Category: Family Fun

Family fun for the weekend

GraniteCon!

• As you may have read on page 24 of last week’s Hippo (find the e-edition at hippopress.com) or on page 9 of this week’s issue, this weekend is the Granite State Comicon 2021. The Con will run Saturday, Sept. 18, and Sunday, Sept. 19, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the DoubleTree by Hilton Manchester Downtown (at 700 Elm St.). Kids under 8 get in free with adult admission (which costs $25 on Saturday, $20 on Sunday and $40 for a weekend pass). Organizers for Kids Con New England (which is returning to in-person cons with a Kids Con in Portland, Maine, in November and in May 2022 in Concord) will have a setup in the Fan Zone during the convention. See the full program for GraniteCon at granitecon.com.

Meeting of the makers

• See the hobbies and inventions of the makers at the NH Maker & Food Fest at the Children’s Museum of New Hampshire (6 Washington St. in Dover; childrens-museum.org, 742-2002) on Saturday, Sept. 18, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. People with a variety of experiments, creations and hobbies will show off their work at this event, which will also feature food trucks and food vendors. Admission is pay-what-you-can (suggested donation of $5), according to the website.

Town celebrations

• Derryfest will run Saturday, Sept. 18, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at MacGregor Park on East Broadway. The day will feature kids activities, live animals, demonstrations and performances by local groups throughout the day, food and more. See derryfest.org.

• Head to Pelham’s Old Home Day for a parade, food trucks and chicken poop bingo on Saturday, Sept. 18, from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. The day kicks off with a pancake breakfast from 7 to 10 a.m., craft fair vendors open at 9 a.m., a cornhole tournament starts at noon and the parade steps off at 2:30 p.m., according to pelhamoldhomeday.org, which also explains chicken poop bingo — it features a chicken pooping every hour throughout the day, and if the poo lands on the square corresponding to the number you’ve picked, you win prize money. Kid-specific amusements include face painting, touch a truck, inflatable ax throwing and more, the website said.

• The annual Fall Equinox Festival hosted by TEAM Exeter will run 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Saturday, Sept. 18, at Swasey Parkway. The day will feature food vendors and live music as well as kids activities and artist vendors, according to teamexeter.com, which suggests a $10 donation per person or $20 per family.

Movie time

• See Indiana Jones in his first (and best) adventure, Raiders of the Lost Ark (PG, 1981), on Friday Sept. 17, in Wasserman Park (116 Naticook Road in Merrimack) as part of the town’s summer movies in the park. The screening starts at dusk and the films are free and open to residents and nonresidents, according to the town’s Parks and Recreation website.

Manchester community invited to first CelebratED festival

Manchester’s schools are starting off their year by inviting everyone in the community to come see all the positive things they’re doing at the first annual CelebratED MHT!, happening Saturday, Sept. 18, from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. at Veterans Park.

The festival is free for all Manchester residents and will feature multicultural performances, activities for kids, food and a celebration of some of the school district’s accomplishments.

“There are good things happening in the Manchester School District that aren’t celebrated as much as they should be,” said Barry Brensinger, president of Manchester Proud, which is organizing the event. “Then with the whole Covid matter of the past year and a half and the incredible challenges that has presented us … [we thought], wouldn’t it be nice if somehow the community could come together and launch the new school year with a celebration?”

Manchester Proud — formed a few years ago to promote the success of the city’s public schools, with the intent of building a stronger city through those successes — started working with the Manchester Chamber of Commerce and the school district a few months ago to get this festival off the ground. Since then, it’s become a whole-community effort that includes support from the mayor’s office, city departments, youth organizations and other nonprofits.

“One of the things we said from the beginning is that we really wanted this to be all-inclusive,” Brensinger said.

It’s shaping up to be exactly what Manchester Proud envisioned. Entertainment includes African drummers, a Mexican band, a performance from hip-hop performer Martin Toe, the high school marching bands, an aerial show and more. Manchester Police Department will be there with its equestrian and K9 units, and the city’s fire department will have a fire muster.

The event starts at 10 a.m. when City Year — a group that works in Manchester’s schools to help support students — will welcome its new core members, followed by welcoming remarks from the mayor.

“Then we roll right into the entertainment,” Brensinger said.

Aside from the performances, there will be an activity area for kids with yard games and contests, and each student will be given a free book.

There will be three high school teachers acting as emcees throughout the day who will be highlighting some of Manchester’s standout teachers and students.

“We have designated three blocks of time during the day when on the main stage there will be a celebration of kids,” Brensinger said.

There will also be a tent filled with students’ stories, artwork and other achievements.

Brensinger said about 20 to 25 organizations who provide youth-related services will set up booths around the perimeter of the park to offer information to parents and small giveaways for kids.

At 1 p.m. the Fisher Cats mascot will show up to give away 1,000 tickets to that night’s game.

“This celebration will continue at that game,” Brensinger said. “Students will sing the national anthem and throw out the first pitch. … It should be a fun night.”

At 2 p.m. comic characters who will be across the street at Granite State Comicon will make an appearance and may have a few giveaways as well.

“I think there’ll be something for everyone,” Brensinger said.

And of course there’s food. Brensinger said there will be food trucks and other food available for purchase, but there will also be plenty of free food, including pizza, bottled water and healthy snacks.

To make the event as accessible as possible to everyone in the community, fliers were sent home to students written in the top six languages in Manchester. And free trolleys will run every hour on both the east and west side to make sure anyone who wants to get there can. Pickups and dropoffs will be at Parkside/Gossler Park to West High School to Veterans Park, and at Karatzas Avenue/Eastern Avenue to JFK/Beech Street School to Veterans Park, starting at 10:30 a.m.

Brensinger said precautions will be taken for Covid, including guidelines posted throughout the park and free masks and hand sanitizer. The event will be held rain or shine.

CelebrateED MHT!

When: Saturday, Sept. 18, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Where: Veterans Park, Elm Street
Cost: Free for all Manchester residents

Featured photo: Hip-hop artist Martin Toe. Courtesy photo.

Family fun for the weekend

Movie night

Nashua’s SummerFun program wraps up for the year with an outdoor screening of this year’s excellent animated featureRaya and the Last Dragon (PG, 2021), a Disney movie featuring the voices of Awkwafina (as a dragon), Kelly Marie Tran (Raya), Sandra Oh, Gemma Chan and Daniel Dae Kim. The movie screens on Friday, Sept. 10, at dusk at the Greeley Park Bandshell (100 Concord St.).

Outside the McAuliffe-Shepard Discovery Center (2 Institute Dr. in Concord; starhop.com, 271-7827) on Friday, Sept. 10, you can sit under the stars and watch a robot come from the stars in WALL-E(G, 2008), that Pixar classic featuring the voices of Sigourney Weaver and Jeff Garlin and an interstellar opening segment scored to (as Wikipedia reminded me) “Put on Your Sunday Clothes” from Hello, Dolly!. The movie starts at 7 p.m.

Catch Honey I Shrunk the Kids (PG, 1989) on Tuesday, Sept. 14, at 7 p.m. at the Rex Theatre (23 Amherst St. in Manchester; palacetheatre.org) as part of the ongoing Movies For a Cause. Tickets cost $12. This week’s movies (1989’s PG movie Field of Dreams screens Wednesday, Sept. 15) benefit CASA.

Playtime can recommence

The Children’s Museum of New Hampshire (6 Washington St. in Dover; childrens-museum.org, 742-2002) reopens Tuesday, Sept. 14, after its regular end-of-summer refresh. The museum will also feature its annual Toddlerfest, with drop-in activities for younger visitors (now that older kids are back in school) such as wacky art projects, bubble dance parties, science experiments and bug investigation in the museum’s Learning Garden, according to a press release.

And make plans now for the NH Maker Fest, scheduled for Saturday, Sept. 18, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., which will be held inside and outside the museum with no tickets required, the press release said. The museum is open Tuesdays through Saturdays with timed tickets for 9 a.m. to noon or 1 to 4 p.m. and Sunday 9 a.m. to noon. Buy tickets in advance online; masks are required for all visitors over 24 months. Admission costs $11 for everyone over a year of age ($9 for seniors).

Fireworks & a parade

Hollis will hold its Old Home Days on Friday, Sept. 10, and Saturday, Sept. 11. On Friday, events run from 5 to 10 p.m. and include a midway and rides, exhibitors and food vendors and DJ Carryl Roy, at Nichols Track and Field. On Saturday, Sept. 11, the midway and rides are open from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. The Old Home Day parade starts at 10:30 a.m. and runs from the middle school to Nichols Field. A firemen’s muster will be held from 1 to 2 p.m., also at Nichols. A pet pageant takes place at 3 p.m., live music is scheduled throughout the afternoon and into the evening and fireworks are scheduled for 8 p.m., all according to hollisoldhomedays.org.

Family fun for the weekend

Family fun ideas

Looking for some entertainment ideas for the whole gang this weekend? Check out some of our recent stories (see e-editions of issues at hippopress.com.). In our July 8 issue we looked at mini golf, with a rundown of some of the area courses. A note for people with littler kids: Mel’s Funway Park in Litchfield (melsfunwaypark.com.) has added a Mini Mel’s Kiddie Land set of attractions geared toward kids ages 2 to 9. For the more adventurous, we looked at water fun (paddleboarding, canoeing, kayaking and cruising on New Hampshire waterways) in the Aug. 5 issue and adventures aloft (ziplining, hot air ballooning and parasailing) in the July 15 issue.

Space!

AerospaceFest returns to McAuliffe-Shepard Discovery Center (2 Institute Drive, Concord; starhop.com, 271-7827) on Saturday, Sept. 4, from 10:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. Admission is free for the outdoor event. The NH Astronomical Society will have a telescope set up, Millstone Wildlife Center will bring ambassador animals, robotics teams will do robot demos and local STEM organizations will attend, the website said. No pre-registration is required.

Fair weekend

If you’ve been missing the summer/fall fair experience, you’re in luck. The Hopkinton State Fair kicks off Thursday, Sept. 2, and runs through Monday, Sept. 6. (Free parking at 905 Park Ave., Contoocook.) The fair is open Thursday, 5 to 10 p.m.; Friday through Sunday, 8 a.m. to 11 p.m., and Monday, 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. Thursday is “Townie Night,” when Hopkinton residents get in for free between 5 and 8 p.m. Admission for non-residents is $8 for ages 3 and up. One-day passes Friday through Monday cost $14 for ages 13 to 59, $12 for ages 60+ and $8 for ages 3 to 12, according to the fair website, hsfair.org, where you can also buy a pass for all five days for ages 3 to 60+ for $39 per person. You can also find tickets for a one-day megapass (allows unlimited admission to mechanical rides) and grandstand shows including demolition derby, monster trucks and Northeast Six Shooters’ horseback shooting demonstration show. Military (active or retired) with a valid photo ID are admitted free.

Find rides and games on the midway, open 5 p.m. to close on Thursday, noon to close on Friday and 10 a.m. to close Saturday through Monday. Catch demonstrations from the NH Canine Troopers Association (4 and 6 p.m., Friday), Axe Women Loggers of Maine (noon and 3 and 5 p.m.,daily), Dock Dogs (daily), Ben Risney Wood Sculpture (10 a.m., and 1 and 4 p.m., daily) and John Deere Skid Steer Rodeo (Monday. 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.). There’s also a lineup of live music and juggling. At the Ag Stage, catch Dan Morgan (11 a.m. to 3 p.m., daily) and Nicole Knox Murphy (3 to 7 p.m.). Get kids interested in 4-H (or maybe just some light gardening and chicken tending) with the agriculture displays and competitions (livestock shows, horse show, pulling competitions and the home arts hall).

The fair also has educational displays, such as the maple sugar house, the NH Fish and Game building and a Charmingfare Farm petting zoo (Friday through Sunday, 9 a.m. to 9 p.m.; Monday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.) with daily animal magic shows (noon, and 2 and 5 p.m.), the website said.

And, of course, the fair will help you get your fried dough fix. Other food options include sausages with peppers and onions, apple crisp with ice cream, turkey legs, bison burgers and giant doughnuts, according to the fair website.

Family fun for the weekend

Family fun day

Field of Dreams Community Park (48 Geremonty Drive in Salem; fieldofdreamsnh.org) will host Family Fun Day 2021 on Saturday, Aug. 28, from noon to 6 p.m. The day will feature a bounce house, a toddler bounce house, a petting zoo, photos with superheroes and princesses, food trucks and ice cream trucks, touch-a-truck, music, prizes and more. A wrist band so kids can have unlimited access to the bounce house, pictures with the characters, the petting zoo and an obstacle course costs $5, according to the website.

Ice cream and first responders

The Derry Fire and Police departments will hold a First Responder Freeze on Saturday, Aug. 28, from noon to 2 p.m., featuring a free kiddie cone ice cream for the first 100 kids under 12, according to a Facebook post about the event. The event will take place at Pete’s Scoop on Route 28 in Derry and will include games, giveaways and more, the post said.

Movie night

This Friday’s “Pics in the Park” film at Greeley Park in Nashua is Aladdin (PG, 2019), which will start screening at dusk on Friday, Aug. 27, at the park’s Bandshell, 100 Concord St. The screening is part of the city’s SummerFun lineup; see nashuanh.gov.

Live on stage

The Palace Theatre (80 Hanover St. in Manchester; palacetheatre.org, 668-5588) completes its 2021 Bank of New Hampshire Children’s Summer Series with Sleeping Beauty on Thursday, Aug. 26, at 10 a.m. and 6:30 p.m. Tickets cost $10 per person.

Student performers from the Palace’s summer camp program will also present their final production this weekend: Willy Wonka Kids will be performed Friday, Aug. 27, at 7 p.m. and Saturday, Aug. 28, at 11 a.m. Tickets cost $12 to $15.

Picnic with music

Pack a picnic and enjoy some live music this Sunday, Aug. 29, from 4 to 5 p.m. at the Canterbury Shaker Village (288 Shaker Road in Canterbury; shakers.org, 783-9511) on the lawn near the Meeting House. The suggested donation is $10 per person. This week’s entertainers are the Mink Hills Band, a five-member New Hampshire-based acoustic band playing bluegrass, swing and folk as well as originals, according to the website. The Music on the Meeting House Green series runs Sundays through September.

Day at the museum

You still have time to make a mid-week visit to the McAuliffe-Shepard Discovery Center (2 Institute Dr. in Concord; starhop.com, 271-7827). The center is open daily through Sunday, Sept. 5, from 10:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. and from 1:30 to 4 p.m. (Starting Sept. 6 and running through holiday vacation, the center is open Fridays through Sundays.) Buy timed tickets prior to your visit online, where you can also buy tickets for planetarium shows. Masks are required for all visitors age 3 and up, the website said. Admission costs $11.50 for adults, $10.50 for students and seniors and $85 for children ages 3 to 12, the website said.

The next few weeks are also a good time to get in a visit to the Children’s Museum of New Hampshire (6 Washington St. in Dover; childrens-museum.org, 742-2002), which will close for a week Sept. 6 through Sept. 13. The museum is open Tuesdays through Saturdays with timed tickets for 9 a.m. to noon or 1 to 4 p.m. and Sunday 9 a.m. to noon. Buy tickets in advance online; masks are required for all visitors over 24 months. Admission costs $11 for everyone over a year of age ($9 for seniors).

The SEE Science Center (200 Bedford St. in Manchester; see-sciencecenter.org, 669-0400) is open daily — 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on weekdays and 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on weekends. Though walk-ins are available (when there is space), pre-registration is recommended, according to the website. Masks are required for ages 2 and up. Admission costs $10 per person ages 3 and up for walk-ins, $9 for people who pre-register.

Family fun for the weekend

Summer celebrations

Intown Concord’s annual Market Days Festival in downtown Concord runs from Thursday, Aug. 19, through Saturday, Aug. 21, and has a lot of events on the schedule geared toward kids and families. The KidZone on City Plaza in front of the Statehouse lawn will be open from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. each day during the event, according to the event’s website. For $5, kids can jump in a bounce house and play mini golf and other games, the site said.

There will also be daily free activities on the Statehouse lawn: on all three days, this includes a storytime (11 a.m. to 2 p.m.), face painting (11 a.m. to 3 p.m.) and a DoggySplash Zone from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. On Friday, catch the Aim High Canine Performances at 2:30 p.m. and 4 p.m. On Saturday, catch arts and crafts from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. and a robotics demonstration at 3 p.m.

Also on Saturday, catch Mr. Aaron, a kids music performer, at 11 a.m. at the Binnie Media Performance Stage on Main Street.

The event also includes food vendors, loads of live music and more. See marketdaysfestival.com. Get more details about Market Days in the Q&A on page 6 as well as on pages 26 (for information about the food offerings) and on page 42 (for a look at music).

Londonderry’s Old Home Days continues this weekend, through Saturday, Aug. 21. According to the event’s schedule, Thursday, Aug. 19, is the battle of the bands at the Londonderry Town Common from 5 to 9 p.m. On Friday, Aug 20, food, popsicle and ice cream trucks will set up at the Londonderry High School in preparation for the fireworks at 9 p.m.

On Saturday, Aug. 21, according to the Old Home Day Facebook page, a parade will start at 10:15 a.m. (rain or shine) and run from Londonderry Middle School to Mack’s Apples. A craft fair will be held from noon to 4 p.m. at the Town Common. The first annual Sunnycrest Farms Apple Pie Eating contest will take place at 3:15 p.m. at the Londonderry Town Common Bandstand (and is open to anyone 14+, if you have some hungry teenagers). The schedule also lists a Wildcat Kidz Zone with wildlife encounters starting at 1 p.m., the Portsmouth Shipyard STEM program, a bowling game from the YMCA of Greater Londonderry and a dunk tank and Kona ice. At Lions Hall & Grounds, the Lions Club will offer a 603 Beer tent from 11 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., 603 Axe Play (with blow up axes for children under 10) and a cornhole tournament, according to the schedule. Find the event on Facebook for more information.

Just plane fun

The Manchester-Boston Regional Airport (1 Airport Road, Manchester, 913-4010, flymanchester.com) will celebrate National Aviation Day on Thursday, Aug. 19, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Activities will include a Touch a Truck display featuring vehicles that help the airport operate, K9 demonstrations and a paper airplane contest, and free swag will be handed out. Tables will be set up by the baggage claim, including one with pieces of a plane that’s currently being built. All employees and guests are required to wear masks at the airport.

On the stage

The Palace Theatre (80 Hanover St. in Manchester; palacetheatre.org, 668-5588) continues its 2021 Bank of New Hampshire Children’s Summer Series. Finishing up this week’s run, catch Cinderella on Thursday, Aug. 19. Next week, the production is Sleeping Beauty, Tuesday, Aug. 24, through Thursday, Aug. 26. Showtimes are at 10 a.m. and 6:30 p.m. and tickets cost $10 per person.

Student performers from the Palace’s summer camp program will have a production of their own this weekend: The Lion King Kidswill be performed Friday, Aug. 20, at 7 p.m. and Saturday, Aug. 21, at 11 a.m. Tickets cost $12 to $15.

Movie time

Plaistow residents can catch a movie screened drive-in style onFriday, Aug. 20, at 8 p.m. The screening will take place at the Plaistow Public Library parking lot and will be presented as a drive-in. Admission is being restricted to 50 cars; register in advance at tinyurl.com/umsrmjz7.

Speaking of drive-in films, catch nightly double features at the Milford Drive-In (531 Elm St. in Milford; milforddrivein.com). The drive-in offers two double-feature options nightly with shows starting at 8 p.m. The drive-in grounds open at 7:15 p.m. Sundays through Thursdays and 6:15 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays. Admission (which can be purchased in advance through the website) costs $30 and covers one car with up to six people ($5 for each additional person).

At Chunky’s Cinema Pubs in Manchester (707 Huse Road) and Nashua (151 Coliseum Ave.) they’re hosting theater candy bingo on Sunday, Aug. 22, at 6:30 p.m. Admission to this game costs $4.99 plus a theater candy, and tickets can be purchased at chunkys.com.

On Wednesday, Aug. 25, catch Back to the Future (PG-13, 1985) at Chunky’s in Manchester, Nashua and Pelham (150 Bridge St.). The movie starts at 7 p.m. and tickets cost $4.99.

For the younger moviegoers, all three locations will also offer a sensory-friendly screening of Paw Patrol: The Movie (G, 2021; it opens in theaters and on Paramount+ on Friday, Aug. 20). The sensory-friendly screening, which keeps the lights up and turns the sound down, starts at 11:30 a.m.

Kids Fest

The annual Hampton Beach Children’s Festival continues through Friday, Aug. 20, with programming on Hampton Beach, according to the Hampton Beach Village District website (hamptonbeach.org) and Facebook pages. On Thursday, Aug. 19, catch Magician Fran Flynn (10 a.m.), Wayne from Maine with a musical singalong (1 p.m.) and a performance by the International Red Star Twirlers (3 p.m.), according to a schedule posted on the district’s Facebook page. The week is capped off with a children’s costume parade on Friday (11 a.m.; participants should line up at 10:15 a.m.), a grand finale with prizes at the Sea Shell Stage (noon) and pictures with Santa and Mrs. Claus (1 p.m.), according to the schedule.