Touring Group Winter Update
The Young Tradition Touring Group wrapped up rehearsals at the Montpelier Performing Arts Hub in January, grateful for such a welcoming space. Beyond learning the repertoire, rehearsal highlights included a basement sing-along of holiday favorites, many improvisational moves on the dance floor, frisbee out on the lawn, and a hilarious full-group game of rock paper scissors evolution-style. Think crouching like an egg, flapping like a chicken, and making T-Rex dino arms—sadly there is no photographic evidence!
Vermont Community Fellows Program Launches!
The Vermont Community Fellows Program (VCFP), a partnership between Vermont Folklife and Conversations from the Open Road, is a three-year initiative to build statewide capacity for community-based, action-oriented field research. This year the program accepted 15 applicants into its first cohort. Over the next 12-18 months, the Fellows will receive in-depth training to inform and guide their ongoing work with the people and places that matter to them most
Did You Know? - Tony Barrand and the Atwood Family
Tony Barrand was a professor of anthropology, as well as an avid folk dancer, musician, and collector of traditional material. In his later years, he came across the music of the Atwood family of West Dover, VT. He eventually partnered with folk musician Keith Murphy to create a series of recordings capturing this music.
Partner Profile - Mary Simons
The recently launched Vermont Community Fellows Program is a partnership between Vermont Folklife and Conversations from the Open Road. CFTOR founder Mary Simons has worked with Vermont Folklife for over a decade, the relationship evolving from thought partners, to collaborators on a wide variety of projects. We are thrilled to be partnering with Mary on the Vermont Community Fellows Program, where she will be mentoring primarily student fellows over the next two years.
Touring Group Fall Update
Beginning in September and continuing through December, one Saturday a month Touring Group musicians travelled to the Montpelier Performing Arts Hub to make music and friends while rehearsing this season’s repertoire. A lucky few aren’t traveling far this fall as they live right in the Montpelier area, but some come from quite a ways to participate - from Brattleboro to Burlington and as far away as Maine. That’s a lot of mountains crossed to get to rehearsals! Group members are ages twelve to eighteen and play fiddle, 5-string banjo, harp, ukulele, guitar, and keyboard. They all sing, too!
Congratulations to Bob Hooker on 18 marvelous years at VT Folklife!
After 18 years at VT Folklife, Bob Hooker is retiring! Bob has been an indispensable part of the organization for many years, filling more roles than we can count, a small number of which include: greeting everyone who walked through the doors of our Middlebury gallery; conducting mailings and thanking donors; organizing, decorating, and managing our building; and planning and executing our winter Gingerbread House exhibit.
Tibet Festival Celebrates 20th Anniversary!
This past Saturday the Tibetan Association of Vermont hosted its 20th Annual Tibet Festival at the Old North End Community Center in Burlington, VT. In keeping with its reputation, the Festival featured an impressive array of Tibetan cultural dances, songs, and instrumental performances, alongside a fashion show, the beloved yak and snow lion dances, tashi shoepa folk opera, and remarks from community leaders.
Did You Know? - Deer Hunting
Although not as central as it once was, hunting remains an important part of Vermont culture, whether out of necessity, for enjoyment of the outdoors or both. In this installment of DYK?, we'll hear from two different long-time hunters: Prentiss Dwinell of Marshfield, VT, and Doug Lawrence of Braintree, VT.
The Vermont Community Fellows Program Connects Youth and Adults to Address Complex Local Issues
Vermont Folklife and Conversations from the Open Road announce the Vermont Community Fellows Program (formerly titled Youth Community Action Corps), a three-year initiative to build statewide capacity for community-based, action-oriented field research. In Fiscal Year 2024, Senator Bernie Sanders secured $665,000 in Congressionally Directed Spending for this program through the National Historical Publications and Records Commission. Sanders was proud to secure this federal funding so that young people can help tell the story of Vermont for generations to come. Applications for the first cohort of Fellows will be accepted from November 1 to December 15, 2024.
Visions of the Future - Halloween in the VT Folklife Archive, 2024
Spooky Season is upon us! As a part of our partnership with Local Learning and the Library of Congress Teaching with Primary Sources Program we recently discovered a wonderful description of a turn-of-the-century Halloween fortune telling game in the VT Folklife Archive. In 1984, Daisy Turner of Grafton, VT shared an account of her sister, Wilhelmina, using the Magic of Halloween to discover the identity of her true love!
VTAAP Spotlight: Ballad Singing, West Glover, VT
In this VTAAP Spotlight meet Lorraine Hammond and Grant Cook who spent their apprenticeship year exploring the practice of unaccompanied ballad singing, in particular drawing inspiration from Oscar Deegrenia’s singing. Lorraine’s family were neighbors of Oscar’s, and she grew up hearing his songs. Their apprenticeship culminated in a free concert last August in West Glover in Vermont’s Northeast Kingdom, where Oscar was born.
Announcing the Vermont Traditional Arts Apprenticeship Program 2024/25 Cohort
Vermont Folklife is pleased to announce the latest cohort of master artist/apprentice pairs comprising the 33rd cycle of the Vermont Traditional Arts Apprenticeship Program (VTAAP)! Seven projects will be supported this coming year, including Franco-American fiddling, warp-weighted loom weaving, Tibetan music and dance, granite carving, and more.
Student-Made Comics Reflect on Climate Change
As a project in her highschool science class this past spring, Essex Junction resident Thalia Kolovos (yes, Andy’s daughter!) set out to interview a number of Essex High School students about climate change, how they see their lives being affected by it, and how all this makes them feel.
Did You Know? - Music for Social Dancing
In this month's “Did You Know?” we share archival recordings of four different musicians who provided music for social dancing here in Vermont across the 20th century.
Press Release: Vermont Folklife Moves from Middlebury Building to Boost Statewide Impact
Vermont Folklife plans to sell the historic John Warren building in Middlebury, which has been its home since 2006. The sale of the building will advance Vermont Folklife’s goal to better serve constituents across the entire state.
Reflecting on a Year of Listening
For the past nine months, Vermont Folklife has been hosting events around the state that invite people to come together and share the experience of listening–deeply–to voices, sounds, and songs from across the state and across the years. Called “Listening Parties,” these events are a bit like DJ sets of audio drawn from the Vermont Folklife Archive. Since October 2023, people in Lincoln, Burlington, Manchester, Windsor, Winooski, and Waitsfield have joined us for this community listening experience.
Young Tradition Touring Group’s 2024 Quebec Tour
with a spectacular tour of Quebec! Read all about their week-long tour, playing gigs, exploring cultural sites and the natural landscape, taking workshops from expert dancers and musicians, and participating in some of the best jam sessions in Quebec.
Traditional Arts Spotlight: Judaic Weaving
This month VT Folklife staffer Mary Wesley visited with weavers Adina Daar and Carol Goldsmith who have been working together in the central Vermont region to learn how to make connections between their weaving practice and their Jewish heritage.
Partner Project: 50 Years of Feeding Champlain Valley
For the past two years, VT Folklife Associate Director, Andy Kolovs and Executive Director, Kate Haughey have been conducting research in partnership with the Champlain Office of Economic Opportunity (CVOEO). Last year we produced the exhibit “In our words, in our community” for CVOEO. More recently, we completed a second exhibit, celebrating 50 years of Feeding Champlain Valley (formerly known as Feeding Chittenden.