Vermont Travel Notes

This Saturday, April 4, Mount Snow in southern Vermont will be hosting its Winter Brewer's Festival.

The event starts around 2:00 pm and continues into the evening. Some of the brewers on hand will be Magic Hat, Allagash, Long Trail, Harpoon, Rock Art, and Red Hook, Stone, North Coast and Budweiser.

Admission is $12 for adults age 21 and older and it includes a free first drink and free Mount Snow pint glass.

There will also be live music and a BBQ.

(c) 2009 Jeff Connor Grunberg Haus

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Can kids really cook? You bet they can! And very well too.

You can watch and sample the results at the 2nd Annual Junior Iron Chef VT this Saturday, March 28, at the Champlain Valley Expo in Essex Junction, Vermont.

This is a state-wide competition by members of the Burlington Food Council. It is also a fundraiser for the Burlington School Food Project and VT FEED farm to school education program.

Celebrity judges will score the meals prepared by teams of students from middle school and high school.

For spectators, the event offers activities for the people of all ages including cooking demos, food vendors, a farmers' market, and prize raffle. Food and drinks will be available for purchase. Admission is $3 for adults or $5 per family.

(c) 2009 Jeff Connor Grunberg Haus Inn

Photo courtesy of Stowe Inside Line newsletter

This photo was in today's Stowe Inside Line newsletter and I thought it was a great picture to represent the great spring skiing conditions we are having now.

"Great" is the word I heard most often from our inn's guests and other people I spoke with about this weekend's skiing at all four local ski areas: Stowe, Sugarbush, Mad River Glen, and Bolton Valley. Both Saturday and Sunday were sunny and warm, making for classic spring skiing conditions.

The weather forecast calls for some rain on Wednesday and Saturday night but that will probably change - forecasts of more than a couple of days out always seem to. However, most everyday for the next week should offer some very good "popcorn" snow conditions.

All four local ski areas offer daily email reports first thing each morning. I especially like Bolton's and Mad River Glen's narrative reports. Stowe's Inside Line is fairly short but good and also has promotional listings of events around the resort. Sugarbush's report does not have any narrative - just a listing of trails and conditions.

If you don't want to get a lot of emails, check each resort's website for conditions and also use the Trail Reports on Alpine Zone as recommended a few days ago on this blog.

Just a few weeks of skiing left and conditions are excellent. The ski areas have several feet of snow pack left to work through so you have a little time to make some more runs before Vermont closes out what has been another outstanding winter sports season.

A note for snowmobilers: I am starting to see bare ground on lower elevation trails. Check carefully when making your plans on where to snowmobile. The VAST website Trail Reports page has details along with a link to a satellite map of snow coverage. There is still good coverage in the upper elevations.

(c) 2009 Jeff Connor Grunberg Haus VT

Green Mountain Film Festival web page all rights reserved

The 12th annual Green Mountain Film Festival runs this year in Montpelier VT from March 20 through the 29th.

Several dozen films including two world premiers will be shown in 110 screenings. In addition, there will be several special events including conversations with some of the films' directors.

The event's web site has a page with descriptions of each film.

The films will be shown at the Savoy Theater and the City Hall Arts Center.

There are more than 16,000 tickets available but each year a number of the films sell out so advanced tickets are recommended. The Film Festival's web site ticket page has information about ordering by phone or mail.

You can also get tickets at the Montpelier ticket office. Hours and location are on the web ticket page page above.

(c) 2009 Jeff Connor Grunberg Haus Inn

I wrote a VT Travel Notes blog entry January 29 about The Mad River Valley Chamber of Commerce (Waitsfield and Warren VT) Ultimate Ski Vacation Contest and wanted to follow up with a reminder that entries are due no late than Sunday, March 8.

As mentioned, the grand prize winner(s) gets:

- Cat skiing at Sugarbush- a ride in a luxury cabin Snow Cat to have first tracks in the best terrain before the lifts start running.
- Seven nights lodging in a slope side luxury condo with two outdoor hot tubs, heated outdoor pool, fitness center, game room
- Six day "Ski the Valley" pass good at Mad River Glen and Sugarbush ski areas, plus Ole's Cross Country Ski Center
- Free use of high-end demo equipment
- Four dinners for two people at four of the area's best restaurants
- A lunch for two at the very popular Warren Store Deli
- Fresh flower bouquet from Blue Toad Florist
- 60 minute couples therapeutic massage at Mad River Massage

There will also be a First Prize Winner and five Second Prize winners.

Enter now. The winners will be drawn Monday March 9. Good luck!

(c) 2009 Jeff Connor Grunberg Haus Inn

Ben & Jerry's Homemade ice cream 7th annual Winter Festival is tomorrow, March 7.

Their factory tours will be free of charge and they will have games, ice cream (!), snow sculptures, food, sugar on snow (melted maple syrup poured over snow), and a gift sale.

Umiak Outfitters will be there offering snowshoe tours, along with food samplings from Cabot Cheese, Red Hen Bakery, Green Mountain Coffee Roasters, and Cider House BBQ Restaurant.

The event is at the Waterbury VT factory on Route 100 about 3/4 of a mile north (toward Stowe) from exit 10 on Interstate highway 89.

(c) 2009 Jeff Connor Grunberg Haus Inn