Art with a message: Nuclear Free Jubilee features musicians, performers

BRATTLEBORO -- The Safe & Green Campaign invites the public to participate in a Nuclear Free Jubilee on Saturday.

The Nuclear Free Jubilee will kick off at 10:30 a.m., with a procession starting at Elm and Flat streets. The Bread & Puppet Theater will lead marching bands, entertainers and community members along Main Street.

The public is encouraged to take part in the procession by carrying banners and wearing costumes that reinforce the message of urging the legislature to vote to shut down Entergy/Vermont Yankee, as scheduled in 2012, and, thereby, fuel the drive toward sustainable alternative energy sources and "green collar" jobs and industries.

The procession will culminate at the Brattleboro Common, where there will be a performance by Bread and Puppet Theater, a Green Energy Fair, speakers and music.

Bread & Puppet Theater's founder, Peter Schumann, will open the festivities at the Common with a performance of "Insurrection Mass" at approximately 11:30 a.m.

Entertainment also will be provided by the notorious Reverend Billy of the Church of Stop Shopping, Nerissa and Katryna Nields, the MacArthur Family and Charlie King, among others. Bread & Puppet Theater needs 30 volunteers to help build puppets and participate in the procession's theatrical piece. For more information, call 802-348-9818.

Jubilee speakers include Vermont State Senate President Pro Tem Peter Shumlin, gubernatorial candidates Gaye Symington and Anthony Pollina, nuclear energy expert Harvey Wasserman and Citizen Awareness Network's Director Deb Katz, among others.

The Green Energy Fair on the Common will include a variety of interactive displays by renewable energy businesses and community groups. There also will be information on organizations and initiatives working to promote a clean, renewable energy future.

For more information about the Green Energy Fair, or to find out how your organization can get involved or have a booth, call 802-257-5725.

The Nuclear-Free Jubilee is sponsored by Safe & Green, a grassroots campaign in the 20-mile zone surrounding Entergy Corporation's Vermont Yankee nuclear reactor. For more information about Safe & Green, contact Randy Kehler at rkehler@crocker.com. For more information about the Nuclear Free Jubilee, contact Bob Bady at 802-254-9098 or bobbady @gamail.com.