We’re heading into the last full week of August, and unsurprisingly, things show no signs of slowing down. Here are the things worth rearranging your schedule for, starting with a very busy Thursday tonight…

Summervale finally happens tonight, August 20, from 5 to 8 p.m. at the Intervale Center, after being rained out last month. It’s the Intervale’s annual summer celebration, with live music, E-bike demos, educational seminars and more. Food and drink vendors will include Maharaja Spice, American Flatbread, Taste of Abyssinia, The Pinery and lu·lu Ice Cream.

Also tonight, the Humane Society of Chittenden County kicks off its summer Bark & Brew series at the South Burlington shelter on Kindness Court from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. For $20, you’ll get a couple of drinks from a rotating brewery lineup (this week it's Frost Beer Works, Zero Gravity, and Four Quarters), along with food from Yalla Eats on site, treats from sponsors, and the full run of their play yard for the pups.

There aren’t too many weeks left to spend at Spot on the Dock before it closes for the season, and Deadheads have a particularly good excuse to get there tonight. Dead on the Dock brings a full night of Grateful Dead covers to the waterfront, along with Zero Gravity specials and, with any luck, one of those late-summer sunsets that makes it hard to leave early.

(P.S….if this date doesn't work but you still need your dose of Dead, Shelburne Vineyard has you covered this Sunday, the 23rd, when Dead Men Strumming performs the 1981 live album Reckoning in full from 1 to 3 p.m.).

Also tonight in Burlington, La Reprise opens a multi-week series of guest wine pourers, starting with Rebecca Wheeler of The Sorting Table tonight. There’s a free wine tasting from 4 to 7 p.m., along with a full wine list takeover through 9 p.m. Walk-ins are welcome, as are table reservations.

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Speaking of Burlington wine bars…Bar Renée takes things in a bit of a different direction tomorrow: they’ll be going “full Jersey” with their “Hot New Jersey Night” on Friday, August 21, starting at 6 p.m….feast on pork roll egg and cheese sandwiches and boardwalk snacks while you enjoy a “vintage New Jersey” clothing pop-up, Art Wright performing songs from his new “Jerseybraska” album (followed by native Jersey boy John Redmond on guitar) and the staff pouring wine until late.

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Saturday, August 22, is a good day to head south on Route 7. First up is the 44th annual Vergennes Day, filling the city park and downtown with more than 55 vendors from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., alongside all of the other great shops and restaurants that make up the rest of the Little City.

Continue down Route 7 to Middlebury, where Middlebury Natural Foods Co-op celebrates their 50th anniversary with a free celebration on the Town Green. There’s live music and food vendors including American Flatbread, The Stevens Farmstead, La Chapina and Sisters of Anarchy from 10 to 3 p.m., followed by the opening of a 50th-anniversary memory archive from 6 to 9 p.m. at Town Hall Theater's Jackson Gallery.

Feel like traveling in a different direction on Saturday? Head south on 89 for a few more possibilities. Green Mountain Distillers in Morrisville hosts its first Canines & Cocktails fundraiser for the North Country Animal League, including the unveiling of a new distillery dog loop, specialty cocktails, and food from Deb's Food Truck.

And down in Barre, Butterfly Bakery of Vermont is putting on a Pepper Patron Hot Sauce Class that same afternoon from 1 to 3 p.m. These are the same folks behind three appearances on “Hot Ones” (their Hot House hot sauce went up against Lady Gaga last season), so founder Claire Georges and kitchen manager Ari know a thing or two about balancing heat and flavor. They’ll walk participants through turning a pile of peppers into a bottled sauce, and they’re capping it at 10 people, so sign up today and feel the burn.

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Sunday quiets down a little, but not at Switchback. The brewery spends all of August 23 on Switchback Sessions, a full day of live music on the beer garden patio from 1:30 to 8:30 p.m. There’s a lineup of five bands, along with house-smoked BBQ all day. Admission is free, and dogs are welcome on the patio.

And over on the north end of town, T. Ruggs Tavern is hosting a Backyard Barbecue in support of the Intervale Center, with local food and music by DJ Dakota. We don’t have a lot of detail beyond that at this time, but knowing the crew at T. Ruggs, a good time will be had by all.

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Things stay busy even as we roll into the beginning of next week. Over at Hotel Vermont, Juniper Bar & Restaurant opens a new monthly Peak Season Series with Corn Week…you’ll see corn worked into the bar, dining room, and terrace menus each evening from 5 p.m., running through Friday the 28th. Mark your calendars for Pepper Week and Apple Week, already booked for September and October.

Also on Monday, we were excited to tell you about this special event titled “Oh Gosh…It’s a BBQ Fancy Feast” at The Local in Middlesex, featuring Jessica Gualano from Bowler Wines and chef Stefano Coppola of Barre's Morse Block Deli & Taps. But alas, by the time we finished writing this up, it sold out. You can still sign up to be notified if spots open up. Give it a shot.

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On Tuesday the 24th, A Single Pebble hosts another Tuesday Evening with Chiuho, chef Chiuho's return to simply cooking for its own sake. Expect a family-style dinner for just 20 guests built around seasonal ingredients, recipes from her upcoming cookbook, and old restaurant favorites. Reservations run from 6 to 7:30 p.m. and can be made by phone only, with a max of six guests per party and one menu for the whole table.

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Wednesday, August 26, is a great night for live music with your food at some beautiful spots. Halvorson's Courtyard Music Series features Fiddlehead presenting Northern Ramble in their lovely backyard courtyard from 6:30 to 9 p.m. This round's proceeds are going to the Lake Champlain Committee…it’s part of a run that's raised over $173,000 for local nonprofits since 2020.

And out at Shelburne Farms the same evening, their Community Concert Series continues this week, with gates opening at 5 and Unruly Allies taking the stage at 6 in the Farm Barn Courtyard. Bring a blanket and a picnic, or buy dinner on site…and the littles will love visiting the animals in the children’s barnyard.

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On Thursday, August 27, at 7 p.m., the Vermont Italian Cultural Association will host Domenica Marchetti for her new book, Italian Cookies, at Phoenix Books in Burlington. It’s a region-by-region survey of Italian cookie traditions that took her from Piedmont to Calabria and out to Sicily and Sardinia. She's also the author of The Glorious Pasta of Italy and Preserving Italy, so don't expect the conversation to be limited to cookies. And if you can’t make it Thursday, she’ll also be appearing the following night at the Barre Social Club.

Also that same evening, Shelburne Museum closes out its Summer Nights season from 5 to 7:30 p.m. on the museum grounds. The evening features the Ray Vega Afro-Caribbean Jazz Ensemble, along with food trucks (Taco Truck Allstars, Sisters of Anarchy, Pizza 44, Jilib Jiblets, Maharaja Spice and Waterfront Catering), lawn games and extended hours for the museum buildings.

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On Friday, August 28, Hen of the Wood and 5th Quarter are collaborating on a four-course family-style dinner at communal tables on the Waterbury patio at 6 p.m. It will feature a menu built jointly by Hen's Antonio and 5th Quarter's Josh Turka around grilled Vermont meats and the height of summer harvest, dessert included. If it rains, the dinner moves to the following Friday, September 4, at the same time. Book now…this will be a good one.

That same night, Shelburne Vineyard hosts Soulshine & Smoke…Vermont's own Allman Brothers tribute act, Soulshine Revival, with barbecue from Vermont Tastee Grill's Vik Miles starting at 6 p.m. and music from 7 to 9. It's open-air in the vineyard, weather cooperating, so bring a blanket and set up among the vines.

And out in Essex Junction, one of my favorite events of the year, the Champlain Valley Fair, opens the same day and runs through September 6. It’s eleven glorious days of the fried, the deep-fried, and the fried-again, plus a midway, livestock shows, and grandstand concerts. It’s also everyone’s annual excuse to eat things you wouldn't touch the other 354 days of the year, deep-fried Oreos and all (unless, of course, you already got it out of your system at the Vermont State Fair in Rutland, running through this weekend).

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On Saturday, August 29, Stowe Cider takes over the Waterbury Center State Park from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. with Jam for the Parks. They’ll have multiple bars pouring local craft beer and cider (both alcoholic and NA options), plus food trucks and a full day of music from Reprise, Dobbs' Dead, All Night Boogie Band, and a rotating lineup through the evening. Outside food is fine, but no outside beverages and no grilling are allowed, and a cut of proceeds goes to Vermont Parks Forever.

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Next weekend closes out on a positive note on Sunday, August 30, with the Winooski Friendship Festival from 2 to 9 p.m. at the Winooski School District at 60 Normand Street. It's free, family-friendly, and built around the neighborhoods that make up the city…there will be a community mural, a soccer tournament, a rice cookout competition, and plenty of vendors representing the people who live in Winooski.