Category: Family Fun

Family fun for whenever

Celebrating an astronaut

• The McAuliffe-Shepard Discovery Center (2 Institute Dr. in Concord; starhop.com, 271-7827) will hold a “100 Years of Alan B. Shepard Celebration” on Saturday, Nov. 18, from 10:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. with demonstrations, educational activities, special content and archival displays about Shepard, who was born in East Derry on Nov. 18, 1923, according to the website. Admission to the center costs $12 for adults, $11 for 62+ and ages 13 through college, $9 for ages 3 through 12 (kids 2 and under get in for free). Planetarium show tickets cost an additional $6 per person.

• Keep the party going with cake. The Aviation Museum of New Hampshire (27 Navigator Road in Londonderry; 669-4820, nhahs.org) will serve cake, while slices last, in honor of Alan Shepard to visitors Friday, Nov. 17, through Sunday, Nov. 19. The museum is open Fridays and Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. and Sundays from 1 to 4 p.m. Admission costs $10 for adults, $5 for ages 6 to 12 and 65+ and veterans/active military, and is free for ages 5 and under, according to the website.

Storytime

• Bookery Manchester (844 Elm St. in Manchester; bookerymht.com) will hold a “Giving Thanks Storytime” with the Kiwanis Club on Saturday, Nov. 18, at 11:30 a.m. The event will also include a craft, according to the website, where you can go to reserve a spot for this free event.

Showtime!

• The Capitol Center for the Arts presents Ndlovu Youth Choir as part of the Gile Series of events on Thursday, Nov. 16, at 7 p.m. in the Chubb Theatre (44 S. Main St. in Concord; ccanh.com). The group, which has a run on Season 14 of America’s Got Talent, is described as having “unique musical arrangements, powerhouse vocals, irresistibly combined with mesmerizing choreography and infectious energy,” according to ccanh.com, where you can see videos including their cover of Dolly Parton’s “Jolene” and “Shallow” from A Star Is Born. Tickets are free but go online to reserve seats.

• The Kids Coop Theatre presents The SpongeBob Musical Friday, Nov. 17, through Sunday, Nov. 19, at the Derry Opera House (29 W. Broadway, Derry). More information and ticket sales are TBA. Visit kids-coop-theatre.org.

• The Peacock Players (14 Court St., Nashua, peacockplayers.org) youth theater company presents Beauty and the Beast through Sunday, Nov. 19. Showtimes are on Friday at 7 p.m., Saturday at 2 and 7 p.m., and Sunday at 2 p.m.

Family fun for whenever

Animal entertainment

• Catch the animated movie Free Birds(PG, 2013) on Friday, Nov. 10, at 3:30 p.m. at all three Chunky’s Cinema Pubs (707 Huse Road, Manchester; 151 Coliseum Ave., Nashua; 150 Bridge St., Pelham, chunkys.com) as part of a “Little Lunch Date” screening. Admission is free but reserve a seat with a $5 food voucher.

• At the Children’s Museum of New Hampshire (6 Washington St. in Dover; childrens-museum.com) the “Visiting Mexican Artists Program: The Dancing Chickens of Ventura Fabian” will take place Friday, Nov. 10, at 10:30 a.m. (during the morning 9 a.m. to noon session) and feature Oaxacan wood carver Norberto Fabian, son of the late master carver Ventura Fabian, according to a press release. Norberto Fabian will share his wood pieces that celebrate Mexican folk art and culture, conduct a demonstration and answer questions, the release said. Admission costs $12.50 per person ($10.50 for 65+); purchase reservations online.

In other animal news at the museum, the Service Credit Union Money Mammals’ Joe the Monkey will visit on Saturday, Nov. 11, at 10:30 a.m. and 2:30 p.m. The program will include the reading of a book that promotes financial literacy alongside a costumed Joe the Monkey, according to the museum’s website.

And save the date for some fish-ertainment. As part of the museum’s Family Literacy Month programing, the Pout Pout Fish will be on hand to meet fans on Friday, Nov. 17, at 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. and Saturday, Nov. 18, at 10 a.m. and 2 p.m.

Showtime!

• See the tale as old as time when the Peacock Players (14 Court St., Nashua, peacockplayers.org) youth theater company presents Beauty and the Beast Friday, Nov. 10, through Sunday, Nov. 19, at their home theater, the Janice B. Street Theatre. Showtimes are on Friday at 7 p.m., Saturday at 2 and 7 p.m., and Sunday at 2 p.m. Tickets cost $15 to $18 for adults, $12 to $15 for seniors and students.

• The Palace Youth Theatre presents The Best Christmas Pageant Ever, The Musical featuring student actors in grades 2 through 12 on Wednesday, Nov. 15, and Thursday, Nov. 16, at 7 p.m. at the Rex Theatre (23 Amherst St. in Manchester; palacetheatre.org, 668-5588). Tickets cost $12 for ages 6 to 12 and $15 for adults.

• The curtain rises on the Seacoast Repertory Theatre’s (125 Bow St. in Portsmouth; 433-4472, seacoastrep.org) presentation of Matilda, the musical based on the Roald Dahl book, Thursday, Nov. 9, through Saturday, Dec. 23, with showtimes most Thursdays at 7:30 p.m., Fridays at 8 p.m., Saturdays at 2 & 8 p.m. and Sundays at 2 p.m. plus Wednesday, Nov. 15, at 7:30 p.m. Tickets cost $35 to $60.

Family fun for whenever

Shows!

• The Riverbend Youth Company will present High School MusicalFriday, Nov. 3, at 7:30 p.m.; Saturday, Nov. 4, at 2:30 and 7:30 p.m., and Sunday, Nov. 5, at 2:30 p.m. at the Amato Center for the Performing Arts (56 Mont Vernon St. in Milford, amatocenter.org/riverbend-youth-company). Tickets cost $12 for adults, $8 for seniors and kids.

• Teach the children about their jam-band forebears at Rock and Roll Playhouse — Music of the Grateful Dead for Kids on Sunday, Nov. 5, at noon at Bank of NH Stage (16 S. Main St. in COncord; ccanh.com). Tickets cost $18.75 in advance, or $5 more at the door.

Museum happenings

• At the McAuliffe-Shepard Discovery Center (2 Institute Drive in Concord; starhop.com, 271-7827), this Friday’s Super Stellar Friday program (program starts at 7 p.m.; doors open at 6:30 p.m.) will focus on “Breaking Barriers: A Woman’s Journey in Aviation” with Debbora Losch, education director at the Aviation Museum of New Hampshire. Losch served as an AH-64D Apache helicopter mechanic while in the U.S. Army, according to a press release, and will discuss the challenges and triumphs of women in aviation. Tickets cost $12 for adults, $9 for ages 3 to 12, $11 for 62+. A webinar version of the presentation is free to view but registration is required.

• At the Children’s Museum of New Hampshire (6 Washington St. in Dover; childrens-museum.org, 742-2002), the Thursday Cultural Crafts for November will focus on Bonfire Night in the United Kingdom. The program is scheduled for 10:30 a.m. during the 9 a.m. to noon session and 2:30 p.m. during the 1 to 4 p.m. session and is included with admission on all Thursdays in November except Nov. 23 (Thanksgiving). On Saturday, Nov. 4, Quint-Essential Winds will perform at 10:30 a.m., offering three classic stories presented with music and interactive elements. Tickets cost $12.50 for everyone over 12 months, $10.50 for 65+.

Storytime

• New England author and illustrator Matt Tavares will read his new picture book Dasher Can’t Wait For Christmas, a follow-up to his book Dasher!, on Saturday, Nov. 4, at 11 a.m. at Gibson’s Bookstore (45 S. Main St. in Concord; gibsonsbookstore.com, 224-0562).

Save the date

• Have kids interested in music lessons? Get a look at what they could learn when more than 100 students show off their guitar, piano, ukulele, violin, saxophone, trumpet, drums and vocal skills at North Main Music’s student concert on Sunday, Nov. 12, at Nashua High School North (8 Titan Way) presented in 90-minute segments from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. See northmainmusic.com for more information on the music school and northmainmusic.com/contact for more on the concert.