Brattleboro Area Hospice To Feature “Vesta” A Staged Reading

On Sunday, April 12 at 2:00 pm, Brattleboro Area Hospice will host a staged reading of the end of life drama “Vesta” at the River Garden in downtown Brattleboro. Tea, cake and discussion will follow. The event is offered free and open to the public.

Vesta is a 90-minute, seven-character play about the final five years of the title character’s life. Vesta offers a warm and often humorous exploration of a family’s struggle with a variety of end-of-life issues as they come to terms with the illness and death of Vesta Pierson, their matriarch.


Scale and Presence: An Exhibit of the Monumental Vessels of Stephen Procter Comes to Mitchell-Giddings Fine Arts

Scale and Presence is an exhibit of masterly crafted large scale ceramics on display at Mitchell•Giddings Fine Arts, 183 Main Street, Brattleboro Vermont. The show will run through April 26, 2015 highlighting a new body of work by Brattleboro artist, Stephen Procter.

Known for the disciplined lines and unglazed surfaces of his historically-inspired monumental vessels, Procter’s more recent work revels in the sensuality of curves and the painterly effects of layered glazes. Whether austere or exuberant, these vessels transcend the usual experience of pottery and broach the realm of sculpture. Alongside human-sized vessels, Scale and Presence will introduce a series of smaller pieces and non-traditional shapes including colorful wall pieces, called “orphan lids.”


The Artist’s Loft Final Gallery Walk

The Artist’s Loft has overlooked Main Street for almost 25 years and this will be the last Gallery Walk for William Hays’ studio and gallery.

Hays opened The Artist’s Loft Gallery and studio in June of 1990. It has been in continuous operation since that time. Although initially the gallery showed the works of a variety of artists, in 1995 the gallery began presenting only Hays’ work. He says, “After a few years of being an artist and operating a gallery with rotating shows , I became exhausted by organizing the exhibitions each month. Besides, I had enough of my own paintings to fill both rooms of the gallery.”


Brattleboro Student To Launch Program for Homeless Youth

NORTON, Mass.—Marguerite Dooley ’15, a senior at Wheaton College in Norton, Mass. and a native of Brattleboro, Vt., has won a prestigious Projects for Peace grant to open a program for homeless and at-risk youth in her hometown.

Projects for Peace grants provide undergraduates at American colleges and universities with $10,000 each to implement projects that seek to promote peace, resolve conflict and build understanding.


Vermont Jazz Center Presents its Emerging Artist Series: Melissa Aldana and The Crash Trio

Melissa Aldana is the third generation in her family to follow the saxophone as her calling. Her father, Marcos Aldana, now considered one of the most important musicians in Chile, was her first teacher. She still performs on the Selmer Mark VI saxophone she received as a treasured gift from her grandfather, Enrique Aldana, who was her father’s teacher. Marcos Aldana’s teaching method was based on transcription: learn the sound quality and improvised solos of those you wish to emulate.

Melissa began her studies on the alto saxophone at the age of six. Melissa stated: “My dad would choose a song that he really liked, so the first person I learned from was Charlie Parker. We would take one phrase, and listen. Then, I would play it really slow, over and over, hundreds of times, until it sounded exactly like him. I think it’s one of the best ways to teach a little kid because I learned everything by listening to the masters.”


I-91 Brattleboro Bridge Replacement Project Update: Week of March 29

New Text Alert System

A new text alert system for the Brattleboro Bridge Replacement Project makes it possible to receive text notifications of:

• Interstate ramp closings,

• Closings of I-91,

• Closings of VT Route 30 (but not single lane closings of Rt 30), and

• Any other situations regarding time sensitive project-related traffic issues.

People can sign up for this service by texting 313131 with the keyword “I91Brat”, or by using the signup widget on the project website www.i91brattleborobridge.com.


Brattleboro Dog and Wolf-Hybrid Licenses Due

Brattleboro dog and wolf-hybrid licenses are due on or before April 1. Vermont dogs and wolf-hybrids 6 months of age and older must be licensed on or before April 1. For dogs not previously licensed in Brattleboro, a first-time license must be obtained in person from the Town Clerk’s office. Licenses being renewed may be processed in the Town Clerk’s office, through the mail or online at www.brattleboro.org.

Vaccination against rabies is required by Vermont Statutes before licensing. A current vaccination means:


Qigong for Healing and Living Fully – Stillness

You are your best healer! Come learn how each and everyone of us is born with the innate gift to heal ourselves. In this half-day intensive, you will experience simple and profound ways to awaken your body’s innate healing ability while deepening your capacity to relax and enjoy your life more completely.

Qigong is an ancient form of meditative movement that is over 5,000 years old. In China, qigong is one of the secrets to living a long and healthy life. The simple movements and breathing practices help relax the physical body, calm the mind and raise the spirit. It is an excellent form of preventative healthcare, and also used in treating major illnesses and minor ailments.


Hilltop Montessori Students to Build and Raffle Tiny House with Proceeds to Benefit Morningside Shelter and Scholarships

BRATTLEBORO – Hilltop Montessori School of Brattleboro is launching a “Tiny House Raffle” to benefit the school’s financial aid program and Morningside Shelter. Jamaica Cottage Shop has donated a tiny house kit that Hilltop students and families will assemble this spring. The 7’ x 12’ house is built on a trailer for easy mobility and will be raffled off at 3pm on the Brattleboro Common after the Strolling of the Heifers parade on June 6th.


African Adventure Tales by Crabgrass Theater

Sandglass Theater presents African Adventure Tales by Crabgrass Puppet Theater in Winter Sunshine Series

PUTNEY VT- On March 28th at 1 and 3pm two funny folktales from Africa come to life with vibrant puppets, spectacular scenery, and an infectious musical score. “Koi and the Kola Nuts” is a tale from Liberia in which the young son of a chief sets out on a wonderful journey in search of fortune, carrying only a sack of kola nuts. His kindness to the creatures he meets is rewarded when their help saves his life! And in “Anansi and the Talking Melon,” we meet one of the most hilarious trickster characters in world folklore.


I-91 Exit 3 Closed Sunday

This Sunday, the project team will close both the northbound and southbound Exit 3 on-ramps to reduce congestion on I-91 Southbound caused by merging traffic. Because of highway logistics, we need to close both northbound and southbound on-ramps. Local southbound traffic will be rerouted to Route 5 south to Exit 2 or 1, and local northbound traffic will be rerouted to Route 5 north to Exit 4. Sheriff officers will assist in directing traffic. The on-ramps at Exit 3 will be closed from approximately noon to 7:00 pm.


Registration Open! 3rd Annual Tulip Trot 5k Run/Walk, May 2, 2015

Come out rain, mud and/or shine and support Green Street School enrichment programs while you walk or run down neighborhood streets and the scenic Retreat trails behind Brattleboro’s famous ski jump. This family-friendly local 5k is in its third year and gaining great momentum, please join us!

The Saturday, May 2 race starts and finishes at Green Street School, 164 Green Street, Brattleboro. There is also a 1/2 mile Sprout Run for younger children before the 5K.


Brattleboro Area Hospice to Host 6th Death Cafe in Wilmington

Brattleboro Area Hospice will host it’s 6th Death Café in Wilmington. This free event will be held on Wednesday, March 25, 2-4 pm at Dot’s Restaurant at 3 West Main St.

Part of an international movement that started in Europe (www.deathcafe.com), the Death Cafe is dedicated to taking death out of the closet in order to discuss it publicly.


Brattleboro Selectboard Special Meeting

The Brattleboro Selectboard will hold a special meeting on Monday, March 23, 2015 at 5:15pm in the Selectboard meeting room at the Municipal Center.

Jan Anderson
Executive Secretary
Brattleboro Town Manager’s Office
(802) 251-8100


Sanders: Let Vermont Protect Consumers from Dangerous Chemicals

WASHINGTON, March 18 – Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) today backed stronger curbs on the use of dangerous chemicals in consumer products but criticized a bill in Congress that would take away from Vermont and other states the power to protect consumers with new state regulations.

Under the current federal law, tens of thousands of potentially harmful chemicals have continued to be used in products without proper testing and without disclosure by the companies that use them. The law, enacted in 1976, is so weak that it kept the Environmental Protection Agency from even banning asbestos, which causes cancer.