Town Hall parking fix

From the article "Plainfield Year in Review" in the Times Argus, 12/27/19 by Eric Blaisdell

The Town Hall received some extra parking this year.

A year ago Friends of the Plainfield Town Hall Opera House, a nonprofit organization created by volunteers, decided to purchase a house across from Town Hall to expand the parking there.

The town has made several renovations and improvements to Town Hall in recent years. The hall was reopened in 2014 after undergoing significant repairs following an inspection in 2011 that revealed structural and health-related environmental problems. The structural reinforcement to the building’s roof was completed in 2013.

But residents have pointed out how little parking there is currently, about a dozen spots. This means those looking to attend an event at the Town Hall would have to park elsewhere, such as down in the village.

The house has since been taken down and there are now about 20 extra spots for parking.

The organization is in the process of raising funds to pay off the mortgage for the home, as well as the costs of removing it. As of last month they’ve raised about $38,000 of $50,000 they need. Those looking to donate can do so at www.plainfieldoperahousevt.org/

Please Contribute to the "Full House Fund"!

HELP US PROVIDE THE PLAINFIELD OPERA HOUSE WITH AN ADEQUATE-SIZED PARKING LOT!

The “Full House Fund” campaign of the Friends of Plainfield Town Hall Opera House, Inc. is now well underway. When it has been completed, the result will be a parking area adequate for the size of the audiences being drawn to Plainfield’s attractive, historic performance space. Please help us reach our goal!

The Full House Fund campaign has reached 80% of its goal. Only $10,000 left to go!  Thanks to the many people who have generously responded to the campaign so far. Many of you may have noticed that the abandoned building on the property across from the Town Hall Opera House is being cleared away in order to prepare the site for much-needed parking. This work was made possible by the Full House Fund, which is also being used to pay off our mortgage on the property. 

Below are some photos of the demolition work, which was done with many hours of volunteer labor and especially Ki Carter. Ki also salvaged thousands of board-feet of lumber, much of which will be used to construct a backstage addition we have been planning to build.

Fund-raising began September 1, 2018, after the non-profit “Friends” organization entered an agreement to buy the property at 25 High Street, across U.S. Route 2 from the Hall. The Full House Fund goal is $50,000 – the dollar amount needed to purchase the property and to remove a derelict building from the premises.

December 2019 Deconstruction Progress

Fabulous poster found behind the clapboard of the house as it was being deconstructed!

October 2019 Deconstruction progress

Fund-raising in Year One was done by volunteers asking people one-on-one for donations. This effort was highly rewarded, resulting in a total of $34,000 in contributions and pledges being made from fifty-one area households and businesses. For those of you who donated during the first year of our campaign – Thank you! We are now going public with our campaign, issuing a broad appeal to supporters of the arts and the Plainfield community to help us complete this project.

Please click on the “Contribute to the Full House Fund” link in the right-hand top corner of this page to donate to this campaign.

Contact Dave Strong at 454-1418 or dstrong@vtlink.net for more information. Thank you!

2020 Plainfield Opera House Concert Series

All concerts are Sundays at 4:00pm at the Plainfield Opera House*

Tickets: $15-General; $5-Students

Tickets available at the door or online at: catamountix.org

For information contact: plainfieldtownhall@gmail.com ~ 802.498.3173

* The Saturn People's Sound Collective show is on a Saturday

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November 3, 2019 4pm ~ Michael Arnowitt, piano

Michael Arnowitt

Michael will perform a colorful and diverse concert of piano music past and present including music by Bach, Beethoven and Brahms, Three Women Composers, the World Premiere of “Threads” by Erik Nielsen, Stravinsky and More!

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January 12, 2020 ~ Rob Mermin, MIME

Adventures in Mime & Space: The Legacy of Marcel Marceau

This one-man program expresses an unabashedly reverent yet critical look at the author’s teachers, Marcel Marceau and Etienne Decroux and the art of Mime. Rare documentary film footage of the masters performing, teaching and speaking is accompanied by live demonstration and personal anecdotes.

*A Vermont Humanities Council presentation - admission by donation

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February 16, 2020 ~ Northern Third Piano Quartet

Violin, Viola, Cello and piano. A program of Central European music by Dvorak, Debussy, Dohnanyi and Suk.

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Sat. March 14th, 202 ~ Brian Boyes presents:

THE SATURN PEOPLE'S SOUND COLLECTIVE!

Beer and wine available by Positive Pie. If Sun Ra, Steve Reich, and Sonic Youth met on the Silk Road, you might hear something that approximates The Saturn People's Sound Collective. A 20-person band under the direction of Vermont's Brian Boyes, the group combines jazz, post-rock long-form melodic sensibilities, and global music. “Mind Blowing Radness . . . anything Boyes does from here on out will likely inspire genuine curiosity among a growing segment of the local music-listening public. The Saturn People’s Sound Collective’s set at the FlynnSpace was simply transcendent, not merely a local highlight, but a Discover Jazz festival topper, period.” - Seven Days.

**Saturday** Doors open at 7pm, concert at 7:30pm

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April 19, 2020 ~ Moira Smiley

Singing workshop and concert “The Voice Is A Traveler”. Themes of real and metaphorical border crossings – hopeful immigrants, exiles in mourning, or each of us seeking belonging and empathy – are the backbone of this show. Moira Smiley’s performances bring elegance and grit to folk-songs, original and ancient. Expect soul-stirring arrangements of Anglo-Celtic ballads, American spirituals, European folk-laments and sharp, poignant original songs that call effortlessly upon the audience to whisper, clap, or sing along. Moira plays plain-spoken accompaniment on banjo, accordion, body/hand percussion and piano. Performing with her small ensemble, Moira can inspire ANY room – anywhere – to sing!

Workshop at 1pm, Concert at 4pm

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May 17, 2020 ~ Sylvia Berry

Back by popular demand! Sylvia will present an all-Beethoven program celebrating the 250 anniversary of his birth on the instrument of his time, a Viennese fortepiano modeled after one built in 1795. The program will include Beethoven piano sonatas, “fun” Bagatelles and a few duets. An incredible opportunity to hear Beethoven’s piano music as it was meant to be heard.

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June 7, 2020 ~ Gamelan Sulukala

Plainfield’s own Javanese Gamelan Orchestra. Also, back by popular demand after performing elsewhere last year, Gamelan Sulukala will present a program of music by 20 and 21 century composers and is dedicated to American Gamelan icon Barbara Benary (1946-2019).