Category: Family Fun

Family fun for the weekend

Out in nature

• Creepy and crawly bugs are the big focus at the Squam Lakes Natural Science Center (23 Science Center Road, Route 113, in Holderness; 968-7194) with the Insect Alive Guided Tour on Friday, Aug. 5, from 9 to 10:30 a.m. Walk through the center’s new giant insect exhibit (featuring five much-larger-than-life animatronic insects) with retired NH Fish and Game Biologist Emily Preston and learn about local insects in New Hampshire, according to the website. This event is appropriate for kids ages 6 and older. The cost of the tour is $11 (purchase of admission to the trails is also required) and advance registration required. The Giant Insect exhibit will be on display throughout the center’s Live Animal Trails through Sept. 30. Admission to the trails costs $22 for adults, $20 for age 65+, $16 for ages 3 to 15 and is free for children 2 and under.

Play ball!

• The New Hampshire Fisher Cats kicked off a run of games against the Richmond Flying Squirrels earlier this week but comic book fans might especially want to save the date for the game on Saturday, Aug. 6, at 7:05 p.m. for Cats-Con. The evening will celebrate superheroes, villains, movies, comics and more with characters from Double Midnight Comics and post-game fireworks. Ticket price ranges from $14 to $17.

• Also on the schedule for this week’s games: post-game fireworks after the game on Thursday, Aug. 4, at 7:05 p.m., Pride Night at the game on Friday, Aug. 5, at 7:05 p.m. and a pre-game Princess Brunch before the game on Sunday, Aug. 7, at 1:35 p.m. Click on “baseline” on the tickets page for Sunday’s game to fin the Princess Brunch tickets which cost $25 each and include admission to the game. The brunch starts at 10:30 a.m. and includes a sing-a-long at noon.

• Delta Dental and New Hampshire Fisher Cats are encouraging kids to brush their teeth with free tickets to home games. Kids ages 12 and under can win two free tickets for completing the seven-day challenge of brushing and flossing twice a day. Fill out the downloadable form and bring it on either Aug. 12 or Sept. 3 to Northeast Delta Dental Stadium; see milb.com/new-hampshire/community/oral-health-challenge.

On stage

• The Peacock Players (14 Court St. in Nashua; peacockplayers.org, 886-7000) are putting on their first ever student-produced play, The Little Mermaid Jr., Friday, Aug. 5, through Sunday, Aug. 14. Showtimes are Fridays at 7 p.m., Saturdays at 2 p.m. and 7 p.m., and Sundays at 2 p.m. Tickets cost $15 to $18 for adults, $12 to $15 for children ages 12 and younger.

• The Interlakes Children’s Theatre (One Laker Lane in Meredith; interlakestheatre.com) will presentThe Aristocats Kids on Saturday, Aug. 6, and Sunday, Aug. 7, at 11 a.m.. Tickets cost $10 each.

Playtime at the Children’s Museum

• Author AJ Smith will read his bookTea Time for Dinosaurs at the Children’s Museum of New Hampshire (6 Washington St. in Dover; childrens-museum.org, 742-2022) on Saturday, Aug. 6, at 10:30 a.m. and 1:30 p.m. The event will include dinosaur activities and a scavenger hunt, according to the website, where you can purchase admission for either the 9 a.m. to noon or 1 to 4 p.m. session. Admission costs $12.50 for everyone over 12 months, $10.50 for 65+.

• Splashing good fun, at the ocean or the museum! Members of the Seacoast Science Center (Odoirne Point State Park, 570 Ocean Blvd. in Rye; 436- 8043, seacoastsciencecenter.org) will get to play for free at the Children’s Museum for the entire month of August. Members of the Seacoast Science Center can also purchase a membership at the Children’s Museum with a 10 percent discount. Register for playtime on the museum’s website.

• And coming up at the Children’s Museum: The annual Teddy Bear Clinic and Picnic will be held Wednesday, Aug. 17, with the clinic from 9 to 11 a.m. and snacks from 11 to 11:30 a.m. Bring a stuffie in need of a check-up and the bear (or other stuffed animal) will receive an ID bracelet and be weighed and measured and given a band-aid if needed, all to get kids ready for their own check-ups, according to the website. The teddy bear fun is included in admission.

• And register now for the “Kick-off to Kindergarten” event on Sunday, Aug. 21, from 1 to 3 p.m. The event will include a visit by Elephant and Piggie (the characters from the Mo Willems books), crafts and more, according to the website. The event is free but pre-registration is required by Aug. 14, the website said.

— Katelyn Sahagian

Family fun for the weekend

It’s showtime at the Palace!

• Join the Lost Boys in Neverland for the Palace Theatre’s (80 Hanover St. in Manchester; palacetheatre.org, 668-5588) next Children’s Summer Series play, Peter Pan. Watch the magical journey of Wendy, John and Michael Darling and their guide, Peter Pan, as they fight pirates, rescue Native American princess Tiger Lily, and cause mischief with the Lost Boys in Neverland. The show runs through Friday, July 29. Show times are Tuesday through Thursday at 10 a.m. and 6:30 p.m., and Friday at 10 a.m. Tickets cost $10 each.

• It’s supercalifragilisticexpialidocious! The Palace Youth Theatre Summer Camp in Manchester (palacetheatre.org, 668-5588) will present Mary Poppins Junioron Friday, July 29, at 7 p.m. and Saturday, July 30, at 11 a.m. The show follows the two young Banks children, Jane and Michael, and their practically perfect nanny, Mary Poppins. The show is performed by campers entering grades 2 to 12. Tickets cost $15 for adults, $12 for kids.

• Don’t forget your shoes for the classic fairy tale Cinderella, which is following Peter Pan in the Palace Theatre’s Children Summer Series (80 Hanover St. in Manchester; palacetheatre.org, 668-5588). The show will run Tuesday, Aug. 2, through Friday, Aug. 5. Show times are Tuesday through Thursday at 10 a.m. and 6:30 p.m., and Friday at 10 a.m. Tickets cost $10 each.

More kid-friendly theater

• The Peterborough Players continue their presentation of The Emperor’s New Clothes at their new outdoor space, the Elsewhere Stage, on the grounds of the Players (55 Hadley St. in Peterborough; peterboroughplayers.org) on Friday, July 29; Saturday, July 30; Saturday, Aug. 6; Wednesday, Aug. 10; Friday, Aug. 12, and Saturday, Aug. 13, with all shows starting at 10:30 a.m. The show is performed by the Players Second Company, which features young professionals and is geared toward a younger audience. Tickets are $15 each for adults, $10 each for children, available online or at the door.

• The North Country Center will present Return to Oz for the Art’s IMPACT Program, a touring children’s theater troupe, Tuesday, Aug. 2, at 10 a.m. at the Bank of NH Stage (16 S. Main St. in Concord; ccanh.com). Tickets are free but must be reserved online.

Movie date

• Get ready for some super-pet fun at Chunky’s three locations (707 Huse Road, Manchester; 151 Coliseum Ave., Nashua, and 150 Bridge St., Pelham) for a sensory-friendly showing of Paws of Fury: The Legend of Hank (2022, PG) on Thursday, July 28, at noon. Paws of Fury follows Hank, a down on his luck hound in a land filled with cats, who goes on an epic journey to become a fierce samurai to defeat the evil that threatens his new home. The theaters will keep the volumes low and the house lights turned up for this showing, according to the website. Tickets are $5.99 each and can be purchased at chunkys.com.

• Super pets will take over the screen at O’neil Cinema (24 Calef Hwy., Epping) for a sensory-friendly showing of DC League of Super-Pets (2022, PG) on Saturday, July 30, at 10 a.m. The movie follows Superman’s dog, Krypto, and a group of other animal heroes as they work to save the Justice League after the group has been kidnapped. O’neil Cinema will have the volume be softer and the lights on for this showing. More information can be found at oneilcinemas.com.

Playing in the park

• Princesses and knights in shining armor will turn Greeley Park (100 Concord St., Nashua) into a real-life picture book. The Nashua Summer Fun program is bringing back the annual Fairy Tale Festival on Saturday, July 30, from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. The event will feature fairy tale characters, a costume parade around the park at 12:45 p.m., a bounce house, vendors and more. Visit nashuanh.gov.

• Keach Park (9 Newton Ave. in Concord) is being taken over by the Friends Program for a Friend-a-Palooza on Saturday, July 30, from 2 to 5 p.m. There will be family-friendly activities ranging from face paint and giant bubbles to Zumba classes and a read-athon. The event is free and will include special outreach to at-risk youth in the local area. Visit friendsprogram.org.

National Night Out

• Meet some of your local first responders during National Night Out on Tuesday, Aug. 2. Across New Hampshire, police and fire departments are giving families a chance to get up close and personal with the police officers and firefighters who protect local towns. Twenty towns in the Granite State participate in this event. Visit natw.org to learn which towns in New Hampshire are participating.

Concord’s night out will be at Rollins Park (33 Bow St.) from 5 to 8 p.m. and will have touch a truck, arts and crafts, music, a rock climbing wall, and more.

Goffstown’s night out will be more of a block party with food and entertainment. It will run from 5 to 8 p.m. at 27 Wallace Road.

Manchester’s night out will be at the JFK Coliseum parking lot (303 Beech St.), will begin at 5 p.m., and will have a K-9 display, as well as many of the first responder vehicles.

The night out in Nashua will be at the Boys & Girls Club of Greater Nashua (1 Positive Place) from 5 to 7:30 p.m. and will have food, games and demonstrations.

New look at nature

• The Children’s Museum of New Hampshire (6 Washington St. in Dover; childrens-museum.org, 742-2002) will reopen its Cochecosystem Nature exhibit, which has been reimagined and celebrates the wildlife along the Cocheco River, on Wednesday, Aug. 3, according to a press release. “Visitors will be immersed in the sights, sounds and activities of the animals and people who make their lives along New Hampshire’s rivers,” the release said. Floor-to-ceiling windows in the exhibit space overlook the actual river, the release said. On Aug. 3, kids will also be able to make their own beaver paw track at 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. Reserve a time spot for admission online in advance; admission costs $12.50 for everyone over 12 months old, $10.50 for 65+. The museum is open Tuesdays through Saturdays with times from 9 a.m. to noon and 1 to 4 p.m. and Sundays from 9 a.m. to noon.

— Katelyn Sahagian

Family fun for the weekend

Movie Madness

• Take the teens and the Marvel-loving tweens to Merrimack’s 2022 Summer Movies in the Park which is featuring Spider-Man: No Way Home (PG-13) on Saturday, July 23, beginning at 8:15 p.m. at Wasserman Park (116 Naticook Road). The movie is free to residents and nonresidents. For more information and future movie listings, visit merrimackparksandrec.org/movies-in-the-park.

• All three of Chunky’s Cinema Pub’s locations (707 Huse Road in Manchester, 151 Coliseum Ave. in Nashua, 150 Bridge St. in Pelham; chunkys.com) are bringing back Little Lunch Date on Wednesday, July 27, at 11:30 a.m. The theater will be dimmed, not dark, and it will be a low-stress environment for kids, according to the website. The movie will be How to Train Your Dragon (PG), which follows Hiccup, the son of the chief of his Viking village, as he befriends a rare type of dragon, the night fury named Toothless. The movie is free, but reserve your seats by purchasing $5 food vouchers in advance. The doors open an hour before the start of the movie. For more information, visit chunkys.com.

• The featured movie for Manchester’s Summer Series Movies in the Parkat Veterans Park (723 Elm St.) at 8 p.m. on Wednesday, July 27, is Encanto (PG). Encanto follows the life of the Madrigals, a magical family that lives in a small village in Colombia. When the family’s magic starts to disappear, it’s up to Mirabel, the only Madrigal born without magic, to save the day. And, of course, nobody talks about Bruno. The movie will also screen at 3 p.m. that day at the Manchester City Library (405 Pine St. in Manchester; manchester.lib.nh.us). Find more information about the outdoor series at manchesternh.gov/Government/City-Calendars/Upcoming-Events-in-Manchester.

Museum Fun

• The New Hampshire Children’s Museum (9 Washington St., Dover) is hosting author and tap dancer Aaron Tolson on Saturday, July 30, at 11 a.m. and 1:30 p.m. Tolson will read his new children’s picture book, Tiny Tap Shoes, about Steve, a tiny fairy who loves to tap dance. After the reading Tolson will lead kids in a mini tap demonstration. The event is included in registration for the museum. Register online in advance for morning or afternoon playtime and learn more about this event at childrens-museum.org.

Out in Nature

• Squam Lakes Natural Science Center (Route 113, Holderness) is holding a Family Picnic Fundraiser on Saturday, July 23, from 5 to 8 p.m. Families will get to learn all about different insects, and there will also be live animal programs, live music from Green Heron, food, drink, games and even a chance to taste some insects. Ticket prices are $75 for ages 21 and older; $20 for ages 12 to 20; $10 for ages 6 to 11; free for ages 5 and under. For more information and to reserve tickets, visit nhnature.org/picnic.

• Laconia Public Library (695 N. Main St.) is hosting Squam Lakes Natural Science Center in the garden for the Wednesday Special on Wednesday, July 27, at 1 p.m. The focus of the event will be the wildlife that depends on the water in New Hampshire. This event is for children up to age 12 and advance registration is not required.

— Katelyn Sahagian