St. Johnsbury Arts and Entertainment
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Bob Swartz, President |
Arts and Entertainment around St. Johnsbury
For the arts and entertainment enthusiast, St. Johnsbury has a wide assortment of activities. The center of cultural life in downtown St. Johnsbury is Catamount Arts on Eastern Ave. Its weekly schedule of arts offerings includes one first-run film and one independent/international film, live jazz concerts, art exhibits, classes in various artistic media, as well as performances by various musical ensembles, dance troupes and theater companies.
Many organizations sponsor a wide variety of cultural events throughout the year. Local venues include Fuller Hall and the more intimate Black Box Theater at St. Johnsbury Academy, several historic churches in St. Johnsbury, and the Alexander Twilight Theater at nearby Lyndon State College.
The Star Theater on Eastern Ave. in St. Johnsbury shows first-run films year-round on its three screens.Downtown St. Johnsbury is the home of the Artisan's Guild, where local crafts people display and sell their varied works.
Many writers, visual artists, and crafts people have found a home in the St. Johnsbury area. Our cultural directory shows the wide range of artistic talents on display in the St. Johnsbury area.
Arts and Entertainment Links
If you’ve ever wondered what the future of life in Vermont will be like, visit the Charles Hosmer Morse Center for the Arts at St. Johnsbury Academy from March 5 through March 13. There, ten Vermont artists show, in 52 separate artworks, their visions of Vermont in the 21st century.
Artists in the exhibit have painted their views of possible 
Vermont futures, including one work that shows Vermont as a green refuge surrounded by the menacing figures of big-time commerce. Another piece of art shows a bucolic Vermont with different farm activities throughout the year. A scary vision of Vermont’s future is depicted in a image of a large Wal-Mart store and concrete parking lot. 
One artwork shows windmills in a landscape, and another piece celebrates special Vermont gatherings such as town meeting day.
The exhibit is part of the Vermont Arts Council's “The Art of Action” exhibit, which is currently touring the state. Entrepreneur Lyman Orton, owner of the Vermont Country Store, provided the funding for a statewide competition to select artists to portray their visions of the future of Vermont.
More than 300 artists applied for the contest. Ten artists were 
chosen as winners and each received an average commission of around $25,000 to paint their impressions of the future of Vermont. The artists created 108 pieces of art, 52 of which will be on display at St. Johnsbury Academy. Descriptions of the art and artists is on display on the Vermont Arts Council website, www.vermontartscouncil.org.
The exhibition kicks off with a reception Friday March 5, 2010 from 5:00 to 7:00 p.m. The public is invited to the reception, which in addition to the artwork, will feature the St. Johnsbury Academy musical groups: the Jazz Band, the Hilltones, and the String Ensemble.
Concurrent with the exhibition is an online auction at the Vermont Arts Council website. Members of the public can purchase unsold works at the exhibit or through the online auction.
The concert will start at 8:00 p.m. Case will be joined by Vermont vocalist Anais Mitchell who will open the performance, and will be backed by Paul Rigby and Kelly Hogan.
Case moved to the St. Johnsbury area last year, and now enjoys life on her farm. Her barn is already famous for housing a number of pianos of all sizes that she has collected, and several songs on her "Middle Cyclone" album were recorded there.
Case’s album, “Middle Cyclone,” was the highest debuting independent release of 2009, bowing at #3 on the Billboard Top 200 chart in March, as well as #1 on the Top Independent Albums chart. Amazon recently named it the best album of 2009 on its annual year-end list.
But charts and lists do nothing to measure Case’s ability to connect with her audience on an uncommonly deep and meaningful level. She's one those artists whose songs linger in your head, your heart and your soul, long after the record has stopped spinning.
For Case, making music remains a mysterious, confounding and, occasionally, contradictory process.
"When I toured for ‘Fox Confessor’ one of the things I said in interviews about that record was that I don't like writing love songs, that I can't write them," she recalls. "Of course, as soon as I said that, I ended up writing a bunch of love songs.”
Those love songs became “Middle Cyclone.”
Ultimately, for Case, the songs and themes on Middle Cyclone express a long internal struggle, a pitched battle between nature and nurture. "Things like animals and nature, they're located in the tender receptor of my brain. And I'm just now trying to come to terms with the notion of loving people as much as I love those other things - because I grew up in a way that made me love the one but not the other. So, I guess I've been working that out for myself, and these songs are my way of reconciling those feelings."
You will have a chance to experience these songs in person when Case performs at Fuller Hall on Friday, March 12, at 8:00 p.m. Tickets for this benefit performance may be reserved by calling 802-748-2600 or by visiting the Catamount Box Office from 1 to 6 p.m., Monday through Saturday. Ticket prices range from $30 to $75 for members and $36 to $90 for non-members.
For more information on this concert please visit www.catamountarts.org.
At Catamount Arts, you can watch “Live in HD” performances of major artists on film screens. The performances are broadcast live, as they are actually happening, and you view them on the film screens – bigger than life. Watching a “Live in HD” performance is almost like being there, and in some ways, even better. You have a great seat for the show in an intimate-sized theater. No need to travel to Boston or New York to see the finest artists. Plus, the ticket prices are far less expensive than at the actual performance.
One upcoming “Live in HD” performance sure to draw a big crowd is Garrison Keillor, the much-beloved National Public Radio figure, performing his show, “A Prairie Home Companion,” at 8:00 pm, February 4, 2010. Tickets for the “Live in HD” broadcast of “A Prairie Home Companion” are only $15 ($12 for Catamount Arts members).
Catamount will also be presenting a “Live in HD” performance of “The 
Nation” from the National Theatre of the U.K. Saturday, January 30 at 2:00 pm, with an encore presentation Sunday, January 31 at 2:00 pm. This acclaimed production is taking place live in Great Britain, and we in St. Johnsbury can watch the play live on the film screen at Catamount Arts. What a fabulous way to bring exciting cultural events to our corner of Vermont!
4:00 pm at the South Congregational Church. This pianist and cellist have been brought here in seasons past by the Classical Series, and the duo has been one of their most popular concerts. Arron and Rose have been acclaimed by New York critics for their artistry. The upcoming program will feature a mix of classic and contemporary music, including Mendelssohn’s Song Without Words for Cello and Piano, Opus 109; Manuel DeFalla’s Suite Populaire Espagnole; Elliott Carter’s Sonata for Cello and Piano; and Brahms’s Sonata for Cello and Piano, Opus 38.
Johnsbury Academy campus. The Starline Rhythm Boys and the Burke Mountain Bandits, two Vermont bands, will present a “Good Time Jamboree” guaranteed to chase away any wintertime blues. The two bands are well known in this area for their energy and exciting performances, and will present an evening of “toe-tapping fun!”
ages – the “King of Silly,” Todd Wellington. Part of the family series, Kids Rock! from 9:00 am to noon January 30, 2010 at Catamount Arts, Wellington will entertain the crowd with his unique blend of juggling, balloons, unicycling, magic, and physical comedy. As Wellington says, “I’m bringing back silly!”
First Night St. Johnsbury, the annual town-wide New Year’s Eve celebration, has battled winter winds, snow, and cold, but it is back again for its 17th year. This year’s First Night is as action-packed as ever, featuring a wide range of musical and theatrical performances and lots of tasty treats.
Anyone sporting this year’s First Night button can enjoy all kinds of entertainment. Musical selections are set to include folk, pop, rock, blues, bluegrass, Broadway, sacred, contemporary, and classical. You can watch performances by ballet dancers, puppets, a magician, a hypnotist, and comedians. First Nighters can dance to swing band or hot rock while the kids bounce around in a giant inflatable obstacle course and enjoy craft activities and radio controlled cars.
performances at 19 venues on and around St. Johnsbury’s downtown. The excitement starts at 4:00 p.m. and continues to midnight with a grand fireworks finale. There are several new performers this year, including a few of St. Johnsbury's own talented young people now making their names in the arts.
Read about all the details at www.firstnightstj.com.
First Night buttons cost $10 before December 31 and $15 for adults on New Year’s Eve. Student buttons remain at the $10 price. Preschool children are always free. First Night Sponsors receive a special blinking button for $28, which helps keep all the events affordable for everyone. You can purchase your buttons at any of the following locations:
All area bank branches of Passumpsic Savings Bank, Union Bank, Community National Bank, Merchants Bank, Wells River Savings Bank, and Woodsville Guaranty Savings Bank.
In St. Johnsbury: Price Chopper, Natural Provisions, Catamount Arts, Caplan’s Army Store, Frogs and Lily Pads, Boxcar & Caboose, Northeastern Vermont Regional Hospital, Fairbanks Museum
In Barnet: Barnet Village Store and West Barnet Quick Stop
In Danville: Marty’s First Stop
In Lyndonville: Shear Sensations and Lyndon Freighthouse
In Littleton, N.H.: Village Book Store, Coffee Pot Restaurant, and Shaw’s Supermarket
First Night celebrations are held around the world as artistic and cultural celebrations of the new year. The first First Night was held in Boston in 1976, organized by a group of artists who were looking for a fun, safe, alcohol-free way to celebrate New Year’s Eve. As First Night celebrations spread to neighboring communities, so did their popularity. Now recognized as an International non-profit event, they attract tens of thousands of artists and millions of visitors.
St. Johnsbury’s First Night celebration started in 1993. The program is headed by Jay Sprout, and volunteers to help with the evening’s festivities are always welcome (and receive free admission buttons). Call Frank Landry at 748-4734 to be a Friend of First Night by becoming a sponsor for $28. Check the First Night 2010 St. Johnsbury website for more information, and join the fun celebrating New Year's Eve in style in St. Johnsbury!
Catamount Arts Named “Best All-Around Community Cultural Center” in New England
There’s a lot of excitement at Catamount Arts in St. Johnsbury lately!
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Jody Fried |
Cata
mount Arts was just named “Best All-Around Community Cultural Center” by Yankee Magazine in its May 2009 issue. “We’re proud of that distinction,” says Fried. “Catamount Arts has been known for many years in this area as a critical part of the great quality of life we have here in the Northeast Kingdom. It’s wonderful to get that recognition as the best in New England.”
Fried wants to makes sure everyone in the area knows about Catamount’s cultural offerings, which include films, musical performances and instruction, art exhibits and classes, dance performances and instruction, lectures, and much more. “We will start by building our membership base,” says Fried. “Members are the foundation of Catamount’s strength.” Fried wants to encourage people to visit Catamount Arts or attend an event sponsored by the organization. “Once they try us, we think people will come back,” he says. “Success will bring success.”
Catamount Arts will unveil its new website in mid-May. “The website will be a major upgrade,” says Fried, “and we will be driving lots of traffic to it so people can learn more about what we do.”
Starting May 6, a “Crying’s OK” film matinee will be held each week. Parents and caregivers are welcome to bring children
under 2 years old with them to a matinee screening of the week’s film. “Everyone attending will know that it’s a baby-friendly event,” says Fried. “We’ve been promoting this locally at preschools and other places where people who care for young children meet, and the reception to the idea has been great.”
The evening film series should become more popular than ever this summer, according to Fried. “In our new building we have two theaters, and for the first time, they are air-conditioned, so a Catamount film will be a great way to beat the heat this summer,” says Fried. "We also hope to add creative writing to the other arts we offer here at Catamount. With the wealth of writing talent in the area, it's a natural addition to Catamount Arts."
The new director sees Catamount Arts as one organization among several in St. Johnsbury that make the town a cultural destination. “Along Eastern Avenue, we have the Athenaeum, the Darling’s new gallery Gatto Nero, Neko Case’s new recording studio (in the building that used to house Catamount Arts), and the Star Theater with three more movie screens,” says Fried. “There is a lot of cultural activity in a concentrated area here, and that’s really exciting. ”
Great Choices for
Movie Fans in St. Johnsbury!
Most small towns boast when their Main Street has one movie theater. Here in St. Johnsbury, we have TWO movie theaters that show FIVE films every night! If you’re a fan of cinema, St. Johnsbury offers an amazing variety of films for you to enjoy.
The Star Theatre, on Eastern Avenue near the corner of Railroad Street, has three screens showing first-run films. Al Bulay is the new owner of the building, and as an owner of several other movie theaters in the Hudson Valley in New York, he has some great new ideas for the theater. “We’re running more matinees,” says Bulay. “We have bargain night on Tuesdays, when every ticket is only $4.00. Plus we have a great deal with our discount book of 12 tickets for $49.” The theater shows a mix of movies to cater to all tastes. Family-friendly fare is always popular, says Bulay. But the Star is also screening some of this year’s Oscar-nominated films, such as The Wrestler and The Reader.
Catamount Arts, just a short walk up Eastern Avenue from the Star Theatre, .jpg)
now has two films showing every night. A longtime fixture in St. Johnsbury, Catamount is known for its weekly film series showing independent and foreign films. But since moving to its new building in the fall, Catamount also screens one larger-release first-run movie each week. The two brand-new theaters inside the Catamount Arts building are attracting residents and visitors alike to the new home of the arts center.
Maybe the local interest in movies stems partly from the influence of a few film industry professionals who are part of the local community. Jay Craven is an independent filmmaker who lives year-round in the St. Johnsbury area. He was a key figure in the founding of Catamount Arts in 1975. Today, Craven teaches filmmaking at Marlboro College and is a producer, director, and writer of independent films that are often shot right here in the St. Johnsbury area. Another local connection to the film industry is actor Luis Guzman, who lives in the area with his family. Guzman has acted in many films, both independent and commercial, for over 30 years. A third notable in the world of filmmaking with ties to this area is David Mamet, Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright, film director and author. Mamet has a vacation home in the area and has featured Vermont friends in his films. Like Craven, Mamet attended Goddard College in Plainfield, Vermont.
So film buffs, unite! Here in St. Johnsbury, there are plenty of movies to choose from every night of the week. And don't forget matinees -- both Catamount and the Star Theatre have several afternoon showings each week for folks who prefer to see their movies during the day. Popcorn, anyone?
Northeast Kingdom Artisans Guild
Both a retail store and a gallery with changing exhibits, the Northeast Kingdom Artisans Guild is the area’s showcase for handmade artisan craft and fine art. When you enter the front door beneath the purple awning on Railroad Street, there are so many beautiful things to enjoy – pottery, jewelry, glass, photographs and prints, paintings, baskets, rugs, shawls, and so much more – all handmade by over 100 Vermont artisans and artists, and available for purchase.
The Northeast Kingdom Artisans Guild is located at 430 Railroad Street in St. Johnsbury, and is open Monday through Saturday from 10:30 am to 5:30 pm. It’s a wonderful place to find some of the most beautiful artwork and artisans’ crafts in the area.
Making Beautiful Music--
the Northeast Kingdom
Classical Series
Classical chamber music is alive and well in St. Johnsbury, Vermont!
For the past 20 years, the Northeast Kingdom Classical Series has brought four or five top-quality chamber music concerts each winter to St. Johnsbury. “The talent of our performers is world-class,” says Leslie Gensberg, president and one of the founders of the series. “The groups we bring to St. Johnsbury perform in international venues at the highest level.”
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The programs are different each year, but the series always includes a string quartet and a piano performance. The series runs through the winter months. Check the website, www.nekclassicalseries.org for the complete schedule.
The non-profit organization is run by a dedicated team of five volunteers. None of the organizers takes any money for their hard work. “That is the way we are able to bring in such wonderful performers,” says Leslie. “One hundred percent of our funds goes directly to paying the artists.”
One of the group’s most exciting achievements was realized in 2007, when
two anonymous donors offered the seed money to purchase a new Steinway B grand piano. The group was able to place it in South Congregational Church in St. Johnsbury.
Concert tickets are available at a very reasonable price -- $16 single admission, $13 for seniors, and $6 for students. At each concert, the reduced price of $6 is offered to anyone who requests it – no questions asked. “We want everyone who loves classical music to be able to enjoy the concerts,” says Judy Rankin. “But this requires donations from people who are able to give a little more, and we have many loyal concertgoers who want to see the series continue for many years to come.”
For more information about the Northeast Kingdom Classical Series, visit their website or call 802-748-8012.