Chandler Center for the Arts

08/30/2026

This coming Sunday, the 34th Annual New World Festival returns to downtown Randolph!

Before festival day arrives, here are a few helpful things to know about parking, arrival, festival FAQs, alcohol and bar service, and more.

Take a look through these cards as you get ready for the festival, and if there’s anything we haven’t covered, drop your questions in the comments below! We’ll do our best to help you arrive prepared and ready to enjoy the day.

Secure your tickets here:
https://tickets.chandler-arts.org/events/chandlercenterforthearts/2094695

08/28/2026

This Sunday, catch the last Braintree Bluegrass Brunch of 2026!

Featuring the fiery old-time fiddle and folk sounds of Ida Mae Specker & Friends, with lively square dances called by Sarah Gibson.

Join us at the Braintree Hill Meetinghouse for a day of live music, square dancing, mountain biking, local food and drink, craft vendors, and family fun.

Schedule:
10 AM: Mountain bike ride with Ridgeline Outdoor Collective
11 AM: Grounds open
12–3 PM: Live music and square dancing

Admission is free, but donations are encouraged to support artist and programming costs.

Click here to reserve your spot and contribute:
https://www.zeffy.com/en-US/donation-form/678e2d34-c24d-4660-928a-b9fc824da4bb

08/28/2026

On Sunday, September 6, get ready for Medusa Quartet to bring centuries-old string traditions and bold contemporary storytelling to this year’s New World Festival!

Medusa is a genre-defying chamber-folk quartet blending musical traditions from the Middle East, Scandinavia, Eastern Europe, Appalachia, and beyond with original composition and contemporary storytelling. Featuring an inventive collection of string instruments, the quartet creates a raw, virtuosic sound that reimagines the boundaries of folk music and transforms traditions once considered wild or unconventional into something fiercely original.

🎫 Catch Medusa live at the 34th Annual New World Festival at Chandler Center for the Arts. Tickets are available now!

https://tickets.chandler-arts.org/events/chandlercenterforthearts/2094695

08/27/2026

We are honored to serve as Fiscal sponsor for the Lonely Days are Gone Tour, and to host two upcoming events with Ida Mae Specker and Sarah Gibson. Catch them this Sunday at Braintree Bluegrass Brunch, and again October 3rd at the Brookfield Old Town Hall: The Lonely Days Are Gone: Community Square Dance Tour with Ida Mae Specker & Sarah Gibson

Announcing ‘The Lonely Days Are Gone’- free concerts and square dances all across Vermont! 🎻🎶
This fall, fiddler Ida Mae Specker and dance caller Sarah Gibson are bringing free community square dances and concerts to historic town halls across Vermont. Inspired by the state’s long tradition of contra and square dancing, the tour welcomes neighbors of all ages to connect through live music, shared meals and participatory dancing.
‘The Lonely Days Are Gone’ visits Brandon, Brookfield, Hardwick, Ferrisburgh and Chester throughout September and October. Participants will learn the basics of square dancing followed by an evening of traditional American string band music and dancing with Ida Mae Specker and her all-star band.
No prior dance experience or partner is required. All ages and backgrounds are welcome. All events are free and open to the public.

The Lonely Days Are Gone Tour is supported by Vermont Humanities, the New England Foundation for the Arts and generous individual donors. The tour is fiscally sponsored by The Chandler Music Hall in Randolph, Vermont.
RSVP and learn more at the link in bio/ on Ida Mae’s website.

Sunday, September 20
Brandon Town Hall, Brandon
4-6pm Concert & Square Dance
Community old-time jam to follow at Red Clover Ale Co. led by Silas Hamilton
Saturday, October 3
Brookfield Old Town Hall, Brookfield with Chandler Center for the Arts
4pm Children’s Folk Music Concert by Ida Mae Specker
5pm Potluck Dinner
6-8pm Concert & Square Dance
Community old-time jam to follow led by Mark Burds
Saturday, October 10
Hardwick Town House, Hardwick with The Civic Standard
5pm Concert
6-7pm Square Dance
Community old-time jam to follow at the Hardwick American Legion Post 7
Sunday, October 18
Ferrisburgh Union Meeting Hall, Ferrisburgh
4pm Concert
4:30-6:30pm Square & Contra Dance
*with guest caller Will Mentor
Saturday, October 24
Chester Town Hall, Chester
5-7pm Concert & Square Dance
*with guest caller Sally Newton

The I D A M A E S P E C K E R 🎻 band features
John Specker
Mowgli Giannitti
Marc Edwards
Mark Burds
Silas Hamilton
Henry Clark

08/26/2026

08/25/2026

A huge thank-you to the sponsors helping make the 34th Annual New World Festival possible!

Their generous support helps us bring a full day of live music, dancing, family activities, local food, and community celebration to downtown Randolph.

We’re incredibly grateful to the businesses and organizations that continue to support the festival and the arts in our community.

We can’t wait to celebrate with you on Sunday, September 6!

Get your tickets here: https://tickets.chandler-arts.org/events/chandlercenterforthearts/2094695

08/22/2026

On Sunday, September 6, get ready for Cantrip to bring raw Celtic energy and musical mischief to this year’s New World Festival!

Formed in Edinburgh, Cantrip blends border pipes, fiddle, guitar, and rich vocals into a high-energy sound rooted in traditional Scottish music. Over more than two decades, the band has developed a bold, genre-crossing style that folds in influences from funk, metal, bluegrass, swing, and beyond, creating a live show packed with driving rhythms, unexpected twists, and plenty of groove.

🎟 Catch Cantrip live at the 34th Annual New World Festival at Chandler Center for the Arts. Tickets are available here: https://tickets.chandler-arts.org/events/chandlercenterforthearts/2094695

08/22/2026

Ida Mae Specker invites you to this month’s Braintree Bluegrass Brunch!

Join us at the Braintree Hill Meetinghouse on Sunday, August 30, for a mountain bike ride, live music from Ida Mae Specker & Friends, food, family fun, and square dancing with caller Sarah Gibson.

Event Schedule

🚲 10:00 AM: Mountain bike ride

🌿 11:00 AM: Grounds open

🎶 12:00–3:00 PM: Live music and square dancing

Ida Mae Specker brings her high-energy old-time fiddle music to Braintree, with the second set turning into a community square dance called by Sarah Gibson. No dance experience or partner is required. Just come ready to join in!

Admission is free, reservations are encouraged, and donations support artist and production costs.

Reserve your spot or donate here:
https://tickets.chandler-arts.org/events/chandlercenterforthearts/2374141

Food, drinks, and select craft vendors will be on site. Please leave pets at home.

08/21/2026

The 2026 New World Festival schedule is here! 🎶

Start planning your day in downtown Randolph. Swipe through to see when and where you can catch your favorite artists, dances, workshops, sessions, puppetry, and more throughout the festival.

📅 Sunday, September 6
📍 Downtown Randolph, Vermont

Save this post for festival day and share it with the friends you’ll be exploring with.

🎟️ Get your tickets here: https://tickets.chandler-arts.org/events/chandlercenterforthearts/2094695

08/20/2026

The Pandora Consort brings The Fire Within Her: An American Folktale About Women’s Liberation to Chandler Center for the Arts on Saturday, September 19.

Following their Fall 2025 appearance with Vermont Public Classical, the ensemble returns to Vermont with an original folk opera tracing generations of women who challenged the world around them.

From Anne Hutchinson’s defiance in Puritan Boston to Susan B. Anthony’s fight for women’s suffrage and Betty Friedan’s challenge to the “feminine mystique,” their stories unfold through shape-note songs, Shaker hymns, protest anthems, and contemporary folk music.

Featuring voices, violin, guitar, and harmonium, The Fire Within Her explores how the work of social change can pass from one generation to the next.

📍 Chandler Center for the Arts, Randolph, Vermont
🗓️ Saturday, September 19, 2026
🕖 7:00 PM
🎟️ Suggested donation: $25 per adult. No one turned away due to lack of funds.

Tickets are available now:
https://tickets.chandler-arts.org/events/chandlercenterforthearts/2347689