Mar 26 – Apr 1, 2014
After 28 Years, the Owner of Waitsfield’s Round Barn Farm Seeks a Like-Minded Successor; Abenaki Artifacts Rekindle Feud; At 40, Lyric Goes Big; First Bite: Pingala Café & Eatery
Cover Story
Waitsfield’s Round Barn Farm Owner Seeks a Successor
On March 13, as the Mad River Valley was digging out from two feet of snow, the Inn at the Round Barn Farm in Waitsfield was filled to capacity with skiers and stranded travelers. While its full-time staff of 11 kept their guests comfortable and well fed, owner and innkeeper AnneMarie DeFreest was two hours…
Obituary: Napoleon “Poly” Hoague, Jr.
Napoleon “Poly” Hoague, Jr., age 69 years, a lifelong Swanton resident died unexpectedly late Thursday evening, March 27, 2014, at Fletcher Allen Health Care – Fanny Allen Campus in Colchester. Born at home in Swanton on February 28, 1945, he was the son of the late Napoleon Sr., and Vida (Martin) Hoague. He attended Swanton…
Obituary: Georgeann Carolyn Jacobs
Georgeann Carolyn Jacobs, age 68 years, died late Wednesday evening, March 26, 2014, at her Ross Lane residence in Jeffersonville. Born at home in Swanton on, April 22, 1945, she was the daughter of the late George and Rose (Downie) Lavigne. She was a graduate of the former Swanton High School. Georgie was employed for…
Obituary: Joanna Alice Campbell, 1928-2014
It is with great sadness that we announce the passing of an incredible woman who touched and influenced many lives. Joanna Alice Campbell, 85, passed away peacefully with her beloved family by her side. She was born April 5, 1928 in Randolph, NY to Lowell and Ruth Crooks. Joanna enjoyed her family, cooking, a great…
Obituary: Christopher John Desjardin, 1982-2014, Colchester
Christopher John Desjardin, 31, passed away suddenly on Friday, March 28th, 2014, in Massachusetts, following years of struggling with drug addiction. He was born on Dec. 14, 1982 in Colchester, VT, the son of Ellen Desjardin and John Brigante. Chris graduated from Colchester High School in 2001. Chris, or CoCoChris – as he was known…
![Leaping Lambs at Shelburne Farms [SIV346]](https://i0.wp.com/www.sevendaysvt.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/episode346-4-e1755139495680.webp?resize=1200%2C900&ssl=1)
Leaping Lambs at Shelburne Farms [SIV346]
3/14/14: Lambing is in full swing at Shelburne Farms this spring and about 134 babies have been born to their flock of 80 ewes. Eva spends the afternoon with shepherdess Renee Lacoss and some adorable newborns who love to leap, sleep and eat. You can meet some of these lambs and their moms at the…
First Bite: Pingala Café & Eatery, Chace Mill
Almost everything about Burlington’s Pingala Café & Eatery seems irrepressibly cheerful. There’s the space itself, awash in northern light from mammoth windows that face the Winooski River. There’s the wiry, effervescent owner, Trevor Sullivan; the café’s name, which means “sun energy”; and a vivid mural that depicts Vermont in every season, from a summer garden…
Taste Test: The Lobby in Middlebury
Music criticism deals with the auditory. An art review critiques the visual. Judging a restaurant’s merits encompasses all the senses. Do the sights of the food and décor delight? Do the smells wafting from freshly plated dishes tantalize? How are the textures and flavors? Even the relative din or hush of a dining room can…
Obituary: HARVEY “DICKY” E. MOODY, JR., 1948-2014, Winooski
Harvey “Dicky” E. Moody, Jr., 66, peacefully passed away March 26, 2014 after an extended illness at Fletcher Allen Healthcare, surrounded by his family. He was born January 25, 1948, in Burlington, the son of Harvey and Gladys (Foster) Moody. Dicky began working at a very young age in the construction industry. He worked for…
Middlebrook Restaurant Reopens in Upper Valley
People in the Upper Valley still talk wistfully about the Middlebrook Restaurant, a rustic West Fairlee establishment that operated for six years before closing in the early aughts. UV diners can pack away their lament: The Middlebrook is open again, albeit with a new chef-owner and a reimagined menu. Last summer, chef-owner Adam Doszkocs moved…
To Fund Campaigns, Vermont Legislators Look to Lobbyists
Like congregants at an old-time tent revival, members of the Vermont Senate found religion last Thursday on the issue of corporate money in politics. One by one, they decried the U.S. Supreme Court’s 2010 Citizens United decision and called for a constitutional convention to “limit the corrupting influence of money in our electoral process.” “We…
At 40, Lyric Theatre Company Stages Its Biggest Musical Yet
In 1974, the Lyric Theatre Company performed its debut show, How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying on the stage of the Flynn Theatre, as it was then called. In those days, the building was an underused and deteriorating movie house, with a crumbling basement and no septic system. “But even though it was…
Single-Payer, Inc.: How a Montpelier Lobbying Firm Plans to Cash in on Health Care Reform
A former Bernie aide starts a pro-Sanders super PAC.
Art Review: Andrea Lilienthal at Helen Day Art Center
Stowe’s Helen Day Art Center is a study in contrasts. From the outside, only a modest sign indicates the presence of a gallery on the second floor over the town’s library. The 1863 Greek Revival building is tucked a block from the touristy path of Route 100; ensconced on a broad lawn with a gazebo…
WTF: How do cops decide if a driver is high on drugs? And is the process legit?
On January 31 of this year, the Vermont State Police received a call from a 49-year-old woman who reported that she was being followed by a man driving an SUV with Massachusetts plates. Troopers stopped the suspect on Route 30 in Townshend and discovered that the vehicle had been reported stolen. During the roadside stop,…
Mark LeGrand, Burn It Down
(Self-released, CD, digital download) Mark LeGrand is a man who takes his time. In an interview I did with the Montpelier-based country singer in 2011, he spoke with deliberate purpose. He wasn’t obtuse or unfriendly — quite the opposite. Gregarious and thoughtful, he exuded the quiet calm of a man who has seen the brink…
Divergent
Most Hollywood movies these days are made for teenagers. Sure, adults show up for superhero epics and such, but as long as they bear the coveted PG-13 rating, you can bet teens are the primary target audience. Given that reality, I can’t hate seeing teen girls finally get their share of multiplex representation. As the…
Poet Budbill and Pianist Arnowitt Collaborate in Performance
Vermont poet David Budbill recalls with wonderment that about 1,000 Italians filled a Milan church last year for a reading of his work to the accompaniment of a jazz quartet headed by avant-garde bassist William Parker. The audience may not be quite as large when the bard of Wolcott collaborates next Sunday in Jeffersonville with…
Elaine Stritch: Shoot Me
There isn’t a Broadway icon alive who has had a longer run. You may not instantly recognize the name — I didn’t. But we don’t live in the cultural capital of Western civilization and, the closer you get to New York City, the larger the legend of Elaine Stritch looms. She’s one of those quintessential…
An Almost-Auction of Abenaki Artifacts Reopens Old Wounds
Most people wouldn’t have batted an eye at the seven pieces of chiseled stone advertised last week on a Williston auction-house website. Sandwiched between images of a circus poster and a cast iron railroad crossing sign, they looked liked the sort of arrowheads available on eBay for less than $10. But the objects advertised on…
Letters to the Editor (3/26/14)
Letter of the Lawsuit I was going to comment on your article “Two Against a Town” [March 19], but as I read on, I realized that just about everyone associated with this issue gets sued so … never mind. Michael Albertson South Burlington Out of State, Out of Mind Paul Heintz’s piece about Gov. Shumlin…
Power Players: People With Disabilities Get the Soccer Game Rolling
With five minutes left in the first half of their game against the Boston Breakers, the Vermont Chargers were having a hard time finding the fire. They lost 3-0 in an earlier match of the indoor soccer tournament at the University of Vermont. And so far in this game, the players had not put a…
Free Will Astrology (3/26/14)
ARIES (March 21-April 19): I have coined a new word just for your horoscope this week. It’s “zex,” short for “zen sex.” Zex is a kind of sex in which your mind is at rest, empty of all thoughts. You breathe slowly and calmly, move slowly and calmly, grunt and moan slowly and calmly. You…
I Can’t Stop Thinking of the “One Who Got Away”
Dear Athena, I consider myself extremely blessed to have found a love so deep and pure, it makes me question the times I thought I had loved before. However, a distant old connection — “one that got away” — has been sneaking into my thoughts lately and I can’t shake it. I know that my…
Quick Lit: StoryHack Contest; Adirondack Mystery
What will a “book” look like in 100 years? What will it mean to read one? Whether you love your e-reader or prefer paper, those questions are relevant to you in a world where the meaning of the word “book” is already changing. Nate Herzog of StoryHack Media hopes to elicit creative answers to them…
Seeking Public Art in the Old North End
Burlington’s Old North End has many distinctive features, but examples of public artwork in the neighborhood are rare. That lack will be mitigated with the installation of a sculpture in front of an apartment building soon to rise on North Winooski Avenue. Redstone, the firm developing the site of the former QTee’s, is offering up…
Mayfly, Sweet Is the Morning
(Self-released, CD, digital download) It’s almost hard to believe that Vermont folk music heroine Katie Trautz and her musical partner Julia Wayne have been performing as a duo for 15 years. These two talented young women simply don’t seem old enough for that. The sound that these longtime musical buddies have created on Sweet Is…
Burlington-based Hayden’s Magazine Reaches Global Artists
It’s not often that a small-business owner carves out time to create something for passion’s sake — especially when that “something” is a twice-yearly, fully produced digital arts magazine with thoughtful essays and featured artists from around the globe. But Jan Manon, 37, a graphic designer and founder of Burlington-based digital creative agency Elf Productions,…
Soundbites: James Harvey Returns; Updates on WW4 and BDJF
Bits and Bites It’s a busy but scattered week on the local music scene. So as befits such moments of befuddlement, here’s an old-fashioned, rapid-fire edition of Soundbites stuffed with all the news that’s fit to print. And some that probably isn’t. Buckle up. My band crush on Brattleboro’s Wooden Dinosaur is well documented. I…
Vermont Thai Restaurant Closes in Milton
Since Kae Alexander began catering out of her Shelburne home in the summer of 2012, her culinary career has progressed with Solomon Grundy-like speed. In May of last year, she opened Vermont Thai Restaurant in Milton. On March 16, the restaurant closed. Fans of the Thai chef’s hard-to-find specialties, such as deep-fried eggs in tamarind…
Vermont Expat Celia Woodsmith Returns with Grammy-Nominated Bluegrass Band Della Mae
What a difference a decade can make. When Celia Woodsmith arrived in Burlington as a University of Vermont freshman in 2003, she brought along a Taylor acoustic guitar. She intended to use it for simple recreation. This week, Woodsmith returns to the Queen City as lead singer, songwriter and rhythm guitar player for Della Mae.…
New Chef and Concept at Colchester’s Bayview Eats
What if we told you you could eat five-spice-braised pork tacos with apple-ginger slaw and cilantro-lime cream on Malletts Bay — without packing a picnic? That dish is part of a new menu at Bayview Eats, the café that opened at 97 Blakely Road in Colchester in 2011. Back then, Jess Werkheiser and Chris Cline…
News Quirks (03/26/14)
Curses, Foiled Again Carlos Ruiz, 42, stole a sound system and other values from a home in Haddon Township, N.J., according to police, who identified him as their suspect after he returned a half hour later for the remote he forgot the first time. (NJ.com) Christopher Brent Fulton, 30, surrendered to authorities after seeing his…
Book Review: Landscape With Plywood Silhouettes: Poems
An esteemed visiting poet at the Vermont Studio Center once told me that poems need to have people in them. Why? “Because we want to see ourselves,” he said, “because we’re the only creatures that can read poetry.” Plainfield resident Kerrin McCadden’s Landscape With Plywood Silhouettes defies this dictate. In fact, my favorite poem in…
Opinion: Two Ways to Fix Inequality
Working people can’t afford to eat. Last year one in five Americans was on food stamps. In Vermont, the number was one in six. These people work: Six in 10 households nationally earned money the month they started getting help; nine in 10 worked in the previous or following year. People earning the minimum wage…
