Picturing Language: An Introduction to the Magic of Comics
6:30pm | Dorothy Alling Memorial Library, Williston
Comics are a powerful and often misunderstood storytelling language—one that is immersive, visually rich, and accessible across age groups and reading levels. From preschool classrooms to graduate seminars, comics have a unique ability to engage learners, including those who struggle with reading or communicate best through visual narratives.
The fifth annual Non-Fiction Comics Festival will feature panel discussions, workshops, and exhibiting cartoonists creating non-fiction and autobiographical work, with special events and workshops held throughout the entire weekend!
This presentation is based on the research Michele Pagan has done into the Revolutionary War ancestors of the girls who made 19th century schoolgirl samplers. Needlework samplers are a visual record of the values that guided early female education in Vermont, including its focus on needlework as an essential skill for all girls and women. As artifacts of female education, they provide insight into family dynamics, local history, and community values.
Vermont, 1800 and Froze to Death: The Cold Year of 1816
10:30am | Richmond Free Library, Richmond
1816 has long been known as the year without summer. Vermonters still call it “1800 and Froze to Death,” a year of frosts every month, dark skies, and mysterious lights that caused a widespread belief that a higher power was displeased. In this talk, historian Howard Coffin includes scores of anecdotes on the dark year of failed crops, scarce food, and religious revival.
Vermont, 1800 and Froze to Death: The Cold Year of 1816
12:00pm | Wardsboro Public Library, Wardsboro
1816 has long been known as the year without summer. Vermonters still call it “1800 and Froze to Death,” a year of frosts every month, dark skies, and mysterious lights that caused a widespread belief that a higher power was displeased. In this talk, historian Howard Coffin includes scores of anecdotes on the dark year of failed crops, scarce food, and religious revival.
Strange Bedfellows: How Religious Liberties Have Aligned with Nondiscrimination Policies and Can Again
6:30pm | Waterbury Public Library, Waterbury
The First Amendment protects the free exercise of religion. The Fourteenth Amendment affords all persons equal protection under the law. What happens when those two rights collide, as happened in the in the Masterpiece Cake case? Must protections for religious liberties come at the expense of non-discrimination statutes?
Vermont Reads Facilitated Discussion: Blake Memorial Library
4:30pm | Blake Memorial Library, East Corinth
Join us for a book discussion of this year’s Vermont Reads selection, Charity & Sylvia. This discussion will be facilitated by Suzanne Brown, in person and on zoom. All are welcome!
Picturing Language: An Introduction to the Magic of Comics
6:30pm | Putney Public Library, Putney
Comics are a powerful and often misunderstood storytelling language—one that is immersive, visually rich, and accessible across age groups and reading levels. From preschool classrooms to graduate seminars, comics have a unique ability to engage learners, including those who struggle with reading or communicate best through visual narratives.
Pins and Pies, Linens and Lamps: Imagining the World of Charity & Sylvia
7:00pm | Putney Public Library, Putney
The publication of Tillie Walden’s recent graphic novel Charity & Sylvia–and its selection as the 2026 “Vermont Reads”–was a wonderful impetus for the Henry Sheldon Museum to rethink how we might feature the story of Charity Bryant and Sylvia Drake in the museum galleries.