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If anything outdoors is on your list this week, Monday and Thursday are the days to do it. Monday stays mostly dry and gray once the early showers wrap up, with a high around 65 and maybe a stray shower this evening before rain moves in overnight. Tuesday is the washout, with steady rain, south wind gusting to 30 and a chance of afternoon thunderstorms, adding up to around an inch by Wednesday morning while highs stay in the 50s. Wednesday opens with a leftover shower and stays cloudy and cool. Thursday brings the sun back, dry and chilly with a north breeze and a high near 55. Another round of rain arrives Friday, and the weekend brings the coldest air of the season so far, with Saturday stuck in the mid 40s and a few snowflakes possibly mixing in. Track it all week, with patio, swim, and sunset scores, at Burlington Right Now.

Monday's lineup is all evening. The Forever 38 crew takes a table at Trivia Mondays at Black Flannel [MEETUP] in Essex Junction at 6, and at 6:30 the monthly Collage Collective gathers at Expressive Arts Burlington on Flynn Avenue to cut, paste and create, by donation, with beginners welcome. Also at 6:30, Laura McPeake leads a drop in meditation class [MEETUP] at the Friends Meeting House on North Prospect Street, with simple guided meditations aimed at quieting busy thoughts. Violinist L. Shankar, one of the pioneers of East West music, who has played with Frank Zappa and Peter Gabriel, brings his 10 string double violin to the Higher Ground Showcase Lounge with doors at 7. Out in Shelburne, Chest Fever, billed as the official revival of The Band, performs The Last Waltz among the vines at Shelburne Vineyard from 7 to 10, rain or shine.

Tuesday's rain makes it a day for indoor plans. From noon to 5, the Colchester-Milton Rotary hosts a Red Cross blood drive at Our Lady of Grace in Colchester, with homemade baked goods after and a $15 e-gift card for every donor (book with the code CMROTARY). At 5, Fletcher Free Library hosts Writing for Healing, an hour of meditation, writing and Gateless feedback with snacks provided, and the Chamber & Economic Development of the Rutland Region brings its October mixer to Allen Pools & Spas in Williston from 5 to 7, benefiting Making Strides Against Breast Cancer. The Vermont Figure Drawing Collective draws from rotating models at Karma Bird House from 6 to 8, all skill levels welcome and no tickets needed. At 7, Dad Guild runs its open gym basketball at the Mater Christi School gym, Denver bluegrass quartet Magoo, whose debut album features Sam Bush on fiddle, plays the Higher Ground Showcase Lounge with doors at 7, NYU sociologist Lisa M. Stulberg talks with performer Kat Redniss about her book How to Win a Culture War at Phoenix Books, free with RSVP, and Kyle Stevens and Joe Friday play the Monkey House in Winooski with no cover. Queen City Brewery posted a Knot Knite for Tuesday too, so come do stuff with yarn. Partizanfilm screens Dead Media at 8:20, Joseph Scrimshaw's horror comedy about a haunted DVD and a movie night that won't die, and Jon McBride's Big Easy Tuesdays brings free jazz to The 126 at 9.

Wednesday is our first week of Pick-up Basketball [MEETUP] indoors at UVM's Gutterson Fieldhouse, from 5:30 to 7:30, with a $12 day pass at the Campus Rec front desk in the Gucciardi Fitness Center, so come get some runs in. Earlier in the day, voters can meet outside City Hall on Church Street between 9:30 and 11 to drop off their ballots together, and Vermont Womenpreneurs gathers women business owners at Deep City for its monthly Biz Buzz at 9:45. Martin and Chris Kratt bring Wild Kratts Live 2.0 to the Flynn at 3:30 and 6:30, and seats are limited. At 5, wildcrafter and folk herbalist Broni Grala leads a Farm to Medicine Cabinet herb walk through medicinal plants at Shelburne Farms, Vermont Cider Lab in Essex Junction hosts a dog friendly Yappy Hour for VEG Cares with live music from 6, and Doma Bar on Pine Street gets its weekly All-Inclusive Dyke-Tacular going, an LGBTQ+ listening party with dancing. Runners can head out on an easy out and back 5K from 1st Republic [MEETUP] in Essex Junction at 5:30.

Wednesday evening keeps going. At 6, Lama Rod Owens gives a public Dharma talk and meditation at the O.N.E. Community Center, the Boardroom hosts cribbage [MEETUP] for all experience levels, and Mesmer Kava's BYO Book Club has no assigned reading, just bring whatever you're into. At 6:30 the Architecture + Design Film Series screens Good Work: Masters of the Building Arts at Contois Auditorium, and the Ward 1 NPA at the Friends Meeting House hears from Burlington Parks on the city's new Open Space Plan before a Q&A with Chittenden-15 House candidates Ben Bosley, Brian Cina and Troy Headrick. At 7, punk band Prince Daddy & The Hyena plays the Higher Ground Showcase Lounge, Chuck Wendig and Delilah Dawson talk about their new books The Calamities and Monstera at Phoenix Books, and the Queen City Ghostwalk's waterfront tour leaves from Union Station. UVM Theatre opens Annie Baker's The Aliens at the Royall Tyler Theatre at 7:30, with performances through Sunday, Partizanfilm shows the 1978 Invasion of the Body Snatchers at 8 before it closes for HVAC work from Oct. 16 through Oct. 29, and Hotel Vermont's weekly Jazz Night with Ray Vega runs from 8:30 to 10:30.

Thursday we're teaming up with South Burlington Rec's Social Pulse group for Ali T Live at J Ski's [MEETUP], a free indoor show from 7 to 9 at J Ski's on Main Street with free snacks and pizza while they last and a cash bar, so come hang out with us. The day starts at 7:30 AM with Braver Angels ambassador Mary K. Dennison on courageous citizenship at a Rotary club meeting at 185 Market Street in South Burlington, and the VermontBiz2Biz Expo at the DoubleTree opens its exhibit hall to the public from 8:30 to 3, alongside a Senator Welch business breakfast and the Vermont Business Growth Awards luncheon. At 5, YOURstory gathers women in midlife for a free story circle at the South Burlington Public Library, with just 13 seats so reserve ahead, Out in the 802's LGBTQ+ happy hour [MEETUP] meets at Lincoln's, the speakeasy up the alley by Red Square, and Adventure Dinner throws a free Pumpkin Fest pop-up at its Clubhouse on the edge of Winooski and Colchester until 9, costumes encouraged. The Flynn's Art of Community Storytelling workshop starts at 6 with no writing experience needed, and at 6:30 New York standup Kendall Farrell, a former Vermont's Funniest Comedian winner, plays the Vermont Comedy Club while UVM's Luis Vivanco tells the story of When the Bicycle Came to Vermont at Fletcher Free Library, free with RSVP. Déjà Rêvé Actors Guild opens the second weekend of Venus in Fur at Off Center at 7 with a cast and crew talkback after, Don Mahogany hosts Third Thursday Trivia at Butter Bar at 7, and the Buena Vista Orchestra, with players from the Buena Vista Social Club and AfroCuban All Stars, takes the Higher Ground Ballroom stage at 8.

Scroll down to Events Section for full list of events. Or check my events page.

We’re now seeing 20–30 people at our weekly events! Thanks to everyone helping host events with me. And thanks to those that show up to make it worth it. Be sure to stop by for our weekly Saturday Coffee meetup at Zero Gravity at 10am. 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:

This Coming Week:

I put out a redesign of the website that holds all 80+ projects I made for the city, be sure to take an afternoon and check them all out.

And of course, one of my favorites, the ALL DAY FEED.

Why support? Every week, I sort through TONS of local sources: Seven Days events, Front Porch Forum calendar, Facebook events, Hello Burlington, Meetup.com, Eventbrite, Church St Marketplace calendar, Flynn, Higher Ground, Vermont Comedy Club, and then news stations like VTDigger, Seven Days, WCAX, WPTZ, Vermont Public, Community News Service, VT Cynic, The Other Paper, Vermont Business Magazine, Williston Observer, MyChamplainValley, The Charlotte News, to keep you connected. It takes a long time to curate and write about all this local content, so if this lengthy newsletter saves you time, or has introduced you to new experiences in Burlington, then definitely consider chipping in!

About Me

Sugar House Hotel in Winooski to Open Restaurant and Café-Bar

The 115 room Sugar House Hotel opens Oct. 21 at 111 Winooski Falls Way, and both of its places to eat and drink are open to the public. In the lobby, Moss Café + Bar does espresso, pastries and grab and go sandwiches and salads by day, then wine, beer and cocktails with small bites at night, while the 75 seat Treetops restaurant on the eighth floor serves breakfast and dinner, with 40 outdoor seats looking out over the 100 acre nature preserve along the Winooski River. Food and beverage director Jacob Ennis came over from Warren's Pitcher Inn and hired executive chef Steve Zeno, formerly of Montpelier's Capitol Plaza Hotel, and sous chef Sean Richards, who owned Burlington's Queen City Café. The menus lean classic and local, from maple granola with Larson Farm yogurt at breakfast to a cider brined pork chop at dinner, and guests get a complimentary maple creemee when they arrive.

Construction begins on new affordable housing in Burlington

Champlain Housing Trust broke ground Friday on the Shale Beach Condominiums, 30 permanently affordable homes in the Cambrian Rise neighborhood of the New North End, with the two and three bedroom units expected to sell for $175,000 to $210,000. Under the trust's shared equity model, buyers purchase the home while the trust keeps the land, and when they sell they split the appreciation with the trust so the home stays affordable for the next buyer. The condos sit next to 100 Cambrian Way, another permanently affordable building that welcomes its first residents next month.

Vermont governor’s race will test voters’ appetite for raising new taxes — or cutting them

Democratic nominee Amanda Janoo, an economist from Burlington, wants a 2% surcharge on personal income over $250,000 and an 8% surcharge on income over $500,000, which Fair Share for Vermont estimates would raise $344 million a year, with the money going toward free primary and preventive care for every Vermonter. She also wants higher taxes on luxury second homes, commercial vacation rentals and corporate owned housing, plus a tax on big tech companies' digital ad revenue. Gov. Phil Scott, running for a sixth term, is pitching nearly the opposite, a still unspecified package of tax cuts or credits, and he has already told state agencies to plan budgets around less revenue. Scott argues a surtax would drive wealthy residents and businesses out of Vermont, though a Tax Policy Center fellow told VTDigger there is little evidence of significant "tax flight" elsewhere, and 57% of respondents in a recent Vermont Public poll backed a yearly tax on second homes.

General election ballots mailed out to Vermont voters

You can also drop your ballot at your town clerk's office during business hours, or in an official drop box any time before Election Day on Nov. 3. Voting in person still works too, either with your mailed ballot or with a new one at the polls, and anyone who hasn't received a ballot by mid October should contact their town clerk.

Bernie Sanders Endorses Janoo for Vermont Governor

Sen. Bernie Sanders endorsed Amanda Janoo for governor on Wednesday in a video statement, saying he personally likes Gov. Phil Scott but backs Janoo's plans for free primary and preventive care, lower property taxes paid for by luxury second homes and large corporate investors, and a statewide moratorium on AI data centers. Janoo said the two met about two weeks earlier for a "great, nerdy policy conversation," and she already had Sen. Peter Welch, Rep. Becca Balint and former Gov. Howard Dean in her corner. Sanders has backed the Democrat in three of Scott's five previous races for governor. The polls disagree on where things stand, with UNH's Green Mountain State Poll showing Janoo up six points and a Vermont Public poll a few days later giving Scott a 10 point lead among likely voters. Should be quite the ending!

Vermont Legal Aid program to fight eviction may end due to lost funding

Vermont Legal Aid's tenant representation pilot put a team of four attorneys on eviction cases starting in November 2024 and has opened and closed 207 cases, 54 of them for tenants over 60. It ends Oct. 31 because the state isn't replenishing the just over $1 million it got through Act 47, the Vermont Home Act of 2023. Legal Aid will keep offering free help, but project director Sara Kagle says less funding will make it harder to address Vermont's housing crisis.

Benefit concert brings Make-A-Wish families and jam band fans together in South Burlington

The Wish Benefit Tour's sold out stop at Higher Ground on Wednesday paired Dead & Company founding member Oteil Burbridge with Vermont groove trio LaMP, with all proceeds going to Make-A-Wish chapters in Vermont, Northeast New York, Massachusetts and Rhode Island. During the show, 19 year old wish alum Noah Cohen told Juniper, a 15 year old from Burlington who is battling leukemia, that her wish had been approved. She's headed on a musical tour of New York City in the spring, wrapping up with a recording session at Electric Lady Studios.

Gov. Scott swaps EV for hybrid, cites charging struggles

Four years after becoming the first governor in the country to use an electric vehicle as his official state vehicle, Gov. Phil Scott disclosed last week that he gave up his Ford Lightning last fall, after putting about 70,000 miles on it, because charging stations were too hard to find on the road. He's driving a hybrid now and says he'll get another EV once the technology and the charging network improve.

Despite some overall progress, Vermont test scores show a widening achievement gap

The state's first look at 2025-26 test results shows the proficiency gap between marginalized students and their peers now runs 30 to 38 percentage points, up from 26 to 36 last year, with the widest gap in sixth grade English language arts. The state counts students with disabilities, living in poverty, from racial or ethnic minorities and several other groups as marginalized, and they make up 57% of Vermont's roughly 80,000 students. There was some progress overall, as math proficiency in grades 3 through 9 rose 2.7 points and English rose 1.14, though only 41% of those students are proficient in math. Education Secretary Zoie Saunders says the gap makes the case for the foundation formula funding model the state is set to adopt in 2029, while advocates point to special education being siloed from general classrooms and to how schools respond to bias.

GlobalFoundries brings massive solar array, battery storage online in Essex Junction

GlobalFoundries switched on a new solar array and a 16 megawatt battery storage system at its Essex Junction campus last Monday, with the panels covering more than 30 acres of underused land that includes an old parking lot and a brownfield. The battery discharges over four hours to cut the plant's draw on the regional grid at peak times, and Gov. Phil Scott, on hand for the ceremony, said the savings matter for all ratepayers.

Emerald ash borer has arrived in Charlotte, found at Mt. Philo

The state's invasive species coordinator has confirmed the first emerald ash borer detection in Charlotte, at Mount Philo State Park. The beetle's larvae feed under ash bark and girdle the tree, and the most definitive sign is small, D shaped exit holes in the trunk, along with thinning leaves, vertical bark splits and extra woodpecker activity. Chemical treatment can be very effective on trees with 30% or less crown loss, so the advice is to inspect your ash trees, call a certified arborist if you're concerned, and buy firewood locally and burn it where you bought it.

South Burlington couple loses home in fast-moving fire

Stephen Snook and his wife were watching the Yankees game in the basement of their Butler Drive home last Wednesday night when the fire started, and within minutes flames were shooting out of the windows. They got out with their car, one cell phone and their lives. South Burlington's nearest crews were already on another call, so engines came from Burlington, Williston, the Vermont Air National Guard and UVM Rescue, and the cause is still unclear.

‘You can’t lose things like this’: Barre community rallies in attempt to save ice rink

About a week after Barre announced that the piping in its 52 year old BOR Arena was full of leaks and the rink likely wouldn't open this winter, local tradespeople started volunteering to try a fix. Heating installer Ed Patterson, whose son is a senior on the Spaulding High School hockey team, came up with a plan to reinforce the failed system with plastic tubing, and almost a dozen volunteers are working on it with equipment the city agreed to pay for. A patched section held pressure in its first test. The arena still needs a new roof and humidity control, which could mean a multimillion dollar bond vote in a city that still doesn't have a school budget.

Burlington seeks input on park playground renovations

Burlington Parks wants to give the playgrounds at Baird, Ethan Allen and Smalley parks the same accessible equipment Pomeroy Park got when it reopened in July, at around $200,000 per park, with help from the Parks Foundation's Playgrounds for All Forever campaign. Smalley's wooden play structures were removed in 2020 after they began to erode. The in person feedback session at Smalley was last Thursday, and the city also has an online survey covering all three parks.

Familiar faces from Norman Rockwell’s paintings visit Shelburne Museum

Norman Rockwell lived in Arlington for 14 years, creating more than 175 Saturday Evening Post covers there and famously paying his neighbors $5 and a cold Coca-Cola to model. Several of those models gathered at the Shelburne Museum on Sept. 26, including Mary Whalen, the grinning girl with the black eye in "The Young Lady with the Shiner," who remembered Rockwell getting down on his hands and knees to make her laugh. Don Trachte Jr. brought a list of the 211 people who modeled for Rockwell during his Arlington years. The museum's "Norman Rockwell: At Home in Vermont" exhibit is on view until Oct. 25, so there are two more weekends to catch it.

Repairs underway at downtown Burlington parking garages — The Downtown, Marketplace and Lakeview garages stay open during maintenance, but elevator access may be limited. The City Council approved a $1.6 million loan for the work last Monday, to be paid back with parking revenue.

Vermont hip hop band pens tune about online relationship — A2VT, named Best Hip Hop Group by Seven Days last year, released the single "Before The Night Is Over" in early October, with a video shot around downtown Burlington. The band has been making music in Vermont since 2012, after its members fled conflict in Burundi, Somalia and Tanzania.

State board approves landing strip at home of Beta CEO — A state transportation board gave Beta Technologies CEO Kyle Clark final approval last Thursday for a 900 foot landing strip at his home in Lincoln, with conditions limiting when he can fly in and out. The plan had divided the Addison County town and been fought in and out of court since 2022.

Boat sinks at Colchester marina, fuel spills into Lake Champlain — A boat sank at a marina along West Lakeshore Drive in Colchester on Sunday evening, spilling fuel into the lake. Colchester Fire and the state's hazmat team deployed containment booms, and the boat was set to be removed Monday.

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!

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

Zoey McNabb won the women's 5k at the New England Championships in Hopkinton, N.H., on Friday, finishing 17.2 seconds ahead of the next runner. She's the first Vermont winner there since Judi St. Hilaire in 1980 and only the second Catamount ever named New England Champion. The men took third with 87 points, just two behind winner Providence, for the program's first men's team trophy position since it won the whole thing in 1958, led by Will Locke in fifth at 24:58.60. The women placed fourth, with Isabella Fryer running her fastest 5k of the fall. UVM hosts the Fall Foliage Invite at Hard'ack in St. Albans on Sunday, women at 12:30 and men at 1:15, its final tune up before the America East Championship.

No. 15 women's hockey swept Franklin Pierce to start 3-1-0, its best start since 2022-23. Friday's 2-1 win came on Zoe Charland's first career goal and a Lauren O'Hara goal with 45 seconds left in the second, with Ellie Simmons making 18 saves in her first start of the season. Saturday's 4-0 win had 11 different players record a point, including Gracesyn Louis scoring her first career NCAA goal in her first regular season game, and Tara Bach stopped all 19 shots for her second shutout of the season. The Cats play at Cornell on Friday at 6 and Saturday at 3 on ESPN+.

Men's hockey dropped its opener 3-0 at Bentley on Friday. Vermont outshot the Falcons 8-0 over the opening nine minutes, but Bentley scored on two of its first four shots, Colin Kessler hit the post in the second, and Lukas Swedin made 16 saves over the final two periods for his third career shutout. Eight Catamounts made their debuts, and Cédrick Guindon led all skaters with five shots on goal. No. 14 Boston University comes to Gutterson on Friday and Saturday at 7 on ESPN+ and WVMT, and Friday is the TD Home Opener, with cobranded T-shirts for the first 500 fans.

Field hockey (10-2) has won three straight, all shutouts. Consu de Castro deflected in a Veerle Nijhuis shot with 11 minutes left in the third quarter to beat UMass Lowell 1-0 on Friday for Vermont's first conference win, and on Sunday Emily Enden scored off a penalty corner 1:43 into overtime to beat Appalachian State 1-0, her first career game winner. That's double digit wins for the fifth time in six seasons. The Cats play at UAlbany on Friday, then host Yale on Sunday at noon for Rally Against Cancer presented by Mascoma Bank.

No. 16 men's soccer won 1-0 at UMBC on Saturday when Luis Vetter headed in an Aleksei Carnier cross in the 87th minute, its first win at UMBC since 2018. Niklas Herceg posted his eighth shutout of the season and 24th of his career, and the Cats (8-1-3) remain unbeaten in conference play. They host New Hampshire on Saturday at 1 at Virtue Field, with a free lavender beanie for fans for Rally Against Cancer. Women's soccer played to a 0-0 draw at Bryant on Sunday, putting seven shots on goal to Bryant's zero as Sophia Kling kept her third clean sheet, and plays at NJIT on Sunday at 2. Men's basketball tips off with a Holy Cross exhibition at Patrick Gym on Saturday at 4.

Upcoming Home Games

This is the curated cut. The full calendar, 25 sources refreshed twice a day, lives at Burlington events.

General Events

Performances

Live Music/DJ

General Events

Performances

Live Music/DJ

General Events

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Live Music/DJ

General Events

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Live Music/DJ

The full list of things to do around town, always waiting for you when you need a plan: Things To Do in Burlington

Every restaurant and bar in town, with their real hours, so you can see what's actually open right now: Open Right Now

Every happy hour, daily special and cheap-night I've gathered so far: Food & Drink Deals

And if you'd rather just have one link for all of it: the guide, the arcade, the whole lot hub.btownbrief.com

Hiring a tradesperson? Contractors & Trades lists who is actually licensed around Burlington, straight from the state rolls.

That's the week. Keep the umbrella by the door for Tuesday's soaker, enjoy the sun on Thursday, and dig out a warmer layer before the weekend chill. If the Btown Brief makes your week a little easier, you can support it at ko-fi or on Venmo (@btownbrief), and it genuinely helps keep this thing running. Got a tip, a favorite haunt, or an event we should have on our radar? Send it our way, we are always listening.

See you later, Burlington.

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