MONKTON — For the entire week spanning between Oct. 8 and 16, the town of Monkton will be putting on its Monkton Creates community celebration.
Arts-infused events ranging from a pie contest to artist receptions will be taking place at various locations around town throughout the week. While many of the events are free and open to the public, proceeds from the various potluck dinners, dances and silent auctions that do charge a fee will go toward funding the restoration of the East Monkton Church, the Boro Schoolhouse and the Russell Memorial Library.
The event will kickoff with a pie contest and movie screening on Friday, Oct. 8. Event organizers that evening at the Vergennes Opera House will screen “Moving Midway” by film maker Godfrey Cheshire. When Midway, Godfrey’s family homestead in North Carolina, was threatened by development, the mansion was moved. The film shows how mhaking up history made for some truly moving discoveries. Refreshments at the screening will be provided by Monkton’s Second Annual Pie Contest. Admission is $10.
The next day, Oct. 8, the Willowell Foundation will host a string of events starting with the Foundation Open House and wrapping up with a sunset hike to the Art Under the Stars gala opening at the foundation’s Stony Lane property. That Sunday marks the opening of the “Art of Monkton” show in a temporary gallery space in the East Monkton Church. The gallery and coinciding silent auction will remain open all week. That same evening, the Grange will host a potluck social followed by a jazz performance by The Florona Five.
A second potluck is scheduled for the following day at the Monkton Central School, along with a community contra dance, called by Will Mentor and accompanied by Pete and Karen Sutherland and the Howdy Neighbor Band.
The event will conclude on Saturday, Oct. 16, with a farmer’s market, Stone Soup Harvest Celebration and a cookbook sale.
Along with the events themselves, Monkton Creates will also highlight a handful of local and nationally-acknowledged artists who work with everything from paint to mixed media to film. All of the highlighted artists will be present at an artists’ reception at the East Monkton Church on Saturday evening.
For a list of events and featured artists, see below:
Oct. 8
• “Moving Midway” film screening with director Godfrey Cheshire at the Vergennes Opera House, 8 p.m.
• 2nd Annual Pie Contest, Vergennes Opera House, following the film.
Oct. 9
• Willowell Foundation Open House, Stony Brook Lane, 3-6 p.m.
• Announcement of Biggest Tree Contest winners, Central Meeting Area, 6 p.m.
• Sunset Hike to Art Under the Stars Gala, Willowell Cedar Grove, 6:30-8:30 p.m.
Oct. 10
• Art Gallery Opening for “Art of Monkton” & Silent Auction, East Monkton Church, 7-9 p.m.
• Pot Luck Social and Florona Five jazz performance, the Grange, 6:30-8:30 p.m.
Oct. 12
• Pot Luck and Community Contra Dance, Monkton Central School, 6:30-8:30 p.m.
Oct. 16
• One Day Farmer’s Market and Stone Soup Harvest Celebration, Monkton Recreation Field, 9 a.m.-1 p.m.
• Russell Memorial Library Classic Cookbook Sale, Monkton Volunteer Firehouse, 2-5:30 p.m.
FEATURED ARTISTS
Artists whose works will be on display include:
• Colette Paul is a Monkton resident whose acrylic, oil and watercolor paintings have been shown nationally.
• Will Mentor is a New York mixed media artist and nationally-known contra dance caller.
• Pete Sutherland is a folk singer/musician and cut-paper collage artist who resides in Monkton.
• Steve Clark is a Vermont artist who focuses mainly on drawing and paint dripping.
A complete schedule for the week and details about registering and descriptions for individual events can be found at http://tinyurl.com/monkktontalk.
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