Vermont

The Magnificent 7: Must See, Must Do, February 7-13

Published

2 years ago

February 5, 2024

Press Room

The Magnificent 7: Must See, Must Do, February 7-13

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Cello, World

Sunday 11

Chandler Center for the Arts in Randolph kicks off its 2024 performance season with South Korean duo CelloGayageum. Playing on the two titular instruments — the first of which will be familiar to Western audiences, and the second, a 12-string zither, probably less so — Sol Daniel Kim and Dayoung Yoon fuse classical music with Korean tradition in a stunning Lunar New Year show.

Shellack of a Better Name

Ongoing

click to enlarge "Amidinine" by Rob Hitzig - COURTESY

Courtesy
“Amidinine” by Rob Hitzig

Local artist Rob Hitzig‘s solo show at Montpelier’s J. Langdon Antiques and Art opened during Montpelier Art Walk and remains on display for just a few more weeks. Hitzig said of the bright, colorful collection of paint and shellack on wood, “The new work is very stripe heavy because I recently realized stripes have a calming effect on my mind. I hope the effect might be contagious.”

Kiss Kiss Bang Bang

Friday 9

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Emoji Nightmare & Katniss Everqueer - COURTESY OF HILLARY DUBIE PHOTOGRAPHY

Courtesy Of Hillary Dubie Photography
Emoji Nightmare & Katniss Everqueer

Beloved bodacious babes Emoji Nightmare and Katniss Everqueer host their annual Love Day edition of Untapped, My Chubby Valentine, at the Monkey House in Winooski. This celebration of fat and curvy performers features swoon-worthy numbers from drag and burlesque favorites including Domini’que Anjou, Ruthless Retribution, Luci Furr-Matrix and Noah Phence.

Have an Ice Day

Saturday 10

click to enlarge Penguin Plunge - COURTESY OF H.L. GLENN PHOTOGRAPHY

Courtesy Of H.l. Glenn Photography
Penguin Plunge

Frigid swimmers of all ages take a dip into Lake Champlain’s icy depths at Special Olympics Vermont’s annual Penguin Plunge at Burlington’s Waterfront Park. Daredevils and their sponsors raise funds for athletes with intellectual disabilities across the state, and audiences cheer on their friends while enjoying music, food and games on land.

Forest for the Trees

Friday 9 & Saturday 10

click to enlarge Muses of Winterdeep - COURTESY

Courtesy
Muses of Winterdeep

Treewild presents an outdoor movie experience unlike any other: The Muses of Winterdeep, an otherworldly story projected onto a grove of hemlock trees on the grounds of Shelburne Farms. Bundled-up audiences watch as three children encounter the Muses of Greek mythology and the Norse goddesses of fate, and plumb the depths of their universal wisdom.

Into the Wilde

Friday 9-Sunday 11

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Michael Halloran, Kyle Huck, and Kevin Donohue - COURTESY OF ALEX MONTAN

Courtesy Of Alex Montan
Michael Halloran, Kyle Huck, and Kevin Donohue

Oscar Wilde’s vicious social satire of Victorian England, The Importance of Being Earnest, was first performed in London on Valentine’s Day in 1895. Almost 130 years later, it comes to Barnard Town Hall courtesy of BarnArts. Local actors delight in this timelessly gut-busting tale of secret identities, the ridiculousness of love and choosing frivolity in a time of superlative seriousness.

Wine and Dine

Opens Wednesday 14

click to enlarge Days of Love - © NATALIA OSKANOVA | DREAMSTIME

© Natalia Oskanova | Dreamstime
Days of Love

From Valentine’s Day through the weekend, Shelburne Vineyards transforms into a lovebirds’ paradise for Days of Love. Cozy live music from the likes of Danny & the Parts and Collin Cope and Chris Page of the Tenderbellies creates the perfect ambience in which to enjoy wine, cider, chocolate, macarons and V-Day grazing boards for two.

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Vermont

74-year-old woman fulfills childhood dream as EMT at fair in Vermont

Published

10 hours ago

April 20, 2026

Press Room

74-year-old woman fulfills childhood dream as EMT at fair in Vermont

ESSEX JUNCTION, Vt. (Aging Untold) — For 10 days, the Champlain Valley Fair, a county fair in Vermont, becomes its own little town with thousands of people, hot afternoons and the occasional emergency.

Charlene Phelps, 74, runs the fair’s emergency response team.

“We have a lot of seniors that come and people don’t drink enough water,” Phelps said.

The team handles sprains, bee stings, heat exhaustion and whatever comes through.

“I like taking care of people, I like helping people,” Phelps said.

Living out a childhood dream

It’s also a childhood dream.

Phelps wanted to be a nurse, but college wasn’t possible, so she found another route into care and has been showing up year after year at the fair.

Aging Untold expert Amy O’Rourke said living out your purpose can improve mental and spiritual well-being.

“When you tap into that, you’re tapping in on a place that’s a risk, that’s a challenge that inevitably creates growth inside you, gives you confidence so that if you’re in another situation you can build on that,” O’Rourke said. “Or, if you’re in an everyday situation where you’re a little anxious, it’ll help create stabilization in that place as well.”

Saving lives at the fair

Sometimes it’s bigger than a bandage.

“Over on there near the swings way over there is Gustovo, and we saved his life,” Phelps said.

Gustovo had gone into cardiac arrest at the fair a few years ago.

“I mean he was gone,” Phelps said.

Now he’s back and working the rides.

“Came for my hug, Gustovo,” Phelps said.

O’Rourke said stories like this are also why some people keep working past retirement age. Purpose isn’t a number, it’s a role.

“I’ve seen a 92-year-old still working as a nurse’s aid. I’ve seen people in my neighborhood chilling out and loving it,” O’Rourke said. “So, I think it’s being really self-aware of what you need and making sure that you’re getting those needs met.”

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Vermont

Vermont lawmakers reject digital lottery initiative – Valley News

Published

22 hours ago

April 19, 2026

Press Room

Vermont lawmakers reject digital lottery initiative – Valley News

A plan by Gov. Phil Scott’s administration to make all of the state’s lottery games, including scratch-off tickets, available on a person’s phone never got off the ground at the Statehouse this year.

Lottery Commissioner Wendy Knight told lawmakers in January that the plan was a way to modernize the lottery “because you need to keep pace with technology — you need to meet your players where they are.”

Fifteen states have created a “digital” lottery system, and many have discovered there’s a distinct market of people who don’t buy lottery tickets at retail outlets but will do so on their phones, according to Knight. “We’re trying to ensure the future of the Vermont Lottery, ” the commissioner said.

But state lawmakers have not been persuaded.

Vergennes Rep. Matt Birong, the Democratic chair of the House government operations committee, said members of the panel felt this year was not the time to move forward with this plan, especially given the recent legalization of sports betting.

“It is digitizing a current system and after moving forward with the sports wagering — people just wanted to take their time with it — so my committee decided to tap the brakes on further testimony.”

The administration estimated that the plan would have raised roughly $5 million a year for the state’s education fund after two years of implementation.

The prospect of that additional revenue is appealing to lawmakers, and Birong said they may reconsider the plan next year.

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