Vermont State Police have identified the man who drowned Tuesday in Lake Champlain as Darren Kemp, who was originally from South Africa. 

Kemp, 30, lived and worked at Basin Harbor Club, which spans parts of Vergennes and Ferrisburgh. On Tuesday, Kemp swam in Lake Champlain near the club, but did not emerge from under the waters, according to a police press release. 

State Police received word of the drowning incident around 9:25 p.m. and reported to the scene along with the Vergennes Area Rescue Squad and the Addison, Charlotte, Ferrisburgh and Vergennes fire departments. First responders carried Kemp from the waters to shore, but efforts to revive him were not successful. 

Kemp was pronounced dead at approximately 10:10 p.m, and the Chief’s Examiner’s Office in Burlington will perform an autopsy to determine the cause and manner of death. There is no evidence the drowning death is suspicious, according to police.

This is the second reported drowning in the state in the span of a week, after an 18-year old Burlington High School student Eljak Menjwak died in the New Haven River in Bristol on Saturday. 

Like other states in the East, Vermont has been hit with extreme heat, humidity and thunderstorms this past week, leading many people to seek relief in or near bodies of water.

The state’s Department of Health has identified more than 400 cooling centers where Vermonters can seek shelter from heat waves this summer. 

Vermonters have almost entirely given up the plastic bag.

University of Vermont researchers analyzed a 2023 survey of 745 Vermonters that showed plastic bag use dropped by 91% following a 2020 law banning businesses from offering plastic bags to customers, with paper bags available for a 10 cent fee.

Life Sciences professor Quingbin Wang is the lead author of a new peer-reviewed paper in the journal Environmental Economics that found the law’s strongest effect by far was the near complete elimination of plastic bags.

Paper bag use increased by 6% over the same period, which is not a statistically significant change. The UVM researchers surmised that having the option to substitute paper for plastic overrode any resistance to paying the small fee.

The study also found that about 70% of respondents viewed the legislation positively, according to Wang.

The ‘bottom-up’ origins of the plastic bag ban explain its success

There were those responding to the survey who refused to pay the 10 cents for a paper bag, opting for reusable bags. Some respondents had already switched to reusable bags before the ban went into effect.

Wang attributed the ban’s success in part to what he called the law’s “bottom-up” origins. Vermonters pushed legislators for the ban because of environmental concerns surrounding plastic, which is now found discarded everywhere on earth, including in the ocean, often in the form of microscopically small pieces that get into people’s bodies.

The simplicity of the law also contributed to its success, according to Wang.

Lost and Found

Friday 27 & Saturday 28

Yellow Barn and Next Stage Arts bring Vienna to Putney with Sylvia Milo’s award-winning drama The Other Mozart. The haunting solo performance follows the forgotten story of Maria Anna “Nannerl” Mozart, Wolfgang’s virtuoso big sis. Anchored by an 18-foot dress (you read that right!), the play employs lines plucked from the family’s real-life correspondence to revive the true tale of a child prodigy buried by patriarchal history.

It Takes a Village

Saturday 28 & Sunday 29

Brand-new, ensemble-driven artists’ collective the Furnace debuts An Otherwise Lovely Residential Area at Off Center for the Dramatic Arts in Burlington. The original theater piece tells the story of Sam, who visits their late father’s hometown to claim land they never knew existed. Unfortunately, the town doesn’t exactly hug back, and Sam must learn how to navigate this foreign world.

Saint’s Alive!

Friday 27

Merrymakers have a hoot at the spirited St. J Final Fridays series opener in downtown St. Johnsbury. The small-but-mighty town’s signature summer street fair entices visitors with a train exhibit, on-site portraits by local artist Larry Golden, live reptile activities via the Snakeman, dynamic dance demos and a “golden age of country music” blowout by Ashley Jane’s Hootenanny.

Love Canals

Opens Friday 27

Any Vermonter worth their road salt knows that live theater hits different when enjoyed in a barn. Enter Marshfield’s historic Unadilla Theatre and its operatic offering of Gilbert and Sullivan’s Victorian-era comic collaboration The Gondoliers. Sparkling Venetian canals come to life in this laugh-out-loud libretto replete with witty lyrics, lilting melodies and some seriously biting criticism of monarchies — looking at you, England.

Chiseled to Perfection

Saturday 28

The 28th annual North Bennington Outdoor Sculpture Show — the longest-running exhibition of its kind in southern Vermont — opens with an activity-packed reception at the Vermont Arts Exchange. The artful affair offers live music by local acts, artist meet and greets, beer and hot dogs, an “art bus” for kiddos, and a chance to explore the impressive pieces on view throughout the village.

Revolutionary Road

Saturday 28 & Sunday 29

The Bicentennial of Lafayette’s Farewell Tour in Vermont transports history buffs back to 1825 at locales across the Green Mountain State. The sprawling celebration honors the 200th anniversary of the lionized French general’s visit to Vermont, concluding his 24-state tour of the U.S. A character actor dressed as the marquis appears at stops along the original route, with bespoke historical events offered at each town, from Windsor to Montpelier.

Oui Can Do It

Sunday 29

French and Quebecois music, food and history get time in the spotlight at the Winooski Farmers Market’s French Heritage Day. Performances by Isabella Rottler, Michèle Choinière and Deja-Nous provide the ambience for activities ranging from pouding chômeur and bread-baking contests to junior and professional “waiter races” — requiring even-keeled participants to balance a stacked serving tray as they fly to the finish line.