VPR Classical Comes to Addison County June 8th

We'll "flip the switch" for VPR Classical in Addison County at 90.1 FM next Tuesday, June 8th, at 9 a.m., and we want you to be part of the celebration! Join us for a community breakfast celebration at the Mahaney Center for the Arts at Middlebury College, featuring a live performance by pianist Annemieke Spoelstra.

The celebration begins at 8:30 a.m. It's free, but reservations are required. Please call us at 1-800-639-2192 to reserve your spot.

The new station will provide a strong signal to a population of more than 83,000 covering most of Addison County, including Salisbury, Cornwall, Shoreham, Addison, New Haven, Vergennes, south to Brandon, and including some towns across Lake Champlain in New York. Click on the map below for a larger version of WOXM 90.1's coverage area.

The VPR Classical launch aside, June 8, 2010 is already a big day here: we're celebrating the bicentennial birthday year of two major classical composers, Robert Schumann and Frederic Chopin. In addition to Annemieke Spoelstra's performance, we'll feature the music of both composers throughout the day, as well local pianists sharing their insights into the legacies and personal meaning of Schumann and Chopin's music.

We are so happy to welcome Addison County listeners to the VPR Classical family. I hope you will join us or tune in next Tuesday!

Bill Lee Can Still Bring It

Spend five minutes with former major league pitcher Bill Lee and you'll re-capture the love of the game that you had when you were 8 years old. He still has that youthful enthusiasm for baseball. Bill stopped by VPR this week to tape a segment for Vermont Edition on how to throw the curve ball. It will be part of an ongoing series airing over the next few months called Summer 101.

Bill, who calls Craftsbury Common home, is affable, intelligent and funny. And is still in great shape. He took a group of VPR staff members out to the parade ground at Fort Ethan Allen to school us on the fine art of pitching. Clad in t-shirt, shorts and Birkenstocks, Bill was like Socrates teaching at the Agora, passing on pearls of wisdom on the proper mechanics of throwing the curve and on setting up hitters for the hook.

The Spaceman can still throw his fastball in the high 70s and mixes it with the curve, a knuckler, a circle change, the Leephus (or Space Ball) and a running commentary on how to fool hitters.

If you'd like to rub elbows with another of baseball's greatest (fans), hop on the bus for VPR's trip to Fenway on July 31. VPR Morning Edition host Mitch Wertlieb can't teach you to deliver a nasty curve, but he can prep you on delivering a major league sports report. Learn more about the trip by clicking here.

Live Coverage Of President Obama's Safety Review

VPR will carry a live news conference by President Obama today beginning at 12:40. He'll release the White House's 30-day safety review of deep water drilling and take questions about the Gulf oil spill and his administration’s response to the disaster.

Join Host David Greene along with Senior Washington Editor Ron Elving and Environment Correspondent Elizabeth Shogren, Environment Correspondent. Coverage is expected to start around 12:45. Click here to browse all of NPR's coverage on the Gulf oil spill, and listen this afternoon to VPR for live coverage of Obama's safety review.

Win Tickets To The Burlington Discover Jazz Festival

VPR is giving away tickets to some of the hottest acts coming to this year's Burlington Discover Jazz Festival, including Allen Toussaint, Sonny Rollins, Sharon Jones, and Arturo Sandoval!

Learn more and enter to win here. The entry deadline is Wednesday, June 2 at noon!

Don't forget to check the VPR Jazz Fest Blog for more about the Burlington Discover Jazz Festival - video, photos, reflections, and more!

(Photo courtesy of www.discoverjazz.com.)

VPR News Link, A Broadcast Companion

Have you ever wished you could capture the best news stories, feature stories and the main points from the interviews on Vermont Public Radio really quickly and in one place?

As a loyal listener we know your radio is always on and that you never miss a newscast...right? Even still, many VPR fans have been asking us for a comprehensive round-up of the news to browse via email.

You know where this is going, right? Now you can!

When VPR News Link began last week, it was so fulfilling to have a capsule of these top stories arrive in my inbox. In just one News Link email, I had an "at-a-glance" of the day. Nina Keck told us about the spread of (ugh) bedbugs in Vermont, John Dillon reported on the effect of climate change on Lake Champlain, Jane Lindholm gave us a close look at 14 Superfund sites, there was a profile of Sterling College from Charlotte Albright, and Cheryl Hanna had commentary and advice for aspiring Supreme Court judges.

On another day, I enjoyed Mitch's interview on baseball cards during Morning Edition, but I was getting a cup of coffee when Susan Keese's feature on the circus on Brattleboro aired, so News Link was my reminder that I didn't want to miss that story and it also gave me the summary. News Link is like having a conversation at the water cooler every single day!

Sign up for VPR News Link here!

VPR prEview: How To Clean Your Desk, VPR Classical In Randolph, Maple Shortbread

I don’t know if it comes with age or if it’s the result of moving too many times, but recently I’ve been ruthlessly weeding out my material possessions. Books went to VPR volunteers to rummage through during the recent membership drive, clothes went to Goodwill. If only I could translate this new ethos to my desk here at VPR, I would be all set!

That’s why on Memorial Day I’ll be listening to “Clearing Your Desk & Your Mind,” a program about finding respite from the chaos of emails, cell phones and in-boxes and focusing in today's world. You’ll learn more in this edition of prEview. You can also sign up to receive daily VPR headlines by email with News Link, and in VPR Cooks, a recipe for maple shortbread cookies made for VPR by some very dedicated listeners.

Continue reading prEview here...

Dining in Egypt with Chris Wren

Commentator Chris Wren will lead VPR's Tour of Egypt in September. He spent three years as Cairo bureau chief for The New York Times. Chris loved the cuisine there and he shares some of his favorite Egyptian dishes with us.

"My favorite is falafel - mashed chickpeas fried into fritters and stuffed into puffy country bread with condiments like yoghurt and spices. I ate them almost every day for lunch. I would buy them hot from street vendors and gobble my falafel down before I got back to the bureau because I couldn't wait.

"On this tour, we'll find the best falafel in a clean, sit-down restaurant where we can sip black Arab coffee from small cups while we watch the passing parade of exotic folks going about their lives.

"Roast chicken and lamb are very much part of the Egyptian cuisine, as are fish and shrimp from the Mediterranean and Red Seas. Egyptians prepare fragrant stews packed with fresh vegetables, and the tastiest lentil soup. Of course, popular Middle East finger food like fresh humus will be available, scooped up with hot bread or pancakes from a griddle. There will also be specialties to sample as we cruise along the Nile and in Upper Egypt."

You can learn more about VPR's Tour of Egypt and download a brochure by clicking here.