*this class has sold out!*

Join us at the beautiful Intervale Center to cook in the great outdoors! We’ll work together to make and enjoy a variety of interesting picnic dishes.

Melissa has worked as a food and agriculture journalist and cookbook author for close to 20 years. She is currently a staff writer for the food and drink section of Vermont’s alt-weekly, Seven Days. She has authored or co-authored three cookbooks, including the New York Times notable cookbook, Cooking with Shelburne Farms: Food and Stories from Vermont, and her newest book, The Little Local Vermont Cookbook: Recipes for Classic Dishes. Her work has been published in The New York Times, USA Today, Saveur, EatingWell, and on Foodnetwork.com, among many others.

This class will be held outdoors at the Intervale Center—please wear layers and close-toed shoes, and bring bug spray, sunscreen, a water bottle, or whatever else you’ll need to be comfortable. Face coverings are encouraged for those who haven’t completed their vaccination cycle.

*this class is sold out!*

Join us for a guided wine and cheese pairing at Shelburne Vineyard. We’ll learn about the vineyard and winery and hear from staff about the emerging Vermont wine industry, then taste a variety of local cheeses paired with wines from the Vineyard. This class is ideal for wine lovers interested in learning more about wine tasting, growing grapes and making wine in Vermont, or novices interested in learning more about one of our local vendors! Shelburne Vineyard requires proof of vaccination or a negative test within 72 hours to enter the tasting room and face coverings while not seated at your table.

*Please note, this class is 21+*

*this class is sold out!*

In this workshop we will discuss the basics of lactofermentation, the science behind how it works, the health benefits, and how you can do it yourself. This class is designed as part lecture, part hands-on demonstration. The first part of the session will be discussion based, followed by getting our hands dirty making mixed vegetable ferments. No experience is necessary, but everyone should come to class with a curious mind and expect to create a jar of a ferment and leave with fermentation fervor!

This class will be led by Christa Gowen, a fermentation enthusiast who has been turning stray vegetables into delicious ferments for over a decade. Her favorite is radicchio with fennel seed and lemon zest. She lives in Essex with her husband and son. Class will be held outdoors at the Intervale Center.

Head down to the Intervale Center every Thursday in July and August for Summervale: a celebration of farms, local food, family, and friends! You’ll find amazing local food vendors, live music, kids’ activities, and more! Each week, City Market will be there with fun, hands-on activities for all ages. This week, we will be making our own bug spray with essential oils!

Join Ethan Tapper, the Chittenden County Forester, for “Understanding Forest Management,” a walk of an active forest management project at the Hinesburg Town Forest (HTF).

Done well, modern forest management can be restorative and regenerative, helping create more diverse, vibrant, resilient forests with great wildlife habitat, helping forests recover from the effects of human land use and creating old forest attributes sooner than they would naturally occur. At the same time, forest management generates local, renewable resources which get turned into building materials, paper, power and more. Like local food, local wood supports our working landscape and our rural communities and mitigates the use of resources produced under more adverse ecological and social conditions elsewhere in the country or the world. We will walk the management area and talk about forests, forest management, and forest ecology. Please bring an open mind and all those questions you’ve never had a chance to ask about forest management.

This walk will happen “rain (mud) or shine.” Participants should be ready to spend a couple hours outdoors walking over uneven and potentially slippery surfaces in whatever weather we find ourselves in, and also to spend extended periods of time standing and talking. Directions on where to meet will be sent to participants in advance.