This weekend is the annual parade that has become a 4-day extravaganza in Brattleboro, Vermont, just 10 minutes from our New Hampshire Bed and Breakfast, in West Chesterfield. The Strolling of the Heifers started 11 years ago as a parade focused on local farms and farming and has grown every year. It starts with the Slow Living Summit on Wednesday through Friday and continues with the Gallery Walk on Friday, with a street festival, a fashion show highlighting the collection at Twice Upon a Time, one of our fabulous second hand stores, and free music and street entertainment. The winners of the New England Bread Baking Competition will be announced that evening as well.

Saturday brings us the parade, with over 100 heifers, as well as a few mules, goats, and alpacas. The parade is on Main Street and culminates at the Brattleboro Common and the Brattleboro Retreat campus where there will be music, cheese and yogurt tasting, and many different kinds of food to sample for lunch. There will also be an antique tractor show, goat racing, and local entertainment on 4 stages. On Sunday, the Tour de Heifer will leave from Lilac Ridge Farm in West Brattleboro. The Tour is a bike ride that can be 60, 30, or 10 miles, and passes many of our local farms along the way.

It’s a full weekend of activities, so make your reservations now at our New Hampshire Bed and Breakfast Inn.

If you’re interested in eating healthy local foods, and supporting the farmers who produce that food, or if you just like a parade with lots of cute animals, come to Brattleboro the first weekend of June from the 3rd through the 5th for the annual Strolling of the Heifers. This annual event, now celebrating its 10th anniversary, has been delighting guests of our New Hampshire B&B for years and is not to be missed!

There are many events planned for the weekend, but the centerpiece is “the Stroll”, a parade held on Saturday morning, which features about 100 cows and heifers, as well as other farm animals, farm machinery, bands, and local organizations. The parade ends at the Brattleboro Common, where you can enjoy samples of local foods and products, maybe pet a heifer or two, or watch a politician try to milk a cow.

This year, the “Stroll” is preceded by the Slow Living Summit, which will feature distinguished speakers who are all interested in, and striving for, a sustainable future. The Slow Living Summit will take place from June 1st – 3rd in conjunction with Marlboro College and the School for International Training.

So mark your calendars, book a stay at our romantic New Hampshire Bed and Breakfast in nearby Chesterfield, and come to Brattleboro for the weekend to enjoy all of the various activities involved with the Strolling of the Heifers!

*All Photos courtesy of The Strolling of the Heifers Parade & Festival