Summer’s finally settling in over the Green Mountains, and the calendar is catching up fast. From a Pride block party in St. Johnsbury to bagpipes in Greensboro, a U.S. opera premiere in Middlebury, and Neil Diamond’s biggest hits rolling through Rutland, here’s what’s worth leaving the house for this Friday through Sunday — Burlington excepted, as always.
Friday, June 12
The Northeast Kingdom kicks the weekend off in style. Catamount Arts throws its Pride Carnival in the garden and parking lot beside its Eastern Avenue home in St. Johnsbury from 6:30 to 9:30 p.m. — a genuine block party with live music, a DJ set, tarot readings, hula hooping, face painting, friendship bracelets, sandwiches, and the kind of neighborly warmth that makes small-town Vermont worth living in. It’s free, it’s loud, and it’s for everyone.
If you’d rather be inside, stay on Eastern Avenue: at 7 p.m. Catamount screens The Best Day Ever, a 48-minute documentary following adaptive mountain bikers Greg Durso and Allie Bianchi as they tear up trails and tear down ableism, presented in partnership with East Burke’s Kingdom Trails. Tickets run just $9, and it’s a fitting watch for a region that lives and breathes its trail network.
Down in Addison County, the Opera Company of Middlebury’s Young Artist Program stages the U.S. premiere of Babel 46 at Town Hall Theater at 7:30 p.m. A genuine American premiere in a town of 9,000 is exactly the sort of thing that gets overlooked, so don’t.
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Saturday, June 13
The marquee event of the weekend is up in Orleans County, where the Highland Center for the Arts in Greensboro hosts the Vermont Highland Games, a full day of Celtic culture with bagpipes, Highland dancing, clan tents, a bit of Gaelic, and musical guests including Celtic rockers Prydein and the Catamount Pipe Band. Dancing kicks off at 10 a.m. after registration opens at 9:30.
Franklin County flies its colors the same morning: St. Albans Pride in the Park fills Taylor Park from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., the centerpiece of the city’s six-day Pride celebration and a reminder that the rainbow reaches well north of Chittenden County. Find the St. Albans Pride Corps for the full lineup.
In Rutland, the Paramount Theatre brings in The Sweet Caroline Tour starring Jay White at 7 p.m. — billed as the most authentic Neil Diamond tribute going, working through “Cracklin’ Rosie,” “Forever in Blue Jeans,” and the title song you already know you’ll be shouting along to in that gorgeous 1913 hall.
Theater fans have two strong choices. The Borderline Players’ production of Dear Evan Hansen plays the Haskell Opera House — the only opera house that sits on the U.S.–Canada border — in Derby Line at 7 p.m. And back in Middlebury, Town Hall Theater’s professional youth company performs Little Women: A Show in 2 Trunks at 5:30 p.m., one of only three performances all summer.
And if the morning calls for coffee and conversation, the farmers’ markets are back in full swing: the Brattleboro Area Farmers’ Market on Western Avenue (9 a.m.–2 p.m.), the Champlain Islands Farmers’ Market at St. Joseph’s in Grand Isle (10 a.m.–2 p.m.), and the Waitsfield Farmers’ Market in the Mad River Valley (9 a.m.–1 p.m.) all open their stalls.
🍽 FYIVT Eats: CurATE at SVAC 🍽
A dinner at CurATE at the Southern Vermont Arts Center is about more than just the food. Part of the experience is spending time in the galleries before the meal, and on this visit we enjoyed both the photography exhibit in the lower level and For the Love of Vermont on the main floor. The museum’s newer addition is absolutely stunning, and every visit seems to reveal something new.
We began with two shared starters: the fondue and the Bibb salad with beets and blue cheese. Both were generously portioned and easily large enough to share. The salad was fresh, flavorful, and beautifully balanced. The fondue was served with grilled bread, roasted broccoli, and an andouille sausage that turned out to be one of the surprises of the evening. Even for my wife who doesn’t typically enjoy spicy sausage, it was exceptionally flavorful without overwhelming the dish.
One thoughtful touch was the water service. Guests can choose still or sparkling water, and when we selected sparkling, a full bottle of Saratoga water was brought to the table. It’s a small detail, but one that added to the overall experience.
For our entrées, we chose the cioppino and the pork shank. The cioppino was outstanding—everything a cioppino should be. This classic seafood stew featured mussels, shrimp, fish, and a rich tomato-based broth that was perfectly seasoned. It’s a simple dish at heart, but the kitchen executed it beautifully.
The pork shank was equally impressive. Served with red cabbage, mashed potatoes, a slightly sweet sauce, and crisp onion rings, it was tender enough to fall off the bone. The portion was substantial, and the leftovers made an excellent lunch the following day.
CurATE is not an inexpensive evening out. With shared appetizers, salads, and two entrées, our bill came in just under $200 before cocktails. However, when you factor in the quality of the food, the generous portions, the atmosphere, and the opportunity to enjoy the Southern Vermont Arts Center’s galleries as part of the evening, it feels like a complete experience rather than simply a restaurant meal.
We’re already looking forward to returning to try brunch. For us, CurATE delivered excellent food, a beautiful setting, and a thoroughly enjoyable evening.
Sunday, June 14
Two productions take their final bows. In Montpelier, Lost Nation Theater closes its run of Jane Wagner’s The Search for Signs of Intelligent Life in the Universe with a 2 p.m. matinee — a one-woman tour through the whole messy, beautiful sweep of humanity. Up in Derby Line, the Haskell hosts the closing 3 p.m. performance of Dear Evan Hansen, and Middlebury’s Babel 46 wraps with a 2 p.m. show at Town Hall Theater.
For something easier on the schedule, the Mad River Valley delivers. Lawson’s Finest Taproom in Waitsfield welcomes Eclipse, a jazz-fusion outfit out of Middlebury, for its Sunday Sessions from 3 to 5 p.m. — a beer, a groove, and a porch-perfect afternoon.
Cap the weekend the way Vermonters do, with a slow wander through the Stowe Farmers’ Market on the Mountain Road, open Sundays 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. through October.
Pack a layer for the evenings and a few extra dollars for the market vendors — they’re the reason these little towns still feel like themselves. See you out there.
Dave Soulia | FYIVT
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