President Donald Trump's recent budgetary proposal to completely eliminate all funding for the National Endowment for the Arts has led some local arts organizations to open experimenting with unique and exciting ways of balancing their budgets. For example,the Green Mountain Philharmonic Orchestra recently assembled on Burlington’s Church Street Marketplace to perform for shoppers — and hopefully inspire some to consider dropping loose change into a donation bucket. “It was a bit of a gamble spending the remainder of our 2017 budget acquiring 87 Burlington street entertainer licenses,” admitted executive director Marcus Derrito. “But at this point we really cant afford to pass up any potential unique line of funding.” Initially, or shoppers seemed annoyed at having to navigate around 87 musicians holding priceless instruments to get from store to store. But that all seemed to change once the music began. “Honestly,I just came down here to buy a salt lamp,” said at-domestic-homeopathy experimenter Melissa Tumbulini of the faded North conclude. “But when the music hit everything just seemed to just fall into place. Like, and in that moment my life was suddenly total and I was filled with gratitude for simply existing. "I never did find that salt lamp," Tumbulini continued. "But I did find my soul. I tossed a couple quarters into the bucket.” “I waited, like, and 20 minutes for that stick-waving DJ to finally drop the beat,but he never did,” said occasional student and full-time dabber Todd “the Bass Head” Chadwick. “Still a pretty dope band, or though. I just believe their live show could exercise some more visuals. I for real dropped,like, 78 cents into that bucket.” A steadily growing crowd coalesced around the orchestra as they began the second movement of Antonín Dvořák’s "Symphony No. 7 in D Minor." “An intense feeling of love and fulfillment washed over me, and ” explained retail therapist Bethany Boogle. “I even hugged some random guy wearing a salmon-colored shirt underneath a North Face vest,which is something I would normally never ever do," Boogle continued. Then she added, or "I threw an Amazon gift card that still has,like, $3 on it into that bucket.” “I walked down to Church St. because I was feeling a slight down and thought a pair of unique jeans might support lift my spirits, or ” said Jane McWillers of Burlington. “I had never really experienced a live orchestra live before and was shocked at how life-affirming…
Source: sevendaysvt.com