Aug 24 – Sep 1, 2016
Bike Smut Film Festival Comes Again in Burlington; Scientists Find Clue to Blue-Green Algae Pollution; Redefining Local Food — as Regional
Cover Story
Bike Smut Film Festival Comes Again
The premise is simple but outlandish, the innuendo merciless: Bike Smut is probably the world’s only traveling “bike porn” film festival, and it’s coming — cough — to Burlington. On Thursday, August 25, ArtsRiot will host Bike Smut 9: Science Friction … The Final Gear, a sextravaganza of short erotic films that celebrate sex and…
Inside the Magic Harry Potter Bus
When Kyle Clark decided to build an RV for his family of six, he approached the project using the same method his Burlington tech company, Venture.co, employs to help launch startups: He crowd-sourced the necessary goods and services. In February 2015, Clark purchased a retired 2003 school bus in New York. He then posted requests…
Hello, Muddah: What I Learned This Summer at my Own Mommy Camp
It seemed like a good idea at the time. Back when snow covered the trees and the school bus rolled up every morning at 7:30 a.m. to whisk my little ones away for the day, I decided I would spend the first week of summer vacation with 9-year-old Dillon and 7-year-old Harper. Sure, I had…
Obituary: Jan N Slusmon, 1947-2016
“To laugh often and much; to win the respect of the intelligent people and the affection of children; To earn the appreciation of honest critics and endure the betrayal of false friends; To appreciate beauty; To find the best in others; To leave the world a bit better …
Obituary: Melody Percoco, 1947-2016
Melody Percoco, 68, passed away on her daughter’s birthday, August 21, 2016 at her home in Shelburne, VT from complications of metastatic lung cancer. She was predeceased by her brother, Michael, in 1999. Melody was born on November 4, 1947 in Bronx, NY to Dr. Michael and Mrs. Mary Percoco. She grew up in the…
Obituary: Anthony Griffith, 1935-2016
Anthony G. Griffith passed away peacefully on Sunday August 28, 2016 at the Northwest Medical Center in St. Albans, Vermont. Tony was born on September 29, 1935. He was pre-deceased by his parents Gerald and Marjorie Griffith, and his brothers Lee and Zeke Griffith and his sister Marjorie Wood. Tony was a long time resident…
Students Work It at Sterling College
Like most college students, Tofowa Pyle expects to pull an all-nighter or two before the end of the school year. But while students at most other colleges and universities burn the midnight oil writing term papers and cramming for exams, Pyle could be up until the wee hours tending to a pregnant sow or sick…
How Can We Find Time for Sex?
Dear Athena, About two months ago I helped my partner move out of their abusive parent’s house and in with me. However, because I’m still in college and working only part time, I still live with my dad. Luckily, he adores my partner and has been both financially and emotionally supportive of both of us.…
Fewer Algae Blooms in Hard-Hit Bays Could Point the Way to Cleanup
Water conditions in St. Albans Bay have been strange this summer — strangely clean. On hot days in July and early August, dozens of people actually swam at the town beach, which in past years has been frequently closed on the dog days of summer due to stinky and potentially toxic outbreaks of blue-green algae…
Bikers in the Buff
Originally published June 15, 2005 June 11 was World Naked Bike Ride Day, and a group of 20 or so brave bikers commemorated it by cycling nude through the streets of Burlington. According to worldnakedbikeride.org, riders in more than 50 cities worldwide pedaled to protest reliance on fossil fuels and to celebrate “the power and…
Why Aren’t There More French Classes in Vermont?
Vermont and Québec have plenty in common: 90 miles of a peaceful border, a broad appreciation for maple syrup, artisanal cheeses and classy booze. And poutine and hockey. But, unlike our majority-francophone neighbors who often learn English, many Vermontais have a limited grasp of French. “We’re so close to Québec, it’s a shame that more…
A Climate Change: Phil Scott ‘Evolves’ on Global Warming
After suggesting last month that the planet is warming due to a “combination” of human and natural causes, Lt. Gov. Phil Scott said Monday that he has studied up on the matter and has changed his view. In a July forum hosted by Reddit and Vermont Public Radio, the Republican gubernatorial candidate was asked whether…
Book Review: Riverine: A Memoir From Anywhere But Here, by Angela Palm
Burlington writer Angela Palm’s Riverine: A Memoir From Anywhere But Here won the influential annual Nonfiction Prize from her publisher, Graywolf Press. It arrives this month garlanded with advance praise, including starred reviews in Publishers Weekly and Kirkus Reviews and a Best Book commendation from Apple iBooks. A professional editor and writing coach, Palm is…
A Fitting Tribute Album for A-Dog Day
Two years ago, Burlington held the first annual A-Dog Day. The downtown celebration honored the life and legacy of DJ and skateboarding maven Andy Williams, who died of leukemia in December 2013. In addition to plentiful performances, workshops and events in A-Dog’s honor that August, his longtime friend and collaborator DJ Nastee produced a tribute…
A New Doc on Police Militarization
After a long, hot summer that brought story after tragic story of police shootings of unarmed African Americans, the time is ripe for a screening of Do Not Resist. Partly a chronicle of protests that followed the 2014 death of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Mo., and partly a dissection of modern policing tactics, the 2016…
The Gypsy
The trouble with air conditioning is, it works too well. This was my thought as I sat in my taxi in front of a condo on Patchen Road waiting for a customer going to the airport. He wasn’t emerging from the house and hadn’t responded to my “I’m out here” text. The indicator on my…
![Long Trail Canine Rescue [SIV456]](https://i0.wp.com/www.sevendaysvt.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/episode456-scaled.webp?resize=1200%2C900&ssl=1)
Long Trail Canine Rescue [SIV456]
8/19/16: How does a street dog from Costa Rica wind up spending the summer at scenic Mt Philo in Vermont? Kim and John Frigault are two dog lovers who spend their summers working as Park Rangers at Mount Philo State Park in Charlotte. Their two rescue dogs, Philo and Seeger, travel with the pair to…
Vermont’s Progressives and Democrats Have Uneasy Ties
Earlier this month, Marci Young duked it out with four other candidates in a Democratic primary for a Vermont House seat. She came in third in a two-seat district centered around Morristown and Worcester, losing by 215 votes. But Young had been nominated in July by the local Progressive Party committee. That means she’ll be…
Growing Locally, Thinking Regionally
In 2010, Jeff Jones was giving out free samples of greenhouse produce at South Burlington’s Healthy Living Market & Café. “Would you like to try a beefsteak tomato?” Jones, then a partner at Vermont Hydroponic Produce, asked a passing shopper. “Is it local?” the customer asked. Jones explained that it was grown in Florence, Vt.…
Picnics, Cows and Comedy at Unadilla Theatre
I admit it: Theater is my all-time favorite art form. No, I don’t mind driving more than an hour to see a show. Why yes, I would like to see a 1920s English farce tonight. The performance space is barebones? Fine. Bring it on. Professional theater is thrilling, but when actors, directors and technicians volunteer…
Art Review: ‘Landscapes After Ruskin: Redefining the Sublime,’ Hall Art Foundation
Vermont had little to do with the rarified world of high-end art until 2012. That’s when collectors Andrew and Christine Hall restored a farmhouse and its three barns in Reading to show selections from their 5,000-piece collection. While some of the collection belongs to the entity they created, the Hall Art Foundation, most works remain…
War Dogs
George W. Bush and Dick Cheney were such scary clowns, it’s curious that more comedies haven’t been made about their globally destabilizing antics. It’s equally baffling that so few of the handful of films that have been made worked, even with high-grade talent at their centers. Years from now, is anyone likely to look back…
Cork Wine Bar Moves; Lincoln Peak Racks Up Awards
Cork Wine Bar & Market in Waterbury is on the move. It will close after service this Friday and reopen the following Friday, permits permitting, in a new home at 40 Foundry Street. The move continues the brand’s expansion and growth: Last year, owner Danielle Nichols opened a second location in Stowe. Nichols says her…
Kubo and the Two Strings
It’s become routine, even banal, in pop culture for stories to rhapsodize about the power of storytelling. One might call it a form of self-congratulation. Yet stop-motion animation studio Laika breathes new life into this tired theme in the opening scenes of Kubo and the Two Strings, a breathtaking family fable set in ancient Japan.…
Friends for A-Dog Ramp Up Remembrances and Revelry
There was a lot to love about Andy Williams. Better known as DJ A-Dog, Williams was a profoundly gifted DJ and artist. He was a talented and passionate skateboarder. He was a good friend, whether you’d known him forever or had just met. He was an interesting guy, for sure. But just as importantly, he…
Letters to the Editor (8/24/16)
Making a Move Milton has come a long way [“Milton’s Metamorphosis: A Plan in Place for a Real Downtown,” August 10]. I remember when it was junkyards and trailers. Where Sears is, there used to be a big junkyard. I would love to live in Milton, but I do agree that the lack of a…
Juice Amour Opens Café in Middlebury
In August 2015, Sheri Bannister and her father, David Bedard, began pressing raw, organic juices in Bannister’s Bristol kitchen. Soon she was taking increasing numbers of online orders for local delivery of fresh-squeezed juice, under the name Juice Amour. On July 25, Bannister and Bedard opened a juice café at 1396 Route 7 in Middlebury,…
New JAG Productions Aims for Cutting-Edge Theater
The Upper Valley will soon be home to a brand-new theater company, JAG Productions, with the tagline “Bold theatre that reflects the times.” Founder and producing artistic director Jarvis Antonio Green, who formerly headed a theater company at ArtisTree Community Arts Center & Gallery, is partnering with that local arts center on his latest venture.…
Julie Winn, Music Saves the Soul
(Self-released, CD, digital download) Julie Winn is an empathic individual with an unrelenting message of love. The local songwriter’s debut album, Music Saves the Soul, is a testament to her devotion to spreading that message through music. Winn relies on classic folk and blues composition as a platform for her radiant voice and reverent lyricism.…
Plans for Utopian ‘Ubuntu’ Community Cause Stir in Bolton
A group of people involved in a “liberation movement” led by an eccentric South African man wants to establish a money-free community on the mountain in Bolton. Residents of the tiny slope-side town are trying to figure out how to react. Behind the plan is a young couple, Krysta and David Mihaljevich. She describes herself…
Marco Polio, Wait and See
(cassette, digital download) There’s something to be said for kicking off an album with a rock-solid “fuck you.” It’s risky, sure. It’s a finger pointed between your eyes, a drunken breath on the back of your neck. “I’m not gonna hold my tongue. No, I’m not gonna hold my tongue for you,” Marco Polio’s Matt…
Free Will Astrology (8/24/16)
VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): Suggested experiments: 1. Take a vow that from now on you won’t hide your beauty. 2. Strike a deal with your inner king or inner queen, guaranteeing that this regal part of you gets regular free expression. 3. Converse with your Future Self about how the two of you might collaborate…
![Cartozia Tales [SIV455]](https://i0.wp.com/www.sevendaysvt.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/episode455.webp?resize=1200%2C900&ssl=1)
Cartozia Tales [SIV455]
8/11/16: For eight adventure filled issues, Isaac Cates has been immersed in the pen and ink world of Cartozia Tales. Teaming up with multiple indie cartoonists, Isaac has self-published his comic compilation for the past three years and was recently nominated for a prestigious Ignatz Award. Eva tags along as Isaac reprints Issue 1 at…
One Dish: Poèlée de St. Jacques at Bistro de Margot
“The restaurant is French through and through,” said our jovial server as she filled our water glasses and gave us a thorough spiel about the evening’s menu. That’s evident everywhere at Bistro de Margot, from the name to the black-and-white photographs of the Eiffel Tower to the menu — which includes descriptions en français, followed…
Barrio Bakery to Expand to Richmond
Since the closure of Parkside Kitchen in April, Richmond has wanted for breakfast and lunch options. That’ll change this fall when Ryan and Jessica Bunce, co-owners of Burlington’s Barrio Bakery and Pizza Barrio, open One Radish in the space at 39 Esplanade that housed Parkside and, before that, On the Rise Bakery. Ryan’s menu, still…
