GOOD MORNING, UPPER VALLEY!
Partly sunny, back into the mid-20s. Feels downright tropical, eh? There's a weak cold front coming through today, but we'll still see highs that are pretty much normal for now. It's followed by high pressure arriving, and with winds shifting to come from the northwest, we're looking at a cold night again, with lows dropping a bit below zero. Looks like a mostly sunny weekend ahead.This hasn't been opossum weather... not even close. "Opossums don't bulk up like bears and raccoons; no robes of subcutaneous fat," Ted Levin writes about Erin Donahue's latest wildlife-cam subject. "When the temperature dips below 19 degrees, they burn irreplaceable calories and often suffer frostbite. Furless ears stick out like wind socks. Long, naked tails are frequently amputated by cold. What's an opossum to do? Take refuge in our sheds, basements, and attics. We become innkeepers. Suburban opossums are more apt to survive in subzero weather than their wild counterparts."So, did you check out "Dear Daybreak" yesterday? If not, you missed Karen Sears Sheldon on an unexpected visitor who walked in the door one day; Bettyanne McGuire on her city-dwelling granddaughter's unexpected favorite part of visiting over the holidays; and poet Danny Dover on why chickadees are the perfect antidote to a bitter-cold January. And if you've got a good story about life in these parts, send it in!With some fanfare, Woodstock passed a short-term rental ordinance. But it's not enforcing it. The issue, reports Lauren Dorsey in the Standard, isn't that officials don't like the measure. It's that they don't have the bandwidth. One big problem: The software the town bought to help it identify local STRs that are out of compliance. It works, but it needs tweaking—and, municipal manager Eric Duffy told the village board last week, "Right now, it’s just Stephanie [Applefeller] and [she’s] running around every day doing 8,000 different things." Village board chair Seton McIlroy says it's "a second-tier priority.""This would be a much different story if we didn’t have new smoke detectors." Sounds like a late-night public service ad, but in this case it's Stockbridge's Leslie Begin commenting on the chimney fire that destroyed her home last week. In The Herald, Darren Marcy tells the story: Her husband Mark got two woodstoves going early in the morning before heading out to work, the smoke detectors woke up Leslie and their three children 20 minutes later, and though they knocked out the flames inside, the fire had spread to the barn. The community has responded with food, clothing, and money to help rebuild.SPONSORED: Film & Food Soiree at Billings Farm & Museum, Feb. 8. Step into Frida Kahlo’s world! Join us at 3 PM for a screening of the Oscar-shortlisted documentary, Frida, followed by an immersive celebration. Enjoy live music by Route 5 Jive, interactive art, margaritas, and Latin-inspired bites by the Woodstock Inn & Resort. For ages 21+. Tickets: $75/person, $65/Billings Farm members. Advance pricing ends Jan. 31. Proceeds benefit the Woodstock Vermont Film Series. An evening as bold and spirited as Frida herself—you won't want to miss it! Sponsored by Billings Farm & Museum.On a Friday night, if you want company or don't want to cook, these Dartmouth students will feed you. The Hanover Community Kitchen sets up every Friday at Our Savior Lutheran Church in town, and dinners are open to anyone in the Upper Valley, writes Cayla Kwok in The Dartmouth. The student-run organization enlists all sorts of student groups—sports teams, Greek houses, academic fellowships—to prep a meal each week. “It’s really for anyone in the community,” says one organizer. “And not to brag, but it’s pretty good food.” And regulars on both sides of the kitchen counter are now friends.The Buddy Way. That's the title of a new ESPN documentary that looks at the life, career, impact on the game of football, and "groundbreaking innovations ...on and off the field" of the late Dartmouth coach Buddy Teevens. Produced by Peyton Manning, it premieres Sunday, and a few days ago the network released a 30-second trailer. It goes by fast. Trailer at the burgundy link, and here's Dartmouth Athletics on the doc itself.SPONSORED: Upper Valley Grownups at Wits’ End Over What to Cook for Dinner. Join Sweetland Farm’s CSA and bring joy back to the kitchen! Our new choice-based CSA model gets you all the veggies you love. High summer crops in June without the fossil fuel guilt, thanks to our state-of-the-art wood heated greenhouses. 32 weeks of the freshest veggies and fruits, plus recipes, extensive pick-your-own gardens, multiple pickup locations, and a store-wide discount in our full-diet farm stand. We’d love to be your farmers! Sponsored by Sweetland Farm.Hiking Close to Home: The Kidder-Morgan Trails, Springfield and New London, NH. This large trail network passes by Great and Kidder Brooks while criss-crossing Springfield Town Forest, says the Upper Valley Trails Alliance—with half a dozen trails of varying difficulty that offer views of ponds, waterfalls, and scenic forest. Morgan Pond Trail is good for cross-country skiing. The network has two trailheads with parking, which also provide connections to the Sunapee Ragged Kearsarge Greenway and the Webb-Langenau-Cook Trails.Been paying attention to Daybreak? Because Daybreak's Upper Valley News Quiz has some questions. Like, which Upper Valley bar just got named a James Beard Award semi-finalist? And what's the concept behind West Leb's new Happy Dumpling restaurant? Those and more at the link.But wait! How closely were you following VT and NH?
Because Seven Days wants to know if you know what Vermont's state treasurer is proposing to alleviate medical debt?
And NHPR's got a whole set of questions about doings around the Granite State—like, what action did Gov. Kelly Ayotte take recently in response to the state's budget deficit?
Lonely Planet offers a first-timer's guide to New Hampshire. For the legendary travel publishers, Brian Hardy writes, "I'm here to sing the praises of...New England's best-kept secret." Don't visit during black-fly season, he says, but otherwise, it's all good: lakes, beaches, mountains, foliage, the presidential primaries... and road crews have even "mastered the art of keeping public routes plowed and salted [in winter], even in the wee hours." Of course, he does recommend the Kancamagus during leaf-peeping season, though he's kind enough to add, "you shouldn’t expect to drive fast."In one NH town, residents have lost nearly a million dollars to scams over the past year. It could be true in other towns, too, but the police in Hampton are going public—though Chief Alex Reno tells Seacoast Online's Angeljean Chiaramida, that figure's just the scams people have reported. It's all sorts: email, phone, text, and the department's become the first in NH to open an account with crypto exchange Coinbase, so they can transfer any stolen crypto there and then return it to victims. One victim lost $480K to a months-long investment fraud; others have ranged from $200 to $170K.Hundreds of police officers turn out to escort slain border patrol agent's hearse. They showed up lights flashing yesterday morning at UVM Med Center to accompany David Maland's body from the morgue to a funeral home, reports VTDigger's Alan J. Keays. Maland, who lived in Newport, VT, was originally from Minnesota and had served in the Air Force. He died Monday after a shootout during a traffic stop in Coventry, VT. The FBI still have released little information: "FBI investigations are thorough and meticulous, and our updates take time,” a spokesperson tells Keays. Border patrol agents will stand watch at the funeral home until Maland's body is transported back to Minnesota.VT's high costs are especially punishing for seniors. It’s expensive for all age groups, but certain factors make it prohibitive for the over-60 crowd, writes Anne Wallace Allen in Seven Days. The state taxes social security and retirement benefits; individual health insurance costs are sky-high; home help is expensive; and residential care is limited and pricey. Some new laws have helped but much more is needed, like helping seniors go home after a hospital stay. “It’s ridiculous,” says one legislator. “We're calling the neighbors to see if they can cobble together enough money to get plywood for a ramp."If you're looking for a "delightful and mildly psychedelic ice maze" to skate on, head four hours due north. That's about how long it takes to get from WRJ to the nine miles of smoothed ice trails that "corkscrew through ranks of pines" at Domaine Enchanteur in Notre-Dame-du-Mont-Carmel, QC. Those quotes are how Jen Rose Smith describes the popular spot in Seven Days, as she checks in with Montreal skating instructor and Insta/TikTok star Jean-Philippe Eyelom about great skating spots in the province: Magog's Sentier Glacé, Montreal's elevated loop, and more. Here's Eyelom grooving on skates.A backcountry ski into what may be the least-visited wilderness area in the White Mountains. You may remember Andrew Drummond's name from his 2023 exploit of ascending Mt. Washington 100 times in 100 consecutive days. Drummond, a backcountry explorer who owns the Ski the Whites shop in Jackson, headed into the Dry River Wilderness with two companions one night recently, finding their way to a snowed-in shelter at 2 am—"had a recollection it was at a Y where the river split," Drummond says. The next day, they head into the untracked woods, "crazy ecosystems," and finally find safe powder.A little like Dear Daybreak, only for the ear. Not long ago, Rumble Strip's Erica Heilman put out a call for listeners to send in audio snippets for what she's calling "What Now Sounds Like": could be "an argument, your thoughts in the middle of the night...a diatribe while making cocktails," whatever. She just went up with the first installment: a South African journalist at the start of a year-long expedition around the country, a woman checking in from LA post-fires, a guy in NC on post-flooding sentiments, a sister mourning her brother after his overdose. They're tiny audio postcards from all over.
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Fleece vests, sweatshirts, head-warming beanies... Strong Rabbit has updated the Daybreak page to keep up with the changing weather. Plus, of course, the usual: t-shirts, long-sleeved tees, the Daybreak jigsaw, those perfect hand-fitting coffee/tea mugs, and as always, "We Make Our Own Fun" t-shirts and tote bags for proud Upper Valleyites. Check it all out at the link!
Upper Valley Music Center's occasional lunchtime concert series picks up today at noon with singer/composer Piccirillo and her collaborator and producer Mendicino, performing songs from Piccirillo's recent album,
Radiate
. In the Bach Room at UVMC in Lebanon.
. The exhibition of works by 28 artists from around New England and beyond takes up three floors in the gallery: Its concept "developed from our need to preserve the historic main gallery flooring while continuing exhibitions during renovation," AVA writes. Reception runs from 5-7 pm.
Under the artistic direction of Filippo Ciabatti and on period instruments, 19 professional musicians bring their talents to JS Bach's six masterworks. Tonight at 7 pm at the Lebanon Opera House, tomorrow at 3 pm at the Chandler in Randolph, and Sunday at 2 pm at Grace Congregational Church in Rutland. "Every time Bach decided to tackle a genre, he would just bring the genre to a whole new level,"
.
. Ridley Scott directs Denzel Washington, Paul Mescal, and Pedro Pascal. Romans invade, young gladiator forced to fight seeks revenge, Denzel presents a case study in effortless power. 7 pm in the Loew Auditorium.
Hartland Winter Trails kicks off its 50th anniversary celebration with Andrew and Noah Vannorstrand.
There'll be more later this winter (like an enhanced Tiki Torch Trek Feb. 8), but tonight it's a concert with the bluegrass, Appalachian, Celtic, and Québecois duo—who have a devoted following thanks to their years playing contra dances with their late mom as the Great Bear Trio. 7:30 pm in Damon Hall, refreshments at intermission.
"Carnival rock" quartet Fool & The World opens, followed by the roots and world music quintet Tinkers. 7:30 pm.
Americana rockers (and childhood friends) Elijah Klein and Joe DiNardo, along with keyboardist Ian D’Arcy and drummer Jasper Mahncke, have built a following (and a DIY summer music festival in Toms River, NJ) from countless gigs at bars, clubs, and colleges around the country. Starts up at 9 pm.
Saturday
Sponsored by Hartford Conservation Commission, Levin will talk overwintering birds, winter natural history, and more. Runs from 8-10 am, directions at the link, no dogs.
"Michael Mayer's innovative new staging brings audiences inside the towering pyramids and gilded tombs of ancient Egypt with intricate projections and dazzling animations," the Hop writes. Angel Blue in the title role, Romanian-Hungarian mezzo-soprano Judit Kutasi as Aida's rival, and Polish tenor Piotr Beczała as the soldier Radamès. 12:30 pm tomorrow in the Loew, not many tix left.
. It's not just Brad and Janet on the big screen, but the WRJ-based Creature Feature Club will
. Pre-show shenanigans in the lobby at 8 pm tomorrow, film at 9, free prop kits for the first 400 arrivals, and
and what you can and cannot bring ("
This movie is all about participation but we also want to make sure that our theater isn’t damaged, wrecked, or burned down," LOH writes.)
Sunday
. Mohammad Rasoulof's filmed-in-secrecy broadside against Iran's authoritarian regime got a 12-minute standing ovation at Cannes (and a special jury prize). It's the story of an Islamic Republic true believer and his restive family—and Rasoulof had to escape the country before it was finished. 2 pm in the Loew Auditorium.
Things get going at 5 pm Sunday with an intro to Texas Two-Step, then a line dance lesson at 5:30, and then plenty of two-step, East Coast swing, West Coast swing, waltzes, salsa, cha cha, tango, line dances...
So
many ways to move your feet! Go solo or with a partner.
It's a one-night-only benefit for the Special Needs Support Center, and there are still some tickets, though they've been going fast. New stories, older stories, and "definitely a little bit naughty," the veteran Upper Valley comic storyteller says, so adults only. 7 pm Sunday.
And as we turn toward the weekend...
We'll turn to Ghost Hounds, the Pittsburgh-based rock—and most recently country-rock—band that's opened for, among others, the Stones and ZZ Top and was co-founded by Thomas Tull: billionaire, co-owner of the Steelers, and guitarist. Fronted by magnetic singer SAVNT, with a full-on string ensemble and Joe Munroe on piano,
.
Enjoy this weekend! See you Monday for CoffeeBreak.
The Hiking Close to Home Archives. A list of hikes around the Upper Valley, some easy, some more difficult, compiled by the Upper Valley Trails Alliance. It grows every week.
The Enthusiasms Archives. A list of book recommendations by Daybreak's rotating crew of local booksellers, writers, and librarians who think you should read. this. book. now!
Daybreak Where You Are: The Album. Photos of daybreak around the Upper Valley, Vermont, New Hampshire, and the US, sent in by readers.
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