Beautiful orchard views. Local food by CC&D’s Kitchen Market. Wagon rides, stargazing, storytelling around the fire pit, and engaging conversations with rural thinkers and doers from across the country.
This year marks the 19th annual CONNECT Event—a beloved tradition that’s grown and evolved over nearly two decades, but has always been rooted in one powerful idea: connection fuels rural transformation. When we come together across sectors and silos, we shape and share ideas that move our communities forward. We’re thrilled to return to Alyson’s Orchard—the very place where CONNECT was first held in 2006.
This year’s CONNECT will also feature a special showcase of Foodstories, a multimedia project created by Shanta Lee Gander. Through photography, oral storytelling, and film, Foodstories explores the deep relationship between food, identity, memory, and place. From ancestral dishes to local ingredients, the project amplifies voices and traditions that reflect the diversity and resilience of rural life. We’re honored to share this work as part of CONNECT and invite you to reflect on the many ways food connects us, carries our stories, and resonates across generations.
When:
Wednesday, October 8
5:30–8:00 PM
Where:
Alyson’s Orchard, Walpole, NH
Already registered for the summit? Your CONNECT ticket is included.
Just want to attend CONNECT? Community members are welcome! Purchase standalone tickets HERE.
Taking the shuttle from downtown Keene? Buses will run between the Courtyard Marriott and Alyson’s Orchard until 8:00 PM.
Meet CC&D’s Kitchen Market
Good food made with love and laughs. CC&D’s Kitchen Market is the collaboration of Charcoal Charlie Pini—award-winning chef and BBQ pitmaster—and Denise Meadows, a catering powerhouse and local food champion. With decades of experience and a deep love for community, they serve up unforgettable meals, heartfelt hospitality, and a market full of local delights. Whether you’re craving takeout, catering, or the comfort of Charlie’s famous barbecue, CC&D’s is all about good food and happy faces in the heart of the Monadnock Region.
The History of CONNECT
The Hannah Grimes Center launched CONNECT in 2006 to bring together graduates of its business programs. As the event grew, it came to include participants, funders, board members, and community leaders from across the region. In 2016 and 2017, the Center partnered with The Keene Sentinel to reimagine CONNECT as a celebration of rural innovation—blending art, food, and music with local entrepreneurship and community building. The result? Events that drew over 400 attendees and sparked the vision for something even bigger—Radically Rural.
Today, CONNECT remains a cornerstone of the summit—an evening that honors the past, celebrates the present, and imagines the future of rural America. It embodies this year’s theme of Rural Resonance by inviting us to gather in place and story, to listen deeply, and to co-create a future rooted in belonging, resilience, and the power of rural people coming together in community.