Brattleboro Area

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Photo: Lee Krohn

Brattleboro was Vermont’s first town. Colonists pushing north on the Connecticut River from more puritanical parts of New England must have recognized its potential as a progressive enclave. Over the years, the settlement has welcomed migrants of every stripe, including back-to-the-landers who established communes in open-minded Windham County. The hippies are still there, as evidenced by Brattleboro’s abundance of used counterculture bookstores and funky clothing and jewelry shops. The town remains Ground Zero for renewable-energy activism and antinuclear protest, most of it directed at Vermont Yankee, its neighbor to the south.

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Arts & Entertainment

Marlboro Music Festival

Seventy or so talented chamber musicians converge on the Marlboro College campus for two months each summer to rehearse and exchange musical ideas. That makes it a center for advanced musical studies. The festival part? The players-in-residence give public concerts on weekends. The programs, selected from some dozens of works in rehearsal, are announced one week prior to the performance date. This year, Marlboro’s 60th season runs from July 16 to August 14.

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Arts & Entertainment

Sandglass Theater

Putney-based Sandglass is an award-winning theater company that combines puppetry, music, actors and visual imagery. Founders Eric and Inez Bass have performed in 24 countries since they started developing their unique and evocative art form in 1982. The puppeteers produce works for both adult audiences and young audiences — two repertoires that tour separately and together. Sandglass also performs and teaches in its own 60-seat renovated barn theater in Putney. This September, Sandglass will host its biennial event “Puppets in Paradise,” which features miniature puppet and musical performances in a garden setting.

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Arts & Entertainment

Brattleboro Museum and Art Center

Union Station once served train travelers, but now it transports visitors to myriad landscapes through its visual art exhibits. Right in downtown Brattleboro, this lively little arts museum aims “to inspire, educate and engage people of all ages.” This summer's exhibit is by nine artists who live in “the zone,” or within 100 miles of Brattleboro. The museum also offers occasional artist talks, film screenings, poetry readings and other events. Museum galleries are open daily except Tuesdays and Wednesdays, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.

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Hiking & Swimming

Jamaica State Park

A great spot for swimming, hiking, fishing or just hanging out, Jamaica State Park is located on a bend of the West River. The old rail bed that once ran through it is now used as the trail that leads along the West River to Ball Mountain Dam. One historical curiosity: Salmon Hole, now a swimming area, was the site of an Indian massacre in 1748. Every spring and fall, the dam’s water release draws kayakers and canoeists from all over New England.

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Seven Days: Vermont's Independent Voice