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Working to advance and preserve the arts at the center of Vermont communities.
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WOODSTOCK — The Pentangle Council on the Arts has received a $20,000 grant to update the Town Hall Theatre.
The matching grant from the Vermont Arts Council will be used to improve the theater's audio, visual and stage curtain systems to meet modern technology standards.
"Needless to say, we're thrilled about this auspicious holiday gift," said Pentangle Director Partridge Boswell. "(It's) a signal from the state that our plans for capital improvements are officially sanctioned and under way. At the same time, we are mindful of the stipulation that Pentangle must raise additional funds to receive the grant and ultimately complete proposed upgrades."
The theater's stage lighting and draperies, virtually unchanged since the Town Hall's renovation in 1986, have been targeted for replacement for years. Pentangle does not own a sound system and spends between $15,000 and $20,000 a year in equipment rentals.
For more information about Pentangle's efforts to raise the money to match the grant, call 457-3931 or e-mail Boswell at director@pentanglearts.org.
The Henry Sheldon Museum has received a $9460.00 Cultural Facilities Grant from the Vermont Arts Council to make its front entrance wheelchair accessible. The project will complete the Museum’s recent reopening of its historic front door entrance by making it welcoming to all its visitors. Elements will include creating a paved earthen ramp to the south end of the Museum’s front porch, adding historically sensitive wrought iron handrails and fitting the original double doors with automatic door openers. The Sheldon will now be seeking required matching funds so that the work can go forward this spring. The Cultural Facilities Grant is administered by the Vermont Arts Council in conjunction with the Vermont Historical Society (www.vermonthistory.org) , the Vermont Museum & Gallery Alliance (www.vmga.org) , and the Vermont Division for Historic Preservation (www.historicvermont.org) . The program is funded through an annual appropriation in the State of Vermont’s Capital Budget. This year grants totaling $201,628 were awarded to fourteen institutions to improve existing facilities and expand their capacity to provide cultural activities for the public. The recipients were honored in a ceremony at the Vermont State House on Wednesday, January 6th.
Now in its 21st year, the purpose of this program is to assist Vermont nonprofit organizations and municipalities to enhance, create or expand the capacity of an existing building to provide cultural activities for the public. As a result of these grants, improvements to public cultural facilities have enabled citizens of all ages and abilities to enjoy more cultural events while increasing their participation in the heritage of their communities. More than 90 organizations have been funded in the past six years alone.
“We are thrilled and grateful to have received this grant from the Vermont Arts Council,” said Sheldon Museum Executive Director, Jan Albers. “It will help the Museum to ensure that all people who want to explore the region’s history will have equal access to our programs and resources. We want the public to know that everyone is welcome to come through our front door.”
The Unitarian Universalist Church in Williamstown is among fourteen Vermont institutions which received Cultural Facilities Grants in a ceremony at the Vermont State House last week.
The church received a grant of $5,210 to upgrade its electrical system to code.
The Cultural Facilities Grant Program funds projects that improve existing cultural facilities and expand their capacity to provide cultural activities in their communities.
The recipients were chosen by a panel of community members and experts in cultural facilities, historic buildings, and accessibility. Twenty Vermont organizations applied for Cultural Facilities funding this year.
Now in its 20th year, the purpose of this program is to assist Vermont nonprofit organizations and municipalities enhance, create or expand the capacity of an existing building to provide cultural activities for the public. These enhancements allow citizens of all ages and abilities to enjoy cultural events while increasing their participation in the heritage of their communities. More than 90 organizations have been funded in the past six years alone.
The Cultural Facilities Grant program is administered by the Vermont Arts Council in conjunction with the Vermont Historical Society, the Vermont Museum & Gallery Alliance, and the Vermont Division for Historic Preservation. The program is funded through an annual appropriation in the Capital Budget.
Since 1964, the Vermont Arts Council has been the state’s primary provider of funding, advocacy and information for the arts in Vermont. It strives to increase public awareness of the positive role artists and arts organizations play in communities and to increase opportunities for Vermonters to experience the arts in everyday life. The Council is the only designated State Arts Agency in the U.S. that is also an independent, not-for-profit, membership organization. For more information on the programs and services of the Vermont Arts Council, visit www.vermontartscouncil. org.
By Martha Slater
Kimball Library Director Amy Grasmick was thrilled to get the good news recently that the Vermont Arts Council has awarded the library a $20,000 grant towards installing a fire sprinkler system.
The grant is a one-to-one grant that the library trustees will match with money from bequests to cover the total $40,000 cost of the project.
“This is the first time that I’m aware of that we’ve applied for a Vermont Arts Council grant,” said Grasmick, who has been at Kimball since December 2001. “The funding for the arts council program is approved annually by the Vermont Legislature. I’m grateful to them for making money available to help projects like this in communities around the state. We had to be very specific about the project we wanted them to give us funds for. We applied for the grant in October and got the notification last month that we’d been approved. It was an early Christmas present!”
Grasmick explained that she expected to get the sprinkler system installed within this calendar year, adding, “The trickiest part will be getting the water supply in from the water main on the street in front of the building. We’ve been in touch with the town water and sewer department to see how it can be accomplished.”
She went on to note that, “The sprinkler system is only a part of a larger project. On behalf of Kimball Library and Chandler, the town has applied for stimulus funds that the state is distributing to help with energy efficiency projects. That grant program is called the Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grant (EECBG) and Chandler and Kimball have both applied for insulation. At the library, that money would be used to install it in the attic floor and to seal around the skylight.”
Grasmick said the two projects (sprinkler system and insulation) are linked “because the work will be happening in the same area of the building. The town has made it through the preliminary process and now Chandler and Kimball will submit a comprehensive application, which is due near the end of February.”
Grasmick noted that there had been many capital improvements in the nine years she has been at Kimball.
“In 2000, the Freeman family gave $10 million that was awarded to Vermont public libraries over the course of three years,” she said. “Kimball has used the money it received to do major renovations in the young adult room, get new lighting on the main level, and do foundation work and technology upgrades. With other funds, we also made repairs to the front porch area, and just installed new carpeting.”
“This building may be 106 years old, but it’s in really good condition, due to generations of trustees who have maintained it so well, ” Grasmick concluded. “The new sprinkler system is insurance to give us a much better chance of saving the building if there ever was a fire.”
Governor James H Douglas and the Vermont Arts Council are pleased to announce Eric Bass and Ines Zeller Bass as the 2010 recipients of the Governor’s Award for Excellence in the Arts. The founders of Sandglass Theater in Putney, VT will be honored in a public ceremony at the State House on Thursday, February 11, 2010 beginning at 7:00 PM. The free event will include a performance by Sandglass Theater and friends.
The Governor’s Award is Vermont’s highest honor in the arts. Since 1968, it is has been presented annually to artists who have achieved national or international stature for making a significant contribution to the advancement of their chosen art form.
Eric and Ines have worked in the theater as directors, playwrights, performers, and mask and puppet makers for more than 30 years. They founded Sandglass Theater in Munich, Germany in 1982 and relocated to Putney, VT in 1986. In 1996 they opened their 60-seat theater in the heart of Putney Village.
Sandglass Theater has become an internationally renowned theater company specializing in the use of the puppet and visual imagery. Their productions have toured 25 countries, performing in theaters, festivals and cultural institutions, and garnering many international prizes. A review in Geneva, Switzerland’s Le Courrier said, “Eric Bass is known all over the world today for having brought puppets out of their traditional toy closets. His shows are each time more stunning…. Like all great art, it is a constellation of humorous touches and tenderness. The magic is born of gesture, from the movement of these dolls, as if they were animated, with the real breath of life.”
Sandglass works have been presented at the Brooklyn Academy of Music Next Wave Festival, Jim Henson Festival at Joseph Papp Public Theater, and at PS 122 in New York City. Eric and Ines received a Citation of Merit from the Vermont Arts Council in 2004 and a Vermont Senate Concurrent Resolution honoring their work in 2006.
“Sandglass Theater is one of a very few puppet companies in the nation with a well-deserved international reputation,” said Arts Council Executive Director Alexander L. Aldrich. “Eric and Ines Bass have built Sandglass into a destination not just for tourists and audience members, but for artists in other fields like music, dance, and circus arts who wish to collaborate with them. We couldn’t be more delighted with their selection.”
The award ceremony will be followed by a reception in the Cedar Creek Room at the Vermont State House. For more information, visit www.vermontartscouncil.org.
Vermont artists have turned their creativity into kindness.
Monday, the Vermont Arts Council presented the Vermont Foodbank with more than $10,000. It was raised in an auction back in November and December. Dozens of artists and craftspeople donated work to help the non-profit feed hungry Vermonters.
Diane Scolaro of the Vermont Arts Council says, "When we made that check presentation to them, it felt so good. Their need is up 40% this year over last year. So we know they'll do good work with it."
The Arts Council plans another fundraising auction late this year.
The nation’s smallest state capital (population 7,806 in 2007), like the little state it represents, offers outsized opportunities for shopping, relaxation, and fun, making it a good weekend getaway for singles or couples. Its downtown winds around branches of the Winooski River and includes bookstores, art galleries, a regional theater, and a surprising depth of dining options. State Street runs from downtown to the striking capitol building, which is surrounded by other state offices, several of them hewn from the famous Barre granite that helped fuel the central Vermont economy for generations. Through it all runs the hardy, indepen-dent spirit of the region, mak-ing a current motto seem apropos: a little capital goes a long way.
Stay
Though locals may not like to admit it, Montpelier was chartered in 1781 to a group of settlers from Massachusetts. It was named for the city of Montpellier in southern France, and itself became a city in 1895. The Inn at Montpelier (147 Main St., 802-223-2727, www.innatmontpelier.com, $132-$229) dates to the early 1800s, just as Vermont was settling on Montpelier as its seat of government. The inn boasts 19 rooms in two buildings with a sweeping wraparound porch. The Capitol Plaza Hotel (100 State St., 802-223-5252, 800-274-5252, www.capitolplaza.com, $106-$329) sits within view of the 1859 State House and features 62 rooms. Betsy’s Bed and Breakfast, 74 East State St., 802-229-0466, www.central-vt.com/web/betsybb, $70-$140) has 13 rooms in a pair of Victorian homes a block from downtown.
Dine
Hungry? You can choose from several bakery-cafes, pizza joints, and cuisines ranging from African (Samosaman Cafe, 72 Main St., 802-778-9303) to Indian to Irish to . . . well, American. J. Morgan’s Steakhouse, inside the Capitol Plaza Hotel, entrees $12.99-$31.99) serves seafood and pasta, but favors beef in a major way, including a selection of steak toppings from whiskey glaze to brown sugar espresso-rubbed (don’t worry, it’s decaf). Positive Pie (22 State St., 802-229-0453, www.positivepie.com, $9-$21) started in nearby Plainfield and opened its second space here in 2005. Owner Carlo Rovetto has built a spacious, lively restaurant-bar, with a takeout counter out back for a quick slice to go. Try the melenzana, which features tomato sauce, breaded eggplant, feta, and mozzarella, with a pesto swirl. Inspired by her grandmother’s soups and by a commitment to local growers, Pam Root opened That’s Life Soup (41 Elm St., 802-223-5333) in 2006. She offers salads and sandwiches as well, but the traditionally prepared soups - at least four options a day - bring them in. Birchgrove Baking (279 Elm St., 802-223-0200, www.birchgrovebaking.com) is worth the short drive out of downtown. Owners Jennifer Toce and John Belding both trained at the New England Culinary Institute in town, and their assortment of homemade cakes, cookies, tarts, and pastries is augmented by coffee, tea, espresso drinks, and lunch offerings.
During the day
The Vermont Arts Council was founded here in 1964, and the creative bent continues, with more than a dozen craft shops and art galleries. Global Gifts (7 Langdon St., 802-229-2777), a block from downtown just over the bridge, features art and accessories from the world over. Rivendell Books (100 Main St., 802-223-3928, www.central-vt.com/web/rivendell) and Bear Pond Books (77 Main St., 802-229-0774, www.bearpondbooks.com) are both owned by Claire Benedict and Robert Kasow, who offer new and used titles, plus evening readings by Vermont authors, some 30 of whom are featured on the Bear Pond website. A less sedentary option is to go cross-country skiing or snowshoeing at Morse Farm (1168 County Road, 802-223-0090, www.skimorsefarm.com, $13 adults, $9 ages 7-12 and seniors, rentals available), just three miles north of town, where the Nordic ski and snowshoe trails were designed by two-time Olympian John Morton.
After dark
The Black Door Bar & Bistro (44 Main St., 802-223-7070, www.blackdoorvt.com) offers live music, comedy, poetry, and dancing to DJs in its third-floor lounge. McGillicuddy’s Irish Pub (14 Langdon St., 802-223-2721) is a great spot to watch the game, engage in a trivia contest, and order from an extensive appetizer and burger menu. The Savoy The | | |