This Weekend's Stacked -- Homecoming, Harvest, Wool and More
Upper Valley Connections
Issue No. 25 · October 2, 2026
Your weekly guide to life along the Connecticut River
A day late this week, but here we are -- it's Dartmouth Homecoming weekend, the VT Sheep and Wool Festival opens in Tunbridge, and Natalie MacMaster and Donnell Leahy bring Celtic fiddle to Lebanon Opera House. We're also taking a closer look at Enfield Shaker Museum, where the Berklee Jazz Cats return to a former chapel turned concert hall next Saturday.
-- The Upper Valley Connections Team
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This Weekend
Arts & Culture · Community · Free
VT Sheep and Wool Festival (Opening)
Sat Oct 3 · 10:00 AM-4:00 PM · Tunbridge Fairgrounds, Tunbridge, VT
The Vermont Sheep and Wool Festival opens for the weekend at the Tunbridge Fairgrounds. Free admission.
Arts & Culture · Kids & Family · Free
Storytime in the Galleries
Sat Oct 3 · 11:00 AM-12:00 PM · Hood Museum of Art, Hanover, NH
A free storytime for kids among the galleries at the Hood Museum of Art.
Food & Drink · Kids & Family · Free
Kids Drop-In Baking Activity
Sat Oct 3 · 12:00-2:00 PM · King Arthur Baking Company, Norwich, VT
A free drop-in baking activity for kids at King Arthur.
Community · Food & Drink · Kids & Family
Harvest Celebration
Sat Oct 3 · 10:00 AM-5:00 PM · Billings Farm & Museum, Woodstock, VT
Billings Farm's annual Harvest Celebration. Included with regular museum admission.
Community · Kids & Family · Sports · Free/Ticketed
Dartmouth College Football vs Penn -- Homecoming
Sat Oct 3 · 1:30-4:30 PM · Town of Hanover, Hanover, NH
Dartmouth football hosts Penn for Homecoming. Visit dartmouthsports.com for ticket information.
Community · Food & Drink · Music · Free
Fairlee Fall Festival
Sat Oct 3 · 6:30-8:00 PM · Fairlee Town Common, Fairlee, VT
A free fall festival on the Fairlee Town Common, with food and live music.
Music · Ticketed
Natalie MacMaster & Donnell Leahy
Sat Oct 3 · 7:30-9:30 PM · Lebanon Opera House, Lebanon, NH
Celtic fiddle duo Natalie MacMaster and Donnell Leahy perform at Lebanon Opera House. Tickets required.
Music · $5 cover
Latin Dance Party w/ DJ Chelé
Sat Oct 3 · 9:00 PM-1:00 AM · Sawtooth Kitchen, Hanover, NH
Sawtooth's Saturday night Latin dance party. $5 at the door.
Community · Food & Drink · Free
Community Breakfast
Sun Oct 4 · 7:00-10:00 AM · Bradford Fire Department, Bradford, VT
A free community breakfast hosted by the Bradford Fire Department.
Community · Literary · Free
Banned Books Read-In
Sun Oct 4 · 2:00-3:00 PM · Norwich Bookstore, Norwich, VT
A free community read-in at Norwich Bookstore for Banned Books Week.
Community · Food & Drink
The 4th: Community Appreciation Day
Sun Oct 4 · All Day · The Fourth Place, Hanover, NH
The Fourth Place's community appreciation day, with sales throughout the week and a free sticker with purchase.
Community · Kids & Family · Free
Halloween Costume Swap
Sun Oct 4 · 1:00-3:00 PM · Howe Library, Hanover, NH
A free costume swap at Howe Library -- bring a costume your kids have outgrown, take home a new one.
Later in the Week
Community · Education · Literary · Outdoors & Nature · Free
Robert Macfarlane
Mon Oct 5 · 5:30-7:30 PM · Top of the Hop, Hanover, NH
A free talk with nature writer Robert Macfarlane at the Hopkins Center.
Education · Outdoors & Nature · Free
Putting the Garden to Bed with Linda Hansen
Tue Oct 6 · 1:00-2:30 PM · Montshire Museum of Science, Norwich, VT
A free talk at the Montshire on closing up the garden for the season.
Arts & Culture · Literary · Free
Hannah Fries -- A Forest Language
Wed Oct 7 · 7:00-8:00 PM · Norwich Bookstore, Norwich, VT
A free author event at Norwich Bookstore for "A Forest Language."
Arts & Culture · Education · Free
Artist Talk: Janet Echelman
Wed Oct 7 · 3:30-5:30 PM · Hopkins Center for the Arts, Hanover, NH
A free artist talk with sculptor Janet Echelman at the Hopkins Center.
Community · Education · Literary · Free
Reading Nature: Human Nature -- Nine Ways to Feel About Our Changing Planet
Thu Oct 8 · 6:00-7:00 PM · Howe Library, Hanover, NH
A free discussion at Howe Library as part of the Reading Nature series.
Music · Ticketed
An Evening with Lucinda Williams and Her Band
Thu Oct 8 · 7:30-9:30 PM · Lebanon Opera House, Lebanon, NH
Lucinda Williams and her band perform at Lebanon Opera House. Limit of four tickets per order.
Community · Fundraiser · $5 suggested donation
Trivia! Library After Hours
Thu Oct 8 · 7:00-9:00 PM · Norman Williams Public Library, Woodstock, VT
A trivia night fundraiser at Norman Williams Public Library. $5 suggested donation per player.
Mark your calendar: the Enfield Shaker Museum feature below has more on the Berklee Jazz Cats, returning Saturday, October 10.
This Week in the Upper Valley
Chosen Vale
The Enfield Shakers called the valley between Shaker Mountain and Mascoma Lake "Chosen Vale" when they settled it in 1793 -- the ninth of eighteen Shaker communities established in this country. Enfield Shaker Museum, a nonprofit founded in 1986, still preserves fourteen of the original buildings on the site, along with two Shaker cemeteries and the surrounding landscape.
One of those buildings has had an unusual second life. A former chapel on the property -- once La Salette's chapel, from the site's years as a Catholic retreat -- has been converted into the Chosen Vale Performance Center, and it's where the museum now hosts its concert series. Next Saturday, October 10, that building hosts the return of the Berklee Jazz Cats, a trio of Berklee College of Music alumni who've performed together there before. One of the three, saxophonist Dino Govoni, teaches at Berklee and performs regularly with the Boston Pops. Showtime is 7-9pm. Tickets are $25 for museum members, $30 for non-members.
Earlier that same Saturday, the museum also holds its Annual Fall Pie Sale, 11am to 2pm, $20 a pie. The museum's weekly Shaker Herb Garden Tour, included with admission, runs that weekend as well.
The museum's regular season runs from late April into December's Festival of Trees.
Royalton Farmers Market wrapped up for the season last Sunday. Mt Tom ends October 10, Canaan ends October 4, and Market on the Green ends October 14:
- Norwich Farmers Market -- Saturdays 9am-1pm -- Route 5 South, Norwich VT -- outdoors through the end of October, then continuing as an indoor market for the winter.
- Mt Tom Farmers Market -- Saturdays 9:30am-12:30pm -- this Saturday, Oct 3, at ArtisTree Community Arts Center, South Pomfret VT (normally at Saskadena Six, Woodstock VT). Season ends Saturday, Oct 10.
- Canaan Farmers Market -- Sundays 10am-2pm -- Canaan Town Common, Canaan NH -- this Sunday, Oct 4, is the final market of the season.
- Monday Mini Market at Honey Field Farm -- Mondays 4-7pm -- 55 Butternut Road, Norwich VT -- runs through October, with the final market on Oct 26.
- Market on the Green, Woodstock -- Wednesdays 3-6pm -- The Green, Central Street, Woodstock VT -- season runs through Oct 14.
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Upper Valley Connections · Serving NH & VT · uppervalleyconnections.com Details are gathered from event organizers and may change. Please confirm times, prices, and availability directly with the venue before heading out. Sponsorship inquiries: [email protected]