Winter is here in the Upper Valley! If you’re not a cold weather kind of person and the thought of hitting the slopes doesn’t bring particularly warm thoughts, you may want to explore some indoor activity options while still being able to get out of the house and do something fun. The Upper Valley has plenty of options to socialize, exercise, and educate yourself during the cold, winter months. We've put together a list of the top places to check out in 2019.

 

Cheer on the Big Green at a Dartmouth Basketball Game

Dartmouth athletics are always a fun and exciting activity to enjoy near home. In the winter, both the men and women’s basketball teams heat things up, typically beginning their conference schedules shortly after the New Year. Below is a list of home matchups in the first three months of 2019.

January

Jan. 12 – Men’s Basketball vs. Harvard, 7 p.m.

Jan 26 – Women’s Basketball vs. Harvard, 5 p.m.

February

Feb. 1 – Men’s Basketball vs. Brown, 7 p.m.

Feb. 2 – Men’s Basketball vs. Yale, 7 p.m.

Feb. 8 – Men’s Basketball vs. Cornell, 7 p.m.

Feb. 9 – Men’s Basketball vs. Columbia, 7 p.m.

Feb. 15 – Women’s Basketball vs. Penn, 7 p.m.

Feb. 16 – Women’s Basketball vs. Princeton, 5 p.m.

Feb. 22 – Women’s Basketball vs. Yale, 7 p.m.

Feb. 23 – Women’s Basketball vs. Brown, 5 p.m.

March

March 1 – Men’s Basketball vs. Princeton, 7 p.m.

March 2 – Men’s Basketball vs. Penn, 7 p.m.

March 8 – Women’s Basketball vs. Columbia, 7 p.m.

March 9 – Women’s Basketball vs. Cornell, 5 p.m.

The Big Green hoops teams play at Leede Arena in the Berry Sports Center.

 

Indoor Tennis at the River Valley Club

Who says you can’t get your fix of outdoor sports in the cold weather? Well, with state-of-the-art indoor facilities, you don’t have to brave the elements. The River Valley Club (RVC) has four indoor, Deco-Turf court surfaces for tennis enthusiasts to enjoy year round. They offer leagues, lessons, and programming for all ages and skill levels, too. There are eight dedicated tennis staffers on site to help with your needs and requests.

River Valley Club is located in Centerra Park in Lebanon, 33 Morgan Drive. In addition to its tennis facilities, it offers industry-leading personal training, more than 100 group fitness classes per week, CrossFit, nutritional guidance, and aquatics programs for all ages and fitness levels, and an Aveda Concept day spa and the hair salon.

 

Watch a Movie at Nugget Theaters

This long-standing community staple is a great spot to check out first-run movies, in addition to special showings and events. The theater was conceptualized in February 1914 and opened in September 1916, and after almost 100 years serving the Upper Valley, the theater went fully digital, scrapping 35mm films, in 2013. Today, Nugget Theaters shows movies on four screens. Additionally, they run special movie promotions throughout the year, such as an annual holiday classic, a once-a-year showing of The Rocky Horror Picture Show in honor of its anniversary, and special advanced screenings of big premieres.

You can even host your children’s birthday parties here, with a choice of bringing your own equipment (DVD players, gaming consoles, etc.) or selecting one of the movies on rotation. The theater is located at 57 S. Main St. in Hanover.

 

Learn From the Masters: Highly Skilled Art Classes With the League of N.H. Craftsmen

CraftStudies, a division, and facility of the League of N.H. Crafstmen, offers year-round craft and art classes, workshops and vacation camps in clay (wheel and handbuilding), metal (jewelry and sculpture), other media (basketry, felting, sewing, bead weaving), as well as children, youth and teen classes, and the special “Recovery Through Craft” program, which is for people who are experiencing an ongoing illness. Most courses are offered evenings and weekends.

The League encourages experimentation, exploration, and artistic expression. The facility is located at 13 Lebanon St. in Hanover. Registration can be done in person, online, by phone, or by mail.

 

Go to Baking School With King Arthur Flour

The Baking School at King Arthur Flour welcomes all bakers, no matter your skill level or baking interest. Classes range from introductory demonstrations for beginners to intensive week-long professional courses, with a wide variety of hands-on classes for adults and children. Our expert instructors will teach you to master any baking technique with ease.

Class types offered include home baking, those taught by guest instructors, professional-level, and for kids.

The original location is nestled in the heart of Norwich. Connected to the school is a bakery and retail store, so you can shop for baking essentials and enjoy a warm cinnamon bun outside in the fresh air of our courtyard.

 

Support Dartmouth College’s Hopkins Center for the Arts by Catching a Show This Season

The Hopkins Center for the Arts mission is to ignite and sustain a passion for the arts within Dartmouth and its greater community and to provide the core educational environment for the study, creation, and presentation of the arts.

It has served as the cultural hub of the Dartmouth College campus in Hanover, NH, since it first opened in November 1962. In 1988 the “Hop” was named by the National Endowment for the Arts as one of the nation’s exemplary performing arts centers.

Each year the Hop sells over 125,000 tickets to 100 or more live performances in virtually all genres of music, theater and dance, plus well over 200 film screenings and other events. The Hop also houses classrooms, studios, and other facilities, as well as the offices of the Departments of Music, Theater, Film & Media Studies, and Studio Art. Below is a list of shows for the 2018-19 season’s winter months.

January

Jan. 11 – 12 – Simone Dinnerstein and Pam Tanowitz Dance

Jan. 17 – 19 – National Theatre Barber Shop Chronicles

Jan. 18 – Double Bill: Ana Tijoux & Fior de Toloache

Jan. 23 – Orlando Consort Voices Appeared

Jan. 30 – Indigenous Rising: An Evening of NextGen Native Artists

February

Feb. 1 – Dartmouth Idol Semifinals

Feb. 5 – The Shanghai Quartet

Feb. 8 – Barbary Coast Jazz Ensemble

Feb. 16 – Dartmouth College Glee Club

Feb. 17 – Dartmouth College Wind Ensemble

Feb. 22 – March 3 – Into the Woods presented by the Dartmouth Department of Theater

Feb. 23 – Dartmouth Symphony Orchestra with Sally Pinkas

March

March 1 – Dartmouth Idol Finals

March 4 – Kudo Evolution

March 6 – Deidre Brenner & Sarah Nelson Craft

The center is located at 4 East Wheelock St. on the Dartmouth College campus in Hanover.

 

Explore the Planets at the Montshire Museum

A special exhibit opens Jan. 12 at the Montshire Museum of Science. Destination: Space! highlights the art and science of space exploration and celebrates the 50th anniversary of the Apollo 11 mission’s moon landing. It features three special exhibitions: Sun, Earth, Universe; Planetary Landscapes: Works by Ned Kahn; and, One Giant Leap: The Moon Landing’s 50th Anniversary

The Montshire Museum of Science is a hands-on science museum in Norwich. Located on a 100-acre site along the Connecticut River, the Museum offers over 150 exhibits relating to the natural and physical sciences, ecology, and technology. The outdoor space includes miles of trails and David Goudy Science Park, which features water exhibits.

Get in the Spirit at SILO Distillery

According to its website … Located in Windsor, Vermont, in the same Artisan Park area as Harpoon Brewery, Simon Pearce, Oh Veggie!, The Cheese Board, and Great River Outfitters, Silo Distillery is situated in a newly built barn distillery. The space is uniquely designed to support sustainable production as well as offer the public a full tour, tasting and cocktail experience, inside and out.  The two-story space is rich with the smells of pine and cooking grains, offering beautiful acoustics for local musicians against a backdrop of the stainless steel and copper of SILO’s custom German distillation equipment.

SILO's process is completely hands-on, starting with grain selection from Grembowicz Farm in North Clarendon, Vermont. SILO's process aims to be as sustainable as possible, recycling the water they use throughout the process and shipping spent grains off to local farmers to use for feed.

When visiting, you can enjoy special performances and live music on select dates. There is also an opportunity to host private events.

 

Spa Day at The Woodstock Inn & Resort

Restore your mind and body and connect with nature through organic products and unique seasonal treatments that capture the essence of Vermont. The Woodstock Inn & Resort Spa  boasts a 10,000 square foot, LEED-certified facility featuring 10 treatment rooms, a spa boutique, and locally sourced products. Embrace comfort and tranquility with natural light, fresh native flora and Vermont-inspired treatments reflecting the changing seasons.

Set in the heart of Woodstock, Vermont, the resort invites guests to wander along welcoming Main Street, browse restaurants and charming boutiques, and relish in an area rich in recreation and abundant in adventure in the surrounding Green Mountains.

 

Join in on a Book Discussion at the Library

On the second Tuesday of each month, the Howe Library hosts a book discussion. Bring your lunch and a healthy appetite for a good discussion. The January book is What We Lose: A Novel by Zinzi Clemmons.

The Howe Library was established in 1900. Originally on West Wheelock Street (in the former Robert’s Flowers building), the library moved to its current location on South St. in the early 1970s. Today, the Howe Library continues to be a partnership between The Howe Library Corporation and the Town of Hanover.