May 2-8, 2018
All About Waking Windows, Vermont’s Coolest Music Fest; Burlington’s 34-Year-Old District Energy Plan Gathers Steam; Beloved Breakfast Spot Penny Cluse Turns 20
Cover Story
Eighth Wonder: All About Waking Windows, Vermont’s Coolest Music Fest
It happens every year. You’re standing outside the Monkey House in Winooski on the first weekend in May or waiting at a crosswalk to navigate the bottom of the infamous traffic circle — playing “hipster Frogger,” as it were. Or perhaps you’re catching a breather on a bench overlooking the Winooski Falls. Then someone —…
Seriously: Awaken Thy Windows
In this episode, Bryan checks in with a Waking Windows festival organizer moments after he was forced to cancel some of the outdoor performances due to weather. Disclaimer: Four members of Seven Day’s extremely talented staff — and Bryan — performed at Waking Windows this year. CREDITS Written, filmed and edited by: Bryan Parmelee Artwork/photography…
The Cannabis Catch-Up: Plan for Pot Possession Expungements Is Imminent
Old cannabis possession conviction got you down? Looks like you will soon be able to get your record expunged for some offenses in Chittenden County. A report Wednesday by the Huffington Post mentioned a soon-to-be-deployed plan from the Chittenden County State’s Attorney’s Office that would “allow individuals to apply to have their past marijuana possession records…
![Ladies Who Laugh [SIV530]](https://i0.wp.com/www.sevendaysvt.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/episode530-2-scaled.webp?resize=1200%2C900&ssl=1)
Ladies Who Laugh [SIV530]
4/27/18: Four friends who love to get together and sing showtunes – and laugh! – decided to bring their living room to the stage with their witty takes on popular musical theater. Friday night at ArtsRiot to a sold out show, the Ladies performed a range of musical numbers poking fun at love and marriage…
A Man of Auction: Ron Wright Closes the Barn Doors
From a makeshift stage atop a flatbed trailer, auctioneer Ron Wright greeted 150 dairy farmers, cattle dealers and equipment salesmen on April 24 at Windy Acres Farm in Swanton. Speaking through a headset microphone and waving a wooden cane for effect, he praised the proprietor, Larry Bourdeau, for taking such good care of the place.…
‘Sesame Street’ Veterans to Talk About Life on the Show
It’s a rare couple that can claim Oscar the Grouch as one of their wedding guests. “Sesame Street” writer Annie Evans and puppeteer/Muppet captain Martin P. Robinson are among the lucky few. Married on the show’s set in 2008, the two have made a life straddling — and weaving together — the human and puppet…
Eat This Week, May 2 to 8 2018: Into the Wild
Foray into the forested world of wild edibles and other found foods with expert woods folk. Visitors will learn to identify palatable plants and mushrooms — or sit for a roundtable discussion on the ethical collection thereof. Other presentations include a talk on using plate-friendly pest species, post-harvest farm gleaning and soil rehabilitation. Vermont Wildcrafting Conference:…
UVM Pilots an End-of-Life Doula Program
Roberta MacDonald guffawed when she remembered a riddle her friend once asked her: What’s the No. 1 cause of death? No, it’s not heart disease or cancer, as one might typically guess. “It’s birth,” said MacDonald. “That was Paula’s line — I love that.” Paula Fives-Taylor, professor emeritus of microbiology at the University of Vermont,…
Bread and Butter Farm Changes Up Burger Night
The eighth summer of Bread & Butter Farm’s often sold-out series of on-farm barbecues will see some changes. To streamline the experience, the farm will sell all tickets in advance for the six Friday-evening events, scheduled from mid-June through August. The meals, including the farm’s own beef burgers and salads grown right there, will be…
Vermont Fresh Network Offering Scholarships for Conferences
Among its many programs aimed at fostering the state’s food economy, Vermont Fresh Network has begun offering scholarships to Vermonters who work in food and agriculture so they can attend food-related national conferences. Currently, VFN is accepting applications for the Slow Food Nations conference to be held in mid-July in Denver. “This festival,” according to…
Free Will Astrology (5/1/18)
TAURUS (April 20-May 20): These days you have an enhanced ability to arouse the appreciation and generosity of your allies, friends and loved ones. The magnetic influence you’re emanating could even start to evoke the interest and inquiries of mere acquaintances and random strangers. Be discerning about how you wield that potent stuff! On the other…
With New Owner, Green Mountain Glove Aims to Grow
Walking into Green Mountain Glove, you might think you’re on a film set depicting an early-20th-century factory, save a few modern details. A bank of beautiful sewing machines dates from the 1920s on. A scuffed wooden chair, bathed in light from large windows, sits beside a cabinet full of shiny thread. A scarred worktable is…
Letters to the Editor (5/2/18)
Don’t Dis McDonald’s I was reading your disclaimer in the new edition of 7 Nights. It states “Don’t look for McDonald’s or Burger King in these pages; 7 Nights is a celebration of indigenous eating and entertainment — not venti-size chains.” It so happens that most of these chains, such as the two mentioned — as…
Secrecy Is Sticking Point in Rewrite of Statehouse Sexual Harassment Policy
In response to the #MeToo movement, a small group of Vermont lawmakers is preparing changes to the way the legislature handles sexual harassment within its ranks. The lawmakers plan to put forward a single policy for the entire Statehouse, create an informal avenue for complaints and authorize independent investigations. A key issue remains unsettled: When…
Burlington’s 34-Year-Old District Energy Plan Is Gathering Steam
David MacDonnell has been working at Burlington’s Joseph C. McNeil Generating Station since it first opened in 1984. For 34 years, the biomass plant’s dull roar has continued almost unabated, said MacDonnell, who now serves as director of generation. On a Tuesday in April, he watched as vats of wood chips poured unceasingly into blisteringly…
Macedonian Defense Minister Visits Vermont, a Longtime Military Partner
An interesting scene played out at Camp Johnson in Colchester on Monday afternoon. Maj. Gen. Steven Cray, the adjutant general of the Vermont National Guard, stepped to a podium in front of journalists and uniformed soldiers to introduce Radmila Šekerinska, the defense minister of Macedonia. Come again? Turns out the Green Mountain State and Macedonia,…
Soundbites: Small Screen, Big Deal; BDJF is a BFD
You may have heard that Vermont PBS and Higher Ground have teamed up for a brand-new television program called “Bardo: A Night in the Life.” The docu-style series features host and creative director Ryan Miller (Guster) in conversation with local bands and artists or acts who’ve come through the Burlington area to play the South…
Art Review: ‘In the Garden,’ Shelburne Museum
The title “In the Garden” almost guarantees pretty pictures of flowers, and this Shelburne Museum exhibition does not disappoint. In the selection of works spanning five centuries, botanical beauty is abundant. However, that title — perhaps intentionally vague? — does little to prepare visitors for the full impact of the show at the Pizzagalli Center…
Lawson’s Finest Liquids to Be Distributed Statewide
Lawson’s Finest Liquids, brewer of Sip of Sunshine, Super Session and more, announced Monday that it is expanding distribution of its beers in Vermont. Through Waterbury-based VT Beer Shepherd, Lawson’s will be distributed to the state’s northern and southern reaches, including St. Johnsbury, St. Albans, Manchester and Bennington, according to a news release. Sean Lawson,…
Veto-Palooza: Scott May Set New Mark for Vetoes
The 2018 legislative session may go down in history. There’s a chance that Gov. Phil Scott will set an all-time Vermont record for gubernatorial vetoes in a single year. And even if he falls short of that mark, his vetoes could set a new bar for breadth and depth of impact. He is poised to…
Vermont PBS Premieres Doc ‘The Longest Game’
Camille Thoman had no idea what fate had in store for her when her mother suggested they play a game of platform tennis. The Los Angeles-based filmmaker, who was visiting her mother in southern Vermont, didn’t even know how the game was played when she arrived at the Dorset Field Club. But there she encountered…
Surprised by Plans to Build New Schools, Burlington Residents Call for a Halt
Second grade teacher Suzanne Weishaar remembers how she and her colleagues at C.P. Smith Elementary School found out a few months ago that a major construction project was planned at its campus in Burlington’s New North End. “The kids were playing, and there were these stakes in the ground,” she said, “and someone was surveying.”…
Hackie: Saranac Lake
Getting to Jackie Cochran’s apartment took three attempts. When I pulled into Saranac Lake, I discovered that his address was in a hilly section of the town, atop — according to GPS — a sharply inclined road. It had snowed the night before his scheduled 9 a.m. pickup, and the road was still unplowed. Welcome…
Movie Review: Marvel’s Mega Team-Up ‘Avengers: Infinity War’ Tries to Raise the Stakes
Marvel’s superhero movies, particularly the epic team-ups like Avengers: Infinity War, embody a relatively new, critic-proof model of cinema. They’re made for fans, whether die-hard or casual, who’ve been following the series as one would binge a streaming TV show, only over a longer time span. I could use up this entire review space simply…
The APX Talk Fashion, Aaliyah and Working as a Married Couple
Atlanta-based duo the APX were born out of a mutual admiration society. Before becoming partners on- and offstage in the early-to-mid 2010s, Daniel “Dee” Rhodes, 28, and Erika Dawn Rhodes, 45, became fans of each other’s solo careers — though neither was playing the kind of authentic, hard electro-funk for which their band is known now.…
Artist Kate Pond Flies a Kite (or Five)
While living in Paris in 1983, Burlington sculptor Kate Pond had a fortuitous encounter with the granddaughter of Henri Matisse, Jacqueline Matisse Monnier. Pond visited the country home of the latter’s mother in Villiers-Sous-Grez, where together they flew kites that Monnier had created in the style of her famous grandfather’s papercuts. Once back home, Pond…
Movie Review: ‘Gemini’ Is a Hollywood Noir With Nothing Going On
The latest from mumblecore alum Aaron Katz (Land Ho!) is maddeningly banal and self-indulgent. It’s the cinematic equivalent of a selfie. A Mulholland Drive wannabe that’s a creative dead end. A murder mystery that’s deadly dull. I could excoriate it all day. Run, don’t walk to Gemini. Then keep running. You’ll not only get a…
Album Review: Entrance to Trains, ‘Thirty Days Without an Accident’
(Self-released, digital download) I changed my mind about Entrance to Trains a few nights ago. On first listen, the Burlington band’s latest release, Thirty Days Without an Accident, washed right over me like a conversation I couldn’t remember. I disregarded the four-song EP without caring one way or the other for it. So much of…
Scarlett Letters: I’m Embarrassed to Be a Virgin at 17
Dear Scarlett, It seems like everyone around me has had much more romantic experience than I have, and the ones who haven’t had much experience don’t care about it like I do. I’m extremely embarrassed to be a virgin at 17 and to have had very little romantic experience with anyone. I’ve been building up…
Album Review: The Renegade Groove, ‘The Renegade Groove’
(Self-released, CD, digital download) The Renegade Groove are a Burlington-based funk quartet, but their self-titled debut makes the band sound much bigger. They spent most of 2017 working on this LP, and it shows. Packed with guest musicians and undeniably danceable cuts, the album sounds like an actual party. This is a group with deep…
