Almost everyone collects something. Even if you don’t identify as a “collector,” you probably hold on to keepsakes and mementos for any number of reasons — or no reason at all. Maybe you save smooth, ocean-tumbled rocks from family trips to Maine. Or you keep a stash of snow globes in your office year-round. Or…
Robert Melamede, the iconoclastic DNA researcher, entrepreneur and international advocate for the therapeutic use of cannabis, died on April 19 from kidney failure related to a stroke that he suffered last year. He was 75. Melamede, known affectionately by his admirers worldwide as “Dr. Bob,” was not a medical doctor but a genetic researcher and…
Friend, son, brother, lover Always and forever in all of our hearts. Love you.
Goddard College has reached an agreement with about 35 custodial, kitchen and administrative workers who went on strike over pay and working conditions on March 24, with both sides saying workers had agreed to return to their jobs at the small college in Plainfield on Friday. The Goddard College Staff Union said in a prepared…
Some of the most popular strains of cannabis sound more like ice cream flavors than plants: Blue Dream, Girl Scout Cookies, Sour Diesel, Strawberry Fields, Granddaddy Purple. They would fit right into the freezer case with the funky names of some of Ben & Jerry’s most iconic products, including Chunky Monkey, Phish Food and Chubby…
new in theaters EVIL DEAD RISE: In the horror series’ fifth installment, two estranged sisters (Lily Sullivan and Alyssa Sutherland) learn the true meaning of family by fighting off demons. Lee Cronin (The Hole in the Ground) directed. (97 min, R. Essex, Majestic, Palace, Star, Welden) GUY RITCHIE’S THE COVENANT: An Afghan interpreter (Dar Salim)…
As I drove through downtown Burlington on my way to work and passed the latest generation of college students, I saw the signs: The pants are getting baggier again. There are knee socks and chokers. And — Lord, help me — I even saw a kid wearing a bucket hat on the corner of College…
John Zaso fell in love with Vermont the way many people do: by spending summers here. For a decade, he was a private caretaker for an older man, and every year they would trade the latter’s New York City townhouse for his 150-acre property in the Green Mountain State. Zaso said he “felt like a…
I count myself among the lucky Vermonters who got to be friends with Ed Koren. Since he died last Friday, at 87, the longtime New Yorker cartoonist and chronicler of the human condition has been celebrated in media outlets across the globe. Now it’s our turn to thank the former Vermont cartoonist laureate, who never…
Last November, at an orientation event for newly elected Democratic women in Washington, D.C., U.S. Rep. Becca Balint (D-Vt.) cheerfully declared herself a “scrappy little dyke.” Certain of her colleagues in the House might have reacted with opprobrium, unaware that lesbians took ownership of the word “dyke” years ago and drained its negative charge. A…
Social Band are a group of singers who usually sing a cappella — that is, with no band in sight. If you’re having a hard time wrapping your brain around their name, artistic director Amity Baker advises thinking about it as “a ‘band’ meaning a group of people: a band of singers, a band of…
When COVID-19 lockdowns went into effect, sending introverts into the ecstasy of mandated isolation, extrovert Rick Ames found himself adrift. A Burlington writer and performer who once played 80 roles in four years, Ames was in the throes of rehearsals to portray Agatha Trunchbull in Lyric Theatre’s Matilda. Opening night was just three weeks away…
Between Waking Windows announcing a weekend mini fest (Pile!) and Tuesday’s big announcement from the folks at the Burlington Discover Jazz Festival (Kamasi Washington!), I’m starting to feel a lot more optimistic about the upcoming summer of music. And a few more events have been announced, so whip out those calendars, folks. First up is…
Two young Black men on a street corner. Just standing, not doing shit, but because they’re standing on a city street in America, they know the words white people use like a spell to label them: stupid. Lazy. Violent. So they summon words of their own. In Pass Over, Antoinette Chinonye Nwandu’s stunning mix of…
(Self-released, digital) The early days of the pandemic were a fertile time for creative people. Comedians honed their skills with virtual open mics. Visual artists cleaned out garages to make studio space. And musicians took a page from the book of Seattle indie pop band the Postal Service and made records remotely. Three years on…
(Self-released, digital) Like many other musicians from the Green Mountains, Vermont native Tyler Griffin started out playing in jam bands. He gigged around the state’s bars and eventually helped found Thetfest, a music festival once held in Thetford. Griffin didn’t stay in the jam scene long, however, but instead reimagined himself as a folk singer,…
Dear Reverend, I go to restaurants with friends a lot, and we usually wind up splitting the bill equally. It mostly seems to work out fine, but I often feel like somebody winds up paying more than they should. What’s the best way to handle the check for a group without being annoying? Tabitha (nonbinary,…
TAURUS (Apr. 20-May 20): Satirical Taurus author Karl Kraus defined “sentimental irony” as “a dog that bays at the moon while pissing on graves.” Please avoid that decadent emotion in the coming weeks, Taurus. You will also be wise to reject any other useless or counterproductive feelings that rise up within you or hurtle toward…
Euphoria Cannabis won’t open until later this month, but Tiffany Johnson’s shop is already glowing up the block. For years home to a medical equipment provider, the drab building on North Avenue in Burlington recently got an unmissable purple makeover. Inside, Johnson has been working as fast as she can on a similarly glamorous transformation…
During the unseasonably warm weather last week, strolling tourists in downtown Burlington tallied the cannabis stores that have sprouted like so many spring crocuses. “Oh, look, another one!” Laila, a visitor from New Jersey, remarked to friends as she passed Float On Cannabis Co., a dispensary across the street from city hall. She held a…
For more than a year, Dale Newton has been putting sunflower seeds into envelopes “using a quarter teaspoon, while sitting at the kitchen table, staring at birds,” he said. The tedious work has a noble purpose: The 68-year-old Marshfield man is the driving force behind Vermont Plants Sunflowers for Ukraine. It aims to distribute seeds…
What would it even mean to get closure on the losses in our personal and collective histories? That’s the question at the core of Suzume (originally titled Suzume no Tojimari, or “Suzume’s Locking Up”), the new visually stunning animation from writer-director Makoto Shinkai (Your Name., Weathering With You). A nominee for the Golden Bear at…
Dedicated paraeducator and accomplished painter loved her family more than anything else
Tipping Point [Re “Hot Tips,” March 29]: Thanks for the focus on our archaic system of tipping in restaurants. As a former restaurant server, bartender and manager, I have had times when I earned most of my income in tips and also times when I was responsible for making sure the restaurant’s bills got paid.…
At first glance, the menu at Burlington’s Despacito Bar and Kitchen is full of ideal bar snacks: chips and artichoke dip, Buffalo bites, pizza-inspired Empanazas and cheesy smash-burger sliders. The gooey, fried goodness of the fare makes sense, given the Old North End restaurant’s second function as a small, all-ages music venue. Less obvious —…
A girl kneels in the dirt, holding a magnifying glass to a plant. She can’t see what lies below the surface, but viewers can: a vibrantly colored landscape of subterranean insects, microbes, fungi and carbon molecules. This illustration, by Cecily Anderson of Tunbridge, represents the agricultural education taking place at Cedar Circle Farm and Education…
When Bobby Berg spoke to Seven Days in 2019, we didn’t use his full name. “Chef Bobby,” the mysterious cook behind Haute & Heady Cannabis Cuisine, was catering multicourse “stoney suppers” and selling holiday pies with 1,200 milligrams of THC by word of mouth — activities then prohibited under Vermont law. But in January 2023,…
Silvia Greeno launched her food business, Mas Comida, with a taco pop-up at Burlington’s Tiny Community Kitchen in February. Starting in mid-May, she’ll truck a new food cart around town, serving Mexican street corn, aguas frescas, and Latin American ice cream and popsicles. Greeno, 21, will have a high-profile spot outside Leunig’s Bistro & Café…
On April 7, the same night Hen of the Wood officially opened in its new Waterbury location at 14 South Main Street, a fire-suppression sprinkler system malfunctioned in the business offices above the restaurant and caused “excessive water damage,” according to an email from restaurant management. Reached by text, the restaurant’s owner, Eric Warnstedt, wrote…
Burlington woman lived a life of service while pursuing her singing career
Jolly Good Cello Friday 21 Sophie Shao & Friends mark composer Sergei Rachmaninoff’s 150th birthday at Robison Concert Hall at Middlebury College’s Mahaney Arts Center. The acclaimed cellist is joined onstage by violinist Scott Yoo and pianist John Novacek for the riveting penultimate show of the season. Fantasy Island Ongoing Kishka Gallery & Library in…
Veteran Lyric Theatre performer loved travel, teaching and being outdoors
Well-regarded carpenter and builder loved music, fashion and design, and homesteading
Former pediatric nurse will be remembered for her generosity, kindness and compassionate nature
Ed Koren, a New Yorker cartoonist and longtime Brookfield resident, died on Friday morning at his home, according to his wife, Curtis Koren. He was 87; the cause of death was lung cancer. Koren’s artwork is warm, approachable and instantly recognizable. He’s known for his drawings of people (and other creatures) who often had lots…
The future of an iconic 583-acre former dairy farm in Charlotte is again at a crossroads several months after the unexpected death of its latest steward and owner, Will Raap, founder of Gardener’s Supply and the Intervale Center. Earthkeep Farmcommon, previously known as Nordic Farm, is being offered for sale by LandVest Real Estate, which has…
