GOOD MORNING, UPPER VALLEY!
Ahhh... Sunny, warm. High pressure's settling in off to the west, air's flowing in from the northwest, and we get a fine, clear day out there. Highs today on either side of 80, with lows tonight in the mid 50s.A curious young coyote. On Erin Donahue's trail cam. Ted Levin writes: "Coyotes were bigger during the Ice Age. Back then, they scavenged the kills of dire wolves and took the young of ground sloths and camels. Coyotes shrank in the shadow of beefier gray wolves within a thousand years after the glaciers. They're intelligent, adaptable, and curious. Especially curious, which may have killed the cat but informed coyote evolution. Coyotes eat anything, anytime, anywhere: melons in NJ; woodchucks, grasshoppers, and fawns in VT; rats and garbage in DC; woodland caribou calves in QC's Chic-Choc Mountains."Hanover zoning board rejects Co-op bid to change Lyme Road store. As you'll remember, the Co-op had sought a zoning variance to allow it to close the store and replace it with a prepared foods commissary. Now, reports Liz Sauchelli in the Valley News, the zoning board has turned them down, arguing that the Co-op hasn't made its case that the store's location couldn't generate enough customer traffic to make it sustainable. The board also cited neighbors' objections that the store functions as a community hub. Co-op spokesperson Allan Reetz says the Co-op will continue to explore options for the site.Pomfret, Woodstock to close Cloudland Road again this fall. Last year's move, sparked by residents' complaints about out-of-control influencer hordes—especially around the iconic Sleepy Hollow Farm—drew national attention. It was also a success: Feedback from residents was "overwhelmingly positive," one Pomfret resident told the Woodstock Selectboard last week. This year, officials in both towns are hoping that by keeping the road off social media for two years in a row, they can dampen the lust for shareable photos and, perhaps, keep it open next year. The Standard's Tess Hunter has the details.Newbury VT's Old Village Church gets a new use: a weaving school. The Marshfield School of Weaving will keep its name when it moves from the Marshfield, VT barn it's occupied for 50 years to the former Methodist chapel on Newbury's town common next month. It will also keep doing what it does: teach the "longstanding tradition of working on the horizontal treadle loom—something people have deemed useful for thousands of years," K. Fiegenbaum writes in VTDigger. The school drew 200 students from more than 30 states and four countries last year. Fiegenbaum dives into its history and evolution.SPONSORED: The Craftsmen’s Fair returns to the Mt. Sunapee Resort in Newbury, NH August 3-11! It's the 91st year of The League of NH Craftsmen's annual showcase, with hundreds of artists and artisans showing their work and giving demonstrations over nine days. An iconic arts experience in a beautiful location with ample free parking; guests 16 and under admitted free. Tickets available in advance online for lowest prices and fastest time through the gates (valid for any one day of the event), and also at the gate each day. Open daily 10 AM - 5 PM. Sponsored by the League of NH Craftsmen.Finding the humor in Hamlet. For nearly a quarter century, the Chelsea Funnery—an offshoot of the Craftsbury theater camp Get Thee to the Funnery—has mounted an intensive two-week camp where students aged 12-18 learn and perform a Shakespeare play. Without updating the language. “We spend a lot of time working with the campers on how to understand Shakespeare, how to read it, how to perform it," director Tess Holbrook tells the Herald's Isabel Dreher. And, she says, to add "excitement and humor, and at the same time to hold space for those really serious and tragic moments." Hamlet premieres tonight in Tunbridge. See below.At the New London Barn Playhouse, Frankie Valli, The Four Seasons, and "a never-ending supply of brightly colored velvet jackets." The company's production of the musical Jersey Boys is under way (see Heads Up below), and in the Standard, Max Huibregtse writes that the music "is as timeless and pleasant as ever," buttressed by "high-quality, high-energy performances by the show’s four leads." The show traces the band's rise from "hardscrabble bar and bowling alley band" to become, well, The Four Seasons, before it all fell apart. It runs through August 4.SPONSORED: Wish you had a lake to cool off in and sand for your little ones to dig in? Maybe you're looking for space to garden or a cozy cabin for visitors just 15 minutes north of Dartmouth campus. Do you value a sense of community? Member/shareholders and guests at Loch Lyme Lodge enjoy all this and more. Check our website by clicking the headline, or just come see what we're doing. Visit during one of our Tuesday cookouts or Sunday Summer Soirées, both with live music. We're always happy to show you around. Jay & Amy Kelly, Rich Brown, and Liz Cole. Sponsored by Loch Lyme Lodge.It takes a village to rehab a loon. Well, not a village per se, but the VT Center for Ecostudies, VINS, and Aloha Camp on Lake Morey all played a role over the past month in rescuing, treating, and then releasing back into the wild a loon suffering from both lead poisoning and blunt trauma. VCE's Susan Hindinger tells the story in a blog post, from the loon's discovery on the summer solstice and rescue by VCE biologist Eric Hanson, to medical care at VINS, to the release into the Morey waters at Aloha—complete with dubbing the loon "Madame President" and a Secret Service detail. Here's video of the release.Been paying attention to Daybreak? Because Daybreak's Upper Valley News Quiz has some questions for you. Like, how many tree seedling tips can a single deer eat in a day? And what school board action have Hartford residents been taking exception to? Those and other questions at the link.But wait! How closely were you following VT and NH?
Because Seven Days wants to knowif you know in how many of VT's 14 counties workers had an average annual wage that was above the statewide average.
And NHPR's got a whole set of questionsabout doings around the Granite State—like, which animal population in New Hampshire has declined significantly over the last several decades, from about 7,000 in 2000 to around 3,500?
As you may remember, a federal district court judge found in May that the 2021 measure restricting how public school teachers can teach issues related to race and gender was unconstitutionally vague. Now, reports
NH Bulletin
's Ethan DeWitt, AG John Formella is taking it to the
First Circuit Court of Appeals in Boston. The district court ruling "improperly second guesses the legitimate policy choices made by the State Legislature," his office said in a press release.
In two cases this month, a bear or bears have entered houses through screen doors to wreak havoc in the kitchen—one fled, the other was only scared off by a shotgun blast. Last week, in a third case, reports Aaron Calvin in the
Stowe Reporter
, a bear climbed into an attic where an empty birdfeeder was hanging "and had to be coaxed out and away from the property" by police and VT Fish & Wildlife. “It is critical that everyone in [Stowe]...needs to understand that they are living in bear country," state bear expert Jackie Comeau says, and keep bears from connecting humans to food.
Grace Potter: "Culture is something we need to have the patience of a gardener with." On Tuesday, the Vermont born-and-raised musician sat down with VT Public's Mikaela Lefrak for a videotaped conversation about Vermont itself, her husband's decision (she says) to buy a farm in Fayston, where she grew up, reviving the Grand Point North music festival (this weekend in Burlington), and her foundation, dedicated to backing the arts in Vermont: "I want to bring some of those weirdos out of the woodwork and allow them to find themselves on a pedestal for no reason other than that they should be."As the Olympics get under way, Dartmouth can claim six athletes there. Actually, rugby's already under way (the US men's 7 team lost to Australia yesterday), and the college has two grads playing, writes Bill Platt for Dartmouth News: Ariana Ramsey, '22, and Madison Hughes, '17. There are also three members of the rowing team: Molly Reckford, '15, who just missed a podium finish last time around; and Oliver Bub, '20 and Billy Bender, '25 (more below). And Isalys Quiñones, '19, Thayer '20, is playing for the Puerto Rican women's basketball team. Platt profiles the six. Ongoing updates here."Billy's always been crazy competitive about everything." In truth, all four of Norwich's Bender-Kelliher boys have rowed competitively (and their sister, Kristen, at 17 was the youngest woman to summit all 50 states' highest peaks). Now Billy Bender is the youngest member of the US Olympic rowing team. In Seven Days, Hanover High grad Nina Sablan, an intern at the paper, profiles Bender, checking in with his brothers and Dartmouth crew coach Wyatt Allen, who's also in Paris. "When things go well, it feels like you, the other people in the boat, the shell — it's all one object moving together," Bender tells her.Speaking of the Olympics: "Protect your brain, bro. Your brain is you." The Canadian skateboarder Andy Anderson is probably best known outside skateboarding circles for wearing a helmet, which was decidedly uncool when he began but now, thanks to him, is kinda cool. Inside skateboarding circles, he's revered for his style, inclusive spirit, raw talent, and sheer creativity. All of this—plus some upcoming Olympics moves—is on display in Crazy Wisdom, a new film following Anderson's skateboarding out in the world. And charting, through his many falls, just how tough it is to make things look easy.What's a hydrothermal explosion look like? That's what happened on Tuesday in Yellowstone, and what it looks like is pretty dang dramatic. “When the pressure rapidly drops in a localized spot, it actually forces the hot water to quickly turn to steam, triggering a hydrothermal explosion since gas takes up more space than liquid,” meteorologist Stephanie Abrams told CBS News. “And this explosion can rupture the surface, sending mud and debris thousands of feet up and more than half a mile out in the most extreme cases.”
Daybreak doesn't get to exist without your support. Help it stick around by hitting the maroon button:
We may be the middle of nowhere to everyone else in VT and NH, but
we
know what's good! Strong Rabbit's Morgan Brophy has come up with the perfect design for "We Make Our Own Fun" t-shirts and tote bags for proud Upper Valleyites. Plus you'll find the Daybreak jigsaw puzzle, as well as sweatshirts, tees, a fleece hoodie, and, as always, the fits-every-hand-perfectly Daybreak mug. Check it all out at the link!
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For the third summer running, Alyx Hilshey, a comedy magician and sleight of hand maestro with a masters in electrical engineering, comes by the library with her family-friendly show. At 4:30 pm.
It's just what it sounds like: an evening of music (Kim Wilcox), food (Sustainable Eats and Billings' ice cream), local craft brews, cocktails, and cows, along with a chance to wander the gardens and cozy up to some heifers after-hours. You have to be 21 or older to go, and they won't admit infants or children.
The closed-to-traffic street in Hanover will host live bluegrassy, jazzy music by The Pinkerton Raid this evening, plus food from Sawtooth Kitchen up at street level, a mead tasting with Still North Books and Bar, and lawn games on the street. Daytime tomorrow: storytime, mini golf, board games, and more.
The festival actually launched last night with a party and a few shorts; tonight, it's screening seven films between 6 and midnight, ranging from a portrait of VT photographer Suzanne Opton to a short thriller about a woman who gets lost on the interstate to a documentary on nordic skiing in WV. A bunch more films tomorrow 6-midnight, and Sunday 10 am to 5 pm.
, and Alex Hanson's
.
It's the first of two performances (the second one is tomorrow at 4 pm) behind the Tunbridge School (Chelsea Town Hall if it rains). See item above in the news section for more.
The Tony-winning jukebox musical (see review in the news section above) runs through Aug. 4, charting the life of Frankie Valli, Tommy Devito, and The Four Seasons. 2 pm and 7 pm.
The veteran Hudson Valley-based blues singer and bandleader will be in town with a playlist that runs from Bobby Bland to Johnny Mercer to Ernest Tubb and blues to country to gospel. "We call the band The Lo-Fi’s because we try to play at a pre-rock era volume," Fitz told an interviewer. 7:30 pm at Alumni Hall.
It's a benefit concert for the UVM Medical Center that mixes choral music and poetry with visual elements that include innovative lighting and graphic designs—"a multi-dimensional journey through life’s profound themes," they write. At Sow Love Gardens in Tunbridge, tix at the door.
Saturday
The venerable Thetford Hill Fair runs from
11:30 to 3:30 tomorrow. Rummage, books, plants from local nurseries, homemade baked goods, a maple shack, a petting zoo, the ever-popular Tea Garden (1 to 3), food, an antique stationary carousel, and more. This year, the Fairy of Good Fortune makes a visit.
No link.
Participants gather behind the Main Street Museum starting at 11, and once it gets going, the parade winds through town ("
mostly flat, not too far, 2 loops"). Festival from 1-3 in Veterans' Park.At 2 pm tomorrow in Woodstock, boomerang maestro John Flynn at the Norman Williams Public Library. Flynn—
four-time Boomerang Team World Champion
—has a new book out,
50 Important Boomerangs: Pictures and Essays Celebrating the Modern Boomerang’s Evolution
. He'll be talking the history, evolution, and science behind boomerangs
.Salsa In the Street in Hanover. As part of the Allen Street block party,
UVSalsa will give free Salsa lessons starting at 4 pm tomorrow. At 5, the five-piece Boston-based band led by Alexander Faria will accompany a social dance that runs until 7 pm.
The band's six musicians may hail from Vermont, but they're steeped in southern Louisiana music from Lafayette and beyond, with a mix of dance music, country songs, and Cajun tunes. 6:30 pm at 139 Star Mountain Road, in the barn if it rains.
Sunday
Murelle, who sings everything from Beethoven and Fauré to Broadway and popular music, will be performing his show “I Got Rhythm", a program of songs by George and Ira Gershwin. At the John Hay Estate at the Fells starting at 5 pm.
And to take us into the weekend...
Early this month, Joe Jackson closed out his "Two Rounds of Racket" tour in Seattle. A big part of it was songs by his fictional alter ego, the early 1900s music hall performer Max Champion. Which is why everyone on stage in Milwaukee last month was dressed as a pre-WWI English music hall musician. "What would happen if Max Champion's band was to play a Joe Jackson song?" he asked the audience. Well, "in the spirit of scientific inquiry," as he said, let's find out.
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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