Author: Meghan Siegler

Winter in Wilton

New festival features art, snow elves, s’mores and more

The just-created Wilton Arts Market will make its debut at the first-ever Wilton Winter Festival, a community collaboration that will offer a day of arts, crafts for kids, fire pits and s’mores, ice sculpting demonstrations, a teddy bear clinic, a potluck dinner and live music from folk singer Paul Driscoll.

“We could all use some feel-good moments right now,” said Kate Schimke, a Wilton Main Street volunteer and founder of the Wilton Arts Market. “I want people to come and shake off the winter blues.”

Ceramic jewelry. Courtesy photo.

Schimke is planning to hold monthly arts markets after its debut at the festival, in the hopes of drawing attention to the town’s three-floor art mill right by the Souhegan River, home to many artistic minds.

“Wilton’s really got a lot of cool artisans in town,” Schimke said. “There are so many talented local crafters.”

Her own studio is there too; she and her husband create artisan jewelry and decor under the name Prayers of Nature. She said she’s earned her stripes when it comes to vending her art.

“I was sick of packing up my art and [doing other shows],” she said. “I thought, why don’t I do this outside my art studio in Wilton?”

Once she decided to start an arts market in town, she talked to Wilton Main Street about collaborating with other town organizations to make the first one part of a community-wide event — and thus, the Wilton Winter Festival was born.

It’s not a brand new idea for Wilton; in fact, the Heritage Commission will have on display artifacts from old Wilton Winter Carnivals.

“[They] used to draw four trains a day from Boston and beyond to come to Wilton,” said Sandy Lafleur, a board member for the Wilton Community Center. “There were all kinds of winter activities, including a toboggan run that went through three towns: Wilton, Lyndeborough and Milford!”

There won’t be a toboggan run at this festival, but there will be outdoor activities like ice sculpting demonstrations, songs and s’mores around a campfire, and snow elf making. The Wilton Public Library is heading up the latter two events.

Pat Fickett at the Wilton Public Library said youth librarian “Ms. Boo” will have several activities for kids throughout the day, starting with Valentine making at the library from 9:30 to 11:30 a.m. It’s a drop-in event with craft supplies available and is geared toward families and teens, she said.

Handmade pet toys. Courtesy photo.

At noon, Ms. Boo will head to the campfire at Main Street Park, where she’ll sing and play guitar.

“Songs will be familiar to most for singing along,” Fickett said. “There may be a winter story as well.”

And from 1:30 to 2:30 p.m., Ms. Boo will lead Snow Elf Making on the library lawn, providing everything that’s needed to create “some adorable elf creations,” Fickett said.

Saint Joe’s Mobile Clinic will be set up at the end of Main Street for heart health screenings, as well as games and teddy bear clinics, so kids are encouraged to bring their favorite stuffed animal to the event.

Local folk singer-songwriter Paul Driscoll will be playing live during the arts market, which is being held in the Congregational Church due to lack of space in the arts mill (it will be held outside the mill building once the weather warms up, Schimke said.

There are eight artisans signed up for this first market, including a macrame artist, a jeweler who works with clays and pottery, an artisan who makes pet gifts, a jeweler who works with bead embroidery and Schimke and her husband with selection from their Prayers of Nature boutique.

Wrap up the day by bringing a dish to the potluck dinner, which will be held from 5 to 7 p.m., with drinks, bread and desserts provided.

“I just want people to come out and have fun,” Schimke said. “It’s all about supporting the community.”

Wilton Winter Festival
This free event will be held Saturday, Feb. 12, at various locations in Wilton. Email wiltonartsmarket@gmail.com and find the event on Facebook.

Congregational church
Inside, masks required
10 a.m. to 2 p.m.: Arts market, live music, drinks and refreshments, and a Heritage Commission pictorial display of past winter carnivals in Wilton.
5 to 7 p.m.: Potluck dinner
Library
Inside, masks required
9:30 to 11:30 a.m.: Valentine crafts
1:30 to 2:30 p.m.: Snow elf building
Main Street Park
Noon to 1 p.m.: Stories and songs at the fire pit, s’mores and marshmallows
1 to 4 p.m.: Ice carving demonstrations

Featured photo: Valentine gnomes. Courtesy photo.

Visual discoveries

Abstract images of nature captured in mixed media collages

Seeing goldenrod, touching tree bark, feeling lichen underfoot — those are the kinds of sensations that Daniela Edstrom is hoping you’ll experience when you walk into her “Expressions: Nature” exhibition.

Currently on display at the Greater Concord Chamber of Commerce, the exhibition is made up of the Allenstown artist’s abstract mixed media collages, which combine digital images with traditional collage done by hand.

“The images aren’t literal,” Edstrom said. “I feel that they let the viewer wonder about what it’s like to be in that place. … I want it to be an experience of revelation and discovery where each time they look at the piece their interest is renewed, [that there’s] a constant visual discovery.”

Edstrom said she enjoys using both collage methods, with the traditional form of collage being more tactile with textured papers and the digital method offering an endless stream of non-copyrighted images that can be printed using archival inks and photographic paper.

“I love the computer,” Edstrom said. “I think it’s a wonderful free method of doing art.”

Edstrom takes her own photos too, finding inspiration close to home.

“I’m often in my yard photographing irises, tulips…,” she said. “I [also] spend a lot of time photographing the gardens around Allenstown. ”

In her neighborhood, Edstrom has photographed century-old lilac bushes, and throughout town she’s taken pictures of stone walls that date back to the colonial period and old passageways through the forests.

“There are paths that people have walked for centuries, or at least a hundred years, through Bear Brook [State Park],” she said. “[I like to capture] man’s presence in nature.”

Edstrom said it can take months to create a collage, often waiting for the right season or the right weather to get a photo that inspires her. She said she typically takes hundreds of photos during the spring and summer — but exploring nature to get those photos is one of her favorite parts of the artistic process.

“It’s very therapeutic, meditative, noticing lichens and mushrooms and looking for tracks of the animals,” she said. “It’s quite poetic.”

Edstrom uses a standard point-and-shoot camera, then downloads the images, combs through them to find the ones that most intrigue her, color-enhances them in Photoshop if she thinks it will add vibrancy to the collage, then prints them and starts working with cut papers.

One of the pieces in her show, “Boppin’ Blossoms,” features a printed photo of an iris.

“Then, inspired by the colors of the iris, I printed colored papers … and collaged them onto the surface, trying to feel the sensation of the flower, the feelings of spring, using color to express emotion,” she said. “I’m fascinated by the emotions that nature is capable of producing in ways that no … technology can.”

A member of the New Hampshire Art Association, graduate of the Academy of Fine Arts of Naples and graduate of the University of New Hampshire with a B.A. in art history, Edstrom has been creating for decades. She has shown her paintings, collages, mixed media and other art in solo, juried and group exhibitions locally, nationally and abroad.

She’s currently working on her next solo show, planned for this summer; “Fantastical Flora” will feature 18×24 mixed media collages. And Edstrom is also trying to get into encaustic art.

“It’s a nice challenge,” she said. “It’s freeing because you can use found objects, found paper … [you can] create from scratch using what is available to you.”

“Expressions: Nature”

Where: The Greater Concord Chamber of Commerce Visitors Center, 49 S. Main St., Suite 104, Concord
When: Now through Feb. 14
Visit: danielaedstrom.com

Featured Photo: Blossoms light Bound. Collage by Daniela Edstrom.Courtesy photo.

Games on

Black Ice Pond Hockey Tournament is (almost definitely) happening

The recent cold means the annual Black Ice Pond Hockey Tournament will likely take place as scheduled this weekend, with youth games kicking things off on Thursday, Jan. 27, and plenty of other games on the roster — along with concessions, family activities, public skating and fireworks — through Sunday, Jan. 30.

“In recent years we’ve been challenged by global warming,” said Dan Luker, Black Ice Pond Hockey Association Board president. “We hope for below-zero temps at night, and a perfect day for us is 20 degrees during the day.”

Photo Courtesy of Black Ice Pond Hockey Association

The weekend is a tribute to the capital city’s place in hockey history. Luker said the first organized hockey game in the U.S. took place at St. Paul’s School in Concord, and the games being played at the tournament harken back to that old-school style.

“It’s the way the game was played to begin with — no refs, no goalies, 4 on 4,” Luker said. “It’s all about just skating and moving the puck. It’s a different feel.”

The tournament started 11 years ago, when Capital City Hockey League retirees decided they wanted to keep the game alive, for themselves and for younger generations.

“We all grew up playing hockey in the rinks, in the open air,” Luker said. “It brings you back.”

As the years have gone on, the Black Ice Pond Hockey Association has tried to reinvigorate the board by encouraging younger people to join. And the tournament has gone from all adult games to having a full night of youth hockey.

“Part of the goal is to infect [younger players] with the outdoor enthusiasm,” he said. “We’re psyched to have the kids play … [and] the kids love to be a part of it.”

Luker said there will be about 80 adult teams with more than 500 players taking the ice, which includes women’s teams and rec league teams, competitive players and players whose good skating days are well behind them.

“There are people who shouldn’t be skating out there who are having a blast,” Luker said.

Along with the games, there will be open skating time, concessions, a warming tent and family games throughout the weekend, and Friday night will feature fireworks.

“It’s the middle of winter, and there’s not much else going on in Concord,” Luker said. “People drift down and come and watch. … [It’s] something to do on a Saturday afternoon.”

Black Ice Pond Hockey Tournament

Where: White Park, Concord
When: Thursday, Jan. 27, through Sunday, Jan. 20

Schedule of events

Thursday
Heated spectator tent with family games and concessions open from 5 to 8 p.m.
Youth pond hockey games with Concord Capitals, NE Wildcats, NH Avalanche, NH Junior Monarchs from 6 to 8 p.m.

Friday
Concessions open from 8 a.m. to 9 p.m.
Black Ice Pond Hockey games from 9 a.m. to 8:20 p.m.
Heated spectator tent with family games from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m.
Public skate on White Park Pond Rinks & RBC Rinks 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Ice sculpture at noon
Bonfires start at 5 p.m.
Concord Youth Hockey from 5:30 to 7 p.m.
Dynomites & NH JR Monarchs practice on White Park Pond Rinks & RBC Rinks at 7:15 p.m.
Atlas Fireworks show

Saturday
Concessions open from 8 a.m. to 9 p.m.
Black Ice Pond Hockey games from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m.
Heated Spectator Tent open with family interactive games from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m.
Youth Hockey Shinny Tournament on White Park Pond Rinks & RBC Rinks 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Concord Area Transit Shuttle Bus Winterfest Shuttle runs from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m.
Bonfires start at 3 p.m.

Sunday
Concessions open from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m.
Black Ice Pond Hockey games from 9 a.m. to noon

Featured photo: Photo courtesy of Black Ice Pond Hockey Association.

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 (twalton@nedelta.com) or Steven Nelson (stevennelson1967@gmail.com)

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.

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