ARTS

'More Than a Market' exhibit explores food, culture of Burlington, Winooski

Portrait of Brent Hallenbeck Brent Hallenbeck
Burlington Free Press

When she moved to Burlington, Charlotte Barrett, an architectural historian by training, noticed how many buildings on North Street and elsewhere in Burlington had the recessed doorways and other physical characteristics that proclaimed, “I was once a store.”

“When I saw how many markets there probably had been,” Barrett said, “I just started digging around.”

Her digging led to “More Than a Market,” an exhibit by the regional heritage organization Historic New England that looks into the historical and contemporary markets in the Burlington area. The display that’s based on oral histories and photos opens June 27 in Burlington and runs through Dec. 23.

Customer Peguy Kulemfuka at the RGS Nepali Market in Burlington, as depicted in the exhibit "More Than a Market."

“We all have to eat. For most of us, our memories of food are extremely powerful,” said Barrett, who is community preservation manager for the Burlington office of Historic New England. “That is universal for people.”

Barrett learned of the arrivals of French-Canadian and Irish immigrants to Vermont, followed by Lithuanians, Russians, Jews and Italians. More recent arrivals to Vermont have included immigrants from Vietnam, Bosnia, Somalia and Nepal. All of those cultures and more are featured in “More Than a Market.”

The exhibit tells the stories of market owners who worked hard to start their own businesses in a new land. They established control of their lives after in many cases leaving a land where they had little or no control over their lives, Barrett said.

Chick Dupont, owner of the former Chick's Market in Winooski, as depicted in the exhibit "More Than a Market."

“More Than a Market” also looks into the importance of markets in their communities. Barrett said they have served as places of cultural support and connection where people can relax and speak their native languages, and recent arrivals can receive advice on how to settle into their new communities.

Barrett said “More Than a Market” shows the common traits so many cultures share.

“Anybody can walk around parts of Burlington now and be aware of how diverse this area is,” she said. “We’re really not so different. This story has never ended.”

Canned goods from the Euro Market in South Burlington are depicted in the exhibit "More Than a Market."

If you go

WHAT: “More Than a Market” exhibit

WHEN: 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Monday-Wednesday and Friday, 1-4 p.m. Saturday from June 27 through Dec. 23; walking tours on the first Saturday of each month July through October will visit locations of past and present-day markets in the Old North End of Burlington.

WHERE: Old North End Community Center, 20 Allen St., Burlington

INFORMATION: Free. www.historicnewengland.org

Contact Brent Hallenbeck at bhallenbeck@freepressmedia.com. Follow Brent on Twitter at www.twitter.com/BrentHallenbeck