Posted By Sadie Williams on Sun, Mar 19, 2017 at 2:50 PM

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Sadie Williams

Vermont Beardies contestants at ArtsRiot in Burlington

Last night, ArtsRiot in Burlington was packed — with beards. It was the first annual Vermont Beardies competition, in which participants raised money for Make-A-Wish Vermont by showing off their luxurious facial locks.

The event itself was an informal affair. Contestants had about an hour to display their fuzzy features for the judges, who included Jonathan Goldsmith, the former "Most Interesting Man in the World" from the Dos Equis ad campaign.  Goldsmith and ArtsRiot employee Ben Rutter were charged with collecting the funniest — or most poignant — beard-related stories. At another judging table, Wish Kid Noah Cohen evaluated beards based on how many plastic clothespins they could hold.

Tags: ArtsRiot , Jonathan Goldsmith , Make-A-Wish Vermont , beards , Image , Web Only

Posted By Sadie Williams on Sun, Mar 19, 2017 at 7:00 AM

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Gundi Vigfusson

Sam Harnett and Chris Hoff of "The World According to Sound"

This week, what is possibly the world's shortest radio show comes to Vermont. Kind of. The World According to Sound is a  90-second sonic series produced by San Francisco-based radio guys Chris Hoff and Sam Harnett. It airs weekly on public radio stations including NPR's "All Things Considered."

On March 25, Hoff and Hartnett will stage a live — and extended — version of the show at the University of Vermont. The performance kicks off their East Coast tour, which also stops on March 31 at Town Hall Theater in Middlebury.

Each episode of the show focuses on a different sound, as the title implies. Their selections are unpredictable and yet somehow completely mundane: Sounds made by people, animals and things that we usually only pay attention to in the context of a larger story. Together, Hoff and Harnett have broadcast the fuzzy thump of a pulsing artery, the roar of political protest, the labored sound of a coal miner's breath, and the wet gurgle of mud pots.

Tags: The World According to Sound , Chris Hoff , Sam Harnett , Image , Web Only

Posted By Sadie Williams on Sun, Mar 19, 2017 at 6:30 AM

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Courtesy of Steve Waltien

Steve Waltien

Steve Waltien has a pretty funny boss: Jon Stewart. But Waltien is no slouch himself. The 38-year-old comedian and Shelburne native is an alum of the famed Chicago improv comedy theater, the Second City, and a member of the Improvised Shakespeare Company. He's now a writer on Stewart's new animated HBO series. While there is no official air date yet for the former "Daily Show" host's news parody show, Waltien says it will come out "soon."

In the meantime, local comedy fans can look forward to the Vermont expat's homecoming this week. Waltien returns to the Queen City for Laughter for Learning: Stern Center Benefit, a four-show, two-night run of improv comedy at the Vermont Comedy Club in Burlington on Wednesday and Thursday, March 22 and 23. Proceeds from the shows benefit the Stern Center for Language & Learning in Williston.

Tags: Stern Center , Steve Waltien , Ben Rameaka , Kate James , Andrew Knox , Katie Rich , Allison Stanger , improv comedy , Image , Video , Web Only

Posted By Dan Bolles on Sat, Mar 18, 2017 at 7:00 AM

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Matt Morris

In February, Seven Days spoke with the heads of various local arts groups to gauge reaction to then-rumored federal budget cuts to the arts and public broadcasting. Responses from the likes of Flynn Center for the Performing Arts executive director John Killacky, Vermont Arts Council executive director Alex Aldrich and others could essentially be summed up thusly: "Sheeeeeit."

At the time, theorizing what dramatic federal budget cuts would mean locally was a speculative exercise. But, earlier this week, speculation took a step closer to becoming reality when President Donald Trump unveiled his first budget plan for the fiscal year 2018. Among the dozens of organizations and programs on the chopping block, the National Endowment for the Arts, the National Endowment for the Humanities and the Corporation for Public Broadcasting are all proposed to be eliminated or zeroed out.

Tags: Donald Trump , John Killacky , Alex Aldrich , Vermont Arts Council , Vermont Humanities Council , Vermont Public Radio , Vermont Public Television , Flynn Center for the Performing Arts , Image , Web Only

Posted By Amelia Devoid on Fri, Mar 17, 2017 at 9:56 AM

Jérémie Meli

Jay//Attik

Hello again, humans. You may have guessed that I have a love for "internet music." The concept of unsigned musicians experimenting with genre and generally not giving a heck about antiquated standards of production excites me. It's even more exciting to discover such forward-thinking musicians from Vermont randomly on the internet.

Tags: beat making , Burlington , electronic , hip-hop , experimental , Jay//Attik , Image , Web Only

Posted By Dan Bolles on Thu, Mar 16, 2017 at 12:37 PM

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University of Vermont

University of Vermont Catamounts

The University of Vermont men's basketball team is dancing again. The Catamounts earned a bid to the Big Dance, aka the NCAA Division 1 tournament, by knocking off Albany last weekend in the America East conference finals, capping a record-setting season in which the team went undefeated in conference play. Their reward? A 13 seed in the tourney and a date with fourth seeded and heavily favored Purdue University at 7:27 p.m. tonight in Milwaukee.

Tags: March Madness , UVM Catamounts , basketball , Image , Web Only , Video

Posted By Kymelya Sari on Thu, Mar 16, 2017 at 7:00 AM

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Three women who advocate for victims of sexual violence, higher education for girls and low-income families will be honored on Saturday, March 18, during an International Women’s Day celebration at the King Street Center in Burlington.

This year’s honorees are Armina Medic, victim’s advocate at the Chittenden Unit Special Investigations; Aftaba Mezetovic, instructional assistant at the Winooski School District; and Wanda Hines, director of Joint Urban Ministry Project.

The trio was nominated by a group of seven women from the Caroline Fund, the Laura Kate Winterbottom Memorial Fund and the Zonta Club of Burlington. All three nonprofits work toward female empowerment and the eradication of violence against women.

Tags: International Women’s Day , Armina Medic , Aftaba Mezetovic , Wanda Hines , Caroline Fund , Laura Kate Winterbottom Memorial Fund , Zonta Club of Burlington , Muslim Girls Making Change , Young Writers Project , Image , Web Only

Posted By Dan Bolles on Mon, Mar 13, 2017 at 9:32 AM

Tags: Owen Foley , humor , standup , Vermont comedy , Image , Web Only

Posted By Sadie Williams on Sun, Mar 12, 2017 at 3:41 PM

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Sadie Williams

Rabbi Jan Salzman reading the story of Esther

Saturday night, while hordes of partiers faced a frigid Mardi Gras, a group of art-savvy community members staged a politicized retelling of the story of Esther. Yes, Purim came to ArtsRiot in Burlington's South End.

Organized by Rabbi Jan Salzman, leader of the new nondenominational Rauch Hamoqom congregation, the show was a raucous affair that poked fun at current political figures in a lighthearted, dance-heavy atmosphere.

The Book of Esther appears in the Hebrew Bible.  As the story goes, Esther is a concubine of the king. When she hears of a plot by his adviser, Haman, to kill all the Jews, she risks her own life to beg the King to spare her people.

The actors and organizers in last night's revelries included art activist Jen Berger, Junktiques owner Phinneus Sonin, Nicole D'Elisa of Nico Suave and the Bodacious Supreme, musician Sarah Griffin, artist Jabari Jones and Salzman's husband, Loredo Sola.

Tags: Jen Berger , Rabbi Jan Salzman , Purim , ArtsRiot , Burlington , Image , Web Only

Posted By Jordan Adams on Tue, Mar 7, 2017 at 11:12 AM

Courtesy of Orange Julians

Orange Julians

Winooski-based electro-pop artist Orange Julians recently announced a new album, Option, to be released in April. OJ dropped his first album, Object, last October. The first track offered from the new record is "All Nite | Long Gone."

Tags: Orange Julians , electro-pop , new albums , new tracks , Julian DeFelice , Image , Web Only