By Tim Traver I don’t often shake down my cat for a dead mouse, but I did think it was fair, considering that he is always shaking me down for his cat food. I wasn’t going to eat his mouse. I needed it as bait, to see if I could catch a burying beetle. Burying…

By: Brett Yates Despite a plethora of local opportunities and a healthy interest in fermented malt beverages, I’d never attended a beer festival until this month, when some friends convinced me to go to the New England Edition of Sierra Nevada’s Beer Camp Across America in Portland, Maine. I now have some thoughts on this…

Thursday, Aug. 14 at 7 p.m. — FAIR HAVEN — The Fair Haven Concerts in the Park will be welcoming six siblings to the stage at 7 p.m. on Thursday, Aug. 14. The Santa Croce Band will be performing for the ninth in a series of 10 summer concerts. This group of family singers has been performing…

Thursday, Aug. 14 at 7:30 p.m. — RUTLAND — Award-winning director Jay Craven will present his most recent Vermont film, “Northern Borders,” at 7:30 p.m., Thursday, Aug. 14 at the Paramount Theater in Rutland. The screening will include an introduction and post-film discussion led by director Craven. “Northern Borders” was shot in Vermont and New Hampshire, and…

Friday, Aug. 15 — MENDON — Sugar and Spice Restaurant is sponsoring a raffle to benefit the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation. The drawing is on Aug. 15. The winner will receive a Nordic Retreat Hot Tub plus delivery within an hour of Rutland, and set up, worth over $5,000. Tickets are $25 each and can be purchased at…

Friday, Aug. 15 at 8 p.m. — RUTLAND — The Southern rock jam band Gov’t Mule will perform at the historic Paramount Theatre in downtown Rutland on Friday, Aug. 15 at 8 p.m. Tickets ($44.75-54.75) are available at the venue box office located at 30 Center Street in Rutland, charge-by-phone at 802-775-0903, or online at www.paramountlive.org. When…

Long-time Killington skier gives back to community Friday, Aug. 15 — RUTLAND — Lifelong Killington skier Steven Behnke will be bringing his nationally recognized non-profit, the Patriot Brass Ensemble to Rutland, Friday, Aug. 15. This free concert will be held Friday at 7:30 p.m. at the Rutland Free Library. The Rutland concert is a special…

Friday, Aug. 15 — LUDLOW –  Okemo Mountain Resort will host a free concert on Aug. 15 featuring Tony Lee Thomas as part of the Jackson Gore Summer Music Series. Concerts are scheduled from 6 to 9 p.m. on Friday evenings in the courtyard at the Jackson Gore Inn. Growing up in a musical family, Tony…

Friday, Aug. 15-Sunday, Aug. 17 — WOODSTOCK — Congregation Shir Shalom in Woodstock will host Rabbi Lawrence A. Hoffman, PhD., a charismatic national leader and visionary of the Reform movement. The weekend begins on Friday, Aug. 15 at 6 p.m., when Dr. Hoffman will lead a discussion entitled, “Builders, Baby-Boomers and Beyond: Looking for the American Jewish Identity.”…

Aug. 16-17 — WOODSTOCK — Billings Farm & Museum is featuring Heritage Chicken Days on Saturday and Sunday, Aug. 16 and 17, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Traditional livestock breeds are an essential part of our agricultural heritage and an important resource for the future. The farm programs will  feature a variety of heritage chicken…

Saturday, Aug. 16 — KILLINGTON — Changes in Latitudes will perform a free concert at Killington Resort’s K-1 base area on Saturday, Aug. 16 from 3:30 p.m. to 6 p.m. The concert is part of the Town of Killington’s Cooler in the Mountains summer series. Changes in Latitudes is the country’s premiere tribute show to…

Saturday, Aug. 16 at 7 p.m. — BRANDON — He was the Tom Hanks of his time: a leading man with a breezy charm who always got the girl. But the film career of William Haines, one of early Hollywood’s brightest stars, was cut short for an unfortunate reason: at a time when sexual preference was a…

Saturday, Aug. 16 — LUDLOW — Friends of Ludlow Auditorium’s annual Silent Movie Festival will be held on Saturday at 7 p.m. at the Ludlow Town Hall Auditorium. The festival will feature the classic work of Charlie Chaplin in “City Lights” with an introductory short by comedian Buster Keaton. Glenn Brown will be featured at the…

Saturday, Aug. 16 — RUTLAND – Two Saturdays in August, Aug. 16 and Aug. 30, ARC Rutland Area’s Self Advocates Becoming Empowered – Rutland (SABE-R) group of adults living with developmental disabilities will be holding a car wash and selling baked goods to raise funds in support of their main goal of the year: To…

Saturday, Aug. 16 at 9 a.m. — WOODSTOCK — Whether you’re age 16 or 60+, a sole owner or partner, own woodland by choice or circumstance, know something or nothing about caring for the woods, but want to meet others and learn, then Women Owning Woodlands is for you! The day-long gathering will be held on Saturday,…