Things to do in Vermont - August 1-3

New this week!
• 5th Annual Vermont Lakes Region Cycling Weekend – It’s both Saturday and Sunday and seems like a really nice event for cyclers. They are 13 rides to choose from, from rolling to hilly terrain, and from 19 to 65 miles in length – on paved, scenic, rural roads. The small groups of cyclists gather at Green Mountain College in Poultney. And for all the rides, they are given detailed maps and clues, and are accompanied by an experienced leader. And to make it even more attractive, some rides lead to interesting cultural or historic places, such as the Slate Valley Museum, Fort Ticonderoga (on the NY side) or Hubbardton Battlefield. Accommodations are available.
More information at: www.cyclingvermont.org
Related Post: Battle of Hubbardton Reenactment
• 3rd Annual Lake Champlain Dragon Boat Festival - Sunday August 3, in Burlington, at the Waterfront Park, from 7:30 am to 4:30 pm – The traditional Chinese Dragon Boats are competing! Teams of 20 paddlers (and a drummer) in 40-feet boats. Definitely a popular event, as the registration for participants is already full! And it’s a fund-raising event for Breast Cancer. We’ll be there!
More information at: Lake Champlain Dragon Boat Festival
• 2008 Pipers’ Gathering, Killington – sounds like a very serious gathering of pipers with workshops and group instructions during the 2 days, but for the general public, those of you who like such music, it’s also the chance to listen to “some of the best pipers” in the world (say the organizers) in 2 concerts Saturday night August 2 and Sunday night August 3 at 7:30PM.
More information at: www.pipersgathering.org
• The President Calvin Coolidge Homestead is always a nice place for a relaxing time, when the weather is nice and they do have some additional attractions on Saturday August 2 (Plymouth Old Home Day, including a chicken BBQ) and Sunday August 3 (piano concerts at 3PM).
Related post: President Calvin Coolidge House 
• At Mount Independence Historic Site, a great place for some day hikes, it’s a “Hike into History” on Sunday August 3, at 2PM, where you can hike the Orange Trail and the Blue Trail and learn from Steve Zeoli what happened there in 1776 and 1777 during the American Revolution. You can also bring a picnic and/or hike the flat, easy Baldwin Trail (green trail) which just won the 2008 Award of Merit from the American Association for State and Local History (AASLH) Leadership in History Awards (quite a mouth full!), the most prestigious recognition for achievement in the preservation and interpretation of state and local history. And indeed, the signage on the trail is superb!
Related post: Day Hike: Mount Independence
• Champlain Valley Folk Festival – August 1-3 – at the Kingsland Bay State Park – celebrating its 25 years - We suspect it is probably a casual event… in the State Park… but there are still an impressive number of artists appearing over the 3 days (35 on the program we saw!)… so if you enjoy folk music, I hope you enjoy it.
More information at: www.cvfest.org
Directions: Take Route 7 to Ferrisburgh. From the center of Ferrisburgh, take Little Chicago Road west toward the lake. Turn right on Hawkins Road and continue for 4 miles to the Festival Entrance.
• And finally, as surprising as it may be, Les Miserables musical is playing in Vermont… from July 31 to August 23 in Weston. We’ll try to go and check this production in the next few weeks and tell you what we thought. We are not expecting the kind of production you can see in New York or London, but we’ll see…
More information at: www.westonplayhouse.org

And for continuing events:
- Vermont Mozart Festival. It’s your last chance to attend one of its outdoors concerts in a place with beautiful scenery: Friday night August 1, at Shelburne Farms, and Saturday August 2 and Sunday August 3 the 2 “finale” concerts at Shelburne Farms and Stowe. We are planning to attend one of them… and praying for sunny weather;
And don’t forget the concert for kids at Teddy Bear Company Factory, in Shelburne, on Sunday. See our Event Calendar for the complete schedule.
Related posts:
Grande Isle Magic… and Jazz
Vermont Mozart Festival: Schedule
Vermont Mozart Festival: Grand Opening
- Vermont Summer Festival Horseshow – 4th week-end of competition at East Dorset; Photographers: remember you can participate to a digital photography contest (see previous posting);
Related post: Vermont Summer Festival Horseshow
- And more chamber music at Marlboro Music, Marlboro College – Friday August 1 and Saturday August 2 at 8:30PM and Sunday afternoon August 3 at 2:30PM – We were there last week-end and the concert was delightful. It is worth the drive there and you can find nice romantic inns to stay at, in the area. Time Magazine says it’s “the most exciting chamber music in the U.S.”, the NY Times says “extraordinary rising stars and musical legends play side-by-side”.
More information at: Marlboro Music
Also, don’t hesitate to leave us a comment on one of these events if you have a chance to attend!

Battle of Hubbardton - Reenactment

July 5-6th week-end is this year’s date for the reenactment of the American Revolution Battle of Hubbardton. Every year, some 300 to 400 reenactors spend the week-end in these fields around the Hubbardton State Historic Site,  to reenact the only battle of the American Revolution which took place in Vermont. Every 5 years, there are even more people coming, around 1000, to commemorate the battle (next time should be in 2012 for the 235th anniversary of the battle). When did the battle take place? July 7, 1777. What happened then? The British who just came from Fort Ticonderoga, NY and Mount Independence, VT fought the American troops, the famous Green Mountain Boys. The battle was short on this early morning of July 7, 1777… approximately 2 hours, from 8AM to 10AM and the American troops had to withdraw, but the British losses were high. It is said that it was the “beginning of the end” for the British General Burgoyne! So for the pleasure of both the reenactors and the visitors, adults and children, every year, the battle is being replayed. This is what Carl Fuller, site interpreter at Hubbardton Historic Site is sharing with us about this wonderful event: “The reenactors themselves have told me many times they love it because they are allowed to camp in the same fields and portray the battle on the same fields where it actually happened.  They like the idea of having the room to do this portrayal without being stuck in a small area between buildings or off somewhere where people can’t find them.
Reenactors come from all over New England, New York and sometimes Canada.  Once they arrive at Hubbardton and even though they may not have been here before everything seems to fall into place.  Camps are set up and everything becomes 18th century.  Everyone remains in costume the entire weekend, eating, sleeping and fighting as they would have in the year 1777.  Some of the reenactors have found ancestors who took part in the battle of Hubbardton and for this weekend they become that person.
On this weekend, you may see American, British, German and Native American camps.  During the day, tours are given through these camps by the reenactors themselves.  Children are taught drilling and marching and told about other things children did to help out around camp.  The women in the camps show people what they did as part of the camplife.  Sometimes, prisoners are taken and court-martials are done.  Tours of the battlefield are done throughout the weekend.  Narrated tacticals are done on both days with the big reenactment on Sunday morning at 8 AM.  There are even sutlers selling their wares.  There is something here to see and do for all ages.
Make no mistake, this is hallowed ground but weren’t these people fighting to allow us to do what we do today.  We honor them by doing these portrayals.  Our freedom was won by many battles such as this one and in numbers participating it may be considered small but it was an important stepping stone in determining the British downfall in the northern colonies during the American Revolution.” Hope you will join us there!

Schedule for Saturday 5th and Sunday 6th
Post-event: Check a selection of our photos of the Battle of Hubbardton Reenactment - July 6, 2008
More on Hubbardton Battlefield State Historic Site