STUFF YOU SHOULDN'T MISS

      ArtBits always features a calendar of the goings on of Franklin County artists. Check out these events around Franklin County. Each issue includes the entire text of our weekly newspaper column.

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      Stop in for live music and more at the Fairfax Music Sessions at the Foothills Bakery in Fairfax most Saturday afternoons at 1 p.m., at various restaurants around Franklin County throughout the week, at the Bayside in St Albans Town most Sunday afternoons, and the Cambridge CoffeeHouses at 7 p.m. on the first and third Wednesday of every month.
     These gatherings bring new opportunities, gossip, "show-and-tell" and occasional workshops. The booked performances and acoustic Open Mike Nights feature music, readings, and more from the best new artists in Vermont.

      Find links to these events and more in our Spotlight!

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BOTH ENDS OF THE SPECTRUM

      Chow!Bella presents Tony Whedon with poetry and jazz entangled in the opener of a mini-tour of the musical cabaret PoJazz tonight from 7-10 p.m. The tour continues at the Trout River Traders in Montgomery, tomorrow evening at 8 - 11 .
      PoJazz is an eclectic mix of poetry and jazz by Johnson State College students, faculty and friends. The performers include jazz musicians Tony Whedon, trombone, Lars Duggan, piano, Clyde Statts, bass, and Barry Reis, trumpet and drums, plus published poets David Cavanagh, Marina Back, and Neil Shepard. Mr. Whedon calls the show "fluid jazz theater." It changes constantly as new poets and musicians join to create new shows.
      The PoJazz tour gives Franklin County a choice of venues or, even better, an opportunity to experience the changing nuances of the show with two different meals.
      "Dinner specials will include a 3-course flatbread meal for just $18," Ms. Warden said. Chow!Bella offers a regular mix of live music and fine art.
      "We're planning to have music here every Friday night," Dewey Smith said of Trout River Traders (the former "Kilgore’s") where Franklin County artists including Melissa Haberman and Beth Adams also have fine art and nice crafts on the walls.
      The PoJazz tour continues to the Black Door in Montpelier on February 12. "We're playing every week for the next month," Mr. Whedon said.

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ART ON THE WALLS

ENOSBURG FALLS--The Artist In Residence Gallery features different artists each month. This month, the spotlight is on Leeza Mossey, paintings, Cynthia Peterson, drawings, and Holly Spier, jewelry. There is an artists reception with refreshments tonight from 5 - 8 p.m. The exhibit runs through the month of February.
      The Artist in Residence art cooperative features paintings, fiber arts, stained glass, sculpture, lamps, pottery, folk art boxes, scarves, hats and more by 45 Franklin County and surrounding area artists. It is owned and operated by the artists and sponsors. The Village Frame Shoppe is located within the coop as a resident framer. The Blue Crayon, a small private studio, is available there for individual or small group lessons. The gallery, located at 349 Main Street, is open Wednesday-Saturday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Sunday 12 to 5 p.m. Call 802.933.6403

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ST ALBANS--The Northwestern Medical Center Gallery hosts photographer Barbara Wolcott of the Diagnostic Imaging Department this month. Ms. Wolcott is exhibiting scenes from nature including a sunset, farm, covered bridge, butterfly, and woodpecker.
      The show continues through the end of February.

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ON STAGE LIVE

RICHMOND--Fiddleheads play a Benefit Family Dance with caller Mark Sustic in the Camels Hump School cafeteria tomorrow evening at 7 p.m. All dances will be taught. Silent auction.
      Admission is $5 per person or $15 per family. The proceeds benefit the Sequoia field trip to Boston. Email for more info.

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BURLINGTON--The ECHO Center hosts the Winter Family Festival Expo featuring performers from the annual Young Tradition concert on Saturday from 10 a.m. - 4 p.m.
      The Minor Key with Buddy Dubay performs 10:30-11:30 a.m. The Minor Key is a group of kid performers based in Richmond who write, perform, and record their own music. Kids can participate in a songwriting workshop with Buddy Dubay and some of the members of the Minor Key 1:30-2:30 p.m.
      Young Tradition and the Bosnian Lilies perform noon - 1 p.m. The annual Young Tradition showcase and contests feature children, youth and young adults who sing, dance, and play in folk and traditional styles. Email Mark Sustic or Julia Wayne for more info.
      The current exhibit at ECHO is DinoTracks, a hunt for New England’s dinosaur footprints. Indigenous Expressions, an exploration of 11,000 years of regional history and culture from Paleoindians to the Abenaki, Mohawk, and Iroquois, begins on Valentine's day.
      Echo Center is offering reduced admission during the Family Expo. Admission is just $2 per person.

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BURLINGTON--The Flynn Center for the Performing Arts presents Sam Bush with the nearly local North Country Gibson Brothers on the Main Stage on Saturday at 8 p.m.
      Admission is $40, $34, and $25 with a $4 discount off the top two ticket prices for children under 17 and students with ID. Call 802.86.FLYNN or click here for tickets and info.

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CLICK HERE: ART SITE OF THE WEEK

     Composer Sara Doncaster and the Warebrook Contemporary Music Festival of Irasburg offer lectures and discussions of contemporary music and her own work. The Festival brings contemporary concert music to the Northeast Kingdom. Her site includes the history, reviews, tickets, biographical info, and contacts.

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FRANKLIN COUNTY BOOKSHELF

      ArtBits features a quick weekly peek at the bookshelf or night stand of the folks you know in and around Franklin County. That popular feature has a page of its own at the Franklin County Bookshelf here on the AAC site.

SUPPORT LIVE ARTS IN YOUR TOWN!

All Arts Council of Franklin County

Dick Harper, Chair
P.O. Box 1
Highgate Springs, VT 05460
email us