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National Grange is Celebrating Vermont
By Thanking Its Residents with a Special
Festival Burlington,
VT, November 12, 2003 - The nation's oldest rural advocacy organization will
host the Celebrate Vermont Festival as a thank you to Vermont residents for inviting
it to hold its 137th annual convention in Burlington, Vermont. "More
than 2,000 Grangers from across the United States have traveled into the city
this week, and the state of Vermont has embraced our organization and its members
with open arms," National Grange President Kermit Richardson said. "We want to
thank Vermonters by providing them with a free, family event where they can enjoy
live country/bluegrass music, sample Vermont specialty products, eat great food
and see wonderful folk art on display." The
event will be held at the Sheraton Burlington Hotel on 870 Williston Road on Thursday,
November 13 and Friday, November 14 from 10 to 8 p.m. and Saturday, November 15
from 9 to 5 p.m. The
National Grange is proud to have Grandma Phyllis, a self-taught artist, who started
painting at the age of 62 as a tribute to her deceased dog, Boceyfus, as a special
exhibitor. "Our dog of many years died, and my husband and I were trying to figure
out ways to come to terms with our loss, Grandma Phyllis said. "I was looking
for ways to express my sadness, yet celebrate his life, so I picked up some charcoal
and paper and started stretching Boceyfus. It must have been a gift from God because
I never drew before, but the piece turned out beautifully. Soon
visitors to Grandma Phyllis' house noticed the painting of Boceyfus and encouraged
her to take up painting. Searching for the perfect canvas, Phyllis began painting
on anything she could find around her farm and a Vermont legend was born. Now
at the age of 68, Grandma Phyllis has been dawned with the honor of being named
the 2003 Opening Resident at the Mad River Valley Arts Festival, which displays
the state's most-talented and well-known artists. Her work is also displayed at
the Vermont Welcome Center in Guilford. Grandma
Phyllis' specialty is acrylic on metal, wood and slate, with a preference for
decorating maple syrup sap buckets, old saws and small farm equipment. Her work
will be on display at the Celebrate Vermont Festival, and she will demonstrate
her skills at her exhibit booth. Featured
musical guest include The Harold Luce Band (Thursday, November 13, 5-8 p.m.),
The White Chapel Band (Friday, November 14, 3:30-6:30 p.m.) and Banjo Dan and
the Mid-nite Plowboys (Saturday, November 15, 3-5 p.m.). Vendors and exhibitors
include Beauty Made Simple Cosmetics, Catamount Specialties, Couture's Maple Shop,
Green Mountain Coffee, Quiet Pond Handmade Prints, Hilltopper Crafters and Caners,
New County Farms, Peggy Healy Glass Ornaments, Vermont Flannel Company and many
more.
Founded
in 1867, the National Grange is the nation's oldest general agricultural and rural
advocacy organization. It has grassroots units in 3,600 local communities in 37
states, with over 200,000 members. It serves farm, non-farm, rural families
and communities on a wide variety of economic, educational, legislative and family
issues. For special media passes, please contact Shaletta
Espie at 443-418-8225 or nationalgrange@hotmail.com.
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