Vermont Life wine & Harvest Festival

Vermont Life Wine and Harvest Festival Celebrates Vermont Wineries, Food Producers and Artisans

August 24, 2008 – Wilmington, VT – Vermont wines, cheese, specialty foods and products will be celebrated at next month’s Vermont Life Wine and Harvest Festival in the Mount Snow area of Vermont. Hosted by the Mount Snow Valley Chamber of Commerce and Vermont Life Magazine, the weekend long festival held September 26-28, will take place in the towns of Dover, Wilmington and Whitingham.

Laura Sibilia, Executive Director of the chamber says the Mount Snow area is eagerly anticipating the festival kick-off. “We’ve spent some time creating an appealing blend of events and activities centered on traditional Vermont food and artisan favorites combined with fresh new Vermont products like our newly minted Grape and Wine Council.”
The weekend long event features authentic Vermont experiences which include a Bluegrass BBQ, farmer’s breakfast and a series of wine pairing dinners at the Mount Snow Valley’s finest eateries in addition to the daytime outdoor festival. The Vermont Life Wine and Harvest Festival is a showcase for Vermont wines, Vermont specialty foods and artisans of all types celebrating the rich uniqueness, quality and ingenuity of Vermont producers. Set in the backdrop of Vermont’s world renowned Vermont fall foliage; attendees will discover, savor and enjoy Vermont vintners, small specialty food producers, painters, publishers, cheese makers, potters, jewelers, chefs, photographers and farmers. “Culinary topics and enjoying the good life are of a major interest to Vermont Life readers,” explains Tom Kelly, Publisher of Vermont Life. “The festival provides an excellent connection between the magazine, its readers and what its readers enjoy: high quality food and the good things in life.”

The centerpiece of the weekend is the two day outdoor festival set at the intersection of Routes 9 and 100 in Wilmington, at the former site of the Southern Vermont Garlic Festival. Some highlights of the festival include:
· A wine-tasting tent featuring 10 Vermont wineries
· Sampling of Vermont cheese and specialty foods
· A panel of Vermont Life food writers including:
o Marialisa Calta, author of several books including Barbarians at the Plate,
o Melissa Pasanen, author of Cooking with Shelburne Farms and
o Ellen Ogden, author of The Vermont Cheese Book
· Entertainment by the Vermont Symphony Orchestra Brass Trio Fanfare, the Will Patton Trio, the Stockwell Brothers, and the Richard Mayer Group
· Restaurant food tent featuring local Vermont specialties
· Cider press demonstration by Adam Buursma of Arboreal Habitats
· Weaving demonstration by Adams Farm
· Rock climbing wall and 100 foot inflatable – fun for all ages!
· Book signings with Vermont authors
· Presentations by the Vermont Cheese Council and Vermont Grape and Wine Council

Schedule of weekend events:
Friday, September 26: Welcome to Vermont Bluegrass Party and BBQ featuring The Stockwell Brothers at the Matterhorn Inn in West Dover. Hours: 7pm – 11pm

Saturday, September 27:
Vermont Life Wine and Harvest Festival at junction of Routes 9 and 100 in Wilmington. Hours: 10am – 5pm.

Vermont Wine and Cheese reception at the Inn at Sawmill Farm, sponsored by The Purple Chef and hosted with Shelburne Farms Vineyards and The Vermont Cheese Council. Hours: 4:30-6pm

Vermont Wine Pairing Dinners at The Doveberry Inn, Deerhill Inn, The SteakHouse Grill at the Nutmeg Country Inn and Harriman's Restaurant at the Grand Summit Resort and Conference Center featuring Vermont wines and scintillating menus. Reservations required.

Sunday, September 28:
The Indigenous Vermonter Breakfast sponsored by Vermont Smoke and Cure and hosted by the Deerfield Valley Sportsman's Club in Whitingham. Hours: 8-11 am

Vermont Life Wine and Harvest Festival at junction of Routes 9 and 100 in Wilmington. Hours: 10am – 3pm.

Sponsors for the festival include: Town of Dover, Chittenden Bank, Honora Winery and Vineyard, Vermont Public Radio, Deerfield Valley Energy, Southern Vermont Arts Guide, WKVT 92.7 Classic Hits, Mount Snow, Vermont Smoke and Cure, Vermont National Guard, Vermont Vacation (Vermont Department of Tourism and Marketing) and The Purple Chef.

Tickets and more information are available from the Mount Snow Valley Chamber of Commerce either online at http://www.thevermontfestival.com/ or by calling 802-464-8092. Weekend packages at local inns available with promotions posted on http://www.visitvermont.com/.

The Mount Snow Valley is a four season resort area known for world class skiing, mountain golf courses and an abundance of hiking and biking opportunities. Centered at the southern tip of the Green Mountains along Southern Vermont’s major east-west route 9, Mount Snow is 4 hours from New York City, 2 hours from Boston, MA and 1 ½ hours from Hartford, CT.

Press Contact:
Laura Sibilia or Lisa Sullivan
Mount Snow Valley Chamber of Commerce
(802) 464-8092
laura@visitvermont.com

Mount Snow to host 2009 Dew Action Sports Tour!

West Dover, VT. (July 15, 2008) - Freestyle skiing and snowboarding's elite athletes will converge in southern Vermont January 8-11, 2009, as officials announced today that Mount Snow has been selected as the only East Coast stop of the AST Winter Dew Tour. The announcement comes on the heels of Mount Snow's decision to turn its Carinthia mountain face into a massive, 95-acre terrain park system, making it the largest freestyle destination in the East. After several years of successful summer tours, this is the Dew Tour's inaugural winter series. The event features slopestyle and superpipe disciplines in both skiing and snowboarding, with top athletes like Simon Dumont, Kelly Clark, Hannah Teter and Jen Hudak expected to compete. It will be televised live on NBC. "We are extremely excited to have Mount Snow Resort as a host for the inaugural AST Winter Dew Tour," said Wade Martin, AST President. "We feel that Mount Snow Resort is a great fit for the AST and we look forward to the AST Winter Tour being as successful as the AST Summer Dew Tour." "The timing couldn't be better," said Kelly Pawlak, Mount Snow General Manager. "We want to show the world that Mount Snow is taking East Coast freestyle skiing and snowboarding to new levels. It's really an honor to host the Winter Dew Tour." "I'm so excited that Mount Snow will be hosting the AST," said pro snowboarder Kelly Clark, who grew up riding at Mount Snow Academy. "I'm really excited to compete at such a high level event in front of my hometown and ride my favorite mountain." Mount Snow opened the first freestyle terrain park in the East in 1992 and hosted the ESPN X-Games in 2000 and 2001. The Dew tour features three separate stops over the winter, with a cumulative points system and a $1.5 million competitive purse spread across the three events. Lifestyle elements at each stop include the Festival Village, with video gaming and interactive events, as well as live cutting edge music. More information can be found at http://rs6.net/tn.jsp?e=001Klj8RzTN1hoYkx-zt2N2J-sK_T0b1Pxj-Vr-c_tPRHe0ytRlV_nsIBwn02x_bXDz1koyU99DbEeTS8KGfowp9DWkjDeCsu3wvXx2lgiKOpo=.

The complete 2008/2009 AST Winter Dew Tour schedule is as follows:
Date LocationDec. 18-21 Breckenridge Ski Resort - Breckenridge, Colo. Jan. 8-11 Mount Snow Resort - West Dover, VT. Feb. 19-22 Northstar-at-Tahoe Resort - Lake Tahoe, Calif. For more information on Mount Snow, visit www.mountsnow.com, or contact Luke Q. Stafford, Communications Manager, at 802-464-4013 or lstafford@mountsnow.com.

2008 OLYMPIANS SELECTED, SET TO RACE AT MOUNT SNOW

West Dover, Vt. (July 14, 2008) — For the second year in a row, the USA Cycling Mountain Bike National Championships will return to Mount Snow, July 17-20. More than 1,000 athletes are already registered to compete for the coveted Stars-and-Stripes jersey in seven different styles of off-road racing, including the four riders recently selected to represent the United States at the upcoming Olympic Games in Beijing, China.

2008 Olympians Adam Craig (Bend, Ore.) and Mary McConneloug (Chilmark, Mass.) will be on hand to defend their 2007 national titles in the pro Olympic-style cross country contest, along with Todd Wells (Durango, Colo.) and Georgia Gould (Fort Collins, Colo.), who have also qualified for Beijing. Fresh off the 2008 UCI Mountain Bike World Championships, Cole Bangert (Twin Lakes, Colo.) and Kathy Pruitt (Santa Cruz, Calif.) are set to defend their Stars-and-Stripes jersey in the pro downhill races on Sunday. To view complete results from the 2007 USA Cycling Mountain Bike National Championships, click here.

With over 2,000 competitors expected to compete across beginner, sport, expert, semi-pro and professional categories, the 2008 USA Cycling Mountain Bike National Championships will also feature several additional disciplines of mountain bike competition including Short Track Cross Country, Dual Slalom, Super D, Observed Trials and Singlespeed Cross Country. Although online registration has closed, on-site registration will be available for a nominal fee.

Mount Snow has been hosting world-class mountain bike competitions for the past 20 years, including UCI World Cups and National Mountain Bike Series events, and is widely recognized for some of the most challenging and technical terrain in the East.

A fully-enabled media room will be set up at the base of the mountain to accommodate journalists and photographers. Those interested in covering the event should call Luke Q. Stafford, Mount Snow’s communications manager, at 802-464-4013.

Utilizing largely the same routes as the 2007 competition, athletes can expect demanding, technical courses that will challenge even the sport’s best. This year’s cross country competition will cover the same five-mile loop as in 2007 with race lengths from five miles for the 12 & under juniors, to 25 miles for the professionals. For a complete list of race lengths and lap counts, click here. The 2008 downhill competition will feature two different courses with one specifically suited for the beginner and sport classes and the other designed to challenge the skills of the nation’s top pro gravity riders. Click here for course maps for both the cross country and downhill competitions.

In addition to the various off-road cycling competitions, USA Cycling is set to present the four U.S. Olympic mountain bikers with their official Olympic jersey during a special ceremony at 5:30 p.m. on Saturday, July 19. At that time the national governing body will also be announcing the dates and host venue of the 2009/2010 USA Cycling Mountain Bike National Championships.

For more information visit http://vocuspr.vocus.com/VocusPR30/Url.aspx?519621x2518x447483 or call 800-245-SNOW.

SOUTHERN VERMONT’S DEERFIELD VALLEY INITIATING A GIANT, BLUE FESTIVAL AUGUST 1-10TH 2008

Berries, vintage cars, music, food and tarp displays; if it’s blue, it’s probably happening in the Mount Snow area towns of Wilmington, Whitingham and Dover in early August.

The 2008 Deerfield Valley Blueberry Festival is the culmination of a community effort coordinated by Janet Boyd from Boyd Family Farm in Wilmington in which dozens of businesses, organizations and individuals have created blueberry or blue themed events happening the first ten days of August.

“It’s fun, it’s silly, and something everyone can take part in,” Boyd said of the event which she hopes will become an annual community event.

Visitors to the Valley will find children’s activities, jam making, blueberry themed specials in the local eateries, blue music events, a blue car auto show, blueberry bake sales, blue beer, special “Blues fees” at Mount Snow’s Golf Course as well as pick your own blueberry opportunities.

Don’t miss Boyd’s Farm “Fields of Blue” public art display. Inspired by Christo and Jean-Claude’s Central Park orange canvas display “The Gates”; Vermont farmers Janet and Buck Boyd’s display of blue tarps in their fields will have you chuckling.

Highlighted Events for 2008:

Aug 1- 10 Fields of Blue join us at the Boyd Family Farm in the pick your own blueberry fields. Celebrate Blueberry Season! Experience our "Field of Blue" Ya might be a farmer if you appreciate our Outdoor Art Walk! Photo opportunities...your friends will be blue with envy! Stay long enough to pick some berries! Fields are open daily. Hours will be posted. 802- 464 -5618

August 2 Blueberry Stampede - Walk the Valley Trail to benefit the Guy Hawkins Cancer Fund 10 a.m. Registration at the Matterhorn Inn West Dover Noon – 2:00 pm Barbeque and Entertainment 802-464-4676

Aug 2 Tony's Pizza & Blueberry Festival Auto Show Vintage cars, custom wheels and the owners that own them! Barbers corner across from Tony's Pizza Route 100 North Dover! Info at 802-464-8669

Aug 2 & 3 Blueberry Pie & Open House at the Kingswood Model- Handle Road, Dover, Vermont. 10:00-3:00 Teresa Friol Kingswood of Vermont, Inc. 802-464-8877
Aug 2 LET’S DANCE! at 6:30PM: Deerfield Valley Community Cares & Let’s Dance So. VT presents: “Celebrate the blueberry festival with “A Summer’s Night of Dancing” at the Dover Town Hall. Country Line Swing Ballroom Latin 6:30pm Dance Lesson (come early) 8:00pm Dancing $15 per person, payable to DVCC snacks, beverages, raffles & silent auction Michael Rodriguez 362-1819 Ray Warren 348-6671 Valerie Kaufman 464-2758
Aug 6 Jammin’ with Blueberries! Whitingham Free Public Library: FROM 3:00 PM TO 4:30 PM We will be reading “Blueberries for Sal” by Robert McCloskey and making blueberry jam. Please call Kristine @ 368-7506 for more information.

Aug 6 Deerfield Valley Blues Jam with Bonfire Party & Fireworks at Adams Farm Musical Performances and prizes throughout the evening beginning at 7:00 pm, Bonfire lights off at 8:00pm and Fireworks are set to kick-off at 10:00pm. B.Y.O.B. Adult Admission$12.00; Children 4-12 years $7.50 and 3 years and under is Free!$2.00 off admission for driving in with your blue car, blue truck or blue motorcycle. Adams Farm, Wilmington, Vermont. 802-464-3762 or adamsfamilyfarm.com.

Aug 7 Thirsty Thursday at The West Dover Inn. Live Music by Jim Flynn and we will be serving Blueberry Beer and Blueberry Desserts

Aug 9 The wearing of the blue! Wilmington Village Center Blue Stroll 5-8 pm – contact the Chamber of Commerce 802-464-8092

Aug 10 Blue Fees Mount Snow Golf Course will be offering “Blue Fees” (instead of green fees) for $56. (802) 464-4254

Aug 10 The Teddy Bear’s Blueberry Brunch with Bill Shontz 11:00 AM – 1:00PM: at Adams Farm as part of the Deerfield Valley Blueberry Festival, Adams Farm is hosting their first ever Teddy Bear Brunch featuring local recording artist Bill Shontz. Experience all the joys of Adams Farm, the friendly farm animals, great locally grown and prepared food and all the thrills and sing-a-longs you could ask for.Join Bill Shontz and his “No-See-ums” Band singing songs from Bill's award-winning releases. You can also look forward to real, live, dancing Teddy Bear plus the famous Teddy Bear Toss, when all the guests throw their teddy bears in the air at the same time! Don't forget your camera! This is much more than a concert with local great food- it's a happening! Come early and B.Y.O. Bears. Teddy bears, dolls and other stuffed animals always get in free. A great family event!Reservations required. Adams Farm, Wilmington, Vermont. 464-3762 or adamsfamilyfarm.com.

For complete listing of events check http://www.visitvermont.com/ or call the Mount Snow Valley Chamber of Commerce at 1-802-464-8092.

Fourth of July in Southern Vermont

Southern Vermont’s cool clear mountains and lakes are the backdrop for a traditional July fourth holiday weekend. The Mount Snow Valley is chock full of events for visitors.

Friday, July 4 - 59th Annual Wardsboro Parade & Street Fair - Vermont's Oldest Continually Held Parade happens again at 10am followed by a street fair. The oldest street fair & parade in the state complete with bands, floats, clowns, antique cars, fire trucks & tractors 9 - 10 a.m., Auction at 1:30. Game booths, lots of homemade strawberry shortcake, baked goods, chicken barbecue, arts and crafts and an antique quilt show 9 - 5 p.m.. FREE Admission Sponsored by the Wardsboro Churches and the Friends of the Wardsboro Library. Rt. 100 North, Wardsboro, VT 802-896-6405.

Friday, July 4, 2008: Pre-Fireworks Wagon Ride and Ice Cream Social
Get in the old-time spirit of Independence Day and take an authentic wagon ride through the gently sloping terrain of the local hillside farm to enjoy the views, the ambiance and indulge yourself with sumptuous homemade Vermont ice cream at the conclusion of the journey. There will be plenty of time to make it to the traditional fireworks display in downtown Wilmington. Rides depart at 6:30 pm and 7:00 pm; reservations required. Adams Farm, Wilmington, Vermont. 802-464-3762 or adamsfamilyfarm.com.

Friday, July 4, 2008 The 31st Annual Independence Day at Baker Field Party and Fireworks, The party starts at 6 p.m. at Baker Field in Wilmington with live entertainment by Jim Flynn, Inflatable Fun, food and vendors. A spectacular fireworks display follows at 9 p.m. Fireworks sponsored by the Mount Snow Valley Chamber of Commerce and paid for by the taxpayers of Wilmington and Dover. Rain date Saturday July 5th. 802-464-8092. Free Entry, Free parking at MOOver park and ride locations Deerfield Valley Supply Route 9 West and Howe Field Route 100 North. Busses start at 5 pm for more info and weather updates check www.VisitVermont.com

Saturday, July 5th 2008 “Master Gardeners Share All!”
Master Gardeners Mari-Lou Rich & Christina Clough answer your gardening questions! Join them in the shade garden for an informal chat about your gardens. Bring your plant questions! Bring photos and sketches of existing gardens and gardens yet to be! Let their wisdom of gardening in Vermont guide you! 11-12:00 pm The Boyd Family Farm http://www.boydfamilyfarm.com/ 802-464-5618

Saturday, July 5th 2008 The Historical Society of Wilmington guided walking tour of the village area Saturday July 5th continues every Saturday at 12 pm through Labor Day, September 1. The historical society's tours offer locals and visitors a chance to ask questions of guides who are well-versed in the area's colorful history. Tour groups will meet at the Mount Snow Valley Chamber of Commerce, and each tour is slated to last an hour. Tickets for the tours, for a suggested donation of $3 for adults (kids are free), will be available at the chamber of commerce office.

Saturday, July 5th 2008 A TRIBUTE to the ROLLING STONES!
The BLUSHING BRIDES, featuring MAURICE RAYMOND, the original and best Mick Jagger tribute artist, perform in a nostalgic spectacle with all the dynamic energy, vigor and intensity of the originals. 8:00 p.m. A presentation of Memorial Hall Center for the Arts at The Grand Ballroom, The Grand Summit Hotel, Mount Snow, Vermont. www.memhall.org. For ticket reservations and further information please call the box office at 802-464-8411.

Pennsylvania Youth Chorale to perfrom Vermont benefit concernt

Wilmington – The Deerfield Valley Rotary Club in conjunction with the Snow Goose Inn will sponsor a free concert at Memorial Hall in Wilmington, VT on Saturday, June 28 at 8 pm.

Performing will be the Pennsylvania Youth Chorale, a community children’s choir based Pennsylvania for boys and girls ages seven to fifteen. They have performed in 25 states, Europe and even in Carnegie Hall. Founded in 1977 by Artistic director Eileen Finley, the choir is an educational and civic instructional arts program for children emphasizing musicianship training and vocal study for the cultural enrichment of its members and the community.

Donations will be accepted and sent to aid earthquake victims in China through ShelterBox Trust. ShelterBox is a registered UK charity that provides emergency aid for disaster victims all over the world. Each box contains shelter, bedding and water purification for ten people. ShelterBox was set up by the Rotary Club of Helston-Lizard in 2001 and has helped an estimated 500,000 people in more than 40 countries: www.shelterbox.org.

For more information please contact Cyndee at the Snow Goose Inn at 464-3984. The Deerfield Valley Rotary Club meets every Wednesday at the Matterhorn in West Dover at 8 am. Those interested in becoming a member can contact a Deerfield Valley Rotarian or Ken Lady at 464-5108.

Vermont's Governor signs new wine festival bill

Wilmington, VT – Vermont wineries and organizers of the Vermont Life Wine & Harvest Festival were in a celebratory mood last week when Vermont’s Governor Jim Douglas signed into law new legislation beneficial to Vermont wineries and the festival. Vermont Life publisher Tom Kelly, Commissioner Bruce Hyde from the Vermont Department of Tourism and Marketing and area legislators joined businesses and residents from the Mount Snow area at the historic White House of Wilmington for the signing.

“It’s a real pleasure to be here today in support of both Vermont agriculture and Vermont wine makers,” Douglas said prior to the signing.

The bill, H.700, was sponsored by Representatives John Moran and Ann Manwaring during the 2008 Vermont legislative session and allows Vermont wineries the ability to sell bottles of wine at festivals Previous Vermont liquor legislation allowed only for sales of glasses of wine, and festival organizer Laura Sibilia of the Mount Snow Valley Chamber of Commerce says the new law will be a boon both for Vermont wineries and for visitors to this falls Vermont Life Wine & Harvest Festival.

“This is really an exciting opportunity for Vermont’s burgeoning wine makers,” she said, adding “the one stop shopping at the festival will give visitors an opportunity to sample, purchase, and learn about the majority of Vermont’s growing wineries.”

The Vermont Life Wine & Harvest Festival will take place in Southern Vermont’s Mount Snow Valley September 26-28 in 2008, and in addition to showcasing Vermont wines, will highlight the large number of quality small specialty food producers in the state. Vermont artisans of all types will round out this uniquely Vermont festival, which will include headline entertainment from the Vermont Symphony Orchestra’s brass trio Fanfare, and an education segment from the Vermont Grape and Wine Council

"The passage of the wine bill only makes it better. Expectations for the first annual Vermont Life Wine & Harvest Festival are even higher. For us, the event is a natural, Vermont Life readers are self described foodies”noted Tom Kelly, Vermont Life Publisher. “Working together with the talented and energetic folks at the Mount Snow Valley Chamber of Commerce is a pleasure. Because of their efforts, the event planning is well in hand. We feel we can add a lot to the event. Vermont Life magazine has credibility and media reach in Vermont and the region. Culinary topics and enjoying the good life are a major interest of Vermont Life readers. Our readership is passionate about Vermont.”

Vermont Agriculture officials say wine is another example of how Vermont farmers are diversifying to find new markets. Vermont wineries have focused on using cold-hardy French hybrid grapes, but have also been experimenting with some other varieties. Honey, apples, pears, blueberries, and maple are also increasingly being used in Vermont wines.

For more information on The Vermont Grape and Wine Council contact President Dave Boyden of Boyden Valley Winery & Farm 70 Vermont Route 104 Cambridge, Vermont 05444 Email: info@boydenvalley.com Telephone: (802) 644-8151 Fax: (802) 644-8212

For more information on The Vermont Wine & Harvest Festival or visiting Vermont this fall contact: The Mount Snow Valley Chamber of Commerce PO Box 3 Wilmington, VT 05363 Email: info@VisitVermont.com Telephone (802)464-8092 Fax: (802) 464-0287