The Better Places program supports vibrant communities!
Check out our friends at the Vermont Department of Housing and Community Development's Better Places Program. They are working with Patronicity to fund community-led placemaking projects across Vermont. Check out their Placemaking Toolkit for inspiration and many helpful resources for getting projects off the ground.
Vermont Walk-Bike Summit
In the Spring of 2022 we worked with Vermont AARP and led a walk audit treasure hunt for participants at Vermont's Walk-Bike summit. Can you safely walk or roll in your town? Check out AARP's DIY walk audit.
Winter Solstice at Town Hall Theater
A youth theater class treated the Middlebury community to a fun take on St. George and the Dragon for a Winter Solstice street performance. Theater and multi-age art classes were offered to prepare for this fun community event - weaving together puppetry, lanterns and story-telling for a tradition we hope to continue.
This was a collaboration between Town Hall Theater, No Strings Marionette Company and Ear to the Ground.
What is winter placemaking anyway?
Winter placemaking is all about creating opportunities for people to find enjoyment, recreation and inspiration despite of (or because of) the winter season. Think lanterns, bonfires, ice skating, outdoor theater, cocoa, caroling and so much more!
How can we make these opportunities easy to find and easy to enjoy for the whole community? Check out this new resource from 8 80 Cities on an equity-based approach to winter placemaking.
Sing a song of a local hero!
In the Spring of 2021 Ear to the Ground and the No Strings Marionette Company collaborated with the Newark Street School to celebrate their school and community. Using puppetry, storytelling and creative placemaking, students explored the people and place they love and how they are connected to them.
A Gift to Their Community
Ear to the Ground worked with an interdisciplinary 7th grade teaching team at Mt Abe Middle School in Bristol, Vermont. After studying Land Artists, such as Andy Goldsworthy and Vermont Artist, Nancy Milliken, students created an outdoor gallery on the Bristol Trail Network (BTN), near their school, of their own land art inspirations. See the students amazing work below. Funding was provided by the 5 Town Friends of the Arts and a Creative Placemaking Grant from the Vermont Arts Council. This project celebrated self expression, collaboration, and connection to place and community. Thank you Mt. Abe, Apex Team!