Vermont Tourism Calendar of Events: January’s Sports, Concerts, Vaudeville and Sleigh Rides

Montpelier, VT – The month of January is host to indoor cultural events and outdoor celebrations of Vermont’s vibrant winter sports scene. Here’s a sampler of the 60 events in the VermontVacation.com Travel Planner:

Learn to Ski and Snowboard Month

Month-long, Statewide

Many people vow to get active in the New Year, and what could be more fun than playing in the snow and learning a new sport to get you moving in 2014! January is Learn to Ski and Snowboard month and Ski Vermont offers $29 packages including professional lessons, equipment rentals and a beginner lift ticket. Sign up at skivermont.com/learn  while supplies last.

Young Tradition Vermont Reunion Concert

Jan. 3, Burlington & Jan 4, Stowe

Young Tradition Vermont presents its annual reunion concerts, welcoming young people who are supported and nurtured by the organization, including several who have established themselves regionally, nationally and internationally as respected performers, composers and recording artists. www.youngtraditionvermont.org

Swinging Epiphany Concert

Jan. 4, Newport

Swing North Big Band presents a program of “lessons and carols” re-telling the Christmas story accompanied by jazz carol arrangements and swing standards. www.stjjazz.org

First Wednesday Lecture Series

January 8, Statewide

This eclectic lecture series offers talks in nine towns on the first Wednesday of the month, now through May. This free lecture series draws nationally and regionally renowned authors, artists, scholars and public figures. Lectures include: The Incandescent Mind: Virginia Woolf and Our Literary Foremothers, The British Monarchy from Victoria to Elizabeth II, Vincent Van Gogh: What Influenced Him and His Influence on 20th-Century Art, What If Poor Women Ran the World? Brain Lessons and Life Stories: Understanding Your Emotional Life, What Women Want and Daily Life in Prewar Nazi Germany. www.VermontHumanities.org

Pianist Jonathan Bliss

Jan. 10, Brattleboro

American pianist Jonathan Bliss is widely regarded for his artistry, musical intelligence and deeply felt interpretations, winning international recognition. Bliss, whom The New Yorker describes as playing with "unerring sophistication," made his New York Philharmonic debut in 2001, and has since appeared with the foremost orchestras of North America, Europe, Asia, and Australia. www.brattleborotix.com

Jane Austen Weekend

Jan. 10-12 & 24-26, Hyde Park

Imagine a literary retreat that will slip you quietly back into Regency England in a beautiful old mansion where Jane herself would feel at home. Take afternoon tea. Listen to Mozart. Bring your needlework. Share your thoughts at a book discussion of “Persuasion,” “Pride and Prejudice,” “Sense and Sensibility” or “Emma” and how the movies stand up to the books.  www.onehundredmain.com/events/jane-austen-weekends/

Winter Trails Day: Free Cross-Country Ski & Snowshoeing

Jan. 11, Statewide

Nordic skiing and snowshoeing are free at multiple locations during Winter Trails Day. Participating areas include: Bolton Valley Nordic Center, Bluebuerry Lake, Craftsbury Outdoor Center, Ole’s Cross Country Ski Center, Mountain Top Inn & Resort Nordic Center, Woodstock Nordic Center, Smugglers’ Notch Resort Nordic Center, Rikert Nordic Center and Strafford Nordic Center. Inventory and lesson space is limited. www.snowlink.com/wintertrails.aspx

Ladies Nordic Ski Expo

Jan. 11, Stowe

Join the Catamount Trail Association for a full day of traditional Nordic (skate & classic), backcountry, and telemark instruction for women by women at Trapp Family Lodge. This is a unique opportunity for women to learn from some of the best female skiers in the country. For more info or to sign-up please visit www.catamounttrail.org

Brattleboro Concert Choir: Ecstatic Visions

Jan. 11, Brattleboro

With extraordinary vision and imagination, Britten sets the ecstatic poetry of Christopher Smart (1722-1771) in the festival cantata Rejoice in the Lamb. The text, written while Smart was in an insane asylum, is mystic and comic, poignant and exalted. Richard Blackford's Mirror of Perfection captures the passion of the famous saint who was known as a fanatic of love.  www.brattleborotix.com

Winter Yoga & Art Workshops

Jan. 11 - Apr. 10, Chester

Katheryn and Denis Chasse will conduct a series of Saturday workshops using yoga and art to enhance body, mind and spirit. The workshops will be at several inns in Chester, Vt.  Katheryn is a certified yoga instructor and Denis is a professional "plein air" outdoor landscape painter. www.chasseart.com

Capital City Concerts Rural Refrains

Jan. 12, Montpelier

This "Vermonty” program features soprano Hyunah Yu along with a colorful ensemble of fine instrumentalists including Daniel Gilbert, former Cleveland Orchestra clarinetist. They will perform Schubert's “Shepherd on the Rock,” Libby Larsen's "Barn Dances," Roussel's "Fair Nightingale" and many more. Also Karen Kevra-flute, Joy Worland-horn, Jeewon Park-piano. www.capitalcityconcerts.org

The April Verch Band

Jan. 17, Randolph

The April Verch Band — rounded out by bassist and clawhammer banjo player Cody Walters and guitarist Hayes Griffin — is an energetic, virtuosic, tradition-celebrating outfit. The thrilling grand finale involves Verch fiddling and step dancing — and often executing two entirely different intricate rhythmic patterns — at once. Verch is the first woman in history to win both of Canada’s most prestigious fiddle championships and has been called a “world class fiddler” by Sam Bush. www.chandler-arts.org

Windham Orchestra: Bruckner in Bratt

Jan. 17, Saxtons River

Time stands still in the music of Bruckner. Some of the images that are evoked are a “cathedral in sound,” the Romanticism of German folk tales, the sounds of brass and hunting horns, the quality of a massive pipe organ, heart-stopping chorales of intense fervor. Directed by Hugh Keelan.  www.bmcvt.org

Pianist Simone Dinnerstein

Jan. 18, Randolph

Simone Dinnerstein has been called "a throwback to such high priestesses of music as Wanda Landowska and Myra Hess," by Slate magazine, and praised by TIME for her "arresting freshness and subtlety." The New York-based pianist gained an international following because of the remarkable success of her recording of Bach's Goldberg Variations, which she raised the funds to record. Released in 2007 on Telarc, it ranked No. 1 on the US Billboard Classical Chart. www.chandler-arts.org

Burlington Chamber Orchestra Concert & Festival

Jan. 18, Colchester

Mozart & Haydn, featuring violinist Soovin Kim & conductor Karina Canellakis. This concert kicks off a weeklong collaboration with concerts by the BCO, Lake Champlain Chamber Music Festival and the Vermont Youth Orchestra to celebrate the VYOA’s 50th Anniversary season. www.flynntix.org

Sleigh Rides & Martin Luther King Jr. Weekend at Billings Farm

Jan. 18 – 20

Woodstock

In observance of Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, an award winning documentary will be shown. Afterwards, take a horse-drawn sleigh ride through the frosty farm fields and sled with jack jumper sleds. Visit the dairy farm and restored farmhouse, farm programs and hands-on activities. www.billingsfarm.org

Windham Orchestra: Bruckner in Bratt

Jan. 19, Brattleboro

Time stands still in the music of Bruckner. Some of the images that are evoked are a “cathedral in sound,” the Romanticism of German folk tales, the sounds of brass and hunting horns, the quality of a massive pipe organ, heart-stopping chorales of intense fervor. Bruckner's lineage is from Beethoven and Wagner, and sounds like neither. Directed by Hugh Keelan. www.bmcvt.org

Tim Eriksen and the Trio de Pumpkintown

Jan. 25, Randolph

The Trio performs love songs of the sea, fiddle tunes, ballads, shape-note and afro/celtic gospel. Much of their music comes from Pumpkintown’s diverse early inhabitants, including Yankees, Africans, Native Americans, Irish, Scottish and Germans. www.chandler-arts.org

Vermont Vaudeville

Jan. 25, Plainfield

An all-ages show that features local talent and world-touring professionals performing circus, comedy, magic, puppetry, music and more. Every show is different, and everyone is welcome! www.goddard.edu/news-events/events/vermont-vaudeville

Northern Roots Traditional Music Festival

Jan. 25  Brattleboro

The Northern Roots Festival begins with a full slate of daytime participation and performance activities, including workshops, panels, mini-concerts, pub sessions, dance band prep, and a family dance. The festival concludes with an evening performance featuring musicians representing the best of the northern musical traditions. www.bmcvt.org

Heritage WinterFest

Jan. 25 – 26, Smugglers' Notch Resort

On Saturday, celebrate the wonder of Winter with a guided snowshoeing nature walk at Smugglers' Nordic Center, and sleigh rides, children's story hour, a lasagna dinner, family contra dance, bonfire and fireworks in Jeffersonville. The famous Primitive Biathlon takes place on Saturday and Sunday at the Sterling Ridge Inn near Smugglers'. www.smuggs.com/pages/winter/skiride/winter-events.php

Annual Paintball Biathlon

Jan. 26, Chittenden

Mountain Top Resort is hosting the annual Paintball Biathlon, featuring the children's BKL race. The competition combines cross-country skiing and shooting at targets. Everyone is welcome; advance registration required. www.mountaintopinn.com/calendar_of_events.php

Downton Abbey Dinner and Etiquette Talk

Jan. 28, 29 & 30, Hyde Park

A comfortable dinner and explanation of table settings, etiquette history, and properly managing everything from napkins to holding your coffee cup. Gain a new appreciation for the downstairs staff by decanting through Mr. Carson's silver funnel or serving the sauce, all in a dining room which has hosted elegant dinners predating the Titanic. www.OneHundredMain.com/calendar2.cfm

2014 Peak Winter Death Race

Jan. 31, Pittsfield

The Death Race is designed to present you with the totally unexpected and take you out of your comfort zone. This race is a 48+ hour event that is created to challenge you physically, mentally, and emotionally. 90% won't finish. www.winterdeathrace14.eventbrite.com

Rails for Ryan

Jan. 31, Smugglers' Notch

Join us at 6:00 p.m. as Gnar Bear and Smuggs present this first under the lights rail jam at the Madonna/Sterling Mountains Base Lodge. Entry is FREE, with a suggested $5 donation to benefit the Flyin' Ryan Foundation. Prizes will be awarded. www.smuggs.com