VERMONT
Destination
Spring 2013
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SPRING HAS SPRUNG
APRIL 26-28, 2013 Plan your next Meeting, Conference or Wedding in Vermont!
WWW.VTMAPLEFESTIVAL.ORG
Life is Sweet with Vermont Maple!
Explore the Possibilities www.vermontmeetings.com Vermont Convention Bureau Toll Free - (877) 264 3503
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Destination
VERMONT
TABLE OF CONTENTS
The starting line of the KeyBank Vermont City Marathon in Burlington p. Ben Sarle
SPRING 2013 BOOK REVIEW . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 CALENDAR . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 PEOPLE OF VERMONT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12 MAPLEFEST . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14 SMALL DOG . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16 RICHARD ERDMAN . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
THE STARTING LINE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20 FATHER’S DAY FISHING . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24 BEFORE AND AFTER . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28 THE GUILD . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30 BED & BREAKFASTS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32 POETRY AT BARN .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33 VIEWPOINT/PUZZLES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34
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SPRING 2013 Destination Vermont
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Destination
VERMONT
Recent Releases from Wind Ridge Publishing
MASTHEAD SPRING 2013 Destination Vermont is published four times per year. It is produced and published by Wind Ridge Publishing, Inc. of Shelburne, Vermont. Destination Vermont is dedicated to informing and entertaining Vermonters and the thousands of people who travel through Vermont each year. Please direct all inquiries to:
exotic tails A Veterinarian’s Journey
steven B. metz, D.v.m. $16.95
Dr. metz shares humorous and heartwarming stories from his fourdecade career as a veterinarian for exotic, wild, and domestic animals.
PO Box 752, Shelburne, VT 05482 (802) 985-3091 holly@windridgepublishing.com
the squiRRel diaRies Tales from a Wildlife Rehabilitator
AstriD HelenA nicOlAy $16.95
vermont resident and wildlife rehabilitator Astrid Helena nicolay parlays a dozen years of wit and wisdom into a collection of heartwarming, humorous, and educational tales about tending the cadre of rescued squirrels.
BReWing change Behind the Bean at Green Mountain Coffee Roasters ricK Peyser AnD Bill mAres $16.95 Foreword by Bob stiller
Brewing change shares the true and inspiring story of one man’s quiet, successful crusade to change the world of coffee and improve the lives of coffee farming families around the globe.
PuBlISheR & eDITOR hOlly JOhnSOn ADVeRTISIng SAleS ShIRley ReID DeSIgn Ben SARle gReg FORBeR COnTRIBuTIng WRITeRS JulIA DOnnInI DARCy AnD DAle CAhIll Anne TRADWell BlISS RAlPh SWenSOn hOlly JOhnSOn lIn STOne STePhen MIllS DAVID SCheRR lAuRI CASWell BuRKe
theRe and Back Commentary by a Former Foreign Correspondent BArrie DunsmOre $26.95 Foreword by ted Koppel
this is an insightful collection of thoughtful, informed commentaries on today’s world events as seen through the eyes of a renowned former ABc news foreign correspondent and veteran reporter.
3:14 and out A Collection of Vermont Public Radio Commentaries
Bill mAres $14.95
mares is often called a renaissance man. it will show in the breadth of these wise, witty, and warm vermont Public radio commentaries reminding us the world is interesting and thinking can be fun.
COnTRIBuTIng PhOTOgRAPheRS CRAIg ThOMAS Ben SARle RAyChel SeVeRAnCe nAnCy BATTAglIA MADeleIne eRDMAn
Printed by Dartmouth Printing Co.
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Peter A. GilBert Foreword by Jay Parini $15.95
vermont Public radio commentator and executive Director of the vermont Humanities council Peter Gilbert has adapted his monthly vPr three-minute commentaries into this collection for readers.
82 Remsen stReet Coming of Age in Brooklyn Heights
BuRlington A Sense of Place
PAul O. BOisvert $34.95
A four season visual tour of the Queen city as seen through the eyes of vermont’s awardwinning photographer, Paul O. Boisvert.
SFI-00665
i Was thinking… Travels in the World of Ideas
Alice D. OutwAter $18.95
Outwater’s 1930s and ‘40’s Brooklyn Heights coming-of-age memoir is America’s version of Downton Abbey and upstairs / Downstairs.
available at your local bookstore or online at www.WindRidgePublishing.com
BOOK REVIEW: The Bach Road to Boston — by Bill Mares words // Anne Treadwell Bliss photo // Craig Thomas
The Bach Road to Boston
Bill Mares “A truly delightful and moving book, from a deeply accomplished writer (and singer, and runner!)” — Bill McKibben
On the eve of that greatest of marathons— Boston—most competitors are lounging with their feet up, picking at pasta feasts and gingerly stretching well-prepped muscles. But not Bill Mares. The day before the marathon in 2002, Mares not only didn’t have his feet up, he was hundreds of miles away from the Hopkinton start line, on his feet, in a tux, singing his heart out for as long as he would run for the next day. It was Easter Sunday and his voice was raised to celebrate the central event of Christianity. And his journey to this point had already been a long, difficult, and rewarding one. In The Bach Road to Boston, Vermont Renaissance man (author, public radio commentator, singer, teacher, beekeeper, legislator, brewer, runner …) Mares takes readers on a rollicking and enlightening
trip through histor y, music, religion, sport, and psyche. And when he crosses the marathon finish line at the book’s end, the finisher’s medal jostling the cross around his neck symbolizes the internal dialogue that accompanies his running, a dialogue that he candidly shares throughout his text.
St. Matthew’s Passion. In witnessing his preparation, obstacles, and ultimate performances, the reader is inspired to consider the intertwined significance of religion, music, athleticism, teaching, and friendship. And this particular reader is inspired to enjoy Bach on her headphones as she trains for Boston.
Through Mares’ ponderings—as the altruism of performing religious music battles his guilt over running’s selfin dul gence —thr ou gh his p er s onal history, and through his conversations w ith r unning buddies and music al colleagues and mentors, we celebrate his accomplishments and are spurred to our own. He trains for three months to run the 26.2 miles of the Boston Marathon, and he trains for three months to sing the intricate choruses of Bach’s
The Bach Road to Boston will be released in mid-march and will be available through your local bookseller as well as through Red Barn Books, an imprint of Wind Ridge Books of Vermont. windridgebooks.com
SPRING 2013 Destination Vermont
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OngOing EvEnts DAiLY, tHROUgH tHE WintER/sPRing
SHelBURNe MUSeUM, Shelburne One of the country’s most diverse museums of paintings, folk art, quilts, and textiles. Over 150,000 works are exhibited in 39 buildings, 25 of which are historic and were relocated to the 45-acre museum grounds first established by Electra Havemeyer Webb in 1947. (802) 985-3346 www.shelburnemuseum.org
MARcH 1 tO MAY 31
SHelBURNe VINeYaRd, Shelburne Enjoy local artists in an exhibit titled “Water Themes” by painters Judith Tuttle and Joy Huckins-Noss. This is open every day from 11 am to 5 pm. Free admission. Daily wine tastings. www.shelburnevineyard.com
MARcH 19 tO MAY 19
FleMING MUSeUM, Burlington This Spring, Andy Warhol’s lesser-known Athletes Series will be on display at the Wolcott Gallery. Commissioned in 1977, the collection of 10 canvases includes boxer Muhammad Ali, football’s O.J. Simpson, ice skater Dorothy Hamill, basketball’s Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, tennis player Chris Evert, jockey Willie Shoemaker, and soccer’s Pelé, among others. (802) 656-2090 www.flemingmuseum.org
MARcH MARcH 1 tO 3
aNNUal VeRMONT FlOWeR SHOW, champlain Valley exposition, essex Junction The 2013 Vermont Flower Show offers three days of spring the first three days in March. Be inspired by Robert Frost’s famous poem “The Road Not Taken” with traditional New England landscapes and fantastical paths. Also featuring modern ecotouches, such as urban micro-homesteads, bees, and chickens. Admission prices vary. (888) 518-6484 www.greenworksvermont.org
MARcH 1 tO 2
US OPeN SNOWBOaRdING cHaMPIONSHIPS, Stratton Mountain Sun Bowl Base lodge As in years past, these closing few days of the USO are not only the final stop of the Burton Global Open Series, where the top male and female in the series will be awarded $100,000 each, but the USO is also the culminating stop on the men’s and women’s TTR World Snowboard Tour titles. Admission is free. (800) 787-2886 www.opensnowboarding.com
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MARcH 8 tO APRiL 14
Mardi Gras on Church Street, Burlington.
MARcH 1 tO 3
18TH aNNUal BURlINGTON MaRdI GRaS PaRade, Burlington Intriguing float designs stroll up Church Street to the sounds of rock bands and brass orchestras. Authentic Louisiana Moonpies, Lake Champlain Chocolates, and bead necklaces. (802) 658-2739 www.magichat.net/mardigras/home
MARcH 1-24
BeN & JeRRY’S SNOWSHOe TOURS, The Waterbury Factory, Waterbury Every hour on the hour, Ben & Jerry’s hosts snowshoe tours behind the ice cream factory. Check out the flavor graveyard or simply enjoy the last of the snow-dusted paths. (802) 882-1240 www.benjerry.com
MARcH 6 tO 9
Ncaa SKIING cHaMPIONSHIPS, Middlebury college Snow Bowl and Rokert Nordic center, Middlebury Middlebury College will host the 2013 NCAA Skiing Championships which will bring together the best collegiate alpine and Nordic ski racers in the U.S, many of whom are former World Cup competitors. These events are free and open to the public. (802) 443-5253 www.middleburyskiing.org
MARcH 7
FIRST THURSdaYS MUSIc IN THe lOFT, Shelburne Vineyard, Shelburne Free after-hours concerts by Joshua Glass and Emma Sky. Sit and listen or mingle at the bar. A local food cart will be available for snacks and wine is for sale by the glass. www.shelburnevineyard.com
MARcH 8 tO 10
VeRMONT BOaT aNd MaRINe SHOW, champlain Valley exposition, essex Junction This event is sure to turn your thoughts to warmer weather and conjure visions of Vermont’s beautiful lakes and ponds. Boat dealers come from all over Vermont, New Hampshire, and New York. Admission is charged. (800) 542-6017 www.cvexpo.org
JaN TIcHY eXHIBITION, Helen day art center, Stowe Jan Tichy is an international contemporary artist working at the intersection of video, sculpture, architecture, and photography. For his solo exhibition in the West Gallery, Tichy’s “Installation No. 6 (tubes),” sets a dramatic and ominous stage. The effect of the installation references urban landscape, architecture, and human activity as light pulses, crawls, and glows through paper tubes. (802) 253-8358 www.helenday.com
MARcH 9
lIGHT THe NIGHT RaIl JaM, Okemo Mountain Resort, ludlow Okemo will light up the night skies with a little help from the Ludlow Fire Department. This jam format competition invites skiers and snowboarders to throw down some tricks while Ludlow fire trucks throw some light on Okemo’s Bull Run trail. The Killarney Irish Pub will ante up $250 in prize money and host a party after the event. (802) 228-1600 www.okemo.com
MARcH 9 tO 10
aNNUal NORTH aMeRIcaN TeleMaRK FeSTIVal, Mad River Glen, Waitsfield Come join over 1,000 telemark skiers for a weekend of free heel celebration, great Mad River Glen skiing, wild championship races, skills clinics, and fun. Demos of the latest Telemark gear. Beginner to radical terrain skiing clinics with North America’s best instructors. Registration and festival lift ticket sales begin 8am each day. (802) 496-4387 www.madriverglen.com
MARcH 10
MOUNTaIN deW VeRTIcal cHalleNGe, Killington This fun ski and snowboard race tempts all ages. Free to enter the race with registration taking place in the Snowshed Lodge. Enjoy games throughout the day! (802) 422-6200 www.killington.com
MARcH 13
POeTRY OUT lOUd STaTe FINalS, Barre Opera House, Montpelier Students from over 20 high schools around the state come to Montpelier to compete for the state title. Free admission. (802) 828-3778 www.vermontartscouncil.org
SPRING 2013
March 15-24
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US Snowboarding Championships.
eIGHTH aNNUal VeRMONT QUIlT SHOP HOP, quilt shops statewide Quilters from around the state spend 10 days visiting participating quilt shops statewide and taking part in games, drawings, the chance to win prizes, and collecting project patterns. (802) 223-2275 www.vermontshophop.com
March 16 to 17
RelaY FOR lIFe NORdIc STYle, Trapp Family lodge, Stowe The Nordic Relay for Life is a fun-filled event that enlists volunteers to help fight cancer by raising money and awareness to support the American Cancer Society mission. (802) 872-6304 www.relayforlife.org/nordicstylevt
March 17
SUGaRING TIMe FeSTIVal, Sugarbush Resort, Warren Sugar on snow, pancake eating contests, mountain-wide scavenger hunts in search of maple syrup nips, live music, and more. (802) 583-6300 www.sugarbush.com
SPRING 2013 Destination Vermont
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March 22 to 31
March 23 to april 1
GReeN MOUNTaIN FIlM FeSTIVal The Savoy and city Hall, Montpelier A small festival which shows work from around the world, including work from emerging filmmakers. Ticket prices vary and are available for sale in person or over the phone. (802) 262-3423
NOR’BeaSTeR SPRING celeBRaTION, Killington Join a ten-day celebration of spring in the mountains with activities such as concerts, competitions, soft snow, sunshine, and more. (802) 422-6200 www.killington.com
March 23
39TH aNNUal BeacH PaRTY, Jay Peak The Beach Party originated as an end-of-ski season celebration for the many locals who had a vested interest in the mountain and community. The gnarled horde of beach goers ensures a packed dance floor, complete with fake grass hulas and flowery leis. The Beach Party is a Jay Peak tradition for all to experience. (802) 988-2611 www.jaypeakresort.com
aNNUal BIG dUMMY aIR cOMPeTITION, Sugarbush Ski area, Warren Build your skiing and snowboarding dummy then hurl it down the trail and see how far it goes! Big prizes for the best dummy. Yes, this is a classic Mad River Valley event. Some things never change—ski the Mad River Valley—a special Vermont place any time of year. Begins at 12pm. (802) 583-6300 www.sugarbush.com
March 23 to 24
VeRMONT MaPle OPeN HOUSe WeeKeNd, Statewide The Open House Weekend is the public celebration of the maple syrup season in Vermont and an opportunity for the public to visit one or more sugarhouses throughout the state to learn about Vermont’s first agricultural crop of the year. Activities during this free event will be different at each sugarhouse but will include the opportunity to watch maple syrup being made (weather permitting) and sample syrup and other maple products. (800) 837-6668 www.vermontmaple.org
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March 30
March 31
59TH eaSTeR SUNRISe SeRVIce aNd eaSTeR eGG HUNT Stowe Mountain Resort, Stowe Arrive early for this non-denominational service atop Mt. Mansfield. Free gondola rides from 5- 6 am. An Easter Egg Hunt will be held in the Spruce Plaza at 9 am. Dress warmly for chilly mountain conditions. (802) 253-3000 www.stowe.com
Winter Brewers Festival, Mount Snow.
april april 4
FIRST THURSdaYS MUSIc IN THe lOFT Shelburne Vineyards, Shelburne Free after-hours concerts with local singersongwriters James Kinne and Erica Stroem. Sit and listen or mingle at the bar. A local food cart will provide snacks and wine will be available by the glass. www.shelburnevineyard.com
april 6
WINTeR BReWeRS FeSTIVal Mount Snow Resort, Mount Snow Celebrate the end of winter with beer! The festival features some of the top breweries from across New England and the Northeast including the likes of Magic Hat, Allagash, Long Trail, Harpoon, Rock Art, Red Hook, Stone, North Coast, Stoudt’s, Woodchuck Cider, Olde Burnside, Brooklyn, and Budweiser. (802) 464-3333 www.mountsnow.com
april 12
JUlIe FOWlIS IN cONceRT, University of Vermont Recital Hall, Burlington Julie Fowlis has been a proud standard bearer for Gaelic music and culture over the course of a solo career which has spanned three highly-acclaimed studio albums. Truly one of the world’s most esteemed Gaelic vocalists, Julie is featured extensively on the soundtrack of PIXAR’s new animated film Brave. (802) 656-4455 www.uvm.edu
SPRING 2013
April 19
caNTUS, University of Vermont Recital Hall, Burlington Hearing Cantus live in-concert is both powerful and moving. The ensemble is known for adventurous programming spanning many periods and genres, including chant, Renaissance music, contemporary works, art song, folk, spirituals, world music, and pop. (802) 656-4455 www.uvm.edu
April 19
JOHN PRINe, Flynn center, Burlington With forty-plus years performing, Prine has never failed to inspire. With roots in country and folk music, he is also a man of many hats. Prine is both composer and recording artist. (802) 863-5966 www.flynntix.org
April 20
aNNUal PONd SKIMMING, Killington The bravest and craziest skiers and riders will put their skills to the test as they attempt to sail across the pond. Competitors will be judged on skim, costume, splash, and crowd cheer. Whether you choose to skim or be a spectator, make sure you catch this wacky event. (802) 422-6200 www.killington.com
April 26 to 28
47TH aNNUal VeRMONT MaPle FeSTIVal, St. albans In celebrating Vermont’s world-renowned maple harvest, the city of St. Albans plays host to the Vermont Maple Festival. Featuring numerous events, including maple product exhibits, pancake breakfasts, New England craft exhibits, antique shows and markets, a specialty foods show, maple candy-making demonstrations, a variety of concessions, carnival rides, an 8.5 mile Sap Run, and a huge parade, all in honor of maple syrup. (802) 524-5800 www.vtmaplefestival.org
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April 26 to MAy 5
VeRMONT ReSTaURaNT WeeK Statewide Hungry for more of the Green Mountain State? Enjoy a full week of prix-fixe menus in cities from Burlington to Montpelier. www.vermontrestaurantweek.com
April 27
30th aNNIVeRSaRY BIllINGS FaRM FeSTIVal, Billings Farm and Museum, Woodstock Celebrate the start of the season and the 30th anniversary with a day of traditional, hands-on, spring farm activities. Celebrate with free ice cream! Horse-drawn wagon rides, programs, and activities. Various admissions. (802) 457-2355 www.billingsfarm.org
Open All Year - 7 Days a Week - 11am to 5pm Visit www.shelburnevineyard.com for concerts,art shows, and special events 6308 Shelburne Rd. (Rt. 7), Shelburne 802-985-8222
Come Share the Bounty of the Crop
Seasonal Ingredients, Local Flavors, Handcrafted Ales, and Inventive Libations Lovingly Prepared & Cheerfully Served Daily L - D - L N
LIVE MUSIC EVERY WEDNESDAY
Shelburne Vineyard
Visit CROPVT.COM and connect with us for reviews from Trip Advisor, Yelp, & more.
SPRING 2013 Destination Vermont
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April 27 to 28
a decade OF eQUINe edUcaTION, champlain Valley exposition, essex Junction The 10th annual weekend for the horse enthusiast featuring seminars, hands-on demonstrations, 4-H exhibitions in the ring, horse show, and trade floor featuring the latest equine equipment, feed, accessories, and training techniques. From the newcomer to the experts there’s something for everyone. (802) 878-5545 www.cvexpo.org
MAY 3 to 5
MAY
12th aNNUal STOWe WeeKeNd OF HOPe, Stowe The Stowe Weekend of Hope, through a partnership of Vermont’s medical community and Stowe’s hospitality businesses, is an annual forum for education, enlightenment, and recreation for cancer patients and survivors with any type of cancer and their families. The focus is to inspire, educate, and celebrate the lives of people living with cancer. This unique event addresses the complex challenges and needs of people with cancer at any stage in their disease. 802-865-5202 www.stowehope.org
MAY 2 to 5
MAY 4
eaRTHTIMe: lIVING PRacTIce/PRacTIce FOR lIVING, Shelburne Farms, Shelburne This adult residential retreat will focus on principles for ritual and creative participation with the Earth’s rhythms, cycles, and patterns. Instructed by Kaylynn Sullivan TwoTrees and Matt Kolan the retreat incorporates listening and awareness practices, awakening energy centers (physical, mental, emotional, spiritual),and reciprocal communication with the seen and unseen worlds. Fee: $350/person for meals and accommodations. (802) 985-8686 www.shelburnefarms.com
GReeN UP daY VeRMONT Statewide clean up This annual event began in 1970 and is held in towns and cities across the state. Volunteers are needed to participate in this great annual clean up and very green Vermont event. (802) 229-4586 www.greenupvermont.org
MAY 5
MIddleBURY MaPle RUN – THe SWeeTeST HalF, Volunteer ambulance association, Middlebury Please join us in the heart of the Champlain Valley. Participate in one of New England’s “must-do” road races. The Middlebury Maple Run—The Sweetest Half has earned a reputation for its half marathon and two-person relay. Plus, who can resist the beautiful, scenic course that features vistas of the Green Mountains and Adirondacks? (802) 728-6464 www.middleburymaplerun.com
MAY 5 to 6
16TH aNNUal eSSeX SPRING cRaFT & FINe aRT SHOW, champlain Valley exposition, essex Artisans, country crafts, folk art. Don’t miss this annual Essex Spring Craft and Fine Art Show. This event features 200 juried artisans and is the region’s largest show of its kind. (802) 878-4786 www.vtcrafts.com
Shirley Reid Sculptor Commissions Accepted for Summer 2013 Inquire at (802) 343.3664 artvt.com Q
Q
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The Blue Mall, 150 Dorset St, So Burlington (just off exit 14 on I-89) (802) 863-8306 Factory Location, 81A Vermont Route 15, Jericho, (802) 899-3373 www.snowflakechocolate.com
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Photo courtesy of Billings Farm and Museum
SPRING 2013
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May 10 to 12
BedROcK TO BIRdS: THe NaTUR al H I S T O R Y O F S H e l B U R N e Fa R M S ’ WORKING laNdScaPe, Shelburne Farms, Shelburne Enjoy a weekend rich in discovery and friendship as you explore the natural history of the Farm’s rural working landscape from bedrock to birds and from forest to furniture. This residential program includes morning bird walks during the year’s most diverse bird-watching season, wildflower identification, geology explorations, and wildlife observation. Lead by naturalists Walter Poleman and Matt Kolan. Fee: $300 per person includes tuition and meals, optional accommodations: +$60 per person per night (double occupancy). 802-985-8686 www.shelburnefarms.com
May 11
KId’S daY, Battery Park, Burlington Vermont’s largest children’s festival is the most fun family-friendly event of the spring. Join the parade or enjoy train rides, performers, amusement rides, and more. $1 admission. (802) 864-0123 www.enjoyburlington.com
May 11
Mad TRIaTHlON, Sugarbush Resort, Warren Into its third year, the Mad Tri includes a kid’s fun run and the adult triathlon. The four-legged race includes a run, a kayak/ canoe down the Mad River, a road cycle, and a trail run. A great event for family teams, corporate teams, and individuals, followed by a barbecue, awards, and live music. (802) 583-6300 www.sugarbush.com
May 18
BURlINGTON cHaMBeR ORcHeSTRa, St. Michael’s college, colchester Guest conductor Ronald Feldman leads the Burlington Chamber Orchestra in a celebration of youth: a world premiere by young Vermont composer Tim Woos, plus a performance by the 2013 winner of BCO’s annual Young Artist Solo Competition. Haydn’s Symphony #74 rounds out the program. (802) 655-2768 bcovt.org
May 22 to 23
VeRMONT BUSINeSS aNd INdUSTRY eXPO Sheraton Burlington Hotel & conference center, South Burlington With nearly 200 exhibitors and 3,000 attendees, the EXPO is a must for anyone looking to market a Vermont business. EXPO highlights some of the region’s finest large and small businesses while providing two full days of cutting-edge seminars, a stellar line-up of special events, and plenty of networking opportunities. For more information contact the Vermont Chamber of Commerce. (802) 223-3443 www.vtexpo.com
Lake Champlain Maritime Museum
May 25 to 26
VeRMONT OPeN STUdIO WeeKeNd, Statewide Every Memorial Day weekend, craftspeople and artists throughout the Green Mountain State open their studios to the public. Don’t miss the chance to see real Vermont craftspeople at work. While you’re there, you can purchase some handmade pieces for yourself or friends and family. Visitors can find their way to studios by using the Vermont Studio Tour Map, which contains directions to over 200 studios in the state. For more information contact the Vermont Crafts Council. (802) 223-3380 www.vermontcrafts.com
May 25 to 26
cHeeSe aNd daIRY celeBRaTION, Billings Farm, Woodstock Celebrate Vermont’s rich dairy heritage during this two-day event that will showcase many of Vermont’s artisan cheese makers who will offer cheese samples, discuss their products, and have cheese on hand for purchase. Admission includes the operating dairy farm, farm life exhibits, and the restored and furnished farmhouse. (802) 457-2355 www.billingsfarm.com
May 26
25TH aNNUal KeYBaNK VeRMONT cITY MaRaTHON & RelaY, Burlington Runner’s World Magazine has ranked this annual event one of the top 20 best marathons in the country. This 26.2-mile running event is held on the streets and bike paths of Burlington. The scenic course begins at Battery Park and finishes in Waterfront Park with post race festivities for runners and spectators. Pre-race activities include a two-day sports and fitness exposition that features over 50 venders and a buffet dinner. (802) 863-8412 www.vermontcitymarathon.org
May 31 to June 30
aNNUal dIScOVeR JaZZ FeSTIVal , Burlington For over a quarter of a century Burlington’s Jazz Festival has celebrated the art of its community. The festival is a cocktail of venues, composed of myriad intimate settings, waterfront concerts, street parties, workshops, and more. The charades span from the region’s premier performing arts facility, the Flynn Center, to the Church Street Marketplace stages to neighborhood clubs and restaurants. (802) 863-7992 www.discoverjazz.com
SPRING 2013 Destination Vermont
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PEOPLE OF VERMONT Bill McKibben: Environmental Activist
interview // Laurie Caswell Burke photo // Nancy Battaglia
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Bill McKibben is a person to admire. He is a person of activism, of passion, of conviction. He is willing to fight for the things he believes in. He loves Vermont and the people who live here. A writer, a teacher, and a leader, he founded 350.org, an international grassroots climate change campaign that focuses on reducing our carbon footprint. McKibben continues to inspire people to work together as communities toward creating a more sustainable lifestyle for future generations.
police tell you to do something (like move) you generally should. But the protesters understood the need for bravery.
Q: Would you share some background information on the early beginnings of your interest in env ironmental stewardship and activism?
Q:You are on the faculty of Middlebury College. What do you enjoy most about teaching?
BM: Some of it had to do with moving to the Adirondacks as a young man and falling in love with the wilderness. And some of it, as often the case in my life, had to do with reading the right books at the right time—Wendell Berry, Ed Abbey, Gary Snyder, and Terry Tempest Williams. Q: You were recently named Vermonter of the Year for 2012. Your reaction? BM: I am a great lover of this state—of its scale, of its history, most of all, of its sense of community. I can’t think of an honor that has meant more to me. Q: You have published numerous books. If a person was to read only one or two of them, which ones would you suggest and why? BM: End of Nature, my first back in 1989, is still kind of the classic. It was the first book about climate change, and also a fairly deep philosophical essay about the meaning of it. There were books I enjoyed writing more— Wandering Home , for instance, about a long backpack across Vermont and the Adirondacks. Q: How did 350.org get its start? Would you share some of the highlights? BM: I started it with seven undergraduates at Middlebury in 2008, and the highlight, really, has been the way its work has spread globally. We’ve coordinated 20,000 rallies in 191 countries; it’s great fun to have folks all over the world involved. Q: Tell me about your activism work in Washington, particularly the time you were arrested with others over the Tar Sands pipeline project? BM: It was the biggest civil disobedience action in 30 years in this country with 1,253 people arrested. It’s not easy for normal people to get arrested; when
Q: How do we keep these issues that relate to decreasing our carbon footprint on the front burner amidst so many other issues that seem to take attention away from “saving our planet”? BM: We keep organizing. And I fear Mother Nature is helping us all the time by showing the folly of inaction.
BM: I run a program on environmental journalism, which is good fun. I love Middlebury because the students are bright and eager and because the college is committed to a real and responsible role in the community! Q : W h o a r e y o u r “e n v i r o n m e n t a l heros”—the people you respect who are doing good work? BM: So many! Wendell Berr y, Naomi Klein, Terry Tempest Williams. I love the writer-activists out there! Q: What are your most recently published books and what are you writing now?
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BM: The Global Warming Reader and also Eaarth, my last two books, should be available at most bookstores. And in September I will publish Home and Away, which is kind of an account of my life over the past couple chaotic years. Q: You have often said that we need to return to a more sustainable lifestyle by “living smaller” and fit ourselves back onto this planet. How would you propose people start thinking this way and make changes in their lives? BM: I think a better way to think about it is[this]: look for community at every turn, the farmer’s market is ecologically sounder, but it also offers community; the internet make more sense for a lot of travel than the airplane, and it can build community too. We need to start replacing some of our consumption with community, both for environmental reasons and for our own mental health. Q: If you ever have any free time, how do you like to spend it? BM: Cross country skiing! It’s my great vice (which is too bad, since it is also very subject to climate change).
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MAPLEFEST words // David Scherr
p. Ben Sarle
The quiet stillness of late winter in the forests of Vermont masks a bustling harvest, the largest of its kind in the United States. Maple trees are tapped, plastic tubing strung through leafless woods, and maple sap drips through the lines into sugarhouses across the state. Ramshackle sheds and slick new sugarhouses pump heat and smoke into the cold air, boiling oceans of maple sap into the sweet amber of Pure Vermont Maple Syrup. Vermont produced almost 40 million dollars worth in 2012 alone, far more than any other state. In the spring, after the sap lines run dry and the sugarhouses are quiet once again, Vermonters and vacationers celebrate the state’s maple-flavored bounty at the Vermont Maple Festival in St. Albans.
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This year the Maple Festival will be held on April 26-28. More than 50,000 people come to the Maple Festival every year to tour sugarhouses, sample the best of Vermont’s maple products, start their day with pancake breakfasts, stuff themselves at maple buffet dinners, and learn how to cook their own maple-flavored meals. If that isn’t enough, families can thrill themselves on carnival rides, runners can stretch their legs in the 8.5 mile “Sap Run,” and shoppers can hunt for treasure at the Antique Show. Those looking for a taste of rustic Vermont can enjoy pony rides. One of the premier events of the weekend is the Vermont Maple Syrup and Maple
Products Contest. Sample jars of the finest maple syrup from all over Vermont, backlit and glowing in the displays, await a rating from experienced judges. Vermont takes its maple syrup so seriously that the state legislature and the Vermont Department of Agriculture have enshrined in law the definitions of various categories of maple syrup that may be sold. The judges at the Maple Syrup Festival anoint winners in accordance with these legal definitions, giving credit for the proper color, density, degree of light transmittance, and taste. For example, a “Fancy Grade” syrup must have “a delicately sweet, original maple flavor characteristic of fancy grade,” whereas a “Grade A Medium Amber” syrup may have “a flavor which is more pronounced than that of Fancy Grade, but which is not strong or unpleasant.”
Maple syrup is not the only product judged at the contest. The best Maple Sugar Cakes, Maple Cream, Maple Fudge, and Maple Granulated Sugar are also eligible for prizes, and participants and contestants can enjoy the preeminent maple products that Vermont has to offer. The Maple Festi v al is the premier demonstration that Vermont is a small state with a big reason to celebrate Maple Syrup. In 2012, Vermont produced 750,000 gallons of the sweet syrup, 39 percent of all the maple syrup produced in the United States and more than double the yield of any other state. Because weather conditions were not ideal, 2012 was actually a slow year for syrup. In 2011, Vermont produced more than a million gallons. The 2013 sugaring season is upon us, and if the days are warm enough and the nights cold the sap will run generously out of the maples and into the sugarhouses. Vermonters, Americans, and people all over the world will pour, eat, and otherwise devour the Green Mountain State’s sugary harvest, and the Vermont Maple Festival will celebrate it all once again.
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SOCIALLY RESPONSIBLE BUSINESS:
SMALL DOG ELECTRONICS words // Holly Johnson photo // Craig Thomas Small Dog Electronics owner Don Mayer with his dog Hammerhead.
After the Vietnam War, a scholarship to Goddard College brought Small Dog Electronics business owner Don Mayer to Vermont. This self-taught entrepreneur, along with his son and business partner, Hapy, has tur ned Small Dog into a successful and socially responsible company. Mayer’s interest in computers started in the 1980s while working in the wind power
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industr y at Northern Power Systems (NPS). He noticed that Apple Mac users took significantly less time to produce work than PC users. He started buying Macs for NPS and buying and selling them for its employees.
was for the people. New Hampshire and Vermont are very different states. Look left—look right—no billboards—but in New Hampshire there are plenty ruining the landscape. Vermont has special and unique people; it is a very special place.”
After gaining experience at N.H. PC and River Computer Hybrid in New Hampshire, Mayer decided to move to Vermont saying, “It wasn’t for the job, but
Small Dog is the third largest independent Apple reseller in the nation. Considering the small size of the state, Mayer credits Small Dog’s success with building the
stores have increased their profitability substantially. Small Dog’s business model and mission statement makes a commitment to community ser vice, economic sustainability, as well as environmental and social responsibility. Small Dog ascribes to triple bottom lines to measure its success: People, Planet, Profit. Whenever you go to Small Dog, you can’t help but smile when you see Hammerhead, the family bulldog. Employees are allowed to bring their dogs to work, as Mayer firmly believes a dog-friendly climate is impor tant for a relaxed, healthy environment at work. There are proven psychological benefits to petting a dog. The company also offers health insurance for its employees as well as vet insurance for their pets. Community ser vice is mandatory and each employee is given a paid day off each year to do something to help others.
brand as a strong socially responsible business and building a strong Internet business. They also made a commitment to a “clicks to bricks” strategy increasing retail stores in two states, with a fourth store opening in Rutland in 2013. Small Dog has strong biz to biz and biz to government sales. They are one of only four companies authorized to sell to the US government. In addition, its wholesale division and value Photo by Shirley Reid added products/Hammerhead/Hilton
Mayer al so at tr ibutes Small Dog’s success with the pride taken in providing great customer service and in maintaining people or iented rel ationships w ith vendors—having open discussions and not “nickel and diming” each other. Also, Mayer takes pride in Small Dog’s philanthropic and charitable giving. For example, it suppor ts the Paramount Theatre with annual grants; additionally, Small Dog al so purchases theatre tickets to events, which it then donates to nonprofit organizations to help leverage their own fundraising efforts. Further, Small Dog is committed to its everpresent community involvement and support, such as its recent Hurricane Irene volunteer cleanup efforts and a toy drive for homeless shelter kids. One of their proudest achievements is the free ewaste drop-off event that is so important to the employees and the community. Mayer says, “We must account for our impact on people and the planet and have a good business model that allows people and the planet to survive.” Small Dog also gives customers
or visitors to their website a chance to make a donation to one of the annual Small Dog chosen char ities during checkout that will be matched up to a certain amount by the company. These days Mayer is working with his longtime mentor, Professor Dave Sellers, an architect, on designing a better electric car. They met at Goddard and then started the business, Nor thern Wind Power, together. Mayer has an electric motorcycle now, with a sidecar, of course, as he never leaves home without Hammerhead, his bulldog. Eventually he’s like to commute from the South Burlington store to his home in Warren in his motorcycle with the sidecar. His advice to other business owners that seek to be economically sustainable and socially responsible? “As you consider starting a business with a pro forma sheet to account for the dollars, it is also time to decide on another pro forma—what kind of impact you want to have on society and how to mitigate your businesses’ challenging impact on people and planet. Take a close look at what your want to be. For example, we would not choose to be in business if we couldn’t be a socially responsible corporation. Think it through. Do you want accessible government? Good roads and schools? Value for tax dollars, I’d put us [Vermont] up against any other state in the country for providing good value in exchange for our tax dollars. Vermont has the largest percentage of socially responsible businesses of any state in the country. I’m proud of that.”
vermont’s
socially responsible businesses
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VERMONT ARTIST:
RICHARD ERDMAN
Richard Erdman with “Volante”.
words // Julia Donnini photo // Madeleine Erdman The marble quarries in Dorset, Vermont are the oldest in America. Richard Erdman made a playground of these jutting landscapes when he was a child; today, Erdman is a prolific Vermont sculptor. He flirts between marble and bronze mediums, letting each piece whisper its story before making his mark. Internationally commissioned, his art reaches out across the globe. In the last six years, Erdman has planted pieces in
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50 countries with 12 major commissions. Erdman’s work embodies the duality of one who venerates both Michelangelo and Robert Frost. Following the logic and landscape of these titans, Erdman moves between his studios in Williston and Carrara, Italy.
What was it like growing up in Vermont’s natural landscape? I was always inspired as a kid; although I never thought that the forms from the quarry would seep into my life. Carving is what I do and the stone was great fodder for a young, budding sculptor. Besides that, nature reminds me of my mortality. It’s constantly regenerating and as sure as a birthday. The whole quarry is a sculpture
but as a kid growing up in the 70s, it was a rich playground. I still take those feelings of leaping off a ledge, and now I make a sculpture out of them, out of my love for the moment. Where do your ties to the University of Vermont stem from? I majored in sculpture at UVM. I took all of the prerequisites before my sculpture classes. It was like saving the best for last—like saving room for dessert. When they commissioned “Primavera,” I was happy to give back to the place where I was inspired to create and think. I really appreciated the teaching style because they let you play around with the tools. They let you make mistakes. What drew you to Italy? Vermonters are surrounded by natural art—the Adirondack Mountains are on one side and the Green Mountains frame the other. The Apuan Alps in Italy look like snow. Vermont marble really looks like sugar in comparison. But traveling from Vermont to Italy and back is really almost one in the same, just in a different language. I work with a team of four people in Carrara who understand how to collaborate—a composer can’t play all the instruments. How do you decide on a medium? It’s an aesthetic choice, and it’s really just a feeling. Some pieces I do in bronze and stone—the same sculpture but they’re two different entities. I work with very simple materials because they are the most alive. Stone’s shape is unique. It’s open, fluid, and full of life. With bronze, there is no limit. It’s all about creating something with its own life, like giving birth. You get the idea that with bronze it will live forever. Can you pinpoint one of your favorite pieces? “Passage,” which was commissioned for the PepsiCo Gardens in 1985 was the highest honor. It’s inspired by nature—by the Grand Canyon, by the push of the Vermont mountains. It’s expanding and contracting. What I love about travertine is the compact energy. It tells a story in its very strata. When I sculpt, I’m trying to open up the movement and immortalize it. The sculpture sends you one way and then sends you back in the other.
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BURLINGTON MARATHON The Starting Line SNOW KINGDOM
words // Ralph Swenson photography // Ben Sarle
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The race would be held entirely within Burlington’s city limits, a logistically difficult feat and something normally encountered only with “big city” races...
In 1988, local runners Gordon McFarland and Howie Atherton approached me with the idea of starting a new marathon, a race to be run entirely within Burlington’s city limits. Would I be interested in helping with this project? They came to me because I was President of the Green Mountain Athletic Association, the area’s largest running organization, at the time, and the help of GMA A members would be essential to staging a successful race. Gordon was new to the area. He had raced in big city marathons elsewhere and thought Burlington could support a similar event. Howie was the Race Director of the Green Mountain Marathon, an event of modest size held in the Champlain Islands each fall, and sponsored by the Green Mountain Athletic Association. For most of the initial discussions and planning meetings, I was skeptical. In the
late 1980s, marathon running in northern New England was on the decline. Locally, races that had been held for many years in places like Plattsburgh and Lake Placid, New York, and Hanover, New Hampshire, had folded due to low demand. The Montreal International Marathon, a big city event begun to great fanfare not long after the 1976 Montreal Olympic games, was in decline (it was no longer held by 1990). City races involve disruption for residents and require significant resources, both money and people, which can only be achieved and justified with a large number of participants. Staging a big marathon in a small city like Burlington seemed like a long shot. As the organizational sessions continued, however, it was almost impossible to believe it was not possible. More and more people came to the planning meetings, and their enthusiasm was palpable:
infectious; they volunteered their effort and expertise to the cause. Suddenly, a marathon in town sounded like a great idea. The question changed from should we, to what do we need to do to make it happen. Two early decisions were pivotal to Vermont City Marathon’s success. The first was the course. The race would be held entirely within Burlington’s city limits, a logistically difficult feat and something normally encountered only with “big city” races. In addition, the route would showcase the downtown Church Street Marketplace, involve the waterfront and bike path along Lake Champlain, and include a diverse assortment of city neighborhoods. We hoped that this would result in a “destination marathon” that would attract runners from throughout the region. The second important decision was to hold a shorter race in conjunction
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with the marathon to boost interest and participation in the overall event. After spirited discussion it was decided to make this race a team relay, held on the same course and at the same time as the marathon. Vermont City Marathon was one of the very first marathons to include a relay, and the wisdom of doing so quickly became apparent as the relay was and it continues to be instrumental to the event’s popularity, Vermont participation, and success over the years. Of course, these decisions alone were not sufficient for the race to succeed. Staging a marathon in a city requires significant funding, not just for t-shirts and finisher medals, but also for hundreds and hundreds of orange traffic cones. Our race would not have happened without a lead sponsor, and that lead sponsor turned out to be Bank of Vermont, now a par t of Keybank. I remember the trepidation Gordon Macfarland and I felt when we met with John Ewing, then director of community relations and later president of the bank, a man with a strong commitment to civic affairs who has made important contributions to Vermont, generally. Gordon presented our proposal, our case for the race. We felt we had a good plan, but, as mentioned earlier, evidence of success around the region was lacking, and so it was anything but a slam-dunk. For tunately, John appreciated the founders’ commitment to and vision for the marathon, and all of the background work that had been done to create a successful race. He believed that the race could grow into a
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It took another 24 years, until 2012, before another Vermonter finished first...
major event, one that would showcase Burlington and benefit the surrounding area, too, and signed the Bank on as “key” sponsor. Vermont City Marathon is proud to have had KeyBank as its title sponsor for so many years. The first year, 1989, fewer than 1,000 r unner s par ticipated in the event. Governor Madeline Kunin gave a welcome at the start, and the winner in the men’s race was a Vermonter, Joe Kreutz. That year, the race finished in Battery Park, overlooking Lake Champlain, but for many years now, the start has been in Battery Park, and the finish in Waterfront Park. The course has been refined over the years, but it has always included diverse parts of the city, such as the Hill Section, Church Street, the Beltline, Pine Street,
Battery Street Hill, North Avenue, and, of course, the Bike Path. It took another 24 years, until 2012, before another Vermonter finished first, this time Kasie Enman in the women’s race. In 2012, more than 2,500 runners finished the marathon, and there were more than 700 teams finishing in each of the two-person marathon relay and regular marathon relay. Two trends became apparent early on. First, the marathon was filled largely with runners from outside of Vermont, while the relay was mostly Vermonters. There were a number of corporate relay teams from all over the New England region, however. For example, Home Depot sponsored teams from many of its stores, their runners always sporting orange
Home Depot shirts. Second, a number of Vermonters who began by running in the relay decided to tackle the marathon later on, inspired to take up the challenge by the atmosphere and camaraderie they experienced. The first Race Director was founder Gordon McFarland, who was succeeded by John Scheer. It quickly became apparent that the job was more than part-time, and in 1991, Andrea Riha was hired as the first, full-time Race Director. Andrea served in that role until 2009, shepherding the events growth, and the creation of RunVermont, an umbrella organization that, in addition to Vermont Cit y Mar athon and Relay, sponsors programs and events that served the broader community, including among
them running classes, women’s and youth programs, ManyMilers, YAM Scram, and the Half Marathon Unplugged. The current Executive Director of RunVermont, Peter Delaney, brings extensive experience in recreation and event management, and ideas that will continue to grow RunVer mont’s event s and maintain Vermont Cit y Marathon and Relay’s reputation as an outstanding marathon. It is fun to reminisce about the early years of Vermont City Marathon, to remember all the meetings, decisions, and hard work that went into making a success. As the race developed, it was fun for me to work on the race in varying capacities, and run it on a number of occasions, once with my son, often with friends. Over the years, I have had the chance to meet and
get to know a number of people who have run Vermont City Marathon. All of them have enjoyed the event. Many comment on how the course gave them a view of Burlington and an appreciation for the area that would have been hard to get otherwise. A few have taken it a step further and moved to Burlington. Even more fun, however, is understanding how Vermont City Marathon has benefitted Burlington, and thinking about its potential to continue as an outstanding marathon serving runners from near and far—a showcase event for Burlington and Vermont.
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Lake Champlain Fathers’ Day Fishing Derby words & photos // Dale and Darcy Cahill
On June 15 at exactly 12:01 am, anglers will take to the waters of Lake Champlain in hopes of catching an epic fish and then, telling the tale. Weigh-in stations will open at 9 am that morning and the fishing will continue until Monday, June 17, when the Derby officially closes. The final standings will be posted the following Tuesday and the awards ceremony will take place on Saturday, June 23. For the past 32 years, anglers from all over the country have gathered on Lake Champlain for Father’s Day weekend. James Ehlers, executive director of the non-profit corporation Lake Champlain International (LCI), told me, “it is not the oldest and it is not the biggest, but it is the oldest biggest fishing derby in the country.” Thirty-two years ago, Bill Jacobus, a Burlington area fisherman, had growing concerns about the health of the Lake Champlain—a place he loved. To draw
awareness to one of Vermont’s most prized natural resources he met with the Burlington Chamber of Commerce and proposed holding a fishing derby. They agreed, and thus started what is known today as the Lake Champlain International Father’s Day Fishing Derby. Just a few less than 6,000 anglers competed in 2012. This year, most of them will return in the hopes of winning one of the many cash prizes, or better yet, that their T.E.A.M. will win a brand new Starcraft, Smokercraft, or Sylvan Boat with a Yamaha four-stroke outboard motor. Participants fish for eleven species divided into seven categories with cash prizes awarded for the top ten in each category. Lake Champlain is one hundred and twenty miles long, and at the widest point, twelve miles wide. It easily absorbs the number of anglers that compete each year from tin boats, fancy bass boats, docks, bridges, and riverbanks.
While the derby has long included a youth division, for thirty years the derby was a guys-only event. Two years ago, Eric LaMontagne, LCI’s outreach director, teamed up with Cynthea’s Spa in Burlington and introduced a Ladies of the Lake Division with prizes for the top female anglers. Ehlers is happy about the addition of women to the competition as he sees the Derby as a family event rather than a fierce competition of professional anglers. “The Derby is a great excuse to get out on the water and do some fishing.” My in-laws, the Cahill’s, have been fishing the derby for four generations. They have a small fishing camp in St. Albans bay that serves as a base where they and their friends, when not fishing, trade lures, eat burgers, drink beer, and play poker. Like many multi-generational families at the derby, they have some of their own in-house competitions. They all
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Photo courtesy of the State of Vermont.
compete for Largest Fish, Largest Bass, the Biggest Fish Story, and they keep track of the weights and measurements on their homemade prize board. Although none of them has ever won one of the LCI cash awards, they have walked away with lottery prizes, including, baseball tickets, smelly jelly, lures, fish goggles, t-shirts, and other fishing gear. These lottery prize drawings are held each evening at the twelve different weigh-in stations around the lake from North Hero to Whitehall. The lottery drawings capture the spirit of the LCI Derby. After a long day on the lake, fishermen gather to trade stories, swap lottery prizes, and catch up with fishing buddies they haven’t seen since the year before. They all share a common love of fishing on Lake Champlain. While the Derby serves as a yearly social event, it is also an important fundraiser
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for Lake Champlain International’s conservation efforts. The LCI’s long-term plan for the lake is to see salmon and lake trout multiplying independently—without the help of hatcheries. Until then, they will spend this year’s proceeds on combating new and ongoing threats to the health of the lake. Those threats are many: toxic run off; invasive species of fish, like the lamprey, which can decimate the trout and salmon populations; invasive birds, like cormorants, which have a huge appetite for fish; and invasive vegetation, such as purple loosestrife and Eurasian water milfoil. Too see the full list of threats to the lake you can visit the LCI’s website www.mychamplain.net. The site offers ways to get involved with protecting Lake Champlain—even if you are not an avid angler.
Ehlers explains, “The Derby is our walkathon and a way to reach out to the public about Vermont’s angler heritage and the important role anglers play in conservation efforts.” For the 6,000 or so fishermen and women who participate in the Derby, it is a chance to get on the water, catch up with family and friends, and maybe drive home with a new boat on the hitch of their truck. Bio: Dale and Darcy Cahill live in Vermont where they love to mountain bike, ski and play music. They have written numerous articles for Bluegrass Unlimited, have written two books about tobacco sheds in the Connecticut River Valley, and own a ski bar in Smuggler’s Notch. You can learn more about their books at tobaccosheds.com
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BEFORE AND AFTER WORDS // STEPHEN MILLS
“Home is where the heart is.” The old adage is certainly true of Burlington homebody Ann Taylor. No, not the Ann Taylor of fashion fame, although she is a design and décor diva in her own right. Her transformation of a New Nor th End home lends meaning to the term metamorphosis.
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The homes in Taylor’s neighborhood bear the hallmarks of their original design. Built in a 1950s Burlington housing tract boom as starter homes, they are similar structures: squat, square, and stout. H o w e v e r, t h e inte r i o r s of a l l t h e neighborhood homes belie their minimalist exteriors. They are four bedroom with fulllength basements and fireplaces. Taylor’s home transformation is transcendent.
The house is painted sky blue with white trim and has an enclosed front porch addition. At the back of the house, a twostory extension over the kitchen provides a large sunroom and dining area, which agreeably doubles the size of the upstairs master bedroom. Taylor noted, “This house has good bones,” an attribute that allowed for these major structural additions.
her living room. Adjoining is the original galley-style kitchen with new countertops, and beyond that, the 14-foor square sunroom/dining addition, which features a 12-foot long sliding glass door salvaged from a former lakefront property. Afternoon light floods in through a collection of colored glass bottles arranged on a bookcase by the glass door. “The room creates a connection to nature in the garden, which other similar homes don’t have,” said Taylor. But the piéce de resistance is the upstairs tower bathroom, with a spectacular 15-foot vaulted ceiling. There is a period claw-foot bathtub, a glass-enclosed corner shower unit, top fanlight windows, and pastel limegreen décor. The effect: an exotic illusion of the tropics. Her renovations are still in progress (Taylor has yet to revamp the other three bedrooms, one of which serves as an office). She uses recycled windows, doors, and other materials whenever possible, much of them from ReSource in Burlington. “I’ve had some previous experience, doing a renovation of a 150-year-old farmhouse in Lincoln,” said Taylor. Taylor has had the best help possible with both the planning and execution of this project. The contractor who built her home, Stan Hardy, lived across the street for many years before his recent death at the age of 96. His son, Skip Hardy, who now lives in the same family home, has been Taylor’s contractor for the last four-and-a-half years. He’s a builder and carpenter who came up with the master plan to cantilever the second-story addition and tower beams into the building’s central pillar.
At the back of the house is a detached addition, an eight-foot-square potting shed, an elaborate circular vegetable and herb garden, as well as a graveled seating area to bask in the sun. The interior transformation is first apparent in the entryway—often a murky mudroom in many Vermont homes. Taylor’s entryway features ornate colored glass in the outside door and a large window illuminating pastel-painted walls and a tongue-and-
groove, dark-stained ceiling. “One of the principles of feng shui is if you block your entrance, you block your prosperity,” Taylor explained. And it seems to be paying off: Taylor paid $150,000 for the home in 2003 and it is now worth about $250,000.
“It’s ambitious for anyone to renovate their own home. When you live in a construction zone, it can be disorganized and disconcerting, but it’s less costly, and so satisfying,” she added. Of her home and its magic reincarnation, she simply adds: “I hope to inspire other to remake their homes.”
Golden yellow walls, augmented by eastern sunshine and ample reflected light, warm
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Farm-to-Table Spitfires Guild & Company
words // Lin Stone photos // Craig Thomas
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It was a dreary Thursday night when we pulled onto the rain-drizzled tarmac of the Guild and Company’s very full parking lot. But within just a few steps inside the spacious restaurant, it appeared as though we had walked into a festive medieval cavern: big blazing fireplace, open kitchen with hardwood-fired spits and grills, servers wrapped in long navy and white striped butcher aprons, and boisterous revelers tipping back amber glasses of whisky with chiseled chunks of ice. A couple of hours later, after we’d finished dining, we clearly understood the restaurant’s name and its tip of the hat to medieval guilds; centuries ago, craftsmen banded together in associations to share common goals and craft mastery. T his t w ent y -f ir s t centur y b an d of restaurateurs has done the same. Guild & Company is one of the trio of restaurants created by The Farmhouse Group, the team behind Guild & Company, El Cortijo Taqueria, and The Farmhouse Tap & Grill in Burlington. The Farmhouse Group offers farm-to-table dining experiences that celebrate and support local farms and food producers. Notably, this group’s ef for t ex tends well beyond garden vegetables and includes locally produced meats. Farmhouse Group’s Chef Tom Deckman and Master Butcher Frank Pace purchase whole animals from local farms, then butcher and prepare the meat in Guild Fine Meats’ state-of-the-art dryaging rooms located nearby in Winooski. Our group of diners started the evening imbibing two drinks of very old origins. One of my colleagues ordered a cocktail that used a recipe from 1806: bourbon, demerara sugar, aromatic and orange bitters, lemon and orange peels, as well as the previously mentioned large chiseled chunk of ice. He declared it so perfect that “it’s worth coming back
just for this!” Another tablemate swept a western cowgirl’s backward glance toward Hollywood saloons and ordered a sasparilla, a non-alcoholic golden predecessor of root beer. And this writer’s more traditional taste for wine happily found an impressive selection that were organically and sustainably grown. There were five of us and we each ordered a different dish so that we could try bites of several entrees. For starters, we shared spinach and artichoke dip followed by a salad served family style. Well, you know the dip was gone in lightning speed, and the salad was perfectly composed: dark leafy greens, salty pepito seeds, sweet roasted beets, and a light shower of sherry vinaigrette. For entrees, two of our tablemates shared the incredibly indulgent, bone-in rib-eye steak. It was carved tableside and both people were ser ved alternating slices to highlight each beginning-middle-end morsel. The slightly maple-y dark char that the hardwood grilling imparted was in itself remarkably delicious and from first to last bite, the steak was as tender and flavorful as the restaurateurs had promised. It’s true, you can taste the difference with the Guild’s start-to-finish, farm-to-table commitment and care—local, grass-fed, hand chosen, hand cut, fresh daily, dry aged, grilled over hardwood meat—does taste better. The same kind of perfection held true for our cowgirl’s more modest barroom burger fare: the expertly charred exterior gave way to a tender pink interior, and importantly, the bun to burger ratio was perfect. Also on our table was an entrée from the medieval-inspired spit-roasting fire. This was the Vermont Heritage Grazers Pork, a bone-in loin served with the Guild’s infamous house-made sausage, Nitty Gritty grains polenta, and charred onions.
We all agreed it was the best tasting pork and sausage and we’d ever eaten. Finally, to leave the turf and test the surf, this writer ordered the cast iron seared crab cakes, which were served with radishes, arugula, herb aioli, and crispy potatoes. Large fresh flakes of crab tumbled onto each trident fork of Neptune’s delight—no fishy paste of breadcrumbs here. We were satiated and satisfied, but nonetheless caved in to a craving for something a little sweet. We ended our feast with one bite each of a warm brioche served with grapefruit lime and orange curd, which was chased down by lattes, cappuccinos, and dark ruby port. Readers, don’t be put off by the location or this restaurant’s understated façade. Great food and glad tidings await whether squire or peasant—the Guild & Company are masters of their craft—befitting of their tribute and medieval name. Hours: Monday – Thursday Sunday 4:30 – 9:30 pm Friday – Saturday 4:30 – 10 pm Guild & Company 1633 Williston Road South Burlington (802) 497-1207 www.guildandcompany.com
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Vermont B & B’s Arlington’s West Mountain Inn
The Woods at Wihakowi
Wilder Farm Inn
The Black Bear Inn
Willow Pond Farm
Yellow Farmhouse Inn
Green Mountain Inn
Beaver Pond Farm
Arlington 802-375-6532 info@westmouuntaininn.com
Bolton Valley 800-395-6335 innkeeper@blackbearinn.travel
Dreamhouse Country Inn
Bristol 802-453-2805 innkeeper@dreamhousecountryinn.com
Russell Young
Bristol 802-453-7026 relax@russellyoungfarm.com
The Old Hotel
Bristol 802-453-2567 theoldhotel@gmavt.net
Northfield (877) 966-3588, (802) 778-0205 www.thewoodsvt.com Shelburne 802-985-8505 Stowe 802-253-7301
Stone Hill Inn
Ten Acres Lodge
Moose Meadow Lodge
The Gables Inn
Old Stagecoach Inn
Three Bears at the Fountain
Catamount
Stowe 800-327-7357 stay@tenacreslodge.com
Inn at Buck Hollow Farm
Stowe 802-253-1882 info@threebearsbandb.com
The Inn at Grace Farm
Fairfax 802-242-4043 theinnatgracefarm@comcast.com
Warren 800-685-8285 innkeeper@BeaverPondFarmInn.com
Grunsberg Haus
The Willard Street Inn
Fairfax 800-849-7985 inn@buckhollow.com
Waitsfield 802-496-4263
Stowe 802-253-6282 stay@stonehillinn.com
Stowe 802-253-7730 info@gablesinn.com
Burlington 802-651-8710 info@willardstreetinn.com
Waitsfield 802-496-9935 info@wilderfarminn.com
Weathertop Mountain Inn
Waterbury 800-800-7760
Waterbury 802-244-5378 relax@moosemeadowlodge.com Waterbury 802-244-5056 lodging@oldstagecoach.com Williston 802-879-6001 Pet Friendly
Waitsfield 802-496-4909
The Hidden Garden
Hinesburg 802-482-2118 info@thehiddengardens.com
Sleepy Hollow Inn
Huntington 802-434-2283 info@skisleepyhollow.com
Kirriemuir Heights North Ferrisburg 802-425-3100 kirrie@gmavt.net
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Heart of the Village Inn
Shelburne | 802-985-9060 | www.heartofthevillage.com The Heart of the Village Inn is a beautifully renovated Victorian bed and breakfast right in the center of Shelburne. The sidewalks right outside the front door leads visitors some of the best shops and restaurants town has to offer, as well as to the front gate of the “queen of the hill”— the Shelburne Museum.
Poetry at the Writer’s Barn Ben Aleshire with his bicycle in Burlington. p. Raychel Severance
Monday, Mar. 18. 7 p.m. Free Poetry reading with Daniel Lusk and Angela Patten.
Join local gems of the literary scene, Daniel Lusk and Angela Patten at The Writers’ Barn as they read from past collections and current work. Both Lusk and Patten are Vermont Arts Council Juried Artists and members of the Poetry Society of America; both are listed in the national directory of Poets & Writers, Inc. and teach at the University of Vermont. Irish-born Angela Patten received the prestigious Kroepsch Maurice Award for Excellence in Teaching in 2012. She is the author of two poetry collections, Reliquaries and Still Listening, and she is also included in several anthologies. Daniel Lusk is author of Lake Studies: Meditations on Lake Champlain and Kissing the Ground: New & Selected Poems. His weekly reviews and commentaries on books have been broadcast by 160 affiliate stations of National Public Radio and have appeared in The Philadelphia Inquirer and Chicago Sun-Times. In 2009 he received an innovative research grant from the University of Vermont to work on a cycle of poems about Lake Champlain.
Thursday, Mar. 28, 7:30 p.m. Free Poetry reading with Honeybee Press poets Ben Aleshire and Robert McKay
Burlington’s Honeybee Press currently produces The Salon, a handbound literary magazine of poetry and prose that aims to make local literature more affordable and visible to the public. In founder Benjamin Aleshire’s own words, The Salon is “a publication that bridges the divide between the gutter and the ivory tower.” Join Aleshire and colleague Robert McKay for an evening of innovative and provocative original poetry. Aleshire’s poetry has appeared or is forthcoming in Poetry East, Green Mountains Review, Seven Days, and Barrow Street. His play, “Gauvain the Good Knight,” won the 2009 Nor’Easter Playwright Competition. He is a recent recipient of a Vermont Arts Council grant in publishing, and was in residence at the BCA Center during the summer of 2012. Robert McKay’s first collection, Cities of Rain (Honeybee Press, 2012), was celebrated at the Burlington Book Festival last year. Robert teaches high school in Saratoga Springs, but home is the Old North End of Burlington. His poetry has recently appeared in OccuPoetry, Siren, Measure and others, and has been set to music in the Vermont Poetry and Song Project. His criticism has appeared in Visions of Joanna Newsom (Roan Press, 2009) and The Occupied Oakland Tribune. He was an undergraduate fellow at the Bread Loaf Writers’ Conference in 2008.
writers B rn
the
The Writers’ Barn mission is to build a supportive space for writers of all ages to develop writing skills, whether for pleasure or profession, and to build communities that share and celebrate the written or spoken word. 233 Falls Rd., Shelburne, VT. (802)985-3091
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“When we do the right thing, we raise ourselves in our own eyes.”
-9th century French painter Eugene Delacroix
Vermont’s Rt. 100. p. Ben Sarle
Puzzles & stuff crossword
tHeMe: u.s. PresIdeNts
doodles by JAMes lAsell Morse
Jim Morse has lived in Vermont since 1958 and resided in Charlotte since 1971. He has been married for 47 years and has two daughters and five grandchildren. A Vermont Supreme Court justice for 14 years, jim captures life’s Zen, irony and wit in observations and sketches on topics from Art to War. His sayings are philosophical, skeptical, practical and funny.
sudoku
Across
1. Ruler sides, e.g. 6. Toward the stern 9. Hit the bottle 13. “La traviata” composer 14. Tokyo, formerly 15. *First President to resign 16. One of three hipbones 17. Bruin legend Bobby 18. Some tournaments 19. *First to be assassinated 21. Protests 23. Corn spot 24. Mischievous Scandinavian god 25. Actress ___ Gasteyer 28. Famous Christmas guests 30. As much as necessary 35. Follows ding? 37. Sold in bars 39. “Tonight’s _____ be a good night...” 40. Allege 41. *Andrew Johnson’s tribulation, e.g. 43. Clever tactic 44. Bouncing off the walls 46. Sports award 47. Equal 48. Scraps 50. Brewer’s kiln 52. Word for a nod
53. Second word of many fairytales 55. Poison ___ 57. *First to have been divorced 60. *First Rhodes Scholar 64. Model-building wood 65. Boiling blood 67. Nobody 68. Open up 69. Belonging to us 70. Capital of Tunisia 71. Big first for a baby 72. Meaning literally “born” 73. Cancel, as in correction, pl.
20. Minimum 22. *First to appear on color TV 24. CIA connection, e.g. 25. *First to live in White House 26. Star bursts 27. Beside, archaic 29. *Clinton’s number two 31. “My bad!” 32. Untwist a rope 33. Garden creature 34. *Rutherford _____ 36. “True ____,” starring John Wayne 38. Pop 42. Disinfectant brand dowN 1. *Reagan’s description of Soviet Union 45. Courtney Cox’s character 49. Hot springs resort 2. Hero place 51. Contaminates or corrupts 3. Smiley face 54. Tear jerker 4. Something concluded 56. Type of whip 5. Arabian sand-laden wind 57. Deliver a tirade 6. Quite a stretch 58. Dresden’s river 7. *First to appear on black-and59. Hurry up! white TV 60. Wrap in waxy cloth 8. Body center 61. Voice quality 9. Cone-shaped quarters 62. “Get __ __!” 10. Farm team 63. “The Untouchables” leader 11. French-American soprano Lily 64. *Presidents Obama and Bush ____ both campaigned from one 12. Ensign, for short 66. Street in Paris 15. Paying close attention
Puzzle solutIoNs oN PAge 13
Dry Aged Local Steak Casual Barroom Fare Classic Cocktails 1633 WILLISTON ROAD, SO. BTV
GUILDANDCOMPANY.COM
A FARM-TO-TACO EXPERIENCE KILLER MARGARITAS
189 BANK STREET, BTV
CORTIJOVT.COM
Award-Winning Local Burgers Craft Beer & Select Spirits 160 Bank Street BTV FARMHOUSETG.COM
Three Restaurants, One Vision: Supporting the growth of local food systems with inspired farm-to-table cuisine. 36
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FarmhouseGroup.com