Well, we did it again team! For the ninth year in a row, this tabloid section has found its place in the weekly pages of The Addison Independent. Bringing you 52 issues and over 800 pages, we featured the work of more than 105 local artists, actors, musicians, filmmakers, adventurers, authors, photographers, craftspeople and more; saw more than 53 exhibits and 21 film events; suggested about 165 don’t-miss events happening right here in Addison County; learned 31 garden lessons from the University of Vermont Extension’s Master Gardeners. We analyzed five poems with Susan Jefts; featured family-friendly events with a monthly MiniBury page; and followed local artists outside our county for 35 events in neighboring towns. Oh, and we followed the real estate market with a look at 33 featured properties listed this year, plus a series of advice columns from local realtors.

Regular annual events like the Middlebury New Filmmakers Festival, various music series, spring and fall open studio weekends, and the local theater performances were punctuated by a special travel log summer series from Steve and Judith Harris’s road trip through the South; the opening of K Grant Fine Art Gallery in Vergennes; and the closing of Norton’s Gallery of Woodcarvings — a staple of the Shoreham landscape for over 30 years.

Flip through this section and take a look back at 24 features, a highlight of exhibits and more from 2024. 

It wows me every year, just how much art we have to offer right here in Addison County. What a gift it is that we can share all of this incredible work and good news with our community; and we have you — our loyal readers and supporters — to thank.

If you haven’t already, consider adding a monthly donation to your subscription and become an ADDY ALL-STAR. This is the best way to ensure we can keep up this focused work on our arts community. We’re excited to continue publishing the Addison Independent’s Arts + Leisure section and rely on your support and participation to help make it an engaging, creative and fun companion every Thursday.

Thank you!

— Elsie Lynn Parini, Arts + Leisure editor

JANUARY

Hocus Pocus!

Master Magician Blaine Goad performed his Hocus Pocus Magic Show at the Vergennes Opera House in mid-January. “Performing magic for families and folks of all ages is such great fun,” said Goad, 76. “When I perform, I have the best seat in the house because I get to see the wonder and amazement on everyone’s face.”

Renown author visits

Renowned author Emily St. John Mandel visited Middlebury on Feb. 15 for a book reading, signing and Q&A with the community at Wright Theater on the Middlebury College campus. Ahead of the visit, Associate Professor of Theater Michole Biancosino held a book group gathering at The Vermont Book Shop in Middlebury to discuss Mandel’s work; including “Station 11.”

FEBRUARY

Pig Race is on!

The whacky, fun-loving, obstacle-laden and community-centric Blueberry Hill Pig Race is back! This classic Nordic ski event, with a legacy dating back to the 1970s, was founded by the late Blueberry Hill Inn owner Tony Clark as an opportunity to have fun on the snow with “guaranteed jumps, spills, singletrack challenges, agility obstacles, and maybe a touch of early spring mud.” This year’s revival in Goshen was held March 16.

Student sews

MUHS junior Mirabelle Markowski was the costume designer for the Addison Repertory Theatre’s production of Shakespeare’s “The Tempest” this year. She did everything from start to finish — “from drawing the look, to making the templates, to creating the clothes and finishing with alterations and accessories,” she said. The performance was held in early March.

MARCH

Frost turns 150

The Vermont Book Shop and Town Hall Theater teamed up to honor the life and work of legendary poet Robert Frost. The March 29 literary event celebrated Frost’s 150th birthday and featured some of the writer’s most famous pieces. Frost scholar Jay Parini was on hand to share stories of the legendary poet and dive deeper into Frost’s writing during a Q&A.

Only 100 days

Middlebury Acting Company brought Abigail and Shaun Bengson’s “Hundred Days” to Middlebury in early spring. The theatrical concert — described as “an uncensored, exhilarating and heartrending true story about embracing uncertainty, taking a leap and loving as if you only had 100 days to live” — was performed by Grace Experience and Stephen Shore.

APRIL

Arts honor

Lincoln couple Janet Fredericks and Tom Verner have for decades contributed to the arts in the Bristol 5-town area and abroad as the founders of that organization Magicians Without Borders. The pair was recognized for their creative efforts at the 5-Town Friends of the Arts annual gathering at Holley Hall in Bristol on April 7.

Classical for all

The Heath Quartet performed a free concert of classical music at the Mahaney Arts Center on April 28. This was the British quartet’s 11th concert for the Middlebury Performing Arts Series. These free concerts for the community have been supported by the generous Sunderman Family Concert Fund for the past 20 years.

MAY

New novels

Addison County authors Julia Alvarez and Carolyn Kuebler both published new novels this spring. “The Cemetery of Untold Stories” by Alvarez was released on April 2; Kuebler’s debut novel, “Liquid, Fragile, Perishable,” was released in May. The duo appeared at the Town Hall Theater in Middlebury, where Kuebler moderated a Q&A with Alvarez about her latest novel.

Opera!

David Weinstock was once again a trusty reviewer of various performances this year, including the Opera Company of Middlebury’s presentation of “La Fille du Regiment” that took the stage at Town Hall Theater in Middlebury at the end of May and early June.  It “was called an opera comique,” he said, “but today’s audience will instantly recognize it as a rom-com.”

JUNE

Rugs raise funds

Thirty of the late Suzanne Douglas’s rugs were available to bid on via silent auction beginning in June, to benefit the Henry Sheldon Museum. The opening of the auction coincided with a celebration of life held for Douglas, who served for 25 years as staff at the Sheldon and died in January.

Creature creations

Bristol artist Diana Bigelow presented her enchanting creature collection at her 80th birthday open house on June 22. Visitors were welcome to marvel at her 200 whimsical creations crafted from natural materials collected from beaches, deserts and forests around the world.

JULY

Cat-Daddy visits

Homeward Bound, Addison County’s Humane Society, had what Director of Development Hannah Manley called a “once in a lifetime opportunity” in July, when the-one, the-only “Cat Daddy” Jackson Galaxy came to visit. Galaxy — cat behaviorist, New York Times best-selling author, YouTube sensation, and star of the television show “My Cat From Hell” on Animal Planet — came for a one-on-one with a few of the felines at the shelter, and to offer a workshop for staff and select volunteers.

Off to kick cancer

Sarah King performed a “temporary farewell” concert at Grand Point North in Burlington on July 27 before she began surgeries for her recently diagnosed thyroid cancer. The Ripton-based Americana singer-songwriter was diagnosed just 72 hours after her newest album “When It All Goes Down” was released.

AUGUST

Norton’s no more

Norton and Marlene Latourelle closed Norton’s Gallery of Woodcarvings at their home in Shoreham after 33 years as they headed into retirement. The couple held sales looking for new homes for the eclectic collection of animals (particularly dogs), insects, vegetables and cupcakes Norton had carved out of wood for more than half a century.

Burnham hosts second series

Pine Tree Flyers will perform in Lincoln on Sept. 7 to kick off the second season of Burnham Presents with Celtic, Quebecois and American music. “Our first season was so wonderfully received,” explained Beth Duquette. “We have another lineup of great musicians that we’re excited to share with everyone.”

SEPTEMBER

Beyond the Page

The community was invited to explore the text “The Strangers’ Case” — a passionate defense of refugees from the play “Sir Thomas More,” which penned more than 400 years ago by William Shakespeare (we suppose). Through storytelling and exploration, workshop participants will inform the creation of an original theatrical work by Beyond the Page teaching artist Louis Reyes McWilliams.

Snuggle in

The second annual Snugfest was held in Ripton, after a successful first year, on Sunday, Sept. 29. Festival-goers enjoyed music by LaMP, Jennifer Hartswick, Nick Cassarino and Friends, Bad Smell, and The Middle Ages. There was also an artisan market, charity auction, and sustainable fashion show.

OCTOBER

Fall Follies

This October, the Vergennes Opera House stage welcomed a drag/burlesque variety show — Pride Edition. Audiences came to celebrate love and diversity with a fabulous evening (for those 18+) of comedy, burlesque, drag and pole performances that showcase the talents of the local LGBTQ+ community.

Invitation to Awe

Middlebury College Museum of Art presented the exhibit “An Invitation to Awe” in the fall. This exhibition featured older paintings and prints displayed in conversation with contemporary objects, scientific equipment, and interactive work that compelled the viewer to think of how awe is experienced through senses other than sight and to expand their own understanding of where awe lives now.

NOVEMBER

King Lear

The Middlebury College Theater Department punctuated this election season with a presentation of “King Lear” by William Shakespeare held in Wright Theater. In a new adaptation of arguably one of the greatest tragedies ever written, Michole Biancosino and Alex Draper (both professionals and educators in theater arts at Middlebury College) dove head-first into these intense discussions of what it means to hold power.

Broadway Direct

Elisa VanDuyne and Bill Carmichael Walsh once again led the annual holiday singing and dancing review “Broadway Direct” for the 19th year at the Vergennes Opera House. This year the magic doubled with two performances in early December — an evening show and an afternoon matinee.

DECEMBER

Designer delights

The shop Artists & Revolutionaries re-opened on Main Street in Vergennes this fall, and clothing designer John Michael has hit his stride creating his eco-friendly fashion label that was born in Brooklyn and raised in the Hudson Valley. John Michael’s pieces are “size-free, age-free, handmade clothing.”

Clay connects

Middlebury Studio School welcomed assistant studio manager Saisorn Peemanao into long-time studio manager and clay instructor Kathy Clarke’s leadership role. Clarke will continue to teach pottery classes, and reflected on her decades as a leader with the arts studio.