Monday's brought us a taste of early fall that caught everyone off guard this morning. After some spots dipped into the 30s overnight, we're settling into a pleasant evening with temperatures hovering in the upper 60s. The good news is we've got clear skies and low humidity through tonight, though you'll want a layer if you're heading out. Tuesday brings more clouds but stays dry, with temperatures climbing back to the mid-70s. Wednesday's our best shot at some moisture with scattered showers throughout the day, though don't expect much relief from our increasingly crispy lawns. The weekend's looking warm again with highs back in the 80s, and Sunday might deliver some actual thunderstorms if we're lucky. Can you believe we’re starting to feel hints of Fall?

Speaking of this gorgeous Monday evening, we have pickup dodgeball at the Robert Miller Center starting at 7pm. Yes, you read that right: grown adults throwing balls at each other in the New North End. Just show up with $5 and prepare to unleash your Monday frustrations. Tomorrow's lineup is packed, starting with the ONE Farmers Market from 3 to 6:30pm, where you can snag everything from Ghanaian street food to Korean specialties alongside your standard gorgeous produce and flowers. For those dealing with chronic pain, there's a free online management workshop starting at 3:30pm that's part of Vermont's My Healthy VT program. Over at Higher Ground, the incomparable Nimesh Patel takes the stage at 9pm. The Emmy-nominated writer and comedian just dropped his third special about having testicular cancer "for three business days," and if that doesn't tell you everything about his approach to comedy, nothing will. You also have Trivia Night at Vermont Comedy Club. Meanwhile, Foam Brewers hosts Local Dork from 6 to 9pm, where the Wagner/Hagen vinyl duo enters their ninth season of Tuesday night grooves.

Wednesday's forecast of clouds won't dampen the spirits at City Hall Park, where BCA's Summer Concert Series continues at 12:30pm with Red Hot Juba bringing their bluesy jazz to the lunch crowd. Come evening, the Italian passeggiata tradition takes over Church Street from 5 to 8pm. It's less an event and more a social ritual where you stroll, shop, and grab an aperitivo. Echo's Open House runs from 5:30 to 8pm with sunset views, the renovated Into the Lake exhibit, and three floors dedicated to our beloved lake monster. The Silent Book Club meets at Zero Gravity at 6pm for those who want to read in public without the pressure of having opinions about symbolism. Trivia fans can hit up Venetian Soda Lounge, while strategy game enthusiasts should check out Board Games & Business Connections at Andrew Cate Photography starting at 6pm. Just remember it's on the fourth floor with no elevator, so consider it cardio before cards. Thursday brings the final Party on the Bricks of summer at 5:30pm featuring High Summer's nine-piece ensemble. Don't miss this last hurrah of the season. The Humane Society's Bark & Brew series kicks off its run from 5:30 to 7:30pm in South Burlington, where $20 gets you two drinks and dog yard access, with or without an actual dog. Cap off the night with Pee-Wee's Big Adventure at City Hall Park at 8pm, because nothing says Thursday in Burlington like outdoor Tim Burton.

Compared to Burlington’s Aug 18 normals of 81°/61°, today’s 69°/48° is a crisp outlier; about 12–13° cooler on both ends. Through Thu (Aug 18–21), expect highs in the low–mid 70s and nights in the 50s—roughly 7° below typical mid-August, so it’ll feel more like early fall than peak summer.

Burlington has tons going on. The Btown Brief highlights the best of it; Btown Brief IRL gets you off your couch to actually experience it.

The idea is simple, we meet for trivia takeovers, food crawls, walks, live music, board games, bowling, volunteer days, and more. Burlington has so much to offer, why limit the meetup group to only one activity like every other group? We’re talking easy, low-pressure activities where conversation just flows and faces become familiar. Friendships don't appear from nowhere; they happen through casual time together, consistently. Show up a few times and proximity does the heavy lifting. Whether that's Btown Briefer-only events, or the group simply showing up together at existing happenings.

Think of membership as showing love for the newsletter while unlocking Burlington's social layer. Your $3.50/month (after a free trial month) keeps the Brief alive and gets you into a community that actually shows up; with Discord access, event RSVPs, and input on what we do next.

How it works: Join free for the first month, RSVP to what sounds fun, utilize Meetup.com’s features, hop into Discord to coordinate, then just show up. As we grow, we'll add age-focused nights (20s–early-30s socials, 30s–40s dinners, 40s–50s game nights) alongside open meetups. Your attendance shapes what sticks.

For anyone who loves Burlington and wants to experience it fully. Whether you're new in town or born-and-raised, coming solo or with friends. Try it free, meet people, see if it fits. If it does, help us keep Burlington connected.

Just started building out the first week with casual activities, help decide what events we should show up to by using this newsletter’s Events section to see what’s going on:
[Join the Meetup group] • [Learn more] [Discord link shared on signup]

Want a beautiful photo you took of Burlington, with your name, in front of 1,200+ subscribers & 650+ Instagram followers? Reply to this email with that info and I’ll post them, with credit to you! I’ve slowly running low on my relevant, spectacular pictures of this city.

Burlington's Main Street opening on nights and weekends, offering reprieve to beleaguered businesses

The Great Streets BTV project has hammered downtown businesses with months of orange cones and construction noise, prompting hundreds of merchants to plead for relief. The city's compromise opens Main Street to traffic after 5:30pm on weekdays and all weekend through Thanksgiving, though you still can't park on Main between Church and North Winooski. Come winter shutdown, the street opens 24/7 for the crucial holiday shopping season. Temporary stop signs are filling in while crews install proper traffic lights, and while some businesses have already thrown in the towel, others are banking on Burlington's eventual glow-up being worth the current pain.

Phil Scott rejects Trump administration request to use Vermont national guard in president's DC crackdown

This marks the second time in as many months that Vermont's Republican governor has told the Trump administration no thanks when it comes to using our National Guard for federal domestic operations. The first rejection came in July when Scott declined to let a dozen Vermont guard troops do clerical work for ICE in St. Albans. With Trump ordering hundreds of troops onto DC streets and attempting to federalize the capital's police force, Scott's stance puts Vermont firmly in the "not participating" column of whatever's happening down in Washington.

Vermonters and Canadians Express Solidarity at the Border

About 40 Vermonters hiked to a Berkshire farmer's field Saturday to meet 400 Québécois demonstrators across a thin red rope marking the international border. Part of a continental Friends Without Borders initiative, the gathering featured butterflies, John Lennon's "Imagine," and eventually some rule-breaking handshakes across the divide. While an unmarked vehicle with surveillance equipment lurked on the U.S. side, demonstrators made their point about maintaining cross-border bonds. One retired Norwich professor brought particular intensity, declaring he'll carry a burner phone to his Canadian high school reunion to avoid border searches of his anti-administration social media posts.

Return-to-office plans for Vermont state employees are still 'in the early stages'

Governor Scott's casual announcement about bringing state workers back to offices sent ripples through the workforce last week, prompting Agency of Administration Secretary Sarah Clark to quickly reassure 8,000-plus employees that any changes are still being figured out. The state employees union has already fielded nearly 300 worried emails from workers who've been remote since Covid and through two summers of flooding. Union director Steve Howard calls the push a "solution in search of a problem," warning it'll trigger retirements and recruitment nightmares. The administration promises a "thoughtful, complete approach" with employee input, though no timeline exists and the union hasn't heard specifics yet.

New UVM Program Fosters Connections Between Seniors and Students

The Vermont Youth Leaders in Aging program will deploy 30 to 50 high schoolers to senior communities every other week starting this September, engaging residents through art, music, and cooking activities. With Vermont ranking as the third oldest state and a quarter of our population expected to be over 65 by 2030, the $50,000 Eisner Foundation grant couldn't be better timed. UVM's Center on Aging designed the program to combat senior isolation while potentially inspiring teens to pursue eldercare careers. The initiative builds on existing intergenerational programs, with research showing both age groups benefit from regular interaction across the generational divide.

Massive Vermont mountain park celebrates bond between dogs and humans

Dog Mountain in St. Johnsbury has become a 150-acre pilgrimage site for pet lovers 25 years after folk artist Stephen Huneck and his wife created it. The park features hiking trails, swimming ponds, and the famous Dog Chapel where thousands of photos and notes to departed pets cover every wall. Huneck's vision manifests in carved black labs and golden retrievers adorning pew ends and stained glass windows featuring his own dog Sally. Visitors travel from across the country to this sanctuary, some returning multiple days in a row, finding it a rare space where the human-animal bond gets the monument it deserves.

Sen. Sanders meets with older Vermonters in Burlington

Sanders received a standing ovation at the Hotel Champlain Sunday before launching into critiques of wealth inequality and Trump's "Big Beautiful Bill." The senator spent most of the time listening to older Vermonters' concerns about Medicare, Medicaid, Social Security, and even AI. While some supporters noted Sanders himself is somewhat removed from working-class struggles, attendees appreciated his active listening as locals described hardships in nursing homes and primary care access. The event mixed policy discussion with music and mingling, giving seniors a direct line to their longtime advocate.

New Owner Says Most Gardener's Supply Stores Will Remain Open

Indiana-based Gardens Alive! completed its $9 million bankruptcy acquisition of the iconic Vermont company, promising to keep five of six retail locations open and retain all store workers. Only the seasonal Shelburne location gets the axe. The deal's darker side: 40 customer service and warehouse employees in Burlington and Milton were laid off without severance, some after decades with the company. Distribution moves to Ohio for "more scalable logistics," though some manufacturing stays in Georgia, Vermont. The employee-owned company that started in 1983 and survived the pandemic boom couldn't weather the subsequent bust, filing for Chapter 11 in June.

Salmon's success bodes well for Winooski River health, but flooding and federal cuts stir fear

The 2023 salmon lift at Winooski's Salmon Hole pulled 212 fish, the highest count in three decades, suggesting improved ecosystem health. Credit goes to aggressive sea lamprey control and invasive plant removal, with Burlington High School students helping rip out buckthorn to make room for native species. But last July's flooding scoured phosphorus into the water, fueling toxic algal blooms, while GlobalFoundries' PFAS dumping pushed contamination above state safety limits. Testing for PFAS costs $7,000 per sample, and with Trump proposing $37 million in cuts to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Ecological Services Program, researchers worry their 30-year progress could wash away faster than floodwater through a riverbank.

It’s a packed newsletter this week! It’s a one man team out here, so if you appreciate this local journalism and want to keep it going, consider a small donation using the link below, or right to my Venmo @BtownBrief ! Now onto the next section!

Monday, August 18, 2025

General Events

Performances

Tuesday, August 19, 2025

General Events

Performances

Live Music/DJ

Wednesday, August 20, 2025

General Events

Performances

Live Music/DJ

Thursday, August 21, 2025

General Events

Performances

Live Music/DJ

Join the BTV Clean Up Crew
Every Thursday at 7:30am, a group of volunteers gathers at the top of Church Street to help clean up downtown Burlington. Organized by the Peace & Justice Center’s Kason Hudman, the BTV Clean Up Crew picks up trash, needles, and debris in a hands-on effort to make the city safer and more welcoming. It’s low-pressure, come-as-you-are, and open to all—no experience needed. Just show up with a willingness to pitch in, meet others who care, and start your day doing something that matters. Want to join next Thursday? Just head to the top block of Church Street at 7:30am and look for the grabbers.

Check out this page for links to four great sites with volunteer opportunities all around Burlington.

Today’s picks:

Five more to keep your Burlington summer from feeling routine. Spend an afternoon at Oakledge Park where you can swim, play a round of bocce, or relax in the shade of the treehouse. Take a short drive to Waterbury and stop at Cold Hollow Cider Mill for cider donuts and a walk through the country store. Wander through Frog Hollow on Church Street to see what local artists and craftspeople are working on. Head to Delta Park at the mouth of the Winooski River for birdwatching and open views across the lake. End your evening at Foam Brewers with a drink on the patio as the sun goes down. Full list is right here when you want more:

Full list’s always waiting here when you need a plan: 202+ Things to Do

Soon to be updated with even more Burlington food deals:

This Week’s Food & Drink Picks

View the full list of food & drink deals here.

Sometimes the most profound questions are the simplest. A few days ago, local resident Tim Corriveau posed one such question to a community Facebook group: "Point me in the right direction for the best nachos within 25 miles of Burlington."

The question unleashed a flood of passionate recommendations, proving that when it comes to cheese, chips, and toppings, everyone has a favorite. From traditional plates to wildly inventive creations, the community built the ultimate guide to local nachos.

While dozens of places were named, a few clear front-runners emerged based on the number of mentions and passionate endorsements.

The nacho love didn't stop there. Here are the other fantastic recommendations from the thread:

View the full list of restaurant reviews here.

Another week in the 802, where the weather can't decide if it's August or October, and we're all just rolling with it. Thanks for reading, and remember: if you spot something newsworthy or just wonderfully weird around town, drop us a line. Until next time, keep it local, keep it real, and maybe grab that extra layer before heading out tonight.

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