Burlington, VT — August 4 to August 8, 2024
With the 51st annual conference in Burlington just a few months away, the Program Committee, chaired by Polly Brock (CO), has been meeting regularly to organize an informative and engaging week of educational content. But that’s not the topic of this article. Rather, this article outlines some of the day-by-day activities that you and your guests might want to enjoy when you are not sitting in a conference room. If summer 2024 in Burlington follows the same pattern as summer 2023 (and I have no reason to suspect otherwise), here’s what you could do in your free time.
Friday August 2. I plan to arrive in Burlington to meet with hotel staff and to welcome some of the Executive Committee members and other early birds. That evening, we have our choice of at least two free activities. From 5:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m., we can go to the South End Get Down (https://getdownvt.com), an outdoor block party featuring local food vendors, Vermont-based refreshments, live DJs, and clothing and art purveyors. Or, we can take advantage of Free First Friday Eve from 5:00 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. at the Shelburne Museum (https://shelburnemuseum.org/visit/free-first-friday-eve), the perfect time to visit galleries, enjoy a picnic on the grounds, listen to live music, stroll through gardens, and take in the summer evening. The South End is a 20-minute walk from the hotel. The Shelburne Museum is a 20-minute drive.
Saturday August 3. Vermont prides itself on the number and quality of its local producers of food, drinks, and crafts. The Burlington Farmers Market (https://burlingtonfarmersmarket.org/summer-vendor-directory), which runs from 9:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. in the South End, is a great opportunity to check some of them out for yourself. Later that day, consider a short walk from the hotel to Centennial Field on the University of Vermont campus to check out the Vermont Lake Monsters, a team in the Futures Collegiate Baseball League. Game time is 6:05 p.m., with a fireworks show following the final out. If you love craft breweries, organize a group of friends and book a tour to visit some of Burlington’s finest. City Brew Tours in Burlington does pick-up and drop-off right at the conference hotel.
Sunday August 4. The conference officially begins in the afternoon! And so it’s only fitting that the Festival of Fools — a free downtown event on the pedestrian-only Church Street (https://vermontfestivaloffools.com/about) — wraps up its final day. The Festival is devoted to community engagement through the celebration of circus arts, music, and comedy for family audiences. For those who prefer to explore the city in the morning, make sure to review the “Hello Burlington” website (https://www.helloburlingtonvt.com) for a complete list of restaurants and things to do. Church Street, Waterfront Park, and the Burlington Bike Path are all worth a visit and are all within a 20-minute walk of the hotel.
Monday August 5 and Tuesday August 6. Members will be in educational sessions or vendor demonstrations throughout each day, but the evenings will allow us to enjoy Burlington’s amazing scenery. We’ll cap off our day on Monday with a social event on the Spirit of Ethan Allen (https://soea.com/waterfront) for a dinner cruise on Lake Champlain, which is just a short bus ride away from our hotel. The Adirondack Mountains of New York and the Green Mountains of Vermont provide the views. On Tuesday, we’ll be staying on land for the evening event, but enjoying the lake from the ECHO Leahy Center, a science and nature museum on the waterfront, https://www.echovermont.org.
Wednesday August 7. Educational sessions will run all morning, but the afternoon is yours to catch up on email, return phone calls, play in the Joe Lane Memorial Golf Tournament, or explore Burlington and the surrounding area. Because 2024 is an Olympic year, we’ll also be staging a cornhole tournament to give Jim Hivner (TN) an opportunity to redeem himself from Williamsburg 2022. If you plan to explore the surrounding area, consider renting a car for a trip to Stowe (https://gostowe.com), with stops at the Ben & Jerry’s Factory and Cold Hollow Cider Mill in Waterbury.
Thursday August 8. Join us for the early morning fun run/walk, which will be followed by additional educational sessions, part II of the business meeting, and the awards luncheon. You won’t want to miss the day’s educational sessions, so consider sticking around through Thursday evening to hit some of the sights that your packed schedule did not previously allow.
The conference page on the website will soon be updated with the hotel booking link, the online registration, and other information. In the meantime, if you have questions about logistics or activities, please contact me at tgudas@courts.state.nh.us. I look forward to seeing you in Burlington!
By Tim Gudas, Clerk of the New Hampshire Supreme Court