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The Hidden Art Treasures of Brooks Memorial Library

by Brooks Memorial Library | Arts

Get a rare sneak peek at the Library’s Collection of Hidden Treasures on Friday, October 10, 5:30 PM. Through gifts and bequests over the past 150 years, Brooks Memorial Library has assembled a rich and varied collection of art and artifacts that rivals even some museums.

The collection includes sculpture, ceramics, paintings, rare books, maps, photographs and other ephemera and archaeological objects. Many if not most of these pieces have not been displayed for years – some, in fact, never.

Brattleboro Area Techies To Hold First Meeting October 16

by Not Signed In | Sci-Tech

Brattleboro Area Techies, a new Windham Country group, will hold its first meeting on Thursday, October 16 at Fireworks Restaurant in Brattleboro. The new group is designed to facilitate networking among the area’s many high tech workers who are all too often locked in an office behind a computer.

The group is intended to include designers, makers, educators, programmers, freelancers, videographers, artists, consultants and business people who work in these fields. The first meeting will be informal and give everyone who attends the opportunity to introduce themselves and their work. This will be followed by time for relaxed networking.

The Vermont Jazz Center Presents: Dafnis Prieto’s Si O Si Quartet

by Not Signed In | Music

The Vermont Jazz Center will present the Dafnis Prieto and his creative working ensemble called the Si o Si Quartet. This group features Prieto on drums and percussion with longtime collaborators Peter Apfelbaum on saxophones, Manuel Valera on piano and Johannes Weidenmueller on bass. Bass Musician states: To “hear such a world class quartet navigating this music live is an experience not to be forgotten.”

Vermont Jazz Center Receives Chamber Music America’s 2014 Acclaim Award

by Not Signed In | Music

The Vermont Jazz Center will receive an Acclaim Award from Chamber Music America on Saturday, October 18th at 8:00 PM during a concert offered by Cuban drum virtuoso, Dafnis Prieto.  The concert and award ceremony will take place at the Vermont Jazz Center, 72 Cotton Mill Hill, in Brattleboro, Vermont.

The CMA Acclaim award recognizes “extraordinary cultural contributions in a locality or region.” The CMA Acclaim award is offered by Chamber Music America (http://www.chamber-music.org/) an institution that serves thousands of members through  grants, commissions, networking opportunities a monthly magazine and an annual conference in New York City. CMA’s definition of chamber music “encompasses myriad forms including contemporary and traditional jazz, classical and world genres.”  Their membership includes musicians, presenters, educators, patrons, managers and producers.

Feeling Crankie… An Evening of Crankies, Songs and Storytelling with Members of Sandglass Theater and Friends.

by Not Signed In | Arts

On Friday, October 10th, at 7:30pm and Sunday, October 12th at 3pm at Sandglass Theater, —Eric Bass and Ines Zeller Bass, Brendan Taaffe, Anna Patton, Kirk Murphy and Amanda Maddock share with you the mystique and low-tech charm of pairing song and story with scrolling pictures.
 
With the serenade of ballads, stories, comic songs and originally composed music, this exciting team of artists will present an assortment of beautifully handcrafted crankies for your delight and entertainment. Crankies are scrolling illustrations, wound inside a wooden box and then hand-cranked so that the images move across a viewing screen. Once called ‘moving panoramas’, crankies were as close as it got to films in the early 19th century. Recently crankies have made a fresh and invigorated appearance throughout the nation, appearing in circuses, music events and yes…puppet theaters.

BCTV Channel 8 & 10 Schedules for the Week of 10/6/14

by BCTVProg | Media

BCTV channel 8 schedule for the week of 10/6/14

Monday, October 6, 2014

12:00 am At BML: Patti Kerr – Caring for a Love One with Alzheimer’s 9/10/14

1:20 am Vermont Musicians on the Air: Ep.4 – Raymond Karl Malone

2:00 am FSTV Overnight

4:00 am Energy Week Extra: Community Wind 9/18/14

Weekend Concert Series: Firehouse Five Plus Two

by cgrotke | Entertainment

This isn’t exactly a concert, but it does contain live performances by the Firehouse Five.

Who are the Firehouse Five? It is a dixieland band (comprised chiefly of Disney animators) that was most popular in the 1950’s. They released 13 records, are a lot of fun, and are thus is deserving of another look.

The leader is Ward Kimball, trombone player and animator of characters such as Jimminy Cricket and the Mad Hatter. Harper Goff is on banjo. He did concept drawings for Disney World, and art direction for the original film version of Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory. Frank Thomas, on piano, is animator of such characters as Bambi and Thumper on the ice, the dancing penguins in Mary Poppins, and King Louie in Jungle Book.

Windham Regional Career Center’s Fall 2014 Community Education & Training Programs

by betsg | Education

Windham Regional Career Center Offers Fall Community Education and Training Programs

The Windham Regional Career Center at Brattleboro Union High School is pleased to announce their Community Education and Training Programs for this fall. Betsy Gentile, Workforce Development Manager and Adult Education Coordinator is coordinating 15 community education and training programs to meet the needs of area employers and their employees as well as providing personal and professional enrichment opportunities for all community members.

Winner of the Annual Write Action Flash Fiction Contest: Anna Blackburn

by Rolf | Culture

Anna Blackburn’s story, “Visiting Hours”, was selected as the 1st prize winner of this year’s winner of the Write Action contest. She is invited to read this story at the Write Action Local Author Showcase, during the Literary Festival on Saturday, Oct 5, 2014. 12:00 pm – 1:15 pm at the Robert H. Gibson River Garden

There were so many excellent stories that it was a prolonged descion.

We hope you can come to the Showcase to hear local authors read some of their work.

On Exhibit: A World Illuminated by Imagination

by Brooks Memorial Library | Arts

Namaya and his B4Peace Team will be hosted by the Brooks Memorial Library in a multifaceted exhibit called “A World Illuminated by Imagination” to celebrate the library, the enchantment of books, and how they enrich lives and communities. Main Floor Panels & Mezzanine Wall, through October 2014

The Brooks Memorial Library houses an extensive permanent art collection, including works by Daniel Chester French, Larkin Mead, and William Morris Hunt, among others. There are also artifacts from history and pre-history: come see the mammoth tusk! Visitors are invited to take the self-guided fine arts walking tour. Tour pamphlets are available on both floors. 

Brattleboro Union High School Board Meeting Agenda

by Not Signed In | Education

BRATTLEBORO UNION HIGH SCHOOL BOARD
53 Green Street
Brattleboro, VT 05301
www.wssu.k12.vt.us

NOTICE OF COMMITTEE MEETINGS

The BUHS #6 Teacher Curriculum Committee will meet at 6:00 p.m. on Monday, October 6 (6:00 BUHS Gymnasium / 6:30 BUHS Room 239).

The BUHS #6 Finance Committee will meet at 8:00 a.m. on Wednesday, October 8 in the WSESU James E. Kane Conference Room, 53 Green Street.

NOTICE OF MEETING

The BUHS #6 Board of Directors will meet at 7:00 p.m. on Monday, October 6 in the WRCC Cusick Conference Room.

Let’s Go To Valley Fair, 1893

by cgrotke | History

For many decades, Brattleboro was home to the annual Valley Fair at this time of year. It was a two day, town-wide celebration of livestock, farming, craftsmanship, sport, and entertainment. Brattleboro literally shut down so that everyone could participate. Imagine the Stroll merged with the Guilford Fair, on steroids.

The newspapers would hype the event for months, giving details of various fair committees and their decisions. After the fair, they would run multi-page accounts with full details, and pages with lists of every winner of every competition – from best pumpkin pie to the cow that can produce the most milk.

Let’s go to Valley Fair, 1893!  I’ve combed through the reports to recreate a visit for us.

CCV to Receive $2.4 Million for Job Training

by Not Signed In | Education

BURLINGTON, VT– Vermont’s Congressional Delegation and Governor Peter Shumlin today announced a U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) award of $2.4 million to the Community College of Vermont in Waterbury for job training.

The funds are a part of a $2 billion DOL program investing in job training at community colleges around the country.

BCTV Channel 8 & 10 Schedules for the Week of 9/29/14

by BCTVProg | Media

Monday, September 29, 2014

12:00 am  Green Mtn Vets for Peace: Ep 136: Soldiers of Conscience Pt.1

1:00 am  What Magic Is – Flying Sports in New England.

1:41 am  TED Talks: David Christian: Big history

2:00 am  FSTV Overnight

4:00 am  Envisioning the Future of VT’s Digital Economy

4:30 am  For the Animals: Grey Bear Designs

First Wednesday: Reading for the Life of the World

by Brooks Memorial Library | Books

Award-winning Vermont author Katherine Paterson will consider the importance and many benefits of reading in a talk at Brooks Memorial Library in Brattleboro on October 1 at 7:00 pm. Her talk, “Reading for the Life of the World,” is part of the Vermont Humanities Council’s First Wednesdays lecture series and is free and open to the public. 

Paterson has twice won both the Newbery Medal and the National Book Award. She received the 1998 Hans Christian Andersen Medal as well as the 2006 Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award for her work. Her books include Bridge to Terabithia, Jacob I Have Loved, The Great Gilly Hopkins, and The Day of the Pelican. An active promoter of reading and literacy, Paterson lives in Barre, Vermont.

Train Your Brain to Retain: Sat. Oct 25: A Day-Long Memory Workout, Shared With Others

by northeastpni | Education

The Northeast PsychoNeuroImmunology Institute for Healing presents “Train Your Brain to Retain,” a one-day program bringing people together to improve their mental acuity. On Saturday, October 25th, we will gather in a relaxed, private home setting to learn memory strengthening techniques, to support one another on our memory journeys, to eat food that’s good for the brain (and the soul!), and to have a good time.

Participants will learn how to give their memories a workout by using tools proven through neuro-science. Advances in neuroplasticity show us that the brain can actually increase its capacity to learn and remember. This is a class for people who know their minds are still capable, but who have noticed declines in their sharpness.

150 Years Ago (1864 9/27)

by BusyMom | History

(Post marked Martinsburg, W. Va. Oct. 1, 1864)

 6th Vt. Vols. Spt. 27, 1864.

Madam –

 It is with very sad heart that I inform you of the death of your husband. He was killed in action Sept. 19th, at the battle of Winchester during the last charge made by our Regt; A canister shot passing through his breast. His last words were, “I am a dead man.” We were in a great hurry at the time and I did not see him fall and did not learn of it until after the excitement was over. His things were all lost much to my sorrow.

Weekend Concert Series: Styx 1982 Live at Budokan

by cgrotke | Entertainment

Ahh, Styx. Make me think of my high school neighbor, Jack. He and I used to have arguments over the best bands. I tended toward Beatles and Stones. He insisted Kiss and Van Halen were the true rulers of rock. We’d each take turns playing songs for each other in an attempt to convince the other.

Jack liked Styx while they were rocking hard with albums such as Cornerstone, Pieces of Eight, and Grand Illusion. He wasn’t so sure about Paradise Theater, their 1981 release. It was a rock opera and a new direction. Still, it was Styx and it eventually won him over.

We Would Like To Apologize For That Failed Launch

by Rolf | Creative

Recently, The University of Brattleboro made two failed attempts at foisting hoaxes on the public.

The first was a spectacular failure. We attempted the largest UFAUX launch in the history of the University. Sadly, the result, while large in scale, fell far short of our hopes. The result was news stories such as the following. . .

Patty Larkin at Next Stage on Saturday, September 27

by Not Signed In | Music

Next Stage Arts Project and Twilight Music present contemporary folk singer/songwriter Patty Larkin at Next Stage on Saturday, September 27 at 7:30pm.

Patty Larkin is a true phenomenon among singer/songwriters in the American folk music scene today. She has been described as “riveting” by the Chicago Tribune, “hypnotic” by Entertainment Weekly and a “drop dead brilliant performer” by Performing Songwriter.