Schedule of events

You are required to show your ID upon entry if you plan to have a drink or sample any Vermont made liquors, wines, or beer.

5:00–7:00 PM | Judi Emanuel & Caribbean Rain

Hailing from the heart of Kingston, Jamaica, and now rooted in the green mountains of Vermont, Judi Emanuel and Caribbean Rain is the state's only intergenerational family band. Blending island warmth with soulful rhythms, their Reggae music is as fresh and energizing as Jamaican sunshine — bringing smiles, dancing, and pure joy wherever they perform.

At the helm is Judi Emanuel , the band’s radiant matriarch. A powerhouse vocalist and seasoned solo recording artist, Judi pens much of her own music and brings a unique blend of grace, grit, and island soul to every performance. In addition to leading the band, she’s also an accomplished author , a part-time healthcare professional, and holds a Bachelor’s degree in Media and Communications . Judi’s artistry is steeped in purpose — to uplift, inspire, and ignite a sense of hope with every note.

Caribbean Rain isn’t just a band — it’s a musical family legacy.

Mikey Dyke Sr. , the band’s patriarch, is a Jamaican ethnomusicologist whose deep cultural knowledge and rhythmic storytelling shape many of the group’s original songs. His wisdom lays the foundation for the band’s rich, rootsy sound.

Next in the family lineup is Lala , the dynamic daughter whose silky vocals, harmonies, and percussive flair light up the stage. Her passion and presence bring balance and brilliance to Caribbean Rain’s signature sound.

Their son, Bredda Mike , is a multi-talented force — a full-time student at the University of Vermont, singer-songwriter, producer, and multi-instrumentalist. Whether he’s behind the mic or crafting beats in the studio, his fusion of old-school Reggae with new-gen innovation pushes the band’s sound into the future.

Together, Judi Emanuel and Caribbean Rain embody the soul of the Caribbean with a Vermont twist — a living testament to the power of music, family, and cultural pride.

7:00–9:00 PM | Jenni Johnson and the Jazz Junketeers

Jenni Johnson, bandleader: born and raised in NYC/Harlem now lives in Burlington, VT. Jenni returned to Vermont after working in Boston at M.I.T's Physics Department as an Administrator and Counselor to work as a Therapist and Instructor at UVM. She put together a musical group she calls Jenni & The Jazz Junketeers and represented Burlington, VT at its Sister City International Jazz Over the Volga Festival, Yaroslavl Russia. The Junketeers perform a variety of music that includes Jazz, Soul and Swing.

The Jazz Junketeers are…

Nick Warner, Bassist: Nick has been gigging professionally since high school and originally worked as a jazz and horn section trumpeter. Nick studied music theory, composition and performance at University of Vermont and appears as a sideman with multiple artists.

Steve Sawyer is a retired music school teacher. He keeps himself busy with many music projects. He has been music director and saxophonist for L.C. Jazz, the 18 piece community Big Band in Vergennes, since 1991. He also performs on saxophone with a Rutland-area 17 piece Big Band ("Enerjazz") also plays with a jazz quartet, and a classical saxophone quartet in Middlebury (“Dead Creek Reeds”). Steve also keeps busy with numerous pit orchestras for high school and professional musicals. He plays all the variety of saxophones, clarinet, bass clarinet, flute, oboe, electric bass, acoustic guitar, drums, percussion. Steve has performed with Jenni Johnson occasionally over the past 10 years.  He lives in Vergennes with his wife, Maggi, and son, Jesse.

Felix Anderson, Drummer: Felix has played in bands ranging from punk to blues that included Ludovico Treatment, Big Hair, DirtBox5 and many others. He has opened up for Primus and John Lee Hooker.

Bruce Cohen, Keyboardist: Bruce has been playing piano for 40 years with a variety of groups that include a 17-piece Big Band and other smaller ensembles, as well as doing solo performances.

6:30–7:30 PM | Blake Matteson

Blake Matteson, 14, is an up and coming singer/songwriter from Fairfax, VT and has already performed numerous times around the Northeast. She’ll be supported by a rhythm section featuring excellent drummer Cal McCandless and renowned bassist Aram Bedrosian, both from The Burlington Music Dojo. Together, the group will perform a mix of upbeat originals and fun covers that showcase Blake's strong voice and musical sense beyond her years.

7:30–8:00 PM | Cirque de Fuego

A Vermont based fire performance troupe providing entertainment since 2014. Cirque de Fuego offers ambient performances including fire breathing, fire juggling, partner acrobat fire routines, choreographed pieces and fire dancing.

5:00–6:00 PM | Holly Painter & Friends Performing Poetry

Duncan Campbell’s poems have appeared most recently in Barnstorm, Empty House Press, Ghost City Review, Northern New England Review, and Whale Road Review. A chapbook of his poems, Farmstead, Fire, Field, was published by ELJ Press in 2015, and a selection of short poems was anthologized in June Poems in 2021. Duncan lives in Northern Vermont.

Holly Painter is the author of The pressure of all that light (Rebel Satori Press, 2022), My Pet Sounds Off: Translating the Beach Boys (Finishing Line Press, 2020), and Excerpts from a Natural History (Titus Books, 2015). Her next collection, As last, we listen closely: cryptic crossword poems, will be published by Black Spring Press in 2025. Read more at hollypainter.com.

Angela Patten’s publications include five poetry collections, Feeding the Wild Rabbit (Kelsay Books 2024), The Oriole & the Ovenbird (Kelsay Books 2021), In Praise of Usefulness (Wind Ridge Books 2014), Reliquaries and Still Listening (both from Salmon Poetry, Ireland), and a prose memoir, High Tea at a Low Table (Wind Ridge Books 2013). Born and raised in Dublin, she maintains dual citizenship in Ireland and the United States, where she has lived since 1977.

6:30–8:00 PM | Laura Markowitz

Laura Markowitz, from Pittsburgh, PA originally, has lived in Jericho most of her life. She plays violin with the Vermont Symphony Orchestra and other ensembles in the area. In March, she’s joining an all-female string quartet for concerts around the state, commemorating Women’s History Month. She teaches violin and fiddle to all ages at her studio and assists in teaching strings at Browns River Middle School. She loves playing Irish and Swedish music as well, and on April 26, will bring a mix of classical and world folk tunes to the audience.

5:00-6:30 PM | Susan Bettmann Short Films

Painting the Dandelion Resurrection: A Film and Filmmaker Talk

In Painting the Dandelion Resurrection, Vermont icon, Peter Schumann, co-founder and creative force of the Bread and Puppet Theater, begins and completes a giant-size theater backdrop over the course of a spring afternoon. Schumann narrates his creative process and gives us an opportunity to observe the working of an artistic heavyweight. Bettmann takes us on an inside look at this extraordinary artist―still active at 90.

Joe Picard, Man of the Land

Woodsman Joe Picard was born and raised in central Vermont into a French Canadian-Native American family. He works the land in traditional Vermont ways as his father did before him--cutting firewood, haying, plowing snow. Though the old ways are mostly gone now, Joe's work showcases a timeless rhythm that exists between man and land. The beauty of our state rests on labors like these.

About Susan Bettmann

Susan Bettmann has been making documentary films for 25 years. Her films focus primarily on Vermont artists and the Vermont landscape. Her 2004 film, Beyond 88 Keys, the Music of Michael Arnowitt, won the Vermont Film Commission/ Vermont Arts Council Goldstone Award.

7:00-9:00 PM | Joe Ferris - Caricature Artist