Upon the Retirement of Susan Creighton, Associate Archivist
Wherein VT Folklife Archivist, Andy Kolovos, reflects on Susan and her many contributions.
The 2025 Young Tradition Festival celebrates Vermont’s many music and dance cultures
Vermont Folklife's 2025 Young Tradition Festival takes place Friday May 9th and Saturday May 10th at Contois Auditorium in Burlington. Friday evening features a Community Dance Party (potluck at 5:30 pm, dancing at 7:30 pm). Events take place throughout the day Saturday, and conclude with a concert by the Pine Tree Flyers—four of the finest voices in New England's traditional music scene—with an opening act from the Young Tradition Touring Group (7:00pm).
Partner Profile - Mary Simons
The recently launched Vermont Community Fellows Program is a partnership between Vermont Folklife and Conversations from the Open Road. CFTOR founder Mary Simons has worked with Vermont Folklife for over a decade, the relationship evolving from thought partners, to collaborators on a wide variety of projects. We are thrilled to be partnering with Mary on the Vermont Community Fellows Program, where she will be mentoring primarily student fellows over the next two years.
Congratulations to Bob Hooker on 18 marvelous years at VT Folklife!
After 18 years at VT Folklife, Bob Hooker is retiring! Bob has been an indispensable part of the organization for many years, filling more roles than we can count, a small number of which include: greeting everyone who walked through the doors of our Middlebury gallery; conducting mailings and thanking donors; organizing, decorating, and managing our building; and planning and executing our winter Gingerbread House exhibit.
The Vermont Community Fellows Program Connects Youth and Adults to Address Complex Local Issues
Vermont Folklife and Conversations from the Open Road announce the Vermont Community Fellows Program (formerly titled Youth Community Action Corps), a three-year initiative to build statewide capacity for community-based, action-oriented field research. In Fiscal Year 2024, Senator Bernie Sanders secured $665,000 in Congressionally Directed Spending for this program through the National Historical Publications and Records Commission. Sanders was proud to secure this federal funding so that young people can help tell the story of Vermont for generations to come. Applications for the first cohort of Fellows will be accepted from November 1 to December 15, 2024.
Press Release: Vermont Folklife Moves from Middlebury Building to Boost Statewide Impact
Vermont Folklife plans to sell the historic John Warren building in Middlebury, which has been its home since 2006. The sale of the building will advance Vermont Folklife’s goal to better serve constituents across the entire state.
Reflecting on a Year of Listening
For the past nine months, Vermont Folklife has been hosting events around the state that invite people to come together and share the experience of listening–deeply–to voices, sounds, and songs from across the state and across the years. Called “Listening Parties,” these events are a bit like DJ sets of audio drawn from the Vermont Folklife Archive. Since October 2023, people in Lincoln, Burlington, Manchester, Windsor, Winooski, and Waitsfield have joined us for this community listening experience.
Applications now open for 2024-2025 Traditional Arts Apprenticeship Program
Vermont Folklife is pleased to announce the 33rd year of its Vermont Traditional Arts Apprenticeship Program (VTAAP). With funding from the National Endowment for the Arts through a partnership with the Vermont Arts Council, this program supports the continued vitality of Vermont’s living cultural heritage. Information about the program is available in fourteen languages spoken within the state, including Dari, Pashto, Somali, Nepali, Spanish, and Ukrainian.
“Turkeys and the moon brought us together.” — A very special meet-cute
It’s February 14th, St. Valentine’s Day, a time to celebrate love in all its forms. Here at Vermont Folklife, we often mark this sentimental season by turning our microphones towards friends and neighbors who are in love to ask the simple question, “How did you meet?” This year, we found one in an unexpected place, during an interview for an oral history project centered around the hunting and wildlife management of wild turkeys in Vermont,
2023 Year in Review
2023 has been a tremendous year for Vermont Folklife—we’ve fully integrated Young Tradition Vermont’s programming, carried out successful research projects, and shared our work with people across the state through events, exhibits, listening parties, and more. We hope you’ll take a minute to help us celebrate the accomplishments your generosity helped make possible.
Announcing the Vermont Traditional Arts Apprenticeship Program 2023/24 Cohort
Vermont Folklife is pleased to announce the cohort of mentor and student artists comprising the 32nd cycle of the Vermont Traditional Arts Apprenticeship Program (VTAAP)! Eighteen mentorships will be supported this coming year, including traditional Nepali basket making, Judaic ritual weaving, granite carving, Burundian dance, and more.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Welcome Jordan Mitchell, our new Youth Media Fellow
Thanks to grant funding from the Canaday Family Foundation, the Vermont Folklife Center is pleased to welcome our first Youth Media Fellow for the 2022-2023 academic year. This position will support the objectives of the Vermont Voices pilot program, whose main objective is to integrate humanities-centered training and skills practice at career and technical education (CTE) centers.
Announcing the Vermont Traditional Arts Apprenticeship Program 2022/23 Cohort
The Vermont Folklife Center is pleased to announce the cohort of mentor and student artists comprising the 31st cycle of the Vermont Traditional Arts Apprenticeship Program (VTAAP)! Twelve mentorships will be supported this coming year. With funding from the National Endowment for the Arts and the Vermont Arts Council, the Center initiated the program in 1992 to support the continued vitality of Vermont's living cultural heritage.
The Manchester Vampire - Legends & Lore
In 1792 Rachel Harris Burton of Manchester was exhumed from her grave and partially burned out of fear she had become vampire. Rachel, and the citizens of Manchester, were caught up in a vampire panic that spread through New England during the late 18th and early 19th centuries, a panic with two documented cases in Vermont, first in Manchester and then again over 40 years later in Woodstock.