Vermont Folklife

08/04/2026

What does folk art reveal about who we are?

Join Emelie Gevalt, PhD, Curator and Deputy Director of the American Folk Art Museum, on Friday, August 7, at 5:30 p.m. for “Folk Nation,” a thought-provoking lecture exploring craftsmanship, historical memory, and identity through the lens of American folk art.

From weathervanes and quilts to painted portraits and carved figures, discover how everyday objects have shaped—and reflected—the many stories of America. In honor of the nation’s 250th anniversary, this talk offers a fresh perspective on the role folk art has played in defining American identity across generations. The lecture will be followed by an audience Q&A.

Free for Members or with Museum admission. Head to the website to register for in-person or virtual.

Image: “Situation of America,” 1848. Artist unidentified, New York, New York, United States. Oil on wood panel, 34 × 58 1/8 × 1 3/8 in. (86.4 × 147.6 × 3.5 cm). Gift of Ralph Esmerian, 2013.1.21. Collection of the American Folk Art Museum.

07/28/2026

***DEADLINE EXTENDED!!*** Call for artists practicing and learning traditional art forms! The Application deadline for the 2026/27 cycle of Vermont Folklife's Traditional Arts Apprenticeship Program (VTAAP) has been extended to Sunday, August 16th (before midnight).

VTAAP provides stipends of up to $2,000 to master artist and apprentice pairs to cover the time, materials, and travel expenses associated with learning an art form.

This program supports mentor artists and apprentices who have already decided to work together. Vermont Folklife staff do not match apprentices and mentor artists. If you are interested in applying or know someone who could benefit from this program learn more here: https://www.vtfolklife.org/apprenticeship-program

07/22/2026

We have loved collaborating with Lisa Rathje and Local Learning: The National Network for Folk Arts in Education on this work!

How can teachers make use of the American Folklife Center’s archival treasures in their classrooms? Come join Lisa Rathje to learn how the Local Learning project team answers this question. It is the AFC@50: Botkin Lecture with Lisa Rathje: "Teaching with Folk Sources: Education, Innovation, and the American Folklife Center Archives"

Register (it is free, but requires registration) and learn more here: afc@50-botkin-lecture-with-lisa-rathje-teaching-with-folk-sources-education-innovation-and-the-american-folklife-center-archives/2026-08-04" rel="ugc" target="_blank">https://www.loc.gov/item/event-421238/afc@50-botkin-lecture-with-lisa-rathje-teaching-with-folk-sources-education-innovation-and-the-american-folklife-center-archives/2026-08-04

07/15/2026

Remembering New England dance caller, musician, and National Heritage Fellowship recipient Dudley Laufman, who passed this week. ❤️

It is with great sadness that the National Endowment for the Arts acknowledges the passing of dance caller and musician Dudley Laufman of New Hampshire, recipient of a 2009 National Heritage Fellowship, the nation’s highest honor in folk and traditional arts.

In a 2009 interview with the Arts Endowment, Laufman described his first experiences with traditional dances while working on a dairy farm in New Hampshire: “They'd move the furniture out, invite the neighbors in, and we'd have a dance…. And Jonathan would sit at one end, and he'd play the fiddle. And Betty or somebody'd play the piano, and Betty called the dances. And she used the Henry Ford book, the Good Morning Book, and she called the dances out of that. And we'd dance, and there was the smell of the wood smoke, and the firelight gleaming on the girls' hair, and the rosiny sound of the fiddle, and I was hooked. That was it.”

Read our full statement at https://bit.ly/NHFLaufman

07/13/2026

Join us this Friday, July 17 for a Listening Party hosted with East Bethel’s Middle Branch Grange. Vermont Folklife "Listening Parties" bring people together to share the experience of listening deeply. A bit like a DJ set of the spoken word, we share voices, music, and sounds of the world around us drawn from the Archive at Vermont Folklife.

This special event is a partnership with the Middle Branch Grange. You’ll hear excerpts from recordings made by VT Folklife in the late 90s with farmers in Orange and Washington counties. These voices from the past share about the passion, wisdom, and ingenuity of farmers—not to mention some humor, too! Come and listen!

This event is free, and open to the public.
https://www.vtfolklife.org/calendar/east-bethel-listening-party-2026

07/08/2026

Time for some BASEBALL FOLKLIFE! ⚾ 🤓 The seventh-inning stretch is a long-standing tradition at baseball games—a break in play in the middle of the seventh-inning that involves, well, standing up and stretching, and also sing-alongs of songs like "Take Me Out to the Ballgame", music, as well as things like buying snacks and beer. And, from a practical perspective, it gives the players a short break as well.

The seventh-inning stretch is not part of the rules of baseball: it’s an informal tradition that has become standard—and expected—at professional and semi-professional games. And depending on who you talk to, it’s been part of baseball for over 150 years. And while the origin of the seventh-inning stretch is debated, from Vermont Folklife’s perspective, how traditional activities began is less significant than what they mean to the people who practice them in the present.

Hungry for more? Read VF Archivist and folklorist Andy Kolovos's recent blog post about baseball and folklife. Also, COME SEE THE VERMONT LAKE MONSTERS play in Burlington on July 28, 2026! Link in the blog post to get discounted tickets AND support Vermont Folklife. ✨ https://www.vtfolklife.org/fieldnotes/baseball-folklife

📸: Source: Vermont Historical Society, Shrewsbury Photos of Olof C. Johnson, Playing baseball (1939).

07/06/2026

Vermont's Bhutanese Nepali Dance Group is led by Urmila Chhetri and Susmita Dhakal. The group meets in the Burlington area to learn traditional dances from Bhutan and Nepal. Vermont Folklife was thrilled to support this group through our Traditional Arts Apprenticeship Program (VTAAP). Applications are now open for the 2026/27 cycle of VTAAP and are due before midnight on Friday, August 7, 2026. Visit www.vtfolklife.org/vtaap to learn more and apply!

📸 The Bhutanese Nepali Dance Group performs at Vermont Folklife's Young Tradition Festival in May, 2026.

07/05/2026

Congratulations to Katherine Leung on the launch of her podcast “Ritual: Asian Jewish Life in Vermont!” Ritual is a 6 episode podcast featuring oral histories from 12 Asian-Jewish families in Vermont. (https://ritualvermont.com/)

Created during her time in the Vermont Folklife Community Fellows Program, these stories explore why they moved to Vermont, the cultures and traditions they cherish, and how they navigate their identities in a predominantly white, Christian, English-speaking state.

VT Folklife staff attended a launch party for the series, which Leung co-hosted with Ohavi Zedek Synagogue in Burlington on June 14. Parents and children whom Katherine had interviewed sat on a panel to discuss their experiences building and being part of the Asian Jewish community in VT.

We encourage everyone to take a listen and congratulate Katherine on a wonderful project! 🤩 🎧

07/03/2026

Fieldwork! Vermont Folklife staff interview artists and apprentices taking part in our Traditional Arts Apprenticeship Program (VTAAP), adding to a 35+ year archival record of traditional arts being passed down to future generations across the state. Applications are now open for the next round of VTAAP, due August 7! https://www.vtfolklife.org/vtaap

VF summer interns Lexi and Anita came along on a recent site visit to the Kurjanowicz Sculpture Studio in Websterville where stone carver George Kurjanowicz and his apprentice, Mark P***o, have been working together. Photo credit: Ian Drury

07/01/2026

On July 28, 2026 the Vermont Lake Monsters are sponsoring a fundraising game for Vermont Folklife! In the spirit of the game we made staff baseball cards! Check out this Vermont Folklife dream team roster and buy a ticket to support our work. Discounted tickets are $9.50, and $4.00 of each ticket goes directly to us. Let's Go Monsters! ⚾

https://www.ticketreturn.com/prod2new/GroupPortalPEC.asp?HoldID=35760&SponsorID=19317&EventID=354787