Mayfest - Montpelier moves outside!

}}

Lighting Up Montpelier!

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

}}

Discover Montpelier

Guitar Sam reminisces after 42 years in Montpelier

Jun 23 2023

Guitar Sam, a business that opened in 1981, closed this year, after 42 years in business! Carolyn Grodinsky met with Kevin Crossett recently and learned about how the store and how the downtown has changed over these years.

Kevin opened Guitar Sam when he was 25. He had previously worked in retail but wanted to work for himself. He said people thought he was crazy, and he got lots of pushback, as well as folks telling him that they hope it goes okay. “I’d say after 42 years, I guess it was okay.”

Over those years, Kevin moved the business four times (including the building that burned down next to Charlie-O's). When he started, he opened in the small Zutanto space, his “starter space” and made $100.32 his first day. Most stores weren’t open on Saturday, if they were, they closed by 12 pm, and all stores were closed on Sundays. There wasn’t any retail organization, like Montpelier Alive. He noted that over time, the downtown business chamber has improved communication between retailers and hosted events, getting more people into downtown.

Kevin was an early adopter to using the internet. In 1998 Kevin built his first website. His first online orders were via fax and he used a map of the US to track where these first buyers were from. Within a couple of months he had tacks in every state and countries around the world.

What’s next for Kevin?

Kevin tells me it’s too early to say. His original plan was to move to a smaller space and repair guitars. He’d work fewer days and need fewer supplies. However, he realized that even if he opened a “downsized” store, he’d still be working just as hard.

While he loved being able to help customers, which he’ll miss the most from Guitar Sam, right now he’s embracing the freedom of not running a store. However he notes “it’s summer and come colder weather, I might think differently. Possibly I’ll find my way back to the store, it’s too early to tell. I’ve kept the trade name, leaving the door open to reopening.” He’s also a lifelong musician, mostly guitar, but more recently he’s gotten hooked on playing the ukulele.

Kevin still owns and manages the Guitar Sam on-line store, which in addition to selling musical accessories, includes helpful resources such as where to repair instruments and music teacher.

share this