Photos by Nanci Blog

Weathersfield News September 24, 2014 Nancy Nutile-McMenemy photosbynanci@comcast.net Copyright © Nancy Nutile-McMenemy www.photosbynanci.com The past weekend was the calm before the storm for me. Even though I was straight out covering various events around the region, this will be nothing compared to next weekend. The 21st Annual Vermont 50 Mountain Bike or Ultra Run takes place at Ascutney Mountain. The race is on Sunday but race registration takes place on Saturday. I am a long time volunteer for the event (all 21 races!), so I'll pretty much be living at the mountain from Thursday morning until clean up on Monday afternoon. This year there will be over 1400 athletes running and riding the hills and back roads around West Windsor and Hartland. Our normally quiet traffic may seem a bit congested but it's all for a good cause. All the proceeds go to support Vermont Adaptive, which started at Ascutney Mountain in 1985 but has since moved to Pico. The mountain wi...

Weathersfield News September 17, 2014 Nancy Nutile-McMenemy photosbynanci@comcast.net Copyright ©2014 Nancy Nutile-McMenemy  www.photosbynanci.com   The  Upper   Valley  running community lost a great friend last week. Chad Denning, 39, was running the   Appalachian trail  with friends when he collapsed and died. And I lost a dear friend.  Chad  and I volunteered together on a few area races including: The Covered Bridges Half Marathon, The Vermont 100 Ride and Endurance Run and The Vermont 50 Mountain Bike or Ultra Run. There will be a celebration of his life Saturday Sept 20 at noon at the Oak Hill Recreation Area in  Hanover ,  NH  details and directions may be found on the Team AMP Facebook page. Every time I volunteer for one of these races in the future, I'll be thinking about  Chad  and his family. Chad Denning at the Vermont 50 In my garden -We dodged a bullet last night. I thought for s...

Artisan Way Windsor VT September 14, 2014 Organizers were not prepared for the overwhelming turnout at the 2nd Annual Vermont Mac and Cheese Challenge. The number of Mac and Cheese lovers attending the event tripled from last year. About 2000 tickets were sold ahead of time online with at least another 1600 walk-ups on the sunny and somewhat chilly Sunday afternoon-perfect Mac and Cheese weather. The event proceeds go to the Vermont Foodbank and the folks from Vermont Farmstead Cheese hope it doubles in size again next year. More event images:  http://photosbynanci.smugmug.com/VermontStandard/September-2014/Mac-and-Cheese-Challenge/

Weathersfield News September 10, 2014 Nancy Nutile-McMenemy photosbynanci@comcast.net What a crazy weekend I had. Friday I photographed a lovely wedding up in West Fairlee-wonderful family. I followed that up by photographing the SOLD-OUT opening night of "The 39 Steps" at the King Farm Barn, Woodstock (see below.) The play is being performed by BarnArts in collaboration with Sculpture Fest and was so entertaining. Saturday before the rain I headed up to Killington to shoot the annual Hay Fest-area businesses create sculptures out of hay bales-always a fun event for families. More Hay Fest images:  http://photosbynanci.smugmug.com/VermontStandard/September-2014/Killington-Hay-Fest-2014/ I closed out the weekend with a trip to Fenway Park. The husband and I had a yummy lunch at the Yard House-Chicken Mac & Cheese for me, Turkey Club with fries for him. Then into the park we went. Our seats were two rows behind the Red Sox dugout beside the camera pit. You...

The 2014 Killington Hay Festival and Scavenger Hunt opened Labor Day weekend and will run through Columbus Day Weekend. Fewer businesses are participating this year because the hay that was delivered was bad. To quote Manfred Karlhuber, owner of the Snowed Inn, "the bales must have been wet inside and collapsed under the weight of the stacked bales." This set back didn't stop him, he built Snowed Inn's famous Mama Raccoon and was putting the finishes touches on this past Saturday. Many of the sculptures collapsed and had to be rebuilt, others just gave up. Other have vowed to create something before the festival ends. More Hay Fest images:  http://photosbynanci.smugmug.com/VermontStandard/September-2014/Killington-Hay-Fest-2014/ 2014 Killington Hay Festival and Scavenger Hunt Killington VT September 6, 2014 Copyright ©2014 Nancy Nutile-McMenemy www.photosbynanci.com For The Vermont Standard: http://www.thevermontstandard.com/ Image Galleries http:...

BarnArts Center for the Arts in coordination with Sculpture Fest hosted an opening night reception prior to the performance of "The 39 Steps" on Friday night. Folks gathered for a light dinner then found seats inside King Farm Barn. The opening night performance was SOLD OUT. Director Jarvis Green was turning people away at the door. The two act play set in London 1935, follows the adventures or misadventures of Richard Hannay, an English gentleman of leisure who get caught up in a web of spies, secrets and murder. Despite theses goings on, the play is quite funny and extremely entertaining. The physical comedy and rapid dialogue remind one of a Monty Python skit. This version of "The 39 Steps" was adapted by Patrick Barlow, from a novel by John Buchan, from a movie of Alfred Hitchcock. This convoluted explanation is minor compared to the twists and turn that happen on stage. Performances continue September 6, 12, 13 at 7:30 p.m. and 5 p.m. September 7...

Grand Point North One VIP ticket*   For Sunday September 14 ( VIP is SOLD OUT) VIP ticket holders get:  Early entry to the festival VIP viewing area at the sound board Commemorative VIP laminate Festival poster signed by Grace Potter Access to VIP tent Grand Point North on Facebook Cider Mag Preview The 4th annual Grand Point North Music Festival, hosted and curated by the bluesy rock group Grace Potter & The Nocturnals along with Higher Ground , is taking place on Saturday, September 13th and Sunday, September 14th, 2014 at Burlington’s Waterfront Park. Hailing from Burlington, VT Grace Potter & the Nocturnals, who released their first self-made album in 2005 (Nothing But the Water), are now an international success. The group recently returned to Australia for a spring tour, with stops in New Zealand for the first time as well. They’ve kept it low-key with touring this summer since they’ve been incredibly busy in the studio re...

Jenny Kimberly hit 8000 miles this weekend. This Labor Day weekend Green Mountain Horse association hosted their Annual Distance Days, featuring the 78th Annual 100-mile ride. This year competitors rode 40, 35, and 25 miles respectively instead of the traditional 40, 40, and 20. Making this change allowed for another distance option during the weekend—that of a one-day 25 mile ride. The "new" last 5 miles introduced the horses and riders to some new trails for exploration. Larry Geoghegan holds up photos of himself The 100 mile saw a field of about 18 horses and riders; the 60 mile and 35 mile rides had about seven competitors, including Gene Limlaw from Weathersfield who also rode the Sunday 25 mile ride. The 25 mile ride had 11 riders, and the 15 mile 18 riders. The Pleasure ride was also very well attended. Gene Limlaw The youngest 100 mile ride competitor, Syndey Meeker races to beat the clock and finish her first 100 mile ride. More images of the ev...

Weathersfield News September 4, 2014 Copyright ©2014 Nancy Nutile-McMenemy www.photosbynanci.com photosbynanci@comcast.net I hope everyone had a wonderful Labor Day Weekend. It started off with a seven hour power outage Friday night. I heard there was a HUGE tree down on Rte 5 heading towards Windsor. Five Crews worked on it and it still took seven hours to repair-it must have been one heck of a tree! We had a wonderful neighborhood get-together on Sunday. Even the rain couldn't stop the fun. Thanks to Ron and Amy Beth for hosting and thanks to everyone who brought the delicious food for sharing: home brewed beer, venison, chicken, salads, desserts and homemade bread. A heads up... Rte 106 at Little Ascutney Road will be closed on Sept. 9 according to the flashing Highway Alert signs posted at Little Ascutney Road and at the intersection of Rte 44 and 106. Congratulations to Gene Limlaw from Weathersfield who rode Nitro Cool Steele, a seven year old Arab, i...