Lady Dynamite
Thursday 18-Sunday 21
Incomparable comedy icon Maria Bamford’s seven back-to-back shows at Vermont Comedy Club in Burlington sold out in a flash — no surprise there! Lucky locals who nabbed tickets to the star’s deeply personal, self-deprecating and often experimental standup get a taste of why late-night legend Stephen Colbert dubbed Bamford his “favorite comedian on planet Earth.”
The Gospel Truth
Friday 19
Long-running gospel outfit the Blind Boys of Alabama bring Southern heat to a scintillating Christmas concert at Spruce Peak Performing Arts Center in Stowe. You’ll find it impossible not to clap along as revamped renditions of holiday standards ring out, coupled with soulful selections from the group’s Grammy-winning album Go Tell It on the Mountain.
All Together Now
Friday 19
Who doesn’t love a sing-along this time of year? Here’s an opportunity: The vocalists of BarnArts Chorale and Youth Chorale invite friends and neighbors to join in Winter Carols at the First Universalist Church and Society of Barnard. Music director Michael Zsoldos conducts the solstice-themed offering of jolly jingles, charged with heart, harmony and the benevolent spirit of the season.
Dream Works
Friday 19-Sunday 21
Highly anticipated tradition Night Fires weaves a tapestry of song and story at Town Hall Theater in Middlebury. Since 1982, the dreamy solstice celebration has illuminated winter’s longest night with deeply moving moments of music, poetry and dance. This year’s performance imagines a first-ever Interdependence Day fête in Vermont, honoring light, darkness and community.
Candle in the Wind
Sunday 21
It’s gonna be lit! Revelers unite in the spirit of joyful tradition to observe the special sundown Menorah Lighting at Burlington’s Church Street Marketplace. The towering nine-foot candelabra — which has been on display since December 14 — symbolizes Judaism’s miracle of oil with illuminated branches, reminding passersby of the importance of religious freedom and, above all else, hope.
Timeless Treasure
Sunday 21
Saint Michael’s College professor emeritus Dr. William Tortolano performs his 65th (you read that right!) Christmas concert, “Sing We Now Noel,” at Chapel of Saint Michael the Archangel in Colchester. The 95-year-old organist plays carols from myriad cultures on the 1966 Casavant pipe organ, with vocal accompaniment by alum Jerry Proulx and plenty of audience participation.
Media Maverick
Ongoing
Tiny space meets big art at ATM Gallery in Shelburne, where multimedia artist Abby Manock’s solo show, “The Potato and the Grassy Knoll,” turns heads. Large abstract paintings run the gamut from swirling, DNA-like bands of color to scenes of everyday life rendered in grayscale, showcasing what the artist calls the “original, yet familiar and earnestly accessible.”
