First Wednesday Program at Brooks Library: Photography as Fine Art: Alfred Steiglitz and Camera Work

Photographer, gallerist, and magazine editor Alfred Stieglitz was a seminal figure in the history of twentieth-century photography.

Middlebury College professor Kirsten Hoving examines Stieglitz’s work and his advocacy for photography as a fine art, with special attention to his quarterly journal Camera Work. Wednesday March 4th, 7 pm – 9 pm. 


On Exhibit at Brooks Library in March

Lots of art at the Library this month! Mezzanine Wall & Main Floor: Student Art Month. The Arts Council of Windham County is inviting the community to join them in recognizing and honoring the many young people in Windham County who are involved in a wide range of the arts.

So, for the 34th consecutive year, they have set aside March as Student Art Month, a time to spotlight, through shows and events, the terrific kinds of work coming from our young people and the teachers and school programs which help these young artists to blossom. 


Brattleboro Time Trade Spring Forward Extravaganza

Come join in the fun! Gallery Walk Friday, March 6th is the First Annual Spring Forward Extravaganza hosted by the Brattleboro Time Trade!

Featuring:

MUSIC by The Snaz, Jesse Lepkoff and Luz Elena Morey • Silent Auction • Spring Gardening Show
• Dessert Bar and Cafe  • Raffles, games, free give-aways!

Brattleboro Time Trade members trade time (and not money), thereby building community & friendships, helping people share skills, meet needs and have fun!

Gallery Walk Friday, March 6 from 4:30 – 8:30 pm at the River Garden

More information available on our


BCTV Channel 8 & 10 Schedules for the Week of 3/2/15

BCTV Ch.8 schedule for the week of 3/2/15

Monday, March 2, 2015

12:00 am Ethan Allen Homestead: Reflecting on the Past

1:06 am The Last Pipe Keeper

1:30 am Valley Homegrown: Bay Rd 2/10/14

2:30 am VT Council on Rural Development: Climate Change Summit 2/18/15 Pt 1

4:00 am Road to Recovery: Join the Voices for Recovery


Living Whist

Those who follow This Day In History on a regular basis might recall a couple of mentions of members of the community rehearsing to perform as cards for an upcoming entertaining exhibition of “Living Whist.” Well, you will be pleased to know that the event was a success.

Below you’ll find the almost complete account of the event as told in the Phoenix on March 3, 1895. (The scanned newspaper was torn in one place, so I copied as much as was available.)

If we have any whist players, perhaps the game could be explained a bit?


5:45: 2/27/15

The Fairpoint workers strike is finally resolved on a Friday edition of 5:45 Live that includes more from the NRC with Thursday’s NDCAP meeting, lots of town meeting prep and much more. .


Weekend Comedy Series: Sinbad – Afros and Bellbottoms

A member of marching band and the math club. A basketball player. A member of the Air Force. Sinbad has been all of these things, but he is best known for comedy.

His style is very clean. I can almost avoid giving the warning for bad language with his show, in which he often comes across as a big kid, or maybe a nutty uncle. He seems like he would be fun to invite to a party.


FCC Vote Opens Opportunities

The Federal Communications Commission voted today to regulate broadband under Title II of the Communications Act. In ordinary speak, this is Net Neutrality. It eliminates threats of a multi-tiered system, where certain bandwidth costs more than other bandwidth depending on what you want to access.

The actual rules will be published in the near future, but the impact is a good one for anyone who has, or is wanting to start, a site on the internet. Your site will remain as accessible as all others.


Brown Bag Lunch at the River Garden: Technology That You Can Borrow From Brooks Library

Bring your lunch and learn about tech toys you can borrow from Brooks Library! As part of the Strolling of the Heifers Brown Bag Lunch Series, Reference Librarian Jeanne Walsh and Library Director Jerry Carbone will talk about the technology that you can borrow from Brooks Memorial Library.

The library has pre-loaded Kindles, Nooks, and iPads and more. The library also has a LCD projector, Canon Digital camera, and portable screen, which were received as part of a Vermont Economic Development Project from the Vermont Department of Libraries. The policy and procedures needed to borrow these items will be reviewed at that time. 


At Brooks Library: Revenge – A Reading and Discussion Series

Revenge– A Reading and Discussion Series on Wednesdays 7 pm – 8:30 pm. What are the causes of revenge? What are the consequences? Is taking revenge ever justified? Explore this most passionate and provocative of human desires through drama, short stories, and novels. Join Vermont Humanities Scholar and long-time Brooks facilitator Richard Wizansky for an evening of engaged discussion on this universal topic. First in the four-part series: Agamemnon. Books are available for checkout at the circulation desk.

The books, which will be available for checkout, are the following:
February 25, 7 PM: Aeschylus, Agamemnon
March 18, 7 PM: E.L. Doctorow, Welcome to Hard Times
April 15, 7 PM: Andre Dubus, Selected Stories
May 27, 7 PM: Russell Banks, The Sweet Hereafter


Brattleboro Women’s Chorus Spring Session Begins

The spring session of the Brattleboro Women’s Chorus begins Wednesday, March 4 at 7:00 – 9:00 pm, and there is a second rehearsal option of Thursday, March 5 at 10:00 – Noon. These first rehearsals are open to anyone interested in trying out chorus without obligation. Both sessions will be held at Centre Congregational Church on Main Street. This is a location change until April for the Wednesday rehearsal.

Founder-director Becky Graber will lead the chorus in songs of travel in preparation for two concerts in May. Participation in the concerts is optional. All women and girls ages 10 and above are welcome to join without audition or previous musical experience. Financial aid is available.


BCTV Channel 8 & 10 Schedules for the Week of 2/23/15

BCTV Ch.8 schedule for the week of 2/23/15

Monday, February 23, 2015

12:00 am Energy Week Extra: Aquaponics

1:00 am A Crazy Cat Lady: Kitty Kisses

2:00 am Green Mountain Vets for Peace: Police Militarization

3:00 am VT Religious Leaders’ Call for Reevaluation of F-35 Base in Burlington


1849 Opening of the Vermont and Massachusetts Railroad

The Vermont Phoenix account of the first train arriving in Brattleboro, from Boston, on February 20, 1849.

Celebration of the Opening of the Vermont and Massachusetts Railroad

This celebration took place on Tuesday last, the 20th inst., and will be long remembered by those who were present at it. By the arrangements made, the cars from Boston were to arrive about 1 o’clock P.M., but owning to the large train of passengers, they did not arrive until 3 P.M. Our citizens, and guests from the adjacent country, in the mean time were assembled “en masse” – and notwithstanding the long delay, had not the least difficulty in keeping cool.


6th Annual Brattleboro Rotary Club “International Film & Food Festival” Set for March 1st

The Brattleboro Rotary Club is raising money to help upgrade the radio station KILI, a non-profit radio station broadcasting to the Lakota people on the  Pine Ridge, Cheyenne River, and  Rosebud Indian Reservations, part of the Great Sioux Nation in South Dakota.

On Sunday, March 1, 2015, from 4-8PM at the New England Youth Theatre, the Brattleboro Rotary Club will be sponsoring the sixth annual “International Film & Food Festival,” with proceeds benefiting KILI which serves 30,000 people on the three reservations and seeks to preserve Native American culture and instill pride in the peoples’ unique heritage.


Puppies and Pigs

From the Vermont Phoenix, Feb. 21, 1896, comes a story of puppies and pigs.

“Michael L. is a son of Erin’s Isle. His facial expression and his linguistic accomplishments would be convulsive proof before a jury.

Michael is not afraid of trichinosis, and recently bought two infantile porkers in Brattleboro, to be raised on his Vernon farm.

Michael started for home with his pigs, but he stopped at a wayside in in Guilford, presumably to get refreshments. While he was there some fun-loving person released his pigs from the bag and put two small puppies in their place.


Weekend Comedy Series: Mitch Hedberg

This is a follow up to our Steven Wright show of last week. If you liked that one, you should enjoy this one as well. Mitch Hedberg is similar in style, doing a surreal series of nervous, one-liner, observational jokes.

I love his delivery and perspective. It’s too bad he checked out at an early age (37) so we don’t have more of his humor to look forward to, but he also seems to be one of the sorts of people that didn’t quite fit in on planet earth. His making sense of his time here was his craft.


Write Action Radio Hour: Mary Wilkins Freeman’s The Revolt of Mother, on WVEW 107.7 FM

Mary Wilkins Freeman is one of Brattleboro’s “lost treasures” and on the third and fourth Sundays of each month,

Write Action will be featuring some of her best stories, as well as biographical and historical information.

This Sunday, February 22,  at from 5 -6 PM, the Write Action Radio Hour will offer a reading of “The Revolt of Mother”, one of her most anthologized and critically acclaimed stories. Freeman’s story, The Revolt of Mother, is one told with both humor, anger, compassion and detail. It’s a small masterpiece. 


New! Tech Tips Program at Brooks LIbrary

Library technology: All Your Questions Answered! Join Reference Librarian Jeanne Walsh on the first Tuesday (4 PM to 6 PM) and first Friday (11 AM to 1 PM) of the month for one-on-one help on the various aspects of library technology, such as downloading e-books and e-audio; accessing your library account to place holds, renew your items, suggest new titles for the collection, make lists of your favorite titles to share with your fellow library users.

Get help with online tasks like filling out forms and emailing attachments.…and more. NO QUESTIONS ARE TOO SMALL OR TOO SILLY! Bring your devices if you have them: iPads, smartphones, laptops, etc.


On Exhibit at Brooks Library

ON EXHIBIT at Brooks Library in February:

MAIN FLOOR: Sequencing paintings by local artists and students River Gallery School of Art. The RGS is a vibrant hub for Brattleboro’s artistic community, with bright, spacious studios on Main Street overlooking the Whetstone Brook.

Founded in 1976, RGS offers classes, community workshops, and summer and school vacation programs for students of all ages.  Our core faculty members are all professional working artists, and teach a wide range of visual media including all types of painting, drawing, printmaking, and encaustics. RGS also partners with community organizations to offer classes to seniors and adults with physical and cognitive challenges