Off-Campus Upper Valley Gems: The Main Street Museum
In a lot of ways, I can't explain the Main Street Museum better than its website can. I visited the museum in White River Junction, VT (~10 minute drive from campus) for the first time my sophomore summer with my parents, who were visiting from Colorado. Its collections left a lasting impression on me: a jar of John Denver's breath, a case of taxidermied birds, one exhibit just titled "Round Things," made up entirely of—you guessed it—round things.
Although I loved the museum, I didn't revisit until this past weekend, when I found myself at the museum again with a couple of friends for a psychic fair. In addition to its eccentric collections of artifacts, the Main Street Museum doubles as a venue for a truly wide array of events: upcoming events include open mics, a chili cook-off, and a drag-themed variety show. This weekend's featured event was the Fool's Fandango Psychic Fair, which I attended in search of a story for my creative nonfiction class. At the fair, there were vendors selling everything from tea to skincare products to crystals, and inside, fair attendees could schedule a variety of readings. My friends and I decided to get back-to-back oracle card readings, which turned out to give us a lot of things to reflect on! The best part of the reading, though, in my opinion, was its setting—the back corner of the museum's main collection room, nestled between shelves of piano rolls and the aforementioned bird taxidermy case, with green electric candles in the windows around us. I certainly had more than enough material for the story: the museum itself (and its fun website!), its quirky collections and decor, the vendor booths, and my reading itself.
Though this was a visit to the museum for a particular event, and there are plenty of specific events taking place there, I'd suggest more than anything just visiting the museum on a regular non-event day and taking in the collections of artifacts. It's unlike anything else I've ever seen, and I've been thinking about it ever since I saw it for the first time almost two years ago. I'm so glad I got the chance to go back, and if you're ever looking for something fun to do off-campus in the Upper Valley, I can't recommend it enough!