MIDDLEBURY — The Middlebury Summer Festival on-the-Green celebrates its 41st season this July 7-13 and will again be held under the big white tent next to St. Stephen’s Church. During nearly four decades as a top attraction on the arts calendar in Vermont, the festival has showcased an impressive list of talent — artists with long résumés and up-and-comers, quiet solo acts and lively bands, banjoes strumming and big bands blaring, and all accessible without ever charging an admission fee.
For the seventh year, the Festival on-the-Green has partnered with students from Lisa Rader’s Design & Illustration Program at the Patricia A. Hannaford Career Center to create a T-shirt design. The Festival Committee reviewed an impressive portfolio of 15 designs and narrowed the selection to three: “Energy & Organic Essence,” “Keep the Music Flowing,” and “Song from the Sun & Moon.”
The Festival Committee invites the community to cast a vote for this year’s design. Voting will remain open until 11:59 p.m. on this Sunday, May 19. To vote, head online to bit.ly/VoteFor2019FestivalTShirtDesign.
The Festival on-the-Green has once again earned the distinction as a Vermont Chamber of Commerce Top 10 Summer Event. Featured performers this year will include Sam Reider and the Human Hands, Windborne, Bon Débarras, The Small Glories, Heather Pierson Acoustic Trio, Joe Davidian Trio featuring Amber DeLaurentis, Matt Flinner Trio, OKAN, Lowdown Brass Band, Soule Monde, Big Night and the Vermont Jazz Ensemble Big Band Street Dance, complete with swing dance instruction by Jim Condon.
The popular “Brown Bag” noontime series returns with Rik Palieri, Jon Gailmor, No Strings Marionette Company, mime Chris Yerlig, and magician Tom Verner.
For further information about this year’s festival and to learn about both donating and volunteering, visit the organization’s Facebook page or the festival website: festivalonthegreen.org. And don’t forget to vote!