Savvy Senior

What Health Care Reform Means for Seniors

By Jim Miller

Dear Savvy Senior,
How will the new healthcare bill affect seniors? My wife and I both receive Medicare benefits and would like to know what we can expect.
— Concerned Senior

Dear Concerned,
There are several ways the new healthcare reform law will affect seniors on Medicare and those planning for their retirement years.

Drug Benefit Boost
If you’re one of the 27 million U.S. seniors who has a Medicare (Part D) prescription drug plan, healthcare reform has just upgraded your coverage. Seniors that fall into the coverage gap known as the doughnut hole will get a $250 rebate to help pay for their medications this year, and a 50 percent discount on brand-name drugs next year. By 2020, the coverage gap will be eliminated. That means that seniors who now pay 100 percent of their drug costs once they’re in the doughnut hole will pay 25 percent.

Currently, seniors fall into the doughnut hole once they hit their $2,830 annual limit. Then they have to pay $3,610 out-of-pocket for drugs before prescription coverage picks up again at $6,440.

Free Screenings
In addition to the prescription drug plan improvements, Medicare’s preventive services will also be beefed-up under the new law. Currently, traditional Medicare covers a one-time “Welcome to Medicare” physical, but only to new beneficiaries within the first 12 months of enrollment. And, they pay 80 percent of most health screening costs with you footing the bill for the remaining 20 percent. But starting next year, Medicare beneficiaries can get annual wellness exams and preventive tests, like screenings for high blood pressure, diabetes and certain cancers, for free.

Dis-Advantaged
The news isn’t so good for seniors who have a Medicare Advantage plan. These are plans run by private insurers and are an alternative to Original Medicare (Part A and Part B). Many of these plans offer extra benefits that Original Medicare does not provide like free eyeglasses, hearing aids and even gym memberships. These extra benefits, however, come at an extra cost. Studies have shown that Medicare Advantage plans cost the government 14 percent more on average than Original Medicare. That’s why the new healthcare law will cut around $135 billion in subsidies over the next three to six years to the private insurers who offer these plans.

What all this means is that the 10 million seniors that have Medicare Advantage can expect their premiums or co-payments to increase, or their extra benefits to be reduced, or both, over the next few years.

Keep in mind that if you are enrolled in Medicare Advantage, you can switch to Original Medicare and join a prescription drug plan any time during the open enrollment period, which is between Jan. 1 through Feb. 15, every year. To help you compare your Medicare Advantage plan with other plans in your area or with Original Medicare, visit www.medicare.gov/mppf or call 800-633-4227. And to evaluate Part D prescription drug plans, see www.medicare.gov/mpdpf.

Long-Term Care
Another provision in the healthcare reform law that older workers approaching retirement should know about is the Community Living Assistance Services and Supports (CLASS) Act, which is a voluntary long-term care insurance program available through employers. Starting next year, workers can set aside money from their paychecks to pay for services and supports that many will need in their old age or if they become disabled.

This program is meant to help offset the high costs of home-based care, assisted-living facilities and nursing homes.

Those that pay into the program for at least five years will receive an average cash benefit of no less than $50 a day when they need it. The details of the program, including the eligibility, premiums and a mechanism that allows people to purchase insurance if they’re self-employed are being ironed out.

Savvy Tip: For more information visit healthreform.gov along with the Medicare Rights Center Web site at medicarerights.org.

Financial Help for Family Caregivers

Dear Savvy Senior,
I’ve been taking care of my elderly mother for nearly a year now and it’s wearing me out both physically and financially. Is there any way I could get paid to be her caregiver?
— Tapped Out

Dear Tapped,
To get paid as your mother’s caregiver, there are several possibilities you should check into, and a variety of support services that can help, too. Here’s what you should know.

Caregiving for Pay
If your mom is eligible for Medicaid, you may be able to get paid a small amount by the government. In 15 states, including Vermont, Medicaid offers a Cash and Counseling program (see cashandcounseling.org) that provides direct financial assistance to beneficiaries, and that money can be used to pay in-home caregivers. In Vermont, contact Merle Edwards-Orr at the Department of Aging and Independent Living
in Waterbury. Phone 802-241-4496; Email
merle.edwards-orr@ahs.state.vt.us

Other Options
If your mom has financial resources of her own, find out if she can afford to pay you herself. If she agrees, it may be a good idea for both of you to draft a short written contract detailing your work and payment arrangements. Or, if your mom has long-term care insurance that includes in-home care coverage, in some cases those benefits can be used to pay you.

Tax Breaks
The IRS may also be able to help you out if you can show that you pay at least half of your mother’s yearly expenses, and her annual income was below $3,650 in 2009 (not counting Social Security). If so, you can claim her as a dependent on your taxes, and reduce your taxable income by $3,650. Your mom doesn’t have to live with you to qualify as a dependent. IRS Publication 501 (see www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/p501.pdf or call 800-829-3676 to get a copy mailed to you) has a worksheet that can help you.

If your mom’s income, however, is over $3,650, you can’t claim her as a dependent. But if you’re paying at least half her living expenses, you can still get a tax break if you’re helping pay her medical and long-term care costs and they exceed 7.5 percent of your adjusted gross income. You can include your own medical expenses in calculating the total. See the IRS publication 502 (www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/p502.pdf) for details.

Support Services
If you don’t qualify for caregivers’ pay or a tax break, you can still get some financial relief through the National Family Caregiver Support Program (NFCSP). This is a federally funded program that provides aid for specific caregiver needs like respite care or adult daycare to give you a break, counseling and support groups, and supplemental services including the purchase of medical supplies, SOS emergency response systems and even home modifications. In addition to the NFCSP, you should also check into home delivered meal programs, volunteer companion programs, and even home and personal care services. To locate all the various programs and support services in northern and central Vermont, contact the Champlain Valley Agency on Aging at 802-865-0360 or visit www.cvaa.org.

Pill Splitting: When It’s Safe, and When It Isn’t

By Jim Miller

Dear Savvy Senior,
Is pill splitting safe? I have several friends who split their prescription pills to save money, and several who don’t because they don’t think it’s safe. What can you tell me?
­— Split Decision

Dear Decision,
Splitting your pills – literally cutting them in half – is a simple way to save money on your prescription drugs but be sure you talk to your doctor first, because not all pills can be split. Here’s what you should know.

Savings and Safety
The reason pill splitting is such a cost cutter is because of a quirk in the way drugs are manufactured and priced. A pill that’s twice as strong as another may not be twice the price. In fact, it’s usually about the same price. So, buying a double-strength dose and cutting it in half may allow you to get two months worth of medicine for the price of one. But is it safe? As long as your doctor agrees that splitting your pills is OK for you, you learn how to do it properly, and you split only pills that can be split, there’s really no danger.

What to Do
If you’re interested in pill splitting, the first step is to talk to your doctor or pharmacist to find out if any of the medicines you use can be safely split. It’s also important to find out whether splitting them will save you enough money to justify the hassle.

The pills that are easiest to split are those with a score down the middle. However, not every pill that’s scored is meant to be split. Pills that are most commonly split include:
•     Cholesterol lowering drugs, like Crestor, Lipitor, and Pravachol
•     Antidepressants, like Celexa, Paxil, and Zoloft
•     High blood pressure medicines like, Monopril, Prinivil, Univasc, Zestril, Avapro and Cozaar
•     Erectile dysfunction pills, like Viagra, Cialis and Levitra

Having the right equipment helps too. Don’t use a knife to cut your pills in half. It can cause you to split them unevenly resulting in two pieces with very different dosages, which can be dangerous. Purchase a proper pill cutter. They only cost around $5 to $10 and are available at most pharmacies and large discount stores.

For convenience, you might be tempted to split the whole bottle of pills at once. But check with your doctor first. It’s possible that exposing the interior of the pills to the air could reduce their effectiveness. It’s also important to know that pills are only safely split in half, and never into smaller portions such as into thirds or quarters.

Unsafe Splitting
Many medicines, because of their ingredients or design, cannot be split safely. Here’s a list of pills that should not be split:
•    Blood thinners (Coumadin, warfarin)
•     Chemotherapy drugs
•     Anti-seizure medicines
•     Birth control pills
•     Capsules of any kind that contain powders or gels
•     Pills with a hard outside coating
•     Extended-release pills that deliver medication over time in your body
•     Pills that are coated to protect your stomach
•     Pills that crumble easily, irritate your mouth, or taste bitter.

Again, your doctor or pharmacist will know which drugs can and cannot be split. If you’re taking a medicine that can be split, you’ll need to get a prescription from your doctor for twice the dosage you need. Then you can start splitting, and saving, safely.

Trails and Tours for Snow-shoes and Skis

By Phyl Newbeck

Let’s face it – the snow is going to fall whether you like it or not, so the trick is to get out and enjoy it. While many prefer the adrenaline rush of downhill skiing, others may opt for the peace and serenity of cross-country skiing or snowshoeing. For those who would like a helping hand to guide them over the trails, Vermont offers a number of options:

❄ The Touring Center at Stowe offers two kinds of guided snowshoe trips. On Wednesdays and Saturdays, the Center provides tours of easy to moderate terrain, ending with lunch at the Fireside Tavern. On Saturday evenings, guides lead moonlight tours beginning at 5:30 p.m. Snowshoers can stride along the streams of Ranch Valley and enjoy a cup of hot cider at the hut near the end of the trek.

❄ At Trapp Family Lodge, members of the legendary von Trapp family lead daily tours through March 15. The theme of the trip, difficulty factor and equipment needed depends on which member of the family is leading the tour.

❄ Smugglers Notch offers a wide array of guided snowshoe tours, as well. While many are geared for families with children, there are other regularly scheduled treks on the Nordic center’s trails providing information on local history and wildlife. Additionally, there are weekly Saturday night trips into the Notch, and twice weekly backcountry treks starting at the top of Morse Mountain (accessed via the chairlift). Smuggs also hosts a thrice-weekly guided cross-country ski tour to visit a pristine and undisturbed beaver pond.

❄ Bolton Valley Nordic Center offers two-hour snowshoe treks every Saturday on both groomed and backcountry trails with guides from Petra Cliffs.

❄ Ole’s Cross Country Center in Warren has hired naturalist Carol Thompson to lead weekend snowshoe tours at 10:30 a.m. and 1:30 p.m. Tours can also be made by appointment. In addition, Ole’s will be hosting moonlight snowshoe tours on Jan. 31 and Feb. 28. The speed and duration will be determined by the group and can range from a leisurely two-mile stroll to an athletic four-mile trip.

❄ Moonlight snowshoe trips are very popular. Catamount Family Center in Williston will also lead moonlight treks on Jan. 30, and Feb. 27, beginning at 8 p.m.

❄ Craftsbury Outdoor Center in the Northeast Kingdom offers weekly, guided snowshoe and ski tours for center members and those staying overnight at the lodge. Additionally, they run five week-long Elderhostel programs called Exploritas in January and February. Exploritas provides daily guided tours and instruction for experts, as well as novices. Three of the weeks include music and dance, another includes poetry and film, and the last incorporates yoga.

❄ For those looking for a multi-day adventure, Sojourn Bicycling and Active Vacations offers four six-day cross-country skiing and/or snowshoeing tours in January and February. Pamper yourself with five days of outdoor adventure and four nights of lodging and food. Winter enthusiasts will spend two nights at the Blueberry Hill Inn in Goshen, two at Topnotch Resort in Stowe and a final night at the Edson Hill Manor in Stowe.

❄ Two companies, Wonder Walks in Bristol and Bredeson Outdoor Adventure (based in Connecticut) provide custom guided snow-shoe treks. Wonder Walks will create trips of three, four or five days duration covering either the Green Mountain National Forest’s Moosalamoo region or trails in and around Stowe. Bredeson Outdoor Adventures offers an Inn-to-Inn guided snowshoe tour in Stowe from March 5 to 8, but they can also be hired to provide custom packages throughout the winter for both cross-country skiing and snowshoeing. Both companies take care of food and lodging, which are included in the package price.

❄ Less luxurious, but free of charge, are the cross-country ski tours offered by the Catamount Trail Association. Over the course of the winter, guides will lead 29 single day tours, one week-long tour, and two tours which take place over three-day weekends. The outings range from easy treks to those requiring strong climbing skills and backcountry equipment. One of the easy routes is a Feb. 27 three-mile trek on rolling terrain from the West Hill House to the Mad River Barn in the Mad River Valley. A step up from that is the easy/intermediate trip planned for Jan. 24 in Stowe, which travels four miles through the Weissner and Gameroff Woods. A longer easy/intermediate trip of seven miles, taking place on Feb. 20, travels from Blueberry Hill Ski Area to the Rikert Ski Center in Middlebury, mostly through backcountry terrain.

❄ For those interested in heading out on a defined route without a guide, Country Inns Along the Trail in Brandon offers two options: the Touring Cat and the Wild Cat. Both options are offered in January and February and involve multi-night stays at local inns with a shuttle for those who do not want to ski the full distances. The Touring Cat includes skiing in Brandon and Chittenden, and hearty meals by the fireplace at the Blueberry Hill, Churchill House and Fox Creek inns. The Wild Cat involves the same inns and similar terrain, but is designed for those willing to break trail and cover eight to 13 miles a day.

Gaining Wisdom, Growing Older: A Guidebook to the Future

Aging is inevitable, no matter how hard people try to stop or turn back the clock. This fact of life has become problematic for governments and citizens around the world as each struggles to provide care for their aging populations. In his book, “A New Wrinkle,” Dr. Eric Shapira prepares his readers for the future and what to expect.

“A New Wrinkle” serves as a guide for those who similarly find themselves caught between their parents and their children, on the horizon of both taking care of their parents and continuing to raise their own children.  The book encourages readers  to conquer life’s challenges by learning from the personal stories of others. Everyone will deal with the effects of aging in their lifetime and many will be forced to make decisions on the care of their loved ones. Dr. Shapira advises his readers on how to examine their own lives and strategically plan and confront any challenge at hand. It is a perfect guide for anyone handling a life-changing transition, facing the aging process or caring for elderly family members.

Visit Dr. Shapira’s Web sites www.agingmentorservices.com and www.newwrinklebook.com for more information.

A Snowbird’s ‘Financial’ Packing List

By Jennifer R. Luitjens

Although significant snowfall is arriving a bit late this year, the annual migration of snowbirds to southern locations is still certain to occur, if not already.  While veteran snowbirds likely have their packing routine down to a science, it may be prudent to review some items which may not make the obvious list, but which are essential in the event of an emergency.

List of Important Names & Numbers
Perhaps the mere existence of a mobile phone can satisfy this item, but it may be helpful to have a back-up list as well, particularly if you want to include telephone numbers for parties not on your phone’s contact list, such as utility companies and neighbors.

Advance Directive or other health care proxy
A properly executed Vermont Advance Directive should be honored by another state, so it should be portable. However, it must be available to even be considered!  There are several options – you may (a) have the document on you at all times; (b) have an ID card on you which acknowledges the document and indicates its whereabouts; (c) provide your named agent(s) with an original or valid copy; or (d) register the document for free with Vermont’s Advance Directive Registry.  The Registry is still a fairly new offering for Vermonters and allows residents to store their directives on a secure electronic database for ease of access in an emergency.  Once the document is registered, the registrant will actually receive a wallet ID card as well as instructions for accessing the database and making changes. For more information, see http://www.healthvermont.gov/vadr/index.aspx.

Durable Power of Attorney
As with the Advance Directive, the ease of access to a financial power of attorney may be helpful in an emergency.  Because of the power of this document and the potential for its abuse, this may not be something appropriate to carry around or to even provide in advance to your agent.  However, it may be prudent to advise your agent of its location or with the name of your attorney who has a copy.  Another consideration for traveling snowbirds is the ease of its use outside Vermont.  While all states have some form of Power of Attorney, the laws regarding its signing formalities and enforcement do vary.  Again, Vermont documents should be honored in other states, but sometimes it helps ease the process if the document also satisfies the laws of the “foreign” state. For example, our law requires only one witness and a notary public, whereas some other states require two witnesses and a notary.  To make the foreign state more comfortable honoring a Vermont document (which they may not realize is valid), it may make sense to conform to the other state’s laws as well.  In some instances, it may be appropriate to actually execute two documents – one for each state.  Bottom line:  if you spend a fair amount of time in two states (like many snowbirds do), you should consult with attorneys in both states to ensure you are planning properly for an emergency in either state.

While this list is certainly not exhaustive, it should highlight some items to better prepare snowbirds for their months away from home. And while you’re gone, we’ll try to enjoy the snow and keep our envy in check!

Jennifer R. Luitjens is Certified as an Elder Law Attorney (CELA) by the National Elder Law Foundation, a non-profit organization accredited by the ABA. She lives in Jericho and practices in South Burlington with the Jarrett Law Office. This article is for informational purposes only and is not intended to constitute comprehensive or specific legal advice. The author stresses the need to engage appropriate legal and financial professionals when devising your individual estate plan.

Horace Williams: Producing a Life in Motion

By Susan Green

Some lives proceed in a relatively straight line. But there are people, like Horace Williams Jr., who zigzag wildly while reaching for their share of the American Dream.

Now approaching 60, this quintessential jack-of-all-trades produces music and film in the crazy-quilt of a home he constructed from scratch on a steep South Starksboro hillside. Williams dubbed his basement business Little Castle Studio, an homage to the stone quasi-Tudor house with gingerbread flourishes that he’s still completing after three decades of residency.

“This place comes from my childhood fantasy and doodling in high school,” Williams suggests.
Much of that childhood was spent in his native Connecticut, although the family briefly relocated to Strafford, Vermont. Williams was 13 and back in southern New England when his father, a builder, died of cancer. His wife then struggled to raise their five children. (A sixth sibling was born years later.)

At 14, Williams became a vocalist, keyboard player and guitarist. “I made my living hodge-podge, helter-skelter in various bands for the next eight or ten years – country rock, Top 40, Jimi Hendrix, Motown,” he recalls. “Just trying to keep the bills paid.”

A University of Connecticut electrical engineering student with a B average, Williams quit school during his sophomore year. “I had an epiphany,” he says of his disillusionment. “People in simpler professions have more humanity. I decided to make a break in my inertia.”

This indisposition to motion was soon the focus of his subsequent job at Space Electronics, which did consulting work for the military. He remained there for two years, doing “patent drawings for a moment-of-inertia measuring device,” Williams explains, a scientific process relevant to “anything that spins.”

He put an ad in the paper as a cabinetmaker but, at age 19 or 20, “I got shanghaied by a counselor to spend a week at a church camp in Northfield. That became another epiphany. It changed my outlook.”

Vermont teens appeared to be better-behaved than their peers in Connecticut, where he returned after the bucolic interval. But the Green Mountains beckoned. “I wanted to be where the air and water are clean, where people still give a hoot about each other.”

So, in the mid-1970s, “I loaded all my stuff into a van and with a Shell credit card, drove back north. I turned around on a dime, with no prospects and no money. I just wanted to be deliberate about my choices.”

Although his financial situation required a nomadic lifestyle, Williams jumped at the opportunity to invest in a patch of South Starksboro land along with three friends. “It took three years to convince a bank to loan me $7,000 to begin building. By then, two of the original four had dropped out. I wound up with eight-and-a-half acres for myself. The remaining friend lived at another house nearby but he has since moved on.”

Williams did not exactly stay put, however. In 1976, a girlfriend studying in Los Angeles lured him to California, where he continued to hone his skills with a home-remodeling company. A year later, it was back east full-time and these days, he shares the cozy Little Castle with wife Flor, a 16-year-old stepson and a biological daughter who’s seven.

Music surfaced as a career again when Williams and fellow musician Bill Lauf organized four “walking concert tours” in 1980. “You walk from gig to gig,” he says.

This endeavor was sparked by “Vermont is Afire in the Autumn,” composed by Lauf. “I thought that’s a tune someone should record and release in the fall,” he notes. “And I’d always had a fantasy of following the peak foliage.”

With the song getting significant radio airplay, the peripatetic duo set out on a 220-mile, 17-day trek from North Troy to Jacksonville. En route, they performed three or four shows a day at churches, grange halls, colleges and high school auditoriums.

“It was such a cool thing to do, we decided to go again in 1981 and 1982,” Williams says of trips — Sherbrooke to New Haven and Montreal to Manhattan — that covered 390 miles and 429 miles, respectively.

A final 1984 hike from Swanton to Pownal was solo for Williams. “On the first two, we lost money. The third year we broke even. I only went a fourth time because my first marriage had broken up and I needed to clear my head.” Ironically, it was the only journey to turn a profit.

As the 1980s drew to a close, Williams – who had been producing albums at other sites — created his own studio. “My focus is acoustic-based music — bluegrass, country, classical, jazz, singer-songwriters,” he says. “In 20 years, I’ve done about 200 CD projects.”

And now, one feature-length film. Since 2005, he’s been editing, doing audio post-production for and sound design on “Birth of Innocence.” It’s a work-in-progress documentary by Mac Parker, a popular Addison storyteller who stopped performing ten years ago to work on this cinematic meditation that’s a bit like the philosophically-inclined “Koyaanisqatsi” or “What the Bleep Do We Know.”

In a small screening room adjacent to his recording studio, Williams provides a sneak preview of the footage. It begins with dreamlike pictures of the universe taken by the Hubble spacecraft, followed by random images: A churning body of water, a snowy mountain, an arresting face, a field, a forest. Parker has added periodic, somewhat inspirational narration.

“There’s a real thirst for this kind of experience,” Williams contends. “It’s not selling a belief system. He’s offering a pipeline to do something on your own terms. Some of Mac’s financiers are dyed-in-the-wool Vermont farmers, no-nonsense folks who never go to the movies. We showed them a rough cut and they got it right away. They understand stillness. These are pragmatic people who wake up before sunrise, who’ve birthed a calf.”

Williams never birthed a calf, but he’s arguably a hardscrabble guy who has followed the zig and zag of a life less ordinary.

Vermont Events 2010

Brookfield Ice HarvesT: Brookfield – January 30, 2010

The 31st annual Brookfield Ice Harvest recalls the history of ice harvesting through a talk, demonstration and hands-on competition for young and old. This great family event includes food, dog sledding and many other features. Route 65. For details, call 802-276-3959.
Chosen F-F-Frozen Regatta: North Hero – February 13, 2010
Head up to the Champlain Islands for this annual event. Winter bikes and other non-motorized, non-sailed contraptions race around Lake Champlain at this event, which is part of the Great Ice in Grand Isle winter carnival. 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. For details, visit www.champlainislands.com.

Vermont Maple Open House Weekend:
Statewide – March 26-28, 2010
The annual statewide maple festival will be held at sugarhouses throughout Vermont. It is an opportunity for the public to visit one or more “sugarhouses” throughout the state. Activities will include the opportunity to watch maple syrup being made (weather permitting) and sample maple products. For more information, visit www.vermontmaple.org

Vermont Maple Festival:
St. Albans – April 30-May 2, 2010
The annual festival will feature entertainment, maple exhibit hall, antiques, craft and specialty food shows, cooking demonstrations, sugarhouse tours, face painting, a pancake breakfast, fiddling and youth talent shows. For more information, visit www.vermontmaplefestival.org.

Vermont Open Studio Weekend: Statewide – May 29-30, 2010
Open Studio Weekend is a statewide celebration of the visual arts and the creative process in which Vermont artists and craftspeople invite the public to visit them in their studios during Memorial Day Weekend. More than 285 artists and artisans will be participating. For more information, visit www.vermontcrafts.com.

Burlington Discover Jazz Festival: Burlington – June 4-13, 2010
Enjoy a unique mix of concerts, dances, jams, street parties, cruises on Lake Champlain, workshops and more at the 27th Annual Burlington Discover Jazz Festival. Various locations in Burlington. For more information, visit www.discoverjazz.com.

Annual Strolling of the Heifers Weekend: Brattleboro – June 4-6, 2010
See the stars of the annual Strolling of the Heifers Parade – 100 flower-bedecked bovine beauties – begin strolling up Main Street on Saturday at 10 a.m. on Main Street. The parade will be followed by a festival of music, food and more. For more information, visit www.strollingoftheheifers.com.

Vermont Days: Statewide – June 12-13, 2010
All Vermont State Park day areas, state-owned historic sites, and the Vermont Historical Society Museum in Montpelier will be open at no charge. June 12 is free fishing day. For more information, visit www.vermontvacation.com.

Vermont Quilt Festival:
Essex Junction – June 25-27, 2010
Enjoy over 500 beautiful quilts on display at the Champlain Valley Expo, shop in more than 80 booths and choose from over 80 classes and lectures with noted teachers. For more information, visit www.vqf.org.

Quechee Hot Air Balloon, Craft and Music Festival: Quechee – June 19-20, 2010
The skies over Quechee will be filled with colorful hot air balloons during this family-oriented event which includes food, arts and crafts, more than 50 artists and artisans, and live entertainment. For more information, visit www.quecheeballoonfestival.com.

Tunbridge World’s Fair: Tunbridge – September, 2010
Where the past, present, and future meet up for four days of the fair. The 138th World’s Fair features working antique displays, horse, pony and oxen pulling, horse racing, exhibits, free shows, midway, food and more. For more information, visit www.tunbridgefair.com.

South Hero Applefest & Craft Show: South Hero – October 9-10, 2010
Vermont’s largest apple festival includes free entertainment, music, flea market, cider pressing contest, crafts, petting zoo and plenty of apples. South Street. 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. For more information, visit www.champlainislands.com.

Wassail Weekend:
Woodstock – December 2010
For more than 25 years, Wassail Weekend has allowed people to enjoy a Wassail Parade, house tours, holiday activities, food, music and more. For details, visit www.woodstockvt.com.

Walk of the Santas: Dover – December 2010
A Santa charity walk, valley wide scavenger hunt, arts and craft fair, gingerbread house exhibit, Santa sleigh rail jam and more. For more information, visit www.walkofthesantas.com.

First Night Burlington and Montpelier: Burlington and Montpelier – Dec. 31, 2010
Enjoy performances and events at these annual substance-free, New Year’s Eve festivals in the cities of Burlington and Montpelier. For more information, visit www.vermontvacation.com.