After a frosty start in the 30s this morning, Burlington is enjoying abundant sunshine that's pushing temperatures into the mid 50s this afternoon. The weekend ahead looks stellar with both Saturday and Sunday staying dry under a mix of sun and clouds. Saturday warms into the low 60s before Sunday brings us back to early October territory with highs reaching the low 70s. Just be ready for some gusty southerly winds Sunday that could hit 30 to 35 mph around the Champlain Valley. Cloud cover creeps in Sunday evening, setting up a wetter pattern for next week with multiple rounds of showers Monday through Wednesday that could deliver an inch or more of much needed moisture.

Tonight brings a wealth of options for getting out and about. The Mystical Market at Oakledge Park runs until 9pm with over 20 vendors selling enchanted wares, tarot readers offering glimpses of tomorrow, food trucks serving up dinner, and DJ Matt Hagen keeping the energy flowing under the stars. Over in South Burlington, families can carve pumpkins for free at the FHTMS Cafeteria from 6 to 8pm, with all tools provided and 100 free pumpkins available for those who register. For those seeking nightlife, Higher Ground hosts The Color Ball at 8pm, bringing ballroom and vogue culture to Vermont with performers celebrating diversity through monochromatic looks or rainbow colors. Meanwhile, the Champlain Valley Craft Show & Antique Expo continues its three day run at the Expo, offering handmade treasures and vintage finds through Sunday.

Saturday's gorgeous weather makes it perfect for outdoor adventures, starting early with VAE Cars Coffee Vermont at University Mall from 7 to 9am for the final meet of 2025. The Burlington Farmers Market at 345 Pine Street runs from 9am to 2pm, where you can stock up on fall produce before the season ends October 25th. Politics and protests converge with multiple No Kings demonstrations including marches from Roosevelt Park, Callahan Park, and North Avenue all meeting at City Hall Park between 10:30am and 12:30pm with drummers, chanting, and a concluding ceremony, plus a South Burlington visibility event from 2 to 6pm at the Patchen Road overpass. Families will love the 10th annual Halloween Howl at Oakledge Park starting at noon, complete with animatronic Halloween village, bounce house, trick or treating, and a costumed fun run. Skirack's Winter Swap welcomes shoppers from 9am to 6pm for community consignment deals on winter gear (you can still drop off your own stuff to sell today by 6pm), while Laboratory B's Repair Cafe has shifted to 2 to 6pm to avoid protest conflicts, offering free repairs on everything you can carry through the door at 12 North Street.

Saturday evening brings even more options with Casino Night: Bet on Hope at Hula starting at 6pm, raising funds for Vermont cancer patients with gambling, gourmet appetizers from local restaurants, and a stellar silent auction. Music lovers can choose between The Strictly Hip at Higher Ground at 7:30pm paying tribute to The Tragically Hip, Crunk Witch presents HXNCLB at The Monkey House in Winooski with doors at 8pm and performance at 9pm sharp, Los Séngoros at The Venetian Soda Lounge at 9pm for Cuban and Brazilian rhythms with margaritas flowing all day, or BTT at On Tap in Essex Junction at 9pm. Earlier in the day, dog lovers can meet adoptable pups at the P4P Pawp-Up Halloween event at True Value Williston from 11am to 1pm.

Sunday keeps the momentum going with the Super Smash Bros Melee tournament at Retro Galaxy in Winooski starting at 11:30am with a 24 player cap and first timer fee waived. Families can enjoy the Fall Festival at Isham Family Farms in Williston from 11am to 4pm featuring corn mazes, wagon rides, pumpkin picking and live music from 12:30 to 3pm. The Broadacres Bingo October Special in Colchester starts at 1pm, raising funds for the Vermont Association for the Blind and Visually Impaired with a $1199 tax free jackpot coverall. Don't forget that Sunday marks the start of Burlington's Protected Bike Lane Demonstration Project on North Avenue, running through October 26th between Shore Road and Tracy Drive, giving everyone a chance to experience what real bicycle infrastructure feels like.

Today is a crisp outlier on the cool side, but the weekend quickly flips warmer with a push toward above-normal temps. Overall, the next four days lean about 5°F milder than typical for both days and nights, feeling more like a gentle late-October warm bump than a deep-fall chill.

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We’ve got an official Meetup group for Burlington! The city’s packed with things to do. Btown Brief highlights it, and Btown Brief IRL gets you out experiencing it with people.

Come out and join us this Saturday at 10 a.m. for coffee at Zero Gravity! Huge thanks to the 13+ people who showed up last time. It was a blast, and some of you were so deep in conversation you didn’t even notice the mid-way seat switch-up announcement. Later, a few of us met up on Church Street to check out the Zombie Walk and grabbed Folino’s pizza afterward. So come meet your people! It’s always great seeing familiar faces, and even better meeting new ones each week. We’ll chat about Vermont living, touch on a bit of local news, and share what’s worth checking out around town this weekend. Come hang, have a coffee, and join the conversation.

If you want to connect outside of coffee meet-ups, join the Telegram chat. It’s the easiest place to see what others are up to, share ideas, and make casual plans while I keep improving how these events run. Feedback is always welcome! It’s just a one-man team so any sounding boards are great.

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Vermont International Film Foundation Helps Fill a Cinematic Void in Burlington

VTIFF has stepped up to fill the void left by the Roxy's November 2024 closure, increasing Film House showings from monthly to regular screenings that average nearly 75% capacity. The 40 year old nonprofit, which nearly died in the early 2010s when it was known as the "Doom and Gloom Festival," has reinvented itself under recent leadership, adding a 34 seat Screening Room that's hosted 132 screenings since March 2024 and growing membership from 275 to 504 in the past year. This week's 40th anniversary festival features 80 films from 40 countries, including a sold out appearance by John Waters providing live commentary during his 1974 film Female Trouble. Check out this link to buy tickets to one of the many, many films being presented this week!

Volunteers Meet Weekly to Pick Up Litter in Downtown Burlington

This video created by Eva Sollberger of the Seven Days was awesome to watch because it felt like I was there experiencing it, click the link to check it out! Since May, BTV Clean Up Crew has logged more than 400 hours with nearly 100 volunteers tackling the pervasive trash and syringe problem downtown. Founder Kason Hudman of the Peace & Justice Center started the group to address one of Burlington's more solvable challenges. Last week, 18 volunteers split into crews covering hot spots east and west of the Marketplace, armed with trash bags, latex gloves, and sturdy bottles for sharps.

See Where Vermont's 'No Kings' Protests Are Happening in Your Community on Saturday

The No Kings movement returns this Saturday in opposition to President Trump's targeting of immigrants and the government shutdown, following June's record breaking protests that drew 42,000 Vermonters statewide and 16,000 in Burlington alone. The 50501 organizers have scattered Burlington's demonstrations across multiple locations this time, including three marches, a bike ride, and a honk and wave. The Vermont Republican Party, which hosted a pro Trump party during June's protests, has posted no counter events as of Wednesday noon.

Facing Calls to Resign, Douglass Says He Is Weighing Options

Sen. Sam Douglass broke his silence Wednesday after Politico revealed his participation in a racist Young Republican group chat containing jokes about gas chambers and slavery. Governor Phil Scott, Senate President Pro Tempore Phil Baruth, and Republican minority leaders have all called for his resignation, along with seven of his twelve Republican Senate colleagues. The Vermont Republican Party Executive Committee unanimously condemned the "hateful, racist, and antisemitic" chat Wednesday night, calling for Douglass to resign immediately and publicly retracting their chair Paul Dame's earlier, softer statement. Douglass, who currently serves on the Senate Committee on Health and Welfare and the Sexual Harassment Prevention Panel, promised another statement by week's end but has not yet indicated whether he'll step down.

Program Pays People to Care for Older Adults at Home

Vermont Comforts of Home has become especially popular in Burlington's Bhutanese Nepali community, with 84 of 126 participants in northern Vermont coming from this population. The Medicaid funded program pays family caregivers annual tax free stipends ranging from $29,000 to $70,000 to provide nursing home level care at home, saving the state money compared to the $164,000 annual cost of nursing home care. The program has grown from an $85,000 budget in 2017 to $11 million today, addressing Vermont's long term care crisis where staffing shortages have forced many into nursing homes despite preferring to stay home.

Vermont's Fiscal Leaders Worry Feds Won't Repay the State When Government Reopens

Vermont officials meeting on day 16 of the federal shutdown expressed concern that Trump's pattern of slashing promised funding and targeting Democratic states means the feds might not reimburse the $30 to $50 million Vermont may need to front for federal programs. While the state has $700 million available to cover gaps and Medicaid funding through year's end, officials worry about LIHEAP heating assistance and next month's 3SquaresVT nutritional benefits. Secretary of Administration Sarah Clark noted this shutdown feels "very different" from 2018 when leaders were confident about reimbursement, warning there's no playbook for navigating this unprecedented uncertainty.

Beta Technologies Seeks to Raise $825 Million in Market Debut

The South Burlington electric aviation company could debut on the New York Stock Exchange with a $7.2 billion valuation if shares trade at top value, making it one of Vermont's few publicly traded companies. Despite reporting $276 million in losses last year and $159 million in the first half of 2025, Beta has raised over a billion in private capital from investors including Amazon and GE Aerospace. The company hopes to win FAA approval for its conventional flight prototype Alia by late 2026 or early 2027, with CEO Kyle Clark remaining the controlling shareholder after the IPO.

CCV, McClure Foundation Expand Free College Degree Program

Current 10th and 11th graders can now complete a free associate degree at CCV just one year after high school graduation, extending the program originally offered to classes of 2023 through 2026. Since launching in 2022, the program has helped hundreds pursue debt free degrees, with participants graduating at twice the rate and in half the time as community college students nationally. CCV has seen triple the number of low income students enrolling in Early College, with this past June seeing over 70 graduates earn degrees averaging just one year post high school, including 25% in healthcare and behavioral science.

The Wise Fool Adds On-Site Dining in Burlington's Old North End

After eight months of takeout only service, chef Elliot Sion and co owner Becca Christie opened their 25 seat Middle Eastern restaurant for dine in service. The renovated space at 260 North Street features counter service, a full bar with cocktails and two large TV screens, with the core menu of chicken shawarma, beef kofta and falafel wrapped in house baked laffa bread remaining largely unchanged but supplemented by weekend specials and family meals. The restaurant will operate Wednesday through Monday from 5 to 11 p.m., with midnight service Friday and Saturday.

Citizen Cider Press House Pub Opens; Short Notice to Close

Citizen Cider's Press House Pub finally opened Saturday at 180 Flynn Avenue after permitting delays pushed the reopening back several months from its targeted June date following April's Pine Street closure. The new location consolidates operations under one roof and features an indoor food truck kitchen serving smash burgers, wraps and appetizers inspired by cider hot spots nationwide.

Quick Hits

• Fire Station 1 Needs $2M Upgrade – South Burlington councilors touring the station today to see prevention team staff working out of a temporary trailer. Chief Locke says user fees, not property taxes, could cover the renovation.

• City Manager Gets Three-Year Extension – Jessie Baker locked in through 2029 with salary rising to $194,472. South Burlington's first female city manager called the role "the privilege of my career."

• New Police Chief Sworn In – William Breault took the oath October 6 after a four-month search involving 14 candidates and extensive community input.

• Pride Center Pauses Operations – Vermont Pride Center indefinitely closed with 24 hours notice to staff, disrupting HIV testing and support services. Ben & Jerry's pledging to match donations up to $10,000 while former employees launch GoFundMe campaigns to stay housed.

New content coming on Wednesdays! Shortening the emails so they don’t clip in your inbox (hopefully). Stay tuned for Wednesday’s edition where I’ll be able to put more creative content. Things like a Food Deal highlights, Poll Questions, Top Reddit Posts, Volunteer Opportunity, Reader Photos, Restaurant Spotlights, Small Business Features, and Btown Explained (quick local deep dive). Or even things like Dine Out Review, Podcast Pick, Pet of the Week (adoptable to user submitted), new local Job Highlights, a Burlington Throwback Photo or Fact, and a quick Burlington Game like “Spot That Location”, VT crossword, or unscramble popular Burlington terms.

In the meantime, here are some of my favorite btownbrief links:

Full list of 202+ activities to do at anytime is always waiting here when you need a plan: 202+ Things to Do

Full list of restaurant reviews here.

Soon to be updated with even more Burlington food deals. View the full list of food & drink deals here.

Thanks for reading this week's Brief. Remember, we're all in this quirky little city together, so get out there this weekend and support your neighbors making art, music, food, and community happen. See something newsworthy? Drop us a line.

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**Dropping tasteful merch for the Btown Brief VERY soon, stay tuned!**