Keeping the Beat
Saturday 9
Stowe Vibrancy presents the second annual Indigenous Peoples’ Day Rocks! — a festival and rock concert at Mayo Events Field celebrating Native American culture and traditions. The day kicks off with a blessing from Chief Don Stevens of the Nulhegan Band of the Coosuk-Abenaki Nation and continues with singing, drumming, storytelling and art. Later, Blues Hall of Famer Joe Louis Walker (pictured) heads a rousing lineup of local musicians, including Dave Keller and Bella Sances.
Take Care
Wednesday 13
As part of the Howard Center in Burlington’s World Mental Health Day programming, Dr. Jude Smith Rachele chats with Ashley C. Ford, author of the New York Times best-selling memoir Somebody’s Daughter. The virtual conversation touches on mental health as it relates to race, sexuality and diversity.
That’s the Spirit
Wednesday 6
New Perennials, a project of Middlebury College and Kansas-based nonprofit the Land Institute, aims to generate sustainable agricultural practices. Throughout October it hosts Perennial Harvest Days, a series of events synthesizing radical ideas around food systems, education, health, art and spirituality. At All Souls Interfaith Gathering in Shelburne, five religious leaders give a panel on Faith Traditions and Sacred Practices in uncertain times.
We’re Bound Away
Friday 8
In “Shenandoah,” a collection of works painted since the start of COVID-19, Pennsylvania artist Jeff Bye fixates on the effects of another pandemic — specifically, the fate of a schoolhouse in Shenandoah, Pa., abandoned in 1918. At the exhibition’s opening reception at Edgewater Gallery on the Green in Middlebury, viewers immerse themselves in the purgatory-like sensations of these lonely, intimate paintings.
The Big Apple
Saturday 9 & Sunday 10
The centerpiece of Belmont’s Cider Days may be fresh apple cider from the Mount Holly Community Association’s 200-year-old press, but locals and visitors should not get so juiced that they discount the festival’s other attractions. Revelers can also savor homemade apple pie, peruse the stalls of local artisans and enter their photos in a contest to be included in the 2023 Mount Holly calendar.
Stroll and Stretch
Sunday 10
Amanda Anderson of Inner Lift Yoga leads a Silver Lake Yoga Hike through the pine forests around Barnard for yogis who are prepared to don some hiking boots and work up a sweat before their savasana practice. The remote woods and tranquil lake waters provide the perfect backdrop for relaxation and meditation, followed by a picnic lunch.
Justice Served
Wednesday 13
East Hardwick villagers come together at Caledonia Grange #9 for a free Grange Supper & Migrant Justice Presentation. Over a shared meal, the farmworkers’ advocacy group gives the lowdown on its revolutionary Milk With Dignity campaign, which has been working for years with producers such as Ben & Jerry’s to secure labor rights and housing for Vermont’s dairy laborers.
This article appears in Oct 6-12, 2021.








