Category: Family Fun

Family fun for the weekend

Indoor activities

• Learn all about dogs from Lita Judge when she reads from her book Dogs: A History of Our Best Friends at Toadstool Bookshop (12 Depot Square, Peterborough) on Saturday, April 22, at 11 a.m. Judge, a writer and illustrator of more than 30 children’s books, will do a reading of the book, which explains the science behind how humans and dogs became best buddies. Visit toadbooks.com.

• See the 26th annual Model Train and Modeling Show on Sunday, April 23, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. at David R. Cawley Middle School (89 Whitehall Road, Hooksett). The show will have vendors, demonstrations, a white elephant table, raffles and more. Admission is $5 for adults, $1 for children ages 6 to 12; children 5 and younger are free. Visit trainweb.org/cmrc.

Celebrate the Earth

• The Children’s Museum of New Hampshire (6Washington St., Dover) is hosting an Earth Day Celebration on Saturday, April 22, from9 a.m. to noon and again from 1 to 4 p.m. There will be a planting activity, art crafts with recycled materials, an Earth Day-themed scavenger hunt and more. Sessions cost $12.50 for adults and children older than 1 year, $10.50 for seniors, free for children younger than 1 year. Visit childrens-museum.org.

• Celebrate Earth Day and learn about animals at the Massabesic Center (26 Audubon Way, Auburn) on Saturday, April 22, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. There will be guided nature walks, animal ambassador demonstrations, gardening demonstrations, children’s story time and crafts. The cost is $10 for a family of four members, $15 for a family of four non-members. Visit nhaudubon.org.

• Head to The Educational Farm at Joppa Hill (174 Joppa Hill Road, Bedford) for Earth Day Fun at the Farm on Saturday, April 22, from noon to 1:30. There will be a family-friendly hike, a lesson with Miss Jen on recycling and composting, and an Earth Day-themed craft. Tickets cost $20 per family. Register in advance at educational-farm-at-joppa-hill.square.site.

April vacation camps

• Kids ages 6 to 14 can keep practicing their soccer skills at the Seacoast United April Vacation Camp at the New Hampshire Technical Institute (31 College Drive, Concord) running April 24 through April 28. The camp will have lessons for kids of all skill levels, and there are half- and full-day options, from 9 a.m. to noon or from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Half-day for the week costs $165, full day costs $240. Visit seacoastunited.com.

• Get ready for Flower Power! April vacation camp at the Currier Museum of Art (150 Ash St., Manchester) running April 24 through April 28 from 9:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. The camp is grouped by age: ages 6 and 7, ages 8 through 10, and ages 11 through 14. Cost is $350 for non-members, $315 for members. Visit currier.org to register.

• Young actors in grades 1 through 8 can join the Peacock Players (14 Court St., Nashua) April Vacation Camp April 24 through April 28 from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. At the end of the camp the kids will put on a variety showcase for family and friends. Camp costs $350 for the week. Visit peacockplayers.org.

• Merrimack Parks and Recreation Department is holding a daily April vacation program starting on Monday, April 24, for kids in kindergarten through fifth grade. Kids will play games and sports and do crafts outside at Wasserman Park (116 Naticook Road). Kids who attend more than one day must be registered for each day. The cost for one day is $60 for a single child, each additional child is $55. Visit merrimack.recdesk.com.

Celebrate music with Record Store Day

Special releases and pressings of records will be gone before consumers know it on Record Store Day.

Across the country and the world, millions of people will go to record stores to snatch up limited-edition vinyls.

“There’s about 500 titles this year, which is a lot less than they’ve had in the past,” said Bill Proulx of Metro City Records in Manchester. “There are lots of limited-edition records that don’t go on sale until that day. Usually, everything sells out in half an hour to an hour.”

One of the biggest titles coming to the day will be a special pressing of Taylor Swift’s album Folklore that will have never-before-featured music and audio. Swift’s album had been produced during the pandemic and in complete isolation. This special edition, called Folklore: The Long Pond Studio Recording, has 115,000 copies going on sale around the world on Record Store Day, with 75,000 going on sale in the States.

Other titles stores are excited about include a release from Billy Joel before he was popular, singing covers of Elton John and other influences in the piano man’s music. There will also be a multi-record release from Van Halen and live recordings from Pearl Jam and Grateful Dead concerts.

“The growth of physical music sales, like CDs, bottomed out and vinyl has been a straight growth since Record Store Day started,” said Chris Brown, vice president of finance for Bull Moose Music, which has a store in Salem. “Now it’s crazy. Probably more records will sell on this one day than [sold in] all of 2007; it’s that big.”

Brown had been the head of the coalition that founded Record Store Day. He said that it was something that everyone in his group felt was doable, combining special releases of records with local live bands performing, and other little perks the stores felt they could pull off.

On the first year of Record Store Day in 2008, Brown hadn’t expected much to happen. He said the group had anticipated 200 stores across the country to participate, and to amass a small following of hardcore record collectors. Instead, the day was more successful than he’d thought it would be.

“Something like 600 stores participated that year, and that was really just in the U.S.,” Brown said. “Way more people showed up than we thought. The vibe was wonderful. It changed the mood in the music industry.”

Brown noticed that there’s a change in Record Store Day’s participating artists. Instead of being focused more on classic rock bands from the 1970s, there’s a growing number of groups from the late 1980s and 1990s. Even modern bands and musicians other than Swift, like The 1975 and Post Malone, are participating in the day.

“The trends look like [Record Store Day is] trying to get new people in stores,” said John Benedict, the owner of Music Connection in Manchester. “The focus seems to be on things that kids might buy today. [The records] are not appealing to me as much anymore.”

Benedict said that he’s happy to see vinyl still being celebrated and having younger generations love it the way he had. He said that, to him, records represented more than just a physical copy of music, it’s the only way music was accessible for his generation.

“Most customers have maybe 25 to 50 records tops,” Benedict said. “Their collections don’t get into hundreds anymore.”

Record Store Day participating stores
Bull Moose
419 South Broadway, Salem, 898-6254, bullmoose.com
Defiant Records
609 Main St., Units 1 and 2, Laconia, 527-8310, defiantnh.com
Metro City Records
691 Somerville St., Manchester, 665-9889, metrocityrecords.com
Music Connection
1711 S. Willow St., Manchester, 644-0199, musicconnection.us
Newbury Comics
777 S. Willow St., Manchester, 624-2842; Pheasant Lane Mall, 310 Daniel Webster Highway, Nashua, 888-0720;The Mall at Rockingham Park, 99 Rockingham Park Blvd, 890-1380; newburycomics.com
NH Vintage Vinyl
633 Main St., Laconia, 527-8124, nhvintagevinyl.com
Pitchfork Records
2 S. Main St., Concord, 224-6700, pitchforkrecordsconcord.com

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