Float On
Sunday 8
Smartphones, psychedelics, teaching your kids how to tie their shoes — all these topics and more were on Modest Mouse frontman Isaac Brock’s mind as the band crafted its long-awaited seventh studio album, The Golden Casket. Fans of the audacious indie outfit get to rock along to these new songs as the band’s national tour touches down at Essex Junction’s Champlain Valley Exposition.
Cultivating Curiosity
Sunday 8–Sunday 15
Locavores and the agriculturally curious show their appreciation of regional food and the farmers that grow it as Vermont Open Farm Week kicks off this Sunday. Needle felting, butter churning and goat herding are on the docket as farms, orchards and other Green Mountain sites offer interactive activities for all ages.
Let’s Get Mythical
Thursday 5–Sunday 8
The 1980 Olivia Newton-John vehicle Xanadu makes new magic in Charlotte this week as a musical directed by local theater whiz kid Schuÿler Edgar Holmes. In association with Bishop’s University in Québec and featuring a cast of experienced young thespians, this campy classic tells the story of a schlubby chalk artist, a roller derby and a Greek muse fallen to Earth, all to the tune of music by Electric Light Orchestra.
Dog Days
Saturday 7
Given all the outdoor food and music festivals happening this summer, Fido and friends deserve some fun, too. Folks and their familiars descend upon Dog Mountain in St. Johnsbury for a superb symposium of provincial pooches: the annual Summer Dog Party. Games, live music by Shrimp Tunes and treats for both species in attendance make for an afternoon of canine delight.
Reels on the River
Saturday 7
Lovers of quick flicks can look no further than the 40th Anniversary Asbury Short Film Concert at White River Junction’s Briggs Opera House. Hosted by White River Indie Films and Vermont movie maker John Griesemer, the showcase features classics alongside recent award winners, including local emerging filmmaker Cedar O’Dowd’s “Noah’s Last Day.”
Witchy Woman
Tuesday 10
Sorcery in the Scottish Highlands is the topic of the hour when Vermont Writers Prize-winner Nancy Hayes Kilgore launches her new book, Bitter Magic. Vermont Book Shop presents a virtual reading and Q&A session for the debut of this fantastical novel inspired by true events in the life of accused witch Isobel Dowdie.
Cretaceous Carnival
Ongoing
Dino devotees of all ages enjoy hands-on activities and neck-straining sights at the Montshire Museum of Science’s “Summer of Dinosaurs.” The exhibit features ancient eggs, interactive exploration stations and the fossils of adult and adolescent allosauruses to help visitors learn first-hand about the lives of these scaly specimens.
This article appears in Aug 4-10, 2021.
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