If you are not living in Vermont, you may not have heard about an important story: the Lake Champlain Bridge is no more!
It all started last Fall with its closure and then its destruction early this year (see the attached news clip).
But not to worry, if your travel plans require you to cross Lake Champlain in its southern part,  your plans won’t be affected too much, as there is now a temporary ferry between Crown Point, New York and Chimney Point/Addison, Vermont, where the 1920s’ bridge used to stand, a few miles north of Fort Ticonderoga. So, if you are planning to cross Lake Champlain there, plan for approximately 15 minutes more (from boarding to disembarking) … and may be more the summer though when the tourist season starts. The temporary ferry is operating 24 hours a day, 7 days a week until the new bridge is completed.
For more on the temporary ferry (and some footage of the blow up of the historic Lake Champlain bridge), watch this clip.
PS: There is also a ferry crossing at Fort Ticonderoga, New York.

Due to popular demand, we have gathered the list of Handel’s Messiah concerts in Vermont this December… just like last year! Let’s enjoy the music of Christmas!

The Vermont Philharmonic has two Handel’s Messiah concerts:
- In Montpelier – Friday December 4th, 2009 at 7:30 pm – at the Saint Augustine Church – and in Barre – Sunday December 6th, 2009 at 3:30 pm – at the Barre Opera House - The Vermont Philharmonic performs the Messiah with conductor Lisa Jablow.
More information at: Vermont Philharmonic

- Brattleboro – Saturday December 5th, 2009 at 1 pm - 39th Annual Community Messiah Sing - Centre Congregational Church. Conductor Terry Larsen with soloists Christine Speidel, soprano, Lisa Woods, alto, Tim Levesque, tenor and Andrew Semegram, bass and organist Bill McKim. 250 to 300 singers will join in the choruses. It is a fund raising event for the homeless.
More information at: Friends of music at Guilford

- Rutland – Sunday December 6th, 2009 at 3:30 pm and 7:00 pm – The Grace Congregational Church will have its annual performance of Handel’s Messiah.
More information at: (802) 775-4301.

- Thursday December 17th, 2009 at 7:30pm, Community Church, Stowe and Friday December 18th, 2009 at 8pm, College Street Congregational Church, Burlington: Performance of the Vermont Mozart Festival orchestra with the Oriana Singers; conductor William Metcalfe
More information at: Vermont Mozart Festival http://www.vtmozart.org/

- Middlebury - Sunday December 20st, 2009 at 2 pm - Middlebury Congregational Church - A sing-along led by Jeff Rehbach, conductor of the Middlebury College Community Chorus.
More information at: Middlebury College - Annual Messiah Sing

- Stowe – Monday December 21nd, 2009 at 7:30 pm - 17th Annual Handel’s Messiah Community Sing – Stowe Community Church – It’s also a sing-along with the soloists and the 20-piece orchestra.
More information at: Go Stowe

 And finally,
- Arlington - Sunday December 27th, 2009 at 3 pm - 7th Annual Messiah Sing-along - St. James Episcopal Church
More information at: St. James Episcopal Church

Enjoy the music!

For 20 out of the past 22 years, Smugglers’ Notch Resort has opened on the Friday after Thanksgiving.
But it won’t be the case this year! But the weather has been too warm for snow making, and the resort has not received any natural snow… So they just announced that they are delaying opening until December 5th. Sad news for the skiers!

Photo: Courtesy of Stowe Mountain Resort.
Read in the December 2009 issue of Condé Nast Traveler: the results of the Readers’ Poll about 2009 Best Places to Ski & Stay in North America.

Well, the Rocky Mountains ski resorts win this time… no doubt. Too bad, because there is indeed some very fun places in Vermont to go skiing. In our article last year, The Best Ski Resorts are in Vermont, we highlighted some of the recognition they got, particularly in Ski Magazine, for best after-ski, best family places and more…

And Vermont is still a nice place to enjoy skiing. Some great hotels indeed made the “top 50 ski hotels” list in this recent Condé Nast Traveler survey:
31 - Sugarbush Inn, Warren
39 - Killington Grand Resort Hotel, Killington
42 - Topnotch Resort & Spa, Stowe
44 - Woodstock Inn & Resort, Woodstock (nice hotel indeed!)
48 - Stoweflake Mountain Resort & Spa, Stowe

And what is YOUR best ski hotel in Vermont?

If you missed our earlier article called “Take the Train between Vermont for $12 in 2009“, take a look at this video about the Amtrak’s Vermonter, produced by Burlington’s Seven Days Magazine. Until December 31, you can still enjoy a nice ride, and a nice visit somewhere… may be on one of the last days of foliage… or on a snowy day in December! It really sounds like fun, and a pleasant thing to do on a week-end day!

 

Photo: Lake Champlain from the Spirit of Ethan Allen III cruise boat.

Fall is a great time of the year to explore Vermont’s waterways!
In fact, Vermont’s rivers and lakes have been enjoyed for generations! There was a time when it even was the only way to travel in the region.
As leaves are turning red particularly quickly this year, don’t wait to come and enjoy the scenery while canoeing or kayaking, or taking a lake cruise in Vermont.

Some ideas and tips of things you can do:

- Last year, we mentioned canoeing or kayaking the wild and scenic Missisquoi river, part of the 740-mile Northern Forest Canoe Trail, and offering some of the best flat-water paddling in Vermont. It is bordered by a large silver maple forest. It is definitely recognized as a natural resource of particular interest.
More information at: The Northern Forest Canoe Trail

- Another good option (for the less sportive) is to enjoy a nice cruise on the lake: Carillon Cruises in the Southern part of the lake (across from fort Ticonderoga) offers special foliage cruises for a few hours, the Spirit of Ethan Allen III will take you out on Lake Champlain, from Burlington waterfront, and the Moonlight Lady offers overnight cruises, in one of its 16 cabins.
More information at:
Carillon Cruises
Spirit of Ethan Allen III
Moonlight Lady

- For more ideas, you can always consult a new book “A Kayaker’s Guide to Lake Champlain - Exploring the New York, Vermont and Quebec Shores”, which has received good reviews. It has caught our attention as a very practical guide, as each of the 50 chapters describes one day’s paddle, with route description, navigational charts, table of information with distances and launch points. We have not read it yet, but are definitely planning to put our hands on it. See it on Amazon.

Fall is definitely here in Vermont! A couple of fresh nights this week and the first maple trees turned red and tonight frost will have more leaves turn red, no doubt. A nice premise for a nice week-end.
And to celebrate Vermont foliage season so dear to all of us, there are many things to do here. Of course you can go canoeing and kayaking on lakes and rivers (I will write about it next week) or hike or do a lot of other outdoor activities. But there are also some special events and festivals this week-end:
- Apple picking : You are invited to participate to the annual contest « Apples to iPods » which takes place in many orchards again this year. If you find a wooden iPod in a tree at one of the participating orchards, you’ll win a real iPod. More info at: Vermont Apples.
- Vermont Life Wine & Harvest Festival - Mount Snow Valley –September 25-27, 2009: It’s the second year of this event, where you can participate to cooking demonstrations by local restaurants, wine and cheese pairing presentations, wine pairing diners at some local restaurants, etc. Specialty food makers, cheesemakers and craft artists will show their products. And of course, there will be music, jazz trio and acoustic roots band… Don’t miss a Vermont style breakfast on Saturday or Sunday morning, with maple syrup (I am sure) and products (bacon and sausages) from local company Vermont Smoke and Cure, or the BBQ and Blue Grass diner on Friday night. The event is listed as one of the top ten Fall events by the Vermont Chamber of Commerce this year. More info at Vermont Life Wine & Harvest Festival.
- Vermont’s Northeast Kingdom Annual Fall Foliage Festival – September 27 – October 3, 2009 – Towns and villages of the region offer a variety of activities during this week : food events, visits, music, etc. More info on the site of the Chamber of Commerce.
- 5th Annual Burlington Book Festival – September 25-27, 2009 – A book fair in Burlington is always a good excuse to come and wander the nice streets of this nice little Vermont town we all like (see our last year’s article on Burlington). Many authors will be there, there will be new and used books, free appraisal of rare books and more. More info at Burlington Book Festival.
- 6th Annual Vermont Fine Furniture & Woodworking Festival – September 26-27, 2009 – In the Southern part of the state, woodwork and nice furniture lovers won’t miss this event. More than 50 furniture makers and woodworking artists are expected. You can even watch Barre Pinske carve a bear on site. More info at Vermont Fine Furniture & Woodworking Festival.
- Lake Champlain Maritime Museum – Archaeology Week-end - September 26-27, 2009 – South of Burlington, near Vergennes, it is the annual archaeology event at the museum. You can do a tour on the lake to see a shipwreck (Saturday 1pm), or enjoy presentations, movies and more. More info on the Lake Champlain Maritime Museum website.
- Biking tour – South Hero and Grand Isle – September 26, 2009 – And for cycling amateurs, the Montpelier Section of the Green Mountain Club organizes a 25-mile loop in this beautiful region of Lake Champlain Islands, north of Vermont. For more info, contact: Mary Garcia at (802) 229-0153 or Mary Smith at (802) 505-0603.
- And don’t forget to read the last issue of Vermont Life magazine (we are not paid to promote it), for more info on a lot of outdoor activities you can do this Fall here, or just for the pleasure of looking at the beautiful photos they have throughout the magazine! Vermont Life Magazine Current Issue.

Photo: Courtesy of Vermont Institute for Artisan Cheese.

We have to confess: we like cheese and Vermont cheese! Last month, we brought the news to you about the Vermont Cheesemakers’ Festival. It was unfortunately sold out so we’re glad to tell you that you can still attend an evening on Cheese and Wine Pairing, at the Vermont Institute for Artisan Cheese, at 255 Carrigan Wing Building, University of Vermont: it’s on September 22nd from 6 to 9pm.
More information at: Vermont Institute for Artisan Cheese website.
To learn more about Vermont cheeses, you can also listen to the recent Vermont Public Radio interview of Allison Hooper, from Vermont Butter and Cheese Company and Paul Kindstedt, from the Vermont Institute for Artisan Cheese. They are both authors of books on cheesemaking. You’ll learn the definition of artisan cheese, farmstead cheese and much more!
And finally don’t forget that cheesemakers in Vermont always welcome you to visit them: you can consult the cheese trail map or read “The Vermont Cheese Book” to plan your visit.

Related articles:
First Vermont Cheesemakers Festival
Award-winning Vermont Cheeses

It’s this Sunday, August 23, 2009 from 10am to 5pm.
A great looking event which unfortunately is… SOLD OUT!
So clearly everyone noticed the quality of the activities presented (seminars, cooking shows, cheesemaking demos, over 100 cheeses to taste, etc) and of the presenters… and the tickets went like hot cakes!
The organizers were planning for 500 to 1000 attendees and 85 people maximum for each of their seminars (Cheesemaking 101, Cheese Pairing Beyond Beverages, Cheddar and Beer Tasting, Cheese and Wine Pairing, Explore Shelburne Farms) and every seminar and general entry ticket is sold!
But you can still enjoy the Vermont Artisan Foodmakers Open Studios, on Saturday, August 22 (the day prior to the festival). On that day creameries, wineries, breweries and artisan foodmakers across the state will be open for special tours and tastings. A map showing location of all the participating foodmakers as well as all website addresses can be seen on the event website.
And for the festival, as the organizers say: “See you in 2010″.
Related articles:
Award-winning Vermont Cheeses

July 25-26, 2009 - It’s the week-end of this very popular annual event, an event we attended last year and really enjoyed: definitely great food, nice beer, nice music, and a nice setting to sit down and enjoy a beer… if the weather cooperates. Enjoy!
See our article from last year:
Harpoon Brewery - BBQ Competition
Harpoon Brewery web page on the event: Harpoon Championships of New England BBQ

Next Page »