Bennington Potters on County Street in Bennington has been making beautiful, durable, and functional handmade stoneware pottery since 1948. A special highlight this year is the stoneware dinnerware collection and the stoneware pottery bakeware, mixing bowls, and batterbowl. Come visit and shop at Potters Yard in Bennington and take a tour of the factory. Hours: Monday-Saturday, 9:30 a.m.-6 p.m. and Sunday, 10 a.m. -5 p.m. Phone: 800-205-8033.

Books About Vermont Life <br>and Anything Else You Can Name Books About Vermont Life
and Anything Else You Can Name

See Map

The independent, family-owned Northshire Bookstore on Main Street in Manchester Center, in business since 1976, is a paradise for browsers and literature fiends of every variety. All kinds of books for all kinds of readers, along with DVDs, gifts, music, readings by authors, and book discussions. Lots of Vermont authors and Vermont-oriented reading matter. And if you don’t know quite what you want, the well-read staff is on guard to offer big ideas. The neighboring Spiral Press Café offers sustenance to keep you going. Hours: Sunday-Monday, 10 a.m.-7 p.m.; Tuesday-Saturday, 10 a.m.-9 p.m. Phone: 802-362-2200.

Bud Light ReggaeFest at Mount Snow
Mount Snow Ski Resort
West Dover, VT 05356
Phone: 802-464-3333

March 26 –28, 2010

See Map

Mount Snow’s annual spring celebration grew to epic proportions in 2009 as over 5,000 people witnessed guests dressed in costumes skimming ponds, sliding on cardboard, and some great reggae music. Things start off Friday night at the Snow Barn with Taj Weekes & Adowa. On Saturday and Sunday the Bud Light Tent will be set up outside Cuzzin's featuring reggae bands starting at 1 p.m., including Taj Weekes & Adowa. Saturday night features the headliners, The Big Takeover, at the Snow Barn. Accompanying the Bud Light ReggaeFest will be the Sink or Skim Pond Skim competition on Saturday and the Duct Tape Derby III on Sunday. Information: www.mountsnow.com

Byway Follows Victory Route <br> of Colonial General Byway Follows Victory Route
of Colonial General

See Map

Molly Stark Byway traverses southern Vermont along Route 9 from Brattleboro to Bennington. The byway is named after the wife of General John Stark who led the Colonial militia to a victory at the Battle of Bennington on August 16, 1777. The Vermont State Legislature named the road the Molly Stark Trail in 1936 commemorating the route taken by General Stark and his troops during their victorious march home after the battle. The Molly Stark Byway winds its way through lowland valleys, historic villages, busy downtowns, and the spectacular Green Mountain National Forrest. Anchored at either end by vibrant historic town centers in Brattleboro and Bennington, and including a classic New England crossroads village in Wilmington in between, a trip along the 48-mile byway is a great way to experience the full character of southern Vermont. See map.

Circus School Welcomes Circus Lovers
To Visit Anytime

See Map

Some people just love, love, love the circus, any circus, the mere idea of a circus. What can you do? Here’s one answer: drop in for a visit or take a class at the New England Center for Circus Arts, located at 76 Cotton Mill Hill in Brattleboro. This is a circus school that welcomes new students (even for a one-shot class), visitors, and observers. It operates year-round. Students range from crawling tots who swing on a trapeze with their parents to a grandfather who includes trapeze in his daily workout. Travelers can stop in and watch, or make advance arrangements to take a group or private class. Phone: 802-254-9780.

Come and Meet Vermont's <br>Covered Bridges Come and Meet Vermont's
Covered Bridges

See Map

Few structures in America combine architectural ingenuity, economic necessity, and romantic idealism better than the covered bridge. Covered bridges flourished in the United States in the 19th century. Pennsylvania has the greatest number of covered bridges, and Vermont, with about 104 covered bridges, has the highest number relative to the state’s size. In Southern Vermont, some highlights of the many covered bridges include the Bridge at the Green (Arlington Bridge) in Arlington and the Henry / Burt Bridge in Bennington, which is a short distance from the rebuilt Paper Mill Bridge and the Silk Bridge. Covered bridges offer a wonderful opportunity to stop, take pictures, dip your feet in the river, and even to picnic.

Come to the Country for Some Really Fun Shopping

See Map

The Vermont Country Store, on Main Street in Weston, is the first restored rural store in the nation, stocked to the rafters with thousands of practical and intriguing necessities for daily living. Amid countless antiques and oddities from floor to rafters, you'll discover long-forgotten essentials and toys and household products that you remember from childhood. It's all here, from apothecary goods and granny forks to socks guaranteed to fend off temperatures of 30 degrees below zero. Open daily, 9 a.m.-5:30 p.m. Phone: 802-824-3184

Confectionary Filled With Mother’s Best

See Map

Usher the sweet tooth in your life (or in your head) to Mother Myrick’s Confectionary on Main Street in Manchester for a cozy time browsing and selecting from among the best candies and confections to be found anywhere. Specialties of the house are the Buttercrunch and the Lemon LuLu, but don’t feel that you need to stop there. Plunge on into chocolates and other good tastes. Hours: 9 a.m.-6 p.m. Phone: 802-362-1560.

Enjoy Views of the Mountains from Dover

See Map

The Dover Town Forest Trail, located near Dover and on the eastern edge of the Green Mountain National Forest, offers an east, three-mile walk along a well-maintained trail that follows an old roadbed along a ridge to the Rock River. The trail offers views of Mount Snow and Haystack Mountain to the west and East Dover and South Newfane to the east. From the center of West Dover, take Valley View Road to Cooper Hill Road. Just before the Cooper Hill Inn turn onto Rice Hill Road. At the end of the road on the left is a small parking lot on Dover Town Forest land. This is a beautiful and not difficult walk through the best views of southern Vermont.

Ranges Upon Ranges

See Map

Where can you see panoramic views of the Green, White, Adirondack, Berkshire and Taconic mountain ranges in one trip? Easy. Take a drive up Skyline Drive to the top of Equinox Mountain near Sunderland for a spectacular sunset over the Adirondack Mountains to the west. The route starts at historic Route 7A.

Sip Among 360-Degree Views

See Map

Wine tasting in southern Vermont means a visit to the Honora Winery & Vineyard in the Green Mountains near West Halifax. Honora's 200-acre vineyard and estate is nestled in Southern Vermont's Green Mountains. With spectacular 360 degree views of Hogback & Haystack Mountains in Vermont, Monadnock Mountain in New Hampshire and Mount Holyoke & the Berkshires in Massachusetts it is a great place to sit, relax, and sip from the harvest. Special events held throughout the year. HOurs: Wednesday through Friday, 11 a.m.-6 p.m.; Saturday and Sunday, 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Phone: 802-368-2930