If you've wandered down Burlington's Catherine Street these past few days at 7 p.m. on the dot, chances are you've heard a whole lot of noise. That's when a few neighbors stand on their porches and bang together cooking pots, lids and ladles for several very loud minutes.
It all started last Thursday, when Wendy Hess posted the idea on Front Porch Forum.
" ... we are all asked to open our doors and give applause to the unsung heros helping keep our communities going," she wrote.
Hess said she got the idea from a friend, who posted on Facebook about her Decatur Street neighbors going out at an appointed time to make noise together in Burlington's Old North End.
"I was just trying to extend what I thought was a cool thing from other neighborhoods," she said.
Watch the pot-bangers do their thing Tuesday evening:
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Hess lives on Charlotte Street, which, along with Catherine Street and several others, makes up the Five Sisters neighborhood. She said it's a close-knit place, where people are used to seeing and interacting with each other regularly.
So now they make noise together. And it's not just pots and pans, according to Hess. It's blinking porch lights, it's blasting recordings of bagpipes, and it's even some Italian opera.
"The first night I had an old school bell I went out and rang, which is usually saved for New Year's Eve, to go out and scare the bad spirits away," Hess said. "It was great, it was a nice way, checking in with each other, seeing each other at a distance, making some noise, just taking back a little power and expressing some frustration."
Is your neighborhood making noise? VPR would love to post a collection of videos from around the state (and beyond!).
- Make sure you have your neighbors' permission first.
- Record your noise-making session using your cell phone camera (no longer than one minute please!).
- Send the video, plus your street name and town, to share@vpr.net, and we may post it on our website. Thanks!
