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Middlebury Festival On The Green Hits The Top 10

photo by provided

photo by provided

photo by provided

photo by provided

Tuesday July 12, 2016

By Cookie Steponaitis

You know its summer when…. If you were to finish that line most people might talk about the lake, the weather, hay, food, flowers and of course the special events that bring all of that together and more. The Vermont Chamber of Commerce lists and advertises around the nation the Top 10 Summer Events to do in Vermont and on that impressively fun list is the 38th Annual Middlebury Festival on the Green. This free, family-friendly event is sponsored by community donations, a great deal of work by volunteers and a volunteer Board of Directors and is coming this week to the Village Green In Middlebury.
    “It really is all about having fun and celebrating music, theater, food and family,” shared MFOTG Board Treasurer Walter Deverell.  “It all started with an idea, a tent, some music and has grown.  Our Board Executive Secretary Pat Boera has been a part of it since its creation. My family moved to Addison County in 1984 and our kids grew up coming to the Festival on the Green. Now our grandchildren are a part of it each year.” Beginning on Sunday, July 10, 2016 with the infectious rhythms of the New Nile Orchestra and culminating with the Saturday Vermont Jazz Ensemble Street Dance, the festival is a collection of music, food and Brown Bag events designed to appeal to all ages and interests.
    Brown Bag Family Series are held Monday July 11- Friday, July 15th at 12:00 noon and feature a different performer each day. Festival goers bring a bag lunch or picnic from home or purchase one at the nearby restaurants for take-out. They are then treated to shows featuring storytelling, dance, music and puppetry. This year the Brown Bag performers include Vermont Singer-songwriter Jon Gailmor (jgailmor.com), Vocal-harmony and multi-instrument duo The Swing Peepers (swingpeepers.com), Puppeteers Dan Baginski and Barbara Paulson ( nostringsvt.com), singing tunes and dance of Bluesmen Leadbelly and Son House (banjo.net), and founder of Magicians Without Borders Tom Verner (magicianswithout
borders.com).
    Evening shows begin at 7:00 p.m. and usually end close to 10:00 p.m and are held under a tent on the Middlebury Green. The performers are varied and this year include Grammy Award Winner acoustic guitarist Pat Donahue (patdonahue.com), classic Bluegrass Quintet The Lonely Heartstring Band (lonelyheartstringband.com), Folk Family artists Les Poules a Colin
(lespoulesacolin.com), high energy and uplifting They Might Be Gypsies (gregryan.us/they-might-be-gypsies), Paris-based Mauritanian singer–songwriter Daby Toure Trio (cumbancha.com/dabttoure), Vermont favorite honky-tonk artist Brett Hughes Band (facebook.com/BrettHughesMusic), award winning singer and songwriters Dwight & Nicole(dwightandnicole.com) and Inde-folk duo The Dupont Brothers (dupontbrothersmusic.com) and Pop artists Madaila (musicofmadaila.com). With something for every musical taste, the line up for the week of the festival will bring families together and expose Vermonters to many different forms of music.
    While the list of sponsors is long, the budget for this year’s festival is $41,421 and the non-profit relies on donations, passing the hat and puts 100% back into the production of the next year’s festival. While no money is required to attend any of the events, the Festival Committee hopes that attendees will consider a donation to help make the 39th Annual Festival next year even better. While there is no accurate way to count the numbers in attendance each night, MFONG treasurer Deverell puts a conservative estimate of 1,000 people there each evening. “We check with the local hotels and inns,” remarked Deverell. “Every year they have people who book ahead to be in attendance for the week festival."
    You know it is summer when the nights are warmer, the berries are sweeter, memories are special and a town comes together to throw a festival that is a top ten this year and has been in the hearts of the people for thirty-seven years. Come and bring a chair, a blanket, some food and some friends and experience the joys of summer and the celebration of life that is Addison County. Looking for information and the whole listing of events? Check out Middlebury Festival on the Green on Facebook or a full schedule of events at www.festivalonthegreen.org. It’s a win and a top 10 for summer fun for sure!

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