Town Hall Theater Education Celebrates 10th Year with New Vision

The giant bumble bee perched atop Town Hall Theater in Middlebury - Bombus Impatiens - is creating a buzz throughout Addison County and beyond as it marks the 10th anniversary of THT's education wing.

Be a pollinator of ideas and fun with THT programs in the theater, the schools and a variety of outdoor venues. Bumble bees may be endangered, but THT's commitment to community engagement and education for all ages is thriving.

"The bumble bee is the unifying theme around our relaunch after COVID-19," said Education Director Lindsay Pontius. "It's a new way of seeing education, which isn't just kids and classes, but about getting people together and providing multiple perspectives around issues important to our community."

THT kicks off its expanded vision for education on the weekend of June 5-6 with a hive of activities: Ballet Vermont's Bees & Friends Pollen-Palooza, a ballet depicting bees, bugs and birds set to Vivaldi's "Four Seasons," and Courageous Stage's Doc Lyle Sol's Medicine Show, a traveling performance based on the historic medicine shows of the late 1880s. Each event is an opportunity to learn about Vermont's native bees.

In 2019, Pontius and collaborator Craig Maravich received grant money from the Community Engagement Lab to partner with organizations involved with climate. She has been collaborating with Mike Kiernan's Bee the Change in his effort to pollinate Vermont's solar fields with threatened bumble bees. "They are the rock stars of pollinators and we want to save them all," she said.

Twenty-five years ago, Vermont had up to 17 bumble bee species, but that number is down to 10: four are extinct and seven are endangered. Bombus Impatiens, or the common Eastern bumble bee species, like THT education, is stable and growing.

Pollen-Palooza, starring Ballet Vermont's dance "Bees & Friends," will be held on Saturday, June 5 at Woodchuck Hard Cider, 1321 Exchange St., Middlebury, for two shows: 2 p.m. and 5:30 p.M. Gates open 90 minutes ahead for pre-show activities: bee education with Bee the Change, art-making with Find Your Wings, butterfly screen printing, ladybug and aphid craft making, a mini-dance class and end-of- show photo booth with Bees & Friends dancers. Tickets: $20 for adults, $10 for children 3-12 and children under 3 free. Local food and beverages available from Woodchuck Cider, Aqua ViTea Kombucha, and the Bobcat Café food truck. Tickets: townhalltheater.org

Doc Lyle Sol's Medicine Show will be held on Middlebury Town Green on Sunday, June 6, at 5 p.m. It features a snake-oil salesman that has a cure for everything including the current plight of the pollinators. Audiences will take part in the show and are encouraged to bring out noisemakers and homemade pollinator-themed masks to join the promenade. Free and no tickets required. Come early and take out a picnic dinner from The Rollin Rooster food truck outside Town Hall Theater. Enjoy Find Your Wings and Silver Linings public art making.

In addition to these events, THT will provide a series of short pollinator-themed videos on Facebook, Instagram and its website townhalltheater.org, as well as ways to show support.

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