Archive for 2025
Green Mountain Gardeners brings holiday cheer to neighbors
Green Mountain Gardeners of Landgrove, Londonderry, Peru and Weston held their annual gathering on Dec. 8 to make holiday table decorations for their homebound neighbors. The South Londonderry Depot was full of the smell of pine and the sounds of chatter as 20 members, dressed in holiday sweaters and their garden club aprons, built festive […]
SAPA TV hosts 8th annual public domain Christmas
Once again, SAPA TV, the Springfield area’s public access TV station, will run 24 hours of Christmas movies and short subjects from 7 p.m. on Christmas Eve to 7 p.m. on Christmas Day. Viewers in Chester, Reading, Springfield and Weathersfield, as well as in Charlestown, N.H., are invited to spend the day with 1964’s Santa […]
Chester’s Yosemite Firehouse gets its wreath
Historic Fire District No. 2 on Depot Street, known as the Yosemite Firehouse, is the last town-owned public building to be decorated for the Christmas holiday season. For years Chester Townscape has decorated the town’s public buildings and central locations with a variety of greens, berries and cheery red bows to welcome the holiday season. […]
Free Ida Mae Specker holiday concert Dec. 19 Cash, non-perishable food accepted for Family Center
A holiday concert featuring Ida Mae Specker on fiddle, Mike Wheeler and Emily Burkland on guitar and Mowgli Giannitti on grand piano and upright bass will take place at 5:30 p.m. on Friday, Dec. 19 at Sugar Bob’s Finest Kind, 92 VT Route 11 in Chester. Doors open at 5 p.m.; BYOB. Admission is free, […]
Mary Elizabeth Nutting Bigelow, 88, of Landgrove
Mary Elizabeth Nutting Bigelow passed away Dec. 8, 2025, in Landgrove, Vermont. May was a beloved figure in the mountain towns of southern Vermont, known for her gregarious, fun-loving, and nurturing personality. She was born in Lebanon, Penn., on Feb. 20, 1937, to Marion Heminway and Harry Otis Nutting II. Her early childhood in Lebanon […]
Springfield Community Band’s Holiday Concert set for Dec. 19
The Springfield Community Band’s third annual Holiday Concert that will take place at 6 p.m. on Friday, Dec. 19 in the auditorium of Riverside Middle School, 13 Fairground Road in Springfield. Admission is free. This will be a fast-paced and fun evening, featuring new and exciting selections. Several are based on traditional holiday music but […]
Derry Library holds solstice celebration with gift-making stations Dec. 20
South Londonderry Free Library, 15 Old School St., invites families to celebrate Solstice & The Joy of Giving with art teacher Casey Junker Bailey at 10:30 a.m. on Saturday, Dec. 20. Families are invited to visit maker stations throughout the library to create a wonderful collection of presents for holiday giving: snowy villages, wooden elves, […]
Op-ed: I’ve been battling the Trump administration for 11 months; Here’s what’s next
By Charity Clark Attorney General State of Vermont Having sued the Trump administration 36 times in 11 months, I am reflecting on the wild ride of 2025 – and preparing for what’s next. President Trump began his second term with a flurry of executive orders. The first executive orders – some of which were almost […]
‘A Christmas Carol’ and caroling at GM on Friday
© 2025 Telegraph Publishing LLC Nothing says Happy Christmas like “Marley was dead: to begin with,” the first line of Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol. It’s a three-ghost story (four if you count Marley) wrapped up and tied with a ribbon and topped with a turkey the size of Tiny Tim. This Friday the Green […]
Chester Festival, long held on the Green, to move to Legion field
By Shawn Cunningham © 2025 Telegraph Publishing LLC Approximately three dozen people gathered at Chester’s American Legion on Tuesday evening for a long awaited information session about moving the 2026 Chester Festival on the Green off the Green and surrounding town properties and onto a field next to the American Legion, off Route 103 South. […]
Op-ed: Reclaiming the spirit of Christmas
By Maya Wright Each December, America lights up – not with reverence, but with neon sales, frantic shopping, and countdowns to the next shipment from Amazon. For Generation Z especially, Christmas has increasingly drifted into a glittering spectacle of trends, wish lists, and content creation. The nativity story, the breathtaking moment when eternity stepped into […]
Santa lights up the Chester Green
By Shawn Cunningham © 2025 Telegraph Publishing LLC Carolers, bundled up against the chill, gathered around a blazing firepit on the Chester Green last Saturday afternoon singing songs of Christmas while across Main Street, Laurie and Samantha Vertefeuille were putting the finishing touches on Santa’s house. Cookies, candy canes and hot chocolate were ready. All […]
Chester Board hears local option tax concerns, picks new moderator Frank Kelley to replace longtime Moderator Bill Dakin at 2026 Town Meeting
By Shawn Cunningham © 2025 Telegraph Publishing LLC For several meetings, the Chester Select Board has discussed putting on the Town Meeting Day ballot a 1 percent local option sales tax on rooms and meals, which would include short-term rentals and alcohol served at restaurants. The tax, which would be paid for by each establishment’s […]
State offering low-interest loans to loggers to purchase low-impact equipment
The Vermont Economic Development Authority and Vermont Department of Forests, Parks and Recreation are announcing a new initiative that will save Vermont loggers money by allowing them to obtain a loan with an interest rate of 2.5% to 3% when they buy qualifying low-impact logging equipment, which is better for the watershed, the forest and […]
Kids invited to create apple head St. Nick dolls
Art teacher Casey Junker Bailey invites children of all ages to create presents for holiday giving at 10:30 a.m. on Saturday, Dec. 13 at Wilder Library’s temporary location in The Old Parish Church, 100 Main St. in Weston. Children will make old-fashioned apple head St. Nicholas dolls wearing red robes and carrying bags full of […]
League of Women Voters lecture series on voting rights continues Dec. 10
The League of Women Voters of Vermont, in partnership with Kellogg-Hubbard Library, presents the second in its 2025-2026 lecture series on Voting Rights and Access to the Ballot at 7 p.m. on Wednesday, Dec. 10. Professor Alec Ewald, who teaches constitutional law and U.S. politics at the Department of Political Science at UVM, will present […]
FOLA holiday program ‘A Christmas Wassail’ with Gypsy Reel
In anticipation of Christmas, Friends of Ludlow Auditorium will present a special program to highlight both the festive and spiritual meaning of Christmas at 7 p.m., Saturday, Dec. 13 in the Heald Auditorium of Ludlow Town Hall, 37 S. Depot St. The program, titled A Christmas Wassail, will involve Gypsy Reel and author Jon Clinch […]
The Dance Factory dazzles with holiday favorite, ‘The Nutcracker’
Join Clara on her magical journey to the Kingdom of the Sweets in the Dance Factory’s 34th annual The Nutcracker, at 7 p.m. on Saturday, Dec. 13 and at 2 p.m. on Sunday, Dec. 14 at Springfield High School, 303 South St. in Springfield. A delight for audiences of all ages, The Nutcracker is set […]
VSO spreads holiday cheer with Brass Quintet and Counterpoint Chorus Tour
The Vermont Symphony Orchestra invites audiences across the state to celebrate the holiday season with its beloved annual Brass Quintet and Counterpoint Chorus holiday concert tour, visiting Warren, Newport, Grafton and Manchester Dec. 11 through 14. Conducted by Nathaniel G. Lew, this cherished VSO tradition brings together festive brass and choral music in a joyful […]
SoVerA presents ‘Capturing the Night Sky’ Dec. 9 Monthly meeting at Vermont Academy
The Southern Vermont Astronomy group will host Dorian Sanders, who will be presenting his astrophotography at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, Dec. 9 at the Vermont Academy, Horowitz Hall, 23 Leavitt Lane in Saxtons River or virtually on Zoom. Sanders, a professional photographer, instructor and national tour guide, uses digital equipment to capture photos of distant […]