Sunday, Feb. 28 at 7 p.m. — RANDOLPH — The winners in Chandler’s 2015 competition for new plays on current social issues written by Vermont playwrights are Mike Backman of Quechee, Jeanne Beckwith of Roxbury, and Maura Campbell of Burlington. On the last Sundays of February, April, and May, their three prize-winning scripts will be produced in…

Saturday, Feb. 27 at 5 p.m. — RUTLAND — The Winter Dance at Wonderfeet for Loved Ones and Little Ones will be held on Feb. 27 from 5 to 7 p.m. Kids will dance the evening away with their favorite adult and make a memory that will last forever. Get ready moms, dads, grandpas, grandmas and super…

Saturday, Feb. 27 at 10 a.m. — BRANDON — Shakespeare on Main Street is holding auditions for its 2016 summer production of “Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead,” by Tom Stoppard. The play manages to combine Laurel and Hardy, “Who’s on First,” and Shakespeare. Actors (18+ years of age) wanting to audition should prepare a one-minute monologue from…

Saturday, March 5 at 5:30 p.m. — WEST RUTLAND — The countdown is on for the 2016 Marble Mardi Gras at the Rutland Country Club, March 5 at 5:30 p.m. Each year the Carving Studio and Sculpture Center hosts the fundraising event in time to be a great cure for the winter blahs. The gala features cocktails…

Tuesday, March 1 at 5:30 p.m. — RUTLAND — As population continues to grow and developing countries strive toward a standard of living like that enjoyed in the United States, we will be faced with new environmental and cultural challenges. Will we—and should we—be willing to give anything up in the way we live? What energy…

Courtesy of Parmalee.com PARMALEE Wednesday, Feb. 24 at 9 p.m. — KILLINGTON — Hailing from Parmele, N.C., chart-topping country music band Parmalee comes to the Pickle Barrel Nightclub in Killington on Wednesday, Feb. 24 for a 9 p.m. show. Doors open at 8 p.m. Get more info and tickets at picklebarrelnightclub.com.

Courtesy of Devious Planet RUSTED ROOT Rusted Root makes it’s triumphant return to the Pickle Barrel in the midst of its 25th Anniversary Tour on Thursday, Feb. 25 at 9 p.m. I had the pleasure of having a phone interview with Michael Glabicki who founded Rusted Root. He is looking forward to this show and…

Jan. 27: In response to tweets by rapper Wiz Khalifa alleging that Kanye’s new proposed album title (“Waves”) plagiarizes the catchphrase (“wavy”) of rapper Max B, Kanye unleashes a Twitter rant proclaiming that he is “the greatest artist of all time” and that Khalifa has “distracted from my creative process.” He will later change the…

By Meghan McCarthy McPhaul At this time of year, many a gardener’s daydreams turn to the springtime promise of sprouting plants. Seed catalogs start arriving in the mail months before the soil will be thawed and drained enough for planting, and we use this downtime to plan for the coming season. At Green Fire Farm…

By Marion Abrams A Spartan Agoge participant. PITTSFIELD — The Spartan Agoge 48 took place at Riverside Farm in Pittsfield, Vt. Feb. 12-14, one of the coldest weekends with temperatures dipping down to -10 degrees F. Dozens of participants lined up for the start of the race; but far fewer finished. To complete the Spartan…

Submitted A chart by economist Gerald Friedman estimates the cost of Bernie Sanders’ proposals. By Jasper Craven, VTDigger.org As Bernie Sanders absorbs attacks on the political and economic feasibility of some of his major policy proposals, a small but vocal cadre of economic allies is defending the senator’s ideas and projections as accurate and reasonable.…

By Christopher Biddle

Submitted The town of Hartford has two public meetings leding up to Town Meeting Day, key to the events being voted upon. HARTFORD—The town of Hartford, which is comprised of the unincorporated villages of White River Junction, Quechee, Wilder, West Hartford and Hartford, is a charter town with a unique take on Town Meeting. Most…

Courtesy of Montshire Museum of Science

By Tom Rogers, courtesy VTF&W