Category: Family Fun

Family fun for the weekend

Get outdoors

• Check out the offerings at the New Hampshire Audubon’s Massabesic Center summer camps at Summer Camp Open House on Friday, April 14, from 5 to 7 p.m. at the Massabesic Center (26 Audubon Way in Auburn; nhaudubon.org, 668-2045). RSVP online to get a spot at this event, which includes a mini nature walk and an animal meet-and-greet.

Return of the F-cats

• The New Hampshire Fisher Cats continue their first run of home games (which started April 11) this season with games through Sunday, April 16, against the Portland Sea Dogs at Northeast Delta Dental Stadium in downtown Manchester. Games Thursday, April 13, and Friday, April 14, begin at 6:35 p.m. The game on Saturday, April 15, starts at 4 :05 p.m. and Sunday’s game starts at 1:35 p.m. Sunday’s game will also feature a hat giveaway to the first 1,000 kids, according to milb.com/new-hampshire. Tickets start at $12. The next round of home games starts Tuesday, April 25, when the Fisher Cats will play the Hartford Yard Goats.

Book fun

• Meet Curious George this Friday, April 14, and Saturday, April 15, at the Children’s Museum of New Hampshire (6 Washington St. in Dover; childrens-museum.org, 742-2002). George will be at the museum for photos and high fives at 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. on both days (during the morning and afternoon play sessions), according to the website. Kids can also check out the Curious George-inspired activities, and museum educators will read Curious George books, the website said. Play sessions run from 9 a.m. to noon and 1 to 4 p.m.; reserve spots and pay admission online in advance. Admission costs $12.50 for everyone over 12 months of age, $10.50 for 65+ and free for children under 12 months, the website said.

Lasers!

The Super Stellar Friday program at the McAuliffe-Shepard Discovery Center (2 Institute Drive in Concord; starhop.com, 271-7827) on Friday, April 14, features a live, family-friendly Tesla Coil and laser show with Xploration ALC, according to the website. “See electricity dance and lasers light up the night. XPloration ALC is a fun action-packed STEM organization that makes science fun for kids. Following the presentation, presenters will answer audience questions in a Q & A session, leaving time to explore the museum,” the website said. Doors open at 6:30 p.m. and the presentation begins at 7 p.m., the website said. Admission costs $12 for adults, $9 for ages 3 to 12, $11 for ages 62+ and $11 for ages 13 through college; kids under 2 get in for free, the website said.

Movie fun for everyone

• All three New Hampshire Chunky’s Cinema Pubs (707 Huse Road, Manchester; 151 Coliseum Ave., Nashua; 150 Bridge St., Pelham, chunkys.com) will feature sensory-friendly screenings of The Super Mario Bros. Movie, which came out last Friday and is rated PG, on Friday, April 14, at 4 p.m. The theater lights will be up, the sound will be down and there will be no 3D, according to the website. Tickets cost $5.99 per seat (plus a fee).

• O’neil Cinemas Brickyard Square 12 (24 Calef Highway in Epping; oneilcinemas.com) will also offer a sensory-friendly screening of The Super Mario Bros. Moviethis weekend. Catch the adventures of Mario and Luigi at O’neil on Saturday, April 15, at 10 a.m.

Discover WILD NH Day celebrates the outdoors

Saturday, April 15, is the annual celebration of wildlife and outdoor fun known as Discover WILD New Hampshire Day.

“When I started I would see kids coming, and now those people are bringing their kids to the event,” said Mark Beauchesne, WILD New Hampshire Day’s coordinator. “It’s pretty cool to see year after year that this is part of their spring tradition.”

The free event, now in its 33rd year, will have a little bit of everything for everyone, Beauchesne said. People can enjoy different demonstrations, meet with a local author, and participate in other family fun activities, all while learning more about ways to spend time enjoying the local environment.

“This event, it’s a good way to make some connections with organizations that provide resources to the great outdoors,” Beauchnese said. “We’ve got a lot of different things that will connect people with getting outside.”

The biggest goal of WILD New Hampshire Day is to expose people to all the Granite State has to offer in outdoor recreation, but it shows people how to protect the local ecosystem and wildlife as well. Volunteers and experts from New Hampshire Environmental Educators, the New Hampshire Department of Environmental Services, and the New Hampshire Audubon will all have booths set up.

Beauchnese said the recreational booths will have something for people of all levels of outdoor sporting skill. Whether it’s learning about off-road vehicles, hunting and fishing, or how to easily plan a family hike or the best ways to start a backyard garden, there will be a group ready to show the visitor the ropes.

“A good, large portion of the U.S. and the world look to New Hampshire for outdoor recreation,” Beauchesne said. “This gives us an opportunity to get closer to it and connect to the live outdoors.”

In addition to the booths and outdoor recreation demonstrations, there will be craft spaces, dog show demonstrations from Rise and Shine Retrievers, live animal presentations and more. The event will also have an assortment of food trucks from Smokestack, Bugaboos, Cody’s Sausage and Hotbox.

Last year approximately 8,000 people came to the event, Beauchesne said, and his personal favorite part was the first big event of the day: opening the gates.

“It’s the countdown, from 10 to ‘Happy Discover WILD New Hampshire Day,’” Beauchesne said. “People flood in, and it’s such a fun feeling. You can really feed off of that.”

Discover WILD New Hampshire Day
Where: 11 Hazen Drive, Concord
When: Saturday, April 15, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Visit: wildlife.state.nh.us/events/dwnh.html

Family fun for the weekend

Spring has sprung

• Join the Manchester City Library (405 Pine St.) for a spring celebration after school on Friday, April 7, beginning at 3 p.m. inside the Winchell Room. Attendees will read spring stories, make a simple craft and go on a small egg hunt out on the library lawn. Registration is recommended. A similar spring celebration is also planned at the library on Thursday, April 6, at 11 a.m., but for kids ages 5 and under. Visit manchester.lib.nh.us or call 624-6550 for more details.

Taking the stage

• The Nashua Chamber Orchestra will present a special free family concert in the Chandler Wing of the Nashua Public Library (2 Court St.) on Saturday, April 8, at 2 p.m. The show will feature Chamber student soloists Carina Lee, an 8th-grader at Elm Street Middle School, on the viola; and Anthony Umbro, a freshman at Nashua North High School, on the oboe. Listeners of all ages are invited to attend and be introduced to the instruments. Visit nco-music.org/family-concert for more details.

• The Hudson Memorial School (1 Memorial Drive) Drama Club will present Annie Jr. The Musical, with showings on Friday, April 7, and Saturday, April 8, at 7 p.m. inside the school’s gymnasium. Tickets start at $8 per person and are free for kids under 5. Purchase them online at hmsdramaclub.ludus.com.

Storytime

• Londonderry children’s author Kayla Messana will appear at Bookery Manchester (844 Elm St.) for a special storytime and craft event on Saturday, April 8, at 11:30 a.m., featuring her recently released picture book, Spiders Love Meatballs. Perfect for kids ages 1 to 4, the book tells the story of a friendly, meatball-loving spider who only wants to share a meal with you, according to the Eventbrite page. Admission is free; copies of Spiders Love Meatballs will be available for purchase in the shop. Visit bookerymht.com or call 836-6600.

Reach for the stars

• On April 8, 2024, parts of New Hampshire will be in the path of totality for a total solar eclipse for the first time since 1959. To celebrate, the McAuliffe-Shepard Discovery Center (2 Institute Drive in Concord; starhop.com, 271-7827) will hold a special “Eclipse Countdown Kick Off Event” on Saturday, April 8, from 1 to 4 p.m., featuring an afternoon full of presentations, eclipse giveaways, solar telescope viewing with the New Hampshire Astronomical Society and pizza, according to starhop.com. The event is included with regular admission to the center ($12 for adults, $11 for seniors and students 13 through college, $9 for kids ages 3 to 12 and free for kids ages 2 and under).

Save the date

• Meet Curious George at the Children’s Museum of New Hampshire (6 Washington St., Dover) on Friday, April 14, or Saturday, April 15, at 10 a.m. or 2 p.m. George will be available for hugs, high-fives and photos at 10 a.m. during the museum’s morning play sessions (9 a.m. to noon) and at 2 p.m. during the afternoon play sessions (1 to 4 p.m.). There will also be a variety of Curious George-inspired literacy, math and creative activities for all guests. It’s all included in the museum’s standard paid admission ($12.50 for kids and adults, $10.50 for seniors and free for kids under 12 months), and a special member-only meet-and-greet with George will take place on Saturday, April 15, at 8:30 a.m. See childrens-museum.org or call 742-2002.

Get your hunt on at one of the many egg hunts and Easter events

Kids can get ready to meet the Easter bunny, hunt down some eggs, and score some cool prizes this weekend at one of many Easter events.

• Come to the Rodgers Memorial Library (194 Derry Road, Hudson) for Curious Kids: Easter Egg Puffy Paint on Thursday, April 6, at 10 a.m. The program will have a sensory bin, art and engineering designed for kids ages 2 to 6. For more information, visit rodgerslibrary.org

• Altitude Trampoline Park’s three locations (Altitude Trampoline Park, 150 Bridge St., Pelham; 270 Loudon Road, Concord; 360 Daniel Webster Hwy., Merrimack) are hosting an Easter Eggstravaganza on Friday, April 7, from 10 a.m. to noon. Reservations cost $22 and can be made at altitudetrampolinepark.com.

• Visit Benchmark at Rye (295 Lafayette Road) for springtime activities and an intergenerational Easter egg hunt on Friday, April 7, at noon. See benchmarkseniorliving.com.

• Skyzone (365 Lincoln St., Manchester) is hosting a Little Leapers Easter Egg Hunt on Friday, April 7, from noon to 1 p.m. Tickets cost $11 and can be purchased at skyzone.com

• Come to Derryfield Park in Manchester for an Easter Egg Hunt on Friday, April 7, at 4 p.m. Registration is free; see fb.me/e/9LBhaRxP1.

• The Gilford Youth Center and the Gilford Parks and Recreation Department are hosting Breakfast with Bunny and Friends at the center (19 Potter Hill Road) on Saturday, April 8, from 8 to 10 a.m. Kids and their families can have their picture taken with the Easter Bunny and enjoy breakfast, face painting and coloring pages, and they can enter in a cookie walk and basket raffle. The breakfast costs $4 for kids, $6 for adults. Visit gilfordyouthcenter.com.

• The 14th Annual Our Promise to Nicholas Indoor Maze to the Egg Hunt is on Saturday, April 8, from 8:30 a.m. to noon at the NH Sportsplex (68 Technology Dr., Bedford). Kids will explore the indoor maze and fill their baskets with some of the 15,000 plastic eggs available for the hunt. Ticket price ranges from $8 to $56. Visit ourpromisetonicholas.com.

• The Egg-Citing Egg Hunt is back at Charmingfare Farm (774 High St., Candia) on Saturday, April 8, and Sunday, April 9, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Tickets to attend cost $22 and can be purchased at visitthefarm.com.

• The Carriage Shack Farm (5 Dan Hill Road, Londonderry) is hosting an Easter Bunny Party on Saturday, April 8, at 10 a.m. In addition to spending time with the Easter Bunny and the farm’s animals, kids can collect Easter eggs and treasures on the Easter bunny trail. Tickets cost $12.95 for adults, $10.95 for kids ages 1 to 15, and kids younger than 1 are free. Visit carriageshackfarmllc.org to purchase tickets.

• Hudson’s Best Egg Hunt at Inner Dragon Martial Arts (77 Derry Road in Hudson) will have hunt times at 10 a.m., 11 a.m. and noon on Saturday, April 8, featuring more than 5,000 eggs and photos with the Easter Bunny. See hudsonnhsbest.com to reserve a spot.

• Head to Arthur Donati Memorial Field (51 Main St., Hooksett) for the For The City Easter Egg Hunt on Saturday, April 8, from 10:30 a.m. to noon. The hunts will be grouped by age and held across three fields. Visit hooksetteaster.com.

• Everyone Eats Different Food is hosting an Easter Egg Hunt with a special appearance by the Easter Bunny at Greeley Park (100 Concord St., Nashua) on Saturday, April 8, at 10:30 a.m. Registration is free. Visit everyoneeatsdifferentfood.org.

• Miles Smith Farm (56 Whitehouse Road, Loudon) is hosting Easter on the Farm on Saturday, April 8, 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Kids will be allowed to sit on the Scottish Highland cow, Curious Blu, and meet the other barnyard animals. Tickets cost $15 for adults; children are free. Visit learningnetworksfoundation.com.

• The 5th Annual Nashua Easter Family Fun Day is going to be at Broad Street Elementary School (390 Broad St., Nashua) on Saturday, April 8. The fun day (which runs from noon to 5 p.m.) will have egg hunts, games, food, vendors and crafters, and free pictures with the Easter Bunny. Tickets cost $2 for the kids’ egg hunt (on April 4, available time slots start at 11:30 a.m.). Visit allevents.in/nashua/80001306747056 to reserve a spot.

• Come to the Amherst Town Green (Main Street) on April 8, for Amherst’s Best Easter Egg Hunt at noon, 1 p.m. and 2 p.m. There will be more than 5,000 eggs hidden throughout the green for kids to find, including golden eggs with special prizes. Visit funnels.amherstsmartialarts.com/egghunt-2023 to reserve a spot.

• The 7th Annual Special Needs Easter Egg Hunt will be at Stark Park (650 River Road, Manchester) on Saturday, April 8, at 2 p.m. Kids will be able to hunt for Easter eggs and get a special Easter surprise. See fb.me/e/NLJJ4bfB.