Sep 27 – Oct 2, 2017
Trump-Bashing Republican Strategist Stuart Spencer Repairs to Vermont; UVM King Scholar Coauthors Book on ‘The Shawshank Redemption; Ballet VT Makes Its Entrance
Cover Story
Trump-Bashing, Romney-Advising Political Operative Stuart Stevens Finds Himself in Vermont
Stuart Stevens was looking for a fight, and he’d come to the right place. In the basement of Stowe’s Phit Gym & Classes, the 64-year-old…
Memoriam: Celebration of the Life of Kenneth I. Gross
The Celebration of the Life of Kenneth I. Gross will be held Sunday, October 15, 2017, 12:30p, University of Vermont Alumni House. For those who…
Obituary: Michael Anthony Valente, 1949-2017
Michael A. Valente, 68, of Waterbury Center passed away peacefully at home on the morning of October 3, 2017. He was born on Valentine’s Day…
Seriously: Stu’s Dudes; Sparks Dicks
In this episode Bryan learns about the fascinating life of political strategist Stuart Stevens and takes aim at a controversial firing range in Ripton, VT.
![Above the Radar [SIV505]](https://sevendaysvt-test.newspackstaging.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/episode505-1200x900.webp)
Above the Radar [SIV505]
9/16/17: Above the Radar is a 3-day graffiti festival that brought more than 30 artists together to paint a 260’ wall at the King Street…
Ask Athena: I’m in Love With a Guy Who Still Lives With His ‘Ex’
Dear Athena, I’m in love with a guy who has three children and who has had a live-in partner for five years. They broke up,…
The Rough Cut BBQ to Open in Middlebury
The Rough Cut, a barbecue restaurant with a full bar, will open at 51 Main Street in Middlebury in November, owner Ben Wells said. The…
Letters to the Editor (9/27/17)
Cool Covers Kudos to your photographers and graphic artists! Two recent covers were spectacular: the mayor of Barre [“Playing to Win,” September 6] and “Stage…
New Pro Company Ballet Vermont Makes an Entrance
Going to the ballet often conjures images of elegant theaters, dapperly dressed adults and thin young people dancing across a pristine stage. But what if…
Theater Review: ‘A Doll’s House,’ Northern Stage
The good news is that a husband saying his wife has to obey him now gets a laugh. The bad news is that Henrik Ibsen’s…
Movie Review: ‘Friend Request’ Fails to Milk Horror From the Prospect of Unpopularity
Fear and Loathing on Facebook might have made a spiffier title for this ridiculous Lifetime movie disguised as an exercise in social media-savvy horror. The…
Justin Bourgeois, Banker to the (Food & Drink) Stars
When their deal went down last week in Northfield, the banker and the brewers celebrated with glasses of a beer called Same Old, Same Old….
Movie Review: Slight But Amusing ‘Brigsby Bear’ Tells a Parable of Fandom
This decade’s crop of film comedies about arrested development offers plenty of fodder for a think piece on helicopter parenting, but Brigsby Bear takes both…
Resonant Spaces Brings Auditory Art to Dartmouth College
Except to the profoundly deaf, sound is inescapable. Visual sensory information can be easily avoided by closing your eyes or looking away, but sonic stimuli…
Quick Lit: Lisa Kusel’s Memoir ‘Rash’
When American readers think of Bali, they tend to think of the tropical island where Elizabeth Gilbert discovered “balance” (and, yes, love) in her best-selling…
Neighbors Are Fired Up About Target Shooting on National Forest Land
There’s no sign announcing that Sparks Pit is a firing range, but gun enthusiasts head to the scrubby clearing in the Green Mountain National Forest…
Dems Depleted: Vermont Democrats Facing Financial Woes
In recent years, the Vermont Democratic Party has enjoyed relative prosperity while state Republicans have struggled to keep the lights on. But now the Democrats…
Eat This Week, September 27 to October 3, 2017: Harvest Fest
‘Tis the season for harvest festivals, but while plenty of events highlight apples, pumpkins and hayrides for chubby-cheeked cherubs, the celebration at Colchester’s Mead Hall…
Burning Question: Was it a Neko Case of Mistaken Identity?
A fire that broke out September 18 in the Northeast Kingdom town of Barnet destroyed a barn and heavily damaged a nearby house, according to…
Soundbites: No Chill ’til Chicago
Over the years, we here at Seven Days have noticed an amusing phenomenon: We profile an interesting person in Vermont’s arts community and, less than…
steAmfest Brings Makers and Artists to Essex Junction
This weekend, Essex Junction is going to get steAmy. And no, that’s not a typo. A brand-new festival called steAmfest aims to transform a downtown…
Mysterious ‘White Rabbit Red Rabbit’ Debuts in Vermont
Getting onstage and forgetting all your lines is the stuff of bad dreams for actors. So imagine taking the stage, being handed an envelope with…
Phoenix Books Launches Writing Scholarship
We often hear pleas to support local independent booksellers. This week we learned that one of them is turning the tables, as it were, by…
What’s Up With Burlington’s Phallic Mushroom Sculpture?
This week’s WTF column answers two readers’ seemingly unrelated questions: First, what’s up with the mushroom-and-napping-gnome sculpture on Burlington’s Battery Street? Second, why is a…
Free Will Astrology (9/27/17)
LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): Be realistic, Libra: Demand the impossible; expect inspiration; visualize yourself being able to express yourself more completely and vividly than you…
Album Review: Dave Kleh, ‘It’ll Be Alright’
(Self-released, CD, digital download) On his 2016 record, Laugh: A Collection of Drinking Songs From the 802, eccentric and somewhat enigmatic singer-songwriter/producer/real estate agent Dave…
Tony Magistrale Coauthors Book on ‘The Shawshank Redemption’
As anyone who has seen the recent Hollywood megaflop The Dark Tower can attest, translating the works of Stephen King to the silver screen is…
Art Review: ‘SculptFest2017,’ Carving Studio & Sculpture Center
The Carving Studio & Sculpture Center in West Rutland is a fortuitous collision of history and the present. Located amid inactive quarries and the former…
Album Review: Devon McGarry, ‘Echo Chamber’
(Self-released, CD, digital download) I’ve often heard a theory of a time vortex that keeps Vermont stuck in the 1990s. If such a vortex exists,…
After a Hiker’s Death, Vermont Finds Ways to Improve Search and Rescue
Six rescue squad members ventured into the woods at Pico Mountain on a warm September afternoon to practice searching for a lost person. The scenario:…
Royal Frog Ballet Throws a Rural Cabaret
A rhizome is a type of root that spreads horizontally, sending out fresh tendrils and stems from its network of nodes. It’s an apt metaphor…
Down to the Wire: Accusations Fly in Burlington Telecom Negotiations
Mayor Miro Weinberger touted September 20 as a celebratory day in Burlington. The city was to publicly reveal the finalists of the bidders for Burlington…
Filipino Cuisine Comes to St. Johnsbury
Before he opened his restaurant, Pica-pica Filipino Cuisine in St. Johnsbury, George Sales was an independent consultant and project manager. Now Sales, who was born and raised in the Philippines, spends his time cooking stir-fries, crispy egg rolls known as lumpiang, and kare-kare, a stew with oxtail, eggplant and long beans. “I’ve always loved entertaining;…
Subterranean Booze at Moruzzi’s in Barre
At Moruzzi’s in Barre, the drinks are named after mobsters, and the kitchen turns out “light Italian fare” such as tiramisu, meatballs and cheese boards….
How to Mix Up Autumn Cocktails
I didn’t realize I didn’t know how to shake and serve cocktails until I saw 109 thirsty guests lined up in front of me, polished…
