Thank you Charlotte for a successful fundraiser

What a wonderful evening at Philo Ridge Farm on May 5—sunny day, big crowd, great music and a spectacular venue. All of us here at The Charlotte News would like to thank owners Peter Swift and Diana McCargo, as well as our hosts for the day, Meriwether Hardie and Tad Cooke, for inviting the community to the Farm as a way to support the paper. The tours were special (the sheep!) and the food was exceptional. By the way, the farm market is now officially open for the summer season from 8:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. every day.

Big thanks also to Barb Cote of The Shelburne Tap House and our local sponsors Switchback Brewing Company and Shacksbury Cider for a great bar. Thank you to farmer and Charlotte News board member Dave Quickel for his generous donation of the Stony Loam Farm share for our raffle. And thank you to Charlotte’s own Beer Glass Trio—Julia Beerworth, Joshua Glass and Tim Swanson—for the great tunes.

We couldn’t have pulled this event off without the enthusiastic volunteers, adults and kids, who managed the door, sold raffle tickets, processed credit cards and managed the kids craft area. Thank you all.

Finally, thank you to everyone whose donations helped us meet and exceed the $3,300 challenge match put up by the board of The News. And a special thanks to Josie and Hank Kaestner for their generous gift in memory of their friend and the News’s great patron and benefactor, Alice Outwater.

We also want to pass along the link to the interesting podcast that Meriwether Hardie mentioned in her brief remarks regarding the importance of keeping local newspapers strong and sustainable.

If you weren’t able to attend the event but would like to show your financial support for your hometown paper, you can still make an online donation here or send a check payable to The Friends of The Charlotte News to Box 211, Charlotte, VT 05445.

Thank you, Charlotters, for your support of The Charlotte News and for being a part of our now almost 61–year-old story.