Vermont Public Community Calendar

Experience Laurel Canyon, an acoustic trio of celebrated singers, songwriters, and producers paying definitive tribute to the music of Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young. Grammy Award-winning writer/producer Mark Hudson, Nashville Songwriters Hall of Famer Gary Burr, and veteran singer/songwriter Mark Mirando unite to perform the hits, revisit the early bands, and honor the solo years of C, S, N & Y.

Each member brings a storied musical legacy: Hudson has worked with Ringo Starr, Aerosmith, and Cher; Burr has penned chart-topping hits for artists from Garth Brooks to Christina Aguilera; and Mirando’s credits include recordings with Ringo Starr and Harry Nilsson. Together, they capture the spirit and sound of a generation, a connection made all the more personal by Burr’s own experience in the audience at Woodstock in 1969.

⭐SAVE THE DATE⭐ Opera Company of Middlebury's after-school Youth Opera program presents ☀️Una Giornata🌑, an original production featuring all 24 Italian songs and arias!

Join our talented singers, ages 10-19, next month for three performances around Vermont!💐🤩👏

Shaker Bridge Theatre presents a provocative comedy from Pulitzer Prize nominee Theresa Rebeck (most Broadway-produced female playwright). Four aspiring young novelists sign up for private writing classes with Leonard, an international literary figure. Under his recklessly brilliant and unorthodox instruction, some thrive and others flounder, alliances are made and broken, sex is used as a weapon, and hearts are unmoored. The wordplay is not the only thing that turns vicious as innocence collides with experience in this biting comedy.

Mira Nair’s exuberant Monsoon Wedding, winner of the Golden Lion at the Venice International Film Festival, mixes comedy and chaotic melodrama in the maelstrom of an upscale wedding in New Delhi. Aditi, the only daughter in a traditional upper-middle-class Indian family, is getting married. Of course there are hitches: Aditi has been having an affair with a married TV host; she’s never met her husband to be, who lives in Houston; and the wedding has worsened her father’s hidden financial troubles.

As with all of Nair’s movies, the drama of the film is ignited by the friction between the old and the new—of a contemporary India divided between the possibilities of a global world and the time-honored traditions of its past. At the center of Monsoon Wedding is a bride caught between duty and passion, torn between her illicit affair with a married man and the marriage others have planned for her.

Made for only $1.5 million—shot in 40 locations over 30 days, according to the joyous button of the end credits—Monsoon Wedding quickly became one of the top ten highest-grossing foreign films in U.S. history, and has been beloved for its warmth, its familial bustle, and its radiant colors ever since. It’s also lifted by an out of this world soundtrack, featuring the likes of Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, Farida Khanum, Sukhwinder Singh, and Farida Khanum.

VT Symphony's Jukebox quartet honors the legacy of American folk traditions and the communal spirit that sustains them. Featuring Pulitzer Prize-winner Jennifer Higdon’s exploration of her Southern roots, the Appalachian-infused stylings of fiddler and composer Mark O’Connor, brand new arrangements by bluegrass legend Matt Flinner, and more - this program celebrates the magical place where classical and folk traditions meet. Featuring Brooke Quiggins-Saulnier and Joana Genova, violin; Stefanie Taylor, viola; and John Dunlop, cello; hosted and curated by Matt LaRocca. The tour includes an interactive audio and visual display of Vermont folk heritage, steeped in song selections from the Helen Hartness Flanders Ballad Collection at Middlebury College and accompanying displays from the Henry Sheldon Museum and Vermont Historical Society.

The Montpelier Contra Dance happens every 1st, 3rd, and 5th Saturday at the Capital City Grange Hall. We dance to live music with contra dance bands and callers from around New England and beyond. Beginners, singles, and all ages are welcome; all dances are taught. We use gender neutral role terms. There's a newcomers lesson at 7:45 pm and dancing 8-11pm. Some months on 3rd Saturdays there is a Waltzing Session 7-7:45. Check the website or Facebook page. Please bring clean soft-soled shoes. More info at www.montpeliercontradance.org. $12 adults, $5 kids/low-income, $20 dance supporters. Cash preferred. Venmo or CC accepted. Questions? 802-225-8921 or cdu.tim@gmail.com.

The Julian Scott Memorial Gallery is pleased to present a BFA exhibit featuring Amber Boles, Allegra Luzardo, Rose Oakland, and Sayler Ruggles. The exhibit features painting, sculpture, and digital art. It runs from April 13 to May 1, 2026, with a reception and artist talks on April 16th from 12-2 pm. The gallery is located in the Dibden Center for the Arts on the VTSU-Johnson campus. Follow us on social media at VTSU-Johnson Campus Art Department. Information: (802) 635-1469.

Take a trip through our solar system to learn about Earth, our Moon, and all the planets in the Milky Way with daily activities and demonstrations at ECHO’s out-of-this-world spring festival. Plus, celebrate what makes our home planet special with the beloved Mud Fling! Discover Mother Nature’s recipe for perfect mud, then join the mud parade and throw mud balls from ECHO’s upper deck.

Open Palette is a casual open studio session for adult artists of all disciplines. Bring your own projects and enjoy dedicated time to work, create and experiment in a shared creative space. This is a gathering designed to foster community, conversation and connection among artists.

This mixed-media watercolor workshop invites breath awareness and playful mark-making using unexpected tools rather than traditional brushes. With watercolor, ink, liquid charcoal, salt, oil pastel, and other materials, participants build layered abstract pieces, emphasizing curiosity and process over perfection. Observe pigments bloom and interact, respond intuitively, and embrace experimentation, suitable for all levels. Inspired by April’s unfolding, it invites patient trust and wonder.

Female mariachi singer, musician, and Latin American folkloric dancer and choreographer Veronica Robles has become a cultural icon for Boston’s Latino community. Through her powerful use of music, dance, and cultural traditions, she brings people together while celebrating the richness and importance of diversity.

⭐SAVE THE DATE⭐ Opera Company of Middlebury's after-school Youth Opera program presents ☀️Una Giornata🌑, an original production featuring all 24 Italian songs and arias!

Join our talented singers, ages 10-19, next month for three performances around Vermont!💐🤩👏

This special reading celebrates National Poetry Month and features three Vermont poets: Rage Hezekiah, Matthew Olzmann, and Leslie Sainz. This reading will take place on Sunday, April 19 at 2:00 pm in the Red Mill Building and includes light refreshments. A limited number of books will be available for sale and author signing thanks to our partnership with independent bookseller, Phoenix Books.

Rage Hezekiah is a poet and educator whose poems have been anthologized, co-translated, and published internationally. Her recent collection, Yearn, was a Diode Editions Book Contest winner, a finalist for the Lambda Literary Award, the Vermont Book Award, and the Audre Lorde Award for Lesbian Poetry. She is the 2025 Outpost Vermont Fellow and serves as Interviews Editor at The Common.

Matthew Olzmann is the author of Constellation Route as well as two previous collections of poetry: Mezzanines and Contradictions in the Design. Olzmann’s poems have appeared in the New York Times, Best American Poetry, the Pushcart Prizes, Kenyon Review, and elsewhere. He is a Senior Lecturer of Creative Writing at Dartmouth College and teaches in the MFA Program for Writers at Warren Wilson College.

Leslie Sainz is the author of Have You Been Long Enough at Table (Tin House, 2023), winner of the 2024 Audre Lorde Award and a finalist for the Poetry Society of America’s Norma Farber First Book Award, the New England Book Award, and the Vermont Book Award. The daughter of Cuban exiles, her work has appeared in or is forthcoming from Poetry, the Academy of American Poets’ Poem-a-Day, The Yale Review, The American Poetry Review, and elsewhere.

Flow through a range of styles and moods with original jazz works, stunning improvisations and new takes on the American Songbook.

Pulitzer Prize-winning composer, percussionist and multi-instrumentalist Tyshawn Sorey is one of the most visionary artists of his generation—known for a practice that defies category and a sound that reshapes the possibilities of improvisation.

Joined by longtime collaborators Aaron Diehl on the piano and Harish Raghavan on bass, Sorey blends rigorous structure with boundless spontaneity, drawing on everything from 20th-century classical to post-bop, minimalism to free jazz.

Performances:
Sun, Apr 19 at 4 & 7:30 p.m.

VT Symphony's Jukebox quartet honors the legacy of American folk traditions and the communal spirit that sustains them. Featuring Pulitzer Prize-winner Jennifer Higdon’s exploration of her Southern roots, the Appalachian-infused stylings of fiddler and composer Mark O’Connor, brand new arrangements by bluegrass legend Matt Flinner, and more - this program celebrates the magical place where classical and folk traditions meet. Featuring Brooke Quiggins-Saulnier and Joana Genova, violin; Stefanie Taylor, viola; and John Dunlop, cello; hosted and curated by Matt LaRocca. The tour includes an interactive audio and visual display of Vermont folk heritage, steeped in song selections from the Helen Hartness Flanders Ballad Collection at Middlebury College and accompanying displays from the Henry Sheldon Museum and Vermont Historical Society.

⭐SAVE THE DATE⭐ Opera Company of Middlebury's after-school Youth Opera program presents ☀️Una Giornata🌑, an original production featuring all 24 Italian songs and arias!

Join our talented singers, ages 10-19, next month for three performances around Vermont!💐🤩👏

The Julian Scott Memorial Gallery is pleased to present a BFA exhibit featuring Amber Boles, Allegra Luzardo, Rose Oakland, and Sayler Ruggles. The exhibit features painting, sculpture, and digital art. It runs from April 13 to May 1, 2026, with a reception and artist talks on April 16th from 12-2 pm. The gallery is located in the Dibden Center for the Arts on the VTSU-Johnson campus. Follow us on social media at VTSU-Johnson Campus Art Department. Information: (802) 635-1469.

What if the band was the band? 🤔
Meet HEARTSONG a musical where young performers become the instruments themselves! 🤯
Yes, they become instruments!

A one-of-a-kind musical about teamwork, big choices, and finding your voice. Each participant will have an important, fun role in the story, and the creators of the musical will cast and direct the ensemble. We will read and discuss the script, block and rehearse scenes, learn music, improvise, learn simple choreography and create costumes and set pieces. With focus, generosity and support of each other, performers will learn skills to confidently and collaboratively portray their characters. A final "sharing" for friends and family, a script-in-hand presentation, will take place in the main theater with simple theatrical elements.

HEARTSONG, an hour-long children's musical by Barbara Blatner and Lin Snider, tells of a band of musical instrument middle schoolers who make music by listening to each other’s hearts. When the opportunity arises for one of the band members to gain fame and fortune at the expense of the others, the instruments have to choose between "me" and "we." HEARTSONG asks: What are the lures and realities of being a "star," the consequences of disrespecting and bullying each other, and affirms the joys of collaborating with those of different backgrounds.

Take a trip through our solar system to learn about Earth, our Moon, and all the planets in the Milky Way with daily activities and demonstrations at ECHO’s out-of-this-world spring festival. Plus, celebrate what makes our home planet special with the beloved Mud Fling! Discover Mother Nature’s recipe for perfect mud, then join the mud parade and throw mud balls from ECHO’s upper deck.

Get a backstage pass to Brave Little State — the podcast where Vermont’s curiosity leads the way. Join producers Josh Crane, Sabine Poux, and Burgess Brown, along with co-creator Angela Evancie, for a behind-the-scenes look at how they answer our (brave little) state’s most pressing and peculiar questions.

Whether you’ve been with us since episode one or are just discovering the show, come learn how Vermont stories come to life — one curious voice at a time. They’ll break down the making of fan-favorite episodes, discuss the show’s future — and maybe even share some bloopers! .

Bring your burning questions for the team (or email them in advance), and let’s get curious together!

All attendees will receive a vintage Brave Little State Pale Ale pint glass from our 2021 collab with Lawson’s Finest Liquids.

Advance tickets: $10
At the door: $15 (as space allows)

GET TICKETS!

Doors open: 6 p.m. - snacks and drinks available
Event begins: 6:30 p.m.
Event ends: 7:30 p.m.

Email your questions for BLS in advance, please include your first name and town.

[Photo by James Buck]

Accommodations
Vermont Public is committed to providing access and accommodation for individuals with disabilities at our events. To request accommodations, please email events@vermontpublic.org or call us at 802-655-9451 at least seven days in advance of the event.

Cancellation Policy
Please let us know by emailing events@vermontpublic.org if you are not able to join us so that we may release your tickets to someone else. If tickets are able to be resold, we are happy to offer a refund, minus the processing fees.

Directions and Parking
Northern Stage is located at 74 Gates Street White River Junction, VT 05001. Street parking in downtown White River Junction is limited. There is a free public parking lot directly behind the Barrette Center for the Arts. Accessible parking is located at 76 Gates Street. There are four spots reserved for accessible parking.

Other questions? Email us at events@vermontpublic.org.