Category: Family Fun

Family fun for whenever

More winterfest

• Bedford Winterfest, hosted by The Bedford Mom, will take place over two days this weekend. Day 1, Saturday, Jan. 25, will take place on the sledding hill behind Ann DeNicola Memorial Playground and feature sledding, activities for kids, face painting and more from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.; see thebedfordmom.com. Admission is free but reservations are required.

Day 2 will take place at Joppa Hill Educational Farm (174 Joppa Hill in Bedford; theeducationalfarm.org) on Sunday, Jan. 26, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Admission is free but reservations are required. Activities will include sledding, crafters, farm animals, s’mores, hot cocoa, arts and crafts, scavenger hunts and more, according to the website.

Movie morning

• Before you head to Concord’s Winter Fest (see page 12 for details) head to Red River Theatres (11 S. Main St. in Concord; redrivertheatres.org) for a screening of 2006’s Happy Feet, the animated movie (which won its year’s animated feature Oscar) on Saturday, Jan. 25, at 10 a.m. Tickets cost $5.

Books!

• Annette LeBlanc Cate, author and illustrator of picture books including Look Up!: Bird-Watching in Your Own Backyard and The Magic Rabbit, will discuss her new release Seven Little Ducklings at Balin Books (Somerset Plaza, 375 Amherst St., Nashua; balinbooks.com) on Saturday, Jan. 25, at 1 p.m. “When a plump mother duck awakens one morning, she’s stunned to discover that her seven eggs have hatched in the night and all of her ducklings have wandered off. Now she has to search for them out in the wild!” according to a book description in a Balin email.

Save the date

• SEE Science Center (200 Bedford St. in Manchester; see-sciencecenter.org) will hold a Community Discovery Night on Friday, Feb. 7, from 5 to 8 p.m. The event, whose theme will be “Celebrating Black Influence in Science,” will feature food, music and science activities, according to the website, where you can register for this free event so the center can plan the food.

In other SEE news, registration is open now for the Center’s summer camps. The weeklong camps begin in mid-July and have a variety of science-related focuses. See the website for details.

• The Derryfield Country Club (625 Mammoth Road in Manchester; thederryfield.com) will host a Royal Princess Breakfast on Saturday, March 1, from 9 to 11:30 a.m. Kids can enjoy a brunch, storytime and games with costumed princesses. Tickets cost $40 for children ages 2 to 12 and $55 for adults. A $65 VIP ticket for kids includes an early admission time, photo-ops and a tiara, according to the details available via the restaurant’s website.

• Middle schoolers at High Mowing School (Pine Hill Campus, 77 Pine Hill Drive in Wilton; highmowing.org/hilltop) will present The Hilltop Circus: An Unexpected Journey on Friday, Feb. 28, at 10:30 a.m. and 6:30 p.m. and Saturday, March 1, at 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. The students’ circus skills include “acrobatics, trapeze, juggling, clowning, unicycling, aerial fabric, wire-walking, trampoline, human pyramids and more,” according to the press release. Admission is a suggested donation of $12 for adults, $6 for children; bring a donation for Wilton’s Open Cupboard Food Pantry for a free bag of popcorn, the release said.

• The Nashua Historical Society will hold a Little Red Tea Party on Sunday, March 2, at the Florence H. Speare Memorial Museum library, located at 5 Abbott St. in Nashua. The all-ages event will feature tea, scones, petite sandwiches and other treats; a historical presentation about the story of Little Red Riding Hood; a STEM-inspired tea experiment; a craft; a raffle and more, according to a press release. Doors open at 12:30 p.m. and tea service starts at 1 p.m., the release said. Reservations cost $20 per person, $15 for children 12 and under, the release said. See nashuahistoricalsociety.org/events.

Family fun for whenever

Museum fun

• If you’re looking for something to do this Friday, the Children’s Museum of New Hampshire (6 Washington St. in Dover; childrens-museum.org) offers Science Friday programming, with special drop-in programs and activities at 10:30 a.m. and 2:30 p.m. (to accommodate both the morning session from 9 a.m. to noon and the afternoon session from 1 to 4 p.m.). Reserve a spot online in advance; admission for everyone over 12 months is $14.50 per person, $12.50 for 65+.

• The Seacoast Science Center (570 Ocean Blvd. in Rye, seacoastsciencecenter.org) will hold a free nature program about the “Giants of the Sea” on Friday, Jan. 17, from 4 to 6 p.m. Learn about what makes whales special and sign up (at the event; signup starts at 4 p.m.) for a 5 p.m. guide program with Katahdin, the inflatable North Atlantic Right Whale, according to an email from the center.

• Normally closed on Mondays during the winter, the McAuliffe-Shepard Discovery Center (2 Institute Drive in Concord; starhop.com) will be open to the public on Monday, Jan. 20, from 10:30 to 4 p.m. Admission costs $13 for adults, $12 for 62+ and students age 13-college, and $10 for kids ages 3 to 12. Planetarium shows are an additional $7; see the website for the current offerings and times.

More day-off offerings

• Cowabunga’s (725 Huse Road in Manchester; cowabungas.com) is offering vacation day bouncing on Monday, Jan. 20, with hour blocks for $15 starting at 10 a.m. On Friday, Jan. 17, Cowbunga’s offers its Friday Night Fun, with two-hour jump blocks offered for $20 between 5 and 8 p.m. (adults and infants get in free with paying child) and visits by costumed characters.

• Krazy Kids (60 Sheep Davis Road in Pembroke; krazykids.com) is also open special hours for Monday, Jan. 20 — 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Two-hour admission costs $15 for kids, $5 for adults (required jump socks cost $4 per pair).

Save the date

• The New Hampshire Historical Society (30 Park St. in Concord; nhhistory.org) will offer a family program called “Kids Do Family History” on Saturday, Jan. 25, from 2 to 4 p.m. “This workshop … will introduce kids to genealogy basics, such as creating a family tree, researching family records, and preserving family memories. This program is geared for kids ages 10-13, but all ages are welcome. Children must be accompanied by an adult,” the release said. The event is free but register in advance via the website.

• Kimball Jenkins (266 N. Main St. in Concord; kimballjenkins.com) has half-day February break week classes for ages 7 to 14. For $198, ages 7 to 10 (9 a.m. to noon) and ages 11 to 14 (1 to 4 p.m.) will “rotate through a diverse array of artistic mediums with each class featuring an art activity that aligns with our arctic theme,” according to the website, where you can find more information and enroll.

Family fun for whenever

Museum fun

It’s the Second Saturday at the Currier Museum of Art (150 Ash St. in Manchester; currier.org) when admission is free for New Hampshire residents. The museum is open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Current exhibits include “The Legend of the Poinsettia: Paintings from Tomie DePaola’s Holiday Classic,” “Jean-Michel Basquiat and Ouattara Watts: A Distant Conversation,” “Dan Dailey: Impressions of the Human Spirit” and “Olga De Amaral: Everything Is Construction and Color.”

The Children’s Museum of New Hampshire (6 Washington St. in Dover; childrens-museum.org) will present “Ocean Adventures” performance with the Portsmouth Symphony Principal Winds on Saturday, Jan. 11, at 2 p.m. The performance is part of admission for the 1 to 4 p.m. playtime, which costs $14.50 for everyone over 12 months (children under 12 months get in for free; admission for 65+ costs $12.50). Go online to reserve tickets.

Storytime

Gibson’s Bookstore (45 S. Main St. in Concord; gibsonsbookstore.com) will host a storytime with authors David Preece and Jim Webber with their two Mr. Higgins picture books on Saturday, Jan. 11, at 11 a.m. Mr. Higgins, a black Scottish terrier the authors adopted in 2014, is the star of two books: A Home for Mr. Higgins and Mr. Higgins Takes A Stand, according to the website.

S’mores and sparks

Joppa Hill Educational Farm (174 Joppa Hill in Bedford; theeducationalfarm.org) will hold a Burning of the Greens on Saturday, Jan. 11, from 5 to 8 p.m. The Bedford Fire Department will be on hand for the bonfire, where you can dispose of your Christmas tree, according to the website. Drop off trees (undecorated) by 10 a.m. on Saturday at the farm’s parking lot “between the silo and the dumpster,” the website said. The farm will sell hot cocoa and s’mores from 5 to 7 p.m. and the farmstand will be open for its final day until Easter, the website said. No registration is required.

On the ice

The SNHU Arena (555 Elm St., Manchester, snhuarena. com)will present Disney on Ice Presents Mickey’s Search Party with seven shows Thursday, Jan. 9, through Sunday, Jan. 12. Tickets start at $15.

Looking for some hockey? See two hometown teams face off when the Saint Anselm Hawks men’s ice hockey team takes on the Southern New Hampshire University Penmen at Sullivan Arena (100 Saint Anselm Drive, Manchester), on both Friday, Jan. 10, at 7 p.m. and Saturday, Jan. 11, at 4 p.m. The Hawks women’s ice hockey team takes the ice on Friday at 4 p.m. and Saturday at 1 p.m., both games versus Sacred Heart University. See saintanselmhawks.com.

The Rivier University Raiders men’s ice hockey team will play at Conway Arena (5 Stadium Drive, Nashua) on Saturday, Jan. 11, at 6:40 p.m. versus Westfield State University. See rivierathletics.com.

On the court

Saint Anselm College Hawks basketball teams will hit the court on Saturday, Jan. 11, against Pace University with the women’s team playing at 1:30 p.m. and the men’s team playing at 2:30 p.m. All Saint Anselm home games are played at Stoutenburgh Gymnasium on campus and admission costs $10 (see saintanselmhawks.com).

Rivier University Raiders basketball teams will hit the court on Saturday, Jan. 11, at the Muldoon Center in Nashua when they take on the New England College Pilgrims. The men’s team plays at noon and the women’s team plays at 2 p.m. See rivierathletics.com.

At NHTI, the men’s basketball team will play on Saturday, Jan. 11, at 1 p.m., with the Lynx taking on Massbay Community College. See nhtiathletics.com.

Save the date

Reserve a spot now for Bedford Winterfest, hosted by The Bedford Mom. Day 1, Saturday, Jan. 25, will take place on the sledding hill behind Ann DeNicola Memorial Playground and feature sledding, activities for kids, face painting and more from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.; see thebedfordmom.com. Admission is free but reservations are required.Day 2 will take place at Joppa Hill Educational Farm (174 Joppa Hill in Bedford; theeducationalfarm.org) on Sunday, Jan. 26, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Admission is free but reservations are required. Activities will include sledding, crafters, farm animals, s’mores, hot cocoa, arts and crafts, scavenger hunts and more, according to the website.