School gets out this week, the markets are all running, and the libraries are throwing parties. This issue is a guide to what your local library has lined up for summer -- reading programs, launch events, stuffed dinosaurs -- plus a full week of events from Quechee to Fairlee.
Farmers' Markets
Lebanon Farmers Market
Thursdays 4--7pm · Colburn Park, Lebanon NH
The midweek anchor. SNAP/EBT accepted. Rain or shine through mid-October.
Norwich Farmers Market
Saturdays 9am--1pm · Route 5 South, Norwich VT
The big one -- 55+ vendors, live music, SNAP/EBT. Rain or shine through October.
Hartland Farmers Market
Fridays 4--6:30pm · 153 Route 5, Hartland VT
A smaller market with a loyal following, now three weeks into the season.
Market on the Green, Woodstock
Wednesdays 3--6pm · The Green, Woodstock VT
Woodstock's midweek market, now in full swing for the season.
Mt Tom Farmers Market, Woodstock
Saturdays 9:30am--12:30pm · Saskadena Six, Woodstock VT
In its 41st year, with 20+ vendors -- farmers, makers, and bakers. Rain or shine through October 10.
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This Week in the Upper Valley
The Library Is Open (And This Summer, It's a Dig Site)
School gets out this week -- Monday for some, Tuesday for others -- and for a few days the Valley will have that particular mid-June feeling: kids everywhere, schedules dissolved, parents consulting their phones. If you have children and haven't yet thought about what summer looks like, your local library has done some of the thinking for you.
This year's national summer reading theme is "Unearth a Story," chosen by the Collaborative Summer Library Program, a nonprofit that coordinates reading programs for thousands of libraries across the country. The theme leans into dinosaurs, archaeology, and the joy of digging -- metaphorical and literal. Vermont libraries are all running this program. New Hampshire libraries are using a parallel program with slightly different materials but the same spirit: read books, earn things, come back.
The specifics vary by library and they're worth knowing. At Howe Library in Hanover, the program officially opens Monday, June 15, and the Launch Party falls on the last day of school -- Wednesday, June 17 from 4 to 6pm: drop in, register, make crafts, and pick up a summer reading T-shirt and a coupon for a free pizza slice while supplies last. No registration required, ages 12 and under. Across town at the Etna Library, their own launch party runs the same evening, June 17 from 3:30 to 6pm, with a crafts table, dinosaur buttons, and more pizza. Two launch parties, same evening -- the Upper Valley has opinions about summer reading.
In West Lebanon, the Lebanon and Kilton libraries launched their program today, June 11, the first day of summer break. Their incentive: read 10 books, earn a free ice cream cone from Ice Cream Fore U. This is a good incentive. Over in Woodstock, Norman Williams Public Library opens their six-week program on June 27 with a free screening of Night at the Museum the night before -- a museum that comes alive after closing, dinos included, which seems on theme. Their program runs through August 8, with archaeology-themed story times and a raised garden bed on the library lawn where kids planted seed potatoes in May. Hartford Library in White River Junction runs year-round Thursday story hour with crafts and a snack; summer doesn't slow them down.
A note for Vermont readers: if your town has a public library, your card may work at more libraries than you think. About 17 Upper Valley Vermont libraries -- from Fairlee south through Windsor, including Norwich, Hartland, Quechee, Hartford, and Wilder -- participate in OneCard, a borrowing network that lets cardholders walk into any member library and borrow materials. If your card has a yellow OneCard sticker, the whole network is yours to use. If you're not sure, ask at the desk.
The programs are free, the libraries are air-conditioned, and the summer is long. Start at your closest branch -- and if your kids have a stuffed dinosaur handy, Kilton Library's Dinosaur Stuffie Sleepover on Tuesday, June 16 at 3:30pm is an event they will not forget.
Dinosaur Stuffie Sleepover at Kilton ->