Traditional Arts Spotlight - Abenaki Basketmaking and Fiber Art
The 2022-2023 ‘cohort’ of the Vermont Traditional Arts Apprenticeship Program includes 12 collaborations between mentor artists and apprentices who are working together to keep traditional cultural expressions vital and relevant to the communities that practice them. In this ongoing series of Field Notes we’ll introduce you to some of this year’s program participants and the traditional art forms they practice. Today meet Abenaki artists Vera Sheehan and Sherry Gould.
Folklife in the Wake of a Natural Disaster
As our state continues to recover and heal from the 2023 floods, we are re-sharing some of the resources that Vermont Folklife developed for times of crisis.
Did You Know? - Ticonderoga Steamship Part 1: Teenage Deckhands
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. The steamboat Ticonderoga is a National Historic Landmark that lives on the grounds of the Shelburne Museum in Shelburne, VT, where it portrays life onboard in 1923. This year, then, a trip aboard the “Ti” is a trip 100 years back in time. Vermont Folklife is proud to have a collection of interviews of many of the people who lived and worked on the Ticonderoga during that time.
Traditional Arts Spotlight: Keeping it in the Family - Jeffrey and Emerson Gale White Ash Basketmaking Apprenticeship
For the past year, Jeffrey Gale and his son, Emerson have been participating in an apprenticeship though Vermont Folklife’s Traditional Arts Apprenticeship Program (VTAAP). Mary Wesley paid them a visit this spring to check out what they’ve been up to.
Mary Wesley Named New Director of Education and Media
We are delighted that Mary Wesley, who has worked with Vermont Folklife in a wide range of capacities since 2009, has been promoted to Director of Education & Media as of May 22nd.
Touring Group & Youth Commission Update - June 2023
I am sure many are very eager to hear more concerning this coming year’s programming! Good news! I have updates! :) This year the YTV Touring Group will be going to Montreal and Quebec City!
Celebrating Sansari Puja 2023
On Saturday, May 13th, Vermont Folklife was honored to join the Burlington Nepali Rai and Limbu Community for Sansari Puja—a springtime festival celebrating Mother Earth. The community gathered and were joined by friends and neighbors from around Burlington to connect, eat, make music, and dance. The event included many past and present participants in our Traditional Arts Apprenticeship Program, including a performance by the Old North End Sarangi Club.
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.
