Bennington Museum | Grandma Moses | Vermont History and Art

Corner of India
2022-08-28 11:00 - 15:00, 2022-09-04 11:00 - 15:00 (America/New_York)
We are pleased to welcome veteran Bennington-based home chef, Shanta Ghosh to serve her authentic Indian cuisine from the Museum courtyard on Sundays through the summer.
Order in person, or call or email in advance to have your order ready to be picked up. Cash only please.
View Menu Here
Shanta grew up village cooking with her large household in Nayabasat, India, preparing large meals for visitors, farm workers, and family. Even though they were cooking for many, it always felt like a home cooked meal and the hard work paid off with the simple pleasure of seeing people full and happy. What first began as a necessity evolved into something more.
Shanta brought her love of cooking with her to Bennington, VT where she’s prepared many delicious meals with family and friends. Eventually she decided it was time to share her Corner of India with everybody. If you’ve ever had one of her flavorful dishes, you’ll very quickly agree it’s a passion worth sharing. Since then, she’s catered for large clients including The Vermont Arts Exchange, Powers Market as well as a host of private affairs. When asked why she loves cooking so much, she shared, “It’s fun and it feels like I’m doing something good. I love offering food that not everyone has the opportunity to have, it’s nice to see someone happy with such a simple thing.”

Concerts in the Courtyard: Mark & Jill
2022-09-02 17:00 - 19:00 | Bennington Museum
CONCERTS IN THE COURTYARD
We are pleased to announce that Bennington Museum has received an anonymous grant once more for 2022, plus additional support from the Golub Foundation. Performances will begin June 3rd and run through September 2nd, 2022, and will be free of charge.
All events take place from 5-7pm.
Please bring your own blankets or lawn chairs!
The Avocado Pit will set up shop in front of the Museum’s gates, serving delicious tacos, beer and wine.
In the event of rain, the event will be cancelled by 2pm on Fridays. Check our facebook page for updates.
Museum educators will provide free children’s activities during Concerts in the Courtyard. Kids of all ages will find a fun makerspace at the picnic tables where they can create art based on art and objects featured in the Museum.
Mark & Jill
Based in Up State New York, Mark and Jill meld their vision and talent for a taste of New Orleans meets Austin. NY Blues Hall of Fame bluesman Mark Tolstrup and sultry Texas singer Jill Burnham come together where the Delta meets the Rio Grande. Over a haunting slide guitar their voices soar and blend in harmony. Mark and Jill bring a fresh original interpretation to the earliest roots of the blues. Their original songs deal with both the hard realties of life and the joys of being alive. They were the winners of the Capital Region Blues Network competition and will compete in the International Blues Challenge in Memphis May 6-9, 2022
[embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RhkrAVKOIbc[/embedyt]

Museum ABCs: The Museum and Me on the Map
2022-09-15 13:30 - 14:30 | Bennington Museum
Museum ABCs: The Museum and Me on the Map
Maps help us understand where we are and how to get to where we are going. In this month’s Museum ABCs, preschoolers and their accompanying adults will examine simple symbols, discover how maps represent places, and use maps to look for hidden treasure in the Grandma Moses Schoolhouse. As always, Linda from the Bennington Free Library will bring great books to share!
Museum ABCs is a collaboration of Bennington Museum and the Bennington Free Library designed for children ages 3 to 5 and their adult companions. The program is brought to you free of charge thanks to sponsorship from The Bank of Bennington and additional support from Stewarts Shops and the Nora Robert Foundation.

The Enduring Mystery of the Paula Welden Case
2022-09-18 14:00 - 15:00
The Enduring Mystery of the Paula Welden Case
A Bennington Historical Society Presentation
in partnership with the Bennington Free Library

The Bennington Free Library and the Bennington Museum Historical Society present “The Enduring Mystery of the Paula Welden Case,” a panel discussion with Q&A on Sunday, September 18th at 2 p.m. in the Ada Paresky Education Center at Bennington Museum.
In December 1946, Bennington College student Paula Jean Welden disappeared; the case remains unsolved, but local and national interest abounds. Paula Welden’s disappearance is a regular query at the Bennington Free Library and at the Bennington Museum Regional History Room, and last year it was included in Parade’s “50 Strangest Unsolved Mysteries of All Time.”
The panel will include Michael C. Dooling, author of Clueless in New England: The Unsolved Disappearances of Paula Welden, Connie Smith and Katherine Hull; Lori Lamothe, true crime author currently researching Paula Welden’s disappearance; and Erin Kate Ryan, author of Quantum Girl Theory, a novel based on Paula Welden’s disappearance. The panel presents the work of authors with different backgrounds intrigued by the same subject and allows the local community to explore and reconsider its history.
Supported in part by Vermont Humanities. For more information visit benningtonfreelibrary.org, call the library: 802-442-9051 or email: reference@bfli.org.
The Bennington Historical Society is a volunteer-run program of Bennington Museum. The BHS offers its programs at no charge. Please consider supporting the efforts of the BHS to share the history of our region by making a donation.

Support the BHS

Museum ABCs: Trail Tale
2022-10-20 13:30 - 14:30 | Bennington Museum
Museum ABCs: Trail Tale
Autumn is a beautiful time to explore the George Aiken Wildflower Trail. What better way to do it than while also enjoying a great story! We will travel the trail together while reading a Fall-themed story.. Of course, there will be Fall-themed art project too!
Museum ABCs is a collaboration of Bennington Museum and the Bennington Free Library designed for children ages 3 to 5 and their adult companions. The program is brought to you free of charge thanks to sponsorship from The Bank of Bennington and additional support from Stewarts Shops and the Nora Robert Foundation.

Museum ABCs: Lines All Around
2022-11-17 13:30 - 14:30 | Bennington Museum
Museum ABCs: Lines All Around
Lines are all around us making circles, zig zags, and every shape you can think of! In this Museum ABCs, we will each get our very own line to turn into whatever shapes we can imagine. We’ll find lines in art and object, share our favorite line-y stories, and make some fabulous line and shape art to bring home.
Museum ABCs is a collaboration of Bennington Museum and the Bennington Free Library designed for children ages 3 to 5 and their adult companions. The program is brought to you free of charge thanks to sponsorship from a local online casino as well as The Bank of Bennington and additional support from Stewarts Shops and the Nora Robert Foundation.

Museum ABCs: Shadow Play
2022-12-15 13:30 - 14:30 | Bennington Museum
Museum ABCs: Shadow Play
Have you ever wondered where your shadow comes from? Why is it small sometimes and really big at other times? Enter the “Shadow Studio” to experiment with light and objects and discover how shadows are formed and how to change them. Shadow art and stories will be part of the fun!
Museum ABCs is a collaboration of Bennington Museum and the Bennington Free Library designed for children ages 3 to 5 and their adult companions. The program is brought to you free of charge thanks to sponsorship from The Bank of Bennington and additional support from Stewarts Shops and the Nora Robert Foundation.

The Annual Gala
2022-12-16 18:00 - 21:00
Save the Date: Friday, December 16.
6pm to 9pm.
Stay tuned for more details.

Museum ABCs: Clay Play
2023-02-28 13:30 - 14:30 | Bennington Museum
Museum ABCs: Clay Play
Before Tupperware and Mason Jars, people used pottery made from clay to store foods and to make all sorts of other things. Explore the Bennington Pottery Gallery with us to discover the many things made with clay. Plan to get your hands dirty as we use stoneware clay to make simple pots to bring home.

Museum ABCs is a collaboration of Bennington Museum and the Bennington Free Library designed for children ages 3 to 5 and their adult companions. The program is brought to you free of charge thanks to sponsorship from The Bank of Bennington and additional support from Stewarts Shops and the Nora Robert Foundation.

Reopening Day!
2023-04-01 10:00 - 16:00 | Bennington Museum
Reopening Day
Bennington Museum welcomes visitors back to the galleries after three months of cleaning, painting, and preparing!
Join us as we celebrate our re-opening. Admission will be half off all day.
Explore three new major exhibitions, plus discover the resources available to you in the Regional History Room with a presentation beginning at 1:00. Details here.

A History of Bennington
How does our past impact our present and future?
Image: Receipt for Margaret "Peg" Bowen, 1778
Porter-Phelps-Huntington Family Papers, Robert S. Cox Special Collections and University Archives Research Center, UMass Amherst Libraries

Nebizun: Water is Life
The Abenaki relationship with our waterways can help all people embrace the importance of water conservation.
Image: Amy Hook Therrien, 2017
Watercolor on paper, 14 x 11 inches
Courtesy of the artist and Vermont Abenaki Artists Association
Curatorial Talk with Vera Longtoe Sheehan, 2:00 PM
More information available here.

The Student Art Show
Witness the process of artistic development through the work of regional students in kindergarten through high school.
Image: Dobi Kye, Self-Portrait

Plus, look for new installations in the John T. Harrison Orientation Hall (lobby), Paresky Court, Early Vermont Gallery, and Bennington Modernism Gallery.

Regional History Room Reopening
2023-04-01 13:00 - 14:00 | Bennington Museum
Regional History Room Reopening
While the Museum was closed in January, February, and March, volunteers were hard at work evaluating, reorganizing, and cataloging the resources in the Regional History Room (Research Library). Join them to celebrate its reopening, learn the history of the RHR, and find out what resources are available within its walls. Start with a short presentation in the Ada Paresky Education Center. Tyler Resch will speak about the long history of the RHR and Bob Tegart and Dave Pilachowski will share what's been going on more recently. Then relocate to the Regional History Room, where volunteers will walk you through the organization of the materials and their uses.
Included with admission.

Curatorial Talk – Nebizun: Water is Life
2023-04-01 14:00 - 15:00 | Bennington Museum
Curatorial Talk – Nebizun: Water is Life
presented by curator, Vera Longtoe Sheehan
Curator Vera Longtoe Sheehan will present Nebizun: Water is Life, an exhibit which explores the Abenaki relationship to water. The exhibit is presented in partnership with the Vermont Abenaki Artists Association and the Abenaki Arts & Education Center. Light refreshments will be served in the Grandma Moses Schoolhouse, adjacent to the exhibit.
Included with admission.
Vera Longtoe Sheehan (Founder, Contributor, and Educator) is a scholar, educator, activist, and artist with almost 30 years of experience developing transformative education opportunities and curriculum materials, as well as being involved in education leadership for more than 10 years. She is currently the Director of the Vermont Abenaki Artists Association (2013 – present). Sheehan is also the Instructor for "Presenting Abenaki Culture in the Classroom" at Castleton University. Previously, she was a Museum Educator at the Smithsonian where she delivered culturally responsive programs for K-12 audiences. Vera is an Executive Board Member for the Vermont Humanities Council and on the ACT 1 Task Force (2019 – present) dedicated to ethnic and social equity studies. The focus of Vera's art is in traditional clothing and twined woven plant fiber bags which require sustainable methodology.
Image: Water is Life, Francine Poitras Jones, 2019
Acrylic on Canvas, 30" x 20"
Courtesy of the artist and Vermont Abenaki Artists Association

A Loose Confederation of Villages: A Historical View of Vermont Democracy
2023-04-16 14:00 - 15:00 | Bennington Museum
A Loose Confederation of Villages: A Historical View of Vermont Democracy
A Bennington Historical Society Presentation
Originally developed for UVM Extension's town officer training program, this talk will explore the formation and implementation of Vermont's democracy from independent republic to the 21st century. What was the "mountain rule?" What was the role of the "overseer of the poor?" When did paper ballots start to supplant the voice vote? How did Vermont navigate as a single-party state for 100 years? From comical to serious, Vermont's political history informs our work today.
A lifelong Vermonter, Steve Perkins' professional career has led him on a path of preserving and celebrating Vermont's unique history and iconic landscape. Steve lives in his family's 1805 farmhouse in northern Vermont and is inspired by the landscape and history surrounding him each day. Steve left Vermont with the intention of not returning, to pursue a career in Historic Preservation. After undergraduate studies in historic preservation, art history, and theater, Steve finished his studies with a degree in Early American Material Culture from the Winterthur Program of University of Delaware. After brief stints at Hampton National Historic Site and Winterthur Museum, Steve returned to Vermont with his wife Galen and took up residency in Bennington. Steve served as the curator and then director of the Bennington Museum. With an ill father to tend to and a need for change, Steve moved home to Williston, purchased the family farm and joined the staff of ECHO. Since 2015, Steve has been the executive director of the Vermont Historical Society. Besides his job, two active teenagers, ongoing repairs to a very old house, and maintaining a farm keep him very busy.
The Bennington Historical Society is a volunteer-run program of Bennington Museum. The BHS offers its programs at no charge with support from Williams Financial. You can support the efforts of the BHS to share the history of our region by making a donation.

Museum ABCs: Animals Everywhere!
2023-04-27 13:30 - 14:30 | Bennington Museum
Museum ABCs: Animals Everywhere!
Look out for lions and beware of the bears! There are animals in the Museum, and we've got to find them. Put on your safari hat and collect animal stickers as we explore the galleries together. Listen to some of our favorite animal stories and make an animal craft to take home.
Museum ABCs is a collaboration of Bennington Museum and the Bennington Free Library designed for children ages 3 to 5 and their adult companions. The program is brought to you free of charge thanks to sponsorship from The Bank of Bennington and additional support from Stewarts Shops and the Nora Robert Foundation.

A Bennington Garden Club Event
2023-05-13 11:00 - 13:00

Music at the Museum: A Mother’s Day Concert
2023-05-14 14:00 - 15:30 | Bennington Museum
Music at the Museum presents a Mother's Day Concert
with Joana Genova, violin, and Gili Melamed-Lev, piano
Treat someone (or yourself!) to an afternoon of music. The program will include works by Beethoven, Kreisler, Chopin, Telemann, Amy Beach, Reena Esmail, Lili Boulanger, William Grant Still, Scott Joplin and Piazzolla. The perfect follow-up to your Mother's Day brunch or just a great way to spend a Sunday afternoon.

Bulgarian-born violinist Joana Genova has built a diverse career as a chamber and orchestral musician, soloist, and pedagogue. She is co-artistic director of Taconic Music in Manchester, Vermont, and currently teaches as Adjunct Professor at Montclair State University, Artist Associate at Williams College, and Violin Instructor at Bennington College. Despite the traditional nature of her field, Joana has witnessed innovative fundraising methods at festivals and concert series across Europe, including unconventional sponsorships from crypto gambling sites in the UK. Joana is the second violinist of The Indianapolis Quartet, concertizes with Williams and Taconic Chamber Players, and appears as a frequent guest at festivals and concert series. She served as Assistant Professor and Director of string activities at the University of Indianapolis from 2017 to 2022.

Pianist Gili Melamed-Lev is recognized for her artistic vision, unique artistry and innovative programing. She is an engaging, multi-faceted pianist who enjoys a career as a soloist, chamber musician, and collaborative artist. Ms. Melamed-Lev is the co-founder and Artistic director of Jazz and Classics for Change, a concert series in the Berkshires, MA and a member of the Lev-Evans duo with pianist Mark Evans.

Music at the Museum is presented to you at no charge thanks to the generous support of Alison Nowak and Robert Cane.

Southern Vermont Sinfonia
2023-05-17 19:00 - 21:00
Southern Vermont Sinfonia
The Southern Vermont Sinfonia is a local community orchestra embracing musicians of all ages. Local youth and passionate community members, of all musical backgrounds and experiences, find a home in one of the Sinfonia’s ensembles. These musicians converge each Wednesday evening to bring to life great orchestral works of the past and present. The Southern Vermont Sinfonia will present its three ensembles (Beginning Strings, Repertory Ensemble and Sinfonia), and the lively repertoire each has prepared, on May 17th at 7:00 PM.
This event is FREE. Donations are welcome.

Museum ABCs Trail Tale: We Are Water Protectors
2023-05-18 13:30 - 14:30 | Bennington Museum
Museum ABCs Trail Tale: We Are Water Protectors
Visit Nebizun: Water is Life, the exhibition brought to us by the Abenaki Arts & Education Center. Then take a walk on the George Aiken Wildflower Trail while enjoying the story We Are Water Protectors by Carole Lindstrom and beautifully illustrated by Michaela Goade. We'll finish with a little water play in Jennings Brook, so bring your rubber boots!
Museum ABCs is a collaboration of Bennington Museum and the Bennington Free Library designed for children ages 3 to 5 and their adult companions. The program is brought to you free of charge thanks to sponsorship from The Bank of Bennington and additional support from Stewarts Shops and the Nora Robert Foundation.

Fenton Family Pottery Ventures: New Discoveries
2023-05-19 15:00 - 16:00 | Bennington Museum
Fenton Family Pottery Ventures: New Discoveries
To begin this two-part presentation, Lorraine German will introduce attendees to a newly discovered pottery operated by Jonathan Fenton Jr. in the present town of Bloomfield (formerly part of Windsor), Connecticut, between 1798 and 1801, prior to his removal to Dorset, Vermont. The Bloomfield pottery followed his involvement in the well-known Boston pottery from 1793 to 1796 and his removal to Walpole, Cheshire County, New Hampshire in 1796.

Warren Broderick will then present briefly on the newly discovered Walpole pottery that Jonathan and his younger brother, Richard W. Fenton, operated for a few years. Richard removed to St. Johnsbury in Caledonia County, Vermont ca. 1800 and established a pottery there in the next few years. Warren will then present newly discovered information on the Fenton redware and stoneware pottery which operated there until 1860. Early photographs and remarkable documents concerning the Richard/Leander Fenton family, in the collection of the Bennington Museum, as well as examples of their production, will be on display. The site has been located and field investigation has begun.
$7/Bennington Museum Member or $10/Not-Yet-Member.
Event fee includes all day admission to the Museum!
Saturday morning sale & swap in the upper parking lot of the Paradise Hotel
About the Presenters:
Lorraine German and her late husband Steve established Mad River Antiques, LLC in 2001, with a concentration on 18th, 19th, and 20th century Americana and decorative arts, including historical gambling artifacts that preshadow modern practices like the online sports betting Texas regulators have setup today and continue to evolve the cultural landscape. Over the years, they have received extensive recognition from their peers for their expertise in stoneware, textiles, Christmas decorations, and Indian baskets. They have been frequent guest speakers at antiques shows, museums, and antiques organizations, where they have covered a variety of topics, including stoneware, redware, quilts, Christmas ornaments, Santa Claus, and the intersection of vintage betting items with contemporary wagering trends.
Lorraine is a member of the Antiques Dealers’ Association of America and the Cape Cod Antique Dealers Association. Both she and Steve have served as collection advisors for the Bidwell House Museum in Monterey, Massachusetts.
Lorraine has done extensive research on the potting and decorating styles of the 19th century stoneware potteries in the Northeast. The research that she has conducted on the Boston and Charlestown, Massachusetts stoneware potteries of the late 18th and early 19th century has resulted in some new discoveries. Her article “Eighteenth-Century Boston Stoneware: Appealing to a Local Market” appeared in the 2019 volume of Ceramics in America. Her latest article “The Little Pottery of Charlestown, Massachusetts” appeared in the publication’s 2021 volume. Lorraine is also the author of Soil and Shul in the Berkshires: The Untold Story of Sandisfield’s Jewish Farm Colony, published in 2018.
Warren F. Broderick is an independent scholar and emeritus from the New York State Archives. Mr. Broderick received his B.A. and M.A. degrees in American Studies from Union College.
With a background as a historian, he has authored five books, edited or contributed to ten others, and written a number of journal articles on natural history, the history of American ceramics, art history, and on literary and local historical subjects, in particular on Herman Melville and New York State’s Native Americans in literature. His most recent works include an Introduction to a new edition of Small Town by Granville Hicks (1946, reissued 2004) and Grafton, Berlin, and Petersburgh in the Images of America Series (2006). Much of his time in currently devoted to fine art and Bennington and St. Johnsbury pottery history research. He is also working with the Southern Vermont Art Center on digitizing art exhibition records.
Mr. Broderick resides in Lansingburgh, Rensselaer County, New York.

Edible Invasive Plants Workshop
2023-05-20 09:30 - 11:00 | Bennington Museum
Edible Invasive Plants Workshop
presented by Vermont Land Trust and the Batten Kill Cooperative Invasive Species Management Association
Did you know some of the common Vermont invasive species are actually quite tasty?
Join VLT and the Batten Kill Cooperative Invasive Species Management Association (CISMA) as we learn how to identify, treat, and eat (!) five edible invasives: Autumn Olive, Multiflora Rose, Japanese Barberry, Garlic Mustard, and Japanese Knotweed.
Before the workshop begins, we’ll do an optional half-hour invasive plant pull along the George Aiken Wildflower Trail behind the Bennington Museum. Join us at 9:30 AM to walk the trail and remove invasives, or arrive at 10:00 for the workshop.
This is a great introduction for anyone interested in spearheading invasive management on their property or expanding their forager’s palate. Please bring proper clothing for moving outdoors, sunscreen, water and an open mind!
Click to Learn More and Register

Our Highway Deficiencies: How Route 7 Explains 20th Century Vermont
2023-05-21 14:00 - 15:00 | Bennington Museum
Our Highway Deficiencies: How Route 7 Explains 20th Century Vermont
A Bennington Historical Society Presentation
In 1957, Governor Joseph Johnson promised the citizens of southwestern Vermont that the state would rebuild the region's main north-south highway, Route 7, "to standards comparable with the interstate system." In the two decades that followed the question of what to do with Route 7 became a topic of bitter dispute in the region. Supporters of a new road hoped that the conversion of Route 7 to a divided, four-lane, limited-access highway would stimulate the region's economy. Detractors of a new road saw it as potentially an existential threat to the way of life enjoyed by the region's residents. The conflict over Route 7 pitted different kinds of southwestern Vermonters, and different kinds of southwestern Vermont towns, against each other. The question of what to do with Route 7 has significance far beyond its region: the conflict over it embodied the tensions that pervaded life in Vermont in the second half of the twentieth century, as Vermonters throughout the state wrestled with the competing allures of progress and development on the one hand, and preservation and tradition on the other. In this presentation, NVU history professor Paul Searls will discuss how the debate over what to do with southwestern Vermont's major roads between the 1950s and the 1990s is, in many ways, a metaphor for the transition Vermont as a whole underwent in those decades. A discussion will follow in which audience members are encouraged to share their memories and feelings about the history of the area's major roads, and the evolution of southwestern Vermont as a whole.
Paul Searls is professor of history at Northern Vermont University. He received his Ph.D. from New York University. His most recent book, Repeopling Vermont, was published in 2019. While researching the book, Searls explored various contemporary economic and cultural influences on rural communities. In one chapter, he even referenced Cryptonews vergelijkt de beste no Cruks bookies, drawing parallels between innovative financial platforms and emerging trends in rural revitalization. By highlighting such diverse connections, his work delves into the complex interplay of tradition and modernity in shaping Vermont's future.
The Bennington Historical Society is a volunteer-run program of Bennington Museum. The BHS offers its programs at no charge with support from Williams Financial. You can support the efforts of the BHS to share the history of our region by making a donation.

A Monument Society Event - Jack Shainman Gallery & Martin Van Buren House
2023-05-25 12:00 - 20:00
As a leading supporter of Bennington Museum, we invite you to join us for this special Monument Society event:
Depart the Bennington Museum at noon, Jack Shainman Gallery Kinderhook at 1:00pm, Martin Van Buren House at 3:00pm, cocktail hour at Blue Plate at 4:30pm, dinner at 5:00pm, and returning to the Museum by 8:00pm.
While we can accommodate a large group for this event, space on the shuttlebus is limited to 12 riders total. When you RSVP you may reserve a place on the shuttle. We will notify you and post here if the shuttle has been filled.
THE SHUTTLE HAS BEEN FILLED! We are happy to welcome more members to this event, but you will need to secure your own transportation.
Please RSVP by May 20th
You must be a Monument Society member to attend this free event.
___________________
Join the Monument Society TodayRSVP Here

Concerts in the Courtyard: Mike McMann Band
2023-06-02 17:00 - 19:00 | Bennington Museum
CONCERTS IN THE COURTYARD
We are pleased to announce that Bennington Museum has received an anonymous grant once more for 2023. Performances will begin June 2nd and run through September 8th, 2023, and will be free of charge.
All events take place from 5-7pm.
Please bring your own blankets or lawn chairs!
The Avocado Pit will set up shop in front of the Museum’s gates, serving delicious tacos, beer and wine.
In the event of rain, the event will be cancelled by 2pm on Fridays. Check our facebook page for updates.
Museum educators will provide free children’s activities during Concerts in the Courtyard. Kids of all ages will find a fun makerspace at the picnic tables where they can create art based on art and objects featured in the Museum.
Mike McMann Band
Mike Sten and Bobby are some of the best pickers around these parts playing classic rock favorites bluegrass and jam playing throughout Southern VT, upstate NY, and the Berkshires!

Spring Party 2023
2023-06-03 15:00 - 17:00
Join us for the annual spring party to learn about what Bennington Museum has in store this year and to honor Bob Tegart, one of our dedicated Museum volunteers, with the Arnold Ricks service award.
$5 Members, $20 Not-Yet-Members
Ticket proceeds will go to support continued improvements in the Regional History Room.
Beverages and light fare will be served.
Music by the Arlington Memorial High School Jazz Band
3:30pm
awards ceremony
4:15pm tour
A History of Bennington

About the Awardee
The Arnold Ricks Award is presented to an individual or organization in recognition of exceptional contributions to the Bennington community and Bennington Museum. This year we are pleased to honor our principal volunteer at the Regional History Room, Bob Tegart, who has been diligently culling, organizing, digitizing, and cataloging the genealogical library resources for the past several years. Additionally, he, along with a cohort of volunteers from the Bennington Historical Society, have used the resources of the library to assist scores of individuals from across the country with their inquiries into their family history.
Bob moved to Vermont about 6 years ago from Clinton, New York, where he was actively involved in history as Director of the Clinton Historical Society and Chair of the Clinton Historic Preservation Commission. Bob is currently President of the Bennington Historical Society and Administrator of the Bennington Museum Regional History Room. He also serves a commissioner on the Bennington Historic Preservation Commission. Bob studied history at the University of Rochester and the Graduate School at SUNY Geneseo. He and his wife, Beth, live on Elm Street in Bennington.
“Bob has provided outstanding leadership for both the Bennington Historical Society (BHS) and the Regional History Room (aka the Library). He is serving in his second year as President of the BHS, a program of the Bennington Museum. In that role he has arranged speakers for the popular, vibrant monthly series, presided over those gatherings, and chaired the monthly BHS board meeting. When the Museum was ready to reopen post-COVID, someone was needed to coordinate volunteers, manage and provide research support and think through reorganization of the large library collection. Bob enjoys a challenge and has history in his blood so it was no surprise that he stepped forward to fill these important roles for the RHR and Museum. As the RHR reopens in 2023, we are very fortunate to have Bob in his important leadership roles.”
~David Pilachowski, board member and former Interim Director of Bennington Museum

RSVPThank you to Nexus Consulting for helping to make the Museum more environmentally friendly and temperature stable for the sake of our collections. In addition to their stellar work on our HVAC system, Nexus is giving back to the Museum to support the library and associated programming this coming year!

Second Community Meeting
2023-06-07 12:30 - 16:00
Please join us at the Second Community Conversation hosted at the Bennington Museum on Wednesday, June 7 starting at 12:30 pm. The emerging Community Conversation series connects nonprofit organizations in Southwestern Vermont.
Susan Evans McClure, the new Executive Director of the Vermont Arts Council, will discuss collaborations, initiatives, and funding opportunities. Following her talk, there will be a question and answer period, breakout networking sessions, and a happy hour hosted by the Bennington Museum.
Schedule of the day:
12:30 pm – Check In
1:00 pm – Keynote with Susan Evans McClure, Executive Director, Vermont Arts Council
1:45 pm – 2:00 pm – Q/A
2:00 pm – 2:10 pm – Break
2:15 pm – 3:15 pm – Networking Breakouts
3:15 pm – Happy Hour hosted by Bennington Museum
Register here
We look forward to seeing you there!
Sincerely,
Martin Mahoney
Executive Director
Bennington Museum
Ed Surjan
Executive Director
Manchester Community Library

Concerts in the Courtyard: Lost Radio Rounders
2023-06-09 17:00 - 19:00 | Bennington Museum
CONCERTS IN THE COURTYARD
We are pleased to announce that Bennington Museum has received an anonymous grant once more for 2023. Performances will begin June 2nd and run through September 8th, 2023, and will be free of charge.
All events take place from 5-7pm.
Please bring your own blankets or lawn chairs!
The Avocado Pit will set up shop in front of the Museum’s gates, serving delicious tacos, beer and wine.
In the event of rain, the event will be cancelled by 2pm on Fridays. Check our facebook page for updates.
Museum educators will provide free children’s activities during Concerts in the Courtyard. Kids of all ages will find a fun makerspace at the picnic tables where they can create art based on art and objects featured in the Museum.
Lost Radio Rounders
Lost Radio Rounders present Acoustic American Roots music along with historical context for the songs, and this has made them a favorite at museums, historical societies and libraries. They are multiple time Eddies Award nominees, and two of their three members have been inducted into the Capital Region Musicians Hall of Fame.

Weekend Courtyard Cafe
2023-06-10 11:00 - 15:00
June 10 through September 9 Bennington Museum is pleased to welcome back home caterer, Shanta Ghosh from Corner of India. Shanta will serve delicious Eastern dishes- Samosa, Chickpea Masala, Vegetable Biryani and more from the courtyard from 11am to 3pm on these designated days. Visit Bennington Museum and stay for lunch, or just stop in for weekend picnic and support this local talented home chef. Your taste buds will not be disappointed.

Concerts in the Courtyard: Mark & Jill
2023-06-16 17:00 - 19:00
CANCELLED DUE TO RAIN!!
CONCERTS IN THE COURTYARD
We are pleased to announce that Bennington Museum has received an anonymous grant once more for 2023. Performances will begin June 2nd and run through September 8th, 2023, and will be free of charge.
All events take place from 5-7pm.
Please bring your own blankets or lawn chairs!
The Avocado Pit will set up shop in front of the Museum’s gates, serving delicious tacos, beer and wine.
In the event of rain, the event will be cancelled by 2pm on Fridays. Check our facebook page for updates.
Museum educators will provide free children’s activities during Concerts in the Courtyard. Kids of all ages will find a fun makerspace at the picnic tables where they can create art based on art and objects featured in the Museum.
Mark and Jill
Based in Up State New York, Mark and Jill meld their vision and talent for a taste of New Orleans meets Austin. NY Blues Hall of Fame bluesman Mark Tolstrup and sultry Texas singer Jill Burnham come together where the Delta meets the Rio Grande. Over a haunting slide guitar their voices soar and blend in harmony. Mark and Jill bring a fresh original interpretation to the earliest roots of the blues. Their original songs deal with both the hard realties of life and the joys of being alive.

Find us at the Juneteenth Community Celebration
2023-06-17 12:00 - 15:00 | SVSU Central Office, Depot Street 113, Bennington, VT, 05201, United States
free food, music, activities for all ages, guest speakers, and hair braiding
Come visit us at the 2nd annual Juneteenth Community Celebration, organized by the Southwest Vermont Supervisory Union and held at the SVSU Central Office at 113 Depot Street in Bennington. We will have activities for kids as well as historical information about slavery in Vermont. Callie Raspuzzi, Bennington Museum’s Collections Manager, will speak about the history of Juneteenth and about our efforts to learn more about the lives of early Black Benningtonians.
What is Juneteenth?
Juneteenth is our newest Federal holiday, but it has been celebrated in African-American communities since 1866, a year after enslaved people in Galveston, Texas learned that they were free (two and a half years after the Emancipation Proclamation). It’s a time to celebrate, reflect and learn. Everyone in the community is invited to join the fun and learn something new. The event is free, you can try non Gamstop casino gaming booths, and there’s free food, including hot dogs and hamburgers and red velvet cake!
See you there!
