Upper Valley Connections

Upper Valley Connections

Thursday Digest

Issue No. 10  ·  June 5, 2026

The farmers markets are humming, summer is officially here, and this week we are making the case for a proper Upper Valley ice cream tour. Also this weekend: a new juried show at AVA, Nona Hendryx at Dartmouth, and Caleb Kenna's working lands photography at Billings Farm.

-- The Upper Valley Connections Team

This week's digest is proudly sponsored by Upper Valley Solutions -- never miss a call from a neighbor again.

This Week

Woodstock Market on the Green Opens

The Market on the Green in Woodstock opened Wednesday, June 3. Lebanon and Norwich markets are already running weekly.

This Weekend

Nona Hendryx at Dartmouth Saturday night, the AVA Juried Exhibition opens Friday, Caleb Kenna's photography at Billings all weekend, Silver Songs at the Lebanon Congregational Church on Sunday, and a Sawtooth dance party.

See All Events This Week →

Farmers' Markets

Lebanon Farmers Market

Thursdays 4--7pm · Colburn Park, Lebanon, NH

Running now through mid-October. SNAP/EBT accepted. Rain or shine.

Norwich Farmers Market

Saturdays 9am--1pm · Route 5 South, Norwich, VT

55+ vendors, live music, running through October. SNAP/EBT accepted. Rain or shine.

Opening This Week

Market on the Green, Woodstock -- opened Wed Jun 3

🍦

This Week in the Upper Valley

The Creamee Stands of the Connecticut River Valley

There is a sign on Route 5 South in White River Junction that says MAPLE CREAMEES. It is outside Sunrise Farm, which has been running a CSA here since 2000 and apparently decided this summer to add soft-serve to the operation. Good call. They are open Tuesdays and Thursdays 11am-6pm and Saturdays 9am-1pm. It is on my list and near the top of it.

If you are from away, "creamee" needs a moment. It is soft-serve, yes, but the word carries weight here. It is what you get after a hike, what you eat leaning against a car in a gravel lot, what you hand a child who held it together at the hardware store. The maple version -- made with real local syrup -- is something else entirely. Subtle, not candy-sweet, with a faintness that reminds you it came from a tree.

My favorite is Mac's Maple in Plainfield, on River Road off Route 12A. I know summer has really started when creamees are back at Mac's. It is part of McNamara Dairy -- the cream in your cone comes from cows you can walk over and look at. Get the maple. Get the waffle cone. Get the maple candy sprinkles. The small is not actually small.

Other spots worth knowing: Dan & Whit's in Norwich runs a soft-serve window out the side of the building -- a general store on that corner since 1829, still the hub of the town. Ice Cream Fore-U in West Lebanon (beside the Home Depot on Route 12A) is the Valley's most reliable option: Gifford's hard serve, generous portions, covered seating, open daily. Red Kite Candy in Hanover makes its own ice cream and its own cones. Woodstock Scoops does maple creamee with syrup from Bourdon Maple Farm. White Cottage Snack Bar on West Woodstock Road is the roadside classic.

One absence worth noting: Dairy Twirl on Mechanic Street in Lebanon has been dark since a building fire in January 2025. The sign is still up. The Valley is rooting for it.

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