Eva Nolan for WSESD Board

This Tuesday, please consider casting a vote for Eva Nolan as one of Dummerston’s 2 representatives on the WSESD school board, which serves Dummerston, Brattleboro, Putney, and Guilford.

Her background as a mother of 2 boys, a bachelor’s degree in criminal justice, and years of professional experience in outreach and support to survivors of abuse, Eva is uniquely qualified for this role.


Guilford Play Seems Eerily Familiar

For its fall production, Guilford Center Stage will present a staged reading of”It Can’t Happen Here” by Sinclair Lewis. There will be three performances October 18-20 at Broad Brook Community Center in Guilford.

Todd Mandell and Richard Wizansky will direct a cast of 11 community actors in this adaptation for the stage by Tony Taccone and Bennett S. Cohen.


Sept. 29: The Classical Guitar’s the Star!

West Brattleboro, Vt. — As a musical treat for local residents and foliage visitors alike, Friends of Music at Guilford (FOMAG) is presenting “A Celebration of the Classical Guitar” at 3:00 p.m. on Sunday, September 29, at All Souls UU Church in West Brattleboro. Featured performers include David William Ross and the Procter/Hale duo of Steve Procter, guitar, and Alison Hale, flute.

Vocalist Jessica Gelter introduced FOMAG to Keene-based guitarist Ross in February 2018, when he was a member of the instrumental trio for her performance of David Lang’s “Death Speaks,” the centerpiece of FOMAG’s musicale “The Last Dance.” Soon afterward, Ross queried whether FOMAG would host a solo guitar concert connected with his next recording project. This expanded celebration of the guitar evolved from that proposal.


WSESD New Merged School District Warns $50,000,000 Combined Budget for Guilford, Brattleboro, Dummerston and Putney Schools

Residents of Putney, Brattleboro, Dummerston and Guilford are invited to join the new merged school board, Windham Southeast School District Board, for our 2019-2020 Budget Process.

The first annual meeting of the new merged board will be held on Tuesday, June 25th. Voters present at the WSESD annual meeting will vote on the new merged budget. This budget is a compilation of the five independent district budgets developed by the Guilford, Dummerston, Putney and Brattleboro Town School Boards and the BUHS District #6 School Board (Brattleboro Union High School, Brattleboro Area Middle School, Windham Regional Career Center).


June 9: Big Woods Voices at FOMAG’s A Cappella à la Carte

Guilford, Vt. – Friends of Music at Guilford (FOMAG) presents its 53rd season finale on Sunday, June 9, an annual three-part event dubbed “A Cappella à la Carte.” Set at Guilford Community Church in the Algiers village of Guilford, just over a mile south of Exit 1 off I-91, the evening includes a short meeting, a potluck dinner, and a 7:30 concert of vocal music. Each optional segment is open to the general public; admission to the concert is by donation.

Beginning at 6 p.m., the FOMAG Annual Membership Meeting is typically short and entertaining. It offers a summary of the year, a look ahead to next season, and election of the board of trustees. The meeting is open to all, and even brand-new members that evening have voting privileges. The ensuing Community Potluck starts around 6:30 or so. FOMAG provides some sandwich fixings; other entrées, appetizers, salads, side dishes, and desserts are welcome. The desserts are held aside for a post-concert reception.


“Fine & Dandy” Gala Celebrates Gershwin’s Muse, Composer Kay Swift

West Brattleboro, Vt. – Friends of Music at Guilford’s tenth annual celebration of Women in Music begins at 6:00 p.m. on Sunday, April 14, and salutes Katherine Faulkner “Kay” Swift (1897-1993). She was a classically trained composer who became George Gershwin’s trusted musical advisor and companion. After Gershwin (1898-1937) encouraged her to compose popular music, Swift became the first woman to write a hit Broadway musical, “Fine and Dandy” (1930), now the borrowed title for FOMAG’s gala.

Some of both genres of music will be performed at this house-concert benefit for FOMAG’s current 53rd season. The program opens with a piano transcription of the Overture to “Fine and Dandy,” performed by Virginia Eskin, and later includes Swift’s Theme and Variations for Piano and Cello, performed with cellist Rebecca Hartka. Eskin will also accompany several songs from Swift’s musical theater and film scores featuring vocals by Jessica Gelter and Tony Grobe.


“Stolen Jewels”: Gems for Flute & Piano

FOMAG artists

Guilford, Vt. – Friends of Music at Guilford, now in its 53rd concert season, presents “Stolen Jewels,” its Midwinter Musicale, on Saturday, February 23, at 3:00 p.m. in the sanctuary of Guilford Community Church. Alison Hale, flute, and Christopher Lewis, piano, both busy teachers and guest artists, will perform four romantic duets transcribed for flute that were originally scored for other instruments with piano. The program of chamber favorites includes the Brahms Sonata in F minor for clarinet, the Schubert Arpeggione Sonata for Cello, the three Romances for Oboe by Schumann, and the Sonata in A Major for violin by Fauré.


Guilford Center Stage 2019 Season

Guilford Center Stage continues into its fifth year with spring and fall productions of plays ranging from nonsense to political satire, and having connections to Vermont, and Guilford, continuing its mission to present place-based theater on the stage at renovated Broad Brook Community Center.

“Alice” is the spring show, on the last weekend in April. The musical play, directed by Richard Epstein, is a reflection of a well-known Monteverdi Players production. The 1978 production of the familiar Lewis & John Carroll classic, which was performed on farm near Guilford Center, is condensed from the original 100-acre venue to the chamber-sized stage in the Grange hall, and will feature the musical score from the original play by composer Nicholas Humez. Evelyn McLean is vocal music director.


Verandah Porche’s Play in Guilford Nov. 24 & 25

Broad Brook Anthology, a Play for Voices by Guilford poet, Verandah Porche, will be this year’s final production of Guilford Center Stage. The production is in association with Monteverdi Artists Collaborative. There will be two performances this weekend: Saturday, Nov. 24 at 6:30 pm, and Sunday the 25th at 4:00 pm, at Guilford Center Meeting House. General admission as $10 at the door.

The work, based on recollections of Guilford elders, was first performed in 2011, as part of the Town of Guilford’s 250th anniversary, and includes projected photographs by Jeff Woodward, and music by Don McLean.


Guilford Polling Place & Hours

General Elections — you’ve probably been hearing about this! — are Tuesday, Nov. 6. Guilford polling place is back at Broad Brook Community Center, formerly the Grange, polls open 10 am – 7 pm. (This year’s Phase 1 of renovations will be completed by then, so your trip to the polls can be combined with a first look at the project: New access ramp out front and entry will make wheelchair access better than ever, and restrooms are now fully accessible, among other improvements.)

You will have the opportunity to vote for Congress, Statewide offices such as Governor, County posts such as High Bailiff and State Senator, and your Windham District-1 rep to the legislature. At the town level, there is a contest for Justices of the Peace.


Early Brattleboro Power Couple Royall and Mary Tyler Featured in Brattleboro Literary Festival True as Steel Staged Reading

A staged reading of True as Steel, a play in the words of early Brattleboro literary couple Royall & Mary Tyler, will be performed one time only on Thursday, October 11, at 7:30 pm at 118 Elliot, 118 Elliot Street in Brattleboro as the first act of this year’s Brattleboro Literary Festival. The play and an exhibition at Brooks Memorial Library are this year’s Lit Fest offerings highlighting the area’s rich literary history as a partner in the Brattleboro Words Project. Last year’s Lit Fest/‘Words’ event was a pop-up exhibit on Main Street on the life of Lucy Terry Prince, considered the nation’s first African American poet.


August 19: Christ Church 200th Birthday Gala

Guilford, Vt. — Guilford’s historic Christ Church, at the corner of Rt. 5 and Melendy Hill Rd., is celebrating its 200th birthday this year with a Benefit Concert and Silent Auction. Festivities begin at 3:00 p.m. on Sunday, August 19. Proceeds will provide critical funding for the Christ Church Guilford Society to maintain and improve the building, which has not had a resident congregation since the 1890s.

Internationally renowned instrumentalists Jaime Laredo and Lucy Chapman, violin; Kim Kashkashian, viola; Merry Peckham and Sharon Robinson, cello; and James Winn, flute, will share the stage with Ellen McCulloch-Lovell, who has written a commemorative poem for the occasion.


A Cappella à la Carte on June 8: Supper and Songs

Guilford, Vt. – Friends of Music at Guilford (FOMAG) presents its 52nd season finale on Friday, June 8, an annual three-part event dubbed “A Cappella à la Carte.” Set at two neighboring churches in the Algiers village of Guilford, just over a mile south of Exit 1 off I-91, the evening’s menu includes a short meeting, a potluck picnic, and a 7:30 concert of vocal music. Each optional segment is open to the general public; admission to the concert is by donation.

Beginning at 6 p.m. in Christ Church, at the corner of Melendy Hill Rd. and Rt. 5 south, the FOMAG Annual Membership Meeting is typically short and entertaining, and offers a summary of the year, a look ahead to next season, and election of the board of trustees.


Sara Coffey Running For State Representative for Vernon/Guilford

Sara Coffey, founder and Director of Vermont Performance Lab, has indicated her desire to be the next representative from Vernon and Guilford.

” I believe that it’s through coming together and listening to each other that we can find creative solutions to help keep our small rural communities strong, healthy and vibrant.”


Mother’s Day Brunch in Guilford

Broad Brook Grange will present its 22nd annual Mother’s Day Brunch on Sunday, May 13, from 7:00 am to 1:00 pm at the Broad Brook Community Center in Guilford.

 The all-you-can-eat brunch features eggs and omelettes, any style, made to order. Also on the menu are pancakes, French toast, sausage, bacon and home fries, with Guilford maple syrup. Other treats include home-baked coffee cakes and other baked goods, fresh fruit salad, and bread for toasting. A selection of juices will be available, along with coffee, teas and milk.