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Friday's shaping up to be the better half of this weekend, at least overhead. Expect partly sunny skies through the afternoon around Burlington and the Champlain Valley with temperatures sitting in the mid 50s. A stray shower is possible but most of us should stay dry. Enjoy it while it lasts, because rain moves in Friday night and sticks around for much of Saturday, with scattered showers on and off under mostly cloudy skies. Sunday looks like the pick of the weekend, starting with more sunshine before clouds build back in and a couple passing showers are possible by afternoon. Highs both days hover in the low to mid 50s. The good news? Next week brings a warmup, with temps climbing into the 60s on Monday and potentially touching 70 by Tuesday, though another round of soaking rain looks likely by midweek.

It's a loaded Friday in the Burlington area and the timing couldn't be better with the sun still cooperating. For those who got out early, free ear acupuncture was offered at Kula Yoga on Dorset Street in South Burlington for International Workers Day from 11-3. Over at Faith United Methodist Church, also on Dorset Street, historian J. Kevin Graffagnino wraps up a lecture on Ira Allen at 3. Then the afternoon picks up: the City of Burlington hosts its Celebrate Burlington awards ceremony at Contois Auditorium from 3:30 to 5, honoring Gail Shampnois, Nour El-Naboulsi, and Sally Adams for their community activism and civic leadership. Head south to the Wheeler Homestead at 1100 Dorset Street starting at 4 for Flatbread Fridays, where the wood fired oven is cranking and a live band plays with no cover. It's First Friday on Pine Street tonight, which means the S.P.A.C.E. Gallery annual members exhibition opens from 5 to 9 at the Soda Plant with 125 local artists, snacks, and free drinks, while just up the road the SEABA Center debuts Nocturne, a pairing of Katharine Montstream's night paintings with daughter Charlotte Dworshak's large format florals, plus free live music from Cal Humberto starting at 8. Over on Howard Street, Green Door Studio's MAYDAY FIRST FRIDAY brings new art, guest art, snacks, and house music DJs spinning from 8 to midnight.

Foam Brewers kicks off its 10th anniversary weekend starting at 5 with a stacked lineup of Disco Phantom, Doctor Rick, Hammydown, Acqua Mossa, and Kate Kush playing into the late hours, plus food trucks and anniversary beer releases running all weekend long. Out in Shelburne, Shelburne Vineyard hosts Half Dead (the Grateful Dead cover alter ego of Richmond band The FOG) from 5:30 to 8. Geoffrey Asmus brings his nationally touring stand up act to the Vermont Comedy Club at 7 and 9 tonight and tomorrow and shows are selling out. At 7, violinist Soovin Kim presents a Lake Champlain Chamber Music Festival preview at Meach Cove Farms in Shelburne exploring this summer's "Migrations" theme with live performances of Dvořák and Bacewicz (free but reservations required at LCCMF.org). The CCV Chorus performs at 7:30 at CCV Winooski tonight and again Saturday at 7:30 at First Baptist Church in Burlington. If the clouds cooperate tonight, the Vermont Astronomical Society hosts free stargazing at 8 at the Nowland Farm natural area in South Burlington with telescopes and expert company. And closing out the night in Winooski, The Kwame Vibe spins Afrobeats, house, and EDM at the Monkey House starting at 9 (21+, no cover).

Saturday is Green Up Day across Vermont, and despite the showers in the forecast there are plenty of ways to pitch in. In Winooski, the Senior Center on Barlow Street serves as home base from 8:30 to noon with bags and gloves, followed by a Memorial Park cleanup and cookout from noon to 2. The Tower Keypers coordinate Ethan Allen Park from 8:30 to 12:30 (tread carefully around the emerging spring ephemerals). Fort Ethan Allen in Colchester has coffee, snacks, and bags at the gazebo from 9 to 11. Down on Pine Street, the Barge Canal cleanup runs from 9 to noon with bagels and important conversation about the canal's future amid major development plans. Volunteers can Green Up the Urban Reserve along the waterfront all day starting at 9. South Burlington's Green Up runs from 10 to 2 with bag pickup at City Hall and free grilling from the Champlain Valley Lions Club on Dorset Street. ECHO celebrates with worm composting workshops and a touchable garbage truck from 10 to 2 (bring a photo of your filled Green Up bag for a special edition sticker). And if you want to turn your cleanup into a party, the Green Up Hoedown at Switchback Brewing runs from noon to 9 with live music from the Ben Kogan Band and Sticks & Stones, a Hobby Horse Derby at 4, a Kentucky Derby hat contest at 4:30, and a live Derby screening at 6:30 with mint juleps flowing.

Beyond the green bags, Saturday has plenty more happening. Skirack's 38th annual Bike Swap takes over Main Street from 9 to 6 (and Sunday 10 to 2), the largest in Vermont. The BTown Coffee Club [MEETUP] gathers at Zero Gravity on Pine Street from 10 to noon for a casual Saturday morning hang. The Vermont Sports Card and Collectible Show sets up at University Mall from 10 to 6 with over 35 dealer tables. Alpine Shop's Trade-In Event on Shelburne Road runs all weekend, partnering with SidelineSwap to turn your old gear into store credit. The Friends of Fletcher Free Library Spring Book Sale continues through Sunday with 6,000 books at $2 each. In the afternoon, Word Play pops up at Earth and Salt on Maple Street from 3 to 6, a romantasy book event with Phoenix Books and local author J.S. Alexandria (buy a book, get 10% off a vibrator, if you're curious about the cross promotion) Country for a Cure at Citizen Cider from 4 to 9 features Josh Panda and raises money for blood cancer research with no cover. For something completely different, The Reckoning at the DoubleTree from 6 to 11 showcases Muay Thai fighting from New England talent. The Casualties bring punk rock to Higher Ground at 7:30. And if you scored tickets, Built to Spill headlines Higher Ground's Ballroom for Foam's 10th anniversary show at 8 with Lily Seabird opening (officially sold out, but check Tixel for the official exchange). Foam's Saturday brewery session runs from 11 to 6 with KANGANADE, The High Breaks, Wild Leek River, and Bob Wagner before the whole crew shuts down early and heads to the show.

Sunday looks like the nicer day to be outside, and there's no shortage of reasons to get out there. The Automaster Shelburne Half Marathon and 5k/10k starts at 8 at the Shelburne Field House, with the half marathon winding past Shelburne Farms for lake and mountain views. The Rock Point Loop Hike [MEETUP Forever 38] offers a mellow 1.7 mile walk with gorgeous lakeside scenery starting at 10. Skirack's Bike Swap wraps up from 10 to 2, and the Fletcher Free Book Sale closes out from noon to 5:30. The BTV Plant Swap takes over the Odd Fellows Hall on North Ave from noon to 3 (bring your cuttings, check for pests, grab a raffle ticket at the door). The COTS Walk steps off from Battery Park at 1 for a 3.6 mile route through downtown visiting shelters and COTS facilities, with Jenni & the Jazz Junketeers, Ben & Jerry's, and a $220,000 fundraising goal supporting families experiencing homelessness. At 2, PSI Vermont screens More Than Blue at Main Street Landing, followed by a panel discussion with professionals and parents with lived experience. Foam Brewers keeps the anniversary rolling Sunday afternoon with Ponyhustle at 1 and Reid Parsons at 3:30. Come evening, pick up ultimate frisbee returns at 5 behind Edmunds Elementary on Main Street (all levels welcome, nobody's keeping score). And Womxn's Pick-up Soccer [MEETUP] runs from 5 to 7 at Starr Farm Park.

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Every week I comb through 24+ local sources, event calendars like Seven Days, Front Porch Forum, Facebook, and many more; plus news outlets like VTDigger, WCAX, Vermont Public, and more. Then I curate all the best events and news so you don't have to spend time finding them! I do all of this around a night-shift job, so your support genuinely helps keep the Btown Brief going. If the Btown Brief saves you time or has introduced you to something new in Burlington, consider becoming a supporter!

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About Me

The Btown Brief IRL - We’re now seeing 20–30 people at our weekly events! Be sure to stop by for our weekly Saturday Coffee meetup at Zero Gravity at 10am. Everyone is welcome! It’s a great place to talk about weekend events too, along with news and life updates. So come find things to do this weekend together:

On the Beat: Foam Brewers Turns 10

Seven Days' music column gives the full rundown on Foam Brewers' decade in business, tracing the Lake Street brewery's evolution from a cool little beer spot into one of the most important music venues in Burlington. The anniversary weekend runs Friday through Sunday with free live music, food trucks, special beer releases, and the sold out Built to Spill show at Higher Ground on Saturday night. The column also flags a few other upcoming music picks, including the Young Tradition Festival at City Hall Auditorium on May 8 and 9, and a rare pairing of LA saxophonist Henry Solomon with experimental electronic composer Elori Saxl at Doma Bar tonight.

UVM Announces Speakers for 225th Commencement

Two time Olympic silver medalist and UVM alum Ben Ogden will deliver a guest address at UVM's 225th commencement on Saturday, May 16. The Landgrove native and fourth generation Vermonter became the first American man to medal in cross country skiing in 50 years at the Cortina Winter Games, then added a second silver in the team sprint eight days later. UVM President Marlene Tromp will preside over her first commencement since taking over last summer. One format change to note, the main ceremony has moved to Saturday on the university green, breaking from the traditional Sunday schedule.

Why Does Vermont Have the Lowest Birth Rate in the Nation?

This is the kickoff piece in Seven Days' new "Gen Zero" series examining what's behind Vermont's shrinking youth population. The story puts real faces to the numbers: young couples priced out of homeownership by a median home price that's doubled to $500,000 in a decade, renters shelling out $2,000 a month for one bedrooms in Burlington, and parents who stop at one kid because childcare still runs $600 or more monthly even with state subsidies. Vermont's 2023 payroll tax has added over 1,700 new childcare slots and expanded who qualifies for help, but demographers say it'll take years before that kind of policy shift shows up in birth data. Meanwhile, several interviewees pointed to something harder to legislate away; a deepening anxiety about the future itself.

Beta Technologies Partners with Champlain College to Build Talent Pipeline

Six Champlain College computer science majors spent the semester building a social media app called Echo for Beta Technologies, the South Burlington electric aircraft startup, designed to connect its growing employee base across departments and the manufacturing floor. The partnership is structured to function like real engineering work with sprint cycles and progress demos for Beta staff. At least one student has already parlayed the experience into a summer internship. Professor Brian Hall emphasized the focus on keeping Vermont talent local, saying the collaboration gives students practical skills in communication and teamwork that classroom work alone doesn't provide.

Study Says Building More Homes in Burlington Won't Lower Costs

A new UVM study analyzing over 4,000 Burlington home sales between 2003 and 2023 challenges the dominant "just build more" approach to the housing crisis. Researchers found that investor activity, even at Burlington's relatively small scale, is a bigger driver of rising prices than supply shortages. Each additional investor entering the market was associated with roughly a $10,480 jump in overall home prices. About a third of investor purchases were all cash, and that pattern is spreading: nearly a quarter of all Burlington sales in recent years have been cash deals. A bill introduced this session by Rep. Emilie Krasnow to slow institutional investor purchases didn't advance, but the study's central argument — that removing one investor from the market has roughly the same price effect as adding eight homes — is likely to reshape how Burlington talks about affordability going forward.

South Burlington Signs $20 Million Contract for Pedestrian Bike Bridge

South Burlington has finally signed a contract to build a pedestrian and bike bridge over I-89, connecting the Williston Road corridor between Burlington and South Burlington's shopping centers. The project ballooned from an original $14.5 million estimate to $20 million after the lowest construction bid came in 37 percent above projections, forcing the city to split the project into two phases. Phase one connects the sidewalks near Staples and CVS, with bike ramps planned for a later stage. Construction starts this summer with completion targeted for October 2028. The city still has a $2.5 million funding gap it's hoping to fill with grants. Currently around 275 people walk or bike across the interstate on an average weekday, navigating highway on-ramps in what planners describe as a genuinely dangerous crossing.

Champlain College to Discipline Students Who Protested Professor

Four Champlain College students face discipline, including possible suspension or expulsion, after distributing flyers about adjunct psychology professor David Tomasi during an April 18 admitted students event. Tomasi has posted online about what he calls "the evil of transgender ideology," and the flyers included screenshots of those posts alongside calls for his firing. The college cited its 2024 "Safe Campus Demonstrations" policy, which requires 48 hours advance approval, limits protests to three outdoor locations during business hours, and prohibits disruption of operations. Senior Aminah Carrington faces the harshest potential penalty after briefly using a bullhorn and entering a classroom. The situation touches on tensions many colleges are navigating right now, where the line falls between campus safety policies and students' ability to actually protest in any meaningful way.

Vermont Lawmakers No Longer Plan on Unmasking ICE

The House Judiciary Committee gutted S.208, the bill that would have required all law enforcement in Vermont to display identification and stop concealing their faces during operations. The retreat came after a federal appeals court struck down a similar California law last week, ruling it violated the Supremacy Clause by attempting to regulate federal agents. Vermont's original bill was specifically written to apply to all officers, not just federal ones, in an attempt to survive exactly that kind of challenge, but lawmakers now concede that strategy probably wouldn't hold up either. The scaled back version simply directs a state law enforcement board to create a model policy on identification and masking standards. The issue took on local urgency after the daylong immigration operation in South Burlington last month, during which some responding officers concealed their faces and lacked visible ID.

The Flynn Announces 'Around Town' Programming for 2026 Burlington Discover Jazz Festival

The Flynn has unveiled the free Around Town lineup for this year's Burlington Discover Jazz Festival, running June 3 through 7. The programming spreads across Church Street's Top Block Stage, City Hall Park, College Street, and independent venues including Venetian Soda Lounge, Zero Gravity, Lucky You, and Deli 126. Highlights include double bill nights featuring Soule Monde and Madaila, a Michael-Louis Smith residency at Zero Gravity, and a Sun Ra film screening at Main Street Landing on the closing Sunday. Burlington City Arts is co-presenting the Downtown Jazz series, anchoring the free side of a festival that continues to treat the whole city as its stage.

Vermont Fresh Network on Indefinite Hiatus, Leaves Legacy

The pioneering farm-to-table nonprofit Vermont Fresh Network has quietly gone dark just short of its 30th anniversary, unable to fund a new executive director after membership slid from 305 in 2019 to 224 by late 2023. Board chair and Honey Road chef Cara Chigazola Tobin said the organization never recovered from COVID's financial hit, and a final blow came in 2025 when the Trump administration canceled a $25,000 federal grant. The timing is bittersweet: a free nine-event series called Local Food in Practice, originally conceived as a collaboration with the network, launches this week through the Vermont Agency of Agriculture with $130,000 in USDA funding. The nonprofit's green-and-white membership plaques were once a point of pride in restaurants statewide, and its annual forum dinner at Shelburne Farms drew hundreds. Whether its work continues in some form remains an open question.

Bookstore Workers to Hold Vote on Union

Barnes & Noble employees at the Dorset Street location in South Burlington held a union vote this week and could become the eighth store in the country to unionize. The effort, led by booksellers Willow Guppy and Sebastian Ryder, has been 10 months in the making and took a deliberately low key approach. It was a collectively signed letter to management, followed by quietly donning union pins on the floor. Most of the store's 19 eligible employees have signed commitment cards. The drive is happening alongside a separate union election at nearby Healthy Living, meaning two businesses along the same half mile stretch of Dorset Street could unionize in the same week. CEO James Daunt visited for town halls, which workers described as more connective than adversarial.

Ballou Family Apothecary Partners with Vermont Green FC

Vermont wellness brand Ballou Family Apothecary has signed on as a sponsor of Vermont Green FC for the 2026 season, tying together two organizations built around giving back a percentage of revenue. Ballou commits 10 percent of every purchase to affordable childcare initiatives for Vermont families, while Vermont Green, the reigning USL League Two national champion, directs 1 percent of annual revenue to environmental causes. Fans can expect on-site product appearances and giveaways on scheduled match days throughout the season, with dates announced on Ballou's social media.

Artists Explore 'Human Impact' on the Environment at BCA Center

Seven Days reviews "Human Impact: Contemporary Art and Our Environment," on view through June 20 at BCA Center in Burlington, featuring eight artists who channel ecological crisis into visually striking work. Highlights include Philadelphia painter Diane Burko's fiery Amazon canvases, Huntington artist Renée Greenlee's decomposed cyanotypes on silk repaired with gold thread, and UVM professor Nicolei Buendia Gupit's glowing resin sculptures filled with litter collected from Philippine streams during a Fulbright fellowship. The show makes a case for art as a way to process the scale of environmental grief without looking away, and the review notes that the exhibition's strength is exactly this tension: making the ugly truths of ecological destruction beautiful enough to hold your attention.

Growing Season Officially Begins for the Champlain Valley

May 1 marks the official start of growing season in the Champlain Valley, defined as the window between the average last spring frost and the average first fall frost. Don't rush to plant just yet though as temps are running below average and Sunday morning could flirt with freezing. The rest of Vermont outside the Northeast Kingdom enters growing season on May 11, with the NEK and Adirondacks following on May 21.

Vermont Brewers Festival Returning to Burlington Waterfront

Mark your calendars! The Vermont Brewers Festival is back on the Burlington waterfront July 17 and 18, featuring over 200 beers from across the state plus a handful of Canadian breweries. New this year is a VIP experience ticket with extra tastings and lounge access. Tickets go on sale Friday at 11 AM.

520 BBQ and Grill Brings Southern-Style Smoked Meat to Essex

Burlington native Matthew Desautels opened 520 BBQ and Grill in early March at the former Little Caesars spot on Center Road in Essex, serving dry rubbed, slow smoked ribs, pulled pork, brisket, and sausage. The name honors his old Army unit, where a soldier from Alabama first got him hooked on barbecue. Currently open for dinner Wednesday through Sunday, 4 to 8 PM, with expanded hours planned once staffing and a liquor license come through.

Announcing April’s Winner in the next newsletter!!

How good of a reader are you? Think you’re keeping up with Burlington news? It's time to prove it. Every Monday and Friday, we're dropping a quick 5-question quiz covering the local news you just finished reading. You've got just 60 seconds to answer them all. No looking back allowed. Use the same unique name each time you play so everyone can track your stats in our Hall of Fame, where you'll compete for titles like Sharpshooter (highest accuracy), Speed Demon (fastest average time), and Streak Leader (most consistent player). Make your name (or cool nickname) known to Btown!

And yes, there are PRIZES. Each month, we'll reward the top performers based on the best combination of Total Score and Average Score. That means playing consistently AND playing well will pay off. The more quizzes you complete with high scores, the better your chances of winning. I mean, who doesn’t want cool Btown Merch gear sent to them?

Ready to play? Click the link below, enter your name, and show us what you've got. Btown Brief Quiz

View the potential prizes on the Btown Brief Merch Store

The third-seeded University of Vermont men's lacrosse team defeated second-seeded Bryant 13-7 in the America East Semifinals. Max Frattaroli paced the offense with four goals, while Zack Toll tallied six points, helping the Catamounts secure their seventh America East title game appearance. Earlier in the week, the program was well-represented in the conference's year-end awards, highlighted by Walter Zhao being named America East Faceoff Specialist of the Year. Several other Catamounts, Toll, Frattaroli, Jack Combs, and Aneel Ward, also earned all-conference accolades.

The UVM women's lacrosse program also collected major America East conference honors heading into the postseason. Ayla Shea won Co-Goalkeeper of the Year after leading the league with a 9.21 goals-against average, and Sarah Dalton Graddock earned Coach of the Year honors after guiding Vermont to a share of its first-ever regular-season title. Six additional Catamounts, Lydia Doraz, Jane Trauger, Sabine Godwin, Lindsay Lefebvre, Kiera Larney, and Ali Cabot, secured spots on All-Conference teams. The women's lacrosse team will be competing at home this weekend for the America East Semifinals and Championship.

In academic news, 122 UVM student-athletes were inducted into the Chi Alpha Sigma National College Athlete Honor Society. The 2026 induction class combined for an impressive average GPA of 3.81. Additionally, the university announced that two-time Olympic medalist cross-country skier Ben Ogden '22 will deliver a guest address at UVM's 225th Commencement ceremony on Saturday, May 16.

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Full list of 202+ activities to do at anytime is always waiting here when you need a plan: 202+ Things to Do

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That does it for this edition of the Btown Brief. Whether you're grabbing a flatbread, greening up a trail, or dancing at Foam until they kick you out, there's something for everyone this weekend. Support the people and places that make this community what it is, and if you've got a tip, a correction, or just something you think your neighbors should know about, send it our way. Have a great weekend, Burlington.

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