Posted By Dan Bolles on Tue, Dec 18, 2018 at 9:42 PM

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Courtesy of Green Candle Theatre Co.

Josh Bridgman

If you've lived in Burlington at any point over the last 30 years or so, you likely knew Josh Bridgman, even if you never actually met him. He could often be found haunting the margins at one of his usual spots — Uncommon Grounds, Radio Bean or the Other Place.

Or you might have encountered him taking tickets at the downtown parking garage, where he worked for years. Perpetually rumpled and typically clad in his distinctive glasses and trench coat — and known for his equally distinctive and loud laugh — Bridgman was a Queen City fixture. 

"He was a guy that a lot of people knew just because he was out and about and had a peculiar look about him," said filmmaker Bill Simmon, former director of media services at VCAM. "So, whether you knew him or not, you knew of him if you lived in town."

Bridgman, 51, died unexpectedly earlier this week. As of this writing, the cause and time of death is unknown, pending an autopsy. Neither foul play nor suicide is suspected.

Tags: Josh Bridgman , Alex Dostie , Lee Anderson , Green Candle Theatre Company , Image , Video , Web Only

Posted By Kymelya Sari on Thu, Nov 15, 2018 at 10:24 AM

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Courtesy of the Flynn Center

Sori Mori

When Cindy Rancourt was living in her native country of South Korea, she wasn’t interested in Korean traditional music. But since moving to Vermont in 2006, the Essex resident has had a voracious appreciation for all things Korean.

Rancourt teaches at the Green Mountain Korean Culture School, helps out during the Korean Food Fest, practices taekwondo and attends a Korean church in Essex. She’s also a member of an all-female drumming troupe, Sori Mori, that performs in the samul nori folk style. These are all an expression of her “longing and yearning” for her home country, said Rancourt.

Tags: New Voices , Flynn Center , Cindy Rancourt , William Ellis , Steve MacQueen , Sori Mori , Five Town All-Stars , Es-K , Mal Maiz , Abow Ibrahim , Sabouyouma , St Michael's College , Green Mountain Korean Culture School , Image , Web Only

Posted By Kymelya Sari on Wed, Nov 7, 2018 at 9:15 AM

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Courtesy of Gabriella Demczuk

Ta-Nehisi Coates

Best-selling author Ta-Nehisi Coates was 33 when he voted for the first time. That was in 2008 and he voted for Barack Obama, Coates told the 3,200-strong audience at the University of Vermont’s indoor tennis courts on Tuesday evening.

The West Baltimore, Md., native said he had a “very radical but limited view of politics." Coates had felt that voting was "bad" and thought he would end up endorsing “for the lesser evil, at best.” But a professor friend recently told him, “Yes, that’s true, but I’m in favor of less evil.”

Tags: Ta-Nehisi Coates , Between the World and Me , University of Vermont , First-Year Summer Read program , Image , Web Only

Posted By Kymelya Sari on Mon, Oct 29, 2018 at 1:19 PM

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Courtesy of Tan Le

Tan Le

Five years after Tan Le was recognized in 1998 as Young Australian of the Year, she found herself at a career crossroad. She had been trained as a lawyer, done a stint as an entrepreneur and was also a community advocate.

But she was seeking a lifelong endeavor. “I wanted to find something that wasn't just a short stint or exciting for a few years,” recalled Le. And she found her calling in studying the human brain.

Tags: Emotiv , Tan Le , University of Vermont , Aiken Lecture Series , Ira Allen Chapel, University of Vermont , Video , Image , Web Only

Posted By Sally Pollak on Wed, Oct 24, 2018 at 1:07 PM

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Sally Pollak

Old Gold owner Karin Eisenberg

Two thousand T-shirts, cartons of nippies and pasties, scores of sequined gowns, a rainbow of tutus and stacks of faded Levis will relocate in time for the New Year as Old Gold, a Burlington sartorial landmark, decamps to Cherry Street.

The vintage clothing store and costume shop, whose window mannequins enliven Main Street, is moving from the jam-packed, jaw-dropping space it has occupied since 1977. The store's lease at 180 Main Street will end on December 31, Old Gold owner Karin Eisenberg told Seven Days. She will move her business to 153 Cherry Street — the onetime home of the B Side skate shop — and open there on January 2, 2019.

Tags: Old Gold , Burlington , cool , vintage clothing , Halloween , Image , Web Only

Posted By Kymelya Sari on Wed, Aug 29, 2018 at 9:40 PM

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Kymelya Sari

Repair work outside the Flynn Center

The Flynn Center for the Performing Arts is in a race against time to ensure that the flooding repair work in the FlynnSpace is completed before the upcoming performing arts season.

A water main pipe, located under the marquee, burst early Monday morning, causing water to flow into the downstairs venue and a storage area where production equipment, including lighting, was kept.

"We are too early on in assessing the damage," said Anna Marie Gewirtz, who assumed her new role as executive director of the Flynn just six weeks ago. "We are doing everything in our power to get things back in pristine condition and working order."

Tags: Flynn Center for the Performing Arts , Anna Marie Gewirtz , FlynnSpace , Vermont Stage , Kountry Kart Deli , Image , Web Only

Posted By Kymelya Sari on Sat, Aug 11, 2018 at 10:31 AM

Courtesy of Lindsay Raymondjack

Kim Rosenstock's 'Tigers Be Still,' from a review April 25, 2018

Vermont Stage is leaving the FlynnSpace after 17 years to take up residence at the Main Street Landing Black Box Theatre.

"We have become a victim of our own success,"  wrote board chair Peter Espenshade in an email. "The move will allow us to meet the demand for live theater and will allow us more room, from the lobby to backstage, to produce world-class theater," he said.

Tags: Vermont Stage , Main Street Landing Black Box Theatre , FlynnSpace , theater , Image , Web Only

Posted By Kymelya Sari on Mon, Jun 25, 2018 at 4:09 PM

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Kymelya Sari

Interpreter Poe Poh (left) and Thaw Theet at Leddy Park in Burlington

For the last seven years, Thaw Theet has always attended local festivities to commemorate World Refugee Day, which is observed across the world on June 20.

"I came here as a refugee," said the South Burlington resident. "Even though I am now a U.S. citizen, I will never forget where I came from." Though Theet understands English, she's shy about conversing in the language and chose to speak through an interpreter instead.

Theet, an ethnic-Karen from Myanmar, isn't alone in wanting to honor her history. Last Saturday, upward of 300 people — refugees, former refugees, social service providers and community partners — gathered at Burlington's Leddy Park to celebrate World Refugee Day.

"It's a happy day for me," said Theet, 33.

Tags: World Refugee Day , Vermont Refugee Resettlement Program/USCRI , Association of Africans Living in Vermont , Green Mountain Bhutanese Organization , Leddy Park , Amila Merdzanovic , Image , Web Only

Posted By Ken Picard on Mon, Jun 11, 2018 at 12:43 PM

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Courtesy of the Flynn Center

Anna Maria Gewirtz

The Flynn Center for the Performing Arts has a new leader at the helm.  Anna Marie Gewirtz, recent acting president and CEO at State Theatre New Jersey, brings to Burlington two decades of experience in Garden State arts and culture.

Gewirtz replaces outgoing executive director and CEO John Killacky, who announced in September that he would be leaving  the Flynn after eight years. In April, Killacky, who lives in South Burlington, declared his candidacy for the Vermont House of Representatives.

Tags: Flynn Center for the Performing Arts , John Killacky , Anna Marie Gewirtz , arts organizations , Image , Web Only

Posted By Kymelya Sari on Thu, May 24, 2018 at 5:06 PM

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Kymelya Sari

Abraham Awolich

In 2011, Abraham Awolich left the U.S. to return to his native South Sudan. He confessed that he had thought about moving back to Vermont since then. Intense clashes between rival political factions in 2014 and 2015 had left him "sometimes scared," and living conditions in the capital, Juba, remain difficult, he said.

Awolich is in Burlington for a week to reconnect with his friends, as well as to ask the public to continue to support his projects in South Sudan. On Tuesday, he gave a presentation to a group of about 30 people at the Cathedral Church of St. Paul. Many, if not all, in attendance had known Awolich and his peers since they first arrived in Vermont 17 years ago.

What has kept him in South Sudan these past few years, Awolich said, is a sense of purpose and commitment. In the wake of the country's independence in 2011, he wants to help negotiate what he calls "rapid" and "dramatic" transitions.

Tags: Abraham Awolich , South Sudan , Juba , Sudd Institute , Sudan Development Institute , Image , Web Only