PUTNEY - For the next year, while construction occurs along Alice Holway Drive, Putney Food Drops will be located at 78 River Rd., in the parking lot of what used to be Five Maples Corp. More details, including a map, can be found at putneyfoodshelf.org/food-drop.
The Vermont Food Bank and Putney Foodshelf co-sponsor this service, offering a selection of produce and assorted foods. The drive-thru service is on the fourth Thursday of every month, from 9 to 9:45 a.m. Free and open to all. The next food drop is Thursday, May 22.
This Town and Village item was submitted to The Commons.
BRATTLEBORO-On Friday, May 16, at 7 p.m. at the Brattleboro Music Center (BMC), the Sarasa Ensemble will present a program of works inspired by the written word. Writers Charles Baudelaire, Yukio Mishima, and Anna Akhmatova all "pushed the boundaries of their respective eras and countries with their writings," and...
Obituaries • William "Bill" Bedard, 82, of Brattleboro. Died May 1, 2025, holding his wife Linda's hand. Both of his daughters and his first grandson were by his side. Bill is survived by his wife of 61 years, his two daughters, Melissa Bedard and Martha Missale, and grandchildren Amanda...
BRATTLEBORO-On Thursday, May 15, at 6:30 p.m. at the 118 Elliot gallery, the Windham World Affairs Council (WWAC) in partnership with Brooks Memorial Library and Vermont Independent Media will host acclaimed author and journalist Stephen Kinzer. Kinzer will kick off WWAC's speaker series on what organizers call "the global blowback of U.S. aggressive intervention, military actions, and regime change." Kinzer is an award-winning foreign correspondent who has covered more than 50 countries on five continents. According to a news release,
BRATTLEBORO-On Saturday, May 17, from 3 to 5 p.m., ByWay Books & More, 399 Canal St., will host French novelist Sylvie Weil, who debuts her memoir, The Wanderings of Isaac André Gedalia, which imagines the experiences and possible afterlives of the soul of Isaac, her unborn child. Carol Symes, professor of history at the University of Illinois, says, "This lyrical little book imagines the experiences and possible afterlives of a much-loved but lost little soul. Isaac André Gedalia is our...
BRATTLEBORO-Brooks Memorial Library, 224 Main St., will host Big Woods Voices for a special program on Wednesday, May 21, at 7 p.m. Big Woods Voices celebrates a cappella vocal harmony through arrangements grown from American roots genres, world folk styles, poets old and new, and Will Danforth's sensibilities as an arranger and composer. For this program, they will highlight compositions inspired by the poetry of W.B. Yeats, David Whyte, Wendell Berry, Alice Oswald, Daniel Leavens Cady, and others. "From heart-moving...
WEST BRATTLEBORO-Joe Jencks, an international touring musician and award-winning singer-songwriter, will be performing at All Souls Church, 29 South St., on Friday, May 16, to benefit local refugees and asylum seekers. Locally, and to the point of the benefit concert, Jencks may be best known for his song "Lady of the Harbor," a reference to the Statue of Liberty and a lament for the plight of those who have left their home countries to come to the United States. The...
BELLOWS FALLS-Betsy Small, author of Before Before: A Story of Discovery and Loss in Sierra Leone, will read from and sign copies of her book on Monday, May 19, at 6:30 p.m. at the Rockingham Free Public Library (RFPL). The inspiration for this book came from her experiences in Sierra Leone, first as a Peace Corps worker there from 1984–87 and again when she returned decades later with her daughter. The University of Michigan Press has selected it as one...
NEWFANE-There are countless commentaries on Pope Francis's life and work, most of them celebrating the opus of a remarkable man. What made him so loved by the world, even beyond the Catholic church, was his humanity. He seemed to internalize the Christian understanding of the complexities of the human condition. He embodied unconditional love. He sought understanding among competing groups, religions, political forces, and he countered the entrenched national conceit that corrupts civilization. Pope Francis was a breath of fresh...
SPRINGFIELD-On April 16, during his inaugural speech as secretary of health and human services, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. made deeply concerning and misleading statements about people with autism. Contrary to Secretary Kennedy's claims, autism is not a tragedy, nor is it a disease or an epidemic. These characterizations are not only inaccurate - they are harmful. They perpetuate outdated stereotypes that dismiss the strengths, dignity, and potential of millions of people on the autism spectrum. At Health Care & Rehabilitation...
PUTNEY-After two sold-out events that brought together film lovers and foodies alike, Next Stage Arts' Feast and Film Series is an event in southern Vermont's cultural calendar. Curated by James Beard Award winner Deborah Krasner and supported in part by a grant from Vermont Humanities, the series pairs evocative films with dinners inspired by their themes, prepared by local chefs, offering audiences an immersive experience where story and flavor intertwine. "These evenings invite us not only to watch and taste,
BRATTLEBORO-Join the Retreat Farm in collaboration with Atowi Project to celebrate the unveiling of the Wantastegok Mskodal Ôwdi/West River Meadows Trail (known locally as the Hogle Trail) and the new mural on The Landing, the farm's historical grain bunker, on Sunday, May 18, from noon to 2:30 p.m. The Wantastegok Mskodal Ôwdi was renovated by the Retreat Farm Lands and Farm team in 2024 with the installation of new bridges, stairs, benches, and interpretive signs. There are six signs along...
BRATTLEBORO-In protesting the calamities of Trump, we risk becoming indifferent to the plight of Palestinian children. UNICEF reported in May that nearly 71,000 children are experiencing acute malnutrition and among them many are suffering severely. This is only the tip of the iceberg of what is becoming a disastrous famine. In all our rallies and protests we must make it clear that America needs to stop supporting genocide and that protesting the starvation of children is more than a free...
-Last week was a wet one, and many of the outdoor sporting events got rained out. With about two weeks left in the regular season, there's not much time left to make up the postponed games. Such is the nature of spring sports in Vermont. Unified basketball • Brattleboro defeated Rutland, 50-33, on May 6 to finish the regular season undefeated with a 7-0 record. At press time, the Bears were set to face Twin Valley in a first-round playoff...
Emilie Kornheiser, Ian Goodnow, and Mollie Burke represent Brattleboro in the Vermont House of Representatives. Nader Hashim is a state senator representing Windham County. MONTPELIER-We have an opportunity to transform homelessness in our community through a bill (H.91) being considered in the Legislature. The number of folks in our community without permanent, reliable housing has grown consistently over the last decade and has become increasingly visible. In addition to the stress and suffering that comes with unstable housing, there are...
Jessica Dolan, Ph.D. (District 8) is a Brattleboro Representative Town Meeting member. BRATTLEBORO-Our predecessors were not only creative, they were smart! They created the Marlboro Music Festival, the Vermont Jazz Center, the Harris Hill Ski Jump, the Brattleboro Winter Carnival, the Strolling of the Heifers, and the Brattleboro Literary Festival. They created New Chapter, Grafton Cheese, and camps such as Farm and Wilderness, Green Mountain Camp for Girls, and Fairie Camp. They created farm-to-table cuisine and sugarhouses, fine arts and...
PUTNEY-After years of planning and navigating legal challenges, co-developers Windham-Windsor Housing Trust (WWHT) and Burlington-based Evernorth celebrated the groundbreaking of 25 mixed-income, energy-efficient apartments on Alice Holway Drive on May 5. The 25 new apartments will help address the housing shortage in Putney, which is estimated to need 80 new rental and owner-occupied homes within the next five years, according to the town's recently released Housing Needs Assessment and Action Plan. According to the project developers, these highly energy-efficient homes...
BRATTLEBORO-Given so many angry protests about the Trump administration recently, some residents thought that a positive, welcoming, whimsical approach for just one day might add a breath of fresh air. So they set up Vermont Canada Day. The idea is simple: Canada is not an enemy, nor a potential 51st state, as the president has forebodingly suggested. It is, by many objective yardsticks, a good friend and neighbor of Vermont. July 1, Canada Day, is the official Canadian celebration of...
BRATTLEBORO-The Brattleboro Area Farmers' Market (BAFM) is proudly celebrating 50-plus years of bringing locally grown produce to southeastern Vermont, and invites you - whether you are a foodie, a restaurateur, a health enthusiast, or simply someone who loves to be outside - to join us! We offer the freshest foods and agricultural products that can be produced in our Vermont soils. The market additionally offers our community a welcoming outdoor gathering place, with live music, tables to use while talking...
Jason Cooper, a real estate investor, developer, and property manager, has served as a steering committee member and trail manager of Friends of the West River Trail. BRATTLEBORO-I strongly support revitalizing the Island and bridges in downtown Brattleboro. I believe this area holds tremendous potential to become a vibrant, unique asset for our community - an amenity that would enhance our town's livability, appeal, and connection to the Connecticut River. While the town of Hinsdale, New Hampshire, might not have...
BRATTLEBORO-The saying "it takes a village" rings true for "Efflorescence," the spring show of the Brattleboro School of Dance (BSD), which is coming to the New England Youth Theatre on May 16, 17, and 18. A dozen choreographers are working with 60 area dancers, ranging in age from 6 to 76. Each choreographer is working to create a unique piece within the show. A dozen or so staff work front of the house and backstage, taking on roles like lighting...
ROCKINGHAM-A crew from Hartgen Archeological Associates spent a week at the Rockingham Meeting House earlier this month, completing a survey of the property using ground radar and digging test pits. The project takes place in anticipation of work to stabilize the building, which dates to 1787 and was named a National Historic Landmark in 2000. According to the town's website, the Meeting House is "the largest intact 18th [century] public building remaining in Vermont still in its original form and...
BRATTLEBORO-Most matriarchs observe Mother's Day on the second Sunday in May. But Guilford great-great-grandmother Shirley Squires has reason to wait until the AIDS Project of Southern Vermont's annual Walk for Life fundraiser later this month. The 94-year-old didn't know much about the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) that causes acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) when it struck her son, former state Rep. Ronald Squires, D-Guilford, some four decades ago. The lawmaker was the first in the Vermont Legislature to announce his homosexuality,
BRATTLEBORO-A newly formed rock 'n' roll band, Black Rover - made up of four professional musicians from Windham County, with three over the age of 60 - will bring the music of iconic British supergroup Led Zeppelin to the Latchis Theatre on Sunday, May 18. "One phrase I've used about our origin story is that the band was 'born here in Vermont, the land of the ice and snow, during an eclipse,'" says David Bruce of Brattleboro, bass and keyboards...
BRATTLEBORO-The locally rooted Vermont Film and Folklore Festival (VFFF) casts a wide net. Based again this year in Manchester, with several screenings added for the first time at Brattleboro's Latchis Theatre, it celebrates film as "the universal contemporary medium which simulates experiences and communicates images, ideas, stories, and emotions through [...] moving images," according to the festival's website. "Folklore is the traditional medium of poems, myths, legends, and tales shared by a group of people," the organization says. "Both film...