Ranks of street shoes line the narrow entrance hall. Young people of various ages fit themselves into small spaces on the floor, engaged in stretches. Some girls lean on the wall, helping each other with hairpins. Costumes of shiny brocades adorned with fur trim, sequins, and ribbons weigh down tables along the edges of entrance and the smaller dance hall. The atmosphere is focused but not panicked. All over the Upper Valley, students were enjoying April vacation week. Lebanon Ballet School was delighted–more rehearsal time!

Students at the school were in the throes of preparing to participate in City Center Ballet’s spring show, Sleeping Beauty, a version of the classic ballet Maurice Petipa choreographed to Tchaikovsky’s music.… Read More

It’s a haven for over half the year in this climate, and a fascination any day: Dartmouth’s Life Sciences Greenhouses in their hidden—but not secret—location on the top of the Class of 1978 Life Sciences Building. The greenhouses may well be the most widely educational spot on campus: tour visitors range from pre-school groups—“They love the carnivorous plants,” says greenhouse manager Kim DeLong. Anyone can set up a tour for a group of six or more, though in the busy seasons you may have to wait to schedule a tour. The greenhouses serve Dartmouth classes in biology, but also studio art and photography, and creative writing.… Read More

When I first walked into the Vermont Spirits Distilling Co. production and retail shop in Quechee Gorge Village, Quechee Spirits’ employees Jeremy Herrell and Mimi Buttenheim greeted me with smiles and asked if I wanted to do a spirit tasting.

I paused for a moment and realized, while I had done plenty of beer and wine tastings in my life, I had never done a spirit tasting before. Apparently I’m not the only one.

“I think spirit tasting is new for a lot of people,” Buttenheim told me as I sampled a few of the distillery’s products, including the No. 14 Bourbon: a whiskey bourbon distilled with maple syrup that I was quite fond of.… Read More

In his essay on fly fishing titled The Happy Idiot author John Gierach notes, “There are times when fly fishing seems to be suffering from the same malady that afflicts the rest of society: too many so-called facts and not enough real experience.”

When the Quechee Times editor approached me about writing an article on my favorite places to fly fish in the area I thought, “What? This woman knows nothing about the culture of fly fishing. You never tell where you caught the fish!” Writing such an article would be much like writing a book concerning all of one’s mistresses and then giving it to one’s wife to proof read.… Read More