*as seen in North Canton Living
*as seen in North Canton Living Magazine February 2024
I inched my blanket back a foot to capture more shade from the single tree on the steep hill. Below me, tie-dye-shirted people flowed up the hill carrying bags, baskets, and blankets. Children rolled down the middle of the hill and dogs chased butterflies along the edge of the crowd. The sky was a brilliant lack of pollution blue and the forest colored a dark evergreen. My companions laid back lazily chatting in the way of new friends sharing previous memories of their time on the hill. Suddenly, trumpets sounded and all of the 1,000-plus crowd came to attention focusing on the circus below.
My mouth dropped open when I watched the four-story tall paper mache puppets controlled by no less than thirty people appear. Costumed dancers and performers wove in and around the puppet attendants as the Bread and Puppet Theater’s Master of Ceremonies brought the circus to life.
For more than sixty years, Bread and Puppet has performed political theater. Originally started in New York City, the theater group was founded by Peter Schumann. In 1974, the theater moved to Glover, Vermont which is roughly thirty miles south of the Canadian border. Every weekend through the summer at the same time crowds of people appear to fill the hillside and watch the political puppet show. At one point in the show, a six-story tall individual with a two-story puppet mask walked across the hillside behind the show on stilts creating an ethereal ghostlike figure with no apparent connection to the rest of the performance.
While in Glover, I visited the Museum of Everyday Life. Located in an ancient barn, the large and maze-like museum is a testament to all things on a normal day. The museum is self-service and the exhibits are tributes to ordinary items such as dust and the pencil. I wandered through the museum for hours and enjoyed the almost meditative quality of the experience. One exhibit featured lists. A part of that exhibit featured lists found in a two-block radius of Brooklyn. A real microcosm of that community and I connected to their shopping and to-do lists that mirror my own.
Glover, Vermont is a small blink-and-you-miss-it community with a population of 1,114. There is one restaurant in town with indoor seating for ten. I arrived early to meet friends for breakfast and snagged an umbrella table in the outdoor seating. Soon I was surrounded by people, coffee, and large pancakes that would feed a whole family. The Busy Bee Diner is busy indeed with portions that will keep you going. Across the street is Curriers Market where we stopped next to buy reasonably priced to-go sandwiches and drinks. I browsed the extensive market and realized the prices were low and the selection excellent. I stocked up on some groceries before we headed to a nearby lake for a hike.
Crystal Lake and Lake Willoughby are close day-use recreational areas featuring boating, swimming, and hiking. This particular day in early August was cool and the lake choppy. The kayaks went unused as we sat on the beach with thick sweatshirts to keep off the chill. Killing time until the show began, I turned my face to the sun, closed my eyes, and enjoyed the chilly breeze. Moments later my friends poked my shoulder and pointed to the backside view of an unclothed hiking group disappearing down a trail.
What I Learned
In the early 1200s, Bartholomaeus Angelicus completed On the Properties of Things for Ordinary People – some consider it the first encyclopedia.
My camping neighbor told me stories of growing up on the Vermont/Canada border. In the 90s, after school, she would cross the street into Canada to buy groceries.
The first lock was likely a stack of stones to safeguard a food stash.
Public nudity is legal in Vermont but disrobing is not.
Before You Go
Even though nothing is too far from anywhere in New England, download your maps and fill your tank at every opportunity. towns can be few and far between.
Hotels, Airbnb, and campgrounds are also few and far between. Fortunately, Glover is only two hours from Burlington.
The Museum of Everyday Life is self-serve with recommended donations and a tin. Along a wall are the printed philosophies from the Philosophy Department as well as other tourist items. Well worth the investment. Museumofeverydaylife.org
Bread and Puppet Theater tickets can be purchased online and I recommend you use the website to check the show times. Saturday shows are inside and Sunday is the circus held outside. The theater operates on donations. Tickets are approximately ten dollars online. Consider the website as a guide and donate at the door what you can afford. Bread and Puppet also features a museum of past puppets and well worth the time to visit. breadandpuppet.org
Ticks are an issue in the summer. Wear bug spray and check every night for ticks.
Marijuana is legal in Vermont. It is not legal to smoke outside in public. Recreational dispensaries are legal in Maine, Massachusetts, Connecticut, Rhode Island, and Vermont.
As quickly as the crowd formed, they dispersed. One moment there was a hippie vibe and then poof, they were gone. So if there is a traffic jam, wait it will quickly disperse.
Bears are prevalent in the area but during the summer, moose find it too warm.
While I always advise planning, especially where to stay at night, this is an area that is go with the flow. Relax and enjoy a disappearing era.
When attending the circus, dress the vibe and wear your tie-dye. Bring a blanket, wear sunscreen, and pack a picnic. Bring the kids and let them run!
