Vt. Institute of Natural Science (VINS)

Just a few miles from us you will find “VINS”, a raptor center which is open year round. Below is some information. For more details click here and the official Vermont Institute od Natural Sciences will open up. The Vermont Institute of Natural Science Entices and Excites People to Care for the Natural World VINS’ programs and services engage and instill in people of all backgrounds a desire to care for the wildlife and diverse natural habitats they encounter in their daily lives. We offer relevant environmental education programs for adults, families, and school children; partner with leading conservation organizations to promote environmental science field research; and operate New England’s premier avian wildlife rehabilitation clinic at the VINS Nature Center. VINS has been a leader in environmental education and wildlife conservation and care since 1972. We are known nationally for innovative natural science curricula and education programs for learners of all ages. Our Environmental Educators and Wildlife Rehabilitation Specialists are Among the Best in the Business Each year, they deliver specialized education and training programs in schools and communities and hands-on public education programs at the VINS Nature Center to more than 40,000 people from throughout New England. In the next two years, VINS aims to reach beyond its traditional audiences and engage and serve large numbers of adult learners and teaching professionals. We will do this by developing and delivering specialized adult programs that illuminate current environmental science issues, and by providing professional teachers with new classroom-ready instructional materials and support. We also aim to enhance the visitor experience at the VINS Nature Center by offering special public events throughout the year; by improving the center’s exhibits and adding new self-guided tour features; and by expanding virtual access to the center through unique online programs and services. Through these initiatives, VINS will increase the number of people it touches each year by at least 50%. VINS’ programs and services have a long record of success informing people about the beauty, function, and critical importance of regional ecosystems and how our personal decisions can have a positive impact on their health and sustainability. VINS Inspires People to Help Protect the Natural World by Appealing to Their Empathy and Intelligence

WASSAIL WEEKEND SCHEDULE

Here is the link to the scheduled events of the Wassail Weekend in Woodstock, Vermont.

http://www.woodstockvt.com/pdf/wassail2011.pdf

Click here to check our Wassail Weekend Special.

Public Skating in Woodstock

With the holiday season fast approaching, the Woodstock area will be seeing an influx of guests. Many of those guests will be asking  what there is available for activities in the area. Union Arena has many Public Skate times available during the holiday season (as well as throughout the fall and winter) and has a few special event Public Skates. Admission to public skating is $6. The Union Arena has many skates for rent, both hockey and figure skates, for an additional $5. There is Public Skating every day: Saturdays 3.50-5.10pm, Sundays 12.30-1.50pm, 1.20-2.40pm Monday through Thursday, and 12.20-1.30 on Fridays.

Woodstock Film Series

1. November 2011 – March 2012
   Billings Farm & Museum
   Woodstock, Vermont

   Inspired by the surrounding countryside, the Woodstock Vermont Film Series transports viewers to distinctive cultures and destinations that share a strong sense of place, deeply felt by local inhabitants and visitors alike.

Through the medium of cinematography, we celebrate the diversity and joy of humanity and the powerful influence of place in our lives.

All films begin at 3:00 p.m.

November 12

Buck

• USA, 2011
• 88 min., PG

Buck, follows Buck Brannaman – an American cowboy who travels the country “helping horses with people problems” – from his abusive childhood to his phenomenally successful approach to horses. Buck possesses near magical abilities as he dramatically transforms horses – and people – with his understanding, compassion, and respect. 2011 Sundance Film Festival: US Documentary Audience Award.

November 26

The Secret of Roan Inish

• Ireland, 1994
• 103 min., PG

10-year-old Fiona is sent to live with her grandparents in a small fishing village in Donegal, Ireland, and learns the local legend that an ancestor of hers married a Selkie – a seal who can turn into a human. Years earlier, when her baby brother washed out to sea in a cradle shaped like a boat, some believed he was being raised by the seals. When Fiona catches sight of a naked little boy on the abandoned Isle of Roan Inish she takes an active role in uncovering the “secret of Roan Inish.” 1996 Independent Spirit Awards Nominated: Best Feature, Director, Screenplay.

December 3

The Last Mountain

• USA, 2011
• 95 min., PG

A town in West Virginia is resisting a major open-pit coal mining operation that will devastate it and its environs and generate significant “downstream” environmental damage. This film poignantly depicts the loss of nature and culture where extensive mining occurs. 2011 Sundance Film Festival and Full Frame Documentary Film Festival.

December 17

Beethoven’s Hair

• UK, 2005
• 90 min.

The unlikely journey of a lock of hair cut from Beethoven’s corpse unravels the mystery of his tortured life and death. Set to a lush score of Beethoven’s most glorious music, the film explores the world of forensic testing, in sharp relief against the romance of 19th-century Vienna and the horrors of 20th-century Nazi Germany. 2005 Gemini Awards: Best Direction, Best Sound, Best Writing.

December 31

Troll Hunter (Trolljegeren)

• Norway, 2010
• 90 min.

A group of Norwegian film students set out to capture real-life trolls on camera after learning their existence has been covered up for years by a government conspiracy. The Troll Hunter is a fascinating adaptation of traditional Scandina­vian folklore into the modern format of the “found footage” phenomenon. Subtitled. 2011 Newport Beach Film Festival: Outstanding Achievement in Filmmaking.

January 7

The House of Sand

• Brazil, 2005
• 115 min., R

This Brazilian tale explores the passage of time and prolonged isolation of a mother and daughter relationship over several decades, as they struggle to make lives for themselves and their families in the desert wastes of Northern Brazil. Subtitled. 2006 Sundance Film Festival: Alfred P. Sloan Prize.

January 21

The Silent Holy Stones

• China, 2005
• 102 min.

The Silent Holy Stones observes the magnetizing forces of Westernization for a ten-year-old Chinese boy. Called by his elders to train as a Buddhist monk, “Little Lama” spends the majority of his life in the isolated Guwa monastery, until a 48-hour holiday to see his family is the breaking point. A comment on the passing of traditional cultural lifestyles and religious practices within China. 2005 Changchun Film Festival: Grand Jury Prize.

February 4

In My Father’s Country

• Australia, 2007
• 80 min.

In remote North East Arnhem Land, Australia, a small homeland community is fighting for its future, as the com­munity elders see their culture in decline. This is the story of a family struggling to mediate the demands of a richly com­plex traditional culture and a globalised 21st-century world, while hoping to raise their children with the dignity, insight, and self-respect necessary to succeed in both. Subtitled. 2007 Australian Directors Guild Awards: Best Direction in a Feature Documentary.

February 11

The Music Tree

• Brazil, 2009
• 78 min.

Found only in the remnants of Brazil’s devastated Atlantic Rainforest, Brazilwood (pernambuco/pau brasil) has been vital in the manufacture of fine violin, cello, and viola bows since the time Mozart was composing his masterpieces. From the search for the wood in the forests of Brazil, to their use by the world’s greatest symphony orchestras, the film explores a path to saving the trees and the music that depends on them. 2009 Festival Internacional De Cinema Do Algarve: Best Documentary Film.

March 3

The First Beautiful Thing

• Italy, 2010
• 122 min.

The First Beautiful Thing begins with a summer beauty con­test in 1971, when Anna is named “Miss Summer Mama,” much to the chagrin of her son Bruno. Thirty years later, dragged to see his dying mother, Bruno flashes back to his childhood, focusing on a father in conflict and his mother, who struggles to raise Bruno and his sister. Anna enables her family to rise above the rubble with a mixture of fantasy and fortitude. The film is a colorful, cinematic reward of trouble and vulnerability, strength and hope. Subtitled. 2010 Italy Golden Globes: Best Film Director, Best Actress, Best Actor.

March 17

The Visitor

• USA, 2007
• 104 min.

As Professor Walter Vale begrudgingly makes his way from his comfort zone in Connecticut to his longtime empty New York City apartment, he discovers that illegal immi­grants Tarek and Zainab unknowingly have rented the place. Walter lets them stay until they’ve made other arrange­ments and it’s not long before he develops an odd-couple friendship with the outgoing Tarek. Suddenly, Vale finds himself sharing his home and his life with other people for the first time since his wife passed away years before. 2007 Academy® Awards: Best Actor Nomination; 26 additional film nominations.

March 31 with Guest Speaker, Grace Guggenheim

The Making of Liberty

• USA, 1986
• 58 min.

The Making of Liberty tells the story of America’s most famous symbol – from its conception by her creator, August Bartholdi, through her construction in 1868 and the restoration for her rededication in New York Harbor on July 4, 1986. It is the story of the building and rebuilding of a monument, which embodies the American experience, as seen through the eyes of artisans and laborers whose tasks are separated by a hundred years, but whose vision transcends time.

Island of Hope, Island of Tears

• USA, 1989
• 28 min.

This film is a tribute to the 18 million men, women, and children who made the torturous journey from the Old to the New World between 1890 and 1920, in the single largest migration in human history. The film tells the immigrants’ stories as they braved the unknown: from the time they left their homelands, their journey across the ocean, to the moment the doors of Ellis Island opened, revealing the great promise of America. 1990 CINE: Golden Eagle Award.

Guest Speaker, Grace Guggenheim has been a producer and executive producer with Washington-based Guggenheim Productions for the past 20 years and has produced numerous documentaries for both television and theatrical release. The Johnstown Flood won an Academy® Award; A Place in the Land and D-Day Remembered were both Academy Award nominees. A graduate of Carleton College, Guggenheim is president of Guggenheim Productions, founded in 1956 by her father, the late filmmaker Charles Guggenheim.

The annual Wassail Weekend in December

What is Wassail Weekend?

Wassail Weekend is Woodstock’s gift to Vermont and to you, if you’ll join for the weekend! Voted one of Vermont’s Top Ten Winter events, the term has its roots in medieval England referring to the Norse, “ves heill” meaning “to drink to the health”. Ale brewed with spiced apples and sugar was the warm drink given to the singers who went door to door during the Solstice. Christmas became interwoven with celebrations during the darkest time of the year.

The highlight of the weekend is a unique Wassail Parade through the center of Woodstock with over fifty horses and riders dressed in holiday costumes and period dress from the early 19th Century. The Green Mountain Horse Association welcomes riders from all over with wagons, surreys and sometimes sleighs, if weather permits. Mr. Claus himself usually puts in an appearance and then heads on to our Little Theater where he greets the children at the magical “Christmas Visions”.

Troupes of singers parade the streets, and our arts council, The YOH Players offer entertainment at the Wassail Feast on Friday night hosted by the Woodstock Inn & Resort. Pentangle offers a historic house tour of 5 or so of Woodstock’s notable historic homes. In the evenings, talented professionals guide local actors in a Christmas musical at the Town Hall.

 

“GREEN FIRE” AT BILLINGS FARM & MUSEUM

See the first full-length, high-definition documentary film ever made about legendary conservationist Aldo Leopold and his environmental legacy. Green Fire shares highlights from his extraordinary career, explaining how he shaped conservation and the modern environmental movement. It also illustrates how Leopold’s vision of a community that cares about both people and land continues to inform and inspire people across the country and around the world. Leopold’s ideas remain relevant today, continuing to inspire projects nationwide that connect people and land.

Date: Saturday, Oct. 22, 2011 at 4 P.M.
Admission is free; reservations are strongly recommended: Please reserve in advance: reservations@billingsfarm.org
or 802-457-2355

Happenings in Woodstock

Autumn Wagon Ride Weekend at Billings Farm & Museum        WOODSTOCK, VERMONT . . . Billings Farm & Museum, gateway to Vermont’s rural heritage, will feature the 5th Annual Wagon Ride Weekend on Saturday and Sunday, October 15 & 16, from 10:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m. Capture the brilliant colors of a Vermont autumn on a scenic narrated horse-drawn ride around the farm fields and along the Ottauquechee River. The dairy farm, farm life exhibits, and restored and furnished farmhouse, plus programs and activities including cider pressing, are included in the entrance fee. For information: 802/457-2355 or www.billingsfarm.org. Billings Farm is an operating Jersey dairy farm that continues a century-long tradition of agricultural excellence and offers farm programs and historical exhibits that explore Vermont’s rural heritage and values.Since opening to the public in 1983, the Farm & Museum has served as a gateway to Vermont’s rural heritage for over a million visitors and 100,000 of the region’s school children. Open daily May 1 through October 31, 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., weekends Nov. – Feb., and Christmas & Presidents’ weeks, 10:00 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Admission: adults: $12.00; 62 & over: $11.00; children 5-15: $6.00; 3-4: $3.00; 2 & under: free. The Farm & Museum is located one-half mile north of the Woodstock village green on Vermont Route 12. For information: 802/457-2355 or  www.billingsfarm.org

Upcoming Area Events:   Tom Rush in Concert Pentangle Arts Council Presents, Tom Rush in concert, Saturday October 22, 7:30pm. This is a benefit concert for the Upper Valley Haven. To purchase tickets click on the link: Tom Rush Tickets or 802-457-3981 Concert at Calvin Coolidge   Coolidge Site Hosts Season’s Final Musicale: A Tribute to Flood Recovery Efforts PLYMOUTH NOTCH, Vt. – Pianist Abigail Charbeneau and violinist Bozena O’Brien will perform at the President Calvin Coolidge State Historic Site on Sunday, October 23 at 3:00 p.m.  For more info click here Calvin Coolidge or, 802-672-3773.   Spooky Woodstock An evening of Frights and Curiosities. Woodstock History Center presents the 2nd Annual Spooky Woodstock. Saturday October, 29th 5:00-8:00pm 2 special showings of Ghost Story- a horror movie that was filmed in Woodstock Vermont 30 years ago! More Info: Woodstock History Center Phone: 802-457-1822