Did You Know? - Hastings Store in West Danville, VT
The VFC Archives is full of amazing first-person accounts of everyday life in Vermont and New England–past and present. In this feature, we share these stories with you. Continuing with our focus on Vermont general stores, this month we look at Hastings Store, a family-run general store in West Danville. Hastings has been owned by the same family since 1913, when it was purchased by Gilbert and Jenny Hastings. Their great-granddaughter Jenny Rafuse runs the store today.
YTV Touring Group Goes to Cape Breton!
The Touring Group had just returned from their April 21-30th cultural travel tour to Cape Breton, a whirlwind of performances, workshops, and visits with many opportunities to engage with and be inspired by Cape Breton's cultural and language communities.
Did You Know? - F.H. Gillingham and Sons General Store
The VFC Archives is full of amazing first-person accounts of everyday life in Vermont and New England–past and present. In this feature, we share these stories with you. In the early 1990's, Vermont Folklife founder Jane Beck met with Jireh Billings and Frank Billings–the 4th generation to run the store–to talk about its history, their involvement, and how the family kept their general store thriving through changing times.
Folk Sources: Learning With Vermont Folklife's Archives
This spring, we–with project partners History Miami Museum, Oklahoma Oral History Program, OSU Writing Project and Local Learning–launched Folk Sources, a digital resource that provides pathways and tools for learning with specific types of primary source materials: field recorded archival sound, documentary photographs, text and other items generated through the research activities of folklorists, ethnomusicologists, oral historians and anthropologists.
The Most Costly Journey & Primary Sources of Vermont’s Food System: Educator Workshop in Barre
Multiple Perspectives and Counter Narratives in Vermont’s Food System: A workshop for K-12 educators and partners was an inspiring occasion that brought together educators and community partners to discuss learning strategies that focus on creating a more just and sustainable food system.
A hello from Ian, New YTV Director
To all invested in Young Tradition Vermont,
I’m Ian Drury and I have been hired as the Director of Young Tradition Vermont at Vermont Folklife. I am honored to be working alongside Mark Sustic for the next 5 months as I learn from the master-of-all-things YTV to ensure the continued success and growth of Young Tradition Vermont. I have known Mark for most of my life, having worked with him on education related projects and playing music with him at our family's soirees from when I was a kid through today.
Did You Know? - A Stop at H.N. Williams Store
Our associate archivist, Susan Creighton loves to explore Vermont, and following a recent recommendation she set out to visit the H.N. Williams Store in Dorset. She loved it, and afterwards she discovered something terrific: we have interviews about this selfsame store in our archive!
Ian Drury Hired as Young Tradition Vermont Director
he Vermont Folklife Board and Staff are thrilled to announce the appointment of Ian Drury as full-time Director of Young Tradition Vermont at Vermont Folklife. Drury will succeed Mark Sustic, founder and long-time director of Young Tradition Vermont (YTV), formerly a stand-alone nonprofit that joined forces with Vermont Folklife in July, 2022.
Remembering Pete Sutherland
Legendary Vermont musician Pete Sutherland died on November 30, 2022. In the wake of his passing, tributes and remembrances from his vast, nationwide community of musical collaborators, students, mentees, and fans, abound. We share just two, of the many, here.
Did You Know? - Visitn’ with Hollis Squier
The VT Folklife Archive is full of amazing first-person accounts of everyday life in Vermont and New England–past and present. One of these interviews was with Hollis Squier of Tinmouth, VT. Hollis's family moved to Vermont in the early 1950's from upstate New York and took up farming in Tinmouth. Hollis took to small-town life, and from a young age got involved in town government. One of Hollis's early town positions was as the road commissioner - a role he took on as a young man in his early twenties.
Did You Know? The Snelling Collection - Part 2
Between 2002 and 2004, on behalf of the Snelling Center for Government, VFC founder Jane Beck interviewed 35 current and former Vermont legislators to explore the culture of Vermont’s citizen legislature and the personal relationships from which this culture emerges.
VT Folklife Goes to Tulsa!
This month, the VT Folklife Education team, Sasha Antohin and Mary Wesley, attended the annual meeting of the American Folklore Society (AFS) in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Read about their trip!
Afghan Summer Arts Camp
VFC was thrilled to support a one-of-a-kind summer camp in Brattleboro, conceived and led by a group of five Afghan artists who have been making waves across southern Vermont since resettling in the area early this year. Abdullah, Marwa, Meetra, Negina, and Zuhra are all part of ArtLords, a global Afghan-led movement using art for peace building and social transformation. With support from Vermont Afterschool, VFC underwrote three traditional-arts based youth summer programs, including this camp in Brattleboro.
Did You Know? The Snelling Collection - Part 1
Between 2002 and 2004, on behalf of the Snelling Center for Government, VFC founder Jane Beck interviewed 35 current and former Vermont legislators to explore the culture of Vermont’s citizen legislature and the personal relationships from which this culture emerges.