Beautiful Vermont Lamoille County
- Guy Collins
- Jul 24
- 4 min read
Here's the view just down the dirt road from my accommodation. Vermont is beautiful, especially in the summer, and Lamoille county is truly stunning. The tallest Mountain in Vermont, Mount Mansfield is here with the very exclusive Stowe village and mountain resort on the southeastern side and if you cross the mountain via the VT 108, which is quite possibly the prettiest road ever, you will come to Smugglers Notch ski resort (great skiing for young families, even if the lifts are a little old and slow) and the village of Cambridge which puts you on the northwestern side of the mountain. I'm staying just outside of Morrisville, which is definitely a town on the up! I took some time to look around, and I was particularly impressed by Oxbow River park and the Lamoille Valley Rail Trail. I need to get back to the trail with a bicycle, it's 93 miles long, so I am guessing I will have to go more than once.
I'm here for Lamoille County Field Days. I am scheduled to perform at three Vermont fairs this year - Lamoille County Field Days, Tunbridge Worlds Fair and the Champlain Valley Exposition. I cannot decide which of either Lamoille or Tunbridge have the prettiest fairgrounds, but you will be very hard pushed to find a fair with nicer views than either of these two. Lamoille County Field Days is set in the flat of the valley, you can see Mount Mansfield to the South and the fairgrounds have an abundance of very green grass upon which is a small carnival, a couple of small barns, a covered equestrian space and small track for the tractor pull. While I understand the ease of setting up a fair on Black top, grass is so much nicer, especially on a hot and sunny day.
Mostly the people I am entertaining are local to the area, and obviously there are a good few farmers. I think I received one of my greatest compliments ever here when a wizened and bearded old farmer complete with suspenders (braces), blue jeans and a smile told me "You're pretty good"! High praise indeed! Turn out has been pretty good this year and all 9 of my shows had a good attendance. Even so, the fairgrounds here are never too crowded and there is always space to be found.
I'm sharing my stage (Barn) with No Strings Marionettes from Randolf, Vermont, Jason Tardy who is also a juggler but from Maine, and Ron the Rockin' Pirate also from Vermont.
Barbara and Danny are not just talented puppeteers, but also the sweetest people you could hope to ever meet. We immediately got along, and I had a lovely day, both watching their performance and chatting about the Vermont arts scene together. We have a shared interest in fairytales, and I am hoping to spend a bit more time with them and Stephanie researching a bit more of that. Perhaps there may even be a resurgence of Fizzical Fairytales!
Danny starts off their show with a couple of comedy songs whereby he plays a very amusing guessing game of every state in the USA and even many of the countries of the world. The actual puppet show is gentle, magical and very captivating. The audience love it and so do I.
This is the second year I have worked with Jason Tardy at this event, it's very rarely that I get the chance to work alongside other jugglers but mine and Jason's styles and shows are so very different from each other it works. Jason performs a high energy juggling show, part of which is a very interesting, spectacular and at times funny routine with a ladder (you kind of have to see it). He is a very positive person, and we even did a little skit together during the transition from his show to mine. I found him very easy to perform with as we passed 6 juggling clubs around an unsuspecting member of the audience. I'm hoping we are both back in 2026.
I have known Rockin' Ron the Pirate since about 2010, which was when I first moved up to Vermont, as both of us were part of the weekly children's program at Smugglers Notch ski resort. It's all very "RRRRRRRRR"! He plays the part well, and younger children seem to connect easily with his character. Offstage, he's also a friendly man, and it's always fun to catch up.
I thought I would finish off with this photo of me, snapped by Jason on the Sunday morning of the fair. Not the best backdrop, but at the same time you do get the feeling that I am very much at an agricultural fair!
Lamoille County is an amazing place and the Field Days are a gem. If you get the opportunity, reward yourself by visiting them both, you might even get to see me!
