Established in 1974, Manchester Music Festival (MMF) has been a beacon for classical music enthusiasts for half a century, showcasing both established artists and young talents. Nestled in the beautiful Green Mountains of Southern Vermont, MMF plays a pivotal role in the cultural enrichment of our community and beyond.

The Festival celebrates its Golden Anniversary in 2024 with a curated season of more than 30 events, including performances, masterclasses, open rehearsals, talks, and outreach programs. Under the leadership of our Artistic Director, Philip Setzer, founder and violinist of the Emerson String Quartet, Season 50 celebrates “The Romantic Journey,” a theme that cuts to the heart of how art reflects our humanity.

Opened in 1997, Northshire Civic Center sits on 35 acres in the foothills of Vermont’s bucolic Green Mountain National Forest on Route 7A in Manchester Center, Vermont.  With 22,000 square feet of open floor space and an Olympic-sized indoor ice rink, it is Southern Vermont’s premier civic center for sports, events, and exhibitions.

During mid-October thru early March, we have pubic skating, learn to skate program, youth and adult hockey leagues, and it is home to the Northshire Skating Academy, Northshire Hockey Association and Burr and Burton High School Hockey.

In mid-March thru early May, the ice rink transforms to an indoor Turf arena, where we have youth lacrosse, high school field hockey, youth baseball, youth soccer and men & women soccer league. 

In May thru early October, events & exhibitions begin, including Vermont Symphony Orchestra, Art & Craft Festival, Green Mountain Bluegrass & Roots Festival, Komen New England,  Barn Sale, Super Bingo, Shakespeare in the Woods and much more.

Special Events link: https://www.rileyrink.com/page/show/2495223-special-events

Who We Are:

We are dedicated to preserving the rich heritage of fly fishing. The American Museum of Fly Fishing was established in 1968 in Manchester, Vermont, by a group of passionate and enthusiastic anglers who believed that the history of angling was an important part of American culture and tradition. The Museum was created to serve as an institution to research, preserve, and interpret the treasures of angling history.

Today, the Museum serves as a repository for and conservator to the world’s largest collection of angling and angling-related items, numbering in the thousands. Our collections and exhibits thoroughly document the evolution of fly fishing as a sport, art form, craft, and industry in the United States and abroad, dating as far back as the sixteenth century. Rods, reels, flies, tackle, art, photographs, manuscripts, and books form the Museum’s permanent collection.

Our Mission:

The American Museum of Fly Fishing is the steward of the history, traditions, and practices of the sport of fly fishing and promotes the conservation of its waters. The Museum collects, preserves, exhibits, studies, and interprets the artifacts, art, and literature of the sport and, through a variety of outreach platforms, uses these resources to engage, educate, and benefit all.

The Museum fulfills this mission through our public programs (including exhibitions, gallery programs, lectures, special events, and presentations), our publications, and our quarterly journal, the American Fly Fisher.

Please note Summer and Winter hours below:

Summer
June – October
Tuesday – Sunday, 10am to 4pm

Winter
November – May
Thursday – Saturday, 10am to 4pm

Presenting a summer season of blockbuster musicals, classic plays, family-friendly shows, and ground-breaking new works. Expanding the imaginative, cultural, and social landscape in the community by connecting Weston to the world and the world to Weston.

Bringing new meaning to community and education, Green Mountain Academy for Lifelong Learning is an important resource in the Northshire region for all adults (young and old!) to continue learning via their accessible, diversified, and high-quality educational programs.

Open to all inquisitive minds, most classes are interactive, providing hands on learning through programs and workshops in history, religion, sciences, the arts, bridge, and culinary.

Held at various locations in and around Manchester, Green Mountain Academy for Lifelong Learning offers a firm hand in enriching the intellectual and cultural life of our community.

WELCOME TO THE MUSEUM OF THE CREATIVE PROCESS

The Museum was established by Dr. Albert Levis, author of Conflict Analysis, The Formal Theory of Behavior. It features five permanent art exhibits introducing the creative process as a scientific conflict resolution mechanism reflecting the unconscious.

The exhibits demonstrate The Formal Theory, bridging art and science, gaining insight into the human unconscious as a scientific mechanism, revamping our understanding of psychology and of religions as both founded on science. The scientific unconscious revamps psychology from a medical specialty into a pure psychodynamic science, the Science of Conflict Resolution, The Moral Science.

The Moral Science revamps psychology’s key concepts:

• The analysis of the creative process, the plot of stories, identifies the unconscious as a scientific conflict resolution mechanism, the integrative paradigm reconciling psychology, morality and science.

• Diagnostic categories are revamped from illness DSM 5 diagnoses to the four alternative ways of the unconscious resolving conflicts, as four syndromal relational modalities, a wellness personality typology.

• Therapy is simplified into psycho-education for all by introducing the Conflict Analysis Battery, a self-assessment available online free of charge, using creativity for self-discovery. It is didactic, diagnostic and therapeutic representing a concise program of emotional education.

• Religions are viewed as psychological phenomena sanctifying alternative ways of resolving conflict that have evolved as metaphors of conflict resolution.

NOW OPEN

Located on 412 acres in Manchester Village, the historic Lincoln family estate, built by Presidential son Robert Lincoln and his wife Mary, is a favorite destination for locals and visitors alike. Whether you’re a history buff, a nature lover, or a fan of gorgeous architecture, Hildene offers amazing grounds and gardens, trails, Hildene Farm (including goat dairy, cheesemaking facility, and both animals and production gardens in the dene), informative tours, engaging exhibits, and a fabulous museum store. Don’t miss the restored 1903 Pullman railcar “Sunbeam” and the “Many Voices” exhibit (the southernmost stop on Vermont’s African American Heritage Trail). Particularly special times of year to visit include peony season from late-May through mid-June (thousands of flamboyant blooms in the formal garden) and a Victorian Christmas (the home is bedecked in holiday finery, as thought it were Christmas in 1912). Manchester’s most popular visitor destination, Hildene is a favorite of ours in every season. Not to miss!