Culture

For Maple Open House Weekend, the farm served up syrup and fun activities.

Jake Shattuck goes back to the basics as he takes over a storied sugaring operation.

Local skiers band together to ski 4 million vertical feet and raise $175,000 in the annual Rope-a-Thon.

The Bread and Puppet Spring Sing is scheduled every Tuesday through the end of April. It’s free and open to all. 

Forrest MacGregor takes care of the community and hundreds of years of Randolph history.

The short film, From Earth to Earth: The Lost Art of Dying in America, was produced by students at Ithaca College.

Global music ensemble All the Rivers will perform in Burlington on March 11.

The annual event in Montpelier will present more than 40 full-length and short films.

In Huntington, Town Meeting Day included cinnamon rolls, private ballots and basketball hoops. Here’s what some voters had to say about the civic tradition. 

At the fourth annual Curds and Curling event, traditional granite curling stones were swapped out for wheels of cheddar.

The local watercolor artist’s is being recognized for “In the Pocket,” a baseball themed piece.

Addison County BIPOC+ and Middlebury’s Town Hall Theater will hold their third annual Lunar New Year celebration on Saturday, Feb. 28. The event is free and open to the public.

Stone carver Heather Milne Ritchie is mentoring a new generation of women artists.

Community lantern parade lights up Waterbury with art, music, and midwinter cheer.

SabrinaJoy Milbury has led meditative drumming circles, called moon circles, for nearly two decades. But, she says, “It’s okay if you think this is a bunch of hooey.”

Beloved by students and neighbors alike, the retired teacher continues to share the joy of music from her home studio.

After years of hardship, Alexander found home and harmony through street music and the community that embraced her.

“I just want to shout on every corner that this guy is a big deal.”

Partizanfilm is a grassroots, member-run non-profit. And it’s opening a two-screen art-house cinema on College Street later this month.

Chepe Cuadra is an artist and a chef in St. Albans. For almost a decade, he’s been selling Nicaraguan and Spanish food at farmers markets across Vermont.

Norbert Ender, an Austrian native, sees his recently opened vintage store as a community archive.

Stowe Street Cafe and Bridgeside Books host performances and stories by local queens

A special kind of Pride celebration is happening in central Vermont

The Clark Sawmill Dam collapsed during the flooding that hit Vermont in 2023, punctuating years of back-and-forths about its future. 

“I remember sitting there thinking how big the world is and how small we are. I hear people say that all the time, but seeing that everything was down there, there’s so much more to Vermont and the world than what most people see,” said Cindy Griffith, club hiker and volunteer. 

Now in its second year, the Green State Tattoo Convention drew dozens of artists from across the country and hundreds of potential clients. 

“From poetry, to movement, to film, to visual art, to music, the arts and storytelling are a way to deeply touch our, go into our psyche,” said Vermont painter Cameron Davis.

Many residents are familiar with recycling and composting — but one Vermont initiative focuses on making it easier to reuse.

As ash trees in Vermont face extirpation by the invasive emerald ash borer, residents come together to recognize the trees’ ecological importance and cultural history.

Winooski has French bread and Quebecois roots — and now the taste of chicken banh mi from Vietnam, colorful weave-work crafted by Nepalese hands and Kenyan folk music. 

Part Emergency Communications drill and part informal competition, amateur radio Field Day encourages ham radio operators across the U.S. and Canada to test their equipment and skills.

Palieri’s songs seem perfect for the protest line; like folk singers of the past, his pro-labor music works responds to a volatile political climate.

Ruth Stone House endures as a haven for writers and artists.

In a Vermont basement, a family tradition continues

Someone’s grandparents always seem to remember one, and sometimes you can still find the scuffs and scrapes of shoes and boots on the floors. But where’d those hoedowns go?

Most of the people who go to college in Vermont — 57 percent — leave the state after graduation. That’s more than any other state.

Vermont business owners and community members create opportunities for social spaces that aren’t centered around alcohol.

With post-flood renovations in the basement and upgrades to the theater’s upstairs, the Savoy crew is hitting back against the streaming surge. 

Much of Greenleaf’s musical identity is shaped by a reverence for the live, social energy of group improvisation.

Natalie Miller co-owns the Vermont Comedy Club and performs with a popular improv team.

The goats’ milk is creamed into an increasingly popular treat in the U.S., velvety caramel.

In Randolph and Rutland, bowling centers are keeping up the sport — and the camaraderie it inspires.

Yellow buoys mark the wrecks’ locations, and divers can follow their lines down to submerged signage identifying each.

Artists across disciplines see their approaches as ways to rethink how materials are sourced, processed and consumed.

Thanks to donors, a Vermont Historical Society program will continue, at least through October.

Elizabeth Nelson paints landscapes stretching from Iceland to the NEK.

Rutland area residents took to the streets Thursday as part of nationwide protests of the Trump administration.

Nanci Gordon is a longtime Rutland area DJ with a passion for the Beatles, and preaching.

Marko the Magician is still performing at Colatina Exit, 30 years after starting there.

“There’s been deaths, there’s been births and there’s been weddings,” said one regular. In the bar, familiar faces experience it all.

Pam Arel couldn’t stay retired. The Castleton Free Library librarian has had a variety of careers, but loves her current role, in part because she loves kids. She recently sat down with report Emily Ely to talk about her life and her role among the books.

“Winooski very strongly wants to be an inclusive and welcoming place,” Winooski Mayor Kristine Lott said.

Terry Bergen was a psychology professor at Castleton University for four decades, but those in Poultney may know him more for his dojo in town. He sat down to chat about life as a black belt professor.

“Story Theater” sees itself as a creative oasis

In a state where about 47% of adults never attend religious ceremonies, spirituality is still fostered amid yoga studios, apothecaries, mindfulness retreats and in nature itself through pagan practices.

Former Rutland firefighter Ray Mooney now fills his days curating and sharing Rutland’s history through his Facebook page and YouTube videos.

“She is amazing to work with and brings warmth to the stage that goes out to the crowd as well,” said a bandmate.

Her passion for inclusivity is apparent through her client closet, which has over 100 pieces ranging from XS to 6X for customers to try.

The event, taking place for the third time, was a way for Jewish orgs and members to share stories, jokes and dishes.

Guitarist Antara Catch and bassist Chris Cheney recently played at the Winooski Farmers Market.

The third such expo hosted nearly 1,000 visitors to celebrate steampunk culture, said an organizer.

Hundreds of enthusiasts come every year in search of supernatural experiences.

Vermont Superior Court Judge Robert Mello’s collection of 475 artifacts were up for auction, drawing a crowd of collectors and dealers to Burlington.

The event marked the first Abenaki log burn in the delta in over 300 years, said a member of the Nulhegan Abenaki tribe.