Summer guide: Treasures & treats await at St. Stephen’s market

Almost every summer since 1947, the people of St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church on the Green in downtown Middlebury have staged huge yard that covers a large part of the lawn and gazebo and, except for during the pandemic, reached into the church basement and meeting rooms.

A summer tradition continues in Bristol this summer as it has for many summers. Many, many summers.

The Sunray Peace Village of Lincoln will host the 40th Annual Native American Elders and Youth Gathering this summer on July 26 through July 28. This year’s theme is “Earth Awareness: How Our Hearts Resonate with the Voice of Myriad Galaxies.”

Summertime this year in Bristol will be filled with food trucks, festival music and the return of two familiar events. 

Whether you plan on walking to the top of Mount Abraham, the highest peak in Addison County, or just want to take a ramble in the woods, summer is a great time to get outside and enjoy nature by hiking.

This summer the library will host the “Reasons to be Cheerful” series Tuesdays at 11:30 a.m. from July 11 to Aug. 29.

While the warm summer sun shining and thoughts of solar energy are not far from many people’s minds, Vergennes in mid-July will be the site of an expo designed to educate people about ways to power our modern lifestyle without polluting the planet.

While you are out and about this summer enjoying some fun in the sun, you are likely to work up an appetite. Fortunately there are plenty of farmers market in the area that are great in several ways.

The eighth annual Foodaroo festival returns to Middlebury Sunday, June 25, from 4-8 p.m. in the Marble Works, overlooking the falls.

On Sunday, July 30, from noon to 4 p.m., members of the Green Mountain Timekeepers Society will be back in residence at the Chimney Point State Historic Site porch to talk with visitors about historic time pieces.

On a hot summer night, many folks in these parts like nothing more than sitting outside and enjoying the breeze. In Vergennes, they do things one better every Monday.

This year it’s all coming back — plus some new opportunities to sway and dance and sing along under the Vermont summer sky straight through to October.

Migratory birds returned to Vermont in March, April and May, and now they are singing their beautiful songs throughout the forests and fields. Summer is a great time to check out our avian neighbors.

Mud season is over and you will find that summer is perfect for enjoying Vermont’s landscape with a good hike — whether that is a 10-mile trek up in the mountains or a more modest ramble on some of the other low-key hikes in Addison County.

Do you marvel at the celestial wonders you see on television? Middlebury College’s Mittelman Observatory will give you a chance to see some of them with your own eyes this summer.