Did you know that Dartmouth Health prioritizes art as a part of its facilities and care? And not just a beautiful mural here or there, either, but programs and initiatives that bring the community together. In addition to permanent and rotating exhibitions, the hospital has creative arts specialists such as writers, visual artists, and harpists, as well as public art projects, and even offers live performances. Working with organizations like the Upper Valley Music Center, the AVA Gallery and Arts Center, and the Hopkinton Center of the Arts, Dartmouth Health’s focus on utilizing art for healing is philanthropically funded for a good cause.

The Dartmouth Health Center’s Creative Arts program employs arts-focused contracted staff, including a creative writer, a visual artist, and two therapeutic harpists.

Integrating Arts and the Humanities was one of Dartmouth Health’s projects even back when the hospital was known as the Mary Hitchcock Memorial Hospital. In the late ‘80s, Gertrude Mertens’ support, along with Mary and Laurance Rockefeller’s 107 Audubon Bird prints, kicked off the program that soon included various other forms of art within the hospital’s walls. One of these is the rotating gallery program, where eight galleries rotate four times a year, said Gillian Cook, the program coordinator for care experience. Artists can find the hospital and apply, or Cook will find artists that she thinks will be a good fit.

In addition to these galleries — which include art in mediums such as oil paintings and pastels — Dartmouth Health also began a Creative Arts program in 2005 for the Dartmouth Cancer Center. Here, an arts-focused contracted staff, including a creative writer, two therapeutic harpists, and a visual artist, all work within the cancer center, said Heather Allin, the program manager of the Complementary Care program for the Dartmouth Cancer Center.

“Patients can request one-on-one services,” Allin continued, if they, for example, need the creative writer to help them write their memoirs. The success of this program, Cook expressed, has allowed it to move into an inpatient center setting, as well, with the same artists. Providers often give referrals to patients if they believe the services would be good for their patients’ well-being. Cook and Allin both said that all supplies that patients work with are donor-funded.

Still, these only scratch the surface of how Dartmouth Health embraces the arts within its care. Cook explained that there are also several live performances, with “at least one person playing every day of the week” in two public areas in the hospital. Featured musicians include pianists, a cellist, a violinist, and a few guitar players. The hospital also hosts a “winter holiday concert series where community choirs and other ensembles will come and play in our main rotunda,” Cook said.

A stained glass window by artist Sabra Field.

Allin said they’ve tried something new this year in the cancer center hematology oncology waiting room. “People are there waiting for long periods of time,” she said, so a visual artist set up a new collaborative art project, where she “laid down tarps and a canvas, and over the day, people can come and she gives instruction.”

“By the end of the day,” Allin said, “You have this beautiful picture that has just come together with multiple people participating.” This program has been conducted weekly for the past six or so months.

Among the many arts- and humanities-focused services the hospital offers, another worth mentioning is how Dartmouth Health collaborates with local organizations. There’s the AVA Gallery and Art Center, which aids the hospital with public art, as well a partnership with the Upper Valley Music Center to offer an aphasia choir for patients “who are experiencing speech deficits from either stroke or traumatic brain injury,” Cook explained. She recounted that one of the caregivers of a patient with aphasia said, “her son hadn’t been singing in church until he started going to aphasia choir, and now he sings again.”

Left Gillian Cook, program coordinator for care experience at Dartmouth Health. Right Heather Allin, program manager of the Complementary Care program for the Dartmouth Cancer Center.

This is just one of many uplifting patient accounts. Cook expressed that “one person said during those days when [her] husband fought for his life, the art at the hospital became more than beautiful decorations. With each stop, she found a momentary hiding place from all things medical.”

Allin recounted a few testimonials from those working with the artists, such as “creating art helps me forget my cancer for a while,” and “I was not having a good week of chemo. I was not sure if I’d be able to do the activity, but I found getting involved helped lift my spirits.”

Overall, it’s clear that Dartmouth Health’s Arts and Humanities programs have had, and continue to have, an impact on the patients they serve and the community they collaborate with. A unique aspect of Dartmouth Health, the programs show how nontraditional methods of healing are worth exploring, especially considering how much help they can provide.

Many people reach a point in their lives when it becomes difficult to meet new people. Thankfully, Upper Valley Ultimate has been remedying this problem for decades by providing a third space to play Ultimate Frisbee. To clarify, “…in social theory, a ‘third space’ refers to a place, separate from home (first space) and work (second space), where people gather to socialize, relax, and build community. It’s a neutral ground for informal interactions, fostering a sense of belonging and connection.” (AI search summary) At Sachem Field in West Lebanon, over thirty people meet at 6pm on a Monday to throw the disc in a friendly pick-up game.

Becca Bates, a current Enfield resident who grew up in Lebanon, first found the group around two decades ago. She was looking for a place to meet friends and saw an ad in the paper for a co-ed Ultimate Frisbee league. When she asked if she could play, the group said yes, but she wasn’t sure if she was “in” until all of the players went to the Salt Hill Pub after the game. After ordering a Pabst Blue Ribbon in front of one of the regular players, she knew she was when someone said, “You’re a frisbee person if you’re ordering a PBR.”

It’s important to note – preferring specific adult beverages has never been necessary in attending the Upper Valley Ultimate group, as the group is welcoming to all. Attendees range from 16 years old to those in their 70s, though most are more centered around the middle of that age range. Though there are several residents from Lebanon and the surrounding Upper Valley area, some players drive over an hour to play, such as some from St. Johnsbury. Part of the reason for this is simple. Although other areas in the region have pickup games, this is one of the most well-attended groups, so there are always enough people to play.

Over the years, Bates has seen the group transform with a few different organizers, and even ran it herself for a few years. After COVID, she stopped running it, and now it is a committee-run group. A group of four sets up communication through emails and a Discord server, coordinating all sorts of logistics.

Beyond pick-up games, the Upper Valley Ultimate group hosts an additional league night during the summer. Teams are internally constructed within the group with co-ed teams of equal gender-mixing. One of the coordinators’ hardest jobs is making sure teams are balanced effectively for fair play. The latest summer league that just finished had four teams. Team names are typically constructed based on a theme, and this year’s was medieval professions: the Bladesmiths, the Shepherds, the Town Criers, and the Jesters.

Finals trophy – top and underside – the years reveal how far back the summer league goes.

Despite the league being a bit more involved, all games exude a casual hangout feel. Two Lebanon residents, Jeffy Wang and Lily Frappier, are two new attendees standing on the sidelines for the first time. When asked if they’ve ever played Ultimate Frisbee before, Frappier says she “played a little in high school” and Wang says, “I’ve thrown a disc before. Does that count?” Their lack of experience doesn’t seem to intimidate them either, as they each eagerly wait for their turn to play.

They both found out about the group from Adam Jones, an engineer and current Lebanon resident here on work rotation. Originally from London, England, he played Ultimate Frisbee regularly there, and he was shocked he could keep it up in Lebanon, NH. He found out about it from the Upper Valley Ultimate Facebook page and said it helped him meet other people in the area when he moved here this May.

Upper Valley Ultimate attendees stress that the group is for everyone, and a unique aspect of the sport that furthers this outlook is “the spirit of the game,” something that has, over time, been written directly into the rulebook. The gist is that players are encouraged to respect each other on the field, and games have no referees. Instead, when a foul is called, both players talk out the call and have to agree on its legitimacy, making it completely self-regulated. The rule furthers the inclusivity and community aspect of the sport.

In the last four years, the group found another way to be more inclusive by creating and running a separate women and nonbinary players’ night. The intention was for it to be a space for new players that was less intimidating. Originally, the group held practices and drills to increase the skills of these players, but this made it difficult for those who couldn’t make it every week. Eventually, coordinators shifted it to a separate pick-up night.

Though Sachem Field is perfect during the summer, fall makes the area less viable due to several school teams needing it for games. This is when the Upper Valley Ultimate group moves down to one night a week. Though still able to utilize the field for a time in the fall, when the weather turns, they meet inside and whittle down their games to a four-on-four player structure.

One of the greatest challenges the group has is spreading the word about the group. Though there are several returning members, a great deal of the members are transient, including students and medical residents at Dartmouth Hitchcock. Flyers have been utilized in the past, but most come to know about the group through the over 400-follower Upper Valley Ultimate Facebook page. The group is always looking for more players. Those interested can simply show up to a pickup game held on Monday or Wednesday at Sachem Field or reach out to the Facebook group for more information.

If you’re someone who’s looking for a way to be outside more frequently and meet new people, the Upper Valley Ultimate group is here for you. Whether you’re athletically inclined or not, the group stresses they’ve always been more about community-building than anything else. Though many argue about the vanishing “third space,” when you look around Sachem Field, you’ll find Upper Valley Ultimate is keeping it alive as those from all walks of life gather to play a friendly, casual game together.

Free concerts at the library? Hearing live music may not be what you first expect while checking out the latest Stephen King or fantasy romance tale, but the Kilton Public Library and the Upper Valley Music Center (UVMC) are working together to bring music education and appreciation to the Lebanon area with varied events for all ages every month.

The two entities started working together around COVID when the library was interested in hosting daytime summer concerts outside at their facility, and the UVMC was happy to oblige. Erin Smith, the education director at UVMC and one of the main people responsible for the work involved in this partnership, expressed that one of the greatest aspects of the collaboration is “making music education accessible to the whole community.” She expressed that having free programs in the library, where free programming for the community is the norm, has become a great way to do that.

After these initial concerts with the Kilton Public Library, both organizations were able to work toward making music appreciation and education more accessible. Because of patron interest, the UVMC received a grant to increase the types of programming they were able to provide. After the library and the UVMC conducted surveys, they were able to provide more participatory events with this funding. Whether they bring down guest program leaders such as the Burlington Taiko Group or utilize the various talented educators at their facility, the UVMC strives to provide the community with the music education they’re looking for. Though some events are still held outside, a good deal of them now occur in the community room inside the library.

One successful recent participatory event was a drum circle headed by percussion instructor Christian Terry. The first event took place in July, and Terry had ten people, spanning from ages 4 to those in their 70s, each with varied musical ability. Terry explained that one of his favorite things about this specific outreach event is that anyone can do it, even if they don’t have a strong music background. After holding another larger drum circle in August with mostly different attendees, he expressed that another exciting aspect is that every drum circle is different. Everyone “shar[es] in this moment that will never happen again,” which makes the experience only more powerful.

Draa Hobbs, a jazz guitar instructor at UVMC, also had a lot to say about unique music moments. In addition to being scheduled to play an upcoming concert with John Stowell this September, he expressed how under-represented jazz is in the surrounding community, partially due to it being an improvised art form. To help remedy this, he held a well-attended workshop at the library a little while ago, where he taught guitarists how to improvise. He expressed how one of the hardest aspects in running a workshop like this is to make sure everyone learns something from the instruction, especially when there is such a wide range of skill levels. Despite the challenges, Hobbs believes the outreach is worth it because “it’s crucial to keep putting…a great music [genre] in front of an audience,” as well as “continue to interest younger people in a very interesting art form.”

Even when events seem more passive, like a concert, the music educators at the UVMC still impart music history and appreciation to the Lebanon community. Take Faith Goodness, a flutist who led a recent concert on August 18th. Goodness expressed how, in her latest concert at the Kilton Public Library, she focused on more “modern playing” techniques in classical music, from “flutter-tonguing,” along with “multiphonics,” “overtones,” and even singing while she plays flute. Throughout, Goodness took time in between pieces to cue listeners into what they were about to hear, as well as talk about the history of each piece that she was playing. Selecting works from the Baroque period to the modern era, she worked to encapsulate an entire primer of flute classical music history.

It’s not just educators who perform. In the past, a group of students from the UVMC came to the library to perform music set to picture books. These experiences illustrate some of the values incorporated by major programs at the UVMC, including Music Together and the Suzuki method, which encourage the strengthening of musical bonds between parents and children and within their larger surrounding communities. Benjamin Van Vliet, the UVMC’s Executive Director, expressed that one of his favorite aspects of the events was that the Kilton Library keeps the community room doors open, and it’s “so fun to see people wander into these experiences. Sometimes, it’s a little kid dragging their parent along, but sometimes, it’s an adult just going for a book that gets sidetracked and curious.”

In outreach like this, sometimes the impact can be greater than ever imagined. Erin Smith shared one incredible example, where the UVMC worked with the Kilton Public Library to put on a couple of jam sessions where musicians with any instrument or ability level were invited to participate in playing New England fiddle tunes. The attending group enjoyed the accessibility and welcoming nature of these events so much that they continue to run similar events, even though the UVMC is no longer involved in hosting them.

Whether you want to learn more about different genres, participate in music events regardless of your skill level, or simply hear great music, the Kilton Public Library and Upper Valley Music Center have their Lebanon residents covered as they continue to make music more accessible to everyone.