Vermont
Spice up your Vermont fall with these 30 arts and entertainment events in September
So many people decry the end of summer, but if you think about it, we love celebrating everything a Vermont fall has to offer.
The air is crisp, and the leaves start to turn all sorts of shades. Soups soothe the soul. Scads of shoppers make a beeline for any place offering pumpkin spice-flavored coffee or scones or ceiling tiles or whatever product you can or can’t imagine.
The cusp of fall is also a great time for the arts. Theater companies kick off new seasons. Concerts happen indoors and outdoors. (You’ll find some of the latter at the tail end of our summer concert preview.) Comedians welcome the darkening days with lightening humor.
OK, September actually begins with three weeks of summer; that’s a fair point. But the month heralds a busy season that gets fans of arts and entertainment especially excited. Here are 30 events that don’t need pumpkin spice to spice up your days and nights.
Denzel Washington, Spike Lee on film
4 and 7 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 3, the Vermont International Film Festival screens the new Spike Lee film “Highest 2 Lowest,” starring fellow Oscar winner Denzel Washington, Main Street Landing Film House, Burlington. $6-$12. www.vtiff.org
New design gallery in Burlington
4-8 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 4, the new design space Gallery Nurture by Nature, founded by Kate Swanson, will present exhibitions and collectible works starting with a reception celebrating the debut exhibition “Unknown Friends,” on display through Oct. 30, 47 Maple St., Burlington. Free. www.n-by-n.com
Art Hop bounds into South End
5-10 p.m. Friday, Sept. 5, the street party and self-guided gallery tour that is the South End Art Hop returns for its 33rd year in Burlington, with a three-day run ending at 4 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 7, throughout the city’s South End. Events are free except for the STRUT! Fashion Show at 7:30 p.m. Friday, Sept. 5, at the former ArtsRiot space on Pine Street ($20-$30). www.seaba.com/arthop
A weekend for Pride
8 p.m. Friday, Sept. 5, a weekend of Pride events includes a Pride Ball with the circus-themed “Freak Show” featuring DJs and drag performers, Higher Ground Ballroom, South Burlington. $25. www.highergroundmusic.com. The weekend culminates from noon-5 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 7, with a Pride parade and festival, downtown and at Waterfront Park, Burlington. Free. www.pridecentervt.org
‘Crazy People’ in Middlebury
2 p.m. Saturday Sept. 6, the Gail Freedman documentary “No One Cares About Crazy People,” inspired by the book by Vermont author Ron Powers with narration by Bob Odenkirk and music from Jeff Tweedy of Wilco, explores the crisis of severe mental illness in America and will be screened before a discussion that includes Freedman and Powers, Town Hall Theater, Middlebury. $5-$17. www.townhalltheater.org
Jeffersonville showcases new art exhibit
5-7 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 6, the exhibition “Across the Spectrum,” which runs through Nov. 2 and features the work of Vermont artist Cynthia Rosen, includes this meet-the-artist event, Bryan Fine Art Gallery, Jeffersonville. Free. www.bryangallery.org
Steph Pappas plays Charlotte
1 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 7, Burlington music veteran Steph Pappas performs at a fundraiser for the Charlotte Memorial Museum. Free; donations welcome. www.charlottevthistory.org
Montreal musician at Radio Bean
7 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 10, Montreal singer-songwriter Ada Lee follows Burlington performer Audrey Pearl, Radio Bean, Burlington. $15. www.radiobean.com
Indie-pop from Nashville
7:30 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 10, Nashville indie-pop musician Maya Manuela joins opener Frankie White, Higher Ground Showcase Lounge, South Burlington. $12. www.highergroundmusic.com
Grace Potter returns with Grand Point North
4:30 p.m. Friday, Sept. 12, Vermont rocker Grace Potter is back with her Grand Point North concert series, starting with her performance with the Vermont Symphony Orchestra as well as sets by Britney Spencer, The Wet Ones!, Burly Girlies and Grace Palmer; followed at 4:30 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 13, with a performance by Potter after sets by Melt, ISTA, Slob Drop, Heady Betty and Dutch Experts; and at 7 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 14, with a concert by jam-rock favorites Goose, Waterfront Park, Burlington. $54 per show Friday-Saturday, $94 for a two-day pass; Goose is sold out. www.highergroundmusic.com
‘A Taste of Ireland’ in Vermont
7:30 p.m. Friday, Sept. 12, the Celtic music-and-dance performance “A Taste of Ireland” begins a trio of Vermont shows at the Flynn, Burlington. $42-$73. www.flynnvt.org. Other performances (both at 7:30 p.m.) are Saturday, Sept. 13, Dibden Center for the Arts, Vermont State University, Johnson ($42-$62, www.catamontarts.org), and Sunday, Sept. 18, Paramount Theatre, Rutland ($42.80-$74.90, www.paramountvt.org).
Bob Mould visits Higher Ground
8 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 14, the leader of ‘80s alt-rockers Husker Du, Bob Mould, plays a show following opener J. Robbins, Higher Ground Ballroom, South Burlington. $35. www.highergroundmusic.com
Night Moves on a Monday night
7:30 p.m. Monday, Sept. 15, the Minneapolis foursome Night Moves — they describe their sound as “cosmic twang rock disco” — join Raybody in the Higher Ground Showcase Lounge, South Burlington. $18. www.highergroundmusic.com
A whole lot of Jim Gaffigan
7 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 18, comedian and actor Jim Gaffigan begins a five-show, four-day stay that includes performances at 7 p.m. Friday, Sept. 19; 5 and 8 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 20; and 7 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 21, the Flynn, Burlington. $48-$165.25. www.flynnvt.org
Burlington goes baroque
7:30 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 18, the second-annual Burlington Baroque Festival, under the direction of Eric Milnes, begins a four-day run of concerts that also take place at 7:30 p.m. Friday, Sept. 19, and Saturday, Sept. 20, as well as 4 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 21, College Street Congregational Church, Burlington. $10-$80; $140-$285 for festival passes; free for children. www.burlingtonbaroque.org
Comedy from Kondabolu
7:30 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 18, comedian Hari Kondabolu is back for sets that also happen at 7:30 and 9:30 p.m. Friday, Sept. 19, and Saturday, Sept. 20, Vermont Comedy Club, Burlington. $25. www.vermontcomedyclub.com
‘Parent on Board’ drives for laughs
7:30 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 18, the Middlebury Acting Company and Interact Creative join to present “Parent on Board,” a sketch-and-music performance that also runs at 7:30 p.m. Friday, Sept. 19, and 4 and 8 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 20, Town Hall Theater, Middlebury. $17-$55. www.townhalltheater.org. The troupe is also scheduled to perform at 8 p.m. Friday, Sept. 26, and 6:30 and 9 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 27, Off Center for the Dramatic Arts, Burlington. Ticket prices to be announced. www.offcentervt.com
Fiddlehead features fall festival
6:30 p.m. Friday, Sept. 19, Shelburne’s Fiddlehead Brewing begins its FallFest featuring music from Burlington favorite Kat Wright and continues at 6:30 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 20, with the University of Vermont-born indie band Rubblebucket, Smugglers’ Notch Resort, Jeffersonville. $22.50-$86.02. www.smuggs.com
UVM’s Lane Series returns
7:30 p.m. Friday, Sept. 19, the University of Vermont Lane Series celebrates 70 years of performances with its opening concert this season by pianist Evren Ozel, UVM Recital Hall, Burlington. $7.50-$38.50. www.uvm.edu/laneseries
TURNmusic concerts in Waterbury, Burlington
7:30 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 20, TURNmusic celebrates the 75th birthday of Vermont composer Erik Nielsen with the TURNmusic string quartet (Mary Rowell, Brooke Quiggins, Elizabeth Reid and John Dunlop) and clarinet player Dan Liptak, The Phoenix Art Gallery and Music Hall, Waterbury. That’s followed at 4 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 21, with a concert at the Main Street Landing Film House, Burlington. $30-$50. www.turnmusic.org
Capital City Concerts begins 26th year
7:30 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 20, the 26th season of Capital City Concerts commences with pianist Robert McDonald, Unitarian Church, Montpelier. $10-$50. www.capitalcityconcerts.org
African diaspora music at Clemmons Family Farm
4 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 21, soprano Brenda Marie Turner, kora player John Hughes and pianist Kyle Walker perform classical music of the African diaspora, Clemmons Family Farm, Charlotte. Free; advance reservations required. www.clemmonsfamilyfarm.org/african-diaspora-classical-music
‘Mrs. Doubtfire’ turned into musical
7:30 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 23, through Wednesday, Sept. 24, the film-turned-musical “Mrs. Doubtfire” hits the stage for two performances at the Flynn, Burlington. $71-$100. www.flynnvt.org
‘Come From Away’ comes to Northern Stage
7:30 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 24, the musical “Come From Away” begins the season at Northern Stage and runs through Oct. 26, Byrne Theatre, Barrette Center for the Arts, White River Junction. $40-$100. www.northernstage.org
Vermont Stage turns 31
7:30 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 25, the 31st season of Vermont Stage starts with the humor-filled Lindsay Joelle play “The Garbologists,” Main Street Landing Performing Arts Center, Burlington. $34-$59. www.vermontstage.org
Mary Chapin Carpenter, Brandy Clark in concert
7 p.m. Friday, Sept. 26, singer-songwriters Mary Chapin Carpenter and Brandy Clark share a bill at the Paramount Theatre, Rutland. $69-$129. www.paramountvt.org
‘The Other Mozart’ appears in Middlebury
7:30 p.m. Friday, Sept. 26, the Middlebury Performing Arts Series, in its 106th year, continues its new season with the play “The Other Mozart” written and performed by Sylvia Milo, Wright Theatre, Middlebury College. $5-$30. www.middlebury.edu/college/arts/performing-arts-series
VSO starts Flynn season
7:30 p.m. Friday, Sept. 26, the Vermont Symphony Orchestra begins its 2025-26 season with “East Meets West,” a concert led by conductor Andrew Crust and featuring tabla player Sandeep Das and sitarist Rajib Karmakar, the Flynn, Burlington. $8.35-$62. www.vso.org or www.flynnvt.org
Honey & Soul ends its roll
Saturday, Sept. 27, the Burlington folk-soul musical group Honey & Soul marks the end of its eight-year run with one final concert, Radio Bean, Burlington. Time and ticket prices to be announced. www.facebook.com/honeyandsoulmusic
‘Cosmic Country’ hits Higher Ground
8 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 28, rock band Daniel Donato’s Cosmic Country settles into the Higher Ground Ballroom, South Burlington. $25. www.highergroundmusic.com
Contact Brent Hallenbeck at bhallenbeck@freepressmedia.com.
Score: UAlbany 4, Vermont 14
Location: Virtue Field | Burlington, Vt.
Records: UAlbany (10-5, 5-1 America East) | Vermont (8-6, 4-1 America East)
Short Story: UAlbany women’s lacrosse fell to the Vermont Catamounts on Saturday afternoon.
Key Stats
- Grace Cincebox recorded a total of 14 saves with 13 goals allowed for a .565 save percentage.
- Ravan Marsell led the Great Danes with two points on one goal and one assist.
- Four different UAlbany players scored in the contest.
- Reggie Williams was the team’s leader with three ground balls.
- Delilah Mile caused a team high three turnovers.
How It Happened
- The Catamounts came out of the gates hard and heavy, scoring all three goals between both sides in the first quarter.
- Vermont would take an 8-0 lead in the second quarter before Amanda Williamson found the back of the net on a women-down goal to put the Great Danes on the board and make it 8-1.
- The Great Danes would allow one more goal in the first half to trail 9-1 after 30-minutes of play.
- Grace Cincebox would enter the half with 10 saves.
- Riley Forthofer started the Great Danes off in the second half to make it a 9-2 game, before Vermont put up three more goals to take a 12-2 lead entering the final quarter of play.
- Mya Carroll and Ravan Marsell both scored on back-to-back free-position goals to make it a 12-4 game.
- The Catamounts finished the game with two more goals to take the win 14-4.
Up Next
The Great Danes will next have a bye week and wait to see the outcome of next week’s Vermont vs UMass Lowell game to see who will host the America East Tournament.
Social Central: Stay up to date with UAlbany women’s lacrosse by following the team on Instagram (@UAlbanyWLax), Facebook (UAlbany Women’s Lacrosse), and X (@UAlbanyWLax) for all of the latest news and highlights throughout the year.
Is creativity the missing key to better health?
Research suggests creative activities like art, music and crafts may benefit mental health as much as other key health habits.
Here’s another reason Vermont is the best New England state: It’s home to one of the top 5 happiest cities in the United States.
Plus, it has another within the top 15.
Massachusetts, on the other hand, doesn’t even break the top 50. Nor, does Connecticut or Rhode Island.
The personal finance website analyzed 182 of the largest cities in the country, and ranked Boston 63rd overall. Although the city is home to some of the nation’s top universities, high-ranking hospitals, and well-regarded companies, it didn’t break the top 50.
To get the rankings, WalletHub compared the cities using 29 metrics, including life-satisfaction index, depression rate, poverty rate, job security, and acres of parkland per 1,000 residents. Each metric was graded on a 100-point scale, and cities were assigned an overall happiness score.
Here’s a look at how the cities ranked.
South Burlington is No. 4 happiest city, Burlington is No. 11
South Burlington came on top for Vermont in WalletHub’s list of the happiest cities in the United States, ranking at No. 4. In scored very high for emotional and physical well-being coming in at the No. 4 spot, which made up for coming in No. 48 for community and environment. It was No. 9 for income and employment ranking. That gave it a total happiness of score of 70.15
Burlington wasn’t far behind at all, taking the No. 11 spot on the list and a happiness score of 67.54. It’s highest score was for income and employment ranking where it came second. It ranked No. 13 for community and environment and No. 21 for emotional and physical well-being.
Happiest cities in the US, per WalletHub
Here are the 25 happiest cities in the U.S., and their happiness scores, according to WalletHub’s 2026 list:
- Fremont, California – 74.09
- Bismarck, North Dakota – 73.11
- Scottsdale, Arizona – 71.36
- South Burlington, Vermont – 70.15
- Fargo, North Dakota – 69.36
- Overland Park, Kansas – 68.45
- Charleston, South Carolina – 68.44
- Irvine, California – 67.99
- Gilbert, Arizona – 67.96
- San Jose, California – 67.79
- Burlington, Vermont – 67.54
- Madison, Wisconsin – 66.35
- Columbia, Maryland – 66.28
- Chandler, Arizona – 65.69
- Seattle, Washington – 65.62
- Plano, Texas – 65.34
- San Francisco, California – 64.99
- Lincoln, Nebraska – 64.90
- Portland, Maine – 64.59
- Tempe, Arizona – 64.30
- San Diego, California – 64.30
- Raleigh, North Carolina – 63.47
- Peoria, Arizona – 63.38
- Durham, North Carolina – 62.84
- Huntington Beach, California – 62.80
Least happy cities in the US, per WalletHub
Here are the 25 least happy cities in the U.S., and their happiness scores, according to WalletHub’s 2026 list:
- Detroit, Michigan (#182 overall) – 29.55
- Memphis, Tennessee (#181 overall) – 34.39
- Shreveport, Louisiana (#180 overall) – 34.93
- Cleveland, Ohio (#179 overall) – 36.50
- Huntington, West Virginia (#178 overall) – 37.20
- Toledo, Ohio (#177 overall) – 37.21
- Augusta, Georgia (#176 overall) – 38.24
- Fort Smith, Arkansas (#175 overall) – 38.66
- Dover, Delaware (#174 overall) – 39.08
- Akron, Ohio (#173 overall) – 40.11
- Baltimore, Maryland (#172 overall) – 40.28
- Birmingham, Alabama (#171 overall) – 40.37
- Baton Rouge, Louisiana (#170 overall) – 40.47
- Columbus, Georgia (#169 overall) – 40.61
- Montgomery, Alabama (#168 overall) – 41.35
- Gulfport, Mississippi (#167 overall) – 41.65
- Charleston, West Virginia (#166 overall) – 42.18
- Jackson, Mississippi (#165 overall) – 42.60
- St. Louis, Missouri (#164 overall) – 43.53
- Knoxville, Tennessee (#163 overall) – 44.04
- Wilmington, Delaware (#162 overall) – 44.34
- Little Rock, Arkansas (#161 overall) – 44.48
- Mobile, Alabama (#160 overall) – 44.85
- New Orleans, Louisiana (#159 overall) – 45.19
- Tulsa, Oklahoma (#158 overall) – 45.33
Where New England cities ranked
Here are the 12 happiest cities in New England, and their happiness scores, according to WalletHub’s 2026 list:
- South Burlington, Vermont (#6 overall) – 70.15
- Burlington, Vermont (#11 overall) – 67.54
- Portland, Maine (#19 overall) – 64.59
- Nashua, New Hampshire (#27 overall) – 62.49
- Manchester, New Hampshire (#51 overall) – 59.10
- Boston, Massachusetts (#63 overall) – 56.88
- Warwick, Rhode Island (#66 overall) – 56.59
- New Haven, Connecticut (#95 overall) – 54.14
- Bridgeport, Connecticut (#96 overall) – 54.01
- Providence, Rhode Island (#98 overall) – 53.52
- Worcester, Massachusetts (#116 overall) – 50.12
- Lewiston, Maine (#145 overall) – 47.28
A tornado touched down in Vermont Thursday, when a strong storm system moved through the area, the National Weather Service said.
Winds are believed to have hit 90 mph when the tornado churned through Williamstown at about 9:15 p.m., the agency said Friday. That makes it an EF1 tornado on the Fujita Scale, which goes from 0 at the weakest to 5 at the strongest.
Lasting three minutes, the twister traveled for more than four-tenths of a mile, with a maximum width of 100 yards, according to the National Weather Service’s preliminary assessment. It damaged a pair of buildings and numerous trees, shearing tree tops. Golf ball-sized hail was also reported in the area.
Severe thunderstorms popped up across the North Country Thursday night, including in central Vermont — Williamstown is south of Montpelier.
The town thanked its road crew, firefighters and locals who spent hours in the wake of the storm cleaning up.
“We appreciate all that you do to keep the town functioning though an emergency situation,” the town said.
People in the area told NBC affiliate WPTZ that the storm was shockingly powerful, and National Weather Service staffer Marlon Verasamy said that while tornadoes in Vermont are rare, they’re even rarer in this part of the state.
“Generally, when we do see tornadoes around the area that they’ve been in Addison County and not here, so it make it really, really unique to get a tornado in this kind of terrain in this part of the state,” Verasamy said.
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