Grange Notes by Tim Swartz, Grange President (with everyone’s help), August 11, 2021
Support the Grange–and the Montpelier Contra Dance–with a lively concert on Labor Day Weekend!
Co-sponsored by the Contra Dance Umbrella and the Friends of the Capital City Grange Hall, the Grange Hall will host an outdoor concert (weather permitting) featuring two Vermont bands who have played many times for dances. Since we are unable to hold dances yet, this concert will celebrate and encourage donations to match the $2,000 Challenge assembled with donations from long-time supporters. On the bill: Atlantic Crossing, and The Turning Stile!
Atlantic Crossing, featuring Peter MacFarlane, Viveka Fox and Rick Klein, has been “rocking the contra dance halls of New England and beyond”, and also “entrancing concert audiences” for well over two decades. Their music is drawn from Celtic traditions of the British Isles, as well as from Maritime and French Canada, and from Vermont singing traditions.
Now is our time to hear the concert side of their repertoire–dancers have been propelled by their music for a long time! You can read more about them, hear clips from their many albums (and buy them!) and more at their Atlantic Crossing website.
Now is our time to hear the concert side of their repertoire–dancers have been propelled by their music for a long time! You can read more about them, hear clips from their many albums (and buy them!) and more at their Atlantic Crossing website.
We know Aaron Marcus and Joanne Garton, The Turning Stile duo from our dance floor and from the stage! We’re lucky to have these two Montpelier residents nearby, and we’re glad they want to perform for us! Multi-instrumentalist Aaron on keyboards, concertina, banjo and feet, and fiddler Joanne will showcase some of their vast variety of musical styles in a concert setting instead of a dance hall. More info is available on Joanne’s website.
Concert Details:
For the most up-to-date info, check the listing on the Grange website Calendar–follow this link: https://bit.ly/3jKSsAc
Weather permitting, the concert will be outdoors at the Grange Hall! If we need to move it inside, we will use our new exhaust fan, which can provide 6 air changes per hour, supplemented by fans pulling in fresh air from the windows.
Admission to the concert will be by donation, and will help us pay the bands (we want to support some of the musicians who have been hit hard by the pandemic):
Adults: $12.00
Low Income: $5.00
Dance & Hall supporters: $20.00 (or more of course!)
We will not be able to have the “Dessert Potluck” which has been much enjoyed at past Challenge Fundraisers–feel free to bring your own refreshments!
We will be asking all those who attend the concert who have not been vaccinated to wear masks.
Weather permitting, the concert will be outdoors at the Grange Hall! If we need to move it inside, we will use our new exhaust fan, which can provide 6 air changes per hour, supplemented by fans pulling in fresh air from the windows.
Admission to the concert will be by donation, and will help us pay the bands (we want to support some of the musicians who have been hit hard by the pandemic):
Adults: $12.00
Low Income: $5.00
Dance & Hall supporters: $20.00 (or more of course!)
We will not be able to have the “Dessert Potluck” which has been much enjoyed at past Challenge Fundraisers–feel free to bring your own refreshments!
We will be asking all those who attend the concert who have not been vaccinated to wear masks.
Fundraiser Details:
In addition to enjoying the concert, we ask you to support the Grange Hall and the Montpelier Contra Dance. A number of dedicated dance and Grange supporters have pledged a total of $2,000 to challenge the Grange community–just as has been done in the past. Your donation will financially aid the Friends of the Capital City Grange Hall (FCCGH) and the Contra Dance Umbrella (CDU).
Donations can be made online, at the concert by check or cash. Checks should be made out to: FCCGH. Online donations can be made at any time at: www.capitalcitygrange.org/
All donations made online or by check will be tax-deductible, to the fullest extent allowed by law, since the FCCGH is a non-profit, tax exempt 501(c)(3) corporation.
Questions? Please email me (swartztim15@gmail.com) or call me (802-225-8921).
Donations can be made online, at the concert by check or cash. Checks should be made out to: FCCGH. Online donations can be made at any time at: www.capitalcitygrange.org/
All donations made online or by check will be tax-deductible, to the fullest extent allowed by law, since the FCCGH is a non-profit, tax exempt 501(c)(3) corporation.
Questions? Please email me (swartztim15@gmail.com) or call me (802-225-8921).
Grange Re-Opening Celebration
Many thanks to the crew who helped us celebrate last Saturday!
We had a hot but happy group of participants who enjoyed our smorgasbord of activities–and a great group of volunteers who helped make it happen.As you’ll see in the top photo below, the cast-iron 8″ frying pan we purchased for the occasion did not survive intact–but contestants managed to hold onto the “pan” section after we had to discard the handle. A variety of grips and throwing techniques were employed, and people from kids to seniors took part, with winning tosses ranging from 18’11” to 64’8″. In the left photo below the pan you’ll see me and Linda Sanderson, a Grange veteran of these events, combining my 50′ measuring tape and Linda’s measuring wheel to tally one of the longer throws. Many thanks to Patty Giavara for taking all the photos, as well as making the “Bounce House Free” sign on the spot!
As expected, the Bounce House was enjoyed
Many thanks to Kasie McCarthy and Dean Grondin, who staffed the house and kept kids bouncing safely all afternoon long!The Vermont Fiddle Orchestra, 14 musicians strong on this occasion and led by Susan Reid, played beautifully for us, including playing for simple dances called by Liz Benjamin, maestra of Dance Sing & Jump Around, which usually involves kids and families during the winter months inside the Hall.
Rob Nichols, who has grown healthy and beautiful potted plants for Grange fundraisers for years, came by with a selection of varieties, many of which found new homes with participants in return for donations–which help us toward matching the Challenge!
Merry Shernock recruited all the helpers, and assembled the beautiful bouquet from the Grange flowerbeds and surrounding wildflowers, and led the singing of This Land is Your Land, Take Me Out to the Ballgame and other favorites, along with Grange musician Matt Nunnelly.
And last but not least, we were honored by the presence of a Monarch, who enjoyed refreshments from the zinnias in the pots by the ADA entrance.
Save this date too: Saturday, August 21st for our next Grange Community Potluck!
We invite everyone to join us for another potluck dinner, at 6:00 on Aug. 21, to socialize with the friends you may not have seen for a while–and the friends you just haven’t met yet!
As we did in July, we’ll eat in the cool lower level of the Grange Hall, where we can use the vintage dishes, utensils, glasses, serving spoons & ladles which the Grange has accumulated–no paper plates needed!
As always, bring whatever you like! “Potluck Magic” always seems to ensure we have a good variety of main dishes, sides, breads, spreads & dips, beverages, desserts, cheeses, vegetarian and vegan options, and more!
As we did in July, we’ll eat in the cool lower level of the Grange Hall, where we can use the vintage dishes, utensils, glasses, serving spoons & ladles which the Grange has accumulated–no paper plates needed!
As always, bring whatever you like! “Potluck Magic” always seems to ensure we have a good variety of main dishes, sides, breads, spreads & dips, beverages, desserts, cheeses, vegetarian and vegan options, and more!
Painted doors!
Since the last “Grange Notes”, meticulous volunteer painter Ellen Holmes-Henry has come back and completed the painting of the new doors on the “Old Entrance” porch–in time for our Re-Opening event!