ATHENS — A fire that destroyed an Athens home at 71 Valley Cemetery Road Saturday morning is being treated as suspicious.

Grafton Fire Department Assistant Chief Nathaniel Noyes said the fire was suspicious and that he had requested the state’s arson investigation team.

Noyes said he was first on the scene and the mobile home, with additions, was fully involved when he arrived.

Noyes said there were no injuries from the fire, which drew a large group of surrounding departments to fight the fire. The Grafton Fire Department provides fire protection for Athens, a small neighboring town.

Vermont State Police Trooper Zachary Trocki said the fire arson investigators had been requested. He said no people or pets were at home at the time the fire broke out.

“At this point, we’re conducting an investigation,” said Trocki, who was at the scene.

This story will be updated.

BENNINGTON — This spring, the Sunrise Family Resource Center will once again partner with the Vermont Arts Exchange to offer their Dads & Kids Create workshops. The group is designed for fathers and father-figures, and their children, to bond while creating art.

The group, formerly (and sometimes, still) known as the DADS Group or Dads Create, will meet for a total of six Tuesday evening sessions that begin on April 8 and run through May 13. All sessions will be held at the Vermont Arts Exchange location AT 48 Main Street in North Bennington from 6 to 7:30 p.m.

Fathers and father-figures typically attend the first session alone to meet one another, establish a dialogue and camaraderie, get to know and feel comfortable in the Vermont Arts Exchange space and meet the staff that will be assisting, and discuss the expectations and details of the project.

After the first session, they are able to bring one school-aged child per week to the workshops.

“Typically, this program is geared more toward older children, where most of our other programs are geared towards children under the age of six,” said Tiffany Gaghich, parent-child center coordinator with Sunrise Family Resource Center. “It’s just because of the tools that they use at Vermont Arts Exchange; they’re not necessarily ‘young child friendly.’ If dads have more than one child, they can alternate weeks. Also, because of the model of this program, we try to keep [the group size] small.”

Gaghich said that the Sunrise Family Resource Center community had been looking for more opportunities for dads to have some type of enrichment activities with their kids with the goal of having a creative space for dads to spend quality time with their child. Another goal of the center is to foster a network of dads that can connect with one another outside of a project, creating a support system of their own.

“For over 25 years, we’ve been hosting various kinds of groups, and this partnership with Sunrise has sort of solidified,” said Matthew Perry of the Vermont Arts Exchange. “The partnership has really helped us focus on a more meaningful creation of the class by pulling together a dad facilitator, and the family meal experience, and the exhibition and presentation about the products we’re making.”

“Each class begins with dinner for the dads and kids in the studio,” explained Sarah Callan, grants communication specialist with Sunrise Family Resource Center. “For past sessions, Kevin’s in North Bennington has generously donated hot meals and salads for the group, and Ramunto’s has donated pizzas. Once dinner is done, kids and their dads get to creating art.”

The food, according to Gaghish, is coordinated by the Sunrise Family Resource Center.

Over the years, the groups have created a myriad of projects together. Some past projects include printmaking, rubber block printing, and creative home repairs.

Previous sessions from November and December 2024 focused on making holiday cards and prints with Vermont Arts Exchange artist Rhonda Ratray. This cardmaking endeavor was so successful that both Vermont Arts Exchange and Sunrise decided to print greeting cards featuring those designs, and produced several hundred copies of each card. Sets were given to the dads and their kids, and more were created for both organizations to keep for future use.

“We’re using them as thank you cards,” said Callan and Gaghich, each picking up a card, which were decorated in colorful images.

Perry emphasized the importance of this group in not only fostering closer relationships between fathers and their children, but in reigniting latent creativity, especially for the fathers. Creativity, Perry believes, is a part of who we are as human beings – and he believes that art has the power to connect and heal.

Perry stated that “kids are natural-born-artists,” and thus, they don’t typically hesitate when attempting to try new creative endeavors. Adults, however, often do hesitate. Some believe they are not able to “create art.”

“Many men attending these groups haven’t created art since high school or college, and for many, art isn’t a skill that they would have claimed to have,” explained Callan.

“Through this group, Matthew Perry has enjoyed witnessing men find that they are capable and creative. Spurred by their reignited creativity, dads have continued the art-making processes at home – making prints, drawings, sculptures, and other projects with their children. To mimic what they learned in class, one dad bought his child marbelizing art materials, inspired by Suminagashi, a Japanese paper marbling technique involving water and ink that creates swirling patterns on the page. Others have taken to upcycling household items and working with found objects for their at-home art projects.”

“In an ever fast-paced world, these dads have found a unique mode of bonding with their kids, one that nourishes both the soul and the mind, while creating lifelong memories that will stand the test of time,” Callan continued.

Sunrise was recently awarded a grant from the Arts & Social Cohesion Grant Program of the Vermont Community Foundation to continue this group. That makes participation free for those residing in Bennington County.

Looking forward to future groups, Perry wants to keep the classes fresh. He suggested possibly focusing a future session on ceramics as the Vermont Arts Exchange will soon be opening a new clay studio. Another option is to bring in a drummer for some classes to “mix up the rhythm.” He hopes to see the groups grow — and let the dads and their kids guide what kind of art projects they take on.

“Primarily, the group is housed at the Vermont Arts Exchange because we partner with them to offer this program,” said Gaghich. “And, they do a nice job.”

In the past, the Dad’s Group has exhibited and showcased the arts that they create during the workshops. The last arts project that they created, according to Perry, was a set of block printed greeting cards. The next Dad’s Group — the one scheduled to begin on April 8 — will focus on building and embellishing birdhouses with local Shaftsbury artist Lee Williams.

“The more we’re developing and expanding the creative potential of the community,” said Perry, “the more good things are coming out of this. And, expanding participation to ‘father-figures’ is also key. Boyfriends, grandfathers, stepdads — it’s been a valuable opportunity for father-like figures to engage with the children in their families.”

Perry noted that the traditional family is not emphasized in the project. What is emphasized is participation with the important child in their life. Thus, the group is not only limited to biological fathers. Any significant male figures, such as grandfathers, uncles, stepfathers, or other father-like figures, are welcome to attend with the child in their life.

“Sunrise is one of 15 parent child centers in the State of Vermont and, being part of that network, we are the parent child center for Bennington County,” said Gaghich, and Callen clarified that “Anyone in Bennington County is eligible for our services.”

Those interested in attending the upcoming Dads and Kids Create workshops at the Vermont Arts Exchange, should reach out to Gaghich at Sunrise by calling (802) 442-6934 or emailing rsvp@sunrisepcc.com.

Once the group is full, no more slots for that set of workshops will be open — but, Gaghich and Callan reassure, there will be more to come.

Gaghich noted that many of their past participants were “not necessarily in the Sunrise programming,” but heard about the program through word of mouth.

She recommends those interested in joining a future set of workshops follow the Sunrise Family Resource Center Facebook page to receive notifications for all of their upcoming projects.