"Vermont's Cultural Center"

Brattleboro's cultural scene is extraordinarily rich in visual arts, music and literature. In our small town (pop. 12,000) you'll find more events each week than you can possibly attend. Every Thursday the Brattleboro Reformer newspaper has a separate arts and entertainment section called "Ovation!" Keeping a current schedule of arts events is a full time job. So we have included organizations and regular events with links to their websites so you can take a look at some of the area offerings. And be sure to take a look at the Reformer online for a current review of the weeks latest events. American Style Magazine readers voted Brattleboro to be one of the top 25 art destination cities under 100,000 pop. in the United States in June of 2007.

Brattleboro Area Farmer’s Market
• Each Wednesday 10- 2 at the Whetstone Pathway/Co-op Plaza and Saturday (by the Creamery covered bridge on Route 9) May 1 - End of October. “Homegrown, Handcrafted, Homemade” New England’s premier farmers’ market with over 55 juried vendors offering agricultural products, crafts, food, and live music in a wooded, brookside setting. Discover flowers and organic produce, unique handcrafts, fresh-baked goods and globe-spanning cuisine. Homemade, homegrown, homecooked. (802) 257-1272

Brattleboro Museum and Art Center
• (Open daily except Tuesday, 11 a.m.–5 p.m. Admission $4; seniors $3; students $2, children under 6 free) Offers compelling new exhibits by acclaimed artists. The BMAC Gift Shop features an assortment of educational and gift items including work of many local artists. (802) 257-0124

Brattleboro Music Center
• Brattleboro Music Center provides a full spectrum of music education, participation, and performance opportunities for thousands of people each year. From earliest note-readers to top-flight national and international artists, all find a meaningful place at the BMC. (802) 257-4523

The Bonnyvale Environmental Education Center
• BEEC carries out innovative community-based research and conservation programs for residents of all ages. We offer a wide variety of year-round school programs, youth camps, and after-school programs for children in grades pre-K through 8. (802) 257-5785

The Church
• 3 Grove Street, Brattleboro. The Church is a very cool former church, with a capacity of about 250 people. The atmosphere is intimate and groovy, great for seated concerts or dancing shows. The church has a goth feel, with a wooden interior and gorgeous Tiffany stained-glass windows. Most concerts are catered with food, beer and wine. The Church is not handicap accessible. (413) 625-6878

Estey Organ Museum
• Birge Street, Brattleboro. Call for hours and admission. The Estey Organ Museum was founded in 2002 to celebrate the heritage of Estey Organ Company of Brattleboro by the collection, restoration, display and performance of Estey and other organs; by the preservation, research, interpretation and dissemination of historical information about the company, its products and manufacturing practices, its owners, employees, markets, customers and competitors, and its effect in the context of Brattleboro and American history over time. (802) 246-8366

Friends of Music at Guilford
• 37 Bee Barn Road, Guilford. Friends of Music at Guilford began on Labor Day weekend in 1966. Each year we return to this rural farmstead for our two day festival of organ recitals and other musical performances. FOMAG presents a variety of performances throughout the year in Brattleboro and Guilford. (802) 254-3600

Gallery Walk
• A year-round, festive stroll on the first Friday of each month from 5:30 to 8:30 PM in downtown Brattleboro and nearby locations. Now averaging more than 50 venues each month, Gallery Walk is Brattleboro's signature regular event. Most exhibits are ongoing throughout each month.

Hooker-Dunham Theater and Gallery
• 139 Main Street, Brattleboro. Performing and Fine Arts with a very active performance and exhibition schedule, 254-9276 for information.

Latchis Performing and Fine Arts Center
• 50 Main St., Brattleboro. Presenting a schedule of performing arts and special events throughout the year. See Thursday’s Brattleboro Reformer for performance schedule information or call (802) 254-6300

Marlboro Music Festival
• July 14-August 12, Marlboro. World-class chamber music at Persons Auditorium, Marlboro College. Weekend concerts announced one week ahead. (802) 254-2394 for info. See Thursday’s Brattleboro Reformer for details. Admission.

New England Youth Theater
• 100 Flat St., Brattleboro (802) 246-6398 Now in its eighth season, the New England Youth Theatre offers a conservatory-style acting training program for young people with a combination of classroom and performance work for beginning and advanced students. NEYT operates year round, producing eight to ten plays and/or musicals per season.

Sandglass Theater
• Kimball Hill, Putney Village. An internationally known theater company specializing in the use of puppet and visual imagery. In the microcosm of theater, the puppet is a means of integrating, of pulling back together pieces torn apart from each other. The puppet is the embodiment of a world no longer ours, an abstraction of a memory, a dream which is recalled. It is other than us, but it lives through us. (802) 387-4051

Southern Vermont Natural History Museum
• Located on Hogback Mountain, on Route 9 between Wilmington and Brattleboro. (Open 7 days, 10-5 from Memorial Day through late October. Open most weekends in winter.) A well done array of indigenous wildlife exhibits that is entertaining and educational. Live hawks and owls, wildflower exhibit in summer and fall, amphibian and reptile exhibit. (802) 464-0048

Vermont Jazz Center
• Cotton Mill Hill, Brattleboro. Presents a regular schedule of concerts. The Vermont Jazz Center is dedicated to creating and preserving jazz through the presentation of workshops, concerts, and instruction to a broad constituency of artists, students, and the general public. Check Thursday Brattleboro Reformer for specific times and places. 254-9088

Yellow Barn Music Festival
• The Yellow Barn, Putney, VT. (38th anniversary season June 22-August 4) Concerts every Tuesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday, Putney, VT and Amherst, MA. Exciting chamber music performed by world-renowned artists and young professionals in lovely, intimate setting. Also public master classes, children’s concerts, pre-season garden concert, special events. (802) 387-6637 or 800-639-3819