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Weather & Monday Update:
Happy Labor Day! It’s a sunny start to finish with a high in the upper 70s, dew points in the low 50s and no rain at any hour, which covers every picnic and block party in full. Tuesday may start with a leftover shower that wraps up by mid morning, then settles into a mix of sun and clouds in the low to mid 70s. Wednesday is the one to plan around, cloudy all morning, then a 70 percent chance of showers arriving in the afternoon with a south wind gusting to 30, and showers and thunderstorms after 8 PM. Thursday flips it, with a few morning showers giving way to a drier afternoon in the low to mid 70s, before Friday turns sunny and noticeably cooler with highs in the 60s. Track it all week, with patio, swim, and sunset scores, at Burlington Right Now.
Labor Day itself is built for being outside. The People's Kitchen is cooking a Labor Day Picnic at Battery Park starting at 3, with free food for anyone who shows up. Down in the South End, the neighbors on South Union are closing their street from Howard to St. Paul for a block party from 1 to 6, pizza and music included, and they are asking folks to bring lawn games, chairs, potluck dishes and instruments. Language lovers can drop into Spanish Chat Mondays from 7 to 8, which moves to Ben & Jerry's on Church Street on the first Monday of the month, beginners and kids welcome. And if you want a show to close out the long weekend, Brooklyn's Victoryland ($18) plays the Higher Ground Showcase Lounge with or best offer and Vega opening, doors at 7.
Tuesday is the last night at Radio Bean. Seven Days reported the club's last official day of operation is Tuesday, September 8, so Honky Tonk Tuesday with Wild Leek River ($10) at 8:30 is your final chance to dance in that room. Earlier in the evening, Main Street Landing screens 'Nacho Libre' free at 7 in the Film House, and the #NotJustFatigue documentary short plays the Screening Room at 7:30 with a remote Q&A after, RSVP required. French speakers have Pause-Café Mardi at Burlington Bay Café from 5 to 6:30, singers can join the South Burlington Community Chorus as it opens its fall season at 7 at South Burlington High School, no auditions but preregistration is required and the semester runs $105 in dues, and the Vermont Figure Drawing Collective ($20) holds its weekly drop-in session at Karma Bird House from 6 to 8. Makers can bring a sewing machine they are scared of to Sandbox's free beginner sewing class on Pine Street from 4 to 5:30. Music wise, Local Dork spins vinyl free at Foam from 6, and Lavendair with Isabel and Friends play the Monkey House in Winooski at 7:30 with no cover. Early risers can hit the Networking Coffee for Women at Hula at 8:30 AM, coffee included, and anyone who needs a reset can sit with Community Meditation at the First Unitarian Universalist Society from 5:15 to 6.
Wednesday, our own Pick-up Basketball [MEETUP] runs at Pomeroy Park at 5:30, always free, competitive and welcoming. Downtown, una passeggiata fills Church Street with deals found at various businesses anytime between 5 and 8 with the Italian tradition of the evening stroll, no starting point and no fixed hours, and BCA is pairing it with Art Amplified at the BCA Center from 5 to 8, with Roost.World at 5 and Paper Castles at 6:30 inside the gallery. Burlington Parks wants hands for a phragmites pull at North Beach from 3 to 6, drop in anytime, bring work gloves and closed toe shoes. SPARK Talks on psychedelics brings a community conversation to the Fletcher Free Library at 5:30, free. The All-Inclusive Dyke-Tacular takes over Doma Bar on Pine Street from 5 to 10, free to walk in. Readers can meet at Phoenix Books for Trash for the Trope at 6, a romance book club reading Lisa Kleypas's A Devil in Winter this month, and film people can take the Media Factory's free Intro to Editing with DaVinci Resolve from 6 to 8, preregister if you’re interested. Music runs all night, with the free Bluegrass Nights jam at Foam at 6, Jazz Night with Ray Vega at Hotel Vermont from 8:30 to 10:30, and rapper WAX with DJ Hoppa ($30-35) at the Higher Ground Showcase Lounge with Grieves and Robscure, doors at 7. Trivia people get the free Venetian Trivia Night at the Venetian Soda Lounge from 7 to 9, and morning people can try Nature Journaling at Rock Point at 10, by donation.
Thursday, come hang with us up in Milton for Live Music at Maquam Winery [MEETUP]. We are meeting at 5:45, Citizen Bare starts at 6, there are food trucks, and the barn has a patio plus space inside if the rain lingers. The afternoon should clear in time for the End of Summer Swim & Hang at Oakledge [MEETUP] at 5:30, snacks and paddleboards welcome, with the host noting the day may shift with the weather. Dog people get Bark & Brew ($20) at the Humane Society in South Burlington from 5:30 to 7:30, two drinks included, with Kraemer & Kin, Four Quarters and Vermont Cider Lab pouring and Le Bon Gout on food. Comedy fans should not sleep on the first night of the Big Pond Improv Festival at Vermont Comedy Club, four separate blocks at 5, 6, 7 and 8:15 with improv teams from around the country, $10 a show. The Old North End Community Dinner is back from summer break at the ONE Community Center from 5:30 to 6:30, a tagine dinner with music from Harold Kaplan and Ben Wang, with the Ward 2 Neighborhood Planning Assembly following. South Burlington's Park Hop Brews lands at Baycrest Park from 5:30 to 7:30 with music from Jacob Green, food trucks and a free trivia night. Nature lovers can take the free Pollinator Safari at the Shelburne Farms Inn from 5 to 6:30, registration required for every person in your group, or a midday beginner hike at Red Rocks [MEETUP] at noon. At night, Bread & Butter Farm hosts The Faux Paws with Otter Creek ($20) in the barn at 7, doors at 6, Montreal noise rockers Truck Violence play Foam free at 7:30 with In Lieu of Flowers, and Caitlin Morgan's contemporary dance piece 'Wind and Unwinding' ($20) gets two showings at Main Street Landing at 6 and 8. Trivia Night runs at Four Quarters in Winooski from 6, and Pathways Vermont's Peer Support Dungeons & Dragons meets at Morgan's Place from 6 to 8, beginners wanted, first timers should contact the center before coming.
And keep Friday night open because Friday is absolutely the night to do Art Hop. That’s when Pine Street gets shut down, the South End fills up, and the whole thing has that packed, wandering-the-streets festival energy that Saturday just doesn’t quite have. We just added a South End Art Hop with the BTown crew [MEETUP], meeting at 6 PM outside the Soda Plant at 266 Pine Street. We’ll head out around 6:15 and wander through studios, galleries, pop-ups, food trucks, live music, and whatever else catches our attention. Come solo or bring a friend, whatever you want!
Scroll down to Events Section for full list of events. Or check my events page.
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The Btown Brief IRL - Burlington Social & Activities
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:
Join the Meetup (It’s FREE): Join Meetup group | RSVP here
Join the Telegram Group Chat: [Telegram Link] – Plan casual hangouts with other Briefers, or just another way to find us for our Saturday coffee event. Download Telegram before clicking link.
This Coming Week:
Pick-up Basketball – Wednesday, September 9th @ 5:30 PM: The weekly competitive run at Pomeroy Park in the Old North End, outdoors and always free, usually 10 to 35 people.
Live Music at Maquam Winery – Thursday, September 10th @ 5:45 PM: We are heading up to Milton for the winery's Thursday music night, Citizen Bare at 6 with food trucks, a patio and room inside if it rains.
South End Art Hop with the BTown Crew – Friday, September 11th @ 6 PM: Friday is THE night for Art Hop, with Pine Street closed off and the energy at its peak. We meet outside the main entrance of the Soda Plant at 266 Pine Street, hang for 10 to 15 minutes so everyone can find us, then start wandering studios, galleries, pop-ups and food trucks around 6:15.
BTown Coffee Club – Saturday, September 12th @ 10 AM: The weekly no pressure hang at Zero Gravity Brewery, grab a coffee and find us at the big table on the right.
Other Upcoming Events:
Btown Bites at Bluebird Barbecue – Thursday, September 17th @ 6 PM: The 21 to 35 dinner group grabs a table at Bluebird Barbecue on Riverside Ave, reservation made in advance so RSVP early.
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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!
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Local News (All Links Clickable)
"Today we get to celebrate this result, a place for our community, for our veterans, for people who are experiencing homelessness, a place where our neighbors can live with dignity, safety, and affordability," per VTDigger.
The Post Apartments, a 5 story building from Champlain Housing Trust and Evernorth on the old veterans' hall and shelter site near Main Street and South Winooski Avenue, cut the ribbon Friday with all 38 units already full and subsidized in perpetuity. Rents start at $1,160, 9 units are set aside for people leaving homelessness and 10 carry Section 8 vouchers, and the ground floor holds a new veterans' center plus offices for the Chittenden County Community Justice Center. The $24 million project stitched together 20 funding lines, including $1 million Sen. Sanders earmarked and about $1.6 million in state Brownfields money to clean up the soil next to a gas station. The building is fully electric with rooftop solar.
"Whenever we find one of these little clusters of stickers, it's like disproportional happiness," per Seven Days.
The Peace & Justice Center has hidden 33 clusters of tiny metallic blue peace sign stickers across 24 Burlington parks, with the clues written as poems at btvderive.pjcvt.org. Operations director Kason Hudman relaunched the hunt in July after a tougher pilot last summer, and so far exactly one person has found all 33. One couple discovered Potvin Park along the way, a park they had never heard of.
"At best, Defendant's motion is another attempt to delay trial," per VTDigger.
Jury selection starts Thursday in the trial of Jason Eaton, 51, accused of shooting and wounding three Palestinian college students in Burlington over Thanksgiving 2023, and Judge John Pacht has cleared the way for a duel of forensic psychiatrists. The defense tried to bar the prosecution's expert, Dr. Jihlam Biswas of Brigham and Women's Hospital, arguing she is not licensed in Vermont, and Pacht rejected that since her role is forensic rather than treating. Eaton has pleaded not guilty to 3 counts of attempted murder and is pursuing an insanity defense, so the two experts' read on his state of mind is the whole case. Hisham Awartani, one of the 3 students, remains paralyzed.
"We don't have quarterly reporting to shareholders, and we don't have analysts looking for a particular kind of growth, and we don't have debt to service when we do an acquisition," per Seven Days.
The Other Paper, the Shelburne News and the Citizen, along with the Stowe Reporter and the News & Citizen, now belong to the National Trust for Local News, a Colorado nonprofit that runs more than 50 papers and paid a nominal fee for the group. Majority owner Bob Miller and his partners said postal costs and collapsing print ads had all but wiped out profitability, and the trust's CEO pledged no layoffs for the 15 full time staff, 4 of them reporters.
"I think it's a fair assessment that it's an uneven terrain that businesses are dealing with for liquor liability. That over 50% threshold -- it's still tenuous; under 50%, a little bit of relief," per WCAX.
Lawmakers rewrote Vermont's dram shop laws 3 years ago after premiums spiked, and the Vermont Chamber of Commerce says the reforms helped places that make less than half their money on alcohol, while bars and music venues above that line are still struggling to get covered. Location, hours and even the type of music played all feed into the risk math, and state officials say it will probably take a lawsuit against a venue and a court ruling to show whether the changes did any good.
"We cannot successfully site and operate a shelter without partnership from local leadership and a common purpose around addressing homelessness," per Seven Days.
CVOEO has dropped its plan for a 100 bed low barrier shelter at the former mattress store at 1717 Williston Road, cancelling a September 8 city council briefing after South Burlington staff sent councilors a memo arguing the project was doomed. The memo leaned on the pandemic era Holiday Inn shelter, where police logged more than 575 calls and 200 directed patrols over about 14 months, and argued guests would face a 55 minute two bus trip or a 3.5 mile walk to reach services in Burlington's Old North End. Executive director Paul Dragon says he will keep looking for a community willing to partner, which leaves Burlington officials right where they were, frustrated that the Queen City carries a borderless crisis mostly alone.
"I do not believe we can afford four more years of Sarah George's overly lenient, catch-and-release prosecutorial policies," per VTDigger.
For the first time, Sarah George has a Republican opponent in November, and he is Jace Laquerre, a Milton software engineer who is not a lawyer and says he will resign the moment he wins so Gov. Scott can appoint someone else to the 4 year term. Bram Kranichfeld won the GOP line on 455 write in votes after losing the Democratic primary to George 49% to 46%, then withdrew, and party chair Paul Dame did not want to leave the ballot line empty. George calls it an open attempt to co-opt a local election, and the governor's office says Scott had no involvement and has never met Laquerre.
"Because bats are exceptional in these ways, it tells us something about how extreme longevity can evolve," per Vermont Public.
UVM researchers are co-authors on a new study in Nature that mapped the genomes of 8 closely related bat species, some living 3 years and some, like Vermont's own little brown bat, 40 or more. The long lived bats carry multiple copies of immune system genes most mammals have only one of, and they are unusually good at finding and eliminating cells with damaged DNA. UVM's Elise Lauterbur compares the little brown bat's lifespan to a human living a thousand years, and the team thinks the findings could eventually point toward gene therapy for cancer.
"I can't express how helpful having them in the city is. I really feel like they're the glue at times," per Seven Days.
Every week, representatives from more than 30 agencies sit down at Burlington's situation table to hear cases and coordinate help for the people police and firefighters keep running into, and since July 2025 the table has taken on 102 cases and connected nearly 60 people to services. The context is stark, with the police department down from 92 officers in 2020 to 55 and only 44 available for active duty, and just 56 people accounting for 18% of all police incidents in the first half of this year. The Fletcher Free Library's hot spot program, with a security guard and a Howard Center social worker, is the model's clearest win so far. Interim Chief Shawn Burke says the August drug arrests in City Hall Park were about optics.
"It's really rare that you can say that about a species, that significant of a comeback," per WCAX.
Two loon chicks hatched on a nesting raft at Lake Iroquois this summer, watched over by a volunteer who kayaks out to check on them, and statewide the numbers have climbed from about 15 nesting pairs in the 1990s to 115 last year. Vermont Fish and Wildlife credits the rafts, education and the ban on lead sinkers, and next season volunteers will pull the rafts from a handful of lakes to see whether the loons can now nest on their own.
"We have a structure where, if we don't constantly innovate, we'll be dead," per Seven Days.
While UVM confirms a projected 7% drop in undergraduates, CCV is on track to grow 9% this fall on top of a decade of steady enrollment around 10,000, making it the state's second largest college on a budget of about $33 million against UVM's $457 million. The recipe in this long Seven Days feature is flexibility and price, with 70 to 75% of classes online, a 2 year degree around $17,000, free tuition through 802 Opportunity for families under $100,000, and more than three quarters of students graduating debt free. Around 100 CCV students transfer to UVM every year, and with 17,000 Vermonters projected to retire annually over the next decade, President Joyce Judy argues the state cannot afford to waste anyone's potential.
QUICK HITS
Settlement Requires Vermont to Improve Services for Immigrant Detainees — The Department of Corrections settled a Human Rights Commission discrimination complaint over federal immigration detainees held in Vermont prisons, agreeing to provide legal counsel, medical care and other services in detainees' native languages, expand translation tablets, and post contacts for reporting rights violations. The department admits no wrongdoing.
Facilitators to lead 20 school merger discussions across Vermont — Trained facilitators from the Vermont Learning Collaborative will moderate more than 20 voluntary school merger discussions around the state, the next step in this year's education reform compromise. Meetings will be announced publicly and held in person, with final recommendations due next year.
Robert Miller Community and Rec. Center to close for renovations, upgrades — The New North End community center closes September 21 through November 6 for HVAC and energy efficiency work meant to make it Burlington's first city owned building running on net zero energy, saving about $11,000 a year in natural gas. The gym reopens for voting on November 2.
Tar spot fungus likely won't mute fall colors — Those browning, crinkled sugar maple leaves around Charlotte are tar spot fungus, which exploded in this year's wet spring and summer but does not hurt the trees. Charlotte's tree warden still expects a dazzling autumn.
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
UVM Athletics: Men's Soccer Stays Unbeaten as Field Hockey Splits in Ann Arbor
The men's soccer team has still not lost. No. 11 Vermont won 2-0 at Sacred Heart on Saturday night, where Pieter Bultman headed in a Luis Fischer corner in the 50th minute for his third goal in three matches and Luis Vetter curled a free kick over the wall in the 87th for his first goal as a Catamount. Niklas Herceg made four saves for his third clean sheet of the season, and at 4-0-1 the Catamounts are off to their best five match start since 2021. They have scored first in every match this season and have not trailed at any point. Boston University hosts them Tuesday night.
Field hockey went to Ann Arbor for the weekend and came back with a split. Saturday brought a 4-1 win over Kent State and the program's first 3-0 start since 2007, with Isi McMahon collecting a career high three points on a goal and an assist, and first career Vermont goals for Emily Enden and Jaime Lewis. Eighth ranked Michigan then took Sunday's game 4-1 behind a hat trick from Esmée de Willigen, though Alicia Battistelli opened the scoring in the first quarter off a feed from Consu de Castro and Ila Gunner made six saves in the cage. The Catamounts are home at Moulton Winder Field on Friday afternoon against LIU.
Women's soccer got its first win of the season, and it took until the last second of the match. Ella Hall scored off an Éléonore Blouin cross just before the final whistle at Saint Joseph's on Sunday for a 2-1 win and the first goal of her college career, after Eleni Stowell had headed in an Emma Warren cross in the 12th minute. Thursday night at Virtue Field went the other way, with Boston College winning 5-1 and Stowell's bending free kick in the 26th minute accounting for the only Vermont goal. Out in St. Albans, both cross country teams beat UMass Lowell to open the season, Hinesburg first year Zoey McNabb winning the women's 5k in 17:35.50 and graduate transfer Eamon Burke taking the men's four mile in 20:23.60. The Vermont women swept the top four places and took nine of the top ten.
Sep 11: Field Hockey vs. LIU (Fri ⦁ 3:00pm)
Sep 15: Women's Soccer vs. Adelphi (Tue ⦁ 4:00pm)
Sep 19: Women's Ice Hockey vs. Concordia (Sat ⦁ 3:00pm)
Events:
This is the curated cut. The full calendar, 25 sources refreshed twice a day, lives at Burlington events.
Monday, September 7, 2026
General Events
9:00 AM: Trolley tours at Perkins Pier, Burlington ($15-$35; free for kids under 5)
10:00 AM: Dinosaur Safari Exhibit at ECHO at ECHO, Leahy Center for Lake Champlain, Burlington (Free with Admission or ECHO Membership)
10:00 AM: Glass Factory and Storefront Open !! at AO Glass, Burlington (Free for all, come on in!)
11:30 AM: Industry Day at Vermont Pub and Brewery, Burlington (Free)
12:00 PM: Cruise aboard the Spirit of Ethan Allen III at Spirit of Ethan Allen, Burlington ($36.99 for Adults, $15.99 for Kids 3-11, $4.99 for Infants 0-2)
1:00 PM: South Union Block Party on Monday (Howard to St. Paul) on South Union Street, Burlington
2:00 PM: The Ultimate Chocolate Tasting at Lake Champlain Chocolates, Burlington ($16)
3:00 PM: Labor Day Picnic at Battery Park at Battery Park, Burlington (Free)
4:00 PM: Half Priced Oysters at La Reprise at La Reprise, Burlington
4:00 PM: Skiff Oyster Hour at Hotel Champlain, Burlington
6:00 PM: Anime Group at Pathways Vermont Morgan's Place Peer Support Center, Burlington (Free)
6:00 PM: Burlington Elks Bingo at Burlington Elks Lodge, Burlington (Various prices.)
6:00 PM: Monday Night Open Mic at Pearl Street Pub, Essex Junction (Free)
7:00 PM: Spanish Chat Mondays at Ben & Jerry's, Church Street, Burlington
7:00 PM: Open Mic at Stone Corral, Richmond (Free)
7:00 PM: Community of Poets Sharing Circle with Darlene Witte Sep 7 2026 7 PM, Burlington — MEETUP.com
Performances
7:00 PM: Play Dodgeball on Monday Nights! at Robert Miller Community & Recreation Center, Gosse Court, Burlington ($5)
Live Music/DJ
6:00 PM: Trivia Monday at Black Flannel Brewing & Distilling, Essex Junction (Free)
7:00 PM: Victoryland at Higher Ground Showcase Lounge, South Burlington ($18)
7:00 PM: Trivia Monday with Top Hat Entertainment at McKee's Original, Winooski (Free)
7:00 PM: Trivia with Craig Mitchell at Monkey House, Winooski (Free)
Tuesday, September 8, 2026
General Events
8:00 AM: Mini Clean Up Crew at Burlington City Hall Park, Burlington (Free.)
8:30 AM: September Networking Coffee for Women at Hula at Hula, Burlington ($13.39)
9:00 AM: Trolley tours at Perkins Pier, Burlington ($15-$35; free for kids under 5)
9:00 AM: Burlington Bitcoin Meetup - @ Zero Gravity at Zero Gravity Brewery, Burlington — MEETUP.com
10:00 AM: Dinosaur Safari Exhibit at ECHO at ECHO, Leahy Center for Lake Champlain, Burlington (Free with Admission or ECHO Membership)
10:00 AM: Glass Factory and Storefront Open !! at AO Glass, Burlington (Free for all, come on in!)
11:00 AM: Neighborhood Planning Assemblies: Community Partners Desk at Fletcher Free Library — Main Reading Room, Burlington (Free)
11:30 AM: Shelburne Farms Tour 2026 at 1611 Harbor Rd, Shelburne ($15)
11:30 AM: 802SDAY (Aussi ton Mardi) at Vermont Pub and Brewery, Burlington (Free)
12:00 PM: Cruise aboard the Spirit of Ethan Allen III at Spirit of Ethan Allen, Burlington ($36.99 for Adults, $15.99 for Kids 3-11, $4.99 for Infants 0-2)
12:00 PM: Transform Your Health With Our Free Wellness Program, Online (Free)
1:00 PM: Afternoon Tech Help at South Burlington Public Library & City Hall, South Burlington (Free; preregister.)
1:30 PM: House & Garden Tour at the Shelburne Farms Inn 2026 at Shelburne Farms Inn, Shelburne ($15)
2:00 PM: Sun to Cheese Tour 2026 at Shelburne Farms Welcome Center, Shelburne ($20)
2:00 PM: The Ultimate Chocolate Tasting at Lake Champlain Chocolates, Burlington ($16)
4:00 PM: Half Priced Oysters at La Reprise at La Reprise, Burlington
4:00 PM: Skiff Oyster Hour at Hotel Champlain, Burlington
4:00 PM: Sandbox - Free Sewing Class for beginners at 688 Pine Street, Burlington (Free)
4:00 PM: Writer's Circle at Pathways Vermont Morgan's Place Peer Support Center, Burlington (Free)
4:30 PM: Traditional Tuesday at Mesmer Kava, Burlington
5:00 PM: Super Smash Tuesdays at RiRa Irish Pub, Burlington (Free)
5:00 PM: Volunteer Night at Old Spokes Home at Old Spokes Home Community Workshop, 664 Riverside Ave, Burlington, Burlington
5:15 PM: Community Meditation at First Unitarian Universalist Society of Burlington, Burlington (Free; donations accepted.)
6:00 PM: Grow Together: The AI Advantage at M&T Bank, Burlington (Free)
6:00 PM: Local Dork at Foam Brewers on a Tuesday at Foam Brewers, Burlington (Free)
6:00 PM: Yoga as a Healing Art Support Group, Online via Zoom (Free)
6:00 PM: Vermont Figure Drawing Collective at Karma Bird House, Burlington ($20 (cash))
6:00 PM: Bashment Tuesday at Akes' Place, Burlington (Free)
7:00 PM: Come & Sing with the South Burlington Community Chorus at South Burlington High School, Dorset Street, South Burlington
7:00 PM: All That Jazz Open Mic Comedy at The 126, Burlington (Free)
Times Vary: Knot Knite at Queen City Brewery at Queen City Brewery, Burlington
Performances
7:00 PM: 'Nacho Libre' at Film House, Main Street Landing Performing Arts Center, Burlington (Free.)
7:30 PM: #NotJustFatigue Documentary Short (15min) at The Screening Room @ VTIFF, Main Street Landing Performing Arts Center, Burlington (Free, by donation.)
7:30 PM: #NotJustFatigue Film Playing at the Screening Room at The Screening Room, Lake Street, Burlington
Live Music/DJ
6:00 PM: Oli D Remembers, Bo Malcom, Ashna Maj Hille at Radio Bean, Burlington ($10)
7:00 PM: Trivia Tuesday at On Tap Bar & Grill, Essex Junction (Free)
7:00 PM: Vermont's Freedom & Unity Chorus at Chapel of Saint Michael the Archangel, Saint Michael's College, Colchester (Free.)
7:30 PM: Lavendair, Isabel and Friends at Monkey House, Winooski (Free)
8:00 PM: Dead Is Alive with Dobbs' Dead at Einstein's Tap House, Burlington ($15)
8:30 PM: Honky Tonk Tuesday with Wild Leek River at Radio Bean, Burlington ($10)
9:00 PM: Big Easy Tuesdays with Jon McBride at The 126, Burlington (Free)
Wednesday, September 9, 2026
General Events
7:30 AM: A More Beautiful Vermont - Coffee with Ben Bosley at Vivid Coffee Roasters, Cherry Street, Burlington
8:00 AM: Trauma Nursing Core Course (TNCC) 9th ed. at UVM Medical Center, Burlington ($375.32-$428.67)
9:00 AM: Trolley tours at Perkins Pier, Burlington ($15-$35; free for kids under 5)
9:30 AM: Green Mountain Chapter of the Embroiderers’ Guild of America at Holy Family Parish Hall, Essex Junction (Free.)
9:45 AM: Vermont Womenpreneurs Biz Buzz Burlington at Deep City, Burlington ($14; free for members; preregister)
10:00 AM: Nature Journaling at Rock Point Center, Burlington (By donation; preregister.)
10:00 AM: Dinosaur Safari Exhibit at ECHO at ECHO, Leahy Center for Lake Champlain, Burlington (Free with Admission or ECHO Membership)
10:00 AM: Glass Factory and Storefront Open !! at AO Glass, Burlington (Free for all, come on in!)
10:00 AM: Italian Conversation Group at South Burlington Public Library & City Hall, South Burlington (Free)
10:30 AM: Current Events at Dorothy Alling Memorial Library, Williston (Free.)
11:00 AM: Wild Card Wednesday, Burlington
12:00 PM: Cruise aboard the Spirit of Ethan Allen III at Spirit of Ethan Allen, Burlington ($36.99 for Adults, $15.99 for Kids 3-11, $4.99 for Infants 0-2)
2:00 PM: The Ultimate Chocolate Tasting at Lake Champlain Chocolates, Burlington ($16)
2:00 PM: Steps to End Domestic Violence: Community Partners Desk at Fletcher Free Library — Main Reading Room, Burlington (Free)
2:00 PM: Guided Tours at Merrymac Farm Sanctuary, Charlotte ($25)
3:00 PM: Pub Hour at Vermont Pub and Brewery, Burlington (Free)
3:00 PM: Phragmites Pull at North Beach at North Beach, Burlington (Free)
4:00 PM: Half Priced Oysters at La Reprise at La Reprise, Burlington
4:00 PM: Skiff Oyster Hour at Hotel Champlain, Burlington
4:00 PM: Wednesday $10.00 Burger Night at Hotel Champlain Burlington, Curio Collection by Hilton, Burlington (Free)
5:00 PM: The All-Inclusive Dyke-Tacular at Doma Bar, Burlington (Free; cost of food and drink.)
5:00 PM: Summer Sketchbook Club at Daydream Art Supply, Burlington
5:00 PM: Yarn & Yak at Milton Artists’ Guild Art Center & Gallery, Milton (Free)
5:00 PM: Yarn Crafters Group at Must Love Yarn, Shelburne (Free.)
5:30 PM: Pick-up Basketball at Pomeroy Park, Burlington (Free) — MEETUP.com
5:30 PM: SPARK Talks: Psychedelics at Fletcher Free Library, Burlington (Free; preregister)
6:00 PM: Trash for the Trope: A Romance Lover's Book Club at Phoenix Books (Burlington), Burlington (Free; preregister)
6:00 PM: Cribbage at The Boardroom - Board Game Cafe, Burlington — MEETUP.com
6:00 PM: Local Resources Advisory Board Meeting at Winooski City Hall, West Allen Street, Winooski
6:00 PM: Scrabble Night @ The Boardroom at The Boardroom - Board Game Cafe, Burlington — MEETUP.com
6:00 PM: Community Cooking at Outright Vermont, Burlington (Free.)
6:00 PM: Intro to Editing With DaVinci Resolve at The Media Factory, Burlington (Free; donations accepted; preregister)
6:00 PM: Recovery Dharma at First United Methodist Church, Burlington (Free.)
6:00 PM: Toastmasters of Greater Burlington online this week, 2nd Wednesdays are virtual and 4th Wednesdays meet at Generator Makerspace, Burlington (Free)
6:30 PM: Ward 1 NPA - Friends Meeting House - Sept. 9 at 173 North Prospect Street, Burlington
6:30 PM: FFL Book Discussion Group: My Friends at Online (Fletcher Free Library), Burlington (Free)
6:30 PM: Thacher Hurd at Shelburne Town Hall, Shelburne (Free; preregister.)
8:30 PM: Standup Open Mic at Vermont Comedy Club, Burlington (Free)
Performances
7:00 PM: $5 Improv Night at Vermont Comedy Club, Burlington ($5)
Live Music/DJ
5:00 PM: Art Amplified featuring Paper Castles and Roost.World at BCA Burlington City Arts, Burlington (Free)
6:00 PM: Bluegrass Nights at Foam Brewers, Burlington (Free)
6:30 PM: Phantom Airwave at Halvorson’s Upstreet Cafe, Burlington (Donations)
7:00 PM: WAX, DJ Hoppa + Grieves at Higher Ground Showcase Lounge, South Burlington ($30-$35)
7:00 PM: Venetian Trivia Night! at The Venetian Soda Lounge, Burlington (Free!)
7:00 PM: Live Music! Temple Mountain at 4 Quarters Brewing, Winooski (Free)
8:00 PM: shepup, Keta Ester, Vehicle, Ashna Maj Hille at Monkey House, Winooski ($5)
8:30 PM: Jazz Night with Ray Vega at Hotel Vermont, Burlington (Free)
9:00 PM: Jazz Jam at The 126, Burlington (Free)
Thursday, September 10, 2026
General Events
7:30 AM: South Burlington Rotary Club Meeting at South Burlington City Hall, 185 Market Street, South Burlington
7:30 AM: BTV Clean Up Crew at Top of Church St., Burlington (Free.)
8:00 AM: Vermont Solutions Summit at Hotel Champlain Burlington, Burlington (Various prices; preregister.)
9:00 AM: Advanced Mechanical Ventilation Architecture: Designing for Occupant Health at 276 E Allen St, Winooski (Free)
9:00 AM: Trolley tours at Perkins Pier, Burlington ($15-$35; free for kids under 5)
10:00 AM: Dinosaur Safari Exhibit at ECHO at ECHO, Leahy Center for Lake Champlain, Burlington (Free with Admission or ECHO Membership)
10:00 AM: Glass Factory and Storefront Open !! at AO Glass, Burlington (Free for all, come on in!)
10:30 AM: Morning Book Group at South Burlington Public Library & City Hall, South Burlington (Free)
11:00 AM: Bay & Brisket Trivia Thursday, Burlington
12:00 PM: Cruise aboard the Spirit of Ethan Allen III at Spirit of Ethan Allen, Burlington ($36.99 for Adults, $15.99 for Kids 3-11, $4.99 for Infants 0-2)
12:00 PM: Hot Dog & A Can Thursdays at Citizen Cider, Burlington
12:00 PM: Italian Conversation Group at Fletcher Free Library, Burlington (Free)
12:00 PM: Hike @ Red Rocks - Beginner at Red rocks park, South Burlington — MEETUP.com
12:30 PM: Duplicate Bridge Games at Burlington Bridge Club, Williston ($6.)
1:00 PM: Friendly Game of Bridge at Heineberg Senior Center, Burlington (Free.)
1:00 PM: Painting Workshop for Seniors at Arrowhead Senior Citizen Center, Milton (Free)
2:00 PM: The Ultimate Chocolate Tasting at Lake Champlain Chocolates, Burlington ($16)
2:00 PM: Guided Tours at Merrymac Farm Sanctuary, Charlotte ($25)
3:00 PM: Adult Craft: Wooden Fish Lawn Decorations at Burnham Memorial Library, Main Street, Colchester
3:00 PM: Pub Hour at Vermont Pub and Brewery, Burlington (Free)
3:00 PM: Burlington Electric: Community Partners Desk at Fletcher Free Library — Main Reading Room, Burlington (Free)
3:30 PM: DisruptHR Burlington at OnLogic, South Burlington ($25)
4:00 PM: Half Priced Oysters at La Reprise at La Reprise, Burlington
4:00 PM: Skiff Oyster Hour at Hotel Champlain, Burlington
4:00 PM: Free Wine Tasting at La Reprise, Burlington (Free!)
4:30 PM: Spanish Conversation at Pickering Room, Fletcher Free Library, Burlington (Free)
5:00 PM: Back to School Meals at City Market South End Store, Burlington ($30-$44.52)
5:00 PM: Destination Colombia: Design Competition Launch Event at Marvin Design Gallery by Windows & Doors By Brownell, Williston (Free)
5:00 PM: Pollinator Safari at Shelburne Farms, Shelburne (Free; preregister.)
5:30 PM: Solarpunk Book Club & Game Night at Peace & Justice Center, Burlington (Free)
5:30 PM: FOTW Women's Ride - Saxon Hill at Saxon Hill Trailhead, Essex Junction (Free)
5:30 PM: Bark & Brew at HSCC at Humane Society Of Chittenden County, Kindness Court, South Burlington ($20)
5:30 PM: Drop-In Needlecraft Night at Essex Free Library, Essex (Free)
5:30 PM: Park Hop Brews - Trivia Night at Baycrest Park, South Burlington (Free)
5:30 PM: Old North End Community Dinner + Ward 2 Neighborhood Planning Assembly at O.N.E. Community Center, Burlington (Free)
5:30 PM: End of Summer Swim & Hang @ Oakledge at Oakledge Park, Burlington — MEETUP.com
5:30 PM: 'Perennials: Herbs, Fruits & Flowers' at Landry Park, Winooski (Free; preregister)
6:00 PM: 'Ovation!' Vermont Symphony Orchestra Fundraiser at The Essex Resort & Spa, Essex Junction ($150-$5,000)
6:00 PM: Guided Mountain Bike Rides: Novice Mondays and Social Thursday, Winooski
6:00 PM: Bird Walk With Audubon Vermont at Leddy Park, Burlington (Free; registration full)
6:00 PM: Blood on the Clocktower Beginners Night at The Boardroom - Board Game Cafe, Burlington — MEETUP.com
6:00 PM: Wingspan Lovers Unite at The Boardroom - Board Game Cafe, Burlington — MEETUP.com
6:00 PM: Peer Support Dungeons & Dragons at Morgan House, Burlington (Free.)
6:00 PM: Vinyl Thursdays at Hotel Vermont, Burlington (Free)
6:30 PM: NAMI Vermont's First-Ever Exhibitor Training at 600 Blair Park Rd, Williston
6:30 PM: planBTV New North End Community Meeting at Robert Miller Community & Recreation Center, Gosse Court, Burlington
7:00 PM: JoAnna Farrer at Phoenix Books (Burlington), Burlington (Free; preregister)
7:30 PM: Truck Violence w/ In Lieu Of Flowers at Foam Brewers, Burlington (Free)
8:00 PM: Radio Bean Presents: David Liebe Hart (of the Tim & Eric Awesome Show, Great Job!) w/ James Kochalka Superstar & Strelka - Live @ The Monkey House! at the Monkey House, Winooski
9:00 PM: Have You Ever Heard of Healing, Self-Massage?, Online via Zoom (Free)
10:00 PM: Thirsty Thursday at Rí Rá Irish Pub & Whiskey Room, Burlington (Free)
Performances
5:00 PM: Big Pond Improv Festival: Thursday at Vermont Comedy Club, Burlington ($10 per show)
6:00 PM: 'Wind and Unwinding' at Main Street Landing Performing Arts Center, Burlington ($20.)
Live Music/DJ
5:30 PM: Lukas Nelson & Molly Tuttle at Ben & Jerry’s Concerts on the Green, Shelburne Museum, Shelburne ($52.50-$56.50; free for kids 12 and under)
5:45 PM: Live Music at Maquam Winery at Maquam Barn & Winery, Milton (Free; cost of food and drink) — MEETUP.com
6:00 PM: Trivia Night at Four Quarters Brewing, Winooski (Free)
6:00 PM: Trivia at Vermont Cider Lab, Essex (Free)
7:00 PM: Thesaurus Rex at Higher Ground Showcase Lounge, South Burlington ($15-$20)
7:00 PM: The Silo Sessions: The Faux Paws With Otter Creek at Bread & Butter Farm, Shelburne ($20)
8:00 PM: Karaoke in the Alley at Red Square, Burlington (Free)
9:00 PM: Funk Jam at The 126, Burlington (Free)
Here are some of my favorite BtownBrief links:
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
Good Burlington collects the wholesome corner of Burlington reddit in one feed.
That’s All, Burlington!
That's the week. Get outside today while the sun is doing its thing, keep the rain gear near the door Wednesday, and raise a glass at Radio Bean Tuesday if you can. 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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