Vermont Public Community Calendar

SHINE is the Vermont Network Against Domestic and Sexual Violence’s annual fundraiser and celebration that brings our community together in support of a vision for a violence-free world. It’s a time to lift each other up, honor our collective work and party with a purpose!

The evening will feature delicious appetizers, a silent auction, music, dynamic speakers and more!

Join us for a presentation by Beth Pratt, California Regional Executive Director for the National Wildlife Federation, author of "When Mountain Lions Are Neighbors" and leader of the #SaveLACougars campaign.

Come hear the remarkable story of P-22, the lone mountain lion who made his home in Los Angeles’ Griffith Park — inspiring a movement for coexistence and the construction of the world’s largest wildlife crossing. Discover how lessons from LA’s “wild neighbor” can help Vermont prepare for the return of our own catamounts.

Free and open to the public — walk-ins welcome! Register for event updates — first 25 registrants receive a free catamount t-shirt!

Celebrate back-to-school season with The Flynn Center’s 4th annual Playing Fields Project! Gather with friends and family for an unforgettable night featuring France’s Compagnie OFF’s Les Girafes — a monumental street show that transforms school fields into vibrant stages with a herd of towering red giraffes, music and stunning special effects. Inspired by clowns, vaudeville acts and circus arts, this spectacular show kicks off the school year with fun and delight! Learn more at https://www.flynnvt.org/Community/playing-fields. 

Lace up your running shoes and grab your spoons, the Brain Freezer 5K is back!

The rules are simple: challengers run half a 5k, stop to down a full pint of Island Homemade ice cream, then finish out the the race! Are you up for the challenge? (Fun runners do not have to finish a pint.)

There will be live music, prizes for best costumes, beautiful lake views along Burlington’s bike path, and plenty of ice cream!

All of the proceeds from the race go to People Helping People Global, a Vermont-based international microlending organization.

This event offers children ages 4-9 the chance to try hockey for free in a fun and safe environment with trained coaching staff. No experience or equipment is needed - skates, gear and helmets will be available to borrow. Arrive by 1:30 for equipment sizing, on ice activities will take place from 2-3 p.m. Registration is required.

A liberatory anthology of twenty-six writers—a community in book form—charting paths ahead for action and care in the face of political uncertainty, curated by Maggie Smith and Saeed Jones.

Phoenix Books is excited to host Saeed Jones and Maggie Smith for a discussion moderated by Alexander Chee to celebrate their new book, The People’s Project!

Inspired by Saeed Jones and Maggie Smith’s conversations in the wake of the 2024 election, the book is a collection of poems, essays and visual art on what we—individually and collectively—can hold onto and what we can work towards.

The People’s Project features original and selected work from Alexander Chee, Chase Strangio, Tiana Clark, Hala Alyan, Aubrey Hirsch, Imani Perry, Abi Maxwell, Victoria Chang, Koritha Mitchell, Jason Silverstein, Alice Wong, Mira Jacob, Aruni Kashyap, Sam Sax, Ashley C. Ford, Marlon James, Eula Biss, Randall Mann, Danez Smith, Ada Limon, Kiese Laymon, Joy Harjo, Jill Damatac and Patricia Smith.

Dancing with the Burlington Stars is the annual fundraising event for the Vermont Association for the Blind and Visually Impaired [VABVI]. This lively dance competition takes place on the Flynn main stage on Saturday September 13, 2025, from 7:00 - 9:00 p.m. Six (6) teams made up of professional dance instructors paired with local celebrities will compete for the top trophy and title of 'Burlington Dance Stars 2025'. The show will also feature four guest performance groups from the area. All proceeds from the show support VABVI's statewide support services to Vermonters who are blind or visually impaired. It is a great time for a great cause! This is a boisterous, family-friendly, community celebration! Tickets on sale now at: Flynnvt.org or call The Flynn box Office at 802-863-5966.

Parent On Board is an original sketch comedy revue presented by The Middlebury Acting Company and Interact Creative. Every comedic sketch and song in the show is born out of the challenging yet wildly wonderful world of parenting. Andrew Ritter directs an all-star cast of writer/actor/improvisers and brings over 20 years of experience teaching, directing and performing at The Second City in Chicago. There will be four performances at The Town Hall Theater in Middlebury (September 18 - 20) and three performances at The Off-Center for the Dramatic Arts in Burlington (September 26 & 27).

Tickets for the Middlebury shows ($17 - $44) can be purchased at the Town Hall Theaters website. Tickets for the Burlington shows ($25) can be found at TheaterEngine.com.

The 2nd annual BURLINGTON BAROQUE FESTIVAL will be a wondrous array of repertoire offered by a renowned ensemble of specialists performing in historically informed style and on the period baroque instruments for which the music was written. Our Festival Artists-in-Residence, who are regularly featured in festival performances across North America, Europe, South America and Asia, will be gathered in Burlington for the week and will be joined by the Burlington Baroque Festival Singers for four spectacular performances at College Street Congregational Church, Burlington, Vermont.

4 DAYS - 4 PERFORMANCES
7 MASTER COMPOSERS - 12 MASTERWORKS
60 PERFORMERS
Featuring Artists-in-Residence
Ensemble L’Harmonie des saisons Baroque Orchestra
The Burlington Baroque Festival Singers
Internationally Acclaimed Vocal Soloists
Eric Milnes, Director

Thursday, September 18th, 7:30 p.m.
Welcome To All The Pleasures!
Odes to St. Cecilia, Patron Saint of Music
by Henry Purcell & George Frideric Handel
with Burlington Baroque Festival Singers

CRAG-VT is excited to announce the sixth annual Vermont Climbing Festival, taking place September 19–21, 2025 in Waterbury and on the cliffs of Bolton, Vermont. This three-day celebration of climbing and community brings together climbers of all ages and abilities for a weekend packed with climbing clinics, workshops, competitions, speakers, music and more.

All festival proceeds support CRAG-VT’s mission to protect and preserve Vermont’s climbing areas, ensuring access, stewardship and education for generations to come.

Pre-Sales (Now – September 1): $55 Public / $48 Members
After September 1: $70
Kids 12 and under: Free | Ages 12–18: $25

Media in the Movies: a journalism series presented by VTIFF and Seven Days in celebration of Seven Days’ 30th anniversary

Introduced by Sasha Goldstein, Seven Days deputy news editor

Definitely on the shortlist for Funniest Movie to Ever Come out of Hollywood, His Girl Friday reached a pinnacle in screwball comedy that other films have approached but never bettered. Star reporter Hildy Johnson (Rosaldind Russell) is leaving the news biz to get married, but her ruthless editor (and ex-husband) Walter Burns (Cary Grant) isn’t having it. Hildy agrees to cover one more story—the execution of murderer Ear Williams—and the dominoes start falling.

In a genre that put a premium on fast-paced, wisecracking dialog, no movie ever cracked wiser at a faster pace. The blistering dialog is both heavily stylized yet perfectly on point (clearly a huge influence on filmmakers like the Coen Brothers and, well, dozens of others). Scriptwriter Charles Lederer ingeniously updated Ben Hecht’s 1928 play The Front Page, recasting Hildy as a woman—originally written for a man, film versions have seen Hildy played by Pat O’Brien and Jack Lemmon—while the great Hawks pushes the pace like an out-of-control locomotive.

Russell is fabulous as Hildy, but Grant, never funnier, frequently steals the show as the conniving, vicious, amoral Burns.

In addition to being utterly hilarious, His Girl Friday also has some things to say about the fourth estate. Balancing Hildy’s basic decency and quest for the truth with an otherwise pretty scandalous view of the newspaper world, His Girl Friday manages to satirize journalistic practices while also upholding the institution.

Parent On Board is an original sketch comedy revue presented by The Middlebury Acting Company and Interact Creative. Every comedic sketch and song in the show is born out of the challenging yet wildly wonderful world of parenting. Andrew Ritter directs an all-star cast of writer/actor/improvisers and brings over 20 years of experience teaching, directing and performing at The Second City in Chicago. There will be four performances at The Town Hall Theater in Middlebury (September 18 - 20) and three performances at The Off-Center for the Dramatic Arts in Burlington (September 26 & 27).

Tickets for the Middlebury shows ($17 - $44) can be purchased at the Town Hall Theaters website. Tickets for the Burlington shows ($25) can be found at TheaterEngine.com.

We kick off this Van Cliburn year with the bronze medalist, Evren Ozel. He began studying piano at the age of three and has matured into a highly accomplished performer. Evren is the recipient of 2023 Avery Fisher and 2022 Salon de Virtuosi Career Grants, and a laureate of the Cleveland, Dublin, and Cooper International Piano Competitions as well as the winner of the 2021 Victor Elmaleh Competition. He debuted with the Minnesota Orchestra at age eleven and has since been a featured soloist with the Cleveland Orchestra, Jacksonville Symphony, and Boston Pops Orchestra.

The 2nd annual BURLINGTON BAROQUE FESTIVAL will be a wondrous array of repertoire offered by a renowned ensemble of specialists performing in historically informed style and on the period baroque instruments for which the music was written. Our Festival Artists-in-Residence, who are regularly featured in festival performances across North America, Europe, South America and Asia, will be gathered in Burlington for the week and will be joined by the Burlington Baroque Festival Singers for four spectacular performances at College Street Congregational Church, Burlington, Vermont.

4 DAYS - 4 PERFORMANCES
7 MASTER COMPOSERS - 12 MASTERWORKS
60 PERFORMERS
Featuring Artists-in-Residence
Ensemble L’Harmonie des saisons Baroque Orchestra
The Burlington Baroque Festival Singers
Internationally Acclaimed Vocal Soloists
Eric Milnes, Director

Friday, September 19th, 7:30 p.m.
Seasons & Songs
The Four Seasons & Concert Arias by Antonio Vivaldi

CRAG-VT is excited to announce the sixth annual Vermont Climbing Festival, taking place September 19–21, 2025 in Waterbury and on the cliffs of Bolton, Vermont. This three-day celebration of climbing and community brings together climbers of all ages and abilities for a weekend packed with climbing clinics, workshops, competitions, speakers, music and more.

All festival proceeds support CRAG-VT’s mission to protect and preserve Vermont’s climbing areas, ensuring access, stewardship and education for generations to come.

Pre-Sales (Now – September 1): $55 Public / $48 Members
After September 1: $70
Kids 12 and under: Free | Ages 12–18: $25

Be part of our inaugural Patagonia Gear Swap event!
Patagonia Burlington | 191 College Street, Burlington, VT

Dates:
Item Intake: September 8 - 19 (online intake form required) - 10am - 6pm
Shop: September 20 & 21 - 10am - 6pm

Our Patagonia Gear Swap is a community driven, consignment sale event. You can buy, sell, or do both! We facilitate finding new homes for pre-loved Patagonia clothing and gear that would otherwise sit in a closet, basement, garage, or end up in a landfill.

Special Exhibit | September 20, 2025 – January 4, 2026

Join Tracey the pencil dog and her crew—Rooth, Drop, Inky, Uno, and Kari—on a fantastically immersive journey to create stories using science and imagination. Channel your creativity and develop your own animated masterpiece using animation basics like storyboarding, sketching, stop-motion movie making, and more!

Local support for Animationland is provided by Northfield Savings Bank.

Animationland was produced and is toured by the Oregon Museum of Science and Industry in Portland, Oregon.

Vermont VegFest is a fully vegan festival that promotes a fun and compassionate plant-based vegan lifestyle. We love eating plants and if given the right opportunity, we think everyone else will, too. If you’re vegan, vegetarian, or just #PlantCurious, we’d love to see you at our inaugural Vermont VegFest!

Our event at Hula will feature food, beverages, makers, non-profit organizations, and more on Saturday, September 20, from 12 to 5 p.m. VIP early entry tickets allow for an 11 a.m. entry and come with a free totebag! Tickets and more info are available at www.vermontvegfest.com.

Tickets are available online in advance, and will not be available at the door for any session that has sold out in advance.

Proof that just because a movie is gloomy and bleak doesn’t mean it can’t be incredibly hilarious, Withnail and I has earned its reputation as the ultimate cult British comedy. Bruce Robinson’s semi-autobiographical cinematic bender is a feast of delectably florid dialogue delivered with deadpan relish by stars Richard E. Grant and Paul McGann as, respectively, Withnail and “I,” a pair of perpetually soused, unemployed actors in 1960s London who, desperate to escape their nightmarishly grimy flat, embark on a hilariously misbegotten country getaway beset by menacing locals, bare cupboards, and a randy uncle—all of which they may be able to withstand as long as they don’t run out of alcohol.

Robinson’s dazzling script is one of cinema’s most eminently quotable—“I have of late, but wherefore I know not, lost all mirth” pairs well with “I feel like a pig shat on my head”—but it’s the bittersweet evocation of a friendship gradually unraveling that gives this beloved end-of-youth tale its lasting poignancy.

Grant, in particular, shines as Withnail, bringing hilarity to nearly every line he speaks and making the already-hilarious lines even funnier. Roger Ebert dubbed Withnail “one of the iconic figures in modern films.”

Hosted by Melo Grant. Grant (no relation to Richard E.) is widely known about town today as the City Councilor for Burlington’s Central District, but her VTIFF connection comes through being a major film buff who served as the film buyer for gone-and-much-lamented Waterfront Video. She’s been a fan of Withnail since seeing it in its original release.

Parent On Board is an original sketch comedy revue presented by The Middlebury Acting Company and Interact Creative. Every comedic sketch and song in the show is born out of the challenging yet wildly wonderful world of parenting. Andrew Ritter directs an all-star cast of writer/actor/improvisers and brings over 20 years of experience teaching, directing and performing at The Second City in Chicago. There will be four performances at The Town Hall Theater in Middlebury (September 18 - 20) and three performances at The Off-Center for the Dramatic Arts in Burlington (September 26 & 27).

Tickets for the Middlebury shows ($17 - $44) can be purchased at the Town Hall Theaters website. Tickets for the Burlington shows ($25) can be found at TheaterEngine.com.