Traditional Arts Spotlight - How to Play the 5-String Banjo
The 2022-2023 ‘cohort’ of the Vermont Traditional Arts Apprenticeship Program included 12 collaborations between mentor artists and apprentices who worked together to keep traditional cultural expressions vital and relevant to the communities that practice them.This note features interview excerpts, audio, and photos from a recent site visit from VT Folklife staffer Mary Wesley had with mentor artist Rik Palieri (Hinesburg, VT) and his apprentice, Jason Baker (Burlington, VT).
Teaching with Folk Sources - the Journal of Folklore and Education
Vermont Folklife is featured in the 10th Volume of the Journal of Folklore and Education!
The volume focuses on Teaching With Folk Sources, a partnership with our colleagues Local Learning that Vermont Folklife staff have been involved with over the past two years. Teaching With Folk Sources focuses on making materials in ethnographic and oral history archives accessible to classroom teachers.
Did You Know? - Ticonderoga Part 3: Favorite Stories
Vermont Folklife is proud to have a collection of interviews of many of the people who lived and worked on the Steamboat Ticonderoga during its 47-year life on Lake Champlain between 1906 and 1953. Running a large steamship required finely-tuned systems, and many of the interviewees talk about these systems, which they used to operate the ship. This month we feature the voices of Jerry Aske, Dick Derry, and Dick Adams, recorded in interviews with VT Folklife founder Jane Beck in the late 1990s.
Announcing the Vermont Traditional Arts Apprenticeship Program 2023/24 Cohort
Vermont Folklife is pleased to announce the cohort of mentor and student artists comprising the 32nd cycle of the Vermont Traditional Arts Apprenticeship Program (VTAAP)! Eighteen mentorships will be supported this coming year, including traditional Nepali basket making, Judaic ritual weaving, granite carving, Burundian dance, and more.
Did You Know? - Ticonderoga Part 2: “Pulling the Fires” and other work onboard
Vermont Folklife is proud to have a collection of interviews of many of the people who lived and worked on the Steamboat Ticonderoga during its 47-year life on Lake Champlain between 1906 and 1953. Running a large steamship required finely-tuned systems, and many of the interviewees talk about these systems, which they used to operate the ship. This month we feature the voices of Jerry Aske, Dick Derry, and Dick Adams, recorded in interviews with VT Folklife founder Jane Beck in the late 1990s.
Scenes from Trad Camp
We had a fabulous time running Trad Camp the last week in July! The camp, which is a longstanding Young Tradition Vermont program, took place in downtown Burlington with three dozen camper an many fabulous instructors and guest artists! Below are some scenes from each day of camp!
2023 Touring Group Auditions
Auditions are now open for the the Young Tradition Vermont Touring Group’s 2023-24 season. This year, the Touring Group season begins in September with an online orientation, followed by regular in-person rehearsals and performances in Vermont, and ends in June 2024 with a tour to Quebec. Touring Group members learn from and are supported by artist leaders and guest expert musicians and dancers throughout the season, as well as sharing in musical exchanges with expert artists and young musicians and dancers while on tour.
Traditional Arts Spotlight - Abenaki Basketmaking and Fiber Art
The 2022-2023 ‘cohort’ of the Vermont Traditional Arts Apprenticeship Program includes 12 collaborations between mentor artists and apprentices who are working together to keep traditional cultural expressions vital and relevant to the communities that practice them. In this ongoing series of Field Notes we’ll introduce you to some of this year’s program participants and the traditional art forms they practice. Today meet Abenaki artists Vera Sheehan and Sherry Gould.
Folklife in the Wake of a Natural Disaster
As our state continues to recover and heal from the 2023 floods, we are re-sharing some of the resources that Vermont Folklife developed for times of crisis.
Did You Know? - Ticonderoga Steamship Part 1: Teenage Deckhands
The VFC Archives is full of amazing first-person accounts of everyday life in Vermont and New England–past and present. In this feature, we share these stories with you. The steamboat Ticonderoga is a National Historic Landmark that lives on the grounds of the Shelburne Museum in Shelburne, VT, where it portrays life onboard in 1923. This year, then, a trip aboard the “Ti” is a trip 100 years back in time. Vermont Folklife is proud to have a collection of interviews of many of the people who lived and worked on the Ticonderoga during that time.
Traditional Arts Spotlight: Keeping it in the Family - Jeffrey and Emerson Gale White Ash Basketmaking Apprenticeship
For the past year, Jeffrey Gale and his son, Emerson have been participating in an apprenticeship though Vermont Folklife’s Traditional Arts Apprenticeship Program (VTAAP). Mary Wesley paid them a visit this spring to check out what they’ve been up to.
Mary Wesley Named New Director of Education and Media
We are delighted that Mary Wesley, who has worked with Vermont Folklife in a wide range of capacities since 2009, has been promoted to Director of Education & Media as of May 22nd.
Touring Group & Youth Commission Update - June 2023
I am sure many are very eager to hear more concerning this coming year’s programming! Good news! I have updates! :) This year the YTV Touring Group will be going to Montreal and Quebec City!
Celebrating Sansari Puja 2023
On Saturday, May 13th, Vermont Folklife was honored to join the Burlington Nepali Rai and Limbu Community for Sansari Puja—a springtime festival celebrating Mother Earth. The community gathered and were joined by friends and neighbors from around Burlington to connect, eat, make music, and dance. The event included many past and present participants in our Traditional Arts Apprenticeship Program, including a performance by the Old North End Sarangi Club.
Did You Know? - Hastings Store in West Danville, VT
The VFC Archives is full of amazing first-person accounts of everyday life in Vermont and New England–past and present. In this feature, we share these stories with you. Continuing with our focus on Vermont general stores, this month we look at Hastings Store, a family-run general store in West Danville. Hastings has been owned by the same family since 1913, when it was purchased by Gilbert and Jenny Hastings. Their great-granddaughter Jenny Rafuse runs the store today.