Arts Calendar

Let it Bee Arts and Craft Fair

A day of workshops, music, food, and holiday shopping!

Join GCC and Center for Sustainable Systems for a day long event celebrating the natural world.

Workshops:

Learn to make Beeswrap, balms and lotions, seed bombs, origami, and more

Vendors will be on hand selling pottery, honey, beeswax products, quilts, leather goods, art, jewelry and so much more!!

Music, raffled food!!

The Touch of Vermont Holiday Gift Market is the spot to buy gifts from some of the best makers in Vermont. When you "gift local" you not only support our Vermont community, but also turn your friends and family onto another great Vermont business. From booze to booties, clay to quilts and sweets to balms, the Touch of Vermont Holiday Gift Market has crafts from over 45 Vermont artisans to complete your gift list.

Experience the warm hospitality of Old New England, when Woodstock’s most charming houses deck their halls and open their doors for what has become a quintessential holiday tradition, now in its 18th year. Docents are present at each location to provide historical information and answer questions.

Start your day with hot coffee or cocoa and a muffin, tour a wonderful group of historic houses and return whenever you feel the need to relax, refresh or warm up! Our theatre is open throughout the day with holiday music for a festive feeling, and our new boxed lunch option is an inviting, casual way to gear up before the charming historic parade.

Stop by Catamount Arts during St. Johnsbury's Victorian Holiday celebration and create your own dangling cube out of heavy paper, ribbon, rhinestones and other decorative elements. There's even a secret place for a tiny gift. This fun project makes a great ornament, but also can be hung in any spot that could use some glam.

Children under 8 years old should be accompanied by an older family member.

Kids create holiday crafts and gifts for family and friends and enjoy the afternoon in a holiday-themed play space.

$10 suggested donation

Join us for a holiday book signing featuring The House that Santa (Almost) Missed, a heartwarming story for young and old by Vermont author and illustrator Paul Laud. The House that Santa (Almost) Missed is a whimsical, rhyming tale about a Christmas Eve snow storm which buries one house so deep that Santa winds up passing it by. The story ends with a happy lesson about love and magic, and sharing from the heart.

KCP Presents
Five-time Grammy Award-winning masters of a cappella

Saturday, December 14, 7:00 pm

Location:
Fuller Hall
St. Johnsbury Academy
1000 Main St.
St. Johnsbury, VT

Tickets: $52, $42, $32, $15. Students free.
Ticket prices do not include any applicable fees or sales taxes.

Save 20% when you buy by November 14. Discount is automatically reflected when you choose your seats.

Seniors and Catamount Arts members save $3.00 when ordering in person with id at the box office.

“Stunning reinventions of songs with subtle beatboxing and audacious harmonies... superhero singing to truly raise goosebumps.” – The Guardian (London)

“The legendary Swingle Singers navigated the dauntingly virtuosic terrain with breathtaking and often quite beautiful results.” – Bay Area Reporter (San Francisco)

“The Swingle Singers pitched those mysteriously lovely chords with laser-like precision... a triumph” – The Daily Telegraph (London)

The festive season hasn’t truly begun until you’ve spent an evening wrapped in the warm vocal magic of The Swingles. With folk and jazz-inspired a cappella originals alongside traditional carols and holiday favorites, the five-time Grammy winners evoke ice-bound worlds, blankets of snow and fireside sing-alongs.

For more than half a century, The Swingles have pushed the boundaries of vocal music. The seven young singers that make up today’s London-based group are driven by the same innovative spirit that has defined them since they first made waves in the 1960s. At a time when a cappella music is more popular than ever, The Swingles are recognized as masters of their craft.

The Swingles have appeared on numerous film and TV soundtracks, including Sex and the City, Wedding Crashers, Grey’s Anatomy and Glee. In 2017, they co-wrote and performed a song for the end credits of Alexander Payne’s film Downsizing. Their prolific output of music videos has also earned them millions of views online and new audiences around the world.

The Swingles display their uncommon range and diversity through dozens of collaborations, performing to great acclaim around the world, including recent performances at San Francisco’s Davies Symphony Hall with Michael Tilson Thomas, London’s Royal Festival Hall with Vladimir Jurowsky, and Milan’s La Scala with John Axelrod.

Performing gospel music from and inspired by the African-American tradition. This non-denominational community choir, with members from across central and northern Vermont, strives to celebrate and honor gospel’s rich native choral heritage, and its power to move people spiritually and to create a profound sense of community. We will be collecting winter hats, mittens and gloves for Good Samaritan Haven shelters. John Harrison, artistic director.
First Presbyterian Church, 19 South Seminary Street, Barre, VT. 7 pm. Suggested donation $10-$30. Info: 802-778-0881, vtgospel.com or facebook.com/vtgospel.

Alex Smith will be performing "mountain folk" music for the Burnham Music Series, Burnham Hal, 52 River Rd. in Lincoln on Saturday, December 14th at 7:30 p.m. Alex Smith builds songs from a blend of traditional folk harmony and strikingly modern lyrics, confronting today's most pressing issues with a style of honest and accurate observation often compared to songwriters Stan Rogers and Jason Isbell.$10 for adults, teens and kids are free. Refreshments during intermission.

Solaris Vocal Ensemble, under the direction of Dr. Dawn Willis, Artistic Director, will present Sing We Now of Christmas Holiday Concerts at the Waterbury Congregational Church on Friday, December 13th at 7:30 pm, the Charlotte Congregational Church on Saturday, December 14th at 7:30 pm and at the College St. Congregational Church, Burlington on Sunday, December 15th at 3:00 pm. The concert will feature Dominick Argento’s exuberant Gloria.  Argento passed away earlier this year and Solaris will be paying tribute to this Pulitzer Prize winning composer.  Also featured is renowned harpist Rebecca Kauffman who will join Solaris for several pieces including a newly-composed arrangement of O Come, O Come Emmanuel by Solaris tenor James Stewart.  Eric Whitacre’s stunning Lux Aurumque, excerpts from Felix Mendelssohn’s Christus and Randall Thompson’s stirring interpretation of the classic Robert Frost poem, Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening will make for a stirring and joyful holiday performance not soon to be forgotten. Tickets are available at flynntix.org and at the door.  For more information please visit –www.SolarisEnsemble.org

Nova Scotia’s powerhouse Còig presents an evening of fiery Celtic tunes from their 2019 album Ashlar.

Còig is one of Atlantic Canada’s most exciting Celtic traditional groups made up of four accomplished multi-instrumentalists, Chrissy Crowley, Rachel Davis, Darren McMullen, and Jason Roach. With the fiery Celtic high-energy style as its musical core, Còig easily shifts between century-old tunes of past generations to original and upbeat compositions, featuring the band’s range of over a dozen instruments (vocals, fiddles, piano, guitars, banjo, mandolin, viola, bouzouki, whistles, and more). With driving tunes, haunting songs and infectious energy, Còig is an unparalleled music force.

The Bel Canto Chamber Singers presents its December 2019 concert “Make We Joy.” We celebrate the joy of the Christmas Season with festive music for choir, brass and piano. Featured pieces include the cantata Vidimus Stellam by Kevin Siegfried and In Dulci Jubilo by Michael Praetorius, both accompanied by the Royal Towne Brass quintet. Also on the program are traditional and contemporary carols and Appalachian and African-American gospel arrangements. The full music program will be available on our website, www.BelCantoSingers.org. Jane Woods is music director and Jeanne Chambers is pianist. Concerts will be on Saturday, December 14, 2019 at 7:30 pm and Sunday, December 15, 2019 at 4:00 pm at the First Congregational Church, 10 S. Park St., Lebanon, NH 03766. Admission is $15 for adults, $10 for students and free for those under 13. A reception will follow both concerts. Facebook: @BelCantoChamberSingers

Small Works - Holiday Show 2019
Opening Reception Friday, December 6th at 5:30pm-7:30pm
An exhibit of small works presented for sale during the holiday season. Included is our "mini exhibit", a wall of 50 panels measuring 50 sq inches each - 50@ 50!

Exhibit Dates: December 6-21st
Gallery Hours: Tuesday - Saturday, 11am-4pm

Matilda: The Musical Is The Perfect Holiday Show
New England Youth Theatre proudly presents Matilda: The Musical, the final show of their celebratory 20th season. Dubbed as “Broadway’s Biggest Little Hero,” Matilda follows the story of an unlikely heroine who dares to take a stand and change her own destiny. Playing December 12 - 22 at 100 Flat Street in downtown Brattleboro, the Tony Award-winning musical is based on the novel by the brilliantly batty Roald Dahl, a book by Dennis Kelly with music and lyrics by Tim Minchin.
Playing multiple parts in the show are Margot Potter and Hazel Kinnersley, both veterans of the NEYT stage. “I love being able to play all these different characters, I get to see all these different parts of me that I never knew existed,” says Potter. “The dancing has been really interesting, especially incorporating the Broadway choreography,” adds Kinnersley.
Directed by NEYT Exectuive Director, Hallie Flower, Matilda is a joyous childhood power romp, packed with high-energy dance numbers, catchy songs and an unforgettable ensemble of revolting children. Adults and kids alike will be thrilled and delighted by the story of the special little girl with an extraordinary imagination, a girl brave enough to take her destiny into her own hands.
Matilda plays December 12,13,14, 19, 20, 21 at 7pm, December 14,15, 21,22 at 2pm; all performances are at 100 Flat Street in Brattleboro VT. Tickets are $11 - $15. Tickets can be purchased at www.neyt.org or by phone at 802-246-6398. NEYT is an accessible theater, with accommodations for wheelchairs, and Assistive Listening Devices. This show was made possible through support from The Winston Prouty Center for Child & Family Development, Europa IT and The Brattleboro Savings & Loan Association. NEYT is also supported by the Vermont Children's Trust Fund, Vermont Arts Council, and the National Endowment for the Arts.

Melanie Brotz presents 15 paintings - impressions of the landscapes and surroundings she experienced this fall on the Camino de Santiago in Spain. Her body of work is part of a group show at the Flynn Dog gallery presented by Art Tribe - a collective of women artists in the Burlington area.

The 2019 Chandler Holiday Artisans' Market offers a beautiful selection of fine art, crafts, and local products, presenting a variety of creative work that exemplifies the talent of area artisans and local food producers. It has earned a region-wide reputation as a rewarding place for holiday shopping among area residents and visitors alike. The Artisans Holiday Market offers shoppers the opportunity to show support for local independent businesses and artists, while also helping to raise funds for future programming and exhibits at Chandler.

For detailed information about hours, contact

It’s that wonderful time of year! For one month, Helen Day Art Center will again dedicate our gallery walls to our valued members for the Members’ Art Show & Sale. Simultaneously we present the Festival of Trees & Light.

Please join us in celebrating the season with a vibrant group exhibition featuring the artwork of our members, evergreen trees decorated with ornaments handmade by master artisans, and a beautiful Hanukkah display of menorahs, games, and dreidels. With works available from ceramic sculpture to fine art photographs, it will also be a perfect opportunity to find a unique and meaningful holiday gift.

The opening reception is Friday, December 6, 2019 from 5pm - 7pm. Enjoy a feast of hors d'oeuvres generously provided by local restaurants, holiday crafts in the hands-on room, and the festive community atmosphere that makes the Art Center what it is - a place to gather and celebrate creativity. This event is free and family friendly!

In 1991 Robert Mallory Klein, a world-traveled, retired diplomat living in Elmore, decided to paint the villages and hamlets of Vermont’s Northeast Kingdom – over 100 in all. He spent many consecutive summers painting several views of each. His broad strokes of bold color, afforded by summer light and reminiscent of Hopper, portray routine places that one might otherwise take for granted. Klein painted ordinary scenes – the farmhouse, the local breakfast counter, patched roofs and leaning porches – and captured the lives of the people who lived there, however modest and humble. What remains are the enduring images of the towns and villages he loved. In a sense he documented a history of the Northeast Kingdom; many of the places have changed with the times; many remain the same, and some no longer exist.

On display at The Museum of Everyday Life through the end of the year, “The Pivot and the Blade (an intimate look at scissors)" looks at the long human relationship to scissors. We’ll reveal the elegance of scissors design, and explore the myriad professional, creative, superstitious, violent and domestic uses of scissors throughout the ages. All kinds of scissors will be on display, in addition to our ever-expanding permanent collection of everyday life objects. The Museum of Everyday Life is a self-service museum, open every day from 8am-8pm, and is located at 3482 Dry Pond Rd. (Rt. 16) in Glover, a short distance South of the Shadow Lake Rd. See www.museumofeverydaylife.org for more details.

The Front presents SHOW 36! Join us for the opening reception on December 6 during ArtWalk 4-8 pm. Free and open to the public—join us for live music, food and drink while you take in recent works by the membership of Montpelier’s sole collective art gallery! Gallery Hours: Fridays, 4 to 7 p.m.; Saturdays, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.; and Sundays, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. The gallery is also open by appointment - email info@thefrontvt.com.

The T.W. Wood Art Gallery is pleased to announce an upcoming exhibit by Elliot Burg and Athena Tasiopoulos. The exhibit will run from November 5th, 2019 to January 3rd, 2020. All shows are free and open to the public. Reception - November 7th - 5:00 - 7:00pm, Artist Talk - December 6th - 5:00pm

Elliot Burg is a freelance photographer from Middlesex, Vermont. In 2018, Elliot Burg traveled to Havana, Cuba, to capture portraits and photograph musicians and dancers in the streets playing music and moving their bodies to the rhythms of salsa and reggaetón.

Athena Petra Tasiopoulos is a mixed media collage artist and fine art photographer. The artist creates surface texture, depth, and dimension by covering and inscribing paper and photographic collages with encaustic. By re-inventing antiquated portraits, Tasiopoulos allows her subjects to transcend the constraints of time and place.

November 20, 2019 – January 5, 2020

Based on the true story of the Von Trapp Family Singers, this play offers a tale of personal growth and hope amidst the horrors of World War II. Young postulant Maria Rainer is a free spirit who has trouble fitting into the rules and regulations of Nonnberg Abbey. Commissioned by the Mother Abbess to serve as the governess for seven motherless children, Maria transforms the Von Trapp family home from a place of dour rules and regulations to one filled with joy, laughter, and music. The classic score by Rodgers and Hammerstein features some of Broadway’s greatest songs such as “My Favorite Things,” “Do-Re-Mi,” and “Climb Ev’ry Mountain.”

The Vermont Pastel Society ( VPS) is an all-volunteer organization founded in 1999 by award-winning artist Sean Dye. The purpose of VPS is to build and strengthen connections among pastel artists. VPS now has over 120 members and is open to all levels of pastel artists. The organization sponsors workshops and hosts both member and juried exhibitions in various locations around the state.

Recently, the organization has been divided up into six smaller groups, called “hubs” in order for members to get to know other nearby pastelists and to share in local activities, whether it is a workshop, an exhibit or just getting together to paint. The Montpelier area is called the Central Vermont Hub and boasts more than 35 members, fourteen of whom are exhibiting work in this show. We believe that the variety of subjects, styles, compositions and colors in these paintings demonstrate the versatility, the beauty and the brilliance of pastels.

We hope you love the medium of pastels just as much as we do!

For further information, please see: www.vermontpastelsociety.com

Opening Reception for Let it Bee: The Garage Cultural Center will be celebrating the work of three talented Vermont artists who work with encaustics, an ancient technique of adding pigmented colors to melted beeswax. Dona Mara Friedman and Jan Sandman create colorful mixed media work by using this technique with their abstract paintings. Dona Mara Friedman quotes: “My paintings are dealing with planes of space that convey implied places of interest, beauty and wonder.” These two artists share a similar sensibility in their use of color and artistic concepts.

Peggy Smith creates stunning mixed media photography and through her use of materials and imagery she designs compelling visual compositions. “My work has to have color, it has to flow, it has to explode, it should dance and sing, bring joy, sorrow or laughter to me. I weave a story into the creation of every piece I make. Discovering photo encaustic was an amazing revelation. I could take my photographs and push the limit with this medium. The photograph becomes part of the canvas, but it no longer takes center stage. It joins the rest of the canvas as part of a larger concept." – Peggy Smith

UPCOMING EXHIBITION

Joel D. Barber, Swan, Havre de Grace, 1950. Watercolor and ink on paper, 17 7/16 x 23 9/16 in. Collection of Shelburne Museum, gift of J. Watson, Jr., Harry H., and Samuel B. Webb. 1952-192.388. Photography by Andy Duback.

This monographic exhibition is the first of its kind to focus on the life and artwork of architect, author, illustrator, and pioneering decoy collector Joel D. Barber (1876-1952). Featuring more than 100 decoys, drawings, historical photographs, and watercolors from Shelburne Museum’s extensive collection and archives, the exhibition will be organized into five thematic sections. The first section explores Barber’s introduction to the world of wildfowl decoys and his early collecting years. The next section focuses on the Art Deco-inspired watercolors he used to illustrate his groundbreaking first book Wild Fowl Decoys published in 1934. The third section chronicles his various attempts at trying to design the perfect “Modern” decoy, amalgams based on historical precedents found in his collection. The fourth section examines the numerous ways Barber exhibited his collection publicly to shine a spotlight on decoys, including: duck shows, art exhibitions, and the establishment of the world’s first decoy museum in 1947. Using existing watercolor portraits and measured drawings, the fifth and final section pieces together Barber’s unfinished second book The Decoys of North America, an ambitious project that consumed the final three years of his life.