Ken Johnson needed a place to sit. He searched the wood-paneled o ce for a perch amid boxes full of power cords, tools and other detritus from his decades running the 117-yearold A. Johnson Company, one of Vermont’s largest lumber mills.

In late November 2023, Johnson — the fourth generation of his family to helm the company — and his business partner, Bill Sayre, had made the painful decision to permanently shut down the Bristol sawmill and its retail lumber sales.

Just over a year later, Johnson was finally packing up his old office in the middle of the yard, where he used to be surrounded by whirring edgers and debarkers and other machinery, now dismantled and carted away. When he ﬁnally found a chair, I asked him how the past year had been.

“Devastating,” he said simply. “I continue to blame myself. And then I recite the facts to myself: We were going to go out of business, regardless. We just weren’t positioned well to survive the changing economic climate.”

The A. Johnson Company had weathered ﬂoods and downturns in the economy, navigated technological change and the ﬁckle currents of global lumber markets, and even survived the 2008

recession, which choked o demand for building products. The company had long been one of Vermont’s biggest mills: At its peak, right before the housing crash, it produced nearly 13 million board feet of lumber annually.

But in recent years, converging forces had pushed the company to the brink. Lumber prices had sunk. Demand from China, a dominant buyer of U.S. hardwoods, had declined. In Canada, large mills had invested in more sophisticated

machinery that enabled them to process huge volumes of lumber. Too small to keep pace with those bigger competitors, A. Johnson also proved too big to aggressively chase higher-margin specialty markets such as hardwood ﬂooring.

“It’s like we were fighting a tide,” Sayre said. Vermont’s legacy sawmills, he explained, are going the way of its family dairy farms. They must get more e cient to survive in the commodity lumber business or focus on more niche markets — or die.

Along with shrinking markets and a warming climate, Vermont’s forests and the people whose livelihoods depend on them face compounding threats: a fastaging workforce, fragmentation of forests into smaller parcels, declining appetite among landowners for selling timber and rising public skepticism about harvesting on public lands.

Other Vermont mills have succumbed to these tides. The 150-year-old Putney Paper Mill shut down in January 2024; six months later, Mill River Lumber in Clarendon ceased operating. By one estimate, nearly 150 sawmills in Vermont have closed since 2000.

Mill operators and loggers aren’t the only people who are worried. A chorus of conservation groups, ecologists, state ocials and foresters warn that these forces might make it harder to keep Vermont’s forestlands intact, by chipping away at incentives that counteract the ﬁnancial pressure to subdivide or develop. And they argue that, as paradoxical as it sounds, making Vermont’s 4.5 million wooded acres more resilient to climate change and invasive species actually requires – in many cases and places — some more mindful tree felling.

Ethan Tapper, a consulting forester based in Bolton, is one of those who fear that the decline of Vermont’s forest-products sector will imperil the larger goal of keeping the state’s woodlands viable and healthy for generations to come.

“I’m terrified by the loss of these markets,” Tapper said. “I’m really worried by the loss of loggers. The forest management industry is dying. And we can’t let it happen.”

More Trees, Fewer Logs

For much of its history, Vermont’s economy was driven by the felling and milling of trees into various products. Plenty of communities owe their very existence to that industry. Towns such as Bristol were once peppered with mills producing everything from bobbins and boxes to coffins and clapboards. Even today, Vermont’s forest products

A. Johnson in Bristol

Ken Johnson

sector sustains more than 13,000 jobs and generates more than $2 billion in economic output.

But these days we demand even more from our forests: not just saw logs and livelihoods, ﬁrewood and maple syrup, but also scenic vistas, mountain biking trails, stands of “old growth,” welcoming habitats for bears, birds and brook trout. Our wooded slopes are also a source of something intangible but just as important to many Vermonters: identity. They are what make this the Green Mountain State, after all. On top of all that, we now want our forests to take on yet another job: sponging up and storing carbon.

With 77 percent of its land covered in trees, Vermont is the third-most-forested state in the country. Its forests add about three times more wood in volume than is harvested each year. Yet it is getting harder than ever for mills to ﬁnd logs.

For the private woodlot owners who hold 80 percent of Vermont’s forests, the ﬁnancial incentives to sell timber have waned. The “stumpage” prices often aren’t as enticing as, say, developing the land, leasing a sugar bush or just leaving it alone.

Meanwhile, public opposition to cutting on state and national forestland has increased. That has led to heated public policy debates, such as recent disagreements over how much logging to allow in the state’s 18,772-acre Worcester Range forests.

“Loggers are struggling with access to the forest,” said Oliver Pierson, director of the Forests Division at Vermont’s Department of Forests, Parks and Recreation. “Sawmills are struggling with getting enough product in and being able to sell it.”

That’s why the legislature authorized Pierson’s department to lead the drafting of the Vermont Forest Future Strategic Roadmap, a 2024 report that lays out urgent steps to help shore up the state’s struggling forest economy, such as hightech skills training to entice more young people to enter the trades as “climatesmart” foresters and loggers. Another priority is getting more properties enrolled in the state’s Use Value Appraisal program (colloquially known as “current use”), which reduces landowners’ property taxes in return for extracting a certain amount of timber or other products from their forests.

In recent decades, Vermont’s woodlands have been cleaved into smaller and smaller parcels as financial incentives drive landowners to subdivide or develop. Each year the state loses more than 12,000 wooded acres, according to U.S. Forest Service estimates.

“If we don’t have a viable forest products sector, it raises a whole host of questions,” said Jamey Fidel, general counsel

and forest and wildlife program director at the Vermont Natural Resources Council. “Are we getting wood from places that don’t have standards we have in place here in Vermont? How do we help people hold on to their forestland rather than pursuing intensive development?”

Johnson and Sayre point to a larger cultural shift behind the economic vise that squeezed their mill out of business: waning public support for harvesting timber in Vermont.

“When they are fully aware of the beneﬁts of harvesting, I believe the public will support it,” said Sayre, a self-described optimist. “They may not care about job opportunities in rural communities. But they do care about carbon footprint, and they care about songbirds’ habitat. And by making connections on those points that are important to them, I think we can help them appreciate the role that working forests play in their lives.”

Johnson eyed his old friend and partner with a wry, skeptical smile. “I call him ‘Joe Silver Lining’,” he said. The two men laughed.

Under Old Management

THE FOREST MANAGEMENT INDUSTRY IS DYING. AND WE CAN’T LET IT HAPPEN.

ETHAN TAPPER

On a blustery Saturday in January, nearly a hundred protestors converged on the parking lot of the Green Mountain National Forest’s headquarters on Route 4 in Mendon. The group sang “This Land Is Your Land” to kick o a rally to demand that the U.S. Forest Service abandon its plan to allow logging in parts of the thickly forested, high-elevation Telephone Gap area several miles north.

Lopi LaRoe had come from Rutland to join the protest, which was organized by the environmental group Standing Trees. She had been ﬁghting the plan for two years.

She wasn’t opposed to logging everywhere, but she wondered why it couldn’t be done on private lands. “There are so few old-growth forests in Vermont,” she said. “And it’s time to start transitioning away from that, anyway,” she added, to reduce our dependence on wood products more generally. “They should have a moratorium on cutting on public lands altogether, in my opinion. We don’t need to ‘manage’ it. Let it go.”

Her sentiment was echoed by the signs people waved around her. One featured Dr. Seuss’ Lorax; another shouted, “We need our Ancient Trees NOW more than ever.”

The plan they were decrying was a compromise of sorts. An earlier proposal that would have permitted logging on a wider area had been revised after extensive public comments and input from groups such as VNRC, Audubon Vermont

Ethan Tapper

Logger Cale Pelland at work in Lincoln

Axed Out

and forest science experts at the University of Vermont. The new plan would protect 661 acres previously slated for harvest that have “old forest” features and reduce the overall harvesting area.

Jamey Fidel of VNRC lauded the revised plan for its embrace of “climatesmart techniques.” Most of the permitted logging, he said, would involve selective cutting to improve the age and structural diversity of the forest, rather than aiming to extract a set amount of board feet of timber.

Such endorsements hadn’t persuaded LaRoe and her fellow protestors.

“I think this local Johnson company is just set to profit” from the plan, LaRoe told me. “This is the public trust. You can log on private lands or adapt your way of making a living to make it more sustainable.”

I informed her that A. Johnson had, in fact, shut down its mill a year earlier.

She paused. “Really?” she said. “Wow.”

Zack Porter, executive director of Standing Trees, stepped up to the mic. “Less than 1 percent of Vermont’s lumber comes from national forest,” he said. “This project isn’t necessary.” He noted that the forest service’s own analysis suggested the project could release carbon equivalent to a year’s worth of emissions from 60,000 passenger vehicles.

Rep. Amy Sheldon (D-Middlebury), who chairs the House Committee on Environment, was also scheduled to speak but was unable to make it; another rally-goer read her speech instead. A month later, Sheldon would introduce a bill that would seek to “recover old forests” by putting 268,000 acres of state lands where timber harvesting has long been permitted, such as Camel’s Hump State Forest, permanently off-limits.

‘Flavors’ of Stumps

Industry advocates such as Bill Sayre argue that logging leads to faster carbon uptake from new growth. Groups such as Standing Trees point to research that older trees keep more carbon locked up for longer.

“They’re both correct,” said Tony D’Amato, a professor of forestry at UVM. D’Amato is an expert on the carbon dynamics of New England’s forests and on what constitutes “old-growth” forests.

“Carbon science is easily weaponized depending on your agenda,” he said, noting that, while carbon sequestration (trees’ rate of uptake from the atmosphere) and carbon storage (its containment in trees and soil) are often conflated, they are not the same thing. “We need both, for many reasons,” he explained. To keep carbon out

of the atmosphere, forests need both large stocks of older trees that store carbon and younger ones “sucking up carbon at high rates.”

To balance those imperatives, D’Amato promotes the concept of “carbon stewardship” — an approach that factors in sequestration, storage and adaptation to future climate impacts. Disturbances such as windstorms, wildfires, beech leaf disease and invasive pests can damage a forest’s ability to hold on to carbon. Selective harvesting and planting can nurture species that “counterbalance that carbon loss,” D’Amato explained, so that a regenerating acre of forest holds on to more carbon than it would if it were allowed to revert to fields or shrubs.

At Mud Pond Forest, a property owned by Vermont Land Trust in Greensboro, D’Amato, some UVM colleagues and the land trust’s foresters are studying the health of tracts subjected to varying intensities of timber cutting and none at all, to monitor their climate resilience over long time spans.

As part of another research project, D’Amato worked with Ethan Tapper, in his former role as Chittenden County forester, to plan some light harvesting at the Catamount Community Forest in Williston. In his recent book, How to Love a Forest, Tapper argues that caring for woodlands is messier than most people appreciate. It often demands cutting down trees, because mortality is essential to forest regeneration. “I do a lot of work helping people wrap their head around tree death,” he said.

“People now care about climate, biodiversity, habitat, water quality, scenic diversity, recreation,” he said. Such values are rightly ascendant after centuries of treating forests merely as a vast lumberyard and fuel depot. “And folks assume that the way to care must be to leave forests alone when, in fact, in many cases, we have to manage them to actually achieve those benefits.”

Tapper — who has led plenty of forest walks to explain that hands-on approach to people — understands how counterintuitive it sounds. “I talk mostly about how altered our forests are, all the threats we face, and how they are not going to magically get better on their own.”

D’Amato put this another way. “Most people don’t like to see cut stumps,” he said. “But there are different flavors of stump. There are stumps about exploiting purely for economic benefit. And there are cut stumps that are about birds and their habitat and about climate adaptation.”

Leaving Money in the Woods

On a January day in the Jerusalem Skyline Forest, a 72-acre parcel in Starksboro owned and managed by the Vermont Land

Cailtin Cusack in the Jerusalem Skyline Forest

A. Johnson in Bristol

Trust since 1986, the stumps were hidden under deep snow. But evidence of recent logging was still easy to ﬁnd. I stumbled more than once upon toppled sections of spruce, left with their profusion of branches intact.

My guides — Steve Hagenbuch, a conservation biologist with Audubon Vermont, and Caitlin Cusack, a VLT forester — explained that was by design. On many logging jobs, those woody tree tips would be turned into chips. But leaving them on the ground provides forage and cover for ground-nesting birds, deters deer from over-browsing new maple shoots, and enriches the soil.

We stopped amid three stately sugar maples, each more than two feet in diameter.

“We call them ‘the Sisters,’” Cusack said. These were what foresters call “legacy trees” — never to be cut, left standing as a source of seeds and regeneration. They would have fetched a high price.

“We could have harvested more,” Cusack said, “but there’s always a trade-o .”

This is what it looks like to try to balance all these uses and values: leaving some money in the forest. But not all of it.

In the winter of 2020-21, VLT hired Kyle Pratt, a Jericho-based logger, for selective harvesting on the property. His take: nearly 50,000 board feet of sawlogs sold to a large mill in Québec; 2,289 board feet; 110 cords trucked to a nearby ﬁrewood dealer; and 115 cords of pulpwood sent to International Paper’s mill in Ticonderoga, N.Y.

That harvest brought just over $18,000 to VLT — not a huge sum. But in addition to supporting local livelihoods by keeping Pratt and his two employees busy for a few weeks, it generated a host of other beneﬁts.

Cusack pointed to where cutting a few trees had created openings in the canopy, simulating a natural disturbance such as a windstorm. Blackberry was now coming in — a critical food source for migratory birds and cover for ground-nesting species such as the black-throated blue warbler.

Cusack paused to visit some ash trees she had inoculated against the emerald ash borer, an invasive pest that’s projected to virtually wipe out Vermont’s ash in the coming years. By injecting some trees with a special insecticide, she hopes to preserve genetic material that might encourage future resistance.

We stopped to examine larger cuts, from half an acre to an acre in size, where Cusack wanted to let in sunlight to give young birch and aspen a chance to compete with more shade-tolerant beech. “This is a forest that recently grew back from pasture,” she said. “It’s pretty much one uniform age, and we’re trying to introduce some complexity. When you

WITH 77 PERCENT OF ITS LAND COVERED IN TREES, VERMONT IS THE THIRD-MOST-FORESTED STATE IN THE COUNTRY.

get into dominance by a single species, you start to get worried you have all your eggs in one basket.”

We were walking through a “teenage forest,” Hagenbuch observed, like much of the state’s woodlands. They lack the diverse species, varied ages and structure (picture tangles of decaying logs, tippedover root balls and dead snags that provide wildlife habitat) that early settlers would have found in true old-growth forests.

This was the theme of our trek: More diversity would make this forest more resilient. To that end, Cusack had also planted 150 red oaks, a species that’s expected to fare better as Vermont gets warmer.

When Cusack’s predecessors updated the management plan for this property in 1998, the emerald ash borer, invasive weeds and climate change weren’t on their radar. “We were managing to protect soil and water quality and to produce highquality saw timber,” she said. “But now, when we are updating the plan, we’re thinking about climate change. We’re thinking about forest birds. We’re thinking about the ash.”

Managing for all of these values — while speeding the transition from today’s teenage forests to the gloriously messy old-growth stands of the future — requires human intervention. In other words, it requires making some stumps. And to do that work on a wider scale, foresters such as Cusack need to be able to ﬁnd skilled loggers. But that, she said, is getting harder.

‘What’s

the Future for Me?’

For many of the 17 years he spent working on Bristol’s highway crew, Cale Pelland dreamed about being a logger instead. One day several years ago, while sitting in the woods during deer season, he decided to make the leap. He started out with a chain saw and an old cable skidder. He was fully aware of the risks, both physical and ﬁnancial, and of the fact that he was bucking a wider trend. One of the ﬁrst things he did was meet with Sayre and Johnson and their lead forester, Rob Fields; they told him the average age of the loggers cutting for them was 60.

“You have to a have passion to be in the woods, because you don’t do this job thinking you’re gonna get rich,” Pelland said with a laugh.

Since then, he has had no regrets. He prizes the independence and physicality of the work and the fact that he can point to a pile of logs and tally up how much he earned at the end of the day. “And I just love working outdoors,” he said. “That’s a dream come true.”

Cale Pelland

Forestland in Lincoln

He’s not alone: A recent survey found that loggers and foresters were the happiest workers in America. But the trade is not without its stresses.

On a late December weekday afternoon, Pelland would normally be working deep in the woods. But he was free to meet me at Cubbers Restaurant in Bristol because it was 50 degrees and raining — too warm and wet for skidding logs.

Winter days like this are increasingly common and a source of anxiety for loggers like Pelland. Up on a remote hillside in Lincoln, where he’s spending his fourth winter logging a 497-acre parcel owned by A. Johnson, he had half a million dollars’ worth of equipment sitting idle: a feller buncher that can cut, grasp and stack a whole tree up to 22 inches in diameter, a grapple skidder to move logs out of the woods, a slasher to cut those logs to length. Those machines let him harvest much more wood in much less time. But they also cost him roughly $10,000 a month in loan payments.

High-quality hardwood sawlogs no longer fetch the high prices they once did. So, a logger “has to hit as many markets as you can,” Pelland said. The piles at his logging site told the story: A stack of large-diameter ash was set to be trucked to a seaport, stu ed into containers and shipped abroad. There was a mountain of smaller-diameter ash and maple logs destined to become ﬁrewood. Wood chips and pulpwood in another pile would become fuel pellets. “The times being what they are, you have to utilize everything to make it work,” Pelland said.

When A. Johnson shut down its sawmill in 2023, Pelland’s day-to-day reality didn’t change dramatically. He kept sending his logs down to the yard in Bristol, where they were bought by Allard Lumber, a Brattleboro company that is temporarily leasing it as a storage and sorting site. But the moment triggered some soul-searching.

“If they just folded, what’s the future for me?” he mused. “I’ve been asking foresters and other loggers, ‘What should I shape my business towards? Should I start downsizing? Should I keep what I have?’”

Pelland is 39, with three kids, and doesn’t know many contemporaries who are entering the trade.

“We’re losing so many markets for wood,” he said. Trucking costs are rising as more mills close, driving down margins for everyone. “And the ones that are left, they’re getting so far away, it’s getting to a point where — I don’t know, I almost feel like, are we getting squeezed out on purpose?”

For centuries, spalted maple was something that one happened across in the woods. Nichols has ﬁgured out a way to make it by inoculating logs with a proprietary strain of fungi, carefully controlling the process of decomposition and arresting it at just the right time. When the logs are ripe, he gets them milled by Ken Gagnon, who runs a family-owned sawmill in Pittsford that opened in 1958.

Since he started his business in 1998, Nichols has had a front-row seat to the vanishing of Vermont’s mills. “I’ve been in well over 20 sawmills over the years, processing my wood. Dry kilns. Secondary flooring mills. All gone, with few exceptions.”

VERMONT’S FOREST PRODUCTS SECTOR

SUSTAINS MORE THAN 13,000 JOBS AND GENERATES MORE THAN $2 BILLION IN ECONOMIC OUTPUT.

“We send logs to Canada, and it comes back to us as lumber,” Pelland said, shaking his head. “Vermont is just not a forest industry products-friendly state.”

Finding a Niche

The headquarters of Vermont Wildwoods in Marshﬁeld looks and feels more like a whiskey distillery than a woodworker’s shop.

“We’re like Jack Daniel’s before he really got rolling,” said Parker Nichols, the founder and CEO. “This isn’t a production facility, but more like a lab.”

Behind him were ceiling-high stacks of super-thin sheets of spalted maple —intricately veined with dark lines made by fungi that had started to decompose the wood. Next door was an “inoculum” where the fermentation-like process unfolds under climate-controlled conditions.

Nichols’ venture is North America’s first commercial-scale spalted wood veneer and plywood producer. His distinctively patterned paneling and sheet products are prized by high-end architecture ﬁrms and companies such as Chipotle, which uses them in 600 of its restaurants.

But Nichols is insulated from these those trends: He can buy all the hard maple logs he needs for a year, about 10 truckloads’ worth, in a minute-long phone call with a broker. And he can cut 60 wafer-thin slices from a single 1.5-inchthick maple board.

Nichols sees an opening for more entrepreneurs to do what he’s doing: squeezing much more value out of every raw log through skillful processing. Vermont Wildwoods’ spalted veneer sheets and plywood products can fetch prices anywhere from ﬁve to 10 times as much as conventional maple veneer products. Other local enterprises take a similarly fresh approach. Sylvacurl, an enterprise based in nearby East Hardwick, markets aspen wood shavings as an alternative to Styrofoam and other petroleum-based packaging materials.

“If you have something really cool, you can make it in this industry,” Nichols said. He sees potential to scale up, but he’s quick to put his operation in context. “We’re so small that what we sell in a year, Columbia Forest Products produces in one day,” he said. “So, it’s not like I’m going to be changing the face of the Vermont forest products industry anytime soon. But what I am o ering is one model of what a future forest-products company can look like.”

Whether or not the future belongs to super-niche products like his spalted veneer or Silvacurl’s shavings, Nichols is quite certain it won’t resemble the past.

“If I tried to make a regular commodity maple product like regular veneer, I would be out of business before the end of today,” he said. “What is the deﬁnition of shipping your raw materials overseas only to buy the ﬁnal product back? That’s called a colony. That’s not how you do it.”

Rough-Sawn Relationships

Peter Gardner is the fourth generation to run Clifford Lumber, which started as a farm-based mill in 1929. He and his father, Lynn, who took over the Hinesburg operation in 1972, do a bit of everything:

Matt Melendy processing ﬁrewood at Clifford Lumber

Forestland in Lincoln

shiplap pine paneling, rough sawn timbers, butcher block countertops, hardwood flooring and kiln-dried firewood. They even do a modest but steady business churning out pine boxes for orchards and vegetable farms.

“At times it seems like there are too many irons in the fire,” Gardner acknowledged. There are, after all, costs to toggling between these different types of milling.

But there are advantages, too. This diverse portfolio of products has helped the business weather shifts in the market, from housing crashes to global trade wars.

Most of Clifford’s logs come from within a 25-mile radius. The business trades on relationships with loggers such as Cale Pelland, and with customers, too.

Clifford Lumber occupies a local niche that helps explain its longevity. Whenever Gardner stops at the Dumb Luck Pub & Grill down the road, he enjoys seeing the shiplap paneling he milled for the restaurant’s interior. The mill’s success offers another vision of Vermont’s forestproducts future — one less focused on volume and global markets and more able to nimbly serve local needs.

“The smaller, retail end of stuff is where we’re aiming,” Gardner said, “and it’s been pretty solid.” Housing construction was picking up. Export markets might be sagging — and won’t be helped by retaliation to President Donald Trump’s newly imposed tariffs — but local builders still need hardwood flooring, hemlock beams and pine paneling.

Chittenden, Addison and Rutland counties — in a way that’s aligned with their values.

“I feel remarkably fortunate,” Johnson said. “My father and grandfather and great-grandfather were able to buy some timberlands and give us a financial buffer so we can pay our debts and keep walking the talk, trying to help future forest product industry folks succeed.”

Just a few weeks earlier, they had sold a 450-acre parcel to the Town of Monkton. Vermont Land Trust helped coordinate the sale and holds a conservation easement on the tract, which will become Monkton’s town forest.

Cale Pelland knows that land well. He lives just a 10-minute walk away. He initially opposed the town forest idea. He worried that fishing, hunting and logging would be prohibited and the land effectively roped off as a preserve. It seemed as if the cultural tides that were pressuring his own livelihood and the future of his industry were reaching his very doorstep.

But the loss of A. Johnson was a cause for concern, too. “We need these bigger people that really buy a lot of material — then we can kind of come in and pick up the pieces,” Gardner said.

When I arrived earlier that morning, Gardner was busy tallying up an order for a customer who needed some clapboards, so his 8-year-old son, Harold, had given me a tour instead.

As we picked our way between piles of sawdust, Harold confidently explained the function of each machine, from the debarker to the firewood cutter. He liked helping around the yard on weekends, he said.

“Do you think one day you want to work here?” I asked.

“I will, probably, yeah.”

“Why do you want to?”

“Well, it’s almost been 100 years,” he said, that the family business had been around. “And I think it would be cool if I worked here. Because it could be getting up to a thousand years!”

Everyone’s Forest

In late December, Ken Johnson and Bill Sayre completed the sale of the A. Johnson mill property to New England Quality Service, a metal salvage and recycling business.

A. Johnson’s transition from lumber producer to timber lands management company was complete. The company employed nearly 60 people before the 2008 housing crash but now has no fulltime workers. Johnson and Sayre are wholly focused on managing the roughly 14,000 wooded acres they own — most in

But as Pelland attended meetings and learned more about the plan, he warmed to the idea. Monkton’s new forest would offer a space for neighbors to gather and recreate. Pelland wondered whether the forest could also demonstrate to a skeptical public what responsible logging looks like. He wanted more people to understand the care that he takes in the woods — how, for example, he leaves some mature yellow birch or maple on the edge of a cut patch to reseed the next generation.

The town is still drafting a long-term forest management plan, based on input from community members. Whether it leaves the door open to some timber harvesting remains to be seen. In the Hinesburg Town Forest that Tapper used to manage, interpretive displays explain to visitors why certain sections were logged — to improve habitat and resilience — and how some of the harvested softwood made its way to local mills such as Clifford Lumber.

Pelland grew more animated as he sketched a similar vision. The old logging roads would become hiking and biking trails. They could take visitors past lightly harvested zones, with signs to explain what was cut and what might grow in its place, after the young shoots that provide browse for deer and cover for partridge.

“It would give the public that doesn’t get to see all that stuff an educational experience,” he mused. And maybe a town forest, held in perpetuity by its citizens, could help overcome another great hurdle to wider understanding of how forests regenerate: time.

“You’d have a pedestal set up with information to show: ‘It was done on this month of this year, and let’s continue to monitor it as the years go on,’” he said. “I think that would be awesome.” ➆

Peter Gardner

Clifford Lumber in Hinesburg

Molding Maestro

At the Arcana Workshop in Barre, Mike Turner crafts dinosaurs, airplane replicas and a 50-pound chicken

BY HANNAH FEUER • hfeuer@sevendaysvt.com

If you’ve spent any time in Vermont, chances are you’ve stumbled upon at least one of the Arcana Workshop’s creations — though you might not have known who was behind it.

The Barre studio is responsible for the cartoonish Volkswagen buses inside the Ben & Jerry’s factory in Waterbury, the replica of the ﬁrst plane to ﬂy over Lake Champlain inside Burlington International Airport, and the M-shaped benches on the streets of downtown Montpelier, among other familiar sights around the state.

Mike Turner started Arcana in 2015. He honed his fabrication skills at Advanced Animations in Stockbridge, where he worked on animatronics for Universal Studios theme parks, including the Wizarding World of Harry Potter in Florida, California and Japan. The 50-yearold Northﬁeld resident has since created larger-than-life sculptures and interactive games for some of Vermont’s most iconic businesses and organizations.

He remains amazed that his funky art — which can cost clients from $10,000 to $150,000 — pays the bills.

“So for, like, a month, we’re gonna just sculpt a big chicken,” Turner said incredulously, referring to a 6-foot sculpture of a chicken holding a creemee he made for Vermont Eclectic’s Woodstock store in 2020. “That’s hilarious. Yes, yes! We’re gonna do that.”

He carved the approximately 50-pound chicken out of foam, then spray-painted the structure with a liquid that hardens to form a durable plastic coating. Other Arcana projects have involved materials ranging from ﬁberglass to papier-mâché.

Despite his outlandish creations, Turner’s look doesn’t exactly scream “eccentric artist.” On a recent Thursday afternoon, he sported short grayish hair, a goatee and a black zip-up hoodie with jeans.

He has one full-time employee, 38-yearold Dan Flanders. The pair work out of a 4,000-square-foot studio with enough art supplies to rival a Michaels craft store, including giant blocks of foam, 3D printers and what Turner described as “every kind of ruler you could ever buy.” The orange walls display whiteboards covered in to-do lists, with tasks such as “Test molds + casts of teeth.”

The team typically works on a project for about four months, prototyping with 3D printers before constructing molds and casting the real thing. Beyond aesthetics,

BUSINESS

Turner must consider which materials are most durable and whether he’ll need to assemble huge sculptures piecemeal so they can ﬁt through narrow entryways. Planning ahead is key, and Turner usually does a good job of it. The worst he and Flanders have had to do is remove a door from its hinges to help their creations pass through.

Over the past decade, their work has included a plane replica for the electric aircraft company Beta Technologies, a claw machine game that teaches kids about

recycling and composting for Casella Waste Systems, a towering 13-foot robot for Wonderfeet Kids’ Museum in Rutland, and 7-foot-tall syrup and cheese sculptures for Dakin Farm and Cabot Creamery.

For out-of-state clients, the workshop has made props and backgrounds for Enchanted Fairies, a photo studio for kids with roughly 40 locations around the U.S., and 3D interactive exhibits for museums across New England. Currently, the duo is working on transportationthemed boxes that will adorn the walls

of a well-known children’s institution in Boston, though Turner can’t reveal the details until the project is complete. The pair is also constructing a replica of the head of Bruce, the shark from Jaws, which will be displayed at the Martha’s Vineyard Museum in Massachusetts to mark the ﬁlm’s 50th anniversary.

“You could ﬁt right in the mouth,” Flanders quipped to a visiting 5-foot-tall Seven Days reporter.

Turner grew up in Colchester and attended the now-defunct Art Institute of Pittsburgh, where he studied industrial design. Two weeks after graduation in 1997, he moved to Los Angeles, where he took freelance gigs at various theme parks and museums. Two years later, he moved back to Vermont for the job at Advanced Animations.

Turner takes care to craft replicas with meticulous attention to detail and has been known to kneel on the ﬂoor to get a child’s-eye view of his sculptures designed for kids. Bruce from Jaws , for instance, is not just any shark. His head alone is six feet long — bigger than a real great white’s — with sharp, intimidating teeth and visible scars. Those nuances can transform a generic shark into a recognizable character.

“I butt heads with people I worked with in the industry who maybe didn’t care as much. But it’s not just a T. rex. This is the T. rex that’s in Steven Spielberg’s movie,” Turner said. “And they just roll their eyes like, All you art department guys.”

But Turner has never let an eye roll stop him from going the extra mile. While constructing the plane replica that now sits inside Burlington’s airport — a Burgess-Wright Model F biplane built in 1911 — he spent hours poring over grainy photographs of the real thing.

In 2023, the Sullivan Museum and History Center on Norwich University’s campus in Northfield asked Arcana to design a landscape around a restored World War II-era Jeep. The Arcana team studied archival photographs to come up with a historically accurate backdrop, down to the kinds of trees common in Europe in the early 1940s. The result: a ﬂoor that resembled a dirt road and a mural depicting a ﬁeld with the road running through it, designed to look as though the Jeep was driving out of the wall.

“I think we actually captured a lot more people and students who were walking

Dan Flanders and Mike Turner

Jeep exhibit at the Sullivan Museum and History Center in Norwich

Robot at Wonderfeet Kids’ Museum in Rutland

Take a video tour of the Arcana Workshop at sevendaysvt.com.

FOR, LIKE, A MONTH, WE’RE GONNA JUST SCULPT A BIG CHICKEN.

MIKE TURNER

through and may not have typically stopped in our museum,” said Amber Wingerson, curator of exhibits and collections at the Sullivan Museum. “It brought in a lot of excitement.”

Arcana’s ﬁrst major project, in 2015, involved constructing life-size dinosaurs for Ark Encounter, a creationist Christian theme park in Williamstown, Ky., known for its large-scale model of Noah’s Ark. Turner got the commission through a former teacher at the Art Institute of Pittsburgh, who was art directing the exhibit. Using fossil evidence to ensure anatomical precision, Turner built seven dinosaurs, including a birdlike dinosaur called an archaeopteryx that sports

by hand. (The broader exhibit, which promotes the pseudoscientiﬁc idea that humans and non-avian dinosaurs coexisted, is less faithful in its commitment to historical accuracy.)

Turner said he now has the luxury to be choosier about which projects he accepts. For instance, Arcana recently received a request to create 500 bronzecast statues of President Donald Trump with his ﬁst raised, a reference to his pose after the assassination attempt last July. Turner said no.

“Not only do I not want to touch it with a 10-foot pole because of political reasons, but I don’t want to make 500 of anything,” he explained.

Crafting custom pieces instead of churning out mass-produced items keeps the work exciting, he said. It takes him back to his youth, when he was obsessed with Star Wars and watched a signiﬁcant number of TV specials showing how the magic was made.

At Arcana, the line between work and play is blurry. Turner and Flanders thrive on their teasing interactions and lighthearted jabs. Turner said he enjoys his job so much that he frequently comes into the studio on weekends, bringing his dog along, turning on the radio and

diagnostics

alignments

tire repair

brake service

oil changes

exhaust systems

inspections

“It’s a di erent vibe. No clients are calling. Dan’s not asking me questions,”

Flanders laughed. “I’ll be sure to call you on Saturdays,” he shot back, deadpan, before sarcastically asking an irritating question: “What do think I should wear?”

Their playful rapport extended to a UPS delivery driver, who dropped o a Seven Days was visiting. The driver joked that he’d like to work at Arcana when he retires.

“You got a project, just call me up,” he said, pausing to admire a sculpture of a treasure chest on his way out. ➆

Mamajuana Remix

e Dominican fusion café debuts a diner concept in Colchester

BY RACHEL STEARNS

On the surface, the diner where I went every Sunday morning as a kid is nothing like the one where I found myself sitting on a recent sunny afternoon. Instead of an old Greek dude, a cool millennial couple came out to shoot the shit with customers. And my hometown haunt deﬁnitely did not serve empanadas.

The energy was the same, though. An American mainstay, diners evoke a familial warmth and welcome; they’re casual, convivial places to ﬁnd a hot meal and shared humanity. Café Mamajuana’s new Colchester location — which fills the vacancy left by the Guilty Plate Diner — isn’t open 24-7, but it passes the vibe check. Plus, it’s got the beneﬁt of delicious, inventive food dreamed up by 32-year-old chef and co-owner Maria Lara-Bregatta, who earned a James Beard Foundation

FOOD LOVER?

Best New Restaurant semiﬁnalist nod in 2022 for the previous incarnation of Café Mamajuana in Burlington.

Lara-Bregatta spent time in her father’s Dominican restaurant as a child, but she didn’t plan on running one herself. That changed after she graduated from the University of Vermont in 2017 and realized her community lacked Caribbean cuisine. Lara-Bregatta built up her foodie fan base from an ArtsRiot pop-up to a 20-seat spot in the Oak Street Cooperative in Burlington’s Old North End.

During a two-plus-year hiatus from regular restaurant service, Lara-Bregatta ran Café Mamajuana as an events catering company while she ﬁgured out how to balance business with raising a family. In late January, she opened the 54-seat diner. To eat at Lara-Bregatta’s table is to experience her culinary talents as a celebration of her heritage and dedication to her family and community.

Offerings at the new joint include staples of Lara-Bregatta’s previous menu and then some. “I added items like the plantain Benedict to appease folks who are looking for something familiar but with sabor,” she said, using the Spanish word for “ﬂavor.” Diners can add a fried egg to anything on the menu, and fresh tropical juice, Caribbean co ee and pastries from a display case are always on o er, as in the diners of Lara-Bregatta’s youth.

FIRST BITES

The chef grew up in South Jersey, where “diner culture is super prevalent,” she said. Her husband, Geovann Ventura, who co-owns the café, had a similar experience in North Jersey.

The Vermont location she now occupies earned a special place in their hearts more recently. “We ended up telling our family we were expecting our daughter, Ayla, in our current space, [when it was] the Guilty Plate Diner,” Lara-Bregatta said.

The day I visited, sun streamed through the large-paned windows, warming the booth where I sat across from a friend. We pored over the menu as I sipped tea from a funky, handcrafted mug.

I was tempted by familiar favorites such as la canoa (a stu ed, topped sweet plantain, $18), the passion fruit vinaigrette-dressed green salad with goat

Maria Lara-Bregatta and Geovann Ventura at Café Mamajuana in Colchester

Clockwise from front: Dominican Caesar with anchovies, tostones Benedict, los tres golpes and tres leches French toast

MAMAJUANA

SIDEdishes

SERVING UP FOOD NEWS

BY MELISSA PASANEN • pasanen@sevendaysvt.com

Father-Son Pair to Open Adam’s Table in Milton

ADAM KAY, 61, and his 22-year-old son, ZACH, will open a lunch and dinner restaurant called ADAM’S TABLE at 25 Centre Drive in Milton by the end of March. The 75-seat restaurant will serve what Adam described as “American grill-type comfort food”: burgers, wraps, salads and wings, along with mains such as tenderloin steak tips and weekend specials. The bar will offer beer, wine and canned cocktails. During the summer, a deck will add 30 seats.

Adam started his restaurant career as a dishwasher at 15. “They fired the chef, and all of a sudden I was cooking,” he recalled.

Although the Culinary Institute of America-trained chef has been in the hospitality business ever since, Adam’s Table is his first solo restaurant venture. He will leave his latest position

of three years, as executive sous chef at Stowe’s Trapp Family Lodge (just renamed von Trapp Family Lodge & Resort), to work with Zach, who will serve as general manager.

The Kays live in Milton and had been considering opening a restaurant together. It’s a good opportunity as a parent, Adam said, to help his son “learn the business and make a living out of providing for the community.”

The Youngstown, N.Y., native moved to Vermont about 35 years ago, after falling in love with the state during a culinary school internship. “I got hooked on the Bob Newhart show thing,” he said, referring to the 1980s sitcom “Newhart,” set at a fictional Vermont inn.

Learn more on Facebook. ➆

CONNECT

Adam and Zach Kay

Turn Up the Heat

With its third sauce on “Hot Ones,” Barre’s Butterﬂy Bakery grows the market for Vermont chiles BY MELISSA PASANEN • pasanen@sevendaysvt.com

When Claire Georges learned last fall that one of her Butterﬂy Bakery of Vermont hot sauces had landed a coveted slot on the current season of the hot wing-fueled YouTube interview show “Hot Ones,” she was thrilled but a little nervous.

For the third time since 2018, a Butterﬂy Bakery hot sauce has made the 10-bottle gauntlet faced by celebrities ranging from Shaquille O’Neal to Ariana Grande. The stars cry, sweat and curse through progressively spicier wings while discussing their careers with host Sean Evans.

“Hot Ones” celebrates a decade in March, and each episode draws at least a million views. Lady Gaga’s February 13 appearance, in which she daintily nibbled vegan wings in a gown blooming with ghostly ﬂowers, quickly tallied 4 million.

When Lady Gaga reached Butterfly Bakery’s Hot House sauce at spot No. 7, she took a big bite and then worried aloud about the heat kicking in. “It is good, though,” she said, “but is it gonna come and get me, like, really soon?”

Of all the “Hot Ones” reactions to her sauces, Georges, 44, said her favorite occurred in 2023 when actor Pedro Pascal

of “Game of Thrones” fame encountered her Taco Vibes Only. Thanks to a potent blend of Vermont-grown Carolina Reaper and ghost peppers, the sauce had claimed position No. 9. But Pascal was skeptical.

“Butterﬂy Bakery of Vermont?” he read from the label. “How bad could Vermont be?” After chomping into a wing, he conceded, “OK, Vermont.”

Butterﬂy Bakery’s exposure through “Hot Ones” not only brings Vermont to

the attention of global celebrities and their fans but also puts the state’s farm bounty into their mouths and creates demand for more — which brings us back to why Georges was nervous.

She sources 100 percent of the produce for her hot sauces from about 15 small farms, mostly in Vermont and all within 200 miles of her Barre facility. She annually buys about 20,000 pounds of peppers alone.

Claire Georges of Butterﬂy Bakery

Bottling hot sauce at Butterﬂy Bakery

As soon as she heard about her latest “Hot Ones” feature last fall, Georges started ramping up production. Heatonist, the New York company that selects the sauces, ordered 36,000 ﬁve-ounce bottles of Hot House and has an exclusive to sell them through the season.

The dill- and cilantro-forward recipe is made with a ﬁery combination of Carolina Reaper, ghost, habañero, serrano and Carmen peppers. Thankfully, Georges’ 2,000-square-foot freezer held plenty of the necessary locally grown peppers and tomatoes, but she was worried about cilantro.

In October, she scrambled to source 500 pounds — “probably all the rest of the cilantro that the state had,” Georges said. “If they had told us a week later, we would have been screwed.”

heat” have made the company a repeat pick, he said.

Other than the Heatonist order, Georges said “Hot Ones” does not directly spike sales but has helped open doors for her hot sauces to be stocked elsewhere. “It really gives you credibility,” Georges said.

IT IS ABSOLUTELY

NOT MY GOAL TO BLAST PEOPLE’S BRAINS OUT.

Others might have subbed nonlocal cilantro, but Georges is ﬁrm in her resolve to support small farms and a strong local food system.

As the Butterﬂy Bakery name indicates, the company started with baked goods in 2003 and continues to make products such as maple-sweetened cookies and granola. Georges works with about 25 clients to make their branded products in her facility, and she bought Fat Toad Farm’s goat’s milk caramel line in 2022. She blended her ﬁrst hot sauces around 2011 using peppers traded for unsold treats at the close of the Capital City Farmers Market.

CLAIRE GEORGES

Her commitment to farmers matters, said Geo Kleis of West Pawlet’s Familia Farm. The farmer, 44, ﬁrst sold Georges 500 pounds of red jalapeños in 2017, when he had just established his operation. The two businesses have grown together, and Familia now harvests thousands of pounds of hot peppers annually for Georges, from habañeros to ghosts.

“Claire is really about rising the tide and ﬂoating more ships,” Kleis said. “I think this relationship does that for not only me, but a lot of people.”

Butterﬂy Bakery’s devotion to local is also about taste.

“Claire’s dedication to partnering with local farmers is evident when you try her sauces,” Heatonist CEO and founder Noah Chaimberg said. The “high-quality ingredients and balance of ﬂavor and

From that humble start, the entrepreneur said, her company exceeded $1 million in annual sales a few years back — thanks in large part to Vermont chiles. In addition to 13 core hot sauces and dozens of microbatches, the business makes sauces for other companies. Hot sauce accounts for about 60 percent of her team’s time and generates roughly the same percent of Butterﬂy Bakery-branded revenue.

Georges is constantly dreaming up new ﬂavor combinations, inspired by what’s in the freezer and at the market. “I can taste things in my head like a musician who can hear the music in their head,” she said. Despite landing on the upper end of the spiciness range with two of her three “Hot Ones” sauces, Georges noted that she generally targets mid-level heat. “It is absolutely not my goal to blast people’s brains out,” she said. ➆

INFO

Learn more at butterﬂybakeryvt.com and youtube.com/@ﬁrstwefeast.

Host Sean Evans with the

“Hot Ones” Season 26 lineup, including Butterﬂy Bakery of Vermont’s Hot House sauce

Old Spokes Home Spring Tune-Up Workshop for Women/Trans/Nonbinary Identities

WED., MAR. 5

OLD SPOKES HOME, BURLINGTON

PechaKucha Night Burlington | Volume 39

THU., MAR. 6

MAIN STREET LANDING PERFORMING ARTS CENTER, BURLINGTON

SEABA Member Meeting and Raffle

Drawing

FRI., MAR. 7

THE VAULTS, BURLINGTON

An Acoustic Evening with Sage Hatfield, Derek O’Kanos, Alexis Pastuhov and Jonah Siegel

FRI., MAR. 7

THE UNDERGROUND LISTENING ROOM, RANDOLPH

TRS Live: Kyle Chadburn & the Earthbound Spirits - Live Album Recording

SAT., MAR. 8

TANK RECORDING STUDIO, BURLINGTON

Carnevale

SAT., MAR. 8

THE ESSEX RESORT & SPA

Burlington Civic Symphony Spring Concert

SAT., MAR. 8

ELLEY-LONG MUSIC CENTER, COLCHESTER

Bird Boombox w/ Fly-By Ride

SAT., MAR. 8

THE UNDERGROUND LISTENING ROOM, RANDOLPH

at my parents’ restaurant growing up,” Lara-Bregatta said.

cheese ($14) and à la carte empanadas ($5.50). But this time, the burrito ($15) was calling my name, as was the tropical take on a Caesar salad ($15).

My dining companion was torn between the tostones Benedict ($18) and poutine Dominicana ($14) — two dishes that exemplify the restaurant’s niche of diner classics with a Caribbean spin. She settled on the latter, won over by the yuca fries.

It was Valentine’s Day, as evinced by the presence of several toddlers in heartadorned outfits. One child donned a chef’s hat and frilly apron to play at the toy kitchen that anchors a corner of the diner’s open-concept space.

Café Mamajuana is open Wednesday through Saturday, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Lara-Bregatta said the current schedule is about balancing work and her family’s needs and that the business incorporates the strengths of her husband and 3-year-old daughter. (Those who visit when Ayla is around will note that her sole job is being unfathomably cute.)

“We are working on a playroom for her in my office, not unlike what I had

Ventura fills myriad roles: managing the staff, smoking the weekly brisket, preparing his specialty (los tres golpes: a fried egg, fried cheese and fried salami over mashed plantains, $15), and troubleshooting equipment.

On Valentine’s Day, his tie-dye sweatshirt perfectly matched the frosted-grape, cranberry and brickred color scheme of the diner, my friend and I noticed with delight as he delivered food to a neighboring table.

Lara-Bregatta stopped to greet my friend, whose wedding welcome party she catered in 2023. “Did you get the Benedict?” she asked excitedly, touting her new creation. My friend promised she’d be back soon to give it a try.

My burrito consisted of fluffy, seasoned rice and tender beans wrapped in a flat-top-crisped tortilla. It struck a balance between a little heat and a little sweet, thanks to the respective contributions of avocado salsa and soft-cooked plantains.

We deemed the poutine a shareable decadence; it could be meal-worthy with the addition of slow-roasted pork ($4) to

Mamajuana Remix « P.36

Desserts at Café Mamajuana

food+drink

with silky adobo hollandaise. We agreed that the chef had not oversold us on the dish.

Having opted myself for the tres leches French toast ($14), I envied the umami of my husband’s selection. I stole a bite of the über-crispy plantains, then dug into my own plate, which turned out to be the best French toast I’ve ever had. The nooks and crannies of the housebaked brioche absorbed three-milk custard spiked with Dominican vanilla. Griddled to brown-butter perfection and served with additional custard reminiscent of crème anglaise and housemade tropical fruit jam, the toast didn’t even need maple syrup. (Not that that stopped this Vermonter from using it!)

Lara-Bregatta later said the dish is an homage to her favorite flavor of cake made by Ventura’s grandmother, who owns a Dominican bakery in New Jersey.

If Burlington-based fans of Lara-Bregatta bemoan the extra travel time to get their fix, it’s not hurting the diner’s popularity. I could have sat for hours sipping coffee in the sunny pleather booth if it weren’t for the waiting area filled with hopefuls hungrily eyeing my table.

Lara-Bregatta said the move to Colchester feels right. “We have the space to spread out, show our culture through art and music, and, most importantly, it’s in my neighborhood,” she said. She gardens and raises chickens on the Colchester homestead she shares with Ventura and their daughter. As in the past, she said, some of that produce will show up in the restaurant.

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the standard gravy. The Caesar salad — verdant, zesty and bejeweled with seared blood orange slices — made us feel just virtuous enough to discuss between bites which flavor of doughnut should cap the meal. More full than expected, I took a guava doughnut ($4) and a passion fruit tart ($8) to go as a concession to my husband, who was bummed to miss the trip.

He made sure to free up an afternoon the following week — and, remembering Lara-Bregatta’s endorsement, I suggested the Benedict. Two velvety poached eggs were perched atop piles of fall-apart-tender shredded pork, anchored by shatterably crispy plantain cakes and drizzled

Lara-Bregatta plans to change menu items seasonally. The pending liquor license will enable her to serve the café’s namesake beverage — steeped wine, rum and honey with tree bark and herbs, a drink that is both medicinal and widely viewed as an aphrodisiac — plus tropical mimosas, Bloody Marys and more.

As we paid at the counter, my husband couldn’t resist a dulce brownie ($5) from the near-empty pastry case. The heavenly French toast had satisfied my sweet tooth for the time being, but thankfully he saved me half for later. The chewy, caramelly, just-a-little-salty square was nothing like the offerings in the display case of the diner of my youth. I cherish those memories, but I’ll take a Mamajuana brownie over a stale muffin any day. ➆

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Don’t take chances. Visit KOB Kitchen before you buy anywhere else.

A Little O the Top

eater review: Sweeney Todd: e Demon Barber of Fleet Street, Vermont Repertory eatre

BY ALEX BROWN • alex@sevendaysvt.com

Vermont Repertory Theatre’s rousing production of a horrific tale o ers a chance to let go of your moral scruples and revel in the macabre. Stephen Sondheim’s Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street overflows with grisly, cartoon violence yet is so masterfully constructed that it collected nearly every Tony Award available when it premiered in 1979. In this sold-out production, the laughs lie in the exaggeration, the pure pleasure floods from the music, and the suspense arises from powerful performances.

Sondheim’s musical meshes two parallel stories of men recently arrived in London. Anthony is dazzled by the city despite the grunge and poverty, then dazzled even more by the lovely Johanna, the unlucky ward of tyrannical and sexually menacing Judge Turpin. The barber Sweeney Todd ﬁnds London detestable. It’s where he lost his wife and daughter after the very same judge sent him to prison on a trumped-up charge. Now he’s returned for vengeance, and his appetite is large.

These two tracks play out briskly, Anthony’s ﬁlled with stock romance and Sweeney’s a bundle of dark impulses fueled

by the machinations of Mrs. Lovett, a widow with eyes for Sweeney. A great amount of stage blood is shed, some of it with the eciency of the Industrial Revolution. A world just mastering the art of dehumanization is the ideal backdrop for this story, and it’s where the murderous Sweeney Todd ﬁrst appeared: in an 1846 Victorian serial.

Christopher Bond revived the story in a 1970 play and added the beefy backstory of Sweeney’s motivation: A cruel judge raped the barber’s young wife, driving her mad, and exiled Sweeney to an Australian prison.

Sondheim took the fury-ﬁlled plot to another level by adding music that ampliﬁes both the comedy and the violence. The melodrama of obsession roars forward, propelled by music that fills about 80 percent of the show with song or ambient scoring. It’s obsession made audible.

With melody to summon them, Sondheim can pinball from character to character, showing parallels and contrasts. The music may dwindle to a leitmotif or swell to a proclamation, but it doesn’t truly stop until events come to a peak. The resulting silence becomes as powerful as the driving score.

At last Friday’s sold-out show, that ﬁnale hushed the crowd to pure attention. As cartoonish as the characters may be,

Structurally, the show is a series of confrontations in duets studded with hyperbole. Rather than exaggerate their wildness, director Fidler intensiﬁes the characters’ dark eccentricities by steering the actors to matter-of-fact comfort with their impulses. Ferguson’s Sweeney twirls his razor as if his obsession were a hobby.

Matthew Grant Winston, as the judge, glows with quiet evil down to his enamelblue eye shadow, encased in perversions he cannot cast o . Eamon Lynch, as the assistant Tobias, changes his loyalties as swiftly as his hairstyle, unfazed by fraud but repulsed by body parts.

Then there is the romantic relief from Zach Stark, as Anthony, and Rachel Weinfeld, as Johanna, who personify innocence in a world where lives are short and dismal. Stark and Weinfeld heroically paddle against this furious current, and Sondheim’s wit ties up their sweet love with a sarcastic bow.

The cast of 14 is uniformly strong. Kristen Bures, as the Beggar Woman, mixes plaintive and creepy notes; Michael Godsey, as the Beadle, wears the curdled smile of corruption; and Ian Ferris, as Adolfo, is a swindling blowhard you can easily root against until his fate becomes repugnantly clear. Five ensemble players juggle multiple roles and provide harmonic and scenic bedrock.

director Michael Fidler elicited intense performances that gripped the audience.

Fidler is good at launching audiences into genuine gusto for gruesome deeds. To pick a single perfect moment, consider the end of Act 1, when composer, director and performers collaborate to reveal to Sweeney the musical’s grotesque premise.

Sondheim interlaces two songs in a double duet of nihilism for Sweeney and Lovett. Chloe Fidler, as Lovett, has been showering sparks of weird, volatile joy since the start, and now she propels the character from oddball to full-bore zany.

Kyle Ferguson, splendid as Sweeney, shows the light dawning in his widening eyes as Lovett spoons out euphemisms for what she might do with any by-products of Sweeney’s vengeful razor work. And the director brings the musical exchange to life with pace and the right repetition to make their shared understanding climb higher and higher.

Musical director Ashley O’Brien and the nine-piece band are essential, too. With a strong string section, a full complement of horns and a huge percussion array, O’Brien leads the musicians through Sondheim’s clever evocations of varying musical styles. Whether it’s comic bassoon, mournful cello or single-star-in-the-sky triangle, the band fulﬁlls the complex score.

Vermont Repertory doesn’t miss a chance to enhance the story, using superb costumes from Lyn Feinson, clever makeup from Kaitie Bessette and subtle, stirring choreography from movement director Keely Agan. Set designer Paul Ledak employs color, texture and lots of clever hinges to surprise us.

The production’s only flaws stem from limited space. The confined multilevel set can’t support the sprawling action, and the finale will be maddeningly hard for much of the audience to see. In a battle between live music and miked performers, the musicians win every time, so lines and lyrics are often lost. But these limitations are easy to forgive.

If the modern equivalent to melodrama is professional wrestling, Sweeney Todd o ers the same guilty pleasures as those body slams. Watching it is a way to howl at the state of the world while a haunting score washes over you. Horror allows you to feel fear at a safe distance, and this production lets you rock securely between laughing and cringing; go ahead, give in. ➆

INFO

Sweeney Todd: e Demon Barber of Fleet Street, music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim, book by Hugh Wheeler, directed by Michael Fidler, produced by Vermont Repertory eatre: rough Friday, March 7, 7:30 p.m., at Black Box eater, Main Street Landing Performing Arts Center, in Burlington. $25-40; 13+; sold out. vermontrep.com

Short Takes on Five Vermont Books

Seven Days writers can’t possibly read, much less review, all the books that arrive in a steady stream by post, email and telepathic AirDrop. Actually, please stop sending us books by telepathic AirDrop. Our psychic systems are currently overloaded. We’d prefer to conserve our energy for other things, such as introducing you to a handful of books by Vermont authors by quoting a single representative sentence from page 32. ➆

Tao of Snow: Essays From Dawn Land

Michael Caldwell, Bloated Toe Publishing, 208 pages. $20.

I was ten when Dad dropped out of sight…

Michael Caldwell of North Wolcott is a maple sugar maker, retired Congregational minister, backcountry skier, canoeist, marathon runner, restorative justice advocate, ﬂy ﬁsher and deer hunter, all touchpoints in this book of essays. Caldwell’s writing has the vigor and candor of letters from a lifelong friend.

All 17 pieces in this compact volume, perfectly sized to carry in a back pocket or fanny pack, are feistily joyful. Some aren’t as successful as essays — they’re less shapely or complete — but many are exacting and insightful, especially “Two Below Honey,” “What Is Sex For,” “Wedding from Heaven” and “Rapid Recovery.” Particularly moving are the portraits of longtime comrades and memorable descriptions of speciﬁc locations — wintry trails in Québec’s Chic-Choc Mountains and on New Hampshire’s Moosilauke and white water rivers in northern Maine. Caldwell reminds us that the history of people and places is carried by those who have loved them.

JIM SCHLEY

Ambition: e Remarkable Family of Ethan Allen Glenn Fay Jr., Onion River Press, 207 pages. $24.99.

Mary was assertive and tried to curb Ethan’s sometimes reckless behavior.

Swashbuckling military hero. Tough guy who bit iron nails in half and killed an attacking catamount with his bare hands. Overrated leader of the Green Mountain Boys. Narcissistic, thuggish rogue. ese are some of the portraits that biographers have painted of Ethan Allen. Glenn Fay Jr., a seventh-generation Vermonter and descendant of one of the Green Mountain Boys, sought out letters, legal documents and other primary sources to dispel folklore and build an objective account of one of Vermont’s most famous early residents. Rather than focus solely on Allen’s military life, Fay places him in the context of his family. In addition to well-known Ethan, the oldest, and Ira, the youngest, the Allen siblings include Heman, Lydia, Heber, Levi, Lucy and Zimri. Fay sketches short biographies of each, explores family dynamics across generations and presents the hardships of frontier living. Whether he deserves to be lauded, criticized or both, Allen — along with his family and compatriots — helped take Vermont from disputed territory to independent republic to statehood.

MARY ANN LICKTEIG

Rescuing Capitalism: Vermont Shows a Way Will Patten, Back to Basics Media, 214 pages. $18.

In a corrupted political system politicians commandeer the economy to enrich themselves and preserve power.

Will Patten has a plan to save America. In the debut book from the retired Ben & Jerry’s executive, he argues that four decades ago, while the country began its descent into a supply-side economic system that enriched unregulated corporate robber barons, Vermont didn’t take the bait. Patten believes the Green Mountain State’s dedication to what he describes as a “fractious balance between public and private interests” has allowed Vermont to thrive. If all Americans could apply these tenets to the national economy, Patten asserts, we could ﬁx 40 years of shady regulations and reverse the onset of oligarchy without destroying capitalism.

e 2024 Rich States, Poor States report has ranked Vermont at 49th for overall economic outlook, so the idea that other states might look to us as a blueprint seems dubious at best. Patten has a long career of business success, so perhaps he’s on to something. But some readers might balk at the notion of capitalism being able to ﬁx capitalism.

CHRIS FARNSWORTH

e Spoils Colin ompson, Onion River Press, 264 pages. $18.99.

It wasn’t a proper mohawk, but some sort of Zippy-the Pinhead front-hawk.

Ryan Wilson is sizing up “Cutty” Cuthbert, fellow coach of a middle school boy’s lacrosse team in a ritzy neighborhood of Brentwood, Calif. Wilson, 31, took the coaching gig even as he’s convinced it’s beneath him. Struggling and broke, the wannabe LA screenwriter vacillates between cocksure condescension and booze-fueled self-abuse because his big-screen aspirations have thus far failed to materialize. at is, until he meets Camilla Emerson Tourney, stepmom to one of his players and wife of his Hollywood hero, blockbuster writer/ director Buck Tourney. Camilla is wrestling with her own angst, including a lackluster marriage and a privileged but boring existence. With cinematic predictability, their chemistry is instant and intense. But is she just slumming it? And is he just using her to get a script optioned?

e Spoils is the debut novel by Shelburne native Colin ompson, who’s written and directed three feature ﬁlms. Clearly well versed in both blood sports — lacrosse and Hollywood suck-uppery — he writes prose reminiscent of another ompson: Hunter S. Rife with ’90s musical references, substance use and boner jokes, e Spoils is a smart, witty read.

KEN PICARD

Suspect

Gina Tron, Whiskey Tit, 214 pages. $18.

I’d picture jumping from the roof of my middle school, the building where I experienced so much pain.

In 1999, Spaulding High School junior Gina Tron watched her best friend leave a threat on a classmate’s car. It was petty retaliation against a frenemy who’d been sending cruel notes of her own. But because the incident occurred just 10 days after the Columbine shootings, both girls ended up banned from a high-security prom and portrayed as powder kegs in the media. One piece of evidence cited by the authorities was a revenge fantasy Tron had penned in sixth grade.

Now an adjunct professor at Norwich University, Tron told some of her story of being a “suspected school shooter” in a viral 2013 Vice piece. In her memoir Suspect, she ﬂeshes it out into a comingof-age narrative that challenges assumptions about both school violence and “liberal” Vermont. She re-creates ’90s Barre in damning, believable detail — homophobia, racism, rigid sartorial conformity enforced by bullying — while acknowledging her own adolescent eagerness to provoke that conservative community. When the younger Tron ﬁnally graduates at the end of this resonant read, we breathe a sigh of relief for her.

MARGOT HARRISON

ANTARCTICA

on screen

If you missed the theatrical run of big Oscar winner Anora, now is your chance to correct that as it reappears on local screens. Meanwhile, an acclaimed 2024 drama that didn’t make it to the Oscars recently popped up on Hulu. Ghostlight, from codirectors Alex Thompson and Kelly O’Sullivan (who also scripted), was named among the top 10 indie ﬁlms of the year by the National Board of Review.

Shot in Waukegan, Ill., Ghostlight taps into a Midwestern working-class sensibility, with star Keith Kupferer looking like every guy you see on TV playing heavies, ﬂunkies and salt-of-the-earth family men. Costarring here with his real-life wife and daughter, he deﬁes all our expectations.

The deal

Dan Mueller (Kupferer) is angry — mostly quietly, sometimes loudly. His family su ered a recent loss, but he won’t talk about that. Instead, at his construction job, he yells at recalcitrant motorists. At home, he blows up at his wife (Tara Mallen) and their 16-year-old daughter,

Daisy (Katherine Mallen Kupferer), who has her own rage issues — defying teachers and shouting at passing cars, just like Dad.

Dan’s theatrics catch the interest of Rita (Dolly de Leon), a washed-up professional actor who’s rehearsing Romeo and Juliet near his construction site with her community troupe, the Rube Mechanicals. She suggests he join them. Knowing nothing of Shakespeare, Dan is befuddled. But he doesn’t want to tell his family that he’s been suspended after a rage incident, so he agrees to attend daily rehearsals.

The production is bare-bones, with amateurs stretching to play multiple roles. Middle-aged Rita is dead set on being Juliet, and her much-younger Romeo quits after throwing a tantrum. At ﬁrst, Dan has little use for these oddballs. But Shakespeare’s tragic story speaks to him, and Rita won’t take no for an answer. Ever so slowly, he succumbs to the magic of theater.

Will you like it?

Thompson and O’Sullivan pitched Ghostlight as “Waiting for Gu man meets Manchester by the Sea ,” an odd couple if there ever was one. The movie works because of the expert hand with which

When anyone questions her right to play a teenage ingénue, she reveals just how few fucks she has to give.

But Rita shows her tender side when she mentors Daisy, a theater kid who’s eager to join the production once she learns her dad’s secret. Mallen Kupferer has perfect chemistry with her real-life parents, and though her performance might initially seem broad, it grows on you. Precocious yet believably teenage, Daisy ends up delivering some of the most joyful moments of the ﬁlm.

The pure joy of playacting is a leitmotif in Ghostlight , even as it convincingly depicts the Mueller family’s slow journey through and out of grief. When the story reaches its climax with the Rube Mechanicals’ one-night performance, the only disappointment is that we can’t watch the whole thing. Stars and bit players alike have come to feel like friends, and we want to see their full takes on the characters. Even as Dan warms up to the troupe, he has big questions for them: Why do Romeo and Juliet have to die to create something beautiful onstage? Why must art concoct tragic scenarios when real life is already full of tragedy? These doubts about the value of mimetic art are as old as Plato and as young as TikTok posters arguing that depiction equals endorsement. But Ghostlight itself serves as the ﬁlmmakers’ answer. Anyone who’s ever found catharsis and community onstage will want to give these players a curtain call.

MARGOT HARRISON margot@sevendaysvt.com

they combine comedy and tragedy, moderating mildly absurdist humor with a hefty dose of kitchen-sink realism.

It’s easy to imagine a pandering take on this premise, in which a grumpy but lovable workingman learns to live and laugh again from a band of weirdo thespians. But Ghostlight features no oversold laugh lines or “Oscar clip” emotional meltdowns. No one pontificates about the glories of theater — or needs to. The directorial duo avoids the pitfalls of cliché at every turn, maintaining a transparent style so that the brilliance of the cast can shine through.

Kupferer needs no more than a few lines to show us both Dan’s fundamental decency and his fatal ﬂaws. There’s no malice behind his anger, only frustration. “Both my kids are dramatic. They didn’t get it from me,” he insists, clinging to a strong-and-silent masculine ideal. But Rita knows better: Dan has big emotions, just like her, and he needs a safe outlet for them.

It’s as much fun to root for de Leon here as it was in Triangle of Sadness. Tarttongued from years spent trying to make it on the New York stage, Rita is the Puck of the story, equal parts maker and trickster.

IF YOU LIKE THIS, TRY…

SAINT FRANCES (2019; Cineverse, Kanopy, YouTube Primetime, rentable): Nominated for three Gotham Awards, the debut feature from ompson and O’Sullivan stars the latter as a nanny who bonds with her 6-year-old charge.

HIS THREE DAUGHTERS (2023; Netflix): In another recent indie that got no Oscar love, Carrie Coon, Natasha Lyonne and Elizabeth Olsen play sisters at their father’s deathbed. You may find the chamber drama too stylized at first, but stick with it for heartbreaking performances from all three.

“SOMEBODY SOMEWHERE” (three seasons, 2022-2024; Max): If you like watching unglamorous, soft-spoken Midwesterners ﬁnd unlikely forms of community, you can’t do much better than this anti-sitcom about a woman who returns to her Kansas hometown with her youthful dreams behind her.

Keith Kupferer makes an unlikely but wonderful Romeo in this indie about stages of grief.

NEW IN THEATERS

THE COUNT OF MONTE CRISTO: Pierre Niney stars in a new French version of Alexandre Dumas’ classic swashbuckling revenge tale. (178 min, NR. Catamount)

MICKEY 17: In this dark sci-ﬁ comedy from Bong Joon Ho (Parasite), Robert Pattinson plays a disposable clone who dies over and over in service to his overlords. With Steven Yeun and Michael Monroe. (137 min, R. Essex, Majestic, Marquis, Paramount)

NIGHT OF THE ZOOPOCALYPSE: Zoo animals battle zombies after a meteor spreads plague among their kind in this animated horror comedy featuring the voices of David Harbour and Bryn McAuley. (91 min, PG. Essex, Majestic)

RULE BREAKERS: A college student in Afghanistan forms a robotics team for girls in this fact-based inspirational drama. Nikohl Boosheri and Christian Contreras star; Bill Guttentag directed. (120 min, PG. Capitol, Essex, Majestic)

CURRENTLY PLAYING

ANORA★★★★ e Best Picture Oscar went to this comedy-drama about a sex worker (Mikey Madison) who marries a Russian oligarch’s son. (139 min, R. Capitol, Essex, Majestic; reviewed 11/20)

BECOMING LED ZEPPELIN★★★1/2 Bernard MacMahon’s documentary tells the story of the rock band through 1970. (121 min, PG-13. Majestic, Savoy)

CAPTAIN AMERICA: BRAVE NEW WORLD★★ e stars-and-stripes shield passes to Sam Wilson (Anthony Mackie). (118 min, PG-13. Bijou, Capitol, City Cinema, Essex, Majestic, Star, Stowe, Welden)

A COMPLETE UNKNOWN★★★1/2 Timothée Chalamet plays the young Bob Dylan. (141 min, R. Bijou, Essex, Majestic)

DOG MAN★★★ A half-canine hero pursues a cat supervillain in this animated adaptation of Dav Pilkey’s kids’ books. (89 min, PG. Bijou, Capitol, City Cinema, Essex, Majestic, Welden)

FLOW★★★★★ is Oscar-winning Latvian animation follows the fate of a cat who must team up with other animals to survive a natural disaster. (84 min, PG. Playhouse; reviewed 12/11)

I’M STILL HERE★★★★1/2 e Oscar for Best International Feature Film went to this historical drama from Brazil about a mother (Fernanda Torres) facing the threat of military dictatorship. Walter Salles directed. (137 min, PG-13. Savoy; reviewed 2/26)

LAST BREATH★★★1/2 In this survival thriller, deepsea divers ﬁght to save a friend trapped underwater. Woody Harrelson and Simu Liu star. (93 min, PG-13. Capitol, Essex, Majestic, Star, Stowe)

MOANA 2★★★ e islander heroine must sail unknown seas to break a curse in the sequel to the animated Disney hit. (100 min, PG. Majestic)

THE MONKEY★★★ A wind-up toy wreaks mysterious havoc on the lives of two brothers in this adaptation of the Stephen King story from Osgood Perkins (Longlegs). eo James and Tatiana Maslany star. (98 min, R. Essex, Majestic, Star)

MUFASA: THE LION KING★★★ Disney’s follow-up to its 2019 “live-action” version of e Lion King explores the backstory of Simba’s dad. (120 min, PG. Majestic)

PADDINGTON IN PERU★★★1/2 e intrepid bear and his adopted family are embroiled in a mystery on a visit to his Aunt Lucy. Hugh Bonneville, Emily Mortimer and Ben Whishaw star. (106 min, PG. Bijou, City Cinema, Essex, Majestic, Star, Stowe, Welden) RIFF RAFF★★1/2 In this comedy, a former lawbreaker must reconcile two lives when his old criminal family shows up to settle scores. Jennifer Coolidge, Ed Harris and Bill Murray star. (103 min, R. Majestic)

THE SEED OF THE SACRED FIG★★★★ An Iranian judge struggles with paranoia in this Oscar nominee, directed by Mohammad Rasoulof. (167 min, PG-13. Savoy; reviewed 2/12)

A SLOTH STORY: A sloth family tries to make a splash with their food truck in the big city in this animated adventure featuring the voices of Leslie Jones and Remy Hii. (90 min, PG. Marquis, Paramount)

SUPERBOYS OF MALEGAON★★★★ A young ﬁlmmaker tries to represent the life of his town in this Hindi drama based on a true story. Reema Kagti directed. (127 min, PG-13. Majestic)

OLDER FILMS AND SPECIAL SCREENINGS

THE CHEAT (Catamount, Wed 12 only)

JOIN OR DIE (Playhouse, Sat only)

LOOK AT ME (Catamount, Wed 5 only)

PERSEPOLIS (VTIFF, Fri only)

THE ROOM NEXT DOOR (VTIFF, Wed 12 only)

WALTZ WITH BASHIR (VTIFF, Sat only)

OPEN THEATERS

(* = upcoming schedule for theater was not available at press time)

*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

*CITY CINEMA: 137 Waterfront Plaza, Newport, 334-2610, citycinemanewport.com

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

*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

THE SCREENING ROOM @ VTIFF: 60 Lake St., Ste. 1C, Burlington, 660-2600, vtiff.org

*STAR THEATRE: 17 Eastern Ave., St. Johnsbury, 748-9511, stjaytheatre.com

*STOWE CINEMA 3PLEX: 454 Mountain Rd., Stowe, 253-4678, stowecinema.com

*WELDEN THEATRE: 104 N. Main St., St. Albans, 527-7888, weldentheatre.com

Sounding It Out

Bunny Harvey’s audible landscapes at BCA Center

BY AMY LILLY • lilly@sevendaysvt.com

It’s unusual for a Vermont gallery to host a solo show by Bunny Harvey, though the 78-year-old has spent summers in the Green Mountains since the age of 3 and works seven months each year at her house and studio in Tunbridge. More rare still is a Vermont premiere of new works by this experienced painter.

The BCA Center in Burlington pro ers both treats with “Bunny Harvey: Worlds Within Worlds,” curated by director of exhibitions Heather Ferrell. The show brings together 22 recent works on canvas, paper and panel. Most were made between 2018 and 2025, though the smaller works, mostly abstract oils on 12-inch-square panels, date from 2009 on.

Harvey’s scant exhibition presence in Vermont over the years can be attributed to her success. The New York City-born artist won a coveted Rome Prize in 1976, one of few women up to that time to gain the honor. (Her husband, a writer, was given a studio of his own, though none of the male winners’ wives were given anything, she told Seven Days at her opening.)

For 30 years, Harvey was represented by Berry-Hill Galleries in New York City and by art dealer Terry Dintenfass, whose clients included major painters such as Jacob Lawrence. She worked in New York City and Providence, R.I., and still maintains studios in both places.

Now retired from 39 years of teaching

painting at Wellesley College in Massachusetts and no longer desiring gallery representation, Harvey has been showing selectively at Vermont community hubs such as the Main Street Museum in White River Junction and the Tunbridge General Store. The nonproﬁt BCA’s show rewards with a broad look at a masterly painter.

The gallery commissioned two new works for this exhibition: “Singing Breathing Forest,” in oil on canvas; and “City with Blue Trees,” made on paper with pastel, charcoal and a vinyl paint called Flashe. BCA also funded a new iteration of “Walking with Water,” a video compilation of still photos of water. The video includes 157 images, whittled down from thousands, which Harvey shot on her iPhone while taking walks — a practice she started during the pandemic.

Harvey set the 17-minute video to composer Richard Reed Parry’s “Music for Heart and Breath,” an atmospheric piece for sextet on which her son, Nico Muhly, a lauded composer and pianist based in New York City, performs alongside New York’s yMusic ensemble. Harvey explained that the musical work requires each musician to wear a stethoscope and play to the tempo of his or her own heartbeat, a feature she thought “matched well with the pace of walking” that characterizes her project.

A fascination with the auditory runs in the family. Many of Harvey’s paintings at BCA are semiabstract landscapes, but their distant perspectives are balanced by foregrounded swirls and explosions of painted sound: the chitterings of birds and insects, the ﬂitting of their wings, the buzz of a neighbor’s chain saw, the wind.

In the oil painting “Windborne Songs,” which some Vermonters may recognize from its inclusion in the 2023 Art at the Kent show in Calais, a viewer can almost hear the breeze shearing the water, represented in swaths of translucent white over

From top: “A Solid Buzzing”; “Winter Cries and Utterances”

a pond in hues of green darkened by the suggestion of rain on a distant mountain. A fury of upstrokes in blues and blacks in one corner of the 66-by-54-inch canvas calls to mind the cacophony produced by pond critters and birds.

Harvey’s paintings are not just about sight and sound but also the sensation of immersion in an environment — the latter enhanced by the compositions’ continuation onto the canvases’ 2-inch-deep edges. “A Solid Buzzing” is a 36-by-72-inch work in yellows, greens and periwinkle-tinged blue with a single thread of red. Black outlines define the elliptical paths of insects through the air, while changes in color and paint application on either side of those curves indicate the shifts in light and air wrought by those movements.

Harlem Reverie” (oil on linen) and “Night Rose” (spray paint and oil on paper) each imagine the volunteer plants that grow from cracks in an environment otherwise contained by chain-link fencing and pavement.

“Walking in Reflections,” a 12-by-80inch oil in grays, blacks, whites and faint greens, interrupts the long sweep of a landscape with inset rectangular frames and line breaks.

DISTANT PERSPECTIVES ARE BALANCED BY FOREGROUNDED SWIRLS AND EXPLOSIONS OF PAINTED SOUND.

The composition literalizes Harvey’s approach to painting, as she explained: “I think I make little framed windows or containers for the way I’m thinking about a particular place,” she said. “It could be a memory or an expectation of something that I will see along a walk.”

Embrace Your Inner Artist

Find joy in self-expression with support from encouraging instructors.

Enrolling all levels for Drawing, Painting, and Fused Glass Classes. davisstudiovt.com • 802-425-2700 • 916 Shelburne Road, South Burlington

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One tool Harvey employs to convey the ephemeral feeling of a change in the atmosphere is a notched trowel or scraper. She also uses “rags, brushes, splatters; I make cardboard curves and paint the edge and stamp it on,” she said. For “City with Blue Trees,” depicting an avenue seen from a few floors up through leafy trees, she covered her hands in Flashe and fingerpainted blue foliage — something she’d never tried before.

“If I could say what my paintings say with words, I wouldn’t paint. So, I find vocabulary in paint,” she explained.

Harvey doesn’t work from photographs. Instead, her paintings process what she absorbs and thinks about on her frequent walks, whether in Vermont or Rhode Island or between her room at 99th Street and her studio on 104th. “East

There is so much going on sensorially in the work, she added — “what I am smelling, trucks’ brakes I’m hearing, cows” — that rendering it in color would have been overwhelming, like “color hyperbole.”

Remarkably, Harvey’s synesthetic works, highly interiorized in their conception, open themselves to viewers’ own immersion. One’s eye and ear can get lost, for instance, in the thicket of small, abstract brushstrokes and shapes in unexpected colors of “Duet: Hidden Dwellings” while remaining anchored by its recognizable fields and distant farm buildings. Each journey into these “Worlds Within Worlds” is a pleasure. ➆ INFO

“Bunny Harvey: Worlds Within Worlds,” on view through May 24 at BCA Center, Burlington. burlingtoncityarts.org

"Spring Voices"

EXHIBITION

In ‘Landscape Complexions,’ Natural and Human-Made Beauty Overlap

STORY & PHOTOS BY MADELEINE KAPTEIN

Natural beauty and the careful work of human hands — a silo, maybe, or a wooden fence — often balance each other in rural Vermont scenes. H. Keith Wagner captures this harmony in “Landscape Complexions,” his exhibition of acrylic paintings on display until March 15 at the Jackson Gallery at Town Hall Theater in Middlebury.

Wagner’s dynamically layered, abstract paintings intentionally evoke Vermont’s agrarian vistas. The artist is a founder of the landscape architecture firm Wagner Hodgson in Burlington, and the works on display, which range from impressionistic outdoor scenes to close-up, rustic renderings of boxcars, contain echoes of his background. They illustrate his fascination with the overlap between idyllic countryside and taut structure. Wagner approaches his work experimentally, drawing inspiration from abstract art and exploring the “repetition of objects, order of grids, and textures,” according to his artist’s statement.

“Lone Barn” represents Wagner’s interest in both rigid shape and ambiguous backdrops especially well. A minimalistic white barn with a simple peaked roof sits slightly off-center before a faded yellow sky. The edges of the barn are straight and exacting, and a sharply rectangular tinted gray shadow appears beneath the roof’s overhang. Its realism stands out against the more ambiguous land it sits on, rendered in a multicolored explosion of streaks that could be mistaken for a child’s finger painting.

Wagner divides most of his paintings with contrasting colors that meet at a straight horizon line one-third of the way up the canvas. He paints with strong,

CALLS TO ARTISTS

CALL TO FIBER ARTISTS: Burlington City Arts, in partnership with the Office of City Planning, is seeking artists or artist teams to create a temporary fiber arts installation along North Avenue in the New North End as part of a winter placemaking initiative. The selected artist will also lead a community art-making workshop at Heineberg Senior Center. Project begins in early April; selected artist will receive a $4,000 commission. Apply online at burlingtoncityarts. org. BCA Center, Burlington. Deadline: March 17. Info, cstorrs@burlingtoncityarts.org.

‘THE BARD’: Now accepting submissions for the exhibit, which will celebrate the works of William Shakespeare and their themes of love, deception, ambition, madness, power, revenge and honor. Artists are invited to illustrate or respond to a character, scene or text. Studio Place Arts, Barre. Deadline: March 22. $10

directional brushstrokes, going back and forth between intensely saturated colors and gentler tones. Occasional spots of thick, concentrated paint break the illusion of the picture plane — the medium is not too shy to announce that it is, well, paint.

Two trios of paintings in the exhibition show identical scenes under wildly different tempers. The first set, modestly titled “Bay 1,” “Bay 2” and “Frozen Bay,” features skies swirling with streaks of gray, white and spontaneous mustard yellow. With his dynamic brushstrokes, Wagner is clearly suggesting capricious clouds, but the rest of the composition is open to interpretation. Splotches of green sitting on the horizon line could be trees peeking up in the distance or a cluster of homes on the other side of the bay.

The second group of paintings, “Winter Meadow,” “Winter Meadow II” and “Spring Meadow,” contains compositional clues to a shared setting, but color and form give each its own ambience. The winter meadows are depicted in lighter neutrals, while the spring meadow glows in fiery orange, threatened by a darkening sky. Each piece offers a distinct perspective — looking at them is like seeing the seasons change between blinks. ➆

INFO

“Landscape Complexions” by H. Keith Wagner, on view through March 15 at the Jackson Gallery, Town Hall Theater, in Middlebury. townhalltheater.org/jackson-gallery

Clockwise from top: "Lone Barn"; “Frozen Bay”; “Spring Meadow”

submission fee; free for SPA members. Info, 479-7069.

‘CHAMP: THE ART OF BELIEVING’: Seeking works in all mediums that delve into the themes of the beauty of the lake, the legend of Champ, and the rich history surrounding both Lake Champlain and Champ for an April exhibition. Apply online or by email. Frog Hollow Vermont Craft Gallery, Burlington. Deadline: March 23. Free. Info, froghollowjury@gmail.com.

‘EVIDENCE, RESIDUE, MEMORY: STAINS’: Now accepting submissions for the museum’s 2025 exhibition, postponed from 2024. The show will invite the viewer to contemplate all things stainrelated, from the Shroud of Turin to grass stains and reputations to woodwork. Anything from personal artifacts to vague ideas for displays, fully realized art objects, theoretical writings and research will be considered. Contact Clare Dolan via mail at 3482 Dry Pond Rd., Glover, VT 05839 or the website contact form. The Museum

of Everyday Life, Glover. Deadline: March 30. Info, museumofeverydaylife.org.

‘CANOPY’: Now accepting submissions for the fifth annual group exhibition supporting mental health awareness. Artwork must be under 24 inches. The theme reflects the healing qualities of nature. AVA Gallery and Art Center, Lebanon, N.H. Deadline: April 7. $20. Info, 603-448-3117.

28TH ANNUAL NORTH BENNINGTON OUTDOOR SCULPTURE SHOW: Applications now open for sculptures suitable for long-term outdoor exposure. Works will be displayed starting in June at sites throughout North Bennington. Apply online at nbossvt.com. Deadline: April 15. Info, nbossvt@gmail.com.

CHELSEA ARTS ON THE GREEN MARKET AND FESTIVAL: Now accepting art and food vendor submissions for the sixth annual festival on August 30. Chelsea Arts Collective. Deadline: July 1. Free. Info, chelseaartscollective@ gmail.com.

OPENINGS + RECEPTIONS

‘FRANCIS COLBURN: FROM THE COLLECTION OF THE VERMONT HISTORICAL SOCIETY’: An exhibition showcasing a pair of recently acquired paintings by the Vermont artist, as well as portraits and record covers. Vermont History Museum, Montpelier, through June 30. Info, 479-8500.

EMILY WARD: “The Lines in My Mind,” an exhibition of expansive wall sculptures by the MFA candidate. Reception and artist talk: Thursday, March 6, noon-2 p.m. Julian Scott Memorial Gallery, Vermont State University-Johnson, through April 4. Info, 635-1469.

KRISTA MEZZADRI: “Blue-Green-White,” a show of layered monotypes mounted on wood by the Buffalo, N.Y., artist. Reception: Thursday, March 6, 5:30-8 p.m. Soapbox Arts, Burlington, March 6-April 19. Info, info@ soapboxarts.com.

GLEN COBURN HUTCHESON: “Solo Group Show,” an exhibition of paintings, sculptures and assemblages by the Montpelier artist, as well as works made in collaboration with other members of the collective

= ONLINE EVENT OR EXHIBIT

gallery, which Hutcheson founded. Reception: Friday, March 7, 4-8 p.m. The Front, Montpelier, March 7-30. Info, info@thefrontvt.com.

JULIA PURINTON: “Shimmer,” a series of dreamlike, hazy landscape paintings by the regional artist.

Reception: March 7, 5-6:30 p.m. Edgewater Gallery on the Green, Middlebury, through April 5. Info, 458-0098.

SEABA MEMBER EXHIBITION: A show of works by SEABA members on all three floors of the building; members vote for a Members’ Choice Prize winner.

Reception: Friday, March 7, 5-8 p.m. The Vaults, Burlington, March 7-May 24. Info, director@seaba.com.

ALUMNI ART EXHIBITION: A group exhibition of works by Castleton University/Vermont State University alumni, showcasing multiple generations of artists who graduated from 1977 to 2025. Reception: Friday, March 7, 5:30-7:30 p.m. Vermont State University-Castleton Bank Gallery, Rutland, through March 15. Info, 468-1119.

KARLI LAFFERTY: “Matterhorn,” a solo show presented by the artist as part of a senior capstone project in the Art and Design program. Reception: Friday, March 7, 6 p.m. McCarthy Art Gallery, Saint Michael’s College, Colchester, through March 7. Info, bcollier@smcvt.edu.

NINA BUXENBAUM: “Future Casting,” an exhibition that asks viewers to reflect upon their personal choices to imagine the consequences and possibilities of their actions. Reception: Friday, March 7, 7-8 p.m. Vermont Studio Center, Johnson, through March 28. Info, 635-2727.

SCHOLASTIC ART AND WRITING AWARDS: An exhibition of works by the 157 student artists and writers from across Vermont who have been recognized by the program this year. Awards ceremony: Saturday, March 8, noon. Brattleboro Museum & Art Center, through March 8. Info, 257-0124.

‘AN ARTFUL ADVENTURE’: An annual exhibition of works by preschool to 12th grade artists. Reception: Saturday, March 8, 12-2 p.m. Chaffee Art Center, Rutland, March 8-April 4. Info, 775-0356.

‘NEW HORIZONS’: An exhibition showcasing the work of 14 new and returning regional artists. Reception: Saturday, March 8, 1-4 p.m. Bryan Memorial Gallery, Jeffersonville, through December 28. Info, 644-5100.

‘THROUGH THEIR EYES: THE ART OF MARY AND ALDEN BRYAN’: An exhibition of works by the regionally influential artist couple, including rarely seen paintings. Reception: Saturday, March 8, 1-4 p.m. Bryan Memorial Gallery, Jeffersonville, through May 4. Info, 644-5100.

LAMOILLE UNION HIGH SCHOOL STUDENT EXHIBIT: An exhibition of student work curated by teacher Sabine Likhite. Reception: Saturday, March 8, 1-4 p.m. Bryan Memorial Gallery, Jeffersonville, through May 4. Info, 644-5100.

DIANNE SHULLENBERGER: “Above & Below,” fabric collage and watercolor by the Jericho artist. Reception and artist talk: Saturday, March 8, 2-4 p.m. Highland Center for the Arts, Greensboro, through April 6. Info, 533-2000.

‘ART WITH SILK’: An exhibition of paintings by Anna Yakubovskaya, Uma Chirkov and Elena Ivanova. Reception: Saturday, March 8, 2-4 p.m. Northeast Kingdom Artisans Guild Backroom Gallery, St. Johnsbury, March 5-April 18. Info, nekguild@ gmail.com.

GABBY FARINEAU: “Just a Little Bug,” a solo show presented by the artist as part of a senior capstone project in the Art and Design program. Reception: Thursday, March 13, 6 p.m. McCarthy Art Gallery, Saint Michael’s College, Colchester, March 10-14. Info, bcollier@smcvt.edu.

JACK HURLEY: “Cline,” a light-based art installation presented as part of a senior capstone project in the Art and Design program. Reception: Thursday, March 13, 6:30 p.m. in the Trap Door Theater, below the McCarthy Art Gallery. McCarthy Arts Center, Saint Michael’s College, Colchester, March 10-14. Info, bcollier@smcvt.edu.

‘SCALY, SLIMY, SMOOTH AND SLITHERY’: A juried group show exploring the world of frogs, toads, salamanders, turtles, snakes and lizards through the eyes of 32 Vermont artists in painting, printmaking,

photography, pastels, colored pencil, ink, fiber arts and ceramics. Reception: Friday, March 14, 4-6 p.m. North Branch Nature Center, Montpelier, through June 27. Info, 229-6206.

FINNIE TRIMPI: “Fierce Females,” a project seeking to empower women through portraiture. Reception: Friday, March 14, 5:30-7:30 p.m. Artistree Community Arts Center, South Pomfret, March 11-April 5. Info, 457-3500.

‘OFF THE WALL’: A show of 10-by-10-inch works donated by Vermont artists, which will be sold as a fundraiser during the reception. Reception: Friday, March 21, 5-7 p.m. Mad River Valley Arts Gallery, Waitsfield, March 6-21. Info, 496-6682.

‘ROCKINGHAM’S ACROPOLIS’: An exhibition about the Rockingham Meeting House, which was constructed in 1787. Curated by the Rockingham Historic Preservation Commission. Reception: Saturday, March 22, 1-4 p.m. Vermont History Museum, Montpelier, through July 31. Info, 479-8500.

ART EVENTS

ESSEX ART LEAGUE MONTHLY MEETING: Artist presentations, art making and camaraderie. Essex Art League, Essex Junction, Thursday, March 6, 9-11 a.m. Free for two meetings, then $25 annually. Info, 318-5220, howekit0@gmail.com.

SOAPBOX ARTS SIXTH BIRTHDAY: A celebration of Soapbox Arts’ anniversary, held in conjunction with the opening of “Krista Mezzadri: Blue-Green-White.” Soapbox Arts, Burlington, Thursday, March 6, 5:30-8 p.m. Info, info@soapboxarts.com.

LIFE DRAWING AND PAINTING: A drop-in event for artists working with the figure from a live model. T.W. Wood Gallery, Montpelier, Thursday, March 6, 7-9 p.m. Free; $10 suggested donation. Info, 262-6035.

SEABA ANNUAL MEETING: The annual meeting for SEABA members, in conjunction with the members’ show of artworks and a raffle to benefit the organization’s programming. The Vaults, Burlington, Friday, March 7, 6-7:30 p.m. Free; $5-20 for raffle ticket. RSVP at sevendaystickets.com. Info, 859-9222.

‘WATERCOLORS WITH FLORENCE’: A two-hour class with artist Florence McCloud for beginners and those wanting to experiment with the watercolor medium. Materials provided; space limited; register by email. Fletcher Free Library, Burlington, Saturday, March 8, 2-4 p.m. Free. Info, bshatara@burlingtonvt.gov.

FINNIE TRIMPI POP-UP EXHIBITION: A one-day pop-up version of the exhibition “Fierce Females,” in honor of International Women’s Day, with an artist reception. The exhibition will then move to Artistree Community Arts Center. Reading Greenhouse Farm Market, Felchville, Saturday, March 8, 3:30-5 p.m. Info, 457-3500.

SOCIAL SUNDAY: An opportunity for children and caregivers to stop in and complete a 15- to 30-minute activity during the two-hour workshop. Milton Artists’ Guild Art Center & Gallery, Sunday, March 9, 1-3 p.m. Free. Info, 891-2014.

PORTRAIT DRAWING AND PAINTING: A drop-in event where artists can practice skills in any medium. T.W. Wood Gallery, Montpelier, Monday, March 10, 10 a.m.noon. Free; $10 suggested donation. Info, 262-6035.

WINTER WATERCOLORS WITH PAULINE NOLTE: Weekly workshops for painters of all abilities; no experience necessary. Register via email. Waterbury Public Library, Tuesday, March 11, 10:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m. Free. Info, judi@waterburypubliclibrary.com. ➆

music+nightlife

Rockin’ the Statehouse

e Farmers Night performance series gathers Vermonters under the golden dome

BY XENIA TURNER

One night after the U.S. House of Representatives narrowly approved a budget bill that would gut social programs for working-class Americans, Vermonters — elected lawmakers and their constituents — gathered in their Statehouse to support a di erent kind of social aid.

They came to hear the evening’s performer, Toussaint St. Negritude, who filled the House chamber with lyric incantations. Outﬁtted with two horns, a feathered hat and his debut poetry collection, the Northeast Kingdom free-verse poet and hatmaker opened with a stirring lament on bass clarinet before segueing into his poem “Cosmographies in Bloom.”

Over the course of an hour, he recited roughly a dozen poems, with interludes

of improvisational jazz and poignant personal anecdotes. A preacher of jazzinfused gospel, he held the audience captive with the resonant timbre of his voice and his impromptu musicality. It felt as though the concentric, lunette-style desks ringing the well of the House ﬂoor were undulating like waves when he bellowed, “Behold! Such noble means of galactic introspection.”

and open to the public, the Wednesday evening gatherings run from January through April and showcase a diversity of artistic expression and Vermont voices.

THIS PLACE BELONGS TO ALL OF US.

REP. MARY-KATHERINE STONE

For state curator David Schutz, the popularity of the Farmers Night series is one indication of the building’s importance as not just an ediﬁ ce of governance but also a contributor to Vermont’s cultural life.

a drawer in the speaker’s rostrum, gather beneath the gaslit chandelier and start an old-fashioned sing-along.

“There is a very strong sense of community to this day among legislators,” Schutz said. “These are the events that create the kind of community that other parts of the nation are bemoaning in this moment when our democracy is threatened by many things. One of those things is simply not knowing each other well.”

St. Negritude’s performance was one in a series of Farmers Night programs — weekly arts and cultural events that take place during the legislative session. Free

Farmers Night began in the 1800s when lawmakers, most of them farmers, found themselves in the Capital City for the workweek. Starved for entertainment at night, they’d grab their songbooks from

Indeed, there was a sense of community before St. Negritude’s concert. Vermonters of all stripes, some in their finest chapeaus, mingled and chatted before they took the seats typically reserved for state representatives.

Toussaint St. Negritude reciting poetry at Farmers Night

On the Beat

Vermont artists are releasing a slew of new music, and it’s a shame the timing didn’t work out better — if this many songs had dropped near Valentine’s Day, I could have made so many amazing “singles” puns. As it stands, I’ll just have to push ahead, punless but no less excited.

First up, we have not one but two brand-spanking-new singles from Burlington singer-songwriter LILY SEABIRD. “How far away” and “It was like you were coming to wake us back up” continue Seabird’s rollout of her forthcoming album Trash Mountain, which hits streaming services on April 4.

With these songs, the musician pushes into a more stripped-down sound than her earlier indie-rock material. “How far away” really delivers on that less-is-more approach, with Seabird’s almost ethereal voice backed only by Vermont musician SAM ATALLAH’s piano track. And the hair on the back of my neck stood up when I listened to “It was like you were coming to wake us back up,” which is about Seabird thinking she saw a deceased loved one outside her window one morning. In an email, Seabird revealed that both songs are “about the same thing, so it’s nice to have them paired together.”

Stay tuned in the coming weeks for an interview with Seabird ahead of Trash Mountain’s release. Speaking

of slow-dripping album releases, Burlington singer-songwriter IAN

STEINBERG continues teasing his soon-todrop LP, The Bleeding Days, with a new single and video out on March 7.

Steinberg released the ﬁrst single, the languid and trippy “Onions,” in early February. Now, on “Wake Me Up,” he further evolves his sound by leaning into psych-folk. A chiming mandolin anchors the track, which the musician said “explores the themes of loss, isolation, being stuck — real cheerful stu , I know.” The full album is due out on April 4.

And, ﬁnally, Portland, Ore., rapper and singer CLAUD SIX and Hardwick producer WOOL SEE join forces to bring

Eye on the Scene

Last week’s live music highlights from photographer Luke Awtry

you the Greenlit Series. In the weekly installment of hip-hop adventures, the duo ponders everything from the microplastics in our bodies to the nature of surveillance in modern society. The series kicked o in the ﬁrst week of February with the excellently titled “Episode 01: Geese.”

The latest track/chapter is “Episode 04: Always Accessible,” in which the two protagonists ﬁght o the urge to succumb to mountains of notiﬁcations, emails and false promises from CEOs. Claud Six raps over an industrialleaning beat from Wool, spitting lyrics such as “We can’t make any promises or a sign-on dotted line, / But we need your

“STORY TELLERS,” VERMONT COMEDY CLUB, BURLINGTON, THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 27: My hometown didn’t get cable until 1994. When it did, 14-year-old me snuck some MTV time as often as possible. e “MTV Unplugged” series was my favorite, and that format became ubiquitous as an intimate performance setting for getting to know an artist. Fast-forward 31 years, and local DJs CRAIG MITCHELL and KYLE “FATTIE B” THOMPSON hosted a very “Unplugged” early-evening event at Vermont Comedy Club with “Story Tellers.” Lighting designer JASON LIGGETT and scenic designer SARA VERDERY transformed the venue, while the DJs ﬁlled it with Vermont musicians — all to beneﬁt Spectrum Youth & Family Services. e emotions onstage ranged from crying to full-belly laughter, and the crowd responded with the same and more. I learned a thing or two about both DJs, but I gotta ask: When are we getting the late-night version?

Listening In

(Spotify mix of local jams)

1. “CHAOS” by Shiny New Toyz

2. “NOT READY TO RETURN” by Reid Parsons

3. “NEVER TOO LATE (FOR A SHOWER OF RAIN)” by Joel Veena, Mir Naqibul Islam

4. “DUST SETTLES” by Devon McGarry

5. “POWER TO THE PEOPLE” by David Karl Roberts

6. “PANTHERS IN THE NIGHT” by Rough Francis

7. “ONE STEP FORWARD, TWO STEPS BACK” by Wild Leek River Scan to listen sevendaysvt. com/playlist

Lily Seabird

music+nightlife

However, the history of entertainment at the Statehouse includes tales of darker moments — of exclusion rather than inclusion.

“White legislators would present minstrel shows in blackface decades ago, without understanding what that represented,” Schutz said. “That’s our history, and we need to embrace it, understand it and move on to somebody as compelling as Toussaint.”

St. Negritude developed an interest in the malleability of language at a young age. He recalled an early schoolteacher who saw the seeds of a budding poet in him. “She gave me a blank sheet of paper and said, ‘I want you to write a poem. And on this blank sheet is total freedom. Grammar won’t matter. Spelling won’t matter. This is your place of freedom.’”

Whether drawing inspiration from the mountainous landscape of Vermont’s Northeast Kingdom or the Black-led Republic of Haiti, St. Negritude endows his subjects with a potent and mystical spirituality that’s evocative of the surrealist works of Jean-Michel Basquiat and Alice Coltrane.

“A big part of my inspiration — it’s always been true, but especially here in Vermont — are mountains,” St. Negritude later told Seven Days. “I appreciate that the mountains are always above the nonsense.”

In October, St. Negritude released a collection of poems with the Montpelier imprint Rootstock Publishing. While he’s contributed individual poems to various journals over the course of his 40-year career, Mountain Spells is his first book. When asked what impetus, if any, he had for waiting all these years to publish a full-length volume, he doesn’t shy away from the ugly truth.

“For years, I would submit collections of my poems,” he said, “and I would get very nicely written rejection letters that would say, ‘We love your work, but we don’t publish ethnic.’”

Born in California but a longtime Vermonter, St. Negritude, 65, is a poet who seeks spiritual fellowship with nature, from the foothills to the cosmos. In an ode to his tiny home in the hinterlands, “How I Built My Star House,” he extols the emancipatory power of communing with mountains and stars. Grasping for inner peace through free-form poetic expression and slant rhyme, St. Negritude writes, “It started / with making poems / turning mountains / into navigational tomes.”

St. Negritude’s February 26 appearance at Farmers Night was part of its celebration of Black History Month, following a Vermont Symphony Orchestra concert on February 12 with composer and ethnomusicologist Damascus Kafumbe and a February 19 performance of West African music and dance by Montpelier nonprofit Shidaa Projects.

“Being involved in the arts prior to running for office, I was missing that part of my heart,” said Rep. Mary-Katherine Stone (D/P-Burlington), who leads the Farmers Night Committee. “It’s an opportunity for legislators to remember why it is we are here ... but also for people in the community to see that this place belongs to all of us.” ➆

St. Negritude’s poetry draws inspiration from Afrocentric themes and surrealist imagery while fluctuating between unabashed emotion and healthy social provocation. During his Farmers Night recitation of the epistolary poem “Rocking You,” attendees cheered amiably after the line: “dreams of precious boyfriends fade just as ghostly as affordable housing.”

INFO

Farmers Night 2025 continues through April 9 on Wednesday evenings, 7:30 p.m., at the Vermont Statehouse in Montpelier. Free. legislature.vermont.gov

contribution, write a number by the dollar sign.”

Follow along at greenlitseries. bandcamp.com.

Lock up your desks, people — unless you want wandering folk singers breaking into your office. That’s right, NPR’s Tiny Desk Contest is back, and thousands upon thousands of submissions have rolled in for the annual competition, which launched in 2011. The winner will not only play a coveted Tiny Desk

concert at NPR but also be interviewed on “All Things Considered,” gain a music industry mentor and go on tour with NPR Music.

Vermont musicians are well represented in this year’s contest. Among the many Green Mountain artists going for glory are folk rocker DEVON MCGARRY, bluegrass outfit the WORMDOGS, indie-pop act FAWN, Americana-comedy band the HOKUM BROTHERS, folk rockers the CHAD HOLLISTER BAND, and singersongwriters JESSE TAYLOR and RYAN MONTBLEAU. Head over to tinydeskcontest. npr.org to watch all the entries. ➆

CLUB DATES

live music

WED.5

BBQ and Bluegrass (bluegrass) at Four Quarters Brewing, Winooski, 6:30 p.m. Free.

Daily Bread, Lumasi, YOKO (electro-soul) at Higher Ground Ballroom, South Burlington, 8 p.m. $25/$30.

Irish Night with RambleTree (Celtic) at Two Brothers Tavern, Middlebury, 7 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.

Kendra McKinley, Mary Esther Carter, Rachel Ambaye (singer-songwriter) at Radio Bean, Burlington, 8 p.m. $10.

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

Wednesday Night Dead (Grateful Dead tribute) at Zenbarn, Waterbury Center, 7 p.m. $10.

THU.6

Jazz with Alex Stewart and Friends (jazz) at the 126, Burlington, 8:30 p.m. Free.

Jonathan Richman, Tommy Larkins (rock) at ArtsRiot, Burlington, 8 p.m. $25.

Leah Rocketship, Nobody’s Man, Wes Pearce (folk, country) at Charlie-O’s World Famous, Montpelier, 8 p.m. Free.

Neighbor (jam) at Pickle Barrel Nightclub, Killington, 7 p.m. $20/$25.

Ramblin’ Dan Stevens (blues) at the Den at Harry’s Hardware, Cabot, 7 p.m. Free.

Seth Yacovone Blues Trio (blues) at Black Flannel Brewing & Distilling, Essex, 6 p.m. Free.

The Soda Plant Bluegrass Jam (bluegrass) at Venetian Cocktail & Soda Lounge, Burlington, 7 p.m. Free.

Trivia Night (trivia) at 1st Republic Brewing, Essex, 6 p.m. Free.

Vermont Jazz Trio (jazz) at Hugo’s, Montpelier, 7:30 p.m. Free.

FRI.7

An Acoustic Evening (singersongwriter) at the Underground, Randolph, 7:30 p.m. $14/$17.

Amythyst Kiah (indie) at Higher Ground Showcase Lounge, South Burlington, 7 p.m. $22/$25. Barbacoa (surf rock) at Radio Bean, Burlington, 7:30 p.m. $10.

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

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

Collin Cope (indie) at Hotel Vermont, Burlington, 4 p.m. Free.

Find the most up-to-date info on live music, DJs, comedy and more at sevendaysvt.com/music. If you’re a talent booker or artist planning live entertainment at a bar, nightclub, café, restaurant, brewery or coffee shop, send event details to music@sevendaysvt.com or submit the info using our form at sevendaysvt.com/postevent.

Rare Gem

Tennessee singer-songwriter AMYTHYST KIAH had a breakout moment with her 2021 album, Wary + Strange. Somber and highly emotional, the record documents her past traumas, including her experience as a queer Black woman living in the South and her mother’s suicide when Kiah was just 17. The album established her as one of the most promising up-and-coming indie artists. Her latest album, 2024’s Still + Bright, strikes a decidedly more upbeat tone, with soaring melodies, earworm hooks, slick production from Taylor Swift collaborator Butch Walker and guests such as guitar slinger Billy Strings. Even with the new sheen and outlook, Kiah’s songwriting and voice are unmistakable. She’s set to perform on Friday, March 7, at the Higher Ground Showcase Lounge in South Burlington.

David Karl Roberts (singersongwriter) at Venetian Cocktail & Soda Lounge, Burlington, 8 p.m. Free.

Fin Hewitt (singer-songwriter) at Whammy Bar, Calais, 7 p.m. Free. FYSPOT (covers) at the Old Post, South Burlington, 8 p.m. Free. Harwood Assembly, Glam Cowboys (funk, indie pop) at Zenbarn, Waterbury Center, 7 p.m. $10.

Jonathan Richman, Tommy Larkins (rock) at ArtsRiot, Burlington, 8 p.m. $25. Kirkland the Band (folk rock) at 1st Republic Brewing, Essex, 6 p.m. Free.

LaMP (funk, jam) at Nectar’s, Burlington, 8 p.m. $20. The Lloyd Tyler Band (folk) at Jericho Café & Tavern, 8 p.m. Free.

Lost in Paris (covers) at Pickle Barrel Nightclub, Killington, 8 p.m. $10.

Mean Waltons (bluegrass) at Poultney Pub, 6 p.m. Free.

Onyx & Cappadonna (hip-hop) at the Lounge at Nectar’s, Burlington, 8 p.m. $40.

Owl Stars (folk) at Two Heroes Brewery Public House, South Hero, 6:30 p.m. Free.

Pass the Mic: Hip Hop Showcase (hip-hop) at the Double E Lounge at Essex Experience, 8 p.m. $18.

Paul Webb (piano) at Venetian Cocktail & Soda Lounge, Burlington, 6 p.m. Free.

Phantom Suns, Morning Giants, Last Pages (alt-rock, punk) at Charlie-O’s World Famous, Montpelier, 9 p.m. Free.

Raised by Hippies (covers) at On Tap Bar & Grill, Essex Junction, 5 p.m. Free.

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

Scram!, Astral Underground (jazz, funk) at Radio Bean, Burlington, 9:30 p.m. $10.

Shane McGrath (acoustic) at Gusto’s, Barre, 6 p.m. Free.

The Shane Murley Band (Americana) at 14th Star Brewing, St. Albans, 6 p.m. Free.

Starcleaner Reunion (indie rock) at Foam Brewers, Burlington, 8 p.m. Free.

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

Tournesol (jazz) at Shelburne Vineyard, 6 p.m. Free.

Troy Millette & the Fire Below, Uncle Kunkel’s One Gram Band (folk rock) at Stowe Cider, 8 p.m. $20.

SAT.8

Bearded Belligerents (covers) at Gusto’s, Barre, 9 p.m. Free.

Bird Boombox, Fly-By Ride (alternative, folk) at the Underground, Randolph, 7:30 p.m. $10.

Bob & Mona (folk) at Jericho Café & Tavern, 7 p.m. Free.

Borrow the Bones (folk) at the Phoenix, Waterbury, 7:30 p.m. $15-30.

Burning Monk (Rage Against the Machine tribute) at Stowe Cider, 8:30 p.m. $10.

Collin Cope & Chris Page of the Tenderbellies (bluegrass) at Shelburne Vineyard, 6 p.m. Free.

Dorado Collective (jazz) at Hugo’s, Montpelier, 7:30 p.m. Free. Free Range Band (covers) at On Tap Bar & Grill, Essex Junction, 9 p.m. Free.

Grrrls to the Front with All Night Boogie Band, Lara Cwass Band, Dana Slattery (rock, funk) at Foam Brewers, Burlington, 7 p.m. Free.

Hi Fi, Syndicate Sound (electronica) at Bent Nails Bistro, Montpelier, 8 p.m. Free.

Jaded Ravins (Americana) at Whammy Bar, Calais, 7 p.m. Free.

Kitbash (indie rock) at Radio Bean, Burlington, 9:30 p.m. $10.

Krishna Bright (singer-songwriter) at Two Heroes Brewery Public House, South Hero, 6:30 p.m. Free.

Kristy Chmura (folk, rock) at Charlie-O’s World Famous, Montpelier, 9:30 p.m. Free.

LaMP (funk, jam) at Nectar’s, Burlington, 8 p.m. $20.

Live Music Saturdays (live music series) at Dumb Luck Pub & Grill, Hinesburg, 7 p.m. Free.

Lost in Paris (covers) at Pickle Barrel Nightclub, Killington, 8 p.m. $10.

Marcie Hernandez (singer-songwriter) at Radio Bean, Burlington, 7 p.m. $10.

Mitch & Devon (acoustic) at 1st Republic Brewing, Essex, 6 p.m. Free.

Paul Webb (piano) at Venetian Cocktail & Soda Lounge, Burlington, 6 p.m. Free.

RAFGAK & Windscour (experimental, ambient) at Autumn Records, Winooski, 7 p.m. $10.

Silver Tree, Otter Creek, Son of Barb (country, rock) at Light Club Lamp Shop, Burlington, 8 p.m. $10/$15.

Smokey Lonesome & the Sweet Potatoes (Americana) at the Den at Harry’s Hardware, Cabot, 7 p.m. Free.

Sploot, Kilter (hip-hop) at the Lounge at Nectar’s, Burlington, 8 p.m. $14.

‘The Spoils’ Book Launch with Bill Mullins & Friends (rock) at Light Club Lamp Shop, Burlington, 5:30 p.m. Free.

Strange Machines (jam) at Zenbarn, Waterbury Center, 11 p.m. $10/$15.

Tiffany Pfeiffer Jazz Trio (jazz) at Venetian Cocktail & Soda Lounge, Burlington, 8 p.m. $10.

TRS Live: Kyle Chadburn & the Earthbound Spirits (Americana, live recording) at Tank Recording Studio, Burlington, 5:30 & 7:30 p.m. $35.

SUN.9

Joe Samba, Crooked Coast (reggae) at Pickle Barrel Nightclub, Killington, 8 p.m. $20/$25.

Reid Parsons, Jeff Wilson (singer-songwriter) at Foam Brewers, Burlington, 1 p.m. Free.

Sunday Brunch Tunes (singersongwriter) at Hotel Vermont, Burlington, 10 a.m.

Vincent Lima, Marianne Beaulieu (indie) at Higher Ground Showcase Lounge, South Burlington, 7 p.m. $16/$18. Wine and Jazz Sundays (jazz) at Shelburne Vineyard, 5 p.m. Free.

TUE.11

Bluegrass Jam (bluegrass) at Poultney Pub, 7 p.m. Free. Drugstore Cowgirl, Bath Water (311, No Doubt tribute) at the Lounge at Nectar’s, Burlington, 8 p.m. $12.

Emerging Songwriters Contest (singer-songwriter) at Venetian Cocktail & Soda Lounge, Burlington, 6:30 p.m. Free. Grateful Tuesdays (Grateful Dead tribute) at Nectar’s, Burlington, 8 p.m. $10.

Honky Tonk Tuesday with Wild Leek River (country) at Radio Bean, Burlington, 9 p.m. $10. RambleTree (Celtic) at Rí Rá Irish Pub & Whiskey Room, Burlington, 6 p.m. Free.

WED.12

BBQ and Bluegrass (bluegrass) at Four Quarters Brewing, Winooski, 6:30 p.m. Free.

David Karl Roberts (singer-songwriter) at Two Heroes Brewery Public House, South Hero, 6 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. Wednesday Night Dead (Grateful Dead tribute) at Zenbarn, Waterbury Center, 7 p.m. $10.

djs

THU.6

DJ Blaine (DJ) at Bent Nails Bistro, Montpelier, 5 p.m. Free.

DJ Chaston (DJ) at Red Square Blue Room, Burlington, 10 p.m. Free.

DJ JP Black (DJ) at Red Square, Burlington, 8 p.m. Free.

DJ Two Sev (DJ) at Red Square, Burlington, 11 p.m. Free.

Local Dork (DJ) at Foam Brewers, Burlington, 6 p.m. Free.

Vinyl Night with Ken (DJ) at Poultney Pub, 6 p.m. Free.

FRI.7

Craig Mitchell (DJ) at Light Club Lamp Shop, Burlington, 9 p.m. $10/$15.

Dierkes (DJ) at Red Square Blue Room, Burlington, 11 p.m. Free.

DJ Rice Pilaf (DJ) at Monkey House, Winooski, 9 p.m. Free.

DJ Taka (DJ) at Light Club Lamp Shop, Burlington, 11 p.m. $10/$15. Eric LaFountaine (DJ) at Gusto’s, Barre, 9 p.m. Free.

FRI.7 // AMYTHYST KIAH [INDIE]

COURTESY OF KEVIN KING

LaMP, One of Us

(ROYAL POTATO FAMILY, CD, DIGITAL, VINYL)

Near the middle of an extended jam on “Cosmo,” the opening track of their third album, One of Us, LaMP o er a perfect example of how the trio’s brand of alchemy works. Ray Paczkowski ﬁnishes laying down a ferociously funky solo on his trusty Hammond organ as guitarist Scott Metzger unleashes a wave of arpeggiated notes. The two forces meet Russ Lawton’s hardcharging drums, and we feel something locking into place as they create a pulsating, powerful jam laced with equal parts virtuosity and wild abandon.

handles the Jerry Garcia side of things in Joe Russo’s Almost Dead. On paper, it made a ton of sense: Two veteran colleagues of one of the biggest names on the jam scene add a guitarist trained in the Grateful Dead method. On their ﬁrst record, the combo quickly became something more potent than just an allstar jam band.

LaMP stands for Lawton, Metzger and Paczkowski, who perhaps didn’t want to be mistaken for a law ﬁrm. Paczkowski and Lawton have been at this for a long time, playing together in the Trey Anastasio Band for the better part of 20 years, as well as in their duo Soule Monde. Over that time, the two musicians have forged a near-telepathic bond, resulting in interplay that can light up the stage.

In 2019, they brought in Metzger, who

Thorny, A Long Dusk

(WITHERWILLOW SOUNDS, DIGITAL)

Matthew Trammell wrote a piece for the New Yorker in 2017 titled “The Weightlessness of Obama Pop.” In it, he remarked on how pop music during Barack Obama’s presidency seemed obsessed with going to space, whether it was Rihanna’s “Diamonds” or Nicki Minaj’s “Starships.” The theory: In a society that was less rocked by political strife, art didn’t bother interacting with deep or dark themes. Instead, it focused on sci-ﬁ ﬂights of fancy and cosmic-level partying.

LaMP’s eponymous 2020 debut was funky, proggy and utterly fascinating. The trio followed it up with a live album tracked at Burlington jam mecca Nectar’s that showed the musicians’ synergy evolving.

One of Us continues that upward trajectory. There’s no ponderous vamping or pointless moments, no waste or excess anywhere on the record. It is a lean, mean, funkyas-hell collection of jams from masters of their craft.

“Nice Girl (Walks Loud)” ﬁnds the band in a swinging, playful mood, riding a surf rock-esque ri from Metzger into a lockstep groove that will no doubt get a packed club dancing.

The trio swerves to a dark jazz funk mode for “Stalker List,” with Paczkowski thrusting stabs of organ against ghostly

conclusion, “a public record of joy that didn’t bother with gravity.”

“Obama pop is left as a well of escapism,” Trammell wrote in

What, then, to make of the music that has emerged from Donald Trump’s two presidencies — and all the attendant political and societal turmoil to which they have given rise? Indie-pop outfit MGMT is a perfect example of how changes in the political landscape can shape music. Known for breezy electronica-flavored hits such as “Electric Feel” and “Kids,” the duo faced the first Trump administration with the gloriously goth disco album Little Dark Age, equal parts shiny grooves, feelings of paranoia and encroaching doom.

Vermont artists have been quick to

volume swells from Metzger. Their deep interplay comes across like a conversation in a Montréal bar where patrons slip from English to French and back in the middle of a sentence. In their own conversations, these two musicians can choose to paint architecturally or go full Jackson Pollock and splash color across the canvas.

The band recorded One of Us at Tank Recording Studio in Burlington, continuing an excellent run of top-notch

react to America’s recent pivot toward authoritarianism. Punk rockers Rough Francis recently dropped the ferocious Fall EP, a politically charged record that pulls no punches. On the other side of the sonic spectrum, there’s the new Thorny album, A Long Dusk. The project of Plainﬁeld musician JD Ryan, Thorny creates experimental and ambient music, just on the edge of drone but with ghostly ﬂashes of melodies. His latest piece is a 43-minute-long sound bath of gentle, icy synths and subdued bass that moves at the pace of a melting glacier.

A Long Dusk is inspired by the notion of transitions, of time passing into the next age and all the upheaval those changes bring. “It feels like the sun is going down on this era, and it’s taking a long time,” Ryan wrote in an email to Seven Days

sounds from producer and engineer Ben Collette — who, like LaMP, comes from Vermont’s wide world of Phish-related creatives.

One of Us drops on March 21 on streaming services; visit lampband. bandcamp.com to preorder. For those who want an early listen of the record, LaMP throw a two-day release party at Nectar’s — where else? — on Friday and Saturday, March 7 and 8.

CHRIS FARNSWORTH

Ryan creates a sonic interpretation of the long, slow disappearance of the sun — the retreat of warmth and light and the onset of the darkest night. As blips of synths play against the seemingly interminable chord progression, they conjure ﬁres going out and a landscape passing into shadow.

While there are no lyrics spit from between clenched teeth or huge dynamic swings to articulate rage, the track is a surprisingly e ective way to interact with political unrest. Ryan’s composition summons the feeling of being a patient witness, a lone observer on a hill watching the world change before one’s eyes.

A Long Dusk is now streaming at witherwillow.bandcamp.com.

Scott Metzger, Ray Paczkowski and Russ Lawton

Mason (DJ) at Red Square Blue Room, Burlington, 9 p.m. Free.

Ron Stoppable (DJ) at Red Square, Burlington, 10 p.m. Free.

SAT.8

DJ Raul (DJ) at Red Square Blue Room, Burlington, 6 p.m. Free.

Matt Payne (DJ) at Red Square Blue Room, Burlington, 10 p.m. Free.

Molly Mood (DJ) at Red Square Blue Room, Burlington, 8 p.m. Free.

Mr Cheng (DJ) at Red Square, Burlington, 6 p.m. Free.

Roost.world (DJ) at Light Club Lamp Shop, Burlington, 11 p.m. $10/$15.

SUN.9

Mi Yard Reggae Night with DJ Big Dog (reggae, dancehall) at Nectar’s, Burlington, 9 p.m. Free.

WED.12

DJ Blaine (DJ) at Bent Nails Bistro, Montpelier, 5 p.m. Free.

open mics & jams

WED.5

Irish Traditional Music Session (Celtic) at Burlington Beer, 5:30 p.m. Free.

Open Mic (open mic) at Monopole, Plattsburgh, N.Y., 10 p.m. Free.

Open Mic With Danny Lang (open mic) at Poultney Pub, 7 p.m. Free.

The Ribbit Review Open Mic & Jam (open mic) at Lily’s Pad, Burlington, 7 p.m. Free.

Writer’s Bloc (writer’s open mic) at Light Club Lamp Shop, Burlington, 7 p.m. Free.

THU.6

Open Mic with Artie (open mic) at Whammy Bar, Calais, 7 p.m. Free.

FRI.7

Red Brick Coffee House (open mic) at Red Brick Meeting House, Westford, 7 p.m. Free.

SUN.9

Olde Time Jam Session (open jam) at the Den at Harry’s Hardware, Cabot, noon. Free.

MON.10

Bluegrass Etc. Jam (bluegrass jam) at Ottauquechee Yacht Club, Woodstock, 6:30 p.m. Free.

Open Mic (open mic) at Despacito, Burlington, 7 p.m. Free.

WED.12

Open Mic (open mic) at Monopole, Plattsburgh, N.Y., 10 p.m. Free.

Open Mic With Danny Lang (open mic) at Poultney Pub, 7 p.m. Free.

comedy

WED.5

March Madness: Prelims (comedy) at Vermont Comedy Club, Burlington, 7 p.m. $5.

SAT.8 // MARCIE HERNANDEZ [SINGER-SONGWRITER]

Island Sounds

’s sound is based in her cultural duality. The native New Yorker channels her Puerto Rican heritage through a lens of folk, Latin rhythms and intimate, confessional songwriting. Her 2020 album, Amanecer, captured those juxtapositions perfectly, with songs such as “Winter” and “Quiet” showing a songwriter unafraid to delve into songs about generational trauma, all while slipping back and forth between Spanish and English. A music therapist by trade, Hernandez has announced that her Saturday, March 8, show at Radio Bean in Burlington will be her “last for a while, as I need to focus on other projects.”

Standup Open Mic (comedy open mic) at Vermont Comedy Club, Burlington, 8:30 p.m. Free.

THU.6

#IMOMSOHARD: Flashback (comedy) at Paramount Theatre, Rutland, 7:30 p.m. $45.75-$65.75.

Cipha Sounds (comedy) at Vermont Comedy Club, Burlington, 7 p.m. $20.

The Kingdom Kids with Cipha Sounds (comedy) at Vermont Comedy Club, Burlington, 9 p.m. $5.

Live, Laugh, Lava: A Comedy Showcase (comedy) at Radio Bean, Burlington, 7 p.m. Free.

FRI.7

Comedy Night (comedy) at the Den at Harry’s Hardware, Cabot, 8 p.m. Free.

Nore Davis (comedy) at Vermont Comedy Club, Burlington, 7 & 9 p.m. $25.

SAT.8

corook, Kel Cripe (comedy) at Higher Ground Showcase Lounge, South Burlington, 7 p.m. $20/$23.

Nore Davis (comedy) at Vermont Comedy Club, Burlington, 7 & 9 p.m. $25.

SUN.9

Sam Morril (comedy) at the Flynn, Burlington, 7 p.m. $28.25-$49.25.

TUE.11

Open Mic Comedy with Levi Silverstein (comedy open mic) at the 126, Burlington, 7 p.m. Free.

WED.12

2nd Wednesday Comedy Jam (comedy) at Nectar’s, Burlington, 6:30 p.m. Free.

March Madness: Prelims (comedy) at Vermont Comedy Club, Burlington, 7 p.m. $5.

Standup Open Mic (comedy open mic) at Vermont Comedy Club, Burlington, 8:30 p.m. Free.

trivia, karaoke, etc.

WED.5

Trivia (trivia) at Alfie’s Wild Ride, Stowe, 7 p.m. Free.

Trivia Night (trivia) at Dumb Luck Pub and Grill Winooski, 7 p.m. Free.

THU.6

Radio Bean Karaoke (karaoke) at Radio Bean, Burlington, 9 p.m. Free. Trivia (trivia) at Four Quarters Brewing, Winooski, 6 p.m. Free.

Trivia Night (trivia) at Nectar’s, Burlington, 6:30 p.m. Free.

FRI.7

Karaoke with DJ Big T (karaoke) at McKee’s Original, Winooski, 9 p.m. Free.

SAT.8

Poultney Rotary Trivia Night (trivia) at Poultney St. Raphael Catholic Church, 5:30 p.m. $10.

SUN.9

Karaoke with DJ Coco Entertainment (karaoke) at Old Soul Design Shop, Plattsburgh, N.Y., 5 p.m. Free.

Sunday Funday (games) at 1st Republic Brewing, Essex, noon. Free.

Venetian Karaoke (karaoke) at Venetian Cocktail & Soda Lounge, Burlington, 7 p.m. Free.

MON.10

Trivia Monday (trivia) at Black Flannel Brewing & Distilling, Essex, 6 p.m. Free.

Trivia Monday with Top Hat Entertainment (trivia) at McKee’s Original, Winooski, 7 p.m. Free.

Trivia Night (trivia) at Barr Hill, Montpelier, 5:30 p.m. Free.

Trivia with Brain (trivia) at Charlie-O’s World Famous, Montpelier, 8 p.m. Free.

Trivia with Craig Mitchell (trivia) at Monkey House, Winooski, 7 p.m. Free.

TUE.11

‘A Court of Thorns and Roses’ Trivia (trivia) at Switchback Brewing’s Beer Garden & Tap House, Burlington, 7 p.m. Free.

Karaoke (karaoke) at Alfie’s Wild Ride, Stowe, 7 p.m. Free.

Karaoke with DJ Party Bear (karaoke) at Charlie-O’s World Famous, Montpelier, 9:30 p.m. Free.

Taproom Trivia (trivia) at 14th Star Brewing, St. Albans, 6:30 p.m. Free.

Trivia (trivia) at Vermont Comedy Club, Burlington, 7 p.m. Free.

Trivia Tuesday (trivia) at On Tap Bar & Grill, Essex Junction, 7 p.m. Free.

WED.12

Lil’s Food & Beverage Trivia (trivia) at Standing Stone Wines, Winooski, 6:30 p.m. Free.

Trivia (trivia) at Alfie’s Wild Ride, Stowe, 7 p.m. Free.

Trivia Night (trivia) at Dumb Luck Pub and Grill Winooski, 7 p.m. Free. ➆

8v-GreenLeafCentral030525 1 3/3/25 6:31 PM

Burlington singer-songwriter MARCIE HERNANDEZ

sports

UVM MEN’S ICE HOCKEY: Go, Cats, go! The Catamounts face off against the University of Connecticut for an exciting evening of sportsmanship and fanfare. University of Vermont Gutterson Fieldhouse, South Burlington, 7 p.m. $15-35; free for students. Info, 656-3131.

talks

HOWARD E. WOODIN

ENVIRONMENTAL STUDIES

COLLOQUIUM SERIES: AUDREY

IRVINE-BROQUE: In “Exporting

Extinction: How the International Financial System Constrains Biodiverse Futures,” a University of British Columbia PhD student zooms in on escalating ecological crises. Franklin Environmental Center at Hillcrest, Middlebury College, 12:40-1:30 p.m. Free. Info, 443-5552.

JOHN SWAN LECTURE: THOMAS

SULLIVAN: In “First Amendment Speech Challenges for Libraries,” a University of Vermont president emeritus shares why books and expressive thought can’t be banned. Fletcher Room, Fletcher Free Library, Burlington, 6 p.m. Free. Info, 656-5665.

KEVIN TOLAN: A Vermont Center for Ecostudies biologist outlines steep continental declines in grassland bird populations and shares how we can help enhance their numbers in Vermont. Ferrisburgh Town Office & Community Center, 7-8 p.m. Free. Info, 434-7245.

LINUS OWENS: A Middlebury College professor covers the history of an all-ages DIY punk club with his presentation, “Not Just Punks & Recreation: The Values of 242 Main.” Fletcher Free Library, Burlington, 5-6 p.m. Free; preregister. Info, 863-3403.

MIKHAIL ZYGAR: In “Putin and the Rewriting of Russian History,” a journalist and author discusses how the historical narrative has changed since the collapse of the

Soviet Union. Robert A. Jones House, Middlebury College, 4:306:30 p.m. Free. Info, 443-5532.

NIGEL BATES: The Green Mountain Club field coordinator dives into the past, present and future of waste management on the Long Trail. Green Mountain Club Headquarters, Waterbury Center, 6:30-8 p.m. Free; preregister. Info, 244-7037.

THE SCOTT A. MARGOLIN 99

LECTURE: DR. JENNA R. JAMBECK: In “Stories From Sea to Source: Reducing Plastic Pollution,” a professor of environmental engineering presents an intervention framework to help mitigate waste. McCardell Bicentennial Hall, Middlebury College, 7-8:30 p.m. Free. Info, 443-5552.

SHA’AN MOULIERT: A local community organizer, artist and educator sheds light on what it means to be a Vermonter. Dion Family Student Center, Saint Michael’s College, Colchester, 1:45 p.m. Free. Info, 654-2588.

theater

‘SWEENEY TODD’: See WED.5.

words

ART & WRITING SHARE GROUP FOR JEWS OF ALL STRIPES: Secular, spiritual or religious, all adult Jewish artists, writers and creators are invited to a monthly virtual meetup, presented by Jewish Communities of Vermont. 7-8:30 p.m. Free; preregister for Zoom link. Info, alison@jcvt.org.

J.G. DUBY & SARAH STEWART TAYLOR: Two New England authors converse about Eden Francis Compton’s new novel, Belle — a darkly comedic tale about one of America’s most prolific female serial killers. The Norwich Bookstore, 7-8 p.m. Free. Info, 649-1114.

KIM COLEMAN FOOTE: A writer of fiction, creative nonfiction and experimental prose reads from her debut novel, Coleman Hill, inspired by her family’s experience during

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.5

burlington

STEAM SPACE: Kiddos in grades K to 5 explore science, technology, engineering, art and mathematics with fun and engaging activities. Fletcher Free Library, Burlington, 5:30-6:30 p.m. Free. Info, 863-3403.

TODDLER TIME: Librarians bring out books, rhymes and songs specially selected for young ones 12 to 24 months.

Petal to the People

Growers frolic to the Vermont Flower Show at the Champlain Valley Exposition in Essex Junction for a weekend of earthy delights. This year’s theme, “A Story of Gardening,” digs into the evolution of horticulture through the ages and how today’s practices draw on centuries of cultivation and imagination. Floral fans experience a memorable stroll through “fields” of radiant tulips, the timeless charm of an English cottage garden, and the ancient allure of medieval and Islamic landscaping. Kiddos also find much to do in the family room, including a dirty dig for creepy-crawlies in the Shelburne Farms worm bin. Now that’s an earthy delight!

THE VERMONT FLOWER SHOW

Friday, March 7, and Saturday, March 8, 10 a.m.-6 p.m.; and Sunday, March 9, 10 a.m.-4 p.m., at the Champlain Valley Exposition in Essex Junction. $10-70. Info, 865-5202, vnlavt.org.

Fletcher Free Library, Burlington, 11-11:30 a.m. Free. Info, 863-3403.

chittenden county

BABY TIME: Infants and their caregivers enjoy a slow, soothing story featuring songs, rhymes and lap play. South Burlington Public Library & City Hall, 10:30-11 a.m. Free. Info, 846-4140.

GAME ON!: Kids take turns collaborating with or competing against friends using Nintendo Switch on the big screen. Caregivers must be present to supervise children below fifth grade. South Burlington Public Library & City Hall, 5-6:30 p.m. Free. Info, 846-4140.

PLAY TIME: Little ones ages birth to 5 build with blocks and read together. Brownell Library, Essex Junction, 10-10:45 a.m. Free. Info, 878-6956.

PLAYGROUP & STORY TIME: Caregivers and kids through age 5 listen to stories, sing songs and share toys with new friends. Richmond Free Library, 10 a.m.noon. Free. Info, 434-3036.

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.

TEEN QUEER READS: LGBTQIA+ and allied youths get together each month to read and discuss ideas around gender, sexuality and identity. Waterbury Public Library, 6-7 p.m. Free; preregister. Info, 244-7036.

THU.6 burlington

BABY & ME CLASS: Parents and their infants ages birth to 1 explore massage, lullabies and gentle movements while discussing the struggles and joys of parenthood. Greater Burlington YMCA, 9:45-10:45 a.m. $10; free for members. Info, 862-9622.

BABY TIME: Pre-walking little ones experience a story time catered to their infant interests. Fletcher Free Library,

Burlington, 11-11:30 a.m. Free. Info, 863-3403.

GROW PRESCHOOL YOGA: Colleen from Grow Prenatal and Family Yoga leads kids ages 2 to 5 in songs, movement and other fun activities. Fletcher Free Library, Burlington, 11-11:30 a.m. Free. Info, 863-3403.

chittenden county

MUSIC & MOVEMENT WITH MISS EMMA: Little ones and their caregivers use song and dance to explore the changing seasons and celebrate everyday joys. South Burlington Public Library & City Hall, 10:30-11 a.m. Free. Info, 846-4140.

PRESCHOOL MUSIC WITH LINDA BASSICK: The singer and storyteller extraordinaire guides wee ones ages birth to 5 in indoor music and movement.

Dorothy Alling Memorial Library, Williston, 10:30-11 a.m. Free. Info, 878-4918.

PRESCHOOL PLAY TIME: Pre-K patrons play and socialize after music time. Dorothy Alling Memorial Library, Williston, 11-11:30 a.m. Free. Info, 878-4918.

the Great Migration. Vermont Studio Center, Johnson, 8-9 p.m. Free. Info, 635-2727.

SUNAURA TAYLOR: An academic, painter, writer and activist shares her 2024 novel Disabled Ecologies: Lessons from a Wounded Desert. Hosted by Middlebury College. 7-8:30 p.m. Free; preregister. Info, 443-5276. VERMONT POETRY OUT LOUD SEMIFINALS: Students from 21 Vermont high schools recite works by famed poets at a celebration of the written word. Virtual option available. Barre Opera House, 10 a.m.-noon & 1:30-3:30 p.m. Free. Info, 863-5966.

STORY TIME: Little ones ages birth to 5 learn from songs, crafts and picture books. Brownell Library, Essex Junction, 10-10:30 a.m. Free. Info, 878-6956.

barre/montpelier

POKÉMON CLUB: I choose you, Pikachu! Elementary and teenage fans of the franchise — and beginners, too — trade cards and play games. Kellogg-Hubbard Library, Montpelier, 3:30-5 p.m. Free. Info, 223-3338.

ROBIN’S NEST NATURE PLAYGROUP: Youngsters ages birth to 5 and their caregivers learn through exploration, song, themed crafts and storytelling. This program is outdoors. North Branch Nature Center, Montpelier, 10 a.m.-noon. Free; donations accepted. Info, 229-6206. STORY TIME: Kids and their caregivers meet for stories, songs and bubbles. Kellogg-Hubbard Library, Montpelier, 10:30-11 a.m. Free. Info, 223-3338.

FRI.7

crafts

FIRST FRIDAY FIBER GROUP: Fiberarts fans make progress on projects while chatting over snacks.

GRACE, Hardwick, 10:30 a.m.-1:30 p.m. Free; donations accepted. Info, info@ruralartsvt.org. etc.

CABIN FEVER WEEKEND: Folks embrace the beginning of spring with three days of deep discounts at local establishments. See montpelieralive.com for details. Downtown Montpelier. Free. Info, 223-9604.

fairs & festivals

THE VERMONT FLOWER SHOW: Green thumbs gaze at arrangements, bulbs and beyond, inspired by the theme of “A Story of Gardening.” See calendar spotlight. Champlain Valley Exposition, Essex Junction, 10 a.m.-6 p.m. $10–70. Info, 865-5202.

film

See what’s playing at local theaters in the On Screen section.

‘ANIMAL KINGDOM 3D’: See THU.6.

‘ANTARCTICA 3D’: See THU.6.

‘BLUE WHALES: RETURN OF THE GIANTS 3D’: See THU.6.

‘PERSEPOLIS’: Audience members enjoy Marjane Satrapi and Vincent Paronnaud’s 2007 animated feature about an outspoken Iranian girl growing up during the Islamic Revolution. The Screening Room @ VTIFF, Main Street Landing Performing Arts Center, Burlington, 7-9 p.m. $6-12. Info, 660–2600.

‘T. REX: GREATEST OF ALL TYRANTS 3D’: See THU.6.

food & drink

SKI VERMONT SPECIALTY FOOD DAY TOUR: A pop-up farmers market-style event showcases the state’s unique homegrown products, including Cabot Creamery cheese, Woodchuck Hard Cider and Long Trail Brewing’s beers. K-1 Lodge, Killington, 11 a.m.-3 p.m. Free. Info, 800-734-9435.

games

DUPLICATE BRIDGE GAMES: See THU.6, 10 a.m.-1:30 p.m.

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; preregister. Info, programs@damlvt.org.

MINDFULNESS MEDITATION: Community members gather for an informal session combining stimulating discussion, sharing and sitting in silence. Pathways

Vermont, Burlington, 1:15-2:15 p.m. Free. Info, 777-8691.

PEOPLE WITH ARTHRITIS CAN EXERCISE: Folks get their bodies moving with a low-impact program that keeps joints flexible and muscles strong. Waterbury Public Library, 10:30-11:30 a.m. Free; preregister. Info, 241-4840.

language

ENGLISH CONVERSATION CIRCLE: Locals learning English as a second language gather in the Digital Lab to build vocabulary and make friends. South Burlington Public Library & City Hall, 11 a.m.-noon. Free. Info, 846-4140.

lgbtq

RPG NIGHT: Members of the LGBTQ community get together weekly for role-playing games such as Dungeons & Dragons and Everway. Rainbow Bridge Community Center, Barre, 5:308:30 p.m. Free. Info, 622-0692.

music

BLACKHAWK: A distinctive country music duo takes the stage for an evening of electrifying harmonies. Paramount Theatre, Rutland, 7:30 p.m. $40-60. Info, 775-0903.

FUTURE GROOVES: A MIDDLEBURY RAVE: Party people boogie down to futuristic techno and experimental dance tunes in the theater’s new space. Town Hall Theater, Middlebury, 8 p.m.-midnight. $8-12; cash bar. Info, 349-0463.

‘HOW TO STAY SANE WHILE LOSING YOUR MIND’: Theatergoers witness the world premiere of musician Sir Babygirl’s experimental rock opera mixing Greek mythology, absurdism and queer camp. See calendar spotlight. Briggs Opera House, White River Junction, 7 p.m. $25. Info, 800-622-1124.

IYAD SUGHAYER: An acclaimed Jordanian Palestinian pianist traverses the gamut of classical repertoires with spellbinding precision. Robison Concert Hall, Mahaney Arts Center, Middlebury College, 7:30-9:30 p.m. $5-25. Info, 443-6433.

JEFF SNOW: A singer-songwriter, storyteller and Celtic historian engages listeners with a dynamic program spanning from the haunting melodies of Scotland to foot-stomping Irish tunes. Waterbury Public Library, 6:30-8 p.m. Free. Info, 244-7036.

LANE SERIES: FRIGG: A sizzling Nordic septet performs feel-good tunes with immaculate musicianship. University of Vermont Recital Hall, Burlington, 7:30-9:30 p.m. $5-35. Info, 656-4455.

PRESERVATION HALL JAZZ BAND: Listeners experience the soul of New Orleans when a world-renowned band known for its vibrant energy and timeless sound takes the stage. Spruce Peak Performing Arts Center, Stowe Mountain Resort, 7 p.m. $75-85. Info, 760-4634.

SARASA ENSEMBLE: A collective of international instrumentalists and vocalists performs “Night at the Opera,” featuring works by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart,

We’re All Mad Here

Listeners launch out of this world and into the absurd at the premiere of genre-busting singer-songwriter Sir Babygirl’s experimental rock opera, How to Stay Sane While Losing Your Mind, at Briggs Opera House in White River Junction. Born Kelsie Hogue in Etna, N.H., the larger-than-life nonbinary pop-rock artist released a 2018 debut album, Crush on Me, that ignited a dedicated fan base. After performing across the globe, then enduring COVID-19’s massive wallop to the industry, Hogue returned home to pen this sophomore effort — a zany amalgam of Greek mythology and queer camp, following underworld queen Persephone out of Hell and into the safety of another spring.

‘HOW TO STAY SANE WHILE LOSING YOUR MIND’

Friday, March 7, 7 p.m., and Saturday, March 8, 4 p.m., at Briggs Opera House in White River Junction. $25. Info, 800-622-1124, uvjam.org.

Hyacinthe Jadin and Carlo Monza. Brattleboro Music Center, 7-9 p.m. $20-25. Info, 257-4523.

SONS OF TOWN HALL AND ALICE

HOWE & FREEBO: Folk lovers revel in a double bill of soulful, captivating musical duos. Virtual option available. Next Stage Arts, Putney, 7:30 p.m. $10-25. Info, 387-0102.

québec

MONTRÉAL EN LUMIÈRE: See WED.5.

seminars

PEER LEADER TRAINING: The Get Healthy North Country Community Integrated Health Network hosts a virtual

seminar for community members interested in helping others recognize the signs and symptoms commonly linked to chronic health conditions. 9-11:30 a.m. Free; preregister. Info, 315-261-4760, ext. 239.

talks

LARRY HAMBERLIN: A professor emeritus of music shares an enlightening preconcert lecture to accompany pianist Iyad Sughayer’s performance. Mahaney Arts Center, Middlebury College, 6:157:15 p.m. Free. Info, 443-6433.

MOLLY GRAY: The Vermont Afghan Alliance executive director discusses welcoming and assisting

Afghan refugees in Vermont. Faith United Methodist Church, South Burlington, 2-3 p.m. $8 cash or check; free for members. Info, 343-5177.

SUZANNE NOSSEL & ALEKSANDRA GLISZCZYNSKAGRABIA: The PEN America CEO and an assistant professor at the Polish Academy of Sciences debate free speech in this year’s Janus Forum. University of Vermont, Ifshin Hall, Keller Room, Burlington, 3-5 p.m. Free. Info, 656-3186.

tech

MORNING TECH HELP: Experts answer questions about phones, laptops, e-readers and other

devices in one-on-one sessions. South Burlington Public Library & City Hall, 10 a.m.-1 p.m. Free; preregister. Info, 846-4140.

PHONE & TECH SUPPORT: Perplexed patrons receive aid from library staff on a first-come, firstserved basis. Fletcher Free Library New North End Branch, Burlington, 10 a.m.-noon. Free. Info, 863-3403.

theater

‘OUR TOWN’: It’s stick season in Grover’s Corners, N.H.! Viewers take in Thornton Wilder’s timeless tale of love, life and afterlife — intertwined with covers of songs by Noah Kahan. Chandler Center for the Arts, Randolph, 7-9 p.m. $15-25. Info, 728-9878.

‘SWEENEY TODD’: See WED.5. words

KATHLEEN KESSON: An educator and author of Becoming One With the World: A Guide to NeoHumanist Education dives into the future of learning. Jaquith Public Library, Marshfield, 7-9 p.m. Free. Info, 426-3581.

SAT.8 community

‘JOIN OR DIE’ SCREENING & VOLUNTEER FAIR: Community members take in a screening of Pete and Rebecca Davis’ highly

acclaimed 2023 documentary about declining social engagement, followed by a chance to connect with local groups and organizations. Playhouse Movie Theatre, Randolph, 2-4 p.m. Free; preregister. Info, playhouseflicks@gmail.com.

crafts

JUNK NECKLACES: Creative folks design and build a chunky necklace or key chain out of polymer clay, paper and recycled materials. Brownell Library, Essex Junction, 2:30-4 p.m. Free. Info, 878-6956.

ZINES & BUTTON MAKING: Participants learn more about the history of this revolutionary action in self-publishing, then create away. Peace & Justice Center, Burlington, 1-3 p.m. Free. Info, 863-2345.

dance

SATURDAY NIGHT SWING

DANCE: Local Lindy hoppers and jitterbuggers boogie down to lively music from the jazz, big-band and contemporary eras. Bring clean shoes. North Star Community Hall, Burlington, 8-10:30 p.m. $5. Info, 864-8382.

etc.

CABIN FEVER CALCUTTA: A sequin-clad host draws balls one by one for prizes and goodies while attendees enjoy dinner to benefit

the First Congregational Church’s intergenerational service trip. Catamount Country Club, Williston, 5-10 p.m. $150. Info, welcome@ fccej.org.

CABIN FEVER WEEKEND: See FRI.7. SISTERHOOD CAMPFIRE: Women and genderqueer folks gather in a safe and inclusive space to build community through journaling, storytelling, gentle music and stargazing. Leddy Park, Burlington, 7-9 p.m. Free. Info, sisterhoodcampfire@gmail.com.

WILLOWELL FOUNDATION BOOGIE

BENEFIT: Philanthropic merrymakers place bids in a silent auction featuring items from local businesses and artists, then get down to live music by the Almendros. Proceeds benefit the foundation’s scholarships. Holley Hall, Bristol, 6-9:30 p.m. $10; cash bar. Info, almendrosband@gmail.com.

fairs & festivals

CARNEVALE: Partygoers don masks and costumes for a festa featuring senator Patrick Leahy, a silent auction, opera performances, cannoli and photo ops. Proceeds benefit the Vermont Italian Cultural Association. The Essex Resort & Spa, 5:30-9 p.m. $80; preregister; cash bar. Info, 922-0428.

THE VERMONT FLOWER SHOW: See FRI.7.

film

See what’s playing at local theaters in the On Screen section.

‘ANIMAL KINGDOM 3D’: See THU.6.

‘ANTARCTICA 3D’: See THU.6.

‘BLUE WHALES: RETURN OF THE GIANTS 3D’: See THU.6.

‘T. REX: GREATEST OF ALL

TYRANTS 3D’: See THU.6.

‘WALTZ WITH BASHIR’: Ari

Folman’s 2008 animated docudrama chronicles the 1982 invasion of Lebanon. The Screening Room @ VTIFF, Main Street Landing Performing Arts Center, Burlington, 7-9 p.m. $6-12. Info, 660–2600.

food & drink

ADVENTURE DINNER LOVE TREK:

Foodies grab their skis or snowshoes for a two-mile expedition of the woods and indulge in four fire-cooked courses scattered throughout the trail. Blueberry Hill Inn, Goshen, noon-4 p.m. $175. Info, sas@adventuredinner.com.

BURLINGTON WINTER FARMERS

MARKET: More than 40 vendors showcase their finest farm-fresh produce, meats, unique crafts and baked goods. Burlington Beer, 10 a.m.-1 p.m. Free. Info, 560-5904.

DORTMUNDER RELEASE PARTY:

Brew enthusiasts sample the new limited-edition beer, browse merch and enjoy a special gravity keg tapping. Burlington Beer, noon-3 p.m.

Free; price of food and drink. Info, eprovost@trappfamily.com.

SNOWCAT RIDE WITH DINNER: Gastronomes embark on a one-ofa-kind dining excursion featuring a riveting ride to the mid-mountain lodge for a decadent five-course meal. Stratton Mountain Resort, 5:15 p.m. $225-275; preregister. Info, 800-787-2886.

games

BINGO: Daubers in hand, players strive for five in a row — and cash prizes. Proceeds support the restoration efforts of St. Peter’s Historic Preservation Committee. St. Peter’s Catholic Church, Vergennes, 6-9 p.m. $5-10. Info, 877-2367.

CHESS CLUB: All ages and abilities face off and learn new strategies. South Burlington Public Library & City Hall, 11 a.m.-2 p.m. Free. Info, 846-4140.

D&D & TTRPG GROUP: Fans of Dungeons & Dragons and other tabletop role-playing games embark on a new adventure with a rotating cast of game masters. Virtual option available. Waterbury Public Library, 1-5 p.m. Free. Info, judi@ waterburypubliclibrary.com.

LEARN TO PLAY MAH-JONGG: Expert tile trader Pauline Nolte leads players through the Chinese and American versions of the ancient game. Waterbury Public Library, 10:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m.

Free; preregister. Info, judi@ waterburypubliclibrary.com.

language

FRENCH CONVERSATION FOR ALL: Native French speaker Romain Feuillette guides an informal discussion group for all ages and abilities. Dorothy Alling Memorial Library, Williston, 10:30-11:30 a.m. Free; preregister; limited space. Info, 878-4918.

IRISH LANGUAGE CLASS: Local Chris Branagan leads an informational session on Gaelic for curious beginners. Fletcher Free Library, Burlington, noon-12:15 p.m. Free. Info, 363-6330.

music

BURLINGTON CIVIC SYMPHONY:

Guest conductor Kim Diehnelt leads the ensemble in a rousing spring program of works by Giuseppe Verdi, Franz Schubert and Johannes Brahms. Elley-Long Music Center, Saint Michael’s College, Colchester, 7-9 p.m. $5-25. Info, 800-762-8000.

CELTIC MUSIC BENEFIT CONCERT: Listeners tap their toes to upbeat Irish ditties in support of Ecolé Vocational Jean Despagne Félix in Haiti. Good Shepherd Lutheran Church, Jericho, 7-8:30 p.m. By donation. Info, 238-5686.

DÀIMH: A Scottish Highland folk band joins forces with

genre-defying Cantrip and Highland Dance of Vermont for an unforgettable performance. Lake Morey Resort, Fairlee, 7-9 p.m. $15. Info, 748-2600.

‘HOW TO STAY SANE WHILE LOSING YOUR MIND’: See FRI.7, 4 p.m.

HUNTERTONES: A six-piece band redefines the modern jazz experience with danceable, funky grooves that venture in the direction of New Orleans street music. See calendar spotlight. Vermont Jazz Center, Brattleboro, 7:30 p.m. $25-60 sliding scale. Info, 2549088, ext. 1.

LEE ROCKER: Listeners get ready to rock this town with a high-octane performance by the bass player of acclaimed rockabilly revivalist band the Stray Cats. Lebanon Opera House, N.H., 7:30 p.m. $29-39. Info, 603-448-0400.

RAMBLETREE: See WED.5. O’Dwyer’s Public House, Killington, 6-9 p.m.

‘SONGS AND ARIAS’: The college’s music department vocal students present a lively evening of works showcasing their talents. Virtual option available. Robison Concert Hall, Mahaney Arts Center, Middlebury College, 7:30-9 p.m. Free. Info, 443-5000.

outdoors

GROUP RIDE & COMMUNITY

SHOP-AND-SIP: Cyclists join up for a fat bike cruise around town, then stop by the shop for free coffee and mingling with other riders. Mountain Trail Paddle Board and Bikes, Colchester, 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Free. Info, 503-9418.

MT. MOOSALAMOO: Adventurers join up with the Green Mountain Club for a moderately paced hike to the summit. Microspikes and snowshoes required. Call for start time. Moosalamoo National Recreation Area, Goshen. Free; preregister. Info, 660-2834.

québec

MONTRÉAL EN LUMIÈRE: See WED.5.

seminars

EDITING WITH ADOBE PREMIERE

PRO: Participants discover how to conﬁgure their workspace, import and organize media, and create a ﬁnished program. e Media Factory, Burlington, 1-3 p.m. Free; donations accepted; preregister. Info, 651-9692.

MINDFUL MOVEMENT: Health

coach Becky Widschwenter teaches participants how to connect with their authentic values and desires and create inspired action through movement. Waterbury Public Library, 10:30 a.m. Free; preregister. Info, 244-7036.

sports

RED BULL SLIDE-IN TOUR: Snow sports fans gather on the slopes to ride with X Games gold medalist Zeb Powell and a stacked roster of professional athletes. See killington.com for full schedule. Killington Resort. Price of lift ticket. Info, 800-621-6867.

UVM MEN’S ICE HOCKEY GAME: See THU.6.

talks

REBECCA SMITH: A textile artist shares illuminating facts about transparent weaving. Virtual option available. White River Craft Center, Randolph, 10 a.m. Free. Info, weaver@vtweaversguild.org.

tech

PHONE & TECH SUPPORT: See FRI.7. Fletcher Free Library, Burlington.

theater

‘OUR TOWN’: See FRI.7.

words

BILL DRISLANE: A published local poet engages listeners with captivating recitations. Fletcher Free Library, Burlington, 4-5 p.m. Free. Info, 363-6330.

CHRIS BOHJALIAN: A New York Times bestselling author releases his 25th novel, e Jackal’s Mistress in conversation with Washington Post columnist Garrett M. Graff. Phoenix Books, Burlington, 7 p.m. $29-34; preregister. Info, 448-3350.

COLIN THOMPSON: A Vermont ﬁlmmaker turned author launches his debut novel, e Spoils with a Q&A hosted by Guster’s Ryan Miller and live music from Bill Mullins & Friends. Light Club Lamp Shop, Burlington, 5:30-7 p.m. Free. Info, thespoilsbook@ gmail.com.

NATHANIEL IAN MILLER: A local author reads from his new atmospheric novel, Red Dog Farm, in conversation with fellow writer Miciah Bay Gault. e Norwich Bookstore, 2-3 p.m. Free. Info, 649-1114.

THE POETRY EXPERIENCE: Local wordsmith Rajnii Eddins hosts a supportive writing and sharing circle for poets of all ages. Fletcher Free Library, Burlington, 1-3 p.m. Free. Info, 863-3403. WRITE NOW!: Lit lovers of all experience levels hone their craft in a supportive and critique-free environment. Kellogg-Hubbard Library, Montpelier, 10 a.m.-noon. Free. Info, 223-3338.

SUN.9 activism

ANTISEMITISM SYMPOSIUM: Community members come together for an afternoon of resilience building, featuring keynote speaker Dr. Susannah Heschel and informative workshops. Congregation Shir Shalom, Woodstock, 1-5:30 p.m. Free. Info, 457-4840.

bazaars

ANTIQUES MARKET: Vintage lovers scour unique treasures and timeless ﬁnds in a relaxed atmosphere. Canadian Club, Barre, 8 a.m.-1 p.m. $2-5. Info, 751-6138. business

THE POWER OF WOMEN IN LEADERSHIP: A panel delves into the challenges and successes of trailblazing female business leaders in Vermont. A mixer follows. Lawson’s Finest Liquids, Waitsﬁeld, 4-6 p.m. Free; preregister. Info, 496-4677.

community

HUMAN CONNECTION CIRCLE: Neighbors share stories from their lives and forge deep bonds. 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.5, 1-3 p.m.

dance

CELTIC COMPANY: A local troupe of classically trained Scottish Highland and Irish dancers performs a stirring mix of traditional and contemporary choreography. Rí Rá Irish Pub & Whiskey Room, Burlington, 1-2 p.m. Free. Info, 363-6330.

DANCE, SING & JUMP AROUND: Live music energizes an afternoon

Funk It Up

Swingin’ sextet Huntertones head to the Vermont Jazz Center in Brattleboro for an evening of danceable funk grooves and soulful New Orleans street sounds. Since its formation at Ohio State University in 2010, the group has globe-trotted to more than 25 countries, collaborating with renowned musicians from South America, Africa and Europe as part of a U.S. State Department program dating back to president Dwight D. Eisenhower. (Quite an honor, considering original ambassadors include the likes of Louis Armstrong and Duke Ellington.) Known for varied sets spanning from hard bop to gospel, the band might also surprise listeners with a cleverly arranged pop mashup or two.

HUNTERTONES

Saturday, March 8, 7:30 p.m., at the Vermont Jazz Center in Brattleboro. $25-60 sliding scale. Info, 254-9088, ext. 1, vtjazz.org.

of circle and line dances taught and called by Liz Benjamin. Capital City Grange, Berlin, 3-4:30 p.m. $5 suggested donation; free for kids. Info, 223-1509.

fairs & festivals

THE VERMONT FLOWER SHOW: See FRI.7, 10 a.m.-4 p.m.

See what’s playing at local theaters in the On Screen section.

‘ANIMAL KINGDOM 3D’: See THU.6.

‘ANTARCTICA 3D’: See THU.6.

‘BLUE WHALES: RETURN OF THE GIANTS 3D’: See THU.6.

‘IF I COULD RIDE 2’: Lovers of local ﬁlm take in the premiere of Don Miller’s 2025 drama about a young woman trapped in the dark world of opioid abuse. Lebanon Opera House, N.H., 2 p.m. $7; free for kids 12 and under. Info, 603-448-0400.

‘T. REX: GREATEST OF ALL TYRANTS 3D’: See THU.6.

food & drink

VIRTUAL PASTA COOKING CLASS: Gastronomes learn how to make delicious dishes that blend Italian tradition with fresh New England ingredients. Hosted by Trenchers Farmhouse. 5 p.m. Free; preregister. Info, 650-224-5533.

games

DUPLICATE BRIDGE GAMES: See THU.6, 1-4:30 p.m.

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.

NEW LEAF SANGHA

MINDFULNESS PRACTICE: New and experienced meditators alike practice together in the Plum

Village tradition of ich Nhat Hanh. Hot Yoga Burlington, 6-7:45 p.m. Free. Info, newleafsangha@ gmail.com. lgbtq

CRAFT CLUB: Creative queer folks work on their knitting, crocheting and sewing projects. Rainbow Bridge Community Center, Barre, 10 a.m.-noon. Free. Info, 622-0692. music

ALTHEA SULLY COLE: A multi-instrumentalist, vocalist and ethnomusicologist performs songs featuring the 21-stringed West African kora. Artistree Community Arts Center, South Pomfret, 3 p.m. $15. Info, 457-3500.

GOLDSTEIN-PELED-FITERSTEIN

TRIO: ree virtuosic artists join forces for a classical music program with piano, cello and clarinet. South Church Hall, St. Johnsbury, 3-5 p.m. $6-20. Info, 745-9544.

JOE CROOKSTON: e winner of Folk Alliance International’s 2009 Album of the Year award draws in audience members with infectious songs paired with humor and wit. Roots & Wings Coffeehouse at UUCUV, Norwich, 4-5:45 p.m. $17.60. Info, 649-8828.

LÚNASA: An Irish music band reshapes the boundaries of tradition with complex arrangements and a unique sound. Strand Center eatre, Plattsburgh, N.Y., 4-6 p.m. $17-37. Info, 518-293-7613.

TRINITY PRESENTS:

AMPERSAND: A world-class vocal chamber ensemble performs

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.

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

= GET TICKETS ON SEVENDAYSTICKETS.COM

“Lamentation,” a program of English polyphony from the 15th and 16th centuries. Trinity Episcopal Church, Rutland, 4-5:30 p.m. Free. Info, 775-4368.

outdoors

MT. HUNGER & WHITE ROCK: Adventurers join up with the Green Mountain Club for a moderately paced loop hike. Microspikes and snowshoes required. Call for start time. Middlesex Trailhead, North Middlesex. Free; preregister by March 7. Info, jillghiker@gmail.com.

québec

MONTRÉAL EN LUMIÈRE: See WED.5.

theater

‘OUR TOWN’: See FRI.7, 2-4 p.m.

words

CHRIS BOHJALIAN: “Vermont Edition” host Mikaela Lefrak interviews the New York Times bestselling author about his 25th novel, The Jackal’s Mistress. A Q&A follows. Town Hall Theater, Middlebury, 4-5:30 p.m. Free; preregister. Info, 382-9222.

FOOD FOR TALK BOOK CLUB: Cooking enthusiasts gather for a chat about Colombiana: A Rediscovery of Recipes and Rituals from the Soul of Colombia by Mariana Velásquez. Fletcher Free Library, Burlington, 3-5 p.m. Free; preregister. Info, bshatara@ burlingtonvt.gov.

GREG DELANTY: An Irish educator and poet recites stirring works for the Burlington Irish Heritage Festival. Rí Rá Irish Pub & Whiskey

Room, Burlington, 4-5 p.m. Free. Info, 363-6330.

MON.10

community

JUST LIKE A BOOK, MORE THAN MY COVER: Library artist-in-residence Ferene Paris leads a dynamic three-part program encouraging multigenerational dialogue about self-identity, external appearances and the stories that define us. Kellogg-Hubbard Library, Montpelier, 6-7 p.m. Free; preregister. Info, 223-3338.

crafts

COLLAGE COLLECTIVE: Creatives of all experience levels cut, paste and make works of wonder. Virtual

options available. Expressive Arts Burlington, 6:30-9 p.m. Free; donations accepted. Info, 343-8172.

FUSE BEADS CLUB: Aspiring artisans bring ideas or borrow patterns to make beaded creations. Kellogg-Hubbard Library, Montpelier, 3:30-5 p.m. Free. Info, 223-3338.

dance

WEST AFRICAN DANCE & DRUM CLASS: Participants learn songs, rhythms and movements to the beat of live music. Ages 13 and up. Wilson Hall, McCullough Student Center, Middlebury College, 4:30-6 p.m. Free. Info, 443-6433.

film

See what’s playing at local theaters in the On Screen section.

‘ANIMAL KINGDOM 3D’: See THU.6.

‘ANTARCTICA 3D’: See THU.6.

‘BLUE WHALES: RETURN OF THE GIANTS 3D’: See THU.6.

‘T. REX: GREATEST OF ALL TYRANTS 3D’: See THU.6.

games

BURLINGTON ELKS BINGO: Players grab their daubers for a competitive night of card stamping for cash prizes. Burlington Elks Lodge, 6 p.m. Various prices. Info, 802-862-1342.

health & fitness

LAUGHTER YOGA: Spontaneous, joyful movement and breath promote physical and emotional health. Virtual option available. Pathways Vermont, Burlington, 1:15-2:15 p.m. Free. Info, 777-8691.

language

GERMAN LANGUAGE LUNCH: Willkommen! Speakers of all experience levels brush up on conversational skills over bagged lunches. Kellogg-Hubbard Library, Montpelier, noon-1 p.m. Free. Info, 223-3338.

seminars

PEER LEADER TRAINING: See FRI.7, 1-3:30 p.m.

talks

ED MCGUIRE: The Vermont Genealogy Library president provides a brief history of Irish immigration to North America, then outlines major problems facing researchers today. A Q&A follows. Vermont Genealogy Library, Essex

Junction, 7-8 p.m. Free; preregister. Info, 363-6330.

words

ORAL HISTORY WRITING

WORKSHOP: Author Mark Pendergrast leads this weekly workshop in which participants interview family members and friends, then transcribe and edit their recordings into readable histories. Fletcher Free Library New

North End Branch, Burlington, 2-3 p.m. Free. Info, 863-3403. READ LIKE A WRITER: New England Readers & Writers hosts a virtual reading group for lit lovers to chat about short stories, both contemporary and classic. 6:30-8 p.m. Free. Info, 372-1132.

SCRIPTWRITERS’ GROUP: Got a story to tell? Talented local writers swap techniques and constructive critiques. Junction Arts & Media, White River Junction,

FAMI LY FU N

stowe/smuggs

WEE ONES PLAYTIME: 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

BUSY BEES PLAYGROUP: Blocks, toys, books and songs engage little ones 24 months and younger. Waterbury Public Library, 10-11:30 a.m. Free. Info, 244-7036.

northeast kingdom

ACORN CLUB STORY TIME: Youngsters 5 and under play, sing, hear stories and color. St. Johnsbury Athenaeum, 10:1510:45 a.m. Free. Info, 745-1391.

FRI.7

burlington

‘HEATHERS: THE MUSICAL’: Very Merry Theatre’s talented teens star in this dark musical comedy about a brainy and beautiful teenage misfit, based on the 1989 cult-classic film. O.N.E. Community Center, Burlington, 7 p.m. Free. Info, 355-1461.

chittenden county

HOMESCHOOL SOCIAL: Families meet for a morning of socializing, exploring, and learning about the library’s catalog and resources. South Burlington Public Library & City Hall, 9:30-10:30 a.m. Free. Info, 846-4140.

LEGO BUILDERS: Mini makers explore and create new worlds with stackable blocks. Recommended for ages 6 and up. South Burlington Public Library & City Hall, 3-4:30 p.m. Free. Info, 846-4140.

MUSIC TIME: Little patrons ages birth to 5 sing and dance with legendary local musician Linda Bassick. Brownell Library, Essex Junction, 10-10:30 a.m. Free. Info, 878-6956.

TEEN ADVISORY GROUP: Students in grades 6 to 12 help plan future library programs while hanging out and enjoying lit-themed games. Brownell Library, Essex Junction, 4-5 p.m. Free. Info, 878-6956.

barre/montpelier

LEGO CLUB: Budding builders create geometric structures with snap-together

5:30-7 p.m. Free; preregister. Info, 295-6688.

TUE.11

business

CEDRR MARCH MIXER: Chamber and Economic Development of the Rutland Region hosts a night of networking, food, prizes and activities. Vista Senior Living, Killington, 5-7 p.m. Free. Info, 773-2747.

blocks. Kellogg-Hubbard Library, Montpelier, 3:30-5 p.m. Free. Info, 223-3338.

STORY TIME & PLAYGROUP: Participants ages 5 and under enjoy themed science, art and nature activities. Jaquith Public Library, Marshfield, 10:30 a.m. Free. Info, 426-3581.

SUGAR ON SNOW: Families delight in the traditional Vermont delicacy featuring hot maple syrup, crushed ice, a genuine raised donut and ... pickles! Morse Farm Maple Sugarworks, Montpelier, noon-4 p.m. $8.95. Info, 223-2740.

upper valley

STORY TIME: Preschoolers take part in tales, tunes and playtime. Latham Library, Thetford, 11 a.m. Free. Info, 785-4361.

northeast kingdom

PRESCHOOL STORY TIME: Youngsters and their caregivers delight in beautiful books, silly songs, creative crafts and unplugged play in the library’s cozy children’s room. Craftsbury Public Library, Craftsbury Common, 10 a.m. Free. Info, 586-9683.

SAT.8 burlington

‘HEATHERS: THE MUSICAL’: See FRI.7, 2 & 7 p.m.

COLLEGE & CAREER PATHWAYS: Hey, high schooler — prepping for what comes next? Local experts lead workshops on topics such as finding the right college fit, navigating the admissions process and exploring other postgrad interests. Davis Center, University of Vermont, Burlington, 1-5 p.m. Free. Info, 877-961-4369.

FAMILY PLAYSHOP: Wee ones ages birth to 5 explore a range of themes and rotating activities designed to promote school readiness and foster creativity. Fletcher Free Library, Burlington, 10-11:30 a.m. Free. Info, 863-3403.

FLYNNZONE KIDS HOUR: BESPOKE

FOLKTALES: Looking for adventure? Families embark on a magical journey as stories come to life right before their eyes. The Flynn, Burlington, 10 a.m. Free; preregister. Info, 863-5966.

chittenden county

CONNECTIONS & PLAY: Children with autism and other disabilities and their caregivers have fun, connect and support one another in a group setting. Brownell Library, Essex Junction, 11 a.m.-noon. Free. Info, 878-6956.

FRENCH STORY TIME: Kids of all ages listen and learn to native speaker Romain

FRESHTRACKS PEAK PITCH: A shared chairlift ride provides an opportunity for aspiring entrepreneurs to network with potential investors on the slopes. Sugarbush Resort, Warren, 8 a.m.-2 p.m. Free; preregister. Info, 923-1500.

community

CURRENT EVENTS DISCUSSION GROUP: Brownell Library holds a virtual roundtable for neighbors to pause

Feuillette raconte une histoire. Dorothy Alling Memorial Library, Williston, 10:1510:45 a.m. Free. Info, 878-4918.

SELF-DEFENSE WORKSHOP: Kidpower Vermont director Laura Slesar leads a program designed to support teens who identify as female in a variety of self-defense techniques. Pierson Library, Shelburne, 1-5 p.m. Free; preregister. Info, kbosley@shelburnevt.org.

barre/montpelier

KIDS TRADE & PLAY: Neighbors swap or shop gently used clothing, shoes, books and toys. Capital City Grange, Berlin, 9:30-11:30 a.m. Free; donations accepted. Info, 337-8632. SUGAR ON SNOW: See FRI.7.

champlain islands/ northwest

VERMONT RAILS MODEL RAILROAD SHOW: Choo choo! Rail fans chug through a day packed with exhibits, vendors, supplies and hands-on train activities. Collins Perley Sports and Fitness Center, St. Albans, 10 a.m.-4 p.m. $2-8; free for kids under 6. Info, 339-832-9178.

upper valley

ASTRONOMY DAY: Starry-eyed families revel in an annual celebration of all things celestial, including hands-on space demonstrations, a gravity well and a chance to examine meteorites up close. Montshire Museum of Science, Norwich, 10 a.m.-5 p.m. $17-20; free for members and children under 2. Info, 649-2200.

northeast kingdom

WEEE! DANCE PARTY: Little ones and their caregivers express themselves through movement at this free-wheeling DJ-driven bash. Highland Center for the Arts, Greensboro, 2-3 p.m. $5 suggested donation; preregister. Info, 533-2000.

SUN.9 burlington

DAD GUILD: Fathers (and parents of all genders) and their kids ages 5 and under drop in for playtime and connection. Fletcher Free Library, Burlington, 3:30-5 p.m. Free. Info, 863-3403.

DUNGEONS & DRAGONS: Tabletop role-players ages 9 to 18 practice their craft with the library’s newest dungeon master, Andrew. Fletcher Free Library, Burlington, noon-4 p.m. Free; preregister. Info, 863-3403.

‘HEATHERS: THE MUSICAL’: See FRI.7, 4 p.m.

SENSORY-FRIENDLY SUNDAY: Folks of all ages with sensory processing differences have the museum to themselves, with

and reflect on the news cycle. 10-11:30 a.m. Free. Info, 878-6955.

LAKE CHAMPLAIN MEMORY CAFÉ: Those living with dementia and their caregivers gather to make friends and have fun. Fletcher Free Library New North End Branch, Burlington, 11 a.m.noon. Free. Info, 863-3403.

THE MOTH STORYSLAM: BEEF: Folks get five minutes to regale listeners with tales about bad blood and the grudges that just won’t quit. Town Hall Theater,

adjusted lights and sounds and trusty sensory backpacks. ECHO Leahy Center for Lake Champlain, Burlington, 9-10 a.m. Free; preregister. Info, kvonderlinn@ echovermont.org.

chittenden county

SOCIAL SUNDAYS: Families participate in fun and educational art activities with diverse mediums and themes. All supplies and instruction provided. Milton Artists’ Guild Art Center & Gallery, 1-3 p.m. Free. Info, 891-2014.

barre/montpelier

GENDER CREATIVE KIDS: Trans and gender-nonconforming kiddos under 13 and their families build community and make new friends at this joyful monthly gathering. Locations vary; contact organizer for info. Various locations statewide, 2-4 p.m. Free; preregister. Info, 865-9677. SUGAR ON SNOW: See FRI.7.

MON.10

KIDS IN THE KITCHEN: Dietitian Joanne Heidkamp leads families in making a fun recipe from the comfort of their own homes. Hosted by Brownell Library in collaboration with Dorothy Alling Memorial Library. 4-5 p.m. Free; preregister. Info, 878-6956.

burlington

PRESCHOOL STORY TIME: Bookworms ages 2 to 5 enjoy a fun-filled reading time. Fletcher Free Library, Burlington, 11-11:30 a.m. Free. Info, 863-3403.

chittenden county

POKÉMON CLUB: Players trade cards and enjoy activities centered on their favorite strategic game. Dorothy Alling Memorial Library, Williston, 4-5 p.m. Free. Info, 878-4918.

mad river valley/ waterbury

TODDLER TIME: Little tykes ages 5 and under have a blast with songs, stories, rhymes and dancing. Waterbury Public Library, 10:30 a.m. Free. Info, 244-7036.

TUE.11

burlington

SING-ALONG WITH LINDA BASSICK: Babies, toddlers and preschoolers sing, dance and wiggle along with Linda. Fletcher Free Library, Burlington, 11-11:30 a.m. Free. Info, 863-3403.

chittenden county

AFTERSCHOOL ART PROJECTS: Crafty youngsters in grades 2 and up create

Middlebury, 7-8:45 p.m. $17.50. Info, 382-9222.

crafts

COZY CRAFTING CLUB: Hobbyists gather to hone their skills and make new friends. South Burlington Public Library & City Hall, 5-6:45 p.m. Free; preregister. Info, 846-4140.

colorful woven baskets from paper bowls and yarn. Brownell Library, Essex Junction, 3:30-4:30 p.m. Free. Info, 878-6956.

CRAFTYTOWN: Kiddos express their inner artist using mediums such as paint, print, collage and sculpture. Recommended for ages 6 and up. South Burlington Public Library & City Hall, 3-4 p.m. Free. Info, 846-4140.

STORY TIME: Youngsters ages birth to 5 enjoy a session of reading, rhyming and singing. Dorothy Alling Memorial Library, Williston, 10:30-11 a.m. Free. Info, 878-4918.

TODDLER TIME: Wiggly wee ones ages 1 and up love this lively, interactive storybook experience featuring songs, rhymes and finger plays. South Burlington Public Library & City Hall, 9:15-9:45 & 10:30-11 a.m. Free. Info, 846-4140.

barre/montpelier

STORY TIME: See THU.6.

mad river valley/ waterbury

WATERCOLOR FOR KIDS: Artist Pauline Nolte leads little painters in grades 2 to 4 in exploration and expression. Waterbury Public Library, 3-4 p.m. Free; preregister. Info, 244-7036.

northeast kingdom

HOMESCHOOL HISTORY FAIR: Families learn about the world with displays and facts about various time periods, events and figures. St. Johnsbury Athenaeum, 10 a.m. Free; preregister. Info, 748-8291.

PRESCHOOL STORY TIME: See FRI.7.

WED.12

burlington

LEGO TIME: Mini makers ages 4 to 11 design and build original, colorful creations. Fletcher Free Library New North End Branch, Burlington, 11 a.m.-noon. Free. Info, 863-3403.

STEAM SPACE: See WED.5.

TODDLER TIME: See WED.5. chittenden county

BABY TIME: See WED.5. GAME ON!: See WED.5.

PLAY TIME: See WED.5.

PLAYGROUP & STORY TIME: See WED.5.

barre/montpelier

HOMESCHOOL BOOK GROUP: Kids ages 10 to 15 who learn at home bond over books. Kellogg-Hubbard Library, Montpelier, 1-2 p.m. Free. Info, 223-3338. K

THU.6

dance

SWING DANCE PRACTICE

SESSION: All ages and experience levels shake a leg in this friendly, casual environment designed for learning. Bring clean shoes. North Star Community Hall, Burlington, 8-9:30 p.m. $5. Info, 864-8382.

film See what’s playing at local theaters in the On Screen section.

‘ANIMAL KINGDOM 3D’: See THU.6.

‘ANTARCTICA 3D’: See THU.6.

‘BLUE WHALES: RETURN OF THE GIANTS 3D’: See THU.6.

‘T. REX: GREATEST OF ALL TYRANTS 3D’: See THU.6.

games

DUPLICATE BRIDGE GAMES: See THU.6.

health & fitness

COMMUNITY MEDITATION: All experience levels and ages engage in the ancient Buddhist practice of clearing the mind to achieve a state of calm. First Unitarian Universalist Society of Burlington, 5:15-6 p.m. Free; donations accepted. Info, 862-5630.

language

FRENCH CONVERSATION GROUP: Francophones and language learners meet pour parler la belle langue. Fletcher Free Library, Burlington, 5-7:30 p.m. Free. Info, 863-3403.

ITALIAN LANGUAGE LUNCH: Speakers hone their skills in the Romance language over bagged lunches. Kellogg-Hubbard Library, Montpelier, noon-1 p.m. Free. Info, 223-3338.

music

IRISH SLOW MUSIC SESSION: Newbies to the genre play tunes and share resources in an informal and welcoming setting.

Fletcher Free Library, Burlington, 6-7:15 p.m. Free; donations accepted; preregister. Info, denisedean15@gmail.com.

VERMONT’S FREEDOM & UNITY CHORUS: Singers come together for a weekly rehearsal inspiring positive change through the power of music. Chapel of Saint Michael the Archangel, Saint Michael’s College, Colchester, 7-9 p.m. $35 annual dues. Info, vermonts freedomandunitychorus@gmail. com.

seminars

TENANT SKILLS WORKSHOP: The Champlain Valley Office of Economic Opportunity helps new and experienced renters gain a better understanding of their rights. 5-6:30 p.m. Free; preregister. Info, 660-3456.

words

BURLINGTON LITERATURE GROUP: Bookworms analyze Nobel laureate Saul Bellow’s novels Henderson the Rain King and Herzog over the course of nine weeks. 6:30-8 p.m. Free. Info, info@nereadersand writers.com.

POETRY GROUP: A supportive drop-in group welcomes those who would like to share and listen to verse. South Burlington Public Library & City Hall, 11 a.m.-noon. Free. Info, 846-4140.

SUSAN WEISS: A visual storyteller shares her new monograph, The Orchard, featuring abstract color images of a Vermont apple orchard photographed during the COVID-19 pandemic. The Norwich Bookstore, 7-8 p.m. Free. Info, 649-1114.

WRITING CIRCLE: Words pour out when participants explore creative expression in a low-pressure environment. Virtual option available. Pathways Vermont, Burlington, 4-5:30 p.m. Free. Info, 777-8691.

WED.12

agriculture

GRAIN GROWERS CONFERENCE:

Red Hen Baking founder Randy George keynotes this agricultural gathering centered on the theme of “The Links of a Local Grain Supply Chain.” The Essex Resort & Spa, 9 a.m.-5:30 p.m. $50-85. Info, 524-6501.

business

QUEEN CITY BUSINESS

NETWORKING INTERNATIONAL GROUP: See WED.5. SOCIAL MEDIA ON YOUR SCHEDULE: Winfield

Creative chief inspiration officer Brittany Winfield guides listeners in simple, effective strategies to help maximize their time on social media. Hosted by Women Business Owners Network of Vermont. 8:30-10 a.m. Free; preregister. Info, 503-0219.

climate crisis

M.D. USHER: In “Fire Sermons: Shakyamuni, Seneca and Thoreau on Climate Trauma,” a University of Vermont professor draws from his new book to explore human-driven natural disasters. Virtual option available. Brownell Library, Essex Junction, 4-5 p.m. Free; preregister. Info, 878-6955.

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.

‘JOIN OR DIE’ SCREENING & MIXER: See THU.6. Vermont Public, Colchester, 6-8 p.m.

crafts

GREEN MOUNTAIN CHAPTER OF THE EMBROIDERERS’ GUILD OF AMERICA: Anyone with an interest in the needle arts can 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: See WED.5.

film

See what’s playing at local theaters in the On Screen section.

NXT ROCKUMENTARY FILM SERIES: ‘THE BEATLES: THE FIRST U.S. VISIT’: This riveting 1991 documentary by the Maysles brothers captures the Fab Four in an intimate, unguarded way. Next Stage Arts, Putney, 7 p.m. $8. Info, 387-0102.

‘THE ROOM NEXT DOOR’: Julianne Moore and Tilda Swinton star in Pedro Almodóvar’s 2024 psychological drama about two women immersing themselves in their pasts. The Screening Room @ VTIFF, Main Street Landing Performing Arts Center, Burlington, 7-9 p.m. $6-12. Info, 660-2600.

food & drink

COMMUNITY COOKING: See WED.5.

games

CHESS CLUB: See WED.5.

health & fitness

CHAIR YOGA: See WED.5.

lgbtq

QUEER WRITERS’ 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.

music

FARMERS NIGHT: THE VERMONT SYMPHONIC WINDS: Music director Lisa Jablow conducts the ensemble of musicians and vocalists in a vibrant performance of classical and contemporary

selections. House Chamber, Vermont Statehouse, Montpelier, 7:30 p.m. Free. Info, 262-2626.

seminars

GREEN SCREEN LIGHTING

TECHNIQUES: Film students learn how to ensure clean extractions and realistic background integration to give their projects a polished, professional look. The Media Factory, Burlington, 6-8 p.m. Free; donations accepted; preregister. Info, 651-9692.

NORTHEAST KINGDOM COUNCIL ON AGING PRESENTATION: Curious folks hear more about the council’s services and how it supports older adults in the community. St. Johnsbury Athenaeum, 1:30-2:30 p.m. Free. Info, 748-8291.

SUSTAINING THE RENT WORKSHOP: The Champlain Valley Office of Economic Opportunity helps renters develop the knowledge and skills needed to meet their housing needs. Noon-1:30 p.m. Free; preregister. Info, 660-3456.

sports

GREEN MOUNTAIN TABLE TENNIS CLUB: See WED.5.

talks

LEAGUE OF WOMEN VOTERS LECTURE SERIES: WILLIAM CLARK & CABOT

TEACHOUT: Two attorneys delve into a recent Supreme Court ruling and current legislative action related to gun regulations in Vermont. Hosted by KelloggHubbard Library. 7-8:30 p.m. Free; preregister. Info, 229-4737. NIKKI MATHESON: In “Paris Beyond the Eiffel Tower,” a local French teacher guides listeners on a virtual tour of the City of Light’s lesser-known sites. 6-7 p.m. Free; preregister. Info, 922-3971.

SPRING SPEAKER SERIES: ARTHUR CHUKHMAN & ERIC

MORROW: Two seasoned local architects present a deep dive into the form and detailing of passive architecture. Yestermorrow Design/Build School, Waitsfield, 6:30-8 p.m. Free. Info, 496-5545. theater

‘COME FROM AWAY’: This Tony Award-winning musical tells the stirring true story of a small Newfoundland town that hosted 7,000 stranded travelers on 9/11. Flynn Main Stage, Burlington, 7:30 p.m. $70.50-105.50. Info, 863-5966.

‘WAITRESS’: A playful score by Grammy nominee Sara Bareilles lends boundless joy to this Broadway smash hit about making big changes. Barrette Center for the Arts, White River Junction, 7:30 p.m. $5-94. Info, 296-7000. words

ANGELA PATTEN: An Irish American poet joins forces with the venue’s standing Irish Traditional Music Session to share readings and recitations. ArtsRiot, Burlington, 6-9 p.m. Free. Info, 363-6330.

DAVID MARTIN: A Lyndon author launches his collection of five gripping nonfiction tales, David’s Stories. St. Johnsbury Athenaeum, 6-7 p.m. Free. Info, 748-8291. FFL BOOK DISCUSSION

GROUP: Fletcher Free Library patrons gab about Ann Napolitano’s heart-wrenching family drama Hello Beautiful 6:30-8 p.m. Free; preregister. Info, bshatara@burlingtonvt.gov.

POETRY POTLUCK: Folks who are passionate about prose gather to swap dishes and words in a welcoming environment. Whirligig Brewing, St. Johnsbury, 7-9 p.m. Free. Info, acampbell@ catamountarts.org. ➆

THE FOLLOWING CLASS LISTINGS ARE PAID

ADVERTISEMENTS. ANNOUNCE YOUR CLASS FOR AS LITTLE AS $16.75/WEEK (INCLUDES SIX PHOTOS AND UNLIMITED DESCRIPTION ONLINE). SUBMIT YOUR CLASS AD AT SEVENDAYSVT.COM/POSTCLASS.

art

DAVIS STUDIO ART CLASSES:

Discover your happy place in one of our weekly classes, where joy and community blossom. Art is a powerful way to connect, express, and grow — together. We offer afterschool and weekend classes for youths and specialized drawing, painting and fusedglass classes for adults. Enroll today and let your creativity shine! Location: Davis Studio, 916 Shelburne Rd., S. Burlington. Info: 425-2700, davisstudiovt.com.

culinary

MAPLE-THEMED COOKIE

DECORATING: Learn the art of outlining and ﬂooding the perfect confection. Class participants will decorate ﬁve maple-themed sweets, gaining a grasp on icing consistency and dimension. Each student will leave with their desserts, a cookie goodie bag and a guide to re-create your favorites all over again at home! urs., Mar. 13, 6-8 p.m. Cost: $70. Location: Red Poppy Cakery, 1 Elm St., Waterbury Village Historic District. Info: 914-610-5275, sevendaystickets.com.

dance

Plainﬁeld. Info: 224-7100, info@vtherbcenter.org, vtherbcenter.org.

language

ALLIANCE FRANÇAISE SPRING

SESSION: e Alliance Française of the Lake Champlain Region is offering a new series of French classes for adults from beginner through advanced levels. e spring session begins on Mar. 17. Registration is open now! Specific class offerings may be found at the Alliance Francaise website. Location: Alliance Française, 43 King St., Burlington, or on Zoom. Info: Marc Juneau, education@aflcr. org, aflcr.org.

by 1 hour of practice. Location: 802 Fusion Dance, 1881 Williston Rd., S. Burlington. Info: Scott, 425-502-5564, tango.elcamino@ gmail.com.

herbs

HERBAL ROOTS

martial arts

INCLUSIVE MARTIAL ARTS:

Offering martial arts that will strengthen your body and your mind, we foster a collaborative community for a diverse range of individuals. Our practices include Muay ai, Brazilian jiujitsu, and Filipino and ai combat arts. We offer four weekly classes and themed mini classes such as improvised weapons, knife defense, Filipino dirty boxing and more. Location: Green Mountain Martial Arts Collaborative, Burlington. Info: 316-8896, info@ greenmountainmartialarts.com, greenmountainmartialarts.com.

nature

EARTH CARE HOMESCHOOL

COURSE SPRING

2025: Earth

sports

BIKE MECHANICS 101 6-PART SERIES: In these workshops, learn the basics of bike care. Breaking down complex topics to get to the nuts and bolts of it all, instructors will review the anatomy of the bike, how to ﬁx a ﬂat, wheel truing, brake cable and pad installation, and more! u., 6-8 p.m., starting Mar 13; Fri., 11 a.m.-1 p.m., starting Mar 14. Cost: $300 for 6 sessions. Location: Old Spokes Home, 331 North Winooski Ave., Burlington. Info: 863-4475, sevendaystickets.com.

FREE LACROSSE CLINICS IN MARCH: Free clinics for boys and girls! Equipment available if needed. Newcomers welcome! Register for spring lacrosse season starting in Apr. for girls and boys in grades K-8. Burlington Youth Lacrosse is committed to providing an opportunity for every child in Burlington, regardless of their ability to pay. Mar. 9 & Mar. 16, 11 a.m.-noon; Mar. 23, time TBD. Location: Champlain Elementary, 800 Pine St., Burlington; Mar. 23 class at Burlington High School, weather permitting. Info: Jack Anzalone, 561-346-4369, anzalonejack2@gmail.com, burlingtonyouthlacrosse.org.

exchange experience in community. Each person will have an opportunity to both give and receive a 45-minute session. Sat., Mar. 29, 12:30-3:30 p.m. Cost: $51. Location: Laughing River Yoga, Chace Mill, 1 Mill St., Burlington. Info: Kristin Borquist, kristin@ thaibodyworkvt.com, thaibodyworkvt.com.

WOMEN’S WELLNESS

LEARN TO DANCE ARGENTINE

TANGO: If you can walk, you can tango! Join us every Wednesday, starting Mar. 5. We will offer an intermediate class and an intro class, followed by a practice session. No experience or partner required. Cash or Venmo. Hope to see you on the dance ﬂoor! Every Wed., 7-9:30 p.m. Cost: $10/class. Classes are 45 min., followed

APPRENTICESHIP: Hands-on learning for folks who want to weave herbs into their daily lives. Learn to grow and harvest, prepare remedies, and apply plants to common complaints safely and effectively. Learn about basic physiology, traditional energetics and herbal justice. Take home a kit of remedies, seeds for next year, skills for self-care and a community of herb friends for life! Every Mon. from Apr. 14 to Nov. 3, 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Cost: $2,730 for 188-hour course. Location: Vermont Center for Integrative Herbalism, 123 Pitkin Rd.,

Care Homeschool course offers robust, accessible education to foster understanding and skill development for middle/high school students. Two hours, one day per week from Apr. to Jun. Curriculum includes nature awareness, earth science, biology, botany, chemistry, natural history, mycology, literature and math oriented toward justice and equity. Registration opens in Mar. Schedule TBD. 8 2-hour classes. Location rotates; based in Burlington but will also be in surrounding areas. Half of class will be indoors & half will be outdoors. Info: MycoEvolve, Jess Rubin, 839-8286, yepeth@gmail. com, mycoevolve.net.

SPRING TUNE-UP WORKSHOP FOR WOMEN/TRANS/ NONBINARY IDENTITIES: An expanded version of our popular single-evening bicycle care clinic, “ e One Night Stand,” this three-week series is for folks who would like a little more time, detailed instruction and hands-on experience. With a 3:1 student-to-instructor ratio, this class is designed to empower participants by helping them understand and care for their bicycles. Wed. starting Mar. 5, 6-8 p.m. Cost: $150 for 3-week series. Location: Old Spokes Home, 331 North Ave., Burlington. Info: 8634475, sevendaystickets.com.

well-being

PARTNER THAI BODYWORK:

Bring a special someone, partner, family member, friend or neighbor or work with another participant for a fully guided ai bodywork

RETREAT: Join us for Seed of Your Soul — A Spring Vernal Equinox Women’s Wellness Retreat, a nourishing weekend of self-care and reﬂection, of connection and joy, of creativity and nurturing, of celebration and honoring. Two hot tubs and an eight-person sauna. Fri., Mar. 21-Sun., Mar. 23. Cost: $620 for 2 nights’ shared room, activities, all meals, snacks, nonalcoholic beverages, spa, sauna. Location: Grand Peaks Lodge Adirondacks, 76 Mountain Meadows Way, Upper Jay. Info: Kim Ianelli, 598-5070, kianelli@gmail.com, facebook.com/share/14gtsqnkfq.

women

OVERCOMING LIMITING BELIEFS:

For many female leaders, you have achieved so much, yet something is holding you back from going after what you truly desire. is workshop will help you understand your limiting beliefs and the behaviors associated with them. Free yourself and get what you want. Wed., Mar. 12. Cost: $297 for 3-hour class + materials. Location: Westwood International, 722 S Main St., Stowe. Info: Christine Burych, 730-2206, cburych@starlingbrook.com, starlingbrook.com/overcoming-limiting-beliefs-workshop.

Find and purchase tickets for these and other classes at sevendaystickets.com.

housing » APARTMENTS, CONDOS & HOMES

on the road » CARS, TRUCKS, MOTORCYCLES

pro services » CHILDCARE, HEALTH/ WELLNESS, PAINTING

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APPLIANCES, KID STUFF, ELECTRONICS, FURNITURE music »

INSTRUCTION, CASTING, INSTRUMENTS FOR SALE

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NO SCAMS, ALL LOCAL, POSTINGS DAILY

Humane Society

of Chittenden County

Marbles

AGE/SEX: 7-month-old neutered male

ARRIVAL DATE: February 13, 2025

SUMMARY: Marbles is a spunky, silly and oh-so-friendly beagle puppy who’s ready to fill your life with wagging tails and happy adventures! He came to HSCC when his guardian’s lifestyle changed, and he’s on the lookout for a new home where he can share his rambunctious spirit and endless love. Whether he’s playing, exploring or snuggling up for downtime, his joyfulness is contagious. He’s looking for a family who can match his energy and help him become the best version of himself. Could you have room in your home and heart for magical Marbles?

SUMMARY: Marbles is dog-social. He has lived with dog-savvy cats and children and enjoyed their company.

Visit the Humane Society of Chittenden County at 142 Kindness Court, South Burlington, Tuesday through Friday from 1 to 4 p.m. or Saturday from 12 to 4 p.m. Call 862-0135 or visit hsccvt.org for more info.

DID YOU KNOW?

Behavior that gets rewarded gets repeated! Training is all about bridging a communication barrier with your dog, and HSCC recommends positive reinforcement training: Using rewards such as treats, toys and attention is always the best way to help your dog learn!

CLASSIFIEDS

housing FOR RENT

ROOMY 3-BR & 2-BR

AVAIL. NOW

Heated, extra roomy 3-BR, now $1,700 + utils. Heated 2-BR, now $1,500. Call Joe at 802-318-8916.

HOUSEMATES

ENJOY ISLAND LIVING

Grand Isle: Artistic woman in her 60s who enjoys creating stained-glass art, caring for her horse, British dramas. Reduced rent of $400/ mo. in exchange for help in house & yard. Horse enthusiast would be welcome! Call 802-863-5625 or visit homesharevermont. org for application. Interview, refs. & background checks req. EHO.

GREAT WINOOSKI LOCATION

Share Winooski apt. w/ woman in her 30s w/ a disability. Enjoys part-time work, time w/ family, theater. Seeking housemate who can mentor her in the kitchen & initiate activities together, in exchange for no rent. Private BA. Call 802-863-5625 or visit homesharevermont. org for application. Interview, refs. & background checks req. EHO.

GREAT I-89 ACCESS

Professional woman who enjoys year-round outdoor activities seeks housemate to share 1-story home convenient to I-89 & heart of Richmond. Rent-only homeshare w/ no services needed. $625/mo. + utils. Call 802-863-5625 or visit homesharevermont. org for application. Interview, refs., & background checks req. EHO.

AFFORDABLE IN COLCHESTER

92-year-old woman in Colchester seeks help w/ housekeeping & a

CLASSIFIEDS KEY

appt. appointment

apt. apartment

BA bathroom

BR bedroom

DR dining room

DW dishwasher

HDWD hardwood

HW hot water

LR living room

NS no smoking

OBO or best offer

refs. references

sec. dep. security deposit

W/D washer & dryer

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

housing ads: $25 (25 words) legals: 52¢/word buy this stuff: free online

friendly presence in her family home. Spacious one-ﬂ oor house w/ room for gardening. $150/mo., incl. utils. Private BA. Call 802-863-5625 or visit homesharevermont. org for application. Interview, refs. & background checks req. EHO.

FUN HINESBURG HOMESHARE

Retired teacher in her 70s seeks a friendly, fun-loving person to help w/ transportation, light housekeeping & errands. Lovely Capestyle home w/ space to garden, a few miles from the center of Hinesburg. $450/mo. Call 802-863-5625 or visit homesharevermont. org for application. Interview, refs. & background checks req. EHO.

OFFICE/ COMMERCIAL

OFFICE SPACE IN WILLISTON

1354 Marshall Ave., Williston. 1,000-sq. ft. 2 large ofﬁ ces w/ windows, closet, reception area. Private entrance. Can negotiate warehouse space. Excellent road visibility. $1,700/mo., incl. utils. Call 802-598-0274.

ser vices

AUTO

OVERPAYING FOR AUTO INSURANCE?

A recent survey says that most Americans are overpaying for their car insurance. Let us show you how much you can save. Call now for a no-obligation quote:

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

services: $12 (25 words) fsbos: $45 (2 weeks, 30 words, photo) jobs: michelle@sevendaysvt.com, 865-1020 x121

1-866-472-8309 (AAN CAN)

FINANCIAL/LEGAL

GET TAX RELIEF

Do you owe more than $10,000 to the IRS or state in back taxes? Get tax relief now. We’ll ﬁght for you! Call 1-877-7036117. (AAN CAN)

HOME/GARDEN

24-7 LOCKSMITH

We are there when you need us for home & car lockouts. We’ll get you back up & running quickly! Also, key reproductions, lock installs & repairs, vehicle fobs. Call us for your home, commercial & auto locksmith needs! 1-833-237-1233. (AAN CAN)

AGING ROOF? NEW HOMEOWNER? STORM DAMAGE?

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)

ARBOR HILL TREE FARM

Live trees. Potted & ﬁeld-grown. 2 to 20 feet. Hardwood, evergreen, fruit trees, berry plants. Grown in Eden. State inspected. 1-year warranty. Info, 802-309-4063, arborhilltreefarm@ outlook.com.

BATH & SHOWER

UPDATES

In as little as 1 day! Affordable prices. No payments for 18 mos. Lifetime warranty & professional installs. Senior & military discounts avail. Call 1-866-370-2939. (AAN CAN)

DEREKCO LLC

DerekCo Carpentry & Excavating has all of your carpentry & excavating needs covered! Visit our website & contact us for a free estimate. Info, 802-310-4090, derek@ derekco.com, derekco. com.

NEED NEW WINDOWS?

Drafty rooms? Chipped or damaged frames? Need outside noise reduction? New, energyefﬁcient 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)

PRUNING TREES

MycoEvolve offers fully insured pruning

services at reasonable rates to maximize air & light for the health & productivity of fruit & nut trees in Vermont. Visit mycoevolve.net or email yepeth@gmail. com for more info.

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)

MOVING/HAULING

MARKOSKI’S MOVE & HAUL

Markoski’s has established a local reputation for being a team of friendly professionals who treat their customers like family. Based out of Chittenden County, we go across Vermont & out of state. Contact Rick at rickmarkoski@gmail. com, & please browse our reviews & jobs on Facebook & Front Porch Forum.

buy this stuff

ANTIQUES/ COLLECTIBLES

TOP CASH PAID FOR OLD GUITARS 1920-1980 Gibson, Martin, Fender, Gretsch, Epiphone, Guild, Mosrite, Rickenbacker, Prairie State, D’Angelico, Stromber + Gibson mandolins & banjos. Call 1-855-402-7208. (AAN CAN)

FURNITURE

FURNITURE FOR SALE

2 king beds, 1 queen, 2 twins, 2 day beds, 2 upholstered swivel chairs, ottoman, 2 dressers w/ mirrors, 3 nightstands. In Lake Elmore. Call 802-888-9819.

GARAGE/ESTATE SALES

ANTIQUES MARKET Sun., Mar. 9 & 23, 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. at Canadian Club, 414 East Montpelier Rd., Route

print deadline: Mondays at 3:30 p.m. post ads online 24/7 at: sevendaysvt.com/classiﬁeds

ASIAN RESTAURANT/GROCERY

14, Barre. Early buyers

$5, 8 a.m.; general $2, 9 a.m. Vendors offering antique, midcentury & vintage toys, advertising, clothing, glassware, furniture, tools, jewelry, postcards, early American, paintings, militaria & much more. Call Don Willis Antiques for info: 802-751-6138, montpelierantiques market.com.

MISCELLANEOUS

H.O. TRAIN LAYOUT 5-by-12-foot layout. 3 loops, 4 bridges, 8 tunnels, 45 buildings, all rolling stock & accessories. Elmore Village replicated. $500. Call 802-888-9819.

POOL TABLE 45-by-90-in. surface. All accessories. $300. Call 802-888-9819.

WANT TO BUY

PAYING TOP CASH FOR MEN’S SPORT WATCHES Breitling, Omega, Patek Philippe, Heuer, Daytona, GMT, Submariner & Speedmaster. Call 888-320-1052. (AAN CAN)

music

INSTRUCTION

DRUM LESSONS

Snare, drum set & percussion lessons. $35 for 45 min. or $45 for 60 min. Experienced, well-versed & educated teacher. Contact Dave Pacheco, 802-3838048, teachdrums2u@ gmail.com.

GUITAR INSTRUCTION All styles/levels. Emphasis on building

strong technique, thorough musicianship, developing personal style. Paul Asbell (Big Joe Burrell, Kilimanjaro, UVM & Middlebury College faculty). Info: 233-7731, pasbell@ paulasbell.com.

FSBO $39,000. Well-established ramen restaurant on Route 302. Everything included upon purchase. Staff willing to train new owners. Plenty of opportunity to expand cuisine options, grocery section, and more! Serious inquiries only. Contact (802) 299-8241. say you saw it in

Using the enclosed math operations as a guide, ll the grid using the numbers 1 - 6 only once in each row and column.

Show and tell. View and post up to 6 photos per ad online.

Complete the following puzzle by using the numbers 1-9 only once in each row, column and 3 x 3 box.

Open 24/7/365. Post & browse ads at your convenience.

Extra! Extra! There’s no limit to ad length online.

WANT MORE PUZZLES?

Try these online news games from Seven Days at sevendaysvt.com/games.

Put your knowledge of Vermont news to the test. NEW ON FRIDAYS:

CALCOKU BY JOSH

REYNOLDS

DIFFICULTY THIS WEEK: HH

Fill the grid using the numbers 1-6, only once in each row and column. The 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.

1 4 5 3 4 6 5 3 2 1 1 5 4 6 3 2 5 4 3 2 1 6

SUDOKU BY JOSH REYNOLDS

DIFFICULTY THIS WEEK: HHH

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. The same numbers cannot be repeated in a row or column.

ANSWERS ON P.70 H = MODERATE H H = CHALLENGING H H H = HOO, BOY!

See how fast you can solve this weekly 10-word puzzle.

Legal Notices

THE CONTENTS OF STORAGE UNIT 01-03462

Located at 28 Adams Drive Williston, VT, 05495

Will be sold on or about the 13th of March, 2025 to satisfy the debt of Christina Romero, Any person claiming a right to the goods may pay the amount claimed due and reasonable expenses before the sale, in which case the sale may not occur.

IN ACCORDANCE WITH VT TITLE 9 COMMERCE AND TRADE CHAPTER 098:

Storage Units 3905. Enforcement of Lien, Champlain Valley Self Storage, LLC shall host a private auction of the following units on or after 3/15/25: Location: 2211 Main St. Colchester, VT

Contents: household goods

Scott Breveleri: #991

Teresa Auffarth: #626 & #935

Auction pre-registration is required, email info@ champlainvalleyselfstorage.com to register.

ACT 250 NOTICE

MINOR APPLICATION

4C0646-10

10 V.S.A. §§ 6000 - 6111

Application 4C0646-10 from Shelburne Museum, Inc., P.O. Box 10, Shelburne, VT 05482 was received on February 19, 2025 and deemed complete on February 21, 2025. The project is generally described as construction of the Perry Center, an 11,200± square foot building for Native American Art. The project includes regrading of the site, relocation of existing pathways, new underground utilities, new stormwater management facilities, and new landscaping. The project is located at 6000 Shelburne Road in Shelburne, Vermont. The application may be viewed on the Land Use Review Board’s website (https://act250. vermont.gov/) by clicking “Act 250 Database” and entering the project number “4C0646-10.”

No hearing will be held and a permit may be issued unless, on or before March 18, 2025, 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 sub-criteria 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://act250.vermont. gov/documents/party-status- petition-form, and email it to the District 4 Office at: Act250.Essex@ 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 February 25, 2025. By: Stephanie H. Monaghan

District Coordinator 111 West Street Essex Junction, VT 05452 802-261-1944

stephanie.monaghan@vermont.gov

TOWN OF WESTFORD REQUEST FOR BIDS BROWNS RIVER COVERED BRIDGE REPAIR

Full RFP available at the Town Office & online at https://westfordvt.us/careers-rfps/

The Town of Westford is seeking bids from qualified contractors to repair damage to the historic Browns River Covered Bridge located near the Westford Town Common on Cambridge Road in Westford, Vermont. Bids shall include an introduction, estimated timeline, and cost estimates broken down into materials and labor.

Review historical repair work:

• https://www.vermontbridges.org/ chittenden_county_westford.shtml

• https://www.vermontbridges.com/preserve.htm

• https://www.lostbridges.org/details. aspx?id=VT/45-04-05&loc=n

• https://www.vermontbridges.com/westfrd2.htm

A site visit is recommended prior to bid submission. The bridge is located at the end of Cambridge Road where it connects with Route 128 in the Westford Town Center.

Questions must be submitted in writing by Friday, March 28, 2025, to Holly Delisle, Town Administrator, townadmin@westfordvt.us.

Scope of Work

• Ensure compliance with grant requirements from the Vermont Division for Historic Preservation by meeting the Secretary of the Interior’s Standards for Rehabilitation.

• Repair structural damage to Burr arches, bolster beams, bearing blocks and joists, as well as flashing and sheathing utilizing protective measures to prevent future damage.

• Select materials for durability & longevity based on location & exposure to elements.

Insurance Requirements:

The Contractor shall at their own expense provide and maintain all applicable insurances. See the full RFB for more details:

Bid Submission Instructions

Proposals must be received by 4:30 p.m. on Monday, April 7, 2025, by one of the following methods. Late bids will not be accepted:

• Electronically via email to townadmin@westfordvt. us; or

• USPS/UPS/FEDEX - Town of Westford, 1713 VT Route 128, Westford, VT 05494; or

• Hand delivered to the Westford Town Office. There is a drop box available for after hours. (Proposals should be clearly labeled “Westford Town Office ADA Compliant Ramp & Stairs” with the contractor’s name.)

ADVERTISEMENT FOR BIDS: TOWN OF COLCHESTER

2025 CAPITAL PAVING PROGRAM

The Town is requesting separate sealed BIDS for the 2025 Capital Paving Program for the resurfacing of 8 roadways, and generally includes the placement of approximately 3,543 tons of bituminous concrete pavement, 17,667 square yards of cold planing (or milling), painted line striping, traffic control, and associated items. The specific locations of paving are included in Appendix A of the Contract & Bidding Documents.

Bids will be received by: Danylo Whalen, Public Works Engineer II, Town of Colchester, 781 Blakely Road, Colchester, VT 05446 until 2:00 pm on Friday, March 28, 2025 and then at said office publicly opened and read aloud.

Each BID must be accompanied by a certified check payable to the OWNER for five percent (5%)of the total amount of the BID. A BID bond may be used in lieu of a certified check. The CONTRACT DOCUMENTS are available in electronic format upon request. Please contact Danylo Whalen at dwhalen@colchestervt. gov or 802-264-5515.

A Performance BOND and a Payment BOND each in an amount equal to one hundred percent(100%) of the contract price will be required. (40 CFR §31.36(h))

A mandatory pre-bid conference for prospective bidders will be held via Zoom Meeting/Conference Call at 10:00 am on Tuesday, March 11, 2025. Please contact Danylo Whalen for information on how to participate. Questions regarding the Bid are due by 3:00 pm on Wednesday, March 19, 2025. All bidders must notify Danylo Whalen of their intent to bid so they can be placed on a Bidders List to receive any issued addenda or other pertinent information. Please notify the Town if email is not an acceptable method for receiving information and provide alternate means of contact.

For the complete Bid & Contract Documents, please visit the Town website at: https://www.colchestervt.gov/bids.aspx

STATE OF VERMONT SUPERIOR COURT PROBATE DIVISION CHITTENDEN UNIT

DOCKET NO.: 24-PR-01362

In re ESTATE of Robert D. Perry

NOTICE TO CREDITORS

To the creditors of: Robert D. Perry, late of Colchester, Vermont

I have been appointed to administer this estate. All creditors having claims against the decedent or the estate must present their claims in writing within four (4) months of the date of the first publication of this notice. The claim must be presented to me at the address listed below with a copy sent to the Court. The claim may be barred forever if it is not presented within the four (4) month period.

Dated: February 27, 2025

Signature of Fiduciary: /s/ Paul R. Morwood, Esq.

Executor/Administrator: Paul R. Morwood, Esq., 333 Dorset Street, South Burlington, VT 05403 Phone: (802) 862-2135 Email: morwood.paul@gmail.com

Name of Publication: Seven Days Publication Date: 3/5/2025

Name of Probate Court: State of VermontChittenden Probate Division Address of Probate Court: 175 Main Street, Burlington, VT 05402

PUBLIC HEARING NOTICE VIRTUAL PUBLIC HEARING DISASTER RECOVERY FUNDING (CDBG-DR)

The State of Vermont’s Department of Housing and Community Development (DHCD) will be holding a virtual/in-person public hearing to get input from Vermont residents before submitting its U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Community Block Grant Disaster Recovery CDBG-DR Action Plan for 2025.

The Public Hearing will be held on Thursday, March 20, 2025, from 6 p.m.- 7:30 p.m. The in-person location will be at the Montpelier Senior Activity Center Community Room, 58 Barre Street, Montpelier. To participate electronically, go to the Departments Website https://accd.vermont.gov/communitydevelopment/funding-incentives/disaster-recovery and access the link below for the TEAMS meeting:

Join the meeting now

Meeting ID: 213 649 989 25

Passcode: CE9YG9df

The purpose of the hearing is to listen to residents’ views that were impacted by the June 2023 floods to help determine the state’s unmet needs for planning, housing, infrastructure, economic revitalization, and public service from the flooding.

The Vermont 2025 DRAFT HUD CDBG-DR Action Plan outlines priorities for the use of over $67 million in federal funds provided to the State for the Community Development Block Grant- Disaster Recovery (CDBG-DR) funds which are aimed to primarily support low- and moderate-income households. HUD has determined that over $54 million is to serve communities in Lamoille and Washington counties. The Plan also serves as Vermont’s application to HUD to gain access to these funds. The goals of the Plan are to provide decent affordable housing, assure a suitable living environment, and expand economic opportunity for Vermont’s citizens.

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 Cindy Blondin at (802) 828-5219 or emailed Cindy.Blondin@vermont.gov by Noon on Wednesday, March 12, 2025. For the hearing impaired please call (TTY#) 1-800-253-0191.

More information is available on the Department’s website at https://accd.vermont.gov/ community-development/funding-incentives/ disaster-recovery.

CITY OF ESSEX JUNCTION

NOTICE OF AMENDMENT TO MUNICIPAL ORDINANCE 19 AND ADOPTION OF MUNICIPAL ORDINANCE 20

On February 26, 2025, the City Council of Essex Junction, Vermont, adopted amendments to the existing Chapter 19 Ordinance Establishing Stormwater Permit Transfer Authority for Expired and Unpermitted Discharges to Impaired Waterways and adopted Chapter 20 Regulation of Stormwater Management. This notice is published pursuant to 24 V.S.A. § 1972 to inform the public of these amendments and the citizens’ right to petition for a vote to disapprove these amendments.

Municipal Ordinance Chapter 19 Establishing Permit Transfer Authority for Expired and Unpermitted Discharges to Impaired Waterways amends an existing chapter created in 2014 related to stormwater permit compliance that was previously developed with the Town of Essex.

Municipal Ordinance Chapter 20 Regulation of Stormwater Management establishes a stormwater management ordinance for the City.

The full text of the Ordinances may be examined at the City Office at 2 Lincoln Street, Essex Junction, VT 05452, and may be examined during regular office hours or on the City’s website www. essexjunction.org.

CITIZENS’ RIGHT TO PETITION FOR VOTE

Title 24 V.S.A. § 1973 grants citizens the right to petition for a vote at a special or Annual Meeting to disapprove ordinance amendments adopted by the City Council. To exercise this right, citizens must present to the City Council or the City Clerk a petition for a vote on the question of disapproving the amendments signed by not less than five percent (5%) of the City’s qualified voters. The petition must be presented within forty-four (44) days following the date of the adoption of the amendments. The amendments to Chapter 19 Ordinance Establishing Stormwater Permit Transfer Authority for Expired and Unpermitted Discharges to Impaired Waterways and Chapter 20 Regulation of Stormwater Management shall become effective upon passage unless a petition requesting a vote is filed pursuant to 24 V.S.A. § 1973.

PERSON TO CONTACT

Additional information pertaining to this Ordinance may be obtained by contacting Regina Mahony, City Manager at admin@essexjunction.org or by calling 802-878-6944 during regular office hours.

CITY OF ESSEX JUNCTION

DEVELOPMENT REVIEW BOARD

PUBLIC HEARING

THURSDAY, MARCH 20, 2025 6:30 P.M.

This meeting will be held in person at Brownell Library, 6 Lincoln Street in the Kolvoord Room and remotely via Zoom.

The meeting will be live-streamed on Town Meeting TV.

• JOIN ONLINE: Visit www.essexjunction.org for meeting connection information.

• JOIN CALLING: Join via conference call (audio only):

Dial 1(888) 788-0099 (toll free)

Meeting ID: 839 2599 0985

Passcode: 940993

PUBLIC HEARING

Variance for the conversion of an existing duplex into a fourplex located 3 feet within the front 15-foot setback at 177 West Street in the R2 District by Eva and Adam Slocum, owners.

Site plan amendment for 3 additional residential units and opening the fifth floor for a penthouse unit in an existing multi-family building at 197 Pearl Street in the MF/MU1 District by JIDDU-SITTU Trust c/o Gabe Handy, owner.

This DRAFT agenda may be amended. Any questions re: above please call Michael Giguere or Terry Hass –802-878-6944 x1604

TOWN OF WESTFORD DEVELOPMENT REVIEW BOARD NOTICE OF PUBLIC HEARING

Pursuant to 24 V.S.A. Chapter 117 and the Westford Land Use & Development Regulations, the Westford Development Review Board will hold a public hearing at the Westford Town Offices (1713 Route 128) & via ZOOM on Monday, March 24th, 2025 at 7:00 PM to review the following application:

Application: Site Plan Review

Applicant: Jim Bradley – Hayward Design Build Property Location: Rhodes/Sullivan PropertyAshwood Drive (approx. 5.26 acres)

Support Groups

A CIRCLE OF PARENTS FOR MOTHERS OF COLOR

Please join our parent-led online support group designed to share our questions, concerns & struggles, as well as our resources & successes! Contribute to our discussion of the unique but shared experience of parenting. We will be meeting weekly on Wed., 10-11 a.m. For more info or to register, please contact Heather at hniquette@ pcavt.org, 802-498-0607, pcavt.org. family-support-programs.

A CIRCLE OF PARENTS FOR SINGLE MOTHERS

Please join our parent-led online support group designed to share our questions, concerns &

Zoning District: Rural 10

This proposal is a request for site plan approval to construct an accessory structure greater than 1000 square feet.

Join Zoom Meeting: https://zoom.us/j/93543503402?

Meeting ID: 935 4350 3402 | Passcode: 1nKa3f (Or dial +1 929 205 6099 and enter Meeting ID: 935 4350 3402 | Passcode: 560964)

For more information call the Town Offices at 878-4587 Monday–Thursday 8:30am–4:30pm & Friday 8:30am-1:00pm

Matt Wamsganz, Chairman Dated March 3, 2024

TOWN OF ESSEX DEVELOPMENT REVIEW BOARD NOTICE OF PUBLIC HEARING

MARCH 20, 2025, 6:30 PM

Hybrid & In Person (Municipal Conference Room, 81 Main St., Essex Jct.) Meeting. Anyone may attend this meeting in person at the above address or remotely through the following options:

Join Online: Zoom Meeting ID: 821 7131 4999 | Passcode: 426269

Join Calling (audio only): 888-788-0099

Public wifi is available at the Essex municipal offices, libraries, and hotspots listed here: https:// publicservice.vermont.gov/content/ public-wifi-hotspots-vermont

1. Site Plan – Allen Brook Development is proposing a 33,600 square foot commercial warehousing building with associated parking located at 572 Kimo Drive (FKA Saxon Hill Industrial Park, Parcel B, Lot 11) Parcel ID 2-074-004-011 in the Resource Preservation Industrial-District (RPD-I). Included in the application is a waiver request for the RPD-I 50’ buffer (ZR Table 2.14(9)(c)) and proposed disturbance of slopes 20+% (ZR Section 5.6(B)(2)).

2. Site Plan – Scannel Properties LLC is proposing a +/- 107,000 square foot distribution facility with associated parking located at 637 Kimo Drive (FKA Saxon Hill Industrial Park, Parcel B, Lot 13) Parcel ID 2-074-004-013 in the Resource Preservation Industrial-District (RPD-I). Included in the application is a waiver request for the RPD-I 50’ buffer (ZR Table 2.14(9)(c)).

3. Consent Agenda – Site Plan – Black Bay Ventures XIV, LLC and Shenk Enterprises, LLC are requesting a re-approval of a proposed 106,372 square foot warehouse facility located at 35 Thompson Drive, Parcel ID 2-070-671-5669 in the Resource Preservation Industrial-District (RPD-I). This was approved on April 28, 2022 by the Planning Commission and has since expired.

Application materials may be viewed before the meeting at https://www.essexvt.org/182/ Current-Development-Applications. Please call 802878-1343 or email COMMUNITY-DEVELOPMENT@ ESSEX.ORG with any questions. This may not be the final order in which items will be heard. Please view the complete Agenda, at https://essexvt.portal. civicclerk.com or the office notice board before the

Request For Proposals

The Two RiversOttauquechee Regional Commission (TRORC) is seeking firms to undertake an outreach effort that is primarily meant to assist flood-affected towns in better managing floodplain development to reduce flood risk. This effort is funded by the Vermont Department of Environmental Conservation (VTDEC), with funding from FEMA.

You can ﬁnd a full copy of the RFP at trorc.org/rfps-rfqs/

hearing for the order in which items will be heard and other agenda items.

WARNING POLICY ADOPTION CHAMPLAIN VALLEY SCHOOL DISTRICT

The Board of School Directors gives public notice of its intent to adopt local district policies dealing with the following at its meeting scheduled on March 18, 2025:

D1 - Personnel Recruitment, Selection, Appointment and Background Checks

Copies of the above policies may be obtained for public review at the Office of the Human Resources Dept. in Shelburne, VT.

struggles, as well as our resources & successes! Contribute to our discussion of the unique but shared experience of parenting. We will be meeting weekly on Fri., 10-11 a.m. For more info or to register, please contact Heather at hniquette@pcavt.org, 802-498-0607, pcavt.org/ family-support-programs.

A CIRCLE OF PARENTS W/ LGBTQ+ CHILDREN

meeting weekly on Mon., 10-11 a.m. For more info or to register, please contact Heather at hniquette@pcavt.org, 802-498-0607, pcavt.org/ family-support-programs.

AL-ANON

For families & friends of alcoholics. Phone meetings, electronic meetings (Zoom) & an Al-Anon blog are avail. online at the Al-Anon website. For meeting info, go to vermontalanonalateen.org or call 866-972-5266.

ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS

If you want to drink, that’s your business. If you want to stop, that’s ours. Call the Vermont state-wide anonymous hotline: 802-802-2288. Alcoholics Anonymous holds daily meetings all over Vermont, both in-person and online. See https://www.burlingtonaa.org/ for meetings, news & events in Chittenden and Grand Isle Counties. For meeting and events throughout Vermont, see aavt.org.

Support Groups

ALZHEIMER’S ASSOCIATION SUPPORT GROUPS

Support groups meet to provide assistance & info on Alzheimer’s disease & related dementias. They emphasize shared experiences, emotional support & coping techniques in care for a person living w/ Alzheimer’s or a related dementia. Meetings are free & open to the public. Families, caregivers & friends may attend. Please call in advance to confirm the date & time. The Williston caregiver support group meets in person on the 2nd Tue. of every mo., 5-6:30 p.m., at the the Old Brick Church in Williston. Contact support group facilitators Molly at dugan@cathedralsquare.org or Mindy at moondog@burlingtontelecom. net. The Middlebury support group for individuals w/ early stage dementia meets the 4th Tue. of each mo., 3 p.m., at the Residence at Otter Creek, 350 Lodge Rd., Middlebury. Contact is Daniel Hamilton, dhamilton@ residenceottercreek.com or (802) 989-0097. The Shelburne support group for individuals w/ early stage dementia meets the 1st Mon. of every mo., 2-3 p.m., at the Residence at Shelburne Bay, 185 Pine Haven Shores, Shelburne. Contact is support group facilitator Lydia Raymond, lraymond@ residenceshelburnebay.com. The telephone support group meets the 2nd Tue. of each mo., 4-5:30 p.m. Preregistration is required (to receive dial-in codes for toll-free call). Please dial the Alzheimer’s Association’s 24/7 Helpline, 800-272-3900, for more info. For questions or additional support group listings, call 800-272-3900.

BABY BUMPS SUPPORT GROUP FOR MOTHERS & PREGNANT WOMEN

Pregnancy can be a wonderful time of your life. But it can also be a time of stress often compounded by hormonal swings. If you are a pregnant woman, or have recently given birth & feel you need some help w/ managing emotional bumps in the road that can come w/ motherhood, please come to this free support group led by an experienced pediatric registered nurse. Held on the 2nd & 4th Tue. of every mo., 5:30-6:30 p.m. at the Birthing Center, Northwestern Medical Center, St. Albans. Info: Rhonda Desrochers, Franklin County Home Health Agency, 527-7531.

ANXIETY RELIEF GROUP

Anxiety Relief Group is a safe setting for relaxing & exploring your feelings w/ others through gentle socialization & self-expression, building up what makes you centered & strong. Wed., 4-5:30 p.m. Both in-person & Zoom options avail. In-person meetings are held at the Pathways Vermont Community Center at 279 N. Winooski Ave. in Burlington. Email us for the Zoom link & more info: pvcc@pathwaysvermont.org.

BETTER BREATHERS CLUB

American Lung Association support group for people w/ breathing issues, their loved ones or caregivers. Meets on the 1st Mon. of every mo., 11 a.m.-noon, at the Godnick Center, 1 Deer St., Rutland. For more info, call 802-776-5508.

BRAIN INJURY SUPPORT GROUP

Vermont Center for Independent Living offers virtual monthly meetings, held on the 3rd Wed. of every mo., 1-2:30 p.m. The support group will offer valuable resources & info about brain injury. It will be a place to share experiences in a safe, secure & confidential environment. To join, email Linda Meleady

at lindam@vcil.org & ask to be put on the TBI mailing list. Info: 800-639-1522.

BREAST CANCER SURVIVOR DRAGON BOAT TEAM

Looking for a fun way to do something active & health-giving? Want to connect w/ other breast cancer survivors? Come join Dragonheart Vermont. We are a breast cancer survivor & supporter dragon boat team who paddle together in Burlington. Please contact us at info@dragonheartvermont.org for info.

BURLINGTON MEN’S PEER GROUP

Tue. nights, 7-9 p.m. in Burlington. Free of charge, 30 years running. Call Neils 802-877-3742 or email neils@ myfairpoint.net.

PROSTATE CANCER SUPPORT GROUP

The Champlain Valley Prostate Cancer Support Group meets online on the 2nd Tue. of the mo., 6-7:30 p.m., via Zoom. Whether you are newly diagnosed, dealing w/ a reoccurrence or trying to manage the side effects of treatment, you are welcome here! More info: Andy Hatch, group leader, ahatch63@gmail. com.

CENTRAL VERMONT CELIAC SUPPORT GROUP

Last Thu. of every mo., 7:30 p.m. in Montpelier. Please contact Lisa Masé for location: lisa@harmonizecookery. com.

CEREBRAL PALSY GUIDANCE

Cerebral Palsy Guidance is a very comprehensive informational website broadly covering the topic of cerebral palsy & associated medical conditions. Its mission is to provide the best possible info to parents of children living w/ the complex condition of cerebral palsy. Visit cerebralpalsyguidance.com/ cerebral-palsy.

THE COMPASSIONATE FRIENDS SUPPORT GROUP

The Compassionate Friends international support group for parents, siblings & families grieving the loss of a child meets every 4th Tue. of the mo., 7-9 p.m., at St. John Vianney Catholic Church, 160 Hinesburg Rd, S. Burlington. Call/email Alan at 802-2330544, alanday88@gmail.com, or Claire at 802-448-3569.

CONVERSATIONS ABOUT SUICIDE

Conversations About Suicide is a judgment-free & open space to talk about personal experiences of suicidal ideation. The group is facilitated by peer support staff w/ lived experience of suicidality. Thu., 4-5 p.m., at Pathways Vermont Community Center, located at 279 N. Winooski Ave. in Burlington. Email us for more info: pvcc@ pathwaysvermont.org.

DISABILITY SUPPORT GROUP

Our group is a space for mutual support, open to anybody who identifies as disabled, differently abled, or having a disability. Whether your disability is visible, invisible, physical, or cognitive, this group is for you! The group meets every Monday from 1:15-2:15pm at 279 N. Winooski Ave, Burlington, VT and online on Zoom. Email us for the Zoom link and more information: pvcc@ pathwaysvermont.org

DOMESTIC VIOLENCE SUPPORT

Steps to End Domestic Violence offers a weekly drop-in support group for female-identified survivors of intimate partner violence, including individuals who are experiencing or have been affected by domestic violence. The support group offers a safe, confidential

CONTACT CLASSIFIEDS@SEVENDAYSVT.COM OR 802-865-1020 EXT. 115 TO UPDATE YOUR SUPPORT GROUP

place for survivors to connect w/ others, to heal & to recover. In support group, participants talk through their experiences & hear stories from others who have experienced abuse in their relationships. Support group is also a resource for those who are unsure of their next step, even if it involves remaining in their current relationship. Tue., 6:30-8 p.m. Childcare is provided. Info: 658-1996.

FAMILY & FRIENDS OF THOSE EXPERIENCING MENTAL HEALTH CRISIS

This support group is a dedicated meeting for family, friends & community members who are supporting a loved one through a mental health crisis. Mental health crisis might include extreme states, psychosis, depression, anxiety & other types of distress. The group is a confidential space where family & friends can discuss shared experiences & receive support in an environment free of judgment & stigma w/ a trained facilitator. Wed., 7-8:30 p.m. Downtown Burlington. Info: Jess Horner, LICSW, 866-218-8586.

FCA FAMILY SUPPORT GROUP

Families Coping w/ Addiction (FCA) is an open community peer support group for adults (18+) struggling w/ the drug or alcohol addiction of a loved one. FCA is not 12-step-based but provides a forum for those living the family experience, in which to develop personal coping skills & to draw strength from one another. Our group meets every Wed., 5:30-6:30 p.m., live in person in the conference room at the Turning Point Center of Chittenden County (179 S. Winooski Ave., Burlington), &/or via our parallel Zoom session to accommodate those who cannot attend in person. The Zoom link can be found on the Turning Point Center website (turningpointcentervt.org) using the “Family Support” tab (click on “What We Offer”). Any questions, please send by email to thdaub1@gmail.com.

FIERCELY FLAT VT

A breast cancer support group for those who’ve had mastectomies. We are a casual online meeting group found on Facebook at Fiercely Flat VT. Info: stacy.m.burnett@gmail.com.

FOOD ADDICTS IN RECOVERY ANONYMOUS (FA)

Are you having trouble controlling the way you eat? FA is a free 12-step recovery program for anyone suffering from food obsession, overeating, under-eating or bulimia. Local meetings are held twice a week: Mon., 4-5:30 p.m., at the Unitarian Universalist Church, Norwich, Vt.; & Wed., 6:30-8 p.m., at Hanover Friends Meeting House, Hanover, N.H. For more info & a list of additional meetings throughout the U.S. & the world, call 603-630-1495 or visit foodaddicts.org.

G.R.A.S.P. (GRIEF RECOVERY AFTER A SUBSTANCE PASSING)

Are you a family member who has lost a loved one to addiction? Find support, peer-led support group. Meets once a mo. on Mon. in Burlington. Please call for date & location. RSVP to mkeasler3@gmail.com or call 310-3301 (message says Optimum Health, but this is a private number).

GRIEF & LOSS SUPPORT GROUP

Sharing your sadness, finding your joy. Please join us as we learn more about our own grief & explore the things that can help us to heal. There is great power in sharing our experiences w/ others who know the pain of the loss of a loved one & healing is possible

through the sharing. BAYADA Hospice’s local bereavement support coordinator will facilitate our weekly group through discussion & activities. Everyone from the community is welcome. 1st & last Wed. of every mo. at 4 p.m. via Zoom. To register, please contact bereavement program coordinator Max Crystal, mcrystal@bayada.com or 802-448-1610.

GRIEF SUPPORT GROUPS

Meet every 2nd Mon., 6-7:30 p.m., & every 3rd Wed. from 10-11:30 a.m., at Central Vermont Home Health & Hospice in Berlin. The group is open to the public & free of charge. More info: Diana Moore, 224-2241.

GRIEVING A LOSS SUPPORT GROUP

A retired psychotherapist & an experienced life coach host a free meeting for those grieving the loss of a loved one. The group meets upstairs at All Souls Interfaith Gathering in Shelburne. There is no fee for attending, but donations are gladly accepted. Meetings are held twice a mo., the 1st & 3rd Sat. of every mo. from 10-11:30 a.m. If you are interested in attending, please register at allsoulsinterfaith. org. More info about the group leader at pamblairbooks.com.

INTERSTITIAL CYSTITIS/PAINFUL BLADDER SUPPORT GROUP

Interstitial cystitis (IC) & painful bladder syndrome can result in recurring pelvic pain, pressure or discomfort in the bladder/pelvic region & urinary frequency/urgency. These are often misdiagnosed & mistreated as a chronic bladder infection. If you have been diagnosed or have these symptoms, you are not alone. For Vermont-based support group, email bladderpainvt@ gmail.com or call 899-4151 for more info.

INTUITIVE EATING SUPPORT GROUP

Free weekly peer-led support group for anyone struggling w/ eating &/or body image. The only requirement is a desire to make peace w/ food & your body. Meeting format is: a short reading from Intuitive Eating by Evelyn Tribole & Elyse Resch, 4th edition, followed by open sharing & discussion. Come find community through sharing struggles, experience, strength & hope. Located at the Pickering Room, Fletcher Free Library, Sun. 1-2:30 p.m. Contact 202-553-8953 w/ any questions.

KINDRED CONNECTIONS PROGRAM OFFERED FOR CHITTENDEN COUNTY CANCER SURVIVORS

The Kindred Connections program provides peer support for all those touched by cancer. Cancer patients, as well as caregivers, are provided w/ a mentor who has been through the cancer experience & knows what it’s like to go through it. In addition to sensitive listening, Kindred Connections provides practical help such as rides to doctors’ offices & meal deliveries. The program has people who have experienced a wide variety of cancers. For further info, please contact info@vcsn.net.

LAUGHTER YOGA

Spontaneous, genuine laughter & gentle breathing for physical & emotional benefit. No yoga mat needed! This group is held every Mon., 2-3 p.m., at Pathways Vermont Community Center, 279 North Winooski Ave., Burlington. Contact Chris Nial for any questions: chrisn@pathways vermont.org.

LGBTQ SURVIVORS OF VIOLENCE

The SafeSpace Anti-Violence Program at Pride Center of Vermont offers

peer-led support groups for survivors of relationship, dating, emotional &/ or hate-violence. These groups give survivors a safe & supportive environment to tell their stories, share info, & offer & receive support. Support groups also provide survivors an opportunity to gain info on how to better cope w/ feelings & experiences that surface because of the trauma they have experienced. Please call SafeSpace at 863-0003 if you are interested in joining.

LGBTQ VETERANS

Share the struggles & celebrate the joys of being a service member & LGBTQIA+ in this peer-led discussion group. Meetings are at the Rainbow Bridge Community Center in Barre on the 2nd & 4th Tue. of each mo. Visit rbccvt.org for more info.

LIVING THROUGH LOSS

Gifford Medical Center is announcing the restart of its grief support group, Living Through Loss. The program is sponsored by the Gifford Volunteer Chaplaincy Program & will meet weekly on Fri., 11 a.m.-12:30 p.m., in Gifford’s Chun Chapel. Meetings will be facilitated by the Rev. Timothy Eberhardt, spiritual care coordinator, & Emily Pizzale MSW, LICSW, a Gifford social worker. Anyone who has experienced a significant loss over the last year or so is warmly invited to attend & should enter through the hospital’s main entrance wearing a mask on the way to the chapel. Meetings will be based on the belief that, while each of us is on a unique journey in life, we all need a safe place to pause, to tell our stories &, especially as we grieve, to receive the support & strength we need to continue along the way.

MARIJUANA ANONYMOUS

Do you have a problem w/ marijuana?

MA is a free 12-step program where addicts help other addicts get & stay clean. Ongoing Mon., 7 p.m. at First United Methodist Church of Burlington (Red Door Church) 21 Buell St., Burlington. Contact: jointsession@ newenglandma.org.

MYELOMA SUPPORT GROUP

Area myeloma survivors, families & caregivers have come together to form a Multiple Myeloma Support Group. We provide emotional support, resources about treatment options, coping strategies & a support network by participating in the group experience w/ people who have been through similar situations. 3rd Tue. of every mo., 5-6 p.m., at the New Hope Lodge on East Ave. in Burlington. Info: Kay Cromie, 655-9136, kgcromey@aol.com.

NAMI CONNECTION PEER SUPPORT GROUP MEETINGS

Weekly virtual meetings. If you have questions about a group in your area, please contact the National Alliance on Mental Illness of Vermont, program@namivt.org or 800-6396480. Connection groups are peer recovery support group programs for adults living w/ mental health challenges.

NAMI FAMILY SUPPORT GROUP

Weekly virtual & in-person meetings. ASL interpreters avail. upon request. Family Support Group meetings are for family & friends of individuals living w/ mental illness. If you have questions about a group in your area, please contact the National Alliance on Mental Illness of Vermont, info@namivt.org or 800-639-6480.

“At NDI, we value how Seven Days Jobs connects us with a broad local audience. Its accessibility ensures we reach diverse potential candidates, which is crucial for our growth. Michelle Brown’s prompt, professional and responsive service makes the process seamless. Seven Days helps us employ great people who strengthen partnerships with medical device manufacturers as we develop innovative navigation technologies.”

ANIA JANUSZCZYK

HR Business Partner NDI (Northern Digital Inc.)

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

YOUR TRUSTED LOCAL SOURCE. JOBS.SEVENDAYSVT.COM

Staff Accountant

The Staff Accountant is responsible for maintaining financial records, preparing reports, and assisting in the overall accounting operations of the organization. This role involves ensuring compliance with generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP) and supporting month-end and year-end closing processes. The ideal candidate is detail-oriented, analytical, and capable of working independently and collaboratively within a team environment.

For complete details please visit nekbroadband.org/careers

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Administrative Assistant (Full Time)

McNeil, Leddy & Sheahan, P.C. is seeking a full-time Administrative Assistant. The ideal candidate will be personable, professional and have excellent communication and computer skills.

Position includes word processing, answering the telephone, greeting clients, mailing, e-filing in State and Federal courts and general office tasks. Prior office/ legal experience is helpful, but not required. Parking is provided.

McNeil, Leddy & Sheahan is a Burlington law firm with a varied practice and over 45 years of experience serving clients throughout Vermont. Interested candidates please send a cover letter and resume via email to tbailey@mcneilvt.com or mail to:

McNeil, Leddy & Sheahan, P.C. Attn: Employment 271 South Union Street Burlington, VT 05401

DEVELOPMENT & MARKETING ASSOCIATE

Copley Hospital, located in Morrisville, VT, is seeking a full-time Development and Marketing Associate to assist with fund raising projects, events, and priorities that support our mission.

The ideal candidate will have experience with fund raising, donor cultivation, and solicitation strategies.

For more information or to apply go to copleyvt.org/careers or contact Kaitlyn Shannon, Recruiter, at 802-888-8144 or kshannon@chsi.org.

4t-Copley030524 1

Founded in 2020, we began network construction in 2021. We’re a small company of fewer than 20 employees, which means there’s lots of room for growth and learning. Here at NEKCV, we’re committed to creating an inclusive culture where all employees feel welcomed and valued.

We are currently hiring for: Construction Manager

Program Manager

Make a difference when it counts.

Bring your skills in program design, outreach and volunteer management to contribute to our mission of supporting choices in end-of-life care.

Three quarter to full-time position with flexible schedule.

Study our mission at PatientChoices.org

Scan to see full job description and how to apply.

Please visit our website for specific details, www.nekbroadband.org

TO APPLY, please send a resume and cover letter to: careers@nekbroadband.org

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Advertising Sales & Marketing Specialist

We are seeking an entrepreneurial professional with sales and marketing expertise who will work closely with our staff team to take The Bridge to the next level of earned and contributed revenue.

• 32 hour per week position; remote and in-person flexible hours

• $41,600 base salary

• 5% commission on all ad sales ($185,000 ad sales in 2024).

• Year-end bonus for exceeding annual sales goals.

• Flexible benefits plan starting at $10K (growing to $20K in year three); paid time off and sick time

Apply at montpelierbridge.org/job-opportunities

2h-UnitarianChurchofMontpelier-030525

Human Resources Associate

The Legislative support oﬃces are currently hiring. The nonpartisan oﬃces are an interesting, challenging, and exciting place to work.

You will be part of a highly professional and collegial team that is proud of, and enthusiastic about, the mission of the state legislature.

To apply, please go to 'Career Opportunities' at legislature.vermont.gov.

Shared-Living Provider

Join Home Base Inc. in supporting an older woman with developmental disabilities as a Shared-Living Provider. We are seeking someone who owns a home (preferably in/ around Burlington/Shelburne area) with an extra bedroom on the first floor. This woman lives semi-independently (can be alone for up to 3 hours at a time) and receives community supports from Home Base staff. At home, she enjoys relaxing and keeping to herself but also values company and conversation. Provide assistance with grocery shopping, meal & medication prep, home care. Generous tax-exempt monthly stipend and room and board payment for opening your home and providing care for this woman. Training and ongoing support provided.

Send resumes to: rachel@homebasevt.org

Operations Manager

OIN OUR TEAM IN SOUTH BURLINGTON!

The Housing Advocacy Program (HAP) Operations Manager is responsible for the ongoing operations, monitoring, and evaluation of the statewide HAP Housing Stabilization and Retention Services program (HSRS). Collaboration is a key part of this position, including cultivating and maintaining relationships with partners from outside organizations, federal and state agencies and actively supporting our mission in promoting inclusive, affordable housing for all. This is a hybrid position located in Burlington VT.

REGULATORY PARALEGAL

Sheehey Furlong & Behm P.C., a full-service law firm, located near the scenic Burlington waterfront, is hiring

Key Responsibilities:

• Monitor and manage regulatory case activity, ensuring timely compliance with deadlines.

• Develop a deep understanding of Vermont Public Utility Commission procedures and regulatory frameworks.

• Support the firm’s work regarding regulatory compliance, development of energy infrastructure, renewable energy policy issues, rate proceedings, and other energy matters.

• Analyze & interpret complex regulatory policies and procedures.

• Draft templates and letters, proofread legal documents, manage electronic and mailed filings, and maintain organized case files.

Ideal Candidate Qualifications:

• Strong reading comprehension, analytical skills, attention to detail.

• Experience in regulatory, energy, or related legal field preferred.

• Ability to work both independently and collaboratively within a team-oriented environment.

• Excellent organizational skills and the ability to manage multiple priorities effectively.

This is an exceptional opportunity to be part of a respected firm while contributing to meaningful regulatory & energy law initiatives. Competitive pay & comprehensive benefits package offered.

To apply, please send your cover letter and resume to hiring@sheeheyvt.com with the subject: “Regulatory Paralegal.”

ATTENTION RECRUITERS:

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POST YOUR JOBS AT: SEVENDAYSVT.COM/POSTMYJOB

PRINT DEADLINE: NOON ON MONDAYS (INCLUDING HOLIDAYS)

FOR RATES & INFO: MICHELLE BROWN, 802-865-1020 X121, MICHELLE@SEVENDAYSVT.COM

Requirements: Bachelor’s degree in Social Services, Community Development, Business Administration or other related field, plus three years of work experience, or a combination of education and experience from which comparable knowledge and skills are acquired. Effective supervisory, management and training skills required. Ability to deal effectively with a broad range of individuals, groups, and organizations in carrying out all assigned functions; requiring basic counseling and good mediation and negotiation skills.

When you come to work for CVOEO you’re getting so much more than a paycheck! We offer a great working environment and an excellent benefit package including medical, dental and vision insurance, paid holidays, generous time off, a retirement plan and discounted gym membership.

Interested in working with us? To apply, please include a cover letter and resume with your application. We are one of the 2025 Best Places to Work in Vermont! Join us to find out why! Visit: cvoeo.org/careers

SYSTEMS ANALYST

We are excited to announce the opening of a new position at Lake Champlain Chocolates and the expansion of our IT team! We are looking for an IT Systems Analyst who will play a critical role in analyzing and enhancing our enterprise systems. The IT Systems Analyst will ensure that systems are supported in a way that furthers LCC’s continued operations and strategic goals. They’ll provide administration, integration, and optimization of the Company’s enterprise applications while also performing traditional system administration duties, reporting/analytics, and managing IT-related projects. This role is critical to aligning technology solutions with business objectives for LCC’s three business segments: wholesale/manufacturing, ecommerce and retail.

LakeChamplainChocolates.com/careers for

job details and to submit your

MARCH 5-12, 2025

Staff Accountant

ATTENTION RECRUITERS:

TruexCullins is a 35-person architecture and interior design firm in downtown Burlington. We are seeking a staff accountant to join our admin team. Visit Truexcullins.com/Careers for more info or send a resume to: employment@truexcullins.com

•MANDARIN•

We’re seeking to hire servers and bartenders to join our hardworking and energetic team. If you’re interested in the opportunity, drop off a resume in person, or email to: lawrence@mandarinvt.com

Burlington Housing Authority (BHA)

Are you interested in a job that helps your community and makes a difference in people’s lives every day? Consider joining Burlington Housing Authority (BHA) in Burlington, VT to continue BHA’s success in promoting innovative solutions that address housing instability challenges facing our diverse population of low-income families and individuals.

We are currently hiring for the following positions:

Housing Retention Services – Site

Based: Responsible for supporting those who have mental health and substance use challenges and/or who have moved from homelessness to Bobbin Mill, Wharf Lane, and other BHA properties. The position works closely with property management and other site-based staff to identify challenges and respond with appropriate direct service and coordination of community services, with a goal of eviction prevention and facilitating a healthy tenancy.

Offender Re-entry Housing Specialist:

Provides support to men and women under the VT Department of Corrections supervision from prison back to Chittenden County. The ORHS focuses on high-risk men and women who are being released from jail and graduating transitional housing programs and in need of permanent housing. The ORHS provides intensive retention and eviction prevention services and works collaboratively with the Burlington Probation and Parole Office. Additionally, the ORHS works with various case workers, Re-Entry staff and the Administrative Staff from the VT Department of Corrections and the broad network of COSA staff as necessary throughout Chittenden County.

Preventative

Maintenance Specialist:

Administers and implements comprehensive preventative maintenance activities at all BHA properties, ensuring the systematic upkeep of building components. The PMS will establish a maintenance schedule, as well as overseeing and coordinating with contractors for key building systems and areas related to the upkeep of buildings.

Resident Manager at South Square:

Attends to various resident requests, assisting with emergency service, and light

cleaning duties. The Resident Manager is required to live on property. The Resident Manager is provided with an apartment along with free utilities in exchange for being on call after BHA business hours and on weekends.

Our robust benefit package includes premium medical insurance with a health reimbursement account, dental, vision, short and long term disability, 10% employer funded retirement plan, 457 retirement plan, accident insurance, life insurance, cancer and critical illness insurance.

We provide a generous time off policy including 12 days of paid time off and 12 days of sick time in the first year. In addition to the paid time off, BHA recognizes 13 (paid) holidays and 2 (paid) floating cultural holidays.

Interested in this opportunity? Send cover letter/resume to: humanresources@ burlingtonhousing.org

Human Resources

Burlington Housing Authority 65 Main Street, Suite 101 Burlington, VT 05401

To find more information about these career opportunities, please visit: burlingtonhousing.org

BHA is an Equal Opportunity Employer

Finance Coordinator

The Vermont Foodbank is seeking a Finance Coordinator. This full-time hourly position includes maintaining A/R and assisting the staff accountant and CFO. An ideal candidate is confident, comfortable making independent decisions, able to maintain confidentiality, can provide a high level of quality customer service and problem solving.

The starting pay for the position is set at $26.87 with eventual potential range ($52,793 to $71,425) placement based on years of experience within VF compensation equity roadmap.

To apply for this position, please visit: bit.ly/vtfoodbankjob

“Seven Days sales rep Michelle Brown is amazing! She’s extremely responsive, and I always feel so taken care of. I can only imagine how many job connections she has facilitated for local companies in the 20 years she has been doing this.”

CAROLYN ZELLER, Intervale Center, Burlington Get a quote when posting online. Contact Michelle Brown at 865-1020, ext. 121, michelle@sevendaysvt.com

350VT is hiring! Join us to support Vermont’s grassroots climate justice movement. Current openings:

Quality Assurance Lab Technician

Vermont Compost Company is seeking a detail-oriented individual to assist in our quality assurance lab. The QA Lab Technician will participate in the sampling and testing of soil products, as well as maintain the associated records.

The successful candidate will possess a love for the environment, a passion for organic growing, a sense of humor, and a strong desire to make a positive impact on our world. If you have an interest in soil science, this may be the job you’re looking for.

This part-time position is based in Montpelier, VT, and work will be performed during regular business hours, Monday - Friday. Ideally, work will be completed over 2 or 3 days (16 - 20 hours per week).

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.

Positions:

• Education Support Specialist

• Mixed-Age Kindergarten

Assistant Teacher

• Development and Events Coordinator

Cabinet Maker

Reputable custom kitchen cabinet company seeking full time carpenter to join our team. Experience with basic woodworking skills a must, but will provide additional training for the right candidate. Please email (only) experience and references for more information.

Apply by March 19 at 350vermont.org/

Housekeeping & Laundry

The Pitcher Inn in Warren, Vermont has an immediate opening in our Housekeeping & Laundry Department. Full and Part-time candidates considered. Join our talented team in serving our discerning guests well. Excellent starting wage and gratuity share, plus daily meal allowance. Please complete the link on our Career page or email your resume to brooks@pitcherinn.com

For more information or to set up an appointment, please call 802-496-6350.

Project Manager

The ideal candidate for this Project Manager position will be a highly motivated and detail-oriented individual, possessing a comprehensive understanding of project management best practices preferably with either a background in telecommunications infrastructure and/or construction.

For complete details, please visit nekbroadband.org/careers

Please submit your application materials (resume and cover letter) to jobs@vermontcompost.com, or mail to Vermont Compost Company, 1996 Main Street, Montpelier, VT 05602.

Meter to Cash Analyst I or Meter Cash Analyst II

The City of Burlington Department of Public Works is hiring!

The Meter to Cash Analyst positions are responsible for the accurate and timely billing of the Department’s water, wastewater and stormwater accounts, which involves collecting, managing, and processing data for the meter-to-cash cycle for customer billing, including implementing and managing complex billing processes. This position conducts day-today business operations for the meter-to-cash process using multiple software systems including Meter Data Management System (MDMS), Customer Information System (CIS) and customer communication portal collectively known as the “meter-to-cash systems”, using knowledge of the integration among all components of the meter-to-cash process. This position is responsible for ensuring the integrity of these systems and processes, including maintaining accurate billing records; identifying and helping to troubleshoot problematic meters; managing service requests, and responding to standard data requests.

Project Manager

To qualify for Cash Analyst I: Our ideal candidate will have at least an Associate’s Degree in business, economics, math or related field and experience with essential utility is highly preferred. Additional years of relevant experience may be substituted for a degree requirement on a two-for-one-year basis. Salary: $29.59 - $32.98 Hourly

To Qualify for Cash Analyst II: Our ideal candidate will have a bachelor’s degree in business, economics, math, or related field with a minimum of 2 years of relevant utility Meter to Cash experience is required. Salary: $31.54 - $35.17 Hourly

Please note, DPW is looking to hire two Meter to Cash Analysts. Applications for Meter to Cash Analyst I and Meter to Cash Analyst II will be considered to fill these openings.

The City of Burlington is an equal opportunity employer and we encourage applicants who can contribute to our growing diversity.

www.lakechamplainwaldorfschool.org

1 2/24/25 2:18 PM

Send application to peter@ pomerantzcabinetry.com

Join VYCC as an AmeriCorps Farm Crew Member

Learn methods of sustainable agriculture

Work in farm fields and greenhouses

Wash and pack food for distribution

Develop teamwork and leadership skills

Earn a weekly stipend and education award

hisge

This position runs from June 16 - August 14, 2025

Age eligibility: 17+

ocation: chedule: arn ore

Location: Richmond, VT

Schedule: Mon-Thurs

Earn while you learn; no experience needed

More info & application at vycc.org/positions

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Residential Support - Community Support Program

The Community Support Program (CSP) division of Washington County Mental Health Services (WCMHS) provides comprehensive community based support to persons with intensive and persistent mental health needs. We are currently hiring for entry-level positions to work as Residential Support with salary ranges starting from $20.05/hour based on education and experience. Competitive shift differentials offered for evening, weekend and holidays. If you would like to learn more about the Residential Support position, or any position within Washington County Mental Health please visit our website at wcmhs.org

We are seeking both full-time and hourly folks to join our team. This is an awesome opportunity for those looking for truly rewarding work for just a few hours a week, or for those who are looking to start a career within the mental health ﬁeld.

2v-LakeChamplainWaldorf-022625

ATTENTION RECRUITERS:

AUTOMOTIVE TECH INSTRUCTOR

The Northlands Job Corps center has a need for an Automotive Tech Instructor to join our school. This is a full time, year round position that offers a competitive wage, major medical insurance plan, dental, vision, 401K and more. Northlands Job Corps provides career training to students 16 to 24 years of age who come to our center to gain valuable skills and start a career. Our students are mostly from the Northeast US and about 40% are from Vermont. We are probably the most diverse school in the state and our success, as measured by our students’ performance, is one of the best in the country. The ideal instructor would be someone who wants to be in a teaching role, ASE certiﬁed or willing to be certiﬁed, understands employment skills as well as automotive, and desires to run their own shop. Our program includes classroom instruction, hands on experience in our automotive shop and work based learning opportunities with local businesses. Class sizes are small to allow for one-on-one support. At Northlands we build success that lasts a lifetime.

Please contact us if you have an interest and would like to learn more.

Project Engineer/ PE Development Program

A project Engineer at NCC is an engineering professional with unique skill set & desire to develop their career through the full lifecycle of project experience from pre-construction through post-construction closeout. The PE maintains a heavy focus on documentation, quality control, information flow and project coordination in support of the Project Management Team.

The NCC Development Program allows you to grow into your desired professional role through a wide-range of unique and challenging project experiences. This team-based experience includes opportunities to explore project management, field management, and project engineering rotations.

Training and skill development will focus on safety program support, project information flow, trade and vendor support, scheduling and overall project coordination. The goal is to develop individuals that are an integral part of the project team and provide a critical support role for Superintendents and Project Managers.

REQUIREMENTS:

• Bachelor’s Degree in Engineering or Construction Management

• Familiarity with construction management software

• Proficiency with Microsoft Office

• Field experience a plus

• Good communications skills/Strong organizational skills BENEFITS:

• Health/Dental

• Short-Term Disability/Life Insurance/401(k) Program

• Personalized Employee Development Plan/Paid Time Off

Email cover letter, resume, and completed application to skeck@neagleychase.com or stop by our office.

SYSTEMS ADMINISTRATOR

Systems Administrator District of Vermont at Burlington (CL-28/29)

$70,894 – $137,032 Full Time Permanent U.S. Probation is accepting applications for a full-time Systems Administrator. The Systems Administrator is responsible for testing and performing routine upgrades of hardware and software, maintaining technical and user documentation for assigned systems and applications, providing technical support for all systems, ensuring integrity and safety of office data and performing or coordinating IT support services necessary for the successful operation of all IT systems. AO-78 form required from all applicants.

Salary range: $70,894 - $137,032 (CL 28 to CL 29), depending on qualifications. For further information and application instructions visit vtp. uscourts.gov/career-opportunities

Deadline for complete applications: Close of business, March 21, 2025.

Join Our Team at the Vermont League of Cities and Towns!

Are you an organized, detail-oriented professional who thrives in a dynamic, customer-focused environment? The Vermont League of Cities and Towns (VLCT) is looking for a Human Resources and Administrative Assistant to be the welcoming face of our organization while providing critical administrative and HR support to our team.

Why Join VLCT? VLCT is a trusted resource for Vermont's municipalities, offering training, advocacy, and support to local governments. As an integral member of our Operations Team, you'll work closely with all departments and key external vendors, helping to ensure smooth day-today operations and excellent member service.

What You Bring to the Table:

• A high school diploma (minimum); additional education is a plus.

• At least three years of administrative experience and two years in an HR support role (preferably in a nonprofit or government setting).

• Strong proficiency in Microsoft Office (Word, Excel, Outlook, Teams, and SharePoint) and familiarity with Zoom.

• Excellent organizational skills, attention to detail, and the ability to handle multiple tasks in a fast-paced environment.

• Strong interpersonal and communication skills, with the ability to maintain confidentiality and professionalism.

• Valid driver’s license or reliable transportation for occasional event support. Why You’ll Love Working Here:

At VLCT, we believe in fostering a collaborative and supportive work environment. You'll have the opportunity to make a real impact on Vermont’s municipalities while working with a passionate and dedicated team. Plus, you'll enjoy an incredible total compensation package that includes:

• Health, dental and employer paid life insurance

• Voluntary life, vision and pet insurance

• 401a retirement plan as well as a pension within the Vermont Municipal Employees’ Retirement System

• Generous paid leave, vacation, sick, volunteer & holiday time Ready to Apply?

If you're excited about bringing your administrative and HR skills to VLCT, we want to hear from you! Full job description and to apply at: vlct.org/careers

Please plan to upload a cover letter, resume, and three professional references. Deadline to apply: Friday, March 14. Salary range is $55,000$62,000, commensurate with experience.

Join VLCT & be a part of strengthening Vermont’s local governments! E.O.E.

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Human Resources & Administrative Assistant

Administrative Specialist

The Administrative Specialist provides clerical and administrative support to the Feeding Champlain Valley Team, monitors purchasing expenses, assists with data entry and generates reports for managers, funding sources, service recipients and other stakeholders. Assesses need for new technology and resources in coordination with CVOEO IT department. Works with the Associate Director to improve fiscal and program documentation and works with CVOEO’s fiscal office to process invoices and bills.

For full details and to apply, use QR code:

VP of Conservation Programs

Join our ambitious wilderness team! Northeast Wilderness Trust seeks an experienced VP of Conservation Programs to provide leadership to advance our mission at a time of strong organizational growth. Visit newildernesstrust.org/ about/employment 2v-(NEWT)PtarmiganAbbott-030525.indd 1 3/3/25

Requirements: Associate’s degree in business or human services or combination of education and experience in human services or other appropriate disciplines, which include 2-4 years’, related experience from which comparable knowledge and skills have been acquired. Strong organization skills, basic administrative and supervisory skills desired; experience with accounting software is a plus. A willingness to work occasional evenings and weekends is required. Clean driving record, valid driver’s license and access to reliable private transportation must be maintained.

Full Time | Location: Lebanon, NH

CCS has been voted one of the Best Places to Work in Vermont for the seventh year in a row and we would love to have you as part of our team. JOIN US!

Work at CCS and support our mission to build a community where everyone participates and belongs. E.O.E. ccs-vt.org/current-openings

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Environmental Well Driller

Per Diem | Location: Lebanon, NH and St. Johnsbury, VT

A scenic work location and the benefit of an academic medical center supporting your career. Treats patients with the various modalities available in Radiation Oncology. Counsels, schedules and maintains detailed records on patient treatment.

Qualifications:

• Associates degree in Radiation Therapy (2-year academic and affiliation program) required and 1 year experience.

Required Licensure/Certifications:

• Radiographer NH OR Radiation Therapist NH OR Medical Imaging/Rad Ther - NH

• BLS within 30 days

• Radiologic Technologist - Radiation Therapy (RT-T)

Position entails the operation of environmental well drilling equipment for the advancement and installation of soil borings and monitoring wells. The candidate should be capable of lifting and carrying heavy loads (greater than 90 lbs), troubleshooting diesel engine and hydraulic systems, operating heavy equipment in an efficient and safe manner, and working in all weather conditions. A background in geology or environmental sciences is helpful, but not required. This position entails travel both in Vermont and greater New England. Compensation is based on experience and performance; this position includes a comprehensive benefits package.

Environmental Well Drillers Assistant

Position entails assistance to the drill rig operator for the advancement and installation of soil borings and monitoring wells. The candidate should be capable of lifting and carrying heavy loads (greater than 90 lbs.), troubleshooting diesel engine and hydraulic systems, and working in all weather conditions. This position entails travel both in Vermont and greater New England. Compensation is based on experience and performance; this position includes a comprehensive benefits package.

Send your application to Mjordan@platform-env.com

Platform Environmental Drilling and Remediation Services (Platform) provides geotechnical and environmental drilling services for the purpose of, monitoring well installation, soil boring advancement, and application of several direct sensing subsurface technologies. We provide implementation assistance for the construction of environmental remediation systems. Our current staff has a diverse background in geological sciences, engineering and construction which enables us to complete complicated drilling and remediation projects successfully.

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Seven Days on the press in Mirabel, Québec

fun stuff

“You’re getting very slee – hey! Quit it!!”

JEN SORENSEN

HARRY BLISS

TIM SNIFFEN

KRISTEN SHULL

PISCES

(FEB. 19-MAR. 20)

No cars drove through London’s streets in 1868. That invention was still years away. But the roads were crammed with pedestrians and horses. To improve safety amid the heavy traffic, a mechanical traffic light was installed — the first in the world. But it had a breakdown a month later, injured a police officer and was discontinued. Traffic lights didn’t become common until 50 years after that. I believe your imminent innovations will have better luck and good timing, Pisces. Unlike the premature traffic signal, your creations and improvements will have the right context to succeed. Don’t be shy about pushing your good ideas! They could revamp the daily routine.

ARIES (Mar. 21-Apr. 19): The world’s darkest material is Vantablack. This super-black coating absorbs 99.96 percent of visible light, creating a visual void. It has many practical applications, such as improving the operation of telescopes, infrared cameras and solar panels. I propose we make Vantablack your symbol of power in the coming weeks. It will signify that an apparent void or absence in your life might actually be a fertile opportunity. An ostensible emptiness may be full of potential.

TAURUS (Apr. 20-May 20): Among their many sensational qualities, rivers have the power to create through demolition and revision. Over the centuries, they erode rock and earth, making canyons and valleys. Their slow and steady transformative energy can be an inspiration to you in the coming months, Taurus. You, too, will be able to accomplish wonders through the strength of your relentless persistence — and through your resolute insistence that some old approaches will need to be eliminated to make way for new dispensations.

GEMINI (May 21-Jun. 20): Centuries before European sailors ventured across the seas, Polynesians were making wide-ranging voyages around the South Pacific. Their navigations didn’t use compasses or sextants but relied on analyzing ocean swells, star configurations, cloud formations, bird movements and wind patterns. I bring their genius to your attention, Gemini, because I believe you are gaining access to new ways to read and understand your environment. Subtleties that weren’t previously clear to you are becoming so. Your perceptual powers seem to be growing, and so is your sensitivity to clues from below the visible surface of things. Your intuition is synergizing with your logical mind.

CANCER (Jun. 21-Jul. 22): The Maeslant Barrier is a gigantic, movable barricade designed to prevent the flooding of the Dutch port of Rotterdam. It’s deployed when storms generate surges that need to be repelled. I think we all need metaphorical versions of this protective fortification, with its balance of unstinting vigilance and timely flexibility. Do you have such psychic structures in place, Cancerian? Now would be a good time to ensure that you have them and they’re working properly. A key factor, as you mull over the prospect I’m suggesting, is knowing that you don’t need to keep all your defenses raised to the max at all times. Rather, you need to sense when it’s crucial to assert limits and boundaries — and when it’s safe and right to allow the flow of connection and opportunity.

LEO (Jul. 23-Aug. 22): The authentic alchemists of medieval times were not foolishly hoping to transmute literal lead and other

cheap metals into literal gold. In fact, their goal was to change the wounded, ignorant, unripe qualities of their psyches into beautiful, radiant aspects. The coming weeks will be an excellent time for you to do such magic. Life will provide you with help and inspiration as you try to brighten your shadows. We all need to do this challenging work, Leo! Now is one of your periodic chances to do it really well.

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sep. 22): Cosmic rhythms are authorizing you to be extra demanding in the coming days — as long as you are not frivolous, rude or unreasonable. You have permission to ask for bigger and better privileges that you have previously felt were beyond your grasp. You should assume you have finally earned rights you had not fully earned before now. My advice is to be discerning about how you wield this extra power. Don’t waste it on trivial or petty matters. Use it to generate significant adjustments that will change your life for the better.

LIBRA (Sep. 23-Oct. 22): In North America, starlings are an invasive species introduced from Europe in the 19th century. They are problematic, competing with native species for resources. They can damage crops and spread diseases that affect livestock. Yet starlings also create the breathtakingly beautiful marvel known as a murmuration. They make mesmerizing, ever-shifting patterns in the sky while moving as one cohesive unit. We all have starling-like phenomena in our lives — people, situations and experiences that arouse deeply paradoxical responses, that we both enjoy and disapprove of. According to my analysis, the coming weeks will be prime time to transform and evolve your relationships with these things. It’s unwise to sustain the status quo. I’m not necessarily advising you to banish them — simply to change your connection.

SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): Buildings and walls in the old Incan city of Machu Picchu feature monumental stone blocks that fit together precisely. You can’t slip a piece of paper between them. Most are irregularly shaped and weigh many tons. Whoever constructed these prodigious structures benefited from massive amounts of ingenuity and patience. I

invite you to summon some of the same blend of diligence and brilliance as you work on your growing masterpiece in the coming weeks and months. My prediction: What you create in 2025 will last a very long time.

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): Bioluminescence is light emitted from living creatures. They don’t reflect the light of the sun or moon but produce it themselves. Fireflies do it, and so do glowworms and certain fungi. If you go to Puerto Rico’s Mosquito Bay, you may also spy the glimmer of marine plankton known as dinoflagellates. The best time to see them show what they can do is on a cloudy night during a new moon, when the deep murk reveals their full power. I believe their glory is a good metaphor for you in the coming days. Your beauty will be most visible and your illumination most valuable when the darkness is at a peak.

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): Capricornborn Shah Jahan I was the emperor of Hindustan from 1628 to 1658. During his reign, he commissioned the Taj Mahal, a magnificent garden and building complex to honor his wife, Mumtaz Mahal. This spectacular “jewel of Islamic art” is still a major tourist attraction. In the spirit of Shah Jahan’s adoration, I invite you to dream and scheme about expressing your devotion to what you love. What stirs your heart and nourishes your soul? Find tangible ways to celebrate and fortify your deepest passions.

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): More than 2,100 years ago, Greek scientists created an analog computer that could track astronomical movements and events decades in advance. Referred to now as the Antikythera mechanism, it was a unique, groundbreaking invention. Similar machines didn’t appear again until Europe in the 14th century. If it’s OK with you, I will compare you with the Antikythera mechanism. Why? You are often ahead of your time with your innovative approaches. People may regard you as complex, inscrutable or unusual, when in fact you are simply alert for and homing in on future developments. These qualities of yours will be especially needed in the coming weeks and months.

At the Newark Street School, fourth and ﬁfth graders meet up every Wednesday after school to prepare meals for six seniors. Seven Days’ Eva Sollberger traveled to Newark to see the students make mini meatloaves, mashed potatoes, peas and cookies, then she met a 91-year-old who enjoyed the meal.

Respond to these people online: dating.sevendaysvt.com

WOMEN seeking...

ARTIST, AGING ACROBAT, AMATEUR GEOLOGIST

I am a painter, single mom (one still at home), teacher and swimmer. I love living in Vermont, moved back four years ago after being away for about 30 years. I lived in lots of places but this is my heart home. I am looking for someone to dream and scheme, build, explore, and stargaze with me. star8gazer, 54, seeking: M, l

JASMINE FOR YOU

I’m a youthful, independent, confident, financially secure, 77-years-young widow who is very comfortable in her own skin! I am upbeat, love to smile and make others happy. You will find me to be joyful, positive, intelligent, loyal and monogamous. Well traveled, I enjoy skiing, hiking, road trips, biking, cooking and cozy evenings at home. Jassy1948 77, seeking: M, l

NATURAL, OUTGOING AND WARMHEARTED

I want to share life with a man interested in a rich home life with land for animals, compost, gardens. I come from a large family. I want a mutually exclusive relationship. I love eating out and live music! My children are grown and healthy, as am I. Ideally you build, fix things, have steady income, integrity and honesty. MoveSlow 50 seeking: M, l

WANT TO RESPOND?

You read Seven Days, these people read Seven Days — you already have at least one thing in common!

All the action is online. Create an account or login to browse hundreds of singles with profiles including photos, habits, desires, views and more. It’s free to place your own profile online.

l See photos of this person online.

W = Women

M = Men

TW = Trans women

TM = Trans men

Q = Genderqueer people

NBP = Nonbinary people

NC = Gender nonconformists

Cp = Couples

Gp = Groups

BUBBLY, ADVENTUROUS FOODIE

I love meeting new people and trying new things. On a given Saturday night you can either find me dancing the night away at bars or staying at home in my PJs, reading a thriller. murphjo99 25, seeking: M, l

LONELY LOOKING FOR ?

Looking for someone kind. I know no picture. Life’s a gamble. Self-sufficient woman here, at least I think so sometimes. I enjoy nature and good sex, like I can remember. Physically active. Not perfect. Silly_wabbit, 54, seeking: M

LOOKING FOR CONNECTION

I’m considerate, kind, compassionate, curious and always looking for new adventures. I would love to meet someone to share in my enthusiasm. Connect with me if you are not afraid to be real. katya 58 seeking: M, l

CARING, COMPASSIONATE, OPTIMIST

I am an active, energetic person with an optimistic view of life. I enjoy being out in nature and appreciate all seasons. I hope to find someone who’s up for new adventures and enjoys time alone and time together. Good communication, trust and compassion are very important to me, and I hope to find someone who shares these values. KindredSpirit63, 63, seeking: M, l

HONEST, LOYAL, INTENSE

Science and tech geek seeks similar. Dark sense of humor, still kind of a goth at heart. If I’m not home on Saturday nights, I’ll be at a bar or movie, not the theater. Shy, quiet and serious at first, looking for my opposite: someone carefree and joyful. But in the end, it all comes down to chemistry, right? labrat 47, seeking: M, l

ACTIVE, CARING AND FUNNY

Active woman who enjoys dancing, hiking, biking. My new partner is passionate about life and wants to spend time building a relationship. DancingQueen 60, seeking: M, l

TEAM PLAYER SEEKS COCAPTAIN

Forty-nine years old/young, living in Stowe with my young daughter, our little dog and a kitten. Two-plus years of transition to single-mom living, and finally considering how a man might fit into my life. Honestly, still unsure, but hopeful for a partner with wit, creativity, non-arrogant ambition, humor and new adventures. I love people, kids, nature, saunas/plunges, skiing! Mountain_Mama 28 seeking: M, l

LOVING EVERY MORNING!

I, first and foremost, want honesty! If you don’t feel it, just tell me and go! It’s OK! I want laughter, fun, peace, enjoyment, no drama, no lies (big with me!) and to enjoy whatever “we” are doing! I am a very fast thinker but forget stuff. My life can be chaotic at times. I like my Jeep, ’93 Mazda. MaMa_Me 71, seeking: M, l

ENERGETIC, SARCASTIC AND LAID-BACK! Not good at this. Let’s just give it a go and see what happens! Looking for a buddy, someone to hang and spend some time with. ForgingNewPaths, 37 seeking: M

KIND AND FIT MOUNTAIN GUY

Kind and fit mountain guy seeking compatible partner. StoweMountainGuy 54, seeking: W, l

I AM VERY UNIQUE

I am looking for someone to be there for me, and I will be there for them. texan05 69, seeking: W

HEALTHY, ACTIVE EMERITUS

PROFESSOR/SCIENTIST

CULTURED VERMONT WOMAN

I am intellectual and creative and love to explore active and artistic hobbies like drawing, skiing, walking in the woods and journaling. I am looking for a meaningful and serious relationship with someone who is kind yet ambitious. francoisegirl 28, seeking: M

SEEKING TALL NICE GUY

Nice gal seeks nice guy for fun: conversation, travel, meals. I like fiction, cooking garden-to-table, conversation. I don’t like motorcycles, football, TV. Please be 5’10” or taller, nonsmoker, financially secure, emotionally and physically healthy. swimwstars 68, seeking: M

IN SEARCH OF YOU!

ISO companionship or LTR for social activities such as long walks on nature trails, browsing art galleries, attending lectures, long country back-road trips. I enjoy dining out but would prefer cooking healthy meals at home. Cozy evenings at home reading, playing board games by a roaring fire with great conversation. Biking and nightly walks, holding hands. Sunsets, farmers markets, live music. JeezumCrow, 73, seeking: M, l

GENUINE, FRIENDLY, LOYAL AND TRUE

I am single and live independently. Now retired but work part time remotely. I love nature and watching birds. I enjoy art, consignment and antique shops, music, and good movies. Looking for long-term friend and companion to love, share life, cook good food, talk, entertain and travel. Redwing, 75, seeking: M, l

ACTIVE, OUTGOING, ADVENTUROUS

I am a caring, independent, professional female who loves traveling, being outdoors (skiing, hiking, biking, paddle boarding, gardening), being with friends and family, or reading a great book. Ideally I would like to meet someone who is smart, has a good sense of humor, shares some of my interests and enjoys great conversation. Hopefully they are out there and will reach out. Oreodog, 61, seeking: M, l

MEN seeking...

I’M YOUR HANDYMAN

Hard to sum myself up. Used to be a jazz musician and taught jazz ensembles, guitar and bass lessons at private schools near Boston. Nowadays, I mainly do my handyman “side gig” since I moved to Vermont. I don’t even know what I’m hoping to find, but my wife died more than a year ago, and it sucks being alone. eccentric, 62 seeking: W, l

RENAISSANCE MAN?

Creative, funny, fit guy looking for someone to get out and enjoy some adventures. Let’s go skin up a hill with the dog and then curl up on the couch with a movie. Or maybe write a song together. Well-read, curious and compassionate, but with a sharp wit. Let’s see what sort of trouble we can get into! Livenow73, 51 seeking: W, l

At 85-plus with a healthy lifestyle, I’m expecting lots more quality years, shared with a new best friend and partner for daily company, thoughtful conversation, travel near and far, music/ theater/art, and of course, affection and intimacy. Family and friends are important — yours and mine. Also, I’m just looking for serendipity! SingingBill 83 seeking: W, l

LAID-BACK, HANDY AND KINDHEARTED

I have been alone for quite some time now and am looking for an attractive lady who is kindhearted and generous. daved, 55 seeking: W

MASCULINE, FUNNY, KAYAKING ARTIST EXPLORER

Divorced bachelor in the boonies looking for new friends and playmates. Kayaking, thrifting, day trips, festivals, concerts, camping, dinners, movies and more! I love sharing pics and memes. Selfemployed Scorpio who loves Halloween. Artist802 44, seeking: M, W, TW, Cp, l

RELENTLESSLY SEEKING CONTENTMENT

I’m just here hoping to find someone to get to know. I’m looking for long-term love, and I know I need to meet a lot of people to find that kind of connection. Do you want to meet right now to say hello? Just talk a little bit for, like, 30 minutes or so? No obligations. No expectations. Coffee? moon, 50, seeking: W, TW, l

ENJOYING LIFE

I’m here to meet people and date. If I connect with someone, great; I’d love to see where it goes. I’ve shared my life with a partner before and would enjoy doing that again. I’ve been hiking more, dancing more, and writing and playing music with an amazing group of people. stuffnthings 51, seeking: W, l

RESPECTABLE, REFINED, GENTLEMAN, LOYAL, ROMANTIC

Looking for my darling dearest. I’m Skyler, 19, seeking a genuine connection with someone my age who values kindness, authenticity and lasting companionship. I’m posting here because I respect others too much to inquire directly, as it makes me feel brash. If you know someone my age who shares these values, I’d appreciate the chance to connect. Theoldsoul, 19, seeking: W, l

AUTHENTIC, INTUITIVE, KIND, NATURE LOVER

Time in nature is essential for me throughout the year. In the woods, on the waters, skiing (a few varieties), paddling, swimming, roaming the woods, lying on a rock under summer sun. Artist dreamer type, open mind, active, young for my years. Authentic, quiet, kind, quirky. Active imagination, curious nature, seeking kindred spirit. quietwaters 70, seeking: W, l

HELLO, LADIES

Hello, ladies. My name is Jonathan but everyone calls me Jay. I’m 5’6”, I weigh 135. I am a fun-loving guy who loves to be around a special woman who loves to have sex and fun — all in one — so hit me up if that’s you. jayondamove87 37 seeking: W, Cp, l

LOVING ,UNDERSTANDING, LOOKING FOR SAME

Let’s check one another out. Love to find someone like-minded to share my life with. ugotit123 65 seeking: W

ACTIVE, CURIOUS AND ENTERTAINING

Recently single, retired professional seeking fun-loving companion who appreciates laughter, outdoors, travel, dining, music and hanging with friends. I embrace Vermont, especially Lake Champlain, on which I live. Skiing, biking, hiking and gym are all part of my routine. Grandkids and family are central but not local. Most importantly I seek a special person to share conversation, new adventures and good times. Catman 74, seeking: W, l

KIND, THOUGHTFUL, PATIENT INTROVERT If only I knew what to say. BonfiresAndStars 49, seeking: W, l

SCHOOL OF HARD KNOX GRADUATE

I am an honest, hardworking, single male who loves the outdoors and spending time with family. I am looking for a companion who is also honest, caring and accepting. I would like a romantic partner to join me on adventures like going for bike rides, a walk in the woods with a dog or a splash in the river. Spuds, 73, seeking: W, l

A RELATIONSHIP OF “YES”

Compassionate, caring, loving, ethical. As a lover, I am intimate, sensitive, passionate and communicative in all the ways available for humans to communicate. In love I can and will go as deep and fearlessly as you are willing. I’ve rebuilt buildings, built boats and a rental business, post-retirement. I want to build a life together. Communication_ Matters 65 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, 59, seeking: M, l

NONBINARY PEOPLE seeking...

OUTDOORSY, TALKATIVE, CREATIVE Hi, I am pretty fun. I listen to a lot of music. I hike a lot, backpack and garden in the summers. I’m intersex, so I’m doublegendered totally and prefer men. I like to draw a lot. I’m very creative; think of myself as a drawer of African animalistic settings, Vermont animals and astrology. Hailuithair 30 seeking: M, l

COUPLES seeking...

LOOKING FOR FUN PEEPS

Fun, open-minded couple seeking playmates. Shoot us a note if interested so we can share details and desires. Jackrabbits, 61, seeking: W, Cp

EXPLORING THREESOMES AND FOURSOMES

We are older and wiser, discovered that our sexuality is amazingly hot! Our interest is another male for threesomes or a couple for threesomes or foursomes. 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. Are you interested in exploring sexuality with a hot older couple? DandNformen 68, seeking: M, W, TM, TW, Q, NC, NBP, Cp, Gp, l

TALL HOTTIE NORTH AVENUE

Saw you twice walking your dog along North Avenue. I think I even beeped! (Silver Ford Expedition) You: black puffy coat and New York Yankees hat. en I passed you twice in Hannaford! Me: black boots, long brown jacket, dark curly hair. Single? You’re gorgeous! When: Tuesday, February 25, 2025. Where: North Avenue Hannaford. You: Man. Me: Woman. #916264

CASA GRANDE

Young, handsome, dark-haired man wearing a Snap-on hoodie. You caught my eye downing a football-size burrito and a pitcher of frozen banana margaritas. I would love to drink some margaritas with you sometime. When: Monday, February 24, 2025. Where: Casa Grande. You: Man. Me: Woman. #916263

BEJEWLED BEAUTY

You had sparkly cheeks in line at Ulta and high-ﬁved me after I got a great deal. Let’s keep celebrating — me and you against the world! Hit me up, I’d love to take you out. When: ursday, February 20, 2025. Where: Ulta. You: Woman. Me: Man. #916261

SB B-DUBS

I was there with my kids; we interacted several times. While leaving, your comments about interactions and seeing us interacting together and us being good/ kind people were appreciated. I was slow to react, but they came at a good time; comments made me feel like we’re on the right track. I’m proud of my kids and think they’re good people, too. Hearing someone say so unsolicited was impactful. Saying something positive and considerate can make a difference. I wanted to say thank you and return it — please don’t change. When: Tuesday, February 18, 2025. Where: Server at Super Bowl Buffalo Wild Wings. You: Woman. Me: Man. #916259

If you’ve been spied, go online to contact your admirer!

GRAM CENTRAL IN MONTPELIER

You: lovely blonde in rebel cap. You recognized me from running in Hubbard Park, and we share being blessed with extra energy. You hike more than run, and we both like the hills. Reach out if you’d like a bit of company out in these beautiful woods. When: Friday, February 21, 2025. Where: Gram Central, Montpelier. You: Woman. Me: Man. #916262

WE BOTH LIKE OLIVES

We connected brieﬂy over a deal on olives. You were friendly and cheerful, and I wish I had slowed down to really interact. We wished each other a good day in the parking lot. When: Saturday, February 8, 2025. Where: Hunger Mountain Co-op. You: Man. Me: Woman. #916258

RUNNING ON THE RAIL TRAIL

You were out running. I was on my snowmobile and stopped to help you grab your adorable pup Maple. Running into you was the most delightful event of my day. Care to run the trails with me sometime? When: Monday, February 3, 2025. Where: St. Albans Rail Trail. You: Woman. Me: Man. #916257

BE(ER) MY VALENTINE AND MORE

Your unique look caught my eye as you heaved heavy kegs and cases about. I noticed your strong physique and wondered if I should ask you out. Your handsome brown eyes were ﬁlled with delight as you performed your job, efﬁcient and sharp. Won’t you be my valentine and bring me back to life to save me from the dark? When: Friday, February 14, 2025. Where: downtown Burlington. You: Man. Me: Woman. #916255

I like dogs, but I’m not what you would call a dog person. I recently started dating a man who has one, and the ﬁrst time I stayed at his house, the dog slept in bed with us. I was really uncomfortable with that, but I didn’t say anything. I would like to get to know this guy better, but I’m not sure how to tell him that I think sleeping with a dog is gross. What should I do?

TRADER JOE’S TEA

Girl with the red hair: You let me know about your upcoming visit with a friend, sharing a cup of tea and perhaps talking the tea? You departed on the winds of a cold February afternoon. Would you a care for a visit and tea with me?

When: Monday, February 3, 2025. Where: Trader Joe’s South Burlington. You: Woman. Me: Man. #916256

PRICE CHOPPER

You were a nice Black woman, getting dizzy and nauseous in the supermarket. I held your hand and walked you outside to your car. I asked you to wait about ﬁve to 10 minutes before taking off. I asked you if you would like me to get you something from the store. I hope you are doing well. I would like to see you again. When: Friday, February 7, 2025. Where: Price Chopper supermarket, South Burlington. You: Woman. Me: Man. #916254

HUNGER MOUNTAIN CO-OP

INTRIGUE

Hi! Me: woman in her forties at the checkout line wearing blue coat and pink hat. You: guy in his ﬁfties by the candy wearing green coat and brown hat. You looked at me like you knew me or wanted to. I was hoping you would come over and say hello — maybe you can start the introduction here. When: Sunday, February 2, 2025. Where: Hunger Mountain Co-op, Montpelier. You: Man. Me: Woman. #916253

BOOK BANTER AT BARRIO

You were reading A Court of orns and Roses (book three) in a cozy gray sweater. I was reading Crying in H Mart Before you left, we chatted brieﬂy about your book, mine and the bright winter sunshine. You piqued my interest from the very ﬁrst page. When: Saturday, February 8, 2025. Where: Barrio Bakery. You: Woman. Me: Man. #916252

SOUTH BURLINGTON DUNKIN’ GUY

Kept making eye contact with this one guy in a Dunkin’ in South Burlington. He was with two other guys (I was with two other girls). We were slightly loud/obnoxious. I think we would hit it off, honestly. Hit me up. When: Wednesday, January 15, 2025. Where: South Burlington Dunkin’. You: Man. Me: Woman. #916250

De Red Rov ,

J. AT SPECIAL SERVICES

TRANSPORTATION AGENCY

Found out recently you left the company. You were an irreplaceable asset to them. May this year bring you only good things. When: Saturday, March 2, 2024. Where: only spoke on the phone. You: Man. Me: Woman. #916251

SEPTUAGENARIAN EYES

Mesmerize green eyes / Beguile, Betray Bats Burro / Reconcile swap smile. When: Sunday, February 9, 2025. Where: running from fate. You: Woman. Me: Man. #916249

ST. ALBANS TRACTOR SUPPLY

We were both shopping, and by the third time we crossed paths, there clearly was mutual curiosity with enough sparkle for me to decide to write this. No big deal, and we might as well connect just for the fun of it. I can’t get there next Saturday, which would be an easy plan B, otherwise. When: Saturday, February 8, 2025. Where: St. Albans Tractor Supply. You: Woman. Me: Man. #916248

HOLDING DOOR IN ESSEX JUNCTION

A week or so ago, as I was leaving Fairground Beverage in Essex Junction, you held the door open for me. I just wanted to say that I think you’re a class act. anks. When: Monday, January 27, 2025. Where: Essex Junction. You: Man. Me: Woman. #916247

$30 LOAF OF BREAD

Beauty — wisdom — humor! Dark hair, parted right to left, round glasses, beautiful smile! At 2:40 p.m., we discussed the complexities involving a $30 loaf of bread. Me: long, dark curly hair. I’d love to meet you for coffee somewhere or go for a walk with the dogs — or ? So hope you see this and reach out! When: ursday, January 30, 2025. Where: East Warren Community Market. You: Woman. Me: Man. #916246

TO MY VALENTINE

Curly hair, don’t care. Brown eyes, give me butterﬂies. Britain or England, I’ll take you there. You are beautiful and perfect for me in every way! I love you and want to spend my life with you — and NB with GT! XoXO When: Friday, February 14, 2025. Where: Williston. You: Woman. Me: Man. #916245

I have three cats, and nothing beats the feeling of having them all cozied up in bed with me. If a guy I just started dating told me that he didn’t want my cats in bed, I’d have to tell him “Tough titties, I’m sleeping with my kitties” and show him the door.

I don’t know if your fella would have such a hard line, but tread lightly if you’re going to bring up the subject. Animal lovers usually don’t take kindly to an outsider’s input on how they treat their pet. Remember, the dog was there ﬁrst.

If you would like to stay at this guy’s house more often, discuss the issue sooner rather than later. You should be honest, and you can talk

I’D DRESS AS DONKEY

Enjoy this Haiku / I crafted it just for you / Heartfelt Healing Hope When: Monday, February 3, 2025. Where: e deep woods. You: Group. Me: Man. #916244

HANDSOME GUY AT BENT NAILS E, thanks for making my night. I was in my groove and caught off guard — I thought you were on a date. Now I’m wishing I’d come over. Let me buy you a drink? When: Friday, January 31, 2025. Where: Bent Nails Bistro. You: Man. Me: Woman. #916243

BIRTHDAY ON 28, LOVES TIRAMISU e way you threw your shoulder left me feeling sore. You said you loved tiramisu, could I ask for more? Yapping with you is never a bore. I can’t believe you’re not 24 anymore. When: Sunday, January 26, 2025. Where: With the goats. You: Woman. Me: Woman. #916242

SALT & RIND WATERBURY

You were with friends from N.C. I was with someone. Wanted to sit at your table; still do. — Cute guy at the bar thinking about your pretty face. Now what? When: ursday, January 23, 2025. Where: Salt & Rind Waterbury. You: Woman. Me: Man. #916240

GARDNER’S SUPPLY

EYE CONTACT

You have longish brown hair, a dynamite smile and were wearing a blue hoodie with logos. I had a blue puffy and a trucker cap on. We made brief eye contact, but the moment passed. Does the universe grant second chances? If you think that question would be a good conversation starter, how about coffee at the Gardener’s Supply Café? When: ursday, January 23, 2025. Where: Gardner’s Supply. You: Woman. Me: Man. #916239

QUEEN ANNE AND LE CORBUSIER

Most people thought the chaconne would be the piece to end the recital. We agreed that the choice of the third sonata was inspired. at allegro assai is just transcendent; so joyful. I’ll take your advice and check out the recital hall — we might meet again. I wonder what the music will be? When: Friday, January 17, 2025. Where: St. Paul’s Cathedral, Burlington. You: Woman. Me: Man. #916237

about hygiene concerns, but avoid using words like “gross” when referring to his dog.

It may be wise to put the blame on yourself rather than the dog by saying you need more room to sleep comfortably. Or maybe you’re a light sleeper and the dog moving around at night wakes you up. Ask if it’s possible to have the dog sleep in their own bed nearby when you stay over. Keep in mind that option may take patience if the dog is used to sleeping next to their person.

Hopefully you’ll be able to work things out, but it’s certainly possible this could be a relationship deal-breaker. If that turns out to be the case, at least you found out early on that you were barking up the wrong tree.

Good luck and God bless,

The Rev end

City girl loves Vermont. Well traveled and will go nearly anywhere. Happy! But looking for love. You are a sincere older gentleman, serious but can laugh at yourself and lovingly at me. Socially conscious, aesthetic, intellectual, despise this administration. Sexy. #L1830

Nipples? I miss my nipples being touched, sucked, etc. I’m male, looking for a female or transgender female. I also have other sensory turn-ons that I miss dearly! #L1829

I’m a 75-y/o lady seeking a 70- to 80-y/o old man for companionship and possible relationship in the Essex Junction area. #L1825

I’m a male, 66, seeking woman around same. Hardworking man needs woman to cuddle and caress slowly! I don’t care about size or color — I’ll look at you as you! I want to love and be loved; that takes time, which I have a lot of. Please call. #L1826

Retired, happy, healthy, ﬁt and active male seeking erotic female friend. Let’s test and explore our sensual pleasures together! #L1824

I’m a 34-y/o male seeking a mature female, women couple or couples for FWB. Open to exploring. I love the outdoors. I love to laugh. 420 OK but no cigarettes, please. #L1823

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SWF, 50, seeking a SWM, 48 to 58, to homestead and live a quiet life. I am sincere, ready to settle down, artistic and love dogs. #L1818

September (M) seeks April (F) for baroque music and bicycles, les patinoires de Montréal, Apollo and Dionysus (skip the wine), and every chakra — high and low. Too innocent: ready to explore the dance of passion and vegan restos de Paris. #L1827

I’m a male seeking a male who loves to dress up in very sexy silk panties and loves oral and anything else. Would love to bring you the newspapers and get on my knees and dictate to you in my mouth. #L1828

I’m a 65-y/o fun-loving and outgoing GWM seeking new friendships with other gay men. Enjoy dinners in and good conversation. Best friend material here! is is not an ad seeking sexual contacts or conquests. Looking for long-term friendships. Looking forward to hearing from you! #L1821

Single woman, 59. Wise, mindful. Seeking tight unit with man, friend, love. Country living, gardens, land to play on. Emotionally, intellectually engaged. Lasting chats. Appreciation for past experience. Please be kind, stable and well established. Phone number, please. #L1813

Int net-Free Dating!

GWM looking for strong tops for playtime with fun and adventurous bottom. Age not really an issue: forties and ﬁfties a plus, will consider all ages. Will host. Talk or text. #L1822

ree men, ages 50 and sixties. One bi, two gay. Get-together once a week at my place in Burlington. Looking for another guy to join us. Safe, sane and discreet. If interested, send phone number. Play with us! #L1820

I’m a SWF, 71 y/o, seeking a white or Black man 50 to 70 y/o. I want companionship, movies, warmth; I love music and live in Woodstock. Phone calls only. #L1815

I’m a 60-y/o SWF seeking a 55- to 70-y/o SM. Retired, healthy, ﬁt and outdoorsy. ISO a kindred spirit with whom to share Vermont’s trails. I enjoy mountain and gravel biking, cross-country skiing, and yearround hiking, as well as a good Vermont brew, current events, reading and eating as locally as possible. Self-deprecating sense of humor a plus! #L1816

Describe yourself and who you’re looking for in 40 words below: (OR, ATTACH A SEPARATE PIECE OF PAPER.)

I’m a

AGE + GENDER (OPTIONAL) seeking a AGE + GENDER (OPTIONAL)

I am an 80-y/o woman seeking a man, 76 to 80 y/o. I am looking for friendship and companionship. Be able to share life for as long as we can, and do things together for fun. Let’s enjoy life. #L1817

I’m an 80-y/o man in good health. I own a ranch house on Route 110 in Tunbridge, south of fairgrounds. Never married. No children, retired. Like going out to eat and riding around. Looking for a nice lady for a long-term relationship. #L1810

76-y/o male seeking a female. Widower, Burlington resident, gardener, ﬁsherman and writer wants to meet you for dinner, movies, events and conversation. You: old, kind, no issues. Possible friendship, LTR. I don’t watch football. #L1807

I’m a SWM seeking a Black couple, both bi. I’m clean, a nonsmoker and don’t drink. Would like a weekly meet, on weekends. My place is private. I only date Black men and women. Age no problem. Phone. Serious. #L1802

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ADDRESS (MORE) CITY/STATE

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