Vermont Democratic House Campaign

From www.briancampion.org

Welcome to "What's The Deal With...", a series of posts we'll be doing trying to make sense of and generally figure out, well, what's the deal with some of the odder traditions that live on in the Statehouse. For our inaugural edition, we're looking at Farmer's Night!

Long before the interstate highway system crisscrossed the nation and made travel as convenient as it is today, most of Vermont's legislators would live in Montpelier for the duration of the legislative season, which could last anywhere from 5 to 7 months on average. As you might imagine, things could become somewhat monotonous for the representatives and senators over the course of those months, and the unofficial tradition of entertaining one another during the season goes back to the very beginning of Vermont's history. In 1923 a formal "Farmer's Night" was introduced, and named so for the fact that most of the legislators were, at the time, farmers.

In the beginning, Farmer's Night was indeed legislators performing for and entertaining other legislators. As time passed, the legislature apparently became less talented (or maybe just got busier), and they started bringing in talent from the surrounding area, and eventually around the state to perform. Today Farmer's Night is attended by both legislators and the public, and (much to my disappointment, though it's probably for the best) performances are given exclusively by professionals.

Farmer's Night is open to the public every Wednesday at 7:30 in the Statehouse, free of charge for the duration of the legislative season. If you haven't yet, check out our video with Representative Alison Clarkson, a producer of Farmer's Night, featuring the Vermont Symphony Orchestra- they're wonderful.