Each year, our Fall Festival celebrates National Arts and Humanities Month in October and reminds Vermonters of the impact and breadth of the humanities. This year’s Fall Festival 2026: Our Woven History recognizes the stories contained in our Vermont Reads 2026 book, Charity and Sylvia by Tillie Walden, while also commemorating the 250th anniversary of our nation’s founding.
September 18
The 2026–27 Vermont Symphony Orchestra season opens with music inspired and created by powerful women—from Björk to Cleopatra, spanning 19th-century Vermont to the Persian Empire. The concert premieres a VSO commission by composer Clarice Assad, based on the historic Weybridge couple Charity Bryant and Sylvia Drake
September 20
This fall, The Lonely Days Are Gone: Community Square Dance Tour brings free concerts and square dances to historic town halls across Vermont! Inspired by the state’s long tradition of contra and square dancing, the tour welcomes neighbors of all ages to connect through live music, participatory dancing, and shared meals.
October 1
Join #1 New York Times bestselling author Andrew Aydin for this special presentation about the Appalachian Comics Project and the creation of the graphic novel “Islands in the Sky.”
October 3
Taconic String Quartet will take you on a musical journey to Italy, England, Austria and Germany with works by Vivaldi, Boccherini, Handel, Boyce, Haydn, Mozart and Beethoven, plus arrangements of songs by William Billings from colonial New England.
October 3
This fall, The Lonely Days Are Gone: Community Square Dance Tour brings free concerts and square dances to historic town halls across Vermont! Inspired by the state’s long tradition of contra and square dancing, the tour welcomes neighbors of all ages to connect through live music, participatory dancing, and shared meals.
October 7
Love, music, art, business…how do they all fit together? How is music created around a unique story? What does a commission look like? Join us for a listening party as we dive into a world premiere from the Vermont Symphony Orchestra’s opening concert of the 2026-27 season.
October 8
Callie Raspuzzi, the Collections Manager at the Bennington Museum, will present on The Jane A. Stickle Quilt. Made in 1863, during the Civil War, this amazing quilt includes 169 five-inch blocks, each in different patterns and fabric, containing a total of 5,602 pieces surrounded by a unique scalloped border. This illustrated talk will explore the history of the quilt and its maker. It will also use the quilt as a jumping-off point to talk about diverse topics, including female education, the Civil War, country fairs, disability, textile manufacture, poverty, and museum collecting.
October 9
Starting from the text of Charity and Sylvia, we’ll look at the aesthetic choices available to Charity and Sylvia and explore how American LGBTQ+ artists have used fiber as a medium of expression, visibility and remembrance. Beyond the practical aspects of how a fabric functions, we’ll explore how fabric is designed for beauty and delight. We’ll peek into monumental twentieth-century craftivist projects, like the AIDS Memorial Quilt, highlight some under recognized queer figures in American fiber arts and explore how contemporary queer fiber artists use some of the techniques appearing in Charity and Sylvia in their own works.
October 10
This fall, The Lonely Days Are Gone: Community Square Dance Tour brings free concerts and square dances to historic town halls across Vermont! Inspired by the state’s long tradition of contra and square dancing, the tour welcomes neighbors of all ages to connect through live music, participatory dancing, and shared meals.
October 12
Join us for light refreshments and stimulating discussion as Vermont State University students and faculty from the Castleton Hidden History Project present the early results of our archaeological and archival research on Granger House, as well as our plans for its future as a museum of local history and center for hands-on learning.
October 13
Have you ever found something in your backyard or attic and you don’t know what it is? Bring it on down to Granger House and let VTSU archaeology students and faculty identify it and help you learn more about your found object. Light refreshments will be served.
October 14
Love, music, art, business…how do they all fit together? How is music created around a unique story? What does a commission look like? Join us for a listening party as we dive into a world premiere from the Vermont Symphony Orchestra’s opening concert of the 2026-27 season.
October 14
The use of Granger House has always reflected the needs and values of the people who lived there. Come join VTSU geography students and faculty as we tour this historic house, concentrating on how it was used and how it changed through time.
October 14
Join VTSU geography students and faculty on a tour of Castleton’s Hillside Cemetery, focusing on the final resting places of some of Granger House’s former occupants and what those places say about their lives.
October 15
Granger House is located in a community rich in Native American heritage. Come learn about Vermont’s Native American history and culture through stories, songs, and discussions with Chief Roger Longtoe of Vermont’s Elnu Abenaki. Light refreshments will be served.
October 15
Join the Manchester Historical Society Curator, Shawn Harrington for a presentation about regional tailor “Fred” Nicklewhite. Born on the island of Eleuthera in the Bahamas, he moved with his family in 1898 to Vermont. Trained as a master tailor, Nicklewhite spent summers working at the Equinox Hotel in Manchester.
October 16
The Castleton Hidden History Project is using advanced 3D technologies to document and share the history of Granger House and its residents. Come join VTSU students and faculty for a workshop on 3D scanning and 3D printing as new ways to present the past. Advance registration encouraged.
October 17
Come join VTSU students and faculty from the Castleton Hidden History Project for lively tours of the house, question-and-answer sessions about ongoing research, and a discussion of its future as a museum. Light refreshments and tailgate-themed snacks will be served.
October 17
Come help us celebrate the many VTSU students, past and present, who have contributed to the Castleton Hidden History Project and research at Granger House. Learn about their remarkable work as well as their current adventures while exploring our vision for the home’s future. Light refreshments and more will be served.
October 18
More than 600 K-12 students and teachers have visited Granger House on field trips over the last five years. Come join us for an afternoon of learning and fun as those students and teachers return to Granger House with their families for house tours, educational exhibits, fieldwork demonstrations, and lively discussion. Light refreshments and backyard games will be available. Some events are weather permitting. Advance registration encouraged, though not required.
October 18
This fall, The Lonely Days Are Gone: Community Square Dance Tour brings free concerts and square dances to historic town halls across Vermont! Inspired by the state’s long tradition of contra and square dancing, the tour welcomes neighbors of all ages to connect through live music, participatory dancing, and shared meals.
October 22
Learn how to sew a patch on your clothing, mend and repair your backpacks, gear and winter garb and learn how to sew a straight stitch on a sewing machine. This drop-in workshops is for middle and high school youth who want to understand the basics of hand-stitching and clothing repair. All materials provided.
October 23
More sheep than people? Silkworms in Vermont? Join artist Pamela Wilson for an in-depth exploration of the Vermont fibers that feature in Charity and Sylvia’s work as rural tailors. We’ll explore the textile trends and innovations that feature in the book and Pamela will bring a variety of spinning and weaving tools to explore.
October 24
The evening will feature with a conversation between comic artists, graphic novelists, and faculty at the Center for Cartoon Studies in White River Junction, Dan Nott, Daryl Seitchik, and Tillie Walden. Their conversation will be moderated by Middlebury Professor of History Rebecca Bennette. This panel will explore how three Vermont artists and creators draw inspiration from one another as they craft unique and compelling stories.
October 24
This fall, The Lonely Days Are Gone: Community Square Dance Tour brings free concerts and square dances to historic town halls across Vermont! Inspired by the state’s long tradition of contra and square dancing, the tour welcomes neighbors of all ages to connect through live music, participatory dancing, and shared meals.
October 29
Join the Manchester Historical Society as the explore the creation of the Manchester Journal.
October 29
Love, music, art, business…how do they all fit together? How is music created around a unique story? What does a commission look like? Join us for a listening party as we dive into a world premiere from the Vermont Symphony Orchestra’s opening concert of the 2026-27 season.
November 14
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!
November 14
John Vincent of A Revolutionary Press will return to print broadsides using the paper created by the community earlier in the month.
Our seasonal “Words in the Woods” program allows Vermonters and visitors to enjoy our state’s natural beauty while listening to and reading literature in the outdoors.
Humanities Camps are filled with reading and writing projects, field trips, and outdoor activities.
We won a 2020 Schwartz Prize for best public humanities programming in the U.S. for Vermont Reads 2019: “March: Book One.”
We supported the Chandler Center for the Arts’ Global Connections Youth Outreach program, which highlights artists from around the world.
Our free public events help bring the power of the humanities to communities across Vermont.
