The Quechee Hot Air Balloon Craft and Music Festival, the longest running hot air balloon festival in New England, will celebrate its 41st anniversary in 2021 when thousands are expected to flock to central Vermont, September 3 – 5, 2021 (Labor Day weekend).

Twenty balloonists will headline the event with five flights slated throughout the weekend and additional tethered rides during the day. Attendees can visit with 50 craft vendors, indulge in a variety of fare from 16 food vendors and sit back and enjoy dozens of entertainers for all ages, over the three-day extravaganza. Children’s activities include Bubble Machines, Rock Climbing wall, and more.… Read More

When Alex and Cristy Beram lived around the corner from each other on Willard Street in Burlington, they lived different lives and never met. Cristy was busy finishing her degree in sociology and Italian studies at UVM and Alex was making his name in the local music scene. Years down the line they would be set up on a blind date in their respective new homes in Charlestown, Boston, and twenty years later they would return to Vermont together, a married couple with two small children.

Not long after the two were married sometime after that fortuitous blind date in Boston, Cristy brought Alex on a trip with her brother to the Quechee-Woodstock area where she and her family used to come regularly as children.… Read More

Buying local is the premise championed by many Upper Valley residents, small businesses, and organizations. Keeping dollars close to home, knowing the people producing what one buys, and supporting those that live and work in the community are all benefits of buying local. When economic conditions are impacted as they have been over the past year by the epidemic, supporting local small enterprises is even more important for those business owners.

Local farm products are an important source of food for many area residents. Knowing that the food you are consuming was grown locally, by farmers using healthy farming practices, drives many local consumers to the many area farms and food producers found in the Upper Valley.… Read More

“We’re beginning to appreciate that as individuals we have to take ownership of our learning. When we silently join others in removing ourselves from the conversation about our community, the collective impact of that silence can amount to something that can be harmful.” – Brian Cook of Groundswell Change, a Colorado based organization that assists organizations in diversity, equity, and inclusion training

I am one of approximately 40 people serving on The Quechee Club’s recently formed ad hoc committee on Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI). The club has affirmed its commitment that “anyone who lives, works, recreates, or visits the Quechee Club and Quechee Lakes will adhere to our standards of conduct and respect for the individual.”… Read More

By now, you’ve heard, seen, or followed them – those heavy trucks with plows down to pavement, salt granules dispensed from the back, travelling back and forth over area roads during snow, sleet, and icing events. At times you may find them irritating, delaying your progress. Other times, the heavy plows scraping over pavement may waken you from a sound sleep. Despite these inconveniences, one thing is for sure – without them and the drivers that operate them, travel for several months of the year would be at a near standstill. The men and women that drive, maintain, and coordinate the work those trucks perform are vital to the lives and economy of our area in wintertime.… Read More

My first glimpse, and it was a quick drive through Quechee in 1973, on a rather gloomy day in early April. I was on a business trip and was intrigued with the name of the village displayed on a country store at the blinking yellow light. So, I drove down the hill, through the covered bridge, turned left on to Main Street. As I had grown up in a very small village in northeastern Vermont, the bedraggled look of many buildings did not disturb me as they were evident in many rural villages. However, a couple of the buildings stood out as extensive renovations were in progress and workmen were on site.… Read More

For two January weeks Visible in Vermont: Our Stories, Our Voices, a photography exhibit, circled the main room of the Quechee Library. The photographs of People of Color were labeled not only with their Vermont towns but with statements about encountered micro-aggressions. It drew viewers from around the Upper Valley and further.

Then on Saturday morning, Jan. 25, fifty people gathered downstairs to hear a panel of Hartford residents, moderated by Sha’an Mouliert of St. Johnsbury. For all present, whether a grandparent or a young Vermont Law School student, it has to have been a memorable hour yielding deeper understanding.

This was the intent of the exhibit, presented by the Root Social Justice Center and supported by a Vermont Humanities Council grant: to provide an opportunity for reflection by majority white communities which may be unaware of the impact of racial micro-aggressions.… Read More

Before the proverbial rooster crows, the dedicated and hardworking staff at Sugarbush Farm in Quechee are already prepping, feeding, displaying, haying, organizing, tapping, waxing, smoking, shipping… in order to open the doors and warmly greet the 100-500 visitors they welcome each day. The daily tasks on this 550-acre hillside farm are strenuous, time consuming, and some may say tedious, but the consistent hard work and positive attitudes have kept the farm running since 1945! The 2nd and 3rd generation Luce family members, including matriarch Betsy and husband Larry, and their sons, Ralph and Jeff, are leading by example for the next generation to carry on this time-honored legacy and way-of-life..… Read More

How does the dedicated lifelong artist keep creating art when their brain is losing gray matter? A recent exhibit at ArtisTree Gallery in
South Pomfret, called TRIO: Exploring Dementia provided a glimpse into this process. Three Upper Valley artists who had established themselves professionally with their vast array of works in many mediums were represented in this exhibit. All had some form of dementia. All were women and all recently passed away. A representation of their best works hung from the gallery walls, an impressive display of talent. Their later works told the story of decline in their ability to fully use the skills that were so vital in their lives as professional artists.… Read More

I was not a hiker. I was not a religious person. I was not trying to ‘find myself’ (although some might have thought I was lost).

Why did I walk the 500-mile Camino de Santiago pilgrimage….over and over again? Some might wonder. Some might question my sanity. But after walking six ‘Caminos’ in six years, most of my friends and family now FINALLY understand my obsession. There are many, many routes of the Camino de Santiago where ‘pilgrims’ have been walking since the 9th century. All routes (from origins all over Europe) end in Santiago, Spain, where legend has it that the remains of St.… Read More