Aug 19-24, 2015
Bhutanese and Tibetans in Vermont Are Looking for Spaces to Call Their Own; How Dealer.com Supports the Arts; Incentives for Addicts Work; Says UVM Researcher; Vermont Fruits You’ve Never Heard Of; Revisiting a 1987 Tax Tiff
Cover Story
Bhutanese and Tibetans in Vermont Seek Own Community Centers
On Sunday mornings at the Burlington Friends Meeting House, a small gathering of Vermont Quakers communes in silence with God. This has been a familiar scene in New England for a few hundred years. The congregation that worships in the adjacent Bassett House on North Prospect Street is much livelier. Since mid-July, the Vermont Hindu…
Obituary: Jeffrey A Lesage, 1955-2015 Winooski, VT
Jeffrey A Lesage, 60, died suddenly at his home in North Fort Myers, FL on August 18, 2015. Jeff was born in Winooski on January 23, 1955 to the late Maurice and Geraldine (O’Day) Lesage. He graduated from Winooski High School in1975. Jeff was raised and lived in Winooski for most of his life before…
We are turning 20!
Friday, Sept. 11, 5:30-11:30 p.m. Behind the Maltex Building (431 Pine St, Burlington) $5 donation benefits SEABA Featuring: Waylon Speed “Operation Prince” with Craig Mitchell & Band Vermont Comedy Club Boozy drinks Food trucks Live video projections by Sean Clute & Jessica Gomula
Obituary: Marguerite Tipson, Georgia, VT
Marguerite Tipson, 86, of Winooski, Vermont went to be with her Lord and Savior on August 16, 2015 after a short illness. Marguerite was born in Georgia, Vermont; the daughter of Leona and Aime Duval. She is survived by her children and their spouses; Mark & Leslie LaRiviere of St. Albans, Susan & Douglas Santerre…
Obituary: Grace (Bergevin) Rivers, 1930-2015 Winooski, VT
Grace (Bergevin) Rivers, 85, of Winooski passed away Monday August 17, 2015. Grace was born on June 19, 1930 to Joseph and Eva (Francis) Bergevin. In 1957, she married Donald Rivers Sr. at St. Stephens’s Church in Winooski. Grace worked for many years at Mary Fletcher Hospital as a manager of the cafeteria. In her…
Shelburne Museum Puts 19th-Century Craftsmanship on Display
Some galleries in Vermont are known for showcasing innovative work by contemporary artists. But a current show at the historic Shelburne Museum demonstrates that some Vermont designers were edgy 200 years ago. Jean Burks, the museum’s recently retired senior curator, has assembled an eye-opening exhibit of about 50 pieces of furniture made in Vermont during…
Dealer.com Shows Commitment to Local Artists
Mary Lacy’s clothing, hair and hands are polka-dotted with paint — a minor matter for a muralist. Lately, though, that speckling has been more tenacious than usual. Lacy has been pulling long days to complete her latest project before Burlington’s South End Art Hop begins on September 11. She landed a plum commission: the decoration…
The End of the Tour
In the three decades-plus I’ve been lucky enough to get paid to watch movies, I’ve watched a lot of them about artists, and most of them have blown. Movies about writers are the worst. Filmmakers haven’t figured out how to translate the creative process into images, or how to show what a great mind is…
An NYC Muralist Brings His Paints to Burlington
Heads up, walls of Burlington. Several area businesses will be getting an exterior makeover this week, as University of Vermont-born organization Art on Board returns to the Green Mountain State for a series of mural-painting sessions. Originally a UVM capstone project in 2013, Art on Board is now in its third year of operation and…
Gallery Profile: Bundy Modern, Waitsfield
In the 1960s, when Waitsfield was a haven for New York City transplants keen on fox hunts and polo matches, an architect and resident named Harlow Carpenter decided the area needed contemporary art. Armed with a master’s in architecture from Harvard’s Graduate School of Design and family money — his mother was heir to the…
Letters to the Editor (8/19/15)
Dog Park Is Working In [“Fetching and Kvetching: A Dog Park Annoys Some of Its Neighbors,” July 29] a neighbor is quoted saying, “People go over there, and they hang ’round in the middle of the park and chitchat while their dogs run rampant” — as if that isn’t the entire point of a dog…
Shap Talk: Can Vermont’s House Speaker Become Governor?
In the nearly five years since Arthur and Theresa Breault closed their beloved department store in downtown Morrisville, a coalition of nonprofits and government organizations has revitalized the sprawling property. The three-building block now boasts affordable housing, first-floor commercial space and a new restaurant called Pizza on Main. The symbolism will be clear when House…
What a 1987 Tax Battle Says About Bernie Sanders
Burlington Mayor Bernie Sanders didn’t attend the June 1987 press conference that opened with a bombshell. Assessor Rosaire Longe did his bidding, announcing that the city had sent a tax bill to the Medical Center Hospital of Vermont, the venerable institution on the hill now known as the University of Vermont Medical Center. The amount…
Vermont Farms Grow Some Surprising Fruits
When David Fried started Elmore Roots Nursery in 1981, he contacted a local extension agent to find out what fruit he could grow. The agent said his land, located in one of Vermont’s coldest climates, could only support apples — and just two varieties at that. Fried knew the man was wrong. “I had hiked…
To Save Paradise, a New Vermont Law Calls for Better Parking Lots
Most people who walk by the parking lot next to the state office building at 133 State Street in Montpelier are unlikely to notice anything special about it. Neat white lines on the blacktop mark off spaces for 107 cars. But to Chris Kilian, Vermont director of the Conservation Law Foundation, the tarmac is cause…
A UVM Researcher Aims to Help Addicts
A cocaine addict stops smoking crack and attends counseling sessions. As a reward, his drug-treatment counselor gives him gift certificates to local stores. A patient who’s obese, sedentary and at high risk for a heart attack starts exercising and eating right because his cardiologist gives him a free gym membership. A pregnant heroin addict stops…
Under Fire: A Cop Who Shot a Suspect Faces Criminal Charges
Last November, the Windsor Police Department chalked up what seemed like a victory in its local war on drugs. Two officers had set up a drug-buy sting. When their target’s car allegedly sped toward them, one of the officers opened fire, wounding the driver. Still, no cops were hurt, and a brief chase netted two…
Counting the Losses When Barns Burn
On the evening of Sunday, August 2, Dawn and Dan Boucher wrapped up dinner in their home at the edge of the Boucher Family Farm in Highgate. They may have turned on a movie, but Dawn doesn’t remember now. In the background, the couple heard popping noises. “It sounded like tires burning,” Dawn recalled afterward. At…
Willa Mamet and Paul Miller, Let Somebody Love You
(Self-released, CD, digital download) Vermont expat Willa Mamet and Green Mountain guitarist Paul Miller have known each other since she was a little girl and Miller was a visiting family friend. During that time they discovered that wonderful things happened when they sang together. And so began a journey that has most recently culminated in…
Blissing Out in the ‘Life Vessel’
When it comes to alternative medicine, I place myself squarely in the camp of scientific-evidence-based skeptics. Over the years, I’ve tried acupuncture and visited a chiropractor a few times. Eventually, I concluded that the results were felt most acutely in my checking account. Similarly, I’ve never warmed to “energy healing,” especially those disciplines that freely…
Kristina Stykos, Horse Thief
(Thunder Ridge Records, CD, digital download) Contrary to what L.L.Bean might have you believe, rural life is not all horse-drawn sleighs, crackling fires and double-knit sweater vests. Especially for those who purposefully live in the most remote nether regions of the state, the idyllic splendor and serene isolation of the Green Mountains comes at a…
Sofia’s Deli Opens in Burlington; UVM Offers Craft Beer Biz Program
Sofia’s Pizzeria has returned to St. Paul Street in Burlington. Well, sort of. Owner Omer Alicic is slinging his pies and calzones once again, but now it’s as Sofia’s Deli at Neighborhood Market at 457 St. Paul. Fans will still be able to dig into Alicic’s Manhattan Stromboli, filled with homemade meatballs, but he says…
Free Will Astrology (08/19/15)
ARIES (March 21-April 19): You’d probably prefer to stay in the romantic, carefree state of mind. But from what I can tell, you’re ripe for a new phase of your long-term cycle. Your freestyle rambles and jaunty adventures should now make way for careful introspection and thoughtful adjustments. Instead of restless stargazing, I suggest patient…
Infinitely Polar Bear
Infinitely Polar Bear is a modest but worthwhile film that brings us back to a semi-forgotten, not-so-innocent era — America in the 1970s, when kids were less supervised and parents let it all hang out. It was a time when a woman could leave her young daughters in the care of their bipolar dad, who…
Kiwi on Tour
At the top of Church Street, two pairs of 20-foot-tall inflatable men danced for two days and nights as I considered them from the vantage point of my passing taxi. It was Burlington’s Festival of Fools weekend, and, at some point during the second day, the inflatables’ ceaseless, frenetic bobbing and weaving began to freak…
Q&A With Beach House’s Victoria Legrand
Depression Cherry, the fifth and latest record from indie-rock duo Beach House, is as notable for its swirling synth atmospherics and haunting vocals as for what it lacks: live drums. On their 2012 record, Bloom, the two leaned heavily on bombastic percussion to augment and fortify their typically dreamy sonic aesthetic. The album’s muscularity was…
Paramount Theatre and Castleton University Collaborate on Project 240
It’s been incubating for nine months, and this week Rutland’s Paramount Theatre and Castleton University are happy to announce the birth of … Project 240! Both the performing arts organization and the university are excited to tout their unprecedented collaboration, which they’re doing at a press conference-and-cocktail party on Wednesday, August 19. Project 240, explains…
Soundbites: Manhattan Takes Burlington
Manhattan, Straight Up If you’ve been paying close attention the last couple of years, you might have noticed that I have an affinity for Manhattan Pizza & Pub, on the corner of Church and Main streets in Burlington. No, it’s not because of Philly Friday, though I do love me a good cheesesteak on the…
Picnicking With the ‘Big Lady’
At the Waterfront Shelter last Sunday, a few dozen picnickers and onlookers turned out for the phenomenon that was “Big Lady!” The 35-foot-high inflated woman, created by artist Stella Marrs, was the guest of honor at the laid-back Big Lady Picnic, organized by Burlington City Arts. Described on its website as “An event celebrating the…
I’ve Given My Girlfriend an STD
Dear Athena, I’ve slept with a bunch of women recently. I was pretty heartbroken after a breakup and went a little crazy having lots of sex with lots of different girls. Now some girl I had sex with called me up and said she has genital herpes. She thinks I’m the one who gave it…
Obituary: Arlene M. Cunningham, 1927-2015 Burlington, VT
Arlene Cunningham, passed away on Monday, August 17th, 2015 surrounded by much love in her home. Arlene was born on July 11th, 1927 to the (late) George and Mabel (Beaudry) LaFlam in Charlotte, VT and spent 20 years enjoying life on the family farm with her 8 siblings. On November 8th, 1947, she married Eldred…
A Mesoamerican Market Hits Waitsfield
Only Moretown can call Waitsfield south of the border, but that isn’t stopping Kingsbury Market Garden and Vermont Bean Crafters from hosting a caliente new event that will share the smoke and fire of Mesoamerica with the Mad River Valley. Simply called Domingo, the market and dinner kicks off at 4 p.m. on Sunday, August…
Hen of the Wood Owners Open Beer Bar in Stowe
After a dry run last weekend, beer bar Doc Ponds opened in the former Vermont Ale House space in Stowe on Monday, August 17. It’s the third project from Hen of the Wood owners Eric Warnstedt and William McNeil, whose restaurants in Waterbury and Burlington continue to fill up nightly after several years in business.…
