hen you were a kid,
summer seemed to stretch
on forever. But these days ,
the three short months
seem to evaporate in the
blink of an eye.
So turn off your Black-
Berry and take a break from
your overloaded schedule.
Summer beckons with
simpler pleasures: a lei-
surely baseball game,
a juicy watermelon, a
Technicolor sunset over
the water. Plenty of
warm-weather adven-
tures are right in your own
backyard—festivals
and activities that are
guaranteed to deliver a
weekend’s worth of care-
free summer fun.
MICROBREWED MAGIC

VERMONT

On a steamy hot day, nothing beats a cold one. That’s the idea behind the Vermont Brewers Festival

( vermontbrewers.com), a celebration of hand-crafted beers from all over the Northeast.

On July 20– 21, dozens of top micro-breweries and brew pubs will converge on Burlington’s Waterfront Park to pour their finest lagers, ales and stouts. Attendance is broken up into four-hour

tasting sessions to keep the “exuberance” to manageable levels. Bet ween rounds are educational sessions where you’ll learn about home brewing and cooking with beer.

The shimmering waters of Lake

Champlain provide a
magnificent backdrop.
Surrounded by the
green peaks of the
Adirondacks, the lake
is ringed by a pictur-
esque bike path. It’s
also rumored to be the
home of Champ,
Vermont’s answer
to the Loch Ness
Monster. Keep your
eyes peeled—as the
festivities progress,
the number of
Champ “sightings”
is sure to increase.