Jun 22-28, 2016
From Vermont to Off-Broadway: Anaïs Mitchell’s Hadestown; What Went Wrong in McAllister Sexual Assault Case; Montpelier’s Langdon Street Gets Arty Makeover
Cover Story
The Making of Anaïs Mitchell’s Hadestown
500-ISH BC It started as a boy-meets-girl story, as so many do. Once upon a time in Greece, Orpheus met, fell in love with and…
Obituary: Rickey James Test, 1962-2016, Burlington
Rickey James Test passed away at Respite House after a long illness. He worked for many years in the flooring industry. He was very skilled…
Obituary: Gen. Leo Abair, 1918-2016
Leo Abair, devoted family man, decorated World War II veteran, and career officer in the Vermont National Guard, passed away peacefully on June 21st at…
Montpelier’s Langdon Street Celebrates With Art
A trio of primates has been turning heads and creating quite a scene on Langdon Street in Montpelier. Two chimpanzees and an orangutan swing on…
Courting Disaster: An Erosion of Press Protections in Vermont
Last October, Vermont State Police Detective Sgt. Benjamin Katz showed up unannounced at Seven Days’ Burlington headquarters. He had spent the previous six months investigating…
Matteo Palmer, Embers
(Self-released, CD, digital download) In 2014, guitarist Matteo Palmer established himself as one of Vermont’s most promising young artists with his debut album, Out of…
Trial and Error: What Went Wrong in the McAllister Case
Hours after state prosecutors dropped the felony sexual assault charges against him, Sen. Norm McAllister (R-Franklin) was back on his farm in Highgate. He’d changed…
Derek and the Demons, Rite of Passage
(What Doth Life, CD, digital download) Derek and the Demons, an unrepentantly raw rock trio hailing from Windsor, have been quite busy since their inception…
UVM Summit Considers What Makes Food Good
Many Vermonters see labeling GMO foods as essential to building a sustainable food system. But food values researcher Rachel Ankeny doesn’t buy it. “Labeling everything…
Theater Review: Table Manners, Dorset Theatre Festival
Dorset Theatre Festival’s production of Table Manners is one delicious excuse to laugh. Six characters, hilariously unaware of their own flaws, represent two marriages grown…
Central Intelligence
Be honest: Back in the days of The Scorpion King (2002), did you ever in your wildest dreams imagine the time would come when the…
Cofounders of Parenting Site Razed Talk Back
On June 6, 2015, in Burlington, Swale guitarist/website developer Eric Olsen and writer/creative director Kimberly Harrington gave virtual birth to a bundle of joy named…
What Goes On at the Phoenix Feed Mill?
I’ve lived half my life in agricultural states and driven past more grain silos and fertilizer plants than I care to remember. Still, I’ve always…
Soundbites: My God, More Festivals!
The Frendly Gathering in Windham rests atop the local music marquee this week. And you can turn here for more on that chummy three-day shindig….
Free Will Astrology (6/22/16)
CANCER (June 21-July 22): My meditations have generated six metaphorical scenarios that will symbolize the contours of your life story during the next 15 months:…
Frends With Benefits: The Story of the Frendly Gathering
Most Vermont music festivals tout some sort of theme or progressive mission beyond simply presenting good tunes. The Manifestivus in Cabot, for example, bills itself…
I Think My Boyfriend Is Cheating on Me
Dear Athena, I think my boyfriend is cheating on me. When we first got together, he cheated and I found out. When I did, he…
After Arson, Burlington Church Gets a New Steeple
Burlington may not have much of a skyline, but a few of its taller architectural elements do command attention and admiration. One of those —…
Hell Bent
Originally published November 28, 2007. Set in a postapocalyptic “company town” and laced with striking thematic elements that evoke the darkest days of the Depression,…
Meet the Vermonters in Anaïs Mitchell’s Hadestown
A decade ago, Vermont songwriter Anaïs Mitchell created Hadestown. The folk opera premiered in Barre in 2006 and is a creative reimagining of the Greek…
![The Year of Shaina Taub [SIV448]](https://sevendaysvt-test.newspackstaging.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/episode448-1200x900.webp)
The Year of Shaina Taub [SIV448]
6/18/16: According to New York Times Theater reporter Michael Paulson, this is the year of Vermonter Shaina Taub. And Tony Award-winning composer Jeanine Tesori agrees….
Art Review: ‘Director’s Choice,’ BigTown Gallery
Sometimes exhibitions are so radiant that you want to soak them up like the sun. “Director’s Choice,” currently at the BigTown Gallery in Rochester, is…
Upcycled Bike Art Competition Comes to the NEK
Last weekend, 1,900 mountain bikers descended on tiny East Burke for NEMBAfest, the New England Mountain Bike Association’s annual bike-and-camp at Kingdom Trails. The event’s…
Finding Dory
As a culture stuffed to the brim with information, we’re haunted by the possibility of memory loss. Many of us live in fear of sinking…
Filmmaker Nora Jacobson Wins 2016 Lockwood Prize
The biggest art award in Vermont is the $10,000 Herb Lockwood Prize, created and presented annually by the late artist’s brother, Todd R. Lockwood, and…
VAC Reports Good News for the Arts
The Vermont Arts Council is bullish on the state’s state of the arts. Not that the organization isn’t always a cheerleader for arts of all…
Shy Guy Gelato Opens Burlington Shop
Gelato is not just “Italian ice cream.” A scoop clings to the cone with a consistency approaching soft-serve; the temperature is slightly warmer, the body…
Kim Fountain Leads Vermont’s LGBTQ Community Through Tragedy
On June 13, a middle-aged woman wearing a tie tucked under a blue sweater stood on the steps of Burlington’s city hall addressing a large…
Hender’s Bake Shop Coming to Waterbury
Jessica Wright’s forthcoming Waterbury bakery, Hender’s Bake Shop & Café, is named after her golden retriever, Henderson. The dog is named for Henderson, Nev., where…
After Years of Building on the Edge, Burlington Braces Itself
David Goode remembers when he and his neighbors first noticed cracks in the parking lot behind their condominiums, which are perched high above Burlington’s Intervale….
Stonecutter Spirits Releases New Whiskey
Stonecutter Spirits cofounders Sas Stewart and Sivan Cotel like to say their creations are “sleeping” in barrels. This week, their Heritage Cask Whiskey is waking…
Letters to the Editor (6/22/16)
Anti-Semitic Cartoon? Members of my congregation brought to my attention Tim Newcomb’s “Lisman Campaign Goes Negative” cartoon, published in your paper [June 8]. This cartoon…
Pork & Pickles BBQ Opens in Essex Junction
When Pork & Pickles BBQ opens at 34 Park Street in Essex Junction this Wednesday, June 22, plenty of small plates will embody the restaurant’s…
One Dish: Goat ‘Wellington,’ Black Krim Tavern
I had already eaten a potato-and-bacon cake topped with sour cream and dotted with chive blossoms; crabmeat perched on sushi rice with toasted nori and…
