Take VPR Home For The Holidays!

We hope you'll make VPR a part of your holiday celebration this season! Our special programming this year features old favorites and new features, including:

Handel's Messiah
Harry Christophers leads Handel & Haydn Society Orchestra and Chorus from Symphony Hall in Boston on Thursday, December 20 from 8-11 p.m. on VPR Classical.

Slavic Wonders: Christmas with the Rose Ensemble
Listen for gems from the libraries and monasteries of Krakow, Prague, and Moscow on Friday, December 21 at 8 p.m. on VPR Classical.

Favor Johnson
Commentator Willem Lange’s story has been a holiday tradition on VPR for more than a decade. It’s the heart-warming story of a Vermont farmer, his dog Hercules, homemade fruitcake, and the real spirit of Christmas. Enjoy it on Christmas Eve at 7:49 a.m. on VPR News, or you can download the story here to enjoy with your family whenever you like.

A Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols
Listen Christmas Eve from 10 a.m. - noon on VPR Classical for this live concert featuring the 30-voice King's College Choir.

Song Travels With Michael Feinstein
Feinstein interviews well known performers about their life and work. You'll hear from Neal Sedaka, David Hyde Pierce, Riki Lee Jones and Cheyenne Jackson on Christmas Eve at 7 p.m. on VPR News.

Paul Winter's Winter Solstice Celebration
Enjoy this concert live from the Cathedral of Saint John the Divine in New York City on Christmas Eve from 9-11 p.m. on VPR News.

Traveling for the holidays? Take VPR with you by downloading the VPR app for your iPhone, iPad, iPod Touch, or Android.

You'll find our full holiday schedule here. From all of us at VPR, we wish you joy and peace in this season.

Thank You For A Successful 2012!

2012 has been an incredible year! On behalf of all of us at Vermont Public Radio, I just wanted to say thank you for listening to and supporting VPR this year. In my 2012 President’s Letter, I share some of the accomplishments that listener support made possible over the past year, including:

• Extensive coverage of the 2012 election
  
• More coverage of local communities, the arts, the economy, and politics.
  
• Experiments with new programs, including Q from the CBC and NPR’s Tell Me More, The TED Radio Hour, America’s Test Kitchen, and Here’s The Thing with Alec Baldwin.
  
• Launched Friday Night Jazz With Reuben Jackson, and 24-hour jazz stream.
  
• Hosted more than 20 live performances and brought on local host Kari Anderson to VPR Classical on weekday mornings.
  
• Introduced an Android app to our suite of mobile services, thanks to the VPR Journalism Fund.
  
• Expanded our service with new VPR News and VPR Classical stations in Brattleboro, and a new VPR Classical station in Rutland.

Click here to read the full letter.

None of these achievements would have been possible without your passionate participation in all its forms - listening, feedback, and financial support. Thank you for being a part of this community.

I hope you’ll make a year-end gift to Vermont Public Radio today to pay for another great year of news, music, and meaningful engagement.

I wish you the best for the season and all of us at VPR look forward to serving you in 2013.

Download Favor Johnson And A Pair Of (Good) Fruitcake Recipes

Commentator Willem Lange’s story “Favor Johnson” has been a holiday tradition on Vermont Public Radio for more than a decade. It’s the heart-warming story of a Vermont farmer, his dog Hercules, homemade fruitcake, and the real spirit of Christmas.

You can hear “Favor Johnson” on VPR this Saturday, December 24th at 9:20 a.m., or you can download the story here to enjoy with your family whenever you like.

And, because we just know the tale will whet your appetite for fruitcake, we’ve provided a pair of (good, we promise!) fruitcake recipes; this one from our own Ty Robertson and Chef Jean-Yves Vendeville of the New England Culinary Institute.

You’ll find our full holiday programming schedule online here.

Finally, because VPR is your constant companion during the holidays and throughout the year, I hope you’ll make a year-end gift to VPR today. Your contribution will insure another great year of in-depth news, stories, and music on VPR and VPR Classical.

Thank you so much for listening and for your support.

Reverend Al Sharpton in Burlington

The Rev. Al Sharpton was the keynote at Burlington’s MLK Day Celebration Sunday. The Greater Burlington Multicultural Resource Center hosted the event at the Unitarian Universalist Church. Attendees were also treated to uplifting musical selections by the Abundant Life Gospel Choir. Senator Bernie Sanders and Evelyn and Modisane Kwanza of Alpha Baptist Church received Martin Luther King awards for their work.

Sharpton told the audience that King's dream had not yet been realized, because it is not just a dream of racial equality but of economic equity. Click here to listen to Sharpton’s speech.

Listen tonight at 8 for a special program called Say It Loud: Great Speeches on Civil Rights and African American Identity. The program traces the last 50 years of black history through stirring, historically important speeches by African Americans from across the political spectrum.

Beautiful Voices for the Holidays

We had such a great time last Friday at VPR's annual Winter Concert. Bella Voce gave a wonderful performance - you can see photos from the event below!



The music and celebration continues this week. Listen tomorrow night at 9 for Paul Winter’s 30th Winter Solstice Celebration live from New York City. Christmas Even starts with Willem Lange’s Favor Johnson at 7:50 a.m., followed by A Christmas Carol told by Willem at noon, A Vermont Christmas with Counterpoint at 8 pm, and then Holiday Jazz until midnight. Christmas morning brings A New England Christmas with Willem Lange at 9:30am.

On VPR Classical, tonight at 8 we'll hear L’enfance du Christ on In Concert @ 8. A few other highlights include the Rose Ensemble at 8 p.m. tomorrow, Magnificent Magnificats with Joe Goetz at 8 p.m. on Wednesday, Echoes of Christmas Thursday at 8 p.m. followed by A Chanticleer Christmas at 9. We’ll hear the annual Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols live from King’s College in England on Christmas Eve at 10 a.m., and A Vermont Christmas with Counterpoint at 8 p.m.

You'll find our full holiday schedule online here, and best wishes to you for a joyous, peaceful, and healthy holiday season!

Have Your (Fruit) Cake And Read It, Too!

Commentator Willem Lange’s story of Favor Johnson has been a holiday tradition on Vermont Public Radio for more than a decade. It’s the heart-warming story of a Vermont farmer, his dog Hercules, homemade fruitcake, and the real spirit of Christmas.

When you make a year-end pledge of $144 (or $12/month) by December 10th, we’ll thank you with Willem’s hard-cover illustrated children’s book version of Favor Johnson. Plus, we’ll send along an Old Cavendish fruitcake to enjoy while you read! We'll ship the book to arrive by December 22.

Share this classic tale with your loved ones while investing in another great year of in-depth news, stories, and music on VPR and VPR Classical. Please make your tax-deductible gift today.

Warmest wishes for the season from all of us here at VPR!

Bring VPR To The Table This Thankgiving!

We hope you’ll invite VPR to your table to celebrate Thanksgiving. After all, we’re just like family…except we won’t take the last slice of pumpkin pie or overindulge on the wine and make inappropriate comments. Heck, we’ll even help with the cooking!

Listen Thursday from 11 a.m. – 1 p.m. for Turkey Confidential from The Splendid Table. Lynne Rossetto Kasper will be available to answer your cooking questions live. Quickly becoming a Thanksgiving morning tradition, past shows have included everything from a cross-country trucker cooking his Thanksgiving dinner on the manifold to a panicked first-time cook who didn't realize a turkey needs to be thawed. Lynne will be joined by renowned chef and food advocate Jamie Oliver; restaurateur and PBS host José Andrés, wine entrepreneur Joshua Wesson, and restaurant guides Jane and Michael Stern. Call with your questions at 1-800-537-5252 or learn more here.

Check out the rest of our Thanksgiving program lineup below, and you’ll find our full holiday schedule online here. From all of us at VPR, we wish you a warm, safe, and enjoyable holiday!

Thursday, November 26: Giving Thanks With John Birge

7-8 p.m. on VPR; 8-10 p.m. on VPR Classical

Host John Birge creates a thoughtful, contemporary reflection on the meaning of the holiday. This year, he’s joined by author Deepak Chopra, who reflects on gratitude in India, his pilgrimage to America, and shares poems of thanks by Rumi. The program also features food writer Nigella Lawson on the tradition of feasting, and brings along suggestions for turkey leftovers.

The program also features classical music, including Simple Gifts from Yo-Yo Ma, a hymn of Thanksgiving from Beethoven's Pastoral Symphony, the autumnal lyricism of Mark O'Connor's American Seasons, and a cornucopia of Bach.

Friday, November 27: Best of the Best

Noon (Hour 1) and 7 p.m. (Hour 2) on VPR

Best of the Best showcases the winning entries of the 10th annual Third Coast Audio Festival. This is the place to hear the most accomplished producers and best emerging talent from around the world, artists who are shaping the future of public radio.

(The photo above is courtesy of Flickr).

The Sounds and Stories of 2009

In the news business, we often take a little time at the end of a year to look back at what made news over the previous 12 months. It's always surprising how much material there was in a typical year.

At VPR News, we've tried over the years to package some of the highlights in a year-end package for our listeners.

This year, we decided to devote a full hour to the subject. We discovered there was an awful lot of interesting, quirky, meaningful, funny, sad and memorable material to choose from.

It wasn't easy deciding what to include -- and what to leave out. But we've made the choices and, this Thursday at noon and Friday at 7, host Neal Charnoff takes on a review of The Sounds and Stories of 2009.

From all of us here at VPR, thank you for a remarkable 2009, and we look forward to serving you in 2010.

National Week of Listening

The second annual National Day of Listening is Friday, November 27th. This public radio campaign was created by the producers of StoryCorps to encourage all of us to create our own 'oral history'. Perhaps you caught Scott Simon's interview Saturday with his six year old adopted daughter or Danial Schorr talking with his son about living through the Great Depression. You'll hear more on NPR this week.

Here at VPR, we decided to turn it into a National Week of Listening and we hope that you'll join in. VPR Commentators were invited to get the ball rolling by sharing family stories that have been passed down through the generations. They jumped at the opportunity, and the stories they share with us this week are a delight: circus elephants grazing in a Vermont field, a Christmas tree cut in half and nailed to the wall, and the capture of a Confederate commander by the seat of his pants. Listen mornings at @7:55 and evenings at 5:55 and follow the series online.

Participating in the National Day of Listening is easy. Reserve time with someone important to you and sit down for a chat. If you have the equipment, record your interview and save it for others to hear. We hope you'll summarize your experience and share it with the VPR Community here.

Best wishes for the holiday from all of us at VPR - and happy listening!

Franny Bastian

Visit VPR's National Day of Listening Page to hear the commentaries and to share your story!

Non-Traditional - Or Is It?

Not everyone loves the turkey, stuffing, cranberry jellies and slivered almond green bean casseroles that typify the culinary fare of Thanksgiving. In the diverse spirit of this country's cross-continental, multicutural heritage - one could ask how representative those dishes are of America, anyway?

In my house, we've moved away from turkey for the holiday meal. For many years now I've enjoyed taking the extra time the day offers to leisurely prepare a special meal of some particular ethnicity. It purely comes down to food preference rather than philosophy. Indian cuisine (that's South Asian Indian, not Native American) for its wide range of flavors, spice intensity, and cool/hot sensations has proven to be the favorite. With the hours of preparation and careful cooking it requires, we can usually plan on the holiday meal to be ready in the early evening. The result MORE than makes the anticipation worthwhile!

By around 6pm or so, my much-loved marble mortar and pestle (stained green from the jalapeno mint chutney) is resting on the counter, its work done at last for the day - and the numerous little bowls (I use my Chinese condiment dishes) that hold everything from chopped coriander, hand-ground cumin and cloves and turmeric and cardamom seeds are all emptied out, these ingredients having found a home aromatically simmering away in everything from Chicken Tikka Masala to spicy cauliflower (Phool Gobi aur Aloo Ki Bhaji) and handmade flatbreads (Naan).

Also non-traditional is the source of the many interesting, colorful dishes at my Thanksgiving banquet. My secret is not in time-tested recipes that have been handed down from (Scandinavian!) relatives - it's a dog-eared, broken-binding book I stumbled upon many years ago at a secondhand bookstore in Denver. As reliably as any family member, the stories it tells and secrets it has shared over the years now make Madhur Jaffrey's Indian Cooking another welcome and familiar guest at our annual Thanksgiving dinner table.

Each family has its own reasons for making the food it does during the holidays. The important thing is to do what you do for a reason, and enjoy the results - whatever they are - together.

Happy Thanksgiving from all of us at VPR! Whether it's turkey or from Turkey, may you enjoy a beautiful meal with enough to share with friends and loved ones, and maybe even have a little left over to enjoy again (and again) over the weekend.

Me? I'm waiting (not very patiently) for that second helping of honeyed pistachios and Gujerati cabbage/carrot salad with toasted black mustard seeds. You'll find the recipe for Sambhara here, as part of our VPR Cooks series. Enjoy!

Boo!

Things get downright spooky at Vermont Public Radio for Halloween. Friday evening on VPR, put down your torch and pitchfork and join the Capitol Steps for Politics Takes a Holiday. They'll musically skewer everything left, right and wrong with the country today!

At 10, George 'Spooky Jazz' Thomas will have you under his spell 'til midnight.

VPR Classical presents eerie offerings throughout the day, including “Son of Frankenstein.”

Saturday at 4, Radio Lab revisits War of the Worlds.

At 8, treat yourself as well as your trick or treaters to a Halloween "spooktacular" on Joel Najman's My Place.

You can learn more about our Halloween tricks and treats online here.

The Best ____ of 2008, Pubradio-Style

One of my very favorite things about December are all of those year-end "best of" lists -everywhere you turn, there are tidy bundles of of the best music, movies, TV shows, books, gadgets, and yes, even best public radio moments of the year. 

I find these lists not only to be fun to explore, but fantastically redemptive.  I get a second chance to catch up on all the news and culture I've missed or neglected throughout the year. It's like A Christmas Carol for the modern media junkie. 

While I recognize the irony in creating a list of lists, here are links to best-of lists from NPR and VPR this holiday season. Enjoy!

Best Books of 2008 - NPR

Best CDs of 2008 - NPR

Sounds of 2008 – VPR

Vermont Edition’s Annual Music Show

NPR’s Best TV and Movies of 2008

Winter Reading - Vermont Edition