Today in Montpelier

Member Highlight: Oakes & Evelyn

Apr 24 2024

Member Highlight: Justin Dain, chef/owner of Oakes and Evelyn Tell us a bit about you, your background and your path to opening Oakes and Evelyn. I grew up in Waterbury Center, Vermont and started cooking at the age of 15 at Stowe Mountain Ski Area. I loved the environment of the kitchen mentality and started exploring culinary schools for after high school. During high school, I worked in Stowe area restaurants to gain experience and learn as much as possible of the craft. After high school I went to The Culinary Institute of America for my AOS degree. Following the CIA I went

Member Highlight - Kelly Cook of Minikin

Apr 16 2024

Member Highlight: Kelly Cook, owner of Minikin What do you sell at Minikin? We sell baby and children’s clothing and toys. We currently offer clothing from newborn sizes up to 7 years of age. We choose brands that focus on ethical manufacturing practices, and use of natural fibers such as organic cotton, bamboo, and wooden toys. We want to offer items that will last your family through the years, look good, feel good, and have a healthy impact on the planet. Tell us how you started Minikin. For as long as I can remember I’ve always wanted my own shop. Over the years the vision of what

Member Highlight - Jesse Williams of Thrive Heathworks

Apr 11 2024

Member Highlight - Jesse Williams of Thrive Healthworks Tell us about Thrive Healthworks, your offerings, how you are different, unique from some of the other health practitioners in town. Thrive Healthworks is a Reiki, breathwork, and speech therapy practice located in the heart of downtown, 79 Main St., Unit 3 (upstairs through the door between Bohemian and Zutano). Reiki is a beautiful healing art that recharges the body, promotes relaxation, reduces stress and anxiety, contributes to mental and emotional wellbeing, and creates balance. Many of my Reiki clients talk about feeling a release during our sessions, which contributes to calm and balance. Breathing is something we

Lighting Up Montpelier!

Apr 10 2024

Thanks to extraordinary community effort, Downtown Montpelier has largely recovered from

the devastating flood this summer. Its commercial center remains fragile, however, and needs

your help.

To attract residents and tourists downtown, make walking in the city safer during the winter

months, and to celebrate the resilience and recovery of the capital city, Montpelier Alive is

working to illuminate up to seven historic bridges along the Winooski River and its North

Branch.

In the winter of 2023, as part of a pilot project, Montpelier Alive, Montpelier’s downtown

revitalization non-profit organization, lit up the Langdon Street bridge. Twinkling lights wrapped

around the steel trusses illuminated the center of town and reflected off the river. What was

once a dark side street became a magnet for holiday shoppers, evening dining and a vibrant

music scene. The sparkling bridge declared that Montpelier was open for business and

welcomed all to the party!

Montpelier Alive is collaborating with local historians and naturalists to use Montpelier’s unique

history to inform each bridge’s illumination design. For instance, the Rialto bridge will be

underlit to highlight the North Branch River that runs beneath two lanes of traffic, two

sidewalks and an entire building on State Street! The trusses of the Granite Street bridge will be

lined with large white bulbs, to highlight the engineering of the structure and mimic the rivets

holding the steel beams together. The impact of seven bridges, each uniquely lit, will transfer

Montpelier’s cityscape this winter.

Katie Trautz, Executive Director of Montpelier Alive, believes "Illuminating Montpelier's Bridges

will not only be impactful for our downtown economy as visitors from near and far come to

witness the lights, but the project will act as a metaphor for community resiliency, bringing our

town together for a better future."

This initiative will not require Montpelier tax dollars. Donations and grants will provide the

funds necessary for building the electric infrastructure, the services of the New England Holiday

Lighting Company, the professionals responsible for the magnificent Shelburne Museum Winter

Lights display, and the modest amount of electricity required for the energy efficient LED lights.

Lighting will be limited to times when downtown restaurants and theaters are open to allow

dark skies for sleeping and enjoying the night stars.

Help Montpelier Alive light up the capital city this winter! If the campaign reaches its $13,350

goal by May 31, 2024 the Montpelier Bridge Illumination Project will receive a matching grant of

$26,650 from DHCD’s Better Places program. Click HERE for project details and to DONATE.

The focus of the Better Places grant is on the three bridges that illuminate downtown: the

Rialto, Langdon and School Street bridges. Any remaining funds will help build the

infrastructure to also light the Bailey Avenue, Taylor Street, and Main Street bridges that cross

the Winooski River. Montpelier Alive plans to continue raising funds for all seven bridges over

the next year. For more information on the Bridge project, visit Montpelier Alive’s webpage:

montpelieralive.com/bridges

Member Highlight: Three Penny Taproom

Apr 03 2024

Member Highlight: Wes Hamilton, co-owner of Three Penny Taproom The original idea for Three Penny was to open a brewery or brewpub. We were actually on the verge of signing a lease for the old clothespin factory space when that plan fell apart. As we re-imagined the business to be a "craft beer bar" focused on beers that weren't found at most places we honestly just hoped we might carve-out a small niche place for ourselves in a niche market. At that time "craft beer" wasn't nearly the thing it has become; Hill Farmstead Brewery didn't exist, nor did Farmhouse in Burlington. Aside from