If walls really could talk, artist Scott Lenhardt’s childhood bedroom in West Rupert would not shut up. The stories seem to lie in wait. In a huge flat file, drawings and paintings peek from folders and raggedy manila envelopes. Artwork made over four decades is stacked on every surface, evidence of Lenhardt’s nonstop creativity —…
Kim Mackey, a doctor from Wisconsin, owns and enjoys a 450-horsepower wake boat. But he urged regulators this week to keep the powerful craft off Vermont’s lakes and ponds. Mackey, who has lakeside property in northern Vermont, traveled to a Department of Environmental Conservation hearing on Wednesday to say he wouldn’t want to see the…
John Helfant is one of the most vocal parents in the Orange Southwest School District. At a school board meeting last year, the father of three accused the school district of promoting “leftism” and “subtle critical race theory” for canceling a Chick-fil-A fundraiser because of the company’s support of anti-LGBTQ groups. He criticized Randolph Union…
St. Stephen Catholic Church, constructed from marble quarried in Rutland County, is an eye-catching Winooski landmark. With its Gothic Revival touches, the 95-year-old church is one of four designed by the Boston ecclesiastical architectural firm Maginnis & Walsh, and it commands a block not far from downtown. The question is: for how much longer? Plans…
The slate of nominees for Best International Feature Film at the 95th Academy Awards offers some glaring omissions, but it’s hard to fault the presence of The Quiet Girl on the list. This quiet but mighty drama from director Colm Bairéad, adapted from Claire Keegan’s 2010 novella Foster, has already won numerous honors and is…
new in theaters 2023 OSCAR NOMINATED SHORT FILMS: Three separate programs — Live Action, Animation and Documentary — offer everything from “My Year of Dicks” to “The Elephant Whisperers.” Check online for run times, ratings and program dates. (Savoy) ANT-MAN AND THE WASP: QUANTUMANIA: The lives of the titular Marvel superheroes (Paul Rudd and Evangeline…
Dear Reverend, I had some pretty wild sex the other day. It was great, but now my penis really hurts. Could I have broken it? More importantly, will it ever get better? Buster D. Johnson (man, 24) Dear Buster D. Johnson, There are no bones in the penis, but you can indeed fracture one. That’s…
A public hearing on the FY24 Budget and Capital Program for the City of Essex Junction will be held in person at 2 Lincoln Street, Essex Junction, VT, and online via Zoom on Wednesday, February 22, 2023, at 6:35 pm. Join Zoom Meeting or by telephone at 1(888) 788-0099. Enter meeting code 944 6429 7825,…
The Fever Dolls are back with a new single. “Hate Myself (for Loving You)” — no relation to the similarly named Joan Jett AND the Blackhearts song — drops on February 17, for anyone with a Valentine’s Day hangover. The indie rockers go juuust a little bit country on the tune, with acoustic guitar, harmonica…
Spend Wisely [Re “Who Cares?” January 11]: Once again, the Democratic Party supermajority in Montpelier has another grand plan that amounts to the same old message: Overregulate, overtax and overspend! Much like former governor Howard Dean’s Commuter Rail to Nowhere and former governor Peter Shumlin’s Vermont Health Care for All, we now have Democrats’ Childcare…
(Self-released, digital) Freeway Clyde is an odd but fitting name for Michael Chorney’s latest ensemble, because this is a strange project indeed. In theory, it’s an improv band devoted to soundtracking imaginary films. In practice, Freeway Clyde are a telepathic extension of Chorney’s brain and body, as their debut LP, Sunflower, demonstrates. If I exaggerate,…
AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): Some people I respect regard the Bible as a great work of literature. I don’t share that view. Like psychologist Valerie Tarico, I believe the so-called good book is filled with “repetition, awkward constructions, inconsistent voice, weak character development, boring tangents, and passages where nobody can tell what the writer meant…
(Drongo Tapes, cassette, digital) Last year, while walking through a flea market in Fairlee, guitarist and composer Ethan WL happened upon an acoustic guitar. Despite being more attuned to the electric six-string in his solo work and with his Massachusetts-based noise-rock outfit the Big Nest, Ethan was somehow inspired to purchase the instrument. “From there…
It was one of those “It’s right under your nose” moments for Jay Wahl. The executive director of the Flynn was talking with new hire Matt Rogers about the recent mass shooting at a Colorado Springs gay nightclub when he realized how valuable his new director of programming’s voice would be at the nonprofit arts…
State officials are gathering information to help them build better roadway crossings for wild animals — and they need your help. All it takes is a smartphone, an app and a strong stomach to snap a photo of roadkill. “We really need folks to be doing this from all different corners [of the state] for…
During the first pandemic winter, Highland Center for the Arts in Greensboro came up with a novel way to draw visitors: place outdoor sculptures on the property and adjacent farm fields and connect them with a ski-and-snowshoe trail. The center even opened a weekend takeout window at its café and built outdoor firepits ringed with…
No one keeps track of how many Vermonters spend the winter in warmer climes, and the absence of that data is likely intentional. The snowbirds I know, who tend to be older and more affluent, have a way of discreetly departing so as not to inspire envy. They take wing before the deep freeze of…
In her eponymous Montpelier gallery, artist Susan Calza has installed a new selection of old works. “Our Demons Are Translucent” consists of large, ink drawings and mixed-media assemblages unearthed from a studio in Barre that she’s just vacated. “I hadn’t been using it,” she said. “I’m doing video more now.” The drawings are just a…
As winter trudges on, Vermonters may crave an exotic getaway. The Global Roots Film Festival offers a more affordable escape, bringing filmgoers to the far reaches of the planet through outstanding cinema this weekend. Global Roots, which runs from Thursday, February 16, through Sunday, February 19, at Main Street Landing Performing Arts Center’s Film House…
When you spend enough time in a music scene, you start to notice shifts, passages from one era to another. They’re subtle and, to the casual observer, probably unrecognizable. But those immersed in the scene can see and feel changes as they happen — and we might have witnessed the end of an era last…
It was peak lunch in the University of Vermont’s Central Campus Dining hall on a recent Friday around noon. Students lined up for grilled cheese sandwiches, while a few chose Vermont Bean Crafters bean burgers to go with their fries. Nearby, a rustic-style wooden cart held crates of apples. A sign with the logo “Vermont…
Jamal Johnson-Anderson grew up in the north London neighborhood of Hackney learning to cook from his Jamaican grandmother. Every Sunday after church, he recalled, she’d cook up a storm, moving fluidly between British and Jamaican recipes and ingredients, singing along to the BBC’s “Songs of Praise” while her grandson peeled potatoes or whipped cake batter.…
When Matt Grant was choosing a name for his amaro brand, he was drawn to the symbolism of a simple linchpin. “It goes into an axle and keeps the wheels on, but it also means something that’s vital to an organization,” Grant, 42, said. “This is the thing that’s going to keep your cocktail from…
Since August 2020, Local Maverick has sold products from more than 150 small Vermont food, drink, craft and wellness businesses through its online and pop-up markets. Now, the team behind the sales and marketing platform will offer those products at a brick-and-mortar shop in Burlington. Maverick Market at 110 held its soft opening at 110…
Former UVM history professor helped found the university’s historic preservation program
Longtime Realtor and accomplished seamstress served Burlington’s Ronald McDonald House for 39 years
As dangerously bitter cold settled over the Northeast on February 3, Robert Garcia, who heads the Swanton-based U.S. Border Patrol sector, posted a photo of people trudging through the woods carrying two small kids over the border from Canada into Vermont. Garcia has been taking to Twitter to caution people against attempting to cross the…
Folk Heroes Saturday 18 The rootsy folk duo of Vivian Leva and Riley Calcagno makes an appearance at Willey Memorial Hall in Cabot this weekend. The pair’s hard-picking tunes and old-time originality, steeped in the Appalachian string-band tradition thanks to both artists’ family heritages, get feet stomping and audiences hollering along. Ain’t Zine Nothing Yet…
Hopeless optimist’s biggest joy in life was being a father
Liam O’Connor-Genereaux was born 27 years ago in a church in South Ryegate. His family moved from the converted church to a sheep farm in the same town when he was a young boy. But Liam and his brother, Caleb, would sometimes go back to the former Presbyterian church to play. They’d swing from the…
Committed volunteer fulfilled her lifelong goals of being a mom, a loving and supportive wife, and a friend to all
If you go to Red Hen Baking in Middlesex on Tuesday, February 14, to buy a sweet for your sweetheart, you’ll notice a change when you pay for the pastry. The electronic point-of-sale system will no longer present a tipping option. This is a nuanced change because Red Hen has never accepted standard tips, but…
Gifted physician, researcher and professor brought laughter and brightness to all who knew him
Native Texan’s sole focus later in life was on his husband and life partner of 37 years
Waterworks hostess of 17 years leaves many wonderful friends near and far
