July 26-Aug. 5—RUTLAND COUNTY— Award-winning Rutland Youth Theatre presents Shakespeare’s “The Tempest” July 26-Aug. 5 as a traveling troupe. Produced by Saskia Hagen Groom, directed by Andrew Freeman, “The Tempest” is a play believed to have been written in 1610–1611, and thought by many critics to be the last play that Shakespeare wrote alone. It…

Tuesday, Aug. 1, 4:30 p.m.—RUTLAND—REDC Growing Business Series presents Rutland Road Pitch Tuesday, Aug. 1, 4:30-6:30 p.m. at the Rutland Free Library. Three Rutland-area entrepreneurs will present ideas for new products and business expansion to an audience of Vermont’s leading venture capitalists and angel investors during the Rutland stop of the annual Road Pitch. Members of…

Saturday, July 29, 12:30 p.m.—ORWELL—Join the Vermont Division for Historic Preservation and the Mount Independence Coalition in celebrating the publication of “Strong Ground: Mount Independence and the American Revolution,” Saturday, July 29, 12:30 p.m. This richly illustrated history book was undertaken by the Mount Independence Coalition. The Vermont Division for Historic Preservation will host the book launch…

Tuesday, Aug. 1, 7 p.m.—CASTLETON—Castleton University is pleased to present Snake Mountain Bluegrass as part of the 22nd annual Castleton Summer Concerts at the Pavilion Tuesday, Aug. 1 at 7 p.m. at the Castleton Pavilion. Based out of Middlebury, the bluegrass group has been performing for the last 25 years and was founded by Middlebury College professor Gregg Humphrey…

Sunday, July 30, 4 p.m.—BROWNSVILLE—On Sunday, July 30, Brownsville Community Church will sponsor a potluck (bring a dish to share) barbecue picnic and concert kicking off the return of its community dinners. This is the second of a series of free concerts open to the public so far in 2017. The concert will start at 4 p.m. at…

Friday, July 28, 12:15 p.m.—RUTLAND—The Paramount Theatre located at 30 Center Street in downtown Rutland, will unveil its 2017-2018 lineup of entertainment at a special event to be held at the historic hall on Friday, July 28 at 12:15 p.m. Theatre supporters including members and sponsors, along with members of the media and the general public are invited…

Friday, July 28, 6 p.m.—RUTLAND—Join Friday Night Live on Friday, July 28 from 6-10 p.m. on Center Street in downtown Rutland. Disco band The Trammps takes the stage at 8:15 p.m. with local opener Jenny Porter at 7 p.m. These are free concerts! Plus, enjoy a variety of outdoor dining, family activities and more. Details…

Tuesday, Aug. 1, 7 p.m.—BELMONT—Interested in creating wildlife habitat on your property? Biologists from Vermont Fish & Wildlife will present a talk on the techniques and programs available for promoting wildlife habitat at the Mt. Holly Library onTuesday, Aug. 1 at 7 p.m. in the Community Room. The presentation will describe a program sponsored by the…

July 29-30—BRANDON—Shakespeare on Main Street will present its summer production of “Hamlet: 2017” in Brandon and Woodstock. If extraterrestrials were to visit Earth, we’d probably put a copy of “Hamlet” in their welcome basket. It’s that good. Well over 400 years after William Shakespeare wrote the play between 1599 and 1601, readers and audiences are still connecting with it.…

Cal Garrison (a.k.a Mother of the Skye) writes weekly horoscopes for The Mountain Times. If you would like an emailed notification sent to you weekly, sign up for the newsletter, below. Want to hear more from Mother of the Skye? Check out Mother's Celestial Inspirations for a deeper look into this weeks horoscopes Mother of…

By Cal Garrison, a.k.a. Mother of the Skye  This week’s Horoscopes are coming out under the Light of a newly birthed Leo Sun, and a brand new Leo Moon. With a double dose of Leonine energy vibrating in the ethers I think we’d do well to talk about the sign, and give ourselves a chance…

By Dom Cioffi This past Saturday I announced to my wife that I was headed out to do some errands. I then took a quick shower, gathered some snacks for the ride, and jumped into my truck to leave. But while it was true that I had a few errands to knock out, I also had an…

By Susan Shea My dog watched intently as an area of soil in our backyard vibrated and formed a slight ridge. Suddenly he began digging, revealing a mole below ground. Before Cody could pounce, I grabbed his collar and pulled him away. This was not the first time I’d rescued a mole. When I lived…

By Kevin Theissen If you live in Norway, Denmark, Iceland, Switzerland, or Finland, then you’re among the happiest people in the world. On the other hand, if you reside in Sierra Leone, Bulgaria, Egypt, Palestinian Territories, or Tunisia, you’re among the least happy, according to the United Nation’s World Happiness Report 2017. The report relies on six…

By Brady Crain I have spent a lot of time since this lumbar surgery (left side L3-4 foraminotomy/facetectomy - didn’t need a laminectomy because the disc was already gone) walking, swimming, icing, and stressing about what was going to happen if I spent $3,000 or so (my out of pocket maximum) on a surgery that…