Author: Meghan Siegler

Snowshoeing in a winter wonderland

A seasonal activity that’s accessible to all

Winter sports have never appealed to me. Skiing, snowboarding, ice skating — I can think of dozens of things I’d rather do, most of which involve being warm and cozy and, well, inside. But snowshoeing is different: It doesn’t take much skill beyond being able to walk, but it’s still a decent workout; the setting is typically beautiful and serene, where you’re surrounded by nature rather than crowds of people; and it’s pretty accessible, with inexpensive rentals available and trails all over the state.

Tom Walton, who created the Snow or No We Go snowshoe trail series that takes place over several weekends this winter in Canterbury and Franklin (see the full story at hippopress.com in the Jan. 13 edition), steps up his snowshoeing game by running — which is much easier to do with made-for-racing snowshoes that are light and only a little bigger than your shoes.

“Snow is one of the best surfaces to run on, and single-track through the woods is beyond beautiful,” Walton said. “Snowshoe racers like a packed trail because it’s faster. We use racing snowshoes, very light, from Dion.”

Even non-racing snowshoes are much lighter than they used to be, and not nearly as bulky, making it an activity that kids and even the most uncoordinated adults can do. And Walton pointed out that it is beneficial during a time of year when it’s often easier to stay inside.

“Sunlight is critical for health, both physical and emotional,” he said. “[And] it is great aerobic exercise. … Being outside on snow on a crisp, clear day running through the woods is heaven.”

Several local organizations offer snowshoe rentals and access to their trails, and some towns and nonprofits maintain trails throughout the winter — often for cross-country skiing or snowmobiling, which make for good snowshoeing trails as well.

Or, if you want to buy your own snowshoes, you can forge your own path.

“Well-marked trails are a plus but not necessary because you can ad lib and follow your own tracks back,” Walton said.

Here are a few suggestions for local rentals and trails; for more suggestions throughout the state, visit visit.nh.gov and search for snowshoeing under “activities.”

Snowshoe rentals

Need to rent a pair of snowshoes? These local places offer rentals (usually dependent on trail conditions, so call or check their websites for the most up-to-date information).

America’s Stonehenge (105 Haverhill Road, Salem, 893-8300, stonehengeusa.com) offers snowshoe rentals when trail conditions are good; as of Jan. 17, the trails were closed because conditions were poor, according to the website, and will reopen when there’s more snow. Rentals are $20 for ages 13 and up and $14 for 12 and under. Admission to the snowshoe trails without rentals is $13 for ages 13 and up and $7.50 for ages 12 and under. Snowshoes are available on a first-come, first-served basis, and reservations are not accepted.

Beaver Brook Association (117 Ridge Road, Hollis) offers snowshoe rentals for $10 a day. They’re available Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., weather permitting, and arrangements can be made for weekend rentals as well ($20). Visit beaverbrook.org or call 465-7787 to reserve, or to find out more about upcoming guided hikes.

Gunstock Mountain Resort (719 Cherry Valley Road, Gilford, 293-4341, gunstock.com) offers snowshoeing in its Outdoor Center, which includes 25 kilometers of groomed trails. It is open daily from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. To reserve snowshoes or for private tours, and for rental pricing, call the Outdoor Center (ext. 504).

NH Audubon Both the Massabesic Center (26 Audubon Way, Auburn) and the McLane Center (84 Silk Farm Road, Concord) offer snowshoe rentals every Tuesday through Friday from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. The cost to rent is $15 for the day, and they’re only rented out when there are 6 or more inches of snow on the ground. Adult and youth sizes are available, on a first-come, first-served basis. The Audubon also rents binoculars during those hours for $5. How-to handouts and trail maps are provided with rentals. Visit nhaudubon.org.

Pats Peak (686 Flanders Road, Henniker, 428-3245, patspeak.com) offers snowshoe rentals for $19 a day. It has three trails ranging from easiest to expert (recommended only for those with expert ability and equipment), with distances of 1 to 3.5 miles and vertical inclines of 200 to 700 feet. The trails are free to use, but Pats Peak does not maintain them, and conditions are dependent on weather. A snowshoe map is available, and conditions can be checked daily on the website.

Local trails

If you own snowshoes, you can use them anywhere that has enough snow, but some local trail systems are more likely to have packed snow, either because they are maintained or because they are well-used. Here are a few ideas.

• Adams Pond Trail (Pillsbury and Adams roads, Londonderry, 437-2675, londonderrynh.org) is open for snowshoeing.

• Beaver Meadow Golf Course (1 Beaver Meadow Dr., Concord, 228-8954, bmgc.golf) has groomed trails for snowshoeing that are maintained by the Concord Parks & Recreation department.

• Benedictine Park (341 Wallace Road, Bedford, 228-1231, bedfordlandtrust.org) has town-owned trails that are available for snowshoeing.

• Horse Hill Nature Preserve (184 Amherst Road, Merrimack, 882-1046, merrimackparksandrec.org) has a variety of conservation trails that you can traverse with snowshoes.

• Mine Falls Park (Whipple Street, Nashua, 589-3400, nashuanh.gov) offers trails that can be used for snowshoeing.

• Southwest Park (at Yudicky Farm, off Main Dunstable Road, Nashua, 589-3400, nashuanh.gov) also has trails open for snowshoeing.

Featured photo: Courtesy photo.

The race is on

Snowshoe trail series will go on with or without snow

Winter events that rely on snow can be hard to count on in southern New Hampshire, but, as the name aptly states, the Snow or No We Go Trail Series is going to happen whether there’s a foot of snow or none at all.

“Snow or no, Covid or no, we go,” said Tom Walton, who created the event last year.

He said that, with the exception of thunder and lightning or a state of emergency, the trail series will happen — the only change would be the footwear.

“People can count on the race and on the date — last year we ran in snowshoes, microspikes and just trail shoes,” said Walton, who is the wellness coach for Northeast Delta Dental, which is sponsoring the series.

Walton started the event to replace the now defunct Granite State Snowshoe Series.

“It was quite popular and fun, [but] it was entirely contingent on snow,” he said. “When the winters started getting kind of messed up, with unreliable snow, the race director of that series gave up, so I thought, I’m going to get this going again, but with a little twist — no matter what is under our foot, we’re going to run.”

This year’s series has six races, double the number of races it had in its inaugural year. They’ll be held on Saturdays starting Jan. 15 and ending March 5. Four of the races will be held at Canterbury Shaker Village and two will be held at Prospect Acres.

“I have a real affinity for Canterbury Shaker Village,” Walton said. “It’s really gorgeous and [has] lots of acreage. I have tried to convince them that they’re a recreational paradise in all seasons.”

The other location at Prospect Acres in Franklin was offered up by Steve Nelson, who owns the 55-acre property and uses it for obstacle course training. Nelson participated in the snowshoe series last year, along with some of his obstacle course teammates, and Nelson said they loved it. When he found out Walton was putting the series on again this year, he suggested using his space too.

“I figured, why not add to the mix?” Nelson said.

Both locations have 2-mile loop trails, and participants have the option to do one or two loops, and all ages and abilities are welcome.

“If you can walk, come,” Nelson said. “It’s just about being outside, being safe, teamwork — everybody’s out there encouraging each other.”

If there’s enough snow on the ground, snowshoes are highly encouraged (though you have to bring your own). Otherwise, microspikes and regular trail shoes are allowed.

“Microspikes are going to be the easiest [to race in], but ultimately we hope to be on snowshoes,” Nelson said. “But at least [we’ve] opened it up so we don’t have to cancel the series.”

Nelson said he had to do one race in microspikes last year because it was sheer ice.

Because of the variables in weather and equipment, these races aren’t about winning. They’re mostly about having a fairly sure thing to look forward to.

“I like to have an environment of joy and keep it kind of light and make people feel important,” Walton said. “Keeping a light heart about it makes it fun.”

Snow or No We Go

Where: Canterbury Shaker Village (1 Shaker Road, Canterbury) and Prospect Acres (4 Beaumier Drive, Franklin)
Schedule
Jan. 15: Canterbury Shaker Village
Jan. 29: Canterbury Shaker Village
Feb. 5: Canterbury Shaker Village
Feb. 12: Prospect Acres (Registration is full)
Feb. 19: Canterbury Shaker Village
March 5: Prospect Acres
All races start at 10 a.m.
Cost: Registration for each race is $20. Participants need to pre-register and sign a waiver at runreg.com/nh-snow-or-no-we-go-series.
More info: Email Tom Walton ([email protected]) or Steven Nelson ([email protected])

Featured photo: Courtesy photo.

Planting a new exhibit

Art quilts bring nature to Nashua Public Library

Ellen Fisher’s background in landscape design and conservation is at the heart of her artistic quilts, which will be on display during her upcoming “Translating Nature Into Fabric” exhibit at the Nashua Public Library starting Saturday, Jan. 8.

Fisher, who lives in Hollis, learned to sew from her mother when she was young and picked it up again about 20 years ago. But Fisher’s work isn’t like her mom’s; she was a more traditional quilter, making practical items like bedquilts.

“I was very interested in her work but not in doing it myself until a certain kind of quilting came across my radar [that’s] more improvisational,” Fisher said.

Watercolor quilting, as it’s known, reminded her of the kind of pictures that are made up of little squares that work together to make a larger picture you can see only when you stand back far enough.

“It was that sort of image that grabbed my interest,” she said. “I am not as interested in making other people’s designs but very interested in figuring out my own, and I do this with great respect for the traditional quilting world. I have a real root system in traditional quilting that I have just interpreted in my own way.”

Jamie’s Tomatoes quilt. Courtesy photo,

The designs on her quilts are based in nature, featuring things like streams and trees — most are elements that Fisher worked with in her career as a landscape designer and conservationist.

Her art quilts — not to be confused with soft, cuddly quilts, like the ones she makes for her grandchildren — have been even more in line with her nature-centric career ever since Fisher discovered a few years ago that she could get a different effect if she dyed her fabric with plants.

“The colors in nature, they tend to be on the more neutral side, more subdued,” she said.

She grows many of the plants she uses — goldenrod, sumac, wild rose and raspberry, for example — in her own garden and gathers the rest locally.

But Fisher said plant dyes aren’t always conducive to her work, and she still uses traditional fabrics as well.

“I love commercial printed fabrics … as much as anyone else, and I’m a kid in a candy store when I go to a fabric store,” she said.

“Translating Nature Into Fabric” will be the first exhibit at the library’s gallery since it closed in March 2020.

“This is sort of like the art gallery reopening,” assistant librarian Holly Klump said.

Fisher applied to have her work displayed in the space and said the library is very generous in what it allows artists to do.

“It’s my responsibility to design the exhibit and hang the quilts, but that is not normal — usually management is very involved,” she said. “Here I have a lot of autonomy, and I consider that to be a huge advantage.”

“We really see the art gallery as the artist’s space for that two months that they have their art up,” Klump said. “I’m not a curator. … [We want artists] to take ownership of the space.”

Klump said they typically have a call for artists in the fall; this year, a library committee chose the artists. They prefer artists who are local or “local-ish,” she said.

“This year we have quite a variety of people [including an] oil painter, a spray painter, a photographer,” Klump said. “I’m really proud. … I think it’s a great way to promote local artists, and it’s great for people who maybe don’t go [to see art at traditional] art galleries.”

Most of the 15 quilts in Fisher’s exhibit will be for sale, and there will be an information sheet with pricing and contact details. She had planned to have an artist’s reception shortly after the opening, but the surge in Covid cases has put that plan on hold. She said if the surge diminishes a lot by the end of the exhibit, she might try to have one, but for now, the exhibit will be available for general viewing any time the library is open.

“It’s a great way for the public to happen upon art, and it’s free, and it’s really beautiful stuff,” Klump said.

See “Translating Nature into Fabric”

Where: Nashua Public Library, 2 Court St.
When: Saturday, Jan. 8, through Saturday, Feb. 26. Library hours are Monday through Thursday, 10 a.m. to 9 p.m., Saturday 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. and Sunday 1 to 4 p.m.
Visit: nashualibrary.org

Featured Photo: Beaver Brook quilt. Courtesy photo.

Arts alive! (really)

Theater and art groups rally in 2021

Well, it was better than 2020 — that’s the sentiment that many in the art community had about 2021, as they continued to try to evolve among the ebbs and flows of the pandemic.

“All arts organizations have faced tremendous challenges in bringing live performances and art experiences to the public,” Alan Chong, Director of the Currier Museum of Art in Manchester, said. “We have all learned to adapt and be flexible.”

Here’s how some artistic groups fared in 2021, and a look at what they think 2022 might bring.

Art

For some organizations, 2021 meant bringing back some sorely missed in-person events. The League of New Hampshire Craftsmen, for example, was able to hold its annual fair in Sunapee, with a few modifications that prioritized social distancing.

“We were really delighted that the fair was a total success and people felt comfortable coming,” said Miriam Carter, executive director of the League.

Carter said the artists did very well, with an increase in sales from $2.35 million in 2019 — the last time the fair was held in person — to $2.74 million in 2021.

“People came ready to buy,” Carter said. “It was incredibly heartening.”

The Currier Museum of Art in Manchester has faced financial challenges from being closed for most of 2020 and much of 2021, according to Chong, but it was able to reopen in 2021 with a special exhibition called “The Body in Art,” which looked at images of nudes from different perspectives, like gender, culture and time period.

“The museum also acquired a second house designed by Frank Lloyd Wright just before the pandemic,” Chong said. “We were so happy to be able to open both houses to the public in 2021.”

The museum is now offering free admission for all on Thursday nights, with live music, tours and refreshments.

Joni Taube, owner of Art 3 gallery, also re-opened her studio to the public this year, changing her hours to 1 to 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday, with other times open by appointment. Taube, who does art design consulting for individuals and businesses, said that at the beginning of the pandemic she had to adapt how she showed the work in her gallery by hosting virtual show openings, and that has continued in 2021 because her space is too small for gatherings. She said she may have 70 to 80 artists showing at one time, with the majority of the works being paintings, along with some glass, ceramics and metal pieces. In working with so many artists, Taube has heard a range of reactions to the pandemic.

“Artists are doing more experimenting because they’re in their studios all the time now,” she said. “Some are frustrated because the galleries are closed. Many of them have way too much work in their studios that they’d like to find an outlet for. … Some are hunkered down and painting and happy. … I think that’s how a lot of them coped.”

Taube said she thinks it has been difficult financially for artists, which is one of the reasons she started posting work online.

“You try different things for them [like] social media [and putting] shows online so the artists feel like their work is getting exposure,” she said.

The League of New Hampshire Craftsmen was able to reopen its smaller galleries, and Carter said the artists who display their work there have been well-supported by the public.

“Shopping local has really started to stick,” Carter said. “There seems to be a mindset to support the local talent. … [I think] that’s a direct impact of Covid.”

Looking ahead, Carter said the League is already preparing for the 2022 fair and will be ready to adapt if needed.

“At headquarters we’re really excited to be returning to opening our exhibition gallery, [which has been] closed since [the start of the pandemic],” she said.

The gallery will open Jan. 20 with a three-day exhibition of Art & Bloom by the Concord Garden Club. It will then open for regular hours starting Jan. 25 on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday from noon to 4 p.m. A new exhibition called “Setting the Standard,” featuring new work from League jurors in all media areas, will be on display at that time.

At the Currier, Chong said they’re watching the omicron variant situation carefully and will make decisions based on keeping the community safe.

“We are continuing to push experiences [like] remote art classes and educational resources,” Chong said.

A new exhibition featuring the work of Arghavan Khosravi is scheduled to open in April, according to Chong, and the Currier will also be showing Warhol Screen Tests: “short film snippets made in the 1960s that prefigure our selfie culture,” he said.

Art 3 Gallery currently has a show that will be up for another few weeks called “Artful Escapes.”

Taube is hoping to have some in-person opening receptions next year but knows that as with this year, everything can change at any time.

“I don’t know what 2022 is going to bring,” she said. “I’m hoping that people start coming out more and looking again at art, thinking about spaces, decor and how they want to live and have an appreciation of what people go through in terms of forming a piece of artwork.”

Theater

Still reeling from a huge loss of income after the months-long shutdowns in 2020, New Hampshire performance companies and venues spent 2021 recuperating and trying to regain some stability.

Salvatore Prizio, who became the Executive Director of the Capitol Center for the Arts in Concord last fall, said financial difficulty is the biggest challenge to come with his new position.

“One of the major issues CCA and all performing arts centers are facing now is getting back on their feet [financially],” he told the Hippo in November. “They have a lot of fiscal issues from being shut down for months.”

As restrictions on public gatherings were eased, many performance companies and venues saw an opportunity to increase revenue by expanding their programming options as much as possible, to accommodate people with all levels of Covid safety concerns.

“New Hampshire Theatre Project moved to a variety of alternative formats last year, including livestream and on-demand programming as well as in-person and outdoor performances,” said Genevieve Aichele, executive director of the Portsmouth-based company, which had lost 75 percent of its income in 2020, according to Aichele.

The Hatbox Theatre in Concord reopened with its first in-person mainstage production of the year in early summer. With masks required and seats distanced, the venue was able to operate at around 85 percent capacity.

“[Having in-person shows] enables us to … get to a point where productions not only break even but might actually come out ahead a little for their next production,” theater owner and operator Andrew Pinard told the Hippo in June.

Manchester-based Cue Zero Theatre Company was one of a number of local companies and venues that utilized a hybrid format for its performances, allowing people to attend in person or watch from home via livestream.

“Being able to offer streaming alongside the in-person performances created new opportunities for us to reach both a wider audience as well as keep our local audiences feeling safe and comfortable,” Cue Zero artistic director Dan Pelletier said, adding that the company “had a successful 2021, all things considered.”

The New Hampshire theater community also took time in 2021 to celebrate the technology and experimental forms of performance that have kept them going through the pandemic.

“The pandemic has truly redefined the way theater artists make work,” said Matt Cahoon, artist director of Theatre Kapow in Manchester. “We feel very fortunate to have found ways to innovate.”

Powerhouse Theatre Collaborative in Laconia, for example, teamed up with the Community Players of Concord in April to host a Zoom Play Festival, featuring a series of new short plays by New Hampshire playwrights, written specifically for performance over the Zoom video chat platform; and the theme of New Hampshire Theatre Project’s annual Storytelling Festival, held in the spring virtually and in person in Portsmouth, was “What Are You Waiting For?” — a theme inspired, Aichele said, by the innovation of the arts community during the pandemic.

“It’s a new world; we can’t do art the way we used to,” Aichele told the Hippo in April, “so why not use Covid as an opportunity to reinvent ourselves? What are we waiting for? That’s really what these stories are about — not waiting to act or make a change.”

Heading into the new year, performance companies and venues are hopeful that they can continue to present shows in person, but are at the ready to go fully virtual again, should restrictions on public gatherings be reinstated.

“We are well aware that we may need to return to virtual performances at some point in the future, but truly feel prepared to make that transition if need be,” Cahoon said, adding that Theater Kapow is “also working hard to incorporate many of the lessons we have learned and the technology we have acquired into our in-person performances.”

Some companies and venues have had so much success with their virtual programming that they plan to offer it, in addition to their in-person programming, indefinitely, regardless of the Covid situation.

“Digital media … is going to be a long-term component of performing arts centers,” Prizio told the Hippo in November. “That’s going to be critical for us down the road. It’s a way we can reach a wider audience and allow people who might not have the opportunity to get to our physical space, like some of the folks living in senior centers, for example, to experience art from the comfort of their own home.”

Many theater directors are optimistic about the future of community theater, even in the face of uncertainty.

“2021 brought new challenges, but also new opportunities, and we are a stronger company because of it,” said Rob Dionne, artistic director of Majestic Theatre in Manchester. “We are looking forward to seeing our audiences grow again in 2022.”

“We know the challenges of Covid are not going away,” Pelletier added, “but we look forward to traversing them with our audiences into a new landscape where we can continue to create our brand of theater and art.”

Things to look forward to in 2022

ART
• “Setting the Standard”: A new exhibition at League of New Hampshire Craftsmen headquarters in Concord that will feature new work from League jurors in all media areas will be open to guests Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays from noon to 4 p.m. starting Jan. 25. Visit nhcrafts.org.
• Arghavan Khosravi exhibition: The Currier Museum of Art in Manchester will host an exhibition featuring the work of Arghavan Khosravi, “an immensely talented artist whose challenging images have a striking surrealist quality,” according to museum director Alan Chong. The opening date will be announced soon. Visit currier.org.

THEATER
• The Majestic Academy of Dramatic Arts presents a Young Performers’s Edition of The Wizard of Oz at the Derry Opera House (29 W. Broadway, Derry), with showtimes on Friday, Jan. 28, and Saturday, Jan. 29, at 7 p.m., and Sunday, Jan. 30, at 2 p.m. Tickets cost $15 for adults, $12 for seniors age 65 and up and $10 for students age 17 and under. Call 669-7469 or visit majestictheatre.net.
• Glass Dove Productions presents Mary and Me at the Hatbox Theatre (Steeplegate Mall, 270 Loudon Road, Concord) from Jan. 28 through Feb. 13. The original play by Irene Kelleher, inspired by a true story, follows a pregnant 15-year-old girl and her search for understanding while growing up in 1986 Ireland. Tickets cost $22 for adults and $19 for seniors and students. Visit hatboxnh.com or call 715-2315.
• The Riverbend Youth Company will perform The Lion King Jr. at the Amato Center for the Performing Arts (56 Mont Vernon St., Milford), with showtimes on Friday, Feb. 4, at 7:30 p.m.; Saturday, Feb. 5, at 2:30 and 7:30 p.m.; and Sunday, Feb. 6, at 2:30 p.m. Tickets will go on sale in early January. Visit amatocenter.org/riverbend-youth-company.
• Cue Zero Theatre Co. presents Deadly, an original movement-based theater piece by Crystal Rose Welch, at Granite State Arts Academy (19 Keewaydin Drive, No. 4, Salem), with showtimes Friday, March 4, through Sunday, March 6. With a nine-person ensemble, Deadly uses movement to explore the modern-day seven deadly sins. Visit cztheatre.com
• The Franklin Footlight Theatre presents a production of Little Women at the Franklin Opera House (316 Central St., Franklin) with showtimes on Thursday, March 10, through Saturday, March 12, at 7:30 p.m., and Sunday, March 13, at 2 p.m. Based on Louisa May Alcott’s classic 1869 novel, the play follows the adventures of four sisters living with their mother in Massachusetts while their father is fighting in the Civil War. Tickets cost $16 for adults and $14 for students and seniors. Visit franklinoperahouse.org or call 934-1901.
• The Palace Theatre (80 Hanover St., Manchester) presents a mainstage production of Bye Bye Birdie from March 11 through April 3. The musical comedy, set in 1958 small-town America, centers around teen heartthrob Conrad Birdie, who has been drafted into the Army and announces that he will give one girl from his fan club a goodbye-kiss before reporting for duty. Tickets range from $25 to $46. Visit palacetheatre.org or call 668-5588.

Featured Photo: Untitled by Arghavan Khosravi. Courtesy photo.

Happy Hogmanay!

Celebrate the new year Scottish-style

You don’t have to live across the Atlantic to celebrate Hogmanay — Scotland’s New Year’s Eve tradition is coming to Manchester this year, on Sunday, Jan. 2, from 3 to 7 p.m. at the Derryfield Country Club.

“In Scotland this is a very big deal,” said Amy Lehman, program coordinator for NHSCOT, which is putting on the event. “People will travel to Scotland to celebrate Hogmanay.”

This is the second time NHSCOT has held a Hogmanay celebration, the first being in 2019, pre-Covid.

“We had a really good crowd [of hundreds of] people of all ages, and I felt like we had [activities] for everyone,” Lehman said. “We’re very excited that we’re going to gather again this year.”

Kelpies. Courtesy photo.

She said NHSCOT has been working to expand its events so there are more of them year-round, to complement the popular New Hampshire Highland Games and Festival that typically takes place at the end of the summer. People who have enjoyed the Highland Games will find some of the same fun traditions at Hogmanay — though it will likely be significantly colder. Most events are held outside, with plenty of warming fires and a s’mores station to keep things cozy.

“Fire is the center of Hogmanay celebrations,” Lehman said, noting that in Scotland they’ll have fire festivals to drive away bad spirits.

Street curling, which was at the Highland Games for the first time this year, will be available for people to try, and other “try-its” include drumming, Highland dancing and Scottish country dancing.

“Scottish country dancing you do with a group of people … at a wedding or at parties,” Lehman said. “We’ll have a caller for that. Highland dance is usually done with someone who’s more highly trained.”

A “haggis throw” (cornhole) will be set up near the fires, and sledding will be available as long as there’s enough snow on the ground. Rebel Collective and the Pipes and Drums of NHSCOT will take turns playing live music in a heated tent throughout the event.

Indoors, there will be Scottish board games and a jigsaw puzzle challenge.

Stramash, a Scottish board game. Courtesy photo.

Tickets include a buffet for adults, with fish and chips, lamb stew and shepherd’s pie. Kids get chicken strips and french fries, though Lehman said a lot of the kids are interested in trying some of the “adult” foods. There will be a cash bar as well.

The day will conclude with a torchlit parade.

“We’ll all gather outside and everyone will be led [in a short parade] by pipes and drums, so it’s very festive,” Lehman said. “We have some banners kids can hold, and we end up around the fire and sing ‘Auld Lang Syne’ at 7 p.m., which is midnight in Scotland.”

As the event winds down, NHSCOT will have a “First Footing,” which says the first visitor to enter a home in the new year bearing gifts will bring good luck — particularly if that visitor is tall, dark and good-looking.

Visitors will be given small gifts on their way out to honor that Scottish tradition.

Lehman said that last year they had a good mix of people who attended, including plenty with no Scottish background and having never attended the Highland Games.

“It’s a family-friendly event that makes everybody happy,” she said.

Schedule of events

Indoor

  • Scottish jigsaw puzzles – ongoing
  • 4 p.m. Team Puzzle Challenge
  • 4 p.m. Stramash – Scottish Board Games
  • 4 p.m. Snare Drumming Try It – Pipes & Drums of NHSCOT
  • 5 p.m. Royalty Announcement: Lord, Lady, Lassie & Lad
  • 5:30 p.m. Tenor Drumming Try It – Pipes & Drums of NHSCOT

Outdoor

  • Sledding, ongoing as snow conditions allow
  • 4 to 6 p.m. Dinner (ticket required)
  • 4 p.m. Highland Dance Try It – Shelley Stiles
  • 4:30 p.m. Scottish Country Dancing – Merrill Henderson
  • 5 p.m. Highland Dance Try It – Shelley Stiles
  • 5:30 p.m. Scottish Country Dancing – Merrill Henderson
  • 6:30 p.m. Parade
  • 7 p.m. Toast to Hogmanay & singing of “Auld Lang Syne”
  • First Footing

Hogmanay

When: Sunday, Jan. 2, from 3 to 7 p.m.
Where: Derryfield Country Club, 625 Mammoth Road, Manchester
Cost: Adults, $42, which includes buffet-style meal; children, $20, which includes chicken and french fries
Contact: [email protected], 219-1772

Featured Photo: Hogmanay Bonfire. Courtesy photo.

Merry movement and music

Birdie premieres at Canterbury Shaker Village’s holiday event

The heartwarming story of a child who grew up in Canterbury Shaker Village is part of the inspiration behind Birdie, a new show that will be performed for the first time this weekend as part of the village’s Merry, Merry Canterbury celebration.

Birdie

“It’s a beautiful story,” said Shaker Village artist in residence Lorraine Chapman, who created the production as a way to honor both the Village’s theatrical history and the story of Alberta MacMillan Kirkpatrick, who came to Shaker Village at the age of 11. “Her mother died and she went from foster home to foster home. … [She] was not treated well and had quite a few … terrible experiences. When she got to the village, Sister Marguerite … gave this girl her first hug in four years.”

Chapman, a professional dancer and choreographer who owns a small studio in the Boston area, has been bringing dance to the Village for several years now, partly at the request of Joan Talarico-Brodsky, the founder of New Hampshire Dance Collaborative and former Shaker Village board member.

“Her desire was to bring more dance to the Village because the Shakers, part of their daily spiritual routine was movement and dance,” Chapman said. “There’s some written descriptions of … [when] they would go into the meetinghouse and throw themselves around the room and roll on the floor and gesticulate. … They were releasing negative thoughts, negative energy.”

For this piece, Chapman sat in the archives for weeks researching what the Shakers called “entertainments.”

“They consisted of Bible scenes, quartets, singing, instruments, … plays, skits,” Chapman said.

She read dozens of old programs to try to decipher what it was the Shakers were doing in their performances.

“Entertainments were rehearsed meticulously,” Chapman said. “This is [like] the work of a [modern-day] theater company.”

One of the entertainments she found was “Old Oaken Bucket,” a popular song at the time that she incorporated into Birdie, along with a play called “Cate Family Reunion” that she found handwritten in a journal.

“We had enough to go on with the entertainments, but I also wanted to bring in Alberta’s story,” Chapman said. “We’re kind of weaving together her story with what we think they might have … have presented in their entertainments.”

Chapman wanted to capture the kindness that Alberta was shown when she was taken in by the Shakers. She lived there until her late teens, and though she decided not to become a Shaker, she loved her time there — it’s evident in the letters Alberta wrote to her father while she was there, Chapman said. Chapman also had a chance to meet Alberta’s daughter, Marcy O’Brien, at a Starbucks over Thanksgiving weekend.

“I just got a sense of what a relief it was to her mother, the difference between what her life had been in the foster homes and [the life] she was able to live at the village,” Chapman said. “I think what the Shakers wanted to do when they built Canterbury Shaker Village, I think they wanted to build a heaven on earth, and I think they did that.”

Merry, Merry Canterbury

This is the second and final weekend of Merry, Merry Canterbury, which, along with the performance of Birdie, features crafts and a Stairway to the Clouds.

“We had a bunch of elves working at the Village and we set up a really magical experience in the horse barn,” Executive Director Leslie Nolan said. “Visitors will meander through little makeshift forests and go upstairs to a cloud-like atmosphere … and experience the [proverbial] silver lining in the cloud.”

She said there will be a cotton candy machine to go with the cloud theme. In the gallery next door, there will be crafts that are appropriate for all ages.

“Both of these are ecological ornaments,” Nolan said. “There’s not a lot of glitter and glue.”

One is a cinnamon ornament, and the other is a pomander ball, where cloves are inserted into clementines and oranges in a pattern and they are wrapped with a ribbon for hanging.

“I’m told it was used in the 19th century [to eliminate odors],” Nolan said. “People would hang them up so they were both decorative and functional.”

After the performance of Birdie, candlelight tours will be offered for an additional fee.

“Those are going to be really special,” Nolan said. “We’ll be walking through two buildings … and everyone will have a small lantern to hold.”

The tours will be capped off with Rae Easter singing “Simple Gifts” a cappella.

“She has a beautiful voice,” Nolan said.

The Shaker Village store will be open throughout the event selling holiday gifts and homemade candies, with free gift wrapping available.

Merry, Merry Canterbury

Where: Canterbury Shaker Village, 288 Shaker Road, Canterbury
When: Saturday, Dec. 18, and Sunday, Dec. 19, 1 to 5 p.m.
Stairway to the Clouds and crafts: 1 to 5 p.m. each day
Birdie dance and theatrical performance: 3 p.m. each day
Candlelight tours: 4 and 5 p.m. each day
Cost: $20 for adults; kids get in free. All events included in the admission price except for candlelight tours, which are an additional $50.
More info: shakers.org
Masks are required.

Featured Photo: Performers rehearse Birdie. Courtesy photos.

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