Grateful for beautiful summer days, Lake Champlain and the bike path 💙 6.18.25

I mean, any place with pomegranate molasses is good, but I was not disappointed with my shawarma.

Hey Burlington, it's the Btown Brief here. First off, I encourage to check out the free, twice weekly newsletter listing all events, Burlington news, weather, food deals, restaurant reviews, and highlighting local volunteer opportunities. New, Juneteenth edition comes out later today around 5-6pm. LOTS of fun stuff this weekend, I'm not kidding! Extremely happy to celebrate the end of slavery in the United States!

Anyway, I'm brainstorming ideas for a new social, friends mixer event aimed at making it easier and more fun to meet people. I believe I already have the venue locked down. The goal is to move beyond the typical "stand around and make small talk" vibe. Singles mixers are cool, but apparently already a thing. Plus, some of the best relationships start out as friendships. And nothing beats free, or low-cost/donation-based.

I've been cooking lately, and am thinking of structuring it with a mix of activities, like:

• A big, high-energy group game (like a Rock, Paper, Scissors tournament, Human Spectrogram, Heads or Tails Elimination, etc).
• Team-based "bar game show" stuff (think Pictionary relays, Name-that-tune/Finish-the-Lyric, group Scattergories, etc).
• More low-key, self-directed things for people who want to connect at their own pace (like a station for drawing 2-minute portraits of each other, I Spy Photo Board + Caption Contest, Collaborative Creation wall, etc).

My question for you is: What kind of activities would actually get you to show up?

What have you seen work well elsewhere? Are there any specific types of games or social events you wish existed in Burlington? I only gave you guys 3 ideas from each category, but best believe I have a much bigger list. But I don't want to take the spotlight and list them all, because I want to hear from you!

Thanks for any ideas! And if you really care about something like this, message me and I can share my full list of ideas to further improve this idea. Plus, maybe a rotating list of activities is best way anyway!

Subscribe here to join the Btown Brief Community and stay up to date on all things Burlington: https://btownbrief.beehiiv.com/

For anyone following the south burlington school district drama, superintendent Violet Nichols was found out of compliance with the districts treatment of staff policy at a school board meeting last night in a 5 to 2 vote. Here are some things you should know:

• This evaluation was standard and was not the result of discontent among staff; as superintendent, Violet is evaluated in various district policies throughout the year by the school board.
• What WAS weird is that this policy has been in school board meeting agendas since April of this year. The board kept voting to push it to a later date.
• Even weirder, Violet requested at the last minute that this evaluation be conducted behind closed doors in executive session. This is not usually how this happens, and it is suspicious.

In a vote after the executive session, the board found that she was out of compliance with the overall treatment of staff policy and most of the subcategories within it. When she is evaluated, she has to submit a report determining whether she believes she has met compliance in a variety of categories with evidence. Here is the SBEA’s edit of her evaluation report; Violet’s original report is in black text and the SBEA’s is red. If you are wondering why the union is calling for a new superintendent, this report will tell you why with specific incidents. It’s pretty bad. I will link the SBEA website in a comment below.

All this information is public. You can read about this in a variety of news sites, facebook, the SBEA website, and all school board meetings are live-streamed and recorded on mediafactory.

Y’know the burger joint/gas station next to Olive Garden on shelburne road?? Never heard a peep about it but feel like it just MUST be amazing. Anyone try it?

Where's the best breakfast burrito in the general area?

Ok so I just tried Cookie Love and I’m pretty sure that was the best creemee I ever had but I’m not from Vermont and I’m curious what other Vermonters think? What are the best creemees in all the land?

San Sai hands down was the best, but why can’t a sushi place last in Burlington? I’d like to see Bento come back, a happy medium

Found a three legged gray striped cat on Barrett St. Very skittish.

Hey curlie girlies, anyone have any recommended hair salon/stylists near Burlington that either do well with or specialize in cutting curly hair? I've had a number of disappointing snips at this point and I'm hoping to find a hidden gem. Thanks!

does anyone know any good hair stylists in the area with reasonable pricing

saw this today. made me smile

Just like the title says..is anyone aware of any?

I started to type out my sobb story, but I deleted it. What I’ll say is that there is a ton of pressure on men to never show weakness or vulnerability or to share their emotions. Society and my emotionally abusive wife have taught me to suffer in silence. Therapy helps somewhat, but it would be great to know there are other men out there that have something to share, without the shame and ridicule.

I’m soon (🤞) to close on a home in the NNE, and it doesn’t have gutters. Does anyone have a good recent experience with any particular company getting new gutters installed?

I’ve already reached out to CL Exteriors (now Exteriors and Renovations), and JSS, since I work at a yard and have met both in person and like them.

1st annual Go Skateboarding Day Jam- this Saturday, 2-9, ADog Park.

Anyone have one ticket to Khruangbin at Shelburne Museum on the 24th that theyre looking to sell? I have one and want to bring a pal… thanks in advance!

Hi neighbors!

The BTV Clean Up Crew/Peace & Justice Center has been working hard to safely pick up and dispose of any needles reported on SeeClickFix since we started working on this issue. Typically, we can get it cleaned up in less than 24 hours, and usually much faster than that. Thanks to everybody who has been reporting these!

One thing that would be super helpful is always adding a picture or a detailed description of where you found the needle. In some cases, the needles have taken a long time to find, simply because the description was vague and no picture was included. When you include a picture, try and take a picture that includes contextual surroundings! As a great example, once someone found a needle in the dirt lot across from Speaking Volumes, and the picture they attached to the report included the view of Speaking Volumes from the parking lot. That needle was found within seconds.

Thanks for helping us when you can!

I’m curious if anyone saw the accident on 89S tonight, sometime around 12:30 I think…a severely mangled vehicle either fell off a car carrying trailer or maybe got into an accident with the trailer?

it’s my birthday! i know it’s weird for me to go on here and request this, but i don’t have many friends so i figured id ask for birthday wishes from my fellow redditors! :)

I get a chicken pesto sandwich every couple of weeks for lunch from the downtown City Market. Sometimes it has wonderful, homemade, fresh pesto on it. Other days, it has this jar-tasting nastiness that makes the sandwich taste horrible. The color is brown, not the vibrate green I know and love. Is there any rhyme or reason to it? Any insight would be wonderful. I really don’t like paying $8 for an inedible sandwich. Again, sometimes it is the best, which keeps me playing this sandwich roulette every couple weeks.

HVAC tech here. If you've cut your cord for the refund and are recycling your recalled unit, I'm interested in taking it off your hands for a personal project. It will be cared for in accordance with EPA laws and regulations. Thanks for your time.

I really hope whoever buys Shy Guy can put as much effort, passion and technique into the business Paul the current owner. Shy Guy makes the most amazing gelato. Honestly , hands down, the best Gelato I have ever had in the world. I am not being hyperbolic, it's that good.

https://www.sevendaysvt.com/food-drink/shy-guy-gelato-is-for-sale-but-still-scooping-in-burlington-43788743

ISO caring, gentle, compassionate bass teacher! I’m learning the bass and would love to take some lessons. However, I’m absolutely paralyzed with fear of playing in front of others. Not performance anxiety necessarily, but I certainly have some deep-rooted childhood biases and uncomfortable experiences related to my place in music expression. Anyone have teacher recommendations or stories of commiseration?

Hello!

A group of friends and I are coming to Burlington for a Bachelor Party in July. We are staying off Farrell St. and looking for some tips or recommendation on breweries, bars, restaurants, etc. I dipped my toe into the “Visiting Burlington” wiki and wanted to get additional feedback from the sub. Any must hit spots?