Will Keeper Credit: Courtesy of Will Keeper

Maximum Pride

Friday 14

Burlington’s Radio Bean becomes a gay bar for the night at Queer Takeover, an evening featuring everything from a queer comedy hour to live music by acts including Catwolf and Will Keeper. There are drag performances by Miss Czechoslovakia, Virginia Thick 100 and the Moondance Twins; a DJ set by Genderdeath; and HIV and COVID-19 tests courtesy of Pride Center of Vermont.

Phoning It In

Saturday 15
Michole Biancosino Credit: Courtesy of Michelle Leftheris

The Middlebury College Mahaney Arts Center’s New Directions Spring Arts Festival kicks off with the premiere of Momentary Exchange, an experimental theater event created by assistant professor Michole Biancosino and visiting artist Todd Anderson. Audience members influence the story in real time via prompts on their phones, taking a wild and ever-changing journey together.

Oar Inspiring

Thursday 13
Paddling Film Festival Credit: Courtesy of Due West Photography

Northern Forest Canoe Trail hosts the 2023 World Tour Paddling Film Festival at Burlington’s Outdoor Gear Exchange, in person for the first time in nearly four years. White water wizards take in an evening of shorts celebrating all those who row rivers, waterfalls, lakes and the open ocean, and the shindig features a raffle, refreshments and plenty of chances to make friends.

Take a Dance

Friday 14
Spælimenninir Credit: Courtesy

Dancers seeking something different congregate at Berlin’s Capital City Grange for an evening with Nordic folk band Spaelimenninir. After a brief concert, the dancing shoes come out, and all attendees get a lesson in the ancient and contemporary polkas and waltzes of Denmark and the Faroe Islands.

Pitch Perfect

Saturday 15
Cutline Shades of Yale Credit: Courtesy of Regina Sung

Student vocalists sing it loud and sing it unaccompanied at the 19th annual Collegiate A Cappella Benefit Concert at the Latchis Theatre in Brattleboro. Among those performing to raise funds for the Brattleboro Museum & Art Center is hometown hero Ben Brady, a recent Brattleboro Union High School graduate singing with the Vassar Devils.

Beat It

Sunday 16
Yamato: Drummers of Japan Credit: Courtesy

Audience members’ and performers’ hearts beat as one when Yamato: The Drummers of Japan take the stage at Lyndon Institute’s auditorium in Lyndon Center. Incorporating humor, dance and theatricality, these athletic and precise percussionists play ancient, high-energy music on traditional Wadaiko drums.

Melting Pot

Ongoing
Studded teapot by Eric Moore Credit: Courtesy

Form meets function at “Seeking Identity,” a group show at Burlington’s Frog Hollow Vermont Craft Gallery incorporating works by the potters of Miranda Thomas Studio. These refined ceramics, made collaboratively by all six artists, are meant for everyday use but are also undeniably works of art, from the delicately painted wedding plates to charming, penguin-printed mugs.

This article appears in Apr 12-18, 2023.

Emily Hamilton was the calendar writer at Seven Days and Kids VT July 2021-August 2024. A native New Yorker, she moved to Burlington in March 2020 and, after a year indoors, threw herself wholeheartedly into Vermont's arts and music scene. She's a novelist,...