Posted By Dan Bolles on Wed, Nov 16, 2016 at 4:25 PM

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Courtesy of Stephanie Bertoni

Molson the Dog

If you've been by the top block of the Church Street Marketplace in Burlington recently, it's likely that you've encountered the sweet, fuzzy phenomenon that is Molson the Dog. And he probably made your day, because OHMIGOD, LOOK HOW FREAKING ADORABLE HE IS! WHOSAGOODBOY?!

Ahem…

Like the statue of Big Joe Burrell —  only much cuter and, despite his sleepy demeanor, not a statue — Molson has become a top-block fixture. So much so that a reader who works nearby recently alerted Seven Days to his all-consuming cuteness and suggested we write about him. Being the dedicated, hard-nosed journalists that we are, how could we refuse?

In the three months since his people, Annette Didrickson and Ric Crossman, opened the Vintage Photography Emporium on the corner of Church and Pearl streets, you can find Molson on the street in front of the shop almost every day. He's usually unattended and snoozing, schmoozing or generally soaking up the adoration of nearly anyone who happens by, because I JUST WANNA SMOOSH YOUR FACE, MOLSON!

Tags: Molson the Dog , Vintage Photo Emporium , Image , Web Only

Posted By Sadie Williams on Tue, Nov 15, 2016 at 6:24 PM

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Generator

A floor plan for the new incarnation of Generator

Inside 40 Sears Lane, a new maker facility is gradually taking shape. The massive warehouse owned by Champlain College will be the new home of Burlington's Generator.  The member-based makerspace, which provides community, resources and room for creatives to grow, is losing its quarters in Memorial Auditorium due to structural issues in the building.

The new location is expected to open on January 2. But, as a tour today revealed, it's got a long way to go to be ready.

Tags: Maker space , Generator , Lars Hasselblad Torres , champlain college , Image , Web Only

Posted By Dan Bolles on Mon, Nov 7, 2016 at 9:49 AM

It's Monday, which means it's time for your weekly dose of locavore levity: the Joke of the Week! This week's joke comes from Burlington's Tim Bridge. Take it away, Tim …

I was dumped recently. And it sucks being broken up with. It does. It only sucks more when you're sitting on a couch, being broken up with, and multiple times in the conversation you have the thought, That's a good point.

No one wants to be broken up with. I feel like the best case scenario is being able to say, "Screw it, man, that girl was crazy." Or, "Who cares, girl. That guy was an asshole."

No one wants to be like, "Nah, this makes sense for you."

About that joke

Says Bridge: Writing jokes about how sad you feel is a pretty great way to get over how sad you feel.

I was broken up with. It made a comical amount of sense when it was explained why I was being broken up with. So I made it into a joke in order to convince myself that everything was going to be okay, which it totally, definitely, 100%, completely is.

I'm fine.

Tags: Tim Bridge , Image , Web Only

Posted By Dan Bolles on Wed, Oct 26, 2016 at 12:35 PM

In celebration of the annual Vermont's Funniest Comedian Competition, which runs Wednesday through Friday, October 26 through 28, at the Vermont Comedy Club in Burlington, all this week we're posting a daily version of our weekly Joke of the Week feature. Today's dose of local hilarity comes to us from Burlington's Paul Church. Take it away, Paul …

Tags: Beth Norton , Image , Web Only

Posted By Dan Bolles on Tue, Oct 25, 2016 at 1:05 PM

In celebration of the annual Vermont's Funniest Comedian Competition, which runs Wednesday through Friday, October 26 through 28, at the Vermont Comedy Club in Burlington, all this week we're posting a daily version of our ongoing Joke of the Week feature. Today's dose of local hilarity comes to us from Winooski's Beth Norton. Take it away, Beth …

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Posted By Dan Bolles on Mon, Oct 24, 2016 at 6:00 AM

It's Monday, which means it's time for your weekly dose of locavore levity: the Joke of the Week! But guess what? In celebration of the annual Vermont's Funniest Comedian Competition, which runs Wednesday through Friday, October 26 through 28, at the Vermont Comedy Club in Burlington, we'll be posting a new joke every day this week. Kicking off our week of local hilarity is Burlington's Annie Russell. Take it away, Annie…

Tags: Annie Russell , jokes , humor , standup , Image , Web Only

Posted By Rachel Elizabeth Jones on Sun, Oct 23, 2016 at 8:00 AM

Thea Alvin

"Allée Portal"

This election season, "the wall" has become a staple of divisive political rhetoric. But sometimes, walls can be markers of unity. Last Monday, Gardener's Supply and the Intervale Center in Burlington unveiled a new sculptural stone wall, created under the guidance of celebrated Morrisville artist Thea Alvin.

For three days, 12 paying stone masonry students worked to transform roughly 75,000 pounds of stone into a gracefully sloping wall and archway, dubbed "Allée Portal" by Alvin.  

Tags: thea alvin , intervale center , Image , Web Only

Posted By Amelia Devoid on Fri, Oct 21, 2016 at 9:00 AM

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Amelia Devoid

Link up with local witches and wizards next Thursday at Speaking Volumes.

Hey, pumpkins! I hope you had a radical week. It’s getting a little creepy out there, with the trees becoming bare, clowns hiding in the woods and the presidential debates raging. This Halloween is going to be extra weird so you’d better figure out an extra weird costume (or three) for the occasion. Don’t be afraid, get out there and celebrate the witches that died fighting for women’s rights! Luckily there are lots of enchanting beings playing shows next week to make pulling on a costume worth the effort. So let's hone in on one that might fly under your normal radar.

Speaking Volumes has hosted some terrific Halloween bangers in the past. It has survived for a decade by supporting local artists as a true Burlington underground favorite — and the only venue in BTV where you can buy records while you party. This year, the Speaking Volumes warehouse is getting lit up on Thursday, October 27, with an art-rock costume ball organized by local Do-It-Together champions Claire Macon and Caroline DeCunzo

Tags: Playtime , Halloween , Claire Macon , Caroline DeCunzo , Friends + Family , Really Big Pinecone , Free Pizza , Image , Web Only

Posted By Rachel Elizabeth Jones on Sun, Oct 16, 2016 at 9:33 AM

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Rachel Jones

Panty Pulpers poster

Artist Drew Matott is now based in Hamburg, Germany, but he and the arts-activism initiative he cofounded, the Peace Paper Project, have roots in Burlington. Beginning in 2002, the South End Arts District — specifically the Green Door Studio — witnessed the transformation of Matott's personal paper-making practice into the Combat Paper Project with Drew Cameron. It has since grown into a robust network of international workshops and studios dedicated to paper making as a "vehicle for personal expression and cultural change."

Tags: drew matott , margaret mahan , jana schumacher , peace paper project , combat paper , chris thompson , champlain college , Image , Web Only

Posted By Rachel Elizabeth Jones on Tue, Oct 11, 2016 at 5:10 PM

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Rachel Jones

Mural by Jo Levasser, near Edmunds Middle School

Storm drains are generally pretty good at their job, which is to whisk rainfall away so that our cities don't become petri dishes of stagnant, standing water. This urban infrastructure is so good that most people hardly think about it — an error that the Chittenden County Stream Team seeks to correct through public art. 

Late last month, the Stream Team and four local artists fell upon Burlington storm drains, beautifying them with horizontal murals and, more importantly, making them known. 

Tags: conservation , public art , burlington , Image , Web Only