Gather ‘Round—A new Vermont Folklife Program Continues to Grow!
Vermont Folklife recently received a grant from the Turrell Fund to support the continued development of our innovative early childhood music and movement program: “Gather ‘Round.” This Field Note shares the research and pilot activities accomplished in the pilot year of the program (generously supported by Building Bright Futures) and gives a glimpse of what’s to come!
Gather ’Round: Connecting Community Through the Music of Childhood
In the fall of 2025 if you stopped by the ONE Arts Community School in Burlington after work you would find a merry scene: in a bright room filled with drums, shakers, and the sound of many languages, families gathered each week to sing, move, and learn together. Children and their guardians explored instruments, danced with their parents, and clapped along to the music of local musicians and culture bearers sharing traditions from their own childhoods and communities.
This family music class was part of the pilot year of Gather ’Round, a new early childhood movement and music program created by Vermont Folklife with support from Building Bright Futures and the Vermont Early Childhood Fund.
Gather ‘Round is an innovative project that brings the tools and resources of Vermont Folklife—decades of experience supporting and building relationships with traditional artists across the state, staff trained in folklore and ethnomusicology, and an extensive audio archive—into partnership with local families and early childhood educators. The goal: tap into music and movement as a vehicle to engage people of all ages with the diverse cultural heritage of Vermont.
Music as a Place to Gather
The pilot program centered on a series of six weekly family music classes hosted by ONE Arts Community School in Burlington. The space became a welcoming hub where families could gather at the end of the day to share music and movement together.
Each week, Vermont Folklife staff coordinated different activities—sometimes leading songs and dances. One session featured the Instrument Petting Zoo which introduces children to instruments from around the world (yes, they’re allowed to touch all the instruments!). Several classes featured local musicians and culture bearers who shared their own musical traditions connected to Franco-American, Nepali, Puerto Rican, and other cultural communities living in Vermont.
For many families, the classes quickly became something to look forward to.
Rosie, whose child Marcel attended the program, shared:
“I really enjoyed it and so did Marcel. He always looked forward to going. It was fun learning new instruments and it’s always good to hear the different languages and learn folk songs from all over. I love that.”
Heather, an educator at ONE Arts Community School who attended with her two children, described the experience this way:
“Gather ’Round was great! A very positive moment at the end of the day. The teachers and musicians were very welcoming to the children and families. It felt like a unique experience—learning about different cultures through music and dance with my family.”
Fieldwork and Interviews: Listening to Musical Memories
Alongside the classes, Vermont Folklife staff conducted 34 interviews with parents, musicians, and community members representing 14 different cultural backgrounds. These conversations informed the development of the music classes and focused on childhood memories—lullabies, games, and songs that people carried with them across generations and across borders.
Many interviewees were parents who had come to Vermont as refugees or immigrants. They spoke about the importance of maintaining connections to language and culture, especially for young children growing up far from extended family.
For Isika, a teenager who moved to Vermont from Nepal as a young child, music has always been a way to express who she is.
“I love dancing and singing… because it’s like I want to show myself—who I am.”
She reflected on how meaningful it would have been to hear Nepali music in school when she first arrived:
“If my teacher had incorporated Nepali songs, I feel like that would have felt great… because that’s also my culture being represented.”
These sentiments clarify why this work matters. When children hear their home languages and traditions reflected in shared spaces, it sends a powerful message: you belong here. In interviews, parents shared similar feelings: one mother originally from Burundi imagined classrooms where children could share songs from many cultures:
“Kids could say, ‘Oh, this is what they sing in Burundi… this is what they do in Nepal.’ You get to visit different places at the same time.”
Julia Wayne in the studio with son Boden
For Marcie, a local musician who helped teach Gather ’Round classes and grew up in a Puerto Rican family, programs like this can also help children navigating multiple cultural identities feel less alone.
“Any way to give kids that feeling that you're not strange—that there are other kids out there with this experience too—that’s powerful. It’s a strength.”
Recording Songs for the Future
While many interviews took place in people’s homes or at schools, Vermont Folklife was thrilled to partner with two local recording studios, Egan Media Productions and The Tank, to begin creating a professionally recorded anthology of childhood music as remembered and performed by Vermonters today. Studio recordings of more than 60 songs were created representing traditions including Puerto Rican, Franco-American, Senegalese, Bhutanese Nepali, Tibetan, Congolese, Burundian, and Yankee communities.
These recordings will eventually become part of a digital collection paired with educational materials for early childhood educators and families. Many different kinds of songs were recorded, but almost everyone had a lullaby to share.
Here are two examples:
For one group of mothers who participated in a recording session, the experience was deeply meaningful. After recording lullabies together, one mother shared:
“I am very happy that the lullabies we recorded will be played at my son’s daycare when they are napping. Hearing our language while he’s at school is so important to me.”
This group became involved in Gather ‘Round when Building Bright Futures staff introduced Vermont Folklife staff to a group of mothers and children who had recently arrived as refugees from the DRC and Burundi. They had been meeting several times a month for community and connection.
With the help of an interpreter, Vermont Folklife staff described the idea behind Gather ‘Round to the group. The mothers immediately understood the goal and potential impact, and were eager to participate, knowing it meant their children could hear songs in their home languages in daycare/school.
Over the next two months the women took charge, creating a list of songs remembered from childhood, rehearsing, and envisioning plans for recording. On a cold December day fourteen women and their children gathered at a local recording studio, naming themselves “Les Femmes Fortes”—the Strong Women. They recorded seven songs. The group leader shared:
"It was an amazing experience. I felt so happy the whole time!"
Beyond infusing hope and joy, les Femmes Fortes have realized Gather ‘Round’s vision in a way we couldn’t have imagined. These, and other recordings created through this project, will be an asset in classrooms and daycare centers around Chittenden County.
Les Femmes Fortes perform “Jieleza.” Sung in Swahili, the song is for introducing yourself, sharing: "Who you are, your name, where you're from, where you're going to go"
Looking Ahead
Vermont Folklife is proud and grateful for what has been accomplished in the pilot year of Gather ‘Round thanks to support from funders and all of our community collaborators. We are also thrilled to announce that, thanks to a new grant from the Turrell Fund, this project can continue!
Over the next year, we hope to expand Gather ’Round by expanding and completing the Gather ‘Round song collection and accompanying educational materials, and making it available for free for use by educators and community organizations.
To learn more about Gather ‘Round please contact Mary Wesley: mwesley@vtfolklife.org