Stowe's Old Fashioned Family 4th of July

Mountain Activities on July 3rd

Mountain BBQ and Musical Fireworks

Stowe Mountain Resort BBQ on Spruce Camp's Patio at

6:00pm and Fireworks to music launching at 8:30pm.

Stowe Mountain Resort Farmer's Market

11:00am - 3:00pm in the Spruce Peak Plaza.

Spruce Peak Activities on July 3rd

11:00 - 3:00 U Paint It Pottery - Spruce Peak Day Lodge.

11:30 - 2:30 Themed BBQ with Live Music - Solstice Terrace.

12:00 - 4:00 Performance by the Country Western Boys

at Spruce Peak Plaza.

1:00 - 2:00 Horseshoe Toss - Stowe Mountain Lodge Spa Terrace.

4:00 - 5:00 Horseshoe Toss - Stowe Mountain Lodge Spa Terrace.

Stowe Village Activities on July 4th

10:00 - 11:00 The World Famous Moscow Parade.

10:30 - 12:30 WDEV Rangers at Shaw's General Store.

Depot Street closed from Main to Malt Shoppe.

BBQ - hot dogs, hamburgers, BBQ Ribs & Smores.

Ice Cream - The Depot Street Malt Shoppe.

11:00 - 4:00 Bouncy House on Green in Stowe Village.

11:00 - 5:00 Mountain bike tours by Stowe Mountain Bike Club.

Meet at bandstand on Depot Street.

11:00 - 7:00 7 Miles of Sales - Stowe Village & Mountain Road.

White tents on Main Street.

Noon World's Shortest Marathon starting on Main Street.

Bike Parade Staging Area open at Rec Deparment -

organized by Stowe Mountain Bike Club.

1:00 - 1:30 Bike Parade starting from the Rec Dept.

Judging at the bandstand.

1:30 - 3:00 John Gailmore at Shaw's General Store.

2:00 - 3:00 Trails Bikes Demo on Depot Street.

4:00 - 8:00 Mountain Bike Fest at SMBC Parkon Mayo Farm.

6:00 - 7:00 Dusk Food, fun and fireworks at the Mayo Farm.

Trails Bikes Demo at SMBC Park on Mayo Farm.

AFTER DUSK Fabulous Fireworks at the Mayo Farm.

Win a Free Country Inn Ceremony!

It's simple! E-mail marketing@gminn.com why you think
you and your fiance should win a free Country Inn Ceremony.
We will select the most compeling story and contact the winners
to start planning their Vermont nuptials.

Send in your story by August 31, 2009 to qualify!

To learn more about our Summer CIC package, click here.

Thank you for making us #1 on tripadvisor!

Thanks to all your wonderful reviews sent to tripadvisor we are currently #1 on their Popularity Index for Stowe! We are committed to continue providing the highest quality lodging, dining, amenities and services at an affordable rate so we can maintain our #1 position. Share your memories on tripadvisor.com, then e-mail marketing@gminn.com to let us know you submitted a review and we will enter you name into a monthly drawing to win a one-night stay with dinner for two.

Green Mountain Inn Photo Contest!

Thank you for visiting the Green Mountain Inn blog! We are currently running the Green Mountain Inn Summer Photo Contest. Please share your images and memories of your stay at the Green Mountain Inn and you will be entered into a drawing to win a stay at the Inn.

Grand Prize
A two-night package of your choice in a Luxury Suite.*

Second Prize
A two-night stay in a Luxury Room and dinner for two in The Whip Bar and Grill.*

Third Prize
A one-night stay in a Deluxe Room with breakfast for two.*

Email your photos and memories by August 31, 2009 to webmaster@gminn.com.
The winners will be announced in a blog entry on September 15, 2009.

Official Rules
1.The entrant hereby consents to the release and disclosure by The Green Mountain Inn of any and all information provided in the entry.
2. Only one entry per person will be accepted.

*Restrictions and certain black-out periods apply.

What's a kid to do?

Last weekend I traveled on a family vacation with 3 kids under the age of 5. What I thought was going to be a relaxing weekend was more a game of how-do-we-entertain-the-kids than it was cuddling up to a good book and a glass of Pinot Noir. When I planned this vacation I didn't take into account that I'd be the "Julie McCoy" of my own family Love Boat. But nonetheless, it was fun to see how creative I could be. Tiring, but fun.

So, my advice to you is, unless you too want to be the family fun director on this summer's vacation, do the legwork first to find activities that will entertain your whole gang. Stowe has plenty to offer. Stowe Mountain Resort offers a wide variety of activities for the whole family. My favorite is the Alpine Slide, where you ride 2300 feet down the mountain on a sled. It's so fun. I haven't tried the Bungee Trampoline yet but I can't wait to get up there and bounce around. Rock climbing walls, Gondola rides, inflatable obstacle courses, does it get any better?

Stowe has plenty of other activities, such as the Children's Summer Mountain Adventure Camp for the little ones, Golf for the big kids, hiking, biking, swimming, spa services, glider rides, shops and boutiques, and the list goes on. Not to mention the events the town hosts such as this weekend's Balloon Festival or the 35th Annual Vermont Mozart Festival as well as various other activities and festivities. Check out Stowe's Calendar of Events for more events in the area.

Anyway, my point is; do your homework first so you can cuddle up with that great book you have yet to finish and that delicious glass of wine you have yet to drink and let the kids run wild.

Cheers to a great vacation!

Ghost Stories in Stowe

It was about 8pm on a warm summer evening, the sun had just begun her descent. I was at a late night meeting in an old building in South Burlington (I won't mention which one). Though there was no wind I felt a cold breeze on the back of my neck while we were just wrapping up. Then all of a sudden "BAM!", a door slammed shut in the basement. The three of us at the meeting looked at each other with eyes wide open and headed reluctantly to the basement door. We opened it slowly and walked down the creaky steps. As we approached the basement floor, the air was cold and stale and it was pitch black with the exception of the light shining softly from the upstairs door. After checking around thoroughly with flashlights, we found nothing to be out of order in any way. There wasn't anything in the basement that night and the only door down there was closed and locked. Could it be a visitor from the past? Who knows. All I know is there was no breeze that night and there was no one else in the building. So you tell me.

Vermont is not stranger to ghosts and some of them are known to reside right here in Stowe. Aside from our own resident ghost, Boots Berry, there are more that occassionally show their faces to visitors and locals alike. And no one knows more about them than the folks at Stowe Lantern Tours.

Beginning in July, Stowe Lantern Tours will once again be guiding guests around Stowe offering stories of local resident ghosts and of early settlers while visiting some of Stowe's most historic buildings. Each visitor will carry an 18th Century candle lit lantern to light the way.

The one-hour walking tours are available Wed, Thurs and Sat nights at 8pm. For reservations call 802.244.1173 or visit Stowe Lantern Tours.

Happy ghost hunting!

Art hopping in Stowe

This year the Stowe Gallery Alliance is once again planning the Third Thursdays Gallery Evenings in Stowe. Basically this means that participating art galleries in Stowe will be open until 9pm on the third Thursday of every month beginning in June and running through October. Visitors from near and far can view, buy, enjoy some of Vermont's finest artwork.

Also during these Thursdays, participating restaurants will be offering significant discounts off dinner for that evening. You can pick up your discount coupons at any of the following locations:

• Clarke Gallery
• Green Mountain Fine Art Gallery
• Helen Day Art Center
• Sleeper House Gallery
• Stephen Huneck Gallery
• Stowe Craft Gallery
• The Art Gallery
• Robert Paul Galleries
• Vermont Fine Art Gallery
• Vermont Maplewood Gallery
• West Branch Gallery and Sculpture Park

Hope to see you out and about on Thursday, June 19th!