GOOD MORNING, UPPER VALLEY!
Rinse. Repeat. Only it'll be even a little warmer today than yesterday. High pressure is still in charge over the whole Northeast (and looks like it will continue to be well into next week). So today we get fog again in the valleys, then clearing, lots of sun, highs in the low 80s, down into the mid or upper 50s tonight, winds from the north overnight.Big animals doing what they do.
You know that gaze a cow can fix you with sometimes? Faith Putnam Kemp's photo from Piermont frames it perfectly.
Meanwhile, there are certain trees in the woods that animals of all species like to use for scent marking and signaling they were there. As Lisa Grose says of her trail cam video in Lebanon, "This young male bear is determined to make his presence known."
Did you like "Dear Daybreak" yesterday? It's a short collection of short items from readers about life in the Upper Valley, and it would be fantastic to make it a regular thing. But that's going to depend on you. If you've got a vignette or a haiku or a great little anecdote about living in these parts, hit the burgundy link and send it in! And if you didn't see the first edition of it yesterday, here it is!Woodstock tries to get a handle on feeding visitors during foliage season. "We have a big problem with food...during foliage," village trustee Jeffrey Kahn told the town's Economic Development Commission last week. To that end, the EDC is recommending nearly $10,000 to fund enhanced “outdoor dining infrastructure” in September and October, reports Tom Ayers in the Standard—it would like to see food vendors on the green and by the library—as well as a printed and digital brochure pointing out the locations of public restrooms and parking. The selectboard will take it up next week.The Upper Valley can claim a fifth of new inductees into the US Ski and Snowboard Hall of Fame. The Hall on Wednesday announced a class of 10 people who'll be inducted in Lake Placid next March, and it includes both Hannah Kearney, the Olympic and World Championship-great moguls skier who grew up in Norwich, and Sarah Billmeier, a 13-time Paralympic medalist who graduated from Dartmouth in 2001 and is now a surgeon at DHMC. Also in the mix: Burlington ski philanthropists Chuck and Jann Perkins.Up for auction: the 12,000-square-foot Randolph home of Sam and Jinny Sammis. The seven-bedroom, two-kitchen, one-gym home built by the couple in 2001 is the latest example of how Tropical Storm Irene's reverberations have lasted, Darren Marcy writes in the Herald. Sam Sammis, a businessman and developer, also owns Randolph's Montague Golf Club, which took heavy damage from Irene; Sammis borrowed money against the house for repairs, got behind on payments, and the bank is now foreclosing. The auction is Sept. 25. On Sept. 21, Marcy writes, "there will be a whopper of a tag sale."SPONSORED: Join us at Cedar Circle Farm & Education Center's Pumpkin Festival on Sunday, Oct. 13! We’re seeking enthusiastic volunteers to help with fall activities, tasty treats, and family fun. Whether you can spare a few hours or the whole day, we’d love your help. Fill out the Volunteer Sign Up Form at the link above to choose your shift and role. Volunteers get free festival entry, a complimentary lunch, and a coupon for 20% off at our farmstand, greenhouses, and café through December 2024! And here's more information about the festival! Sponsored by Cedar Circle Farm & Education Center.In Norwich, dispute between Sweetland Farm owners and public works director comes into view. In a letter to the selectboard this week, reports Emma Roth-Wells in the Valley News, the farm's Norah Lake and Chris Polashenski take issue with a decision by Chris Kaufman to deny their bid to fill and grade a long stretch of slope along Route 132 to make it easier and safer to mow. In their letter, the couple say they've clashed with Kaufman several times over the years and that they believe they're being treated in a way that "possibly represents intentional and/or capricious harm.” Neither Kaufman nor town manager Brennan Duffy responded to Roth-Wells' request for comment.W. Fairlee to get money, help in restoring Bean Hall. The town is part of the first cohort of seven small towns around Vermont to become part of the Village Trust Initiative, a partnership between the Preservation Trust of Vermont, VT Council on Rural Development, and the VT Community Foundation aimed at funneling money and technical assistance to restore or rehab key downtown buildings. As Alex Nuti-de Biasi writes in the Journal Opinion newsletter, Bean Hall needs about $300,000 in "high priority" repairs due to the building's deterioration. Reading is also on the list, for a general store project.SPONSORED: What’s your “Upper Valley joy”? Vital Communities’ joy is the fact that so many people across our region are committed to creating a thriving Upper Valley for all. They are our valued partners on issues such as housing, transportation, climate disruption, economic resilience, and access to nourishing food. Help sustain this collaboration by becoming a monthly donor to Vital Communities! Do it by September 20 and a group of generous supporters will contribute an additional $100 to your gift! Contribute at the burgundy link or here. Sponsored by Vital Communities.Mushroom week. Next Tuesday, Dance Heginbotham, the NYC-based contemporary dance ensemble led by Dartmouth Dance Ensemble director John Heginbotham, will launch three days of its site-specific piece, You Look Like a Fun Guy at what used to be the Dartmouth golf course. As Susan Apel writes in Artful, the Hop has built a full set of events around the core performance, including a workshop Saturday ("Dance Like a Mushroom"), a screening of Fantastic Fungi, a Pine Park walk, and a "mushroom-forward" dinner at the Hanover Inn. Susan pulls together all the events.Headed to the Tunbridge Fair? The Herald has put its official guide to this year's fair online and it's filled with useful info: articles on the bands and other things to expect, fair history, a fairground map, the full schedule, plenty of photographs, and lots more.Hiking Not So Close to Home: Mount Hunger's Waterbury Trail. This week, the Upper Valley Trails Alliance takes us to this iconic out-and-back hike and some of the best views in Vermont. The roughly two-mile climb is relatively challenging: You ascend over 2,000 feet from trailhead to summit, with some steep scrambles. Hike on a clear day to take full advantage of the 360 views, and consider a rest at the small waterfall (1.5 miles), a picnic at the top and/or a visit to one of the local breweries and restaurants afterward. Park in the lot off Sweet Rd. in Waterbury, VT (Hunger Mountain Trailhead).Or you could always head to the Millstone Trails and Barre's abandoned quarries. Sports Illustrated, of all places, points to the 70-odd miles of trails—for both hiking and mountain biking (and skiing and snowshoeing)—through the quarries as a "hidden gem" in the state. Hiking is free; biking takes a day pass from the Millstone Trails Association, which puts the money into trail upkeep. Here's the Instagram post from Vermont for Real that caught SI's attention.Bypassing White Mountain trails where the bears have come to see people as a source of food. "Not in an 'I will chew your bones' sense," Miles Howard writes in the Globe (paywall), "but in more of an 'Are those Pringles?' manner." There are a bunch of trails in the Pemigewasset Wilderness where the Forest Service warns that bears have pretty much lost their fear of humans. So Howard's got some alternatives. Instead of Thirteen Falls, try Hamilton Falls in Jamaica, VT. Instead of Lincoln Woods, head for The High Road along the spine of the Berkshires. Instead of Black Pond, go for Unknown Pond in Stark. Been paying attention to Daybreak? Because Daybreak's Upper Valley News Quiz has some questions for you. Like, what's one unusual way a fan has gotten in touch with Noah Kahan? And what old playground staple does a team of Dartmouth researchers argue is good for us? Those and other vital questions at the link.But wait! How closely were you following VT and NH?
Because Seven Days wants to know if you know what the experts expect in the way of foliage this fall.
And NHPR's got a whole set of questions about doings around the Granite State—like, who's going to face off for governor in November?
Sununu signs voter ID bill. The measure will require voters to produce a valid photo ID on Election Day or be kept from voting; it will also require prospective voters registering in NH for the first time to provide documentary evidence of their US citizenship. As the bill made its way through the legislature, reports Ethan DeWitt in NH Bulletin, the governor said repeatedly that he saw no need for it. But in an interview yesterday with DeWitt, Sununu said he'd changed his mind: "You should have an ID to vote. It’s secure. It’s safe.” The law won't go into effect until after this November's elections, and likely faces legal challenge.Covered bridges are "like these little time portals… They just transport you back into the 19th century." In 2020, Eva Gerstle took a bike ride across a covered bridge in VT and thought, heck, why not ride them all? "I love that interplay of history and transportation," she tells Seven Days’ Sasha Goldstein. Over the next four years, Gerstle biked across the state's 94 publicly accessible bridges, though not the century-old River Road Covered Bridge, in Troy, which burned down in 2021, before she could cross it. After almost 900 miles, she checked the last one off her list—the Pulp Mill Bridge, near Middlebury.Did you know that Charles Bronson and Jill Ireland are buried in W. Windsor? Me neither. But the Burlington Free Press's Brent Hallenbeck writes that he loves figuring out which historical figures are buried where—and then finding them. So he's pulled together a list of 25 famous people buried in Vermont—along with where you'll find their gravesites. Saul Bellow's in Brattleboro, John Gunther in Greensboro, Tomie dePaola in Weston, John Dewey in Burlington, Robert Frost in Bennington ("I had a lover's quarrel with the world"), Hetty Green in Bellows Falls, Lucy Terry Prince in Guilford...Imagine ocean-front property—but with no neighbors. That's because The Frying Pan Tower is some 30 miles off the NC coast. The former Coast Guard light station guided mariners around hazardous shoals; now it hosts guests, and rental fees support the constant renovations needed. In Outside, Graham Averill describes his visit (starting with the two-plus-hour boat ride to get there) and the joys of snorkeling, fishing, and admiring the sharks and barracuda that await your misstep. “Not a single light competes for the attention of the stars,” he writes. Don't want to get on a boat? You can check out the Barracuda Cam.
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!
Eugene Ionesco's play, a not-so-veiled look at the spread of totalitarianism, the pressure to conform, and what it takes to resist, has a cast of 15, plus puppets. It opens tonight at 7 pm at the East Thetford Pavilion on Pavilion Road next to Cedar Circle (
not
the Eclipse Grange on Thetford Hill). Runs at 7 pm tomorrow as well, 2:30 pm Sunday, and again next Thursday-Sunday.
Robert Mitchum nailed the template for the unforgettable bad guy, as he tries to chase down little kids in Charles Laughton's 1955
noir
masterpiece. With Shelley Winters, Lillian Gish, and a screenplay whose final version may or may not have been by James Agee. 7 pm in the Martha Rich Theater at Thetford Academy.
The popular music showcase returns to the First Congregational Church of Lebanon with Massachusetts-based singer-songwriter Jake Klar at 7:30 pm; the Celtic duo of harpist Rachel Clemente and piper Dan Houghton—who perform as If You Must Know—at 8:15; and regulars Green Heron at 9 with their energetic fiddling/banjoing/mandolining and duet harmonies. No charge, lots of baked goods and camaraderie at intermissions.
The Manchester, NH-based indie folk-rockers launched about a year and a half ago, growing out of a years-long collaboration by singer-songwriters Trent Larrabee and Jake DeSchuiteneer, then adding guitarist Mike Morgan and percussionist Jonny Lawrence. At 9 pm.
Saturday
This year's theme is "Awe," and it's a packed schedule starting up at 9 am tomorrow, with everyone from northern VT Buddhist chaplain Kim Nolan to neuroscientist and author Melodie Winawer to former U.S. Freestyle Ski Team member and circus performer Nori Pepe to the renowned musical duo of Tuck & Patti.
, including at Woodstock Union senior Ada Mahood.
The Hop kicks off its lead-in to Dance Heginbotham's
You Look Like a Fun Guy
next week with a free family workshop tomorrow with the troupe's members. 11 am at the Dartmouth Organic Farm on Route 10 (across from where Circus Smirkus sets up every summer).
Okay, it's a drive, but how often do you get the chance not just to try a lot of whoopie pie samples, but check out what—its bakers hope—will be a record-setting half-ton whoopie pie? There's also music, square dancing, a soap box derby, the remarkable Red Trouser Show of street performers (and Smirkus alums) David Graham and Tobin Renwick, and other kinds of food in case the sugar gets to be too much. Starts at noon tomorrow in downtown Rutland.
It's French chamber music by Lully, Couperin, Boismortier, Telemann, and others, with the musicians both performing and explaining how innovations in wind instruments developed in the court of Louis XIV and spread. At 2 pm and 7 pm tomorrow at the First Congregational Church of Lebanon.
The classic central VT tribute to Barre's granite quarries—thousands of candles, fire dancers, metal workers, a torch-lit walk led by a bagpipe band, a nightlong concert on eight stages in the woods with musicians including Krishna Guthrie and Bow Thayer—runs from 6 pm to midnight at Millstone Hill in Websterville. This may be your last chance. "It's the same volunteers as it was when I began,"
"Our volunteers are a lot older than they were 14 years ago, so it just felt like it was time."
Norwich Community Dances brings in Greenfield, MA-based dance trio
The Moving Violations and veteran caller Sarah VanNorstrand. Intro/refresher session at 7:15 pm tomorrow evening, dance starts up at 7:30. Wear clean, non-marking shoes.
DJ Chelé will be spinning salsa, cumbia, reggaetón and more in honor of Hispanic Heritage Month. 9:30 pm to midnight.
Sunday
Violinist Liana Branscome and pianist Victor Rosenbaum will perform sonatas for violin and piano by Mozart, Brahms and Beethoven.
No charge, but they won't turn down donations. Starts at 2 pm Sunday.
The band, made up of longtime Seacoast musicians from around Rochester, NH, plays rock, bluegrass, and country covers. Presented by Court Street Arts, the concert's free. It'll move to Alumni Hall in the highly unlikely chance it rains. 3 pm.
Louie Schwartzberg's 2019 ode to fungi has become one of the unlikelier hits of the last few years, and Hop Film's got it on the big screen at 4 pm Sunday.
"Belgium has been the origin of more than its share of fine music," the museum writes. "Join us for an extensive tour of Belgian music for the organ, ranging from the early 1600’s to the early 1900’s." There's a suggested donation, which will support restoration of the chapel's historic Casavant organ. 4 pm Sunday
A community singalong at Norwich's Root Schoolhouse. Cam Cross, Paul Barker, Ted Mortimer, Joseph Stallsmith, Bob Totz, and Eric von Ammon will keep the corny, traditional, folky, oldie rolling: "We aim to sing and laugh," they say. Rhythm instruments available. 4 pm Sunday. No link.
Hey look! It's almost the weekend!
So let's go with the British retro soul/funk/disco/electronica band Jungle, which is as well known for the dancing in its videos as it is for its music. They've got a new single out, the first since longtime collaborator Lydia Kitto joined up with founding members J Lloyd and Tom McFarland. And in "Let's Go Back", both the music and the dancing (by Will West,
Mille Lund,
and a whole crew of others)
Get out there 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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