Vermont Humanities

Upcoming Events

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Browse this complete list of our upcoming digital and in-person events. Visit the Attend page to find links to events that are sorted by program.

Upcoming Events

Title image for our Fall Festival 2026: Our Woven History in block white text over a zoomed in image of colorful threads being woven into fabric.
Live Event

October 8

Threads of History: The Stickle Quilt

5:30pm | Manchester Community Library, Manchester Center

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.

By Jacob Pelletier | July 20, 2026

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Live Event

October 9

Interlacings: Queer Visibility and Invisibility in American Textile History

6:30pm | Aldrich Public Library, Barre

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.

By Jacob Pelletier | September 3, 2026

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Title image for our Fall Festival 2026: Our Woven History in block white text over a zoomed in image of colorful threads being woven into fabric.
Live Event

October 10

Threads of History: Pulping the Green Mountains – How Manchester Helped Feed the Nation’s Hunger for Paper

11:00am | Manchester Community Library, Manchester Center

Discover how timber crews cleared mountain forests and ran even a 16-mile logging railroad up Lye Brook to feed the raw materials for wood pulp, connecting our mountain valleys directly to the nation’s appetite for paper. Alongside the lecture, get hands-on with the papermaking process as we use cut fabric scraps prepared during October 3rd’s Taconic Music event to make paper pulp.

By Jacob Pelletier | September 29, 2026

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A needlwork sampler that is in a wooden frame. The sampler has two sets of alphabets in needlework with floral designs throughout
Live Event

October 10

Vermont Sampler Stories

2:00pm | Whiting Library, Chester

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.

By Jacob Pelletier | September 29, 2026

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Outdoor concert scene with pine trees in the background. Ida Mae Specker band and caller Sarah Gibson perform for a square dancing crowd.
Live Event

October 10

The Lonely Days Are Gone: Community Square Dance Tour

5:00pm | Hardwick Town House, Hardwick

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.

By Jacob Pelletier | August 21, 2026

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A group of students and faculty from Castleton College stand outside the old Granger House on campus.
Live Event

October 12

Granger Palooza! A Celebration of Granger House’s Past, Present, and Bright Future

6:00pm | VSU Castleton- Granger House, Castleton

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.

By Jacob Pelletier | September 3, 2026

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A group of students and faculty from Castleton College stand outside the old Granger House on campus.
Live Event

October 13

Granger Palooza! Archaeology Road Show

6:00pm | VSU Castleton- Granger House, Castleton

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.

By Jacob Pelletier | September 3, 2026

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A silver tuning fork lays in a pile of scattered sheet music.
Live Event

October 14

Summerland: Charity and Sylvia Listening Party

2:00pm | Rutland Free Library, Rutland

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.

By Jacob Pelletier | July 15, 2026

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A group of students and faculty from Castleton College stand outside the old Granger House on campus.
Live Event

October 14

Granger Palooza! Granger House Tour

2:00pm | VSU Castleton- Granger House, Castleton

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.

By Jacob Pelletier | September 3, 2026

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A group of students and faculty from Castleton College stand outside the old Granger House on campus.
Live Event

October 14

Granger Palooza! Hillside Cemetery Tour

3:30pm | Hillside Cemetery, Castleton

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.

By Jacob Pelletier | September 3, 2026

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Picture of a revolutionary era printing press that is being used to replicate a painting of a forest landscape
Live Event

October 14

A Revolution Will Not Be Tweeted

6:00pm | Platt Memorial Library, Shoreham

At this presentation you will learn that the mission statement of A Revolutionary Press, inspired by the Declaration of Independence, directs us in our efforts to bring about an entirely distinct Revolution for the present and the future, as we  listen to, and print some of today’s lesser known radical and revolutionary visionaries. Everyone at this event will have the opportunity to print one of these pieces to help imagine that next Revolution.

By Jacob Pelletier | November 4, 2025

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A needlwork sampler that is in a wooden frame. The sampler has two sets of alphabets in needlework with floral designs throughout
Live Event

October 15

Vermont Sampler Stories

12:30pm | Vermont State University Castleton, Jeffords Auditorium, Castleton

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.

By Jacob Pelletier | April 20, 2026

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A group of students and faculty from Castleton College stand outside the old Granger House on campus.
Live Event

October 15

Granger Palooza! A Celebration of Vermont’s Native American Heritage

4:00pm | VSU Castleton- Granger House, Castleton

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.

By Jacob Pelletier | September 3, 2026

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Title image for our Fall Festival 2026: Our Woven History in block white text over a zoomed in image of colorful threads being woven into fabric.
Live Event

October 15

Threads of History: The Remarkable Life of Fred Nicklewhite – Tailor, Jazz Lover, and Village Icon

5:30pm | Manchester Community Library, Manchester Center

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. 

By Jacob Pelletier | July 20, 2026

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A group of students and faculty from Castleton College stand outside the old Granger House on campus.
Live Event

October 16

Granger Palooza! Presenting the Past in 3D Workshop

2:00pm | VSU Castleton- Granger House, Castleton

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.

By Jacob Pelletier | September 3, 2026

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A group of students and faculty from Castleton College stand outside the old Granger House on campus.
Live Event

October 17

Granger Palooza! Granger House Tours and Backyard Tailgate

10:00am | VSU Castleton- Granger House, Castleton

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.

By Jacob Pelletier | September 3, 2026

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Attend an Event

Vermont Humanities*** December 1, 2021

A woman with gray hair wearing a blue shirt reads from a music stand in front of a seated crowd in a state park

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.

Middle school students in costume on stage during Shakespeare play

Humanities Camps are filled with reading and writing projects, field trips, and outdoor activities.

Rep. John Lewis and Andrew Aydin with students in front of a schoolbus

We won a 2020 Schwartz Prize for best public humanities programming in the U.S. for Vermont Reads 2019: “March: Book One.”

African man in dark pants and shirt leading a group of children in a dance in a school gymnasium

We supported the Chandler Center for the Arts’ Global Connections Youth Outreach program, which highlights artists from around the world.

Woman raising her hand during a public event

Our free public events help bring the power of the humanities to communities across Vermont.