Category: Cover Stories

Your guide to summer concerts

It’s music-lover’s season! From concerts at big venues to relaxed music in the park, there are performances for fans of all genres and music-enjoying settings to enjoy over the next few months. Here’s a rundown of some of the shows on the schedule through Labor Day.

A little venue that could

The Range the offers summer outdoor concerts

Nicole Ruggiero didn’t set out to become a concert promoter, but shows at her venue The Range in Mason are now a regular part of summer in New Hampshire. Moreover, Ruggiero no longer has to shout from the rooftops to book acts like country star Chris Janson, who opens the season on June 20.

“Now, agents are approaching us and nationally touring bands are saying, ‘This is the best food that I’ve had on tour,’” Ruggerio said in a recent phone interview, adding that fans are loving it too. “I perch near the tent when people are leaving and overhear conversations of like, ‘Wow, this place is great’ … this is why I do it.”

It began in 2011 with a Roots of Creation concert intended as a one-off to promote a new tiki bar. Ruggerio had left college after her mom passed away to help out at the driving range, ice cream stand and restaurant that her parents began in 1992.

“It was an ‘or else I’ll sell it’ type of deal, and you really can’t say no to that,” she recalled. “I grew up in that business. My parents built it when I was in the second grade, and it was my first job. It got me started in the hospitality industry.”

She was able to continue her studies at New England Culinary Institute by pivoting to an internship. They agreed, “because I was going in blindly to a business I hadn’t even worked at in many years,” she said. “My mom … didn’t have management beneath her, so she ran the show. I didn’t get the opportunity to really learn from her, I just kind of got thrown into it.”

Ruggerio felt that throwing a concert was a smart way to get the word about her new spin on things; it worked, but the path forward hasn’t been an easy one.

“Live music is one of those things that I feel is a crucial social component and healing element, really, in this wild world,” she said. “I started doing weekend events under a tent, local bands, free of charge, no big deal. After one year, I’m like, ‘I want to build a stage, I want to attract bigger bands.’ And all hell broke loose.”

A three-year battle with the town council culminated in June 2016 with a special election to decide whether to allow outdoor entertainment at Marty’s Driving Range. It passed by a wide margin, driven by the largest voter turnout that anyone in Mason could recall.

“It blew my mind, the turnout and the people in our favor, and it chokes me up to this day, thinking about the support,” she said. “I stood outside of the town hall from start to finish answering questions as people were going in to vote. There were probably some last-minute people that were steered … just from talking to me.”

Along with weekend shows, The Range has a smaller Garage Door Series with a focus on local music. It came about when Ruggerio got frustrated waiting to get approval for larger-scale events. What she chose to do is emblematic of the passion and perseverance that drives her.

“I was like, all right, if we can’t use the stage then I’m going to book bands in the dining room,” she said, and had a contractor tear down a wall. “We had bands playing right on the inside of the dining room to the patio area. I was improvising before I could get full-blown approval and that actually turned into a totally separate component of our business.”

New additions to The Range include expanded VIP areas — “we got approval for two more,” Ruggerio said — a snack shack and a glamping area. Ruggerio hopes to have a dedicated bathroom building built by sometime next year. That said, she’s not looking to turn The Range into a larger, more corporate venue.

“It’s important to me to keep the connection, the intimacy between the fans [and] musicians, and growing much bigger will really take away from it,” she said. “Right now, there’s not a bad seat in the house. We’re consistently trying to improve our processes and streamline without compromising quality, being a greedy money-grabbing entity. Eventually my goal is to attract the larger artists to our smaller venue, even if they’re not used to playing to a thousand capacity … to give their fans a really special experience.”

Checking in with Casino Ballroom

Andrew Herrick has served as Director of Sales and Marketing at Casino Ballroom for more than two decades. In a recent interview, he talked about the venue’s coming season, which already has seen several shows sell out, including Tesla, David Lee Roth and KC & the Sunshine Band.

What’s your favorite booking this year?

I don’t know if I have a favorite but I’m very excited for the Joe Perry Project show. The lineup — Joe, Brad Whitford and Buck Johnson from Aerosmith, Chris Robinson from The Black Crowes and Robert DeLeo and Eric Kretz from Stone Temple Pilots — will be pretty incredible. I’m also excited for The Elovaters, 49 Winchester, Jimmy Cash and Jimmy Dunn together and of course Diamond David Lee Roth!

Which show so far has been the biggest surprise in terms of sales?

We have had a bunch of fast-selling shows. I guess the surprise might be how quickly Cooper Alan and Dylan Scott sold out. Country fans in this market are clearly ready to party! Some other quick sellers were Yacht Rock Revue and The Elovaters. Some weren’t a surprise — we were not surprised at how fast Joan Jett sold out, for example.

Are there any shows that you think shouldn’t be overlooked?

The one I have my eye on is The Struts package. Dirty Honey is opening that show and I think it is going to be awesome from start to finish. I also think the Movement and Tribal seeds with Mike Love opening will be a pretty incredible night on the beach. And don’t sleep on 49 Winchester.

Tesla added a show after the first sold out — will any others do the same?

Sometimes, it depends on the artist’s touring schedule. I don’t anticipate anyone doing that at this point in time.

What are the challenges this year?

Same as always, lots of big outdoor venues and acts that would normally play here teaming up to play the larger spots. The questions surrounding the economy are keeping people from making decisions about discretionary spending way in advance and the amount of awesome things to do in general is at an all-time high so we are competing with all of it. The secret to 2025 might end up being pricing the show correctly when all is said and done.

Has the decline in tourism from across the border impacted you?

No, we don’t really sell tickets to tourists here. We sell almost all of our tickets to people who live within about 50 miles of Hampton Beach. Some of them chose to take part in the tourism offerings — restaurants, hotels, the beach itself — but generally speaking we would have to align the style offering to whomever is here for vacation, which happens but not enough to notice a change during a cultural shift like the one we are currently experiencing.

Festivals, performances and other events offering big fun for the school-free season

Compiled by Amy Diaz
adiaz@hippopress.com

Looking for excitement and entertainment for the kids this summer? Here are some of the events and attractions to help you fill the next dozen or so school-less weeks.

Events

• The Concord Spring Fair is slated to run Wednesday, June 11, through Sunday, June 15 — opening at 6 p.m. on weekdays, 1 p.m. on weekends — at the Douglas N. Everett Arena (15 Loudon Road in Concord), according to the event organizers. Admission costs $3 and children under 6 get in for free. Unlimited ride wrist bands as well as individual ride credits are available for purchase. See fiestashows.com.

• Check out the professional sand castle builders at the 25th Annual Hampton Beach Master Sand Sculpting Classic, which will run Thursday, June 12, through Saturday, June 14, with the sculptures, lit up at night, on view through Monday, June 23. There will be a fireworks display on Saturday, June 14, at 9:30 p.m. See hamptonbeach.org.

• YMCA Downtown Manchester (30 Mechanic St. in Manchester) and YMCA of Concord (15 N. State St. in Concord) will each hold a Block Party on Saturday, June 14, from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. These free community celebrations will feature a bounce house, music, games and crafts, food and drink and more. See graniteymca.org.

• The Aviation Museum of New Hampshire will hold its annual Father’s Day Weekend Fly In Barbecue on Saturday, June 14, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Nashua’s Boire Field, with the event taking place at Nashua Jet Aviation (Nashua Airport, 83 Perimeter Road). The public can come to check out the planes and enjoy the meal. Tickets to the barbecue cost $30 for adults and $10 for ages 6 to 12; kids 5 and under are free, the website said. Check out the planes without the food for $10 per person, kids 5 and under are free, the website said. Purchase tickets at the website or by calling 669-4877.

• SEE Science Center (200 Bedford St. in Manchester; see-sciencecenter.org) will hold its Kick Off to Summer, Dinosaur Edition running Saturday, June 21, through Friday, June 27. Throughout the week the center will offer special dinosaur activities and displays, which are included with the admission price. The museum is open daily at 10 a.m. until 4 p.m. on weekdays and 5 p.m. on weekends. Admission costs $14 per person ages 3 and up.

• Plaistow’s Old Home Day returns on Saturday, June 21, from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. with a parade and activities on the Town Hall green (145 Main St., Plaistow). See plaistow.com for updates.

• St. Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church (1160 Bridge St. in Manchester; stnicholasgreekchurch.com) will celebrate on Saturday, June 21, from 11:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. with a lamb barbecue and food festival and on Sunday, June 22, from 11:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. with gyros.

• Wilton Main Street Association will hold its annual Summerfest on Saturday, June 21, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. featuring live music on two stages, food, street vendors, a pancake breakfast, a duck drop and a fireworks display in the evening on Carnival Hill. See visitwilton.com/summerfest.

• The Somersworth International Children’s Festival will take place on Main Street and in Noble Pines Park on Saturday, June 21, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. with Wildlife Encounters, roaming entertainers, a petting zoo, World Cultures Passport Center, a play area and other activities for kids as well as food and craft vendors, according to the Somersworth Festival Association at nhfestivals.org. The Association will also hold a Celebration Night on Friday, June 27, from 5:30 to 9:30 p.m. at Somersworth High School (11 Memorial Drive) with live music, magic, kids’ activities and fireworks, according to the website, where you can also find the Association’s series of kids concerts in July and August.

• Miss Alli’s Kids Concert will take place Saturday, June 21, at 1 p.m. in Stark Park (550 River Road in Manchester; starkpark.com). Find Miss Alli Music on Instagram.

• The Nest Cafe (25 Orchard View in Londonderry; thenestfamilycafe.com) is holding the free community festival NestFest on Sunday, June 22, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. The day will include live music (including Miss Alli), a bounce house, face painting, lawn games, touch a truck and more.

• The Hollis Strawberry Festival, presented by the Hollis Woman’s Club, will bring strawberry shortcake and other strawberry treats to the Town Common (7 Monument Square, Hollis) on Sunday, June 22, from 2 to 4 p.m. Visit holliswomansclub.org.

• The New Hampshire Audubon Nature Challenge will run Sunday, June 22, through Saturday, June 28, when participants can help to “document the birds, mammals, insects, reptiles, amphibians, flowers, trees, mosses, mushrooms, and everything that either stops at our sanctuaries or calls [the NH Audubon’s wildlife sanctuaries] home!” according to nhaudubon.org, where you can see the list of sanctuaries and get more information about how to participate.

• Concord’s annual Market Days Festival runs from Thursday, June 26, to Saturday, June 28, in downtown Concord from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. with local vendors, live entertainment, family-friendly activities and more. Visit marketdaysfestival.com.

• The next New England Reptile Expo is scheduled for Sunday, June 29, from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the DoubleTree by Hilton Manchester Downtown (700 Elm St., Manchester). The show features more than 200 vendor tables full of reptiles, pet supplies and more. Tickets are $12 for adults, $6 for kids ages 7 to 12 and free for kids ages 6 and under. Visit reptileexpo.com.

• Joppa Hill Educational Farm (174 Joppa Hill Road in Bedford; jhef.org) will hold its KidsFest on Sunday, June 29, from 3 to 6 p.m. The afternoon will feature kid-friendly performers including Mr. Aaron, Miss Alli and Magic Fred as well as food trucks, face painting, crafts, balloons and more, the website said. Tickets cost $44.52 per family; register in advance via the website.

• The Hillsborough Summer Festival at Grimes Field (29 Preston St., Hillsborough) takes place Thursday, July 10, to Sunday, July 13, with live entertainment, carnival rides, a fireworks show on Saturday night, a 5K road race on Friday and a parade on Sunday. Festival hours are 6 to 10 p.m. on Thursday; 5 to 11 p.m. on Friday; noon to 11 p.m. on Saturday, and noon to 5 p.m. on Sunday. Admission is free. Visit hillsborosummerfest.com.

• The Raymond Town Fair, its 50th according to the group’s Facebook page, will take place Friday, July 11, through Sunday, July 13, at the Raymond Town Common (Epping and Main streets, Raymond). It will feature live music, children’s activities, a fireworks display, games, vendors and more. See “Raymond Town Fair” on Facebook.

• The American Independence Museum (1 Governors Lane, Exeter) will hold its American Independence Festival on Saturday, July 12, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. in downtown Exeter. The day will feature the arrival and live reading of the Declaration of Independence, historical reenactments and colonial-era artisan demonstrations as well as colonial-era games, music and dances. Visit independencemuseum.org.

• The 9th annual Fairy and Hobbit House Festival will take place at Bedrock Gardens (19 High Road, Lee; bedrockgardens.org) on Friday, July 18, through Sunday, July 20, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. daily. Compete in the Fairy House and Hobbit House showcase (see the website in advance) or just come in costume to enjoy the day, which includes craft activities, story time and more. Tickets cost $49.87 per carload.

• The Stratham 4-H Summerfest returns on Saturday, July 19, at the Stratham Hill Park Fairgrounds (270 Portsmouth Ave., Stratham) from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. The event will feature animal shows, agriculture exhibits, competitions and more. See extension.unh.edu/event/2025/07/2025-stratham-4-h-summerfest.

• Nashua will hold its Fairytale Festival in Greeley Park (100 Concord St., Nashua) Saturday, July 19, from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. The day will feature performances, princess characters and more. Visit nashua.gov.

• The Canterbury Fair is, as always, the last Saturday in July — Saturday, July 26, from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. at Canterbury Center (Baptist and Center roads) with live music, demonstrations from local artisan and antique vendors, children’s activities and more. See canterburyfair.com.

• Pizzastock 9, a family community music event featuring 13 music acts on two stages as well as information on mental health, physical health and suicide prevention, will take place on Saturday, July 26, from noon to 6 p.m. at Pinkerton Academy in Derry next to the football field, according to a post on the Jason R. Flood Memorial Facebook page. The event will also feature kid activities, a teen/young adult “tailgate” game area, food trucks and of course pizza from Kendall Pond Pizza, the post said. Entrance to the event is free. See pizzastock.org or find them on Facebook.

• Find music, art, food, kids’ activities and more at the Nashua Summer Stroll on Saturday, July 26, from 3 to 8 p.m. in downtown Nashua. Find details and updates on the event’s Facebook page.

• Coppal House Farm (118 N. River Road in Lee; nhsunflower.com) will hold its Sunflower Festival Saturday, July 26, through Sunday, Aug. 3, 10 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. daily plus sunrise hours on Sunday, July 27, from 5:30 to 7 a.m. The festival also features kid events, a craft fair, music, food and more. See the website for information on tickets and happenings on specific days.

• The Suncook Valley Rotary’s Hot Air Balloon Rally on Friday, Aug. 1, through Sunday, Aug. 3, at Drake Field, Barnstead Road in Pittsfield. See nhballoonrally.org for updates on this year’s schedule.

• The Belknap County Fair is set to return Saturday, Aug. 2, from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m., and Sunday, Aug. 3, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. at 174 Mile Hill Road in Belmont. Admission at the gate is $10 for adults, $5 for senior citizens 65 and older, police, fire and EMS personnel, and free for kids under 10 and for military service members. Visit bcfairnh.org.

More summer fun

Find more summer happenings in our Summer Guide 2025, which ran in the May 22 issue of the Hippo. Find the issue in the digital library at hippopress.com.

• Friends of Aine will hold its annual Kids Try-athlon on Sunday, Aug. 3, starting at 8 a.m. at Bedford High School and the Bedford Town Pool. The event is a swim, bike, run race for kids grouped by age — 4- to 10-year-olds and 11- to 15-year-olds, according to friendsofaine.com. The event is open to kids regardless of athletic ability and features a post-race festival, and registration currently costs $35 per kid, the website said.

• Tuesday, Aug. 5, is the National Night Out when many area first responder departments hold outreach events, such as fairs and touch-a-truck events. For example, in Concord, a National Night Out event featuring food, prizes, K-9 demonstrations, a climbing wall and more will take place in Rollins Park from 5 to 8 p.m.

• Hudson’s Old Home Days will take place Thursday, Aug. 7, to Sunday, Aug. 10, on the grounds of the Hill House (211 Derry Road, Hudson). There will be carnival games, live music, food, vendors, a craft fair, kids’ activities and more. Event times are Thursday from 5 to 10 p.m., Friday from 5 to 11 p.m., Saturday from noon to 11 p.m. and Sunday from noon to 5 p.m. See hudsonoldhomedays.com.

• The Children’s Museum of New Hampshire (6 Washington St. in Dover; childrens-museum.org) will hold its annual Teddy Bear Clinic on Friday, Aug. 8, from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. Kids can bring stuffed animals in for a checkup and learn more about what happens at the doctor’s office, according to the website. Admission costs $14.50 for everyone over 12 months, $12.50 for 65+ and free for kids under 12 months, the website said.

• The Sunflower Bloom Festival will take place Saturday, Aug. 9, through Sunday, Aug. 17, at Sunfox Farm on Gully Hill Road in Concord, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m daily. Visit the farm (admission costs $12 per person, ages 10 and under are free). Also at the farm find artisan and craft vendors, live music and food trucks, according to sunfoxfarm.org/sunflowerfestival.

• Salembration!, a celebration of the 275th birthday of Salem, New Hampshire, will take place on Geremonty Drive on Saturday, Aug. 9, from noon to 5 p.m. The event will feature food trucks, craft vendors and more, according to salemnh.gov/1096/salembration, and will take place in conjunction with Field of Dreams’ annual Family Fun Day.

• The Hampton Beach Children’s Festival, Monday, Aug. 11, through Friday, Aug. 15. The event includes ice cream, dancing, balloons, storytelling, a magic show and a costume parade on Friday. All activities are free and open to the public. Visit hamptonbeach.org/events/ childrens-events.

• Londonderry’s Old Home Days are scheduled for Wednesday, Aug. 13, to Saturday, Aug. 16. See londonderrynh.gov for updates on details.

• The Mahrajan Middle Eastern Food Festival (bestfestnh.com) will take place Friday, Aug. 15, to Sunday, Aug. 17, at Our Lady of the Cedars Church (140 Mitchell St., Manchester, 623-8944, olocnh.org). Lebanese foods such as shawarma, falafel, lamb, grilled chicken and many types of pastries will be served. The fest will be open from 5 to 10 p.m. on Friday, noon to 10 p.m. on Saturday and 1 to 5 p.m. on Sunday.

• The Aviation Museum of New Hampshire (27 Navigator Road, Londonderry; aviationmuseumofnh.org) will hold Planefest on Saturday, Aug. 16, featuring an exhibit about the Tuskegee Airman and the World War II-era Woman’s Army Service Pilots, known as the WASPs.

• History Alive 2025 will present a weekend of reenactments on Saturday, Aug. 16, and Sunday, Aug. 17, at Jones Road in Hillsborough. The weekend will feature reenactments of historical battles across the centuries — including Roman and Viking battles, the French and Indian War, the Revolutionary War, the Civil War, World War I and World War II, according to historyalivenh.org. The event will also feature other historical demonstrations as well as drawing and cartooning workshops with Marek Bennett, whose works include the Freeman Colby graphic novels about a real-life New Hampshire teacher in the Civil War. See the website for details and a schedule. Tickets cost $10 per adult, $8 for seniors and are free for kids 16 and under, the website said.

• Assumption Greek Orthodox Church (111 Island Pond Road, Manchester, 623- 2045, assumptionnh.org) will hold its 2025 Greekfest on Saturday, Aug. 23, from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m., and Sunday, Aug. 24, from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Visit the Church’s website for more information.

• Candia’s Old Home Day will take place on Saturday, Aug. 23, from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Moore Park (74 High St., Candia). The day will feature local crafters and artisans, town community booths, games, a wildlife exhibit, food and music. See candiaoldhomeday.com.

• Pembroke and Allenstown’s Old Home Day returns on Saturday, Aug. 23, starting with a parade down Main Street in Allenstown to Memorial Field (Exchange Street) in Pembroke. A fun-filled day is planned at the field, featuring two stages of live entertainment, antique cars, children’s games, a craft area, bounce houses and a fireworks display at dusk. Admission and parking are free. See pembrokeallenstownoldhomeday.org.

• The Hopkinton State Fair bills itself as a Labor Day weekend tradition happening this year from Thursday, Aug. 28, to Monday, Sept. 1, at the fairgrounds (392 Kearsarge Ave., Contoocook). There will be livestock shows, a demolition derby, carnival rides, monster trucks, live entertainment, food and more. The fair hours are 5 to 10 p.m. on Thursday; 8 a.m. to 11 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday, and 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Monday. See hsfair.org.

• The Exeter UFO Festival returns to downtown Exeter on Saturday, Aug. 30, and Sunday, Aug. 31 — the event commemorates the anniversary of the “Incident at Exeter” (the report of a UFO sighting on Sept. 3, 1965, in nearby Kingston) with speakers, kids’ events and more. See exeterufofestival.org.

Live performances

• Hot Peas N Butter, a family music band, will play at the BNH Stage (16 S. Main St. in Concord, ccanh.com) on Sunday, June 22, at 2 p.m. Tickets cost $25 per person.

• Palace Theatre’s (80 Hanover St., Manchester, palacetheatre.org) Bank of New Hampshire Children’s Summer Series runs July 8 through Aug. 28, with new shows each week and shows on most Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays at 10 a.m. and 6:30 p.m. as well as Fridays. Tickets cost $10. The show schedule is A Winnie-the-Pooh Birthday Tail (July 8-11), Peter Pan Jr. (July 15-18), Annie Jr. (July 22-25), Madagascar Jr. (July 28-Aug. 1), Berenstain Bears On Stage (Aug. 5-8), Willy Wonka Jr. (Aug. 12-15), Shrek The Musical Jr. (Aug. 19-22) and Magician BJ Hickman (Aug. 26-28).Tickets for these shows are $10.

The Palace also has productions from its various youth companies on the schedule.

The Palace Teen Company will present Urinetown The Musical on Tuesday, June 17, and Wednesday, June 18, at 7 p.m. The Palace Youth Theatre camp, featuring performances in grades 2 through 12, will present shows including James & the Giant Peach Jr. on July 2 and July 3; A Year With Frog & Toad Kids July 11; Junie B. Jones Jr. July 25 and July 26; Annie Kids Aug. 1; Mean Girls Jr. Aug. 15 and Aug. 16, and a youth version of The Addams Family Aug. 22.

• Teen Actorsingers will perform Teen Anastasia on Friday, July 11, and Saturday, July 12, at 7:30 p.m. and Sunday, July 13, 2 p.m. at the Janice B. Streeter Theatre, 14 Court St., Nashua, actorsingers.org. Tickets cost $20 for adults, $18 for seniors and students.

• The Majestic Theatre (majestictheatre.net) will present Joseph & the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoaton Friday, July 11, through Sunday, July 13, at the Derry Opera House (29 W. Broadway in Derry) at 7 p.m. on Friday and Saturday and 2 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday. Tickets cost $15 to $22.

• RB Productions Theatre Company (PO Box 67, Concord, rb-productions.com) will perform The Wedding Singer (July 11 and July 12), Wizard of Oz Youth Edition (July 18 and July 19), Aladdin Kids (July 19), Alice In Wonderland Jr. (July 25 and July 26) and Beetlejuice Jr. (Aug. 1 and Aug. 2). Shows are slated for Capitol Center for the Arts in Concord according to RB Production’s website; see ccanh.com.

• Epping Community Theatre (Epping Playhouse, 38 Ladds Lane, Epping, eppingtheater.org) will present Seussical the Musical on Friday, July 18, through Sunday, July 20.

• Ovation Theatre Company (61 Harvey Road, Londonderry, ovationtc.com) will present The Hunchback of Notre Dame Thursday, July 24, through Saturday, July 26, at 7 p.m. at Derry Opera House (25 Main St., Derry; derryoperahouse.org).

• Kids Coop Theatre (232 N. Broadway, Salem, kctnh.org) will present Hadestown Teen Edition Friday, Aug. 1, and Saturday, Aug. 2, at 7 p.m. and Sunday, Aug. 3, at 2 p.m. at Derry Opera House (25 Broadway, Derry). See derryoperahouse.org for tickets.

Summer day camp

Looking for some full-day fun for the kids? Check out our Feb. 22 issue featuring area day camps. Even though many camps start registering campers early in the year, some organizations don’t release camp schedules or programming until spring and many camps aren’t yet full or have waitlist opportunities that can lead to a camp spot.

• The end product of the Children’s Theatre Project Summer Camp, run by the Community Players of Concord (communityplayersofconcord.org), will be a performance of Moana Jr. on Saturday, Aug. 8. Check back with the website for details.

• Peacock Players (Janice B. Streeter Theatre, 14 Court St., Nashua, peacockplayers.org) will present a cast of 6- to 15-year-olds in Beetlejuice Jr. Friday, July 25, through Sunday, July 27. A cast of teens will performHadestown Teen Edition Friday, Aug. 15, through Sunday, Aug. 17.

Popcorn summer

• The Summer Movie Clubhouse, a lineup of kid-friendly films running Wednesdays at 10 a.m. at Cinemark Rockingham Park (15 Mall Road in Salem; cinemark.com/theatres/nh-salem/cinemark-rockingham-park-and-xd), started June 4 and continues through Aug. 6 with discounted ticket-and-snack combo prices. The lineup includes Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse (June 18), Shrek 2 (June 25), Despicable Me 4 (July 2), Kung-Fu Panda 4 (July 9), The Wild Robot (July 16), Sonic the Hedgehog 3 (July 23), The Garfield Movie (July 30) and The LEGO Batman Movie (Aug. 6).

• The Milford Drive-In Theater (531 Elm St., Milford; milforddrivein.com) has two screens for movie screenings, each mostly offering double features, Fridays through Sundays. The box office opens at 7 p.m. on Friday and Saturday and 7:15 p.m. on Sunday. Admission costs $35 per car (for up to six people; $6 per additional person). See the website for each week’s offerings.

• Red River Theatres (redrivertheatres.org) and Concord Parks & Recreation (concordnh.gov) will hold outdoor movie nights during the summer. Check back for updates on days, locations and films.

• Fathom Events (fathomevents.com) has anniversary screenings on the schedule for movies that might be of interest to teens and tweens at theaters including Apple Cinemas in Merrimack and Hooksett, Cinemark Rockingham Park in Salem, O’Neil Cinemas in Epping and Regal Fox Run in Newington. Films include Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (PG-13, 1989) on Saturday, June 14, and Sunday, June 15, and Wednesday, June 18, and Clueless (PG-13, 1995) on Sunday, June 29, and Monday, June 30. Fathom Events is also continuing its Studio Ghibli Fest 2025 with films including The Secret World of Arrietty (G, 2010) Sunday, June 22, through Tuesday, June 24; My Neighbor Totoro(G, 1988) Saturday, July 19, through Wednesday, July 23; Grave of the Fireflies (1988) Sunday, Aug. 10, through Tuesday, Aug. 12, and Ponyo (G, 2008) Saturday, Aug. 23, through Wednesday, Aug. 27.

• Movies in the Park takes place in Riverfront Park in Tilton, hosted by the Hall Memorial Library (hallmemoriallibrary.org), on Fridays throughout the summer, with the park opening at 6 p.m. and the movie starting at dusk. According to the website, the upcoming schedule is The Little Mermaid on June 20; Garfield on July 25; Moana 2 on Aug. 29, and Minecraft on Sept. 26.

• Chunky’s Cinema Pub (707 Huse Road, Manchester; chunkys.com) will be hosting “Little Lunch Dates” (usually at 11:30 a.m. on some Tuesdays) and “Sensory-Friendly Showings,” when house lights are left up and volume is lower than usual, throughout the summer. The next scheduled sensory-friendly screening is the new How To Train Your Dragon (PG) on Tuesday, June 24, 11:30 a.m. and 4:30 p.m.

• Your kids can practice Elphaba’s high notes in “Defying Gravity” along with the film at a sing-along screening of Wicked (PG, 2024) on Sunday, June 29, at 2 p.m. at BNH Stage (16 S. Main St. in Concord, ccanh.com). Tickets cost $15 in advance, $20 at the door.

• O’Neil Cinemas Brickyard Square (24 Calef Highway in Epping; oneilcinemas.com) will offer a Summer Kid Series with shows Monday and Wednesdays at 11 a.m. and special ticket and snack deals (tickets cost $2; popcorn and soda combo is $5), according to an email from O’Neil. The film schedule is Despicable Me (PG, 2010) on July 7 & 9; Kung Fu Panda 4 (PG, 2024) on July 14 & 16; Puss in Boots: The Last Wish (PG, 2022) July 21 & 23; Sing 2 (PG, 2021) July 28 & 30, and Trolls Band Together (PG, 2023) Aug. 4 & 6.

Visit the museum

• Amoskeag Fishways Learning & Visitor Center (4 Fletcher St. in Manchester; find them on Facebook) was slated to open for the fish migration season. See fish on the move Mondays through Fridays, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Admission is free.

• The Aviation Museum of New Hampshire (27 Navigator Road, Londonderry, 669-4820, aviationmuseumofnh.org) offers exhibits related to the aviation history of the state — as well as a cockpit kids can get inside of, featuring real audio from traffic control at neighboring Manchester Boston Regional Airport. The museum is open Wednesdays through Saturdays, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. and Sundays from 1 to 4 p.m. Admission costs $10 for ages 13+ and $5 for ages 6 to 12 and ages 65+ (as well as veterans and active military) and is free for kids 5 and under.

• The Children’s Museum of New Hampshire (6 Washington St., Dover, 742- 2002, childrens-museum.org) is a family museum featuring interactive exhibits with a focus on art, science and culture. It is open for morning (9 a.m. to noon) and afternoon (1 to 4 p.m.) play sessions Wednesdays through Saturdays and for morning sessions only on Tuesdays and Sundays. Admission costs $14.50 for everyone over 12 months, $12.50 for 65+; advance admission purchase is recommended. See the website for special programming, such as Toddler Tinker Time on Tuesdays, Wacky Art Wednesdays, Cultural Crafts on Thursdays and Science Fridays.

• The Currier Museum of Art (150 Ash St., Manchester; currier.org) is open Wednesdays through Sundays, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and admission costs $20 for regular admission, $15 for 65+ and students and $5 for ages 13 to 17 and is free for ages 12 and under. The museum also offers free admission for New Hampshire residents on the second Saturday of each month and offers free/donation-based admission during Art Off the Walls evenings, 5 to 8 p.m., on Thursdays June 19, July 17 and Aug. 21.

• The McAuliffe-Shepard Discovery Center (2 Institute Drive in Concord; starhop.com), a celebration of space, science, engineering and aviation, is open daily, 10:30 a.m. to 4 p.m., June 16 though Aug. 21 (before and after those dates the center is open Wednesdays through Sundays). The outdoor Science Playground is open when the center is open, weather permitting. Admission costs $13 for adults, $10 for ages 3 to 12, $12 for ages 62+ and ages 13 through college. Planetarium tickets cost an additional $7 for ages 3 and up. See the website for the current line-up of planetarium films.

• The Millyard Museum (200 Bedford St., Manchester; manchesterhistoric.org) is open Tuesday through Saturday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Admission is $10 for adults, $8 for seniors and college students, $5 for ages 12 to 18, and free for children under 12. Print out the gallery games Mystery Objects and Millyard Museum Fun Book to help kids explore the exhibits.

Summer theater

Find information about summer theater in our May 15 issue. Go to hippopress.com and look for the issue in our digital library. The guide to summer theater starts on page 10.

• New Hampshire Historical Society (30 Park St., Concord; nhhistory.org) offers exhibits related to the state’s history. The exhibition space is open Tuesday through Saturday from 9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Admission costs $10 for adults and is free for kids ages 18 and under, full-time students and active military.

• SEE Science Center (200 Bedford St., Manchester; see-sciencecenter.org) is open daily at 10 a.m. — until 4 p.m. on weekdays and 5 p.m. on weekends. This hands-on science center offers exhibits on a variety of subjects. Admission (which is recommended to be purchased in advance via the website) costs $14 per person ages 3 and up.

• The New Hampshire Telephone Museum (1 Depot St., Warner; nhtelephonemuseum.org) features nearly 1,000 telephones, switchboards and other telecommunication memorabilia and history and has an interactive kids’ room. The museum is open Tuesdays through Fridays, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., and Saturdays 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Admission costs $9 for ages 18 to 64, 7 for 65+ and $6 for students in grades K-12.

Attractions

• Andres Institute of Art (106 Route 13, Brookline; andresinstitute.org) has a network of trails decorated with sculptures. Find printable trail maps as well as a gallery of the sculptures online.

• Beaver Brook (117 Ridge Road in Hollis; beaverbrook.org) offers camps, regular walks and hikes and other programs as well as trails and gardens that are open daily. Maps for the trails are available on the website.

• Bedrock Gardens (19 High Road, Lee) is a 30-acre public garden that integrates unusual botanical specimens and unique sculpture into an inspiring landscape journey, with fun programming for the whole family, according to their website. It is open Tuesday through Friday and the first and third weekends of the month from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., according to the website. Visit bedrockgardens.org.

• Canobie Lake Park (85 N. Policy St., Salem; canobie.com), an amusement park with rides and water attractions, is open daily (opening 9 a.m. on some days during June and 10:30 a.m. in July and August) with tickets sold in advance only via the website. Prices vary by day. After-5 p.m. tickets are available Friday through Sunday nights.

• Charmingfare Farm (774 High St. in Candia, 483-5623, visitthefarm.com) is a working farm with wildlife exhibits featuring animals such as black bears, coyotes and more. Charmingfare is currently open Thursdays through Sundays, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. A Scouting for Bigfoot event will be held Saturday, June 21 and Sunday, June 22, featuring live music, food available for purchase, Bigfoot related activities and more. Reptile Day is slated for Saturday, July 19, with a reptile show scheduled for 1 p.m.

• Chuckster’s Family Fun Park (Route 4 in Chichester; chuckstersnh.com) is open daily, hours vary by day (and weather). This year a new zipline is slated to open; the park also features minigolf, batting cages, bumper boats, a climbing wall, go karts and more. Admission varies based on attraction packages. Chuckster’s also has a minigolf-only location at 53 Hackett Hill Road in Hooksett.

• Funspot (579 Endicott Lane in Laconia; funspotnh.com) bills itself as the largest arcade in the world, including classic arcade games, and also offers bowling, indoor minigolf, on-site eateries and more. Open daily, Funspot’s hours starting June 23 will be 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. (11 p.m. on Saturdays).

• Joppa Hill Educational Farm (174 Joppa Hill Road in Bedford; jhef.org) is open daily, dawn to dusk, with a suggested donation of $5 per family. Visit the animals or check out the hiking trails, maps for which are on the farm’s website.

• Mel’s Funway Park (454 Charles Bancroft Highway in Litchfield; melsfunwaypark.com) offers minigolf, go karts, laser tag, arcade, batting cages, bumper boats, bounce houses and more. The park is open daily, with hours varying by day and attraction.

Playground road trip

Looking for low-cost summer fun? Check out the Live Free & Play Southern NH Playground Challenge, available at salemnh.myrec.com. The printout features a list of playgrounds in Salem, Auburn, Londonderry, Pelham, Milford, Merrimack and Danville.

• New Hampshire Audubon (nhaudubon.org) has two nearby centers — Massabesic Center (26 Audubon Way in Auburn) and McLane Center (84 Silk Farm Road in Concord). Both centers are open to visitors Wednesday through Saturday, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Trails near the centers and in the Audubon’s 40 wildlife sanctuaries throughout the state are open daily, free of charge (though donations are welcome), the website said. Find maps and other information about the trails on the website, as well as a calendar of events.

• Prescott Farm Environmental Education Center (928 White Oaks Road in Laconia; prescottfarm.org) offers 160 acres of field, forest and gardens on 3+ miles of nature trails and a Natural Playscape, according to the website. The outdoor amenities are open daily from dawn to dusk; the Samuel P. Pardoe Building featuring visitor information, conservation displays and restrooms, is open from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., according to the website, where you can find a calender of special events and programs.

• Seacoast Science Center (in Ordiorne Point State Park, 570 Ocean Blvd in Rye; seacoastsciencecenter.org) offers exhibits, live animal displays and touch tanks featuring the nature of the New Hampshire coast and the Gulf of Maine. The center is open Tuesdays through Sundays, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Advance purchase of tickets is recommended, according to the website where you can purchase both admission to the center and to Ordiorne Point State Park.

• Squam Lakes Natural Science Center (23 Science Center Road in Holderness; nhnature.org) offers animal exhibit trails featuring native animals as well as hiking trails, according to the website. The trails are currently open daily, 9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. (last admission is 3:30 p.m.). See the calendar for information on special tours, events and the narrated lake cruises. Admission to the trails costs $28 for adults, $26 for 65+ and $22 for ages 3 to 15. The 2025 Family Picnic “Friends of the Forest” will be held on Saturday, July 12, 5 to 8 p.m. and feature food, live music, lawn games, kids activities and more (see the website for tickets).

• Strawbery Banke Museum (14 Hancock St. in Portsmouth; strawberybanke.org) is open Wednesdays through Mondays, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. (and until 5 p.m. on Saturdays and Sundays in July and August). The museum’s historic houses and exhibits look at 350 years of Portsmouth history “from Indigenous history to the present day,” according to the website where you can find the calendar of special tours and events. Admission costs $24 for adults, $22 for 65+ and students, $12 for ages 5 to 17 and $60 for a family, the website said. Kids under 5 get in for free.

In a town near you

’Tis the season of reading programs at area libraries and live music in town green spaces. Some town and city events are meant just for residents and others don’t specify. Your location’s library and parks and recreation department will have the most up to date information about summer happenings. Here are some of the family-friendly highlights.

• Amherst: At the Amherst Town Library (amherstlibrary.org), Mondays are “Chalk the Walk” days, when chalk will be provided to draw on the sidewalk outside. The library is also kicking off its summer reading program with a concert featuring Steve Blunt Monday, June 16, at 6 p.m. (registration required).

The town’s big summer happening is the Amherst Fourth of July Celebration, which includes a parade (stepping off at 9:45 a.m.) and activities on the town green. See facebook.com/AmherstNHJuly4thCommittee.

• Auburn: The Griffin Free Public Library (griffinfree.org) is hosting its annual book sale Saturday, July 26, 8 a.m. to 3 p.m, and Sunday, July 27, 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the Auburn Village School in the gym.

Auburn Parks and Recreation will offer a concert series with monthly concerts at Circle of Fun Playground, 5 Bunker Hill Road, at 6 p.m. on the third Thursdays: Jennifer Mitchell Band on June 19, and Ukeladies on July 17; Bob Pratte Band on Aug. 21, according to the department’s newsletter.

Movies will also be screened at the Safety Complex (99 Raymond Road): Paddington in Peru on Friday, Aug. 8, at 8 p.m.; IF on Friday, Sept. 5, at 8 p.m., and Mufasa: The Lion King on Friday, Oct. 10, at 7 p.m., the newsletter said. See auburnnh.gov.

• Bedford: The Bedford Public Library ( bedfordnhlibrary.org) is also doing a summer reading kickoff concert with Steve Blunt — Tuesday, June 17, at 6:30 p.m. (registration required). A Wildlife Encounters event is scheduled for Monday, July 14, at 11 a.m. or 1 p.m. (registration required) for ages 6 to 12.

The Bedford Concerts in the Parks at the Gazebo in Bedford Village Common Park will run Wednesdays, June 25 through July 30, with a 6 p.m. start time, according to bedfordnh.myrec.com. To celebrate National Night Out, Bedford’s Police Department will play a softball game against Bedford Fire Department on Tuesday, Aug. 5, at 7 p.m., the website said.

• Bow: At the Baker Free Library (bowbakerfreelibrary.org), the summer reading kickoff party for kids is from 3:30 to 6:30 p.m. on Friday, June 20, with a show featuring Magic Fred from 4:30 to 5:30 p.m. A comics workshop for ages 8 to 14 is slated for Monday, June 23, at 3:30 p.m. with author Mat Heagarty (registration required). The library is also staging a production of The Wizard of Oz (register to participate) with a performance on Thursday, Aug. 7, at 5:30 p.m.

• Boscawen: The Boscawen Public Library (boscawenpubliclibrary.org) will hold its summer reading kickoff party Monday, June 23, from noon to 4 p.m. It will host Mr. Aaron on Tuesday, July 22, at 6:30 p.m.

See the performers

Some family-friendly performers make the rounds of libraries and other venues during the summer. Here are a few of the family performance favorites.

Miss Alli — Alli Beaudry has long been a regular on the local music scene and her family-friendly Miss Alli performances reach a whole new audience. Find updates at instagram.com/missallimusic

Mr. Aaron — Mr. Aaron offers classes as well as concerts. See a list of his upcoming engagements at area libraries at mraaronmusic.com/calendar.

Steve Blunt — Watch videos of Blunt’s performances at steveblunt.com, where you can also check back for updates on his scheduled appearances. He can sometimes be found at appearances with author Marty Kelley — the two have some upcoming library events scheduled, according to martykelley.com.

BJ Hickman — This family-friendly magician already has appearances booked at festivals this summer as well as a stretch of shows in August at the Palace. See bjhickman.com.

Magic Fred the Magician — Several library events are already on the summer schedule with Magic Fred; see magicfredshow.com.

Judy Pancoast — The singer/songwriter has a few New Hampshire library events on her schedule so far. See judypancoast.com.

Marek Bennett — A comics creator and musician, Bennett has some in-person library events on his upcoming schedule at marekbennett.com.

• Brookline: The Brookline Public Library (brooklinelibrarynh.org) will hold its summer reading kickoff party on Friday, June 20, at 11 a.m. with ice cream, bubbles, lawn games and more. A petting farm will come to the library on Thursday, June 26, at 2 p.m. (registration required). On Wednesday, July 2, at 10:30 a.m. visit the trucks of the Department of Public Works (registration required). Science gets tasty at STEM and Scoops with Sub Zero Nitrogen Ice Cream on Tuesday, July 22, at 3 p.m. (registration required). An arthropod petting zoo will be held Thursday, Aug. 7, at 6 p.m. (registration required).

• Concord: The Concord Public Library (concordnh.gov) will hold storytimes in the park on Wednesdays at 9:30 a.m.; see the website for a schedule of city parks.

Find Concord Parks and Recreation’s summer brochure online at concordnh.gov, where it lists programs as well as drop-in events like Saturday summer futsal. Find free concerts on Tuesday evenings (at parks across the city) and Sunday at 10 a.m. (White Park); check back with the department’s Facebook page for updates on Thursday concerts.

• Derry: The Derry Public Library (derrypl.org) has a packed schedule of summer events for kids. Register for fun such as Level Up Glow Dance Party on Tuesday, June 17, at 1:30 p.m.; FanCon on Saturday, June 21, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.; Library Field Day on Thursday, June 26, at 11 a.m.; and the end of the summer party with Steve Blunt on Thursday, Aug. 7, at 1 p.m. Game Day on Thursday, July 31, needs no registration.

Get live music in MacGregor Park (12 Boyd Road) on Tuesdays at 7 p.m. through Aug. 19. Next up on the schedule is The Reminisants, according to derrynh.gov.

• Dunbarton: The Dunbarton Public Library (dunbartonlibrary.org) will kick off its summer reading program with a concert featuring Steve Blunt and Marty Kelley on Wednesday, June 18, at 11 a.m. on the band stand. Additional summer fun includes a touch a truck on Wednesday, June 25, at 10:30 a.m.; a family concert with Mr. Aaron on Wednesday, July 23, at 10:30 a.m.; Raptor Rapture Outreach with Audubon on Tuesday, July 29, at 1 p.m. and more.

• Goffstown: The Goffstown Public Library ( goffstownlibrary.com) will hold its summer kickoff on Saturday, June 21, with art programs that day for kids, teens and adults (registration required). The library offers a full slate of workshops and programs for kids and teens throughout the summer, including, on Thursday, Aug. 14, the Great Cake Off for kids in grades 5 to 12 (registration required). The library will also offer regular opportunities for kids to read to Candy, the reading therapy dog (see the website to sign up).

• Hollis: Hollis Social Library (hollislibrary.org) will host the one-person Silver Circus on Monday, June 23, at 2 p.m. at the Lawrence Barn (registration recommended). Mr Aaron will play the barn on Friday, July 11, at 1 p.m. (registration required). The barn will also host a touch-a-truck on Wednesday, July 16, at 2 p.m. (registration required). Magic Fred will perform Friday, July 18, at the barn at 1 p.m. (registration required). The Pirate Guild the Brethren Order of the Northeast Sea will bring pirate fun to the barn on Saturday, Aug. 2, at 2 p.m. (registration required).

• Hooksett: The Hooksett Public Library ( hooksettlibrary.org) will hold a touch-a-truck event on Saturday, June 28, at 10 a.m.

• Hopkinton: Hopkinton Recreation Committee hosts the July 4th Family Fun Day in Riverway Park — a kids’ parade starts at 11 a.m. followed by the Independence Day parade at 11:30 a.m.; the Fun Day kicks off at noon in the park with live music by Brad Myrick, face painting, bounce houses, burgers and hot dogs, contests and more, according to hopkintonnh.myrec.com.

• Hudson: The George H. and Ella M. Rodgers Memorial Library (rodgerslibrary.org) will hold a Cupcake Caper & Birthday Party on Saturday, July 14, at 10 a.m. (registration required) and a Tie Dye for Everyone project on Wednesday, June 18 (register for specific time). Magician Mike Bent’s AbraKIDabra! Magic show is scheduled for Wednesday, June 25, at 2 p.m. (registration required). Other events to register for this summer include Wildlife Encounters on Wednesday, July 9, at 6 p.m., a Teddy Bear Picnic on Friday, July 11, at 10 a.m., Mr. Aaron on Wednesday, July 23, at 2 p.m. and multiple Storytime Safari outings in Benson Park.

• Litchfield: At the Aaron Cutler Memorial Library (litchfieldnh.gov/222/Aaron-Cutler-Memorial-Library) events include a family summer reading Kick-Off Concert with Mr. Aaron on Wednesday, June 25, at 10:30 a.m. (registration required), Tuesday scavenger hunts on the library lawn, Tween Summer Cupcake Wars on Thursday, July 10, at 4 p.m. (registration required), and a concert on the lawn with the Granite Statesmen Barbershop Chorus on Wednesday, July 16, at 6:30 p.m. (registration required).

• Londonderry: Get some new-to-you summer reads at the book sale at the Leach Library (londonderrynh.gov/371/Leach-Library) on Saturday, June 14, 10 a.m. to noon; Tuesday, June 17, 9:30 to 11:30 a.m., and Saturday, June 21, from 10 a.m. to noon. Register for events including Pete the Cat’s visit to the library (Tuesday, June 24, at 11 a.m.; Wednesday, June 25, at 4 p.m., and Thursday, June 26, at 4 p.m.) and Children’s Cookie Decorating on Wednesday, June 18, at 4 p.m. No registration is required for a screening of Dog Man on Friday, June 27, at 1 p.m.

Outdoor adventures

Looking for minigolf or a state park? Check out our Best of 2025 readers’ poll results issue, which ran April 10 and features reader recommendations for all sorts of outdoor excitement.

• Loudon: At the Maxfield Public Library (maxfieldlibrary.com), kid-friendly offerings include a Summer Reading Kick Off with Jason Purdy Magic Show on Saturday, June 21, at 11 a.m. and a wrap-up event featuring Steve Blunt and Marty Kelley on Tuesday, Aug. 5, at 11 a.m., both at Charlie’s Barn/Loudon Community Building (29 South Village Road).

Summer Fun nights on Wednesdays at 6 p.m. in Loudon include Touch a Truck on July 9; Ice Cream Social on July 16; Freese Brothers Big Band on July 23 (6:30 p.m.); Wildlife Encounters on July 30; Mr. Aaron Band on Aug. 13 and a Pickleball Tournament on Aug. 20, according to loudonnh.org.

• Manchester: Manchester City Library (manchesterlibrary.org) offers programs for teens and kids throughout the summer — and the city, with bookmobile events (see the calendar for locations). Find community art projects on Mondays 10 to 11:30 a.m. at We Create Mornings, a drop-in event. Happenings to register for include Beach Party on Thursday, July 3, at 10 a.m. for ages 1 to 5; Escape Room on Wednesday, July 9, at 10 a.m. (grades 3 through 12); Captain Underpants Party on Wednesday, July 16, at 3 p.m. (grades preschool through 6), and more.

Check with manchesternh.gov/Departments/Parks-and-Recreation and with the department’s Facebook page for updates on the city’s pools.

• Merrimack: At the Merrimack Public Library (merrimack.aspendiscovery.org), the Friends of the Library will hold a book sale on Saturday, June 21, from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. The summer reading program will kick off with a Minecraft Party on Thursday, June 26, noon to 2 p.m. followed by a concert with Mr. Aaron at 6 p.m. in Abbie Griffin Park (registration required for both). Other events to register for include Old McDonny’s Friendly Petting Zoo in the park on Monday, July 21, at 11:30 a.m. and a Teddy Bear Picnic on Thursday, July 31, at noon.

Enjoy live music on Thursdays, June 26 through Aug. 21, at 6 p.m. in Abbie Griffin Park; the program kicks off with Mr. Aaron on June 26, according to merrimackparksandrec.org. The Town of Merrimack also hosts Fourth of July celebrations including a patriotic concert in the park on Thursday, July 3, at 6:30 p.m.; the Sparkler 5K Road Race and Pancake Breakfast, both on July 4 starting at 8 a.m.; the Fourth of July parade at 1 p.m. and fireworks display at Merrimack High School at 9:15 p.m. (the evening starts at 7 p.m. with music and food vendors), according to merrimackparksandrec.org/4th-of-july.

• Milford: At the Wadleigh Memorial Library (wadleighlibrary.org), the teen summer reading kickoff is Friday, June 13, at 3 p.m. and a children’s Level Up at Your Library party with yard games and a hot dog dinner is at 6 p.m. (no registration needed for either). Other events include the Silver Circus on Wednesday, June 18, at 1 p.m. at the Amato Center; a Red, White & Bluey party on Thursday, July 3, at 10 a.m. and Cookie Wars on Wednesday, July 30, at 2 p.m.

Milford Recreation will hold its 4th Annual Keyes Summer Bash on Saturday, June 21, from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. featuring touch a truck, food trucks, kid activities, music and more in Keyes Memorial Park, according to milfordnh.recdesk.com

• Nashua: The Nashua Public Library (nashualibrary.org) will hold its summer reading kickoff on Friday, June 20, from 6 to 8 p.m. featuring a life-size Hungry Hippo game, Mario Kart Live!, popcorn, snow cones and more, the website said. See the website for a rundown of programs for children, tweens and teens each week.

The city also offers a full calendar of SummerFun programming including Tuesday concerts in the park at 7 p.m.; a Tree Street Block Party on Ash Street on Saturday, June 14, from 2 to 6 p.m.; July 4 event that includes a Silver Knights Game, a free concert and more events leading up to a fireworks show; the Nashua Community Music School’s Musical Playgroup; the National Police Night out on Aug. 5, a Nashua Goes Back to School event at the library on Thursday, Aug. 21, at 5 p.m. and more. See nashuanh.gov.

• New Boston: Whipple Free Library (whipplefreelibrary.org) will hold its summer kickoff with Wildlife Encounters on Monday, June 23, at 6:30 p.m. at the Town Common. In addition to story times, movie nights, teen events and more, the library will hold craft events, such as Build Your Own Pokemon Terrarium on Monday, July 14, at 6 p.m. (registration required).

Catch Concerts on the Common every other Tuesday evening at 6 p.m. at the New Boston Common starting June 24 with the Freese Brothers Big Band, according to newbostonnh.gov/recreation, where you can find the lineup.

• Salem: At the Kelley Library (kelleylibrary.org), the summer reading fun starts Monday, June 23. Check back for updates.

Salem is celebrating its 275th anniversary with a series of events all year, including a reenactment of the return of Lafayette on Saturday, June 21, at 2 p.m.; Salem Nights at Hedgehog Park starting Tuesday, July 8; Salembration on Saturday, Aug. 9, and more, according to salemnh.gov/1097/Anniversary-Events-Info.

• Windham: Nesmith Library (nesmithlibrary.org) starts the summer celebrations with a Tween School End Celebration on Thursday, June 12, at 6:30 p.m. for grades 5-8. The official Summer Reading Kick-Off featuring mini\golf will be Tuesday, June 24, starting at 4 p.m. (register for a time slot). Other events include Fun Cart Friday (find STEAM-related projects and play from 9:30 a.m. to 4 p.m., June 27 through Aug. 1), a Summer Scavenger Hunt (Monday, June 30, through Saturday, July 5), Wildlife Encounters (Wednesday, July 9, at 10:30 a.m. or 1:30 p.m.; registration required); Meet the Town Vehicles (Wednesday, July 30, 10:30 a.m. to noon), and Magician Mike Bent’s AbraKIDabra (Wednesday, Aug. 6, at 10:30 a.m. or 1:30 p.m.; registration required), as well as a variety of children, tween and teen events.

Windham will hold Concerts on the Common (Emerson Carracedo on Saturday, June 14, at 2 p.m.; Windham Swing Band on Saturday, Aug. 23, at 1 p.m.) and Concerts at Griffin Park (PopRoks on Tuesday, July 15, at 6:30 p.m.; Relative Soul on Thursday, July 24, at 6:30 p.m.) and a Bubble Dance Party in Griffin Park on Thursday, Aug. 7, with the Fire Department, Police Department and Recreation Department followed by a movie (Moana 2) at 8 p.m., according to windham.recdesk.com. Catch an early Independence Day celebration on Wednesday, June 25, at Windham High School with a band, food vendors and fireworks; parking lot opens at 5:30 p.m.

More fun this weekend

This week, we made the whole cover story Kiddie Pool! The Kiddie Pool is our weekly column of kid and family fun. Other events happening this weekend:

On Friday, June 13, at 11:30 a.m., Gibson’s Bookstore (45 S. Main St. in Concord; gibsonsbookstore.com) offers a supersized story time. Four New Hampshire authors will attend with their picture books: David Preece and Jim Webber with Mr. Higgins to the Rescue, Katy Hunt with There’s a Wub in the Tub and Heidi Solomon-Orlick with I Have a Voice: A Book of Listening, according to the website.

At Bookery Manchester (844 Elm St.; bookerymht.com), there are three kid events on the schedule this week. On Thursday, June 12, at 11:30 a.m., the storytime will feature Mickey Davis and her book Noy, The Little Laotian Ambassador, according to the website, where you can reserve your spot. The event is free and geared at kids ages 2 to 10.
On Friday, June 13, from 5 to 7 p.m., the bookstore celebrates the spooky day with a Halfway to Halloween Party for kids (recommended ages 6 to 12). The event will feature games, prizes, a costume contest and more, according to the website, where you can reserve a spot.
And on Saturday, June 14, from 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. the story will host Scholastic’s nationwide Fire Fanwing Fest for readers of the Wings of Fire series. The event will feature games, activities and giveaways, the website said.

As the “Second Saturday” in June, Saturday, June 14, features free admission for New Hampshire residents to the Currier Museum of Art (150 Ash St. in Manchester; currier.org). The museum is open Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Celebrate Father’s Day — Sunday, June 15 — at Charmingfare Farm (774 High St. in Candia; visitthefarm.com) with free admission, a ride wristband and a meal for dads, according to the website. Fathers accompanied by kids 12 and under can have a complimentary meal at the barbecue party (loaded hamburger or two hot dogs with chips and a drink), the website said. General tickets cost $23 or $29 with a ride wristband, which includes pony ride, horse-drawn ride and a tractor train ride, according to the website, where you can purchase advance admission (required for free father admission).

The Nashua Silver Knights will celebrate Father’s Day after their Sunday, June 15, 3 p.m. game at Holman Stadium (67 Amherst St., Nashua) with post-game catch on the field. See nashuasilverknights.com.

Fairs, festivals, food, fun and more events to look forward to this season

Summer is here!

OK, maybe it’s more like “summer” is here, that time between Memorial Day weekend and Labor Day weekend, when we’re all in summer mode with our sunglasses and our shorts and our iced coffees and a desire to get out and enjoy the next three-ish months. Looking for some summer fun? Here are some of the big happenings — the festivals, fairs, sporting events and more — to put on your summer calendar.

Fairs and festivals

• The annual Mill Falls Memorial Weekend Craft Festival is happening Saturday, May 24, from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.; Sunday, May 25, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., and Monday, May 26, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at Mill Falls Marketplace (312 DW Highway, Meredith). More than 100 New England-based juried artisans will gather to sell their foods and crafts. Admission is free. Visit castleberryfairs.com.

• Celebrate Hillsborough, an event by History Alive, will take place Saturday, May 31, 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. in Hillsborough Center. The day will feature tours, music, activities, demonstrations, student art, workshops and more focused on Hillsborough history, according to historyalivenh.org.

• MakeIt Labs will hold MakeIt Fest 2025 on Saturday, May 31, from noon to 5 p.m. at 25 Crown St. in Nashua. This free outdoor festival will bring together local craftsmen, artists, makers and makerspaces with demonstrations, exhibits and more. See makeitfest.com.

• The Northern New England Book Fair, a book and antiques fair with the New Hampshire Antiques Dealers Association, will take place Sunday, June 1, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at Everett Arena (15 Loudon Road in Concord). Admission costs $5. Find the book fair on Facebook.

• Anheuser-Busch (221 DW Highway, Merrimack, 595-1202, budweisertours.com) will host the 2nd Annual Fire Truck Pull and Festival on Sunday, June 1, from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Teams will work to pull a full-size fire truck and compete on time at this event, which will also include vendors, a car show, food and drinks for sale and more. See budweisertours.com/mmktours.

• Milford Pride 2025 will take place Sunday, June 1, from noon to 4 p.m. at Keyes Park (45 Elm St., Milford) and will feature live music, food, vendors and more. See “Milford NH PRIDE” on Facebook.

• First Fridays in downtown Concord are an event, with food trucks, live music, pop-ups and more from 4 to 8 p.m. On Friday, June 6, the theme is Beach Party with food trucks Batulo’s Kitchen, Kona Ice and Wicked Tasty and music from DJ Nazzy at City Plaza and The Wandering Souls Band in Bicentennial Square. On Friday, Aug. 1 (there’s no July event), the theme is “Dog Days” with an outdoor movie from Red River Theatres. See firstfridayconcord.com.

• The Goffstown Rotary Club’s Car Show is returning for its 11th year on Saturday, June 7, from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Parsons Drive in Goffstown. Check out the classic vehicles along with the food trucks and vendors. See goffstownrotary.org.

• The Children’s Museum of New Hampshire (6 Washington St., Dover, childrens-museum.org) will hold its annual New Hampshire Maker Fest on Saturday, June 7, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Admission is a suggested donation of $5 per person. This family friendly event will showcase the all-ages engineers, arts, scientists, chefs, hobbyists and more and their inventions, experiments and projects, according to the website.

• The Windham Pride Festival will take place Sunday, June 8, from noon to 4 p.m. at Windham High School, according to a post on the Windham DEI Facebook page. This free, family-friendly event will feature live entertainment, food trucks and more, the post said.

• The Aviation Museum of New Hampshire will hold its annual Father’s Day Weekend Fly In Barbecue on Saturday, June 14, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Nashua’s Boire Field, with the event taking place at Nashua Jet Aviation (Nashua Airport, 83 Perimeter Road). Pilots, especially with vintage planes and home-built aircraft, are invited to fly in, according to aviationmuseumofnh.org. The public can come to check out the planes and enjoy the meal. Tickets to the barbecue cost $30 for adults and $10 for ages 6 to 12; kids 5 and under are free, the website said. Check out the planes without the food for $10 per person, kids 5 and under are free, the website said. Purchase tickets at the website or by calling 669-4877.

• This year’s Laconia Motorcycle Week runs from Saturday, June 14, through Sunday, June 22, and will include music, vendors, contests and more around Weirs Beach in Laconia. See laconiamcweek.com.

• Plaistow’s Old Home Day returns on Saturday, June 21, from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. with a parade and activities on the Town Hall green (145 Main St., Plaistow). See plaistow.com for updates.

• Wilton Main Street Association will hold its annual Summerfest on Saturday, June 21, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. featuring live music on two stages, food, street vendors, a pancake breakfast, a duck drop and a fireworks display in the evening on Carnival Hill. See visitwilton.com/summerfest.

• Juneteenth New England, hosted by Black Womxn In New Hampshire Collective, will take place Saturday, June 21, from 1 to 5 p.m. at Crossway Christian Church, 33 Pine St. in Nashua, according to givebutter.com/juneteenthne. “It’s a free community celebration in downtown Nashua honoring Black American culture, history, and joy. The event will feature live performances, cultural exhibits, music, games, and more. Everything is free, including the food, thanks to the support of community members and sponsors,” according to an email from organizers.

• The Nashua Pride Festival and Parade will run Saturday, June 21, from 3 to 6 p.m. The parade will kick off at Nashua City Hall on Main Street and conclude at the festival grounds at the Nashua Public Library, 2 Court St., according to a Facebook post about the event. The festival will feature art, health information, activism, food trucks, music and more, the post said. Find “NashuaPideFestival” on Facebook for more.

• Concord’s annual Market Days Festival runs from Thursday, June 26, to Saturday, June 28, in downtown Concord from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. with local vendors, live entertainment, family-friendly activities, maybe an in-festival wedding on Friday, June 27, and more. Visit marketdaysfestival.com.

• Manchester Pride 2025 will take place Saturday, June 28, with the theme “Picture Our Future.” The day will start with a parade on Elm Street at 11 a.m. headed to Veterans Park for a festival that runs from noon to 6 p.m. with entertainment, food, vendors and more, according to a Facebook post from Manchester True Collaborative about the event. See manchestertrue.org/pride-2025.

• The next New England Reptile Expo is scheduled for Sunday, June 29, from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the DoubleTree by Hilton Manchester Downtown (700 Elm St., Manchester). The show features more than 200 vendor tables full of reptiles, pet supplies and more. Tickets are $12 for adults, $6 for kids ages 7 to 12 and free for kids ages 6 and under. Visit reptileexpo.com.

• The Hillsborough Summer Festival at Grimes Field (29 Preston St., Hillsborough) takes place Thursday, July 10, to Sunday, July 13, with live entertainment, carnival rides, a fireworks show on Saturday night, a 5K road race on Friday and a parade on Sunday. Festival hours are 6 to 10 p.m. on Thursday; 5 to 11 p.m. on Friday; noon to 11 p.m. on Saturday, and noon to 5 p.m. on Sunday. Admission is free. Visit hillsborosummerfest.com.

• The Raymond Town Fair, its 50th according to the group’s Facebook page, will take place Friday, July 11, through Sunday, July 13, at the Raymond Town Common (Epping and Main streets, Raymond). It will feature live music, children’s activities, a fireworks display, games, vendors and more. See “Raymond Town Fair” on Facebook.

• The American Independence Museum (1 Governors Lane, Exeter) will hold its American Independence Festival on Saturday, July 12, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. in downtown Exeter. The day will feature the arrival and live reading of the Declaration of Independence, historical reenactments and colonial-era artisan demonstrations as well as colonial-era games, music and dances. Visit independencemuseum.org

For the kids
Got kids to entertain over the many weeks of no school? Be sure to pick up our Kids’ Guide to Summer issue, slated to hit stands on June 12.

• The Aviation Museum of New Hampshire (27 Navigator Road, Londonderry; aviationmuseumofnh.org) will hold its annual Classic Car Show Saturday, July 19, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

• The Stratham 4-H Summerfest returns on Saturday, July 19, at the Stratham Hill Park Fairgrounds (270 Portsmouth Ave., Stratham) from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. The event will feature animal shows, agriculture exhibits, competitions and more. See extension.unh.edu/event/2025/07/2025-stratham-4-h-summerfest.

• Organized by the Merrimack Valley Military Vehicle Collectors Club, the Weare Rally will run Thursday, July 24, through Saturday, July 26, at Center Woods School (14 Center Road, Weare). The rally features military vehicle displays, scenic rides, demonstrations, food and more. The cost is $5 per family. See mvmvc.org.

• The Live Free or Die Tattoo Expo runs Friday, July 25, to Sunday, July 27, at the DoubleTree by Hilton Manchester Downtown (700 Elm St., Manchester). The event features tattoo artists, contests, vendors, live music, food and performances. Show hours are from 5 p.m. to midnight on Friday, from 11 a.m. to midnight on Saturday, and from noon to 8 p.m. on Sunday. Tickets cost in advance $20 for a weekend pass ($25 at the door), according to livefreeordietattoo.com.

• The Canterbury Fair is, as always, the last Saturday in July — Saturday, July 26, from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. at Canterbury Center (Baptist and Center roads) with live music, demonstrations from local artisan and antique vendors, children’s activities and more. Admission is free. See canterburyfair.com.

• Find music, art, food, kids activities and more at the Nashua Summer Stroll on Saturday, July 26, from 3 to 8 p.m. in downtown Nashua. Find details and updates on the event’s Facebook page.

• Coppal House Farm (118 N. River Road in Lee; nhsunflower.com) will hold its Sunflower Festival Saturday, July 26, through Sunday, Aug. 3, 10 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. daily plus sunrise hours on Sunday, July 27, from 5:30 to 7 a.m. The festival also features kid events, a craft fair, music, food and more. See the website for information on tickets and happenings on specific days.

• The Suncook Valley Rotary’s Hot Air Balloon Rally will be held Friday, Aug. 1, through Sunday, Aug. 3 at Drake Field, Barnstead Road in Pittsfield. See nhballoonrally.org for updates on this year’s schedule.

• The Belknap County Fair is set to return on Saturday, Aug. 2, from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m., and on Sunday, Aug. 3, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. at 174 Mile Hill Road in Belmont. Admission at the gate is $10 for adults, $5 for senior citizens 65 and older, police, fire and EMS personnel, and free for kids under 10 and for military service members. Visit bcfairnh.org.

• The New Hampshire Antiques Show, hosted by the New Hampshire Antique Dealers Association, returns to the DoubleTree by Hilton Manchester Downtown (700 Elm St., Manchester) Thursday, Aug. 7, through Saturday, Aug. 9. Nearly 60 professional antique dealers will exhibit their collections of antique furniture, art, jewelry and more. Show hours are 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Thursday and Friday, and 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturday. Tickets are $15 on Thursday, and $10 on Friday and Saturday; return visits are free. Visit nhada.org.

• Hudson’s Old Home Days will take place Thursday, Aug. 7, to Sunday, Aug. 10, on the grounds of the Hill House (211 Derry Road, Hudson). There will be carnival games, live music, food, vendors, a craft fair, kids’ activities and more. Event times are Thursday from 5 to 10 p.m., Friday from 5 to 11 p.m., Saturday from noon to 11 p.m. and Sunday from noon to 5 p.m. See hudsonoldhomedays.com.

• The Sunflower Bloom Festival will take place Saturday, Aug. 9, through Sunday, Aug. 17, at Sunfox Farm on Gully Hill Road in Concord, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m daily. Visit the farm (admission costs $12 per person, ages 10 and under are free). Also at the farm find artisan and craft vendors, live music and food trucks, according to sunfoxfarm.org/sunflowerfestival.

• Salembration!, a celebration of the 275th birthday of Salem, New Hampshire, will take place on Geremonty Drive on Saturday, Aug. 9, from noon to 5 p.m. The event will feature food trucks, craft vendors and more, according to salemnh.gov/1096/salembration, and take place in conjunction with Field of Dreams’ annual Family Fun Day.

• The Hampton Beach Comedy Festival will run Tuesday, Aug. 12, through Sunday, Aug. 17; check hampton-beach-comedy-festival.weebly.com later in the summer for tickets and details on the slate of comedians each night. According to the website, founder Jimmy Dunn won’t be at this year’s festival but you can catch him Friday, Aug. 1, at the Hampton Beach Casino Ballroom, where he will appear on a bill with Jimmy Cash.

Summer of laughs
Looking for comedy this summer? Check out the Comedy This Week listings this week and every week in the Nite section for comedy shows at venues big and small.

• Londonderry’s Old Home Days are scheduled for Wednesday, Aug. 13, to Saturday, Aug. 16. See londonderrynh.gov for updates on details.

• The Aviation Museum of New Hampshire (27 Navigator Road, Londonderry; aviationmuseumofnh.org) will hold Planefest on Saturday, Aug. 16, featuring an exhibit about the Tuskegee Airmen and the World War II-era Woman’s Army Service Pilots, known as the WASPs.

• History Alive 2025 will present a weekend of reenactments on Saturday, Aug. 16, and Sunday, Aug. 17, at Jones Road in Hillsborough. The weekend will feature reenactments of historical battles across the centuries — including Roman and Viking battles, the French and Indian War, the Revolutionary War, the Civil War, World War I and World War II, according to historyalivenh.org. The event will also feature other historical demonstrations as well as drawing and cartooning workshops with Marek Bennett, whose works include the Freeman Colby graphic novels about a real-life New Hampshire teacher in the Civil War. See the website for details and a schedule. Tickets cost $10 per adult, $8 for seniors and are free for kids 16 and under, the website said.

• Candia’s Old Home Day will take place on Saturday, Aug. 23, from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Moore Park (74 High St., Candia). The day will feature local crafters and artisans, town community booths, games, a wildlife exhibit, food and music. See candiaoldhomeday.com.

• Pembroke and Allenstown’s Old Home Day returns on Saturday, Aug. 23, starting with a parade down Main Street in Allenstown to Memorial Field (Exchange Street) in Pembroke. A fun-filled day is planned at the field, featuring two stages of live entertainment, antique cars, children’s games, a craft area, bounce houses and a fireworks display at dusk. Admission and parking are free. See pembrokeallenstownoldhomeday.org.

• The Hopkinton State Fair bills itself as a Labor Day weekend tradition happening this year from Thursday, Aug. 28, to Monday, Sept. 1, at the fairgrounds (392 Kearsarge Ave., Contoocook). There will be livestock shows, a demolition derby, carnival rides, monster trucks, live entertainment, food and more. The fair hours are 5 to 10 p.m. on Thursday; 8 a.m. to 11 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday, and 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Monday. See hsfair.org.

• Cruising Downtown will return to the streets of downtown Manchester for a 23rd year on Saturday, Aug. 30, organized by the Manchester Rotary Club. The day will feature cars on display, along with food, live demonstrations, local vendors and live entertainment. Admission is free for spectators. Visit cruisingdowntownmanchester.com.

• The Exeter UFO Festival returns to downtown Exeter on Saturday, Aug. 30, and Sunday, Aug. 31 — the event commemorates the anniversary of the “Incident at Exeter” (the report of a UFO sighting on Sept. 3, 1965, in nearby Kingston) with speakers, kids events and more. See exeterufofestival.org.

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Arts Events

• Watch the four sculptors participating in this year’s Nashua International Sculpture Symposium at work on their pieces at Picker Artists (3 Pine St. in Nashua), where they are working Mondays through Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. through Wednesday, May 28, according to nashuasculpturesymposium.org. The pieces, which will become part of Nashua’s townwide exhibit of sculptures, will be unveiled in their installation locations on Saturday, May 31, at 1 p.m.

• Meet the Local Authors on Saturday, May 24, from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. at Manchester Craft Market (inside the Mall of New Hampshire, 1500 S. Willow St., Manchester). About a dozen writers are slated to attend this supersized book signing, according to a Facebook post on the Market’s page about the event. Signed books will be available for purchase, including children’s books, New Hampshire history books, mysteries and more. See manchestercraftmarket.com.

• After a Saturday of tap workshops, the Aaron Tolson Institute of Dance’s Grante State Tap Festival will present a National Tap Dance Day Show on Sunday, May 25, at 4 p.m. at the Dana Center (Saint Anselm College in Manchester; tickets.anselm.edu). Tickets cost $29.50.

Art on display
Find art exhibits at area galleries and museums throughout the summer in our art listings, which appear weekly in the Arts section.

• Catch the Concord Arts Market this summer — Art in the Park, featuring 65+ artists and their works in Rollins Park in Concord from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., will take place Saturday, June 7; Saturday, July 12, and Saturday, Aug. 9. Concord Arts Market will also appear at the Market Days Festival Thursday, June 26, through Saturday, June 28, 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Pleasant Street in Concord. See concordartsmarket.org.

• The Currier Museum of Art and the Black Heritage Trail of New Hampshire celebrate Juneteenth with a program called “Never Caught: The Defiant Journey of Ona Marie Judge Staines” that brings Ona’s voice to life on Thursday, June 12, at 5:30 p.m. at the museum (150 Ash St., Manchester, 669-6144, currier.org) through a dramatic reading of her 1845 interview, originally published in The Granite Freeman, featuring New Hampshire actress Sandi Clarke Kaddy as Ona Judge. Following the performance, Dr. Erica Armstrong Dunbar, author of the Pulitzer Prize finalist Never Caught: The Washingtons’ Relentless Pursuit of Their Runaway Slave, Ona Judge, will discuss Ona’s story. Admission is free but space is limited; reserve a spot at blackheritagetrailnh.org or by calling 570-8469.

• If you’re heading to the beach, check out the craftspeople at the 25th Annual Hampton Beach Master Sand Sculpting Classic, which will run Thursday, June 12, through Saturday, June 14, with the sculptures, lit up at night, on view through Monday, June 23. There will be a fireworks display on Saturday, June 14, at 9:30 p.m. See hamptonbeach.org.

• The Currier Museum of Art (150 Ash St. in Manchester; currier.org) will hold a Juneteenth Art Off the Walls on Thursday, June 19, from 5 to 8 p.m., when admission is donation based. The evening will feature music, dance, art-making and more in partnership with the Racial Unity Team, according to an email from the museum. Other Art Off the Walls programs will be held this summer on July 17 and Aug. 21.

• The 2025 Manchester International Film Festival is set for Thursday, July 24, and Friday, July 25, at the Rex Theatre (23 Amherst St. in Manchester). For tickets and an up-to-date schedule of events, see palacetheatre.org/film.

• Uncommon Art on the Common takes place on Saturday, Aug. 2, from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Main Street in downtown Goffstown. Find participating artists and more at goffstownuncommonarts.org.

• Positive Street Arts will present OBSCURE Runway Show on Sunday, Aug. 3, at 1 p.m. (rescheduled from April). The show “represents a convergence of creativity and innovation, bringing together local artists, designers, and boutiques in a spectacular showcase. … Through the fusion of art and fashion, Positive Street Art strives to create a platform where diverse creatives can collaborate and showcase their unique perspectives,” according to a Positive Street Arts post about the event. General admission tickets cost $45. See positivestreetart.org; find Positive Street Arts on Facebook for a link to purchase tickets.

• The Greeley Park Art Show (100 Concord St., Nashua) returns on Saturday, Aug. 16, and Sunday, Aug. 17, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. both days. The annual outdoor juried art show hosted by Nashua Area Artists Association features a variety of artwork for sale. Visit nashuaarts.org/greeleyparkartshow.

• The League of New Hampshire Craftsmen will hold the 91st Annual Craftsmen’s Fair at Mount Sunapee Resort (1398 Route 103, Newbury) Saturday, Aug. 2, through Sunday, Aug. 10. It will feature the juried work of hundreds of members with sales booths, educational workshops, demonstrations and exhibitions. See nhcrafts.org/annual-craftsmens-fair.

• Arts Build Community will hold its Community Canvas Mural Festival Thursday, Aug. 7, through Sunday, Aug. 17, in downtown Manchester, according to a press release. Participating artists and installation sites will be announced in July, the release said. The event will include 10 large-scale murals as well as artist talks, youth paint days, storytelling events, mural tours and a block party, the release said. See artsbuildcommunity.com.

Summer theater
Find information about summer theater in our May 15 issue. Go to hippopress.com and look for the issue in our digital library. The guide to summer theater starts on page 10.

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Spectator Sports

• The games continue for the New Hampshire Fisher Cats at Northeast Delta Dental Stadium in downtown Manchester. The team began a stretch of games against the Somerset Patriots this week, with games Thursday, May 22, at 6:35 p.m. (when the Cats play as Gatos Feroces de New Hampshire); Friday, May 23, at 6:35 p.m.; Saturday, May 24, at 4:05 p.m. and Sunday, May 25, at 1:35 p.m. The next stretch of games starts Tuesday, June 3, against the Altoona Curve. Regular season games continue, with the final home game on Sunday, Sept. 14. See milb.com/new-hampshire for the game schedule, tickets and promotions.

• The Nashua Silver Knights, members of the Futures Collegiate Baseball League, will host their home opener at Holman Stadium (67 Amherst St., Nashua) on Wednesday, May 28, against the Worcester Bravehearts at 10:30 a.m. followed by a game Friday, May 30, at 6 p.m. against the Vermont Lake Monsters with after-game fireworks. Their last home game of the regular season will be on Friday, Aug. 9, at 6 p.m. against Vermont. See nashuasilverknights.com.

• The next home bout for NH Roller Derby at JFK Memorial Coliseum (303 Beech St. in Manchester) is Saturday, May 31, at 4 p.m. when the NH Roller Derby All-Stars take on Maine Roller Derby’s Old Port Brigade; at 6 p.m., the NH Roller Derby Cherry Bombs take on Mass Attack Roller Derby’s Bloody Bordens. Doors open at 3:30 p.m.; tickets are sold at the door: $15 for adults, $5 for veterans and NHRD vets, kids 12 and under get in for free. Future home bouts are Saturday, June 21, and Saturday, July 19. See nhrollerderby.com for updates.

• Join Special Olympics New Hampshire for its 2025 State Summer Games, the organization’s largest competition of the year for its athletes, on Friday, June 6, and Saturday, June 7, at the University of New Hampshire (105 Main St., Durham). The games include competition in athletics, bocce, equestrian, powerlifting, unified sprint triathlons and swimming. Visit sonh.org.

• Granite State Roller Derby has home bouts scheduled for Saturday, June 7, and Saturday, June 28, both at 6 p.m. and held at the Everett Arena (15 Loudon Road in Concord). See granitestaterollerderby.org.

• The 2025 New Hampshire Soap Box Derby Local Championship will be held on Sunday, June 8, at 120 Broadway in Dover — check-ins begin at 7:45 a.m., with side-by-side competitions starting at 10 a.m. Spectators can cheer on the races for free. See nh.soapboxderby.org.

• The 102nd annual Loudon Classic Middleweight Grand Prix, a 1.6-mile road race, will take place at New Hampshire Motor Speedway (1122 Route 106, Louon) on Saturday, June 14, as part of Laconia Motorcycle Week. See nhms.com.

• High school football players from across the state will participate in the 13th annual NH East-West High School All-Star Football Game, benefiting Dartmouth Health Children’s and the Children’s Hospital at Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center, scheduled for Friday, June 27, at 6 p.m. at Grappone Stadium at Saint Anselm College (100 Saint Anselm Drive, Manchester). General admission tickets are $15 in advance, $20 on the day. Kids 5 and under get in for free. See chadkids.org.

• New Hampshire Muscle Cars club will be hosting its Summer Sizzler car show on Saturday, Aug. 23, from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. at Star Speed way (176 Exeter Road in Epping). It will include burnout competitions as well as slalom competitions. See nhmusclecars.com.

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Nature Events

• The Black Heritage Trail of New Hampshire and the New Hampshire Audubon are offering a Black Birders Week 2025 Tour on Saturday, May 31, from 9 to 11 a.m. in Portsmouth. The tour will start at the Black Heritage Trail’s office and head through gardens ending at the water, according to nhaudubon.org, where you can register for a spot. Registration costs $20.

• Sunday, June 1, is World Ocean Day and the Seacoast Science Center at Odiorne Point State Park in Rye is celebrating from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. with touch tanks, tide pool tours, activity stations, an inflatable whale, a beach clean-up and more, according to seacoastsciencecenter.org, where you can purchase tickets for the event.

• New Hampshire Audubon’s Massabesic Center (26 Audubon Way in Auburn; nhaudubon.org) will hold free Massabesic Garden Tours throughout the summer: Tuesday, June 3, at 5:30 to 7 p.m.; Saturday, June 14, 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.; Saturday, Aug. 16, 10 to 11:30 a.m., and Tuesday, Aug. 26, 5:30 to 7 p.m. RSVP online.

Summer reads
Meet your favorite authors at author readings and other events this summer. Find listings of author events, book sales and more literary fun this week and every week in the Books section.

• Saturday, June 7, is New Hampshire Fish and Game’s summer Free Fishing Day, when state residents and nonresidents are allowed to fish any inland water or saltwater in New Hampshire without a fishing license. Visit wildlife.state.nh.us.

• Southeast Land Trust of New Hampshire will celebrate National Trails Day by maintaining the trails at Stonehouse Forest in Barrington on Saturday, June 7, from 9 a.m. to noon. Register to participate at seltnh.org.

• The New Hampshire Audubon will hold its annual Native Plant and Craft Sale on Saturday, June 7, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the McLean Center (84 Silk Farm Road in Concord). The event will also include the sale of fresh flower bouquets, a fair featuring more than 15 local artisans, the pizza-serving Greenhouse Food Truck, music from Junk Drawer, guided tours of the gardens, animal ambassadors and more. See nhaudubon.org.

• If you enjoy watching the peregrine falcons and their chicks at the Brady Sullivan Tower in downtown Manchester (you can view them in three different live streams via nhaudubon.org/education/birds-and-birding/peregrine-cam) you can learn more about them at a falcon fan meet and greet (for humans) and supply- and fund-raiser for Wings of the Dawn Rescue & Rehab on Saturday, June 21, at 10 a.m. at the Brady Sullivan Tower, according to the daily log. Keep an eye on the cams for falcon updates and to see the daily log.

• The New Hampshire Audubon Nature Challenge will run Sunday, June 22, through Saturday, June 28, when participants can help to “document the birds, mammals, insects, reptiles, amphibians, flowers, trees, mosses, mushrooms, and everything that either stops at our sanctuaries or calls [the NH Audubon’s wildlife sanctuaries] home!” according to nhaudubon.org, where you can see the list of sanctuaries and get more information about how to participate.

• New Hampshire Audubon’s Massabesic Center (26 Audubon Way in Auburn; nhaudubon.org) will hold an Art Walk in the Garden event on Saturday, July 12, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. with a guided tour with the garden team from 1 to 2:30 p.m. (register online for the tour). The event will showcase the newly installed All Persons Trail in the Center’s gardens and sanctuary fields, according to the website. Original, local artworks will be placed through the gardens, with some piece available for purchase, the website said. Greenhouse Pizza Truck will be on site selling lunch and there will be an indoor art exhibit as well, the website said. Register on the site by July 5 for free transportation to the center from Veterans Park in Manchester.

• At the Harris Conservation Center for Conservation Education in Hancock, the SuperSanctuary Butterfly Club will hold a Butterfly Count on Saturday, July 19, from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Register to help with the survey, whose information will be submitted to the North American Butterfly Association and the New Hampshire Butterfly Monitoring Network. See harriscenter.org.

• The New Hampshire Audubon’s McLane Center (84 Silk Farm Road in Concord; nhaudubon.org) will serve as the home base for the NH Butterfly Monitoring Network Capital Region Butterfly Count on Saturday, July 26, from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Participants can register online to receive more information about the locations in the Concord area that will be part of the count, according to the website.

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Music Festivals

• The New Hampshire Gay Men’s Chorus spring concert series “Celebrations” will be performed at four locations: the Holy Trinity Evangelical Lutheran Church (22 Fox Run Road in Newington) on Saturday, May 31, at 7 p.m.; The Rex Theatre (23 Amherst St. in Manchester) on Sunday, June 1, at 3 p.m.; First Baptist Church of Nashua (121 Manchester St. in Nashua) on Saturday, June 7, at 7 p.m., and the BNH Stage (16 S. Main St. in Concord) on Sunday, June 8, at 3 p.m. See nhgmc.com/tickets for links to tickets at each venue.

• The Northlands Music and Arts Festival will offer three days of music this year — Friday, June 13, and Sunday, June 15, at the Cheshire Fairground in Swanzey, plus music on Thursday as fans show up at the campground. Headliners include The String Cheese Incident on Friday; Cory Wong and Moe. on Saturday, and Umphrey’s McGee and Lotus on Sunday. Food vendors will be at both the concert and the campground as will arts and craft vendors. The weekend will also feature kids’ activities, wellness activities and more. See northlandslive.com for festival, camping and parking passes as well as for the complete music lineup.

• The “Country by the Coast” Country Music Festival takes place Tuesday, July 8, through Thursday, July 10, with music and line-dancing (with Nashville Line Dance at 6 p.m. on Tuesday and Wednesday and 5 p.m. on Thursday) each evening. The music line-up includes Red Solo Cup (Toby Keith tribute) on July 8 at 7 p.m.; Stefanie Jasmine Band on July 9 at 7 p.m., and David J. followed by Niko Moon on July 10 starting at 7 p.m., according to hamptonbeach.org. All shows are free.

• Brews & Blues ’25 will feature music from noon to 7 p.m. on Saturday, July 19, including Clandestine Funk, Johnny A. & James Montgomery Band at Anheuser-Busch, (221 DW Highway, Merrimack, 595-1202, budweisertours.com). Tickets to this 21+ event cost $35.

Summer of concerts
Michael Witthaus is cooking up a big guide to summer concerts. Look for that issue in June.

• Hillfest 2025, billed as “New England’s Christian Music Festival,” will take place Saturday, July 19, from 1 to 10:30 p.m. at The Lord’s Valley, 100 Locke Road in New Ipswich. The line-up includes Jeremy Camp, We Are Messengers, Ben Fuller, Terrian, Leanna Crawford and Megan Woods. See hillfestevents.com.

• Pizzastock 9, a family community music event featuring 13 music acts on two stages as well as information on mental health, physical health and suicide prevention, will take place on Saturday, July 26, from noon to 6 p.m. at Pinkerton Academy in Derry next to the football field, according to a post on the Jason R. Flood Memorial Facebook page. The event will also feature kid activities, a teen/young adult “tailgate” game area, food trucks and of course pizza from Kendall Pond Pizza, the post said. Entrance to the event is free. See pizzastock.org or find them on Facebook.

• The Granite State Blues Festival will take place Saturday, Aug. 2, in Veterans Memorial Park on Elm Street in downtown Manchester from noon to 6 p.m. See granitestateblues.org for details.

• The Outlaw Music Festival will come to the Bank NH Pavillion in Gilford on Sunday, Aug. 3, at 3:45 p.m. featuring Willie Nelson & Family, Bob Dylan, Wilco, Lucinda Williams and Waylon Payne. Other Brother Darryl plays on the Hazy Little Stage at 3 p.m. See banknhpavilion.com.

• The New Hampshire Irish Festival is slated for Saturday, Aug. 23, at 5 p.m. at the Palace Theatre (80 Hanover St. in Manchester; palacetheatre.org). The line-up on stage is scheduled to include The Spain Brothers, Ronan Tynan, Screaming Orphans, Mick McAuley and Eileen Ivers, according to the website, where tickets starting at $43 are on sale now.

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Food Events

• The Friends of the Library of Windham will hold their 40th annual Strawberry Festival and Book Fair on Saturday, May 31, from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. at Windham High School (64 London Bridge Road, Windham). The festival will feature homemade strawberry shortcake, live music, raffles, local vendors and games. The Book Fair will start with a preview day for Friends members, teachers and seniors at Nesmith Library on Wednesday, May 28, and then open to the public Thursday, May 29, from 11 a.m. to 7:30 p.m and Friday, May 30, from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. On Saturday the book fair will move to the high school from 11:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., with a $5 bag of books special from 3:30 to 4:30 p.m. Visit flowwindham.org.

• Tickets are on sale now for the Palace Theatre’s Kitchen Tour on Sunday, June 1. The tour will run from 9:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. and feature a self-guided tour at kitchens in Amherst, Bedford, Hollis and Manchester, with a lunch offered at Baron’s Major Brands in Manchester. Tickets cost $55 in advance, $65 on the day. See palacetheatre.org.

• Herb & Garden Day, presented by the New Hampshire Herbal Network, returns to the Mount Kearsarge Indian Museum (18 Highlawn Road, Warner) on Saturday, June 7, from 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. The event features workshops tailored to all skill levels, along with plant walks, an herbal market and plant sale, food vendors and more. Admission is $35 in advance. Visit nhherbalnetwork.org/herbday.

• The Rhubarb Festival at Sawyer Memorial Park (148 Route 202 in Bennington) will take place Saturday, June 7, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. The day will feature rhubarb eats as well as food trucks, a craft fair, vendors, children’s activities, a petting zoo, a story walk, music, plants and more, according to townofbennington.com/rhubarb-festival.

• The 97.5 WOKQ Chowder Festival Summer Kick-Off takes place Saturday, June 7, 11:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. in Prescott Park in Portsmouth. Tickets cost $20 per person. See prescottpark.org/event/97-5-wokq-chowder-festival-2025.

• The New Hampshire Bacon & Beer Festival will take place Saturday, June 7, 1:30 to 5 p.m. at Anheuser-Busch (221 DW Highway, Merrimack, 595-1202, budweisertours.com). This 21+ event will feature 60+ brewers as well as barbecue and bacon vendors as well as live music by The Slakas, according to nhbaconbeer.com. Attendees will get beer and bacon samples and can purchase additional items, the website said. General admission tickets cost $70.90 in advance.

• The St. Nicholas Greek Festival will return on Friday, June 20, and Saturday, June 21, from 11:30 a.m. to 10 p.m. both days, at St. Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church (40 Andrew Jarvis Drive, Portsmouth, 436-2733). This year’s Greek Festival will feature fresh lamb, moussaka, spanakopita (spinach pie), gyros and Greek pastry. Visit stnicholasgreekfestival.com.

• The Hollis Strawberry Festival, presented by the Hollis Woman’s Club, will bring strawberry shortcake and other strawberry treats to the Town Common (7 Monument Square, Hollis) on Sunday, June 22, from 2 to 4 p.m. Visit holliswomansclub.org.

• The NH Beer Trail Basecamp Festival on Saturday, June 28, from 1 to 4 p.m. at Tuckerman Brewing in Conway is a new event from the New Hampshire Brewers Association and a kickoff to the relaunched NH Beer Trail Guidebook, according to nhbrewers.org. The event will feature nearly 40 New Hampshire craft breweries, live music, food trucks, local vendors and more, according to the website, where you can buy general admission tickets for $50 each, VIP tickets (with a noon admission time) for $75 and designated driver tickets for $20 each.

• Farm-a-Q, a celebration of local farmers, chefs and brewers,returns to Tuckaway Farm (36 Captain Smith Emerson Road, Lee) on Sunday, June 29, from noon to 5 p.m. Tickets start at $20. The event is billed as family-friendly and supports the Heritage Harvest Project, whose mission is to promote regional heritage foods and agricultural diversity among farmers, chefs and local communities. See “Farm-a-Q” on Eventbrite to purchase tickets.

• The Spicy Shark presents the New England Hot Sauce Fest, returning to Smuttynose Brewing Co. (105 Towle Farm Road, Hampton) on Saturday, July 26, from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. The event features local hot sauce companies selling and offering samples of their spicy products, as well as with bounce houses, food trucks and more. General admission tickets are $15 in advance; VIP tickets are $20 in advance and give you a 10 a.m. admission time. Proceeds will benefit the Blue Ocean Society for Marine Conservation and the Seacoast Science Center, according to newenglandhotsaucefest.com.

• Southern New Hampshire Food Truck Festival will take place on Saturday, Aug. 2, from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m., and Sunday, Aug. 3, from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., at the Hampshire Dome (34 Emerson Road in Milford). Tickets cost $8 each or two for $15; kids age 14 and under get in free. The fest will feature live music, craft beer and cocktails, more than 50 vendors, a whoopie pie eating contest and a kids’ zone, according to a post at facebook.com/GreatNEFoodTruckFest.

• The Mahrajan Middle Eastern Food Festival (bestfestnh.com) will take place Friday, Aug. 15, to Sunday, Aug. 17, at Our Lady of the Cedars Church (140 Mitchell St., Manchester, 623-8944, olocnh.org). Lebanese foods such as shawarma, falafel, lamb, grilled chicken and many types of pastries will be served. The fest will be open from 5 to 10 p.m. on Friday, noon to 10 p.m. on Saturday and 1 to 5 p.m. on Sunday.

• Assumption Greek Orthodox Church (111 Island Pond Road, Manchester, 623- 2045, assumptionnh.org) will hold its 2025 Greekfest on Saturday, Aug. 23, from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m., and Sunday, Aug. 24, from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Visit the Church’s website for more information closer to the event.

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A look at the coming theater season

By Michael Witthaus

mwitthaus@hippopress.com

Cooperation, collaboration and interdependence are all hallmarks of New Hampshire’s theater scene, and the upcoming summer schedule exemplifies. For the second year in a row Symphony NH, the state’s biggest orchestra, will share the stage for a production at New London Barn. An independent theater company again will direct this year’s Shakespeare on the Green show Saint Anselm College, with Ballet Misha providing the choreography.

Area venues are in on the act, so to speak. Derry’s Opera House hosts multiple youth theater groups, and the Capitol Center in Concord supports an area performing arts company. Nashua’s Janice B. Streeter Theatre also opens its doors to multiple troupes.

Youngsters are a big reason for the theater season, and a good number of the listings here are performances done as part of summer camps, workshops and other efforts to get kids interested in showbiz, or get them to come out of their shells through singing and acting.

All this comes at a challenging time for the arts, as a threat to many organizations of losing longtime funding from the State of New Hampshire and the federal government is ever present.

Actorsingers

Janice B. Streeter Theatre, 14 Court St., Nashua, actorsingers.org

Teen Actorsingers performs Teen Anastasia on July 11 through July 13 (tickets, showtimes TBA). The musical takes its cues from the Disney movie. With actors ages 13-19, the group’s most recent production was Frozen Jr., which ran in April. The mainstage company recently wrapped the Legally Blonde. Actorsingers also has a Second Stage & Fringe company; its last show was 2024’s Monstersongs.

Bedford Off Broadway

Bedford Town Hall, 3 Meetinghouse Road, Bedford, bedfordoffbroadway.com

This community theater company stages three plays a year. The second of 2025 is a drama, 12 Angry Jurors, adapted by Sherman L. Sergel from Reginald Rose’s 1954 teleplay 12 Angry Men. It runs June 6 through June 15, with 7:30 p.m. shows on Friday and Saturday, and 2 p.m. Sunday matinees. Their final production, the northern small-town comedy Icehouse, is scheduled for November.

Bedford Youth Performing Company

155 Route 101, Bedford, bypc.org

Actors ranging in age from kindergarten through sixth grade perform Moana Jr. on May 17 and 18 at 1 p.m. at Goffstown High School (27 Wallace Road, Goffstown). The show is a musical adaptation of the Disney movie about a spirited island girl who teams up with a demigod. Together, they encounter all manner of adventure. BYPC offers arts instruction and experience for youths in Bedford and the surrounding communities. 

Community Players of Concord

435 Josiah Bartlett Road, Concord, communityplayersofconcord.org

The summer Children’s Theatre Project Summer Camp, booked since mid-April, commences Aug. 3 and runs through Aug. 8, ending with a performance of Moana Jr. for family and friends and Concord City Auditorium, 2 Prince St., Concord.

Cue Zero Theatre Company

Arts Academy of New Hampshire, 19 Keewaydin Drive, No. 4, Salem, cztheatre.com

An arts world early adopter, Cue Zero boasts that every one of their shows “features an element of ‘new’ or ‘first time’ to it,” so it’s fitting they’re doing a musical based on the movie Amelie, its New Hampshire debut and, director Heidi Krantz believes, the initial New England production. It plays June 20 and June 21 at 7:30 p.m., and June 22 at 2 p.m.

Heidi Krantz, Cue Zero Theatre Company

Heidi is directing Amelie, a musical version of the movie favorite

First of all, why Amelie?

This is one of my all-time favorite shows, and I realized that the rights were available.

This is Amelie’s first New England production. What’s the background on it?

I believe it hit the Broadway stage in New York 2016 or 2017 and only had about a month of a run there. When it came to the U.K. in 2020 they did kind of an updated version of it that is more similar to the production that we’re doing. The U.S. version sounds a lot more clean-cut. I think the U.K. version brought more of a whimsical vibe, like the movie is just so whimsical. It’s crazy. It’s all over the place. And the music really captures that.

What’s your impression of the southern New Hampshire theater scene?

I really enjoy the theater community in southern New Hampshire. I do feel like there’s a lot of room for it to expand. I find that it’s a lot easier to just frequently work with the same companies, and I have had a lot of experiences with multiple companies. I’ve had that perspective, and I would just encourage people to try to branch out more. I think we’re all in it for the same purposes, the same passions, and I feel like just getting to network more is just so important, too.

Epping Community Theatre

Epping Playhouse, 38 Ladds Lane, Epping, eppingtheater.org

With performers from Epping Middle School, Brothers Grimm Spectaculathon has two narrators and several actors in a race to combine all 209 Grimm stories, from familiar ones like Rapunzel, Rumpelstiltskin and Sleeping Beauty to stranger, less well-known tales like Lean Lisa and The Devil’s Grandmother. Plays May 16 at 7 p.m. and May 17 and May 18 at 2 p.m. July 18 through July 20, it’s Seussical the Musical from Epping’s Main Stage company.

Kids Coop Theatre

232 N. Broadway, Salem, kctnh.org

Founded in the late ’90s by a group of parents looking to engage their kids in the performing arts, KCT offers workshops, classes and performances that revolve around the ideas “that every child has something valuable to contribute, and the experience of being part of a production can be transformative.” A cast ranging in age from 12 to 19 performs Hadestown Teen Edition Aug, 1 through Aug. 3 at Derry Opera House (25 Broadway, Derry).

Majestic Theatre

880 Page St., Manchester, majestictheatre.net

The busy company has The Emperor’s New Clothes, a musical with an eclectic score including Celtic songs, Roaring Twenties jazz and 1950s rock, May 16 through May 18. The Hart & Kaufman play George Washington Slept Here, about a couple that moves to the country with their daughter to find life more chaotic than bucolic, opens June 20. With a new Pope picked, Joseph & the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, Webber & Rice’s follow-up to Jesus Christ Superstar; it opens July 11 at Derry Opera House. Living Together is a sophisticated comedy that won a Best Revival Tony in 2009. All shows are performed four times: Friday at 7 p.m., Saturday at 2 and 7 p.m., and Sunday at 2 p.m.

Robert Dionne, Majestic Theatre

Robert co-founded The Majestic with Matt Morin in 1991.

What he likes about the upcoming season…

Each show brings its own benefits by coming to see it. George Washington Slept Here is a classic comedy … a big cast show. We have a lot of really great actors that have appeared on a stage over the years, and it’s very funny. Joseph is a big, flashy musical with a cast of all ages at this big opera house. Then we end the season with a smaller show at the studio theater, Living Together, another comedy, but a little more sophisticated than maybe what they saw with the previous two shows.

Why they’re able to maintain such a busy schedule.

For the most part, we have separate teams working on each show … other than myself as the through-piece, as the producer, and our Technical Director, Matt Morin, as the technical guy, all the other teams and actors on those shows are different. So that allows us to kind of, at any given time here, we might be rehearsing four or five shows that are getting ready to go up.

Living Together is a new show, while the others have been done by Majestic before. Here’s why it was chosen.

That was brought, Greg Parker, who’s directing…. A lot of times I’ll go to directors and say, hey, what are some shows that you’re interested in or passionate about? Because obviously if it’s something they want to do, it tends to be a better process of production, because they’re very well-known and within the show.

On The Majestic’s longevity, and the New Hampshire theater community.

We have a very faithful following, not only with actors but also with audience members. We have audience members that are with us all 35 years. If you don’t have that support, then, as a head of a theater, you get to the point where you kind of get sick of spinning your wheels and maybe putting your own money into all the shows. But when you get that community buy-in — we’ve been very lucky in Manchester and southern New Hampshire, the audience members, the donors and the actors and everybody helps keep our day-to-day stuff going, [and] that kind of makes it all worth it. We build off of that every single season.

Manchester Community Theatre Players

698 Beech St., Manchester, manchestercommunitytheatre.com

After successfully staging The Bridges of Madison County in late April and early May, MCTP is preparing for the fall season. Shrek the Musical will open on Oct. 17 and run for six performances. Auditions happen June 30 and July 1.

Nashua Theatre Guild

Janice B. Streeter Theater, 14 Court St., Nashua, nashuatheatreguild.org

An outdoor performance of Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night in Greeley Park, directed by Katie Sibley, happens July 26, July 27, Aug. 2 and Aug. 3 at 2 p.m. In September, The Tin Woman, written by Sean Grennan and directed by Stephen Post, will be performed daily Sept. 19 through Sept. 21.

New London Barn Playhouse

84 Main St., New London, nlbarn.org

With almost a century’s worth of history, this venerable venue helped launch the career of Stephen Schwartz, who worked on Godspell there while doing summer stock. Over the years, Laura Linney, Taye Diggs and Tony winner Judy Kuhn also spent time treading its boards. Recently the Barn has branched out, with live music and collaborations like Annie Get Your Gun with Symphony NH Collaboration, which opens the new season on May 30, running through June 1. The traditional Straw Hat Revue introduces this summer cast June 4 through June 8. The first musical is one of three inspired by a movie: The Bridges of Madison County, June 11 through June 22, followed by Sister Act June 25 through July 13, then Mary Poppins July 16 through Aug. 3. Perennial favorite Hairspray runs Aug. 6 through Aug. 17, then it’s The Cottage, a stage comedy, Aug. 20 through Aug. 31. The Sea & The Stars, a romantic comedy that’s part of the Barn’s Nest new works collaboration with Transport Group, runs Sept. 4 through Sept. 7.

New London Barn plus Symphony NH

Keith Coughlin, Executive Artistic Director atNew London Barn and Deanna Hoying, Executive Director of Symphony NH, talk about their organizations collaborating for the second year. A production of Annie Get Your Gun in late May and early June will again bring together 25 Symphony NH musicians and nine singers from New London Barn.

The idea, Hoying and Coughlin both said in separate interviews, grew out of regular Zoom meetings held during the dark days of the pandemic, as everyone was wondering what might come next.

Hoying: I’ve worked for a lot of arts organizations in a number of different states, and this is the tightest group I’ve ever seen. I have to give credit to the New Hampshire State Arts Council and Jeanne Lupe, who was leading it at the time [of the Zoom meetings].

Coughlin: Through these Zoom meetings, we were creating relationships with arts organizations all over New Hampshire. When we started talking about this idea, my managing director, Elliot Cunningham, said, ‘Why don’t I reach out to Deanna at Symphony New Hampshire? This sounds like a great collaboration moment.’

Hoying: So, a couple of years ago, Elliot and Keith reached out and said, ‘Hey, we’ve got kind of a crazy idea. And I said, ‘I love crazy ideas, hit me with it. What you got?’ And they said, ‘We want to do a musical and concert.’ I said, ‘I love musical theater. We love doing that stuff.’

Coughlin: We did South Pacific in concert, and it went over just wonderfully. Our audiences ate it up. So we said, could we do it again? And we’ve expanded it, a couple more performances than we did last year.

Hoying: We’re going to have a wonderful young guest conductor, Britney Alcine, leading the orchestra. Our outgoing music director, Roger Kalia, has worked with her at his Lake George Festival. He felt very confident that she could take on this role, so we’re very excited to be able to work with her.

NH Theatre Project

959 Islington St., No. 3, Portsmouth, nhtheatreproject.org

Ugly Lies the Bone, a drama about trauma and how we learn to live with it while healing, runs through May 18. Next it’s Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet, directed by Kat Mail, opening June 6, with performances on Friday and Saturday at 7:30 p.m. and 2:30 p.m. matinees Saturday and Sunday, through June 15.

Ovation Theatre Company

61 Harvey Road, Londonderry, ovationtc.com

Now in its sixth year, Ovation Theatre Company offers both education and entertainment, with classes and summer camps leading up to productions like the staging of Annie Jr. on May 30 and May 31. Later this summer Ovation performs The Hunchback of Notre Dame July 24 through July 26. Both shows will be held at Derry Opera House (25 Main St., Derry).

Something for everyone at Ovation

Six years ago Meg Gore traded teaching in public schools for the private sector and started Ovation Theatre Company. She teaches young actors acting skills and organizes shows, with help from her family. Daughter Katie is an ace choreographer, son Tim keeps the company website up and running, and husband Dan takes care of the business side of things.

“I do have a lot of family support,” she said. “They’re all involved, and that’s the only way that it really works.”

Gore explained that she brings an inclusive approach to Ovation, so each of her charges can shine.

“Every year with our season, we try to offer something for everyone, at least one show for everyone. So, for example, our first show of 2025 was Mousetrap. It was a play that we actually did at our studio. And that was all adults. But then we did Spamalot, which was kind of our teen show. And so that was our 13-to-19 age range. And then Annie Jr. is our show where we’re involving more of the age range from 7 to 16. And when you do different ages like that, it just offers different opportunities for different age groups. So, for example, in Annie, your 15-, 16-year-olds can play the lead because they’re the oldest and the ones with the most experience in the cast. And normally in a teen show they might not get that opportunity because in the teen show we go up to 19, and so your 17-, 18-, 19-year-olds might have those opportunities over the younger ones. We’ll always cast the best people for the roles, irrelevant of the age. But it just a lot of times will play out that way because of experience. So Annie kind of provides that younger involvement. Then our summer camps over the summer, definitely those are 7 to 13. So that’s our youngest one having opportunities to get on stage and do some stuff with those.”

Palace Theatre

61 Hanover St., Manchester, palacetheatre.org

Though A Chorus Line, opening May 30 with four performances every weekend through June 22, will close out the main stage season at Manchester’s premiere downtown venue, The Palace’s Youth Theatre Program will barely take a breath before continuing. The Dungeons & Dragons-inspired She Kills Monsters on May 28 and May 29 and Anything Goes June 4 and June 5 will complete the current PYT season. On June 10 and June 11, the 12- to 18-year-old “JV” Palace Teen Apprentice Company does 13 Jr., followed June 17 and June 18 by the Palace Teen Company’s staging of Urinetown. PYT Camp (grades 2-12) shows start soon after, with James & the Giant Peach Jr. on July 2 and July 3 followed by A Year With Frog & Toad Kids July 11, Junie B. Jones Jr. July 25 and July 26, Annie Kids Aug. 1, Mean Girls Jr. Aug. 15 and Aug. 16, and a youth version of The Addams Family Aug. 22. Summer Series happen every Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday at 10 a.m. and 6:30 p.m. as well as Friday at 10 a.m. starting with a show TBA July 8 through July 11, followed by Peter Pan Jr., Annie Jr., Madagascar Jr., Berenstain Bears On Stage, Willy Wonka Jr. and Shrek Jr. Tickets for these shows are just $10.

Palace productions

Megan Quinn is Director of Youth Programming at the Palace Theatre in Manchester. In that role she oversees the many programs offered over the summer, like PYT Camp, where young actors spend 10 days rehearsing and performing a show on the Palace Stage (three of six camps are sold out, but slots remain for James & the Giant Peach, A Year With Frog & Toad and Junie B. Jones). Young Stars Camp is geared to the youngest, 5 to 8 years old, while the others welcome grades 2-12. On hiatus is Palace Teen Company, focused on kids looking to get serious about acting or use the skill to help with their college search.

This is the time of year when it heats up for you.

Literally! Everyone’s like, after A Chorus Line, we have the summer off. I’m like, ha ha, that’s funny.

What’s the makeup of the Palace’s summer program?

The majority of the summer camp kids are probably entering second, third, fourth grade. We split them up into probably four groups, you know, and they all learn different things and come back together at different times. But there are kids who literally have never been in a theater before, up to our kids who we see all year round … it’s definitely a nice mix of all different kids. We do have older kids as well, sophomores and juniors who just want to come spend a week and do a show. It always blows my mind with these kids. We had 68 in our April vacation camp, which was Finding Nemo Kids, and they memorized an entire half-hour show in three days. It’s crazy.

How many kids wind up in a full Palace production?

I was in Margaritaville and I think there were about five or six teens in the ensemble, and for Jesus Christ Superstar I think there were three or four teens in that. Then we are going to have a lot of our teens featured in Chorus Line as cut dancers at the beginning of the show, and some of them will also do understudy roles. For these kids who want to do theater potentially in college and beyond, it looks great on their resume that they were in a professional show.

Peacock Players

Janice B. Streeter Theatre, 14 Court St., Nashua, peacockplayers.org

For more than 40 years this nonprofit has brought and taught performing arts to the area’s youngsters. Weeklong camp sessions with themes like Getting Spooky and All About The Mouse start July 14. A current production of Chicago Teen Edition runs through May 18. A cast of 6- to 15-year-olds will do Beetlejuice Jr. for three nights starting July 27. On Aug. 15 Hadestown Teen Edition, performed by 13- to 19-year-olds, begins a three-show run.

Players’ Ring Theatre

105 Marcy St., Portsmouth, playersring.org

This Seacoast company, founded in 1992, is focused on new and original works by regional artists. End of the Rainbow, the current production, ends May 18. The Terrence McNally musical A Man of No Importance opens May 30 and runs Thursday through Sunday, with two shows Saturday, through June 15. The show is directed and choreographed by Ro Gavin, who also helms the summer musical Freaky Friday for the Prescott Park Arts Festival. That musical runs most Thursdays through Sundays at 7 p.m. from June 20 through Aug. 10.

Powerhouse Theatre Collaborative

401 Gilford Ave., Suite 30, Gilford, powerhousenh.org

After the two-day Play Fair on May 31 and June 1, there’s just one summer production from Powerhouse, who produced the much-lauded Tuck Everlasting last year. Elf the Musical Aug. 8 through Aug. 10 at the Colonial Theatre is a Christmas-in-August fundraiser for the Lakes Region Children’s Auction. In September, it’s Best of Broadway ’60s Edition (Sept. 6, BNH Stage) and Journey Through Neverland, an interactive theater adventure through the grounds of environmental education nonprofit Prescott Farm (Sept. 14, Sept. 20 and Sept. 21, 1 to 4 p.m., with 45-minute slots every 20 minutes).

Festivals at Powerhouse

Fifteen plays, 15 days, 15 writers and 15 directors — that’s the idea behind Powerhouse Theatre Collaborative’s annual Play Fair, happening May 31 and June 1 at Prescott Farm in Laconia. Powerhouse co-founder Bryan Halperin said recently that the idea started as a workshop during his time at Winnipesaukee Playhouse, which he helped to launch in 2004. “I think we did it four or five times there,” he said. “This is the fourth time Powerhouse has done it.”

How are festival plays selected?

For 10 weeks, beginning in January, I have a class full of students that meets once a week on Google Meets to share work. Every week they get a homework assignment with a different sort of theme or aim to practice skills. The first five weeks, they write, the last five weeks, they work on their final projects. Anyone who completes the class gets to have their play produced in the festival.

What, if any, experience do the playwrights have?

They tend to be people who have some connection to Powerhouse and want to try something new. Some people have done it every year because they love writing and they enjoy the class and they enjoy seeing their work produced.

What motivates them?

The carrot is … a lot of times you write a play and it lives in a void on the computer; it never sees the light of day. These folks, by taking the class, have the incentive that if they do the work and complete it they will actually get to see it performed. It also provides an opportunity for people to try their hand at directing because each play is directed by a different director. So it’s an opportunity for directors and actors and playwrights to essentially create a world premiere.

Do they hope to go on to greater things in the theater world?

No, because most of these people are not playwrights who are wanting to do it for a living. They’re doing it either because they just enjoy writing or for some of them, it’s the first time, and they just want to see what it’s like. Somebody this year just said, ‘I’m going to go out of my comfort zone and try this new thing.’

RB Productions Theatre Company

PO Box 67, Concord, rb-productions.com

Founded in 2003 by 18-year-old Ryan Brown, RB Productions is the youth theater company for Concord’s Capitol Center for the Arts. The troupe also performs at Concord City Auditorium. Summer shows include The Wedding Singer (July 11 and July 12), Wizard of Oz Youth Edition (July 18 and July 19), Aladdin Kids (July 19), Alice In Wonderland Jr. (July 25 and July 26) and Beetlejuice Jr. (Aug. 1 and Aug. 2).

Riverbend Youth Company

56 Mont Vernon St., Milford, svbgc.org

Affiliated with the Boys & Girls Club of Souhegan Valley, and based at the Amato Center for the Performing Arts in Milford, this troupe has Finding Nemo Jr. on May 27 and May 28, followed by The Lightning Thief – The Percy Jackson Musical for three shows beginning June 6.

Seacoast Repertory Theatre

125 Bow St., Portsmouth, seacoastrep.org

Rodgers & Hammerstein’s Cinderella opens May 15 and runs through June 15, Hadestown: Teen Edition has a two-week run beginning May 28. Shrek The Musical runs for a month starting June 26, and Into The Woods opens on Aug. 7 for a run that closes Sept. 7.

Theatre Kapow

66 Hanover St., Manchester, tkapow.com

Wrapping up a season that began last September is The Best We Could, performed at BNH Stage in Concord at 7:30 p.m. on June 14 and June 15, and 2 p.m. on Sunday, June 15. The debut from playwright Emily Feldman is a “funny, wise” look at a road trip taken by a despondent daughter and her father to pick up a rescue dog. Feldman drew heavily from two iconic American plays, Death of a Salesman and Thornton Wilder’s Our Town. Theatre Kapow’s summer schedule has just one production, but it’s big: Romeo and Juliet, part of Shakespeare on the Green at Saint Anselm College, over the last two weekends of July.

Kapow on the green

Emma Cahoon of Theatre Kapow in Concord is directing the Shakespeare on the Green production of Romeo & Juliet at Saint Anselm College, with choreography by Manchester’s Ballet Misha. It runs the weekends of July 17 through July 19 and July 24 through July 26. Tickets will be available through Saint Anselm’s Dana Center.

How did Theatre Kapow get involved with Shakespeare on the Green?

Two summers ago we did a Weekend of Macbeth and the Weekend of A Midsummer Night’s Dream. That production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream has since had many iterations. Last summer, when we remounted Midsummer again, we connected with Amy Fortier at Ballet Misha. It was Joe’s idea [Joseph Deleault, Dana Center Director] to have Theatre Kapow and Ballet Misha combine together as we’re two Manchester-based arts organizations who both have really long existing relationships with Saint Anselm. Also we have known Amy for a very long time. There’s so much overlap in the people that we work with and the people who came up training with her or work with Ballet Misha at some point. It was a collaboration just waiting to find the right thing, and then it was like Joe who kind of pushed us together to make it happen last summer.

What prompted the switch from Midsummer to Romeo and Juliet?

I like taking texts that people feel they really know [and] doing something different with them to see if we can encourage audiences to experience that story in a new way. That’s totally what we did with Midsummer every time. It was a cast of seven, six, seven all-female presenting people…. Once we got Ballet Misha involved, that also sort of added a new medium to exploring this text that like we have all encountered a number of times in various different capacities throughout our lives. I think people have their own assumptions of what Romeo and Juliet is. I mean, I feel like everyone refers to it as the greatest love story of all time, but it’s not.

Village Players

51 Glendon St., Wolfeboro, village-players.com

This company began in the 1930s as a fundraising tool for the Wolfeboro Garden Club. It’s had some ups and downs, but in 1978 it became The Village Players and it has been going steadily since. This season’s show is Calendar Girls, based on the English movie inspired by a true story about a group of female friends putting together an artistic nude calendar to raise money for a friend with leukemia. It plays July 25, July 26, Aug. 1 and Aug. 2 at 7:30 p.m., and Aug. 3 at 2 p.m. The Players will perform Sondheim’s Sweeney Todd on Halloween.

Winnipesaukee Playhouse

33 Footlight Circle, Meredith, winnipesaukeeplayhouse.org

Founded in 2004 by siblings Lesley Pankhurst and Bryan Halperin and their spouses Neil and Johanna (Bryan and Johanna now run Powerhouse Theatre Collaborative), the Playhouse has become a force in the state’s theater world. This summer there are productions of The Wedding Singer (June 12 through June 21), the timely POTUS (June 27 through July 5), Little Shop of Horrors (July 11 through July 19), Fully Committed (July 25 through Aug. 2) and The Woman in Black (Aug. 22 through Aug. 31).

Featured Image: A previous production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream by Theatre Kapow at Saint Anselm College. Photo by Matthew Lomanno.