Vermont Culture of Gooey Mud

The rain has continued to fall this week in Vermont and upstate New York. If you have an arts venue in the region that you cherish, get in touch: they may need your help.

We took a family road trip over the Labor Day weekend to get a sense of the damage from Irene. The Bennington area has survived with minimal flooding. Northward the businesses along Londonderry's Rt 100 river front have had serious flooding. The Weston Playhouse's basement was flooded, covering props and costumes with mud.

The Brattleboro Museum and Art Center survived without any damage as did the Brattleboro Music Center; however the city's low-lying businesses including the infamous Sam's outdoor store got a basement full -- all those hiking boots. The museum is planning a fund-raising dinner for area artists: check out their Facebook page for details.

The Yellow Barn Music Center in Putney is fine; also faring well, the Vermont Jazz Center in Brattleboro and Marlboro College, home of the Marlboro Music Festival. At this point there are still several road and bridge closures: Tanglewood and Jacob's Pillow have had a few trees down but are in no danger. I have requests out to venues for updates and will pass them on as necessary.