SO MUCH GOOD STUFF, UPPER VALLEY!
Friday, Sept. 11
In Haverhill, “Basic Tree Identification” with forester Andrew Westerman. The Upper Valley Stewardship Center brings in the local forester for a field tour to learn how to identify different species of trees by their leaves, bark, buds, flowers, and other characteristics. 3:30 pm, 2670 Mt Moosilauke Hwy in Pike, NH.
Glow Night Disco Skate at the Wendell A. Barwood Arena in WRJ. What else do you need to know? Put on by Hartford Parks & Rec from 6-8 pm.
Leb Rec & Parks screens Zootopia 2. The city’s Movie Screen on the Green brings back Judy Hopps (Ginnifer Goodwin), former con-artist fox Nick Wilde (Jason Bateman) plus a host of other characters (not to mention HuluZoo and “Only Herders in the Building”). 7 pm in Colburn Park.
Wild & Scenic Film Festival On Tour at Mascoma Valley Regional High. The Canaan Conservation Commission is sponsoring a screening of the 2026 tour, including Berne Broudy and Ben Knight’s film Best Day Ever, about VT adaptive mountain bikers Greg Durso and Allie Bianchi. Doors at 6:30 pm, films at 7.
Court Street Arts presents JigJam. The iGrass (Irish Bluegrass) quartet—hailed as “Ireland’s answer to New Grass Revival”—drew a standing ovation at its Grand Ole Opry debut three years ago for their banjo- and fiddle-driven blend of genres an ocean apart. 7:30 pm at Alumni Hall in Haverhill.
The Anonymous Coffeehouse returns. It kicks off its fall season Friday at 7:30 pm with the Boston area’s Dearest Dear, Rose Jackson and Helen Kuhar playing traditional tunes from Ireland, New England, Quebec, and France; at 8 pm it’s singer-songwriter Erin Ash Sullivan; and at 9, country fiddler and mandolinist Skip Gorman with country/blues musician Mark Burds. In between, of course: a tableful of baked goods. At the First Congregational Church of Lebanon.
At the Hopkins Center, Toni Dove’s “Sunjammer 6: A Tale Blown by a Solar Breeze.” Dove, the Hop writes, “is known for genre-mashing works that employ responsive technologies.” Her new work “brings to life Hypatia, a Hellenistic astronomer and philosopher, who returns as a ghost ten years in our future and encounters a NASA engineer building an off-world power station.” 7:30 pm Friday and Saturday, as well as 2 pm Saturday, in the Daryl Roth Studio Theater.
Saturday Sept. 12
The Sprouty in Sharon. The annual 5k walk/run and 10k run support Sharon Elementary’s gardens and Farm-to-School program. With music by the Seven Stars Community Fiddle Band; free lettuce plants from Dandelion Acres; refreshments and a raffle with prizes from local businesses. 9 am at Sharon Elementary School.
“Whimsy Foraging” sponsored by the Howe Library. It’s an hour’s walk and a chance to “notice what calls to you. A mossy stone, an unusual seed pod, a feather, a patch of lichen, the way light falls through a particular leaf, whatever catches your eye, snag it (if it's yours to take), photograph it, sketch it, or simply hold it in your memory long enough to put it into words.” Bring a phone or sketchpad or camera or notebook. Meet at 10 am at the Hanover River Trail Head, 106 S. Main St. in Hanover.
Woodstock Art Festival. The annual gathering of New England artists on the village green runs from 10-5 Saturday and 10-4 Sunday, with food trucks and live music at 10 am and 1 pm both days. List of artists at the link.
Art in the Park Festival at Saint-Gaudens. The National Historical Park hosts a day of sculpture demonstrations (including bronze pouring); create-your-own-art drop-ins; hanging out with rePlay Arts; learning how to make cyanotypes; dance and fiddle tunes from the Vermont Fiddle Orchestra; and lots more. Starts at 11 am, first 200 visitors get in free.
Whoopie Pie Fest in Rutland. Yeah, it’s a drive, but: 14 whoopie pie bakers from Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island and Vermont; a chance to try them all (at a buck a sample); food trucks, local bands, entertainment, and, of course, the chance to bask in the knowledge that Rutland holds the record for the world’s largest whoopie pie (it was 1,187 pounds). Runs noon to 4.
Vermont Sampler Stories in Pomfret. VT Humanities and S. Pomfret’s Abbott Library present textile conservator Michele Pagan talking about her research into the Revolutionary War ancestors of girls who made 19th century schoolgirl samplers. As artifacts of female education, she says, samplers “provide insight into family dynamics, local history, and community values.” 4 pm in the Pomfret Town Office.
Pickin’ Time: Pumpkins at Cedar Circle. The farm and education center in E. Thetford brings out the autumn vibes early with bluegrass from The Well-Kept Men, an outdoor farm-made dinner, and pyo pumpkins. 4:30-7, tix at the link.
Cantrip at Roots & Wings. The coffeehouse at the Unitarian congregation in Norwich starts up its fall season with the high-energy Scottish folk band and its “swirling border pipes, raging fiddle, thunderous guitar and three rich voices blend[ing] to create a sound energetic enough to tear the roof off.” 7 pm.
Our Man in Havana at the Thetford Arthouse Cinema. TAC completes its Graham Greene week with Carol Reed’s classic 1959 spy satire starring Alec Guinness (with help from Ernie Kovacs, Burl Ives, Maureen O’Hara, Ralph Richardson and Noel Coward) and filmed in Havana just after the revolution. 7 pm in the Martha Rich Theater at Thetford Academy.
Contra dance at the E. Thetford Pavilion. You can fuel yourself down the road at Cedar Circle, then head over to the pavilion for a traditional New England dance with Burlington-based caller Luke Donforth and music by Atlantic Crossing. All dances taught, intro at 7:15 pm, dancing begins at 7:30.
Blizzard of Ozz at the Claremont Opera House. Their Ozzy and Rhoads Tribute focuses on the music that Ozzy Osbourne and Randy Rhoads created together for the albums Blizzard of Ozz and Diary of a Madman—though they throw in other tune, too. 7:30 pm.
The Better Days Band at Salt Hill Lebanon. Skip Truman on bass, guitarists Mike Colburn and Steven Hirsch, and Bobby Gagnier on drums, playing, as they put it, “Classic Rock, R & B, Blues and Funky stuff. B Side gems with unique arrangements." 8:30 pm.
Sunday, Sept. 13
Woodstock’s UU Church is back with its Sunday chamber music series. The Adaskin String Trio (violin, viola and cello) will be joined by oboist Tom Gallant to perform works by J.C. Bach, Jean Cras, Josef Haydn, Hans Eisler, and Josef Fiala. 2 pm in the sanctuary of the North Chapel.
Artist talk with Aaron Curry at the Hall Art Foundation. The Texas-born painter and sculptor, who’s also got works at the Museum of Modern Art in NYC and the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, will be in conversation about his sculpture, Danny Skullface Sky Boat (Reclining) (2009), newly installed at the Hall. A ticket gets you admission to the galleries starting at 2:30 pm, talk at 4 pm.
Milk Crate Whiskey on the Quechee Green. The Upper Valley band plays Petty, Neil Young, The Pretenders, the blues, and more. 3-5 pm.
Reception for “The Unexpected Paintings of Walter Newman” at the Tunbridge General Store. The retired Upper Valley art conservator now paints full-time, and is “known for his vibrant, often whimsical, and sometimes unsettling oil paintings. Most are still lifes of unexpected objects in surprising combinations.” Reception 1-3 pm, exhibition runs through Nov. 19.
Organ recital at the Enfield Shaker Museum with the NH chapter of the American Guild of Organists. It’s the final concert of the 2026 season in the Mary Keane Chapel, with five organists performing works—including JS Bach, Pachelbel, Nicholas Bowden, and others—”that display the organ’s capacity and breadth of color.” 4 pm.
The Upper Valley Community Band gives a free outdoor concert, followed by a benefit barbecue. With “Music for a Cause,” the band, Mark Nelson directing, joins forces with the Lebanon Elks and the Hanover Lions for the concert and BBQ to benefit two summer camps for underserved NH youth, Copper Cannon Camp in Bethlehem and Camp Mayhew in Bristol. 4 pm at the Lebanon Elks Field, 150 Heater Road.
Burger Night at Flying Dog Farm in Tunbridge. Music this week by High Drive (Beth Telford and Justin Park). Brocklebank with the beer, Kiss the Cow with the ice cream, and Flying Dog with the main course, sides, and salad. 4-7 pm.
Peabody’s Coal Train at The Fells. The Contoocook Valley-based acoustic Americana 6-piece band features Jason Teaster on acoustic guitar, Dave Anderson on harmonica, Steve Cybulski on banjo, Dave Carroll on mandolin, Marc Fraley on upright bass, and Scott Hayes on guitar and dobro. 5 pm at the John Hay Estate at the Fells in Newbury, NH. (Scroll all the way down at the link, it’s the last concert of the season.)
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