The South Pomfret hills were alive last Saturday night. Just past 5 p.m., cars filled the gravel parking lots of Artistree Community Arts Center as Jenni & the Junketeers: Divas of Jazz & Blues were scheduled to perform outdoors at 5:30. The newly mowed field at the base of the hill held overflow parking.
Some 200 strong brought food, drink, blankets and chairs to usher in our return to live performances.
The landscape surrounding the village was a blanket of green velvet. The clouds white and fluffy against a cobalt blue sky.
Not quite summer, but summer it was.
We climbed the hill to stake out our spot. Our dusty blue and green beach chairs listed in protest of the slope. We had a bird’s eye view of the stage while I scanned the Artistree structures that were partially hidden by grand old trees — sugar maples, maybe.
The restored red barn now houses art classrooms. The yellow farmhouse is a vibrant gallery showcasing many talented local artists with rotating exhibits. Just across the road is the state-of-the-art Grange Theater. Nearby is the beautifully renovated Teago General Store.
The whole experience was enhanced by a large window showcasing the Suicide Six ski resort in the background.
We watched the band set up, about a quarter of the way down the hill from us, on a large fieldstone stage — Vermont sized fieldstones, organic in appearance but spectacularly designed for outdoor performances. There was a classic standup bass. Three or four saxophones. A flute. An electric guitar set to more jazz tones than rock ’n’ roll, but rock ’n’ roll we did!
Jenni sang the blues and thrilled the audience with some jazz notes. Her exquisite rendition of Bonnie Raitt’s Something to Talk About certainly gave them that.
A young girl of 4 or 5, barefoot and wearing a fancy silver-and-gold party dress, danced, twirled, spun and danced some more. The floor was all hers, momentarily anyway. Little girls in brightly colored summer dresses rolled down the steep hill and right into summer. A toddler walked through the crowd, oblivious to those around him and equally unsure of his destination, while dad gave him the space to do so while under his watchful eye.
Freedom to be a child. Vermont.
Toward the end of an evening that no one wanted to end the band played Dancing in the Street by Martha and the Vandellas. We got up from our chairs to join the expanding dance party.
Cautious steps relaxed into the moment and the music — even with tight hips after a three-hour hike with friends earlier in the day. Nearly everyone was on their feet despite the field’s many natural holes and uneven surface. No self-respecting burrowing animals would have dared to challenge the wild-footed humans celebrating above their homes.
Then Wilson Pickett’s Mustang Sally brought the house down.
Happiness was the rhythm of the evening. COVID-19 relief and release. Neighbors hugged and a community danced. There was an ample supply of magic in the Vermont air.
Elizabeth Ricketson lives in South Pomfret.