By Mary Ellen Shaw Before the pandemic I was watching a talk show that used to air on ABC. One of the hosts, Keke Palmer, who is her late 20s, said that when she was a child and didn’t know the meaning of a word her parents would tell her to look it up in…

By Susie Spikol Bent down in an apple field searching for a lost earring, I found a different treasure: a stout mouse-like animal, with a short tail and stubby ears. It gave me one quick look, then disappeared through a maze of tunnels in the thick autumn grass. I would have loved to follow this…

By Cassandra Tyndall Do you remember the iconic scene from the movie, “A Few Good Men,” when the character played by Tom Cruise goes on a relentless search for the truth behind a murdered Marine? After weeks of investigating, probing and being guided by instinct, the dramatic climax in the courtroom is a movie scene…

Holiday decorating contest offered this holiday season By Brooke Geery If you need a little motivation to deck out your house for the holidays this year, perhaps the chance for fame, glory and spectacular prizes will help you out. Enter Jeanette Langston of Social Tinkering, who took it upon herself to create a competition for…

For many families, it wouldn’t be Thanksgiving without turkey. But proper food preparation and handling is necessary to avoid an unwanted guest for the holiday, foodborne illness. According to Dr. Omar Oyarzabal, University of Vermont Extension food safety specialist, the best way to defrost or thaw a frozen turkey depends on its size. “For large…

The eighth piece on the Rutland Sculpture Trail honors one of America’s earliest civil rights advocates and the first Black college president in the country. The work will be unveiled Friday, Nov. 20 at noon. The public is invited to attend the outdoor event in the Center Street Marketplace; masks are required, and attendees are…

By Greg Kopf, brand ambassador at POWERSPORTSiD.com With winter fast approaching, many snowmobile riders may be itching to get back on their sled for the first ride of the season. However, there are a few key things to check on to ensure that you and your ride are in proper shape to hit the trails…

Zack’s Place has wonderful news. You can still have an awesome Thanksgiving Day. Zack’s Place is doing a virtual Turkey Trot! Yay! It is true. So how does it work? You go online at zacksplacevt.org and register for the Zack’s Place Turkey Trot. This year the admission fee is only $25 and if you want…

The Vermont Agency of Agriculture and Vermont Dept. of Tourism will highlight local producers and merchants The Vermont Agency of Agriculture, Food & Markets in collaboration with the Dept. of Tourism will launch a holiday shopping promotional campaign to highlight Vermont producers and merchants. Supported via CARES Act funding, this campaign includes both statewide and…

QUECHEE—With shorter days approaching, the Vermont Institute of Natural Science announces that it is open for winter hours, now through April 2. It will be open daily from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., and will be closed on Thanksgiving, Nov. 26 and Christmas, Dec. 25. Winter is a special and beautiful time on the VINS…

The Middlebury New Filmmakers Festival [MNFF] and the Vermont International Film Festival [VTIFF] are partnering to present Split/Screen, an exciting online monthly movie series that begins in November 2020 and runs through June 2021.  The two festivals will each curate a selection of four or five films in alternating months, with MNFF leading off in…

Nov. 19-22—WOODSTOCK—Billings Farm & Museum’s 11th annual Woodstock Vermont Film Series features “JFK: The Last Speech”, available for online streaming. Many stories have been told about President John F. Kennedy, but few are less known or more revealing than the story of his friendship with Robert Frost, America’s most celebrated poet. “JFK: The Last Speech”…

Divine Art Records, independent classical music group based in Brandon and in the UK, is proud to announce its new collaboration with a major Italian music foundation to establish a new and unique online piano competition to be held at least once a year. The Ciccolini Prize Competition is administered by the Aldo Ciccolini European…

GRANVILLE, NY—Every year for the last eight years, the Slate Valley Museum has ushered in the holiday season with its popular, regional Slate Valley Festival of Trees. This year’s event is still slated to take place, but it will be presented in a different format due to the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic. “Given restrictions on mass…

It’s as much a Vermont holiday tradition as the turkey: the annual Weston Christmas Bazaar. Over 60 vendors with fabulous Christmas gift ideas, all unique, all handmade, all packed into the Weston Playhouse just waiting for hordes of Christmas shoppers to descend on Black Friday. But if the words “hordes” and “packed” stopped you dead…