Upper Valley Connections

Issue No. 14

June 25, 2026

Your weekly guide to life along the Connecticut River

The Fourth is just over a week out, and the Valley has plans -- parades, Old Home Days, Fitz and the Tantrums, fire pit folk punk, and food trucks turning up at all the right places. It is a good week to be here.

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Independence Day is Saturday, July 4th. Howe Library and Norwich Public Library will be closed July 3rd--5th. Plan ahead -- and see the events calendar for everything happening across the Valley on the holiday.

This week's highlights include Fitz and the Tantrums at Lake Morey tonight (with food trucks), Fire Pit Folk Punk at the Main Street Museum Friday, Circa: Humans 2.0 at the HOP all weekend, Grantham's Old Home Day and the 65th Hanover Center Old Timers Fair on Saturday, the Hanover 4th of July parade, Shaggy at Lake Morey Thursday, and Nona Hendryx at Spaulding Auditorium Tuesday night. Full calendar below.

See All Events This Week →

Farmers' Markets

All eight markets are running this week -- Lebanon on Thursdays, Hartland on Fridays, Norwich and Mt Tom on Saturdays (including July 4th), Canaan on Sundays, Honey Field Farm Mondays, West Hartford Library Tuesdays, and Market on the Green in Woodstock on Wednesdays. PYO strawberry season is open now at Crossroad Farm in Post Mills and Edgewater Farm in Plainfield -- season runs through early July.

See All Farmers' Markets →

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This Week in the Upper Valley

Your 4th of July Field Guide

The Upper Valley does Independence Day on its own terms -- parades down village greens, Old Home Days that have been running for generations, fireworks over the river, and community picnics where you genuinely might know half the people there. Here is what is on the docket this year.

Saturday, June 27 -- two Old Home Day-style celebrations happen the weekend before the Fourth. Grantham's Old Home Day runs 11am--2pm at Grantham Recreation Park. The 65th Hanover Center Old Timers Fair on the Common runs all day (9am--5pm) at 6 Parade Ground Road in Etna -- bike parade at 10:30am, ox pulling, quilt show, live music noon--5pm, and a BBQ food tent from 1pm. It's been going for 65 years and it shows.

Wednesday, July 1 -- Lebanon marks America's 250th anniversary with a community celebration at the Upper Valley Music Center at 5:15pm, free admission. That same evening, the Upper Valley Community Band plays a free outdoor concert at the Enfield Shaker Museum at 6pm.

Saturday, July 4th -- The Hanover 4th of July parade steps off at 9:45am, followed by activities on the Green. Howe Library's Stars & Stripes Mini Parade with Shoebox Floats runs at 11:45am -- kids can make their floats at Howe Library Monday through Wednesday this week (free, materials from rePlay Arts). The 4th of July Sing-Along with UVMC rounds out the afternoon at 12:30pm. Norwich and Mt Tom Farmers Markets both run as usual on the 4th.

Fireworks:

Thu Jul 2	Lebanon, NH	9:15pm	Storrs Hill Ski Area
Sat Jul 4	Fairlee, VT	~9pm	Over Lake Morey
Sat Jul 4	Hartford/Wilder, VT	~9pm	Kilowatt South Park
Sat Jul 4	Vershire, VT	9pm	Vershire Town Center
Sat Jul 4	Woodsville/Wells River	10pm	View from Woodsville Community Field
Sun Jul 5	Hartland, VT	9pm	Hartland Rec Center
Sun Jul 5	Woodstock, VT	~9:15pm	Woodstock Union High School -- $10/vehicle

Dates and times are based on the best available information -- always check with organizers before heading out, as fireworks are subject to weather cancellations.

New this summer: Upper Valley Connections has a food truck and vendor section where you can find where trucks like Loaded Totz, Katie's Cookies, The Box, and VT Ice Palace are stopping each week. Tonight they're all at Lake Morey for Fitz and the Tantrums. Check the site to see who's out for the Fourth.

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