Episode 18: Meet Cute 2021 - Everest and Marjo
This episode of VT Untapped™ is the fifth in a six-part series built around our “Listening in Place” project. We’ll take you into six different Vermont communities where we’ve spent some time listening to what people are going through and what they’re thinking about during the pandemic and beyond.
VT Untapped™ is available on iTunes, Stitcher, Google Play, TuneIn and Spotify
“At first we thought...”OK, we’ll do this. And then in about a month, we’ll be able to see each other because then Covid is going to get better...””
A love that crosses borders
It’s that time of year again! Although our annual “Meet Cute” episode is a bit different this year, isn’t everything?
We’re coming up on one year of living through the Covid-19 pandemic, and as a part of our Listening in Place project, we’ve focused on hearing from Vermonters about their experiences of this tumultuous time, in their own voices.
We know that Vermonters have continued to cultivate new romantic connections during this time but, to be honest, we paused a bit around asking people to tell us their touching stories of new flowering love in the midst of the pandemic. Would anyone really want to put a spotlight on a newly forged connection by sitting down for an interview with us?
So instead, our 2021 Meet Cute focuses on two themes that have consistently emerged through Listening in Place: resilience and human connections. Less of a “meet cute,” this year’s February episode of VT Untapped explores Covid as a catalyst for strengthening an existing relationship—a story about love across distance and across borders. We hope you enjoy!
“Meet Cute??”
So what do we mean by “Meet Cute”? Well, the term refers to the conditions under which two potential partners meet—trust us, it’s in the Oxford English Dictionary. For the past two years on VT Untapped we’ve shared stories of Vermonters finding love (check out Episode 11 and Episode 4.)
We are slowly growing our “meet cute” collection—and we have more stories than we could fit in these episodes—so check out the collection on Sound Cloud to hear them all! Some are from earlier interviews and some more recent. All are pretty darn cute!
Everest and Marjo
Everest and Marjolène currently live in Montréal, Quebec. Marjo works for Hydro Québec and Everest is a musician who plays contra dance music and other traditional music with his trio, Nova. Below are a few photos from their life together, including one from their whirlwind wedding day in Putney, VT! Thanks Everest and Marjo for sharing your story.
LISTENING IN PLACE
The Vermont Folklife Center believes that a pathway through anxiety, fear and uncertainty lies in the act of listening as much as it does in the act of telling one’s story. This is what Listening in Place is all about. If you’d like to learn more about doing your own interviews in your family, household or community or if you’re part of a group or organization or would like to record your OWN “meet cute” story click here to learn about partnering with VFC to engage in this kind of work.
Interviews from this episode:
Marjolène Forest and Everest Witman were interviewed by Mary Wesley on Zoom on January 31, 2021.
To access the full recordings please contact the VFC Archivist.
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The views and opinions expressed by participants of this project are their own and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the Vermont Folklife Center.
This episode of VT Untapped has been made possible in part by the National Endowment for the Humanities: Democracy demands wisdom.
