Family Center annual dinner; diabetes class; young playwrights read; and VSO in concert

Chester-Andover Family Center will acknowledge and thank its student volunteers at its annual dinner meeting at 5:30 p.m., Monday, June 3, at the Chester American Legion, 637 VT Route 103 S. in Chester.

As an all-volunteer organization, the family center counts on these young people for help with many of the daily tasks such as painting, staining, building shelves and moving large items.

For more information about the Chester-Andover Family Center visit its website by clicking here.

Free diabetes education class

Springfield Medical Care Systems’ will offer a free pre-diabetes education class, which will run from 6:30 to 7:30 p.m., Wednesday, June 5 at the Meeting House on the hill of Springfield Hospital’s campus at 25 Ridgewood Road.

Led by instructors Maureen Shattuck, RN, and Barbara Bye, MS, RD, CDE, the program is geared toward those who have been diagnosed with pre-diabetes. Participants will learn how to avoid developing diabetes and will have an opportunity to ask questions about managing the risks of diabetes.

For more information or to register, call 802-885-7670 or email bbye@springfieldmed.org.

Weston Playhouse’s Vermont Young Playwrights’ Works at Vtica

One-act plays written by six southern Vermont students were read by actors in mid-May as part of a Weston Playhouse Theatre event in Chester.

Clockwise from rear, left are: teacher Cathy Archer of Rutland High; young playwright Taylor Cockey; teacher Gayna Cross of Arlington High; young playwrights Aiyana Fortin and Alexandra Barton; Black River Middle teacher Anne Gardner; young playwright Jesse Keel; teaching artist John Hadden; and young playwrights Logan Wuerslin and Emme O’Rourke./ Photo provided

After each staged reading, held at the Vermont Institute of Contemporary Art, the playwrights heard feedback from the audience during a question-and-answer session led by Weston’s resident producing director Steve Stettler.

Weston Playhouse’s annual Young Playwrights program sends a teaching artist to area schools for a series of daylong sessions at which they are taught the fundamentals of play writing in a collaborative environment.

This year’s residencies were held at Arlington and Rutland high schools and Black River Middle School with teaching artist John Hadden. Hadden is a playwright/director/actor who is on the juried Vermont Arts Council roster of teaching artists. He holds a theater BFA from SUNY Purchase and a play writing MFA from Goddard College.

A panel of judges chose nine plays for recognition and six for formal presentation. A team of a dozen actors volunteered their time to rehearse and present the works under the direction of Hadden, Tesha Buss and Martin Bones.

Bay & Paul Foundation and the Creative Connections Fund at the Vermont Community Foundation sponsored this year’s program.

VSO to hold two southern Vermont concerts

The Vermont Symphony Orchestra presents its popular TD Bank Summer Festival Tour Thursday, June 27  through Sunday, July 7 in eight outdoor locations around the state, two in southern Vermont.

The orchestra performs in beautiful mountain and lakeside settings, memorable places for picnics, music and fireworks under the stars.

The tour, dubbed the Summer Songbook, will feature performances by Broadway star and noted soprano Sara Jean Ford. Musical numbers will be from the Great American Songbook and will include songs by Richard Rodgers, Cole Porter and George Gershwin along with a selection of Benny Goodman big band tunes. Concertgoers are encouraged to bring a picnic (although food and beverage will be available for purchase at some locations.)

The complete list of dates and venues includes:

• Thursday, June 27, Mountain Top Inn and Resort, Chittenden
• Saturday, June 29, Three Stallion Inn, Randolph
• Tuesday, July 2, Hunter Fairgrounds, Manchester
• Wednesday, July 3, Grafton Ponds, Grafton
• Thursday, July 4, Shelburne Farms, Shelburne
• Friday, July 5, Suicide Six, South Pomfret
• Saturday, July 6, Jay Peak Resort, Jay
• Sunday, July 7, Trapp Concert Meadow, Stowe

All concerts begin at 7:30 p.m. Gates will open for picnicking between 5 and 5:30 p.m. depending on location. Tickets range from $31 to $34 for adults. All sites are wheelchair accessible.

For more information about the VSO TD Bank Summer Festival Tour, visit www.vso.org or call (800) 876-9293, ext. 10. Tickets for most performances may also be purchased through FlynnTix at (802) 863-5966 or www.flynntix.org on line.

— Compiled by Susan Lampe-Wilson