Downtown Rutland, Vermont

09/09/2026

🎃 Spooky Season is coming to The Paramount Theatre!

Our friends at the Paramount Theatre have a full month of Halloween favorites hitting the BIG screen this October, and tickets are just $5!

🎟️ Even better: Buy any TWO tickets to the Paramount’s Big Screen Edition movies and get a THIRD ticket FREE!

👻 And there’s more! Halloween (1978) will be shown FREE on Halloween night, and Free Friday Classics return every Friday at 2:00 PM.

There’s nothing quite like seeing a movie on the big screen at our historic downtown theatre.

Make plans for a spooky night out in Downtown Rutland this October, and be sure to grab dinner, drinks, or a little shopping while you’re here!

Spooky Season is coming to the Paramount! 🎃

Halloween favorites are hitting the BIG screen all October long - and tickets are just $5! No tricks... all treat!

🎟️ Buy any TWO tickets to our Big Screen Edition movies and get any THIRD ticket FREE! (Valid at the Box Office only. OR… buy two online and grab your free ticket at the Box Office the day of the screening!)

Plus, Halloween (1978) is FREE on Halloween night, and our Free Friday Classics return every Friday at 2PM.

Share this post and help us spread the word! October at the Paramount is going to be a lot of fun. 👻🎬

09/04/2026

In 1956, James McNeil opened the doors of McNeil & Reedy on Merchants Row. Seventy years, three generations and a whole lot of suits later, they’re still right there.

09/04/2026

🎉 70 YEARS! McNeil & Reedy is celebrating 70 years in Downtown Rutland, Vermont, and they’re marking the occasion with a BIG anniversary celebration!

📅 Saturday, October 3
⏰ 5–9 PM
📍 McNeil & Reedy, 81 Merchants Row

Come celebrate with:
🍴 Free food & drinks
🥃 A tasting of 70-year-old whiskey
💨 Cigar bar
🎁 Huge giveaways
🥃 70 customers will go home with a full-size bottle featuring McNeil & Reedy’s custom 70th anniversary label!

Dress to impress, come downtown, and raise a glass to 70 incredible years of McNeil & Reedy!

70 YEARS. ONE HELL OF A REASON TO THROW A PARTY.

On October 3, we’re celebrating 70 years of McNeil & Reedy right here on Merchants Row. Free food and drinks. Cigar bar. Huge giveaways. A tasting of 70-year-old whiskey—and 70 customers will go home with a full-size bottle featuring our custom anniversary label. October 3 • 5–9 PM • Downtown Rutland. Dress to impress. Come raise a glass with us!

09/03/2026

📸 Throwback Thursday: The Metzger Building!

Built around 1860 for the Verder-Steam Bakery, this historic building has been part of Downtown Rutland, Vermont, for more than 160 years!

The 1978 photo shows the building when Metzger Brothers occupied the storefront, with many of the architectural details we still recognize today, from the ornate brickwork along the roofline to the rows of tall windows.

Nearly 50 years later, the building remains a familiar part of the downtown streetscape and is now home to Blush Vermont on the first floor.

Same corner, same building, but a different chapter in Downtown Rutland’s history!

📷 Historic photo: Hugh Henry, 1978 / Vermont Division for Historic Preservation

09/02/2026

👀 We’ve spotted signs of a new business getting ready to open its doors at 56 Strongs Avenue in Downtown Rutland, Vermont!

🏳️‍🌈 The Q Rutland is coming soon—a queer-owned space to sip, snack, and socialize.

We can’t wait to share more! Stay tuned for details as The Q gets ready to join our downtown community.

09/02/2026

📸 Walkabout Wednesday in Downtown Rutland, Vermont!

This week, we’re taking a walk along Strongs Avenue, where you’ll find a mix of local businesses, services, and plenty of character.

From colorful storefronts and murals to views of the mountains, Strongs Avenue is a great reminder of just how much there is to discover downtown.

Take a walk, grab a bite, visit a local business, notice something you may have passed by a hundred times, and enjoy the places and spaces that make our community so special!

08/29/2026

If you have any information about last night’s graffiti vandalism on the mural near Moose Lodge 1122 Rutland, Vermont, please send us a message or email at [email protected]

Edit: Image updated, with the tag intentionally blurred to avoid giving it additional publicity.

08/28/2026

🎉 Happy 13th Anniversary to Speakeasy Cafe!

For 13 years, Speakeasy Café has been serving up coffee, biscuits, conversation, and plenty of personality in the heart of Downtown Rutland, Vermont.

More than a café, Speakeasy has become a true community gathering place, with weekly events ranging from Trivia Night to Silent Book Club. We’re grateful to have them as part of our downtown and excited to celebrate this milestone with owner Bridget Scott and the entire Speakeasy crew!

☕ Join them tomorrow from 12–4 PM for their “Speak-iversary” celebration, featuring drag queens, chair massages, and plenty of fun!

Congratulations to Speakeasy Café on 13 incredible years in our downtown, and here’s to many more!

08/28/2026

🎉 THANK YOU for an incredible summer of Friday Night Live in Downtown Rutland, Vermont!

After six Friday nights filled with live music, street parties, local food, shopping, family activities, vendors, artists, community organizations, and thousands of people enjoying our downtown, we want to recognize the many people who helped bring Friday Night Live to life this summer.

❤️ First, thank you to all of the downtown businesses that participated this year! Week after week, businesses opened their doors, extended their hours, offered specials, hosted activities and live music, created outdoor dining experiences, and welcomed thousands of people downtown. Friday Night Live is ultimately about supporting and celebrating our downtown, and our businesses are at the heart of it!

🎪 Thank you to the dozens of vendors, artists, makers, food vendors, nonprofits, and community organizations who joined us throughout the six-week series. You brought something new to discover each Friday and helped transform Center Street and Merchants Row into a lively open-air marketplace and community gathering place. A special thank you to Whirlies World for bringing their bounce houses and family-friendly fun downtown throughout the summer!

🎶 Thank you to all of our musicians and performers, including Rick Redington & Tuff Luv, Troy Millette & the Fire Below, and Zach Nugent’s Dead Set, who headlined our three concert nights at Depot Park. Thank you as well to the many local musicians who performed at businesses and other locations throughout downtown during the series.

A special thank you to Mike Mitrano for helping produce our concert nights and to Magnum PA for providing the professional sound, lighting, production and stage that helped make these performances possible.

🙌 Thank you to our volunteers! From setting up tables and tents to helping vendors find their spaces, staffing the information tent, answering questions, cleaning up, and taking on countless other tasks, our volunteers were an essential part of every Friday Night Live. We are especially grateful to the individuals and groups who returned week after week, as well as the amazing GE Aerospace Volunteers for lending a hand.

🚓 Thank you to the Rutland City Police Department and the officers who were downtown each Friday, helping us create a safe and welcoming environment for everyone attending the events.

🚧 Thank you to the City of Rutland and the City of Rutland, Department of Public Works for the tremendous behind-the-scenes support required to close and reopen downtown streets, coordinate traffic and infrastructure, and help us transform Center Street and Merchants Row into event spaces each Friday.

🚗 Thank you to LAZ Parking for partnering with us to provide free parking at the downtown parking garage during Friday Night Live, making it easier for visitors to park and enjoy downtown.

🗑️ Thank you to Casella Waste Systems for helping us manage the additional trash and cleanup that comes with welcoming thousands of people downtown.

🌟 And thank you to our sponsors, including The Pines at Rutland Center for Nursing and Rehabilitation and our media sponsor, the Rutland Herald. Their generous financial and in-kind support helped make it possible for Friday Night Live to remain a free community event throughout the summer.

Most importantly, THANK YOU to everyone who came downtown!

Whether you attended one Friday or all six, shopped at a downtown business, grabbed dinner, bought something from a local maker, visited a nonprofit, danced in the street, listened to live music, brought your family downtown, met up with friends, or simply walked around and enjoyed the atmosphere—you were part of what made this summer so special!

Friday Night Live is about more than six events. It’s about bringing people together, supporting our local businesses, creating opportunities for entrepreneurs and organizations, and showcasing the life, creativity, and sense of community that make Downtown Rutland special.

We are incredibly grateful to everyone who played a part in Friday Night Live 2026. Thank you for an amazing summer in Downtown Rutland, Vermont!

📷 Enjoy these photos from our final Friday Night Live of the summer on August 14!