Feb 22-27, 2017
How a Generation of Mad River Valley Skiers Shaped Vermont; Resistance Report: Vermonters Activate in the Trump Age; New Owners Revitalize the Beloved Highland Lodge
Cover Story
Lucky Bums: How a Generation of Skiers Shaped Vermont
Charlie Brown remembers the first time he stepped into the Blue Tooth, a tavern on the Sugarbush Access Road in Warren. It was 53 years ago, and he was a 28-year-old from Philadelphia up for a ski weekend. “The band was playing, there was a fire in the fireplace, huge icicles hanging from the roof…
Obituary: Eren Dylan Dubé, 1988-2017
Eren Dylan Dubé, 28, passed away in his sleep on February 23, 2017 at the home of his loving care-giver Nadia Leon. Eren was born in Berlin, VT on May 24, 1988. He was the son of Elden Dubé of Montpelier, VT and Rebecca Johnston of Essex Jct., VT. Eren is survived by his sister…
The Parmelee Post: Stuffed Bernie Sanders Doll Faces Tough Questions at Town Hall
After a series of contentious congressional town hall meetings made headlines across the country this week, Vermonters were left feeling neglected by the absence of their own elected representatives. Left with few options, voters were forced to improvise a way to hold a meeting of their own. At a packed Fletcher Free Library in Burlington…
![Butterflies, Live! [SIV479]](https://i0.wp.com/www.sevendaysvt.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/episode479.webp?resize=1200%2C900&ssl=1)
Butterflies, Live! [SIV479]
2/17/17: More than 150 colorful butterflies and moths are brightening up a greenhouse Pavilion at ECHO, Leahy Center for Lake Champlain in Burlington. Visitors to this balmy, lush space can observe the daily activities of its fluttering inhabitants as they gather nectar, hang upside down and land on a few lucky shoulders. The ultimate goal…
Free Will Astrology (2/22/17)
PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20): What would your best mother do in a situation like this? Please note that I’m not asking, “What would your mother do?” I’m not suggesting you call on the counsel of your actual mother. When I use the term “your best mother,” I’m referring to the archetype of your perfect mother.…
Four More Local Albums You Probably Haven’t Heard
One of the blessings of our local music scene is its sheer magnitude and bounty. It’s also a curse — Seven Days receives so many album submissions, we often don’t find space to review everything that crosses our path in a timely fashion. In fact, this is our second installment in the past month. Here…
I’ve Gotten So Dry ‘Down There’ — What Can I Do?
Dear Athena, I have gotten so dry down there in the past year, and it makes my hubby think that he doesn’t make me wet because I don’t find him sexually attractive. That’s not an issue; I’m very attracted to him. What do I do? What is wrong? Signed, Want to Be Wet Dear Want…
Talking Art With Painter Wylie Sofia Garcia
Burlington artist Wylie Sofia Garcia has a busy life. With her husband, fellow artist Clark Derbes, she takes care of their 8- and 2-year-old children. She teaches visual art at Shelburne Craft School, where she is also education coordinator. And, over the last year, she has been developing her art in a whole new medium.…
#Resist: How Trump’s Election Has Ignited Vermont Activists
A YouTube video currently making the rounds on social media is titled, “What It’s Felt Like Since the Election.” In it, a man wakes up in the morning, checks the news on his smartphone and immediately begins howling in terror. His sustained howl lasts throughout the day as he encounters others — at a coffee…
A Vacant Storefront Art Installation Illuminates Winooski
If Winooski is “the Brooklyn of Burlington,” the city now boasts an appropriate contemporary art installation. The straightforwardly named “Fluorescent Light in Vacant Storefront” is just that. In collaboration with curatorial initiative Overnight Projects, Montpelier artist Chris Jeffrey has filled the Winooski Block building’s former Sloane Mercantile quarters with sculptural arrangements of brightly colored fluorescent…
Soundbites: Show Up; Ain’t Their First Rodeo
If you’ve kept up with Soundbites over the last few weeks, you’ve probably noticed that I’m keen to mention events that support a good cause. Given the anxiety over the current social, political and cultural climate, it’s an important time for artists to step up for underrepresented issues and populations. We’re lucky to live in…
Vermont Musicians Counter Patriarchy With 19th-Century Art Songs
In the midst of a cascade of national news about women opposing the policies of the President Donald Trump administration — a worldwide women’s march, a sudden uptick in donations to Planned Parenthood, a surge in women considering running for office — comes a timely concert at the University of Vermont. “How Do I Love…
Theater Review: Last of the Red Hot Lovers, Northern Stage
Neil Simon’s comedy Last of the Red Hot Lovers is still sparkling nearly 50 years after it first made fun of the infidelity imperative of the late 1960s. Set in 1969 — when many a middle-aged man believed that, if he hadn’t had an affair, he hadn’t lived — the play remains hilarious in Northern…
Letters to the Editor (2/22/17)
Dairy Deserves It Nice tearjerker about the illegal aliens [“Fear on the Farm,” February 15] and the so-called “industry.” So I’ll bet that the “perpetrators” who crashed “Justicia Migrante” organizer Natalia Fajardo’s car in Bridport will not face prosecution then? Ironically and identically, a local up here did the very same thing by crashing his…
In Burlington, Upward Growth or ‘Vertical Sprawl’?
Last fall, flyers distributed by opponents of three 14-story buildings in downtown Burlington proclaimed, “Too tall!” The proposed residential and office development would tower above the Church Street Marketplace shopping mall. Activists involved in the Coalition for a Livable City failed to convince Queen City voters in November to reject two ballot items that would…
John Vincent Is Printing the Revolution
In a former life, John Vincent was a cop. Now, the white-pony-tailed, 67-year-old lives in New Haven and operates A Revolutionary Press. As that name might suggest, it’s an old-school print studio where Vincent creates radical posters featuring quotes from the likes of Martin Luther King Jr. and scholar-monk Thomas Merton. This Saturday, February 25,…
Unlikely Allies Seek to Make Vermont’s Milk the Cream of the Industry
An improbable coalition is calling for dramatic changes to the state’s dairy industry. Former agriculture secretary Roger Allbee has joined forces with three longtime environmental activists to argue that depressed milk prices, the need to reduce water pollution, and uncertainty about trade and migrant labor at the federal level present a unique opportunity to reinvigorate…
Movie Review: ‘The Great Wall’ Doesn’t Stand Up to Scrutiny
Remember back in December when I took up space in our year-in-review piece to go on about how the Chinese are buying up Hollywood? And how that country’s richest man, Wang Jianlin, now owns Legendary Entertainment (among other studios), and how concerned I was that Communist Party restrictions would ultimately result in “movies … increasingly…
Fro-Yo for Gamers at St. Albans Frozen Ogre
The frozen yogurt trend is here — and in St. Albans, it’s taken an unusual form. At the Frozen Ogre at 46 North Main Street, customers can now get icy treats while browsing a selection of board games, card games, craft items and hobby supplies Co-owner Erik Stumpf, 38, has a master’s degree in accounting,…
Outta Town: Vermont’s Congressional Delegation Spends Recess Far From Home
During this week’s congressional recess, many U.S. senators and representatives headed home to hear from their constituents at packed town-hall meetings. So where are Vermont’s three members of Congress? Nowhere nearby. That’s for sure. Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) and Congressman Peter Welch (D-Vt.) are traveling abroad on official business. Leahy’s midwinter excursion takes him to…
Meet the Parents
“So, did you folks have a nice meal tonight?” The couple in the back seat was basking in that after-dinner glow. I’ve heard that, statistically speaking, Burlington has the most restaurants per capita of all U.S. cities. I don’t know if that’s accurate, but in my experience as an observer and occasional partaker, eating out…
Self Portrait, Primal Union
(Self-released, CD, digital download) Self Portrait started out as a young group of friends who loved rap music. Through constant live shows, the trio has grown into one of the best hip-hop crews in Burlington. They are blessed with unassuming charm, which is part of their appeal. But this is a hardworking, disciplined unit. With…
Before the Civil Rights Act, Vermont’s ‘Tourist Homes’ Welcomed Black Travelers
In 1957, Joyce Austin traveled from Montclair, N.J., to Burlington to visit her boyfriend, Leroy Williams Jr., the captain of the University of Vermont football team. But when she arrived at the Rest Haven Motel on Williston Road, she was told unambiguously that the establishment did not “accept colored people.” That incident made the Burlington…
Spencer Lewis, From Now to Now
(Self-released, CD, digital download) We’re not quite sure who holds the Vermont record for having released the most albums. But Vermont’s Spencer Lewis has got to be in the running. Last fall, Lewis ushered in the 26th album of his decades-long career, the instrumental Souls. In February, he followed that up with number 27, From…
Bohemian Bakery Brings Its Sweets to Montpelier
Under an elderberry tree, a couple sat at a small, round metal table darkened with patina. He untied a piece of twine from his paper-wrapped salmon-salad sandwich and knotted it tenderly around her wrist, where it would stay until time and sweat wore it away. Nearby, novelist Howard Norman, hands waving to punctuate his points,…
Vermont’s Right Thinks Scott is Wrong on Trump
So much for a honeymoon. Gov. Phil Scott had been in office just a month when his conservative supporters unleashed a tirade. On Facebook and over coffee counters, they excoriated their man for seeking to limit Vermont’s cooperation with President Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown. “Traitor!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!” one Facebook commenter wrote. (That was 15 exclamation points.) “Enjoy…
With New Owners, Greensboro’s Highland Lodge Is Reborn
On a recent Saturday morning, José Fernandez of Essex scrapped his work plans, telling his wife, Astrid, “It’s too beautiful. We have to ski.” So the couple hopped in the car with friends George and Sandy Keener of Westford and headed 60 miles east to the Highland Lodge. There they would enjoy what George calls…
Movie Review: ‘A Cure for Wellness’ Offers Plenty of Weirdness
What happens when the impresario behind two manic Pirates of the Caribbean flicks and Rango sets out to emulate The Shining? Not a masterpiece, but nothing easily forgettable, either. Longer and more ambitious than director Gore Verbinski’s previous horror effort The Ring, A Cure for Wellness earns its place in the small pantheon of stylish…
Eat This Week, February 22 to 28, 2017: Jump for Juice
Toast Vermont’s cider makers with sips that range from bone-dry and funky to lip-smacking sweet. Sample an array of apple nectars at Nectar’s in Burlington while dancing to tunes from Seth Yacovone; learn the science of apple fermentation with Woodchuck Hard Cider maker Ben E. Calvi in Middlebury. You could treat yourself to a tasting…
How to (Eat and) Make the Most of a Powder Day
I wake up at 7 a.m. The plow trucks have been scraping by since before dawn. It’s a workday, but I check the snow report anyway, just in case the storm dropped an unexpected load on the Northeast Kingdom. Lo and behold: 20 inches overnight! I feel a swelling flutter in my heart. My self-diagnosis:…
