In the annals of Vermont’s Magic Hat Brewing, there was never a more spectacular misfire than Ale of the Living Dead. Brewed in 2001 for the annual Night of the Living Dead Halloween party that the company used to throw at its brewery — originally in Burlington and later in South Burlington — the ale…
A wig-wearing, whitewater-rafting, Sufi-dancing, peace-loving mother continues to her next adventure
One of Vermont’s first female real estate appraisers also won prizes for her “penny rugs” at the Champlain Valley Fair
Lifelong Northfield resident raised eight children and filled their home with love
CANCER (June 21-July 22): Some readers wish I would write more like Cormac McCarthy or Albert Camus or Raymond Chandler: with spare simplicity. They accuse me of being too lush and exuberant in my prose. They want me to use shorter sentences and fewer adjectives. To them I say: It ain’t going to happen. I…
Scroll through the website for Beau Ties LTD, a men’s accessory company in Middlebury, and you’ll find 139 different patterns of cloth masks, from paisley to polka dot. Before COVID-19, the 27-year-old company sold primarily bow ties — plus neckties, cummerbunds, ascots, dress shirts, socks and shoes — to dapper customers across the country, online…
In July 1777, British soldiers dispersed colonial troops stationed at Mount Independence in Orwell. During my visit 243 years later, deerflies routed me. The insects buzzed me and nestled in my scalp. I pulled dying bugs from my hair as I walked on the rise above Lake Champlain that was the site of an encampment…
“So, Grayson, how long have you lived on Isle La Motte?” I asked my customer. “Just over a year now,” he replied from the back seat. “I moved up from Baltimore.” Grayson Benton had just undergone a medical procedure at the UVM Medical Center, which is where this taxi fare originated. We were en route…
After 23 years and some 600 stories, I’m calling it quits. The Hackie story appearing in this issue of Seven Days is the very last one. I’m not going to sugarcoat it for you. This transition fills me with sadness. But mostly I’m overflowing with gratitude. Penning these stories and seeing them published in Vermont’s…
Bummed about not being able to travel this summer? Consider the transportive possibilities of the humble portal, which can pop up virtually anywhere (the way to Narnia, after all, was through a closet filled with mothballs) and requires only that you completely disconnect from reality in order to obtain safe passage to your personal beyond.…
Nick Charyk was halfway through a Segway tour of Savannah, Ga., during a family vacation in March when he had an extraterrestrial encounter of sorts. The leader of one of his favorite bands, Old Crow Medicine Show, had made an out-of-this-world proposal on his own group’s Instagram page. Singer and fiddler Ketch Secor wrote: “y’all…
(Self-released, digital) In a June Instagram post, Burlington-based singer-songwriter Ryan Sweezey revealed that he had injured his voice while preparing for a livestream Counting Crows cover set. Sweezey’s commitment to doing Adam Duritz justice is impressive and shows his loyalty to the pop-rock bands he cites as influences, such as Augustana and Matchbox Twenty. Sweezey’s…
The crossword puzzle dates back to 1913 — but ironically, given its predominance now, the New York Times was the last major paper to begin running a regular crossword. According to the Smithsonian Magazine, it took the Times until 1942 to adopt the puzzle form, when Americans needed something to distract them from World War…
(Self-released, digital) Eclecticism is often a positive quality for musicians. Think about how many albums you’ve bought after hearing a song you loved, only to discover the band basically just plays the same tune over and over (looking at you, Beach House). You want a good album to bring you somewhere — that’s the alchemy…
The virtual landscape has had some unexpected perks for the Vermont Pride Theater Festival, which begins its 10th year at Randolph’s Chandler Center for the Arts on July 17. According to producer Sharon Rives, a Chandler board member who cofounded and has been organizing the LGBTQ-focused festival since its inception, going online has enabled her…
When it comes to theater, sometimes it’s best to go it alone. Through August 15, performing artists can apply for a slot in the 2021 One & Only Series, the fifth annual succession of solo shows presented by Waterbury Center’s Grange Hall Cultural Center and MOXIE Productions. “As a performer, you are so often dependent…
As they neared adjournment last Friday afternoon, Vermont legislators were doling out federal coronavirus relief at a dizzying speed. “My head is spinning trying to keep track of where the different pieces of money are,” Rep. Francis “Topper” McFaun (R-Barre Town) said on the virtual House floor. “I think we’re in the land of spinning…
Not All ‘Warm and Fuzzy’ [Re “Rising Stars,” June 24]: The article states: “Driscoll emphasized that the company has avoided layoffs by redeploying workers to meet both business and community needs.” This is not true as a blanket statement. A number of King Arthur Flour employees who worked in the prepared foods division are taking…
Mary Hong and her 7-year-old son Desi were driving through Burlington’s Old North End earlier this month when the boy spotted a man holding a sign that read, “Homeless, anything helps.” Desi wanted to give the man his snacks, he recalled during an interview last week, but his mom had a better idea: What about…
The spring of 2013 was a turning point for Burlington’s livable wage ordinance. The local law — which mandates a minimum rate of pay for city employees and people working on a city contract — had been on the books since 2001. But Mayor Miro Weinberger wanted to know how the rule had been enforced…
Dear Reverend, I like to smoke pot. It often makes me horny, and I masturbate. The only problem is that sometimes the marijuana makes me paranoid, and I think my neighbors can see me. Am I crazy? Stoner Boner (male, 23) Dear Stoner Boner, There’s nothing wrong with a little weed whackin’. Cannabis has been…
Dewey Guidry died at the young age of 21 in Ohio on July 14, 1971 — 49 years ago. Dewey and I grew up in Burlington, and our family was very poor. Even as a young boy, Dewey was a provider for the rest of us. He would fish in the Winooski River. He’d pick…
At a farm in Williston on Sunday, Lt. Gov. David Zuckerman gazed out over a field, not of cows or corn but of more than 100 vehicles lined up neatly, as though attending a rural drive-in movie. The organic farmer and gubernatorial candidate spoke — with a mask hanging around his neck — from a…
Mike Isham did not intend to start a new farmers market during the most challenging year for markets in recent memory. When he put out a call for vendors in January, we were only wearing face masks to keep warm, and “social distancing” hadn’t yet entered our collective vocabulary. But despite the global pandemic, the…
During a recent interview at a coffee shop in Essex Junction’s Five Corners, Dan Raut said matter-of-factly, “I know everyone.” Raut is a Nepali native who has lived in Vermont since 2011 and remains deeply involved in the local Nepali-speaking community. Besides working as an interpreter, he leads a weekly worship service in Nepali that…
Two Indian restaurants, both from owner Krishna Paudel, are adding to the global food scene in Vermont this summer. In St. Albans, Paudel opened Kathmandu Restaurant at 133 North Main Street on June 8. She plans to open her second business, Indian-Nepali Kitchen, at 100 Main Street in Montpelier on July 13. The Montpelier location…
