It started in the late 1970’s with a dancer and a dream.
Middlebury College dance instructor Dana Holby envisioned a tent as a unique performance space to showcase her dance troupe – called Coincidance. Ms. Holby discovered that the rental cost for one day and one week were essentially the same. With the assistance of several community members, Ms. Holby orchestrated other performance events to complement her dancers and selected the Village Green as a central venue for the tent. The Festival on-the-Green was born!
Growth of the Festival
Volunteers were recruited through an article in The Addison Independent inviting interested parties to convene in a meeting room at the Middlebury Town Offices. Responders included representatives from Middlebury College (Dana Holby along with Ron Nief, Director of Public Relations), Middlebury Business Association (Tom Corbin, then Executive Vice President of the National Bank of Middlebury; Max Eaton, Owner of Otter Creek Industries; Pat Boera, representing The Middlebury Inn; Christopher Irion, Photographer; and Dennis Church, proprietor of a local pub), Town of Middlebury (Doug Macdougall, Director of Recreation) and community (Col. Joseph Whitehorne, U.S. Army-retired). The inaugural Festival was so well received that this seven-day program of performances soon became a much-anticipated offering on the Addison County summer arts calendar.
Making it official
With the assistance of then-Treasurer Jon Isaacson, the Festival applied for and was granted 501c3 status in 1981. Arranged by then-Program Chair Carol Green, the organization commissioned the creation of a CD featuring music by some of our favorite performers to mark the Festival’s 25-year anniversary in 2003.
Ms. Holby moved out of the area, but an enthusiastic corps of volunteers – individuals representing a cross section of the community and interests – has devoted time and energy to continuing this event four and a half decades later. The Festival is traditionally held each year in mid-July, with all performances taking place under a large tent which cozies up to St. Stephen's Episcopal Church on the Village Green. The price of admission is free – simply to come and enjoy – underwritten by the contributions of organizations and private citizens. These donations keep the Festival on-the-Green alive year after year and cover performers' fees and other expenses which annually total approximately $56,000. In-kind contributions help with logistical support such as accommodations and meals for performers, loan of equipment and some services. The lure of performing in a charming open-air venue in a Vermont college town, and our reputation for treating our performers with gracious hospitality, helps to attract artists who might otherwise be outside the financial scope of our organization.
Bring the family
Our Program Committee puts an emphasis on entertainment which is family-appropriate. "Brown Bag" performances, geared for young audiences, are held Monday through Friday at noon. The audience is packed with backpack-toting, stroller-pushing parents; lunchbox-toting toddlers from area daycare centers; campers from Lake Dunmore; and Rec Department staff chaperoning a parade of bathing-suit-clad youth who take a break from pool activities to enjoy the performances. Evening performances take place Monday through Saturday, culminating in a Street Dance with the Vermont Jazz Ensemble. Audience members can claim a seat under the tent or bring their own chair and stake out a favorite spot on the Green to enjoy the show.
Over the years, the Festival has earned accolades as “Vermont’s favorite festival” and “the best place to spend a summer evening in all of Vermont” as well as multiple designations as a Vermont Chamber of Commerce “Top 10 Summer Event.”