Stars & Stripes Airshow

On Saturday July 3rd enjoy the Stars and Stripes Charity Airshow featuring bi-plane aerobatics and other great stunts. All proceeds to benefit the Vermont National Guard Charitable Foundation, a nonprofit organization which serves to meet the emergency financial needs of the men and women of the Vermont National Guard and their families. Tickets are complimentary for our guests – advance booking is highly recommended. Starts at 1PM – don’t be late!

Warren 4th of July Parade

Then on Sunday July 4th we have the famous Warren July 4th parade. For the 62nd consecutive year, Warren will celebrate its independence with a wild, wacky, and wickedly fun parade, street dance, and family festivities! Parade starts at 10 AM.

These events are always unique, with little deference to political correctness. This year’s theme is “Life, Liberty, & the Pursuit of Healthiness”. The parade typically proceeds down Main Street, then takes the right on Brook Road – floats pull off the road, or continue up to Brooks Field parking lot…where, after the parade, fun & festivities abound on the field until mid-afternoon. Included in the afternoon fun will be a Scottish Highland Games demonstration at Brooks Field. Now THAT is fun!

Sugarbush Golf Course

We can arrange your tee times and provide discounted green fees including tax and a golf cart. Golf club rentals are available. Rates vary by date so when you book please select the dates of your planned stay to see the price of a round. To take advantage of these rates please book at least two nights. The standard package is a round for two people – let us know if you need something different. The course is available through October 31st. You can book your Sugarbush golf package directly or call us to discuss.

Charles Pruitt our Artist-in-Residence

Here at West Hill House we are delighted to be hosting artist Charles N. Pruitt, a West Texas native, born in 1941 near the small farming and ranching community of Colorado City, Texas. An award winning artist, Charles enjoys painting primarily landscapes of the Southwest however from  August 24-26, 2010 he will once again be turning his brush and oil paints to the wonderful Vermont scenery in the Green Mountains.

As our Artist-in-Residence Charles will be conducting plein air workshops and demonstrations as well as providing individual guidance to both novice and experienced oil painters. The location will be the beautiful gardens of West Hill House.

We are fortunate to have several of his paintings currently on loan and gracing the walls of the B&B giving guests a glimpse of  the special treat we have in store this August. Even if you are not staying with us you are welcome to come and view his paintings – please call to confirm a time.

Workshop Dates: August 24, 25 & 26, 2010

Prices:
• $60 per day (including lunch)
• $150 for all 3 days (including lunch)
Special: $50 for all 3 days with a 3-night stay

Please call to book: 802-496-7162.          Spaces are limited.

It’s not too early to be thinking about summer activities!

Graduation Time

• The Green Mountain Valley School
• Norwich University

At West Hill House we wish to recognize this major milestone for graduating students.  When parents visiting the area for the celebration stay at West Hill House we will offer:

• Complimentary breakfast for the graduating student with their parents each day, for students who need to stay on campus
• Complimentary overnight stay for students who wish to stay with their parents, as a 3rd person in one of our suites. (Subject to availability.)

These offers are also available for parent visitation weekends, although not during holiday weekends or fall foliage season. Spaces are limited so please call us to book.

Chef Illyan at work

We concur with our guests: Mint is an experience not to be missed. The menu choices prepared by chef and co-owner Illyan are varied and interesting, and have an international flair. While vegetarians will recognize some of the choices, many are original creations and can be thoroughly enjoyed by diners more used to meat based entrees. The flavors are often surprising and delightful. Co-owner Savitri has integrated the amazing and varied tea selection from her former tea room across the laneway, and provides knowledgeable guidance to match teas with your meal. Also available are a small wine and beer list at reasonable prices.

Make it a point to visit Mint during your next stay at West Hill House. Open Wednesday to Sundays year round for dinner. Price for a 3-course dinner for 2 including a glass of wine each will be about $75.

Great snow!

“Yabba-Dabba-Dooooooooooo!” 12-16 inches of NEW SNOW since yesterday morning and it is still snowing and snowing hard. No kidding, Vermont  is really beautiful this time of year! It looks like this will be THE weekend to come to the Mad River Valley and ski Mad River Glen, Sugarbush or do some cross country or snowshoeing at Ole’s or Blueberry Lake. Of course West Hill House is a great place to stay – we’re just a short distance from each of the ski areas. Come enjoy winter with us.

Skiing at Sugarbush

Ski it if you can! New for 2010 – when you stay during the week for 2 or more nights you can enjoy a Mad River Glen ski pass for $30 per day. (2 tickets per room max.) Plus, if Mad River Glen is closed for any reason we will give you $20 per day per room towards lift tickets at Sugarbush.

Then we have the amazingly flexible Ski-the-Valley package, which offers a great way to try all the skiing that the Mad River Valley offers. When you stay two or more weekday nights (Sunday through Thursday) we can add a multi-day weekday (Monday through Friday) Ski the Valley ski pass for up to the same number of days at a very attractive daily rate. The pass lets you go straight to the lifts at Mad River Glen and Sugarbush, and ski at Olé’s Cross Country ski resort – all on the same day if you wish!

Click on the photo for even more information. Note that these offers are not available during holidays.

Bring on the leaves!

Off to the compost!

What better way to celebrate autumn than to frolic in fall foliage! With huge maple trees surrounding the B&B we get our fair share of leaves on the ground. Many thanks to the couples who took us up on our “Leak Raving” special and joined us in getting our lawns and gardens ready for winter. All our autumn leaves were raked and deposited in the compost and none too soon!

Yesterday morning we awoke to just enough snow on the ground to remind us that the wonderful winter days are just around the corner. It’s not to early to start thinking about reserving a room with us for your winter vacation. Relaxation starts at West Hill House in the Mad River Valley in the Green Mountains of Vermont.

Mozart 1756-91

What marriage was created in 1784, perfected in 1786 and is just as good today as it was then?  Give up? Why the Marriage of Figaro! Based on a 1784 play, Mozart created this comic opera which continues to be enjoyed today.

The Marriage of Figaro is coming to the Mad River Valley complete with professional opera singers.  

If you adore opera or if you’re not sure about opera,  here’s a wonderful opportunity to learn more about opera from the experts in a relaxed yet professional setting. Guests in the Mad River Valley are invited to attend open rehearsals, sit in on master opera classes, and participate in numerous other opera related activities between May 28 and June 21, 2009.

The full fledged opera will be staged on June 19 and 21 and tickets range from $10 -yes $10! to $50.

Check out the line-up of events and the West Hill House website for our special.

Attending a telephone company’s open house may not sound like a very interesting event but that’s probably because you don’t have a phone company like our Waitsfield and Champlain Valley Telecom. Our telecom company  is a family owned, independent phone company which has served our area continually since 1904. You can bet there have been many, many advancements in telecoms since 1904 and the open house presented displays and demonstrations of  products and services through the years. 

We saw photos of the early days, like this photo collage displayed on the WCVT website.

Safety First

 

Peter examined some early equipment

Checking out equipment

and watched a demonstration of the best way to climb a pole! 

 

We also learned how a step-by-step telephone switching unit worked “in the old days”. Invented in 1888 and patented in 1891,this type of switch was used in some locations up into the 1980s when they were then being replaced by digital switches.

The last demonstration we went to was fascinating to watch;  the fusing of fiber optic strands. Total cleanliness and exact cleaving is required to prepare the strands. The two ends are then fused together with an electric arc in a small machine that exactly matches up the ends of the fibers. Quite amazing to see how technology has changed even over the last 30 years.

You can read more about this little phone company with a big history, it’s only one of the interesting aspects of the Mad River Valley.