Dog Days Aren’t Over
Saturday 20
Pups and their people pack Dog Mountain to honor the legacy of Stephen and Gwen Huneck at the annual Founders Celebration Dog Party in St. Johnsbury. Canine contests, an agility course and a doggie walk of fame — complete with puparazzi photo ops — keep pooches occupied, while humans revel in live tunes, food truck eats and bespoke caricatures by artist Kaio Scott.
In Tune
Saturday 20
Banjos and fiddles and bass, oh my! You’ll find all these instruments and more at the Rattling Brook Bluegrass Festival at Belvidere Recreational Field, where Green Mountain outfits take the stage to demonstrate their folky prowess. An impressive lineup of acts — including crowd favorites Boxcar Breakdown, Otter Creek, and Beg, Steal or Borrow (pictured) — sets the tone for unbeatable Vermont summer vibes.
Living Out Loud
Wednesday 17 & Thursday 18
New York Times best-selling author and former Vermont cartoonist laureate Tillie Walden draws a crowd for the release of her new graphic novel, Charity & Sylvia, at the Norwich Bookstore and Burlington’s Phoenix Books. The work of historical nonfiction chronicles life in 19th-century New England through the eyes of two women who defied societal norms to live openly as a couple.
Normal Is an Illusion
Opens Friday 19
Creepy and kooky collide in Lamoille County Players’ rendition of macabre Broadway musical The Addams Family at Hyde Park Opera House. Familiar faces from the morbidly inclined cartoon clan confront their ultimate nightmare when deadpan daughter Wednesday falls in love with a shockingly conventional young man. Dun dun dun dun, snap, snap … Is it stuck in your head now?
Let Freedom Ring
Saturday 20
Burlington’s sixth annual Juneteenth celebration unites neighbors for a joy-filled commemoration of the official end of slavery in the U.S. The theme “Freedom: Yesterday’s Legacy, Today’s Promise, Tomorrow’s Hope” honors Black history and culture with activities ranging from poetry and music performances to a community dinner and thoughtful opportunities for activism.
Here Comes Treble
Saturday 20
At Middlebury’s Town Hall Theater, virtuosic jazz stalwarts the Miles Donahue Quartet trace a century of soundscapes used for — and in many cases made famous by — the silver screen. Listeners settle in to their choice of candlelit cabaret tables or traditional theater seating for a repertoire of timeless TV and movie music helmed by the veteran horn player.
The Outsiders
Saturday 20
If you’ve ambled along Stowe’s recreation path or shopped in the village center, chances are you’ve noticed something more than the usual trees and benches: big sculptures. At the Summer Opening Festival, nonprofit arts center the Current launches the 35th year of town-wide outdoor exhibition “Exposed” with music, refreshments, a guided walking tour and artist talks.