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The Archives Arcade + Alcohol = Game Changer
When you enter the Archives, downtown Burlington's new classic-game arcade, the first console you see is Tapper. The 1983 game, in which a garter-sleeved bartender must keep up with his patrons'...
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Female Muslim Slam Poets Challenge Stereotypes
Balkisa Abdikadir is rarely at a loss for words. The 15-year-old sophomore talks at top speed, and often excitedly. But last Wednesday evening at the Young Writers Project office in Burlington,...
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Looking for 'The Lottery' Author Shirley Jackson
On June 26, 1948, the New Yorker published a now-famous story about a fictional rural town. This unnamed village has a square between the post office and the bank; men "speaking of planting and rain,...
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Hate Crime Victim Fatuma Bulle Advocates for Refugee Women and Families
On April 26 at about 4 p.m., Fatuma Bulle faced what she describes as the most frightening moment of her life. The Somali Bantu woman and her son, Ahmed, were walking on Burlington's North Champlain...
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Dear Old Dad: Fathers Reflect on Having Children Later in Life
In my 51 years of life, I have accomplished exactly two noteworthy physical feats. In May 2009, I completed the Vermont City Marathon. Later that year, I became the father of twin girls. As I crossed...
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A Reporter Gathers With the Rainbow Family
Last week we huddled on the side of a road high in the Green Mountain National Forest, near the entrance to the Rainbow Family of Living Light's temporary encampment. My new friends — three...
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The Legend of Sweet William, Vermont Troubadour
Billy Bratcher is the fat-slappin' bass player in Burlington's legendary Starline Rhythm Boys. He's also the creative mind behind the fictional Vermont troubadour Sweet William — or is he Sweet...
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Walking Wounded With Vigilant Guard Disaster Drill
Last week I found myself sprawled beside a wrecked gasoline tanker, my arms and head covered in third-degree burns, blood dripping down my nose and glass shrapnel buried in my back. Meanwhile, a...
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Moving a 19th-Century Landmark — by Ox
This past May, the Old Stone House Museum — a campus of historic 19th-century buildings in the Northeast Kingdom — announced an unusual wish list. The organization's spring bulletin solicited...
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The Legend of Sweet William, Vermont Troubadour
A photo his my email of a vintage record label that reads "Bernie Town Bounce." With it several 1970's era looking cartoons of one of the two musicians who recorded it...
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Hello, Muddah: What I Learned This Summer at my Own Mommy Camp
It seemed like a good idea at the time. Back when snow covered the trees and the school bus rolled up every morning at 7:30 a.m. to whisk my little ones away for the day, I decided I would spend the...
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Unlocking the Queen City's Latest Craze: Escape
My palms are sweating. My pits are sticky, and my heart is racing. I'm in a Burlington basement holding a black light. There are ropes and rings, locks and keys, and riddles wrapped in mysteries. I...
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How the South End Art Hop Makes It Work
The 24th annual South End Art Hop kicks off this Friday, September 9, in Burlington. To those who've never attended, it can be hard to explain what all the fuss is about. It's not enough to say that...
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The Art Of... Bringing Kids to Museums
I had a revelation recently: At ages 5 and a half and 7, my kids might be ready to visit a museum that isn't specifically geared to children. Just as I thought it, my mind painted a vivid picture of...
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Blowing Big at Bern Gallery's Pipe Classic 11
As Eusheen Goines quickly approached his 3 p.m. deadline, he was smoking on a pipe — not puffing it, but creating it. The Evergreen, Colo.-based artist, known among professional glassblowers by his...
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From Phish Shows to Breweries, Builder Russ Bennett Makes Magic
Russ Bennett sits on the small front patio of his modest mountainside house in Moretown. Strains of bebop jazz can be heard faintly from within, rolling down his gently sloping lawn and adding to the...
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Bethel Residents Give Their Town a Makeover
Take a stroll down Main Street in Bethel, and it's easy to see that the town has fallen on hard times. Empty storefronts gaze out at blighted lots and rundown buildings. Pedestrians are scarce. But it...
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M//E Design's Seat at the Maker Table
What do these items have in common: a set-piece for Phish's 2015 Magnaball festival, a device to hold staples, a high-end motorcycle frame, and beautiful stools with reclaimed-lumber seats? They were...
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Learning the Connection Between Language and Justice
Shawna Shapiro was horrified when she heard her own accent for the first time. At age 13, the Oklahoma native recalled, she left a message on an answering machine belonging to the family for whom she...
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Acting Globally: Vermont Nonprofits Work to Improve the World
By accident of birth, Americans live in one of the most prosperous nations in the world. Those of us fortunate enough to reside in Vermont have that going for us, too. Life may not feel like a royal...
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