Welcome to the Upper Valley!

Friendly communities. Beautiful natural surroundings. Fresh, local food. Businesses and nonprofit organizations that care about the place we call home. There’s a lot to love about the Upper Valley!

Vital Communities is here to help you get to know the region. Explore the resources below to find ways to connect with your community today.

Explore the Upper Valley

Valley Quest is an award-winning, place-based education program that uses treasure hunts to celebrate community, natural history, cultural sites, stories, and special places. Discover the Upper Valley’s hidden gems on one of our 200+ Quests.

Want to support the local economy when you shop? Check out our Local First Alliance member directory to find local restaurants, retail shops, service providers, and more. Look for the logo and Think Local First!

Think Local First

Find a Local Business

Eat Valley Farm Fresh

Find Local Food

Our online guide is the easiest way to find local food and farm products in the Upper Valley. Simply indicate the product or service you’re looking for and we’ll give you a detailed list of all the local places to find it.

Whether you’re commuting to work or heading to school, we make it easy to figure out how to get there with resources for carpooling, active commuting, and local public transit. You can even calculate the annual cost of your commute.

Get Going!

Find Transportation Options

Sign Up!

Join the Discussion

Looking for an easy way to keep in touch with your neighbors and what’s happening in your town? Our local community email discussion lists allow members to post and respond to messages about their town. Join your local list to get connected—and if you don’t see it on our list, check with your town about whether there’s something similar for your community.

Lifelong Learning

The Upper Valley is the perfect place to continue your building your education, your professional network, and yourself.

Vital Communities’ program Leadership Upper Valley provides UV residents with a comprehensive knowledge of leadership and volunteer opportunities within the Upper Valley. Classes meet once a month for ten months.

OSHER@Dartmouth is a lifelong learning institute within Dartmouth College dedicated to educating Upper Valley residents with year-round study opportunities.

The Learning Lab (TLL) is a nonprofit organization in Woodstock, Vermont that brings together an array of valuable courses, from art to history to dream analysis, and is open to the entire community.

Upper Valley Young Professionals (UVYP) brings the Upper Valley community of young professionals together for educational opportunities and social networking events in the area.

Adventures in Learning at Colby Sawyer College is dedicated to helping adults expand their education and knowledge of the world in an informal, no-pressure setting.

Want to Volunteer?

Whether you’re new to the Upper Valley, or you have lived here for a while, you may be looking for new ways to volunteer. Fortunately, here are plenty of ways to give back to this region.

By becoming a box monitor for the Vital Communities’ Valley Quest program, you can explore the area around you while making sure Valley Quest boxes are in place and ready to be found by other Questers.

The Valley News, the news source of the Upper Valley, runs a volunteer section in which new (and continuous) volunteer job opportunities are listed, making applying for some of them as easy as clicking “apply.”

Once a year Hypertherm, in conjunction with the Hypertherm HOPE Foundation, hold a volunteer fair in an effort to encourage Upper Valley residents and Hypertherm employees to volunteer their time with local nonprofits.

Remember to check out our calendar to find even more volunteer opportunities within the Upper Valley.

Get the News!

Want to know what’s going on in the Upper Valley? Then get the news!

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Vital Communities Program News

Whole Farm Planning Group

Starting or running a farm business can be all-consuming, with tyranny of the urgent monopolizing your days, leaving little time to think about the big picture, review goals, or plan successful management strategies. Every farm ...more

Think Local First & SAVE this Season!

Local and independent businesses bring value to our communities in many ways: preserving community character, creating stable jobs, supporting area organizations and nonprofits, and strengthening our local economy by keeping our dollars in the Upper ...more

Shift Your Shopping this Season!

Every dollar spent at a local, independent business returns 2-4 times more to be re-spent in the community than a dollar spent at a non-local business. With consumers reporting that they will spend an average ...more

Seeking Bids from Solar Installers by Nov. 30

Vital Communities is teaming up with Kearsarge Climate Action to launch a Solarize Kearsarge campaign in spring 2019, following on the tails of the upcoming Weatherize Kearsarge campaign launching in January 2019. We are seeking proposals ...more

Crossroad Farm is the BOM!

Crossroad Farm is the November Business of the Month and to celebrate they are raffling off all the fixing for a Thanksgiving feast - a Misty Knoll turkey and basket of local veggies! Visit the their ...more

Thank you, Ben!

This summer we had the privilege of working with Ben Fletcher, pictured second from left. Ben brought an incredibly well suited array of skills to Vital Communities and was a boon to the Valley Quest ...more

2018 Farmer Celebration Mixer

Join us to celebrate the work we did together in 2018! Do your chores early, leave the spreadsheets behind, and come share some beer, crepes, and farm chat with fellow farmers as we celebrate the successful 2018 ...more

Donuts & Hogwarts: A Transit Travel Training Case Study

One thing a group of Millennial cartoonists doesn’t need is help using a smartphone app – especially an intuitive one that shows the real-time location of buses in the rural transit system, Advance Transit. No, ...more

Farmers' Market Roundtable

Join Vital Communities and NOFA VT for a Farmers' Market Roundtable November 7, 2018 from 4-7 pm at the Wilder Club & Library in Hartford, Vermont The roundtable is an opportunity to network, share market successes and challenges, gain ...more

Lebanon Area Businesses - Join us on Sept. 27

So many small businesses in the Upper Valley are burdened with high energy costs. And not enough time to do anything about it! We've got some good news for you. A group of Lebanon residents are ...more

Bird and Quest

The Vermont Center for Ecostudies lists 382 species of bird that occur in Vermont, whether year-long resident or migratory visitor. The VCE’s Vermont Atlas of Life citizen science operation has recorded sightings of 332 of ...more

Subbasin Spotlight!

This year's Aquatic Adventure Super Quest showcases the 5 subbasins that make up the Upper Connecticut River Valley, or, more fondly, the Upper Valley. A subbasin is a term used to describe a watershed within a ...more

A Lot Lighter with More Hands: Leadership Upper Valley

On the bright, sunny morning of June 13, Cobb Hill was waking up, and the soon-to-be graduating 2018 Leadership Upper Valley class was just arriving for their final meeting. Before the ceremony at Harpoon Brewery, ...more

Buses are FREE Thursday for Dump the Pump Day!

Join people around the Upper Valley and nationwide and take the bus Thursday, June 21 for the 13th annual Dump the Pump Day. Stagecoach and Connecticut River Transit ("The Current") will be FARE-FREE. And Advance Transit ...more

Y'all Curbed the Car!

On Friday, May 18, the Upper Valley celebrated its newest holiday: Curb the Car Day. Riffing off National Bike to Work Day, Curb the Car Day embraces all forms of non-drive-alone commutes: biking, walking, taking transit, ...more

Longevity & Commitment: Keynote Remarks from Heroes & Leaders 2018

Editor's Note: Many thanks to Kevin Peterson, Director of Economic Development for the New Hampshire Community Development Finance Authority, who offered the keynote speech at our May 3 Heroes & Leaders celebration. Read his complete remarks ...more

Long-Standing Stewards: Heroes & Leaders 2018

Every spring, Leadership Upper Valley, a program of Vital Communities, hosts a Heroes & Leaders celebration to recognize individuals who make significant contributions to the greater Upper Valley region. This year, Heroes & Leaders is ...more

Get Stoked on Automated Wood Heat!

Boiler on its last legs? Looking to opt out of fossil fuels? Come learn about today's self-stoking automated wood heat! Opt out of oil with delivery of local wood pellets and whole home wood heating ...more

What's Happening

Calendar

	November 2018
Sun	Mon	Tue	Wed	Thu	Fri	Sat
				1 LFA Business of the Month: Crossroad Farm LFA Business of the Month: Crossroad Farm Starts: 12:00 am Ends: November 20, 2018 - 11:59 pm More details... •	2 LFA Business of the Month: Crossroad Farm LFA Business of the Month: Crossroad Farm Starts: 12:00 am Ends: November 20, 2018 - 11:59 pm More details... •	3 LFA Business of the Month: Crossroad Farm LFA Business of the Month: Crossroad Farm Starts: 12:00 am Ends: November 20, 2018 - 11:59 pm More details... •
4 LFA Business of the Month: Crossroad Farm LFA Business of the Month: Crossroad Farm Starts: 12:00 am Ends: November 20, 2018 - 11:59 pm More details... LFA Business of the Month: Crossroad Farm LFA Business of the Month: Crossroad Farm Starts: 12:00 am Ends: November 20, 2018 - 11:59 pm More details... • •	5 Lebanon Community Housing Conversation Lebanon Community Housing Conversation Starts: 5:30 pm Ends: November 5, 2018 - 8:30 pm Location: Upper Valley Senior Center, 10 Campbell St, Lebanon, NH 03766, USA Description: Housing and the Future of Lebanon: What types of housing does Lebanon need to have a thriving community for all those who live and work here? A community conversation hosted by The City of Lebanon, the Greater Lebanon Chamber of Commerce, Vital Communities and the Upper Valley Regional Planning Commission Supported by New Hampshire Listens Nov 5, 2018 5:30 – 8:30 pm Upper Valley Senior Center 10 Campbell St Lebanon, NH Questions? Contact Mike Light meal (sandwich, fruit, drink) provided Please register to attend! More details... LFA Business of the Month: Crossroad Farm LFA Business of the Month: Crossroad Farm Starts: 12:00 am Ends: November 20, 2018 - 11:59 pm More details... • •	6 LFA Business of the Month: Crossroad Farm LFA Business of the Month: Crossroad Farm Starts: 12:00 am Ends: November 20, 2018 - 11:59 pm More details... •	7 Upper Valley Farmers' Market Roundtable Upper Valley Farmers' Market Roundtable Starts: 4:00 pm Ends: November 7, 2018 - 7:00 pm Location: Wilder Public Library, 78 Norwich Ave, White River Junction, VT 05001, USA Description: Join NOFA VT, Vermont Farmers' Market Association, and Vital Communities for an evening of sharing anf learning about market successes and challenges for the 2018 season. More details... LFA Business of the Month: Crossroad Farm LFA Business of the Month: Crossroad Farm Starts: 12:00 am Ends: November 20, 2018 - 11:59 pm More details... • •	8 Visions of a Better World Visions of a Better World Starts: 5:30 pm Ends: November 8, 2018 - 7:30 pm Location: Vital Communities, 195 N Main St, White River Junction, VT 05001, USA Description: Join Vital Communities and Resilient Hartford for a community discussion “Visions of a Better World: Social Movements for Transformation.” Millions of people across the U.S. and around the world, stirred by visions of a better world, are daring to rethink and reinvent institutions on local, regional, national and international levels. Join historian/educator Ron Miller, coordinator of the Woodstock Learning Lab, for an overview of these diverse new visions, including movements and concepts such as the “new economy,” agroecology, permaculture, transition towns, food sovereignty, relocalization, reclaiming the commons, Slow Food and Slow Money, and others. Through our conversation we’ll become better acquainted with the concepts, leading thinkers, and origins of these evolutionary trends. Join us for a vital dialogue that digs into the contemporary shifting landscape of our time. Thursday November 8, 5:30–7:30 pm at Vital Communities, White River Junction. More details... LFA Business of the Month: Crossroad Farm LFA Business of the Month: Crossroad Farm Starts: 12:00 am Ends: November 20, 2018 - 11:59 pm More details... • •	9 LFA Business of the Month: Crossroad Farm LFA Business of the Month: Crossroad Farm Starts: 12:00 am Ends: November 20, 2018 - 11:59 pm More details... •	10 LFA Business of the Month: Crossroad Farm LFA Business of the Month: Crossroad Farm Starts: 12:00 am Ends: November 20, 2018 - 11:59 pm More details... •
11 LFA Business of the Month: Crossroad Farm LFA Business of the Month: Crossroad Farm Starts: 12:00 am Ends: November 20, 2018 - 11:59 pm More details... •	12 Farmer Mixer Celebration Farmer Mixer Celebration Starts: 5:00 pm Ends: November 12, 2018 - 7:00 pm Location: The Skinny Pancake, 3 Lebanon St, Hanover, NH 03755, USA Description: Celebrate the end of the season! Enjoy free food and drink as you relax and chat with fellow farmers, hear about our food hub conversations, farmers' market collaborative, and other fun projects. More details... LFA Business of the Month: Crossroad Farm LFA Business of the Month: Crossroad Farm Starts: 12:00 am Ends: November 20, 2018 - 11:59 pm More details... • •	13 LFA Business of the Month: Crossroad Farm LFA Business of the Month: Crossroad Farm Starts: 12:00 am Ends: November 20, 2018 - 11:59 pm More details... •	14 Leadership Upper Valley - Arts & the Creative Economy Day Leadership Upper Valley - Arts & the Creative Economy Day Starts: 8:00 am Ends: November 14, 2018 - 4:00 pm Location: Northern Stage, 74 Gates St, White River Junction, VT & AVA Gallery, Lebanon, NH Description: This is a Vital Communities Leadership Upper Valley Class of 2019 event. If you'd like to apply for next year's LUV Class, please contact Rob Schultz at rob@vitalcommunities.org. LUV alumni are welcome at current year classes with advanced notice. Please contact Rob for details. More details... LFA Business of the Month: Crossroad Farm LFA Business of the Month: Crossroad Farm Starts: 12:00 am Ends: November 20, 2018 - 11:59 pm More details... • •	15 LFA Business of the Month: Crossroad Farm LFA Business of the Month: Crossroad Farm Starts: 12:00 am Ends: November 20, 2018 - 11:59 pm More details... •	16 LFA Business of the Month: Crossroad Farm LFA Business of the Month: Crossroad Farm Starts: 12:00 am Ends: November 20, 2018 - 11:59 pm More details... •	17 LFA Business of the Month: Crossroad Farm LFA Business of the Month: Crossroad Farm Starts: 12:00 am Ends: November 20, 2018 - 11:59 pm More details... •
18 LFA Business of the Month: Crossroad Farm LFA Business of the Month: Crossroad Farm Starts: 12:00 am Ends: November 20, 2018 - 11:59 pm More details... •	19 LFA Business of the Month: Crossroad Farm LFA Business of the Month: Crossroad Farm Starts: 12:00 am Ends: November 20, 2018 - 11:59 pm More details... •	20	21	22 Vital Communities Holiday Vital Communities Holiday Starts: 12:00 am Ends: November 22, 2018 - 11:59 pm More details... UVTMA Monthly Meeting UVTMA Monthly Meeting Starts: 4:00 pm Ends: November 22, 2018 - 5:30 pm Location: Lebanon City Hall, North Park Street, Lebanon, NH (unless otherwise noted) Description: We meet in the West Meeting Room, by the City Council Chambers. We typically NO NOT meet in August and December. More details... • •	23 Vital Communities Holiday Vital Communities Holiday Starts: 12:00 am Ends: November 23, 2018 - 11:59 pm More details... •	24
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Welcome to the Upper Valley!

Friendly communities. Beautiful natural surroundings. Fresh, local food. Businesses and nonprofit organizations that care about the place we call home. There’s a lot to love about the Upper Valley!

Vital Communities is here to help you get to know the region. Explore the resources below to find ways to connect with your community today.

Other Work of Vital Communities

Publications

Board of Directors

Our Programs

Valley Quest

Transportation

Leadership Upper Valley

Valley Food & Farm

Local First Alliance

Energy

Advisory Council

Vital Communities Program News

What's Happening

Calendar

November 2018

Photo Gallery

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