Cultural Resource Guide - Gather

Vermont won’t feel like home without a sense of community. How do you gather? What communities are essential to your livelihood? This section breaks down more ways to engage within the Greater Burlington Area, including events, attractions, recreation, and spaces of community and worship.

Arts and Attractions

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sunset on the Champlain pier

Movie theaters

Museums

Clemmons Family Farm (Charlotte): One of the largest African American owned farms in Vermont. “148 acre property focused on celebrating African American heritage, arts and sciences, and multiculturalism.” A piece of true Vermont history owned by Lydia and Jack Clemmons since 1962. Plans are currently underway to transform the space into an African American Heritage and Multicultural Center and in the meantime, the property hosts various events to “foster a loving and dynamic multicultural community."

ECHO at the Leahy Center (Burlington): Vermont's science and nature museum on the waterfront educates and delights people about the ecology, culture, history, and opportunities for stewardship of the Lake Champlain Basin.

Henry Sheldon Museum of Vermont History (Middlebury): “Oldest community based Museum in the country. Preserves the historic memory of Addison County and neighboring communities as well as stimulating the study of connections between Vermont’s past and broader historical themes.” Open year round with the exception of a few weeks in the winter.

Fleming Museum of Art (Burlington): Located on the campus of the University of Vermont, the Fleming is being reimagined to become an anti-racist museum that is more responsive, relevant, and inclusive. The foundations of this work lie in amplifying the perspectives of Black, Indigenous, and people of color who have been excluded—implicitly and explicitly—from the Museum.

Rokeby Museum (Ferrisburgh): Perched on a hill overlooking the Champlain Valley, Rokeby Museum provides an intimate record of two centuries of Vermont family life and agriculture. The house and farm nurtured and survived the growing up and growing old of four generations of Robinsons—a remarkable family of Quakers, farmers, abolitionists, authors, and artists.

Shelburne Museum (Shelburne): Spanning some 45 acres and featuring 37 buildings, the Shelburne Museum preserves New England's proud, pre-industrial traditions.

Performance Venues

Music, theater, dance, and other artistic performances.

Community Groups and Organizations

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Pride flag on Church St
  • Allied VT- BIPOC-led organization promoting racial equity through support, education, and networking with the community.
  • Association of Africans Living in Vermont (AALV): Supporting New Americans in Vermont to gain independence in new communities.
  • Center for Whole Communities: Organization designed to cultivate transformative leadership that weaves together and strengthens movements for justice and the environment.
  • Fairie Camp Destiny : Organization designed to cultivate transformative leadership that weaves together and strengthens movements for justice and the environment.
  • Greater Burlington Women's Forum: A 3-season intentional community in southern Vermont that hosts gatherings and educational offerings to help queer people cope and heal
  • Green Mountain Self-Advocates: A disability rights and statewide self-advocacy organization.
  • Howl: A Vermont women's land trust and intentional community working to create an alternative to systemic oppression and patriarchy.
  • Migrant Justice: Activist-oriented community organized to support the economic justice and human rights of farmworkers.
  • Oakledge For All: Volunteer-led community effort to raise interest, awareness and funding for a universally accessible playground in Burlington
  • Outright Vermont: Building a Vermont where all LGBTQ+ youth have hope, equity, and power.
  • Powered Magazine: Amplifies and magnifies outdoor enthusiasts of color.
  • Pride Center of Vermont: A queer youth advocacy, education, and youth space based out of Burlington, VT
  • The Black Perspective: Vermont leader human rights and economic, social, and environmental justice.
  • The Northeast Farmers of Color Land Trust: Land trust honoring Indigenous sovereignty and centering BIPOC voices & leadership.
  • Vermont Asian Pacific Islander Desi American (APIDA) for Black Lives: An affinity group working towards ending division and fighting for shared liberation through planning and education.
  • Vermont Health Equity Initiative: Focused on BIPOC health disparities across VT.
  • Vermont Professionals of Color Network: A network built from within (“for us, by us”) that focuses on young people of color, professionals of color, and businesses and entrepreneurs of color.
  • Vermont Racial Justice Alliance: Community engagement, outreach, and empowerment for Black Vermonters.
  • Vermont Releaf Collective: The Vermont Releaf Collective is a network created by and for BIPOC Vermonters who are passionate about land, environment, agriculture, and food.
  • Women of Color Alliance, Inc. (WOCA): The WOCA provides services that are specific to addressing the needs, concerns, and experiences of women of color and children of color.

Events

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Church St in July

Calendars

We've compiled plenty of activities, but Vermont always has something more to offer. Please check out a few of our favorite event calendars to find out more:

Celebrations in Burlington

Fairs

Festivals

Visit Experience Vermont's festival calendar for a listing of festivals happening in Vermont, from music to quilts to hot air balloons!

Fundraisers

Spiritual and Religious Communities

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FLEMING

On campus

Interfaith Center

A place to empower individuals and institutions to identify, explore and critically reflect upon the ways they and others make meaning of their life and world to build more just and sustainable communities. 

Prayer, meditation and reflection spaces

Quiet, inclusive spaces open to all members of the UVM community include:

  • Prayer and Meditation Room at the Interfaith Center
  • Meditation Room at The Mosaic Center for Students of Color (Living/Learning - Building E)
  • Meditation Room on the 3rd floor of Allen House (461 Main Street) at the Center for Cultural Pluralism.  This space is available weekdays from 8 am - 4:30 pm whenever the room is not being used for meetings.

Ablution stations

An ablution station is used for the ritual called “Wudu” in Islam, which requires washing of the head, mouth, nose, arms and feet before formal prayer and reading scripture.

  • Interfaith Center (located in restroom off of the fireplace room)
  • Living & Learning Building E Lounge
     

Affiliates

Find communities (PDF)

Recreation

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Gutterson-Field-House

Green spaces and parks

Sports leagues and open play

Gyms and fitness

Lake Activities

  • Whistling Man Schooner Co. - collaborations with talented locals to host storytelling events, music performances, classes, team building, therapy, photography sessions, etc!
Whistling Man ships in black and white

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