June 24 • 2026
We Spent 24 Hours on Church Street. Here’s What We Saw; Soaring Fireworks Costs Force Towns to Cancel or Pony Up; The Slide In Pub in Shelburne Fills Up for the World Cup; Ruth Garbus Goes Deep on Her New Album
Cover Story
We Spent 24 Hours on Church Street. Here’s What We Saw.
The city’s iconic red-brick-lined marketplace draws tourists, diners, shoppers, partyers and panhandlers. As its 45th birthday approaches, we captured the events of a lively day.
News
Queen City Volunteers Pitch In to Clean Up Trouble Spots
Burlington is short of money and manpower. Some volunteers are stepping up to address problems such as trash and graffiti.
Soaring Fireworks Costs Force Towns to Cancel or Pony Up
On the eve of the nation’s 250th birthday, Vermont’s towns are grappling with unanticipated sharp increases in the prices of fireworks from China
From the Publisher: Eye of the Beholder
The health of Burlington’s Church Street Marketplace is an existential question for the city. We sent a dozen journalists to spend 24 hours there and report back.
At 91, Diane Mott Is Still Mending American Flags
The Middlebury woman isn’t a fan of the current presidential administration, she said, but that doesn’t stop her from feeling a sense of pride in her country.
Arts+Culture
Catskills-Style Yiddish Vaudeville Comes to Brattleboro
Schtick, spiel and kvetching take the stage as ‘A Bissel Borscht Belt’ pays tribute to the variety shows that played at Catskill Mountains resorts in the 1950s.
Vermont Studio Center Gets FEMA Flood-Recovery Funding
The Johnson arts campus has received nearly $1.9 million to recover from 2023 flooding. It will build a studio and space for artists outside the town’s floodplain.
A New Pilot Program Aims to Boost Vermont’s Film Industry
The collaboration of Film in Vermont and Vermont Production Collective will award money to local film productions in packages of $5,000 or $10,000.
James M. Tabor on His New Book About the First Transatlantic Cable
In ‘Lightning Beneath the Sea,’ the Waitsfield author chronicles the ‘Race to Wire the World and the Dawn of the Information Age.’
Theater Review: ‘Dancing at Lughnasa,’ BarnArts
BarnArts presents Brian Friel’s lyrical immersion in 1936 rural Ireland in an outdoor staging at King Farm in Woodstock.
Art Review: ‘Frederic Church in Vermont’
A comprehensive look at the landscape painter’s travels to Vermont is the last show curated by Middlebury College Museum of Art director Richard Saunders.
Catch Carl D’Alvia’s Fun Sculptures at Shelburne Museum
The artist brings personality to formalism with “(mono)LITHS,” his series of brightly colored outdoor aluminum pieces with attitude.
Magnificent 7: Must-See, Must-Do Events in and Around Vermont (June 24-July 1)
Explore our editor’s picks for must-do events in Vermont this week, including modern jazz revivalist Kamasi Washington at Higher Ground in South Burlington.
Food+Drink
The Slide In Pub in Shelburne Fills Up for the World Cup
The pub billed as “Vermont’s first-ever soccer bar” is playing every match. We ate sliders there with its English owner — and a bunch of Three Lions fans.
Plainfield’s Free Friday Meals Nourish and Connect
In the small Washington County town, volunteers have reinvigorated the tradition of regular community meals, where neighbors share food and conversation.
Mad Ice Cream Makes Scoops From Scratch in St. Albans
Mother-daughter duo Karen and Madison Barchowski churn hard ice cream flavors such as espresso-maple chip and make homemade waffle cones at their Lake Street shop.
Music+Nightlife
Ruth Garbus Goes Deep on Her New Album
On the stunning LP ‘Profound,’ the Brattleboro singer-songwriter embraces her forties and treats her voice — and herself — a little better.
On the Beat: the Return of Some Velvet Sidewalk
The indie-rock band is back with its first new album in almost 30 years. Plus new release and festival news, and the blues scene mourns Dennis Willmott.
On Screen
Saying Goodbye to ‘The Comeback,’ the Sly Hollywood Satire That Kept Coming Back
In the show’s final season, Lisa Kudrow once again plays a washed-up sitcom star whose thirst for attention is a mirror of the changing entertainment industry.
Now Playing in Theaters, June 17-July 1
In addition to Girls Like Girls, here’s what is playing in Northern and Central Vermont movie theaters this week. Listings include new movies, vintage films and a directory of open theaters.
Fun Stuff
Ask the Rev: My Girlfriend Sleeps With Stuffed Animals
Cuddling stuffed animals can be a nostalgic comfort even for adults — but if teddy bears in bed are putting a damper on sexy time, here’s some advice.
Free Will Astrology (6/24/26)
Check out Rob Brezsny’s expanded weekly audio horoscopes & daily text message horoscopes: realastrology.com or 1-877-873-4888.
Life Lines
Obituary: Jimmy “The Iceman” De Pierro, 1946-2026
Italian ice entrepreneur, professional poker player and inventive spirit had a famous dog featured on an iconic cover of National Lampoon magazine
Obituary: Christina Marie Poleck-Smith, 1957-2026
Jokester at heart found beauty in everything she saw, and her family and friends were her whole world
Obituary: Merlin Lloyd Acomb, 1942-2026
Merlin L. Acomb, 84, passed away on Saturday, June 20, 2026, at the University of Vermont Medical Center. A casual gathering for family and friends will take place on Thursday, June 25, 2026, 6:30 to 8:30 p.m., in the Elmwood-Meunier Funeral Chapel, 97 Elmwood Ave., Burlington, VT. The family asks that, in lieu of flowers,…
Obituary: Constance Emerson Hitt, 1931-2026
Former cryptographer for the NSA was famous for her homemade pies and played tennis well until the age of 89
Obituary: Christopher “Chris” Paul Lacey, 1967-2026
Master electrician and small business owner was a talented race car builder and driver with a deep love of the outdoors
Obituary: Jacqueline Lee Hooker Swartz, 1944-2026
Nurse led with her heart, touching the lives of countless patients and their families
Obituary: Annie K. Ross, 1954-2026
West Fairlee woman made deep connections through sharing the healing touch of therapeutic yoga
Obituary: David H. Vilord, 1943-2026
Loving husband and dad enjoyed life, friends and the changing seasons in northern Vermont
Obituary: John Patrick Blaha, 1962-2026
Master bronze caster created the frog door knockers seen on many Burlington-area homes
Obituary: John Phillip “Sam” Kinghorn, 1951-2026
Devoted writer journaled daily for most of his adult life
Obituary: Priscilla Llynne Roberts Carpenter, 1937-2026
Family mourns the loss of their mother, grandmother and great-grandmother
Obituary: Karen Ann Warren, 1951-2026
Entrepreneur lived the spirit of the Ram Dass quote “We’re all just walking each other home”
Obituary: Dawn Marie (Kolodziej) Bunker, 1939-2026
Nurse was admired by patients and colleagues for her exceptional care, uplifting personality and boundless energy
Obituary: Nancy L. (Daigneault) Gilbert, 1937-2026
Gifted crafter and avid reader logged 3,355 books throughout her life, modeled how to be a good neighbor and saw the good in everyone
Obituary: Dennis Willmott, 1945-2026
Musician was passionate about keeping traditional blues alive and lived a life fueled by passion and humor
In Memoriam: Marshall “Mac” Cummings, 1976-2025
Family and friend reminisce on the legacy of their “beloved hippie”
Obituary: Henry Kyle Wirts, MD, 1937-2026
U.S. Army veteran and physician devoted his career to the people of Franklin County and the St. Albans medical community
