Category: Family Fun

Family fun for the weekend

Free Saturday

• Take a free trip to the Currier Museum of Art (150 Ash St. in Manchester; currier.org, 669-6144) this Saturday, Sept. 10, when, as with the second Saturday of every month, New Hampshire residents get free admission to the museum. (Normally, admission costs $15 for adults, $13 for 65+, $10 for students and $5 for ages 13 to 17; children 12 and under get in for free.)

• Enjoy a free movie under the stars in Concord. The movie Encanto (PG, 2021), the Disney animated musical famous for not wanting to talk about Bruno (no no no), will screen Saturday, Sept. 10, at Keach Park, 20 Canterbury Road in Concord, as part of a joint effort between Red River Theatres and the Concord Multicultural Festival. The screening starts at sunset (about 7 p.m.); bring a blanket and some snacks.

• Benson Park Family Fun Day, which will be held at the Benson Park Ampitheatre (Benson Park is on Kimball Hill Road in Hudson), will run Saturday, Sept. 10, from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. This free community event will feature games, a raffle, a coloring booth and performances such as a concert from “Let’s Play Music” (featuring local youth talent) from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.; a Wildlife Encounters live animal education program from 1:30 p.m. to 2:30 p.m., and magic with Jim Leach from 2:45 to 3:15 p.m. See friendsofbensonpark.org for more about the event (the website recommends bringing a picnic and lawn chairs) and about the park, where the Friends of Benson Park are currently operating the seasonal store Friday through Sunday from noon to 4 p.m.

Rockin’ kids

• The student performers of the Palace Youth Theatre will present Rock of Ages: Youth Editionat the Palace Theatre (80 Hanover St. in Manchester; palacetheatre.org, 668-5588) on Friday, Sept. 9, at 7 p.m. and Saturday, Sept. 10, at 2 p.m. Tickets cost $15 for adults and $12 for children and are available for purchase online.

Time with nature

• Kids can learn more about the butterflies on the move at “Buds & Blooms: The Magic of Monarch Migration” on Saturday, Sept. 10, from 10 to 11 a.m. at the New Hampshire Audubon’s Massabesic Center (26 Audubon Way in Auburn; nhaudubon.org, 668-2045). The session, which requires parental supervision and is suited for children ages 4 to 12, will explain the monarch butterfly’s journey south from New Hampshire to northern Mexico, according to the website. The event is free but pre-registration is required to reserve a spot.

Family fun for the weekend

Movie night

• The final Movies in the Park from Merrimack’s Parks & Recreation takes place Saturday, Sept. 3, at dusk (about 7:30 p.m.) in Wasserman Park. The screening of Sing 2 (PG, 2021) is free for Merrimack residents and nonresidents, according to merrimackparksandrec.org.

Weekend at the museum

• At the Children’s Museum of New Hampshire (6 Washington St. in Dover; childrens-museum.org, 742-2002), Sunday, Sept. 4, is the last day the museum will be open before its annual maintenance period, according to the website. Until then, head to the museum for play windows of either 9 a.m. to noon (through Sept. 4) or 1 to 4 p.m. (through Saturday, Sept. 3). Buy admission for a specific time period in advance for $12.50 for adults and everyone over 12 months old and $10.50 for seniors age 65+. The museum will reopen on Friday, Sept. 16, with Toddlerfest, its annual week of activities and events geared toward the littles. See the schedule of events, including the Saturday, Sept. 17, performance by musician Steve Blunt, on the museum’s website.

• The McAuliffe-Shepard Discovery Center (2 Institute Drive in Concord; starhop.com, 271-7827) has been open daily during the summer and is open from 10:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. through Sunday, Sept. 4. Reserve admission for an arrival time (between 10:30 a.m. and 12:30 p.m. or 12:30 p.m. and 4 p.m.); admission costs $12 for adults, $11 for students and seniors and $9 for kids ages 3 to 12; kids up to age 2 get in free. Planetarium shows, which take place hourly from 11 a.m. through 3 p.m., cost an additional $5 per person. After Labor Day, regular admission is available Friday through Sunday. And save the date for AerospaceFest on Saturday, Sept. 10, from 10:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. This outdoor event is free and features hands-on science activities, live music from Mr. Aaron and more.

• The SEE Science Center (200 Bedford St. in Manchester; see-sciencecenter.org, 669-0400) is also open daily, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. (last admission at 3 p.m.) on weekdays and 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on weekends, through Monday, Sept. 5. The center will close for annual renovations Tuesday, Sept. 6, through Friday, Sept. 16. Admission costs $10 for ages 3 and up. The center’s website recommends reserving a spot.

• Another museum open this weekend is the Aviation Museum of New Hampshire (27 Navigator Road in Londonderry; nhahs.org, 669-4820), whose hours are Friday and Saturday, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., and Sunday, 1 to 4 p.m. Admission costs $10 for age 13 and over, and $5 for 65+, veterans and active military and kids ages 6 to 12. Kids ages 5 and under get in free and there is a family maximum of $30, according to the website.

• The Currier Museum of Art (150 Ash St. in Manchester; currier.org, 669-6144) will be open Monday, Sept. 5, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. — though normally closed Mondays, the museum is open on some holiday Mondays. Admission costs $15 for adults, $13 for 65+, $10 for students and $5 for ages 13 to 17; children under 13 get in for free. Or stroll the galleries for free on Thursday from 5 to 8 p.m. as part of Art After Work (the weekly series offering free admission, live music and exhibit tours).

Family fun for the weekend

To the Moon

• The Manchester library is hosting an out-of-this-world talk via Zoom called Apollo to Artemis: NASA’s Most Recent & Next Missions to the Moon on Wednesday, Aug. 31, at 11 a.m. The talk will focus on the 50th anniversary of Apollo 17, NASA’s last manned mission to the moon, and the upcoming return mission to the moon, Artemis. The talk will be led by former high school teacher and NASA Solar System Ambassador Len Rabinowitz. Contact librarian Caitlin Dionne at 624-6550, ext. 7620, or by email at [email protected] for more details. Register online at manchester.lib.nh.us.

Outdoors, trucks and owls!

• Have a blast at the Field of Dreams Family Fun Day at Field of Dreams Inc. (48 Geremonty Drive Salem) on Saturday, Aug. 27, from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. There will be everything from obstacle courses and inflatable games to a petting farm, live music and local vendors. Tickets are $5 per person, children age 2 and younger are free. Visit fieldofdreamsnh.org.

• Learn all about farm equipment at the Touch-a-Tractor hosted by J&F Farms (124 Chester Road, Derry) on Saturday, Aug. 27, from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. The Derry fire and police departments will have trucks and cop cars out in addition to the farm equipment. There will be live music from noon to 3 p.m., hayrides, food trucks, a petting farm, and more. Visit jandffarmsnh.com.

• This is the last week for All Things Owl at the New Hampshire Audubon. The photography exhibit at The McLane Center (84 Silk Farm Road, Concord) will close on Wednesday, Aug. 31. The exhibit features the work of Howard S. Muscott, a wildlife photographer who has been shooting for more than 45 years. The photographs feature owls from the North, include several species indigenous to New England. The exhibit is open during the museum’s regular hours, Tuesday through Friday from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Visit nhaudubon.org.

Showtime!

• The last showtimes of Frozen Jr. at the Palace Theatre (80 Hanover St., Manchester; 668-5588) are Thursday, Aug. 25, at 10 a.m. and 6:30 p.m. and Friday, Aug. 26, at 10 a.m. Follow Queen Elsa as she is crowned and comes out of hiding for one day, only to have her secret magic exposed. Her younger sister, Princess Anna, must help save their kingdom from the icy spell Elsa casts and bring her older sister home. Tickets cost $10 and are available at palacetheatre.org.

Family fun for the weekend

Family fun

• Get kids interested in Manchester’s mural-creating event Community Canvas, which runs through Sunday, Aug. 21, at the Block Party held by My Turn and Arts Builds Community on Saturday, Aug. 20, from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. in the rear of 50 Bridge St. in downtown Manchester, according to a post on Arts Builds Community’s Facebook page. The event will feature face painting and activities for kids as well as an opportunity to meet the artists involved in making the murals, the post said. Find out more about the Community Canvas event in the story on page 15 of the Aug. 11 issue of the Hippo. Go to hippopress.com to see the e-edition.

• The Elliot is holding a Summer Fest on Sunday, Aug. 21, from 10 am. to 2 p.m. at The Hill Bar & Grille at McIntyre Ski Area (50 Chalet Court in Manchester). The event, hosted by the Elliot Community Ambassador Circle, will feature field games, face painting, music and a buffet lunch (with hamburgers, hot dogs, barbecue chicken, cookies, brownies and more), according to https://bit.ly/3QLZtAd, where you can purchase tickets for $15 per person or $50 for a family of four (children under 12 get in free).

Beach week

• The Hampton Beach Children’s Festival continues through Friday, Aug. 19, with daily events on the beach. On Thursday, Aug. 18, the lineup includes DrumatiX (a tap dance and percussion performance) at 10 a.m.; Showtime Steve (juggling) at 11 a.m.; Hampton Beach Casino daily raffle at noon; Wayne from Maine (musical sing-along) at 1 p.m., and paint with Alyssa Pine at 2 p.m. On Friday, the week finishes off with a children’s parade at 11 a.m. (meet at 10:15 a.m. wearing a costume to participate), a grand finale with every child receiving a prize at noon at the Seashell Stage and a musical performance by Mr. Aaron, and photos with Santa and Mrs. Claus at 1 p.m. Find the full schedule at hamptonbeach.org.

• And if you are near Hampton Beach on Monday, Aug. 22, head to the beach across from the playground for an outdoor screening of Sing 2 (PG, 2021) at dusk (approximately 7:34 p.m., according to the website). The screening is the last of the scheduled Movie Night Mondays of the summer season (the next week’s film is Space Jam: A New Legacy). Admission is free and bring your own blanket or chairs.

Trip to the farm

• Sunfox Farm (127 Mount Delight Road in Deerfield; sunfoxfarm.org, 244-9888) continues its Sunflower Festival through Sunday, Aug. 21. The farm is open daily from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.; entry costs $10 per person on weekends and $8 per person on weekdays (children under 10 get in for free). Take pictures among the flowers and pick your own flowers for $2 per stem, according to the website. The weekends feature vendors and live music; this weekend’s lineup is Brad Myrick (10 a.m.), Rebecca Turmel (12:30 p.m.) and Joel Begin (3 p.m.) on Saturday, Aug. 20, and April Cushman (10 a.m.), John McArthur (12:30 p.m.) and Sam Hammerman (3 p.m.) on Sunday, Aug. 21, according to the website.

• Shop for some farm-fresh eats at Friday Family Fun at J&F Farms (124 Chester Road in Derry; jandffarmsnh.com, 437-0535) on Friday, Aug. 19, from 4 to 7 p.m. The evening will feature music from a Beatles tribute band, a food truck, hayrides, a corn maze, ice cream and the opportunity to meet and pet the farm’s animals, according to a post on the farm’s Facebook page. For $5 you can purchase a cup of grain to feed the animals, according to the website. Admission to the corn maze, which opened earlier in August, costs $10 per person, according to the website.

• Take the kids to meet some farm animals and climb on some tractors at the New Hampshire Farm Museum (1305 White Mountain Hwy. in Milton; nhfarmmuseum.org) for Truck and Tractor Day on Saturday, Aug. 20, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tractors, trucks, wagons and antique cars will be on display and tractor rides will take you around the farm to visit the cows, sheep, goats, horses, rabbits and chickens. Meet the blacksmith working the forge, purchase eats for a farm picnic and listen to music from Lance Maclean and the Moose Mountain String Band, according to the website. Admission costs $10 for adults, $7.50 for 65+ and $5 for ages 4 to 17; admission is free for kids under 4 and for active military, the website said.

On stage

• The Palace Theatre (80 Hanover St. in Manchester; palacetheatre.org, 668-5588) finishes up its 2022 Bank of New Hampshire Children’s Summer Series with two more plays on the schedule.Snow White & the Seven Dwarfs runs through this week: Thursday, Aug. 18, at 10 a.m. and 6:30 p.m. and Friday, Aug. 19, at 10 a.m. Disney’s Frozen Kidsends the season next week with shows Tuesday, Aug. 23, through Thursday, Aug. 25, at 10 a.m. and 6:30 p.m. and Friday, Aug. 26, at 10 a.m. Tickets cost $10 per person.

• The young performers of the Palace Youth Theatre summer camp will present Legally Blonde the Musical Jr. on Friday, Aug. 19, at 7 p.m. and Saturday, Aug. 20, at 11 a.m. Tickets cost $15 for adults and $12 for kids.