Chandler Festivals

Chandler is proud to sponsor three popular annual festivals each year.

• New World Festival, a Labor Day Sunday event since 1993, celebrating Vermont’s Celtic and French Canadian heritage with traditional music and dance, held in downtown Randolph.
  
• Central Vermont Chamber Music Festival, a tradition since 1993, featuring a two-week series of concerts of standard and interesting repertoire for mixed ensembles performed by world-class artists at Chandler Music Hall each August.
  
• Fiddlehead Festival, a spring celebration produced in partnership with the agricultural community, honoring the area’s rich agricultural traditions each May since 2007, at Vermont Technical College
  

An Annual Event since 1993!  Always on Labor Day Sunday - Noon to Midnight

The Vermont Chamber of Commerce has regularly designated this festival as “One of Vermont's Top Ten Fall Events”

Each year more than 70 exceptional musicians are drawn from New England, Canada and the British Isles. Concerts, music and dance workshop sessions, children's activities, and open dancing unfold on five continuous stages from noon until midnight.  Food and drink are provided by the area's finest chefs and breweries. 

The festival takes place in Chandler Music Hall, in all-weather tents on both sides of Main Street, and in historic Bethany Church. Main Street is closed to traffic, and the festival site becomes an intimate pedestrian village.

Past performers have included Johnny Cunningham, La Galvaude, Jean Redpath, Nouret, Paddy Keenan, Matapat, Nightingale, La Volée d'Castors, Manigance, the McDades, Les Batinses, Cantrip, Barachois, Jerry Holland, RéVeillons!, Norman Kennedy, Boulerice et Demers, Sarah Blair, Pierre Chartrand, Swamperella, Claude Méthé and April Verch.         

“A classic example of a small festival!  Top-notch music, one-of-a-kind stages, delicious food, appreciative audiences, smiling people.... The positive adjectives can go on and on ....”
                  ~ Robert Resnik, host, “All the Traditions”, Vermont Public Radio

“…the torch bearer for traditional music in the United States.” ~ Keith Murphy, musician

“I've been going to festivals all over the place for a lot of years, and the New World is my favorite.  It's just the best we've ever played at.” ~ John Campbell, Cape Breton fiddling legend

Special thanks go to our founding sponsor – Randolph National Bank

Central Vermont Chamber Music Festival
This annual two week summer chamber music residency began at Chandler in 1993. Under the direction of cellist and artistic director Peter Sanders and in partnership with Chandler, the festival continues to present concerts of both familiar and unusual repertoire for mixed ensembles, all performed by world-class artists. The events include two Saturday evening concerts, a special Friday morning performance for children, and a free lunchtime concert of lighter fare at Randolph's Three Stallion Inn.

Fiddlehead Festival
Chandler is pleased to partner with the agricultural community to present this annual celebration of spring and agriculture in Central Vermont at Vermont Technical College in early May. The day's activities include a children's parade and tractor cavalcade, tractor obstacle course, children's activities, and a maypole celebration. Live music, vendors, a luncheon honoring area farmers, educational sessions, storytelling, and demonstrations at the VTC farm round out the day's events. We hope you'll join us! 

Volunteers are always needed to help at the festivals! If interested please fill out our online form or email our volunteer coordinator
Marda Donner.