Vermont Humanities

Upcoming Events

Young man in Asian market showing fruit to people around a table

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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

Live Event

Isle La Motte Celebrates Our Independence – Commemoration Day

The Town and Community Organizations of Isle La Motte invite you to a day honoring the bravery, sacrifice, and fortitude of our Revolutionary War soldiers, and the legacy of the region’s early settlers.

Sepia-toned cartoon drawing of two 19th century women on a dirt road in Vermont
Live Event

Vermont Reads: Charity & Sylvia Book Discussion

We invite the Brattleboro area to participate in an open community discussion around the book Charity & Sylvia by Tillie Walden. We will discuss themes of Vermont’s (and America’s!) early history, the importance of friendships and family networks, the role of religion and faith in communal life, and the evolution of LGBTQ+ identity.

Image of woman
Live Event

Vermont Women and the Civil War

Historian Howard Coffin explains, with nearly 35,000 of the state’s able-bodied men at war, how women took on farming, worked in factories, served as nurses in the state’s military hospitals, and more. And at least one Vermont woman appears to have secretly enlisted and fought in a Vermont regiment! Drawing from letters and diaries, Coffin tells their story in their own words, describe life during the Civil War in the Green Mountain State.

Image of old postcard of the Connecticut River
Live Event

400 Miles Down the Connecticut River

New England’s longest river, the Connecticut, is rich in history. Michael Tougias, author of fourteen books about New England, offers a narrated slide presentation that takes the viewer down the entire 410 miles of the river, discussing history from the days of loggers, Indian Wars, steamships, and canals.

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

A Revolution Will Not Be Tweeted

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.

This acrylic painting was created on two 24x24 inch canvases to depict war and peace. The artist created the piece to further his abilities with acrylic paint. (U.S. Air Force art by Staff Sgt. Jamal D. Sutter/Released)
Live Event

Bridging Divides in a Nation at War: A Vermont Conversation on Peace and Power

The U.S. has been at war, in one form or another, for all but about 18 of the past 250 years of the county’s existence. What does this mean if this is a constant in our lives? How do we invite the conservatives and progressives into the room to talk together?

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

Vermont Sampler Stories

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.

Peter Harrigan and his partner stand in White Tuxedo jackets and black pants on a green lawn and have their hands raised in applause.
Live Event

Baker v. State: Making Headlines, Making Change

Over 25 years ago, Peter Harrigan and Stan Baker were one of the three plaintiff couples in Vermont’s Freedom to Marry lawsuit. The Vermont Supreme Court issued a landmark decision in Baker v. State in 1999, which led to Vermont’s Civil Union law the following year.

Vermont Symphony Orchestra on stage
Live Event

Vermont Reads 2026 at UVM: Charity, Sylvia & the Vermont Symphony Orchestra

UVM welcomes VSO Artistic Advisor Matt LaRocca, composer Clarice Assad, and vocal soloists Danielle Buonaiuto and Nikola Printz for a discussion about Assad’s new orchestral work based on the historic Weybridge, VT couple Charity Bryant and Sylvia Drake. The couple’s lives and marriage are also the subject of Vermont Reads 2026: Charity and Sylvia by acclaimed graphic novelist Tillie Walden.

Live Event

Barnet Public Library: Learn to Ferment Your Own Veggies with VT Ferments

Join us on September 17 to learn to ferment your own veggies. Beki Auclair from VT Ferments will join us and discuss how to prep, salt and spice our own veggies (or those from your favorite farmers). You will go home with a jar of your own creation to watch it ferment.

Sepia-toned cartoon drawing of two 19th century women on a dirt road in Vermont
Live Event

Vermont Reads 2026 Author Presentation at UVM

Join us at the University of Vermont for this special presentation with Tillie Walden in conversation with Coco Moseley, Executive Director of the Hendry Sheldon Museum, about the creation of Charity and Sylvia. The talk is free and open to all – students, faculty, staff, and the general public!

Vermont Symphony Orchestra on stage
Live Event

Charity, Sylvia, and Cleopatra

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

Wooden picnic tables scattered in a clearing among the trees
Live Event

Words in the Woods: Eli Clare

White, disabled, and genderqueer, Eli Clare lives near Lake Champlain where he writes and proudly claims a penchant for rabble-rousing. He has written two books of essays– Exile and Pride: Disability, Queerness, and Liberation and the award-winning Brilliant Imperfection: Grappling with Cure–and a collection of poetry, The Marrow’s Telling: Words in Motion. His newest book, a mixed genre volume titled Unfurl: Survivals, Sorrows, and Dreaming, was released in September 2025.

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

A Revolution Will Not Be Tweeted

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.

Live Event

Marlboro Music: Jill Lepore in conversation with Dan Chiasson

Please join us for the first event in our new In Conversation series, bringing acclaimed writers to the Campus at Marlboro Music for readings and discussion. In this series Authors, poets, historians, and essayists will explore questions through the lens of literature, history, memory, place, ethics, creativity, and civic life. Rather than traditional book talks or readings, each gathering is built around conversation—an opportunity to listen deeply, ask questions, and consider multiple perspectives in the company of others.

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

The Lonely Days Are Gone: Community Square Dance Tour

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.

Sepia-toned cartoon drawing of two 19th century women on a dirt road in Vermont
Live Event

Vermont Reads: Charity & Sylvia Book Discussion

Albany Library’s monthly book discussion group has chosen Charity & Sylvia for their September discussion. We have copies available in the library now. Grab one to read ahead of time, then come join your neighbors for a casual conversation to talk it over.

A picture of a bronze statue of Ira Allen in front of budding trees.
Live Event

Ira Allen and the Green Mountain Frontier

Land speculator, revolutionary, pamphleteer, politician, and empire-builder, Ira Allen was a key figure on the late eighteenth-century Green Mountain frontier.  Based on his 2024 book Ira Allen: A Biography, J. Kevin Graffagnino’s lively talk evaluates Allen’s checkered career and makes the case for including him in our picture of Vermont’s formative decades.

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Vermont Humanities*** December 1, 2021