Author: The Hippo Press

Waltz of the balloons

See crafts take to the sky — and the river — at the Hot Air Balloon Rally

By Zachary Lewis
zlewis@hippopress.com

Get ready for the 42nd Annual Hot Air Balloon Rally in Pittsfield, which will showcase 10 hot air balloons for the festivities from Friday, Aug. 2, all the way through Sunday, Aug. 4.

“The money that we raise through our vendors, donors, and buying things from the Rotary food tent and T-shirts, all that money goes back into the communities that we serve,” said Fallon Reed, President of the Suncook Valley Rotary Club and Chair of the Balloon Rally. These communities include Barnstead, Chichester and Pittsfield.

The shindig launches on Friday at 3 p.m. and there will be carnival rides and live music. Dusty Gray and The Bulkheads are two different bands slated to perform on Friday.

Hot air balloons will be launched.

“Certainly all of our launches are weather-dependent, so if the winds and everything cooperate we’ll have our first launch. The balloons will be on the field about 5:30. They do their pilots’ meetings to look at weather conditions and make a determination if they are able to launch,” Reed said.

Smaller and chiller balloons will be available through Mr. Joe and his Silly Solutions Balloon Entertainment. “The gentleman coming down to do that does these things down at Fenway so we’re excited to have him. He came a couple years ago.”

The night sky is the perfect backdrop for the hot air balloons.

“At dusk, we’ll have what we call our Night Glow and so that’s where the balloons inflate on the field and they change the … combination of oxygen to propane or however they make it work … the balloons essentially light up. They look like fireflies on the field. Big ol’ fireflies. It’s a great thing and they do a little show there.”

Saturday starts early with the Rotary Pancake and Egg Breakfast at 6 a.m. and a possible launch of hot air balloons, depending on the weather.

“We also have a free sunrise yoga that our local yoga business Powerful You Yoga puts on … so you can see the balloons and be a part of all that.”

A giant touch-a-truck event occurs later that Saturday morning involving the Home of the Brave RC Balloon, a smaller hot air balloon controlled by hand.

“This year, this is a new activity for us, but during touch-a-truck, if folks want to bring a teddy bear or a stuffie, we’re doing teddy bear tethering so they can put their stuffie in the basket and it can go up on a little tethered flight, maybe 30 or so feet in the air, so we’re excited to have that,” she said. Another fun kid event is the Brushes and Balloons paint event at the Rotary Tent.

That’s not all.

“We have our annual Craft Fair which is sponsored by the Pittsfield Historical Society. They are full of crafters and vendors to sell various things. That’s always a good time.”

Anything that Floats River Raft Regatta Race is another rally favorite.

“Folks can make their own raft or vessel out of anything they can find around their house, it just can’t be a regular boat or have an engine and then they race in the river to a certain point and then come back to the shore and the first three teams that win, win a cash prize and bragging rights for the next year.”

There are also helicopter rides and performances by the Granite State Disc Dogs as well as a hot air balloon pilot meet and greet.

“Folks will be able to meet them. They have trading cards they’ll be handing out so they can collect those, check out the baskets, meet the pilots … get an opportunity to ask them all kinds of questions about hot air balloons, which is great.”

Remember to bring your spare change to the Hot Air Balloon Rally.

“And my favorite thing for this year … we got a penny press machine with balloon images and we partnered with the library in town, the Josiah Carpenter Library. During the Balloon Rally the penny press machine will be at the field, but the other days of the year it will be at the library so folks can bring their quarters and a penny and pick your design and get some pressed pennies…. My daughter loves them so we’re very excited about that this year,” Reed said.

There is also the possibility of doing ‘tethering’ in the Re/Max balloon in the evening hours, where brave participants can experience the hot air balloon in action.

“They only go up a set amount…. I actually went up for the second time last weekend with my daughter, so it was her first time going up, she’s 8 and she loved it…. It’s an amazing experience. You truly feel like, ‘if I could float on a cloud, that’s how I would describe it.’”

If the ground is closer to comfort, there’s even the Victory Workers 4-H Cow Chip Bingo, which is exactly how it sounds.

“Folks can buy tickets with random numbers on it. We have a couple cows that come down onto a gridded area and where the cow drops their patty is whoever wins. There’s a $500 cash prize.”

Float on over to this spectacular event.

“Hot air balloons are not necessarily something you see every day…. It’s a great kind of low-key, fun fair. Hang out, lots of great things to do for kids and families, and spend time together. Everyone enjoys it.”

Hot Air Balloon Rally
Where: Drake Field in Pittsfield
When: Friday, Aug. 2, to Sunday, Aug. 4
Admission: free
More: nhballoonrally.org

Featured image: Courtesy photo.

The Art Roundup 24/08/01

The latest from NH’s theater, arts and literary communities

• Teen drama: Cruel Intentions: The ’90s Musicalis presented by Hatbox Theatre (715-2315, hatboxnh.com) and Manchester Community Theatre Players from Aug. 2 through Aug. 11 with shows Fridays and Saturdays at 7:30 p.m. and Sundays at 2 p.m. at the North End Montessori School’s MCTP Theatre (698 Beech St., Manchester). Tickets are $28 for adults, $25 for students/seniors/members, $22 for senior members. See hatboxnh.com for content details.

• Care with art: The Currier Museum of Art (150 Ash St. in Manchester; currier.org) will host The Memory Café on Wednesday, Aug. 7, from 1 to 2 p.m., as it will on the first Wednesday every month up until December, according to their website. The Memory Café is a joyful and creative social experience designed for people in the early stages of memory loss along with their care partners and loved ones and is an opportunity to connect while viewing and discussing art, facilitated by an Art and Wellness Specialist who will provide prompts that encourage a fun and social dialogue, according to their website. This event is free and open to the public, no registration is required.

• New exhibit: PILLAR Gallery + Projects (205 N. State St., Concord) has announced their fifth exhibition, “CONSTRUCTS,” which will run until Sunday, Sept. 15, and explores distinct visual languages in geometric abstraction and sculptural form, according to their press release. Artists in the exhibition include Eric Katzman, Trevor Toney, Jenny McGee Dougherty, Damion Silver and Don Williams. The exhibition focuses on composition and design and includes functional ceramics, sculpture, shape-driven abstract paintings and collage. Each artist has a unique vocabulary and grammar centered around defined shape and form, and this is true from precisely crafted minimalism to exploratory expression, according to the press release. PILLAR Gallery + Projects is open Sunday, Tuesday, and Friday from 3 to 7 p.m. Visit pillargalleryprojects.com or call 657-8111.

—Zachary Lewis

Community art in the Common — and on Main Street

Goffstown holds its annual Uncommon Art on the Common

By Zachary Lewis
zlewis@hippopress.com

The 15th Annual Uncommon Art on the Common in Goffsotwn takes place Saturday, Aug. 3, from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Nina Duval, Main Street Art Team representative to the Goffstown Main Street Program, is excited for this yearly community artistic event.

“It’s basically an open air thing, it’s free to the public … a lot of people on Main Street really get into it, which is a cool thing.”

The event features the works of more than 50 area artists and artisans with booths along Main Street and the local shops and restaurants will also be open for attendees to grab a drink or a bite to eat while scoping out all the local art.

Duval is an artist as well and will be showcasing upcycled plastics. “I’ve made rugs and totes and stuff from upcycled plastic shopping bags,” she said, but every year is a different medium for her.

She is not the only recurring artist.

“A lot of people come back year after year. We have some people who have been here almost since the beginning.”

Art is the name of the game so everything will be “strictly art, fine craft. We have a few local authors…. It’s just high-quality work. We have a lot of really good, wonderful artists and artisans. It’s definitely worth the trip.”

What types of artists? These include painters, illustrators, photographers, woodworkers, jewelry artisans, metalworkers, home décor crafters, writers, ceramic makers, potters and more, according to their press release.

“Everything going up in any of these tents is for sale. Seventy-five percent of the purpose is for local artists to show their work and sell, make some connections with people … we try to bring new things in every year,” Duval said.

She was not able to narrow down a favorite artist.

“To me, they’re all good. I have personal favorites but they’re all good so I’m not going to say, ‘go to this one or go to that one.’ Go to all of them because maybe something I think is really cool, some other person may be like, “well, that’s nice, but,” and then they’ll find someone else that’s like, ‘oh, this is great!’”

A couple of popular events will be returning to the Commons, and one of those is the Uncommon Bling project.

“This will be about the seventh or eighth year and it’s become pretty popular, especially amongst kids. They like to bop around and get their little bling…. People go to the Main Street table and they can get their ‘bling bag’ as we call it.”

Participating artists are given the choice to participate.

“If they choose to. It’s strictly voluntary. I think this year about half of the participants are doing this. They make a little bauble in whatever medium they work with so let’s say someone does pottery. They might craft like a little ceramic bauble to put on the cord.”

According to the press release, visitors can collect beads and handcrafted items at participating booths throughout the event to be strung on a necklace obtained from the Goffstown Main Street booth and that their kids craft tent will return again this year so remember to “have your kids swing by the craft tent to create a neat memento.”

It was a hit last year.

“This is the second year we’re going to have a kids’ craft area for kids to come in. We’re doing little lanterns, like a little hanging ornament…. It’s paper tubes that they decorate and they can do whatever they want with it,” Duval said.

The possibilities are limitless, but Duval offers a fine suggestion. “They could put it on the Christmas tree, it could probably be a cool Christmas tree ornament depending on how they decorate it.”

Attendees will be able to sign up for a raffle of collected goods at the Uncommon Art tent. “We have a number of artists who are donating work for that.” These also contain donations from local businesses. The donations will be raffled off by Uncommon Art on the Common to benefit the Goffstown Main Street Program, which puts on the fantastic art event. Raffle tickets sell at $1 a ticket or $5 for six tickets.

Duval and Goffstown are excited to show off its art. “Come on over, have fun, check it all out. Hopefully buy some art from someone.”

15th Uncommon Art on the Common
Main Street, Goffstown
Saturday, Aug. 3, from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Free admission
goffstownuncommonarts.org

Featured image: Courtesy photo.

This Week 24/08/01

Thursday, Aug. 1

UNH Extension Master Gardeners will answer your gardening questions to Ask a Master Gardener Day, at New Hampshire Audubon’s Massabesic Center (26 Audubon Way, Auburn, 224-9909, nhaudubon.org) today, from 9 to 11 a.m. This event is free to attend.

Thursday, Aug. 1

The 7th Annual Rotary Trails 2 Ales 5K race (rotarytrails2ales.com) will take place today, starting at 6 p.m. in Legacy Park (200-224 New Boston Road, Bedford); runners can sign in starting at 5:30 p.m. Everyone attending can enjoy a burger and a drink and play cornhole. Adults 21+ are invited to taste a variety of craft beers and wines. Kids 12 and under are admitted free and can run the trails without registering. They will not receive a bib or be timed. The race will be capped at 500 runners. Registration is $30 on the race website.

Friday, Aug. 2

Celebrate the Dog Days of Summer tonight at Intown Concord’s First Friday in the city’s downtown. The evening will feature live music, food trucks, an outdoor screening of Jaws, a dog agility contest and more. See intownconcord.org.

Saturday, Aug. 3

The Merrimack Garden Club will hold its annual plant sale today starting at 8 a.m. at St. James Methodist Church, 646 DW Highway in Merrimack. See merrimackgardenclub.org.

Saturday, Aug. 3

Canterbury Shaker Village (288 Shaker Road, Canterbury, 783-9511, shakers.org) will begin a weeklong celebration today of the 250th anniversary of the establishment of the Shaker faith. Today, there will be a special dedication ceremony at 10 a.m. for the Postal Service’s 2024 series of first-class stamps honoring Shaker design. Other activities this week will include lectures, tours and the opening of a new museum exhibition “Keeping Faith.” All events are free of charge.

Sunday, Aug. 4

Merrimack High School’s FIRST Robotics team, Chop Shop 166 (ChopShop166.com), will host “Cars, Robots, and Coffee,” a combination car show and robotics demonstration, this morning from 8 a.m. to noon. Automobiles of all types are welcome to register or show up to participate in the Car Show portion of the event. Admission is free for spectators.

Sunday, Aug. 4

Heavy metal bands Lamb of God and Mastodon will perform at the SNHU Arena as part of their Ashes of Leviathan Tour (555 Elm St., Manchester, 644-5000, snhuarena.com) today at 6 p.m., celebrating 20 years of Ashes of the Wake and Leviathan. Tickets start at $20.

Save the Date! Friday, Aug. 9
The 2024 Manchester International Film Festival is set for Friday, Aug. 9, and Saturday, Aug. 10, at the Rex Theatre (823 Amherst St., Manchester, 668-5588, palacetheatre.org). Films will include animation, New England short films, LGBTQ+ films, international short films and more. Friday registration and check-in will begin at 6 p.m.; the doors to the theater will open at 6:30 p.m., and the program will begin at 7 p.m. On Saturday, the doors will open at 6 p.m., and the program will begin at 6:30 p.m. Passes for each night will be sold separately for $20 each at palacetheatre.org.

Featured photo: Ashes of the Leviathan Tour.

Quality of Life 24/08/01

Shopping for sparrows?

As reported in an online story by WMUR Saturday, July 27, a police officer rescued a hawk after it flew into the Hudson Market Basket at 212 Lowell Road last Friday. “Hudson police officer Matthew Horton happened to be inside the store and the manager came up to tell him that a hawk had followed a customer inside,” WMUR reported. After attempting to call local animal control, Horton, wearing a pair of mechanic gloves, was able to capture the hawk. The Hudson Police Department confirmed in a telephone interview that Officer Horton turned the juvenile broad winged hawk over to the Millstone Wildlife Center in Windham. “We are a mammal facility,” said Frannie Greenberg, a representative of the Center, “but we were happy to hold the hawk temporarily.” The Millstone Center quickly turned the hawk over to a bird specialist, and confirmed that it has been released back into the wild.

QOL score: +1

Comment: Raw video footage of Officer Horton capturing the hawk is available on WMUR’s website.

Outstanding teachers

The New Hampshire Department of Education announced in a press release on Tuesday, July 23, that the selection committee for New Hampshire’s Teacher of the Year has announced the four finalists for the state’s 2025 Teacher of the Year. The teachers are Chelsea Barrett Viera, who teaches grades 2-5 in a self-contained autism classroom at Highland-Goffe’s Falls Elementary School in Manchester; Kristen Dacey, a first-grade teacher at Dr. Lewis F. Soule School in Salem, Candice DeAngelis, a Spanish teacher at Bedford High School, and Brian Gray, who has been a Business Technology and Social Studies teacher at Sanborn Regional High School. “These four teachers are leaders in the field of education, with each of them understanding the need for school improvement, student engagement, bold visions and collective experience,” said Christine Brennan, deputy commissioner and member of the Teacher of the Year Selection Committee. Visit education.nh.gov/news-and-media.

QOL score: +1

Comment: The Teacher of the Year Selection Committee will now schedule visits to observe each of the finalists in their classroom environment. An award winner will be announced in October.

More ways to fly in and out of Manchester

In a recent press release, JetBlue announced that as part of a strategy to add 20 percent more seats to its service to New England, it will “launch service for the first time from Manchester-Boston Regional Airport (MHT) in Manchester,” adding, “JetBlue flights from Manchester are set to launch in January with service to Florida, including year-round daily flights to Orlando, and winter seasonal service to Fort Lauderdale and Fort Myers.” In addition, Avelo Airlines (aveloair.com) announced in a July 24 press release that it will add service to Manchester from Central Florida’s Lakeland International Airport (LAL) on Oct. 25, and twice-weekly service to Charlotte, North Carolina’s Concord-Padgett Regional Airport (KJQF) on Nov. 7.

QOL score: +1

Comment: According to the Airport’s website (flymanchester.com), eight airlines fly in and out of Manchester, with service to more than 250 cities.

Last week’s QOL score: 73

Net change: +3

QOL this week: 76

What’s affecting your Quality of Life here in New Hampshire?

Let us know at news@hippopress.com.

Meet the Craftsmen

The League of NH Craftsmen holds its nine-day fair

The 91st Annual Craftsmen’s Fair is put on by The League of NH Craftsmen. The nine-day fair runs from Saturday, Aug. 3, to Sunday, Aug. 11, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. every day, rain or shine, at the Mount Sunapee Resort in Newbury. Kids 16 and under are free. Miriam Carter, Executive Director of The League of NH Craftsmen, gives a sample of what attendees can expect at this celebration of all things craft. Visit nhcrafts.org/annual-craftsmens-fair for a full list of booths, vendors, activities, demonstrations, food and more.

How did the Fair get started?

We’re in our 91st year and the Fair got started as an aspect of the League coming together which is 92 years old and it was a way to advance craft and support the makers of craft. It goes back to our roots, to 1932 when we were established. Governor Winant helped establish the League by recognizing that after the Depression there were people in the state that had wonderful abilities to make craft and artisan products. A way to have them benefit from the sale of those items was key to creating the League of NH Craftsmen. The first Fairs actually happened in little towns throughout New Hampshire. Then, in 1964, the Fair came to the state park here at Mount Sunapee Resort and it has been there for the last 60 years … we’re celebrating that as well this year…. We’re the oldest outdoor craft fair in the country.

Can you give a brief overview of one of the demonstrations at the Fair?

The Fair is an opportunity to come and see how craft is made and we do that through a variety of demonstrations that are both hands-on for the guests that come to see us, and guests of all ages can participate, as well as the ability to observe how someone is making their work. So we have Jeffrey Gale who’s going to be here demonstrating how baskets are made. He’ll literally be working with the raw wood to create strips that then get put into a basket. There’s a Pottery Tent where people can jump in, of all ages, and learn how to sit at a wheel and turn a clay object or build something by hand.

How many different artists and or vendors are going to be there over the course of the Fair?

We have over 300 juried members participating in this event. About 200 juried members are in booths selling their own work and that gives people the opportunity to meet the maker and to learn how their work is made. Then we have artisanal vendors who are selling food as well as all the demonstrators who actually, some of them will be selling their own work in their booths. We have two venues that are really special to this event which is the Art, Craft & Design Tent. It’s an opportunity for people to bring their best work forward to be considered for jurying. It’s kind of like a gallery in the middle of the basin of a mountain. It’s quite extraordinary and quite beautiful. Then we also shop at the Fair, it’s called the Shop at the Fair, and that’s a collaborative effort of people who aren’t in booths who want to be a part of the fair so they have this space where they can sell their work here at the fair but not have to be at a nine-day booth…. There’s also a Sculpture Garden. That’s a specific area for people who have garden art that they like to bring to Fair to sell. Their work is displayed there.

What are the fine art exhibitions?

Years ago, the league actually had Fine Art as part of our categories of the organization. The New Hampshire Art Association actually is a spin-off of the League of NH Craftsmen. So we used to be the League of New Hampshire Arts and Crafts and then we just went to ‘Crafts’ so they are here as well. We invite them to come and bring their members and they have a tent. We, over the years, have done … new things. One is that we invite guests who are not members of the League’s jury system to participate and there are two categories. One is, invite a guest who crafts in areas that we don’t represent, so we have about 34 exhibitors that are not juried members but invited guests and are craftsmen. Then we also have now invited guests who are Fine Artists who are bringing their beautiful paintings and drawings to be part of the event. The purpose of doing that is across the country there are a lot of fine art and craft shows that have this model because you’re attracting a wide range of people and their level of appreciation in both categories.

What is one sort of activity for kids at the Fair?

There’s an entire Kids Create! area, which we’re really proud about because we’re trying to create pathways to the next generation to understand the importance of craft and how you can have it in your life, whether it’s through just appreciation or through a career. So in the Kids Create! tent, kids of all ages can try all different formats of handmade craft…. You can do weaving, you can do print making, you can do clay building and basically a lot of free-form craft making. There’s going to be all sorts of materials and supplies and we will have people there to assist in the process.

What sorts of entertainment and food will be at the Fair?

We’re fortunate that we partner with the New Hampshire Music Collective and they provide really talented musicians for live music at the event. We also have incredible artisanal food to buy for lunches. There’s Thai food, there’s brick oven pizza, there’s all sorts of yummy treats, ice cream. We have several food vendors. We have a Dole Whip vendor but we have a lot of great food … a beer and wine tent right on the grounds so people can enjoy a libation while they’re enjoying what we offer.

Why do you think people should come to the Fair?

I think it’s a unique opportunity to experience both the craft and the makers of craft. We have everything here and we consider this an experience, not a shopping event. We want people to come to understand creativity and what you can do with your hands. In a world where we all click online to buy something, this is the opportunity to meet the maker and to really understand how an object is made. From children to adults, it’s a great opportunity to learn about craft and how you can include it in your life. I’ve been a crafts person for well over 30 years, my house is filled with craft and every time I drink my coffee out of a cup that’s handmade by someone I purchased it from, I think of that exchange that we had and I think about the story that maker told me about why they make things and how they make things, and that just enriches my life, so I encourage people to come and learn all about this organization.

—Zachary Lewis

The 91st Annual Craftsmen’s Fair
Saturday, Aug. 3, to Sunday, Aug. 11, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m, rain or shine
No dogs or pets allowed
Any day ticket: $18 (online)
Two-day pass: $28 (online)
Kids 16 and under free
Gate tickets: $20
nhcrafts.org/annual-craftsmens-fair

Featured image: Courtesy photo.

Stay in the loop!

Get FREE weekly briefs on local food, music,

arts, and more across southern New Hampshire!