VERGENNES — The 37th annual Vergennes Day slated for this Saturday, Aug. 25, will kick off a day early on Friday, Aug. 24, with a street dance on the City Green featuring the music of “The Hitmen” from 7 to 10 p.m. After Friday night’s dance party, activities on Saturday take place between 7 a.m. and 3 p.m. and culminate at dusk with a lighting of the Otter Creek Falls.
The weekend’s activities, hosted and sponsored by the Addison County Chamber of Commerce, city of Vergennes and area businesses, is a celebration of city and community to be enjoyed by all ages.
Saturday begins with a pancake breakfast at the Vergennes Fire Station from 7 to 10:30 a.m.
For those more interest in exercise than in eating, the Little City Road Races start and finish at the Vergennes Elementary School, 43 School St., later in the morning. Undoubtedly some will choose both.
Runners and walkers will choose between three distances: 5K, 10K and 15K.
Race registration starts at 7:30 a.m. at the school, for those who have not pre-registered online (see story on next page). Runners in the 15K depart at 8:30 a.m.; the fun run (on school grounds) starts at 8:35 a.m. and the 5K and 10K distances start at 9 a.m. Spectators can cheer on several hundred runners and walkers as they race through the streets of Vergennes. More information is at RunVermont.org.
From 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. City Green is also the site of more than 60 crafters’ and vendors’ booths offering fine handcrafts, locally made products, food and more. There will be free horse and wagon rides with pick up at the corner of School & Green Streets. Also, many downtown merchants will be offering sales and specials.
Musical groups serenading those taking part in the festivities will occupy the bandstand on the City Green throughout the day:
•  10 a.m.: Vergennes City Band
•  11:15 a.m.: Mark LaVoie
•  Noon: Joel Andersen
•  1:30 p.m.: LC Jazz
Always a favorite, the Vergennes Lions Club will be selling their barbeque chicken at half a chicken for $12, quarter-chicken for $8. Call 802-324-1758 to order ahead. There will be a reserved drive-in, pick-up parking spot on the corner of Main Street and Park Street.
From 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. kids can enjoy games and the ever-popular bubble pit at the Vergennes Fire Department on Green Street.
At 1 p.m. Bixby Memorial Library will hold its “Building Better Readers” drawing at the bandstand; the drawing is sponsored by the library and Vergennes Rotary Club. Entries are accepted until Tuesday, Aug. 21.
Culminating the afternoon’s activities will be the Vergennes Rotary’s beloved Rubber Duckie Race at 3 p.m. below the falls. Rotarians will sell tickets at the Rotary’s booth on the City Green, numbers corresponding to the tickets will be marked on a huge batch of rubber duckies, then the duckies will be launched into the river and race to the finish line. The person holding the ticket with the number corresponding to the first-place ducky wins!
For a full schedule of events, click here. For more information call 802-388-7951 or email [email protected].
Vergennes Day wouldn’t be possible without the generous support of its sponsors: Dorchester Lodge 1 F. & A. M., Feed Commodities, Jackman Fuels Inc., JW & DE Ryan Inc., NECSEL Intellectual Property Inc., Small City Market and Vermont Gas Systems Inc.