Entertainment is front and center during all of Strolling of the Heifers Weekend, with the headline event being an all-start FiddleFest during Saturday’s Slow Living Expo.
“We’ve got a lineup of top-notch local fiddlers,” said Beth Kiendl, the Stroll’s entertainment chair. “This is a great chance to listen to lots of different fiddling styles, including English, Irish, New England and contemporary. “
The fiddlers will play from 11 a.m. until 4 p.m. at the Fiddlers Tent, which is on the Brattleboro Retreat
lawn.
Stroll Weekend entertainment begins on Friday evening, June 3, during the Friday Evening Street Festival, which coincides with Brattleboro’s monthly Gallery Walk from 5:30 to 8:30
p.m. A section of Main Street will be closed to traffic from Elliot Street to High Street to make room for vendors, activities and entertainment.
The Friday night stage features the duo Alan Greenleaf and the Doctor, who have been part of the Stroll in many ways since 2002 — including Alan’s authorship of the Stroll’s theme song, “The Heifers are Coming to Town!” Local entertainers are invited to provide entertainment on the street, as well.
On Saturday, pre-parade entertainers will roam the parade route between 9 and 10 a.m., when the parade begins. A crowd favorite, The Dairy Godmother, also known as Amelia Struthers, will dispense various forms of magic spells. Also warming up the crowd will be the New Orleans Jazz Band and the Brattleboro Nursery School
The crowd follows the Parade to the Slow Living Expo at the Brattleboro Common and the Retreat lawn.
At the Retreat, be sure to take in these highlights
- The New England Center for Circus Arts offers shows throughout the day featuring advanced and professional students from around the world. They will amaze & entertain you as they swing through the air & share juggling, acrobatics, comedy & more
- Human Foosball — Yes, it’s just what you imagine it might be. Join the fun by putting together your own team!
- Goat Olympics —Young goats from Gay and Dan Foster’s Hollyhock Farm in Putney, Vt. race each other to be the first to their feeding bowls. The public is invited to place bets, with the winners receiving Strolling of the Heifers merchandise.
The Expo features three separate music venues. Here are the entertainment schedules for each:
Fiddlers Tent — on the Retreat Lawn
- 11:00 — Roger Treat & Roger Kahle
- 11:40 — Easy Street
- 12:25 — Lissa Schneckenberger Band
- 1:10 — Inisheer
- 1:50 — Young Tradition VT
- 2:30 — Brattleboro Music Center Youth Fiddlers
- 2:45 — Becky Tracy & Keith Murphy
C&S Family Entertainment Tent — on the Retreat Lawn
- 11:00 — Sandglass Theatre: Fritzi’s Flea Circus
- 11:05 — Absolutely Magic: Andrew Pinard
- 11:50 — Sandglass Theatre: Punschi
- 12:20 —Sandglass Theatre: Fritzi’s Flea Circus
- 12:40 —Swing Peepers
- 1:05 —Chris Yerlig’s Mime and Magic Show
- 1:40 — Sandglass Theatre: Fritzi’s Flea Circus
- 2:05 — Sandglass Theatre: Punschi
- 2:35 — Swing Peepers
- 3:00 — Mad Science of Western New Englan
The Gazebo — at the center of the Brattleboro Commons
- 11:00 — Vibrant Ensemble
- 11:50 — Audrey and Clayton
- 12:40 — The Speckers
- 1:15 — Bayou X
- 2:00 — Nomad vs. Settler
- 2:50 — VT Shakedown
- 3:30 — Darryl Kniffen
Finally, at Sunday’s Tour de Heifer — Vermont’s most challenging dirt road cycling event with 15, 30 and 60-mile options — Alan Greenleaf and the Doctor return to serenade the returning cyclists during lunchtime.
For information on all Stroll Weekend events: www.StrollingoftheHeifers.com
Photo: Bayou X
