The fifth festival. The watershed on the big screen.

The fifth Battenkill Fly Fishing & Arts Festival ran April 30 through May 2, 2026, at Arlington Common, 3938 Route 7A.  The Vermont Chamber of Commerce and the Department of Tourism and Marketing named it a 2026/27 Vermont Signature Event.  Proceeds went to Arlington Common and the Battenkill Fund.

Thursday at 6:00 the Watkins House opened with a cocktail party and Mountains, Valleys and Rivers.  A microphone covered the remarks in that room.  Friday at 8:00 the American Museum of Fly Fishing hosted the Bamboo Derby on the river.  The day also held Orvis rod shop tours, museum tours, and a Green Up Day cleanup.  At 5:00 Don Trachte Jr. put the Battenkill watershed on the screen in the Performing Arts Center.  Lawson’s tent opened at 4:00, and the Green Mountain Boy reenactors took a microphone there at 6:30.

Saturday the same room ran from 9:00.  Bill Bullock welcomed the house.  Steve Voit spoke on Mary Orvis Marbury, then Thomas Ames Jr., and Tom Rosenbauer with Prospecting for Trout.  After lunch Mark Melnyk showed a film, Doug Lyons talked Battenkill tactics, Phil Monahan taught first cast to pro tactics, and at 4:00 the screen ran Scale of Change.  Two MacBooks and a switcher fed that screen.  A confidence monitor at the podium matched it, and a Yamaha console ran the wireless mics.  Displays around the building posted the day’s schedule.  Outside, the market was free and open from 9:00 to 3:00, with casting clinics and the Battenkill Cup.  Lori Dehimer and Upstate Bluegrass played Lawson’s tent from 4:00.  The year before is 2025.